Most Anticipated : Far From the Madding Crowd

Mulligan and Schoenaerts

After Blanchett and Chastain, it is time to consider what's next for another actress we admire, Carey Mulligan.

Pedigree

Celebrated Danish director Thomas Vinterberg has assembled a pretty good European cast to surround Mulligan; Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen, Tom Sturridge and Juno Temple. Novelist and screenwriter David Nicholls of One Day fame wrote the adaptation from Thomas Hardy's novel. They shot on location in Dorset, England preserving the novel's original setting.

What's It About
An adaptation of Hardy's novel about an independent young woman Bathsheba Everdene (Mulligan) in 1750s England and the three men courting her. The handsome rascal who's clearly trouble (Sturridge), the older dependable but slightly crazy and depressed guy (Sheen) and her neighbour who becomes her employee, who's always around when needed and clearly the one she should choose (Schoenaerts). The novel is considered by some to be an early example of feminist literature. 

Why I'm Excited

Mulligan appeared in two of my favorite 2013 films The Great Gatsby and Inside Llewyn Davis. She was exceptional and distinctive in both showing a lot of range. And the woman can do wonders with her voice, controlling it to convey a million emotions. If Marion Cotillard's face launches a thousand differing and moving emotions; Mulligan's voice tells our hearts exactly what she's feeling at any time. 

Schoenaerts' sexy alive performance in Rust and Bone finally made me understand what people mean when they say Brando-esque. Plus the man is SEXY and of all his many upcoming movies this promises to be the one where he can at his broodiest, sexiest self. 

Vinterberg with his DP Charlotte Bruus during filming 

Really?

I guess I could quibble with Temple's casting since she has never impressed me or say that Sturridge is an unknown factor since I don't remember seeing him in anything. But who am I kidding? The combination of Mulligan, Schoenaerts and Vinterberg is more than enough to get me giddy with excitement. 60s purists might complain Julie Christie already played Bathsheba alongside Alan Bates, Peter Finch and Terrence Stamp but I'm excited for this new adaptation.

Most Anticipated : Miss Julie

Chastain as Julie

Yesterday we talked about Carol, today is Miss Julie's turn. Another woman centered movie that has me so excited with anticipation.

Pedigree
Liv Ullmann directs Jessica Chastain in a Strindberg adaptation. Just wow, a legit screen goddess directing one of the most exciting current actors in a movie adaptation of a classic play. Ullmann needs no introduction; Chastain can go from The Help to Zero Dark Thirty within a year so you know she's the definition of range. And the play is considered a classic. Colin Farrell and  Samantha Morton co-star.

What's It About
A tale fraught with sex, class struggle and power dynamics between the sexes. The titular character (Chastain) is drawn to a well travelled and well read servant (Farrell) in her father's household. That servant's fiance (Morton) is also part of the plot.


Why I'm Excited
Ullmann's collaboration with Cate Blanchett to interpret a classic - A Streetcar Named Desire - was a theatrical marvel. This is on film but still it's a collaboration worth getting excited about. Also Morton, who was so shafted in Her, is in this and it's been a while since we've seen this wonderful actor on screen.

Chastain with Farrell

Really?
Collin Farrell's casting gives me pause. He has never excited me on screen. In fact he was recently terrible in Saving Mr Banks. The movie was so much better when I watched a second time and fast forwarded through all his scenes. Still let's hope Chastain excites him and he rises to her level.

First Pictures of Cate as Carol

My most anticipated film in a long time is Carol; based on a Patricia Highsmith novel, directed by Todd Haynes and starring Cate the Great. It's a gay man's heaven : ACTRESS, queer writer and director, an impossible forbidden love story. It also has a killer supporting cast with Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson and Kyle Chandler. All the ingredients that make me giddy and excited.

Here are the first pictures from the first day of shooting. And we will give the movie the "most anticipated" treatment soon.

