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  • Bullock calls for real comedy

    Sandra Bullock in All About SteveIt’s not like one needed a further reason to hop on the “We Love Sandra Bullock” train in this of all weeks, but the actress obligingly provides one anyway in this highly enjoyable Guardian interview with John Patterson. Speaking of the genre that has become her bread and butter over the years, she offers these rather forthright words:

    Usually comedy is only available to us ladies in the romantic comedy. That’s why I hate romantic comedies. I want to make comedic-comedies – let’s get back to being funny!

    There are so many things to like about this statement, only one of them being that it’s absolutely true. She may have predictably made her Oscar breakthrough by crossing over to “respectable” middlebrow drama, but Bullock is one of our most gifted screen comediennes, possessed of wit, timing and physical performance ability surplus to the requirements of the lame comedic vehicles she is usully given.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: Dear ‘Diary,’ Why wasn’t I in 3D?

    Diary of a Wimpy Kid*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    I haven’t heard a single person say “Alice in Wonderland” is anything but awful yet here we stand at its third weekend atop the box office. The film added another $34.5 million to its staggering tally of $265.8 million and I don’t really know what to say about that. In 17 days it has already matched the totals of films like “Star Trek,” “Gladiator” and “Pearl Harbor.” Something is bringing people to this product in ridiculous numbers and barring a better explanation, Hollywood is assuming that it’s the 3D so get ready to see “Little Fockers” and “True Grit” in an extra dimension this Christmas. Hell, get ready to see Burger King commercials in 3D soon enough.

    Second place goes to “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” which exceeded expectations with $21.8 million. I attribute this to the robust star power of Zachary Gordon and his monumentally popular voice work in “Santa Buddies.” Fox’s marketing managed to make the PG-rated flick look appealing to teenagers and some young adults without alienating kids and parents like “Drillbit Taylor” did so kudos to them.

    “The Bounty Hunter” is a surprising third place finisher with $21.0 million. Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler are the epitome of modern movie stars where they have a number of big films under their belt and solid name recognition but can’t open just any old movie to big numbers. Luckily, their pairing here and Sony’s marketing muscle earned them just enough to stay on the B-list. Your move “Killers.”

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  • FRIDAY FORECAST: ‘Bounty’ soft

    Gerard Butler in The Bounty Hunter*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    Forgive me if this entry seems a little rushed, but I’ve been flying most of the day and detoxing from South by Southwest. It was my first time attending since 2006 and the growth in scope, prestige and attendance since then was staggering. The quality and selection of films, however, has not suffered and there remains no better film festival in the United States to see unique, low budget independent films that may or may not make it to your local multiplex. “Cold Weather,” “Passenger Pigeons,” “Putty Hill,” “The Myth of the American Sleepover” and “Tiny Furniture” are just a few that you should keep your eyes on.

    But enough about those itty bitty movies nobody cares about. How about “The Bounty Hunter?” Starring the only Friend to successfully craft a big screen career out of that small screen sensation and some Irish bloke that seems to really get off on playing chauvinists. And why not, since in Hollywood they get to treat the girl like shit and still win her in the end. One of three films coming out in the next few months with a hapless woman thrust together with a man of action (“Killers” and “Knight & Day” being the others), Sony was smart to push this one out first and should see something around $20 million for their troubles.

    Fox adapts a famous (so I’ve heard) series of young adult books with “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” and I heard it pitched as a PG-rated “Superbad” for middle schoolers. Truth be told, I think it actually looks pretty good and with no major kids product out there it may have a chance at some success. Unless it comes off as too raunchy for kids and too immature for teens and then Fox will be in trouble. I think it can give America $13 million worth of wedgies.

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  • Ubiquitous

    Mia WasikowskaWhen I heard today that Mia Wasikowska had landed the lead in Cary Fukunaga’s upcoming adaptation of “Jane Eyre” for Focus Features, my first thought was, “Well, who else?”

