The British Independent Film Awards forced the reluctant king to the mic again when they gave Colin Firth the Best Actor prize for his stammering royal in The King's Speech. The BIFAs also gave the movie 4 additional prizes: Helena Bonham-Carter and Geoffrey Rush took their first wins of the season and the film won screenplay and the BIFA equivalent of Best Picture "Best British Independent Film."
The smear campaign or truth-telling depending on how you view these things has also begun but the Oscar buzz isn't letting up any time soon.
After the jump the complete BIFA winners list with commentary.
British Independent Film The King’s Speech Director Gareth Edwards, Monsters Debut Director Clio Barnard,The Arbor Screenplay David Seidler, The King’s Speech Actress Carey Mulligan, Never Let Me Go Actor Colin Firth, The King’s Speech Supporting Actress Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech Supporting Actor Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech Promising Newcomer Joanne Froggatt, In Our Name Achievement in Production Monsters Raindance Award Son of Babylon Tech Achievement Visual Effects, Monsters Documentary Enemies of the People British Short Baby Foreign Film A Prophet
Carey & Rosamund @ the BIFAs
Beyond the big dog (King's) the indie genre flick Monsters did quite well for itself. I have the screener right here. Maybe I should watch.
As for Carey Mulligan winning Best Actress for Never Let Me Go, Monty would not approve. And if you ask me Andrew Garfield was "best in show". And I don't understand Helena's win at all. I hope everyone understands that I am in HBC's corner -- I think she's been grossly underrewarded for years and ought to have 3 Oscar noms and an actual statue on her mantle -- but I just don't see it for this performance. There's nothing to it beyond the very typical awards bait of "supportive spouse." If she's nominated it'll be the easiest get outside of Bill Murray's for Get Low; two people doing things they can do with their eyes closed that aren't remotely challenging or interesting.
I have to say that I'm surprised as anyone (maybe moreso) that Geoffrey Rush is the true champ within The King's Speech. How he managed to curtail his usual hamminess into something nearly subtle when it's actually one of his hammiest and most eccentric characters is a minor miracle. But then I'm far more allergic to him than most so perhaps my perception is skewed. Alas, despite my enthusiasm for his turn here comes yet another awards season where the gigantic roles will win the supporting prizes. Poor character actors everywhere can never catch a break.
Moving on. Have any of you seen Monsters? Are you happy that The King's Speech is winning prizes?
The actual hour-long Hollywood Reporter video of the six actresses who grace their cover: Annette Bening, Nicole Kidman, Amy Adams, Hilary Swank, Natalie Portman and Helena Bonham-Carter. Here's how it breaks down if you don't have a full hour to watch (video at bottom of post). Unfortunately you can't "scroll" so the time stamps are useless as I type away.
0:01 Helena talks about first day-i-tis. Never thinks she can do it. I can't act! 1:30 Amy talks about being unemployed and feeling sorry for herself (interesting bit... both sad and funny) and the long time period where she considered giving up. But now that she's successful, what doesn't she like about her career?
Amy: I feel very vulnerable. I don't like it at all. You're very subject to other people's opinions. You know when it doesn't go well.
Hilary: We know when it doesn't go well. We don't need to be beat over the head with it.
Oopsie!
5:00 Swank talks about trying and even if you fail, always try your hardest. Ah platitudes! I didn't get enough of 'em on election night. 6:48 Annette is asked about her input into making The Kids Are All Right more of a comedy than it originally started as...
Annette: I just didn't want it to be earnest. But she's (Lisa Cholodenko) also kind of too generous when she talks about me and my contributions.
9:00 Helena interrupts to talk about the vibrator scene (but says she hasn't seen the movie). 10:30 Hilary complains that she can't find good comedies. Uhnnh, you're not a comic actress. We're 10 minutes in and Nicole has said NOTHING. I need Nicki. But she was like this at the Margot at the Wedding press conference I attended, too. She is kind of robotic until directly addressed. I say that with the utmost love but it's like she's a robot until the movie camera is on or the press cameras are off. It's... odd. 12:00 Natalie Portman calls the Black Swan screenplay "a blueprint." and reveals that she and Darren Aronofsky have been planning to make the movie for the past 9 years (!) and credits Nicole with the following great career advice...
Natalie: Nicole said it to me a long time ago when we were doing Cold Mountain. 'Always choose by director. You never know how the movie is going to turn out but you're guaranteed an interesting experience.' I've always remembered that.
Oh bless you, Nicole. We knew this about you already. Strangely, Nicole hasn't seen Black Swan.
16:00 Nicole speaks! She lists the plentiful injuries she got on Moulin Rouge! after the other actresses keep egging her on. The actresses discuss moments when you should say no, or call it a night, but you keep going. The knee injury, which took two years to recover from, happened at 3 AM.
Nicole: When you're so in the role, it's almost like a high. It's like a drug. There's no way I was going to stop.
