In Contention

Tag: Gran Torino

  • WEEKLY WRAP: ‘Button’ rises, ‘Torino’ surfaces, ‘Doubt’ swoops

    Apologies for the slightly delayed wrap. Much to discuss this week — here are the highlights:

    • With some formerly hot prospects now off the radar, this week’s Off the Carpet column surveys the landscape, and concludes that things look good for “Benjamin Button.”

    • “The Soloist” withdrew as the AFI fest opener; their loss is “Doubt”‘s gain.

    • With a trailer for “Gran Torino” finally emerging, we wonder if Clint Eastwood is the real frontrunner for Best Actor.

    • The Gotham Independent Film Awards unveiled the season’s first set of nominees — good news for titles like “Ballast” and “The Visitor.”

    • More impressions from the London Film Festival, including hot foreign-language contender “The Class.”

    • Still in London, we caught up with “Happy-Go-Lucky”‘s superb Best Supporting Actor contender, Eddie Marsan.

    • This week’s edition of Tech Support put Art Direction in the spotlight.

    • We were in a listmaking mood this week, rounding up some of the most scandalously unnominated actors of this era …

    • … while John Foote reminisced over his personal favourite movie moments.

    • And finally, who should host the Oscars? Our answer may surprise you.

  • ‘Gran Torino’ trailer drops at Apple

    Click on the angry badass to check it out:

    Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino

  • Is Clint Eastwood going to win his first acting Oscar?

    Clint Eastwood in Gran TorinoI’ve been mulling this over for a few weeks now, and though we all know it’s foolish to sit back and predict Oscar winners when the race is still developing a clear slate of nominees, I keep coming back to the amount of sense it makes for Clint Eastwood to take the gold this year for his upcoming leading performance in “Gran Torino.”

    Let’s look at the obvious factors first: competition. There is no agreed upon, media-charming performance going into the season that either has forged, or is expected to forge the kind of undeniable mass appeal that Jamie Foxx did in 2004, the last time Eastwood had a shot at an acting prize.

    Of the contenders most anticipate to be in play, only Sean Penn’s portrayal of Harvey Milk has the on-paper swagger, while Leonardo DiCaprio (despite generating considerable heat — I’ve heard one person say “it’s one of the best performances I’ve ever seen”) could spoil the party if he can push past the pretty boy image that fellow hopeful Brad Pitt will face.

    Mickey Rourke is the odds-on favorite heading into November for a nomination, but despite the brilliance of the performance and the film, there is the sense that the nod will be the reward. An Indie Spirit Award is probably in the cards, and if so, promises to be the usual kiss of death.

    Frank Langella, to round out my own predicted five, faces an uphill battle in gaining an Oscar to go along with his Tony for the same performance. Even with plenty of positive assessments, the potential to underwhelm is out there, in the open, and waiting to keep “Frost/Nixon” an also ran in multiple areas.

    Benicio Del Toro could be a real threat if the film finds the traction necessary to move into serious play, but it probably won’t be the event that Eastwood’s efforts will be. And the only other performance that really shouts for attention is Josh Brolin’s work in “W,” a film that could be yesterday’s news sooner than later.

    Then there is the chatter flying around that “Gran Torino” will be our last opportunity to see Eastwood perform on the screen, a swan song to his career as an actor. If so, what better way to cap off a hell of an autumn run than with a statue for his nearly six decades of achievements in front of the camera?

    The film will be emotional, and given the particulars of the script, the portrayal is sure to prove heartbreaking. It could be the stiff upper lip of an awards season that finds itself competing with the election year, a note of hope and even a demand for sacrifice.

    So I’ll just put it out there now: Clint Eastwood is going to win the Oscar for Best Actor come February. From where we sit right now, it just makes sense. But that’s the thing about “right now.” It changes.

    We’ll see…

    Have your say. Who do you predict to win the Oscar for Best Actor this year?

