Eye Candy Weekend: Sexpots of the Year

Sexy, like funny, is highly personal. So take these annual awards -- honoring characters that turned us on -- with that knowing grain of salt. Maybe they won't do anything for you. But for this movie buff...


The photo above is from model Jon Kartajegna's single scene in A Single Man. He plays the john "Carlos" and his lips alone are so intoxicating that Tom Ford has to reveal them through a slow burn cloud of smoke rather than just hit them with you all at once. And the prudish American trailer had to cut him out altogether for fear that audiences would get the wrong idea and think this was a [gasp. clutch pearls]... gay movie. Say it isn't so!

One only wishes that Colin Firth's George had gone home with him to bone up on his shaky Spanish. Then the movie could have burst free from its repetitive blueball drama in which George begins to feels something and then runs away from it. Repeatedly. I realize that's the point of George's return to living but didn't you want more Kartajegna, too?

The latest update to the FiLM BiTCH Awards also throws longing glances at Clive, Vera, Michelle, Gwyneth, Neytiri and two double-your-pleasure 2009 hotties, Penélope Cruz and Rupert Friend. Which star turns raised your temperature?

Oscar Shmoscar: Julianne's Campaign Lives On!

Eye Candy Weekend

Julianne Moore is the NY Times cover star for Women's Spring Fashion 2010. Mmmmm Julie Ann Smith. She never fails to awe in still photography.


The Times claims that she "acts out the complex theater of feminine personae for the photographer Raymond Meier" ...isn't that what she does every time the camera is on her?
Her own description of her character-building for A Single Man (we don't normally hear her talk this explicitly about her process) makes me love the performance more in retrospect

A lot of the character began with a particular vocal choice: she’s someone who is very wealthy, very educated and kind of a party girl. There’s this way of speaking among these women where you don’t know whether they’re posh or hammered all the time. So, that’s where I started. Then I listened to very early Julie Christie, to get the early-’60s kind of sound...

Julianne listening to Julie? Someone needs to make a short experimental film inspired by that.

Click on the photos to take a look at their shoot. If I were a photographer she'd definitely be near the top of my long must-get list. Along with so many others but the ones that just occurred to me while typing away were Anne Hathaway, Jude Law, Juliette Lewis, Olivia de Havilland (for the private audience you know) and James McAvoy. Off the top of my head.

Who would you thrill at capturing on film... and which complex personae would you hope they worked for the lens?
*

Best Limited Roles, Line Readings, Poster and More...

Normally I finish off the FiLM BiTCH Awards before Oscar arrives. I'll announce my gold, silver and bronze for the Oscar-like categories for the 2009 film year on Tuesday. But I've still got all these extra categories hanging over me like a dark cloud. Not that I don't love the rain they bring. My other significantly less cinematic life absorbed way too much of my time this season. Boo. So it's a race to the finish line, now. And then a few days in recuperative coma.

A few favorite Limited Roles and Line Readings...
(suggest away for fill ins -- my memory is shot!)

And with only 8 days until Oscar hits...
another theme to follow Precious day.
It's EYE CANDY WEEKEND!

Posters, Trailers and Taglines
(yes, I added a trailer citation for the first time)


As always I love to hear both feedback and your own personal favorites in any of these categories. What's most important in an ad campaign for you: instantly iconic imagery, accurate representation of what's being sold, clever riffs on the theme or just plain old beauty? Maybe you require all of the above. You're so demanding!


*

Year in Review Pt 3: That's So Gay!

<--- "Looking good Barbie!"

Over at Towleroad I flame on to recount the highs and lows of gay(ish) cinema this year. Gay loosely defined of course. It's a speed read from last year's Milk Oscars through Valentino The Last Emperor and Brüno to this year's A Single Man buzz, with pit stops along the way to ogle the Hughs (Dancy and Jackman). Enjoy!

P.S. I forgot to mention Nine but that's more about actressexuality anyhow. And Guido Contini is definitely an actressexual.

Year in Review Pt 1: Baffling Comedy and Over Cooked Drama

Part 1 of ??? (Possibly Many)

Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you.
~"Rashi" according to A Serious Man.

I rarely make time to rewatch movies (so many new and old films to see for the first time) which is a shame since a second look can be valuable. Some critics and civilians are loathe to admit that their minds are changeable or that their opinions aren't the be all/end all, but why? There's always new points of view to consider and life experiences that should shift your paradigms.

Huh?

Before I get to the movies I feel strongly about (i.e. worst and best), I thought I'd share the three which I'm not sure I "got": The Coen Bros A Serious Man, Lars von Trier's Antichrist (my gut reaction) and Jody Hill's Observe and Report.

All three verge on the deeply misanthropic which can be something of a turn-off even if you're otherwise amused by the nifty formal control, shock aesthetics, or pitch black comedy. I'd love to hear opinions from readers on where these movies succeed or fail because honestly, I didn't know what to make of them. Or, rather, I am unsure if what I made of them will last. I currently think the first two in particular are wildly over acclaimed but I'm open to being talked out of that. At the very least all three feel like exactly the picture the filmmaker(s) set out to make. There's something to be said for movies that don't feel at all about confused about themselves... even when they prompt confusion in the viewer.

Hyperbole Gone Wild
Since this happens to be one of my intermittent "consensus" years, I actually like most of the films and performances that have been racking up the Oscar-buzz. That makes kicking the movies while they're up more difficult. Maximum flexibility required. So approach the following list of 'ridiculously overpraised' with the understanding that none of them are bad. So, let's also note the silver linings.

