In Contention

Category: Uncategorized

  • On In Contention going to Variety

    On August 19, 2005, In Contention was born. (That was 10 years ago today for those keeping score at home.) It was born by accident, to be honest, not at all by design. I landed a gig, then I lost it before it even started, but I had all this material gathered and ready to publish regarding the then-upcoming film awards season. I launched a blog, “In Contention” sounded edgy enough in the space and off she went. (The funny thing is I ended up keeping the first gig after all, but by then this little enterprise had taken on a small life.)

    From there it only grew. We moved out of the Blogger/Blogspot space and into the dot-com realm. We groomed a staff of like minds along the way, at one point notably large for such an outlet, but eventually honed into a tight ship that forged the In Contention identity. It became a remunerative enterprise, humming along in the bizarre but expanding niche world of awards coverage, separate from the independent movie blog ventures that were themselves gaining footing at the time (many of them, interestingly enough, unloading to buyers as of late).

    When HitFix came calling in 2011, it was a fascinating fit. It was an exciting hybrid enterprise — yin and yang. Eventually In Contention was fully acquired by the company and things really settled. But times change. HitFix has new priorities now, and I wish them well. Thankfully the four years of content we produced under that banner will soon be available right here at InContention.com for posterity. That was important to me, that my work — Guy Lodge’s work, Gerard Kennedy’s work, Roth Cornet’s work, Greg Ellwood’s work — live under one umbrella.

    But of further note to you, our readership, is that per the terms of that agreement, I am taking In Contention with me. So while all of the above was its own era, we’re now entering a very new one.

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  • Testing

    ;)

  • HitFix’s In Contention content now available

    As part of our exit agreement with HitFix in 2015, all of In Contention’s content from that period is now archived here at home base. In addition to its home at Uproxx (which acquired HitFix in 2016), you can now view it at www.incontention.com/hitfix.

  • Rundown of awards presentations

    From Deadline (thanks to PaulH):

    1. Art Direction (Tom Hanks)
    2. Cinematography (ditto)
    3. Supporting Actress (?)
    4. Animated Feature (Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis)
    5. Animated Short Film (ditto)

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  • ACE springs for Best Picture frontrunners

    Guy rightly noted yesterday a seemingly “whatever” coagulation of the guild awards circuit into “easy-to-recall season staples.” If you were hoping the American Cinema Editors (ACE) would put an end to that, keep dreaming.

    Of course, ACE historically skews as populist and inside-the-box as the DGA set, which is why the two are often coupled for maximum tea leaf importance when forecasting Oscar. But one at least hoped for a “District 9”-level statement of “we like stuff that has no chance of winning Best Picture,” but it wasn’t to be.

    The “surprise,” for most, will likely be Pamela Martin joining the guild party for “The Fighter,” but given the givens, it’s not such a left-field pick. Season heavy, boxing film (which does well with editors), etc. She’ll probably be an Oscar nominee, too, but I must say, it’s a shame the year’s best job at the Steambeck, “Shutter Island,” was ignored here after an early below-the-line guild showing.

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  • Fox to supply SAG with online screeners via iTunes

    Brave new world.  Though we all know it’s heading in this direction.  The trick will be getting the old stuck-in-their-ways types to learn how to work things, as always.  The press release, in part:

    Fox Filmed Entertainment (FFE) and iTunes are offering nearly 100,000 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) members Fox Searchlight Pictures’ 127 HOURS, BLACK SWAN and CONVICTION in HD from iTunes for viewing on their iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Mac or PC, or with Apple TV on their HD TV. The films will be available to members from January 7-28 during the SAG awards consideration window…Fox is discussing a similar arrangement in the future with AMPAS, BAFTA and other organizations to implement this new way to present their films for consideration…

    “…while we would always prefer voters see films in theaters, we realize that is not always possible, so we wanted to make sure as many voters as possible have the opportunity to screen them…,” said Jim Gianopulos, Chairman and CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment.

    [Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures]

  • Goodbye Ronni

    I was driving, in between interviews this morning, when I got the tragic news of Ronni Chasen’s random, senseless death. Deadline followed up on an initial Radar Online report and the news spread from there.

