In Contention

Blog

  • Boyle on ‘127 Hours’: “We want it to be a challenge to you.”

    As much as I’ve remained interested in Danny Boyle’s work through thick and thin, I’m struggling to pinpoint why I’m not more excited about his well-buzzed “127 Hours.”

    The story of Aron Ralston — better known to some as “that mountain climber dude who cut off his arm” — is a remarkable one, and yet I question how many potential avenues of discovery it presents on a big screen. Boyle will need to be at his least fussy, and James Franco galvanizing, to make the film more than a gruelling technical exercise.

    The trailer premiered this weekend at London’s Movie-Con, so it will surely surface online soon enough. Empire has posted an extract from Boyle’s onstage interview accompanying the trailer — from which it seems that the film’s makers and handlers are well aware of the marketing challenges posed by a film that centers on a single immobile character over the titular period of time.

    (more…)

  • SUNDAY CENTS: AARP Action Squad!

    *All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    The internet had been buzzing for weeks. Would the fact that he spent most of the decade in straight to video titles hurt his box office clout. Did Dolph Lundgren still have the box office muscle we all thought he had or did the lackluster performance of “Direct Contact”, “Hidden Agenda” and “The Mechanik” cause too much irreparable damage? We have our answer this weekend as “The Expendables” tops the chart with $35.0 million.

    Some had speculated that since Dolph hadn’t appeared in a single film that hit theaters since his role as “Street Preacher” in “Johnny Mnemonic” that nobody would care about him punching people in the face and killing them anymore. I’m sorry we ever doubted you Dolph. He is now solely responsible for the sixth biggest Lionsgate debut of all time (biggest non-Madea, non-“Saw”). Word of mouth is likely to be atrocious as it seems he wasn’t able to deliver on the early Oscar promise of the project. A steep drop awaits next week but maybe now the Lundgren haters will stay in their place.

    “Eat Pray Love” takes second place with $23.7 million. Readers suggested I went over the line making fun of this film and the women who might like it so I’ll let the numbers speak for themselves here.

    (more…)

  • ‘Toy Story 3’ reaches box office milestone, MovieMaker remembers ‘Tin Toy’

    Pixar’s “Toy Story 3” is pretty much the only sure-thing contender for Oscar’s 10 at this stage, and with good reason.  It was the high mark of the summer movie season, a beautiful send-off to a beloved franchise that just got better and better.  Fitting, then, that the film has become not only Pixar’s reigning box office champ, but the highest grossing animated feature film of all time.

    With $920 million in the bank and climbing, the film sits at the top of that perch, just a few days after passing what I still believe to be Pixar’s most accomplished effort, “Finding Nemo,” and leaving other films like “Shrek 2” and “The Lion King” in the dust.  It will also surely be one of only six $400 million earners from the last decade (though talk to our resident box office analyst Chad Hartigan and you’ll get a different story, as he prefers figures adjusted for inflation).  Combined with nearly blanket critical approval, you have a perfect awards storm.

    While on vacation last week I read a piece by Eric Kohn in the latest issue MovieMaker Magazine that ties in nicely here.  It was a look back at Pixar’s Oscar-winning 1988 animated short “Tin Toy,” which of course planted the seeds for the “Toy Story” franchise.  Unfortunately, it’s not available online, but I’ve transcribed a section after the jump that I felt was worth passing along.

    (more…)

  • Tell us what you thought of ‘The Expendables’

    As Chad noted in this week’s Friday Forecast column, the film likely to own the weekend box office is “The Expendables,” from esteemed auteur Sylvester Stallone.  For me, this is the real capper of the summer movie months (haven’t seen it yet, as the reviews have taken that sting out a bit, but I will).  I’m eager to hear your thoughts though, so, you know the drill.

  • Tell us what you thought of ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World’

    I’m feeling like pretty much the only guy on the block not losing my shit over Edgar Wright’s “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” and as always, I’m fine with that.  But it hits theaters as part of summer 2010’s last gasps and I’d like to hear your thoughts, so cut loose with them in the comments section below when you get a chance to see the film.

  • FRIDAY FORECAST: Nerdgasm!

    *All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    If you are a nerd, this is the weekend for you. It doesn’t matter if you’re an action movie nerd, video game nerd or self-help nerd, Hollywood has you covered. All in all, it’s an abnormally stacked August weekend with three films that all have breakout potential and is especially baffling when you look at the shitshow of titles nobody cares about just seven days away.

    Of the three openers, Lionsgate is going the widest with “The Expendables.” First off, no matter what happens, this will be profitable for the studio since they just bought the distribution rights from Millennium Films, who actually financed the thing. Lionsgate pulled a similar move with “Rambo” and saw that film open with $20.1 million and tap out at $47.3 million. For an ultra-violent sequel to a franchise dead longer than most of our readers have been alive, all were pretty satisfied.

