In Contention

Tag: Clint Eastwood

  • 10/24 Oscarweb Round-up

    Kate Winslet in The Reader• Dave Karger ponders a double nomination for Kate Winslet. [Oscar Watch]

    • Six of us all agree that “Slumdog Millionaire” is in this hunt to stay. [Gold Derby]

    • David Poland waxes on about the year’s film product amid the political season.  And somehow he thinks Clint Eastwood’s front-and-center, in-nearly-every-scene role in “Gran Torino” is “more interesting as a supporting actor.” [Movie City News]

    • Andrew Gnere talks to “Changeling” scribe J. Michael Straczynski. [Moviemaker Magazine]

    • 15 possible Oscar hosts. [The Movie Blog]

  • 10/23 Oscarweb Round-up

    Philip Seymour Hoffman and Hope Davis in Synecdoche, New York• Tom Tapp rallies behind Kristin Scott Thomas’s work in “I’ve Loved You So Long.” [The Daily Beast]

    • Anne Thompson, meanwhile, thinks the actress leads the field.  (Sorry — the film just didn’t speak to me.) [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • After Spielberg and Greengrass bowed out, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” might end up in the hands of…Ben Stiller?  WTF? [The Hollywood Reporter]

    • Michael Ordoñachats it up with Hope Davis, probably the least interesting female component of Charlie Kaufman’s “Synecdoche, New York.” [Los Angeles Times]

    • John Horn, meanwhile, writes a love letter to Clint Eastwood with “Changeling” set to bow nationwide. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Anthony Breznican gets some quality “Gran Torino” time with Clint Eastwood, plus some exclusive looks at the film’s first materials. [USA Today]

    • Missing the boat on so much of the subtle brilliance to be found in “W,” Christopher Rosen thinks Oliver Stone has simply gotten old. [New York Observer]

    • The director, meanwhile, takes part in an esteemed panel discussing the marks to be left by the current administration. [Slate]

    • Peter Bart makes the completely wrong-headed decision to chalk slumping ad sales revenue up to studios displaying a lack of talent support. [Peter Bart]

  • ‘Gran Torino’ poster

    Bad…ass.

    Warner Bros. Pictures\' Gran Torino

    (Courtesy: USA Today)

  • ‘Gomorrah’ and ‘Changeling’: two that work

    Angelina Jolie in ChangelingIt’s been a while since I’ve committed to a long-form review, and for that, I have to apologize.  Short Takes here and there don’t exactly cut it, but we’ve certainly stayed afloat in this light with Guy’s wonderful work across the pond.  I don’t get a chance to sit down and hammer out some thoughts very often, and I’m hoping that will change in the coming weeks.

    Two films that jumped out this week, however, demanded some attention.  The first is Matteo Garrone’s “Gomorrah,” which I saw recently in preparation for the AFI Fest.  The film was well-received at Cannes and has become Italy’s entry in the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar race.

    I have to say, I’m in agreement with Guy’s assessment for the most part.  Garrone’s patch-work narrative might seem trite and even trendy at first mention, but the menagerie works because it isn’t pretentious.  There is no sense of contrivance or expressed intent to make these five separate narratives comment toward one another or intersect in a nifty manner.

    The assemblage is borderline slap-dash and is more impactful as a result.  In a sense, Garrone has cooked up five tense, detailed short films and simply sifted them together.  All roads lead to nowhere, and a list of sobering Camorra facts at the end of the film really sticks with the viewer — especially that last doosey.

    (More on “Gomorrah,” plus thoughts on “Changeling” after the jump.)

    (more…)

  • More on “Gran Torino”

    When I was writing up today’s poll, I realized I had completely forgot about that Louisa Schein piece from a few weeks back that was focused on the Hmong actors Clint Eastwood has cast in “Gran Torino.”  It was the first of a two-part study and I never came back to it.

    Part two was published on October 4 and, well, here it is.  Better late than never.  Schein digs into more cast members this time, mainly those cast as the Hmong family that lives next to Eastwood’s Walt Kowalski character.  But she winds the story down with this bit of insight into how “Gran Torino” might have lit a fuse for prospective Hmong filmmakers:

    Once Gran Torino is in theaters, the wait will be on for a film that not only tells the Hmong story, but does so from a Hmong point of view. As longtime actress, and production assistant for the Minnesota casting call, Sandy Ci Moua, puts it: “I see this as a catalyst for more Hmong to get into filmmaking.” During casting Sandy was a major advocate for the hiring of Hmong actors. Now she wants something more. “Not just acting in someone else’s movie, but writing, casting and producing – the things that make the story go.”

