If the Golden Globes are Oscar’s fun-loving, starfucking younger sibling, than the Golden Satellites, a 12 year old award given out by International Press Association, is Oscar’s mentally unstable cousin, occasionally predicting an unarguably noteworthy precentage of Oscar’s nominations (say a third?), but also throwing out two other kinds of nominations: out-of-left-field bizarre ones that don’t really seem to suit popularity of audiences or critics (last year Blythe Danner was among the supporting actress nominees for The Last Kiss and Joseph Cross won best actor in a comedy for Running With Scissors, over Borat and Peter O’Toole), and challenging nominees that Oscar would never touch for various reasons (the Half Nelson best picture nomination last year) . How these nominations come into play and how much credit can actually go to the IPA when they do get some right is unknown, but they are fun list to read, especially since they miraculously come out November 30th, which probably explains the near or full absence of late in the gamers like Sweeney Todd and There Will Be Blood.
But despite some real “reallys?” in the mix (Shoot ‘Em Up for best picture? Not to mention a ton of bizarre omissions across the board, no acting nods for Before The Devil but it WINS best cast ensemble?) there are some choices the Satellites made this year that really turned my fancy:
-Away From Her, Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead, Lars and the Real Girl, The Lookout and Eastern Promises all got Best Picture nods.
-A slew of interesting and worthy acting choices, including double nominee Tilda Swinton (for Oscar-never Stephanie Daley and Oscar-likely Michael Clayton), Emily Mortimer for Lars (in actress no less, no supporting), Jeff Daniels in The Lookout, Ben Foster in 3:10 To Yuma, Christian Bale in Rescue Dawn
-A double nomination for my dear Sarah Polley!
-A documentary nomination for The King of Kong (ignored so far everywhere else, including the box office for the most part)
-Four female screenwriting nominees and one female director nod
-Nick Cave for scoring Jesse James and Kate Bush for her Golden Compass song!!
Theres no point making sense of these nods as a whole, but enjoy their eccentricity after the jump before the rest of the award season sucks it away:
MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
“The Lookout” Miramax
“Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” (ThinkFilm)
“Away From Her” (Lionsgate)
“Eastern Promises” (Focus Features)
“No Country For Old Men” (Miramax Films)
“3:10 To Yuma” (Lionsgate)
MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
“Hairspray” (New Line Cinema)
“Juno”(Fox Searchlight)
“Shoot ‘Em Up” (New Line Cinema)
“Lars and the Real Girl” (MGM)
“Knocked Up” (Universal Pictures)
ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
Julie Christie, “Away From Her” (Lionsgate)
Angelina Jolie, “A Mighty Heart” (Paramount Vantage)
Marion Cotillard, “La Vie En Rose” (Picturehouse Entertainment)
Tilda Swinton, “Stephanie Daley” (Regent Releasing)
Keira Knightly, “Atonement” (Focus Features)
Laura Linney, “The Savages” (Fox Searchlight)
ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
Denzel Washington, “American Gangster” (Universal Pictures)
Josh Brolin, “No Country For Old Men” (Miramax Films)
Christian Bale, “Rescue Dawn” (MGM)
Viggo Mortensen, “Eastern Promises” (Focus Features)
Frank Langella, “Starting Out in the Evening”(Roadside Attractions)
Tommy Lee Jones, “In the Valley of Elah” (Warner Independent Pictures)
ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Katherine Heigl, “Knocked Up” (Universal Pictures)
Amy Adams, “Enchanted” (Walt Disney Pictures)
Ellen Page, “Juno” (Fox Searchlight)
Emily Mortimer, “Lars and the Real Girl” (MGM)
Nicole Kidman, “Margot at the Wedding” (Paramount Vantage)
Cate Blanchett, “I’m Not There” (The Weinstein Company)
ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Richard Gere, “The Hoax” Miramax
Seth Rogen, “Knocked Up” (Universal Pictures)
Ben Kingsley You Kill Me Ifc Films
Ryan Gosling, “Lars and the Real Girl” (MGM)
Clive Owen, “Shoot ‘Em Up” (New Line Cinema)
Don Cheadle, “Talk to Me” (Focus Features)
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Saoirse Ronan, “Atonement” (Focus Features)
Emmanuelle Seigner, “La Vie En Rose” (Picturehouse Entertainment)
Tilda Swinton, “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Amy Ryan, “Gone Baby Gone” (Miramax Films)
Taraji P. Henson “Talk to Me” (Focus Features)
Ruby Dee, “American Gangster” (Universal Pictures)
