Animal Kingdom To Rack Up Awards (...In Australia)

Remember that one year (2001) when the list-happy AFI (American Film Institute) decided to compete with the Globes and the Oscars in year end prizes? No, that didn't last long. But there's another AFI, The Australian Film Institute, that has been around for a long time and is in no such danger of being a one-off. This year, they're all about the amazing family crime drama Animal Kingdom which they awarded with a record breaking 18 nominations. Sure, the film is in danger of being way overhyped for people who are coming to it late (which is just about everyone given the sorry state of international distribution for dramas of virtually any kind) but for those who can slough off the "omg" raves, I guarantee you'll think it at least an insinuating and well executed crime drama.

AFI Favorites with multiple nominations

Its main competition for the coveted prizes, if you go by nomination counts, is Bright Star (different eligibility calendar over there in Australia). I haven't really covered the Australian Awards before -- we lean on Glenn for that -- but since i've seen three of their Best Picture nominees this time around (the two leaders plus the aborigine musical Bran Nue Dae), why not?

Complete nomination list -- with more Oscar adjacent & actor related comments -- after the jump.

Read more »

Take Three: Paul Schneider

Craig here with this week's Take Three.

Today: Paul Schneider

Take One: Shining bright in the background

Schneider is the epitome of faded rakishness as Charles Armitage Brown, the somewhat disarmingly oily, though tender, poet pal and occasional gooseberry orbiting around both Ben Whishaw’s Keats and Abbie Cornish’s Fanny in Jane Campion's excellent Bright Star (2009). He is the film's third, understated star – his character is a gem of a role for an actor more averse to playing contemporary slackers.

Fanny on his mind. Schneider as Brown in Bright Star

Some found his Scottish accent a bit wavering, but I didn't notice anything odd about it (though it’s possible he may well have watched Billy Connelly clips as practice). The way he instills Brown with a larger-than-life robustness was endearing and playful; it was a sheer pleasure to watch him jauntily thrust himself front and centre into all social situations, talking up his game a mile-a-minute to everyone around him.

Schneider played Brown as a man open to all adventure – someone who wholly encourages the pleasures of the day ahead. But there was a brewing sadness hovering around the edges of his character. An unforeseen and hidden emotion spills out of him at one particularly crucial moment in the film. Schneider masters his line delivery whilst desperately attempting to swallow down a life's worth of sorrow. He was truly amazing in this scene and indeed every minute of his screen time. Just where was that Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination, Eh?

Take Two: Not just Like Jesse James.

In addition to main star Brad Pitt The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) was dutifully backed up by a coterie of acting talent from some of today’s best male stock. All the support cast had established fine careers beforehand, but where the likes of Jeremy Renner, Sam Rockwell and Casey Affleck went on to noticeably higher profile leading roles recently (with The Hurt Locker, Moon and The Killer Inside Me respectively), Schneider has continued to graft away in supporting parts (Ditto Jesse James’ other hidden supporting gem Garret Dillahunt). His key role will come. But in the meantime he gets to add his own slice a slippery menace to Andrew Dominik's painterly version of the James myth.

He plays Dick Liddil: Lothario, braggart and rough-hewn gang member – essentially a turn-of-the-century male slut with a holster and a wry glint in his eye. He’s admired by some James gang members, despised by others, but keeps himself in check with wily panache and plenty of arrogant smirks.

The gang's all here: Schneider - second from left, top row.

His slightly heightened vocal inflections – which give Schneider’s voice a cleverly subtle whiny lilt – are almost sing-song, but insinuating. Schneider displays Dick’s unsettling bravado best in the scene where Ford (Affleck) bathes in a tub outside whilst Dick questions his true intentions, before pointing a gun to his face and saying, “I’ll look you up. I’ll knock on your door, and I’ll be as mad as a hornet. And I will be hard.” His temper and disposition flit between carefree and insidious. It’s a real about-turn from moments where he’s relaxed or turning on the lowly charm – like when he’s seducing his conquests in outhouses. (Oddly, his best work here is often delivered in scenes featuring external WCs.) Schneider seduces us too – and he's the best of a 'bad' bunch.

Take Three: Paul, the real guy?

Schneider’s career emerged alongside director David Gordon Green’s – who cast him in two early shorts (Pleasant Grove, Physical Pinball) and his first two features: 2000's George Washington and 2003’s All the Real Girls. It was his role as Paul, the Southern small town womaniser who flounders in the face of real love (with Zooey Deschanel), in the latter film which thrust him into the indie spotlight and set his career off to a gloriously groovy start. It’s not quite an alt version of the Scorsese & DeNiro-style team-up, but the promise was there.

 Schneider and Zooey Deschanel apart in All the Real Girls

Schneider's was a role could've easily sailed close to indulgent wallowing – an actor too familiar may have jarred with the film’s overall perfectly parochial tone, an actor too over-rehearsed may have laid it on thick – but Schneider’s rookie affability (a characteristic the actor gladly hasn’t yet lost) and natural ease ensure that Paul’s arc is realistically and affectingly conveyed. The whole film can be seen as a portrait of a guy on the cusp of being a lifelong loser, but who holds off long enough to strive for something else, some kind of miniature personal redemption. It's given simple style and performance assurance by Schneider.

 Schneider and Zooey Deschanel together in All the Real Girls

The desire to feel half irritated at Paul’s slovenly, cocksure mannerisms and half intrigued by his wayward, unfocused lifestyle constantly pulls at the audience's sympathies. Paul’s a familiar enough type, who most people have likely met, but Schneider blends together a variety of internal emotions, tics and instances of accurate woeful male heartbreak and lets them out in a surprisingly layered, truthful way. Looking at the film again now, it’s a pleasant surprise just how confident a performance it is. Schneider had the smarts from early on.

