Posts Tagged ‘Defiance’
Thursday, January 1st, 2009
Best Films
1. WALL·E
2. Slumdog Millionaire
3. Frozen River
4. The Dark Knight
5. Frost/Nixon
6. Milk
7. The Wrestler
8. Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in)
9. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
10. In Bruges
Best Director
-Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
-Runner-up: Andrew Stanton, WALL·E
Best Actor
-Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
-Runner-up: Sean Penn, Milk
Best Actress
-Melissa Leo, Frozen River
-Runner-up: Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Best Supporting Actor
-Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
-Runners-up (tie): Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt and Eddie Marsan,
Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Supporting Actress
-Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
-Runner-up: Misty Upham, Frozen River
Best Ensemble
-The Dark Knight
-Runner-up: Slumdog Millionaire
Actor of the Year (for an exemplary body of work)
-Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man and Tropic Thunder
-Runner-up: James Franco, Milk and Pineapple Express
Breakthrough Film Artist
-Melissa Leo, Frozen River (for acting)
-Runner-up: Courtney Hunt, Frozen River (for directing and
screenwriting)
Best Cinematography
-Wally Pfister, The Dark Knight
-Runner-up: Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Screenplay – Adapted
-Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
-Runner-up: Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon
Best Screenplay – Original
-Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon, WALL·E
-Runner-up: Courtney Hunt, Frozen River
Best Score
-Alexandre Desplat, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
-Runner-up: A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Documentary
-Man on Wire
-Runner-up: American Teen
Best Foreign Language Film
-4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (4 luni, 3 saptamâni si 2 zile)
-Runner-up: Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in)
Best Animated Film
-WALL·E
-Runner-up: Kung Fu Panda
Best Overlooked Film
-Ghost Town
-Runner-up: RocknRolla
Previous Best Film winners:
2002: Punch-Drunk Love
2003: Lost in Translation
2004: Million Dollar Baby
2005: A History of Violence
2006: Children of Men2007: No Country for Old Men
Tags: Australia, Changeling, Che, Defiance, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Happy-Go-Lucky, Let the Right One In, Man on Wire, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Seven Pounds, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, The Reader, The Road, The Soloist, The Wrestler, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, W., Wall-E, Waltz with Bashir
Posted in Awards Watch, Scoreboards - Critics Awards | Comments Off on Central Ohio Film Critics
Thursday, January 1st, 2009
Best Picture
Wall-E and Slumdog Millionaire (tie)
Best Actor
Sean Penn for Milk and Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler (tie)
Best Actress
Sally Hawkins for Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Supporting Actor
Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight
Best Supporting Actress
Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Director
Gus Van Sant for Milk and Paranoid Park
Best Screenplay
Dustin Lance Black for Milk
Best Cinematography
Christopher Doyle and Rain Kathy Li for Paranoid Park
Best Documentary
Man on Wire
Best Foreign-Language Film
Let the Right One In
Best Animated Film
Wall-E
Best Film Editing
Chris Dickens for Slumdog Millionaire
Best New Filmmaker
Martin McDonagh for In Bruges
Best Ensemble Cast
Tropic Thunder
Tags: Australia, Changeling, Che, Defiance, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Happy-Go-Lucky, Let the Right One In, Man on Wire, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Seven Pounds, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, The Reader, The Road, The Soloist, The Wrestler, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, W., Wall-E, Waltz with Bashir
Posted in Awards Watch, Scoreboards - Critics Awards | Comments Off on Boston Film Critics
Thursday, January 1st, 2009
Best Picture
Slumdog Millionaire
Best Actor
Sean Penn – Milk
Best Actress (Tie)
Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married
Meryl Streep – Doubt
Best Supporting Actor
Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight
Best Supporting Actress
Kate Winslet – The Reader
Best Acting Ensemble
Milk
Best Director
Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire
Best Writer (Original or Adapted Screenplay)
Simon Beaufoy – Slumdog Millionaire
Best Animated Feature
Wall-E
Best Young Actor/Actress (Under 21)
Dev Petal – Slumdog Millionaire
Best Action Movie
The Dark Knight
Best Comedy Movie
Tropic Thunder
Best Picture Made for Television
John Adams
Best Foreign Language Film
Waltz With Bashir
Best Documentary Feature
Man On Wire
Best Song
“The Wrestler” (performed by Bruce Springsteen, written by Bruce Springsteen) – The Wrestler
Best Composer
A.R. Rahman – Slumdog Millionaire
Tags: Australia, Changeling, Che, Defiance, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Happy-Go-Lucky, Let the Right One In, Man on Wire, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Seven Pounds, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, The Reader, The Road, The Soloist, The Wrestler, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, W., Wall-E, Waltz with Bashir
Posted in Awards Watch, Scoreboards - Critics Awards | Comments Off on Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
Thursday, January 1st, 2009
Best Film
Slumdog Millionaire
Director
Slumdog Millionaire
Leading Actor
Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler
Leading Actress
Kate Winslet – The Reader
Supporting Actor
Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight
Supporting Actress
Penélope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Adapted Screenplay
Slumdog Millionaire
Original Screenplay
In Bruges
Sound
Slumdog Millionaire
Music
Slumdog Millionaire
Cinematography
Slumdog Millionaire
Animated Film
WALL-E
Outstanding British Film
Man On Wire
Carl Foreman Award for First Feature
Steve McQueen – Hunger
Rising Star Award
Noel Clarke
Film Not in the English Language
I’ve Loved You So Long
Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Make Up & Hair
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Costume Design
The Duchess
NOMINATIONS
Best Film
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Burn After Reading
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
In Bruges
I’ve Loved You So Long
Milk
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E
The Wrestler
Adapted Screenplay
The Baader Meinhof Complex
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Dean Spanley
Defiance
Doubt
The Duchess
Frost/Nixon
Gomorrah
Mamma Mia!
Persepolis
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire
Director
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Burn After Reading
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Hunger
In Bruges
I’ve Loved You So Long
Milk
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire
The Wrestler
Original Screenplay
Burn After Reading
Changeling
Che Part One
Happy-Go-Lucky
Hunger
In Bruges
I’ve Loved You So Long
Milk
Rachel Getting Married
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
The Visitor
W.
Wall-E
Waltz With Bashir
The Wrestler
Make Up & Hair
Australia
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Brideshead Revisited
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Frost/Nixon
Mamma Mia!
