Will Someone, please, give Meryl an Oscar? (Film News - 26/06/10)

This week has been incredible, everywhere you look there have been fascinating projects appearing out of nowhere, so much so that until the great Meryl's next project was announced I just didn't know what to lead with. On top of that we've got some updated releases and the Academy have broadcast their latest inductees. So, without further ado lets dig in.

Great Hope Springs

The never ending talent that is Meryl Streep has finally picked her next project, a full six months after gracing our screens in It's Complicated. What's more it looks like it might just get here some awards attention - at least that's what a million bloggers are collectively sighing. The film will trace a couple (her and Jeff Bridges) as they spend a weekend with a relationship counsellor (yet to be cast). Depending on which rumour you read Jessie Nelson (I am Sam) or Mike Nichols (loads of great movies) will be in the directors chair.

Obviously I'm thrilled to see Meryl back on the job, and I am sure this will be a quality film, but the oscar hype that surrounds her mere casting is a little too much - and I realise I'm being deeply hypocritical when I say this. Lets face it Meryl already has two Academy Awards - more than about 8 Billion people - and she has a record for acting nominations that will probably never be broken. Many of these nods may not have been in the crowd of best performances that year which means Meryl is simply filling up ballot papers on some occasions. Of course I love watching her act but I will confess that sometimes what we love is watching her act and most of the time she is unafraid of letting us know she is acting.

Can't we just let her make the film, and enjoy it or not based on our opinions of the film itself and not hyping up some wholly arbitrary awards system, which Meryl herself doesn't seem that focused on?

That's come out a lot rantier than I expected. I just hope I enjoy the movie when it eventually comes out.

Meryl, on an Oscar red carpet.

Read on for distracted physicists, school bullies, gangsters, robots, lots of sex, a mystery and a few animals. Now combine that to make the perfect movie.



As She Climbed Across the Table

I suppose it's happened to everyone. You work with someone every day and slowly you develop a tiny crush, an element of attraction - only they are so focused on the job that they fail to notice you. Of course it's one thing when relentless sales targets and workplace geography are the main barriers, quite another if the object of your affection has a greater affinity to the Black Hole she's studying. Yes, this metaphysical love triangle pits the hero against super dense matter. Sounds great. Based on the novel by Jonathan Letham, right.

Elliot Allagash

Will Jason Reitman be going back to school, and aiming even younger than Juno with his next film? It's quite possible following the news that he's optioned Simon Rich (of SNL) debut novel. It's about how money can buy you happiness (or at least protect you from being unpopular) in the private education sector. Oh, satire, eh?

Pretty Boy Floyd

You remember the super short scene in Micheal Mann's Public Enemies where Channing Tatum got shot in the back whilst running through an orchard (oops, spoilers for this film, Public Enemies and early 20th Century American history) well he was playing the legendary bank robber Pretty Boy Floyd (right, and not rally that pretty), and it's that legend's turn to has a biopic all about him. I wonder how it's going to end?

Rock 'em, Sock 'em Robots

Does anyone know what these are? (Original product on the left and I don't come close to recognising them) Or why they want to make a movie out of them? (Other than to boost the merchandise line that is.) I'm only including them here because I do quite like the title.

360

One for the adults here. Arthur Schnitzler's 1900 play, "Riegart", caused a great deal of scandal on it's release due to it's frank look at sexual relationships between class and social groupings. Whilst any dissection of those themes these days is highly unlikely to shock anyone it will certainly be interesting to see what has and hasn't changed in this field. The modern adaptation has been written by Peter Morgan and is set to be directed by Fernando Meirelles.

Untitled M. Night Shyamalan Project

You can tell M. Night's The Last Airbender (left) is about to hit cinemas because he's already showing his latest script about town. Oddly there's no talk about it being a sequel so I guess the tracking isn't very good. What we do know, and bearing in mind his scripts are more closely guarded than George Osbourne's budget plans, indicates a Taken like premise with supernatural elements. Bruce Willis, Gwynneth Paltrow and Bradley Cooper are interested in roles.

We Bought a Zoo

Cameron Crowe's next movie could well have the ubiquitous Matt Damon as Guardian columnist Benjamin Mee who, as the title suggests, bought a failing zoo in an attempt to revive it and ensure the safety of the animals. In spite of it being a true story (the wildlife park in Dartmoor is the real star) I have no idea what happens. I'm avoiding wikipedia for the next 18 months.

