As anticipated earlier this week. Great trailer. Greater film. That Springsteen theme actually brings a lump to my throat.
Click here if you want it in pretty Apple form.
Tag: The Wrestler
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Okay, the REAL final one-sheet for ‘The Wrestler’
Alright, so as reported below, that image that leaked out onto the net today is not the final “Wrestler” poster art, but rather, an early comp that made its way out somehow. The real poster has been supplied to me by Fox Searchlight below, and essentially, it’s the same image we saw at the AFI Fest premiere of the film, with a credit block added beneath.
Now that we’ve cleared that up, onward…
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indieWIRE surveys the race, questions ‘Button’
Lots of conflicting soundbites have been bandied about this week regarding “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” but here’s the first one I’ve seen with a credibly named source. In an article on indieWIRE, the site’s editor, Eugene Hernandez, discusses the awards race with colleague Peter Knegt, and offers this carefully-worded take on the still-embargoed film:While I feel that “Benjamin Button” is, on first viewing, hardly a lock for best picture, the attention that will justifiably be paid to its considerable technological achievements could sweep it into the higher profile categories. (“Forrest Gump” was popular with the Academy and there are some parallel’s here). But, as I was telling a friend today, for a much more striking and beautiful marriage of technology and ideas, I’d encourage folks to watch “WALL-E” again.
Knegt, meanwhile, suggests that “Button” might follow a similar course to “Dreamgirls” two years ago, raking in the technical nods, but missing out in top categories.
Other topics of conversation include “Milk,” which they posit as a clear frontrunner for Best Picture, and a “lock” for acting and screenplay nods. (They also side with Kris in selecting Josh Brolin as the film’s strongest supporting contender.) Meanwhile, they pretty much write off “Doubt” as a Best Picture contender, and go on to suggest some underdogs on the rise. Like me, they think “Gomorrah” could be one to watch:
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Are the Oscars a popularity contest? Sort of.
Over at his increasingly active OscarWatch blog, Dave Karger is bringing up the age-old issue of whether or not the Oscars are a popularity contest. The post is in part a response to Tom O’Neil and Pete Hammond’s dismantling of Karger’s predictions in the Best Actor race, where he declared the frontrunners to be Sean Penn, Mickey Rourke and Frank Langella.Seems sound enough to me — the first two in particular — but O’Neil and Hammond seem to feel that personal likeability issues might get in the way for all three actors. Karger acknowledges their point, but ultimately feels they might be off-base:
I see where they’re coming from: An awards campaign truly is similar to a political campaign at times, and one’s deportment certainly comes into play. I think it’s fair to say that Marion Cotillard’s tirelessness and charm in supporting La Vie en Rose didn’t hurt in her recent eventual Best Actress victory over Julie Christie. And who knows how many nominations Russell Crowe has squandered over the years by shoving awards-show producers or chucking hotel telephones. But then again, I wonder if Penn’s win for Mystic River (after he didn’t even bother to show up for the Golden Globes) proves that conduct doesn’t matter that much.
I have to agree. Yes, the Academy can play favourites — not least within the actors’ branch — but popularity and likeability aren’t always one and the same. Otherwise, someone as universally liked as Kate Winslet would have won approximately four Oscars by now. (Kate Hepburn, meanwhile, might have won substantially fewer.)
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POLL: ‘The Wrestler’ — Best Picture nominee?
Here’s the deal. I left “The Wrestler” off of the Best Picture poll from two weeks ago (which had “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Milk” leading the way). It wasn’t because of the film’s quality. Quite obviously, I loved the film. But it is very bleak and very small and, in the way of editorializing, I clipped it from the contenders. I just figured it too unlikely a scenario.
Well, over the weekend I’m told Fox Searchlight is “going for it” on the Best Picture front on this film, which had its U.S. debut at AFI Fest last week. I’m also told the film is receiving standing ovations at guild screenings, though one can’t be sure if that enthusiasm is focused more on Mickey Rourke’s stunning portrayal than it is the film as a whole. But regardless of that, the studio is getting serious on the more-than-just-the-performance front.
