In Contention

Tag: W

  • 10/16 Oscarweb Round-up

    Tim Burton• Patrick Kevin Day gets some choice words from costumer Jacqueline Durran about the shoot-from-the-hip nature of working with Mike Leigh. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Tim Burton is too busy to see “The Dark Knight.” [Hero Complex]

    • Josh Brolin was initially insulted at the offer to play George W. Bush. [USA Today]

    • Shock of shocks: the kooks depicted in “Religulous” are pissed. [CNN]

    • Erik Lundegaard charts Presdential depictions through cinematic history. [MSNBC]

    • Even though they were staying at the Hilton across the street from the Ziegfeld, John McCain and Sarah Palin declined Oliver Stone’s invitation to the Gotham premiere of “W.” [New York Daily News]

    • Michael Cieply writes up a nice preview of Gus Van Sant’s “Milk.” [New York Times]

    • In honor of Don Cheadle stepping in for Terrence Howard on “Iron Man 2,” the top 13 character switcheroos.  Word up on #2. [Premiere]

  • 10/15 Oscarweb Round-up

    Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married• Tom O’Neil mulls over the Hollywood Film Festival honorees. [Gold Derby]

    • Peter Bart is paralyzed in front of his absentee ballot after watching two Presdential fuck-ups in “W.” and “Frost/Nixon.”  WTF? [Peter Bart]

    • Jeffrey Wells ponders the glut of Best Actress contenders at Sony Pictures Classics. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • David Frost makes it clear that he wasn’t the underdog when he went toe-to-toe with Richard Nixon. [The Times]

    • Kim Voynar goes from Voynaristic to The Oscar Outsider in a new schtick at MCN. [Movie City News]

  • 10/13 Oscarweb Round-up

    Marc Forster• Robert Abele gets Josh Brolin to reveal his inner ‘W.’ [The Envelope]

    • Tom O’Neil gnaws on the Oscar potential of Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married.” [Gold Derby]

    • Peter bart makes a lot of presumptions and assumptions about the craven mentality of duel performers in a given Oscar season. [Peter Bart]

    • Vulture kicks off this year’s Oscar Futures with pro on “Milk,” con on “W.” [Vulture]

    • Alonso Duralde studies the work of Leonardo DiCaprio as “Body of Lies” releases into cinemas. [MSNBC]

    • Brad Brevet does the same, but draws the conclusion that DiCaprio has never quite hit it out of the park. [Rope of Silicon]

    • Scott Bowles, meanwhile, draws up an obit on the box office performance of “Body of Lies.” [USA Today]

    • Jeff Dawson goes in depth with “Quantum of Solace” helmer Marc Forster. [The Times]

    • Lauren Schuker digs into the global investments on Oliver Stone’s “W.” [Wall Street Journal]

    • Larry Charles chooses his 28 most subversive comedians. [Entertainment Weekly]

  • Oliver Stone on Bill Maher

    Boy, Oliver Stone is a terrible television interview.  Don’t get me wrong, I could listen to him wax on all day long.  He’s usually at his best when he taps into that weird, oblivious monologue (listen to the director’s commentary of “JFK” for thorough evidence of this).  But anyway, it’s nice to see him out there peddling “W.” at the right places, namely, “Real Time with Bill Maher.”  The best bit is when he says Bush “probably would have died” if he went to Vietnam.

    Check it out:

  • WEEKLY WRAP: Rudin bails, Brolin buzz, original scores

    And this, as they say, is the week that was:

    • In the biggest news of the week, Scott Rudin has washed his hands of the whole “The Reader” fiasco by taking his name off the film. What now?

    • Lots happening on the music front this week, with Universal offering a taste of the scores for “Changeling” and “Frost/Nixon,” while elsewhere, the surprisingly rich score for “W.” was revealed.

    • Carrying on the musical theme, we nabbed an interview with “Appaloosa” composer Jeff Beal.

    • This week’s Off the Carpet column contemplated the marked social currency of this year’s contenders.

