In Contention

Tag: The Dark Knight

  • Globe cheers, jeers and predictions

    As ever, this morning’s Golden Globe announcement provided a mixed bag of talking points, with some pleasantly zany curveballs at one end of the scale, and a couple of yawnsome autopilot nominees at the other. Like most awards bodies, they’re never going to get it completely right: for every inspired inclusion or omission there’s an equally perplexing one. (Ralph Fiennes for “The Duchess,” anyone?)

    But looking at the nominees from a bargaining perspective — tempering, for example, my disappointment that Richard Jenkins didn’t make the Best Actor cut with the knowledge that Clint Eastwood didn’t either — I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m happier with them than I expected to be.

    With that in mind, I offer below a couple of my own personal highlights and low points of the nominee list (though, given that I haven’t seen “Milk” yet, I’m leaving off that heated topic), followed by some way-too-early, subject-to-change predictions. Feel free to supply your own.

    THE GOOD

    Comedy rules: The comedy/musical categories are usually a dumping ground for filler nominees in less-than-memorable mainstream products, and previously expressed fear that this year, given the lack of high-profile contenders, they could make some really desperate stretches this year. Happily, the HFPA showed genuine resourcefulness by dipping into indie waters to celebrate the oddball wonders of “Happy-Go-Lucky” and “In Bruges,” while singling out the superb, less-discussed likes of Rebecca Hall and Brendan Gleeson for recognition. With classy, intimate works like “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and “Last Chance Harvey” joining the mix, the resulting set of nominees is, dare I say it, considerably fresher than their dramatic counterparts. How often can you say that?

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  • Having a bit of fun

    The Movie Blog editor John Campea told me about these DVD commentaries he would do with these selected participants or that, and it always sounded like a fun idea.  Tonight, we’ll be doing “The Dark Knight,” which landed in stores Tuesday.  Yeah, that’s right.  I geek it up with the best of ’em.  I’ll point you to the audio in tomorrow’s round-up.

  • Golden Globes: ‘Slumdog,’ ‘Button’ steady…whither ‘Milk?’

    Well, I said yesterday one should always expect oddities with the Golden Globes … but even with that in mind, they never fail to pull out some genuine “WTF” moments.

    Tom Cruise’s goofy Best Supporting Actor nod for “Tropic Thunder” may have been the most eccentric revelation of the morning, but surely the most significant shocker is the absence of “Milk” — presumed by many to be “Slumdog Millionaire”‘s chief rival in the Oscar race — in the Best Picture (Drama) category.

    The shut-out proved even more blatant when neither Josh Brolin nor James Franco, who have been making healthy progress in the precursors, landed in the Supporting Actor race. Still processing that one — right now, I can’t think of a suitable theory to explain its absence. (But hey, at least Franco landed a left-field comedy-category nod for “Pineapple Express” … I think I know one guy who will be stoked with that.)

    The producers of “Slumdog Millionaire” will no doubt be thrilled by the news, as will those of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” which claws back some momentum after taking a knock in this week’s precursors. In an unusually spread-out slate, “Button” and “Frost/Nixon” lead the pack of Best Picture nominees, with 5 nods apiece — I must admit I never expected the latter to be a field leader. (Meanwhile, in yet another of the morning’s oddities, their tally is equalled by the Best Picture-omitted “Doubt.”)

    Some will be surprised by the failure of “The Dark Knight” to land Picture or Director nods, though I personally didn’t see the film the registering that strongly with the Foreign Press.

    On the other hand, I naively failed to foresee that Harvey Weinstein would work his magic once more on the organisation — Kris’ prediction of a strong showing for “The Reader” was right on the money. Meanwhile, despite whispers that the HFPA wasn’t all that keen on “Revolutionary Road,” the nominations tell a different story. The nod for Sam Mendes is one I find particularly surprising; Paramount Vantage will no doubt heave a huge sigh of relief after a terrible precursor week that saw the film blanked in the Broadcast Film Critics’ nominations.

