Have you ever seen the movie Vanya on 42nd Street (1994)? It's really quite good. The movie plays something like a fly on the wall rehearsal documentary of a stage production of Anton Chekov's immortal "Uncle Vanya." It marked the first important clue that Julianne Moore was going to be a major screen goddess (unless you count Short Cuts as just that, which some do) and it also gave Brooke Smith her first worthwhile role after achieving a kind of 'who is that she looks so familiar?' fame as "The Girl in the Pit" in Silence of the Lambs.
Two "Yelena"s: Cate (on stage) and Julianne (on film)
It's a worthwhile rental so long as you give it your full attention as it's full of intricacies and performances of quiet but potent dramedic depth. If you're in Australia, though, you can see more than a rehearsal. You can see the real thing on stage.
VANYA ON 42ND STREET
VANYA ON PIER 4, HICKSON ROAD
Andrew Upton (Mr. Cate Blanchett) has adapted the play for the Sydney Theater Company. The cast is full of familiar Australian movie faces like Cate herself, Hugo Weaving, Richard Roxburgh (Moulin Rouge!) and this year's Best Supporting Actress hopeful Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom). I expect a full report from Australian readers who get a chance to see it. Do as I say! The production is currently playing and runs through January 1st, 2011.
Can Cate's "Yelena" measure up to Julianne's sublime take?
And when is Hugo Weaving going to get another worthwhile film role? Lately the movies have reduced him to a disembodied voice or cameo player in noisy "event" movies (V For Vendetta, Lord of the Rings, Transformers). His next big role is the villainous Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger. But given the role, we still won't really be looking at his face, will we?
And what's wrong with his face, I ask. It's got real character. Stop hiding him, moviemakers!
Have you ever loved a performance so much that your subsequent disinterest in the same actor is actually hard to wrap your head around? That's me when it comes to Russell Crowe.
I love everything about him in L.A. Confidential... but in particular the way he looks at Kim Basinger. God, the way he looks at her. It's just riveting. He easily made my Best Actor shortlist in 1997. For the record it went like so...
Russell Crowe, LA Confidential
Johnny Depp, Donnie Brasco
Christopher Guest, Waiting for Guffman
Ian Holm, The Sweet Hereafter*winner*
Mark Wahlberg, Boogie Nights
I'd probably rejigger to make Christopher Guest the winner now that it's been 13 years (yes, Guffman arrived in '97 even though it's listed as '96 everywhere) and that performance is still the most hilarious I think I've ever seen.
But I'm veering off topic. Damnit.
Back on. I watched a few key Confidential scenes after reading Craig's Take Three: Kim Basinger this weekend and fell for Crowe's "Bud White" (great character name) all over again. Before L.A. Confidential hit I had only seen him in the Australian movie Proof (1991, not the Gwynnie Paltrow movie -- this one is more interesting) and in the western The Quick and the Dead (1995). And after L.A. I rented another Australian movie The Sum of Us (1994) and also loved him there.
So back in 1997 I assumed he was totally my new favorite actor. He became everyone else's favorite actor (at least for a few years)... but weirdly not mine. Not mine at all. So now when he has a new movie out (like The Next Three Days) it almost doesn't register with me.
<--- Crowe in Proof (1991).
I lost interest so quickly.
Have you ever had that happen to you with an actor / actress that you just really thought was going to be a personal fav? Does it mean that we let external forces get in the way? Does it mean we never loved the actor/actress but just the role they won / did justice to? Or maybe it's a complicated mix of all sorts of things like media saturation, public persona, film choices, personal quirks.
I'd love to hear stories if this has ever happened to you... *
On this very day in 1939, Australia's Northern Standard incorrectly assumed that The Lady Ashley (Nicole Kidman) and her Drover (Hugh Jackman) had both perished in the Kuraman Desert!
Newspapers. They've always had it rough; The second you publish something it's ancient history.
Just as soon as this news was making the rounds the lady and her cattle driving man, rode into town in a cloud of triumphant dust and defeated their main rival. They won! Celebratoryparties, long delayed lovemaking and a return to the now thriving Faraway Downs followed. After a short orgiastic montage of Australia's natural beauty (the country's and the movie's), the epic movie ends with a speech by the young narrator Nullah (Brandon Walters)
Just like Drover say 'that rain make everything come alive.' The land it grow green and fat and we all go back to Faraway Downs. Mrs Boss happy. Drover Happy.
I hear for the first time that thing called Christmas. Then the rain, it stops. And then Drover, he go droving. The Mrs Boss, she always misses Drover. But I know, he's going to come back.
How perfect are these golden shots as closing romantic images?
Only there's no closing. The epic movie didn't end there, not on October 29th (and the cattle drive was already quite a movie) or with Nullah's first Christmas. Or even after the Drover went a-drovin' again, an amusingly brief montage which consists only of this leaving and returning, beautifully illustrating a family falling into its future pattern.
But there's a lot more adventure, World War II adventure, coming. There's roughly sixty more minutes of it. I've often thought that had Australia wrapped up with that three shot shown above and this clear romantic narrative about the formation of a family (after one hour and forty-three minutes of a rousing western adventure), the critics and audiences might have been kinder. Wasn't Australia's main sin only that it was desperately overstuffed, that it didn't trust that one adventure, one tone, or one lead character arc was enough and it had to pack in at least a few of everything? Sometimes less is more, even for gorgeous sun-kissed epic that aspire to the mythic.
Australia came out two years ago and though two years isn't a long time, you rarely hear people discuss this one anymore. Have any of you watched it recently? If you haven't seen it since its premiere, what is your most vivid memory of it? * * *
Remember that one year (2001) when the list-happy AFI (American Film Institute) decided to compete with the Globes and the Oscars in year end prizes? No, that didn't last long. But there's another AFI, The Australian Film Institute, that has been around for a long time and is in no such danger of being a one-off. This year, they're all about the amazing family crime drama Animal Kingdom which they awarded with a record breaking 18 nominations. Sure, the film is in danger of being way overhyped for people who are coming to it late (which is just about everyone given the sorry state of international distribution for dramas of virtually any kind) but for those who can slough off the "omg" raves, I guarantee you'll think it at least an insinuating and well executed crime drama.
