In Contention

Tag: Nine

  • December winner predictions

    Meryl Streep in Julie & JuliaI gave this an initial stab nearly two months ago.  I thought I might as well re-visit things.  (And hopefully there won’t be anyone getting their panties in a twist over something as harmless as this.  You know who you are.)

    Best Picture: “Avatar”
    Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”
    Best Actor: Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”
    Best Actress: Meryl Streep, “Julie & Julia”
    Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”
    Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique, “Precious”
    Best Adapted Screenplay: “Up in the Air”
    Best Original Screenplay: “Inglourious Basterds”

    (more…)

  • 12/28 Oscarweb Round-up

    Michael Jackson in Michael Jackson's This Is It• Pete Hammond can’t let go of this notion that “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” is a Best Picture contender.  A bunch of number 10 slots aren’t going to cut it, Pete.  [Notes on a Season]

    • Adam B. Vary notes the curious absence of Gene Hackman from the silver screen since the 2004 bomb “Welcome to Mooseport.” [Pop Watch]

    • Criminally underrated composer Clint Mansell spills a little on his plans for Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan.” [Little White Lies]

    (more…)

  • SUNDAY CENTS: Box office is a Festivus miracle!

    Sherlock Holmes*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    Holy shit. There’s no other way to describe the box office this weekend, which may well go down as the most attended three days on record. Nearly 35 million tickets were sold and three films grossed more than $50 million each.

    The number one movie for the weekend is James Cameron’s “Avatar.” I mentioned in the comments last week that it needed to drop a maximum of 35% to be considered a formidable box office force and a film with working positive word of mouth. Well, it dropped 3% to a virtually identical $75 million.

    $212 mil in 10 days for the film is the 18th highest total for any film after that amount of time and you can expect one more massive weekend and top spot finish on the way. $400 million is a very real possibility now and Fox has to get a lot of credit for convincing audiences that this was a film that you simply had to see or risk being ostracized. (I know from experience.)

    “Sherlock Holmes” came in a very strong second with $65.4 million for the weekend. Only “The Day After Tomorrow” has ever made more money as a non-#1 film, when it was beaten by the second weekend of “Shrek 2” in 2004.  It’s the sixth biggest December debut of all time and the film’s Friday gross set a record for a Christmas Day figure.

    (more…)

  • Holiday film thoughts

    It struck me that I should probably offer up some space for you all to discuss the latest releases since it’s obviously been a slow-moving week, so if you want to speak up on “It’s Complicated,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “Up in the Air,” “The Princess and the Frog,” “Nine” or, God bless you, “The Squeakquel,” have at it here.  I’m on a jet plane back to the West coast tomorrow evening and things will be back to normal Monday.

  • SUNDAY CENTS: Pandora’s tops

    Avatar*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    Alright, let’s get down to brass tacks. “Avatar” is the number one movie of the weekend with a $73 million gross. This is an enormous figure, there’s no two ways about it. It’s the fourth-biggest December debut of all time. It’s the 26th-biggest debut of all time for a non-sequel. It’s the ninth-biggest debut of all time for a film with no previous source material or built-in fanbase.

    A record amount of money was spent on this production with only the reputation of James Cameron as a selling point and it may just pay off. A film like “I Am Legend” can debut in December with $80.6 million and with lukewarm reviews and word of mouth can make it all the way to a $264 million total. With the reception that “Avatar” has received and the inevitable batch of Oscar nominations, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t make $300 million domestically. It would need to match that overseas to even come close to profitability, but that should be no problem as the film already has $150 million in the bank overseas.

    It’s no secret that I thought the film looked stupid. I also would love nothing more than to never have to hear about 3D in movies again. But I also know that any time a film with an original screenplay from a distinct filmmaker can earn this type of money, it’s a good thing for the industry.

    (more…)

  • WEEKLY WRAP: Precursor avalanche, best of 2009

    Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker• Kris wrapped up 2009 with his take on the year’s best films, also offering his own preferred nominees and winners in a range of categories. (I’ll chime in next week.)

    • “Up in the Air” led this year’s pack of Golden Globe nominees.

    • It also joined “Precious” and “Inglourious Basterds” at the head of the pack in the SAG nominations — while missing out in their top race.

    • “The Hurt Locker” emerged as this year’s critics’ favorite, earning top honors from a host of groups, including the two biggest: the NYFCC and the LAFCA.

    (more…)

  • FRIDAY FORECAST: Blue boon

    Sam Worthington in Avatar*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    It’s “Avatar” day people! The day some of us have been waiting for! The movie has been hyped for years and if you listen to the critics, James Cameron has delivered. The man has a pretty impeccable box office history and is belatedly coming off the highest grossing film of a generation.

    That would be the $921.5 million-grossing, 11 Academy Award-winning “Titanic” for anyone wondering. No matter what he made next, anticipation was going to be huge, but the non-stop chatter about “game-changing” and “brand new viewing experience” has made things reach a fever pitch.