Cate

Sandy Powell is serving some 50s coat realness

Even her back looks alluring.......

Mara and Paulson

Final Oscar Predictions

Last predictions.... I'm hoping for a fun night and for a great speech from my favorite Cate. If she somehow doesn't win I'll be accepting condolences starting tomorrow.

Best Picture
12 Years A Slave

Best Director
Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Also hoping for a few choice moments from her on the red carpet like one below with Jessica Chastain at Golden Globes.

Best Actor
Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club

Best Supporting Actress
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years A Slave

Best Supporting Actor
Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club

Best Original Screenplay
American Hustle

Best Adapted Screenplay
12 Years A Slave

Best Animated Feature
Frozen

Best Foreign Film
The Great Beauty

Best Documentary
20 Feet From Stardom

Best Production design
The Great Gatsby

Best Costume Design
The Great Gatsby

Best Cinematography
Gravity

Best Editing
Gravity

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Dallas Buyers Club

Best Score
Gravity

Best Song
Let It Go - Frozen

Best Sound Editing
Gravity

Best Sound Mixing
Gravity

Best Animated Short
Get a Horse

Best Live Action Short
Aquel No Era Yo

Best Documentary Short
The Lady in Number 6

Favorite Performances '13 - Elyes Aguis The Past

Aguis with Tahar Rahim as his father in Le Passe

Among the many many things Asghar Farhadi is a genius at, he's a genius at drawing fantastic performances from child actors. He does that again in his latest The Past (Le Passe) where he works with 3 young actors within the film's uniformly strong cast. And he's most successful in drawing out a mesmerizing and moving yet believable and restrained performance from Aguis.

Playing a young boy who's perplexed by the adults around him and how their shenanigans keep complicating his life, Aguis is the MVP. That's no small feat since every performance is tightly and expertly modulated. His big scene,  where he rebels against all that's happening around him in a train station, is the emotional highlight of the film. And he delivers, I was shattered by his deep emoting.

Final OSCAR Nominations Predictions

The Oscar nominations are announced tomorrow. Here are my final nominations in the top 8 categories:

Best Picture

Everyone agrees on the top 4, they have had consistent support everywhere. So had Dallas and Nebraska. Wolf surged late and it has its passionate supporters. Those are probably our nominees. Her has lots of love among critics and possibly younger AMPAS members, Blue Jasmine was embraced by actors, PGA and costumers so it is in if we go to 9. Banks is falling but it could rally if we get 10 nominees.

• 12 Years a Slave
• American Hustle
• Gravity
• Captain Phillips
• Nebraska
• Dallas Buyers Club
• The Wolf of Wall Street
• Her
• Blue Jasmine
• Saving Mr. Banks

Best Actor

Leo gets in instead of Redford whose fortunes have been falling since getting snubbed by SAG. The other 4 - Ejjiofor, Dern, McConaughey and Hanks - got consistent support. I'd be thrilled if Oscar Isaac surprises.

• Bruce Dern  - Nebraska
• Leonardo DiCaprio  - The Wolf of Wall Street
• Chiwetel Ejiofor  - 12 Years a Slave
• Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips
• Matthew McConaughey  - Dallas Buyers Club

Best Actress

For the most of the season it looked like 5 previous winners - Blanchett, Streep, Dench, Bullock and Thompson would be this year's list. Then August:Osage County opened and Meryl was pretty much dissed by everyone. Maybe there is such a thing as "Meryl fatigue". Adams will benefit from that : they love her and she's in an ascending likely best picture nominee.

• Amy Adams - American Hustle
• Cate Blanchett  - Blue Jasmine
• Sandra Bullock - Gravity
• Judi Dench - Philomena
• Emma Thompson - Saving Mr. Banks

Best Director

For the unique and beguiling world he created in Her, Spike Jonze will join the directors of the top 4 likely best picture nominees.

