Referral Banners
Showing posts with label James McAvoy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James McAvoy. Show all posts

Linkville

Serious Film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory = Se7en. lol.
The Playlist Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim) names his favorite musicals.
Low Resolution Nekked James McAvoy and the failings of the internet.



ooh, thanks E.T. LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS sneak!

i09 wonders how TV can repeat the success of Smallville. But I have to ask: why does it have to be a teen angst show? There's a million different ways of doing superheroes. Unfortunately people are only trying two of those ways. You can get away with generic at the movies while the genre is at its peak, but peaks don't last forever and if everything keeps feeling "samey" eventually people will get bored.
Geekscape 10 strangest tv and film adaptations ever.
Extra Criticum takes issue with "The New Yorker"'s take on The Kids Are All Right.

Finally, CHUD collects some photoshopped tomfoolery about Inception and calls it a "meme". Oh internets you confuse me. A meme used to just be a thing everyone was passing around like surveys or questionnaires or themes like blog-a-thons without the date specificity. Now apparently it's about lolcat style photo-captioning? I can't keep up internets. But some of them are funny so read the post. And this is really the last time I'm going to mention this movie (until precursor season at least) because I'm so bored with it now. Fast fade... just not enough left to the imagination so how can the imagination stay engaged?

Up in the Link

T Magazine Bryce Dallas Howards' new roles. Hasn't Hollywood realized she's a bad luck charm by now?
Pajiba Would you watch James McAvoy create "James Bond" in a Fleming biopic?
Back Stage Blog Stage Wicked is still breaking Broadway records. Can they get the movie version made already? Strike while the iron is warm. And cast people who can sing please!
Sunset Gun Kim Morgan's top ten for 2009
Observations on Film Art the ten best pictures of 2009 1919

...by Ken Levine loves Up in the Air. This quote should probably be used on Vera Farmiga's FYC ads. Talk about flattering
the real revelation is Vera Farmiga. Picture a taller, sexier, younger, straighter Ann Heche with the smarts and sassiness of Bogey’s Bacall. I love this woman! I want to write a movie just so she can be in it.

Movies Kick Ass completes the series '10 Movies That Defined My Decade'. If I made a list with the same name, we'd share #1
my internet... "essential blog post of the day" Hollywood parties sure do make for unexpected photo ops

And because I always think that letting the movies bleed into your every day life is a great idea, here's an Avatar-obsessed makeup tutorial.... "rawwwwrrr" [hat tip]

7 Word Movie Review: The Last Station

Lively, engaging than (mostly) potent. Oscar bound.

(alternate 7 word review)
Mirren’s nomination chances? Golden.
McAvoy’s deflowering? Priceless.

(38 word gripe)
Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren and James McAvoy all have lead roles in this film. Paul Giamatti, Anne Marie Duff, Patrick Kennedy and Kerry Condon are the supporting players of note... but Oscar campaigns will do what they will.

Speaking of Top Tens...

...oh, don't act like you don't speak of them often.

I don't think I'll be getting to "Best of the Aughts" until late this year or possibly March 2010 given what's sure to be a crazed Oscar season but I was looking over those old Actors & Actresses of the Aughts list (compiled to reflect 2000-2005 cinema) and realizing how much can change within four to five years of cinema. Halfway through this decade Meryl Streep hadn't yet reconquered the world, Christian Bale hadn't yet started alienating fans, Scarlett Johansson hadn't yet started boring people, Heath Ledger hadn't left us, Holly Hunter hadn't moved to the small screen, Jude Law's career hadn't receded, Maggie Cheung hadn't vanished...

Here's what the lists looked like in 2005


Actor
  1. Jude Law
  2. Gael Garcia Bernal
  3. Ewan McGregor
  4. Tony Leung Chiu-Wai
  5. Johnny Depp
  6. Clive Owen
  7. Peter Sarsgaard
  8. Daniel Craig
  9. Christian Bale
  10. George Clooney
Just Missed: Jim Broadbent, Jake Gyllenhaal
Further down...
Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Bill Murray, Cillian Murphy, Brad Pitt and dozens of others who've seen great success (or much less of it) since
Not even in the top 100
We'd just barely met James McAvoy and he had pointed ears and really furry legs in Narnia. Who knew?

