In Contention

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  • Ronald Neame (1911-2010)

    It’s inevitable, but somewhat depressing, that most of the obituaries cropping up for British filmmaker Ronald Neame, who passed away yesterday in Los Angeles aged 99, mention “The Poseidon Adventure” at the top. (And look, I’ve only gone and done it myself.)

    As a director, writer, producer and cinematographer, Neame’s résumé is considerably more scattered and interesting than that hoary slab of big-studio Velveeta — including trick-laden DP duty on “Blithe Spirit,” Oscar-nominated script work on David Lean’s “Brief Encounter” and “Great Expectations” and a good run of unflashy but considered directorial efforts.

    Second to “The Poseidon Adventure,” Neame might remain best-known for directing Maggie Smith to her Oscar-winning (and career-best) performance in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,” but on the less tony end of the scale, he had a knack for peppy comedy, including two delightful capers with happily mismatched star duos, “Gambit” (Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine) and the particularly underrated “Hopscotch” (Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson).

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  • Tell us what you thought of ‘Toy Story 3’

    I’ve already added my two cents on Pixar’s latest, and it’s sure to pack a heavy box office punch this weekend.  So when you get a look, be sure to come back and tell us what you thought in the comments section below.

  • Combing through the first-half contenders

    With the year nearly at its midway point, the Hollywood Reporter’s Gregg Kilday has taken on the rather fruitless task of sussing out potential Oscar contenders from the last six months of releases. As you will no doubt be shocked to hear, he doesn’t find many — declaring “Toy Story 3” the year’s first viable Best Picture nominee (just as Pixar’s “Up” wound up as the earliest release on the 2009 slate).

    Not that this is a particularly new phenomenon. Bar the occasional “Crash,” “Erin Brockovich” or “The Silence of the Lambs” — films that tend to grow into their Oscar-contender status rather than have it thrust upon them — studios tend to save their prestige product for the year’s latter stages. Everyone and their pet lizard knows that.

    But as Kilday points out, considering last year’s expansion of the Best Picture field was a shameless grab for more blockbuster nominees, none of this year’s summer (or spring) behemoths up to now could be deemed credible contenders. (That he even bothers to consider the chances of “Alice in Wonderland” is cause for major shuddering.)

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  • I’m a big crybaby

    Pixar’s “Toy Story 3” reduced me to mush, just like it has untold numbers of critics across the nation.  I’m so excited to see that 2010 has already seen two top-notch animated features, and a few of those still to come look intriguing to say the least.  But this one took a formula, injected it with more profound meaning than its two predecessors could have dreamed of, had the balls to keep its edge when push came to shove with the story’s antagonist, and at the end of the day, put a big, bright, beautiful bow on one of the most beloved franchises in — I think we can say this now — cinema history.

    The story was cooked up by Lee Unkrich, Andrew Stanton and Pixar Don, John Lasseter, but Michael Arndt was tasked with actual scripting duties.  His work is a lean vision of purpose, four years of hard work shining through.  The voice work is every bit as effective as it ever was, but all the toys in Andy’s toy box seem to be even more distinguished in their own rights this time out.

    Of course, this makes it all the more sad that we can’t hear Jim Varney’s Slinky Dog chime in, but Blake Clark gives it a decent go.  On the whole, though, we’re looking at one of the best films of the year, easily.  And a studio that knows how to do the franchise thing well.

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  • DiCaprio and Eastwood team for Hoover biopic

    After three consecutive duds (in my book, anyway), Clint Eastwood will have to work hard to earn my anticipation again — harder, certainly, than dipping into the biopic well once more — but he sure gets full marks for persistence. Undeterred by his recent strike-outs with the Academy, he continues to assemble the most on-paper baity projects around — this time, a J. Edgar Hoover biopic written by Oscar-winning “Milk” scribe Dustin Lance Black and starring the Oscar-primed Leonardo DiCaprio. The only way this can miss is if it’s even half as dull as, well, “Invictus.”

