In Contention

Tag: Vicky Cristina Barcelona

  • ‘Ballast’ tops list of Gotham Indie award nominees

    BallastThe 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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  • Best Original Screenplay: beyond the obvious

    Everyone has a favourite Oscar category, and Best Original Screenplay is mine. It’s partly because I’m a screenwriter myself, so I feel a little more invested in the outcome. My evaluation of the category often comes down to the question: “Which screenplay do I most wish I’d written first?”

    More importantly, however, it’s the category where the Academy takes its greatest artistic risks. With the Best Picture category generally weighted towards adaptations, they often use Best Original Screenplay as a way to acknowledge the edgier, more adventurous work that voters can see the greatness of, but don’t yet have the guts to honour with their biggest prize. Hell, once in a blue moon they even give it to (gasp) a foreign-language film.

    It’s this convenient ghettoising mentality that ensures the likes of “Citizen Kane,” “The Red Balloon,” “Chinatown,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Talk to Her” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” don’t go empty-handed. Sure, it sucks that they couldn’t win more. And, being the Academy, they make more than their share of screw-ups. (Let’s try and forget that, in 1960, “Pillow Talk” beat — wait for it — “Wild Strawberries,” “North by Northwest” and “The 400 Blows,” shall we?) But they occasionally hit on an otherwise-snubbed masterpiece, and for that we should be grateful.

    This year’s Best Picture slate appears to be heavy on prestige adaptations, allowing for a more idiosyncratic ragbag of contenders on the Original Screenplay front, mixing familiar Academy-anointed favourites with some exciting new voices.

    There is, of course, a chance this could be a year when the paths of the Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay races converge, principally in the shape of “Milk” scribe Dustin Lance Black. Already high hopes for “Milk” were amplified by an excellent trailer, and a number of Oscar clairvoyants are labelling it the front-runner in the top race. If this turns out to be the case, Black will likely benefit.

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  • 9/11 Oscarweb Round-up

    Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler• James Rocchi gets “Hurt Locker” director Kathryn Bigelow on the record. [Cinematical]

    • Ditto Anne Thompson. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • David Poland has considerable praise for John Malkovich’s work in “Disgrace.” [The Hot Blog]

    • Anthony Kaufman reports Toronto as a shot in the industry’s arm. [Wall Street Journal]

    • A.O. Scott from that of sobering realism. [New York Times]

    • Patrick Goldstein gets some choice quotes out of Darren Aronofsky and Mickey Rourke.  [The Big Picture]

    • David Germain makes sure you’re aware that Rourke is in the midst of a career comeback. [Associated Press]

    • Danny Wood corners Javier Bardem in Madrid for a little “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” talk. [The Independent]

  • ‘Che,’ ‘W.’ among films announced to play London fest

    Looking down the list of titles in the newly-revealed lineup for next month’s London Film Festival lineup, my initial reaction was one of mild disappointment. Plenty of exciting titles, for sure, but it doesn’t quite match last year’s feast that included everything from “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” to “The Assassination of Jesse James” to “Juno” to “4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days.”

    My second thought, however, was that the lineup reflects more on what a tepid year for film 2008 is shaping up to be, rather than any lack of effort on festival director Sandra Hebron’s part. Tellingly, this morning Hebron herself cited critical opinion that, in the wake of a roundly derided Venice festival, “it wasn’t a vintage year for cinema.”

    But enough of the hand-wringing. There’s still much to get excited about, including “Che,” the two parts of which, interestingly, will be screened both together and apart; Oliver Stone’s potentially polarising “W”; “Hunger,” featuring a potential dark horse for Best Actor; “Religulous”; “Rachel Getting Married,” “Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist,” “Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson” and, to my immense delight, “Synecdoche, New York.”

    Not to mention that, as previously announced, the festival will be bookended by the world premiere of “Frost/Nixon” and Danny Boyle’s red-hot Toronto hit “Slumdog Millionaire.”

