• Steve Pond takes note of an Oscar milestone regarding Adam Shankman: the first tweeting Oscarcast producer! [The Odds]
• Tom O’Neil stirs the pot, says there might be a “Precious” backlash in the works. [Gold Derby]
• He does so in response to Lou Lumenick, who wonders whether Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey are hurting the film. [Lumenick on Film]
Q: Why Did Amelia Earhart disappear in 1937?
A: To avoid being embarrassed by the movie about her 72 years later.Q: Can three horrible fake accents equal one irredeemable movie?
A: You bet ya.Q: What’s the difference between Amelia and two hours of uninterrupted sleep?
A: The latter is uninterrupted.
From David Poland’s skewering of “Amelia” following a screening this evening. I’ll dig into the film in Friday’s Oscar Talk, but the only movie I’ve seen this year that is worse is “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li.”
“God, that thing’s just going to shit Academy Awards out of its ass next year, isn’t it?,” I overheard a journo behind me remark to his companion, as I made my way out of the “Up in the Air” press screening on Sunday. “It’s such an Oscar movie.”
Two things struck me as interesting about this throwaway remark, both relating to the lack of care with which both Oscar pundits and “serious” film lovers tend to regard the Academy Awards.
The first was that, isolated and in print, the guy’s words appear dismissive of “Up in the Air,” yet they actually capped a mostly enthusiastic response to the film. His tone dipped almost apologetically as he applied the “Oscar movie” label, as if it somehow sullied an otherwise fine effort.
More to the point, however, the remark seemed indicative of the transitive stage the Academy Awards seem to be in at the moment, as simultaneously resistant and vulnerable to industry change as the protagonist of Jason Reitman’s film – and facing a similar crisis of purpose. For 15 years ago – if not necessarily 15 years before that – “Up in the Air” wouldn’t have been decreed an “Oscar movie” at all.
Mira Nair’s latest finally crosses my bow later this evening. We’ll see. We’ll see…
• Perpetuating the false myth that this is a weak year for leading ladies. Not everything should be viewed through the prism of Oscar… [Awards Campaign]
• Following up on our Oscar Talk discussion, Anne Thompson considers the awards prospects of Oren Moverman’s “The Messenger.” [Thompson on Hollywood]
• Amidst his fully-in-the-tank review of “Where the Wild Things Are,” David Poland calls for Oscar to take note of James Gandolfini’s vocal performance. [The Hot Blog]
Well, it was maybe the most anticipated PG-rated film amongst the young adult set since “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace” and “Where the Wild Things Are” landed with a bang this weekend. The Spike Jonze adaptation grossed $32.5 million to top the box office and justify all the bickering and problems during production between director and studio.
Warner Bros. is having quite a year with unique directors tackling projects and possibly turning in a different movie than the studio was expecting (“Observe and Report” and “The Informant!” also come to mind), but it’s hard to imagine the film doing this well without a name like Jonze behind it. Kids made up only half of the audience and the broad appeal amongst all age groups should help with staying power over the next few weeks, even though reaction seems to be slightly mixed to positive.
“Law Abiding Citizen” took the runner-up spot in a bit of a surprise. The action/thriller grossed a strong $21.3 million, which would have been enough to top the chart on this same weekend last year. That’s a new high mark for Overture Films and another feather in Gerard Butler’s 2009 cap after “The Ugly Truth.” He may not be headed to an Oscar anytime soon but he has to be commended for turning the freak box office performance of “300” into bona fide movie stardom.
“Paranormal Activity” continues to gross paranormal numbers with another $20.2 million this weekend from 760 theaters. It’s not quite at the pace that “The Blair Witch Project” was at when it expanded but with a 2,000+ theater roll-out planned for next weekend and Halloween fast approaching, this no budget exercise should be knocking on the door of $100 million when all is said and done. Flabbergasting.
Since I last analyzed the costume design category in July, a number of the contenders are still waiting to be seen, though several have opened and we’ve seen glimpses from others. While the number of movers and shakers hasn’t been enormous, there has still been enough movement – and more insight gained – to warrant another look.
