Awards Entries and Campaign

[jo]

Universal will formally submit the following names for award bodies' consideration, as per their official site --

universalpicturesawards.com/

CATEGORIES

BEST PICTURE

Produced by:
Tim Bevan
Eric Fellner
Debra Hayward
Cameron Mackintosh

BEST DIRECTOR
Tom Hooper

BEST ACTOR
Hugh Jackman

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sacha Baron Cohen
Russell Crowe
Eddie Redmayne

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Samantha Barks
Helena Bonham Carter
Anne Hathaway
Amanda Seyfried

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
William Nicholson
Alain Boubil and Claude-Michel Schönberg
Herbert Kretzmer

Based on the Original Stage Musical Boubil and Schönberg's Les Misérables from the novel by Victor Hugo

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Danny Cohen, BSC

BEST FILM EDITING
Melanie Ann Oliver
Chris Dickens, ACE

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Eve Stewart, Production Designer
Anna Lynch-Robinson, Set Decorator

BEST COSTUME
Paco Delgado

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Lisa Westcott, Hair & Makeup Designer

BEST SOUND MIXING
Simon Hayes, AMPS, Production Sound Mixer
Andy Nelson, Mark Patterson, Pre-Recording Mixers

BEST SOUND EDITING
John Warhurst, Lee Walpole, Supervising Sound Editors

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Richard Bain, VFX Supervisor
Alison Wortman, Dan Neal, 3D Supervisors
Ian Simpson, 2D Supervisor

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Suddenly"
Music by Claud-Michel Schönberg
Lyrics by Alain Boubil and Herbert Kretzmer
Performed by Hugh Jackman

[mamaleh]

I know we haven't heard it yet, but I have high hopes for "Suddenly," although there may be some stiff competition in Adele's haunting theme to SKYFALL.

Ellen

[rmtndew]

I've heard that the theme to Skyfall may not be eligible for a nomination because it contains pieces from a previous Bond song. I don't know how true it is, but if it can't be nominated then 'Suddenly' probably has no other competition.

- Alicia

[jo]

AMPAS rules on Music Awards --

www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/rules/rule15.html

Relevant portions --


B.Original Song:
An original song consists of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the motion picture. There must be a clearly audible, intelligible, substantive rendition (not necessarily visually presented) of both lyric and melody, used in the body of the motion picture or as the first music cue in the end credits.

II.ELIGIBILITY
A.The work must be created specifically for the eligible feature-length motion picture.
B.The work must be the result of a creative interaction between the filmmaker(s) and the composer(s) and/or songwriter(s) who have been engaged to work directly on the motion picture.
C.The work’s eligibility shall be evaluated on its effectiveness, craftsmanship, creative substance and relevance to the dramatic whole.
D.The work must be recorded for use in the motion picture prior to any other usage, including public performance or exploitation through any media whatsoever.

F.Scores diluted by the use of tracked themes or other preexisting music, diminished in impact by the predominant use of songs, or assembled from the music of more than one composer shall not be eligible.

************************************

There have been discussions on the Movie Awards board re the eligibility of the Skyfall song and no conclusions have been made if the inclusion of the traditional start of any Bond movie in terms of the music has been settled. I guess the studio will seek clarification on that. We'll see.

Also, they have also released one of the songs for The Hobbit - another haunting piece ( sorry, I don't have a link).

If I remember right, the new rules indicate that only the Music Branch of AMPAS will vote on the Best Song winner, not the entire AMPAS ( I think they only vote as the full AMPAS for the BP and acting awards), after each branch have submitted the 10/5 nominations for each category.

Jo

[jo]

Here's an interesting blog - someone is whining about the uncooperative stance of stars and creatives re promoting their Oscar-hopefuls

The name David Poland sounds vaguely familiar - anybody more familiar with him? But he did cite the Les Miserables contingent among the "uncooperative" bunch. Hmmm...

Is he really saying that Academy awards have to be begged for???!!!

What is the point of the article??!!


moviecitynews.com/2012/11/20w2o-15-weeks-to-go-who-really-wants -it/



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20W2O: 15 Weeks To Go – Who Really Wants It?

Ah, Thanksgiving…

This weekend, Anna Karenina and Silver Linings Playbook arrive in theaters and Lincoln expands. Next week, Life of Pi, Hitchcock and Rust & Bone. And then, in the last two weeks of the year, spread around the holiday, are Amour, This is 40, The Impossible, Not Fade Away, Zero Dark Forty, On The Road, Django Unchained, and Les Miserables.

