In Contention

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  • Watch ‘High on Crack Street,’ featured in ‘The Fighter’

    “High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell,” the HBO documentary featuring Dicky Eklund (the making of which is featured prominently in “The Fighter”), has been available on the net for some time now, but I figured I’d wait until you all had a chance to see it to dedicate a separate post.

    Well, now that you have, it seems a perfect time to post it up for you. The film, directed by Richard Farrell, Maryann DeLeo and Jon Alpert, first aired on HBO in 1995. You can read more about it at the film’s Wikipedia page and Snag Films has the full hour-long film posted for your viewing pleasure.

  • TECH SUPPORT INTERVIEW: ‘True Grit’ cinematographer Roger Deakins

    The Coen brothers’ “True Grit” opens nationwide today.  And we’re continuing right along with our daily look at the below-the-line talent of the film with director of photography Roger Deakins.

    Deakins has been with the Coens for nearly 20 years, going all the way back to “Barton Fink” in 1991.  It’s fair to say his style and tendencies as an artist have become married to the Coens’, forging an identifiable texture to their work together.

    But a lot of that general stylish flourish took a backseat on “True Grit,” allowing for a much more simplified rendering of the film’s imagery.  I’ve talked to Deakins a couple of times over the years and he’s rarely one to pour sound bytes onto an interview, but it’s always a great and enlightening discussion regardless.  I keep linking to last year’s interview with these guys regarding “A Serious Man” to hopefully shed more light on their process working with the Coens.

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  • Cinema 2010

  • 12/22 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: The reclusive Charles Portis, ‘Avatar’ most-pirated, Harvey’s holiday ‘King’s Speech’ hustle

    • On the language, cult following and press-shyness of reclusive “True Grit” author Charles Portis. [Speakeasy]

    • Mike Leigh discusses “Another Year” and why he’ll never make a superhero movie. [Movieline]

    • “Avatar” tops list of 2010’s most pirated movies. [New York Post]

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  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 2001 and 2002

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    After being overlooked in 1995, Ron Howard finally got a pat on the back from Oscar in 2001 for “A Beautiful Mind,” which was Russell Crowe’s second Best Picture winner in a row. If that wasn’t bad enough, the inaugural Best Animated Feature award went to the unwatchable “Shrek,” making this one of the more dubious overall years in Oscar history.

    In my opinion of course. “Chicago” isn’t much better but 2002 at least threw us a nice curveball when Adrien Brody became the youngest Best Actor winner in history and Roman Polanski became the oldest (and fugitiviest) Best Director for “The Pianist.”

    At four hours and 23 minutes, the 2001 ceremony is the longest ever, made worse by the fact that Whoopi Goldberg was in charge of it. At least they got Woody Allen to show up for the first time ever for a post-9/11 tribute to New York. I’d suggest the entire ceremony be relocated to New York if it meant Woody would host.

    Steve Martin came back in 2002 and trimmed things up by almost an hour. Way to go, Steve! He also delivered what might be my favorite Oscar joke ever- “In “About Schmidt,” Jack Nicholson plays a retired insurance executive who climbs into a hot tub with Kathy Bates. But hey, who hasn’t?”

    Also, Eminem!

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  • FIRST-HALF FYC: Best Actor

    After a sidestep into the writing races last week, we return to the performance categories in our rundown of notable work from the first half of the year’s release slate. And so we land upon the category that perhaps needs this feature most of all: where the Best Actress conversation still includes some names from the January-to-June window, no leading men from early 2010 are to be found even on the fringes of the awards race.

    Of course, when you consider the options, it’s not hard to see why: all the strongest performances came in films that nobody saw, films that the Academy wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole, or both. In four of my five selections below, moreover, the actor is operating at a rather higher level than the film around him — and yet it’s here where I think some of the whole year’s most adventurous work in the category is to be found.

    I wish it wasn’t quite such a bleak set of films to be celebrating in this of all weeks, but that’s just how it worked out. I’m sure at least one omission will confound some readers, as, I imagine, will one inclusion — but therein lies the fun. Check out my picks after the cut and contribute yours in the comments. Remember: first half.

