The New York Film Festival is just begging. First up, Paul Greengrass’ exceptional Captain Phillips, surely one of the best film of the year, received a standing ovation at opening of the fest. Slight spoiler alert in the Hollywood Reporter’s take on the event:
At its conclusion, the film received a prolonged ovation — which turned into a standing ovation once a spotlight was placed on Greengrass and the Somali actors in a box above the rest of the audience (Hanks had to leave early) — from a crowd that included Sony Classics co-chiefs Michael Barker and Tom Bernard; the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Argo Chris Terrio, who’s writing a script for Greengrass now; and the Oscar-nominated actress Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who starred in Greengrass’ 1999 TV film The Murder of Stephen Lawrence.
The general sentiment among New Yorkers at the screening and the Harvard Club after-party — at which Greengrass and particularly the Somali actors were the center of attention — was that the film has a strong shot at scoring a best picture Oscar nomination and an even stronger shot at bringing Hanks his first acting Oscar nom in 13 years, particular for his work during the final minutes of the film, which left much of the audience in tears.
The two newcomers to the Oscar race will be Spike Jonze’s Her and Ben Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Many of the films that have been making the festival rounds will again show up in New York, Inside Llewyn Davis, All is Lost, Blue is the Warmest Colour, Nebraska. These films have, for the most part, been “vetted” already, meaning, they’ve been reviewed by critics and appreciated by audiences.