    Read the rest here.

  • POLL: What do you make of “Gran Torino”‘s Oscar prospects?

    Sorry we let the sidebar poll go stale.  But it was a nice round-up of opinion.  After two weeks, 28% of our readers think “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is the frontrunner heading into the fall months, with “Milk” nipping at its heels.  But it’s time for a new query, no?

    I thought about using the question in the post below as fodder for this week’s poll, regarding Heath Ledger’s likelihood of a nomination in the lead category for “The Dark Knight.”  But I thought I would take an element from that post and concentrate on it here: the mysterious “Gran Torino.”

    Clint Eastwood’s film has been way back on the back burner for many prognosticators who aren’t able to let him pull a fast one and catch them off guard once again.  We’ve reviewed the screenplay here at In Contention and some scattered reports have circulated about the on-the-set particulars of the production, but for the most part, we’re in the dark.  Lots of potential, but nothing tangible to chew on.

    So I leave it to a vague poll: what do you think of the film’s Oscar prospects, given what little we have to go on?  I’ve narrowed it to four equally vague answers, and for that I apologize, but I thought I’d get a read on what you all were thinking on this lurking awards hopeful.  Tell us in the sidebar poll!

  • 10/7 Oscarweb Round-up

    Kat Dennings and Michael Cera in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist• David Poland writes up a mini-reaction to “W.”  Yours truly will get a crack this morning. [The Hot Blog]

    • Jeffrey Wells, meanwhile, can’t wait to see it. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Jeremy Piven in “Speed the Plow?”  Best…casting…ever? [The Daily Beast]

    • Yet another article wondering how “Body of Lies” will fare in the ghetto of Irag war cinema. [Risky Biz Blog]

    • Robert Deutsch gets some face time with Clint Eastwood. [USA Today]

    • More on EW’s Oscar revote. [Pop Watch]

    • In honor of “Nick and Norah’s Playlist,” 10 favorite “one night out” movies. [Vulture]

    • Christopher Campbell thinks Sony Classics should aim for Best Animated Feature Film with “Waltz with Bashir,” over Best Foreign Language Film.  Why not both? [Spout Blog]

  • 10/6 Oscarweb Round-up

    Toby Jones• Choire Sicha talks to Ellen Burstyn about “W.” and her new memoir. [Los Angeles Times]

    • A year later, Jeffrey Wells still very much hearts “Things We Lost in the Fire.” [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Peter Knegt profiles “Rachel Getting Married” screenwriter Jenny Lumet. [indieWIRE]

    • David Gritten corners the Coen brothers across the pond. [Daily Telegraph]

    • John Anderson details the Iraq war film as risky business with Ridley Scott tackling the subject in “Body of Lies.” [New York Times]

    • Doing more press for the Brits than Stateside these days, Oliver Stone chats it up with Oliver Burkeman. [The Guardian]

    • The diversity that is character actor Toby Jones. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Steve Daly talks with a Bill Maher-less Larry Charles. [Entertainment Weekly]

    • More fuel for the “‘Gran Torino’ is Eastwood’s last performance” fire. [Reuters]

  • ‘Changeling’ provokes dissent in the blogosphere

    Uh-oh. Since its premiere at Cannes, “Changeling” has provoked both breathless raves and withering putdowns, but after its NYFF screening, a number of prominent bloggers are falling into the latter camp, expressing disappointment over both the film and Angelina Jolie’s much-hyped performance.

    The most articulate view expressed so far is by the ever-readable Nathaniel Rogers, who, despite high hopes for the film, thinks it is “overlong, overwrought” and suffers from an identity crisis:

    Somewhere buried in “Changeling” is an interesting story about a woman finding her strength against significant odds … Unfortunately the movie as directed and scripted works against this potentially thrilling internal drama. The plotting and direction can’t decide which kind of movie this is: melodrama, courtroom, serial killer picture, procedural, period epic?

    “Changeling“‘s title accurately reflects its early creepy child switch and its relentlessly mediocre shift from melodrama to true crime story. A better more disciplined film would have earned that title in a more ambitious way. It’s a shame that there’s so little real fluidity, few emotional surprises and no transformative character arcs within the sprawling story.