Three more key films for the taking: George Washington (2000), Elizabethtown (2005), Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

"puff, smoke, dissolve"

Charles Brown: What have I done to you?
Fanny Brawne: You do nothing to me...or for me. And that's how I'd prefer to keep it.
Charles: What?
Fanny: Your offense is to my fashion, Mr. Brown. To which I'm so helplessly slavish.
Charles: I have been ill quoted.

Fanny: "Her obsession with flounce and cross stitch"...?
Charles: Cross stitch. Miss Brawne, I don't even know what that means.
Fanny: I feel the same way about your poems Mr. Brown. I know nothing of what they mean. They puff, smoke, dissolve... leaving nothing but irritation.

[Great moments in screen bitchery #931]

Abbie Cornish (seamstress) and Paul Schneider (poet) butt heads in Bright Star (2009). And this is their first exchange! They'll be at each other's throats for the next 2 hours. [Bright Star, so horrifically snubbed in Oscar World, won 3 gold and 4 bronze medals at this site's 10th annual awards ceremony.]

Abbie Cornish: Spinning Career Somersaults

Editor's note: This post is from Craig of Dark Eye Socket, which I've been enjoying a lot lately. I invited him because he wanted to talk about Abbie and I'm all ears! Next up for Abbie are two supporting roles in Zach Snyder's Alice in Wonderland inspired Sucker Punch and Madonna's period romantic drama W.E. Do you want more Abbie soon?

Abbie didn't look upset 'bout that snub at Vanity Fair's post-Oscar bash

Abbie Cornish was a Bright Star last year, but five years ago she shone bright enough, in her debut lead role in Somersault, to get noticed snagging three Australian acting awards. As Heidi, a girl who escapes the dullness of small-town Canberra for a ski resort in Jindabyne, she clapped and gleamed her way to a more eventful life and a near seduction of pre-Action Man Sam Worthington. Nice idea, Abs.

Since then, she’s steadily honed her talents in a handful of higher profile films which have all made great use of her ability to be both subtle and determined. Her bohemian defiance in Candy, followed by sterling support in Elizabeth: The Golden Age and A Good Year – then hooking up with Ryan Phillippe (much to the future chagrin of Reese Witherspoon) on Stop-Loss, and providing muse duties for Ben Whishaw on Bright Star – have given Cornish ample chance to re-ignite the screen in the years since her Somersaulting turn. That she’s only sparkled at half-brightness so far (in some folks’ eyes) merely points to the fact she’s in it for the long haul, not the quick trip: she’s eking out an enduring résumé; her future’s brighter.

The mid-‘00s saw a surplus of flighty females coax guys into their orbits: Zooey Deschanel in All the Real Girls, Julie Delpy in Before Sunset and – to the tune of an Oscar nod – Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine, to name three, all deservedly gained critical attention. But Cornish’s equally deserving Somersault role, despite the three awards, didn’t inspire quite as much universal adoration. Like that film’s landscapes, maybe she’s seen as a touch too frosty, too oblique for wider appeal. Maybe some folk don’t like that she hangs with the guys too much (most of her co-stars have been male) – something that got Heidi into hot water in Somersault. And she hasn’t exactly taken roles which have been too easy to warm to. But stick to your guns Abbie - more power to you, I say.

She gave one of ‘09’s best performances in Bright Star (couldn’t they have extended the acting categories to ten, too?), but is she still too much the newcomer to appear on Oscar’s radar yet? Recent nominations say otherwise: Carey Mulligan, another demure and elfin movie novice, got an early stab at Oscar; the Academy loved a quirky Ellen Page and a corseted Keira Knightley; and Hathaway and Portman got to make a grab for the bald man. Cornish will just have to wait her turn. Maybe in time she’ll prove herself a capable comedienne and do a Bullock, or take a left turn down the Jennifer Jason Leigh route. A role in a Kathryn Bigelow flick wouldn’t do any harm right now either.


Somersault gave Cornish her best role yet. She was awkwardly, intimately indefinable; viewers, like the film’s characters, skirted around her, curious to see what she'd do next. It was a subtly immersive performance, one that’s perhaps characterised Cornish’s career so far. To paraphrase Bright Star’s strapline: First Roles Burn Brightest.
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FiLM BiTCH AWARDS Medals Ceremony

This site's 10th annual honors have been announced. Cue the title themes to Bright Star and The Hurt Locker. Hunger doesn't really have a score so just cue a tinny radio transmission of Margaret Thatcher's voice. I dunno, get creative. Director Steve McQueen certainly did.

The Na'Vi honor the ceremonial wins of their destroyers.
Avatar wins 3 gold and 2 silver in technical categories.

The gold, silver and bronze medals are now announced for all of the "traditional" categories. I'm still working on the extra fun pages. Many of these medals were tough calls, so don't get too flummoxed if your favorites were bronze instead of silver or some such. Next month I might wish I'd switched a few up. After all, so much of "favorites" is mood-driven and susceptible to rescreenings. Although, don't get me wrong, there are incontestable gold medals, too. Tilda Swinton's win for Julia and Mo'Nique's for Precious were easy calls. They're the two best performances of 2009 (with Christoph Waltz a semi-distant third though he too is quite marvelous) and they'd be high up on a "decade" list, too.

The Hurt Locker reigns with the highest medal count (4 gold among them). What can I say, it was a rare "consensus" year for me. It was also a good year for toons. Between them, Coraline, UP and Fantastic Mr. Fox took 7 medals.

P.S. Before anyone freaks out about "The Dude" losing gold, remember that I owe him nothing. I didn't keep him waiting nearly as long as Oscar voters did. He won the top prize here just five years back for The Door in the Floor... a performance I still prefer to that Crazy Heart.

P.P.S. More awardage and final Oscar Predictions coming tomorrow.

Best Costume Design and More...

It's Eye Candy weekend

Do you have a favorite horse in the Costume Design race? Sandy Powell (The Young Victoria) and Colleen Atwood (Nine) are facing off yet again. They both have 8 nominations and 2 wins behind them. The elaborate rags of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and two movies with self-made fashionistas as protagonists (Coco Before Chanel and Bright Star) are also in the running. I've whipped up a gallery for your edification. So, why don't you take a looksie and then vote in the poll. And if you love this sort of thing (and you should!) you can also see my personal ballot (and medalists).



