I didn’t see the Grammys this weekend. In fact, I tend to avoid them like the plague. But it was nevertheless an impressive slate of winners, so that’s a unique start. In any case, it’s worth pointing out that Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett’s “The Weary Kind” wrapped up a long awards march by […]
Bingham wins a Grammy, set for Bonnaroo
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:37 am · February 15th, 2011
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Bingham at The Mint
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:44 am · July 1st, 2010
Hate to be an advocate, but last year’s Best Original Song winner Ryan Bingham hit the stage for a modest private showcase last night at The Mint in West L.A. and just nailed it. The new album, “Junky Star,” hits shelves September 7 and was produced by T Bone Burnett, as mentioned previously. It’s like […]
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If YOU had a ballot
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:52 am · March 7th, 2010
Tonight’s the big night, and as we close in on the final hours of the 2009-2010 film awards season, I thought I’d offer up this list (another one!), which reflects how you, the readership, would like the night’s festivities to go. These are the results of the daily polls that accompanied our Oscar Guide series […]
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Nut up or shut up: final predictions
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:36 am · March 6th, 2010
As I look over my final predictions for tomorrow night’s Oscar ceremony, I notice that I’ve made only one change — in the Best Live Action Short category — since taking my initial stab the day of the nominations. And I haven’t made a single change since I started the Oscar Guide series. Am I […]
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OSCAR GUIDE: Best Music (Original Song)
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:11 am · February 22nd, 2010
Year after year, the original song category tends to prove that something is broken in the music branch of the Academy. But to be fair, that’s a bit of a half-truth overall, as the original score field has begun to loosen up a bit and allow for newbie talent to get a foot in the […]
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Calling the longshots
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 5:47 pm · February 1st, 2010
So this Steve Pond piece, titled “How Oscar Could Surprise — and Scare — Us,” is what we like to call hedging our bets. It’s a chance to address some bubble matters so that we have something to point to and say, “Look, I toldja!” (Is that officially trademarked by Nikki Finke yet?) Anyway, I […]
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Reaching the populace with ‘Crazy Heart’
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:11 am · February 1st, 2010
With “Crazy Heart” expanding more throughout the country and expecting, no doubt, a bit of an exposure bump after Tuesday’s Oscar nominations announcement, Fox Searchlight is stepping up its game and doing a nice job of getting the music out there. I stumbled across TheWearyKind.com last week, a nifty bit of social networking that allows […]
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Official video for Ryan Bingham’s ‘The Weary Kind’
Posted by Guy Lodge · 11:13 am · January 21st, 2010
Because, well, I’m glad of any excuse to bring up this track. Is there even a contest for Best Original Song? Even the Academy’s wilful music branch can’t screw this up. Surely.
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Ryan Bingham performs ‘The Weary Kind’ on Letterman
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:03 am · January 13th, 2010
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December winner predictions
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:38 am · December 28th, 2009
I gave this an initial stab nearly two months ago. I thought I might as well re-visit things. (And hopefully there won’t be anyone getting their panties in a twist over something as harmless as this. You know who you are.) Best Picture: “Avatar” Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker” Best Actor: Jeff Bridges, […]
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Best in show: the year in superlatives
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 4:29 pm · December 18th, 2009
Wrapping up my perspective on the year today, a personal list of superlatives, Oscar categories and other silly nonsense. Swing back around on Monday for the ultimate wrap-up, my list of the best films of the decade. Best Picture “A Serious Man” (Focus Features) Best Director Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, “A Serious Man” Best Actor […]
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Talking ‘The Weary Kind’
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:21 am · December 16th, 2009
Speaking of original song contenders, we featured Ryan Bingham’s “The Weary Kind” a few weeks ago, but the New Mexico-bred crooner sat down with music consultant T Bone Burnett and “Crazy Heart” writer/director Scott Cooper at the film’s press day two weekends back to discuss the process of writing the soulful track. Much of this […]
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TECH SUPPORT: Best Original Song
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 3:18 pm · December 10th, 2009
Over the last five months, Gerard has diligently canvassed and re-canvassed the various crafts categories here at In Contention. The one category we have held back on all this time, as contenders have slowly fallen into place, was Best Original Song. Today, it’s time to dig into the field. This has turned into something of […]
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TECH SUPPORT INTERVIEW: The music of ‘Crazy Heart’
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:41 pm · December 3rd, 2009
This marks the first of this year’s Tech Support interviews series with below-the-line crafts personnel, an annual feature at In Contention. When Scott Cooper’s adapted screenplay “Crazy Heart” was making the rounds a few years ago, it had the kind of soul a guy like T Bone Burnett wants out of a country-western film. But […]
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Ryan Bingham’s first live performance of ‘The Weary Kind’
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:18 am · December 3rd, 2009
From yesterday’s press day for “Crazy Heart” in Beverly Hills, courtesy of Steve Pond at The Odds (who has an interview with the youngster up now). Watch for our Tech Support interview with Bingham and T Bone Burnett later this afternoon.
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Listen to Ryan Bingham’s ‘The Weary Kind’ from ‘Crazy Heart’
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:34 am · November 23rd, 2009
One of the first things I mentioned when I stumbled out of that dark theater on the Fox lot a few weeks ago, following a screening of Scott Cooper’s last minute awards entry “Crazy Heart,” was that I couldn’t get the final song, “The Weary Kind,” out of my head. Today I’m happy to offer […]
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