Very Early Oscar Buzz
May 22nd 2007 06:59
The Oscars aren't announced until December even, but already there is buzz being generated as Oscar worthy films of all shapes and sizes drift onto the net. Sundance has come and gone and Cannes is presently in full swing. A swathe of virtually edible performances are on hand and the presence of the odd teaser trailer to show a glimpse of said upcoming brilliance is all that is needed to get the ball rolling. What follows is a very sketchy look at some of the upcoming films considered "serious" enough to warrant an Oscar nomination as at May 22, 2007.
It's early yes, but after last year's very predictable wins at the Academy can you really blame people for speculating so soon? At the very least it's time consuming enough to remove attention from the syndicate ridden, trilogy world that is the cinema at present.
BEST PICTURE CONTENDERS
American Ganster
Ridley Scott attempts to shrug off his last two bombs (Kingdom of Heaven and A Good Year) and make a serious political gangster movie about drug smuggling and Vietnam. Having Russel Crowe and Denzel Washington both star may not have been the best move as Big Russ is still the phone thrower from Down Under, but the story is electrifying and the word so far is nothing less than outstanding.
Lions For Lambs
Tom Cruise's comeback picture with Robert Redford (who also directs) and Meryl Streep thrown in to lend some credibility. It's about an investigation into injuries sustained by some US soldiers in Afghanistan that involves a congressman (Cruise), a journalist (Streep) and a professor (Redford). It sounds intriguing. There's just one problem and it's called Tom Cruise.
There Will Be Blood
A picture about a Texas oil clan that looks like a dark version of the TV series Dallas frankly and has a cast to die for including Daniel Day-Lewis in a role that is already turning heads, Little Miss Sunshine alum Paul Dano and Ciaran Hinds. It's about oil, and everyone is interested in dissing the oil industry, and it looks more about the performance than about the effects: win win.
The Other Boleyn Girl
A costume drama with an edge, this is the story of how sisters Anne (Natalie Portman) and Margaret Boleyn (Scarlett Johansson... shouldn't that be the other way around?) vied for the affections of King Henry VIII (Eric Bana) in order to secure the rise of their family's fortunes. As is well known, it all blew up in their faces. With a cast rounded out with Kristin Scott Thomas as Lady Elizabeth and sexy Jim Sturgess as the allegedly incestuous George Boleyn, sparks look set to fly. Still and all this film may die if it turns out to be all about the sex. In the meantime, how jealous is the world of Eric Bana right now?
Rendition
Another US "war against terror" movie this one is about a CIA agent (Jake Gylenhaal) who sees too much and decides he wants to do something about it. The presence of Meryl Streep, Reese Witherspoon, Alan Arkin and Peter Sarsgaard keep this firmly planted on the ground. It should be an intelligent, edgy thriller. Oscars away!
The Savages
It's On Golden Pond... but different. A pair of siblings played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney face growing familial responsibilities as they take chargs of the care of their ailing father. Now if this is suitably off the wall and darkly upbeat as with such masterworks as say Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind then it stands a real chance.
BEST ACTOR CONTENDERS
George Clooney in Michael Clayton
Clooney plays a "fixer" at a high powered corrupt law firm in NY. He doesn't want to be there but a series of unfortunate events and a great deal of debt have made him the company's bitch. A wrong turn in a high-stakes case he is heading causing a catalyst and, well... stuff happens! Action, drama, a few less explosions and a bit more sophistication and hey presto he has a real chance.
Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood
This is easily the most talked about performance by an actor in the US just now. An oil prospector with a mission and guts fights his way into the corrupt Texan oil market and makes one helluva splash! This could be his best performance yet and the subject matter is tailer made for an Oscar nomination!
Russell Crowe / Denzel Washington in American Gangster
Like The Departed it's going to be tough to see just who gets Best Actor and who gets Best Supporting. Will it be Big Russ as the cop? Or Denzel as the robber? Eitherway, these performances are winning a whole lot of buzz. Let's hope the Academy doesn't just do another Departed and not nominate either!
Richard Gere in The Hoax
The main problem with this contender is that he is Richard Gere - and that carries a stigma these days. However, the story is great and his performance is getting raves! Gere plays Clifford Irving, who sells a bogus biography of eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes to the press in the 70's. Great story, great cast, great performance, great chance... but he's still Richard Gere.
Jared Leto in Chapter 27
Leto is still establishing himself as one of "the" talented actors in Hollywood but this film gives him a rare chance to shine. He's playing Mark David Chapman - a.k.a. the guy who shot The Beattles John Lennon - in the lead up to the assassination. It's meant to be gripping! One problem: it co-stars Lindsay Lohan... ouch!
Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd
The greatest advantage this contender has is that he's Johnny Depp - and that carries a stigma these days. How long must one of our greatest actors wait to win a Best Actor Oscar? Well if you talk to Peter O'Toole... a long long time! This is a noteable part for Depp as it flies in the face of reality - he's playing a murderous barber. So what? No sweat! In a musical noted for the difficulty of its operatic score? Now there's a problem! Tim Burton directs, which may be an advantage, but Broadway fans are up in arms and nothing but perfection will do! If this screws up badly it could bring Depp down. No joke! If it works: he's a shoe in for an Oscar win.
BEST ACTRESS CONTENDERS
Cate Blanchett in The Golden Age
This is the long awaited sequel to the brilliant 1998 royal biopic Elizabeth. Cate was infamously robbed of the Oscar which went to Gwyneth Paltrow and the Academy clearly must be regretting that one by now! Problem with this nomination... there's an awful lot of Elizabeth the First's going around right now. Overkill? Check out the teaser trailer and tell me it doesn't give you goosebumps! She's a shoe-in for a nomination at least!!!!!
Meryl Streep in... well you name it!
Meryl is an Oscars favourite, snatching a nomination last year out of a line up for the ages and with four remarkable films on the board this year she HAS to get something! (1) Dark Matter, a story about a shooting on a uni campus. (2) Evening, an ensemble piece that looks set to shine. (3) Lions For Lambs, a political thriller with a killer role for Streep. (4) Rendition, which screams contraversy! My guess is Lions for Lambs or Evening.
Laura Linney in the Savages
Her co-star Phillip Seymour Hoffman is also a prime contender for Best Actor. But Linney is mysteriously minus-Oscar despite years worth of winning roles and this kind of film, eccentric yet touching comedy is her stomping ground - see also her nominated role in Kinsey. She is prime grist for this years Oscars mill and her award is LONG overdue.
Julie Christie in Away From Her
This film looks set to be a corker and the raves for Christie are just unending! Christie plays a woman institutionalised by her husband due to her severe alzheimers. Their relationship is confounded when she unknowingly transfers her affections to another man. Prime contender even though the release was very small. A concerted Oscars campaign will work wonders here, otherwise it may slip under the radar.
Marion Cotillard in La Vie En Rose (La Mome)
This picture has had European audiences raving from the first and Cotillard IS the picture. Her performance as the legendary French singer Edith Piaf is itself becoming legendary. The movie looks set for a Best Foreign Picture nomination while Cotillard might just make it to the Oscars! Foreign actresses are not popular with the Academy and so many times brilliance has been overlooked - but talent will out, and this is a biopic about a drugged out singer. Fingers crossed!
Catherine Keener in An American Crime
This film is the true to life story of Gertrude Baniszewski who cracked under the strain of caring for seven children. Having gone completely nuts - though she later claimed it was drugs - she slowly and with the help of her other children tortured a girl to death! This is a violent and unpleasant movie - but Keener is downright extraordinary. How many baths did she take afterwards to clean herself I wonder? I felt dirty just having watched her! Oscar loves those kind of movies!
So, there you have it. Something of a line up but by no means complete. Watch this space is all that can be said. Developments will follow...
It's early yes, but after last year's very predictable wins at the Academy can you really blame people for speculating so soon? At the very least it's time consuming enough to remove attention from the syndicate ridden, trilogy world that is the cinema at present.
BEST PICTURE CONTENDERS
Ridley Scott attempts to shrug off his last two bombs (Kingdom of Heaven and A Good Year) and make a serious political gangster movie about drug smuggling and Vietnam. Having Russel Crowe and Denzel Washington both star may not have been the best move as Big Russ is still the phone thrower from Down Under, but the story is electrifying and the word so far is nothing less than outstanding.
Lions For Lambs
Tom Cruise's comeback picture with Robert Redford (who also directs) and Meryl Streep thrown in to lend some credibility. It's about an investigation into injuries sustained by some US soldiers in Afghanistan that involves a congressman (Cruise), a journalist (Streep) and a professor (Redford). It sounds intriguing. There's just one problem and it's called Tom Cruise.
There Will Be Blood
A picture about a Texas oil clan that looks like a dark version of the TV series Dallas frankly and has a cast to die for including Daniel Day-Lewis in a role that is already turning heads, Little Miss Sunshine alum Paul Dano and Ciaran Hinds. It's about oil, and everyone is interested in dissing the oil industry, and it looks more about the performance than about the effects: win win.
Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johannson as the Boleyn sisters
A costume drama with an edge, this is the story of how sisters Anne (Natalie Portman) and Margaret Boleyn (Scarlett Johansson... shouldn't that be the other way around?) vied for the affections of King Henry VIII (Eric Bana) in order to secure the rise of their family's fortunes. As is well known, it all blew up in their faces. With a cast rounded out with Kristin Scott Thomas as Lady Elizabeth and sexy Jim Sturgess as the allegedly incestuous George Boleyn, sparks look set to fly. Still and all this film may die if it turns out to be all about the sex. In the meantime, how jealous is the world of Eric Bana right now?
Rendition
Another US "war against terror" movie this one is about a CIA agent (Jake Gylenhaal) who sees too much and decides he wants to do something about it. The presence of Meryl Streep, Reese Witherspoon, Alan Arkin and Peter Sarsgaard keep this firmly planted on the ground. It should be an intelligent, edgy thriller. Oscars away!
The Savages
It's On Golden Pond... but different. A pair of siblings played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney face growing familial responsibilities as they take chargs of the care of their ailing father. Now if this is suitably off the wall and darkly upbeat as with such masterworks as say Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind then it stands a real chance.
BEST ACTOR CONTENDERS
Clooney plays a "fixer" at a high powered corrupt law firm in NY. He doesn't want to be there but a series of unfortunate events and a great deal of debt have made him the company's bitch. A wrong turn in a high-stakes case he is heading causing a catalyst and, well... stuff happens! Action, drama, a few less explosions and a bit more sophistication and hey presto he has a real chance.
Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood
This is easily the most talked about performance by an actor in the US just now. An oil prospector with a mission and guts fights his way into the corrupt Texan oil market and makes one helluva splash! This could be his best performance yet and the subject matter is tailer made for an Oscar nomination!
Like The Departed it's going to be tough to see just who gets Best Actor and who gets Best Supporting. Will it be Big Russ as the cop? Or Denzel as the robber? Eitherway, these performances are winning a whole lot of buzz. Let's hope the Academy doesn't just do another Departed and not nominate either!
The main problem with this contender is that he is Richard Gere - and that carries a stigma these days. However, the story is great and his performance is getting raves! Gere plays Clifford Irving, who sells a bogus biography of eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes to the press in the 70's. Great story, great cast, great performance, great chance... but he's still Richard Gere.
Jared Leto in Chapter 27
Leto is still establishing himself as one of "the" talented actors in Hollywood but this film gives him a rare chance to shine. He's playing Mark David Chapman - a.k.a. the guy who shot The Beattles John Lennon - in the lead up to the assassination. It's meant to be gripping! One problem: it co-stars Lindsay Lohan... ouch!
The greatest advantage this contender has is that he's Johnny Depp - and that carries a stigma these days. How long must one of our greatest actors wait to win a Best Actor Oscar? Well if you talk to Peter O'Toole... a long long time! This is a noteable part for Depp as it flies in the face of reality - he's playing a murderous barber. So what? No sweat! In a musical noted for the difficulty of its operatic score? Now there's a problem! Tim Burton directs, which may be an advantage, but Broadway fans are up in arms and nothing but perfection will do! If this screws up badly it could bring Depp down. No joke! If it works: he's a shoe in for an Oscar win.
BEST ACTRESS CONTENDERS
This is the long awaited sequel to the brilliant 1998 royal biopic Elizabeth. Cate was infamously robbed of the Oscar which went to Gwyneth Paltrow and the Academy clearly must be regretting that one by now! Problem with this nomination... there's an awful lot of Elizabeth the First's going around right now. Overkill? Check out the teaser trailer and tell me it doesn't give you goosebumps! She's a shoe-in for a nomination at least!!!!!
Meryl Streep in... well you name it!
Meryl is an Oscars favourite, snatching a nomination last year out of a line up for the ages and with four remarkable films on the board this year she HAS to get something! (1) Dark Matter, a story about a shooting on a uni campus. (2) Evening, an ensemble piece that looks set to shine. (3) Lions For Lambs, a political thriller with a killer role for Streep. (4) Rendition, which screams contraversy! My guess is Lions for Lambs or Evening.
Laura Linney in the Savages
Her co-star Phillip Seymour Hoffman is also a prime contender for Best Actor. But Linney is mysteriously minus-Oscar despite years worth of winning roles and this kind of film, eccentric yet touching comedy is her stomping ground - see also her nominated role in Kinsey. She is prime grist for this years Oscars mill and her award is LONG overdue.
Julie Christie in Away From Her
This film looks set to be a corker and the raves for Christie are just unending! Christie plays a woman institutionalised by her husband due to her severe alzheimers. Their relationship is confounded when she unknowingly transfers her affections to another man. Prime contender even though the release was very small. A concerted Oscars campaign will work wonders here, otherwise it may slip under the radar.
This picture has had European audiences raving from the first and Cotillard IS the picture. Her performance as the legendary French singer Edith Piaf is itself becoming legendary. The movie looks set for a Best Foreign Picture nomination while Cotillard might just make it to the Oscars! Foreign actresses are not popular with the Academy and so many times brilliance has been overlooked - but talent will out, and this is a biopic about a drugged out singer. Fingers crossed!
This film is the true to life story of Gertrude Baniszewski who cracked under the strain of caring for seven children. Having gone completely nuts - though she later claimed it was drugs - she slowly and with the help of her other children tortured a girl to death! This is a violent and unpleasant movie - but Keener is downright extraordinary. How many baths did she take afterwards to clean herself I wonder? I felt dirty just having watched her! Oscar loves those kind of movies!
So, there you have it. Something of a line up but by no means complete. Watch this space is all that can be said. Developments will follow...
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