Milk
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire
Tropic Thunder
The Wrestler
Visual Effects
Australia
Changeling
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Cloverfield
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hancock
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Iron Man
Quantum of Solace
Slumdog Millionaire
Tropic Thunder
Wall-E
Waltz With Bashir
Sound
Australia
Burn After Reading
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
In Bruges
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Iron Man
Mamma Mia!
Quantum of Solace
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E
Editing
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Burn After Reading
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
In Bruges
Man on Wire
Milk
Quantum of Solace
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire
The Wrestler
Costume Design
Australia
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Brideshead Revisited
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Frost/Nixon
Mamma Mia!
Milk
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Sex and the City
Slumdog Millionaire
The Wrestler
Production Design
Australia
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Brideshead Revisited
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Frost/Nixon
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Mamma Mia!
Milk
Quantum of Solace
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire
Cinematography
Australia
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Doubt
The Duchess
Frost/Nixon
In Bruges
Mamma Mia!
Milk
Quantum of Solace
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire
The Wrestler
Animated Film
Kung Fu Panda
Persepolis
The Tale of Despereaux
Wall-E
Waltz With Bashir
Music
Australia
Burn After Reading
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Frost/Nixon
Mamma Mia!
Milk
Quantum of Solace
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire
The Visitor
Wall-E
Leading Actor
Benicio del Toro – Che Part One
Brad Pitt – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Christian Bale – The Dark Knight
Colin Farrell – In Bruges
Dev Patel – Slumdog Millionaire
Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon
George Clooney – Burn After Reading
Javier Bardem – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Josh Brolin- W.
Leonardo DiCaprio – Revolutionary Road
Michael Fassbender – Hunger
Michael Sheen – Frost/Nixon
Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler
Richard Jenkins- The Visitor
Sean Penn – Milk
Leading Actress
Angelina Jolie – Changeling
Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married
Cate Blanchett – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frances McDormand – Burn After Reading
Kate Winslet – Revolutionary Road
Kate Winslet – The Reader
Keira Knightley – The Duchess
Kristen Scott Thomas – I’ve Loved You So Long
Meryl Streep – Mamma Mia!
Meryl Streep – Doubt
Nicole Kidman – Australia
Penelope Cruz – Elegy
Rebecca Hall – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky
Scarlett Johansson – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Supporting Actor
Brad Pitt – Burn After Reading
Brendan Gleeson – In Bruges
David Kross – The Reader
Eddie Marsan – Happy-Go-Lucky
Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight
John Malkovich – Burn After Reading
John Malkovich – Changeling
Josh Brolin – Milk
Kevin Bacon – Frost/Nixon
Peter O’Toole – Dean Spanley
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt
Ralph Fiennes – The Duchess
Ralph Fiennes – In Bruges
Ralph Fiennes – The Reader
Robert Downey Jr. – Tropic Thunder
Supporting Actress
Amy Adams – Doubt
Charlotte Rampling – The Duchess
Elsa Zylberstein – I’ve Loved You So Long
Emma Thompson- Brideshead Revisited
Freida Pinto – Slumdog Millionaire
Judi Dench – Quantum of Solace
Julie Walters – Mamma Mia!
Kathy Bates – Revolutionary Road
Marisa Tomei – The Wrestler
Penélope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Rebecca Hall – Frost/Nixon
Tilda Swinton – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Tilda Swinton – Burn After Reading
Vera Farmiga – The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Viola Davis – Doubt
Film Not in the English Language
I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG – Yves Marmion, Philippe Claudel
THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX – Bernd Eichinger, Uli Edel
GOMORRAH – Domenico Procacci, Matteo Garrone
PERSEPOLIS – Marc-Antoine Robert, Xavier Rigault, Marjane Satrapi, Vincent ParonnaudWALTZ WITH BASHIR – Serge Lalou, Gerhard Meixner, Yael Nahlieli, Ari Folman
Tags: Australia, Changeling, Che, Defiance, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Happy-Go-Lucky, Let the Right One In, Man on Wire, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Seven Pounds, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, The Reader, The Road, The Soloist, The Wrestler, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, W., Wall-E, Waltz with Bashir
Posted in Awards Watch, Scoreboards - Critics Awards | Comments Off on British Academy Film Awards
Thursday, January 1st, 2009
Top 10 Films
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
Milk
Synecdoche, New York
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Wrestler
WALL*E
Frost/Nixon
Let the Right One In
Gran Torino
Best Picture
The Dark Knight
Best Director
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
Best Actor
Sean Penn, Milk
Best Actress
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Best Supporting Actor
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Best Supporting Actress
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Original Screenplay
Charlie Kaufman, Synecdoche, New York
Best Adapted Screenplay
The Dark Knight, Jonthan Nolan & Christopher Nolan
Best Cinematography
The Fall — Colin Watkinson
Best Original Score
The Dark Knight, James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmerman
Best Foreign Language Film
Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in) – Sweden
Best Documentary Film
Man on Wire
Best Animated Feature
WALL*E
Breakthrough Artist Award
Danny McBride, Pineapple Express/The Foot Fist Way/Tropic Thunder
Best First Film
Nacho Vigalondo, Timecrimes (Los Cronocrímenes)
Best Austin Film
Crawford
Tags: Australia, Changeling, Che, Defiance, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Happy-Go-Lucky, Let the Right One In, Man on Wire, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Seven Pounds, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, The Reader, The Road, The Soloist, The Wrestler, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, W., Wall-E, Waltz with Bashir
Posted in Awards Watch, Scoreboards - Critics Awards | Comments Off on Austin Film Critics
Thursday, January 1st, 2009
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Best Film
Slumdog Millionaire
Best Direction
Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire
Best Screenplay Original
Wall-E – Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Jim Reardon
Best Screenplay Adapted
Frost/Nixon – Peter Morgan
Best Documentary (Tie)
Man On Wire – James Marsh
Trouble The Water – Tia Lessen, Carl Deal
Best Actress (Tie)
Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky
Kate Winslet – The Reader and Revolutionary Road
Best Actress In Supporting Role
Viola Davis – Doubt
Best Actor
Sean Penn – Milk
Best Actor in Supporting Role
Heath Ledger – Dark Knight
Best Ensemble Cast
Rachel Getting Married
Best Editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall
Best Foreign Film
Tell No One
EDA FEMALE FOCUS AWARDS
Best Woman Director
Courtney Hunt – Frozen River
Best Woman Screenwriter
Jenny Lumet – Rachel Getting Married
Best Breakthrough Performance
Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Newcomer
Misty Upham – Frozen River
Women’s Image Award
Kristin Scott Thomas
Hanging in There Award for Persistence
Melissa Leo – Frozen River
Actress Defying Age and Ageism
Catherine Deneuve – A Christmas Tale
2008 Outstanding Achievement By A Woman In The Film Industry
Sheila Nevins, Producing/Programming at HBO
Lifetime Achievement Award
Catherine Deneuve
AWFJ Award For Humanitarian Activism
All of the Women in Pray The Devil Back To Hell
EDA SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS
AWFJ Hall Of Shame Award
27 Dresses
Actress Most in Need Of A New Agent
Kate Hudson
Movie You Wanted To Love But Just Couldn‘t (Tie)
Mamma Mia!
