Linkman & Emmywoman
Wednesday, August 27, 2014 at 12:30PM First Things First: at Movie City News the "Gurus of Gold" have begun (yes, I'm a part of it again) and as David Poland points out there are seven films that made almost every list: Birdman, Gone Girl, Boyhood, and Unbroken tied at 1st place with Foxcatcher, Selma, and Interstellar just behind them. Most pundits are feeling these as Best Picture threats. Look at the whole chart though to see how everything fared. The highest ranking films that were not on my list (we were asked to submit 15 films) are Wild and Inherent Vice.
Birdman Flies
Early rave reviews at the Venice Film Festival from The Telegraph, Variety and THR and a couple positive but not ecstatic reviews from The Guardian and The Film Stage are up and surely bode well for the film. I'm holding off on reading them as I want the movie fresh when I see it. But others may want to dive right in.
Anger Making
Yahoo talks to Tyler Perry. The Madea franchise star/director claims he didn't know who David Fincher was when he signed on to Gone Girl and he wouldn't have done it if he knew how "mainstream" he was. What the F'in hell? Yes, Tyler Perry a bastion of "edgy" cinema. He's also been a voting member of the Director's branch of the Academy since 2009 which means he's been asked to judge and vote on Fincher's work twice. Way to be a conscientous voter!
Other Linkage
The Playlist 10 overlooked greats from the 1970s. I gladly support the inclusion of Girlfriends (1978) but I haven't seen the others
HitFix Deborah Ann Woll talks about moving on to Daredevil and the difficulty of leaving True Blood's Jessica behind
Pajiba Ridley Scott is 76 years-old but his plate is super full. How many more films is he planning to make exactly?
Cinematically Insane will layoffs and monetization at Turner Broadcasting affect TCM?
My New Plaid Pants Superman takes the ice bucket challenge
The Dissolve Mike D'Angelo looks back at "Best Actress" of 1989 -- we all know that shoulda been Michelle Pfeiffer but others are discussed, too.
VF Neil Marshall (The Descent) wants to direct a Black Widow movie. Also talks Game of Thrones
Emmy Hangover
The Nib Liza Donnelly's caricatures from the evening
Pajiba's liveblog with Courtney Enlow icymi
We Recycle Movie's "lateblog" with Anne Marie and Margaret
Towleroad icymi it on Emmy night, Billy on the Street's Emmy dash was the most hilarious of few hilarious things that night
Showtracker wonders if Game of Thrones can rise in Emmy estimation with Breaking Bad moving out of the way
Salon what the Emmys revealed about the broadcast vs cable war on television
ICYMI
Vulture Mark Harris has a long read on "The Making of Foxcatcher" - so much Mark Harris to read. (I'm reading "Five Came Back" very slowly because I am learning so much about late 30s/early 40s Hollywood on every page.)
Funny Or Die Mark Duplass and Ted Danson go to couples therapy over Prince's Purple Rain suit
Fun Interview
Assignment X talks to one of our favorite British thespians, Olivia Williams about her new series, films (very briefly), makes fun of her own accent work and this, my favorite part, on her stellar role in Joss Whedon's Dollhouse:
Joss legendarily starts to adapt your character as the series goes on to how you really are, and I started off as sort of a calculating bitch and ended up being rather motherly and a bit of an alcoholic, and I can’t think where he got that from.
Ha!
Reader Comments (43)
Tyler Perry does not want to participate in projects he's not involved with creatively that have high audience awareness. Since the last time that happened it was a critical and commercial disaster--Alex Cross. As for him being unaware of Fincher--everyone does not watch serial killer movies, thrillers starring Jodie Foster, nor cult entries like Fight Club and Alien 3--the world is round people!
3rtful - ugh. anyone who works in a prominent industry and who is good at their job is aware of the A listers in their industry. Moreover Tyler Perry is a voting member of the Directors Branch of the Academy Awards and not knowing who one of the your A-List peers is WHOSE WORK YOU HAVE BEEN ASKED TO JUDGE MORE THAN ONCE (Tyler has been a voting member of the directors branch and DGA since at least 2009, aka he has been asked to vote on Fincher's work on The Social Network and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, both of which were major awards players at least twice)
That's shirking your responsibilities. That means you're a terrible member of the Academy.
or maybe you're just trolling me and i fell for it. Argh!
