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  • Respect for The Duke

    In light of Kris’s recent westerns piece, I thought it might be worth it to give some space to what I believe to be one of the most underrated actors of all time.

    Cinematical recently carried a marvelous article on John Wayne, supporting the belief that the screen legend was an exceptional actor (in the right role) and that perhaps Hollywood and the critics had not given him his due while alive.  Certainly his work was appreciated by audiences, who made him the top box office star for more than 20 years.

    I grew up watching Wayne and even defended him as an actor some time ago to a very skeptical university professor.  Using the actor’s performances in “The Searchers” and “The Shootist,” I wrote my paper and received an “A.” I figured I must have proved my case. But my professor passed me in the hall a year or so later and told me I had converted him to the Duke, and he had now seen many more of his films.

    Obviously part of the issue had been just that: he had not seen all of Wayne’s work — and he was more than a little attached to Sir Laurence Olivier (in my opinion the most overrated actor in the history of the cinema). But you could always see Olivier acting, working the trade.  I defy you to catch the Duke mugging.

    While Wayne often portrayed a variation of what audiences perceived him to be in real life, there were characters that challenged him as an actor and allowed him to stretch. Though he won the Academy Award for his jaunty performance as the tough old one-eyed geezer in “True Grit,” he certainly should have won for his raging Ethan Edwards in “The Searchers” and been nominated for at least a half dozen others.

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  • Patrick Goldstein joins the fray — honest to blog!

    <<< Not anymore!

    I was told last week that LA Times columnist Patrick Goldstein would be launching a blog of his own, and today I see that The Big Picture has morphed into just that.  I must say, even when I was tipped off to this development, I didn’t believe it.  This is the hater of all things blog we’re talking about.  His own publication agrees!

    Anyway, I’m glad the brass downtown finally dragged Goldstein kicking and screaming into the brave new world, however embarassing it might be for him.  Here’s what he has to say about it:

    But in journalism, it’s time for a change–big change. As you might have heard, this newspaper, along with virtually every other paper in the country, is under siege. Our whole business model is in free fall–circulation is dropping, profits are down and lots of talented people are losing their jobs. We can moan and groan about it or we can try something new.

    Now pick your jaw up off the ground and go give him a look.  Personally, I think he’ll enjoy it.  At the very least, that blogger-induced anger will have a daily outlet, and perhaps we won’t have to endure one of those yearly “they’re ruining everything” columns.  Then again…

  • Just do it

    Many thanks to reader Mr. Gittes (perhaps as much a Bat-fiend as yours truly), who pointed me to this Wired story detailing director Christopher Nolan’s torrid love affair with all things practical in the world of action cinema.

    Much has been said and written of Nolan’s preference for saving the CGI drama for your mama and having the cojones to go out and actually do the stunts, prepare the gasp-inducing set-pieces and thereby root the new Batman franchise in the reality it deserves and, in a sense, begs for.

    There are so many quotable lines in Scott Brown’s incredibly thorough piece that I find myself anxiously picking and choosing.  But I suppose it’s worth it to start with the basic leader:

    While today’s action heroes routinely come dressed in shades of the giddy synthetic (à la Spider-Man and Iron Man), movie fans have gorged on digital eye candy — and, perhaps fearing retinal diabetes, now they’re cutting back (Speed Racer, anyone?). Still, gritty naturalism is no small leap for the spandex genre. It’s a mood more identified with art noir and the prestige pic, the kind of cinema built to attract Oscars, not mass audiences…

    …Nolan has a cogent Theory of Applied Batmatics: Insist on reality — no effects, no tricks — up to the point where insisting on reality becomes unrealistic. Then, in postproduction, make what is necessarily unreal as real as possible. “Anything you notice as technology reminds you that you’re in a movie theater,” Nolan explains. “Even if you’re trying to portray something fantastical and otherworldly, it’s always about trying to achieve invisible manipulation.” Especially, he adds, with Batman, “the most real of all the superheroes, who has no superpowers.”

    Then perhaps segue into the most refreshing news yet (news to me, anyway), regarding ADR on the film:

    Nolan would rather fix it while everyone’s still on the set. He hates to loop. “I just think separating the voice from the face and the body is very tricky,” he explains. It is, after all, blatantly unreal.

    So did the director get everything he needed from Ledger before his death? He says yes: Ledger nailed it in principal photography. Thomas adds, “Everything you see onscreen is his performance.” (In other words, there’ll be no clunky digital resurrection, aural or visual, no morbid echoes of Oliver Reed’s posthumous performance in Gladiator.) Besides, Nolan doesn’t believe in bringing an actor back six months later and expecting him to re-create the nuances of a character, any more than he believes a computer can re-create the quality of human camera work on its own.