The Women
Best Of The Fests
Hunger
Unforgettable Moment Award (Tie)
Dark Knight: Joker’s first scene
Slumdog Millionaire: Young Jamal jumps into the poop
Best Depiction Of Nudity or Sexuality (Tie)
Elegy
The Reader
Best Seduction
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Sequel That Shouldn’t Have Been Made Award (Tie)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Saw V
The Remake That Shouldn’t Have Been Made Award:
The Women
Cultural Crossover Award
Slumdog Millionaire
Bravest Performance Award
Mickey Rourke – The Wrester
Best Leap from Actress to Director Award
Helen Hunt – Then She Found Me
Most Egregious Age Difference Between Leading Man and Love Interest The Wackness – Ben Kingsley and Mary-Kate Olsen
Tags: Australia, Changeling, Che, Defiance, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Happy-Go-Lucky, Let the Right One In, Man on Wire, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Seven Pounds, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, The Reader, The Road, The Soloist, The Wrestler, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, W., Wall-E, Waltz with Bashir
Posted in Awards Watch, Scoreboards - Critics Awards | Comments Off on Alliance of Women Film Journalists
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
“Why aren’t these Oscar movies in more theaters?!?!”
New York Times… Variety… LA Times… yadda, yadda, yadda..
Worst of all, these are all veteran reporters who, if they don’t know it like the back of their hand as factual detail, should at least be able to smell the absurdity reeking from these stories.
It’s the marketing, stupid.
Year after year after year, we see the Oscar release strategy play out. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it fails. Sometimes the movies would have been better not being so precious. Sometimes the movies would die in a bloody heap if they tried to roll out any other way. Harvey Weinstein (and his now-42 West cohorts) were the best ever at it. But it has worked for others.
The massive disconnect, in my view, is that strategy is based on some specific goals… and then, journalists take a position on the tactics that come from the strategy without remotely considering what the real strategy is.
Why is Frost/Nixon still on just 205 screens? Because Universal knows that it may not become a big commercial hit and that anything that allows others to claim that it is, in any way “a failure” (fairly or not) could be damaging to the Oscar nomination that it is counting on for its wider release.
Of course, these strategies do change. But why would anyone change their strategy when it is working.
Why was Revolutionary Road held until Christmas? Well, the box office lightness of that film was a given under virtually any circumstance other than as an awards contender. So they waited until late and created a hammock story with that per-screen average scam. There was no better choice. What? Release the movie for Thanksgiving and see it gone by now both in theaters and in the awards push? Even the Golden Globes nods would have been threatened by weak box office and soft reviews in November or October.
The thing about releasing an awards chaser in September or October is that you have to be one of The Ones (No Country For Old Men/The Queen/Lost in Translation) or you have to have the undeniable muscle of a major star who is willing to work for four whole months for the film (Clooney) or you need to be a straight-forward box office success that then moves into awards contention (The Departed).
Miramax has owned the October awards release for the last couple of years. So why do you think Doubt launched in mid-December? Because it wasn’t that kind of movie. It was the kind of movie that might have gotten lost in the mix… just an actor’s movie… etc.
I’m not saying there is something wrong with Doubt by pointing this all out. All I am saying is that once you know what kind of cards you have in your hand, you know whether you have to play the cards or play the other people at the table. This year, Miramax is playing the table. Wait… plot… what’s vulnerable… what movie is slipping in December when they do their limited release… do people over 50 really want to vote for The Dark Knight… or do they want to vote for the movie about morality with two Oscar winners and both a once and future nominee?
Slumdog Millionaire got to $20 million on Monday. They are still on 614 screens. Searchlight has slowly rolled out into the places where a foreign language film with no stars is a problem. Some have worked. Some less so. But that $20 million mark puts them behind only Benjamin Button at the box office as the voters settle in. And they will surely use the Oscar nom to expand to a real wide release… just as they did with Sideways. But they are already wider than Sideways was pre-nom… and way ahead at the box office. The hope, I suspect, is that they will be over $30 million when the nominations come in and then expand and ride the wave to the second $100 million domestic film of Searchlight’s history… and the first Oscar win.
And what will be the big challenge of Phase II for Slumdog? Getting every Academy member to see the film in a good movie theater. They have The Great Movie, but now they have to fight off “not as great as I heard” and, though the film plays well on DVD, voters who are easily distracted on their couches.
In so many ways, Slumdog is this year’s The Departed… the popular favorite. The Departed’s vulnerability was that it was so violent. But its advantage was that it was popular, so a large percentage of Academy members had seen the film in theaters before the hardcore awards season had ever began. Slumdog doesn’t have that advantage. DVDs were in people’s mailboxes before theatrical release. It’s a movie without known stars. It’s a time shifter. It’s flashy. So the concentrated focus of being in a movie theater is an enormous benefit to the enjoyment of the film.