I'm assuming that The Young Victoria will take the Oscar because, the beauty of its costume aside for a moment, Royalty Porn nearly always triumphs in this category. Royalty Porn is to this category what psycho killers are to Supporting Actor and what longsuffering girlfriend/spouse is to Supporting Actress and what DeGlam is for Best Actress (though not so much this year). In other words, it's their drug of choice.

P.S. An interview with my favorite working costume designer is coming up soon!

P.P.S. New readers choice polls require your attention, too: Director, Original Score, Cinematography. You can see how the collective polls for the major categories are shaping up right here ...and there's only a few days left to vote on all of them.

Oscar Symposium Day 3: Big Finale Remix

Previously on the Symposium: Nathaniel was talking about Tarantino's mastery of 'The Moment' and how it excuses his messy indulgences elsewhere. As a filmmaker he's a perfect match for our DVD chapter-menu culture


Guy Lodge: I think it's a spot-on point, and I'm both intrigued and troubled by the idea of Basterds being a success story of latter-day audience inclination to edit their own movies. My problem is that, while I'm as capable as anyone else of filleting out treasurable moments -- -- "Attendez la crème!" -- from the sheer morass of stuff in the film, my brain can't blithely discard the missteps as you imply others can. For much sorrier reasons, the wincingly awful appearance of Eli Roth burns as brightly in my memory as that exquisitely extended opening sequence, so much so that one can't eclipse the other.

But I think you've latched onto a selectivity that has boosted the fortunes of a number of contenders this year besides Basterds: everyone has cut out and stuck the 'Married Life' sequence of Up into their cinematic scrapbooks, but who really wants the rest? Precious, whatever your take on it, is made for mental re-editing -- Joe Klotz's baffling nomination notwithstanding.

Tim Robey: What we're basically saying here is that a lot of these movies are screener-friendly. They can be browsed. And I have to say this faintly depresses me as an old-fashioned, packed-audience-on-opening-night, communal experience sort of guy. This is where I think the 3D selling point of Avatar is quite a canny ruse -- a trick to get people going back out to the movies rather than waiting for the inevitably diminished experience on their home TV -- and it's a ruse for which I have some respect. Did Cameron send out screeners for Avatar? Did he need to? To lesser extents, Up and District 9 (and to be fair, even The Blind Side) are films that audiences discovered together in their first few weeks of release, whether in a mall in Kentucky or the Odeon Leicester Square (where The Blind Side has yet to be unveiled, actually -- Sandy or no Sandy, UK distributors are understandably never in much of a hurry to release anything to do with American football. We get confused! Don't ask me what a Tight End is.)


Read the rest at Day Three of the Symposium
In which we discuss "the Ten", The Hurt Locker, Where the Wild Things Are, the scores, missing foreign films, screeners vs theatrical and wrap up this three-day party with Meryl Streep vs. Sandra Bullock and Nathaniel's favorite movie game "Re-Casting Couch"

Return and comment. It keeps the conversation going!
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Oscar Symposium Day 2: (500) Basterds In the Bright Starry Loop

Nathaniel R: I led with the Reality Television problem yesterday because I'm trying to work through some, um, "personal issues". I actually snapped at two friends this week for no reason other than that something they said reminded me tangentially of reality television and how much I hate it and inbetween these outbursts I sat through the entire new episodes of Amazing Race, Project Runway and RuPaul's Drag Race on my DVR. I'm part of the problem! So I needed to binge and purge the reality television issue before moving on. My chief problem with its dominance is the samey samey ness of everything. Art thrives on variety and so often the pop culture pie -- of which the Oscars are my favorite slice -- comes in only one flavor at a time.

And Peter landed on the category that, invariably, I find the most difficult to stomach year in and year out for the exact same reason: Supporting Actor. They seem to use this category as a dumping ground for "types" even more so than the other categories. This will be three years in a row they've gone with a psychotic/charismatic killer for the win... and meanwhile they fill out the category with aging man career tributes. I won't attempt to argue that that winning threesome (Javier/Heath/Christoph) aren't worthy choices but there's something more to it than just coincidence, yes?

Psycho Killers, Qu'est-Que C'est?

Maybe this psycho-killas and revered old men category is actually a metaphor for the glamorous brutality of Hollywood -- they're always trying to kill you but if you survive for any admirable length of time they're sure to kiss your ass...

I'm stretching but anything to take my mind away from this category!

And to take my mind away from Bringing Down The House's blinged up homie --uh, thanks Tim-- because that leads me right back into The Blind Side territory. Racial landmines ahead!



Speaking of... Precious. What Tim said. But the issue of who-gets-credit, which he briefly alluded to in regards to the performances, is so fascinating here (and elsewhere). But for my money, Tilda Swinton in Julia aside, Mo'Nique gave the one performance this year that I can't even wrap my head around fully it's so titanic.

Guy Lodge: Best Supporting Actor may be a dumping ground for "types," but that's no excuse to make it a dumping ground for bad performances too, which is precisely what they've done this year. If they really found Anthony Mackie and Alfred Molina that hard to accept (despite apparently liking everything around them), perhaps they should have applied their new Best Original Song rule to this category, and curtailed the number of nominees. Because, frankly, I'd rather see a two-strong field than have to scratch my head any longer over who was actually impressed enough by Stanley Tucci's sweaty psycho kvetching, or Matt Damon's (more justifiably sweaty, at least) approximation of Afrikaner hulkiness by way of Opie, to place them at the top of their ballot. Because someone did.

Read the rest of DAY TWO
Wherein we move on to individual nominations and snubs that delighted and confused us, what makes some movies click with Oscar or miss entirely, that weird relationship in Crazy Heart and the internal conflict of Inglourious Basterds.

