In Contention

Tag: The Social Network

  • On the sound of ‘The Social Network’

    Sure to be one of the most under-appreciated aspects of “The Social Network”‘s below-the-line is the sound design.  Most will likely take note during a club scene that filters dialogue between Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake without sacrificing the thumping rhythms of the setting, but there are a number of instances where I felt it was a refined piece of work from Academy Award winner Michael Semanick and company.

    There is also the idea that an Aaron Sorkin script involves a lot of overlapping and competing dialogue.  It’s a film with a lot of information to carry across and it’s imperative that you hear everything.  And that’s before we even get into how Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s ambient score is layered in throughout.

    The SoundWorks Collection, as ever, is on the case here.  The site’s latest profile illuminates the club scene among others and is worth a look and listen.  Head on over there now and check it out or watch the embed after the jump.

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  • 9/30 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Blind-siding Christians with ‘Secretariat,’ chatting up Gibney and Reznor, Armond strikes

    • David Poland sits down with “Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer” director Alex Gibney. [Movie City News]

    • On the innovative marketing strategy of “Freakonomics.” [New York Times]

    • Xan Brooks and Henry Barnes talk “Made in Dagenham” director Nigel Cole and actress Rosamund Pike. [The Guardian]

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  • THE LONG SHOT: Bait, switch

    Whether you choose to believe them or not – and speaking for myself, I don’t quite – the media powers that be have currently reduced the 2010 Best Picture race to just two titles: “The Social Network” and “The King’s Speech.” That’s entirely (and hopefully, lest things get too dull too soon) subject to change over the next four months, but given what we’ve seen at this point, it’s difficult to devise a could-win theory for many of the films most fancied for the remaining eight slots, be it “Inception” or “Another Year.”

    I don’t really blame those in the blogosphere who are narrowing things down to this pair of films: after a lackluster Toronto fest failed to turn up a hidden dragon along the lines of “Slumdog Millionaire,” the slate of contenders looks much as it did before the fall festival season began. With expectations for “Network” and “Speech” pegged high all along, meeting them was enough to seal frontrunner status.

    Moreover, the temptation to pit David Fincher’s modish Facebook story and Tom Hooper’s tony royalty porn against each other is hard to resist, given how conveniently the films are opposed: both acclaimed biopics after a fashion, but one concerned with present-day American youth, the other with British aristocracy of yore. “It’s the time-capsule piece versus the time-warp piece,” snarked one friend of mine recently, anticipating a narrative that will likely run all season, even if other frontrunners enter the fray.

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  • Sorkin and Fincher talk ‘Social Network’

    A sit-down with Mark Harris, via Vulture:

  • 9/29 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Franco’s poem picks, Bender remembers Menke, Reznor and Ross at a steal

    • James Franco, also starring in “Howl” this year, selects his favorite poems. [Vulture]

    • In remembering film editor Sally Menke, Lawrence Bender discusses the “Hi, Sally” Tarantino tradition. [Arts Beat]

    • Anne Thompson talks, well, a whole bunch of stuff with a busy Guillermo Del Toro. [Thompson on Hollywood]

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  • The Cain and Abel of ‘Social Network’

    As much as the film ticks certain prestige-film boxes — hell, it’s a socially conscious biopic from a respected, Oscar-nominated filmmaker — I still find myself doing something of a double-take when I hear “The Social Network” referred to as the Best Picture contender to beat. When was the last time a film so steeped in contemporary youth culture found itself in that position? (And no, “Slumdog Millionaire” does not count.)

    Complementing the film’s preoccupation with a relatively recent chapter of pop culture is a bold stroke of new-generation casting: its three male principals are all under 30, and not yet tapped by the wand of major movie stardom.

    The long-ubiquitous Justin Timberlake aside, it’s not hard to imagine some older Academy members puzzling over their screeners: “Who are these kids?” (Then again, those same folks might also be wondering what the hell Facebook is. It’s only mental scenes like this that give me pause when considering its awards prospects.)

