A courtesy screening of John Patrick Shanley‘s Doubt is happening this evening for the original B’way cast (including the legendary Cherry Jones, who played Meryl Streep‘s role on stage). Not many columnist-critic types are attending. The Envelope‘s Tom O’Neil, EW‘s Dave Karger, Mark Harris, some ghostwriter for Liz Smith.

So what major Oscar-worthy feature will be chosen to open the AFI Film Fest on 10.30, now that The Soloist has been withdrawn from that slot? An announcement will be forthcoming later this afternoon, I’m hearing. If I were running the AFI show, I would get either Doubt or Nothing But The Truth. Or I’d shift the already-scheduled The Wrestler or Slumdog Millionaire into the opening-night position.
The Soloist was yanked due to stars Robert Downey, Jr. and Jamie Foxx not being interested in doing the red carpet due to the general atmosphere of humiliation and embarassment stemming from Paramount’s decision to bump the Joe Wright-directed drama into Match 2009.

What does this seemingly legit Gran Torino one-sheet tell you? Here’s what it tells me: (a) Forget “sensitive” — this is a brass-tacks movie about one snarly old mofo; (b) The old Dirty Harry spirit and physicality is alive and well (that’s an enviably flat stomach for a 78 year-old!); (c) We’ll get into the racial-bigotry-and-animosity stuff in late November or early December — all we want to do now is send out those good old Clint vibes. Gran Torino now has a firm release date of 12.17.08. [Sorry for previous 11.17 typo.]

Gregg Goldstein posted a Hollywood Reporter story late last night about “several of the Weinstein Co.’s top founding film executives departing the company with no imminent replacements for their positions.” You could say that the facts speak for themselves and that’s fine, but the story as written seems to skirt the basics. Why can’t Goldstein just say that the Weinstein Co. is apparently scaling back while trying to negotiate a difficult stretch of road? Which would be a polite way of putting it.

“The story is ludicrous. You can imagine where it goes from here.” What respected cult movie is this dialogue from? And who said it?

“Unlike Clint Eastwood‘s Changeling, there is no melodrama in I’ve Loved You So Long, only real, quiet, strong acting,” says Daily Beast columnist Tom Tapp. Kristin Scott Thomas‘ Juliette does not rant at society’s injustices. Hers is a reactive performance. She watches the family. She watches her employers. She watches her sister. And somehow, our attention is held the entire time — I was completely captivated observing her, observing the world.

“Thomas’s is the kind of performance that critics always say deserves an Oscar, but rarely wins: an interior role in a small film in another language. But who knows? The critics have been rapturous. Maybe the Academy will be as well. The film will be a glaring absence in the Foreign Film category (France’s The Class is France’s selection this year), but we’d be glad to see Thomas in the Best Actress category again, where she belongs. There certainly has not been a better performance this year in any country.”

I’ve seen Terrence Malick‘s The New World three times — the 150-minute version that screened for the press in late ’05 (just once), and the shorter 135-minute version that opened in early ’06 (twice). But I’ve never seen the 172-minute extended cut that came out on DVD on 10.14. I’ve simply been too lazy to pick it up. I have the reviews, of course, but can anyone pass along some non-pro thoughts?

Ron Silver’s decision to become a 9/11 Republican a few years ago is what it is. But the poor guy’s appearance on Larry King Live a day or two ago was alarming. He looks gaunt, drained and sounded weak. I don’t know what the backstory is but I hope he’s doing well, and if he isn’t that he gets better. The Ron Silver I know and love is a bearded New Yorky-type guy with longish, swept-back hair, wearing an expensive suit and sporting a swaggery attitude.

It’s long been understood that Al-Qeada (also spelled “Al-Qaida”) wants John McCain elected so they’ll have a more full-on, never-say-die war effort to deal with in Iraq, which will advance their cause by inspiring more young and disaffected Middle Eastern men to join up and give their lives. So it’s not that big a deal for an Al-Qeada backed website called al-Hesbah to have posted a message along these lines.
The message reported late last night said that in order “to exhaust the United States militarily and economically,” Al-Qeada believes that the “impetuous Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain is the better choice because he is more likely to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan” and will otherwise “continue the failing march of his predecessor, Bush.”

I don’t know how many others have placed Nanette Burstein‘s American Teen on their short list of Best Feature Doc Oscar contenders. I did for a while because I mostly liked this Paramount Vantage-released doc. I called it a “full meal movie” that “takes us on a rewind tour of our own high-school experiences,” and that it cuts through cliches by “immersing us in the essentials..” And yet I’ve taken it off my short list for two reasons.

One, I just can’t shake the suspicion that the doc was “vaguely rigged” on some level, as I put it last summer. I realize that the Teen people denied this up and down, but I just don’t believe them. “There’s something about American Teen that just feels too polished,” I wrote last July. “Some of the dramatic scenes unfold so concisely and with such emotional clarity that it almost feels scripted.” I presume it wasn’t scripted, but rehearsed, re-shot, acted with directorial suggestions, etc.?
And two, I just can’t abide those declarations from American Teen “costars” Colin Clemens and Jake Tusing that they have no interest in voting. I can’t live with that or suppport anyone who says it. It’s wrong, irresponsible, uncondonable.
An excerpt from the 7.21 article: “It was just me, Colin and Jake (everyone else was outside) when I asked, ‘So where is everyone politically? Is anyone…you know, a Ron Paul fan? Or Nader? Anything out of the ordinary? Or are you all for Obama or…?’
“Nobody, they both said. Nada, zip, no interest. Jake said he hasn’t paid any attention at all to the candidates or the election. I asked if he might want to think it over sometime between now and election day in November so he could vote for somebody — Obama, the Libertarian guy, McCain, whomever. ‘No,’ he said. Doesn’t pay attention, doesn’t want to know, TV off.
“Colin said the same thing. I didn’t record him or take notes, but he basically said that ‘politics and politicians are a game…it never changes…it’s not something I care about…maybe when I get older but…I don’t know, but not now.'”
So no offense, guys, but words have meanings and actions have consequences.

This happened earlier today during a campaign stop in Goffstown, New Hampshire. At least once before John McCain blurted out a (Freudian slip?) “c” word. I’m reading today’s episode as another indication of stress and fatigue. He’s in a tough place now, has to be feeling it.