    But I can’t resist offering up the line Mr. Gittes chose, the line that’ll force the hairs on any fanboy’s neck to stand at attention:

    He was moving on. But there was one small problem with leaving Batman behind: He knew how he wanted it all to end. He had something Godfather-ish in mind, a saga of dark doubles and transfiguration — big, dense, and novelistic.

    It’s quite an absorbing piece, with more than its fair share of tech-talk, from the realities of shooting with giant IMAX cameras to descriptions of filming Christian Bale actually standing on top of the Sears Tower.

    Check it out.  You know you want to.

  • Edward Norton and the not-so-jolly green giant

    What can be said of the fearless Edward Norton, who recently became an on-screen comic book hero?  I never understood his choice to take on the role of Bruce Banner, a.k.a. The Incredible Hulk.  And now, post-release, I’m still puzzled.

    He walked into a franchise that became a fast mess just five years ago.  And according to IMDb, he turned the role down back then. Given the actor’s commitment to characterization in his performances, it makes sense that he would turn the other cheek.  After all, so much of Bruce Banner, or at the least what audiences might want to see, is a technological creation. Unlike any of the characters in “Iron Man” or in the upcoming “The Dark Knight,” Mr. Norton doesn’t get to sport a good makeup job and put his true talents on display. He has to disappear all together.  It seems so unlike him.

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  • Holy bitchslap, Batman!

  • Leone at the Goldwyn

    I hate that I missed this, but did anyone happen to make the 40th anniversary resotration screening of “Once Upon a time in the West” last week? It screened at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater Friday night. I’d love to know what the print looked like, though news of the exhibition may have flown under everyone’s radar (I know it flew under mine).

  • Mr. Beatty, direct another film please?

    Interviewing Warren Beatty a few years ago in Toronto, I was struck at once by his intellect, which is laser sharp. The man misses nothing. He speaks slowly, taking long pauses before he speaks, and avoids personal questions, which I dislike and refuse to ask anyway.

    He was with Annette Bening at the time, supporting her efforts in “Being Julia.” But all I wanted to discuss was “Reds,” Beatty’s masterful film about John Reed and the Russian Revolution which won him the Academy Award for Best Director and was ousted for Best Pic by the vastly inferior “Chariots of Fire.”

    I had heard he could be a nightmare in interviews, but he seemed genuinely interested in discussing the film. He remembers sitting there at the ceremony, and when the other film won Best Costume Design, he said he knew it was over.

    Beatty was recently honored by the American Film Institute, which led me to go back and watch many of his films. I’ve come to the conclusion that, not only is he among the more under-appreciated actors and directors working in film today, but he has been for at least 40 years.

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  • ‘Dark’ weekend coming up

    Alright folks…we’re getting close.  Judging by that poll a few weeks ago, “The Dark Knight” is far and away the most anticipated film of the summer with the IC readership, so I expect you won’t mind my further indulgence in the lead-up to the release.

    But there’s actually something to talk about now.  The film is junketing this weekend in Los Angeles and I expect there might be an embargo in place, but if reviews and/or opinions start to drift out into cyberspace by this time next week, you’ll know they are legit.  There was already a supposed review at this UK outlet, but I can’t be sure of the veracity given how vague the copy is.

    (I’m still trying to line up a London screening, but dealing with WB’s international publicity has been a painfully slow process.  You’d think being such a friend to the franchise MIGHT count for some diligence and/or returned emails.  Oh well…)

    In the meantime, here’s a clip featuring some of the new score.  It’s pretty dark, expectedly taking off from the themes of “Batman Begins,” but with a harder, more immediate and eerily agressive edge.  I can’t wait to hear the stuff cooked up for the Joker.  Have a listen:

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehSAqruwRtQ

    (More neat-o YouTube DK discoveries after the jump.)

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  • “Fuck you, that’s my name.”

    By way of our friends at Cinematical I stumbled across this Onion A.V. Club article — a truly genius post.  It’s a countdown of the top cameo performances of all time, a “one-scene wonders” list of 20 memorable cinematic moments.

    Like Eric Snider at Cinematical, I can’t find a single bone to pick with The Onion’s #1 choice.  In honor of all things Baldwin, I give you the searing opening sequence from James Foley’s (make that David Mamet’s) “Glengarry Glen Ross”:

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TROhlThs9qY

    I also love the inclusion of Ned Beatty’s Oscar nominated five minutes in “Network,” though the rest of the list is quite arguable.  The “Zodiac” tie in the final slot is an inspired choice, however.