    • Following its NYFF screening, “Changeling” got a rough ride from the blogosphere.

    • Josh Brolin has been all over the place this week, speaking out about that Shreveport incident, while his “W.” performance gathers positive buzz. Meanwhile, rumor has it that he’s down for “Jonah Hex.”

    • EW looks to revisit history (i.e. gloat over the Academy’s mistakes) with its Oscar revote.

    • A look at the sometimes troubled relationship between Hollywood and Philip Roth.

    • Continuing Tech Support’s preview of the crafts categories, this week was the costume designers’ turn.

    • And finally, is Alfred Hitchcock overrated? Join the debate here.

  • Josh Brolin talks ‘W.’

  • 10/9 Oscarweb Round-up

    Julianne Moore in Blindness• Dave Karger not only thinks Ralph Fiennes is in the supporting actor race for “The Duchess,” he thinks he is Heath Ledger’s main competition. [Oscar Watch]

    • Eight documentary shorts have been short-listed by AMPAS. [Oscars.org]

    • Jeffrey Wells reports that Lionsgate Films is pissing off Portland area critics by not screening “W.” for them (on the heels of a similar situation with “Appaloosa”). [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Patrick Kevin Day talks to César Charlone about the look of “Blindness.” [Los Angeles Times]

    • Steven Zeitchick thinks “W.” might be a victim of its own timeliness. [Risky Biz Blog]

    • On the heels of a similar query about Kristin Scott Thomas’s chances, Tom O’Neil wonders if Frank Langella can take the Oscar and the Tony in the same year. [Gold Derby]

    • Analyzing “The Scene” from Steve McQueen’s Hunger,” including a record-breaking 17-and-a-half-minute shot. [The Times]

    • 10 underrated Bill Murray roles (totally agree on most of them). [Spout Blog]

  • More buzz for Brolin

    The mixed notices for Oliver Stone’s “W.” — some of which seem to be simultaneously admiring and bewildered — make it quite clear that the film isn’t going to be a player in the top categories. But we pretty much knew that all along.

    Josh Brolin’s performance, however, is another story altogether. After the stunning breakthrough that he’s had in the past year, playing an incumbent president — and a widely-loathed one at that — in a film by an off-the-boil director might not have seemed the safest career move.

    But the gamble appears to have paid off: whatever the ultimate fate of the film, Brolin’s interpretation of Bush has been widely hailed as a courageous and accomplished addition to an increasingly interesting filmography. Naturally, Oscar talk is swirling, and Screen International’s review minces no words on the matter:

    A wonderfully brash and fearless performance … If the film itself fails to figure in the year-end awards shortlists, Brolin must surely be considered a likely best actor nominee. Wholly immersing himself in the part, he doesn’t imitate the president so much as breathe human complexity into him. Rudderless and restless as a young man, Brolin nonetheless plays him as a likeable enough fellow, a harmless jock, attractive to women and tortured by his father’s expectations. As a president, Brolin plays him as a man of some intelligence, even if his arrogance and machismo are on full ugly display.

    (more…)

  • Josh Brolin goes on the record about the Shreveport arrest

    Josh BrolinThis is the juiciest scoop Jeff Wells has had in a long time.  While interviewing Josh Brolin at yesterday’s “W.” junket, he got the actor on the record regarding that arrest in Shreveport earlier in the summer.  You remember, back when poor Jeffrey Wright got the business end of a taser and allegedly had to deal with some racist bullshit as a prologue?

    Anyway, here is what Brolin had to say:

    Not to be too maudlin or morbid. But I’ve been around the police my whole life. I have so many policeman friends and police woman friends, and I’ve never never, ever, ever seen anything like it. All the time I was in jail I could think, the whole time…okay, they’ve arrested us knowing that their economy, part of their economy is based on the film industry. Okay, that’s one…knowing this is wrong. Secondly, they know we have some leverage. With the press, with this…they know we have some rebuttal, something, some reaction. They know that.

