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An article on how digital effects have created a ‘virtual backlot’ (via Digg)
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Category: News
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Alida Valli RIP
Alida Valli, the female lead in The Third Man has died aged 84. Although she never became the international star that some thought she would, her performance in Carol Reed’s 1949 classic is still worth revisiting.
> BBC News with more details
> Alida Valli at the IMDb
> Wikipedia entry for Alida Valli
> Wikipedia entry for The Third Man
> Buy The Third Man on DVD from Amazon UK
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United 93 Trailer and Website
The website for United 93 – the Paul Greengrass directed film about United Airlines Flight 93 that was formerly known as Flight 93 – seems to have gotten an extensive update, which also features a new trailer. It will be the first major motion picture to deal explicitly with the events of 9/11.
The teaser trailer was eerie and the new trailer seems to suggest that the film will be well made and sensitive. Greengrass demonstrated with both Bloody Sunday and The Bourne Supremacy that he is a director who can tackle a difficult political subject whilst also crafting an intelligent mainstream thriller. He would seem to be an excellent choice to direct this film.
In just over a month (April 28th) it will open at US cinemas (it opens in the UK on Sept 1st). Will it be accused of insensitivity to the victims? Will right wing bloggers attack it as liberal Hollywood rewriting history? Will left wing commentators accuse it of not providing enough context on the events since 9/11?
Watching the trailer is disturbing. Although the events have been covered many times in numerous news programmes and documentaries, there is something quite different about seeing it as part of a motion picture. In a strange way it feels more ‘real’ than the news images we are now so familiar with.
I’m sure that in the next few weeks there will be more discussion about this film but in the meantime do leave some comments about the trailer and any thoughts you might have about this and the other 9/11 film out this year – Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center. Is it too early for these films to come out? Or will they be sensible meditations on a recent historical event?
> United 93 Official Site
> Watch the trailer
> Official Site for World Trade Center
> The September 11 Digital Archive
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New X-Men 3 Trailer
A new X-Men 3 trailer has been released. And it actually looks pretty good.
> View the trailer at Apple
> Wikipedia entry for X-Men 3
> IMDb entry for the film
So Crash won Best Picture. It seems some members of the Academy did know how to quit Brokeback Mountain after all. It’s a shame as Ang Lee’s film (along with all the other Best Picture nominees) were superior to the LA set racial drama. But just how often do the Oscars ever award the best film “Best Picture”? It is a surprisingly rare occurrence. The only one’s I can think of in recent memory were The Return of the King, American Beauty and Schindler’s List. And let’s not forget that recent Best Picture winners have included Chicago, Braveheart and Driving Miss Daisy. Maybe in the long run Brokeback Mountain will be more admired because it didn’t win, in the same way we now look back fondly at Goodfellas (beaten by Dances with Wolves in 1990) and Raging Bull (beaten by Ordinary People in 1980). But never mind.
Some other random thoughts:
- How on earth did Memoirs of a Geisha win so many technical awards?
- Jon Stewart was actually OK as a host despite some rocky moments of blankness from the Hollywood throng. The pre-prepared Daily Show-style segments were excellent but I think Stewart struggled to modify his style to a very different environment.
- The whole ceremony seemed a lot better paced than in years gone by.
- There was little sign of any tedious “This is Hollywood” dance routines. Thank God.
- The main reason Crash won was the flood of Lionsgate DVDs
- I think Flags of Our Fathers will win Best Picture next year.
Anyway, here are some post-Oscar links for you to peruse:
> David Poland dissects the Oscars at The Hot Button
> Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood Daily posts her ‘I told you so’ piece on the Crash upset (she predicted a Crash upset quite a while ago)
> Kenneth Turan of the LA Times is pissed that Crash won
> Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere is upset too
> The hilarious "Gay Cowboy Montage" from last night’s show over at YouTube
> The Guardian review the night in quotes
> Kristopher Tapley at Movie City News reviews the evening
> Defamer do a roundup of the Oscar live blogs
> Jackie Finlay from BBC News on who said what backstage
> Andy Denhart of MSNBC with a slightly unfair assessment of Jon Stewart as Oscar host
> USA Today on what we never saw on TV
> Jocelyn Noveck of the AP asks if there was a Brokeback Backlash
> Roger Ebert reports from the Oscars
> David Carr on the LA aspect to the Crash win
> Lynn Elber of the AP on the TV ratings drop for the Oscar telecast
> Wikipedia’s incredibly detailed entry on what happened at the 78th Academy Awards
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The Oscar Winners in full
Best Picture
Crash
Best Director
Ang Lee – Brokeback Mountain
Best Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Capote
Best Actress
Reese Witherspoon – Walk the Line
Best Supporting Actor
George Clooney – Syriana
Best Supporting Actress
Rachel Weisz – The Constant Gardener
Best Animated Feature Film
Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Best Foreign Language Film
Tsotsi (South Africa)
Best Original Screenplay
Crash
Best Adapted Screenplay
Brokeback Mountain
Best Documentary Feature
March of the Penguins
Best Cinematography
Memoirs of a Geisha
Best Visual Effects
King Kong
Best Art Direction
Memoirs of a Geisha
Best Film Editing
Crash
Best Sound Mixing
King Kong
Sound Editing
King Kong
Best Music (Song)
It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp – Hustle and Flow
Best Music (Score)
Brokeback Mountain
Best Costume Design
Memoirs of a Geisha
Best Make-up
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Best Short Film
Six Shooter
Best Animated Short Film
The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation
Best Documentary Short Subject
A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin
Lifetime Achievement Award
Robert Altman
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The Oscars – Live
Times are all GMT
00.20
The red carpet stuff has started. Paul Giamatti and Tim Burton have just been interviewed. And now Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams. The ABC red carpet crew are getting through these quick.
00.31
Joel Siegel on the red carpet has just reminded ABC viewers that Philip Seymour Hoffman once promised his college room mate that he would bark if he ever won the Oscar for Best Actor. I cannot wait to see if he does.
00.58
The ceremony is about to begin. The big question has to be: how many gaw cowboy jokes is Jon Stewart going to squeeze into his opening monologue?
01.06
Amusing opening TV montage with previous Oscar presenters turning this year’s job down. I think Jon Stewart will be funny. I don’t see him doing a Letterman.
01.07
First obligatory shot of Jack Nicholson grinning with his shades on.
01.10
First Dick Cheney gag of the evening. Bjork (she of the Ostrich like dress in 2000) couldn’t be here tonight because the Vice-President shot her. Nice.
1.20
George Clooney wins Best Supporting Actor for Syriana. The one prediction I was worried about but George came good!
1.28
King Kong wins for Best Visual Effects. And rightly so. The film is a landmark in visual SFX.
1.32
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit wins Best Animated Feature. Nick Park and his co-director Steve Box are wearing some rather large bow ties and have just put some miniture ones on their golden statuettes.
