From yesterday’s press day for “Crazy Heart” in Beverly Hills, courtesy of Steve Pond at The Odds (who has an interview with the youngster up now). Watch for our Tech Support interview with Bingham and T Bone Burnett later this afternoon.
Tag: Crazy Heart
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Do the Coens have their eyes set on a singing cowboy?
A few hours ago I sat down with T Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham to talk about the songs from “Crazy Heart.” I’ll be cooking up that piece as the introductory installment of our Tech Support interview series with below-the-line and craft personnel tomorrow, but Burnett mentioned something that totally caught my attention about a potential Coen brothers film..Of course, the Coens have had a number of projects stall out over the years, or more to the point, they’ve managed to leave some things on the back burner. Everyone is still waiting for stuff like “To the White Sea” and “Hail Caesar,” after all. But Burnett told me that it was actually the Coens who told him about Ryan Bingham, the singer/co-writer of “The Weary Kind,” who they were exposed to while filming “No Country for Old Men” in Marfa, Texas a few years back.
“One of the things they have on the horizon includes a singing cowboy and they were thinking Ryan Bingham would be good,” Burnett said.
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INTERVIEW: Jeff Bridges
For actor Jeff Bridges, whose career has already spanned five decades, Scott Cooper’s “Crazy Heart” was something of a homecoming and, the actor says, “a dream come true.”Bridges stars in the film as Bad Blake, a ramblin’ country-western singer who travels the Southwest playing dive after dive, cut from the same cloth as Hank Williams Jr., maybe, or Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, etc. A guitarist in his own right, Bridges was eager to take on a film so concerned with music, but was wary of underwhelming after the example set by another music-themed film from his past, Steve Kloves’s “The Fabulous Baker Boys” from 1989.
“What they did with that movie I thought was so wonderful that to do another music movie and not match that, it’s a pretty high bar there, so I was concerned about that,” Bridges says over lunch in Beverly Hills one November afternoon. “There were several music scripts that came down the pike, and sometimes it would have lyrics or little samples and it wouldn’t be right. And this one had no music. Then I thought maybe I could write the music, or my friend, but then, you know, I was busy, so I didn’t focus on it.”
Indeed, Bridges is quick to admit that he spends a great deal of his energy steering clear of new projects. It might be a phobia of commitment on one hand, but on the other, he’s a man who likes to keep his options open. Signing onto a new film means missing the chance to work on any number of other projects that might ultimately interest him more.
But “Crazy Heart” was a different story, especially once his good friend T Bone Burnett got involved as producer, music consultant and composer.
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WEEKLY WRAP: ‘Lovely Bones’ bows, ‘New Moon’ reigns
• “The Lovely Bones” finally landed this week, to decidedly mixed reviews.• Kris and Anne offered their thoughts on the film (among others) in this week’s Oscar Talk.
• In Off the Carpet, we combed through the Best Adapted Screenplay contenders (which now include “District 9”).
• “New Moon” surprised nobody with a record-breaking box-office haul last weekend, and its dominance is set to continue.
• This week’s Long Shot column surveyed the growing buzz around populist contenders in this year’s Oscar race.
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Listen to Ryan Bingham’s ‘The Weary Kind’ from ‘Crazy Heart’
One of the first things I mentioned when I stumbled out of that dark theater on the Fox lot a few weeks ago, following a screening of Scott Cooper’s last minute awards entry “Crazy Heart,” was that I couldn’t get the final song, “The Weary Kind,” out of my head. Today I’m happy to offer it up for your listening pleasure.The song is prime material for the Best Original Song category because of its implementation in the film. (MILD SPOILERS) Jeff Bridges’s newly sober Bad Blake character, reflecting on his ups and downs and finally sitting down to pen a new tune, rattles through the chords and comes up with a powerful ditty for his former protege, Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell). Finally we get the full number in a concert sequence that leads into the closing credits.
In my opinion, this is the frontrunner of the category. There are a pair of “Nine” songs on its heels, however, and who knows what turf the tracks from “The Princess and the Frog” will claim, but this stand-out from a wonderful soundtrack is sure to prove instantly moving for many. Have a listen below (in an official version performed by Ryan Bingham, who co-wrote the song with T Bone Burnett).
