In Contention

Tag: The Weinstein Company

  • ‘Shame’ igniting pre-Toronto bidding war?

    I first reported out of Telluride that Fox Searchlight was looking like a good possibility to pick up Steve McQueen’s brilliant, stirring — and naughty — “Shame,” and expanded my thoughts on that possibility in Tuesday’s Off the Carpet column. Well, it looks like Deadline’s Mike Fleming is hearing similar things, and not just that Searchlight is in the mix, but that the film is kicking up a bidding war ahead of its Toronto bow. He writes:

    This year’s festival hasn’t started and already there are fireworks. Deadline broke news yesterday that Harvey Weinstein would start a VOD business, making the acquisitions market for fringe films more competitive; and last night, I heard that a bidding battle had already broken out for the Steve McQueen-directed Shame, which should be sold by the time it screens Sunday. Fox Searchlight is the favorite, Sony Pictures Classics is in the mix and I’ve heard that The Weinstein Company is hovering.

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  • ‘The Artist’ poster

    I recall our learned friend Anne Thompson responding with scepticism when I mentioned over a Cannes lunch that I expected Michel Hazanavicius’s “The Artist” to be a major player in this year’s Oscar race. Looks like Anne has come round to the idea over the summer, as she — together with Steve Pond and David Poland — placed the film in her top spot on the Gurus o’ Gold’s Best Picture chart. I’d be right there with them. The Weinstein Company’s marketing push for the audience-friendly silent-cinema homage begins today with a supremely elegant poster that puts its Cannes-honored star to the fore, and nails the film’s vintage romantic allure. Nicely played. Check it out after the jump.

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  • ‘Coriolanus’ UK trailer

    I stuck my neck out back in February at the Berlin Film Festival and said that Vanessa Redgrave will snag a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination (at least) for her galvanizing interpretation of Volumnia in Ralph Fiennes’s hopped-up take on Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus.” I’m sticking to my guns — and I imagine more voices will join mine when the film finally makes its second festival appearance at Toronto next month — but you wouldn’t get the message from this slick, alluring UK trailer, which understandably places the emphasis squarely on the film’s testosterone component. (More thoughts, plus the embed, after the jump.)

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  • ‘The Iron Lady’ international teaser trailer

    The Weinstein Company has a handful of possibilities in this year’s Oscar season. As usual, we can expect the boys to sit back and wait for a contender to survive Darwin-style before doubling down, but one element of “The Iron Lady” everyone expects to have no trouble finding a nomination is Meryl Streep’s performance as Margaret Thatcher. The recent teaser trailer (launched at The Guardian) builds on the expectation that it’s a transformative turn. Check it out by clicking the image below or watch an embed after the jump. (And note to The Guardian: You’re a giant corporation. Get an embed code and/or find a more handsome way to publish these exclusive trailers you get. Seriously)

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  • Weinsteins announce release dates for winter bait

    Harvey Weinstein has never been one to put much faith in the length of Academy voters’ memories, so as usual, he’s favoring a late-year release plan for his presumed awards contenders — the prospects of which I was discussing only the other day.

    Thanks to Coming Soon’s Ed Douglas for pointing out the newly announced release dates for his holiday-season prestige slate. You won’t be surprised to hear that it’s November and December down the line: “My Week With Marilyn” is first to go forth on November 4, followed by “The Artist” on November 23, “Coriolanus” on December 2, “W.E.” on December 9 and “The Iron Lady” on December 16.

    You can read as much or as little into this schedule as you like, though it’s worth noting that none of them are bowing as late as last year’s Weinstein Company property “Blue Valentine,” the perilously tardy post-Christmas release of which was widely blamed for a meager awards showing — with more time for glowing critical buzz to build, Ryan Gosling and writer-director Derek Cianfrance could arguably have stood a better chance of joining Michelle Williams in the nominee circle.

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  • Madonna’s ‘W.E.’ joins Weinsteins’ scattered 2011 slate

    Having done all right with the last film to cover the romantic tribulations of King Edward VIII — it was called “The King’s Speech,” it won a few Oscars, you might have heard of it — The Weinstein Company clearly feels there’s an appetite among audiences for more on that chapter of British royal history, with Edward’s story center stage this time.

