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Regular readers (or Twitter followers) may have gathered by now that Peter Morgan isn’t my favorite high-end screenwriter on the scene — I’ve found his recent run of factional biopics, resulting in a pair of Oscar nods for “The Queen” and “Frost/Nixon,” increasingly smug and samey, and was pleased to see him attempting something a […]
Step away from the Blair
Posted by Guy Lodge · 4:46 pm · September 14th, 2010
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‘Beautiful Boy’ trailer
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 3:57 pm · August 31st, 2010
I’ve spaced it a bit on Shawn Ku’s “Beautiful Boy,” which is set to play the Toronto film festival next month. There’s something a bit opportunistic and obvious to me about making a movie concerning the impact of a school shooting on the shooter’s parents, but nevertheless, Michael Sheen and Maria Bello appear to be […]
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Christopher Nolan honored by BAFTA/LA
Posted by Guy Lodge · 4:38 pm · August 5th, 2010
As if you needed reminding that this is a pretty good summer for a certain Mr. Christopher Nolan, BAFTA/LA — the Anglo-American wing of the British Academy — has handed him their annual John Schlesinger Award for artistic excellence in directing. The award will be presented at their 2010 Britannia Awards ceremony in Los Angeles […]
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COMIC-CON: ‘TRON Legacy’ invades Hall H for a third-straight year
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 1:28 pm · July 22nd, 2010
“It proves to me some things, good things, take a really long time to happen,” “TRON” creator Steve Lisberger said to a packed Hall H, looking strikingly like Bad Blake next to a clean-shaven Jeff Bridges. And that was the vibe you got from the euphoric crowd this afternoon as Disney revealed eight minutes of […]
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11/16 Oscarweb Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:03 am · November 16th, 2009
• Catch video highlights of Saturday night’s Honorary Oscars celebration. [Oscars.org] • Baltimore Ravens OT Michael Oher on his life’s inspiration for Hollywood. [CNN] • Hoping “Avatar” is the new face of filmmaking. [Los Angeles Times]
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OSCAR TALK: Ep. 8 — ‘This Is It,’ music branch, ‘Invictus’ and ‘Avatar’ trailers, the Best Actor race and more
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:59 am · November 1st, 2009
We 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 […]
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Academy members weigh in on The Ten
Posted by Guy Lodge · 3:59 pm · October 30th, 2009
In the four months since the Academy announced its controversial switch from five to 10 Best Picture nominees, you’ve heard a lot of griping (and occasional enthusing) from assorted critics, industry-watchers and schmoes like me. What we haven’t heard is too much perspective on the issues from the voters themselves. So USA Today’s Susan Wloszczyna […]
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Hope Davis is Hillary Clinton
Posted by Guy Lodge · 11:23 am · July 10th, 2009
You may recall, a few months ago, Kris confessing his undying love for one Ms. Hope Davis, a crush I fully understand even if I don’t entirely share in it. (My heart is still yours, Ms. Keener.) Bottom line: quirky-beautiful woman, wonderful actress, all-round fox. So I’m curious to know how Kris feels about the […]
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Enough already
Posted by Guy Lodge · 9:51 am · March 26th, 2009
Right, so Michael Sheen obviously ignored my career advice to lay off the biopics for a while. That’s okay. He’s a lot more famous and successful than I am, so I guess he probably knows best. But seriously, a third go-round playing Tony Blair in yet another factional Peter Morgan-scripted project? If you haven’t heard […]
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‘The Damned United’
Posted by Guy Lodge · 11:51 am · March 9th, 2009
In a recent interview, Michael Sheen bristles at being labelled an impressionist. Understandably so — he’s a fine actor. However, the answer may be to stop doing quite so many biopics of figures from recent British history: so far, we’ve had Tony Blair (twice), David Frost, Kenneth Williams and now Brian Clough, the controversial British […]
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Standard crowns ‘Hunger’ best film
Posted by Guy Lodge · 1:44 pm · February 2nd, 2009
I have to hand it to the Evening Standard Awards: they are a breath of fresh air in a suffocating awards season. While their choices can have a bit of an over-democratic, drawn-from-a-hat feel to them (Stephen Daldry for Best Director? On what planet?), they are never afraid to veer from the herd. And so […]
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BAFTA admits it needs mending
Posted by Guy Lodge · 5:22 pm · January 31st, 2009
Interesting. Variety reports that BAFTA is to re-evaluate its voting process — and it appears to be a direct response to the widespread criticism that greeted this year’s nominations, which baffled pundits and industry folk alike with some questionable inclusions (Tilda Swinton, Freida Pinto, a whopping eight nods for “Changeling”) and equally baffling snubs (most […]
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1/9 Oscarweb Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:34 am · January 9th, 2009
• Patrick Goldstein is happy to NOT talk Oscar at an Oscar party. [The Big Picture] • Jeffrey Wells somehow reads “backlash” into a harmless, truthful quote. [Hollywood Elsewhere] • David S. Cohen considers the awards gala glut in the face of economic troubles. [Variety] • Tom O’Neil chats it up with “Last Chance Harvey” […]
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12/6 Oscarweb Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 5:51 am · December 6th, 2008
• John Patterson on the legacy of Harvey Milk. [The Guardian] • Robert Abele talks to “Frost/Nixon” star Michael Sheen. [Los Angeles Times] • Rebeca Hall, meanwhile, discusses her involvement in the film with Jenni Miller. [Premiere] • Peter Knegt chats with visionary “Hunger” director Steve McQueen. [indieWIRE] • John Anderson profiles animation legend Bill […]
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Rousing Best Actor race shaping up
Posted by John Foote · 9:20 am · November 5th, 2008
In a year I maintain to be disappointing, I must confess that the sprint to the finish is looking more and more exciting all the time, with an exceptional crop of actors vying for Best Actor nominations. This could very well be the year that Clint Eastwood wins an acting Oscar, or that the previously […]
REVIEW: “Frost/Nixon” (**)
Posted by Guy Lodge · 9:17 am · October 15th, 2008
London Film Festival For director Ron Howard and screenwriter Peter Morgan, “Frost/Nixon” was always going to be a tricky beast to handle. A film adaptation of Morgan’s own stage play that was itself very much about the powers of television, the relationship between text, medium and audience has shifted in ways I’m not sure the […]
Karger, too
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:33 am · October 7th, 2008
Over at Oscar Watch: Universal Pictures has already set up its awards site, and a little clicking around uncovers something very interesting: The studio apparently has decided to campaign for both Frank Langella and Michael Sheen as Best Actor for Frost/Nixon, instead of placing one of them in the Best Supporting Actor race so they […]
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Bloggers dish ‘Changeling,’ O’Neil surprised by Sheen’s lead push
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:08 pm · October 6th, 2008
Gold Derby’s Tom O’Neil corralled a bunch of Oscar bloggers over the weekend to discuss his topic of choice: Angelina Jolie’s Oscar chances for “Changeling” after an AMPAS funk for the last few years. I decided to abstain, since I won’t be seeing the film until next week and would prefer not to spin my […]
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