Age & (Best) Actressing

Guess what's the most common age to win Best Actress? 29. Guess who's 29 right now? I'll give you one guess.

If Natalie Portman wins Best Actress in February she'll join the ranks of seven previous movie star beauties who won on the cusp of 30 including the immortal Elizabeth Taylor (who won for BUtterfield 8 at 29, pictured above with Portman's Black Swan turn).

Guess which decade of life has the least amount of best actress winners.

Age ain't nuthin but a number. Except when it comes to the Best Actress category.

Read my latest Oscar article at Tribeca Film

Plentiful Oscar trivia and a case for Academy ageism await you. 

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Spirit Awards. What They Do and Don't Say About Oscar.

Now that I've had a day to think over the Spirit Awards (nominee discussion) and what they reveal and obscure about the Oscar race, here's a deeper look for my Tribeca Film column.

Eligible "Best Feature" Snubs
Blue Valentine, Get Low, Somewhere, Rabbit Hole
Not eligible for "Best Feature" or Acting Prizes
The King's Speech, I Am Love, Another Year, Animal KingdomNot eligible for anything
Toy Story 3, The Social Network, True Grit, The Town, Etc...

Remember last year when Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire swept the Oscars, becoming the first... oh, no, wait, that didn't happen at all. That was the Film Independent Spirit Awards. They take place the day before the Oscars each year. And they take place in a tent. We don't know the square footage, but it’s safe to say that it’s got nothing on the Kodak Theater. 

Generally speaking, the Spirit Awards are a looser, rowdier event. You can even wear jeans. As a group, they’re much more likely to honor African-American abuse dramas (Precious) or intimate character studies of "broken down pieces of meat" (The Wrestler) or teen pregnancy comedies (Juno) than the mainstream Academy is. In fact, in their entire 25-year shared history with the Oscars, the “Best Feature” and “Best Picture” prizes have only gone to the same film once.

...read the rest in my weekly Tribeca Film column.
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Olivia Williams, The Ghost Actress

I was late to the party on The Ghost Writer but as with any good film, the party is still raging once you get there. It's already one of my favorites of 2010. But back in March I should have been out there championing it as a clever, well executed thriller (if that's the genre you'd like to define it as).  I think it was Pierce Brosnan who kept me away. Since when does he make good movies? And since when is he good in them?

Brosnan is in deep doo-doo in The Ghost Writer. Cattrall and Williams are
out-of-focus behind him. Which is just how both their characters like it, thank you.

Finally, it was you (yes you!) that convinced me to see it. It was praised enough in comment threads to make me think I'd missed out... particularly in regards to Olivia Williams. She's an actress I'd never thought much about until the past few years and now, it's getting kind of hard to deny her her due.

I wrote up her terrific work in my "Best in Show" column for Tribeca Film. She really is something (in general and here in particular). She's such a sticky actress; she haunts.

Part 1: Jake Gyllenhaal at "The New Yorker Festival"

I'll share a few more interesting movie-specific quotes I couldn't find room for in this article tomorrow here at the blog. But for now a piece I wrote for Tribeca Film.

He’d be unrecognizable but for those enormous blue eyes. In fact, when Jake Gyllenhaal walked out on stage at the SVA Theater in Chelsea on Saturday night, a full bushy beard covering what seemed like all of his face, film critic David Denby didn’t even introduce him by name. “I don’t know who this guy is,” Denby joked. “He looked a little lost, so we invited him in.”

But who needs a big introduction when they’ve been headlining movies big and small for a full decade? 

Read the rest @ Tribeca Film

...for thoughts on Jake's acting process, his relationship with Maggie Gyllenhaal and a famous actor he would love to emulate.
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NYFF: A Summary

The 48th New York Film Festival screenings begin with a promo reel in which a graphic animated map of the world is formed. Famous director names are paired with their countries of origin in rapid succession until the entire globe is lit up as if powered by the cinema itself! It’s a simple—even subtly clever—way to remind us that cinema is a global artform and that the NYFF in dependably international in breadth and focus.

