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Oscar’s Angels: Best Director Roundtable 2012

October 23, 2011 By Thelma Leave a Comment

Alexander Payne,George Clooney,The Descendants

Payne: director most likely to be confused with a high school chem teacher

Let’s turn our gimlet eyes to the directorial achievements of 2011. Here’s my post of the day with the field as I see it to start.

The top five are:

Alexander Payne, The Descendants

Steven Spielberg, War Horse

David Fincher, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Michael Hazanavicius, The Artist

Stephen Daldry, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Other directorial contenders: Bennett Miller, Moneyball; Clint Eastwood, J. Edgar; Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris; Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life; Tomas Alfredson, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; Martin Scorsese, Hugo; Oren Moverman, Rampart; and George Clooney, The Ides of March.

Full disclosure: of the top five men in the race, I’ve only seen two of the movies. Oops: no women on list! To be fair, we could include two possible dark mare contenders: Lynne Ramsay for We Need to Talk About Kevin and Phyllida Lloyd for The Iron Lady.

Susan Wloszczyna: I’m not feeling it for the ladies in the directing category this year. Ramsay is more of a Spirit award possibility. As for Phyllida Lloyd, she might be a whiz at staging operas, but never has such a hugely successful film been quite so ineptly directed as Mamma Mia! And I say this as someone who will drop everything to watch Meryl Streep leap on that bed whenever it comes on cable.

Will it help girl power-wise that Lisbeth Salander will soon be the Harry Potter of literary-inspired action femmes? The anti-social hacker with the pitbull personality is a perfect heroine for our Apple worshiping age. Maybe a win for Fincher is a win for womankind?

I do have an inkling that Woody might sneak into this category, with Daldry maybe sitting it out this time.

THELMA: I’m skeptical about Fincher being able to keep the girl in The Girl in the Dragon Tattoo on center stage, Susan, but we’ll see. Right now, it seems like a bit of the not-so-old and old-boy’s club. Of that group, I favor Payne and Hazanavicius but that’s my anti-serious-Spielberg bias poking through.

SUSAN; I am willing to put money on Payne now. But much hinges on the public’s reception to The Descendants. Somehow I think they will warm to this Clooney more than they did the Up in the Air George.

THELMA: I agree. Although, the degree to which Jason Reitman apparently hurt that movie’s chances on the long red carpet from Toronto to the Kodak Theater is hard to estimate. What do you think, Melissa?

Melissa Silverstein: This is one of the times of year I hate because we hardly ever get to talk about women. I know we are all waiting to see The Iron Lady but Lynne Ramsey did a spectacular job with We Need To Talk About Kevin. The problem with that film is that it is so hard to swallow that it won’t get much of a push beyond star Tilda Swinton, which is most deserved.

Two young women made great movies that won’t get too much Oscar notice. Maryam Keshavarz wrote and directed Circumstance and Dee Rees wrote and directed Pariah. I think that Pariah could get Indie Spirit nominations and it is so good but about a topic that doesn’t necessarily interest Oscar voters: a young African American woman coming to terms with her sexuality.

I’m still waiting to see Phyllida Lloyd’s work in The Iron Lady before I write her off. I saw her show, Mary Stuart, and thought it was beyond impressive. I think we should give her the benefit of the doubt even though people didn’t like Mamma Mia! Remember it has made over half a billion dollars at the box office. That is more than most Meryl Streep movies.

THELMA: More than any of the ones she earned an Oscar or a nomination for that’s for sure! You have a point about box office and Mamma Mia. And also that this year it looks like some female directors will end up in the Indie Spirit or Gotham’s Awards. Which male directors do you favor in the race, Melissa?

MELISSA: I haven’t seen a lot of the films yet so I am not the best person to pick but I think that the front runner is Alexander Payne. I am also interested to see what The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo looks like and whether David Fincher could get it with a movie that is a hard R and has a lot of violence. I never count him out. I also think that Bennett Miller from Moneyball and George Clooney for Ides of March could get some traction.

Sasha Stone: I can’t count out Fincher. For me the only lock is Alexander Payne for The Descendants. But it’s always tricky to predict anything until it’s been reviewed by the major critics, which this film hasn’t. It has Todd McCarthy in its favor, so that looks like a good sign.

