Naked Gold Man: Each Sunday, we discuss the current Oscar race. Sure Oscar gets mentioned with great regularity here. We're obsessed. But the current year's race stays penned up on Sundays until pre-season really gets rolling. That's the plan at least...By now I suspect you've seen the trailer to Jonathan Demme's Rachel Getting Married (formerly titled Dancing With Shiva --and that earlier title makes sense once you see this). It looks good and I'm feeling vindicated about my very early enthusiasm.
See... long before the other Oscar sites glommed on to it, I was touting the possibility of
I have to toot my own horn once in awhile when I see things coming, when I see things like Streisand could see them on a clear day (forever!) ... because the only other way to get attention is to fight. And I'm not really into that scene. It often seems to work for people in raising their profile. Its just something that's on my mind right now because have you seen what's going on between Awards Daily and Gold Derby? Circle round I guess and watch. Remember when Kris Tapley used to diss David Poland on the former Oscar Watch... and then Poland hired him!!? Anyway, fighting works. Just ask politicians.
problem childBut it's not for me. I want to be about the movies. Back on topic...
Love Demme and Anne Hathaway. And I'm hoping that my preproduction enthusiasm is justified by whatever they came up with in filming and in post. Here's to dysfunctional family dramedies! Yes, yes. They're a dime a dozen but the great ones should be savored, don'cha think? Cross your fingers.
P.S. Movie fanatics will be excited about the return of Debra Winger and A-list-Anne... but I also feel compelled to note: Bill Irwin, playing her father, will be less familiar to many of you but he's an a-m-a-z-i-n-g actor. He fully deserved that TONY Award he won for Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf a few years back and he was also riveting in another Edward Albee production, The Goat or Who is Sylvia. I saw the latter twice, once with Mercedes Reuhl and Bill Pullman and the second time with Sally Field and Bill Irwin who were their replacements on Broadway. It'll never be made into a movie but damn if it doesn't completely rock the house. What a play that was.*
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33 comments:
*cough*
I predicted her on February 27.
:P
The trailer looks good though, I just hope it doesn't replicate Margot at the Wedding, which is a movie I got a big vibe of while watching the Rachel Getting Married trailer. Having said that, I loved Margot at the Wedding, so even if Rachel follows that movie's projectory I'm sure at least I will love it.
See, but I think this looks much baitier than Margot ever did. Kidman played down her role whereas it looks like Hathaway's a volcano.
I'm still not predicting Hathaway. I've never been fond of her as an actress and even her lines in the trailer seem forced and rigid.
I think Debra Winger has a better shot.
I agree with Glenn - it felt very much like Margot at the Wedding, though a bit baitier
Yup... Margot at the Wedding part two? Except this time around, they could afford more actors? I've always loved Anne Hathaway and she's due some Oscar love after getting screwed for Brokeback. From the trailer, it looks like there are a lot of big acting scenes, and we know how Oscar loves 'em. I'm excited!
Except... The style doesn't look very Jonathan Demme to me. Hunh. It really just looked like Noah Baumbach got a second go at Margot.
I'll cop to not picking Hathaway on my blog, but in my defense, I DID pick her in the actress contest over here.
Great trailer -- really has me excited to see the movie. And Anna Deavere Smith! I love her!
I added her to my predix this weekend, and while I was updating I kept thinking "Maybe Nathaniel was right!"
Credit is due! ;)
I appreciate the name check and all, but let's face it...nothing has come of "Rachel" yet, so don't go tootin' prematurely.
I'm not totally convinced. It does look an awful lot like Margot, and we all know how that one went. Plus there are a lot of heavy hitter best actress contenders this year. But I think a globe nod is very very probable. They're always the first to acknowledge young Hollywood, and Hathaway's surely been near their list before.
The news is that the major differences between this and Margot are:
a) Hathaway is playing against type here, which will surely help her curry favor. She's always the nice girl/straight man/person being overshadowed, but here she gets to be a big bitch. Point for Hathaway. Whereas Kidman is always a bitch in her films, always goes the "difficult" arthouse route, and was still suffering from awardage backlash and a string of bad luck. Her perf was nothing new (or so said the conventional wisdom). She'd never had any hang up about being unlikeable.
b) Demme is coming off a string of semi-disappointments, and hence any glimmer of a spark in this one will be seen as special, instead of the "why wasn't it as good as the last one?" reception given to Margot. People seemed so pissed that it wasn't as good as the very very good Squid and Whale.
So yeah, I just enumerated why what I said at the top is probably wrong. Hathaway does look strong. I'm just not completely sold. GG = yes, absolutely. Oscar = we'll see. I'd feel more confident if Get Smart were more of a success. But like Mamma Mia, it kind of landed in the realm of "that was nice, what's next?" Not BAD, per se, but not quite the first half of a one-two punch ZING it coulda been.
