Friday
May032013
The Only Post You Will Ever Need On The "August: Osage County" Teaser Poster
Friday, May 3, 2013 at 6:34PM 
A clever teaser poster that manages to put the Weston family home first and thus draws a great connective line between the stage production's branding (which always used the house) and the film version. (That house better be its own character in the movie. If this movie is 100% closeups they'll ruin the house as character!)
Or, another way of looking at this...
BEYOND BRILLIANT
SOURCE MATERIAL
INDIVIDUALLY AWESOME
ACTORS
COMEDIC & DRAMATIC
POTENTIAL
...SO DON'T FUCK IT UP,
DIRECTOR
BASED ON THE PULITZER AND TONY, WE ALL KNOW WHAT'S NEXT...
WEINSTEN: OSCAR COUNTDOWN
Related. P.S. Yes, I'm working on the Oscar charts right now. Soon, fair reader, soon.
Reader Comments (31)
Two great posters in a row. They're spoiling us.
Meryl, Julia & Ewan and the rest listed alphabetically. Good for Ewan.
I'm with Peggy Sue. The only thing that crossed my mind was "Good for Ewan!". That man never gets enough credit. He makes me smile.
peggy sue -- actually Chris Cooper too. Then alphabetically. So four people got honors... though one imagines all 12 of these actors get their own title card in the movie and thus the SAG nomination.
A strong contender for Best Ensemble I assume... The best thing is there's no way Julia will compete as supporting as Blanchett did for Notes on a Scandal. I really want Margo and Juliette to get all the trophies.
They'll screw somebody over. Most likely Misty Upham. Do "and..." people get SAG nominated? Or she'll share a title card with, maybe, Margot or Abigail.
Oscar charts - as in April fools predictions???! Yay! Also, when will you finish giving out your film bitch trophies? I'm interested in who got gold, silver, and bronze.
I'm super excited for this, but I'm worried some category fraud is gonna happen, no matter how impossible that seems.
Maybe Ewan can get his first Oscar nom??? I don't know the show in detail so I don't know if his character is a standout or not.
Yes, Ewan should hopefully get his first Oscar soon. He really should've been further in consideration for 'The Impossible' and 'Moulin Rouge!'.
This poster is epic.
I really have only one thing to say about this, and that is, "AHHHHHHHYESIT'SFINALLYHAPPENINGAHHHHHHHHHH!"
Philip: This is one that I'm frankly not THAT confident in as an Oscar contender. I'd guess Lead Actress only, as a safe minimum.
My Top 15:
Twelve Years a Slave (Steve McQueen. Period. December. Obvious.)
The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese. November. Also obvious.)
American Hustle (David O. Russell. Shocking heat. Could be a third nod in a row. Obvious.)
Monuments Men (George Clooney. Political topic. Obvious.)
The Counselor (Ridley Scott. Cormac McCarthy. November. Great cast. Slam.)
Spike Lee's Oldboy (It's two coronations for the price of one. How could Oscar not be into the joint coronation of Spike Lee and the original foreign language thriller if it gets the right kind of reviews? A guess, but a hopefully educated one.)
Inside Llewyn Davis (Coens. Period. Great cast. Obvious.)
The Butler (Lee Daniels. Period. Great cast.)
Gravity (Alfonso Cuaron. Upper middle brow sci-fi. Sandra Bullock. Clooney. Beyond obvious and love that it's on your guesses.)
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (T2 syndrome and October release. Not obvious, but a decent attempt at a genuinely possible semi out of nowhere nod.)
The World's End (Edgar Wright. Definition of pop-consciousness heat. Should have been on your list.)
Before Midnight (Richard Linklater. He's going to get a director nod for either this or Boyhood in 2014 or 2015. Good call.)
Black Nativity (Kasi Lemmons. November. Forest Whitaker. Angela Basset.)
Pacific Rim (Possibly the most obvious blockbuster vote. Plus, Idris Elba could very easily get a Supporting Actor nom.)
Frozen (Animated feature slot. Interesting story.)
Nebraska: Not confident it'll even wind up in the top fifteen. Alexander Payne's last film was WEAK SAUCE, critics have had time to come down from their elation of just having him back at all and the sole writer's a fifty-seven year old nobody. If he was a twenty-nine year old nobody, I could buy it getting as far as you're guessing. But with the writer being that old and bereft of even a small wikipedia article? No.
Fruitvale Station: A light, mostly observational victim's rights piece with no career build-up and a June release. Yeah, has "mostly observational" AND "no career build-up" EVER been Oscar's bag? Keep an eye on the guy, sure, but cool your jets a bit more on this specific film.
Captain Phillips: Two words: Green Zone. If Greengrass had heat, he's lost it because of that flick and he has to make up for it against the storm of directors who currently have it, especially as Tom Hanks last Lead Actor nom being fifteen years ago doesn't help matters.
August: Osage County: Due to the director, this is probably going to be like darkly funny TV, not pounding and effective cinema. Unless the critical reaction surprises me, I'd guess at least one, but up to three, nods, but not in for Director or Picture.
pleasedon'tscrewthisup, pleasedon'tscrewthisup, PLEASE DON'T SCREW THIS UP!!!!
