In Contention

Tag: Whatever Works

  • INTERVIEW: Patricia Clarkson

    “I’m going to bring back the letter,” a flustered Patricia Clarkson announces as she makes her way to our lunch table, ever-so-slightly rain-mussed but otherwise immaculate in black and cream, a jaunty matching fedora astride her familiar blonde mane. “I’m never late. I blame email for this. I’m only just getting acquainted with it.”

    She is, thanks to a slight communication muddle, late only to a degree most actors wouldn’t apologise for. Together with my lunchmate, Daily Telegraph critic Tim Robey, we’ve nabbed a cosy corner spot at Mayfair’s all-day Italian bistro Cecconi’s, a humming London institution of marble, green velvet upholstery and £40 white truffle starters. (Clarkson is more excited by other things on the menu: later, one eye on the menu, she interrupts her own sentence with the jubilant cry, “Meatballs! With spaghetti sauce!”)

    “This place is fabulous,” she says—that adjective’s first of many appearances in our two-hour conversation—settling into our banquette with a tidy collapse of a sigh. Patricia Clarkson, she does not mind admitting, is exhausted, and not just from her week of jury duty at the London Film Festival, where she presided over the panel that, we’d learn the next day, selected Russia’s “How I Ended This Summer” as best in show. (All she tells us is that she’s “very happy” with the “wonderful” winner they’ve chosen, though she successfully deflects our speculation as to what it might be. “Oh, the Russian film?” she shrugs, when Tim brings it up.)

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  • OFF THE CARPET: Original players

    (from left) Jeremy Renner and Evangeline Lilly in The Hurt LockerWhen I had the unmitigated gall last week to project a set of winners for this year’s Oscar race, I was a bit startled at how easy Mark Boal’s script for “The Hurt Locker” slid into the Best Original Screenplay slot.  Looking over the landscape of contenders in the category, it’s a little obvious why such a somewhat non-traditional entry would be pegged as a frontrunner: this is a pretty thin year for original screenplays.

    That should take nothing away from Boal’s work, which is certainly commendable.  But beyond Pixar’s “Up” (penned by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson) and the Coen brothers’ “A Serious Man” (my pick for best-in-show in the category), there isn’t much competition for Boal’s play at the statuette.  I even find myself struggling with two more solid bets for nods after that trio.

    Fox Searchlight, however, is making some pretty strong moves on behalf of “(500) Days of Summer,” written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber.  The pair has already been cited by the Hollywood Film Festival as well as the Hamilton Behind the Camera awards.  Given the studio’s campaign prowess (and the undying spirit of the film’s champions), it makes sense to expect a spot to be reserved for the film here.

    To fill out the set, you’ve got a slot that is undeniably up for grabs.  So let’s dig into the field and see what we come up with.

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  • Is it May-December again?

    As usual with Woody Allen’s projects, we have little idea what the film he’s currently shooting in London — with Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin and Freida Pinto, among others — is actually about, but this snap from the set, of Anthony Hopkins and 31 year-old British comedienne Lucy Punch (who stepped in when Nicole Kidman bailed), gives us at least one clue.

    Allen’s preoccupation with generational disparity in relationships has surfaced in many of his films over the years — from “Manhattan” to “Hannah and Her Sisters” to “Husbands and Wives” to, most recently, “Whatever Works” — and it looks like it will again here.

    Anthony Hopkins and Lucy Punch on the set of Woody Allen's latest

  • Woody does Paris

    Goldie Hawn and Woody Allen in Everyone Says I Love YouAmong the many things I love about Woody Allen — his staying power, his eye for talent, more masterpieces than I can count on two hands — is the fact that whenever anyone refers to “the untitled Woody Allen project,” one usually has to ask which one they mean. His unfailing film-a-year work ethic means there are generally at least two upcoming Allen films floating in the general conversation.

    So, while we’re all aware that his next film after the Big Apple homecoming of “Whatever Works” will be a return to his recently beloved gray skies of London, with Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins and Freida Pinto in the mix, some details have already emerged of his next project after that one.

