In Contention

Tag: The Dark Knight

  • ‘Doubt’ lands at AFI

    Meryl Streep in DoubtMiramax honcho Daniel Battsek and actresses Meryl Streep and Amy Adams joined director John Patrick Shanley tonight in introducing the world premiere of “Doubt” as the AFI Fest’s opening gala presentation.  The film, adapted from Shanley’s stage play, has quickly become the lead Oscar pony for a studio that dominated the awards circuit last season.

    The film was projected digitally, as prints haven’t yet been made, and it was deemed “wet behind the ears” at the top by Battsek; Shanley hadn’t even seen the cut in full himself yet.  We’re talking right off the AVID, but it was complete and seemed to capture the respect of the crowd in attendance.

    Watching the film, I was suddenly reminded of one of the year’s developing themes for American cinema: accountability.  It’s front and center in “Frost/Nixon,” a journalist-as-hero yarn about Richard Nixon’s overdue apology to the American people.  It’s certainly lurking beneath the surface of “W,” a character study first but an attempt at explanation on other levels.  “WALL-E” warns of a lack of accounting for our actions, while “The Dark Knight” presents a hero who understands the accountability he owes to himself.  “Gran Torino” will be working on similar levels.

    Anyway, I’ve gone into all of that before, but it stuck out to me again tonight.  Meryl Streep steps in for Cherry Jones as a nun hunting a troubling confession for much of the film’s two hour running time.  The zeitgeist can’t help but insinuate itself into the symbolism and it just reminds, yet again, that 2008 is an amazingly internal year for filmmaking in this country.  Nothing stands out as groundbreaking.  Nothing approaches classic status.  But everything lurks on a sustained, subdued level of reflexivity.  It’s kind of fascinating.

    But the AFI Fest has taken flight.  There are a lot of films showing over the next week that I’m going to try my best to cover.  It seems I’m pulled 10 different ways these days, and I have to tip my hat to Guy for the gusto to really dive into London for us this year.

    I’m eager to finally check out entries like Steve McQueen’s “Hunger” and Ji-woon Kim’s “The Good, the Bad and the Weird.”  I’m really looking forward to the Heath Ledger tribute screening of “Ned Kelly” on Tuesday, as well as the Danny Boyle event at the end of the week.  And, of course, the full monty: “Che” at the Chinese tomorrow night.

    It should be a whirlwind, all roads leading to Edward Zwick’s “Defiance” in the closing night gala.  Tis the season…

  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Sound Editing — Volume One

    Tech Support at In Contention Swoosh.  Bang.  Grunt.  Clink.  Crash.

    These sorts of sounds can add a lot to a film’s mood and plot even though they are not recorded during filming and have to be created and mixed in later on.

    The individuals who create these effects are rewarded for their efforts in the category of Best Sound Editing.  The category used to be called Best Sound Effects Editing, which, in my opinion, is a better name.  Supervising sound editors and their teams are generally the individuals rewarded here.

    This category used to only have three nominees but was expanded to five two years ago.  This makes the category somewhat more difficult to predict, though there are five films this year that really strike me as frontrunners.

    Ever since “Monsters, Inc.” scored here in 2001, animated films, particularly those of Pixar, have fared very well.  I’d be very surprised if Andrew Stanton’s “WALL-E” failed to continue that trend.  Sound effects are key to any animated film so many of the sounds have to be created.  There is nothing to be captured while filming because, well…there is no filming!  For Stanton’s effort in particular, the sound effects were especially pivotal given the minimal dialogue.

    Jon Favreau’s “Iron Man” was another summer film where the sound effects were crucial to the film.  The explosions, clanks of armour and numerous experiments of Downey all required sound manifestation.  A huge hit and critically respected, the film in really depended on its sound editing and it flowed perfectly into the visual sights.  I’d be quite surprised if it didn’t get nominated here.

