In Contention

Tag: Moon

  • Calling the Best Picture wild cards

    Emily Blunt in The Young VictoriaTom O’Neil has pooled the thoughts of 16 awards-watchers on which 10 films will make the Best Picture cut, and the results make for ominously predictable reading.

    All 16 agree that “The Hurt Locker” and “Invictus” are in (I guess it’s just me holding out on the latter then), while there’s near-consensus on the likes of “Precious,” “Up in the Air,” “Up” … you get the idea. Yawn. At this rate, the switch to 10 nominees looks to sap any excitement from this stage of the race whatsoever.

    More interesting, then, is to venture further down the list to see what the pundits’ more out-on-a-limb picks are. One would like to think at least one of the slots has to be filled with something slightly less expected — otherwise what’s the point? So I turned my attention to the films receiving a solitary vote from one of O’Neil’s posse.

    Those hoping for a foreign-language contender in the mix (no, “Inglourious Basterds” does not count) might want to look away, as not a single punter has one on their list, while things look similarly grim for documentaries.

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  • Tweeting for Oscar

    We Live in PublicThe few of you who do follow my Twitter account will have gathered by now that, compared to some, I’m not the most active correspondent in that medium — limiting my thoughts to 140 characters is a trial more often that not. However, should I ever find myself in the hunt for an Oscar (hey, I have dreams too!), I’ll be sure to step up my tweet count.

    You’ve all heard by now about “Moon” director Duncan Jones’s admirably enthusiastic Twitter campaign for Sam Rockwell’s Best Actor chances, which so far has worked a treat.

    No, not because Rockwell isn’t still the darkest of horses for Oscar consideration, but because the quirky nature of the campaign has proved something of a talking point in an otherwise quiet week — generating a fresh wave of viewer interest in a small, long-gone summer release. As nice as this press is for Rockwell, “Moon” is the real winner here.

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  • Sam Rockwell’s campaign gears up

    Sam RockwellJust last week we told you about Duncan Jones’s concentrated grassroots effort to nab Sam Rockwell an Oscar nomination for his tour de force performance in “Moon.” It is a film that, unfortunately, came and went at the marketplace, yet was one of the best films of the summer.  And Rockwell, as he’s proven time and again for years now, has the chops and deserves the props.

    Jones has chimed in once again one the matter at his blog, Man Made Movies, and lays out all the Tweeting and petitioning goodness.  You can even buy a T-shirt for the cause.  Don’t you have a new movie to be preparing, Duncan!?

    Seriously, though, it’s worth noting that, in the wake of this, Sony Pictures Classics, as well as Rockwell’s own representation at the publicity firm I/D Public Relations, are getting serious about an Oscar campaign.  It will be an uphill climb because, due to the film being a British production, it isn’t eligible for a number of the awards that might have put it on the domestic radar, such as the Gothams or the Independent Spirits.  The film did, however, show up in a number of high-profile categories when the British Independent Film Award nominees were announced earlier in the week.

    Whether Rockwell nails the honor or not is ultimately beside the point.  “He deserves to be in the conversation,” Sony Classics honcho Michael Barker told me.  “He’s one of these guys like Philip Seymour Hoffman, who we had in films like ‘Love Liza’ and ‘Owning Mahowny,’ where you just said, ‘One of these days [he’ll be nominated].’”

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  • ‘Fish Tank,’ ‘Moon,’ ‘Education’ lead BIFA noms, female directors rule

    Katie Jarvis in Fish TankYou’ve heard me natter on enough for months about how “Fish Tank” is one of the year’s best films — now you don’t have to just hear it from me anymore.

    Andrea Arnold’s lyrical character study of an unhappy Essex teenager (now being dubbed ‘the British “Precious”‘ by some lazy wags) leads the nominations for the British Independent Film Awards, with mentions in a whopping eight categories, including two for 18 year-old sensation Katie Jarvis.

    Once a very niche Transatlantic equivalent to the Indie Spirits, the BIFA Awards are gaining in profile every year, painting a far more revealing picture of the state of the UK film industry than the Oscar-toadying BAFTAs.

    They’re also naming more contenders who go on to feature heavily in awards season: “Slumdog Millionaire” was the belle of last year’s BIFA ball, while this year’s major crossover nominee promises to be “An Education.”

    (More discussion, and a full list of nominees, after the cut.)

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Oscar prods, Gotham nods, ‘Amelia’ clods

    Richard Gere• The Academy finally named the producers for next year’s Oscar telecast, first-timers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic.

    • All of which added weight to the speculation that Hugh Jackman might return as host.

    • The Gotham Awards provided the season with its first set of nominees, though it inspired more talk for its omissions.

    • Chief among those omissions: “Precious,” prompting talk of a backlash, despite generous media exposure positioning it as the one to beat.

