Archive: January 2009 (81-90 of 110)

Jan 15 2009 05:11 PM ET

BAFTA nominations: 'Slumdog' and 'Button' tie with 11

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The British Academy of Film and Television Arts announced their nominations today, anointing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire with 11 nods each. The Dark Knight and Changeling were the runners-up with nine and eight nominations, respectively, though neither film was cited in the Best Film category (Frost/Nixon, Milk, and The Reader scored the other three slots instead). Here are a few other results I found interesting.

1. Slumdog star Dev Patel landed in the lead actor race alongside heavyweights Sean Penn, Mickey Rourke, Brad Pitt, and Frank Langella. In this country, his campaign has been in the supporting category.

2. Kate Winslet earned two lead actress nods, for Revolutionary Road and The Reader. The Oscars don’t allow actors to receive multiple nominations in the same category.

3. Doubt stars Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams all won nominations, but their scene-stealing costar Viola Davis was overlooked, and the film earned no other nominations at all.

4. Two actresses considered strong Oscar contenders for Best Actress — Anne Hathaway and Sally Hawkins — were both snubbed. Word is that UK audiences didn’t warm to Happy-Go-Lucky like American critics have.

***Note to some of the commenters below: Anne Hathaway was indeed eligible for the BAFTA. If you look at the longlists of 15 semifinalists that were announced a few weeks ago, you’ll see that she was on that list. Gran Torino, however, was not eligible this year.

Here are all the important BAFTA nominees: 

BEST FILM
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON 
FROST/NIXON 
MILK
THE READER 
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE 

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
HUNGER      
IN BRUGES 
MAMMA MIA! 
MAN ON WIRE   
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE 

DIRECTOR
CHANGELING Clint Eastwood
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON David Fincher
FROST/NIXON Ron Howard
THE READER  Stephen Daldry
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE  Danny Boyle

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BURN AFTER READING  Joel Coen / Ethan Coen
CHANGELING J. Michael Straczynski
I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG  Philippe Claudel
IN BRUGES  Martin McDonagh
MILK Dustin Lance Black

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON  Eric Roth
FROST/NIXON Peter Morgan
THE READER  David Hare
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD  Justin Haythe
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE  Simon Beaufoy

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX
GOMORRAH
I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG 
PERSEPOLIS
WALTZ WITH BASHIR 

ANIMATED FILM
PERSEPOLIS
WALL•E
WALTZ WITH BASHIR 

LEADING ACTOR
FRANK LANGELLA  Frost/Nixon
DEV PATEL  Slumdog Millionaire
SEAN PENN  Milk
BRAD PITT  The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
MICKEY ROURKE  The Wrestler

LEADING ACTRESS
ANGELINA JOLIE  Changeling
KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS  I’ve Loved You So Long
MERYL STREEP  Doubt
KATE WINSLET  The Reader
KATE WINSLET  Revolutionary Road

SUPPORTING ACTOR
ROBERT DOWNEY JR.  Tropic Thunder
BRENDAN GLEESON  In Bruges
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN  Doubt
HEATH LEDGER  The Dark Knight
BRAD PITT  Burn After Reading

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
AMY ADAMS  Doubt
PENÉLOPE CRUZ  Vicky Cristina Barcelona
FREIDA PINTO  Slumdog Millionaire
TILDA SWINTON  Burn After Reading
MARISA TOMEI  The Wrestler

MUSIC
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON  Alexandre Desplat
THE DARK KNIGHT  Hans Zimmer / James Newton Howard
MAMMA MIA!  Benny Andersson / Björn Ulvaeus
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE  A. R. Rahman
WALL•E Thomas Newman

CINEMATOGRAPHY
CHANGELING Tom Stern
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON  Claudio Miranda
THE DARK KNIGHT  Wally Pfister
THE READER  Chris Menges / Roger Deakins
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE  Anthony Dod Mantle

EDITING
CHANGELING 
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON 
THE DARK KNIGHT 
FROST/NIXON
IN BRUGES 
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE 

PRODUCTION DESIGN
CHANGELING
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON 
THE DARK KNIGHT 
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD 
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