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  • POLL: ‘Dark Knight’ or ‘WALL-E?’ Take your stand.

    Okay, now that things are finally happening this awards season, I feel inspired to create another poll.  It’s been a while.  The last time around, the vast majority of you felt Heath Ledger was a lock to win Best Supporting Actor, and forgive, but this week we have “The Dark Knight” in the mix once again.

    I’m frankly fascinated by the lines being drawn in the sand on behalf of Christopher Nolan’s film and Pixar’s “WALL-E,” the second and first place finishers with yesterday’s LAFCA vote and two of the most popular, yet critically acclaimed films of the year.  The fights have certainly erupted here and here, and I’m all for the heated discourse.  But I thought I’d get a gauge on the overall opinion on which is the better film.

    So, have your say in the sidebar poll!  It’s not to say one can’t be a fan of both, but tell us which film you think is the better achievement, “The Dark Knight” or “WALL-E.”

  • ‘Rachel,’ ‘The Wrestler’ were close; Cruz, Hawkins sit pretty

    Mickey Rourke in The WrestlerAs I suspected, “Rachel Getting Married” and “The Wrestler” were right in the thick of today’s NYFCC voting.  As he does annually, Tom O’Neil runs down the inside scoop on the particulars of the vote.  He gets his info from the New York Post’s Lou Lumenick.

    Apparently “Rachel” was nipping at the heels of “Milk” for Best Picture, while Mickey Rourke came in a relatively close second for Best Actor honors in “The Wrestler.”   Robert Seigel’s script for the latter was also in the conversation, landing in third place.  It’s nice to see Kate Winslet was also in the running for Best Actress (for “Revolutionary Road”), albeit in fourth place.

    The only mentions for “The Dark Knight” were a second place showing for Heath Ledger and a third place showing for Best Cinematography, while the only landslide win looks to have been “Man on Wire” for Best Documentary, 20 points ahead of “Waltz with Bashir.”

    Entertainment Weekly’s Dave Karger, meanwhile, shrewdly points out that “in the last seven years, 11 actors have been recognized by both organizations (LAFCA and NYFCC) and all 11 eleven went on to score Oscar nominations as well.”  The peculiarity bodes well for Penelope Cruz and Sally Hawkins, Karger says, and I’m inclined to agree.

  • Getting carried away with ‘WALL-E’ and the LAFCA

    BrazilI have been griping about the state of the movie year since after the Toronto International Film Festival, and frankly I took some heat for bitching about it. So yes, I feel some vindication about the way the season is shaping up: 2008 is a hugely disappointing year at the movies, with only a handful of really brilliant films. After the bounty of last year, obviously our hopes were high, which is a mistake, but it seems we have endured one failure after another this year.

    So the Los Angeles Film Critics Association voted “WALL-E” best film of the year.  Does this increase the film’s Oscar chances for a Best Picture nod? It will certainly draw some more attention but at the end of the day the film will land in the feature animation category, which is where it belongs.

    I agree with Kris that “WALL-E” is over-appreciated and hugely overrated. Yes, it was a good film, a beautiful picture that was a stunning visual experience, but it’s not the masterpiece it is being hailed as. In my opinion it is indicative of the weak movie year we are suffering through.  I have three more films to see to wrap up my 2008 coverage, and at this writing, “The Dark Knight” is my choice as best film of the year, with Nolan my best director.  So I have to say it was cool to see both slide in as runner-ups.

    But let’s be realistic about the L.A. Film Critics.  They like to make a statement. They did it in 1985 with “Brazil,” an unreleased film from Terry Gilliam that somehow won their Best Picture prize and forced Universal to finally put it in theaters.

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  • Zimmer speaks out on the ‘Dark Knight’ score controversy

    Hans ZimmerThe diligence Los Angeles Times columnist Patrick Goldstein has been doing on this back-and-forth on the eligibility of Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s score for “The Dark Knight” is, I think, exceptional.  Goldstein got Zimmer on the phone last night to discuss how the reversal of the decision came to pass.

