In Contention

Tag: A Christmas Carol

  • SUNDAY CENTS: That was it?

    Michael Jackson's This Is It*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars

    Michael Jackson’s concert footage was finally released upon the public amid a whirlwind of hype that caused many, including myself, to get a little carried away. The documentary grossed $21.3 million from the three-day weekend, second only to “Fahrenheit 9/11” for docs, and $32.5 million since opening on Wednesday.

    Compared to what Sony must have thought it MIGHT get, this is a disappointing result, but compared to what was spent and what type of product this actually is, it’s still phenomenal. If it wasn’t for the fluke juggernaut that was “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert,” this would be the biggest result ever for a concert film. As it stands, people like me have egg on their face, but Sony will still be raking in a tidy profit when it’s all said and done as the film grossed a cool $101 million in its first five days worldwide.

    “Paranormal Activity” continued to expand but saw it’s weekend gross decline for the first time with $16.5 million and second place. Halloween landing on a Saturday is usually box office poison, but the supernatural flick bucked the trend somewhat and now has almost $85 mil in the bank. Believe it or not, if it can keep chugging along, it will become the first straight horror movie to top $100 million since “The Grudge” in 2004 and the first R-rated horror to do it since “Red Dragon” in 2002.

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  • We can officially add ‘A Christmas Carol’ to the animated list

    Gary Oldman in A Christmas CarolYesterday we covered the animated feature film race and the potential for the category to have five nominees this year, largely dependent on Robert Zemeckis’s “A Christmas Carol” being submitted as animation (a decision completely in his hands).  As it turns out, the film will indeed be submitted for consideration.

    That, along with “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure” brings the tally up to 16 titles.  Some are expressing doubts that “Tinker Bell” can qualify, but I’m told the film “looks great, is made professionally, and will receive a theatrical run in LA, so those are the criteria.”  Still, being right on the edge, this thing could go either way.

    I’m still waiting on confirmation that the French film “A Town Called Panic” had a qualifying run or will have one (mass confusion), and ditto Summit’s “Astro Boy,” but that would be 17 and the absolute ceiling (by my calculation) on the number of submitted titles.

    Assuming five nominees, here’s what I’m thinking…

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  • How the animated category could go to five

    Tinker Bell and the Lost TreasurePete Hammond has gone ahead and written the column I was going to write today, but you snooze you lose.

    Recently there was some discussion about the animated feature film category in our comments section.  The number of potential submissions is right on the edge.  By my count in the Contenders section, there are 16 films listed, which is the magic number that would yield a five-nominee slate.

    The field was widened recently with a planned qualifying run from Disney for “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure” at the El Capitan prior to DVD release.  To me, that smells like a studio trying to inflate the number of qualifying titles in order to get a wider field of contenders, because “Tinker Bell?”  Really?  One would expect it to just hit shelves as an afterthought.

    Anyway, there is one other title that could possibly be submitted: Zeitgeist Films’ “A Town Called Panic.” I called Zeitgeist yesterday to find out whether the company had run the film or would attempt to do so to qualify it, and the gist I got was that they just weren’t interested.  I expect a phone call if things change on that front, but for now, it’s unlikely.

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  • Final ‘Christmas Carol’ poster

    A Christmas Carol

    (Courtesy: Cinematical)

  • New ‘Christmas Carol’ trailer

  • 10 most anticipated films of the season

    No fanfare.  A legitimate installment of The Lists on another topic will drop from Chad later today, but here’s what has me stoked:

    1. “Up in the Air” (Paramount Pictures)
    2. “Avatar” (20th Century Fox)
    3. “The Tree of Life” (Apparition)
    4. “Where the Wild Things Are” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
    5. “A Christmas Carol” (Walt Disney Pictures)
    6. “Invictus” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
    7. “Capitalism: A Love Story” (Overture Films)
    8. “2012    ” (Sony Pictures) –> guilty
    9. “Precious” (Lionsgate)
    10. “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (Sony Pictures Classics)

    You?