Then return and comment. Continue the conversation.
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My Ballot: Best Picture & Best Actor & More

So... The first half of my own annual awards is now complete. Every Oscar category I also cover is filled out. There's more to come after a couple days of other things ... I still have to bring you the more idiosyncratic categories. It's always really tough doing these things because I usually love my #6s as much as my #5s and #7s, you know? But it is what it is, a personalized celebration of the cinematic year, personalized but public. My 15 favorite pictures of the year (in alpha order) from all the films I saw.

• (500) Days of Summer (posts)
  
• Avatar (review)
  
• Bright Star (posts)
  
• Coraline (posts)
  
• Fantastic Mr. Fox (posts)
  
• Hunger (more on Michael Fassbender)
  
• The Hurt Locker (posts)
  
• Inglourious Basterds (video review)
  
• Julia (more on Tilda Swinton)
  
• The Maid
  
• Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire (first impression)
  
• Summer Hours ('sell it to the highest bidder')
  
• UP (video review)
  
• Up in the Air (posts)
  
• Whip It (review)
  

I'm not sure why I didn't do the proper top ten list article this year... but it strangely fell through the cracks. And I would like to to add that I love Mary & Max, Valentino the Last Emperor and Prodigal Sons as much or better than some of these but they were ineligible for various reasons for my prizes. There'll be more to come on the transgendered documentary Prodigal Sons since it's finally gotten some press. And major press, too: Oprah! Don't miss this movie when it eventually comes anywhere near you. Or just "save" it on Netflix or whatever service you use for when it launches on DVD.

The FiLM BiTCH Awards
page 1: Best Picture, Director, Screenplays
page 2: Best Acting
page 3: Best of Visual Categories
page 4: Best of Aural Categories and Nomination Tallies

It was one of my rare consensus years so my three nomination leaders are exactly the same as Oscar: the basterds, the Na'Vi and the bomb squad. The major difference would be that Oscar shunned Bright Star and I haven't been able to shake it. So beautiful it t'was. And speaking of beautiful, the more I sit with the Oscar nominees for Best Picture the more comfortable I am with them representing the film year. Give or take a nomination or seven, Oscar didn't do so badly this year.

How's your awards season going?
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Blog Wars VI: The Return of the Link

I've illustrated this post with the new Toy Story 3 character, Ken. Because... I just can't get over it. What?! There's also a new trailer.

And Your Little Blog, Too has a fine piece on one of my favorites, A Place in the Sun
Dear Jesus skewers one of my least favorites, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers
Film Doctor thoughtful notes on Bright Star
Low Resolution finally sees that Jane Campion effort too. Why did it take people so long to get behind it. Argh. Maybe it should have opened in the Spring/ Summer and worked the Away From Her/Erin Brockovich/La Vie En Rose/Moulin Rouge! type of Oscar track?
Empire Untitled Spider-Man Reboot will be in 3-D. Look, I loved Avatar but every film does not need to be in 3D. How long will this craze last? Until a couple of mega flops arrive I guess.

/Film Waking Sleeping Beauty sounds like a fascinating documentary. Me want
/Film Remember when I told you that Clueless director Amy Heckerling wanted Pfeiffer for her new comedy Vamps? Well, apparently she wants "Cher" too... as in Alicia Silverstone rather than Cher proper.
I'm Not Obsessed Sam Worthington for Dracula Year Zero. Uh oh. Is he going to do anything other than big franchise pics? Now might be the time to prove you can act Sam. Now, while everyone is watching: quick detour into drama. Do it!
The Advocate Portia de Rossi does Mia Farrow's classic People cover (see previous post)
by Ken Levine Julianne Moore (and other movie stars) moving to television, from the tv writer's perspective

A Must Read
Have you read the Mark Harris piece on Oscar politics yet? If you haven't you must carve out the time. It's long but it's so well observed, smart and funny. Harris also wrote my favorite Oscar book -- other than Inside Oscar which is basically my Bible. They should have it in the bedstand of every hotel room -- called Pictures at a Revolution which I'm assuming you've read by now. It's just excellent.
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Eye Candy Greatness: Cinematography & Costume Design.

More FiLM BiTCH Awards for you: cinematography & costume design.

I love these categories. Smart movie lovers realize how crucial they are to a film's success. Put your character in the wrong outfit and light them the wrong way and suddenly it's so less... right. Have them in the perfect outfit, with the right mix of character-revealing specificity and beauty (if it's called for) and suddenly... MAGIC.

Costumes
Oscar went with Bright Star, Coco Before Chanel, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Nine and The Young Victoria in the costume category. Those are all valid and defendable choices, if a little obvious. For example, though I liked Nine more than most people -- and apparently if you didn't think it was the apocalypse in cinematic form, you did, too -- I'm struggling to see what's particular G-R-E-A-T about the costumes though I do like quite a lot. Pretty. Though I try to see all the Oscar contending films I did miss Coco Before Chanel. I blame my allergies to biopics combined with my misguided belief that it would get shut out of nominations and thereby end the mandatory viewing obligation.

I'm frustrated that Anna B Sheppard's work on Inglourious Basterds was snubbed by the Academy. I thought it was a really solid bet. But just like actors, various craft people also have different levels of awards magnetism and she gets the weird snubs, she does. For instance, Band of Brothers (the HBO miniseries) got 19 Emmy nominations in its day, but her costume design wasn't among them. Weird.

Cinematography
And see this man here?


That's Greig Fraser, director of photography on Bright Star. He's from Melbourne, he's only nine years into his screen career. He's only made a couple handfuls of shorts and features. But look what he can do already!!! He has a right to be furious about that Oscar snub. If he is furious. But I'm sure he'll get his revenge by getting even more brilliant as bigger jobs open up. This movie has to be a pretty great resume piece for a DP, no? His next gig: the remake of Let the Right One In... shortened to Let Me In.

How anyone can look at Bright Star and not see that it's one of the worthiest pieces of cinematography this year... I'll never understand. AMPAS is filled with strange people of strange tastes and peculiarities.

