From the Hollywood Reporter:
David O. Russell‘s dramedy Silver Linings Playbook, starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, earned the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. While the fest’s award ceremony is currently taking place, festival artistic director Cameron Bailey tweeted his congratulations to the film for winning the award.
Never underestimate the power of a crowdpleaser. With this award, right now, it looks like Best Picture is between Warner Bros.’ Argo and The Weinstein Co.’s Silver Linings Playbook, with more movies still to be seen (most notably, Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, Les Miserables). How does the People’s Choice line up with other Oscar Best Pic winners?
- 2011 Where Do We Go Now? (2011)
- 2010 The King’s Speech (2010)
- 2009 Precious (2009)
- 2008 Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
- 2007 Eastern Promises (2007)
- 2006 Bella (2006)
- 2005 Tsotsi (2005)
- 2004 Hotel Rwanda (2004)
- 2003 Zatôichi (2003)
- 2002 Whale Rider (2002)
- 2001 Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain (2001)
- 2000 Wo hu cang long (2000)
- 1999 American Beauty (1999)
Both King’s Speech and Slumdog Millionaire starting winning in Toronto and then won the major awards after that. The main difference between the two was that The King’s Speech had a formidable challenger, Slumdog did not. But beware the sappy crowdpleaser. And in Silver Linings, you probably have that.
If 2012 is going to shape up like 2010 it’s going to get awfully heated with the Weinstein Co that will have two films that represent two schools of thought heading into the race. It could be The Master taking all of the critics awards, and I mean, all of the critics awards like The Social Network (to date, no film has ever won that many critics awards and not gone on to win the Oscar) and Silver Linings Playbook, as the crowdpleaser in the room, winning the PGA, DGA, SAG and Oscar.
It will be like 2010 in other ways, too, as this is already one of the best years for not just film overall but especially, and most importantly, American film, which has seen a marked decline lately. That is going to make the choices even harder across the board, just like it was in 2010, with Inception and Black Swan and The Fighter. All of these great films at bat and the one that is most unlike the others could take home the gold.
Harvey knows what to buy, when to release and how to sell (to the Academy especially).
You don’t have to like him, though I can’t help but admire him for that talent.
Sorry, no Jesse – although I can see how that can read that way.
I was simply stating that he wears many hats. Some films he an outright producer, this year would be Django and Silver Linings for example – and others are merrily (I typed merely but I like this better) distributed by TWC.
I have no doubt he’s an asshole, but my guess is you would need to be some kind of asshole to be successful in this business.
The only problem people seem to have with him on this site (that I can see) is that his films, whether produced by HW or released by TWC garner attention at awards time. He markets his films well, wants them to do well and gets seen.
It’s a fucking conspiracy.
Anyhoo, you know all this…
@Mattoc: Are you talking about Harvey Scissorhands and instances in which he essentially forgot about films because they didn’t have a certain commercial viability? He’s ignored flicks and damaged relationships with filmmakers because of it, for sure, although he’s also been a passionate advocate. Studios carry more ruthless practices from the absolute beginning, with green-light processes that eliminate the creative risks Harvey embraces. The difference is that Paramount or Sony can hide behind a brand name whereas Harvey has always been the (willing) face of his companies.
He’s a mixed bag, an asshole I wouldn’t want to work for, but someone whose product I can admire very much. Power to the Pulp and all that…
I wanted to vote for Argo at TIFF because it was unbelievably amazeballs, but I couldn’t because I rushed the film! I got a ticket with no bar code on it, so I voted for Kon-tiki instead, which is amazeballs too by the way and I got to meet the hot as heck scadanavian cast…they are gorgeous and so damn nice..even the director was nice to me!
I didn’t get to see Silver Linings Playbook so I can’t say which film is better…
All i know is Argo had one less vote than it should of had!
Harvey is this invisible force that they can’t stop catering to, Harvey is like…gee I don’t know…let’s say a 10-foot-tall invisible rabbit
If I was drinking milk it would have come out of my nose. XD
We need a musical version of The Hurt Locker (called maybe Footlocker), where Jeremy Renner “Kevin Bacon’s” his way across the tops of burnt-out cars in full bomb gear.
