In Contention

Tag: Invictus

  • OSCAR TALK: Ep. 10 — The four to be seen, animated features, supporting categories and Tyson’s LAX punch-out

    Oscar TalkWelcome to Oscar Talk, your weekly kudocast featuring yours truly and Anne Thompson of indieWIRE’s Thompson on Hollywood.

    On the docket today:

    • Anne and I discuss the four perceived Oscar heavies that have yet to unveil — “Avatar,” “Invictus,” “The Lovely Bones” and “Nine” — and what being last out of the gate means vis a vis echo chamber buzz.

    • Spinning off of that, we dig into the “Avatar” budget story of the week.

    • With the list of qualifying animated features official, we take a brief survey of the category once more with thoughts on potential nominees.

    • With Movie City News’s Gurus o’ Gold chart collecting supporting category predictions, Anne and I take the opportunity to profile those two categories.

    • And Anne breaks down the impromptu Mike Tyson bout that went down at LAX Wednesday and whether it could hurt James Toback’s documentary feature on the fighter.

    Have a listen to this week’s podcast below.  And as always, you can subscribe to Oscar Talk via iTunes here.

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  • Through the grapevine

    Matt Damon in Invictus“People say believe half of what you see, son, and none of what you hear.” Marvin Gaye’s Motown standard may as well have been written about Oscar punditry.

    Still, it’s hard to resist the allure of hearsay in this game, and even as I douse myself with multiple pinches of salt, I found these two recent tidbits from Steve Pond’s The Odds blog interesting. Interesting, I hasten to add, and little more.

    The first addresses the matter of how “Precious” might play with the older, white, male audience that comprises the Academy majority:

    Among the viewers who saw the film over the weekend, incidentally, were a group of Academy members and guests at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater Sunday evening. I hear that the AMPAS members screening drew a smallish audience (about 300 in the 1,000-seat theater) but played well, with the largest applause going to the film’s lead actresses, Gabourey Sidibe and Mo’Nique. (Director Lee Daniels, in contrast, reportedly didn’t prompt as much enthusiasm.) The size of the crowd suggests to me that the film’s biggest problem will get getting Oscar voters to see it.

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  • Freeman to be feted by Palm Springs fest

    Morgan FreemanI think there are just enough festivals out there where every contender can get his or her special tribute or designation.  What do you think?

    Anyway, the press release, in part:

    The 21st Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present Morgan Freeman with the Career Achievement Award for Acting. Presented by Cartier, the Awards Gala will kick off the 2010 awards season on Tuesday, January 5 at the Palm Springs Convention Center and will be hosted by “Entertainment Tonight’s” Mary Hart. The Festival runs January 5-18.

    Festival chairman Harold Matzner said, “The Palm Springs International Film Festival is honored to present Hollywood legend Morgan Freeman with the Career Achievement Award for his large and extraordinary body of work and his many memorable performances throughout the years, including his role as Nelson Mandela in Invictus.”

  • Hollywood, Johannesburg

    Sharlto Copley in District 9In January 2005, exactly one week after I left my birth town of Johannesburg to study film in the brighter lights of London, Darrell James Roodt’s earnest AIDS drama “Yesterday” became South Africa’s first Oscar nominee in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

    Only a month later, the rather better “uCarmen eKhayelitsha” took the Golden Bear at the Berlin fest; again, the country’s first production to take top honors at one of the major festivals. And only a year later, Gavid Hood’s “Tsotsi” went one better than “Yesterday” by taking the Oscar.

    By this time, I was beginning to wonder if the movie gods were sending me a sign that I’d picked the wrong country: South Africa’s film industry seemed poised for a crossover explosion. That didn’t quite happen. Hampered by the usual financial constraints of a third-world industry, the country went back to its steady output of provincial lowbrow comedies and not-quite-there dramas, few of them seen beyond its own borders.

    Almost five years later, however, something interesting is starting to bubble there again — but this time, it’s not South Africa’s own industry making waves as much as an international cinematic preoccupation with the country and its stories.

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  • OFF THE CARPET: Looking at the supporting gentlemen

    Paul Schneider in Bright StarIn recent weeks we’ve been covering the performance categories in this space.  With little else of tangible interest, what else can we possibly discuss?  It’s as good a time as any to take note of what we have on our hands.  Be sure to check out our looks at Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress if you missed them.

    (Speaking of which, with the rise of “Crazy Heart” in this year’s race, it goes without saying Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal should be added to their respective fields as they are very much in this year’s race.)

    At first glance, the Best Supporting Actor category looks fairly established this season.  There have been, after all, a number of contenders already and plenty more to come.  But none have really stood out from the pack yet, making this race actually as up for grabs as any other.

