In Contention

Tag: Precious

  • 6/3 Web Round-up

    Steve• Steve Martin: banjo enthusiast. [CNN]

    • The complete “Terminator” timeline. [Empire]

    • Speaking of which, Ben Child spends some time with the best part of “Terminator Salvation,” actor Anton Yelchin. [The Guardian]

    • Nancy Utley and Stephen Gilula ascend at Searchlight. [indieWIRE]

    • Brooks Barnes on the swath of upstarts leaping into the CGI animation fray. [New York Times]

    • Revisiting the summer of 1997. [Cinematical]

    • Nathaniel Rogers does some Oscar predix clean-up, joins the “Precious” train. [The Film Experience]

    • John Horn previews this weekend’s Produced By Conference with a producers roundtable. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Top 10 hockey moments in non-hockey movies.  Yeah. [Premiere]

    • Alonso Duralde on the many faces of Vegas on celluloid. [MSNBC]

    • Patrick Goldstein wants to know why Israel’s biggest box office success of 2008 has yet to secure U.S. distribution. [The Big Picture]

  • OFF THE CARPET: Taking the temperature

    Jeremy Renner in The Hurt LockerIt’s somewhat surprising that our year-in-advance Oscar coverage is only three months old.  That now ancient list of predictions seems so long ago, and yet, even with Cannes behind us and this or that indication of a few of the contenders, I have no idea how to offer an educated update beyond general housekeeping.  The season, it seems, will remain elusive for just a little while longer.

    Here’s what we know: Critics didn’t respond to Universal’s “The Boat That Rocked” across the pond.  But the Brits hardly have a soft spot for Richard Curtis.  Along similar lines, Stephen Frears’s “Chéri” hasn’t exactly inspired either.  But both films, from awards savvy studios, could find a second wind when they eventually open Stateside.

    The biggest Oscar hopeful to emerge from this year’s Cannes fest is, in my opinion, Jane Campion’s “Bright Star.”  Heralded in some quarters as a return to form for the director, and snatched up by the intrepid Bob Berney (formerly of Picturehouse and now closing in on a name for his distribution company with partner Bill Polhad), the film could be a nominations hog, anywhere from six to 10 possibilities.  You’ll note all of my ponderings in that regard in the latest chart update below.

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  • ‘Dogtooth,’ ‘Adjective’ top Un Certain Regard winners

    DogtoothIt’s been a while since a Greek production made any impact on the world cinema scene — arguably not since Theodouros Angelopoulos claimed the Palme d’Or in 1998 — so it’s interesting to see that Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Dogtooth,” a dark family drama about three siblings disconnected from the outside world by their parents, pushed past more fancied contenders to take the top prize in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard strand last night.

    In doing so, it beat out the likes of “Precious” and “Samson and Delilah,” both of which enjoyed substantial attention and acclaim on the Croisette but went home empty-handed. (NOTE: “Samson and Delilah” later won the Camera d’Or award at the final awards ceremony.) Not that the former needed any more of a boost after its Sundance sweep, really.

    The runner-up Jury Prize went to “Police, Adjective,” a comic Romanian policier about on a policeman wrestling with his conscience, which also took a FIPRESCI critics’ award yesterday. Raves have been coming thick and fast for this film, with the Guardian’s Mark Cousins one of several critics I’ve heard declaring it the best of the festival, in any section of competition. (Coming on the heels of “The Death of Mr Lazarescu” and “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” one must wonder: what are they teaching in Romanian film schools?)

    Another common critical line doing the rounds is that the Un Certain Regard selection was, pound for pound, stronger than the Palme d’Or lineup. It’s hardly surprising, given that the strand has become more imposing with each year since it was introduced in 1998: UCR winners that have gone on to estimable arthouse success include “The Band’s Visit,” “Tyson” and the aforementioned “Lazarescu.” It’s a sign that, as I’ve said before, the selectors  need to start taking more chances in the main competition.

    More details on the rest of this year’s Un Certain Regard winners here.

  • 5/21 Web Round-up

    Sasha Grey• AFI launches its own YouTube channel. [YouTube]

    • Robin Sanders reports on the Stephen Frears event from Cannes. [indieWIRE]

    • The wars continue: Patrick Goldstein lays into Peter Bart (and Variety) once again for being soft on the industry. [The Big Picture]

    • Lionsgate launches an impressive new website for festival Sensation “Precious.” [WeAreAllPrecious.com]

    • Chris Lee talks to “The Girlfriend Experience” star Sasha Grey. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Kim Voynar, meanwhile, dissects Grey’s character and wonders whether the film objectifies women. [Movie City News]

    • The publicity floodgates open for “Terminator Salvation,” starting with Irina Aleksander’s interview with the film’s rookie producers. [New York Daily News]

    • Todd Gilchrist, meanwhile, corners director McG. [Cinematical]

    • And finally, headline of the day, from John Anderson’s review of the film: “Hasta La Levity, Baby.” [Washington Post]

    • Aha, headline of the day #2: “Tarantino ‘Basterd’-izes Cannes. Such sweet truth. [USA Today]

  • ‘Precious’ a hit at Cannes

    Mo'NiqueSince it was announced that it would be playing the Un Certain Regard strand at Cannes, I’ve been interested to see how Lee Daniels’ “Precious” would play on this side of the Atlantic.

    Though the film was an all-round sensation at Sundance back in January, I wasn’t sure if it would receive the same level of adulation here, where there traditionally isn’t much of an audience for U.S. urban-based stories.