COSTUME DESIGN
CHANGELING
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON 
THE DARK KNIGHT 
THE DUCHESS 
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD 

SOUND
CHANGELING
THE DARK KNIGHT 
QUANTUM OF SOLACE 
SLUMDOG MILLIONARE 
WALL•E

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON 
THE DARK KNIGHT 
INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL 
IRON MAN 
QUANTUM OF SOLACE 

MAKE UP & HAIR
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON 
THE DARK KNIGHT 
THE DUCHESS 
FROST/NIXON
MILK

Jan 14 2009 09:01 PM ET

Best Actor and Best Actress: 2 real races

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Winsletstreephathaway_l
The very astute Sasha Stone over at Awards Daily has put forth her theory that this year’s lead acting categories are wide open, in contrast to the Best Picture race, which clearly seems to be going Slumdog Millionaire‘s way. I couldn’t agree more, and I found a interesting statistic to prove the point. In the last five years, every eventual lead-acting Oscar winner, with the exception of La Vie en Rose‘s Marion Cotillard last year, won the Broadcast Critics award and a Golden Globe before picking up the big prize. So in a sense, all the other nine winners — Daniel Day-Lewis, Helen Mirren, Forest Whitaker, Reese Witherspoon, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Hilary Swank, Jamie Foxx, Charlize Theron, and Sean Penn — were basically foregone conclusions come Oscar night. This year, however, is a completely different story. For the first time since 2003, the BFCA winners and Globe winners were different performers in both lead-acting races. Back then, Far From Heaven‘s Julianne Moore won the BFCA prize, while Chicago‘s Renee Zellweger and The Hours‘ Nicole Kidman (the eventual Oscar winner) scored the Globes, and neither the BFCA Best Actor victor (Gangs of New York‘s Daniel Day-Lewis) nor the Globe honorees (About Schmidt‘s Jack Nicholson or Chicago‘s Richard Gere) forecasted the surprise Oscar winner, The Pianist‘s Adrien Brody.

This year the same thing is happening. Sean Penn won the BFCA but couldn’t repeat at the Globes, who recognized Mickey Rourke instead, while Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep tied at the BFCAs only to lose to Kate Winslet at the Globes. At this point (even though the nominations are still a week off), Penn seems like the best bet amongst the Academy but is by no means a lock. Meanwhile, the actress race strikes me as a complete toss-up between Winslet, Hathaway, Streep, and even a total wild-card like this week’s other Globe winner, Sally Hawkins. I’m dreading making my final prediction on this one. But whoever wins that statuette on Feb. 22, I can guarantee it’ll be close.

addCredit(“Winslet: Francois Duhamel; Streep: Andrew Schwartz; Hathaway: Bob Vergara”)

Jan 14 2009 09:00 PM ET

Emily Blunt in 'Iron Man 2'?

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So who will be the next big-name actor to join the cast of Iron Man 2? Marvel Studios remains mum on details, but sources say Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) could play a lead character named Natasha, who goes by several aliases, including the Black Widow. Blunt is apparently one of many actresses the fillmmakers are considering, though she’s believed to be the front-runner. In other Iron Man 2 news, comeback kid Mickey Rourke is in discussions to play a villain, but he’s also negotiating a part in Sylvester Stallone’s actioner The Expendables, which is scheduled to shoot at the same time. While Rourke is hoping to be in both, scheduling conflicts may force him to make some tough decisions.

Jan 14 2009 12:37 AM ET

Jackie Chan to star in 'The Karate Kid' remake

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Jaden Smith has found himself a mentor. Jackie Chan will take on Pat Morita’s Mr. Miyagi role in Sony Pictures’ remake of The Karate Kid. The movie stars 10-year old Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness), who is the son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, and will be directed by Harold Zwart (The Pink Panther 2). Will’s production company, Overbrook, will produce, and Jada has been rumored for the role of Jaden’s mother in the film. China Film Corp. Group will coproduce the movie, which will shoot entirely in China.