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  • Forbes names DiCaprio 2010’s highest-grossing star

    In last week’s year-in-review superlatives column, I closed things up as I always do by offering up my choice for “entertainer of the year.”  It generally goes to an individual or organization I think made the most significant popular and/or creative impact on cinema in a given year, kind of a tip of the hat to Entertainment Weekly’s annual feature.

    In past years I’ve gone with George Clooney (2005), Clint Eastwood (2006), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (2007), Robert Downey Jr. (2008) and Weta Digital (2009), but for 2010, I couldn’t think of anyone more applicable than Leonardo DiCaprio, whose work in “Inception” and particularly “Shutter Island” raised his own bar and proved once again that he’s a star who wields his cachet smartly.

    And now he’s been singled out by Forbes Magazine as the year’s highest-grossing star.  Both films have made over $1.1 billion at the worldwide box office, so it’s a natural choice.  And neither needed the added impact of inflated 3D ticket sales, the piece notes.

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  • THR’s directors round table

    The Hollywood Reporter sure kicked up some controversy with that writers round table last month. This one featuring directors of the season has been making the rounds so I thought I’d post it up:

  • TECH SUPPORT INTERVIEW: ‘True Grit’ sound mixer Skip Lievsay

    Continuing today with our week-long look at the below-the-line elements of the Coen brothers’ “True Grit,” we’re chatting with sound re-recording mixer Skip Lievsay.

    Along with Carter Burwell, Lievsay is one of only two of the individuals we talked to who goes all the way back to “Blood Simple” with the Coens.  What that says to me is that these filmmakers have maintained a sense of sonic consistency in their films over the years and put plenty of thought into the overall sound experience.

    Lievsay was finally recognized by the Academy in 2007 for his and his collaborators’ work on “No Country for Old Men,” an understated piece of work that was fortunately not overshadowed completely by large scale productions that year.  This year he delighted in tackling one of his favorite genres: the western.

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  • 12/21 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: 248 films up for Oscar, Franco’s reps cautioned against hosting, Gibney’s top 10

    • The Academy announces 248 feature films eligible for this year’s Best Picture Oscar. [Oscars.org]

    • James Franco’s reps advised him against hosting the Oscars (naturally). [Awards Campaign]

    • Mike Fleming, meanwhile, chats with Franco’s co-host (and “Love & Other Drugs” star) Anne Hathaway, [Deadline]

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  • ‘Another Year,’ ‘King’s Speech’ lead London critics’ noms

    The London Film Critics’ Circle can always be relied upon to throw a couple of wild cards into a nominee list of otherwise endlessly repeated names — demonstrating at least some awareness of life outside Oscar season. So it is this year, as their Best Director category is filled by Fincher, Aronofsky, Nolan, the Coens… and Apichatpong Weerasethakul, the Thai auteur behind Palme d’Or champ “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.”

    Similarly, “Carlos” powerhouse Edgar Ramirez crashes the otherwise familiar Best Actor lineup of Bridges, Eisenberg, Gosling and Firth. (Note: no James Franco, and a solitary Best British Film nod for “127 Hours,” suggesting that the film’s stock may be falling on this side of the pond too.)

    For the most part, it’s business as usual. “Another Year” and “The King’s Speech” top the list with six nominations apiece, though it’s interesting to see that neither film snagged a Best Director nod. (Indeed, five of “Another Year”‘s bids come in the performance categories — nice to see people recognizing that the film’s ensemble  extends beyond Lesley Manville.)

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  • Academy DQs scores for ‘Fighter,’ ‘Grit,’ ‘Kids’ and ‘Swan’

    I had a bad feeling Carter Burwell’s work in “True Grit” was going to get the axe from a consistently dubious music branch, and so it has. Along with three other hopefuls.

    Variety is reporting that Burwell’s score and Clint Mansell’s for “Black Swan” were nixed due to being overwhelmed by pre-existing music (19th century hymns with the former, Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” with the latter). Additionally, the scores from Burwell on “The Kids Are All Right” and Michael Brook “The Fighter” got the boot because of an abundance of songs.

