• Overture angles for the domestic rights to Antoine Fuqua’s “Brooklyn’s Finest,” perhaps giving a leg up to Ethan Hawke in the Best Actor race. [Variety]
• Is Charles Darwin too controversial for American multiplexes? [CHUD]
• Christopher Plummer at 80, busy as ever. [The Toronto Star]
You know a film is hot when it is the subject of conversation in the screening, in the press room, and in the hallways of the hotels where the press junkets and meetings are being held. In 1997, “The Apostle,” the exquisite film directed, written by and starring Robert Duvall, was the talk of the Toronto film fest after its world premiere the night before, but in fact, the buzz started partway through the film when October Films and Miramax began a bidding battle that has become the stuff of legend.
Duvall left the festival with his career reborn, the film, which he financed, was sold (to October), and the multi-hyphenate began winning critics awards for the film at year’s end. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association named him Best Actor that year and a few weeks later the National Society of Film Critics did the same. Though snubbed for a Golden Globe nomination, he was nominated by both the Screen Actors Guild and the Academy, but he eventually lost to Jack Nicholson in “As Good as It Get.”
The film eventually nailed down a solid $24 million at the box office and Duvall’s performance is considered by and large one of his best. He came back to a couple of years later with his new film “Assassination Tango,” a failure, and he is here again with two films — John Hillcoat’s “The Road,” which I will write about later today, and “Get Low,” a film recalling shades of the 1997 fest as it has captured the conversation here.
And so it comes to this. Ten days of blazing sunshine, free-flowing Prosecco, occasionally “Brazil”-style administration and – oh, right – a few films too, will come to a head tonight as Ang Lee and his merry band of jurors will name the supposed best of the fest.
I’ve written before about the near-futility of predicting festival awards. Unlike the Oscars, the voting body is different every time, so you’re never quite sure what they’re looking for. We persist because it’s fun, thought it actually becomes more difficult when you’ve seen most of the films in question, as personal reservations (or fondnesses) keep getting in the way.
If I were back in London, for example, I’d be more open to the whispers that Fatih Akin’s cheery but slight crowdpleaser “Soul Kitchen” is a serious contender for the Golden Lion, effectively serving Marco Müller’s more populist programming direction; having actually seen the film, my gut reaction is more in the “you’ve got to be kidding me” vein.
If no clear-cut frontrunner has emerged from this year’s lineup, it’s because no film has united critical opinion and mainstream media interest the way “Brokeback” or last year’s champ “The Wrestler” did. Some are plumping for Michael Moore, though that would seem a bit old-hat five years after Cannes laurelled “Fahrenheit 9/11.”
(More thoughts, and my will win/should win picks, after the cut.)
Welcome to the second installment of Oscar Talk with yours truly and indieWIRE‘s Anne Thompson. We tried to set aside some time in Telluride to do one of these, but time never seemed to permit.
Anne is in Toronto this week, and, at the time of this recording (yesterday, so all “todays” and “tomorrows” should be re-purposed accordingly), was gearing up for a screening of Jon Amiel’s “Creation.”
We tightened things up slightly this time, clocking in at just over 25 minutes. Here are a few of the topics we discussed:
• Which films are going to be tested by their exposure in Toronto (John’s coverage begins this weekend)?
• The story out of Telluride, “Up in the Air,” and the awards prospects for the film across the board.
• The dueling Best Supporting Actress hopefuls from the film, Anna Kendrick and Vera Farmiga.
• The cool reception Jane Campion’s “Bright Star” is receiving in some quarters and how that could work against its major Oscar potential, despite exquisite craftwork.
• By popular demand, Anne and I disagree on something: John Hillcoat’s “The Road.”
• The “schizophrenic” marketing of the film, moving from genre/suspense to the love/warmth at its center.
Have a listen below. And by the way, these should be filtering in through iTunes now, so you can subscribe to the podcast here.
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I spoke briefly with Viggo Mortensen at the Telluride film fest over the weekend, fresh off a tribute at the Palm Theater the night before and being gracious as ever with his time. The last time we spoke was four years ago for “A History of Violence” and as ever, he’s a soft spoken guy who can fill a digital recorder with wall-to-wall perspective. Sometimes you just feel guilty interjecting with a question.
But something I had to ask Mortensen concerned my favorite scene from “The Road,” a back-and-forth with Robert Duvall that could have been more but nevertheless comes close to representing the best a story like this has to offer, I feel.
