I don’t see any way in hell “The Dark Knight” gets a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination and then fails to show up in the Best Picture category. So…if we hear the brothers Nolan and David Goyer’s names uttered…we’ll know.
Tag: Christopher Nolan
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After finishing off the Joker, Batman may have to fend off a Nazi and a biggot on the way to Oscar
A week ago with the announcement of the Directors Guild Awards (DGA), it seemed Christopher Nolan and “The Dark Knight” were headed for Oscar night, with nominations for Best Picture and Best Director highly likely. But like a full balloon with a slow leak, the air is slowly hissing out as “Gran Torino” and “The Reader” seem to be gaining momentum.I loved “The Dark Knight.” It was, for me, the best film of the year and highly deserving of top tier nominations. Regardless of its comic roots, Nolan’s accomplishment in giving the film a heart and soul on a grand scale is even greater, and I hope the Academy sees it that way.
“Gran Torino” has gained enormous momentum since being released wide, racking up more than $30 million at the domestic box office. Audiences are coming in droves to see Clint back on screen. He surrounded himself with largely or complete unknowns, amplifying is screen presence. Very shrewd. Audiences are going to see him, possibly for the last time, as he portrays the sort of character they love to see.
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‘Slumdog,’ ‘Button’ lead BAFTA pack with 11 nods each
Each year, the BAFTAs never fail to find new and frustrating ways to surprise me.It wasn’t hard to guess that “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Slumdog Millionaire” would come out on top here — though even as a fan of the latter film, I do wonder whether nominations for Best Production Design and Best Supporting Actress are pushing it a little. (Sure, Freida Pinto is gorgeous, but… )
But look closer and the oddities come thick and fast. Who would have guessed, come nomination morning, that “Changeling” would land 8 nominations (including mentions for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay), while “Happy-Go-Lucky” gets zilch? I was aware that Mike Leigh’s delightful film has played better with critics Stateside than it did over here in the spring, but failing to even nominate Golden Globe winner Sally Hawkins is a blatant — and in my opinion, unforgivable — slap in the face.
As I predicted, despite the film’s mixed reception, BAFTA voters responded well to “The Reader,” which lands in the Best Film derby alongside four of the Oscar favourites in the category. While I thought “Milk” might miss with the Brits, it was actually “The Dark Knight” that came up short — and while I’m not entirely surprised that it proved too genre-oriented for their top category, their failure to nominate Brit helmer Christopher Nolan is pretty stunning.
Bar the Hawkins snub, the acting categories name most of the usual suspects, though there’s still room for typically BAFTA-esque eccentricities. Brendan Gleeson is an pleasant surprise in the Best Supporting Actor category, and while I anticipated Brad Pitt’s appearance in that field for “Burn After Reading,” Tilda Swinton’s Supporting Actress nod for the same film is the kind of out-of-nowhere hometown favoritism that only BAFTA can come up with. The real headscratcher in that category, however, is Amy Adams’ inclusion at the expense of Viola Davis — one has to wonder whether voters actually watched “Doubt,” or voted on name recognition alone.
(More thoughts, and the full list of nominees, below the cut.)
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DGA discrepancies with AMPAS are not uncommon
The announcement of this year’s DGA nominees has left the sense that the races for Best Picture and Best Director are over. Not so. While the guild and Academy line up most of the time, and have a decent track record with the directing branch, we must not forget the years that proved otherwise. This could be such a year.Ask yourself how many times the Best Picture category has lined up perfectly with the nominees for Best Director? Please also be aware that the DGA has awarded their prize sometimes to directors not even nominated for an Oscar: Ron Howard for “Apollo 13” and Steven Spielberg for “The Color Purple” to name a couple. So while the race is certainly clearer, it is by means over.
I still believe Woody Allen stands a strong chance for being nominated for “Vicky Christina Barcelona,” just as I believe that Darren Aronofsky could sneak in for “The Wrestler.” But who gets snubbed?
Gus Van Sant, Christopher Nolan, Ron Howard, David Fincher and Danny Boyle are worthy nominees all, most deserving of their attention and potential award. But who of those esteemed five could the Academy allow to slip away? It’s a tough call.
I hate to say it, but I think Fincher is the most likely snub. A stunning film to be sure, and likely the major nominee recipient…just as “The Color Purple” was in 1985. My gut tells me Fincher might get the shaft only because he’s been on that side of things before, and the others are just too hard to ignore. That said, let’s not forget that Ron Howard has been a victim of this sort in the past, for his finest work in fact, “Apollo 13.” And Nolan is in some dicey waters, though I doubt he could be the victim of the blockbuster mentality that haunted Spielberg for “Jaws” (and much of his career).
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DGA nominees
I think we’re locked and loaded, folks…David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Christopher Nolan, “The Dark Knight”
Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”
Gus Van Sant, “Milk”
Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”What more is there to add at this point? This is where John Shanley needed to show up if there was any more hope for “Doubt.” This is where Darren Aronofsky needed to stake a claim if there was any Best Picture juice in “The Wrestler.” Ditto Stephen Daldry and “The Reader,” I guess. But with this, I think the consensus has become overwhelming and a bit difficult to ignore.
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Speaking of Bat fans
I have to give props to Bill Ramey, better know as “Jett,” and the hard work he’s been putting into Batman On Film for well over a decade now. This is the kind of fan Christopher Nolan and company set out to apease to a certain extent when they marched into this franchise less than 10 years removed from its own crashing and burning at the hands of Joel Schumacher. Those were choppy waters, but now the sea is calm. And Bill keeps doing his thing. Check out his 2008 year-in-review piece for all the Bat highlights of the year. It’s a nice bit of reminiscence to say the least.
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Guessing the DGA
So, with SAG, PGA and ASC out of the way, and with WGA still to come in a matter of hours, I guess it’s worth mentioning that the big daddy guild is announcing tomorrow: the Directors Guild of America (DGA). Now’s as good a time as any to take a stab at guessing the nominees…The DGA has been one hell of an Oscar Best Picture barometer for the last decade or so. Last year was the first real hiccup as the guild only nailed three of the eventual five nominees with their director choices. 2006 saw one misfire (but we all still figured “Dreamgirls” was in around this time two years ago). Then it was four years in a row five-for-five until we have another hiccup, Ridley Scott making it in for “Black Hawk Down” and Christopher Nolan (in the mix again this year) for “Memento.”
After that, the general trend was four-for-five with some 100 percents thrown in here and there, but you get the picture. This is, more often than not, quite the prognosticative (that’s so not a word) guild. With the PGA clearly establishing a consensus of sorts (not that those five films haven’t been the obvious contenders for weeks upon weeks), I see no real reason to get creative right now, so I’m going with the following:
David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Christopher Nolan, “The Dark Knight”
Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”
Gus Van Sant, “Milk”
Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”There are only two filmmakers that I think have a shot of cracking this quintet: Woody Allen for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and, perhaps more so, Darren Aronofsky for “The Wrestler.” John Patrick Shanley and “Doubt” showing up would truly shock me and Andrew Stanton is not eligible for “WALL-E,” so the field is rather thin.
What are you thinking?
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Celebrating Heath’s accomplishment
When Johnny Depp first read the role of Captain Jack Sparrow, there was nothing in the script to suggest the performance he would eventually give. That bizarre manner of speaking, sounding slightly stoned, the crazy off-kilter walk, and the way he moved his arms, all but flailing them about. That was an actor’s artistry, plain and simple, and it was something to behold. That is the genius of Johnny Depp.When Heath Ledger was given the role of the Joker I was mildly surprised, not because I did not think he could do it. On the contrary. It just never occurred to me to consider him for the role. Obviously Christopher Nolan knew something I did not. Then consider the obstacles facing Ledger, the largest being a performance from one of the greatest and most beloved actors in the history of the cinema in the same role back in 1989. “Batman” was still a hot DVD, plenty fresh in the minds of viewers. Jack Nicholson’s Joker was, at the time, critically acclaimed. He stole the movie right from under Michael Keaton’s nose — even had top billing. Yet Tim Burton’s “Batman” was a fantasy, and Christopher Nolan has gone in an entirely different direction with his “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight.”