    After the trailer debuted, I thought we were looking at an epic fail. I thought the effects looked crappy and the story looked stiff as a brick. I thought no one over the age of 40 would possibly be interested. Now that some people have actually laid eyes on it, it seems I’m in the extreme minority. This sucker is poised to make a lot of money.

    (more…)

  • 12/18 Oscarweb Round-up

    (from left) Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Bradley Cooper in The Hangover• Anne Thompson reports that there is no “official” costume designer on “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” so anyone holding out longshot hope for its Oscar chances in that field can go ahead and focus elsewhere. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • Melena Ryzik gets Ivan Reitman to admit “The Hangover” would be on his top 10 list. [The Carpetbagger]

    • Dave Karger chats with “Nine” star Penelope Cruz, who could be on her way to back-to-back supporting actress nominations. [Oscar Watch]

    (more…)

  • ‘Air,’ ‘Basterds,’ ‘Precious’ lead the way with SAG

    Diane Kruger in Inglourious BasterdsThere wasn’t much in the way of a surprise with this year’s Screen Actors Guild announcement.  The nods that are least likely to translate to Oscar, if I were a betting man, are Diane Kruger’s supporting actress bid for “Inglourious Basterds” and (I guess I just have a feeling) Matt Damon, supporting for “Invictus.” The rest seem like safe bets on down the line.

    I wouldn’t read too much into the ensemble snub of “Up in the Air,” though it’s curious to nominate three actors from the film and then ignore it in that field.  The ensemble category is also where “Nine” got its expected attention, though Penelope Cruz also showed up in supporting for the film.  The BFCA, you’ll recall, went for Marion Cotillard instead.

    “Precious,” “Inglourious Basterds” and “Up in the Air” had the most nominations, with three apiece.  I would have expected “An Education” to have that designation, too, but somehow Alfred Molina was ignored.  Maybe that won’t be the case with Oscar, maybe it will.

    On to the next thing.  Check the full list of nominees after the jump.

    (more…)

  • If I had a ballot

    Sam Worthington in AvatarEvery year I like to keep track of personal favorites throughout the Academy’s designated categories (plus one of my own addition, Best Ensemble). At the end of the year, my “if I had a ballot” post is the result.

    Of course, for the most part, I follow Academy designations here. If something is ruled ineligible, I play along. It’s not that often that something like that is egregious anyway, though the music branch consistently tests my resolve on the matter.  In years past I’ve tried to make it an AMPAS/critics’ awards hybrid kind of thing, but this makes it easier.

    I know, I know.  “Why don’t you just list what you think should be nominated, the rules be damned?”  Because then I couldn’t call it “If I had a ballot?”  But I guess I’m contradicting myself by adding a category.  I don’t know.  I’m just trying not to be too lamely definitive or authoritative with something like this, I suppose.

    Anyway, I’m also abstaining from offering up a list of foreign language nods. Firstly, I feel it’s been a rather weak year in general there, but I also haven’t made my way fully through the list of submissions either. So I’ll address that another time.  The same goes with he doc features, as I’d rather push through more of the eligible titles first.

    This year the top 10 is the Best Picture field, obviously, and from there, I toss my two cents into a variety of discussions. Here’s what I came up with…

    (more…)

  • ‘Basterds,’ ‘Nine’ lead the pack with BFCA

    Eli Roth in Inglourious BasterdsFor better or worse, the Broadcast Film Critics Association has, of late, been frequently cited for its Oscar prognosticative prowess. Of course, it’s a pointless tidbit in the grand scheme and no one should be looking at organizations like this to see how accurate they might be on that front (even if this one in particular, of which I am a member, makes it a point every year to remind you).

    Having said that, I don’t think anyone would be shocked in the slightest if the BFCA’s list of 10 Best Picture nominees (see below) matches the Academy’s 10-for-10 this year. There is just one film on the list that ever felt truly questionable to me at some point along the way, and even that seems more and more locked in as latter-year hopefuls fail to catch expected fire.

    “Inglourious Basterds” and “Nine” led the way with 10 nominations each, a new record.  However, given the addition of below the line categories this year, it’s worth noting that their tallies wouldn’t have been so robust in the past. Quentin Tarantino’s film would have landed five nominations if it was business as usual. “Nine” would have landed three.  And “Up in the Air” would have led the field.

    (more…)

  • Day-Lewis on pickiness and privacy

    Daniel Day-Lewis in NinePart of the reason I love Daniel Day-Lewis — aside from the plain evidence of his acting, of course — is that he’s one of the few actors these days who maintains a measure of old-fashioned, movie-star mystique.

