Hidden Figures‘ Kevin Costner speaking with Variety‘s Kris Tapley about Dances With Wolves: “There was an undertone out there that was ugly. It was ‘Kevin’s Gate,’ like, ‘What’s he doing out there? This movie is a disaster.’ I didn’t know where that had come from. I know this: I had to turn down The Hunt … Read more
Click here to jump past HE Sink-In Kevin Costner as NASA honcho “Al Harrison” in Theodore Melfi’s Hidden Figures. When SAG and Academy members nominate actors in whatever category, they are naturally presumed to have chosen this or that colleague for two reasons. One, they’ve found the journey of a certain character to be emotionally … Read more
SAG Awards nominations popped this morning while Hollywood Elsewhere was in the supine. Manchester By The Sea leads with four nominations — Best Ensemble, Best Actor (Casey Affleck), Best Supporting Actress (Michelle Williams), Best Supporting Actor (Lucas Hedges). Fences and Moonlight (which is throwing a luncheon today at Craig’s on Melrose) got three nommies each. … Read more
I didn’t crash until 2 am last night so I damn sure wasn’t going to bound out of bed at dawn for the Golden Globe nominations. No way. There are plenty of sites posting the nommies chapter and verse so I’ll just mention a few eyebrow raisers: (1) No Best Motion Picture, Drama for Fences, … Read more
When reps for Fences‘ Viola Davis announced that she’d be running as a Best Supporting Actress contender, there were two basic reactions: (1) If SAG and Academy members accept that she’s playing a supporting role, she’s got the Oscar in the bag but (2) will they accept this or call it category fraud, given that … Read more
Earlier today Variety‘s 12.7 Tim Gray posted a piece called “After a Tough 2016, Is Oscar Ready for an Upbeat Winner?” The gist is that things are so dark and gloomy now that Academy and guild members will be more inclined to vote for smart mood elevators like Hidden Figures, La La Land, Lion and … Read more
Having won three Best Supporting Actor awards (New York Film Critics Circle, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association) over the last week or so, Moonlight‘s Mahershala Ali clearly has the heat. Manchester By The Sea‘s Lucas Hedges and Hidden Figures‘ Kevin Costner are vying for the runner-up slot, but the … Read more
Snickering about the National Board of Review has been a media pastime for decades, but for the most part their annual award choices, to be fair, have been fairly wise and spot-on. Today the NBR guys announced their 2016 awards, and Kenneth Lonergan‘s Manchester By The Sea was far and away the big winner — … Read more
In my view La La Land and Manchester by The Sea are neck and neck. Okay, Manchester might be a very close second. Moonlight is right up there but it has no torque, no rumble in the engine, and so it has reason to be fearful of Fences, which may overtake it in a week … Read more
Which of the 2016 Best Picture contenders meet the Howard Hawks’ definition of a quality-level film — “three great scenes and no bad ones”? HE nitpickers have tried to dismiss the Hawks criteria, but a movie that delivers three great scenes and no shitty ones is always a well-fortified Best Picture contender. Because people always … Read more
Denzel Washington‘s Fences (Paramount, 12.25), which everyone saw last night, is going to kick major Oscar nomination ass — guaranteed noms for Best Picture, Best Director (Denzel), Best Actor (ditto) and Best Supporting Actress (Viola Davis, 100% locked to win)…bare minimum. Mykelti Williamson may snag a Best Supporting Actor nom as Denzel’s mentally damaged brother. … Read more
Over the last two or three days journos have received invites to almost every award-season film that hasn’t yet screened — Denzel Washington‘s Fences, Ben Affleck‘s Live by Night, Stephen Gaghan‘s Gold, Robert Zemeckis‘s Allied, Theodore Melfi‘s Hidden Figures, Taylor Hackford‘s The Comedian, Juan Antonio Bayona‘s A Monster Calls. (Invites to the Bayona actually came … Read more