But who wants it?

Really wants it.

I’m not so sure this year.

This is one moody, stand-off-ish bunch. To be fair, amongst the directors, Ben Affleck, Bob Zemeckis, and Joe Wright have made themselves pretty available. But Paul Thomas Anderson, David O. Russell, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hooper, Ang Lee, Christopher Nolan… not so much. And how available Quentin Tarantino and Kathryn Bigelow will be is still an unknown. The indie-est contenders have also been around, in the form of Michael Haneke and Behn Zeitlin.

Actors? Daniel Day-Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Denzel, Leo, DeNiro. Tough room. Then we have Beasts’ duo of newcomers, who are available, but basically unknown. More unknowns in Life of Pi. There are the elderly stars of Amour, who have not crossed the ocean to visit yet. Les Miserables has stars, but they apparently aren’t available to sell the movie. Jennifer Lawrence has pried herself away from production for a few days recently to do some work for Silver Linings Playbook, leaving to to the most excellent Bradley Cooper (who is also working, I believe) to carry the weight of the awards publicity. And the ensemble of Zero Dark Thirty, led by Ms. Chastain, will surely make themselves available… but when?

So you have a few game actors showing up – like Amy Adams, Sally Field, Naomi Watts, John Goodman (twice), Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, and the full bunch from both of Searchlight’s underdogs – to carry the load… perhaps more likely to get nominations down the road as a result.

I am not saying that those who are not playing the game won’t be nominated. Truth be told, if that was the case this year, they would have a hard time filling all of the nomination slots.

And I am not blaming those who are, honestly, too busy to participate. Jennifer Lawrence really is mid-movie. Ewan McGregor has also been working. And Jude Law, who I think is very worthy as a nominee for a breathtaking turn in Anna Karenina too. Hitchcock, pushed into the race late in the game, is junketing in NY because so much of the talent is working there right now. Les Miserables is currently scheduled to skip press completely, doing only a single day of guild screenings with the talent and doing press with the high end outlets more interested in celebrity than movies only. Why? They say it’s because they can’t get the talent together for more than that one day. And so this odd season goes.

You don’t have to beg for awards nominations. Sometimes, you don’t even have to ask. But in the vast majority of cases, you have to ask.

If you are a major star, vetted by The Academy, you can get nominated without asking. But you almost always have to ask if you want to win. Just look at Meryl Streep. She gave a great performance as The Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher. But was it the best of the last 29 years, since she won for Sophie’s Choice? I don’t think so. So why did she finally win another one after a dozen nominations in a row without winning? She asked. Not too much. 60 Minutes. A few red carpets. A few awards accepted. She showed that she wanted it. And she got it.

Of course, Christian Bale, who won Actor the year before and Sean Penn, who won Actor 2 years before that, are aggressive non-askers. So it happens. But both also were in heavily promoted films from studios or Dependants that seemed to make them front-runners from the first time people started seeing those films. Both were also biographical portraits of men who had a lot of video of their real-life selves around.

Circumstances conspire to win non-askers Oscars. The Coen Bros have taken Best Picture and Best Director. They have been competing with The Wachowskis for years for Least Available Directing Siblings. But… if you look at the last 10 Best Picture winners, No Country For Old Men is the sole example of a film winning without letting everyone know early and often that they wanted it, they really, really wanted it. (And as low key as The Brothers Coen are, they still had Cynthia Swartz whipping that horse home and Scott Rudin whipping her.)

People throw a lot of nasty attacks in Harvey Weinstein’s direction this time of year. But you know why he keeps winning stuff? His team is smart and works hard… and he wants it more than anyone else. And he makes the talent involved work like they want it more than anyone else. This doesn’t mean he can make Shinola from *beep* But if 5 people have “A Movie” and no one has “The Movie,” it’s the outfit that fights hardest – and I am not talking about cheating – that turns “a” to “the.”

So I ask again… who really wants it this year?

Right now, it looks like Argo. Very good movie. All hands on deck. That’s the kind of situation where a film starts garnering nominations that no one expected because everyone just feels good about the film and the filmmakers (including the actors).

