Twilight New Moon has premiered in LA.
Are you an Edward or a Jacob? A Twi-Mom?
More importantly...
Don't you believe BUFFY would KICK EDWARD'S ASS?
Open Twilight Thread. Plus Buffy.
Spoilers okay. At this point everyone is assumed to have read ALL Twilight books. By all accounts New Moon (the movie) follows the book closely. If you don't want to be spoiled, don't read/comment.
H/T Salon: "Twilight" of our youth.
Showing posts with label Cinema. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cinema. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Buffy v. Edward
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
3rd Annual GNB Oscar Contest
81st Academy Awards
Sunday, February 22, 2009
LIVE 5 PT/8 ET ABC
GNB Contest Rules:
1. Submit your picks to jwe.sea@gmail.com by Sunday 2/22 @ 3 PT/6 ET.
2. Only email entries count. Comment entries don't count (although we invite you to repost your email entry in comments if you wish.)
3. You may only enter once. No making corrections once you've entered. People who submit a second entry or a correction are automatically disqualified. (If you can't follow the rules...)
4. The person who predicts the most Oscars, wins the contest.
5. Tie-breaker: Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Adapted Screenplay. In that order. And if two of you have ALL of those, well, damn! Then both of you win (even if we have to give one of you a different book.)
The contest winner gets a copy of The Big Show: High Times and Dirty Dealings Backstage at the Academy Awards. If you win, you'll need to provide us with a valid name, shipping address, telephone number, and email address, to receive the book.
We will announce the winner -- their real or GNB name -- within a week.
Good luck everyone.
Performance by an actor in a leading role
- Richard Jenkins in "The Visitor" (Overture Films)
- Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon" (Universal)
- Sean Penn in "Milk" (Focus Features)
- Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
- Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler" (Fox Searchlight)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
- Josh Brolin in "Milk" (Focus Features)
- Robert Downey Jr. in "Tropic Thunder" (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
- Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Doubt" (Miramax)
- Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.)
- Michael Shannon in "Revolutionary Road" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)
Performance by an actress in a leading role
- Anne Hathaway in "Rachel Getting Married" (Sony Pictures Classics)
- Angelina Jolie in "Changeling" (Universal)
- Melissa Leo in "Frozen River" (Sony Pictures Classics)
- Meryl Streep in "Doubt" (Miramax)
- Kate Winslet in "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
- Amy Adams in "Doubt" (Miramax)
- Penélope Cruz in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (The Weinstein Company)
- Viola Davis in "Doubt" (Miramax)
- Taraji P. Henson in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
- Marisa Tomei in "The Wrestler" (Fox Searchlight)
Best animated feature film of the year
"Bolt" (Walt Disney) Chris Williams and Byron Howard "Kung Fu Panda" (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount) John Stevenson and Mark Osborne "WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Andrew Stanton
Achievement in art direction
"Changeling" (Universal) Art Direction: James J. Murakami
Set Decoration: Gary Fettis"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt
Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Art Direction: Nathan Crowley
Set Decoration: Peter Lando"The Duchess" (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films) Art Direction: Michael Carlin
Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway"Revolutionary Road" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage) Art Direction: Kristi Zea
Set Decoration: Debra Schutt
Achievement in cinematography
"Changeling" (Universal) Tom Stern "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Claudio Miranda "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Wally Pfister "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company) Chris Menges and Roger Deakins "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Anthony Dod Mantle
Achievement in costume design
"Australia" (20th Century Fox) Catherine Martin "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Jacqueline West "The Duchess" (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films) Michael O'Connor "Milk" (Focus Features) Danny Glicker "Revolutionary Road" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage) Albert Wolsky
Achievement in directing
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) David Fincher "Frost/Nixon" (Universal) Ron Howard "Milk" (Focus Features) Gus Van Sant "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company) Stephen Daldry "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Danny Boyle
Best documentary feature
"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)" (Cinema Guild)
A Pandinlao Films ProductionEllen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath "Encounters at the End of the World" (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment)
A Creative Differences ProductionWerner Herzog and Henry Kaiser "The Garden"
A Black Valley Films ProductionScott Hamilton Kennedy "Man on Wire" (Magnolia Pictures)
A Wall to Wall ProductionJames Marsh and Simon Chinn "Trouble the Water" (Zeitgeist Films)
An Elsewhere Films ProductionTia Lessin and Carl Deal
Best documentary short subject
"The Conscience of Nhem En"
A Farallon Films ProductionSteven Okazaki "The Final Inch"
A Vermilion Films ProductionIrene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant "Smile Pinki"
A Principe ProductionMegan Mylan "The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306"
A Rock Paper Scissors ProductionAdam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde
Achievement in film editing
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Lee Smith "Frost/Nixon" (Universal) Mike Hill and Dan Hanley "Milk" (Focus Features) Elliot Graham "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Chris Dickens
Best foreign language film of the year
- "The Baader Meinhof Complex" A Constantin Film Production - Germany
- "The Class" (Sony Pictures Classics) A Haut et Court Production - France
- "Departures" (Regent Releasing) A Departures Film Partners Production - Japan
- "Revanche" (Janus Films) A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production - Austria
- "Waltz with Bashir" (Sony Pictures Classics) A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production - Israel
Achievement in makeup
