The most bizarre thing about this weeks news is that most of the stories I'm going with I wasn't planning on using. Honestly I read several things on the net this week and thought well I'll use that if it's quiet, and it has been a little slow but we've obviously had worse weeks, however I'm sticking with all those optional stories, mainly because I can't really decide which ones to throw out. So please enjoy this slightly extended post and don't forget to scroll ahead for the monthly production updates.
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society
That fascinating title is enough to make me want to know more about Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer's bestselling novel based on the Channel Islands. Framed much like 84 Charing Cross Road the book is a series of letters between Juliet, a single 30-something author in post-war London and the extra-ordinary members of the titular club who write to her, recounting their experiences and personal struggles during the German occupation of the island.
It's a fascinating concept that will need an awful lot of work to make it visually interesting, although I expect once a flashback structure is created the letter writing element will be virtually lost, and charged with adapting the novel is Don Happy Endings Roos which certainly gives an idea of the ensemble style and nature of the piece.
The final piece in the jigsaw is director Kenneth Branagh who's currently shopping around for his next project now he's turned down Thor 2. More of a Peter's Friends than Henry V this does sound like it might be out of his comfort zone, but we were all surprised by what he brought to Thor so I have high hopes for how this literary package will turn out.
Shame the book cover (above) is so blatantly chick-lit I can't actually buy it and read it on the commute to work!
Read on for shark revenge fantasies, a candlestick in the library, money shots and boom boxes. As well as news from the Academy, some casting titbits and a run down of the latest stories featured here which might actually get made!
Bait
Bret Easton Ellis, of American Psycho fame, has been trying to get this odd revenge movie off the ground for some time, but with the news that Paul Schrader has signed on to direct we may see it sooner than we think. It's an ugly sounding piece, no surprise there, which concerns a waiter beaten by his rich spoilt clients who enacts his vengeance by forcing them to swim in shark infested waters. Sounds like a prototype Bond villain and I'm not completely sure plans like that would actually work but with Ellis' penchant for underlining the banality of evil this could become a cult hit.
Clue
It's hard to believe but the bubble may have burst on the game-to-movie adaptations after only the trailer for Battleship following the news this week that Universal have dropped plans to remake the classic murder mystery game. The good news is that Hasbro have rescued the Gore Verbinski helmed pic (possibly to be his next after The Lone Ranger next year) so it's still on the cards. This seems like a strange decision as it's probably the easiest and cheapest of the proposed mini-genre to make, even has the proven track record with the 80's comedy (which I love, btw). I can totally see Verbinski's best mate Johnny Depp in a Wadsworth type role too - played by Tim Curry in the original on the left.
Nymphomaniac
Lars von Trier is at it again, not content with the on-going Cannes related Melancholia controversy, and in a brave attempt to deflect from his connection to the Utoeya massacre, he's announced that two versions of his next film, a woman's sexual history told over a number of varied encounters, will have two versions. A soft and hard core version. Oh, Lars, if you just want to make porn, just go ahead and make porn. No need to dress it up as art.
Say Anything... 2
Now the headline that accompanied the story on Empireonline was "Cameron Crowe Talks Say Anything Sequel", which for the sake of Journalistic integrity is technically true, however when you look at it in context, it is certainly misleading. During a 45 minutes Television critics association interview about his Pearl Jam documentary Crowe was specifically asked, without provocation, if he had considered a sequel to his 1989 cult hit which led to the answer "Say Anything... is the only thing that I've written that I would consider doing that with. And I've thought about it from time to time, and talked about it with John Cusack once. This is the only story that I've thought there might be another chapter to that at some point." Which is like someone asking me if I'd like to play Iago at the RSC and then reporting that I'm considering playing Iago for the RSC. Nonsense!
Cusack really wants you to hear our song, in an image that everyone remembers.
Governor's Special Academy Awards
Congratulations to the latest recipients of the Academy Awards special awards, James Earl Jones, Dick Smith and (for the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian award) Oprah Winfrey. The quality work the three of them have done is undeniable. Earl Jones is probably best remembered for his voice work, including Darth Vadar (left) and Mustafa in The Lion King (which I will certainly be watching again to celebrate) but he's also an incredible stage actor - his triumph in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in London last year was legendary - and has been Oscar nominated for boxing drama The Great White Hope. Smith's make-up effects have been a staple for horror fans and Dramatic movies throughout the 70's and 80's, responsible for work as varied as The Exorcist, The Godfather, Amadeus and Death Becomes Her. Oprah may be the most famous woman on the planet and her not-inconsiderable charitable work has included setting up a girl's school in South Africa and giving $10m in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. All three thoroughly deserve this recognition from the Academy.
Casting News
Surprisingly little going on in casting rumours, Nick Nolte is set to join Jason Statham's latest punchfest Parker, further proof of his strange ability to mix junk with high-brow fare (see his recent link with Robert Redford). We've also heard that Leonardo DiCaprio has obviously been bitten by the Western Genre bug as he may be following up Tarantino's Django Unchained with Creed of Violence for Todd Field, based in 1910, from the Boston Teran novel it follows to unlikely partners trying to infiltrate a arms smuggling ring.