  • COMIC-CON: Disney showcases ‘Carol,’ ‘Alice,’ ‘Tron’

    (from left) Patton Oswalt and Tim Burton at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con InternationalThe first opening day studio panel has just concluded as Walt Disney Pictures brought Robert Zemeckis (“A Christmas Carol”), Tim Burton (“Alice in Wonderland”) and the “Tron: Legacy” principals to Hall H for a hefty three-dimensional dose.

    The “Christmas Carol” footage, which was an extended version of the Marley’s ghost sequence Disney has been showing for a few months, seemed to leave the audience dizzy with glee.

    Patton Oswalt sat down with Zemeckis before the unveiling for a brief Q&A, leading by questioning the director’s reason for tackling the Charles Dickens classic after so many incarnations have already been filmed.

    “If you read the actual novel, it’s very, very trippy,” Zemeckis said.  “It’s very surreal and it’s really cool, and it’s very cinematic.  I think we now have the filmmaking tools to film what Dickens wrote.”

    Oswalt addressed the issue of “dead eyes” in the performance capture technique and a term applied to the uneasy visceral feeling it summons: “the uncanny valley.”

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  • 3D presentations ready for their close ups at Comic-Con

    Jim Carrey in A Christmas CarolAs I look out my 29th floor window I can see the Hall H line, peppered with air matresses and tents, is already at epicly ridiculous proportions, but most of those nutcases are “Twilight” obsessives hoping to a secure a spot for Summit’s panel later today.  The big stuff, however, will revolve around the 3D presentations of Disney’s “A Christmas Carol” and James Cameron’s “Avatar.”

    Over at the LA Times, John Horn has previewed today’s festivities, coming at it from the angle of 3D being perhaps a last ditch effort to cash in for a business that sees profits slipping yearly.  The buzz studios and filmmakers are aiming to drum up here in San Diego is crucial.  Horn talked to a number of artists involved with today’s unveilings, among them, “Christmas Carol” director Robert Zemeckis.

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  • Comic-Con on the way

    San Diego Comic-Con InternationalLike the rest of the web geek world, I guess, I’m gearing up for this year’s San Diego Comic Con International, which begins with preview night on Wednesday.

    All eyes, of course, are on Thursday’s slew of events, a treasure trove of goodies that made for a ton of Sophie’s choices when putting together my personal schedule.  I’ll definitely be at the Disney panel, with glimpses of Robert Zemeckis’s “A Christmas Carol” in 3D and a taste of Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland,” among other things.  Speaking of 3D, perhaps the most anticipated panel will be James Camerons “Avatar” event.  I’m definitely looking forward to that, but the likely crowd of humanity that will be doing same?  Not so much.  Trying to wrangle some VIP consideration as we speak.

    The Peter Jackson-produced “District 9” isn’t as high on my to-do list as most, but I’ll probably park it for Paramount’s “Iron Man 2” Panel on Saturday.  The film just wrapped a 72-day shoot over the weekend, by the way.  Warner Bros. also has a panel, on Friday, but Spike Jonze’s “Where the Wild Things Are” is the only thing that has me interested there.  Focus Features also plans a considerable presence with “Coraline” (the Blu-ray and DVD of which hits shelves tomorrow) and “9.”

    Oh, and Terry Gilliam’s “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.”  I suppose I should check that out.

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  • Could ‘Mr. Fox,’ ‘Carol’ join toon Best Pic hopefuls?

    Fantastic Mr. FoxJoBlo has an exclusive first look today at the central character from Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” a Scott Rudin-produced animated Roald Dahl adaptation.  The film was recently shifted from Fox over to Fox Searchlight for the purposes of distribution, lest a small, niche film such as this be lost in the shuffle.  But I have also heard murmurs (none of them confirmed, mind you) that the film will be pushed for a Best Picture nomination now that there are 10 slots up for grabs.