    His gossip-column days of dating and ditching everyone from Julia Roberts to Isabelle Adjani now long behind him, he reveals precisely as much of himself and his process as he’s willing to give — which, as this Guardian interview with Xan Brooks proves, is not very much at all. He’s clearly playing up his eccentricity and guardedness to a fairly self-indulgent degree, but that’s fine by me — I like my movie stars from another planet.

    The rarity of Day-Lewis interviews alone makes the piece a must-read — though Brooks barely masks his reservations about “Nine” (“a gorgeous, feathered folly; a turkey that longs to be a flamingo”) and, indeed, the actor’s performance in it.

    (more…)

  • 12/11 Oscarweb Round-up

    Kathryn Bigelow• Jeffrey Wells conveys the sentiment from director Rod Lurie: Kathryn Bigelow will win the Oscar for Best Director this year.  Agreed. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Scott Bowles talks to the man of the hour: James Cameron. [USA Today]

    • Steve Pond sits down with “Mary and Max” writer/director Adam Elliot. [The Odds]

    (more…)

  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Original Song

    Jeff Bridges in Crazy HeartOver the last five months, Gerard has diligently canvassed and re-canvassed the various crafts categories here at In Contention.  The one category we have held back on all this time, as contenders have slowly fallen into place, was Best Original Song.  Today, it’s time to dig into the field.

    This has turned into something of a banner year for original songs in feature films.  We’ve had the great pleasure of bringing a number of hopefuls to you via our “listen to” posts, and look forward to continuing that into the new year.  But inevitably, frontrunners are bound to show up, and I think we can successfully narrow the field now.

    Before diving in, it’s worth reiterating the voting process in this category.  I’ll simply let the Academy’s rule book speak for itself:

    “An original song consists of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the motion picture. There must be a clearly audible, intelligible, substantive rendition (not necessarily visually presented) of both lyric and melody, used in the body of the motion picture or as the first music cue in the end credits.

    (more…)

  • 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]

    (more…)

  • ‘Up in the Air’ wins with D.C. critics

    Um, okay.  So the list of nominations for the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association were announced this morning.  The group’s official website notes that the winners will be announced tomorrow (so…why bother with day-before nominees?).  And now The Wrap is reporting (sans attribution — so I guess via press release) that the winners are as follows:

    Best Film
    “Up in the Air”

    Best Director
    Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”

    Best Actor
    George Clooney, “Up in the Air”

    Best Actress
    Carey Mulligan, “An Education”

    (more after the jump)

    (more…)

  • Oh yeah, the ‘Nine’ embargo lifted…

    (from left) Daniel Day-Lewis and Nicole Kidman in NineIt’s one of those things when you show a film early and hold everyone to an embargo for a number of weeks.  I imagine there are people like me who run out of the passion and desire to write about some films, and over the last few weeks, “Nine” has been that film for me.

    I discussed the film, of course, with Anne in last week’s Oscar Talk and I think I said most of what I would write anyway.  I will say that I’m probably 99.9% in agreement with what David Poland has written, especially his thoughts on casting, Marion Cotillard’s final number being one of the few moments of actual emotion in the film, the detriment of a central character’s frivolous motives and desires, etc.

    Oscars?  I think what you see in the sidebar, for the most part.  I saw the SAG go wild for it, but I also know this is a film that could run into trouble when it comes to resonating.  So a month from now, would the applause be so grand?  I don’t know.  Marshall could run into trouble with the directors, unless they just feel like honoring him for knowing how to stage a number (keyword: stage).  Day-Lewis could miss.  Dench could slide in over Cruz, given the more interesting throughline she represents for the main character, etc.

    Below the line, of course, nods all the way across.  But it’s a real question mark about how this film will ultimately settle when the high of the music is long gone and people are left with their thoughts on what they just saw, and whether it has the substance to keep reminding them.  We’ll see.

  • Risk addiction

    Nicole Kidman in DogvilleAfter some initial resistance, I’m getting chattier on Twitter lately. Yesterday, in a “best of 2000s” frame of mind, an enjoyable back-and-forth with some of you started after I idly asked which actor or actress has had the greatest decade on film.

    The suggestions came in thick and fast, some mathematically going by awards stats, others opting for more abstract criteria. Some names came up with particular frequency: it’s hard to argue with the choice of Kate Winslet, though with the peerless exception of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” I wish she had more stone-cold masterworks under her belt.

    Johnny Depp was a popular choice, as was Sean Penn. I liked many more outré suggestions, including a shout-out for Patricia Clarkson, though will admit to scratching my head over two people’s advocation of Clint Eastwood. (If we’re counting people who only appeared four films this decade, I’ll stick with Daniel Day-Lewis.)

    But I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who plumped for the same name I’d consider for the honor: Nicole Kidman. The actress has been at the receiving end of a lot of media snark lately, be it in a professional or personal capacity, but clearly she still commands respect for her adventurous script choices and rarefied taste in auteurs.

    (more…)