And for best Pro Golfer the nomin--- er, oh yes yes.
The Producers Guild of America. Righty-o.
Best Picture 127 Hours Danny Boyle, Christian Colson Black Swan Scott Franklin, Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver Inception Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas The Fighter David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, Mark Wahlberg The Kids Are All Right Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Celine Rattray The King's Speech Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin The Social Network Dana Brunetti, Cean Chaffin, Michael De Luca, Scott Rudin The Town Basil Iwanyk, Graham King Toy Story 3 Darla K. Anderson True Grit Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin
The snubbee here in terms of Oscar buzz is Winter's Bone. But it's a tiny indie and maybe that's not what the PGA wanted to value? Still it's absence reminds us that the Best Picture race, is really down to those 11 films. Last year, there were only about 12 films standing before Oscar nominations were announced. Is it always going to be this simple to predict with the new widened Best Picture field. If so, sadness. Predicting should be tougher. But at least it's tough to say which of the 11 is getting the Oscar boot.
Noupe interesting overview of current movie poster design trends. Black Book interviews the lovely Farran of 'Self Styled Siren' on classic movie blogging. Go Fug Yourself "Unfug or Fab" catches up with Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban-Kidman. Cinema Blend Emma Stone gone blonde for Spider-Man's "Gwen Stacy". Back Stage Blog Stage Rob Reiner wants to make the stage musical Next to Normal into a movie. He wants this badly. Low Resolution makes a case for an undersung Twilight player Jackson Rathbone. Wait, what? "It's seriously that shallow of a post. I can't defend it." Hee. Pussy Goes Grrr looks back at Pedro Almodóvar's Matador and King Vidor's Duel in the Sun.
Oscar buzz Cinema BlendWinter's Bone collected two more trophies at the Torino Fest. It's all about the little wins. New York Mag Speaking of that Ozarks drama. It tops David Edelstein's top ten for the year though he gives over 36% of the list to documentaries. You know, I liked Winter's Bone a lot (bullseye B+) but I admit that I don't quite get how it's winning "#1s" in so many places. Was no one else bothered, for example, by how pristine white that banjo is at the end? It's as if it had just been picked up from the store brand new at top price. Nitpickers unite!
The Hollywood Reporter 5 films nominated for Best Movie at the Annies (for animation): Tangled, The Illusionist, Toy Story 3, Despicable Me and How to Train Your Dragon. Of course two of them will have to go at the Oscars since there'll be only 3 nominees (my predictions). You may remember that Disney and Pixar dropped their support of the Annie awards this summer over disagreements on the way films were honored and the makeup of the nominating body which is said to be highly populated by Dreamworks employees.
Disney/Pixar got their Annie nominations in the top categories, but not elsewhere. For instance, the "Best Character Animation" category is entirely Dreamworks and "Animated Effects" is 80% Dreamworks. I worry that the Dreamworks-bias of the Annies will end up reflecting badly on any potential wins How to Train Your Dragon receives which is a real shame as it's such a worthy feature.
TV. Parabasis looks back on Season 1 Buffy, and the balance between stand-alone vs. serial stories. blastr Frank Darabont fires the writing staff of The Walking Dead. Weird way to celebrate the first season of a huge hit, right? (Not that I think it's very well written what with the paucity of interesting characters.)
Have you seen this making of preview of HBO's Game of Thrones? As stated before, I think it's an ideal property for television as it's so sprawling in scope, longform in plotting and character development and ensemble driven in every way. But I still worry about the sets, costumes and the budget.
I have a real problem with wigs in fantasy movies. Must get over that. They distract me. It's the Storm in X-Men problem. I'm supposed to be seeing hair and I see wig. Gemma Jackson is the production designer (Oscar nominated for Finding Neverland). The costume designer is Michele Clapton who hasn't done anything on this scale previously though she's worked on recent UK television events like The Diary of Anne Frank and The Devil's Whore.
Swan dive? Finally, there seems to be a small but growing contingent of people who are not as impressed with Black Swan as the rest. Will they be burned at the stake in our internet film culture which doesn't value actual discussion so much as the dogpiling of raves and pans as if there is only ever one opinion worth having on any movie? Here are three thoughtful non-rave reviews worth discussing from Bryant Frazer, Nick Davis, Kenneth Turan and Timothy Brayton all of which fall into the "It has it's moments but..." category.
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.