True to form, NYFF’s 2010 lineup comes from all over the globe, and opinionated movie fans—and what other kind are there in New York City?—are finding plentiful opportunities to rave, kvetch and argue over subject and execution throughout. Quibbling and instantaneous opinion wars are part of the informed collective joy of any film festival experience.

Read the rest @ Tribeca Film

To get a sense of my basic feelings on this year's fest (me likey) and a bit more on The Social Network, Tempest, My Joy, and whatnot... More full length write-ups are coming if I can eke out the time.

Emma Stone Gets an Easy A

Molly Ringwald in Sixteen Candles. Winona Ryder in Heathers. Alicia Silverstone in Clueless. Reese Witherspoon in Election. Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls. Ellen Page in Juno. You're already smiling reading the list. Is there anything quite as sparkly as a breakthrough actress in a high school comedy? This weekend a shimmering new student transfers in to Movie High.


In Easy A, a new comedy from first time feature screenwriter Bert V. Royal and Fired Up! director Will Gluck, good student Olive (Emma Stone) shares a first person account of how she pretended to be promiscuous for the notoriety and novelty of it. In so doing, she rapidly goes from anonymous loner to the center of a social hurricane...

Read the rest at my Tribeca Film column

I'll try to say more about the actual movie itself tomorrow. [Helpful obvious hint: Emma Stone is way > than the Movie.]
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Best in Show: Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom, the 2010 Sundance Grand Jury winner, is now playing on 39 of the nation's screens. Let that be 39 steps closer to an Oscar nomination for Jacki Weaver; it could happen if Academy members actually see the acclaimed crime thriller. But let’s not jump ahead of the narrative. An Oscar nomination would be a deserving climax, but it’s not exactly a prologue. If Animal Kingdom's confident storytelling teaches us anything, it’s to stay focused and earn your dramatic developments...

Read the rest @ Tribeca Film

Not all of my "best in show" columns at Tribeca can necessarily double as awards season FYC but this one isn 't subtle about that particular agenda. Awards traction is tricky for people who aren't big (U.S.) stars, especially in foreign born films, so why not start early?

I was a bit concerned about being too spoilery in tone (if not in plot) but then I remembered that the film's trailer and ad campaign are already relying heavily on the visibly underlined raves about Weaver's not-so-very-nice momster. And, hey, even if you know details about each character going in, the plot will still twist and turn in organic but surprising ways while you're watching. Good movie.

"Smurf" with her boys.

Is this playing anywhere near you?
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Best in Show: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Exuberantly committed fans of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World had a rough weekend when the film version of the beloved comic opened to a mere $10 million or so at the box office, despite a whirlwind of hype. (In its second weekend it took a standardish 53% drop). But here’s the continually forgotten truth about cult movies: by definition, they aren’t blockbusters. Their charms are only super sized to specialized audiences.



The movie is based on a clever series of graphic novels about a lazy 23-year-old in Toronto named Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera). He plays bass in the band Sex Bob-omb. He falls hard for Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) but in order to win her heart, he has to defeat her seven evil exes in battle. These battles are staged like video games, complete with point scoring and extra lives. The hyper pacing and gamer aesthetics may be most digestible for young viewers, but there are cross-generational pleasures, too: wit and good acting know no age limitations.

One of the joys of uniformly strong ensembles is that each viewer will have a different favorite character...

Read the rest at Tribeca Film

(I hope you're liking my "Best in Show" series there.)
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Julia's Men: Broken Billy and Brother Eric

A steep box office drop off for Eat Pray Love (which opened well thanks to Julia Roberts and the memoir's popularity) or its generally blah reviews could easily kill it, but Richard Jenkins has a slam dunk Best Supporting Actor Type part, don't you think? Yeah, you know that category has its types.

For me though, the character I keep thinking about is Stephen (Billy Crudup). Crudup made a vivid impression in just a couple of scenes so I wrote him up for my "Best in Show" column at Tribeca Film. He's like a little boy whose heart Julia stomped on till it broke. So sad.

