In Contention

Tag: Steve Martin

  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 2001 and 2002

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    After being overlooked in 1995, Ron Howard finally got a pat on the back from Oscar in 2001 for “A Beautiful Mind,” which was Russell Crowe’s second Best Picture winner in a row. If that wasn’t bad enough, the inaugural Best Animated Feature award went to the unwatchable “Shrek,” making this one of the more dubious overall years in Oscar history.

    In my opinion of course. “Chicago” isn’t much better but 2002 at least threw us a nice curveball when Adrien Brody became the youngest Best Actor winner in history and Roman Polanski became the oldest (and fugitiviest) Best Director for “The Pianist.”

    At four hours and 23 minutes, the 2001 ceremony is the longest ever, made worse by the fact that Whoopi Goldberg was in charge of it. At least they got Woody Allen to show up for the first time ever for a post-9/11 tribute to New York. I’d suggest the entire ceremony be relocated to New York if it meant Woody would host.

    Steve Martin came back in 2002 and trimmed things up by almost an hour. Way to go, Steve! He also delivered what might be my favorite Oscar joke ever- “In “About Schmidt,” Jack Nicholson plays a retired insurance executive who climbs into a hot tub with Kathy Bates. But hey, who hasn’t?”

    Also, Eminem!

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  • Jackman turns down Oscar hosting gig

    With the season now unshakeably upon us, it’s time to dust off the annual conversation topic of who should host the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony. I am prompted to do so, of course, by Deadline’s recent scoop that 2009 host Hugh Jackman — the first choice of new Oscarcast producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer — has turned down the gig, owing to a scheduling conflict with the shooting of of “Wolverine 2.”

    Many will be disappointed by this news, given that the Jackman-hosted telecast was one of the better-received of recent years. As one of its few detractors, I’ll admit to feeling relieved: Jackman’s song-and-dance schtick was amiable enough, but he lacked the comic zeal I prefer in an Oscar host.

    To be fair, the balance between comic and cuddly is a difficult one to strike at the Oscars. There’s ample room for error on either side of the beloved Billy Crystal school of sweet-and-sour satire: Jackman played it too safe for my liking, but neither do I want to see an encore of Chris Rock’s hostile, room-cooling barbs. The Academy Awards, as much as we might like to mock them, are effectively the industry’s prom night, and the tone should be appropriately celebratory.

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  • What might have been

    Sacha Baron CohenI agree with Anne Thompson in yesterday’s edition of Oscar Talk when she cautiously says that the hosting is one of the few things she’s not worried about in the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony. Steve Martin — tried, tested and funny on two previous hosting dates — is the definition of a safe pair of hands, while the gig seems a natural fit for Alec Baldwin’s newfound national treasure status.

    At the very least, seeing how the duo dynamic works out, after many years (my entire Oscar-watching lifetime, at least) of individual hosts, will be interesting. But show producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic gave us a more intriguing what-if scenario when they revealed their far riskier initial pick for the gig:

    The always-candid Shankman revealed that when he and Mechanic first met for lunch, they immediately agreed that the person who should host the show would be none other than Sacha Baron Cohen.

    Shankman said, just as quickly as they told the Academy of their idea, “the Academy swatted it down. They thought it was too big of a wild card.”

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  • Grammys for Giacchino

    UpAs the music world celebrated the general awesomeness that is Taylor Swift last night, Oscar-minded Hollywood couldn’t resist infringing on the proceedings slightly. When Jeff Bridges even crops up at the Grammy Awards (to introduce a Les Paul tribute), you just know that he’s this year’s chosen one.

    Bridges at least acquitted himself with dignity, something that sadly couldn’t be said for another Oscar hopeful, Quentin Tarantino, who came dressed (to steal blatantly from Joe Reid) as “Retired in Miami Elvis” and pimped his movie in a hopped-up intro to a Lil’ Wayne performance. To be fair, however, he was present as a nominee, though “Inglourious Basterds” lost the Best Compilation Soundtrack award to “Slumdog Millionaire.”

    Yes, last year’s Oscar champ isn’t done winning awards yet, as “Jai Ho” also beat Bruce Springsteen and Karen O to the Best Film/TV Song award.

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  • Grammy nods for ‘Basterds,’ Giacchino… and Steve Martin

    UpI’m always interested to see what cinematic musical achievements the Grammy Awards single out for recognition each year, largely because their pop sensibilities are so different (and their eligibility criteria so much looser) from those of the Oscars that they may as well exist on different planets.

    Last year, for example, they selected “The Dark Knight” as the year’s best score, though it didn’t manage a nomination from the Academy. A similar shaming shows up this year, as the Grammys show the respect for Bruce Springsteen’s “The Wrestler” theme that the Academy’s music branch did not.