Production News
I've been peeking at IMDb again, and the latest collection of new films entering into the pre-production phase is a delightful mish mash of genres and styles. They include Russian period epic Anna Karenina, Mormom murder expose Under the Banner of Heaven, GP biopic Rush (can't wait for that one), Katherine Bigelow's currently untitled Bin Laden/Seal 6 picture, Comedy remake The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Spike Lee joint Red Hook Summer (already filming would you believe), biopic of Scandinavian boxer Bosse Hogberg with Noomi Rapace as the singer he falls for and curious sci-fi Under the Skin which I've just finished reading and it's going to be fascinating to see how Jonathan Glazer adapts it. And those are just the ones I've already mentioned on previous news blogs. The following two films also appeared with no forewarning:
Foolproof
It's been a long time since Uma Thurman starred in a bona fide hit so it comes as no surprise to see her sign on to this eighties throwback of a project. She'll play a defence lawyer who's lover (a DNA specialist who may have just discovered a cure for her daughter's genetic disease) is a chief suspect in a murder. If that doesn't sound like a twist on Jagged Edge than I don't know what does, should be fun though.
Truckers
In spite of selling over 65 million books it's surprising how few of Terry Prachett's novels have been adapted for the screen, sure there's been a steady selection of TV mini-series but nothing for the cinemas. Until 2013 when we will see an animated version of the first part of his Bromeliad trilogy, focusing on a tribe of Nomes (an extra-terrestrial tiny people living amongst humans, illustrated in the cover art below). It's not a Discworld novel which will at least make it more accessible to non Pranchett devotees but may limit the possibility of franchise material. Have to keep our eyes out for more news on this. 
Saturday, 6 August 2011
Reading, Writing and Swapping Vegetables (Film News - 06/08/11)
Saturday, 18 June 2011
Toy Stories (Film News - 18/06/11)
It's been a bumper week for film news, with an extraordinary selection of stories catching my eye, even if some of them appear to be less likely than me winning the lottery this evening. Actually mainly what we've seen this week are stories concerning directors who just can't seem to make their minds up about the next excuse to get behind the camera. In fact for the various big name helmers I'm going to mention this week there are at least 20 projects they've been "attached" to so far this year and given they can't possibly make all of them it seems unlikely that any will be made. Once again we're facing the fact that the Internet will eat itself in it's desperate attempt to create and sustain news feeds. Like a sucker though I just carry on reading and digesting everything for just the slightest indication of what's coming up. So to mix it up this week I'm going to be labeling the projects I've read about against their potential auteurs (although given the range of some of the titles I think we can safely say the director is not the author of the film when it is a studio picture) rather than the titles.
Robert Zemeckis
Having seen his Yellow Submarine remake sank Zemeckis appeared to be going into live action movie making again with Flight with Denzel Washington just having gone into pre-production. However he's now been attached to Major Matt Mason, a 3D extravaganza based on the 1960's Mattel action figure with Tom Hanks in the lead role. Side note, given Hanks's long time association with a different kind of toy do you think he's doing this as a way of competing with Buzz Lightyear?
The action figure's (see below for his lifelike limbs) story was surprisingly complex, given it was a standalone product, with several different coloured suits for his assistants in space and a giant foe who proved to be more help than hindrance against more hostile aliens. 
Of course the toys must have had a large, albeit unsung, cultural influence. They were released around the same time as the original "Star Trek" series and with them popularised the idea of colonization of space by a future collective of humans able to put former nationalistic ideas of Earth to one side. Although these days it will probably feel too much like a throwback, the plot could be a retread of Star Trek only for a much younger audience with elements of John Carter of Mars thrown in for good measure, so it might struggle to build up it's own identity in a crowded genre field. I also suspect the trend for 3D presentations will be well and truly dead by the time the film is made.
Read on for more debunking of the auteur theory, the latest casting gossip and my reaction to the latest group of actors inducted into AMPAS.
Ben Affleck
Currently in pre-production for his CIA mission movie Argo, including chucklesome plans to lock the actors up for a couple of weeks together to give them an idea of what's it's like being in captivity, Affleck has also been named as the go to guy for the American remake of French thriller Tell No One (see poster, left). Going back to Harlen Coben's source novel, itself American, the story focuses on a doctor who begins to suspect his wife is still alive several years after her murder at the hands of a known serial killer. The French version, written and directed by Guillaume Canet, was a huge success in both Europe and the States so any remake will have to work very hard to survive the inevitable comparisons.
Ethan and Joel Coen
At the opening of the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center earlier this week the Coen brothers and Noah Baumbach were discussing film openings in front of an invited audience when a small clue about the Coen's next project was revealed, in that it involves music but little playback (the comments were in response to a question about their dislike of the cumbersome process of playback recording). Of course without anything else we're completely in the dark, although it's worth noting earlier this year they said one of their potential projects was a mockumentary - or rather a fake documentary in that it won't be openly comedic. Could that be focused on a musician?
Catherine Hardwicke
I hope she's liking her wounds following my scathing review of Red Riding Hood (unlikely I know, and in the picture on the right she's still smiling so I guess Catherine hadn't heard my views then) and hopefully she's taking my advice about returning to pubescent girls for the subject of her next movie. Regardless of whether she is it's still what she's going to do with the announcement of a Scandinavian set crazy, raw and gritty true story of which more will be announced over the next few weeks (hang on why didn't I wait for that...)
Sean Penn
The only name here is isn't pimping himself out to the highest bidder is actor and sometime director Sean Penn, who doesn't go behind the camera often but when he does it's a fascinating thing. This week we've been asking whether he's going to take on the Art Linson script The Comedian which has already grabbed the attention of Robert De Niro. The project was originally intended for Martin Scorsese but it looks like he's passed leaving Sean Penn free to pick it up, if so this seems like a unlikely but hopefully fruitful combination of talent involved.