    Possibly the most agreed-upon contender in the field has to be Christoph Waltz, who took acting honors in Cannes for his villainous portrayal in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds.” Waltz has made for quite the story off-screen as well, given his latter-career lift-off.  And even detractors of the film (yours truly included) have to consider his performance a highlight of the year so far.

    If anyone gives considerable chase here it’s going to be Christopher Plummer, smartly shifted to a supporting focus for his performance as Leo Tolstoy in “The Last Station.” Plummer will have sentiment (never been nominated) and added visibility (also appearing in “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”) on his side.

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  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Art Direction — Volume II

    Michael Stuhlbarg in A Serious ManWhen I first addressed the race for Best Art Direction in August, I spoke of how the branch tends to favor period pieces and fantasy films. Considering the research involved in the former and the often showy creativity on display in the latter, this is hardly surprising.

    That said, I often feel badly for exceptional contemporary films that have been slighted here in the past. Examples from this decade immediately popping to mind include David Wasco’s tremendously clever sets for “The Royal Tenenbaums” and Alex McDowell’s ultra-realistic airport design on “The Terminal.”

    While many of the titles in contention are the same over two months later, the race has nevertheless undergone some significant changes. Primarily this is because many of the films have opened, been unveiled at festivals and/or revealed glimpses via trailers and other materials.

    At the top of the list, still, is Rob Marshall’s “Nine.” John Myhre won this category on both of his previous two collaborations with Marshall. Dabbling in the world of Fellini seems like the perfect opportunity to grab his fifth nomination.

    While the “Sherlock Holmes” trailer has been around for a while, the verdict is still out on the latest film from Guy Ritchie – a director whose work to date has hardly been typical AMPAS fodder. Nevertheless, Sarah Greenwood has been nominated twice before for capturing period England, Joe Wright’s “Pride & Prejudice” and “Atonement” doing the trick. She’ll be doing the same here, albeit on a much larger scale. A nomination seems a distinct possibility in my opinion.

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  • OFF THE CARPET: Looking at the leading gentlemen

    Colin Firth in A Single ManWe’ve taken concentrated looks at the lead actress and supporting actress categories in recent weeks.  Now let’s turn our attention over to the fellas.

    Behind the Best Picture race, of course, the lead actor competition is perhaps the most hotly anticipated award of a given Oscar telecast.  Movie stars are born, Hollywood staples are rewarded and careers leap to the next level.  It makes for an intriguing annual state of the union as it pertains the the film industry’s talent roster.

    This year, one of Hollywood’s brightest stars finds himself right at the front of the conversation.  George Clooney is likely to end up with his third acting Oscar nomination, for Jason Reitman’s “Up in the Air,” and he’ll owe much of that to Reitman’s powerful work on the page.

    Clooney doesn’t give his best performance to date in the film.  But the material is so cleverly built around his persona that one can’t blame the actor for saddling up to a role that fits like a glove.  And there is something to be said for the bravery of taking one’s image on like that.

    Colin Firth, meanwhile, has caused a critical stir with his leading performance in Tom Ford’s “A Single Man.” He has already won the Venice Film Festival’s acting honor and has been tapped for another at February’s Santa Barbara Film Festival.  He is pitch-perfect in the film, giving a refined performance of nuance and gesture.

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  • Matt Damon: A-list character actor

    Matt DamonOver the weekend you heard Anne and I discuss Matt Damon’s Oscar prospects this year for his two films, Clint Eastwood’s “Invictus” (where he’ll be looking to land a supporting actor nomination) and Steven Soderbergh’s “The Informant!” (lead).  Anne isn’t in the minority when she says the latter has faded somewhat from the canvas and that Damon is looking less likely for a notice there, but I remain fairly certain that he’ll be remembered for what is, many will agree, his finest work to date.

    Of the year’s potential double-dippers, Damon has perhaps remained the most likely to see two nominations, and he’ll be right back on the scene a week after the Oscarcast when Paul Greengrass’s “Green Zone” hits theaters nationwide.  The guy is busy, as always, and what makes him special is he is incredibly consistent.

    So it’s not that surprising that the Grey Lady would dedicate a lengthy piece to the actor and his place in modern Hollywood, having forged a career as what the editors and/or writer Dennis Lim are cleverly dubbing an “A-list character actor.”

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  • OSCAR TALK: Ep. 8 — ‘This Is It,’ music branch, ‘Invictus’ and ‘Avatar’ trailers, the Best Actor race and more

    Oscar TalkWe have a belated edition of Oscar Talk for you today.  We apologize for the lateness, but what better way to kick back on a Sunday afternoon than with yours truly and Anne Thompson of indieWIRE’s Thompson on Hollywood?

