That unsubtle backhand slap you just heard was the sound of Steven Spielberg being whacked off his awards-season pedestal by the Directors Guild of America, which just announced Woody Allen, David Fincher, Michel Hazanavicius, Alexander Payne and Martin Scorsese as its 2012 Best Director nominees. This one has to hurt. Other, less conspicuous snubs include Moneyball director Bennett Miller and The Help ‘s Tate Taylor, the latter of whom who made his first Oscar Index appearance last week but seems likely to drop off by the next installment. As Steve Pond notes over at The Wrap, the DGA Awards are a significant Academy Awards precursor: “Typically, four of the five DGA nominees go on to receive Oscar nominations. In the last decade, the DGA has matched all five Oscar nominees twice, four out of five six times and three out of five twice.” Still! Ouch. For the record, here again are this year’s nominees: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris David Fincher, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist Alexander Payne, The Descendants Martin Scorsese, Hugo [ DGA ]
ABC released a cutesy trailer for the 2012 Academy Awards telecast that speaks loads to the youthful new direction the show’s makers were going in when they brought Brett Ratner aboard, before his untimely exit ; in a slick parody of globe-trotting Hollywood fare, two heroes are tasked with tracking down wizened Billy Crystal for hosting duties on the Big Night. Those heroes? None other than Transformers castmates Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox, because of course. Nothing says current like the girl who was the hottest thing on earth three years ago! Watch the trailer and see if it entices you with its “Hey kids, check us out!” hip comedy stylings. The trailer even comes courtesy of Funny Or Die, it’s so plugged in! And hey, isn’t that Vinnie Jones as a mysterious bartender with inside intel? And Bill Fichtner as Oscarcast producer Brian Grazer? (At least that much makes sense.) And, well, Robin Williams as a Himalayan ferryman? (That cameo actually just makes me sad that he’s not hosting or co-hosting with Crystal.) See, the Oscars are for everybody! This milquetoast-but-four-quadrant trailer proves it! Verdict: The 84th Academy Awards will be televised live on Feb. 26 at 4p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET, and from the looks of it we’ll be in for a loooong night.
Tran Anh Hung’s Norwegian Wood is meticulously faithful to the book it’s based on, Haruki Murakami’s 1987 novel of the same name: It takes no significant liberties with the plot, and it captures the novel’s delicate, half-hopeful, half-mournful tone. So why, unlike its source material, does it feel only half-alive? It’s so easy, too easy, to get lost in the book-vs.-movie debate. But a movie like Norwegian Wood is a peculiar case – its intentions are sterling, and it’s hard to pinpoint any technical flaws. The problem, maybe, is that it’s trying too hard; Tran has such firm control over the storytelling that the resulting picture has no room to breathe. Watanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama) is an aimless young university student in late-1960s Tokyo. His closest friend, Kizuki, committed suicide at age 17, leaving behind his childhood love, the fragile Naoko (Rinko Kikuchi, the Japanese actress who made a splash in the 2006 Babel ). Watanabe “inherits” the friendship of Naoko, and it seems that the two might fall in love. But Naoko disappears – the intensity of the blossoming relationship is too much for her, sexually and emotionally, and she enters a retreat-like sanitorium in the country. Though Watanabe continues, sweetly, to pine for her, he also starts tagging along with his more sexually adventurous roommate, Nagasawa (Tetsuji Tamayama). He also embarks on a fledgling friendship with another student, Midori (Kiko Mizuhara) ,who, unlike Naoko, seems boldly certain about what she wants out of life. She is, perhaps, a little too bold for Watanabe: She outlines her idea of the ideal lover (essentially, a man who will be at her beck and call, so she can then turn him away). And she informs him that she already has a boyfriend, anyway. Watanabe continues to visit Naoko in her forest retreat, though his time with her is nearly always supervised by Noako’s half-protective, half-possessive roommate, Reiko (Reika Kirishima). The rest of Norwegian Wood outlines the rather delicate dance between the things Watanabe might think he wants and the things he may actually be able to have. Tran adapted the screenplay himself, with obvious care and precision (though the resulting movie doesn’t do much to address, as Murakami’s novel