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The Dude abides
Snapped Tuesday afternoon over lunch at the Four Seasons. Interview to come, maybe next week/over the holiday. Fascinating discussion on “The Contender,” “Starman,” “Heaven’s Gate,” etc., including, of course, plenty of talk about “Crazy Heart.” Stay tuned.
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WEEKLY WRAP: Doc shortlist, honorary Oscars and more
• The shortlist of contenders for the documentary Oscar was announced, surprising many — we dug into it a little.• The season’s first Oscars were handed out, as Lauren Bacall, Gordon Willis, Roger Corman and John Calley were celebrated at the Governors’ Awards.
• This week’s Off the Carpet column broke down the wide-open Best Original Screenplay race.
• The Long Shot lived up to its name, spotlighting a few of the season’s most deserving outsiders.
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Just to be clear
There seems to be a bit of uncertainty among several bloggers and commenters about the Golden Globe category placement of a number of titles. What it highlights, rather interestingly, is just how many heavyweight contenders straddle the line between comedy and drama this year.For the record, then, the following films are all aiming to compete in the Drama races at the Globes: “Up in the Air,” “An Education,” “Inglourious Basterds” and “Crazy Heart.”
“A Serious Man,” however, is on the Comedy/Musical side of things. (Thanks to Tom O’Neil for confirming this.)
I’d say I agree with all these classifications except for that of “Basterds.” Anyway. As you were.
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11/19 Oscarweb Round-up
• Michael Cieply writes up “Crazy Heart” from the angle that Paramount has “embarrassed” itself for passing on the film once upon a time, but apparently that early cut was “unwatchable,” so, you know, cut some slack. [New York Times]• Clint Eastwood — set to grace one of five GQ covers next month — says the country is in a morbid mood. [CNN]
• The Gurus o’ Gold weigh in on the directors and animated features. [Movie City News]
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‘Crazy Heart’ trailer
An absolutely beautiful collection of images and moments from the film. Pitch-perfect, really. And featuring the original track “The Weary Kind,” by the way:
Check it out in HD at Apple.
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Preview?
So yeah, I cropped poor Gordon Willis out of the photo to end up with the image to the right here, but I can’t help wondering whether it’ll be a familiar sight come March 7.Of course, some folks have their panties in a twist at the gall of predicting winners this early, so I won’t go there again. But it really does feel like things are going to go Bridges’s way this Oscar season. It’s all just…too difficult to argue with.
Jeffrey Wells recently saw the film in New York and is on board. Steve Pond, Anne Thompson, Gregory Ellwood, Patrick Goldstein, there is little resistance. No one likes an obvious race, but let’s call it what it’ll likely be: a Jeff Bridges victory lap, ebbing and flowing waves of applause for Duane Jackson, Lightfoot, Kevin Flynn, Terry Brogan, Preston Tucker, Jack Lucas, Max Klein, The Dude, Jackson Evans, Charles Howard, Ted Cole and finally, Bad Blake.
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‘Crazy Heart’ poster
A week after Patrick Goldstein rubbed some folks at Fox wrong for reporting false release information on “Crazy Heart,” he gets the poster exclusive. Go figure. Anyway, I love it. Have a look below. The trailer for the film will land Monday, by the way.
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Maggie Gyllenhaal joins the race for Best Actress
If I were a betting man, I’d have said Maggie Gyllenhaal’s performance opposite Jeff Bridges in Scott Cooper’s “Crazy Heart” was a sure-fire Best Supporting Actress contender. The role, after all, fits that unfortunately reductive “suffering spouse” template to a T, the sort that has fared well in this category in years past (Michelle Williams, Sophie Okonedo, Marcia Gay Harden — twice, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Jennifer Connelly, etc.).Well I’d have lost that bet. Fox Searchlight, perhaps due to that ever-present (and overstated) sense that the Best Actress field is “weak,” will be pushing Gyllenhaal as a lead for the film. And despite my reservations, I think she should be taken seriously.
This isn’t blatant category fraud, in my opinion, because Gyllenhaal has a healthy amount of screen time, we get plenty of her story — even if it’s always through the prism of Bridges’s Bad Blake character — and the truth is, it’s a pretty complex role.