But this is just Phase One. Lots of contenders will disappear when nominations are announced on January 10. And some movie shoots will be completed. (Others will start.) But that’s when the real framing of this season will happen. And we will know, pretty quickly, who really wants it then. And unless one of the remaining surprise films flexes a lot of muscle, “wanting it” may be the biggest key in the game this season.
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I wonder - was he left out in any of the special screenings of Les Miserables -- hence, the whine?

But still, an interesting insight


Jo

[Jamie]

Link to The Hobbit "Over The Misty Mountains" youtu.be/5NxlX_j2F0I

[mamaleh]

Poland sounds like a Bradley Cooper fan. He intimates that Bale won Best Actor, when he actually won Supporting Actor. He obviously doesn't know Chastain is busily performing on Broadway in THE HEIRESS. And no mention of Hugh's possibility at all, yet he throws in Tommy Lee Jones?! Jo, yes, he could either have been left of the LES MIZ screenings... or perhaps he's not fond of musicals.

Ellen

[jo]

Deadline reports on the last-minute buzz-making by the studios.

www.deadline.com/2012/11/oscars-no-thanksgiving-holiday-for-major-contenders-as-campaigns-heat-up/

OSCARS: No Thanksgiving Holiday For Major Contenders As Campaigns Heat Up

By PETE HAMMOND | Tuesday November 20, 2012 @ 10:24am PSTTags: Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Silver Linings Playbook, The Hobbit, Zero Dark Thirty


>>>With a shortened nominating season (Oscar balloting starts December 17, 10 days earlier than usual), the Thanksgiving holiday period as well as the Christmas/New Year’s break won’t much of a break at all for many campaigns, which simply can’t take the time off or slow the momentum they are trying to build. After all there are just 3 1/2 weeks to go before those ballots land in Academy voters’ hands (or in the case of the new electronic voting this year, in their computers). So it is all stops out from here on in. And that means studios like Universal and Sony in particular will be using the long Thanksgiving weekend for an assault on guild and Academy members for their big December releases Les Miserables and Zero Dark Thirty, respectively. <<<


In particular, it talks of what's happening at the Universal's end and how the special screenings may go --


>>>On Saturday, Universal’s Les Miz plan swings into action with an unprecedented six screenings — all featuring either in-person introductions or post-Q&A sessions with director Tom Hooper and “cast members”. The screening program will not let up until the film’s Christmas Day opening, which comes in the middle of the voting period. Universal is determined to get this film seen on the big screen by as many voters as possible despite the time crunch. The director only just locked Sunday night at 10 PM, according to an internal memo that carried instructions for delivery of the DCP materials for the digital projection. It’s a very precise, carefully orchestrated operation, and as the memo says “failure is not an option”. That’s certainly true in an awards race as tight as this one and particularly for a film as anticipated as this one.

“The reality is we’re going to screen this movie like nobody’s business the minute it’s ready and would have regardless….We’ll start screening the movie the day after Thanksgiving and are going to screen it, pretty much non-stop from there, until time of release. So between the screening program, its commercial availability beginning Christmas Day and for those who get the screeners, we think there’s abundant opportunity”, Universal chairman Adam Fogelson told an audience of Academy and Guild members attending the Moguls panel at Deadline’s recent all-day The Contenders event. He added that for smaller films the timing could be more of a challenge, but “not for any of the films here which are on everybody’s list”.<<<



*Will Hugh be able to make it to the screenings? He is the most important member of the cast, being considered as the only LEAD.

*I think it is the Q&As that lend the special touch to the screenings. Hugh can be such an charismatic and articulate speaker in such a forum. It can also help the awards community to delve deeper into his film portrayal.


Jo

[jo]

From the same article --

>>>And starting next week there will be a series of studio parties — in many cases hosted by the studio chairs — designed to bring attention to their movies and encourage voters to see them in the short window before balloting...<<<


The article is also full of details on how studios, directors, and the Harvey Weinstein go out of their way to secure those nods

This is all disillusioning, if one is not aware of these things going on. We thought they only looked at full artistic merit!

Jo

[jo]

Based on these tweets, there will be a special screening of Les Miserables in Sydney, to be presented by Hugh Jackman. The posts are from Jo Litson, a Sydney-based freelance arts writer and arts editor of the Sunday Telegraph

>>>Jo Litson @jolitson
Also preview of Les Mis film on Saturday presented by Hugh Jackman - soooooo excited!

Trevor Ashley @trevor_Ashley
@jolitson As in the whole movie?

Jo Litson @jolitson
@trevor_Ashley Yes as in whole movie. We have to sign confidentiality contract to say nothing about it till December embargo though.