David O. Russell
I wish this guy would just make up his mind over what he wants to do. So far this year he's been linked to Cocaine Cowboys, Fighter 2, Joe, Politics and Pasta, Silver linings Playbook (currently in pre-production), Uncharted: Drake's Progress (which he's ruled himself out of) and a Russ Meyer Biopic. Not to mention his Nailed which is languishing in post-production vaults waiting for the money to finish the cut. So imagine my surprise to see two more projects land on his desk including Disney's Cinderella spin-off Maleficent (surely not what someone like Russell should be concentrating on) and The Mission which may be about the rescue of 15 FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia, left) hostages in Columbia in 2007 by cross-national agencies working together and certainly will be produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura.
Steven Spielberg
I've been keeping the two I least suspect of making it to multiplexes under the directors I've attached them to until last - it's not just because it's his name last alphabetically - which stems from the difficulties in separating Spielberg the producer from Spielberg the director. Anyway over the last few days there have been stories in connection to Jurassic Park 4 and Transformers 4 both of which could have the beard in control, and both of which would be interesting to see, but I suspect a less-assured name will be found soon to take over both projects.
Casting News
Plenty of exciting stuff going on in the casting couches of Hollywood including Darren Aronofsky courting Christian Bale as the lead in his Noah's Ark picture and the curious news that Annette Bening has signed onto to He Loves Me, the writers block movie from Valarie Faris and Jonathan Dayton, the directing duo behind Little Miss Sunshine, which explains why she's dropped from Rob Reiner's similarly themed movie. Elesewhere Ed Harris has signed on to World War Z, Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin are circling Jason Reitman's Labor Day and John Hurt and Kevin Bacon will be passing through Jayne Mansfield's Car. Finally there's been the surprise sighting of Liam Neeson on the set of Dark Knight Rises in the costume of Ra's Al Ghul, the character he played right up until he drove a train off it's tracks in Batman Begins, so of course the fans on the net have been trying to figure out how that will affect the plot (and how he got out of the predicament). Personally I suspect the truth is less exciting, we already know Josh Pence is playing Ra's in flashbacks, surely it's not to difficult to make the leap to more recent flashbacks with Neeson in the role? 
How they know Neeson was in costume confuses me as he wore a variety of clothes in the first film, maybe he's dressed for a fight like in this picture.
AMPAS
Another year and another cohort of inductees find themselves offered membership into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. As ever it's a fascinating list that says as much about the Academy as it does about those invited. In terms of the actors (I'll be honest it's the group I'm most interested in) there's been 27 performers who've received invitations, up 7 on last year, with a large number of younger members whose tastes are hopefully more hip and in touch with public tastes than the older conservative members. None of those invited this year have riled me as much as Ryan Reynolds and Seth Rogen did over the last couple of years, although you do have to question the wisdom of letting Russell Brand and John Corbett identify quality movies. Anyway here is the full list of actors and the films that probably formed part of the reason for their invitation, in order that I think they deserve that honour.
John Hawkes - Winter's Bone; American Gangster; Miracle at St. Anna; Miami Vice; Identity; Perfect Storm; Flesh and Bone
Jesse Eisenberg - Social Network; Cursed; Village; Emperor's Club
Ellen Page - Juno; Inception
Jacki Weaver - Animal Kingdom; Picnic at Hanging Rock
Jennifer Lawrence - Winter's Bone;
Vincent Cassel - Black Swan; Eastern Promises; Elizabeth; Ocean's Thirteen; Ocean's Twelve; Jefferson in Paris
Anthony Mackie - Hurt Locker; Half Nelson; Million Dollar Baby; She Hate Me; Manchurian Candidate; 8 Mile
Lesley Manville - Vera Drake; Secrets and Lies; Another Year; Christmas Carol; All or Nothing; Topsy-Turvy; High Hopes; Sammy and Rosie Get Laid; Dance with a Stranger
Jennifer Garner - Juno; Catch Me if You Can; Valentine's Day; Deconstructing Harry
Rosemarie DeWitt - Rachel Getting Married; Cinderella Man;
Robbie Coltrane - Mona Lisa; Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire; Ocean's Twelve; World is not Enough; Message in a Bottle; Nuns on the Run; Henry V; Revolution; Loose Connections; Krull; Britannia Hospital; Death Watch
David Duchovny - Chaplin; Full Frontal; Zoolander; Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead; Bad Influence; Working Girl
Gerard Butler - Mrs Brown; Game of Their Lives; Phantom of the Opera; Timeline; Cherry Orchard
Connie Nielsen - Gladiator; Return to Sender; Hunted; Mission to Mars; Devil's Advocate
Wes Studi - Dances with Wolves; Avatar; Heat; Last of the Mohicans; Doors
Dominic Monaghan - Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; The Two Towers; The Return of the King
Mia Wasikowska - Kids are All Right; Alice in Wonderland; Defiance
Beyonce Knowles - Dreamgirls; Fighting Temptations
Mila Kunis - Black Swan;
Rooney Mara - Social Network;
Natassja Kinski - Inland Empire; One Night Stand; Crystal or Ash, Fire or Wind, As long as it's Love; Revolution; Maria's Lovers; Hotel Blue Hampshire; Unfaithfully Yours; Cat People; One from the Heart; Tess
Tea Leoni - Spanglish; Hollywood Ending; Flirting with Disaster; Wyatt Earp; League of Their Own; Switch
Thomas Jane - Killshot; Mist; Dreamcatcher; Magnolia; Boogie Nights
Peter Dinklage - Death at a Funeral; Find Me Guilty; Station Agent; Human Nature
Bradley Cooper - Valentine's Day; New York I Love You
Russell Brand - Tempest
John Corbett - Raising Helen
The other Academy news story this week was the twist in the number of films the Academy will nominate for best picture this year, it will now be a variable figure between 5 and 10 based on the number of films getting over 5% of the vote for the best films. It's an odd way of doing things, but it sure will make the announcement of the nominations more exciting.
