In Contention

Tag: Oscarweb

  • 9/4 Oscarweb Round-up

    Sean Penn in Milk• Tom O’Neil responds to the “Milk” trailer. [Gold Derby]

    • So does Seth Abramowitz. [Defamer]

    • “Appaloosa” director Ed Harris will receive the 3rd annual Kirk Douglas Award at this year’s Santa Barbara Film Festival. [Variety]

    • Peter Sciretta wonders whether “Slumdog Millionaire” stole “Happy-Go-Lucky”‘s thunder at Telluride this year. [/Film]

    • James Rocchi begins his sure-to-be-insightful Toronto coverage. [Cinematical]

    • John Horn looks at acquisition hopefuls in Toronto this year. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Sam Adams profiles “Waltz with Bashir” helmer Ari Folman. [The Envelope]

    • Susan Wloszczyna seems to think Toronto isn’t its Oscar-forecasting self this year. [USA Today]

    • Similarly, in addition to contending that “award-winning contenders appear to be fewer and far between this year,” Anthony Kaufman indicates that “recent market forces” could dampen the buying and selling of films at this year’s fest. [Wall Street Journal]

  • 9/3 Oscarweb Round-up

    I\'ve Loved You So Long• Mark Olsen counts down Toronto’s must sees. It’s an indie dominated list (and fest, really) with more than a few surprises. [The Envelope]

    • Pete Hammond talks to Tom O’Neil about the Telluride success of “Slumdog Millionaire” and “I’ve Loved You So Long,” as well as the whole “Button” footage dust-up from yesterday. [Gold Derby]

    • Regarding the dust-up, Jeffrey Wells defends himself. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Then he slams Anne Thompson’s cinematographical skills. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • But Brad Brevet, in nicely rounding up the whole mess for your reading pleasure, wonders whether the damage has already been done. [Rope of Silicon]

    • Which, digging through all of that, is there more to the Paramount/Fincher friction than we might know? [The Playlist]

    • In happier news, Nancy Kriparos introduces herself as Sasha Stone’s Toronto correspondent this year. [Awards Daily]

    • Michael Cieply previews Toronto from the angle of ’70s New York nostalgia dominating a number of films playing the fest. [New York Times]

  • 9/2 Oscarweb Round-up

    Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler• Todd McCarthy does cartwheels for Danny Boyle’s “Sulmdog Millionaire.” [Variety]

    • Bruce Springsteen’s “Wrestler” track chokes Darren Aronofsky up every time he hears it. [darrenaronofsky.blogspot.com]

    • Peter Sciretta gives a quick, somewhat lacking review of Mike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky,” seems to be mixed. [/Film]

    • Across the pond, Penélope Cruz talks “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and working with masters. [Daily Telegraph]

    • Not really awards-related (yet), but, wait…they’re turning “The Wave” into a German language film? Cool! News to me… [Empire]

    • Andrew Pulver separates the cheers from the jeers in Venice. [The Guardian]

    • If you’re looking for one hell of a spiffy awards section… [Rope of Silicon]

    • Rupert Friend makes one creepy Nazi in “The Boy in Striped Pyjamas.” [The Times]

    • Scott Bowles runs down ten fall flicks bursting with potential. [USA Today]

  • 9/1 Oscarweb Round-up

    Dev Patel in Slumdog Millionaire• Anne Thompson points us to a Best Original Song contender from the Boss in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler.” But it’s a closing credits tune, which doesn’t bode well given the newest rules implemented by the Academy in 2005. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • She also tries to offset some of the negative press that greeted the 20 minute “Benjamin Button” reel, taking the time to swat at bloggers who didn’t exactly “review” anything, but actually gave their honest opinion. Fancy that…maybe teasing an unfinished product wasn’t the best idea? [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • Screen Daily gets the scoop on the “Che” distribution strategy…but didn’t we always know it would be released as two films? [Screen Daily]

    • T.L. Stanley wonders whether this year’s crop of Oscar films will be a box office buzz kill. [Gold Rush]

    • “Disaster Movie” is probably not going to be an Oscar film…FYI. [/Film]

    • Kim Voyner kicks the Oscar tires for Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire,” a Godsend for Fox Searchlight, which was sitting hollow with a Dakota Fanning vehicle as their only awards hopeful until this week. [Cinematical]

    • Pete Howell chases the buzz in Toronto. Hey, didn’t “For Your Consideration” win this poll last year? [Toronto Star]

    • Jeffrey Wells gets hears some second hand buzz from a friend who thinks Jeff Goldblum gives an Oscar-level performance in Paul Schrader’s “Adam Resurrected.” [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • And in case you missed it, we’ve launched our weekly Oscar column. [In Contention]

  • Yet another early look at the ‘W’ script

    Poor “W” can’t catch a break.