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  • 9/2 Oscarweb Round-up

    Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler• Todd McCarthy does cartwheels for Danny Boyle’s “Sulmdog Millionaire.” [Variety]

    • Bruce Springsteen’s “Wrestler” track chokes Darren Aronofsky up every time he hears it. [darrenaronofsky.blogspot.com]

    • Peter Sciretta gives a quick, somewhat lacking review of Mike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky,” seems to be mixed. [/Film]

    • Across the pond, Penélope Cruz talks “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and working with masters. [Daily Telegraph]

    • Not really awards-related (yet), but, wait…they’re turning “The Wave” into a German language film? Cool! News to me… [Empire]

    • Andrew Pulver separates the cheers from the jeers in Venice. [The Guardian]

    • If you’re looking for one hell of a spiffy awards section… [Rope of Silicon]

    • Rupert Friend makes one creepy Nazi in “The Boy in Striped Pyjamas.” [The Times]

    • Scott Bowles runs down ten fall flicks bursting with potential. [USA Today]

  • Ahem…Oscar possibilities for ‘Vicky’ OUTSIDE of Cruz?

    Rebecca Hall in Vicky Cristina BarcelonaI’m not the first to grant accolades to Woody Allen for his immensely pleasurable and beautiful new film, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” It’s every bit Mr. Allen: funny, pretentious, absurd, cynical, honest, witty and fair.

    We have debated in this space a few times the merits of Mr. Allen’s recent work. He was hailed by critics for “Match Point,” a brutal and deceptive tale of adultery and murder in London. It earned him his 14th screenplay nomination and his 21st nomination overall, which ties him with Billy Wilder if I’m remembering my Oscar history accurately.

    He followed that up with “Scoop,” a not-so-funny film that reminded me, unfortunately, of “Small Time Crooks,” and “Cassandra’s Dream,” a better yet still modest film that did illustrate Colin Farrell’s true potential as an actor. It didn’t go anywhere with critics and was given an early 2008 release date: Siberia for the Oscar-driven. But he’s rebounded, again, with his most recent film for which he smartly cast Penélope Cruz and recent Oscar winner Javier Bardem. Their efforts and talents match perfectly; they are a dynamic on-screen force.

    As most people know by now, the film takes place in Barcelona and involves a circular love affair between two American girls, Vicky and Cristina, played by Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson (whom also starred in “Match Point” and “Scoop”) and Mr. Bardem, an artist, and Ms. Cruz, a crazy artist.

    The film should be a lock for Best Original Screenplay. It’s as good as “Match Point,” if not better (for different reasons), and reminded me, perhaps because of the voice-over narration, of “Husbands and Wives,” which also received a screenplay nod (it lost to “The Crying Game”).

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  • NYT Mag talks to Penélope Cruz

    Lynn Hirschberg from The New York Times Magazine sat down recently with “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” star Penélope Cruz for TMagazine (the NYT fashion mag).  It’s another one of those slick black and white jobs like the “Pineapple Express” interviews from last week.

    The first half she spends talking about her relationship with director Pedro Almodóvar.  They’ve just finished up production on “Los Abrazos Rotos,” their fourth film together.  Then she gets into Woody and “Vicky.”  Apparently “Deconstructing Harry” is her favorite Allen flick.

    She’s so infectious.  Have a look (though the black-on-black makes for a strange floating head thing):

  • Ken Turan’s video review of ‘Vicky’

    Huh? I just came across this at Awards Daily, but it seems that Kenneth Turan is doing video reviews now. The first one (well, the first one I’ve seen, anyway) is for Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”

    Turan liked the film, though he considers it “only sporadically entertaining.” But the real story here has to be the bastardization of Turan’s art form. A 60 second one-off? I guess it’s fine since it accompanies the full review, but I gotta say, kinda odd.

    And ease up on the head room, cameraman.

  • Woody through the years

    Woody AllenHe may be the finest American screenwriter of the last 40 years, having redefined the romantic comedy, explored relationships with a biting audacity and authenticity, provided women with marvelous roles,  and like all great writers, exposed a portion of his soul on screen.

