In Contention

Tag: The Reader

  • Narrowing it down

    Over at Awards Daily, Sasha Stone has taken it upon herself to whittle down the Best Picture race to a brisk 11-title list, and it makes for sobering reading:

    “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
    “The Dark Knight”
    “Doubt”
    “Frost/Nixon”
    “Gran Torino”
    “Milk”
    “Rachel Getting Married”
    “The Reader”
    “Revolutionary Road”
    “Slumdog Millionaire”
    “The Wrestler”

    I can’t be the only person looking down that list and gloomily wondering, “Is that it?” (I suppose some might argue for “Australia” still, but even the positive early reviews don’t give me a great feeling.) Sadly, not only is Stone probably right, but she’s still being relatively generous — I would strike “Rachel Getting Married” off the list without too much hesitation. Meanwhile, the level of hype centering on Clint Eastwood’s Best Actor campaign for “Gran Torino” has me wondering whether those who have seen it don’t deem it Best Picture material. (I remain among those unpersuaded by the film’s trailer.)

    It seems to me that “Doubt”‘s chances of a Best Picture nomination depend entirely on how much award steam it gathers in the acting races, while “The Reader” remains a puzzle to me — it has the right credentials, the trailer looks solid, but why don’t I sense more excitement around it? Harvey Weinstein is still struggling to regain his golden touch at the Oscars, and it remains to be seen whether that early bout of bad press over the film’s release-date kerfuffle will linger.

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  • OFF THE CARPET: Getting to know you

    Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in Revolutionary RoadThis is the first season I can think of, at least since I’ve been covering this crazy beat on the west coast, that studios have become so terrified by the media that guild screenings are preempting press screenings with such consistency.

    Some have whined about “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” screening for SAG 10 days before the media at large gets a look (with the usual brand of entitlement that turns the stomach).  Others actually snuck into the screening, surely freaking out a few publicists desperate to unfold the film at their own pace (and the pace dictated by the meticulous David Fincher).  I’m just waiting.

    Plenty have taken the altered ending story behind “Australia,” not to mention the film being held from the press until two weeks before it opens, as a sign that the movie is in trouble.  I’m just waiting.

    Lots of anticipation has suddenly been blown into “The Reader”‘s previously deflated balloon.  I’m just waiting.

    But I have to say, seeing a couple of the year’s contenders last week with big industry audiences proved to be just the breath of fresh air this incredibly stifling season needed.

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  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Makeup — Volume One

    Tech Support at In Contention“Norbit.” “Click.” “The Time Machine.” “Life.” What do all of these dreadful films have in common? They are Oscar nominees because of the category of Best Makeup!

    I will give this branch kudos for often willing to think outside the box but they still manage to be quite bizarre in their choice of nominees more often than not.

    All things considered, it’s is a difficult category to predict. While the three nominees are chosen from seven pre-announced finalists, the “bake-off” to seven often has shockers in store. Films that would appear slam-dunks are ignored while movies no one was considering end up short-listed.

    All that said, I’m still going to do my best to handicap it!

    One film that would logically seem to be leading for a nod is David Fincher’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” As I have said before, I suspect this film could be headed to across-the-board nominations in the tech categories. Aging both Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett over 80 years (albeit it different directions) will be enormously visual and integral to the plot. My only concern would be if there is use of visual effects to “brush up” the makeup work. This branch does not like having their territory intruded upon by CGI.

    Fincher’s movie is no lock. Nothing ever can be in this category. But I do believe it is out in front by a significant margin at this point, especially with veteran Greg Cannom in charge. Beyond that, I have no idea.

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  • Dave Karger says Obama’s win could help ‘The Dark Knight’ come Oscar time

    Heath Ledger in The Dark KnightFrom a recent post at EW’s Oscar Watch:

    I thought the sequence involving the two ferries (in which a group of commuters and a group of convicts have the power to blow up each others’ boats but don’t) was a bit too reality-show-ish for my taste. But I know most viewers loved it. Either way, that part of the film speaks to the innate goodness of human behavior. And let’s remember that Oscar ballots are due next January 12, just a week before Barack Obama is inaugurated. It’s safe to say most Hollywood types will also see that event as an example of innate human goodness. All of this only helps The Dark Knight‘s chances, don’t you think?

    Hm.  Nice point.  But the Best Picture chances of “The Dark Knight” are still extremely dependent, as David Poland noted today, on how films like “Revolutionary Road,” “Australia” and “The Reader” pan out.  If those films start to fall by the wayside, then we can REALLY start getting serious.

  • 11/4 Oscarweb Round-up — ELECTION EDITION!