  • 10/24 Oscarweb Round-up

    Kate Winslet in The Reader• Dave Karger ponders a double nomination for Kate Winslet. [Oscar Watch]

    • Six of us all agree that “Slumdog Millionaire” is in this hunt to stay. [Gold Derby]

    • David Poland waxes on about the year’s film product amid the political season.  And somehow he thinks Clint Eastwood’s front-and-center, in-nearly-every-scene role in “Gran Torino” is “more interesting as a supporting actor.” [Movie City News]

    • Andrew Gnere talks to “Changeling” scribe J. Michael Straczynski. [Moviemaker Magazine]

    • 15 possible Oscar hosts. [The Movie Blog]

  • 10/23 Oscarweb Round-up

    Philip Seymour Hoffman and Hope Davis in Synecdoche, New York• Tom Tapp rallies behind Kristin Scott Thomas’s work in “I’ve Loved You So Long.” [The Daily Beast]

    • Anne Thompson, meanwhile, thinks the actress leads the field.  (Sorry — the film just didn’t speak to me.) [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • After Spielberg and Greengrass bowed out, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” might end up in the hands of…Ben Stiller?  WTF? [The Hollywood Reporter]

    • Michael Ordoñachats it up with Hope Davis, probably the least interesting female component of Charlie Kaufman’s “Synecdoche, New York.” [Los Angeles Times]

    • John Horn, meanwhile, writes a love letter to Clint Eastwood with “Changeling” set to bow nationwide. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Anthony Breznican gets some quality “Gran Torino” time with Clint Eastwood, plus some exclusive looks at the film’s first materials. [USA Today]

    • Missing the boat on so much of the subtle brilliance to be found in “W,” Christopher Rosen thinks Oliver Stone has simply gotten old. [New York Observer]

    • The director, meanwhile, takes part in an esteemed panel discussing the marks to be left by the current administration. [Slate]

    • Peter Bart makes the completely wrong-headed decision to chalk slumping ad sales revenue up to studios displaying a lack of talent support. [Peter Bart]

  • ‘Gran Torino’ poster

    Bad…ass.

    Warner Bros. Pictures\' Gran Torino

    (Courtesy: USA Today)

  • OFF THE CARPET: Holding back

    Meryl Streep in SoubtEvery Oscar season is about managing expectations. Studios, of course, want to keep the murmurs to a minimum whether they have the goods or not because the peril of peaking too early is just as bad as the sting of negative word-of-mouth. Similarly, being “the one to beat” sets a film up to rise to an unfair occasion rather than coming to the table fresh.

    Holding back is a tradition and is even one of two philosophies on the awards season sell. There are those who’ll tell you that, if you have a great movie, you should show it and show it proudly. The other side of the equation believes in the manipulation of when and where opinion will trickle out. It seems every year a train wreck of sorts occurs, and this year, that train wreck was obviously “Frost/Nixon.”

    After landing in London to some mediocre reviews (no one at this site, by the way, ever said the film was bombing with critics across the board), should Universal Pictures have been particularly surprised? Ron Howard, America’s white-bread filmmaking standard exhibiting to the chilly British disposition? It wasn’t going to be a rapturous reception, and with the film having been completed for months on end, holding back until the London festival to give anyone a sanctioned peek raised eyebrows long ago.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: ‘Road,’ ‘Soloist’ out, ‘Frost’ stumbles, Ledger buzz

    Busy week, this. Here is how it went down:

    • In the biggest story of the week, the pool of contenders narrowed as “The Road” got bumped to 2009…

    • … followed, in quick succession, by “The Soloist.”

    • The London Film Festival kicked off with “Frost/Nixon,” which got off to a middling critical start. We were underwhelmed.

    • More London coverage here, here and here.

    • As Tech Support ran down the Visual Effects contenders, we got an angle on the tantalising FX for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”

    • Heath Ledger’s buzz remains as solid as ever — word went round that a lead campaign was in the works, but they’re staying put in supporting. Good move.

    • More (and still more) foreign film contenders bring the field to a record tally of 67.

    • We responded to the bad “Changeling” buzz with a kinder view, but like everyone else, are looking ahead to “Gran Torino.”

    • And finally, we solve your sartorial dilemmas in time for Halloween.

  • More on “Gran Torino”

    When I was writing up today’s poll, I realized I had completely forgot about that Louisa Schein piece from a few weeks back that was focused on the Hmong actors Clint Eastwood has cast in “Gran Torino.”  It was the first of a two-part study and I never came back to it.