    So it is that that Harvey and his minions have bought the US distribution rights to Madonna’s sophomore directing effort, “W.E.” — a decades-spanning portrait of the affair between the one-time future King of England and Wallis Simpson, the American divorcée for whom he abdicated the throne, fused with a fictional modern-day story of a young New Yorker inspired by their romance.

    Starring Andrea Riseborough and James D’Arcy as the historical couple, and Abbie Cornish as the woman obsessed with their romance, it all all sounds suspiciously like “Julie & Julia” with crowns replacing the chef’s hats — which, combined with the novelty factor of the film’s celebrity writer-director, leads me to think the Weinsteins may view this more as a light commercial play rather than the hefty awards bait of their last monarchy biopic.

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  • Weinstein acquires ‘The Iron Lady’ for 2011 release

    When I get around to updating Oscar predictions in a couple of weeks, I will, as usual, refrain from including any films that don’t yet have domestic distribution. But one title can be taken off of that list, and may have just thrust Meryl Streep to the top of the lead actress race (though she’ll certainly find competition from Tilda Swinton when “We Need to Talk About Kevin” inevitably finds a home).

    The Weinstein Company has stolen a little thunder from the Cannes whirlwind, announcing today its acquisition of Phyllida Lloyd’s Margaret Thatcher biopic “The Iron Lady.” In the wake of “The King’s Speech,” it seems Harvey is sticking to proven material, and Brit biopics are still a solid play in the awards season. Jim Broadbent could also be someone to watch for in supporting as Thatcher’s husband.

    For a number of years now, the cult of Streep has demanded further awardage for the undeniably prolific actress. Two Oscars over 20 years ago just aren’t enough. In my opinion, nothing she’s done since last winning in 1982, save for maybe 2002’s “Adaptation,” has warranted a win over her competition. But 16 nominations is nothing to sneeze at, and it seems a 17th could be on the way, further extending her record.

    Check out the full press release after the jump.

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  • Indie Spirits, HBO and Weinstein party down on Oscar eve

    Yesterday was a bit of a whirlwind.  The Indie Spirits was a lovely affair, though they really need to figure out the show aspect because it kind of fell apart this year.  I didn’t see it on television so maybe it was edited into shape, but in the room, it just felt like chaos.

    I spoke to Aronofsky — for the first time since he finally made my list, he noted.  The guy is paying attention.  I wished him the best of luck tonight but he shrugged it off, knowing much of anything beyond Natalie Portman winning just isn’t in the cards.  Nevertheless, it’s been a long, wonderful journey for the film, especially when you look at those box office numbers.

    Mostly I was stoked to see an old college buddy, “Cold Weather” producer Brendan McFadden.  He and director Aaron Katz are still working on that werewolf buddy cop script we told you about recently, and there’s a western in the cards, too.  Here’s hoping those ambitious projects take off.

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  • BERLIN: ‘Coriolanus,’ Redgrave and an early Oscar bet

    The cavernous Berlinale Palast theatre was packed to the gills for today’s noontime press screening of “Coriolanus” (***), and small wonder — in a Competition lineup heavy on oatmeal fare boasting comparatively unfamiliar names, Ralph Fiennes’s directorial debut is one of the few entries that affords viewers a little star-gazing.

    Fiennes, of course, takes the title role in his revisionist take on Shakespeare’s under-filmed tragedy, with Gerard Butler, Brian Cox and the soon-to-be-ubiquitous Jessica Chastain adding further name appeal.

    As the crowd staggered out of the auditorium two hours later, the name being murmured most approvingly was that of the film’s oldest and most distinguished star. And with good reason. As Volumnia, the proud, politically-minded mother of the titular Roman general, Vanessa Redgrave gives one of “those” performances, an Olympian masterclass in classical acting that conjures spontaneous emotional fire upon a bed of immaculate technique.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: The circuit takes hold, chatting up DiCaprio and Harris, top 10 lists

    • The week started off with “How to Train Your Dragon” predictably dominating the slate of Annie Award nominations.

