In Contention

Tag: Dakota Fanning

  • 11/28 Oscarweb Round-up

    • David Poland is still in two minds about “Benjamin Button,” but agrees with Kris that “Slumdog” is the one to beat. [The Hot Blog]

    • Kim Voynar, meanwhile, surveys the Best Picture contenders, and is as confused as the rest of us. Interesting point about the potential impact of current events on “Slumdog,” though.  [Movie City News]

    • One Richard on another: with the adaptation of “Revolutionary Road” looming large, Richard Price offers his impressions of Yates. [The Guardian]

    • William Friedkin on the shifting makeup of the movie cop. [The Guardian]

    • Under the threat of the actors’ strike, Screen International calls for a meeting of minds. [Screen Daily]

    • Amid the mixed reactions to “Australia,” Susan King concludes that we still need the epic. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Al Pacino pips Dakota Fanning for the top gong in Lou Lumenick’s holiday-appropriate Turkey of the Year awards. [New York Post]

    • And, keeping it seasonal, a selection of notable DVD releases, in time for your Christmas wishlist. [New York Times]

  • “An Oscar-less Toronto” — but not for Searchlight

    Anybody who’s kept even half an eye on film news recently knows by now that, compared to previous years, the consecutive Venice and Toronto festivals have done little to illuminate the Oscar race. (Unless, I suppose, you were one of those predicting major glory for “Miracle at St. Anna.”)

    The Hollywood Reporter adds their verdict to the pile here, quoting an executive as declaring the fest “an Oscar-less Toronto.” There’s little new perspective in the article, but it’s a handy enough precis. They do think one race has benefited from the festival:

    But the festival might have helped clarify at least one category: the best actress race. The beneficiaries have been Anne Hathaway in Jonathan Demme’s dysfunctional-family drama “Rachel Getting Married”; Sally Hawkins in “Happy-Go-Lucky,” the Mike Leigh film about a chipper young schoolteacher; and, if Searchlight chooses to make an awards push for her, “The Secret Life of Bees” star Dakota Fanning.

    Hmmm. It’s not as if Hathaway and Hawkins weren’t deemed contenders before Toronto. (The Golden Globes may as well drop the other three slots for Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical, right?) And Dakota Fanning? With those reviews? Yeah, right.

    In any case, as they acknowledge, Searchlight has other priorities now, having nabbed the two hottest Toronto titles:

    The lone film that has emerged as a genuine standout is Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler,” which went in as a question mark and will leave as a contender in pretty much every major awards category. To a lesser extent, Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” also is generating awards talk, though its cast is entirely unknown.

    (more…)

  • 9/8 Oscarweb Round-up

    Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks in Zack and Miri Make a Porno• Jen Yamato wonders what the hell happened to Oscar-winner Cuba Gooding Jr. [Rotten Tomatoes]

    • Jeffrey Wells puts up a positive review of Kevin Smith’s “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” philosophizes on the photographical approach to actually shooting a porno. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Logan Hill profiles “The Brothers Bloom” star Rachel Weisz back East. [New York Magazine]

    • Scott Macaulay goes party-hopping in Toronto. [Filmmaker Magazine]

    • Dave Karger and Missy Schwartz put together a video mid-term report for Toronto. [Entertainment Weekly]

    • Focus Features honcho James Schamus is honored with the Trailblazer Award at the Woodstock Film Festival.  WELL deserved. [MovieMaker Magazine]

    • Lou Lumenick considers Dakota Fanning a “formidable actress” in “The Secret Life of Bees,” but doesn’t see Oscar on the horizon. [Lumenick on Film]

    • A preview of Clint Mansell’s “Wrestler” score pops up online…I’m loving it. [MySpace]

    • Tommy Lee Jones sues Paramount over “No Country for Old Men” profits.  Show me the money. [Associated Press]

    • Anne Thompson’s heart goes out to Charlie Kaufman. [Thompson on Hollywood]