One thing I do not think has changed since the summer is the category’s most likely nominee. While I’m doubtful that she will win, I’m quite confident that Janet Patterson will earn her third nomination for Jane Campion’s “Bright Star.” While the film did not catch fire to quite the extent I was expecting, I’m nevertheless confident the threads will remain in this branch’s mind until the end of the year.
In July, I was torn about whether Colleen Atwood could emerge as a double nominee this year. But “Public Enemies,” despite featuring fine period work, seems to have become a distant memory. Even so, I’d be very surprised if she failed to get nominated for Rob Marshall’s “Nine.”
The great Sandy Powell, on the other hand, has had her three potential nominees reduced to one. With “The Tempest” and “Shutter Island” moved to 2010, it’s only “The Young Victoria” that is keeping her in the race. Powell is a giant in the field. But is the film at all memorable?
• Nathaniel Rogers weighs in on Christopher Plummer’s upcoming whirlwind campaigns. [The Film Experience]
• John Hiscock sits down with 2009’s “it” girl, Carey Mulligan. [Daily Telegraph]
• Enter a contest to design the actual one-sheet for Lars Von Trier’s “Antichrist.” [CHUD]
• Pete Hammond digs into the truth about “Amelia” and potential new found hope in a recent re-edit. [Notes on a Season]
• The Rome film fest gets with it, structures a “women in contemporary cinema” theme around this year’s festivities. [The Independent]
• Variety’s Peter Debruge has a bit of mash-up fun with the “Antichrist” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox” trailers. [YouTube]
We’re slowly rounding out the list of honorees at this year’s Hollywood Film Festival, a slate of “winners” that I’d be inclined to call the result of, well, hard-working publicists getting the word out on their clients rather than honest-to-God consideration of artistic merit, but hey, tis the season.
Today, Hilary Swank has been announced as the recipient of the Hollywood Actress Award for her work in the upcoming (and, nine days before released, still unscreened outside of a handful of people) “Amelia.” She joins Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore in the major acting awards camp. We’re still waiting on the announcement of the Hollywood Supporting Actor Award.
The gala ceremony will take place October 26 in Beverly Hills. Also right around the corner is the Gotham Awards. We’re wading out into it now. Check out the full list of presently announced Hollywood Film Fest winners after the jump.
Now is the time when everyone begins assessing the race at its beginnings, and the gist I’m getting is that no one really knows what to write about. Stabs at analysis end up being responses to other takes or rehashed arguments, and nothing really insightful is being brought to the table.
And let’s face it. As we dip into what looks to be the longest early-season lull in some time, there really is nothing insightful to offer. So let’s just spit-ball…
I think the Sony Classics acquisition of “The Last Station” is more significant than most seem to be aware right now. There are only a handful who have seen it (Telluride being the film’s only festival stop so far), so that’s understandable. And the film isn’t a knock-out, one that will be damned as merely efficient in some circles. But with Helen Mirren in the lead actress race, it’s worth noting that suddenly that category is further framed as the old guard versus the new.
And I may be wrong in my conviction, but I have to say it again: Mirren is VERY much in this race. As the fiery Countess wife of a literary titan, she brings equal parts passion and delicacy to a complicated, certainly flawed character. She’s afforded a number of moments that give her room to chew the scenery, and if Christopher Plummer happens to ride a wave of sentiment to a nomination as well, part of me feels that he will owe something to Mirren’s coattails.
My predictions for the leading ladies this week are Mirren, Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan, Gabourey Sidibe and, my weak link, Marion Cotillard (who is expected to be a lead actress push for “Nine,” but things could change). In that collective we have three former winners, two legends of the form, two newbies and one performer shifting into the second gear of her career. I think that’s a pretty good balance.
Almost three months ago, I described how our cinematographers bring movies to life, by lensing the director’s vision, the actors’ performances, the production designer’s and the writer’s mood, just to begin. In the absence of these talented individuals, there would truly be no cinema.
Like most people, this is my favorite of the Oscar crafts categories. I was very happy when Anthony Dod Mantle triumphed last year, even though he was barely on my radar post-TIFF, where “Slumdog Millionaire” premiered. So what has emerged since our last assessment?
From the Toronto and Venice Film Festivals, not a whole lot seems to have changed in the category. While “Precious” and “Up in the Air” seem to have been the biggest gainers, they still don’t seem to be obvious candidates here. Then again, you have to keep an eye on Best Picture contenders, so I’d still consider DPs Andrew Dunn and Eric Steelberg for their work.
