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  • 9/16 Oscarweb Round-up

    Brad Pitt in Burn After Reading• Sasha Stone rounds up a few of the foreign language film submissions coming in. [Awards Daily]

    • Peter Bart seems to think the Coen brothers’ best opening weekend yet for “Burn After Reading” has more to do with turning “cold” into “hot” than with Brad Pitt extracting laugh after laugh in trailers for the past few months. [Peter Bart]

    • Sony Pictures Classics nabs the Toronto documentary hit “Every Little Step.” [The Hollywood Reporter]

    • Hirokazu Kore-Eda’s “Still Walking” edges out “Goodbye Solo” and “The Wrestler” for the best of Toronto as Eugene Hernandez polls critics and bloggers at the fest. [indieWIRE]

    • Keira Knightley keeps the “Duchess” publicity tour going with a stop under Donna Freydkin’s microscope. [USA Today]

  • OFF THE CARPET: Looking for quality in the festival world

    Guy Pearce in The Hurt LockerThis year’s Toronto International Film Festival just didn’t cut it for some people.  The talk of Oscar taking a break from the annual September showcase had become tired before films even began screening, and certainly before every major news outlet had chosen the angle as the only story worth telling.

    For 10 days, the excitement for what was on hand seemed terribly muted.  But for my part, I could not have been more enthralled.

    We’ve been gifted with frontrunners in the two lead acting categories (Mickey Rourke and Kristin Scott Thomas), performances that should maintain their bee-lines for nominations at the very least, despite what the next three months have in store.  A studio that looked primed for a much-deserved year off the Oscar circuit two weeks ago has emerged as a formidable contender yet again with two acquisitions that are already winning awards (Fox Searchlight).

    What’s more, true independent cinema was given a stage on which to perform without being obscured by big studio product seeking a pre-Oscar campaign boost.  As a result, at least two well-received sleepers have insinuated themselves into the film awards spotlight (“The Hurt Locker,” “Lovely, Still”).

    What’s not exciting?

    I started out this season thinking 2008 would be a weak year for cinema, perhaps on the level of 2005’s shoddy output.  The idea has been echoed in numerous corners, as well as by fellow contributors, but I feel the need to re-frame my philosophy on the situation.  2008 seems to be proving itself a much more measured year, perhaps with less “rah-rah” exhibitions of undeniable filmmaking talent than solid and penetrating works that are out there for the interested (and patient) viewer.

    (more…)

  • POLL: Which Toronto favorite are you anticipating the most?

    With the bulk of the festival season behind us (just a few more to go), I thought I’d gauge support for the films that were well-received in Toronto.  I suspect I know the answer already, but you guys tend to surprise me with these more often than not.  So let us know in the sidebar: what’s tickling your fancy after waves of critical approval?  And if you have another title in mind, tell us below!

  • 9/15 Oscarweb Round-up

    Keira Knightley in The Duchess• Anne Thompson offers her perspective on Toronto’s winners and losers. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • Nathaniel Rogers digs back into the recent past of the festival’s Audience Award to see what is in store for “Slumdog Millionaire.” [The Film Experience]

    • Has “The Visitor” begun an award-winning streak that will culminate with Oscar recognition?  [Screen Daily]

    • Susan Wloszczyna spends some quality time with “it” boy Mickey Rourke. [USA Today]

    • Keira Knightley talks “The Duchess” and fashion with Mark Ellwood. [New York Daily News]

    • Jenni Miller sits down with “The Brothers Bloom” star Adrien Brody. [Premiere]

    • Michelle Kung gets Ed Harris on the record. [The Wall Street Journal]

    • Spike Lee puts his Clint Eastwood fued to bed…whatever. [Deadline Hollywood Daily]

  • A taste of ‘Another Way to Die’

    Jack White is reportedly none too pleased about this, but an instrumental sample of “Another Way to Die,” his much-awaited Bond theme on which he duets with Alicia Keys, has been revealed in a new ad for Coke Zero.

    The ad, a promotional tie-in which finds the soft drink rebranded as Zero Zero 7 (geddit?) is a fairly low-rent knockoff of a typical Bond credit sequence, but the music is terrific — sounds like White has married his own guitar sound with a throwback to John Barry brassiness. If the vocals are this good, it could be the best Bond theme in some time.

  • Face to face

    Face to face

  • Fuller ET ‘Revolutionary Road’ trailer

  • Too good not to post

  • ‘The Soloist’ poster and behind-the-scenes featurette

    Lots of stuff happening on the promotion front this week.  Posters and trailers galore.  More on all of that in tomorrow’s “Off the Carpet” column, but for now, it looks like Joe Wright’s “The Soloist” has landed a one-sheet:

    DreamWorks SKG's The Soloist

    Meh.  Shades of “Brokeback Mountain.”  And I’m not crazy about the tagline either.  I like the scribbling along the edges, though.

    Additionally, Apple has released a behind-the-scenes featurette of the film.  Have a look:

    The offical website for “The Soloist” went up this weekend as well, and as always, you can keep track of the latest over at the film’s buzz page.