    An earlier cut-off date means a few late-2008 titles show up here, including “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Milk,” “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Cadillac Records” — a song from the latter counting for one of Beyonce’s field-leading 10 nominations, incidentally. (I won’t even say anything about the non film-related categories.)

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  • 11/24 Oscarweb Round-up

    Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side• Pete Hammond, with box office ammunition in hand, keeps banging the gong for Sandra Bullock in a bad movie.  And it just might happen. [Notes on a Season]

    • Speaking of “The Blind Side,” Patrick Goldstein dedicates a great many words to the film’s director, John Lee Hancock. [The Big Picture]

    • “Nine,” the film that seduced Hollywood’s stars. [Daily Telegraph]

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  • AMPAS chief Sherak promises “more fun” Oscars

    Tom SherakAs a former Fox chairman with a background in marketing, it’s unsurprising that Tom Sherak, who recently replaced Sid Ganis as president of the Academy, wants to bring a more populist approach to the Oscars.

    In this LA Times interview, he makes it clear that the primary objective of the move to 10 Best Picture nominees is to get more blockbusters into the race — having himself voted for “The Dark Knight” last year — but admits that they may not succeed:

    The point of it was to do something … We need to not be afraid to try things. We need to be positive. The people who are against the idea say, ‘What if it doesn’t work?’ Then we won’t do it again.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Oscar hosts, Bridges arrives, animated five

    Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart• Oscar season ramped up this week, with the popular selection of Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin as this year’s Oscar emcees.

    • This week’s Off the Carpet column surveyed the runners and riders for Best Actor …

    • … only to be immediately outdated as Jeff Bridges and “Crazy Heart” arrived to turn that race on its head.

    • Big news in the Best Animated Feature race, as last-minute entry “A Town Called Panic” ensured we’ll have five nominees.

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  • OSCAR TALK: Ep. 9 — Baldwin/Martin, ‘Crazy Heart,’ animated contenders and the Gurus’ latest chart

    Oscar TalkWelcome to the latest installment of Oscar Talk, a weekly kudocast between yours truly and Anne Thompson of indieWIRE’s Thompson on Hollywood.

    On the docket this afternoon:

    • Anne and I discuss the week’s biggest Oscar news, the tapping of Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin as this year’s Oscar telecast hosts.

    • Another substantial news item this week was the revelation that Scott Cooper’s “Crazy Heart” would get a last minute 2009 release from Fox Searchlight.  Anne and I talk up the film and actor Jeff Bridges’s wonderful, certainly Oscar-worthy performance.

    • “A Christmas Carol” releases today, so we use that as an opportunity to revisit the animated feature contenders.

    • As mentioned earlier this morning, the latest Gurus o’ Gold chart has gone up.  Anne and I talk about a number of the contenders, placements, etc.

    Have a listen to this week’s podcast below, leading in with one of the original tracks from “Crazy Heart.” And as always, you can subscribe to Oscar Talk via iTunes here.

    [display_podcast]

    Subscribe to Oscar Talk

  • Same-but-different trailer for ‘It’s Complicated’

    Handily coinciding with its two male stars’ big news this week, the second trailer for Nancy Meyers’ romcom mostly overlaps with the first, with a few added flourishes.

    Despite having never liked a Meyers confection before, something about this one is working for me. Steve Pond has a mole who says the film is “absolutely terrific,” though of course that means little. Either way, mature audiences are going to turn out in droves for this.

  • 11/5 Oscarweb Round-up

    A Christmas Carol• Anthony Breznican on the opening of “A Christmas Carol” and the early holiday grab. [USA Today]

    • Dissecting “Amelia”‘s troubled road to the screen. [Hollywood Reporter]

    • Hugh Jackman gives newly tapped Oscar hosts Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin his blessing. [Vulture]

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  • Shankman talks Oscar hosts, admits Fey was on the cards

    Tina Fey and Steve Martin at the 81st Annual Academy AwardsI couldn’t be more delighted with the selection of Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin as the 2009 Oscar hosts. Martin remains the smartest, sharpest, most urbane Oscar host I’ve seen in my lifetime, and the pairing of his wit with Baldwin’s goofier charm should ensure a ceremony that’s adult, but not too elitist. Either way, it’ll be more my cup of tea than Hugh Jackman’s style.

    Of course, another reason I’m down with the choice is that it’s only one “30 Rock” cast member removed from the pairing I’ve been pleading for. I was in favor of Tina Fey because she had proven chemistry with Martin, plus current pop appeal — Baldwin has both, plus a higher Academy profile (lest we forget, he is an Oscar nominee himself).

    So, in a way, Oscar producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic have improved on my suggestion. But I was interested to read Shankman admit, in this EW interview following the announcement, that they actually tried for Martin and Fey.

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  • Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin tapped to host the 82nd annual Academy Awards

    (from left) Alec Baldwin and Steve MartinWell, I guess Martin was available after all.  And he’s going to have company.