Over Appreciated Movies

[This section of the year-end review is dedicated to you-know-who. I've had to declare him ineligible for this annual tradition lest his movies clog up the list each and every year, including this one]

04 Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Yeah, yeah, I enjoyed it okay. But why isn't everyone sick of this franchise yet? Two more to go still? I'm not sure if I have the stamina. Silver Lining: Jim Broadbentwas a welcome cast addition.

03 The Cove
See previous post. I haven't seen much of its competition but it's tough to imagine that there isn't a better documentary getting shafted with its trophy haul (10+ prizes already). From the limited docs I've seen this year I much preferred Prodigal Sons (genius) Anvil! The Story of Anvil! (multi-layered) and Valentino the Last Emperor (entertaining!) for starters. Silver Lining: Dolphins are awesome.

02 The Hangover
I avoided this film for a long time. Frat boy comedy has never been my thing and I'd heard about the "Dr. Faggot" jokes and the inappropriate justifications of the same ('that's the way people talk!' for a film that otherwise doesn't worry a lick about representing reality). Watching it proved to be quite a rollercoaster. For the first 15 minutes I was bored solid and annoyed by the sexism/homophobia, generic setup and pedestrian filmmaking. Then, suddenly, the movie became consistently hilarious for a full half hour (which is more than most comedies can claim) as the inexplicable absurdities piled up: the chicken, the tiger in the bathroom, the missing tooth, the police car. The absurdly ballooning 'what the hell happened' scenario provided lots of funny which then slowly deflated, punctured by increasingly less funny 'here's what happened' details. Then in the final half hour the film returned to its generic misogyny. The takeaway: Boys will be boys, warts and all. Ya gotta love 'em! [back slap!] Women on the other hand... If you have to put up with them (and you do, unfortunately) only blissfully ignorant wives and sexual bimbos are acceptable options. Silver Lining: And yet... lots of laughs.

01 A Single Man
I'm sure some of you may feel that this drama about a gay man named George grieving his dead lover belongs in the grouping above. 'You'll change your mind about it! It's great!!!' But I can't shake the film school feeling that Tom Ford's debut gave me. Some people see enormously moving beauty. I see enormously self-conscious imitative beauty. Not that that can't blossom into something better. I look forward to Ford's next film. I just wish people hadn't been as quick to shower him with praise. George practically drowned in all of it in the dream sequence! What will there be left to say if Ford makes a truly great film next? Silver Lining: the original European trailer is so flawless and hypnotic that if we were grading trailers rather than the movies they're advertising this one would be an "A". The same grade applies to Colin Firth's heartbreaking performance, especially in the first half.

Inexplicably Praised Performances

It would be a gross exaggeration to say "worst" when it comes to these two performances but both are misjudged. That they should be in contention for acting prizes over more complex, careful and rewarding work would be maddening but for the Career Reward aspects of year-end hoopla. Both of these actors can claim fine "nomination worthy" turns in the past. And by "past" I do not mean earlier in December when these performances emerged.

Maggie Gyllenhaal as "Jean Craddock" in Crazy Heart
One of my friends recently told me I had taken "bad mood pills" the day I saw Crazy Heart. If reviews could speak they would undoubtedly say the same. It's just that I felt that I'd seen the movie a hundred times before and that it meandered dully whenever it drifted away from the musical performances (quite good) and into the romance and addiction drama. Jeff Bridges is terrific as "Bad Blake" but his excellence didn't feel revelatory to me in the way that seems to be elevating the film for others. Since when is Jeff Bridges not terrific when he's front and center? How can this be a revelation to people after The Big Lebowski, Star Man, The Door in the Floor, The Fabulous Baker Boys and Insert More Movies Here? I bought Bad Blake's instant lost puppy insinuation into Jean's life but I didn't buy her ready acceptance of the same. The conflict that arises in their relationship you expect but Jean's reaction to it was puzzling. It didn't feel at all organic to the character as Maggie had been playing her up till then. What about this woman would have made her cast her lot so quickly with such an obviously "Bad" man? She doesn't play the backstory. You have to get it from the screenplay instead. Did Maggie misplace her script or did they edit out a crucial character detail scene?

I still love My Maggie G and it's not like I don't root for her to walk Oscar's red carpet quite frequently (If there's a big surprise in Oscar's Supporting Actress list maybe it'll be her?) but it's hard not to expect more from her after the electricity and depth of her star turn in Sherrybaby (among others).

Stanley Tucci as "George Harvey" in The Lovely Bones
Momentum has been building to give this fine actor/writer/director his first Oscar nomination for Supporting Actor. I can totally support that (see previous Tucci enthusiasm). But if we're going to do that can't it be for Julie & Julia wherein he effortlessly supported the movie and the star (Meryl Streep) and did so with great charm and well judged simplicity. In The Lovely Bones he adds so many affectations to the killer that one wonders why the neighbors haven't come at him with pitchforks years ago. And all of it is unnecessary since Peter Jackson and his production team are already telegraphing what a terrible pervert he is through camera angles, lighting, makeup and wardrobe. George Harvey is a killer but this performance is O-V-E-R-K-I-L-L.

Ways to Be Wicked

That's only one man's opinion, mine. And yours? Which 2009 films and performances did you struggle to appreciate when everyone around you was swooning for them? And are you glad I declared a certain film ineligible so you didn't have to hear me bitch about it?

Tomorrow: Hell's Multiplex: The Worst of the Year.

