Six Days Ago
In his latest "Notes on a Season" (posted yesterday), The Envelope's Pete Hammond reports that Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino "was shown to a handful of top critics (okay, exactly three) on the Warner Bros. lot last Thursday afternoon, and consensus is it's a slam-dunk acting nomination for Clint."
This has been speculated all along as a potential gold-watch gesture due to the assertion-belief that Gran Torino may be Eastwood's final performance, but now the idea has a little more meat on its bones. Draw your own inferences from Hammond not passing along "consensus" talk about Gran Torino being Best Picture material.
"Eastwood always lets a very select few on his approved list see his movies first, and in this case it was a highly respected top-tier critic from a major daily newspaper" -- the L.A. Times' Kenny Turan, one presumes -- "a major Hollywood trade paper" -- Variety's Todd McCarthy, obviously -- "and a major consumer entertainment news TV show" -- i.e., Entertainment Tonight's Leonard Maltin.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on November 19, 2008 at 7:26 AM
comment #1
MikeSchaeferSF
says ...
I finally saw the trailer the other day and... I dunno. It looks awfully low-rent to me. Unless there are more subtle shadings in some scenes the trailer omits, it seems like Death Wish for geezers. Not that that's necessarily a bad concept, but Oscar-bait?
Posted by MikeSchaeferSF
at November 19, 2008 8:55 AM
comment #2
Chase Kahn
says ...
I just have to think that if Clint Eastwood was not attached to this project in any way that it would be coming out in April and no one would even care...
I agree, Schaefer -- I think it looks BAD.
Clint's voice sounds like Christian Bale after getting a machete shoved down his throat...
Posted by Chase Kahn
at November 19, 2008 10:53 AM
comment #3
YND
says ...
Thank God -- I was starting to think I'd gone crazy. To my eyes, the GRAN TORINO trailer is awful. Clint grunting and glowering into the camera and spouting gems like "What the hell these Chinese have to move into THIS neighborhood for?" The cut-for-the-laugh moments like "throwing us out on his birthday!". The painful slo-mo after Clint's devastating dis to the priest about being *gasp* just out of the seminary.
The only moments of any kind of promise seem to be the two main Hmong kids. All the rest of it is overheated and cliche.
Not saying the movie sucks -- 'cause who knows? -- but it's a lousy trailer and I wish they weren't showing it before every other movie out here. Just one man's opinion...
Posted by YND
at November 19, 2008 11:07 AM
comment #4
Rich S.
says ...
Ebert has posted a bizarre column where he meets with some guy he calls "Deep Vote." Supposedly, the guy had every Oscar nomination from last year correct. "He" hedges this year by putting more than five nominees in several characters.
He says Eastwood is a mortal lock for an acting nomination and hints at a probable win.
Ebert admits he hasn't seen many of the movies the "guy" is talking about. So it's hard to know what he's up to. I guess we'll see.
Posted by Rich S.
at November 19, 2008 12:24 PM
comment #5
Rich S.
says ...
Sorry. characters=categories.
Posted by Rich S.
at November 19, 2008 12:25 PM
comment #6
lazarus
says ...
For the love of god, please don't give this man even more Oscars he doesn't deserve.
Film looks TERRIBLE.
Posted by lazarus
at November 19, 2008 12:36 PM
comment #7
Zimmergirl
says ...
Yeah, this is somewhat expected but interesting about the Best Pic talk. The acting stuff isn't new. I want to know how it will sit with the major categories.
Posted by Zimmergirl
at November 19, 2008 2:12 PM
comment #8
rr3333
says ...
Better to watch Clint act in a movie instead of selling luggage like Sean Connery.
Posted by rr3333
at November 19, 2008 3:21 PM
comment #9
austin111
says ...
Clint will probably win, beating out the superb Mickey Roarke, Sean Penn, Frank Langella, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Benecio Del Toro, and Richard Jenkins. But will his performance actually be better than any of these? Doubtful, since he's mostly one note as an actor and always has been. However, the caveat is that he is an "ICON", no ifs, ands or buts. It'll be a career award and the other guys who get nodded will have to settle for, well, the nods. Bet they'll get up and cheer him on none-the-less.
Posted by austin111
at November 19, 2008 4:17 PM
comment #10
adorian
says ...
Yes. Ebert's Deep Vote column is bizarre. Either he or Deep Vote thinks Chekhov's "The Seagull" was written by Ibsen.
Posted by adorian
at November 19, 2008 5:07 PM
comment #11
JBM...
says ...
I read a draft of the script a couple months ago and the Eastwood character's "conscienceless racism" (how the writer Nick Schenk put it) was stunning. I remember thinking "no way will Clint make this." Warner Bros. put a draft online today and I compared it with mine and they're nearly word-for-word identical...
Posted by JBM...
at November 21, 2008 1:13 AM
comment #12
janee
says ...
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Posted by janee
at May 19, 2011 1:38 AM