Actresses
  1. Nicole Kidman
  2. Patricia Clarkson
  3. Kate Winslet
  4. Kirsten Dunst
  5. Samantha Morton
  6. Julianne Moore
  7. Cate Blanchett
  8. Michelle Pfeiffer
  9. Scarlett Johansson
  10. Toni Collette
Just Missed: Joan Allen, Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Huppert
F
urther down... Tilda Swinton, Meryl Streep, Laura Linney, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Evan Rachel Wood and god knows who else... with success and failures of every degree waiting for them in the near future (now our collective past)
Not even in the top 100 In 2004, I still sorta hated Penélope Cruz. HA! What a difference a few years made


I wonder how much these lists will change once 2006-2009 are factored in? Whose career changed the most for you, cinematically speaking, recently? I suppose you'll be wanting a "Directors of the Aughts" list, too?

2009 Oscar Predictions, The Actors

We've chatted about the women. Now it's time for the men.

I'll start with the big omission news. I know most every Oscar pundit is predicting Daniel Day-Lewis for Nine (the Musical) but I think they're all forgetting an important and peculiar truth: DDL does not get nominated for performances that center around his romantic relationships. Even when the Academy likes the film.

Consider...
  • A Room With a View (1986) 8 noms/3 wins
  • My Beautiful Laundrette (1986) 1 nomination.
    He wasn't a known commodity in 86 but his double dip was incredibly chameleonic. And in two movies that were raved far and wide and that Oscar voters liked.
  • The Last of the Mohicans (1992) 1 nom/1 win.
    Certainly one of the most bizarre Oscar snubbings ever for an entire film. It was epic, beautiful, period, popular and moving. And it got one nomination... for sound?
  • The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) 2 nominations
  • The Age of Innocence (1993) 5 noms/ 1 win
  • The Crucible (1996) 2 nominations
Oscar loves Day-Lewis when he's malevolently masculine (Gangs and There Will Be Blood) or when he's starring in biopics (Left Foot, In the Name of...). But when he's romancing the ladies? "No thanks!" says the average voter. Even when the romance is a "wow" (Mohicans) or when the movie manages an acting nomination (Crucible, Innocence) they still pass. I'm not seeing it. Here are my BEST ACTOR predictions.

I generally do well at Actor predictions this early, managing 2 or 3 of the 5. Yet Best Actor was hard to suss out beyond Morgan Freeman this year. He's the only person in any category you can probably ink in already. Revered actor playing famous recognizable role + Eastwood + bio elements (though thankfully it focuses on one time period) = they will go nuts.

Supporting Actor was far more difficult. And for the obvious reasons of 'what the hell?' who is playing who? will the films be any good? In other words, we know little. So here's my stab in the dark when it comes to the men who will be recognized for boosting the appeal of movies much bigger than their roles. I'm guessing on a double nomination for Matt Damon. Why not?

I'd really love to hear your opinions for Supporting Actor because I wouldn't be surprised at all to be 100% wrong for 2009. This tends to be my worst acting category for 'year in advance' predix. I score either 1 or 2 out of 5. I've never hit 3/5 this early like I have in the other categories.

Still, if I'm right about the general field (if not the big contenders) we're going to see a lot of first time nominees this year in the supporting actor category.
*
*

BAFTA Winners and Moments

The BAFTAs were once a shrug. Then a raised eyebrow. This year they were a scratched head. To me at least. So let me just speed through this. The last round of pre-Oscar winners. In other words, rehearsals for Oscar speeches. That's the only point.

Best Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Score & Sound (and more prizes later too)
Slumdog Millionaire
I wish there was a Best Craft Services Oscar so Slumdog Millionaire could win that one, too.

Best MakeUp, Visual Effects & Art Direction
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
I know there's been a lot of talk about Button going 0 for 13 at Oscar which would be a record but it's not going to happen. It should have an easy time in a couple of technical categories as it did here at BAFTA.

Carl Foreman Award
Steve McQueen Hunger
That is such an amazing movie and I happy that they recognized it in a small way. I still remember whole passages vividly. I hope it can make more than 2 dollars once they finally deign to release it properly around the world.


Introducing this award was the ridiculously lovely Thandie Newton who was introduced in exactly this way
recently attracted attention for her uncanny portrayal of Condoleeza Rice.
"attracted attention" heh. What a shrewdly diplomatic way to put it.

Original Screenplay Martin McDonagh In Bruges
Michael Sheen and David Frost (whom he played in Frost/Nixon) introduced this prize. How fun. I hope the Oscars get similarly frisky with their presenter pairings and choices.

Costume Design Michael O'Connor The Duchess
I imagine he'll be repeating this win at the Kodak (as will many of these winners come to think of it). He kissed his boyfriend. Awwww. I love that at awards shows.
Foreign Film I've Loved You So Long
Outstanding British Film Man on Wire
Rising Star (voted on by the public) Noel Clarke



Best Supporting Actress Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
James McAvoy (sigh) gave this one out. Heart. I hope we see Cruz repeat at the Oscars as I've said before. On the way up to the podium she grabbed Kate Winslet for a hug... And then Kate positively beamed with joy through Penélope's whole acceptance speech. I so want to understand the backstory here, don't you?

Best Supporting Actor
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
I desperately hope that the Oscars will not follow or precede Ledger's win with the "In Memoriam" segment as SAG and BAFTA did. I understand the sweep since he was phenomenal in the movie but all of this "ooh, he's DEAD" fetishizing is so reductive. Quit proving to us that you only voted for him because he died. It's so cynical and disrespectful. Let's honor the greatness of the actor instead.

They weren't kidding around with their nickname the "Orange" Film Awards.
Or is that just my television? My god the set was garishly colored.

Best Actress Kate Winslet, The Reader
Kate has been under a lot of fire for her acceptance speeches this season and it's getting a little strange. Certainly many (one might even say "hundreds of people") before her have been worse at the "thank you"s when handed a statue. I think what's been happening is that a) she's the heir apparent to Meryl Streep in terms of nomination & statue pulling and anyone would suffer in comparison, speech-wise and b) she's been denied for so long that everyone who has ever had any interest in seeing her win has already imagined it too many times for the real thing to live up to their fantasy. I liked this speech: short, to the point, and genuinely happy for the honor.

Tribute to Terry Gilliam. Right on. Would Oscars ever honor someone that crazy? I guess the American equivalent might be a tribute honorary award for David Lynch?

Best Actor Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
This speech was a little like a rusty rehearsal embryonic version of his Golden Globe speech last month. Is Mickey Rourke time travelling? He'd be a great candidate for "do it all over again!" so good luck with that, Mickey. Two new bits for this speech though: One dedicating it to his late friend King Arthur himself, Richard Harris. The second was a hilarious bit about how brave Marisa Tomei was to take off her clothes and how much he liked looking at her do just that.


Best Director Danny Boyle Slumdog Millionaire
I wonder what's going to happen at the Oscars this year. It's SO suspenseful. On a less snarky note the speech was sincere and well spoken and there was a fun rousing "I love you Dad!" shout-out from his son in the crowd.

Best Picture Slumdog Millionaire
But more importantly: Angelina Jolie laughed in the banter intro! One might even say she giggled. Guffawed would be an overstatement. But she did seem genuinely amused by presenter Mick Jagger's joke that her brood should perform The Sound of Music on stage in a Movie Star / Rock Star Exchange Program.

She's been getting progressively more cheerful as we march towards Oscar. Will she eventually leap on chairs at the Kodak? That's what the last impossibly happy person did, right?

That's it.

P.S. I dread all the added weight the oft ridiculous BAFTAs will get after their sure to be excellent correlation to eventual Oscar wins this year. Do you?
*

European Film Award Nominees

As discussed on the recent podcast, the European Film Awards will never be as big as the Oscars, because even in more multilingual places than the US, distribution is an unpredictable game. France isn't going to get the same titles as Norway. Italy won't show every movie that screens in the UK. Israeli screen choices don't mirror those in Spanish movie houses. And so on and so on... It's tougher to have fun arguments on awards-worth when everyone has access to different movies. But that said, the EFAs are still interesting and offer yet another window into what movies in a given year inspire those with ballots in hand.

European Film
Il Divo and The Orphanage aren't up for Oscars this year (Orphanage was eligible in '07 and didn't receive attention) but Gomorra and The Class are among the likeliest contenders for Best Foreign Language Film. Bashir, being animated, will be a tougher sell for AMPAS voters who have never nominated a cartoon in that category, despite numerous drawn submissions. Happy-Go-Lucky is an Oscar contender of some sort. But what sort?