    While I’m on the topic, I should point out that Steve Lopez is one of the coolest cats in town, bar none.  I met him a few months back at Vroman’s in Pasadena.  He spoke at length to a crowd of eager bookworms about his encounters with Nathaniel Anthony Ayers on the streets of Los Angeles, which of course led to numerous articles in the paper and the inevitable book.

    (I’ve always thought the best part of that audio recording from Vroman’s was when Lopez talks about how he and Ayers call each other Mr.s Lopez and Mr. Ayers.  No one tells a story like Lopez.)

    As for the film version, I think Robert Downey Jr. has really nailed Lopez’s look.  I half-expected there to be no particular interest in mimicking it, so thank God for small miracles.

  • TORONTO: That’s a wrap

    TorontoAnd with a whimper it ended. With many press headed home by Wednesday of this week, the screenings were a little less crowded, there was much grumbling about the lack of strong films, and very little buying action.  The festival wound down slowly, like something in the throes of a long, drawn-out death.

    In the more than a decade I have been covering the Toronto International Film Festival, I’ve never seen a weaker year than 2008 — at least in terms of sheer quality of product. Many writers compare the festival’s success with the number of films that go on to Oscar glory, and at this point, we have no idea, but I think it is safe to say the Oscar candidates coming out of this year’s festival will be limited.

    Last year, for instance, four of the five nominees for Best Picture played here. Many news writers and critics are asking why the festival was so weak, but I think the answer is rather simple: 2008 is shaping up to be a poor year for film in general, and the festival was an unfortunate victim of that.

    I know for a fact some of the films the festival programmers wanted were simply not ready, “Milk” being one of them.  And though previously announced on IMDb, “The Road” never made it here either. The reasoning behind “Changeling” skipping out on Toronto was too foolish to comprehend (Angelina Jolie couldn’t make it and Clint Eastwood wouldn’t have been sexy enough on his own), and I think the programmers recognize that now.  And though “Doubt” was a sought-after showcase, that would never come to pass either.

    There is talk that the festival is actively trying to divorce itself from the Oscar race and the Hollywood product, but I still say this year’s fest was weak regardless of all that.

    In any case, I thought I’d give a brief recap for those who haven’t been able to keep up with the day-to-day coverage…

    (more…)

  • Baz Luhrmann on his “crushing ambition”

    I’ve already expressed my eagerness for Baz Luhrmann’s “Australia,” probably my single most anticipated film of the year. I was thoroughly enraptured by the trailer that had many others passing snide pre-judgments on the film. (Bizarrely, words like “corny” and “artificial” were frequently thrown up as pejoratives, indicating that the self-irony of Luhrmann’s previous work entirely escaped certain audiences.)

    Now my appetite has been further whetted by this lengthy profile of the film that appeared in today’s Sunday Times, in which Luhrmann and his stars make the scale of their ambition abundantly clear. And that ambition, to go by this quote from Nicole Kidman, is to create something as vast, iconic and quintessential as the title suggests:

    This is the last of a dying breed, this kind of movie. They don’t build stuff like this any more. To feel that air and see people ravaged by the elements, as hard as it is, it’s exquisite. I dreamt of making a film that had the passion and the weight of the films I grew up watching — Gone with the Wind, Doctor Zhivago. When Baz and I first started speaking about this, seven years ago, I said there needed to be a film about our land that speaks on a much broader scale.

    No pressure, then. Luhrmann, meanwhile, acknowledges the flak he will likely receive (already expressed by some readers on this site) for that bald, broad title, but his defence is both intelligent and mischievous:

    Why “Australia?” Well, first of all, to get people all uppity about it, so there’s a lot of comment. I think about films like Lawrence of Arabia, Out of Africa, Casablanca, Hawaii, by James A Michener: epics that use one word to describe a place. The film can’t be definitive about Australia, but ‘What does it mean?’ is not a bad place to start when you’re creating a story.” Sixty years ago, Casablanca meant “faraway, exotic.” I think even now, to the rest of the world, ‘Australia’ just means big, somewhat mysterious, somewhat misunderstood. This is a land far, far away. It has a sense of fairy tale about it.”

    (more…)

  • 9/14 Oscarweb Round-up

    Danny Biyle• Anne Thompson wraps up this year’s Toronto/Telluride corridor. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • Jeffrey Wells, meanwhile, recaps the Toronto fest. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • David Poland thinks Toronto’s “car wreck for expectations” might be a good thing. [The Hot Blog]

    • Peter Scieretta reports on a release date for “The Wrestler”: December 19. [/Film]

    • James Rocchi chats it up with David Poland via podcast in Toronto. [Cinematical]

    • Oscar-winner Kevin Costner defends his Hollywood legacy — and he damn well should. [The Times]

    • Patrick Goldstein spends some time with Toronto “smart shoppers” Tom Bernard and Michael Barker, co-chiefs of Sony Pictures Classics. [The Big Picture]

