In Contention

Blog

  • Gothams tap Bigelow, Portman, Tucci, Bevan/Fellner for career tributes

    Kathryn BigelowThe Independent Film Project has announced this year’s Career Tribute recipients for the 19th annual Gotham Independent Film Awards.

    The feted will be: Kathryn Bigelow, whose film “The Hurt Locker” is on a steady awards season course; Natalie Portman, who is said to give a pretty solid performance in Jim Sheridan’s upcoming “Brothers”; and Stanley Tucci, who is already a delight opposite Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia” and could be an awards contender at season’s end for his performance in Peter Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones.”

    Working Title Films executives Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner are also set to be honored — WELL-deserved.

    Michelle Byrd, executive director of IFP, is quoted in the press release.  On Bigelow:

    Kathryn Bigelow’s unparalleled ability to portray thrilling action and stomach churning suspense have been a mainstay of her work as a director…What sets her apart, however, is her ability to bring those talents to bear on films of any budget while also presenting characters with emotional gravity.

    (more…)

  • Newmarket nabs ‘Creation’ for December release

    (from left) Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany in CreationThe press release, in part:

    Newmarket Films announced today that it has acquired U.S. rights to director Jon Amiel’s CREATION, a film which focuses on Charles Darwin and his family as he struggles to finish his legendary book “On The Origin of Species,” which went on to become the foundation for evolutionary biology. The screenplay was written by John Collee, based on the biography “Annie’s Box” which was penned by Darwin ‘s great-great grandson Randal Keynes using personal letters and diaries of the Darwin family. The film was produced by Jeremy Thomas at Recorded Picture Company (The Last Emperor, Sexy Beast), with BBC Films and Ocean Pictures.

    CREATION stars real-life couple Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World) and Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly (Requiem for a Dream, A Beautiful Mind) as Darwin and wife. Newmarket ’s Chris Ball and Robert Fyvolent negotiated the deal for Newmarket , and HanWay Films CEO Tim Haslam negotiated on behalf of the producer. Newmarket plans to release the film in December.

    Meh…

  • Foreign film news and notes — 40 films so far

    Anne Dorval in I Killed my MotherANOTHER UPDATE: Thanks to emails for keeping me on track here, but there are some titles I failed to mention.  The number is up to 40 now.

    EARLIER: Anne Thompson is reporting that Denmark has submitted “Terribly Happy.”  And Nat has Mexico’s entry as “Backyard.”  Make it 31 films.

    STILL EARLIER: Guy is so much better at keeping track of this stuff than I am. But some things of note recently:

    Serbia has switched it’s entrant from “Here and There” to “Sveti Georgije ubiva azdahu” (“St. George Shoots the Dragon”).

    “Ded na Si Lolo” will represent the Philippines and Canada has selected “I Killed My Mother.”

    indieWIRE is keeping a nice list of films going, but generally speaking, no one does this category better than Nat Rogers at The Film Experience.

    One newsy-ish item: There is talk of “London River” potentially being the Algerian entry. More than 50% of the film is in French, so it’s possible (and would make a handsome nominee, in my opinion).

    Full list of submitted titles after the jump.

    (more…)

  • TECH SUPPORT: Calm before the storm

    Richard Gere in AmeliaWith Venice and Toronto behind us, the time has come to re-evaluate where the race stands in the crafts categories.

    Over the past two months at In Contention, we have tried to take a glance at where the potential nominees stood from a distance. Best Original Song was delayed, though Kris has, might I add, been doing a very good job at accumulating a list of potential candidates.

    Now, while many titles still need to be unveiled, the big festivals have had their say. Alas, the two films which probably emerged from Toronto in the best position – “Up in the Air” and “Precious” – hardly seem to be the sort of films which will be racking up tech nominations (though the latter is a sure-fire film editing contender).

    More interestingly, a question arises: Will Tom Ford’s “A Single Man” will be able to bring its Venice success to the USA in the crafts categories? It not only sports Ford’s artistic vision but also the “Mad Men” team behind its production design.

    “Bright Star” has landed, likely to still make a splash in the crafts categories, but I’m still not sure if it will be the overall player many were hoping for. This could reduce the scope of its potential here.

