Class of '86: No Shows, Double-Dippers, and Best Original Screenplay

We're back at the spaceship! And what an evening for no-shows, huh? The first two categories of the evening, and not only are both winners absent - this one didn't even send a proxy to accept on his behalf. And the way Shirley MacLaine handles it is...fun?

But, of course, Woody Allen is notorious for never going to the Oscars, for years claiming it interfered with his evenings playing clarinet with his Dixieland jazz band back east. In 40 years and four wins, he's only shown up once: post-9/11, presenting a tribute to New York in the movies.

We know at least three of his fellow nominees were there: actor Paul Hogan, who opened the proceedings, and not only played Crocodile Dundee but helped write the screenplay; Oliver Stone, whose Platoon lost here but went on to win big; and Oliver Stone, also up for Salvador. He's only the fourth writer to ever double-dip in this category; Preston Sturges did it in 1944, and Maurice Richlin and Stanley Shapiro did it in 1959, two of four credited contributors to both Operation Petticoat and Pillow Talk (which won!).

And as for the others? Well, let's discuss all of them, after the jump.

Class of '86: Liz and Best Director

Let me tell you, there is no one I would rather get an award from than Elizabeth Taylor. Listen to that pure joy when she announces the name of the winner!

It's a sure tonic after the camera focuses on the wrong person for a solid 20 seconds - pity the poor camera person, who I must assume did not cover Best Original Screenplay, where Stone was nominated twice! But good on Stone - his "Cinderella story" began when he wrote the screenplay in 1976, had a few false starts, no one wanted to fund it - and ended as a Time cover story, multimillion-dollar grossing box office hit, and Oscar winner!

And all he had to beat were previous winner Woody Allen, returning nominees Roland Joffé and David Lynch, and newbie (!) James Ivory. But let's get into the particulars after the jump....

Review-a-Palooza!

WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS

As incoherent and wildly over-the-top as this movie can be, I certainly loved it. Crazy Oliver Stone is great Oliver Stone, and here he's delivered an energetic, sometimes bafflingly edited (but in a good way) indictment of these times. Where Wall Street was a warning, Money Never Sleeps is a harsh reflection, and some wry observations about short-sightedness almost come with a shrug of "I told you so". Most of the monologues make their point in the first couple of sentences, then go on babbling nonsensically about some strange metaphor writers Allan Loeb and Stephen Schiff have shoe-horned in. Sylvia Miles reprises her role as a realtor. Just go with it. Have fun. Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography rocks, Craig Armstrong's score is pretty good, and the acting's great! Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Susan Sarandon, Frank Langella, Carey Mulligan, Josh Brolin: all great, all solid, all believable. Eli Wallach is a madman, but it's awesome and I dig it. It won't be for everybody, but the people who it is for will adore it.


THE AMERICAN

Beautifully shot, subtly directed, mesmerizingly acted. Director Anton Corbijn, cinematographer Martin Ruhe and star George Clooney take all the feeling of loneliness and visualize it. I don't mean just Clooney staring pensively while sitting alone, but the way in which everything is framed, the lingering on a butterfly, the hypnotic entrance of a prostitute, the solitary drives through serene vistas. It's all very beautiful, and (thank the Lord) not without purpose. I'm sure eventually I'll stop being impressed with the subtle ways Clooney humanizes his characters, but that day hasn't come yet. Violante Placido also impresses as the kind-hearted hooker (aren't they always?)...and her looks don't hurt either. What few action sequences there are are genuinely thrilling and cut together clearly! There was a time in the middle where I thought, "This is beautiful, but am I going to care after tonight?" Fortunately, the ending paid off, and I do.


DEAR JOHN

Channing Tatum does a fine job, charismatic and realistic. I like the chemistry between him and Amanda Seyfried. Terry Stacey's cinematography is nice. Otherwise? The film almost plays as a parody of such movies, it's so ridiculous. We get cancer, autism, class distinctions, 9/11, a beachside brawl, a Mysterious Past, coin collecting, a misleading opening monologue, a final scene that does not fit with anything. It's just too much. And not like a Tyler Perry movie, where its camp value is worth its weight in gold, but in a boring, "guess they missed the mark" way. Shame.


NANNY MCPHEE RETURNS

I thought it was just delightful. Never saw the first one, but this movie had me laughing and crying continuously. You can wait for the DVD, but I do recommend picking it up.  My all-time favorite actress, Maggie Smith, has a seemingly trivial role that becomes important as the film progresses, and her last scene absolutely broke my heart. And hey, Maggie Gyllenhaal's English accent is quite convincing! Emma Thompson, of course, is perfection, and Rhys Ifans almost carries off with the film. Great fun!

Dead Presidents

Very successful purchase day at Best Buy. I took pics (because I am a proud papa), but it was with my cell and the ceiling light had to be on. Apologies in advance for out-of-focus shots and glares.



The box, pre-opening. So happy am I to have this at last.




Annnnnd that's what it looks like when you open it.




Two DVD's, a book, an envelope, and a folder. Sweet.




Two-disc JFK, starring Kevin Costner, Kevin Bacon, and Tommy Lee Jones in his Oscar-nominated role as Clay Shaw.




The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings. Noice.




JFK book, featuring behind-the-scenes photos from the production.




Example: Gary Oldman as Lee Harvey Oswald.




Sweet pics that came in an envelope. Clockwise from Top Left: Kevin Costner as Jim Garrison, Gary Oldman as Lee Harvey Oswald, Donald Sutherland as X, Tommy Lee Jones as Clay Bertram, Walter Matthau, the chick who plays Oswald's wife.




The reverse of each pic: photo of actual people that inspires their respective characters, plus bios. Which is, you know, great.




Folder with presidential seal.




In the folder: pics on the left, documents on the right.




Seven photos that came in the folder. There's at least twenty of these. It's awesome.




Also in folder: correspondence to and from Kennedy himself.




Also, two-disc Nixon. I feel so accomplished.

Have You Never Been Impeached?

My life is full of planned projects that may or may not yield results. I suppose most everyone's is, but let's take some time to focus on me, shall we? Besides the film school stuff (two docs, an F2, an F3, thesis), besides the new drafts I should write (two), besides the screenplays I have in mind (three right now, and one beginning to work its way into an idea), there's one project in particular that I'm gravitating towards.

Hint: It's nothing to do with movies.

Hint 2: Okay, it does, but only insofar as adapting one goes.

Hint 3: Song and dance.

YesyesYES!

Yes, it is my dream to jump on the bandwagon and write a musical based upon a film. Now, friends and I have discussed this before. Will the success of the new Priscilla, Queen of the Desert musical inspire me to begin To Wong Foo: The Musical? Is it time to transfer Bullets Over Broadway to the stage? Should Ben and I finally get to work on Henry Fielding's Tom Jones, featuring songs made popular by Tom Jones? Eh, maybe.

But the one that really intrigues me. The one that gets my brain a-going. The one that makes me go, "YES! It is time!"

Oh, hell yes. So far, we have stage adaptations of cult classics, Razzie winners, and The Wedding Singer, but why oh why has no one written a musical based on a biopic yet? It just means combining two amazing things. Look, Broadway loves musical bios (The Sound of Music) as much as it loves a good movie musical (not the MGM kind). Hell, they love Nixon.

Tony AND Oscar noms? Frost/Nixon, you slut!

So all three elements are in place. They are tried and true formulas. This is just the next logical step. And you know who would agree? Richard Nixon. Don't believe me? See for yourself:

Aw yeah.

What is Nixon if not a theatre piece filmed for the cinemas? The acting, the music, the set design, the lighting, all of it screams "STAGE ME!" Even Oliver Stone decided to approach it as a Shakespearean melodrama. The beats are there; all one needs is to set the sequences to music, throw in a dance number...

Wait, it's already there? Now that's just eerie...

The only question is this: shall it be a musical or an opera? Because as a musical, it could be quite a diversion, even a treat. But as an opera with music by Philip Glass? Whew. The mind reels.

Although I did once have the idea of just basing some songs after ones that have already met with public approval:

"A place where nobody dared to go
The scandal we came to know
They call it Watergate..."

Too much?

What about you? Sound like a plan? What biopic would you like to see done as a musical, and how?

It's Here! It's Finally Here!

It happened. After about nine months or so of anticipation, worry, second thoughts -- it's here. Oliver Stone's W. has arrived at the cinema.

And what a movie it is. Much like Nixon, it confuses the word "fair-minded" with "crying, pitiable protagonist." But fuck me, Nixon was great. And I have to say, I loved W. Not the same way I love the Nicolas Cage version of The Wicker Man, either. This is love Speed Racer style.

Yeah, the first quarter is a little shaky. Like Nixon. The cutting back-and-forth chronologically does not always work. But once Laura (a perfect Elizabeth Banks) steps into the ring, the movie finally finds its footing runs with it. We get a fascinating study of a cool guy who was put in a position he was not ready for. And it works. It's just absolutely incredible the way Oliver Stone and Stanley Weiser have crafted this thing. For a story told too soon, it feels just right.

Josh Brolin is incredible. He does Bush just enough to avoid caricature, or a mere imitation. He gives us a Man, not a Character. We want to shoot the shit with him. We sympathize with his daddy issues. We like the guy, we care about him. Yet at the same time, we shake our heads at his arrogance, his ignorance, his -- dare I say it? -- stupidity. It's pretty powerful, I must say.

Okay, so maybe it was fair-minded. But if so, only to the few. Brolin's Bush is awesome, Banks' Laura is sweet, James Cromwell's Poppy is well-defined (if not always engagingly portrayed), Ellen Burstyn's Barbara is lovable (for me, at least), and Jeffrey Wright's Colin Powell is, well, the tits -- the only voice of reason, the sole soul. The rest of the gang -- Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove -- are either hand-wringing Bond villains or just plain "out-of-touch with reality." In these respective roles, Richard Dreyfuss, Scott Glenn, and Toby Jones are, respectively, kick-ass, decent, and thumbs-up.

I'll tell you who isn't, though: Thandie Newton. Why does she get cast in movies? Why do people want to throw praise and awards on her? There must be something about her on-set manner that fools directors into thinking she's giving good performances. Her hammy Condi Rice impression is barely worthy of a MadTV sketch, much less a political drama. Sure, it's satire, and there are a few winks thrown here and there, but holy shit, did no one think to reign her in? Does Thandie Newton have a wrangler? Were Tracie Thoms, Anika Noni Rose, Sophie Okonedo, even Halle Berry -- were they all too busy? Good God, Stone, don't give me a great movie then force me to watch Miss Community Theatre almost single-handedly disembowel all the quality in the room.

Whew. Anyway. Newton notwithstanding, W. is great. Weiser's screenplay is spot-on, Stone's direction is superb, the score is beautiful, the actors fantastic. It's not for everyone. Mom, Grandparents, some aunts and uncles, and at least one of my sisters would not like it. Even some democrats I know probably wouldn't like it. For me, this is one of the best movies of the year. ***3/4

OMG W. TEASER TRAILER!

It. Looks. CLASSIC.

The Awesome Fall of Mr. Stone

In W. news, two roles were cast, one of them quite recently.

Scott Glenn


is playing Donald Rumsfeld


instead of Tommy Lee Jones


as previously reported.


Oh, and do you want to know who's going to play Vice President Dick Cheney? Shit, I know you do.




will be played by


RICHARD DREYFUSS!

Ho.
Ly.
Shit.

Make a Joyful Noise

Wow. I can't believe that's Josh Brolin. Or George W. Bush. Still, I don't see a speck of JB in here. Amazing.

On the other hand, Elizabeth Banks looks like Laura Bush. Sexier, of course, but not by much. Mrs. Bush is, after all, a fox.

Oh, W., why are you making me wait for you?