Looks like Anthony Hopkins will throw his hat in the ring for Best Actor, as Fox Searchlight has just announced Hitchcock will open on November 23. Directed by Sacha Gervasi, written by John McLaughlin, the pic is based on the book “Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho” by Stephen Rebello and stars Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Danny Huston, Toni Collette, Jessica Biel, Michael Stuhlbarg, James D’Arcy, Michael Wincott, Richard Portnow, Kurtwood Smith.
This obviously thrusts Anthony Hopkins into the already crowded Best Actor category:
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln (2X winner)
Denzel Washington, Flight (1X winner in lead)
Jamie Foxx, Django Unchained (1 time winner in lead)
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Anthony Hopkins, Hitchcock
And so it goes. What remains to be seen of that list could include Scarlett Johannson, Helen Mirren, Danny Huston – you name it. I for one cannot wait.
They should’ve made this film in black & white (or have they?). I can’t think of seeing Marion Crane in colour. No, Gus Van Sant, I can’t.
Maybe even Best Picture?
I am a bit baffled that everyone is already asserting that Anne Hathaway is the undisputed winner for best supporting actress…um, if the film remotely follows the book/musical (which it undoubtedly should. Duh.) Fantine will be dead within the first half hour or sooner. And the film will certainly have a 2 hours plus running time. She will REALLY have to deliver in that specific amount of time she has, and I’m sure she will, but to say she is a shoo-in for the win is just stupid. Out of all the female characters in the play, personally I think Eponine (played by Samantha Barks) is the one that stays with you the longest…
…which brings me to Scarlett Johansson, who Phantom pointed out earlier is having her strongest year in cinema since 2003. I’m really intrigued to see how she pulls off what is virtually a double role as Janet Leigh/Marion Crane. If she’s fantastic, then I don’t know why she couldn’t be a serious threat to Hathaway, Hunt, Adams, Field, Barks, Davis, Smith, or whoever is in the best supporting actress race. I also think we should seriously be considering Helen Mirren in the Best Actress category. The Academy loves her and it would hypothetically be easy for her to sneak in this year since the category is so sparse this year.
I watched the 80’s version of the series. You know where they remade the 50’s-60’s stuff. Later I saw most of the old episodes.
Steve, I knew that. That’s why I called it genius.
Also, I didn’t read it with my own voice. I heard Hitchcock’s voice when I read it.
Yep, I’m not that old but I had a phase in my teenage years when I was watching Hithcock’s TV shows, and absolutely loved the intros!
This news is definitely some extra spice in the Best Actor soup for this year. If Hopkins does a bang-up job, he can easily get in in the mix (pedigree, playing an icon etc.) but I really don’t see him having any kind of chance of a win next to Phoenix, Day Lewis and Hawkes.
@Des Brown: don’t forget the Blu Ray Set that’s coming our way, 15 Hitchock masterpieces! (14 for the UK, sans North by Northwest). I’m salivating already.
@Alper: As much as Amy Adams is overdue, and she is, and no matter how fantastic she is in The Master, she gets owned by Phoenix and Hoffman. Only because of the script. If there is any flaw in P.T.Anderson’s ouvre it’s that he doesn’t write women nearly as effectively or with as much layers as he does men. So there’s no way Adams is winning this year 🙁
I don’t know how much genius was involved, Tero – that’s how Hitch’s TV show started every week in the 60s. Probably not that many people are old enough to remember that.
Good evening.
What a perfect tagline in all its simplicity. Who invented this is a genius.
Oh and we certainly have our winner for Best Makeup this year!
I could see Hopkins certainly getting nominated but no chance he is winning. As beloved and iconic as he is, I get the impression the Academy has already given him his well deserved Oscar already and probably has no interest in giving him another one. Personally, I think he – like De Niro and Morgan Freeman of late – has kind of been on auto-pilot in terms of the types of roles he has taken. I guess that alone may be the reason to get excited for this role as it is his first meaty lead role in a major Hollywood film in years.
How interesting…seems like a dark horse.
I love the poster.
@ phantom
Scarlett doesn’t have a Volpi Cup. She won the Upstream prize there but not the Volpi.
And what’s so special about Denzel’s performance in a run of the mill movie like Flight? Is it because Zemeckis is directing it or what?
Theres no denying the Academys love for someone playing an iconic figure in real life. This really throws me off…im gona go with this right now:
1)Joaquin Phoenix/The Master
2)Daniel Day Lewis/Lincoln
3)Anthony Hopkins/Hitchcock
4)Hugh Jackman/Les Miserables
5)John Hawkes-Denzel W.-Brad Pitt-Bill Murray(who knows???)
Totally rooting for Anthony Hopkins now. He’ll probably end up being the sentimental favorite.
