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Headline, Industry News
Dark movies expected to carve up Oscars 80th birthday
Sunday February 24th 2008A slew of dark and violent films are poised to carve up the top honors at the 80th Academy Awards here Sunday, but wet weather could rain on the Oscars’ annual red carpet parade.
After months of uncertainty during the bitter Hollywood writers strike, the movie industry’s biggest party of the year will get underway as planned at 5:00 pm on Sunday (0100 GMT Monday) at Hollywood Kodak Theatre.
But the traditional catwalk of the stars could be a soggy, shivery occasion for members of the A-list, with a rain forecast to soak California over the next 48 hours.
All eyes are on a best picture race that features a crop of films notable for their grim, bleak themes.
The heavy favorite with eight nominations is “No Country for Old Men,” Joel and Ethan Coen’s film about the murderous forces that are unleashed after a drug deal on the US-Mexico border goes badly wrong.
“There Will Be Blood,” an edgy movie about a tyrannical oil prospector, also has eight nods and is joined in the best picture category by legal thriller “Michael Clayton,” historical drama “Atonement” and comedy “Juno.”
But after scoring a sweep of the movie industry’s professional awards — seen as key Oscar indicators — the Coen brothers’ “No Country for Old Men” looks unstoppable as the best picture winner.
Bookmakers have made the film a 1/3 favorite while the Coens are backed at 1/4 to scoop the best director prize.
Pundits say the expected success of “No Country for Old Men” indicates the willingness of the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Science’s 5,829 voters to reward quality film-making regardless of the level of violence.
“The old days of ‘The Sound of Music’ and ‘Oliver’ winning best picture are gone, at least for the time being,” said Tom O’Neil, an awards season pundit with the Los Angeles Times’ theenvelope.com.
“It’s going to be the second year in a row that a best picture winner has won where all guns have been blazing,” O’Neil added, recalling Martin Scorsese’s win in 2007 for gangster movie “The Departed.”
Pete Hammond, a film critic with Maxim, added: “Whether it’s violent or not does not matter as much as whether the film has been well made.
“That said, it’s unusual that for two years in a row we see a dark, violent movie getting the Oscars’ top prize. But maybe Oscar is simply reflecting the times we live in.”
Beyond the contests for best picture and best director clear front-runners have emerged in most of the acting categories.
Daniel Day-Lewis is regarded as a shoo-in to scoop the second best actor statuette of his career for playing a murderous oil baron in “There Will Be Blood,” ahead of fellow nominees that include George Clooney for “Michael Clayton” and Tommy Lee Jones for “In the Valley of Elah.”
However O’Neil cautioned that the widely popular Clooney may yet pull off a shock. “In the history of the Oscars there is usually one absolutely jaw-dropping upset,” O’Neil said.
“‘Michael Clayton’ is a very popular film and the reason for that is Clooney. That could carry him.”
The best actress award is expected to be a straight fight between British veteran Julie Christie, who plays a woman grappling with Alzheimer’s in “Away from Her,” and France’s Marion Cotillard, nominated for her startling portrayal of tragic chanteuse Edith Piaf in “La Vie En Rose.”
In the supporting categories, Javier Bardem is poised to become the first ever Spaniard to win an acting Oscar for his performance in “No Country for Old Men,” where he plays a psychopathic hit-man whose specialty is executing victims with a slaughterhouse cattle-gun.
But the race for best supporting actress is less clear-cut. Australia’s Cate Blanchett, who is also nominated in the best actress category, had been the early favorite following her gender-bending performance as music legend Bob Dylan in “I’m Not There.”
However Blanchett could face stiff competition from 83-year-old Ruby Dee, who would become the oldest winner of a competitive Oscar in history if she wins for her role as a drug lord’s mother in “American Gangster.”
This year’s Oscars are taking place after months of uncertainty following the screenwriters strike that wreaked havoc with the entertainment industry’s awards season.
The Golden Globes were canceled after stars vowed to boycott the event in support of striking writers, and fears of a similar no-show had plagued the Oscars until the strike was called off last week.
