• The biggest news of this busy week may well have been the announcement of James Franco and Anne Hathaway as this year’s Oscarcast hosts.
• Unless you count “The Social Network” dominating the National Board of Review as bigger news, that is.
• Or, for that matter, our first look at the Coen brothers’ “True Grit.”
• Speaking of which, Kris reported on the current eligibility status of Carter Burwell’s score (still up in the air).
• David Poland writes up the history of Oscar coverage. [Movie City News]
• Costume designs from Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan.” [Daily Telegraph]
• Paula Schwartz reports from the Friars Club Roast of Quentin Tarantino. [The Carpetbagger]
I find it somewhat appropriate to be ending my in-depth looks at the crafts categories with a discussion of Best Visual Effects. This is, after all, a category which awards the sort of behind-the-scenes crafts work that is often prominently displayed in advertisements and talked about with reverence after the film ends.
When looking at the category’s history, it is not surprising that major blockbusters have fared the best here, with big budgets and even big revenues usually being a prerequisite to be considered for a nomination. Visual effects that “stick out” are usually rewarded, even if the film is not particularly loved. Of course, being in a beloved film helps, especially in the race for the win.
Prior to this year, there had been only three nominees in this category. Now, there will be five. This means we won’t get the “clues” that come when a list of seven bake-off finalists was announced in previous years. That said, I feel we’ve got a lot of clues about what the final five will be already.
20th Century Fox held its annual holiday party on the roof of the Thompson Hotel in Beverly Hills last night. It afforded a good opportunity to corral press members into a tight space with talent from the studio’s five awards season contenders.
Newly tapped Oscar host Anne Hathaway was on hand (with “Love & Other Drugs” co-star Jake Gyllenhaal), but her co-host James Franco couldn’t make it. I chatted briefly with “127 Hours” director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, as well as “Never Let Me Go” composer Rachel Portman (who seemed quite prim and shy). I know “Conviction” screenwriter Pamela Gray was making the rounds but I never got a chance to say hi.
I did, however, finally meet one of the cinematographers from “127 Hours,” Enrique Chediak. And as we were talking, a publicist tapped me on the shoulder and asked, “Would you like to talk to Anthony Dod Mantle?” Of course I would, so I turned and staring back at me was Mantle live via Skype from Cape Town, South Africa, where he’s currently filming Pete Travis’s “Judge Dredd” reboot with Karl Urban.
• Anne Thompson has George Hickenlooper’s “Casino Jack” photo diary. [Thompson on Hollywood]
• Patrick Goldstein writes up the “My Dog Tulip” Oscar campaign. [The Big Picture]
• Vincent Cassel on “Black Swan,” movie overkill and the politics of selling out. [Movieline]
If you live in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Toronto or Washington, D.C. and you’re somehow on the fence about seeing Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” when it opens in limited release Friday, maybe this will help you make up your mind.
JoBlo confirmed with Fox Searchlight and reported via Twitter that the trailer for Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” will be attached to prints of the film. Anticipation for Malick’s latest has reached a fever pitch and this will be our first glimpse.
I recently spoke to someone who’s seen it and was blown away, but I really can’t divulge further. (What a douche move, I know.) If it indeed changes the language of cinema, as has been the line on it for some time, we’ll all be in for a real treat when it inevitably bows at Cannes in May.
[Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures]
I haven’t bothered taking a stab at predicting this year’s Oscar winners yet. Now seems like the right time, given that everything has been seen (save for two Sony entries with comedy stylings that look to be commercial enterprises more than awards plays).
I’m long on the record as thinking “The King’s Speech” is the one to beat in this year’s Best Picture race, and little — if anything — has given me reason to think otherwise. But as I’ve already warned, being out in front so early can be a handicap ultimately, so we’ll see if it pans out accordingly.
I’m not putting a ton of stock into these predictions yet, so you shouldn’t either. After all, one of my picks isn’t even present in the sidebar predictions at the moment (though that will change in a week’s time). So just look at this as a chance to spitball some possibilities. And feel free to offer up your guesses in the comments section below. My predictions after the jump.
• Rumors fly concerning Heath Ledger’s Joker making an appearance in “The Dark Knight Rises” via unused footage from “The Dark Knight.” (Not gonna happen.) [Stuff.co.nz]
• Does Natalie Portman’s “Black Swan” weight loss mean Oscar gold? [Movieline]
• David Poland sits down with “Get Low” screenwriters Chris Provenzano and C. Gaby Mitchell. [The Hot Blog]
Well, quelle surprise. I’ve been saying for months now that Debra Granik’s solemn Ozark thriller is — even more so than the sunnier, starrier “The Kids Are All Right” — this year’s annointed indie cause in the Oscar race, and this only cements that belief. The film’s impressive showing this morning, coming on the heels of last night’s Gotham Awards triumph, has me more confident than ever that the tiny pic is set to repeat the trajectory “Precious” made last year from Sundance champ to Best Picture nominee.
A number of its companions in the Best Feature race could join in there too, as the Spirits largely favored big-name fare in the top categories: “The Kids Are All Right” took second place in the nomination count, with five, while “Black Swan” and “Rabbit Hole” (which clearly just missed the cut in the feature race) are just behind with four apiece.
I’ve been wondering lately about the below-the-line aspects of “Black Swan” and whether they could find the proper respect even if the film doesn’t take off in the major races. Specifically I’m thinking about Matthew Libatique’s cinematography, Andrew Weisblum’s film editing, Craig Henighan and company’s sound design and Thérèse DePrez’s production design.