Yes, this man, holding his hand out to the Academy in the dreadful Sex and the City 2 now has more of a say about what the best films of the year are than you do, reader.
Sunday, 30 January 2011
But has it been worth the wait? (Film News - 29/01/11)
This weeks news has been dominated by the Oscar nominations on Tuesday morning, althugh a few other stories caught my eye. More on which later. With regards to the Academy as always we can bemoan and criticise their choices, there was an odd omission in the director category and a surprise inclusion in both foreign language and Documentary (Banksy for the Oscar!) but on the whole I think they did very well this year. In all of the categories there is a general level of quality, indeed I haven't spotted a single nomination that I disagree with (even though there are some I think we're better there's nothing bad in there). This probably speaks to the quality of films and work going into them that we've seen in the last 12 months.
I repeat what I said on Tuesday and congratulate the first time nominees (I'd especially like to congratulate Christian Bale and John Hawkes both of whom will get two mentions on the blog today), and I very much hope that the added exposure from gaining a nod helps you find more rewarding and enjoyable work in the future.
Right now though, it's back to the real news...
The Other Side of the Wind
Moves occasionally disappear in a mire of post-production woes, it's a sad fact of life that money, time and talent all run out and whn then do it often leaves the central piece in limbo. Many never complete filming (The Man who Killed Don Quixote, Nailed), some disappear in endless editing (Margaret) and still more get blocked by legal bickering and money men (La Mula). Most of these are forgotten with time, but some become legendary and so it is with Orson Welles (below) last directorial job. Locked in an French vault in the early 1970's the John Huston and Jeanne Moreau starrer has languished whilst various parties sort out the rights, but now seems to be edging closer to a cinematic release.
LA lawyer Kenneth Sidle told the Observer: “We are in negotiations for the picture, which would lead to the finishing and public exhibition. Hopefully within the next few weeks we will know.”
All of which we've heard before a number of times, but you can guarantee that if Wind does get a release I'll be right at the front of the queue.
Read on for a possible Poe trend, erotic thrillers, some unsurprising casting news and the latest release schedule changes.
The Pale Blue Eye
The Wrap are reporting Scott "Crazy Heart" Cooper is set to write and direct his next project for Fox 2000. Whilst no plot details have yet been announced it's inferred elsewhere this could be an adpatation of Louis Bayard's mystery/thriller set around Edgar Allen Poe's (left) education at West Point Military Academy. Sounds like a fascinating mix of location and theme if it's true, and along with this years The Raven it could make for an exciting Poe double bill.
Passion
When was the last time Brian De Palma had a bone fide hit? Don't strain it has been a while. The good news is he's coming back to a screen near you with a English language remake of a French psychodrama Crime d'amour about fueding exes who eventually end with murder. The orginal starred Kristen Scott Thomas and Ludvine Sagnier, but I don't know if they were each others exes or exs of an unnamed third person. I expect De Palma might be drawn to the former though. In a statement he declared: “Not since Dressed to Kill have I had a chance to combine eroticism, suspense, mystery and murder into one spellbinding cinematic experience”. Which sounds great.
Casting News
The latest casting rumours from Hollywood are incredibly predictable, in fact I'm sure we've heard all of this before at some point.. Judi Dench has confirmed she will reprise the role of M in Bond 23, Paul Giamatti is in for Cosmopolis and Naomi Watts will be J. Edgar's secretary for Clint Eastwood. Did any of that shock you?
Release Dates
The Eagle - There's been another short delay for Kevin Macdonald's swords and sandals adaptation of the Rosemary Sutcliffe novel, luckily only a week for scheduling reasons this time. Test your slaves loyalty on 25 March 2011.
Scream 4 - All the rules have been changed as we return to Woodsboro for the first time in ten years for Wes Craven's classic franchise. Don't pick up the phone on 15 April 2011.
The Debt - Delayed from last year Helen Mirren Mossad drama has found a new date, Toronto reviews were generally positive but not enough for an awards run hence the hold up. Regret the past on 02 September 2011.
War Horse - Originally slated for early autumn, Spielberg's serious 2011 film about a horse that went to war (natch) disappeared from the schedules for a while, but now returns. Globe trot after your pet on 06 January 2012.
The Dark Knight Rises - This years see the return of big and bright comic book heroes with Captain America and Thor on their way but few of us can really deny we long to see the brooding Batman return in 2012. Become morally questionable in your quest to serve justice on 20 July 2012.
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Oscar Nominations
About now the nominations for the 2011 Academy Awards are being announced. For the first time in years I won't be able to see it, and won't have the opportunity to comment until the weekend, however I would like to send a hearty congratulations to all the nominees, especially to any first time nominees. I hope for them this day marks a new era in their careers.
