• Steve Pond talks “In the Loop” with Armando Ianucci and Peter Capaldi. [The Odds]
• Dave Karger makes his Golden Globe picks. [Entertainment Weekly]
• Katey Rich runs down the pros and cons in a four-way race (but it’s actually a three-way race). [Cinema Blend]
As always, the year’s adapted screenplay race is much more competitive than the original screenplay race. But what’s intriguing to note is that of the anticipated “big four” still to be widely screened, three of them are right in the thick of this discussion.
In the case of “Nine,” there is a chance for Anthony Minghella to receive his second posthumous Oscar nomination in as many years, something I don’t think we’ve seen since James Dean. But sometimes the razzle-dazzle of a movie musical can overshadow what craft there might be on the page, so it’s no slam dunk. Michael Tolkin is co-writer on the script, and even though I’ve seen the film, I’m prohibited from offering my thoughts on the work.
“The Lovely Bones,” meanwhile, is adapted from a beloved novel, looks to feature a more reserved and refined Peter Jackson than we’ve seen in recent years and could see the lovable trio (Jackson, Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh) back in Oscar’s good graces. We’ll know when we see it.
The Royals and invited British press get their look on the 24th. Harry Knowles has received his typical peek (as Paramount continues to nurture the relationship as if it’s 2002 and AICN still moves the needle). The rest of the US press corps has to wait until the other side of the holiday on the 27th to judge. Hopefully we’ll still care by then. I heard some scathing criticisms out of an exhibitor screening last week.
UPDATE (3/27): I figured I’d include the latest here, so this entry is up to date. /Film has the following today:
Earlier this week we reported that Slumdog Millionaire screenwriter Simon Beaufoy had mentioned during an appearance at the Bradford International Film Festival that he had been offered and accepted an offer to write a sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Hours later our friends at FirstShowing heard back from 20th Century Fox who claimed that “the executives haven’t talked with any writers” for the project. Now Entertainment Weekly confirms that “Beaufoy was approached by Wolverine producer Lauren Shuler Donner to gauge the writer’s interest in W2, but no formal offer was made.” So that’s the final word on the story — there was some truth to the story after all.
EARLIER: Peter Sciretta at /Film landed a pretty interesting scoop this afternoon. It seems Simon Beaufoy, the Oscar winning screenwriter of “Slumdog Millionaire” and “The Full Monty” has been tapped to pen the sequel to May’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” Can anyone say paycheck?
Honestly, I don’t see how this fits but I’ll give Beaufoy the benefit of the doubt. I’m still heavily anticpating Gavin Hood’s film, though I’ve heard terrible things ever since negative word-of-mouth on David Benioff’s script was making the rounds a few years back. And let’s face it. Benioff hasn’t offered a suitable script since his debut, “25th Hour,” seven years ago. Troubled production, late re-shoots and a general cloud of doubt around the Wolverine film haven’t broken my spirit…yet. But if there’s a new project in the pipeline, maybe there’s hope. Maybe.
Here’s what Sciretta’s tipster had to say:
alright guys, im currently working at the bradford international film festival in the UK, and tonight we had simon beaufoy, screenwriter of slumdog millionaire doing a screentalk. anyway he dropped a bit of a scoop, hes been employed to write the script for “wolverine 2″ a film i didnt actually realise was even in the pipeline. he commented that while he was apprehensive about the project (claiming to not even know what a wolverine was!) his agent pursuaded him to take it on.
The bold is mine. Like I said, paycheck. Agents make bank in this town when their clients do, after all. And kudos to Peter for at least trying to double source the story before just posting it up, since he’s been hanging onto the scoop for a day now. AICN has different standards, which forced his hand, but there we are.
Here’s the latest trailer for “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”: