A number of videos have been making the rounds this week, so I figured I’d consolidate. Starting with Facebooking Aaron Sorkin’s sharp dialogue:
Tag: Nicolas Cage
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FRIDAY FORECAST: Celebrity ‘Apprentice’
*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.Hey gang, it’s the weekend we’ve all been waiting for. “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” finally opens and satisfies our bloodlust for not one, but two fantasy collaborations between the Walt Disney company and Jerry Bruckheimer per summer. Perhaps only Pixar can rival their impressive streak of quality entertainment which includes “G-Force,” “Coyote Ugly” and “Bad Company.” More like good company!
Nicolas Cage teams with the two of them for the seventh time and the hope is obviously to pull in “National Treasure” numbers. Actually, all six previous collaborations have earned over $125 million, so they obviously bring out the best in each other. Unfortunately, “National Treasure” looked brisk and fun while “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” looks dark and muddled.
The film already opened on Wednesday and earned $7 million in its first two days. Not looking good for the old Cagester and Bruckmeister as the weekend should only muster another $18 million or so, becoming yet another summer title reliant on international grosses to make a profit. Maybe Jerry will have to stick to TV producing where he lords over, at my last count, 361 crime or detective shows. And at least Cage is shrewd with his money. Oh wait.
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The Great Performances: 2002
2002 was probably one of the greatest years for performance excellence in film history, from leading actor right through all the supporting players. They could have easily nominated 10 actors in each of the four acting categories, and still missed some.Though Adrien Brody won the Oscar for “The Pianist,” which was a huge shock, I have always felt that Jack Nicholson gave one of his finest performances in “About Schmidt.” I suspect he and Daniel Day-Lewis in “Gangs of New York” may have split the vote in some way, allowing for Brody’s win.
Michael Caine was up for “The Quiet American” after that film scored with critics at many precursor fests, and Nicolas Cage was the fifth nominee in “Adaptation.” Great performances all, deserving performances all, but there were so many other noteworthy turns. Like Robin Williams’s chilling performance in “One Hour Photo” as a deranged photo lab worker obsessed with a family. Equally brilliant was Leonardo DiCaprio as the young fraudster in “Catch Me If You Can” while Tom Cruise gave one of his very best performances in Steven Spielberg’s “Minority Report.”
One of the year’s very best films, “Road to Perdition,” contained one of the year’s best leading performances from Tom Hanks, as a lethal killer on the run from his own mob. And though I loathe the work of Richard Gere, I must confess he did some of his finest work in “Chicago,” winning a Golden Globe for his performance, but no Oscar nod.
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The Great Performances: 1995
Based on some of the comments I received last week regarding my article on great acting, I took the suggestion of a young lady and am kicking off a series of articles, one per week, that will explore the best performances ofeach year, beginning today with 1995. So let’s go back and work our way towards 2008 and discover the great film performances we know about, and maybe a few we do not.The Academy did a pretty fine job in 1995 when it came to the acting nominees. Sure there was some shock when John Travolta was snubbed for his superb work in “Get Shorty,” and those hoping for a three-peat with Tom Hanks missed it when the actor was not nominated for his solid work in “Apollo 13.” I personally would like to have seen Clint Eastwood nominated for his wonderful work in “The Bridges of Madison County,” but there are just five slots open, and so many fine pieces of acting.
One could also argue for Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt, both excellent in David Fincher’s “Seven,” or Bruce Willis, who was nobly brilliant in “Twelve Monkeys,” and perhaps even Jack Nicholson in “The Crossing Guard.”
Nobody could argue with Nicolas Cage in “Leaving Las Vegas,” Sean Penn in “Dead Man Walking” or Anthony Hopkins for “Nixon” as Best Actor nominees. And frankly I believe Penn gave the best performance of the year, one for the ages in fact. However, Richard Dreyfuss in “Mr. Holland’s Opus?” Seriously? I love Dreyfuss and I think he’s even been short-changed in the past, but come one. He does fine work and it’s not his fault the script asks him to be mushy and sentimental, but I have struggled with his nomination over Hanks, Travolta and Eastwood for many years. -
9/23 Oscarweb Round-up
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TORONTO: ‘The Road,’ ‘Bad Lieutenant,’ ‘Chloe’
(Please note, as opposed to Kris and Guy, I tend to grade films on a 5-star scale.)Loads to catch up on today and some interviews still to write up. First off, I have to confess that I disagree with Kris’s review of “The Road,” respectfully of course, and I think I have a reason why I might have viewed and appreciated the film in a very different light than he. I also saw Werner Herzog’s “The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans,” which features a hugely entertaining performance from Nicolas Cage, and the latest from Atom Egoyan, “Chloe,” which features a splendid performance from Amanda Seyfreid.
Let’s dig in…
“The Road” (****)
This was a dark and unsettling film based on the brilliant book by Cormac McCarthy about a father (Viggo Mortensen) and son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) journeying to the south after the world has essentially seen its end of days. We are never really given a clear explanation as to what happened, but the vague description we do get sounds like nuclear war finally came, and the planet is dying a slow death. Trees are dead, there is nothing alive or growing anymore, the world is a gray and dreary place, as though hell had suddenly burst forth from the bowels of the earth. The south brings warmer weather, which is what the man and his son need, he believes, to survive, and survivial is what the film is about.
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VENICE: Who will take the gold … and who should
And so it comes to this. Ten days of blazing sunshine, free-flowing Prosecco, occasionally “Brazil”-style administration and – oh, right – a few films too, will come to a head tonight as Ang Lee and his merry band of jurors will name the supposed best of the fest.I’ve written before about the near-futility of predicting festival awards. Unlike the Oscars, the voting body is different every time, so you’re never quite sure what they’re looking for. We persist because it’s fun, thought it actually becomes more difficult when you’ve seen most of the films in question, as personal reservations (or fondnesses) keep getting in the way.
If I were back in London, for example, I’d be more open to the whispers that Fatih Akin’s cheery but slight crowdpleaser “Soul Kitchen” is a serious contender for the Golden Lion, effectively serving Marco Müller’s more populist programming direction; having actually seen the film, my gut reaction is more in the “you’ve got to be kidding me” vein.
If no clear-cut frontrunner has emerged from this year’s lineup, it’s because no film has united critical opinion and mainstream media interest the way “Brokeback” or last year’s champ “The Wrestler” did. Some are plumping for Michael Moore, though that would seem a bit old-hat five years after Cannes laurelled “Fahrenheit 9/11.”
(More thoughts, and my will win/should win picks, after the cut.)
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Werner, Werner, what have ye done?
Don’t get me wrong. I’m kind of glad to know there’s a lunatic out there making films. Never a dull moment, that kind of thing. But I want to know what happened to Werner Herzog. What happened to the artist who gave us grand statements like “Aguirre, the Wrath of God,” “Fitzcaraldo” and “Woyzeck?” Who is this new guy?“The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” is a train wreck from the starting gun with a performance that almost captivates for two acts and soars of the rails for the last big push. It would be embarrassing if it wasn’t so oddly endearing for being so utterly brazen. And yet it doesn’t have the balls to embrace that sense of cinematic anarchy because it is, in the final analysis, a generic, inconsequential story.
Intriguingly enough, the crowd response was considerably positive. That could have had something to do with the fact that Nicolas Cage was on hand to talk about the film, but the madness of it all clearly struck a nerve with this early morning crowd. Color me confused.
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SHORT TAKE: “The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” (**)
Venice Film FestivalKeen students of the MTV Movie Awards will be aware that the ceremony added a highly necessary and prestigious award to their lineup for “Best WTF Moment.” I like to imagine that Werner Herzog is aware of this, as his new film “The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” (that “The” is no typo – that’s how the title appears onscreen) appears to have been carefully tailored to fill every nominee slot in that category next year.
An iguana bursts into a bluesy rendition of Engelbert Humperdinck’s “Release Me!” Nicolas Cage shares his lucky crack pipe! A man’s soul breakdances after its owner is fatally shot! Iguanas! Nicolas Cage cuts off an octogenarian woman’s oxygen supply! More freaky shit involving iguanas!
It’s been many years since Herzog’s narrative features exuded the sure-footed directorial aplomb of his documentaries, but there is, somewhat surprisingly, a fairly clear artistic objective behind “The Bad Lieutenant”: to make a cult film, the kind of midnight movie treasured by trash geeks, stoners and the occasional leftfield auteurist alike.
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Mo’ money, mo’ problems
Power and money don’t go hand in hand, it would seem.If Forbes’ recent list of the world’s most powerful celebrities — you remember, the one that informed us that Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston wield more power than Barack Obama — was quite amusing, their new ranking of Hollywood’s 20 biggest earners is simply depressing.
The list is headlined “Hollywood’s Top-Earning Actors,” but Forbes never makes clear whether the term “actor” is being applied in the currently PC gender-neutral sense, or whether an accompanying list of “Top-Earning Actresses” is on the way.
It’s an interesting question, because while the aforementioned Jolie may apparently be the world’s most powerful celebrity, she evidently doesn’t have the clout to rank among the industry’s most well-paid. More to the point, nor does any other woman, with the top 20 a boys-only club — an unhealthy, if sadly unsurprising, state of affairs. Is this represantive of the industry’s gender divide, or has the list been segregated? Anyone?
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Ebert ‘Knowing’ rave
From the big guy’s four-star review of the film, right at the top:
“Knowing” is among the best science-fiction films I’ve seen — frightening, suspenseful, intelligent and, when it needs to be, rather awesome. In its very different way, it is comparable to the great “Dark City,” by the same director, Alex Proyas. That film was about the hidden nature of the world men think they inhabit, and so is this one.
I have no comment yet. Still haven’t bothered to see it. But I admit to this weird sense deep inside that all the belly-aching might actually be knee-jerk and that there’s a good movie out there with Nicolas Cage and the end of the world waiting for me. Maybe it’s just my contrarian style. After all, my senior yearbook quote was right out of Mamet: “I subscribe to the law of contrary public opinion. If everyone thinks one thing I say bet the other way.”
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POLL: What did you think of ‘Knowing?’
I guess I’ll leave it with an updated poll before heading out.
The weekend’s box office champ was the Nicolas Cage starrer “Knowing,” from director Alex Proyas. Even though a mere handful of you said you’d be seeing it this weekend, I figured I’d ask anyway: what did you think? I have a hard time believing it to be this awful disaster given that Proyas is generally a guy who busies himself with sci-fi that could hardly be called brainless, but given the reviews and some brief assessments I’ve heard, maybe this really is the clunker of 2009 so far.
So tell us your thoughts in the sidebar poll.
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SUNDAY CENTS: Strong showing for “Knowing”
I guess I should listen to the murmurs. Nicolas Cage’s sci-fi extravaganza “Knowing” took the top spot at the box office this weekend with $24.8 million. In terms of Cage’s career, it’s no “National Treasure” and can’t compete with the holy trifecta of Cage action — “The Rock,” “Face/Off” and “Con Air” — but it does help wipe away some of the bad taste left in the mouth by “Bangkok Dangerous” and “Next.”Long story short, this guy’s career is the very definition of inconsistent. The result is doubly impressive given that Disney could only manage a similar result for their much more heavily marketed sci-fi adventure last week. I can’t imagine reviews, word of mouth or legs will be great so the big debut is a massive boost for Summit Entertainment, a company still finding its feet and identity.
Second place goes to the Apatow-less “I Love You, Man.” $18 million is pretty much the exact same amount as “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Role Models” debuted with and since reviews are in the same ballpark, this should do comparable overall business as well. Incidentally, I saw the film last night and found it to be pretty worthless aside from a charming performance by Paul Rudd and one inspired joke involving iTunes. If you want to see an amazing and hilarious “bromantic” comedy, wait for “Humpday” in July.
Our third and final opener is the Clive Owen/Julia Roberts caper “Duplicity.” Adult-targeted films never stand a chance against shit that blows up, so $14.4 million is a respectable enough place to start. Star power ain’t what it used to be but the pedigree of the talent in front of and behind the camera should ensure that this one sticks around for a couple of weeks. In the comedic heist sub-genre, “Out of Sight” debuted with $18.5 million in the summer of 1998 and “Bandits” did $16.6 million in 2001. Both finished around $55 million.
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Sean Penn on course for Oscar #2, and he deserves it
With two of the major critics awards won, actor Sean Penn seems to be headed for his second Academy Award for Best Actor for his brilliant work in “Milk.”Penn’s work through the 1980s and 1990s defined him as one of the greatest actors of his generation (if not the best) and certainly on the level with Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson and early Robert De Niro. I find it incredible to see him today in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and try to connect that actor and character to anything he has done in his career. It gives a very clear example of his seemingly limitless range.
His first Oscar nod came for “Dead Man Walking” in 1995, with only the Independent Spirit Awards giving him the grand prize. All the others went with Nicolas Cage in “Leaving Las Vegas,” a great performance to be sure, but for my money Penn was stronger. Four years later he was something of a surprise nominee for “Sweet and Lowdown,” a fine piece of acting, but a kind of out-of-nowhere nomination, as was his third nod for “I Am Sam,” which I still struggle with watching; it represents the only time I can “see” Penn acting.
“Mystic River” won him his first and only Oscar, and I stand by it as a stunning example of the craft. I agree with The New York Times, which declared it one of the great acting performances of all time. Bill Murray was a popular choice that year for “Lost in Translation” and no argument, he would have been a most worthy winner. But I am pleased Penn won. For me, he captured the anger and rage of the character, as well as the disappointment and hurt over something so precious as a daughter, now lost. There was shame in his eyes for not having protected her, and to make up for that in his mind, he avenges her.
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Casting the 2008 election
Rope of Silicon has a sweet feature up today: “Casting the 2008 Election.” It’s one of those lists I wish I had thought of, and for the most part, it’s spot on, some real zingers: Bruce Campbell as Mitt Romney, Harold Ramis as Keith Olbermann, Kevin Spacey as Mike Huckabee. Some of the choices don’t really work, though: Tobey Maguire as John Edwards, Nicolas Cage as Joe Biden. And though the choice of Mary-Louise Parker for Campbell Brown is inspired, I always get a Margaret Colin vibe.
Anyway, a great diversion these days. Head on over to Rope of Silicon for the full list. I’ll leave you with my fave:
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I wonder if Nicolas Cage is kicking himself right now.
After all, he was supposed to take on the role that is making Mickey Rourke a star again. “Bangkok Dangerous” or “The Wrestler” — which film would you rather be your stage at the moment?
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Sean Penn might be the greatest living actor
After writing my piece on the recent Best Actor winners and non-winners I was rather shocked at the number of comments on Sean Penn’s astounding performance in “Mystic River,” a performance I believe to rank with the best of Brando, Duvall, Nicholson and De Niro.I love debate, I love to talk film, and best of all I love debating the merit of performance as I studied method acting in the hopes of becoming an actor before I fell in love with film criticism.
For the record, I was terrible, but remained fascinated by those who could do it, and Mr. Penn might just be the very best at what he does. Far too often his off-screen antics have over-shadowed his brilliant work as an actor, and while he has mellowed in his later years, he is still every bit as surly and rebellious as he ever was, though as a father and husband perhaps he understands the need for boundaries these days. I had the pleasure of interviewing Penn at the Toronto International Film Festival a few years back, and always believe that there should be no trace of the characters he portrays in his films for him to be judged a great actor. There were none. The person sitting across from me, relaxing when he seemed to know I was here to discuss acting as an art and craft, was not anyone I had seen on film, nor the hot-tempered photography beater of his youth.
We all became aware of Penn in “Taps” back in the early 80s, but it was his hysterical turn in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” that made him a star. I find it difficult sometimes to connect the actor who portrayed the doomed killer in “Dead Man Walking” and the deeply distrubed man in “The Assassination of Richard Nixon” to the actor who portrayed the goofy, sunny, surf-loving Jeff Spicoli. Pauline Kael said Penn had the sort of talent that bites you on the nose and she was not off the mark at all.
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Best actor contenders join an eclectic list of recent winners
Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Frank Langella seem to be the names bandied about for Oscar consideration this year, which would place them in some impressive company of nominees and winners these last 20 years. Of course, that said, there have also been some bizarre choices for the Best Actor award, which has often left me shaking my head in disgust and wondering what these voters were actually seeing.Since 1988, there have been 10 winners that perhaps should not have been, the award arguably deserved by another of the nominees, or worse, an actor not nominated! Consider Dustin Hoffman in “Rain Man,” a widely acclaimed performance that asked that he not connect with anyone in the film, never make eye contact, rock back and forth and speak in a nasally voice.
Stop what you are doing right now and try what he did in the film, and trust me it is very easy to do. Now do you deserve an Oscar for doing what Hoffman did in that film? The real perfortmance in “Rain Man” was that of Tom Cruise, who we watched evolve over the course of the film, and of course the best performance of that year was Gene Hackman as the tough investigator in “Mississippi Burning.” Hackman was nominated, but he stood no chance in the wake of the juggernaut of support for Hoffman, who in fact should have won years before for his miraculous work in “Tootsie!”