Oh, we knew this about her, too. 18:00 Amy follows that up with a story about Leap Year. No really.
Nicole's "what was that?" love affair.
19:00 Nicole is praised again about something from outside this conversation (clearly the woman is more animated when she's not doing press) and asked if she's ever had conflict with a director. She seems confused by the question (bless) and says instead
Nicole: It's like a love affair for a certain period of time and then I walk away and go 'what was that?!?'
...which gets a big laugh from the other five. I know people think I'm undiscerning when it comes to Kidman but the truth is I deeply dig actresses who are auteurists at heart. Truth: They're always the most interesting ones.
Annette "Balance" Bening
20:00 Unfortunately then she starts talking about not feeling the same pull to work anymore. Damnit! Thankfully, Annette amends this, explaining that even though she went through that once she had children, the desire to work returns and there is something about the acting process that fulfills you in a way that you can't get elsewhere. Having a balanced life "sounds good" but...
Annette: Creativity is really about excess and when you want to make something there's a kind of obsession that has to come with it -- in a healthy way, in a way that is intoxicating. You're engulfed by something.
(Are you listening Michelle Pfeiffer? Come Back to the Five and Dime Michelle Pfeiffer, Michelle Pfeiffer.) She then goes on to reveal that she wanted the Debra Winger role in The Sheltering Sky.
25:00 Hilary refuses to rest on her laurels (would that be two Oscars?) and reveals a knowledge of writers and seeks out screenplays that aren't even sent to her. Good for her (I'm not saying that facetiously.) Talks about a part she didn't get and Annette teases her about it. 26:00 Nicole Kidman has seen Star Trek. She bought a ticket and everything (?). Hilary doesn't like science fiction. (Is that distaste a post-The Core problem? She doesn't say.)
Amy exfoliates
28:00 Amy vows to spend time with her daughter instead of doing movies -- damn you, infant! KIDDING! please no one bite my head off though infants have taken many of the great actresses away from us. And this conversation is further proof. (Sigh) 29:00 Nicole considered not making Rabbit Hole after having Sunday and struggling for financing. This part is a snooze fest.
31:00 Hilary and Amy talk about not doing certain roles and how it's disrespectful to the actor who did it to talk about roles you wanted or turned down. Natalie says that if directors vacillate about who to cast it's not a good sign "never a good sign" actually. It shows they don't know what they want. Hilary vaguely claims to have been"coerced" into certain roles. By whom? Are we talking about The Core again? Let it go! 32:00 Amy reveals panic about super tight close-ups and wondering if she exfoliated properly. I hate those too, Amy! But for different reasons. I like to see like hair, shoulders, hands. I want to see how the actor uses their body, not just their eyes nose and maybe top lip.
Helena continually cracks Natalie up.
33:00 INTERESTING. Now we're getting into it. Helena Bonham-Carter talks about her discomfort with Lars Von Trier (!)..."but I didn't realize this man was a visionary". Admits she turned down Breaking the Waves. Natalie Portman is very excited about this reveal. Nicole says it's one of her favorite films (of course it is!) which eggs Helena on in the story. HBC thinks it was really weird that Emily Watson told everyone (she did? I don't remember this) that Helena had turned it down 'because that film made her!'
35:00 Helena talks about her 'late bloomer' personality and that she's finally comfortable with her sexuality. 'There were lots of parts I was just not ready for.' This all makes me wonder how the hell she got through The Wings of the Dove (1997) in which she is freakishly perfect and totally erotic, too. And for which she won the Oscar (SHHHHHhhhhh. Let me live in my fantasy world where deserving things happen.) 36:00 Nicole says she still e-mails Lars Von Trier (!) but agrees that he can be mean. The moderator brings up The Five Obstructions as an interesting portrait of Lars. Nicole "I don't need to see that. I worked with him."
38:00 Helena discusses Tim Burton at length but tells a great story about befriending a focus puller on Sweeney Todd who totally helped her get more takes since Tim wouldn't give them too her. 43:00 I am totally losing focus now as The Bening discusses stage vs screen. 45:00 Interesting... she's giving a lot of credit to Milos Forman for helping her to understand film acting. Funny that she brings this up because I was just watching Valmont again the other day and she is really quite fantastic in it and its' about a 180 from Glenn Close's interpretation of the same role.
The Bening as the evil Merquise de Merteuil
Watching them back to back would surely remind us that no two actors will give you the same thing. Ever. (Now, admittedly the cast, director and screenplay are different, too. But still. They are SO different within the exact same story / character.)
