By David Poland poland@moviecitynews.com
Waste Not, Want Not
The good folks at USA Today asked me and a bunch of other folks for their take on what is what at TIFF this season. A group piece ran on Monday, but the Friday piece didn’t run, so I decided to run what I sent in here.
A fest round-up is due on Friday for publication Monday… interesting how the focus shifts…
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Sunday AM Edition
The two surprise hits of the festival so far are Jason Reitman’s Juno and Anton Corbijn’s Control, both of which came to the festival with distribution. Both are films about young people, one who appears to be out of control, but who is pretty much on top of it and the other about someone who people thought had it all together, but melted down and before his 24th birthday. The new star of Juno is writer Diablo Cody, while the talk of Control is both the director, best know for his videos, and his young star, Sam Riley.
On the Oscar scene, things have been muted so far. Elizabeth: The Golden Years launches Sunday night. The impact of No Country For Old Men has been a bit muffled by the fact that it was already raved in Cannes. Atonement, which also launches Sunday, is under pressure after not winning in Venice, but if it does well here, that will become irrelevant.
The awards buzz on Eastern Promises has been overwhelmed by discussion of the nudity of Viggo Mortensen in the film.
Wed Edition
The buzz films in the middle of the festival have been two more sexually themed films, Craig Gillespie’s Lars and the Real Girl and Alan Ball’s Nothing Is Private. The first threatens to be perverse, but turns out to have a gentle heart of gold. The second turns out to take perversion to a new level for two acts before turning into a more complex piece. However, since Nothing Is Private is, whatever you ultimately think about the content, about sex and a thirteen year old girl, it has already become the sexual Fight Club of the festival and probably the year… it is so disturbing in its obsessive interest in bodily fluids and men completely comfortable with making sexual advances on a 13 year old, that Ball’s trees will be lost in the forest of horror, even amongst those who would have a real interest in the ideas he is chasing.
The big news in that area is the muted to outright hostile reaction to Elizabeth: The Golden Age. The negativity is not unanimous. But it is no minor distraction either. Plenty are projecting crafts nominations for the film’s sumptuous costume and production design. And hiding behind Cate Blanchett’s nomination coattails is not a dangerous position to take.
Atonement is playing well, though the bloat of its third act is making some wonder whether it really deserves the kind of awards expectations that were standard for Merchant/Ivory for years. This team also had a Pride & Prejudice bandwagon, which did well, but not as well as Best Picture.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly didn’t go Gala, but it is playing like gangbusters here, as it did in Telluride.
Roger Spottiswoode’s Shake Hands With The Devil would be a hot awards title if it were not coming on the heels, as all Rwanda movies now do, of Hotel Rwanda. It is a significantly better film, but Hollywood has moved on to other atrocities.
And Sidney Lumet’s Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead has been drawing raves from critics who attended advanced screenings and has the promise of a legendary director taking his last big lap around the awards track. (Don’t tell Lumet… he’ll start telling you about the next film he’s making.) The film arrives Wednesday and so, those who are left after the Rosh Hashanah clear-out, will know more next time.
Interesting thing about ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE is that it is increasingly being percieved as a Best Picture candidate despite a deal of negative ink from bloggers. Obviously blog-proof, with its stirring trailer (which always fetches a “wow!” in movie theaters) and excellent word of mouth from the Toronto public screenings all it has to do now is make money: if it does, I think it’s getting nominated along with Blanchett.
Hee Hee.
Every movie is blog and print and TV media proof. If Universal can get a $15m opening and a $50m domestic gross out of it, they’ll be giddy.
Whose ass are you pulling “increasingly perceived” out of? And who increasingly perceives anything positive before it actually opens? There is always an outside chance of anything happening. But your post smells of rooting.
Dave, that USA Today article, EW and Fox News are yakking it up for Best Picture. It’s all gutwork, guvner, but ‘ere’s me predictions fer Best Pic-cha
ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE
ATONEMENT
SWEENEY TODD
LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA
BEOWULF*
(*yup, that’s right – BEOWULF!)
Stick to the BAFTAs, Ian. You’re way out of your league.
Hah! I was 5/5 last year. I can travel back and forth through time. Unfortunately for you, no-one can know about my secret and live, so if you would be good enough to post your home or work address I’ll do the neccessary.
Rooting? Heat; explain the way you are using that word. I am curious at it’s implication for Ian “THE CATHOLIC-HATER” Sinclair…clair :). Nevertheless; the Oscar talk so soon is a bit silly. Especially in terms of a movie like the Golden Age that may only get one nomination for Cate — if in fact they do not nominate her as Dylan. This does feel a bit “too soon” to me at the moment, but I am never truly ready for the bastard ass Fall movie season.
Better to root for a favorite than to tear down. Which reminds me, that trailer for There Will Be Blood is f***ing amazing.
Has a movie ever went into a film festival with distribution and left without it? Where distributers, after gauging critics and audience reactions, say “Screw it. Let’s cut our loses.”
By the way, Oprah LOVES “Across the Universe” Could it be a suprise hit?
Oprah has LOVED many flops over the years.
Yes… films have often gone into festivals expecting a certain kind of distribution and left with an “exclusive” release and a kick to DVD.
And in the case of Elizabeth 2, expect a much more aggressive release plan, trying to capitalize on whatever popular interest can be mustered by marketing, no longer relying on an Oscar run.
I wouldn’t be shocked to see Searchlight move Juno into an earlier, limited release slot after seeing how the film plays at fests.
I don’t think Universal will change their marketing strategy for ELIZABETH at all. It has been splendidly marketed to date and has the strongest trailer of an Oscar contender this year. It was an Oscar picture going into Toronto and it’s still an Oscar picture coming out. It’s critic proof and the Academy are going to eat it up.
I love when people think I am guessing at certain things…
And I love it when people think I am psychic when all I have been doing is using common sense and logic.
CHOLERA as a best pic nom? Someone remember that call.
“I love when people think I am guessing at certain things…”
As opposed to being right about everything? Nobody can make the Oscar call right now – it’s still too early, the big ones haven’t opened yet, etc. I don’t trust you beloved bloggers, however. You’ve been wrong too many times about movies I love and Oscar movies. 🙂
For those that claim that Golden Age is review-proof: the original topped at 30m and that with better reviews and the help of a best pic nom.
“you beloved bloggers”???
And what exactly are you, BiP?
And what about all the times “we” have been right about movies you didn’t like and were Oscar movies anyway? Glass houses!
I think she’s being ironic, DP.
Unless you’re being double-ironic.
By my count you were right once (Capote) about a movie. Don’t make me remind you about the Mystic River/Gangs of New York/Departed paradigm. I am being ironic and just yanking your chain as you well know. I’m not really considered a “blogger” I don’t think. Nobody even knows me by name. Otherwise, surely Patrick Goldstein would have ripped me a new one by now. 🙂
Very selective memory, BiP. Very.