    Ronni was a long-time publicist who worked with just about everyone in town at one point or another. She was a driven, persistent professional, amazing at her job but also a truly sweet person. I considered her a friend, and to know she experienced such a horrific death is nearly too much to bear.

    The sad reality is this business, the business she had such a hand in shaping, will take a moment to grieve and then it’ll be taking calls and business as usual. But part of me thinks Ronni, who never slowed down, wouldn’t have it any other way.

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  • AFI FEST: ‘Eraserhead’ ready for its close-up

    This year’s AFI Fest (“presented by AUDI,” as the literature keeps reminding us to call it) has felt something like a non-event so far this year.  I can’t put my finger on why, other than the usual sense of been there, done that as it pertains to films seeing their North American premieres.

    I’ve skipped a number of Galas and parties already.  What can possibly be gleaned over a few hors d’oeuvres and some white wine?  I’d like to attend Friday’s premiere of “Black Swan” and give it another look, but I expect to be in a car on the way to some seclusion with my fiancee this weekend as we quietly celebrate our birthdays (hers Friday, mine Monday) away from our separate frays in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

    But when I picked up my credentials Saturday over at the Roosevelt Hotel, I offered a quick glance at the schedule and decided to watch something for me (which, clearly by these words, has become “for work,” but it didn’t feel that way at the time, and that’s a welcome departure this time of year).

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  • Penn going supporting for ‘Fair Game?’

    Scott Feinberg is reporting that Sean Penn, who gives a rather wonderful performance in Doug Liman’s “Fair Game” with much more meat on its bones than Naomi Watts’s somewhat internalized work, will be pushed in the supporting category rather than lead.

    Uh…why?  First and foremost, I’d consider this a lead performance, but whatever, category fraud happens all the time and there are probably multiple perspectives to be had on this particular role.  But I just wrote about the lead actor category Monday and noted that there is some softness outside of the generally agreed upon three (Colin Firth, James Franco and Jeff Bridges).  The opportunity is ripe.

    Meanwhile, the supporting actor category seems to be settling in.  I feel like I’ve had the same five checked off for a month or two now.  Where are the cracks in that armor?  How does one look at that category and think it’s an easier climb?

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  • LONDON: ‘Conviction,’ ‘Amigo,’ ‘Everything Must Go’

    “To get the challenge to play someone like this makes me a better person,” said a rather intense-looking Hilary Swank at yesterday’s London Film Festival press conference — the someone in question, single mom turned crusading lawyer Betty Ann Waters, sitting to her immediate left.

    Not being personally acquainted with Ms. Swank, I can’t verify the before-and-after truth of this claim, but I can say that this endearingly earnest tone is entirely shared by Tony Goldwyn’s film “Conviction” (**1/2).

    A rote courtroom drama that is but one “The Betty Ann Waters Story” subtitle — and Jaclyn Smith casting switch — away from being Thursday night TV fodder circa 1988, “Conviction” (which opened in the US yesterday) is one of those so-implausible-it-has-to-be-true stories that blandly and single-mindedly champion blanket virtues like hope, loyalty and tenacity over finer, more fractious social and personal details, but keeps you dorkily invested in its principals’ plight despite your better instincts.

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  • Foreign Oscar update

    I neglected to mention this over a busy weekend, but the deadline for Best Foreign Language Film Oscar submissions passed on Friday. That doesn’t necessarily mean we have all the contenders set in stone, however — we’re still waiting on the official list from the Academy, which always features a couple of latecomers and a switched selection or two.

    Still, to all intents and purposes, the eventual Oscar shortlist is set to come from the 62 titles entered thus far. (Check out our updated list here.) The most notable submission among the last-minute stragglers is Argentina’s “Carancho,” a romantic legal thriller from director Pablo Trapero — whose previous feature, the strong female proson drama “Lion’s Den,” was the country’s unsuccessful Oscar submission in 2008.

    The film stars Ricardo Darin, a familiar face to that voting branch; the Argentine superstar has headlined five of the country’s last nine entries, including reigning Oscar champ “The Secret in Their Eyes.” The film played in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, where it was rather well-received. I’ll be catching up with it at the London fest this month.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Hollywood mourns, foreign race, bait battle

    • A grim week for Hollywood talent, as we said goodbye to Gloria Stuart, Tony Curtis, Arthur Penn and, most prematurely, Sally Menke.

