In Contention

Tag: 9

  • Shane Acker’s ‘9’ gets a beautiful poster

    9

    (Courtesy: Film School Rejects)

  • OFF THE CARPET: Handicapping 2009 a year in advance!?

    Ewan McGregor and Hilary Swank in AmeliaAhh.  The dust is settling.  And on the horizon, just visible through the mist and waiting to drive us all up the wall once again: the 2009 Oscar season.

    I’ve been writing this year-in-advance column for probably six years now, and I always look forward to gazing ahead.  No one dives in so pathetically deep this far out as yours truly, but in exchange for not having a life for the past few months, I get to unload this burden the day after our annual season’s peak and forget about little gold men entirely for a few months.

    It’s quite liberating.

    The most interesting thing about the season to come, from my vantage point, is the lack of a dreaded “frontrunner status” for any of the contenders.  Some might say Clint Eastwood’s Nelson Mandela project (which is not called “The Human Factor,” mind you — the director says the film is currently untitled and is based on John Carlin’s book “Playing the Enemy”).

    Others might say Rob Marshall’s “Nine” (coming from a money-tight company hoping to avoid echoes of “Memoirs of a Geisha”).  But I don’t see a “Geisha” from here, or a “Charlie Wilson’s War,” expected heavies waiting to miss the mark.  The field is curiously flat, and as a result, excitingly broad.

    Let’s get to it, shall we?

    (more…)

  • ‘9’ vs. ‘Nine’ in…2009

    NineUPDATE (8:41pm): Glenn from Stale Popcorn wants it known he was lord of this observation a long time ago.  With the animated film “$9.99” thrown in to boot.  Got it?

    EARLIER: Gregory Ellwood has made a shrewd observation about next year’s Oscar race that could prove to be an interesting source of confusion for some voting bodies.  Here’s the crux of his argument:

    Now, it’s rare that Hollywood studios don’t work out movie titles before production begins.  In fact, that’s one of the unknown benefits of being a member of the MPAA, they make sure everyone plays fair in such matters (or they make you play fair).  However, two movies with the same title, but spelled differently, are heading for release later this year: Focus Feature’s CG animated flick “9” and the Weinstein Company’s expected last gasp, “Nine.”

    Normally, this wouldn’t matter much except for one thing: “Nine” is a total Oscar bait flick.  Meaning?  Although it’s filled with big names like Nicole Kidman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench and Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson, the musical’s box office performance is highly dependent on Awards Season love and, just about a year from now, Oscar nominations to drive its second wave of revenue.  And yet, when the list of possible Oscar nominees appear on voter’s doorsteps (known as the Reminder List of Eligible Releases), do you know what title will be at the top of the list?  “9.”  No, not Harvey’s hope for “Chicago Deux,” but the post-apocalyptic animated flick that has online geeks buzzing.  See, the nominee list members receive is alphabetical, but numbered titles appear first and there is little doubt that “9” will be a part of that list as well.

    Can’t believe I didn’t think of this already.  Anyway, check out the rest at HitFix.

  • Behind the scenes of Henry Selick’s ‘Coraline’

    Every time I walk into the comic book store lately I feel the urge to pick up Neil Gaiman’s “Coraline.” I haven’t done so yet (mainly because I’m buried in so many other books at the moment), but it’s an interesting tale that could make a fabulous feature film.

    Henry Selick is, of course, doing just that and Rotten Tomatoes has secured a behind-the-scenes look at the film. Focus Features is set to distribute “Coraline” in February of next year, but there is still an outside shot at an Academy-qualifying run in 2008 if the film is finished in time. It would enter into the animated feature derby with “WALL-E,” perhaps Sony Classics’ “Waltz With Bashir” and DreamWorks SKG’s “Kung Fu Panda” (which is just asking to be kicked to the awards curb).

    Next year, the competiton looks to be Pixar’s “Up,” Walt Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog” and Focus’s own “9.” Perhaps Robert Zemeckis’s “A Christmas Carol” will turn the tide for motion capture for the animators, but I doubt it.

    “Coraline” is currently set for release on February 6, 2009.

  • Another animated title off the list…

    In response to Brian’s item this week about Focus Features’ animated film slate, I’ve received notification from the studio that “Coraline,” the Neil Gaiman adaptation from Henry Selick (which looks extraordinary, I might add) is set for a February 2009 release.  Obviously, this takes it off the line-up for Oscar contention this year, so update your lists.

    Additionally, though Brian notes that he “has heard that ‘Coraline’ [will be rated] PG-13,” Focus would like it known that the film has not yet been rated.  Just so the air is clear on that.

    The studio also insists that no release date has been settled yet for Shane Acker’s “9.”  However, that doesn’t jive with another report I received earlier this month which indicated the film would be pushed to next year.  According to the studio, since the film is still “in production,” they’re not committing to a date.  Brian, meanwhile, was told at the early screening he attended that the flick was “still on for a Christmas 2008”  release.

    It’s all beside the point for now.  Things shift and slide.  Maybe the studio will find an opening in the holiday season for “9”  and prime it for launch, maybe not.  But none of it takes away from Brian’s point, that it is interesting to see the studio trying its hand at being an animation studio, and one dedicated to unconventional fare at that.

  • Focus gets animated

    I caught an uber-early screening of Focus Feature’s “9” tonight, one of two animated films they have coming out in 2008 – the other being Henry Selick’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s “Coraline.”

    While it would be a disservice to comment much on the film (at least 10% of it was still storyboards — in fact, I highly doubt I saw a single frame of finished animation) giving that it’s still deep in production, I will say that one thing has become clear: Focus Features are certainly dedicated to making much darker animated films than anyone else in the market. I’ve heard “Coraline” is a PG-13, and I can’t imagine “9” getting a PG.

    It will be interesting to see if Focus can become an animation powerhouse.

    Regarding “9,” I will say this much: we all know what’s going to win Best Animated at the Oscars this year, and it’s not “9.”

  • Strike ‘9’

    I just caught wind that Focus Features’ animated endeavor “9” from writer/director Shane Acker (and based on his Academy Award-nominated short film) has been slated for 2009, removing it from the already thin slate of contenders in the animated feature category. Apparently, this has always been the case, so I’ve either been out to lunch, going on bad information or both. It happens.

    The studio still, presumably, has a horse in the race with Henry Selick’s Neil Gaiman adaptation “Coraline,” should it maintain a platform release pattern that puts in in U.S. cinemas by the end of the year. We’ll see.