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  • Duncan Jones’s grassroots campaign for Sam Rockwell

    MoonDuncan Jones is quite the intrepid fellow.  He has a fairly consistent presence on Twitter, always notifying of the recent ups and downs of his 2009 sci-fi effort “Moon.” (Most recently the film cleaned up at Spain’s Sitges Fantastic Film Festival.)  But mostly the director just seems anxious to get the word out on an expertly crafted film that he’s clearly proud of.

    So of course a grassroots campaign to land Sam Rockwell a Best Actor Oscar nomination is right up his alley, and as you know, I’m all for it.  “Moon” is the kind of film that really needs this kind of dig-your-heels-in effort because, despite working out nicely in Sony Pictures Classics’ conservative (i.e., successful) distribution philosophy, still doesn’t have the reach and blanket exposure that it needs for this kind of thing.

    Of course, grassroots campaigns have fizzled out in the past.  And if we’re being realistic, there’s probably no chance in hell that Rockwell can get the consideration he deserves; it would take a concentrated screening, wining and dining sort of effort that is just not in the cards.  But I like Jonses’s moxie.

    Go over to ManMadeMovies for more and sign the online petition if you like.  Also: #samrockwelloscar.  A fan-made poster for the effort after the jump.

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  • Scream Awards laud ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Up,’ ‘Let the Right One In’

    Let the Right One InI don’t follow the world of genre-specific awards ceremonies very closely, so I must admit I’d never heard of the Scream Awards before their recent slate of nominations was brought to my attention.

    No prizes for guessing from the name that it’s a horror-focused affair — with separate divisions for fantasy and sci-fi as well. Fan-voted and cheerfully silly, it looks at first glance to follow in the noble tradition of the MTV Movie Awards knockoff, with such prestigious categories as “Most Memorable Mutilation” and “Holy Shit! Scene of the Year.” (Meanwhile, one of the more serious categories is saddled with the moniker “Best Scream-Play.” That’s good stuff.)

    But get past such tongue-in-cheek frivolities — and the predictable spate of nominations for the likes of “Twilight” and “Transformers 2” — and there are some pretty cool selections scattered here and there. It’s heartening to see such a healthy showing for “Let the Right One In” in a people’s-choice institution like this — though not as surprising as the inclusion of Norwegian Nazi-zombie-comedy (there’s a mouthful) “Dead Snow.”

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  • In praise of model and practical effects work in ‘Moon’

    MoonThe success of Neill Blomkamp’s “District 9,” (thoughts) and hopefully (eventually), Duncan Jones’s “Moon” (review) has fed into what I’ve been consistently calling a banner year for sci-fi cinema in 2009.  That is, of course, assuming “Avatar” does come along and lay a giant egg in December.

    One of the galvanizing aspects to, well, two of these films, anyway, is the independent focus.  The modestly budgeted aspect that keeps the spirit of high concept indie filmmaking alive.  And in the case of Jones’s film, the use of practical effects free of frivolous CGI is cause for celebration.  At least that’s what Guardian writer Phelim O’Neill is getting at with a recent piece that declares the film’s old-school effects should be a model for today’s sci-fi films.

    In particular, it’s the model work in the film that is so exciting to O’Neill.  There is a humorous “then and now” photo of George Lucas that has made the rounds, the underlying point being that the director lost his creative drive when he began using heavy CGI in the “Star Wars” franchise.  Personally, I think that’s silly, because, well, the “Star Wars” films are bad with models or without them (my opinion).  But there is something about the tangible quality of practical effects that makes the reward of watching a film that much richer.  “Moon” is one level on that scale.  “The Dark Knight” is another.  It doesn’t have to be a money concern. C reatively, it can have a more visceral impact.

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  • An evening with Clint Mansell

    Clint MansellIt has been a very long time since I sat myself down in a wooden pew, but I think it’s safe to say that the last church recital I attended didn’t begin with a speech by a rebel auteur from Brooklyn, didn’t involve any electric guitars, and it certainly wasn’t accompanied by video imagery of Mickey Rourke. But then, the last church recital I attended wasn’t by Clint Mansell.

    A short stroll from my home in quiet North London, the Union Chapel is a converted (but still active) Victorian church that moonlights as an alternative music venue — perhaps the city’s loveliest — and tonight it played home to the extraordinary film composer and his musical cohorts.

    A cosy, candle-lit suburban chapel may seem a slightly odd setting for an evening that was largely devoted to the considerably harsher screen worlds of Darren Aronofsky, whose Mansell-penned film scores formed the bulk of the evening’s program, but it quickly proved a comfortable one.

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  • Clint Mansell on growing up through film music

    Clint MansellIt’s no secret around these parts that I’m a pretty committed disciple of composer Clint Mansell.  I was absolutely beside myself — livid — when his work on Darren Aronofsky’s “The Fountain,” potentially the best score of the decade, was unceremoniously snubbed by the Academy two years ago.  So it was delightful to read through this Pete Paphides piece in The Times of London, an interview with Mansell charting his course from pop rock star to serious film music collaborator as he prepares to take to the stage at London’s Union Chapel Monday with his Los Angeles string ensemble, Sonus Quartet.  The group will be playing selections from Mansell’s film score catalog.

    Much of the article (which has sporadic, fleeting quotes, a style that drives me mad) details Mansell’s collaboration with Aronofsky.  The two met in New York over a decade ago when Aronofsky was fresh out of film school looking to produce his black-and-white mind-bender “Pi.”  But there is also finally comes around to Mansell’s collaboration with filmmaker Duncan Jones on “Moon,” which eschewed the composers typical stylistic particulars in favor of a more traditional approach (that is no less atmospheric and of a piece with the film’s expert craftsmanship).

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  • Zowie Bowie talks more ‘Moon’ across the pond

    Duncan JonesIf you happen to be in one of the select markets carrying Duncan Jones’s (aka Zowie Bowie) “Moon” and still haven’t made it out to see it, you don’t know what you’re missing.  The film recently crossed the $1 million mark.  Here’s to many more.

    The film is just landing over in the UK and Jones is owning the publicity thing with his story.  The next stop appears to be this Vicki Reid article in London’s Daily Telegraph newspaper, which does a fine job of spotlighting what it is about this film that makes it register so profoundly: it’s focus on character amid all the familiar tropes of the genre.

    With the anniversary of a sci-fi classic already coming this year, and the hope that James Cameron is set to change the game for everyone in December, it’s still so refreshing that a film like this has found a spot between the extremes, destined to be, at the very least, a cult-admired staple of thinking man’s sci-fi.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Academy expands, Malden passes

    Karl Malden and Claire Trevor at the 1951 Academy Awards• This week’s Off the Carpet column took a long, hard look at the ramifications of a 10-nominee Best Picture race.

    • As the popular game of expanding past fields to ten continued, we joined in the speculation.

    • Meanwhile, AMPAS added 134 members to its voting body, from Seth Rogen to Danny Boyle to Peter Gabriel.

    • And they furthered their controversial remodelling, scrapping all honorary awards from the Oscar telecast.

    • We bade a sad farewell to Oscar-winning actor and former AMPAS president Karl Malden.

    • In other disheartening news, Michael Bay’s “Transformers” sequel rocked the box office.

    • We championed “An Education” and its star Alfred Molina, while the film was the subject of this week’s Page to Screen column.

    • With “Public Enemies” on everyone’s mind this week, we counted down the best performances from Michael Mann films.

    • The Edinburgh Film Festival wrapped, handing its top award to Duncan Jones’s “Moon.”

  • ‘Moon’ takes top prize at Edinburgh

    Sam Rockwell in MoonThe Edinburgh International Film Festival closed today with an awards ceremony that culminated in Duncan Jones’s sci-fi debut feature “Moon” landing the fest’s most coveted prize, the Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature. The jury, headed by Joe Wright and including Oscar-nominee Frank Langella, said of the film:

    We award “Moon” for its singular vision and remarkably assured direction as well as for the inspired manner in which it transcends genre. The central performance by Sam Rockwell embodies the film’s emotional complexity and compelling philosophical perspective.

    The award is an aupicious one; recent winners that have gone on to considerable international success include “My Summer of Love,” “Control” and Oscar-winner “Tsotsi” (yes, it’s British). I suspect Jones might land a few more citations, particularly of the Best First Film variety, before the year is out.

    (More details, and a full list of awards, after the cut.)

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  • 2009’s Oscar drought…same old song and dance

    Michael Caine in Is Anybody There?Over at Variety, newly minted editor-in-chief Tim Gray writes what we’ve been mentioning around these parts for a while: the first half of the 2009 film year is decidedly bereft of anything that might be deemed “Oscar-worthy” come January 2010.

    Aside from “Star Trek” and “Up,” the recognized critical faves of the year thus far, the best films I have seen are Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker,” Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s “Sugar,” Duncan Jones’s “Moon” and Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies,” but I expect only two of those could stir the awards pot.

    Critics have also responded, intriguingly, to Sam Raimi’s “Drag Me to Hell,” but I think we all know it’s safe to strike that one from the awards roster.  And Focus Features’ “Coraline” is likely to make an impact on the animated feature race, but beyond that, you’d be hard-pressed to offer much in the way of a solid list as we approach the mid-way point.

