 | While She Was Out - Trailer Prepare yourself for the ultimate white-knuckle thrill ride trough the horrific trenches of America’s back woods. Academy AwardR winner Kim Basinger (L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, 8 MILE) delivers perhaps the most audacious performance of her illustrious career, as Della, a suburban housewife, hell bent on survival as she is mercilessly stalked by a group of teenage thugs let by a manipulative psychopath (Luke Haas of WITNESS). Armed with only a toolbox and the will to survive, can Della make it through the night, or will this pack of rabid predators have their way? Craig Sheffer (TV’s ONE TREE HILL) co-stars in this intense suspense thriller about one women, a night full of terror and the ultimate breaking point that lives in us all. Directed by: Susan Montford Starring: Kim Basinger, Luke Haas, Craig Sheffer |
While She Was Out – Trailer
December 12th, 2008Nothing but the Truth – Trailer
December 12th, 2008 | Nothing but the Truth - Trailer Inspired by today’s politically charged climate, “Nothing But The Truth” features Kate Beckinsale as Washington, DC political journalist Rachel Armstrong, who writes an explosive story about a government scandal in which she reveals the name of a covert CIA agent (Vera Farmiga). When a special government prosecutor (Matt Dillon) demands she divulge her source, she refuses and finds herself behind bars, struggling to defend the principles she has based her career upon. Directed by: Rod Lurie Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Angela Basset, Alan Alda, Vera Farmiga, David Schimmer |
The X-Files : I Want To Believe (2008)
December 11th, 2008
I have read the other reviews across the web, I have heard all the internet cry out in almost a unified voice : “The X-Files (2) : I Want To Believe movie stinks”. I suppose they would be correct if one compared it to the previous film made during the TV series run, the well handled Fight The Future which not only dealt with the alien conspiracy, but expanded the scope of the series, with a bigger budget, slimy aliens, explosions, attacks from swarms of mutant killer bees and making an escape on icy snowdrifts. Mulder and Scully are back again on more ice and snow- several years after the TV series closed down. There are no government conspiracies nor infectious oil slicks in this new film. What we get instead is a character study, a film which is more character driven than plot driven. Apparently, today’s audiences are such a fickle bunch that as days go by I become more and more out of touch with the rest of society… (more…)
Further ‘Dark Knight’ Indignities: Nolan’s Name Scribbled Out on DVDs
December 11th, 2008Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Movie Marketing, Oscar Watch
First The Dark Knight gets all but ignored at the Golden Globes, and now this! Members of critics' groups and other organizations have been getting copies of the new Dark Knight DVD as Warner Bros. hopes to boost its Oscar and end-of-the-year top-10-list chances. But members of the Writers Guild of America have noted that their copies have been altered: The words "A Christopher Nolan Film" on the front and back of the case have been blacked out with a marker. Defamer has the scoop on it, having noticed it on their own copy and then hearing it mentioned by someone else, too. Kyle Buchanan writes: "We called Warner Bros. to find out [what was going on], and a helpful publicist sighed. 'You must be WGA,' she said. 'It's because the guild won't accept a possessory credit for a director.'"
See, the WGA doesn't like it when movies say "A film by Christopher Nolan" or "A Christopher Nolan film." The WGA figures those credits make it sound like the director made the film all by himself, thus detracting from the invaluable work done by others -- like, say, for example, the writers. The WGA prefers a simple "Directed by Christopher Nolan." So apparently, when a DVD is being sent to WGA members, someone at Warner Bros. has to black out the offensive credit, lest the recipients be offended and ... what? Refuse to consider the film out of spite?
It's not clear from Defamer's report whether the WGA asked Warner Bros. to do this or whether Warner Bros. did it preemptively to avoid complaints. Either way, it seems to me that no matter what your position is on the "possessory credit" issue (and I tend to sympathize with the writers), this was a silly thing to do. I know the battle between writers and directors has been raging for decades, though; here's an interesting old Hollywood Reporter article about it, for further reading.
Six week bug
December 11th, 2008I’m finally over the annoying illness that’s kept me on a reduced schedule these past few weeks. I’m calling it bronchitis, though my doctor never used that term, and it’s possible it was something else entirely. In general I’m not a person who gets sick for more than a day or two, so it was frustrating to feel lousy this long.
It wasn’t until conversations at a cocktail on Saturday that I realized a huge chunk of my writer/actor/lawyer friends have or had the same thing, with symptoms roughly as follows:
Gurgling when you lie down to sleep.
Mild fever, or chills or headache — but not enough to make you feel sick-sick.
The kind of cough which, if you heard it come from an actor in a period drama, would telegraph the character’s impending death by consumption.