Tom Ford’s “A Single Man” also performed quite well at Venice. Many have praised the look of the film, so it would be foolish to rule out Eduard Rau. On the other hand, Javier Aguiressarobe’s lensing of “The Road” did not receive the praise I suspected it might, with most acclaim going to Viggo Mortensen’s performance. Even so, I’ll keep my eye on this title until it is released in theaters.
A contender whose vehicle has shifted since I last covered this category in July is Robert Richardson. While Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island” has been delayed until next year, Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds,” on the other hand, has made a considerable splash. Richardson had many chances to show the scope of his talent on this project. I wouldn’t rule him out.
From Brian Brooks’s indieWIRE story:
Mira Nair’s “Amelia” will open the inaugural Doha Tribeca Film Festival in the Middle Eastern capital of Qatar next month. The Fox Searchlight release recalls legendary aviator Amelia Earhart, starring two-time Academy Award winner Hilary Swank and Golden Globe winner Richard Gere. The new fest is part of a long-term partnership between the Qatar Museums Authority and Tribeca Enterprises, which oversees April’s annual Tribeca Film Festival. Thirty-two films will screen at the first festival, with 12 coming from the Middle East and additional titles from the international festival circuit. The DTFF will run from October 29 to November 1, 2009 in Doha, Qatar.
With Venice and Toronto behind us, the time has come to re-evaluate where the race stands in the crafts categories.
Over the past two months at In Contention, we have tried to take a glance at where the potential nominees stood from a distance. Best Original Song was delayed, though Kris has, might I add, been doing a very good job at accumulating a list of potential candidates.
Now, while many titles still need to be unveiled, the big festivals have had their say. Alas, the two films which probably emerged from Toronto in the best position – “Up in the Air” and “Precious” – hardly seem to be the sort of films which will be racking up tech nominations (though the latter is a sure-fire film editing contender).
More interestingly, a question arises: Will Tom Ford’s “A Single Man” will be able to bring its Venice success to the USA in the crafts categories? It not only sports Ford’s artistic vision but also the “Mad Men” team behind its production design.
“Bright Star” has landed, likely to still make a splash in the crafts categories, but I’m still not sure if it will be the overall player many were hoping for. This could reduce the scope of its potential here.
Speaking of “Amelia,” the film may or may not be a factor in this year’s awards race. The jury is still out there, but over at MakingOf, director Mira Nair talks about the job of a director and her process in making a film. Take a look:
It looks like the LA Times is boning up on its coverage of the craft fields this Oscar season, as a pair of pieces landed over the weekend spotlighting below-the-line players on a pair of the year’s awards hopefuls.
The first, a look at the fashion sense of Amelia Earhart as conveyed in the costumes of Mira Nair’s “Amelia,” includes perspective from Nair on costume designer Kasia Walicka-Maimone’s work and the legendary pilot’s uniform innovations:
She created whatever suited her…And sold it as well. But more than anything, it came from comfort into style versus style for its own sake. She had this thing about scarves and color — rather than complete color, dashes of color. When she got the president’s medal, she wore a teal velvet skirt and ivory satin blouse with real orchids on the lapel.
The next piece is a look at the unlikely assumption of creature design duties for artist Sonny Gerasimowicz in Spike Jonze’s “Where the Wild Things Are.”
Over at Movie City News, David Poland has amassed the fifth annual Gurus o’ Gold prognosticating collective (including yours truly once again) and asked for a list of 15 films with the brightest pre-Toronto Best Picture profile. We also were asked to indicate dark horse underdog actors and actresses, which yielded some interesting results (though some of them shouldn’t really count as “dark horses”).
The Best Picture chart includes 34 titles (the top 10 republished after the jump) and represents the wild blind stab you’d expect at this point.
I find myself surprised “Bright Star” is still being considered a formidable contender, but it’s firmly in the top 10. So is “Precious,” proving out a personal months-old intuition (though nothing’s assured at this point, of course).
“The Road,” “Amelia” and “Capitalism: A Love Story” are the bubble contenders. “District 9” and “Star Trek” also have decent showings.
