The Hot Blog Archive for December, 2006

BFCA's Crtitics' Choice Award Nominations

By David Poland - Tuesday, December 12th, 2006

There could be a misstep in there, but generally, BFCA finds the 5… with 10 shots.
So after Dreamgirls, Letters From Iwo Jima, The Departed, and The Queen… pick one…
Babel
Blood Diamond
Little Children
Little Miss Sunshine
Notes on a Scandal
United 93
(The one possible Oscar nominee that I am shocked to see BFCA pass on – it is soooo us – is The Pursuit of Happyness. But there is a very good chance that with the DVD arriving the day before nominations were due in that only a small percentage saw it.)
The Departed, Dreamgirls, Babel, and Little Miss Sunshine each received seven nominations. The Queen has four. Little Children has three, as does Notes on a Scandal. Embarrassingly, so does Blood Diamond. United 93 has two.
Which docs got nominated? The ones that were sent to the membership. Three of the five TV movies that got in were the only three sent to membership.
Whatever chance Borat had at a Best Picture nod – it got Best Comedy – was killed by the film not being sent out.
Apocalypto and Letters from Iwo Jima both got Foreign Language nods… Iwo Jima also got Best Picture.
I believe Will and Jaden Smith are the first father and son nominated in the same year. And I think Leonardo DiCaprio is the first person to get two Best Actor nominations in one year.
The Rest…

22 Comments »

When Women Film Journalists Gather…

By David Poland - Monday, December 11th, 2006

So, is it Rinko’s vagina, Sacha’s hairy ass, Kate’s parentally matured breasts, Gretchen’s petite magnificence, or Maggie hanging all out?
This is what the Alliance Of Women Film Journalists will soon tell us as they vote on:.
BEST DEPICTION OF NUDITY OR SEXUALITY:
1. Babel
2. Borat
3. Little Children
4. Notorious Bettie Page
5. Sherrybaby
The funny thing is, I am at first shocked by this and then I find myself feeling terribly proud of any group that has the balls (or not) to admit that they notice that nudity in movies exists. I think this shows the women in this group have a sense of perspective and humor… though I am sure that Nicholson is enraged that his Departed dildo didn’t make it.

46 Comments »

The Letters From Iwo Jima review

By David Poland - Monday, December 11th, 2006

What makes Clint Eastwood’s Letters From Iwo Jima special is that it never really offers anything like hope

7 Comments »

A Funny Thing

By David Poland - Monday, December 11th, 2006

I am watching Clint Eastwood on Larry King Live. Interesting enough.
But Larry keeps saying that Letters From Iwo Jima is a “brilliant, brilliant film” and I find myself listening to him, as though he deserves creedence.
As my review suggests, I like the film a lot. But it’s Larry King!!!
It’s so easy to forget to be suspect just because someone is on TV and they make a statement out loud.
(6:26p – fixed for typo typo)

8 Comments »

New York Film Critics Circle

By David Poland - Monday, December 11th, 2006

ADD, 12:45p: Ebiri reports the inside poop –
A brief silence. Then, the voice of Rex Reed.
“So that’s it.”
Pause.
“The best film of 2006.”
Pause.
“According to the New York Film Critics Circle.”
Pause.
“Is UNITED 93.”
Long, uncomfortable pause, plus some tittering.
“A film that no one in America wanted to see.”
Leah Rozen: “And how did you vote, Rex?”
This reminds us that critics are human too and not just hearts beating for the quality of film, no?
======================================
The ever enterprising Bilge Ebiri has someone Blackerrying him the awards to the moment… (updating as they come)
Best Picture
United 93
Runners-up: The Queen, The Departed
Best Director
Martin Scorsese, THE DEPARTED
(Runners-up: Stephen Frears, THE QUEEN, Clint Eastwood, LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA)
Best First Film
Half Nelson
(Runners-up: Little Miss Sunshine, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints)
Best Actress
Helen Mirren, THE QUEEN
(Runners-up: Judi Dench, NOTES ON A SCANDAL, Meryl Streep, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA)
Best Actor
Forest Whitaker, THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
(Runners-up: Ryan Gosling, HALF NELSON, Sacha Baron Cohen, BORAT)
Best Foreign Film
Army of Shadows
(Runners-up: Volver, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu)
Best Documentary
Deliver Us From Evil
(Runners-up: 49 Up, Borat, An Inconvenient Truth)
Best Animated Film
Happy Feet
(Runners-up: A Scanner Darkly, Cars)
Best Supporting Actor
Jackie Earle Haley, LITTLE CHILDREN
(Runners-up: Eddie Murphy, DREAMGIRLS, Steve Carell, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE)
Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Hudson, DREAMGIRLS
(Runners-up: Shareeka Epps, HALF NELSON, Catherine O’Hara, FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION)
Best Screenplay
The Queen
(Runners-up: The Departed, Little Miss Sunshine)
Best Cinematography:
Pan’s Labyrinth
(Runners-up: Curse of the Golden Flower, Children of Men)

