Your Winners for the 2014 Hollmann Awards!

No boring speeches... No big lead-ins... But still musical numbers! It's the Hollmann Awards!

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Milena Canonero
The Grand Budapest Hotel

Wes Anderson films have always been the reliable source for Costumes with a capital "c" -- the old European hotel setting allows for some old school elegance, even while staying true to the auteur's specific look.

2. Mr. Turner, 3. G.B.F., 4. The Immigrant, 5. Pride

BEST ENSEMBLE

Fiona Weir
Pride

Everyone is given their moment to shine, and there's not a weak link in the bunch -- all 468 actors nail the balance of drama and comedy, and each is recognizably human.

2. Mr. Turner, 3. Gone Girl, 4. Selma, 5. We Are the Best!

One of these winning films won more than two! Which one? Find the answer, and more awards, after the jump!

Casting Coup Tuesdays: Theatre of Blood

Vincent Price is my favorite actor.

I don't remember when I realized this, exactly, but I know it must have been around middle school. While my fourth grade teacher playing a Vincent Price-hosted clip show of classic horror on Halloween excited me, I was a Chaney, Sr. man then, and a Lugosi faithful by the end of elementary school. Somehow, though, as my adolescence began and my knowledge of film grew past 1941, Price took over.

Do you think it might have been the films? Not to sound unsophisticated or anything, but much as I admire Chaney's silent-era physicality and Lugosi's early-sound histrionics, Price got to ham it up in the colorful 60s and 70s, when bare breasts began bouncing on-screen alongside close-up gore effects and bizarre Hollywood concepts of the drug scene. His movies were campy and dark, funny and violent, sexy and...sexy?

We could talk for ages about his Wm Castle flicks (The Tingler, House on Haunted Hill), his Poe vehicles for Roger Corman (House of Usher, The Tomb of Ligeia), his work in more prestigious fare (The Song of Bernadette, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex), or his contributions to early Tim Burton ("Vincent", Edward Scissorhands). But I think any Price fan worth his or her salt knows that nothing beats his one-two punch of Dr. Anton Phibes and Edward Lionheart, the anti-heroes of 1971's The Abominable Dr. Phibes, 1972's Dr. Phibes Rises Again and 1973's Theatre of Blood. Both men seek to avenge perceived wrongs by murdering those he begrudges in the most creative ways possible. In the first Phibes, it's according to the Plagues of Egypt. In Theatre of Blood, it's the works of William Shakespeare.

It's really quite a phenomenal idea for a film: Vincent Price as a hammy Shakespearean actor who attempts suicide when the Critics' Circle Awards snub him in favor of a young Method actor. Unbeknownst to everyone else, he survives, and he plans his revenge on the nine members of the jury according to the plays he performed in his final theatrical season. And in between killings, he performs scenes from those very plays to a rapt audience of homeless drug addicts who "rescued" him from his botched drowning.

This is my favorite Vincent Price film, and I've always loved that it was his, too. Of course, it was here that he met his third wife Coral Browne, and realized his dream of performing Shakespeare on film. I am not lying or exaggerating when I say that I always just heard Hamlet's soliliquoy in legitimate film versions of the Bard's work; only with Price's recitation after losing the coveted prize did I fully "get" the import of the words, and the beauty of the writing.



Lionheart goes from a darkly comic villain to a tragic hero, a man who only wants to be recognized for his hard work and dedication, to be celebrated for pursuing his dream with such single-mindedness...and they laugh at him. These people who dare not try their hand at performing, who make their living scoffing at struggling performers and eviscerating the efforts of hard-working craftsmen, these butchers (as Edwina puts it) laugh at him. Perhaps Lionheart puts it best:



And if those two scenes aren't enough to convince you of this movie's greatness:

So awesome.

But Price isn't the only one with a great part. The critics are a colorful ensemble of pompous prigs, the policemen are the right balance of competent and befuddled, and Lionheart has a beautiful daughter (played by Diana Rigg) who may or may not be working with him. It's a film ripe with character parts, which is why I'm a little surprised no one's tried to remake it. There was a stage version a few years back, with Jim Broadbent and Rigg's daughter Rachael Stirling as the Lionhearts, but otherwise, no one else dares to touch the film. Is it the daunting task of even equaling Price's performance? The difficult tone? The logistics of rounding up an ensemble not only willing to do a slasher flick but giving said flick an air of legitimacy and class?

Perhaps. But this is Casting Coup Tuesday. We gotta try. But let's at least do it after the jump:

British Avengers: Assemble!

Today, crowds are lining up to see the all-star extravaganza promising spectacular visuals, cheesy wit and endless entertainment. Those crowds are all based in Boca Raton and similar places. That's unfortunate, for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a cinematic bonbon well worth the time of any Judi Dench/Maggie Smith fan.