On the latter, we’re happy to bring an exclusive video clip spotlighting the design process of the film. These particulars are refined and thematically relevant throughout the film, but they really get vibrantly showcased in a final act that pulls together all of the various threads into one lengthy, jaw-dropping sequence that is no doubt what lingers long after you’ve left the theater.
In the clip, you’ll hear interviews with DePrez and director Darren Aronofsky, who says he has always wanted to work with the designer of films like “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” “American Splendor” and “The Door in the Floor.” It’s a great look behind the scenes of the process of outwardly displaying the inner workings of the piece. Have a look after the jump.
• Todd Gilchrist talks to the Oscar-winning composer of “The Last Emperor,” Ryûichi Sakamoto. [Cinematical]
• John Lopez, like everyone else, I imagine, is already forecasting a major Oscar presence for Steve Spielberg’s Abraham Lincoln film. [Little Gold Men]
• Exclusively revealing the 33 animated shorts qualifying for this year’s Oscar race. [Cartoon Brew]
Sound mixing has a lot in common with sound editing, but the distinctions are still critical. While both clearly relate to what we hear in the theater, sound editing specifically relates to the creation of artificial sounds (“sound effects”) while sound mixing brings everything together — from effects to music to dialogue (recorded on set or during post-production) to music – into the overall soundscape of a film.
Many of the same kinds of films that are nominated for Best Sound Editing are also frequently cited here – blockbusters, action films and war films. But musicals often pop up here, too. And as in most categories, being a Best Picture contender certainly helps titles that otherwise would not come close to this category. Though it is hardly determinative.
I said before and will say it again – I believe that Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” is leading the way here, at least in terms of likelihood of a nomination. I honestly expect a good half-dozen crafts category nominations for this title and this will be among them. And I expect the crew, including past nominee Gary Rizzo, to be firmly in the hunt for the statuette.
(Updated predictions available here.)
I shan’t often find room for Gaspar Noé’s name in a space ostensibly dedicated to the Oscar race, so bear with me if this seems an unlikely opening gambit, but inspiration for this week’s column began with a conversation about his fluorescent, drug-addled ghost story “Enter the Void.”
A friend had recently caught up with it, and found herself disappointed: having been promised a psychotropic headfuck, she instead found something more sentimental and less questioning than his previous work. “At this rate,” she muttered aggrievedly, “he’s about 10 years away from a bloody Oscar nomination.”
That’s a flip exaggeration, of course, but there’s a kernel of truth in it: the Academy likes its enfants terribles most when they’ve passed the teething stage and begin to play nice — or at least safe. There’s a long and illustrious list of adventurous, iconoclastic directors who scored with AMPAS either by putting a leash on their wilder creative instincts or making sly concessions to the mainstream.
(Ended up unexpectedly taking the day off yesterday. Not that I’m complaining.)
• Anne Thompson talks to “Secretariat” star Diane Lane. [Thompson on Hollywood]
• Mila Kunis on dropping to a bony 95 pounds for “Black Swan.” [E! Online]
• Dave Karger, meanwhile, wonders if the actress can score an Oscar nod alongside co-star Natalie Portman. [Inside Movies]
• Jennifer Boulden writes a singular piece on Fort Smith, Arkansas, her home and the setting of “True Grit.” [Awards Daily]
• Jeffrey M. Anderson stumps for “Buried” over “127 Hours.” [Cinematical]
• The HFPA gets grabby over a revenue dispute with Dick Clark Productions, vis a vis the Golden Globe awards telecast. [Entertainment Weekly]
When it comes to Oscar campaigning, sex can be something of a double-edged sword. We all know that the Academy has often responded well to attractive young actresses baring flesh for their art: Kate Winslet was the most recent beneficiary, but Halle Berry, Charlize Theron, Holly Hunter and Jane Fonda are among the other actresses who spun open onscreen sexuality into Oscar gold.
That said, while raw sex scenes don’t necessarily offend the Academy’s delicate sensibilities, voters can nonetheless shy away from performances that delight in their own kinkiness: recent snubs for the likes of Naomi Watts in “Mulholland Drive” and Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Secretary” suggest that Oscar favors solemnly tasteful kitchen-sink eroticism over more heightened depictions of sexual pleasure. (After all, it wasn’t Diane Lane’s hot love scenes that earned her that unlikely Best Actress nod for “Unfaithful”; it was that guilt-ridden reaction shot on the train ride home.)
The Palm Springs International Film Festival may claim independent thought in the rationing of their performance awards, but rather like Santa Barbara, any West Coast fest that takes place in prime awards-season territory can’t claim to be free of the Oscar campaign circuit.
After all, when their press release states that the two actors being honored with their Desert Palm Achievement Awards (essentially Best Actor and Actress) “deliver Oscar-quality performances,” they’re effectively admitting to being another cog in the machine.
So it is that for the last three years running, their male Desert Palm Achievement Award winner was gone on to scoop the Best Actor Oscar. These folks know what they’re doing. Try and conceal your astonishment, then, that this year’s honoree is Colin Firth, the unanimously agreed-upon frontrunner (and to my mind, lone contender) for the Oscar. “Colin Firth brings a regal versatility to each of his roles, but his portrayal of King George VI in his latest film, ‘The King’s Speech,’ is extraordinary,” says PSIFF director Harold Matzner.