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  • Nolan talks Ledger and Oscar

    Heath Ledger in The Dark KnightI’ve held off on linking to Geoff Boucher’s three-part interview with “The Dark Knight” director Christopher Nolan at Hero Complex for two reasons.  First of all, it just seemed wiser to wait until it had run its course in full.  But mainly, I was waiting on the inevitable Oscar query.

    Obviously, as Anne Thompson noted in a recent item, an interview like this is strategically placed to launch what hopes to be a successful Oscar campaign for the film.  Yes, the news peg of the Scream Awards was significant, but this kind of a deep one-on-one with a filmmaker of Nolan’s caliber serves a specific, immediate purpose: get “The Dark Knight” back on the radar in a deep, tangible way before Oscar advertising kicks in by the middle of November.

    In today’s third and final entry, Boucher finally gets to the issue of awards, specifically the potential for Heath Ledger’s instantly iconic portrayal to land a nomination for Best Supporting Actor.  In response, Nolan had this to say:

    I think the thing that has always been important to me in light of Heath’s death is the responsibility I’ve felt to his work. The responsibility of crafting the film in such a way that his performance came across the way he intended. Clearly, that has been the case. That’s one of the reasons I take such pride in the film.

    I felt a great wave of relief, really, as people first started to see the performance and it was clear that they were getting the performance. It’s easy to forget with everything that’s happened what an enormous challenge it was for Heath to take on this iconic role. He rose to that challenge so admirably that any expression of people being excited or moved by his performance is a wonderful thing. Whatever form that takes. People coming to see his performance and getting it. It’s been extremely satisfying for all of us already. Anything that adds to that would be wonderful.

    Do yourself a huge favor and read this series: Part One, Part Two and Part Three.  Whether you’re a Bat geek, a recent convert or simply an admirer of Nolan’s work, there is something for everyone.  A fine interview and, as I’ve noted before, a fine outlet for geekdom in Traditional Media.

  • I love it

    Jokerlantern

    (Courtesy: /Film)

  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Art Direction — Volume One

    Tech Support at In ContentionThe Academy Award for Best Art Direction is somewhat of an odd category in that the art director does not actually receive a nomination or statuette.  Rather, the award is given to two individuals with unique roles in the crafting of a film’s sets.  The production designer heads up the entire art department, specifically in charge of set creation and design. The award also recognizes the set decorator, responsible for filling in the sets with details and dressing to bring them to life.

    Much like he costume designers, this branch tends to favor period and fantasy work, surely because such sets naturally draw attention to themselves.  It does tend, however, to be more kind to fantasy than the branch’s costume designing colleagues. It also usually prefers grandiose work and large-scale set pieces.

    Just as I believe is the case in Best Costume Design, Catherine Martin might be leading the way for “Australia” here this year. Martin, who won this category for “Moulin Rouge!” in 2001 and was also nominated for “William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet” five years earlier, will have the opportunity to create the interiors – and exteriors – of a rugged Australian outback filled with hubby Baz Lurhmann’s distinct vision.

    Donald Graham Burt has fashioned numerous contemporary films, or films set in the relatively recent past, in his career to date. With “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” he has the opportunity to visually wow us through eight decades of 20th century. The film, at the least, should be visually spectacular so I suspect Burt is looking extremely good for a nomination.

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  • 10/21 Oscarweb Round-up

    Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace• Kim Voynar sets up Film Essent at MCN. [Movie City News]

    • Tom O’Neil collects some more guesses from Oscar prognosticators. [Gold Derby]

    • And he reports that “Slumdog Millionaire”‘s Dev Patel will be campaigned as a supporting actor. [Gold Derby]

    • John Campea explores the reasons why “The Dark Knight” will land a Best Picture nomination in the wake of delayed and underwhelming competition. [The Movie Blog]

    • Eugene Hernandez and Peter Knegt discuss the Gotham nods. [indieWIRE]

    • Brooks Barnes looks into Wall Street’s creative affect on Hollywood. [New York Times]

    • Brad Brevet sits down with “Happy-Go-Lucky” helmer Mike Leigh. [Rope of Silicon]