Jan 13 2009 11:17 PM ET

Vanessa Hudgens in 'New Moon'? Not so fast

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Vanessahudgens_l Widely circulated reports that Vanessa Hudgens has auditioned for the Twilight sequel, New Moon, are, it turns out, completely false. Sources inside Summit Entertainment and Hudgens’ camp tell EW that the filmmakers aren’t looking at the star (best known as High School Musical‘s Gabriella Montez) for any role in the soon-to-be-shooting Twilight followup.

Last week, Taylor Lautner was rehired to reprise his role as Jacob Black — a decision that had been on hold until series author Stephenie Meyer offered her endorsement. Now, New Moon director Chris Weitz is set to get down to the business of compiling the rest of the cast, a process that is expected to take the next couple of months. Certainly, an East High School alum could make the cut, but it’s too soon for any tweeners out there to start getting giddy about the prospect.

For more Twilight, check out EW.com’s Twilight Central.

addCredit(“Steve Granitz/WireImage”)

Jan 13 2009 04:04 PM ET

'Gran Torino': Last-minute Best Picture nominee?

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Grantorino_l
Could Clint Eastwood do it again? In 2004, his directorial effort Million Dollar Baby was an eleventh-hour entry in the awards race and ended up winning Best Picture and Best Director, among several other prizes. Two years later, his late addition of Letters from Iwo Jima came from nowhere to earn a bunch of top-tier nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. And now, his fascinating drama Gran Torino is indisputably the hot movie of the moment: It just raked in nearly $30 million in its first weekend of wide release, and it’s the film that most Oscar voters discovered last, screening it just before ballots were due. I’ve long been a believer in Eastwood’s Best Actor chances and still think he’ll displace The Visitor‘s Richard Jenkins or even The Curious Case of Benjamin Button‘s Brad Pitt next Thursday. But with many voters said to be loving the film, could it eke out a Best Picture nod as well? It sure seems like a long shot: Even though they showed up late in the game, Million Dollar Baby and Letters from Iwo Jima still landed on some important pre-Oscar tallies, while Gran Torino was overlooked by the PGA, DGA, SAG, and even the Broadcast Film Critics Association top 10. Still, if there’s any film that could end up as a surprise Best Picture nominee, this could be the one. The ultimate irony: If the savvy Warner Bros. team is able to push Torino into the big dance, the movie they just might bump out is their own mega-blockbuster, The Dark Knight.

addCredit(“Anthony Michael Rivetti”)

Jan 12 2009 07:51 AM ET

Golden Globes: 5 biggest surprises

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The 66th Annual Golden Globe awards have been handed out, and I actually fared pretty well in my predictions: I guessed 10 winners correctly out of the 14 movie categories, and 19 for 25 overall. But there still were several things that didn’t go as expected. Here are my 5 biggest surprises of the night.

Slumdog goes 4 for 4 I suspected that Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Simon Beaufoy would emerge victorious, but for the film to sweep all four of the categories in which it was nominated—including Best Drama—is remarkable. This film seems unstoppable for the rest of the awards season.

Kate Winslet’s one-two punch Obviously the HFPA wanted to give Winslet her first Globe this year. But her double wins (Best Actress in a Drama for Revolutionary Road and Best Supporting Actress for The Reader) were shocking considering her tough competition in both races. Could this finally be her year at the Oscars?

Benjamin Button‘s shut-out For the second time in four days (following last Thursday’s Broadcast Film Critics Association awards), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button went into an awards ceremony tied for the most nominations and went home empty-handed. Button still stands to score the most Oscar nods on Jan. 22; will it actually be able to win a couple?

Best Actor: Colin Farrell? Emerging victorious over strong competitors like Last Chance Harvey‘s Dustin Hoffman and Vicky Cristina Barcelona‘s Javier Bardem (and apparently avoiding vote-splitting with his own In Bruges costar Brendan Gleeson), Farrell won the Best Actor in a Comedy category in the biggest surprise of the night. Now maybe people will seek out that terrific and wicked film (it’s on DVD).

Heath Ledger’s shocking win for Best Supporting Actor (Just kidding.)

