There Will Be Oscars
HE reader Mr. Gittes said it first a few minutes ago, and it’s probably been said in a lot of other places this morning, but considering the reports from last night’s Austin screening and just for the record (because we’re all sensing that it’s true, especially given the Citizen Kane echoes) …There Will Be Oscars.
There’s also a review up on the Variety blog from Marjorie Baumgarten with more hyperbole, comparing it to Giant as well as Citizen Kane.
http://www.variety.com/blog/1390000339/post/960015096.html
Oh boy…here we go again.
I’m looking forward to this, but let’s not blow things out of proportion quite yet please. I don’t want to be severely disappointed.
Why would echoes of Citizen Kane mean Oscars? Doesn’t it just mean that the Oscars will reject it in favor of something safer and easier?
Nothing wrong with getting excited over a film. I saw INTO THE WILD last night and it met my high expectations.
I just wish I was in Austin last night too. Oh well.
Poland is already out to get this one, which means it’s a stone-cold lock for a best pic nominee.
Poland is already out to get this one, which means it’s a stone-cold lock for a best pic nominee.
If the script, the trailer, and the early reviews are any indication… There Will Be Blood will be a masterpiece. Of course, this also means it has no chance of winning Oscars.
Poland is simply making the point that one critic and a bunch of “fan boys” are the only eyes so far prevy to this film.
“So let’s not all start sucking each other’s dicks yet gentlemen.”
that said, I can’t fucking wait to see it.
poland makes a good point on his blog, though, that it was screened under ideal circumstances to guarantee a fanboy/fangirl response. It looks great, hopefully it will be. But–
“Why would echoes of Citizen Kane mean Oscars? Doesn’t it just mean that the Oscars will reject it in favor of something safer and easier?”
You got it. It being compared to Citizen Kane is a bad thing, though. It immediately makes people like me want to hate it. CK is one of my all-time favorite films and I don’t feel the need nor desire to see a film be compared to it. Feel free to compare it to How Green is my Valley, though.
Seems as good as done for lots of noms unless the hype kills it.
I’m not trying to splash cold water on the movie, I’m jazzed about it officially, but my first response to the early enthusiasm was “Wait, who are these people again?”
Just because they’re first doesn’t mean they’re right.
PT Anderson said way back @ Cannes:
“i just got out of the mix a few weeks ago and the first screening is going to be very discreet at a small festival. i don’t want to make a big deal about it.â€Â
Suggesting that the film premiering in this manner is a sign of trouble is way off-base.
Who is saying it’s a sign of trouble?
It’s a sign of trouble!!!!!!!
There, I just did…but only to back up a fellow poster.
David Poland’s blog post, referenced in the comments here, suggested that it was a sign of trouble.
http://www.mcnblogs.com/thehotblog/archives/2007/09/how_do_you_know.html
Ahhh see, in my need to remain as ignorant as possible about the movie, I’m not digging too deeply into what’s being said about it. From what people were saying here and elsewhere I took Poland’s comments to mean that we just shouldn’t be reading too much into this early buzz.
Maybe if I’m going to be ignorant I should just shut it, no?
As was pointed out on The Hot Blog, the last movie they creamed themselves over was V for Vendetta, so…not saying anything just saying Wells is going a bit overboard I think. He could be sitting with Dreamgirls like egg on his face. His phrase, “There Will Be Oscars” could come back to haunt him, just like poor David Carr got teased with his famous conclusion on Dreamgirls, “The Eagle Has Landed.” But in all probability, this will be an Oscar film. We’ll have to wait and see.
p.s. isn’t it weird that Wells has not posted a single thing on Ken Burns’ epic, The War (which I cannot stop watching).
Zimmergirl – the last film I remember being compared to ‘Citizen Kane’ was ‘Velvet Goldmine’, and ripping-off the structure of ‘Citizen Kane’ wasn’t even the worst of that movie’s faults, so…
yeah, I agree with you.
But I tend to ignore comparisons anyway, because they’re too hard to qualify. If somebody hated ‘Citizen Kane’, then they might mean “it’s boring” when they say “It’s like Citizen Kane.”
Zimmergirl, I think it’s odd that Wells hasn’t mentioned anything on Tony Kaye’s Lake of Fire which a trailer for just premiered two days ago and which has a limited (probably less than Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) release this Wednesday.
The script is easily the strongest thing Anderson has ever written (and I say that as a fan) but its not going to win many Oscars, because its bleak, uncompromising, and too fucking good.
Which is too bad, because you know we can’t enjoy something unless it wins a bunch of Oscars.
Esquire’s Mike D’Angelo who is the farthest thing in the world from an AICN fanboy loved it too. It screened for NY critics a couple of days ago.
Esquire’s Mike D’Angelo, who is the farthest thing in the world from an AICN fanboy, loved it too. It screened for NY critics a couple of days ago.