*

A Single Man's Lovely Bones

Is it a Gay Heresy to admit that you didn't love A Single Man, gay icon and fashionista Tom Ford's directorial debut? A Single Man, based on the Christopher Isherwood novel, follows George (Colin Firth) a grieving middle aged professor through a typical day as he eyes attractive students, ponders suicide, resents his neighbors and makes plans with his best friend (a sozzled Julianne Moore). He's still grieving his dead lover Jim. Jim is played by the fantastically attractive Matthew Goode in flashbacks (his second time playing a perfect human specimen this year, see also Watchmen, such flattering typecasting!)

There's a lot to recommend in George's journey through grief: Colin Firth and his leaking eyeballs are so stupendous and moving that he's surely Oscar-nomination bound (it's enough to forgive his previous nonsensical gayness in Mamma Mia!), Julianne Moore is funny and bracing even if the role is nothing much, and the men are all outrageously beautiful. But what does it all mean?

For more on A Single Man and The Lovely Bones read my weekly column at Towleroad.

*

Two Ladies.

Just this shot alone, courtesy of Zimbio, makes me love Tom Ford's A Single Man a teensy bit more. (I need no boost to love Madonna. That part comes naturally. I think I was born that way... loving her.) Come to think of it -- and no knock on my also-beloved Julianne Moore -- but the marinated aging party-girl role of "Charley" is just the type of role that Madonna could nail onscreen. Especially in a movie that puts images first. Madonna's a natural at image-making and posing for them, too. Plus, she's practiced that British accent forever.

Julianne laughs at my casting switcheroo.

She makes a dirty joke and LAUGHS about it!

But whatever, Jules, I think it's kind of brilliant. Stop giggling. I'm serious. Madonna totally coulda done it. Not that she would've won the same Oscar buzz in the part.


*

7 Word Reviews: A Single Man, Crazy Heart, Broken Embraces

Until I have time to elaborate and we're closer to the movie's opening ... some very limited thoughts. This time of year always make me seasick as 10-15 months of buzzy golden expectations crash up against the undulating realities of the movies themselves. Some movies will be great. Some will be bad. Anywhere inbetween when expectations run high can equal disappointment.

A Single Man
Gorgeous but limited. Egregious slowmo /strings abuse!
Oscarable PS: Worry not -- Colin/Julianne are probable nominees

Crazy Heart
Bridges in fine form. Otherwise languorously familiar
Oscarable PS: Bridges will be nominated. Other categories unlikely.

Broken Embraces
Pedro Shows exquisitely but won't stop Telling.
Oscarable PS: Not really. But Penelope is sexy/marvelous.

*

What's Left in 2009?

Look out! A lazy Sunday afternoon post hurtling at'cha. I was looking for an excuse to post the A Single Man poster. It's just the first still released blown up but what a still it is!


That's not really deserving of an entire post all its own so herewith, stealing an idea from my buddy Nick how about... My 20 Most Anticipated Year End Movies in descending order of how impatient I am to see them (links to trailers). I've already seen Broken Embraces, The White Ribbon, The Last Station, Dr. Parnassus and Red Cliff or they would have made the list.

GIVE ME NOW

1. Nine -because... duh. Duh times 99!
   
2. A Single Man -the trailer screams beauty and I'm always ready for Julianne Moore in dramas
   
3. Avatar -James Cameron Loyalist
4. Crazy Heart -Jeff Bridges Loyalist
   
5. Up in the Air -Clooney + two actresses I like = yes. Plus, I liked Juno a lot
   
   
   mild excitement
   
   
   
6. The Lovely Bones -still curious but also very worried. Something seems amiss
   
7. The Road -eager to see what they changed since that test screening I went to last year
   
8. Mammoth -Lukas Moodyson directs Gael Garcia Bernal and Michelle Williams. That's three enticements right there.
9. It's Complicated
   
   
   inconsistently curious
   
   
   
10. Fantastic Mr Fox
    
11. The Princess and the Frog
12. Brothers -from morbid curiousity about how much worse it will be than the Danish film it's based on.
13. Police, Adjective
    
14. Sherlock Holmes -I vacillate wildly on this one. Looks alternately handsome fun and noisy apocryphal terrible. Which is it? Or is it both?
    
15. Women in Trouble - a comedy about 10 different women. Yes, please. If it's good. And mostly because Carla Gugino (über sexy) and Connie Britton (excellent actress) are in it.
    
    
    haven't thought much about but might go...
    
    
    
16. My Son, My Son, What Have You Done?
17. The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond -the cast doesn't much interest me. I mean, Bryce Dallas Howard practically warns "BAD MOVIE" just by showing up. But with screenplay by genius Tennessee Williams. Hmmm
    
18. Ninja Assassin -Maybe I won't see it but I've been in an action mood for a few days.
19. Me and Orson Welles - I like movies about the entertainment business be it theater/film or tv. But I think it's Zac Efron that's scaring me away so far.
20. The Young Victoria -- looks as dull to me as Invictus which is odd because I like the cast for the most part and I'm a sucker for beautiful costumes.
    

Help Me! I go to the movies a lot but you can't see everything. I'll have to catch up with some of these but which ones? I haven't yet seen: A Serious Man, In the Loop, Sin Nombre, Two Lovers, Everlasting Moments, Tokyo Sonata, Goodbye Solo, Adventureland, Observe and Report, The Soloist, The Limits of Control, Summer Hours, Easy Virtue, Drag Me To Hell, The Proposal, Ponyo, Thirst, The September Issue, The Burning Plain, Capitalism: A Love Story, Coco Before Chanel, Bronson, Zombieland, Trucker, and The Maid. My year end top ten list and film bitch awards are just 2 months away from kickoff. I'll have to hurry.

