Our good friend Sam Juliano visits the Boulevard Diner in New Jersey and discusses the upcoming Oscar race with his son Sammy and Dennis Polifroni.
Our good friend Sam Juliano visits the Boulevard Diner in New Jersey and discusses the upcoming Oscar race with his son Sammy and Dennis Polifroni.
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Donna—Great hearing from you my very good friend! Your kind words and interest are most appreciated. Nice to hear what you about young Sammy too!
Ferderick—A great big thank you! As I said in previous comments, Jason Giampietro did a great job editing the video.
Eric P: I can’t thank you enough for that! Yes, Jason has several of the videos up on youtube under his own banner. He is truthfully the one who deserves most of the credit. Yes we both will be happy campers if AMOUR ends up with those two major awards! Thanks again!
Thanks Peter for the continued support and kind words. Yes the banishment of ZERO DARK THIRTY from this ever-fickle group is yet another reason why we can never take these awards with much more than a grain of salt, no matter how much fun we have playing the game. Yep, Hoffmann does seem to be a compelling wild card choice.
David: Ha, thanks for the exceedingly kind words and for the acknowledgement of Sammy. I will also be picking up the ARGO blu-ray as I am a collector and I do think awards and overestimation aside it’s a fine film.
Great to hear you love THE LIFE OF PI that much!
I was beginning to fear that this year’s edition might not be appearing, Sam. Always a blast hearing you and Dennis. Now you have an engaging threesome. It is too bad that ‘Argo’ will be given a title it does not deserve. You were right to hold your nose.
Sammy had a beautiful Top Ten list. The photographer really brought the diner atmosphere to the video. You guys are the best.
It’s easy to see that you are a school teacher Sam, and what an animated one at that! And your son is wonderful. You and Dennis make a great team. That was the quickest 43 minutes I’ve ever experienced. You had me glued and often in stitches. Hope some of your upset choices come to pass. Mr. Giampietro did a terrific job with the camera.
Sam,
That was fantastic. I’ve actually seen these videos before (for other years I believe) but I didn’t know it was you. Fantastic analysis of the races. I hope your Riva and Haneke predictions come true because I would love to see that film honored in something else besides the best foreign film race.
I’m actually going to pick up a copy of the “Argo” blu-ray today at my local Target. I think it’s a well-crafted and mostly gripping film. But I must agree with Sam, Dennis and young Sammy that it does not deserve this kind of adulation because of a perceived snub. “The Life of Pi,” “Lincoln,” “Les Miserables,” “Amour,” “Zero Dark Thirty” and the middling “The Master” are all better films.
You guys should have a weekly show. You really know how to hold one’s attention. And a generous supply of humorous quips. Young Sammy is a critic-in-the-making.
Great to see all this love for “The Life of Pi,” which I’d say is my own favorite film of the year.
Yet another fabulous installent in your annual Oscar presentation Sam. And what a class touch to add Sammy to this year’s lineup. I would have loved to be sitting in the next booth at the Boulevard Diner that night! You guys are real movie stars.
I am almost sold on Riva now, and I have thrown in the towel as far as Argo is concerned. It will be one of Oscar’s worst choices. I think Hoffman will win supporting actor and Spielberg Best Director.
The way Zero Dark Thirty was thrown aside in the late stages is a complete joke.
hahaha Spacey! Thank you Sir!
Filmboymichael: You’d be most welcome to attend a movie with us, especially since you visit Manhattan. We live maybe 4 minutes just west of the Hudson River close to the George Washington Bridge. We’ll definitely have to make it happen!
I don’t think it is too much at all to ask for six PI wins. I’m thinking these four are very possible at this point:
Best Director
Best Score
Best Cinematography
Best Visual Effects
But I also see Steve’s point with trying to downplay the chances. If it clicks some of us with be over the moon for sure!
My favorite part, “I’m going to hold my nose and predict Argo.”