    • Lauren Schuker looks at Paramount’s two release date retreats as a sign of the economic crisis. [Wall Street Journal]

    • The meteoric downfall of Roberto Benigni. [Spout Blog]

    • Anne Thompson had a good time watching “Quantum of Solace.” [Thompson on Hollywood]

  • The year’s evolving Oscar race reveals the weakest season in recent memory

    Frank Langella in Frost/NixonWith rumors that “The Road” may be bumped to 2009, (not Harvey Weinstein’s choice of release year) and “The Soloist” already moving on, along with the rumblings that “Frost/ Nixon” does indeed lack that edge I wrote about not so long ago, one can feel the Oscar race shifting day to day. Even “Changeling,” once thought to have a decent shot at Best Picture and Best Director nominations, is now looking like a maybe in the race, as 2008 and continues to confound audiences and critics.

    2008 has been a rather weak year at the movies with only “Stop Loss,” WALL-E,” “Iron Man” and best of all, “The Dark Knight” making much of an impact before the Toronto International Film Festival. When that 10-day event did not really produce a frontrunner as it has in years past, all eyes turned to New York and London.  Eastwood’s film received decidedly mixed reviews out of New York while “Che” continued to struggle with the length of the picture.  In London, Ron Howard’s political work, “Frost/ Nixon” has not been knocking the critics out as hoped.

    I’ve been worried about the film for some time.  But the screenplay is based on an award-winning play, Frank Langella is giving the performance that won him accolades on Broadway, but hey, in my view, Howard just isn’t the right director for this sort of film. Give it to Sidney Lumet who, in his 80s, has more edge to his work than Howard. It’s not that he is a terrible director.  On the contrary, he has made some very good films, the criminally under valued “The Missing” among them, but a picture like this needs the very things he lacks as a director.

    So where are we in terms of the Oscar race now, if these films are indeed falling off the radar (the jury is still admittedly out on “Frost”)?  What if the remaining releases are not very good at all and the Oscar race is saddled with an array of mediocre films, which has not happened for many, many years? In fact, the last time I can think of a slew of weak films making up Oscar’s major line-up was 1968, when curiously, “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Planet of the Apes” were left off the list, shunned for their sci-fi brilliance.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: ‘Road,’ ‘Soloist’ out, ‘Frost’ stumbles, Ledger buzz

    Busy week, this. Here is how it went down:

    • In the biggest story of the week, the pool of contenders narrowed as “The Road” got bumped to 2009…

    • … followed, in quick succession, by “The Soloist.”

    • The London Film Festival kicked off with “Frost/Nixon,” which got off to a middling critical start. We were underwhelmed.

    • More London coverage here, here and here.

    • As Tech Support ran down the Visual Effects contenders, we got an angle on the tantalising FX for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”

    • Heath Ledger’s buzz remains as solid as ever — word went round that a lead campaign was in the works, but they’re staying put in supporting. Good move.

    • More (and still more) foreign film contenders bring the field to a record tally of 67.

    • We responded to the bad “Changeling” buzz with a kinder view, but like everyone else, are looking ahead to “Gran Torino.”

    • And finally, we solve your sartorial dilemmas in time for Halloween.

  • Ledger to go supporting, WB says

    Heath Ledger is “100% supporting,” according to Entertainment Weekly’s Dave Karger.  It seems Karger did what I was too lazy to do this week: call the studio and get the goods.  I figured we’d just wait until an FYC site popped up, but for now, it seems to be settled.

    The “Dark Knight” star has been batted around as a lead actor contender by pundits, including yours truly, but even with the news that “The Soloist” and (possibly) “The Road” have vacated the 2008 season — leaving two fresh holes in the lead actor gerby — Warner Bros. is going to be campaigning Ledger as a supporting actor.

    Wise move.  And truthful to both the performance and the material.

  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Visual Effects — Volume One

    Tech Support at In ContentionWhile cinematographers and film music composers may sometimes find themselves featured in the media more than many of their crafts artist colleagues, the one “tech” discipline awarded by the Academy that often brings people into the movie theaters on its own is visual effects.