    • Kris sat down with Leonardo DiCaprio and got Martin Scorsese on the phone for a large two–part piece on the actor and his impressive year.

    • He also caught up with actor Ed Harris to talk “The Way Back” and director Peter Weir.

    • It was good and bad news for The Weinstein Company as “Blue Valentine” won its ratings appeal with the MPAA, while “The King’s Speech”‘s was shot down.

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  • ‘Blue Valentine’ wins ratings appeal, ‘King’s Speech’ loses

    It’s justice for “Blue Valentine” today as Harvey Weinstein’s appeal of the MPAA’s NC-17 rating has gone through, allowing for the film to receive an R and continue to reap the benefits of this publicity in the industry.  Weinstein showed up personally (a first) to argue the decision and the board overturned its original rating.

    But he was one-and-one, as “The King’s Speech,” which had been rated R for language (specifically a scene in which Colin Firth spouts of the f-word continuously as part of his character’s speech impediment therapy), will not be getting the preferred PG-13.

    I’m really stoked this went through for Derek Cianfrance and company, though.  It came on the heels of a number of stories concerning double standards with perceptions of oral sex in films like “Blue Valentine” and “Black Swan,” and actor Ryan Gosling has certainly been vocal about his feelings on the matter.  The pressure was on, and rightly so.  All is well.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Weinstein takes the gloves off, Hollywood mourns its own, doc and animated fields shortlisted

    • The Academy honored legends Francis Ford Coppola, Eli Wallach, Jean-Luc Godard and Kevin Brownlow at the annual Governors Awards.

    • Kris attended a Summit Entertainment holiday party, chatting with the talent in attendance.

    • Disney revealed a clever plan geared toward presenting “Toy Story 3” as a legitimate Best Picture contender.

    • The Weinstein Company lawyered up on the MPAA rulings on “Blue Valentine” and “The King’s Speech”

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  • Weinstein lawyers up on MPAA

    Well, we all knew Harvey Weinstein wasn’t going to take that head-scratching (and commercially damaging) ‘NC-17’ rating for “Blue Valentine” lying down. (While still generating maximum publicity from the unfortunate situation, natch.) The Weinstein Company today announced that it has gathered “a formidable legal team” to challenge the MPAA’s decision — and while they’re about it, they’re contesting that ‘R’ rating for “The King’s Speech” too.

    And Weinstein’s lawyers mean business: Bert Fields, the attorney overseeing the “Valentine” appeal, goes so far as to say the extreme age restriction “violates [the company’s] right to freedom of speech under the state and US constitution.” Alongside the legal speak, the press release issued today by TWC also includes this heartfelt, well-reasoned plea from star Michelle Williams:

    The MPAA’s decision on Blue Valentine unmasks a taboo in our culture, that an honest portrayal of a relationship is more threatening than a sensationalized one… Mainstream films often depict sex and violence in a manner that is disturbing and very far from reality. Yet, the MPAA regularly awards these films with a more audience friendly rating, enabling our culture’s desensitization to violence, rape, torture and brutality. Our film does not depict any of these attributes. It’s simply a candid look at the difficulties couples face in sustaining their relationships over time. Blue Valentine opens a door for couples to have a dialogue about the everyday realities of many relationships. This film was made in the spirit of love, honesty and intimacy. I hope that the MPAA will hear our pleas and reconsider their decision.

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  • ‘King’s Speech’ told to mind its language

    Admittedly, this isn’t much of a story, but following last week’s furore over the NC-17 certificate handed to the starkly adult marital drama “Blue Valentine,” it’s amusing to see a rather more milquetoast Oscar hopeful having its own trouble with the ratings board.

    London’s Evening Standard paper reports that “The King’s Speech,” already rated R by the MPAA, has been given a 15 rating (permitting no viewers under that age) by the British censors — not a severe rating, but more restrictive than one might expect for a polite period biopic revolving around speech therapy.

