In Contention

Tag: Funny People

  • Quentin Tarantino names ‘Star Trek’ the year’s best

    Quentin TarantinoOf what he’s seen, that is. He hasn’t seen “Avatar,” “The Lovely Bones” or, um, “Invicitus” (his pronunciation). And his film is “out of it,” he says.  Not mentioning it.  Thanks for being stand-up like that, Quentin.

    Anyway, here’s the list:

    1. “Star Trek”
    2. “Drag Me to Hell”
    3. “Funny People”
    4. “Up in the Air”
    5. “Chocolate”
    6. “Observe and Report”
    7. “Precious”
    8. “An Education”

    And the video, courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision blog, after the jump. (He says he needs to see a few more films again before fully committing, FYI.)

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  • 12/10 Oscarweb Round-up

    Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart• John Horn writes up the Hollywood journey of Scott Cooper’s “Crazy Heart.” [Los Angeles Times]

    • On the flashy opening credits sequence from “Up in the Air” with designer Gareth Smith. [MakingOf]

    • Anne Thompson re-visists her old haunt, writes up the possibilities for genre play in this year’s expanded Best Picture field. [Variety]

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  • Studio FYC sites on the march

    A Serious ManIt’s that time of year, when studios roll out their awards-centric websites for films in play.  You get screening info, news and notes, reminders of how AMAZING their films are (with critical quotes to back it up), goodies like screenplays and such, etc.  It’s a good way to see how wide the net is cast during the season (since any and everything gets a “For Your Consideration” blurb), but I’ve always found it’s a good way to revisit the year’s films.

    First up, Universal Pictures has put together its standard assemblage hawking “Public Enemies,” “Bruno,” “Funny People” and “It’s Complicated.” Skimming through the “Public Enemies” section I was instantly reminded that Elliot Goldenthal’s score was actually quite wonderful and could be a sleeper to watch in a field that is notorious for its insularity.  You can even skim through tracks in a dedicated section and download the screenplay.

    “Funny People” has a similar set-up, with score toggling, the script, etc., while “Bruno” has no script to offer.  But you can listen to the raved out score again if you wish.  The “It’s Complicated” section has material to come and only mentions “in all categories” as it pertains to FYC business.

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  • Second life

    Seth Rogen in Funny PeopleOn Friday, John Foote raised the question of which recent films look likely to endure through the coming decades, despite, in many cases, having under-performed on initial release. You responded in your droves.

    Interestingly enough, Joe Queenan recently addressed a similar issue in a very good essay for The Guardian, contemplating the odd phenomena that lead certain films to largely escape the notice of critics and audiences in theaters, but then go on to gain cult status on DVD (or, back in the day, home video).

    Films he cites as key examples include “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” “The Big Lebowski” (which many seem to have forgotten was dismissed by many as a misfire following the crossover success of “Fargo”) and “Office Space” (which barely made it to theaters at all), as well as far older titles that slow-burned their way to classic status, such as “The Wizard of Oz” and “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

    When it comes to predicting a similar path for current films, he dismisses naming broadly acclaimed specialty titles with moderate box-office (“The Wrestler,” “The Hurt Locker”) as too easy, too prestigious.

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  • Getting it wrong on both sides of the pond

    What follows is an actual conversation overheard this evening at Arsenal tube station in North London, as a (slightly inebriated) twentysomething couple stared idly at this international one-sheet for “Funny People.” I was so excited to hear strangers giving voice to my own musings that I began scribbling down a sneaky transcription. (Don’t judge me.)

    Funny People

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: ‘G.I.’ dough

    G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra*All historical figures are adjusted to today’s dollars

    Paramount secured what is likely to be the last blockbuster opening of the summer with “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” this weekend. For a film that was plagued with bad buzz a few months ago and was withheld from most critics, a $56.2 million start is a fantastic result and on par with other kid-friendly action films like “Fantastic Four” and the early August start of “XXX.”

    Of course, legs will be atrocious and a total gross of around $120 million is the likely tipping point, but Paramount will be more than happy to take that to the bank along with solid international grosses. It may not be a “Transformers”-like success, but the studo must have known Stephen Sommers is no Michael Bay. And Marlon Wayans is no Shia LaBeouf.

    Sony’s “Julie & Julia” had a solid bow in the runner-up spot with $20.1 million on nearly half the screens of “G.I. Joe.” To be honest, I thought it would be bigger, but this is a film that could definitely play well through Labor Day. Reviews are good enough and older audiences are the only demographic left who don’t necessarily rush out on opening weekend. “Mamma Mia!” only debuted with $27.8 million en route to a $144.1 million finish, let’s not forget. Forget 3D, perhaps this was the film to usher back smell-o-vision.