Jo Litson @jolitson
@michaelmorcos_ Thanks Michael! No, you're right, we have to sign a confidentiality contract to say nothing till embargo ends in December <<<


Maybe this is a screening for a composite crowd composed of eligible awards community members (AMPAS, BAFTA, the various guilds, etc) and maybe also for film critics and media?

But to be perfectly honest - I am disappointed that he doesn't get the chance to meet the bulk of those who will be considering his performance for a nomination -- as they most likely will be in the audience in the screenings in Hollywood.

Jo

[jo]

Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood comes back, after the first screening, with interviews from both Hooper and Jackman ( who was in Australia for the Sydney screening) --

www.deadline.com/2012/11/oscars-les-miserables-huge-reaction-first-hugh-jackman-interview/#comments

Universal Unveils ‘Les Miserables’ in NY And LA To Huge Reaction; First Hugh Jackman Interview: “A Once-In-A-Lifetime Opportunity”

By PETE HAMMOND | Friday November 23, 2012 @ 9:24pm PSTTags: Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables, Russell Crowe, Tom Hooper, Universal Pictures


Awards strategists for other horses in the ever-tightening race for Best Picture may not want to hear this but Universal Pictures today may have unleashed the 800-pound-gorilla in the Oscar race. That is, if initial reaction to today’s launch of the much-awaited movie version of the celebrated musical Les Miserables is any indication. Screenings at Alice Tully Hall in New York along with a smaller invite-only unveiling for about 100 people at the 1000-seat Samuel Goldwyn Theatre at The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in Beverly Hills both elicited immediate Oscar talk. Les Mis, one of the few remaining unseen contenders, is now fully in the conversation for real, if not quickly vaunting near or to the top of Best Picture favorites (along with Argo, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook and Life Of Pi).


Almost immediately after the Academy screening this afternoon I got on the phone with star Hugh Jackman in Australia. Shortly afterward its Oscar winning director Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) called me as the second of the NY screenings was taking place (we could both hear the applause in the background). Both seemed relieved to have the film, which opens Christmas Day, finally in the race. Universal is wasting no time as Hooper heads to Los Angeles on Saturday to participate in six, count ‘em, six screenings for Guild and Academy members tomorrow and then (along with Jackman) will be travelling to Japan on Sunday. It will be a busy month leading up to the opening but the studio knew it had to get the film out there now since Oscar voting is taking place during the Christmas/New Year’s break this year.

The last musical to win Best Picture was Chicago a decade ago and before that there was a 34-year drought between that film and Oliver which took it in 1968. Based on what Hooper, Jackman and cast and crew have wrought Les Mis could be joining that list. It is certainly an instant major contender, a thrilling cinematic realization of the legendary musical that has taken 27 years to reach the screen. Filled with stunning imagery and performances, Les Mis is musically a masterpiece thanks largely to the decision to have the actors sing it live as they were filming rather than pre-recording the songs as is the norm for most, if not all, movie musicals. But bottom line is this is the kind of fully realized triumph that Academy voters traditionally eat up, and it joins a race that has suddenly become one of the most interesting and competitive in years. At the screening Universal held at the Academy, AMPAS President Hawk Koch watched along with Oscar show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron among others in the small group . Zadan and Meron were Executive Producers of Chicago. Multiple Oscar nominations would seem to be a no-brainer. I would venture those could include Picture, Actor (Jackman), Supporting Actor (Russell Crowe and/or Eddie Redmayne), Supporting Actress (Anne Hathaway and maybe one of the other women), Director, Screenplay Adaptation, Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design, Film Editing, Sound Mixing and Editing, Song (for Suddenly, the one new tune written for the film) and Makeup. It could rack up quite a total if everything falls into place.

Jackman himself only just saw the film last night and when we spoke just a while ago he was still reeling from the experience. “I just saw it last night (in Sydney). I was pretty speechless I have to say. I think when I saw it in its entirety — I knew intellectually it was a big risk — but when I saw it I said ‘wow, man. This is massive, a big bone to chew on, that one’. I felt so proud to be part of it. And I think for Tom to do this as his first film after King’s Speech is just an incredible kind of testament to him,” he said.