Of those that HAVE been reviewed, you have two – Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris and you have Bennett Miller for Moneyball – stellar reviews for both. The third director to consider is Terrence Malick. I could see the directors picking him even if the film misses a Best Pic nod. His movie is just so large in scope it’s hard to imagine it not getting one.

Of those who have yet to present themselves, we have:
David Fincher
Steven Spielberg
Stephen Daldry
Cameron Crowe
Jason Reitman
Tomas Alfredson

I really don’t know how to choose between these. This is genuinely a case of having to wait and see. We have to sit on our hands and wait. It’s not easy but there is simply no way to know.

Do I think any women will break through? No. When the Academy decided to not do ten Best Picture nominees they basically fucked women once again. We will not see a year like last where two Best Pic nominees were written and directed by women. We’ll see more like five directors and five to seven Best Pictures.

None of those five will be women. Unless The Iron Lady is really all that.

Where you’ll see women pop up will be in the screenplay category if at all.

THELMA: I hate to sit on my hands, but I understand the impulse in this case. The season is going to start to roll very fast as the NYFCC, of which I’m a member, voted this past week to do our awards balloting on November 28th. That’s going to move up the pace of screenings — and, possibly, reviews. But, considering the rapturous reviews and reception, I just don’t think the heretofore relatively unknown French director Michel Hazanavicius, promoted by Harvey Weinstein, will be overlooked in this category.

As for women directors, I can only hope that more filter up in the next few years, especially if we Oscar’s Angels are in gatekeeper positions and swing the doors wide open.

And here’s my deepest, darkest fear: that Spielberg, with two movies premiering on the same week in December – War Horse and The Adventures of Tin Tin – will become a double slam dunk for the honors. Talk about a dog-and-pony show!

Filed Under: Movies & TV, Oscar Race Tagged With: Alexander Payne, Best Director, Oscar's Angels, Oscars 2012, Steven Spielberg

Oscar’s Angels: Best Picture Roundtable 2012

October 11, 2011 By Thelma 12 Comments

 

The Artist,Jean Dujardin,Berenice Bejo,Best Picture, Best Actor,Best Supporting Actress

Dujardin, Bejo: let them entertain you

OK, Angels, let’s do the best pic tango. Here’s my first look. Personal fave: The Descendants. Personal movie l least want to see: War Horse. At this point in the year, the wobble of identifying best picture is that so many of the biggies are yet to be seen. And, still, given that one of the Eastwood- or Spielberg-driven monsters may flounder, here’s my take on the viable top ten.

Of this list, I’ve actually seen six (starred below):

The Descendants *
War Horse
J. Edgar
The Help *
The Artist *
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Moneyball *
Midnight in Paris *
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy *

What’s your take, Susan?
Susan Wloszczyna: One topic that I haven’t seen discussed very much in terms of best picture: It’s unlikely an animated film will make the cut since Pixar released its weakest feature ever with Cars 2. And no one is bringing up an alternate title in the genre — although I guess The Adventures of Tintin might qualify and Rango has its fans.

Of the pre-fall releases I agree with Thelma that Midnight and The Help are more apt to sneak in than The Tree of Life.

The Help, Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Oscar 2012, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Kathryn Stockett

Stone, Davis

Of the un-seens (at least by me), J. Edgar and Tattoo feel like they could be more vulnerable than War Horse. But then I remember I haven’t really been satisfied by a Spielberg-directed film since 2002 and you have to wonder.

Considering that Stephen Daldry has yet to not be nominated for one of his films, Extremely Loud would have to be a mess not to get in — and the trailer does not suggest that it is.

For some reason, as far as thrillers go, Tinker might be more to the academy’s liking than Tattoo. Of course, I am still mad that Zodiac was so mishandled by its studio so part of me is rooting for Fincher to make the cut.

THELMA: Zodiac was my favorite Fincher by far.

SUSAN: The certainties seem to be The Descendants, the current fave although some might consider a mature Payne to be a lesser Payne. And there is no way they will ignore The Artist.

My question: Is there something unexpected that could suddenly sneak in? What of Hugo and Tintin? [Read more…]

Filed Under: Movies & TV, Oscar Race Tagged With: best picture, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Hugo, Michael Fassbender, Moneyball, Oscar's Angels, The Artist, The Descendants

Oscar’s Angels: Best Supporting Actor Roundtable 2012

October 3, 2011 By Thelma 16 Comments

Jonah Hill, Moneyball,Brad Pitt,Oscars 2012,Best Supporting Actor

A low-key Hill peaks in Moneyball

 This field remains WIDE OPEN. Here are the first five front-runners:

Christopher Plummer, Beginners; Albert Brooks, Drive; Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method; Nick Nolte, Warrior; and David Thewlis, Warhorse

There’s a big push for Plummer to get that lifetime achievement Oscar. Makes me wanna sing: “How do you solve a problem like Maria?”

So Plummer has a lock on the deserving geezer slot. Brooks may be hurt that there is no Drive juggernaut, same with Nolte and Warrior. In the first case, it’s Brooks playing against type, in the second it’s an actor humanizing a type he’s played before. I like both performances. And then there’s Viggo: we’ve yet to see the general reaction to Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method, but Mortensen’s is a wily performance and he keeps his clothes on and cravat tied. (Does one tie a cravat?). I’ve yet to see Thewlis in Warhorse, and there’s no reason to rush to judgment. He was good in Harry Potter — a movie that’s bursting with supporting actor roles. Say, hey, didn’t we all want more Alan Rickman? But it’s almost like you’d have to string his performance end to end to get the meat of it.

What about throwing out some new names: Vincent Cassel, short but sweetest in A Dangerous Method; Jonah Hill, Moneyball; will see Kenneth Branagh with My Week with Marilyn; hearing great buzz on Hugo, which makes Sir Ben Kingsley rise and yet and yet; freakish hope for Rob Brydon in The Trip, and his endlessly supporting role to Steve Coogan. And, let’s see, Jim Broadbent, Potter alum, playing Mr. Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady.

What does our brain trust think? C’mon down, gf’s.

Susan Wloszczyna: Next to Clint Eastwood, Capt. Von Trapp is just about the sexiest octogenarian still making movies. He was great in The Insider and fine in The Last Station, but there is a reason he has gone Oscar-less this long: His career in movies pales next to his stage work. True, they gave Helen Hayes a gold guy late in life. But it isn’t the same as Glenn Close never winning.

But he does have an ace in the hole beyond his terrific role in Beginners: What can be a killer role as the family elder haunted by his long missing daughter in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Is he a shoo-in to win, though? Not necessarily.

One could argue that Albert Brooks should have won for Broadcast News — Sean Connery won because he acted his age minus the rug. So this could be a makeup to him, even if the movie is less than loved by the general public.

I would have given it to Viggo for A History of Violence, but he wasn’t even nominated. He makes for a wily Freud and love how he fondles his cigars, but I don’t think it is strong enough for a win. A nom? Perhaps.

I love the idea of Jonah Hill being nominated as much as seeing Melissa McCarthy go for it — can’t imagine anyone else being such a fine low-key foil to Brad Pitt in Moneyball.

I can’t see anyone from the Potter film making the cut. But Branagh getting back in the awards game would be sweet to see — especially since he was supposed to be the new Olivier long ago.

Nick Nolte? Another nice comeback and a nearly subtle performance for him, but first someone has to watch the film.

But without having seen J. Edgar, Tattoo, War Horse, Extremely Loud, Hugo, etc., it is hard to guess at such a ill-informed stage.

Sasha Stone: Supposedly Max Von Sydow is great in Loud and Close and if so, he’ll walk away with it. Albert Brooks has made it known on Twitter that he wants to win (he was probably joking). There is probably a reason Christopher Plummer hasn’t yet won on screen, like there was a reason Lauren Bacall never did. He’s such a good actor. If he’s ever going to win one, though, he’ll win for Beginners, don’t you think?

Jonah Hill
Christopher Plummer
Albert Brooks
Nick Nolte
Max Von Sydow

Von Sydow wins. Best guess right now.

SUSAN: I would give it to Max, too, performance unseen. He should have gotten one for Hannah and The Exorcist let alone his Bergman classics.

Oh, and Mr. Brooks wants to win. He even stuck a fork in it.

THELMA: Sasha’s right: in this category, we still have too many gaps in knowledge, although I think we’ve covered pretty much what we’ve seen so far in 2011. Is there a problem when an actor wants the Oscar so badly — you should look like you want it, and shake every old Academy member’s hand, and yet be humble, and praise every body else. It’s such an act — and Colin Firth nailed it last year. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Celebrity, Movies & TV, Oscar Race Tagged With: Best Supporting Actor, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer, George Clooney, Jonah Hill, Oscar's Angels, Oscars 2012

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