    It seems Zimmer went, in person, to the music branch’s executive committee meeting Friday night to plead his case:

    “My basic argument was–composers are honest human beings…If we’re telling you that we, and we alone, wrote the score, why don’t you believe us? We were very candid. We said, ‘Why would we lie? And if you don’t believe us, go ask Chris Nolan, the film’s director. He saw who did the work.’”

    That’s fair enough and I’m glad he got everything across to the branch that needed to be, but even with that in mind, I think the rules should extend to whatever number of composers are necessary.  Why put a limit on it?  That’s irritated me on many fronts for years.  The three producer thing for Best Picture nominees in particular.  But Zimmer had some stinging things to say about all of that as well:

    I think the value of the Oscars is being erased by the narrowness and nitpicking of all the academy rules and regulations. The executive committee shouldn’t be excluding people’s work because of technicalities. Especially today, with all the new work methods and new technology, the academy needs to change–they have to keep pace if they want to stay relevant.

    Amen.

  • LAFCA gives Best Picture to ‘WALL-E’

    WALL-EShocking.  “WALL-E” is officially the most overrated film of the year, but that having been said, this is one hell of a ballsy move on the part of the L.A. film critics (whose vote came down a lot earlier than I expected).

    I correctly anticipated a Sally Hawkins victory in the lead actress category, which will do wonders for her Oscar hopes.  The group also went with Mike Leigh for his “screenplay.”  It makes sense as “Happy-Go-Lucky” was a film dwindling on the Oscar landscape and this group, no matter how much a couple of blowhards within their ranks claim otherwise, like to shine their light in the direction of films they want to find the right traction this time of year.  Eddie Marsan also came in as a runner-up for Best Supporting Actor.

    I’m very excited to see Steve McQueen grab the group’s New Generation award.  I’m happy to see some outlets already calling “Hunger” the best of the year.  When I saw the film at this year’s AFI Fest, I knew I was in the hands of a new talent.  I’m glad the LAFCA agrees.

    I also have to tip my hate to the group for recognizing Mark Friedman’s brilliant design work in “Synecdoche, New York,” my personal choice for the year’s best in the category.  And I’m glad to see that lenser Anthony Dod Mantle was so close to a win for his wonderfully inventive work in “Slumdog Millionaire.”

    But back to “WALL-E.”  I just cannot understand the love-fest for this film, a position I’m sure plenty of movie-goers find themselves in regarding “The Dark Knight” (which came in as a runner-up for Best Picture, beating out contenders like “Slumdog Millionaire” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”).  But regardless of my taste, it’s worth pointing out that the only three films to win the LAFCA award for best Picture and fail to secure an Oscar nomination for same were “Leaving Las Vegas” in 1995, “About Schmidt” in 2002 and “American Splendor” in 2003.  You have to go all back to “Do the Right Thing” in 1989 for the last example and it’s only happened a total of six times in 32 years.

    Crazy.

    The winners (via Variety) after the jump.

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  • Honored

    The Dark KnightEvery year I contribute to the Eye on the Oscars features issues at Variety, something I started long before my short-lived blogging stint at the trade last year.  We always come up with a list of contenders for each category to profile as the season pushes forward and sometimes the nature of longer leads makes some picks a bit out-of-date come publication time (i.e., James Cromwell on this year’s supporting actor list).

    One actor that was always going to be there was Heath Ledger, whose brilliant turn in “The Dark Knight” has become the stuff of legend.  I put a bug in my editor’s ear early on that, if it was in the cards, I really wanted the chance to tackle Ledger’s profile.  I generally do abot three or four of them every year, but I’ve never wanted an assignment, of any sort, as much as I wanted this one.

    Happily, I got it.  Heath is obviously no longer with us, so cranking out a profile with the right perspective was always going to be difficult.  But taking some insightful words from Aaron Eckhart and a nicely enlightening chat with producer Chuck Roven, I came up with something I’m proud of and that I hope does the actor some level of justice.

