In a short while we’ll learn which cinematographer will take home this year’s ASC Award. Rather than try to guess who they’ll choose and use that as a compass to point to our possible Oscar winner, I’m going to hold off an hour to find out first who won and then try to deconstruct the reasons why.
While we wait I’ll state the obvious: The ASC and Oscar match up less than half the time — but whenever they do it’s usually a year when that film sweeps. Check out the historic record, after the cut.
Artist Chris Ware Who Can Rethink Outside the Box casts his wry spell with this strangely primeval poster for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. You’ll also recall that Ware (author of the graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth) created the dreamy uneasy artwork for Savages a couple of years ago. (revisit that past poster, after the cut)
To capture the essence of this haunting Thai ghost story, (which includes scenes of sex with a catfish and ghost monkeys), Ware says he tried to create something “punchy and strange, so as to draw viewers in and pique their curiosity without, hopefully, insulting their intelligence”. (Creativity)
Strong reveiws for tonight’s HBO premiere of Cormac McCarthy’s Sunset Limited starring Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson, and directed by Tommy Lee himself.
Subject matter doesn’t get more profound than life and death, but, thanks to McCarthy’s writing and the two veteran actors, we’re completely drawn into the discussion, so much so that we’re taken by surprise as McCarthy careful injects another possible interpretation of the play’s set-up.
Both performances are terrific… Jones looks and acts appropriately tired. It would be easy to give in to the temptation to make White simply bitter and empty, but by keeping the character human, Jones makes his despair even more profound… Jackson may have the slightly more difficult job in that he has to avoid self-righteousness playing the “good guy,” but he more than meets that challenge. His is that TV rarity, a tour de force performance, rippling with energy, nuance, humor and passion. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Watching TCM’s tribute to 1939 today and noticing Thomas Mitchell played a key supporting role in every single movie that year. Struck by the fact that — as formidable as they are — both Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson shine brightest when they energize supporting characters. Check out the 2 polls after the cut to choose your favorites.
From Scott Feinberg via Jeff Wells, we learn the reason why there were no individual FYC ads for the supporting roles in The Fighter:
“because of a long-standing policy at Paramount, the film‚Äôs distributor (and presumably also because the studio doesn‚Äôt want to offend Adams, who is nominated in the same category as Leo) ‚Äî she has been been the subject of no solo ‚Äúfor your consideration‚Äù ads highlighting her as an individual. The same cannot be said for the two best supporting actress contenders from other studios‚Äô films, who have been heavily promoted as individuals.
As evidenced after the cut, that policy changed this week. Added value for Paramount: lots of extra publicity about the publicity.
One of those casting rumors we like to repeat because the internet makes it true. Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth are in talks to appear together in Stoker, a family suspense thriller by Korean director Park Chan-wook (Oldboys, Thirst). Scheduled by Fox Searchlight to begin shooting as soon as early this Spring, Stoker involves a girl and her mother who are visited by a mysterious uncle after the girl’s father dies. Local residents begin to go missing and the girl suspects her uncle may be the cause. (Shades of Shadow of a Doubt?) Colin would play the uncle with Nicole as the mother and Mia Wasikowska as the girl, India Stoker.
With all the surnames in the world to choose from, am I twisted for wishing that somehow these mysterious disappearances might somehow be related to creepy happenings explored by another Stoker over 100 years ago? Screenwriter Wentworth Miller says, Not quite:
It‚Äôs got a lot of elements of the Dracula mythology in its story… It‚Äôs not a vampire story. It‚Äôs not about vampires at least with the teeth and the desire to suck your blood but it is a thriller and it is about an individual who preys on the innocent.
The¬†nominee slate¬†of the 17th Annual Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film Awards is¬†topped this year by Winter’s Bone with eight mentions, including Best Movie, Director, Adapted Screenplay and three acting nods. The King’s Speech is sitting pretty, too,¬†with five nominations. Chlotrudis Award winners will be announced March 20, 2011.
Best Movie
I Killed My Mother
Jack Goes Boating
The King’s Speech
Mother
Undertow
Winter’s Bone
Best Director
Tze Chun – Children of Invention
Banksy – Exit Through the Gift Shop
Xavier Dolan – I Killed My Mother
Joon-ho Bong – Mother
John Cameron Mitchell – Rabbit Hole
Debra Granik – Winter’s Bone