01.42
Best Live Action Short Film has gone to Six Shooter, directed by Martin McDonagh (no, I haven’t seen it either)
01.47
Best Animated Short Film has been won by The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation. Another one I have yet to see.
01.50
Memoirs of a Geisha wins it’s first technical award of the evening as it scoops Best Costume Design.
01.59
Best Makeup goes to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
02.01
Host Jon Stewart points to the big Oscar statue behind him and asks if democracy in Hollywood would flourish if they all pulled it down.
02.35
Sorry for the delay – I needed a cup of tea. Whilst I was away Rachel Weisz won Best Supporting Actress for The Constant Gardener. Go Rachel. It is 2 out of 2 in my predictions for the main categories. The documentary awards went to A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin for Best Documentary Short Subject and March of the Penguins won Best Documentary, which saw the rather bizarre sight of French filmmakers invading the stage with toy penguins.
03.01
Best Art Direction goes to Memoirs of a Geisha (ahead of King Kong?!) whilst Brokeback Mountain gets its first Oscar of the evening as a surprised looking Gustavo Santaolalla wins Best Original Score for his evocative work on Ang Lee’s film.
03.28
Best Sound Mixing has gone to King Kong (I had a feeling Walk the Line might have sneaked it but it’s well deserved).
Meanwhile Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin gave a rather tortuous introduction to Robert Altman for his Lifetime Achievement Award in we learnt that he had a heart transplant a few years ago.
Best Music (Song) goes to Three 6 Mafia for "It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from Hustle and Flow which is annoying as I thought it would win a few days ago but changed my mind. After Eminem’s win a couple of years ago it seems the Academy is getting down with the kids when it comes to music.
03.41
Best gag of the evening so far from Jon Stewart: "For those of you keeping score at home. Three 6 Mafia – 1 Oscar. Martin Scorcese – no Oscars".
03.45
Another technical award goes to King Kong as it wins Best Sound Editing.
Best Foreign Language Film goes to Tsotsi (South Africa) and it’s director was quite emotional.
Best Film Editing goes to Crash and editor Hughes Winborne almost walked off the stage before remebering he had a quick speech to give.
03.47
The great (and I mean great) Philip Seymour Hoffman wins Best Actor for Capote. But he didn’t bark. Pity.
03.56
Memoirs of a Geisha wins Best Cinematography. Can someone please explain how this won over The New World and Brokeback Mountain?
04.00
Reese Witherspoon deservedly wins Best Actress for Walk the Line. She seems somewhat overwhelmed by it all. She was emotional but there was no sign of any Paltrow-style waterworks.
04.15
It’s the screenplays now. Diana Ossana and Larry McMurty win Best Adapted Screenplay for Brokeback Mountain. Highly expected but richly deserved. Larry even saluted the "culture of the book". Which was nice.
Best Original Screenplay goes to Paul Haggis and Bobby Maresco for Crash. Another highly expected win. But wasn’t Paul nervous?
04.21
Ang Lee wins Best Director for Brokeback Mountain. But we all knew he was going to didn’t we? The real question is whether Crash can sneak Best Picture…
04.24
Best Picture goes to Crash. I didn’t think it would do it but all the last minute vibes from various observers proved correct.
04.44
Well, that’s it for another year. The big stories from a British perspective were Rachel Weisz and Wallace and Gromit winning, the major story of the evening was Crash winning Best Picture. Some predicted it and they were right. One interesting aspect for Oscar geeks was the fact that a different film won in each of the six major categories. I can’t remember the last time that happened. Anyway, I’m off to bed as I’m tired and the Vanity Fair party is too far away for me to walk ๐
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Oscar Countdown Part 4
Only a day to go and the Brokeback Mountain spoofs are still going strong. I’ve been tempted to change a couple of my predictions but I’m going to leave them as they are. A voice is my head keeps saying Paul Giamatti is going to win instead of George Clooney but I’m doing my best to ignore it.
Anyway, here are some more links on the eve of the big night.
> The Angry Alien team have done a 30 second version of Brokeback Mountain with bunnies
> Jeff Wells has a sneaky feeling that Crash could cause a Best Picture upset despite being an ardent fan of Brokeback Mountain
> Jackie Finlay of BBC News speaks to Wallace and Gromit creators Nick Park and Steve Box about their Oscar expectations
> Defamer go into last minute Oscar overdrive
> The AP’s special Oscar section
> Leonard Klady with some interesting Oscar observations at Movie City News
> Predict the winners at Oscarwatch
> Truthdig interviews David Thompson on the Oscars (he’s right about Crash by the way)
> Blogpulse takes a look at the contenders for Best Actor and Best Actress
> Check the latest Oscar odds at Oddschecker
> David Carr of the New York Times makes his final Oscar predictions
> Print out a ballot courtesy of the official Oscars site
One of the interesting things about this year’s Oscar race is the high standard of the films nominated. Compared to last year, the standard is much higher. The three films that dominated last year (Million Dollar Baby, The Aviator & Ray) were good but I don’t think anyone in their right mind would declare them masterpieces (although some American critics did think the Clint Eastwood tearjerker was just that). Sideways was clearly the best film but, as so often with Oscar, suffered from the "best film rarely wins” syndrome. But this year is different. Nearly all the five nominees for Best Picture are worthy of the Oscar.
Let’s take a look at each one before analysing the individual categories:
Brokeback Mountain – Ang Lee’s beautifully made drama has been the awards favourite this year and there are several reasons why. Its highly likely that the taboo breaking gay love story has helped it become an ‘issue film’ – the kind that Oscar loves – and boost its box office. But with all the media chatter of a ‘gay cowboy’ film it’s easy to forget the numerous qualities of this remarkable film: Heath Ledger’s unexpectedly brilliant performance and some strong supporting turns from Michelle Williams and Jake Gyllenhaal; Roderigo Prieto’s wonderful cinematography; Gustavo Santaolalla’s superb minimalist score; the impressive adaptation by Larry McMurty and Diana Ossana from Annie Proulx’s short story and Ang Lee’s masterful direction. The film has also penetrated pop culture to the point where it is difficult to keep up with the spoof posters and trailers circulating on the Internet.
Capote – Although a lot the attention for this film has been devoted to Philip Seymour Hoffman’s stunning central performance as Truman Capote, this depiction of the writing of In Cold Blood is a fascinating study of a writer as a literary vampire as he uses his sources to create a non-fiction masterpiece. From top to bottom, it is hard to find a fault with Bennet Miller’s film: the acting is uniformly excellent, the late 50s and early 60s are evoked remarkably well within a limited budget and the central themes of the film are a rich source for debate and reflection.
Good Night, and Good Luck – At just over 90 minutes long, George Clooney’s second film as a director maybe short but it is perfectly formed. In some ways it represents the awards season with its political edge complemented by an artful construction. David Straithern’s depiction of CBS newsman Ed Murrow is eerily good and Robert Elswit’s cinematography brilliantly evoked the creation of a 50s TV show. The story has a narrow focus that not everyone maybe familiar with but Clooney deserves a lot of credit in using his Hollywood clout (aka promising Warner Brothers Oceans Thirteen) in making a film like this.