• Alfonso Cuaron  - Gravity
• Paul Greengrass  - Captain Phillips
• Spike Jonze - Her
• Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave
• David O. Russell - American Hustle

Supporting Actor

Gandolfini will surprise. Members will slip in the disk for Enough Said and find how sublime, funny and touching it is. And they will scribble Gandolfini's name on their ballots instead of Bradley Cooper and / or Jonah Hill. Bruhl is the only bright spot in his movie and will benefit from consistent mentions throughout the season. The other 3, Leto, Fassbender, Abdi, are in likely best picture nominees and have wide support.

• Daniel Bruhl - Rush
• Barhad Abdi - Captain Phillips
• Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave
• James Gandolfini - Enough Said
• Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club

Supporting Actress

Similar to Adams and DiCaprio I'm relying on the surge evidenced by a BAFTA nomination to predict Hawkins. Plus her movie was embraced by PGA and usually a dominant lead performance will carry a supporting one on its coattails. It happened to Ethan Hawke in Training Day and Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart. If Meryl can't make it I don't see how Roberts does.

• Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine
• Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
• Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
• June Squibb - Nebraska
• Oprah Winfrey - Lee Daniels' The Butler

Best Original Screenplay

• Woody Allen - Blue Jasmine
• Joel Coen and Ethan Coen - Inside Llewyn Davis
• Spike Jonze - Her
• Bob Nelson - Nebraska
• David O. Russell and Eric Singer - American Hustle

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater - Before Midnight
• Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope - Philomena
• Billy Ray - Captain Phillips
• John Ridley - 12 Years a Slave
• Terence Winter - The Wolf of Wall Street

Golden Globes Moments I'm Hoping For

Cate Blancett and Chiwetel Ejiofor on GG Weekend

It's futile to predict the Golden Globes. The fun is in their left field choices : Paul Giamatti in Barney's Version or Colin Farrell in In Brugues. Instead here's what I'm hoping to see:

- Cate Blanchett and Chiwetel Ejiofor win for Drama Actress and Actor. These are my very two favorites this year and I can't believe they are actually front runners.

- Another favorite Oscar Isaac. His chances are slim but the Comedy actor category almost always delivers surprises.

- a train wreck moment a la Jodie Foster from last year. That's why we tune in.

- Crazy crazy couture from the ladies. And at least one man to mix it up with a dash of color away from navy blue and black.

- Rob Lowe to win and to deliver his speech looking exactly like this :

Hoping for a fun night!

Favorite Performances '13 - Chiwetel Ejiofor 12 Years A Slave

In this space I will pay homage to the actors who gave performances in 2013 that moved and stunned me. These are the performances that I responded to the most and will remember, I think, for years to come.

If Oscar Isaac is The Voice, Chiwetel Ejiofor is The Eyes.  Steve McQueen locks his camera on those eyes and Ejiofor delivers emotional catharsis. It's a crescendo of a performance, starting in shadows as Solomon plays the audience surrogate into this unspeakably cruel world, building to a finale that shatters. "I apologize for my appearance.  I have had a difficult time of things these past many years".

Before we get there, we pass through the funeral scene where Solomon both accepts his destiny as a slave and the camaraderie and community of his fellow slaves. And in another instance, that haunting image of Ejiofor's silent face, and those eyes, reflecting and for one split second looking directly into the audience. These are just a few peaks in this marvel of a performance. Ejiofor pierces the heart. 

Cate x Scorcese / Woody = Oscar

Golden Cate in the January 2014 issue of Vogue

(Post was updated to reflect the results of 2013 Oscars)


Let's talk our favorite actor, Cate Blanchett as she accepts her first award of the film year for Blue Jasmine tonight at the New York Film Critics Circle dinner.

Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese are two iconoclast directors whose movies have been seen and acclaimed for decades. They are also known for getting their actors Oscars - nominations aplenty and a few wins. However never has an actor been nominated for work with both directors. That could change this year. Woody's latest has won rave reviews and much acclaim for its leading lady, Cate Blanchett. She of course won an Oscar in 2004 for Scorsese's The Aviator.