    Part two was published on October 4 and, well, here it is.  Better late than never.  Schein digs into more cast members this time, mainly those cast as the Hmong family that lives next to Eastwood’s Walt Kowalski character.  But she winds the story down with this bit of insight into how “Gran Torino” might have lit a fuse for prospective Hmong filmmakers:

    Once Gran Torino is in theaters, the wait will be on for a film that not only tells the Hmong story, but does so from a Hmong point of view. As longtime actress, and production assistant for the Minnesota casting call, Sandy Ci Moua, puts it: “I see this as a catalyst for more Hmong to get into filmmaking.” During casting Sandy was a major advocate for the hiring of Hmong actors. Now she wants something more. “Not just acting in someone else’s movie, but writing, casting and producing – the things that make the story go.”

    Read the rest here.

  • POLL: What do you make of “Gran Torino”‘s Oscar prospects?

    Sorry we let the sidebar poll go stale.  But it was a nice round-up of opinion.  After two weeks, 28% of our readers think “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is the frontrunner heading into the fall months, with “Milk” nipping at its heels.  But it’s time for a new query, no?

    I thought about using the question in the post below as fodder for this week’s poll, regarding Heath Ledger’s likelihood of a nomination in the lead category for “The Dark Knight.”  But I thought I would take an element from that post and concentrate on it here: the mysterious “Gran Torino.”

    Clint Eastwood’s film has been way back on the back burner for many prognosticators who aren’t able to let him pull a fast one and catch them off guard once again.  We’ve reviewed the screenplay here at In Contention and some scattered reports have circulated about the on-the-set particulars of the production, but for the most part, we’re in the dark.  Lots of potential, but nothing tangible to chew on.

    So I leave it to a vague poll: what do you think of the film’s Oscar prospects, given what little we have to go on?  I’ve narrowed it to four equally vague answers, and for that I apologize, but I thought I’d get a read on what you all were thinking on this lurking awards hopeful.  Tell us in the sidebar poll!

  • Will Heath Ledger muscle into a crowded lead actor field?

    Heath Ledger in The Dark KnightAdd another one to the list.  It looks like Thelma Adams has joined Pete Howell in predicting Heath Ledger for a lead actor nomination in WB’s “The Dark Knight.”  We first mentioned this idea in back in June, before the film landed in cinemas, and it has slowly snowballed into a possibility for a couple of pundits.

    It really depends on what Warner Bros. decides to do with the performance, however.  But if the studio tries its hand in the lead category, I really don’t think it will matter.  The guy is getting a nomination.

    I hate to “go there” with the first concentrated Bat-talk in a month or so (you know, since some of our more bizarre readers can’t handle talking about comic books in a serious discussion).  But it’s worth talking about at this point.  WB hasn’t declared a strategy, hasn’t launched an awards site, hasn’t shown its cards at all really, other than to announce a January re-release for the film aimed at securing last minue Oscar goodwill.  And, of course, the Academy will decide for themselves which category Ledger belongs in.

    Conventional wisdom dictates that Ledger would have a much less turbulent ride to a nod in the supporting category, with a traditionally weaker field and less opportunity for Academy members to balk at the notion of a comic book portrayal sliding in.  But if you ask me, this is the performance of the year — and not just because I say so, of course.  Ledger’s Joker has inched toward infamy, become a pop culture staple and earned its place alongside the greatest of screen villainy.  You’ll see his guise all over the country in 17 days.  His chances at a lead nomination are as good as they are in supporting, because at the end of the day, whatever the campaign, his is the most talked-about portrayal of 2008.

    I don’t think there are too many people who would questiont that.  The only variable has been where Ledger can win the award, and you’ll get no argument here that the supporting category is an easier path.  But then again, is it?  The supporting actor hopefuls have slowly congealed into five solid contenders, at least two of them sporting the scenery-chewing chops that could dilute Ledger’s work ever-so-slightly in the field.  Maybe it isn’t a walk-away there, any more than it would be in lead.  So why not go for the gusto?

    It’s all very timely at the moment, seeing as Warner Bros. has lost a dog in the race as of this weekend.  Until “Gran Torino” suddenly sneaks up on all of us, “The Dark Knight” is the studio’s awards season hopeful.  But we’re just spit-balling for now.  More than likely we will come across an FYC ad or an awards site and Ledger will be listed in the supporting category as expected.

    But don’t be surprised.  Don’t be surprised.

    Have your say.  Should Heath Ledger be campaigned as a lead or supporting actor for “The Dark Knight?”

  • OFF THE CARPET: Who we are, who we want to be

    (from left) Josh Brolin and Toby Jones in W.In the last few weeks, drama has persisted in the yet-to-be-heated Oscar season.  Producers are debating exhibitors in public and mid-summer opinions of awards-caliber product are being revisited — in some cases disavowed — as more and more viewers get their peeks.