New Academy members

AMPAS have this week announced their latest inductees and as usual it's a fascinating list, as well as recent winners and nominees there are the usual mix of what really's and weren't they a member already's. Because I'm an actor I'm going to list those new to that branch and highlight some films that may have had a factor in their inclusion (going from the best choice, in my humble opinion, to the worst):

Mo'Nique - Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire and Shadowboxer

Christoph Waltz - Inglorious Basterds

Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker, The Assassasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, North Country and Lords of Dogtown

Vera Famiga - Up in the Air, The Departed, Breaking and Entering, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The Manchurian Candidate, Nothing but the Truth, Running Scared and The Vintner's Luck

Saoirse Ronan - Atonement, The lovely Bones and Death Defying Acts

Carey Mulligan - An Education, Pride and Prejudice, And When did you last see your Father, Brothers and Public Enemies

Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air and Twilight

Gabourey Sidibe - Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire

Tobin Bell - The Firm, Goodfellas, In the Line of Fire, Mississippi Burning, Tootsie, The Verdict, An Innocent Man, Loose Cannons and The Quick and the Dead

George Wyner - All the President's Men, Lady sings the Blues, My Favourite Year, To be or Not to be, The Bad News Bears Go to Japan, The Devil's Advocate, The Long Goodbye, The Postman, A Serious Man, Spaceballs, The Taking of Beverley Hills and Who's Life is it anyway?

Peter Sarsgaard - Boy's Don't Cry, Dead Man Walking, An Education, Kinsey, In the Electric Chair, Jarhead, K19: The Widowmaker and The Skeleton Key

LaTanya Richardson Jackson - Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, Lorenzo's Oil, Malcolm X, The Fighting Temptations, Lone Star, Sleepless in Seattle and When a Man loves a Woman

Shaun Toub - Charlie Wilson's War, Crash, The Kite Runner, The Nativity Story and Out to Sea

James Gandolfini - A Civil Action, All the Kings Men, Angie, 8MM, Fallen, The Juror, The Last Castle, The Man who Wasn't There, The Mexican, Mr. Wonderful, Money for Nothing, Night Falls on Manhattan, The Stranger among Us and Where the Wild Things Are

Sam Robards - American Beauty, Artificial Intelligence: A.I., Bird, Bright Lights Big City, Casualties of War, Che: Part 1, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, Not Quite Paradise, Pret-a-Porter and Tempest

Miguel Ferrer - Traffic, Another Stakeout, The Assassin, Cigarettes and Coffee, The Guardian, The Manchurian Candidate, Silver City, Sunshine State and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

Peter Riegart - Traffic, Chilly Scenes of Winter, City Girl and Crossing Delancey

Zoe Saldana - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Avatar, Centre Stage and The Terminal

Adam Sandler - Mixed Nuts, Punch-Drunk Love and Spanglish

Ryan Reynolds - and every year there's one actor selected that I just don't understand. Sure hes cute, and maybe there are signs of talent underneath the six pack, but I don't think he deserves this just yet. The challenge out to Ryan now is to prove me wrong.

Release Date News

The Town - It's essentially a month of minor shuffles in terms of box office release dates, and the only film coming forward is this Bank Robber drama. Don't get held up on 24 September 2010.

Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps - Another week's delay before we see Olive Stone's Financial skullduggery sequel, but I suppose if you've waited 23 years a few more weeks won't matter. Bring out the shoulderpads and big hair on 08 October 2010.

The Debt - Still no publicity for this Isreali thriller remake which is a tiny bit concerning to anyone hoping to see it, but maybe Helen Mirren's been too busy bathing for Love Ranch. Flash back to when you worked with Sam Worthington on 29 October 2010.

Eagle of the Ninth - Centurion has already hit the 2010 quota for slaughtered Roman legions, so Kevin MacDonald's literary adaptation has postponed a year. Echo through eternity on 25 February 2011.

Hanna - Will this be a more serious look at the character traits of Hit Girl, with Saoirse Ronan as a teenager brough up to be an ultimate killing machine. Bring up an assassin on 29 April 2011.

We Bought a Zoo - IMDb doesn't yet list it in Pre-production, the lead actor is still in negotiations (see above) but that doesn't stop Cameron Crowe from fixing a release date - I full expect it to change. Manage your menagerie on 08 October 2010.


You see I get my own back on Ryan by glorifying him as simply a sexual object. Take that Reynolds.