Jackman praised Hooper saying he was a real warrior and didn’t think he got more than three hours sleep a night for the past four months in getting the film ready to be seen. Hooper confirmed it. “I finished it at 2AM yesterday and was already screening it today at Alice Tully Hall. I don’t think I’ve ever been more exhausted. But it’s been an extraordinary response. I think they broke into applause 14 or 15 times during the film. I remember the audience breaking into applause near the end of The King’s Speech but this is taking that to a new level. Towards the end of this film today this weird thing happened like a rustling kind of sound. For a minute I freaked out wondering what’s that odd sound on the soundtrack. I looked around and realized it’s the sound of people crying en masse. Rather extrarodinary for me,” he said.

Although he’s well-known as a song and dance man with a Tony on Broadway and hosting gigs on the Oscars and Tonys this is only the first movie musical for Jackman. “I was waiting for the right one to come along. This is better than I could have imagined myself not only in musical terms but in literary terms. Jean Valjean is such an iconic character and I think that everything I’ve done up until now somehow has fed into it. It was a daunting role, I will admit that to you, but i put everything into it. I know I had that feeling. Russell Crowe and I were talking about it, that you know you’re doing something that is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said adding that he put on 29 pounds during the making of the film because in the early scenes in prison he had to look very gaunt .

“As Tom Hooper said ‘I want people to worry about you. I want your friends to think you’re sick when you see them’. I even went to the point of doing water dehydration before shooting that first scene,” he said. And like all the other actors in the film he auditioned for it, even before Hooper had officially signed on as director. “There was a time when it looked like this might clash with the Wolverine movie but I really wanted to this role so I called Tom and said I had read that he was thinking about doing it but hadn’t yet signed on. I said ‘do you mind if I audition for you anyway in case you decide to do it?’ ” Jackman went to see Hooper in New York and spent three hours going over the role. Hooper knew it was going to be a really difficult challenge finding actors who can sing at the level needed.

“I can tell you having been through the audition process they are very, very rare,” Hooper tells me. “People who can act through singing and sing at that level. The audition with Hugh, which was in May of last year, was an extraordinary moment because that was when I knew I had a movie. I’d go as far to say the movie wouldn’t exist without Hugh Jackman. There wasn’t a second choice. Who else would you cast? I still don’t have a second choice now. He’s a perfect storm of truly global film star, an extraordinary actor, and an extraordinary singer with musical theater pedigree and training. And most importantly for Valjean, Hugh has a kind of innate grace and spirit as a human being and a great kind of moral compass and gentleness that is perfectly suited for this man going on this spiritual journey. In that audition the sheer power of his singing standing just a couple of feet in front of me was formidable. That’s when I knew this was a ‘go’ movie in my head. He took me over the line in three hours.”

For Jackman this was the toughest film role he has ever taken on. “It’s a big risk and I’m not surprised it has taken 27 years to take the punt on it, ” he said adding that before he saw the finished film last night he was more nervous than he had ever been in his life. “It’s tough to watch any movie you are in anyway, no matter what the genre, because you always put everything into it. You want it to work. With a musical all those feelings are tripled because you have a lot of elements that come together. I was a very relieved man about 6PM last night.”

Says Hooper: “With The King’s Speech the greatest reward was seeing how it made people feel, the emotion it provoked in people and how it touched them. Coming out of that I wanted to work on something that moves people even more. Also after that success I felt I should take a risk, to stretch myself and go someplace new.”

[jo]

The Universal Pictures Awards site has been updated with a very lengthy PRODUCTION NOTES section! Please click on the Production Notes section for the entire feature to unfold. It is very informative and very insightful!

www.universalpicturesawards.com/#/lesmis

I would like to reproduce it here, but I don't know how to do it -- so this is an appeal to our techie friends who can help do it [/b]


The section where Tom Hooper talks about Hugh's ability to portray the role is a real testament of his respect for his principal actor!

Jo

[jo]

I've reread the Production Notes -- they are an amazing collection and recollection of the entire pre-production and filming aspects! If only for the effort and dedication and inspiration which characterized the entire process - it deserves the Oscar for Best Picture!

Hope someone can reproduce the Production Notes directly on this site!

Jo

[njr]

At least you can click here:

www.universalpicturesawards.com/#/lesmis
Then click on Production Notes.
And at the bottom you can download the production notes.

Nancy

[jo]

Thanks for updating - yesterday, it would not download. I guess they fixed it now.

I do not remember the lengthy synopsis of the storyline - did they add this also later?

Jo

[foxie]

Anyone else having a problem of no emails?