    The category is whittled down to three nominees after the year’s content is narrowed to a list of seven “bake-off” contenders. The bake-off finalists consistently give insight into the branch’s thinking even if missing a prediction after their announcement isn’t unheard of. The makeup branch has a similar system.

    An expensive art form, which often involves hundreds of crew members working behind the scenes, the visual effects arena seems to be finding new ways to “wow” audiences every year. The Academy’s branch has tended in recent years to reward computer-generated imagery (CGI) as opposed to classic practical effects actually captured on camera. This category is also usually the home of blockbusters and moneymakers. “The Golden Compass,” last year’s surprising winner, was a very rare nominee considering its disappointing box office. For it to win was even rarer.

    I suspect that Jon Favreau’s “Iron Man” is leading the way this year. Immensely critically respected and with fantastic box office to back it up, I’d be quite surprised and taken aback if it failed to get a nomination here. The creation of the title character alone put it in contention. This is not to mention Jeff Bridges’s transformation and the war zone explosions.

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  • 10/16 Oscarweb Round-up

    Tim Burton• Patrick Kevin Day gets some choice words from costumer Jacqueline Durran about the shoot-from-the-hip nature of working with Mike Leigh. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Tim Burton is too busy to see “The Dark Knight.” [Hero Complex]

    • Josh Brolin was initially insulted at the offer to play George W. Bush. [USA Today]

    • Shock of shocks: the kooks depicted in “Religulous” are pissed. [CNN]

    • Erik Lundegaard charts Presdential depictions through cinematic history. [MSNBC]

    • Even though they were staying at the Hilton across the street from the Ziegfeld, John McCain and Sarah Palin declined Oliver Stone’s invitation to the Gotham premiere of “W.” [New York Daily News]

    • Michael Cieply writes up a nice preview of Gus Van Sant’s “Milk.” [New York Times]

    • In honor of Don Cheadle stepping in for Terrence Howard on “Iron Man 2,” the top 13 character switcheroos.  Word up on #2. [Premiere]

  • THE LISTS: Top 10 movie-related costumes for 2008

    Paramount Pictures' CloverfieldIt’s that time of year.  Candy fills the aisles of grocery stores, retail outlets are reaching that awkward phase when Halloween decorations lie next to Christmas items (they unleash them earlier and earlier each year) and, if you’re lucky to be some place where they actually have seasons, leaves are decorating the ground.

    It’s also that time when Halloween stores move into every vacated department store on the block with their latest array of timely Oscar costumes based on your favorite movies from the last 10 months.  There are the holdovers from years past, of course.  Captain Jack Sparrow here, Superman there.  And let’s not forget the ever-popular rubber Presidential likenesses.  So what can we expect?

    There will be plenty of “Dark Knight”-themed wear, each item more embarrassingly realized than the next.  Iron Man will be popular with a lot of the tiny youngsters, as older kids might feel strange in a plastic faux-metallic robot get-up.  They’ll stick with Napoleon Dynamite or another year of Borat before they subject themselves to that.

    Whatever the costume, one thing is always pretty much guaranteed: the costumes are gonna suck.  These things are mass-produced and don’t fly off the conveyor belt fast enough.  Creativity is lacking, it’s all a painful mess.  The only answer is good ole’ fashioned ingenuity…and we’re here to help.

    Below you’ll find our list of the top 10 movie-related costumes of 2008, with an eye toward some brand of originality throughout (though the unavoidability of obvious picks creeps in here and there).  Herewith is our guide to a memorable Halloween season:

    Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler10. Randy “The Ram” Johnson
    For all the little tikes who worship (or worshiped) the ground Michael Hayes, Dallas Page, Shawn Michaels and the Ultimate Warrior walked on, don your best set of tights and break out the fake blood for a tour around the neighborhood as the lead character in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler.”  For added “umph,” bring along a female friend, scantily clad as stripper/love interest Cassidy, or get some other kids to go in with you as nemesis wrestlers.  Accessories that’ll sell it: metal chair for out-of-the-ring clobberin’, entrance music accompanying you from house to house (maybe bring a boombox for the occasion).