    The project, of course, has been in the ether for some time; Deadline Hollywood offers the following précis of its development:

    The project began at Universal, where Imagine is based, but came together at Warners, which Eastwood’s Malpaso has long called home. Imagine had been developing the Dustin Lance Black script for over a year before showing it to Universal, where the reaction was negative. But then Grazer got the screenplay to pal Clint (they did The Changeling and have had a personal relationship ever since), the two men met about it in mid-February, and the film has been on the fast track at Warner Bros.

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  • The future is now… almost

    I love Steven Spielberg’s 2002 “Minority Report” for a number of reasons — it’s the director’s most searching and adventurous film since a certain 1993 Oscar champ, it’s got ideas as big as its set pieces and it’ll likely remain history’s only $100 million summer blockbuster to star Samantha Morton.

    All good things. But what I like most about the film is that it contains one of the cinema’s few visions of the future that I actually look forward to living in — I know I’m not the only person who was reduced to pre-adolescent gosh-wow effusiveness by its gadgetry. (For one, I know that any attempt to interest my mom in a faddish computer gizmo will result in the reply, “Until I can control the whole thing with my hands, like in “Minority Report,” I’m not interested.”)

    Good news, mom: according to this neat piece in the Guardian’s technology pages, we’re getting there. Eight years after the release of Spielberg’s film, journalist Charles Arthur offers a progress report of sorts on the film’s various futuristic inventions — pointing out the significant strides already made towards the realization of dynamic iris recognition, personalized advertising (already broached in an online capacity) and even “pre-crime” technology.

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  • ‘Conviction’ trailer

    One of the year’s obviously baity titles (which screened as early as the first quarter of the year for some) is Tony Goldwyn’s “Conviction” (formerly “Betty Anne Waters”).  The film stars Hilary Swank as Waters in the true story of a young woman who puts herself through law school to represent her wrongfully convicted brother (played by Sam Rockwell, and about whom I hear great things).  As for the trailer, thick accents?  Check.  “This is an important story” narrator?  Check.  Lofty music from multiple other weighty films?  Check.  Awards savvy studio?  Check.  (Searchlight also has Mark Romanek’s “Never Let Me Go” on the way, which also debuted a trailer earlier this week.)

    Watch the “Conviction” trailer, via Apple, by clicking on the image below, or check out the embed after the jump.

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  • Malick’s Pacific theatre makes its way to Criterion

    I haven’t picked up a copy of Terrence Malick’s “The Thin Red Line” on DVD because I’m so OCD.  As in, I can’t stand the “Fox war classics” thing at the top of the case.  It’s the same reason I have a love/hate relationship with my “John Wayne classics” version of “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.” I know, weird, but I also thought Malick’s film, one of the very best ever made, needed a big to-do from Criterion or SOMEONE willing to dig in.

    It looks like I’m finally getting my wish, as Criterion will be releasing the DVD and — ZOMG! — Blu-ray this September.  This follows the recent Criterion release of “Days of Heaven” from the director.  And it’s just in time for all the forthcoming “Tree of Life” buzz.

    Count me stoked.  REALLY stoked.  I’m not sure what the specifics of the release are, actually, but I long for the day someone digs up all the footage and gives us that six-hour cut.  Is all of that lost to the winds?  I’m out of the loop.

    Anyway, the sell-sheet cover art hit today, which typically eschews any poster art in favor of something more singular.  Check it out after the jump, but keep an eye on the official page for the film at Criterion for updates and, eventually, the “official” cover art for the release.

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  • ‘The American’ poster

    I’m pretty amped for Anton Corbijn’s “The American.” The photographer and music video pioneer did a bang-up job with his feature debut, “Control,” and this adaptation of the Martin Booth novel looks to be a nice post-summer, pre-awards season antidote, as the trailer suggested last month.  Today a new poster for the film has hit and it’s pretty striking.  Check it out after the jump.

