Jeff Sneider and Jill Feiwell of Variety have compiled a heap of reactions from this year's nominees. Here's a sample of what some of them had to say:
"I'm very surprised," said "Half Nelson's" Ryan Gosling. "I was convinced that it wasn't gonna happen, and I knew that my manager was up watching TV, so I called her to try and make her feel better, and before I could say, 'I told you not to be disappointed,' she said, 'What do you mean, they haven't announced it yet.'
"Then I heard this huge squeal and car crash out my window. I went to have a look and saw that a cop on a bike had been hit and thrown into the middle of the intersection. Before (the nomination) settled in, I had to watch this poor guy get put into an ambulance.
"It was on the news a little later and he only broke an arm, so it turned out to be a good day for both of us, but the polar extreme of that moment for him and I left me speechless for a little while."
"My wife and I snuck downstairs while the kids were asleep and we watched it together on TV," said "An Inconvenient Truth helmer Davis Guggenheim. "Al (Gore) and I had a nice talk and he's over the moon. It's exciting that he's going to be recognized, and when he walks down the red carpet next month, it's going to be a hero's walk. He's tried to tell this story for almost 40 years, and now people are finally listening."
"I'm not sure what it is, but I seem to be having a pretty good day," exclaimed "Little Children"'s Jackie Earle Haley.
"Needless to say, I did a little tossing and turning last night. My wife, Amelia, got up early and I was pretending to sleep. She came into the bed-room screaming and crying and absolutely beside herself yelling, 'You got it, you got it!' I was totally overwhelmed with emotion. We just held each other and cried and shared the experience.
"With everything I've been through and experienced, for the Academy to vote and include me, it's a wonderful, validating feeling."...
"I'm extremely batty. I hope this nomination will drive audiences to see the film. It deserves to be seen. That's why you make films," said "Babel" screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga.
"When I was 9 years old, I used to practice my 'I'd like to thank...' speech in front of my brothers with a Coke bottle (as a mic). I hope to do it for real this year."...
Now that he has the supporting actor nomination in the bag, Mark Wahlberg said that his Tuesday afternoon golf game with brother Paul would likely curry favor to his older sibling.
"He may beat me today as I'm not too concerned about golf," "The Departed" star said. Of his nomination, Wahlberg said the real sweet spot was making mom and dad proud. "I was able to put my real-life experiences with the Boston Police to good use after all," he said. "After all the torture I have put them through, to know they cried happy tears today. I'll think about that for a while."
“I am very pleased that ‘The Departed’ has been honored with five nominations for this year’s Academy Awards. I am particularly happy that the hard work of the entire cast and crew has been rewarded with a Best Picture nomination and that the specific contributions of Mark Wahlberg, our screenwriter William Monahan, and my longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker have been recognized with nominations as well," said Martin Scorsese, Best Director nominee for “The Departed”
Helen Mirren phoned from the set of "Inkheart," and had just wrapped a scene in which the characters get showered by gold coins from above. It, she said, "was very appropriate."
Retelling her tale of nomination morning, she added: "My heart started pounding. I was on hold with the 'Today' show -- they had me on the line in case I was nominated -- and doing a Sudoku puzzle.
"I thought this is going to be so embarrassing if I'm not nominated, because there's always doubt. When you've had a career as long and wonderful as I have, there are ups and downs and disappointments. You get used to them. You can't let them influence your life and work too much." ...
Forest Whitaker plans to celebrate his actor nomination by taking his wife out for a night of dinner and dancing. Thesp is in Gotham to promote "Last King of Scotland," just going into wide release.
"I worked hard on this character and put so much of my spirit and soul into it," he said. "Now let's fill those theater seats." ...
"I can't remember who told me because I was in the middle of shooting 'The Bourne Ultimatum'" said "United 93" director Paul Greengrass.
"I'm very proud to represent those families and those who played a part in 9/11, from the air traffic controllers to law enforcement officials.
"You can never escape the tragedy of what happened and the enduring pain, and of course, there are great questions and challenges that remain with us in the wake of those events.
"You have to take this nomination with humility in the face of those events." ...
"The Pursuit of Happyness" actor contender Will Smith, who is on location in Gotham lensing "I Am Legend," said: "Congratulations to all of the nominees. It is a great honor to be considered among this caliber of performers. No competition, all celebration. Let the parties begin." ...
Read more nomination reactions...
Meanwhile, fellow Variety scribe Timothy M. Gray reports on all of the Oscar snubs
I Blog About Movies So That You Do Not Have To...Posting industry news opinion our film reviews & trailers. Comments are always welcome and appreciated. Send them to thelastreel@comcast.net
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Reaction And Inaction
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Golden-Grams
Early this morning, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced nominations for the 79th Annual Academy Awards...
Timothy M. Gray of Variety:
Oscar took a world view in nominations for the 79th annual Academy Awards, with foreign-language work strongly represented in a roster filled with surprises. No. 1 on that list of surprises is "Dreamgirls," the noms leader with eight bids that failed to make it into the best picture race.
Best picture contenders are Paramount-Paramount Vantage's "Babel," with seven noms; Warner Bros.' "The Departed" (five); WB's "Letters From Iwo Jima" (four); Fox Searchlight's "Little Miss Sunshine" (four) and Miramax-Pathe-Granada's "The Queen" (six).
Picturehouse's "Pan's Labyrinth" earned six; WB's "Blood Diamond" earned five.
The wealth was spread wide. Voters at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences threw a lot of surprises into a race that had begun to seem formulaic this season.
The surprises included the "Dreamgirls" omission; Acad officials could not remember when a film had led the noms without a best picture bid, but it certainly goes back to the early days of the Academy, when the 1932 "Grand Hotel," for example, won the top prize but earned no other nominations.
The nominees in the acting categories typify the catholic tastes of voters this year. The 20 thesps include five blacks, two Lati-nas and one Japanese actress (including three foreign-language performances) in categories that were all-Caucasian (and all English-language) for decades. (This year's lineup breaks the records of 2003 and '04, when there were five non-Caucasians nommed.)
Two of the best pic nominees break the English-only domination of the best film race: "Babel," in four languages (including English) and the Japanese-language "Iwo Jima." Before Tuesday's announcement, only seven foreign-language films had been nommed for the top prize.
The strong showing for Mexico's "Labyrinth" points up the Spanish-language triumphs. Guillermo del Toro, writer-helmer of the pic, was recognized for his script, while his friends and fellow Mexican helmers Alberto Gonzalez Inarritu and Alfonso Cuaron, also saw recognition for their films. Inarritu was nommed as director for "Babel", while Cuaron received a screenplay nom for "Children of Men," which is up for three awards. In addition, Sony Pictures Classics' "Volver" received its sole bid for Penelope Cruz's performance, and Buena Vista's Mayan-language "Apocalypto" scored three bids in technical categories...