Since its release in July everyone has been talking Oscar and Cate. If indeed she is nominated and wins as everyone expects, she will be the only Oscar crossover between the two quintessentially New York auteurs. There have been few actors who worked with both and even got nominated, but never for both directors. Actors like Juliette Lewis (Husbands and Wives and Cape Fear), Sharon Stone (Stardust Memories and Casino), Leonardo DiCaprio (Celebrity and take your pick from the last decade of Scorsese).

Let's compare all the actors who received nominations for both directors but first a few observations:

- While Woody Allen is lauded for writing parts for women and Scorsese not so much, both got the most nominations for their actors in the best supporting actress category. 8 for Scorsese and 10 for Woody. Cate is the only winner in that category for Scorsese but Woody has 4 wins including 2 for Dianne Wiest. Allen has 3 nominations for Best Actress while Scorsese has 2.  Maybe Scorsese hasn't done so bad for his women.

- It makes sense that Scorsese would get 7 lead actor nominations as his movies are usually about men while Woody gets more in supporting as his movies are mostly ensembles.

- Overall Woody got 7 actors (Keaton, Wiest, Caine, Wiest, Sorvino, Cruz and Blanchett) an Oscar and Scorsese 5 (Burstyn, De Niro, Newman, Pesci and Blanchett).

Cate as Katharine Hepburn

Martin Scorsese

Academy Award for Best Actor:

• 1976 Robert De Niro Taxi Driver
• 1980 Robert De Niro Raging Bull (won)
• 1986 Paul Newman The Color of Money (won)
• 1991 Robert De Niro Cape Fear
• 2002 Daniel Day-Lewis Gangs of New York
• 2004 Leonardo DiCaprio The Aviator
• 2013 Leonardo DiCaprio The Wolf of Wall Street

Academy Award for Best Actress:

• 1974 Ellen Burstyn Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (won)
• 1995 Sharon Stone Casino

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor:

• 1980 Joe Pesci Raging Bull
• 1990 Joe Pesci Goodfellas (won)
• 2004 Alan Alda The Aviator
• 2006 Mark Wahlberg The Departed
• 2013 Jonah Hill The Wolf of Wall street

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress:

• 1974 Diane Ladd Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
• 1976 Jodie Foster Taxi Driver
• 1980 Cathy Moriarty Raging Bull
• 1986 Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio The Color of Money
• 1990 Lorraine Bracco Goodfellas
• 1991 Juliette Lewis Cape Fear
• 1993 Winona Ryder The Age of Innocence
• 2004 Cate Blanchett The Aviator (won)

Cate in Blue Jasmine

Woody Allen

Academy Award for Best Actor:

• 1977 Woody Allen Annie Hall
• 1999 Sean Penn Sweet and Lowdown

Academy Award for Best Actress:

• 1977 Diane Keaton Annie Hall (won)
• 1978 Geraldine Page Interiors
• 2013 Cate Blanchett Blue Jasmine (won)

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor:

• 1986 Michael Caine Hannah and Her Sisters (won)
• 1989 Martin Landeau Crimes and Misdemeanors
• 1994 Chazz Palmimenteri Bullets Over Broadway

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress:

• 1978 Maureen Stapleton Interiors
• 1979 Mariel Hemingway Manhattan
• 1986 Dianne Wiest Hannah and Her Sisters (won)
• 1991 Judy Davis Husbands and Wives
• 1994 Dianne Wiest Bullets over Broadway (won)
• 1994 Jennifer Tilly Bullets Over Broadway 
• 1995 Mira Sorvino Mighty Aphrodite (won)
• 1999 Samantha Morton Sweet and Lowdown
• 2008 Penelope Cruz Vicky Cristina Barcelona (won)
• 2013 Sally Hawkins Blue Jasmine