Munich – Despite the (often unfair) criticism and controversy that surrounded Spielberg’s revenge drama, it is still a terrific piece of work – an intelligent (if largely fictionalised) examination of Israel’s revenge policy after the Munich Massacre in 1972. A few months back it looked a strong contender for multiple nominations but a succession of mistakes damaged its chances. Spielberg’s decision to not do press for the film and then give an exclusive interview to Time magazine alienated some sections of the media and when the vacuum was filled by a lot of empty but loud rants about the perceived politics of the film it was always going to be labelled as ‘problematic’ despite the largely positive reviews it got in the US (British critics were predictably sniffy about Spielberg taking on such a heavy and loaded subject). It’s nominations for Best Picture and Best Director seem to be a result of Universal’s heavy ad spending in the run up to the nominations rather than any great love for it amongst the Academy’s voters.
Crash – This intelligent but heavy-handed look at racism in LA is the only one of the five Best Picture nominations that I have some reservations about. Although parts of it are undeniably powerful, it has too many rough edges to be considered worthy of Best Picture. There are many things in it I like a great deal: Mark Isham’s atmospheric score; Matt Dillon’s performance as a racist cop; the cinematography by James Muro and Dana Gonzales. But, the way in which the central issue of race is handled is often clumsy and too dry. Characters say things as though writer-director Paul Haggis has copy and pasted them from an anti-racism leaflet. At the same time the patchwork plot is structurally impressive, so I have mixed feelings. It is a good film, but not a great one and I’d certainly place A History of Violence or Walk the Line above it. There is a certainly a feeling amongst some observers that Crash could cause a major upset and win Best Picture but I still don’t see that happening.
Two films that were overlooked for Best Picture (Walk the Line and The Constant Gardener) could also score some important wins (Reese Witherspoon and Rachel Weisz could both win in their respective categories). They are superior to Crash in many ways, but maybe they lacked the x-factor that endears a film to Oscar voters. With that in mind here are my predictions for the major categories, followed by who I think should win.
BEST PICTURE
Winner: Brokeback Mountain
What should win: Brokeback Mountain
It’s the film of the moment, and has broken through a lot of barriers since it won Best Picture at the Venice Film Festival last September. It is the clear favourite to win Best Picture although Crash has probably closed the gap in the final weeks of voting. An upset isn’t completely inconceivable but I can’t see it happening. Ang Lee’s film has dominated the awards season and I don’t see that changing on Sunday night. Let’s not forget Brokeback Mountain is also an outstanding film, marginally better than Munich, Capote and Good Night, and Good Luck.
BEST DIRECTOR
Who will win: Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain
Who should win: Ang Lee
A foregone conclusion. I simply cannot see anything other than an Ang Lee win. He has already won the DGA award – a reliable indicator of who wins the golden statuette.
BEST ACTOR
Who will win: Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote
Who should win: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Early on in the race I thought Heath Ledger would emerge as favourite but I think Philip Seymour Hoffman has this one in the bag. His performance is outstanding and arguably the most ‘showy’ of all the 5 nominated which probably means it stuck in the minds of voters more than the others.
BEST ACTRESS
Who will win: Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line
Who should win: Reese Witherspoon
The main rival here for Witherspoon is Felicity Huffman for her excellent portrayal of a pre-op transsexual in Transamerica. But Witherspoon is the strong favourite – she won at the Golden Globes and the SAGs and gives a dazzling performance in the Johnny Cash biopic as June Carter Cash. Judi Dench (Mrs. Henderson Presents), Keira Knightley (Pride & Prejudice) and Charlize Theron (North Country) are not in the race.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Who will win: George Clooney for Syriana (just)
Who should win: George Clooney
The hardest category to predict. Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man) is neck and neck with George. Giamatti was stupidly overlooked last year for his brilliant performance in Sideways and maybe he’s getting the sympathy vote here. That said Cinderella Man suffered by being released in the summer and bombing at the box office and I have a feeling Clooney is going to get rewarded for his Oscar worthy work in both Syriana and Good Night, and Good Luck. There is a theory that Matt Dillon (Crash) could benefit from a split vote. Even Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain) could figure after his BAFTA win but I still think Clooney has to be the favourite. But only just.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Who will win: Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener (just)
Who should win: Rachel Weisz
I felt for a long time that this was a two horse race between Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener) and Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain). My gut feeling is for Rachel Weisz. But there are two others who could win. I have a nagging feeling Catherine Keener could sneak a win for her small but perfect turn in Capote, whilst Amy Adams (Junebug) could be a good outside bet. Frances McDormand looks out of it, although she was fine in North Country. I’m still not 100% on this but my gut feeling is for Weisz. She didn’t win at the BAFTAs but for some reason was nominated in the Best Actress category there. But in the Best Supporting category I think Weisz should win.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
What will win: Crash by Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco
What should win: Good Night, and Good Luck by George Clooney and Grant Heslov
A tough call, but Crash has to be the favourite here. It might not get Best Picture but it ticks all the boxes for a screenplay award: it addresses a contemporary issue on LA’s doorstep; there are a lot of juicy moral lessons in it and there are moments of great power. However, if there is an upset Good Night, and Good Luck, shouldn’t be completely ruled out.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
What will win: Brokeback Mountain by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurty
What should win: The Constant Gardener by Jeffrey Caine
Another tough one to call. I’m split between Brokeback Mountain and The Constant Gardener. Both are terrific screenplays but I think Diana Ossana and Larry McMurty will win, especially if Brokeback Mountain starts cleaning up although Jeffrey Caine’s adaptation of The Constant Gardener is perhaps the (slightly) greater achievement.
OTHER PREDICTIONS
Best Animated Feature
Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Best Documentary
March of the Penguins
Best Cinematography
Memoirs of a Geisha (although Brokeback Mountain and Good Night, and Good Luck would be more worthy winners)
Best Score
Brokeback Mountain
Best Song
"Travelin Thru" from Transamerica.
Best Editing
Crash
Sound Editing
King Kong
Visual Effects
King Kong
Sound Mixing
Walk the Line
What do you think? Your comments are always welcome.
> The Offical Oscars site
> Wikipedia with all the nominations
> IMDb Special Section for this year’s Oscars
> Oddschecker with all the latest Oscar odds
> The Stinkers and The Razzies – ‘Alternative’ Oscars celebrating the worst films of 2005
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Oscar Countdown Part 3
Some Jon Stewart heavy Oscar links including Slate’s guide to watching the event and Wikipedia’s highly impressive entry on this year’s awards. I’ll put some predictions up later today.