3rtful: WOW does that just completely misunderstand that quote, which was more about seeing more roles for women in ALL genres. Also: Yeah Alex Cross sucked. Let alone the bad casting idea of Tyler Perry, there's the other nagging issue that Rob Cohen is pretty much uniformly a TERRIBLE director. But to have never heard of David Fincher and not even know how mainstream he is? Even if you've never SEEN a movie he's done, that's living under a rock levels of ignorance.
Tyler Perry should have his Academy membership revoked! What an embarrassment for the Academy -- he was a member the year it was Social Network vs. King's Speech, so he's basically admitting that he didn't watch Social Network? That's great.
Tyler Perry is not make it his business to be active in the activities of the business. You can make money in Hollywood and be unaware of what is hot and happening in Hollywood. He makes movies for a niche audience--the African-American female church goer. A patriarchal white supremacy is a godless place to begin with. The quality of his work is sub par. But at the end of the day it makes money and makes his niche happy. Fuck does he care about the white men in the business not named Spielberg. The Color Purple--which you think so little of--is a major cultural phenomenon in the African-American community.
Also, several branches of the Academy has useless members with voter privilege. Not a shocker, nor something that will be easily corrected. In fact, Hollywood will never be corrected. That's why "category fraud" is widely embraced by the actors' branch.
*Tyler Perry does not make it his business to be active in the activities of the business.
Regarding the 10 overlooked 70s classics. I fondly recall Robin & Marian, but the one I really like is Smile. I try to catch it on TV every five years or so. It skewers small town life and beauty pageants pretty well. It's about the only movie I've ever seen Barbara "Agent 99" Feldon in, so that's fun. Plus an early Annette O'Toole. I recommend it.
Why is anyone taking anything Tyler Perry says seriously?
Gurus piece. No one is talking about Maps to the Stars?
Just found out that Lindsay Duncan and Merritt Weaver are in Birdman. I'm there.
The Salon piece sounds a bit bad loserish. Network took three of the 4 top acting awards. I wonder which of the writers favorite cable stars didn't win?
I also remember Smile and Robin and Marian. Smile is fun. Robin and Marian suffered mixed messages in the marketing.
Henry -- i still dont understand whether or not Maps to the Stars is opening. It's very low profile other than people on the internet wanting to see it.
Henry -- oh and i didn't see bad-loserish in that. I thought he made an interesting point about "choosing not to compete" since network dramas are often so formulaic and the quality gap in comedy being less sever. That still won't help with The Good Wife feel better about its snub given the raves it received but it's worth thinking about.
Bia - right? it makes me crazy. And it's not like there are too many members of your field to get to know. The Academy's directors branch is not thousands of people. It's a few hundred and at the very least know the important ones who are consistently held up as the best in the business.
RE: the 1989 Best Actress Oscar... I wonder if Sally Field was in the 6th spot for that category in Steel Magnolias... It seems crazy to think that despite her big breakdown scene at the end, she didn't get nom'd.
re Ridley Scott's next project, The Martian. The movie will be based on a terrific debut novel of the same name; an easy-breezy, perfect summer read. Matt Damon is great casting.
Birdman has a fantastic cast, so it's number one on my list to see in a theater.
It drives me crazy (like next level insane) when I hear about people who make movies or want to make movies who clearly don't watch movies. And I think there's a lot of evidence (this comment included) that Perry is not an attentive watcher of movies.
Nat-I think the Salon writer lumped the networks and that is a mistake. I agree that NBC seems to given up, but all three of those acting awards went to CBS who is fighting on. Fox is even trying to show a little spunk in the comedy vein. I"m not sure what ABC is doing. The thought process there seems to pretty much "and the kitchen sink" right now.
I also think the ballot is a problem and the nominations...........?