I meant "the *GOOD* news" up there... oops.
I thought that "Margot" was one of the best films of last year, but I never made the connection watching this trailer. Surely the fluid camerawork, uber-naturalistic lighting and witty repartee beg comparison but this feels different somehow. Can't quite put my finger on it...
though I must say, watching Hathaway in this made my heart leap for joy. I've been waiting for what feels like eons for the girl to follow up 'Brokeback' with something of a challenge, and here she's finally got it. And it looks like she's knocked it out of the ballpark.
You go, girl.
And welcome back, Ms. Winger.
Here's hoping your return to the silver screen brings with it a renewed popularity, (and that the film gives you more to do than stand around and look lovely. Karen Allen already had to contend with that bullshit earlier this year, you should fare much better.)
In re: Adam
Kidman does the 'difficult' route quite well, honestly, and if you look at her overall filmmography you may find bitchy characteristics in her characters but I'm loathe to find more than maybe two characters in the age post-MR! where she's played a bitch. 'Margot' you could (I suppose) consider as one... 'Stepford Wives' probably the other.
But I think you're being a little too general with Ms. Kidman's career, and her achievements.
The movie looks liek it could be the 'indie' darling fo the year and I have never seen Anne Hathaway look so fierec in any other movie (based on trailer).
Previusly I had reservations about the movie but seeing now that it got hoosen for Venice and Toronto gives me much more hope to see this.
And for those preducting Debra Winger, quick note: she doesn't have a lot of scenes in the movie, its all about Hathawa and DeWit.
I hope this does wonders for Hathaway....I really do.
Kris --good point. It is premature to toot but I know you understand. Who likes to credit for Batman's oscar buzz? You, mister, you --- ;)
Adam --what Beau said only notas emphatically. I mean Grace is pretty awful in Dogville too. And she did sorta make her name on TO DIE FOR way back when. But anyway you make a lot of good points. When a director has been down a long time, expectations are lower and people are eager to lover again. Woody Allen is another example.
//In re: Adam
Kidman does the 'difficult' route quite well, honestly, and if you look at her overall filmmography you may find bitchy characteristics in her characters but I'm loathe to find more than maybe two characters in the age post-MR! where she's played a bitch. 'Margot' you could (I suppose) consider as one... 'Stepford Wives' probably the other.
But I think you're being a little too general with Ms. Kidman's career, and her achievements.//
Nicely said, Adam, I'll second that.
I hope it's as good as you are predicting Nat, and I will bow to you if it is. I watched the trailer the first time yesterday and my first thought was: "Ok, this is Margot at the Wedding except the wedding is actually taking place. And Anne Hathaway plays a loser, not a successful writer. And this looks very...heartwarming and safe at the end. Haven't we seen this before? Didn't Mira Nair do a film like this? I think I'll wait for it to come out on DVD."
For me the trailer was very *meh* (does Anne Hathaway look like a loser? Good for her for playing against type, but that image of her with the black eye was not at all effective for me. She looks just too damn healthy, well-fed and scrubbed to be someone whom life has kicked around and is following self-destructive impulses.)
I'll be the first to admit that I don't get all the Hathaway love, although I thought she gave a fine, surprisingly subtle performance in Great Expectations. (I think she was good in Brokeback but it's hard to remember; that blond wig kept distracting me. And really, of the four major characters she had the thinnest role and the least to do.)
Again, if I am wrong, I will be the first to admit it. But this trailer anything for me (except reminding me that I haven't seen MATW yet and need to do so) and there are going to be a lot of strong contenders this year.
I completely missed Anna Devere Smith in the trailer, btw (and I adore that woman. Someone give her a major role, please? If she had a large role in this film, that might get me into the theater.)
while y'all are PROBABLY right about the ending and whatnot I do think it's also premature to assume we know how it all turns out. This is not one of those trailers that tells you the plot in order and the reveals. For all we know the wedding is the first half of the movie and some of those scenes that look like endings are in the first 2/3rds.
anyway it looks good to me. The comparison to MatW disturbs me though. I sincerely hope it looks better. I'm still so surprised at how ugly Margot looked (the acting was quite good but that dingy image. Ugh)
That trailer was incredible. Our Annie's getting nominated! And in a perfect world, this would also be Debra Winger's return to the Academy's good graces too.
I hope that this film isn't anywhere near "Margot at the Wedding, Part 2". I hated the living daylights out of that damn film, and if this one is like that one, I'll be severely disappointed.
I'm calling it ... Hathaway is not going to get nominated. You heard it hear first.