By the way… here are the nominees from the last four seasons that rolled out cautiously… same as this year…
Title – Release- Date it cracked 1000 screens
2007
There Will Be Blood – Dec 26 – Feb 1
Atonement – Dec 7 – January 18
2006
Letters from Iwo Jima – Dec 22 – never over 781 screens
2005
Capote – Sept 30 – Feb 3 (and only for one week)
Munich – Dec 23 – Jan 6
Brokeback Mountain – Dec 9 – Jan 20
Good Night, And Good Luck – Oct 7 – never over 1000 (803 screen top on Nov 18, lost 183 screens the next week and 929 for one week on February 3, lost 244 screens the next week)
2004
Sideways – Oct 22 – Jan 28
Million Dollar Baby – Dec 17- Jan 28
Finding Neverland – Nov 12 – Dec 31
Babel is another fascinating roll out. In it’s first 11 weeks, it went from 7 screens and a $55,621 per-screen to 35/$26,263 to wide on 1251 screens… and the one $5 million week of the film’s domestic life. The next week, it dropped almost 50% and started losing screens. By four weeks later, they were on under 250 screens, grossing under $500,000 a week, and would stay there until a post-nom expansion six weeks later. The film picked up about $13.5 million more on top of the $21.5 million that was already in the bank. But even with the nod and relatively few screens, they never saw a $2500 per-screen week after Weekend 3, aka the first wide expansion.
Also… there are a couple of big issues other than pure awards strategy in play… Money… and Ego.
As Babel shows above, it can be a long slog. And the reason why a per-screen of under $2500 for a movie making such a small gross is that it is expensive to maintain. Yet, if you have any hope of winning, you need to appear ongoingly “successfully.” So studios have learned to try to ride that wave instead of fighting it. We are seeing a wide variety of detailed strategies within that idea this year.
This brings me to the one movie that really does defy my basic notion of sane strategy in this season – which is not to say that I think all the others will work out well… just that they have a clear, reasonable logic – and that is Gran Torino. Warners is spending like it’s a wide release. The movie plays like a wide release. Yet, they are playing the release like an Awards-Only play. You may note that both of Eastwood’s last nominees used a similar strategy. However, this movie is not like either of the last two films, whatever you think of the films themselves. This is a Clint Eastwood movie, writ large. It’s his growl. It’s his stardom in play.
I went back to look at Unforgiven. It was an August release and cracked $70 million domestic in its first seven weeks. A commercial success, circa 1992. That is the strategy that Warners should have been using on Gran Torino. You can smell how much money they know is there in the ads. And they will go wide… a week from Friday. Huh?
The reality is that Clint Eastwood tells Warners how they are going to roll out his films. They don’t really get in his way. So I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that some in the studio were begging to go wide last week or earlier. When it does go wide, it will be probably be the #2 film for the weekend, behind Bride Wars, and probably close to the holdover number for Marley & Me. But my sad guess is that Eastwood left as much as $40 million on the table by holding out the film over the holidays. And while he may, somehow, find his way to a lifetime-achievement Oscar nod for one of his weaker performances, the film has zero chance at Best Picture. So… ego.
And with due respect to Ed Zwick, Defiance could have been a commercial movie. James Bond fighting Nazis – which is not the reality of the film, but like Valkyrie, could have been sold that way – has some box office weight. But not dumped out by an overtaxed, budget-nervous studio forced to release your film in time for awards. Defiance would have been a movie that could have benefited from the slot that Valkyrie was once moved into, President’s Day weekend. Strong marketing. Limited distractions at the studio. And heavy on Bond in the woods.
But Zwick has had big success, commercially, in the awards slot… the last time with Mr. Cruise as The Last Samurai. And once he and his team thought they were scheduled into the awards season, being pushed out must have felt, understandably, like a slap in the face. I get that. As with all things, the strategy is given by the goal. And the goal of that last minute release… as much not being slapped in the face and not wanting to sell the movie as something it is not as anything else, I suspect.
I know there are people who want to see the buzzed movies. Even when they are in towns beyond the biggest cities, they are often on a very limited number of screens, making them harder to see even when they seen nearby.
This Week’s Charts To Come…
– David Poland
December 31, 2008
Tags: Australia, Changling, Che, Defiance, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Happy-Go-Lucky, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Seven Pounds, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader, The Road, The Soloist, The Wrestler, W.
Posted in 20 Weeks to Oscar, Awards Watch | Comments Off on 9 Weeks To Go, The Latest Whine
Thursday, December 18th, 2008
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
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Writer(s) – Film
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Comment
|
Wall-E |
– |
A win here would be an apology for no BP nod.d |
Vicky Cristina Barcelona |
– |
Woody’s best in a long while. |
Milk |
– |
– |
Rachel Getting Married |
– |
– |
The Wrestler |
|
|
– |
Happy Go Lucky |
– |
– |
Seven Pounds |
– |
|
Che |
– |
– |
W. |
– |
– |
Changling |
– |
– |
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
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Writer(s) – Film
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Comment
|
Slumdog Millionaire |
G |
Roll with the frontrunner… Second nod, first win for Beaufoy |
Frost/Nixon |
G |
– |
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button |
G |
– |
Doubt |
G |
– |
The Reader |
G |
– |
– |
Revolutionary Road |
– |
– |
The Dark Knight |
– |
|
Tags: Australia, Changling, Che, Defiance, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Happy-Go-Lucky, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Seven Pounds, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader, The Road, The Soloist, The Wrestler, W.
Posted in 20 Weeks to Oscar - Charts, Awards Watch | Comments Off on Best Screenplay Chart
Thursday, December 18th, 2008
BEST ACTRESS
|
Actress – Film
|
|
Comment
|
Kate Winslet – Revolutionary Road |
G |
Voters seem to be able to separate her great work in the movie from the softball of the movie, so… |
Cate Blanchett – Benjamin Button |
–
|
Sensational as the old lady in make-up only… great CG thighs as a young one |
Meryl Streep – Doubt |
G |
Ya |
Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married |
G |
Ya |
Kristin Scott Thomas – I’ve Loved You So Long |
G |
Should still be ok |
|
Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky |
G |
Winslet’s emergence and Scott Thomas’ history put a third Brit in danger of being left out |
Melissa Leo – Frozen River |
–
|
The indie choice… but will Academy members even watch the film? |
Angelina Jolie – Changeling |
G |
|
Michelle Williams – Wendy & Lucy |
–
|
|
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
|
Actress – Film
|
|
Comment
|
Penelope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona |
G |
Your winner. Unless Kate Winslet doesn’t win Best Actress |
Kate Winslet – The Reader |
G |
The Suporting gambit seems to have taken hold |
Viola Davis – Doubt |
G |
They finally get it |
The Big Muddy |
Rebecca Hall – Vicky Cristina Barcelona |
G |
|
Marisa Tomei – The Wrestler |
G |
|
Tilda Swinton – Benjamin Button |
– |
|
Debra Winger – Rachel Getting Married |
– |
|
Rosemarie DeWitt – Rachel Getting Married |
– |
|
Taraji P Henson – Benjamin Button |
– |
|
Elsa Zylberstein – I’ve Loved You So Long |
– |
|
Rosario Dawson – Seven Pounds |
– |
|
Tags: Australia, Changling, Che, Defiance, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Happy-Go-Lucky, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Seven Pounds, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader, The Road, The Soloist, The Wrestler, W.