> How to watch the Oscars – Slate
> Slate’s photo gallery of past Oscar winners
> Arianna Huffington pens a memo to Oscar host Jon Stewart
> The Hollywood Reporter interviews Jon Stewart
> A weird attempt at humour from the New York Times on Sunday’s host
> Yahoo News on the ongoing fuss over Paradise Now
> Tiscali’s guide to the Oscars
> BBC News on bookies slashing the odds for Crash (I’d still be amazed if it wins)
> David Carr pledges his allegiance to the Crash bandwagon
> Movie City News ‘Gurus of Gold’ prediction chart
> Wikipedia’s entry for the 78th Academy Awards (a fantastic guide to the nominees)
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Oscar Countdown Part 2
Some more Oscar links for your perusal. I’m off to celebrate as its my birthday today.
> Empire weigh in with their Oscar predictions
> AP Film Writers Expect a ‘Brokeback’ Night – Yahoo! News
> Crash leads the Oscar pack in …swearing? (Does anyone give a f**k?)
> Brokeback Spoofs – New York Times
> David Carr – Rant, The Musical (NY Times blogger David Carr on the things he hates about the Oscars)
> Claim jumpers – Variety (or “Suits fly over Crash credits”)
> I’d Like Not To Thank The Academy – Forbes.com
> Short Ends: ‘The Island’ Finally Wins An Award – Defamer (not strictly Oscar but amusing)
> Blogpulse gauges Oscar predictions in the blogosphere (they also have posts on the race for Best Director and Best Foreign film)
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Oscar Countdown Part 1
If you hadn’t already noticed, the Oscars are this Sunday and each day up until the event I’m going to put up some relevant links as well some predictions and thoughts.
> BBC News with some excellent in depth Oscar coverage
> Roger Ebert’s Oscar predictions (Roger is backing Crash for Best Picture)
> Ray Richmond of The Hollywood Report on why we should watch the Oscars
> The last ‘Gurus of Gold’ prediction chart over at Movie City News
> The Guardian report on the close of the polls
> Yahoo News full coverage of the Oscars
> Cinematical’s Oscar Watch section
> Get all the latest Oscar gossip at Defamer
Super Hero Hype has posted an image of what looks to be an early teaser image for Spider-Man 3. The official site is saying it’s a black suit, but why am I sceptical? My theory: the filmmakers are trying to keep fans guessing about the whole Spidey/Venom angle. (Link via AICN)
> The image at Super Hero Hype
> Official Spider-Man 3 Site
> Wikipedia entry for Spider-Man 3
> More info on Venom at Marvel
> Kirsten Dunst’s comments on who will play Venom whilst promoting Elizabethtown
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Howard Stern Film Festival
The US radio presenter Howard Stern has launched his own film festival. In Demand Networks has announced that budding filmmakers can submit short films (they need to be 5 minutes or less) and entries will be accepted until April 11. There are cash prizes for the top three films and they will air on Howard TV On Demand in the US. The winning film will get $15,000 prize money. (Link via Yahoo News/AP)
> Details on how to enter at Howard Stern On Demand
> MSNBC with more on the story
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The Road to Luton Airport
The release of Michael Winterbottom’s new film The Road to Guantanamo – a drama documentary about the Tipton Three – took an interesting twist today when it was revealed that four actors from the film were held at Luton Airport under the Terrorism Act after returning from the Berlin Film Festival. (Links courtesy of Boing Boing)
The film premieres in the UK on Channel 4 on March 9th.
> BBC News on the story and the planned multi-platform release of the film
> The Guardian has more details
> Deborah Young of Variety reviews the film
> IndieWIRE reports on Winterbottom and co-director Mat Whitecross winning the Silver Bear for best direction in Berlin
> Images of the winners at the Berlin Film Festival (scroll down to see Winterbottom and Whitecross)
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BAFTA Winners
Here is the full list of BAFTA winners.
Best film
Brokeback Mountain
Best British film
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit
Best actor in a leading role
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Capote
Best actress in a leading role
Reese Witherspoon – Walk The Line
Best actor in a supporting role
Jake Gyllenhaal – Brokeback Mountain
Best actress in a supporting role
Thandie Newton – Crash
Original screenplay
Crash – Paul Haggis/Bobby Moresco
Adapted screenplay
Brokeback Mountain – Larry McMurtry/Diana Ossana
The David Lean Award for achievement in direction
Ang Lee – Brokeback Mountain
The Carl Foreman Award for special achievement by a British Director/Producer or Writer in their first feature film
Joe Wright (Director) – Pride & Prejudice
Best film not in the English language
De Battre Mon Coeur S’est Arrete
The Anthony Asquith Award for achievement in film music
Memoirs of a Geisha – John Williams
Cinematography
Memoirs of a Geisha
Editing
The Constant Gardener
Production design
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Costume design
Memoirs of a Geisha
Sound
Walk the Line
Achievement in special visual effects
King Kong
Make Up and Hair
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Short animation film
Fallen Art
Short Film
Antonio’s Breakfast
Academy Fellowship
David Puttnam
The Michael Balcon Award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema
Robert (Chuck) Finch and Bill Merrell
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BAFTA Predictions
The BAFTAs are tonight and here are my predictions for the main categories.
Best Film
Brokeback Mountain
Best British Film
The Constant Gardener
Best Actor in a leading role
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Capote
Best Actress in a leading role
Rachel Weisz – The Constant Gardener
Best Actor in a supporting role
George Clooney – Syriana
Best actress in a supporting role:
Michelle Williams – Brokeback Mountain (but Thandie Newton could sneak a win for Crash)
> BAFTA nominations in full
> BBC News on the contenders
> The Observer on David Puttnam’s Academy Fellowship award
> Check the latest odds for the main categories
A longer trailer for A Scanner Darkly is now online. Richard Linklater’s much anticipated (by me anyway) adaptation of Philip K Dick’s novel looks like it could be something really special.
> Long trailer (Quicktime needed)
> Official Site at WIP (there is no direct link so click on "Upcoming Releases")
> IMDB link for A Scanner Darkly
> Philipkdick.com on the new adaptation (features some behind the scenes pics)
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Eva Green is the new Bond girl
It would seem the protracted search to find the Bond girl for Casino Royale is finally over.
Steve Gorman of Reuters reports that Eva Green will play Vesper Lynd opposite Daniel Craig in his first outing as 007. Green’s breakthrough performance was in Bertolucci’s The Dreamers in 2003 and she was also in Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven last year. With Paul Haggis writing the script, Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter, Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen as villain Le Chiffre and now Green cast, I’m intrigued as to how this one is going to turn out.
> Eva Green at the IMDb
> Bond fansite MI6.co.uk on the casting
> Sony’s official site for Casino Royale
> Wikipedia’s rather impressive entry for Casino Royale
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Film Four on Freeview
For viewers in the UK, the news today that Film Four is coming on to Freeview can only be a good thing.
