• Does a complaint about uncredited art used in “Exit Through the Gift Shop” lend credence to the veracity of the film? [The Carpetbagger]
• Tim Appello on “Black Swan”‘s supposedly tequila-laced lesbian scene. [The Race]
• The narrative on Peter Weir this year continues to be about the unfortunate fact that he’s part of a dying (if not dead) breed. [The Wrap]
I’ve never really been sure why BAFTA bothers to announce this stage in their voting process — the 15 names in each category from which the final nominees will be plucked — unless it’s to reveal the extraordinarily narrow range of titles they’re willing to consider for awards in any one field. (Ellen Page for Best Supporting Actress? Seriously, BAFTA? And let’s not even get into those Director and Actor mentions for “Alice in Wonderland.”)
“Black Swan” and “The King’s Speech” lead the way with 15 longlist mentions apiece. Don’t place too much stock in those numbers (uh, the latter film for visual effects?), but expect robust nomination hauls on 18 January. One can largely anticipate that announcement by noting the five contenders in each category marked with an asterisk — those indicate the relevant voting branch’s top selections, and the eventual nominees usually differ only by one or two names, if at all.
It’s mostly predictable stuff, but there are a few interesting developments, particularly concerning two category placements that have been hotly debated all season.
The London Evening Standard Awards, a particularly bijou set of critics’ honors reserved for British titles and talent, tend to swerve a little left of the expected — chosen as they are by a jury of six disparate, but equally opinionated, critics. So it is this year: obviously “The King’s Speech” and “Another Year” feature heavily, but the list is peppered with pleasing examples of independent thinking.
Indeed, this jury has given a sharp reprimand to the recent BIFA Awards by including Peter Mullan’s lavishly praised indie “Neds” in their Best Film lineup, a highly diverse selection that also includes Sylvain Chomet’s animated wonder “The Illusionist” (yay), Matthew Vaughan’s divisive comic adaptation “Kick-Ass” (boo) and Clio Barnard’s performance-documentary hybrid “The Arbor.”
Frozen out in the Oscar race, “Never Let Me Go” nonetheless had a good day here with a leading five nods, thanks largely to the jury’s regard for all three of its leads.
The critics have had their say. “The Social Network” has enjoyed an impressive kudos haul throughout the month of December. Game over, call it, throw in the towel, all other comers need not apply, “there is only one.”
That’s the instinct. But I embrace caution over haste (and I’m not on the advocacy bandwagon), so sue me if I’m just not there yet.
One of the more undercooked arguments I’ve read recently that places “The Social Network” in the Oscar frontrunner position is that you should call the race as it stands rather than forecast. Obviously that goes completely against what it means to prognosticate, but it also ignores the fact that what’s afoot isn’t always represented by what’s in the news, at least at this early stage.
Yes, the critics predictably went gaga over the film. But the #2 coming out of that circuit is probably “Black Swan.” So do we then assume the race for Oscar is between those two films? Of course not. Because, however overstated the point may be (by necessity, though, given stubbornness), critics don’t vote for Oscars.
Tomorrow the guild circuit launches with the WGA (separate post coming) and PGA nominations. The critics’ circuit was well and good but this is where crossover memberships begin to give us a tangible view of how the race will fill out.
Last year the PGA (Producers Guild of America) piggy-backed the Academy’s plan to expand the field of nominees from five to 10. It also copied the new voting scheme, which uses the preferential balloting system to determine nominees.
The two films that missed with the guild but made it into the Best Picture 10 were “The Blind Side” (odd that it missed, given its box office take) and the Coens’ “A Serious Man.” In their place: Clint Eastwood’s “Invictus” (why?) and the blockbuster “Star Trek.” What can we expect this year? Continue after the jump to see what I’m thinking.
• Peter Weir’s “The Way Back” intentionally hits voters’ doorsteps last, just s ballots are arriving. Shrewd, given the P&A budget. Will it pay off? [Deadline]
• Steve Pond does the Oscar math and discovers that fewer than 70 votes will secure you a nomination everywhere except the four acting categories and Best Picture. [The Odds]
• Dave Karger reports on Chris Sparling’s gross self-promotion to the Academy in the form of the “Buried” screenwriter’s best Nicolas Chartier impression. [Inside Movies]
[Guy’s updated predictions here.]