If you'd like running commentary IndieWire provided. If you're short for time here are the winners.
Best DocumentaryThe Oath Breakthrough Director Kevin Asch for Holy Rollers Breakthrough Performance Ronald Bronstein from Daddy Longlegs Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near YouLittlerock (Mike Ott) Festival Genius AwardWaiting For 'Superman' Best Ensemble PerformanceWinter's Bone Best FeatureWinter's Bone Tributes:Hilary Swank, James Schamus, Darren Aronofsky, Robert Duvall
The most interesting detail was that, despite a strong night for Winter's Bone, Jennifer Lawrence did not win Breakthrough Performance. I now kick myself for missing Daddy Longlegs which was on my Sundance schedule at least twice and I kept having to rearrange and missed it. The other immediately noticeable development was in the Documentary field. The field was entirely composed of films that did not make the Academy's Finalist List, Inside Job excepted. The terrorism doc The Oath won.
(Speaking of those Oscar finalist documentaries, I'm only seen a handful but Restrepo, detailing one deployment for US soldiers in Afghanistan is my personal favorite of the lot thus far. Still, none of them compare to Last Train Home, which gets shunned awards-wise.)
What's next for Winter's Bone? Tomorrow will undoubtedly be another good day for the scary Ozark-set drama. The Spirit Award nominees, the big deal for indies, will be announced at 11 AM EST. Expect it to lead the nominations, or thereabouts. From there the awards path for Debra Granik's well loved minor hit gets trickier. Will the critical enthusiasm translate to mainstream movie prizes like the The Globes and Oscar? Stay tuned.
Now that the first Oscar ads of the season are upon us we dedicated Film Experience fans know what that means. Time to start getting excited about The Film Bitch Awards.
I'm guessing I speak for a lot of you when I say I've found myself anticipating them as an essential part of the awards season because A) Nathaniel has taken the time to see the films in question unlike some voting bodies I could name and B) he actually approaches the bestowing of honors with some thoughtfulness and imagination, honoring worthy elements from otherwise average movies and not paying any mind to group think momentum. Also, Oscar doesn't have a category for best sex scene. Just sayin'.
So I thought it would be a bit of fun on a Sunday evening to give a shout out to our own 2010 favorites before the year end films completely dominate the conversation. I'll get the ball rolling...
FYC - The Runaways for Best Poster
I've read a lot of praise for the striking design on posters for The Social Network and For Colored Girls but the stark simplicity of this design for The Runaways is still tops of 2010 for me. In the wake of the play-it-safe banality of The King's Speech's justly derided one sheet it's worth holding this up as an example of what one can accomplish with some daring and confidence. The actual movie didn't hold much interest for me but this image has had my thoughts returning to the film all year.
FYC - Ben Kingsley in Shutter Island for Best Line Reading
"You blew up my car. I loved that car."
The last thing I was expecting when Leo reached the top of that lighthouse was this laugh line from Kingsley. For all the mad scheming of the his character that was one bit of collateral damage he just did not see coming. Kingsley, of course, nails the deadpan delivery and also makes it seem like a bit of sly commentary on the convoluted plot. The story is about to spiral through a half dozen more heated twists, but first things first.
FYC - Hereafter for Best Action Sequence
I was clearly on the side of the underwhelmed when it came to Eastwood's shadowy psychic drama, but there is no denying the impact of the opening Tsunami scene. Who would have guessed that after Emmerich and Bay spent the better part of their careers destroying the planet dozens of times over, Clint would come out of nowhere and show them how it's done. More than any disaster sequence I've scene this communications that queasy pit-of-the-stomach panic accompanying the realization that escape isn't an option.
FYC - Douglas Urbanski in The Social Network for Best Limited Role
Every cast member gets there share of killer lines in Sorkin's script, but nobody knocked them out of the park with more consistency than Urbanski as Harvard President and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. The confrontation with the "Winklevii" is a sustained comedic high point. His Summers may miss the scope of the issue at hand but he is right on target when it comes to sizing up the two young men across the desk from him and how they managed to claim three minutes of his time. Urbanski nails that mixture of obliviousness and perceptiveness.
FYC - The Ghost Writer for Best Ending
Here's a rare occurrence in modern films - the twist ending that feels completely earned and holds up to the scrutiny of repeated viewings. Over the past decade it felt like story redefining twists were the fashionable thing to tack on to screenplays whether they were supported by the material or not. The ending here not only shifts our perspective on everything that just occurred but brings the whole movie in for a flawless landing with the perfect few grace notes and a final image that sticks in the memory.
