In Contention

Tag: Margot at the Wedding

  • An idle rant for a Sunday morning…

    … but one that’s been simmering inside me for some time. Who the hell are the numbskulls who select the pull quotes for DVD cover art? Do they get paid for their efforts? If so, why? And what in God’s name are they reading?

    I know it’s a trivial concern, and it’s not entirely limited to the DVD side of things: there are any number of theatrical one-sheets out there with the most mind-bogglingly (pick the relevant combination) banal/inappropriate/lazy/barely creditable selection of critical endorsements graffitied over their increasingly uninspiring designs.

    But it’s for DVD that the marketers involved produce their biggest headscratchers, going blindfolded as they select the most random possible quotes from the most unimpressive sources, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they’re actually trying to sell the movies to punters.

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  • Nat Rogers calls dibs on Hathaway

    You’ve all surely seen the trailer for “Rachel Getting Married,” Jonathan Demme’s supposed return to form, by now. And while it’s true that it has generally raised expectations for the film, I wonder if Nathaniel Rogers over at The Film Experience isn’t getting a bit over-excited. Treating a Best Actress nomination for Anne Hathaway as a virtual fait accompli, he gloats as follows:

    Long before the other Oscar sites glommed on to it, I was touting the possibility of “Rachel Getting Married” being a return to form for Jonathan Demme. As a dedicated actressexual Demme is a director I’m inordinately fond of … I had the feeling that he had another Best Actress nominee in him. Not to blow my own horn –ok ok, I’m blowing! But remember, when Hathaway is walking those carpets: I called this one first.

    I don’t like to rain on anyone’s parade (not least since I did my own share of wafty Best Actress speculation last week), but isn’t it a little early in the game to call anyone a certain nominee, particularly for a film we haven’t seen yet? There are a lot of Academy heavy-hitters (Streep, Winslet, Linney, Theron, etc) waiting in the wings, and the less familiar likes of Melissa Leo and Sally Hawkins are angling for position too. The Best Actress race is actually looking rather crowded for a change – at least until we know more about some upcoming films.

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