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  • Boyle and Daldry get Olympic gig

    If you can tear your thoughts away from the World Cup for a second, cast your mind back to the opening ceremony of the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing. Pretty spectacular, wasn’t it? You might recall that that mammoth production was steered by Zhang Yimou, a one-time rebel filmmaker now safely enfolded into the system.

    Organizers of London’s 2012 Olympic effort have clearly filched the Chinese memo, as they’ve secured their own now-cuddly auteur as artistic director of their opening ceremony — one Mr. Danny Boyle. Not content with that, they have decided to double up on the movie names, tapping Stephen Daldry as one of four executive producers of the Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies.

    (Clearly, in a complicated tribute to the last Olympic year, they’re just running through the 2008 Oscar slate: I expect David Fincher is in charge of catering or something.)

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  • Did Pixar rip off a French short with “Up?”

    That seems to be the possibility put forth in this detailed /Film post, which concludes (somehow) that it was all a coincidence.  But truly, I wonder.  One of the commenters mentions “Finding Nemo” supposedly bearing a striking resemblance to a French children’s book.

    I have no answers.  None of consequence will likely be coming.  But it’s interesting.  And a bummer of a story to hit just a few days away from the release of “Toy Story 3.”

    Check out the French short in question, titled “Above Then Beyond,” after the jump. And cut loose with your thoughts in the comments section.  Total coincidence or something fishy?

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  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1951 and 1952

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    So sorry to have neglected this column for two weeks but life got in the way. A life without Oscar, you could even say. 1951 saw some major shakeups in Oscar-land, with producers taking the Best Picture award rather than the studio for the first time in a symbolic shift away from Hollywood’s mogul origins. “An American in Paris” landed an upset victory over more typical Academy fare like “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “A Place in the Sun,” giving rise to a decade that would see the debut of cinemascope, 3D, VistaVision and a number of other gimmicks meant to enhance the theatrical experience.

    The Academy would see fit to honor a number of extravagant but hollow titles throughout the decade, including 1952 winner, “The Greatest Show on Earth.” A gluttonous example of combating TV, it ironically won the first year that the big show was televised, easily becoming one of the largest commercial broadcasts in history at that point. (Video evidence!) Distracted by flashy colors and sets, the Academy missed the chance to honor these excellent titles.

    1951 – “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (Robert Wise)

    Robert Wise is probably the most famous and accomplished director to come from one of the other technical crafts of filmmaking, specifically editing, where his credits include a little ditty called “Citizen Kane.” He won two Oscars for directing, yet remains an unsung hero because his ability to switch genres and styles effortlessly prevented any kind of recognizable continuity to his work. I mean, did you know the same man directed “West Side Story” and “Star Trek: The Motion Picture?”

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  • Equalized

    The occasion of Russell Crowe saddling up to a film version of “The Equalizer” (ironically announced the same day studios were supposedly clamoring for original material), is an excuse for nothing more than an embed of the opening credits sequence from the 1980s series.  I always thought it was badass.

  • Edinburgh fest kicks off with ‘The Illusionist’

    Last year’s Edinburgh Film Festival served me rather well, giving me my first look at “Antichrist,” “The Hurt Locker,” “Fish Tank,” “35 Shots of Rum,” “Mary and Max” and “London River,” all of which wound up in my Top 20 of 2009. (It was also where a little film called “The Secret of Kells” made its first awards bow, more than seven months before Hollywood cottoned on to it.)

    This year’s edition begins today; unfortunately, I’m unable to cover the entire fest this time, though I will be there for five days next week. Thanks to my other festival exploits this year, however, I am already acquainted with tonight’s opening film, “The Illusionist.”

    I reviewed Sylvain Chomet’s sublime beyond-the-grave Jacques Tati collaboration out of Berlin in February, and the film still sits comfortably atop my Best of 2010 list. Tonight’s Edinburgh premiere should be a sweet one, given how besotted the film is with that very city.