    Stanley Weiser’s take on our Commander-in-Chief (*shiver*), had already caused a stir in more than a few areas before principle photography even began two months ago.  The first shockwave hit when the script was profiled by Marcus Baram for ABC News back in April.  Then The Hollywood Reporter consulted with four Bush biographers to assess the accuracy of the depiction. Their view: not so much.

    New York Magazine’s Vulture blog, always quick with the wit, predicted the film to be the comedy hit of 2009 before later getting their hands on a copy and enlisting the aid of the Upright Citizens Brigade to perform five of the more ridiculous moments for posterity’s sake.

    Weiser’s script quickly became the most widely circulated screenplay I’ve certainly ever heard of, and no one — save Jeffrey Wells — had a kind word to say about it.  So much drama and the film hadn’t even been fully conceived yet, as casting continued and locations were locked in for the April production start.

    We all know Oliver Stone was adament that the film (formerly known as “Bush” — clever titles all around) be in the marketplace “before the president leaves office in January.” But he might be wishing he’d just sprung this thing on everyone like a true October surprise.

    And now, another voice has chimed in.  Ryan Adams of Awards Daily had this to say:

    Sad to report, having now read the complete screenplay, I can assure you that the groaners we saw two months ago were the good parts. The teaser poster publicity material doesn’t try to pretend that ‘W’ intends to portray Bush as anything except an embarrassing joke. But guess what? I don’t find war crimes very funny. Yuck it up Oliver Stone.

    Personally I think Adams is way off the mark and even a bit immature in his assessment of the script’s (and Stone’s) intentions, but if we do share a point of view it is that the screenplay is quite awful.

    I ran a brief one-off when I was about half-way through the script a few months back, but I’ll save the deeper discussion for August when we launch Page to Screen once again.  And of course, the real judgment ought to be saved for Stone’s finished product when Lionsgate releases it in the Fall.

  • Patrick Goldstein joins the fray — honest to blog!

    <<< Not anymore!

    I was told last week that LA Times columnist Patrick Goldstein would be launching a blog of his own, and today I see that The Big Picture has morphed into just that.  I must say, even when I was tipped off to this development, I didn’t believe it.  This is the hater of all things blog we’re talking about.  His own publication agrees!

    Anyway, I’m glad the brass downtown finally dragged Goldstein kicking and screaming into the brave new world, however embarassing it might be for him.  Here’s what he has to say about it:

    But in journalism, it’s time for a change–big change. As you might have heard, this newspaper, along with virtually every other paper in the country, is under siege. Our whole business model is in free fall–circulation is dropping, profits are down and lots of talented people are losing their jobs. We can moan and groan about it or we can try something new.

    Now pick your jaw up off the ground and go give him a look.  Personally, I think he’ll enjoy it.  At the very least, that blogger-induced anger will have a daily outlet, and perhaps we won’t have to endure one of those yearly “they’re ruining everything” columns.  Then again…

  • Oscarweb Round-up (Week of 5/12)

    Reintroducing the Oscarweb Round-ups you probably caught at Red Carpet District last season, I thought it might be worth it to try it on a weekly basis here at In Contention — until the daily onslaught hits us again in a few months.

    –Peter Debruge writes up the Student Academy Award winners. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    –BAFTA/LA spotlights British comedy with new awards ceremony. [Variety]

    –Sasha Stone wonders about the apparently randy nature of Woody Allen’s upcoming “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” [Awards Daily]

    –Pete Hammond writes up an Oscar preview via this year’s Cannes International Film Festival. [The Envelope]

    –Guy Lodge responds. [In Contention]

    –Blake Rutherford previews the Little Rock Film Festival and takes the opportunity to ponder what the festival circuit means to films looking for traction. [In Contention]

    –Noah Forrest thinks Oliver Stone’s upcoming “W” is a “bad idea.” Meeee tooooo. [Movie City News]