FYC - Winter's Bone for Best Individual Scene
A lot of Winter's Bone succeeds as a mood piece. Images and textures stand out as much as sequences - the dismembered squirrel, the sound of Ree screaming to be heard in the slaughterhouse, the trampoline. Yet director Debra Granik does stage a beautifully tense standoff between John Hawkes and the state trooper that deserves mention as a stand alone set piece. All through the film we are trying to get a handle on Teardrop's menacing character. All we know for certain is that he is dangerous and if he is making a threat it would be foolish to assume he's bluffing. Granik squeezes every last drop of suspense out the scene. It's a pleasure to see a potentially violent encounter play out without the characters on action movie autopilot.
I'll turn it over to you guys. What movie moments would you like to see remembered after the end-of-the-year deluge of prestige pictures? Here's a refresher on the categories if you need one.
Scott Feinberg points out that Sony Pictures Classics is the first studio out of the gate with Academy screeners. This is a good strategy as I've noted previously. I am anxious to watch Please Give again (very funny movie with delightful actressing throughout... in other words: my kind of movie). I haven't yet screened You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger but shall very soon now that it's here. I am feeling the fan guilt as it's one of only two Woody Allen movies I missed in theaters since I saw my very first one back in *gulp* 1984. No, Woody has not always deserved my slavish devotion... but he came very very close twice in the last decade to giving me what I needed from him (Match Point & Vicky Cristina Barcelona, duh!) so there's still a sliver of hope each year.
In related news: Animal Kingdom! I know I've been mentioning that one a lot but I keep hearing from disgruntled moviegoers who missed in when it hit their town. Don't let this happen to you.
LinksPopWrap Julianne Moore "the hundred year old model"
Film Biz Asia It's hard to keep track of all the Asian film awards but the APSA nominations are out. Three Oscar submissions were nominated for their Best Picture prize: Aftershock (China), Monga (Taiwan) and Bal / Honey (Turkey). Poetry, which should-have-been Korea's Oscar submission (it's so good), was also nominated. Awards Daily State of the Race and the Winter's Bone boost. People were bitching at me for believing in this movie as a Best Picture contender and the Gotham Awards have gone and illuminated my foresight. That loud smacking you hear is me kissing my own ass. Someone's got to do it! Journalistic Skepticism compares 70s stars to arguable modern counterparts. Interesting comparison though I had to take issue with the idea that DiCaprio needed Scorsese... DiCaprio was a big deal long before Scorsese adopted him. I've never seen the media fawn over a teenage (male) actor the way they fawned over him in the early to mid 90s. It was like he was the media's only begotten son, they had already set up a trust fund and they had big dreams for him. He could be a doctor, an astronaut or the President!
Leonardo & Hilary in the 1990s.
Antagony & Ecstasy I know I link to this blog a lot but it's because Timothy Brayton is such a damn fine critic. Here in the Conviction review, he provides the most plausible theory yet as to who is responsible for Hilary Swank. OMG Blog Admit it. You've always wanted to photoshop James Franco to look more like a drag queen. Empire John C Reilly has replaced Matt Dillon in Roman Polanski's God of Carnage. That's too bad. I thought that was a good get for Dillon. Isn't it weird that he never got that career uptick that usually follows a first Oscar nomination (Crash). Wonder why that was?
Off Topic
Here are a bunch of young'ish Broadway actors, banded together for a benefit song to help the very worthwhile Trevor Project that fight for LGBT youth.
All the suicides and bullying stories on the news lately are so sad. There has definitely been a resurgence in racism and homophobia and all the other uncomfortable isms and phobias and realities of life in the past couple of years -- and depressingly egged on by people in positions of power, too (shame on them) -- but the way I like to look at it is that it's the death rattle of very backwards ways of thinking. When people see their way of life dwindling -- even if its a hateful way of life/thinking that everyone (including themselves) would be happier if they let go of -- they get very scared and get loud. Change is difficult for people as is progress. But I'm drifting off of the off topic (!) The point is: I can take one moment in this post in case anyone reading is having it rough and say this: Hang on. Life has peaks and valleys but you do not wanna miss the peaks. God the peaks are good.