    What is confirmed, however, is that Henry Selick’s “Coraline” will be campaigned for the top prize by Focus Features (while Richard Curtis’s “The Boat That Rocked,” recently speculated in this space as being primed for Oscar, will not).  And of course, Disney/Pixar will be hitting the pavement in favor of “Up.”  Before long, the question becomes, “Well if they’re going for it, we should, too.”  Which leads me to wonder…

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  • Disney sends all-star auteur team to Comic-Con

    Tim BurtonWell, this is impressive. Hayao Miyazaki, John Lasseter, Tim Burton and Robert Zemeckis have all lined up to help represent Walt Disney Studios at Comic-Con in San Diego later this month, in the interests of showcasing a range of new and/or revived Disney features at the geek mecca. This is the first Comic-Con for all four filmmakers, so it’s quite a coup for Disney to assemble them in one place.

    Burton and Zemeckis will be joining a panel on 3D filmmaking (the first time Comic-Con has broached the subject), which will include discussion, not to mention exclusive footage, of their respective upcoming 3D features “A Christmas Carol” and “Alice in Wonderland.”

    Meanwhile, Miyazaki and Lasseter are set to participate in an animation panel (which also includes such veterans of  hand-drawn Disney animation as “The Little Mermaid” duo Ron Clements and John Musker), in which a range of upcoming animated titles — including “Toy Story 3,” “The Princess and the Frog” and “Ponyo” — will all be previewed.

    Both sound likely to be hot tickets. Kris, of course, will be on site in San Diego and covering the whole shebang for your reading pleasure. Lucky man. (Full press release after the cut.)

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  • Disney sneaks a little ‘Christmas’ into June

    A Christmas CarolEvery hour on the hour until 7:00pm today, Walt Disney Pictures is screening a pair of scenes from Robert Zemeckis’s upcoming “A Christmas Carol” over at the Universal City IMAX theater as part of the excited, long-winded publicity build-up for the film.  Currently a cross-country train tour is parked in Sacramento, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the making of process as well as the scenes exhibited today.  Next weekend it’ll be on to Oakland and will continue through its five-to-six month odyssey until it pulls into New York’s Grand Central station just days prior to the film’s November 6 release.

    For details on when the exhibition will be in your neck of the woods, check out the tour’s schedule.

    As for the footage itself, the scenes are strikingly different.  The first is something of a character initiation for Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey), in case you’re somehow unaware of his place in literary lore.  It isn’t the best scene for showing off the film’s 3D particulars but it is, however, a great indication of the detail and textured artistic direction of the film.  The sets are rendered as beautifully as Zemeckis’s “Beowulf,” though there is more of a glimmer of existence in the “lifeless eyes” that many were so loathe to observe in “The Polar Express.”  We also get a look at Bob Cratchit in this scene, one of actor Gary Oldman’s three gigs on the production.

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  • 5/19 Web Round-up

    Jim Carrey in A Christmas Carol• Anthony Breznicaan reports on the big “Christmas Carol” to do at Cannes. [USA Today]

    • John Hiscock talks to Ron Howard about getting around the Vatican’s disapproval of “Angels & Demons” while filming on location. [Daily Telegraph]

    • David Cox, meanwhile, believes the film will indeed hurt the Catholic Church with its depiction of an organization out of touch with modernity. [The Guardian]

    • And Noah Forrest just wants to know what happened to the Tom Hanks he knew and loved. [Movie City News]

    • Richard Woodward reports on the Jacques Tati retrospective going down at the Cinemathèque Française in Paris [Wall Street Journal]

    • A bit out of the blue, a list of the 10 best suspense films of all time. [The Independent]

    • Erica Abeel talks to Steven Soderbergh about his latest, “The Girlfriend Experience.” [indieWIRE]

    • Nikki Finke reports that yet another actor you could care less about has been cast in Marvel’s “Thor.” [Deadline Hollywood Daily]

