Friday, January 27, 2012

Charlie Kaufman is cooking a new great film


Charlie Kaufman broke through in the industry by spec selling his eerie psycho-philosophical comedy Being John Malkovich (1999) about what's it like living inside real life actor John Malkovich. The weirdo genre tackle stands for no pseudo-intelectual crap but for a very funny story covering really complex debates of the human mind. After Human Nature (2001) and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), he faced Fellini-like artistic block and thus following the Italian master put his creative conflicts in paper and wrote the semi-autobiographical psychological drama with a wing for thriller Adaptation (2002), one of the most engaging, puzzling and relevant pieces of work I've read. By the third time he finally accepted the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, for the romantic recollection psychological drama Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2006).

Kaufmanesque went to be coined throughout the years, a term of an assumed despise for Hollywood traditional storytelling, meaning the ability of turning philosophical concepts/theories and the functioning of the brain against the heart from an external viewpoint into deeply enveloping stories and characters, yielding some of the most impressive emotional results alternative and even cemented screenwriting has ever accomplished.

I am drawn to believe his most recent film, Synecdoche NY is much as far as someone can get of saying his/her movie is about life (don't get me wrong, I hate Gilles Deleuze). A man recreates his daily routine in a local theater only to realize at the end of his days he ended up rehearsing his entire life nonstop, loosing track of time, his peers and himself - don't take this deleuzian-like, not even as a metaphor, for all of this becomes strangely materialized and visual. This is Kaufman's directorial debut, extraordinary job, and I am sure I'd list it as one of the top 5 most underrated movies of all time.

I'm not done here. A great actor can't do without a great part. Charlie creates some of the most original and amazing characters of contemporary storytelling and is somehow responsible for taking Sam Rockwell to win Best Actor in Berlin'03, Catherine Keener, Nicholas Cage, Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet to be Oscar nominated and Chris Cooper to actually winning the Oscar in 2003. He also allowed Jim Carrey to act the performance of a lifetime (so far), proving himself as an accountable actor playing huge dramatic roles, something only matched by Adam Sandler and Paul Thomas Anderson's teaming up in Punch-Drunk Love.

He sure did take the film screenplay to a whole new level, respect and marketing-wise. People usually refer to his films as a Charlie Kaufman film, more than a Spike Jonzee or a Michel Gondry film (not disregard).

Now, dear reader, as I had previously noticed, the new K. after Franz is preparing what seems to be another astounding storytelling achievement. The synopsis I reported is still the same: the conflict between a 29-time Oscar nominee and a bitter frustrated film blogger. Now take a look at the awesome cast: Steve Carell (starring), Jack Black (antagonist), Nicholas Cage (washed-up actor), Kevin Kline, Catherine Keener and Kate Winslet. Once again, only talented funny and emotion triggering personnel.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

After Oswaltt, Ryan Gosling too has something to say about the Oscars

Sounds ridiculously legit. Ryan Gosling starred to great powerhousing in three of my favorite films of the year, any of them worth an Oscar nomination - a bloodshedding, revengeful night-drifter neo-samurai in Drive, a young political campaign manager on a cynical corrupted coming-of-age journey in The Ides of March and an archetypal handsome womanizer in Crazy, Stupid, Love.



Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Young Adult's Patton Oswalt takes a word on Best Actors and Actresses at the Oscars

Incredibly funny, indeed. Charlize, Tilda, Gosling, DiCaprio, Brooks, Olsen, Serkis, one can tell. By the way, Oswalt actually twitted this.




Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Theo Angelopoulos (1935 - 2012)

The Greek filmmaker was declared dead at 76 years old, at the end of boring normal day, after a motorcycle accidentally overrun him while crossing a road to the set of his former new film The Other See. Such stark introduction is as lame as tragic. A shameful prick by fate or mere bad luck. Theo Angelopoulos was considered one of the great European auteurs, Palme D'Or winner for Eternity and a Day (1998), Golden Bear nominee for Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow (2004), Silver Lion winner for Landscape and the Mist (1988). Many other accolades had he won within this triple crown of festivals (Cannes, Berlin, Venice), as six FIPRESCI awards overall or Best Screenplay for The Voyage to Cythera and the Grand Jury Prize for Ulysse's Gaze (starring Harvey Keitel) in the French Riviera.