AFI Favorites with multiple nominations
Its main competition for the coveted prizes, if you go by nomination counts, is Bright Star(different eligibility calendar over there in Australia). I haven't really covered the Australian Awards before -- we lean on Glenn for that -- but since i've seen three of their Best Picture nominees this time around (the two leaders plus the aborigine musical Bran Nue Dae), why not?
Complete nomination list -- with more Oscar adjacent & actor related comments -- after the jump.
Tomorrow When The War Began. Andrew Mason, Michael Boughen.
I'm actually not sure which of these categories Australian's consider their "Best Picture" but it's mostly the same competition anyway with only the widower drama The Boys Are Back and the widow drama The Tree working Swing position. Maybe Clive Owen & Charlotte Gainsbourg, who star as those grieving single parents, should've just gotten married to end their suffering: The Tree is Back!
AFI Award for Best Direction
Animal Kingdom. David Michôd.
Beneath Hill 60. Jeremy Hartley Sims.
Bright Star. Jane Campion.
The Tree. Julie Bertuccelli.
Macquarie AFI Award for Best Original Screenplay
Animal Kingdom. David Michôd.
Beneath Hill 60. David Roach.
Bright Star. Jane Campion.
Daybreakers. Peter Spierig, Michael Spierig.
It'd be nice to see Michôd fighting for a spot with Oscar in the Original Screenplay category, but even with screeners going out so early, that could be a tough sell. But still, his is an unusually taut and smart script.
Macquarie AFI Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Bran Nue Dae. Reg Cribb, Rachel Perkins, Jimmy Chi.
The Boys Are Back. Allan Cubitt.
The Tree. Julie Bertuccelli.
Tomorrow When The War Began. Stuart Beattie.
AFI Award for Best Cinematography
Animal Kingdom. Adam Arkapaw.
Beneath Hill 60. Toby Oliver ACS.
Bright Star. Greig Fraser.
The Waiting City. Denson Baker ACS
With apologizes to the two films here I haven't seen I'll be disappointed if Greig Fraser loses this. I'm still mortified that he collected so few nominations and wins here in America. Bright Star is jaw-droppingly beautiful. It's a shame the way it was treated in last year's Oscar race.
AFI Award for Best Editing
Animal Kingdom. Luke Doolan.
Beneath Hill 60. Dany Cooper ASE.
Bright Star. Alexandre de Franceschi ASE.
Tomorrow When The War Began. Marcus D’Arcy.
AFI Award for Best Sound
Animal Kingdom. Sam Petty, Rob Mackenzie, Philippe Decrausaz.
Beneath Hill 60. Liam Egan, Alicia Slusarski, Mark Cornish, Tony Murtagh.
Bran Nue Dae. Andrew Neil, Steve Burgess, Peter Mills, Mario Vaccaro, Blaire Slater, David Bridie, Scott Montgomery.
Tomorrow When The War Began. Andrew Plain, David Lee, Gethin Creagh, Robert Sullivan.
AFI Award for Best Original Music Score
Animal Kingdom. Antony Partos, Sam Petty.
Beneath Hill 60. Cezary Skubiszewski.
Bran Nue Dae. Cezary Skubiszewski, Jimmy Chi, Patrick Duttoo Bin Amat, Garry Gower, Michael Manolis Mavromatis, Stephen Pigram.
Bright Star. Mark Bradshaw.
Bran Nue Dae does have fun musical numbers though typically the trailer doesn't really play that up.
AFI Award for Best Production Design
Animal Kingdom. Jo Ford.
Beneath Hill 60. Clayton Jauncey.
Bright Star. Janet Patterson.
Tomorrow When The War Began. Robert Webb, Michelle McGahey, Damien Drew, Bev Dunn.
AFI Award for Best Costume Design
Animal Kingdom. Cappi Ireland.
Beneath Hill 60. Ian Sparke, Wendy Cork.
Bran Nue Dae. Margot Wilson.
Bright Star. Janet Patterson
AFI Award for Best Lead Actor
Brendan Cowell. Beneath Hill 60.
James Frecheville. Animal Kingdom.
Ben Mendelsohn. Animal Kingdom.
Clive Owen. The Boys Are Back.
AFI Award for Best Lead Actress
Abbie Cornish. Bright Star.
Morgana Davies. The Tree.
Charlotte Gainsbourg. The Tree.
Jacki Weaver. Animal Kingdom.
I had assumed that Abbie Cornish could finally collect a trophy for Bright Star until I realized that Jacki Weaver was sharing this category. Though she is absolutely the centrifugal force in Animal Kingdom, she's not really the lead (that'd be Frecheville... and arguably Mendelsohn) and she's offscreen quite a lot and sometimes backgrounded within the scenes she is in.
AFI Award for Best Supporting Actor
Joel Edgerton. Animal Kingdom.
Guy Pearce. Animal Kingdom.
Kodi Smit-McPhee. Matching Jack.
Sullivan Stapleton. Animal Kingdom.
Tattoed and Tormented: Sullivan Stapleton in Animal Kingdom
I need to take this opportunity to thank the AFI for not nominated Geoffrey Rush who is typically so far over the top he's back down again in Bran Nue Dae. But I am surprised that they saw through his extravagant hamming given his Master Thespian rep. This is a war of cops vs. criminals from Animal Kingdom with wee Kodi as the potential beneficiary of vote splitting. My favorite of the three Kingdom men is Sullivan Stapleton as the tattooed and tightly-wound comparatively tender Craig. But not knowing anything about AFI politics or Australian favoritism, I'm assuming that Pearce is most likely to win given his stardom that he gets the film's big theme-speaking moment.
