In Contention

Tag: Brothers

  • Gothams tap Bigelow, Portman, Tucci, Bevan/Fellner for career tributes

    Kathryn BigelowThe Independent Film Project has announced this year’s Career Tribute recipients for the 19th annual Gotham Independent Film Awards.

    The feted will be: Kathryn Bigelow, whose film “The Hurt Locker” is on a steady awards season course; Natalie Portman, who is said to give a pretty solid performance in Jim Sheridan’s upcoming “Brothers”; and Stanley Tucci, who is already a delight opposite Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia” and could be an awards contender at season’s end for his performance in Peter Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones.”

    Working Title Films executives Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner are also set to be honored — WELL-deserved.

    Michelle Byrd, executive director of IFP, is quoted in the press release.  On Bigelow:

    Kathryn Bigelow’s unparalleled ability to portray thrilling action and stomach churning suspense have been a mainstay of her work as a director…What sets her apart, however, is her ability to bring those talents to bear on films of any budget while also presenting characters with emotional gravity.

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  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Original Score — Volume I

    The Princess and the FrogAs long as humanity has been recording history, music has been immensely important in society. Not only can it be joyous and entertaining, but it can capture the mood and feel of a time and a place. Cinema has been no exception in this regard.

    The creation of original music for a film is awarded by the Academy in the Best Original Score category. The composer has one of the most difficult and lonely jobs in filmmaking. Almost always arriving at the end of the editing stage, he or she has to fashion music appropriate to the mood of a film.  But when a composer does a magnificent job, the result can be iconic.

    This category tends to awards its favorites. It is notoriously one of AMPAS’s most insular branches (though it has warmed up to newbies slightly in recent years). It also tends to award music that features prominently in the films.  From this vantage point, however, it is always hard to guess which films will find themselves in contention, largely because we have not heard the scores.

    An exception in this regard is Michael Giacchino’s work on Pixar’s “Up.” Giacchino, who was nominated two years ago for “Ratatouille,” has once again composed a soundtrack which can be sad, joyous and suspenseful. The film is likely headed towards a Best Picture nomination, and I suspect a citation here will follow.

    Another animated film which may very well end up in contention is “The Princess and the Frog.” The music is being handled by Randy Newman, clearly beloved by the music branch. I remain skeptical of how this film will be received and, in any event, think that Best Original Song may be the more likely spot to consider for this film. However, Newman’s name means a lot and there are few other favorites in the running this year.

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  • ‘Brothers’ poster debuts

    I mentioned last week that I wasn’t entirely sold on the trailer for Jim Sheridan’s remake of the Susanne Bier drama “Brothers,” which played a little too shrill and on-the-nose for my liking. I have no such issues, however, with this superb poster: elegant, unusual and one of the few one-sheets I’ve seen lately that uses composition to intelligent thematic effect. Brownie points to all involved.

    Brothers

    [Source: Cinematical]

  • ‘Brothers’ trailer

    As someone who was never particularly taken with Susanne Bier’s popular 2004 melodrama “Brothers” — I find Bier’s work too patly earnest to repay real emotional investment — I approach Jim Sheridan’s long-delayed remake with a measure of caution.

    Judging from this just-released trailer, it seems to hew very close to the original, with added studio gloss and a gloopy background of Fray balladry that I hope isn’t in the film itself. On the plus side, Natalie Portman looks rather good, and needless to say, it’s a step up for Sheridan from the grim career nadir of “Get Rich or Die Tryin’.” (Uh, what isn’t?) Some might have Oscar-level expectations of this, given its December release date, but I’ll need to see the film to be convinced.

  • 10/2 Oscarweb Round-up

    Rosemarie Dewitt in Rachel Getting Married• Jeffrey Wells reports that Jim Sheridan’s “Brothers” has been pushed to 2009. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Patrick Goldstein hypothesizes that the year-end Oscar glut is detrimental to quality films and, in a round about way, that studios should forgo the Oscar spending.  Gasp! [The Big Picture]

    • David Poland apparently missed the qualifier “largely” in disputing a section of Goldstein’s lede. [The Hot Blog]

    • Michael Ordoña talks to the wonderful Rosemarie Dewitt about her work in “Rachel Getting Married.”  Best in show, in my opinion. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Tom O’Neil spotlights the tech crew of “Eagle Eye,” wonders if Oscar might be in their future. [Gold Derby]

    • Karina Longworth reports on the “Wrestler” press conference at the New York fest. [Spout Blog]

    • Andrew O’Hehir talks to Bill Maher — boy is he making the rounds for “Religulous.” [Beyond the Multiplex]

    • Chris Ayers heads over to Ixtlan for a “W.” chat with Oliver Stone. [The Times]

    • The 25 greatest movie posters of all time.  Too heavy ont he vintage stuff, but a fun list. [Premiere]

  • THE LISTS: Top 10 performances you’re underestimating

    Every year it seems there are a number of performers in the thick of an Oscar hunt that don’t get the same attention as the expected heavy-hitters.

    It’s no surprise, of course, that Oscar prognostication would lean toward the anticipation of what lies ahead, unseen, unproven.  The mystery stays in tact, if for precious few moments.  But a number of nominated actors and actresses, year after year, tend to bank on the underestimation of the masses, allowing those heavy-hitters to fall by the wayside and provide just the opportunity they were waiting for all along.

    Here, then, is an attempt to shine a light on 10 stealthy contenders that seem to be flying low on the radar so far this season:

    Richard Jenkins in The Visitor10. Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”
    At the moment, “The Visitor” star Richard Jenkins might seem like the obvious bet for a list such as this.  But with Overture Films planning an Oscar campaign for the character-actor-turned-leading-man and a year increasingly giving credence to smaller films, this gem of a performance from way back in the first quarter of the year could find room to make a move.  A prime DVD release date will keep the film fresh in voters’ minds and perhaps divert some of the attention away from the Brad Pitts, Sean Penns and Frank Langellas for a spell.

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  • POLL: Which recently off-his-game director do you expect to hit paydirt this Oscar season?

    Vicky Cristina Barcelona director Woody AllenIt’s been a couple of weeks since we introduced a new sidebar poll — tons going on, apologies. But suffice it to say, “The Dark Knight” beat out eight other highly regarded comic book films to be the readers’ choice for best all-time in the genre. No shock there, though it took more votes than I anticipated overall.

    This week, with the rush to anoint Jonathan Demme a prodigal son returned following the debut of the “Rachel Getting Married” trailer, I thought it would be fun to suss out what readers think of a few filmmakers testing the awards waters with new product this season after a number of missteps in recent memory.

    The aforementioned Demme is coming off of a couple of largely ignored documentaries and forgettable narrative entries such as “Beloved,” “The Truth About Charlie” and, to a lesser extent, “The Manchurian Candidate.”

    Woody Allen, meanwhile, is stepping up to the plate with “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” a critical fave out of Cannes following years of missteps since “Sweet and Lowdown” (save for “Match Point,” which had its followers).

    Spike Lee hasn’t exactly turned the heads of awards-giving bodies all that much for some time, though he looks to dive back into the fray with “Miracle at St. Anna,” and Jim Sheridan is coming off the miscalculation of “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” with the Susanne Bier remake “Brothers.”

    So…tell us in the poll.  Which of these recently off-the-mark helmers has the best shot at reclaiming former glory with his resepective awards hopeful this season?