In Contention

Tag: Oscilloscope Pictures

  • Oscilloscope nabs ‘Kevin’

    Lynne Ramsay’s Cannes hit “We Need to Talk About Kevin” has found a home, and an awards trajectory is in place. The press release, in part:

    May 23, 2011 ­ Oscilloscope Laboratories announced today the company has acquired from Luc Roeg’s Independent Film Company North American distribution rights of the critically acclaimed and much talked about 2011 Cannes Film Festival competition entry WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN, the highly-anticipated third feature from director Lynne Ramsay (RATCATCHER and MORVERN CALLAR). Oscilloscope will release WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN theatrically this Winter, accompanied by an awards campaign.

    A suspenseful and psychologically gripping exploration into a parent dealing with her child doing the unthinkable, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN is told from the perspective of Eva, played by Tilda Swinton in a tour-de-force performance.

    Adam Yauch, head of Oscilloscope Laboratories said: “We are honored to be working with Lynne, Tilda, John, and Ezra to release this masterpiece– the most intense thriller I’ve seen since Polanski’s ROSEMARY¹S BABY. I was on the edge of my seat throughout and it was clear I was in the capable hands of a master filmmaker, who I’m now proud to see join all our other great filmmakers as a member of the O-Scope family.”

    [Photo: Oscilloscope Laboratories]

  • Oscilloscope nabs ‘Meek’s Cutoff’ for 2011 release

    Since word spread out of Venice of Michelle Williams’s strong performance in Kelly Reichardt’s superb Oregon Trail western “Meek’s Cutoff,” some of our more excitable commenters have been projecting a kind of two-pronged awards attack for the actress, who has another excellent showcase in December release “Blue Valentine.”

    We warned you all along that “Meek’s Cutoff” wasn’t likely to hit theaters in 2010, and we were right. Boutique distributor Oscilloscope has just acquired the film at Toronto, and will release it next year — the right call, given that a quiet wonder like this one would likely get lost in the crush of awards season.

    Oscilloscope (that’s Beastie Boy Adam Yauch’s outfit, in case you’d forgotten) also handled Reichardt and Williams’s last collaboration, “Wendy and Lucy”; I was hoping that their latest might prove accessible enough to attract one of the bigger boys in the indie playground, but I’m sure the company will do right by them. Yauch himself seems rather taken with the film; his statement (via indieWIRE) after the cut.

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  • ‘Pictures at a Revolution’ makes its way to the big screen

    When I read Mark Harris’s “Pictures at a Revolution” last summer, an amazing history of the American filmmaking revolution through the lens of the 1968 nominees for Best Picture, one of my first thoughts was, “This would make a great film.”

    I was thinking narrative, though, mainly because key figures like Rex Harrison and, of course, Warren Beatty stuck out as such vibrant characters.  And the circumstances are so dramatic — or, at least, Harris really found the right dramatic rhythms when he pulled all the information together.  If anyone was willing to sit down and attempt the thankless task of streamlining his dense work into a script, it could make a hell of a film.

    Well, that’s not happening, of course, but the inevitable is.  Oscilloscope Laboratories has announced plans to produce a documentary based on the volume with “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired” director Marina Zenovich tapped to head up the project.  It’ll be fun and it’ll hopefully be revealing.  And if you haven’t read the book yet, do yourself the favor.

    There aren’t any quotes from Harris in the press release, so I thought I’d reach out and get his quick perspective on things.  Check out his response, as well as the full release, after the jump.

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  • Oscilloscope nabs Sendak doc

    Maurice SendakOne of my smaller disappointments of last week’s Oscar nominations was the failure of Spike Jonze and Lance Bangs’s lovely “Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak” to secure a nod in the documentary short category. (You might remembert Kris’s enthusiastic endorsement of the film back in October.)

    Admittedly, I have not seen the five films that did make the cut — chances are they’re all highly worthy. But the Sendak short was a captivating portrait of a truly singular artist, simple in construction but touched by its subject’s one creative energy. Moreover, a nomination would have been a nice way for the Academy to indirectly recognize Jonze’s extraordinary work on “Where the Wild Things Are,” recipent of one of the most undeserved ducks of awards season.

    Anyway, spilt milk and all that. But I’m pleased to report that one of my favorite new indie outfits, Oscilloscope Laboratories, has acquired the short, and will be releasing it on DVD to coincide with the DVD release of “Where the Wild Things Are.”

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  • Don’t wait for the remake

    (from left) Kim Bodnia and Jakob Cedergren in Terribly HappyEnterprising young distributor Oscilloscope was obviously hoping for an Oscar nomination when they scheduled a February release for Denmark’s terrific entry, the wickedly off-kilter thriller “Terribly Happy.” It would have been sly timing, if only the Academy’s foreign-language branch hadn’t killed its hopes at the shortlist stage.