AFI Award for Best Supporting Actress
Julia Blake. The Boys Are Back.
Kerry Fox. Bright Star.
Deborah Mailman. Bran Nue Dae.
Laura Wheelwright. Animal Kingdom.
In case you're wondering, Wheelwright plays the teen girlfriend of Animal Kingdom's lead character. I'm pleased to see Fox given props for her subtle but very well modulated reactive mother role in Jane Campion's romantic biopic.
AFI INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST ACTOR
Simon Baker. The Mentalist, Season 2. Nine Network
Ryan Kwanten. True Blood, Season 3. Showcase
Kodi Smit-McPhee. The Road
Sam Worthington. Avatar
I haven't yet seen Season 3 but it's nice to see acclaim for Ryan Kwanten who is True Blood's secret weapon, if you ask me. He's just so funny. He offers up a very smart take on a very dim character. As for Kodi, I wrote extensively about The Road here.
AFI I International Award for Best Actress
Toni Collette. United States of Tara, Season 2. ABC1
Bojana Novakovic. Edge of Darkness
Mia Wasikowska. Alice in Wonderland
Naomi Watts. Mother and Child
Um. Ewwww. on the Wasikowska nomination. I think she's quite a good actress but I think she's quite ungood in that movie. Meanwhile: Go TONI!!!
AFI Young Actor Award
Ashleigh Cummings. Tomorrow When The War Began
Morgana Davies. The Tree
James Frecheville. Animal Kingdom
Harrison Gilbertson. Beneath Hill 60
AFI Visual Effects Award
Daybreakers. Peter Spierig, Michael Spierig, Rangi Sutton, James Rogers, Randy Vellacott
The Tree. Dave Morley, Felix Crawshaw, Claudia Lecaros, Tim Walker
Tinglewood. Wil Manning
Tomorrow When The War Began. Chris Godfrey, Sigi Eimutis, Dave Morley, Tony Cole
AFI AWARD FOR BEST CHILDREN’S TELEVISION DRAMA
Dance Academy. Joanna Werner ABC
Dead Gorgeous. Ewan Burnett, Margot McDonald. ABC
Lockie Leonard. Kylie Du Fresne. Nine Network
My Place. Penny Chapman. ABC
AFI AWARD FOR BEST CHILDREN’S TELEVISION ANIMATION
dirtgirlworld. Cate McQuillen. ABC
Erky Perky. Kristine Klohk, Barbara Stephen, Tracy Lenon. Seven Network
The Legend Of Enyo. Avrill Stark, Michael Christensen. Seven Network
AFI Award for Best Television Comedy Series
Lowdown. Nicole Minchin, Amanda Brotchie, Adam Zwar. ABC
Review With Myles Barlow, Season 2. Dean Bates. ABC
Wilfred II. Jenny Livingston, Tony Rogers, Adam Zwar, Jason Gann. SBS
AFI Award for Best Light Entertainment Television Series
The Gruen Transfer, Series 3. Andrew Denton, Anita Jacoby, Jon Casimir, Debbie Cuell. ABC1
Hungry Beast, Series Two. Andrew Denton, Andy Nehl. ABC1
MasterChef Australia. Margaret Bashfield, Judy Smart, Caroline Spencer. Network Ten
Talkin’ ’bout Your Generation. Peter Beck. Network Ten
AFI Award for Best Television Drama Series
The Circuit, Series 2. Ross Hutchens, Colin South. SBS
Rush, Season 3. John Edwards, Mimi Butler. Network Ten
Spirited. Claudia Karvan, Jacquelin Perske, John Edwards. W
Tangle, Season 2. John Edwards, Imogen Banks. Showcase
AFI Award for Best Telefeature, Mini Series or Short Run Series
A Model Daughter: The Killing Of Caroline Byrne. Karl Zwicky. Network Ten
Hawke. Richard Keddie. Network Ten
AFI Award for Best Direction in Television
Dance Academy – Episode 2, ‘Week Zero’. Jeffrey Walker. ABC
Hawke. Emma Freeman. Network Ten
Rush, Season 3 – Episode 308, ‘Train’. Grant Brown. Network Ten
Tangle, Season 2 – Episode 16, ‘Lost and Found’. Emma Freeman. Showcase
AFI Award for Best Screenplay in Television
Hawke. Glen Dolman. Network Ten
Review With Myles Barlow, Season 2 – Episode 6, ‘Happiness, Escapism, Acceptance’. Trent O’Donnell, Phil Lloyd. ABC
Tangle, Season 2 – Episode 15, ‘Sleepwalking’. Fiona Seres. Showcase
Wilfred II – Episode 7, ‘Dog Star’. Jason Gann, Adam Zwar. SBS
AFI Award for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama
Garry McDonald. A Model Daughter: The Killing Of Caroline Byrne. Network Ten
Corey McKernan. Lockie Leonard. Nine Network
Aaron Pedersen. The Circuit, Series 2. SBS
Richard Roxburgh. Hawke. Network Ten
AFI Award for Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama
Cheree Cassidy. Underbelly: The Golden Mile – Episode 7, ‘Full Force Gale’. Nine Network
Justine Clarke. Tangle, Season 2. Showcase
Poppy Lee Friar. Dead Gorgeous. ABC
Catherine McClements. Tangle, Season 2. Showcase
AFI Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama
Damien Garvey. Underbelly: The Golden Mile – Episode 10, ‘Hurt on Duty’. Nine Network
Rhys Muldoon. Lockie Leonard – Episode 11, ‘Snake Hide Oil. Nine Network
John Waters. Offspring. Network Ten
Ben Winspear. My Place – Episode 5, ‘1968 Sofia’. ABC
AFI Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama
Linda Cropper. Satisfaction, Season 3 – Episode 8, ‘Not Vanilla’. Showcase
Sacha Horler. Hawke. Network Ten
Asher Keddie. Hawke. Network Ten
Deborah Mailman. Offspring. Network Ten
AFI Award for Best Performance in a Television Comedy
Paul Denny. Lowdown. ABC
Jason Gann. Wilfred II. SBS
Phil Lloyd. Review With Myles Barlow, Season 2. ABC
AFI Award for Best Feature Length Documentary
Contact. Martin Butler, Bentley Dean. ABC1
Inside The Firestorm. Lucy Maclaren, Alex West. ABC
The Snowman. Rachel Landers, Dylan Blowen.