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  • Will Heath Ledger muscle into a crowded lead actor field?

    Heath Ledger in The Dark KnightAdd another one to the list.  It looks like Thelma Adams has joined Pete Howell in predicting Heath Ledger for a lead actor nomination in WB’s “The Dark Knight.”  We first mentioned this idea in back in June, before the film landed in cinemas, and it has slowly snowballed into a possibility for a couple of pundits.

    It really depends on what Warner Bros. decides to do with the performance, however.  But if the studio tries its hand in the lead category, I really don’t think it will matter.  The guy is getting a nomination.

    I hate to “go there” with the first concentrated Bat-talk in a month or so (you know, since some of our more bizarre readers can’t handle talking about comic books in a serious discussion).  But it’s worth talking about at this point.  WB hasn’t declared a strategy, hasn’t launched an awards site, hasn’t shown its cards at all really, other than to announce a January re-release for the film aimed at securing last minue Oscar goodwill.  And, of course, the Academy will decide for themselves which category Ledger belongs in.

    Conventional wisdom dictates that Ledger would have a much less turbulent ride to a nod in the supporting category, with a traditionally weaker field and less opportunity for Academy members to balk at the notion of a comic book portrayal sliding in.  But if you ask me, this is the performance of the year — and not just because I say so, of course.  Ledger’s Joker has inched toward infamy, become a pop culture staple and earned its place alongside the greatest of screen villainy.  You’ll see his guise all over the country in 17 days.  His chances at a lead nomination are as good as they are in supporting, because at the end of the day, whatever the campaign, his is the most talked-about portrayal of 2008.

    I don’t think there are too many people who would questiont that.  The only variable has been where Ledger can win the award, and you’ll get no argument here that the supporting category is an easier path.  But then again, is it?  The supporting actor hopefuls have slowly congealed into five solid contenders, at least two of them sporting the scenery-chewing chops that could dilute Ledger’s work ever-so-slightly in the field.  Maybe it isn’t a walk-away there, any more than it would be in lead.  So why not go for the gusto?

    It’s all very timely at the moment, seeing as Warner Bros. has lost a dog in the race as of this weekend.  Until “Gran Torino” suddenly sneaks up on all of us, “The Dark Knight” is the studio’s awards season hopeful.  But we’re just spit-balling for now.  More than likely we will come across an FYC ad or an awards site and Ledger will be listed in the supporting category as expected.

    But don’t be surprised.  Don’t be surprised.

    Have your say.  Should Heath Ledger be campaigned as a lead or supporting actor for “The Dark Knight?”

  • ‘Batman Unmasked’ on The History Channel

    Christian Bale in The Dark KnightThis is exactly the kind of thing “The Dark Knight” needs to tap into a genuine conversation about the film’s — and Batman’s — relevance in the zeitgeist.  I’ve been watching The History Channel’s “Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of the Dark Knight” this afternoon, and for a Bat-nut like me, it’s the ultimate geek-out opportunity.

    The entire 60-minute program is available over at YouTube.  It’s aired on television twice today and I don’t know when it will run again, but it’s all kinds of fascinating.  It takes a look at the character’s progression from 70-year-old roots through expansion on the psychological nature of the character in the 1980s and how that history is commented upon in Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight.”

    The most intriguing part for me comes around the 08:15 mark of the clip below.  I didn’t know this, but apparently much of Nolan’s vision for Bruce Wayne stemmed from a comparison to Theodore Roosevelt.  Check it out:

    There are, of course, interviews with filmmakers, actors and DC higher-ups, but there are plenty of doctors, professors and psychologists thrown in for good measure.  Talk about a treat.  I just wish more footage from “The Dark Knight” was used in the program, though they do get around to discussing the Joker in great detail amid a summation of the Bat’s rogues gallery of villainy.