The Bening kicks the story up a notch by imitating Forman's directions in his voice. 47:00 Okay now I love Milos Forman more than I ever have in my life. Natalie loves Annette's story and shares her own (also in Forman's voice from her time with him on Goya's Ghost)
Natalie: You're acting like you're in -- like this is a bad movie. This is not a bad movie. This is a good movie. Annette: That is brilliant
48:00 Nicole tells a Jane Campion story! No way. Okay this is getting better and better. It's a story about a Jane Campion short she pulled out of because she didn't want to wear a shower cap OR kiss a girl. 'I was 14. I wanted to kiss boys!' Hahaha. 50:00 Amy Adams calls the moderator on his "baiting" when he is talking about movies being only made for young boys now. None of them take the bait except Hilary.... 51:00 ...who weirdly goes on a bizarre tangent blaming critics (!) for the failure of dramas. Yeah, that's right. Ticket buyers totally listen to unemployed critics. 'Critics don't like linear storytelling anymore!' They don't? This is news to me.
52:00 Nicole and Helena both praise HBO and TV in general (?) Kidman says she's doing something for HBO. She is? I so cannot keep up with upcoming movie news. 54:00 Amy hates that being an actress means you're supposed to also be a model. Helena tells her she doesn't have to pretend to be a model. 'Wear whatever you like. You'll get criticized for it but..." Helena would know. 56:00 Natalie explains that she was lucky to finish high school before the internet explosion of actors having no privacy. She can't imagine what the famous teens go through now. Nicole says she wishes she had been a director instead of an actress (!) 58:00 Annette talks about the "crazy intimacy" of acting and goes on and on and on and on some more about how acting really has very little to do with the acoutrements of fame and red carpets and whatnot. Interesting stuff if I weren't already exhausted and since i can't rewind, I can't quote anymore.
Here's the whole interview if you have the hour.
Some armchair possibly inaccurate observations:
Helena Bonham-Carter is very funny.
Hilary and Annette both talk with their hands a lot .
Nicole & Natalie are both shy but not inattentive
Amy Adams doesn't want to be in this room at all. ( But hey, she's got an infant daughter. She's justifiably distracted. We'll cut her some slack.)
The Hollywood Reporter is proclaiming that "Awards Season Begins Now" but the cover is freaking me out. Did Nancy Meyers direct it? It's so beige.
Do Amy Adams, Nicole Kidman, Hilary Swank and Natalie Portman all suddenly have the same hairstylist & colorist these days? They're interchangeable. And with women that special, that's a big no-no. Kidman's styling bugs me the most. It's so Blair on Facts of Life.
Am I right?
"I've got another one of my brilliant ideas."
Even craycray HBC looks like she's been stripped of her actual wardrobe in some coordinated Bossy Stylist intervention -- guarantee you she's never worn that before -- "You must be on trend, Helena. Muted colors this Oscar season! Think: Vanilla!"
But I'm intrigued by her fessing up about her working relationship with Tim Burton
I did do a film with him before I slept with him, and it's very different. We went through a really bad time on Sweeney Todd. ... I didn't get one compliment (from Burton). He really had this whole thing, like he didn't want to seem as if he was favoring me. So he'd go in the opposite direction. And Tim and Johnny, they have their lovely relationship, you know, they get on so well. So that was a difficult one. ... I really didn't think he'd ever want to work with me again. On Alice, I said there were going to be rules. ... I listed the Ten Commandments of how to work together.
I'd like to know what those Ten Commandments are. But I'm guessing she doesn't get into it in front of 5 other actresses.
Meanwhile, back to that cover -- this post is a runaway train (of thought) bear with me! -- notice that The Bening is propping herself up by her chin, biding her time, knowing they'll photoshop her in later.
I suppose it's possible that they were all in the room together, but I'm guessing it was more like Skype. The photo sure doesn't look like it's all one photo, does it?
Come to think of, I'm waiting for the day when some famous magazine or celebrity photographer refuses to do any more shoots where you have to photoshop busy people together later on. This didn't used to happen of course. Part of the jam-packed celebrity schedule used to include making time to be photographed with other celebrities. There's just something so dehumanizing about the photoshop mash-ups. I do them for humor but I hate it when they're presented to me like a photo I should believe in. (At least those Vanity Fair covers do a good job of tricking you about it... and you know that at least sections of it involve actual stars, draped about each other in real time.)
I miss stars being photographed together in the flesh where they can totally feed off each other's energy. Like...
Michelle Pfeiffer & Jessica Lange in 1997 (one of my favorite celebrity photos of all time even if their movie wasn't good.) Or how about Keanu Reeves & River Phoenix in 1991?
Of course this still happens now but almost exclusively with only two people. Larger groups? Forget it.
Currently paparazzi photography is so much more exciting than actual portraiture. I mean, would any magazine ever be able to schedule The Town cast to be photographed in a room together at the same time and capture this much interpersonal energy...
Isn't that a sweet pic? I think it's my favorite movie premiere shot from 2010. I've looked at it so many times since September.
But back to The Hollywood Reporter to wrap up. I haven't seen the mag yet but I'm loving some of the quotes I'm reading like this exchange between Swankster & Adams
On losing roles Swank: There was a script I fell in love with back in August that was sent to me...I went in and I didn't get it. Bening: Who did? Swank: Do you really want to know? Bening: Amy, you got it, didn't you? (Laughter) Swank (to Adams): Did you read it? Did you like it? Adams: I'm not getting into this! (Thunderous laughter) Swank: Amy got the role! Amy will be playing the role that I wanted! (Laughs) Adams: Let me just say, I'm not doing it. We don't normally talk about this!
