I’ve heard young Thomas Horn is a little heart-breaker in Stephen Daldry’s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.” And Sandra Bullock seems to me someone to watch for in the supporting actress race, given the narrative of the book on which Eric Roth’s screenplay is based. But Tom Hanks is featured front and center in the […]
First look at Tom Hanks, Thomas Horn in ‘Extremely Loud’
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:01 pm · August 10th, 2011
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OFF THE CARPET: The year of The Beard?
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:15 pm · July 4th, 2011
It felt really good to duck out of the looking-ahead business after last year’s fairly contentious (both amongst the films and their supporters) Oscar season. I didn’t saddle up to the upcoming season until a few weeks ago, hammering out preparations for this column, and even this, most would tell you, is too early. But […]
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Boyle and Daldry get Olympic gig
Posted by Guy Lodge · 2:50 am · June 17th, 2010
If you can tear your thoughts away from the World Cup for a second, cast your mind back to the opening ceremony of the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing. Pretty spectacular, wasn’t it? You might recall that that mammoth production was steered by Zhang Yimou, a one-time rebel filmmaker now safely enfolded into the system. […]
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Is this a new strategy?
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:36 am · February 12th, 2009
I’ve been flipping back and forth between Leno and Letterman and so far I’ve seen four Oscar TV spots: two for “The Reader,” one for “Slumdog Millionaire” and one for “The Wrestler.” Instead of the usual 30 second trailers, there is interview footage edited in. Rourke from “The Wrestler,” Boyle from “Slumdog” and besting the […]
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Standard crowns ‘Hunger’ best film
Posted by Guy Lodge · 1:44 pm · February 2nd, 2009
I have to hand it to the Evening Standard Awards: they are a breath of fresh air in a suffocating awards season. While their choices can have a bit of an over-democratic, drawn-from-a-hat feel to them (Stephen Daldry for Best Director? On what planet?), they are never afraid to veer from the herd. And so […]
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SANTA BARBARA: ‘Truth,’ Winslet light up the town
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:20 am · January 24th, 2009
I’ll dig into individual film reviews in due time. It’s been a slow start up here in Santa Barbara but the first two nights have been charming enough. Rod Lurie’s “Nothing But the Truth” gets better and better each time I see it, particularly where Lurie’s work as a writer is concerned. Some beats are […]
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TECH SUPPORT INTERVIEW: the crafts of ‘The Reader’
Posted by gerardkennedy · 3:49 pm · January 17th, 2009
The past week has been exceptionally good to Stephen Daldry’s “The Reader” on the awards circuit. The film followed up its five Golden Globe nominations with the same number from BAFTA, not to mention Kate Winslet’s BFCA and Globe awards for her performance as Hanna Schmitz. I recently had the chance to speak to several […]
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12/29 Oscarweb Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 5:43 am · December 29th, 2008
• Anita Singh looks at the upcoming year of the dog for British movie-goers, including “Beverly Hills Chihuahua,” “Bolt,” “Marley and Me” and “Wendy and Lucy.” [Daily Telegraph] • “A Christmas Tale” tops Andrew O’Hehir’s list of the 10 best indie films of 2008. [Beyond the Multiplex] • Jonathan Miles talks to newly minted Oscar […]
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12/10 Oscarweb Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 5:10 am · December 10th, 2008
• The Gurus settle on a predicted five that seems to be becoming “the knowledge.” [Movie City News] • David Poland, meanwhile, takes the opportunity to spotlight 10 under-the-radar contenders. [Movie City News] • Always eager for a “look, we said something about it first” story, Steve Weintraub calls an exclusive (seriously, we need to […]
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‘Reader’ draws praise, but is it too remote for Oscar?
Posted by Guy Lodge · 12:30 pm · November 30th, 2008
After a couple of days in post-screening limbo, the reviews for “The Reader” are in, and while there’s much praise for the film, I suspect the response may not be quite what Harvey Weinstein was hoping for. The general impression appears to be that it’s intelligent, well-crafted and delicately performed, but as Kris anticipated recently, […]
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‘Reader’ stirring the awards season dust
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:16 am · November 26th, 2008
Gold Derby’s Tom O’Neil attended an east coast screening of “The Reader” this week, which featured a Stephen Daldry Q&A session afterward. He reports as follows: “I tried to leave things ambiguous,” Daldry said. “I want to keep what she learned and what she didn’t from us. It’s not for us to know.” During the […]
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‘Reader’ revealed
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:23 pm · November 24th, 2008
Stephen Daldry’s “The Reader” has begun it’s big Oscar season reveal after behind-the-scenes drama has defined the film for a number of months. Dare I say it — given the circumstances — but the effort feels rushed. It’s an oddly disorienting narrative that takes some time settling into an emotional groove, but when it does, […]
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Joint statement from Scott Rudin and Harvey Weinstein
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 1:05 pm · September 28th, 2008
RE: “The Reader.” And on a Sunday, no less: We are issuing this statement together to emphasize the fact that we are in complete agreement on the date we have chosen to release “The Reader.” Working together, we developed a plan to extend the post-production schedule in order to give Stephen Daldry the additional time […]
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OFF THE CARPET: 2008, a year in advance
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 3:20 pm · February 26th, 2008
Another year, another set of wins…and another look ahead at what’s in store NEXT year. It’s never too late to take a long gander at what we might see dominating the film awards landscape in 365 days, and with that in mind, I’ve been doing my usual mulling over the possibilities for a few weeks […]
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