  • AMPAS invites 105 to the party

    The Academy has officially announced the 105 people it has invited to join its ranks this year; they range from obvious recent winners (Marion Cotillard, Diablo Cody), to cool commercial forces (Judd Apatow, Sacha Baron Cohen), to less glamorous but equally deserving names such as documentarian Nanette Burstein and composer Michael Giacchino.

    Looking down the list, it’s hard to believe that certain veterans weren’t already members; take Ruby Dee, for example, or Jack Fisk, or one of my personal writing heroes, Jean-Claude Carriere. Knowing that such vital artists could be voting sure aids the credibility of the awards – though I have a hard time imagining Michael Haneke hunched over his ballot, agonising over the nominees for Best Original Song.

    The full list of 2008 invitees is after the jump. Your thoughts, as ever, welcome.

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  • Heartbreaking news…

    Because “WALL-E” doesn’t open in the UK until mid-July, there haven’t been, nor will there be any press screenings lined up.  I’ll have to wait until I’m back in the States.

    LAM-E.

  • On the Candian cinema

    With the recent announcement of Paul Gross’s “Passchendaele” as the opening night film at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (and honor traditionally handed to a Canadian endeavor), I thought I’d dedicate some space to the best of Canadian cinema.  But first, a history of sorts.

    Growing up in Ontario, Canada, I fell in love with cinema at a very young age. I loved watching those old Universal monster movies on Friday nights, or the Sunday afternoon Big Show of the Week, which was usually yet another showing of “Man of a Thousand Faces” or “Red River.” Essentially, I grew up on American films, and I believe American cinema is the most exciting on the globe.

    I say this as a Canadian who loves our national cinema, as a critic who has access to Canadian films that are often never released, and as a huge supporter of the Canadian film industry. As long as the government controls what is happening with the money that makes these films, we will never have as strong an industry as we could, and it will be forever difficult to get a film made in this country.

    Ask Sarah Polley, a national treasure and world-reknowned actress who struggled to get funds to make “Away from Her,” one of the best reviewed films of last year. The reason films get made at all is through government grants and funding. It is a dangerous catch 22.

    The first Canadian that mad an impact on me was “Goin’ Down the Road,” a wonderful picture made in 1970 by director Don Shebib (who attended film school with Francis Coppola). His picture was about Canadians, for Canadians made by Canadians and dealt with plights recognized by Canadians. But of course one did not have to be Canadian to enjoy it. In fact, the film played for more than a year in New York City in 1970 when films lasted longer than two months in theaters. More than the great documentaries from the National Film Board, this film seemed to announce to the world that Canada had a filmmaking community waiting to be unleashed.

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  • ‘Mad Men’: Rewriting the hero

    I know we don’t really cover TV here at In Contention, but since Matthew Weiner’s AMC show “Mad Men” is the greatest piece of screen drama I’ve seen in any medium this past year, I couldn’t resist linking to this mammoth profile of the show, and its creator, in yesterday’s New York Times Magazine.

    Neatly timed to coincide with the imminent first-season DVD release, and (hopefully) to catch the eye of Emmy voters, Alex Witchel’s piece gives fascinating insight into the writerly thinking behind what is certainly the most literate show currently on air. (As a screenwriter, I found the first season to be pretty much a master class in character construction, and the marrying of social and personal narratives.) Weiner, who was also a significant member of the writing team on “The Sopranos,” proves a fiercely intelligent interviewee; the following is one of the best descriptions of a writer’s raison d’etre I’ve read in a while:

    The payoff for Weiner is getting to combine his love of history and literature with his love for the tradition of live television from the 1950s: Paddy Chayevsky, Rod Serling, “Kraft Television Theater” and “Playhouse 90.” “It all goes back to being socially conscious and the blacklist and who those heroes are,” he said. “Those were my parents’ heroes, and I think that part of the show is me trying to be one of those heroes and part of the show is trying to figure out — this sounds really ineloquent — trying to figure out what is the deal with my parents. Am I them? Because you know you are.”

    Read the rest here. Sorry for the fanboy tone of this post, but it’s a great piece on a landmark work.

  • David Gordon Green hearts Steven Seagal

    David Gordon Green took a strong dive into a typical post-film school career in 2000, and I’ve never been afraid to admit that his breed of cinema failed to speak to me on pretty much every level (despite us sharing an alma mater).  I found “George Washington” to be derivative, “All the Real Girls” to be unqualified (though it is my favorite of Green’s efforts and is certainly striving for something more) and “Undertow” to be an utter mess.  I’ve not yet seen “Snow Angels” (though I plan to).

    However, “Pineapple Express” has real promise.  Not because I want desperately to see something so anti-Green, but because a filmmaker who has so quickly identified himself within a certain milieu is willing to go there.  I have no doubt Green has a sense of humor (we’ve never met though we have countless mutual friends), but it says something when a guy is willing to stretch that part of his creativity and offer a different side of his persona to a fan base that, frankly, might be unnerved by it.

    With that in mind, I’ve been meaning to link to this Guardian item since I read it on the tube a week ago.  It’s a heart-felt appreciation for action star Steven Seagal and, apparently, is part of an introduction for the upcoming book “Seagalogy.”  Since I’ve got “Pineapple Express” on the brain these last few days (M.I.A. on the iPod, supporting actor updates bouncing around my head, etc.), now’s as good a time as any to give it some space:

    Who wants to see Jean-Claude Van Damme in Death Warrant or Cyborg when you could witness the brutal human elegance of Seagal’s Marked for Death or the astonishing Hard to Kill? His stretch of films that promoted themselves with three dramatic words was for me a trademark and a guarantee that I would be getting my money’s worth…

    …A strange tide turned as his fame and fortune grew. Perhaps it was the dazzling spotlight of Tinseltown that prompted a shift in his work. He was no longer studying linguistics and martial arts in the Orient and making intimate action movies. Suddenly, I found myself sitting in front of a slew of message films. Beginning with On Deadly Ground, Seagal began to slip environmental themes, spiritual quests and politics into his films. Perhaps he had lost touch with reality and was living in a vacuum. Where was the soft-spoken shitkicker I gravitated toward in my youth?

    Fortunately, as would any true movie fanatic, I was able to grow to appreciate his personal crusade. I chose to accept this curveball and take my own enjoyment and expectations to the next level.

    Check out the rest here.

    As for “Pineapple Express,” I’m glad to see James Franco popping up on people’s radars lately.  He landed on our charts back in May and two people who’ve seen the film have told me the performance is sensational.  One thought it was destined to make people sit up and finally take notice of the actor, offering that an Oscar nod was indeed possible.  The other guy is completely in the tank for both the film and the performance but thinks Oscar might be a stretch.

    Whatever.  I can’t wait.  Finally someone might be able to reel Judd Apatow in a touch.

    httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=3ryfqsLt6Y0

  • Reel Geezers on ‘Polanski’

    I rarely link to these, but since Lorenzo from the Reel Geezers has some personal insight into Mr. Polanski, I thought it’d be worth tossing up the video.  The Reel Geezers review “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired”:

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FvE4HQwo-o

  • Off the subject

    To say the least.  But since I just sat staring out my window for a solid five minutes trying to come up with a decent film-related poll for this week (and drew a massive blank in the process), I figured we’d go off the beaten path with something fun and simple:

    WHO’S GONNA WIN EURO?!

    Tell us in the poll.

  • This one hurts

    George Carlin’s passing has been in the cards for a long time.  But MAN it stings.

    Personally I went from youthful (and therefore ignorant) adoration of the guy to a learned and mature wariness of his humor.  Later on, though, I came back around.  He did things with the English language that any writer had to respect, and I have to say, I’m really sad to hear the news.  I’m glad I had the chance to see him live, eight years ago now, and I wish him safe passage to that great venue in the sky.

    To which he’d no doubt say, “Fuck you, there is no God.”

    The infamous one:

    httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=BTyzTJTNhNk

  • Caine: “Heath might win an Oscar”

    From People magazine, an excerpt from an interview with Michael Caine concerning “The Dark Knight”:

    Caine, contemplating his co-star’s loss, goes so far as to predict Ledger might win an Oscar from beyond the grave for his role as The Joker in The Dark Knight. “He was just so scary. Everyone was worried beforehand, because we knew he was going to be compared with Jack Nicholson’s brilliant Joker in the 1989 Batman. He surprised the life out of us all.”

    Not surprising coming from a connected source and all, though truth be told, all of the awards talk for Ledger really began to heat up nearly seven months ago when Caine began singing the highest praises for the performance.

    Also worth noting: An individual who saw the film a week ago didn’t hesitate on these matters when she said, quite confidently, “He’ll when an Oscar.”  Take it with a grain of salt, but just that such comments are making the rounds…

    Oooooh, boy.