• With his directorial debut “The Merry Gentleman” on the way, Michael Keaton gets a profile across the pond. [The Guardian]
• Laura Almo sits down with “Up in the Air” editor Dana Glauberman. [Editors Guild Magazine]
• “Avatar”‘s Sigourney Weaver remembers the days when James Cameron’s crews didn’t live in fear. [Vulture]
Some categories haven’t had that much renewal since I last reviewed them. Best Original Score is an exception. Principally, this is because the category is very difficult to judge before hearing the scores, not to mention last minute personnel changes (as composers always seem to be the most disposable members of film crews).
As I said last time, the music branch, though it has opened up to newbies slightly in recent years, is notoriously one of AMPAS’s most insular branches. Best Picture nominees tend to do reasonably well, but the category also tends to award “loud” music, and as of late, world music has been a favorite.
One thing that has not changed, in my opinion, is that Michael Giacchino continues to lead this category for his score for Pixar’s “Up.” Giacchino was nominated two years ago for “Ratatouille” and again composed a soundtrack which was sad, joyous and suspenseful. The film is likely headed towards a Best Picture nomination and I expect Giacchino to show up as well.
At the same time, I also can’t help but wonder if Giacchino maybe, just maybe, could pull off a double nomination this year for his compositions on J. J. Abrams’s “Star Trek.” The music was quite original and bombastic. And, of course, the film a huge hit. I don’t see a lot of surefire nominees in this category, so this could be a place where it finds a home.
There seems to be a bit of uncertainty among several bloggers and commenters about the Golden Globe category placement of a number of titles. What it highlights, rather interestingly, is just how many heavyweight contenders straddle the line between comedy and drama this year.
For the record, then, the following films are all aiming to compete in the Drama races at the Globes: “Up in the Air,” “An Education,” “Inglourious Basterds” and “Crazy Heart.”
“A Serious Man,” however, is on the Comedy/Musical side of things. (Thanks to Tom O’Neil for confirming this.)
I’d say I agree with all these classifications except for that of “Basterds.” Anyway. As you were.
Perhaps inevitably, the bulk of online chatter about the Best Documentary Feature shortlist unveiled yesterday focused less on the films that made it, and more on those that didn’t.
It’s par for the course for the Academy’s documentary branch to ignore a major title or two, but even by their severe standards, the list of high-profile snubs was a long one: “Capitalism: A Love Story,” “Anvil! The Story of Anvil,” “Tyson,” “The September Issue,” “We Live in Public,” “It Might Get Loud,” “Rough Aunties” and so on.
But for every blogger or commenter complaining about the dubiousness of the list, I can’t fight the urge to ask whether or not they’ve seen all 15 titles that have been included. In these cases, it’s always easier to say what should have got in than what should have been left out.
After “Amelia” took in just £49,000 (just over $82,000) in 133 theatres — less than “The White Ribbon” managed on 18 screens — last weekend, the film’s UK distributors are trying a new strategy:
Oh dear.
Thanks to Sasha Stone at Awards Daily for a pretty sweet find this Oscar season.
We are, of course, very proud of our dedication to the crafts categories via Gerard’s Tech Support columns here at In Contention. It’s been a concentrated effort on our part to help carry the flag for folks who deserve as much credit this time of year as the major stars, yet don’t receive it.
Fortunately, over the last two years or so, I’ve noticed a number of major outlets pumping up their crafts coverage. It’s nice to see the notion taking.
Anyway, over at SoundWorks Collection, a site “dedicated to profiling the greatest and upcoming sound minds from around the world and highlight their contributions,” according to their literature, there is a great new weekly feature spotlighting the sound of various contenders throughout the season.
Paul McCartney was in the thick of the Best Original Song race back in 2001 for his title track from Cameron Crowe’s “Vanilla Sky.” Unfortunately, the film was a pale reflection of Alejandro Amenabar’s “Abre Los Ojos” and didn’t register with voters enough to push that truly great song far enough. Not that I’m arguing with Randy Newman finally winning his Oscar that year, mind you.
Well this year, McCartney is back in the race with “(I Want to) Come Home,” yet another breezy nostalgic ditty that, once again, was written for a film that doesn’t really work: Kirk Jones’s “Everybody’s Fine.” But it’s a great song. And I don’t think it’s a stretch to say it sounds like some undiscovered Beatles B-side, a warm and catchy tune that plays over the film’s closing credits (visually accompanied by the photos Robert De Niro’s widower character snaps on his journey around the country reconnecting with his children).
One would think Paul McCartney’s presence in a race like this would be a no-brainer, but then again, Bruce Springsteen proved that logic wrong last year. Have a listen to the track below and tell us what you think.
[display_podcast]
Woody hustled off to CBS to film this appearance on The Late Late Show right after I spoke with him Tuesday. So it’s surreal, from my point of view, to see him wearing the same stuff he was when we spoke. Anyway, just one of those things. Wonderful interview, a Teddy bear, great heart, and, it goes without saying, a hell of an actor. I really hope his brilliant work in “The Messenger” gets a fair shake this season.
• Michael Cieply writes up “Crazy Heart” from the angle that Paramount has “embarrassed” itself for passing on the film once upon a time, but apparently that early cut was “unwatchable,” so, you know, cut some slack. [New York Times]
• Clint Eastwood — set to grace one of five GQ covers next month — says the country is in a morbid mood. [CNN]
• The Gurus o’ Gold weigh in on the directors and animated features. [Movie City News]
Produced by and featuring Beck. Video directed by Keith Schofield. Reason #528 why I love Charlotte Gainsbourg. (Thanks to The Auteurs for the heads-up.)
Meanwhile, Gainsbourg claims that she brought emotional baggage from the “Antichrist” shoot to the recording of her third album “IRM.” Should be an interesting listen.