😀 I want this. You know that he’s a great singer, right?
@Sasha, yeah most are, but you didn’t even see the film yet so don’t say anything yet okay? 😀
“It’s a mish-mash of things that Oscar tends to go for..”
I know, Brian, I was just putting it out there for amusement.
We need a musical version of The Hurt Locker (called maybe Footlocker), where Jeremy Renner “Kevin Bacon’s” his way across the tops of burnt-out cars in full bomb gear. Had Bigelow done it that way, Renner would have trumped Bridge’s drunk impression and gone home with the oscar. For your consideration.
“Ignore his offers, don’t let him buy your property.”
What?
The guy loves movies. He acquires rights to what he likes, then makes sure that people see them. If he likes them enough, he makes sure Academy voters see them so that they vote for them at awards time. He, and his type, are integral to the success of the industry.
Pretty simple stuff – he’s not the antichrist, he’s a very good salesman.
There are many people in this occupation, PaulH. Not just movies, either. Sometimes they sell cars, food products, even politcians to the otherwise numb/distracted public. Without them, we wouldn’t know that Ford has a car seat that wipes your ass, Dominos a pizza that helps you lose weight, or that somebody made a movie that we might like. These guys don’t actually make the car seat, the pizza or the movie, they just inform us that they are available if we’re interested.
I need another coffee.
Sure, The Silver Linings Playbook is a crowd pleaser….it’s also a critically acclaimed crowd pleaser. The critics are raving about everything involved, the writing, direction and acting (especially Jennifer Lawrence) it’s not a head scratcher…people can relate very easily to this film. In the hands of a lesser director and cast, SLP could have turned out like a syruppy Lifetime original movie but thank God that it definetly did not. I know people like Tiffany and Pat….jeeez, Lawrence and Cooper and everyone involved knocked this film out of the park.
All this focus on Weinstein is a distraction. The reviews for SLP have been tremendous, even before TIFF. It’s a film that critics and audiences seem to love. Begrudge Weinstein all you want but sometimes you just have to tip your hat when he makes a smart acquisition. It’s a film directed by David O. Russell with Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Deniro, etc. It didn’t exactly require brilliance to figure out that this movie could work. This one has a chance to do pretty well at the box office. (It’s one of the few films I’m looking forward to seeing.) Where were the other studios when the rights to SLP were available? Shame on them.
Yep. You really need to learn about what Harvey does. I’m talking about his actual producing and his distribution or acquisition of films that may or may nt have seen the light of day.
PaulH is right, Harvey is this invisible force that they can’t stop catering to, Harvey is like…gee I don’t know…let’s say a 10-foot-tall invisible rabbit
@steve50
It’s a mish-mash of things that Oscar tends to go for … not all criteria I listed are present in any one film …
Slumdog Millionaire (socio-political issues)(tugs at heart strings of some people, not me, sleep-inducing)
The Kings Speech (political, historical, nobody cares BS, tugs at someones heart strings but not mine)
Chicago (lots of pointless singing and awful acting)(makes me want to quit watching movies all together)
Blah blah blah
“The Social Network (to date, no film has ever won that many critics awards and not gone on to win the Oscar)”
Yeah, well, I don’t think this is true but if you have any proof – than share. IMO “Brokeback Mountain” still is number one.
And “Bella”, “Zatoichi” and “Where Do We Go Now?” ended without any nominations. And out of the all other movies only “Precious” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” got nominations and later did not win. So our of the last 12 winners only five (less than a half) were nominated. It doesn’t look as a sure bet that “Silver Linings Playbook” will be nominated.
Paul, quit being so melodramatic. I hate these first or second year Oscar followers who act like they know it all. Paul just hates the idea and the success of Harvey yet doesn’t know what he actually does. He doesn’t do anything Scott Rudin doesn’t do.
” but you have to admire the guy’s drive and abilities.”
No I don’t, respectfully disagree and neither should any of you. He de-levels the playing field.
“He knows what it takes, forwards and backwards, and nobody seems interested or able to take him on at his own game. No wonder actors and directors flock to him (or don’t fend him off, at least).”
If they fended him off, maybe they don’t see work for a few years?
“He makes sure the film is seen and promoted to the teeth. When he’s behind a film you support, he’s a god; when he’s promoting an opponent, he’s a monster. That’s the business.”
Maybe it’s time for actors , studios and the movies that are made to start freezing him out. Ignore his offers, don’t let him buy your property. If he has nothing to promote, then he can be stopped that way. The alternative is, quite simply, frightening. Harvey would throw his own momma under the bus for another BP Oscar.
I still think you should wait to see for yourself.
@ paddy…
a Toronto Audience Award can be confirmation of just how good a shot that film has
Perhaps, but having seen SILVER LININGS, I’m not sure how well it will fit into the overall makeup of things. Some might see this as a sign that it will take the JUNO/LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE/SIDEWAYS slot…but it’s not really *that movie*.
I was actually intrigued by Jorge’s point that:
I think it’s worth examining a system in which the audiences of a festival have so much power over the race.
The system isn’t as straightforward as it seems, but I don’t think anyone at TIFF would ever go on the record to map it out.
In the era of the expanded crop of BP nominees, it’s certainly possible – and to be clear I really loved it – but we might be better off having this conversation in November.
As for
“Typical Oscar movie … big production … lots of singing … tugs at the heartstrings … socio-political issues … sympathetic towards revolutionaries from a foreign country ”
Guess my memory is fading – when did the last BP winner meet those criteria?
I feel like Ned Stark saying Winter is Coming over and over again.
Les Miz is coming.
Hopefully I won’t meet the same end as Ned Stark.
<i. I´m very curious what Lawrence did with the character. In the book her character is supposed to be in her late 30´s.
This is the one point that turns me off the movie. David O. Russell, admitted fucking pervert who felt up his own 19 year old niece, chooses to cast a very young woman in this role but not cast the male lead younger. It gives me the god damn creeps and makes me sick that people are eating it up with a fucking spoon. Our society is fucked.
My gut feeling tells me Les Miserables wins Best PIcture hands down …
Typical Oscar movie … big production … lots of singing … tugs at the heartstrings … socio-political issues … sympathetic towards revolutionaries from a foreign country …
Slam dunk
A shame that “Where Do We Go Now?” won the audience award and was otherwise mostly ignored. A very good little film, that.
Brace yourselves, Lincoln, Les Miserables and Django Unchained are coming!
how it could end up like 2010:
Inception-The Dark Knight Rises
Winters Bone-Moonrise Kingdom/Beasts of the Southern Wild
The Kings Speech-Les Miserables
The Social Network-The Master
True Grit-Lincoln
127 Hours-Argo
The Kids Are All Right-Silver Linings Playbook
Toy Story 3-The Hobbit
Black Swan-Django Unchained
The Fighter-Zero Dark Thirty
@ Chris Price
SLPB locked winner of golden globe comedy? Les Mis? If Les Mis is just a little bit good, they won’t resist to it.
Sasha- I’ve been at TIFF for a few days and saw some movies. I think it’s worth examining a system in which the audiences of a festival have so much power over the race.
Perhaps that’s fine- if the audiences there like it then likely broader audiences will and perhaps it even is the “best”.
But perhaps it’s problematic? For one, as you know, the peoples choice at TIFF is not without controversy. Before you could stuff the ballot box. Now it still depends on where the festival people screen the movies and how many screenings they show, so….
On the other hand, the organizers of this or any festival aren’t the Academy, so something has to happen in between that point and Best Picture to validate the choice.
Again, maybe it’s as benign as the festival choice being correct, period. Or maybe the critics, bloggers, too obsessed with predicting, anoint the safe choice that has proven to please audiences. Of course the audiences that anointed TKS here had not seem TSN, so….
In any event, if my theory of causation is true, then we aughtn’t be surprised when the “safe” choices get picked over and over again. The Academy is the LAST on a long list of “voters” for Best. The times they’ve gone against the grain and picked their own thing (Crash) they were slammed. So….
We will see if this holds this season
PaulH, I was frustrated beyond reason by TKS overtaking TSN, the overwhelming critics darling, but you have to admire the guy’s drive and abilities. He knows what it takes, forwards and backwards, and nobody seems interested or able to take him on at his own game. No wonder actors and directors flock to him (or don’t fend him off, at least). He makes sure the film is seen and promoted to the teeth. When he’s behind a film you support, he’s a god; when he’s promoting an opponent, he’s a monster. That’s the business.
Paddy – achieve something worthwhile for them, or for you? or both?
SLP was an excellent book to adopt to film, is directed by David O. Russell and has a stellar cast. It’s not like Weinstein is using a Jedi mind trick to get the movie recognition. It has the ingredients for a great film and he was smart enough to buy it. And this is clearly a movie with more mainstream appeal than the Artist.
Mainstream America rejected The Artist, and rightfully so, just like they did The Hurt Locker.
Mainstream America can suck my dick. It might achieve something worthwhile.
Antoinette, you may have hit the nail on the head with the Steinbrenner comparison. It’s never a fair fight with Weinstein. He has limitless resources, a sociopathic need to win just one more Oscar, and maybe a bit of influence peddling for good measure.
//
Steve,
“derail a sure fire frontrunner – Shakespeare in Love (check)”
/
One of the most outrageous, scandalous, pre-Crash fiascos in Oscar BP history, you mean.
//
“nab the first BP for a foreign language film, silent and B/W to boot (check)”
/
Another hideous decision, which yielded the second-least seen BP winner at the boxoffice in U.S. movie history and most likely one of the least-screened BP winners of the modern era (less than 2000 screens?). Mainstream America rejected The Artist, and rightfully so, just like they did The Hurt Locker.
But, Ryan McNeil, the point is that, when the film itself is looking strong enough, a Toronto Audience Award can be confirmation of just how good a shot that film has. Precious made it far enough, anyway. Hotel Rwanda was a poor choice; Eastern Promises was a great choice – that one was never going to make it to the Kodak one way or another.
Sasha, seems unfair to call it sappy if you haven’t seen it. Not all crowd pleasers are sappy.
Sasha, seems unfair to call it sappy if you haven’t seen it. Not all crowd pleasers are sappy.
Most are. 🙂
I´m into the book right now and it´s amazing. If the movie is just as good I´m confident it will be a huge hit. Great turn for Bradley Cooper and I´m very curious what Lawrence did with the character. In the book her character is supposed to be in her late 30´s. Still, can´t wait for the movie.
This may be the one, but I’m worried that its buzz might peak too early. But this is 100% our winner for Best Pic – Comedy at the GGs, am I right?
May this be Midnight in Paris of 2012?
Three things:
TIFF Audience choice gets things wrong far more often than they get things right, so I wouldn’t take this as much of an indicator (see PRECIOUS, EASTERN PROMISES, HOTEL RWANDA).
Someone earlier pointed out that SLPB got more screenings than ARGO, which isn’t true at all. They both got three – two public, one gala.
Finally, I’m perplexed that Sasha keeps referring to it as a “sappy crowdpleaser”. It’s really not. It’s less of a straight up quirky romance than it is a witty comedy with a *very* small bit of romance thrown in.
“Sappy crowdpleaser” is what someone who hasn’t seen the film yet might call it.
NO, actually he is unpolished brilliant 🙂
Actually when you look these 13 winners, 3 have won Best Picture but other 10 weren’t even among top films of their year. But there is one thing: 2 of last 4 were hits. It is interesting whether SLP will be or not?
I think he’s brilliant.
In addition to all the good movies he backs, look at his list of accomplishments:
– disrail a surefire frontrunner – (check – Shakespeare in Love)
– break Meryl’s embarrassing losing streak (check)
– nab the first BP for a foreign language film, silent and B&W, to boot (check)
Now, have Russell play the crowd on one side of the street while Anderson wins the critics on the other. Oh, look who’s coming down the middle of the road – it’s Tarantino!
The guy is brilliant!
Paul H, it would be pointless to ask if you’ve actually seen the movie, right? Course things like quality mean nothing to you.
Okay that’s just not nice.
There was a point in time in the 90s when if I went to a movie and the MIRAMAX logo came up I knew I was going to love it. I don’t forget that. And I don’t begrudge Mr. Weinstein his ability to push for his films to win awards. Why shouldn’t he? He loves them, invested in them, they’re his babies. Why shouldn’t he try to get them the best of everything? At least he cares. I see movies come out, good films, and they’re barely promoted. Actors don’t do talk shows. They get little advertising. I don’t understand it. If you believe in something you should fight for it.
I see the same kind of hatred of him that people used to have for George Steinbrenner. I don’t get it. These guys work hard and use their means to bring you awesomesauce and then you hate them for it. In the words of the immortal Marcia Brady, “You’re just jealous.”
Hegemony: from Greek hēgemonia, from hēgemōn leader, from hēgeisthai to lead
Harvey W? – leader? – absolutely.
I suspect that Django might pick off many of the stragglers Silver Linings and The Master don’t grab.
Eff Harvey Swinestein. Can’t be said enough. Lifetime Movie network fodder, this.
Argo vs The Silver Linings Playbook at the Oscars??
crazy how we all thought its was the least interesting of the Weinstein bunch this year.
crazy how we all thought its was the least interesting of the Weinstein bunch this year.
Seriously. I half wonder if that wasn’t intentional, to throw bloggers off early. The footage in Cannes was all choppy, gave you no indication that the film was a sappy crowdpleaser.
It’s no surprise. It was between this and Argo, and since The Silver Lingings Playbook had more screenings than Argo it was bound to be it. Nothing to do with the Weinsteins.
Weinstein Co. hegemony strikes again!
Weinstein Co. hegemony strikes again!
I have no clue what this movie is about. I know what it seems like. And I can totally see them going for a movie like this because they haven’t for a while. See when we predict Oscar I think we have to look at their whole history, not just the last few years. I don’t think they like repeating themselves. That’s why at the beginning of the year when I looked ahead and saw many blockbusters that could qualify I wanted them in. Because the Academy hasn’t done it for a while. I think so far my prediction of multiple blockbusters is holding strong. I could totally see that happening and then something like this coming in and stealing BP because it’s the one that’s different as you say. And it also has heartstrings*. The blockbusters have heartstrings but they may split their vote. Yeah. The minute I saw that photo you posted of Lawrence and Cooper my vibes went “uh-oh”. I think we’ve got a spoiler on our hands.
*Heartstrings are required.
Watch Harvey take both the critics prizes and the Oscars – with TWO different films!
I can hear the teeth-gnashing/clothes-rendering already.
I’ve been hovering between predicting “Argo” and SLPB to go all the way, landing on “Argo” because it seemed to tick more boxes, but I dunno… While people respect “Argo”, people seem to GUSH about this when they talk about it in much the same way as they did for “Slumdog”. We’ve had a lot of unlikely looking films turn out to be huge Academy favourites this past decade, so maybe it’s time a true American comedy took home the prize for the first since “Annie Hall” really (unless you count something like “Terms of Endearment” or “Driving Miss Daisy” a comedy). “Little Miss Sunshine” was oh so close, would be awesome to see it happen this year for a director I really love.
“the one that is most unlike the others could take home the gold.”
Good point – one will have to distinguish itself by being different/special.
I’m planning on a critics/AMPAS split again because both the mainstream and arthouse appear to have extremely strong entries. A battle is more fun than a cakewalk, whatever the results.
I’m very pleased that this is the Audience Favourite movie this year.
I saw 10 films and none of them came close to it.
However, I don’t think it’s the “sappy” movie choice. It had moments of truth, but I wouldn’t refer to them as “sappy” or “schlocky” in any way, shape, or form. It earned all of it’s praise in a very genuine way. I didn’t feel manipulated. The reality is that I felt like – for the first time in a long time – I was being given credit while watching a wonderful, honest romantic comedy with flawed, but interesting, unique and emotionally flawed characters. I think this is why audiences are connecting with it.
Also, it’s really funny.