    More on the film, including a new trailer, after the cut.

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  • Guard your secrets

    Yes, another “Inception” post — the wilting lettuce garnish and half-nibbled canapés that make up this year’s summer-movie buffet aren’t providing us with a wealth of conversation topics, you may have noticed.

    Brent Lang’s lengthy piece in The Wrap on the film’s marketing strategy covers a familiar angle: positioning the film as the Great White Hope for original material in rehash-crazy Hollywood, while noting the commercial risks posed by its cerebral subject matter in the current climate. (Less familiar is the description of “Public Enemies” as a “high-concept” blockbuster — huh? — but Lang gets his point across.)

    Two things in the article, however, struck me as worthy of mention. The first, which may or may not be significant, is that Lang relies largely on the internet community for quotes, tapping Drew McWeeny of HitFix, Mike Sampson of JoBlo, Steve Weintraub of Collider and Alex Billington of FirstShowing ahead of any print journos or industry representatives.

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  • PAGE TO SCREEN: “The Long Walk” by Slavomir Rawicz

    In one of the year’s more groan-worthy feats of movie marketing magic, Disney recently slapped their plucky horse ’n’ housewife drama “Secretariat” with a paradox of a tagline in “The Impossible True Story.” No sooner had they done so than assorted sniggering blogger types responded with a perfectly reasonable question: if the story is impossible, how can it be true?

    That said, whoever ends up handling Peter Weir’s currently distributor-less “The Way Back” may rather wish they had bagged this ropey tagline first. Adapted from the ghostwritten 1956 memoir by Slavomir Rawicz, a former Polish cavalry officer and Gulag labor camp survivor, the film tackles a story that is indeed “impossible” in the Disney-dictionary sense – read: extraordinary – but also, to some extent, in the literal one: two years after his 2004 death, Rawicz’s account was entirely discredited by historians.

    In the book, following the 1939 invasion of Poland, a 25 year-old Rawicz is arrested, tortured and unjustly convicted of treason by the Soviets. Sentenced to 25 years’ hard labor in the remote Gulags of Siberia, he is placed in a POW chain-gang and subjected to a gruelling two-month journey northwards, whereupon the scarcely less arduous drill of prison life begins.

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  • ‘Never Let Me Go’ trailer

    I don’t know anything of the book, but this Mark Romanek adaptation is hotly anticipated by many.  After a look at the trailer, I’m still not feeling why, but I’m willing to dive in and see given the talent involved.  Obviously lead actress potential for Carey Mulligan.  I imagine Keira Knightley has something to chew on here and any reason to see Andrew Garfield work is a good one.  And is that the score for “The Door in the Floor?”

    Click on the image below to see the trailer via Apple.  Embed after the jump.  (NOTE: Guy will be covering the source material in next week’s installment of Page to Screen.)

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  • Hollywood’s hunt for originality

    A few days after Anne Thompson and I spent a considerable amount of time discussing Hollywood’s current larger-than-normal blind spot for originality, two pieces have hit the web reporting on mass industry hysteria and a search for original work.  Behold our power!

    Just kidding.  Anyway, writing at NY Mag culture blog Vulture, Claude Brodesser-Akner writes, “Warner Bros., Paramount/DreamWorks, and Universal are now madly pinging agents and managers with an uncharacteristic, desperate, and welcome request: Send us your fresh material!”  Nikki Finke, meanwhile, quotes an agent as saying, “I have three heads of studios coming into my office. They’re completely at a loss about what to do.”

    Meanwhile, franchises, sequels and remakes aren’t reaching (however elevated) box office expectations.  And the one film everyone’s looking forward to?  The one we all expect to cash in?  Christopher Nolan’s “Inception.” Maybe there’s a change of tide, or maybe this is nothing more than a test string from studio heads.  Discuss.