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Greg Cannom "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O'Sullivan "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" (Universal) Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Alexandre Desplat "Defiance" (Paramount Vantage) James Newton Howard "Milk" (Focus Features) Danny Elfman "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) A.R. Rahman "WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Thomas Newman
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
"Down to Earth" from "WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman
Lyric by Peter Gabriel"Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Music by A.R. Rahman
Lyric by Gulzar"O Saya" from "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam
Best motion picture of the year
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
A Kennedy/Marshall ProductionKathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers "Frost/Nixon" (Universal)
A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title ProductionBrian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers "Milk" (Focus Features)
A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company ProductionDan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company)
A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH ProductionNominees to be determined "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight)
A Celador Films ProductionChristian Colson, Producer
Best animated short film
"La Maison en Petits Cubes"
A Robot Communications ProductionKunio Kato "Lavatory - Lovestory"
A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company ProductionKonstantin Bronzit "Oktapodi" (Talantis Films)
A Gobelins, L'école de l'image ProductionEmud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand "Presto" (Walt Disney)
A Pixar Animation Studios ProductionDoug Sweetland "This Way Up"
A Nexus ProductionAlan Smith and Adam Foulkes
Best live action short film
"Auf der Strecke (On the Line)" (Hamburg Shortfilmagency)
An Academy of Media Arts Cologne ProductionReto Caffi "Manon on the Asphalt" (La Luna Productions)
A La Luna ProductionElizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont "New Boy" (Network Ireland Television)
A Zanzibar Films ProductionSteph Green and Tamara Anghie "The Pig"
An M & M ProductionTivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh "Spielzeugland (Toyland)"
A Mephisto Film ProductionJochen Alexander Freydank
Achievement in sound editing
"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Richard King "Iron Man" (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment) Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Tom Sayers "WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood "Wanted" (Universal) Wylie Stateman
Achievement in sound mixing
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty "WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt "Wanted" (Universal) Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt
Achievement in visual effects
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin "Iron Man" (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment) John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan
Adapted screenplay
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Screenplay by Eric Roth
Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord"Doubt" (Miramax) Written by John Patrick Shanley "Frost/Nixon" (Universal) Screenplay by Peter Morgan "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company) Screenplay by David Hare "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy
Original screenplay
"Frozen River" (Sony Pictures Classics) Written by Courtney Hunt "Happy-Go-Lucky" (Miramax) Written by Mike Leigh "In Bruges" (Focus Features) Written by Martin McDonagh "Milk" (Focus Features) Written by Dustin Lance Black "WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon
Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Sunday Open Thread
Belgian Waffles With Strawberries. New Year's Day, 2006.
I can haz waffle?
Am hungry. Hungry hungry hungry.
May wake up Kyle and her girlfriends, head to the diner and eat EVERYTHING.
What's your food situation like, hmmmm?
Weather?
Music?
DVDs? (Watching John McClain DIE HARDER. No one dies harder than John McClain.)
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Preview: May 8, 2009
Star Trek Trailer
Whadda ya think? Go nuts.
"I remember when..." OPEN THREAD.
Okay kids...
Who is the biggest total geek?
Been to the most conventions, including Buffy conventions, and so on?
First gone/has gone to (the most) conventions in costume? Descriptions/photos?
Has the greatest command of Star Trek/Science Fiction trivia?
Speaks Klingon?
If a Middle-Earth dwarf, an elf, and a Klingon all found themselves fighting for control of an abandoned planet, while the Enterprise wasn't due back for a week, who would win? What if Spock and Kirk were also in the fight? What if Kirk were distracted by a beautiful yet evil woman who kept kissing him?
(Insert your own insane question here...)
May 8th is under six months away. Enjoy.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Goodbye Mr. Newman
Paul Newman: 1925 - 2008
Paul Newman died of cancer yesterday, September 26, at his home in Westport, Connecticut. He was 83.
Mr. Newman is survived by his wife of 50 years, Joanne Newman, five daughters, and a number of grandchildren. The Newman's only son, Scott, died in 1978 of an accidental drug overdose.
I was about to post this up -- have been working on it now for hours -- and I just realized I forgot to write anything about Mr. Newman's Academy Awards. In retrospect, while they seemed to have mattered at the time, I'm glad about them really only for the pleasure the awards must have brought him at the time, for the opportunities they placed in his path, hopefully for the joy they may in the future bring his family as they recognize how his peers honored his craft, and as a symbol to all young actors learning their craft which says, "This. Watch this. THIS is how it is done." With 10 Academy Award nominations, one win, one honorary Oscar, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, Mr. Newman was one of the most honored members of the Academy of all actors in recent memory. His wife, Joanne Woodward, has also been nominated by the Academy four times (including once when directed by her husband), winning once.
In well over 50 years, I am certain it was the journey and the people met along the way which were most valued, not the awards earned. Which is not to say that the awards were not valued, I am certain they were. At the time, I remember how much the Oscar for The Color of Money meant to Mr. Newman, to finally win a competitive Academy Award after so many nominations. He had even refused to show up -- politely of course, sending word he still hoped to win one in person -- when he was honored with an honorary Oscar. It took a while... a LONG while... but a number of nominations later, Mr. Newman had his very own, competitive Oscar. *smiles* And even nominations to follow.