> Media Guardian on the story
> Discussion about the move on Digital Spy
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Oscar Nominations
BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MUNICH
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Philip Seymour Hoffman – CAPOTE
Terrence Howard – HUSTLE & FLOW
Heath Ledger – BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Joaquin Phoenix – WALK THE LINE
David Strathairn – GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
George Clooney – SYRIANA
Matt Dillon – CRASH
Paul Giamatti – CINDERELLA MAN
Jake Gyllenhaal – BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
William Hurt – A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Judi Dench – MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS
Felicity Huffman – TRANSAMERICA
Keira Knightley – PRIDE & PREJUDICE
Charlize Theron – NORTH COUNTRY
Reese Witherspoon – WALK THE LINE
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams – JUNEBUG
Catherine Keener – CAPOTE
Frances Mcdormand – NORTH COUNTRY
Rachel Weisz – THE CONSTANT GARDENER
Michelle Williams – BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE
TIM BURTON’S CORPSE BRIDE
WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT
ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE
KING KONG
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
PRIDE & PREJUDICE
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
BATMAN BEGINS
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
THE NEW WORLD
ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTSPRIDE & PREJUDICE
WALK THE LINE
ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MUNICH
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
DARWIN‘S NIGHTMARE
ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS
MURDERBALL
STREET FIGHT
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
THE DEATH OF KEVIN CARTER: CASUALTY OF THE BANG BANG CLUB
GOD SLEEPS IN RWANDA
THE MUSHROOM CLUB
A NOTE OF TRIUMPH: THE GOLDEN AGE OF NORMAN CORWIN
ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
CINDERELLA MAN
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
CRASH
MUNICH
WALK THE LINE
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
DON’T TELL
JOYEUX NOEL
PARADISE NOW
SOPHIE SCHOLL – THE FINAL DAYS
TSOTSI
ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
CINDERELLA MAN
STAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES
(ORIGINAL SCORE)
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
MUNICH
PRIDE & PREJUDICE
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES
(ORIGINAL SONG)
"In The Deep" – CRASH
"It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp" – HUSTLE & FLOW
"Travelin’ Thru" – TRANSAMERICA
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
BADGERED
THE MOON AND THE SON: AN IMAGINED CONVERSATION
THE MYSTERIOUS GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORATIONS OF JASPER MORELLO
9
ONE MAN BAND
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
AUSREISSER (THE RUNAWAY)
CASHBACK
THE LAST FARM
OUR TIME IS UP
SIX SHOOTER
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
KING KONG
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
WAR OF THE WORLDS
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
KING KONG
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
WALK THE LINE
WAR OF THE WORLDS
ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
KING KONG
WAR OF THE WORLDS
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
MUNICH
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MATCH POINT
THE SQUID AND THE WHALE
SYRIANA
Categories
Tom Rothman talks about X-Men 3
Tom Rothman – the big cheese at 20th Century Fox – made some interesting comments about X-Men 3 whilst at the premiere of Big Momma’s House 2. The Movie Reporter grabbed an interview that you can see here. (Link courtesty of Empire via Movie City News).
MORE DETAIL
> Watch interview in Quicktime or Windows Media
> Official Site for X-Men 3
> IMDb Entry
> Watch the trailer
Categories
Spielberg and Kushner defend Munich
This Friday, Steven Spielberg’s latest film opens in the UK and both he and his screenwriter have recently defended the film against a barrage of criticism.
Munich is a dramatisation of the Israeli attempt to avenge the brutal massacre of members of the Israeli Olympic team at the 1972 Olympics. Based in part on ‘Vengeance’ a 1984 book by Canadian journalist George Jonas, the film depicts the moral questions the Israeli assassination team face when they have to track down and kill Palestinians linked to the Munich killings.
Initially, Spielberg’s approach in publicising the film was decidedly low key. Apart from an exclusive interview with Time he seemed determined for the film to ‘speak for itself’. But in this day and age if you let a vacuum develop around a film dealing with a controversial issue, it soon fills up with opinions from all sides.
As might be expected, a slew of critics lined up to attack the film: David Brooks attacked the film in the New York Times claiming that Spielberg had got ‘reality wrong’; Leon Wieseltier of The New Republic accused the film of ‘the sin of equivalence’; from the other side of the political divide, Abu Daoud (one of the surviving members of Black September) has lambasted the film for focusing on the ‘Zionist side alone’; one right wing blogger was so disgusted she declared that she didn’t want to waste her money on it; even George Jonas has criticised the film for violating the spirit of his book.
However, Spielberg and Kushner – one of his two credited screenwriters – have finally started to respond to these criticisms. In a recent interview with German weekly Der Spielgel Spielberg has hit back at his critics, saying:
"These critics are acting as if we were all missing a moral compass. Of course it is a horrible, abominable crime when people are taken hostage and killed like in Munich. But it does not excuse the act when you ask what the motives of the perpetrators were and show that they were also individuals with families and a history…. Understanding does not mean forgiving. Understanding does not mean being soft, it is a courageous and strong stance."
Tony Kushner has also penned a defence of the film in the LA Times:
“I think it’s the refusal of the film to reduce the Mideast controversy, and the problematics of terrorism and counterterrorism, to sound bites and spin that has brought forth charges of "moral equivalence" from people whose politics are best served by simple morality tales. We live in the Shock and Awe Era, in which instant strike-back and blow-for-blow aggression often trump the laborious process of analysis, investigation and diplomacy. "Munich‘s" questioning spirit is an affront to armchair warrior columnists who understand power only as firepower. We’re at war, and the job of artists in wartime, they seem to feel, is to provide the kind of characters and situations that are staples of propaganda: cleanly representative of Good or Evil, and obedient to the Message.”
Criticisms of the film, from both sides of the political spectrum, seem likely to rumble on as it is released in Israel and Germany this week. I will post a full review of the film later in the week.
Munich is released nationwide this Friday.
USEFUL LINKS
> Watch the trailer
> Tony Kushner discusses the film and the controversy surrounding it with NPR
> The Observer’s veteran correspondent Neal Ascherson discusses the film
> Michelle Goldberg in Der Spiegel reports on the criticisms of the film
> Time magazine’s (then) exclusive interview with Spielberg (via The Hot Blog)
Categories
BAFTA Nominations Announced
The BAFTA nominations came out today and although there is one glaring exception (thanks to a DVD screener screw up with ‘Munich’) the line up of films nominated by BAFTA this year is particularly strong.
The ceremony is on Sunday 19th February at the Odeon Leicester Square in London and I fancy The Constant Gardener to be the front runner although Brokeback Mountain seems to be the Oscar favourite.