Ledger understood this and made the decision to portray the Joker as realistically as possible, as a terrorist, as a murderous maniac with a mind that was pure evil and twisted genius. He walked differently, he moved differently, he spoke differently. The licking of the lips to soothe the scars of his mouth, the manner of speaking slowly as to challenge the other person, all of this was Ledger. He created something rather extraordinary in the film and that should be celebrated.
I believe he gave the best performance of the year in 2005 for his breathtaking work in “Brokeback Mountain,” but the Academy thought otherwise. But I don’t think that will happen this year. This is one of those performances like Marlon Brando in “On the Waterfront,” Nicholson in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” Robert De Niro in “Raging Bull” and recently, Forest Whitaker in “The Last King of Scotland” that is so brilliant, so stunning to watch (and watch again), the Academy has to honor it. This is one for the ages, to be discussed and reviewed for years to come.
Tom O’Neil is tossing the supporting actor race around with a couple of colleagues over at Gold Derby. Entertainment Weekly’s Dave Karger brings up the issue of winds of changing, the “dynamic changes in momentum,” as O’Neil puts it. But let’s face it. The Academy will look like fools if they don’t hand Ledger this trophy, because this is the most discussed performance of the year.
The best directors, Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, they hire their actors and trust them to do the job, to come to the set prepared and having created something for the film that will work for the director’s vision. Nolan did this with Ledger He smartly stood out of the way and let him go, allowing the actor to enhance the film, give it an edge, bring to it a dark brilliance. And what could “The Dark Knight” be without the darkest of villains?
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A couple of Bat bites for the geeks
Perusing Bill Ramey’s Batman-on-Film website today (a must-read for any Bat-fan), I cam across two interesting nuggets regarding Christopher Nolan’s franchise.The first was actually a link to this Backstage piece from Halley Bondy, kind of a question and answer session with “The Dark Knight” producer (and Nolan’s wife) Emma Thomas strictly focused on Heath Ledger. Here’s a bit about buzz of a posthumous Oscar for the actor:
It would definitely be a triumph for us if Heath wins an Oscar. Obviously things have changed in that he’s not here, but nothing has changed in that we hope he’s going to be recognized for his work. I think Heath really enjoyed what he did on the film, so I don’t think awards are that big of a deal for him. Knowing that he was doing something great was, I think, enough. We certainly told him how great he was, so I hope he knew it.
The second item was an original piece of reporting from a Batman-on-Film reader regarding the five deaths connected to Harvey Dent at the end of “The Dark Knight,” something I, frankly, have never thought about before. From a recent screening and Q&A session:
Big fan of the site. Just to give you some feedback on the event, I..asked…‘Towards the end of the film, Com. Gordon mentions covering up 5 deaths in relation to Harvey Dent. Who are these 5 people, including the 2 cops?’ Mr. Nolan’s response was ‘I will answer this question. Just not today.’ Which I must admit was amusing and frustrating at the same time.”
Hmmm…
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Onward…LAFCA coming up
Alright, the BFCA announcement has come and gone. Little surprise other than some omissions. So maybe the Los Angeles critics will feel the need to get behind a few ponies, as they do annually (Vera Farmiga in “Down to the Bone,” handing “There Will Be Blood” their Best Picture prize last year when Oscar buzz was dwindling, etc.)I’m actually expecting a “Slumdog” victory with maybe some surprises in Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress. I have a hunch Christopher Nolan will nab the Best Director prize, giving him, and the film, some much-needed Oscar legitimacy. And, as David Poland rightly noted last week, that “Dark Knight” soiree was indeed packed with LAFCA members.
