"Nine" Trailer

It's funny how this trailer business works out sometimes. I had watched the trailer for "The Road" before I watched the trailer for "Nine." I was expecting to be unimpressed by the trailer for "The Road" but to be blown away by "Nine."

Boy was I wrong.

How can a movie that has a cast of Oscar winners and nominees look so utterly dreadful. Yeah big stars make trash, but they rarely advertise the trash as such. "Nine" looks like trash right upfront. What's most puzzling is that I fully believed Harvey Weinstein was going to market the hell out of this thing for Oscar season. When you've got a musical starring Daniel-Day Lewis, Nicol Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson, and Judi Dench, plus Rob Marshal directing, you'd think the trailer would exploit those names for all it's worth. Just mentioning that virtually all these people won Oscars would make the movie feel more credible right away (even if they themselves lose credit). But nothing. No star power. No event vibe. Not even any blurb's from film festivals. The movie, in fact, looks like a parody of "Cabaret." And THIS is The Weinstein Companies Oscar contender for the year (in theory)!?! Well...good luck Harvey.

Not A 'Ghost' of a Chance For Oscar...Right?

Okay folks we ALL knew "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" was going to be a stinker of a movie! Just the fact that Matthew McConaughey is in it should be reason enough to skip it. It's also gotten a low score of 36% at Rotten Tomatoes, so we know it wasn't made with quality in mind. So the movie really shouldn't even be discussed on this site. But then...


...Michael Douglas shows up in the movie and steals the show. Literally. It's kind of a testament to an actors ability when they can show up in a bad movie and make it enjoyable whenever their on screen. Douglas does this and makes it look easy. Here is a contender for one of the worst films of the year, and yet these scenes with Douglas are clever, witty, and fun. He takes a nothing role and MAKES something of it! That's impressive no matter how you slice it. He's to this movie what Penelope Cruz was to "Vicky Christina Barcelona." It's a shame it's not a better movie or else an Oscar nomination would be a sure thing at this point. But you know what...I'm going to predict him anyway. Yeah it probably won't happen as more worthy performances will come out, but it's difficult to argue with something that just makes you feel good all over.

Full List of 2008 Winners

Well the show is over and now it's time to wipe the sidebar clean and move on with predicting next years nominees. Time flies when doing awards predictions, but the sad reality is this thing never stops. At the end of the journey it's as if a book has been written, and one has nothing left to do but to start all over again. I've already wiped the sidebar clean and added a few early predictions from films I've seen, and those predictions will morph and shift over the course of the year. Before completely moving on though, lets look at this years winners one more time:

BEST PICTURE

'Slumdog Millionaire' (Fox Searchlight) A Celador Films Production, Christian Colson, producer

LEAD ACTOR

Sean Penn in 'Milk' (Focus Features)

LEAD ACTRESS

Kate Winslet in 'The Reader' (The Weinstein Company)

DIRECTOR

Danny Boyle for 'Slumdog Millionaire' (Fox Searchlight)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

'Departures' -- Japan (Regent Releasing) A Departures Film Partners production

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Heath Ledger in 'The Dark Knight' (Warner Bros)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Penelope Cruz in 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona' (The Weinstein Company)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Dustin Lance Black for 'Milk' (Focus Features)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Simon Beaufoy for 'Slumdog Millionaire' (Fox Searchlight)

ANIMATED FEATURE

Andrew Stanton for 'WALL-E' (Walt Disney)

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

Kunio Kato for 'La Maison en Petits Cubes' (A Robot Communications Production)

ART DIRECTION

Donald Graham Burt for art direction and Victor J. Zolfo for set decoration on 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' (Paramount and Warner Bros)

COSTUME DESIGN

Michael O’Connor for 'The Duchess' (Paramount Vantage, Pathe and BBC Films)

MAKEUP

Greg Cannom for 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' (Paramount and Warner Bros)

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Anthony Dod Mantle for 'Slumdog Millionaire' (Fox Searchlight)

LIVE ACTION SHORT FIRM

Jochen Alexander Freydank for 'Spielzeugland (Toyland)', a Mephisto Film production

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

James Marsh and Simon Chinn for 'Man on Wire' (Magnolia Pictures) A Wall to Wall production

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

Megan Mylan for 'Smile Pinki', a Principle production

VISUAL EFFECTS

Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron for 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' (Paramount and Warner

Bros)

SOUND EDITING

Richard King for 'The Dark Knight' (Warner Bros)

SOUND MIXING

Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty for 'Slumdog Millionaire' (Fox Searchlight)

FILM EDITING

Chris Dickens for 'Slumdog Millionaire' (Fox Searchlight)

ORIGINAL SCORE

A.R. Rahman for 'Slumdog Millionaire' (Fox Searchlight)

ORIGINAL SONG

'Jai Ho' from 'Slumdog Millionaire' (Fox Searchlight), music by A.R. Rahman, lyrics by Gulzar

Oscar Winners Leaked?