137 Comments »

The First Real Day Of Awards

By David Poland - Sunday, December 10th, 2006

After the first five awards groups that aren

29 Comments »

LA Film Critics Association

By David Poland - Sunday, December 10th, 2006

And the answer on the left coast is…
Letters From Iwo Jima
Runner Up: The Queen
DIRECTOR
Paul Greengrass, United 93
Runner-up: Clint Eastwood, Flags of our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima
ACTRESS
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Runner-up: Penelope Cruz, Volver
ACTOR:
Tie – Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat and Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
SCREENPLAY
The Queen by Peter Morgan
Runner-up: Little Miss Sunshine by Michael Arndt
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Luminita Gheorghiu, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
Runner-up: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Michael Sheen, The Queen
Runner-up: Sergi Lopez, Pan’s Labyrinth
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Lives of Others directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Runner-up: Volver directed by Pedro Almodovar
DOCUMENTARY/NON-FICTION FILM
An Inconvenient Truth directed by Davis Guggenheim
Runner-up: Darwin’s Nightmare directed by Hubert Sauper
The Rest…

30 Comments »

Critics Groups Rolling In…

By David Poland - Sunday, December 10th, 2006

I’m just going to keep adding to this entry… (most recent update 5:54p)
Washington DC Area Film Critics
Best Film
United 93
Best Actor
Forrest Whitaker, Last King of Scotland
Best Actress
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Best Director
Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Best Foreign Film
Pan’s Labrynth
Best Animated Feature
Happy Feet
Best Documentary
An Inconvenient Truth
NY Online Film Critics
Picture
THE QUEEN
Director
STEPHEN FREARS – The Queen
Screenplay
PETER MORGAN – The Queen
Actor
FOREST WHITAKER – The Last King of Scotland
Actress
HELEN MIRREN – The Queen
Supporting Actor
MICHAEL SHEEN – The Queen
Supporting Actress
JENNIFER HUDSON – Dreamgirls (tie)
CATHERINE O’HARA – For Your Consideration (tie)
AFI Top Ten
Babel
Borat
The Devil Wears Prada
Dreamgirls
Half Nelson
Happy Feet
Inside Man
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
United 93
Boston Society Of FIlm Critics
Best Picture
The Departed
United 93, runner-up
Best Director
Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Paul Greengrass, United 93, runner-up
Best Actor
Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson, runner-up
Best Actress
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal, runner-up
Best Screenplay
William Monahan, The Departed
Peter Morgan, The Queen, runner-up

6 Comments »

Klady's Sunday Estimates – 12/10

By David Poland - Sunday, December 10th, 2006

So Apocalypto will apparently be #1 this weekend.
I have to say, I am shocked by how many readers of this blog care about being #1, as opposed to the amount of money that #1 represents.
In any case, Apocalypto did overcome a potentially very, very ugly situation. But still, this opening has to be called

40 Comments »

Friday Estimates by Klady – 12/09

By David Poland - Saturday, December 9th, 2006

My Oh Mayan.
Well, it

52 Comments »

Box Office Hell – 13/08

By David Poland - Friday, December 8th, 2006

bohell1208.jpg

13 Comments »

Apocalypto: The Review

By David Poland - Friday, December 8th, 2006

mayan1.jpg
The YouTube Version
The Iklipz Version

25 Comments »

Lunch With David – Dec 8

By David Poland - Friday, December 8th, 2006

lwd1207.jpg
Tis the season…

6 Comments »

I'm Dreaming Of A…

By David Poland - Friday, December 8th, 2006

… few hours of frickin’ sleep.
Crazy day yesterday… and it’s already been crazy today… sorry not to have a lot to say… my guess is that a lot will pop out over the weekend. But for now… running!
Curious what y’all ake of Mel Gibson’s The Holiday and Nancy Meyers’ West Side Apocalypto. Does it bother anyone else that Blood Diamond really isn’t about the politics of Sierra Leone and is just another dumb action film based in a war torn Africa? And won’t anyone ever talk about Unaccompanied Minors aka Everyone Hates Home Alone? It’s on more screen than the other three releases. Funny if it wins the weekend, huh?

51 Comments »

20 Weeks – Inside Out

By David Poland - Thursday, December 7th, 2006

How many people will ever know who won at BAFTA

10 Comments »
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

The Hot Blog

Comments Most Recent Archives

Quote Unquotesee all »

It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?

So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.

And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.

There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.

I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.

So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.

But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”

My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher

“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.

~ David Simon