    No matter. Oscar nod or not, it remains a delight, alternately echoing the Coens, Lynch and Hitchcock while maintain a mordant streak of deadpan Scandinavian humor. (I interviewed director Henrik Ruben Genz — a former Oscar nominee in the short film race — in December.)

    The film goes on limited release tomorrow — check it out, and be ahead of the game when the rumored U.S. remake comes along. If you won’t take my word for it, at least take that of Oscilloscope founder and sometime Beastie Boy Adam Yauch:

    I love this film. It is just further proof that Danish people are clearly out of their minds.

    U.S. trailer after the cut.

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  • OFF THE CARPET: Why it should be ‘The Messenger’

    (from left) Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster in The MessengerThe writing is on the wall. “Nine” is on the precipice, teetering, on the brink of falling from the Best Picture ranks, 10 nominees or not. Speculation flies as to which film will be the beneficiary (as most concede this is the only slot in flux, though there are certainly compelling arguments against a secure spot in the line-up for “Up” and “A Serious Man”). And I find myself going back and forth as to which film deserves the designation.

    A glance at my best of the year column reveals what should be the obvious answer for me: “Star Trek,” J.J. Abrams’a tight reboot of a franchise that now has a new, vibrant lease on life.  It was, after all, my #11 film of the year.  It will absolutely land a number of #1 and #2 votes because, as mentioned in Friday’s Oscar Talk, it simply remains one of the most enjoyable films of the year for a great many.

    Also, it’s pretty nice when you have someone in the race, like Quentin Tarantino, calling it his favorite film of the year.

    That said, voters may feel that their sci-fi/genre vote has been cast with “Avatar,” while “District 9,” from producer Peter Jackson and director Neill Blomkamp, is another genre entry that deserves a fair glance and could cock-block Abrams and company out of contention as well.

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  • THE LONG SHOT: Post early for Christmas

    Jeremy Renner in The Hurt LockerLondon is in the midst of a postal strike. No mail, be it far-flung postcard or electricity bill, has popped through my front door for over a month. I recently had to stroll into Soho to pick up my London Film Festival accreditation pack by hand. And rather discouragingly, my local post office today put a hastily scrawled sign in the window: “Post NOW for delivery by Christmas.”

    If you’re wondering why I’ve started this week’s column with this fascinating tidbit from my domestic life – apart from the fact that, as Kris noted, the crickets are chirping in awardsville this week – it’s because, as I stared disbelievingly at the sign, it occurred to me that a similar memo should be sent to several specialty studios hoping for a stake in this awards season. (Yes, my mind works in curious ways.)

    In short: you have a little package that needs to deliver in time for Oscar consideration? Don’t wait until December. Send it out now.

    This may seem like crazy advice given Oscar voters’ ever-growing love affair with winter releases. Just last year, no pre-November release made the Best Picture cut. And Harvey Weinstein has proved time and again that substantial rewards can be reaped if you spring a film upon the Academy without giving them too much time to think about it – from “The Cider House Rules” to “Chocolat” to “The Reader,” he knows which films won’t survive a few months of critical and industry scrutiny.

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  • Wishing Adam Yauch a speedy recovery

    Beastie Boy Adam Yauch (aka MCA) has been diagnosed with cancer in his salivary gland.  We at In Contention wish him a fast and speedy recovery following his upcoming surgery.

    A lifelong Beasties fan I may be (I’ve seen them live twice here in LA), but Yauch is also a hero to the independent film community.  His cinema division Oscilloscope Pictures is a welcome haven amid studio dominance.  And in its maiden year, the distribution wing gave us two of 2008’s most intriguing films, “Dear Zachary” (which landed on my top 10 list) and “Wendy and Lucy” (which landed on Guy’s).  Here is a great NY Times profile on Yauch and Oscilloscope from September of last year.

    Yauch announced his ailment alongside fellow Beastie Adam Horowitz (aka Adrock) in a video message on the group’s official website. He did so with trademark levity. Again, get well soon:

  • 7/3 Web Round-up

    Sorority Row• A to Z on Michael Mann — all you needed to know about the director. [Empire]

    • Oscilloscope jumps on the video-on-demand bandwagon, partnering with Warner Digital Distribution. [indieWIRE]

    • The 10 sexiest gangster girlfriends of all time. [Film School Rejects]

    • Oh, by the way.  Weeks after outlets jumped the gun, David Carradine’s death has been ruled “not a suicide.” [The Guardian]

    • Patrick Goldstein talks to Michael Mann about the bank-robber technical adviser the director tapped for “Public Enemies.” [The Big Picture]

    • Eric D. Sneider is baffled by the juxtaposition of the “Sorority Row” trailer and prints of “The Hurt Locker.” [Cinematical]

    • Owen Gleiberman and Lisa Schwarzbaum talk about why they think “Public Enemies” misses the mark. [Entertainment Weekly]