First the Saving Mr. Banks trailer, which sold the film as something jokier and more comedically cloying than Kelly Marcel‘s first-rate script. And now the one-sheet, which uses adolescent-friendly cartoon silhouettes to indicate the characters played by Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson. It’s saying to the dummies out there, “This movies will be as easy to understand and digest as an old Mickey Mouse cartoon.” I’m getting more and more worried about this thing by the minute.
Yesterday I sent New Orleans-based movie maven David Dubos a PDF of Kelly Marcel‘s Savings Mr. Banks screenplay. A few hours later he replied: “Read it today, quite good. Surefire Oscar nom for Best Original screenplay, and likely acting noms for Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson.
Post-Cannes, here are my Best Picture predictions as things now stand…and what do I know? David O. Russell‘s American Hustle is still #1 because the script is sharp and tight and because smilin’ Russell is an effing machine gun — he’s on his game and due and everyone knows it. #2 is J.C. Chandor‘s All Is Lost — one of the most audacious, aesthetically ballsy survivalist dramas ever made, and with a major comeback, career-high performance from Robert Redford. And #3 is Joel and Ethan Coen‘s Inside Llewyn Davis, a major American piece-of-time folkie art film that will stand the test, and which you’ll want to see a second time. That was my first thought, at least.
Martin Scorsese‘s The Wolf of Wall Street is #4 because…I don’t know exactly as I haven’t read the script, but I know that people have been slip-sliding into an “okay, all right, what else can you show us?” attitude about the Scorsese-DiCaprio partnership. Richard Linklater‘s Before Midnight has to be a Best Picture contender…it has to be. (What’s the argument against it? That it’s too good, too real, too well-written and well-acted?) And then comes John Lee Hancock‘s Saving Mr. Banks (Kelly Marcel‘s script is quite good), Paul Greengrass‘s Captain Phillips, George Clooney‘s Monuments Men and Bennett Miller‘s Foxcatcher.
I’m not enough of a fan of Alexander Payne‘s Nebraska to predict a Best Picture nomination, but on the other hand I’m not opposed to the idea. And let’s not forget Ryan Coogler‘s Fruitvale Station, which has the heat and could vault ahead of Hancock-Scorsese-Clooney-Greengrass.
This morning I finally got around to reading Kelly Marcel‘s script of Saving Mr. Banks, the story of the contentious script collaboration between Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) and Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) during the development of Disney’s Mary Poppins film, which came out to great success and acclaim in 1964.
Tom Hanks as Walt Disney as Emma Thompson as P.L. Travers in John Lee Hancock and Kelly Marcel’s Saving Mr. Banks (Disney, 12.20).
Within the last couple of days Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans suffered two savage bird pecks, the combination of which may prove fatal. First, Variety's Clayton Davis printed a reaction to The Fabelmans from "a prominent member of the [Academy's] producers’ branch", to wit: “I really didn’t like it.” And secondly, the five BAFTA nominations for Best Film didn't include The Fabelmans.
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The official roster of the 2019 Venice International Film Festival will be announced on Thursday, 7.25. The festival will happen between Wednesday, 8.28 and Saturday, 9.7. Many of the Venice titles will presumably play Telluride, of course.
World of Reel‘s Jordan Ruimy has been a fount of information on this. Here’s his most recent post on Venice. I don’t know this for a fact, but Cedric Succivalli is somehow connected to the Venice ’19 selection committee. Ruimy informs that Succivalli tweeted the 21 directors who have been selected for the Venice competition. Then he deleted the tweet. A.A. Dowd captured the tweet and posted it.
Here’s the Succivalli list:
An Officer and A Spy (Roman Polanski)
Ad Astra (James Gray)
The Laundromat (Steven Soderbergh)
First Cow (Kelly Reichardt)
Against All Enemies (Benedict Andrews)
Ema (Pablo Larrain)
Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach)
Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waitti)
The Pope (Fernando Mereilles)
The Truth (Hirokazu kore-eda)
About Endlessness (Roy Andersson)
The Goldfinch (John Crowley)
Martin Eden (Pietro Marcello)
Gloria Mundi (Robert Guédiguian)
Qui Ridio io (Mario Martone)
The Salt of Tears (Philippe Garrel)
Cherry Lane (Yonfan)
The Painted Bird (Václav Marhoul)
La mafia non è più quella di una volta (Franco Maresco)
Also allegedly screening out of competition will be an extended version of Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo. No, this isn’t a joke.
