Burlesque

This trailer is like an amalgam of every musical (successful and not) of the past decade put into a blender with Showgirls.  It could be the biggest disaster movie of the year; and I'll likely be there to go down with the ship.  An odd cast-- Christina Aguilera, Cher, Stanley Tucci, Alan Cumming and Kristen Bell in predictable, seemingly good-time "lets put on a show" vehicle.  I already see it playing in midnight screening around the country.  Yet I can't totally discount Cher, even if one must travel a couple of decades back in time for a worthy movie.  But when she's on (I'm thinking of Moonstruck, Silkwood, Mask, Mermaids and The Witches of Eastwick), it's a lovely thing indeed.

Emmy Winners

COMEDY SERIES
Comedy- Modern Family
Actor- Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Actress- Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Supporting Actor- Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
Supporting Actress- Jane Lynch, Glee
Directing- Glee- Ryan Murphy
Writing- Modern Family- Steven Levitan & Christopher Lloyd

Falco's win for best actress in a comedy marks the first time an actress has won an Emmy for both comedy and drama (she's won three suckers for The Sopranos.)  The supporting races were exciting for the the very gay-friendly stance: the lovely Lynch is a lesbian in reality, while Stonestreet plays one half of a gay couple on Modern Family; the straight Stonestreet was up against openly gay actors Chris Colfer (Glee), Jesse Tyler Fergouson (Modern Family) and Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother.)

DRAMA SERIES
Drama- Mad Men
Actor- Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Actress- Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
Supporting Actor- Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
Supporting Actress- Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Directing- Dexter- Steve Shill
Writing- Mad Men- Matthew Weiner & Erin Levy

This the third year in a row that both Mad Men and Cranston have been awarded Emmys...how very exhausting.

MOVIE\MINI-SERIES
Movie- Temple Grandin
Mini-series- The Pacific
Actor- Al Pacino, You Don't Know Jack
Actress- Claire Danes, Temple Grandin
Supporting Actor- David Strahairn, Temple Grandin
Supporting Actress- Julia Ormond, Temple Grandin
Directing- Temple Grandin- Mick Jackson
Writing- You Don't Know Jack- Adam Mazer

As to be expected-- all products of HBO!

REALITY SERIES
Reality Show- Top Chef

First time in the category's history the Emmy didn't go to The Amazing Race.

VARIETY SHOW
Variety Series- The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Was up against the short-lived The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, and while I'm sure that would have made for irresistibly unsettling television, can one really truly deny Mr. Stewart, even if he is heavily Emmy-ed to begin with.

The September Issue

The dog days of the summer movie season have been getting me down lately.  Last weeks offerings were wimpy and pathetic; and the unholyness of a film called Vampire Suck (from the acclaimed filmmakers of atrocities like Date Movie, Epic Movie and Meet the Spartans) making more money than the joyous and inventive Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is enough for me to scream.  And while I don't rule the movie universe, evident by the box office tallies for wonderful offerings like Scott Pilgrim, The Kids Are All Right and Animal Kingdom, I choose to look ahead to next month, rather than get jazzed about Piranha 3-D, or the greedily produced nine extra minutes of this weekend's Avatar: Special Edition; the film is only eight months old, and already made over $2 billion, is a reissue really needed?

But on to (hopefully) happier movie events, and the month of September (known for tremendous tragedy, as well as my birth) looks, at the very least on paper like it could be solid.  Here's 12 films next month I'm looking forward to-- be warned: if I like any of them, history has learned that's a kiss of death for box office profitability.  I'd like to apologize in advance to the distributors.

OPENING SEPTEMBER 3rd:

• The American- George Clooney stars as an assassin taking one last job in what looks like might be an exciting noir.  With the Clooney factor, there's always a bit of Oscar buzz (since breaking bread with AMPAS in 2005 for Good Night, and Good Luck, he's received three nominations for acting: Syriana, for which in won, Michael Clayton, and last years Up in the Air.)  If nothing else, the pedigree looks solid-- its director Anton Corbjin's follow-up to his acclaimed 2007 Joy Division biopic Control, and its written by Rowan Jaffe, son of Roland (The Killing Fields.)

• A Woman A Gun and a Noodle Shop- Director Zhang Yimou's remake of the Coen Bros. Blood Simple.  Yimou has wowed before: Hero, House of Flying Daggers, the Opening Ceremony of Beijing Olympics.  The trailer looks cool:

 

OPENING SEPTEMBER 17th:
 

• Catfish- A sensation at this years Sundance Film Festival, that based at least on the trailer looks like it could very well be the creepiest film of 2010.  I mean that in a good way; I think...I don't quite get it.  Is it an Internet cautionary tale?  All I can think of is I want to see it, and I'm not quite sure how I feel about that.

 

• Easy A- This one could go either way, I see it already, however what interests me about this teen comedy remake of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is not because it could potentially be the last on screen appearance of Amanda Bynes (rumored to be retiring from acting), but the eclectic and wondrously gifted adult actors including Patricia Clarkson, Stanley Tucci, Thomas Hayden Church and Lisa Kudrow.  Certainly not all of these fine actors would agree to take part if the script wasn't any good, right?  It could be teen comedy good, like Mean Girls or Heathers, not the the countless dreck that permeates the movie theaters often, right?  Also, leading lady Emma Stone is, I believe, a fairly strong light comedienne and might bring the right bite here. 

• Never Let Me Go- I'm already kind of sick of the trailer, and certainly was no fan of director Mark Romanek's debut feature (One Hour Photo), but a prime Fox Searchlight Oscar bid can never really be ignored.  And the pedigreed cast is off the chart with Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, newcomer Andrew Garfield (already a person of interest, due to that little Spider-man movie he'll appear in), plus supporting roles by Sally Hawkins (criminally un-Oscared for Happy-Go-Lucky) and Charlotte Rampling.  Primp English setting mixed with creepy sci-fi clone premise-- could be good.