How excited are you for the rest of the film year? And which early releases will you be trying to catch up with before the Oscars.
*
*

LFF: Three Degrees of Love

Dave here, with the first of this week's daily reports from the LONDON FILM FESTIVAL, which is due to hit the unsuspecting public on Wednesday, but things have already brightened up for me now that I've moved into a rather grotty hotel. In a manner of speaking.

The first real success I've seen, A Single Man is a sensual, poetic, and really quite ravishing drama from fashion designer Tom Ford. It's a beautifully designed, stylish, effortlessly attractive film, and Ford's cinema-adjusted eye has a particular knack for the bodily, as you might expect - but all the stylistic flourishes tie into his own adaptation of Christopher Isherwood's novel with bountiful meaning. Particularly notable is his use of colour - dull and grey reflection of George's (Colin Firth) grief and depression frequently blossoms into sumptuous saturated colour, spurred by lust, laughter, or sometimes just the infectious spirit of youth. Slow-motion sequences set to flourishing violins strongly recollect Wong Kar-Wai, and there are probably other reference points you could pick out, but it doesn't feel like any sort of pastiche. Despite the novelistic origins, it feels like an intensely personal piece of work. The sombre drama the tragic beginning promises doesn't proceed; instead, a delicate, gently amusing, introspective story develops, with Nicholas Hoult and Julianne Moore delivering intriguing slivers about their characters, but both are seemingly hooked, as we are, on George. And Firth, for the first time in my memory, delivers a stunning performance. I'm not sure if Oscar will bite, but I did, and it tasted slightly wonderful. B+

You might react differently to me on hearing that 44 Inch Chest is from the writers of Sexy Beast (personally the reaction was one of indifference), but you won't fail to spot the most obvious connection between them. Perhaps getting John Hurt to shoot his f***ing mouth off isn't as big a coup as getting Sir Ben Kingsley to do it, but there's still some perverse delight in hearing all variety of swear words in that inimitably sonorous, slightly gruff voice. Perhaps it's the same perverse delight that comes from seeing the frighteningly imposing Ian McShane play a tough, calm and calculating gangster-type who just happens to wear sharp suits and like having naked men lie on his sofas. It's certainly more interesting than the central dilemma of this stagey, surprisingly introspective drama, which would be more impressive if it had anything perceptive to inspect. I suppose you have to give Ray Winstone points for dedicating himself (and his tear ducts) so fully to his cuckholded character's crisis of masculinity, but despite having access to his mangled brain's hallucinations, there's nothing emotionally incisive or funny enough here to make this worthwhile. C

Finally, Bruno Dumont's Hadewijch, which can easily take the title of most interesting screening thus far, even if all that interest ends up feeling rather impotent. The story of Céline's (newcomer Julie Sokolowski) passionate dedication to her God occasionally provides an oddly bewitching moment, but for the most part, Dumont's detached style (emphasized by his strongly realistic manipulation of the sounscape) keeps us distant and mystified about her decisions and behaviour, and the flashback (one assumes) coda's attempt to explain the lead up to the tragic ending feel like a cheap and poorly constructed addition. D+

Feel free to ask any probing questions if you'd like me to elaborate in the comments. I'll be back tomorrow with news of Samson, Delilah, and Robert Mugabe.

In a Very Unusual Usual Way...

...release dates are still in flux.

The latest tumultous shift is, as you may have heard, is Nine the musical which will move from Thanksgiving to Christmas... or thereabouts. This can't be a shock to anyone who knows the Weinsteins. They have never really understood Oscar-seeking release dates in months that don't begin with the letter "D".

As I read the news, the great song "Nine" was suddenly spinning in my head, one particular moment of it "Nine, Guido, Nine | Nine months of the year | to make you appear". If they hadn't cut the title song (I still can't believe they did!) that's a line that Sophia Loren would've sung to Daniel Day-Lewis. Sniffle. Wouldn't it be great if the Oscar calendar was nine months long: ambitious prestige movies delivered all year! But, oops... ZIP! I promised last year that I wouldn't bitch about release dates as much so I'll shut up now. In better news, A Single Man, which is also a December release is not going to be one of those peek-a-boo one week qualifiers, thank god. Instead it will do the traditional expand throughout December release.

It still sucks that the studios think that adults are only interested in movies during the holi-- shut up Nathaniel. Shut up! Shut up!

Peace out. No complaints here. Hooray! Nine for Christmas. A present we can't wait to open.

My Oscar predictions, in case you haven't seen 'em.

A Single Actress (Julianne Moore and Oscar)

There can be only one ...winner, that is.

This year's supporting actress contest (new predictions!), if you believe early hype, is down to Mo'Nique vs. ummmm? She's way out front for her abusive mother role in Precious. But with Julianne Moore's supposedly vivid contribution to Tom Ford's A Single Man newly exciting festival auds, we could see the redhead goddess nab her 5th career nomination. That's quite an honor, even if she never wins that elusive statue.

The Man That Got Away Keeps Getting Away

A couple of years ago I asked readers who the next Deborah Kerr would be. Which modern important actress will be forever appreciated but never fully embraced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences? Back then Kate Winslet was sort of gunning for the honor. Now that the English Rose has noisily moved into the winner's circle, the imaginary competition is back on. Although maybe it's no competition at all. The honor (?), at this point, thoroughly belongs to Glenn Close. She's much further away from winning an Oscar now than she ever was before, having abandoned anything like a substantial movie career.