Strange Birds In Paradise – A West Papuan Story. Jamie Nicolai, John Cherry.
AFI Award for Best Documentary Under One Hour
A Thousand Encores: The Ballets Russes In Australia. Sharyn Prentice, Marianne Latham, Lavinia Riachi. ABC
Rudely Interrupted. Susie Jones, Benjamin Jones. ABC1
Surviving Mumbai. Andrew Ogilvie, Andrea Quesnelle. ABC
You Only Live Twice – The Incredibly True Story Of The Hughes Family. Ruth Cullen. ABC1
AFI Award for Best Documentary Series
Addicted To Money. Andrew Ogilvie, Andrea Quesnelle. ABC
Disable Bodied Sailors. Karina Holden, Nick Robinson. SBS
Kokoda. Andrew Wiseman. ABC1
Liberal Rule- The Politics That Changed Australia. Nick Torrens, Frank Haines. SBS
AFI Award for Best Direction in a Documentary
A Thousand Encores: The Ballets Russes In Australia. Amanda Chang. ABC
Contact. Martin Butler, Bentley Dean. ABC1
Inside The Firestorm. Jacob Hickey. ABC
Strange Birds In Paradise – A West Papuan Story. Charlie Hill-Smith.
AFI Award for Best Cinematography in a Documentary
Disable Bodied Sailors – Episode 3. Nick Robinson. SBS
Miracles - Episode 1, ‘Miracle in the Storm’. Tony Oliver ACS. ABC1
Strange Birds In Paradise – A West Papuan Story. Angus Kemp.
Surviving Mumbai. Jim Frater. ABC
AFI Award for Best Editing in a Documentary
A Thousand Encores: The Ballets Russes In Australia. Karin Steininger. ABC
Contact. Tania Nehme. ABC1
Inside The Firestorm. Steven Robinson. ABC
Surviving Mumbai. David Fosdick. ABC
AFI Award for Best Sound in a Documentary
A Thousand Encores: The Ballets Russes In Australia. Brett Aplin, Andrew McGrath, Erin McKimm. ABC
Inside The Firestorm. Jock Healy, Tristan Meredith. ABC
Kokoda – Episode 1, ‘The Invasion’. David Bridie, Chris Goodes, Ian Grant, Patrick Slater. ABC1
Strange Birds In Paradise – A West Papuan Story. Mik la Vage, Doron Kipen, David Bridie.
AFI Award for Best Short Animation
The Lost Thing. Sophie Byrne, Andrew Ruhemann, Shaun Tan.
Zero. Christopher Kezelos, Christine Kezelos.
AFI Award for Best Short Fiction Film
Deeper Than Yesterday. Ariel Kleiman, Benjamin Gilovitz, Sarah Cyngler, Anna Kojevnikov.
The Kiss. Sonya Humphrey, Ashlee Page.
The Love Song Of Iskra Prufrock. Lucy Gaffy, Lyn Norfor.
Suburbia. Antonio Oreña-Barlin, Richard Halsted.
AFI Award for Best Screenplay in a Short Film.
A Parachute Falling In Siberia. Sarah Shaw, Ian Meadows.
Deeper Than Yesterday. Ariel Kleiman.
Glenn Owen Dodds. Trent Dalton.
The Kiss. Ashlee Page
I know the Film Experience has plentiful Australian readers -- i can see the stats, don't hide! -- so let us know: How did the AFI do this year? As for the rest of you, do you think Jacki Weaver is going to pull off that Supporting Actress Slot with the American Academy? And do you share the love of Kwanten on True Blood and Collette as Tara?
Animal Kingdom, the 2010 Sundance Grand Jury winner, is now playing on 39 of the nation's screens. Let that be 39 steps closer to an Oscar nomination for Jacki Weaver; it could happen if Academy members actually see the acclaimed crime thriller. But let’s not jump ahead of the narrative. An Oscar nomination would be a deserving climax, but it’s not exactly a prologue. If Animal Kingdom's confident storytelling teaches us anything, it’s to stay focused and earn your dramatic developments...
Not all of my "best in show" columns at Tribeca can necessarily double as awards season FYC but this one isn 't subtle about that particular agenda. Awards traction is tricky for people who aren't big (U.S.) stars, especially in foreign born films, so why not start early?
I was a bit concerned about being too spoilery in tone (if not in plot) but then I remembered that the film's trailer and ad campaign are already relying heavily on the visibly underlined raves about Weaver's not-so-very-nice momster. And, hey, even if you know details about each character going in, the plot will still twist and turn in organic but surprising ways while you're watching. Good movie.
I was just working on tonight's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" (we'll be posting about 10 or 11 PM so get yer post up before then for linkage!) Had to pause my skimming for much laughter about this post funeral scene. So I figured I'd share it. In the sequence Prior is telling his best friend Belize (Jeffrey Wright) about the heavenly visitor (Emma Thompson) who had recently come calling. Belize thinks it's just a fever dream. But Prior tells him all about their sexual progress.
She had eight vaginas.
Wright's two beat silent reaction shot just slays me.
A shrug, then a mouthed "eight". So so funny. Little moments like this are why I've been obsessed with actors forever. And Jeffrey Wright is such a great one. He's 'Best in Show' in Angels in America (maybe) and that's like being the best holiday in a year. The other ones are merry, too!