My Ballot: Cinematography and Costume Design.

What were your favorites in these categories this year?

You BeLink With Me

DVD Beaver Bright Star is on its way to you... and just as beautiful as ever
<--- Neil Gaiman's Journal at the Golden Globes with Amanda Palmer ... I love them both but it's so funny to me how people as famous as Neil Gaiman -- who's written how many bestsellers now? -- get labelled "and guest" when the paparazzi snap away
ChexyDemical James Cameron... and Susan B Anthony?
Towleroad RIP Kate McGarrigle, wonderful musician and mom to the brilliant Rufus Wainwright. So sad
NY Times Avatar as rorschach test for what people happen to be thinking about these days
Stale Popcorn I absolutely love this ode to Mo'Nique in Precious. She really is an awesome terminator.
Guardian a funny bit on Mariah Carey's post-drunken awards season business venture
Against the Hype tweet-length reviews, a bunch of perceptive ones
Justin Bond to host a rare screening of Ken Russell's blasphemous The Devils (1971) on Monday in NYC. Who is going? Send me a full report.

Cinema Blend Channing Tatum to become a stripper again? Oh, Katey, you delight me with news
And the Winner Is... Scott Fienberg interviews the lovely Anne Hathaway about Valentino The Last Emperor! --->
Flick Filosopher's top ten list. MaryAnn always has a strong point of view. It occurs to me that i never did my top ten list. What is wrong with me this year season? Don't answer that!

I know what's wrong with me today: I've had packing anxiety (leaving for Utah tomorrow) and terribly slow and vexing computer issues today -- hence delays in posting and more awardage -- so I'll leave you with this video of a song I have loved for years "Hard Times" with Kate McGarrigle and family (including Rufus). I've loved this song ever since Mare Winningham and Jennifer Jason Leigh sang competing versions in Georgia (1995) so I've included that, too. God, Mare Winningham is so great in that movie. Have you seen it?



Beautiful.
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NSFC: Painters, Bomb Squads and Foxholes

The National Society of Film Critics, typically the last critics group to announce, have finally done the deed. They've gone with the following...

Picture & Director: The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow)
Actress: Yolande Moreau, Seraphine
Actor: Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique, Precious
Supporting Actor (tie): Paul Schneider, Bright Star and Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

winners from California, Minnesota, North Carolina and Maryland

Foreign Film: Summer Hours (Olivier Assayas)
Cinematography: The White Ribbon (Christian Bergen)
Production Design: Fantastic Mr. Fox (Nelson Lowry)
Screenplay: A Serious Man (Joel and Ethan Coen)
Documentary: The Beaches of Agnes (Agnes Varda)

The acclaim for certain pictures and performances continues. I knew about the Cesar award but it's strange that I remember hearing nothing from the critical community about Yolande Moreau until her two big awards (LAFCA and NSFC). But it's nice to see Bright Star getting a smidgeon of last minute acting attention. It's not so strange that Whishaw's pensive sensitivity was overlooked (that's not what voters go for in male actors, no matter how skilled they are at delivering it) but it was a mildly strange development that Abbie Cornish couldn't generate awards season traction at any point... though she did come in third with the NSFC.

Do you think Fantastic Mr. Fox could be the first animated film to win an Art Direction Oscar nomination or is that a pipe dream?
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BFCA Goes Wild For Nine, Basterds and Avatar

I am shocked to report that my new membership did not singlehandedly or significantly increase their taste levels, he said sarcastically. A few of the following nominations are hard to justify qualitatively speaking but you can't always get what you want. Again Oscar punditry combined with 'I just unwrapped this gift' excitement seem to have replaced careful consideration of what the year had to offer. But then it does appear as if only about 15 movies truly existed this year. In fact six movies Inglourious Basterds, Nine, Avatar, Up in the Air, The Hurt Locker, Precious and The Lovely Bones account for 48% of all the nominations. Crazy.

Am I just grumpy because they think The Lovely Bones (6 nominations) is better looking and The Blind Side (2 nominations) better acted than the exquisite Bright Star (1 nomination only)? I find those two judgment calls totally unsupportable. The abundant nominations for the garish and messy Bones is actually the weirdest thing here. It's current RT score is 40%... not the sort of critical approval that generally makes you a major awards contender. They even like its visual effects more than most of the movies that the Academy has pushed forward in the f/x semifinals. It's got as many nominations as District 9 which people (generally speaking mind you) love a whole lot more. Is this because Bones spent so long being presumed-to-be a major contender? I'd be shocked if it's Oscar nomination tally goes beyond three nominations and I'm guessing it'll be less than that.

Best Picture

Avatar
* An Education
* The Hurt Locker
* Inglourious Basterds
* Invictus
* Nine
* Precious
* A Serious Man
* Up
* Up In The Air

• Yes, those are my current exact predictions for the Best Picture Oscar nominees. Not intentional! Or maybe it is on the BFCA's part. Heh.

Best Actor

Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart *
George Clooney, Up In The Air * 
Colin Firth, A Single Man * 
Morgan Freeman, Invictus *
Viggo Mortensen, The Road * Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Best Actress

Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria * 
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side * 
Carey Mulligan, An Education * 
Saoirse Ronan, The Lovely Bones *
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious *
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

• Er... I realize Saoirse has a lot of fans in these parts. And I do consider myself one of them. I think she has a huge exciting career ahead and those eyes are just spectacular on camera. But a Best Actress nomination for this? (sigh) I weep for Tilda Swinton and Abbie Cornish who were dealing with very complex characterization. Now, art is its own reward so it's not like they aren't rewarded for and haven't rewarded us with their work. But still. It'd be nice if physical awards sometimes lined up with the intangibles.

Best Supporting Actor

Matt Damon, Invictus *
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger *
Christian McKay, Me And Orson Welles *
Alfred Molina, An Education * 
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones *
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

• Tucci was way better in Julie & Julia. That is all.