Julianne may have another golden opportunity in the near future as the lead of the western drama Boone's Lick (previous post) but by the time the next next Oscars roll around she'll be 50. And we all know how unlikely it is for women over 50 to win Best Actress. It's only ever happened 8 times in 81 years and 3 of those times the woman's name was Katharine Hepburn, furthering lowering the statistical odds for women of a certain age. Since Julianne so often toggles between supporting roles and lead parts, maybe we should call her the next Deborah Kerr (6 Lead Actress noms / 0 wins) AND Thelma Ritter (6 Supporting Actress noms / 0 wins) combined.

Either way, it's just an honor to be nominated. And a pretty substantial honor to be nominated so many times. Even if you should, like Julie Ann, already have 2 gold boys on the shelf. If Moore pulls off this fifth nomination on February 2nd, 2010 she'll be in the very elite club of actresses to have been honored 5 times or more.

The Top 27 Oscar Women

1. Meryl Streep (15 noms, 2 wins)
   
2. Katherine Hepburn (12 noms, 4 wins) deceased
   
3. Bette Davis (10 noms, 2 wins) deceased
   
4. Geraldine Page (8 noms, 1 win) deceased
   
5. Ingrid Bergman (7 noms, 3 wins) deceased
   
6. Jane Fonda (7 noms, 2 wins) out of retirement - yay! Now where are the Big Drama roles?
   
7. Greer Garson (7 noms, 1 win) deceased
   
8. (tie) Jessica Lange and Maggie Smith (6 noms, 2 wins)
   
9. (5 way tie and all of them are still working regularly -- someone will break this tie) Sissy Spacek, Vanessa Redgrave, Judi Dench, Kate Winslet and Ellen Burstyn (6 noms, 1 win)
   
10. (Oscarless tie) Deborah Kerr & Thelma Ritter (6 noms, 0 wins) both deceased
    
11. (tie) Elizabeth Taylor and Olivia de Havilland (5 noms, 2 wins) both retired
    
12. (7 way tie) Cate Blanchett, Audrey Hepburn deceased, Shirley Maclaine*, Anne Bancroft deceased, Jennifer Jones retired, Susan Sarandon Norma Shearer** deceased (5 noms, 1 win)
    
13. (Oscarless tie) Glenn Close & Irene Dunne deceased (5 noms, 0 wins)

*Re: Shirley. We're only counting acting nominations here. She has 6 in total but one is not for acting.
**Norma Shearer could also be considered tied for 9th depending on how you count her double nomination.


Actresses with fewer nominations are too plentiful to list... but Julianne Moore, Emma Thompson and Frances McDormand are looking like the current (only?) threats to the esteemed company above. That should give you a clue as to how rare 5^ nominations truly is in Oscar's 81 years.

Think Julie will pull it off on February 2nd?
*

Venice: Two Trophies for A Single Man

By now you've heard the news that Colin Firth received the papal blessing in Venice.


What?!?

The only church I believe in is the church of cinema and Ang Lee is a holy man. Don't tell me otherwise, blasphemer!

If you have to receive a blessing from an auteur, a vote of confidence if you will, what better man than Ang Lee? He has exceptional taste. Colin Firth might be floating up towards heaven even as we speak since Ang Lee and his Venice International Film Festival jury named Colin Firth Best Actor. The honor came for his work as a grieving gay academic in Tom Ford's A Single Man (see: related posts).

I'd like to intone "The Oscar race has begun" in sotto voce right about now, but has it? A Single Man's distribution is still up in the air. Though the movie, based on the Christopher Isherwood novel, is having a great week (positive reception at both Venice and Toronto) only time will tell if the film will be eligible for any more trophies in 2009. For now, it has two.

The Golden Lion winner, Lebanon, which takes place in a tank

Ang's other holy blessings
Golden Lion (Best Film): Lebanon, directed by Samuel Maoz and Maoz Shmulik [Israel]
Silver Lion (Best Director): Women Without Men directed by Shirin Neshat [Iran]
Grand Jury Prize: Soul Kitchen directed by fest trophy magnet Fatih Akin of Head On and The Edge of Heaven fame [Germany]

Actress: Russian thespian Kseniya Rappoport (pictured right) in The Double Hour [Italy]
Young Performer: Jasmine Trinca in The Big Dream [Italy]
Screenplay: Todd Solondz's Life During Wartime [USA]
Set Design: Sylvie Olive for Mr. Nobody [USA]

The sidebar juries handed out the following prizes
Lion of the Future (Debut Film): Engkwentro by Pepe Diokno [The Philippines]
Queer Lion: A Single Man directed by Tom Ford [USA]
Documentary: 1428 directed by Du Haibin [China]
Special Mention: The Man’s Woman and Other Stories directed by Amit Dutta [India]
Controcompo Italiano: Cosmonauta by Susanna Nicchiarelli [Italy]

The only bum deal about the glorious Toronto International Film Festival that's in full swing as Venice shutters, is that they don't do juried awards. So this is your last big film award for awhile. Trophies, cups, scrolls, and golden statues are the way to go, you know. Oh sure, art is silly to quantify in that way but there's something generous and worthwhile about saying "you... you deserve this you beautiful piece of celluloid, you!" Ciao bella!

But back to "Darcy" himself for a second. I like Firth's chances in the Oscar race should the film find a distributor. Not only is that category awfully barren this year, but Firth is a respected enduring star who has never been nominated. When known previously neglected commodities do "best of career" work, big things can happen on Oscar night. Plus, he's a straight man playing gay as he reminded the world in his acceptance speech with a nod to his Italian wife.