Still, what I remember most about Mr. Newman is not his movies or his Oscars. Or even his timeless marriage, which, even with its ups and downs, clearly put family first and without question, women were equal in THAT home, long before they were in the rest of the country.
What I remember most about Mr. Newman is how gracious he always was. It did not matter to him if someone was a star, a day player, a grip, a star-struck fan, a waitress or waiter, or simply an ordinary woman or man trying to earn a living. Mr. Newman was kind and warm to everyone. He especially loved children.
What I hate about writing this is, it sounds like the kind of crap one writes in a hagiography, as if I am in the bag for Newman.
1. There are worse people to be in the bag for, than Paul Newman. And
2. Every word of this is the Gods' straight truth.
Newman sounds too good to be true, because in my life, I've only met one or two people like Paul Newman. He was the Real Deal. He came from The Greatest Generation, and truly he was great.
Rather than spend more time writing about Mr. Newman, instead I am simply going to put up some images and let you remember... Paul Newman.
Paul Newman. Cool Hand Luke. 1967. photo Warner Brothers.
Cool Hand Luke
Paul Newman & Katherine Ross. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. 1969.
photo 20th Century Fox.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Paul Newman & Robert Redford. The Sting. 1973. photo Universal.
The Sting
Paul Newman & Elizabeth Taylor. Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. 1958. photo MGM.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Paul Newman directs wife and star Joanne Woodward to Oscar nomination. Rachel, Rachel.
1968. photo Warner Brothers.
Rachel, Rachel
Paul Newman & Sally Fields. Absence Of Malice. 1981. photo Columbia.
Absence of Malice
Paul Newman. The Verdict. 2002. photo 20th Century Fox.
The Verdict
Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, & Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. The Color of Money. 1986.
photo Touchstone.
The Color of Money
Paul Newman & Tom Cruise. The Color of Money,
promo cover with Academy Award sticker. 1987.
The Color of Money
Paul Newman. Founder, The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp.
photo HitWG, date unknown.
Hole-in-the-Wall Gang Camp
Mr. Newman was a wonderful man.
The world was richer for his life and art.
I will miss him.
My condolences to his family.
Tat Tavm Asi.
Mr. Newman highest art was his taking care of others.
Newman’s Own
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Spike Lee on Filmmaking and Diversity
Spike Lee. March 26, the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
Too wonderful not to share.
h/t The Hollywood Reporter.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Tracy Flick for President
(For 2008 only, the part of Tracy Flick, normally played by Reese Witherspoon, will be played by Hillary Clinton.)
Let's have a nice round of applause for our understudy, Ms. Clinton.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Academy Award Open Thread
80th Annual Academy Awards
Oscar.com
5 PT/8 ET ABC. Jon Stewart hosts.
People are walking down the red carpet. It's raining, but there's a huge canopy over the carpet. People look wonderful, darling.
Open thread. Enjoy the Oscars.
Monday, February 11, 2008
LOTR lawsuit or How greed is ruining our chances to see a great version of the Hobbit, my precious...
New Line cinemas is in big trouble for sitting like the dragon Smaug, on the big pile of cash that they made on the three Lord of the Rings movies. According to their license agreements they were to pay 7.5% of profits -- but in a Mordor-like fashion they have never paid more than the original deposit of 62K at the start of the project, even though the films grossed billions world wide. (All three are in the top 25 highest grossing films of all time domestically.)
According to ABC news:
The estate of "Lord of the Rings" creator J.R.R. Tolkien is suing the film studio that released the trilogy based on his books, claiming the company hasn't paid it a penny from the estimated $6 billion the films have grossed worldwide.
The suit, filed Monday, claims New Line was required to pay 7.5 percent of gross receipts to Tolkien's estate and other plaintiffs, who contend they only received an upfront payment of $62,500 for the three movies before production began.
The real rub in all this is that until the issue is resolved, the trust is pulling the plug on future projects -- which right now means that my beloved Hobbit might never get made.
...unspecified punitive damages and a court order giving the Tolkien estate the right to terminate any rights New Line may have to make films based on other works by the author, including "The Hobbit."
Such an order would scuttle plans by New Line to make a two-film prequel based on "The Hobbit." "Rings" trilogy director Peter Jackson has already signed on to serve as executive producer on the project...
The Tolkien trustees do not file lawsuits lightly, and have tried unsuccessfully to resolve their claims out of court," Steven Maier, an attorney for the Tolkien estate based in Britain, said in a statement. "New Line has not paid the plaintiffs even one penny of its contractual share of gross receipts despite the billions of dollars of gross revenue generated by these wildly successful motion pictures.
This kind of stuff kills me. You agreed and now you are not paying for someone's creative work. I know JRR is not around anymore, but the deal with the estate was signed and sealed. I can't imagine what justification New Line could give for sitting on the big ole pile of gold this way. Will it take The Battle of 5 Armies to get this settled, while the rest of us watch the Lonely Mountain in sadness?
Get it together boys and girls. We fans are counting on you.
Passings...
Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA), Actor Roy Scheider, Dead.
Congressman Tom Lantos, a Holocaust survivor, died Monday at Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Maryland of cancer of the esophagus.
Actor Roy Scheider died at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital in Little Rock of multiple myeloma.
Associated Press
Tom Lantos
Lantos, who chaired the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was serving his 14th term in Congress. He had said he would not seek re-election in his Northern California district, which takes in the southwest portion of San Francisco and suburbs to the south.
Lantos assumed his committee chairmanship when Democrats retook control of Congress. He said at the time that in a sense his whole life had been a preparation for the job — and it was.
Lantos, who called himself "an American by choice," was born to Jewish parents in Budapest, Hungary, and was 16 when Adolf Hitler occupied Hungary in 1944. He survived by escaping twice from a forced labor camp and coming under the protection of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who used his official status to save thousands of Hungarian Jews.
Lantos' mother and much of his family perished in the Holocaust.
That background gave Lantos a unique moral authority that he used to speak out on foreign policy issues, sometimes courting controversy. He advocated for human rights in Sudan, Myanmar and elsewhere, and in 2006 was one of five members of Congress arrested outside the Sudanese Embassy protesting what the Bush administration describes as genocide in Darfur.
Flags at the White House and Capitol were lowered to half-staff in Lantos' honor. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., both delivered remembrances on the Senate floor.
Lantos was elected to the House in 1980. He founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1983. In early 2004 he led the first congressional delegation to Libya in more than 30 years, met personally with Moammar Gadhafi and urged the administration to show "good faith" to the North African leader in his pledge to abandon his nuclear weapons programs. Later that year, Bush lifted sanctions against Libya.
In October 2007, as Foreign Affairs chairman, Lantos defied administration opposition by moving through his committee a measure that would have recognized the World War I-era killings of Armenians as a genocide, something strongly opposed by Turkey. The bill has not passed the House.
"(Lantos) saw his survival from the camps in Europe as a reason to devote his life to help victims of discrimination, oppression and persecution everywhere," said Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, a close friend. "He was outspoken in whatever he did."
"It is only in the United States that a penniless survivor of the Holocaust and a fighter in the anti-Nazi underground could have received an education, raised a family and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a member of Congress," Lantos said upon announcing his retirement last month.
The Huffington PostRest in peace guys.
Roy Scheider
He was nominated for a best-supporting actor Oscar in 1971's "The French Connection" in which he played the police partner of Oscar winner Gene Hackman and for best-actor for 1979's "All That Jazz," the autobiographical Bob Fosse film.
However, he was best known for his role in Steven Spielberg's 1975 film, "Jaws," the enduring classic about a killer shark terrorizing beachgoers and well as millions of moviegoers.
Widely hailed as the film that launched the era of the Hollywood blockbuster, it was also the first movie to earn $100 million at the box office. Scheider starred with Richard Dreyfuss, who played an oceanographer.
"He was a wonderful guy. He was what I call 'a knockaround actor,'" Dreyfuss told The Associated Press on Sunday.
"A 'knockaround actor' to me is a compliment that means a professional that lives the life of a professional actor and doesn't' yell and scream at the fates and does his job and does it as well as he can," he said.
In 2005, one of Scheider's most famous lines in the movie _ "You're gonna need a bigger boat" _ was voted No. 35 on the American Film Institute's list of best quotes from U.S. movies.
[Dreyfuss] added that Scheider "was a pretty civilized human being _ you can't ask for much more than that."
Thanks for all your work. There's more...
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Oscar: Nominations
80th Academy Awards - Nominations
The Oscars -- Official Website (Will eventually include trailers, & other nifty stuff.)
Trailers for Nominated Films -- Apple
LIVE Telecast: Sunday, February 24, 2008
Performance by an actor in a leading roleGeorge Clooney in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)
Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Johnny Depp in "Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Tommy Lee Jones in "In the Valley of Elah" (Warner Independent)
Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises" (Focus Features)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Casey Affleck in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (Warner Bros.)
Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Charlie Wilson's War" (Universal)
Hal Holbrook in "Into the Wild" (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment)
Tom Wilkinson in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal)
Julie Christie in "Away from Her" (Lionsgate)
Marion Cotillard in "La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse)
Laura Linney in "The Savages" (Fox Searchlight)
Ellen Page in "Juno" (Fox Searchlight)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Cate Blanchett in "I'm Not There" (The Weinstein Company)
Ruby Dee in "American Gangster" (Universal)
Saoirse Ronan in "Atonement" (Focus Features)
Amy Ryan in "Gone Baby Gone" (Miramax)
Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)
Best animated feature film of the year
"Persepolis" (Sony Pictures Classics): Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney): Brad Bird
"Surf's Up" (Sony Pictures Releasing): Ash Brannon and Chris Buck
Achievement in art direction
"American Gangster" (Universal): Art Direction: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Beth A. Rubino
"Atonement" (Focus Features): Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
"The Golden Compass" (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners): Art Direction: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
"Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount): Art Direction: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Art Direction: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson
Achievement in cinematography
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (Warner Bros.): Roger Deakins
"Atonement" (Focus Features): Seamus McGarvey
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn): Janusz Kaminski
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Roger Deakins
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Robert Elswit
Achievement in costume design
"Across the Universe" (Sony Pictures Releasing) Albert Wolsky
"Atonement" (Focus Features) Jacqueline Durran
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal) Alexandra Byrne
"La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse) Marit Allen
"Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount) Colleen Atwood
Achievement in directing
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Julian Schnabel
"Juno" (Fox Searchlight), Jason Reitman
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.), Tony Gilroy
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax), Paul Thomas Anderson
Best documentary feature
"No End in Sight" (Magnolia Pictures) A Representational Pictures Production: Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
"Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience" (The Documentary Group) A Documentary Group Production: Richard E. Robbins
"Sicko" (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company) A Dog Eat Dog Films Production: Michael Moore and Meghan O'Hara
"Taxi to the Dark Side" (THINKFilm) An X-Ray Production: Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
"War/Dance" (THINKFilm) A Shine Global and Fine Films Production: Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine
Best documentary short subject
"Freeheld" A Lieutenant Films Production: Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth
"La Corona (The Crown)" A Runaway Films and Vega Films Production: Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega
"Salim Baba" A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke Production: Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello
"Sari's Mother" (Cinema Guild) A Daylight Factory Production: James Longley
Achievement in film editing
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal): Christopher Rouse
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn): Juliette Welfling
"Into the Wild" (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment): Jay Cassidy
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roderick Jaynes
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Dylan Tichenor
Best foreign language film of the year
"Beaufort" Israel
"The Counterfeiters" Austria
"Katyn" Poland
"Mongol" Kazakhstan
"12" Russia
Achievement in makeup
"La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse) Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
"Norbit" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount): Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Walt Disney): Ve Neill and Martin Samuel
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
"Atonement" (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli
"The Kite Runner" (DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Participant Productions, Distributed by Paramount Classics): Alberto Iglesias
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.) James Newton Howard
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino
"3:10 to Yuma" (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
"Falling Slowly" from "Once" (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and: Marketa Irglova
"Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
"Raise It Up" from "August Rush" (Warner Bros.): Nominees to be determined
"So Close" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
"That's How You Know" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
Best motion picture of the year
"Atonement" (Focus Features) A Working Title Production: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster, Producers
"Juno" (Fox Searchlight) A Dancing Elk Pictures, LLC Production: Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith, Producers
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.) A Clayton Productions, LLC Production: Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent, Producers
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production: Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) A JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production: JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, Producers
Best animated short film
"I Met the Walrus" A Kids & Explosions Production: Josh Raskin
"Madame Tutli-Putli" (National Film Board of Canada) A National Film Board of Canada Production Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
"Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)" (Premium Films) A BUF Compagnie Production Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse
"My Love (Moya Lyubov)" (Channel One Russia) A Dago-Film Studio, Channel One Russia and Dentsu Tec Production Alexander Petrov
"Peter & the Wolf" (BreakThru Films) A BreakThru Films/Se-ma-for Studios Production Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman
Best live action short film
"At Night" A Zentropa Entertainments 10 Production: Christian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth
"Il Supplente (The Substitute)" (Sky Cinema Italia) A Frame by Frame Italia Production: Andrea Jublin
"Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)" (Premium Films) A Karé Production: Philippe Pollet-Villard
"Tanghi Argentini" (Premium Films) An Another Dimension of an Idea Production: Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans
"The Tonto Woman" A Knucklehead, Little Mo and Rose Hackney Barber Production: Daniel Barber and Matthew Brown
Achievement in sound editing
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal): Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Skip Lievsay
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney): Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Matthew Wood
"Transformers" (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins
Achievement in sound mixing
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal) Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney): Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane
"3:10 to Yuma" (Lionsgate): Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe
"Transformers" (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin
Achievement in visual effects
"The Golden Compass" (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners): Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Walt Disney): John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
"Transformers" (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier
Adapted screenplay
"Atonement" (Focus Features), Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
"Away from Her" (Lionsgate), Written by Sarah Polley
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax), Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson
Original screenplay
"Juno" (Fox Searchlight), Written by Diablo Cody
"Lars and the Real Girl" (MGM), Written by Nancy Oliver
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.), Written by Tony Gilroy
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Brad Bird; Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
"The Savages" (Fox Searchlight), Written by Tamara Jenkins There's more...
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Heath Ledger, Dead at 28
Academy Award Nominated Actor
Found Dead In New York City
Heath Ledger, former partner of Academy Award nominated actress Michelle Williams (both nominations occurring from Brokeback Mountain) with whom he has a daughter, Matilda, age 2, was found dead in an apartment today in New York City.
Even though the gossip media are melting down over this and speculating in the crudest fashion, especially about a bottle of sleeping pills by the bedside -- which I heard a reporter for TMZ turn into "pills scattered all over the floor" -- please be clear this is pure bullshit. It is not known if the pills in a bottle by the bed played any role in Mr. Ledger's death, or what caused the death. It could have been anything from a congenital heart condition, to an overdose, to a homicide, to zombies. Some of these may be more likely than others. My point is, we don't know and the gossip magazines are making up crap. An autopsy is scheduled.
The New York TimesI will miss Heath Ledger. He was a fine actor, with an increasingly solid body of work, including his forthcoming role as "The Joker" in The Dark Knight.