I think all of us Pi supporters are keeping a reasonably low profile and not buying the hype, filmboymichael. We’re pretty protective of that gem, as Ryan pointed out a couple of weeks ago.
Yeah, 6 would be nice, but it would make it a huge target on the site. Of course, better to take flak after winning a handful than before, and ending up with nothing.
@Sam, Sammy probably connects with it more than this old man – but thanks for the words. I’d love to see a movie with the three of you sometime! This Canadian boy has been travelling around the US (in Atlanta right now) and heading to New York tomorrow. I always make a point of going to a movie when I’m in the states because it is such a completely different experience.
And sidenote – I’m trying not to pay attention to all the talk about Ang Lee winning BD, mainly because I don’t want to be disappointed when it doesn’t happen. My hope is that Pi walks out of the Kodak with at least 6 wins….is that too much to ask???
hahahaha!!! Thanks for the kind words about Sammy, Steve!! He’ll be very pleased to hear that!
Spacey: Thank you my friend for that! You’d be more than welcome at our table!
Filmboymichael: Thanks so much for that great comment! Yes, THE LIFE OF PI is a huge favorites with the three of us. I was very pleased that 15 year-old Sammy was so impressed with it. And your reaction to WALLFLOWER is heartening. I’m way too old to see that situation as part of my own high school experience, though I still loved the film. You obviously connect to it in a special way. Thanks again!
I meant to add – Sammy Jr shows huge promise for the future of our lot. Love that he tied his #1 picks, and that his choices were Zero Dark Thirty and Life of Pi.
Don’t sweat the speedo, Dennis. For many of us, it would only be visible if we wore it on our heads.
Rob Y: Thanks very much for that! If it held you just a bit it would have been flattering. Your response is much appreciated!
Pierre: How true what you say there! But I am grateful for the internet and the phone and for meeting up with you my friend!
Sam Juliano – what a great video…Unfortunately, when I start to discuss movies and oscars and top tens, they tend to glaze over and I end up talking to myself.
All three of you had fantastic top ten lists – My number 1 movie of the year was Life of Pi, so I am always thrilled when people share that enthusiasm….also the enthusiasm of Perks – that was MY time in high school and I actually was weeping by the end.
Great job guys!
What a delight! Thank you so much. That was awesome. I felt like grabbing a beer and pulling up a chair and listening to you guys all day.
WHAT AN HONOR!!!!!!!
Thank you so much for the interesting and kind comments! Yes, this year certainly seemed to be loaded with more Academy shenanigans that most that preceded 2012. The deck was stacked to aid Spielberg and LINCOLN by doing away with his chief competitiors and a martyr, of sorts, was embraced by the intelligentsia outside the Oscar faction to feed the Academy their own dirt.
In the end, the outside forces (most notably, SAG, DGA, WGA, PGA, The Golden Globes) got the desired effect they were shooting for and, I agree with Pierre, that the best the early favorite (LINCOLN) can hope for is scraping out the BEST DIRECTOR prize. Basically, it’s politics against politics and the really good films suffer in the wake of all the kabitzing and turned-up noses. The price we pay, the viewer that looks to the Oscars as a way of discovering films we might not have taken seriously when first premiered, is that the wrong message (one without awarding films of true merit) is given.
Ultimately my biggest question is this. Had ARGO been nominated in the BEST DIRECTOR category, would so many have awarded it their top prizes???? I agree that the film is very good, compatently directed and rendered… However, I have a sense in my thinking that it’s nothing more than a nifty entertaiment (as flawed as ZERO DARK THIRTY-maybe more in some ways), deserving of it’s nominations and nothing more. I think the factions outside the Academy could have found a better film to make their point (certainly Tom Hoopers gorgeous and lyrical LES MISERABLE or Kathtryn Bigelow’s searing ZERO DARK THIRTY were far more worthy). To conclude, it seems like Ben Affleck will enjoy the spoils of a great career ahead of him by default and he has the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to thank. Had it been the other way around, he’d have won nothing, basked in the temporary light as an up and coming new directorial talent and probably faded away while someone like Haneke, BiIgelow or, yes, Spielberg (who, no matter what some have said about LINCOLN, still delivered a finer film), took the prize they deserved instead.