It's like when you see a terrible movie and you think "god, movies have gotten so bad!" and you think you're done with them and them, ta-da, some actress starts shimmering onscreen, some setpiece makes you wanna devour your entire popcorn bucket while cheering, or some director sums up his whole theme with one perfect shot, or you see a masterpiece and it's all magical again. You don't wanna miss the masterpiece movie on account of the crappy soulless ones. See, now we're...
...Back on Topic!
Here's the new trailer for The Fighter which suddenly renewed everyone's Oscar faith in the movie on Sunday night when it aired during Mad Men. I like the trailer and it does look like Melissa Leo & Amy Adams may hog 40% of the supporting actress category together... but what is with the total D-R-A-M-A of that painfully elongated ridiculously familiar phrase "Based on a True Story"? I can't recall ever seeing a trailer trying to make that as gargantuan a SELLING POINT as this one does.
I mean is there anyone out there who is watching going "yeah, yeah, I like Amy Adams and Mark Wahlberg and boxing movies well enough. but OMG. it's based on a true story?!? Are you serious? Get me my credit card. I'm buying my ticket now!"
<-- The poster and the teaser for the British noir Jack Falls. Hmmm, somebody has been mainlining Sin City!
Victim of the Time on Susannah York. My god I love this scene in They Shoot Horses Don't They Guardian Stanley Kubrick's widow speaks. How they met, how he danced (?) and more... Cinema Obsessed is spooked by the Don't Be Afraid of the Dark teaser. I am too. Guillermo Del Toro found created his scaried creature yet called "Katie Holmes"! And Your Little Blog, Too shares memories of meeting Patricia Neal (RIP) VideogumInception themed casual encounter [NSFW... and by Not Safe For Work I mean NSFP... Not Safe for the Prudish]. You know it's funny. I was just going to post about how I'm just DONE with reading about Inception on the internets and then this hit. Hee.
Tribeca Film my column "best in show" spotlights John Hawkes and Dale Dickey in Winter's Bone 52 Bad Dudes This is a cool tumblr. Adam Sidwell is drawing badasses from the movies each week 50 Best Illustration Blogs If you're like me and you love drawrings, check these out. Daventry Blue "12 Songs About Movie Stars" Can you think of any more? Quiet Earth isn't too happy about these plans for Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter
On a final note, I read Sunset Gun's piece on a meeting with Lindsay Lohan before that infamous trip to Cannes with great interest. Like Kim, I think Lohan is gifted and like Kim I'm all for forgiving stars their scandals. I have roughly zero use for the weird media demand that they also be role models. But I'm not defensive about LiLo anymore. Give me fine movie appearances and I'll forgive all but Lohan isn't delivering in the movies... or even in the movies so I can't rally. I wish she'd come back but until she recovers her acting focus, I have no real use for her. Party girls bore me. Give me actresses!
I was writing up my little filmbytes column for popbytes and decided to spotlight Jennifer Lawrence as a rising star.
<-- This particular still freaks me out. Doesn't Jennifer look just like the Zeéeee there?
I'm very curious as to whether or not tiny Roadside Attractions can push Winter's Bone towards Oscar as relentlessly as "Ree Dolly*" pursues her missing film dad. Jennifer is the film's best Oscar bet but perhaps it could go further than just Best Actress? For a gritty rural drama that doesn't exactly coddle its audience, I was surprised to learn recently that the movie has already grossed $3 million in a month's time. That's impressive. That means people, and not just critics, like it. When both civilians and critics like things, AMPAS voters often figure they might ought to watch it.
But how's this for a statistic? If Jennifer Lawrence, who is currently 19, does secure a robust campaign and then a Best Actress nomination in January, she'll be the second youngest nominee ever in that category. The youngest was 4 year old Victoire Thivisol for Ponette and... GODDAMNIT. She wasn't nominated! Okay what I meant to type was that the youngest was Evan Rachel Wood for thirt ... SHUT UP. Allow me my Oscar fantasies. No, the youngest nominee is Keisha Castle Hughes for Whale Rider.
It breaks down like so...
Youngest Best Actress Nominees
Keisha Castle Hughes, Whale Rider (13 going on 14)
Isabelle Adjani, The Story of Adele H (20 and 2/3rds)
Keira Knightley, Pride & Prejudice (almost 21)
Ellen Page, Juno (practically 21)
Marlee Matlin, Children of a Lesser God (21 and some change)
Isn't it interesting that most of the youngest nominees are from the past decade? The only winner among these women girls was Ms. Matlin who performed Grand Theft Oscar on my beloved Kathleen Turner (see this ancient post) and Sigourney Weaver, both still Oscarless, for which I can never forgive her.
