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  • Waltz, Frechette tapped by Hollywood fest, plus world awards

    Christoph WaltzThe list of Hollywood Film Festival award winners is winding down.  Today’s announcement brings the Hollywood Supporting Actor prize for Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds,” making this officially the widest possible net festival brass could have cast.  But Waltz will be going into the season with two wins under his belt already, here and in Cannes, so it’s safe to say we have a frontrunner in the supporting actor category (until Stanley Tucci comes along in a few months, that is).

    Meanwhile, Father Rick Frechette will receive the festival’s Hollywood Humanitarium Award.  From the press release:

    Father Rick Frechette is currently the Director of Medical Services of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos International and a priest who has devoted his life to the medical needs of children in the Caribbean and around the world. He is NPH’s Regional Director of the Caribbean, the Haiti home’s National Director and a member of the NPH International Health Services Team, which oversees the medical needs of the children in nine countries.

    To make a difference, Frechette went to medical school to learn how to minister to the children’s physical needs, which resulted in his medical degree in 1998 from the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine and his becoming a general practitioner licensed in New York and Florida. “The poor people have scant access to medical care. Even if they are lucky enough to get evaluated at a clinic, both scarcity of medicines and their relatively high prices prevent their getting treatment. Our own working conditions, especially in the poorest areas of Port-au-Prince, are tragic and are deplorable. We have little water, no electricity, few medicines and supplies,” says the doctor-priest.

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  • Spike Jonze’s ‘We Were Once a Fairytale’ with Kanye West

    Rodrigo Perez at The Playlist, amid reporting concerning a delayed release, notes the short film “We Were Once a Fairytale” from director Spike Jonze “attempts to lampoon Kanye West’s arrogance by evincing more self-conceit and self-deprecation with a bizarre, hallucinatory ending that features a small demon-like furry rodent and a form of seppuku.”  This is actually the first I’ve heard about it and, with “Where the Wild Things Are” moving into theaters over the weekend, it’s probably worth passing along.

    Here’s part one.  Part two after the jump:

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  • 10/19 Oscarweb Round-up

    (from left) Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson in The Messenger• Perpetuating the false myth that this is a weak year for leading ladies.  Not everything should be viewed through the prism of Oscar… [Awards Campaign]

    • Following up on our Oscar Talk discussion, Anne Thompson considers the awards prospects of Oren Moverman’s “The Messenger.” [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • Amidst his fully-in-the-tank review of “Where the Wild Things Are,” David Poland calls for Oscar to take note of James Gandolfini’s vocal performance. [The Hot Blog]

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  • LONDON: ‘In the Air’ tonight

    George Clooney in Up in the AirTo use the umpteenth bad aviation metaphor in connection with the film, “Up in the Air” landed in London this evening with a gala festival screening — though this time it came unaccompanied by George Clooney, who had skipped off to the Rome fest after doing double-duty at the LFF earlier this week with “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “The Men Who Stare at Goats.”

    (Given that “Up in the Air” is plainly his prime 2009 work, I’d have shuffled things around to ensure he could make it, but never mind.)

    Given the raft of glowing notices from Telluride and Toronto — not least Kris’s own elated take — my expectations for Jason Reitman’s third film couldn’t have been any higher as I settled into the press screening this morning. And as the lights came up 100 minutes later, they’d been satisfyingly met in one sense — and left frustratingly dangling in another.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: ‘Wild Things,’ you make everything…groovy

    Where the Wild Things AreWell, it was maybe the most anticipated PG-rated film amongst the young adult set since “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace” and “Where the Wild Things Are” landed with a bang this weekend. The Spike Jonze adaptation grossed $32.5 million to top the box office and justify all the bickering and problems during production between director and studio.

    Warner Bros. is having quite a year with unique directors tackling projects and possibly turning in a different movie than the studio was expecting (“Observe and Report” and “The Informant!” also come to mind), but it’s hard to imagine the film doing this well without a name like Jonze behind it. Kids made up only half of the audience and the broad appeal amongst all age groups should help with staying power over the next few weeks, even though reaction seems to be slightly mixed to positive.

    “Law Abiding Citizen” took the runner-up spot in a bit of a surprise. The action/thriller grossed a strong $21.3 million, which would have been enough to top the chart on this same weekend last year. That’s a new high mark for Overture Films and another feather in Gerard Butler’s 2009 cap after “The Ugly Truth.” He may not be headed to an Oscar anytime soon but he has to be commended for turning the freak box office performance of “300” into bona fide movie stardom.