I rarely seem to come home from Italy empty-handed – wine, balsamic vinegar, wife, two children, and now a nice piece of silverware.

Everyone knows how hard the Academy thinks that acting gay is for straight men. Imagine the unspeakable horror of locking lips with Matthew Goode! Poor, poor put upon Colin. He thought pretending to be in love with Bridget Jones was hard work.

A Single Man Teases

I realize that if I ran Hollywood, they'd be bankrupt in a year. Oh, the things I'd greenlight! And the way I'd market the beautiful motion pictures I shepherded into being. (sigh) History shows us that moviegoers like to see spoilers and lots of exposition in their trailers but I shudder when a trailer ends and I already know the entire outline, the best three moments and can guess the ending with 90% accuracy. I'd promote nearly every movie like they're promoting A Single Man. Here is the teaser -- thanks to reader Seeking Amy for pointing it out -- which is all intriguing imagery and dropped hints as to the story that awaits you.



The Good News
This is truly beautiful stuff. Julianne Moore looks ravishing and stylish. Colin Firth looks less dumpy than usual and the cinematography by Eduard Grau (a DP I'm not familiar with) looks promising, indeed. It should come as no surprise that the first feature from a reknowned image maker, fashion golden boy Tom Ford, would look good. But this looks great. The delicious cast also includes the superhumanly beautiful Ozymandias Matthew Goode, Pushing Daisies' Lee Pace, Nicholas "About a Boy Man" Hoult, model Jon Kortajarena, Teddy Sears (Dollhouse) and the always welcome Ginnifer Goodwin.


The Bad News
The movie is still for sale which means that you can't count on it showing up in your cinema any time soon. Here's to hoping that something magic occurs at Toronto and this movie can enter the upcoming Oscar fray. Which will only be a scuffle, methinks, given the barren awards landscape that 2009 seems to be turning into.
*

You Linkin' To Me?

Village Voice Josh Olson (A History of Violence) says "I will not read your fucking script"
Flickr Cuteness. José Cruz draws Robert De Niro in 40 roles
In Contention on Tom Ford's A Single Man with Julianne Moore and Colin Firth
The Big Picture ruh-roh. The Road is already turning quite divisive. How do you think it'll fare in the Oscar race?
Empire unnecessary sequel news: Hancock 2. Who was clamoring for this, exactly? Besides the bank accounts of Charlize & Big Willie that is
My New Plaid Pants thinks healthcare via Trainspotting
Cinema Viewfinder is hosting a Brian De Palma blog-a-thon
MTV a stripping fan stripped of press pass after plea to George Clooney. Have you seen this?
The Critical Condition 101 Best Songs of the Aughts (in progress)
The Independent Eye George Clooney doin' the airport stare. Filmmakers love the melancholy of airports, don't they?


Finally...
Coming Soon The Coen Bros are doing another remake. Did they learn nothing from The Ladykillers? We value them for their originality most of all. That said, this reunites them with Jeff Bridges, "The Dude" himself. What's more it's a remake of the Best Actor winning John Wayne film, True Grit (1969). Intriguing or a very very bad idea? Sound off
*

Links, Episode #1,214

Daily Telegraph OHMYGOD. Did Russell Crowe finally get a sense of humor about himself? [hat tip to Sheriff George]
Mind of a Suspicious Kind "an image" in honor of Daniel Day Lewis
The Post-Game Show one of the best pieces I've read on the Disney buying Marvel deal
Risky Biz will Jason Reitman go three-for-three with Up in the Air?
The Cut thinks the Project Runway spinoff is awful. My take: It could use work but it's not without its moments
Urlesque claims that 09/09/09 will be "a day without cats" on the internet. If this catches on I'll just have to go offline in protest!
ioncinema first look beautiful pictures of Julianne Moore and Colin Firth in A Single Man


Nick's Flick Picks a 2009 Progress Report. Big props for The Hurt Locker and Julia among others
A Blog Next Door Nic and Eva: twin terrors and floating heads
Bright Lights is ruining my desire to stop thinking of Inglourious Basterds with this "anima & animus" article
Tractor Facts "Ghana is the New Poland" (on movie posters)

Madge Madness!
Movies Kick Ass TFE contributor Jose on Madonna's new video "Celebration"
Boy Culture how adorable! Madonna gets her kids Rocco and Lola onstage and dancing at her concert in Tel Aviv. Lola even knows the "Give it 2 Me" choreography. Rocco's dad is a filmmaker, Lourdes's dad is an actor and their mom is a global icon. Think these two will be performers when they grow up? Maybe Lourdes is the next Liza Minnelli? Not that there'll ever be another Liza Minnelli but you know what I mean...

Denis, Rivette, and Moore!: Venice Lineup Announced

Robert here, noticing that the Venice Film Festival announced the lineup for it's 66th installment on Thursday. Here's the in-competition list, with a few bits I managed to find about each film.

Baaria (Opening Film) dir. Giuseppe Tornatore
The director of Cinema Paradiso gives us a three-generation spanning epic about his Italian hometown.

Soul Kitchen dir. Fatih Akin (pictured)
Akin directed the terrific Head-On and The Edge of Heaven (if you haven't seen either or both, do now). He re teams with Birol Unel from Head-On for a comedy about culture and gender clash.

La Doppia Ora dir. Giuseppe Capotondi
It's been tough finding information on this as Venice's website (nor IMDb) has much at the moment. I can tell tell you is that it's a freshman effort, it's Italian, and it's fun to say... La Doppio Ora!