did, the social unrest among young people in late-‘60s Tokyo). His actors have plenty of moments of grace and subtlety, particularly Kikuchi – somehow, she makes us see a deeply troubled soul in Naoko, not just a wan, self-absorbed victim of circumstance. And there isn’t a single frame in Norwegian Wood that isn’t gorgeous to look at: The cinematographer is Mark Lee Ping Bin, who also shot In the Mood for Love (sharing credit with Kwan Pung-Leung and Christopher Doyle), and every inch of the movie’s surface fairly glows. Or, rather, every millimeter glows — the picture creeps along at a very leisurely pace, which shouldn’t by itself be a problem. Norwegian Wood is Tran’s fifth feature. (The director, who was born in Vietnam and who lives in Paris, is perhaps best known for the 1993 The Scent of Green Papaya .) I kept watching Norwegian Wood waiting for that pleasant, wide-awake state of hypnosis to kick in, the slipstream effect that a well-constructed, slow-moving picture sets into gear. But for reasons that are hard to pinpoint, Norwegian Wood seems to be hampered by its own integrity; it’s like a ghost wearing a trailing nightie that’s just too long. Would the movie be more effective if every lingering shot were cut by just a second or two, or if the dialogue between characters had just a little more energy and crackle? Maybe. But whatever it is that’s wrong with Norwegian Wood couldn’t possibly be remedied by any quick fix. That’s both its tragedy and its virtue. Follow Stephanie Zacharek on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
This just in from Nikki Finke: Paramount’s cheap wannabe found footage hit The Devil Inside — which drew reports of audible grumbles and boos as the credits rolled at sneak screenings in Los Angeles and New York last night — has already made back double its acquisition costs . ” The Devil Inside acquired for $1M opened with $2M midnights from 1,400 theaters. It goes wide into 2,300 theaters today,” Finke writes at Deadline, adding that “the genre film plays very young and very ethnic so it will probably be frontloaded.” Nice. Very young and very ethnic. If the pic turns into a Paranormal Activity -esque hit, you know who to blame. [ Deadline , @STYDnews , Moviefone ]
The WGA nominations have hit the wires, giving awards watchers more fodder for speculation. Does Bridesmaids ‘ inclusion mean the mainstream hit has more traction in the Oscar race? Will Win Win ‘s nomination mean the Fox Searchlight hopeful has a shot at the big leagues? Should Diablo Cody break out the leopard print couture? Check out the full list of nominations and debate away. Adapted Screenplay The Descendants The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo The Help Hugo Moneyball Original Screenplay 50/50 Bridesmaids Midnight in Paris Win Win Young Adult Documentary Screenplay Better This World If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front Nostalgia for the Light Pina Position Among the Stars Senna For more current Oscar insights, check out S.T. VanAirsdale’s latest Oscar Index . [ Writers Guild of America ]
This was, oh, five years in coming , but the long-time Village Voice film critic J. Hoberman has been let go from the paper. Fun fact: Hoberman’s 34-year relationship with the Voice commenced with a high-low glimpse at David Lynch’s experimental blast Eraserhead (” Eraserhead ‘s not a movie I’d drop acid for, although I would consider it a revolutionary act if someone dropped a reel of it into the middle of Star Wars “) and concluded this week with a high-low glimpse at Ken Jacobs’s experimental blast Seeking the Monkey King (“This homemade slingshot has the capacity to resist and pulverize the idiotic visual aggression of a commercial behemoth like Transformers . It’s a ’60s vision happening today—beautiful, terrifying, and determined to storm the doors of perception”). Anyway, don’t sweat it, he’ll be back. [ Capital New York ]
Here’s cause for excitement for J.J. Abrams ’s Star Trek sequel , set to debut May 2013: British actor Benedict Cumberbatch has signed on to join returning cast members Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Co. Better news: He’s reportedly playing the villain. If your first thought is “Benewhat Cumberwho?” see why you should take this as very good news after the jump. Thirty five year-old Cumberbatch has been active in theater, TV, and film for a decade, but had a banner last few years with roles in The Whistleblower , BBC’s Sherlock , and this awards season’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and War Horse . His acerbic take on Sherlock Holmes is probably his best known and best loved work of late, but his turn as Gary Oldman ’s