    “Paranormal Activity” continues to gross paranormal numbers with another $20.2 million this weekend from 760 theaters. It’s not quite at the pace that “The Blair Witch Project” was at when it expanded but with a 2,000+ theater roll-out planned for next weekend and Halloween fast approaching, this no budget exercise should be knocking on the door of $100 million when all is said and done. Flabbergasting.

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  • LONDON: ‘Father of My Children,’ ‘Bellamy’

    Gerard Depardieu in BellamyIt’s been a busy weekend at the festival, but aside from “Up in the Air” — which I finally encountered this morning and will offers some thoughts on in due course — it’s also been a rather low-key one. Several films I had seen in pre-screenings made their London debut; I’ll round them up with some brief capsule reviews later.

    The best film of the weekend would have been Jessica Hausner’s critical darling “Lourdes,” if I hadn’t already seen it in Venice. Happily, a pair of different French-language titles made for a most enjoyable Saturday, even if I can only make significant claims for one of them.

    Viewed in succession, Mia Hansen-Løve’s “Father of My Children” and Claude Chabrol’s “Bellamy” made for a fascinating transition between two guards of French cinema: the former, low in star wattage, is the sophomore effort of 28 year-old director, while the latter marks the first collaboration between two industry titans, 79 year-old Chabrol and 60 year-old Gérard Depardieu. One, I think, has the potential to be a major arthouse hit — it might not be the one you think.

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  • Hugh Jackman, Oscar host: take two?

    Hugh JackmanUPDATE: Anne Thompson has now posted this story (which she’s been working on a while) in full with — imagine that — sourced information.

    EARLIER: Over at Deadline Hollywood Daily, Nikki Finke conveys what we all know: that AMPAS brass would love a do-over of last year’s Oscarcast and have already approached Bill Condon and Laurence Mark about directing and producing the show once again.  The new news, however, is that, in the wake of the duo’s “thanks but no thanks” (busy, busy), the Academy is going to approach Hugh Jackman to host the show once again.

    This is, as Anne pointed out in last week’s edition of Oscar Talk (wherein we also discussed ideas for hosts and producers), putting the cart before the horse as no producer has been nailed down yet.  Finke floats the idea of Joe Roth again (a confidante of newly tapped Academy president Tom Sherak, also mentioned by Anne last week).  But she also reports murmurs that Hawk Koch and Joel Silver separately offered to produce the show.

    It’s all rumor-mill stuff right now, and Finke says that Jackman’s handlers will suggest he decline the offer if it is extended, so there’s no way of knowing what’s true and what’s not at this point.  But it’s getting to be crunch time.  Let’s get on with it…

  • Patterson Hood’s ‘Depression Era’ from ‘That Evening Sun’

    Patterson HoodI just finished Scott Teems’s “That Evening Sun,” which, much like Tom Ford’s “A Single Man,” is an impressive feature debut that nevertheless has some developmental issues that prevent a powerful narrative of catharsis from being as affecting as it could have been.

    There is, however, a fantastic original song in the film from Patterson Hood of the Georgia-based band Drive-By Truckers called “Depression Era” that bears consideration because, at least in my view, it might be the best original song I’ve heard in a film this year.  The only problem, of course, is that the tune plays over the final credits of the film, which all but guarantees that it won’t cut it for the music branch (which has increasingly show a preference for songs used within the context of a film in recent years).

    Of course, the film is quite small and will probably end up at the bottom of that screener stack Anne and I were discussing yesterday, but, alas, I feel compelled to mention it.

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  • LONDON: ‘Dogtooth,’ ‘Kinatay,’ ‘Burrowing’

    DogtoothOnce more, Friday’s major festival screenings covered ground I’d already trod in Venice — the day’s glossiest gala slot was reserved for “The Road” (which you know did little for me), with a less prominent early evening slot for Tom Ford’s “A Single Man” (which did rather more).

    Given the current buzz levels for each film, they perhaps should have swapped places, but festival programmers can be forgiven for not knowing that in advance.

    In fact, it was a crammed day for anyone hoping to catch up on the hot Venice titles, including “Life During Wartime,” “The Double Hour” and “White Material,” still my film of 2009 so far. (Friend and critic Tim Robey shares my enthusiasm for the film, claiming the LFF will have a hard time topping it. Truth.)

