Apologies for the black-out yesterday. After the Paramount panel (which I covered on Twitter, FYI), I had to jet back to LA for the Soundgarden show (easily the best concert experience I’ve had — unbelievable). But I’m going to try and write on the ride back down to San Diego this morning. For now, I’ll leave you with this shot of “Cowboys & Aliens” director Jon Favreau and Faizon Love from Thursday night’s JoBlo/Latino Review party to keep you company. More soon.
…and a thinner Con, at that.
There was very little on the convention schedule that grabbed my attention when it was released last week. I’ll be on hand for the Fox panel tomorrow, hoping to get some good vibes from Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus.” I’ll be there for Paramount and Steven Spielberg on Friday when we all get a glimpse of “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn.” I’ll definitely be on hand for Francis Ford Coppola’s first appearance here on Saturday when he brings a slice of “Twixt,” and, of course, I’ll saddle up to the Entertainment Weekly “Visionaries” panel, this year featuring Jon Favreau and Guillermo Del Toro.
Speaking of Del Toro, I’m intrigued by “Pacific Rim” enough to poke into the Legendary Pictures panel (which won’t be in Hall H, interestingly enough). I also feel the need to check out the “Beavis and Butt-Head” event (as the terrible twosome will be back on MTV later this year and I am, I must confess, a die-hard). Maybe I’ll make it to Relativity’s “Immortals” event, maybe I’ll head to the Hilton Bayfront tomorrow morning for a focus on makeup artist Rick Baker, but I’ve literally just given you my role call of interests this year, easily half the amount of events on my list in years past.
My Comic-Con experience ended a bit sooner than I expected this morning when I woke up and decided whatever was on the Sunday docket wasn’t as fetching as a three-hour ride in traffic back to LA. That’s how exhausting the convention was this year.
Here’s the thing. We all know Comic-Con and its 125,000-plus attendees form nothing more than a marketing bonanza in this day and age. No need to preach down to those who were there if you decided to remain back on your high horse and wait it out. You’re not enlightened. We get it. The event’s roots had a completely different shade and Hollywood has invaded the territory. But at the same time, as Hero Complex’s Geoff Boucher shrewdly pointed out before Saturday’s Warner Bros. presentation, Comic-Con — or comics, in general — has also invaded Hollywood.
So what we have is a symbiosis that plays right into the hands of studio marketing chiefs. No one can fault businessmen for making business decisions, but I think it would be worth it for Comic-Con brass (whoever they are) to take stock of what’s happening here. A craven desire to sell as many passes as possible, secure as many big names as possible and bloat the festivities with dubious material has taken things far from where they started, yes. But the thing is so stressful, people are stabbing each other!
With its “Scott Pilgrim” presence already dominating the scene here at Comic-Con, Universal publicity didn’t need to do much else to be top of the nerd mountain this weekend. Then they went and blew the roof off.
The studio first offered up a sizzle reel for Greg Mottola’s sci-fi comedy “Paul,” which went over well with its tip of the hat to the Con (early scenes show a recreated convention). The director and most of the cast were here to discuss the road trip movie with a twist, but that was just an hors d’oeuvre.
The roof-blowing was owed completely to Harrison Ford’s first-ever appearance at the convention. It was a geek’s wet dream as Han Solo/Indiana Jones took to the stage at Hall H in handcuffs (which we all thought was making light of an earlier incident where a stabbing occurred in the hall, but was actually a pre-planned gag, as in Favreau had to drag Ford to the convention in shackles). Ford was there to help promote Jon Favreau’s “Cowboys & Aliens,” which had a surprisingly robust presence during the presentation.
“Good is the enemy of Great,” wrote Jim Collins, in one of the more high-maintenance self-help plans you’re likely to encounter. As nice a thought as it is, this law appears to have no place in the world of the Hollywood franchise blockbuster, where Crap is the enemy of pretty much everything, and Good is usually one courtesy too many for time-strapped, dollar-eyed producers.
With myriad noisy-yet-joyless “Transformers” types littering the release schedule each summer, then, the bar for commendability is set rather low: it often takes but one redeeming feature to launch such products into critics’ good books in addition to the box office charts.
It’s in this way that Jon Favreau’s “Iron Man” carved a reputation as one of 2008’s pleasant surprises: narratively choppy, technically perfunctory and indifferently performed in support, it nonetheless boasted a star turn from Robert Downey Jr so fleet-footed and gleefully off-message that it made all the surrounding elements seem wittier by sheer association.
It should come as no surprise to students of the Hollywood mainstream that Favreau’s swiftly delivered sequel, already raking in the cash on its European release, aims no higher, and reaches no wider, than its predecessor. By and large, Favreau and his collaborators have figured that the shortcuts they got away with in the first film are still fit for purpose.
As you have probably been made aware, Tuesday marked the 70th anniversary of the release of “The Wizard of Oz” in the U.S., a milestone which has inspired a number of tribute pieces this past week — including our own edition of The Lists dedicated to the classic.