Posted in 20 Weeks to Oscar - Charts, Awards Watch | Comments Off on Best Actress Chart
Thursday, December 18th, 2008
BEST ACTOR
|
Actor – Film
|
|
Comment
|
Sean Penn – Milk |
G
|
Deserves the win. |
Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon |
G
|
A legendary performance.. may win out |
Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler |
G
|
Cynical journalists are dogging him… which might turn back into sincere love |
Richard Jenkins – The Visitor |
|
Will be hailed as a great surprise, but great work here… and for years before. The kind of moment veterans love to pay back with a nod. |
Brad Pitt – Benjamin Button |
G
|
A really fine performance inside of a lot of effects, CG and make-up alike. But vulnerable to all the effects chatter. |
|
Clint Eastwood – Gran Torino |
|
A great career as an actor/moviestar leading to a nomination for this weak work would make Newman winning for The Color Of Money look like a triumph. But it could happen. |
Benicio Del Toro – Che |
|
The biggest oversight of the year… easily. |
Will Smith – Seven Pounds |
|
|
Leonardo DiCaprio – Revolutionary Road |
G
|
|
Josh Brolin – W. |
|
|
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
|
Actor – Film
|
|
Comment
|
Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight |
G
|
Likely to win… Phil has his Oscar… Brolin is just getting rolling as a serious actor… Shannon is an unknown… Sheen is “the other guy,” again |
Phillip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt |
|
Ya |
Michael Sheen – Frost/Nixon |
|
Ya |
Josh Brolin – Milk |
|
Great understated work. |
Michael Shannon – Revolutionary Road |
|
A joy to watch |
|
Dev Patel – Slumdog Millionaire |
|
Looking more possible… people like him… they really, really like him |
Robert Downey, Jr. – Tropic Thunder |
|
A great actor… an embarrassing possibility |
Liev Schreiber – Defiance |
|
|
Eddie Marsan – Happy-Go-Lucky |
|
|
James Franco – Milk |
|
|
Tags: Australia, Changling, Che, Defiance, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Happy-Go-Lucky, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Seven Pounds, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader, The Road, The Soloist, The Wrestler, W.
Posted in 20 Weeks to Oscar - Charts, Awards Watch | Comments Off on Best Actor Chart
Thursday, December 18th, 2008
BEST DIRECTOR
|
Director – Film
|
|
Comment
|
Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire |
G
|
|
David Fincher – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button |
G
|
|
Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon |
G
|
|
Gus Van Sant – Milk |
–
|
|
The Big Battle For The Last Slot |
Steven Soderbergh – Che |
–
|
|
Christopher Nolan – The Dark Knight |
–
|
|
Jonathan Demme – Rachel Getting Married |
–
|
|
And The Rest |
Mike Leigh – Happy Go Lucky |
–
|
|
Stephen Daldry – The Reader |
G
|
|
Sam Mendes – Revolutionary Road |
G
|
|
Gabriele Muccino – Seven Pounds
|
–
|
|
Tags: Australia, Changling, Che, Defiance, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Happy-Go-Lucky, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Seven Pounds, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader, The Road, The Soloist, The Wrestler, W.
Posted in 20 Weeks to Oscar - Charts, Awards Watch | Comments Off on Best Director Chart
Thursday, December 18th, 2008
BEST PICTURE
|
Picture
|
Studio
|
Director
|
Stars |
|
Comment
|
The Frontrunners (in alphabetical order) |
Slumdog Millionaire |
FxSch
|
Boyle
|
Patel
Pinto
|
G
|
The prohibitive favorite |
Frost/Nixon |
U
|
Howard
|
Langella
Sheen
|
G
|
The only legit shot at taking down The ‘Dog |
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button |
Par
|
Fincher
|
Pitt
|
G
|
Too big to ignore, too cold to love |
Milk |
Focus
|
Van Sant
|
Penn
Brolin
|
–
|
The second indie-minded film in the group… thrilled to be there |
The Dark Knight |
WB
|
Nolan
|
Ledger
|
|
Critics showing their independence by voting up the #2 all-time domestic film… The Joker wins. |
Still Hunting |
Doubt |
Mir
|
Shanley
|
Streep
PS Hoffman
Davis
|
|
Hoping that SAG means something |
Rachel Getting Married |
SPC
|
Demme
|
Hathaway
Winger
DeWitt
|
|
Hoping that SAG means nothing. |
Wall-E |
Dix
|
Stanton
|
Garlin
|
|
Happy to be loved |
Globes Only |
Revolutionary Road |
ParV
|
Mendes
|
Winslet
DiCaprio
|
|
Just not the movie, but Winslet is, as always, spectacular and could win more gold.
|
The Reader |
TWC
|
Daldry
|
Winslet
Fiennes
|
G
|
Just not the movie, but Winslet is, as always, spectacular and could win more gold.–
|
And Still Simmering (in order of release date) |
The Visitor |
Ov
|
McCarthy
|
Jenkins
|
|
–
|
Vicky Cristina Barcelona |
TWC
|
Allen
|
Cruz
Bardem
Hall
|
|
–
|
Happy Go Lucky
|
Mir
|
Leigh
|
Hawkins
|
G
|
–
|
Australia |
Fox
|
Luhrmann
|
Kidman
Jackman
|
–
|
–
|
Gran Torino |
WB
|
Eastwood
|
Eastwood
|
–
|
–
|
The Wrestler |
FxSch
|
Aronofsky
|
Rourke
|
–
|
–
|
Seven Pounds |
Sony
|
Muccino
|
Smith
|
–
|
–
|
Che |
IFC
|
Soderbergh
|
Del Toro
|
–
|
–
|
Defiance |
ParV
|
Zwick
|
Craig
|
–
|
–
|
Tags: Australia, Changling, Che, Defiance, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Happy-Go-Lucky, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Seven Pounds, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader, The Road, The Soloist, The Wrestler, W.