Okay, I won’t lie to you: I initially conceived this column in my head last week as a Christmas Eve wishlist, but then got too busy mulling wine and Christmas shopping in Dublin snowdrifts to actually write it.
So a New Year’s Eve wishlist it is, then. Under either name, with the season currently in stasis until January’s Guild awards usher in the next phase of competition, here’s a list of ten open requests (or distant hopes) for Academy members currently hemming and hawing over their ballots.
Go forth into the world: Okay, I’ve given up my fight for a foreign-language Best Picture contender for yet another year. And despite a banner year for the form, a documentary nominee ain’t happening either. But is it too much to ask the Academy to recognize that not all notable filmmaking happens within U.S. borders? We’re looking at the sad likelihood of 90% of the Best Picture race being given over to American productions, with the lone exception, “The King’s Speech,” about as authentically British as a “Mind the Gap” T-shirt. Wouldn’t “Another Year” or “Animal Kingdom” be slightly more interesting stamps in Oscar’s passport?
Steve Pond is on the news today that a number of this year’s screenplays will be ineligible for WGA consideration (and therefore should be kept in mind when nominations are revealed next week).
First and foremost, we all know Pixar films never fall under WGA signatory regulations, so Michael Arndt’s work on “Toy Story 3” will not be in the mix for Best Adapted Screenplay. Nor will fellow animated contender “How to Train Your Dragon.” Also perennially ineligible is Mike Leigh, who works outside of the guild’s procedures, so “Another Year” won’t be showing up in the original field.
Joining Arndt on the adapted sidelines will be “Winter’s Bone,” while “Blue Valentine” and potential winner “The King’s Speech” won’t be eligible for original consideration.
• The Duke or The Dude? Which Rooster has more true grit? [Entertainment Weekly]
• Russ Fischer has the music video for Jonsi’s “Sticks & Stones” from “How to Train Your Dragon.” [/Film]
• Brendon Connelly runs down all of the “Toy Story 3” ads so far featuring the “Not since…” campaign. [Bleeding Cool]
• Anne Thompson talks with “The Way Back” director Peter Weir. [Thompson on Hollywood]
• Nathaniel Rogers charts Oscar’s age preferences. [The Film Experience]
• Melinda Newman sits down with “True Grit” and “TRON Legacy” star Jeff Bridges. [Awards Campaign]
• On the language, cult following and press-shyness of reclusive “True Grit” author Charles Portis. [Speakeasy]
• Mike Leigh discusses “Another Year” and why he’ll never make a superhero movie. [Movieline]
• “Avatar” tops list of 2010’s most pirated movies. [New York Post]
I decided to update the Contenders section this week by addressing things (mostly) as they seem to stand in the wake of the critics’ awards circuit of the last two weeks. Save for this or that personal hunch (like buying into Guy’s shrewd proposition that the BAFTA contingent could help Lesley Manville over the hump, or keeping in mind, over all, that critics don’t vote for Oscars), I think it’s fairly representative.
I don’t have a lot to offer in the way of a column this week. The race as it stands is how you see it. There are pockets of advocacy growing louder and louder out there, but I’m waiting for guilds to chime in and for studios to decide if they are in it to win it (and it becomes clearer and clearer who is and who isn’t, by the way).
Ballots will go out a week from today. Voters will have, presumably, spent the Thanksgiving and upcoming Christmas holidays digging into screeners and catching up on this or that. The precursors have illuminated a few paths they may not have taken (precious few, though), but mainly they’ve demanded viewings of 11 films in play for 10 Best Picture slots. What will the small screen do for these contenders?
• Kris listed his 10 favorite films of 2010 in black-and-white, later adding his dream Oscar ballot and winners list.
• The critics’ award beat turned into a “Social Network” landslide, as New York, Los Angeles, Boston and many, many other groups lined up behind the film.
• Away from the critics’ circuit, Team Fincher didn’t have it all their own way, as “The King’s Speech” led a widely derided list of Golden Globe nominees.
• When it was the Screen Actors’ Guild’s turn to announce their nominees, however, the royal biopic had to settle for sharing the lead with “The Fighter.”