    Here’s a taste:

    “He was always part of a very short list of guys we had talked about, but so many things were wonderful surprises,” Roven says. “When we heard his voice, when we see his tongue flick, when he does that thing with his hair when he sees Rachel. The thing about this performance is it really pulls you in. You know this character is deeply disturbed, but you want to spend time with him.”

    Regarding that flick of the actor’s tongue, like some wicked clown serpent, Roven says Ledger researched what it would be like if someone had his mouth cut like the Joker’s horrific scarring suggests. In some cases, Ledger told Roven, a person might run the tongue along the wound. So the actor built that defining physical attribute into the character.

    Ledger was never able to see his finished performance, though Christopher Nolan did show him the film’s introductory scene, featuring a Joker-masterminded bank heist. For Roven, the portrayal lives on in the film’s popular and critical reception and, indeed, the awards chatter the late actor’s work has ignited throughout the year.

    Check out the rest here.

  • Onward…LAFCA coming up

    LAFCAAlright, the BFCA announcement has come and gone.  Little surprise other than some omissions.  So maybe the Los Angeles critics will feel the need to get behind a few ponies, as they do annually (Vera Farmiga in “Down to the Bone,” handing “There Will Be Blood” their Best Picture prize last year when Oscar buzz was dwindling, etc.)

    I’m actually expecting a “Slumdog” victory with maybe some surprises in Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress.  I have a hunch Christopher Nolan will nab the Best Director prize, giving him, and the film, some much-needed Oscar legitimacy.  And, as David Poland rightly noted last week, that “Dark Knight” soiree was indeed packed with LAFCA members.

    Sasha Stone over at Awards Daily corraled the predictions of a few of us prognosticative bozos.  She also gives a space for you to throw some things at the wall to see what sticks.  But for now, it’s all a waiting game.  Last year the announcement didn’t land until around 7:00 p.m. PST, so it’ll be a while.  But have at it in the comments section below if you want to guess at the winners.

  • Getting around to the BFCAs

    Kate Beckinsale in Nothing But the TruthA late night premiere and after party kept me in bed most of the morning.  It happens.  So I’m just now coming around to today’s BFCA announcement.  First, some reactions (full disclosure, I am a member of the organization).

    First and foremost, the group subtracted one category (Best Family Film) and added another (Best Action Film).  I think we all know where the latter is headed.  Speaking of which, “The Dark Knight” actually had a hell of a showing, popping up in the expected areas but also grabbing a nomination for director Christopher Nolan and composers James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer (who find themselves back in the Oscar hunt as of yesterday).

    The group also combined the Best Young Actor and Best Young Actress categories to reflect both sexes in the same arena.  A good call, since I’m sure I’m not the only one who has felt like I was grasping at straws to list six names some years.

    The startling omission: “Revolutionary Road.”  I’m sure there are more than a few broken hearts at Paramount Vantage this morning, but chin up.  “Into the Wild” landed the most nominations with the BFCA last year and only managed two Oscar nominations.  So it all goes to show you these things aren’t set in stone.  That having been said, the BFCA is simply the best Oscar predictor around and I’m thinking it will prove itself a nice tip sheet going into January 22.

    A few quasi-surprises were in store.  I’m sure not too many people were expecting Kate Beckinsale and Vera Farmiga’s names to pop up for Rod Lurie’s “Nothing But the Truth.”  Lurie, it should be said, is a founding member of the BFCA, though in fairness, that was 15 years ago and he was in the group for two years.  He has friends in the organization, sure, but they represent a fraction of the 200-strong membership.  Regardless, I truthfully think both actresses deserve a spot at the table so it’s nice they could push their way through.

    But getting back to “Revolutionary Road,” this is an out-and-out shut-out, and that really hurts the film’s buzz potential.  It’s one thing to miss this category or that, but nothing for Leo (with six shots at it), nothing for Kate (ditto), not even a nod for Michael Shannon, who damn well deserves a mention.  I’m truthfully surprised.  I think our Best Picture line-up will be taken from the top 10 list, and like I said, it can’t be happy times for that hard-working crew.  Scott Rudin is still sitting pretty, though, as his “Doubt” popped up in a number of areas.  But “Button,” “Dark Knight,” “Frost,” “Milk,” “Slumdog” — you might as well take it to the bank.