So, with that in mind, I thought I’d right the wrong of the last poll and offer up “The Wrestler” and its Best Picture fate to the readership. Very simple question: Do you think the film will receive a Best Picture nomiantion? Tell us in the sidebar poll!
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INTERVIEW: Mickey Rourke
Mickey Rourke fucked up his career. Who am I to say that though? I don’t get to chastise the guy, pass judgment, even comment really. It’s a cliche to say it, so why not be specific otherwise: Mickey Rourke had some shit to work out. Who doesn’t?He looks at you with stone eyes that seem to betray the early moments of a blackout. But after another look, it’s clear that he’s focused. He’s walking a straight line to spite his former self these days, even if it means lighting up in a non-smoking room to get through the unfamiliar terrain of a major film awards push. Because fuck it, right?
His pet chihuahua, Loki, moves slowly about the room, using what senses are still available to her after 17 long years, like some externalized representation of Mickey’s busted professional life. But she’s still here, isn’t she? So is Mickey.
He’s the kind of guy Bob Dylan calls up in the middle of the night with a modest, “Hey, it’s Bob.” He’s the kind of guy who can tell you he and Bruce Springsteen lost touch for 13 years and mean it. His fight-ravaged hand cracks after a forceful handshake. “Everything’s still crackin’.” With a smile, no less.
Everything could seem like a name drop but somehow becomes an honest, bard-like story of purpose. He repeats himself. Maybe he forgets, maybe he wants to make his point. Maybe he can’t believe it himself — stories of self-destruction or good fortune — so he has to hear himself say the words again. Introspection seems to come forth like the memorized therapy over a decade on the couch will give you. But the necessity of that hard work comes through. This is just where he is for the moment.
He’s a steward of the truth and takes his work bringing that truth to bear quite seriously. He won’t even waste time on a biography because he can’t get into his associations with the Hell’s Angels and John Gotti, so why bother? It wouldn’t be true.
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‘Wrestler’ poster on the red carpet
Someone was explaining to me today what the one-sheet for Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler” looks like, and I thought it sounded pretty cool. Then I scoped out some red carpet pics of the premiere last night during the AFI Fest at Grauman’s Chinese Theater and there it was, propped up for the world to see. I think Entertainment Weekly will be getting a print exclusive in due time, but for now, you can check it out for yourself over Rourke’s right shoulder below. I really dig the Dave Ansen quote: “Witness the resurrection of Mickey Rourke in Darren Aronofsky’s deeply affecting film.”
By the way, that piece I was hammering out at the Four Seasons, I’ll have it up over the weekend. Rourke is a hell of an interview, an odd mixture of intimidation and warmth — much like his character in Aronofsky’s film.
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WEEKLY WRAP: ‘Doubt,’ Danny Boyle and a bit of politics
In a week in which there were more important things going on than the movies (an outlandish notion, I know), these were nevertheless some of the highlights:• Several takes from the AFI Fest, including disappointment in “Doubt” …
• … but hearty cheers for “The Wrestler.”
• We caught up (twice) with the thoroughly delightful Danny Boyle, both in London and in L.A.
• Meanwhile, Dennis Hopper was also feeling chatty.
• In the wake of the reprehensible passing of Proposition 8, we wondered if “Milk” could have made a difference.
• We bade farewell to Mr. Michael Crichton. Rest in peace.
• “Australia” got a new trailer and a new poster. Smashing. Can we see it now, pretty please?
• Listing the greatest English-language directors at work today. Debate, as ever, was heated.
• Tech Support surveyed the horses in the Best Film Editing race.
• Oh, you might have heard that the United States has a new president. The right one, at that.