Yi ngoi (Accident) dir. Cheang Pou-Soi
A Hong Kong crime film about a policeman getting in too deep as he attempts to take down an Assassins gang.

Persecution dir. Patrice Chereau
The newest film from the director of Queen Margot and Intimacy is a tumultuous love story. No word on whether there will be explicit scenes but it stars Charlotte Gainsbourg so a man can dream can't he?

Lo Spazio Bianco (White Space) dir. Francesca Comencini
This Italian film deals with the tenuous empty time (ala white space) a mother spends between the premature birth of her baby and its removal from an incubator.

White Material dir. Claire Denis
While us Denis fans in the states are still anticipating her last movie 35 Rhums, she's moved onto her next. This one stars Isabelle Huppert and Isaak de Bankole and involves a French coffee grower in Africa during a time of great conflict. Those unfamiliar with Denis probably shouldn't expect any action sequences.

Mr. Nobody dir. Jaco van Dormael (pictured)
Here's a film about a 120 year old man who is the last mortal living in a world of immortals. I'm already sold. Jared Leto and Sarah Polley star.

A Single Man dir. Tom Ford
Ford's first film stars Colin Firth as a gay college professor dealing with the death of his lover. Julianne Moore also stars. I smell lots and lots of potential.

Lourdes dir. Jessica Hausner
Hasuner's films have been staples on the festival circuits (though still relatively unknown among wider audiences). Lourdes (which will also play Toronto) is about a wheelchair-bound woman who, wouldn't you know it, travels to Lourdes in the hope of a miracle.

Bad Lieutenant: Port Of New Orleans dir. Werner Herzog
Nicolas Cage stars as a wild flailing police lieutenant who totters on the edge of sanity... as directed by Werner Herzog. This will either be a horrible disaster or a fantastic disaster, or a total masterpiece. It'll certainly be something.

The Road dir. John Hillcoat
Remember back when Esquire called this the most important film of the year? We'll soon see.

Ahasin Wetei (Between Two Worlds) dir. Vimukhti Jayasundara
I look forward to finding out more about this film from award-winning short director Jayasundara. Meanwhile, here's a picture of him at some event with Miranda July. Cool.

El Mosafer (The Traveller) dir. Ahmed Maher
Word is, Maher's been trying to make this project his entire career. It's described as: "Set in three different time periods, “El Mosafer” traces the life of one man over three days in three different years: 1948 in Suez, 1973 in Alexandria and 2001 in Cairo."[src] I figured no paraphrasing of mine could do better.

Levanon (Lebanon) dir. Samuel Maoz
A semi-autobiographical picture about four soldiers at the start of the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

Capitalism: A Love Story dir. Michael Moore (pictured)
Unfortunately there's not much on the internet about either this film or director. Apparently he's a documentarian of some sort who people don't feel strongly about one way or the other. Seriously though if Moore's latest is like the rest of his films it stands to be controversial, sad, and true (mostly).

Zanan-e-bedun-e mardan (Women Without Men) dir. Shirin Neshat
Neshat is an acclaimed photographer whose been delving into film recently. Her latest is about a group of women who band together to form their own personal rural utopia.

Il Grande Sogno (The Big Dream) dir. Michele Placido
This film is set in 1968. I wish I could have found more than that. It's Italian and despite what Quentin Tarantino might have you believe, that country has been turning out some really good cinema lately.

36 Vues Du Pic Saint Loup dir. Jacques Rivette
Rivette's latest is a biopic about author Raymond Roussel. And considering it's Rivette behind the wheel, I'm guessing it's not your standard biopic.

Life During Wartime dir. Todd Solondz
Solondz's new movie has been described as a "dark comedy of sexual obsession" [src] and a companion piece to Happiness and Welcome to the Dollhouse. Solondz fans should be excited... hooray for sexual obsession!

Tetsuo The Bullet Man dir. Shinya Tsukamoto (pictured)
This is the third film in Tsukamoto's underground cyberpunk Tetsuo film series. I can't personally claim to have seen any of them but know that the first, Tetsuo The Iron Man is about a man who finds himself transforming into metal. I'm told it's weird... in a good way.

Lei wangzi (Prince of Tears) dir. Yonfan
Chinese director Yonfan gives us an exploration of friendship between four individuals in socially unresty 1960's Taiwan.

Hopefully that spread some interest around, and my apologies for the more sketchy summaries.

Cover Girl, Frontier Woman

Every third month or so I miss magazines.



Missing Julianne Moore happens far more frequently.

<--- Chloe promotional poster [via]

But never fear. A healthy dose of Julie Anne Smith face time coming our way in 2009 and 2010 (provided that the distribution gods are kind). Up first: a supporting role in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee. Then? Release dates are hiding but she's the lead in a horror thriller Shelter (uh oh. Julie + genre = trouble) and working the drama (ahhh, much better) with Colin Firth in A Single Man. Rather intriguingly (plot & auteurial wise) she's offering up Amanda Seyfried to her husband Liam Neeson in Atom Egoyan's Chloe. The teaser poster tag line makes it sound like "cheesy misogynistic thriller"... like Obsessed or something, but it's Atom Egoyan so it's safer to place your bets on "good psychologically compelling movie".