Posted in 20 Weeks to Oscar - Charts, Awards Watch | Comments Off on Best Picture Chart
Thursday, December 18th, 2008
Every year, I quote Bill Condon’s notion – which has more resonance with his Oscar gig this year … and less – of The Great Settling.
All the critics’ awards and nominations are laid out. Screeners are in every Oscar voter’s stockings. People go on their annual big vacations to wherever with the family and the discs in tow. And as the pressures from the hard push of the studios and press are relieved, cooling the situation, the films themselves creep into perspective. Nomination ballots go out right at Christmas and are returned en masse when people get back from their holiday to their lives.
But this year … not so much.
This year, if there are any surprises, they will be a lot like a whoopi cushion on a desk chair … ha ha … pick it up … look at it … hand it back to the joker … get on with your day.
Yes, lives will be changed. And that is the ongoing irony of all this mess. It really does matter to people when they are embraced by their peers. Winning is nice. Being nominated is nice. And when you are nominated, for instance, by 88 semi-credentialed star-f*#kers who are mostly hoping you will say something embarrassing enough to be talked about for months to come, you don’t think about those details … you graciously think about how wonderful it is to be loved by your community … especially that person who put their hand on your ass during the photo … oh, never mind.
The illusion that there are a lot of choices is just that. The Top Five that seems to be continually cementing in are Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon, Ben Button, Milk, and The Dark Knight.
Of course, Doubt, Revolutionary Road, Rachel Getting Married, and Wall-E are still out there, kicking. But Wall-E is really settling back into the now-classic animation win mode. Rachel doesn’t seem to be getting the small signals that it is really in the Best Picture race. And the only group that seems to be showing love to Revolutionary Road is HFPA … and those mooks left out Michael Shannon as they kept stacking the red carpet.
Even our Gurus o’ Gold voting … we ask for 1-10 … and aside from Revolutionary Road getting four #5s and one #4, there was only one top Five vote after the Globes announced last week for anything else out of the Cementing Five mentioned above. That’s 90 Top 5 votes … 84 for the same five movies.
There is a little shifting that can be anticipated. Amy Adams suddenly has a little nomination momentum, though she was the least well reviewed of the Doubt trio. Kate Winslet’s lead performance in The Reader continues to get Supporting nods, so she gets stronger. The “foreigners” are almost always shorted by the HFPA and SAG, so don’t be surprised by bouncebacks by Kristin Scott Thomas and/or Sally Hawkins.
There are very few real questions left that count.
Will Clint Eastwood get a nomination for being Clint Eastwood?
Will Dev Patel get in as Supporting for his Lead in Slumdog on the weight of the movie?
Is there another gear for Doubt to get into that can push it past Batman, a movie that is actually getting helped by critics’ groups?
Will DGA turn the Che boat around or is January 8 just too late to matter?
Will a single kid tune in to watch The Dark Knight lose and Heath Ledger win?
Will we all be so bored of the same five films in the end that we stop worrying and learn to love the Oscars?
It’s not unlike Election Night 2008. We all kinda knew what was coming. The odds against Obama losing were long. But in the end, there are enough Republican-locked states that it couldn’t be too much of a blowout. So we waited for Pennsylvania. And we waited for North Carolina. And we waited for Colorado. And little by little, we grew confident and the McCain camp wrote concessions. The race really ended at 7pm pst on November 4. The networks wouldn’t call it until an hour later because they were cautious … and playing the string out. One more victory lap for everyone associated with the event … one more night of single-focused ratings … one more chance to be the one to say something that others would remember.
Who gets nominated at 5:35a pst January 22 will matter to Michael Shannon or Robert Downey, Jr. A lot. More than either realizes right now. So I don’t want to minimize the small victories and losses still to come.
But in the big picture, the entire season is already down to whether we tip 15%, 18% or 22%. Was it double the sales tax? What is the sales tax here? Is Ahnuld taxing expensive pizza at Mozza more than cheap pizza from Domino’s? Hey … did that Domino’s guy support Prop 8? It’s safe to go get Mexican food again. Too bad about Rich Raddon … he was a good guy … I mean, is a good guy. So Sundance is leaving the “Yes on Prop 8” theater as a press screening room. Nice. Really? They are only sending up two people for 5 days? Times is hard.
You get the idea.
You know you should watch Serious Movie 8 … but you really want to pop in Mamma Mia! again … you really want to enjoy Slumdog again … you really want to see the Blu-ray of The Dark Knight, even if you don’t have Blu-ray in your $3000 a night bungalow …
A nice jolt to the system is always amusing … but really, sign the paper … get it over with … hand Kate Winslet her first Oscar … you know you want to … did you see her ass in Vanity Fair … well it was the side of her ass … I mean, airbrushed, of course … but she has kids and everything …
Settled.
– David Poland
December 18, 2008
Tags: Australia, Changling, Che, Defiance, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Happy-Go-Lucky, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Seven Pounds, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader, The Road, The Soloist, The Wrestler, W.
Posted in 20 Weeks to Oscar, Awards Watch | Comments Off on 11 Weeks To Go, The Greatly Settled
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
|
Writer(s) – Film
|
|
Comment
|
Wall-E |
– |
A win here would be an apology for no BP nod.d |
Vicky Cristina Barcelona |
– |
Woody’s best in a long while. |
Milk |
– |
– |
Rachel Getting Married |
– |
– |
The Wrestler |
|
|
– |
Happy Go Lucky |
– |
– |
Seven Pounds |
– |
|
Che |
– |
– |
W. |
– |
– |
Changling |
– |
– |
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
|
Writer(s) – Film
|
|
Comment
|
Slumdog Millionaire |
G |
Roll with the frontrunner… Second nod, first win for Beaufoy |
Frost/Nixon |
G |
– |
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button |
G |
– |
Doubt |
G |
– |
The Reader |
G |
– |
– |
Revolutionary Road |
– |
– |
The Dark Knight |
– |
|
Tags: Australia, Changling, Che, Defiance, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Happy-Go-Lucky, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Seven Pounds, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader, The Road, The Soloist, The Wrestler, W.