The scene is in the book so it’s nothing much in the way of a spoiler. The Man, The Child and the Old Man (the actual character names, for those unaware) sit by a campfire discussing, briefly, their lives before whatever calamity has struck their world. Mortensen spoke with clear reverence for the opportunity to work with Duvall, as well as real joy for living and free-wheeling in the moment as a pair of actors working through a key scene.
FYI, Paramount has lined Jason Reitman’s “Up in the Air” for a November 13 limited release with an expansion to come on November 25. The Thanksgiving corridor is a nice place for this film to settle. We’ll see how it plays against other awards contenders in “The Road” and “Nine.”
“Make me look good.” While this might seem a vain phrase, in the context of a movie, makeup cannot only make an actor “look good” but it can capture the character and transform the performer, providing invaluable assistance in reaching the “truth” in the portrayal.
The Academy Award for Best Makeup actually recognizes the individuals who perform both makeup and hairstyling duties. Like Best Visual Effects, this category has only three nominees, chosen from a list of seven finalists which are announced in a bake-off advance.
While certain names such as Greg Cannom and Rick Baker show up here with frequency, the branch has, especially in recent years, been less averse to new talent. Creation of monsters and other fantastical characters, in addition to aging, tend to be the branch’s preferred accomplishments.
The successful reboot of the “Star Trek” franchise might very well be leading the way here. Creating the numerous famous characters and, most notably, Eric Bana’s antagonist Romulan Nero, strikes me as the sort of work which this branch embraces.
Whether a film like “Watchmen” would be seriously considered by the Academy in any category is a matter of great debate. But the makeup was absolutely fantastic and critical to the success of the film. Greg Cannom was on the crew, which has me inclined to consider it seriously here.
We’re still waiting to see James Cameron’s eagerly anticipated “Avatar,” but one can’t help but wonder if the film’s CGI and performance capture technology will be doing much, if not all of the work normally reserved for makeup. And the makeup artists on the crew have yet to be widely recognized by the Academy. Regardless, one cannot deny the success Cameron’s films tend to have in the crafts categories.
• Peter Travers is pissed about the “Shutter Island” bump to 2010. [Rolling Stone]
• “Me and Orson Welles” gets a distributor in Freestyle Releasing. [The Wrap]
• “The Road,” meanwhile, gets pushed to Thanksgiving, in direct competition with the Weinsteins’ other Oscar hopeful, “Nine.” [Variety]
• Roger Deakins, Alexandre Desplat and Colleen Atwood added to Hollywood film fest honorees. [Variety]
• Matt Damon talks “Bourne 4.” [Empire]
• Viggo Mortensen planning an early retirement after the release of “The Road?” [Cinema Blend]
Something struck me while watching Todd Solondz’s “Life During Wartime” earlier this morning. Actor Michael K. Williams is having a coming out moment this year with powerful supporting performances both here and in John Hillcoat’s “The Road.”
Fans of HBO’s “The Wire” are no stranger to Williams, who dazzled viewers for five seasons as stick-up man Omar Little, offering an on-the-money characterization that probably should have seen its day in the Emmy sun. Characterized by a pronounced facial scar (a reminder of a bar fight many years ago), Williams has always been something of a go-to guy for intimidating gangster types.
In “The Road,” he brings a quiet humanity to the role of The Thief, stealing for survival, rendered sympathetic by the circumstances that forced his hand.
In less than a week I will kiss my wife and kids goodbye and head into Toronto, about 50 miles away, for this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Twelve years ago my wife and I found it makes no sense for me to attend the festival for 16 to 18 hours and then try to drive home; beyond the danger of driving exhausted, arriving home at three in the morning tends to wake them up because our stupid, stupid dog begins barking the moment anyone pulls into the driveway. So for 10 days I live in the Delta Chelsea Hotel on Gerrard Street.
This year I am finding leaving for the festival easier. Last year my wife Sherri was diagnosed with brain cancer and dealt with the removal of part of a considerable brain tumor. We went through radiation last summer, the loss of her beautiful, lush red hair, and the constant exhaustion she had to deal with. Cancer, sadly, is a family affair, and not something anyone should go through alone. But this year we are in a good place. The monster seems to be at bay, for now.