    Screen International reports that Woody’s 2011 project will see him continuing his European sojourn, this time with a romantic drama set in Paris. Spanish production outfit Mediapro revealed the information, though a script has yet to be completed.

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  • 6/18 Web Round-up

    Antichrist video game• Reed Johnson talks “Whatever Works” with Larry David. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Donna Freydkin, meanwhile, chats up Woody Allen. [USA Today]

    • Lou Lumenick breaks the “Public Enemies” embargo with an unthoughtful, painfully ignorant review. (Updated now, redacted at Universal’s request.) [New York Post]

    • Speaking of which, check out a new clip from the film. [Yahoo! Movies]

    • Shanghai film fest jury president Danny Boyle speaks out against Chinese restrictions on freedom of speech. [The Guardian]

    • Is technology ruining movies? [Rope of Silicon]

    • Uhhhh…an “Antichrist” video game? [/Film]

    • Kevin Maher gets some quality time with “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” director Michael Bay. [The Times]

    • People actually think Christopher Nolan is in a position where he has to fish for more money from Warner Bros.? [CHUD]

  • Larry David on Conan

    I haven’t written about Woody Allen’s “Whatever Works” yet because it’s such a problematic, forgettable piece of work.  Back to the usual after a heck of a success last year, I guess.  But regardless, this “Tonight Show” interview with Larry David last night (his first appearance on the show) is an absolute hoot.   It’s amazing that a partnership with Allen, which you would think would sing, somehow muted his comedic talents. The performance has its moments, but most of them are a bit cheap, I thought. Anyway, here’s the interview, in two parts:

  • 6/16 Web Round-up

    Bengt Ekerot in The Seventh Seal• Tom O’Neil ponders the awards prospects of comedy box office hit “The Hangover.” [Gold Derby]

    • Eugene Hernandez talks to Dennis Hopper at CineVegas. [indieWIRE]

    • Joe Flint, meanwhile, chastises Heather Graham for again playing the girl with the heart of gold from the wrong side of the tracks. [Company Town]

    • Miki Turner talks “Whatever Works” (which doesn’t really work) with Larry David. [MSNBC]

    • Nathaniel Rogers runs an early screening review of “Brüno.” [The Film Experience]

    • A.O. Scott takes a look back at “Dog Day Afternoon.” [New York Times]

    • Detroit’s woes didn’t keep bad-ass muscle cars from the screen in “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” [USA Today]

    • As the film makes its way to Blu-ray, Glenn Kenny dives back into “The Seventh Seal.” [Some Came Running]

  • 6/12 Web Round-up

    John Travolta in The Taking of Pelham 123(Wow…that week went by fast.)

    • Patrick Goldstein thinks the new “Shutter Island” trailer is overkill for those who don’t want everything spoon-fed. [The Big Picture]

    • More on the alleged misogyny of Lars von Trier. [CNN]

    • Shia LaBeaouf talks “Transformers” with John Hiscock. [Daily Telegraph]

    • Sarah Palin, the bold, the bright, turns her own daughter into a rape joke punchline.  Idiot.  (Sorry for the politics but it was worth conveying.) [Politico]

    • Is “Bruno” coming along at an inopportune time for the good fight? [New York Times]

    • Eight documentary dos and don’ts from Sundance programmer Basil Tsiokos. [indieWIRE]

    • Jeffrey Wells reports from a “Whatever Works” press conference in New York. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Speaking of which, Jeremy Kay has something to say on the franchise glut. [The Guardian]

    • In honor of the out-dated plot of “The Taking of Pelham 123,” Christopher Campbell offers up 10 stock market scams from the movies. [Spout Blog]

  • ‘Whatever Works’ trailer

    Well, it certainly works for me — it’s been a while since a trailer made me laugh out loud. Larry David’s and Woody Allen’s respective brands of neurosis seem to mesh together nicely, while Evan Rachel Wood looks unexpectedly comfortable doing the guileless simpleton thing. Patricia Clarkson is obviously having a good time too. I’m in.