Hee. I've never liked Swank more than reading that exchange. And I've never felt better about The Bening's winning chances in February than I did while "hearing" her tease Swank and Adams on this topic.
I suppose I must pick up my Oscar-pundit speed now. Sorry for the delays...
Let's talk about The King's Speech
As you know this film came roaring out of Toronto as the audience award winner (see previous post) and The Film to Beat at the Oscars... unless you think that's The Social Network but it's since it's only late September fans of either (in reality or in theory) need to calm down. We were always confident that The King's Speech was an Oscar film even before they started filming which is why we've predicted it for several nominations since April. But now that the trailer is here allowing non-festival goers to have a looksee, what do we think?
On the bright side, it looks fun. Or at least it looks fun to anyone who loved watching Eliza Doolittle learn to properly e·nun·ci·ate. It also gives Colin Firth a meaty role that seems like a reward for elevating A Single Man (2009) (but for the fact that he probably signed for this before anyone saw how great he was in last year's nominated turn). I'm also THRILLED -- and yes it needed to be typed in all caps -- to see that Helena Bonham Carter has managed to escape Burton's gothic dungeon for some badly needed air. She's probably heading straight to her second Oscar nomination with relative ease; You know how they love those supportive wives. What's most surprising about the trailer is that the production values look superb and not in some vaguely rote prestige way but with a vividly handsome specificity. I didn't expect great visuals so maybe Tom Hooper's Best Director buzz isn't so far-fetched for a film that on paper seemed like one for the acting and production design branches mostly.
On the other hand, I am completely allergic to Geoffrey Rush in hambone mode. His win for Shine (1996) is one of my least favorite Best Actor prizes in the category's history and they nominated him for the entirely wrong film in 1998 as he was much more restrained and effective in Elizabeth than he was in Shakespeare in Love. He looks to be bringing the kook to scenes that already have inherent kookiness (speech therapy's comedy friendly exercizes) and I may just break out in hives watching him go for a second Oscar. I'm taking epipen into the theater with me... just in case.
Then we come to the Oscar Bait -- as if Royalty Porn weren't enough of it -- which is the World War II 'Nazi's are coming!' time frame. I hope it's less awkwardly handled here than it was in Mrs. Henderson Presents which this film vaguely reminds me of sight unseen. That's not a purposeful mental jump. It's worrisome rather but probably just based on account of early Oscar buzz, prestige actors, and the world war haunting the periphery of a "light" film.
Again, I might need the epipen but the festival buzz is certainly something to think about in an optimistic way. I'm a Yes leaning Maybe So because, again, Geoffrey Rush is a total No for me most of the time ...especially whilst clowning around. Look, we can't help what we're allergic to. Don't give me a hard time about it.
Are you a Yes, No or Maybe So? And do you buy the Oscar frontrunner (or thereabouts) hype? *
I've been meaning to write about Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland for weeks now. But every time I so much as thought about doing so I felt a pit in my stomach as deep as that rabbit hole to Underland. I hate the movie sooooooo much. The flames... breathing... on the side of my face.
Why must it exist to taunt me with its billion dollar gross? Way to reward a filmmaker for lazy stagnation. Just pick a famous property, collect your usual coconspirators and then throw shit at the screen. Literally! You can convert it to 3D later. A billion dollars will be yours! As long as the masses recognize the title and you have a bankable star, you're gold. (See also: Sherlock Holmes).
I can't bear to watch the movie a second time. I usually skim back over when I write about films -- so these are just a few scattered thoughts expanded from my notes and my tortured memories of the nightmare witnessed.
<--- Alice sees a green spotted pig because, why the hell not? Nothing has to make any sense. The very essence of the property robs the lazy of having to pick which of their visual ideas to use.
Underland What was with the "Underland" thing anyway? If you wanna get cute about messing with the title, at least have the balls to change it. Tim Burton's Alice in Underland would still be a stinking pile, but a rose by any other name would not smell as rancid. It can be quite enjoyable and fascinating to see artists riff on past stories, concepts and ideas from previous artists which is why we should all be thankful for the public domain (which greedy corporations are always trying to end... as if they had any hand in the original blood sweat and tears creativity). Once a story has been around for 50-75 years, shouldn't it belong to the world in actuality the way it belongs to the world in the abstract sense?
But just because you can riff on a past work, doesn't mean you should. Especially if you have nothing of value to add.