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REVIEW: “The Wrestler” (***1/2)
AFI FestDarren Aronofsky went back to the drawing board on “The Wrestler,” a film that wallows in nuance, spearheaded by a performance of grace and subtle charisma.
After “The Fountain” failed to catch on in any meaningful way (though this viewer considered it one of the best films of 2006), the director ravaged by a studio system that condensed his vision to an essence he wasn’t fully comfortable with, Aronofsky took up the reins of the most modest, straight-forward project he’s tackled in 10 years. The result is as affecting as it is numbing.
Mickey Rourke stars as Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a one-time head of the class professional wrestler who makes his living (barely) working in the independent circuit. His body as beat up as Aronofsky’s confidence must have been two years ago (he wears a hearing aid as a result of his work description and the look of a broken mare across his face), Randy is in some ways the ultimate blue collar guy.
Forget Joe the plumber, we’ve got Randy the wrestler.
He gets by on what little income he can manage from his stake of this event gate or that, sleeping in his big Dodge van (a Ram, of course) when he isn’t able to meet the rent on his trailer. His afternoon hang-out is the local dive strip club where he is friendly with Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), over the hill but with a goddess’s body and a heart of gold to match. She becomes even more attractive, somehow, with the revelation that she has a 9-year-old son, a point of connection for Randy, who has been estranged from his daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood) for many years.
After an extreme match with a Mick Foley-esque contender leaves Randy a bloody mess, the wrestler suffers a heart attack, the truth tossed into his face like a cold bucket of water: stop wrestling or you’ll die. That puts a damper on the road to a rematch with The Ayatollah, rekindling the good ole’ days with a former foe who sells cars now in Arizona. Think Hulk Hogan taking on The Iron Sheik today, 24 years after the electrifying Madison Square Garden showdown that ushered Hogan to stardom.
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WEEKLY WRAP: ‘Milk’ unveiled, London winds down, Halloween horror
It’s been a quieter seven days after the upheaval we’ve seen in the race lately, but here’s how things went down:• “Milk” and “Frost/Nixon” finally unspooled for the LA crowd…
• … and boy, some people don’t take kindly to criticism of either flick.
• Meanwhile, “Doubt” kicked off the AFI Fest…
• … while the London Film Festival drew to a close, showcasing “Che” and “The Wrestler” along the way. Check out our assorted reviews and “best in show” wrap-up.
• ‘Tis the season to be scared shitless… the 20 all-time best horror films, as assembled by our team.
• Christopher Nolan offers pretty much the final word on “The Dark Knight,” while some wonder if he can complete a Batman hat-trick.
• The British Independent Film Awards revealed their nominees… “Hunger” and “In Bruges” are sitting pretty.
• Best Sound Editing gets its week in the sun at Tech Support.
• Looking at some new blood in this year’s tepid Best Original Song race.
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LONDON: Gongs for ‘Mice,’ ‘Tulpan’ … and my own awards
My last post on the London Film Festival brings some happy news, as one of my favourite festival titles was justly rewarded last night. The festival is not a competion-based one, but three prestigious awards are still handed out before the final screening.One of these is the global festival staple, the FIPRESCI International Critics’ Award. I’m thrilled to see it went to Australian multi-hyphenate Matthew Newton for his superb debut feature “Three Blind Mice,” which I already gushed over here. At only 31 years of age, I predict big things for Newton, both before and behind the camera.
Meanwhile, the Sutherland Trophy for best debut feature went to “Tulpan,” the Kazakhstani entry for Best Foreign Language Film, beating such heavyweight contenders as “Ballast” and “Hunger.” It’s an auspicious award with a 50-year history: previous winners include “L’Avventura,” “In the Realm of the Senses,” “The Fabulous Baker Boys,” “You Can Count on Me” and “Persepolis.” I was rather taken with “Tulpan,” so I’m pleased to see this underdog come through — it’s a dark horse to crack the Oscar shortlist.
