As we move out of the Toronto fray, Venice and Telluride already a memory, we look to the season ahead. The starting gun echo of those three early fall festivals is beginning to fade away, and with the dust settled or settling, it’s interesting to note the lack of an inarguable emerging player. In fact, […]
OFF THE CARPET: The great, appreciated unknown
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 5:47 pm · September 19th, 2011
Filed in: Off the Carpet
9/19 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Toronto Oscar bounces, threads in ‘Drive,’ adaptng le Carre
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:54 am · September 19th, 2011
• Anne Thompson talks “Rampart” with writer/director Oren Moverman. [Thompson on Hollywood] • Greg Ellwood ponders who got an Oscar bounce out of Toronto. [Awards Campaign] • Simon Kinnear on the clothing designs of “Drive.” [Clothes on Film]
Filed in: Daily
OSCAR TALK: Ep. 61 — Wrapping up Toronto, ‘Moneyball’ and Brad Pitt’s Oscar positioning, Roland Emmerich’s ‘Anonymous,’ ‘Rampart’ and turning out the lights
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:53 am · September 16th, 2011
Welcome to Oscar Talk. In case you’re new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is a weekly kudocast, your one-stop awards chat shop between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood. The podcast is weekly, every Friday throughout the season, charting the ups and downs of contenders along the way. Plenty […]
Filed in: Oscar Talk
9/15 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Flamboyant ‘Drive’ strategy, Oscilloscope nabs ‘Heights,’ eight minutes of ‘Dragon Tattoo’
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:45 am · September 15th, 2011
• John Horn talks to FilmDistrict honcho Bob Berney about the flamboyant advertising of Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive.” [24 Frames] • Dana Harris chats with “Albert Nobbs” stars Glenn Close and Janet McTeer. [indieWIRE] • Oscilloscope picks up Andrea Arnold’s “Wuthering Heights” in Toronto. [Variety]
Filed in: Daily
Moverman’s expressive ‘Rampart’ offers tour de force performance from Woody Harrelson
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:26 am · September 14th, 2011
Oren Moverman’s “Rampart” is absolutely fantastic. Top to bottom, it’s a considerable directorial achievement, and an exciting, brazen departure from his excellent 2009 debut, “The Messenger.” The film — from an original screenplay by James Ellroy, re-written by Moverman — uses the 1999 Los Angeles Police Department Rampart corruption scandal as a frame, a state […]
Mixed reaction to Moverman’s ‘Rampart’ in Toronto, some measured praise for Woody Harrelson
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 6:04 pm · September 11th, 2011
One of the more anticipated Toronto bows, for me, is Oren Moverman’s “The Messenger” follow-up, “Rampart.” I was a big fan of his last effort and have been intrigued by the possibility of Woody Harrelson bubbling up in the Best Actor race (assuming a studio bites on the film). But things aren’t looking stellar for […]
Filed in: Daily
9/9 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Gosling King of Toronto, ‘Descendants’ drops earlier, spoilers in trailers
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:24 am · September 9th, 2011
• Susan Wloszczyna writes up Toronto as the Oscar season kickstarter, hears good buzz for Woody Harrelson in “Rampart.” [USA Today] • Jeff Labrecque chalks Ryan Gosling up as the King of Toronto with two films set for the fest. [Entertainment Weekly] • Fox Searchlight moves “The Descendants” up five days to November 18. [Variety]
Filed in: Daily
THE LISTS: Top 10 most anticipated films of the 2011-2012 Oscar season
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:11 am · August 30th, 2011
If you haven’t noticed, this week has pretty much launched our 2011-2012 Oscar season coverage in earnest. Since it has been ages since we dusted of our lists feature here at In Contention, it seemed a good way to peek into the season was offering up a personal list of anticipations. I’ve seen a few […]
Filed in: The Lists
OFF THE CARPET: Fall fests look to boost early Oscar hopes
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:00 am · August 29th, 2011
On a warm Saturday afternoon in Telluride last year, I sat in the crowded Chuck Jones Cinema and felt the warmth in the room as Tom Hooper’s “The King’s Speech” screened for its first audience of the year. Six months later, at the end of a road with plenty of twists and turns, the film’s […]
Filed in: Off the Carpet
Telluride guessing game
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:34 am · July 28th, 2011
(UPDATED: 8/29) Now that the Toronto and Venice line-ups have been unveiled (though we have a few more Toronto announcements to come), I figured I’d take a few stabs at sussing out the Telluride crop this year. I haven’t been a good journalist and called around or anything. Just spinning my wheels. One studio that […]
Filed in: Daily