Oscar Picks 2011

Nancy's Picks - will win, surprise win, should win

Best Picture:  The Artist 

Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Best Actors Leading: Viola Davis, The Help and Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Surprise Win:  Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
Should win again (or give another tie win with Viola Davis): Meryl Streep

Best Actors Supporting: Octavia Spencer, The Help and Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Original Screenplay:  Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris

Great dream Productions Oscar Picks 2008

Oscar Nominees & Nancy's Picks in Bold

Best Picture
I only had a chance to see three out of five from this list, Atonement, Juno, and No Country For Old Men. Adored Juno but the Coen Brothers delivered a staggering film with No Country For Old Men--it gets my pick.




"Atonement"
"Juno"
"Michael Clayton"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Actor
Tough one, only saw Sweeney Todd. My guess is that it will go to Daniel Day-Lewis.

George Clooney, "Michael Clayton"
Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"
Johnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
Tommy Lee Jones, "In the Valley of Elah"
Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises"

Best Actress
Saw Away From Her, La Vie en Rose, Juno --- I want to give the Oscar to Julie Christie and Marion Cotillard. Both actors deserve this recognition. If I can pick only one, it will go to Julie Christie.

Cate Blanchett, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
Julie Christie, "Away From Her"
Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"
Laura Linney, "The Savages"
Ellen Page, "Juno"



Best Supporting Actor
This is really not fair because I only got to one of these films, No Country For Old Men. Bardem, Holbrook, Hoffman, and Wilkinson are great actors. Affleck probably has more time to deliver great performances. I'll have to go with Javier Bardem.

Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"
Hal Holbrook, "Into the Wild"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Charlie Wilson's War"
Tom Wilkinson, "Michael Clayton"




Best Supporting Actress
Atonement and I'm Not There were the films I had a chance to see. Cate Blanchett gets my pick for her Bob Dylan turn.
Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There"
Ruby Dee, "American Gangster"
Saoirse Ronan, "Atonement"
Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"
Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton"






Best Director
Going with the Coen Brothers.

Julian Schnabel, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Jason Reitman, "Juno"
Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"

Best Adapted Screenplay
Of the two films seen, I'm going with Sarah Polley. A great first-time turn as director and a beautiful film.

Christopher Hampton, "Atonement"
Sarah Polley, "Away from Her"
Ronald Harwood, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"






Best Original Screenplay
Going with Diablo Cody for Juno, great characters, great first script.

Diablo Cody, "Juno"
Nancy Oliver, "Lars and the Real Girl"
Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco, "Ratatouille"
Tamara Jenkins, "The Savages"

Diablo Cody in "The First Church Of Harpo"

I was reading through the latest script written by one of my clients in early January, and kept thinking about Diablo Cody's script for "Juno"---figuring that Cody would definitely end up with noms throughout the awards season.

Cody previously blogged on "blogger" and has now moved over to My Space. She's been appearing all over network shows from Letterman to Oprah. Cody shares that appearing in "the First Church of Harpo" was "peyote-weird"--since I have a day job, I missed Cody's "O-gasm" experience with Juno cast members. But the fact remains, appearing with "O" sells movie tickets, books, and presidential candidates.

And when I did return my client's script, I also sent a copy of "Juno"---I figure that it helps to read screenplays that work and get a feel for why they do---character, language, storytelling.

La Môme . . . No Regrets, Piaf Film Portrait Triumphs

Crippled by arthritis and alcohol, La Môme struggles onto L'Olympia's concert stage with help from a morphine shot and the sheer will to sing once more. Olivier Dahan's poignant film portrait of Edith Piaf belongs to Parisian-born actress Marion Cotillard. Cotillard must have been channeling The Little Sparrow, her performance captures Piaf as spectacularly and exhaustingly as she lived.

Opening in early June as La Vie En Rose across the U.S., Dahan's stunning tribute recently closed the 50th Anniversary San Francisco International Film Festival. Dahan alternated speaking in French and English during a Q&A exchange with SF Film Society's Executive Director, Graham Leggat and the audience.

Dahan's inspiration for making the film came from a photograph of Piaf. He then set about reading everything he could find. He chose not to interview friends or others who knew her best because he wanted to develop his own interpretation of who she was. Dahan's initial script came in at 240 pages, the final came in at 140---still 40-60 pages longer than most screenplays today.