Other winners included the Italian character drama “Mid-August Lunch,” which took the Satyajit Ray Award for “artistry, compassion and humanity” in a debut film, and “Victoire Terminus,” a study of female boxing in the Congo that took the Grierson Award for best documentary. I’m afraid to say I missed both films, though I particularly wanted to catch the latter.
And with that, bearing in mind that I couldn’t see everything, I thought I’d hand out my own inaugural (and no doubt much-prized) awards for the best that I saw at the fest, starting with my own personal Top Ten:
TEN BEST FILMS OF THE FESTIVAL: 1. “The Class”; 2. “Synecdoche, New York”; 3. “Il Divo”; 4. “Slumdog Millionaire”; 5. “Three Blind Mice”; 6. “Wendy and Lucy”; 7. “The Good, The Bad, The Weird”; 8. “The Wrestler”; 9. “Sugar”; 10. “La Belle Personne”
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LONDON: Surprise… it’s ‘The Wrestler’
It’s a rainy Sunday night in London, and darkness fell a whole hour earlier thanks to the start of daylight savings. All of which only made me happier to be seated inside the warm cavern of the Leicester Square Odeon for my favorite event of the London Film Festival — the annual Surprise Film.Usually a hot title secured too late for inclusion in the main festival lineup, and not revealed until the title shows up on screen, the Surprise Film has a mixed track record. Festival director Sandra Hebron scored last year by getting “No Country for Old Men,” but I’ll never forget the groans of disappointment that greeted the opening credits of “Mrs Henderson Presents” in 2005.
In the foyer before the screening, whispers were spreading that this year’s choice was either “Changeling” or “The Wrestler.” So as the lights went down and the logo of the Venice Golden Lion prize flashed onto screen, announcing Darren Aronofsky’s much-lauded new film, the murmur of approval around the theater was palpable. (Incidentally, I called this pick a few weeks back — mainly because I was so surprised not to see it in the lineup.)
But Hebron had more than one surprise up her sleeve tonight — unusually for the surprise slot, both Darren Aronofsky and Mickey Rourke showed up for a post-film Q&A. Nobody was expecting that, and it made for my most entertaining festival experience so far, though I’m now kicking myself for bringing neither camera nor notepad (d’oh!) to the screening. A terrific coup for the festival — kudos to Sandra.
As for the film itself, I’m still too shaken by it to offer much in the way of coherent thought, but count me among the yea-sayers. Deceptively simple in form but deeply probing as character study, it strikes me as exactly the right film for Aronofsky to have made at this point in his career. As someone who actively dislikes everything to do with the wrestling circuit, I had concerns about how much I could personally connect with the film, but it proved revelatory — sport aside, this is a story of the body as a war zone.
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‘Ballast’ tops list of Gotham Indie award nominees
The Gotham Independent Film Award nominees have been announced (note the change in moniker this year), and Lance Hammer’s Mississippi drama “Ballast” leads the pack with four nominations. Six films received two nominations apiece, including Charlie Kaufman’s “Synecdoche, New York,” Jonathan Demme’s “Rachel Getting Married” and Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”One film that might have popped up had it been eligible was Gus Van Sant’s “Milk,” but the film was not ready to screen for IFP in time.
These are the first set of film awards nominations of the 2008 season, kicking off the campaigns for more than a few potential Oscar contenders, including actresses Rosemarie DeWitt, Melissa Leo and Rebecca Hall, each of them nominated in the Breakthrough Actor category. The documentary race also includes a number of Oscar hopefuls, “Man on Wire,” “Trouble the Water” and “Encounters at the End of the World” among them.
The frontrunner at this point is probably the bread-winner of the nomiantions process: “Ballast.” But I have a feeling “The Visitor” could spark enough support to surprise in the end. Also nominated for Best Feature is Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler,” the film’s only mention.
The awards will be held on Tuesday Decmber 2 at New York’s Cipriani Wall Street.
(Full list of nominees after the jump.)
