In Contention

Tag: The Fighter

  • THE LONG SHOT: When you’re strange

    (Updated predictions available here.)

    I shan’t often find room for Gaspar Noé’s name in a space ostensibly dedicated to the Oscar race, so bear with me if this seems an unlikely opening gambit, but inspiration for this week’s column began with a conversation about his fluorescent, drug-addled ghost story “Enter the Void.”

    A friend had recently caught up with it, and found herself disappointed: having been promised a psychotropic headfuck, she instead found something more sentimental and less questioning than his previous work. “At this rate,” she muttered aggrievedly, “he’s about 10 years away from a bloody Oscar nomination.”

    That’s a flip exaggeration, of course, but there’s a kernel of truth in it: the Academy likes its enfants terribles most when they’ve passed the teething stage and begin to play nice — or at least safe. There’s a long and illustrious list of adventurous, iconoclastic directors who scored with AMPAS either by putting a leash on their wilder creative instincts or making sly concessions to the mainstream.

    (more…)

  • 11/24 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Kunis on her ‘Machinist’ impression, Hammer talks twinning, bad boy celebrity

    (Ended up unexpectedly taking the day off yesterday.  Not that I’m complaining.)

    • Anne Thompson talks to “Secretariat” star Diane Lane. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • Mila Kunis on dropping to a bony 95 pounds for “Black Swan.” [E! Online]

    • Dave Karger, meanwhile, wonders if the actress can score an Oscar nod alongside co-star Natalie Portman. [Inside Movies]

    (more…)

  • 11/19 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Heyman talks ‘Harry,’ Reynolds named sexiest man, Protozoa inks a Fox deal

    • How did you know you were in love?  Enter a “How Do You Know” contest to win a San Francisco trip with your story. [Yahoo!]

    • John Lopez talks “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1” with producer David Heyman. [Little Gold Men]

    • Ryan Reynolds is crowned 2010’s sexiest man alive. [People]

    (more…)

  • Christian Bale races himself

    If nothing else, this John H. Richardson Esquire interview with Christian Bale paints a definitive portrait of a man — or at least the portrait he wants you to see.  You might think he comes off as an asshole, you might appreciate the directness and honesty about his craft and perspective on the film industry’s day-to-day circus, but whatever side you take, you can’t deny that a unique persona is revealed, which can be seen as a breath of fresh air in the overly “produced” spread of awards season.

    I’m reminded slightly of Mo’Nique’s consistent “it’s not about the politics” stance of last season.  But Bale is a guy I think I’d relish interviewing, if only BECAUSE he’s so challenging in an interview setting.  Any journalist looking for quick sound bytes would be at the mercy of unexpected and unwanted ridicule in the way the actor takes to disassembling the process.  I found it utterly compelling and delightful, though, as  I think we all understand the level of B.S. shoveled in this realm, despite this or that passion that keeps the fire lit.

    (more…)

  • WEEKLY WRAP: ‘Fighter’ bows, Jackman bows out, Best Picture questions

    • David O. Russell’s “The Fighter” unspooled at the AFI Fest. Kris was impressed and later reported from a Q&A with the film’s stars.

    • This week’s Off the Carpet column pondered the presence of money-spinners in this year’s Best Picture race.

    • The Long Shot, meanwhile, wondered if that very race is currently looking a little flimsy.

    • News of Hugh Jackman turning down the gig prompted the annual speculation over who should host the Oscar ceremony.

    (more…)

  • OSCAR TALK: Ep. 40 — ‘The Fighter’ and ‘Black Swan’ hit AFI Fest, a riskless Hollywood and previewing the Governors Awards

    Oscar TalkWelcome to Oscar Talk.

    In case you’re new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is a weekly kudocast, your one-stop awards chat shop between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood. The podcast is weekly, every Friday throughout the season, charting the ups and downs of contenders along the way. Plenty of things change en route to Oscar’s stage and we’re here to address it all as it unfolds.

    AFI Fest has concluded, the first Academy Award ceremony of the year hits this weekend and we find ourselves in the thick of things. Between Galas, premieres, parties and the usual, there’s plenty to chew on, so let’s see what’s on the docket today…

    (more…)

  • Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Jack McGee talk ‘The Fighter’ at first industry screening

    David O. Russell’s “The Fighter” may have had its first public screening Tuesday as an AFI Fest “secret” event (with plenty of press in attendance), but last night’s SAG nominating committee screening on the Paramount lot has been on the calendar for most the past week.  Naturally, it was a packed house, which can be owed in part to the presence of the film’s cast for a post-screening Q&A.

