When watching “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone,” an image comes to mind of a secret cabal of horror writers, meeting in their private horror clubs, collectively raising their glasses and cursing the gosh-darned day that cellular phones were invented.
Cell phones, especially the “smart” ones, make many aspects of our lives more convenient. But for horror writers, they seem like a real pain in the rump. How do you strand someone in the middle of nowhere if they can call an Uber? How do you trap them in darkness if they always have a flashlight? How do you keep them ignorant of the plot when they can look up useful facts about demonology in an instant?
So many horror stories nowadays go out of their way to take phones out of the equation; take a drink whenever a character says they can’t get reception, and finish it if, for no rational reason,...
Cell phones, especially the “smart” ones, make many aspects of our lives more convenient. But for horror writers, they seem like a real pain in the rump. How do you strand someone in the middle of nowhere if they can call an Uber? How do you trap them in darkness if they always have a flashlight? How do you keep them ignorant of the plot when they can look up useful facts about demonology in an instant?
So many horror stories nowadays go out of their way to take phones out of the equation; take a drink whenever a character says they can’t get reception, and finish it if, for no rational reason,...
- 10/6/2022
- by William Bibbiani
- The Wrap
When it comes to predicting the Oscar winner for Best Film Editing, you can’t go wrong by looking for the movie with the most cuts. Past winners “The Bourne Ultimatum” (2008), “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2016) and “Ford v Ferrari” (2020) included high-octane action sequences with frenetic cutting. And a slew of other champs — including “Saving Private Ryan” in 1999, “Black Hawk Down” (2002), “The Hurt Locker” (2010), “Hacksaw Ridge” (2017) and “Dunkirk” (2018) — have been war pictures. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2021 Oscar predictions for Best Film Editing.)
Oscar voters also embrace film editors who skillfully juggle multiple storylines, as was the case with “Traffic” (2001) and “Crash” (2006). And they like films that expertly inter-cut music with images, such as “Cabaret” (1973), “Chicago” (2003), “Whiplash” (2015) and “Bohemian Rhapsody” (2019). Special effects extravaganzas like “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2004) and “Gravity” (2014) won by deftly blurring the lines between the real and the fantastic.
Historically, a...
Oscar voters also embrace film editors who skillfully juggle multiple storylines, as was the case with “Traffic” (2001) and “Crash” (2006). And they like films that expertly inter-cut music with images, such as “Cabaret” (1973), “Chicago” (2003), “Whiplash” (2015) and “Bohemian Rhapsody” (2019). Special effects extravaganzas like “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2004) and “Gravity” (2014) won by deftly blurring the lines between the real and the fantastic.
Historically, a...
- 3/4/2021
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
St. Louis Film Critics Announce 2020 Awards
The independent drama “Nomadland” has won four awards from the St. Louis Film Critics Association, including film, director, editing and cinematography.
After losing everything in the 2008 recession, middle-aged Fern (Frances McDormand) embarks on a journey through the American west in writer-director Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland.” Zhao also edited the film. Joshua James Richards earned Best Cinematography.
“Promising Young Woman,” writer-director Emerald Fennell’s social commentary thriller about toxic masculinity, was recognized for Carey Mulligan’s performance and Fennell’s original screenplay as well as soundtrack for a total of three awards.
Other multiple award winners included Pixar’s “Soul” for animated feature and music score by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste; Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” as best action film and visual effects; and “The Invisible Man” for best horror film and best scene in which the sisters meet to dine at a restaurant.
The independent drama “Nomadland” has won four awards from the St. Louis Film Critics Association, including film, director, editing and cinematography.
After losing everything in the 2008 recession, middle-aged Fern (Frances McDormand) embarks on a journey through the American west in writer-director Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland.” Zhao also edited the film. Joshua James Richards earned Best Cinematography.
“Promising Young Woman,” writer-director Emerald Fennell’s social commentary thriller about toxic masculinity, was recognized for Carey Mulligan’s performance and Fennell’s original screenplay as well as soundtrack for a total of three awards.
Other multiple award winners included Pixar’s “Soul” for animated feature and music score by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste; Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” as best action film and visual effects; and “The Invisible Man” for best horror film and best scene in which the sisters meet to dine at a restaurant.
- 1/29/2021
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Following our top 50 films of 2020 and more year-end coverage, we’re pleased to share personal top 10s of 2020 from our contributors.
Oh, where to begin? There’s usually so much to complain about. Yes, 2020 was rough. It was like if the second half of mother! was directed by three minions in a trench coat posing as McGruff the Crime Dog and then came to life. Even the film world was odd. Stuff got pushed to VOD. Studios delayed tent poles a year back in some cases. In what has to be the longest record since I was three years old, I haven’t been to a theater since March 12. I’m all but sure it’ll be more than a few months before it’s safe (or even possible) to see something again on the big screen, but getting this handful of movies is more than a nice consolation prize.
Oh, where to begin? There’s usually so much to complain about. Yes, 2020 was rough. It was like if the second half of mother! was directed by three minions in a trench coat posing as McGruff the Crime Dog and then came to life. Even the film world was odd. Stuff got pushed to VOD. Studios delayed tent poles a year back in some cases. In what has to be the longest record since I was three years old, I haven’t been to a theater since March 12. I’m all but sure it’ll be more than a few months before it’s safe (or even possible) to see something again on the big screen, but getting this handful of movies is more than a nice consolation prize.
- 12/31/2020
- by Matt Cipolla
- The Film Stage
The Chicago Film Critics Association has named Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” as this year’s big winner, netting five prizes, including best picture, director, actress (Frances McDormand), adapted screenplay and cinematography. Leading the Cfca nominations with seven, the Searchlight Pictures drama has performed astoundingly with the half dozen critics awards that have been announced thus far. Zhao is currently 6/6 for critics wins.
With two awards, Focus Features’ “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” walked away with best original screenplay for writer Eliza Hittman and most promising performer for Sidney Flanigan.
The rest of the honorees won a single mention for their respective films. Chadwick Boseman won best actor for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” while Paul Raci netted another trophy for “Sound of Metal.” Maria Bakalova’s work in “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” was also rewarded, marking her third win this season thus far.
The full list of winners are below:
Best Picture
“Da 5 Bloods...
With two awards, Focus Features’ “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” walked away with best original screenplay for writer Eliza Hittman and most promising performer for Sidney Flanigan.
The rest of the honorees won a single mention for their respective films. Chadwick Boseman won best actor for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” while Paul Raci netted another trophy for “Sound of Metal.” Maria Bakalova’s work in “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” was also rewarded, marking her third win this season thus far.