Source: AFP
Headline, Industry News
Dark movies expected to carve up Oscars 80th birthday
Sunday February 24th 2008A slew of dark and violent films are poised to carve up the top honors at the 80th Academy Awards here Sunday, but wet weather could rain on the Oscars’ annual red carpet parade.
After months of uncertainty during the bitter Hollywood writers strike, the movie industry’s biggest party of the year will get underway as planned at 5:00 pm on Sunday (0100 GMT Monday) at Hollywood Kodak Theatre.
But the traditional catwalk of the stars could be a soggy, shivery occasion for members of the A-list, with a rain forecast to soak California over the next 48 hours.
All eyes are on a best picture race that features a crop of films notable for their grim, bleak themes.
The heavy favorite with eight nominations is “No Country for Old Men,” Joel and Ethan Coen’s film about the murderous forces that are unleashed after a drug deal on the US-Mexico border goes badly wrong.
“There Will Be Blood,” an edgy movie about a tyrannical oil prospector, also has eight nods and is joined in the best picture category by legal thriller “Michael Clayton,” historical drama “Atonement” and comedy “Juno.”
But after scoring a sweep of the movie industry’s professional awards — seen as key Oscar indicators — the Coen brothers’ “No Country for Old Men” looks unstoppable as the best picture winner.
Bookmakers have made the film a 1/3 favorite while the Coens are backed at 1/4 to scoop the best director prize.
Pundits say the expected success of “No Country for Old Men” indicates the willingness of the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Science’s 5,829 voters to reward quality film-making regardless of the level of violence.
“The old days of ‘The Sound of Music’ and ‘Oliver’ winning best picture are gone, at least for the time being,” said Tom O’Neil, an awards season pundit with the Los Angeles Times’ theenvelope.com.
“It’s going to be the second year in a row that a best picture winner has won where all guns have been blazing,” O’Neil added, recalling Martin Scorsese’s win in 2007 for gangster movie “The Departed.”
Pete Hammond, a film critic with Maxim, added: “Whether it’s violent or not does not matter as much as whether the film has been well made.
“That said, it’s unusual that for two years in a row we see a dark, violent movie getting the Oscars’ top prize. But maybe Oscar is simply reflecting the times we live in.”
Beyond the contests for best picture and best director clear front-runners have emerged in most of the acting categories.
Daniel Day-Lewis is regarded as a shoo-in to scoop the second best actor statuette of his career for playing a murderous oil baron in “There Will Be Blood,” ahead of fellow nominees that include George Clooney for “Michael Clayton” and Tommy Lee Jones for “In the Valley of Elah.”
However O’Neil cautioned that the widely popular Clooney may yet pull off a shock. “In the history of the Oscars there is usually one absolutely jaw-dropping upset,” O’Neil said.
“‘Michael Clayton’ is a very popular film and the reason for that is Clooney. That could carry him.”
The best actress award is expected to be a straight fight between British veteran Julie Christie, who plays a woman grappling with Alzheimer’s in “Away from Her,” and France’s Marion Cotillard, nominated for her startling portrayal of tragic chanteuse Edith Piaf in “La Vie En Rose.”
In the supporting categories, Javier Bardem is poised to become the first ever Spaniard to win an acting Oscar for his performance in “No Country for Old Men,” where he plays a psychopathic hit-man whose specialty is executing victims with a slaughterhouse cattle-gun.
But the race for best supporting actress is less clear-cut. Australia’s Cate Blanchett, who is also nominated in the best actress category, had been the early favorite following her gender-bending performance as music legend Bob Dylan in “I’m Not There.”
However Blanchett could face stiff competition from 83-year-old Ruby Dee, who would become the oldest winner of a competitive Oscar in history if she wins for her role as a drug lord’s mother in “American Gangster.”
This year’s Oscars are taking place after months of uncertainty following the screenwriters strike that wreaked havoc with the entertainment industry’s awards season.
The Golden Globes were canceled after stars vowed to boycott the event in support of striking writers, and fears of a similar no-show had plagued the Oscars until the strike was called off last week.
