Wild-eyed, table-banging outbursts — sometimes of enthusiasm, more often of outrage — are an essential part of the floor show at any Oscar viewing party, but I’ve rarely seen one more unhinged than a friend’s reaction to Angelina Jolie’s (widely expected) Best Supporting Actress victory at the 1999 ceremony. “Who the hell was she supporting?” […]
THE LONG SHOT: Categorical denial
Posted by Guy Lodge · 7:25 pm · October 20th, 2010
Filed in: The Long Shot
THE LONG SHOT: What becomes of the broken-hearted?
Posted by Guy Lodge · 2:19 pm · October 14th, 2010
(A day later than usual — apologies.) After the London Film Festival raised its curtain last night with a typically flashy European premiere for Mark Romanek’s “Never Let Me Go,” this morning’s papers and breakfast TV reports have been busy with chatter about what Britfilm’s two it-girls, Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley, were wearing; how […]
Filed in: The Long Shot
indieWIRE lists the decade’s worst Oscar snubs
Posted by Guy Lodge · 2:59 pm · November 12th, 2009
The end-of-decade reflective mood is obviously catching. In yesterday’s Long Shot column, I looked back on the last ten years of the Academy Awards, singling out some of their most inspired choices and positive developments. You responded in great numbers, rare goodwill towards the Academy dominating the comments thread for a change. Of course, however, […]
Filed in: Daily
THE LONG SHOT: Making the 10 work for you
Posted by Guy Lodge · 9:01 am · September 23rd, 2009
*This is the first installment of “The Long Shot,” a new weekly Oscar column from Guy Lodge here at In Contention. At some point last week, I snapped at a commenter for rather benignly suggesting that, with the clarity granted certain contenders by the festival season, we could now call 7 of the newly expanded […]
Filed in: The Long Shot
How lies stay alive
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 1:15 pm · February 27th, 2009
It really pisses me off that the LA Times would allow Tom O’Neil to perpetuate falsehoods on his Gold Derby blog without any editorial oversight. Tom, God love him, just can’t help himself sometimes. He has to create a controversy where there isn’t one and this two-year-old idea that Eddie Murphy was “furious” over his […]
Filed in: Daily
Solid proof Condon/Mark is the right call
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 6:44 am · February 9th, 2009
“Dreagirls” was on HBO last night and even though I’m long on the record for not being a fan, I still give it a look from time to time. I caught the last act or so and the closing credits sequence, and I had forgotten how dazzling that sequence is. You probably remember it: every […]
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indieWIRE surveys the race, questions ‘Button’
Posted by Guy Lodge · 2:06 pm · November 14th, 2008
Lots of conflicting soundbites have been bandied about this week regarding “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” but here’s the first one I’ve seen with a credibly named source. In an article on indieWIRE, the site’s editor, Eugene Hernandez, discusses the awards race with colleague Peter Knegt, and offers this carefully-worded take on the still-embargoed […]
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Cates out Condon/Mark in as Oscar telecast producers
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:54 am · September 24th, 2008
Wow. This is a left-field choice to say the least, but it seems “Dreamgirls” director and producer Bill Condon and Laurence Mark have been tapped to produce this year’s Oscar telecast. Mark will be the producer, Condon the executive producer. The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop. Despite the negative B.S. that was flying around my […]
Filed in: Daily