Hugo and The Artist lead the Oscars'12 poles

There's always something to tell when it comes to the Academy's nominees, although most may not support me on this. There's this bulk of films you obviously know are going to be there, for most of which you might actually be happy, there are the alternatives you build upon faith only and there are truly gratifying surprises - for your own taste or for the industry's. 2011 was one of the greatest movie years I can remember (I wasn't here to witness the disputes of the 40's or the 50's) and thus felt particularly competitive. I had set The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for 10 nominations alongside The Artist, with the first becoming my most shameless missed horse and the second my safest bet. I'm thrilled to have Tree of Life for Best Film (one of those faithful options) and stunned to have Terrence Malick for Best Director. Listing side by side such improbable films as the Sunday-afternoon Bridesmaids and the foreign low-budget drama A Separation in a major category like Best Original Screenplay fuels my joy, as I may also add the two are some of my favorites of the year.

Despite I never saw Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close coming, the title that made my jaw fall lower was Margin Call for the aforementioned prize, a very fine story about the last hours of an American bank before the spawning of the current global financial crisis. I don't recall any of the major analysts (or any others) considering it and I never admitted it myself. This makes it the third Sundance pearl in two consecutive years to be nominated for Best Screenplay (Winter's Bone and The Kids Are All Right made it last year). Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy was another surprise in the writings and threw away the too soon guaranteed The Help. I mourn over the absence of Tilda Swinton, Drive (not even Albert Brooks) and Young Adult (big Charlize and Diablo fan here).
BLUE: Got it wrong.
WHITE: Got it right.
ORANGE: Didn't pick it.


Without alternatives: 67 out of 104 (64,5%)
With alternatives: 84 out of 104 (80,8%)

Most nominated:

1. Hugo (11)
2. The Artist (10)
3. Moneyball (6) and War Horse (6)
5. The Descendants (5) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (5)
7. Midnight in Paris (4) and The Help (4)
9. Tree of Life (3), Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy (3), Albert Nobbs (3) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II (3)


BEST FILM


The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball

[Alternatives: War Horse, Tree of Life]


BEST DIRECTOR

Alexander Payne ("The Descendants")
David Fincher ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo")
Terrence Malick ("Tree of Life")
Martin Scorsese ("Hugo")
Michel Hazanavicius ("The Artist")
Woody Allen ("Midnight in Paris")

[Alternatives: Steven Spielberg ("War Horse"), Bennet Miller ("Moneyball")]


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Asghar Farhadi ("A Separation")
Diablo Cody ("Young Adult")
J.C. Chandor ("Margin Call")
Kristen Wig and Anna Mumolo ("Bridesmaids")
Michel Hazanavicius ("The Artist")
Woody Allen ("Midnight in Paris")

[Alternatives: Will Reiser ("50/50") and Tom McCarthy "Win Win")]

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash ("The Descendants")
John Logan ("Hugo")
Steven Zaillian & Aaron Sorkin ("Moneyball")
Steve Zaillian ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo")
Tate Taylor ("The Help")

[Alternatives: George Clooney, Grant Heslov & Beau Willemont ("The Ides of March"), Lynne Ramsay ("We Need to Talk About Kevin")]


BEST ACTOR

Brad Pitt ("Moneyball")
George Clooney ("The Descendants")
Jean Dujardin ("The Artist")
Leonardo DiCaprio ("J. Edgar") Michael Fassbender ("Shame")
Demián Bichir ("A Better Life")
[Alternatives: Gary Oldman ("Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy"), Ryan Gosling ("Drive")]

BEST ACTRESS

Charlize Theron ("Young Adult")
Meryl Streep ("The Iron Lady")
Michelle Williams ("My Week with Marilyn")
Tilda Swinton ("We Need to Talk About Kevin")
Glenn Close ("Albert Nobs")
Viola Davis ("The Help")

[Alternatives: Rooney Mara ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"), Keira Knightley ("A Dangerous Method")]


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Albert Brooks ("Drive")
Max von Sydow ("Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close")
Christopher Plummer ("Beginners")
Jonah Hill ("Moneyball")
Kenneth Branagh ("My Week with Marilyn")
Nick Nolte ("Warrior")

[Alternatives: Patton Oswalt ("Young Adult"), Philip Seymor Hoffman ("The Ides of March")]


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Bérénice Bejo ("The Artist")
Jessica Chastain ("The Help")
Melissa McCarthy ("Bridesmaids")
Octavia Spencer ("The Help")
Shailene Woodley ("The Descendants")

[Alternatives: Janet McTeer ("Albert Nobbs"), Kate Winslet ("Carnage")]


BEST ANIMATED FILM

The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn Cars 2
Chico & Rita A Cat in Paris
Puss in Boots
Rango
Rio

[Alternatives: Arthur Christmas, Kung Fu Panda 2)


BEST FOREIGN FILM

A Separation (Iran)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
Pina (Germany)

[Alternatives: "Omar Killed Me" (Morroco), "Bullhead" (Belgium)]

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Bill Cunningham New York Buck
Hell and Back Again
Paradise Lost 3
Pina
Project Nim

[Alternatives: If a Tree Falls, Undefeated]


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Emmanuel Lubetzki ("Tree of Life")
Guillaume Schiffman ("The Artist")
Janusz Kaminski ("War Horse")
Jeff Cronenweth ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo")
Robert Richardson ("Hugo")

[Alternatives: Hoyte van Hoytema ("Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy"), Wally Pfister ("Moneyball")]


BEST EDITING

Alisa Lepselter ("Midnight in Paris")
Anne-Sophie Bion & Michel Hazanavicius ("The Artist")
Christopher Tellefsen ("Moneyball")
Dino Jonsäter ("Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy")
Kirk Baxter & Angus Wall ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo")

[Alternatives: Kevin Tent ("The Descendants"), Thelma Schoonmaker ("Hugo")]


BEST ART DIRECTION

The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo The Help
War Horse
Hugo
Midnight in Paris

[Alternatives: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II, Bridesmaids]

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
My Week with Marilyn
Hugo Anonymous
[Alternatives: W.E., Jane Eyre]


BEST MAKE-UP

Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II
The Iron Lady

[Alternatives: The Artist, My Week with Marilyn]


BEST SOUND MIXING

Drive
Fast Five
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Hugo Moneyball
War Horse

[Alternatives: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol]


BEST SOUND EDITING

Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Moneyball Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon Hugo
War Horse

[Alternatives: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II, Hanna]


BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II
Hugo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Tree of Life
Hugo

[Alternatives: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Captain America: The First Avenger]


BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Alexandre Desplat ("Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close")
Alberto Iglesias ("Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy)
Howard Shore ("Hugo")
John Williams (War Horse")
John Williams ("The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn")
Ludovic Bource ("The Artist")
Trent Raznor & Atticus Ross ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo")

[Alternatives: Cliff Martinez ("Drive"), Mychael Danna ("Moneyball")]


BEST ORIGINAL SONG

"Masterpiece" ("W.E.") "The Living Proof" ("The Help") "Life's a Happy Song" (The Muppets")
"Man on Muppet" ("The Muppets") "Real in Rio" ("Rio")

[Alternative: "Pictures in My Head" ("The Muppets"), "Think You Can Wait" ("Win Win")





Sunday, January 22, 2012

My Oscar'12 predictions: nominees

As soon as next Tuesday, January 24th, the Academy will announce the 2012 Oscar nominees. The height of the cinematic year promises to be one of the most competitive in recent years and I'm therefore hoping to be surprised in every single category.



Bellow, my predictions. I allow myself the right to two alternatives by branch. I am going for the leaders The Artist and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with 10 nominations, The Help with 8, Hugo with 7, Moneyball with 6, The Descendants and Midnight in Paris with 5, Bridesmaids and War Horse with 4, Drive, My Week with Marilyn and Rise of the Planet of the Apes with 3. Besides the absence of Refn's film in the major categories, I must sadly highlight the probably dim presence of Tree of Life, the total absence of Carnage and also my happy belief in surprises from Young Adult and We Need to Talk About Kevin.


BEST FILM

The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball

[Alternatives: War Horse, Tree of Life]


BEST DIRECTOR

Alexander Payne ("The Descendants")
David Fincher ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo")
Martin Scorsese ("Hugo")
Michel Hazanavicius ("The Artist")
Woody Allen ("Midnight in Paris")

[Alternatives: Steven Spielberg ("War Horse"), Bennet Miller ("Moneyball")]


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Asghar Farhadi ("A Separation")
Diablo Cody ("Young Adult")
Kristen Wig and Anna Mumolo ("Bridesmaids")
Michel Hazanavicius ("The Artist")
Woody Allen ("Midnight in Paris")

[Alternatives: Will Reiser ("50/50") and Tom McCarthy "Win Win")]


BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash ("The Descendants")
John Logan ("Hugo")
Steven Zaillian & Aaron Sorkin ("Moneyball")
Steve Zaillian ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo")
Tate Taylor ("The Help")

[Alternatives: George Clooney, Grant Heslov & Beau Willemont ("The Ides of March"), Lynne Ramsay ("We Need to Talk About Kevin")]


BEST ACTOR

Brad Pitt ("Moneyball")
George Clooney ("The Descendants")
Jean Dujardin ("The Artist")
Leonardo DiCaprio ("J. Edgar")
Michael Fassbender ("Shame")

[Alternatives: Gary Oldman ("Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy"), Ryan Gosling ("Drive")]


BEST ACTRESS

Charlize Theron ("Young Adult")
Meryl Streep ("The Iron Lady")
Michelle Williams ("My Week with Marilyn")
Tilda Swinton ("We Need to Talk About Kevin")
Viola Davis ("The Help")

[Alternatives: Rooney Mara ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"), Keira Knightley ("A Dangerous Method")]


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Albert Brooks ("Drive")
Christopher Plummer ("Beginners")
Jonah Hill ("Moneyball")
Kenneth Branagh ("My Week with Marilyn")
Nick Nolte ("Warrior")

[Alternatives: Patton Oswalt ("Young Adult"), Philip Seymor Hoffman ("The Ides of March")]


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Bérénice Bejo ("The Artist")
Jessica Chastain ("The Help")
Melissa McCarthy ("Bridesmaids")
Octavia Spencer ("The Help")
Shailene Woodley ("The Descendants")

[Alternatives: Janet McTeer ("Albert Nobbs"), Kate Winslet ("Carnage")]


BEST ANIMATED FILM

The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn
Cars 2
Puss in Boots
Rango
Rio

[Alternatives: Arthur Christmas, Kung Fu Panda 2)


BEST FOREIGN FILM

A Separation (Iran)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
Pina (Germany)

[Alternatives: "Omar Killed Me" (Morroco), "Bullhead" (Belgium)]


BEST DOCUMENTARY

Bill Cunningham New York
Buck
Paradise Lost 3
Pina
Project Nim

[Alternatives: If a Tree Falls, Undefeated]


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Emmanuel Lubetzki ("Tree of Life")
Guillaume Schiffman ("The Artist")
Janusz Kaminski ("War Horse")
Jeff Cronenweth ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo")
Robert Richardson ("Hugo")

[Alternatives: Hoyte van Hoytema ("Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy"), Wally Pfister ("Moneyball")]


BEST EDITING

Alisa Lepselter ("Midnight in Paris")
Anne-Sophie Bion & Michel Hazanavicius ("The Artist")
Christopher Tellefsen ("Moneyball")
Dino Jonsäter ("Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy")
Kirk Baxter & Angus Wall ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo")

[Alternatives: Kevin Tent ("The Descendants"), Thelma Schoonmaker ("Hugo")]


BEST ART DIRECTION

The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris

[Alternatives: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II, Bridesmaids]


BEST COSTUME DESIGN

The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
My Week with Marilyn

[Alternatives: W.E., Jane Eyre]


BEST MAKE-UP

Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II
The Iron Lady

[Alternatives: The Artist, My Week with Marilyn]


BEST SOUND MIXING

Drive
Fast Five
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
War Horse

[Alternatives: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol]


BEST SOUND EDITING

Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Moneyball
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
War Horse

[Alternatives: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II, Hanna]


BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II
Hugo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Tree of Life

[Alternatives: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Captain America: The First Avenger]


BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Alexandre Desplat ("Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close")
Howard Shore ("Hugo")
John Williams (War Horse")
Ludovic Bource ("The Artist")
Trent Raznor & Atticus Ross ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo")

[Alternatives: Cliff Martinez ("Drive"), Mychael Danna ("Moneyball")]


BEST ORIGINAL SONG

"Masterpiece" ("W.E.")
"The Living Proof" ("The Help")
"Life's a Happy Song" (The Muppets")

[Alternative: "Pictures in My Head" ("The Muppets"), "Think You Can Wait" ("Win Win")




Saturday, January 21, 2012

Brad Pitt tells you how to have fun making a great movie

Brad Pitt acts with Jonah Hill in Moneyball (2011). Can't get that take done. A great film that must have been a pleasure to do.



Friday, January 20, 2012

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

BAFTA'12 Nominees


BEST FILM

The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Help
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy


FILM NOT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Incendies
Pina
Potiche
A Separation
The Skin I Live In


OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

My Week with Marilyn
Senna
Shame
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
We Need to Talk About Kevin


BEST DIRECTOR

The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius
Drive - Nicolas Winding Refn
Hugo - Martin Scorsese
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Tomas Alfredson
We Need to Talk About Kevin - Lynne Ramsay


ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Guard
The Iron Lady
Midnight in Paris


ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Descendants
The Help
The Ides of March
Moneyball
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy


CINEMATOGRAPHY

The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse


EDITING

The Artist
Drive
Hugo
Senna
Tinker Tailor Solider Spy


PRODUCTION DESIGN

The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse


MAKE UP & HAIR

The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
The Iron Lady
My Week with Marilyn


COSTUME DESIGN

The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
My Week with Marilyn
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy


SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
X-Men: First Class


DOCUMENTARY

George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Project Nim
Senna


SOUND

The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse


ORIGINAL MUSIC

The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy


ANIMATED FILM

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Arthur Christmas
Rango


LEADING ACTOR

Brad Pitt (Billy Beane) – Moneyball
Gary Oldman (George Smiley) - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
George Clooney (Matt King) – The Descendants
Jean Dujardin (George Valentin) – The Artist
Michael Fassbender (Brandon) – Shame


LEADING ACTRESS

Bérénice Bejo (Peppy Miller) – The Artist
Meryl Streep (Margaret Thatcher) – The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams (Marilyn Monroe) – My Week with Marilyn
Tilda Swinton (Eva) – We Need to Talk About Kevin
Viola Davis (Aibileen Clark) – The Help


SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christopher Plummer (Hal) – Beginners
Jim Broadbent (Denis Thatcher) – The Iron Lady
Jonah Hill (Peter Brand) – Moneyball
Kenneth Branagh (Sir Laurence Olivier) – My Week with Marilyn
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Paul Zara) – The Ides of March


SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Carey Mulligan (Irene) – Drive
Jessica Chastain (Celia Foote) – The Help
Judi Dench (Dame Sybil Thorndike) – My Week with Marilyn
Melissa McCarthy (Megan) – Bridesmaids
Octavia Spencer (Minny Jackson) – The Help