In Contention

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  • First look at ‘Revolutionary Road’

    Thanks to Nick Plowman for pointing out this brief taster of “Revolutionary Road,” arguably the most prestigious-on-paper of the upcoming Oscar bait.

    I found the footage too haphazardly edited to get much of a feel for the film, but we can safely say that it looks lovely, with Roger Deakins offering his trademark burnished sheen, and that DiCaprio and Winslet seem to be on form. I’ve already expressed my hopes for the film; this keeps them afloat.

    And the use of Nina Simone’s version of “Wild is the Wind” in the background is unimpeachably classy.

  • A rebel we can believe in

    Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope

  • Heath Ledger’s ‘Dark’ performance inches closer to infamy

    Heath Ledger painting to be displayed in Newcastle, UKSaying that Heath Ledger gave an astonishing performance in “The Dark Knight” is bordering on the cliche these days.  There is little doubt the late actor — whether he had tragically passed in January or not — offered the most memorable portrayal of the year.

    Then today I found this bit of news from across the pound, and the inevitable crystallizes further.  It seems an up-and-coming painter has rendered a large oil painting of the actor’s performance in one of the film’s most electrifying moments, a shot that is steadily becoming the role’s signature image:

    The four foot high oil painting is part of an exhibition of White’s new works, that opens on Friday at the Opus Art gallery in Newcastle.

    Explaining why he decided to paint it, Mr White, 36, said: “I was just putting the finishing touches to my show when I saw Batman.

    “I was totally and utterly blown away. I saw the movie and just came into the studio straight away. I just had to make this image, to the best performance I had ever seen. It was teetering on insanity.”

    I think that says it all.

    The painting will accompany the exhibit to London in October, and man…I wish I was still there to see it.

  • 9/12 Oscarweb Round-up

    Meryl Streep in Doubt• Not that “Righteous Kill” is going to be an Oscar movie, but Brian Williams scoring a sit-down with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro for the first time is pretty sweet. [MSNBC]

    • Roger Ebert clears up the TIFF tiff that the New York Daily News was dying to report. [Chicago Sun-Times]

    • So far, Lou Lumenick has had nothing to say for himself. [Lumenick on Film]

    • David Poland takes Mike Leigh’s advice, catches Uros Stovanovic’s “Tears For Sale.” [Movie City News]

    • Recounting the decades-long journey of “On the Road” from page to screen. [The Independent]

    • A solid profile of 2008 “it” girl Elizabeth Banks with a hell of a lede. [Associated Press]

    • Peter Knegt, Brian Brooks and Jenny Sung chime in from Toronto. [indieWIRE]

    • Xan Brooks follows up yesterday’s Sodebergh/Douglas/Liberace news with a list of the 10 most eyebrow-raising casting decisions. [The Guardian]

    • Jeffrey Wells echoes our own John Foote’s sentiments that Christian McKay is a show-stopper in “Me and Orson Welles.” [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • According to Anne Thompson, the “Doubt” trailer will land on Apple some time today. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • And to whet your appetite, I found this interesting little trailer for a stage production of John Shanley’s drama in…Wisconsin. [YouTube]

  • “You can’t look away”

    I know there are a lot of “Crash” haters out there — I’m one of them. (Apologies to Kris — I know you’re a fan, and I respect that.)

    So it will either please or dismay you to learn that there is a longer, less well-acted and seemingly even more overwrought alternative to Paul Haggis’ didactic crowd-splitter.

    Ladies and gentlemen, I give you “Crash” — the TV series. (Thanks to Vulture for the heads-up.)

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  • Jeff Wells calls it for Scott Thomas

    There has been so much hype around Kristin Scott Thomas’ apparently devastating performance in Philippe Claudel’s “I’ve Loved You So Long” that a lot of the press I’ve read tends to sideline the film itself.

    Now Jeff Wells has rectified that with a piece in which he declares it the best film of the year so far:

    The film itself is a landmark-level achievement. It’s remarkably tight, absorbing and affectng every step of the way — a genuinely profound growth journey taken with quiet and gentle steps. Whatever happens on the Oscar nomination front, this film has immediately shot to the top of my list of the year’s best films.