Unlike most of us, Dahan said that he doesn't consider Piaf an icon, (no one asked him who he does consider to be one). However, when asked what it was like to make the film, Dahan replied, "It was like standing at the base of an enormous mountain."

Dahan's technique of alternating flashbacks with "present" pivotal moments of triumph and tragedy is startling and perfect. In explaining why he placed one of Piaf's little known personal tragedies near the film's end, he said it was to honor how she herself handled it, 'Piaf never spoke about it in life' and he didn't want viewers to "dwell on it" throughout the film. That Dahan revealed this issue during Piaf's final hours was another brilliant choice.

It's hard to believe that Dahan doesn't consider Piaf an icon --- he so clearly honors her in one of the most---stunning (did I say that enough already?)---character portraits ever produced on film. Dahan said he feels proud. When long-time friends of Piaf finally saw the completed film, they told him, "Yes, that's her. You got her right."

On The Oscars

Yawn. Year after year, the Academy Awards Show continues to bore. Seems like the producers should be able to deliver a simple ceremony where nominees are honored and awards are presented. I don't know what the Academy should do except stop doing what they're doing, it's not working. I'd offer another solution but I don't have one.

Thank heaven for Helen Mirren's gracious tribute to HRH:


"For 50 years and more, Elizabeth Windsor has maintained her dignity, her sense of duty, and her hairstyle. And I thank her because if it wasn't for her, I most, most certainly would not be here. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Queen!"

Photo Credit: REUTERS/Gary Hershorn

On Cool Hand Luke

It's Oscar day and I was sitting here sorting thru a stack of mail while half-watching (for the zillionth time) Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke. One in a string of very cool Newman films, this one delivers that all-time classic line:

"What we've got he'ah is(a) fail-yah to communicate!"

Cool Hand Luke boasts a stellar chain gang: Harry Dean Stanton, George Kennedy, J.D. Cannon, Wayne Rogers, Dennis Hopper, James Gammon, Ralph Waites, Anthony Zerbe, and Joe Don Baker. The late great award-winning actress Jo Van Fleet plays Luke's mother.

I can remember my own mother talking about Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward's romance and subsequent marriage around 1958 because I paid attention to conversations about movies and movie stars. So, I'm happy that Newman's still around and has received recognition in recent years for his contribution to film and for his "Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good" with Newman's Own. Enjoy watching the trailer from Cool Hand Luke:

On Oscar Night - 79th Academy Awards

What a night for great dreams! And what a pleasure to see several amazing stories brought to our attention this year! A few favorites include Little Miss Sunshine, a small independent film with a large heart, fabulous cast, and a refreshing look at dysfunction. Several favorite films weave a common thread through them about what it means to stay together as a family today.

Babel left the theatre with me, four stories across four continents in 24 hours, snapshots of people trying to live their lives in a complex world. Screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga said that he'd "been obsessed through all my life with what is the particular day, the special day that makes you different, (so) that you will never be the same from that point." Babel captures "the last day of innocence," "the last day of a sense of loss," "the last day of substitution," and "the last day of resentment." Babel manages to bring our microcosms together, at the end of the day, each story reveals it's about communication.

I reviewed The Queen months ago, mostly about Helen Mirren's performance. Peter Morgan should win for his exceptional original The Queen screenplay. Forest Whitaker has had my attention for years. Best supporting actor category proves a bit tougher, it could go to Wahlberg or Murphy. I'll pick one and be happy with either. Best supporting actress nominees share really good performances though Jennifer Hudson deserves this year's statue.

Here's my Oscar picks in a few categories:

Best Picture:

Best Actor:




Best Supporting Actor:
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls (I'd be happy with Mark Wahlberg)

Best Director:
Alejandro González Iñárritu - Babel

Best Original Screenplay:
Peter Morgan - The Queen

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Best Animated Feature:
Happy Feet (It will probably go to Cars)

Best Foreign Film:
The Lives of Others

Best Documentary:
An Inconvenient Truth (will win whether it should or not)

On Robert Altman

"To me, I've just made one long film."



Thankfully, he gave us some of the most brilliant filmmaking in history.

On The Queen

Stephen Frears' THE QUEEN is a definite must see if only to marvel at Helen Mirren's breathtaking performance as HRH. Mirren and the cast gobbled up Peter Morgan's screenplay as if it were a bowl of the freshest English Devonshire Cream. Morgan performed extensive research by watching reels of film footage, consulting biographers and through interviews with personal sources who had ties to the Palace and Number 10 Downing Street. The result provides a plausible story based upon what could have happened with what did happen in the hours and weeks immediately following Diana's death.

