• Anne Thompson reports that there is no “official” costume designer on “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” so anyone holding out longshot hope for its Oscar chances in that field can go ahead and focus elsewhere. [Thompson on Hollywood]
• Melena Ryzik gets Ivan Reitman to admit “The Hangover” would be on his top 10 list. [The Carpetbagger]
• Dave Karger chats with “Nine” star Penelope Cruz, who could be on her way to back-to-back supporting actress nominations. [Oscar Watch]
Now a UK cinema-going institution, this series of Orange cellphone ads consistently pokes fun at the career doldrums of Hollywood has-beens — so it’s ironic that their newest features a star of the season’s biggest film. Anyway, Sigourney Weaver is the latest name to the long line of good sports, from Anjelica Huston to Rob Lowe.
Every year I like to keep track of personal favorites throughout the Academy’s designated categories (plus one of my own addition, Best Ensemble). At the end of the year, my “if I had a ballot” post is the result.
Of course, for the most part, I follow Academy designations here. If something is ruled ineligible, I play along. It’s not that often that something like that is egregious anyway, though the music branch consistently tests my resolve on the matter. In years past I’ve tried to make it an AMPAS/critics’ awards hybrid kind of thing, but this makes it easier.
I know, I know. “Why don’t you just list what you think should be nominated, the rules be damned?” Because then I couldn’t call it “If I had a ballot?” But I guess I’m contradicting myself by adding a category. I don’t know. I’m just trying not to be too lamely definitive or authoritative with something like this, I suppose.
Anyway, I’m also abstaining from offering up a list of foreign language nods. Firstly, I feel it’s been a rather weak year in general there, but I also haven’t made my way fully through the list of submissions either. So I’ll address that another time. The same goes with he doc features, as I’d rather push through more of the eligible titles first.
This year the top 10 is the Best Picture field, obviously, and from there, I toss my two cents into a variety of discussions. Here’s what I came up with…
• Sharon Waxman says “Avatar” is “just what ailing, uncertain Hollywood needs.” [The Wrap]
• Nikki Finke writes up Oscar’s bad-mouthing season. [Deadline Hollywood Daily]
• Rodrigo Perez names “Capturing the Friedmans” the best documentary of the decade. [The Playlist]
• Karina Longworth holds her nose and writes about Oscar, but makes a compelling case for “Avatar” as the “timeliest” film of the season. [Little Gold Men]
• The film’s star, Zoe Saldana, on the state of women in Hollywood. [Speakeasy]
• Charting the best music documentaries of the decade. [The Playlist]
I’ve often been asked throughout the latter part of 2009 why I should have the gall to consider it the best year of film product in a decade. It’s such a subjective circumstance that, of course, the only answer is, “I liked a lot of movies.” That’s not enough for most. Hard and fast evidence is necessary. A carefully outlined, persuasive argument is expected.
I just liked a lot of movies.
The year began slowly, as they tend to do. The first film I saw that cried for end-of-the-year remembrance was a modest baseball drama I caught at the Santa Barbara Film Festival in February. Then it was all the way into the summer before a blockbuster banged the first four-star gong, followed shortly by a happenstance viewing of an unconventional British biopic at the Los Angeles Film Festival and a catch-up viewing of one of the year’s Sundance hits.
Sprinkled throughout was top-tier animated product, a Comic-Con screening of one of the best sci-fi outings in years (and a homefront viewing of another first-time filmmaker’s fascinating foray into the genre), not to mention finally catching up with one of two exemplary war dramas that debuted in Toronto last fall.
Before long, the summer, with all its surprise delights, both substantial and appropriately frothy, began to wind down. The fall awards season picked up steam as Telluride fired the starting gun and, after that, it seemed every trip to a darkened theater brought some form of satisfaction. Even the entertainments seemed to satisfy completely.
How can one defend the position any more succinctly? I liked. A lot. Of movies. And I relish the opportunity now to pay tribute to the year’s best, some 30 titles, each of which could have been a top 10 finalist in any other year.
• In case you missed this morning’s announcement, “Inglourious Basterds” and “Nine” led the field of BFCA nominees. [In Contention]
• Frank Rich op-eds a love letter to “Up in the Air.” [New York Times]
• Steve Pond painstakingly assembles a primer on how many votes a contender needs for an Oscar nomination per category. [The Odds]
Note to all the critics’ groups out there: yesterday was a quiet day. Did none of you think to announce your awards then, getting a little more individual attention in the process? Talk about a pile-up.
Anyway, the New York Film Critics Online just revealed their selections, and while they’re not the most influential group out there, there’s good news for those hoping for a blockbuster presence in the awards season — and a battle of the exes on the Best Director front.
Side note for fellow fans of Tilda Swinton’s performance in “Julia”: apparently she was Meryl Streep’s nearest competitor for Best Actress, though voter Katey Rich of CinemaBlend speculates that some critics voting hadn’t seen the film. Sigh. Still, nice to see her crop up in some way.
A full list of winners is after the cut. (Thanks to assorted commenters, and Katey again, for furnishing us with details.)
• A little movie called “Avatar” premiered. This week’s Oscar Talk tucked into the film.
• As “The Lovely Bones” faces a frosty critical welcome, this week’s Off the Carpet column went to bat for the film.
• We interviewed a quartet of young actors making strides this year: Abbie Cornish, Saoirse Ronan, Ben Foster and Bryce Dallas Howard.