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Studio FYC sites on the march
It’s that time of year, when studios roll out their awards-centric websites for films in play. You get screening info, news and notes, reminders of how AMAZING their films are (with critical quotes to back it up), goodies like screenplays and such, etc. It’s a good way to see how wide the net is cast during the season (since any and everything gets a “For Your Consideration” blurb), but I’ve always found it’s a good way to revisit the year’s films.First up, Universal Pictures has put together its standard assemblage hawking “Public Enemies,” “Bruno,” “Funny People” and “It’s Complicated.” Skimming through the “Public Enemies” section I was instantly reminded that Elliot Goldenthal’s score was actually quite wonderful and could be a sleeper to watch in a field that is notorious for its insularity. You can even skim through tracks in a dedicated section and download the screenplay.
“Funny People” has a similar set-up, with score toggling, the script, etc., while “Bruno” has no script to offer. But you can listen to the raved out score again if you wish. The “It’s Complicated” section has material to come and only mentions “in all categories” as it pertains to FYC business.
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First stab at winner predictions
I don’t offer up predictions on a given year’s Oscar winners until November, generally speaking. And, well, it’s November. Which is still, of course, too early to be making calls like these, since we don’t even have a nominations slate to go by, but I like to take an early stab, revisit in early December and then one more time in early January before we get the nominees.I asked over the weekend what readers thought would take the Best Picture crown this year, and the majority seemed to lean toward Lee Daniels’s “Precious.” It might be too easy to figure on that at this stage, but it’s difficult to argue with the early box office success and overall critical approval.
But there are certainly other spoilers lurking and the danger of peaking early (yielding more time for competitors to take you down) is always apparent with a film like this.
Keep reading to have a look at what I’m thinking. Rattle off your thoughts and predictions in the comments section if you like.
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WEEKLY WRAP: Oscar hosts, Bridges arrives, animated five
• Oscar season ramped up this week, with the popular selection of Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin as this year’s Oscar emcees.• This week’s Off the Carpet column surveyed the runners and riders for Best Actor …
• … only to be immediately outdated as Jeff Bridges and “Crazy Heart” arrived to turn that race on its head.
• Big news in the Best Animated Feature race, as last-minute entry “A Town Called Panic” ensured we’ll have five nominees.
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OSCAR TALK: Ep. 9 — Baldwin/Martin, ‘Crazy Heart,’ animated contenders and the Gurus’ latest chart
Welcome to the latest installment of Oscar Talk, a weekly kudocast between yours truly and Anne Thompson of indieWIRE’s Thompson on Hollywood.On the docket this afternoon:
• Anne and I discuss the week’s biggest Oscar news, the tapping of Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin as this year’s Oscar telecast hosts.
• Another substantial news item this week was the revelation that Scott Cooper’s “Crazy Heart” would get a last minute 2009 release from Fox Searchlight. Anne and I talk up the film and actor Jeff Bridges’s wonderful, certainly Oscar-worthy performance.
• “A Christmas Carol” releases today, so we use that as an opportunity to revisit the animated feature contenders.
• As mentioned earlier this morning, the latest Gurus o’ Gold chart has gone up. Anne and I talk about a number of the contenders, placements, etc.
Have a listen to this week’s podcast below, leading in with one of the original tracks from “Crazy Heart.” And as always, you can subscribe to Oscar Talk via iTunes here.
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Gurus on the march
It’s been so long since I actually ranked the Best Picture contenders (given that we did away with the charts some weeks back), that when I sat down to do so for this week’s Gurus o’ Gold update at Movie City News, I really didn’t know which way was up. It’s liberating to stop thinking about things in reductive terms, but I gave it a go, as did 14 other pundits, and this is what we came up with. Sasha Stone also has charts from past years up for comparison.It seems like USA Today’s Anthony Brenican is the only guy who got his votes in after the big “Crazy Heart”/Jeff Bridges news, but suffice it to say the film would likely be a bit higher on the Best Picture chart and certainly Bridges and Gyllenhaal would be formidable in the lead actor and supporting actress fields.
“Up in the Air” is leading the pack, though “Precious” isn’t that far behind. My top 10 matches the Gurus’ exactly, except rather than Quentin Tarrantino’s “Inglourious Basterds,” I’ve placed a bet on James Cameron’s “Avatar” (which sits at #11 on the chart). Intriguingly, Spike Jonze’s “Where the Wild Things Are” is close to the bubble, at #12. I’d say that’s too high, frankly, but critics adore the movie.
Head on over to Movie City News for the full spread.