According to this site they have been. Here's the list:

• Actor in a leading role: Mickey Rourke
• Actor in a supporting role: Heath Ledger
• Actress in a leading role: Kate Winslet
• Actress in a supporting role: Amy Adams
• Animated Feature Film: Wall-E
• Art Direction: The Dark Knight
• Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire
• Costume Design: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Directing: Slumdog Millionaire
• Documentary feature: Man on Wire
• Documentary short: The Conscience of Nhem En
• Film editing: Milk
• Foreign language film: Departures
• Makeup: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Music (Score): Defiance
• Music (Song): Down to Earth (Wall-E)
• Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
• Short film (animated): Presto
• Short film (live action): Auf Der Strecke (On The Line)
• Sound editing: Wall-E
• Sound mixing: The Dark Knight
• Visual effects: Iron Man
• Writing (Adapted screenplay): The Reader
• Writing (Original screenplay): In Bruges

Well...it's an interesting list. On one hand it sounds pretty reasonable. On the other hand there are some strange listings on it. Most of the acting categories are going as according to plan...but Amy Adams? Well, okay, I'm not going to rule her out yet. Yeah it's the weakest performance of the three, but she obviously has enough love to get a nomination for a role like that, and the strong support for Penelope Cruz and Viola Davis could certainly split the vote. The thing that sticks out for this is the screenplays. It seems a bit weird that "The Reader" would get Best Adapted Screenplay when "Slumdog Millionaire" is winning everything. But I think the one that stands out is "In Brudges" winning Best Original Screenplay. For starters "Milk" is the sole nomination in this category that has a Best Picture nomination, and that usually results in a win. It could split it's vote with "Wall-E," but it feels like such a long shot.

I also find it odd that "The Dark Knight" and "Wall-E" share sound awards, seeing that the sound awards usually both go to the same film. Not to mention the Academy is VERY protective of the results, and chances are this is more of an educated guess then anything! So my opinion is that I wouldn't use this as a betting guide...that said, these upsets seem at the very least logical, so if this list does prove to be legit then we are looking at at least a few upsets.

Ebert Weighs In On Oscar Nominees

Roger Ebert concluded his annual Oscar predictions this week with a complete run through of the important categories. Very few surprises to be found. He does predict the Academy picking Viola Davis in "Doubt" for Best Supporting Actress as opposed to Penelope Cruz for "Vicky Christina Barcelona," and he boldly picks Sean Penn the winner for Best Actor in "Milk" as opposed to Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler." Otherwise though it's all routine:

Best Picture - "Slumdog Millionaire"
Best Supporting Actor - Heath Ledger
Best Animated Film - "Wall-E"

The biggest thing he questions is the Best Adapted Screenplay category, where he writes:

Simon Beaufoy for "Slumdog Millionaire." It took enormous research and energy to create this story spanning 20 years and parallel narrative strands, and employ traditional narrative formulas in a film that seemed so wholly original. The other contender may be Eric Roth, for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." But if he wins, there may be the rare possibility of actual booing from the audience. Too many now realize that what Roth adapted was not so much the F. Scott Fitzgerald story, but his own screenplay for "Forrest Gump." Some half a million users saw a funny YouTube "trailer" comparing scene-by-scene parallels in the two films, before Paramount's complaints forced the site to take it down. Cynics say Roth has already won an Oscar for this material.

You can view said trailer on this very site. If the legal whores have taken it down though then a simple Google search should suffice. Just type in "The Curious Case of Forrest Gump."

The Good, The Bad, & The Confusing (SAG 2008)

The Good

Richard Jenkins and Robert Downey Jr. scored Best Actor and Supporting Actor nods for their great work in "The Visitor" and "Tropic Thunder." "The Dark Knight" gets more then one nomination. Penelope Cruz is riding her way to a locked Oscar win.