Speaking of "Best in Show"... I hope you've enjoyed the first three installments of my new column at Tribeca Film where I've coveredWinter's Bone, The Kids Are All Right and Inception thus far. I was going to cover Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom next Monday or Tuesday (the film opens Friday) but I ended up interviewing its new Aussie director instead. His name is David Michôd ... remember the name. You may have already read my seven word review or picked up on Glenn's enthusiasm for it. I fully expect Animal Kingdom to win awards attention come year's end. At least of the Independent Spirit variety. You can read the interview here. *
Stale Popcorn Glenn surveys the 19 eligible films for the Australian Oscars. I Need My Fix Jane Lynch gets a wax figure. Glee has now officially taken over the world. Watch it take over the Emmys next. Hot Blog in depth Sissy Spacek interview. Goes all the way back to the early years.
I didn't work until I was 20. I just looked like I was 13.
HKMDB Daily Stills from the Chinese remake of What Women Want with superstars Gong Li & Andy Lau Towleroad Jennifer Aniston as Barbra Streisand? People...
Scanners looks at how the reviews of Salt deal with Angelina Jolie's super-sized star persona Box Office Mojo some release date shifts for Disney and two cancellations. Is the Beauty & The Beast 3D death another sign that 3D is over? If so, YAY! B&tB is perfect as is thankyouverymuch. His Eyes Were Watching MoviesVolver collects another fan. I honestly think that movie will continue to do so until it's regarded as one of Almodóvar's very best. Because it so is. That Obscure Object old paparazzi photos sometimes freak me out. This is the Thelma & Louise stars: Susan, Geena and Brad. Ah, sweet bird of 1991 youth. Empire when I read the capsule header or this article about Dolphin Tale starring Ashley Judd, Harry Connick Jr and Morgan Freeman -- that cast! -- I actually thought I had clicked on the wrong link and gone back to an article from the 1990s. True story, I did. Low Resolution Have you read Joe's entertaining & thought provoking personal Emmy ballots? You should.
must read contemporary post of the day Op-Ed Maureen Dowd and Sam Wasson, the author of that Breakfast at Tiffany's book discuss the sorry wrist-slitting state of the romantic comedy. They name names. Wonderful discussion. I just may read it again and buy Wasson's book.
must read retrospective post of the day Nick's Flick Picks reviews James Cameron's The Abyss (1989). As per usual his insights are totally invigorating. He always makes me want to see movies again. You can miss so much. I love this bit on Ed Harris
Harris, whose charisma, gaze, and body were like a periodic table of virile emotion during this period in his career, is tremendously moving throughout this key sequence, and really throughout the movie.
"A periodic table of virile emotion"...god, what a gorgeous distillation of Ed Harris. When is his honorary Oscar coming (since the real thing seems ever out of reach)?
The adults are coming. Warning: all three of these new movies do not contain super powers. Unless you count acting as a super power. In which case,SHAZAM!
Animal Kingdom Dir: David Michôd | With: Guy Pearce and Jacki Weaver Gripping, weirdly frightening performances. Fine script, too. A- [interview]
Cairo Time Dir: Ruba Nadda | With: Patricia Clarkson and Alexander Siddiq Delicately observed but limited. Gorgeous finale / Patty. B
Get Low Dir: Aaron Schneider | With: Robert Duvall and Bill Murray Grumpy hermit is legendary... but why? Unconvincing. C [more than 7 words]
More on Animal Kingdom and Cairo Time coming after they open. Stay tuned. * *
Steve on Broadway Australian readers take note: The original cast of AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY is heading to Sydney in August for one last go at the roles they've perfected over the years. Don't miss it.
The Cost of Going to the Movies This is an interesting chart on moviegoing vs. home theater costs. There's an agenda as this is a business site but it's still interesting. I find myself siding with stay home options so much lately from a moral perspective which is so sad because I think the in theater experience is so magical. But like Broadway and the music industry, corporations are all too willing to gouge their audiences price-wise until the audience dwindles. Nobody ever thinks longterm.
Serious Film treats the IMDB Top 250 list very seriously indeed. This rundown has a lot of interesting anecdotes but I just can't stomach looking at it (the list, not this article). I have no time for any list that preferences anything with a super power in it over anything with an actress in the lead role. Plus a list of 250 films which has rooms for films as mediocre as Big Fish and Kick-Ass but no room for anything by Altman, Surges, Sirk or Almodovar? I mean, get real or, rather, FAIL in the popular vernacular. It should be called "IMDB's Subsection of A Certain Type of Hetero Males With Extremely Limited Palettes Between 15-30 Years of Age Top 250." That's a little unwieldy but this list needs a subtitle before it needs anything else. Just for you know the sanity of anyone who chances to look upon it.
Margot Channing. She's sour for good reason
For the record the only movies that are about a female protagonist number 15 of 250 or, 6% of the 'greats'. They are #45 Amélie, #54 Aliens, #55 Spirited Away, #69 Pan's Labyrinth, #88 All About Eve, #96 Rebecca, #121 The Wizard of Oz, #134 Kill Bill Vol 1, #157 Gone With the Wind, #180 Diabolique, #198 Rosemary's Baby, #203 A Streetcar Named Desire, #206 Kill Bill Vol 2, #231 Changeling, #239 Mulholland Dr. (give or take a handful more where you can argue it's actually about a man even though the woman is remembered as the lead -- Fargo, Silence of the Lambs, Double Indemnity, Psycho, Annie Hall, Sunset Blvd). So according to IMDB voters, movies about women are almost never worthy of attention but Changeling is one of the best ever made! 'Screw Mildred Pierce, Joan of Arc, Sally Bowles and the lot of them! Girls. Who needs 'em!?!'