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  • Eric Bana’s summer versatility

    Eric BanaOne of the highlights of Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” for me was Eric Bana’s supporting performance, a perfect blend of jack-assery and sincere complexity that stood out from the otherwise troubled film (along with Adam Sandler’s rather brilliant portrayal).  It wasn’t until later, though, that it hit me how diverse Bana’s output has been so far this year, with featured but strikingly varied roles in Apatow’s film, “Star Trek” and “The Time Traveler’s Wife.”

    I haven’t seen the latter yet, but I was pretty much on-board for Bana’s villainous turn in J.J. Abrams’s franchise reboot.  The role perhaps suffered from a lack of motivation in many ways, the only botched element of the story, but that’s not Bana’s fault and he carried across a Romulan vengeance-seeker with relative ease, I thought.

    Well I guess I’m not the only one impressed by Bana’s versatility this summer.  Writing in the pages of the Chicago Tribune, Lisa Rosen has taken note, using the occasion to remind that “Funny People” brings Bana back to his first brush with entertainment years ago in his native Australia.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: ‘Funny’ money

    Funny People*All historical figures are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    It was no laughing matter at the box office this weekend as Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” opened at the top spot with a disappointing $23.4 million. Not only is that lower than both “The 40 Year Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up,” but it’s also the lowest figure to top this particular summer weekend since “A Time to Kill” in 1996. Don’t forget that “Virgin” and “Knocked” cost $26 million and $30 million, respectively, while “Funny People” carries a price tag of $70 million.

    Bottom line: this film didn’t perform like an Adam Sandler summer comedy at all. This is a guy who has opened six low-brow comedies in the summer months and had an average debut of $46.0 million. “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan” opened with $38.5 million, for Pete’s sake. Even his notorious misfire “Little Nicky” opened to $21.4 million. So no matter how Universal wants to spin this, it’s not pretty. It dropped from Friday to Saturday, indicating that fanboy rush and word of mouth is not going to be great enough to keep it in theaters much longer than Labor Day.

    I think a $65 million finish is the best-case scenario and Apatow has officially lost his “cancer subplot” and “two-hour-plus running time” privileges. And you can kiss those Best Original Screenplay chances goodbye.

    “G-Force” fell 46% to third place and $17.1 million. The guinea pigs already have $66.5 million in the bank so go ahead and mark your calendars for “G-Force 2” in July 2011. And just to reiterate, no matter how bad or good you think “Funny People” is, it’s a filmmaker with a distinct voice trying something a little different and people soundly rejected it in favor of films like this.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Festivals, foxes and funny people

    Adam Sandler in Funny People• In the week’s most dramatic news, Universal rather cleared its awards slate by bumping both “The Wolf Man” and Paul Greengrass’s “Green Zone” to 2010.

    • Against expectations, we were won over by Meryl Streep’s latest bid for that elusive third Oscar, “Julie & Julia.”

    • The Venice Film Festival unveiled a typically well-planned lineup, with “The Road” and Michael Moore’s “Capitalism: A Love Story” leading the American charge.

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  • Tell us what you thought of ‘Funny People’

    (from left) Eminem and Adam Sandler in Funny People

    I’m briefly on the record with some thoughts on Judd Apatow’s “Funny People,” but I’m really looking forward to hearing what everyone else thinks of this film.  Viewers ought to be trickling out of matinees by now, so cut loose with your reactions in the comments section below.

  • 7/30 Web Round-up

    Vincent Cassel• Jeremy Piven would like to see an “Entourage” film.  Who wouldn’t? [CNN]

    • Vincent Cassel refuses to court Hollywood.  Who needs it when you’ve got Monica Bellucci at home? [Daily Telegraph]

    • Robert Levin sits down with “In the Loop” director Armando Iannucci. [Film School Rejects]

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  • Sandler grows up in ‘Funny People’

    Adam Sandler in Funny PeopleI caught up with Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” last night, and the knee-jerk reaction was that the writer/director was close…oh so close.  The film isn’t a failure but is an intriguing miss nonetheless, a reminder that while Apatow seems quite qualified to tell a story with these particular layers, he might have better served the project by giving it a few more years to marinate.

    The stand-out element of the film is definitely Adam Sandler’s performance.  The actor takes on a character whose arc is curiously flat but brings a fleshed out sense of reality that, frankly, seems to be coming from the same deep, dark places of experience that Mickey Rourke must have plumbed for “The Wrestler.”