The Bad

"The Dark Knight" is snubbed in the Best Ensemble Cast category (though it did get nominated in the Stunt Ensemble category). Rosemary Dewitt gets snubbed for "Rachael Getting Married." "Doubt" leads the nominations (though the acting is great, the movie is not, so hopefully the Academy will take that into consideration when looking at these noms). Sally Hawkins is robbed of a nomination. What? Don't the members of SAG like to laugh?

The Confusing

Basically, I don't get the whole "Slumdog Millionaire" nominations. For starters, that Best Ensemble nomination is very stupid. There are many films beyond "The Dark Knight" that have better ensembles that that movie ("Burn After Reading," "Tropic Thunder," even the virtually unseen "Mrs. Petigrew Lives For A Day"). Then, to add more confusion to the situation, Dev Patel was nominated in the Best Supporting Category, even though he's pretty much the main character. Look, I know people in Hollywood love this film, but even if they want this film to be godfather to their children they shouldn't be nominating it for things just to nominate it. Frankly, I think 'Slumdog,' good as it was, had no place being nominated here (though I wouldn't rule it out for Oscars).

Boston Film Critics Awards

And now the Boston Film Critics have given out their choices and awards. They are:

Best Picture: WALL•E and Slumdog Millionaire (tie)
Best Actor: Sean Penn for Milk and Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler (tie)
Best Actress: Sally Hawkins for Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight
Best Supporting Actress: Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Director: Gus Van Sant for Milk and Paranoid Park
Best Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black for Milk
Best Cinematography: Christopher Doyle and Rain Kathy Li for Paranoid Park
Best Documentary: Man on Wire
Best Foreign-Language Film: Let the Right One In
Best Animated Film: WALL•E
Best Film Editing: Chris Dickens for Slumdog Millionaire
Best New Filmmaker: Martin McDonagh for In Bruges
Best Ensemble Cast: Tropic Thunder

Wow, "Wall-E" is working some magic. Something tells me the final five could be:

Slumdog Millionaire
The Dark Knight
The Curious Case of Benjaman Button
Milk
Wall-e

So where does that leave "Frost/Nixon?" This keeps getting more and more interesting (and it's making that sting from the Golden Globes seem like no big deal now).

New York Film Critics Awards

And the winners of the New York Film Critics Awards are:

• Picture: “Slumdog Millionaire”
• Director: Danny Boyle w/ Loveleen Tandan - “Slumdog Millionaire”
• Actor: Sean Penn - “Milk”
• Actress: Sally Hawkins - “Happy-Go-Lucky”
• Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger - “The Dark Knight”
• Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz - “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
• Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire - Anthony Dod Mantle
• Screenplay: “Slumdog Millionaire” - Simon Beaufoy
• Foreign Picture: “4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days”
• Documentary: “Man on Wire”
• Animated Feature: “Wall-E”
• Score: Slumdog Millionaire - “A.R. Rahman”
• Breakout Performance: Sally Hawkins - “Happy-Go-Lucky”
• Debut As Director: Martin McDonagh - “In Bruges”
• Ensemble Performance: Milk”
• 10 Best Pictures (alphabetical)

“Che”
“A Christmas Tale”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Happy-Go-Lucky”
“Milk”
“Rachel Getting Married”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“Wall-E”
“The Wrestler”

More love for Slumdog. Will be seeing it later tonight.

Cruz Is Going For Double With "Elegy"

Another movie I saw fairly recently (but forgot to mention) is the dark and sexy "Elegy." Starring Ben Kingsley as a man who go through women like they were disposable newspapers, the movie is a gripping and captivating tale about an unconventional relationship. Though the acting is universally excellent, I think the stand out performance in this movie is Penelope Cruz, who gives a lot of depth and personality to this character that could have easily been lost. Not only is her character an interesting person, but (and this is not meant to be be offensive) the Academy LOVES to nominate sexy whores for Oscars.

Now I'm not saying Ms. Cruz (or her character) are really whores, but how many times have you seen a woman play a sex pot/prostitute/adulter and get an Oscar nomination? Well, just ask Julia Roberts, Halle Berry, Laura Linney, Kate Winslet, Annette Benning, Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Jane Fonda, etc, etc...really folks, if you're a woman in the Hollywood business, the best way to get an Oscar nomination is to play a whore with a heart of gold. But yes, it's a good performance. I'm going to list multiple actors for potential nominees here, but I believe Cruz's will stick around the most. Which would be funny because then she could potentially pull off a double nomination. The trailer is below (Note: I can't post the red band trailer for obvious reasons, but it's out there for you to find):