How Things Change
When Columbia decided several weeks ago against putting Mike Binder‘s Reign O’er Me into the derby by opening it in early December, one of the factors, as I mentioned a few weeks ago, was that “Columbia had a heavy fall/Xmas slate (four films) and they didn’t want to add another film to that list in the first place,”
Those films were All The King’s Men, Running With Scissors, Stranger Than Fiction and The Pursuit of Happyness.
It’s funny how things change so quickly. Here is it only late September (four or five weeks after writing that short article) and two of those films — King’s Men and Fiction — are dead in the water as far as Oscar aspirations are concerned, and a third — Running With Scissors — is looking…well, I don’t know how it’s looking, but not sending it to Toronto was some kind of hint.
That leaves only Gabrielle Muccino‘s The Pursuit of Happyness, a kind of Kramer vs. Kramer father-son heart-tugger in which Will Smith costars with his son, at a stand-out contender of any kind. And you never know with a Will Smith movie. No matter the vehicle, he has to be the “movie star” and that means endless opportu- nities for “charm”, cloying-ness and Smith-schtick.
Another reason weighing against Reign opening in December, I wrote, was the fact that Columbia “already has two funny guys giving dramatic performances — Ferrell in Stranger Than Fiction and Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness — so do the math.” Even with Ferrell out of the picture, the Smith vs. Sandler equation still stands and this, I believe, is finallly why Reign was bumped into March-April of ’07.
Columbia wanted the playground free and clear for Smith’s presumed (i.e., hoped for) Best Actor nomination. They didn’t want another Sandler’s Reign performnace getting in the way, even as a vague competitive possibility.
Again, you’re burying FICTON prematurely. Yes, it has no chance for Picture, but I think a nom and possible win for Original Screenplay is a lock and noms for Hoffman and Thompson in supporting roles are quite likely. And just because SCISSORS skipped Toronto doesn’t ipso facto mean it’s unworthy.
Wells to Cadavra: No way is “Fiction” in line for a nom, much less a win, for Best Original Screenplay. Noms for Hoffman and Thompson…tell me, are you on something? Derby-wise, this movie is dead, dead…dead all over. The fact that “Scissors” skipped Toronto may not mean it’s a bad film or unworthy, but it definitely means there was uncertainty about how the Toronto press corps would respond and the buzz factor that might result. So you can probably count this film out also…except for Annette Bening for a possible nom in her category. Maybe. So I’m hearing.
I have to agree with Jeff on this one. Stranger Than Fiction is a total dud. There’s no way it will get nominated for best screenplay because it’s all “cleverness” and no drama or emotional resonance. People are determined to compare it to Charlie Kaufman, but the shoe really doesn’t fit. The guy who wrote STF hasn’t allowed any themes, ideas, personality or worldview whatsoever to enter his script. It’s completely mechanical…and dull. Plus, any merit that the script ever had has been buried by Marc Forster, arguably the most overrated filmmaker working today. Seriously, his work here is embarrassing. Like his previous film, Stay, STF is full of obnoxious visual gimmicks that undermine the reality of the film. Seriously, it’s a bad film in every way.
Jeff, I love your site, I’ve even managed to tell you this once (after a screening of Find me Guilty). But I still think you’re not giving the academy… well, “credit” isn’t really the word, because I’m referring to it negatively. But I think you might be overestimating the voters. I mean, even Memoirs of a Geisha, one of the biggest wastes of time I ever encountered, managed to pull of oscar noms. They might surprise.
Also, and I’m not being a dick, really just playing Devil’s Advocate, but when in Ali did Will Smith deploy “endless opportunities for “charm” and cloying-ness and Smith-schtick.”?
Any movie, REIGN OVER ME, that draws titular inspiration from a Who song is going to suck.
Let me guess… when Sandler’s character tries to to find himself at the end of act one, strains of “Who Are You” will waif over a shot of him looking at his reflection in a puddle.
Then during flashbacks of how Sandler and Cheadle met in college, “Pinball Wizard” will cue up as it shows them playing pinball in a college bar, then as the finally credits roll, they will drive off together, leaving their materialistic conceits behind; as they come to understand that only the human connection matters, as “Won’t Get Fooled Again” blasts away.
And how did REIGN OVER ME get funded after that MAN ABOUT TOWN disaster with Affleck?
Also, ALL THE KING’S MEN sucked because the book sucks when trying to make a pragmatic take on Huey Long. Warren was a sappy writer, who is only suited to be barroom poet. And that bar room being in New Haven, Conn.
Oh yeah, Columbia’s sending out the same fucking hint that Warners did by not sending “The Departed” to Toronto, right Jeff? I love how you still refuse to acknowledge what I was telling you all along, which is that “The Departed” was testing in the 90s before you wrote your review of it.
Moreover, how many times do you have to cram misinformation and gossip down your readers’ throats as fact before you realize it’s shitty journalism and gets old after a while?
Wells to thatrader: The Warner Bros. call to not send “The Departed” to Toronto was one of the strangest calls in history. They have a clear winner, and somebody in the mix decided that Toronto Film festival critics going apeshit for this film would somehow send a message to the popcorn-chomping proles that it was some kind of oddball Scorsese art film. What complete horseshit! This is not misinformation — it’s what they DID. And it’s not shitty journalism either. Every day I do my best to lay it out as plainly and fully as I can. I make mistakes here and there, but I always try to correct them. Okay, you told me “The Departed” was testing in the ’90s, but I dismissed it because I never heard this on my own (I heard it was testing well, but not in the 90s). Let me say it again — the WB distribution person who decided to equate high praise in Toronto with box-office problems in the U.S. and beyond voiced a highly dubious equation. That’s a polite way of saying they made an absurd decision.
Warners Marketing is messed up. I think probably both you guys are correct with the half-ass mixed signals they give out all of the time. They are a joke!
Then I guess we agree to disagree. We’ll know more in January.