    In taking a trip down Sandler movie memory lane, MSNBC’s Dave White seems to think that notion of remaining true to who Sandler is represents a good reason why the film, and the performance, works in the face of attempt after attempt at working against the grain of the actor’s personal truth.

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  • ‘Green Zone’ also pushed to 2010

    This Universal announcement isn’t as unexpected as the last one, since it’s been somewhat in the air for a while now, but Chad reminds us that Paul Greengrass’s “Green Zone” has landed a March 2010 release date, taking it out of this year’s Oscar race and leaving the studio with two summer hopefuls: Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies” and Judd Apatow’s “Funny People.”  Unless, of course, there’s a festival pick-up.  Lots of potential still floating around on that front.

  • 7/28 Web Round-up

    Judd Apatow• Whoa.  Remember Anna Chlumsky? [CNN]

    • Do “Antichrist” and “The Proposal” peddle outdated views of women? [The Guardian]

    • Roger Ebert talks at length with “Funny People” director Judd Apatow. [Chicago Sun-Times]

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  • The long haul

    Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceScreenDaily editor Mike Goodridge raises a topic that has provoked more than a few grumbles this season: the inordinate length of some of Hollywood’s biggest summer releases.

    I’m not someone who automatically whines whenever a film pushes the 150-minute mark. Some films warrant that heft, and it’s not always directly related to the scale of the plot — more ambient pieces can need time and space to breathe and explore their environments. Many felt that “Public Enemies” hadn’t enough narrative to fill 140 minutes, which I can understand — though for me, the languidness felt right for a film that was principally an exercise in mood and texture.

    I don’t entirely subscribe to Roger Ebert’s overly reductive stance that “no good film is too long, and no bad film is short enough” — there is plenty of “good” work that could enter “great” territory via some judicious pruning, after all — but the bottom line is that if I’m engaged by a film, I’m not checking my watch. (In any case, as a screenwriter, overlength is a factor I’m sympathetic to: I know the pain of cutting beloved scenes.)

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  • Is Sandler a contender for ‘Funny People?’

    Adam Sandler in Funny PeopleI can’t say I saw this coming. Since the expansion of the Best Picture category, several people have considered Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” as a possible populist nominee in the race, while speculating that it could also land him a writing nod after near-misses (and Guild citations) for his previous two features.

    Meanwhile, others (Kris included) have sniffed awards potential for well-liked supporting thesp (and, of course, Mrs. Apatow) Leslie Mann. But whether due to his own dodgy résumé or the Academy’s anti-comedy bias in the lead races, no one has mentioned the film’s star, Adam Sandler, as much of an awards threat.

    The reviews, however, tell a slightly different story. Although response to the film itself is mixed, the word for Sandler is very strong indeed, recalling the “OMG he can act” notices he garnered for “Punch-Drunk Love” seven years ago (which of course landed him a Golden Globe nod, if no Oscar traction).

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: ‘G-Force’ hits the G-spot

    G-Force*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    $32.2 million worth of Americans needed to see what happens when talking guinea pigs are entrusted with saving the world this weekend and have made “G-Force” our number one movie at the box office. Since I predicted $35 million last week, I can’t say this was unexpected, even if it is depressing. With yet another solid performance, the days of talking CGI critters interacting with cash-strapped human actors are just beginning.

    Second place goes to “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” which dipped a now standard 61% to $30 million. It was only eight years ago when the first film opened but its 36% second weekend drop is already a figure from a bygone box office era. In 2009, if you open above $50 million and drop under 50%, then you are a word of mouth sensation.

    “Potter” has $221.8 million in the bank after 12 days, which is third best in the series at this point but I think we’re still looking at the second lowest total grosser when it’s all said and done.

    Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler tried to convince Americans that no matter how repulsive or reprehensible you find someone, if you spend a little bit of time with them you will fall in love – providing they are attractive, of course – in “The Ugly Truth” and $27 million worth of patrons took the bait. That’s not quite “The Proposal” numbers but it won’t do either star any harm in landing their next awful projects.

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  • 7/24 Web Round-up

    Audrey Tautou in Coco Before Chanel• Sam Toy reports from the set of “Coco Before Chanel.” [Empire]

    • Evan Davis on the cinema of Nicolas Ray. [The Auteurs’ Notebook]

    • Peter Sciretta (who I finally ran into yesterday) video blogs “Avatar” footage reactions with his crew (which is hitting the pavement hard at the Con). [/Film]

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