On nomination day, it seems odd to dwell on what wasn't nominated, but the "Dreamgirls" omission means a further break in Oscar tradition. In 16 of the past 20 years, the film with the most noms went on to win best picture. But the trend is reversing, with the top nom-getter winning only twice in the last five years...
Final ballots will be mailed Jan. 31 and are due Feb. 20. Oscars will be held at the Kodak Theater on Feb. 25.
Here's the complete nominations list...
Some things that jump out at me:
Dreamgirls leads the nominations pack but misses out on Best Picture and Best Director for Bill Condon.
United 93's Paul Greengrass probably took the Best Director spot reserved for Condon; While Little Miss Sunshine likely sneaked in for Dreamgirls Best Picture spot.
Leonardo DiCaprio and his bad accent in Blood Diamond get noticed over his turn in The Departed for Best Actor; While his Departed co-star Mark Wahlberg gets the only acting nod in the Best Supporting category for that film. Wow!
Meryl Streep is spotlighted for Best Actress with her turn in the comedy The Devil Wears Prada.
Golden Globe winner as Best Foreign Film Letters from Iwo Jima gets noticed over its companion flick The Flags Of Our Fathers--which is shut out completely.
It's a re-match between Superman Returns and the Pirates of the Caribbean--this time fighting it out for a Best VFX Oscar...
I'll have more to say about OSCAR as the ceremony approaches.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Razzie Dazzle
David Germain, movie writer for the Associated Press has the details on the honorees:
At least someone was happy Sharon Stone reprised her notorious femme-fatale role with "Basic Instinct 2."
The box-office bomb received seven nominations Monday for the Razzie Awards that mock the bottom of Hollywood's barrel, among them worst picture and worst actress of the year.
Also receiving seven nominations was the Wayans brothers comedy "Little Man," about a thief posing as a baby, including worst picture and director for Keenen Ivory Wayans.
Shawn and Marlon Wayans shared a worst-actor nomination, while sisters Hilary and Haylie Duff shared a worst-actress nomination for "Material Girls."
"We stuck the siblings together to allow room for more dreck," said Razzies founder John Wilson.
The other worst-picture nominees were the fantasies "BloodRayne" and "Lady in the Water" and the thriller "The Wicker Man."
Winners will be announced Feb. 24, the day before the Academy Awards.
Joining Stone and the Duffs in the worst-actress category were Lindsay Lohan for "Just My Luck," Kristanna Loken for "BloodRayne" and Jessica Simpson for "Employee of the Month."
Stone previously won a Razzie as worst-actress for 1994's "The Specialist" and "Intersection."
"She's what we call a Razzie repeat offender. Perhaps even a recidivist," Wilson said.
"Basic Instinct 2" also had a nomination for worst screen couple for Stone's "lopsided breasts."
Also nominated were co-star David Thewlis for worst supporting actor and the movie's director, Michael Caton-Jones.
Along with the Wayans, "Little Man" co-star Rob Schneider had a worst-actor nomination.
The other nominees were Tim Allen for "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause," "The Shaggy Dog" and "Zoom"; Nicolas Cage for "The Wicker Man"; and Larry the Cable Guy for "Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector."
The Razzies added a new category, worst excuse for family entertainment. The nominees were "Deck the Halls," "Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties," "RV," "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause" and "The Shaggy Dog."
The big surprise for Wilson was that all-time Razzies champ Sylvester Stallone's "Rocky Balboa" was not nominated. Stallone, who has 30 Razzie nominations and 10 wins, surprised many skeptics by delivering a sequel that was well received by audiences and earned better-than-expected reviews.
"At the first of the year, you could not have convinced me it wasn't going to be a Razzie contender," Wilson said. "I would like to publicly say that Stallone has made a good movie."
Director Michael Caton-Jones tried really hard to make Basic Instinct 2 a serious follow-up to the 1992 hit...Too bad Sharon Stone haming it up got in the way. The film definitely gets my vote as the year's worst. I have family members that swear Little Man and Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector are at least good for a laugh. I wouldn't know...Lady in the Water had water-logged reviews and sank at the box office...Nicolas Cage gets my vote as worst actor for his entire career...I would say that the Razzie staff did a great job this year with their picks...
"Stomp" Wins By A Yard
Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo kicks things off:
The Hitcher fell under the thumb [#4 $8.2 million] of Stomp The Yard [#1 with $13.3 million] and Night At The Museum, [#2 with $13 million] while Oscar hopefuls Pan's Labyrinth [# 7 with $4.7 million] and The Queen [#9 with $3.6 million] expanded significantly...
Get more Mojo right here
Ben Fritz writes in Variety:
'Stomp the Yard' remained in the top spot.
"Stomp the Yard" and "Night at the Museum" stayed atop the box office on a crowded weekend that featured over half a dozen awards contenders expanding in between the Golden Globes and Tuesday's Oscar nominations.
More of the indie kudos contenders did solid, if unspectacular business. Picturehouse's "Pan's Labyrinth" proved particularly strong, while "Babel" didn't get much of a boost from its Golden Globes win.
Rogue's thriller "The Hitcher," only wide opener of the frame, grossed a soft $8.2 million.
Sony's college dancing pic "Stomp" declined 39% to stay atop the rankings with $13.3 million. Per theater average was a healthy $6,485.
"Museum," meanwhile, dropped just 24%, coming in close behind with $13 million. Fox's family juggernaut passed the $200 million mark domestically.
Par and Dreamworks' "Dreamgirls" added 307 theaters after its Globes victory for comedy/musical pic and saw a 4% boost in b.o. Tuner came in third with $8.7 million, bringing its cume to $78.1 million.
Losing the Golden Globe for best foreign language film didn't hurt "Pan's Labyrinth."
Picturehouse more than tripled the print count for Guilllermo Del Toro's fantasy tale to 609 and grossed an impressive $4.7 million. Per play average of $7,758 was the strongest of the expanding indie pics.
Cume is $10.2 million. Picturehouse topper Bob Berney predicted that it has a shot to become the highest grossing Spanish language film of all time. Current record holder is "Like Water for Chocolate" with $21.7 million.
"We opened well in markets like Knoxville and Columbia, South Carolina," he noted. "The film is connecting on a story level and the language isn't an issue."
Picturehouse will add about 200 more plays for "Labyrinth" next weekend.
Miramax's "The Queen" went wide for the first time on its 17th frame after Helen Mirren won the best actress Globe. Biopic took $3.7 million at 1,586, averaging $2,333 per play.
Domestic cume is now $35.8 million. Despite winning the top trophy at the Globes, "Babel" only grossed a so-so $2.3 million as Par Vantage expanded it from 173 to 889 plays. Per theater average was $2,569 and cume is now $23.9 million. Fox Searchlight's "The Last King of Scotland" went from four to 495 following Forrest Whitaker's best actor win at the Globes and grossed $1.8 million, or $3,545 per theater. Cume is $5.4 million.
Warner Bros. took "Letters from Iwo Jima," which won the foreign language kudos at the Globes, from 35 theaters up to 360 and grossed $1.5 million, or $4,211 per play. Total domestic take is now $2.6 million.
Studio plans to expand the Clint Eastwood-helmed Japanese language World War II drama to about 1300 plays on Friday.
"Notes on a Scandal" grossed $1.2 million, or $6,150 per play, at 200 engagements. Cume is $6 million. Fox Searchlight expands the British drama to 600 theaters Friday.
"Hitcher" is the second consecutive disappointing bow for a thriller, following Disney's "Primeval," which opened to $6 million last weekend and tumbled 70% this frame...
Article Continues...
In his weekend wrap-up Joshua Rich of Entertainment Weekly writes:
Dancing frat daddies take the No. 1 spot for the second weekend in a row; meanwhile, the new horror flick ''The Hitcher'' fails to match its gross predictions...
...Hey, did you know that the Chicago Bears are going up against the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XL I on Sunday February 4th, 2007? It's been 21 years since the team made it this far!! Congratulations on a great game yesterday!!! NOW, IT'S ON TO THE SUNSHINE STATE...
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Produce Stand
With the Academy Award nominations just two days away, the Producers Guild of America has chosen its favorite films of the past year...
Dave McNary of Variety writes:
In an unpredictable turn in the wide-open awards season, the Producers Guild of America has tapped offbeat family comedy "Little Miss Sunshine" as winner of its top feature film award over "Babel," "The Departed," "Dreamgirls" and "The Queen."
The PGA, based on voting by its 3,300 members, gave its Darryl F. Zanuck trophy to "Sunshine" producers Marc Turtletaub, David T. Friendly, Peter Saraf, Albert Berger & Ron Yerxa in ceremonies Saturday night at the Century Plaza. The award, presented by Tom Cruise, was only the second comedy ever chosen by the PGA, joining "Forrest Gump."
With a $12 million price tag, "Sunshine" was the lowest-cost of the nominees for the PGA award. Fox Searchlight acquired the pic -- starring Alan Arkin, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Abigail Van Breslin, Steve Carrell and Paul Dano as a dysfunctional family -- at last year's Sundance Film Festival.
In his acceptance speech, Turtletaub singled out Michael Arndt's screenplay and said the key scene in making him decide to back the project came when he read about the grandfather advising his grandson to have sex with a lot of women -- "I mean, like a thousand."
"Thank you Michael," he added. "Without your wonderful screenplay, with equal parts of humor, heart and wisdom, none of us would be here tonight."
The PGA win for "Little Miss Sunshine" -- a surprise success first released during the summer with domestic grosses hitting nearly $60 million -- gives it significant awards season momentum as the PGA winner has matched the Best Picture Oscar winner 11 times in 17 years. However, the orgs differed last year with the PGA choosing "Brokeback Mountain" and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences going with "Crash" and in 2005 with "The Aviator" winning at the PGA and "Million Dollar Baby" winning the Best Picture Oscar.
"Little Miss Sunshine" hadn't been seen as frontrunner recently, thanks to "Babel" and "Dreamgirls” taking the Golden Globes for best drama and best comedy/musical, respectively. "Babel," "Dreamgirls," "The Departed" and "Sunshine" have all been nominated for the DGA award for director, the WGA for script and the SAG award for top ensemble.
If "Sunshine" receives an Oscar nom for Best Picture on Tuesday, the exec committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will then have to eliminate at least two of the five producers from being credited due to the AMPAS requirement limiting the number of producers to three. The PGA, which formally advises AMPAS on producer credits, has no limit on the number of producers that can be credited although it's been attempting to cut down on the proliferation of credits.
The PGA's determination of credits last year on "Crash," which named only Paul Haggis and Cathy Schulman, provoked a lawsuit against the PGA and AMPAS from financier Bob Yari. A judge dismissed the suit last month.
Yerxa, in his acceptance speech, thanked the PGA for giving all five producers the award. "We did different things at different times and we had a great working relationship," he added. We couldn't be more gratified that the Producers Guild credited all five of us...
The PGA presented its second animated feature trophy to Disney/Pixar's "Cars," which topped "Flushed Away," "Happy Feet," "Ice Age: the Meltdown" and "Monster House." ...
...Also at the kudofest was former Vice President Al Gore, who gave a well received speech as part of the presentation of the Kramer award given to the producers of "An Inconvenient Truth."
The full article and winners list....
This is a great win for Little Miss Sunshine...It's a superb film well worth the rent.
...The road to the Super Bowl continues for the Chicago Bears as they take on sentimental favorites, The New Orleans Saints later today...Here's a preview of the big NFC Championship Game...I'll be sweating it out in front of my TV for the Bears, that's for sure--especially after last weekends' sqeaker win against the Seattle Seahawks...
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Pepper And Spice
It was recently announced that actress Gwyneth Paltrow has signed on for Jon Favreau's film adaptation of the Iron Man comic book... The folks over at IGN have the details:
Paltrow Peps Up Iron ManMarvel Studios announced [on January 17th] that Gwyneth will play Virginia "Pepper" Potts, personal secretary and confidant to Tony Stark in the flick. Downey Jr. stars in the title role as Stark/Iron Man, and Howard plays Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes, Stark's best friend.
The studio explains that Pepper is an invaluable resource to Stark Industries, and one of the few people in Tony's life who can go toe-to-toe with him, occasionally acting as his conscience and working to keep his priorities straight as he secretly defends the world. Below the surface, Marvel says, Tony and Pepper share a deep attraction for one another although neither is willing to admit it.
"Gwyneth is the embodiment of a leading lady. She brings intelligence, poise and an incredible range of talent to this role," said Kevin Feige, President of Production, Marvel Studios. "We could not be more excited about the great chemistry this illustrious cast will bring to Iron Man."
...Iron Man is slated to hit theaters May 2, 2008
As I've said before, the casting for this project is very impressive...
This isn't Palytow's first foray into worlds of the fantastic...I'm just hoping this film turns out better than Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow did. Fingers Firmly Crossed. So far the odds are looking very good that Iron Man will satisfy the masses.
Al Pacino as noted Spanish painter Salvador Dali...So says Michael Fleming of Variety:
Al Pacino will play artist Salvador Dali in "Dali & I: The Surreal Story," with Andrew Niccol directing. Room 9 Entertainment has set a June start date in New York and Spain.
Niccol, who previously directed Pacino in "Simone," is rewriting a John Salvati-scripted adaptation of the Stan Lauryssen book "Dali and I."
Pic's produced by Room 9 partners David O. Sacks, Daniel Brunt and Michael R. Newman, who are coming off "Thank You for Smoking."
The film covers the latter days of Dali and Niccol said that was when the surrealist painter decided to take his career in a most surreal direction. He felt that Pacino understood the subject.
To be honest, Simone was not all that great of a film, certainly not as good as the talent suggested. The Dali project sounds like a better fit for the friends to try on.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Road Kill
In a tag team article for Variety Gabriel Snyder and Dave McNary write:
With only one new wide release this weekend -- Rogue's frightener "The Hitcher," bowing at 2,831 theaters -- most of the activity this weekend will be for kudos contenders expanding to take advantage of this week's Golden Globes and Tuesday's Oscar nominations announcement.
Miramax's "The Queen," for which Helen Mirren won actress (drama) at the Globes, is making the most dramatic expansion, jumping from 344 screens to 1,586, which will be the widest point of release in its 17-week run.
Also expanding are Paramount Vantage's "Babel," which will go from 173 to 889 screens after winning best dramatic film at the Globes; Picturehouse's "Pan's Labyrinth" is going from 194 screens to 609; after Forest Whitaker won a Globe, Fox Searchlight's "The Last King of Scotland" will go from four screens to 495; and Warner Bros.' Globe winner for foreign film, Clint Eastwood's "Letters From Iwo Jima," will get a bump from 35 to 360 theaters.
In addition, Paramount and DreamWorks' "Dreamgirls," which is going into the weekend with a cume of $69 million, will get a bump from 1,907 theaters to 2,214 this weekend after winning best picture in the comedy/musical Globes category.
"Obviously with the publicity we received from the Golden Globes, we wanted to expand by another few hundred runs," said Par distrib topper Jim Tharp. Though the film is now in national release, he said new screens will mostly be in existing markets, "but we're adding some smaller markets."
All the expansions, along with strong holdovers including last week's B.O. champ Sony's "Stomp the Yard" and Fox's holiday hit "Night at the Museum," as well as Sony's "The Pursuit of Happyness," make for a hard-to-predict frame.
Because of the three-day weekend for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, which helps Sunday grosses, falloffs should be steep this weekend.
Sony distrib chief Rory Bruer said, "You hope for the best because of course you're going to get an inflated drop just because of the holiday weekend, but the exits (on 'Stomp the Yard') were so good that we're hopeful that it'll continue to play well."
While many of the pics in the market, including "Stomp" and the prestige pic expansions, are skewing slightly older, Rogue's "Hitcher" is tracking better with the under-25 crowd that tends to support horror pics ...
Bad reviews aside, as the sole big opener of the week, Joshua Rich of Entertainment Weekly says Look for ''The Hitcher'' to ride in front; Adding--Horror remake figures to leave Stiller and ''Stomp'' in the rearview mirror
As an EW Bonus for today: Adam B. Vary reports on Day 1 of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival...and guess what? Event chairman Robert Redford kicked things of on a political note. Imagine that!
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Come Ride On The Sin City Casting Carousel
Angelina Jolie (pictured above) out? Rachel Weisz in? Jolie has been long rumored to be up for a pivotal role in Sin City 2...That may no longer be the case
Stax of Filmforce has the latest
Has director Robert Rodriguez finally gotten sick of waiting for Angelina Jolie's schedule to clear so he can make Sin City 2? According to the rumor mill, the helmer has opted to move ahead with a different Oscar-winning actress.
Rodriguez is reportedly trying to land Rachel Weisz (The Mummy, The Fountain) as Jolie's replacement. According to a scooper for CinemaBlend.com, "Rachel is in talks with Robert Rodriguez's people about taking on the role of Ava Lord, the titular Dame to Kill For in the original comic on which Sin City 2 is going to be based."
If Weisz is indeed in the project then Sin City 2 could finally begin shooting by 2008.
The site cautions, however, that it heard this rumor from an anonymous source so it can't verify the accuracy of their claim.
Film Ick, however, claims they have heard that Rose McGowan and not Weisz is up for the part. McGowan recently worked with Robert Rodriguez in Grindhouse.
As much I like the work of Rose McGowan... Knowing the character as seen in the graphic novel the way do I think Weisz (pictured above) makes for a better replacement. Whatever happens and whoever gets the role, I hope Rodriguez can get the ball rolling on the sequel soon, over at Troublemaker Studios. It's really quite ridiculous that it's taken so long to begin shooting the sucker--considering how fast the first film made it through page to screen.
Dance Card
DRAMATIC COMPETITION
"Adrift in Manhattan," directed by Alfredo de Villa ("Washington Heights") and written by Nat Moss and de Villa, stars Heather Graham as a grieving eye doctor reassessing her life, while an aging artist deals with his loss of eyesight and a photogra-pher battles personal demons. Features an eye-popping sex scene with Graham. Victor Rasuk, Dominic Chianese, William Baldwin and Elizabeth Pena also star.
"Broken English," directed and written by Zoe Cassavetes in her dramatic feature bow, is a romantic yarn about a thirty-something woman (Parker Posey) who embarks upon a relationship with an offbeat Frenchman while her friends are preoccupied with family life. Also with Melvil Poupaud, Drea de Matteo, Gena Rowlands, Justin Theroux, Peter Bogdanovich, Tim Guinee, James McCaffrey, Josh Hamilton and Bernadette La-font.
"Four Sheets to the Wind," a debut feature from Sundance Lab director-writer Sterlin Harjo, is a comedy/drama about a Native American brother and sister who, after their father dies, embark upon a new life in Tulsa. With Cody Lightning and Jeri Arre-dondo.
"The Good Life," directed and written by Steve Berra, is about how the arrival of a young woman disrupts the life of a young man who's dedicated himself to operating a faded movie palace in a small town. Mark Webber, Zooey Deschanel, Bill Paxton, Harry Dean Stanton, Chris Klein, Patrick Fugit, Drea de Matteo, Bruce McGill, Donal Logue and Deborah Rush star.
"Grace Is Gone," the first dramatic feature from director-writer James C. Strouse, is a topical story about the three days it takes for a father (John Cusack) to summon the courage to tell his young daughters that their mother has been killed in Iraq. Alessandro Nivola, Shelan O'Keefe and Gracie Bednarczyk fill out the cast.
"Joshua," directed by George Ratliff ("Hellhouse") and written by David Gilbert and Ratliff, is a threatening child meller about the eponymous 8-year-old prodigy who wreaks havoc on his New York family when a baby sister is brought home from the hos-pital. Sam Rockwell, Vera Farmiga, Celia Weston, Dallas Roberts, Michael McKean and Jacob Kogan star.
"Never Forever," directed and written by Gina Kim, is about a woman (Vera Far-miga) who launches into a clandestine relationship with a stranger when she and her Asian-American husband can't conceive a child. David McInnis, Jung-woo Ha and Hwasi Lee co-star.
"On the Road With Judas," directed and written by J.J. Lask, sees reality, fiction and different storytelling modes mix to relate the tale of a young thief and his lover. Aaron Ruell, Eddie Kaye Thomas and Kevin Corrigan star.
"Padre nuestro," directed and written by Christopher Zalla, is an immigration sur-vival story about a criminal's passage from his native Mexico to New York City, where he meets a man looking for his wealthy father. Jesus Ochoa, Armando Hernandez, Jorge Adrian Espindola and Paola Mendoza star.
"The Pool," directed by documaker Chris Smith and written by Smith and Randy Russell, is a class study acted in Hindi and filmed in Goa, India, about a young hotel worker's fixation on a swimming pool and the family that comes to occupy the house it adjoins. Nana Patekar, Venkatesh Chavan, Jhangir Badshah and Ayesha Mohan star.
"Rocket Science," directed and written by documaker Jeffrey Blitz ("Spell-bound"), is an HBO-produced story about a 15-year-old stutterer from New Jersey who is drawn into the intense world of competitive debating when he falls for the star of the debate team.
"Snow Angels," directed by David Gordon Green ("George Washington") and written by Stewart O'Nan, is a dark tale about a teenager, his former babysitter, her es-tranged husband and their daughter. Sam Rockwell, Kate Beckinsale, Griffin Dunne and Amy Sedaris star.
"Starting Out in the Evening," directed by Andrew Wagner ("The Talent Given Us") and written by Wagner and Fred Parnes, concerns a grad student who convinces an aging, solitary writer (Frank Langella) that her thesis will put him back in the literary spotlight. Lili Taylor, Lauren Ambrose and Adrian Lester co-star.
"Teeth," directed and written by Mitchell Lichtenstein, is a conceptually provoca-tive yarn about a devoutly Christian high school girl (Jess Wexler) who finds she pos-sesses a "physical advantage" over men when she becomes the victim of a sexual assault. John Hensley, Josh Pais, Hale Appleman and Lenny von Dohlen also appear.
"The Untitled Dakota Fanning Project, aka Hounddog," directed and written by Deborah Kampmeier ("Virgin"), is a Southern gothic tale set in 1961 Alabama about a precocious girl who finds what she's looking for in blues music. Fanning stars along with Robin Wright Penn, David Morse, Piper Laurie and Afemo Omilami.
"Weapons," directed and written by Adam Bhala Lough, is a multistrand revenge drama that examines several seemingly random youth-related killings in a small town over the course of a weekend. Nick Cannon, Paul Dano, Mark Webber, Riley Smith, Regine Nehy, Jade Yorker, Brandon Mychal Smith, Amy Ferguson, Aris Mendoza, Serena Reeder, Toni Trucks and Arliss Howard star.
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
"Banished," directed by Marco Williams, is an exploration of what might be done to right the wrongs committed in three American towns that forcibly ejected their black populations in the early 20th century.
"Chasing Ghosts," directed by Lincoln Ruchti, takes a look at the winners of the original, 1982 Video Game World Championship.
"Crazy Love," directed by Dan Klores, is the troubling true story of an obsessive relationship between a married man and a beautiful, single 20-year-old woman that started in 1957 and continues.
"Everything's Cool," directed by Judith Helfand and Daniel B. Gold, follows the struggles of some global warming activists to find the right ways to move from advocacy to public action on behalf of alternative energy.
"For the Bible Tells Me So," directed by Daniel Karslake, looks at five conserva-tive Christian families as a way of analyzing how the religious right has tried to use the Bible to stigmatize gays.
"Ghosts of Abu Ghraib," directed by Rory Kennedy, uses firsthand testimony from those involved to examine the abuses at the Iraq prison.
"Girl 27," directed by David Stenn, investigates the cover-up of a scandal stem-ming from the rape of underage dancer Patricia Douglas at a wild MGM stag party in 1937.
"Hear and Now," directed by Irene Taylor Brodsky, is the story of the filmmaker's deaf parents who, after 65 years of silence, decide to have cochlear implant surgery in an attempt to gain hearing.
"Send a Bullet," directed by Jason Kohn, takes a look at corruption and violence in contempo Brazil.
"My Kid Could Paint That," directed by Amir Bar-Lev, focuses on a 4-year-old girl whose paintings, which have been compared to the work of Kandinsky, Pollock and Picasso, have already netted her parents $300,000.
"Nanking," directed by Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman, examines the "Rape of Nanking" by the Japanese in the '30s, with attention to the special efforts of a small group of Westerners who saved more than 250,000 people in the midst of the violence.
"No End in Sight," directed by Charles Ferguson, is a comprehensive analysis, us-ing first-time interviews with significant participants, of the chain of decisions that led to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq.
"Protagonist," directed by Jessica Yu, uses the stories of four diverse men to ex-plore the organic relationship between human life and Euripidean dramatic structure.
"War Dance," directed by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine, concerns the efforts of three young Ugandan girls and their refugee camp school to travel to compete in a na-tional music and dance festival.
"White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki," directed by Steven Okazaki, looks at the human cost of atomic warfare.
"Zoo," directed by Robinson Devor ("Police Beat") offers a humanizing account of the notorious case of an apparently normal Seattle man who died during a sexual en-counter with a horse.
WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION
"Blame It on Fidel" (France), directed and written by Julie Gavras, takes the point of view of a 9-year-old girl whose parents become political radicals in early '70s Paris.
"Drained" (Brazil), directed by Heitor Dhalia and written by Marcal Aquino and Dhalia, concerns the life change of a devious pawnbroker.
"Dreams of Dust" (Burkina Faso/Canada/France), directed and written by Laurent Salgues, is about a Nigerian peasant who hopes to put his past behind him by working in a gold mine in Burkina Faso.
"Driving With My Wife's Lover" (South Korea), directed by Kim Taisik and writ-ten by Kim Joenhan and Kim, describes the long taxi journey of a man and the cab driver he's learned is having an affair with his wife.
"Eagle vs. Shark" (New Zealand), directed and written by Taika Waititi, is a por-trait of two social misfits who try to find love. A Miramax release in its world premiere.
"Ezra" (France), directed by Newton I. Aduaka and written by Aduaka and Alain-Michel Blanc, examines the attempt of a former child soldier to carve out a normal life after the civil war in Sierra Leone. World premiere.
"Ghosts" (U.K.), directed by Nick Broomfield and written by Broomfield and Jez Lewis, is a fact-based telling of the tragic struggle of an illegal Chinese woman to find a footing in the U.K.
"How Is Your Fish Today?" (U.K.), directed by Xiaolu Guo and written by Rao Hui and Xiaolu, looks at a Chinese writer's inner journey through his fictional characters.
"How She Move?" (Canada), directed by Ian Iqbal Rashid and written by Annmarie Morais, is the tale of a private school student forced to return to her former crime-ridden neighborhood, where she takes up competitive step dancing. World pre-miere.
"The Island" (Russia), directed by Pavel Lounguine and written by Dmitri Sobo-lev, is a drama bout an odd monk at a small Russian Orthodox monastery.
"Khadak" (Belgium/Germany), directed and written by Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth, concerns a young Mongolian faced with the end of the nomadic way of life in the wake of an animal plague.
"The Legacy" (Georgia/France), directed and written by Gela Babluani and Temur Babluani, focuses on three French hip-sters and a translator who encounter an old man and his grandchild determined to end a clan war in Georgia, where the French intend to claim an inherited castle.
"The Night Buffalo" (Mexico), directed by Jorge Hernandez Aldana and written by Hernandez Aldana and Guillermo Arriaga, is about a 22-year-old schizophrenic who schemes to ensnare his cheating girlfriend and her lover before committing suicide. World premiere.
"Noise" (Australia), directed and written by Matthew Saville, follows the strug-gles of a young cop who suffers from tinnitus, or ear-ringing, to clear his head of the screaming he hears in the wake of a mass murder on a train. World premiere.
"Once" (Ireland), directed and written by John Carney, is a modern musical love story featuring Glen Hansard and his Irish band the Frames.
"Sweet Mud" (Israel), directed and written by Dror Shaul, is an account of a man who must deal with his mother's mental illness within the constraints of '70s kibbutz life.
WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
"Acidente" (Brazil), directed by Cao Guimaraes and Pablo Lobato, is an ex-perimental, poetic expression of everyday life culled from images of 20 cities in Brazil.
"Bajo Juarez, the City Devouring Its Daughters" (Mexico), directed by Alejandra Sanchez, examines the societal corruption backdropping the many cases of sexual abuse and murders of women in a Mexican industrial border town.
"Cocalero" (Bolivia), directed by Alejandro Landes, follows the campaign of Ay-maran Indian Evo Morales to become the first president of Bolivia from an indigenous tribe. World premiere.
"Comrades in Dreams" (Germany), directed by Uli Gaulke, looks at four people in different parts of the world who bring cinema to locals.
"Crossing the Line" (U.K.), directed by Daniel Gordon, recounts the life of one of the few Americans who defected to North Korea during the Cold War.
"Enemies of Happiness" (Denmark), directed by Eva Mulvad and Anja Al-Erhayem, is an account of the victory of a 28-year-old Afghan woman in the 2005 par-liamentary election.
"The Future Is Unwritten" (Ireland/U.K.), directed by Julien Temple, is a look at Joe Strummer and the punk-rock generation.
"Hot House" (Israel), directed by Shimon Dotan, examines how Israeli prisons have become a breeding ground for future Palestinian leaders and terrorists.
"In the Shadow of the Moon" (U.K.), directed by David Sington, is a comprehen-sive account of the American Apollo space program. World premiere.
"Manufactured Landscapes" (Canada), directed by Jennifer Baichwal, focuses on the work of photographer Edward Burtynsky and his portraits of the transformation of landscapes due to industry and manufacturing.
"The Monastery: Mr. Vig and the Nun" (Denmark), directed by Pernille Rose Gronkjaer, is about how an 82-year-old male virgin and a Russian nun transform the for-mer's castle into an Orthodox Russian monastery.
"On a Tightrope" (Norway/Canada), directed by Petr Lom, uses the efforts of four orphans to learning tightrope walking to express the struggle of the Uighur Chinese Mus-lim minority to reconcile religion and communism.
"Three Comrades" (Netherlands), directed by Masha Novikova, is an account of how the lives of three lifelong friends are devastated by the war in Chechnya.
"A Very British Gangster" (U.K.), directed by Donal MacIntyre, takes an upclose look at Manchester's Dominic Noonan, the head of one of Britain's best-known crime families.
"VHS -- Kahloucha" (Tunisia), directed by Nejib Belkadhi, concerns a self-styled filmmaker in a poor Tunisian community.
"Welcome Europa" (France), directed by Bruno Ulmer, is about the struggles of Kurdish, Moroccan and Romanian immigrants in Europe.
Sounds like the fest is packed with a lot of interesting films this year. I'll have more Sundance coverage as events warrant.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Parental Guidance Is Suggested
Pamela McClintock of Variety has the details:
Looking to reform and demystify the ratings system, the MPAA and National Assn. of Theater Owners are planning a series of changes, including a new admonishment to parents that certain R-rated movies aren't suitable for younger kids, period.
Another key change: For the first time, a filmmaker will be able to cite another movie when waging an appeal.
Along with specific rule revisions, the campaign to make the ratings process more user-friendly and transparent for parents and filmmakers includes an extensive outreach and education program.
Campaign officially kicks off Monday at the Sundance Film Fest when MPAA topper Dan Glickman and Joan Graves, chair of the Classification & Rating Administration [(CARA)], will meet with indie filmmakers, producers and specialty arm execs to go over the alterations. (CARA is operated by the MPAA, which reps the major studios, and NATO.)
A year ago at Sundance, Kirby Dick made noise with his docu "This Film Is Not Yet Rated," which took direct aim at the Motion Picture Assn. of America's ratings system for being shrouded in secrecy and, hence, lacking accountability.
At the time, Glickman had already been meeting with and gathering input from various stakeholders in the ratings system -- including filmmakers, guilds, parents' groups and Washington lawmakers -- but Dick's film had an impact.
"The documentary made it clear that we probably haven't done as much as we can to explain how it all works," Glickman told Daily Variety, adding that the voluntary ratings system--devised and implemented by Jack Valenti, his predecessor -- is a "gem," even if it needs some polishing.
To that end, the public soon will have access to information previously unavailable. That includes:
For the first time, CARA will post the ratings rules on the MPAA Web site, describing the standards for each rating. The ratings and appeal processes also will be described in detail, along with a link to paperwork needed to submit a film for a rating.
Most members of the ratings board will remain anonymous, although CARA will describe the demographic make-up of the board, which is composed of parents. The names of the three senior raters have always been public; now, they will be posted online.
In terms of rule revisions, the planned changes include:
A filmmaker who appeals a rating can reference similar scenes in other movies, although the appeals board still will focus heavily on context.
CARA will formalize its rule that a member of the ratings board doesn't stay on the board after his or her children are grown.
CARA also will formalize its educational training system for raters.
When the CARA rules are implemented later this year, the MPAA and NATO will designate additional members to the appeals board who don't come from the MPAA or NATO fold. (Indie filmmakers might be one possibility.)
NATO and MPAA will occasionally be able to designate additional observers from different backgrounds to the appeals board.
Glickman, Graves and NATO [president] John Fithian said CARA also will increase its efforts to educate parents, including circulating a poster and video that will advertise a new Red Carpet Ratings Service, a weekly email alert that gives the parents the ratings for new releases.
In terms of the new explanation stating that a particular picture might not be appropriate for younger children, MPAA and NATO often receive numerous complaints from parent orgs about adults who take younger kids to movies with a hard R-rating.
The new explanation is designed to give parents, as well as theater staff, additional info. Anyone under 17 would still be allowed into any R-rated movie if they were accompanied by an adult.
"We are the frontline when it comes to enforcing the ratings system," Fithian said.
CARA hasn't come up with the precise language for the admonishment, which would be included in the rating definition.
After Sundance, Glickman, Graves and Fithian will hold a series of roundtables with a number of other interested groups to talk about the changes and what they mean for the ratings system, culminating with a briefing at ShoWest, when theater owners will be briefed by Fithian.
The ratings system can't ever be completely defined, since there will always be a subjective factor to decisions made by the ratings board, but Graves believes the changes will help make the process less opaque.
While I think the changes to the ratings system are a good thing. I hope the parents out there do their part as well. You can make all the changes you want, but as I have always maintained--It's ultimately up to a parent or guardian to know what his or her child is up to--and to learn about the kinds of movies they watch--not some panel or association.
I'm hoping that these ratings changes will help to quiet some very loud voices who complain about the kinds of movies being made by Hollywood...Take time to know how the ratings system works and things will be better for everybody.
TV Shows That Act Like Movies
For me, that question has an obvious easy answer...I mean, I write an almost daily blog about movies, after all.
While I often enjoy what the tube has to offer the masses--reality TV notwithstanding--there's just that special something about cinema that's hard for television to duplicate. Of course, there always exceptions...What follows are my favorite movie-esque programs currently on the dial for the 06-07 season:
Based on author Buzz Bissinger's book about a high school football team in Dillion Texas--producers Peter Berg and Brian Grazer first brought this story to the big screen a couple of years ago as a better than average movie...Using the same backdrop for Friday Night Lights the TV series actually improves on the ideas and themes of the film. The cast is top notch and helps bring the 3 dimensional flawed characters to life with each new episode. Led by Kyle Chandler as Coach Eric Taylor and the always exceptional Connie Britton (who was also in the film) playing his wife Tami. The pair offers up the most realistic portrayal of married life on TV today. And then there's the cast of young folk: Zach Gilford as Matt Saracen, the team's back-up QB who faces challenges on the field when he's forced to take over the top spot, and at home, caring for an ill grandparent and a dad who has just returned from Iraq. Scott Porter is Jason Street. Forced to face a devastating spinal cord injury, Street must grapple with issues of recovery, hope and life after football. Complicating matters is the fact that Street's best friend and fellow team member Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) has fallen for his cheerleader girlfriend Lyla (Minka Kelly). Gaius Charles as Brian 'Smash' Williams will do anything he has to, in order to impress the college scouts coming to watch him play. FNL also offers viewers the most stark portrayal of a person with a disability I've seen on television--even coming close to rivaling most movies I have seen on the subject.
The FNL Series Cast Is One Of The Best On The Tube Right Now Lost may be frustrating its fans with a 12 week hiatus that ends on February 7th--But I gotta admit, the story of airline passengers stranded on a mysterious island in the Pacific still has me hooked...at least for now...As cool as the show's mythology is, I'm letting creators Jeffrey Lieber, J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof and the network know that this stop/start stuff has to end or else I'm gone. I may get my wish per an Entertainment Weekly online article: ''Lost'' producer: ''It's time for us to find an end point''
Prison Break had a great first season last year...The series, created by Paul Scheuring, tells the story of one brother saving another. Michael (Wentworth Miller) is sentenced to jail solely with the intention of escaping with his wrongly accused, electric chair bound half brother Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) With the help of prison doctor Sara Tancredi (Sarah Wayne Callies) the men were able to escape, along with a handful of fellow inmates in tow...My favorite con on the show has to be Robert Knepper as the creepy psycho Theodore 'T-Bag' Bagwell.
And then there's my favorite cinematic TV show 24. Did you SEE that intense two night sixth season premiere a few days ago? Wow! Created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, the real time aspect isn't what keeps me watching. It's the situations that Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland--who's doing fabulous work) finds himself in that draw you in. In a post 9/11 world fighting terrorism as a premise is all too real--which only adds to the drama. Providing Jack with the information he needs to save the nation is Mary Lynn Rajskub as Chloe O'Brian--She also givees us some of the show's best moments period. These folks are doing movie size work on a small screen budget.
Sure these shows sometimes stretch a viewers patience to the Nth degree in various ways...But collectively they are the next best thing to watching a movie.
Friday Night Lights airs Wednesday 8:00 PM on NBC and is the most ratings challenged of the bunch.
Heroes airs Monday 9:00 PM on NBC An encore of each episode can be seen on the SciFi Channel Friday 7:00 PM.
Lost airs Wednesday 10:00 PM on ABC.
Prison Break airs Monday 8:00 PM on FOX
24 airs Monday 9:00 PM on FOX.
All times Eastern and Pacific Check them out...You'll be glad ya did.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Stay Gold(en)
The big news of night (for me, anyway) was that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association saw fit to honor Martin Scorsese (pictured below). His 2nd Globe was as Best Director for The Departed
Phil Gallo of Variety had a front row seat: The Golden Globes spread out the love Monday night, honoring a long-gestating musical, several beloved figures and a long list of British talent.
Trophy winners almost all had familiarity on their side as films based on a play, books, other movies and real life nabbed the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn.'s 64th annual Golden Globes at the Beverly Hilton. Prizes were divided almost evenly between Americans and foreign talent.
With three trophies, including top comedy or musical pic, Paramount/DreamWorks' "Dreamgirls" -- the well-known tuner that drew on Detroit's musical history -- led the way.
The third part of Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's trilogy, "Babel," was chosen best drama, while the stories of Queen Elizabeth, Idi Amin, Boston cops 'n' robbers and a Gotham fashion editor received the other top prizes. And, let's not forget Borat.
The wins only partially focused the Oscar race.
"Dreamgirls," the legit tuner with many parallels to the story of the Supremes, took a major bow Monday night, and put the spotlight on Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson. Both first-time winners, the two took home awards in the supporting acting categories.
Producer Laurence Mark, in his acceptance speech, shrugged off the fact that it took 25 years to get the pic made, suggesting it only came to fruition "so that these stars could align and (director) Bill Condon would be there to guide them."
"Dreamgirls" becomes the fourth musical in the last six years to win the comedy or musical best picture; only one of those, "Chicago," has gone on to win the picture Oscar.
Inarritu's "Babel," the leader in noms with seven, won only one award but it was an important one: best picture drama. Structured similarly to his last pic, 2003's "21 Grams," pic has been on the top of several critics groups' lists.
Paramount received the biggest slap on the back: The Viacom company distributed both best picture winners.
In each of the last two years, neither of the top Globe winners has gone on to win the Oscar. For more than three decades prior, the two awards groups lined up often.
Pixar's "Cars" won the trophy for animated feature film, a new category in the Globes.
"The Queen" was the only other multiple winner, receiving awards for its star Helen Mirren and writer Peter Morgan.
Mirren and her fellow actress winner, Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada," secured their position as the front-runners for the femme acting Oscar. For Mirren, it was her first win for a film, having won an actress nod for "Losing Chase" in 1997.
Streep won her sixth Globe, and used her time onstage to laud her fellow actress nominees and chide theater owners that don't support smaller films.
"This has been a fun year to watch movies because of you gals," she said after reciting the first names of several actresses. "It makes you want to cry with gratitude -- until next year."
Martin Scorsese, who has won only one Globe, nabbed his second for the star-laden "The Departed." He previously won in 2003 for "Gangs of New York."
"The Departed" was based on the 2002 Japanese film "Mou Gaan Dou" ("Infernal Affairs") which Scorsese envisioned "in the Warner Bros. tradition of 'Public Enemy' and 'Angels With Dirty Faces.' We wound up making 'Devils With Dirty Faces.' "
Forest Whitaker, whose only other Globe nomination was also for the depiction of a real character, Charlie Parker in 1988's "Bird," won the actor in a drama trophy, topping Peter O'Toole, Will Smith and Leonardo DiCaprio, who was nominated twice. Whitaker, visibly choked up when he accepted the trophy, portrayed Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland."
On the comedy side, Sacha Baron Cohen ("Borat") unleashed the evening's most hilarious -- and vile -- acceptance speech He appeared out of the Borat character, which he has used throughout the film's promotional period.
Clint Eastwood's "Letters From Iwo Jima" became the first Japanese-language film in 46 years to win the foreign-language category. ("Odd Obsession" was one of five winners in 1960). It leaves the category wide open come Oscar time as "Iwo Jima" is a U.S. production and therefore not eligible. Pic beat "Volver," "Pan's Labyrinth," Apocalypto" and "The Lives of Others."
Telecast allowed early winners to ramble at length and was quick to cut off speeches as the major awards were being handed out at the end of the evening.
Prince, who arrived late, missed the opportunity to pick up the song trophy for his tune "The Song of the Heart" from "Happy Feet." It was Prince's first Globes win.
Frenchman Alexandre Desplat won the score award for "The Painted Veil," becoming the first European to win the award since Ennio Morricone snared the prize in 2000.
Tom Hanks presented the Cecil B. DeMille Award to Warren Beatty, praising his "balls -- and by balls, I mean artistic vision."
The Globes also honor the TV industry...Here's the complete list of winners from both mediums...
Then, the Globes winners weigh in backstage...
Late last night, I did happen to catch a replay of Warren Beatty's acceptance speech, for his Cecil B. DeMille award...And he sounded rather smug for a guy at the end of his career...
Monday, January 15, 2007
Grounds Keeper
"Stomp" Stands Tall
Gabriel Snyder of Variety takes us through the latest derby results:
Sony and Screen Gems stomped on skeptics as their pic "Stomp the Yard," grossed $22 million over the three-day frame, knocking 20th Century Fox's "Night at The Museum" from the top spot for the first time in four weeks.
Set in the world of "stepping" competitions between black fraternities, pic was driven by a largely African-American aud that skewed female and over 18. Pic bowed at 2,051 theaters
"It's a big win for us," said Sony distrib chief Rory Bruer.
Fox's Ben Stiller laffer "Night at the Museum" came in at No. 2 with $17.1 million, pushing its cume to $185.8 million after four weeks in release.
Paramount and DreamWorks' "Dreamgirls" -- which has been courting an aud similar to those who took in "Stomp" over the weekend -- added 1,055 new dates for a total run of 1,907. Pic landed in fourth place, grossing $8.1 million -- off 6% from last weekend -- and boosting its cume to $65 million, a figure Par expects to grow as the awards season continues.
The frame's other fresh titles finished farther down the chart. Universal's "Alpha Dog," which stars Justin Timberlake in the tale of a kidnapping gone wrong, opened to $6.1 million at 1,289 theaters, which put it in seventh place. Disney's "Primeval" bowed just behind it in the No. 8 slot with $6.0 million from 2,444 playdates.
Meanwhile, the Weinstein Co.'s Luc Besson toon "Arthur and the Invisibles" launched in its first week of wide release with $4.3 million from 2,247 locations, putting in the 9th spot.
"With a combination of animation and live-action, 'Arthur' is a concept that American family audiences aren't really used to," said Harvey Weinstein. "We are off to a slow start but, the exit polls are strong."
Holdovers rounded out the top 10.
In third place was Sony's "The Pursuit of Happyness," which took in another $9.1 million over the frame, lifting its cume to $136.5 million...
...Sony announced Sunday that it's donating 2.5% of the opening-weekend gross to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Foundation.
Article Continues...
In his weekend wrap-up Joshua Rich of Entertainment Weekly said:
Three days into the four-day holiday weekend, the college dance movie is on top; meanwhile, ''Dreamgirls'' is finally in wide release, but only makes it to No. 4
Props to the folks at Sony Pictures for that donation to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Foundation
Sunday, January 14, 2007
New Year New Job New Problems
Studio Briefing gets us started with this January 5th shocker:
Pellicano Says He'll Defend Himself
Pellicano--Court JesterFederal judge Dale Fisher tried to talk Pellicano out of doing so, warning him that he must follow all the rules of the court that an established attorney would have learned, "and I will not help you. You will not receive special treatment from me at all."
The judge urged Pellicano to let him appoint a new defense attorney, but Pellicano was unswayed. "You're very kind, your honor, but no thank you," he said. "If you change your mind, let me know," the judge responded.
The Associated Press reported on Friday that Pellicano's attorney, Steven Gruell, said that Pellicano had told him that he was broke and couldn't afford him. "I was willing to do it [for free]," Gruell said, "but he was too proud" to accept. "It's a very foolish thing to do," Peter Keane, former dean of Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco, told Saturday's Los Angeles Times. "Usually you're consigning yourself to failure. It creates nightmares for judges. Judges and prosecutors hate it."
The Hollywood Reporter updates on what's happened in the case since then..and it sounds like a plot of some twisted mob movie
Pellicano certainly has a fool for a client...
Legendary Superhero Creator Stan Lee Moves From Comics to DVD
Stan Lee, who created or co-created some of Marvel Comics's most famous superheroes, plans to do the same thing on DVD. His POW! Entertainment is producing s DVD series, "Stan Lee Presents," being distributed by Starz Home Entertainment, whose first title, Mosaic..hit the shelves on Jan 9 at $14.98.
"We're very excited," Lee told Home Media Retailing magazine. "The DVDs should appeal to the same audience as those who enjoy Marvel comics." Mosaic will be followed by The Condor on March 20 and, later this year, Ringo, a superhero voiced by Ringo Starr.
Stan is The Man fir sure. But I wonder how well these non-marquee hero titles will sell...? I wish 'em luck
High-Def DVD's Face Security "Meltdown," Says Researcher
Suggesting that the movie industry may be spending millions of dollars developing encryption techniques to prevent DVDs from being copied, only to have the codes quickly cracked, Princeton University computer experts said Tuesday that software posted on the Internet by "Muslix64" represented "the first step in the meltdown" of the new AACS encryption standard used to protect Blu-ray and HD DVD high-definition DVDs.
Infoworld magazine quoted Princeton graduate student Alex Halderman, who has written numerous papers on CD and DVD protection technologies, as saying that it's only a matter of time before decryption codes become public and Hollywood is faced with unauthorized copying of AACS-protected movies.
Not all that shocking. No matter how secure the "safe" may be--if someone wants to crack it bad enough he or she will find a way to make that happen.
That's all the stew for now...gotta get ready for the big game...Later this afternoon the Chicago Bears begin their playoff journey towards Super Bowl XLI against the Seattle Seahawks.
The Sporting News says Bears ready to resume Super Bowl quest...