    Not that he neglects to discuss the film’s esteemed British star. Indeed, he thinks she’s a shoo-in for an Oscar nod — and possibly more:

    She’ll definitely land a Best Actress nomination, and she just might win, considering that she achieves so much in ILYSL with very little “acting” plus the fact that she’s been around for a couple of decades.

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  • ‘Changeling’ trailer

    And more at the film’s buzz page here.

  • TECH SUPPORT: Pre-Fall Contenders

    Tech Support at In ContentionWhile this week is rightly being most noted by awards-watchers for the Toronto International Film Festival, I’m actually going to go a bit of a different route today. I will be sure to comment on the movers and shakers of TIFF next week as the dust begins to settle, however.

    In a couple of weeks, I’ll start exploring each of the technical categories, one at a time, examining the potential contenders.  But right now, I think it’s a good time to look back on the contenders we’ve already seen.

    Many of the highest profile films of the year could garner nominations in the major categories at the Oscars. Heath Ledger’s classic turn in “The Dark Knight” seems almost certain to score recognition. (In my opinion, the film has much more potential than just Ledger, though that will depend on the reception of films we’ve yet to see.)

    Penelope Cruz’s work  in “Vicky Christina Barcelona” is bound to come into play during the awards season, with writer Woody Allen not too far behind. Films like “Frozen River” and “The Visitor” could wind up in contention for the performances of Melissa Leo and Richard Jenkins.

    Not to mention Andrew Stanton’s beautiful “WALL-E,” which may have had its “summer favorite” buzz stolen by “The Dark Knight,” but that does not take away from the prestige the Pixar name brings. (Though the minimal dialogue may prove a problem in garnering a screenplay nomination.)

    But as I noted in a column here two years ago, the pre-Fall months can be a major source of nominations in the crafts categories.

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  • TORONTO: ‘Good,’ ‘Me and Orson Welles,’ ‘Every Little Step,’ ‘The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond,’ ‘The Hurt Locker’

    Christian McKay in Me and Orson WellesListening to the conversations of the other critics in the various theaters, it becomes very clear that this year’s fest has been something of a disappointment, the first in a long, long time.

    At least one critic pointed out to me that Oscar and TIFF divorced this year, which has been mentioned ad nauseum and is probably a pretty fair assessment of the situation. A lot of the press are heading home today and tomorrow as the festival begins that slow march toward the end, always exiting with a whimper and never a bang.

    These last couple of days I have screened some interesting films: a noble failure, a superb documentary, a fine war film that is still not the great film we need about Iraq.  I will get to them as I can, but for now, some quick catching up…

    (Reviews after the jump.)

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  • Slow news day

    And for obvious reasons.  In the way of relevance and as a salute to the day at hand, I thought I’d toss up America’s own Bruce Springsteen, randomly discovered in the streets of Copenhagen cranking out “The River” with a local musician.  This is one of my favorite YouTube clips of all time:

  • 9/11 Oscarweb Round-up

    Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler• James Rocchi gets “Hurt Locker” director Kathryn Bigelow on the record. [Cinematical]

    • Ditto Anne Thompson. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • David Poland has considerable praise for John Malkovich’s work in “Disgrace.” [The Hot Blog]

    • Anthony Kaufman reports Toronto as a shot in the industry’s arm. [Wall Street Journal]

    • A.O. Scott from that of sobering realism. [New York Times]

    • Patrick Goldstein gets some choice quotes out of Darren Aronofsky and Mickey Rourke.  [The Big Picture]

    • David Germain makes sure you’re aware that Rourke is in the midst of a career comeback. [Associated Press]

    • Danny Wood corners Javier Bardem in Madrid for a little “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” talk. [The Independent]

  • Each to their own

    As buzz grows about “The Dark Knight” aiming to eclipse “Titanic”‘s box office record, I thought this an opportune moment to point out at least one corner of the world where that’s not going to happen. Us wily Brits, eh?

    UK Box Office

  • ‘Soloist’ trailer drops

    Check out the film’s buzz page for the latest. It looks like that tip about Downey dominating the film may have panned out.

  • How ‘The Dark Knight’ beat ‘Titanic’…and scored big at the Oscars

    Warner Bros. Pictures' The Dark KnightI’ve been beating a loud drum around these parts for some time.  Backed with inarguable examples set by the Academy in the past and the knowledge that Warner Bros. isn’t one of the Oscar-grubbing studios in this town, I’ve maintained that Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” would disappoint the hordes in January when it fails to nab the big nods so many are expecting in the wake of boffo box office and critical success.