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  • 9/28 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Stuart passes, Zuckerberg gets a comic book, ‘Back to the Future’ celebrates an anniversary

    • Gloria Stuart dies at 100. [Associated Press]

    • Mark Zuckerberg: the comic book. [Hollywood Reporter]

    • AMC Theatres will take 40 cities across the U.S. “Back to the Future” for the film’s 25th anniversary. [Script to Screen]

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  • ‘127 Hours,’ ‘Social Network’ up for Hollywood fest honors

    The press release, in part:

    The 14th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Awards, presented by Starz, are pleased to announce that producers Danny Boyle and Christian Colson will be honored with the “Hollywood Producer Award,” screenwriter Aaron Sorkin will get the “Hollywood Screenwriter Award,” and Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall will be honored with the “Hollywood Editor Award” at the festival’s Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony…

    “We are honored to recognize these exceptionally talented artists for their outstanding work and creative vision at this year’s Hollywood Awards Gala,” said [founder Carlos] de Abreu.

    Full list of honorees announced thus far after the jump.

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  • 9/27 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: ‘Wall Street’ timing, Oscar’s love affair with social relevance and a real-life ‘Whistleblower’

    • Does “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” have poor timing Oscar-wise? (Or, I don’t know, did it just kinda stink?) [The Guardian]

    • On Kathy Bolkovac, the real-life whistleblower of Toronto title “The Whistleblower.” [Lincoln Journal Star]

    • Andrew Garfield has played “Spider-Man” before, FYI. [Daily Telegraph]

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  • CINEJABBER: The “M” word

    I received an email today from a reader addressing a concern I’ve long had at the back of my mind, but I never really figured out a way to deal with it. In a nutshell, we discuss films early, generally before release around these parts, and when a large majority of you get a chance to have a look, the conversation ship has sailed.

    I don’t want that, obviously, and I imagine it’s difficult to find a place to re-inject the talking points with our day-to-day topics running full speed, so I figured the best way to deal with it would be a general discussion post every weekend for you to cut loose about what you might have seen or what you’d like to discuss amongst yourselves.

    It’s a no-brainer, really, but I just never got around to actually, you know, doing it.

    So we’ll call it “Cinejabber” (I guess) and I’ll kick start the conversation this week, in case no one has any ideas (though I imagine there are those who’d like to discuss any number of films finally in release).

    Reading Sasha Stone’s recent “hold your horses” item about the comparisons to “Citizen Kane” surrounding “The Social Network,” she noted peripherally, “When ‘Inception’ came out and was hailed as ‘masterpiece’ it angered critics, and viewers, that anyone would dare use a word like that to describe a big studio movie out of Warner Bros. Or maybe it was that the word shouldn’t really be applied to a film until a decade or so has gone by.”

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  • OSCAR TALK: Ep. 33 — ‘Social Network’ front-running, Gibson persona non grata and why ‘The Fighter?’

    Oscar TalkWelcome to Oscar Talk.

    In case you’re new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is a weekly kudocast, a 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 on route to Oscar’s stage and we’re here to address it all as it unfolds.

    There isn’t a whole lot to discuss this week though there are a number of forced stories out there which kind of prove the point. I’m up in Berkeley talking to Anne down in LA so, as the New York fest kicks off tonight, let’s see what’s on the docket today…

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  • Zuckerberg on Oprah

    Read about his announcement here. Of course, Oprah, ever the soft-lob interviewer, brings up the thought-process that Zuckerberg’s announcement is convenient given the NYFF bow of “The Social Network” today. He calls the film “fun” and says, “Trust me, it’s my life and I know it’s not that dramatic.”

