In Contention

Tag: Casey Affleck

  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 2001 and 2002

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    After being overlooked in 1995, Ron Howard finally got a pat on the back from Oscar in 2001 for “A Beautiful Mind,” which was Russell Crowe’s second Best Picture winner in a row. If that wasn’t bad enough, the inaugural Best Animated Feature award went to the unwatchable “Shrek,” making this one of the more dubious overall years in Oscar history.

    In my opinion of course. “Chicago” isn’t much better but 2002 at least threw us a nice curveball when Adrien Brody became the youngest Best Actor winner in history and Roman Polanski became the oldest (and fugitiviest) Best Director for “The Pianist.”

    At four hours and 23 minutes, the 2001 ceremony is the longest ever, made worse by the fact that Whoopi Goldberg was in charge of it. At least they got Woody Allen to show up for the first time ever for a post-9/11 tribute to New York. I’d suggest the entire ceremony be relocated to New York if it meant Woody would host.

    Steve Martin came back in 2002 and trimmed things up by almost an hour. Way to go, Steve! He also delivered what might be my favorite Oscar joke ever- “In “About Schmidt,” Jack Nicholson plays a retired insurance executive who climbs into a hot tub with Kathy Bates. But hey, who hasn’t?”

    Also, Eminem!

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  • FIRST-HALF FYC: Best Actor

    After a sidestep into the writing races last week, we return to the performance categories in our rundown of notable work from the first half of the year’s release slate. And so we land upon the category that perhaps needs this feature most of all: where the Best Actress conversation still includes some names from the January-to-June window, no leading men from early 2010 are to be found even on the fringes of the awards race.

    Of course, when you consider the options, it’s not hard to see why: all the strongest performances came in films that nobody saw, films that the Academy wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole, or both. In four of my five selections below, moreover, the actor is operating at a rather higher level than the film around him — and yet it’s here where I think some of the whole year’s most adventurous work in the category is to be found.

    I wish it wasn’t quite such a bleak set of films to be celebrating in this of all weeks, but that’s just how it worked out. I’m sure at least one omission will confound some readers, as, I imagine, will one inclusion — but therein lies the fun. Check out my picks after the cut and contribute yours in the comments. Remember: first half.

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  • THE LONG SHOT: Categorical denial

    Wild-eyed, table-banging outbursts — sometimes of enthusiasm, more often of outrage — are an essential part of the floor show at any Oscar viewing party, but I’ve rarely seen one more unhinged than a friend’s reaction to Angelina Jolie’s (widely expected) Best Supporting Actress victory at the 1999 ceremony.

    “Who the hell was she supporting?” she yelled, red wine slopping out of her glass as she pointed an accusatory finger at the TV screen. “The woman only went and swallowed the entire film without so much as chewing once, all but elbowed Winona out of every shot, and she’s rewarded for supporting her?” She was practically spitting now, so blind with fury she hadn’t even noticed the raven-haired Miss Jolie snogging her brother. “If that’s her idea of support, what happens when she’s against you?”

    I should perhaps explain that my friend’s love for all things Winona Ryder ran deep, and not a little frightening, in those days; the Academy’s heartless decision not to nominate Ryder for Best Actress that year already meant she was watching the ceremony under duress. So it probably wasn’t the best time to explain that, well, Jolie did have the secondary role in “Girl, Interrupted” and that, unfair world that this is, there was still no law preventing rising young actors from being much better than their first-billed co-stars. So we let her rant, at least until Phil Collins started singing and she had something new to complain about.

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  • 9/23 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Brolin on Stone and Allen, remembering ‘Goodfellas’ and a ‘Boonmee’ how-to

    • In a joint venture with Interview magazine, Roger Ebert corners Casey Affleck on “I’m Still Here.” [Chicago Sun-Times]

    • Kevin Gray talks “Wall Street” and Woody Allen with Josh Brolin. [Vulture]

    • Steve Pond runs a comb through the contenders so far to gauge strengths and weaknesses. [The Odds]

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  • 9/22 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Carrey’s Oscar potential, ‘Inception’ with a joystick, demanding to see ‘Beaver’

    • Sasha Stone ponders Oscar possibilities for Jim Carrey in “I Love You Phillip Morris” as the hate-mongering right looks to block the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. [Awards Daily]

    • Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy reunite to celebrate 25 years of “The Breakfast Club.”  Come on, Emilio.  Too cool for school?  (See what I did there?) [People]

    • Christopher Nolan briefly mentions that he’d like to develop “Inception” as a video game (and if you have a film-related news feed then you’ve already seen plenty of webmasters climbing over themselves to re-report this). [Variety]

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  • Casey Affleck: “Gotcha!”