    • Kevin Kelly talks to filmmaker Danny Boyle, fresh off his People’s Choice win in Toronto for “Slumdog Millionaire. [Spout Blog]

    • Geoffrey Macnabb welcomes Mickey Rourke back to the top with open arms. [The Independent]

  • ‘Disgrace,’ ‘Hunger’ among other Toronto winners

    If you were remotely surprised that “Slumdog Millionaire” took the People’s Choice Award at Toronto, you’ve clearly been living under a rock for the past month. The  award is an auspicious one, having previously annointed such international Best Picture contenders as “Chariots of Fire,” “Shine,” “Life is Beautiful” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”

    Whether or not the widely-predicted Best Picture nom for “Slumdog” materialises, we’re clearly going to hear the title a lot this awards season. (Not that the audience award is a guarantee of success — remember 2006’s winner “Bella?” No? Didn’t think so.)

    Looking further down the list of winners, however, I’m pleased to see recognition for two “difficult” films that I’ve been interested in for some time.

    As a devotee of South African author J.M. Coetzee, I’ve been eagerly tracking the film adaptation of his seminal novel “Disgrace,” which won the FIPRESCI (International Critics’) Prize for Special Presentations. By all accounts a measured, intelligent take on a very challenging work, the film, and leading man John Malkovich, have attracted very warm notices, including this Variety rave:

    Anchored by another marvelously quirky yet deadly serious performance from John Malkovich, and likely to be relished by the fan base of J.M. Coetzee’s Booker Prize-winning novel, this is a strong, perceptive, old-school arthouse pic with solid legs in all media … Malkovich is a living symphony of tics and mannerisms in service of a profoundly self-absorbed character.

    Screen Daily was similarly enthusiastic, commending the film for its “intelligent restraint,” and going so far as to draw a comparison between Malkovich’s portrayal and Burt Lancaster’s monumental turn in “The Leopard.” David Poland loved it too, emphasising Malkovich’s “fearless, unshowy, brilliant” performance.

    (more…)

  • Vacancy

    I’m taking the day off today.  USC v. Ohio State and a whole lot of tail-gating on the horizon.

    Feel free to cut loose about whatever.  JAB yesterday was asking about a space for posting predictions, so maybe we can wax on about that in the comments below.  Feel free to tell us your thoughts.

    In the meantime, I’ll stoke the fire by suggesting a look at yesterday’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” where the WSJ’s John Fund FINALLY gets taken to task by both Maher and Janeane Garofalo.  Probably one of the best panels I’ve seen on the show in a long time.

    Additionally, “Slumdog Millionaire” has predictably taken Toronto’s People’s Choice Award.

    Talk amongst yourselves.  Go Trojans!

  • Catching up…

    Not much going on today, so I’ve added a few new buzz pages to the collection: “Blindness,” “Gran Torino,” “I’ve Loved You So Long,” “Synecdoche, New York,” and “The Wrestler.”

    As always, you can take a look at all pages by checking out the Contenders page, or by clicking on various links in the predictions sidebar.  Still a little ways to go, but we’re almost complete.

  • ‘Doubt’ trailer hits the net

    Check it out in Quicktime here.

    Streep looks intense, of course.  She probably remains the film’s strongest shot at Oscar glory.  We can’t be sure whether Viola Davis’s role was expanded enough from the brief stage presence to grab a supporting nomination, while Philip Seymour Hoffman seems a little out of place to me.  But it could be a stellar performance edited awkwardly for the trailer and result in some major notices at the end of the day.

    Your thoughts?

  • De Niro and Pacino: “Top 10 reasons I like being an actor”

    From last night’s “Late Night with David Letterman.”  These are all keepers, but I especially like #3 and #1:

  • Shore steps in for Glass on ‘Doubt’

    Howard ShoreI came across a post recently at Film Score Monthly that indicates Howard Shore has taken up scoring duties on John Patrick Shanley’s “Doubt.”

    So I checked over at the film’s IMDb page, and sure enough, Philip Glass has been stricken from the record there.  But no mention of Shore either.

    Alright, so I shot producer Scott Rudin an email and he tells me yes, Howard Shore has been brought on to work on the film’s score.  Glass’s schedule unfortunately did not fit with Shanley’s Manhattan Theater Club rehearsal dates, so the production had to make a change.

    All this could be seen as an upper or a downer depending on how you felt about Glass and his minimalist approach being initially married to the film’s deeply serious subject matter.  But I think Shore has the goods, too.

    I like Shore.  I think he always does amazing work, but more often than not, it services the material rather than transcending or overpowering it, and that can certainly be considered a plus.  His most memorable work, of course, is also his only Oscar-nominated work: Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” franchise.  But he has always added something special to the tension and eeriness of David Cronenberg’s films, so perhaps he can bring something special to the table in “Doubt.”

    Keep an eye on this space for the new “Doubt” trailer, by the way.  It will debut sometime this afternoon and we’ll get it up ASAP.  And as always, catch up on all the latest at the film’s buzz page here.