    Frank Langella in Frost/Nixon• Tom O’Neil thinks there is a conspiracy to portray “Changeling” as a flop. [Gold Derby]

    • David Poland is as mad as hell about embargo crashing and he’s not going to take it anymore… [The Hot Blog]

    • …right after Patrick Goldstein says, “Screw it, here goes…” [The Big Picture]

    • Anne Thompson passed along some gossip concerning “The Reader.” [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • Peter Knegt writes up the approaching season with the Sony Classics hat-trick in mind. [indieWIRE]

    • Sylviane Gold looks at the history of “Frost/Nixon,” from screen to stage to screen. [New York Times]

  • I’m SO ‘off the carpet’ this week

    After the online drama of the last couple of weeks, it’s been nice to settle in and get to the actual movies for a change.  The media at large has gotten a look at “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk” and “Doubt,” while features and long lead writers have had their peeks at “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Revolutionary Road.”  A elect few have seen “Defiance.”  The only outstanding variables of the season remain “Australia” (tick-tock) and “The Reader” (with a grand trailer debut late last week).

    We’re getting there.

    An array of interviews and AFI Fest commitments have kept me from really digging into a column this week, but I have adjusted the charts for the time being.  There’s still a lot of guessing going on, even if a number of categories are coming into focus.  But tomorrow’s results really could have an effect on this thing.  We’ll see how it plays out…

    Main Category Charts
    Technical Category Charts
    The Contenders
    Oscar Prediction Archives

  • Riveting ‘Reader’ trailer

    Is it just me or is this trailer for Stephen Daldry’s “The Reader” firing on all cylinders.  I was glued to it.  I never read Bernhard Schlink’s novel, but I wish I had picked it up somewhere along the line.  Click the image below for a peek at the film:

    The Reader

  • 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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  • More bad news for ‘The Reader,’ new pics

    Kate Winslet in The ReaderBrad Brevet over at Rope of Silicon has received some second-hand information from post-production of Stephen Daldry’s already controversial “The Reader.”  He’s also posted a couple of new images from the film, bu here’s the grist for the rumor mill:

    I got a tip from someone claiming to be close to the production saying “editing is not even half-finished” but the biggest problem is apparently the score. Our tipster says, “Although Alberto Iglesias will probably do the score, the other two finalists are still in the game – Ozren K. Glaser, a brilliant young Croatian composer and Nico Muhly, a dark-styled Peter Glass assistant.”

    Shocking?  Not at all, since this film was never going to be finished in time for Harvey Weinstein’s preferred release date and filmmakers involved have said as much.  But composers are the most expendable aspects of a film’s creative process, fired more often than any other element because sometimes it just isn’t working.  Igelsias has long been marked as the composer for “The Reader,” so I’m not sure why there are other “finalists” in the running.

    Whatever the case, more bad news for a film that will likely be preceeded by all of this negativity.  But at least we have new pics!

    Check out the rest at Rope of Silicon.

  • WEEKLY WRAP: Rudin bails, Brolin buzz, original scores

    And this, as they say, is the week that was:

    • In the biggest news of the week, Scott Rudin has washed his hands of the whole “The Reader” fiasco by taking his name off the film. What now?

    • Lots happening on the music front this week, with Universal offering a taste of the scores for “Changeling” and “Frost/Nixon,” while elsewhere, the surprisingly rich score for “W.” was revealed.

    • Carrying on the musical theme, we nabbed an interview with “Appaloosa” composer Jeff Beal.

    • This week’s Off the Carpet column contemplated the marked social currency of this year’s contenders.

    • Following its NYFF screening, “Changeling” got a rough ride from the blogosphere.

    • Josh Brolin has been all over the place this week, speaking out about that Shreveport incident, while his “W.” performance gathers positive buzz. Meanwhile, rumor has it that he’s down for “Jonah Hex.”

    • EW looks to revisit history (i.e. gloat over the Academy’s mistakes) with its Oscar revote.

    • A look at the sometimes troubled relationship between Hollywood and Philip Roth.

    • Continuing Tech Support’s preview of the crafts categories, this week was the costume designers’ turn.

    • And finally, is Alfred Hitchcock overrated? Join the debate here.

  • Scott Rudin takes his name off ‘The Reader,’ walks away

    Scott RudinUPDATE (9:58 p.m.): Thanks to one of our readers for pointing out that “The Reader” has been removed from The Weinstein Company’s official site.  Could it mean that Weinstein will fold after all?  Could the pain of getting a publicity team in place, dealing with Rudin’s all-in public play and general bad buzz make TWC see the light and move the film to 2009?  We’ll see…

    EARLIER: I love Scott Rudin.  All along, throughout this whole nasty affair, I have hoped he would prove his balls are bigger than Harvey’s and I think he’s done that now.