Sasha Stone over at Awards Daily corraled the predictions of a few of us prognosticative bozos. She also gives a space for you to throw some things at the wall to see what sticks. But for now, it’s all a waiting game. Last year the announcement didn’t land until around 7:00 p.m. PST, so it’ll be a while. But have at it in the comments section below if you want to guess at the winners.
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Getting around to the BFCAs
A late night premiere and after party kept me in bed most of the morning. It happens. So I’m just now coming around to today’s BFCA announcement. First, some reactions (full disclosure, I am a member of the organization).First and foremost, the group subtracted one category (Best Family Film) and added another (Best Action Film). I think we all know where the latter is headed. Speaking of which, “The Dark Knight” actually had a hell of a showing, popping up in the expected areas but also grabbing a nomination for director Christopher Nolan and composers James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer (who find themselves back in the Oscar hunt as of yesterday).
The group also combined the Best Young Actor and Best Young Actress categories to reflect both sexes in the same arena. A good call, since I’m sure I’m not the only one who has felt like I was grasping at straws to list six names some years.
The startling omission: “Revolutionary Road.” I’m sure there are more than a few broken hearts at Paramount Vantage this morning, but chin up. “Into the Wild” landed the most nominations with the BFCA last year and only managed two Oscar nominations. So it all goes to show you these things aren’t set in stone. That having been said, the BFCA is simply the best Oscar predictor around and I’m thinking it will prove itself a nice tip sheet going into January 22.
A few quasi-surprises were in store. I’m sure not too many people were expecting Kate Beckinsale and Vera Farmiga’s names to pop up for Rod Lurie’s “Nothing But the Truth.” Lurie, it should be said, is a founding member of the BFCA, though in fairness, that was 15 years ago and he was in the group for two years. He has friends in the organization, sure, but they represent a fraction of the 200-strong membership. Regardless, I truthfully think both actresses deserve a spot at the table so it’s nice they could push their way through.
But getting back to “Revolutionary Road,” this is an out-and-out shut-out, and that really hurts the film’s buzz potential. It’s one thing to miss this category or that, but nothing for Leo (with six shots at it), nothing for Kate (ditto), not even a nod for Michael Shannon, who damn well deserves a mention. I’m truthfully surprised. I think our Best Picture line-up will be taken from the top 10 list, and like I said, it can’t be happy times for that hard-working crew. Scott Rudin is still sitting pretty, though, as his “Doubt” popped up in a number of areas. But “Button,” “Dark Knight,” “Frost,” “Milk,” “Slumdog” — you might as well take it to the bank.
Oh, and one final note. I’m actually quite happy to see Clint Eastwood’s name pop up in the composer category for “Changeling.” I think the jazzy soundtrack is his best work as a film musician to date and, if the Academy’s music branch ever saw past their bias, would make a fine Oscar nominee. Nice to see him show up here.
The top 10 list, with a full list of nominations after the jump:
Best Picture
“Changeling”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Doubt”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”
“The Wrestler” -
12/8 Oscarweb Round-up
• Lou Lumenick runs down his 10-best list… [Lumenick on Film]• …and calls “Mamma Mia!” the guilty pleasure of the year. [Lumenick on Film]
• Peter Sciretta gets a juicy tid-bit on the “Forrest Gump” sequel “Gump & Co.” from screenwriter Eric Roth: 9/11 killed the idea and all the principles decided it wasn’t relevant anymore. Interesting. [/Film]
• Christopher Nolan elaborates on his four favorite scenes from “The Dark Knight.” [USA Today]
• Anne Thompson goes deep on why “Australia” misses the mark. [Thompson on Hollywood]
• Mick Brown sits down with “Doubt” star Meryl Streep. [Daily Telegraph]
• As the ship sinks around him, Gregg Kilday reports on the box office muscle of this weekend’s Oscar contenders. [Hollywood Reporter]
• Ariel Kaminer tracks the road to the big screen for Bernhard Schlink’s “The Reader.” [New York Times]
• Eleanor Clift talks the parallels of “Frost/Nixon” to the current administration, parallels writer Peter Morgan certainly didn’t have in mind. [Newsweek]
• A refreshing list of the year’s superlatives. [New York Magazine]
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News item of the day: Batman sues Christopher Nolan
ISTANBUL – The mayor of Batman, a city recently under scrutiny due to unsolved murders and increasing rates of female suicides, will sue the director of the movie “Batman” movie.
