In Contention

Tag: Twixt

  • OFF THE CARPET: Strong year for double-dippers

    We find ourselves right in the middle of the big Toronto press junket, er, film festival, where 200-plus films are landing, many of them as world premieres, and the landscape of this year’s Oscar race is really beginning to take shape.

    As I looked out at the various films in play this year, it suddenly occurred to me that, perhaps more than ever, there are a lot of double-dipping actors and actresses in the hunt. Not all of these performances are or will be awards bait necessarily, but there could still be cases for more than a few saddling up to dual nominations this year.

    At the top of that list would have to be Brad Pitt. After already giving what many believed to be his best performance to date in Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life,” the paparazzi-hounded star found himself the recipient of a lot of great ink for his work in “Moneyball” when it screened in Toronto at the end of the week. Wisely, Fox Searchlight will be planning a supporting actor push for the actor in Malick’s film, which is both practical (given his clear lead in the other film), and organic (given that, at least in my opinion, he is supporting to Hunter McCracken’s lead in “The Tree of Life”).

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  • (UPDATED) Coppola’s ‘Twixt’ under serious fire in Toronto

    I stand by my (out of context) excitement for Francis Ford Coppola probing the outer reaches of what we expect of cinema, but it appears “Twixt” nevertheless came and underwhelmed (to say the least) in Toronto, failing to fully reach its aspirations.

    Tweets Motion/Captured’s Drew McWeeney:

    It is appropriate that they screened Coppola’s “Twixt” today, because it is a freakin’ disaster.

    The Hollywood Reporter’s Kirk Honeycutt:

    The pity is that the narration has got it all too right: His writer’s story is indeed third-rate.

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  • 8/31 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Social media boost ‘The Help,’ actress Oscar plays, Bird Flu back ahead of ‘Contagion’

    • Anne Thompson talks to “Warrior” stars Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy and director Gavin O’Connor. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • Lucas Kavner on the debt “The Help” owes to social media for its box office staying power. [Huffington Post]

    • Louis Virtel looks shines a light on five female roles that seem to have the right Oscar stuff. [Movieline]

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  • ‘Twixt’ trailer

    Now that Francis Ford Coppola’s experimental film “Twixt” has been announced for a Toronto premiere, the trailer has hit the web (via TIFF’s You Tube page). It’s largely composed of the footage we saw at Comic-Con, which was lived-edited into two different assemblages during the panel there. That’s Tom Waits narrating, by the way. Check out the trailer by clicking hte image below, or watch an embed after the jump.

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  • Telluride guessing game

    (UPDATED: 8/29)

    Now that the Toronto and Venice line-ups have been unveiled (though we have a few more Toronto announcements to come), I figured I’d take a few stabs at sussing out the Telluride crop this year. I haven’t been a good journalist and called around or anything. Just spinning my wheels.

    One studio that always has a big presence at Telluride is Sony Pictures Classics, and this year, honchos Michael Barker and Tom Bernard have a full plate once again. Of that stable, David Cronenberg’s “A Dangerous Method” is hitting both Venice and Toronto. It’s very possible, then, that it will kick things off in the Rockies.

    Roman Polanski’s “Carnage,” meanwhile, was announced as a Venice play this morning. It would be easy enough for the team to bring the film there and not worry about getting the filmmaker in town (seeing as he can’t legally step foot in the country), saving his press run for Venice. (7/28 UPDATE: The film has been set for New York fest, so it seems unlikely we’ll see it in Telluride.)

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  • COMIC-CON: Francis Ford Coppola takes Best in Show

    My Comic-Con coverage came to a close this morning with Francis Ford Coppola’s first appearance here in 19 years, and a glimpse of his latest film, “Twixt.” There’s still the “Cowboys & Aliens” screening tonight, but reviews will be embargoed, so my big send-off is the master himself. And what a send-off it was.

    “Twixt” is film chock-full of genre trappings starring Val Kilmer as Hall Baltimore, a genre writer working on a new premise based on a grisly discovery in a seedy town, where he’s holed up for a book signing. Edgar Allan Poe shows up. In a dream. Like Virgil to Baltimore’s Dante. (And based on an actual dream Coppola had.)

    There are vampires. A seven-sided clock tower tells seven different times. 3D is employed here and there, but not for the whole film. (We wore Edgar Allan Poe masks outfitted with 3D lenses.) Elle Fanning is a pasty living-dead pixie. Bruce Dern is creepy. But let’s get into why this is the best Comic-Con panel I’ve ever seen.

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  • Another year, another Con…

    …and a thinner Con, at that.

    There was very little on the convention schedule that grabbed my attention when it was released last week. I’ll be on hand for the Fox panel tomorrow, hoping to get some good vibes from Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus.” I’ll be there for Paramount and Steven Spielberg on Friday when we all get a glimpse of “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn.” I’ll definitely be on hand for Francis Ford Coppola’s first appearance here on Saturday when he brings a slice of “Twixt,” and, of course, I’ll saddle up to the Entertainment Weekly “Visionaries” panel, this year featuring Jon Favreau and Guillermo Del Toro.

    Speaking of Del Toro, I’m intrigued by “Pacific Rim” enough to poke into the Legendary Pictures panel (which won’t be in Hall H, interestingly enough). I also feel the need to check out the “Beavis and Butt-Head” event (as the terrible twosome will be back on MTV later this year and I am, I must confess, a die-hard). Maybe I’ll make it to Relativity’s “Immortals” event, maybe I’ll head to the Hilton Bayfront tomorrow morning for a focus on makeup artist Rick Baker, but I’ve literally just given you my role call of interests this year, easily half the amount of events on my list in years past.

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  • Coppola coming to the Con

    I’m a bit down on Comic-Con this year. I’m just not all that excited, and nor are the studios, as a number of them seem to be pulling out of the annual preaching-to-the-choir festivities. And TV is taking over more and more, which isn’t a bad thing, but I just can’t keep up with the small screen these days. I’ll be on hand for a day or two, though. (The LA Soundgarden concert on July 22 will bring me back, however.)

    In any case, Francis Ford Coppola will be in Hall H this year to unveil footage from his new film “Twixt.” I hope he knows what he’s getting himself into. Here’s the press release, in part:

    Francis Ford Coppola will be presenting portions of his upcoming film TWIXT at a panel discussion on Saturday, July 23…[he] describes the film as, “one part Gothic romance, one part personal film, and one part the kind of horror film that began my career.”

    Coppola has a unique new approach to the presentation of the film that will incorporate live music by acclaimed independent performance artist Dan Deacon. Deacon will attend Comic-Con with Coppola to help demonstrate the interactive experience of the film. The film incorporates both 2-D and 3-D elements…

    On attending Comic-Con Coppola says, “I fondly recall meeting the Comic-Con audience years ago when I brought them my DRACULA film. That experience made me not want to miss this chance to return with TWIXT.”

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