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  • Listen to Mary J. Blige’s ‘I Can See in Color’ from ‘Precious’

    Mary J. BligeLast month we broke the news that Mary J. Blige would be in the thick of this year’s Best Original Song mix with the track “I See in Color” from “Precious.” Mariah Carey’s “100%” was originally going to be featured in the film (and was, in early festival screenings), but when Blige saw the film, it hit her on such a personal level that she wanted to contribute in some way.

    You can imagine the diva dispute that erupted, but things have been settled on that front and Blige’s track, which is featured int he context of the film during a key scene, will be the film’s representation in the category (which could be eliminated entirely, given new voting rules).

    Today I’m happy to offer the song up for your listening pleasure.  It’s raw, certainly emotional and reflects just the kind of honesty contenders in this category tend to lack.  Hear for yourself:

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  • Ricky Gervais to host Golden Globe Awards

    Ricky GervaisOkay, this makes much better sense to me, and is a much better fit for Gervais, than the Oscar hosting gig so many fans covet for the comedian.  It was announced today that Ricky Gervais will host this year’s Golden Globe awards ceremony, the first time there has been an emcee for the show since 1995.

    I suppose this could be seen as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s way of competing with an Oscar telecast that is clearly trying to up the ante with fresh producers and a spin off of last year’s successful show.  Gervais gives the Globes a face and a marketing in that the show hasn’t really had before.

    But back to why I think this is a better fit than Oscar: TV.  Gervais is a television personality first and foremost, in my mind, despite cross-over attempts in the multiplex.  The Oscar host should really be a movie person, someone who can give off that Hollywood sheen.  I don’t think Gervais can do that, but he brings a lot to the table when it comes to the Globes, so I see this as a great get.

    The full press release after the jump.

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  • OFF THE CARPET: Looking at the supporting ladies

    Vera Farmiga in Up in the AirA few weeks ago in this space I took a dedicated look at the lead actress category.  With little in the way of actual development (this season is curiously divided on the timeline as we’ve got maybe another month before more major titles begin screening), I figured it would be a good idea to keep things going on that front and take a look at the supporting actress race.

    It’s a little difficult to ignore the fact that Mo’Nique stands way out ahead of the pack in this race for her work in “Precious.” Unless her reported behind-the-scenes drama-queen tactics somehow poison the cause, she should be holding a statue in four months’ time.  She is fierce and focused in a monstrous role and when viewers get over the initial “she had this in her?” shock, they’ll also see it for the expert piece of acting that it is.

    Mo’Nique is joined in her film, however, by what I’d call an awards-worthy turn from Mariah Carey.  The singer-turned-actress has been lurking in Mo’Nique’s shadow throughout the film’s publicity and festival tour this year, and she also lost something of a diva battle with Mary J. Blige to have a featured track in the film.  The poor girl can’t catch a break here, but I think she deserves a look from voters and, perhaps, even prognosticators.

    A few weeks ago I mentioned in an episode of Oscar Talk that “Up in the Air” star Vera Farmiga would be pushed as a lead actress.  Some things have changed.

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  • On the season’s emotional split

    PreciousEver since (and before) I mentioned in print that, for my money, “Precious” is the frotrunner of this year’s Oscar race, I’ve been trying to understand why.  After all, it’s hardly your typical ahead-of-the-pack favorite.

    Over at The Hollywood Reporter, Steven Zeitchik takes note of the emotional split that is slowly characterizing this year’s slate of Oscar contenders and, in the process, begins to offer some insight, I think, into this conundrum:

    With the widened field, there’s a wider split between the feel-good contenders and the downbeat ones, between movies that depict the world as it is and those that show the world as we wish it to be.

    Voters, for instance, will have to choose between the story of an inner-city girl whose stepfather has repeatedly raped her and an old man who takes a magical, life-affirming balloon ride. They’ll have to decide between a group of male bomb-defusers drawn to the nightmare of the battlefield and a group of male friends drawn hilariously to the escapism of Vegas.

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  • 10/26 Oscarweb Round-up

    Paul Schneider• Steve Pond chimes in on the rarity of tandem Oscarcast producing teams. [The Odds]

    • Peter Knegt reports from a women-in-film panel at London fest. [indieWIRE]

    • David Poland sits down with Paul Schneider to talk “Bright Star.” [Movie City News]

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  • Fixing the Oscarcast … get your ideas in early

    Meryl Streep at the 81st annual Academy AwardsWith the 2009 Oscar telecast a little over four months away, it may seem a tad premature for the annual round of “how-to-save-the-show” suggestions, but it’s really the best time — now that Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic have been handed the reins, they’ll be drawing up plans immediately.

    So the LA Times’s Mary McNamara has handily weighed in with her annual list of ideas and pointers for the show’s producers, ranging from the widely agreed-upon (drop the irrelevant musical numbers) to the slightly more idiosyncratic (“Do something with vampires,” she helpfully advises).

    Given that, like McNamara, I wasn’t as big a fan of the last Oscarcast as many were, it follows that I would agree with several of her ideas. I do think film clips have a necessary place in the acting presentations — as strange as it seems to those of us more familiar with the films on an annual basis, a brief, well-chosen clip from a lesser-known title can arouse interest from less informed viewers. (More so than a smarmy verbal tribute from, say, Adrien Brody.)