  • 9/24 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Franco nearly flunks, ‘Rabbit Hole’ sets a date, no one edits Oliver Stone

    • All-time greatest Oliver Stone line: “I like mirror. I wrote Scarface. Go fuck yourself.” [Vulture]

    • Potential Oscar nominee James Franco got a “D” in his NYU acting class. [Showbiz 411]

    • Read Tim Burton’s poem about Johnny Depp, circa 1991. [Cinematical]

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  • Zuckerberg times his generosity well

    The official line may be that beleaguered Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg isn’t really on board with “The Social Network” — even if the Twitterverse yesterday was abuzz with rumors that he attended a screening in his Sunday best — but whatever his attitude to David Fincher’s film about his rise to fortune, the 26 year-old billionaire is certainly helping out in the publicity stakes.

    The New York Times reports that Zuckerberg will appear on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” tomorrow to announce a $100 million donation to the Newark public schools system:

    The $100 million for Newark is the initial gift to start a foundation for education financed by Mr. Zuckerberg. This would be by far the largest publicly known gift by Mr. Zuckerberg, whose fortune Forbes magazine estimated last year at $2 billion … The gift is many times larger than any the system has received, officials said — an extraordinary sum not only for a district with an $800 million annual operating budget, but also for any publicly financed government agency. It is not yet clear how the money would be used, or over what period.

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  • 9/23 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Brolin on Stone and Allen, remembering ‘Goodfellas’ and a ‘Boonmee’ how-to

    • In a joint venture with Interview magazine, Roger Ebert corners Casey Affleck on “I’m Still Here.” [Chicago Sun-Times]

    • Kevin Gray talks “Wall Street” and Woody Allen with Josh Brolin. [Vulture]

    • Steve Pond runs a comb through the contenders so far to gauge strengths and weaknesses. [The Odds]

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  • Sorkin empathizes with the nerds

    Boy, the publicity machine is well-oiled around “The Social Network.” After profiles of Mark Zuckerberg (rumored to have been at a screening of the film last night), Sean Parker and a giant spread in New York Magazine, Aaron Sorkin gets his moment in the sun, alone, in this major W Magazine piece.

    It’s a fascinating portrait of a writer, really digging into who this guy is, his process, his addictions, his hang-ups.  Most fascinating, perhaps, is what he has to say about his Los Angeles home, which he says feels more like a hotel room and isn’t really his style, but he’d rather not appear to be a poser trying to live in Westchester.  Really vibrant characterization from the always on-it Lora Hirschberg.

    Like I said when I offered up my thoughts on the film, Sorkin is the real star of this show.  I expect he might be holding his fair share of trophies by season’s end.

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  • 9/22 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Carrey’s Oscar potential, ‘Inception’ with a joystick, demanding to see ‘Beaver’

    • Sasha Stone ponders Oscar possibilities for Jim Carrey in “I Love You Phillip Morris” as the hate-mongering right looks to block the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. [Awards Daily]

    • Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy reunite to celebrate 25 years of “The Breakfast Club.”  Come on, Emilio.  Too cool for school?  (See what I did there?) [People]

    • Christopher Nolan briefly mentions that he’d like to develop “Inception” as a video game (and if you have a film-related news feed then you’ve already seen plenty of webmasters climbing over themselves to re-report this). [Variety]

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  • Rockwell, Carter, Garfield, Wasikowska tapped for HFF honors

    On the heels of last week’s introductory announcement, it has been announced that Sam Rockwell, Helena Bonham Carter, Andrew Garfield and Mia Wasikowska will be recognized at this year’s Hollywood Film Festival awards.  The press release, in part:

    The 14th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Awards, presented by Starz, are pleased to announce honorees who will be recognized for their achievements at the festival’s Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony.

    Academy Award-nominated actress Helena Bonham Carter will receive the “Hollywood Supporting Actress Award,” actor Sam Rockwell will be honored with the ” Hollywood Supporting Actor Award, ” actress Mia Wasikowska will receive the ” Hollywood Breakthrough Actress Award, ” and actor Andrew Garfield will be recognized with the ” Hollywood Breakthrough Actor Award. ”

    “These honorees have been steadily laying the groundwork of choice projects upon which to build their Hollywood careers, and this is their year to really stand out,” said [founder Carlos] de Abreu.

    Full list of awards recipients announced thus far after the jump.

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