    Oh, and one final note.  I’m actually quite happy to see Clint Eastwood’s name pop up in the composer category for “Changeling.”  I think the jazzy soundtrack is his best work as a film musician to date and, if the Academy’s music branch ever saw past their bias, would make a fine Oscar nominee.  Nice to see him show up here.

    The top 10 list, with a full list of nominations after the jump:

    Best Picture
    “Changeling”
    “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
    “The Dark Knight”
    “Doubt”
    “Frost/Nixon”
    “Milk”
    “The Reader”
    “Slumdog Millionaire”
    “WALL-E”
    “The Wrestler”

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  • Yes, it’s true — Zimmer and Howard are back in the mix

    Patrick Goldstein’s sources are apparently right on.  I was told by a representative party at tonight’s premiere of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” that, indeed, James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer’s wonderful score for “The Dark Knight” is officially back in the running for an Oscar.  I was actually told this was coming two days ago, but had nothing to go on beyond one inside source, so I didn’t want to go there yet.  Oh well.  Here’s hoping it can translate to a nomination, but that pesky two-composer thing might still stick in the branch’s craw.

    It was an interesting place to hear the news, considering the only score that tops Howard and Zimmer is Alexandre Desplat’s sublime work on “Button,” the likely (and deserving) Oscar victor.

  • The amount of ‘Dark Knight’ DVD exclusives is officially out of control

    Seriously.

  • 12/8 Oscarweb Round-up

    Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump• Lou Lumenick runs down his 10-best list… [Lumenick on Film]

    • …and calls “Mamma Mia!” the guilty pleasure of the year. [Lumenick on Film]

    • Peter Sciretta gets a juicy tid-bit on the “Forrest Gump” sequel “Gump & Co.” from screenwriter Eric Roth: 9/11 killed the idea and all the principles decided it wasn’t relevant anymore.  Interesting. [/Film]

    • Christopher Nolan elaborates on his four favorite scenes from “The Dark Knight.” [USA Today]

    • Anne Thompson goes deep on why “Australia” misses the mark. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • Mick Brown sits down with “Doubt” star Meryl Streep. [Daily Telegraph]

    • As the ship sinks around him, Gregg Kilday reports on the box office muscle of this weekend’s Oscar contenders. [Hollywood Reporter]

    • Ariel Kaminer tracks the road to the big screen for Bernhard Schlink’s “The Reader.” [New York Times]

    • Eleanor Clift talks the parallels of “Frost/Nixon” to the current administration, parallels writer Peter Morgan certainly didn’t have in mind. [Newsweek]

    • A refreshing list of the year’s superlatives. [New York Magazine]

  • WEEKLY WRAP: ‘Slumdog’ surges, ‘River’ emerges

    Sorry it’s a day late, but here’s the week that was. Awards and nominations left, right and centre — the season is officially under way, folks:

    • “Slumdog Millionaire” emerged as a bona fide frontrunner, taking Best Picture at the season kickoff, the National Board of Review awards …

    • … only days after taking top honours across the Atlantic, at the British Independent Film Awards.

    • Speaking of indies, “Frozen River” also enjoyed a great week, emerging victorious at the Gotham Awards …

    • … while it was also one of the top nominees for the Independent Spirit Awards.

    • We took a break from the awards beat to chat to the impressive ladies of “I’ve Loved You So Long,” Kristin Scott Thomas and Elsa Zylberstein …

    • The former of whom took a gong at the European Film Awards, which were otherwise all about “Gomorrah.”

    • The Annie Awards for animation revealed their nominees, with “Kung Fu Panda” surprisingly leading the field.

    • Meanwhile, the mysterious Golden Satellite nominations were as head-scratching as ever.