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  • LONDON: Exploding girls on trains

    Zoe Kazan in The Exploding GirlNot my most successful day at the London Film Festival today, as a communication error kept me out of the fest’s final “Samson and Delilah” screening — vexing partly because it leaves a significant gap in the collective review I had planned to do of multiple foreign Oscar contenders next week, but more simply because it was one of my most anticipated films of the festival. Can’t win ’em all, I suppose.

    Meanwhile, the Surprise Film screening, usually my favorite night of the festival, proved slightly anti-climactic for yours truly as the selection turned out to be Michael Moore’s “Capitalism: A Love Story” — a respectable enough choice on fest director Sandra Hebron’s part, but a film I’d already dug into at Venice. (Meanwhile, it marks the first time in four years that I hadn’t correctly anticipated the ‘surprise.’)

    In keeping with the theme of the day, then, I thought this as good a time as any to briefly round up five of the fest’s more disappointing efforts so far.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: Jigsaw scared off by ‘Paranormal Activity’

    Paranormal ActivityFour weeks after opening on 12 screens with only midnight shows, “Paranormal Activity” has topped the box office and made mincemeat out of the “Saw” series. Paramount’s no-budget thriller earned $22 million this weekend on 1,945 screens and saw its total stretch past $60 million.

    This type of ascent to the summit hasn’t been seen since “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” in 2002 and with at least one more lucrative weekend over Halloween, the film has surely etched its name in the record books as one of the most profitable of all time. Congratulations to everyone involved and thanks for making it look so easy, you jerks!

    Second place goes to “Saw VI,” which earned a rough $14.8 million. This is easily the lowest debut of the franchise and is less than half of what “Saw V” pulled in last year. The films are undoubtedly cheap to produce so it may not mean that “Saw VII” is off the table, but some significant changes will have to be made. And they will probably be made in 3D. Obviously, the innovation of “Paranormal Activity” just made a sixth helping of Jigsaw’s puzzle murders seem a little stupid.

    “Where the Wild Things Are” fell a troubling 56%, which wasn’t entirely unexpected after it was revealed that only 29% of the opening weekend audience was parents with children. This was more of a fanboy title and the mixed reception dictated the decline. But with $54 million already in the bank, execs at Warner Bros. can’t be too worried about it and perhaps this success means that a few puppeteers can get out of the unemployment line for a while in Hollywood.

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  • Apropos of nothing

    One of the triumphant moments of 21st century cinema:

  • Comment of the day

    Supporting actor is where old-men-who-are-gonna-die-soon go to win Oscars. Isn’t that universally known?

    –Glenn in our discussion following Helen Mirren’s Rome fest victory.

  • LONDON: Another prophet

    Tahar Rahim in A ProphetBack in early September, which feels longer ago than it probably should, regular commenter Chris offered the following (non-Oscar-related) prediction:

    You need to see “A Prophet”, I saw it two days ago, and it’s such an amazing film. I don’t know if this makes any sense, but I’m predicting it to be on Guy Lodge’s top 10 of the year, just so you know what kind of film it is.

    Either I am terribly predictable, or Chris is a very wise man — we’ll flatter us both and say the latter — but after staggering out of this morning’s London Film Festival press screening, I see no way this doesn’t come to pass.

    There will likely be plenty of opportunities to discuss this stunner in the months to come (Kris already offered a brief take from Telluride), but suffice to say that the great Jacques Audiard has exceeded his previous career high-water mark, “The Beat That My Heart Skipped,” with this expansive, brutal, darkly funny and richly compassionate character study.

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  • ‘Basterds’ gets dolled up for Oscar as Tarantino receives Santa Barbara’s Kirk Douglas Award

    (from left) Kirk Douglas and Quentin TarantinoThere was a moment last season where I gave up going against the grain on the notion that “The Dark Knight” would be nominated for Best Picture.  I was called a fool, I was told I wasn’t with the program, I was told certain milestones related to the film would not be overlooked, etc.  I just didn’t think it was going to happen.

    But I relented.  I used the healthy precursor trail the film blazed as reason enough to join the (perhaps fanboy-driven) chorus and say sure, the film will be nominated.  Why not?  Still didn’t feel right.  And we all know how that turned out.

    I’m getting a similar vibe from “Inglourious Basterds,” which is even being considered a sure-fire lock in some quarters.  An extra five nominees change the dynamic, of course, and most would argue that “The Dark Knight” would have made it in with 10 nominees.  But even with a wider target, I still don’t think Quentin Tarantino’s latest will make the cut.  And if I go down in flames sticking to that inclination, so be it.  But I don’t think I will.  Fool me once, as the saying goes.

    But all of this doesn’t mean there isn’t an old-school concentrated effort on the part of The Weinstein Company to appeal to the Academy membership, and things really kicked off in earnest on that front Thursday night in Montecito.

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  • ‘Precious,’ ‘Fish Tank,’ ‘Vincere’ win big in Chicago

    Michael Fassbender in Fish TankOn the same day that it played to a reportedly warm reception in London, “Precious” continued its impressive streak with the festival-going public by picking up the Audience Award at the Chicago International Film Festival. In case you hadn’t got the idea by now, people really, really like this movie.

    It was another grim study of African-American youth, however, that took the festival’s top juried prize, as Tina Mabry’s autobiographical debut “Mississippi Damned” won Best Film, in addition to Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress honors for Jossie Thacker.

    The film, about three children seeking an exit from a familial cycle of poverty and abuse, has received glowing notices across the board, inviting critical comparisons to both “Eve’s Bayou” and “Ballast.”

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Oscar prods, Gotham nods, ‘Amelia’ clods

    Richard Gere• The Academy finally named the producers for next year’s Oscar telecast, first-timers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic.

    • All of which added weight to the speculation that Hugh Jackman might return as host.

    • The Gotham Awards provided the season with its first set of nominees, though it inspired more talk for its omissions.

    • Chief among those omissions: “Precious,” prompting talk of a backlash, despite generous media exposure positioning it as the one to beat.

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  • Helen Mirren wins Best Actress at Rome fest

    Helen Mirren at the fourth annual Rome International Film FestivalEver since “The Last Station” entered the Oscar race with a Sony Classics acquisition, I’ve been saying Helen Mirren is a sure-fire contender for a lead actress nomination as the fiery Countess wife to Christopher Plummer’s Leo Tolstoy.  It looks like she’s made her first big step in that direction.

    Mirren took the Rome Film Festival’s award for Best Actress today, putting her right in the thick of a race that has seen Meryl Streep and Carey Mulligan ahead of the pack.  Mirren adds another veteran play for Mulligan’s newbie appeal to contend with, while fellow fresh face Gabourey Sidibe is looking better by the day.  (“Precious” also took the Chicago Film Festival’s audience award today).

    Looking to join the quartet will be Saoirse Ronan for Peter Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones” and Marion Cotillard in Rob Marshall’s “Nine,” but a number of indie performers could surprise, Abbie Cornish in “Bright Star” and Audrey Tautou in “Coco Before Chanel” looking like the strongest of those dark horses.  I wouldn’t say there is serious competition beyond that.

    The other winners of the festival (which is only four years old) include the Danish “Brotherhood” for Best Film, about a gay love affair between two members of a neo-Nazi group and Italy’s Sergio Castellitto for Best Actor in “Alza la Testa.” Streep, by the way, was right there in the mix, receiving career achievement honors from the fest.

  • LONDON: ‘Chloe,’ ‘Leaving’

    Julianne Moore in ChloeI realize I’ve dropped the ball somewhat with my festival updates — between the to-and-fro of festival business, other writing tasks and the occasional impulse to have a personal life, a backlog longer than I care to count has accumulated of films yet to be discussed. Expect that to be partially rectified over a quieter weekend … even if I resort to “100 words or less” games.

    However, once more a pair of films seen in relatively close succession demand to be reviewed together. Atom Egoyan’s “Chloe” and Catherine Corsini’s French-language “Leaving” overlap in a number of ways.

    Both are slickly accessible thrillers revolving around marital infidelity, both use that as cover for a less mainstream investigation of middle-aged female sexuality, and both are anchored by formidable actresses — Julianne Moore and Kristin Scott Thomas, respectively — in full possession of their powers.

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  • Tell us what you thought of ‘Amelia’

    Hilary Swank in Amelia

    I’ve already added my thoughts on today’s big release, both off the cuff and then in detail in this morning’s installment of Oscar Talk. Enough about me, what about you? If you happen to see the film over the weekend (though a rough critical assessment might have driven those numbers down), come on back here and tell us your thoughts.

  • OSCAR TALK: Ep. 7 — ‘Amelia,’ Hollywood film fest, Gothams, supposed ‘Precious’ backlash and more

    Oscar TalkWelcome to the seventh installment of Oscar Talk, a weekly kudocast between yours truly and Anne Thompson of indieWIRE’s Thompson on Hollywood.  Anne is calling from London today, where she’s gearing up for a weekend of London film fest screenings and events.

    Topics on today’s agenda:

    • Today’s big release, “Amelia,” finally crossed the bow of most critics this week and, with it quickly becoming obvious WHY it only crossed their bows this week, Anne and I discuss what went wrong with the movie.

    • In the wake of Anne’s recent hit piece on the Hollywood Film Festival and its leadership, we talk about the fluff of this event amid the award season chatter.

    • Speaking of awards, we get into the Gotham Award nominations, which caused a stir in some quarters due to the absence of “Precious.” Neither Anne nor I think there’s a backlash afoot.

    • Last week we talked about screeners that quickly end up at the bottom of voters’ piles this time of year.  We discuss a few titles that could unfortunately hit that low rung of priority, “That Evening Sun,” “The Messenger,” “Trucker,” etc.  Sony Pictures Classics seems to have a number of these titles.

    • Anne briefly previews some titles she hopes to catch at the London fest.

    We went a little long today, roughly 30 minutes.  Have a listen below, subscribe to Oscar Talk at iTunes here, and we’ll see you next week.

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