    (more…)

  • Gordon Gekko 2009

    Michael Douglas on the set of Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps

    (Courtesy: Daily Mail)

  • ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ set to open AFI

    Fantastic Mr. FoxAFI Fest kicks off on October 30 and runs for about a week.  Generally it’s catch-up time for me as a number of the festival circuit flicks make it a requisite Fall stop, but the opening and closing Galas tend to be first-looks for the most part.

    Last year “The Soloist” ultimately bowed out of the closing night slot when the film’s release date was suddenly shifted into 2009.  Scott Rudin and company came to the festival’s aid with a digitally projected, slightly unfinished “Doubt,” which was ultimately a bigger get than the previously scheduled film.

    This year it looks like Rudin is back in the AFI mix with Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” which has been chosen as the opening night Gala.  I’ll be covering AFI Fest next month, but Guy will likely have an initial take on the film from the London fest a week or so prior.

  • 9/24 Oscarweb Round-up

    Colin Firth• Adam Dawtrey on the rebirth of Colin Firth. [The Guardian]

    • In honor of “A Serious Man,” Nathan Englander picks the top five Jewish films from the 1970s.  Why not the 1960s?  You know, when the Coen film is set? [Film in Focus]

    • Not Oscar related, but most desired remake: “The Goonies.” [Daily Telegraph]

    (more…)

  • Ben Stiller instrumental in getting ‘The Cove’ in at Tokyo?

    Ben Stiller at the premiere of The CoveBen Stiller has been vocal about his support for the dolphin slaughter documentary “The Cove.” This I knew, but until I actually read through the Ric O’Barry interview we linked in this morning’s round-up, I didn’t realize he played a key role in getting the film a screening at the Tokyo International Film Festival, but that’s just what happened.  According to O’Barry:

    The Tokyo Film Festival has a green theme this year, but they weren’t showing “The Cove.” Ben Stiller and his friends, who have been supportive of the film, called up and complained about how unfair this was. The Japanese people have a right to know. Now there are four to five Japanese distributors fighting over the film.

    Did I miss this nugget?  I knew festival brass had given in and allowed the film to screen (offering the limp excuse that the line-up hadn’t been finalized and that the decision was never final — remember, the fest has a “green” theme this year).  But I didn’t realize Stiller got involved.  Good on you, guy.

  • Singled out…seriously

    Okay, so “A Serious Man,” “A Single Man,” something has to give, right?  I haven’t seen the latter, but I imagine it’s an apt title.  However, if I’m honest, the Coen brothers’ title doesn’t really say much about the film, nor is it really representative (in my mind, at least) of it’s penetrating, expertly rendered themes.  It doesn’t really work on any level for me, actually.

    So my question is this: What are the odds on getting a title change, boys?  Both films are going to be in play this Oscar season so it’s fine to recognize that and steer clear of the confusion, but really, I think you can do better.

    It’s releasing next month, so probably no dice.  But, you know, just one guy’s opinion on a slow news day…

  • Mulligan, Renner, Daniels, Sidibe, Neustadter, Webb to receive Hollywood film fest awards

    Jeremy Renner in The Hurt LockerThe Hollywood Film Festival has become just another stop on the awards campaign trail these days, various publicists getting in the ears of festival directors to make sure their clients get their (in most cases deserved) props as the season takes hold, amping up the exposure, etc.  So with that in mind, the list of award recipients for this year’s Hollywood Film Festival have been announced.

    Carey Mulligan and Jeremy Renner will receive the Breakthrough Actress and Breakthrough Actor awards, having made an impact in “An Education” and “The Hurt Locker” respectively.  Mulligan seems a cinch for a lead actress Oscar nomination, while Renner, in the typically more competitive lead actor category, may be somewhat on the bubble.

    Lee Daniels will receive the Breakthrough Director Award for “Precious,” while the film’s star, Gabourey Sidibe, will received the New Hollywood Award.  Both deserve any and every awards notice they will get this season.

    (more…)

  • THE LONG SHOT: Making the 10 work for you

    Coraline*This is the first installment of “The Long Shot,” a new weekly Oscar column from Guy Lodge here at In Contention.

