In Contention

Tag: Machine Gun Preacher

  • Listen to Chris Cornell’s ‘The Keeper’ from ‘Machine Gun Preacher’

    I haven’t heard too many great things about Marc Forster’s “Machine Gun Preacher,” which is set for a bow at Toronto next month. I’ve been interested in it mainly for the contribution of Chris Cornell on the soundtrack, as the Soundgarden front man cooked up the original song “The Keeper” for the film.

    I haven’t seen the film so I can speak to how the song is used. It might be used organically within or saved for the closing credits. (Remember, it’s key to understand how a song is used in a film because that impacts perception in the Best Original Song voting.) It’s a rolling little ditty that’s pleasant enough, the kind of acoustic lingering Cornell seems to relish outside of his work with Soundgarden.

    The song was released exclusively today via Cornell’s website with an option to donate to Sam Childer’s Angels of East Africa charity. (Gerard Butler plays Childers in the film.) It will be available for download tomorrow via iTunes. Have a listen to “The Keeper” after the jump.

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  • OFF THE CARPET: Fall fests look to boost early Oscar hopes

    On a warm Saturday afternoon in Telluride last year, I sat in the crowded Chuck Jones Cinema and felt the warmth in the room as Tom Hooper’s “The King’s Speech” screened for its first audience of the year. Six months later, at the end of a road with plenty of twists and turns, the film’s producers held aloft the Oscar for Best Picture.

    In 2008, Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire,” after previewing in Telluride, screened on the very same day as Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” at the Toronto International Film Festival. Six and 18 months later respectfully, same results. In 2007, Joel and Ethan Coen’s “No Country for Old Men” started its victory march at Cannes before moving into autumn fests. In 2004, Paul Haggis’s “Crash” bowed for Toronto audiences before a summer 2005 release and an eventual Oscar win.

    The obvious connection here is the festival circuit, particularly the fall festival circuit, which has become a significant launching ground for awards contenders in the last half-decade. And starting in two days with Guy’s Venice coverage, the 2011 fall festival season — and the awards potential it is sure to bring with it — officially kicks off around these parts.

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  • ‘Machine Gun Preacher’ trailer

    Marc Forster’s “Machine Gun Preacher” is all set for a Toronto bow next month. It could be an awards play for actor Gerard Butler, or for Chris Cornell’s original song “The Keeper,” or maybe it’ll just be some September fun. We’ll see. But it has the “inspiring true story” thing going for it out of the gate. The trailer just hit via Apple, so check it out by clicking the image below, or watch an embed after the jump.

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