    Not that there aren’t other suitable young actresses who could ace the part. But 20 year-old Australian Wasikowska seems to have hit a sweet spot in the Hollywood casting game. A year ago, few who didn’t watch HBO’s “In Treatment” had heard of her; today, she seems to be nabbing every plum role going in her age bracket.

    Two years ago, Ellen Page’s name was linked to this latest dusting-off of the Charlotte Brontë chestnut; the eventual casting of Wasikowska suggests that even young Hollywood has its minute generational shifts.

    Not that I’m complaining about Wasikowska’s sudden rise. I was as impressed as everyone else by her tangy work as a suicidal teen in “In Treatment,” and was pleased to see that promise completely followed through with a precise, perceptive turn as the daughter of Annette Bening and Julianne Moore in Lisa Cholodenko’s deserved festival hit “The Kids Are All Right.”

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  • Happy St. Patrick’s Day

    A favorite from a favorite:

  • IFC previews its wares

    Isabelle Huppert in White MaterialDo you live in New York? Lucky you. I say that for many reasons, but chief among them right now is that you can attend this weekend’s Focus on IFC Films mini-festival, in which the dedicated indie distributor previews a selection of their upcoming theatrical and VOD titles at Brooklyn’s BAMcinématek.

    I mention this principally as another excuse to plug my favorite film 0f 2009, Claire Denis’s “White Material.” IFC acquired U.S. rights to this staggering Isabelle Huppert-led study of post-colonial Africa last month, and will introduce it under their banner on Friday night.

    Other films in the lineup include Ken Loach’s “Looking for Eric,” which I reviewed upon its UK release last June, Ji-woon Kim’s batty Korean spaghetti western “The Good, The Bad, The Weird,” which I thoroughly enjoyed at the London fest in 2008, and Elia Suleiman’s “The Time That Remains,” which I briefly reviewed in October.

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  • Anton Corbijn blogs ‘The American’

    If only for the names involved, Focus Features’ thriller “The American” is one of my more anticipated films of 2010 — George Clooney stars, Rowan Joffe (who had a hand in my best-of-decade contender “Last Resort,” and also has “Brighton Rock” coming up this year) writes and, best of all, Anton Corbijn directs.

    Corbijn’s 2007 Ian Curtis biopic “Control” was a remarkable debut — though it felt less like an introduction than an extension of the director’s iconic work in the realms of photography and music video. I’m interested to see how he fares with a glossier genre piece. Blogging the shoot over at Focus’s site, he’s posted some production stills — they look a little like outtakes from one of his Depeche Mode videos, but that’s fine by me.

    The American

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  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1929 and 1930

    The Love TrapCatch up with the idea behind this series here.

    A thousand apologies to everyone for the lack of a Sunday Cents column. With a respected actor/director duo putting in numbers as disappointing as “Green Zone,” there was definitely a lot to talk about but I just didn’t have the time or the access to my computer that I needed here at South by Southwest. I have managed to sneak a way for a few precious moments to finalize and post this article, which I’m very happy to see got a good response last week. So here we go again.

    1929 – “The Love Trap” (William Wyler)

    If there was one film that best represented the awkward transition from silents to talkies, then William Wyler’s early screwball comedy is it for me. The story is typical American silent melodrama, with a down-on-her-luck chorus line girl falling in love with a wealthy gentleman and facing the wrath of his disapproving family, but the kicker comes in the last reel when the previously silent film starts talking. It’s a jarring moment and Wyler uses the transition during an important story beat, similar to Dorothy opening that door to a wildly colorful Oz. While many films from this era featured sporadic dialogue, none felt as carefully manipulated as this instance. Wyler was only 26 when the film was released but his unobtrusive, economic style was already firmly in place. He would, of course, go on to become one of the most successful men ever with the Oscars, earning three Best Director trophies and guiding more actors to Oscar nominated performances than anyone else in history.

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  • Fincher and Mulligan for ‘Dragon Tattoo?’

    Noomi Rapace in The Girl With the Dragon TattooAs hard as it is to imagine the button-cute Carey Mulligan festooned with body art and facial piercings, kicking all kinds of corporate ass, it’s an intriguing possibility we must now consider.

