Day: February 3, 2014

The Dylan Farrow letter “has impacted Cate Blanchett‘s campaign,” Michael Musto tells Gold Derby‘s Tom O’Neil in a recently posted audio discussion. “Blanchett was the biggest lock since Colin Firth when he won for The King’s Speech. [But] suddenly, it’s not cool right now to vote for Woody Allen. Do I think Blanchett will win? I do because her performance is so strong and why would you hold it against her? This has nothing to do with Cate Blanchett, but I think it’s throwing a big wrench into the whole thing. (On Oscar night) if they say the winner is not Cate Blanchett, we’re going to know why she didn’t win.”

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2013 was the biggest and boldest year for African-American themes and filmmakers in Hollywood history, hence the deserved presence of 12 Years A Slave‘s Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mandela: Long Road to Freedom‘s Idris Elba, Fruitvale Station‘s Michael B. Jordan and Slave‘s Lupita Nyong’o on the cover of Vanity Fair‘s Hollywood issue. But why include Mandela‘s Naomie Harris and 42‘s Chadwick Boseman? VF cover subjects for this annual issue are usually chosen because (a) they’re award-season contenders with serious heat or (b) are breakout types who seem likely to be players for years to come. No offense but very few conversation-starters were extra-lathered about Harris and Boseman’s performances. They may have great careers in front of them but people in my circle were not running around and saying “Naomie Harris is the next thing!” and “Chadwick Boseman killed in 42!”

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Six and a half years ago I bought Criterion’s then-new DVD of Billy Wilder‘s Ace in the Hole (’51). For years I had written lovingly of this film’s flinty, hard-as-nails quality. I’ve mentioned Jan Sterling‘s “hard-boiled egg” line a couple of times. I’ve memorized Kirk Douglas‘s “eight spindly trees in front of Rockefeller Center” speech. But guess what? My main reaction to the DVD was “this is too cynical, too bitter…it overplays that aspect.” The best movies always define themselves with a precise tone and world-view, but too much cynicism kills the ghoulash. On top of which that Criterion DVD looks pretty good. I’m not persuaded that shelling out $30 bills for a Masters of Cinema Bluray (streeting on 4.28) is all that necessary. Who am I kidding? I’ll be shelling out but I won’t like myself in the morning.

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