(Ended up unexpectedly taking the day off yesterday. Not that I’m complaining.)
• Anne Thompson talks to “Secretariat” star Diane Lane. [Thompson on Hollywood]
• Mila Kunis on dropping to a bony 95 pounds for “Black Swan.” [E! Online]
• Dave Karger, meanwhile, wonders if the actress can score an Oscar nod alongside co-star Natalie Portman. [Inside Movies]
• Jean-Luc Godard’s Honorary Oscar revives controversy over the director’s supposed anti-Semitism. [New York Times]
• Amy Kaufman sits down with “Love & Other Drugs” director Edward Zwick. [The Envelope]
• Edward Douglas chats up “For Colored Girls” star Thandie Newton. [Coming Soon]
Welcome to Oscar Talk.
In case you’re new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is a weekly kudocast, your one-stop awards chat shop between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood. The podcast is weekly, every Friday throughout the season, charting the ups and downs of contenders along the way. Plenty of things change en route to Oscar’s stage and we’re here to address it all as it unfolds.
You can feel the season rumbling to life with Halloween just around the corner. It’s been a lively enough week as contenders began to hit the circuit and more films were unveiled for eager press. Let’s see what’s on the docket today…
I went into last night’s screening of Edward Zwick’s “Love & Other Drugs” wanting to love it. I really did. There was an opportunity here to delicately balance comedy and drama, tell the story of a man’s journey to maturity against the backdrop of a very serious socio-political issue — the pharmaceutical industry — and tie together themes of responsibility and compassion. At the risk of being reductive, it could have been this year’s “Up in the Air.”
Unfortunately, the film just never finds that balance. There are too many ingredients in the soup, many of them tasty. But they clash in the mixture. Take Josh Gad’s portly, foul-mouthed brother to Jake Gyllenhaal’s suave corporate pill pusher. I laughed at this guy a lot, but it never felt organic to the film. It was arbitrary comic relief lacking any real commentary on the narrative.
Meanwhile, Anne Hathaway — a talented actress who will no doubt win an Oscar one day — does well by the material but she’s asked to play a one-trick, woe is me character who never finds a genuine end to her arc. And that could have been intriguingly the point, but it feels more like a concept stretched thin rather than one filled in with nuance.
• Jeffrey Wells calls “Love & Other Drugs” Edward Zwick’s best film yet. [Hollywood Elsewhere]
• Peter Knegt assesses the Gotham Award nominations. [indieWIRE]
• Nathaniel Rogers hearts Sam Rockwell in “Conviction.” [Tribeca Film]
We’re all still waiting to see what kind of an effort Edward Zwick’s “Love & Other Drugs” might be. From the trailers we’ve seen so far, it looks like a frothy comedy with dramatic stylings. Early word on Anne Hathaway has been positive throughout the year. A new poster has been released and it’s properly suggestive, I suppose. It’s actually been out there for a week or so now, but I’ve been waiting for a higher quality image. Have a look after the jump and tells us what you think.
When I took an initial stab at forecasting the Oscar season back in March, I hung my hat on the prospect of Edward Zwick, a perennial also-ran in Oscar’s years of five, and a promising true-story comedy “Love & Other Drugs.” I’ve been steadily pulling back on that punch, though, and while 20th Century Fox has little else in the hunt this season, it’s starting to look like Golden Globe territory more than anything else. Which is hardly a bad thing, mind you.
Then again, in a first look recently revealed by Entertainment Tonight (courtesy of The Playlist), the chemistry between stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway (reunited five years after “Brokeback Mountain”) is sharp and electric, while their performances separately seem to have a confidence and precision that might get them places in the season.
Based on the book “Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman,” the film stars Gyllenhaal as the Jerry Maguire of the pharmaceutical business who meets Hathaway’s Parkinson’s suffering free spirit on a drug call. Cue romantic comedy stylings. Check out the ET first look (which likely foreshadows a trailer debut any day now) after the jump.
(It’s kind of hard to find anything with meat on its bones amid all the boring, derivative Sundance coverage.)