    Now in his 70s, Woody Allen seems poised to once again become an important and vital American director after more than a decade of weak efforts that seemed to signal his decline. His new film, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (reviewed by Kris here) is superb, a return to form for a master seemingly charged with renewed energy and vigor.  The film is funny, robust, and with an under-current of danger and nastiness that gives it an edge his previous work, “Match Point” excepted,  simply did not have.

    It was with “Annie Hall” that Allen broke through as a major filmmaker, winning the Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Picture.  Another award came for actress Diane Keaton, while Woody himself was nominated for Best Actor. It was a case of the hard core New York artist being embraced by the Hollywood community he so despised.

    A ground-breaking romantic comedy,  “Annie Hall” took the tried and true “boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back” and created a fourth rule, being “boy loses girl forever,” pumping authenticity into the genre, reality, a reflective slice of life.

    In the immediate years that followed Allen directed and wrote his tribute to Ingmar Bergman, “Interiors,” and then gave us “Manhattan,” which many consider to be his masterpiece.  It was a breathtaking valentine to New York City, a superbly written and directed love story, with remarkable performances from the cast.

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  • REVIEW: “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (***1/2)

    The Weinstein Company\'s Vicky Cristina BarcelonaIt is difficult to argue against the notion that filmmaker Woody Allen has been showing signs of tiresome decline. Successes have been few and far between for a number of years, while his recent failures pale next to the interesting missteps of his early career. His work has become, more often than not, a paint-by-numbers imitation of his former self.

    The real fear that has set in for this viewer has been that his comedic gem of a mind has slowed down to the point of auto drive. But the director’s latest foray across the pond,”Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” quells any such notion with the revelation of a spry Allen as insightful as ever. It is sharp and witty, expertly constructed and cleverly rendered.

    The film begins with the Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) of the title arriving in Barcelona for a summer of graduate studies and free-spirited Bohemia, respectively. Vicky is engaged and locked in to the life she sees for herself, while Cristina is ever the romantic, a nomad of the heart, searching for love and inspiration at every turn.

    After an art gallery opening the two unassuming ladies find themselves chatted up by an incredibly persuasive Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem). “We’ll eat good food, drink lots of wine, make love…hopefully the three of us,” he says with a confidence that will make any male feel a sudden need to take notes. A quick plane ride to the quaint Spanish burg of Oviedo is out of the question for Vicky, though Cristina is predictably swept away by Juan Antonio’s charms.

    The girls learn of Juan Antonio’s ex-wife, Marie Elena (Penélope Cruz), and the fiery passion that seared through their relationship. Naturally, Marie Elena attempted to murder Juan Antonio in a fit of impassioned rage. She put a knife into him, to be precise. No matter the devotion, there was always an element missing in their marriage, but they remain two parts of an impenetrable kindred nonetheless. “Marie Elena always said unfulfilled love is the only romantic love,” Juan Antonio says over one of many candlelit dinners.

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  • POLL: Which recently off-his-game director do you expect to hit paydirt this Oscar season?

    Vicky Cristina Barcelona director Woody AllenIt’s been a couple of weeks since we introduced a new sidebar poll — tons going on, apologies. But suffice it to say, “The Dark Knight” beat out eight other highly regarded comic book films to be the readers’ choice for best all-time in the genre. No shock there, though it took more votes than I anticipated overall.

    This week, with the rush to anoint Jonathan Demme a prodigal son returned following the debut of the “Rachel Getting Married” trailer, I thought it would be fun to suss out what readers think of a few filmmakers testing the awards waters with new product this season after a number of missteps in recent memory.

    The aforementioned Demme is coming off of a couple of largely ignored documentaries and forgettable narrative entries such as “Beloved,” “The Truth About Charlie” and, to a lesser extent, “The Manchurian Candidate.”

    Woody Allen, meanwhile, is stepping up to the plate with “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” a critical fave out of Cannes following years of missteps since “Sweet and Lowdown” (save for “Match Point,” which had its followers).