I am from the uk and Perry is the last reason uk cinema audiences will go see gone girl,the madea fils have never even been seen here.
Cherish it, mark. We were once like you.
Okay: Gurus of Gold, Selection by Selection with personal placement before commentary:
Gone Girl (#5): Of course.
Birdman (#3): Certainly.
Boyhood (#9): Certainly in there, but unsure whether it'll make to top _ nominees.
Unbroken (#20): That generic trailer with badly lit footage dissuaded no one from it's Oscar possibilities enough to get it out of the top 15?
Foxcatcher (#12): I'm not exactly psyched with the trailer, but I get it. It's at least "prestigious". It'll be in the argument at least.
Selma (#13): We don't have a trailer, but I'm a bit surprised this wasn't one of the ones that got all 14.
Interstellar (#26): Another one I'm surprised the trailer didn't dissuade.
Wild (#38): Guys. Reese is not a draw. Neither for normal people or for the Academy. Where's the lazy afterglow nod for Rendition to prove she's an actual draw for them and not one of the many "Ingenues we mistakenly gave a trophy"? Oh, that's right, it doesn't exist.
Fury (#24): Eh, I still don't know if it's going to be a great movie and not a punchline of "what do you name a character in a movie with a somber, grey aesthetic? Not Wardaddy."
Inherent Vice (#1): Director and source material alone mean I think this is almost assured.
The Theory of Everything (#36): The trailer did nothing to dissuade me from the idea of listening to Stephen Hawking's computer voice for a lot of a 60 minute stretch is going to be pleasant and enjoyable.
The Imitation Game (#31): Ten people are really stumping for a full life biopic?
The Grand Budapest Hotel (#21): It wasn't bad, but it was kind of forgettable and inconsistent and absolutely refused to really have breathing moments (even GotG knew how to breathe a little, whatever it's other faults.) I hope it won't be remembered at the end of the year.
Into the Woods Jr. (#44): 7 people stumping for it. I get why Nat's thinking it'll make it (he loves musicals a bit TOO much), but I just don't get the fairly misplaced faith from everyone else.
American Sniper (#23): Clint, these days, is shaky at best even when he has an all-star cast. Clint working with only one proven good actor (Bradley Cooper) and a cast of no-names (and Sienna Miller)? Yikes.
A Most Violent Year (#35): A24 is not going to push a generic hustling crime film from J.C. "we're going to put you in a corner after that big nothing that was All is Lost" Chandor, even with that cast. At a bigger studio? Maybe. But A24 is in a position where, if they're going to push for Oscar AT ALL (and I'm pretty sure they're not going to), it has to be with the more daring and bizarre movies in their stable. Movies like Tusk (my position #30), for example.
Big Eyes (#2): Wow. Only six ballots? Weird.
Mr. Turner (#14): I buy this.
Exodus: Gods and Kings (#26): That trailer didn't make it look so bad, on so many levels, in spite of being prestigious to dissuade placement?
Men, Women and Children (#19): The trailer made it look like a harder lob than the cast made it look on paper. Not surprised.
St. Vincent (not in top 45): Really? This CREEPY (and non-prestigious) bleeping story lands on ballots over more palatable commercial works like GotG (#4), The Lego Movie (#8), The Maze Runner (#18) or Snowpiercer (#22)? (It'd probably be more okay if the kid were 4-6 years older, but, as is, it's just REALLY creepy conceptually to have scenes of a 63 year old taking a twelve year old kid to strip clubs, ESPECIALLY if they're not genetically related, though still creepy if they are. I know non comic book fans won't really get this, but..."Oliver, Age 12.") Plus, on top of the creepy concept, why is the DEBUT FEATURE of an unknown COMEDY DIRECTOR even considered as within their wheelhouse?)
Rosewater (#32): Jon Stewart is harshly liberal, closer to a Michael Moore than a Stanley Kramer and I'm not sure, if he has political conclusions to make, that they'll be comfortable on any level.
Trash (#37): Stephen Daldry is persona non grata after ELaIC actually getting a top 10 consideration.
The Judge (#44): The trailer looked uber lame, such that even this one ballot citation surprised.
