12 Hungry Films (Plus: Black Swan Geek-Out)

My Oscar charts are in terrible need of reassessment but I've been devoting all my hours to working on the new website. It's a hungry beast. So, in the interim, you should check out my new article at Tribeca Film where I wonder about the 12 pictures that seem to have the most heat going into balloting season. 8 films have looked to be fairly settled for Best Picture nods for a couple of months now (The Social Network, 127 Hours, The Town, The Kids Are All Right, Toy Story 3, The King's Speech, Inception and Winter's Bone) but the problem is that there are 4 newer, and thus shinier, December pictures that want in (Black Swan, True Grit, The Fighter and Another Year). 8 + 4 ≠ 10 so something's got to give.  Which films are most vulnerable? And will the Globes upset expectations, as they are prone to do, propping up a 13th or 14th option?

read the article @ Tribeca Film

Many of you (here and offblog) have told me that I've been underestimating Black Swan's Oscar capacity and I tend to agree; just haven't had time to update the charts. Next week everything will need a major overhaul anyway given the busy awards calendar.

<-- Beautiful Barbara Hershey. Will any critics group acknowledge her unsettling maternity in Black Swan?

I had the pleasure of attending the Fox Searchlight holiday party earlier this week here in NYC and though four films were being honored, Black Swan was sucking up the oxygen. Otherwise James Franco was consistently surrounded by well wishers, journalists, and other industry types and Conviction's Sam Rockwell (see 'best in show' article) and Juliette Lewis (our fab interview) were in high spirits and on their way to a charity event after the party.

I had a geeky fanboy moment with Darren Aronofsky, who I had to share with a few other critics since he was so in demand for conversation. After thanking him for a filmography that's always worth writing about (a huge plus whether you consider the individual films follies or masterpieces), the group conversation somehow turned to top ten lists. He actually teased me about how high Black Swan would place in mine. 'Top ten? That's it?' he asked in mock disappointment. 'What, does that mean, like, #9? These things are important.' Funny guy who one expects would be über serious in person; blame those obsessively dramatic films that we've dramatically obsessed over for the past decade.

Glory of the 80s: Barbara Hershey's
consecutive Cannes Best Actress Wins

Finally, me being me, you can probably guess that I made a B line for Barbara Hershey the second I arrived. I had to tell her how great it was to see her in something high profile again and then we chatted briefly about some 80s movies. (Hannah and Her Sisters and The Last Temptation of Christ are, as it turns out, the movies people stop to talk to her about the most.) I brought up A World Apart and Shy People "It's not even on DVD!" she exclaimed about the latter. I co-miserated. I didn't bore her with this next bit but I consider it a huge failing of our modern film culture that even if you win Best Actress at Cannes (Twice!) your films can sometimes vanish from view entirely.

"You sweet girl."

When I said goodbye I told her that I hoped her phone is ringing off the hook post Black Swan. "Not yet." she replied.

Sheesh, what's a girl got to do for Hollywood to recognize her gift? Casting directors need to jump on that. She's still beautiful at 62 (Black Swan downplays this, given the terror implicit in her role, but in person it's a different story) and still a fine actress. Not that anyone should have doubted her ability after that special '84-'88 run, the Oscar nomination for Portrait of a Lady (1995) and this Swan dive into a major portrait in miniature. How can she pack so much into so little screentime as Erica Sayers? It's all there from lost dreams, to shut-in enabled demons through to the total negation of self. She's emptied herself out to make room for vicarious living through Nina. It's just too tragic that even her vicarious living is self sabotage, she's projecting failure every chance she gets.

It's the role, isn't it? I knew it would be too much for you. I knew it.

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By: Unknown On 10.11

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Red Carpet Lineup: Swan Break

The New York premiere of Black Swan was held last night at the Ziegfeld which is the theater for premiere's here in Manhattan. I have so many fond memories of the place. All the stars were in attendance including Darren Aronofsky, Vincent Cassell and Barbara Hershey. Plus the deliciously dark rival ballerinas Mila, Natalie and Noni.

I think it goes without saying but I'll say it: Winona Ryder is still one of the most beautiful women on the planet. Those eyes. That coloring. Gah.

Why Noni is wearing a tux we can't be sure but we love that she did. Why Aronofsky refuses to shave that Flynn mustache we can't be sure but we wish he would. Why Natalie is carrying around Nabokov's Lolita* we... wait, what?

There's got to be a story there. I hope it does not involve obsessive fans of The Professional.


*Okay, it's apparently a clutch by Olympia Le Tan  - thx Dom - fashioned as a replica of the literary classic. The replica costs only $1,321.00 more than the real thing. But can the real thing hold your lipstick, keys and money?

Mila Kunis, Natalie Portman

By: Unknown On 15.35

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Darren Aronofsky: To "SNIKT!" Or Not To "SNIKT!"

Y'all. I am so worried about the continued reports / rumors that Darren Aronofsky is making a superhero picture next. First they said he wanted the Superman reboot that now belongs to Zach Snyder. (Great, just what traditional placid loveably corny Superman needed... a tricked up slo-mo enthused "hip" director. Yikes!) Now, Vulture reports that Aronofsky is close to signing for Wolverine 2: No Longer Forced Into Awkwardly Origin Titling (2012).

Drawing by John Romita Jr. | Darren Insert by Moi

I realize that the Aronofksy/Weisz NYC lovenest probably doesn't come cheap. And I realize that after 5 straight winners showcasing your visual originality, gift with actors, and massive cojones, anyone would be tempted to cash in. But how exactly is that going to look on the filmography? Is he just hoping to get the acclaim that Chris Nolan has from the public by going more mainstream? (If you ask me he's a better director than Nolan but Nolan makes high tech sci-fi/superhero movies so naturally he's a million times more beloved.) Will this sequel be an unsightly blemish or am I just worried because of the permanent scarring from the 100% joy-free X-Men Origins: Wolverine?

Best Case Scenario: On the plus side the only way is up. Wolverine's Japanese detours in the comics are among the hero's most intriguing and could offer enormous possibilities for visual triumphs. Plus, if Aronofsky's filmography to date is any indication he is incapable of making a movie as dull as the first Wolverine, in which no action sequence could raise a pulse because nothing was ever at stake with invincible / indestructable people in every corner. In fact the only sequence that had any electric snap was the watery escape but that was entirely the fault of the mighty power of Naked Hugh Jackman and consider: Aronofsky got more indelible star mojo from that man when forcing him into pajamas and a bald cap.

So maybe it'll be great to see Jackman reinvigorated as an actor within his signature character? It is hard to give a bad or lazy performance in a Darren Aronofsky movie... and they're obviously comfortable with each other via The Fountain. Presumably a director is choosy about which actor he'll direct making love to his longtime girlfriend onscreen.

To make a long story short, this movie is bound to look rosy in comparison to the first Wolverine. And if anybody deserves some safety cushion funding for their next few weirdo projects, it's Aronofsky. So why not cash in?

 Two Face: The Fountain and Wolverine

Worst Case Scenario: The homogeny-loving power of both suits and fanboys sap most comic book projects of any chance at originality and specificity, so what if Aronofsky's artistry is violently sucked from him, the tragic victim of status quo vampirism? What if he makes his first dud? That'd be so sad.

It's true that I haven't seen Black Swan yet and it's true that many people hate The Fountain (but you can't exactly knock it for being generic, can you?) so perhaps I protest too much. But from The Wrestler to Black Swan to... a sequel to someone else's vision?

I worry.

Maybe you don't. Are you already salivating to see the claws come out again or just to see this director/star pair reunited?

By: Unknown On 09.17

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Oscar Predictions Revised: Picture, Director, Animation, Documentary, Sound

I'm working on revising the Oscar predictions. So far we've updated the extensive foreign film pages (yet, we're already behind again the news is coming so quickly), the animated and documentary categories, the aural categories like best score and song (I could use some help there -- offer it in the comments) and NEW best picture. And yes I know that many people believe that The Way Back will not be released in time. But I don't believe for a second that the current plans will keep.

About Best Director. After a banner year for diversity last year this year looks like a return to the standard. It'll take a while for cinema's burgeoning spread of voices to register on a frequent basis. If you fuse all my predicted nominees together -- that'd be David Fincher, David O. Russell (pictured left), Mike Leigh, Peter Weir and Christopher Nolan -- you've got a 54 year old white auteur with 9 films under his belt who has been nominated once before in this category and is generally perceived as overdue for a win. But why would you fuse them together? That's only something I sometimes do with statistics because I am weird.

I would have loved to predict Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan (because I am a fan* in general, though I haven't yet seen the film), but here's something I fear about the new 10 wide Best Picture system. Though it gave us a nice spread of genre and mood and consensus last year, I fear the noisy mainstreaming of that category will end up drowning out the hoopla for those left of center choices that the directorial branch sometimes honored in their gutsier moments. And if my fears prove correct going forward, that'll be a real shame.

Your thoughts and armchair punditry are welcome in the comments as always.

*fan not stalker. Which I must differentiate because a friend of a friend of a friend did point out his & Rachel Weisz's apartment to me the other day quite unexpectedly, even though movies weren't even the topic of conversation. The exterior was red. That's neither here nor there. I'm just sharing for a bit of organic blog flavoring.
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By: Unknown On 08.22

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