    In this eighth installment, we actually covered a lot of ground. This week’s topics:

    • With “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” hitting theaters this weekend, we lead off talking brief about the film (which Anne hasn’t seen).

    • With music on the mind, this leads to another quick discussion about the Academy’s music branch, which caused poor Sad brad Smith to preemptively refrain from submitting his moving track “Help Yourself” from “Up in the Air” for consideration this year.

    • Rumors of Neil Patrick Harris hosting the Oscarcast after doing bang-up jobs at the Tonys and Emmys are circulating, and in the wake of Ricky Gervais being tapped to emcee the Golden Globes this year, we spin our wheels on that topic one more time.

    • “Precious” is opening next week, so with that (and Anne’s recent piece concerning Mo’Nique’s behind-the-scenes drama issues) in mind, we talk about whether the film, or the actress herself, has to win a popularity contest this season to gain the Academy’s attention and respect.

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  • Calling the Best Picture wild cards

    Emily Blunt in The Young VictoriaTom O’Neil has pooled the thoughts of 16 awards-watchers on which 10 films will make the Best Picture cut, and the results make for ominously predictable reading.

    All 16 agree that “The Hurt Locker” and “Invictus” are in (I guess it’s just me holding out on the latter then), while there’s near-consensus on the likes of “Precious,” “Up in the Air,” “Up” … you get the idea. Yawn. At this rate, the switch to 10 nominees looks to sap any excitement from this stage of the race whatsoever.

    More interesting, then, is to venture further down the list to see what the pundits’ more out-on-a-limb picks are. One would like to think at least one of the slots has to be filled with something slightly less expected — otherwise what’s the point? So I turned my attention to the films receiving a solitary vote from one of O’Neil’s posse.

    Those hoping for a foreign-language contender in the mix (no, “Inglourious Basterds” does not count) might want to look away, as not a single punter has one on their list, while things look similarly grim for documentaries.

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  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Film Editing — Volume II

    (from left) Daniel Day-Lewis and Marion Cotillard in NineAs I wrote in August, “Best Achievement in Film Editing” can be a difficult thing to define. Traditionally, we most notice film editing that is showy, usually in action films, musicals or movies that are not told chronologically. But does that make the editing better? If done well, it undoubtedly can add to the quality and innovation in a film.

    At the same time, however, a well-paced and effective film is often one where the transitions are seamless and I maintain that the best editing is often that which you don’t notice.  We will never know what “could have made it into the film,” which makes judging editing difficult at times. What is certain, however, is that in the absence of editors, our films would all be significantly too long, likely incoherent and/or tremendously boring.

    Personally speaking, I’m intrigued by this category this year. he editing field has historically displayed a strong correlation to the Best Picture line-up. Last year marked a return to a typical situation which we had seen from the mid-90s until early this decade: four of the five films nominated for Best Film Editing were also nominated for Best Picture, with the fifth being an action film. However, from 2005 through 2007, only two of the five nominees crossed over to the Best Picture category. This raises the question…what to expect this year?

    Some of the films I thought were contenders back in the summer have clearly fallen out of the running. Oscar winners Stephen Mirrione and Thelma Schoonmaker are now out the race as “Biutiful” and “Shutter Island” have been delayed until 2010. Allyson C. Johnson, on the other hand, is certainly not going to find herself nominated for “Amelia,” which is not getting near awards are far as anyone is concerned.

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  • ‘Invictus’ trailer

    Morgan Freeman in InvictusApple has exclusively debuted the first trailer for Clint Eastwood’s “Invictus,” and when you get around the initial akward shock of Morgan Freeman’s accent, work around the oddly structured but still somehow streamlined nature of the trailer, read the writing on the wall, etc., I think it becomes clear pretty quick what we all, rightly or wrongly, have assumed sight-unseen since day one: this looks like a bona fide Oscar contender.

    I’ve been wondering aloud lately whether the film’s message of healing a nation’s wounds after extended political turmoil might not be more resonant now than we might think.  The story delicately reflects the zeitgeist in some way.  It looks to be one of the more traditional entries of the lot, which could make it a safe haven of sorts for the Academy.

    And in any case, it certainly looks to pack an emotional wallop.  Tough to argue with that stuff convincingly, but then again, maybe the “Gran Torino” snub meant more than we thought.  Maybe Clint is becoming old hat.  I doubt it, though.

    Anyway, head on over to Apple and see the trailer for yourself, or check out the embed after the jump.

