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Entries in Academy Awards (4)

Terry Gilliam Blasts 'Dark Knight' Oscar Push for Ledger as Studio Gimmick

Perspective is everything, I guess. If you're a cast or crew member of The Dark Knight - or if you have seen and loved or will see and love the film - you probably believe Heath Ledger deserves at least an Oscar nomination. Yes, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Christian Bale, and Michael Caine have all said they believe their late co-star is worthy, and a lot of early reviews indicate the same thing.

But if you're Terry Gilliam, the director of The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, the film Ledger was working on when he died of an accidental overdose earlier this year, you have a slightly different viewpoint.

"That's what Warner Brothers are saying, but they'll do anything to publicise their film...That's just what they do and you can't get upset because it's bullshit. They're like a great white shark which devours whatever it can."

Gilliam told London's Telegraph that he intends to dedicate Parnassus to Ledger, and the film, which hired Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law to finish what Ledger had begun, is now in post-production and will be released in 2009.

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Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at 10:23AM by Registered CommenterColin Boyd in , , , , , , , , | Comments19 Comments

'Dark Knight' Cast Members Weigh Ledger's Oscar Chances

Earlier this week, we shared with you the outpouring of support from critics for Heath Ledger's work in The Dark Knight. The consensus was that we're probably headed to a posthumous Oscar nomination, the eighth one of all time. A lot of writers already believe Ledger may have the Academy Award in the bag.

And now his castmates are joining the campaign, speaking eloquently and emotionally about Ledger, and also quite pedantically about his performance as The Joker.

Says Christian Bale, who, of course, shares significant screen time with Ledger in the film, "A lot of people talk about awards all the time, and it's early days. But if anybody deserves it, of course, it is Heath in this."

"I do think that Heath has created an iconic villain that will stand for the ages, and of course, I would love to see him get an award," Bale continued. "But you know, to me, you can witness his talent, celebrate his talent within this movie. Anything else is gravy."

Gary Oldman, who like Bale has mysteriously never earned an Oscar nomination himself, admits, "I think it's an incredible performance. I think it sets a new benchmark. It would surprise me if he didn't get a posthumous Oscar for it."

And from Maggie Gyllenhaal, who replaced Katie Holmes in the role of Rachel Dawes for The Dark Knight, we get this highly analytical review:

"He hit it in the entire performance. It's so difficult to do that in a huge movie like this and much easier to do in the tiny movies. That's why those are always the people who win Academy Awards. Heath was (amazing); it's so unusual, and it happens really rarely even for the best actors, that you just hit this stride in a role and you're totally free. And when that happens, you can do no wrong. It's incredible to be around, and that's what it was like with him."

If the performance really does live up to all the talk - and there's every reason to suspect that it does - then not only will Ledger get an Oscar nomination (and likely a win), but he will have earned it for what he did in the film and not for the fact that he can never do it again.

Posted on Thursday, July 3, 2008 at 11:29AM by Registered CommenterColin Boyd in , , , , , , , , | Comments6 Comments

Oscars Change Rule on Best Song Nominees

Next year's Academy Awards will be a little different. Earlier this week, AMPAS changed a longstanding rule about Best Original Song nominees, limiting the number of songs eligible from one film.

In the past two years, two films have dominated the field of nominees - Dreamgirls in 2007 and Enchanted this year - only to go home with nothing. This past year, "Falling Slowly" from Once deservedly beat three songs from Enchanted, "Happy Working Song," "So Close," and "That's How You Know."

The rule will state that only two songs from any movie are eligible, which doesn't exactly address the issue appropriately enough. I mean, if you're going to limit it, limit it to one song per film. This way, you get more films in the category. I would suppose that's the logic.

Of course, on the other hand, both Tom Hulce and F. Murray Abraham were nominated for Best Actor in Amadeus, and Cate Blanchett was the most recent double nominee, popping up in the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories this year. So maybe we should say one nomination per film per category and one nomination per year per actor. If we're really going to be democratic, wouldn't that be the best thing?

Well, no, because if we're really being democratic, the best choices would be nominated regardless of how many of them come from one movie or how many of them one person is responsible for. If Enchanted really had three of the five best songs last year, why shouldn't they be nominated?

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Posted on Friday, June 20, 2008 at 10:52AM by Registered CommenterColin Boyd in | Comments1 Comment

New to DVD - 'There Will Be Blood'

beblood7.jpgFor two-and-a-half hours, Daniel Day-Lewis assaults and batters the screen, other actors, and very likely your preconceived notions of what acting really is.

Playing the ruthless oil baron Daniel Plainview in Paul Thomas Anderson's sweeping There Will Be Blood, Day-Lewis is a combination of Charles Manson and Charles Foster Kane, all ambition and spite, wrapped in barbed wire, and one misread glance away from ripping your throat out.

Day-Lewis plays Plainview with an absolute singularity. It goes beyond coldness or being calloused; In his mind, he is doing the right thing because he always does the right thing, because when there's only one opinion that matters it's always the right one. Ironic, then, that he's named Plainview.

There is more to marvel at in Anderson's production, though it tends to fade into near nothingness in comparison to the mammoth presence of its leading actor. The turn of the 20th Century oil fields and undeveloped California land that Plainview is so maniacally interested in devouring provide a hushed, almost somber tone to the story, which draws its inspiration from the Upton Sinclair book, Oil.

The supporting performances, by Little Miss Sunshine's Paul Dano and by young Dillon Freasier are equally unique, and while both are integral to Plainview's journey, they are simply that: Performances that add a little weight and the occasional serve and volley to Day-Lewis.

Jonny Greenwood's musical score is stout and foreboding. And Anderson treats this story as bigger than one man; it could very well be the story of greed that has formed most corporations in the past century and a half symbolized through Plainview.

The production looks and sounds authentic, which you can't say of every period piece and should not go unnoticed. Anderson directed Boogie Nights nearly ten years ago and at the time, he was a wildly imaginative storyteller whose maturity needed to match his energetic artistry. He's done that here, surpassing anything else he's ever made.

The same goes for Daniel Day-Lewis, for whom the same never goes.

Posted on Tuesday, April 8, 2008 at 07:10AM by Registered CommenterColin Boyd in , , , , | CommentsPost a Comment