    As for Jolie, Rogers doesn’t doubt her Oscar chances, but he finds her fatally miscast:

    Angelina Jolie’s screen presence is, as everyone knowns, competent and forceful which is usually a good thing. Unfortunately her largeness somewhat robs Mrs. Collins of the journey from socially conditioned feminine weakness to lioness strength that we need to watch her stumble through. Jolie is technically proficient enough in these “womanly confusion” scenes but they don’t feel organic to the actress and there’s no surprise or reveal once she starts fighting back.

    (more…)

  • 10/4 Oscarweb Round-up

    (from left) Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe• Dave Karger “rounds up” the best bets for Oscars hitting cinemas this week. [Oscar Watch]

    • Off the cuff with Mike Leigh across the pond. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Tom O’Neil wonders whether Kristin Scott Thomas can grab an Oscar and a Tony in the same year… [Gold Derby]

    • …and thinks Clint Eastwood might be able to pull Angelina Jolie out of her Oscar funk. [Gold Derby]

    • On the heels of Rotten Tomatoes’ list of 50, John Campea runs down the 10 best animated films of all time amid a spiffy new layout for his site. [The Movie Blog]

    • Errol Morris to screen “Standard Operating Procedure” at 27 medical schools around the country.  Talk about grass roots. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • Scott Bowles kicks off a DiCaprio/Crowe interview piece with one hell of an interesting lede. [USA Today]

  • WEEKLY WRAP: Newman remembered, Rudin/Weinstein, Foreign film race

    Paul Newman in HudAs we head into the weekend, here’s a quick overview of what we (and you) have been talking about at In Contention this week:

    • Kris paid tribute to the incomparable Paul Newman, as well as rounding up some of the man’s greatest performances.

    • As the Scott Rudin-Harvey Weinstein soap opera continues, Kris wonders where this leaves “The Reader” in the race.

    • John Foote contemplated the screen’s greatest leading ladies, past and present.

    • Matteo Garrone presented his red-hot foreign-language contender “Gomorrah” in London. I was impressed with the film.

    • Speaking of which, all the submissions for Best Foreign Language Film are in.

    • In the wake of a sensational new trailer, Apple takes a mouthwatering look at the tech credits of “Australia.”

    • Continuing the technical conversation, Gerard previewed the runners and riders in the Best Sound Mixing race.

    • Clint Eastwood scooped the first in what could be yet another run of awards for him this season.

    • And finally, in case you weren’t aware awards season has started, the people behind “Frozen River” and “Elegy” would like to remind you otherwise.

  • Eastwood talks ‘Changeling’ on The Daily Show

  • Clint to be named Hollywood Director of the Year

    Clint EastwoodFrom The Envelope:

    The 12th Annual Hollywood Awards will honor Clint Eastwood with the Hollywood Director of the Year Award.

    The Oscar-winning director and producer will receive the award at the festival’s Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony in Beverly Hills on Oct. 27.

    “Just when you think Clint Eastwood is about to take a breath, he shoots two films in a year and starts prepping a third, and barely thinks any of that is worth mentioning. He brings dignity, grace, humility, humor, quiet confidence and a sense of ease to a profession that is in sore need of all of those virtues,” said screenwriter, director and Awards co-chair Paul Haggis in a statement.

    Not that Haggis should be doing anything BUT kissing Eastwood’s ass.  Good to hear it, though.  Probably the first step toward Oscar this year.

  • Lensers set to honor Jack Green’s lifetime achievement

    American Society of CinematographersThis report from Variety kind of got lost in the shuffle this week, but it seems the great Jack Green will be feted by the American Society of Cinematographers this year.  Here’s the story:

    Jack Green will receive the 2009 American Society of Cinematographers Lifetime Achievement award at the 23rd ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards on Feb. 15.

    The awards will be held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel and past recipients of the award have included Conrad Hall and Gordon Willis.

    In his time as a cinematographer, Green has compiled more than 40 credits and of those credits, has worked on eleven pics with Clint Eastwood as director.

    Very cool.  Green (typically credited Jack N. Green) has done a lot of work with Clint Eastwood, most notably the jazzy cool hues of “Bird” and the gritty sprawl of “Unforgiven.”  But they first began their collaboration way back in 1978 when Green was a camera operator on “Every Which Way But Loose.”

