In Contention

Tag: Jack McGee

  • A night at the CCMAs

    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 off.  No one at that table expected to win that award so they were quite exhilarated.

    Speaking of Bale, I thought he gave the night’s best speech, a touching, loose monologue that is certain to be repeated throughout the season.  And watching Hailee Steinfeld accept for Best Young Actor/Actress, I couldn’t help but picture her with an Oscar in her hand.  Despite Melissa Leo’s strong showing so far, the Best Supporting Actress category is still somewhat up in the air, I think (which Anne and I discussed in yesterday’s podcast).

    I bounced around here and there during the commercial breaks.  Naturally the first thing Darren Aronofsky said when he saw me was, “I finally made your list!  Next time you’ll listen to me.”  Maybe there’s a future in Oscar prognostication for him.  I also exchanged words with Colin Firth for the first time since our lengthy sit-down in Telluride.  Charming as ever.  But most exciting for me?  Honestly?  Meeting Ice Cube.  No, seriously.

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  • Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Jack McGee talk ‘The Fighter’ at first industry screening

    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 owed in part to the presence of the film’s cast for a post-screening Q&A.

    I came late just for the Q&A, which was moderated by Deadline’s Pete Hammond.  Melissa Leo couldn’t be there due to a filming conflict in New Orleans but she passed along her apologies in an email Hammond read to applause from the crowd.  Much of the discussion naturally circled around performances, given the audience, and Hammond again made the (valid) point that the film is a character piece more than a “boxing movie.”

    Mark Wahlberg talked plenty about the film’s long journey to the screen, the fact that he had to spring for it himself as producer in order to get it made and his long-time relationship with Micky Ward (who he’s known since he was a teenager).  Rather than take the cheap route with a Toronto shoot, Wahlberg was adamant that the film be shot in Lowell, Massachusetts, the story’s setting, because the environment is such a character in and of itself.

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