[Updated Oscar predictions here.]
Hey, have you heard of this movie called “The Social Network?” You should probably check it out. It’s about Facebook and stuff and it’s supposed to be really good. So good, in fact, that it’s managed to tame the single most argumentative species in the animal kigdom, The Lesser Spotted Film Critic, into silent agreement. Of the 12 American critics’ groups to dish out awards so far, 11 have given their top honor to the film. (“Winter’s Bone,” you say? Get with the program, San Diego.)
The enthusiasm for the film, of course, extends beyond the sometimes soundproof critics’ chamber, as less distinguished media collectives like the HFPA and the BFCA have voiced their approval – while this morning, give or take a Supporting Actor snub, the film passed its first industry award test with two key Screen Actors’ Guild bids. Expect the Directors’, Producers’, Writers’ and Editors’ Guilds to follow suit in the New Year.
So, we can basically tie a ribbon around Oscar’s neck and hand him over to Scott Rudin and David Fincher now, can’t we? After all, against all its on-paper disadvantages, “The Hurt Locker” was in a similar position this time last year, and it didn’t budge, did it? (Indeed, it didn’t even unite the critics’ groups to this extent – of the 12 awarding bodies I mentioned above, only five selected Kathryn Bigelow’s Iraq actioner last year.) Scarcely anyone has a word to say against the film, so let’s sit back and let the sweep wash over us, right?
Well, we got ourselves a surprise or two, after all. If you predicted Hilary Swank’s out-of-nowhere Best Actress nomination for “Conviction,” go out and buy yourself a congratulatory drink. (While you’re at the bar, buy a commiserative one for Nathaniel Rogers too.)
I doubt the nomination will launch her into the Academy’s five (unless story-mongers really are desperate to see another round in the Swank vs. Bening grudge match), but it does demonstrate how up for grabs that fifth slot is. Lesley Manville and Michelle Williams, the ball is still in your court.
Nothing on the list matches that nomination for sheer unexpectedness, but I suspect a fair few people didn’t see “Winter’s Bone” star John Hawkes coming in the Best Supporting Actor category — much less at the expense of the season’s nominal frontrunner, “The Social Network.” I wrote in my predictions last night that I wasn’t sure how fully SAG would warm to the film’s young, non-insider cast: while I predicted a snub for Jesse Eisenberg, it was actually Andrew Garfield who got the shaft.
The year is winding down. Today, as part of the week’s on-going year-in-review specials, I’m offering up my annual “if I had a ballot” post.
In years past I’ve tended to defer to studio campaigns for category placement, but this year I figured, “Screw it.” After all, if I actually had a ballot I could call the shots. So I have.
You’re familiar with my Best Picture line-up by now. I’ve opted out of the Best Foreign Language Film and Best Documentary categories because there are a few films I’d rather have seen before making that call, but otherwise, it’s the usual Oscar fields with an ensemble category tacked on.
Feel free to post up your own selections, if you have them, in the comments section below. And remember to check back Friday as I close up shop on 2010 with my list of superlatives. For now, check out my personal ballot after the jump.
True to form, the Golden Globe nominations are a buffet of the good, the bad and the unconscionably hideous — with perhaps a touch more emphasis than usual on the third of those this year. I refer, of course, to those largely mortifying Comedy/Musical races, where HFPA voters solved the lack of obvious contenders this year by giving in to their randiest star-shagging urges.
Welcome to the Best Picture race, “Red,” “The Tourist” and (pauses to cross himself and say three Hail Marys) “Alice in Wonderland.” Or, you know, not. Congratulations on your double-shot of well-deserved Best Actor nominations, Mr. Depp. Or, you know, not. Sorry, Sally Hawkins, we liked you just fine in “Made in Dagenham,” but Angelina Jolie was obviously working harder in her movie. Or, you know, not.
Still, even as we strike down upon the HFPA with great vengeance and furious anger, I’m feeling pretty chipper about some things: reviled as it is by many, “Burlesque” is the kind of grandly gaudy goof-off that I’m happy to see livening up the category, while my biggest air-punch of the morning came when my actress of the year Emma Stone’s name was read out for “Easy A.”