I always knew the Oscars and most of the organizations that give out prizes for art were bullshit. But, I never thought they’d stoop this low to see who had the bigger balls.
As for my opinions of the best films this past year, and who I’d have nominated and tossed prizes to, here is my PERSONAL considerarion of 2012:
Dennis Polifroni’s TOP Ten:
1. THE MASTER (d. Paul Thomas Anderson)
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (d. Steven Chbosky)
3. Zero Dark Thirty (d. Kathryn Bigelow)
4. Les Miserables (d. Tom Hooper)
5. Amour (d. Micheal Haneke)
6. Life of Pi (d. Ang Lee)
7. Django Unchained (d. Quentin Tarantino)
8. Skyfall (d. Sam Mendes)
9. Lincoln (d. Steven Spielberg)
10. Brave (d. Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman)
DIRECTION: Paul Thomas ANDERSON (The Master)
Runners Up: Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty), Tom Hooper (Les Miserables), Ang Lee (Life of Pi), Sam Mendes (Skyfall)
Mendes and Bigelow get high marks for creating unfathomable tension. Hooper scores with his daring close-ups to bring out emotional despair. Lee is a perfect example of grace and wonder.
Paul Thomas Anderson takes the top slot, though, as he magically recalls the gritty reality of Kazan in the Rand inspired visuals for THE MASTER. The long shots of a steam-liner chugging under the Golden-Gate bridge or a motorcycle kicking up sand and dust in a lonely desert at twilight, there is a poetic grace and a sense of deep emotional loss of all things worldly in the directorial hands of one of the most exciting and formidable film-makers post-Kubrick. Andersons intense dialogue moments are balanced with the vast landscapes of both coasts in a visual and vocal commentary on the loss of innocence and the hysterical quests many went on to rediscover it. That the director chooses to leave the film on an ambiguous note not only renders THE MASTER one of the most debatable thematic films in recent film history, but recalls the work of Bergman, Altman and, the aforementioned, Stanley. Call the film what you want. It’s confusing, mind-altering, dramatic, funny and maddening and it’s all the better because it makes you really think.
How many directors have the ability to do that these days?
SCREENPLAY (adapted or original): Paul Thomas ANDERSON (The Master)
Runners Up: Steven Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), Michael Haneke (Amour), Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained), Tony Kushner (Lincoln)
The words of one of the greatest figures in American history? The fusion of modern gutter slang and hip-hop culture set to the classicism of a Leone spaghetti western? The conversations of a couple crippled by impending death and denial? The most honest words and plotting ever concocted for a teenage coming-of-age rite-of-passage?
All brilliant in there own way and yet it’s the philosophical diatribe of a cultish huckster and the explosive ranting of a psychotic that clash together in Paul Thomas Anderson’s THE MASTER for the top slot. Recalling the works of Steinbeck, Rand and, particularly, Faulkner, Anderson effortlessly and intrinsically creates in his screenplay a war for forgotten innocence in post-war America and the hysterical plight to recover a grace that was lost overseas. Epic in over-all scope and intimate in words that play off the actors tongues like great lines from Shakespeare, THE MASTER is one of the most precisely alternating works of screenwriting of the 2000’s.
LEAD ACTOR: Daniel DAY-LEWIS (Lincoln)
Runners Up: Joaquin Phoenix (The Master), Jean-Louis Trintignant (Amour), Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables), John Hawkes (The Sessions)
I have juggled the two top contenders for days now. In Phoenix we have a completely original character brought to life in a physically spiritual turn as if the actor was bearing his own soul on screen. Frankly it’s the kind of turn that begs for legendary status. Freddie Quell might be a man we never want to run into but are fascinated in watching nonetheless, as he comes completely unraveled.
