In Contention

Tag: La Vie en Rose

  • Weinstein + Garland = Oscar?

    OK, so some actress just won an Oscar. We don’t know who she is yet, or when exactly she’ll receive it, but is there anyone willing to bet against the lucky thesp who winds up getting cast in the Harvey Weinstein-produced biopic of Judy Garland that has just been announced?

    It seems the Brothers Weinstein have just optioned “Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland,” the bestselling, apparently definitive biography by Gerald Clarke (who, incidentally, also wrote the volume from which “Capote” was adapted). No director or cast are attached yet, but this is surely an awards-season gimme.

    A grim childhood, drug and alcohol abuse, multiple unhappy marriages, singing, performing, drastic premature aging, mental instability … Garland’s story is essentially “La Vie en Rose” minus the subtitles, plus the allure of Hollywood legend. It represents everything the Academy swoons over in a performance. If some actress knocks it out the park, backed by Weinstein’s apparently renewed campaigning muscle, woe betide the other four ladies nominated alongside her.

    Some of you may remember that Judy Davis nabbed every TV award going for playing Garland in miniseries form a few years back. It’ll be interesting to see what age range Weinstein looks toward for the casting here. One actress or two? Anne Hathaway seems like a neat fit, but is she too young? Is Cate Blanchett too old? If Kate Winslet loses again this year, I suggest she gets on the phone with Weinstein immediately.

  • France submits ‘Class’ over ‘So Long’ for foreign Oscar

    François Bégaudeau in The ClassOne big question mark floating around since the foreign language film submissions started trickling in has been which film France would submit, the Cannes sensation (and Palm d’Or winner) “The Class” or Philippe Claudel’s “I’ve Loved You So Long.”

    Anchored by a critically acclaimed performance from Kristin Scott Thomas, Claudel’s film is one of the most buzzed films to come out of Telluride and Toronto.  “Best film of the year” has been a typical verdict.

    Then again, it’s hard to argue with Laurent Canet’s Palm d’Or winner, which beat out some thick competition on the Croisette this year.

    Well today we get an answer.  France will be submitting “The Class” as their foreign language film contender in this year’s Oscar race.  The result is similar to last year’s debate when the country had a critical darling and a film packing a performance punch to work with in “Persepolis” and “La Vie en Rose” respeticvely.  The former ended up making the trip before being unceremoniously cut from the competition during the early stages.

  • Anyone want to see this?

    Sorry this news is a few days old, but it escaped my notice until now. Variety reports on a new independent drama that enters production next month. I’m just going to lay down the details, one by one:

    Renee Zellweger plays a wheelchair-bound former singer.

    Forest Whitaker plays an emotionally damaged fireman.

    Together, they embark on a road trip to Memphis, wherein they work through the tragedy they have both faced in their lives.

    And apparently find love.

    It’s written and directed by Olivier Dahan, he of “La Vie en Rose.”

    And it’s called “My Own Love Song.”

    I should keep an open mind. Maybe it’s a masterpiece in the making. But based on those facts, is there not a strong possibility this could literally be the worst film of all time?

  • Warner ventures into the arthouse with ‘Chanel’

    Well, if nothing else, 2009’s Best Costume Design award is forespoken.

    Screen Daily reports that Warner Brothers is beginning production next month on “Coco Before Chanel,” a French-language biopic of the iconic fashion designer. Warner will distribute the film internationally next year.

    Audrey Tautou will play Chanel (presumably after flipping a coin with Marion Cotillard), while an interesting supporting cast includes Alessandro Nivola and Emmanuelle Devos. Actress-turned-filmmaker Anne Fontaine, probably best-known for the family melodrama “How I Killed My Father” is at the helm; she also wrote the script, with Christopher Hampton, no less, as consultant.

    In a nice touch, proving that Warner really is throwing a lot into the project, they’ve lined up none other than current Chanel director Karl Lagerfeld to personally supervise the costumes.

    A lot could be riding on this: after shamefully shutting down both Warner Independent Pictures and Picturehouse (which interestingly had great success with another biopic of a French icon, “La Vie en Rose”), “Coco Before Chanel” will test how well the parent studio can handle this kind of bijou release. It’s not the most adventurous foray into the arthouse they could have made – we all know how wary the Academy is of pretty period biopics – but it’s an encouraging sign nonetheless.