HE: “An extended version of Mektoub/Intermezzo? That sounds absurd.” Ruimy: “Oh, I know. You could be forgiven for interpreting this roster as a message being sent by Venice to PC culture. Polanski in competition. Only one or two female directors in competition. Mektoub: Extended Cut. Woody Allen‘s potentially premiering A Rainy Day in New York there.”
Yesterday seven Indiewire contributors riffed on twenty 2019 films that may, in some cases, excite woke-ish or avant-garde sensibilities…who knows?
In alphabetical order: James Gray‘s Ad Astra, Harmony Korine‘s Beach Bum, Mia Hansen Love‘s Bergman Island, Martin Scorsese‘s The Irishman, Taika Waititi‘s Jojo Rabbit, Rian Johnson‘s Knives Out, Dee Rees‘ The Last Thing He Wanted, Robert Eggers‘ The Lighthouse, Greta Gerwig‘s Little Women, Noah Hawley‘s Lucy in the Sky, Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Bong Joon-ho‘s Parasite, Melina Matsoukas‘ Queen & Slim, Josephine Decker‘s Shirley, Kore-eda Hirokazu‘s The Truth, Benny & Josh Safdie‘s Uncut Gems, Jordan Peele‘s Us, Benh Zeitlin‘s Wendy and Janicza Bravo‘s Zola.
Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.
I’m not going to offer any sweeping judgments about the just-announced 2018 Sundance Film Festival slate, except to suggest that with a competition slate that is 53% female (i.e., nine of the 17 directors eligible for the festival’s top prize are women) it would appear that 2018 Sundance is going to be just as progressive-minded (i.e., “socialist summer camp in the snow”) as last year’s festival, if not more so.
I’m going to take it two or three sections at a time. Today I’m pasting Premieres (feature and documentary), Midnight & Spotlight. I’ve bold-faced the titles that I have a special interest in seeing, but I’d appreciate thoughts about anything I might be unfairly dismissing. I’l consider the other sections tomorrow.
Premieres (18):
After The Wedding (Director and screenwriter: Bart Freundlich, Producers: Joel B. Michaels, Harry Finkel) — Seeking funds for her orphanage in India, Isabelle travels to New York to meet Theresa, a wealthy benefactor. An invitation to attend a wedding ignites a series of events in which the past collides with the present while mysteries unravel. Based on the Academy Award-nominated film by Susanne Bier. Cast: Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, Billy Crudup, Abby Quinn.
Animals (U.K.-Ireland-Australia – Director: Sophie Hyde, Screenwriter: Emma Jane Unsworth, Producers: Sarah Brocklehurst, Rebecca Summerton, Cormac Fox, Sophie Hyde) — After a decade of partying, Laura and Tyler’s friendship is strained by Laura’s new love and her focus on her novel. A snapshot of a modern woman with competing desires, at once a celebration of female friendship and an examination of the choices we make when facing a crossroads. Cast: Holliday Grainger, Alia Shawkat.
Blinded by the Light (U.K. – Director: Gurinder Chadha, Screenwriters: Sarfraz Manzoor, Gurinder Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges, Producers: Gurinder Chadha, Jane Barclay, Jamal Daniel) — In 1987 during the austere days of Thatcher’s Britain, a teenager learns to live life, understand his family and find his own voice through the music of Bruce Springsteen. Cast: Viveik Kalra, Hayley Atwell, Rob Brydon, Kulvinder Ghir, Nell Williams, Aaron Phagura.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (United Kingdom – Director and screenwriter: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Producers: Andrea Calderwood, Gail Egan) — Against all the odds, a thirteen year old boy in Malawi invents an unconventional way to save his family and village from famine. Based on the true story of William Kamkwamba. Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Maxwell Simba, Lily Banda, Noma Dumezweni, Aissa Maiga, Joseph Marcell.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (Director: Joe Berlinger, Screenwriter: Michael Werwie, Producers: Michael Costigan, Nicolas Chartier, Ara Keshishian, Michael Simkin) — A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy from the perspective of Liz, his longtime girlfriend, who refused to believe the truth about him for years. Cast: Zac Efron, Lily Collins, Haley Joel Osment, Kaya Scodelario, John Malkovich, Jim Parsons.