Mirren remains absolutely fearless on screen in every role she undertakes. Not only in her portrayals but in the choices she makes as an actor. I really thought I was watching HRH with only a few moments of no, it's Helen Mirren's interpretation of the Queen. Mirren deftly gives one of the most poignant performances of her film career.

"Given the iconic status of the Queen, I was terrified," says Mirren."I was probably more nervous about this role than almost any other role I've ever done." To prepare, she researched, watched videos and gathered key cast members at her home to help begin creating "a sense of the Royals as family."

"Of course you also have to get certain things right, the hair, the hands, the stance,the walk, the voice. I had photographs of the Queen in my trailer and watched tapes all the time. It was a bit intimidating, because each time I watched them I would feel I was failing her, failing the inner person and you are constantly trying to get to the inner person," says Mirren.

This brings us to the essence of Mirren's approach to any performance. In her Queen, she explores the depth of human emotion: humor, compassion, sadness, doubt, resignation, leadership, and great strength. We see the depth of Helen Mirren as an actor and the kindness and respect with which she approached the Queen.

"There was one piece of early film, a simple little thing of about one minute of Elizabeth at about 12, getting out of a car and walking forward to shake someone's hand. I found it touching. I watched it over and over. The more I studied her, the more extraordinary she became as a person. She's not like Tony Blair, who's so forward. She's back within herself, but it's not a neurotic place or a confused place, it's a very steady place, quite a confident place. It's a place of incredible self-discipline--and then she steadily comes out from that point and that's the person I was constantly trying to fight my way towards," says Mirren.

We are moved watching the Queen, bound by tradition, pomp and circumstance, as she finally acknowledges that she's lost touch with what the people of her country are thinking and feeling.

The film causes us to reflect on how the life and death of the world's most famous young woman in 1997 forever changed the relationship between the monarchy, the government and the people of the United Kingdom.

THE QUEEN belongs to Helen Mirren. I am pretty sure HRH would be pleased.

Source Quotes & Images: Miramax Films Press Kit
Trailer:

On Gone With The Wind

Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind was published by MacMillan 70 years ago today. A year later in 1937, Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize. Note: The title is taken from the 1st line, 3rd stanza of an Ernest Dowson poem."Nom sum qualis eram bonae sub regno Cynare": "I have forgot much Cynara! gone with the wind." I remember staying up all night reading GWTW as a kid and never wanting the story to end. Later, I attended the same college not far from Atlanta as Aunt Pitypat had---in her day, it was called LaGrange Female Academy."Mitchell sold the film rights to David O. Selznick for a reported $50,000 and later received another $50,000. Gone With The Wind premiered on December 15, 1939 in Atlanta, Mitchell attended the opening. The film won 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture. I think it was around 1998 or 99 when the film was re-released on the big screen, it is the only way to watch this epic version of an even more wonderful epic novel. In 1947, Margaret Mitchell was crossing Atlanta's Peachtree Street and fatally hit by a car. I always think of her when travelling along Peachtree Street.

On An Inconvenient Truth

Thanks to producer Laurie David and company for helping Al Gore bring this message to all of us, quite simply our planet will not continue to sustain the number of people living here:

On Coming Home

It's Memorial Day. The front page of the SF Chronicle heralds Barry Bonds 715th Home Run surpassing Babe Ruth's 714th, this story pretty much consumes the entire page with a nice large color photo of Bonds. Two side story headlines read "Revering those lost to wars" and "Iraqis flee as killings increase" while a third story covers the second part in a series on school resegregation in San Francisco. Turner Classic Movies is showing a classic WWII film called The Longest Day with an all-star cast including Henry Fonda, John Wayne, Peter Lawford and a host of other top-rated actors from this generation.

In contrast, here's a trailer from Coming Home, a film that depicts the effects of another war that we did not need to fight. Released in 1978, Coming Home was produced by Jerome Hellman, directed by the late Hal Ashby with a screenplay by the once blacklisted Waldo Salt. Coming Home proved to be a labor of love by all involved in the production. Jane Fonda, Jon Voight, and Waldo Salt (original screenplay from a story by Nancy Dowd) won Academy Awards.