Posted in 20 Weeks to Oscar - Charts, Awards Watch | Comments Off on Best Screenplay Chart
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
BEST ACTRESS
|
Actress – Film
|
|
Comment
|
Cate Blanchett – Benjamin Button |
–
|
The old age stuff is the killer… all make-up, no CG |
Meryl Streep – Doubt |
G |
Should really be here for Mamma Mia!, the gutsier performance |
Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married |
G |
Seems to have settled in, but still vulnerable to a star attack, especially from Winslet, whose performances are better then the films |
Kristin Scott Thomas – I’ve Loved You So Long |
G |
Seems to be settled in since Toronto |
Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky |
G |
The critics’ groups poster girl this season |
|
Kate Winslet – Revolutionary Road |
G |
Great work as always… so wouldn’t be a real shocker |
Angelina Jolie – Changeling |
G |
Some of her worst work… so it would be a real shocker |
Melissa Leo – Frozen River |
–
|
The indie beloved… usually means being forgotten by the mainstream Academy |
Michelle Williams – Wendy & Lucy |
–
|
Lovely work by a fine, delicate soul, but just not enough muscle to get the movie seen by enough of The Academy, it seems |
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
|
Actress – Film
|
|
Comment
|
Penelope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona |
G |
Your winner. Perhaps the only lock in the Oscars at this early date. |
Marisa Tomei – The Wrestler |
G |
Everyone is getting used to the idea that this is happening |
Viola Davis – Doubt |
G |
Same for the great Ms Davis, who should have been nom’ed all the way back at Antoine Fisher |
Kate Winslet – The Reader |
G |
As long as they can sell the supporting-ness of this lead… but then again, with Rev Road fading, Weinstein may reverse course and go for the lead slot… Globe nod for RR may stop that. |
|
Rebecca Hall – Vicky Cristina Barcelona |
G |
The lead, but a newcomer. Deserves the nod as much as anyone this year. |
Tilda Swinton – Benjamin Button |
– |
Small, brilliant turn. |
Debra Winger – Rachel Getting Married |
– |
Come out, come out, wherever you are |
Rosemarie DeWitt – Rachel Getting Married |
– |
Needs another wave of effort behind this |
Taraji P Henson – Benjamin Button |
– |
The warmth in a cold movie… |
Rosario Dawson – Seven Pounds |
– |
Perhaps too late to get this deserving work noticed |
|
Sophie Okonedo – The Secret Life of Bees |
– |
– |
Frieda Pinto – Slumdog Millionaire |
– |
– |
Hiam Abbass – The Visitor |
– |
– |
Elsa Zylberstein – I’ve Loved You So Long |
– |
– |
Tags: Australia, Changling, Che, Defiance, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Happy-Go-Lucky, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Seven Pounds, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader, The Road, The Soloist, The Wrestler, W.
Posted in 20 Weeks to Oscar - Charts, Awards Watch | Comments Off on Best Actress Chart
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
BEST ACTOR
|
Actor – Film
|
|
Comment
|
Sean Penn – Milk |
G
|
A truly remarkable performance from an actor who has given us so many. |
Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon |
G
|
Magic. And could overcome. |
Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler |
G
|
The great story of the season. |
Richard Jenkins – The Visitor |
|
The Academy Actors Branch likes actors, not just stars. |
Brad Pitt – Benjamin Button |
G
|
A big movie… a good, but dry performance… but who else’s boat can get enough speed to overtake him? |
|
Benicio Del Toro – Che |
|
A performance up there with Penn’s… but in a 4.5 hour movie that will have to overcome DVD flipping factor |
Will Smith – Seven Pounds |
|
A performance of secrets… tough |
Leonardo DiCaprio – Revolutionary Road |
G
|
He’s still Leo, even if he seems like a young man in his dad’s suit |
Josh Brolin – W. |
|
A great, but undervalued performance |
Dev Patel – Slumdog Millionaire |
|
Would be the big shocker |
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
|
Actor – Film
|
|
Comment
|
Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight |
G
|
Yes, he is still the front-runner. No, he will not draw a single rating point unless Michelle Williams agrees to accept while in King Kong’s palm. |
Phillip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt |
|
Really a lead, so a lock |
Michael Sheen – Frost/Nixon |
|
Really a lead, so a lock |
Michael Shannon – Revolutionary Road |
|
The insane voice of sanity in a very dry fillm |
Josh Brolin – Milk |
|
He gets a ton out of an underwritten character |
|
Liev Schreiber – Defiance |
|
Great work by one of Broadway’s best |
Eddie Marsan – Happy-Go-Lucky |
|
If a movie star did it, he would be a lock |
James Franco – Milk |
|
Could move up… people are digging him |
Tags: Australia, Changling, Che, Defiance, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Happy-Go-Lucky, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Seven Pounds, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader, The Road, The Soloist, The Wrestler, W.
Posted in 20 Weeks to Oscar - Charts, Awards Watch | Comments Off on Best Actor Chart
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
BEST DIRECTOR
|
Director – Film
|
|
Comment
|
Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire |
G
|
|
David Fincher – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button |
G
|
|
Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon |
G
|
|
Gus Van Sant – Milk |
–
|
|
The Big Battle For The Last Slot |
Steven Soderbergh – Che |
–
|
|
Christopher Nolan – The Dark Knight |
–
|
|
Jonathan Demme – Rachel Getting Married |
–
|
|
And The Rest |
Mike Leigh – Happy Go Lucky |
–
|
|
Stephen Daldry – The Reader |
G
|
|
Sam Mendes – Revolutionary Road |
G
|
|
Gabriele Muccino – Seven Pounds
|
–
|
|
Tags: Australia, Changling, Che, Defiance, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Happy-Go-Lucky, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Seven Pounds, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader, The Road, The Soloist, The Wrestler, W.