    Moreover, the film’s biggest talking-point at Sundance — Mo’Nique’s surprise-attack performance — risked being diluted in Europe, where I suspect few people know who the comedienne is. (It’s telling that the Cannes media has focused far more on Mariah Carey’s de-glamming.)

    All of which hasn’t appeared to matter one jot, as the film screened last night to a rapturous standing ovation, making it one of the heavy favorites for the Un Certain Regard award, which has boosted such arthouse fare as “The Band’s Visit” and “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu” in recent years.

    That “Precious” has been so warmly embraced in a critical environment not particularly predisposed towards such a film speaks volumes. Could its awards prospects go beyond that increasingly likely-looking Best Supporting Actress bid for Mo’Nique? A Best Adapted Screenplay nod, or Best Actress for Gabourey Sidibe, are certainly in the realm of possibility. A Best Picture bid seems to me a bit too great a leap for the Academy at this stage, but as long as the film keeps slaying audiences like this, who knows?

  • WEEKLY WRAP: Cannes unspooled, ‘The Road’ unveiled

    Opening night at Cannes 2009• Kicking off a Cannes-loaded week, we offered a two-part profile of this year’s contenders for the Palme d’Or.

    • Meanwhile, this week’s Top Ten list reflected on the greatest runners-up in the festival’s history.

    • As “Up” opened the festival, Pixar maintained its recent critical streak.

    • Within the competition, however, it’s two films from female auteurs — “Bright Star” and “Fish Tank” — that have critics buzzing.

    • Away from the Croisette, there was lots of talk about “The Road” this week, with a new trailer and early review.

    • In a neat coincidence, “The Road” was also the subject of this week’s Page to Screen column.

    • In a major week for debuting trailers, we also got a look at two very different hot properties: “Nine” and “Precious.”

    • Ahead of its June U.S. release, we reviewed Michelle Pfeiffer’s comeback vehicle “Chéri’.”

    • We looked into the box office success of “Star Trek.”

    • We revisited some buried treasures from the 1980s.

    • And finally: is the theatrical experience overrated? Have your say here.

  • Teenage star of ‘Fish Tank’ wows Cannes

    Katie Jarvis in Fish TankOnly two films in so far, but it seems we have a formidable contender for the festival’s top honors in the shape of Andrea Arnold’s “Fish Tank.” The film has just screened for the press, and Arnold — who won the bronze-medal Jury Prize in 2006 with her debut feature “Red Road” — has evidently built on that success, but it seems the real revelation is the film’s 17 year-old star, Katie Jarvis.

    A non-professional making her screen debut, Jarvis is unable to attend the festival, having just given birth to her first child in her Essex hometown. But even in her absence, the young lady is generating enough to buzz to plant her as a strong contender for the Best Actress  award. IndieWire’s Eugene Hernandez calls her “the first major acting discovery” of the festival, while Screen International’s Allan Hunter gushes:

    Following in the wake of Kate Dickie’s extraordinary performance in Red Road, newcomer Katie Jarvis is every bit as impressive as Mia, finding the vulnerability of the teenager without recourse to sentimentality or surrendering any of her anger or sarcasm. It is a performance that should win her a lot of attention and add profile to a film that will have to fight for its audience.

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  • ‘Precious’ teaser poster and trailer

    If you’re wondering, “What the heck is ‘Precious,’” allow me to remind you that the Sundance sensation “Push: Based on a Novel by Sapphire” was re-titled in the wake of that silly effects movie, also called “Push,” earlier in the year.  As Cannes starts to heat up, perhaps bringing a host of awards contenders into the picture, Lionsgate has smartly decided to remind us all of this little Oscar hopeful by unleashing a stunning new teaser poster and the first trailer for the film.

    The poster is immediately reminiscent of the work of designer Saul Bass, and though you wouldn’t expect an image that seems to be marketing a thriller to work so well, it somehow pulls it off:

    Precious

    The trailer, meanwhile, does a fine job of selling the film without falling into the trap of marketing to urban audiences with too heavy a hand. It clearly showcases what looks to be a star-making performance from Gabourey Sidibe and, of course, Mo’Nique, a frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress recognition since January.

    The trailer premiered exclusively on the official websites of Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry, each of them supporting the film’s distribution.  Additionally, it seems the film’s official title is now “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.”  Too much.  Stick with “Precious.”

  • Coppola goes to Cannes after all

    Francis Ford CoppolaAfter turning down an out-of-competition slot at Cannes earlier this week, it seems Francis Ford Coppola has had a change of heart. Variety reports that his new film, “Tetro,” will open the festival’s Directors’ Fortnight on May 14, marking the much-awaited film’s world premiere.

    The addition of Coppola adds some welcome lustre to a sidebar that frequently gets unfairly neglected in favour of the Official Selection (where “Tetro” was previously offered a place). The Director’s Fortnight may also attract attention for showcasing significantly more US talent than the selection of competition films announced yesterday, which included a mere two American titles (and only one from a Yank filmmaker, at that).

    In contrast, five American features make the Fortnight lineup, including Sundance talking-points “Humpday” and “I Love You, Philip Morris.” (Meanwhile, Lee Daniels’ much-garlanded Sundance sensation “Precious” (AKA “Push”) will appear in the Un Certain Regard strand of competition.

    Though the media focus tends to remain on the 20-odd films up for the Palme d’Or, Cannes runs far deeper than that. Some have complained that yesterday’s competition lineup, with its high quotient of previous winners and established auteurs, feels a bit too safe and insular (though “safe” hardly seems an apt adjective when the likes of Gaspar Noe and Lars Von Trier are involved), but it’s not just new talent lurking in the sidebars.

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