Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Happy New Year


Happy new calendar year that is. We all know that the film year doesn't end until the Best Picture Oscar is handed out. The movie year calendar is reset along with it. But happy new year anyway --there's more to life than movies.

or so I hear...

32 comments:

Glenn Dunks said...

I'm a little surprised at how quick they're bringing out another James Bond flick, actually.

J.D. said...

I'm very doubtful that 22 will be out that quickly. It hasn't even begun production yet, has it?

NATHANIEL R said...

well the big tentpole stuff has deadlines you know. plus, it's not exactly a visual effects envelope pusher --those are the things that get pushed back a whole extra year ;)

i wonder for example when we'll actually get AVATAR

NATHANIEL R said...

i can't do a 2008 preview until we're past the 2007 stuff but i'm very excited for THE COUNTESS. the poster is already kinda creepy. Love Julie Delpy

Glenn Dunks said...

Well, Avatar has already been pushed back to December 2009 to give Jim Cameron an extra six months to work on it plus to seperate it from Monsters vs. Aliens, a 3D film that was set to open only a few weeks before it.

I am still scared that Australia will get pushed back into 2009. It's set for December, but...

Glenn Dunks said...

And are you aware you have The Signal poster twice?

Deborah said...

You can follow all the Bond news on my blog.

Release is scheduled for November '08, exactly two years after the last one. That is how almost all the Bond films have been scheduled, but the past few have been further apart, which is why you're surprised. Principal filming begins next week.

Glenn Dunks said...

Yeah, I thought it was three years. Oh well.

Jason Adams said...

Happy '08, Nat! May your time be alloted with space to breathe over the next several weeks. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year,Nat! I've been reading your blog for around 3 years now and you never fail to surprise me!

That said,are the new Oscar predictions going up today? I can't wait!

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year,Nat! I've been reading your blog for around 3 years now and you never fail to surprise me!

That said,are the new Oscar predictions going up today? I can't wait!

Anonymous said...

When it comes to 2008 expectations, it's TREE OF LIFE all the way for me. I'm astounded that Malick actually got that film into pre-production.

But then again, it IS directed by Terry the time optimist Malick, so maybe the scheduled 08 release date should be taken with a grain of salt...

Anonymous said...

Is that the order that those films are coming out in?

NATHANIEL R said...

roughly it is the order (cept for that last row) which is just random stuff that there wasn't posters to...

Anonymous said...

yeah Julianne Moore twice-
SAVAGE GRACE
and
BLINDNESS

Anonymous said...

Australia is set for release in september. Venice Film fest anyone ?

Anonymous said...

//Australia is set for release in september. Venice Film fest anyone ?//

I thought Australia was set for December release?

That Dark Knight poster is absolutely AMAZING. Superhero and comic book movies normally leave me cold (is it a gender thing or what?) but I'm psyched about this one.

Hmmm - Carrell and Hathaway in a Get Smart remake? Could be terrific, could be a bomb, but I'm hoping for at least ONE genuinely funny film this year. (Normally mainstream comedies ask you to check your brains at the door - funny and intelligent in one project seems to be a pretty tall order for Hollywood. But here's hoping anyway...)

Happy New Year, Nat!

RedSatinDoll

Anonymous said...

I'm excited for the Countess but is that still happening? I feel like there's a lot of drama surrounding its production.

Anonymous said...

2008 is all about the woman for me let's hope meg ryan doesn't foul it up/

Anonymous said...

Hey,Nat! When are the predictions out?

Anonymous said...

I think Meg Ryan is the least of my worries regarding The Women. One of my favorite films ever, I think I will have to skip the remake.

NATHANIEL R said...

yeah sorry i'm running so late with everything. it's been crazy chez moi

new predictions, year in review and everything coming at the latest this weekend.

Glenn Dunks said...

"Australia is set for release in september. Venice Film fest anyone ?"

That was it's original date, but production got set back a bit (illness of one of it's stars David Gulpilil and other things that go wrong on epics) so I think they have pushed it back to December. That's the word circulating here in Australia.

Slayton said...

Nathaniel ~ Don't forget Happy-Go-Lucky when you make your April predictions this year! Mike Leigh is never not in the Oscar race (he's the greatest living British director, IMO) - I'm anticipating this flick more than any other. It stars Sally Hawkins (in the lead), Sarah Niles, Alexis Zegerman, Samuel Roukin (all three are British theater babies), Eddie Marsan, Nonso Anozie and Elliott Cowan. I'm especially interested in seeing how Zegerman and Roukin turned out. The former has worked with Mike Leigh before in the theater and the latter is apparently a ball of fire on stage - I'd like to see how that talent translates to film.

