Coming down to the wire, the race for Best Directing remains a very close one. Earlier in the year the prevailing wisdom was that a split could be in the cards, with the Oscar-bait frontrunner more likely to win Best Picture and the zeitgeisty competition likely to see its talented helmer finally noticed. Then things […]
OSCAR GUIDE: Best Directing
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:36 am · February 25th, 2011
Filed in: Oscar Guide
Presenter ideas to spice up the show
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 1:23 pm · February 17th, 2011
Over at his indieWIRE blog The Lost Boy, Peter Knegt expresses some displeasure with what he calls a “boring” list of Academy Award presenters announced so far. So he’s compiled a list of suggestions that could spice things up on Oscar night. For instance, what a howler it would be to see Bono and Julie […]
Filed in: Daily
INTERVIEW: ‘The Fighter’ actress Amy Adams
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 2:30 pm · February 16th, 2011
Amy Adams. You know the girl. Sweet, bright-eyed, purveyor of naive, fresh-faced screen creations. You certainly wouldn’t peg her as an expected fit for Charlene Fleming, boxer Micky Ward’s tough-as-nails bartender girlfriend in David O. Russell’s “The Fighter,” but as it turns out, she delivers perhaps her most accomplished performance to date in that role, […]
Filed in: Interviews
2/10 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: ‘Gasland’ director fires back, Wahlberg/Russell on Aronofsky, hoping Banksy stays away
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:00 am · February 10th, 2011
• Mark Wahlberg and David O. Russell on Darren Aronofsky’s departure from “The Fighter.” [Inside Movies] • Eric Kohn writes up the Oscar shorts. [indieWIRE] • Josh Fox fires back at gas industry accusations about the accuracy of his documentary, “Gasland.” [Facebook]
Filed in: Daily
1/31 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Aronofsky and Russell on sex scenes, Rudin v. Weinstein, Hammond on snubs
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:30 am · January 31st, 2011
• Darren Aronofsky and David O. Russell reveal a dislike for filming sex scenes. [Hollywood Reporter] • Krista Smith, meanwhile, sits down with Russell to talk “The Fighter.” [Little Gold Men] • Rebecca Keegan and Nicole Sperling write up Scott Rudin vs. Harvey Weinstein. [The Envelope]
Filed in: Daily
Predict the DGA winner
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 2:56 pm · January 28th, 2011
I nearly forgot tomorrow brings the DGA awards. I thought they were next weekend. Anyway, I guess this can be your place to offer up predictions. I’ll say this, though. I don’t think David Fincher has this in the bag. At all. Ballots were due in today, by the way, which means the Oscar nominations […]
Filed in: Daily
1/24 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Rich’s two Americas, meet the foreign film exec committee, Jonze interviews Russell
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:28 am · January 24th, 2011
• Frank Rich sees two Americas in “The Social Network” and “True Grit.” [New York Times] • David Poland sits down with the latter’s cinematographer, Roger Deakins. [The Hot Blog] • Meet the executive committee charged with saving esoteric foreign films hopefuls. [The Odds]
Filed in: Daily
A night at the CCMAs
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:11 am · January 15th, 2011
It was a good time. The evening started off with a bit of a surprise as “The Fighter” took in the award for Best Ensemble. I happened to be seated with Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, David O. Russell and, a real treat, Jack McGee, so it was an exciting pop to start things […]
Filed in: Daily
Predict the DGA nominees
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:43 am · January 7th, 2011
Monday the guild circuit continues — at the start of what will be a very busy week — as the Directors Guild of America (DGA) unveils its list of nominees. The age-old rule of thumb has been that this is perhaps the most consistently foreshadowing precursor, as the five DGA nominees tend to have a […]
Filed in: Daily
1/4 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: 2010 in cinematography, ‘True Grit’ vocal ticks, Affleck on Postlethwaite
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:03 am · January 4th, 2011
• Jordan Raup gets into the game of recognizing the year’s best in cinematography. (My annual “Top 10 Shots of the Year” column will hit later this month, FYI.) [The Film Stage] • Stephen Schaefer bemoans the broadcast realities and “cookie cutter sameness” of critics awards in the 21st century. [Boston Herald] • David Poland […]
Filed in: Daily
THR’s directors round table
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 6:57 am · December 21st, 2010
The Hollywood Reporter sure kicked up some controversy with that writers round table last month. This one featuring directors of the season has been making the rounds so I thought I’d post it up:
Filed in: Daily
Adams does Conan, Wahlberg/Bale/Russell on Charlie Rose
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 1:57 pm · December 16th, 2010
I had lunch yesterday with “The Fighter” star Amy Adams and hope to have that interview up some time over the holiday. When we said goodbye, she was off to the Warner Bros. lot for an interview taping with Conan O’Brien. I wasn’t able to watch last night but I wanted to track it down […]
Filed in: Daily
The rehabilitation of David O. Russell
Posted by Guy Lodge · 5:40 pm · December 13th, 2010
As “The Social Network” continues to steamroll its way through the season’s first act, and antsy analysts begin to look elsewhere for a bit of conflict in the race, I find myself wondering what kind of sneak attack David O. Russell’s “The Fighter” might yet launch in the Best Picture field. The film, which goes […]
Filed in: Daily
LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1995 and 1996
Posted by Chad Hartigan · 2:34 pm · December 1st, 2010
Catch up with the idea behind this series here. I saw “Braveheart” on video and I’m not positive if that was before or after it won Best Picture at the Oscars. Whenever it was, Mel Gibson’s historical epic immediately became this 13 year old’s favorite movie of all time. My second favorite movie of all […]
Filed in: Life Without Oscar
THE LONG SHOT: When you’re strange
Posted by Guy Lodge · 8:05 pm · November 24th, 2010
(Updated predictions available here.) I shan’t often find room for Gaspar Noé’s name in a space ostensibly dedicated to the Oscar race, so bear with me if this seems an unlikely opening gambit, but inspiration for this week’s column began with a conversation about his fluorescent, drug-addled ghost story “Enter the Void.” A friend had […]
Filed in: The Long Shot
Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Jack McGee talk ‘The Fighter’ at first industry screening
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:41 am · November 11th, 2010
David O. Russell’s “The Fighter” may have had its first public screening Tuesday as an AFI Fest “secret” event (with plenty of press in attendance), but last night’s SAG nominating committee screening on the Paramount lot has been on the calendar for most the past week. Naturally, it was a packed house, which can be […]
Filed in: Daily
AFI FEST: ‘The Fighter’ crashes the party
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 3:29 am · November 10th, 2010
I decided to come home and give “The Fighter,” which saw its world premiere at a “secret screening” at AFI Fest tonight, some real thought rather than rushing back to review. How novel. Given the amount of press on hand, one imagines Paramount publicity was besieged with ticket requests following the last minute announcement of […]
Filed in: Reviews
OFF THE CARPET: Can the ladies get some support?
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:05 am · October 11th, 2010
A number of people wanted Anne and I to discuss the seemingly thin Best Supporting Actress category on the podcast Friday, but we didn’t get to it. So it seemed an opportune time to dedicate this space to the discussion. One should keep in mind that the race is still in its early days. This […]
Filed in: Off the Carpet