    Hard as it was to resist giving “Material” another whirl, I took advantage of my head-start to catch a stark Swedish mood piece and two provocative Cannes winners that had been intriguing me since May, and not only because of Old Man Ebert’s proclamation that Brillante Mendoza’s “Kinatay” was the worst film ever screened on the Croisette. See if I agree after the cut.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Foxes, festivals and foreign contenders

    Fantastic Mr. Fox• The 53rd annual London Film Festival kicked off with Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox” — we reviewed it here.

    • Speaking of festivals, the AFI Fest unveiled its own complete lineup, with “Fox” and “A Single Man” as its bookends.

    • This week’s edition of The Long Shot considered the extensive possibilities for black, gay and female filmmakers in this year’s awards race.

    • With actors like Meryl Streep and Christopher Plummer straddling lead and supporting territory this year, we addressed the awards category shuffling that may lie ahead.

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  • Royal premiere for ‘Lovely Bones’

    Mark Wahlberg in The Lovely BonesSorry for getting to this news a day late, but you may have heard by now that “The Lovely Bones” has been selected as this year’s Royal Film Performance, an annual British charity event that entails a world premiere in London in late November, with the Royal Family in attendance. Peter Jackson states in the press release:

    I am honoured that The Lovely Bones has been selected to be this year’s Royal Gala film, in support of the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund. This film has been an extraordinary journey, for myself as a filmmaker and for all of those who worked on it. On behalf of everyone involved, we are thrilled that Their Royal Highnesses and the CTBF audience will be amongst the first people in the world to see it.

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  • Tell us what you thought of ‘Where the Wild Things Are’

    Max Records in Where the Wild Things Are

    It’s been a little while since we put it out to the readership for thoughts on a film.  Sorry for that.  I’m already kinda, sorta on the record as regards Spike Jonze’s “Where the Wild Things Are,” but this being one of the year’s most anticipated films from movie fans, I’d love to hear your thoughts.  So come on back here and sound off once you get a look this weekend.

  • OSCAR TALK: Ep. 6 — Foreign, animated, ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox,’ Plummer and more

    Oscar TalkWelcome to the sixth installment of Oscar Talk, a weekly awards-centric kudocast featuring yours truly and Anne Thompson of indieWIRE’s Thompson on Hollywood.

    As we move further into the season, there is finally substantial grist for the mill.  Here’s what we’re discussing today:

    • With 65 countries locked in for consideration in this year’s Best Foreign Language Film category, Anne and I offer up rough expectations for the eventual nominees and spotlight a handful of pics we hope to catch very soon.

    • As the animated feature film category seems ebb and flow with contenders the last few weeks, we talk about how the category might shake down and discuss Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” playing the London Film Festival and set for an AFI Fest bow next month.

    • “Where the Wild Things Are” opens today, so Anne and I (of like minds on the film) offer our thoughts.

    • Making good on last week’s tease, we discuss Oren Moverman’s “The Messenger,” starring Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson and Samantha Morton.

    • And finally, we get into a late-comer to this year’s Oscar landscape, Christopher Plummer, suddenly looking at a campaign in the supporting actor category for “The Last Station” and the lead actor category for “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” plus a debate on his classification in the former.

    We ran a little long today (and got into some fights along the way), but have a listen to this week’s podcast below.  And, as always, you can subscribe to Oscar Talk via iTunes here.

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    Subscribe to Oscar Talk

  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Costume Design — Volume II

    Diane Kruger in Inglourious BasterdsSince I last analyzed the costume design category in July, a number of the contenders are still waiting to be seen, though several have opened and we’ve seen glimpses from others. While the number of movers and shakers hasn’t been enormous, there has still been enough movement – and more insight gained – to warrant another look.

    One thing I do not think has changed since the summer is the category’s most likely nominee.  While I’m doubtful that she will win, I’m quite confident that Janet Patterson will earn her third nomination for Jane Campion’s “Bright Star.” While the film did not catch fire to quite the extent I was expecting, I’m nevertheless confident the threads will remain in this branch’s mind until the end of the year.

    In July, I was torn about whether Colleen Atwood could emerge as a double nominee this year. But “Public Enemies,” despite featuring fine period work, seems to have become a distant memory. Even so, I’d be very surprised if she failed to get nominated for Rob Marshall’s “Nine.”

    The great Sandy Powell, on the other hand, has had her three potential nominees reduced to one. With “The Tempest” and “Shutter Island” moved to 2010, it’s only “The Young Victoria” that is keeping her in the race. Powell is a giant in the field. But is the film at all memorable?