I have to start my spreadsheets for the 2010 Film Bitch Awards now lest I forget something (I've usually started them by now. Eeep). Are than any cameos or limited roles this year that wowed you that you want everyone else to love? If so, share them in the comments. (Here's who I went with last year in those "limited" categories.)

Speaking of men Julia Roberts may or may not have clobbered emotionally, apparently Eric (her older brother) and she have mended their previously tense relationship. The Daily Beast has an interview with Eric Roberts about his career and their relationship. Like his friend Mickey Rourke he isn't one to mince words and I love that in celebrities even if their handlers do not. He just flat out admits that he gave up chasing a certain kind of career after his Oscar loss.

When you hand in great performances in Star 80 and Runaway Train and the Oscar goes to Don Ameche, it kind of bums you out.

Brutal honesty plus shameless self regard. Love it! (To be fair he is just fantastic in Star 80 and should be proud of himself.) I also get bummed out about the Cocoon love. But if anyone but Ameche was going to win that particular Oscar, it would have been Klaus Maria Brandauer in Out of Africa.
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Angelic Visitations

I was just working on tonight's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" (we'll be posting about 10 or 11 PM so get yer post up before then for linkage!) Had to pause my skimming for much laughter about this post funeral scene. So I figured I'd share it. In the sequence Prior is telling his best friend Belize (Jeffrey Wright) about the heavenly visitor (Emma Thompson) who had recently come calling. Belize thinks it's just a fever dream. But Prior tells him all about their sexual progress.

She had eight vaginas.

Wright's two beat silent reaction shot just slays me.


A shrug, then a mouthed "eight". So so funny. Little moments like this are why I've been obsessed with actors forever. And Jeffrey Wright is such a great one. He's 'Best in Show' in Angels in America (maybe) and that's like being the best holiday in a year. The other ones are merry, too!

Speaking of "Best in Show"... I hope you've enjoyed the first three installments of my new column at Tribeca Film where I've covered Winter's Bone, The Kids Are All Right and Inception thus far. I was going to cover Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom next Monday or Tuesday (the film opens Friday) but I ended up interviewing its new Aussie director instead. His name is David Michôd ... remember the name. You may have already read my seven word review or picked up on Glenn's enthusiasm for it. I fully expect Animal Kingdom to win awards attention come year's end. At least of the Independent Spirit variety. You can read the interview here.
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"You've Never Always Seen Oscar Like This"

Advertising can be so misleading. The tagline for the 82nd Academy Awards was, "You've never seen Oscar like this!" But from the gaudy opening song to the mix of new and old Hollywood presenters through time wasting dance numbers, scripted "banter," and clip montages, it was more like, "You've always seen Oscar like this!"

To be fair, there were some tweaks to ancient traditions. We don't normally get to see the Lead Actor and Actress nominees until late in the show, except in reaction shots, but the producers made a savvy decision to showcase the biggest stars instantly. Just as soon as the show had begun, all ten walked out to smile at the cameras in their gowns and tuxes; bubbly Precious star Gabby Sidibe stole that moment by adding diva posing to her close-up. The show also jettisoned the Original Songs performances, though in their place was a lengthy and frankly confusing interpretative dance number featuring the Original Score nominees. Why, pray tell, was Up accompanied by "the robot"—WALL-E was last year's Pixar movie—and what did the "pop-n-lock" say about The Hurt Locker???

Read the rest at TRIBECA FILM.

That's the last of my weekly Oscar columns for Tribeca Film (sniffle). The season is done. For the finale, I'm talking about the mixed messages Oscars always presents from Art vs. Commerce to Performance vs. Politics.

Also right here... Oscars in Review: worst & weirdest moments, most wonderful moments and all 09/10 awards season posts
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I Want You All To Be Alert...

I want you all to be alert.

I am concerned, perhaps needlessly, about matters in The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

(And for once I'm not talking about Meryl Streep losing a 14th time).

First we lost the honorary Oscar, then we heard the Oscars compared to reality television, then they started saying that we, the audience, don't like the teary long speeches... (huh?) and now, no song performances? I have to speak up. I wrote a piece about it for Tribeca Film.