I Am Mother (Australia – Director: Grant Sputore, Screenwriter: Michael Lloyd Green, Producers: Timothy White, Kelvin Munro) — In the wake of humanity’s extinction, a teenage girl is raised by a robot designed to repopulate the earth. But their unique bond is threatened when an inexplicable stranger arrives with alarming news. Cast: Clara Rugaard, Rose Byrne, Hilary Swank.
Late Night (Director: Nisha Ganatra, Screenwriter: Mindy Kaling, Producers: Ben Browning, Howard Klein, Jillian Apfelbaum, Mindy Kaling) — Legendary late-night talk show host’s world is turned upside down when she hires her only female staff writer. Originally intended to smooth over diversity concerns, her decision has unexpectedly hilarious consequences as the two women separated by culture and generation are united by their love of a biting punchline. Cast: Emma Thompson, Mindy Kaling, John Lithgow, Paul Walter Hauser, Reid Scott, Amy Ryan.
The Mustang (Director: Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, Screenwriters: Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, Mona Fastvold, Brock Norman Brock, Producer: Alain Goldman) — While participating in a rehabilitation program training wild mustangs, a convict at first struggles to connect with the horses and his fellow inmates, but learns to confront his violent past as he soothes an especially feisty horse. Cast: Matthias Schoenaerts, Connie Britton, Bruce Dern, Jason Mitchell, Gideon Adlon, Josh Stewart.
Here’s the latest HE rundown of 2019 films of a certain preferred quality. 88 as we speak. Possible critical faves, perhaps even award-season contenders. The two main categories are (a) general appeal flicks with bigger names and budgets (29), and (b) smarthouse, upmarket films for particular congregations (59). Further refinements to come. What have I missed?
GENERAL APPEAL, BIGGER NAMES, BIGGER BUDGETS. etc. (30)
1. Martin Scorsese‘s The Irishman — A mob hitman recalls his possible involvement with the slaying of Jimmy Hoffa. (Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Jesse Plemons).
2. Quentin Tarantino‘s Once Upon A Time in Hollywood — A faded TV actor and his stunt double embark on an odyssey to make a name for themselves in the film industry during the Helter Skelter reign of terror in 1969 Los Angeles. (Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie).
3. Ang Lee‘s Gemini Man — An over-the-hill hitman faces off against a younger clone of himself. (Will Smith, Clive Owen, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Benedict Wong).
4. Jon Favreau‘s The Lion King — CGI and live-action re-imagining of the 1994 Disney classic. (Voice-acting by Donald Glover, Alfre Woodard, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Seth Rogen).
5. Todd Phillips’ Joker — Joker origin story, you know the drill. (Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Shea Whigham, Zazie Beetz)
6. Marielle Heller‘s You Are My Friend — The story of Fred Rogers, the honored host and creator of the popular children’s television program, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. (Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Susan Kelechi Watson, Tammy Blanchard)
7. J.C. Chandor‘s Triple Frontier — Five friends team to take down a South American drug lord. (Charlie Hunnam, Ben Affleck, Pedro Pascal, Oscar Isaac.) Netflix.
8. J.J. Abrams‘ Star Wars: Episode IX — The conclusion of the new ‘Star Wars’ trilogy. (Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, et.al.)
9. Joe Wright‘s The Woman in the Window — An agoraphobic woman living alone in New York begins spying on her new neighbors only to witness a disturbing act of violence. (Amy Adams, Wyatt Russell, Gary Oldman, Julianne Moore)
10. All You Need Is Love (aka “Untitled Danny Boyle/Richard Curtis Film”) — Set to the music of the Beatles, it’s about a musician who thinks he’s the only one who can hear the Beatles’ music. (Lily James, Ed Sheeran, Ana de Armas, Kate McKinnon, Lamorne Morris) Sheeran plays himself discovering a rising young musician. Mckinnon plays a talent agent. Hamesh Patel costars.