Pride (#45): There is only one film that is heavily focused on a British LGBT experience that has pushed beyond Globe nods. That film is Sunday Bloody Sunday. The debut feature of a theatre director is unlikely to be able to be as good as that one to overcome the preference for American LGBT stories if any are going to be honoured.
"Smile", "Martin" and "Fat City " are all worth a look
Volvagia -- i don't think Into the Woods will make it. If you look on my Best Picture chart you will see it at #15. But we were asked to give our top 15s by which to draw up the list of contenders. So that was on that list.
and how is Daldry persona non grata with the very voters who gave him that Best Picture citation for Extremely Loud, pray tell?
Tyler Perry didn't know who Fincher is? That is what the White folks are angry about? Really who gives a shit.
Bia- Right the only reason people are upset is bc he is a Black man that makes subpar movies. Let's revoke the membership of hundreds of racist, homophobic old wrinkly ass White men who are unfamiliar with every single person in the academy. Where the hell was the outrage when one of these men posted how he picked his winners. People weren't outraged they thought it was cute and funny. So please get the hell up out of here with that utter bs. Like this is something new and unheard of.
Nikki -- I hardly think you should accuse me of racial prejudice here. I regularly write about and support black artists. But i think it is horrifying that a member of the academy who is an A lister's contemporary and who has been asked to vote on and judge his work twice claims to have never heard of the person. Itd be one thing if it were a new filmmaker but David Fincher is one of the most successful and respected directors in the world.
we should be outraged every time we hear shit like this. from the wrinkly old men, the successful young black men, and every age and skin color inbetween. I do not like it when Academy members shirk their responsibility. Have never liked it. Will never like it.
I think it's more horrifying that unarmed Black men are continuously getting killed by the Police. Tyler Perry not knowing who the hell David Fincher is has no bearings on my personal life whatsoever, so being outraged about it IS RIDICULOUS.
David Fincher is not Spielberg nor Eastwood there are many people who don't know who the hell he is. Have you even seen a Tyler Perry movie ?or know his background or work schedule. If you did then you would understand how he did not know who he is. This is not a situation where he flat out refused to see his films. So yeah I think anyone who is outraged by this who are not Academy members are being ridiculous.
"I do not like it when Academy members shirk their responsibility. Have never liked it. Will never like it."
Being an Academy Member is the most important job in the universe and it is definitely at the top of Perry's to do list. SMH.
yeah, I don't get all the outrage. it's embarrassing sure, but more reason to disrespect him? why should I disrespect him in the first place? because he makes bad movies (I've never seen them)? oh...
maybe he doesn't know who tom hooper is too. maybe he doesn't see movies because of their directors. maybe he even voted on the director of "the social network" that time because he liked the movie, but didn't bother to remember his name or felt the need to follow his work after it. maybe he is not movie-obsessed like the rest of us.
but it's embarrassing, yeah.
lol re: Tyler Perry.
Also: I so loathe that Breaking Bad keeps winning stuff.
I'm not sure I believe those quotes from Perry about Fincher. The entire piece reads like an intern wrote it and it wouldn't be the first time a wanna be Page Sixer enhanced quotes to get a piece printed. I'll wait until I get confirmation from Perry that those are in context and correct before I judge.
Let's send a lynch mob for Perry.lol
C'mon we really know what this is about. Perry was a victim or he alleges he was a victim of sexual and physical abuse growing up. We all know how you guys feel about those liars. I mean shouldn't you be more outraged about the Woody Allen and Roman Polanski situations? Let''s give those guys the benefit of the doubt.lol
Nat: Due to the building backlash and the Academy likely not wanting to be viewed as too stagnant. Honestly, I was expecting slightly more commentary on the whole St. Vincent shpiel.