[birchie]

Nov 28, 2012 18:34:48 GMT -5 njr said:

At least you can click here:

www.universalpicturesawards.com/#/lesmis
Then click on Production Notes.
And at the bottom you can download the production notes.

Nancy

Thanks for posting this, Nancy. I was so annoyed the other day because I couldn't download this and it was very hard to read it in a flash frame!
I'm going to read it again now that I can enjoy it!
Sue

[jo]

This is how the Oscar campaign goes --

but the Les Miserables team showed a lot of class in this festive post-screening luncheon

www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/11/anne-hathaway-hugh-jackman_n_2280416.html

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Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman Sing For Oscar Voters At Awards Lunch

Posted: 12/11/2012 6:26 pm EST | Updated: 12/11/2012 6:37 pm EST


It's awards season, and that means it's time for the creative teams behind the contending films to wine and dine as many voters and influencers they possibly can, in hopes of getting a leg up on the competition. Monday, I told you about last Friday's "Argo" lunch, where Ben Affleck defended his film against charges of inaccuracy and stressed its relevance to geopolitics. The cheery cast of "Les Miserablés" took an altogether different approach at Tuesday's swanky lunch at the Four Seasons Restaurant in Midtown Manhattan. In place of a planned Q&A, they took a cue from jazz singer Peter Cincotti -- who'd just sat down at the grand piano and bravely whacked out a jaunty version of "Master of the House" mere inches from the bemused gaze of "Les Mis" producer Cameron Mackintosh -- and decided to sing for their supper.

Stage veteran Samantha Barks, who played Eponine on London's West End before reprising the role in Tom Hooper's film adaptation, stepped up first. She sang a sultry version of "Summertime" from George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess."

Apparently, that was enough to get Hugh Jackman's competitive juices flowing. After apologizing in advance for the condition of his voice following last night's premiere party, Jackman grabbed the microphone and sang "The Way You Look Tonight" -- changing the last word to "Today," in honor of the time of day -- directly to his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, who was sitting just a few feet away. Not surprisingly, his voice sounded flawless.

You know who wasn't going to be outdone by Hugh Jackman? Jackman's fellow former Oscar host Anne Hathaway, who is a favorite to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of tragic Fantine in the movie. But she also wasn't going to go it alone. Here she is beckoning her cast mates to join her at the front of the room.

And here they are getting ready. Recognize that pretty face up front? That's Isabelle Allen, who plays young Cosette. Her face is the one you've seen on all those billboards. Standing next to her is young Daniel Huttlestone, who plays Gavroche. I had the great pleasure of meeting them both, and they admitted that it had been a bit weird to see their faces on that huge screen last night. Rounding out the group are Eddie Redmayne and Amanda Seyfried, who play the lovers Marius and (grown-up) Cosette.

And here they all are singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

Over lunch, Eric Fellner, co-chief of Working Title Films, which produced "Les Mis" with Universal Pictures, pointed out that it's a rare gift to work with such a spirited group of actors. "They're three weeks into a junket tour, and look at them," he said. No doubt their infectious enthusiasm will catch on with at least some Oscar voters.

As for me, I'm just wondering why on Earth I didn't think to shoot video. Um, next time?


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The Four Seasons ( the pool room) is, to me, the quintessential posh New York place for celebration. What a great idea to have a lighthearted lunch( rather than another Q&A), with some music from the cast ( to prove their singing is for real ) in such a nice place!

I love that place ( although I have been there only twice)...and I think Universal's holding their post-screening session there was already a sign of things to come! A celebration!!


Jo

[rmtndew]

I couldn't find this anywhere else, but Hugh is nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award! He was nominated with Denzel Washington, John Hawkes, Bradley Cooper and Daniel Day-Lewis.

Anne Hathaway is nominated in the supporting role category.

The entire cast is nominated in the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a motion picture.

They have a nomination in Outstanding Action Performance By A Stunt Ensemble In A Motion Picture, as well.

The SAG Awards will air on TBS and TNT on January 27th.

- Alicia

[jo]

Re the luncheon and the MoMI tribute --

www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2012/12/hugh-jackmans-friends-jealous-lap-dance#slide=1


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Hugh Jackman’s Friends Now All Jealous They Didn’t Get Lap Dances From the Actor

ByBennett Marcus
2:12 PM, December 12 2012


The cast of Les Miserables.