Those of you who have been too swept up in pre-Avengers hoopla, or missed my Top 25 Most Anticipated, perhaps you've missed hearing about Best Exotic. Based on Deborah Moggach's These Foolish Things, the film follows a handful of elderly Brits who retire to India, enticed by the promise of an exotic paradise; as it turns out, the hotel is a run-down heirloom on the brink of foreclosure managed by well-meaning yet scatter-brained Dev Patel. Our ensemble elects to stay anyway, each for a different purpose, and for the next two hours we are treated to their individual stories of sex, death, and everything in between.

If the film has a lead, it's Judi Dench, playing the recently-widowed, newly-christened blogger who, after years living behind a husband she loved but never really understood, is ready to find herself. Watch as she goes in search of employment! Listen as she narrates with platitudinous observations on daily life! Marvel at her radiance as she girlishly enters into a romance! It's rare enough that Dench gets to display such vulnerability; that it's the most sparklingly beautiful she's ever looked on-screen is a double-treat.

On the same train are Tom Wilkinson and Bill Nighy. Wilkinson, a terrific actor who all too often is cast as the Uptight Ham Berating People While Wearing a Suit (The Ghost Writer, The Debt, Recount, The Kennedys), plays a retired lawyer who comes to India to revisit the past. It's a moving subplot anchored by Wilkinson's subtly conveyed sense of loss and love. Nighy also gets to play against type, as a married man who has fallen out of step with his wife of forever, finding himself attracted to the warmer Judi Dench.

Rounding out the cast are Celia Imrie and Ronald Pickup as two randy retirees looking for lust; Penelope Wilton as Nighy's uptight wife; and Academy Award winning superstar Maggie Smith as a kind-of racist former housekeeper forced to come to India for surgery. It's a small role, requiring Smith to do little more than do some trademark Smithisms: a tart line here, a look of disapproval there. But Smith is one of the greats, so when the film asks more of the character, she delivers: In a monologue about how she was forced into retirement; in her scared face as she first arrives; in her final scene. They are mere hints at what she's capable of.

Poor Wilton doesn't get any such opportunities. The script has decided she's a bitch, so bitch she will remain. Not that the character is pleasant to be around at all, but it's not necessary to crucify people for wanting to maintain the lifestyle they're accustomed to. In Titanic, Frances Fisher delivers a marvelous mini-speech about the importance of Rose marrying well, and while we may initially scoff at her horror of having to become a seamstress to make ends meet, the film does an admirable job of making us appreciate the humiliation and difficulty of such a drastic change. Because, really, I couldn't do it if my life depended on it, so why should I expect Ruth to? Best Exotic has no such mercy, and so Wilton is to be despised, pitied only because she can't appreciate the BEAUTY and WONDER of INDIA. After the depths explored in Wilkinson, Smith and Dench, to see a character given such two-dimensional treatment is a disappointment.

Otherwise, it's quite a good time. The art team must be commended on the titular lodgings. It's a perfect fixer-upper, full of both potential and thick dust. The IMDb does not, at present, list a costume designer, and that's a shame; between Judi Dench's frocks and Tom Wilkinson's suits, we've got a contender for Contemporary at the CDG Awards at year's end! Even Thomas Newman, whose music I find to be kind of samey, has composed an exotically hypnotic score that's distinct yet not distracting.

Overall? A delightful time, with a great performance from Dench.

Casting Coup: Casablanca

*Flashback to 2008, when I first started Casting Coup Month on my livejournal. Casablanca finished out the first week. I'm just glad I managed to come up with an international cast. Carice Van Houten is still my ideal Ilsa (besides Ingrid Bergman), but the rest of the cast is pretty good, if I say so myself.*

CASTING COUP MONTH makes its slow progress through the Oscar/AFI lists with what many call the greatest romance of all time, what AFI called the greatest screenplay of all time, and which many people prefer over The Godfather and Citizen Kane.

Casablanca (1943) follows the unfortunate Oscar rule: Your most iconic role is not your Oscar role. This was true for Humphrey Bogart, who lost Best Actor to Paul Lukas (Watch on the Rhine), but especially true for Ingrid Bergman. While she does have three Oscars to her credit, she wasn't even nominated for Casablanca; instead, the Academy nom'd her for For Whom the Bell Tolls, which she then lost to Jennifer Jones for The Song of Bernadette. And poor Claude Rains, nominated for four Oscars, a loser every time. This year, Charles Coburn won for The More the Merrier, marking an interesting event in Oscar's history. Rick, Ilsa, Louis, Sam, Major Strasser, they're all icons. Did anyone even hear of The More the Merrier before this post?

Alfred Newman (The Song of Bernadette) took home Original Score over Max Steiner, another example in which I've never heard the music of one but can hum the entire score of the other. Film Editing (Owen Marks) went to Air Force (George Amy), while Cinematography (Arthur Edeson) went to The Song of Bernadette (Arthur Miller). Despite Bernadette's domination in the technical categories, Casablanca won out in the end.

Best Screenplay (Julius J. Epstein/Philip G. Epstein/Howard Koch). Damn right.