• Jack Goes Boating- Another Sundance hit, this one starring and directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman.  I'm a bit torn here, because the premise seems a bit twee: mid-life crisis loser falls for pretty girl, played by Amy Ryan.  But reviews were solid from Sundance, it could be good.

• The Town- Ben Affleck stars, but more importantly returns to directing after the solid debut of Gone, Baby, Gone.  This one too is a Bostonian crime drama, but the acting, at least from the trailer looks terrific.  It's easy to knock on Affleck, and I've done my fair share of it-- especially post-Good Will Hunting, with the cocksure pose, but whats admirable after his more than competent first film behind the camera is that Affleck surrounds the film with an exciting and super talented cast.  Center stage highlight for me is Rebecca Hall-- after Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Please Give, I'll follow her anywhere, at least now.  Plus Jeremy Renner, John Hamm, Chris Cooper and Pete Postlewaite-- that's a good cast.

OPENING SEPTEMBER 24th:

• Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps- Alright, I'm almost convinced I'm not going to like this one; Oliver Stone and myself have never quite seen eye to eye, even during his hot streaks, but here is a curiosity project, just because everything about seems kind of mismatched and I think at the very least it could wind up being a brilliant disaster.  Michael Douglas returns in his Oscar-winning role of Gordon Gecko, now released from prison.  Supporting him are Shia LeBeof, Carey Mulligan, Susan Sarandon, Josh Brolin and Frank Langella.

• Buried- Another Sundance hit-- this one is the famous Ryan Reynolds trapped in a box picture.  Could be good\creepy\claustrophobic fun.  Or a monotonous tease of a movie; either way I'm officially curious.

 
 

• Howl- The James Franco picture that likely won't merit any Academy consideration (that might be 127 Hours instead), but perhaps the more notable at least when thinking about the range of the decidedly bizarrely fascinating actor.  Here's he's channeling Allen Ginsberg during the obscenity hearing of the poem, "Howl."

• Waiting for Superman- Davis Guggenheim, the documentary filmmaker behind An Inconvenient Truth and It Might Get Loud returns with what appears to be a searing indictment of the our country's education system.  "Bout time! 

• You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger- Woody Allen's latest starring Antonio Banderas, Naomi Watts, Anthony Hopkins and Josh Brolin.  Who knows anything anymore on terms of quality with Mr. Allen; all I know is that for a brief, but important time in my youth, Annie Hall and Manhattan were scripture to me, and thus I return every time, I just have too...

I'm excited...

Honorary Oscars 2010

The Academy Governors have announced the winners of this years honorary Oscars.  For the second year in a row, they well be given out in a separate non-televised event.  This year on November 13.  In either a desperate move to cut down the show, or perhaps the perceived lack of interest in seeing old timers accepting non-competitive awards, I still feel shammed in that the general public isn't invited to watch.  However, whatever.  This years selection is:

Irving J. Thalberg Award: Francis Ford Coppola

• Coppola has received 5 competitive Oscars over his career
• 3 for directing, producing and writing The Godfather Part II (1974)
• 1 for producing The Godfather (1970)
• 1 for writing Patton (1970)

 Whatever the motivation to give him a sixth Academy endorsed statute, one must claim that his career is safely coveted into the legendary category.  With The Godfather, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now, One From the Heart, Bram Stoker's Dracula, and The Outsiders on a single resume, I'm more than fine with Mr. Coppola receiving another accolade. 

Honorary Oscars:

• Jean Luc-Godard- The French New Wave master was selected even though he's never been acknowledged at the Oscars, not once.  In a selection, perhaps like last year's mention of Roger Korman, it's a nod of paying homage to a career that the AMPAS wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole competitively.  Worthy is an understatement for one the living giants in the international film community, even if I personally am not a great fan of his work in general-- I probably shouldn't have typed that, I feel like the Fellini basher in Annie Hall already.
• Eli Wallach- Superb actor whose also gone unnoticed his entire career in the Academy, despite six decades in the industry in such laudable films as Baby Doll, The Magnificent Seven, How the West Was Won, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, and The Misfits.  Still acting with roles in this year's The Ghost Writer, and the upcoming Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.
• Kevin Brownlow- British film historian and documentarian.

Disney vs. the Annie Awards

The Annie Awards are the annual kudo-fest for animated features.  And now there appears to be trouble afoot as the Walt Disney corporation has seemingly bowed out of the organization.  Official statement from Disney-Pixar president Ed Catmull:

“We believe there is an issue with the way the Annies are judged, and have been seeking a mutually agreeable solution with the board.

Although some initial steps have been taken, the board informed us that no further changes would be made to address our concerns.”

It's been addressed that membership requirements for the Annies are purchased, not voted on by governing peers, and gossip appears to have surfaced that DreamWorks Animation has bought each new employee a membership.  Perhaps it's unsurprising when in 2008 the animated feature category was awarded to DreamWorks' Kung Fu Panda, despite the competition of the vastly superior in every way triumph that was WALL-E.  It seemed that voting practices were changed after that year, but apparently not enough for Disney.  It remains to be seen what may come about for this years animated selection, which might potentially be free of Toy Story 3, now the highest grossing animated feature of all time, and what should be seen as a frontrunner, as well as Disney's fall animated film, Tangled.

Annie Awards at a glance:

2009- Up
2008- Kung Fu Panda
2007- Ratatouille
2006- Cars
2005- Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
2004- The Incredibles
2003- Finding Nemo
2002- Spirited Away
2001- Shrek
2000- Toy Story 2

Could this potentially just be sour grapes-- the Disney track record has been pretty strong this past decade.