Features
So this Steve Pond piece, titled “How Oscar Could Surprise — and Scare — Us,” is what we like to call hedging our bets. It’s a chance to address some bubble matters so that we have something to point to and say, “Look, I toldja!” (Is that officially trademarked by Nikki Finke yet?) Anyway, I […]
Calling the longshots
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 5:47 pm · February 1st, 2010
Filed in: Daily
Best in show: the year in superlatives
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 4:29 pm · December 18th, 2009
Wrapping up my perspective on the year today, a personal list of superlatives, Oscar categories and other silly nonsense. Swing back around on Monday for the ultimate wrap-up, my list of the best films of the decade. Best Picture “A Serious Man” (Focus Features) Best Director Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, “A Serious Man” Best Actor […]
Filed in: Daily
12/7 Oscarweb Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:23 am · December 7th, 2009
• 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]
Filed in: Daily
OFF THE CARPET: Looking at the leading gentlemen
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:31 am · November 2nd, 2009
We’ve taken concentrated looks at the lead actress and supporting actress categories in recent weeks. Now let’s turn our attention over to the fellas. Behind the Best Picture race, of course, the lead actor competition is perhaps the most hotly anticipated award of a given Oscar telecast. Movie stars are born, Hollywood staples are rewarded […]
Filed in: Off the Carpet
8/31 Web Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:36 am · August 31st, 2009
• With “Luke and Brie are on a First Date” finding its way to an Amazon release, our own Chad Hartigan gets his film re-reviewed. [Spout Blog] • Stephen Zeitchik wants to know why Ang Lee can’t catch a break. [Risky Biz Blog] • Gregory Ellwood sees (er, hears) awards prospects in Alexandre Desplat’s “Coco […]
Filed in: Daily
Blomkamp on a budget
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:37 pm · August 19th, 2009
Speaking of “District 9,” which doesn’t look to go away any time soon, Chris Lee at Hero Complex has just posted a great interview with director Neill Blomkamp, coming at things from the angle of the film’s low price tag of $30 million. It dovetails nicely with this Film Junk piece, titled “What Hollywood Can […]
Filed in: Daily
‘District 9’ receives most Academy applause in years
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:16 pm · August 17th, 2009
The unexpected fiscal and critical success of “District 9” has stirred the proper awards talk in the right circles. The film looks to be pretty stiff competition in the nomination races for sound editing, sound mixing and visual effects, perhaps even film editing. But given the mood of a recent Academy screening here in Los […]
Filed in: Daily
WEEKLY WRAP: Festivals beckon, ‘District 9’ opens
Posted by Guy Lodge · 7:05 pm · August 14th, 2009
• The New York Film Festival unveiled a decidedly foreign lineup, with Alain Resnais and Pedro Almodovar at either end. • Speaking of festivals, the long-awaited “The Road” was among the titles added to the Toronto slate this week. • With everyone excited about “District 9” this week, we took time to chat to the […]
Filed in: Daily
INTERVIEW: ‘District 9’ star Sharlto Copley
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:01 pm · August 13th, 2009
When actor Sharlto Copley first pops up on screen in Neill Blomkamp’s “District 9,” it isn’t a grand movie moment in the style of John Wayne’s arrival (albeit out of focus) in John Ford’s “Stagecoach” by any means. In fact, viewers might instinctively expect Copley’s character, Wikus Van De Merwe, to be a supporting player, […]
Filed in: Interviews
Neill Blomkamp on the necessity of setting ‘District 9’ in Joburg
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:34 am · August 12th, 2009
I’ll be posting my interview with “District 9” star Sharlto Copley later today or tomorrow, but in the meantime, I thought I’d pass along this Andrew O’Hehir interview with the film’s newbie director, Neill Blomkamp, over at Salon. The piece is wide-ranging, moving from Blomkamp’s background in digital effects and advertising to Copely’s performance to […]
Filed in: Daily
‘District 9’ on the way
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:04 am · August 6th, 2009
Neill Blomkamp’s “District 9” is primed to explode on the cinema landscape next week. At least I hope it is. I’m never good at reading the populist pulse, especially as it pertains to predicting box office and things like that, but on a $30 million budget, and being an exceptional piece of work that should […]
Filed in: Daily
Sharlto at the Four Seasons
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:11 am · July 29th, 2009
A double feature this morning and afternoon will keep me away from the computer for a spell, but stay tuned for an interview with Sharlto Copley either later today or tomorrow. I got a few minutes with the “District 9” star yesterday and am anxious to dig into the quotes. Sharp guy, caught in the […]
Filed in: Daily
COMIC-CON: Peter Jackson receives standing ovation at first ever Con appearance
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:31 am · July 25th, 2009
Peter Jackson made his long-awaited first trip to Comic-Con yesterday in support of Neill Blomkamp’s “District 9,” which screened to a select audience Thursday. He received the expected standing ovation by the many Ringers and Bad-Tasters in attendance. “This is a moment to remember for the rest of my life,” he said after snapping a […]
Filed in: Daily
COMIC-CON: Peter Jackson and Neil Blomkamp unveil ‘District 9’ to eager first audience
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:22 am · July 24th, 2009
Last night Peter Jackson showed up at the Horton Plaza United Artists theater a few blocks north of the convention center with protege Neill Blomkamp and actor Sharlto Copley in tow. The occasion: the first ever screening of Blomkamp’s “District 9,” a sci-fi installment that finds itself in the midst of a heavy “what the […]
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