Best Director (Michael Curtiz). Hell yeah.

Best Picture. Fuck me.

And then, of course, it was #2 on AFI's 1997 list of Greatest Films of All Time, Ever, then #3 on the 2007 list. Understandable, given the increase of respect for The Godfather. But still, I say Casablanca is the bigger crowd-pleaser. It's a love story! An exotic location! Nazis! Remade in Bollywood (but what hasn't been?), and as two television programs, in 1955 and 1983. Countless movies and TV shows have parodied and paid tribute to Casablanca. I have the action figures. It's just an amazing piece of film.

Which is why I'm afraid of the backlash that may occur. One shouldn't mess with Casablanca. But I'm going to, anyway:

YVONNE
Who is She: A woman Rick tosses aside, she's a little footloose and fancy-free, and even goes to the Cafe with a German officer. But, like most of the characters, she is better than she seems.

Originally played by: Incandescently beautiful Madeleine LeBeau


My Choice:

Sexy-and-a-half Monica Bellucci (Shoot 'Em Up, The Passion of the Christ)


SACHA
Who is He: The bartender at Rick's a witty, funny guy who also has eyes for Yvonne. He says "boom-boom-boom-boom" really fast and it's really awesome.

Originally played by: Leonid Kinskey


My Choice: The director of Gothika, believe it or not.

Mathieu Kassovitz (Amelie, Munich)


CARL
Who is He: A portly, kindly waiter at Rick's Cafe Americain, he knows Rick is a lot nicer than he appears.

Originally played by: S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall


My Choice:

Waldemar Kobus (Black Book)


SAM
Who is He: The piano player at Rick's, and--some might say--Rick's best friend. After all, Sam's been with him since Paris, and possibly before.

Originally played by: Dooley Wilson, though some drafts had Sam as a woman, to be played by Ella Fitzgerald


My Choice: A popular musician, a member of OutKast

Hollmann Award Nominee Andre Benjamin (Idlewild, Four Brothers)


UGARTE
Who is He: An Italian criminal in Casablanca, it is he who brings the letters of transit into the mix, thus setting off the whole chain of events that make Casablanca the amazing story it is.

Originally played by: BAMF Peter Lorre


My Choice: Well, he's more Spanish than Italian, but Lorre was Hungarian, so does it make a difference?

Javier Camara (Talk to Her)


SIGNOR FERRARI
Who is He: Owns The Blue Parrot, but he's also a member of the black market. He wants those letters of transit. He also wants Sam. As an employee.

Originally played by: Academy Award Nominee Sydney Greenstreet (The Maltese Falcon)


My Choice: Well, he's more German than Italian, but Greenstreet was British, so does it make a difference?

Academy Award Nominee Armin Mueller-Stahl (Shine, Eastern Promises)


MAJOR HEINRICH STRASSER
Who is He: A Nazi, therefore, the villain.

Originally played by: Conrad Veidt, who was actually a Jewish refugee running from the Nazis when filming this movie.


My Choice:

The Great Bill Nighy (Valkyrie, The Girl in the Cafe)


CAPTAIN LOUIS RENAULT
Who is He: Prefect of police, he is a scoundrel, a drinking, womanizing, quipping Frenchie full of awesomeness and amazingosity. He's my favorite character, the one who gets all the best lines:

"I'm shocked--shocked!--to find gambling going on in this establishment."
Your winnings, sir.
"Ah, thank you."

Originally played by: Academy Award Nominee Claude Rains (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Casablanca, Mr. Skeffington, Notorious)


My Choice: He's more French than Vichy-French, but Rains was British, so does it really matter?

Hollmann Award Nominee Mathieu Amalric (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Munich)


VICTOR LASZLO
Who is He: A Czechoslovakian freedom fighter who arrives in Casablanca , also in pursuit of those pesky letters of transit. A good man.

Originally played by: Paul Henreid


My Choice:

Daniel Craig (Casino Royale, Elizabeth: The Virgin Queen)


ILSA LUND
Who is She: Wife to Victor, ex-lover of Rick's, the woman's got a lot of baggage. But Lord, is she willing to do anything to get her husband to safety.

Originally played by: Academy Award Winner Ingrid Bergman (Gaslight, Anastasia, Murder on the Orient Express)


My Choice:

Carice Van Houten (Black Book, Valkyrie)


RICK BLAINE
Who is He: The owner of Rick's Cafe Americain. Rick smokes and drinks and looks like he's about two steps away from shooting himself, but he has a heart of gold. His heart's just a little broken after being tossed aside by Ilsa back in Paris. Well, now Rick is the bad-assest man in Casablanca, and indeed, in Cinema History. Only Bogey could convince us with lines like "I stick my neck out for no one" and "Here's looking at you, kid."

Originally played by: Academy Award Winner Humphrey Bogart (The African Queen)


My Choice:

Academy Award Winner Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man)

Okay, commentators. Have at. Only don't you dare disagree with Carice Van Houten.