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  • Edinburgh calling

    EdinburghIn a little over an hour, I’ll be hopping on a (very) early morning train and making the 300 mile journey up north to Edinburgh. Ordinarily, this alone would be cause for excitement — for me, Scotland’s capital, with its curious combination of twisty Medieval quirk, stately academia and cooler-than-thou cultural swagger, is one of the most delightful cities in Europe. On this occasion, however, it boasts an extra drawcard — the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

    It may lack the glamor of Cannes or the breadth of Toronto, but the EIFF has been modestly chugging along since 1947, making it one of the most senior of all international film festivals. It doesn’t necessarily get the glitzy international premieres that the London fest now commands, but it’s an essential date on the calendar for burgeoning UK and international filmmakers. Meanwhile, it supplements its sizable showcase of new talent with a scattering of classic retrospectives as well as new works from more established filmmakers.

    Like its London counterpart, Edinburgh takes a similar “cherry-picking” approach to programming, selecting a number of proven successes from other festivals, as well as international markets. As a result, this year’s festival brings us the UK premieres of Sundance hits such as “Sin Nombre,” “Humpday” and “The Maid,” while the event I am most anticipating is the first post-Cannes screening of Andrea Arnold’s Jury Prize winner, “Fish Tank.”

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  • Summer hopefuls that can go the distance

    Jeremy Renner in The Hurt LockerOver at Examiner.com, Jeff Sneider (you know him around these parts as “The InSneider”) has put together a rundown of the 10 summer movies that have a shot at awards glory.  In my post-Cannes Oscar column I mentioned how dreadfully quiet the first half of the year has been for awards hopefuls.  After all, this time last year we’d already seen “The Visitor” and “WALL-E” as viable contenders, but this year — nothing.

    Sneider is hanging his hat on a number of films he apparently hasn’t seen yet (Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies,” Judd Apatow’s “Funny People,” etc.), but most of the love goes to Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker,” which I’ll be getting to in due time.  And I can’t say I disagree.  Along with the perennial Pixar entry of the year, Bigelow’s Iraq character study clearly has the stuff if Summit is willing to go there.  It needs to make money first, of course, which is why we’re getting trailers and posters that amp up the action elements.  But it’s Bigelow’s best work ever and features awards caliber performances from Anthony Mackie and especially Jeremy Renner, both of which are mentioned in Sneider’s column.

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  • 6/15 Web Round-up

    Eddie Murphy in Delirious• In case it wasn’t obvious, Paradise Falls from Pixar’s “Up” was inspired by Venezuela’s Angel Falls. [Associated Press via Chicago Sun-Times]

    • Today’s superhero movies have artistic roots in the UK. [BBC]

    • Speaking of which, here’s a girl’s guide to Comic Con 2009. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Anyone else tired of non-news items like this regarding a potential “Arrested Development” movie?  Who cares? [Collider]

    • Martin Scorsese works hard to bring little-seen classics to the web. [CNN]

    • The potentially exciting web site in question. [The Auteurs]

    • Beat writers make their way to the big screen. [The Independent]

    • The Brit-Hitch love-fest (in light of the director’s BFI retrospective) continues. [The Guardian]

    • “Imagine That” might have tanked this weekend, but this Chris Lee remembrance of Eddie Murphy’s comedy turning point — “Delirious,” which celebrated a 25th anniversary last month — is still worth a look. [Los Angeles Times]

    • In honor of the limited reelase of Duncan Jones’s “Moon”: 10 unhappy movie astronauts? [Spout Blog]

  • Duncan Jones makes the ‘Moon’ rounds

    Duncan JonesI’m already on the record as being well in the tank for Duncan Jones’s “Moon,” a shock to the sci-fi cinema system that sports a tour de force portrayal(s) from actor Sam Rockwell.  So with the domestic release right around the corner, it warms my heart to see Jones lighting up the circuit, spreading the good word.

    David Poland dedicated one of his lengthy interview segments to the director recently, while Peter Knegt at indieWIRE has written up a lovely discussion with the man.  Here’s a taste:

    During film school, Jones worked his way into the “low, low budget” music video & commercials business.  After building up a reel, he started shooting short films, and later some bigger commercials. “Eventually [I began] working with a guy called Trevor Beattie, who ran a pretty big advertising agency in the UK,” Jones recalled. “He asked me to join his agency as a creative, where I would still get to direct, and I had the time of my life!  After 18 months of working at the agency though, I could feel the itch again, and knew it was time to take a shot at making a feature film.  I felt like I had acquired all the right tools through the many, many years I had spent since film school, and set about making ‘Moon,’ with my trusty gang of collaborators.”…

    The “science behind the fiction” came to Jones – who co-wrote the script with Nathan Parker – via a book called “Entering Space,” by Robert Zubrin. “This is an amazing piece of non-fiction,” he explained, “that goes into detail about how we might colonize the solar system, and do it in a way that is fiscally viable.  One of the early chapters in the book was about going to the Moon to mine Helium-3, an isotope that has the potential to be a ‘fuel of the future,’ clean burning, and to be used in fusion power stations, when we get them online.”

    God bless him.  Smart people are actually taking a crack at the genre once again.  Read the rest here.