In Contention

Tag: True Grit

  • BOX OFFICE: A good weekend for Portman

    She’s got two entries on the box office chart and a headwind going into phase two.  Nice ink for “The King’s Speech” being in the top four after last night’s big win.  “True Grit” closes in on $150 million.

    (Courtesy: Exhibitor Relations)

  • Bridges does Ferguson

    He was off to film this Thursday after we had lunch, so I guess I can shed light on the Purell thing at the beginning.  Jeff’s pretty sick right now.  He’s been offering up elbow pounds in lieu of handshakes as a result.  Here he does a chest bump and Purell shake.  Part two after the jump.

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  • TECH SUPPORT: Final analysis, part two

    Yesterday I began a final look at the crafts categories. Today, a look at the four remaining fields: Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design and Best Film Editing.

    BEST ART DIRECTION

    The precursors of the BFCA, BAFTA and Art Directors Guild have been fairly consistent in citing four titles in this category. Last year’s winner, Robert Stromberg, seems poised to dip again for creation of a 3D world on Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland.” Eve Stewart, on the other hand, will likely be returning to the fold after an 11 year absence for “The King’s Speech.”

    Guy Hendrix Dyas and Jess Gonchor also have got all necessary precursors, and have fashioned surefire Best Picture nominees, in “Inception” and “True Grit” respectively. It is true that they have had difficulty being nominated in the past but Gonchor has also never had such an Oscar-friendly opportunity, whereas the impressive, integral-to-the-story nature of Dyas’s work has been especially embraced by the precursors.

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  • TECH SUPPORT: Final analysis, part one

    It seems hard to believe that it’s been more than six months since I wrote this year’s introductory Tech Support column ( a dissection of the art direction race). Much has changed since then, naturally, as we are less than a week away from the big day when we find out the nominees for the Oscars this year. Today, I take a final look at the music categories, sound categories and the two categories that have been narrowed down to seven finalists – Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup.

    BEST MAKEUP

    In this utterly bizarre category, virtually any combination of the seven finalists would fail to surprise me as the final three. That said, I’ve had the same top two predicted all year and see no reason to change now: “Alice in Wonderland” and “The Wolfman.” The former had massive box office and very noticeable makeup, whereas the latter is exactly the sort of movie that tends to score here and nowhere else.

    Logic may put “True Grit” or “The Fighter” next in line due to their Best Picture contender status. But as much as these films are loved, they don’t have as showy makeup as the other finalists, and this is a category that often doesn’t care how films are received overall.

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  • 1/20 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Portman milestones, Best Director not equal to Best Picture, Sony goes iTunes, too

    • Eight milestones in the evolution of Natalie Portman. [Movieline]

    • Carolyn Giardana notes a rare Best Visual Effects nomination for an animated film at the BAFTAs. [Hollywood Reporter]

    • Nathaniel Rogers argues against the notion that Best Director must equal Best Picture. [The Film Experience]

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  • 1/19 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Affleck’s favorite heist films, Weinstein loves the Jets, Cameron going deep

    • Ben Affleck’s writes up his 11 favorite heist movies. [Daily Beast]

    • The Jets game was the Weinstein priority on Sunday night, not the Globes. [Page Six]

    • Dave Karger gets frisky and sticks with Hailee Steinfeld in lead for his final predictions. [Inside Movies]

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  • POLL: Who gets the fifth supporting actress slot?

    One of the interesting things about this morning’s BAFTA announcement is that it scattered the already fluid Best Supporting Actress category to the winds.  Nominations for Barbara Hershey, Miranda Richardson and Lesley Manville put them in the hunt with contenders like Mila Kunis and Jacki Weaver for what appears to be an up-for-grabs fifth slot.

    Anne and I will probably address this at length in Friday’s final pre-nods Oscar Talk, but it seemed a good bet for a poll update as well.  Surprises happen.  And you risk being crazy to think outside-the-box (as in, last year, when everyone thought I was out to lunch for thinking Maggie Gyllenhaal had a chance).

    In the left sidebar, I’ve listed the five competitors that seem most likely to battle it out for a chance to join Melissa Leo, Amy Adams, Helena Bonham Carter and Hailee Steinfeld (who herself could suddenly fall lead) in the Best Supporting Actress category this year, as well as the NSFC-winning Olivia Williams and an obligatory “other” option thrown in.  Chalk up your vote there and head on back here for your reasoning and hopefully we’ll get some good discussion out of all of this.

    [Photo: Sony Pictures Classics]

  • EXCLUSIVE: The production design of ‘True Grit’ (clip)

    A month ago we offered a week-long series of in-depth interviews with the below-the-line talent of Joel and Ethan Coen’s “True Grit.” One of them was a conversation with production designer Jess Gonchor, who is featured heavily in this brief featurette on the film’s design, provided exclusively to us by Paramount Pictures:

  • BOX OFFICE: ‘Green’ makes green

    The new releases finally took the top spots this week, but “True Grit” is chugging along, “The King’s Speech” went wider and is padding its wallet and “Black Swan” will be one of Fox Searchlight’s top grossers when all is said and done.

    (Courtesy: Exhibitor Relations)

  • WEEKLY WRAP: Guilds galore and season fatigue

    • The Directors’ Guild of America presented few surprises in their award nominations, though some raised eyebrows at “True Grit”‘s omission. (Their documentary nods didn’t move the needle either.)