Ugliness Mia Wasikowska is a pretty young thing but Alice is a dud. And she's even slightly ugly of personality at the end. Why does the screenplay make her mean spirited? At the end of the movie she actually humiliates her suitor by mentioning an unattractive health problem he has (I forget what it was). Yes, she is right to refuse the marriage offer from Lord Doofus (I don't care what his character name is, it matters not). But to humiliate him while doing so? Most lazy pandering movies present the unsuitable suitor as SO unsuitable that virtually no one should ever marry them. Said suitor should die miserable and alone. Remember WAY back in the day (a decade back, I guess) when movie women did not have hateful suitors or fiancees? As recently as the 90s filmmakers used to trust the audience to understand the nuance of "this guy is not right for her, which is too bad because he's kind of cool/nice." (see Reality Bites, Sleepless in Seattle and others). It wasn't always "this guy MUST be humiliated because he is so awful and oh, the very thought of her with him! You go girl, dump his ugly/insufferable/rude/unfeeling/cheating ass!" I swear to God Hollywood thinks we all have the EQs of lint. "This character good *grunt*. This character bad *grunt*."
Wouldn't her film-ending decision have had more gravitas if she had to say no to a good guy because, the dull domestic life wasn't for her. She's made for larger world travelling ambitions. Wouldn't that be more stirring? Something to actually think about while the credits played? I mean who wouldn't run from the life choice presented her? What kind of a character arc is that?
But her ugly insult and lame story arc is only a tiny thing. Everything in the film is ugly, whether by design, color combinations or sheer excess: The sets, the busy costumes, the special effects. Even Anne Hathaway is ugly and how is that possible exactly? That's not possible without the aid of hideous lighting and makeup design.
It's hard to feel bad about The Court and its way of life being destroyed in The Mad Hatter's backstory exposition flashback scene because that is ALSO garish. Sure, burn it down. No one will miss it.
Johnny & Helena & Alan Johnny Depp has starred in seven Tim Burton films. The first two collaborations are classics (Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood) The third is solid (Sleepy Hollow). Thereafter its tough to argue that he was necessary or even right for any of the roles. You can't be a daring unpredictable weirdo icon if you become totally safe, predictable and familiar in your daring unpredictable weirdness. These things don't go together. MOVE ON.
The only actors who seem to be working above the material are Alan Rickman, a droll voice choice for the stoned caterpillar with that resonating slightly phlegmy bass of his and Helena Bonham-Carter. Her red queen is the saving grace of the film. Or rather the life raft. The film is not saved but her impeccable timing and focused stylization generally make her scenes tolerable. It's even hard to be annoyed by the nonstop CGI "help" because she knows what she's doing and she's doing it skillfully.
"You've lost your muchness." This line, spoken by the Mad Hatter to Alice is a good one. It could well apply to Tim Burton, though. He has definitely lost his muchness. In its absence, he compensates with MUCH. The film is always always always too much. Every scene is tricked up with gaseous CGI swirls as if the celluloid can't stop farting.
Even the Chesshire Cat, usually a textbook example of the simplicity of great illusions, doesn't really disappear so much as dissapate into computer generated fumes. Adding to the smell is the distinct impression that the print had been urinated on by someone with a Jabberwocky sized bladder. Why was garish yellow their color of choice?
The movie's over compensating muchness, most obvious in its hideous color palette, busy f/x detailing (wait, this quarter of the frame is empty... throw some weird animal into it! Hurry!!!) and super long redundant sequences which manage to convey exactly one idea each -- fall, chase, fly, fight, etcetera -- reminded me of four other movies. George Lucas's entire ugly Star Wars prequel trilogy has a similar redundancy of one note scenes as well as a shared affinity for grotesque but unappealing creature designs. And most of the action sequences, lamely executed to a one, reminded of that patience testing dinosaur run in King Kong. King Kong was a fairly successful remake but that one scene stuck out like a sore thumb. It added virtually nothing to the story, it was redundant visually, it was OBVIOUSLY special effects (so the film stopped feeling seamless) and it went on forever... at least twice its justifiable length.
These are not good things to be reminded of. F
<--- "Goodbye sweet hat"
Some final statistics& observations
Running time in Underland: 108 minutes
Running time in Nathaniel's apartment: 108 hours
Length of time before I became annoyed: 41 seconds. I blame the absolutely unsurprising score by Danny Elfman. Same as it ever was. I liked his score for Milk a lot recently. Step away from the Burton, Danny Elfman, Danny Elfman.
Standard length of time before Nathaniel usually starts shifting uncomfortably in his seat hoping that the movie will soon end: 91 minutes (comedy) / 109 minutes (drama) / never (A/A- minus level movies. I just watched The Best Years of Our Lives which is 172 minutes long and I could have watched an additional 220 minutes if William Wyler had only let me. But that's a topic for a forthcoming post.)
Moment in which I stopped hating the movie briefly but can't for the life of me remember why: Something about the Mad Hatter in his new office making hats for The Red Queen.
Percentage of scenes with more f/x than there needed to be: 89%
Missed opportunities for subtext: ∞
Last time it was super easy to love a Tim Burton live-action movie without reservations: 1996's Mars Attacks!