    I came late just for the Q&A, which was moderated by Deadline’s Pete Hammond.  Melissa Leo couldn’t be there due to a filming conflict in New Orleans but she passed along her apologies in an email Hammond read to applause from the crowd.  Much of the discussion naturally circled around performances, given the audience, and Hammond again made the (valid) point that the film is a character piece more than a “boxing movie.”

    Mark Wahlberg talked plenty about the film’s long journey to the screen, the fact that he had to spring for it himself as producer in order to get it made and his long-time relationship with Micky Ward (who he’s known since he was a teenager).  Rather than take the cheap route with a Toronto shoot, Wahlberg was adamant that the film be shot in Lowell, Massachusetts, the story’s setting, because the environment is such a character in and of itself.

    (more…)

  • THE LONG SHOT: Waiting for the miracle

    (From here on out, my nomination predictions will be updated weekly to coincide with this column. Check them out here.)

    Tweed-coated and steam-breathed, winter formally arrived in my corner of the world this week, and with it the slightly grim realization that just over seven weeks remain of this year.

    I say “grim” not so much because I’m unprepared for the rigors of Christmas shopping or because 90% of my year’s to-do list remains undone—though neither of those truths are helping—but because, from a film perspective, 2010 feels to me like it needs at least another couple of months to find itself.

    Yesterday, I found myself battling with two lists of 10 films: the first, my own provisional best-of-year collective, the second, my revised predictions for the Best Picture Oscar nominees. Neither list, in my experience, has ever had much to do with the other (of course, I’ll take that back should the Academy reveal hidden depths of enthusiasm for, say, “White Material” on nomination morning), but both the rough drafts I wound up with had one thing in common: they’re badly in need of a late-breaking great film or two.

    (more…)

  • AFI FEST: ‘The Fighter’ crashes the party

    I decided to come home and give “The Fighter,” which saw its world premiere at a “secret screening” at AFI Fest tonight, some real thought rather than rushing back to review.  How novel.

    Given the amount of press on hand, one imagines Paramount publicity was besieged with ticket requests following the last minute announcement of the screening yesterday morning, but the film played well to a largely public audience. And by “well” I mean they were kind of swinging from the rafters, as David O. Russell’s film is a mainstream crowd-pleaser through and through.

    There is much to admire about the film. For starters, there’s a unique energy that’s palpable throughout, owed largely to the camera work of DP Hoyte Van Hoytema and, especially, film editing from Pamela Martin. The fights were filmed in a retro early-90s video vein, duplicating the original HBO telecasts of “Irish” Micky Ward’s matches, and they have an energy that crackles. There is the sense of sterile choreography here and there, but for the most part, these scenes are quite uplifting and stand out against the usual boxing sequences we’ve seen over the years.

    (more…)

  • AFI FEST: ‘The Fighter’ sneak attack

    Paramount is showing David O. Russell’s “The Fighter” to press tomorrow night on the lot, but this morning brings a curious announcement that the film will have a “secret” AFI Fest screening tonight.  I may give it a shot.  The press release, in part:

    AFI FEST 2010 presented by Audi announced today that it will screen THE FIGHTER, from director David O. Russell, and starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo, for festival attendees tonight at 9:30 p.m. at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

    Admission to the screening is available to AFI FEST 2010 passholders and the general public through online ticket reservations at AFI.com/AFIFEST and the AFI FEST box office at Hollywood & Highland from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m., on a first-come, first served basis. The Rush Line will begin forming at 8:30 p.m. All attendees are invited to walk the red carpet for the screening.

    [Photo: Paramount Pictures]

  • OSCAR TALK: Ep. 39 — ‘Megamind,’ ‘The Way Back,’ Oscar’s actress contenders and more

    Oscar TalkWelcome to Oscar Talk.

    In case you’re new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is a weekly kudocast, your one-stop awards chat shop between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood. The podcast is weekly, every Friday throughout the season, charting the ups and downs of contenders along the way. Plenty of things change en route to Oscar’s stage and we’re here to address it all as it unfolds.

    As we move into November, AFI Fest is heating up, campaigns are in full swing (talent being pitched left and right) and pretty soon I’ll be eating turkey and watching “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” Crazy. We had a slightly shorter window this week, but let’s see what’s on the docket today…

    (more…)

  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Makeup — Volume II

    As I said last week (and have said several times before), no category is year-in and-year-out more perplexing than Best Makeup. Each year, this branch finds ways to turn otherwise dubious awards contenders into bona fide Oscar nominees — dubious because often nominees might be abysmal or relatively obscure.  The branch seems to have its favorites – like Greg Cannom and Rick Baker – but nevertheless manages to snub them sometimes when they seem sure bets.