No obvious Oscar bait on the way except for the lead role of a frontier mother, Mary Margaret, who takes her kids on a treacherous journey from Missouri to Wyoming in Boone's Lick. It's from director Barry Levinson's and novelist/screenwriter Larry McMurtry (Brokeback Mountain). Entertainment Weekly calls the McMurtry book a "gory farce". Hmmm. Actresses don't often win Oscars for westerns but it's fun to imagine that she'll finally get hers as a sort of belated 50th birthday present in 2011. Still, with no other cast announced yet, who knows what will become of this project. Levinson has had two Best Picture shortlisters in his directorial career (Bugsy and Rain Man) but his last picture to cause any sort of fuss was Wag the Dog way back in 1997. So cross your fingers that they actually start filming this fall, as once planned... with or without the "rumored" Tom Hanks as co-star.
*

Out, Rich and Powerful. Envy Them!

I can't resist a list. I try to resist, I do. Out Magazine just released their list of the 50 most powerful gays in the world. They've judged them on

1. political clout
   
2. cultural resonance
   
3. individual wealth
   
4. personal profile... whatever that means

I don't know why they couldn't have made it a Top 51 so that I could appear. I mean have they forgotten

1. How I campaigned for Meryl Streep's birthday to be a Federal Holiday and for her face to be carved into Mount Rushmore and both things came to pass? [shut up!]
   
2. How I invented* actressexuality and the blogosphere totally uses the word now?
   
3. HA HA HAhaha haha... um, this is not funny. Disqualified!
4. I didn't understand what 'personal profile' meant anyway.
   

Maybe if they had a Top 1,000,001 powerful gays and lesbians list, I'd make that one ??? I'm losing the thread. Oh yes, power. And those who have it. Like many a website that thrives on "page views" Out has made the list hard to navigate so that you have to click on 50 different pages to read it. So I've done the work for you. Here are the ranks useful to our purposes here at the Film Experience i.e. people that are involved in movies and/or narrative television. It's not a list of out actors (like that list I made some time ago) but of the very successful / powerful and mostly offscreen movers and shakers.

• #10 David Geffen, the G in Dreamworks SKG. Remember that hilarious rumor in the 90s that he was married to Keanu Reeves. HA! The internet is so weird sometimes.
  
• #14 Gus Van Sant, Milk delivery man. I hope he gets another shot at Oscar. It's quite an interesting filmography and singular too, despite all the borrowing from Bela Tarr.
  
• #18 Scott Rudin, Oscar Lust in Humanoid Form. See also: Julie & Julia, Doubt, Revolutionary Road, There Will Be Blood, No Country For Old Men, Notes on a Scandal, The Queen, The Hours, Closer, Iris...
• #25 Dustin Lance Black, screenwriter/Oscar winner/ridiculously young looking 35 year old. I'm curious as to how he'll follow Milk up (I'm talking features... not MTV telefilms)
• #26 Bryan Lourd & Kevin Huvane, CAA partners. If someone made a movie about CAA it'd probably be as crazy / shady as SD-6 on Alias or possibly the Dollhouse, don't you think?

Neil Patrick Harris in How I Met Your Mother, Dr. Horrible and with his actor boyfriend David Burtka (who was excellent in Edward Albee's The Play About the Baby some years back Off Broadway). Burtka is from Michigan like myself and one of my best friends from high school even knows him *gag* [/name dropping]. Blah blah blah... In short, if NPH were a movie star, I would probably never stop talking about him. You've been spared!

• #28 Neil Patrick Harris, TV star. I love NPH but mostly because he sings so beautifully and happens to be hilarious. That said, I haven't seen How I Met Your Mother. I can't do laugh track shows anymore. I honestly can't and I have tried. Even the funny ones make me cringe. 30 Rock, Sex & the City and Arrested Development among others have spoiled me forever. I will laugh when I damn well please, thank you very much, TV suits.
  
• #29 Michael Patrick King, Sex & the City svengali
  
• #35 Wanda Sykes. Hilarious diva. Also moonlights as cartoon animals with alarming frequency.
  

Unprolific Jodie: Only three lead roles this entire decade?
Prolific Greg: 1 movie, 6 tv series this decade alone. Writing/producing Green Lantern

• #36 Jodie Foster. I'm a smidge annoyed that the gay media keeps saying she's out because she mentioned her partner Cydney once at an industry function. That's technically "out" but if you adjust for the proportional scale of being a household name and one of the most famous respected celebrities on the planet, Jodie is still a stealth lesbian. I also find it hilarious that the article mentions her Leni Riefenstahl biopic. Like that's ever going to happen. That's becoming as funny / fantastical as every new casting announcement for Flora Plum. It's too bad really that she never gets anything off the ground because I'm confident that both those movies would be way more fascinating than the next thriller she'll inevitably agree to star in next.
  
• #38 Tom Ford, He Who Whispers in Naked Keira's Ear. His debut feature as a writer/director A Single Man starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore is due this year. But there's always that fashion icon thang for a safety net. What a safety net, huh?
  
• #47 Greg Berlanti TV man. I once hated him (long story but it involved The Broken Hearts Club) I have since learned the error of my ways and am completely addicted to Brothers & Sisters. He's totally gorgeous and talented. So in a sense, yes, I still hate him.
• #49 Simon Halls and Stephen Huvane of PMK/HBH. Their PR firm represents Jennifer Aniston, Julianne Moore, Uma Thurman, Anne Hathaway and Neil Patrick Harris. (4 out of 5 ain't bad!)
  

Now that I'm done sharing this information I've realized I have no idea what these lists are for. To make mere civilians jealous?

* Technically speaking George Cukor invented it. Or maybe Warren Beatty. But they didn't name it, did they?!