    Obviously “Catfish” isn’t the only documentary leaving people wondering whether everything we see is legitimate.  Casey Affleck’s “I’m Still Here,” a chronicle of Joaquin Phoenix’s abandonment of his acting career in favor of a passion for, hip-hop has had many puzzled since Phoenix’s awkward appearance on The Late Show over a year ago.  I’ve always felt like it was a put-on but, well, it just never let up.

    Well, Affleck would like to come clean.  The clues have been scattered around since the film bowed in Venice, but in an interview with the New York Times’ Michael Cieply, Affleck says, “It’s a terrific performance, it’s the performance of his career.”  None of it was real, despite Affleck saying he “never intended to trick anybody.”  But the great mystery is settled.

    Whether or not the film is as poignant a study of falling from grace is still up in the air.  We can’t be sure how much the idea that everything happening was real might have affected the numerous negative opinions of the film.  Then again, in Venice, Guy noted that the film “is probably more interesting viewed as an immensely committed, avant-garde performance piece by Phoenix” and “a ragged but grimly compelling essay on our vile celebrity-news culture.”

    In any case, the cat’s out of the bag, and Phoenix will land back on Letterman’s couch — out of character, this time — on September 22.

    [Photo: People]

  • 9/13 Oscarweb Round-up

    • Richard Corliss, clearly irritated by early Oscar buzz, comes down hard on “The King’s Speech” and seems to think it is “bad enough” to win the Oscar for Best Picture. [Time]

    • Colin Firth, meanwhile, responds to said Oscar buzz. [The Hollywood Reporter]

    • Regarding “Let Me In,” Stephanie Zacharek contends “like a piece of great music, a strong movie can withstand multiple interpretations.” [Movieline]

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  • 9/8 Oscarweb Round-up

    • Jean-Luc Godard tells the Academy in a “cordial letter” that he may attend the Governor’s Awards if his schedule permits.  AMPAS feels need to convey this to you via press release (because no one wants to look like a stood-up date). [Oscars.org]

    • Launching a new season’s coverage, Steve Pond tries to make his September record 2-0 by predicting “The King’s Speech” for Oscar victory this year. [The Odds]

    • David Poland reassesses the field and warns against getting caught up in festival euphoria. [Movie City News]

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  • SHORT TAKE: “I’m Still Here” (**1/2)

    Venice Film Festival

    “This is the moment where the fucking good guy wins,” yells an evidently kite-high Joaquin Phoenix at a hapless member of his entourage, midway through his brother-in-law Casey Affleck’s debatable documentary portrait of the star’s much-publicized career meltdown.

    It’s a little difficult to spot the victory – or, indeed, the good guy – in this and many other such tantrums that pepper “I’m Still Here”: the film can be interpreted in a number of ways, and Phoenix comes off pretty awfully in most of them. Is it all a hoax? More specifically, could Phoenix’s actions – his abrupt 2008 “retirement” from the screen, his intended hip-hop career, his bizarre new American-Apparel-rabbi look – all be an elaborate stunt, and the film somehow not?

    Affleck was predictably unforthcoming in this morning’s press conference: “Elliptical” was his one-word answer when asked how he felt about the allegations of fakery, supported by certain scenes in the film that have obviously been (re)staged. (The closing credits feature a cast list in which not every player is billed as themselves.)

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  • ‘I’m Still Here’ trailer

    In case you’re interested in the Casey Affleck documentary about his brother-in-law Joaquin Phoenix’s attempt at a rap career and either serious-as-cancer or totally put-on downward spiral, the trailer for “I’m Still Here” has landed at Yaho0! Movies.  But is it just me or is this whole thing all a bit stale already?  How long ago was the Letterman appearance, anyway?  And the weird red carpet interview?  Oh well, check out the trailer by clicking the image below or watch the embed after the jump.

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  • ‘I’m Still Here’ poster

    I’m not entirely sure what manner of beast Casey Affleck’s upcoming documentary about his friend Joaquin Phoenix’s 2008 retirement/reinvention/stunt/freakout is: it claims to be a sincere portrait underpinned by mutual understanding between artists, but it could just as well be the latest archly ironic act in this most slow-burning of celebrity pranks. Whether it answers any questions or simply adds more to the list, however, it’s bound to be one of the hottest tickets at next month’s Venice Film Festival, where it will premiere out of competition. (Alongside Casey’s brother Ben’s “The Town” — the Lido likes it some Affleck this year.) It also boasts one of 2010’s loveliest one-sheets, by the great Kellerhouse, Inc. — perhaps the only time the word “lovely” could be applied to the look Phoenix is rocking here.