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  • The Great Performances: 1996

    Robert Carlyle in Trainspotting1996 was an odd year, a year when the independent cinema dominated the weak product emerging out of Hollywood. I am going to confess right off the top of this article (as I have numerous times before) that I was not a fan of “The English Patient,” which for me remains one of the most vastly over-appreciated films ever made.  I couldn’t stand Kristin Scott Thomas’s work, though I did enjoy the Dafoe/Binoche storyline.

    So with that out of the way, and firmly in mind, let’s go…

    The Best Actress race was clouded with the notion that Madonna was hell-bent on being nominated for her performance in “Evita,” which finally made it to the screen after years of starts and stops. Her performance split critics, but for me lacked the depth and edge that it was given on stage by Patti Lupone, and that Meryl Streep or Michelle Pfeiffer would have given the role. Her performance proved that Madonna should stop acting as she has little or no acting talent, and should stop making movies and trying to conquer Hollywood as she did the music industry.

    Honestly, the performance rarely rises above a really good community theater performance. Mercifully she was not nominated, but she did win the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical over the eventual Oscar winner, Frances McDormand in “Fargo.” The nominees for Best Actress included, McDormand, Kristin Scott-Thomas for the aforementionend “The English Patient,” Diane Keaton for “Marvin’s Room,” Brenda Blythyn in “Secrets and Lies,” and best of all, perhaps, Emily Watson in “Breaking the Waves.”

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  • 10/16 Oscarweb Round-up

    Carey Mullian in An Education• Nathaniel Rogers weighs in on Christopher Plummer’s upcoming whirlwind campaigns. [The Film Experience]

    • John Hiscock sits down with 2009’s “it” girl, Carey Mulligan. [Daily Telegraph]

    • Enter a contest to design the actual one-sheet for Lars Von Trier’s “Antichrist.” [CHUD]

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  • LONDON: ‘Enter the Void,’ ‘Wolfy’

    Paz de la Huerta in Enter the VoidAs if sympathetic to the fact that I’d have a pounding hangover from Wednesday’s swish opening party in Chelsea, festival organizers were kind enough to schedule a film I’d already seen, “The Men Who Stare at Goats,” for the next morning, affording me a much-needed lie-in.

    Still, George Clooney’s second go-round on the LFF red carpet in as many days was the day’s major event. I already weighed in on the film at Venice, though from conversations I’ve had with others, I’m not finding many supporters for my view that the film is big, silly fun.

    Anyway, missing this stop on the Clooney-London express afforded me the chance to catch up with two artier prospects that had been high on my festival priority list, one big (Gaspar Noé’s latest Cannes-endorsed provocation “Enter the Void”) and one small (Russian playwright Vassily Sigarev’s filmmaking debut “Wolfy”). Guess which one was the keeper.

    “Enter the Void” (**)

    Back in 2002, more column inches were spent on two isolated scenes — an agonizing rape sequence and that fire-extinguisher bludgeoning — than the whole of Gaspar Noé’s “Irréversible,” but amid the shrill cries of the moral police, the film arguably received insufficient credit for its thoughtfulness (and structural verve) in probing and evaluating the way we respond to onscreen violence. An astonishing technical feat by any measure, it was that rare film that revealed something of the viewer to himself, albeit in an unpleasant fashion.

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  • THE LONG SHOT: Minority report

    PreciousWhen the Academy Awards roll around in March, it will have been precisely two decades since the unlikely figure of Kim Basinger blasted Academy voters’ conservatism on air at the 1989 ceremony, with specific regard to their sidelining of “Do the Right Thing,” Spike Lee’s groundbreaking study of urban interracial tension.

    “We’ve got five great films here, and they’re great for one reason – they tell the truth,” the star opined before presenting a clip from one of that year’s Best Picture nominees. “But there is one film missing from this list that deserves to be on it because, ironically, it might tell the biggest truth of all.”

    As if in response, later that evening, the Academy handed their top prize to “Driving Miss Daisy,” as quiet and uncontroversial a portrait of the American racial divide as you could ask for. Let it never be said that the Oscars have no sense of irony.

    20 years on, much has changed. (Basinger has become an Oscar-winning actress, for starters. No one saw that coming.) More to the point, the amount of black Oscar winners in acting categories has trebled. And just two years after Basinger’s outburst, the Academy named 23 year-old John Singleton their first black Best Director nominee.

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