• Drew McWeeney talks to “Megamind” star Will Ferrell. [Motion/Captured]
• This year’s SAG Awards will be simulcast to all time zones at 5pm PST. [Variety]
• Francis Ford Coppola has “quietly” begun shooting his next film, a thriller with Val Kilmer. [Deadline]
Ever since Lionsgate announced a November 5 release date for Tyler Perry’s “For Colored Girls,” talk has circulated around an expected Oscar campaign. A set of posters dropped recently that went a long way toward showcasing the female acting talent on display. But is it a contender? Could one of these ladies (or the film itself) slide into the race? Or should we expect the usual from Perry? Lionsgate did a fine job launching “Precious” on the same release date last year, but it also had a headwind coming out of the Sundance and Cannes film festivals. We’ll have to wait and see. The new trailer for Perry’s film, released today at Yahoo! Movies, is at the very least handsomely mounted. Have a look by clicking the image below or watch an embed after the jump.
We’ve been wondering for a couple of weeks now whether an unexpected contender could hop into this year’s race. Last week Lionsgate announced a November 5 release date Tyler Perry’s “For Colored Girls” (the title of which had been officially shortened in the release from the original play’s “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf”). Anne and I discussed the film as an awards possibility in Friday’s podcast. And this week it looks like everyone’s catching up to the left-field idea.
Scott Mendelsen used the occasion for Oscar pondering at The Huffington Post. Sasha Stone picked that up and offered her own thoughts yesterday. Meanwhile, no one really knows for sure what we’re dealing with here. It could be a legitimate awards contender or it could just be a respectful push on behalf of a filmmaker that has made a lot of money for the studio.
One thing is certain: there is a slew of prime female parts in the material for the role call of actresses involved to sink their teeth into. That has been handsomely reflected in a recently released group of eight posters for the film. Check them out at Yahoo! Movies.
[Photo: Lionsgate]
The rumors were swirling around a potential fall release for Tyler Perry’s adaptation of the Ntozake Shange play “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the World is Enuf.” Today, a release dropped announcing a November 5 release. And, perhaps predictably, the film’s title has been shortened to “For Colored Girls.”
Guy pondered the awards possibilities of the title a few days back. Could we have a player on our hands? It’s the best bet Lionsgate has on its plate, and there are plenty female performances that could have the stuff. Time will tell. Check out a new image from the film after the jump.
One thing I like about David Poland as an awards analyst is that he often makes an effort to expand the tight circle of contenders by bringing little-buzzed names into the conversation. Needless to say, this kind of punditry can lead to a lot of dead ends, but every now and then he lands on a genuine sleeper — which is why this casual aside in his Friday box-office column caught my eye:
Of the current 16 [Lionsgate] $20m domestic openers, 7 are Tyler Perry (which is why For Colored Girls… is a lock to end up in this year’s Oscar race come December)…
In case it hasn’t been on your radar, he’s talking about “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf,” Perry’s filmization of Ntozake Shange’s landmark 1975 stage study of the African-American female experience. The play, a poetry-based piece taking on issues of abuse, rape, abortion and eventual empowerment, is pretty strong medicine; it’s difficult to imagine how it might work on film, and how it’ll mesh with Perry’s brash creative sensibility.
*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.
Every studio but Fox is reporting that “Clash of the Titans” won the box office this weekend, but Rupert Murdoch and co. insist it was, in fact, “Date Night.” Final results won’t be unveiled until tomorrow, but for now, we have to take their word for it. And if Rupert Murdoch’s word isn’t valuable, I don’t know what is.
So, “Date Night” is number one with $27.1 million smackers. As I mentioned on Friday, that’s below the $29.9 million of “Mean Girls,” but better than the $18.4 million debut of “Baby Mama,” both of which also opened in April. Lesson here is that Lindsay Lohan circa 2004 or Steve Carell > Amy Poehler and Dax Shepherd. I don’t see how Fox can not be disappointed with this figure. There was no other new films opening, “Clash of the Titans” was always going to capsize, and “Obsessed” opened with $29.2 million last April. Raise your hand if you even remember “Obsessed?”
Reviewers weren’t great but it’s word of mouth that counts here and I’m not sure that was so great either. As an action/comedy hybrid, it doesn’t help that next week sees the release of an action film and a comedy so it could be a quick exit to DVD for “Date Night,” where couples won’t actually need to make one to see it.
*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.
Alright. “Clash of the Titans” is the number one film at the box office with a weekend take of $61.4 million. Is that a tally worthy of the Gods? Simply put, in my opinion, no. Let’s set aside the 3D for a second and just pretend that isn’t a factor. Three years ago, “300” was able to debut with $78.4 million in the wastelands of March with arguably less recognizable source material and no recognizable star power. On this very same weekend last year, “Fast & Furious” opened to $72.4 million, setting a new record for the month of April and proving that huge grosses can come on any weekend in any month.
The budget on “Titans” was huge and Warner Bros. spent a small fortune hastily adding 3D at the last minute to try and soullessly suck out a few more bucks. In the shortest of short term, this may have worked, but the word of mouth has been atrocious and a lot of it has to do with the 3D so I expect this to drop like a rock and barely finish around $125 million. With overseas markets, that’ll be enough and yet another lifeless remake earns its stripes thanks to you (if you saw it).
Far more impressive, is the $30.2 million start of “Why Did I Get Married Too?” Tyler Perry’s movies have been the height of consistency, with his Madea titles earning $30 million plus and his Madea-less dramedies earning in the low $20 million range. Now he’s bucked the trend and proved that he doesn’t need a fat suit to register huge numbers. Seriously, there’s nothing harder than opening a drama about adults to $30 million. And that is why Lionsgate is changing their name to Tyler Perry’s Lionsgate.