Source: AFP
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Headline, Industry News
Dark movies expected to carve up Oscars 80th birthday
Sunday February 24th 2008A slew of dark and violent films are poised to carve up the top honors at the 80th Academy Awards here Sunday, but wet weather could rain on the Oscars’ annual red carpet parade.
After months of uncertainty during the bitter Hollywood writers strike, the movie industry’s biggest party of the year will get underway as planned at 5:00 pm on Sunday (0100 GMT Monday) at Hollywood Kodak Theatre.
But the traditional catwalk of the stars could be a soggy, shivery occasion for members of the A-list, with a rain forecast to soak California over the next 48 hours.
All eyes are on a best picture race that features a crop of films notable for their grim, bleak themes.
The heavy favorite with eight nominations is “No Country for Old Men,” Joel and Ethan Coen’s film about the murderous forces that are unleashed after a drug deal on the US-Mexico border goes badly wrong.
“There Will Be Blood,” an edgy movie about a tyrannical oil prospector, also has eight nods and is joined in the best picture category by legal thriller “Michael Clayton,” historical drama “Atonement” and comedy “Juno.”
But after scoring a sweep of the movie industry’s professional awards — seen as key Oscar indicators — the Coen brothers’ “No Country for Old Men” looks unstoppable as the best picture winner.
Bookmakers have made the film a 1/3 favorite while the Coens are backed at 1/4 to scoop the best director prize.
Pundits say the expected success of “No Country for Old Men” indicates the willingness of the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Science’s 5,829 voters to reward quality film-making regardless of the level of violence.
“The old days of ‘The Sound of Music’ and ‘Oliver’ winning best picture are gone, at least for the time being,” said Tom O’Neil, an awards season pundit with the Los Angeles Times’ theenvelope.com.
“It’s going to be the second year in a row that a best picture winner has won where all guns have been blazing,” O’Neil added, recalling Martin Scorsese’s win in 2007 for gangster movie “The Departed.”
Pete Hammond, a film critic with Maxim, added: “Whether it’s violent or not does not matter as much as whether the film has been well made.
“That said, it’s unusual that for two years in a row we see a dark, violent movie getting the Oscars’ top prize. But maybe Oscar is simply reflecting the times we live in.”
Beyond the contests for best picture and best director clear front-runners have emerged in most of the acting categories.
Daniel Day-Lewis is regarded as a shoo-in to scoop the second best actor statuette of his career for playing a murderous oil baron in “There Will Be Blood,” ahead of fellow nominees that include George Clooney for “Michael Clayton” and Tommy Lee Jones for “In the Valley of Elah.”
However O’Neil cautioned that the widely popular Clooney may yet pull off a shock. “In the history of the Oscars there is usually one absolutely jaw-dropping upset,” O’Neil said.
“‘Michael Clayton’ is a very popular film and the reason for that is Clooney. That could carry him.”
The best actress award is expected to be a straight fight between British veteran Julie Christie, who plays a woman grappling with Alzheimer’s in “Away from Her,” and France’s Marion Cotillard, nominated for her startling portrayal of tragic chanteuse Edith Piaf in “La Vie En Rose.”
In the supporting categories, Javier Bardem is poised to become the first ever Spaniard to win an acting Oscar for his performance in “No Country for Old Men,” where he plays a psychopathic hit-man whose specialty is executing victims with a slaughterhouse cattle-gun.
But the race for best supporting actress is less clear-cut. Australia’s Cate Blanchett, who is also nominated in the best actress category, had been the early favorite following her gender-bending performance as music legend Bob Dylan in “I’m Not There.”
However Blanchett could face stiff competition from 83-year-old Ruby Dee, who would become the oldest winner of a competitive Oscar in history if she wins for her role as a drug lord’s mother in “American Gangster.”
This year’s Oscars are taking place after months of uncertainty following the screenwriters strike that wreaked havoc with the entertainment industry’s awards season.
The Golden Globes were canceled after stars vowed to boycott the event in support of striking writers, and fears of a similar no-show had plagued the Oscars until the strike was called off last week.
Source: AFP
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