    On the positive side, two studios have launched the screener circuit with indie films they hope can muster some remembrance, while the foreign film news bite barrage has come to a close with the qualification deadline.  But there isn’t much to go on in terms of assessing the season, not a lot in the way of tangible grist for the mill.

    Lots of smoke, very little fire.

    In part, that should explain a lack of predictions updates here at In Contention, shifting and sliding for no reason.  And indeed, this week’s update isn’t a massive overhaul — or even an overhaul — beyond putting a few things into context here, trimming the fat there.  But as I set out to update our projections this week, I became more and more aware of 2008’s striking theme of self-reflection this Oscar season.  And hey, it seemed as good an idea for a column as any.

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  • 10/6 Oscarweb Round-up

    Toby Jones• Choire Sicha talks to Ellen Burstyn about “W.” and her new memoir. [Los Angeles Times]

    • A year later, Jeffrey Wells still very much hearts “Things We Lost in the Fire.” [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Peter Knegt profiles “Rachel Getting Married” screenwriter Jenny Lumet. [indieWIRE]

    • David Gritten corners the Coen brothers across the pond. [Daily Telegraph]

    • John Anderson details the Iraq war film as risky business with Ridley Scott tackling the subject in “Body of Lies.” [New York Times]

    • Doing more press for the Brits than Stateside these days, Oliver Stone chats it up with Oliver Burkeman. [The Guardian]

    • The diversity that is character actor Toby Jones. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Steve Daly talks with a Bill Maher-less Larry Charles. [Entertainment Weekly]

    • More fuel for the “‘Gran Torino’ is Eastwood’s last performance” fire. [Reuters]

  • Eastwood aims for realism with unknown Hmong ensemble in ‘Gran Torino’

    Clint EastwoodNews America Media writer Louisa Schein has begun a two-part report on the Hmong actors cast in Clint Eastwood’s upcoming “Gran Torino,” and I have to say, it’s a real coup considering how little we’ve learned of the film so far.

    The article sheds light on Eastwood’s decision to cast a string of unknown in key roles throughout the film, making dreams come true for a large number of Hmong actors.  What’s more, it seems Eastwood chose a number of Hmong extras and production assistants for the production, putting what Schein calls a “mountain of faith” in Hmong talent.

    Here’s a bit from Schein’s lede:

    After open casting calls were held in Fresno, Detroit and Minnesota, interested Hmong Americans waited with baited breath to see who would be cast. As days turned into weeks, fear spread that Hmong would be passed over for more experienced Asian actors. But then, in early July, people who least expected it started getting the calls. Elation spread with the news that ten key roles had gone to mostly first-time Hmong actors, and that Hmong extras, production assistants and others were also going to be on set. Eastwood seems to be putting a mountain of faith in Hmong talent, and it looks like he will be well rewarded for it. Working on Gran Torino is stretching the actors – many of whom have backgrounds in other art forms like music – to reach potentials they didn’t know they had.

    She goes on to profile a number of the actors involved, then drops this bit of news about improvisation on the set:

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  • Best Original Screenplay: beyond the obvious

    Everyone has a favourite Oscar category, and Best Original Screenplay is mine. It’s partly because I’m a screenwriter myself, so I feel a little more invested in the outcome. My evaluation of the category often comes down to the question: “Which screenplay do I most wish I’d written first?”

    More importantly, however, it’s the category where the Academy takes its greatest artistic risks. With the Best Picture category generally weighted towards adaptations, they often use Best Original Screenplay as a way to acknowledge the edgier, more adventurous work that voters can see the greatness of, but don’t yet have the guts to honour with their biggest prize. Hell, once in a blue moon they even give it to (gasp) a foreign-language film.

    It’s this convenient ghettoising mentality that ensures the likes of “Citizen Kane,” “The Red Balloon,” “Chinatown,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Talk to Her” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” don’t go empty-handed. Sure, it sucks that they couldn’t win more. And, being the Academy, they make more than their share of screw-ups. (Let’s try and forget that, in 1960, “Pillow Talk” beat — wait for it — “Wild Strawberries,” “North by Northwest” and “The 400 Blows,” shall we?) But they occasionally hit on an otherwise-snubbed masterpiece, and for that we should be grateful.