Jan 11 2009 06:24 PM ET

'Gran Torino' drives away with a weekend box office win

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Grantorinoclint_l
Seventy-eight-year-old Clint Eastwood continues to be a big draw at the box office — in fact, he’s bigger than ever. The actor-director’s latest action-drama, Gran Torino, was No. 1 on the first competitive weekend of 2009, grossing $29 million, according to Sunday’s estimates. That’s by far the highest single-weekend total of Eastwood’s esteemed six-decade Hollywood career. The film has been a hit since it debuted in limited release a month ago; this was its first frame playing wide. Its total domestic sum now stands at $40.1 mil. And, with a CinemaScore grade of A and possible Oscar nominations down the road, Gran Torino seems fueled and ready for a long ride through theaters.

Newcomer Bride Wars was a solid No. 2, with $21.5 mil, a totally expected take that’s on par with the first-weekend figures for costar Kate Hudson’s Fool’s Gold ($21.6 mil) and You, Me & Dupree ($21.5 mil), as well as costar Anne Hathaway’s The Princess Diaries ($22.9 mil) and The Princess Diaries 2 ($23 mil). Being the only film of its genre at the multiplex these days, and with an A- CinemaScore review from audiences, Bride Wars should also be hanging around for some time.

Fellow freshman flick The Unborn, meanwhile, scared up a sweet sum of it’s own: $21.1 mil, which landed it at No. 3. (In fact, the horror film could switch rankings with Bride Wars when the weekend’s final tallies are released on Monday.) Despite a B- CinemaScore mark, the movie certainly exceeded expectations.

Marley & Me (No. 4 with $11.4 mil) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (No. 5 with $9.5 mil) rounded out the top five. And the weekend’s other wide release, Not Easily Broken, easily found itself at No. 9, grossing an impressive $5.6 mil in just 724 venues.

Overall, the cumulative box office haul was up a hefty 14 percent from the same frame a year ago (when The Bucket List was the big winner), making this the third “up” weekend in a row. A nice way to start 2009, indeed.

More Box Office News:
EW.com’s Box Office Chart
Box Office Preview: Will audiences fall for Bride Wars?
Batman was a blockbuster, but did 2008 bomb?
Marley & Me wins for a second straight week
Marley & Me leads the Christmas box office

addCredit(“Anthony Michael Rivetti”)

Jan 10 2009 09:09 PM ET

'Gran Torino' takes early box office lead

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Clint Eastwood’s latest action-drama, Gran Torino, cruised into first place as the weekend box office race got underway, grossing $9.6 mil on Friday. The movie had been a hit in limited release, banking more than $10 mil since its premiere last month; this is its first weekend playing wide. Close behind were two newcomers — the horror flick The Unborn and the Anne Hathaway-Kate Hudson comedy, Bride Wars, each coming in around $8 mil on Friday. The weekend’s other major release, Not Easily Broken, had a solid first-day take of $2 mil. Friday’s rankings are below, and please check back on Sunday for a full weekend wrap in our Box Office Report.

1. Gran Torino — $9.6 mil
2. The Unborn — $8.2 mil
3. Bride Wars — $8.1 mil
4. Marley & Me — $3.2 mil
5. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button — $2.9 mil

More Box Office News:
Box Office Preview: Will audiences fall for Bride Wars?
Batman was a blockbuster, but did 2008 bomb?
EW.com’s Box Office Chart
Marley & Me wins for a second straight week
Marley & Me leads the Christmas box office

Jan 10 2009 12:19 AM ET

James Toback's Mike Tyson documentary has a buyer at last

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It may have taken two film festivals and the promise of a third, but writer-director James Toback (Bugsy) has finally sold his documentary about former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. The buyer: recently aggressive Sony Pictures Classics, which is also in negotiations to put Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna back on the big screen in their film Rudo y Cursi. (Both Tyson and Rudo y Cursi will screen next week at the Sundance Film Festival.) Also, SPC has brought NBA player Carmelo Anthony, who founded his own film production company, on board as exec producer.

SPC’s purchase now means that you may finally get a glimpse of Toback’s portrait of Tyson, a film that focuses on a more humbled man coming to grips with the tragic mistakes that led to the downfall of his career.

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