    Just yesterday I had a conversation with a publicist involved in some manner.  “So, what do you think of a major Oscar push for ‘The Dark Knight,’” I asked.  “What do you think,” she responded playfully, not offering much to go on.

    Well, here is what Warner Bros. thinks about it, and a clear show of awards-hungry support is all I really needed to jump on board here.

    Does a calculated move like this guarantee placement in major categories for the film?  Absolutely not.  But it does prove that the studio — which certainly doesn’t need the extra revenue that awards success would bring — is willing to play ball in order to ensure more than simple monetary milestones.

    Speaking of which, re-releasing the film into IMAX theaters for an exclusive run in January — “See it again, for the first time!” — could provide the right boost to push the film into truly historic territory.  About 80 million more bucks and this film surpasses “Titanic” after a decade of domestic box office reign from the James Cameron power romance.

    Here is Carl DiOrio’s mouth-watering lede:

    Batman wants an Oscar.

    To be precise, Warner Bros. wants a statuette — or 10 — for “The Dark Knight.” So the studio plans to re-release its blockbuster Batman sequel in January, the height of Academy Awards voting season.

    “It’s just a matter of bringing it back as a reminder for people,” a studio insider explained.

    Read the rest at Reuters.  And more on the chart updates next week.

  • The many faces of ‘W.’

    Lionsgate Films\' W.

    (Courtesy: Movieweb)

  • Gus Van Sant to get the Gotham special treatment

    Gus Van SantFrom the press release:

    In recognition of his pioneering career which has helped break down the barriers between independent and mainstream film, IFP announced today that director Gus Van Sant will be presented with a Gotham Awards Tribute at the 18th Annual Gotham Awards on Tuesday, December 2nd in New York.

    Additionally:

    In recognition of Van Sant’s fearlessness in using film to explore LGBT issues, IFP announced a new initiative aimed at inspiring the next generation of LGBT filmmakers. IFP is teaming with the The Hetrick-Martin Institute, home of the Harvey Milk High School in New York City. IFP, courtesy of Deloitte Financial Services LLP, is donating 45 video cameras to the school. IFP hopes to work with the producers of NewFest, The New York LGBT Film Festival, to create a series of training and mentoring sessions.

    Huge round of congratulatory applause on my end.  More on the awards here.

  • ‘Che’ and ‘Hurt Locker’ find distributors in Toronto

    It looks like IFC Films, not Magnolia Pictures (as originally expected), has picked up the much-discussed “Che” at the Toronto International Film Festival.  Here’s Anne Thompson on why.  Meanwhile, Kathryn Bigelow’s Iraq film “The Hurt Locker,” which is stunning critics all over the place, was scooped up by Summit Entertainment.

    How interesting is it that no major stuio grabbed these films and they are staying in the independent mindset of smaller factions?  I love it!

  • ‘Che,’ ‘W.’ among films announced to play London fest

    Looking down the list of titles in the newly-revealed lineup for next month’s London Film Festival lineup, my initial reaction was one of mild disappointment. Plenty of exciting titles, for sure, but it doesn’t quite match last year’s feast that included everything from “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” to “The Assassination of Jesse James” to “Juno” to “4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days.”

    My second thought, however, was that the lineup reflects more on what a tepid year for film 2008 is shaping up to be, rather than any lack of effort on festival director Sandra Hebron’s part. Tellingly, this morning Hebron herself cited critical opinion that, in the wake of a roundly derided Venice festival, “it wasn’t a vintage year for cinema.”

    But enough of the hand-wringing. There’s still much to get excited about, including “Che,” the two parts of which, interestingly, will be screened both together and apart; Oliver Stone’s potentially polarising “W”; “Hunger,” featuring a potential dark horse for Best Actor; “Religulous”; “Rachel Getting Married,” “Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist,” “Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson” and, to my immense delight, “Synecdoche, New York.”

    Not to mention that, as previously announced, the festival will be bookended by the world premiere of “Frost/Nixon” and Danny Boyle’s red-hot Toronto hit “Slumdog Millionaire.”

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