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  • BEST ACTOR WATCH: Robert De Niro in ‘Everybody’s Fine’

    (from left) Drew Barrymore and Robert De Niro in Everybody's FineI’ve been meaning to post something along these lines for a few weeks now.  Around roughly this time a year ago (plus a month exactly), we pointed you early on to a potential comeback in the works for Mickey Rourke in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler.”  We all know how that turned out.  Now there are murmurs that Robert De Niro could be back in serious Oscar contention for the first time since…anybody?

    The film is Kirk Jones’s “Everybody’s Fine” and it is a remake of Giuseppe Tornatore’s 1990 film of the same name.  De Niro stars as a widower who realizes the only connection he has to his family was through his wife, so he sets off on an impromptu road trip to reunite with each of his grown children.

    In some ways it sounds like a role similar to George Clooney’s in “Up in the Air,” a sudden realization that one’s place in the world is very much determined by relationships with loved ones.  And it could be just the ticket for De Niro to get back into the fray.  Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell also star.

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  • 9/11 Web Round-up

    Meryl Streep• If you’re dismissing the Oscar potential of “The Men Who Stare at Goats,” Gregory Ellwood says, “Not so fast.” [Awards Campaign]

    • Meryl Streep on why Hollywood’s men don’t trust women. [The Times]

    • Betsy Sharkey sits down with “Precious” director Lee Daniels. [The Envelope]

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  • SHORT TAKE: “A Single Man” (***1/2)

    Colin Firth and Julianne Moore in A Single ManVenice Film Festival

    In a curious way, revered fashion designer Tom Ford had a defined auteur’s stamp before he ever so much as shot a frame of his debut film: from his louche advertising campaigns to his infamous curation of Vanity Fair’s 2007 Hollywood issue to the forms and textures of his designs themselves, Ford has constructed a highly idiosyncratic brand identity fusing burnished retro cool and chilly modern eroticism.

    No surprise then, that the handsome, eggshell-delicate character study “A Single Man” is very much an extension of that identity: trading in polished surfaces and swoonily aestheticized desire, the film looks on occasion like an animated GQ shoot. (And yes, Ford provides the leading man’s wardrobe.)

    But just as you’re tempted to dismiss the film as a gorgeous vanity exercise, it reveals a keen beating heart beneath the decor — and the match of Ford’s precise sensibility to Christopher Isherwood’s 1964 literary examination of the effect of grief on an overly compartmentalized life begins to make perfect sense.

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  • VENICE: ‘Mr. Nobody,’ ‘Lola’

    Jared Leto in Mr. NobodyThe Lido finish line beckons, as this morning saw the press screening of the final film in Competition, Tom Ford’s “A Single Man.”

    Ford’s debut (which I’ll deal with in a separate Short Take) surpassed my expectations, completing a slight upswing in the standard of films on display that began with yesterday’s second Surprise Film selection: Brillante Mendoza’s “Lola,” which proved surprising in more than just a programming sense.

    Jaco van Dormael’s elaborate fantasy “Mr. Nobody” never quite gelled for me — and still, none of these titles touch “White Material” — but it’s been a pleasant day’s viewing nonetheless.

    Now the process begins of sorting the wheat from the chaff — with not a whole lot of wheat to go around, in my eyes — and playing the futile guessing-game of who will take home the gold. I’ll have a post with my predictions and preferences tomorrow, but for now, the last bundle of Competition reviews:

    “Mr. Nobody” (**½)

    Jaco van Dormael’s first film in 13 years betrays the formal rustiness and structural indiscipline that such a hiatus can cause in an artist, but there’s enough unique visual artistry and demented storytelling bravery on display here to make one glad he’s back.

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  • Bacall, Calley, Corman, Willis tapped for AMPAS Governors Awards

    Lauren BacallThe press release, in part:

    The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted tonight to present the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award to producer-executive John Calley, and Honorary Awards to actress Lauren Bacall, producer-director Roger Corman, and cinematographer Gordon Willis. All four awards will be presented at the Academy’s inaugural Governors Awards event on Saturday, November 14, at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center.

    “These four individuals have each, in their own unique way, made lasting impressions on the motion picture industry and audiences worldwide,” said Academy President Tom Sherak. ”I’m thrilled that the Academy’s Board selected them to be honored at our new Governors Awards event, which will be full of memorable moments celebrating their accomplishments.”

    The full release here.

  • Viggo Mortensen on working with Robert Duvall in ‘The Road’

    Robert Duvall in The RoadI spoke briefly with Viggo Mortensen at the Telluride film fest over the weekend, fresh off a tribute at the Palm Theater the night before and being gracious as ever with his time.  The last time we spoke was four years ago for “A History of Violence” and as ever, he’s a soft spoken guy who can fill a digital recorder with wall-to-wall perspective.  Sometimes you just feel guilty interjecting with a question.

    But something I had to ask Mortensen concerned my favorite scene from “The Road,” a back-and-forth with Robert Duvall that could have been more but nevertheless comes close to representing the best a story like this has to offer, I feel.

    The scene is in the book so it’s nothing much in the way of a spoiler.  The Man, The Child and the Old Man (the actual character names, for those unaware) sit by a campfire discussing, briefly, their lives before whatever calamity has struck their world.  Mortensen spoke with clear reverence for the opportunity to work with Duvall, as well as real joy for living and free-wheeling in the moment as a pair of actors working through a key scene.

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  • ‘Precious’ artwork

    The posters for Lionsgate’s “Precious” have been sublime so far, and even though this image — from a Toronto cocktail reception invite — isn’t a poster image, I wanted to pass it along because it’s equally indicative of an intriguing visual strategy for the film:

    Precious

  • Bill Pohlad on Apparition and working with Malick

    Bill PohladOne of the stories I’m tracking most curiously this awards season is the rise of brand-spanking-new distribution company Apparition, whose impressive slate of upcoming titles belies their fledgling status.

    “The Tree of Life,” “Bright Star” and, to a lesser extent, “The Young Victoria” are obviously the titles on people’s lips right now, but there are some interesting projects in the pipeline too: Doug Liman’s Valerie Plame/Joe Wilson biopic “Fair Game,” with Sean Penn and Naomi Watts, as well as music video director Floria Sigismondi’s “The Runaways” — another biopic, this one about the cult girl band of the title.

    Former Picturehouse chief Bob Berney has been the more-discussed name in connection with the outfit, but Variety has a handy little profile of Berney’s Apparition co-pilot Bill Pohlad, whose feature producing career only really started four years ago with “Brokeback Mountain.”

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  • ‘Up in the Air’ gets a release date

    FYI, Paramount has lined Jason Reitman’s “Up in the Air” for a November 13 limited release with an expansion to come on November 25.  The Thanksgiving corridor is a nice place for this film to settle.  We’ll see how it plays against other awards contenders in “The Road” and “Nine.”

  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Makeup — Volume I

    Christopher Plummer in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus“Make me look good.” While this might seem a vain phrase, in the context of a movie, makeup cannot only make an actor “look good” but it can capture the character and transform the performer, providing invaluable assistance in reaching the “truth” in the portrayal.

    The Academy Award for Best Makeup actually recognizes the individuals who perform both makeup and hairstyling duties. Like Best Visual Effects, this category has only three nominees, chosen from a list of seven finalists which are announced in a bake-off advance.

    While certain names such as Greg Cannom and Rick Baker show up here with frequency, the branch has, especially in recent years, been less averse to new talent. Creation of monsters and other fantastical characters, in addition to aging, tend to be the branch’s preferred accomplishments.

    The successful reboot of the “Star Trek” franchise might very well be leading the way here. Creating the numerous famous characters and, most notably, Eric Bana’s antagonist Romulan Nero, strikes me as the sort of work which this branch embraces.

    Whether a film like “Watchmen” would be seriously considered by the Academy in any category is a matter of great debate. But the makeup was absolutely fantastic and critical to the success of the film. Greg Cannom was on the crew, which has me inclined to consider it seriously here.

    We’re still waiting to see James Cameron’s eagerly anticipated “Avatar,” but one can’t help but wonder if the film’s CGI and performance capture technology will be doing much, if not all of the work normally reserved for makeup.  And the makeup artists on the crew have yet to be widely recognized by the Academy.  Regardless, one cannot deny the success Cameron’s films tend to have in the crafts categories.

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  • ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ poster

    Fantastic Mr. Fox

  • New site focuses on the filmmaking process

    I was tipped off this morning to an interesting new site co-founded by actress called Natalie Portman called MakingOf.com.  The site’s “about” page states the intended mission:  “to champion the art and craft of entertainment creation…we realized that so much of what goes into entertainment creation is unavailable to the people who love and consume it the most.”

    You’ll find interviews with filmmakers (refreshingly both above and below the line) on an array of topics, but given our dedication to crafts coverage here at In Contention, I was particularly interested in this interview with “Dick Tracy” costume supervisor Elisabetta Beraldo.  It’s a bit brief, but take a look:

  • Two ‘Up in the Air’ tracks join the race for Best Original Song

    George Clooney in Up in the AirWe’ve been getting you up to speed on the Best Original Song situation over the last couple of weeks.  After putting together a rough early look at some contenders, we revealed yesterday that Mary J. Blige would have a song in Lee Daniels’s “Precious.”  Today we’ve got the skinny on the music from one of the season’s most anticipated films.

    “Up in the Air,” which played like gangbusters in Telluride, will have two original tracks.  The first is a title song which runs over the closing credits and, like Blige’s “I See in Color,” it has an interesting backstory.

    After “Juno” was released in 2007, with its use of pre-existing songs and a hit soundtrack, director Jason Reitman told the first ever audience of “Up in the Air” at this weekend’s fest that he began receiving tons of music from people.  One night he was approached by a man who had recently lost his job and had written a song he thought might go well with the director’s latest film.

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  • ‘The Men Who Stare at Goats’ clip

  • 9/10 Web Round-up

    Christian McKay in Me and Orson Welles• Peter Travers is pissed about the “Shutter Island” bump to 2010. [Rolling Stone]

    • “Me and Orson Welles” gets a distributor in Freestyle Releasing. [The Wrap]

    • “The Road,” meanwhile, gets pushed to Thanksgiving, in direct competition with the Weinsteins’ other Oscar hopeful, “Nine.” [Variety]

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  • VENICE: ‘Soul Kitchen,’ ‘The Double Hour’

    Soul KitchenHappily, the bug that kept me down yesterday seems to have flown on the wings of Nurofen and a night’s sleep, so I’m ready to face the Lido madness again.  As if sympathetic to my state, the Competition served up two relatively untaxing titles.

    Festival director Marco Müller made it clear that he was experimenting with a more mainstream-friendly approach in this year’s Venice programme — hence the inclusion of “Bad Lieutenant” and “Survival of the Dead,” among others, in the lineup — so the overt genre leanings of Italian psycho-thriller “The Double Hour” came as no surprise, particularly given its hometown advantage. Far less expected was that heavyweight German-Turkish auteur Fatih Akin would arrive with the fluffiest Competition entry to date.

    This afternoon brings a second “surprise film” in the Competition (here’s hoping it’s a more pleasant surprise than “My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?”), as well as Jaco van Dormael’s “Mr. Nobody.” As eagerly as I’m awaiting the latter, I might have to postpone it to tomorrow, as a producer friend of mine unveils a short film next door. Onto this morning’s films …

    “Soul Kitchen” (**)

    Fatih Akin’s candyfloss-light character comedy will come as a major shock to those familiar with the 36 year-old director via his solemn arthouse works “Head-On” and “The Edge of Heaven.”

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  • “That’s all.”

    No reason, really.  John’s list of Toronto memories from yesterday had me reminiscing and I was catching up on HBO’s “Hung” last night.  Few scenes are as expertly conceived and realized as this. Cinema bliss:

  • Mary J. Blige joins the race for Best Original Song

    Mary J. BligeTwo weeks ago we were spit-balling contenders for this year’s Best Original Song category.  So far, the best bets seem to be tunes from “The Princess and the Frog,” “Nine” and “Where the Wild Things Are.”  There has been some movement since, however, so I thought it was a good time for an update.

    In that first piece, I mentioned Mariah Carey’s “100%” from Lee Daniels’s “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.”  As it turns out, that song will no longer be included in the film.  Instead, a new contender has joined the fray: Mary J. Blige, whose original track “I See in Color” was included for the first time in a print of the film screened last week at Lionsgate in Santa Monica.  But it’s the story behind it’s inclusion that is most interesting.

    I’m told Blige reacted to “Precious” quite emotionally.  What she saw on the screen hit her so close to home that she became personally invested in the film and wanted to contribute in some way.  “I See in Color,” which plays during a key scene in the film (and therefore has a leg up with the music branch), is the result.

    Contenders in the original song category are beginning to firm up, so we’ll have more updates for you in the coming days.