    Patrick Goldstein is reporting that the producer has taken his name off of Stephen Daldry’s “The Reader,” which was suddenly jerked into the 2008 Oscar season by Weinstein Company honcho Harvey Weinstein, a move read by most in the industry as a gluttonous attempt at securing some Oscar glory this year.  With “Revolutionary Road” and “Doubt” already at the center of the season’s buzz cycle, the last thing Rudin needed, or wanted, was to have to split his attention a third way — let alone a way that would have been abandoned by its own star as well.

    Yes, it’s true.  Kate Winslet would not have hawked “The Reader” against her husband, Sam Mendes’s “Revolutionary Road” (in which she also stars).  Director Stephen Daldry himself had to respond diplomatically to the entire charade of Rudin and Weinstein kissing and making up in public, only to have before-the-fact private emails spread across the net by an industrious blogger.

    I’ve made my opinion of this fiasco known, and I definitely don’t think I was alone.  In fact, I know I wasn’t.  Weinstein scrambled to put together a publicity team but likely found a lot of road blocks, and to Rudin, it had to have been a painful march toward the inevitable:

    “The Reader,” produced by Alan Smithee.

    Goldstein reports:

    In recent days, negotiations had apparently taken a turn for the worse. Upset with Weinstein and worried that many of his long-standing talent relationships would be harmed, Rudin decided to separate himself from the project. Daldry remains contractually obligated to complete the film, though it’s uncertain of how he will complete the film without Rudin, a longtime collaborator with both Daldry and David Hare, who were the creative team on “The Hours.”

    And the closer, which says it all:

    Whatever the root cause, this is another body blow to “The Reader,” which loses a strong producer who is always a major force during awards season. Rudin will continue as producer of two other year-end pictures, “Revolutionary Road” and “Doubt.”

    Personally, I’m just glad Goldstein got this scoop and not Nikki Finke.

  • Adapting Philip Roth

    Cover of The Dying Animal by Philip RothPhilip Roth is author of 25 novels and other works of non-fiction.  Revered in America, he has won every major American literature prize, including the National Book Foundation’s Award for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters in 2002.  Despite his literary success, his films have had a difficult journey to the silver screen.

    I joined the long line of Roth fans that were disappointed with Robert Benton’s adaptation of “The Human Stain,” the 2000 novel that received the National Book Award for the best work of American fiction. It was an extraordinary book and perhaps Roth’s finest. And I believed that it would translate nicely onto the silver screen. While the novel weaved in and out of the past and present, the transitions weren’t so frequent that it would create a problem for the screenwriter, Nicholas Meyer (Oscar-nominated for “The Seven-Per-Cent Solution.”

    Benton was able to attach an exceptional cast that included Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman, Ed Harris and Gary Sinise. But when the film bombed with critics and audiences alike, it was quickly pulled from mainstream movie houses and relegated to small boutique theaters, and for short periods of time. It made only $5.3 million against a production budget of $30 million.

    Mr. Roth’s work has been adapted again by Mr. Meyer this year. Taking the pages of “The Dying Animal” and turning them into the film “Elegy,” Mr. Meyer and the film’s director, Isabelle Coixet have managed to create a finer adaptation of the text, and a far better film.

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  • ‘Reader’ still

    Reader David sent this into us over the weekend (apparently elsewhere as well).  I’m just now able to get it up, so if you haven’t seen it yet:

    Kate Winslet in The Reader

  • WEEKLY WRAP: Newman remembered, Rudin/Weinstein, Foreign film race

    Paul Newman in HudAs we head into the weekend, here’s a quick overview of what we (and you) have been talking about at In Contention this week:

    • Kris paid tribute to the incomparable Paul Newman, as well as rounding up some of the man’s greatest performances.

    • As the Scott Rudin-Harvey Weinstein soap opera continues, Kris wonders where this leaves “The Reader” in the race.

    • John Foote contemplated the screen’s greatest leading ladies, past and present.

    • Matteo Garrone presented his red-hot foreign-language contender “Gomorrah” in London. I was impressed with the film.

    • Speaking of which, all the submissions for Best Foreign Language Film are in.

    • In the wake of a sensational new trailer, Apple takes a mouthwatering look at the tech credits of “Australia.”

    • Continuing the technical conversation, Gerard previewed the runners and riders in the Best Sound Mixing race.

    • Clint Eastwood scooped the first in what could be yet another run of awards for him this season.