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  • UK trailer for ‘The Killer Inside Me’

    Sorry for the second lazy embed in a row, but the day serves up what the day serves up. I already offered my thoughts on Michael Winterbottom’s controversial Jim Thompson adaptation from Berlin — it’s a bit of a mixed bag, with Casey Affleck’s riveting lead turn slightly overwhelming the structurally uncertain film. (And yes, Jessica Alba is pretty good in it too.) Still, this British trailer does a superb job of highlighting its atmospheric strengths. It debuted at The Guardian today; a less crisp YouTube version is below.

  • BERLIN: ‘The Killer Inside Me,’ final notes

    Casey Affleck and Kate Hudson in The Killer Inside MeHaving named its prizewinners yesterday, the Berlinale officially wraps today. I meant to file my last post on the festival once I arrived home on Friday night, but assorted tasks and distractions kept it on the back burner. Too many things, too many things, as Amber Waves would say.

    My last day in Berlin served up one of the films I’d most been looking forward to, tireless British filmmaker Michael Winterbottom’s Jim Thompson adaptation “The Killer Inside Me.” Winterbottom’s baldly violent noir arrived in town with the embers of its Sundance controversy still glowing, hoping to liven up a staid Competition. Werner Herzog’s jury might not have taken the bait, but many audience members at the press screening I attended did.

    “Fuck you!” yelled one German journo, rather lamely, at the screen once Casey Affleck’s Texan sheriff (and moonlighting serial killer) had finished pummelling Jessica Alba’s lovely face to the texture of steak tartare. After that, obediently outraged grumbles greeted assorted scenes of sex and sadism, while a chorus of boos accompanied the end credits.

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  • The Academy opens the doors to 134 new members

    Seth RogenThe headline says it all.  After bringing in 105 new members last year, the Academy has just announced a new list of 134 names to join their ranks.

    Actors include Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Jeffrey Wright (woo-hoo!), James McAvoy, Casey Affleck (who should have been brought in after his 2007 nomination), James Franco, Michael Cera and Seth Rogen, as well as, of course, all of the first-time nominees from last year’s season.  I was rather surprised to see Brendan Gleeson only now getting the invite.

    A big huzzah to director Rod Lurie, who made the cut in the directors branch, along with last year’s big winner Danny Boyle and animator Henry Selick, among others.  And another tip of the hat to Clint Mansell (robbed blind for his “Fountain” score two years ago), who joined the composers’ ranks along with Peter Gabriel (another guy I figured would have been in long ago) and last year’s winner in both music categories, A.R. Rahman.

    Neither here nor there, since now we’re getting to inside baseball, but a big shout-out to Paramount’s Megan Colligan, who was allowed passage in the public relations arena.

    Check out the full list after the jump.

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  • Fresh face


    Snapped in the Bank Street tube station on the Central Line. I like the Region 2 cover art.

  • REVIEW: “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (****)

    The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert FordIn 1983, author Ron Hansen crafted a novel that ought to be considered mandatory reading for anyone fancying himself or herself attracted to the western as a genre and as a conveyor of essential truth. A Shakespearean account of betrayal in the old west, Hansen’s masterful sketches revealed deep and vibrant characters that transcended the nickel-book mythology into which they inevitably found themselves woven.

    Twenty-four years later, filmmaker Andrew Dominik has accomplished a visual telling of that story as close to cinematic perfection as you could hope for. At the risk of sensationalism, I would call “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” the most accomplished work of moving imagery committed to film in nearly a decade. It is a staggering piece of true cinematic art.

    The tale is as simple as it is complex, a trait shared by the greatest of western storytelling. Jesse James (Brad Pitt), the infamous outlaw of old, found himself the subject of obsession, fascination and idolatry by the young and ambitious Robert Ford (Casey Affleck). A yearning to touch greatness, or even reside in similar territory, drove Ford to seek out acceptance amongst James and his gang of outlaws in the waning years of the 19th century. A lethal combination of angst, envy, hubris and government sanctioning brought Ford to a place on April 3, 1882 where firing a bullet into the back of James’ skull seemed the logical course of action. And so it was.

    Dominik and director of photography Roger Deakins have framed the legend of James in some instances by blurring the outer edges of the frame. Perhaps the intention is to convey a legend we know little about, given the cloud of mythology that surrounds actuality. But there are depths of reality here that speak to some fairly grandiose truths, and that, I think, is what Dominik is driving at.

    With all the sensationalized accounts, all of the larger-than-life depiction, there is true poetry in the life and death of the outlaw. And there is true poetry in his assassin’s regret. Myth is born out of realism, and Andrew Dominik, an Australian, seems to understand the American western better than any contemporary, and many who paved the way before him.

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