Best Supporting Actress

Marion Cotillard, Nine * Vera Farmiga, Up In The Air *
Anna Kendrick, Up In The Air * Mo’Nique, Precious *
Julianne Moore, A Single Man *
Samantha Morton, The Messenger

• This is a good shock. The BFCA normally supports category fraud so I'm happy to see Cotillard appear here where she belongs (Yes, I voted for her)

Best Young Actor / Actress
Jae Head, The Blind Side *
Bailee Madison, Brothers * 
Max Records, Where The Wild Things Are * 
Saoirse Ronan, The Lovely Bones * 
Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Road

• This is a good lineup but the inclusion of Jae Head who plays "SJ" in The Blind Side is... well, it's like a weird graft onto a movie list from a laugh track sitcom. One of the people I voted for did not make it: Edie Martin in Bright Star. Such a natural onscreen.

Acting Ensemble

Inglourious Basterds
* Nine
* Precious
* Star Trek
* Up In The Air

• Why do some categories have four nominees, some have five and most have six?

Director

Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker * 
James Cameron, Avatar * 
Lee Daniels, Precious *
Clint Eastwood, Invictus *
Jason Reitman, Up In The Air * 
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

• I think that's your Oscar lineup minus Eastwood of all people.

Original Screenplay

Mark Boal – “The Hurt Locker”
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen – “A Serious Man”
Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber – “(500) Days Of Summer”
Bob Peterson, Peter Docter – “Up”
Quentin Tarantino – “Inglourious Basterds”

Adapted Screenplay
Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach Fantastic Mr. Fox *
Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell District 9 *
Geoffrey Fletcher Precious *
Tom Ford, David Scearce A Single Man *
Nick Hornby An Education *
Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner Up In The Air

Cinematography
Barry Ackroyd, The Hurt Locker *
Dion Beebe, Nine *
Mauro Fiore, Avatar * 
Andrew Lesnie, The Lovely Bones *
Robert Richardson, Inglourious Basterds

Art Direction
Dan Bishop, A Single Man *
Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Avatar *
John Myhre, Gordon Sim , Nine * Naomi Shohan, George De Titta, Jr., The Lovely Bones *
David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds Wasco, Inglourious Basterds

• I'm really not trying to be upset about The Lovely Bones but it's not working. Even the art direction bugged me. It felt like it was trying so hard to be 1960s!, rather than looking lived in and organic.

Editing
Dana E. Glauberman, Up In The Air *
Sally Menke, Inglourious Basterds *
Bob Murawski, Chris Innis, The Hurt Locker *
Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron, Avatar *
Claire Simpson, Wyatt Smith , Nine

Costume Design
Colleen Atwood, Nine *
Janet Patterson , Bright Star *
Sandy Powell, The Young Victoria *
Anna Sheppard, Inglourious Basterds * 
Casey Storm, Where The Wild Things Are

Makeup
Avatar
* District 9
* Nine
* The Road
* Star Trek

Visual Effects
Avatar
* District 9
* The Lovely Bones
* Star Trek
* 2012

• With five nominees I was hoping to see at least one that wasn't totally CGI. Didn't Where the Wild Things Are just look incredible?

Sound

Avatar
* District 9
* The Hurt Locker
* Nine
* Star Trek

Animated Feature
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs
* Coraline
* Fantastic Mr. Fox
* Princess And The Frog
* Up

Action
Avatar
* District 9
* The Hurt Locker
* Inglourious Basterds
* Star Trek

Comedy

(500) Days Of Summer
* The Hangover
* It’s Complicated
* The Proposal
* Zombieland

TV Movie
Gifted Hands
* Grey Gardens
* Into The Storm
* Taking Chance

Foreign Language Film
Broken Embraces
* Coco Before Chanel
* Red Cliff
* Sin Nombre
* The White Ribbon

Documentary Feature
Anvil! The Story of Anvil *
Capitalism: A Love Story
* The Cove
* Food, Inc.
* Michael Jackson’s This Is It

Song

“All Is Love” – Karen O, Nick Zinner, Where The Wild Things Are * 
“Almost There” – Randy Newman, The Princess And The Frog
* “Cinema Italiano” – Maury Yeston, Nine *
“(I Want To) Come Home” – Paul McCartney, Everybody’s Fine *
“The Weary Kind” – T Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham, Crazy Heart

Score
Michael Giacchino, Up * Marvin Hamlisch, The Informant! *
Randy Newman, The Princess and the Frog *
Karen O, Carter Burwell, Where The Wild Things Are * Hans Zimmer, Sherlock Holmes

It's so true! Especially during awards season

Most shocking total shut-out: The Last Station (not even Helen Mirren!!!). There was also zero love for early birds like Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Cheri (not even in costumes) or Public Enemies

Well? Speak up.

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British Indies Are Moonstruck

Over the next few weeks, about a million tiny critics organizations will shout "Best!" The British Independent Film Awards have announced, following the Gothams and NBR across the pond. It's well underway. It shan't stop any time soon.


British Independent Film Moon
Director Andrea Arnold, Fish Tank
Debut Director Duncan Jones, Moon
Screenplay In the Loop
British Short Love You More
Best Foreign Film Let the Right One In

• Big night for Duncan Jones's Moon. David Bowie's son sure built up a lot of goodwill with this first feature. That follow up is going to be tricky, though. How to live up to those expectations?
  

Actress Carey Mulligan, An Education
Actor Tom Hardy, Bronson
<--- Supporting Actress Anne-Marie Duff, Nowhere Boy
Supporting Actor John Henshaw, Looking for Eric
Most Promising Newcomer Katie Jarvis, Fish Tank

• Only one of these is going on to Oscar citations for various reasons -- sometimes as simple as no distribution in the States -- but it seems like quite a strong list. And quite a young list, too. Mulligan is 24, Jarvis is only 18 and Hardy and Duff (Mrs. James McAvoy) are in their 30s. A lot of younger actors and actresses made great strides this year, didn't they?
  