    Anyway, I’d love to see more stuff like this hit the tube.  Or more features digging for this kind of thing in print rather than soliciting general soundbytes about Ledger’s performance or the box office intake of the film.  “The Dark Knight” is an important movie event on many levels this year, and it goes pretty deep.

  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Costume Design — Volume One

    Tech Support at In ContentionThe Academy Award for Best Costume Design recognizes, shock of shocks, the clothes and accessories worn by actors in a film.  Clothing can add to the story and express the nature and situation of the characters who wear them.

    If a single word could be used to describe this category, it would be “period.”  31 of the 40 nominees here this decade were period pieces.  This is not altogether surprising.  Period clothes automatically draw attention by not being the sort of fashion we see every day on the street and require the costume designer to accurately portray the time in which the film takes place.

    The nominations two years ago “The Queen” and “The Devil Wears Prada” were refreshing in my opinion but extremely rare, being the first contemporary nominees in a dozen years.  Admittedly, fantasy films occasionally find a home here as well.  Seven nominees this decade fit that mold.  But even so, there is usually only one –- and never more than two –- spots available for non-period films in this category.

    This is also an arena that tends to reward many familiar faces.  In a typical year, only one or two of the nominees are first-timers, while many designers are (usually deservedly) seen year after year.  This trend has occasionally resulted in some films one would never expect to find in the awards race landing the label “Oscar nominee.”

    Catherine Martin might be leading the way this year.  She won this category seven years ago, the last time both she –- and her husband/director Baz Lurhmann -– worked.  That film was “Moulin Rouge!” and its design elements were fantastic.  Again doubling as a production designer on “Australia” this year, Martin will fashion the world of a Briton coming to a strange historical land, filled, as always, with Lurhmann’s bordering-on-fantastical elements.  The design opportunities should once again be amazing and I’d be quite surprised if Martin failed to make the cut.

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  • 10/9 Oscarweb Round-up

    Julianne Moore in Blindness• Dave Karger not only thinks Ralph Fiennes is in the supporting actor race for “The Duchess,” he thinks he is Heath Ledger’s main competition. [Oscar Watch]

    • Eight documentary shorts have been short-listed by AMPAS. [Oscars.org]

    • Jeffrey Wells reports that Lionsgate Films is pissing off Portland area critics by not screening “W.” for them (on the heels of a similar situation with “Appaloosa”). [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Patrick Kevin Day talks to César Charlone about the look of “Blindness.” [Los Angeles Times]

    • Steven Zeitchick thinks “W.” might be a victim of its own timeliness. [Risky Biz Blog]

    • On the heels of a similar query about Kristin Scott Thomas’s chances, Tom O’Neil wonders if Frank Langella can take the Oscar and the Tony in the same year. [Gold Derby]

    • Analyzing “The Scene” from Steve McQueen’s Hunger,” including a record-breaking 17-and-a-half-minute shot. [The Times]

    • 10 underrated Bill Murray roles (totally agree on most of them). [Spout Blog]

  • ‘Toy Story 2’ meets ‘The Dark Knight’

    Kind of awesome:

  • OFF THE CARPET: Who we are, who we want to be

    (from left) Josh Brolin and Toby Jones in W.In the last few weeks, drama has persisted in the yet-to-be-heated Oscar season.  Producers are debating exhibitors in public and mid-summer opinions of awards-caliber product are being revisited — in some cases disavowed — as more and more viewers get their peeks.

    On the positive side, two studios have launched the screener circuit with indie films they hope can muster some remembrance, while the foreign film news bite barrage has come to a close with the qualification deadline.  But there isn’t much to go on in terms of assessing the season, not a lot in the way of tangible grist for the mill.

    Lots of smoke, very little fire.

    In part, that should explain a lack of predictions updates here at In Contention, shifting and sliding for no reason.  And indeed, this week’s update isn’t a massive overhaul — or even an overhaul — beyond putting a few things into context here, trimming the fat there.  But as I set out to update our projections this week, I became more and more aware of 2008’s striking theme of self-reflection this Oscar season.  And hey, it seemed as good an idea for a column as any.

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