• Behind the scenes of “How Do You Know.” [Making Of]
• Anne Thompson talks to “The Company Men” director John Wells. [Thompson on Hollywood]
• The western shows further signs of life under Ridley Scott and Scott Cooper’s helm. [Deadline]
Tag: How Do You Know
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12/15 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Nudie ‘TRON,’ the Scotts eye westerns, Dorff talks Coppola’s ‘Somewhere’
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11/19 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Heyman talks ‘Harry,’ Reynolds named sexiest man, Protozoa inks a Fox deal
• How did you know you were in love? Enter a “How Do You Know” contest to win a San Francisco trip with your story. [Yahoo!]• John Lopez talks “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1” with producer David Heyman. [Little Gold Men]
• Ryan Reynolds is crowned 2010’s sexiest man alive. [People]
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‘How Do you Know’ poster
Ugh, when is this checkered thing going to go away in movie posters? Can we get someone on the case, find out whether this idea is really all that more impactful (to steal an invented marketing phrase) than something that might actually catch my eye at the theater? Isn’t the bad poster gambit getting completely out of hand? Ah well, check out the “How Do You Know” trailer here and the full poster after the jump.
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11/17 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: The death of Oscar bait, ‘How Do You Know’ nails a PG-13, Moore and Levi on ‘Tangled’
• Guest blogging for Nathaniel Rogers, Michael C. writes up the apparent death of “Oscar bait” as it pertains to Best Picture winners. [The Film Experience]• Steve Pond chats with “The Kids Are All Right” writer/director Lisa Cholodenko. [The Odds]
• James Cameron discusses his inspiration for “Avatar” (it won’t go away) in an extended collector’s edition clip. [MTV Movies Blog]
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Sussing out the HFPA’s comedy/musical field
In the latest Gurus o’ Gold survey, David Poland asked us all to contribute the usual rankings for Best Picture, added in the supporting actor and supporting actress categories, then popped the question regarding the Golden Globes comedy/musical category. It’s interesting to get perspective on the latter this (relatively) early in the season.A couple of things: First of all, three Gurus included “Toy Story 3” in their ranking, which with Gregory Ellwood’s #1 placement was enough for it to be chalked up at #5 on the collective. Ever since the HFPA instituted an animated feature category, animated features have been ineligible in the Best Picture categories. So that’s gone.
The #6 spot went to “Get Low,” but I’ve confirmed that film as a drama consideration for HFPA, so it won’t be in the mix. Meanwhile, only Steve Pond and myself included “Nowhere Boy,” which is a film that went over really well with the association and will be competing as a musical.
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11/12 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: ‘Burlesque’ brouhaha, ‘How Do You Know’ concedes cuts for PG-13, box office and Oscar
• Anthony D’Alessandro on how box office impacts Oscar players. [Thompson on Hollywood]• Kim Masters writes up the juicy story of on-set fighting that marked the production of “Burlesque.” [Hollywood Reporter]
• Christy Grosz on awards season buzz momentum built on the festival circuit. [The Envelope]
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OFF THE CARPET: Dolla billz, y’all!
A reader comment got me thinking on box office and Oscar as the usual blockbuster and genre fare led the way in ticket sales this weekend. It dawned on me that pickins might be extra slim when it comes to representing populist filmmaking in 2010’s Best Picture crop.Box office and finding room for ratings-friendly titles have long been assumed considerations in the decision to expand the Best Picture category to 10 nominations last year. One year after Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” nearly reached “Titanic”-level numbers and was snubbed of a Best Picture nomination, there were suddenly five more spots to be filled, widening the net.
Academy members had seven films to choose from the $100 million-plus club in 2009 that had any legitimate excuse for being in the conversation. They were: “Avatar,” “The Blind Side,” “District 9,” “The Hangover,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Star Trek” and “Up.” And some would consider “The Hangover” and “Star Trek” to be a stretch. As such, they missed, and the other five made it.
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10/18 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Buzz for Rudd, Ebert chats up ‘Secretariat’ author, ‘Alice in Wonderland’ push for Best Pic
• Jeffrey Wells posts a reader review of James L. Brooks’s “How Do You Know” that claims Paul Rudd is a sure-fire Best Supporting Actor nominee, but I’d expect a lead campaign for him and buzz for Jack Nicholson in support. [Hollywood Elsewhere]• Steve Rose on the secret of the Winkelvi from David Fincher’s “The Social Network.” [The Guardian]
• Roger Ebert still high on “Secretariat,” sits down with the source material’s author, Bill Nack. [Chicago Sun-Times]
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‘How Do You Know’ trailer
It’s difficult to discount someone from the Oscar race when he has a 60% track record with the Academy. Then again, James L. Brooks has only directed five films to date and his last, 2004’s “Spanglish” (which, full disclosure, I’ve always quite liked) went nowhere. His sixth is set to hit theaters this fall from Columbia Pictures and may be a return to awards season form or not, but a new trailer from Yahoo! Movies reveals it as frothy and harmless with a fun performance from Paul Rudd, if nothing else. Click on the image below to have a look or watch the embed on the jump.
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Brooks comedy gets a title change
James L. Brooks says he “has a tough time” with titles and that they “make [him] nuts.” So following the switcheroo of “Betty Anne Waters” to “Conviction,” today it looks like Brooks’s “How Do You Know” will now be known as “Everything You’ve Got.” The film stars Paul Rudd and Reese Witherspoon and may or may not be an awards caliber thing, depending on the “Spanglish”-ness of the finished product.
Capiche?
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OFF THE CARPET: Handicapping 2010 a year in advance
Uncle.I told myself I wasn’t going to write this column this year, let alone make predictions, but some of you were just too cute in your emails and Twitter DMs asking for something akin to my annual year-in-advance take on the race, so I struck a balance: a column and contenders list, but no charts and no predictions. Fair enough?
The 2010 Oscar season looks, from afar, to be a muted affair. Most of the films that look like competitors on paper have a distinctly “small” vibe. Of course, no one knows when a film like “The Blind Side” will decide to come along and sweep the heartland and the Academy at large off its feet. Maybe Tony Goldwyn’s “Betty Anne Waters” will play that role this year. Maybe not.
There are a considerable amount of actors and actresses with multiple performances on the way, more than usual, I’d say. And most encouraging, the original screenplay field seems to be much more robust than the adaptations.
Last year the big dogs looked to be “Amelia,” “Invictus” and “Nine,” and we all know how that turned out. In fact, it happens with some frequency. So why bother getting too deep into all of this now? And to say nothing of the fact that, perhaps mercifully, nothing on the horizon appears to have that level of awards-baiting appeal. No major filmmakers looking to cozy up to Oscar. No big stars that seem overdue and are going for it with an obvious role. None of that, really.