    At some point last week, I snapped at a commenter for rather benignly suggesting that, with the clarity granted certain contenders by the festival season, we could now call 7 of the newly expanded 10 Best Picture slots securely filled in mid-September, thus leaving us a full four months to find another three.

    Going by that rationale, less than one new contender a month could emerge — roughly keeping pace with the film-going habits of many Academy members.

    It was a fair enough theory, I suppose, and I shouldn’t have responded with as much snark as I did — though I will always adhere to the no-fun theory that a film cannot be decreed a “lock” before it is seen.

    (Is “Invictus” a “Million Dollar Baby” or a “Space Cowboys” waiting to happen? Can “Nine” possibly match its ostentatious pedigree? What in the name of God is “Avatar?” Such are the tensions that make the season worth following.)

    But I think the main reason the theory got on my nerves had nothing whatsoever to do with the commenter’s reasoning, and everything to do with the dispiriting possibility of it actually being true. Because if all the much-ballyhooed widening of the Best Picture category amounts to is a catch-all solution to ensure that every frontrunner gets its due — thereby handily making the Oscars more predictable and less particular into the bargain — then I’ll regretfully turn my back on the annual institution that has fascinated me since the second grade, move to Paris and track the Cesars instead.

    (more…)

  • Behind the scenes of ‘Nine’

  • 9/23 Oscarweb Round-up

    Hugh Jackman at the 81st annual Academy Awards• Hugh Jackman speaks out on his Emmy win and whether he’d return as Oscar host. [Vulture]

    • “A Serious Man,” Colin Firth the big winners in a Toronto critics poll. [indieWIRE]

    • Mary Pilon sits down with activist and star of “The Cove,” Ric O’Barry. [Speakeasy]

    (more…)

  • Sorry for the lulls

    With Guy taking a much-deserved vacation and me crisscrossing the country (back West in San Fran now), consistency has been an elusive goal. Apologies.

  • THE LISTS: The top 10 Best Picture winners of all time

    Clint Eastwood in UnforgivenWith the Oscar season officially here it seemed only logical to dedicate an installment of The Lists to the little golden guy.  And as we push forward past the fests and into the thick of it, I figured the best idea would be a broad assessment of the Academy’s chosen best through the years, a bone of contention for a great many, as you read in this space and in the comments section year in and year out.

    But I must say, putting this list together was a joy.  The percentage of times I think the Academy has gotten it “right” is quite low, of course, but when I skimmed the cream of the crop I was left with, I felt, a wonderful collective representative of the finest of American cinema.

    Of course, that should itself be seen as damning the organization with faint praise.  After all, the Academy has failed to recognize a great many foreign classics with its top prize.  And by a great many I mean any.

    The most celebrated decade in cinema, the 1970s, has three representatives on the collective, each of them at the very top.  The 1990s and 1980s came in right behind with two to show for themselves, while the 1930s, 1940s and 1960s each had one entry.

    I’d say that’s a pretty decent cross-section.

    It goes without saying a list like this is incredibly subjective, but I’d be very curious to hear the readership’s thoughts on 82 years of this award, so when you rattle through my list, be sure to offer up your own in the comments section.  We have a diverse group here so I’m sure there will be a number of unique takes.

    (more…)

  • Symphony

    Examining themes of faith, family and fortunes, “A Serious Man,” is a film about consequences, both unwarranted and equitable and a meticulously crafted film that demands a second viewing to soak up all the puzzle pieces and clues. It’s a picture you need to meditate on, but breathtaking is really the word for it. It starts out rather humdrum and unremarkable, but as the story builds, lilts, exhales and then crescendos, it’s like an incredible orchestra firing on every cylinder, virtuoso notes and vibratos being held just thusly.

    From Rodrigo Perez’s all-out rave of the Coen brothers’ “A Serious Man.”

  • 9/22 Oscarweb Round-up

    Jane Campion• Peter Bart takes note of two of the season’s leading ladies of the Oscar circuit, unlikely rivals Jane campion and Kathryn Bigelow. [BF Deal Memo]

    • Eugene Hernandez on the Oscar marathon. [indieWIRE]

    • Bilge Ibiri compares “The Insider” to “The Informant!” [Future of Classic]

    (more…)

  • ‘Where the Wild Things Are’: the video game