    Expectations are amped up for “The Expendables,” since a bunch of other old guys with muscles are in it. Count me among those not buying the hype that Steve Austin, Terry Crews and Dolph Lundgren add significant interest among any crowd of patrons. Cameos from Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis have been shamefully advertised and that will dupe a few old timers into thinking there’s something special here, but that trio didn’t really help Planet Hollywood from epic failing. I think a strong Friday will lead to a $32 million weekend and it free falls from there.

    (more…)

  • Predictions of a different stripe

    Alright, it’s Friday night, the news day is winding down, McNabb is about to take the field for the first time in crimson and gold and you all know I’m a pigskin fanatic (as are plenty of you), so I figured it was worth it to offer up this.  You?

  • ‘Avatar: Special Edition’ trailer

    You didn’t think you were out of the 2009 awards season woods yet, did you?  No way.  James Cameron and 20th Century Fox are gonna squeeze the “Avatar” cash cow until the milk stops flowing, surely.  And with a big junket for “Avatar: Special Edition” in Los Angeles yesterday, and a new just-released trailer, it seems August 27 is the new “Avatar Day” with the theatrical re-release, including more footage, set to bow.  Check out the teaser trailer on the jump.

    (more…)

  • ‘Love & Other Drugs’ trailer

    Sure enough, not long after posting that Entertainment Tonight first look at Edward Zwick’s “Love & Other Drugs,” the trailer has launched via Apple.  I stand by what I said in the original post and may even been anticipating it a bit more now.  Check out the trailer by clicking on the image below or watch the embed on the jump.

    (more…)

  • First still from ‘True Grit’ and a plea on the western’s behalf

    A few weeks ago I was having coffee with a director, a recent awards season success story who shall remain nameless, who told me in meeting after meeting with acting talent, it seems one thing is consistent: actors want to make westerns.  The obvious catch?  Studios don’t.

    It’s hardly new news that Hollywood brass shies away from period budget, low-yield filmmaking.  It’s partly the reason the genre all but completely died out, that and a failure of western filmmakers to shift with changing socio-political climates and see the genre as one of flux, not stagnated morals and Americana.  But given tax incentives in neighboring states and any number of ghost towns ready and willing to play host to Hollywood crews, the number-crunchers have stayed away.

    It says a lot that a masterpiece of the medium (decade’s best “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”) was left to fight alone at a time when it needed help the most, while second and third string comic book franchises are greenlit daily.  To me, the fiscal bottom line on westerns has become more of a self-fulfilling prophecy than anything else.  Granted, the public isn’t showing up, but a little shove couldn’t hurt.

    (more…)

  • First look at Zwick’s ‘Love & Other Drugs’

    When I took an initial stab at forecasting the Oscar season back in March, I hung my hat on the prospect of Edward Zwick, a perennial also-ran in Oscar’s years of five, and a promising true-story comedy “Love & Other Drugs.” I’ve been steadily pulling back on that punch, though, and while 20th Century Fox has little else in the hunt this season, it’s starting to look like Golden Globe territory more than anything else.  Which is hardly a bad thing, mind you.

    Then again, in a first look recently revealed by Entertainment Tonight (courtesy of The Playlist), the chemistry between stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway (reunited five years after “Brokeback Mountain”) is sharp and electric, while their performances separately seem to have a confidence and precision that might get them places in the season.

    Based on the book “Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman,” the film stars Gyllenhaal as the Jerry Maguire of the pharmaceutical business who meets Hathaway’s Parkinson’s suffering free spirit on a drug call.  Cue romantic comedy stylings.  Check out the ET first look (which likely foreshadows a trailer debut any day now) after the jump.

    (more…)

  • ‘127 Hours’ to close London Film Festival

    Last year, London Film Festival organizers managed to secure a pair of world premieres — “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and the John Lennon bio “Nowhere Boy” — to open and close proceedings. This year, they haven’t been so lucky, bookending the festival’s 54th edition with two hot tickets from Toronto instead.

    With that said, they’re still thoroughly respectable, and suitably British, picks. We already knew that Mark Romanek’s “Never Let Me Go” would kick off the festival; now comes confirmation that the closing night gala is Danny Boyle’s “127 Hours,” which stars James Franco in the well-known survival story of mountaineer Aron Ralston. The film reunites Boyle with producer Christian Colson and writer Simon Beaufoy; you may recall that a certain other collaboration between the trio closed out the London fest two years ago.

    Both films will be making their European premieres at the festival, which runs from October 13 to 28. The news suggests that, after luring out a number of American journos last year, the LFF is setting its sights a little closer to home. Statements from Boyle and LFF director Sandra Hebron after the cut.