    Over the past few days, the newly-minted Oscar nominee’s name, along with that of director David Fincher, has been connected with the much-fancied Hollywood remake of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” Nothing has been confirmed, but Fincher and Mulligan would be a suitably A-list fit for a project that already boasts Scott Rudin as producer, with a script by Steven Zaillian.

    The original Swedish thriller, based (in case you’ve been living under a rock these past few years) on the first part of Stieg Larsson’s bestselling “Millennium” trilogy, just opened in the UK to sturdy business for a foreign-language title, and lands Stateside on Friday.

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  • Was that so hard?

    As a film-poster enthusiast, one of my bigger headscratchers from last year was why, with so many vivid stills to work with, the publicity team behind “The White Ribbon” couldn’t devise a one-sheet that didn’t look either fan-made or positively medicinal. Leave it to Australia’s Jeremy Saunders to finally cobble together a real poster — nothing revolutionary, just clean, crisp design:

    The White Ribbon

  • No pressure

    Variety

    UPDATE: It gets worse: Joshua Newton quotes Variety president Neil Stiles as saying “No one takes these reviews seriously,” and that the paper plans to cease reviewing altogether this year.

    EARLIER: After firing most of their chief critical staff, just one week after it came to light that they’d suppressed a negative review in order to appease a film’s well-moneyed producers, Variety hasn’t been much of a friend to the struggling art of film criticism lately.

    Amazingly, however, in this NYT take on the situation, the powers that be at the venerable trade paper find ways to make themselves look even worse. I refer to this stunning foot-in-mouth statement from editor Tim Gray, as he attempts to smooth over the Robert Koehler-“Iron Cross” fiasco:

    Of the “Iron Cross” go-round, Mr. Gray said he removed the [Robert Koehler’s] review from the Web after a lawyer for the director and producer, Joshua Newton, objected, but reposted it after viewing the film and deciding to “stand by the review as it was written.”

    The line between church and state, wrote Mr. Gray, remains as firm as in Sime Silverman’s day. “There is no advertising influence or pressure on the editorial independence of our reporting.”

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  • Apparition adopts Sundance pic ‘Rileys’

    Kristen Stewart in Welcome to the RileysFresh off their first Oscar win (Best Costume Design for “The Young Victoria”), fledgling distributor Apparition has picked up a well-regarded Sundance indie that could end up buttressing their 2010 awards campaign for Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life.”

    “Welcome to the Rileys,” a domestic drama starring James Gandolfini and Melissa Leo as bereaved parents and Kristen Stewart as the teenage prostitute who comes between them, marks the sophomore directorial outing for Jake Scott, son of Sir Ridley. (His sister Jordan, by the way, made a respectable debut last year with “Cracks.” Busy family.)

    Variety reports that Apparition and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group have finalized a seven-figure deal on the film, with a view to an autumn release.

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  • ‘Please Give’ trailer and poster

    This trailer for Nicole Holofcener’s latest breezy ensemble dramedy lets slip the film’s biggest laugh upfront, but it gives you a pretty good idea of what to expect. As I said in my Berlin review last month, the film is bright, slight and intelligently acted, but I must confess I haven’t given it a moment’s thought between then and now. It opens April 30.

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  • Everything old is new again

    I heard word last year that Larry Clark was remaking Neil Jordan’s “Mona Lisa,” but had no idea whether it was really going ahead or not. This promotional one-sheet design from All City Media, found on their spiffy new website, suggests that it might be. However the film turns out — if at all — the poster, at least, is eminently frameable.

    Mona Lisa

    Two more intriguing teases from All City (including one for my most anticipated film of 2011) after the cut.

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  • The weary kind

    Thanks to the concerned (or hopeful?) couple of readers who emailed to ask if I had “retired,” but I’m still around, and will chime in this weekend. After a season of nearly six months, you’ll have to forgive me for feeling a little like Faye Dunaway here, in my favorite Oscar-related photo of all time. Except I don’t have an award to show for it.

