The occasion of Russell Crowe saddling up to a film version of “The Equalizer” (ironically announced the same day studios were supposedly clamoring for original material), is an excuse for nothing more than an embed of the opening credits sequence from the 1980s series. I always thought it was badass.
Tag: The Express
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10/10 Oscarweb Round-up
• Peter Knegt talks to “Ashes of Time Redux” director Wong Kair-Wai. [indieWIRE]• Steven Zeitchick — who started a lot of the Rudin/Weinstein mess by printing gossip — writes up the “Rudin walks away” story with no mention of Patrick Goldstein’s breaking the news. [The Hollywood Reporter]
• Goldstein, meanwhile, gets some quality time with Jim Brown about “The Express.” [The Big Picture]
• Karina Longworth ponders the generational divide on “Che.” [Spout Blog]
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OFF THE CARPET: Who we are, who we want to be
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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9/20 Oscarweb Round-up
• Oliver Stone wanted Christian Bale to play Bush in “W?” [GQ]• Jeffrey Wells is getting more and more excited about the film, by the way. [Hollywood Elsewhere]
• ‘Synecdoche’ and ‘Doubt’ star Philip Seymour Hoffman is set to make his mark on the London theater scene. [The Independent]
• Patrick Goldstein finishes up his “Express” spotlight with Gary Fielder. [The Big Picture]
• Wendy Ide spends some quality time with director Walter Salles. [The Times]
• Perilous times for superstars paves the way for newcomers and has-beens, says Peter Bart. [Peter Bart]
• And some lists, starting with Glenn Kenny’s 12 hard-to-see films you haven’t seen but should… [Some Came Running]
• …and Christopher Campbell’s top 10 movie titles of the last 10 years. [Spout Blog]
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9/18 Oscarweb Round-up
• Nathaniel Rogers just can’t seem to get excited about “Appaloosa.” [The Film Experience]• Dave Karger, meanwhile, sits down with Ed Harris to talk about the film. GREAT interview. [Entertainment Weekly]
• With westerns on the mind, Kyle Rupprecht recounts the best modern entries in the genre. [Moviemaker Magazine]
• Sasha Stone cherry-picks some of Nancy Kriparos’s wonderful Toronto coverage in case you missed the finer points. [Awards Daily]
• Is Val Kilmer going to be the next Governor of New Mexico?? I just like how the piece constantly reminds you that he played Batman, both in the headline and through a quote from Bill Richardson. [The Independent]
• Sam Adams talks to “Duchess” star Ralph Fiennes. [Los Angeles Times]
• Patrick Goldstein, meanwhile, talks to director Gary Fielder about how Jim Brown made “The Express” work. [The Big Picture]
• Want a bleacher seat for the Oscar arrivals? [Oscars.org]
• Scott Bowles gets Stacey Snider and our old pal Chad Hartigan on the record regarding the “Titanic” reunion set to unfold in “Revolutionary Road.” [USA Today]
• Kevin Kelly gets a nce sit-down with “Hurt Locker” director Kathryn Bigelow. [Spout Blog]
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OFF THE CARPET: 2008, a year in advance
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 to put together the sadly thorough examination of the 2008-09 award season that follows. Let’s get into it. There are some major considerations to take into account. right off the top.
Like Leonardo DiCaprio, for instance, who is set to be the entertainer of the year. With performances in “Body of Lies” (Ridley Scott) and “Revolutionary Road” (Sam Mendes), DiCaprio is working with a duo of awards-proven talent this year. Perhaps that will work against him, much like it did in 2006, and no major Oscar success will come knocking. But we’ll wait until we see the performances. Each of them could be enticing.
This year’s Best Picture Oscar victor Scott Rudin is back again, by the way, with “Revolutionary Road,” recently inherited by Paramount Vantage and probably one of the true “frontrunners” this far out that we could put our finger on. The only other film in Vantage’s arsenal is Edward Zwick’s “Defiance,” which could simply be a commercial success, but might find its way to multiple nods like “The Last Samurai” and “Blood Diamond” in recent years.