European Actress
Two buzzy Oscar contenders for Best Actress right here (Sally & Kristin, come on down). Expect to hear their names all throughout awards season. But will Oscar's final shortlist have room for both? [Note: the other women aren't eligible due to release dates... but Hiam Abbas is featured in the well liked Richard Jenkins vehicle The Visitor and one assumes she'll be campaigned for that.]

European Actor
I know you're reading James McAvoy's name and everything else has become a blur. Snap out of it! Only Fassbender is eligible for Best Actor Oscar consideration but he's an extreme longshot. Why? A) it's not a sentimental performance. B) The movie is even harsher C) a December release for a challenging film without stars or Oscar-quantity director faces a nearly insurmountable task: how to carve out attention for oneself amidst all the crowd pleasers, A-Listers, audience coddling middlebrow fare and the freaking holidays themselves?

You can read the full list of nominees over @ European Films
*

A Few Two Good Men

Now Playing: Cute Robots, Sexy Assassins, Vegas Hookers

all links go to trailers

L I M I T E D
Elsa and Fred a romantic comedy from Argentina featuring senior citizens. What a concept.
<--- Finding Amanda Matthew Broderick is out to rescue his neice Brittany Snow from hooking in Vegas in this addiction comedy. And that's not a photo of Penny Lane from Almost Famous. The costumer was just referencing, I suspect. I wrote about this for Tribeca but, not included in that piece, is that when I met Brittany Snow I had to ask about her work on Hairspray. She told me she thinks she creeped out Michelle Pfeiffer. She was following her around the set, studying her, trying to imitate her body language as Velma so she could make Amber Von Tussle a sycophantic daughter who didn't have her own identity. (Yes, by all accounts La Pfeiffer is easily spooked. Skittish that one...)
Full Grown Men -an indie comedy about adults who haven't quite grown up with a fun cast: Alan Cumming, Deborah Harry, Amy Sedaris, Judah Friedlander and Matt McGrath.

Gunnin' for that #1 Spot a sports documentary
---> The Last Mistress -Here's the thing. I can't really recommend this movie, which is odd and stiff but I couldn't take my eyes off of Asia Argento who plays a courtesan who loves her unfaithful young dandy lover too much... (the plot is vaguely similar to the upcoming Chéri movie with Pfeiffer in the languorous courtesan role and Rupert Friend as the young straying dandy) I'm sure others have said it but I see Asia as more of a presence than an actress. I'm not sure what she does... and I don't see "great performance" in any of it but there's life force there. That's for damn sure.
Trumbo -a documentary on blacklisted Academy Award winning screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (Roman Holiday, The Brave One, Spartacus)

W I D E
There's one for the whole family: Pixar's latest beauty Wall•E. There's one just for the adults: the gun happy action/porno Wanted (hey, it's a porno to me: Angelina and James McAvoy? bow chicka bow bow)


These two movies are hogging over 10,000 of the nation's screens (yikes) and they're both looking like real blockbusters. Expect talk of little else.
*

2009 Sneak: The Last Station

I haven't seen these photos elsewhere unless I spaced while surfing the web... it happens. (IMDB doesn't have any photos up yet) So here's James McAvoy and Helen Mirren in The Last Station.


The film, based on the book of the same name, is about the life of famous Russian author Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer). Mirren plays his wife Sofya. McAvoy --much in demand, Wanted, literally -- plays Valentin Bulgakov, Tolstoy's secretary. Apparently Mirren and Plummer were replacements for Meryl Streep and Anthony Hopkins who bowed out or said no or something of the sort. Paul Giamatti also co-stars. The film is being directed by Michael Hoffman, whose biggest hit to date was the Pfeiffer/Clooney romantic comedy One Fine Day (1996). But since this is a period bio with a tony cast... maybe we'll see it in one Oscar race or another next year if its halfway decent? Hoffman's only Oscar film previously was the 17th century drama Restoration (1995) which won "the Moulin Rouge! Oscars" (i.e. costume design & art direction).

Helen Mirren is heading for another big year. At least three films coming our way. The other biggies are an A list ensemble crime thriller (State of Play) and one true story about a brothel in Nevada (Love Ranch) directed by her husband Taylor Hackford (Ray).

Wanted...


...James McAvoy all wet.

I don't think that's asking too much. For all that I do for the movies.
*

Now Playing: Girlie Women and Semi Professional Men

L I M I T E D
Bonneville -Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates and Joan Allen take a road trip. Together. How on earth have I not heard of this? I don't even really care if it's stale... though I'd prefer it to be slightly more risky, more three-dimensional and more surprising than the paint-by-numbers female buddy movie that this trailer implies. There, I've said it. Only I didn't...Okay, okay this trailer looks bad (sorry) but... but: Lange, Bates, and Allen! I will still see it.
City of Men is a sequel (of sorts) to City of God. This time Fernando Meirelles is a producer, not the director. I'm not sure I could handle a return trip but it'll be of interest to huge fans of the violent breakout '03 film.
Chicago 10 -it's a buzzy partially animated documentary about the volatile 1968 Democratic convention and the violent government oppression and trial that followed.

E X P A N D I N G
No Country For Old Men -the Oscar winner for Best Picture gets its biggest theater count yet by several hundred. I sometimes can't imagine who hasn't seen this yet but then I remember statistics about how few movies people actually go to in the theaters. It'll have a looooooooonnnngggg life on DVD. It's starting it's 17th weekend at the box office and it's been expanding then shrinking then expanding (repeat) that entire time. Perhaps unsurprisingly its weakest weekends were the two right before the Oscar nominations gave it its second wind. It's third wind comes today courtesy of Oscar wins.

How much of a post-ceremony boost do you think it'll get?

W I D E
The Other Boleyn Girl is getting bad reviews but at least this romantic "historical" drama has eye candy in the form of Scarjo, Natalie Portman and King Bana. Bonus points: costumes by world great Sandy Powell (The Aviator, Far From Heaven, The Velvet Goldmine, Shakespeare in Love).
Semi Pro
Other websites have already said brilliant things about this latest Will Ferrel sports comedy and I'd like to let them do the talking but in my terrible habit of reading too many blogs and reading them poorly and in fits and starts, I've forgotten where I read that brilliant thing and what exactly was said and it begins to fade in my over-celluloided mind. What. Where am I? I don't care about this movie. Next...
Penelope -the magical tale of a blah blah blah... you know what it's about since the trailers gave Christina Ricci's miss piggy act away. I know this is really a chance to see Ricci again (yay!) and watch James McAvoy pucker up again (yay --pretty soon he will have made out with every young female star, right?) but my point... um. Oh, yes. Whenever I see photos of Reese Witherspoon in this (she produced and has a supporting role) I think of Meg Ryan's attempt at a little edge in Addicted to Love.


Is that weird? My mind always goes there. Maybe it's the kohl-ed eyes.
8

BAFTA "Live" Blogging

Once again, "live" blogging because it sounds better than "tape delay blogging". REFRESH your screen throughout the night for more.Yes, I already know who won Best Actress. Shut Up! Why must everyone spread spoilers around the net?
Instant gratification takes too long
-Meryl Streep as Suzanne Vale in Postcards From the Edge
I'm convinced that if someone leaked the Oscar winners the day in advance everyone would spread the good and bad news instantly. No one would care about suspense. It's like how the movie trailers give us all the surprises. Nobody likes surprises, except me. I like to open my presents on Christmas morning. Sue me. So this tape-delay blogging is dedicated to all people who hate spoilers. xoxo. You're my people.

7:52 PM The Boyfriend is watching the Grammys. I have no idea why. His type of music (Björk, Vampire Weekend, The Cure) isn't really Grammyish. Grammy is Beyonce hit the floor wit it. He won't mind when I change the channel.

8:00 PM James McAvoy didn't shave. Keep him away from Johnny Depp.

8:03 PM They are Sparta. Wait. Where is Stephen Fry? Isn't he always the host? I can't understand a word the host is saying (there's some strange echo on BBC America). Keira Knightley is in a very good mood. And it almost sounds like they've added a laugh track to the event, given how appreciative this audience is of every inaudible punchline.

8:11 PM I gues I really need to see this This is England movie. I was happy just watching Paddy Considine (great actor) get happy about the win. I don't even know if he's in it.

8:16 PM Commercials should be outlawed during awards shows.

8:18 Eva Green is pretty. Live blogging leads to astounding revelations like that. You would have never known otherwise. You know who else is pretty? Sam Riley (to your right) who just lost this award. He was so good in Control. Shia Labeouf wins the Rising Star awards. I was sad for Tang Wei who has been robbed -- grand larceny -- all season long. Ah well, ten years from now people will still talk about that performance with Awe, Respect

8:24 I always forget that Thandie Newton is British. The Lives of Others wins Best Foreign Language Film.

8:35 Adapted Screenplay goes to The Diving Bell and Butterfly. Harwood thanks Janusz Kaminski for his cinematography. Remember when Kaminski was married to Holly Hunter? Good times.

8:39 There are more commercials than actual program. It's like watching Saturday Night Live. Which I haven't done in many years (largely because of that program/sponsor ratio problem)

8:49 Marion Cotillard was brought out to present Best Supporting Actor which went to Javier Bardem picking up his 100th (or so) of the season. She is wearing a silver version of the gold thing Nicole Kidman wore in Golden Compass only with a shimmering cape over it. It rather reminds me of the WWF costumes that they were designing on Project Runway last week. The nearly losing outfit by Sweet P. There's no reveal if the cape is open. Duh!

I love the way Marion pronounced "pivotal" when she was talking about their roles (pi-voh-tl) --accents are so cute! Javier Bardem has done a really terrific job all season of varying his speeches within the same basic emotional range. He always very genuinely acknowledges his competitors and stays humble about it. How you look that way and stay humble I shall never know. Europeans are so pretty.

8:56 Somebody just won something for Control but I didn't understand what it was for. Samantha Morton is clapping. I am always surprised at how young she really is (30) since she is not a fashion plate and has never presented herself in a "Hollywood" way. Definitely an actress rather than a celebrity. And what an actress! Seriously: I know some of you haven't seen Morvern Callar and you really must (FB nominee, 2002)

9:04 Saoirse's intro on the Atonement clip is hilarious... "She sees them in the library. She sees them doing things she's never seen done before."
______________________________________That's one way to put it.

9:10 The visual effects goes to The Golden Compass. And a whole parade of bad tuxes crosses the stage.


9:26 SORRY. I got swept away into Dior couture with the pale and hypnotic Tilda Swinton. Big Red. I heart her. She won Best Supporting Actress for Michael Clayton. That's been the most volatile category all season. Her acceptance speech was choice as well, funny heartfelt and the right amount of appreciation and is this for real? awards show kookiness. Plus her date was wearing nail polish. Love. I wish I had transcribed her speech since we won't see an Oscar repeat. It's Ryan vs. Dee vs. Blanchett I think for the Oscar.

9:30 The Coens won Best Director for No Country For Old Men. The clip they showed (the hotel room face/off) is the only scene that's shared --and just barely at that --between any of the leads... in this case Josh Brolin & Javier Bardem. Good choice. So tense. I felt like grabbing the armrest and a handful of popcorn when I'm actually at my computer and blogging with the lights on. For a moment there I was back in the theater.

9:32 Screenplay...

9:35 Nodded off there. So many nominees. Three minutes of nominees. So Juno fever has also hit England, huh? Juno wins Best Original Screenplay.

9:44 Somebody got a tribute award. Somebody who worked on Harry Potter movies. And somebody who loves horses on stage...I mean really loves them... gave him the pr
ize. I don't really get the appeal of Mr. Radcliffe. I'll just say it.

9:50 They're talking about No Country For Old Men. The amount of time they spend discussing the Best Picture nominees reminds me of that one (and one only) AFI ceremony when they had nominees and they did little tiny documentaries on each. It really felt like it was about filmmaking. Though that said, I'm a little bored. Probably because BBC America does the tape delay and therefore nobody cares tonight since they already know who wins. This is probably why none of the usual commenting chaos is
going on. Where is everyone? Now is not the time to desert the Film Experience! Not when the Film Experience needs you to make it through this long long season. Not when the Film Experience needs you to help him through the annual process of watching his favorites lose.

9:54 Very nice acceptance speech from a clearly moved Marion Cotillard who just* won Best Actress for La Vie En Rose. *"just" being many many hours ago. Ah, the magic of "live" television. Congratulations Marion. She looks a little like Emily Blunt here, doesn't she?

While they were showing the clips and Cate was hollering away in Elizabeth 2: Full Throttle all I could think was: This is EXACTLY like that clip of Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilson's War. I think they even swing their arms the same way. I guess that's why I don't like either performance. Showboating = stinky. To me. The only shouty performance I love this year is Daniel Day-Lewis's because there is a reason "I've abandoned my child" goes to a fever pitch. A good strong valid reason. I can't figure out why Hoffman is always at fever pitch. Tone it down buddy.

10:05 Daniel Day-Lewis's acceptance sp
eech is great. Best Actor for DDL in There Will Be Blood. He always seems so genuine.
From the mine shaft to the bowling alley this came from and belongs to Paul Thomas Anderson
Lovely, right?

10:10 FASHIONS. I totally forgot.

I'm more intrigued by the hair since it's hard to see the fashions unless they're presenters. Samantha Morton's hair line (pictured, left) is so far up there you'd think she just finished filming the Elizabeth movie. But her boyfriend (?) is also working the straight up look. Only his is more Lindsay Buckingham circa 1988. Boy is that hair flying up to heaven.

(I've added a bit about Marion's cape above when she announces supporting actor)

Otherwise best dressed might be Emily Blunt. She had a nice assymetrical shimmery blue number that's probably the evening's best so far. But as she stood there presenting I kept thinking: are these Norma Shearer's cross eyes I see before me? I love the Blunt but I'd never noticed that before. peeperssoclosetogether

10:11 You know how we're always hearing "so and so is Big in Japan"? And it's always like, "really?" And Jeff Goldblum is now onstage presenting Best Picture and the camera has been showing him as often as Keira Knightley. Is he unusually Big in England and I just don't know it. Atonement wins Best Picture. Joe Wright accepting to your left. I always forget who his girlfriend is and I had left myself to believe it was Romola Garai but it's the other three syllable "Ro". Rosamund somebody, Keira's other film sister in the other Joe Wright movie (Pride & Prejudice)

10:18 Anthony Hopkins is getting some tribute action now. But I'm still thinking about A
tonement's win.

I've always loved James McAvoy but Atonement made me love Keira Knightley and her super-speed clipped 30s cadences so much more than I ever had before. I almost want to pin her up against the books myself. Provided she wears the green dress. Otherwise, no deal. But yes... I'm excited for the next few years of Robbie & Cecilia ...albeit in separate movies.

10:29 It's starting all over again. What is this, SAG on TBS?

Good night!
*

Atonement and EW's Oscar Predictions

Prestige epic Atonement (my review and on my top ten list) just got much easier to see. It added hundreds of screens today just as its Oscar buzz began to dwindle. There's definitely evidence of a backlash brewing (already boiling?) but hopefully you'll see it and decide for yourself. Whether the sudden "so what?" greeting it is another example of a typical long buzz/late release combo problem (Memoirs of a Geisha, Dreamgirls, also suffered that way, though Atonement is a better film than either of those recent glitzy December stumblers) or something else (a challenging film dismissed due to its distinctly romantic bent) is for each person to decide for themselves. One wonders exactly why some movies wait so long to come out. Timing... 'tis a tricky thing.

It's just one man's opinion (mine, duh) but I think the December release, while favored by virtually all studios for Oscar campaigns, only works in the way they intend it to when the film is not considered a front runner and is more of a surprise movie --we didn't hear much about Million Dollar Baby before it was released and There Will Be Blood, which has a lot of heat right now, was never an "Oscar Front runner" though it was heavily anticipated in cinephile circles.

Anyway, Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue Entertainment Weekly chose Keira & James to sell their famous Oscar issue (pictured left). Yum. and Ummmm, unless they know something we don't... those Atonement Oscar bids are looking really unlikely now. FWIW, I think both Keira and James are super in the movie. It's just that both leading categories are overflowing with strong candidates this year.

On a personal note: I'm shocked but also delighted to see that a publication as big as Entertainment Weekly went for the same 'big surprise' Actress prediction as I did in my predictions. Cross your fingers if you also enjoy the work of Laura Linney. She needs all the psychic goodwill she can muster, given the way the precursors have treated her.