For their part, the LA Times has taken the simple but effective approach of asking a range of artists from the world of film (and elsewhere) what the film means to them personally, and has turned up some interesting responses.
It’s an imaginative selection of interviewees they’ve assembled, ranging from directors Jon Favreau and Zach Snyder to oddball musician Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, which only goes to show the vast extent of the film’s reach and appeal. Still, the response I liked the most came from probably the most obvious source: Guillermo Del Toro, whose “Pan’s Labyrinth” is arguably the film’s closest contemporary cousin.
Snapped by Jon Favreau on the Hall H stage during the “Iron Man 2” panel discussion:
And a taste of Kevin Smith at the Con, where he talks about the fact that the title “A Couple of Dicks” may not hold (My camera lost battery power half-way through. Apologies):
• More news on the James Tobak/Brett Ratner/Robert Evans John DeLorean biopic. This could be fascinating, but…Ratner? [The Carpetbagger]
• Patrick Goldstein responds to the news that Sony, Scott Rudin and Kevin Spacey will bring the Somali pirate saga to the big screen. [The Big Picture]
• Catherine Shoard talks to Diane Kruger about her work in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds.” [The Guardian]
• Jon Favreau films on location in the Mojave for military authenticity. [Edwards Air Force Base]
• Ed Asner is ready for more roles. [Associated Press]
I guess it’s pretty serious when the director can’t even snap off a few keep-sakes.
Richard Corliss’ rundown of yesterday’s Oscar nominations, following the familiar “will win/should win/wuz robbed” template, features some typically against-the-grain opinions, including the surprising (to me, at least) that Best Supporting Actress is the strongest of this year’s acting races. (“Three of the nominated ladies are Oscar-worthy,” he writes. And what are Rourke, Penn and Jenkins? Chopped liver?)
But his most contrarian statement of all arrives in his selection of who should have been nominated for Best Director, an overt attempt at baiting “Dark Knight” fans:
Robbed: Jon Favreau, Iron Man
O.K., so The Dark Knight was shut out of the Picture and Director categories. Dommage. But in a terrific year for superhero films, the smartest, cleanest one, Iron Man, was also ignored. Robert Downey Jr., nominated for his blackface parody in Tropic Thunder, created a complex, virtually human action figure in the repentent munitions baron Tony Stark. The special effects buttressed the picture instead of overwhelming it. And Favreau’s direction was lean, clean and suave, up there with old Hollywood adventure films by directors like Howard Hawks and Raoul Walsh — movies that never got awards, but which we watch with undiminished pleasure today.
Right. Anyway, for what it’s worth, Corliss’ rebel streak doesn’t extend to his predictions. Like everyone else, he puts his money on “Slumdog,” Boyle, Winslet, Ledger and Cruz — while in what strikes me as the most up-in-the-air of the major races, he picks Mickey Rourke ahead of Sean Penn. (I agree, but that could all change on Sunday.)
“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.
So according to Deadline Hollywood Daily, Jon Favreau is officially directing “Iron Man 2.”
While I may not have been as gung-ho for “Iron Man” as most, I’m more than glad to see him come back. The first film, to me, felt like a good movie begging for a great sequel, and I think the same could be said of Favreau as a director. He’s been improving from picture to picture and I think “Iron Man 2” could be the moment where he really comes into his own as a filmmaker.
With “Iron Man” currently the highest grossing film of the year (probably just for a few more days until “Crystal Skull” finally overtakes it) and Robert Downey Jr. undeniably becoming the A-lister we all knew he could (and should) be, it was simply ignorant of Marvel to think they could get away with anyone but Favreau in the director’s chair.
I’m wondering when Marvel will start moving the pieces more definitively in place for the rest of the inevitable “Avengers” flick. Edgar Wright is the only confirmed director (for “Ant-Man,” which he’ll go into post-“Scott Pilgrim,” and which I’d guess Marvel will want to throw into “The Avengers” just for gluttony’s sake). But for anything beyond “Iron Man 2,” I think we’ll be hearing announcements in the coming months, specifically at Comic-Con.
On a side note, it looks like “The Incredible Hulk” will narrowly sneak past “Hulk” at the box office some time this month. I’m guessing that’s probably not good enough for another sequel
At Monday’s screening of “Iron Man,” I was sad to see that Samuel L. Jackson’s much-anticipated cameo as S.H.I.E.L.D. leader Nick Fury wasn’t in the cut. Though director Jon Favreau has suggested the scene might surface in the DVD release.
Well New York Mag’s Vulture blog points us today to a Comic Book Resources story revealing that general audiences will get to see the Easter egg scene that was withheld from critics’ screenings on the grounds of Top Secrecy, so to speak:
One thing missing from the film was the much-touted end of movie scene with Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury. I understand from British Film classification sources that the scene is in the print that they’ve approved for general release, but not in premiere or preview screenings, so as not to spoil the um.. surprise… bugger. Anyway, he’s recruiting for a group called The Avengers.