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  • 10/23 Oscarweb Round-up

    Unforgiven• Pete Hammond follows up on the Academy’s foreign screenings, plus more. [Notes on a Season]

    • Like me, Steven Zeitchik senses a little “Slumdog” in “Precious.” [Risky Business]

    • David Poland catches some intriguing similarities between the recently released “Invictus” and a number of other posters from Eastwood flicks. [The Hot Blog]

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  • ‘Invictus’ poster

    Invictus

    (Courtesy: Yahoo! Movies)

  • 10/22 Oscarweb Round-up

    Adam Shankman• Steve Pond takes note of an Oscar milestone regarding Adam Shankman: the first tweeting Oscarcast producer! [The Odds]

    • Tom O’Neil stirs the pot, says there might be a “Precious” backlash in the works. [Gold Derby]

    • He does so in response to Lou Lumenick, who wonders whether Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey are hurting the film. [Lumenick on Film]

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  • THE LONG SHOT: What is an “Oscar movie” these days?

    George Clooney in Up in the Air“God, that thing’s just going to shit Academy Awards out of its ass next year, isn’t it?,” I overheard a journo behind me remark to his companion, as I made my way out of the “Up in the Air” press screening on Sunday. “It’s such an Oscar movie.”

    Two things struck me as interesting about this throwaway remark, both relating to the lack of care with which both Oscar pundits and “serious” film lovers tend to regard the Academy Awards.

    The first was that, isolated and in print, the guy’s words appear dismissive of “Up in the Air,” yet they actually capped a mostly enthusiastic response to the film. His tone dipped almost apologetically as he applied the “Oscar movie” label, as if it somehow sullied an otherwise fine effort.

    More to the point, however, the remark seemed indicative of the transitive stage the Academy Awards seem to be in at the moment, as simultaneously resistant and vulnerable to industry change as the protagonist of Jason Reitman’s film – and facing a similar crisis of purpose. For 15 years ago – if not necessarily 15 years before that – “Up in the Air” wouldn’t have been decreed an “Oscar movie” at all.

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  • OFF THE CARPET: Looking at the leading ladies

    Helen Mirren in The Last StationNow is the time when everyone begins assessing the race at its beginnings, and the gist I’m getting is that no one really knows what to write about.  Stabs at analysis end up being responses to other takes or rehashed arguments, and nothing really insightful is being brought to the table.

    And let’s face it.  As we dip into what looks to be the longest early-season lull in some time, there really is nothing insightful to offer.  So let’s just spit-ball…

    I think the Sony Classics acquisition of “The Last Station” is more significant than most seem to be aware right now.  There are only a handful who have seen it (Telluride being the film’s only festival stop so far), so that’s understandable.  And the film isn’t a knock-out, one that will be damned as merely efficient in some circles.  But with Helen Mirren in the lead actress race, it’s worth noting that suddenly that category is further framed as the old guard versus the new.

    And I may be wrong in my conviction, but I have to say it again: Mirren is VERY much in this race.  As the fiery Countess wife of a literary titan, she brings equal parts passion and delicacy to a complicated, certainly flawed character.  She’s afforded a number of moments that give her room to chew the scenery, and if Christopher Plummer happens to ride a wave of sentiment to a nomination as well, part of me feels that he will owe something to Mirren’s coattails.

    My predictions for the leading ladies this week are Mirren, Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan, Gabourey Sidibe and, my weak link, Marion Cotillard (who is expected to be a lead actress push for “Nine,” but things could change).  In that collective we have three former winners, two legends of the form, two newbies and one performer shifting into the second gear of her career.  I think that’s a pretty good balance.

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  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Cinematography — Volume II

    Melanie Laurent in Inglourious BasterdsAlmost three months ago, I described how our cinematographers bring movies to life, by lensing the director’s vision, the actors’ performances, the production designer’s and the writer’s mood, just to begin. In the absence of these talented individuals, there would truly be no cinema.

    Like most people, this is my favorite of the Oscar crafts categories. I was very happy when Anthony Dod Mantle triumphed last year, even though he was barely on my radar post-TIFF, where “Slumdog Millionaire” premiered.  So what has emerged since our last assessment?

    From the Toronto and Venice Film Festivals, not a whole lot seems to have changed in the category. While “Precious” and “Up in the Air” seem to have been the biggest gainers, they still don’t seem to be obvious candidates here.  Then again, you have to keep an eye on Best Picture contenders, so I’d still consider DPs Andrew Dunn and Eric Steelberg for their work.

    Tom Ford’s “A Single Man” also performed quite well at Venice. Many have praised the look of the film, so it would be foolish to rule out Eduard Rau. On the other hand, Javier Aguiressarobe’s lensing of “The Road” did not receive the praise I suspected it might, with most acclaim going to Viggo Mortensen’s performance. Even so, I’ll keep my eye on this title until it is released in theaters.

    A contender whose vehicle has shifted since I last covered this category in July is Robert Richardson. While Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island” has been delayed until next year, Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds,” on the other hand, has made a considerable splash. Richardson had many chances to show the scope of his talent on this project. I wouldn’t rule him out.

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