  • ‘Whatever Works’ poster

    The sexy, teasingly framed artwork for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” was one of my favorite posters of 2008. Suffice to say I cannot offer similar approval of this dreary new one-sheet for “Whatever Works.” Just how much time did they spend on it? And at no point did anyone on the design team meekly suggest, “Hey, Evan Rachel Wood is a hot young actress, and you know, the film’s biggest talking-point is the May-December thing she has going on with Larry David. Maybe, just maybe, it might be worth sticking her on the poster too?”

    Sigh.

    Whatever Works

    [Source: Vulture]

  • ‘Whatever Works’ clip

    Guy told you yesterday about those mixed-to-positive notices that have been rolling out of Tribeca for Woody Allen’s “Whatever Works.” I’m hopeful the film works since I’m certainly on the Larry David bandwagon and I snapped to attention last year with “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” one of the year’s best films and Allen’s best work since “Sweet and Lowdown.”

    Well today I stumble onto this clip from the film, which is pretty short and doesn’t give you much.  But it’s something.  Have a look:

  • Mixed-to-positive notices for ‘Whatever Works’

    Evan Rachel Wood in Whatever WorksEven with the success of “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” having partially righted the course of Woody Allen’s career, I can’t help holding my breath when the reviews roll in for his latest effort. Few auteurs inspire more haphazard uses of the term “return to form” (roughly applied to anything that doesn’t go completely off the rails from the word go), with so many critics seeming to forget that Allen’s best form is, well, anyone’s best form. (“Vicky” was a delight, to be sure, but Barcelona is a long way away from “Manhattan,” if you will.)

    In the case of “Whatever Works,” which just opened the Tribeca fest, the trade reviews — while uniformly encouraging — vary between gently disciplining expectations and wildly inflating them. Performing the latter task is David D’Arcy’s all-out rave in Screen International,which declares the film Allen’s best in over a decade:

    Writing a New York story and shooting at home has given Allen a sureness to his voice. The dialogue here has a familiar ring yet a crackling freshness … Whatever Works transcends Allen formulas thanks to David, who is taller, balder and more foul-mouthed than the usual types Allen himself has played. Spitting out his lines, David finds a deeper nastiness here than the everyday bile of his character on the autobiographical Curb Your Enthusiasm. Allen does wonders with a character who isn’t seeking to be loved.

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  • Is Clarkson one to watch for ‘Whatever Works?’

    Evan Rachel Wood and Patricia Clarkson in Whatever WorksAs Penélope Cruz, Dianne Wiest, Mira Sorvino and assorted nominees over the years can attest, if you’re an actress hungry for some awards attention, you can do a lot worse than take a supporting role in an (at least) halfway decent Woody Allen film. (Unless, of course, you’re Scarlett Johansson, who’s still holding an IOU for her startling work in “Match Point.”)

    Allen’s latest, “Whatever Works,” has just been unveiled at ShoWest, and while much of the advance speculation has been centred on leading lady Evan Rachel Wood, I’ve heard a couple of informal reports that, in accordance with the aforementioned trend, Patricia Clarkson could be the story here. Which wouldn’t be a surprise, of course; she’s a great actress, and the film apparently gives her a chance to play entertainingly against type.

    Judging from this faintly spoiler-ish description from a contributor at Nat Rogers’ Film Experience site, it sounds like a pretty showy role:

    Patricia Clarkson storms into the movie after approximately 40 minutes, and plays a role in many ways comparable to Penélope Cruz’s tempestuous Oscar-winning Maria Elena. While I was initially skeptical of Allen’s treatment of Wood as a young Lolita, Clarkson actually plays the much more sexualized character. After showing up on Boris’s doorstep in a hot pink ensemble (scrunchy included!) fit for the Southern pageant circuit, she is quickly awakened to the culture of New York … Her character transitions from praising Jesus to opening an exhibit of nude collages. Clarkson is dynamic and sexy and once again demonstrates her unbeatable range. I don’t think it is any stretch to consider her worthy of this year’s Oscar race.

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