Wow. I had no idea this would be out this year and I have a feeling that wasn’t necessarily the plan either. Seems Fox Searchlight has decided they might have something special here. Which makes me even more excited about something I was extremely excited about in the first place. I have a bit of a Hitch obsession, I will confess.
John Hawkes
Joaquin Phoenix
Anthony Hopkins
Denzel Washington
and then Jamie Foxx and Daniel Day-Lewis fight out for that last spot. So long Hugh Jackman…
Party crashers. *calls the cops*
“Inconsequential. A TV movie this is, masquerading as a motion picture. Next.”
You could say the same thing about The Queen and we all know what happened there.
Love the poster choice Sasha. “good evening” Perfect way to tell us.
I usually run from biopics, but this one will be fun, primarily because of the director. Gervasi is not your standard TV biopic a la Hooper guy. Plus he has a great cast.
Hopkins is welcome to jump in the race, but I think it’ll be a two-horse race between DDL and Phoenix this year. The more the merrier. Scarlett – yes! – she could be the one to benefit the most, which would be great.
And The Jack has the answer…and Depp pulled that off without picture-director-screenplay nominations OR a Screen Actors Guild nod.
We’ll see how Jackman will fare, from afar, it does seem like a role of a lifetime for him, and he definitely paid his dues, but the film has to be excellent for him to go all the way.
I mean, he already has Weinstein-backed Joaquin Phoenix who is already hailed as THE best of the year AND Bradley Cooper in a potential bp-frontrunner that also seems to be a crowdpleaser and we all know how the Academy loooves those (at least I can think of no other explanation when I realize Jean Dujardin is an Academy Award winner and Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Ed Harris, Joaquin Phoenix, Peter O’Toole, Viggo Mortensen, Gary Oldman, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson, Robert Downey Jr. are NOT), not to mention Harvey could easily have a third strong contender in Jamie Foxx (Django Unchainened) AND a fourth in Brad Pitt (Killing them softly) who drew raves in Cannes and has a rather Academy friendly release date…and that’s just the Weinstein Company, I haven’t even mentioned potential frontrunners Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln), Anthony Hopkins (Hitchcock) and strong contenders like John Hawkes (The Sessions), Ben Affleck (Argo), Bill Murray (Hyde Park on Hudson), Denzel Washington (Flight) and promising dark horses Michael Shannon (The Iceman), Clint Eastwood (Trouble with the Curve, probably his LAST performance), Matt Damon (Promised Land), Garrett Hedlund (On the Road), Matthew McConaughey (Mud), Richard Gere (Arbitrage).
This is a strong year when it comes to Best Actor, that’s for sure.
keifer
I also think Hugh Jackman is remarkably talented and hope he delivers in this AND receives his first Oscar nomination. Having said that, you made a painfully excellent point. I mean if Richard ‘superstar for decades still no Oscar-love’ Gere couldn’t score an Oscar nomination with a SAG nod and a Golden Globe Award under his belt AND with the power of the eventual best picture winner in his corner, I can see the Academy going apeshit over ‘Les Miserables’ AND ignoring its male lead. I think the only difference, that ‘Chicago’ was female-centered and its ladies WERE nominated (Zellweger, Zeta-Jones, Latifah) and since ‘Les Miserables’ mainly revolves around two male characters, Valjean and Javert, I think Jackman might have a better shot at breaking the ‘curse’ than Gere did…that is IF ‘Les Miserables’ will be embraced by critics, audiences AND Academy voters.
“A Best Actor AMPAS nomination for a musical hasn’t occurred in one hell of a long time. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you have to go back all the way to 1971 to Topol in Fiddler on the Roof to find a Best Actor nomination for a musical role.”
I’m sure other people will be about to mention this, but Johnny Depp for “Sweeney Todd”
I have a sneaking suspicion Hopkins’ presence this year could spell trouble for Hugh Jackman’s chances to enter the circle.
A Best Actor AMPAS nomination for a musical hasn’t occurred in one hell of a long time. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you have to go back all the way to 1971 to Topol in Fiddler on the Roof to find a Best Actor nomination for a musical role.
And all the way back to 1964 for a Best Actor win in a musical (Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady) – which personally I think is one of the WORST choices for Best Actor ever.
As much as I like Hugh Jackman (and I really do! – the guy is talented), he’s got to pull out all the stops in a straight dramatic role to garner serious AMPAS attention in the future.
Inconsequential. A TV movie this is, masquerading as a motion picture. Next.
@phantom
Could be right about Johansson. She is on such a roll this year.
This is one of the movies I’m really looking forward to – and Anthony Hopkins playing a legendary moviemaker and Hollywood icon shooting one of the most famous movies of all time, well, that’s what the Academy loves. Look at this year – nominations for Michelle Williams as Monroe and Branagh as Olivier in MY WEEK WITH MARYLIN. Also, this year’s two big winners – THE ARTIST and HUGO – were both about movie-making. So HITCHCOCK could be a serious contender.
I also feel it’s Hitch’s year. Here in England, the BFI have been screening every surviving Hitchcock movie in their GENIUS OF HITCHCOCK season. VERTIGO has also just been voted the Greatest Movie of All Time. And there’s Toby Jones on the BBC in December playing him in THE GIRL.
Paddy
You’re right, thanks, I just remembered she won SOMETHING for ‘Lost in Translation’ in Venice, I simply assumed it was the Volpi Cup, but I checked it, it was something called ‘Upstream Prize’ for Best Actress.
Wow. Best Actor is CROWDED. If I were to guess, I’d say the only sure bets right now are Joaquin and Daniel Day Lewis. I’d love love love for Hugh Jackman to be nominated, but that’s without seeing the movie. I expect Les Miserables to be absolutely wonderful, but it has the potential to flop. I think Denzel has a good shot just because of who he is and how the project seems to sound. That leaves one spot for either John Hawkes or Anthony Hopkins. Bill Murray seems to be out of it. What would be awful is if Philip Seymour Hoffman gets campaigned as lead. I mean, he clearly is a co-lead, but that just makes the category crazy.
For my money, it’ll look like this:
Daniel Day Lewis in LINCOLN
John Hawkes in THE SESSIONS
Hugh Jackman in LES MISERABLES
Joaquin Phoenix in THE MASTER
Denzel Washington in FLIGHT
in my mind, no one should be able to beat joaquin phoenix in this year’s race. he gives one of the best performances i have ever seen, and if anyone can top him this year, they will deserve the win. until then, i think this is phoenix’s to lose.
Scarlett Johansson doesn’t have a Volpi Cup, phantom.
Well, the Academy LOVES a good impression this past decade(Sean Penn-Harvey Milk, Forest Whitaker-Idi Amin, Jamie Foxx-Ray Charles, PSH-Truman Capote, etc).
@phantom
Amy Adams!!! she is more overdue than Scarlett.
This is very interesting indeed and a good move on the studios part as I was starting to feel that this year’s crop was on it’s way to becoming one of the weakest in years.
I’m surprised though that no one is listed as playing Tippi Hedren. I would’ve thought that would be the most interesting aspect of the director’s life.
Great. Another legend playing a baity icon that’ll likely take votes away from the actors playing original creations, regardless of if it’s a better performance or not. I’m sick and tired of these “real person” performances hogging up nominations (and usually winning).
Aaand the Amy Adams-Anne Hathaway ‘battle’ has just turned into a threesome with Scarlett Johansson playing an iconic role, still enjoying the post-Avengers hype, long overdue for an Oscar nomination (she has a BAFTA Best Actress award, a Volpi Cup, a Tony Award AND 4 Golden GLobe nominations) AND her Maggie in ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ will start previews on Broadway late December, right in the middle of the Academy voting season, so if she receives raves, those will be read by the voters in just the perfect moment.
She is still only 27 and has already delivered several great, memorable performances (The Horse Whisperer, Ghost World, Lost in Translation, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Match Point, Vicky Cristina Barcelona), worked with directors like Christopher Nolan, Woody Allen, Robert Redford, Sofia Coppola, Brian de Palma, Cameron Crowe, Robert Redford, Ethan Coen, and is basically the female lead of the biggest hit of 2012.
Bottom line : Unless the film gets trashed by critics, I fully expect her to emerge as a major threat in the supporting actress category. I still think Hathaway will win and Adams will be a strong player in the end, but Johansson’s momentum should not be overlooked. She will portray a movie icon, Janet Leigh, playing her most famous role, Marion Crane…it’s basically TWO iconic roles, if she pulls it off, she is in.
P.S. Hopkins and Mirren could be serious threats in the lead categories, too. Especially Hopkins. I just hope that if critics love this film, that won’t result sloppy campaigns for the distributor’s other films, Beast of the Southern Wild and The Sessions.
Definitely adding more spice to the best Actor race.
A little off-topic, but here is a 4:00
first look at Les Mis, if it hasn’t already been posted.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwgQjfg0hZw&sns=em
As excited as I am to see this movie, I’m not sure Fox Searchlight made the right decision to release it this year. But it DOES indicate major confidence in the strength of the film and performances, especially since Searchlight has another major competitor for Best Actor in John Hawkes for “The Sessions”.
The other guaranteed major contender for this one would probably be Mirren, who could dominate this one like she did “The Last Station”. The rest of the cast looks terrific, but it’s tought to say how much screentime and narrative impact the individual characters have and whether or not it would warrant Oscar consideration.
I’m sure the release date move means we’ll be getting a trailer pretty soon, so we should get a better idea of the awards prospects then.
Did somebody order a curve ball, ‘cuz we just got one!