    The Academy has announced this year’s Oscar emcee, and as expected, it’s a pair: Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, stars of “It’s Complicated” and one person removed from the suggestion our own Guy Lodge made last month.  Lodge proposed Tina Fey alongside Martin.  Academy producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic opted instead for Fey’s “30 Rock” co-star Alec Baldwin.

    The quoted portion of the press release:

    “We think the team of Steve and Alec are the perfect pair of hosts for the Oscars,” said Shankman and Mechanic. “Steve will bring the experience of having hosted the show in the past and Alec will be a completely fresh personality for this event.”

    “I am happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin,” said Martin.

    “I don’t play the banjo but I’m thrilled to be hosting the Oscars – it’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Baldwin.

    And that’s that.  Thoughts?  I find myself completely thrilled.

  • Stiller/Downey turn down tandem Oscar hosting gig

    Or at least that’s what Nikki Finke is reporting.  Roger Ebert quips, “They have Lakers tickets.”  The search continues on.  Steve Martin and Tina Fey are not available.  Hugh Jackman has graciously declined being pigeonholed.

    Who’s gonna step up?  Out-of-the-box pick of the day: Richard Kind.

    EDITED TO ADD: This just hit me, but it makes sense that Downey would decline this offer.  After all, he turned down the chance to present the post-production awards alongside Will Smith last year out of fear of being upstaged.

  • Jackman turns down Oscar gig

    Hugh Jackman at the 81st Annual Academy AwardsAs the annual guessing game of who will host the Academy Awards continues to go in circles, there’s at least one name we can remove from consideration: a certain Mr. Hugh Jackman.

    Variety confirms that the previous Oscar emcee was invited to repeat, but “quietly” turned down the opportunity sometime in the last few weeks, not wanting to do the task in consecutive years. (He may host again in the future, in other words.)

    This largely puts paid to the speculation that the hiring of choreographer Adam Shankman to produce the show meant we were essentially in for a rerun of last year’s show, which is fine by me.

    The previous Oscarcast format was very much the singular vision of Bill Condon and Laurence Mark, while Jackman’s song-and-dance stylings will stay fresher if used on an irregular basis.

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  • Martin and Fey: the obvious choice

    Tina Fey and Steve Martin at the 81st Annual Academy AwardsIt seems the annual spitballing over who will/should host next year’s Academy Awards ceremony has already started.

    Sasha Stone has compiled a list of her own preferred men (and women) for the job, while Kris has other ideas. (More seriously, his Kevin Spacey suggestion last year remains one I’m completely on board with.) Meanwhile, Kris and Anne will spotlight the issue in tomorrow’s edition of Oscar Talk.

    For my part, I can’t see a Hugh Jackman repeat working as effectively without Bill Condon and Laurence Mark’s creative steering. (Besides, as game as he was, I missed the comedy a little.) And for all the championing of vogueish names from Neil Patrick Harris to Justin Timberlake — and as much as I actually appreciated Jon Stewart’s efforts — I always find the night feels more comfortable with a genuine movie figure on stage.

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  • 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]

  • A private function

    When all is said and done, it wasn’t an awards season that deserved a fireworks finish, so perhaps last night’s muted, largely tasteful, faintly insular ceremony was an appropriate summation. It ran smoothly enough, with a handful of novel distractions and a uniformly generous, empathetic spirit running through the night’s speeches –- but I’d be hard pressed to remember many notable ‘moments’ from last night’s proceedings a week from now, let alone years hence.

    Part of that stems from the fact that, as has been discussed ad nauseum on these and other pages, we had a less-than-stellar field of contenders to work with. But I’m afraid I must slide into the apparently tiny glass-half-empty minority on the show itself –- as efficiently and enthusiastically as the show unfolded, I simply didn’t find all that much to love about it. As Danny Boyle suggested in the midst of yet another boundless, winning acceptance speech (can we find something for him to win every year, please?), it looked like a blast for those present, but I’m not sure the clubby, “we’re all in this together” vibe really translated to the distance of a TV screen.

    After the cloak-and-dagger secrecy shrouding Bill Condon and Laurence Mark’s revised take on the Oscars, I must say I was expecting a slicker, more dramatic reworking of the format –- and on that front, I must say I was a little disappointed. Hugh Jackman was certainly a game, likeable emcee, but I wasn’t certain who the target audience for his big set pieces was. Equal parts Crystal-esque shtick and endearingly naff “let’s put on a show” razzle-dazzle, both elements seemed to me too dated to court the broader, younger, hipper viewership the Academy wanted. The Baz Luhrmann-staged musical number at the centre was fun in itself, but existed in a similar cultural vacuum, despite the presence of current pop phenomena like Beyonce or Zac Efron. For all the hype, this was familiar content.

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