Achievement in Production Bunny and the Bull
Raindance Award Down Terrace
Technical Achievement Bright Star's cinematography Greig Fraser
Documentary Mugabe and the White African
British Short Love You More
Best Foreign Film Let the Right One In

• I'd love to think that Greig Fraser has a clear shot at an Oscar nomination. His contribution to Jane Campion's poetic romance went a long way in making the film the rich and delicate beauty it is. But I've learned never to assume that newbies are locks with Oscar's below-the-line branches. Those branches can be stingy with new talents and protective of the establishment players. Or at least that's sometimes how it feels from the outside. On a more obscure note I have to say "hurrah" for the win for Love You More (pictured). That's the short that I fought for in jury deliberations at the Nashville Film Festival. It's an expertly tight story of a budding sexual relationship revolving around the purchase and play of a vinyl single by the Buzzcocks. Great great short and it doesn't surprise me in the least that the artist/director Sam Taylor-Wood is already on to feature film acclaim. She followed Love You More with Nowhere Boy, which was also honored by BIFA. Good night for her. No word on when that picture is opening in the States update: The film has the instant global hook of Beatles mania (the film is about John Lennon's adolescence) and will be released by the Weinstein Company next year.
  

Finally, since critics organizations usually hand out a couple of honorary type awards, I assume to get stars at their end of year dinner parties, actors Daniel Day-Lewis and Sir Michael Caine (both of them entirely bereft of past honors, poor things) and journalist Baz Bamigboye were also lauded.
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LFF: I've Been Somewhere, Boy

Dave here, reporting from the LONDON FILM FESTIVAL one last time. It's been my first full-on film festival, and if I said I wasn't dying to lie in my bed for twenty-four hours in a deep sleep, I'd be lying. But it's been a fantastic few weeks, a reignition of my passion for film, and an experience I'll probably never forget. Below, you can read my full review of Nowhere Boy, the John Lennon picture that received its world premiere as the festival's Closing Night Gala, and then my own personal set of "awards". But first, a big thanks to Nat for making it all happen, and I really hope you've enjoyed my coverage and that you'll seek out some of these movies - should you, of course, be given the chance.

Nowhere Boy begins with a couple of coy nods to that which it avoids mentioning explicitly - the Beatles. (Clearly I have no such qualms myself.) The exhilirating screams of a crowd rise on the soundtrack as the young John Lennon races down the road - pursued by no one. It is, one feels, the perfect way to deal with a fact that isn't integral to this particular story, but will inevitably be flitting around the audience's minds. It's not ignored, it's merely unimportant for the portion of John Lennon's life the film choses to focus on. It's also exemplary of the spry, brisk humour that lightens the load of a story that errs slightly too much to the heavily emotional.

Sam Taylor-Wood's debut feature, following her acclaimed short Love You More and almost two decades of artistic work, shows her aesthetic skills to be, thankfully, pushed more in the direction of emotion than style. There remain some striking visual moments, but all are tailored to deepen the understanding we have for the characters that Taylor-Wood has made so empathic. Matt Greenhalgh's script is serviceable but suffers from similar problems to his previous musician biopic-of-sorts, Control, in that, in its choice to follow a similar template - a man stuck between two women - it risks reducing a life to a set of scales. But where Control's romantic triangle remained elusive because the interactions between the trio were limited in their complexity, Nowhere Boy not only has more angles to the three points of its shape but has a better sense of who they are.

It helps, of course, to have such a fine cast, and all three of the lead players here respond with impressive dexterity and emotion to their director, lifting the script's occasionally tired dimensions to a fresher, natural feeling. The film peaks in a powerful, confrontational scene between the three of them - Lennon (Aaron Johnson), his mother Julia (Anne-Marie Duff) and his Aunt Mini (Kristin Scott Thomas) - where the odd dimensions of this triangle are laid bare. What is Julia to John? A mother? A sister-type? A crush? An obvious dimension to this all sets John as caught between embodiments of the sides of the stark shift that was occuring at this moment in time - Aunt Mimi is the stiff upper-lip, reserved old guard, where the estranged Julia is the free spirit of the rock 'n' roll generation. All three actors finely modulate both the surfaces and the recesses of their characters, never compromising on who they presents themselves as and playing the slips from it as natural, organic moments. Kristin Scott Thomas, you won't be surprised to learn, steals best-in-show honours, her firm, slightly cold attitude mediated with the fierceness of her love for John, expressed in the strict mothering way that seems to be the way that makes the most sense to her. That's not to discredit Duff, whose vibrant exterior cracks as her past is scrutinized by her family, or Johnson, who combines rakish charm with a slightly off-putting arrogance, as it's the combination of the three performers that really makes the film spark.

Nowhere Boy doesn't spring any particular surprises, but it's as good as it could possibly have been. Taylor-Wood's artwork, some of which I glimpsed at her talk a few days ago, was much less visually styled than intensely personal and emotional, and it's this trait she carries so strongly across to her filmmaking. Ultimately, while it's not the film's focus, Lennon's music emerges as important because it makes him individual, it escapes the need of both women in his life. Nowhere Boy is a promising debut from a director who evidently has a lot of passion for what she's doing, and thankfully seems to be quite good at doing it. B+

In the end, then, a very good film to finish with. And now, because no one can ever resist them, my own picks for the best of the fest:

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Niels Arestrup, A Prophet
(runner-up: Oscar Isaac, Balibo)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Rosamund Pike, An Education
(runner-up: Kristin Scott Thomas, Nowhere Boy)

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Aleksei Arsentyev, Wolfy
(runner-up: Stéphane Fontaine, A Prophet)

DIRECTOR
Jacques Audiard, A Prophet
(runner-up: Jane Campion, Bright Star)

ACTOR
Tahar Rahim, A Prophet
(runner-up: Aaron Johnson, Nowhere Boy)

ACTRESS
Abbie Cornish, Bright Star
(runner-up: Yana Troyanova, Wolfy)

FILM
A Prophet
(runner-up: Samson and Delilah)

Thanks for reading, commenting, thinking, and, hopefully, watching.