Not a superhero with supernatural abilities, or a person wealthy enough to buy high-tech toys to fight evil, but a simple human being named Hüseyin Kalkan, the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party mayor of the southeastern city of Batman, declared war against his city’s namesake superhero, Batman.
“The royalty of the name ‘Batman’ belongs to us … There is only one Batman in the world. The American producers used the name of our city without informing us,” Kalkan told to the Doğan news agency. Batman is a centuries old city, taking root in the Neolithic age but becoming significant when oil was found in the region at the end of 1940s. Almost a decade before that, Batman was created as a comic hero. Kalkan is going to sue Christopher Nolan, the director of the latest Batman movie “The Dark Night,” not DC Comics, the creator of the superhero.
No commentary is really needed. Check out the rest here.
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‘Dark Knight’ Best Pic buzz gets louder
I was sitting in a production company earlier this morning awaiting an interview subject when I picked up the latest Entertainment Weekly from the reading material there in the lobby. It’s the holiday preview edition, with sneak peeks at the upcoming season’s films and Dave Karger’s early stabs at Oscar predictions. There in the middle somewhere was this Mark Harris column, re-announcing the Best Picture hopes of Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” and including a firm endorsement from the writer.Harris starts out like so:
Over the course of its run, this column has never made an official endorsement, but with interest so exceptionally high in one of the candidates, and the vote approaching, it’s time to take a stand: I would like The Dark Knight to get a Best Picture Oscar nomination.
Best Picture. Seriously. I write this knowing that as we enter a season crammed with Oscar-bait movies, the arrival of five richer, more resonant films could change my mind. But this just doesn’t look like that kind of year.
…before really digging in later in the piece:
You want to knock Dark Knight? Go ahead. Let’s fight about whether the whole Two-Face plotline should have been either more fully developed or cut completely, about whether the action scenes are intentionally disorienting or just patchily edited, and about Christian Bale’s laryngitic rasp. Let’s argue — as we’ll argue over all the Best Picture contenders — about what the film has to say, and whether it’s said with coherence, intelligence, and artistry. But don’t dismiss it just because it’s a comic-book movie. True, the genre lacks Oscar experience. But this comic-book movie has shown judgment and maturity in a year when many veteran genres have felt erratic. Why not make some history? Even within the Academy, there’s a first time for everything.
Check out the rest here. It’s a properly passionate study of a high-on-the-wish-list possibilty for more than a few Oscar watchers.
Elsewhere, Tom O’Neil has amassed some more predictions from the peanut gallery while the Buzzmeter continues to lie dormant at The Envelope. Five of the six pundits polled have “The Dark Knight” chalked up for a Best Picture nod. We’ll see if David Poland’s Gurus o’ Gold match the sentiments whenever he decides to send out another query.
The season is firing up. Can you tell?
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WEEKLY WRAP: ‘Milk’ unveiled, London winds down, Halloween horror
It’s been a quieter seven days after the upheaval we’ve seen in the race lately, but here’s how things went down:• “Milk” and “Frost/Nixon” finally unspooled for the LA crowd…
• … and boy, some people don’t take kindly to criticism of either flick.
• Meanwhile, “Doubt” kicked off the AFI Fest…
• … while the London Film Festival drew to a close, showcasing “Che” and “The Wrestler” along the way. Check out our assorted reviews and “best in show” wrap-up.
• ‘Tis the season to be scared shitless… the 20 all-time best horror films, as assembled by our team.
• Christopher Nolan offers pretty much the final word on “The Dark Knight,” while some wonder if he can complete a Batman hat-trick.
• The British Independent Film Awards revealed their nominees… “Hunger” and “In Bruges” are sitting pretty.
