Jeff Bridges stopped by The Tonight Show yesterday to promote “Crazy Heart” and even stood up to belt out a little of “I Don’t Know,” one of the original tracks from the film. Take a look (the performance is in part three, after the jump):
Tag: Crazy Heart
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T Bone, Bridges and Bingham on Nashville radio
Fox Searchlight tweeted a link to this interview earlier today. The usual talking points but with the film expanding a bit more this weekend I thought I’d pass it along:
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Iowa critics spring for ‘Up in the Air,’ ‘Crazy Heart’
Best Picture
“Up in the Air”Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”Best Actress
Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious”Check out the rest at The Circuit.
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1/13 Oscarweb Round-up
• Nathaniel Rogers wraps up his “top 100 of the decade” series with a pair of unconventional musicals taking the top two spots. [The Film Experience]• Melena Ryzik chats with “Crazy Heart” star Maggie Gyllenhaal. [The Carpetbagger]
• Why Quentin Tarantino wants to be the next Howard Hawks. [The Guardian]
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‘Avatar,’ ‘Star Trek’ among WGA nominees
And, there we are. “Avatar” gets a nomination for best writing from a 10,000 member-strong guild and plenty will find reason to argue with it. But let’s look at the rest.“The Hangover” managed to get a nomination in the original screenplay field in the wake of a number of eligibility rulings on some top contenders. I’m most excited for Scott Cooper and “Crazy Heart,” because I’m getting the feeling he might turn this and his USC Scripter bid into something tangible for Oscar consideration. “District 9,” of course, was not eligible here and is still a threat, ditto “An Education,” but the race is a little more interesting now. Especially when you consider Nora Ephron (also nominated today), who I’ve always felt was a threat with the Academy for navigating two sources and making some entertaining sense of it all.
Elsewhere it’s the usual suspects, except for the appearance of “Star Trek” in the adapted ranks. Yes, the writers of “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” are WGA nominees. But in my view, they deserve the pat on the back for this film, a high octane entertainment that was smartly conceived and remains one of the true gems of 2009.
Check out the nominees after the jump.
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WEEKLY WRAP: Guilds, lists and disqualifications
• In a big week for precursor announcements, the DGA nominations were the biggest — and least surprising.• The PGA, meanwhile, found room for all three of the year’s hot sci-fi titles in its nominee slate.
• “The Hurt Locker” triumphed at the National Society of Film Critics Awards, the first film in 12 years to sweep the three top critics’ prizes.
• Over five days, I counted down my personal Top 50 films of the decade that was.
• And we’re not done listing: Chad also gathered his 20 favorites of 2009.
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WGA on the way
With the DGA, SAG and PGA out of the way, it’s on to the fourth and final of the major guild announcements: the Writers Guild of America, which announces Monday.The WGA has seemingly instituted a slash and burn campaign on a number of the year’s hopefuls this season. Go here, here and here for the details. Alright, “slash and burn” isn’t really accurate. If WGA brass wants to play “in the club,” that’s their prerogative. No sense getting worked up over it. But suffice it to say, the field is fairly wide open now and, at the end of the day, no one should really bother putting too much prognosticative stock into what we get from the guild next week, seeing as the AMPAS writers branch is likely to go with a number of the fallen.
Still — it’s fun to guess at the picks, no?
From where I stand there are still 10 really decent bets, and maybe five or six more that wouldn’t surprise me if they made it through. Best Picture contenders “The Hurt Locker,” “Precious” and “Up in the Air” are probably the easiest picks of the bunch, but what about the other seven?
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1/7 Oscarweb Round-up
• Geoff Boucher sits down with “Crazy Heart” star Jeff Bridges (with an awkward accompanying photo to boot). [Los Angeles Times]• Speaking of Boucher, congrats to him, Anthony Breznican, Susan King, Scott Mantz and Sharon Waxman on their ICG nominations. [Hollywood Reporter]
• Some desperately needed practical perspective on the “Moon” screener matter. [The Hot Blog]
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USC Scripter nominations announced
The USC Libraries has announced its list of contenders for the Scripter prize, which honors adapted screenplays, their writers and the source materials and authors that spawned them.So, with that in mind, I’m not sure how the “District 9” nod is justified here in the slightest, given the stated intention of the award.* But that’s another feather in the film’s cap regardless. It could be picking up a big head of steam here. More on that when we preview the DGA nominations tomorrow.
A big congrats to Scott Cooper for finally getting some love of his own this Oscar season. I had a hunch he might show up here. Maybe this can help turn the corner for a film too many are quick to chalk up as “performance only.”
I guess we can probably expect Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner to walk away with the award, but as always, it’s a refreshingly out-of-step line-up from the USC Libraries. Fight on.
Anyway, check out the nominees, via press release, after the jump.
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‘Wild Things,’ ‘Crazy Heart’ ineligible for score Oscar
Steve Pond reports that Karen O and Carter Burwell’s wonderful, Golden Globe-nominated score for “Where the Wild Things Are” has been disqualified for Best Original Score by the Academy’s music branch. T-Bone Burnett and Stephen Bruton’s “Crazy Heart” score, which has taken several critics’ prizes, will not compete either.It’s hardly a surprise, given that both are largely song-based scores — not that that stopped “Slumdog Millionaire” qualifying last year. But it is disappointing, particularly for the former film, which was campaigning for a nomination in the category. (Fox Searchlight, presumably anticipating a disqualification, didn’t bother listing Original Score in the FYC ads for “Crazy Heart.”)