    The reason for the adult rating is the same on both sides of the Atlantic: a short comic scene where Colin Firth’s stuttering King George VI is required to say “fuck” 42 times in quick succession as part of a therapeutic exercise. To be frank, 14 year-olds were unlikely to be queueing around the block to see “The King’s Speech” in the first place, but that’s not really the point: R or 15 ratings could wrongfoot mild-mannered mature viewers who otherwise sit squarely in the film’s sights.

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  • Weinstein issues statement regarding NC-17 for ‘Blue Valentine’

    In case you missed the news, the MPAA slammed Derek Cianfrance’s “Blue Valentine” with a bewildering NC-17 rating last week.  The best guess is that a somewhat intense (though by my measure, not all that eyebrow-raising) oral sex scene was the culprit.

    I’ve heard that Cianfrance will not make any further edits to the film so now The Weinstein Company will be appealing the decision.  This morning, Harvey Weinstein issued the following statement:

    We want to express our deepest gratitude to our colleagues in the industry and in the media for their recent outpouring of support for Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine after the film surprisingly received an NC-17 rating from the MPAA. We are taking every possible step to contest the MPAA’s decision. We respect the work of the MPAA and we hope, after having a chance to sit down with them, they will see that our appeal is reasonable, and the film, which is an honest and personal portrait of a relationship, would be significantly harmed by such a rating.

    [Photo: The Independent]

  • Schnabel’s ‘Miral’ pushed to March 2011

    Well, it makes sense for The Weinstein Company to tidy up its slate a bit.  “Blue Valentine,” “Nowhere Boy” and big dog “The King’s Speech” are enough to play with, and there is also “The Company Men,” which has been screening lately.

    So we bid farewell to Julian Schnabel’s “Miral,” which was looking like an awards season also-ran anyway, given the response out of Venice and Toronto.  From the Lido, Guy wrote that “Schnabel’s stated passion for the material is scarcely evident in his screen treatment thereof” and that the film is “enlightening neither as emotional essay nor as straight-up history lecture…[it] seemingly lands shy of every imaginable target audience: it’s too dry for the middlebrow awards set that might otherwise thrill to its superficially good intentions, too didactic for the highbrow intelligentsia that turned out for the director’s previous outings, and too dull for just about everybody.”

    David Poland originally Tweeted the news last night.  I’ve been waiting all morning for an informed source to verify.  Crazy, I know, but anyway, with said verification, chalk it up.  The film will be released in March of next year.

    [Photo: The Weinstein Company]

  • ‘Blue Valentine’ trailer

    Well, speak of the devil. On the heels of the film’s unfortunate run-in with the MPAA ratings board, The Weinstein Company has unveiled the first trailer for “Blue Valentine,” and it should give you some idea of why critics have been talking up this film — and, particularly, its pair of searing lead performances — since it debuted at Sundance in January. I was impressed by the film in Cannes, and Kris also boarded the wagon earlier this week. Check out the trailer via Yahoo! Movies by clicking the image below, or watch the embed after the jump.

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  • MPAA burns ‘Blue Valentine’ with NC-17 rating

    As if Derek Cianfrance’s moving, bruising marital drama “Blue Valentine” — with its Oscar-caliber performances by Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams — didn’t face enough obstacles heading into the awards season, what with its bleak subject matter and perilously late release date, the MPAA has just thrown it an extra curveball. In their wisdom, the sensitive souls on the ratings board have ludicrously given the film an NC-17 rating: the movie-censorship equivalent of a scarlet letter, theoretically reserved for films that feature extreme, boundary-pushing violence or sexual content.

    It’s been almost five months since I saw “Blue Valentine,” so my memory may be a little hazy, but I must profess to being absolutely stumped as to what content in the film could have provoked this decision. It’s a harsh, adult-oriented drama, make no mistake, but it doesn’t even feature explicit nudity, much less any beyond-the-pale activity. Deadline’s Mike Fleming claims this was the scene that supposedly crossed the line [mild spoiler alert]:

    I’m told the rating was given for a scene in which the characters played by Gosling and Williams try to save their crumbling marriage by spending a night away in a hotel. They get drunk and their problems intensify when he wants to have sex and she doesn’t, but will to get him off her back.

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