    Then I thought every person that goes through here…they have nothing, they have nothing, they’re forgotten. So I wonder how many people have been abused by this system? So then I started researching . They had a kid who died from a taser, 21 year old kid. Almost 300 people have died in the last five years. From tasers? It’s unbelievable, man, and the fact that they resorted to that when there was no violence?

    Heavy.  Kudos to Jeff for getting the goods, though it seems Brolin was willing to hand it over on a silver platter to the first guy who dug a little.  He also mentions that the supposed video phone recording of the incident does, in fact, exist, and that it will be released soon enough.

    Word.

  • 10/8 Oscarweb Round-up

    Angelina Jolie in Changeling• 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]

  • 10/7 Oscarweb Round-up

    Kat Dennings and Michael Cera in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist• David Poland writes up a mini-reaction to “W.”  Yours truly will get a crack this morning. [The Hot Blog]

    • Jeffrey Wells, meanwhile, can’t wait to see it. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Jeremy Piven in “Speed the Plow?”  Best…casting…ever? [The Daily Beast]

    • Yet another article wondering how “Body of Lies” will fare in the ghetto of Irag war cinema. [Risky Biz Blog]

    • Robert Deutsch gets some face time with Clint Eastwood. [USA Today]

    • More on EW’s Oscar revote. [Pop Watch]

    • In honor of “Nick and Norah’s Playlist,” 10 favorite “one night out” movies. [Vulture]

    • Christopher Campbell thinks Sony Classics should aim for Best Animated Feature Film with “Waltz with Bashir,” over Best Foreign Language Film.  Why not both? [Spout Blog]

  • Weiser on the prescience of ‘Wall Street’

    Michael Douglas in Wall StreetBuried in the pages of the Los Angeles Times’ entertainment section over the weekend was this intriguing op-ed from “W.” screenwriter Stanley Weiser.  But it wasn’t his upcoming George W. Bush biopic he had on the mind, it was 1987’s “Wall Street,” which Weiser co-wrote with Oliver Stone.

    It’s a real coup for the Times, if you ask me.  It’s interesting to read through the short story of how the film came to pass, the “read ‘Crime and Punishment’ over the weekend” stuff from Stone is classic.  But it’s the sad note of responsibility in Weiser’s words, the feeling that he may have helped create little Gordon Gekkos the world over.

    Here’s a look:

    Gekko’s character was written to create an engaging, charming, but deceitful and brutal being. I have nevertheless run into quite a number of younger people, who upon discovering that I co-wrote the film, wax rhapsodic about it . . . but often for the wrong reasons.

    A typical example would be a business executive or a younger studio development person spouting something that goes like this: “The movie changed my life. Once I saw it I knew that I wanted to get into such and such business. I wanted to be like Gordon Gekko.”

    The flattery is disarming and ego-stoking, but then neurons fire and alarm bells go off. “You have succeeded with this movie, but you’ve also failed. You gave these people hope to become greater asses than they may already be.”

    Read the rest here.  And a bit of nostalgic “fun” (here as well):

  • OFF THE CARPET: Who we are, who we want to be

    (from left) Josh Brolin and Toby Jones in W.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.

    (more…)

  • 10/6 Oscarweb Round-up

    Toby Jones• Choire Sicha talks to Ellen Burstyn about “W.” and her new memoir. [Los Angeles Times]

    • A year later, Jeffrey Wells still very much hearts “Things We Lost in the Fire.” [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Peter Knegt profiles “Rachel Getting Married” screenwriter Jenny Lumet. [indieWIRE]

    • David Gritten corners the Coen brothers across the pond. [Daily Telegraph]

    • John Anderson details the Iraq war film as risky business with Ridley Scott tackling the subject in “Body of Lies.” [New York Times]

    • Doing more press for the Brits than Stateside these days, Oliver Stone chats it up with Oliver Burkeman. [The Guardian]

    • The diversity that is character actor Toby Jones. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Steve Daly talks with a Bill Maher-less Larry Charles. [Entertainment Weekly]

    • More fuel for the “‘Gran Torino’ is Eastwood’s last performance” fire. [Reuters]

  • Paul Cantelon’s beautiful ‘W.’ score

    Cover of W. Original Motion Picture SoundtrackA huge thank you to commenter Markku who points us to emusic.com’s sampling of Paul Cantelon’s original score for Oliver Stone’s “W.”