    Faye Dunaway, the morning after her Oscar win, 1977

  • FRIDAY FORECAST: Lean ‘Zone’

    Matt Damon in Green Zone*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass return to the screen this week with their third collaboration and first outside of the Jason Bourne series. That particular franchise has done wonders for the careers of both men, particularly Greengrass, who won an Oscar nomination for “United 93,” but didn’t exactly see the film break the bank. Damon too, was just recognized by the Academy but had one of his leanest box office years on record with the stuttering “The Informant!” and “Invictus.”

    So here they stand with “Green Zone,” a stylistic twin to their bread and butter series. Universal is doing everything they possibly can to pretend this is just another Bourne film and has absolutely nothing to do with Iraq. “The Bourne Supremacy” debuted with $64.4 million en route to a $216.0 million finish. “The Bourne Ultimatum” did even better with a $76.6 million start and $251.6 million total. Compare that to the $14.7 million of “The Hurt Locker.” The best the Iraq War has ever done at the box office is the $52.6 million of “The Kingdom.” The only thing more poisonous at the box office than Iraq is Eddie Murphy. Hey-Oh! I think we’re looking at a subdued $18 million debut here.

    “She’s Out of My League” takes the subtext of every Judd Apatow produced comedy and makes it the whole plot. Ugly funny dude lands a boring hot chick and hopefully we all get a couple chuckles out of it. This is obviously trying to be for Jay Baruchel what “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” was for Jason Segal but I’m afraid that film’s $18.8 million debut will be out its league. Double digits will be a good result at this point so I’m saying $10 million.
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  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1927 and 1928

    metropolisIs everybody over their post-mortem depression? Come to grips with your favorite movie winning or not winning? Boned up on your newest bits of Oscar trivia, such as “The Hurt Locker” and “Slumdog Millionaire” premiering a day apart at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival? I certainly hope so, because the world has continued to spin and “The Spy Next Door” has already kicked off the unofficial 2010 Oscar season.

    Before things completely return to revolving around the gold-plated bald guy, I’d like to welcome you to the newest weekly column on In Contention that aims to bridge the gap between increasingly long and grueling Oscar seasons with a look outside of the awards bubble. Here, I will be spotlighting one film per year that received no recognition from the Academy whatsoever but still deserves to be seen and discussed, because let’s face it, sometimes they get it very, very wrong.

    The format here will be two films per article, one from each year, in ascending order. Some of them will be stone cold classics that you simply must see and some will be personal favorites that strike a chord with no one but me. Hopefully all of them encourage you to think of cinema in the broader picture and instigates a desire to seek out titles beyond what one organization has deemed worthy of etching into history. So without further ado…

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  • OFF THE CARPET: Handicapping 2010 a year in advance

    Hilary Swank in Betty Anne WatersUncle.

    I told myself I wasn’t going to write this column this year, let alone make predictions, but some of you were just too cute in your emails and Twitter DMs asking for something akin to my annual year-in-advance take on the race, so I struck a balance: a column and contenders list, but no charts and no predictions.  Fair enough?

    The 2010 Oscar season looks, from afar, to be a muted affair.  Most of the films that look like competitors on paper have a distinctly “small” vibe.  Of course, no one knows when a film like “The Blind Side” will decide to come along and sweep the heartland and the Academy at large off its feet.  Maybe Tony Goldwyn’s “Betty Anne Waters” will play that role this year.  Maybe not.

    There are a considerable amount of actors and actresses with multiple performances on the way, more than usual, I’d say.  And most encouraging, the original screenplay field seems to be much more robust than the adaptations.

    Last year the big dogs looked to be “Amelia,” “Invictus” and “Nine,” and we all know how that turned out.  In fact, it happens with some frequency.  So why bother getting too deep into all of this now?  And to say nothing of the fact that, perhaps mercifully, nothing on the horizon appears to have that level of awards-baiting appeal.  No major filmmakers looking to cozy up to Oscar.  No big stars that seem overdue and are going for it with an obvious role.  None of that, really.

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