• David Poland spends 30 minutes with genius Charlie Kaufman. [The Hot Blog]
• Patrick Goldstein comes to Edward Zwick’s defence over a wrong-headed, borderline moronic assessment of his recent film “Defiance.” [The Big Picture]
• Nathaniel Rogers takes his final Oscar stabs. [The Film Experience]
• Tom O’Neil catches up with “Reader” makeup head Ivana Primorac. [Gold Derby]
• Speaking of which, in case you missed it over the weekend, Gerard Kennedy talked to Primorac and the rest of the film’s below-the-line crew in this week’s edition of “Tech Support.” [In Contention]
• Dave Karger wonders if Meryl Streep’s precursor consistency will nab her a third Oscar. If pressed to answer today, my money would be on her, too. [Entertainment Weekly]
• Your chance to be interviewed about “The Dark Knight” and Oscar and a poll asking whether you’d be more inclined to watch the Oscars if the film is nominated for Best Picture. [USA Today]
• Christopher Campbell takes a look at a Sundance story of yore: “Little Miss Sunshine.” [Spout Blog]
Ed Zwick may just be one of those directors who will never be in critics’ good graces: a fine technical craftsman and a no-nonsense storyteller, even his best films remain as resolutely unfashionable in execution as they are noble in intention. Nothing wrong with that, of course — I’m no real fan, but films like “Legends of the Fall,” “The Last Samurai” and “Blood Diamond” entertained a lot of moviegoers, even as critics offered a collective shrug.
Now, early reviews suggest that “Defiance” will continue that pattern. Though Kris had positive words for the film, the trade papers are significantly harsher, tossing out phrases like “dramatically flat” and “an overall lack of creative spark.”
Todd McCarthy’s review praises the performances (particularly Liev Schreiber’s) and tech contributions, but overall, he is left unmoved:
A potentially exceptional story is told in a flatly unexceptional manner… Zwick’s version of the grim but inspirational events becomes more conventional as it goes, topped by a climax straight out of countless war pics and Westerns.
It all becomes pretty standard-issue stuff, filled with noble and tragic heroism, familiar battle images and last-second rescues. None of the suffering, sacrifices, anxieties or tests of heart and soul are rendered with any special dimension or heightened force, nor depicted with anything near the staggering, hallucinatory impact of the two great Russian films to have depicted events in wartime Belorussia, Larisa Shepitko’s 1977 “The Ascent” and her husband Elem Klimov’s 1985 “Come and See.”
…I really liked “Defiance.” To my mind it might be Ed Zwick’s finest film since “Legends of the Fall,” largely because he’s busied himself with more-trite-than-usual material for the last few years. It isn’t a grand slam more so than a steadily guided ship and for the most part, it works.
I’m heading out the door, but viewers will start trickling out of the film in a few hours, so I thought I’d better go ahead and get a quick assessment up. The real surprise, given the peculiarities of the season, is that the film has successfully remained under embargo for the last three weeks. But for now, I’ll say that Eduardo Serra’s photography is absolutely gorgeous, reminding of the picturesque qualities John Toll made his own in the 1990s. The winter scenes in particular really pop and there is one shot, slowly telegraphing the fate of a noble steed, that will surely end up on my “best shots of the year” column this season.
James Newton Howard’s score, meanwhile, assisted by the lovely violin brilliance of Josh Bell, is destined for an Oscar nomination. It’s nice to see him having fun with strings this year (the music in “The Happening” was the only reason to sit through the film).
As for performances, Daniel Craig is solid, Liev Schreiber gets the showy role and pulls it off nicely, but I was strangely taken by Jamie Bell’s work here. His was the most believable portrayal of the lot and he certainly had less to work with than anyone else. He brings a quiet power and reminds us yet again that he’s going to be a superstar someday. Soon.
Anyway, shitty to leave it at that, but I have to run. I’ll get up a proper review or short take soon enough.
Paramount Vantage has launched the official site for Edward Zwick’s “Defiance,” which closes out this year’s AFI Fest on Sunday.
Throughout the site, you can hear samples of James Newton Howard’s beautiful (and Oscar-bound) score. You can also dive into the history of the narrative with lots of awesome and informative bells and whistles. One of my favorite sections is the “Surviving the Winter” tab. Some of the film’s most stunning photography is shown off during this stretch of the story, likely landing Eduardo Serra his third nomination in the process.
Beautiful stuff. Vantage is always great with this kind of thing, using the online experience to really amplify their product.