    The category remains the sole remnant of the bake-off system, where the field is narrowed to seven and the nominees chosen from that collective.  Year after year, shocking omissions occur in both rounds.

    As I stated last time, despite the general weirdness of this category, we can put some traits as more likely to be embraced than others – aging, prosthetics and illness likely top the list. Also, while the category technically rewards both hairstyling and makeup, it rarely seems to concentrate on the former (“The Young Victoria” last year is a notable exception).  So all that having been established, what do I expect to see in contention this year?

    (more…)

  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Film Editing — Volume II

    So important but so hard to notice. That’s how I would describe the work of our best film editors – those cutting artists who blend and juxtapose frames together to make films coherent, establish a flow and also set the mood in a manner that suits the screenwriter’s words and the director’s vision.

    The Academy Award for Best Film Editing is, more than any other category, very much tied to the Best Picture race. Despite a blip from 2005-2007, this category always has at least three – usually four, sometimes all five – of its nominees also nominated in the big category. Now that there are 10 nominees, however, one cannot help but wonder if we are ever going to again see a nominee here also not cited in Best Picture.

    Apart from Best Picture contention, being a war film, action film or musical never hurts here. I must say, however, that since I last previewed this category in August, I continue to believe that the three titles I had leading the way then are still out in front.

    (more…)

  • OFF THE CARPET: Leading men in the spotlight

    About a year ago I took to examining the 2009 Best Actor race.  The frontrunners for five slots seemed to be, in order, George Clooney, Colin Firth, Jeremy Renner, Morgan Freeman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Viggo Mortensen and Robert De Niro.

    A day later press members received their first invites to “Crazy Heart” screenings and were notified that the film would be released in 2009.  Jeff Bridges hit the ground running and never let off the gas until he was past the finish line.

    A year earlier we were looking at a pair of politico-biopic portrayals, either one of which would make a handsome winner: Frank Langella and Sean Penn.  But we were fairly sure the latter would be on his way to the podium one more time.

    But soon after, Mickey Rourke’s festival buzz caught serious fire and forged an atmosphere of doubt.  The season’s narrative seemed to be changing, and yet the early buzz carried through and brought Penn his Oscar.

    So that’s two drastically different directions – in as many years – that a lead actor race can take.  Given the mid-October fulcrum shared here, let’s consider our perspective on the Best Actor category right now.

    (more…)

  • 10/20 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: ‘Complete Metropolis’ coming to TCM, buzz for Leo, Cameron on the usual talking points

    • Jeffrey Wells reminds of the forthcoming TCM airing of the restored “Metropolis” and one hour documentary “Metropolis Refound.”  I’ll…be…there. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Steve Pond conveys positive word on Christian Bale and (as reported for months here) Melissa Leo’s performances in “The Fighter” from ShoEast. [The Odds]

    • Naomi Watts on “Fair Game,” Valerie Plame and politics in Hollywood. [HitFix]

    (more…)

  • ‘The Fighter’ poster

    You know the drill.  We got a fluffy trailer.  Then we got a gritty trailer.  Now we get a poster.  The one-sheet for “The Fighter” was making the rounds yesterday but I held out for a high-res version, which you can check out for yourself after the jump.

    (more…)

  • ‘The Fighter’ featured on ‘Mad Men’

    Tonight, during the season finale of AMC’s “Made Men,” Paramount Pictures featured a two-minute trailer of sorts for “The Fighter.” It differs drastically in tone from the official trailer that hit a few weeks ago. Instead of the lofty hallmarks of a “Rocky”-esque feel-good experience, we get a more character-focused assemblage. Watch an embed of the trailer after the jump.

    (more…)

  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Cinematography — Volume II

    Today we take a look a second look at, well, certainly the most “cinematic” of categories: Best Cinematography. As I like to say, cinema is born out of the camera and those who wield these devices enrich our films more than a few words written here could possibly say. From capturing mood, lighting and atmosphere to telling the story visually and creatively, our cinematographers truly are artists in every sense of the word.

    Naturally, “pretty” films, war films and Best Picture nominees all have a knack for doing particularly well in this category.

    Now that the trailer for “True Grit” has reached the internet, I surely cannot be the only person asking…is this the film that will finally bring Roger Deakins his Oscar?  He has eight nominations (four for Coen brothers films), tragically winning zero times. The photography looks amazing, and the film is exactly the sort that would seem to excel in this category. That the film also looks like a bigger Oscar player across the board (more than I was originally expecting) is merely icing on the cake.

    (more…)