    This year’s Best Picture slate appears to be heavy on prestige adaptations, allowing for a more idiosyncratic ragbag of contenders on the Original Screenplay front, mixing familiar Academy-anointed favourites with some exciting new voices.

    There is, of course, a chance this could be a year when the paths of the Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay races converge, principally in the shape of “Milk” scribe Dustin Lance Black. Already high hopes for “Milk” were amplified by an excellent trailer, and a number of Oscar clairvoyants are labelling it the front-runner in the top race. If this turns out to be the case, Black will likely benefit.

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  • Finally getting excited about 2008…

    Sean Penn in MilkNot a whole lot has piqued my cinematic interest this year. “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man” and “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” are the happy pre-festival-season exceptions. But even with Toronto not yielding a whole lot in terms of Oscar frontrunners, I am finding more and more to be excited about in the coming months and expect an intense race for that little golden guy. Here are the six (well, seven…you’ll see) most anticipated of the year for me, at this stage…

    “The Road” (John Hollcoat)
    Is anyone else as pumped for this as I am? After reading the book in three days, imagining Viggo Mortensen in a number of the scenes and Robert Duvall as the old man, I can’t wait. If Mortensen does justice to the character (and I think he will), he is in for an Oscar nod, the second in a row for the actor.  And the film itself could be a dark horse contender for Best Picture and Best Director. The Academy has shown some courage these last few years embracing dark subjects, and this one is certainly dark.  Though the book ends with a ray of hope for humanity. Here’s hoping they capture the intensity and raw realism of the novel.

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  • Best Actor race looking tight as always — expect surprises

    Leonardo DiCaprio in Revolutionary RoadThe Best Actor category tends to be one of the more crowded categories come Oscar time, and 2008 looks to be no exception. To be sure, there are a handful of frontrunners as usual, but hovering behind them are another group, more than eight who could easily sneak in and nab a nomination. Last year Tommy Lee Jones was nominated for his powerful work in “The Valley of Elah,” a richly deserved nod, but completely unexpected by the majority of prognosticators.  I remember smiling when I heard his name read, but it was a huge surprise.

    I would expect something similar this year, as we have some of the great  actors and potentially stunning performances in contention.

    The obvious frontrunner at this point is Mickey Rourke, basking in the attention being given to “The Wrestler.”  His performance is nothing short of miraculous, an astounding piece of acting, and it is great to see him back in the fold.  But when it comes to winning the award, I have to say: not a chance. Rourke is intensely disliked in Hollywood.  He’s seen as someone who basically spit on the industry to walk away and become a boxer. As a friend close to Rourke said, “A lot of people were happy when he left and don’t want this guy back.”

    Frank Langella looks to be terrific in the trailers for “Frost/ Nixon.”  He has always been a great actor, better known for his stage work than film, though in the last few years he has become a formidable presence on the big screen. I remember seeing him as “Dracula” both on stage and on film in the late 1970s and hoped he would go far. He did, just not in the movies, until recently.

    Kris has Michael Sheen down as a lead actor possibility as well, and I agree. It’s one of those “Amadeus” situations where one performance cannot exist without the other. There is a strong chance that if the film and the actors are terrific, both of them will be nominated, though Langella certainly has the showier role of the two.

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  • THE LISTS: Top 10 performances you’re underestimating

    Every year it seems there are a number of performers in the thick of an Oscar hunt that don’t get the same attention as the expected heavy-hitters.

    It’s no surprise, of course, that Oscar prognostication would lean toward the anticipation of what lies ahead, unseen, unproven.  The mystery stays in tact, if for precious few moments.  But a number of nominated actors and actresses, year after year, tend to bank on the underestimation of the masses, allowing those heavy-hitters to fall by the wayside and provide just the opportunity they were waiting for all along.

    Here, then, is an attempt to shine a light on 10 stealthy contenders that seem to be flying low on the radar so far this season:

    Richard Jenkins in The Visitor10. Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”
    At the moment, “The Visitor” star Richard Jenkins might seem like the obvious bet for a list such as this.  But with Overture Films planning an Oscar campaign for the character-actor-turned-leading-man and a year increasingly giving credence to smaller films, this gem of a performance from way back in the first quarter of the year could find room to make a move.  A prime DVD release date will keep the film fresh in voters’ minds and perhaps divert some of the attention away from the Brad Pitts, Sean Penns and Frank Langellas for a spell.

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