Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Angelina Jolie: Pregnant with Oscar Hopes

The Cannes Film Festival is fueling Oscar buzz. Awards Daily says raves are pouring in for Angelina Jolie and Clint Eastwood's Changeling which is based on a true story about a woman whose child was abducted in the 1920s and the government corruption she met in her despair. Apparently it might have a new title, The Exchange... I prefer the former. It's eerier --definitely has more flavor. Anyone surprised by the Oscar style hosanna! reviews needs their heads checked: Eastwood doesn't get bad reviews. Even when he maybe deserves them (see: Flags of Our Fathers). If this is as good as people are saying, it'll be thrilling to watch and possibly even a Best Picture contender. GreenCine is more cautionary about the nature of the reactions in their roundup. update and IFC does not like it.

One interesting note about the reviews is the notion that the second half of the film is very ensemble driven. This could be great news for any number of character actors in the film (Jason Butler Harner, Colm Feore, Amy Ryan, John Malkovich, etcetera) since Eastwood is known to guide his cast to golden trophies of one sort or another. He's currently tied for 4th place in the record books for directors whose films have won the most acting Oscars.

No public comment yet from Julianne Moore about Angie working her corner --mom with missing/possibly dead/imaginary/mysterious child. She must be livid. I kid, I kid. But in all seriousness: This year's Best Actress race is going to be gargantuan. I can feel it. Two former winners (Jolie & Streep) with juicy roles. Three overdue A listers (Pfeiffer, Moore & Winslet) with juicy roles. And abundant others with less buzz and less Oscar history thus far... My Oscar predictions will be updated on June 1st.

A Socialite's Life also covers the Changeling/The Exchange premiere... but to my disappointment The Fug Girls have not yet weighed in on Angie's retro earth mother muumuu.
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14 comments:

Anonymous said...

You may be joking about Julianne Moore's reaction to Jolie's role/critical acclaim from it, but I'd be pretty pissed if I was her. Jolie's like a lurker at a slot machine in Vegas - Moore decides to give up on that role and Jolie jumps on it and gets all the rewards.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I realise how many times I said "Jolie" just then.

Anonymous said...

I guess there's no official explanation for the title change. To me, "The exchange" sounds more ... neutral, maybe standard is the word.

"The Changeling" reminded me of an Elizabethan play I read ages ago (Wikipedia says it's John Middleton's) so, somehow I didn't find it fit. But it is obviously a too personal association of ideas. How many potential viewers might have read that specific play?

Once I have shown my obsession for titles again, I must say I never expect Eastwood's movies eagerly, but when I see them, they hardly ever deceive me. If I were Carrie Bradshaw, I'd say Eastwood is that pair of shoes that don't get into your eyes from the shop window, but once you get them, you're glad they're in your closet.

Sorry for that last completely superficial analogy, I wanted to mix up Sex and the City and Eastwood just for the sake of it ;)

Iggy

NATHANIEL R said...

you go on w/ your bad(mashup)self!

i just updated the post. IFC does not like it --something along the lines of tailor made for Clint to win more awards. uhoh... will the wars begin anew... ?

Hayden said...

Grrrrrrrrr.

The Julianne Moore fanboy inside makes me hate this even more.

adam k. said...

I wonder why Moore didn't get this role. Wouldn't you think Eastwood would go to her first? I guess she might have been too old for it, though it's impossible to say, sight unseen. Maybe Eastwood just wanted a really hot young babe who could sell tickets. Whatever Moore's virtues - and they are many - the ability to put butts in seats is not among them. Sadly.

But I feel bad for her. You'd think she would've gotten this after all her excellent "lost child" roles. But I guess it could be a very superficial comparison... we'll have to just see the film.

Good for Angie, though, I felt bad for her when she got snubbed last year. It was kinda mean...

adam k. said...

I can't help but think that snub was for reasons having nothing to do with her performance, namely that everyone was sick of her and jealous of her since she's freakishly gorgeous and already has an oscar, and 3 golden globes, and lots of cute babies, and oodles of cash and fame, and the über-sexy husband they all wish they had. Like, why should they give her anything? Her life's already perfect.

I mean, it's nice that Laura Linney (underappreciated) got in instead, but Blanchett? Meh.

"OMGCateBlanchettISQueenElizabethIAGAINwemustworshipher!!!!"

adam k. said...

...ipher"

; )

Pedro said...

The title "The Changeling" made me think of werewolves. I don't know why, maybe I associated it with "The Howling", or something like that.

In other matters, that page on the analysis and statistics of directors is pretty awesome. I wonder how many hours of work went into it.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, I wonder which side of the Eastwood debate Nate will be on? A puzzlement. That said, Manohla Dargis (one of the New York Times Critics you were annoyed with for liking Letters from Iwo Jima) didn't like The Challenging at all. Or is it the Changeling?

Glenn said...

Something about this movie just seems... off to me. I can't quite put my finger on it. Angie just looks a bit odd in the costumes and with that hair, too.

Anyway.

Nicole Kidman doesn't count as a former winner with a juicy part?

NATHANIEL R said...

i guess i don't know that her part is "juicy" in the Oscar sense whereas the other's seem to be.

Australia is my most awaited but that's never been because of its Oscarability. Only Bazlove

RC said...

things are looking up for jolie this year, for sure!

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