In Contention

Tag: Michael Stuhlbarg

  • SANTA BARBARA: Directors on directing, Virtuosos, ‘Provinces of Night,’ Bigelow

    Jamie Lee Curtis in Blue SteelThe fest feels incredibly easy-going this year.  More than last.  Maybe that’s because there aren’t as many films I’m interested in seeing.  After “The Secret of Kells” last week and Atom Egoyan’s “Chloe” later this week, nothing really strikes my fancy.

    Yesterday before darting back down the 101 for a Super Bowl party in LA, I caught about an hour or so of the directors panel, “Directors on Directing.”  It was an engaging discussion between Kathryn Bigelow, James Cameron, Lee Daniels, Pete Docter, Todd Phillips and Quentin Tarantino, and absolutely packed house.  Jason Reitman couldn’t make it.

    The most interesting bit that I saw was Tarantino discussing the immersive experience of “Avatar,” how when filming “Kill Bill,” he was very interested in the experience of a movie and making the audience feel participatory in some way.  He said he thinks he failed to do that, though some sequences, namely the House of Blue Leaves sequence, were close, but when he saw “Avatar,” he said, “That’s it.  That’s the ride I was thinking about.”

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  • ‘An Education’ leads London Critics’ award noms

    The London Film Critics’ Circle awards have their cake and eat it by having separate British film categories, in addition to some general fields where the Brits also compete. So UK productions invariably lead the field.

    Allowing for that and other oddities, this is a very pleasing list for the most part. “An Education” seals its status as this year’s British title of choice, with a leading seven nods; “Fish Tank” is close behind, with six. (I think we can count on the former triumphing at the BAFTAs next year.)

    The abundant love for “A Prophet” is probably the most unusual (and exciting) aspect here, while I’m also thrilled to see mentions for Michael Fassbender, Rosamund Pike and Michael Stuhlbarg, among others. (Also interesting: Mo’Nique and Vera Farmiga both cropping up in the lead actress category, with their female co-stars nowhere to be seen.)

    FILM OF THE YEAR
    “Avatar”
    “The Hurt Locker”
    “A Prophet”
    “Up in the Air”
    “The White Ribbon”

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  • Mulligan, Ronan, Sidibe and Stuhlbarg to receive Santa Barbara fest’s Virtuoso Award

    Michael Stuhlbarg in A Serious ManI’ve been at a football game all day, so thank to Guy for keeping the news flowing through here.  Meanwhile, the latest SBIFF press release, in part:

    The Santa Barbara International Film Festival continues its tradition of honoring the year’s standout performers by presenting The 2010 Chopin Virtuosos Award to Carey Mulligan, Saoirse Ronan, Gabourey Sidibe and Michael Stuhlbarg, it was announced today by SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling. The Award presentation, sponsored by Chopin Vodka, will take place Sunday, February 7 at the Lobero Theatre at the 25th edition of the festival, which runs February 4-14, 2010.

    The Virtuosos Award was created to recognize a select group of actors who have distinguished themselves through performances in film this past year. Last year’s recipients for this award were Viola Davis, Rosemarie DeWitt, Sally Hawkins, Richard Jenkins, Melissa Leo and Michael Shannon.

    Comments Durling, “These four individuals not only gave us standout breakthrough performances, but they all carry their own individual films – and they all do it virtuosically. We salute their achievement.”

  • 12/7 Oscarweb Round-up

    (from left) Al Gore and Davis Guggenheim at the 80th annual Academy Awards• Dear cry-baby Hollywood conservatives: Al Gore doesn’t even have that Oscar you want back. Talk to Davis Guggenheim. [Top of the Ticket]

    • Editor Sally Menke on how she and Quentin Tarantino “clicked.” [The Guardian]

    • Anne Thompson has 20 questions for “District 9” star Sharlto Copley. [Thompson on Hollywood]

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  • David Poland’s Oscar underdogs … where are the ladies?

    Tilda Swinton in JuliaFor those of you bored of reading the same ever-narrowing list of names in the assorted Oscar-speculation pieces across the web, David Poland’s latest column is a slight breath of fresh air.

    Decrying the fact that many pundits are making ludicrous long-shot calls like “This Is It” for Best Picture, while ignoring more deserving contenders who could use the attention, Poland provides a list of less-hyped contenders in the top categories that he feels merit consideration.

    His definition of the term “underdog” ranges from genuinely fanciful contenders (Catherine O’Hara and James Gandolfini for “Where the Wild Things Are,” “In the Loop” for Best Picture) to names still very much in the race who  have lately lost a bit of steam (Matt Damon, Jeremy Renner and Viggo Mortensen, all in the Best Actor category).

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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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  • Renner, Stuhlbarg, Waltz among Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch

    Jeremy RennerVariety’s annual list of 10 Actors to Watch may occasionally raise questions of what constitutes a career “breakthrough” — particularly in the case of established actors who those in the know have been watching all along.

    Still, it always makes for interesting reading, not least because, in some cases, it highlights names that Variety’s editors expect to show up in the coming awards season. Last year’s list featured four actors (Melissa Leo, Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson and Michael Shannon) who ultimately wound up in the Oscar circle. This year’s list looks unlikely to match that number (nor does it match the feminine bent of last year’s crop), but there’s some undeniably worthy talent in there:

    Laz Alonso
    Maggie Grace
    Tom Hardy
    Nicholas Hoult
    Rachelle Lefevre
    Jeremy Renner
    Alia Shawkat
    Emma Stone
    Michael Stuhlbarg
    Christoph Waltz

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  • “We’re going to be fine.”

    Michael Stuhlbarg in A Serious ManThose of you who enjoy it when Kris and I butt heads over one film or another — as on the two occasions this past week alone that I’ve been unceremoniously fired — will be disappointed to hear that an entente cordiale has arrived in the shape of “A Serious Man.” (Ironic, really — since when did the Coen Brothers make movies designed to bring people together?)

    Anyway, while I don’t know yet whether my passion for the film will run quite as deep as Kris’s by the year’s end, I have no qualms whatsoever about echoing his sentiments that “A Serious Man” is an extraordinary feat.

    Novelistic in its reach and rhythms, but intrinsically cinematic in the way Roger Deakins’s calmly predatory camera investigates physical and personal space, it seems a direct (if deliciously perverse) rebuttal to claims made by the duo’s detractors that their films are overly hermetic, unwilling to engage with the world around them.

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  • 10/9 Oscarweb Round-up

    Marlon Brando in The Godfather• Digital marketing consultant Chris Dorr points out missed online opportunities with “Bright Star.” [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • Steve Pond jumps on the “Up in the Air” train, says it renders the expectations irrelevant. [The Odds]

    • Lying about seeing “The Godfather.” [The Guardian]

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  • 10/8 Oscarweb Round-up

    Michael Stuhlbarg in A Serious Man• Jamie Foxx wants “Ray” director Taylor Hackford to tackle the actor’s planned Mike Tyson biopic. [MTV Movies Blog]

    • Jeffrey M. Anderson talks to “A Serious Man” star Michael Stuhlbarg. [Green Cine Daily]

    • Patrick Goldstein wants to know why Michael Moore got dolled up for Sean Hannity. [The Big Picture]

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  • A ‘Serious’ conversation

    I stumbled across this quick interview with Richard Kind, Sari Lennick and Michael Stuhlbarg from “A Serious Man” over at Making Of.  Great stuff about the audition process, working with the Coens, high praise from Kind for Stuhlbarg (who really deserves to be in the lead actor race), etc.  I wish it were longer, but take a look: