Tag Archives: Academy Award

From page to screen

I can’t believe it.

I’m actually excited about the premiere of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

After slogging through that relentless tome of a book, believe you me, it’s nothing short of a miracle.

Several factors have come together to make me want to be one of the first folks in the theater.

1.  Whereas most books are better than their on-screen interpretations, the Tattoo movie can’t miss.  The English translation of Stieg Larsson’s bestseller was front-loaded with the most mind-numbing tedium imaginable before getting to the action that propelled readers through the rest of the book.  Stieg even found a way to make the ending slow.

Based on director David Fincher’s reputation and the killer trailers I’ve seen to date, I think it’s safe to say he hasn’t adopted the author’s penchant for pokey pacing.

I’m also psyched to hear Tattoo’s musical score is the work of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who penned the brilliant, Oscar-winning score for The Social Network.  In fact, the score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has already been nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Of course, Tattoo has a great cast.  And I’ve already mentioned the intense trailers.  Some critics have even applauded the film for sticking closer to the book’s original plot line than the Swedish version did.

Closer to the book?  I don’t want to know!

Good bad news

Uh oh.

Festival darling “Blue Valentine,” starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, has received the dreaded NC-17 rating.

That means, unless the director takes another cut before the film’s scheduled  December 31st release, it won’t hit most theaters and probably won’t get the Oscar nomination that most critics say it deserves.

Bad news…or is it?

While “Blue Valentine” stars two Oscar nominees in Gosling and Williams, you could argue that its subject matter — the end of a marriage — has been done.  Perhaps only women will be interested, and then only women who love Gosling enough to endure what is no doubt a bit of a downer.

Publicize the movie’s current NC-17 rating, and suddenly the movie sounds a bit more interesting, doesn’t it?  Must be awfully sexy.  Even if they do the necessary edits to earn the R rating — which of course they will unless they don’t like money — there will be quite a bit of skin, which should lure men and women alike.

More money, more awards, more audience.

I’ll bet Disney wishes their films could get an NC-17 every once in a while.

Grand gesture

The 82nd Academy Award nominations were announced yesterday, and for the first time in the show’s history, the “Best Motion Picture” category was expanded to 10.

And the nominees are:

“Avatar”
“The Blind Side”
“District 9″
“An Education”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Precious”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”
“Up in the Air”

By increasing the field to 10, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences theorized that they would be able to recognize ‘more truly deserving films.’

Who are they kidding?

The directors, producers and actors recognized will be able to add “Oscar-nominated” to their resumes and demand higher paychecks for their next projects.  And the ratings for the awards broadcast itself may go up a bit, with a few more box office favorites in the mix.

But one of the serious contenders for “Best Motion Picture” will still win the Oscar, and this year, there are still only five….so they could have avoided all the drama.

Just look at the Top Ten:

  • “The Blind Side” was slammed by the critics, but beloved at the box office.  Sandra Bullock’s nomination for “Best Actress” was recognition enough.
  • “District 9″ seems like a bit of a stretch.  Indie sci-fi overachiever, maybe…but Oscar nominee?
  • “Up,” only the second animated picture to be nominated in the category, is not a serious contender.  (Count yourself lucky.  The producer’s speeches to date have been real snoozes.)
  • “An Education” is the foreign film rep.  Carey Mulligan’s nomination gives it credibility, but no real chance.
  • “A Serious Man”  is, in my opinion, an automatic inclusion.  The Coen Brothers seem to get a pass on whatever they produce and direct.  I’m not even sure the members watch their films anymore.

Which leaves us with…

“Avatar”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Precious”
“Up in the Air”

These are your five serious contenders for the Oscar for “Best Motion Picture.”  The others?

Just filler.

Memories

Over the weekend Rory Dog and I met a couple carrying their brand new malti-poo puppy. That’s a maltese/poodle combination (’cause everything’s better with a little poo).

The pup was only 12 weeks old and cute as a bug, so I asked his name.

“Hubbell,” his mom announced proudly.

“Awww,” I replied. “Like Robert Redford in ‘The Way We Were.’”

She glanced at her husband, then they both looked at me blankly. “Haven’t heard of that one. We actually named him after the telescope.”

Snap. It’s official — I’m old.

Or perhaps these young whippersnappers just aren’t up on their movies. “The Way We Were”, released in 1973, stars Redford and Barbra Streisand as two lovers in post-World War II whose relationship can’t survive her politics or his expectations.

The movie was nominated for six Oscars and won two, for Best Score and Best Original Song, which was also sung by Streisand. (I’ll bet Hubbell the pup’s mom and dad could name that song in three notes).

It’s one of the most romantic movies ever made and still in my top five.

And if I were a puppy, I’d sure as heck rather have Robert Redford as the inspiration for my name than a big ol’ magnifying lens.

I’m just saying.