    I have to say, it’s a beautiful piece of work on the whole.  Lots of haunting melodies, plenty of southern flavor here and there, a nice waltz thrown in to emphasize the bumbling nature of the “protagonist.”  I’m loving this stuff!

    Cantelon, by the way, is having a hell of a year way, WAY under the radar.  His work on Justin Chadwick’s “The Other Boleyn Girl” is still one of the better scores from 2008.  If he keeps this up, he’ll find himself on a fast-track to awards success just like Alexandre Desplat did after bursting onto the scene in 2004 and 2005.

    I should be seeing “W.” any day now.  The film has been screening for various journalists, I just haven’t been considered cream of that crop to date.  But we will definitely be covering all the “W.” goings on from the London International Film Festival as Guy brings us the daily latest.  So keep an eye out for that later this month.

  • Peter Bart weighs in on ‘W.’

    Well, it isn’t really a review, but:

    Last week I saw Oliver Stone’s “W.,” an engrossing film which reminds us that the man who made “Platoon” hasn’t lost his edge. Part polemic, and part parody, “W.” explores the love-hate relationship between George Bush senior and junior.

    Alrighty.

  • 10/2 Oscarweb Round-up

    Rosemarie Dewitt in Rachel Getting Married• Jeffrey Wells reports that Jim Sheridan’s “Brothers” has been pushed to 2009. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Patrick Goldstein hypothesizes that the year-end Oscar glut is detrimental to quality films and, in a round about way, that studios should forgo the Oscar spending.  Gasp! [The Big Picture]

    • David Poland apparently missed the qualifier “largely” in disputing a section of Goldstein’s lede. [The Hot Blog]

    • Michael Ordoña talks to the wonderful Rosemarie Dewitt about her work in “Rachel Getting Married.”  Best in show, in my opinion. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Tom O’Neil spotlights the tech crew of “Eagle Eye,” wonders if Oscar might be in their future. [Gold Derby]

    • Karina Longworth reports on the “Wrestler” press conference at the New York fest. [Spout Blog]

    • Andrew O’Hehir talks to Bill Maher — boy is he making the rounds for “Religulous.” [Beyond the Multiplex]

    • Chris Ayers heads over to Ixtlan for a “W.” chat with Oliver Stone. [The Times]

    • The 25 greatest movie posters of all time.  Too heavy ont he vintage stuff, but a fun list. [Premiere]

  • 10/1 Oscarweb Round-up

    Danny Glover in Blindness• Kim Voynar joins Movie City News.  here’s hoping she gets paid. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Steven Soderbergh will make a third Che Guevera film if “Che” makes at least $100 million at the box office.  A.K.A., Steven Soderbergh won’t be making a third Che Guevera film. [The Playlist]

    • Blind people protest “Blindness.”  I mean, have they even seen the movie yet? [Associated Press]

    • Speaking of blindness, a ranking of the five most plausible doomsday movies. [Spout Blog]

    • The “Dark Knight” fad continues — Michael Bay will shoot some “Transformers 2” stuff in IMAX technology. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • Patrick Goldstein gets tangled in the Nikki Finke/Harvey Weinstein bullshit that just won’t go away. [The Big Picture]

    • Susan Wloszczyna digs at the heart of Jonathan Demme: what women want. [USA Today]

    • Susan King, with a nice profile of “W.” star Scott Glenn. [Los Angeles Times]

    • The French box office clash of “The Class” and “Faubourg 36.” [The Independent]

    • Kevin Costner on the “Swing Vote” circuit across the pond. [Daily Telegraph]