Volvagia -- i'ts cool that you're so committed to things you like and mapping out stuff and everything but sometimes it feels like you've never watched anything nominated for an Oscar. Some of the things that you put forward as viable contenders are so bizarre. Tusk, for example, is an indie horror movie about disfigurement starring Justin Long. That is the kind of thing that wouldn't even win one vote let alone hundreds. And you see that as more Oscarable than a movie with sentimental appeal starring 3 previous Oscars nominees (one of them very hot right now and the other being celebrated with an entire day at TIFF next month) about a curmudgeonly old man and a young precocious kid. This is the exact kind of thing, if done well, that pulls on heartstrings and that people make into sleeper hits.. I personally am not ranking it very high because it seems too lightweight but sometimes i don't understand your line of thinking at all. So that's why i didn't respond.
Also it seems like you're not even watching the trailers you're talking about if you think Theory of Everything is all about listening to a computerized voice. Weird. The movie is about their marriage and a lot of it takes place before he is very ill.
Nikki - i also think police brutalizing and killing civilians is more horriffying than Oscar blunders. LOL. Who doesn't? But this is not a current events politics blog. This is a film blog. It makes far more sense for us to comment on filmmakers and Oscar politics.
Rachel - nice trolling try but I didn't even know this about Tyler Perry.That's awful and I feel for him. It still doesn't mean I think he takes his role as an Academy member seriously. But then again, these two things are entirely unrelated so I don't even know why we're talking about.
Everyone - i'm sorry i put the "disrespect" word in. I know it's a trigger for a lot of people and it was meaner than it needed to be so I've removed it. But I stand by my opinion that if people don't take their industry and the movies seriously enough to understand the important players (and I don't know how you;'d describe Fincher as anything but A-List since he has directed 2 Best Picture nominees and 2 additional classics -- all within the last 20 years) than they shouldn't be members of the Academy, plain and simple. They keep expanding their membership but they'd be wiser to restrict it to only the people who take it seriously.
They keep expanding their membership but they'd be wiser to restrict it to only the people who take it seriously.
They cannot police their voters to be passionate and well informed about who they are suppose to be evaluating during award season. Actors and crew members can be very limited in their appreciation and knowledge of the business their in. I talk to actors all the time and most of these young people want to be in action movies and make a big deal out of Christopher Nolan. And likely could give two shits about Malick, Scorsese, Fincher, Von Trier (poser), Wes and PT Anderson.
Just like you got upset at the actress for not being educated on feminism -- you have to be aware that they will not always care or appreciate the position their in like you would.
"Actors and crew members can be very limited in their appreciation and knowledge of the business their [sic] in."
Not ones that get invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
I think the problem with Tyler Perry (I feel like the nuns at the beginning of The Sound of Music trying to solve a problem like Tyler Perry) is not entirely his fault. Not pointing the finger at you, Nathaniel, who does indeed try to highlight different artists of all colors from around the world (I first heard about Pariah on this site, for instance). The response to Tyler Perry from white people is often couched in bitterness that this black filmmaker is making so much money for mediocre work--a response that say...Todd Phillips or Paul W.S. Anderson or McG are not faced with, at least not to the degree that Tyler Perry does. Also, since Perry is one of only a handful of black film directors working consistently with visibility, he's viewed as not uplifting black people enough because his characters are such caricatures and he works within such broad strokes, which I agree is not fair and not his problem. The relative lack of alternatives for people seeking movies with black characters is not something that should be laid at Tyler Perry's doorstep. That's Hollywood's problem. In an ideal world, there should be room for the lowbrow Tyler Perrys of the world and the highbrow Steve McQueens and Ava DuVernays of the world the same way there's room for Brett Ratner AND David Fincher.
However...Tyler Perry still needs to own the flip side of it, which is totally in his control and totally (I feel) his responsibility.
As a black person, I don't necessarily see myself in Tyler Perry movies. But, we are able to identify with movies that don't reflect our experiences all the time. That's not the issue. His movies are anti-cinema cinema. Watching Temptation with my mom and sister when they visited me recently, my mom who maybe sees three movies a year was commenting about how he seems very minimally invested in the actual craft of filmmaking and I agree. There's very little heed paid to camera placement, shot composition, music choices, staging. Dialogue. So, for him to be an Academy member, to be a mover and a shaker the way he is in Hollywood, for someone of ANY race in his position to come out and basically admit that they don't watch movies is, to me, offensive. And the beauty of the human mind is that I can think that's offensive as someone who loves movies and art while also being a black person who's very incensed and follows very closely what's going on in Ferguson. It's unfair to imply that one cannot care about both.