    • The first reviews finally emerged on “The Reader,” and they generally like it … from a distance.

    • While the appearance of reviews doesn’t make “Gran Torino” any less of a puzzle this awards season.

    • And all the while, the rumblings around “The Dark Knight” grow louder.

  • Campaigning posthumously for Oscar…where’s the beef?

    Heath Ledger in The Dark KnightI read this Rachel Abramowitz story concerning the pitfalls of campaigning for a posthumous Oscar nomination on behalf of Heath Ledger twice.  Packed with anonymous sources (until 42 West’s Cynthia Swartz pops up at the end with some insight on hawking Massimo Troisi 13 years ago), it really is a brick-wall story.  Nothing gleaned, nothing of substance conveyed.

    Dare I say it, I would have killed it.  Not because of the subject, and Abramowitz does what she can at the whims of her sources, but because it doesn’t carry the weight it might have if certain parties had taken their heads out of the sand.

    At this point, I think it’s a bit ridiculous for Warner brass and campaigners to stay off the record for this stuff.  It’s understandable in certain cases and I get it, you don’t want to come across as taking advantage of Ledger’s death.  But other than idiot Terry Gilliam, I don’t think anyone really thinks that is happening or has happened.  It’s been a classy ride, and as Abramowitz notes, the studio “was deft in its initial marketing push for ‘The Dark Knight,’ for the campaign neither hid Ledger’s presence nor overly hyped it.”

    This could have been an insightful story with names in the mix, giving a real face to the realities of attempting to ensure a sort of prosperity for Ledger’s work through campaigning it for awards.  The most interesting point comes at the end of the article, when Abramowitz is forced to quote from the paper’s geek blog Hero Complex (from a Geoff Boucher interview with Christopher Nolan).  But otherwise, it’s just a lot of hot air and it really gets under my skin.

    The true infuriating quote, however, has to be this doosey from some moronic competitor (who we can only hope represents either a marginal Hollywood opinion or, at the very least, is indicative of nothing more than behind-the-scenes smearing that takes hold this time of year):

    “Until we wake up one day and we no longer are making any good movies — dramas — then the academy will not go this route, unless it’s outrageously different . . . . This picture is not so different from the first one. It’s still the Batman story. He wears a hat with ears, a cape that can fly.”

    I’ve been repressing my inner Bat-geek for some time this year, trying to keep an even keel, combatting the hyperbole when I can.  Because let’s face it, praise for “The Dark Knight” got out of hand this year.  But more and more, as I read stuff like this, as I talk to publicists whose antagonistic banter you can see through like crystal — oh yeah, believe me, there are people trying to take this thing down because it rightfully scares them — more and more I’m finding it necessary to beat the drum.

  • 12/6 Oscarweb Round-up

    Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman in Australia• John Patterson on the legacy of Harvey Milk. [The Guardian]

    • Robert Abele talks to “Frost/Nixon” star Michael Sheen. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Rebeca Hall, meanwhile, discusses her involvement in the film with Jenni Miller. [Premiere]

    • Peter Knegt chats with visionary “Hunger” director Steve McQueen. [indieWIRE]

    • John Anderson profiles animation legend Bill Plympton. [New York Times]

    • Jean Oppenheimer on the hopeful rise of recognized female directing talent. [Variety]

    • As “Australia” leaps into the marketplace, Kevin Maher offers a how-to for making romantic epics. [The Times]

    • David Carr gets some in-house, on-the-record defense for what has been considered an unfair Mickey Rourke profile in some quarters. [The Carpetbagger]

    • Karina Longworth runs down the most disappointing films of the year. [Spout Blog]

    • Anne Thompson files briefly regarding last week’s “Dark Knight” soiree. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • Jeff Wells, meanwhile, is hearing murmurs of a surge for the film among AMPAS ranks. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Peter Bart on the off-screen serendipity of “Slumdog Millionaire.” [Peter Bart]

  • Lost in the Heath shuffle, the second best supporting performance of the year