Queerty By now I assume you've read that Warren Beatty and Annette Bening's eldest daughter Kathlyn is rumored to be transgendered and wants to transition to being their son Stephen. I figured I should mention it given TFE's frequent love for the Bening/Beattys. But since no official statement has been released by the family, we figure they deserve more privacy in this matter than they're getting and that's all we have to say.
Vulture Star Market: What is Megan Fox worth? Okay end of long-winded 'click here' comments. I have nothing to say about this other than that it's kind of interesting.
Meanwhile in Russia...
The Moscow Times has details on the Moscow Film Festival which will close with Luc Besson's latest The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc Sec (pictured above) starring Louise Bourgoin. I heard from a reader yesterday that the costumes by Olivier Béirot are something and might catch Oscar's eye if it gets an stateside release. Here's a few clips from the film. Another hot ticket will be the explicit Cannes-shunned Emmanuelle Béart film, It Begins With The End. The festival director isn't shy about his love for her...
We welcome it to Moscow with open arms. Emmanuelle Béart is my favorite actress, and she is doing all these indecencies with her husband, and I enjoyed it a lot.
Hey, just let it all hang out. Why be shy about loving an actress? Particularly one as jolie as Béart.
Any readers follow Russian cinema? What film do you think they'll submit this year for the Oscars given the poor reception of Burnt By the Sun 2 thus far?
Glenn here from Stale Popcorn to help fill in during the absense of Nathaniel while is he is in Nashville. I'm here to do what I do best and that's talk about Australian film.
We're ten months away from finding out what films from 2010 the Academy decide are worthy enough to join the lofty ranks of Best Picture nominees - /snark - but by this time last year we had already been advised that Mo'Nique was going to win an Oscar for a movie that co-starred Mariah Carey and that a British unknown was poised to steal thunder and glory from the likes of Meryl Streep. Only one of those things came true, but it bears repeating, so it's never too early to start the For Your Consideration campaign for someone who is completely and utterly deserving.
That someone is Jacki Weaver as "Janine Cody" in Animal Kingdom.
I saw David Michôd's debut feature a couple of weeks ago now and it is very good. So good, in fact, that it has been picked up for American distribution by an actual distributor with cash flow and resources and the ability to market something to more than just a few 60-seat arthouse cinemas in New York City (that would be Sony Pictures Classics)! Animal Kingdom is a Melbourne-set crime drama revolving around a family of armed bank robbers and the young teenager who gets drawn into their dirty deeds.
Jacki Weaver, a sort of acting legend here in Australia, plays the family matriarch who has a creepy need to pash her sons (and grandsons) on the lips to show her unflinching devotion. What makes Weaver's performance so delicious is how she spends much of the first half slowly building her character's persona as the quiet, ever-smiling, loving mother. All that changes as the film's second half brings about a twist and lovely ol' Mrs Cody becomes an embodiment of evil, unleashing her puppet master skills as she tries to blackmail, cover-up, extort and manipulate those around her into dancing to her tune.
I wrote in my review that Weaver's performance is "sure to be remembered as one of the finest displays of acting ever committed to an Australian film", and it reminds me of the recent towering performances of Mo'Nique and Javier Bardem. This lady will give you nightmares.
Nathaniel ranked Ms Weaver as a long shot for Best Supporting Actress honours at the Academy Awards based on, I imagine, the buzz that came out of Sundance and from people such as myself who couldn't shut up about her. I walked out of the cinema wanting to shout "Jacki Weaver just won the Academy Award!" but I didn't because she's old, she's foreign and features in a movie that will probably go way too underseen to really make much of a charge, but boy would it be sweet to see this 62-year-old unknown actress ("unknown" in the grand scheme of Academy things) plow right on through to an Oscar nomination.
"You've done some bad things, Sweetie!"
So I, right here, put forth a year long FYC campaign for Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom. It's released in Australia on the 3rd of June and will hopefully see an American release sometime later in the year. But enough about me and my wishes, I'd love to know if any readers out there have seen anything that they think strongly merits a studio plonking down the cash for a FYC campaign. The Ghost Writer? Shutter Island? Hot Tub Time Machine? A Razzie FYC for the latter, I'm sure.
In the first reel of Peter Bratt's LA MISSIONwe follow Che Rivera (picture left, embodied by Benjamin Bratt) through his typical day as a bus driver, lowrider enthusiast, recovering alcoholic, tough guy and respected man on the street in San Francisco's Mission district. Just when you begin to worry that the film is way too marinated in macho sweat -- you'll lose track of the number of "bros" uttered, fists bumped -- we're introduced to Che's teenage son Jes (Jeremy Ray Valdez) who happens to be secretly shacked up with rich white boy Jordan (Max Rosenak). The upcoming conflict is clear. How will the macho ex-con father ever deal once he finds out about his one and only son?
...for my take on La Mission, Date Night and the tense Australian crime film The Square. I'll have a few more things to say about Christina Ricci's latest feature After.Life as soon as I can get to it.
In other theatrical news, apparently The Runaways is expanding back to its opening weekend size again. Which wasn't very big to begin with. I haven't a clue why that film (a rock biopic with two big stars) opened with such a small theatrical count or why they let the theater count drop for two weeks before re-expanding to opening weekend size. What is going on with that films release, Apparition? This is not as arthouse as Control. Why treat it like it wouldn't have mass appeal? If you haven't seen it yet it's definitely worth a look. It's at least on par if not better than its Oscar nominated blood relations (Ray, Walk the Line) though it's too youthful and edgy to incite similar golden showers. Wait! That came out wrong. Golden Showers. haha. Well, in my defence, Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) does pee on a guitar. *
Editor's note: This post is from Craig ofDark Eye Socket, which I've been enjoying a lot lately. I invited him because he wanted to talk about Abbie and I'm all ears! Next up for Abbie are two supporting roles in Zach Snyder's Alice in Wonderland inspired Sucker Punch and Madonna's period romantic drama W.E. Do you want more Abbie soon?
Abbie didn't look upset 'bout that snub at Vanity Fair's post-Oscar bash
Abbie Cornish was a Bright Star last year, but five years ago she shone bright enough, in her debut lead role in Somersault, to get noticed snagging three Australian acting awards. As Heidi, a girl who escapes the dullness of small-town Canberra for a ski resort in Jindabyne, she clapped and gleamed her way to a more eventful life and a near seduction of pre-Action Man Sam Worthington. Nice idea, Abs.
Since then, she’s steadily honed her talents in a handful of higher profile films which have all made great use of her ability to be both subtle and determined. Her bohemian defiance in Candy, followed by sterling support in Elizabeth: The Golden Age and A Good Year – then hooking up with Ryan Phillippe (much to the future chagrin of Reese Witherspoon) on Stop-Loss, and providing muse duties for Ben Whishaw on Bright Star – have given Cornish ample chance to re-ignite the screen in the years since her Somersaulting turn. That she’s only sparkled at half-brightness so far (in some folks’ eyes) merely points to the fact she’s in it for the long haul, not the quick trip: she’s eking out an enduring résumé; her future’s brighter.
The mid-‘00s saw a surplus of flighty females coax guys into their orbits: Zooey Deschanel in All the Real Girls, Julie Delpy in Before Sunset and – to the tune of an Oscar nod – Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine, to name three, all deservedly gained critical attention. But Cornish’s equally deserving Somersault role, despite the three awards, didn’t inspire quite as much universal adoration. Like that film’s landscapes, maybe she’s seen as a touch too frosty, too oblique for wider appeal. Maybe some folk don’t like that she hangs with the guys too much (most of her co-stars have been male) – something that got Heidi into hot water in Somersault. And she hasn’t exactly taken roles which have been too easy to warm to. But stick to your guns Abbie - more power to you, I say.
She gave one of ‘09’s best performances in Bright Star (couldn’t they have extended the acting categories to ten, too?), but is she still too much the newcomer to appear on Oscar’s radar yet? Recent nominations say otherwise: Carey Mulligan, another demure and elfin movie novice, got an early stab at Oscar; the Academy loved a quirky Ellen Page and a corseted Keira Knightley; and Hathaway and Portman got to make a grab for the bald man. Cornish will just have to wait her turn. Maybe in time she’ll prove herself a capable comedienne and do a Bullock, or take a left turn down the Jennifer Jason Leigh route. A role in a Kathryn Bigelow flick wouldn’t do any harm right now either.
Somersault gave Cornish her best role yet. She was awkwardly, intimately indefinable; viewers, like the film’s characters, skirted around her, curious to see what she'd do next. It was a subtly immersive performance, one that’s perhaps characterised Cornish’s career so far. To paraphrase Bright Star’s strapline: First Roles Burn Brightest. *
Dear Baz, I fell madly in love with Strictly Ballroom.Romeo + Juliet made my eyes bug out and my heart leap. Moulin Rouge! completed me. I even liked Australia!
My point is this: Please step away from the boys and party venues and make a movie. It takes you for-e-ver. NO TIME TO WASTE.
The map below is courtesy of yours truly, Nathaniel. Don't say The Film Experience doesn't work its ass off. We work all the blogging angles. It appears that after year's of Australian dominance Canada wants revenge! And that's just one story embedded herein. You can find out where the Precious players were born, see that Kathryn Bigelow and Jeremy Renner were in close proximity long before they made The Hurt LockerThe Sexy Locker, and note how lonely Penélope Cruz looks all by herself in Spain.There's so much to see.
Feel free to share this map with your friends. Send it. Tweet it. Digg it. IMDB recommend it. If you love something, set it free etcetera...
Do you have any films or stars born within arm's reach? I'll keep editing it if people feel like they need more. Which movies would you like to pack up and move yourself closer, too? Strap some balloons to your house and go.
Today is Australia Day here in, you guessed it, Australia. If you're American or British you're probably reading this and it's not technically Australia Day yet (26 of January), but that's my reward for LIVING IN THE FUTURE! Time zones be damned! America celebrates the day that British people came to their land with Turkey and family get togethers and being thankful for good health. Australia celebrates by having a bbq and sitting in lawn chairs and wading pools. We're classy like that!
Over at my blog Stale Popcorn I have celebrating by doing another end-of-decade list, this time one that I'm sure not many others have done: Best Australian Films of the Decade. There are some titles on there that you non-Aussies will recognise like Samson & Delilah, Wolf Creek, Mary and Max and Australia, but there's also plenty you have probably never heard a single word about. No matter whether you've heard the rapturous reviews or not, you should do me a favour and put them on your DVD queue immediately. I actually did a search of America's Netflix about 19 of my top 25 are available, which surprised me a lot.
Lantana(dir. Ray Lawrence, 2001)
Noise (dir. Matthew Saville, 2007)
Jindabyne(dir. Ray Lawrence, 2006)
Three Blind Mice (dir. Matthew Newton, 2009)
Samson & Delilah (dir. Warwick Thornton, 2009)
Not Quite Hollywood (dir. Mark Hartley, 2008)
The Dish (dir. Rob Sitch, 2000)
The Horseman(dir. Steven Kastrissios, 200?)
Black Water(dir. Andrew Traucki & David Nerlich, 2008)
Look Both Ways (dir. Sarah Watt, 2005)
You can read the rest of the top 25 at Stale Popcorn. Have you had a favourite Aussie film from the past decade? Speak up in the comments! Meanwhile, I'm off to drink beer and sit in a lawn chair in the sun for hours on end.
If the Academy often gets trashed for its choices, their Foreign Language Committee takes this to the ultimate level. Year after year they specialize in ignoring avant garde, gritty, groundbreaking cinema in favor of WWII dramas, epic soap operas and unimaginative biopics.
This year however, they didn't mess it up so much, their shortlist released earlier today stands as follows:
Argentina, El Secreto de Sus Ojos, Juan Jose Campanella (discussed previously here)
Australia, Samson & Delilah, Warwick Thornton
Bulgaria, The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner, Stephan Komandarev
France, Un Prophète, Jacques Audiard
Germany, The White Ribbon, Michael Haneke, director
Israel, Ajami, Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani
Kazakhstan, Kelin, Ermek Tursunov
The Netherlands, Winter in Wartime, Martin Koolhoven
Perú, The Milk of Sorrow, Claudia Llosa
Out of this list, five movies will move on and be nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar (if you aren't familiar with the nomination process you can read more about it here).
It's a relief of sorts to see how The White Ribbon and A Prophet, which have been considered the frontrunners since their debut in Cannes last May, weren't snubbed. AMPAS has shown special reluctance to agree with the French film festival and has ignored prominent films like Gomorrah last year and 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days in 2007 to nominate more Oscar friendly pics.
This year alone we saw how Departures-the "safest" choice- won over The Class, Revanche and Waltz With Bashir. Their shortlist however proves that they are perhaps vying for a change considering that only one of the movies (Winter in Wartime) deals specifically with WWII and they snubbed baity choices like Max Manus from Norway.
Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon which won the Golden Globe on Sunday and swept the European Film Awards in December, might prove to be a crossover hit with some people hinting at Haneke's possibility of being nominated in the Screenplay and Director categories at the Oscars.
Australia's submission also proves to be an interesting choice considering how this committee often disregards movies that contain any traces of the English language and the haunting love story between outback aborigines pushes their limits in this sense.
Of course no year can come without a conspicuous snub and once again the Foreign Language Committee shows that they aren't impressed by Romania's New Wave, snubbing the wonderful Police, Adjective altogether. This decade Romania has specialized in raw, documentary like cinema unafraid to look at the ugliest parts of their society through a darkly humorous lens. AMPAS has yet to recognize any of their films.
Have you seen any of the possible nominees? Which do you think will make it to the top five?
Did you binge on the Globes? Time to purge by thinking of something else for one hot minute.
Thanks to reader Red Rose for pointing the following news bit out to me. It seems that even when Cate Blanchett doesn't attend the big glitzy Hollywood awards, she still manages to walk a red carpet (figuratively) and pick up a trophy (okay, plaque)! While Hollywood was giving out the People's Choice Aw Golden Globes, Cate was being honored in Sydney Australia for playing Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire. I swear this woman can't breathe without someone raving about the way she processes oxygen. But at least she has a sense of humor about it, ribbing herself in her acceptance speech, where she beat herself for the win (like Meryl* last night at the Globes, she had two nominations for Best Actress here), saying
it does give me exquisite pleasure to pip the ubiquitous and, in my opinion, the much over-rated Cate Blanchett. I was at NIDA with her and she was a sh**.
Hee. Here's a video of the win.
Awards upon awards upon awards. I'm reasonably certain her family applauds her each morning for waking. And her staff give her gifts for allowing them to serve her.
It was only five years ago when the Australian Film Institute Awards reached their most sad and pathetic moment. 2005, the year that will live in infamy for followers of Australian film, produced only one (ONE!) film that the AFI felt worthy enough to award. Cate Shortland's Somersault was nominated for and won every.single.category. The really sad thing is that it probably deserved to win them all, which says more about the slate of Aussie films that year than anything else.
Sidebar: Two of Somersault's wins were for Abbie Cornish and Sam Worthington's performances. The former is on the cusp of Oscar and the latter on the cusp of global fame and worship. You could do worse than seeing where these two learnt the ropes.
This year's AFI awards, however, are a much different story. 2009 has been a stellar year for Australian cinema - perhaps the best ever - and my country's version of the Oscars (as they like to be called) certainly showed why.
Samson & Delilah's creator Warwick Thornton walked away with three of the AFI's glass statues winning for Best Cinematography (he has been a cinematographer for 25 years prior to directing S&D), Best Direction and Best Original Screenplay. The film also took hope Best Film for producer Kath Shelper (who I've seen loitering around the comment sections here at The Film Experience!) Australia's entry into the Best Foreign Language Film category at next year's Academy Awards also won for Best Sound and the film's two stars, Rowan McNamara and Marissa Gibson, took the Young Actor Award.
Robert Connelly's Balibo took the honours for Best Actor (Anthony LaPaglia), Best Supporting Actor (Oscar Isaac) and Best Adapted Screenplay. Rhonda Epinstalk herself, Rachel Griffiths, won a Best Supporting Actress gong for her role in Rachel Ward's directorial debut Beautiful Kate. Frances O'Connor, she of constant almost-fame in America, won her first AFI Award from five nominations for her role in Ana Kokkinos' Blessed. Kokkinos couldn't direct a good movie if it fell into her lap, and Blessed was no different, but O'Connor has a scene - and anyone who has seen it will know which one - that ranks as one of the most emotionally devastating scenes you're ever likely to see. She deserved the prize for that scene alone.
And what happened to Baz Luhrmann's Australia? Well, it was snubbed for nominations in the top categories, but took home trophies for Costume Design, Production Design and Visual Effects as well as a special AFI in honour of it's astronomical box office. All good for a night's work, I say.
What do these wins mean for Samson & Delilah's Oscar hopes? Not much at all, sadly. Three years ago Ten Canoes won the big prize, but wasn't able to make any headway in the Foreign Language league. Adam Elliot's Mary and Max, a shortlisted title for Best Animated Feature, was nominated for several awards, including Best Film, but failed to win any. Meanwhile The Cat Piano and Miracle Fish won Best Animated Short and Best Short Fiction Film respectively. Both are on Oscar's shortlist and shouldn't be ignored. Check out The Cat Piano below, I guarantee you'll love it!
Can Cate's "Yelena" measure up to Julianne's sublime take?