On Tuesday, VF Daily had lunch and dinner with the Les Misérables cast. In the afternoon, the Peggy Siegal Company celebrated the film at a luncheon at the Four Seasons Restaurant in New York.

Having lost a lot of weight to play Jean Valjean, Hugh Jackman told us that the Les Misérables set did not include pizza dinners after the cameras went off. “There was none of that, although there were a lot of parties at Russell [Crowe’s]. But basically it was a carb-free event,” he told VF Daily over a steak lunch. “I had a long time, three or four months to lose the weight, but Anne [Hathaway] had 15 days, so, literally, a bit of apple would come up and she would be excited. It would be the size of a dime, and I would be like, Really?”

Jackman, who infamously gave Amanda Seyfried a recent birthday lap dance, said the two went through a very in-depth process playing father and daughter. “I basically would keep the discipline, keep her in line, and that’s a very demanding job with Amanda. She’s very naughty.”

But schmoozing with Jackman, Hathaway, Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, and director Tom Hooper wasn’t even the highlight of the luncheon, which Anna Wintour, Kim Cattrall, and Joel Grey also attended. Peter Cincotti took to the piano, and, with apologies to original Les Misérables producer Cameron Mackintosh and lyricist Herbert Kretzmer, who were both present, delighted the crowd with a rendition of “Master of the House” from the score.

Then Jackman, the consummate showman, couldn’t resist. “I wasn’t going to sing. I was at the premiere until three o’clock in the morning, I had far too many vodkas, and it’s way too early to be singing,” he said. And then broke into “The Way You Look Tonight,” dedicating it to his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, who sat front and center. Aw. “That should score a few brownie points,” he quipped.


Samantha Barks sang “Summertime,” and the whole cast sang backup when Anne Hathaway did “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

That evening, the Les Misérables gang joined luminaries like Mike Nichols, Rachel Weisz, Liev Schreiber, and The Prestige director Christopher Nolan when Jackman was honored by the Museum of the Moving Image.

Jackman’s X-Men co-star Schreiber told VF Daily that watching him play Peter Allen on Broadway in The Boy from Oz was a revelation. “I realized there was a kind of depth to this guy, as an actor, that I didn’t know from Kate and Leopold. And he can turn on a pretty zany sense of humor and a quick wit faster than most people I know.” Schreiber added that now feels bad that he didn’t get his own lap dance.

Hooper recalled one heavy scene in Les Misérables in which Jackman is furious that there’s this man who has been courting his daughter. “We were shooting with live butterflies. It was ‘Heart Full of Love.’ And at the end, Cosette runs inside and he tells her off, but then he comes to the gate to look at Eddie, and what he didn’t realize was that this unbelievably huge butterfly had attached itself to his hair, and he played the whole scene with this butterfly attached to his head. And we were all pissing ourselves laughing,” the director said. “It’s meant to be very serious. It was hilarious.”

When we caught up with Jackman at the gala at Cipriani Wall Street, we wondered whether he ever gets tired, between the premiere the previous night, the luncheon, the museum dinner, plus endless promotional duties. He does, he said, while somehow not looking the least bit fatigued. “Makeup,” he explained. “They just wind me up and send me out.”

Past Museum of the Moving Image honorees include Alec Baldwin, Tom Cruise, Clint Eastwood, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Hanks, Al Pacino, Sidney Poitier, Julia Roberts, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Spielberg.

“It’s a little overwhelming,” Jackman told VF Daily. “It’s kind of all hitting me that I’m here. It’s truly humbling, because I see that list of all the other honorees, and I’m like, Wow. I’m a little in shock.”

So that was Tuesday.

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So, whose head of hair played host to the butterfly - Valjean or Eddie ;D


Jo

[jo]

More on the luncheon --


www.vulture.com/2012/12/hugh-jackman-serenaded-his-wife-yesterd ay.html



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Hugh Jackman Serenaded His Wife Yesterday
By Jennifer Vineyard

Last week, Hugh Jackman gave his Les Miz co-star Amanda Seyfried a "happy birthday" lap dance. Yesterday, he serenaded his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, at a lunch hosted by the Peggy Siegal Company at the Four Seasons. "It's way too early to sing," he said, apologizing for a strained voice. "But I saw Sammy Barks in the lobby of the hotel last night in her pajamas at the same time I was there, so I have no excuse." (Barks sang a sultry "Summertime" before he took the stage.) "I don't get to do this very often, but a lot of this week has been about just being grateful for all the people who've made this possible ... so I'm going to sing a song for my wife."