And Moviehole confirms the notion. With the sentiments of two fellow journos. Fair enough. I was gonna pay to see it again anyway. Now I have even more incentive!
And come on, “The Avengers initiative?” A shared scene with Tony Stark in “The Incredible Hulk?” The road to an “Avengers” moving being paved with gold? My geek meter is on overload.
God bless Marvel Studios.
UPDATED: It looks like John over at The Movie Blog has the footage in question up, from a YouTube posting.
You know, I find myself agreeing with many of the criticisms leveled at “Iron Man” in some quarters this week, rather than adhering to the admittedly overreaching raves pouring out of others.
Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. are working from very thin material here, from a horribly green four-person screenwriting team. Set pieces seem injected without the benefit of a valid thought process that might have elevated the film within the genre, while character details are buried under the desire to go high gloss throughout. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with any of this, mind you, though it is a bit difficult to sit through the film without wondering what might have been, the “next level” hovering like a specter above.
Yes, “Iron Man” is a hell of a time at the movies. Yes, the suit is really, really cool. And yes, Downey Jr.’s performance might stay at the top of a lot of personal favorites lists throughout the season. It’s like a glove; the actor fires on all cylinders, more a machine of dramatic purpose and performing genius than an actor playing the part. For comic fanatics (to avoid the pejorative “geeks”), hair-raising joy is in many a minor crevice. Terrence Howard will afford the line of the year in some respects — a simple toss to a crowd in the know but smooth as butter and damn near an afterthought all the same. Very cool.
I remember when Robert Downey Jr. was cast in the role of Tony Stark for Jon Favreau’s “Iron Man,” my colleague David Poland made the shrewd observation that the former drug-addled wash-up was once again insurable.
Not that I like putting such language to an actor I love so much, but the truth is, he hit one of the deepest downward spirals a star of his caliber could imagine, all of it following nearly 10 years of Brat Pack fame and a heralded Oscar nominated performance in 1992.
But how about the turnaround? After the bad days of the mid-to-late 90s, and some major relapses in the first part of the new millennium, Downey finally turned the corner. A new role on one of television’s hottest shows wasn’t enough to get him bonded for Woody Allen’s “Melinda and Melinda” (which waited another four years to hit screens, with Will Ferrell ultimately taking the role), and there were pitfalls ahead still, but the upward curve seemed on the horizon somewhere, lurking.
And here, eight years later, Downey is one day away from the release of one of the year’s most anticipated, likely highest-grossing films. Insured doesn’t say the half of it. Robert Downey Jr. is vindicated.
But it doesn’t end with Tony Stark. The actor has two other very high profile performances landing in 2008, one of them set to be a laugh riot as he sports black face opposite Ben Stiller in “Tropic Thunder,” releasing in August. To cap off the year, Downey will star in Joe Wright’s “Atonement” follow-up, “The Soloist,” an awards season hopeful for DreamWorks SKG and perhaps a ride to a second Oscar nomination for the actor.
I bring all this up because it is the story people should be writing, however much publicity would likely prefer to shine the light elsewhere. David Carr wrote a superlative piece that touched the finer points for The New York Times a few weeks ago, and my colleague Blake Rutherford offered his own thoughts in that light as well. But there isn’t enough patting on the back going around for my taste — sue me. An actor taking this big a stumble, looking like straight-to-DVD material if ever a career could be salvaged, and then pushing back with a creative and hard-working fury such as this — it is cause for celebration.
When all is said and done, I have a feeling Robert Downey Jr. will be the toast of Hollywood in 2008. Entertainer of the year? Maybe. But it’s certainly the story of the year.
Bravo. And here, here.
Another year, another set of wins…and another look ahead at what’s in store NEXT year.
It’s never too late to take a long gander at what we might see dominating the film awards landscape in 365 days, and with that in mind, I’ve been doing my usual mulling over the possibilities for a few weeks to put together the sadly thorough examination of the 2008-09 award season that follows. Let’s get into it. There are some major considerations to take into account. right off the top.
Like Leonardo DiCaprio, for instance, who is set to be the entertainer of the year. With performances in “Body of Lies” (Ridley Scott) and “Revolutionary Road” (Sam Mendes), DiCaprio is working with a duo of awards-proven talent this year. Perhaps that will work against him, much like it did in 2006, and no major Oscar success will come knocking. But we’ll wait until we see the performances. Each of them could be enticing.
This year’s Best Picture Oscar victor Scott Rudin is back again, by the way, with “Revolutionary Road,” recently inherited by Paramount Vantage and probably one of the true “frontrunners” this far out that we could put our finger on. The only other film in Vantage’s arsenal is Edward Zwick’s “Defiance,” which could simply be a commercial success, but might find its way to multiple nods like “The Last Samurai” and “Blood Diamond” in recent years.