• Sasha Stone on the season’s screenwriting contenders. [Awards Daily]
• “The King’s Speech” director Tom Hooper also hates the poster everyone has been knocking. [Movieline]
• David Poland split screens “The Social Network” star Armie Hammer. [The Hot Blog]
• 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]
Was I just in a really good mood Saturday night or did DreamWorks’ “Megamind” send me out of the theater with a legitimate smile on my face? The 3D never gets in the way, the concept is sound and crisp, the voice talent is top notch and it doesn’t feel like everyone’s just going through the motions (probably because Will Ferrell was passionate about the story, which he had a hand in conceiving).
Most importantly, it was a damn good time at the movies.
I’m fairly high on animation in general this year. Pixar’s “Toy Story 3,” of course, is one of the year’s best, as is DreamWorks’ own “How to Train Your Dragon.” Disney’s “Tangled” manages to stay fresh and progressive within the familiarity of the studio’s classic fairytale offerings and Sylvain Chomet’s “The Illusionist” is as touching as they come (with the year’s best score to boot — though a recently filed lawsuit over the copyright of the title could keep the film off the books this year).
“To get the challenge to play someone like this makes me a better person,” said a rather intense-looking Hilary Swank at yesterday’s London Film Festival press conference — the someone in question, single mom turned crusading lawyer Betty Ann Waters, sitting to her immediate left.
Not being personally acquainted with Ms. Swank, I can’t verify the before-and-after truth of this claim, but I can say that this endearingly earnest tone is entirely shared by Tony Goldwyn’s film “Conviction” (**1/2).
A rote courtroom drama that is but one “The Betty Ann Waters Story” subtitle — and Jaclyn Smith casting switch — away from being Thursday night TV fodder circa 1988, “Conviction” (which opened in the US yesterday) is one of those so-implausible-it-has-to-be-true stories that blandly and single-mindedly champion blanket virtues like hope, loyalty and tenacity over finer, more fractious social and personal details, but keeps you dorkily invested in its principals’ plight despite your better instincts.
The opening Hall H panel of this year’s San Diego Comic-Con belonged to DreamWorks Animation’s “Megamind” from “Madagascar” director Tom McGrath. The film, set for release November 5, is an “action comedy that takes the whole genre and turns it on its head,” McGrath told the packed hall.
In the film, Will Ferrell gives his vocal talents to the title character. Tina Fey plays a television reporter and Jonah Hill, her cameraman. All three, along with McGrath, were on hand to preview five minutes of 3D footage from the film.
Another key cast member, Brad Pitt, could not attend. But the crew got a nice LOL pop out of the audience by bringing a cardboard cut-out on stage.
Ferrell got into the Comic-Con spirit by donning the blue and black get-up of his character. It’s the second time he’s been able to play a villain, following 2001’s “Zoolander,” but he said he was attracted to the idea of playing a “bad guy who becomes a good guy.” No, nothing earth-shattering, but those are the kinds of quotes the panel was offering moderator Drew McWeeny.
2005 was the year of Heath Ledger’s beautiful, moving performance in “Brokeback Mountain,” which I saw for the first time in Toronto. It instantly became the talk of the festival, and the film became the one to beat for the Academy Award.
Ledger was astonishing as the taciturn cowboy who is more surprised than anybody when his soulmate turns out to be another cowboy, portrayed superbly by Jake Gyllenhall. If there is a more deeply felt moment in film history than Ledger gently adjusting Gyllenhall’s shirt at the end of the film, his eyes filled with tears, I don’t know what it is. That’s loss, that is absolute heartbreak, that is one of the greatest acting performances of the decade.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman would win the Oscar for his transformation into “Capote” and he’s very good, but just not in the same league as Ledger. I wondered from time to time if “Infamous” had been released earlier if Toby Jones might have won the Oscar instead of Hoffman. Each becomes Capote in a very different manner, and side by side it is difficult to choose the stronger portrayal. Certainly I prefer Hoffman’s as it is darker, and for me more realistic, but there can be no denying Jones.
• “Tonight Show” drummer Max Weinberg splits his attention between his new west coast late night gig and his east coast responsibilities with the E Street Band. [New York Times]
• Nikki Finke reveals the real life Hollywood story that inspired the spec script for “The Hangover.” [Deadline Hollywood Daily]
• Todd Leopold talks to “Hurt Locker” director Kathryn Bigelow. [CNN]
• Noah Forrest questions the motivations of studios hoping to cash in on sequels nobody asked for. [Movie City News]
• As “Land of the Lost” tanks at the box office, Chris Nashawaty asks what most of us have been wondering for a while: “Is America over Will Ferrell?” [MSNBC]
• Patrick Goldstein treads similar territory, wonders whether Ferrell’s “movie-star credentials should be revoked.” [The Big Picture]
• On the emo dorks actresses find appealing these days. [The Independent]
• The Golden Gate Bridge: a sci-fi director’s favorite target. [The Guardian]
One of the stories we linked to in this morning’s round-up was a Noah Forrest riff bemoaning the complacency of Tom Hanks in his recent work. While that might be a valid point, I still have a soft spot for things like this because Hanks is a natural. It also helps that the “Jeopardy” sketch has always been one of my favorites and made for a nice 90s blast from the past on Saturday night’s Will Ferrell-hosted season finale.
I was watching some special on “Eastbound & Down” recently where one of the producers (might have been Will Ferrell, or maybe it was David Green) was talking about how the show is a commentary on the state of the hero in pop culture. Then I heard the talk out of SXSW about “Observe and Report,” Joe Leydon’s review, for instance, indicating transgression and the idea of capturing the film’s essence in four words: “Travis Bickle: Mall Cop.”
More and more I dig what this crew (Jody Hill, Green, Seth Rogen, etc.) is doing with comedy on the screen and forgive me, but I think Jeff Wells is missing the purposeful irony of a tag line like “Right now, the world needs a hero.” Given the perspective Hill and company have on protagonists on the small screen, I think this is more than just an arbitrary Warner Bros. marketing decision.
I haven’t seen “Observe and Report,” but I’m catching a whiff of something truly special.
This morning I linked to our friend John Campea at The Movie Blog who offered up a list of 15 possibilities for host of this year’s Oscar festivities. Producers Bill Condon and Larry Mark are hard at work putting the show’s particulars together (when Condon has a few moments away from that Richard Pryor biopic he’s been writing), and sooner or later, an announcement will be made.
I agree with a few of Campea’s suggestions. George Clooney, for instance, is an inspired pick, the charmer of Hollywood without an enmy in the world — well, except for McCain supporters, I guess. I also like the choice of Robert Downey Jr., though in 2008, it’s almost TOO on the nose. Rounding out the big names that make sense, I’d be on board for Tom Hanks as well, always adept at working a crowd. But Steve Carrell seems to lack the right prestigious “umph,” while Denzel Washington would prove to be too cardboard-stiff, I’d wager.
We’ve been there and done that with Steve Martin, Ellen Degeneres and Jon Stewart — new blood would be preferable. And Steven Colbert would be a false echo of Stewart’s attempts. Will Ferrell and Ben Stiller — too silly. Tina Fey — too one-note. Jerry Seinfeld — too snooty. And Ricky Gervais was a manifested pipe-dream from the start. But I’d absolutely be on board if Condon and Mark want to hand over emcee duties to Uwe Boll. Who wouldn’t?? But you might as well toss in Kelsey Grammer in full-blown Beast make-up as a co-host at that point.
So the question remains: Who should be the host? Who has the right amount of showmanship to off-set his dramatic faculties and keep the even keel a show like this needs? Who has the right comedic reserve to tap into when necessary and who would absolutely light up the stage with his consistent determination to perform?
Marc Forster’s “Stranger Than Fiction” really ought to be referred to as Zach Helm’s “Stranger Than Fiction.” While the “Finding Neverland” helmer does a sensational job conveying the brilliant and elaborate story to the screen, it is evident throughout that the writer’s intentions are being taken care of.
And thank God for that, because Helm’s creation is ultimately one of the most potent, meaningful and literarily astute pieces of screenwriting in the medium.
It might seem obvious that comparisons to Charlie Kaufman are in store for Helm and the resulting film. It is true that the screenwriter reaches for certain human and social truths via his creatively unorthodox approach, much like Kaufman has done in his most recognizable work.
But Helm also tackles his themes in a paradoxically accessible manner that can speak to larger numbers and to even larger truths. With this debut feature, Helm has truly hit a grand slam.
In the film, Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) is an unspectacular IRS agent who lives each and every day by the book. He isn’t the sort to color outside the lines, if you follow. The world makes sense to him broken into a strict regimen inside his mind, a regimen that is so second nature it is almost appealing. He counts steps, brushes his teeth with a consistent amount of strokes each morning and keeps track of every second to spare via his handy wristwatch alarm.
These peculiarities are hammered home through the educated, cheeky narration of some omniscient presence, and it seems like another simple tale of a man and his wholesome life. That is, until Harold becomes cognizant of the narration.
As it turns out, Harold is the main character in the latest novel from author Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson), whose voice provides the narration he hears day in and day out. Harold isn’t aware of this, of course. He just thinks he is losing his mind.
The effect is merely annoying and diversionary for him to start, but Harold really begins to get nervous when the voice makes a passing comment on the foreshadowing of his “imminent death.”
In disarray, Harold seeks out the advice of a literary scholar, Dr. Jules Hibert (Dustin Hoffman). Dr. Hibert takes up the task of distinguishing what sort of story Harold is experiencing. Is it a comedy or is it a tragedy? Is he a specific figment of literary history or someone else? Is there a specific author behind the tale? Is Harold merely crazy?
Meanwhile, Harold has been given the task of auditing a feisty bohemian baker, Ana (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Discontent with “the man” and certainly not afraid to speak her mind, Ana is, if anything, Harold’s polar opposite: hip, tattooed, free-spirited and boisterous.
He is, of course, immediately taken by her. And maybe he could do something about it if that pesky voice would just leave him alone. Or maybe hearing his seemingly aimless existence play out through mundane narration is the swift kick in the rear he needed to start living his life the way he wants to.
For much of the narrative, “Stranger Than Fiction” is about just that. It is about coloring OUTSIDE the lines and living life as you – not your schedule – see fit.
When Harold meets Ana, he begins to find this perspective. And when he finally decides to do all the things he wanted to do in his life, “I want you” is all he can say to her that conveys what he really feels. It is a brief and ironic moment that cleverly speaks to the sexes’ tendency to play games through courtship.
Who has time for such things – especially when your “imminent death” is upon you?
All of this is told parallel to Eiffel’s story. Suffering a terrible case of writer’s block and having been assigned an assistant, Penny (Queen Latifah), by her publisher, Eiffel can’t seem to figure out the best way to kill Harold Crick.
She spends her days imagining automobile accidents and visiting hospital emergency wards, desperate for that spark of creativity that will ignite her novel’s conclusion.
Eiffel is famous for killing people in her books, you see. More specifically, she is famous for killing people she has created as noble, admirable individuals you’d hate to see go. But perhaps the time has come for her to start doing things out of her typical order as well.
And that’s when “Stranger Than Fiction” treads breathtaking territory. What Helm’s screenplay does that takes it up a level in brilliance is present a third act that makes the film about something else entirely – something that almost flies in the face of the first two thirds of the story.
It took two viewings to really grasp the importance of that shift in theme, and when it landed, it certainly had an impact. In that final act, the film becomes a story about living for others as much as for yourself.
Modest Christian symbolism, intended or otherwise, may or may not click with viewers (Eiffel sticks out as a deity capable of bestowing mercy on those who live unselfish lives), but regardless, Helm pieces together a story much denser than it would appear at an initial glance. Such is the mark of artistry that is welcome and rare.
The performances across the board are outstanding. Will Ferrell presents Harold Crick as his finest portrayal to date, as fittingly awkward as he can be moving. Maggie Gyllenhaal exudes a sexiness and charisma that plays fantastically off of Ferrell’s quirky charms.
Dustin Hoffman seems born for the role of the dry-witted Dr. Hibert, and Emma Thompson’s hermitic author is at once peculiar and inspiring. Queen Latifah, though in something of a throwaway role, somehow still feels like the perfect choice for Penny.
Marc Forster, meanwhile, deserves a lot of credit for diversifying his directorial choices. He seems to be gravitating toward stories that have a certain warm center, which can be appealing or annoying (depending on the viewer).
Helm’s screenplay is the most accomplished the director has worked with thus far, and he does a flawless job of putting the script on the screen without fuss and without unnecessary trademark.
“Stranger Than Fiction” will be about a number of different things for a number of different people. For some it will be about living life to the fullest. For others it will be about trusting your instincts and going after what you desire.
For me, it is about recognizing the importance of the little things we encounter, day in and day out, that go toward creating the huge puzzle we spend most of our days trying to decipher. Life really is what happens when you’re making other plans.
I’m no fan of Will Ferrell’s comedic sensibilities in the slightest, but “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” is probably the best film of his typical mold to hit screens yet. I know “Anchorman” has its devoted, and “Old School” was apparently good enough in the eyes of Bravo to make it to an obscenely high position on their recent (awful) list of the best comedies of all time.
But “Talladega Nights” has the right mixture of peripheral comedic brilliance that Ferrell has needed for some time, to off-set that “me, me, me” schtick that hasn’t worked since Jim Carrey started talking out of his ass.
Nothing in the way of a full review here, but a few thoughts can’t hurt. Not only does John C. Reilly prove himself something of a hilarious comedic sideman once again (playing a similar character to his “Days of Thunder” role, only this guy ate paint chips as a kid), but he at times beats Ferrell at his own game. Gary Cole, meanwhile, is becoming the master of the extended cameo yuk-yuk.
Sacha Baron Cohen (along with on-screen hubby Andy Richter) gives enough reasons to slap your knee – and expect him to blow up even more once “Borat” hits cinemas, giving the actor a nice one-two punch this year). It’s always great to see Pat Hingle on screen, no matter how inconsequential the part, and Amy Adams…Amy Adams has just…never been sexier. It’s like a new breed. Subjective, of course…
Ferrell is what you would expect, though he really nails that southern fried cluelessness that has become it’s own standard. Once “Stranger Than Fiction” releases in November, showcasing acting chops that ought to turn a head or two, the Golden Globe nominee will have potentially started the crossover that can be a painful process for comedians, bridging the gap to dramatic tendencies. We’ll see how that flies with the critics and public at large.
In the meantime, go out and enjoy a laugh or two when “Talladega Nights” hits theaters next weekend. I’m fairly certain the appeal will be there for Ferrell fans, but this viewer, not one to jump in line for the comedic stylings of the Saturday Night Live alumn, was pleasantly surprised by some nice goofball entertainment. Take it for what it’s worth.