skeptical but loyal right hand man in Tinker Tailor is another recent highlight; next year he’ll pull double duty in The Hobbit voicing the dragon Smaug and the Necromancer for Peter Jackson. (If you were lucky/smart enough to catch last year’s brilliant British satire Four Lions , you might recall Cumberbatch’s cameo as a frustrated negotiator trying in vain to break through to a bunch of inept terrorists.) There’s a somewhat delicate, dangerous edge to Cumberbatch that could play well against the all-American machismo of Pine’s Kirk in Star Trek 2 , though details on Cumberbatch’s character have yet to be revealed. And look! Tinker Tailor co-star Tom Hardy , another Brit breakout, had this to say of Cumberbatch’s acting prowess from back when they starred in the 2007 BBC biopic Stuart: A Life Backwards . So take it from fellow one-time Trek villain Hardy ( Star Trek Nemesis ) and the growing legion of stateside Cumberbatch fanatics: This casting sounds like a promising move on Abrams’ part. What say you, Trekkers? [ Deadline , Variety ]
According to the Phuket Gazette, Bourne Legacy star Jeremy Renner was maybe-sorta (okay not really) involved in an insane-sounding bar brawl this week in Thailand in which an associate was attacked and stabbed by a host of bar employees. Oh, I’m sorry: Bar employees wielding knives and a freaking homemade battle axe . But fear not! It seems Renner, most recently seen in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and currently in Thailand shooting his Bourne flick, hightailed it out and escaped unscathed . Wish we could say the same about his reported acquaintance, one Vorasit Issara, who took injuries to his stomach and neck in the melee. [ Phuket Gazette , ETonline ]
According to the Phuket Gazette, Bourne Legacy star Jeremy Renner was maybe-sorta (okay not really) involved in an insane-sounding bar brawl this week in Thailand in which an associate was attacked and stabbed by a host of bar employees. Oh, I’m sorry: Bar employees wielding knives and a freaking homemade battle axe . But fear not! It seems Renner, most recently seen in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and currently in Thailand shooting his Bourne flick, hightailed it out and escaped unscathed . Wish we could say the same about his reported acquaintance, one Vorasit Issara, who took injuries to his stomach and neck in the melee. [ Phuket Gazette , ETonline ]
Depending on your conspiracy theory of choice, the world may end 11 months and change from now, give or take a few days. And just in case all of those qualified real scientists are wrong about the 2012 doomsday being complete hooey, we’ve got filmmaker Roland Emmerich ’s 2009 opus 2012 on hand to guide us for the potential cataclysm ahead. So grab a notepad and jot down the 18 or so essentials you’ll need to start stockpiling if you’re going to be ready to face down ultimate destruction, John Cusack -style. The fictional 2012 opens as the Earth’s core is being heated by a freak solar flare, which accelerates a shifting of the Earth’s crust. The resulting shift triggers earthquakes and tsunamis across the globe, leaving humanity’s only hope in a series of massive arks constructed to hold survivors… just not everyone. But them’s the breaks. Look, none of us know if we’ll make it onto greedy Oliver Platt’s ginormous boat, so it’s best to come prepared. 1. Emergency kit with the essentials – water, non-perishables, batteries, a radio, perhaps a few magazines for light reading 2. Early investments in steel and titanium interests 3. Decent relationships with your baby mama/daddy 4. A Mayan calendar 5. Disaster insurance 6. Beer 7. A limo with tires with good traction for outrunning earthquakes, family in tow 8. Advanced degree(s) in geology, astrophysics, or international relations 9. Mace for keeping the weirdo pirate radio jock you meet in the woods at arm’s length 10. A private airplane to fly your family to China as America crumbles into the sea 11. Flying lessons 12. Small fortune for buying your way onto life-saving arks at one billion euros a ticket, or 13. High level government clearance assuring privilege of being saved (also works in case of Contagion ) 14. Mountaintop real estate in Africa 15. A houseboat 16. Camping gear 17. A submarine or two 18. Swimming lessons, if all else fails Your mileage may vary with the above, but remember what’s really important in times of crisis as we wait to see if Emmerich was the mystical sage I’d like to think of him as: Family. And not wetting the bed. And also looking cool while evading lava and earthquakes and tsunamis. Let’s circle back on 12/21/12 and see where we’re at. Like the Boy Scouts say, be prepared…