The insidious thing about this bug is that I generally didn’t felt bad enough to go the doctor. I’d skip the gym or go to bed early, but truly thought I’d be able to ride it out. I finally went in to get some drugs, and was better in a week.
In conversations with everyone who’s had it, the treatment always seems to comprise three things: an antibiotic, a decongestant and cough syrup. The brands change, but that’s always the cocktail. Of the three, the behind-the-counter decongestant (Claritin-D) required the most paranoia-inducing paperwork.1 But the prescription cough syrup was also unsettling, because it worked so well and felt so good. I was careful to limit my doses.
Just when I thought I’d beaten the bug, it roared back to life like Glenn Close leaping from the bathtub in Fatal Attraction. I’m pretty sure now that last jolt was just me kicking the cough syrup, despite my moderation.
Still, it feels good to feel like me again. Though I now have less excuse for endless Fallout 3 sessions.
- It contains pseudoephedrine, with is used to make meth, so the government tracks every sale.
Golden Globe film noms: Meryl twice? Tom Cruise once?
December 11th, 2008The Golden Globe film nominations are in, and they resolve... nothing. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is apparently quite happy to toss bouquets to any movies with a European place name in its title: Both "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" and "In Bruges" were nominated in the Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy category. "In Bruges" got two Best Actor nominations (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson), while "Vicky Cristina Barcelona got nods for actor (Javier Bardem), actress (Rebecca Hall), and supporting actress (Penelope Cruz). The place-name theory does not extend to Australia or "Australia," which got bupkes. (You can read the full list of film nominations below; for the TV awards, visit the award site or see what my colleagues have to say on the Viewer Discretion blog.)
How do we know this is the Golden Globes and not the Oscars? Because Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr got supporting actor nominations for their scurrilously funny turns in "Tropic Thunder," while James Franco is over in the Best Actor, Musical or Comedy category for his charmingly hapless stoner in "Pineapple Express." Meanwhile, Meryl Streep has staked claims in both Best Actress categories, for Drama ("Doubt") and Musical or Comedy ("Mamma Mia!"). Yes, "Mamma Mia!" is up for Best Picture, Musical or Comedy, and may represent the worst movie ever nominated in the category. (Did I say it wasn't enjoyable? Not at all.) Kate Winslet is up for a deuce as well: Best Actress (Drama) for "Revolutionary Road" and Best Supporting Actress for "The Reader".
Other surprises and omissions? "The Dark Knight" picked up one measly nomination, for Heath Ledger's performance. "WALL-E" got stuck at the Best Animated Feature kids' table with "Bolt" and "Kung Fu Panda". "Rachel Getting Married" squeaked in with only a Best Actress nod for Anne Hathaway. Clint Eastwood wasn't nominated for Best Director and neither of his movies, "Changeling" and "Gran Torino" made it into the big horserace. Angelina Jolie picked up a Best Actress (Drama) nod for the former and Eastwood himself got two music nominations for the latter, though, even if his singing of the theme from "Gran Torino" gives Pierce Brosnan in "Mamma Mia!" (mercifully un-nominated) a run for his atonal money.
Elsewhere, the HFPA is clearly drinking the year-end Kool-Aid, with such certified Oscar white elephants as "Revolutionary Road," "The Reader," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," and "Frost/Nixon" coming in for multiple nominations. (In my opinion, they're all problematic at best and snoozeworthy at worst.) Pretty much the entire cast of "Doubt" was nominated (Streep in a lead category, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis for supporting). And Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson -- pretty much the entire cast of "Last Chance Harvey" -- were both nominated, and the only reason I can figure for that is that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association likes their previous movies a lot. "Slumdog Millionaire," meanwhile continued its march to Oscar with a Best Motion Picture (Drama) nomination and nods for director Danny Boyle, writer Simon Beaufoy, and composer A.R. Rahman.
Don't try to make sense of any of this -- there is none. Just watch the big show on January 11th and marvel at the self-congratulatory glitz.
Best Motion Picture - Drama:
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Frost/Nixon"
"The Reader"
"Revolutionary Road"
"Slumdog Millionaire"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama:
Leonardo DiCaprio, "Revolutionary Road"
Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"
Sean Penn, "Milk"
Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama:
Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married"
Angelina Jolie, "Changeling"
Meryl Streep, "Doubt"
Kristen Scott Thomas, "I've Loved You So Long"
Kate Winslet, "Revolutionary Road"
Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy:
"Burn After Reading"
"Happy-Go-Lucky"
"In Bruges"
"Mamma Mia!"
"Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy:
Javier Bardem "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Colin Farrell, "In Bruges"
James Franco, "Pineapple Express"
Brendan Gleeson, "In Bruges"
Dustin Hoffman, "Last Chance Harvey"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy:
Rebecca Hall, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Sally Hawkins, "Happy-Go-Lucky"
Frances McDormand, "Burn After Reading"
Meryl Streep, "Mamma Mia!"
Emma Thompson, "Last Chance Harvey"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture:
Tom Cruise, "Tropic Thunder"
Robert Downey Jr., "Tropic Thunder"
Ralph Fiennes, "The Duchess"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Doubt"
Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture:
Amy Adams, "Doubt"
Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Viola Davis, "Doubt"
Marisa Tomei, "The Wrestler"
Kate Winslet, "The Reader"
Best Animated Feature:
"Bolt"
"Kung Fu Panda"
"WALL-E"
Best Foreign Language Film:
"The Baader Meinhof Complex" (Germany)
"Everlasting Moments" (Sweden/Denmark)
"Gomorrah" (Italy)
"I've Loved You So Long" (France)
"Waltz with Bashir" (Israel)
Best Director - Motion Picture:
Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"
Stephen Daldry, "The Reader"
David Fincher, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Ron Howard, "Frost/Nixon"
Sam Mendes, "Revolutionary Road"
Best Screenplay - Motion Picture:
Simon Beaufoy, "Slumdog Millionaire"
David Hare, "The Reader"
Peter Morgan, "Frost/Nixon"
Eric Roth, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
John Patrick Shanley, "Doubt"
Best Original Score - Motion Picture:
Alexandre Desplat, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Clint Eastwood, "Changeling"
James Newton Howard, "Defiance"
A.R. Rahman, "Slumdog Millionaire"
Hans Zimmer, "Frost/Nixon"
Best Original Song - Motion Picture:
"Down to Earth" from "WALL-E"
"Gran Torino" from "Gran Torino"
"I Thought I Lost You" from "Bolt"
"Once in a Lifetime" from "Cadillac Records"
"The Wrestler" from "The Wrestler"
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Knowing – Trailer 2
December 11th, 2008 | Knowing - Trailer 2 Academy Award Winner Nicolas Cage (National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Leaving Las Vegas) stars in KNOWING, a gripping action-thriller of global proportions about a professor who stumbles on terrifying predictions about the future—and sets out to prevent them from coming true. In 1958, as part of the dedication ceremony for a new elementary school, a group of students is asked to draw pictures to be stored in a time capsule. But one mysterious girl fills her sheet of paper with rows of apparently random numbers instead. Fifty years later, a new generation of students examines the capsule’s contents and the girl’s cryptic message ends up in the hands of young CALEB KOESTLER. But it is Caleb’s father, professor JOHN KOESTLER (Nicolas Cage), who makes the startling discovery that the encoded message predicts with pinpoint accuracy the dates, death tolls and coordinates of every major disaster of the past 50 years. As Ted further unravels the document’s chilling secrets, he realizes the document foretells three additional events—the last of which hints at destruction on a global scale and seems to somehow involve Ted and his son. When Ted’s attempts to alert the authorities fall on deaf ears, he takes it upon himself to try to prevent more destruction from taking place. With the reluctant help of DIANA WAYLAND (Rose Byrne) and ABBY WAYLAND, the daughter and granddaughter of the now-deceased author of the prophecies, Ted’s increasingly desperate efforts take him on a heart-pounding race against time until he finds himself facing the ultimate disaster—and the ultimate sacrifice. Directed by: Alex Proyas Starring: Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne |
USC at Sundance/Slamdance
December 10th, 2008A reminder for USC alums with movies playing at this year’s festivals: make sure the school knows so they can invite you to events: alumni@cinema.usc.edu.
Also, feel free to hype it in this thread.
Rewriting the rewriter
December 10th, 2008
How often do original screenwriters, who’ve been rewritten by other fellows, get hired back onto their original scripts? Does it matter if the script is revving up to go into production? I’ve heard of a few other guys like Josh Friedman (Chain Reaction) and Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine) hopping back on, but are they the exception or the rule?
– Lewis
It’s not uncommon. I was on and off both Charlie’s Angels movies several times, and I can think of at least half a dozen other cases where the original writers came back in before (or during) production.
In order to understand why the original writers are sometimes rehired, you have to understand why they leave projects. Sometimes, it’s simple availability: at a crucial moment during development of the first Charlie’s Angels, I was shooting a series in Toronto, so someone else got the gig (a long string of someone elses, as it turned out). In other cases, a new element (director, producer, star) wants to take the script in a new direction, which generally means a new writer — often someone they’ve worked with before.