Click on the image below to check out the site:
• After a third go, Jeffrey Wells is still in the tank for “Che,” claiming that you have to do some homework on the subject before coming into the film. [Hollywood Elsewhere]
• Steven Zeitchik writes up the Oscar season from the most played-out perspective in the book: biopics. [The Hollywood Reporter]
• Chrissey Iley chats it up with Leonardo CiCaprio. [The Guardian]
• Meanwhile, Elizabeth Day goes toe-to-toe with Clint Eastwood. [The Guardian]
• Michael Ordoña is a busy bee this weekend, first tackling a one-on-one with Viggo Mortensen… [Los Angeles Times]
• …then chatting with Edward Zwick about his new film “Defiance.” [Los Angeles Times]
• Sam Adams, meanwhile, talks to “Milk” star James Franco. [Los Angeles Times]
• The stars share their thoughts on the 2008 election. [Premiere]
On the heels of the new one-sheet for Edward Zwick’s “Defiance,” we see today that Variety has nabbed an exclusive look at the new trailer. Check it out:
We just acquired the sweet new one-sheet for Edward Zwick’s “Defiance.” Maybe cashing in on a little of that Bond love for Daniel Craig this season, this poster is certainly more appealing than the previous art work:
“Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain’t heard nothing yet!”
Those words from Al Jolson forever changed filmmaking in 1927, ushering in “talkies” and bringing about the beginning of the end of the silent film era.
The Academy Award for sound mixing recognizes the artists who fashion a film’s audio side. It must be distinguished from Best Sound Editing, which is the integration of artificially created sound effects into the mix. Mixing is the blending of those effects, along with dialogue, music and any other noise captured during filming. The Oscar awards the sound re-recording mixers in this category, who do the blending, as well as the production sound mixer, who captures the sounds on the set.
Blockbusters, action flicks, war films and musicals usually do particularly well in this category, given the extent to which the sound tends to draw attention to itself in these sorts of films. It’s somewhat difficult to project the category this far in advance, however, as the sound mixers for many of the films are difficult to pinpoint; mixing is one of the last tasks done on a film. But that’s not going to stop me from trying to handicap potential contenders!
Jon Favreau’s “Iron Man” is the sort of film that has virtually everything this branch normally goes for. The film is filled with action and high-profile sound work. Plus, it kicked off the summer blockbuster season with not only lots of dough for producers, but also lots of raves from critics. Veteran Oscar winner Christopher Boyes is in charge of this crew. I’d say a nomination is quite likely.
The press release, in part:
Academy Award® winner Edward Zwick has been selected to receive “The Kodak Award for Excellence in Filmmaking” at the 2008 ShowEast convention in Orlando, it was announced by Mitch Neuhauser, Co-Managing Director of the convention. Zwick will be on hand to receive this honor at the ShowEast Final Night Banquet and Award Ceremony on Thursday, October 16th at the Orlando World Center Marriott in Orlando, Florida.
“Edward Zwick is one of the most talented and respected multi-hyphenates working in the film industry today,” noted Neuhauser. “Not only is he an accomplished filmmaker in American cinema, but he is also a veteran of television, responsible for some of the most groundbreaking shows of our generation, and he frequently juggles movies with television as he works. From a film standpoint, Edward Zwick’s body of work is diverse, accomplished and acclaimed and to be able to honor him at ShowEast this year is truly a great privilege.”
Zwick has been getting more and more press leading up to the fall release of “Defiance,” which was announced last month as the closing night gala of the AFI Fest here in Los Angeles.
We’ve been hinting at a big bow for this year’s American Film Institute Festival for some time now. We haven’t been able to come clean on it, but the news is official today: Edward Zwick’s World War II drama “Defiance” will drop on November 9 as the closing night gala.
From the press release:
This will mark Zwick’s second appearance at AFI FEST, having previewed scenes and discussed his work on BLOOD DIAMOND, prior to the film’s opening in 2006.
“As part of the AFI family, I am deeply honored they have chosen DEFIANCE, a ten year labor of love, as their closing night film,” stated Zwick. “As a student at the AFI, I was encouraged to tell stories with meaning and purpose and I have tried to hold onto that belief in my career.”
“AFI FEST is honored to host the World Premiere of DEFIANCE at AFI FEST. The event symbolizes the very heart of the American Film Institute – to train the next generation of filmmakers and then have them come home to premiere a film of the highest artistic ideals,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI’s President and CEO.
I’ll be covering AFI Fest here in Los Angeles for the full stretch. And also a reminder, Guy Lodge will be covering the London fest for us here next month. We’re in the thick of festival season now!