11. Greta Gerwig‘s Little Women — Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War. (Florence Pugh, Timothée Chalamet, Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan)
12. James Mangold‘s Ford v. Ferrari — The true story of the battle between Ford and Ferrari to win Le Mans in 1966. (Christian Bale, Matt Damon, Jon Bernthal).
13. Jordan Peele‘s Us — A “social thriller” set between two couples — one white, one black. Starring Winston Duke (Black Panther) and Lupita Nyongo’o — L.A. Daily News critic Bob Strauss champing at the very bit. (Anna Diop, Elisabeth Moss, Kara Hayward)
14. Aaron Schneider‘s Greyhound — During World War II, an international convoy of 37 Allied ships, led by Commander Ernest Krause (Tom Hanks), cross the treacherous North Atlantic while being hotly pursued by wolf packs of German U-boats. (Elisabeth Shue, Karl Glusman, Stephen Graham)
15. Gavin Hood‘s Official Secrets — The true story of a British whistleblower who leaked information to the press about an illegal NSA spy operation designed to push the UN Security Council into sanctioning the 2003 invasion of Iraq. (Matthew Goode, Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes)
Danny Boyle‘s Slumdog Millionaire has won the Toronto Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award — a harbinger, no doubt, of audience reaction/acceptance to come. Now that I’m back in Los Angeles, I may as well take this opportunity to list my Toronto highs and lows:
Finest, Richest, Most Rousing (in this order): Kathryn Bigelow‘s The Hurt Locker, Phillipe Claudel‘s I’ve Loved You So Long, Steven Soderbergh‘s Che (Parts 1 and 2), Joel and Ethan Coen‘s Burn After Reading, Danny Boyle‘s Slumdog Millonaire, Rod Lurie‘s Nothing But The Truth, Gavin O’Connor‘s Pride and Glory.
Didn’t Feel Strong Love/Like, But Highly Respectable All The Same: Matteo Garone‘s Gamorrah, Andreas Dresen‘s Cloud 9, Steve McQueen‘s Hunger.
Best Crafted, Most Fully Felt Drama By a Really Young Filmmaker: 24 Year-Old Nik Fakler‘s Lovely Still.
Fascinating/Interesting Problem Movie (That I’ve Yet to Discuss At Any Length): Jonathan Demme‘s Rachel Getting Married.
Entertaining, Ideologically and Politically On_The-Money, Cinematically Acceptable: Bill Maher and Larry Charles‘ Religulous.
Good Enough, Not Half Bad, Moderately Stirring or Diverting: Ed Harris‘s Appaloosa, Claire Denis‘ 35 Ruhms, Kelly Reichardt‘s Wendy and Lucy, Kevin Smith‘s Zack and Miri Make a Porno.
Regrettable Misses: Darren Aronofsky‘s The Wrestler, Kari Skogland‘s Fifty Deam Men Walking, the new narration-free version of Fernando Meirelles‘ Blindness, Barbet Schroeder‘s Inju, Max Farberbock‘s A Woman in Berlin, Spike Lee‘s Miracle at St. Anna, Christophe Baratier‘s Fauborg 36, K. Rafferty‘s Harvard Beats Yale, Ari Folman‘s Waltz With Bashir, Paul Schrader’s Adam Resurrected, Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel’s Deadgirl, Dan Stone and Patrick Gambuti Jr.‘s At The Edge of the World.
Deliberate Misses: The Duchess, Flash of Genius, Adoration, The Secret Life of Bees.
Scratch-Off, Not For Me, Sorry: David Koepp‘s Ghost Town (except for Ricky Gervais‘ quite funny performance).
Decent or Half-Decent Films but Primarily Noteworthy for a Stand-Out Performance (or Performances): Richard Linklater‘s Me and Orson Welles, Guillermo Arriaga’s The Burning Plain.
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