You know how I am - always jumping the gun. I've sorted out my own 2008 (also 2009, but that ain't for here) predictions in the acting categories already:

Best Actor:
Leonardo DiCaprio ~ Revolutionary Road
Philip Seymour Hoffman ~ Doubt
Frank Langella ~ Frost/Nixon
Edward Norton ~ State of Play
Brad Pitt ~ The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Other possibilities:
Matthew Rhys ~ The Edge of Love
Tommy Lee Jones ~ In the Electric Mist

Best Actress:
Cate Blanchett ~ The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Sally Hawkins ~ Happy-Go-Lucky
Frances McDormand ~ Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Meryl Streep ~ Doubt
Kate Winslet ~ Revolutionary Road

Other possibilities:
Emily Blunt ~ The Young Victoria
Susan Sarandon ~ Middle of Nowhere
Keira Knightley ~ The Duchess
Julianne Moore ~ Blindness (or Savage Grace)
Angelina Jolie ~ The Changeling

Best Supporting Actor:
Ben Foster ~ The Laws of Motion
John Goodman ~ In the Electric Mist
Aidan McArdle ~ The Duchess (soooo hot)
Maximilian Schell ~ The Brothers Bloom
David Wenham ~ Australia

Other possibilities:
Michael Shannon ~ Revolutionary Road
Peter Sarsgaard ~ In the Electric Mist
Ben Kingsley ~ Number 13
Jackie Earle Haley ~ Winged Creatures
Bruno Ganz ~ The Reader

Best Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams ~ Doubt
Hope Davis ~ Charlie Bartlett
Dakota Fanning ~ Winged Creatures
Elvira Minguez ~ The Argentine
Miranda Richardson ~ The Young Victoria

Other possibilities:
Rinko Kikuchi ~ The Brothers Bloom (God, I hope so)
Helen Mirren ~ State of Play
Sandra Oh
Kathy Bates ~ Revolutionary Road
Linda Bassett ~ The Reader
Embeth Davidtz ~ Winged Creatures
Winona Ryder ~ The Informers
Jennifer Tilly ~ Art in Las Vegas
Ginnifer Goodwin ~ The Laws of Motion
Patty McCormack ~ Frost/Nixon
Sophia Loren ~ Nine
Amanda Seyfried ~ Mamma Mia!

Slayton said...

That's Sandra Oh in 'Blindness' mind you - alongside Julianne Moore.

Michael Parsons said...

So hoping to hear your thoughts on "Atonement"

Sam Brooks said...

Is it just me or is that The Other Boleyn Girl poster a good heralding of things to come? Natalie Portman stealing every scene possible from Johannson and Bana. It'd be nice to see her ham it up and have fun for once. It's exactly the sort of over-the-top performance the soap opera of a book deserves.

Which isn't to say I don't love it; because I do. It's a great romp, and the film should be the same. I pray it doesn't take itself too seriously.

Also: Squee! The new Wong Kar-Wai film. I can't wait for it.

And one more: Funny Games. Best Actress for Naomi Watts, maybe? Or is it's release date too early for that? And it'll be classed under the 'horror' genre, which immediately disqualifies any acting nominations, even for a respected star such as Naomi Watts. If it was released around September-October time, it might have a chance; but no. Sad. I only hope it hasn't been toned down even a bit for a Western audience! I'm a major Haneke fan and that'd be just awful.

The Countess looks like an interesting film about Elizabeth Bathory; and with Julie Delpy directing, writing and starring as the Bloody Lady herself, it'll be very interesting.

The Jaded Armchair Reviewer said...

Well I managed to acquire a copy of "My Blueberry Nights" and "And Then She Found Me" so they will be going under my 2007/2008 scrutiny juggling.

Who else is dreading that Michelle Pfieffer WANTS and is EXCITED about Jessica Simpson playing Sandy in the Grease remake according to imdb?

Anonymous said...

Who else is dreading that Michelle Pfieffer WANTS and is EXCITED about Jessica Simpson playing Sandy in the Grease remake according to imdb?

A Grease remake? No, just - no. (And why should Pfieffer care? She didn't play "Sandy", Olivia Newton-John did.) It wasn't a great movie but it had it's scruffy charms. Anything that worked in the original, they'll find a way to botch it up. Starting with the casting...

Oh *ahem* I forgot to mention that it was the Countess poster that made me enlarge the thumbnail to begin with because I HAD to see who and what that was. They've done such a wonderful job recreating a 16th century portrait, including the unsmiling mien; it's all very
"authentic" and yet it feels subtly creepy. It also implies what those dreadful posters for The Golden Age could have been given a whiff of style or wit.

RedSatinDoll

Anonymous said...

this "Savage Grace" poster looks so creepy... great.

Anonymous said...

Sandra Oh doesn't have a big role in Blindness, just a few minutes on screen that could be deleted in tehe editing room (well... I don't think it will Grey's Anatomy is a big hit everywhere o.o). But Juliane Moore's role is GREAT (at least in the book)

~ Felippe

Anonymous said...

Whip Smart

Edward Norton is no longer attached to the State of Play he dropped out.

Viola Davis is more likely to get nominated than Amy Adams for Doubt.