    Spike Lee hasn’t exactly turned the heads of awards-giving bodies all that much for some time, though he looks to dive back into the fray with “Miracle at St. Anna,” and Jim Sheridan is coming off the miscalculation of “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” with the Susanne Bier remake “Brothers.”

    So…tell us in the poll.  Which of these recently off-the-mark helmers has the best shot at reclaiming former glory with his resepective awards hopeful this season?

  • RIP Charles H. Joffe

    We sure are losing a lot of valuable talents this year.

    You have probably already heard about the passing of Charles H. Joffe, the veteran comic manager best known as Woody Allen’s longtime producer, and the co-winner of the 1977 Best Picture Oscar for “Annie Hall.” (Not as well known is that he guided the early careers of such other comic giants as Billy Crystal and Robin Williams.)

    There isn’t much to add to what has already been said elsewhere, but as a devoted fan of Allen’s films (all of which Joffe, with partner Jack Rollins, produced or executive-produced), I can only state my admiration for his loyalty and longevity within that working relationship. Not many producer-director teams can claim a five-decade span. Allen himself has paid tribute with the following statement: “When he was at the top of his game, nobody was better.”

    Of course, Joffe and Rollins were executive producers of Allen’s latest, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” Here’s hoping the largely positive word on the film so far means Joffe’s career ends on a high note.

  • Wells joins the guessing game

    In response to Tom O’Neil’s contender shortlist that I discussed yesterday, Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere has come up with his own list of Best Picture frontrunners – and predicted also-rans. (O’Neil has since significantly amended his list, by the way – wisely removing “Blindness” and “Synecdoche, New York” from Best Picture consideration, and adding some titles including, bizarrely, “Mamma Mia!” Meanwhile, names like Tommy Lee Jones, Rachel McAdams and Kristin Scott Thomas enter the actors’ mix.)

    Wells’ top choices include “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (which he describes as “not the front-runner,  but the contender with the best script”), “Milk,” “Doubt,” “Gran Torino,” “Frost/Nixon,” “W” and “The Visitor.” “W” is a predictably contentious selection; I certainly know a few people who would disagree with his assertion that it “works on the page.”

    Rather more fun is Wells’ rundown of the titles that he thinks don’t have a prayer, which he breaks down as follows:

    “Appaloosa” (possibly worthy Ed Harris western but New Line leftover status dooms it); “Burn After Reading” (a dry Coen brothers goof, not an Oscar film); “Body of Lies” (I know nothing about this brilliant Middle Eastern spy thriller that would qualify it as Oscar bait); “Changeling” (Best Actress nom for Angelina Jolie but the film, while dramatically solid and well made, just isn’t stratospheric enough); “The Dark Knight” (are Tom and Pete having us off?); “Defiance” (an Ed Zwick World War II movie about Russian-Jewish resistance guerillas…hello?); “Mamma Mia!” (all right, that’s enough); “Miracle at St. Anna” (a Spike Lee movie in which a bank teller is shot by an old guy having a memory seizure?) and “Vicki Cristina Barcelona” (can’t and won’t happen).

    I must say I agree with him on most counts there – in particular, I’ll be somewhat surprised if “Miracle at St. Anna” and “Defiance” even turn out to be good films, let alone Best Picture possibilities. I can’t help thinking, though, that some little picture that’s slipped through all these lists will sneak up on us later this year. We sure weren’t talking about “Juno” a year ago.

  • Sight & Sound weighs in on Cannes

    OK, so Cannes is old news, but for me it’s never really over until Sight & Sound prints its annual Cannes review – for my money, the British magazine offers the most expansive and thoughtful coverage of the festival around. It’s not available online, but it’s worth grabbing a copy if you can. Meanwhile, I’ve picked out a few highlights from editor Nick James’ commentary on the key festival films.