Also out of the race is “The Lovely Bones,” though that is by composer Brian Eno’s own volition. Pond has the details, as well as a list of the 81 films that did qualify for the category, here.
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OFF THE CARPET: Why it should be ‘The Messenger’
The writing is on the wall. “Nine” is on the precipice, teetering, on the brink of falling from the Best Picture ranks, 10 nominees or not. Speculation flies as to which film will be the beneficiary (as most concede this is the only slot in flux, though there are certainly compelling arguments against a secure spot in the line-up for “Up” and “A Serious Man”). And I find myself going back and forth as to which film deserves the designation.A glance at my best of the year column reveals what should be the obvious answer for me: “Star Trek,” J.J. Abrams’a tight reboot of a franchise that now has a new, vibrant lease on life. It was, after all, my #11 film of the year. It will absolutely land a number of #1 and #2 votes because, as mentioned in Friday’s Oscar Talk, it simply remains one of the most enjoyable films of the year for a great many.
Also, it’s pretty nice when you have someone in the race, like Quentin Tarantino, calling it his favorite film of the year.
That said, voters may feel that their sci-fi/genre vote has been cast with “Avatar,” while “District 9,” from producer Peter Jackson and director Neill Blomkamp, is another genre entry that deserves a fair glance and could cock-block Abrams and company out of contention as well.
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OFF THE CARPET: A spade is a spade
Oscar ballots are being mailed to AMPAS members today. So now is the time to pay attention to the buzz, as most ballots are returned within the first couple of weeks (which says everything you need to know about how much time and care is put into the process by voters).However, it’s somewhat amazing to me that not much has shifted in the scheme of things since the last proper Off the Carpet column. Of course, there is “Avatar” (which I’ll get to in a second), but otherwise there are just a bunch of non-issues rearing their heads (like “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” being in the conversation, for instance, or the perpetuated Mo’Nique/bad press angle). Chalk it up to boredom.
The only significant note is “Nine”‘s box office whiff, which accompanied an entirely dismissive response from critics and has left many wondering whether it will be able to push through into the 10. Passion is still necessary, despite the wider net, and it’s becoming more evident than ever that getting voters to check the film off as a #1-3 choice is going to be a chore.
The most appreciated aspects, of course, are the below-the-line achievements (which I still think could be enough to get it across) and Marion Cotillard’s “why-the-heck-have-they-been-campaigning-for-lead?” performance. Rightly so. Maybe The Weinstein Company can switch gears like Fox Searchlight did with Maggie Gyllenhaal and find one more nod in the major categories.
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December winner predictions
I gave this an initial stab nearly two months ago. I thought I might as well re-visit things. (And hopefully there won’t be anyone getting their panties in a twist over something as harmless as this. You know who you are.)Best Picture: “Avatar”
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”
Best Actress: Meryl Streep, “Julie & Julia”
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”
Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique, “Precious”
Best Adapted Screenplay: “Up in the Air”
Best Original Screenplay: “Inglourious Basterds” -
SUNDAY CENTS: Pandora’s tops
*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.Alright, let’s get down to brass tacks. “Avatar” is the number one movie of the weekend with a $73 million gross. This is an enormous figure, there’s no two ways about it. It’s the fourth-biggest December debut of all time. It’s the 26th-biggest debut of all time for a non-sequel. It’s the ninth-biggest debut of all time for a film with no previous source material or built-in fanbase.
A record amount of money was spent on this production with only the reputation of James Cameron as a selling point and it may just pay off. A film like “I Am Legend” can debut in December with $80.6 million and with lukewarm reviews and word of mouth can make it all the way to a $264 million total. With the reception that “Avatar” has received and the inevitable batch of Oscar nominations, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t make $300 million domestically. It would need to match that overseas to even come close to profitability, but that should be no problem as the film already has $150 million in the bank overseas.
It’s no secret that I thought the film looked stupid. I also would love nothing more than to never have to hear about 3D in movies again. But I also know that any time a film with an original screenplay from a distinct filmmaker can earn this type of money, it’s a good thing for the industry.
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Roger Ebert’s top 10 list(s)
Roger Ebert has been alive like never before in his work as of late. So I’ve been greatly anticipating his views on the year’s best.Unfortunately, he’s divided his list into mainstream and independent films, so it’s a top 20, and neither in any order.
Maybe keeping things simple like that and not so authoritative with painstaking rankings is the way to go. I’ve been considering it for a long time.
Anyway, the most interesting inclusions on his mainstream list are “The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans,” “Crazy Heart” and “Knowing.” On the indie side, “Departures,” “Goodbye Solo” and “Trucker.”
Check out the rest at the Chicago Sun-Times.
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WEEKLY WRAP: Precursor avalanche, best of 2009
• Kris wrapped up 2009 with his take on the year’s best films, also offering his own preferred nominees and winners in a range of categories. (I’ll chime in next week.)• “Up in the Air” led this year’s pack of Golden Globe nominees.
• It also joined “Precious” and “Inglourious Basterds” at the head of the pack in the SAG nominations — while missing out in their top race.
• “The Hurt Locker” emerged as this year’s critics’ favorite, earning top honors from a host of groups, including the two biggest: the NYFCC and the LAFCA.
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Best in show: the year in superlatives
Wrapping up my perspective on the year today, a personal list of superlatives, Oscar categories and other silly nonsense.Swing back around on Monday for the ultimate wrap-up, my list of the best films of the decade.
Best Picture
“A Serious Man” (Focus Features)Best Director
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, “A Serious Man”Best Actor
Sharlto Copley, “District 9”Best Actress
Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”