The full list of winners are below:
Best Picture
“Da 5 Bloods...
- 12/22/2020
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland” has earned seven nominations for 2020 honors from the Chicago Film Critics Association, followed by six each for Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods,” Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow” and Charlie Kaufman’s “I’m Thinking of Ending Things.”
David Fincher’s “Mank” and Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman” took five nominations each. With 28 nominations, Netflix is the most recognized studio, followed by Amazon with 16 and and A24 with 15. Zhao and Fennell each earned three nominations.
The Best Director category is comprised entirely of women and people of color with Fennell, Lee, Steve McQueen, Reichardt and Zhao. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross achieved a double nomination in the same category, earning Best Original Score nominations for their work in both “Soul” and “Mank.” The late Chadwick Boseman earned nominations for Best Actor in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and Best Supporting Actor in “Da 5 Bloods.”
The...
David Fincher’s “Mank” and Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman” took five nominations each. With 28 nominations, Netflix is the most recognized studio, followed by Amazon with 16 and and A24 with 15. Zhao and Fennell each earned three nominations.
The Best Director category is comprised entirely of women and people of color with Fennell, Lee, Steve McQueen, Reichardt and Zhao. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross achieved a double nomination in the same category, earning Best Original Score nominations for their work in both “Soul” and “Mank.” The late Chadwick Boseman earned nominations for Best Actor in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and Best Supporting Actor in “Da 5 Bloods.”
The...
- 12/18/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
The Boston Society of Film Critics awards is the precursor season “kickoff” for critics awards this year. The New England based group showed tremendous love for Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland,” which took home three awards for best picture, director and cinematography (Joshua James Richards).
Comprised of 26 film critics and journalists from the Boston city area, it offered a few inspired choices for the year’s favorite films and performances. 21-year-old Sidney Flanigan took the best actress prize for her debut turn in “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” from Eliza Hittman. You have to go back to 2008 when the group rewarded Sally Hawkins’ work in “Happy-Go-Lucky” for a winner that didn’t move on to an Oscar nomination.
Anthony Hopkins won his second career prize from the 39-year-old group in best actor for his outstanding performance in “The Father” from first-time director Florian Zeller, who also won best new filmmaker. Bsfc awarded...
Comprised of 26 film critics and journalists from the Boston city area, it offered a few inspired choices for the year’s favorite films and performances. 21-year-old Sidney Flanigan took the best actress prize for her debut turn in “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” from Eliza Hittman. You have to go back to 2008 when the group rewarded Sally Hawkins’ work in “Happy-Go-Lucky” for a winner that didn’t move on to an Oscar nomination.
Anthony Hopkins won his second career prize from the 39-year-old group in best actor for his outstanding performance in “The Father” from first-time director Florian Zeller, who also won best new filmmaker. Bsfc awarded...
- 12/13/2020
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Moments ago, the Boston Society of Film Critics revealed their award winners for the unique year that is 2020. As we enter a whole new section of the precursor season, with critics groups chiming in, we’re going to start to see who and what that element of the industry is partial to. Here, Bsfc went in some very interesting directions, though it’s clear there are some definite Academy Award nominees in the bunch. Like any good critics group, however, they’re not bound by just Oscar hopefuls. Nomadland took the top prize, but what else went down today in Boston? Read on to find out what they did… Nomadland took Best Picture, Best Director for Chloe Zhao, and Best Cinematography, leading the way with three wins. Also getting multiple citations were I’m Thinking of Ending Things and Minari, both winning two categories. Then, the single best win of the...
- 12/13/2020
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
The Family Fang director and star Jason Bateman on his screenwriter: "David Lindsay-Abaire … has a Pulitzer Prize on his mantle - for good reason." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
With Volker Schlöndorff currently filming Return to Montauk, co-written with Colm Tóibín (John Crowley's Brooklyn), starring Stellan Skarsgård, Susanne Wolff, Nina Hoss and Niels Arestrup of Diplomacy fame, Jason Bateman explained that his Baxter's Montauk shirt belongs to Christopher Walken's Caleb in The Family Fang, which co-stars Nicole Kidman with Maryann Plunkett, Jason Butler Harner, Kathryn Hahn, Marin Ireland, Michael Chernus, Jack McCarthy and Mackenzie Brooke Smith.
Fang siblings Annie (Nicole Kidman) and Baxter (Jason Bateman)
Based on Kevin Wilson's novel with music by Carter Burwell, (who received a Best Original Score Oscar nomination for Todd Haynes' masterful Carol) edited by Robert Frazen with a John Boorman-esque Deliverance potato cannon scene, The Family Fang is about when one discovers...
With Volker Schlöndorff currently filming Return to Montauk, co-written with Colm Tóibín (John Crowley's Brooklyn), starring Stellan Skarsgård, Susanne Wolff, Nina Hoss and Niels Arestrup of Diplomacy fame, Jason Bateman explained that his Baxter's Montauk shirt belongs to Christopher Walken's Caleb in The Family Fang, which co-stars Nicole Kidman with Maryann Plunkett, Jason Butler Harner, Kathryn Hahn, Marin Ireland, Michael Chernus, Jack McCarthy and Mackenzie Brooke Smith.
Fang siblings Annie (Nicole Kidman) and Baxter (Jason Bateman)
Based on Kevin Wilson's novel with music by Carter Burwell, (who received a Best Original Score Oscar nomination for Todd Haynes' masterful Carol) edited by Robert Frazen with a John Boorman-esque Deliverance potato cannon scene, The Family Fang is about when one discovers...
- 4/28/2016
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
"Argo" remains the Oscar-frontrunner! The Ben Affleck film was the big winner at the recently concluded 63rd Annual Ace Eddie Awards honoring outstanding editing in nine categories of film, television, and documentaries. "Argo" won the Dramatic category, "Silver Linings Playbook" for Comedy/Musical, "Brave" for Animated, and "Searching for Sugar Man" for Documentary.
Here are the complete list of nominees; for winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, click here:
Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic):
*** Argo
William Goldenberg, A.C.E.
Life of Pi
Tim Squyres, A.C.E.
Lincoln
Michael Kahn, A.C.E.
Skyfall
Stuart Baird, A.C.E.
Zero Dark Thirty
Dylan Tichenor, A.C.E. and William Goldenberg, A.C.E.
Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy Or Musical):
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Chris Gill
Les Misérables
Melanie Ann Oliver & Chris Dickens, A.C.E.
Moonrise Kingdom
Andrew Weisblum, A.C.E.
*** Silver Linings Playbook
Jay Cassidy,...
Here are the complete list of nominees; for winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, click here:
Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic):
*** Argo
William Goldenberg, A.C.E.