BAFTA NOMINATIONS IN FULL
FILM
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN – Diana Ossana/James Schamus
CAPOTE – Caroline Baron/William Vince/Michael Ohoven
THE CONSTANT GARDENER – Simon Channing Williams
CRASH – Credits TBC
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK – Grant Heslov
THE ALEXANDER KORDA AWARD for the Outstanding British Film of the Year
A COCK & BULL STORY – Andrew Eaton/Michael Winterbottom/Martin Hardy
THE CONSTANT GARDENER – Simon Channing Williams/Fernando Meirelles/Jeffrey Caine
FESTIVAL – Christopher Young/Annie Griffin
PRIDE & PREJUDICE – Tim Bevan/Eric Fellner/Paul Webster/Joe Wright/Deborah Moggach
WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT – Peter Lord/David Sproxton/Nick Park/
Steve Box/Mark Burton/Bob Baker
THE CARL FOREMAN AWARD for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer in their First Feature Film
DAVID BELTON (Producer) – Shooting Dogs
PETER FUDAKOWSKI (Producer) – Tsotsi
ANNIE GRIFFIN (Director/Writer) – Festival
RICHARD HAWKINS (Director) – Everything
JOE WRIGHT (Director) – Pride & Prejudice
THE DAVID LEAN AWARD for Achievement in Direction
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN – Ang Lee
CAPOTE – Bennett Miller
THE CONSTANT GARDENER – Fernando Meirelles
CRASH – Paul Haggis
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK – George Clooney
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
CINDERELLA MAN – Cliff Hollingsworth/Akiva Goldsman
CRASH – Paul Haggis/Bobby Moresco
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK – George Clooney/Grant Heslov
HOTEL RWANDA – Keir Pearson/Terry George
MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS – Martin Sherman
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN – Larry McMurtry/Diana Ossana
CAPOTE – Dan Futterman
THE CONSTANT GARDENER – Jeffrey Caine
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE – Josh Olson
PRIDE & PREJUDICE – Deborah Moggach
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
DE BATTRE MON COEUR S’EST ARRÊT๏ฟฝ (The Beat That My Heart Skipped) – Pascal Caucheteux/Jacques Audiard
LE GRAND VOYAGE – Humbert Balsan/Ismaël Ferroukhi
KUNG FU HUSTLE – Stephen Chow/Chui Po Chu/Jeff Lau
JOYEUX NOËL (Merry Christmas) – Christophe Rossignon/Christian Carion
TSOTSI – Peter Fudakowski/Gavin Hood
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
DAVID STRATHAIRN – Good Night, And Good Luck
HEATH LEDGER – Brokeback Mountain
JOAQUIN PHOENIX – Walk the Line
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN – Capote
RALPH FIENNES – The Constant Gardener
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
CHARLIZE THERON – North Country
JUDI DENCH – Mrs. Henderson Presents
RACHEL WEISZ – The Constant Gardener
REESE WITHERSPOON – Walk the Line
ZIYI ZHANG – Memoirs of a Geisha
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
DON CHEADLE – Crash
GEORGE CLOONEY – Good Night, And Good Luck
GEORGE CLOONEY – Syriana
JAKE GYLLENHAAL – Brokeback Mountain
MATT DILLON – Crash
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
BRENDA BLETHYN – Pride & Prejudice
CATHERINE KEENER – Capote
FRANCES McDORMAND – North Country
MICHELLE WILLIAMS – Brokeback Mountain
THANDIE NEWTON – Crash
THE ANTHONY ASQUITH AWARD for Achievement in Film Music
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN – Gustavo Santaolalla
THE CONSTANT GARDENER – Alberto Iglesias
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA – John Williams
MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS – George Fenton
WALK THE LINE – T Bone Burnett
CINEMATOGRAPHY
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN – Rodrigo Prieto
THE CONSTANT GARDENER – C๏ฟฝsar Charlone
CRASH – J Michael Muro
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS – Laurent Chalet/Jerôme Maison
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA – Dion Beebe
EDITING
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN – Geraldine Peroni/Dylan Tichenor
THE CONSTANT GARDENER – Claire Simpson
CRASH – Hughes Winborne
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK – Stephen Mirrione
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS – Sabine Emiliani
PRODUCTION DESIGN
BATMAN BEGINS – Nathan Crowley
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY – Alex McDowell
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE – Stuart Craig
KING KONG – Grant Major
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA – John Myhre
COSTUME DESIGN
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY – Gabriella Pescucci
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE – Isis Mussenden
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA – Colleen Atwood
MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS – Sandy Powell
PRIDE & PREJUDICE – Jacqueline Durran
SOUND
BATMAN BEGINS – David G Evans/Stefan Henrix/Peter Lindsay
THE CONSTANT GARDENER – Joakim Sundström/Stuart Wilson
CRASH – Richard Van Dyke/Sandy Gendler
KING KONG – Hammond Peek/Christopher Boyes/Mike Hopkins/ Ethan Van der Ryn
WALK THE LINE – Paul Massey/D M Hemphill/Peter F Kurland/Donald Sylvester
ACHIEVEMENT IN SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
BATMAN BEGINS – Janek Sirrs/Dan Glass/Chris Corbould
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY – Nick Davis/Jon Thum/Chas Jarrett/Joss Williams
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE – Dean Wright/Bill Westenhofer/Jim Berney/Scott Farrar
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE – Jim Mitchell/John Richardson
KING KONG – Joe Letteri/Christian Rivers/Brian Van’t Hul/Richard Taylor
MAKE UP & HAIR
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY – Peter Owen/Ivana Primorac
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE – Howard Berger/Gregory Nicotero/Nikki Gooley
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE – Nick Dudman/Amanda Knight/Eithne Fennell
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA – Noriko Watanabe/Kate Biscoe/Lyndell Quiyou/Kelvin R Trahan
PRIDE & PREJUDICE – Fae Hammond
SHORT ANIMATION FILM
FALLEN ART – Jarek Sawko/Piotr Sikora/Tomek Baginski
FILM NOIR – Osbert Parker
KAMIYA’S CORRESPONDENCE – Sumito Sakakibara
THE MYSTERIOUS GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORATIONS OF JASPER MORELLO – Anthony Lucas/Julia Lucas/Mark Shirrefs
RABBIT – Run Wrake
SHORT FILM
ANTONIO’S BREAKFAST – Howard Stogdon/Amber Templemore-Finlayson/Daniel Mulloy
CALL REGISTER – Kit Hawkins/Adam Tudhope/Ed Roe
HEAVY METAL DRUMMER – Amanda Boyle/Luke Morris/Toby MacDonald
HEYDAR, AN AFGHAN IN TEHRAN – Homayoun Assadian/Babak Jalali
LUCKY – Bex Hopkins/Avie Luthra
MORE DETAIL
> Official BAFTA site
> BBC News on the nominations
> Reuters with their take on the films nominated
Just over 3 years since his last film came out, one of Hollywood’s finest writer/directors looks like he is finally getting back behind the camera. Anne Thompson in The Hollywood Reporter says:
"Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson is in advanced talks to produce and direct "There Will Be Blood," starring Daniel Day-Lewis as a turn-of-the-century Texas oil prospector in the early days of the oil business. The sprawling period piece, which Anderson has spent several years writing, is loosely adapted from Upton Sinclair’s 1927 novel ‘Oil!’"