So what I am looking forward to seeing? Well first let me state that I’m shocked “Where the Wild Things Are,” “Amelia” and a handful of other films are not here. They seemed like good fits for the festival, their filmmakers have been here before, etc. That said, it looks like one of the best festivals in recent memory, though I am not sure anything will ever beat out 2007, which presented a bounty of great pictures. I was leaving screening room after screening room giddy.
This year looks like a challenge for even the toughest film fester. Choosing the films to see is the toughest part because there is no chance you’ll see everything you want to see. There are generally three of four press/industry screenings at the Varsity, Cumberland or new AMC Theatres, as well as the public screenings which the press have limited access to. Our press pass allows us access to six (I think) Gala performances in the evening, but they sell out quickly. There is also a DVD library where you can watch the films in the rooms provided on your own, but films are meant to be seen on the big screen.
• Steve Pond talks to AMPAS executive director Bruce Davis about the Oscars’ “crisis point.” [The Odds]
• Redefining the cinema alien with “District 9.” [Daily Telegraph]
• Spike Jonze and his latest gets close to 7,500 words in the Grey Lady. [New York Times]
I had every intention last night of bringing you a report on a couple more films, but packed-out screenings and overlapping screening schedules put paid to that idea.
Moreover, filing material online is proving something of a challenge, as the festival’s wi-fi access works in fits and starts, while my hotel has helpfully decided to dispense with their own such facilities altogether.
The slate of evening screenings, meanwhile, was sacrificed in favor of other plans. Call it lack of cinematic dedication on my part, but would you turn down dinner on the rooftop of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, with Todd Haynes and John Sayles in attendance?
I was lucky enough to be seated at an especially chatty table, with affable Australian critic (and former Edinburgh fest director) Shane Danielsen and Screen International’s Mike Goodridge leading the conversation.
Telluride Film Festival
There is a moment maybe three quarters into John Hillcoat’s “The Road” when it becomes clear that atmosphere may have been preferred over characterization: Viggo Mortensen’s character — known simply as “The Man” in Cormac McCarthy’s original fiction and nameless here — sits by a fire, wary of a cataracts-ridden old-timer (Robert Duvall) who couldn’t defend himself, much less harm a child.
Rather than soak in the opportunity to finally, for the first time in who knows how many years, have a simple discussion about life, sons, the world, whatever, he holds a steady, paranoid gaze on the man, protective of his boy (Kodi Scott-McPhee), the idea of The Man’s deteriorating sense of humanity hammered home precisely.
It’s an element of the film’s thematic conceit, to be sure, one present in the book (though not as embossed), but it comes at the expense of what would be natural. Of course, “The Road,” both on the page and on the screen, is meant as symbolism in more than a few instances, but what may have worked in one’s mind, reading McCarthy’s easy-going prose, has been lost in translation here.
Sorry to duck out there for the whole morning — a combination of wireless misbehavior and delayed screenings has played havoc with my planned writing time. As a festival, Venice has multiple charms, but smooth organization is not among them.
This morning’s glitch-bedeviled screening of Todd Solondz’s “Life During Wartime” is a case in point: after starting 20 minutes late (leaving journalists waiting outside in sunstroke-inducing heat), the projector broke down during the opening credits. A second quarter-hour delay followed, only for the film to restart with severely mistimed Italian subtitles — the vocal protests from Italian audience members drowning out the dialogue in the film’s opening scenes. Oh, well.
Anyway, enough kvetching and on to the movies.
Kris will have a more detailed take on “The Road” (**1/2) up later today, but given that it’s one of the Lido’s biggest drawcards, I feel it necessary to take a moment to discuss the film, which seems to have left several journalists I’ve spoken to disappointed, or at least mildly befuddled — and with good reason.
Over at Movie City News, David Poland has amassed the fifth annual Gurus o’ Gold prognosticating collective (including yours truly once again) and asked for a list of 15 films with the brightest pre-Toronto Best Picture profile. We also were asked to indicate dark horse underdog actors and actresses, which yielded some interesting results (though some of them shouldn’t really count as “dark horses”).
The Best Picture chart includes 34 titles (the top 10 republished after the jump) and represents the wild blind stab you’d expect at this point.
I find myself surprised “Bright Star” is still being considered a formidable contender, but it’s firmly in the top 10. So is “Precious,” proving out a personal months-old intuition (though nothing’s assured at this point, of course).
“The Road,” “Amelia” and “Capitalism: A Love Story” are the bubble contenders. “District 9” and “Star Trek” also have decent showings.
