In Contention

Tag: The Beaver

  • ‘The Beaver’ trailer

    Everyone has been wondering what will come of Jodie Foster’s “The Beaver” ever since Mel Gibson went flying off the rails earlier this year.  The film is set for a Spring 2011 release and many in the know seemed to think Gibson could have been an awards play for his performance in the film amid other circumstances.  The trailer has just been released via Apple, however, so we all finally get a look at what the troubled actor was up to.  Check it out by clicking the image below or watch an embed after the jump..

    (more…)

  • OSCAR TALK: Ep. 33 — ‘Social Network’ front-running, Gibson persona non grata and why ‘The Fighter?’

    Oscar TalkWelcome to Oscar Talk.

    In case you’re new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is a weekly kudocast, a one-stop awards chat shop between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood. The podcast is weekly, every Friday throughout the season, charting the ups and downs of contenders along the way. Plenty of things change on route to Oscar’s stage and we’re here to address it all as it unfolds.

    There isn’t a whole lot to discuss this week though there are a number of forced stories out there which kind of prove the point. I’m up in Berkeley talking to Anne down in LA so, as the New York fest kicks off tonight, let’s see what’s on the docket today…

    (more…)

  • Mel Gibson Oscar buzz? Get right outta town!

    Someone stop me if I’m out to lunch here, but is it not absolutely ludicrous to think that Mel Gibson would have a shot at a Best Actor nomination in this or any other universe in a year where the star is as plagued with controversy as he is in 2010?

    Look, I’m all for forgiveness and “kumbaya.”  And I really couldn’t care less about Gibson’s domestic issues.  So this isn’t a personal perspective or anything, but you’re talking about a guy thought to be anti-Semitic in a community with, well, its fair share of Jews, who happened to rock out the biggest public embarrassment any star has seen since, I don’t know, the LAST time Gibson went on ranting and raving?  I love that Jodie Foster is sticking by her friend (noted in today’s round-up), as she should, but seriously, does anyone legitimately think Hollywood wants this kind of situation representing the community in the form of a BEST ACTOR NOMINATION?

    Well, that’s not stopping the gears from turning.  Pete Hammond, God love him, is looking for the silver lining like he’s looking for a positive word to say about the latest “Resident Evil” film over at Deadline.

    (more…)

  • 9/22 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Carrey’s Oscar potential, ‘Inception’ with a joystick, demanding to see ‘Beaver’

    • Sasha Stone ponders Oscar possibilities for Jim Carrey in “I Love You Phillip Morris” as the hate-mongering right looks to block the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. [Awards Daily]

    • Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy reunite to celebrate 25 years of “The Breakfast Club.”  Come on, Emilio.  Too cool for school?  (See what I did there?) [People]

    • Christopher Nolan briefly mentions that he’d like to develop “Inception” as a video game (and if you have a film-related news feed then you’ve already seen plenty of webmasters climbing over themselves to re-report this). [Variety]

    (more…)

  • Jennifer Lawrence would like to remind you she’s hot

    Assuming (and I am assuming) that the film remains in the conversation, Kris and I will be at loggerheads all season over “Winter’s Bone” — I am a fan, he is emphatically not. What we do agree on, however, is that the film’s 19-year-old star, Jennifer Lawrence, is the real deal.

    Actually, we agreed on this point a year ago, when Lawrence emerged as the standout of a strong ensemble in Guillermo Arriaga’s “The Burning Plain.” The film went largely unseen, but those who did get round to it were consequently less surprised than everyone else by the actress’s remarkable, film-carrying turn in this year’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize champ.

    Back in February, in a published conversation with The Film Experience’s Nathaniel Rogers, I unwisely put my neck on the block by predicting a 2010 Best Actress Oscar nomination for Lawrence — and while the market for female Oscar contenders in bleak indies is already getting crowded, what with Lesley Manville and Michelle Williams in the mix, I’m sticking by that still-premature call. As I wrote to Nathaniel then: “[I]t’s such a mammoth performance, plus she’s young and hot.”

    (more…)

  • 10/7 Web Round-up

    Jodie Foster• How “Brüno” could forever change Hollywood’s depiction of homosexuality. [Slate]

    • Or should that be “Humpday?” [Time]

    • Jodie Foster goes back behind the the camera, directing and starring opposite Mel Gibson in “The Beaver.” Ahem. [Variety]

    • Given the ubiquity of the Harry Potter kids, Gill Pringle considers the rise of the well-behaved movie star. [The Independent]

    • Eternal maverick Isabelle Huppert on her “internal adventure” of her acting career. [indieWIRE]

    • Must-read of the day: Andrew O’Hehir takes a fresh look at “The Seventh Seal.” [Salon]

    • Inspired by the title of Michael Moore’s latest, Xan Brooks contemplates cinema’s least appropriate date movies. [The Guardian]

    • By the way, have you been playing Nat Roger’s fantastic “First & Last” game this month? Check it out. [The Film Experience]