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THE LISTS: Top 10 movie-related costumes for 2008
It’s that time of year. Candy fills the aisles of grocery stores, retail outlets are reaching that awkward phase when Halloween decorations lie next to Christmas items (they unleash them earlier and earlier each year) and, if you’re lucky to be some place where they actually have seasons, leaves are decorating the ground.It’s also that time when Halloween stores move into every vacated department store on the block with their latest array of timely Oscar costumes based on your favorite movies from the last 10 months. There are the holdovers from years past, of course. Captain Jack Sparrow here, Superman there. And let’s not forget the ever-popular rubber Presidential likenesses. So what can we expect?
There will be plenty of “Dark Knight”-themed wear, each item more embarrassingly realized than the next. Iron Man will be popular with a lot of the tiny youngsters, as older kids might feel strange in a plastic faux-metallic robot get-up. They’ll stick with Napoleon Dynamite or another year of Borat before they subject themselves to that.
Whatever the costume, one thing is always pretty much guaranteed: the costumes are gonna suck. These things are mass-produced and don’t fly off the conveyor belt fast enough. Creativity is lacking, it’s all a painful mess. The only answer is good ole’ fashioned ingenuity…and we’re here to help.
Below you’ll find our list of the top 10 movie-related costumes of 2008, with an eye toward some brand of originality throughout (though the unavoidability of obvious picks creeps in here and there). Herewith is our guide to a memorable Halloween season:
10. Randy “The Ram” Johnson
For all the little tikes who worship (or worshiped) the ground Michael Hayes, Dallas Page, Shawn Michaels and the Ultimate Warrior walked on, don your best set of tights and break out the fake blood for a tour around the neighborhood as the lead character in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler.” For added “umph,” bring along a female friend, scantily clad as stripper/love interest Cassidy, or get some other kids to go in with you as nemesis wrestlers. Accessories that’ll sell it: metal chair for out-of-the-ring clobberin’, entrance music accompanying you from house to house (maybe bring a boombox for the occasion). -
10/8 Oscarweb Round-up
• Tom O’Neil wonders if Bill Maher can cure his Emmy drought with an Oscar instead. [Gold Derby]• Patrick Goldstein calls ‘W.’ a “mess,” confirming my worst fears… [The Big Picture]
• Erica Abeel corners Mike Leigh at the New York fest. [indieWIRE]
• Bill Murray talks “City of Ember,” his divorce. [Associated Press]
• Stephen Holden thinks “Changeling” and “The Wrestler” are “shameless Oscar bait.” [New York Times]
• Oscar-winner Faye Dunaway talks to Xan Brooks about her work in a new indie. [The Guardian]
• Tom Wilkinson, the actor who does it all. [USA Today]
• Jeffrey Wells continues to pass along the good “Milk” word second hand. [Hollywood Elsewhere]
• Variety’s Peter bart is blogging again after a week’s drought. Call off the search party. [Peter Bart]
• Glenn Kenny paid to see “An American Carol.” [Some Came Running]
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OFF THE CARPET: Who we are, who we want to be
In the last few weeks, drama has persisted in the yet-to-be-heated Oscar season. Producers are debating exhibitors in public and mid-summer opinions of awards-caliber product are being revisited — in some cases disavowed — as more and more viewers get their peeks.On the positive side, two studios have launched the screener circuit with indie films they hope can muster some remembrance, while the foreign film news bite barrage has come to a close with the qualification deadline. But there isn’t much to go on in terms of assessing the season, not a lot in the way of tangible grist for the mill.
Lots of smoke, very little fire.
In part, that should explain a lack of predictions updates here at In Contention, shifting and sliding for no reason. And indeed, this week’s update isn’t a massive overhaul — or even an overhaul — beyond putting a few things into context here, trimming the fat there. But as I set out to update our projections this week, I became more and more aware of 2008’s striking theme of self-reflection this Oscar season. And hey, it seemed as good an idea for a column as any.