The police said Mr. Ledger, 28, was discovered facedown in bed in an apartment at 421 Broome Street in SoHo. Police officials said that a bottle of prescription sleeping pills were found on a nearby night table, but that they did not know whether they played a role in Mr. Ledger’s death.
Mr. Ledger, the star of “Brokeback Mountain” and other films, was discovered by a housekeeper and a masseuse, the police said. The housekeeper had been in the apartment for some time before Mr. Ledger’s body was discovered, and she let the masseuse in when she at the apartment for a 3:31 p.m. appointment with Mr. Ledger, the police said. They said they did not know when Mr. Ledger scheduled the appointment.
When Mr. Ledger did not respond to a knock on the bedroom door, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened the bedroom and found Mr. Ledger unconscious. They shook him, but he did not respond. They immediately called the authorities and moved Mr. Ledger to the floor, the police said.
“There was no indication of a disturbance,” Deputy Police Commissioner Paul J. Browne said. He said officers who checked the apartment found other prescription medications it in the bathroom. He said that there was no sign that Mr. Ledger had been drinking and that no illegal drugs were found in the apartment.
A native of Perth, Australia, Mr. Ledger, known for his wry grin and uncontrolled blondish hair, defied typecasting throughout his career. Mr. Ledger, who was born on April 4, 1979, gained roles in children’s television after he first appeared in a play for a local theater company. He decided to pursue acting as a career, appearing in Australian soap operas before moving to Hollywood in pursuit of a girlfriend.
The relationship did not last, but the move led to his first major role, opposite Julia Stiles in the teenage romance “10 Things I Hate About You,” and Mr. Ledger seemed poised for a future as a heartthrob. But Mr. Ledger defied that expectation and, although he still appeared in light romantic roles in such films as “A Knight’s Tale,” he sought out darker, more substantive work, appearing as a prison guard in “Monster’s Ball,” and a heroin addict spiraling out of control in “Candy.”
“People always feel compelled to sum you up, to presume that they have you and describe you,” Mr. Ledger told The New York Times in an interview last year. “But there are many stories inside of me and a lot I want to achieve outside of one flat note.”
Heath Ledger & Michelle Williams in Brokeback Mountain (2005). photo Kimberly French.
Click for LARGE image.
Mr. Ledger’s more recent films were also his most notable. His appearances as a reluctantly gay cowboy in “Brokeback Mountain” and as Bob Dylan in “I’m Not There” were both received with critical acclaim. The films were also important personally. Mr. Ledger met the actress Michelle Williams during the filming of “Brokeback Mountain.” The couple have a daughter, Matilda. Although they have since separated, they appeared together in “I’m Not There” and Mr. Ledger praised Ms. Williams’s performance in the film.
Elliott Puckett, an artist who lives near Ms. Williams’s apartment in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, said she saw the couple walking in the neighborhood.
“I used to see them with their dry cleaning and their baby,” she said.
Mr. Ledger told The Times last November that his favorite thing to do was hang out at home with his daughter. Leaving her for work, he said, was “kind of like your body has a lump in his throat.”
My condolences to Michelle Williams and their child. There's more...
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Reese Witherspoon Tops Highest-Paid List
Reese Witherspoon. Sep 2006. Christopher Bailey's Burberry lunch.
photo source unknown. Click for LARGE image.
The highest-paid actress in Hollywood
The consummate pro on and off set, Reese Witherspoon is officially #1.
IMDB (Dec 3, 2007)Once again, everyone not a comedian, is an Academy Award winner.
Walk The Line star Reese Witherspoon is officially the highest-paid actress in Hollywood.
The 31-year-old Oscar winner has beaten the likes of Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz and Nicole Kidman to claim the number one spot in the Hollywood Reporter's annual female rich list - receiving a staggering $15-$20 million paycheck per picture. Tomb Raider star Jolie, 32, comes in second, though her salary for the current Beowulf picture was said to be a "mere" $8 million. Diaz, 35, is placed third, with a $15 million-per-movie salary demand, though her take-home earnings from the recent Shrek The Third are pegged at a very healthy $30 million.
The full list is:
1. Reese Witherspoon - $15 million-$20 million;
2. Angelina Jolie - $15 million-$20 million;
3. Cameron Diaz - $15+ million;
4. Nicole Kidman - $10 million-$15 million;
5. Renee Zellweger - $10 million-$15 million;
6. Sandra Bullock - $10 million-$15 million;
7. Julia Roberts - $10 million-$15 million;
8. Drew Barrymore - $10 million-$12 million;
9. Jodie Foster - $10 million-$12 million;
10. Halle Berry - $10 million.
As has been the case for the last three years. There's more...
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Blu-ray Wins!
Warner Brothers Backs Blu-ray.
Universal No Longer Exclusive to HD DVD.
The fight is over. Hooray hooray hooray.
Last week Warner Brothers picked sides. Blu-ray.
There are alternate stories going around why.
Warner Brothers blamed gas prices and the economy:
ReutersThat's the official word.
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Fears of a deteriorating U.S. economy and falling DVD industry sales helped drive Warner Bros's decision to back Sony's Blu-ray next generation DVD format exclusively, a top executive told Reuters on Monday.
Hollywood's biggest seller of home movies tipped the balance of power on Friday in favor of Sony (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) in a fight for the next generation of DVDs between the electronics giant and Toshiba Corp. (6502.T: Quote, Profile, Research), developers of the HD DVD format.
"We've typically been recession proof," Warner Bros Entertainment Group President Kevin Tsujihara said in an interview at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
"But the thing that we saw in the fourth quarter...was gas prices beginning to affect sales. And since we're considered an impulse purchase, it's beginning to impact us," he said.
Tsujihara said the company needed to quickly erase consumer and retailer confusion over dueling DVD formats before economic conditions deteriorated.
Warner executives said the consortium of companies backing Blu-ray, including five of the seven big Hollywood Studios, could spend more than $50 million in 2008 to convince consumers to upgrade, or more than the amount spent by the backers of both HD DVD and Blu-ray in the 2007 holiday season.
Here's the unofficial word...
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteNow add that to Variety's story.
by Don Lindich
Warner Bros. publishes on both HD DVD and Blu-ray and found the "format war" was not only slowing the adoption of high-definition discs, but also hurting their regular DVD sales -- clearly an untenable situation for them. They wanted to bring the format war to a quick close by picking a side.
If they chose HD DVD, studio support would be roughly equal but would likely go HD DVD's way eventually, as Warner is the biggest producer of high-definition discs. If they chose Blu-ray, studio support for Blu-ray would be lopsided and the war would end more quickly.
When rumors started flying publicly, I e-mailed Jim Noonan, a Warner Bros. vice president, who immediately replied that they had not decided to change their policy. A WB executive in New Zealand issued an even stronger public statement denying imminent changes.
Obviously, they had decided to change -- they just didn't know the direction. Given their long partnership, Warner gave Toshiba an opportunity to lure a Blu-ray studio to HD DVD, in which case they would go HD DVD exclusive and give HD DVD a clear studio advantage. A deal was nearly secured with Fox, which had been having trouble with Blu-ray disc production due to the lack of manufacturing infrastructure. At the 11th hour, Fox went to Sony with its concerns and received a reported $120 million payout to stay with Blu-ray.
With no studio joining them on the HD DVD side, Warner's hand was forced and it went with Blu-ray, receiving a reported $500 million for doing so.
VarietyBottom line?
Daily Variety has confirmed that Universal's commitment to backing HD DVD exclusively has ended. And Paramount has an escape clause in its HD DVD contract allowing it to release pics on Blu-ray after Warner Bros.' decision to back that format exclusively.
Neither studio is ready to throw in the towel immediately, however. On Thursday, Universal broke its silence about the matter to say that it plans to keep supporting the format for the time being, a pledge Par made earlier in the week. And in any case, U is committed to a series of HD DVD promotions in coming months.
Should Toshiba concede defeat on the format, the decision to drop HD DVD would be made for both studios. But Toshiba doesn't appear ready to do that. At the Consumer Electronics Show, the manufacturer reaffirmed its commitment to the format, noting strong sales during the fourth quarter and indicating it would continue marketing its hardware through 2008.
But retailers may force the HD DVD camp's hand: They're unlikely to keep devoting premium shelf space to a dying format, and at this point, the odds are not in HD DVD's favor. With Warners' defection, only Par and U remain in the HD DVD camp; Sony, Disney, Fox, Lionsgate remain ardent Blu-ray backers. Warner sister companies New Line and HBO are also shifting allegiance to Blu-ray.
Last summer, Blockbuster also threw its weight behind Blu-ray, though some HD DVD discs remain in stores.
It's over. As fast as Universal can finish up its contracted commitment, it's all Blu-ray, all the time.
If you've been waiting to see what kind of DVD player to buy, you need wait no longer. (Just don't forget to buy a Region-Free player, so you can can get a DVD which is released only in England, or in Australia.) There's more...
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Whatever You Can Do, Or Dream You Can, Begin It.
Boldness Has Genius, Power And Magic In It.
- Goethe
Apollo 13 (The Ron Howard movie) Launch Sequence
One of my ten favorite movies.
Both of these appropriate during the holidays.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Peter Jackson Returns to the Shire
Peter Jackson directs Sean Astin in LOTR: Return of the King (2003)
photo Pierre Vinét/New Line Productions
Jackson to Executive Produce “The Hobbit” in Two Film Deal
After a bitter feud with New Line over payment for their share of the work of the $3 billion taken in so far of all three Lord of the Rings movies, Peter Jackson and New Line have kissed and made up.
Jackson and partner Fran Walsh will now Executive Produce -- Jackson will not write, direct & produce as done previously -- The Hobbit, to be filmed in two movies, lensed, as has become his trademark with the Lord of the Rings, simultaneously.
Hollywood ReporterI'm incredibly pleased at this news.
Preproduction will begin in January, and principal photography for the films, which will be shot simultaneously, is tentatively set for 2009. The production budget is estimated at $150 million per film. The release of the first film is slated for 2010 and the sequel in 2011.
"I think that we all realized that we were getting nowhere, and in some ways it's possible that the lawyers and the accountants and everyone that got in the middle of this were not serving the objective," Shaye said. "We had to start listening to our own conscience and our own objectives, which was to make this happen."
Lynne said the dispute was about "very complicated documents, in same cases documents that were created many years ago, and differences of opinions that people could have about those documents. It was having that disagreement over financial situations that was of historical financial proportions that created a polarization."
The parties involved singled out MGM's Sloan for helping find common ground.
MGM got involved in the past six months, managing to get the parties to talk to one another. The deal for the new films was signed only in the past few days, after a settlement had been reached.
"You're talking about powerful men who had strong differences of opinion," Sloan said. "When you start with no one talking to anyone, someone has to come in to talk to both sides. We encouraged them to see the great possibility to create what could be in my opinion another masterpiece. We wanted them to see the possibility and not let that slip away."
It demonstrates -- right in the midst of the WGA strike -- that talent and the studios can work out complicated issues of profit sharing, in the midst of deep distrust. (As always, for up to the moment news, check UnitedHollywood.com.)
Second, Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh are to the cinematic version of these works, what Tolkien was to the written version -- its creator. To have anyone else helming the project would have risked... everything.Finally, given I'm taking delivery in January of RED Camera #346 -- *smiles deeply* -- I'm wondering if Peter Jackson who has already directed the short film Crossing the Line on RED and who sings its praises at every turn will use RED? There's an entire thread at the REDUser board, asking the same question.
My children absolutely adore the Lord of the Rings (and Harry Potter.) This is going to make them very, very happy. There's more...
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Jodie Foster Comes Out
photo hitusa.com
Jodie Foster, Cydney Bernard, and Children
Ending years of silence, Jodie Foster came out last week at the Hollywood Reporter's Women in Entertainment when she thanked her partner, "my beautiful Cydney."
Not that this was a large shock to anyone in show business. Cydney Bernard and Jodie Foster have been together for over fourteen years and have two children. What is news, is this is the first time Jodie Foster has said anything publicly.
Way to go Jodie.
At #9 on the current list of most highly payed actresses, we will see if this impacts her career, but I'm guessing not so much, especially as she's also doing much more directing and producing. But as an actor, Jodie's shown over and over again she can open a movie, not to mention her two Academy Awards. Plus people like her. She's Jodie Foster. We've watched her grow up from Tom Sawyer to Taxi Driver to Freaky Friday, The Accused and The Silence of the Lambs, to Contact and Panic Room.
She's Jody Foster and everyone adores her.
And now she's out. Go Jodie go!
h/t Feministing.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
A Disney Princess For Today
photo Barry Wetcher/Walt Disney Pictures
Movie Review
Enchanted (2007)
I love Disney films. Is that wrong?
It's rooted deep in my biology from childhood -- Mary Poppins and Bambi -- and I just don't want to root it out. I gave up a pie-eating contest at age seven to go watch Mary Poppins for the fifth time.
(I'm hungry for some pie right now.)
I love going to Disneyland with my kids. I truly do. Riding the rides, eating churros, watching the singing and dancing, sitting down and watching people. I can watch the people for hours.
This isn't the greatest time to go watch a Disney film either. If you haven't heard, the Writers Guild of America is on strike, including against Disney. But it isn't against strike rules to go watch a movie.
I watched Enchanted (trailers) last night.
An animated princess is pushed out of her life by an evil witch, and into New York City as a real girl -- but she's still a princess: birds and animals coming when she sings to them, innately kind, true love is forever, and so on.
Amy Adams knocks it out of the park. Especially when as Giselle she sings her way through Grand Central Park in a show-stopping production number, spinning her way across the meadow quoting the opening shot of Sound of Music.
Part of what makes Enchanted so darn much fun is all the call outs to the classic Disney clichés -- the poisoned apple, the glass slipper, the birds which help dress the princesses. These will all seem perfectly normal for children, but both fit into a background conversation which makes possible the world we live in, and at the same time are infinitely familiar.
Over at Feministe in the archives, Jill asks, What's wrong with princesses? off the New York Times article. More recently, Vanessa addresses the Disney Princess Industrial Complex, Disney's $3 billion a year business targeted at three to six year olds, now expanding into older age groups, all the way up to actual brides.
Does all this leave me conflicted? Sure. I feel as if I should feel guilty for loving Disney movies so much. No... that's not it. I feel guilty because I know I should feel guilty for loving Disney movies, and I don't. (And yeah -- while watching them, I do notice problems with the world view. But they keep getting better. Even if I have yet to see one which has a mother. What is it with the Disney formula where mom is always gone?)
Enough wondering. I like Disney and that's enough covering my ass for one review.
The movie is terrific. The songs are classic. And Amy can sing. My only complaint is, perhaps there could have been more singing please. Amy's last big number comes two-thirds of the way through the movie. But I quibble.
Amy Adams is a star.
The perfection of the dance moves, to the perfection of love's true kiss, this is a Disney fairy tale come to life before your eyes... and they don't miss anything.
Written by Bill Kelly, directed by Kevin Lima, Original Music by Oscar winners Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. (I haven't even mentioned the rest of the award-winning/nominated production team, but let's just be clear... Disney sent in the best; Oscar winners and nominees everywhere.)
Dreams really do come true.
Enchanted. *sighs*
Highly recommended.
Note (12/2): This article has been edited to remove a reference to Sound of Music having been a Disney film. Sound of Music was released by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation.
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