BIFA Nominees: Abbie Cornish, Michael Fassbender and More

Oh, agony! The British Independent Film Award nominations have arrived (in October? Damn that’s early) to serve up the dread reminder that there is no such thing as ‘day and date” releases outside of rare mega blockbusters. I suppose I should thank the celluloid cosmos. In a way the erratic nature of film distribution helps me to continue living my blissfully delusional life wherein I pretend that people would actually flock to more challenging higher quality international cinema if they only had access to it and could see it and talk about it at the same time. Isn’t this one reason that television is so popular? It’s communal. Movies are supposed to be communal but it doesn’t work out that way so much.

Michael Fassbender in Fish Tank

I have no idea when I’ll ever have a chance to see Fish Tank for example, which did very well with BIFA though I’d love to. Until it gets an itty bitty American release at two theaters and makes $270,000 instead of $27 million sometime in 2011 I can pretend that the whole world is looking forward to this gritty exceptionally well-reviewed drama. I can pretend that they’re in fact awaiting each new Michael Fassbender performance with an anticipation that borders on the sweaty and the feverish.

THE NOMINEES

Best British Independent Film: An Education (Lone Scherfig), Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold), In The Loop (Armando Iannucci), Moon (Duncan Jones) and Nowhere Boy (Sam Taylor-Wood)

Three of these films have received release in the states though In the Loop and Moon (video review) will have to wait for their DVD releases to catch on with the right audiences. An Education on the other hand is doing very well for itself as it slowly widens. The twinkly coming-of-age drama hasn’t lost any of its abundant Oscar buzz.

Best Director is the same lineup as this, minus Nowhere Boy’s Sam Taylor-Wood who is nominated for “Debut Director” instead. If you haven’t seen her short film Love You More about two teenagers, a new vinyl record, and their randy escalating sex romp and you get a chance, do! It was my vote for best short at the Nashville Film Festival this spring (Nick also loved it). Jane Campion nabbed the lone director spot from Wood with her exquisitely observed Bright Star. At times while watching Bright Star I worried that it was too insubstantial, not “too light” as in inconsequential but too delicate. But that very delicacy helps it to linger. I'm corrected. I keep feeling the film fluttering in the air beside me, like those butterflies Fanny collects. I already want to see it again.

And, underlining a 2009 theme you'll keep hearing about, 60% of their best picture nominees are directed by women. Oscar will find it very difficult to ignore female directors this year with Bright Star, An Education and The Hurt Locker in the awards mix.

Best Screenplay is the exact same lineup of film as Best Feature.

Best Actress Emily Blunt in The Young Victoria, Abbie Cornish in Bright Star, Katie Jarvis in Fish Tank, Carey Mulligan in An Education and Sophie Okonedo in Skin

Not content to let Keira Knightley and Michelle Pfeiffer have all the fun,
Emily Blunt beds Rupert Friend in The Young Victoria. He's got a lot
of action this year, huh?

The first of many for Mulligan? The first of several for Cornish? The first and last for Blunt? I’m just guessing except for that first bit. That's a given.

Best Actor: Aaron Johnson in Nowhere Boy, Andy Serkis in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, Peter Capaldi in In The Loop, Sam Rockwell in Moon and Tom Hardy in Bronson

Despite their love for Bright Star, none for Ben Whishaw? Tis a pity but it’s the kind of role that men aren’t rewarded for… no matter how good they are. Romantic films tend to secure nominations for only the female half of the equation. It's a blindspot with most awards groups. On a far more traditionally awardable scale is Tom Hardy's physical transformation for Bronson. It’ll be interesting to see if the once slim actor can pick up any more steam for suddenly looking like the hulk. Will any American awards bodies watch the picture? I suppose I should get on that myself.

Best Supporting Actress: Anne-Marie Duff and Kristin Scott Thomas in Nowhere Boy, Kerry Fox in Bright Star, Rosamund Pike in An Education and Kierston Wareing in Fish Tank
Best Supporting Actor: Alfred Molina in An Education, Jim Broadbent in The Damned United John Henshaw in Looking For Eric, Michael Fassbender in Fish Tank and Tom Hollander in In The Loop

Both lists look solid but did BIFA voters only see about 8 films this year? Two surprises here for me were Rosamund Pike in An Education and Kerry Fox in Bright Star both of whom I thought were subtly elevating or at least amply filling out what could have been thankless roles (thankless in terms of awards magnetizing I mean) so I'm quite happy to be wrong. I thought Pike was spiking almost every scene in An Education with unexpected sidebar notes (by the end of the movie I wanted a sequel starring her and Dominic Cooper!) and I loved watching Fox’s near-silent gradations of growing respect / understanding of her daughter’s love affair in Bright Star.

Best Technical Achievement: Bright Star's cinematography by Greig Fraser, Bunny & The Bull's production design by Gary Williamson, Fish Tank's cinematography by Robbie Ryan, Moon's original score by Clint Mansell and production design by Tony Noble

It’s interesting to see technical achievements grouped together, thus revealing which elements voters think are making or breaking particular films, but it’s also dismissively coarse, since actors get 5 categories. It's not like acting or technical elements alone ever perform in a vacuum.

Best Foreign Film: Il Divo (Italy), The Hurt Locker (USA) Let The Right One In (Sweden), Sin Nombre and The Wrestler (USA)

I’ve included this category to come full circle to the point that no matter where you live, it’s a different year of cinema. I so wish we could all experience the cinema in unison. I haven’t yet seen Sin Nombre (I know I must) and I’m continually hearing good things about Il Divo so this looks like quite a strong category. You already know how good the other three films are.

Complete List of Nominees

Thoughts? Or don't you care about the "BIFA" (It's fun to say it out loud. Try it)
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