You’re not always fired, and it’s not always acrimonious. That’s important to understand. The screenwriter wants the movie made, and wants to maintain relationships with the filmmakers and the studio. So it behooves everyone to make sure the original writer is at least peripherally involved, even if he’s no longer the active writer on the project.
The original writer might get asked back for several reasons. The simplest is cost: she may be willing to do a lot of piece work essentially for free because it’s her movie. But more often there is something about the original writer’s voice or vision that remains important despite subsequent revisions, and the producers (or director, or stars) recognize this. So she comes back in to make the new stuff feel like her stuff, and let it read like one movie rather than a patchwork.
More year-end critics picks coming in
December 10th, 2008Yesterday the Los Angeles Film Critics Association weighed in on 2008, naming "WALL-E" the best picture of the year and "The Dark Knight" the runner-up. Today the other coast had its say, as the New York Film Critics Circle lauded "Milk" and gave Sean Penn and Josh Brolin best actor and supporting actor awards respectively. New York also showed a lot of love to "Happy-Go-Lucky," giving star Sally Hawkins a best actress award and naming Mike Leigh best director. (The LA critics also awarded Hawkins best actress and gave a screenplay nod to Leigh -- somewhat strange given the improvisatory nature of his projects.)
"Man on Wire" won best documentary from both groups and is looking like the odds-on favorite in the non-fiction field. It's worth noting, though, that with three major critics' groups having had their say, there are three best picture awards out there: "Milk," "WALL-E," and "Slumdog Millionaire" (National Board of Review). And "Milk" is the only one that could be called a classic Oscar-bait release. Interesting. (Also interesting, if not just plain silly, is that with "WALL-E" getting best picture, the LA critics decided to give "Waltz with Bashir" the best animation prize.)
The LA Times' Patrick Goldstein gives some behind-the-scenes flavor to the Los Angeles voting; "Slumdog," predictably, split the critics down the middle. But Goldstein pooh-poohs "WALL-E"'s chances at an eventual best picture Oscar nomination, and I think he's dead wrong. The New York Post's Lou Lumenick blogged the NY voting, noting that Leigh beat out "Slumdog"'s Danny Boyle by one point on the fourth ballot. Verily, it's going to be a weird year at the Oscar podium.
Just to muddy the waters, the Golden Globes nominations come in tomorrow morning; the Boston Society of Film Critics votes on Sunday.
The details:
Los Angeles Film Critics Association:
Best picture: "WALL-E" (Runner-up: "The Dark Knight")
Best director: Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire" (Runner-up: Christopher Nolan, "The Dark Knight?)
Best actress: Sally Hawkins, "Happy-Go-Lucky" (Runner-up: Melissa Leo, ?Frozen River?)
Best actor: Sean Penn, ?Milk? (Runner-up: Mickey Rourke, ?The Wrestler?)
Best screenplay: Mike Leigh, "Happy-Go-Lucky" (Runner-up: Charlie Kaufman, "Synecdoche, New York")
Best supporting actress: Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" and "Elegy" (Runner-up: Viola Davis, "Doubt")
Best supporting actor: Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight" (Runner-up: Eddie Marsan, "Happy-Go-Lucky")
Best foreign language film: "Still Life? directed by Jia Zhangke (Runner-up: "The Class" directed by Laurent Cantet)
Best documentary: "Man on Wire" directed by James Marsh (Runner-up: "Waltz with Bashir" directed by Ari Folman)
Best production design: Mark Friedberg, "Synecdoche, New York" (Runner-up: Nathan Crowley, "The Dark Knight")
Best animation: ?Waltz with Bashir"
Best music/score: A.R. Rahman, "Slumdog Millionaire" (Runner-up: Alexandre Desplat, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button")
Best cinematography: Yu Lik Wai, "Still Life" (Runner-up: Anthony Dod Mantle, "Slumdog Millionaire")
New Generation Award: Steve McQueen, ?Hunger?
Career Achievement Award: John Calley (previously announced)
Douglas E. Edwards Independent/Experimental Film/Video Award: James Benning, ?RR? and ?Casting a Glance?
The New York Film Critics Circle:
Best Actor: Sean Penn, "Milk"
Best Actress: Sally Hawkins, "Happy-Go-Lucky"
Best Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, "Milk"
Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Best Director: Mike Leigh, "Happy-Go-Lucky"
Best Screenplay: Jenny Lumet, "Rachel Getting Married"
Best Cinematographer: Anthony Dod Mantle, "Slumdog Millionaire"
Best Animated Film: "WALL-E"
Best First Film: Courtney Hunt, "Frozen River"
Best Foreign Film: "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days"
Best Documentary: "Man on Wire"