It seems that the project – which will be jointly financed and distributed by Paramount Classics and Miramax Films – has come about, in part, because John Lesher (President of the Paramount speciality division) used to be Anderson’s agent. Although the the title sounds like the tagline to Saw 2 I am delighted that PTA is finally making another film. Punch-Drunk Love was terrific and Magnolia and Boogie Nights are two of the best films to come out of Hollywood in the last 10 years.
MORE DETAIL
> Anne Thompson has all the details in The Hollywood Reporter
> Quint at Aint It Cool News is delighted
> IMDb Entry
Categories
Golden Globe Winners
Here is a list of the film winners at the 63rd Golden Globes…
Best Picture, Drama: "Brokeback Mountain"
Best Actress, Drama: Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica"
Best Actor, Drama: Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote"
Best Picture, Musical or Comedy: "Walk the Line"
Best Actress, Musical or Comedy: Reese Witherspoon, "Walk the Line"
Best Actor, Musical or Comedy: Joaquin Phoenix, "Walk the Line"
Best Supporting Actress: Rachel Weisz, "The Constant Gardener"
Best Supporting Actor: George Clooney, "Syriana"
Best Director: Ang Lee, "Brokeback Mountain"
Best Screenplay: Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, "Brokeback Mountain"
Best Foreign Language Film: "Paradise Now," Palestine
Best Original Score: John Williams, "Memoirs of a Geisha"
Best Original Song: "A Love That Will Never Grow Old" from "Brokeback Mountain"
Some thoughts: Brokeback Mountain still seems to be the strong Oscar front runner for Best Picture and Best Director, although the acting categories seem a bit more interesting. It is good to see Phoenix and Witherspoon recognised for their sterling work in Walk The Line and I think they will both be strong candidates come Oscar time. However, it is worth remembering that the Globes (especially with the Drama / Comedy or Musical split) often throw up misleading signals.
My gut feelings (at the moment anyway) for the major categories at the Oscars are:
> Best Picture: Brokeback Mountain
> Best Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman or Heath Ledger
> Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon
> Best Director: Ang Lee
> Best Supporting Actor: George Clooney
> Best Supporting Actress: Rachel Weisz
On Sunday, March 5th you can see just how wrong I was! ๐
What do you think? Your thoughts and comments are more than welcome…
MORE DETAIL
> Check out all the winners (including TV) at the official Golden Globes site
> Some "vignettes" from the show courtesy of Yahoo News and the AP
> Discuss the winners (and losers) at The Hot Blog
Categories
More on King Kong
King Kong opens today in the UK and here are some interesting links on the film to celebrate the release of one of the year’s best films.
> Composer Howard Shore left the project late on, so his replacement James Newton Howard had a tight schedule to keep to – SoundtrackNet has a great article on how it was all done.
> Worth1000 has some amusing photoshops of King Kong (my favourites are "Primates of the Caribbean" and the Kong iPod)
> Get King Kong showtimes for your local cinema
> Get the latest Kong news from KongIsKing.net
> Some video of "The Making of Kong" (via vfxblog)
> Get the latest reviews of the film on Metacritic
If you have seen it then do leave a comment on what you thought of it.
Categories
Golden Globe nominations announced
The Golden Globe nominations have been announced and includes some surprises. Although they have been discredited in recent years they can be a useful marker for what films will win at the Oscars. But this year the Globes seem to be all over the shop. David Poland over at The Hot Blog thinks its a mess. I think he may be right – just look at the disparity between the nominees for Best Drama and Best Director category. What to draw from all of this? Steve Pond of the LA Times reminds us that there are years when the Globe nominations differ considerably from the Oscars. Brokeback Mountain with its nominations across 7 categories looks like an early favourite but I still feel Munich and King Kong have some considerable awards steam left in them. But a lot can happen over the next couple of months…
Anyway here are the nominations in full:
Best motion picture – Drama
Brokeback Mountain
The Constant Gardener
A History of Violence
Match Point
Good Night, and Good Luck
Best performance by an actress in a motion picture – Drama
Maria Bello – A History of Violence
Felicity Huffman – Transamerica
Gwyneth Paltrow – Proof
Charlize Theron – North Country
Ziyi Zhang – Memoirs of a Geisha
Best performance by an actor in a motion picture – Drama
Russell Crowe – Cinderella Man
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Capote
Terrence Howard – Hustle and Flow
Heath Ledger – Brokeback Mountain
David Strathairn – Good Night and Good Luck
Best motion picture – Musical Or Comedy
Mrs Henderson Presents
Pride & Prejudice
The Producers
The Squid and the Whale
Walk the Line
Best performance by an actress in a motion picture – Musical or Comedy
Judi Dench – Mrs Henderson Presents
Keira Knightley – Pride & Prejudice
Laura Linney – The Squid and the Whale
Sarah Jessica Parker – The Family Stone
Reese Witherspoon – Walk the Line
Best performance by an actor in a motion picture – Musical Or Comedy
Pierce Brosnan – The Matador
Jeff Daniels – The Squid and the Whale
Johnny Depp – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Nathan Lane – The Producers
Cillian Murphy – Breakfast on Pluto
Joaquin Phoenix – Walk the Line
Best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a motion picture
Scarlett Johansson – Match Point
Shirley MacLaine – In Her Shoes
Frances McDormand – North Country
Rachel Weisz – The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams – Brokeback Mountain
Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a motion picture
George Clooney – Syriana
Matt Dillon – Crash
Will Ferrell – The Producers
Paul Giamatti – Cinderella Man
Bob Hoskins – Mrs Henderson Presents
Best director – Motion Picture
Woody Allen – Match Point
George Clooney – Good Night and Good Luck
Peter Jackson – King Kong
Steven Spielberg – Munich
Ang Lee – Brokeback Mountain
Fernando Meirelles – The Constant Gardener
Best foreign language film
Kung Fu Hustle (China)
Master of Crimson Armor (China)
Merry Christmas (France)
Tsotsi (South Africa)
Paradise Now (Palestine)
Best original score – Motion Picture
Syriana
King Kong
Brokeback Mountain
The Chronicles of Narnia
Memoirs of a Geisha
Best television series – Drama
Commander and Chief
Lost
Grey’s Anatomy
Prison Break
Rome
Best performance by an actress in a television series – Drama
Patricia Arquette – Medium
Glenn Close – The Shield
Geena Davis – Commander and Chief
Kyra Sedgewick – The Closer
Polly Walker – Rome
Best performance by an actor in a television series – Drama
Patrick Dempsey – Grey’s Anatomy
Matthew Fox – Lost
Wentworth Miller – Prison Break
Hugh Laurie – House
Keifer Sutherland – 24
Best television series – Musical Or Comedy
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Desperate Housewives
Entourage
Everybody Hates Chris
My Name is Earl
Weeds
Best performance by an actress in a television series – Musical Or Comedy
Marcia Cross – Desperate Housewives
Terry Hatcher – Desperate Housewives
Felicity Huffman – Desperate Housewives
Eva Longoria – Desperate Housewives
Mary Louise Parker – Weeds