Sunday, 29 August 2010
Like a cat with a mouse (Film News - 29/08/10)
I didn't have a news section last week as I couldn't get to a computer, but that's probably a god thing as there hasn't exactly been much going on over the last few weeks. Mainly casting news on projects we've already talked to death here as well as the odd bit of unlikely rumours. Luckily we do have some good stories in the release date sections still to come with December becoming a lot more interesting... First up though is:
Toyer
Gadner McKay's novel is an interesting twist on the serial killer/gorno sub genre where the antagonist kidnaps girls in order to psychologically play with them but not murder or rape them, then once he has his fill releases them again. I can't quite see how - in the universe of the book - this isn't regarded as a major criminal act but apparently our hero is able to get away with it time and time again. If the set up sounds a little Hitchcockian then you won't be surprised to hear Brain De Palma is currently working on a big screen adaptation with the action transferred to the Carnevale di Venezia.
If anyone can make this sort of thing work I imagine it's De Palma (above, holding up a window) with his usual visual tricks and obsession with identity. It's not the first time Brian toyed (sorry) with the idea of adapting it but with nothing else on his plate I hope he finally gets a chance to go ahead with production.
Read on for OAPs, kidnap, terrorism, mass murder, spys, serial killers, the war on drugs and exhaustive gun battles. I'm thinking the OAPs may be out of place in this weeks post.
Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Our first confirmed casting story is for Dame Judi Dench who has signed on to play one of the residents in the titular Indian retirement home. We're still waiting to hear which other major British stars of a certain age who will also be signing up.
Carjacked
It's been on the radar for a couple of years now, but Peter Medak's thriller set completely within the car of a mother and daughter who are kidnapped has picked up Maria Bello as the victim and Stephen Dorff as her captor. I suspect this will be more an exercise in style than a great movie - like Phone Booth - but I'll sill be there to see what intensity Bello can bring to the role. Example of carjacking to the left, in case you've spent your whole life in a cave.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Joining Sandra Bullock in Stephen Daldry's 9/11 picture will be Tom Hanks. I'm not sure what part he's going to play - the film revolves around a pre-teen whose father died in the terrorist attacks - but even a cameo role should do wonders for it's overall appeal. Expect it to win all the Oscars in 2012.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Following the announcement that Rooney Mara (Social Network, Nightmare on Elm Street) will be playing Lisbeth in the American remake comes the added rumour that Max von Sydow (looking a little confused on our right) will be the patriarch at the centre of the family who are haunted by the crime that forms the backbone of the plot. It's nice to see there will be some Swedish presence in the remake.
Salt 2
With Anjelina Jolie's spy vehicle passing $110m in it's US gross and with a deliberately ambiguous ending it comes as no surprise that everyone's signed on for a return including Jolie and director Philip Noyce. Whether there's enough plot to make it work remains to be seen but the first film was an enjoyable romp so I expect I'll be up for a sequel. 
Scream 4
Two more starlets, Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell, have been added to the cast of Wes Craven's return to the tongue in cheek franchise. Filming's been going on for some time so I wouldn't expect either actress to make it to the final credits intact.
Triple Frontier
A leaked memo from Paramount executives has announced a number of small and longer term projects currently under development, including within it notes about Kathryn Bigelow's next drug drama. Apparently she has been meeting with Will Smith, Javier Bardem, Christian Bale and Sean Penn which sounds like hell of a cast to me.
Untitled Gallipoli Project
Peter Jackson is remaining tight lipped about The Hobbit and Tintin sequels but he has been talking this week about his ambition to retell the Gallipoli story prior to the 100th anniversary in 2015. Unlike Peter Weir incredible 1981 film (DVD cover, right) Jackson intends to balance the politics and show the culpability from the ANZAC commanders as well as the incompetence of the British Generals in charge of the operation. It sounds controversial and with only 5 years to make it it's hard to think he can squeeze it in with both of the aforementioned blockbusters so one of them is likely to give...
Honorary Oscars
We've also learned this week that AMPAS will be bestowing honorary awards on to historian and preservationist Kevin Brownlow, director Jean-Luc Godard and actor Eli Wallach, as well as the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award to producer-director Francis Ford Coppola. Some very good choices there. I'll be watching The Good, the Bad and The Ugly to celebrate Eli's award later. How will you be celebrating?
Release Dates
New York I Love You - Falling back a week - just a week this time - is the follow up to the acclaimed Paris, Je t'aime. I'm not sure but I may have mentioned before how much I'm looking forward to this. Find your love story on 08 October 2010.
Miral - December is beginning to fill up with prestige fare including this look at the Palestinian/Israel issue from avant-garde director Julian Schnabel and it's sure to pose far more questions than it answers. Find out which side of the wall you're on on 03 December 2010.
The Way Back - Peter Weir's part escape-movie part travelogue follows a group of fugitives from the Steppes in Siberia to the Indian subcontinent including Ed Harris and Colin Farrell. Escape from a gulag on 24 December 2010.
How do you Know - James L. Brooks doesn't make many films, but when he does they're usually minor hits critically and commercially, we'll see what happens with this Reese Witherspoon starring rom-com. Decide who you really love on 28 January 2011.
Morning Glory - Harrison Ford gets to play grumpy and Diane Keaton flighty in this warring anchors picture, don't expect much but it could be diverting. Read between the headlines on 28 January 2011.
Black Swan - It's certainly one of the most anticipated movies of the awards season but so far even having seen the trailer we still don't know if Darren Aronofsky's ballet drama is about a nervous breakdown or a malicious spirit. Practise your pirouette on 11 February 2011.
Restless - Gus van Sants low key follow up to Milk has moved out of the busy January schedules to find solace later in the year, it's always going to a tough sell for his more introspective work though. Find your one true love on 11 March 2011.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Who'd have thought the first film to break into the schedules for 2012 would be a remake of a Swedish breakthrough, saying that with it's prominence on the best-seller lists and one of the most publicised casting processes since Scarlett O'Hara it's not a huge surprise the studios thinking ahead. Fight your inner demons on 06 January 2012.
Saturday, 26 June 2010
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.
Saturday, 6 February 2010
Film News (06/02/10)
You may or may not have heard but the biggest story of the week is the Oscar nominations. I don't want to retread my post on Wednesday, but I was thinking about the new voters, the latest inductees to the Academy and how they voted. What do you suppose Brendan Gleeson, Eddie Marsan, Jeffrey Wright, James Franco, Emily Blunt, Emile Hirsch, James McAvoy, Jane Lynch, Michael Cera, Paul Rudd, Hugh Jackman or Seth Rogen had at the top of their voting form? Humourous answers on a postcard to...
Away from that there's hasn't been much in the news, only a couple of small stories to get your teeth into, as well as some potentially interesting international production news.
Zachary Quinto, stardom and the George Gershwin Biopic
First up is the frankly bizarre news from Zachary Quinto that he may be ready to move on from the reinvigorated Star Trek franchise. I'll confess I haven't seen the latest installment, but from what I hear whilst Quinto was best of the best parts in it what Star Trek mostly proved was that this was a character based franchise and not actor based - losing William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelly didn't destroy the ratings, so there won't be much worry about the Heroes star moving on. However, I doubt it's a good idea for him. Does this look like he can't commit to long term projects? Or will it mean he retains more integrity than his Enterprise co-stars?
The project he appears to be moving on to is a Steven Spielberg helmed biopic of George Gershwin. Gershwin was a composer and musician, from Russian emigre heritage, who made a name for himself in the early Hollywood musicals of the 1930's and by sucessfully blending classical and jazz influences and appealing to both markets. His most famous works include "Rhapsody in Blue" and "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess. Both of which has a prominant place in public conciousness. He also died tragically of a brain tumour, aged just 38. It's a baity role with a known director wso perhaps it's the right choice.
This is a famed caricature of George (right) with brother Ira Gershwin. Do you think Quinto could manage that look? And who would you cast as Ira?
Go past the link for the worst news you will read all week, and a pleasant surprise from Sweden.
The Lucky One
The cinematic rush to adapt the works of Nicholas Sparks continues unabated with the revelations that The Lucky One will be the next book to see the inside of cinemas. That in itself is not too bad, Sparks may be unashamedly romantic with The Notebook and A Walk to Remember being classic three hanky films and Dear John, which opened in the US yesterday appears to be getting solid reviews. The bad news is they've managed to find the worst possible person to direct it. Step forward Scott Hicks (The Boys are Back) who will no doubt attempt to wring every ouce of dramatic tension out of this story about a soldier who cheats death thanks to a photo of a beautiful girl he's never met.
Production News
And finally (I told you it was a quiet news week) I thought I'd start a new section on production news, which essentially will be tying up the fantastic rumours that we've covered with imdb's Production status. If a film moves into pre-production then I'll let you know. It's my way of keeping track of hat's coming - "Pre-production" being a much closer step to relaity that "annouced". Of course the film may never materialise. Until we see it opening weekend then there is no guarantee that the film will ever be released, but I like to think that this is a good sign.
Now most of the films which have entered the pre-production phase are pretty obvious big budget behemoths:
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: last got a mention in Runs-like-a-Gay back in August. Avctually they'd better get a move on with this, as it's due to come out in May 2011 and I can't imagine it'll be a simple post-production process...
The Next Batman sequel is also rumbling on, but with no villian casting news I guess it's still a long way away. This was last discussed in July.
As was Yellow Submarine, the Robert Zemeckis motion capture remake of The Beatles' oddball animation.
Bond 23, Hanna, The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Your Cheating Heart have all been in the news during January. (The last is the Ron Howard/Vince Vaughn collaboration.)
On the other hand I found out about Swedish picture Domen över död man purely by accident. I know nothing about it whatsoever - not even a plot description (although Domen means judgement and Dod means dead so taht may be an indication), however it's being directed by Jan Troell, the man behind Maria Larsson's Everlasting Moments (pictured below) and as that was one of my favourite films from 2009 I'm fairly confident in his next project.
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
Film News - 2009 Oscar Nominations
Yesterday lunchtime the nominations for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards were announced. Some during a live presentation from Academy president Tom Sherak (nervy) and Anne Hathaway (giving one of her worst performances, but I liked the suit) and others as a press release afterwards.
I get a little grumpy about the artificial distincting between the big prizes and the techies. A wonderfully written script, with a career best acting performances and steady direction would be utterly rubbish (and probably completely ignored) if it was lit badly or the editing didn't help focus the attention. However I can see why the announcement is kept short and highlights the categories which bring in the punters.
There are plenty of websites that will offer indepth analysis of the nominations, many of which I am an ardent fan of. Awardsdaily provides a good starting block with witty and intelligent writing, Kris Tapley of In Contention also wasted no time in getting together with Anne Thompson and recording their reaction. Many of the blogs on the right will also have some interesting comments so please take a look.
For myself I have little to say, the biggest surprise today was that there were so few surprises. Anyone who regularly follows the progress of the precursers and the awards buzz will have have the final nominees as either predictions or as highly credible alternatives. Even the choices which were a little out of the blue like The Blind Side for best picture, The Secret of Kells for Animated picture and Maggie Gyllenhaal in the supporting actress category had a certain logic to them. I have yet to see any of these films so I have no positive or negative comments regarding their inclusion.
As ever I'm slightly saddened that my own choices weren't reflected - I'm still firmly behind Where the Wild Things Are even if the Academy completely forgot about it - at the same time I understand that one of the beauties about film is that you and I will always differ about what we think is better.
All our experiences of the film landscape in 2009 was different and therefore our own responses will be different. We can, and will, passionately put forward our own picks regardless of critical recognition, peer awards or box office success. In five years time when the dust has cleared and a thousand new stories have been told we will undoutably have forgotten about the intensity of the battle between James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow and instead each of us will be left with only moments of film that stick in our memories. I will be left with Maria Larsson taking her self portrait and Max starting a dirt fight - others will have IEDs and Home trees - none of us are wrong.
Saying that recognition from your industry colleagues is a wonderful thing, and the Oscars can have a huge beneficial effect of the carrers of the nominees. So it is with great pleasure and due humility that I offer my hearty congratulations everyone nominated today and, in the spirit of my second paragraph, to the entire film-making teams, from the Executives who bankrolled the budget to the caterers who kept the tea flowing, in all of these films:
Ajami
Avatar
The Blind Side
Bright Star
Burma VJ
Coco Before Chanel
Coraline
The Cove
Crazy Heart
District 9
An Education
El Secreto de Sus Ojus
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Food, Inc
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Il Divo
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
In the Loop
Inglorious Basterds
Invictus
Julie and Julia
The Last Station
The Lovely Bones
The Messenger
The Milk of Sorrow
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellseberg and the Pentagon Papers
Nine
Paris 36
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
A Serous Man
Sherlock Holmes
A Single Man
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Un Prophete
Up
Up in the Air
Which Way Home
The White Ribbon
The Young Victoria
And the Shorts
China's Unnatural Disaster: The tears of Sichuan Province
The Door
French Roast
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
The Lady and the Reaper
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Logorama
A Matter of Loaf and Death
Miracle Fish
Music by Prudence
The New Tenants
Rabbit a la Berlin
Monday, 4 January 2010
Awards Daily's Oscar Nominations
I must interrupt the proceedings to let you know that Awards Daily, Sasha Stone's incredibly movie site, with an Oscar bias, has posted it's annual Oscar ballot. 
For your opportunity to vote like a real Academy member click here.
You'll be pleased to know that I had to adjust my previous posts for the voting - only including eligible films which meant that my potential vote catchers were very limited.
Tuesday, 29 December 2009
Tuesday Trailers - Oscar special
Like most film fans I am influenced by other fans and by the industry. There are a selection of websites and blogs that I look to for advice about what films to see next. Occasionally that means that films I wouldn't normally go to see move up in my plans. At no time of the year is that more prevalent than in the months before the Academy Awards. During this period the films which are being touted as potential nominees will still a dormant interest that may just steer me to the cinema another time. These following four films have all come to my attention as part of that buzz.
Precious, Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Director Lee Daniels, along with stars Gabourey Sibide and Mo'Nique are reaping lots of precurser attention with this bleak looking poverty drama. (Not bad for a collaboration between the director of Shadowboxer and the star of Phat Girlz). It's released on 29 January 2010.
A Single Man
Tom Ford turns from the fashion world to Hollywood to make the equistitely crafted A Single Man, based on the Christopher Isherwood novel. The trailer is enigmatic and gorgeous to look at - I hope the rest of the film lives up to that. See it on 12 February 2010.
Crazy Heart
It's not all about the performances, but if this is the film that Jeff Bridges finally wins an Oscar for then it's got to be worth seeing. On 19 February 2010 to be exact.
The Last Station
Tolstoy famously died in a train station, which I should imagine gives away the ending of this star-studed biopic about the writer and the ultimate fate of the rights to his novels. It can be seen on 19 February 2010.
Saturday, 4 July 2009
Film News (04/07/09)
It's such an empty week for news, I'm really struggling to fill a column. Really the whole of Hollywood must book the week before Independence day off and not bother with any press releases. So excuse me, if I'm making mountains out of molehills, or elevating the sort of story I'd usually ignore completely.
Moneyball
Steven Soderbergh's baseball flick was all set to start lensing last Monday when out of the blue the studio pulled the production, citing some changes in the script and the general lack of profitability for either baseball pictures or Soderbergh.
Of course money comes and goes in Hollywood with many projects starting then falling by the wayside, but the curious element here is the lateness with which that decision was made. You would have thought that by the time the camera's were heating up it was probbly too late to change your mind. That's not to mention that really Soderbergh and Baseball have been profitable in the past (Ocean's Eleven = $183m, A League of their Own = $108m).
The studio also claim some direct to camera documentary interviews with the major players (from this true story) were not part of the original spec and may affect the sales. I'm not sure they would for the real baseball fans, who would probably love to see their stars on screen.
Of course now the whole projects in limbo, trying to find a new studio to finance, and Steven, star Brad Pitt and the other 200 people emplyed by the film will have to move on to other projects. Let's hope they can find a financier and we do get to hear about this interesting mesh of computer modelling and sports.