• In The Long Shot, we examined the animation race — and stood up for under-the-radar contender “Mary & Max.”
Welcome to the latest installment of Oscar Talk, your weekly kudocast with yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood.
This week’s discussion is pretty much dominated by the unveiling of, arguably, 2009’s most anticipated film. So with that in mind:
• Anne and I discuss the joy of James Cameron’s “Avatar,” including everything from technical wizardry, the film’s milestone status in the history of cinema and, of course, awards prospects.
• With the critics’ awards kicking off this weekend, starting Sunday with the Los Angeles Film Critics Association’s list of kudos, we speculate on which films could get recognition and which films need the leg up.
• Top 10 lists are hitting and Anne just published hers, so that’s food for thought. Mine will hit Monday.
• Briefly we preview next week’s list of key dates, which include the BFCA, Golden Globe and SAG nomination announcements.
Have a listen to this week’s podcast below. Apologies for the audio on Anne’s side of things. It sounds a little muffled because we couldn’t get her external mic to work. Roll with the punches.
Oh, and as always, you can subscribe to Oscar Talk via iTunes here.
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The embargo on “Avatar” has been essentially lifted by Fox so I could go on at length about how I could sit through it over…and over…and over again. Anne and I will dig in properly in tomorrow’s Oscar Talk and I’m sure I’ll have a review at some point, maybe Monday. But a few things…
The visual effects race, if you couldn’t guess already, is over and done with. In all likelihood, the sound races as well. And there is a compelling argument to be made for the film editing as well. But that’s the expected tech bliss the film delivers.
Wait, let me not undersell that. This is the most amazing cinematic experience I’ve ever had. There are, admittedly, story elements that give one pause. The film isn’t total perfection (though I’d argue this is a very mature, thematically beautiful screenplay from James Cameron). The filmmaker can’t help himself in a number of instances that are too on the nose.
But so what? Seriously. This is why we all go into dark rooms to be transported to other worlds. Cameron gets it. And he delivers. A thousand times over. It’s the kind of film you want to take any and everyone with you to see. Not to be too cheesy — it is absolute magic.
More tomorrow. (P.S.: Give Stephen Lang a Best Supporting Actor nomination. NOW)
Over the last five months, Gerard has diligently canvassed and re-canvassed the various crafts categories here at In Contention. The one category we have held back on all this time, as contenders have slowly fallen into place, was Best Original Song. Today, it’s time to dig into the field.
This has turned into something of a banner year for original songs in feature films. We’ve had the great pleasure of bringing a number of hopefuls to you via our “listen to” posts, and look forward to continuing that into the new year. But inevitably, frontrunners are bound to show up, and I think we can successfully narrow the field now.
Before diving in, it’s worth reiterating the voting process in this category. I’ll simply let the Academy’s rule book speak for itself:
“An original song consists of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the motion picture. There must be a clearly audible, intelligible, substantive rendition (not necessarily visually presented) of both lyric and melody, used in the body of the motion picture or as the first music cue in the end credits.
Like everone else, The Guardian can’t print a full review of “Avatar” before Monday, but their writer Mark Brown (not the paper’s regular critic, it should be said) has tested the embargo enough to say this:
So by saying Avatar was really much, much better than expected, that it looked amazing and that the story was gripping – if cheesy in many places – the Guardian is in technical breach of the agreement. It is not a breach, however, to report that other journalists leaving the screening were also positive: the terrible film that some had been anticipating had not materialised. It was good.
They also report that Cameron claims to have enough story material for two sequels. (It had better be “good,” then.) More here.
Today is the real “Avatar Day.”
Later tonight at the Chinese theater in Hollywood, James Cameron’s heavily anticipated opus finally goes before discerning critical eye. (It will be doing the same momentarily in London for junket press.) The project has been percolating for a decade. Months of tangible hype began at Comic-Con in July when fans and press were dazzled by a half hour of 3D footage. The marketing has reached a fever pitch. TV spots are ubiquitous. It’s time to hold ’em or fold ’em. The gambling’s done.
Can any film hold up under this pressure? I have that weird feeling in my stomach, where it seems like something is teetering on the edge, set to fall one way or the other. And honest to God — I have no idea which way this thing is going to fall.
I hope knives aren’t being sharpened. I’m not in the tank or a Cameron fanboy or what have you. But I am very intrigued by a guy rolling in money using it to push something forward, forcibly, and it’s impossible not to have that hair-raising sense of excitement at a cinematic milestone like this. And win, lose or draw, the unveiling of “Avatar” is indeed going to be a milestone.
I have mixed feelings about this finalized one-sheet for James Cameron’s “Avatar.” My immediate reaction was that it was, well, a bit cheesy. But then again, it recalls the somewhat majestic poster art of the “Star Wars” films. If the film works and makes good on the hype and promise, I could see this becoming an iconic piece.
Or it could just be cheesy. Today, I like it.
• Reed Johnson sits down with “Invictus” director Clint Eastwood and star Morgan Freeman. [Los Angeles Times]
• Eric D. Snider digs into the different perspectives on what makes a decade’s end. [Eric D. Snider]
• Noah Forrest stumps for some low-lying contenders that need the help. [Movie City News]
So writes Vulture’s Lane Brown on “I See You,” the godawful (or “hilarious,” take your pick) theme song from “Avatar.” No reason for sharing, aside from the fact that I’m still laughing.