Life of Pi
Tim Squyres, A.C.E.
Lincoln
Michael Kahn, A.C.E.
Skyfall
Stuart Baird, A.C.E.
Zero Dark Thirty
Dylan Tichenor, A.C.E. and William Goldenberg, A.C.E.
Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy Or Musical):
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Chris Gill
Les Misérables
Melanie Ann Oliver & Chris Dickens, A.C.E.
Moonrise Kingdom
Andrew Weisblum, A.C.E.
*** Silver Linings Playbook
Jay Cassidy,...
- 2/18/2013
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
The American Cinema Editors (Ace) has announced the nominees of the 63rd Annual Ace Eddie Awards honoring outstanding editing in nine categories of film, television, and documentaries. We'll find out the winners on Saturday, February 16th.
Here are the complete list of nominees; for winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, click here:
Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic):
Argo
William Goldenberg, A.C.E.
Life of Pi
Tim Squyres, A.C.E.
Lincoln
Michael Kahn, A.C.E.
Skyfall
Stuart Baird, A.C.E.
Zero Dark Thirty
Dylan Tichenor, A.C.E. and William Goldenberg, A.C.E.
Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy Or Musical):
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Chris Gill
Les Misérables
Melanie Ann Oliver & Chris Dickens, A.C.E.
Moonrise Kingdom
Andrew Weisblum, A.C.E.
Silver Linings Playbook
Jay Cassidy, A.C.E. & Crispin Struthers
Ted
Jeff Freeman, A.C.E.
Best Edited Animated Feature Film:
Brave -- Nicolas C.
Here are the complete list of nominees; for winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, click here:
Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic):
Argo
William Goldenberg, A.C.E.
Life of Pi
Tim Squyres, A.C.E.
Lincoln
Michael Kahn, A.C.E.
Skyfall
Stuart Baird, A.C.E.
Zero Dark Thirty
Dylan Tichenor, A.C.E. and William Goldenberg, A.C.E.
Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy Or Musical):
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Chris Gill
Les Misérables
Melanie Ann Oliver & Chris Dickens, A.C.E.
Moonrise Kingdom
Andrew Weisblum, A.C.E.
Silver Linings Playbook
Jay Cassidy, A.C.E. & Crispin Struthers
Ted
Jeff Freeman, A.C.E.
Best Edited Animated Feature Film:
Brave -- Nicolas C.
- 1/12/2013
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
The nominees for the 63rd Annual Ace Eddie Awards was announced today. Ace, the American Cinema Editors, is an honorary society of motion picture editors founded in 1950. Film editors are voted into membership on the basis of their professional achievements, their dedication to the education of others and their commitment to the craft of editing. Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic): Argo William Goldenberg, A.C.E Life of Pi Tim Squyres, A.C.E. Lincoln Michael Kahn, A.C.E. Skyfall Stuart Baird, A.C.E. Zero Dark Thirty Dylan Tichenor, A.C.E. & William Goldenberg, A.C.E. Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy Or Musical): The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Chris Gill Les Misérables Melanie Ann Oliver & Chris Dickens, A.C.E. Moonrise Kingdom Andrew Weisblum, A.C.E. Silver Linings Playbook Jay Cassidy, A.C.E. & Crispin Struthers Ted Jeff Freeman, A.C.E. Best Edited...
- 1/11/2013
- by hnblog@hollywoodnews.com (Hollywood News Team)
- Hollywoodnews.com
If you care about the Golden Satellite Awards -- and you'd probably care more if they had a televised ceremony. Television is magic -- you should know that they went for The Social Network for 3 big prizes (Pic, Dir, Screenplay) and Inception for 3 important craft citations (Art Direction, Cinematography, Score) indicating that they liked it. They really did.
What would Mark Zuckerberg's totem look like? Would he notice the kick?Which makes their decision to snub it for the visual effects prize in favor of Eyesore in Wonderland all the more confusing.
Complete list of winners after the jump
Best Picture (Drama) The Social Network
Best Picture (Comedy) Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Best Picture (Foreign) The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Best Picture (Animated) Toy Story 3
Best Picture (Documentary) Restrepo
Best Director David Fincher, The Social Network
Best Screenplay (Original) The King's Speech
Best Screenplay (Adapted) The Social Network...
What would Mark Zuckerberg's totem look like? Would he notice the kick?Which makes their decision to snub it for the visual effects prize in favor of Eyesore in Wonderland all the more confusing.
Complete list of winners after the jump
Best Picture (Drama) The Social Network
Best Picture (Comedy) Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Best Picture (Foreign) The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Best Picture (Animated) Toy Story 3
Best Picture (Documentary) Restrepo
Best Director David Fincher, The Social Network
Best Screenplay (Original) The King's Speech
Best Screenplay (Adapted) The Social Network...
- 12/20/2010
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Noomi Rapace has come triumphant over Natalie Portman at 2010 Satellite Awards. The 30-year-old didn't get nominated at 2011 Golden Globes and SAG Awards like the "Black Swan" beauty, but managed to walk away with the Best Drama Actress in a Motion Picture title from the awards presented by the International Press Academy on Sunday, December 19.
The Swedish actress, who stars opposite Robert Downey Jr. in "Sherlock Holmes 2", won the awards thanks to her role as Lisbeth Salander in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Aside from Natalie, she also beat two other Golden Globes and SAG Awards contenders, Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Lawrence.
While Noomi took home Best Actress for Drama, "Love and Other Drugs" beauty Anne Hathaway nailed the Comedy or Musical category. The male counterparts saw "The King's Speech" star Colin Firth grabbing Best Drama Actor and "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" lead Michael Cera securing Best Comedy or Musical Actor.
The Swedish actress, who stars opposite Robert Downey Jr. in "Sherlock Holmes 2", won the awards thanks to her role as Lisbeth Salander in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Aside from Natalie, she also beat two other Golden Globes and SAG Awards contenders, Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Lawrence.
While Noomi took home Best Actress for Drama, "Love and Other Drugs" beauty Anne Hathaway nailed the Comedy or Musical category. The male counterparts saw "The King's Speech" star Colin Firth grabbing Best Drama Actor and "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" lead Michael Cera securing Best Comedy or Musical Actor.
- 12/20/2010
- by celebrity-mania.com
- Celebrity Mania
Less than a month after announcing the nominees of the 15th Annual Satellite Awards, the International Press Academy has unveiled the winners on December 19. Dominating the list in movie were "The Social Network" and "Inception" with three gongs each.
Continuing its glorious moment at awards shows this year, "Social Network" took the coveted best drama kudo. The film once again landed honors to David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin, for directing and adapting the story into a script respectively.