    • Mexico’s “Biutiful” became the starriest entry yet on the Best Foreign Language Film longlist, now up to a round 60 titles.

    • This week’s Long Shot column examined the widely predicted “Social Network”-versus-“King’s Speech” Best Picture battle, wondering what it says about the current state of “Oscar bait.”

    • Just to remind us that there are other films knocking around, the long-awaited trailer for the Coens’ “True Grit” set the web abuzz.

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  • Israel, Bosnia among latest foreign Oscar submissions

    I know a couple of you have been curious about what Israel submits as its Best Foreign Language Film contender, given that the country been on something of an Oscar hot streak of late — securing nominations in each of the last three races, though the country remains the most-nominated in the category’s history never to have taken the gold. (Zero from nine, for those keeping score.)

    As usual, the country has automatically entered the top winner at its national film awards ceremony, the Ophirs, which took place last night. Most pundits saw this as a slam-dunk for “Intimate Grammar,” a high-prestige literary adaptation that led the race with 12 nods.

    However, in a sizable upset, it was bested by Eran Riklis’s “The Human Resources Manager,” a gentle, character-centered dramedy about a bakery personnel officer tasked with shipping the body of a foreign employee back to her native Romania. (Thanks to reader Cameron McAllister for the tip.)

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  • Goodbye Tom

    It’s a bit, I don’t know, irritating…disgusting…to see the story of my friend Tom Sparks’s tragic recent passing plastered with the tag “Exclusive” in Daniel Frankel’s story at The Wrap.  I don’t really know what “exclusivity” there is to claim here.  The story is the story.  But I’m a bit close to matters, obviously.  And this is to say nothing of the misleading aspect of the story, painting controversy for the sake of a headline.

    I haven’t written about Tom, mainly because it’s been too difficult to think about, truly one of the most wonderful people I’ve ever known, struck down freakishly and unfairly a mere 33 years into his life, two months after marrying his longtime sweetheart, his life only starting…and then, gone.  And I can’t think about it now.  Too many funerals.

    I said goodbye to Tom last night in West Los Angeles and I do it again here.  You should still be here.  Certainly more than a guy like me.  And everything in my heart goes out to you, Kate.  Everything.

  • Are we there yet?: the best films of 2005

    Not to start my “Best of the Year” column off on a down note, but from the word go I had the slightest, nagging inclination that 2005 was going to be one of the most disappointing cinematic years we’ve come across. In many ways, my fears were realized – in some cases ten-fold.

    It all began with my annual glance ahead at the Oscar race, what may or may not figure into the hunt, what this film or that had to offer. What I saw so long ago looked to be a fairly non-eventful race. All of the givens seemed too familiar, too apparent. Even with recent lessons learned like Oliver Stone’s Alexander, it seemed to me a rather clearly discerned awards season was on the horizon. We now find ourselves in an intriguing pickle, but even still, nothing not organic to the season has cropped up on the “surprise” meter, as it were.

    Searching elsewhere I hoped at least for some popcorn fun to start the year. The Michael Keaton starrer White Noise had a cool premise and a sufficiently creepy trailer. But it wound up remaining one of the worst films of the year without question – even from an entertainment standpoint.

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  • In it together

    Today is my birthday. I’m 24 years old.

    I’ve been following the Oscar race with some notable level of attention for 8 years. It is by no means a lengthy tenure, as there are others in the game who have been observing this outlandish span of time much longer than that. Even still, in these recent years – the height of the race’s popularity amongst the film-going community – I’ve noticed a number of intriguing things as a witness to its modern evolution.

    My first season was the 1997 season. The big films in play were James Cameron’s Titanic, Curtis Hanson’s L.A. Confidential and Gus Van Sant’s Good Will Hunting. It would be a rather poignant introductory year into the process for me.

    I knew my favorite films of the year were As Good As It Gets (from director James L. Brooks) and L.A. Confidential. The former struck the right chord at a time in my life where I was truly head-over-hills in love, while the latter was part of a brief progression of cinema – along with Michael Mann’s Heat and Bryan Singer’s The Usual Suspects – that was greatly sparking my interest and leaning me toward a profession chosen in the filmmaking arena.

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