^^^This.
/3rtful -- so basically you're saying: just accept that people are lousy and don't care and are ignorant and don't ever comment on their choices, because they are? Oy, what would we have to talk about? And as for policiing their membership. You're 100% correct that they can't do that. But that's what the vetting process is supposed to be about when they ask people to join. They're supposed to be a) active in the industry and b) good at their job and not c) random celebrities who aren't into it and don't bother to know about it.
TPKIA - i appreciate this comment. well thought out and this is exactly my problem. I don't begrudge him his success but if he doesn't care about the medium why invite him to judge the medium? It's counterintutive to success as an institution. The Academy has baldly stated that they're looking for more diversity in their membership because they know it's crazy leaning old & white. But there are plenty of great artists of color that actually care about the craft that could be invited.
Nathaniel: Once I correctly labelled Hollywood a patriarchal white supremacy -- I had less anger over their unfair practices. So, people working in the industry who are more interested in fame and money over the pursuit of high art -- as unpleasant as that is -- there are worst things.
I expect that for many Academy members, the time they are offered membership is probably also the busiest time of their career but they are not going to turn down membership in case it is not offered again.
I have long suspected that many working members don't vote because they don't have time to watch the nominees. I would prefer this than if they just watched their favorites or voted for them without watching.
The members who are working less can see more movies and vote more which is another reason it is skewed old.
As I said before being outraged bc Tyler Perry stated that he didn't know who the hell David Fincher is is RIDICULOUS,IDIOTIC AND STUPID. IIT DOES NOT AFFECT ANYONE"S FUCKING PERSONAL LIFE IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM. He did not say he did not watch movies, where the hell did he say that??? Loving arts and films is NOT the same as being an Oscar Whore. I mean you can love movies without giving 2 shits about the Academy. SO PLEASE STOP WITH THE BULLSHIT AND GET THE FUCK OVER YOURSELVES.
@ThePretentiousknowitall
"So, for him to be an Academy member, to be a mover and a shaker the way he is in Hollywood, for someone of ANY race in his position to come out and basically admit that they don't watch movies is, to me, offensive. And the beauty of the human mind is that I can think that's offensive as someone who loves movies and art while also being a black person who's very incensed and follows very closely what's going on in Ferguson. It's unfair to imply that one cannot care about both."
----
When did he say he didn't watch movies???
And Who stated that you cannot care about both?
---
In order to be a pretentious know it all I think you first need to learn how to read and comprehend. It's pretty clear from your statement ithat you don't.
There are far more important things in the world to be outraged about and there are far more interesting things in the movie world to care about than Tyler Perry not knowing who Fincher is.
@Nathaniel where the hell was this outrage when Robert Duvall admitted to not knowing who Fincher was, so please let's not.
"So, for him to be an Academy member, to be a mover and a shaker the way he is in Hollywood, for someone of ANY race in his position to come out and basically admit that they don't watch movies is, to me, offensive. And the beauty of the human mind is that I can think that's offensive as someone who loves movies and art while also being a black person who's very incensed and follows very closely what's going on in Ferguson. It's unfair to imply that one cannot care about both."
I love how you posted this yet no one implied or stated any of this. You're funny.
When did Tyler Perry say he did not watch movies, cause I can't find it anywhere?
Whose implying that you cannot care about movies and Ferguson at the same time?
So I guess you and Nathaniel are implying that the only way to care about movies is to care about the silly awards shows. Am I right, because you can't be a lover of film without being the lover of silly awards. So basically you're saying that you really don't care about movies you only care about awards. I think my implications are correct.
So I take it that no one actually cares about films they just care about awards. I didn't realize caring about silly awards shows was something to be outraged about.
I think what's more pathetic than Perry not knowing who Fincher is. Is people in this site don't seem to care about films only the silly trinkets.