• Best Sound Editing gets its week in the sun at Tech Support.
• Looking at some new blood in this year’s tepid Best Original Song race.
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Memo to Christopher Nolan: Come back!
By now you’ve probably read Geoff Boucher’s substantial interview with Christopher Nolan at the Los Angeles Times. As Kris mentioned, it’s strategically placed to launch “The Dark Knight” into the awards season. And Nolan has, in my view, a very strong claim for a Best Director nomination. Whether or not he receives it has more to do, realistically, with Ron Howard, Sam Mendes, Danny Boyle, Gus Van Sant, Steven Soderberg, Clint Eastwood, David Fincher, Baz Luhrmann and a slew of other directors waiting for their films to arrive.There will be plenty of time for Oscar jockeying and opinion slinging, something we all do well here at In Contention. But I write this piece not to lobby for Mr. Nolan, but to plead with him. As “The Dark Knight” nears the $1 billion worldwide mark, it’s become apparent — if not obvious — that Warner Bros. will be looking towards a third installment. How could they not? The question on their mind –- and mine -– is whether Mr. Nolan will return to direct.
In his interview with Mr. Boucher, Nolan said that he was still considering it, and that he appreciated the studio’s patience in allowing him time to recover from the monumental undertaking of “The Dark Knight.”. But Mr. Nolan also notes something curious. His ambivalence towards making a third Batman film appears to be that there aren’t any good part threes. If you take a trip through cinema history, you’ll see that he’s right, mostly.
You can start with the Batman franchise. “Batman Forever,” while not nearly as awful its dreadful follow-up, “Batman and Robin,” still stunk, painfully. Everyone who enjoys cinema, of any sort really, has labored through “The Godfather Part III.” Meanwhile, “Back to the Future Part III” was hokey, “The Matrix Revolutions” was incoherent and “Spider-Man 3,” clearly, never should have been made.
“Once Upon a Time in Mexico” contained none of the mastery or coolness of “El Mariachi,” or even “Desperado.” And then there’s “Superman III,” “Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith,” “Rocky III,” “Blade: Trinity” and “Terminator III: Rise of the Machines.” Gross.
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Nolan talks Ledger and Oscar
I’ve held off on linking to Geoff Boucher’s three-part interview with “The Dark Knight” director Christopher Nolan at Hero Complex for two reasons. First of all, it just seemed wiser to wait until it had run its course in full. But mainly, I was waiting on the inevitable Oscar query.Obviously, as Anne Thompson noted in a recent item, an interview like this is strategically placed to launch what hopes to be a successful Oscar campaign for the film. Yes, the news peg of the Scream Awards was significant, but this kind of a deep one-on-one with a filmmaker of Nolan’s caliber serves a specific, immediate purpose: get “The Dark Knight” back on the radar in a deep, tangible way before Oscar advertising kicks in by the middle of November.
In today’s third and final entry, Boucher finally gets to the issue of awards, specifically the potential for Heath Ledger’s instantly iconic portrayal to land a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In response, Nolan had this to say:
I think the thing that has always been important to me in light of Heath’s death is the responsibility I’ve felt to his work. The responsibility of crafting the film in such a way that his performance came across the way he intended. Clearly, that has been the case. That’s one of the reasons I take such pride in the film.
I felt a great wave of relief, really, as people first started to see the performance and it was clear that they were getting the performance. It’s easy to forget with everything that’s happened what an enormous challenge it was for Heath to take on this iconic role. He rose to that challenge so admirably that any expression of people being excited or moved by his performance is a wonderful thing. Whatever form that takes. People coming to see his performance and getting it. It’s been extremely satisfying for all of us already. Anything that adds to that would be wonderful.
Do yourself a huge favor and read this series: Part One, Part Two and Part Three. Whether you’re a Bat geek, a recent convert or simply an admirer of Nolan’s work, there is something for everyone. A fine interview and, as I’ve noted before, a fine outlet for geekdom in Traditional Media.