• 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]
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?
The week, and with it, the bulk of my 2010 coverage, draws to a close today with a look at the best of the best. I’m offering up a personal list of superlatives, including most Oscar categories and some other fun fields thrown in for good measure. A tradition at this point.
There will be plenty going on next week, though, despite travel and the holidays. As always, we’ll be at your disposal. But allow me to put a tidy bow on the year here and keep forging ahead…
Best Picture
“Exit Through the Gift Shop”
Best Director
Mike Leigh, “Another Year”
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.
I don’t quite know how to peg 2010.
On one hand it has felt like a weak year. On the other hand, I’ve enjoyed quite a few films. Maybe the story lies in that sentence: “enjoyed.” There were precious few films that really rocked me, but plenty that were a nice enough experience.
If you listened to Friday’s Oscar Talk, then you know my top 10. But before publishing it in this space, allow me to walk through the many films that fell short, starting at the top with Derek Cianfrance’s “Blue Valentine.” Here is an honest depiction of a relationship in crisis with performances that hit the mark. It wears its soul on its sleeve.
The Coen brothers’ dip into the western genre, “True Grit,” was a straight-forward piece of flavorful filmmaking much appreciated for its restraint, while similarly, Ben Affleck’s “The Town” didn’t attempt reinvention of the wheel while forging a resonant character study in a genre film’s clothing.
Welcome 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.
It’s the middle of the season, critics’ awards are set to unleash next week, the guild announcements are right around the corner, the holidays are breathing down our necks and it couldn’t be a busier time of year. There’s plenty to discuss, but Anne and I are nevertheless straying from the usual format this week…
• Elle Fanning: the next Golden Child. [New York Times Magazine]
• Pete Hammond joins the flavor of the week: “The Fighter” is insinuating itself into the Best Picture race in a big way. [Deadline]
• Anne Thompson chats with “The Way Back” star Jim Sturgess. [Thompson on Hollywood]
When actor Ed Harris was doing the press rounds for his second directorial effort, “Appaloosa,” in 2008, he was frequently asked who was on his wish list of collaborators. He remembers saying a couple of times that he’d like to work with Peter Weir again because he had such a good time on the 1998 film “The Truman Show” (which yielded the actor an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor). And it wasn’t long after that he got his wish as the screenplay for “The Way Back” came his way.
“I would have done anything he asked me, whatever it was,” Harris says sipping an iced tea outside his Malibu home. “He’s such a thorough, committed director. It’s like the best teacher you ever had. You enjoy writing a paper for the guy, because you know the feedback is going to enlighten you. It’s going to encourage you. It’s going to make you better. And working with Peter is like that because his attention is so laser-like. You know whatever you’re doing he’s paying attention to. One of the things I like to do as an actor is the specificity of any given character but working with Peter enhances that even more. You’re just aware. It makes you focus on the moment-to-moment reality of what you’re doing.”
All of the cards (save for the elusive James L. Brooks title “How Do You Know,” which few seem to be expecting much from at this stage — a commodity in Oscar season, actually) are on the table.
The critics are beginning to speak up with their faves (likely to be “The Social Network” after “The Social Network” after “The Social Network”) and the working (and voting) industry is just now getting its first look at many of the films that have been stirring conversation throughout the festival season via DVDs and Academy screenings. They’ll make their voices heard with guild nominations throughout January. But now is not the time to show weakness.
The thoroughbreds of the season remain “The King’s Speech” and the aforementioned “The Social Network.” I’m confidant “True Grit” will soon join their ranks, while “The Kids Are All Right” could be fairly considered in that group as well. And “Toy Story 3” is riding sentiment like a champ (with even more campaign strategy to come).
“The Town” is the only other film that I know has registered in a big way with Academy types (and it’s laid back campaign approach feels like the right call). “The Fighter” screened for AMPAS this weekend and is receiving media attention at just the right time. I think it will soon prove itself to be a formidable contender in the race, if it hasn’t already.
• The real story behind ‘The King’s Speech.’ [Speakeasy]
• John Lopex has exclusive video on the making of “Black Swan”‘s production of “Swan Lake.” [Little Gold Men]
• How “The Long Walk” became “The Way Back.” [BBC]
I say over 150 because I honestly lost count. In any case, the International Press Academy has announced it’s slate of nominees for the 15th Annual Satellite Awards, and as usual, every film under the sun seems to have been nominated for SOMETHING.
Actually, not every film. Obviously the organization didn’t see “True Grit” before the voting deadline, as the film wasn’t nominated for a single thing. Nor was “The Way Back,” though I don’t know whether they saw it or not. But “Dinner for Schmucks” and “The Other Guys” are well-represented! As best I can tell, “Inception” leads the way with 11 nominations.
I think I may have forgotten to post this announcement last year. I don’t know what kind of stock you might put into the Satellites, but it’s an annual film award announcement nevertheless. Check out the full slate of nominees at The Circuit.
[Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures]
Welcome 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.
Anne and I are in a bit of a food coma today, so the podcast was a bit all over the place. We free associate from topic to topic bringing in your questions where applicable, but there’s a lot to digest. Let’s see what’s on the docket today…
Sound mixing has a lot in common with sound editing, but the distinctions are still critical. While both clearly relate to what we hear in the theater, sound editing specifically relates to the creation of artificial sounds (“sound effects”) while sound mixing brings everything together — from effects to music to dialogue (recorded on set or during post-production) to music – into the overall soundscape of a film.
Many of the same kinds of films that are nominated for Best Sound Editing are also frequently cited here – blockbusters, action films and war films. But musicals often pop up here, too. And as in most categories, being a Best Picture contender certainly helps titles that otherwise would not come close to this category. Though it is hardly determinative.
I said before and will say it again – I believe that Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” is leading the way here, at least in terms of likelihood of a nomination. I honestly expect a good half-dozen crafts category nominations for this title and this will be among them. And I expect the crew, including past nominee Gary Rizzo, to be firmly in the hunt for the statuette.
It looks to be a pretty good year for producer Scott Rudin. “The Social Network” has already opened and done quite well for a fall drama (not to mention the awards buzz that keeps piling on). “The Way Back,” which he executively produced, is another great collaboration with Peter Weir, and the Coens’ “True Grit” is still to come.
At the end of the day, it could be an even better showing that he had in 2007, when Paul Thomas Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood” and the Coen brothers’ “No Country for Old Men” were duking it out for the Best Picture win. The latter, of course, took the gold.
If you’ve been picking up The Hollywood Reporter’s big glossy issues, you probably saw in the latest a big spread with Stephen Galloway interviewing the producer. Today comes word that the PGA will honor Rudin at this year’s festivities. Check out the full press release after the jump.
• John Lopez talks to “The Way Back” star and Best Supporting Actor hopeful Ed Harris. [Little Gold Men]
• From last year, Stinkylulu writes up the shortest performance ever nominated for an Oscar: Herminone Baddeley’s 2 minutes and 26 seconds in 1959’s “Room at the Top.” [Stinkylulu]
• Scott Feinberg smartly tracks down the HBO doc “High on Crack Street,” featuring prominently in “The Fighter.” [ScottFeinberg.com]
Welcome 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…
• Guy didn’t much care for “127 Hours.” That got you talking.
• Happily, Kris did, and got talking to director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Simon Beaufoy.
• The British Independent Film Award nominations threw some surprises into the mix, handing scads of noms to “The King’s Speech”… and “Kick-Ass.”
• Chad’s Life Without Oscar column eased into the late 1980s, showcasing one films on either side of the Hollywood border.
Welcome 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…