    • The American Cinema Editors’ nods matched those of the directors; the American Society of Cinematographers didn’t deviate much from the formula either.

    • This week’s Off the Carpet column addressed the growing consensus around a “Social Network” win, days before Kris formally made the prediction himself.

    • The Long Shot, meanwhile, wondered how the field of contenders this season ever got quite so narrow.

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  • OSCAR TALK: Ep. 48 — Armond White vs. Darren Aronofsky, guilds speaking up, ‘True Grit’ box office, awards show/party weekend on the way, supporting actress wide open

    Oscar TalkWelcome 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.

    Today is the final day of phase one this season. Ballots are due by 5pm PT, so everyone needs to pick a chair before the music stops. And we have plenty to discuss as a result, so let’s see what’s on the docket today…

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  • On the costumes of ‘True Grit’

    Back during the pre-holiday build of Tech Support Interviews with the below-the-line talent of Joel and Ethan Coen’s “True Grit,” you’ll recall my conversation with Mary Zophres on the costumes of the film.  Today we’ve got a nifty featurette for you built around the threads of the film.  It makes for a nice reminder that, one week from today, the Costume Designers Guild will announce it’s nominees:

  • ACE springs for Best Picture frontrunners

    Guy rightly noted yesterday a seemingly “whatever” coagulation of the guild awards circuit into “easy-to-recall season staples.” If you were hoping the American Cinema Editors (ACE) would put an end to that, keep dreaming.

    Of course, ACE historically skews as populist and inside-the-box as the DGA set, which is why the two are often coupled for maximum tea leaf importance when forecasting Oscar. But one at least hoped for a “District 9”-level statement of “we like stuff that has no chance of winning Best Picture,” but it wasn’t to be.

    The “surprise,” for most, will likely be Pamela Martin joining the guild party for “The Fighter,” but given the givens, it’s not such a left-field pick. Season heavy, boxing film (which does well with editors), etc. She’ll probably be an Oscar nominee, too, but I must say, it’s a shame the year’s best job at the Steambeck, “Shutter Island,” was ignored here after an early below-the-line guild showing.

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  • 1/12 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: ‘Toy Story’ wins Golden Tomato, inside the NSFC vote, Firth loses his voice

    • “Toy Story 3” edges past “How to Train Your Dragon” and “The Social Network” to take this year’s Golden Tomato Award. [Rotten Tomatoes]

    • Louis Virtel, meanwhile, wants to know why “Oscar zealots” aren’t fighting for the film’s Best Picture chances.  Uh, hello? [Movieline]

    • Sex and ballet slippers: the themes of “Black Swan.” [Film School Rejects]

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  • January winner predictions

    After taking a stab at winner predictions early last month, it seemed now would be a good time to re-assess.  Only three adjustments, though — for Best Picture, Best Film Editing and Best Original Score.  I’ll try my hand at another set post-nominations.

    Best Picture: “The Social Network”
    Best Director: David Fincher, “The Social Network”
    Best Actor: Colin Firth, “The King’s Speech”
    Best Actress: Natalie Portman, “Black Swan”
    Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, “The Fighter”
    Best Supporting Actress: Hailee Steinfeld, “True Grit”
    Best Adapted Screenplay: “The Social Network”
    Best Original Screenplay:     “The King’s Speech”

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  • ‘King’s Speech,’ ‘Social Network’ among ASC nominees

    Well, I was expecting this to drop tomorrow, but the ASC nominees have been announced (catch them at The Circuit), and there are a couple of surprises.

    Okay, well, Jeff Cronenweth getting in for “The Social Network” isn’t a complete surprise, as I mentioned this morning we should watch out for him here.  But Danny Cohen making the cut for “The King’s Speech,” despite the fact that the film has an intriguing visual quality, is a bit unexpected.

    The rest is as we would have thought, though Robert Richardson missing is less of a shock than Enrique Chediak and Anthony Dod Mantle getting the shaft.  I think Cohen gets bumped in favor of something else, though.

    Though maybe Cronenweth is in a precarious position, seeing as the ASC is quicker to nominate digital work than the Academy.  The rest, I should think, are solid.

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  • “Where is no QUARK on my BEND it!”

    I still say that if you honestly can’t understand what Jeff Bridges is saying in this movie, I have no choice but to think you’re 95 years old.  Nevertheless, this is hilarious (courtesy of College Humor):

  • AMPAS narrows makeup category to seven

    I’ve been noting for a while now that “Barney’s Version” could be a sleeper in the Best Makeup category due to some impressive aging.  The film joins six others today as a bake-off finalist.  The only film missing that I’m currently predicting is “Shutter Island,” so replace that with “The Way Back” (which I was predicting once upon a time), and that’s my bet.

    The finalists:

    “Alice in Wonderland”
    “Barney’s Version”
    “The Fighter”
    “Jonah Hex”
    “True Grit”
    “The Way Back”
    “The Wolfman”

    Another potential sleeper is “The Fighter,” buy the way.  The work on Melissa Leo is pretty impressive.  Keep up with the race at its dedicated page here.

    [Photo: Sony Pictures Classics]