Then, accompanied by pianist Marty Silver, Jackman launched into "The Way You Look Tonight," changing the word tonight to today, with Furness right in front, blushing. "He sings to me at every meal," she joked with Vulture afterward. "No, he does not. It was a complete surprise. He's full of them. And in that setting, it was very moving for me, so I shed a little tear."

"You know, it sounds weird, but when you're doing a press tour like this, getting any time with your wife is tough," Jackman told us when we ran into him for a second time in one day at a gala in his honor held by the Museum of the Moving Image at Cipriani Wall Street. Jackman said he originally invited his wife to the luncheon — or as he put it, "I said, 'Babe, can you come to lunch, please?'" — just for the chance to have "five minutes to chat, because it's been so crazy." The song, as it turns out, was completely spontaneous. "Got some brownie points!" he said with a grin.

Despite Jackman's worries about his voice, he sounded just fine, as did Hathaway, who also downplayed her abilities ("We're all sick and slightly hung-over") before closing out the sing-along with "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" with the other cast members singing backup. "You can do some minor five-part harmony, that's fine," she teased them before Eddie Redmayne's voice rose out of the ensemble in an operatic bray, to much applause.

"They were like, 'Oh, I had stayed up really late [the night before], I can't sing,'" the film's director Tom Hooper said. "And then they sang like angels."

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Jo

[Kelly]

Does anyone have access to the full text of Anne Hathaway's remarks. My goodness, the edited version brought a tear to my eye. So beautiful.

[jo]

A similar account --


Regina Weinreich.

bLes Mis at the Four Seasons/ Museum of the Moving Image Honors Hugh Jackman
Posted: 12/12/2012 9:16 pm

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They've been going non-stop. With New York screenings and lavish dinners, a quick jump across the pond for the London premiere, and back for the New York party at MoMA and appearances on many talk shows, Hugh Jackman was positive we'd all be sick of him by now. From his Jean Valjean role in Les Miserables, transformed from the bitter prisoner hunted by Javert to a spiritually liberated and rich factory owner, and his generous on-the-spot performances at various celebrations including a lunch hosted by Ron Meyer, Jackman is truly a songman you want to have around.

Even by Peggy Siegal's high standards, the entertainment value at The Four Seasons for Tuesday's lunch was through the roof. She had planned for Peter Cincotti, who performed a jazzy "Master of the House" on piano for celebrants seated around the restaurant's back room pool. But you could not keep Samantha Marks, Les Mis' Eponine, down. Before leaving for Dublin to perform in Oliver!, the girl from the Isle of Man sang the American classic, "Summertime." Jackman followed with "The Way You Look To[day]," serenading his wife Deborra-Lee Furness. Anne Hathaway led the cast in "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

Eddie Redmayne (Marius) gathered Daniel Huttlestone, the movie's Gavroche, for a photo shoot; not only is he a fellow revolutionary, but Redmayne is a fan of the 13-year-old, an actor since age eight. Isabelle Allen, young Cosette, who graces the movie poster was happy to be in New York for the first time for her film debut. Kim Cattrall announced that she would be starring in Sweet Bird of Youth in London. When asked whether she preferred stage to television and movies, she gamely said she liked it all, but theater was a discipline. You have to plan your day around it. "I feel like a nun going to chapel," said the most sexually adventurous of the Sex & the City stars.

The Les Mis party moved on to The Museum of the Moving Image tribute to Hugh Jackman where Liev Schreiber, Mike Nichols, Rachel Weisz, Christopher Nolan, Anne Hathaway and Eddie Redmayne lauded Jackman in between clips of his many films, among them Wolverine, Australia, Kate & Leopold, Swordfish, The Prestige as well as Les Miserables. Rachel Dratch assumed an Australian accent and introduced a clip of Jackman telling a bawdy tale of his father fighting a kangaroo, an Aussie Christmas tradition SNL style.


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It's been without let-up since the Thanksgiving weekend screenings!

And it will continue, today (Dec 13), and if and when Hugh gets an Oscar nod ( to be announced on January 10) or wins the Golden Globe for Best Actor-Musical/Comedy.

Jo

[eugenia]

"Suddenly" (Les Misérables) nomine Golden Globe 2013

[eugenia]

Golden Globe 2013


Nominated: Hugh and Anne. Congratulations