    I’ve always felt Eastwood had a great eye for good cinematographers.  His current collaborator is Tom Stern, criminally underrated and consistently ignored by the Academy for solid work year in and year out.  But it’s good to see that Green, who only has one Oscar nomination (and no wins) to his credit, is getting a boost from his peers.

  • Eastwood aims for realism with unknown Hmong ensemble in ‘Gran Torino’

    Clint EastwoodNews America Media writer Louisa Schein has begun a two-part report on the Hmong actors cast in Clint Eastwood’s upcoming “Gran Torino,” and I have to say, it’s a real coup considering how little we’ve learned of the film so far.

    The article sheds light on Eastwood’s decision to cast a string of unknown in key roles throughout the film, making dreams come true for a large number of Hmong actors.  What’s more, it seems Eastwood chose a number of Hmong extras and production assistants for the production, putting what Schein calls a “mountain of faith” in Hmong talent.

    Here’s a bit from Schein’s lede:

    After open casting calls were held in Fresno, Detroit and Minnesota, interested Hmong Americans waited with baited breath to see who would be cast. As days turned into weeks, fear spread that Hmong would be passed over for more experienced Asian actors. But then, in early July, people who least expected it started getting the calls. Elation spread with the news that ten key roles had gone to mostly first-time Hmong actors, and that Hmong extras, production assistants and others were also going to be on set. Eastwood seems to be putting a mountain of faith in Hmong talent, and it looks like he will be well rewarded for it. Working on Gran Torino is stretching the actors – many of whom have backgrounds in other art forms like music – to reach potentials they didn’t know they had.

    She goes on to profile a number of the actors involved, then drops this bit of news about improvisation on the set:

    (more…)

  • Best Actor race looking tight as always — expect surprises

    Leonardo DiCaprio in Revolutionary RoadThe Best Actor category tends to be one of the more crowded categories come Oscar time, and 2008 looks to be no exception. To be sure, there are a handful of frontrunners as usual, but hovering behind them are another group, more than eight who could easily sneak in and nab a nomination. Last year Tommy Lee Jones was nominated for his powerful work in “The Valley of Elah,” a richly deserved nod, but completely unexpected by the majority of prognosticators.  I remember smiling when I heard his name read, but it was a huge surprise.

    I would expect something similar this year, as we have some of the great  actors and potentially stunning performances in contention.

    The obvious frontrunner at this point is Mickey Rourke, basking in the attention being given to “The Wrestler.”  His performance is nothing short of miraculous, an astounding piece of acting, and it is great to see him back in the fold.  But when it comes to winning the award, I have to say: not a chance. Rourke is intensely disliked in Hollywood.  He’s seen as someone who basically spit on the industry to walk away and become a boxer. As a friend close to Rourke said, “A lot of people were happy when he left and don’t want this guy back.”

    Frank Langella looks to be terrific in the trailers for “Frost/ Nixon.”  He has always been a great actor, better known for his stage work than film, though in the last few years he has become a formidable presence on the big screen. I remember seeing him as “Dracula” both on stage and on film in the late 1970s and hoped he would go far. He did, just not in the movies, until recently.

    Kris has Michael Sheen down as a lead actor possibility as well, and I agree. It’s one of those “Amadeus” situations where one performance cannot exist without the other. There is a strong chance that if the film and the actors are terrific, both of them will be nominated, though Langella certainly has the showier role of the two.

    (more…)

  • 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.

    (more…)

  • 9/15 Oscarweb Round-up

    Keira Knightley in The Duchess• Anne Thompson offers her perspective on Toronto’s winners and losers. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • Nathaniel Rogers digs back into the recent past of the festival’s Audience Award to see what is in store for “Slumdog Millionaire.” [The Film Experience]

    • Has “The Visitor” begun an award-winning streak that will culminate with Oscar recognition?  [Screen Daily]

    • Susan Wloszczyna spends some quality time with “it” boy Mickey Rourke. [USA Today]

    • Keira Knightley talks “The Duchess” and fashion with Mark Ellwood. [New York Daily News]

    • Jenni Miller sits down with “The Brothers Bloom” star Adrien Brody. [Premiere]

    • Michelle Kung gets Ed Harris on the record. [The Wall Street Journal]

    • Spike Lee puts his Clint Eastwood fued to bed…whatever. [Deadline Hollywood Daily]