    • Well that’s thinking outside the media coverage box for you: a look at…ahem…the “slash” fan fiction of the “Star Trek” dedicated. [Newsweek]

    • Sam Raimi wants to go back in time and do everything on the “Spider-Man” franchise differently.  You and me both, Sam. [Hero Complex]

  • ‘Christmas Carol’ promo

  • ‘A Christmas Carol’ poster

    I was a big fan of Robert Zemeckis’s “The Polar Express” in 2004, but “2007’s “Beowulf” didn’t work for me very much.  I had some major issues with the way 3D was used in the film.  But I’ve been very excited for “A Christmas Carol” ever since the project was announced.

    I’ve stood on the sidelines and watched Jim Carrey’s career spiral out of control in the wake of his career-best performance in “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”  2005’s “Fun with Dick and Jane” and last year’s “Yes Man” are just incredibly impotent comedies that didn”t give Carrey, a bona fide star, the chance to shine.  “The Number 23,” meanwhile — well, just don’t get me started on that unfortunate project.  It’s all very sad.  Maybe this film will light up his career once again.

    The poster for “A Cristmas Carol” has finally hit, and I expect it to be the first of many (since Carrey will be taking on four characters in the film — great opportunity for marketing).  Take a look:

    A Christmas Carol

  • 5/12 Web Round-up

    Green Lantern• Alex Billington takes a few snaps of upcoming release poster artwork in Cannes (including “Shutter Island” and “A Christmas Carol”), then, the web being what it is, he slaps his watermark all over them. [First Showing]

    • Kevin Costner keeps the western’s light flickering with an upcoming A&E mini-series. [The Hollywood Reporter]

    • The top 10 movie misquotes of all time. [The Guardian]

    • Vaneta Rogers consolidates the numerous “Green Lantern” rumors flying around town.  Please, God, don’t fuck it up. [Newsarama]

    • Speaking of rumors, Drew McWeeny recounts the crash and burn of one such, this one concerning the potential casting of Christian Bale in Andrew Stanton’s “John Carter of Mars.” [Motion/Captured]

    • Roger Ebert expresses concern over the use of 3D technology in “Up,” specifically citing the potential for diminishing “brightness and delicate shadings of the color palate.” [Chicago Sun-Times]

    • Anthony Breznican previews the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. [USA Today]

    • Candace Jackson talks “The Girlfriend Experience” with director Steven Soderbergh and star Sasha Grey. [Wall Street Journal]

    • William Goss remembers 1998: the movie summer that was. [Cinematical]

    • Twitter’s potential effect on the unstable world of film criticism gets some more ink. [The Wrap]

  • 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?

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  • My top 10 most anticipated films of 2009

    Johnny Depp in Public EnemiesNo explanations, just my annual unfiltered, edge-of-my-seat anticipations.  My tastes tend to skew entertainment from afar; I don’t look forward to the Oscar stuff until later in the year, when the pieces of that crazy puzzle are slowly revealed.

    Here’s what I’m looking forward to:

    1. “Watchmen” (Zack Snyder, Warner Bros. Pictures, March 6)
    2. “Public Enemies” (Michael Mann, Universal Pictures, July 1)
    3. “Avatar” (James Cameron, 20th Century Fox, Dec. 18)
    4. “A Christmas Carol” (Robert Zemeckis, Walt Disney Pictures, Nov. 5)
    5. “Terminator Salvation” (McG, Warner Bros. Pictures, May 22)
    6. “Shutter Island” (Martin Scorsese, Warner Bros. Pictures, Oct. 2)
    7. “Green Zone” (Paul Greengrass, Universal Pictures, TBA)
    8. “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (Gavin Hood, 20th Century Fox, May 1)
    9. “State of Play” (Kevin Macdonald, Universal Pictures, April 17)
    10. “2012” (Roland Emmerich, Columbia Pictures, July 10)

    Least anticipated: “Inglorious Bastards”

    You?