Hey there 2010. You'd best step it up. Time's a wastin'.
The talk of the 'net right now is Inception but that's not open yet, nor have I seen it. In Contention's Kris Tapley has written a lengthy piece about its Oscar prospects that I'm sure you'll want to read/have already read. You'll recall that I gave Inception a major vote of prediction approval back in April and I shan't be altering that much when I update the rest of the Oscar predictions, since my suspicion was correct that people would love it. Nevertheless, I am confused by some of the buzz for its actors. No matter how good DiCaprio and Marion Cotillard may well be, effects pictures only very very rarely lead to acting nominations (Sigourney Weaver, Jeff Bridges and Ian McKellen are rarities, not the norm) so I haven't suddenly pretended it will move into the Acting categories.
Speaking of acting...
Though the year's films have been somewhat lacking, the following performances did something for this moviegoer so I wanted to give them a glance. They're the performances I'll personally be contemplating from the year's first half when it comes time to whip up awardage for the full year. It goes without saying that most won't be in the Oscar hunt. Oscar has a limited range of flavors they like and a minimum amount of fame that they require but I hope some more adventurous voters will try to see everything that people say... hey there, this performance is good. Since some of these aren't yet released, I've allowed myself 7 contenders in each category. How many of them will be handily trounced by [ominous music] That Which is To Come?
FAVORITE PERFORMANCES THUS FAR Click on the links to go to the Oscar predix which is an ENTIRELY different conversation.
Anthony Deptula, One Too Many Mornings*not yet released*
Leonardo DiCaprio Shutter Island Robert Duvall, Get Low*not yet released*
Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine*not yet released*
James Rolleston, Boy*not yet released*
Andy Serkis, sex & drugs & rock & roll
There's not much of note so far in theatrical release for the leading men. John C Reilly and Jonah Hill were fun in Cyrus but "Best"? RDJ was his usual charming self but how much of a challenge was a second round with Iron Man? Leo barely held on to the edge of this list. I liked him a lot in certain Shutter Island scenes but that gothic gaullimaufry left me wanting in nearly every way, including within the cast. It's dangerous to assume one's own reaction to a movie is shared by Oscar voters, but combined with the early release date and the lack of true and enduring "this movie is awesome!" hoopla, I sincerely doubt we'll see Shutter Island anywhere near the Oscar competition in the winter.
Unless of course, 2010 keeps offering up blah movies. Then it's anyone's game and some crazy things might start happening.
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine*not yet released*
While nothing of note has yet happened in the Best Actor category, we may already have three or four of our acting nominees. Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone (if she's lucky), Mark Ruffalo (if he's lucky) and both women from The Kids Are All Right (though one will surely be demoted to supporting). Julianne Moore just missed this top 7. She's fun and endearing in The Kids but it's The Bening who delivers in a career best way or something in the general vicinity -- one of her best at any rate.)
Haven't Yet Seen: Hye-ja Kim in Mother and sex goddesses Amanda & Julianne in Chloe.
I'm already dreading the Oscar campaign / possible make-up win for Bill Murray in Get Low. He's been great before and he's fine if anachronistically modern in this old-timey picture as a funeral director, but I fail to get why anyone thinks it's a career best for him. Seems more like an enjoyable but nothing particularly special star turn. Of course the Supporting Actor category is almost by eight decades of ballot practices the Nothing Particularly Special category (the last few winners excepted).
Haven't yet seen: Michael Fassbender in Fish Tank (long story. I'm still dying too)
A small note of gratitude to Helena Bonham-Carter who singlehandedly got me through Alice in Wonderland. Apologies to Amanda Peet and Ari Graynor who I enjoyed in Please Give and Holy Rollers, respectively. Finally, please don't ask me where Chloe Moretz is for Kick-Ass. She seems to be able to act approximately one thing: smartass. See also (500) Days of Summer. I'll wait for more range before I join the growing chorus of praise.
Haven't yet seen: Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom
Are you excited about any of these performances or do you have your own pets from January to June screenings? And how are you feeling about the Acting Oscar races -- my predictions are updated? Do you think we're on our way or we haven't yet begun? *
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