I have so many doubts.
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Ten Talking Points ~ Inspired By the Best Picture Titles

Continuing my weekly Oscar column at Tribeca Film, I've riffed on the titles of this year's Best Pictures for "talking points" from Oscar's problem with comedies, it's love of education and the grand tradition of calling the 'snubs'.

The annual announcement of the Oscar nominations always offers up plenty of fodder for discussion. But before we get there, travel back in time with me to June 2009 when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS for short) made a canny if questionable PR move: after 66 years of a 5-wide Best Picture shortlist, the 2009 film year would bring us 10 (!) Best Picture nominees. That announcement reinvigorated Oscar buzz—so many people were talking about the Academy Awards last June** it felt just like February. But it’s way too soon to tell if the decision has reinvigorated Oscar itself. That’s a more complicated prospect, and you need more than one go at an experiment to see if it works. You also may need better movies. No matter which lucky film is named the Best of the Best, none of them will be as good as Casablanca, the last winner from a 10-wide Best Picture field way back in March of 1944.

Read the rest at Tribeca Film.

* It's true. The Academy's June announcement set the web on fire. Right here at TFE, the blogpost containing that information had the most comments ever, topping the 200 mark and far outpacing other recent comment crazes like the August: Osage County casting ideas

From Guild to Oscar: "The Best of ... Everything?"

Oops. Forgot to point you to my weekly Oscar column at Tribeca Film. This one is on the guilds that precede Oscar. If you need a distraction from Golden Globe talk for a minute. Check it out...

"If you’re an inveterate Oscarologist and film enthusiast like me, you may have found yourself following not just the Oscar nominations themselves, but the precursor awards too. Each decade more and more organizations try to muscle in on Oscar’s territory, with varying degrees of success. None of these organizations can quite claim Oscar’s 82 years’ worth of longevity, but subsets of them are actual movie industry institutions in their own right. I’m speaking of movie guilds, the trade organizations and labor unions that account for the people that every movie requires: directors, producers, writers, actors, cinematographers, editors, etc. Most of these organizations cropped up out of necessity and opportunity in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, coinciding with the breakdown of the Golden Age studio system, which used to keep creative personnel under long-term contracts..."

Read the rest @ Tribeca Film

The Oscar Combination

What matters most in the Oscar race...?

• Critics (quotable raves, festival honors, year end prizes)
  
• Media (favoritism from EW to Awards Daily to Oprah)
  
• Precursors (love from the guilds and the Globes)
  
• Momentum (the past triumphs of actors and directors)
• Prestige (subject matter x genre ÷ filmmaking team assembled)
• Industry Pull (Hollywood eats their own, but some are higher on the food chain)
  
• Audience (box office popularity and buzz)

If you answered, "Trick Question! All of the above," you are correct...

Read the Rest @ Tribeca Film

...where I'll be sounding off on the Oscars weekly. This article focuses on mastering The Oscar Combination and why I don't think James Cameron's Avatar is the frontrunner, despite its billion dollar haul. Also discussed: The Hurt Locker, Up in the Air, Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock.
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Natalie Portman and "The Three Block Rule"

Do you hate it when people ask you what you think about a movie while the credits are rolling? Probably not. Everyone asks me this and it makes me crazy. I need time!

Haven't my friends heard of the 'Three Block Rule'? I've always tried to lived by it even though I didn't know the name. Last week at the Brothers' press conference -- same day I met Jake (only earlier) -- Tobey Maguire recounted his first meeting with Natalie Portman.

I remember the day that I met her she taught me a valuable lesson there which is the “three block rule”. We were at a screening of a movie and I don’t think I liked the movie that much and I was going to talk about it...

And she just said 'Wait a second. You don't know the three block rule?'

'What's the three block rule?'

'You don't talk about the movie until you're three blocks away because you never know who is listening'

Even at 14 that girl was damn smart. If you want to read my piece about Tobey, Jake and Natalie promoting Brothers click over to Tribeca Film.
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