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Jeff Daniels, “The Lookout” (Miramax Films)
Brian Cox, “Zodiac” (Paramount Pictures)
Tom Wilkinson, “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Ben Foster, “3:10 To Yuma” (Lionsgate)
Javier Bardem, “No Country For Old Men” (Miramax Films)
Casey Affleck, “The Assassination of Jessie James” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
MOTION PICTURE, FOREIGN LANGUAGE
“Ten Canoes” Australia (Palm Pictures)
“Offside Iran” (Sony Pictures Classics)
“La Vie En Rose” France (Picturehouse Entertainment)
“Lust, Caution” China (Focus Features)
“4 Months 3 Weeks & 2 Days” Romania Ifc Films
“The Orphanage” Spain (Picturehouse Entertainment)
MOTION PICTURE, ANIMATED OR MIXED MEDIA
“Persepolis” (Sony Pictures Classics)
“The Simpsons Movie” Twentieth Century Fox
“The Golden” Compass (New Line Cinema)
““Ratatouille”” (Buena Vista Pictures)
“300” Warner Brothers
“Beowulf” (Paramount Pictures)
MOTION PICTURE, DOCUMENTARY
“The King Of Kong” (Picturehouse Entertainment)
“The 11th Hour Warner” (Independent Pictures)
“Sicko” (Lionsgate)
“No End In Sight”(Magnolia Pictures)
“Darfur Now Warner” (Independent Pictures)
“Lake Of Fire” (ThinkFilm)
DIRECTOR
Ang Lee, “Lust, Caution” (Focus Features)
Olivier Dahan, “La Vie En Rose” (Picture House Entertainment)
David Cronenberg, “Eastern Promises” (Focus Features)
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, “No Country For Old Men” (Miramax Films)
Sidney Lumet, “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” (ThinkFilm)
Sarah Polley, “Away From Her” (Lionsgate)
SCREENPLAY, ORIGINAL
Scott Frank, “The Lookout” (Miramax Films)
Diablo Cody, “Juno” (Fox Searchlight)
Kelly Masterson, “Before the Devil Knows You’Re Dead” (ThinkFilm)
Tony Gilroy, “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Nancy Oliver,“Lars and the Real Girl” (MGM)
Steven Knight, “Eastern Promises” (Focus Features)
SCREENPLAY, ADAPTED
James Vanderbilt, “Zodiac” (Paramount Pictures)
Christopher Hampton “Atonement” (Focus Features)
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, “No Country For Old Men” (Miramax Films)
David Benioff, “The Kite Runner” (Paramount Vantage)
Sarah Polley,“Away From Her” (Lionsgate)
Wang Hui Ling, James Schamus,“Lust, Caution” (Focus Features)
ORIGINAL SCORE
Dario Marianelli, “Atonement” (Focus Features)
James Newton Howard, “The Lookout” (Miramax Films)
Michael Giacchino, “Ratatouille” (Buena Vista Pictures)
Alberto Iglesias, “The Kite Runner” (Paramount Vantage)
Howard Shore, “Eastern Promises” (Focus Features)
Nick Cave, “The Assassination of Jesse James” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
ORIGINAL SONG
“Do You Feel Me”/Diane Warren, “American Gangster” (Universal Pictures)
“If You Want Me”/Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova, “Once” (Fox Searchlight)
“Come So Far”/Marc Shaiman, “Hairspray” (New Line Cinema)
“Rise”/Eddie Vedder, “Into The Wild” (Paramount Vantage)
“Grace Is Gone”/Clint Eastwood & Carole Bayer Sager, “Grace Is Gone” (The Weinstein Company)
“Lyra”/Kate Bush, “The Golden Compass” (New Line Cinema)
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Harris Savides, “Zodiac” (Paramount Pictures)
Robert Elswit, “There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage)
Bruno Delbonnel, “Across The Universe” (Revolution Studios)
Janusz Kaminski, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax Films)
Roger Deakins, “The Assassination Of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Henry Braham, “The Golden Compass” (New Line Cinema)
VISUAL EFFECTS
Scott Farrar, “Transformers” (Paramount Pictures)
Michael Fink, “The Golden Compass” (New Line Cinema)
Chris Watts, Grant Freckelton, Derek Wentworth, Daniel Leduc, “300” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Peter Chiang, Charlie Noble, David Vickery, Mattias Lindahl, “The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal Pictures)
Thomas Schelesny, Matt Jacobs, Tom Gibbons, “Enchanted” (Walt Disney Pictures)
Jerome Chen, Sean Phillips, Kenn Mc Donald, Michael Lantieri, “Beowulf” (Paramount Pictures)
FILM EDITING
Pietro Scalia, “American Gangster” (Universal Pictures)
Jill Savitt, “The Lookout” (Miramax)
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, “No Country For Old Men” (Miramax)
Richard Marizy, “La Vie En Rose” (Picturehouse Entertainment)
Christopher Rouse, “The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal Pictures)
Ronald Sanders, “Eastern Promises” (Focus Features)
SOUND (EDITING & MIXING)
Mike Prestwood-Smith, Mark Taylor, Glenn Freemantle, “The Golden Compass” (New Line Cinema)
Nikolas Javelle, Jean-Paul Hurier, “La Vie En Rose” (Picturehouse Entertainment)
Christopher Boyes, Paul Massey, Lee Orloff, George Watters II, “Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’S End” (Buena Vista Pictures)
Scott Heckler, Eric Norris, Derek Vanderhorst, “300” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Karen Baker Landers, Kirk Francis, Per Hallberg, “The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal Pictures)
Tod Maitland, Skip Lievsay, Rick Kline, Jeremy Peirson, “I Am Legend” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
ART DIRECTION & PRODUCTION DESIGN
Guy Dyas, David Allday, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal Pictures)
Patricia Norris, Martin Gendron, Troy Sizemore, “The Assassination Of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Dennis Davenport, David Gropman, “Hairspray” (New Line Cinema)
Mark Tildesley, “Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Gary Freeman, Stephen Morahan, Denis Schnegg, David Allday, Matthew Gray, Charles Wood, “Amazing Grace” (Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Mark Friedberg, Peter Rogness, “Across the Universe” (Revolution Studios)
COSTUME DESIGN
Alexandra Byrne, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal Pictures)
Yvonne Blake, “Goya’S Ghosts” (Samuel Goldwyn Pictures)
Marit Allen, “La Vie En Rose” (Picturehouse Entertainment)
Rita Ryack, “Hairspray” (New Line Cinema)
Jenny Beavan, “Amazing Grace” (Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Jacqueline Durran, “Antonement” (Focus Features)
I skipped last week’s “gold digging” partly because of lack of time, and also partly due to a general lack of anything progressive going on in this year’s Oscar race. But that changed quickly, as a bunch of minor events in the longrun (Indie Spirit nods, Charlie Wilson’s screenings, Enchanted and No Country‘s box office hauls, The Savages and Diving Bell‘s glowing reviews), finally shook things up. And in a week’s time, critics award after critics award and the Golden Globe nominations will solidify what is shaping up to be a varied and mostly unpredictable batch of contenders. I’ve expanded my “rankings” from five to ten (because, let’s face it, it’s more fun that way), so check them out after the jump.
BEST PICTURE
1. Atonement
2. No Country For Old Men
3. American Gangster
4. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
5. Juno
6. Into The Wild
7. Michael Clayton
8. The Kite Runner
9. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
10. The Savages
Underdogs: There Will Be Blood, I’m Not There, Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead
With a wide variety of promising clips on the internet and showings just days away, I’ve decided to finally bite the bullet and consider Sweeney Todd. By next week, it could be #1 or #62, but for today, its an honest #9. With its gore and weirdness, the film needs to be absolutely astounding to get in - though I do believe if it does make it in, its got a decent shot at winning. I almost decided to endorse The Kite Runner, just because in a year of 925 Afghan/Iraq films, this one seems like the only one that might be up the Academy’s alley, especially now that Charlie Wilson is one (a film that I never included in any of my top predictions anyway, as I kind of sensed from the trailer it wasn’t going to jive). But at the last minute, and after reading most of its 20 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes (that amount to a 57% rating) - which may have made part of me think it was lock and part of me think it just couldn’t happen - ,I decided to get off the fence and suggest that The Diving Bell and the Butterfly would be a better fit, and I might regret that soon. Add Bell to Juno, and those are my attempts at some ballsiness… it makes me nervous leaving off Into The Wild, and Michael Clayton as well. Both of them are definitely formidable opponents… As for Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead, I’m Not There and There Will Be Blood, its likely these three will have to rely on a few critics’ awards and an acting nod or two. I still believe Sidney Lumet will make the director’s cut (see below), but I fear the films themselves (the first two of which I’ve seen and so far would easily make my own personal shortlist) are not the Academy’s style. And in terms of frontrunners, this race is still very wide open. Sure, Atonement, American Gangster and No Country For Old Men are all pretty sure thing nominees here, but I can’t really picture any of them winning at this point.
BEST DIRECTOR
1. Ethan & Joel Coen, No Country For Old Men
2. Joe Wright, Atonement
3. Ridley Scott, American Gangster
4. Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
5. Sidney Lumet, Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead
6. Sean Penn, Into The Wild
7. Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
8. Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
9. Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
10. Todd Haynes, I’m Not There
Underdog: Tamara Jenkins, The Savages
Theres perhaps a naive discrepancy between this list and Best Picture, but its a different nominating group - one thats always been more ballsy that the other - and I just can’t see Sidney Lumet being shut out, even if his picture has no shot. Sean Penn, Todd Haynes and Paul Thomas Anderson offer some competition in the lone director’s slot though (as does Schnabel if his film does end up getting left out), so I should probably watch out. And maybe Im underestimating Jason Reitman, Tony Gilroy and Marc Forster but they seem like likely directors-out, if there films to in fact make it in. In fact, considering most of the criticism directed at American Gangster was at its good-not-great direction, maybe Ridley Scott is vulnerable as well, though his never-won status might keep him in. But the Coens and Joe Wright are as locked as it gets on November 29th. One other noteworthy discussion regarding this category is the women. Disgustingly underrepresented here, two women - Tamara Jenkins and Sarah Polley - have done remarkable jobs this year but will likely join a long list of almost-rans. Oddly, both their films deal with people succumbing to mental illness in their old age, though the premise is captured from drastically different tones and points of view. Both films among my favourites of the year, it would be lovely if the Academy made the all-time women nominated for best director tally 4 this February. And while fellow Canadian Polley has my sentimental vote.. The Savages rather spectacular reviews make Jenkins women kind’s only (slight) chance this year.
BEST ACTOR
1. Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
2. Denzel Washington, American Gangster
3. George Clooney, Michael Clayton
4. James McAvoy, Atonement
5. Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
6. Frank Langella, Starting Out In The Evening
7. Tommy Lee Jones, In The Valley of Elah
8. Emile Hirsch, Into The Wild
9. Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises
10. Josh Brolin, No Country For Old Men
Underdog: Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Two extremely contrasted, undeniably brilliant lead performances in 2007, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman will likely be denied a nod for either. Luckily, he has a supporting one too (Charlie Wilson’s War), but Hoffman’s true triple threat is a pretty remarkable feat. But it doesn’t factor much into this race - which is so overcrowded I could have listed 25 finalists (in its female counterpart I had trouble listing 10). I’m pretty confident that Day-Lewis, Clooney and Washington are in. McAvoy is seeming less and less a lock in this crowded house as the days pass (I’m actually getting worried about my confidence in Atonement altogether), and the final slot is a total shot in the dark. Langella‘s movie is so small, but I figure he might be the surprise nomination I thought Viggo Mortensen might be a few weeks back. But he’s also got a notable entry next year as well - Frost/Nixon - so maybe voters might wait until then to give him a career (though deserving) nomination. He’s close right now, but I’m not feeling it enough to go for it. And I guess Day-Lewis is the front runner, but like Best Picture.. if Sweeney Todd is as good as it might be (if that makes sense), Johnny Depp could easily win this race. And I’ve included him as the 5th contender, because from what I’ve seen of the clips, he looks like he pulls it off. Perhaps even if the film is too Burton or too goth for the big race, Depp will be the consolation prize.. It marks the first time I’ve actually predicted Sweeney in a main race, and I can slowly feel my holding-back unravel.
BEST ACTRESS
1. Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
2. Laura Linney, The Savages
3. Amy Adams, Enchanted
4. Ellen Page, Juno
5. Julie Christie, Away From Her
6. Keira Knightley, Atonement
7. Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart
8. Helena Bonham Carter, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
9. Nicole Kidman, Margot at the Wedding
10. Jodie Foster, The Brave One
Underdog: Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There
Eight reasonable candidates (nine if Blanchett goes lead for Im Not There, which would be a very foolish decision) here. Not a lot, but a tight race among them. Helena Bonham Carter could shake things up. She looks fantastic in the nine clips that are online. She’ll have to fend off six very hopeful contenders: Linney, Cotillard, Adams, Page, Christie and Knightley. Now that Linney’s got the reviews, Adams’ has the box office and Cotillard is keeping the buzz, its becoming more and more sure that hey are in. We’ll see about Page when Juno comes out, but she’s gonna be hard to ignore. Christie is quickly becoming the weakest link of my predicted five, and the one most vulnerable to a Bonham-Carter bonanza. As for Knightley, I hope she doesn’t get in. She’s good in Atonement, but her role lacks something to make it truly great, and if does get in, it’ll be a matter of her riding an Atonement wave, at the expense of someone more deserving like Christie (or potentially Bonham-Carter). And who knows, maybe Jolie or even Kidman will have a Globes or critics fueled resurgence… But I doubt it. This race is shaping up quickly, and they both seem like they’re out.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
1. Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men
2. Hal Holbrook, Into The Wild
3. Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton
4. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson’s War
5. Tommy Lee Jones, No Country For Old Men
6. Philip Bosco, The Savages
7. Max Von Sydow, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
8. Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James…
9. Alan Rickman, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
10. Paul Dano, There Will Be Blood
Underdog: Albert Finney, Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead
Poor Albert Finney. Oscarless after decades of worthy work, he picked “the year of the old guy that hasn’t won” to provide great - but perhaps too subtle - work in Before The Devil, a film likely to be tragically misrepresented in the nominations. His competition? Hal Holbrook, Phillip Bosco, Max Von Sydow, and in a sense, Tom Wilkinson and Alan Rickman. All have been around awhile, none have won. However, none of them will this time either. While two or maybe three of them might get in (Holbrook and Wilkinson for sure, Bosco and Von Sydow seem more likely than before after all their films are opening to mass love from critics), this is still - and probably always will be - Javier Bardem‘s award to lose. But I also think he’s the only truly locked nominee. Holbrook and Wilkinson are very likely, but any of the ten I’ve listed, along with maybe six more, have totally believable chances at a nod here. I almost put in Russell Crowe and John Travolta - and I cringe thinking either could get in - but after the Jamie Foxx in Collateral nod a few years back, I don’t have much faith in this category.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
1. Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There
2. Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
3. Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
4. Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
5. Jennifer Garner, Juno
6. Marisa Tomei, Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead
7. Ruby Dee, American Gangster
8. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Margot at the Wedding
9. Vanessa Redgrave, Atonement
10. Kelly McDonald, No Country For Old Men
Underdog: Nicole Kidman, The Golden Compass
She might be gone for Margot, but early reviews are absolutely glowing for Nicole Kidman‘s performance in The Golden Compass.. which leads to a possible latecomer that could shake up this rather boring race. Blanchett is so in, unless they change things up category wise. Ronan, Swinton, Ryan: all looking good (though not locks by any means). I have a feeling about Garner.. she’s the heart of Juno and it might be a nice way to extend some love to the Affleck family (sort of), despite snubbing both of Casey‘s performances and Ben‘s writing and directing. However, All of the six (and then a few) that I’ve listed post-Garner could feasibly jump in. But it still leaves the question: If Blanchett and Cotillard are both front runners, will this hurt their chances? I mean, two winners in the same year for musician mimicry? And one who just won two years ago for actor mimicry? It used to be the rule “play someone with an accent or whose mentally or physically handicapped, etc”. Now, it seems, you play a musician, as both Jamie Foxx and Reese Witherspoon can recently attest.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
1. Diablo Cody, Juno
2. Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
3. Tamara Jenkins, The Savages
4. Kelly Masterson, Before The Devil Knows Youre Dead
5. Brad Bird, Ratatouille
6. Judd Apatow, Knocked Up
7. Steven Zaillian, American Gangster
8. Todd Haynes, I’m Not There
9.. Steven Knight, Eastern Promises
10. John Carney, Once
Underdog: Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
1. Ethan & Joel Coen, No Country For Old Men
2. Christopher Hampton, Atonement
3. Sean Penn, Into The Wild
4. Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
5. Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
6. David Benioff, The Kite Runner
7. Aaron Sorkin, Charlie Wilson’s War
8. Sarah Polley, Away From Her
9. James Vanderbilt, Zodiac
10. John Logan, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Underdog: Ben Affleck & Aaron Stockard, Gone Baby Gone
As I hinted to in the Director category, the Oscars, particularly in the original category, have some opportunity to make up for lost time in regard to female screenwriters. Diablo Cody, Sarah Polley, Kelly Masterson, Tamara Jenkins, Nancy Oliver.. this has been a fantastic year for female screenwriters. But I fear an onslaught of boring, typical screenplays (American Gangster, The Kite Runner) as well as just overcrowding might make it just Cody and Jenkins. I still have Masterson down, but she’s falling with her film’s overall buzz.. Which is a same because its a killer screenplay, and one that challenges ideas of gender only in that if you see the film before you know its written by a woman, it surprises you when you find out. But anyway… the race itself seems to perhaps boil down to two two-ways: Cody vs. Gilroy and Hampton vs. Coens. Jeff Wells recently said Gilroy and The Coens were locks to win, but I’d have to disagree. I’d even go as far as saying Gilroy is the underdog. Though I’m sure it might turn some squares off, how you can resist Cody’s stripper rags to Oscar riches story?
The main indieWIRE page has the lineup for the 2008 Sundance Film Festivalhere and here.
This will be my very first Sundance, so I’m pretty excited about the line-up.
Some brief highlights:
-Isaac Julien’s “Derek Jarman” doc is finally seeing the light of day after 15 years of him working on it.
-One of my favourite novels, Chuck Palahniuk’s “Choke,” gets the adaptation treatment with a great cast (Sam Rockwell! Anjelica Huston! Kelly McDonald!) and a promising new director:
-One of other favourite novels, Michael Chabon’s “The Mysteries of Pittsburgh,” gets the adaptation treatment after a plagued production (“Shittsburgh,” said Sienna) and an apparent complete de-queering of the rather queer plot.
-Dream casting! Emily Blunt and Amy Adams as sisters in one of many female-directed narrative features this year:
“Sunshine Cleaning,” Director Christine Jeffs; Screenwriter: Megan Holley
Struck by financial hardship, an ambitious mother and her unmotivated sister become entrepreneurs in the field of biohazard removal and crime scene clean-up. Cast: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Steve Zahn, Alan Arkin. World Premiere
-The best movie concept in years becomes an actual movie as Michel Gondry’s Be Kind Rewind gets its premiere:
“Be Kind Rewind” / USA, Director and Screenwriter: Michel Gondry
When a man whose body accidentally becomes magnetized unintentionally erases every tape in his friend’s video store, the pair set out to remake the lost films, including “Back To The Future” and “The Lion King”. Cast: Jack Black, Mos Def, Mia Farrow, Danny Glover. World Premiere
-Nothing is Private, Alan Ball’s directorial debut that played at TIFF, is now called Towelhead (its original title).
-And finally, only in a Canadian-German co-production:
“Otto; Or, Up With Dead People” / Germany/Canada, Director and Screenwriter: Bruce LaBruce
A lonely gay zombie searches for love and meaning in contemporary Berlin. Cast: Jey Crisfar, Katharina Klewinghaus, Susanne Sachsse, Marcel Schlutt. World Premiere
I’m working a 14 hour shift today (which sounds scary, but is actually just getting good grant money to sit at a desk telling undergrads the printer isn’t working and watching youtube), and a friend suggested I check this out.. It entertained me for a good hour (there are like a dozen more if you search “human tetris”). The Japanese certainly know how to make television.
Tom O’Neill has scooped the Golden Globe category confusion results, and it doesn’t bode well for the slew of actresses now competing for the Comedy/Musical slots.
Says Tom:
“Charlie Wilson’s War,” “The Savages,” “Margot at the Wedding,” “Juno,” “Darjeeling Limited,” “Waitress” and “Lars and the Real Girl” will compete in the comedy/musical categories at the Golden Globes, according to decrees made by the eligibility committee of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. All of those films have a mix of comedic and dramatic elements so there was speculation that they might be classified as dramas.
Any men in these films are gold now.. the comedy category is lacking in that department. But the women? Marion Cotillard was also announced as competing in the comedy/musical category, meaning: Amy Adams, Nicole Kidman, Laura Linney, Nikki Blonksy, Ellen Page, Keri Russell, Helena Bonham Carter, Katherine Heigl and Cotillard will duel it out for 5 or 6 slots. I swear, in any other year (or at least SOME other years), any of these actresses could have WON this category (see 1994, when Jamie Lee Curtis won for True Lies). Now some of them will be lucky to be nominated. Sucks mostly for Linney or Kidman, whose chances of even being nominated are reduced, while in the Drama category, they’d have a shot at winning.
I’ll save my full Globe predictions for the day before (especially since Im working on my latest Oscar ones for later today.. and too much of a geeky thing is…), but I will take a guess at the two actress categories in light of this official one sidedness:
Drama: Cate Blanchett, Julie Christie, Jodie Foster, Angelina Jolie, Keira Knightley, Comedy/Musical: Amy Adams, Helena Bonham Carter, Marion Cotillard, Laura Linney, Ellen Page (if six: Nicole Kidman)
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