    We’ve been expecting some kind of ruling on this year’s crop of contenders. It’s a shame, as always, that well-regarded original material has to be penalized due to rules like this, but it’s their game and they’ll play it how they want.  Thursday we’ll feature an interview with Burwell and you can hear the thought process that went into the score for “True Grit.” Until then, chew on this.

    [Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures]

  • Tell us what you thought of ‘The Fighter’

    I should have posted this this weekend but I totally forgot, so apologies.  I’ve had my say on “The Fighter” out of AFI Fest and there has been plenty of discussion on it here and there since.  But it hit theaters nationwide Friday and many of you got a chance to take a look, so let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

  • Tragic

    Just as a reminder that there are bigger injustices going on in the film world than so-and-so missing out on an Oscar nomination. I can’t even get my head round this. Depriving one of the world’s master filmmakers of the right to practise his art for two whole decades? What a waste. It makes six years in jail seem the lesser punishment. From Yahoo! News:

    Celebrated Iranian filmmaker and vocal backer of the opposition movement, Jafar Panahi, has been handed six years in jail and banned from making films and leaving Iran for 20 years, his lawyer said Monday.

    “Mr. Panahi has been sentenced to six years in jail on a charge of (participating) in a gathering and carrying out propaganda against the system,” Farideh Gheirat told ISNA news agency.

    “His social rights, which include a ban on making movies, writing scripts, foreign travel and giving interviews to domestic and foreign media, have been taken away for 20 years.”

    More here. If you’re not sure what we’re about to lose, find yourself a copy of “Crimson Gold” and weep.

    [Photo: Passionforcinema.com]

  • File/pile in/on

    (In case you somehow need this stated explicitly, this is fan made and in no way connected to Sony.)

  • OFF THE CARPET: Macro/micro

    I decided to update the Contenders section this week by addressing things (mostly) as they seem to stand in the wake of the critics’ awards circuit of the last two weeks.  Save for this or that personal hunch (like buying into Guy’s shrewd proposition that the BAFTA contingent could help Lesley Manville over the hump, or keeping in mind, over all, that critics don’t vote for Oscars), I think it’s fairly representative.

    I don’t have a lot to offer in the way of a column this week.  The race as it stands is how you see it.  There are pockets of advocacy growing louder and louder out there, but I’m waiting for guilds to chime in and for studios to decide if they are in it to win it (and it becomes clearer and clearer who is and who isn’t, by the way).

    Ballots will go out a week from today.  Voters will have, presumably, spent the Thanksgiving and upcoming Christmas holidays digging into screeners and catching up on this or that.  The precursors have illuminated a few paths they may not have taken (precious few, though), but mainly they’ve demanded viewings of 11 films in play for 10 Best Picture slots.  What will the small screen do for these contenders?

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  • Gosh, ‘Social Network’ wins in Chicago

    Trying to think of one interesting thing to say about these awards. One thing. Um. Nice, if not wildly original, foreign-language pick? (Memo to the National Society of Film Critics: we’re counting on you to be your usual rebellious selves come January.)

  • On Paramount’s dueling ponies

    There’s some fuzzy Oscar reasoning in this Guardian piece on Paramount’s two-pronged stab at the Best Picture race, but the essential point it makes is an interesting one: with “True Grit” having been produced in-house and “The Fighter” something of an adopted son for the studio, does Paramount have a favorite child in this race?

    Writer Jeremy Kay believes they do, and in the light of the precursors thus far, isn’t sure they picked the right one:

    While [The Fighter’s] $12.2m gross is nothing to write home about from 2,503 theatres, it’s no disgrace either – especially when you consider Paramount hasn’t thrown as many marketing dollars behind The Fighter as it has invested in True Grit. That’s because the studio’s top brass made an early bet that True Grit, a Paramount movie, would ultimately be more successful than The Fighter, which the studio is distributing for a fee on behalf of the movie’s backers Relativity Media.

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