"Inception", which dominated the nominations list with eleven, took home best cinematography title. The sci-fi by Christopher Nolan was additionally honored for its Original Score as well as its Art Direction & Production Design.
"Alice in Wonderland" also got multiple prizes, one for costume design and the other for visual effects. "Toy Story 3", in the meantime, was picked as the Best Animated or Mixed Media by the International Press Academy.
Some stars...
Continuing its glorious moment at awards shows this year, "Social Network" took the coveted best drama kudo. The film once again landed honors to David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin, for directing and adapting the story into a script respectively.
"Inception", which dominated the nominations list with eleven, took home best cinematography title. The sci-fi by Christopher Nolan was additionally honored for its Original Score as well as its Art Direction & Production Design.
"Alice in Wonderland" also got multiple prizes, one for costume design and the other for visual effects. "Toy Story 3", in the meantime, was picked as the Best Animated or Mixed Media by the International Press Academy.
Some stars...
- 12/20/2010
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
This evening the International Press Academy announced the winners of the 15th Satellite Awards and The Social Network took home six wins including Best Picture (Drama), Director (David Fincher) and Adapted Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin). Additionally, Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim vs. the World took home the award for Best Picture (Comedy or Musical) and star Michael Cera won for Best Actor (Comedy or Musical), which makes for two awards giving the awards circuit a bit of a different flavor.
Anne Hathaway taking Best Actress in Comedy/Musical is a bit of a surprise over the ladies of The Kids are All Right and Noomi Rapace besting Natalie Portman, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicole Kidman in the Drama category is also a shift from the norm. It's almost as if they couldn't decide on any of the better performances and settled with the lesser ones. Rapace's performance, especially, is by no means Best Actress material.
Anne Hathaway taking Best Actress in Comedy/Musical is a bit of a surprise over the ladies of The Kids are All Right and Noomi Rapace besting Natalie Portman, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicole Kidman in the Drama category is also a shift from the norm. It's almost as if they couldn't decide on any of the better performances and settled with the lesser ones. Rapace's performance, especially, is by no means Best Actress material.
- 12/20/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
135 filmmakers and executives have been invited by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences to join its ranks. Recent Oscar nominees and winners such as Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Mo'Nique, Carey Mulligan, Jeremy Renner, Gabourey Sidibe and Christoph Waltz have been invited to join; but even "Saw's" Tobin Bell and "Avatar's" Zoe Saldana received invites.
New members will be "baptized" in an invitation-only reception in September at the Academy's Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study in Beverly Hills.
Here's a complete list of the 2010 invitees:
Actors
Tobin Bell -- "Saw," "The Firm"
Vera Farmiga -- "Up in the Air," "The Departed"
Miguel Ferrer -- "Traffic," "RoboCop"
James Gandolfini -- "In the Loop," "Get Shorty"
Anna Kendrick -- "Up in the Air," "Twilight"
Mo'Nique -- "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," "Phat Girlz"
Carey Mulligan -- "An Education," "Public Enemies"
Jeremy Renner -- "The Hurt Locker,...
New members will be "baptized" in an invitation-only reception in September at the Academy's Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study in Beverly Hills.
Here's a complete list of the 2010 invitees:
Actors
Tobin Bell -- "Saw," "The Firm"
Vera Farmiga -- "Up in the Air," "The Departed"
Miguel Ferrer -- "Traffic," "RoboCop"
James Gandolfini -- "In the Loop," "Get Shorty"
Anna Kendrick -- "Up in the Air," "Twilight"
Mo'Nique -- "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," "Phat Girlz"
Carey Mulligan -- "An Education," "Public Enemies"
Jeremy Renner -- "The Hurt Locker,...
- 6/27/2010
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
it's not Tuesday but it's time for a Top Ten anyway... as this is yesterday's news already!
AMPAS used to hide their membership roster like the vote tallies but in the information age, they've opened up. Now we get to see the whole list of new invitees each year. I wonder how they keep they're membership around 6,000 given how many people they invite annual. Maybe enough people reject the offer, stop paying their dues, or pass from this mortal coil each year to balance it out?
You can read the full list of recipients at Indiewire, but as is the Film Experience tradition, we like to pinpoint the newest (potential) members whose future ballots we'd most like to see. So let's have at it.
New Academy Member Ballots We Most Want To See
10 Bono & The Edge (music)
They're two separate people but we'd like to imagine them filling out their ballots together inbetween sets.
AMPAS used to hide their membership roster like the vote tallies but in the information age, they've opened up. Now we get to see the whole list of new invitees each year. I wonder how they keep they're membership around 6,000 given how many people they invite annual. Maybe enough people reject the offer, stop paying their dues, or pass from this mortal coil each year to balance it out?
You can read the full list of recipients at Indiewire, but as is the Film Experience tradition, we like to pinpoint the newest (potential) members whose future ballots we'd most like to see. So let's have at it.
New Academy Member Ballots We Most Want To See
10 Bono & The Edge (music)
They're two separate people but we'd like to imagine them filling out their ballots together inbetween sets.
- 6/26/2010
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
HollywoodNews.com: Adam Sandler is gearing up for the release of his new film, “Grown Ups,” and has just been announced as one of 135 artists selected to join the Academy.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 135 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures. Those who accept the invitation will be the only additions in 2010 to the Academy’s roster of voting members.
“The work of these individuals has been appreciated by moviegoers all around the world,” said Academy President Tom Sherak. “The Academy is proud to invite each and every one of them.”
The Academy’s membership policies would have allowed a maximum of 180 new members in 2010, but as in other recent years, the several branch committees endorsed fewer candidates than were proposed to them. Voting membership in the organization has now held...
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 135 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures. Those who accept the invitation will be the only additions in 2010 to the Academy’s roster of voting members.
“The work of these individuals has been appreciated by moviegoers all around the world,” said Academy President Tom Sherak. “The Academy is proud to invite each and every one of them.”
The Academy’s membership policies would have allowed a maximum of 180 new members in 2010, but as in other recent years, the several branch committees endorsed fewer candidates than were proposed to them. Voting membership in the organization has now held...
- 6/25/2010
- by HollywoodNews.com
- Hollywoodnews.com
Oscar winner Indian sound recordist Resul Pookutty has been invited to join the coveted Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences as a member. Along with Resul the invitation has been extended to 135 film professionals from around the globe that includes Christopher Walts (Inglorious Basterds) and Jacque Audiard (A Prophet). Resul was awarded an Oscar last year for Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire.
Members of the academy vote for the annual academy awards.
“The work of these individuals has been appreciated by moviegoers all around the world,” said Academy President Tom Sherak. “The Academy is proud to invite each and every one of them.”
The Academy’s membership policies would have allowed a maximum of 180 new members in 2010, but as in other recent years, the several branch committees endorsed fewer candidates than were proposed to them. Voting membership in the organization has now held steady at just under 6,000 members since...
Members of the academy vote for the annual academy awards.
“The work of these individuals has been appreciated by moviegoers all around the world,” said Academy President Tom Sherak. “The Academy is proud to invite each and every one of them.”
The Academy’s membership policies would have allowed a maximum of 180 new members in 2010, but as in other recent years, the several branch committees endorsed fewer candidates than were proposed to them. Voting membership in the organization has now held steady at just under 6,000 members since...
- 6/25/2010
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited 135 filmmakers and executives -- including such recent Oscar nominees and winners as Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Mo'Nique, Carey Mulligan, Jeremy Renner, Gabourey Sidibe and Christoph Waltz -- to join its ranks.
The Academy issued its annual invitation list Thursday.
The actor's portion of the list ranged from genre favorites like "Saw's" Tobin Bell to "Avatar's" Zoe Saldana, from "Sopranos" star James Gandolfini, whose film credits include "In the Loop" and "Get Shorty" to rising leading man Ryan Reynolds, who's appeared in "The Proposal" and "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."
An international sampling of directors made the cut: Among them France's Jacques Audiard, Argentina's Juan Jose Campanella, Denmark's Lone Scherfig and, from the U.S., Lee Daniels and Adam Shankman, the latter of whom co-produced the last Oscar show.
Oscar nominee "District 9" was well represented: Matt Aitken and Dan Kaufman...
The Academy issued its annual invitation list Thursday.
The actor's portion of the list ranged from genre favorites like "Saw's" Tobin Bell to "Avatar's" Zoe Saldana, from "Sopranos" star James Gandolfini, whose film credits include "In the Loop" and "Get Shorty" to rising leading man Ryan Reynolds, who's appeared in "The Proposal" and "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."
An international sampling of directors made the cut: Among them France's Jacques Audiard, Argentina's Juan Jose Campanella, Denmark's Lone Scherfig and, from the U.S., Lee Daniels and Adam Shankman, the latter of whom co-produced the last Oscar show.
Oscar nominee "District 9" was well represented: Matt Aitken and Dan Kaufman...
- 6/25/2010
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Cannes, In Competition
CANNES -- Oscar-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's first film as a director, "Synecdoche, New York", will mesmerize some and mystify others, while many will be bored silly. It's not a dream, Kaufman says, but it has a dreamlike quality, and those won over by its otherworldly jigsaw puzzle of duplicated characters, multiple environments and shifting time frames will dissect it endlessly.
Not bound for mainstream audiences, the hard-to-pronounce title, which sort of rhymes with Schenectady, N.Y., where it's set, will require careful nurturing to find its audience. That could take some time.
Philip Seymour Hoffman is perfect in the role of Caden Cotard, a regional theater director who wins a genius award that pays a vast fortune just as his artist wife, Adele (Catherine Keener), is leaving him because he has "disappointed" her.
From the Greek, meaning something that represents a bigger thing, as in the White House for the U.S. administration or Hollywood for the movie industry, "synecdoche" sums up what Caden creates to fill the gulf created when Adele takes their daughter to live in Berlin.
Determined to make a success, he takes over a vast building in which he plans to stage an ongoing drama with an enormous cast that ultimately matches and sometimes replaces what is happening in real life. He has a love affair with cheeky boxoffice clerk Hazel (Samantha Morton) and later casts lookalike Brit Tammy (Emily Watson) to play her in his never-ending show.
He hires beautiful actress Claire to play his wife and then marries her for real when Hazel falls for hunky Derek (Paul Sparks).
Visiting Berlin in real time, Caden discovers that his daughter Olive (Sadie Goldstein) has been more or less adopted by the very intense Maria (Jennifer Jason Leigh).
Time flies by in decades, though some characters age and others do not. Caden hires an actor named Sammy (Tom Noonan) to play him, and with two Hazels and two Cadens, life is bound to become even more confusing. Later, famed actress Millicent Weems (Dianne Wiest) joins the cast to play a maid, but when Tom dies she takes over the role of Caden.
None of this is easy to follow, and it requires concentration to stay up with all the changing characters and the many abrupt moves in all directions, but such is Kaufman's confidence as a filmmaker and his wonderful ability to write memorable dialogue that the converted will follow him anywhere.
Many scenes are flat-out hilarious -- Hazel lives in a house that is constantly on fire and filled with flames and smoke -- but the film has a deeply affecting aura of true melancholy. Mankind's knowledge of death and the unknowable depths of other people's minds are central to the story. Some sequences are simply there because it's the movies and movies should be fun, but others are both poetic and profound.
Disappointment and regret are key elements along with the muddled illusions, delusions and misapprehensions that afflict most of us. With his theatrical intellect, Caden is persuaded that in the world's population not one person is an extra; they are all the lead in their own story. Kaufman's ambitious and invigorating film finds that ineffably sad.
But before he closes with a scene of almost unbearable gravity, he gets in lots of gags including a series of titles Caden comes up with for his epic production, not the least of which is "Infectious Diseases in Cattle".
Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hope Davis, Tom Noonan. Director: Charlie Kaufman. Screenwriter: Charlie Kaufman. Producers: Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Sidney Kimmel. Director of photography: Fred Elmes. Production designer: Mark Friedberg. Music: John Brion. Costume designer: Melissa Toth. Editor: Robert Frazen. Executive producers: William Horberg, Bruce Toll, Ray Angelic.
Sales: Kimmel International.
MPAA rating R, running time 104 minutes.
CANNES -- Oscar-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's first film as a director, "Synecdoche, New York", will mesmerize some and mystify others, while many will be bored silly. It's not a dream, Kaufman says, but it has a dreamlike quality, and those won over by its otherworldly jigsaw puzzle of duplicated characters, multiple environments and shifting time frames will dissect it endlessly.
Not bound for mainstream audiences, the hard-to-pronounce title, which sort of rhymes with Schenectady, N.Y., where it's set, will require careful nurturing to find its audience. That could take some time.
Philip Seymour Hoffman is perfect in the role of Caden Cotard, a regional theater director who wins a genius award that pays a vast fortune just as his artist wife, Adele (Catherine Keener), is leaving him because he has "disappointed" her.
From the Greek, meaning something that represents a bigger thing, as in the White House for the U.S. administration or Hollywood for the movie industry, "synecdoche" sums up what Caden creates to fill the gulf created when Adele takes their daughter to live in Berlin.