Woody Allen
Only an incredible half baked rumour, but hell let's run with it, it seems that Woody will be continuing with his international tour by visiting Paris in his next film. No, that's not Whatever Works currently showing the US when Woody proves he can only write for people in his own social groups, or the Untitled London film, due to start lensing any day now with Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin and Pauline Collins. Instead we're talking about the next film - the 2011 Woody Allen picture.
Don't get me wrong, but I'm not sure if he knows where that will be set yet, so expect this little story to disappear soon.
Oscar 2010
Now we're halfway through the year AMPAS have been dropping press releases all week talking about the 2010 ceremony.
The most shocking change has been the increase to 10 best picture nominees. Naturally the blogosphere has been all over this exciting development with 2010 prediction changes, and guesses to what other films would have been nominated in previous years. Of course we won't know what will happen until we get there, but it is comforting to know that the single transferable vote has not been lifted so there will still be some utterly bizarre entries at the year end.
Special awards have been moved to November, clearing them from the telecast. This seems like a shame, because who doesn't want to see an ageing Hollywood starlet showing how time can be cruel during the annual event. Plus the whole celebrating of charitable works and innovation should be considered an important part of what cinema is about. Boo to this idea.
Finally the doors have been opened for a 134 new members to join the AMPAS, some of whom are pretty obvious. Although none made me think - weren't they members already. Because I'm obsessed with acting here are the on screen performers who joined the list, with a selected filmography and in order that I think they deserve to be members:
Viola Davis : Doubt, Far From Heaven, Syriana, Traffic, Get Rich or Die Tryin, Kate & Leopold, Out of Sight, The Shrink is In, Solaris, World Trade Center
Amy Ryan : Gone Baby Gone, Capote, Changeling, You can Count on Me, Before the Devil Knows you're Dead, Dan in Real Life, War of the Worlds
Casey Affleck : The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Gone Baby Gone, Good Will Hunting, Gerry, Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Thirteen, Ocaen's Twelve, To Die For
Anne Hathaway : Rachel Getting Married, Brokeback Mountain, The Devil Wears Prada, The Princess Diaries, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Michelle Williams : Brokeback Mountain, I'm Not There, Incendiary, Lassie, The Station Agent
Melissa Leo : Frozen River, 21 Grams, Righteous Kill
Taraji P. Henson : The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Hustle & Flow
Michael Shannon : Revolutionary Road, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, Bug, Chain Reaction, 8 Mile, High Crimes, Lucky You, Tigerland, Vanilla Sky, World Trade Centre
Brendan Gleeson : Cold Mountain, The Field, Gangs of New York, Artificial Intelligence: AI, Beowulf, Breakfast on Pluto, Butcher Boy, Far and Away, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Into the West, Kingdom of Heaven, Michael Collins, My Life so Far, Troy, The Village
Eddie Marsan : Gangs of New York, 21 Grams, Vera Drake, B. Monkey, Happy-Go-Lucky, Miami Vice
Jeffrey Wright : Ali, Syriana, Basquiat, Celebrity, Critical Care, Faithful, Lady in the Water, The Manchurian Candidate, Presumed Innocent, Quantum of Solace, Ride with the Devil, W.
James Franco : Milk, In the Valley of Elah, City by the Sea, The Company, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3
Emily Blunt : Charlie Wilson's War, The Devil Wears Prada, Dan in Real Life
Emile Hirsch : Into the Wild, Milk, Lords of Dogtown
James McAvoy : Atonement, The Last King of Scotland
Jane Lynch : The Fugitive, Collateral Damage, Vice Versa, What Planet are you From?
Michael Cera : Juno, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Frequency
Paul Rudd : The Cider House Rules, The Object of my Affection, Romeo + Juliet
Hugh Jackman : Australia, The Fountain, Happy Feet, Kate & Leopold, The Prestige, Scoop, X-Men, X2
Seth Rogen : Look - I know he's a bit of an it man with many top selling films over the last couple of years, but I can't for the life of me string them together with any sort of justice to the others. By far the least deserving of all the actors invited to join this year.
Thursday, 22 January 2009
Oscar Nominations
I'm filing this under news, although it's been over 6 hours since the noms were announced. Apparently some people out there disagree with the choices, there's been some pretty hardline blogs about the place.
Of course AMPAS is a sham, anyway. The very idea that art can compared and ranked is farcical. Different people will always have different opinions, and just because the Oscars are voted by a large group of people doesn't mean their taste is better or broader it just means that the films they choose were more to their tastes than others. And the bigger the Group the stranger the choices might be - imagine a Best Picture line-up that included Hancock and the latest Indiana Jones - they're in the top 5 grossing films of 2008 so votes with their feet have given us these. I have never come to the end of a year and found myself agreeing with any one person about what qualifies as the best of cinema, and there is no reason to expect that a groupthink of 4000 industry insiders will agree with me.
What upsets me the most is not the anger thrown towards the Academy for failing to agree with the blogosphere by vitriol against the films that were nominated, as if it were somehow the fault of the individuals who made these films that others were excluded. It is therefor the opinion of runs_like_a_gay that we shoul celebrate the success of those nominated, not whinge about those that haven't. To the 160 people (give or take the producers of The Reader)who suddenly got automatic invites to the ceremony I salute you. (With apologies for the really crappy format - the idea's better than the execution, but if you double click you can read it properly)