However, as hard as I try to bring Phoenix to the top, he’s contained with violent force by the quietly sensitive, yet often physically intimidating, turn of Day-Lewis as the beloved 16th President of the United States. As Abraham Lincoln, Day-Lewis hovers over the proceedings as the smartest man in a room of men hell bent in their convictions. Physically, it’s an inspiring turn, looming over the men of his cabinet and force feeding them logic and integrity. In words, Day-Lewis exudes a kind of lived-in decency that elludes even the most logical tacticians and the soft, mid-western infections of his voice unmask a man of such giant caring for a world he knows he can make better with the force of his goodness. Phoenix gives a breathtaking turn in THE MASTER but Daniel Day-Lewis became Abraham Lincoln. In doing so, Day-Lewis creates, in performance, a perfect opposition for his diabolical Daniel Plainview, his Oscar-winning turn in THERE WILL BE BLOOD.
LEAD ACTRESS: Emmanuelle RIVA (Amour)
Runners Up: Jennifer Lawrence (The Silver-Linings Playbook), Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Rachel Weise (Deep Blue Sea), Emma Watson (The Perks of Being a Wallflower)
While Jennifer Lawrence will be tough to beat at the Oscars, and her turn as the foul mouthed obsessive of SILVER-LININGS PLAYBOOK is a superstar-in-the-making turn, it’s Riva, quietly brilliant, in AMOUR that gets my vote.
Her heartrending and often emotionally hardening turn as a woman facing the end of her life and the harsh realities of a life not completely realized in all the longings and regret that occur, is the stuff of true reality in performance. Riva crushes the viewer with the silences as well as the outbursts and, completely, makes you believe that a loved one is slowly leaving us in a whisp of eventual finality. Heartbreaking in its scope and detail, this is a performance that could vie as the absolute best of the year in any category.
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Phillip Seymour HOFFMAN (The Master)
Runners Up: Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained), Ezra Miller (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), Javier Bardem (Skyfall), Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln)
I would like nothing better than to see the absolutely hysterical turn of Christoph Waltz, breathlessly managing Tarantino’s tricky dialogue as if it were rolling of his tongue like eloquent machine-gun fire, take the top slot. His turn is off-the-wall, comically inspired and the glue of the bizarre DJANGO UNCHAINED (my PERSONAL favorite in this category). However, best is best and when I am totally honest with myself I have to name Hoffman for his intricately detailed and perversely contradicting turn as the cult guru of THE MASTER. With shades of Jim Jones infused with the likes of Freud, his turn is a bravura performance of saddening self discovery. As Lancaster Dodd, Hoffman has found a perfect companion performance for his Oscar-winning turn as Truman Capote. Frankly, Hoffman is often seen from the peripheral, a great character actor that never gets enough praise. Here he quells the notion that he’ll remain in the sidelines for ever more. Powerful and unforgettable, he’s a great actor giving a superlative performance.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Anne HATHAWAY (Les Miserables)
Runners Up: Isabelle Hubert (Amour), Amy Adams (The Master), Sally Field (Lincoln), Naomi Watts (The Impossible)
All good with one so exceptional the others should be thankful for the nomination by me or any other contemplation. I had first thought, earlier in the year, that Field would be impossible to beat with her nerve-wreaking and emotionally twitchy performance as the deeply scarred Mary Todd Lincoln. Amy Adams was subtly brilliant as a woman of quiet force and intelligence and sees where others have turned there heads. Hubert was a late discovery for me and the intensity of her reactions in a heartrending personal situation regarding the realities of the end of life reminded me that AMOUR wasn’t just about the two leads.
But, I wasn’t prepared for the delicate power of Hathaway’s doomed Fantine in Hooper’s LES MISERABLES. Using every skill, both vocally and physically, it’s a turn of great emotional urgency as the character succumbs to a death that threatens her plight as savior for her lost daughter. Her rendition of I DREAMED A DREAM is the showstopper of the entire film and I defy anyone sitting through LES MISERABLES to hold back their tears as a character we truly feel for falls from grace into the waiting, comforting arms of God.
A powerhouse turn that deserved every accolade and award given.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Roger DEAKINS (Skyfall)
Runners Up: Mihai Mălaimare, Jr. (The Master), Janusz Kaminsky (Lincoln), Claudio Miranda (Life of Pi), Robert Richardson (Django Unchained)
Hard one to call. THE MASTER recalls the epic visuals of Kazan’s EAST OF EDEN, while Miranda’s work on LIFE OF PI draws us into an epic fairy tale that balances mysticism with the harsh realities of the vast open sea.
However, it’s veteran Roger Deakins (FARGO, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN) making everything from the roof-tops of Turkey’s grand bizarre and the water lanterns of Shanghai at midnight gleam with a pristine classicism recalling the best James Bond films of the classic Connery period. With every different locale, Deakins rises to the occasion in capturing the beauty of the most exotic, and often unlikely, places for visual audacity. The film could be a travelogue for travelers with a sense for the adventurous.
EDITING: Stuart and Kate BAIRD (Skyfall)
Runners Up: Dylan Tichner, William Goldenberg (Zero Dark Thirty), Fred Raskin (Django Unchained), Melanie Ann Oliver, Chris Dickens (Les Miserables), Leslie Jones, Peter McNulty (The Master)
Sorry, as good as the editing in ZERO DARK THIRTY is, it’s the whallop of the Bairds work for the James Bond actioner, SKYFALL, that packs the biggest, breathtaking punch. From the cracker-jack ping-ponging of Bond and M in there various, simultaneous story arcs to the heart-racing opening chase sequence, SKYFALL delivers a sweat-inducing pounding to the viewer.
MUSIC: Michael DANNA (Life of Pi)
Runners Up: Thomas Newman (Skyfall), Jonny Greenwood (The Master), Patrick Doyle (Brave), John Williams (Lincoln)
Jonny Greenwood and Thomas Newman do work here that could have easily taken the top slot any other year. With Greenwood, his designs for the soundscapes of THE MASTER border on tonal chimes and clicking often making the score for the film sound like the primordial decadence of a Stravinsky ballet. Newman has real fun finding tense chords in the grand orchestra and delivers a gangbuster action score while incorporating a lot of the themes from the classic James Bond films.
However, it’s Danna, with LIFE OF PI, that rises to the top with his boy choir melodies all fused with India-inspired mysticism. Truly, the most epic and touching score of the top 5. Listen to it without the visuals and the selection of Danna becomes even more crystal clear. Hauntingly beautiful.
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Eve STEWART (Les Miserables)
Runners Up: David Gropman (Life of Pi), Dennis Gassner (Skyfall), Eugenio Cabellero (The Impossible), Rick Carter (Lincoln)
No question the detail that went into realizing the reality of the period but keeping the feel of the stage was a project of gargantuan proportions for any Production Designer taking on the massively scoped LES MISERABLES. That Stewart was able to make so much intimate beauty out of so much ugliness is a credit for her fine eye to details of the period and an even better eye for making key colors that are intrinsically linked to the themes of the story pop out (notice the preponderance of BLUE, WHITE and RED-the colors of the French flag-popping up in ways that don’t just recall the country’s flag but, instead, represent the degradation of the poor-BLUE, the loss of hope-WHITE and the spilling of innocent blood-RED). For a film that hones in on close-ups so often, it’s the wide master shots of Stewarts design work that sets the epic tone of the story.
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Thanks to Jason Giampietro for the fine direction and editing of our little film and BIG, BIG thanks to Sam’s second born, the ever resilient and all-seeing SAMMY JR., for lending us two “Old Fogies” a youthful perspective to this madness his father and I take so passionately…
As for me and Sam…
We hope you enjoy this little entertainment and we remind everyone that no waiters or waitresses were harmed or killed during the making of this bizarre little doo-dad…
Oh, and, by the way…
The camera really does add more than just ten pounds to every one in front of it. I’m still able to get into a size 28 speedo when I hit the beaches of Florida twice a year…
LOL!!!!!
Dennis
I used to know people with whom I could have conversations like this — I mean, in the same room. Now I must rely on the internet and telephone. This clip, though longer than any other I’ve seen, still holds my interest. Congrats to the participants and videographer!
Well I was sure entertained. I saw the time and went, “I’ll give it five minutes and move on.” Well those five minutes lasted 43 minutes. Good commentary.
Thanks very much for that Steve! I was thrilled to have my son Sammy in on it this year! Much appreciated my friend!
Love listening to you guys! Nothing beats diner conversations about movies. Thanks for doing this.
Zach, that “freeing the slaves” vs. “freeing some hostages” argument is quite telling, and your overall analysis as always is sound! Thanks very much for looking at the video my friend!
I could only skim for now, but this is very compelling! “Argo got good reviews because it came out in the time of year when there was only shit.” — THANK YOU!
All of us who are rooting against Argo, we always have to say, “It’s a good film, but…” Well, this is how it’s winning. No real haters.
Unless Argo’s win changes the types of films that win Oscars in the future, I have a feeling Oscarologists in 30 years are going to look back on this year and wonder how a film about freeing the slaves lost to an exaggerated film about Hollywood’s involvement in freeing the Iran hostages.
Oh Geez.
Hello everyone, thanks for watching! The OSCARS filming with Sam and Dennis started here, in the Year 2000, which is a great glimpse into what watching the show at the Juliano house is like!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2cFog-SnNE&feature=share&list=PL463AE21D523ADECA
Ha Yogsss!! Can’t say I blame you! This year will be a bummer for many of us! Thanks very much for the kind words and support my friend! And thanks too for remembering last year’s presentation. Let’s hope for a few major surprises!
I’m glad you’re back with you’re annual predictions, Sam.
What I love about the video is that is the kind of conversations I have with my friends. We get together to even drink and make a BBQ waiting for the Oscars. Also, I always get drunk when my favorite lose (and they ALWAYS do) So you can already guess what this Lincoln/Zero Dark Thirty fan is going to.do on February 24 😀
Ha John! Many thanks for that my friend!
So great to see what you look/sound like Sam. Its great putting together writings with a face. 🙂 And I loved the conversation.
In behalf of Dennis and young Sammy, thanks very much Tero! Be rest assured I always enjoy your great comments at this site!
Videos like these are the best. WHEN people actually know what they’re talking about. A rarity if you search for Oscar prediction videos on YouTube.
Good job, Sam.
Thanks very much for that Seattlemoviegoer! Alas I know the kind that love WARM BODIES and IDENTITY THIEF as well. Never does made for intelligent conversation! Ha!
Thanks for checking it out Tero!
Hi Paddy, and thanks for the kind words! I’d certainly love to see you at it in a similar vain at some point my friend!
Paddy, I can be your movie friend IRL.
Take a flight to Helsinki and watch the Oscars with me. It’s like 50€ one way or something.
Gonna watch this video now.
SLASH if my friends knew anything about films…
Always good to put a face to a name! Hi Sam!
what a great conversation. i need to find some smarter friends. at my place of work almost no one has seen the nominated films but THEY HAVE SEEN “Warm Bodies” and “Identity Thief.” (sigh) i wish the Oscars were more powerful in getting butts into theater seats, but despite good numbers for the top 9, the vast majority of the public likes what they have been nurtured to like: stupid comedy, explosions, comic book heroes and eye-rolling romcoms.
Cool!
I’d do something similar if I had ANY FRIENDS!
This is quite an honor Ryan, and I thank you and Sasha so much for posting it here in these hallowed halls. Of course needless to say I am now in hiding!