After premiering two films at September’s Venice fest, perhaps the most surprising thing about Werner Herzog heading the jury at February’s Berlin Film Festival is that he won’t be inflicting another film upon the competition.
I kid, I kid. Herzog, the first German jury president since Roland Emmerich in 2005, is inarguably deserving of the position, and should bring a welcome streak of eccentricity to the jury’s deliberations. The press release declares him “one of the most significant personalities of New German Cinema,” which is risking understatement.
Interestingly, the 67 year-old auteur has only twice competed at the Berlinale himself, with his 1968 debut “Signs of Life” (for which he won a special award) and 1979’s “Nosferatu.”
Okay, this story has been doing the round for a day or so, but I only got to it now. Let me say upfront that if you haven’t read Alice Sebold’s “The Lovely Bones,” and wish to remain innocent of any major plot developments in Peter Jackson’s upcoming film, stop reading now.
I mean it.
MAJOR SPOILER ALERT.
Still with me? Good. Those familiar with the novel will know that it ends with the heroine’s rapist-murderer (to be played in the film by Stanley Tucci) falling to his death into a ravine, after being freakishly hit on the head by a falling icicle.
I always thought it a rather crass, unintentionally amusing resolution, but was at least grateful that Sebold refrained from something more lurid.
You can check out the full press release here. The list of 15 competing titles as follows:
• “The Beaches of Agnes,” Agnès Varda, director (Cine-Tamaris)
• “Burma VJ,” Anders Østergaard, director (Magic Hour Films)
• “The Cove,” Louie Psihoyos, director (Oceanic Preservation Society)
• “Every Little Step,” James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo, directors (Endgame Entertainment)
• “Facing Ali,” Pete McCormack, director (Network Films Inc.)
• “Food, Inc.,” Robert Kenner, director (Robert Kenner Films)
• “Garbage Dreams,” Mai Iskander, director (Iskander Films, Inc.)
• “Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders,” Mark N. Hopkins, director (Red Floor Pictures LLC)
• “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers,” Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith, directors (Kovno Communications)
• “Mugabe and the White African,” Andrew Thompson and Lucy Bailey, directors (Arturi Films Limited)
• “Sergio,” Greg Barker, director (Passion Pictures and Silverbridge Productions)
• “Soundtrack for a Revolution,” Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman, directors (Freedom Song Productions)
• “Under Our Skin,” Andy Abrahams Wilson, director (Open Eye Pictures)
• “Valentino The Last Emperor,” Matt Tyrnauer, director (Acolyte Films)
• “Which Way Home,” Rebecca Cammisa, director (Mr. Mudd)
When I heard that accomplished, slightly quirky and very British events director Hamish Hamilton had been tapped to direct next March’s Academy Awards ceremony, my first thought was that first-time producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic had made yet another spot-on decision.
Apparently, however, not everyone in Hollywood agrees.
Hamilton, who will also mastermind February’s Super Bowl half-time extravaganza, is an experienced and imaginative concert man, having directed slick shows and specials for the likes of U2, Christina Aguilera, Jay-Z and Neil Diamond.
More relevant to the Oscars however, he’s had immense success helming various editions of the MTV Video Music Awards and some particularly enjoyable Brit Award (the British Grammy) ceremonies.
There’s nothing like an Oscar season to prove what a small number five (or even ten) is.
We may only be in November, but already, months of conversation, covering a broad canvas of Oscar sure-shots and long-shots alike, have devolved into a ruthless mathematical elimination process, as previously five-wide categories fill up with safe bets. Before you know it, scores of previously fancied contenders are jostling for a mere one or two supposedly “free” slots on the ballot, and with each week that passes, the pool of possibles is culled further.
This is, of course, hardest on independent or leftfield contenders. Having fought mightily even to enter the discussion in the first place, they must then rely on a flaky combination of precursors, DVD screeners and prayer to stay afloat.
Miracles do happen, of course, thanks largely to the Academy’s weighted ballot system, where a number-one vote is all. (Nobody was talking about Tommy Lee Jones to take the last Best Actor slot in 2007, but there he was nonetheless. Ditto the recent likes of Michael Shannon, Samantha Morton and “City of God.”)
With that in mind, I’d like to spotlight one contender in each major category that deserves a similarly happy outcome. Many of them are names I’ve championed before. Most of them are sitting on the furthest reaches of the sidelines. All of them deserve better.
The press release, in part:
The Producers Guild of America (PGA), a national non-profit trade group committed to protecting the rights and credits of producers in film, television and new media, announced today that PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL ‘PUSH’ BY SAPPHIRE will be honored with the 2010 Stanley Kramer Award. The film’s producers will be honored with the award at the 21st Annual PGA Awards ceremony on Sunday, January 24, 2010 at the Hollywood Palladium.
The Stanley Kramer Award was established in 2002 to honor a motion picture, television program, studio, network, producer, executive or other individual entity whose work illuminates provocative social issues in an accessible and elevating fashion. Kramer, considered within the film industry to have served as “Hollywood’s Conscience” during his career as film director and producer, created some of the most respected and successful works in the annals of American motion pictures. He was the master behind such classics as “The Caine Mutiny,” “High Noon,” “The Defiant Ones,” and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” Previous recipients of the Kramer award include “Milk,” “The Great Debaters,” “An Inconvenient Truth,” “Good Night, and Good Luck,” “Hotel Rwanda,” “Innocent Voices,” “In America,” “Antwone Fisher” and “I Am Sam.”
Thanks to Bryan for sending it in:
Check out Penelope Cruz’s appearance on Letterman after the jump. And FYI, the entire cast will be on Oprah today.