Last time Tim Burton made a truly excellent movie: 1994's Ed Wood
Moment I began to suspect that Alice was by far the worst movie Tim Burton had ever made: The 43 second sequence in which Alice falls down through the green scree -- rabbit hole and keeps on falling. And keeps on falling. And kept on falling through sloppy green screens and random imagery, furniture and obstacles that she had to duck or collide with. Was it a movie? A video game level? A test reel? A bad drug trip? Whatever it was, it was pointless. I don't know if you've ever timed other big movie sequences but 43 seconds is a really long time. You can fit a lot into 43 seconds if you aren't phoning it in or editing on quaaludes.
Offscreen moment of which I am most ashamed: Wishing Helena Bonham-Carter and Tim Burton would have a horrible row and break up for good. One should never wish ill on happy couples. But she's such a good actress and she's just stuck in ever worsening movies.
Number of times I wished that Anne Hathaway had never seen Amy Adams' Enchanted performance: 1,194
Number of times you miss something 3D cool if you watch it in 2D: 0
Number of times I thought about great Tim Burton films wistfully: 94
Number of times I even wished I was watching Planet of the Apes or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: 4
Number of times I lost the will to live: 1*
Number of times I actually died: 0
Number of future films by Tim Burton I'd like to see: ...guess.
*I made it all the way through this article without once mentioning Johnny Depp's breakdancing. Wait, oops! *
Apparently yesterday marked quite a milestone. According to /Film, the Harry Potter series concluded filming just yesterday.
(How cute. They're at the cinema!)
I've never been part of Hogwarts mega-legion of boosters but it's still an historic moment that I thought we should mark here. I only wish that the series -- which has already earned more money than anyone could ever count or need -- hadn't popularized the greedy "split the last film into two" grab that every studio will now employ for all popular franchises. We haven't seen the results yet but one assumes the filler-to-substance ratio will be off the charts and you know it won't end with The Twilight Saga and Potter. I couldn't get through even the first Twilight book (my god the whining) so I can't speak for Breaking Dawn but Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows definitely doesn't need 300 minutes to tell its story, especially since the middle section of the book is filler itself. I wouldn't worry if these films were 90 minutes but you now they'll stick with the traditional Potter length which, six films going, average out to 150 minutes or 2½hours exactly. I did the math. When the series is over Harry Potter will have lasted about 1,200 minutes... or roughly the length of two seasons on a pay cable drama. And isn't that what all these multi-film stories essentially are, ginormous television series that you have to pay for?
All that said, I hope the last two films miraculously turn out great for the fans and I also hope that there's enough of Maggie & Helena and such to get me through before the movies pull an Avada Kedavra on me with their bloat. And on that note I should quit typing. If I'm claiming that nobody needs that extra 150 minutes of Potter or another 378 minutes of Twilight in their lives than I probably shouldn't whine so much that I'm mistaken for Bella Swan. Maggie Smith Helena Bonham Carter
The first Oscar predictions of the year are complete. Woo-hoo. These are always both fun and aggravating to do. I love being proven both wrong and right. New film years offer so much promise of success, failure, and everything inbetween.
My own excitement for Darren Aronofsky's freaked-out ballerinas picture Black Swan is all intermingled with my fears that no matter how good it is (assuming that it's good), Oscar voters have notorious trouble embracing the visionaries until they really do something middlebrow (case in point: David Fincher and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). Black Swan sounds way too weird to be middlebrow... but, then, so did Button come to think of it.
I decided to throw caution to the wind and predict Natalie Portman for Best Actress anyway. Oscar has embraced histrionic ballet stars before (The Turning Point, anyone?) And even if voters are still wary of Aronofsky (how has he not been nominated yet? Argh!) they do recognize his enviable skill with actors, as evidenced by the nominations from Requiem for a Dream and The Wrestler.
In the end, these are the dozen performances I (currently) feel we should most keep an eye on for Oscar play
Hiam Abbas in Miral (though I could also see this as supporting)
Annette Bening for Mother and Childor The Kids Are All Right
Anne Hathaway for Love and Other Drugs
Nicole Kidman down the Rabbit Hole
Diane Lane for Secretariat
Jennifer Lawrence for Winter's Bone
Lesley Manville has Another Year
Julianne Moore thinks The Kids Are All Right
Natalie Portman in Black Swan
Julia Roberts for Eat Pray Love
Robin Wright Penn as The Conspirator
The red highlights are my predicted nominees but visit the Best Actress page for more details as to why I chose who I chose.
I've also posted the Supporting Actress hunches -- which includes Helena Bonham-Carter in The King's Speech -- though in truth I didn't really have any hunches. Ha! That's the way it goes sometimes.
I'd love to hear your feelings on these two actress categories. Next week, after I've had time to examine and build spreadsheets, I'll share your communal prediction for Best Actress from the "Actress Psychic" contest. It's always interesting to note what Consensus imagines about something so intangible.
