Oscar Watch 2005 - pre-awards discussion (1 Viewer)

[ChristopherBlig]

I even think History of Violence is still a solid contender...I still think it leaves an effect that stick with you afterwards and Viggo's performance (along with Maria Bello) are both worthy...this also goes for Cronenberg's direction and the art direction in the piece and lets not forget the lighting in this film that can make it a contender both in the aformentioned category and cinematography even though it's film Spherically...

We all don't know until we see the finished product

and I still think Mickey Rourke should be a Best Supporting Actor shot since no performance blew me away with such presence humor and feel than his as Marv...lets be honest everyone!!

 

[ZacharyTait]

I've seen Elizabethtown and while it is a good movie, there really isn't anything that I feel is Academy Award material. Quite a bit of the movie is good to fantastic, just nothing that makes me think that it should be nominated. Maybe Cinematography, but really nothing else.



The early word as far as I've read is that it is a contender on several fronts. Best Picture, Director, Actor (Ledger), Supporting Actor and Actress (Gyllenhaal and Williams), Cinematography, Editing, Score, etc. The critical reaction at Venice and Toronto was nothing short of adulation, with the exception of David Poland.

 

[Adam_S]

Family Stone just moved to December 16th from a mid-November release date. Looks like the film will be making an oscar push and it may get a change in advertising.

 

[Ray H]

So is it the right time to talk about the host yet?

 

[PaulP]

Surprised that there's so little faith in Crash, a film I believe will definitely be nominated for Best Picture, and I hope wins. Also obviously most other nominations, including direction, writing, cinematography, editing, score, song, various acting.

 

[Adam_S]

Breakfast on Pluto trailer

Crash will be a contender in the script and possibly supporting acto categories, the field is too crowded with fall releases for it to be a considered a legit contender for best picture at this point. However if an oscar campaign and buzz goes the right way it could be a possibility. If Weinstein were shepherding the movie it'd have a realistic chance at a nomination, but the Lion's Gate push is still somewhat of an unknown factor.

Adam

 

[Adam_S]

Movie City News is reporting that All The King's Men will be pushed back to 2006 and will not make this year's oscar season.

 

[Quentin]

Yep...story confirmed. All The King's Men is out of the race. Crazy.

 

[Adam_S]

Producers Trailer

Huge improvement over the apalling European trailer. Definitely starting to look stronger.

Memoirs of Geisha Trailer

no comment because I can't get the damned new quicktime to work and the 'regular' version of the trailer won't load, just a quicktime questionmark in its place.

 

[ChristopherBlig]

More hope for History of Violence...the effect of that film has not left me since...I have a feeling it'll have the same for Academy members as well especially the less is more approach Cronenberg administered on this film and the great performance by Viggo as well

 

[Adam_S]

Chronicles of Narnia full TRAILER!

Can you say 100 million dollar opening weekend? Easily if it's under 150 minutes.

 

[Adam_S]

Mrs. Henderson Presents trailer

Now only Munich remains an unknown, but we got a taste with the one sheet released today.

Jarhead comes out Nov. 4th and will probably have a Munich trailer attached.

 

[Nathan V]

I SWEAR I saw a trailer for a Stephen Frears movie in 2002 or so, about upper class UK, a comedy-drama-satire of sorts. I recognize the filming style in that Henderson trailer. But it isn't listed anywhere, not even on IMDB.

I'm surprised people aren't skeptical about narnia. Everyone I know is absolutely stoked. Isn't it going to suffer from LOTR comparisons?

The new Walk the line trailer looks terrific. I think this will engender favorable comparisons from the (overrated) Ray. The presence of a female lead will help BO.

Adam S, I don't know about that Producers trailer at all. I saw "lame remake that adds nothing new to original, not very exciting technically or otherwise, $32 opening weekend with average reviews." Am I crazy?

Breakfast on Pluto...hot damn, this looks great. Terrific trailer, threw me for a loop. I don't see any oscars though, although a screenplay nom could sneak in.

I just learned that History of Violence was shot entirely with 27mm wide angle lenses. I stupidly did not notice this either time I saw the film. Could help in generating a cinemtography nom, although in this year's crowded field, it isn't likely.

Saw GNGL. It took a while for me to get into this picture. It wasn't until about 2 days later that I realized how good it really is. It is so spare, so lacking in traditional bio/based on a true story elements, like episodic structure and set design fetishizing, and lacking even in traditional movie elements, like character development or a final set piece, that it's such a completely different movie-going experience that it's difficult to digest at first. The thread connecting the scenes is the ongoing event, or, as the characters see it, their work. This really is a film about people at work, and not much else (i.e. no personal lives, private struggles, etc etc). Sort of like Michael Mann's films, which almost always concern people and their jobs, except with all the character development taken out. Obviously,Striatharn's perf and Clooney's direction and choice of B&W are all pure brilliance. Great work by Stephen "Traffic" Mirrione and Robert "Magnolia" Elswit. Also, the characters actually talk like people in the 1950s! It's great. Really transports the viewer. I love how literate Murrow's dialogue is. A terrific departure from mainstream fare, with very important relevance today...despite all this, I'm still flummoxed over what the academy's going to think. Is Gwyneth Paltrow going to like this movie? I don't know. I can't see it. Then again, people like Clooney. And academy oldsters will remember the real Murrow, etc. In any case, it owns the cinematography category, and should own the editing and directing and acting (straitharn, lead) categories.

Great Munich poster.

Regards,
Nathan

 

[Nathan V]

On an unrelated note, this looks great, and would likely be a contender, but it's being shafted with a february release- "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada," directed by Tommy Lee Jones and written by the guy who wrote 21 Grams and Amores Perros. This was big at one of the festivals, though I forget which one.

Trailer: http://www.themoviebox.net/movies/20...ls/trailer.php

Regards,
Nathan

 

[Adam_S]

Mirrione would be very happy to hear that, most of the non-on-air dialogue was improved, and Mirrione said the hardest aspect of editing this film was sorting it out so that it sounded like the fifties because modern colloquialisms and phrasings would slip in during the improved scenes.

Most people are skeptical about Narnia in the big category because it's an animation director AND it stars children in all the leading roles AND it could suffer from LOTR comparisons and the thought that the academy has already awarded 'fantasy' and never needs to bother again, at least not two years later.

Being shot with all one lens isn't going to help it in cinematography, imo, but you never know.

There's a new Walk the Line trailer???!

Like your analysis of GNGL as a different type of film. I too warmed more towards the film after a day or two. I'd like to see it again.

The munich poster may be temp art.

 

[Quentin]

People DO like Clooney...but, right now the buzz seems to be all about his experiences on Syriana. I can't believe what the guy went through. Sounds brutal. If his performance hits, he will be a truly tough competitor because of the real life misery he dealt with.

 

[Quentin]

Press screenings of JARHEAD have begun and the buzz is poor...at least among my friends. Though, it seems Andrew Sarris liked it.

As I feared, a movie about apathy with little to nothing happening does not make for good drama.

EDIT: Looks like Poland really disliked it.

 

[Quentin]

Reading my post...it sounds like "the buzz is poor" means it is a bad film.

Not intended. More like, the buzz is...'meh'.

More specifically, maybe cinematography nod, support actor a longshot, not much else if anything.

 

[PaulP]

That link to the Narnia trailer doesn't work: here is a direct link:

http://movies.aol.com/movie_exclusiv...er_extra_large

And an even more direct one (right-click, Save Target As): http://pdl.stream.aol.com/aol/us/mov...rlr_02a_dl.mov

 

[Jose Martinez]

From the movies I've watched so far, here are my picks:

Best Picture
Crash
Cinderella Man
Munich
Walk the Line
King Kong

Best Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)
David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck)
Joaquin Phoenix (Walk The Line)
Russell Crowe (Cinderella Man)

Outside looking in:
Ralph Fiennes (The Constant Gardener)
Viggo Mortensen (A History of Violence)
Eric Bana (Munich)

Best Actress
Charlize Theron (North Country)
Gwyneth Paltrow (Proof)
Reese Witherspoon (Walk The Line)
Naomi Watts (King Kong)
Renée Zellweger (Cinderella Man)


Best Supporting Actress
Hope Davis (Proof)
Thandie Newton (Crash)
Maria Bello (A History Of Violence)
Frances McDormand (North Country)
Catherine Keener (Capote)

Best Supporting Actor
Ed Harris (A History Of Violence)
Terence Howard (Crash)
Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man)
Richard Jenkins (North Country)