    Interestingly, James agrees by and large with the jury’s selections. He names “The Class” as his favourite film of the festival, declaring it “so electrifying, satisfying and inspiring that it’s hard to believe it isn’t the work of professional fiction weavers at the top of their trade.” He also joins the chorus of approval for “Gomorra:” “So compelling is the detail that there’s no need for thriller conventions … Garrone’s direction makes incredible use of desolate locations and the acting is impeccable.” I must admit I am getting more excited about this film with every notice I read.

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  • The story so far

    The Times of London has a very handy roundup of the highlights of the Cannes Film Festival thus far, echoing the widespread acclaim for such titles as “Gomorra,” “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” “Waltz With Bashir,” and the long-awaited new film from Terence Davies, “Of Time and the City” – which, while out of competition, has probably been the festival’s most universally adored film so far. They also share my suspicion that Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s “Three Monkeys” may nab the Palme d’Or over the more extravagantly hyped contenders.

  • Whew…

    I’m sure I’m not the only one who heaved a sigh of relief after reading some of the reviews of Woody Allen’s latest, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” which recently premiered out of competition at Cannes. The consensus appears to be that the film, while unlikely to enter the canon of his greatest, is an attractive, frothy entertainment.

    In his Variety review, Todd McCarthy puts it thus:

    “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” is a sexy, funny divertissement that passes as enjoyably as an idle summer’s afternoon in the titular Spanish city … pic offers potent romantic fantasy elements for men and women and a cast that should produce the best commercial returns for a Woody Allen film since “Match Point.”

    McCarthy is particularly enamoured of Penelope Cruz’s performance, deeming her to be “dynamite” in the film, and extending the Anna Magnani comparisons that we first started hearing when “Volver” emerged two years ago.

    Happily, The Hollywood Reporter’s Kirk Honeycutt is equally enthusiastic about the film, and is most impressed by its Spanish stars:

    The film belongs to Bardem and Cruz. This is a Spanish version of “Private Lives,” a couple that cannot live apart or together, whose love will always burst into fiery combat. Their scenes are some of the funniest Allen has ever put on film, and the culmination of this love/hate tango is not to be missed.

    I had a good feeling about this project from the get-go, but then I admit I’m one of those die-hard Allen supporters who maintains that “Melinda and Melinda” is a misunderstood almost-great, and tried his damnedest to find something – anything – to like about “Hollywood Ending.” So I’m thrilled to learn that this is likely to be one of those Allen treats I can enjoy guilt-free, without having to construct a defence case for it afterwards.

    As for awards prospects, after those notices, I’m going to go ahead and put Cruz on the lower rungs of my ladder of Best Supporting Actress contenders. Woody’s films have long been good to women in this category, and while the competition looks crowded this year, a slight but appealing performance from a well-liked star is often the one left standing when the bigger guns misfire. As for Allen himself, any film of his that is generally given at least a B+ by the critics is a contender for a Best Original Screenplay nomination, so I’m going to plunge in and put him on my list. What can I say? The sun’s out (at last) in London, one of my favourite auteurs appears to be back on track, and I’m in a generous mood.

  • Oscarweb Round-up (Week of 5/12)

    Reintroducing the Oscarweb Round-ups you probably caught at Red Carpet District last season, I thought it might be worth it to try it on a weekly basis here at In Contention — until the daily onslaught hits us again in a few months.

    –Peter Debruge writes up the Student Academy Award winners. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    –BAFTA/LA spotlights British comedy with new awards ceremony. [Variety]

    –Sasha Stone wonders about the apparently randy nature of Woody Allen’s upcoming “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” [Awards Daily]

    –Pete Hammond writes up an Oscar preview via this year’s Cannes International Film Festival. [The Envelope]

    –Guy Lodge responds. [In Contention]

    –Blake Rutherford previews the Little Rock Film Festival and takes the opportunity to ponder what the festival circuit means to films looking for traction. [In Contention]

    –Noah Forrest thinks Oliver Stone’s upcoming “W” is a “bad idea.” Meeee tooooo. [Movie City News]