Posted in 20 Weeks to Oscar - Charts, Awards Watch | Comments Off on Best Director Chart
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
BEST PICTURE
|
Picture
|
Studio
|
Director
|
Stars |
|
Comment
|
The Frontrunners (in alphabetical order) |
Slumdog Millionaire |
FxSch
|
Boyle
|
Patel
Pinto
|
G
|
Still the frontrunner… but vulnerable to frontrunner syndrome |
Frost/Nixon |
U
|
Howard
|
Langella
Sheen
|
G
|
Right in the Academy wheelhouse |
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button |
Par
|
Fincher
|
Pitt
|
G
|
The massive epic… that people only kinda like |
Milk |
Focus
|
Van Sant
|
Penn
Brolin
|
–
|
Mighty… but from a not insignificant percentage, hated |
The Dark Knight |
WB
|
Nolan
|
Ledger
|
|
As the indies fade and Wall-E doesn’t fight harder… a momentum get |
Still Hunting |
Rachel Getting Married |
SPC
|
Demme
|
Hathaway
Winger
DeWitt
|
|
Another film that splits audiences, but has a lot of love… needs to bolster those who would vote it in |
Doubt |
Mir
|
Shanley
|
Streep
PS Hoffman
Davis
|
|
Still there, solid, ready for someone to slip out so it can slip in |
Wall-E |
Dix
|
Stanton
|
Garlin
|
|
It could still be a contender. How bad does Disney want it? |
Globes Only |
Revolutionary Road |
ParV
|
Mendes
|
Winslet
DiCaprio
|
|
–
|
The Reader |
TWC
|
Daldry
|
Winslet
Fiennes
|
G
|
–
|
And Still Simmering (in order of release date) |
The Visitor |
Ov
|
McCarthy
|
Jenkins
|
|
–
|
Vicky Cristina Barcelona |
TWC
|
Allen
|
Cruz
Bardem
Hall
|
|
–
|
Happy Go Lucky
|
Mir
|
Leigh
|
Hawkins
|
G
|
–
|
Australia |
Fox
|
Luhrmann
|
Kidman
Jackman
|
–
|
–
|
Gran Torino |
WB
|
Eastwood
|
Eastwood
|
–
|
–
|
The Wrestler |
FxSch
|
Aronofsky
|
Rourke
|
–
|
–
|
Seven Pounds |
Sony
|
Muccino
|
Smith
|
–
|
–
|
Che |
IFC
|
Soderbergh
|
Del Toro
|
–
|
–
|
Defiance |
ParV
|
Zwick
|
Craig
|
–
|
–
|
Tags: Australia, Changling, Che, Defiance, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Happy-Go-Lucky, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Seven Pounds, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader, The Road, The Soloist, The Wrestler, W.
Posted in 20 Weeks to Oscar - Charts, Awards Watch | Comments Off on Best Picture Chart
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
I held off writing this week’s column until after the Golden Globes nominations… and then… well… who cares?
Every year, we all beat the heck out of the HFPA members and then mine their nominations like we are going to find nuggets that matter. But we’re seeking fool’s gold… and get what we deserve.
Can HFPA help cement in a nominee here and there? Sure. But history tells us that the group’s nominations are no more influential than anyone else’s. There are just network TV lights when they give out their awards.
What really strikes me today is that it is time for someone, somewhere to start a No Awards awards show.
Would it really be so bad to have a night to celebrate the great work of a year without worrying about the detail work of who won in what category, but to actively celebrate the movies of the year?
What is there… 42 minutes in a network hour? So three hours – perhaps not all in one shot – leaving 126 minutes of time to celebrate the great movies of the year.
Do it like the BCS… “coaches” (critics) votes, seeding by way of “conferences” (genres or specific criteria, like highest grossing film of the year, top animated film, top foreign language film, top true indie), computer rankings based on Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes, etc.
Send out a man-on-the-street crew to talk to real people about why they love these movies.
Show clips that are not the standard clips everyone has seen over and over and over again.
Deconstruct one scene from each film with the director and cast.
Have some fun, celebrate what is great with a broad enough brush but a sophisticated enough palette to make it compelling for a lot of people who will be pleased to know more about movies they really like than they ever knew they wanted to know.
Wouldn’t it be fun to just celebrate the movies instead of narrowing it all down to a niche that we can argue until the end of time… or worse, not argue for very long at all?
Honestly, I am rather bored with deconstructing whether The Dark Knight or Wall-E should be nominated for this or that… or if Rachel Getting Married is too inaccessible for a bigger audience… or if Waltz With Bashir is a doc or an animation or a foreign feature… etc.
We should be celebrating them all. Che is a landmark, whether Academy members are willing to sit through 4.5 hours or if HFPAers don’t see the celebrity value. Wendy & Lucy deserves a place at the table for its own little, intimate, oddball world. And is Man on Wire really any less important… any less thrilling… than The Dark Knight?
We all love movies. So why slice and dice and parse and farce? Why not find a way to love W. and Tyler Perry and right wing docs and the overlooked films and the massive machine films that work. Can’t we love Robert Downey, Jr. without pretending that he deserves an Oscar for Tropic Thunder?
And yes, let’s include all of those Oscar nominees to be! What the heck? Let’s give them a break!
When I talk to people about this industry – people who are not lawyers or accountants – I often find myself saying that if they don’t love the work they aspire to do that they should not get into the industry to chase the benefits that come from success in that work. Of course, some get the brass ring. Others are the brass ring. But mostly, it is work… hard work… lots of hard work. What I respect is someone who gets so much out of what they do that the work is enough.
Shouldn’t we aspire to at least one moment like that during the year-end awards season? To just saying, “Yay.” To celebrating the form and all the small pieces that come together to make the whole?
That’s what I got out of the Golden Globes nods this morning… that more and more it is less and less about loving movies. And, my friends (and foes), that is why I am here.
There is no award for that… the experience is its own reward.
– David Poland
December 11, 2008
Tags: Australia, Changling, Che, Defiance, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Happy-Go-Lucky, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Seven Pounds, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader, The Road, The Soloist, The Wrestler, W.
Posted in 20 Weeks to Oscar, Awards Watch | Comments Off on 12 Weeks To Go, The No Awards Awards
Thursday, December 4th, 2008
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
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Writer(s) – Film
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Comment
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Vicky Cristina Barcelona |
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Milk |
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Rachel Getting Married |
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The Wrestler |
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Happy Go Lucky |
– |
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Seven Pounds |
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Che |
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W. |
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Changling |
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BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
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Writer(s) – Film
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Comment
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Slumdog Millionaire |
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button |
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Doubt |
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Frost/Nixon |
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The Reader |
– |
– |
Revolutionary Road |
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The Dark Knight |
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Tags: Australia, Changling, Che, Defiance, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Happy-Go-Lucky, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Seven Pounds, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader, The Road, The Soloist, The Wrestler, W.
Posted in 20 Weeks to Oscar - Charts, Awards Watch | Comments Off on Best Screenplay Chart