• Steve Pond takes note of an Oscar milestone regarding Adam Shankman: the first tweeting Oscarcast producer! [The Odds]
• Tom O’Neil stirs the pot, says there might be a “Precious” backlash in the works. [Gold Derby]
• He does so in response to Lou Lumenick, who wonders whether Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey are hurting the film. [Lumenick on Film]
• As “Up” gears up for release in the UK, it is revealed the film was inspired by British photographer Adrian Warren. [Daily Telegraph]
• Tyler Perry gets personal regarding “Precious.” [TylerPerry.com]
• Enter for a chance to win Max’s wolf costume from “Where the Wild Things Are.” [Warner Bros.]
*This is the first installment of “The Long Shot,” a new weekly Oscar column from Guy Lodge here at In Contention.
At some point last week, I snapped at a commenter for rather benignly suggesting that, with the clarity granted certain contenders by the festival season, we could now call 7 of the newly expanded 10 Best Picture slots securely filled in mid-September, thus leaving us a full four months to find another three.
Going by that rationale, less than one new contender a month could emerge — roughly keeping pace with the film-going habits of many Academy members.
It was a fair enough theory, I suppose, and I shouldn’t have responded with as much snark as I did — though I will always adhere to the no-fun theory that a film cannot be decreed a “lock” before it is seen.
(Is “Invictus” a “Million Dollar Baby” or a “Space Cowboys” waiting to happen? Can “Nine” possibly match its ostentatious pedigree? What in the name of God is “Avatar?” Such are the tensions that make the season worth following.)
But I think the main reason the theory got on my nerves had nothing whatsoever to do with the commenter’s reasoning, and everything to do with the dispiriting possibility of it actually being true. Because if all the much-ballyhooed widening of the Best Picture category amounts to is a catch-all solution to ensure that every frontrunner gets its due — thereby handily making the Oscars more predictable and less particular into the bargain — then I’ll regretfully turn my back on the annual institution that has fascinated me since the second grade, move to Paris and track the Cesars instead.
• Patrick Swayze left us this week, passing away of cancer at the age of 57.
• The Venice Film Festival drew to a close, with Israeli war drama “Lebanon” taking top honors.
• It was Colin Firth, however, who emerged with Oscar buzz for the Weinstein-acquired “A Single Man.”
• Across the Atlantic, we kept you up to date with Toronto goings-on, as buzz for “Precious” continues to build.
*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.
Another day, another dollar for Tyler Perry. The man has released two films a year since 2006 and can’t seem to be unsuccessful if he tried. “I Can Do Bad All By Myself” is an easy candidate for worst title of the year, but it opened to the tune of $24 million and first place by a mile.
That ranks as Perry’s third-biggest debut as director and his best outside of February. If you are looking for one of the most unique and successful box office stories of the decade, look no further than the rise of the Perry Empire. He is the Pixar of religious cable-TV drama meets fat suit comedy.
Second place goes to “9,” which earned $10.9 milion over the weekend and $15.3 million since opening on Wednesday. For a PG-13 rated animated flick with seemingly very little appeal outside of young males, that’s a great result. The best thing about this success is that all you need is a potato sack and a highlighter and you’ve got a recognizable Halloween costume. You’re welcome.
“Inglourious Basterds” holds firm in the top three and passes the $100 million mark in the process. Tarantino was in very real danger of making a series of films that diminished his audience rather than expanded it, but he has turned it around here. Now all you need is a Clark Gable mustache and some prop scalps and you’ve got a recognizable Halloween costume.
Okay, I can’t stand Tyler Perry’s movies and I think “I Can Do Bad All By Myself” is an awful title (and a film I honestly hadn’t heard of until today), but when Drew McWeeny posted this exclusive poster premiere over at HitFix, my jaw hit the ground and, well, I had to share.
See, I pretty much fell head-over-heels for Taraji P. Henson last year. I ran into her constantly throughout the season after interviewing her early on for a Variety profile and the girl has so much spunk it’s hard — uh, difficult — not to feel a primal surge of attraction when she’s around. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that she’s got a body to die for (and at 39 years old, no less).
And this poster pretty much spells that out for you. I say do away with the floating heads, the silly tagline and the cast listing and leave it at sultry Taraji and the credit capsule at the bottom. It would be more striking that way, less “safe” (because let’s face it, those smiling mugs surrounding Henson pretty much wink at the viewer and say, “It’s okay, this is a Tyler Perry joint.”) Give me edgy and fierce any day. And hell, it might even sell me on the title.
Check out the full poster after the jump.
• Lionsgate picks up Sundance sensation “Push” with Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry in on the publicity push. [Variety]
• Aseem Chhabra wonders why negative portrayals of India from westerners always cause people to “freak out.” [Mumbai Mirror]
• “Little Miss Sunshine” producer David T. Friendly, meanwhile, smartly tells reporters sniffing around the “Slumdog” smear story to “consider the source,” calls the whole scenario “fueled by sour grapes.” [The Wrap]
• David Poland on the evaporating post-Oscar theatrical bump. [The Hot Blog]
• Another Oscar section for all our obsessive enjoyment. [E! Online]
• Michael Cieply reads into the body language of the season’s contenders at yesterday’s nominees luncheon. [The Carpetbagger]
• Peter Bart chimes in from the scene as well. [Peter Bart]
• Tom O’Neil on the steady leak of Oscarcast surprises. [Gold Derby]
• Christopher Campbell’s reasons bot to underestimate “The Reader” at this stage. [Spout Blog]
• Hilary Alexander reports from the BAFTA talent photo shoot. [Daily Telegraph]