Red Carpet Lineup: Once weekly we check in with random celebrities. Who is Where and Why? And What (are they wearing)?
From left to right: Jonathan Groff was at the Paley Center to promote GLEE (He's joined the cast drizzling yet more awesomeness on a show that's already fully marinated in the stuff). Groff wowed New York on stage (Spring Awakening + Hair) and now he's after the rest of the world. He's pulling off a mere mortal look here surprisingly well but do not be fooled. He's actually a demi-god (see: that 'I'll Possess Your Soul And You'll Ask If I Can Take Your Body, Too' stare in Taking Woodstock and the actual demi-god thing in The Baccae last summer where he hypnotized Anthony Mackie into doing all sorts of, uh, naughty things). Helena Bonham-Carter attended the premiere ofAlice in Wonderland in Paris. If HBC ever feels the public has lost interest in her, I have a surefire solution for a comeback: stop dressing like a billionaire bag-lady. Think of the uproar if she showed up somewhere all sleek, minimalist and goddessy ... like a Cate Blanchett look or something. People would be talking about it for a month!
Tilda Swinton premiered I Am Love in Italy in navy tiles. We love I Am Love but worry that it's going to be one of those movies that has premieres all over the world for the next 17 months without ever once feeling like it's playing in theaters. Marion Cotillardreceived the Officer of the Order of the Arts and Letters in Paris. That sounds prestigious and we love that Marion shows up all demur/pastel to receive it "What? No! What did I do to deserve this? You're too kind. You mean little Oscar-winningme?"
from left to right: Meryl Streep is wearing a beige drapey sweater look that would be right at home in a Nancy Meyers movie. She was bestowing honors at Diane von Furstenberg's DVF awards. The awards are for women who struggle to improve their communities which sounds like such a worthy selfless thing... until you remember that the woman who created the honor named it after herself. Adrien Brody hit SXSW to premiere footage from Predator. Honestly, I don't understand his career at all post-Pianist. Nor do I understand why people are surprised that he has muscles to play an action hero. King Kong five years ago, 'member? Jennifer Tilly is still alive and proved it by taking in a gallery show in LA. This Official Declaration of Life I direct towards Hollywood's casting directors who have misfiled her headshot into their posthumous file 13. That's the only explanation for her screen absence. She's one of a kind. "Charmed. Charmed. Charmed."
We end with Alan Cumming who hosted the first leg of GLAAD's media awards this past weekend in NYC (there's two more events coming up in California). Funky suits are sometimes really fun to look at but immediately after smiling at them you think "You can only wear that once. Hope it was worth the money". Not that the fab Tony winner should worry about money. There's the cologne, the album, the abundant voicework and the television, film, stage and Spider-Man villain gigs. He's also one of the voices for the upcoming The Smurfs movie. Full disclosure: I loved The Smurfs as a kid (why pretend otherwise?) but I do not remember any character named "Gutsy Smurf".
Amuse us. Caption one (or both) of these photos or give it dialogue in the comments. I'll choose a couple of winners and repost on Monday. Your captions/dialogue don't have to be related to Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. There are no rules once you've stepped through the looking glass.
Press play. It magically provides your soundtrack for this post.
Four hundred and twenty-three years ago this very day, Queen Elizabeth had the deed done.
Mary Queen of Scots' head would roll. Which in movie-land means that Cate Blanchett (at her most blustery) ordered Samantha Morton right out of her own movie, Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Such a shame since that movie really needed another actress capable of going head-to-head (I apologize!) with the diva at its center.
Lords knows Abbie Cornish wasn't doing it. I'm so pleased that she rocked Bright Star, thoroughly redeeming herself after that early "what's the fuss?" stage.
Anyway, my point is this: I l o v e Samantha Morton. Don't you?
And I hate it when people I love or people I'm totally curious about are suddenly written out of the movie I'm watching. Has that ever happened to you?
You may be asking yourself "Why the hell is Nathaniel talking about decapitations?" and that's a perfectly sensible question. But you'd be thinking gory thoughts too if you'd just watch The Wolfman (more on that Thursday) which loves to separate heads from bodies. Ewww.
P.S. I want Karen O to score more movies. Awesomeness
P.P.S. Even though I realize now that Helena Bonham-Carter is playing the Red Queen rather than the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland I'm glad she screams "Off with her head". You shouldn't mess with the classics.
P.P.P.S. I apologize for bringing up Elizabeth: The Golden Age. So uncalled for! *
Curious. I've been wondering for awhile how Johnny Depp's starpower would affect the story, the Mad Hatter being a relatively minor character. At least in trailer form he becomes the narrator of the tale. Teasers sometimes use framing or narrator devices that don't appear in actual films in a sort of "presenting!" way ... but this seems more than likely as a way to expand The Mad Hatter's role.