Best performance by an actor in a television series – Musical Or Comedy
Zach Braff – Scrubs
Steve Carrell – The Office
Larry David – Curb Your Enthusiasm
Jason Lee – My Name is Earl
Charlie Sheen – Two-and-a-Half Men
Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Woody Allen – Match Point
George Clooney and Grant Heslove – Good Night, and Good Luck
Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco – Crash
Tony Kushner and Eric Roth – Munich
Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana – Brokeback Mountain
Best original song – Motion Picture
A Love that will Never Grow Old – Brokeback Mountain
Christmas in Love – Christmas in Love
There’s Nothing Like A Show on Broadway – The Producers
Travelin’ Thru – Transamerica
Wunderkind – The Chronicles of Narnia
Best original score – Motion Picture
Alexandre Desplat – Syriana
James Newton Howard – King Kong
Gustavo Santaolalla – Brokeback Mountain
Harry Gregson – The Chronicles of Narnia
John Williams – Memoirs of a Geisha
Best mini-series or motion picture made for television
Empire Falls
Into the West
Lackawanna Blues
Sleeper Cell
Viva Blackpool
Warm Springs
Best performance by an actress in a mini-series or motion picture made for television
Halle Berry – Their Eyes Were Watching Me
Kelly MacDonald – The Girl in the Cafe
S Epatha Merkerson – Lackawanna Blues
Cynthia Nixon – Warm Springs
Mira Sorvino – Human Trafficking
Best performance by an actor in a mini-series or motion picture made for television
Kenneth Branagh – Warm Springs
Ed Harris – Empire Falls
Jonathan Rhys Meyers – Elvis
Bill Nighy – The Girl in the caf๏ฟฝ
Donald Sutherland – Human Trafficking
Best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a series, mini-series or motion picture made for television
Candice Bergen – Boston Legal
Camryn Manheim – Elvis
Sandra Oh – Grey’s Anatomy
Elizabeth Perkins – Weeds
Joanne Woodward – Empire Falls
Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a series, mini-series or motion picture made for television
Naveen Andrews – Lost
Paul Newman – Empire Falls
Jeremy Piven – Entourage
Randy Quaid – Elvis
Donald Sutherland – Commander in Chief
Cecil B DeMille award
Sir Anthony Hopkins
MORE DETAIL
> The Official Nominations site of the HFPA – the organisation that dishes out the Globes
> An AP story (via CNN) that ran a couple of years ago highlighting the criticisms of the Globes & the HFPA
> Wikipedia on the Golden Globes
Choosing a “greatest film of all time” is nearly always a tricky – and perhaps impossible – task but Total Film’s nomination of Goodfellas is interesting. It avoids the perenial favourite (Citizen Kane), the popular choice (Star Wars) and the IMDb favourites (The Godfather and The Shawshank Redemption). As often with these lists though, it is the patterns that are interesting and not the “winner”. The inclusion of Magnolia, Sideways and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in the top 100 were entries that caught my eye as recent classics that could have been overlooked but weren’t.
MORE DETAIL
> Total Film on their list
> The IMDb Top 250
> Sight and Sound’s ‘Greatest’ Film Polls
> Twofifty.org – Web application that allows you to manage which of the IMDb’s top 250 films you have seen
Categories
London Film Festival 2005
The London Film Festival starts today and for those aiming to go and see something here are some films I’m looking forward to seeing.
A Cock and Bull Story: How do you film an unfilmable novel like Lawrence Sterne’s ‘The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy‘? Director Michael Winterbottom is incredibly versatile and despite the disappointment of 9 Songs this could be very good, especially with Steve Coogan in the title role.
Good Night, and Good Luck: George Clooney’s second outing as a director looks at the the real-life conflict in the 1950s between television anchorman Edward R Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy. Shot in black and white and making veiled references to today’s US media this closes the festival and looks like it could well feature in the end of year award nominations.
Hidden: Another Cannes favourite, Michael Haneke’s latest stars Juliette Binoche and Daniel Auteuil as a couple who’s comfortable life is disrupted by anonymous videotapes of their lives sent through the mail. Haneke’s last film (Time of the Wolf) was disappointing but this promises to something much more substantial.
L’enfant: This year’s Palme D’or winner at Cannes from The Dardenne brothers’ is a story of a young couple struggling with a baby in Liege. Looks like it could be a gritty delight.
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang: Remember Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout? They both came from the pen of Shane Black who makes his directorial debut with this thriller pairing Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer. Could be fun.
March of the Penguins: This documentary about the migration of emperor penguins in Antartica was an unexpected hit this summer in the US. Narrated by Morgan Freeman it looks like it could have similar success over here.
Separate Lies: After winning an Oscar with Gosford Park, Julian Fellowes makes his directorial debut with this drama starring Tom Wilkinson and Emily Watson. Based on the novel by Nigel Balchin it looks like an intriguingly serious turn for Fellowes.
The Brothers Grimm: The fact that Miramax have kept this on the shelf for so long doesn’t bode well, but any new film by Terry Gilliam is worth checking out. Here Matt Damon and Heath Ledger play the eponymous brothers attempting to rid the Napoleonic countryside of monsters and demons.
The Constant Gardener: The festival curtain raiser has already attracted rave reviews Stateside. It will be very interesting to see Fernando Meirelles’ take on John Le Carre’s novel of murder and intrigue in Kenya after his last outing in 2002, the stunning City of God.
The Proposition: John Hillcoat’s Australian western, written by Nick Cave. Yes, thatNick Cave. It has to be worth seeing for that alone and the fact that it stars Guy Pearce and Danny Houston.
Walk the Line: Any bio-pic of Johnny Cash would be worth seeing out of sheer curiousity value but Joaquin Phoenix has already garnered strong word of mouth for his portrayal of the ‘Man in black’ and James Mangold is an intelligent director. Reese Witherspoon co-stars as one of his wives.
I’ll post some reviews and reactions as the festival goes on. It ends on November 3rd.
MORE DETAIL
> Official site – Packed with information on films, events and how to book tickets.
> The festival’s Artistic Director Sandra Hebron speaks to The Times
> A selection of directors with films at the festival choose their picks in The Guardian
> Doug Bolton questions the point of the festival, again in The Guardian
Categories
Happy Birthday IMDb
One of the web’s most useful sites turns 15 today. It is hard to think it has been around that long…
MORE DETAIL
> IMDb’s history of itself
> IMDb staff with their picks from the last 15 years
> Wikipedia entry on IMDb
> JoBlo wishes them a happy birthday
Instead of picking a top 10 list this year, I’ve decided to simply select the films that have impressed me the most this year. So instead of 10 we have 12. Why exclude or include films just to get a neat 10? Also, a quick note for overseas readers – I’m based in the UK so the list refers to films that were released here in 2004.
Anyway, here are my top 12 films of 2004: