OK, so I'm a little late due to The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. So you know where I am: The Jonas Brothers just played off Pete Docter for winning Animated Feature -- Up, obviously. According to Awards Daily, I missed Action Movie (Avatar), Best Supporting Actress (Mo'Nique in Precious, of course) and Best Ensemble (Inglourious Basterds).
Annnnnnd they just did an Orphan/The Lovely Bones skit. That sucked.
Josh Duhamel and Kristen Bell presenting Young Actor/Actress. Ah, plastic surgery jokes. Can we teach presenters to segue smoothly from joke to presenting. Let's see, Jae Head (sucks), Max Records (win it!), Bailee Madison (didn't see), Saoirse Ronan (didn't see), Kodi Smit-McPhee (didn't see). And....oh, Saoirse won. Cool. I mean, she's got an Oscar nom, but this is neat. I like her accent. She does a great American one, too. She's going to be a very beautiful woman.
Ah, JOHN KRASINSKI! With Amy Poehler, too. Dressed in tribute to John Hughes...but shouldn't this be Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall? Or, in a perfect world, Long Duk Dong. Some awkward cuts with the Breakfast Club joke -- Tarantino a princess? Man, is this a great montage, though. Oh, hey, Alec and Kevin! Why didn't they present? And ending with Sixteen Candles, one of the best movies ever. And now Death Cab for Cutie singing "Don't You Forget About Me". This is...odd. I'm sure everyone in there appreciates what's going on, but the whole execution is making me feel awkward. Actually, this isn't a bad cover. Ahhh, I'll allow it.
9:51PM:
The beautiful Emily Blunt is looking beautiful. I love hearing her speak. I guess she's supporting Supporting Actor. Nice tribute to Wizard of Oz, though I do not completely care for the film. Nominees: Matt Damon for Invictus (best part of the movie), Woody Harrelson for The Messenger (need to see), Christian McKay for Me and Orson Welles (missed this when it played here, btu he looks mah-velous), Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones (seeing it tomorrow), Alfred Molina in An Education (the best here so far), Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds (will win). And the award goes to Waltz, naturally.
I like the beard. Nice speech about Choices, tee-hee. Bit flowery for a Critics Choice award, but I like it.
I love Kristen Chenoweth, but this awfully embarrassing. Somebody stop this. Please put her out of her misery.
Sarah Silverman and Adam Lambert presenting....Best Comedy. Colorful joke, neat dig at the media's obsession with sexual orientation. "I love to scissor with dudes, get over it, America!" Adam's out of his depth. At the Critics Choice. Nommies: The Hangover (fun), (500) Days (winnah), It's Complicated (chah-ming!), The Proposal (nyet), Zombieland (what a great effing movie, sure to become a classic). The winner: THE HANGOVER! I am surprised. Don't they all look fancy?
The Jonas Brothers. Hm.
10:05 PM
Haha, Kristin almost makes up for that las awful skit. Zac Efron and Zoe Saldana presenting Original Song. Zefron needs to stop taking these things so seriously. I really want to see Crazy Heart. "The Weary Kind" won, too! Now an extra reason to see it: it won a BFCA award! Ryan Bingham is a dashing chap. T Bone Burnett resembles James Cameron.
Abbie Cornish and a bearded Jason Bateman presenting for Documentary. What movie is that for? Poor Abbie has been undeservedly forgotten at every precursor. No wonder she looks so unhappy. The Cove won, naturally. Haha, the director is totally awesome! I'm sorry I missed his movie!
The ad people for Nine are promoting the shit out of it, aren't they? "Please see this! Please please please!"
10:15 PM
This helium joke really works! That's hilarious! A'ight, that works!
This future joke works in places. Like that they're really tearing through these next awards (but not). Avatar won a huge bounty. A montage. How nice. Kristin Chenoweth delivering fart jokes? No thanks. So, we've skipped all the way to Adapted and Original Screenplay awards. Zachary Quinto and Claire Danes presenting. Quinto's better at this than she is.
Adapted noms: Fantastic Mr. Fox, District 9, Precious, A Single Man, An Education, Up in the Air. Seen all of them. Up in the Air wins? Yes it does! Jason Reitman goes up to accept for him and Sheldon Turner. Most heartfelt speech here.
Original noms: The Hurt Locker, A Serious Man, (500) Days of Summer, Up, Inglourious Basterds. Tarantino wins, naturally! The Jonas Brothers are really selling it.
10:29 PM
OK, New Moon joke. Let's see how this goes. The idea is funny, but...who is writing these damn skits? I love the revolving door of her outfits.
Meryl Streep! Honorign Kevin Bacon one of my favorite actors of all time. And what, he was the first BFCA Best Actor award-winner? How did I miss this? He should have, at the very least, an Oscar nom or three by now. He is one of the most reliable character actors in the business. And sixdegrees.org is a charitable website! How amazing! Of course you knew Joel Siegel, Kevin, you awesome, wonderful man. I've done Six Degrees to Kevin Bacon starting with my Great-Uncle Johnny. Johnny's sister-in-law Anna was in the same theatre as Vincent Price, who was in The Raven with Jack Nicholson, who was in A Few Good Men with Kevin Bacon.. Newman's Own as the inspiration for Kevin Bacon's good deeds is phenomenal. Snazzy outfit.
SAM JACKSON IN VELVET LIFE MADE TEN TIMES BETTER! Snakes on a Plane reference, to! Why is this so awesome! Best Director noms: Clint Eastwood (boo), James Cameron (yay!), Lee Daniels (ehh), Jason Reitman (yay!), Kathryn Bigelow (yay!), Quentin Tarantino (yay!). Bigelow gets it! The critics have spoken! Kath is Queen of the Critics! And what applause! Lord, what a beautiful woman! Oh, no...don't cry. It's the BFCA. Humble and beautiful. She rocks so much, nice honoring Boal, Renner, and the service-people of America.
I just realized it's only Nick Jonas and...what, the E Street Band?
10:45 PM
What, now the speaker lady is messing up?
Ah, Vera Farmiga! So excellent in Up in the Air, so lovely to watch. Presenting Best Actor. If she can give it to George Clooney, how cute would that be? I like her when she riffs. George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Viggo Mortensen, Colin Firth, Morgan Freeman, Jeremy Renner nom'd. I do see Bridges getting it. And it goes to Jeff Bridges. When is that movie coming out here? Oh, shit, a standing ovation. That's how you know it's real. Bridges just had a nice cover, accidentally thanking Chris Cooper (co-star in Seabiscuit) instead of Scott Cooper (the director/writer). Bridges is so cool. I bet anyone who's his friend feels great.
10:55 PM
Aww, when Kristen is off-the-cuff, it works! Can we forever let her improv?
Bradley Cooper presenting Actress? Oh. Kay. Nommies: Sandra Bullock, Meryl, Saoirse Ronan, Carey Mulligan, Gabby Sidibe, Emily Blunt. Meryl will win, though, right? Her Julia Child is exquisite. And the award goes to.......ANOTHER TIE? Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia (she also co-won last year for Doubt). Ooh, are they really gonna wait for her speech before announcing the other one?
I love Meryl speeches. She always seems genuinely surprised and excited. Meryl loves: acting, working, food, and sex. Her words, not mine. What a sexy bitch. No, that's not respectful. What a sexy lady. Why doesn't she host something? Great shout-out to her great co-star Stanley Tucci.
The other goes to...Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side. Fine, OK, great. Not angry. She was good.
OPEN-MOUTHED SNOG BETWEEN MERYL AND SANDRA! SECOND LIFE-MAKING MOMENT!
Great speech. You know what? I wouldn't be angry if she won the Oscar. I wouldn't be angry if any of these actresses won. That's the greatness of this year. The actressing is at an all-time high.
11:08 PM
And here we are. Susan Sarandon, that scarlet siren with her kitty-kat purr, is presenting Best Picture. Ten noms here, as always, but this year, it's like the Oscars! Avatar, Inglourious Basterds, A Serious Man, Nine, The Hurt Locker, An Education, Up in the Air, Precious, Up, Invictus. I suspect The Hurt Locker will take this. Great presentation of the nominees, BTW.
And I am right. Look how happy Cameron looks. Another standing ovation. Great stuff. Mark Boal, writer, accepts the award. Long speech, but nice. He thinks this may be his only shot at this.
Well, that was a show. Wish I hadn't missed Mo'Nique's win. Globes are Sunday, so that should be funner. Can't wait!
Friday, January 15, 2010
The Incredibility of It All!
I finally caught up with the rest of the world and saw Avatar the other night, in glorious IMAX 3D. I had read great reviews and so-so ones. I had friends that hated it, friends that admired it but wouldn't see it again, and friends that loved it but hated the dialogue. So there we are, ready to see Daybreakers, when one of friends turns to me and says, "Walter. Avatar." She, too, hadn't seen it, and before I knew it, there were five of us with our 3D glasses and New Moon Collectible Large Cups, ready for either the style over substance, or the eyeball-fucking extravaganza I had been promised.
Yes, the eyeballs get fucked. Pandora is gorgeous, awe-inspiring. I got goosebumps several times. The Na'vi who live on Pandora are so realistically-rendered, I could have sworn they were people in prosthetic makeup. (Well, maybe not Sigourney Weaver's avatar, but the rest looked pretty damned good.) It's seamless and beautiful. The floating mountains took my breath away. The flying banshees -- my GOD the flying banshees!
And yes, we all expected that, but what of the story? Is it not just the live-action Ferngully, the three-hour Pocahontas?
Lemme tell you two things. Number One: There is nothing new under the sun. The only reason for people to crucify Avatar for using familiar themes and arcs is, in my opinion, wanting to bring it down. Because even after high school, everyone wants the popular kids to fail. Number Two: If Avatar does resemble these things, it's only in the most superficial way possible. Avatar is its own thing entirely. How one even dreams up Pandora and Jake Sully and Neytiri is beyond me, but it is original.
The performances are pure pulp, which can be attributed to the cheesy dialogue James Cameron writes. Lord knows his actors sell it, though. Sam Worthington still needs to work on that accent -- he slips back into Australian near the end -- but he's a good actor. I look forward to his future achievements, for while he is a passable leading man here, there are still moments that need work. Sigourney Weaver's ball-bustin' scientist is terrifically funny, while also the conscience of the film.
Stephen Lang's villain, ho-boy, is deliciously, charmingly awful, a sadistically intelligent war lord. Lang savors every gnash this role requires, yet I still kind of liked him in the beginning. He's a man who knows his job and genuinely believes in what he's doing. It's evil, sure, but at least you can see the sincerity. Zoe Saldana's heroine, the Na'vi princess Neytiri, is soulful and penetrating. A mo-cap performance this good has yet to be seen, and it's miraculosu when you realize it's all her. You love her, you're with her 100 percent. It's a game-changing performance, one that does more for the new technology than the landscape of Pandora.
I loved the movie, I really did. I don't know if it's better than Titanic -- for, rest assured, I am a huge supporter of that film's Best Picture Oscar -- but it's damn close. This is going to sound hyperbolic and melodramatic, but I am an emotional person. When my friend turned to me and asked, "What did you think?"
...I wept. I truly wept at the end credits. For the beauty and majesty of it all. It is entertaining while also emotionally resonant. It captures the imagination. It proves that anything is possible in this medium. This is, in many ways, the perfect film.
Yes, the eyeballs get fucked. Pandora is gorgeous, awe-inspiring. I got goosebumps several times. The Na'vi who live on Pandora are so realistically-rendered, I could have sworn they were people in prosthetic makeup. (Well, maybe not Sigourney Weaver's avatar, but the rest looked pretty damned good.) It's seamless and beautiful. The floating mountains took my breath away. The flying banshees -- my GOD the flying banshees!
And yes, we all expected that, but what of the story? Is it not just the live-action Ferngully, the three-hour Pocahontas?
Lemme tell you two things. Number One: There is nothing new under the sun. The only reason for people to crucify Avatar for using familiar themes and arcs is, in my opinion, wanting to bring it down. Because even after high school, everyone wants the popular kids to fail. Number Two: If Avatar does resemble these things, it's only in the most superficial way possible. Avatar is its own thing entirely. How one even dreams up Pandora and Jake Sully and Neytiri is beyond me, but it is original.
The performances are pure pulp, which can be attributed to the cheesy dialogue James Cameron writes. Lord knows his actors sell it, though. Sam Worthington still needs to work on that accent -- he slips back into Australian near the end -- but he's a good actor. I look forward to his future achievements, for while he is a passable leading man here, there are still moments that need work. Sigourney Weaver's ball-bustin' scientist is terrifically funny, while also the conscience of the film.
Stephen Lang's villain, ho-boy, is deliciously, charmingly awful, a sadistically intelligent war lord. Lang savors every gnash this role requires, yet I still kind of liked him in the beginning. He's a man who knows his job and genuinely believes in what he's doing. It's evil, sure, but at least you can see the sincerity. Zoe Saldana's heroine, the Na'vi princess Neytiri, is soulful and penetrating. A mo-cap performance this good has yet to be seen, and it's miraculosu when you realize it's all her. You love her, you're with her 100 percent. It's a game-changing performance, one that does more for the new technology than the landscape of Pandora.
I loved the movie, I really did. I don't know if it's better than Titanic -- for, rest assured, I am a huge supporter of that film's Best Picture Oscar -- but it's damn close. This is going to sound hyperbolic and melodramatic, but I am an emotional person. When my friend turned to me and asked, "What did you think?"
...I wept. I truly wept at the end credits. For the beauty and majesty of it all. It is entertaining while also emotionally resonant. It captures the imagination. It proves that anything is possible in this medium. This is, in many ways, the perfect film.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Nine a Given
And it would be unjust to my man Rex if I left these out. I've never before posted the nominees for the American Society of Cinematographers, but that was then. And this is now, where I'm less ignorant of the impact cinematographers have on the finished product. Nothing like some post-Oscars movie-making to make one aware!
Anyway:
Barry Ackroyd, The Hurt Locker
Dion Beebe, Nine
Christian Berger, The White Ribbon
Mauro Fiore, Avatar
Robert Richardson, Inglourious Basterds
Question: Ebert's tweeting sarcastically, right?:
Cinematography nomines. "Avatar," "Basterds," "White Ribbon," "Hurt Locker" and..."Nine???"
He has to be, right? I know Nine wasn't nominated for the PGA, DGA or WGA, but the ASC was a given. Beebe's is some of the strongest work of the year. Yet even Awards Daily calls the nom "a big surprise". I know the direction and screenplay were disappointing, but I thought this was all set in stone. And look: instead of just Avatar, I've also not seen The White Ribbon! Horray!
Anyway:
Barry Ackroyd, The Hurt Locker
Dion Beebe, Nine
Christian Berger, The White Ribbon
Mauro Fiore, Avatar
Robert Richardson, Inglourious Basterds
Question: Ebert's tweeting sarcastically, right?:
Cinematography nomines. "Avatar," "Basterds," "White Ribbon," "Hurt Locker" and..."Nine???"
He has to be, right? I know Nine wasn't nominated for the PGA, DGA or WGA, but the ASC was a given. Beebe's is some of the strongest work of the year. Yet even Awards Daily calls the nom "a big surprise". I know the direction and screenplay were disappointing, but I thought this was all set in stone. And look: instead of just Avatar, I've also not seen The White Ribbon! Horray!
Welcome, Surprises!
I am so sorry for the lateness of this, but I am a mere college student with neither Blackberry nor iPhone to assist me in these endeavors. BUT - be that as it may, I am still around to tell you what many of you have probably already heard: the nominees for the Writers Guild Association Awards.
Now, keep in mind that the WAG declared a great number of screenplays ineligible due to registration problems, paperwork stuff, bullshit. This means that many of the year's front-runners, scripts that will surely be represented at the Oscars, did not even qualify for a shortlist: Inglourious Basterds, An Education, A Single Man, The Road, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Up, etc. So what we have here is...well, a surprise, certainly.
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, A Serious Man
Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber, (500) Days of Summer
Josh Lucas & Scott Moore, The Hangover
Well, obviously the pleasant surprise here is The Hangover, which is hilarious. Avatar got in despite people citing the screenplay as its weakest element (still haven't seen it, though -- will the buzz kill my ability to judge it properly?). The Hurt Locker will win this and the Oscar. How happy am I to see two of my Top Five entries here? Very effin' happy.
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Scott Cooper, Crazy Heart, from the novel by Thomas Cobb
Nora Ephron, Julie & Julia, from the memoir by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme
Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, from the novel Push by Sapphire
Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci, Star Trek, from the television series created by Gene Roddenberry
Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air, from the novel by Walter Kirn
While Up in the Air and Precious were easy to see coming, it is a pleasant surprise to see Julie & Julia and Star Trek in the mix (haven't seen Crazy Heart, so cannot gauge excitement properly). Up in the Air will most likely win this, though secretly (well, not anymore now) I hope Julie & Julia pulls an upset. Alas, 'tis but a fancy of mine.
Of course, Fantastic Mr. Fox was ineligible, but no Public Enemies? Really? Not even a Bright Star?
When the Oscars come, The Hangover and Avatar will leave to allow Inglourious Basterds and Up in. An Education will get in instead of Star Trek for sure...but I could see the other four making it as well.
Now, keep in mind that the WAG declared a great number of screenplays ineligible due to registration problems, paperwork stuff, bullshit. This means that many of the year's front-runners, scripts that will surely be represented at the Oscars, did not even qualify for a shortlist: Inglourious Basterds, An Education, A Single Man, The Road, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Up, etc. So what we have here is...well, a surprise, certainly.
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, A Serious Man
Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber, (500) Days of Summer
Josh Lucas & Scott Moore, The Hangover
Well, obviously the pleasant surprise here is The Hangover, which is hilarious. Avatar got in despite people citing the screenplay as its weakest element (still haven't seen it, though -- will the buzz kill my ability to judge it properly?). The Hurt Locker will win this and the Oscar. How happy am I to see two of my Top Five entries here? Very effin' happy.
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Scott Cooper, Crazy Heart, from the novel by Thomas Cobb
Nora Ephron, Julie & Julia, from the memoir by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme
Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, from the novel Push by Sapphire
Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci, Star Trek, from the television series created by Gene Roddenberry
Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air, from the novel by Walter Kirn
While Up in the Air and Precious were easy to see coming, it is a pleasant surprise to see Julie & Julia and Star Trek in the mix (haven't seen Crazy Heart, so cannot gauge excitement properly). Up in the Air will most likely win this, though secretly (well, not anymore now) I hope Julie & Julia pulls an upset. Alas, 'tis but a fancy of mine.
Of course, Fantastic Mr. Fox was ineligible, but no Public Enemies? Really? Not even a Bright Star?
When the Oscars come, The Hangover and Avatar will leave to allow Inglourious Basterds and Up in. An Education will get in instead of Star Trek for sure...but I could see the other four making it as well.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
The DGA Nominees
And the nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Film by the Directors Guild of America are:
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
I was honestly expecting Neill Blomkamp to show up for his stunning work on District 9. I've long gotten over the pipe dream that Michael Mann (Public Enemies) or Marc Webb ((500) Days of Summer) are getting any love for their films.
Four of these slots were easy to see. Kathryn Bigelow has been in since her film opened in the Summer. James Cameron has, once again, revolutionized cinema (so I hear -- I still need to see it), so he was a guarantee. Jason Reitman's third is his best, his most mature, his most assured; he was in from the word "go". And Quentin Tarantino made a prestige pic that appealed to the masses.
The only surprise here, then, is Lee Daniels for Precious. Some may see this as predictable, part of the unstoppable Precious train. But come on -- surely I could not be the only one turned off by his flashy excesses? That movie's all about the actors for me. Maybe that's unfair, for certainly Daniels had to have a hand in getting those performances. But the flash, the overlaying dissolves, that bizarre 360-pan with Precious in the classroom, the Two Women reference; must we favor this kind of "Look at me" style over the subtle touch of Jane Campion or Lone Scherfig, the elegiac craftsmanship of Michael Mann, the refreshing choreography of Marc Webb (for his film is like a dance, surely), and on and on. I mean, it could be worse: it could be Clint Eastwood. But le sigh all the same.
Anyway. Congratulations to all of them. I can't wait to see Daniels' Miss Saigon, for musicals are surely where he belongs. Bigelow will win this.
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
I was honestly expecting Neill Blomkamp to show up for his stunning work on District 9. I've long gotten over the pipe dream that Michael Mann (Public Enemies) or Marc Webb ((500) Days of Summer) are getting any love for their films.
Four of these slots were easy to see. Kathryn Bigelow has been in since her film opened in the Summer. James Cameron has, once again, revolutionized cinema (so I hear -- I still need to see it), so he was a guarantee. Jason Reitman's third is his best, his most mature, his most assured; he was in from the word "go". And Quentin Tarantino made a prestige pic that appealed to the masses.
The only surprise here, then, is Lee Daniels for Precious. Some may see this as predictable, part of the unstoppable Precious train. But come on -- surely I could not be the only one turned off by his flashy excesses? That movie's all about the actors for me. Maybe that's unfair, for certainly Daniels had to have a hand in getting those performances. But the flash, the overlaying dissolves, that bizarre 360-pan with Precious in the classroom, the Two Women reference; must we favor this kind of "Look at me" style over the subtle touch of Jane Campion or Lone Scherfig, the elegiac craftsmanship of Michael Mann, the refreshing choreography of Marc Webb (for his film is like a dance, surely), and on and on. I mean, it could be worse: it could be Clint Eastwood. But le sigh all the same.
Anyway. Congratulations to all of them. I can't wait to see Daniels' Miss Saigon, for musicals are surely where he belongs. Bigelow will win this.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Road to MI6
Strange news on the 007 front!
First, it was announced that filming of Bond 23 is officially on hold. Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, owners of the film rights and producers of the films since The Living Daylights and Moonraker (respectively), are awaiting the sale of debt-ridden US distributor MGM. It was crushing news for those of us who plan our year around the release of a new 007 adventure, but Daniel Craig and Judi Dench have said that they are ready to return to work in late 2010/early 2011. Fingers crossed.
THEN
Just as that news is being processed, the on-hold film gets a new director: Academy Award Winner SAM MENDES! This would be the first Oscar-winning director to helm a Bond movie (Mendes won in 2000 for American Beauty). This will also be the director's first action pic -- indeed, I would say it's his first straight genre piece. Although a gangster pic and a war film, respectively, Road to Perdition and Jarhead are hardly what you would call mainstream. At the same time, Mendes is a director who could fit with this new, serious-er Bond.
I'm torn, personally. Mendes has directed only five movies to date, none of them Bondian, and with a gradual degree of disappointment. American Beauty (****) is an American classic; Road to Perdition (***1/2), if not a masterpiece, is still a damn good piece of cinema. Jarhead (**1/2) is admirable, if plodding and forgettable. Revolutionary Road (*) is abysmal and condescending, his worst film to date. Away We Go (**) is smug, though far better than Revolutionary Road. *Sigh* Must I really wait to make a decision? Can't they just make it now?
Peter Morgan, Oscar-nominated writer of The Queen and Frost/Nixon, is still attached to write the script alongside old standbys Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and composer David Arnold are all returning.
First, it was announced that filming of Bond 23 is officially on hold. Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, owners of the film rights and producers of the films since The Living Daylights and Moonraker (respectively), are awaiting the sale of debt-ridden US distributor MGM. It was crushing news for those of us who plan our year around the release of a new 007 adventure, but Daniel Craig and Judi Dench have said that they are ready to return to work in late 2010/early 2011. Fingers crossed.
THEN
Just as that news is being processed, the on-hold film gets a new director: Academy Award Winner SAM MENDES! This would be the first Oscar-winning director to helm a Bond movie (Mendes won in 2000 for American Beauty). This will also be the director's first action pic -- indeed, I would say it's his first straight genre piece. Although a gangster pic and a war film, respectively, Road to Perdition and Jarhead are hardly what you would call mainstream. At the same time, Mendes is a director who could fit with this new, serious-er Bond.
I'm torn, personally. Mendes has directed only five movies to date, none of them Bondian, and with a gradual degree of disappointment. American Beauty (****) is an American classic; Road to Perdition (***1/2), if not a masterpiece, is still a damn good piece of cinema. Jarhead (**1/2) is admirable, if plodding and forgettable. Revolutionary Road (*) is abysmal and condescending, his worst film to date. Away We Go (**) is smug, though far better than Revolutionary Road. *Sigh* Must I really wait to make a decision? Can't they just make it now?
Peter Morgan, Oscar-nominated writer of The Queen and Frost/Nixon, is still attached to write the script alongside old standbys Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and composer David Arnold are all returning.
Producer's Guild Noms
The Producer's Guild Association have announced their nominees for their annual awards. Like the Oscars' Best Picture category, the Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award has ten slots to fill. Last year, the nominees matched the Best Picture slate 4/5, with The Dark Knight edged out in favor of The Reader; this also occurred at the DGA and WGA awards. But then, the PGA does tend toward money-makers, being producers and all. Will their Big Ten match the Academy's? I mean, probably not exactly, but, you know...
The nominees are:
Avatar
I believe I am the sole person in Christendom who had yet to see it.
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Invictus
What's the appeal? The more I think about it, the more this movie irritates me.
Precious
Star Trek
Oh, rocking! This and District 9 getting in is...well, it's actually a testament to their financial success, right? But it's also the quality; I don't see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen getting a PGA nom, do you?
Up
Up in the Air
That's five movies that made it into my Top 25. Now, I don't necessarily believe that this is the Best Pic lineup as well, as I still believe the ten-wide option gives Nine an edge. But this is a pretty solid lineup, with only one dud out of the nine I've seen. Avatar will probably win this.
The nominees are:
Avatar
I believe I am the sole person in Christendom who had yet to see it.
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Invictus
What's the appeal? The more I think about it, the more this movie irritates me.
Precious
Star Trek
Oh, rocking! This and District 9 getting in is...well, it's actually a testament to their financial success, right? But it's also the quality; I don't see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen getting a PGA nom, do you?
Up
Up in the Air
That's five movies that made it into my Top 25. Now, I don't necessarily believe that this is the Best Pic lineup as well, as I still believe the ten-wide option gives Nine an edge. But this is a pretty solid lineup, with only one dud out of the nine I've seen. Avatar will probably win this.
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