There is a place... like no place on Earth. A land full of wonder, mystery and danger Some say to survive it you need to be as mad as a hatter... ...which luckily I am
At any rate I hope they don't waste too much time explaining things to the audience. One thing that works absurdly well here is how quick you get to wonderland. The initial story points are so instantly recognizable -- fall down rabbit hole, drink potion, meet an odd array of characters (Tweedlee Dee and Tweedle Dum, The Cheshire Cat, etcetera...) before the more dangerous insanity begins -- that I hope the film doesn't dawdle but speeds through its wonders to keep us as disoriented as Alice.
Once a better quality teaser emerges (this one is so muddy... probably from all the copying and reposting -- the teaser was a blink and you'll miss it affair yesterday) I'll replace this one.
Time for our weekly stream of consciousness trip to the red carpet to visit with random celebrities who've been walking it.
First up are two Hogwarts franchise girls. Sartorial madwoman Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix LeStrange) and the delightfully batty Miriam Margoyles (Professor Pomona Sprout) came out for the Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince premiere. Helena gets a few wickedly cackling scenes in the new picture but Miriam goes entirely missing. Oh well. Next time, Miriam. What is it with out lesbian actresses that they are all so endlessly adorable? I mean Jane Lynch + Miriam Margoyles + Lily Tomlin + Fiona Shaw... it doesn't get much better than them. They're always an audience treat. But back to Helena. Sometimes I try to time travel back to the late 80s and imagine this current fate for Lucy Honeychurch (sharing a home and hairdresser with Tim Burton) and I'll tell you... it's hard to fathom. Who saw this onscreen/offscreen persona coming for Merchant/Ivory's favorite dress up doll?
Adrien Brody chose to wear a blue cardigan without a shirt to some fashion event which upset the Fug girls quite a lot. Adrien is clearly proud of the sculpted body he's been sporting ever since he played a stripper in Summer of Sam(1999) -- good Spike Lee joint, that. My theory is that Brody shows it off as much as he does because he achieved his greatest fame without the bod, all emaciated for his Oscar winning role in The Pianist (2002). It's just a kindly reminder. He doesn't want us to forget.
Cate Blanchett attended an Armani show looking diva fine. Don't all freak out at once but I saw this photo and experienced a brief moment of temporary amnesia in which I actually thought "I miss you Cate!" forgetting that I was so glad to be having a one year break from The Ubiquitous One. Perhaps this short hiatus will bode well for her return as Maid Marian next year in Robin Hood. Maybe I'll fall back in love? Here's a photo of her in costume [via].
Speaking of Maid Marian... this past month's celebrity death parade was really upsetting to me and I've been thinking about 93 year-old Olivia deHavilland nearly every day. I wish her the best of health. No, that's not enough. I wish her Gandalf-like longevity. I want the Golden Age Maid Marian to hit the red carpet premiere of Robin Hood and have a photo op with the latest in the long line of actresses who've followed her in the role.
Sophie Okonedo came out for the UK premiere of Skinin which she plays the black daughter of white parents in Apartheid-era South Africa. It's been on the festival circuit for a year but there's still no word yet on whether or not it's ever coming to the States.
Look, it's Marion Cotillard and her mama! (up top far right) How cute are they? You'd think Cotillard would be exhausted by the endless premieres of Public Enemies around the globe but she's also showing up at fashion shows and doing commercials and short films and she's got three more movies on the way including Nine (see many previous posts). I fear we're talking about Blanchett level stamina here. J'en ai peur.
Marion Cotillard est très occupée. Photos from May 4th ~ July 6th
le cinema StinkyLulu investigates Cher's work in Silkwood. I just watched this again and I love this performance. In fact, I love every turn in the film including Kurt Russell's. I wish Mike Nichols would make something this humble but stirring and potent again. New Yorker Evan Rachel Wood takes trapeze lessons. Fun piece... though I'll believe Jodie Foster's decades-delayed Flora Plum circus project -- not mentioned but why else the trapeze lessons -- when I see it. In ContentionA Christmas Carol sneaks. Score Enthusiast on Alexandre Desplat's work on Chéri Nick's Flick Picks a beautiful even handed tribute to Meryl Streep's career and its foibles, triumphs and unique pleasures
It's gay pride week in NYC FourFour has a great post on the documentary Ask Not on gays in the military and Brüno's comedic use of homophobia Boy Culture takes justifiable aim at Will & Grace creator Max Mutchnick who has been dredging up the ol lame chestnut 'these people don't represent me'. When will people learn that wedge politics are not helpful for minorities?
miscellania Toys R Evil Marilyn's Mickies - a cheesecake mashup [not really SFW] Blog Stage Sarah Jessica Parker is making a reality show American Artists. There's a reality competition for just about everything now 'cept blogging. It's hard to dramatize typing, isn't it?
i challenge you... to beat my score on Cryptic Canvas. It's a really hard but fun movie naming painted puzzle (all films from the past 20 years). Thanks to In Contention for pointing it out. I only got 27/50 answers in 20 minutes. Challenging stuff. I'm still so confused by the three pony-tailed girls in the graveyard.