Wait... Kris gets credit for The Dark Knight's Oscar Buzz? :-(
http://www.awardsdaily.com/?p=753
That was July 19, and Kris responded with, "Much as I admire his spunk, I think Awards Daily contributor Ryan Adams might be getting ahead of himself with his Oscar hopes for 'The Dark Knight.' "
I'll refrain from admiring anybody's spunk, but I have enormous respect for Kris. We know he's been carrying the TDK banner for weeks, and there's been global buzz for Heath Ledger's performance long before any of us had a legitimate clue.
At Awards Daily we wait until we see a film before we talk about individual nominations. I posted my category-specific expectations within hours after TDK opened.
(Sasha Stone was more reserved for a couple of days until she had a chance to see for herself, and we may still differ in degree of enthusiasm. Awards Daily is and always will be Sasha's site. Nobody should ever confuse the amount of trouble and noise I make with any level of "authority" I might have ;-) I get gut feelings, and Sasha is good enough to let me write about them. That's all.)
I loved Margot at the Wedding, Nathaniel, and I'm happy to see you way out in front with Anne Hathaway's chances for Rachel Getting Married. (Can't wait to see which dysfunctional siblings tie the knot next!) This morning is the first time I've seen the trailer, and it looks terrific. (I was busy being at "war," you know, haha. Though we're hearing reports that the other side has accidentally blown himself up, so hopefully that's over and we can move on.)
im happy to see debra winger back & looking good!
The movie looks beyond sappy and no I don't think Ms. Julia Robert part two will be nominated either. She looks to be overdoing it, at least in the trailer.
Get Well soon Mr. Freeman
~M~
Hathaway still looks like she is hard at work acting.
Doesn't work for me.
The actual movie needs to be better then the trailer.
Although, Winger looks GREAT and I am happy to see her.
Her presence just reminds me that we have no young Debra Winger out there.
And I don't believe Hathaway is anywhere near Winger's equal.
I thought that the trailer was wonderful, and Jonathan Demme may have hit his mark again finally. Anne Hathaway looks sensational, and I could easily see this being her first Oscar nomination. I'm really excited to see Debra Winger and Bill Irwin as the parents too.
Anne Hathaway is trying so hard... and why is nobody talking about Julianne Moore in the 2nd "Blindness" trailer? It's here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azLX4jjngpY
It seems to me she's trying too hard
Look, I'M ACTING. I REALLY AM. I'M A SERIOUS ACTRESS. LIKE... AS IF I WERE BRITISH !
A Globe nom is a sure thing, but the Oscar nom not so much.
Even at the Globes she won't beat Sally Hawkins.
anonymous
"the actual movie needs to be better than the trailer"
a truth for even great trailers you must admit. One would hope that ALL movies were better than their commercials. Our movie culture is totally too trailer oriented.
i love anne hathaway so i'm plugging my ears and singing "mary had a little lamb" until y'all stop dissing her ;) she's definitely one of the best of Young Hollywood. Can't ya see it?
Re: the second trailer for Blindness.
I have very mixed feelings towards this film. On the one hand, I'm looking forward to seeing Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo together. Yet, on the other, I'm horrified to think how this is going to work as a film. The book was one of the most disturbing things I've ever read [amazing, though] and I don't think anybody could accurately transfer that to screen. When I was reading it, I didn't envisage it taking place in America or even a real concrete place - somehow that made it even more nightmarish and awful. Even though I put Moore in my Actress Pyschic Pick, I doub AMPAS will touch this film with a barge pole.
I actually dreamt about the Blindness last night. I was simultaneously acting in and watching the film. I was the doctor's wife character...shudder. One of those very vivid dreams where all your senses are in overdrive. Really upsetting, until Ann Veal from Arrested Development showed up. Then it was upsetting and hilarious.
Ryan --that's actually something I respect about Awards Daily. The "wait and see" approach.
I was half joking about tooting my own horn. Not that I don't do it but in how much it matters to me. I know I'm very good at the Oscar prediction game (and particularly good at the very very long lead game) but I do sometimes have issues with the distortion that Oscar punditry has on the way people deal with new movies.
so we're all part of hte problem (and part of the fun)
I love me some Hathaway too, so much, that I sat through the whole rich-high-school-girl-who-wants-to-go-ghetto film ... and liked it.
But, her year is still coming ...
I just saw the trailer today. This looks like Anne Hathaway's attempt for an Oscar. Actresses like Christina Ricci and Ellen Page do these quirky and dark roles all the time, yet they never get overrated praise for Oscar bait. Whenever it's an overrated starlet like Hathaway, who does a dark and unglamourous role, she automatically gets Oscar Buzz.
movie very exciting
I watched Rachel Getting Married online for free at http://sowonder.net/cinema/?d=Beverly_Hills_Chihuahua
(HQ video)
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
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