    (more…)

  • ‘How Do You Know’ trailer

    It’s difficult to discount someone from the Oscar race when he has a 60% track record with the Academy.  Then again, James L. Brooks has only directed five films to date and his last, 2004’s “Spanglish” (which, full disclosure, I’ve always quite liked) went nowhere.  His sixth is set to hit theaters this fall from Columbia Pictures and may be a return to awards season form or not, but a new trailer from Yahoo! Movies reveals it as frothy and harmless with a fun performance from Paul Rudd, if nothing else.  Click on the image below to have a look or watch the embed on the jump.

    (more…)

  • Vague ‘Hereafter’ praise

    I don’t know much about Clint Eastwood’s “Hereafter” and I don’t know why Warner Bros. felt the need to screen it uber early to Big Picture columnist Patrick Goldstein, but if you’re interested in a “first!” reaction to the film, here’s what he had to say:

    On Tuesday, I caught an early screening of Clint Eastwood’s upcoming film, “Hereafter,” and though it’s too early for a mini-review, let’s just say that Eastwood, who turned 80 this year, is still The Man when it comes to making movies, showing off a range and depth that puts him right up there with John Huston, Robert Altman and the other great old masters from past ages.

    “Hereafter” is set for release October 22.  It comes from an original script by Peter Morgan and stars Matt Damon, Bryce Dallas Howard and Jay Mohr.  We’ll see.

    [Photo: nkohk]

  • ‘The Town’ poster

    Ben Affleck’s “The Town” may or may not be an awards play for Warner Bros.  “Gone Baby Gone” was seen as an exceptional debut and I hear this one is as solid an outing (watch the trailer here), but the priority, as always, will be business.  That said, the recently released one-sheet, save for the boxed-in heads at the bottom, is kind of awesome in an irreverent kind of way.  Check it out in full, courtesy of iTunes, after the jump.

    (more…)

  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Makeup — Volume I

    Makeup and hairstyling builds characters by transforming actors with realism or imagination that would otherwise be lacking on the screen. With the announcement that the Best Visual Effects is expanding to include five nominees this year, Best Makeup now remains the sole category to have three nominees, chosen from a “bake-off” of seven finalists which are revealed in advance of the January nominations announcement.

    This award tends to cite so many different aspects that it is difficult to pin down exactly what the branch looks for. However, aging and illness are certainly well regarded, as are the creation of blood and injuries, disfigurement and turning actors into monsters and other fantastical beings.

    It should be remembered that this category awards both makeup and hairstyling. However, last year’s nomination for “The Young Victoria” is a rare example of where the hairstyling portion of the category apparently played a significant role. Traditionally, facial and body makeup is far more important.

    (more…)

  • Telegraph predicts “global hit” for ‘Dagenham’

    Two weeks ago, when I made my first Oscar predictions of the 2010 season, I went out on a bit of a limb for “Made in Dagenham,” the upcoming true-life Britcom that will have its world premiere at Toronto next month.

    I have yet to see the film, but the story material, the talent involved and the promisingly perky trailer (embedded after the jump) combined to suggest one of those undemanding, broadly appealing UK charmers that sneak up on the Academy every couple of years — and that, as “An Education” proved last year, face a gentler climb to a Best Picture nod in a field of ten.

    With the Academy’s sizable British voting bloc having often made their presence felt even in the days of five nominees — hello, “Atonement” — the odds do favor at least one British film making the cut in most years. Many see Mike Leigh’s “Another Year” as the prime candidate for that hypothetical slot this year, and it’s certainly a worthy one, but it remains a tough sell in many respects: a quiet, sometimes despairing essay on middle-aged loneliness unlikely to register beyond a rarefied arthouse audience.

    (more…)

  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1965 and 1966

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    I’m back guys. Sorry for taking a week off but my older brother got hitched and I had a drunken Best Man speech that needed attending to. I trust you spent the week watching all the wonderful movies being highlighted in this column.

    We’re halfway through my favorite decade of film and 1965 is the first time the Oscar telecast came to you live and in color (any readers actually old enough to remember?). Going into the ceremony, bookies were split between “The Sound of Music” and “Doctor Zhivago,” but it was the light-hearted former that waltzed away with top honors.

    The Academy continued to show courageous love to foreign titles with Hiroshi Teshigahara earning a Best Director nomination for “Woman in the Dunes” in ’65 and Claude Leloach doing the same for “A Man and a Woman” in 1966.

    That was the year that Fred Zinnemann’s morality play, “A Man for All Seasons” took Best Picture and five other awards, beating out Mike Nichols’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” which remains one of the greatest film debuts of all time in my book. The Oscars were making some risky choices but they still missed out on honoring these timeless films.

    (more…)