Determined to make a success, he takes over a vast building in which he plans to stage an ongoing drama with an enormous cast that ultimately matches and sometimes replaces what is happening in real life. He has a love affair with cheeky boxoffice clerk Hazel (Samantha Morton) and later casts lookalike Brit Tammy (Emily Watson) to play her in his never-ending show.
He hires beautiful actress Claire to play his wife and then marries her for real when Hazel falls for hunky Derek (Paul Sparks).
Visiting Berlin in real time, Caden discovers that his daughter Olive (Sadie Goldstein) has been more or less adopted by the very intense Maria (Jennifer Jason Leigh).
Time flies by in decades, though some characters age and others do not. Caden hires an actor named Sammy (Tom Noonan) to play him, and with two Hazels and two Cadens, life is bound to become even more confusing. Later, famed actress Millicent Weems (Dianne Wiest) joins the cast to play a maid, but when Tom dies she takes over the role of Caden.
None of this is easy to follow, and it requires concentration to stay up with all the changing characters and the many abrupt moves in all directions, but such is Kaufman's confidence as a filmmaker and his wonderful ability to write memorable dialogue that the converted will follow him anywhere.
Many scenes are flat-out hilarious -- Hazel lives in a house that is constantly on fire and filled with flames and smoke -- but the film has a deeply affecting aura of true melancholy. Mankind's knowledge of death and the unknowable depths of other people's minds are central to the story. Some sequences are simply there because it's the movies and movies should be fun, but others are both poetic and profound.
Disappointment and regret are key elements along with the muddled illusions, delusions and misapprehensions that afflict most of us. With his theatrical intellect, Caden is persuaded that in the world's population not one person is an extra; they are all the lead in their own story. Kaufman's ambitious and invigorating film finds that ineffably sad.
But before he closes with a scene of almost unbearable gravity, he gets in lots of gags including a series of titles Caden comes up with for his epic production, not the least of which is "Infectious Diseases in Cattle".
Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hope Davis, Tom Noonan. Director: Charlie Kaufman. Screenwriter: Charlie Kaufman. Producers: Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Sidney Kimmel. Director of photography: Fred Elmes. Production designer: Mark Friedberg. Music: John Brion. Costume designer: Melissa Toth. Editor: Robert Frazen. Executive producers: William Horberg, Bruce Toll, Ray Angelic.
Sales: Kimmel International.
MPAA rating R, running time 104 minutes.
- 5/23/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This review was written for the festival screening of "Smart People".Sundance Film Festival
PARK CITY -- With a title such as "Smart People", this satiric film revolving around academia signals that its characters may be too smart for their own good. Intelligence plus too much specialized knowledge can leave people incapable of coping with life and frustratingly disconnected from family and friends. Come to think of it, what friends? But there's always family and two debuting filmmakers, novelist Mark Jude Poirier and award-winning commercial director Noam Murro, locate their comic mischief in the very core of family life.
The smart casting of Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Thomas Haden Church and "Juno's" hot young star Ellen Page in, seemingly, tailor-made roles, gives Miramax plenty of marketing hooks for its April 11 release. Reminiscent of the recent Sundance hit "The Squid and the Whale" in its depiction of a burnt-out academic and off-campus family disruptions, "Smart People" should attract similar adult audiences with the caveat that the smugness of some characters may be an initial turn-off.
For students at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, Professor Lawrence Wetherhold (Quaid) is a horror show: An acerbic widower who has lost interest in even his own specialty, Victorian literature, he is self-absorbed, demanding, arrogant, contemptuous of his students and grouchy as hell. He doesn't warm up one bit at home; nevertheless, he is a role model for his young daughter Vanessa (Page), who is already as friendless and conceited as dad. She is even a Young Republican. Older brother James (Ashton Holmes) lives in a dorm, presumably to escape the poisonous atmosphere at home and to keep his many secrets.
Into these lives come two "corrupters," characters who will undermine the pomposity of father and daughter and seduce them back to something resembling normalcy. A head trauma, the result of his own pig-headedness, sends the professor to ER where his doctor, Janet (Parker), is a former student who once had a crush on him. Naturally, he fails to remember her. Crashing the Wetherhold household without an invitation is Lawrence's financially challenged brother Chuck Church), a permanent adolescent whom Lawrence is careful to always refer to as his "adopted" brother.
The chief disappointment in Poirtier's screenplay is that while the affects these two will have on the family is wholly predictable, the writer never finds a way to trip up audience expectations. There's a hint of this in Vanessa's misreading of her uncle's seduction of her but mostly the dramatic course is too steady and true for surprises.
What exactly motivates Janet to rescue Lawrence from his self-destruction? She may have had a schoolgirl crush once, but she's a physician now, surely with more life experiences, and all the professor ever gave her was a C and a rude remark.
One would like to see what she sees him but Quaid doesn't make that easy. He's not a warm and fuzzy burn-out like Michael Douglas' character in "The Wonder Boys". That chip on his shoulder has given Lawrence a permanent slouch and the caustic manner feels like less like a facade than his real personality. Clearly though, something died within him when his wife passed. He even still hangs on to her wardrobe.
You do see why Uncle Chuck would take on the Vanessa reclamation project. She's too young to be so old. He wants to instill in her a rebellious streak and outlaw spirit before it's too late. Theirs is the more interesting relationship, which could've stood more development: It needed to go beyond smoking weed and underage drinking at a bar. And Page as an actress is too much a free spirit to be completely believable as a Young Republican.
On the other hand, Poirier is a master at dialogue. His script crackles with sharp lines and he gives all his scenes a splendid comic undertow. His characters arrive at their epiphanies -- despite Lawrence's denial he even had one -- with intelligence and logic.
For his part, Murro allows actors plenty of leeway to develop richly idiosyncratic characters, and for a commercial maker he shows a noble resistance to selling his story with slick images and quick cuts. He paces scenes well and lets the emotions filter through with no undue emphasis or contrivance. This is a solid feature debut for Murro.
Cinematographer Toby Irwin and designer Patti Podesta make a campus film that for once feels like one. They superbly use the real locales and smartly dress sets in ways that suit the autumnal tones of the color scheme.
SMART PEOPLE
Miramax Films
Groundswell Prods.
Credits:
Director: Noam Murro
Writer: Mark Jude Poirier
Producer: Bridget Johnson, Michael Costigan, Michael London, Bruna Papandrea
Director of photography: Toby Irwin
Production designer: Patti Podesta
Music: Nuno Bettencourt
Costume designer: Amy Westcott
Editors: Robert Frazen, Yana Gorskaya
Cast:
Lawrence Wetherhold: Dennis Quaid
Janet: Sarah Jessica Parker
Chuck: Thomas Haden Church
Vanessa: Ellen Page
James: Ashton Holmes
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
PARK CITY -- With a title such as "Smart People", this satiric film revolving around academia signals that its characters may be too smart for their own good. Intelligence plus too much specialized knowledge can leave people incapable of coping with life and frustratingly disconnected from family and friends. Come to think of it, what friends? But there's always family and two debuting filmmakers, novelist Mark Jude Poirier and award-winning commercial director Noam Murro, locate their comic mischief in the very core of family life.
The smart casting of Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Thomas Haden Church and "Juno's" hot young star Ellen Page in, seemingly, tailor-made roles, gives Miramax plenty of marketing hooks for its April 11 release. Reminiscent of the recent Sundance hit "The Squid and the Whale" in its depiction of a burnt-out academic and off-campus family disruptions, "Smart People" should attract similar adult audiences with the caveat that the smugness of some characters may be an initial turn-off.
For students at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, Professor Lawrence Wetherhold (Quaid) is a horror show: An acerbic widower who has lost interest in even his own specialty, Victorian literature, he is self-absorbed, demanding, arrogant, contemptuous of his students and grouchy as hell. He doesn't warm up one bit at home; nevertheless, he is a role model for his young daughter Vanessa (Page), who is already as friendless and conceited as dad. She is even a Young Republican. Older brother James (Ashton Holmes) lives in a dorm, presumably to escape the poisonous atmosphere at home and to keep his many secrets.
Into these lives come two "corrupters," characters who will undermine the pomposity of father and daughter and seduce them back to something resembling normalcy. A head trauma, the result of his own pig-headedness, sends the professor to ER where his doctor, Janet (Parker), is a former student who once had a crush on him. Naturally, he fails to remember her. Crashing the Wetherhold household without an invitation is Lawrence's financially challenged brother Chuck Church), a permanent adolescent whom Lawrence is careful to always refer to as his "adopted" brother.
The chief disappointment in Poirtier's screenplay is that while the affects these two will have on the family is wholly predictable, the writer never finds a way to trip up audience expectations. There's a hint of this in Vanessa's misreading of her uncle's seduction of her but mostly the dramatic course is too steady and true for surprises.
What exactly motivates Janet to rescue Lawrence from his self-destruction? She may have had a schoolgirl crush once, but she's a physician now, surely with more life experiences, and all the professor ever gave her was a C and a rude remark.
One would like to see what she sees him but Quaid doesn't make that easy. He's not a warm and fuzzy burn-out like Michael Douglas' character in "The Wonder Boys". That chip on his shoulder has given Lawrence a permanent slouch and the caustic manner feels like less like a facade than his real personality. Clearly though, something died within him when his wife passed. He even still hangs on to her wardrobe.
You do see why Uncle Chuck would take on the Vanessa reclamation project. She's too young to be so old. He wants to instill in her a rebellious streak and outlaw spirit before it's too late. Theirs is the more interesting relationship, which could've stood more development: It needed to go beyond smoking weed and underage drinking at a bar. And Page as an actress is too much a free spirit to be completely believable as a Young Republican.
On the other hand, Poirier is a master at dialogue. His script crackles with sharp lines and he gives all his scenes a splendid comic undertow. His characters arrive at their epiphanies -- despite Lawrence's denial he even had one -- with intelligence and logic.
For his part, Murro allows actors plenty of leeway to develop richly idiosyncratic characters, and for a commercial maker he shows a noble resistance to selling his story with slick images and quick cuts. He paces scenes well and lets the emotions filter through with no undue emphasis or contrivance. This is a solid feature debut for Murro.
Cinematographer Toby Irwin and designer Patti Podesta make a campus film that for once feels like one. They superbly use the real locales and smartly dress sets in ways that suit the autumnal tones of the color scheme.
SMART PEOPLE
Miramax Films
Groundswell Prods.
Credits:
Director: Noam Murro
Writer: Mark Jude Poirier
Producer: Bridget Johnson, Michael Costigan, Michael London, Bruna Papandrea
Director of photography: Toby Irwin
Production designer: Patti Podesta
Music: Nuno Bettencourt
Costume designer: Amy Westcott
Editors: Robert Frazen, Yana Gorskaya
Cast:
Lawrence Wetherhold: Dennis Quaid
Janet: Sarah Jessica Parker
Chuck: Thomas Haden Church
Vanessa: Ellen Page
James: Ashton Holmes
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 1/22/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sundance Film Festival
PARK CITY -- With a title such as Smart People, this satiric film revolving around academia signals that its characters may be too smart for their own good. Intelligence plus too much specialized knowledge can leave people incapable of coping with life and frustratingly disconnected from family and friends. Come to think of it, what friends? But there's always family and two debuting filmmakers, novelist Mark Jude Poirier and award-winning commercial director Noam Murro, locate their comic mischief in the very core of family life.
The smart casting of Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Thomas Haden Church and "Juno's" hot young star Ellen Page in, seemingly, tailor-made roles, gives Miramax plenty of marketing hooks for its April 11 release. Reminiscent of the recent Sundance hit The Squid and the Whale in its depiction of a burnt-out academic and off-campus family disruptions, Smart People should attract similar adult audiences with the caveat that the smugness of some characters may be an initial turn-off.
For students at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, Professor Lawrence Wetherhold (Quaid) is a horror show: An acerbic widower who has lost interest in even his own specialty, Victorian literature, he is self-absorbed, demanding, arrogant, contemptuous of his students and grouchy as hell. He doesn't warm up one bit at home; nevertheless, he is a role model for his young daughter Vanessa (Page), who is already as friendless and conceited as dad. She is even a Young Republican. Older brother James (Ashton Holmes) lives in a dorm, presumably to escape the poisonous atmosphere at home and to keep his many secrets.
Into these lives come two "corrupters," characters who will undermine the pomposity of father and daughter and seduce them back to something resembling normalcy. A head trauma, the result of his own pig-headedness, sends the professor to ER where his doctor, Janet (Parker), is a former student who once had a crush on him. Naturally, he fails to remember her. Crashing the Wetherhold household without an invitation is Lawrence's financially challenged brother Chuck Church), a permanent adolescent whom Lawrence is careful to always refer to as his "adopted" brother.
The chief disappointment in Poirtier's screenplay is that while the affects these two will have on the family is wholly predictable, the writer never finds a way to trip up audience expectations. There's a hint of this in Vanessa's misreading of her uncle's seduction of her but mostly the dramatic course is too steady and true for surprises.
What exactly motivates Janet to rescue Lawrence from his self-destruction? She may have had a schoolgirl crush once, but she's a physician now, surely with more life experiences, and all the professor ever gave her was a C and a rude remark.
One would like to see what she sees him but Quaid doesn't make that easy. He's not a warm and fuzzy burn-out like Michael Douglas' character in The Wonder Boys. That chip on his shoulder has given Lawrence a permanent slouch and the caustic manner feels like less like a facade than his real personality. Clearly though, something died within him when his wife passed. He even still hangs on to her wardrobe.
You do see why Uncle Chuck would take on the Vanessa reclamation project. She's too young to be so old. He wants to instill in her a rebellious streak and outlaw spirit before it's too late. Theirs is the more interesting relationship, which could've stood more development: It needed to go beyond smoking weed and underage drinking at a bar. And Page as an actress is too much a free spirit to be completely believable as a Young Republican.
On the other hand, Poirier is a master at dialogue. His script crackles with sharp lines and he gives all his scenes a splendid comic undertow. His characters arrive at their epiphanies -- despite Lawrence's denial he even had one -- with intelligence and logic.
For his part, Murro allows actors plenty of leeway to develop richly idiosyncratic characters, and for a commercial maker he shows a noble resistance to selling his story with slick images and quick cuts. He paces scenes well and lets the emotions filter through with no undue emphasis or contrivance. This is a solid feature debut for Murro.
Cinematographer Toby Irwin and designer Patti Podesta make a campus film that for once feels like one. They superbly use the real locales and smartly dress sets in ways that suit the autumnal tones of the color scheme.
SMART PEOPLE
Miramax Films
Groundswell Prods.
Credits:
Director: Noam Murro
Writer: Mark Jude Poirier
Producer: Bridget Johnson, Michael Costigan, Michael London, Bruna Papandrea
Director of photography: Toby Irwin
Production designer: Patti Podesta
Music: Nuno Bettencourt
Costume designer: Amy Westcott
Editors: Robert Frazen, Yana Gorskaya
Cast:
Lawrence Wetherhold: Dennis Quaid
Janet: Sarah Jessica Parker
Chuck: Thomas Haden Church
Vanessa: Ellen Page
James: Ashton Holmes
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
PARK CITY -- With a title such as Smart People, this satiric film revolving around academia signals that its characters may be too smart for their own good. Intelligence plus too much specialized knowledge can leave people incapable of coping with life and frustratingly disconnected from family and friends. Come to think of it, what friends? But there's always family and two debuting filmmakers, novelist Mark Jude Poirier and award-winning commercial director Noam Murro, locate their comic mischief in the very core of family life.
The smart casting of Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Thomas Haden Church and "Juno's" hot young star Ellen Page in, seemingly, tailor-made roles, gives Miramax plenty of marketing hooks for its April 11 release. Reminiscent of the recent Sundance hit The Squid and the Whale in its depiction of a burnt-out academic and off-campus family disruptions, Smart People should attract similar adult audiences with the caveat that the smugness of some characters may be an initial turn-off.
For students at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, Professor Lawrence Wetherhold (Quaid) is a horror show: An acerbic widower who has lost interest in even his own specialty, Victorian literature, he is self-absorbed, demanding, arrogant, contemptuous of his students and grouchy as hell. He doesn't warm up one bit at home; nevertheless, he is a role model for his young daughter Vanessa (Page), who is already as friendless and conceited as dad. She is even a Young Republican. Older brother James (Ashton Holmes) lives in a dorm, presumably to escape the poisonous atmosphere at home and to keep his many secrets.
Into these lives come two "corrupters," characters who will undermine the pomposity of father and daughter and seduce them back to something resembling normalcy. A head trauma, the result of his own pig-headedness, sends the professor to ER where his doctor, Janet (Parker), is a former student who once had a crush on him. Naturally, he fails to remember her. Crashing the Wetherhold household without an invitation is Lawrence's financially challenged brother Chuck Church), a permanent adolescent whom Lawrence is careful to always refer to as his "adopted" brother.
The chief disappointment in Poirtier's screenplay is that while the affects these two will have on the family is wholly predictable, the writer never finds a way to trip up audience expectations. There's a hint of this in Vanessa's misreading of her uncle's seduction of her but mostly the dramatic course is too steady and true for surprises.
What exactly motivates Janet to rescue Lawrence from his self-destruction? She may have had a schoolgirl crush once, but she's a physician now, surely with more life experiences, and all the professor ever gave her was a C and a rude remark.
One would like to see what she sees him but Quaid doesn't make that easy. He's not a warm and fuzzy burn-out like Michael Douglas' character in The Wonder Boys. That chip on his shoulder has given Lawrence a permanent slouch and the caustic manner feels like less like a facade than his real personality. Clearly though, something died within him when his wife passed. He even still hangs on to her wardrobe.
You do see why Uncle Chuck would take on the Vanessa reclamation project. She's too young to be so old. He wants to instill in her a rebellious streak and outlaw spirit before it's too late. Theirs is the more interesting relationship, which could've stood more development: It needed to go beyond smoking weed and underage drinking at a bar. And Page as an actress is too much a free spirit to be completely believable as a Young Republican.
On the other hand, Poirier is a master at dialogue. His script crackles with sharp lines and he gives all his scenes a splendid comic undertow. His characters arrive at their epiphanies -- despite Lawrence's denial he even had one -- with intelligence and logic.
For his part, Murro allows actors plenty of leeway to develop richly idiosyncratic characters, and for a commercial maker he shows a noble resistance to selling his story with slick images and quick cuts. He paces scenes well and lets the emotions filter through with no undue emphasis or contrivance. This is a solid feature debut for Murro.
Cinematographer Toby Irwin and designer Patti Podesta make a campus film that for once feels like one. They superbly use the real locales and smartly dress sets in ways that suit the autumnal tones of the color scheme.
SMART PEOPLE
Miramax Films
Groundswell Prods.
Credits:
Director: Noam Murro
Writer: Mark Jude Poirier
Producer: Bridget Johnson, Michael Costigan, Michael London, Bruna Papandrea
Director of photography: Toby Irwin
Production designer: Patti Podesta
Music: Nuno Bettencourt
Costume designer: Amy Westcott
Editors: Robert Frazen, Yana Gorskaya
Cast:
Lawrence Wetherhold: Dennis Quaid
Janet: Sarah Jessica Parker
Chuck: Thomas Haden Church
Vanessa: Ellen Page
James: Ashton Holmes
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 1/22/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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