    • And finally, in case you weren’t aware awards season has started, the people behind “Frozen River” and “Elegy” would like to remind you otherwise.

  • 9/30 Oscarweb Round-up

    Mickey Rourke• Mark Olsen reports on the first U.S. screening of German foreign film Oscar entry “The Baader-Meinhof Complex.” [The Big Picture]

    • Jeffrey Wells passes along a note from an exhibitor acquaintance who thinks “Milk” is a home run, but “Frost/Nixon” is a bit stale. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Then he picks the five likely Best Picture nominees, based on the criteria of stories involving journey and redemption. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • In a truly tasteless display, Elizabeth Snead makes wise cracks alongside 28 photos of Mickey Rourke’s more bizarre fashion decisions through the years. [The Envelope]

    • David Poland responds to the manipulation of Nikki Finke. [The Hot Blog]

    • Nathaniel Rogers doesn’t think any of the “Reader” hub-bub is a big deal at all. [The Film Experience]

    • Anne Thompson runs down the stacked Best Actor category with the potential Downey vs. Foxx “Soloist” showdown in mind. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • Tom O’Neil corrals seven pundits for his own predictions chart to light a fire under the collective rear of the Buzzmeter techs. [Gold Derby]

    • James Rocchi chats it up with “Religulous” maestro Bill Maher. [Cinematical]

    • Karina Longworth reviews “Che” and reports from the NYFF Soderbergh press conference. [Spout Blog]

    • Adam Moss corners Woody Allen in the Big Apple. [New York Magazine]

  • OFF THE CARPET: When the movies play second fiddle

    Kate Winslet and Stephen Daldry on the set of The ReaderShort column this time around because there are just a few specific things on my mind.

    It’s been a relatively slow couple of weeks in the wake of the Toronto International Film Festival.  At least on the surface.’

    Behind the scenes, studios are circling their wagons, securing Oscar ad buys, prepping their fall product and gently waiting.  “Hope you had fun at the fests,” they seem to be saying to the independent success stories of the year.  “The main event is about to begin.”

    And yet, the “main event” consistently disappoints.  Downfall can as easily be attributed to hype as it can to poor quality, an idea our own John Foote pondered last week.  Indeed, there are a few productions I expect to be rewarded for their discretion this year, lying in wait while the usual suspects empty their chambers in the loud march to Oscar.

    But it seems like casualties are already presenting themselves.  It pains me to see the Scott Rudin/Harvey Weinstein debate dragged through the mud every single day, right down to the manipulation of Nikki finke in order to make Weinstein look like an outright douche bag.  Whatever the particulars, is there any question that the real loser at the end of all of this isn’t Weinstein, isn’t Rudin, but “The Reader” itself?

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  • Joint statement from Scott Rudin and Harvey Weinstein

    RE: “The Reader.”  And on a Sunday, no less:

    We are issuing this statement together to emphasize the fact that we are in complete agreement on the date we have chosen to release “The Reader.” Working together, we developed a plan to extend the post-production schedule in order to give Stephen Daldry the additional time he needs to successfully complete the film in time to release it on December 12, 2008.

    I hate that they have to clean up the gossip mess that Steven Zeitchick and The Hollywood Reporter made last week, but this is also obvious crisis management.  You can’t have the behind-the-scenes story on a film overshadow what’s on the screen.  Additionally, a public showing of solidarity is fair enough, but getting Kate Winslet on the campaign trail for this film will be take some extra elbow grease.

    Also released today, from director Stephen Daldry:

    On their own, Scott and Harvey spent this weekend working together to find a way to accommodate my needs so that I may fulfill my obligation to the studio without compromising my vision for the film. I am thrilled and relieved that we have all found a way forward to work together to bring ‘The Reader’ to theaters this year.

    More to come, I’m sure.

  • 9/26 Oscarweb Round-up

    John Wayne• David Poland takes stock 22 weeks out, and somehow thinks early buzz on Sean Penn’s “Milk” performance is “soft.” [Movie City News]

    • Warner Bros. sends out a mailer offering Academy members the choice of a Blu-ray “Dark Knight” awards screener.  Wally Pfister’s nomination moves further into place. [The Hollywood Reporter]

    • In a nutshell, “Little Children” author Tom Perrotta wonders whether John Hughes was full of shit. [The Guardian]

    • An A.O. Scott overview of the New York Film Festival. [New York Times]

    • Susan King digs into the legacy of John Wayne. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Alright, this is getting out of hand — and just stupid.  Reporting on an alleged bet on the test screening score of “The Reader” for its release prospects? [The Big Picture]

    • Top 10 tear-jerkers. [Premiere]