In Contention

Tag: The Whistleblower

  • 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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  • ‘The Whistleblower’ trailer

    One film with reported Oscar potential that was left without a buyer at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival was Larysa Kondracki’s “The Whistleblower.” Rachel Weisz has a lot to work with and, by most accounts, gives a stellar performance in the film. Samuel Goldwyn Films eventually picked it up and it’s set for an August 5 release date. The trailer has popped up via Apple. Check it out by clicking the image below or watch an embed after the jump.

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  • 9/27 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: ‘Wall Street’ timing, Oscar’s love affair with social relevance and a real-life ‘Whistleblower’

    • Does “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” have poor timing Oscar-wise? (Or, I don’t know, did it just kinda stink?) [The Guardian]

    • On Kathy Bolkovac, the real-life whistleblower of Toronto title “The Whistleblower.” [Lincoln Journal Star]

    • Andrew Garfield has played “Spider-Man” before, FYI. [Daily Telegraph]

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  • TIFF: ‘Brighton,’ ‘Rabbit,’ ‘Debt,’ ‘Whistleblower,’ ‘Boating’ reactions

    A quick round-up this morning.  First, we already offered some reactions to Rowan Joffe’s “Brighton Rock,” which is still looking for a distributor.  But things aren’t looking great for awards prospects should it land a buyer, as Movieline’s Michelle Orange says the film “extends the Graham Green adaptation curse.”

    Meanwhile, John Madden’s “The Debt” could still be in play.  Rope of Silicon’s Brad Brevet calls it “a satisfying thriller that is almost so subtle it feels like it’s based on a true story.”  He later singles out Helen Mirren’s performance as “striking,” noting that she “brings a commanding and competent presence to her character.”

    One hotly anticipated title is John Cameron Mitchell’s “Rabbit Hole,” also still seeking distribution.  Showbiz 411’s Roger Friedman Tweets that star Nicole Kidman is “back in Oscar form,” while Deadline’s Pete Hammond gets a bit more substantial, adding Dianne Wiest to the mix.  “Should it find a distributor this week and get an end-of-year berth,” he writes, “past winners Kidman and Wiest both become bonafide Oscar contenders again.”  He does warn that it could be perceived as too much of a “downer,” though.  Nathaniel Rogers does a much better job of rounding up responses at The Film Experience, though.

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