That is literally all that goes through my mind whenever I see/read/hear anything about this movie. I don't think I've ever been so afraid that a movie won't be good in my life.
This is already best picture and best director material. John Wells is a major talent. It is blowing people away in screenings, which makes it hard to be patient.
On the Oscar charts, maybe possibilities could include The Immigrant (aka Lowlife, aka The Nightingale), and The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Hers, as leading actress roles are often in short supply, and Cotillard and Chastain are bound to deliver something interesting. Just for fun, could we please include Tilda for Last Lovers Left Alive?
My hope for a nomination: Richard Linklater for Before Midnight (and I would be crushed if Julie Delpy didn't get a Best Actress nomination).
My hunch for the season: Oscar Isaac will come into focus for a wider public. The Two Faces of January will get him more interesting job offers.
Julia may be pushed supporting by Harvey with Meryl in lead...
People who ve seen advance screening seem to agree that julia will go supporting. Given thateryl plays the over the top matriarch this isn't even too farfetched. Even though on paper julia would be co-lead
bacio & mark -- that sucks so hard though it's of course what everyone expects. That is SUCH a lead role. ah well. Oscar hijinx continue.
the weird thing about this -- to me -- is that Weinstein Co is the type of company that could pull off two leads getting nominated for the same film (if it happened so many times before it could happen again if Hollywood stopped being such jerks about it). And since both Meryl & Julia are previous winners it's not like they're going to be able to pull off 4th and 2nd wins for both for the same movie so why play it like that. ARGH.
People who have seen the screening say that Meryl may be undeniable for a win, the same way as DDL last year. They say it´s one of her best perfonmances (and that´s saying a lot). They also say that Julia is incredibly great and it would be a strong possibility she wins if she goes supporting. So it´s obvius Harvey will try to get as many Oscars as possible.
Helen M -- Violet is one of the best roles ever written (on stage) so it wouldn't surprise me. But we have to take all advance screening buzz with a grain of salt since people say this virtually every year about Meryl. They definitely said it about Bridges of Madison County, for example, and she lost. But yes, a fourth win directly after the third would not be impossible as in finally they've relented and are like "all the oscars belong to you" (see also: Katharine Hepburn)
Ewan's part is the least interesting of the men. Cumberbatch as Little Charles has to be the nominated role. I am still baffled why they got Dermot Muloney for Steve. I know he is friends with the Roberts/Clooney/Wells circle but there are so many solid movie characters actors who could have killed in that role. Also, the female roles rule that movie and not just the powerhouse of Violet. Top down, those female characters are excellent.
Honestly, this is the baitiest movie aside from 12 Years a Slave (that might turn people off in its depiction of brutality) and the movies Annapurna Pictures are putting out that I am allowing myself to really be invested and interested in. Stuff like The Butler (I may see that for potential camp value) and The Monuments Men (that seems to have gone in-production solely to get George Clooney a billion Oscars) bore me in their prestige try-hardness. I want cinema to be more than just cartoonish depictions race and Nazi-occupied backdrops being the only real factors of gravitas. At least with August: Osage County even in a botched version (this also reminds me aside from Clooney and him being buddies how would John Wells be on a short-list for this movie much less direct it) there is rich, interesting original text and acting likely to be captured.
Praying the movie is as good as the poster :)
Those rumors about Julia are insane and yet I believe them. There's no hope for a fair race anymore.
Could they pull a Carnage again and say everyone is supporting?
Great poster. Another one that makes me want to see the pic even if I have heard so-so things about the film.
I can easily see JR getting a nom and win over Meryl. When she is handled correctly, JR can be very effective. I can see her being the surprise of the production.
Stars in leading roles that go supporting are the reason character actors in actual supporting roles never get any attention. Blah
nathaniel,
another great poster: http://i.imgur.com/VNvMCsk.jpg
wow, great poster Marcelo, where did you find it, is it official?
@Adam
on the broadwayworld message board. idk about official, the person who posted it found it on twitter.
Here's is a comparison with how August: Osage County went during the theater awards season in categorization:
Violet and Barbara- Both leads (Meryl and Julia roles)
Bill- Supporting (Ewan role)
Mattie Fae- Supporting (Margo role)
It would be Christophe Waltz-like category fraud if Julia submitted in supporting. It is both their stories. Plus I think Weinstein wants to break some record in acting nomination categories for a single movie, he can't just dump every female not Meryl in supporting actress.
Also that other poster posted by marcelo is great.
Stars in leading roles that go supporting are the reason character actors in actual supporting roles never get any attention.
The caste system is over. An Oscar is simply an Oscar. Sure. There are talents the Academy won't allow to take home a Supporting statuette because of their stature but. Most everyone else are able to freely roam to what best suits them.
Philip, I'm still stunned that Tim Hutton won supporting when he was clearly the lead. The other two criteria are unknowns and children. Tatum was NOT supporting in Paper Moon. But she was both the above.
The plates poster art is better, but anything to distract me until this film comes out is welcome by me!
<But we have to take all advance screening buzz with a grain of salt since people say this virtually every year about Meryl.>
Yes, I'll take this with a grain of salt just like I took with a grain of salt your advanced fanboying over the advance screening for "Les Miz," and we all know how that one turned out.