LOGAN : Awards Nominations and Wins

[jo]

A filmmaker and journalist who writes for Tracking Board lists potential Oscar nominees, in six words or less --

www.tracking-board.com/like-it-or-not-its-time-to-start-taking-stock-of-the-oscar-race/

Like It or Not, It’s Time to Start Taking Stock of the Oscar Race
October 20, 2017


Recently, I started employing a gimmick that began as a bit of a joke but has since taken on a life of its own. I call it Six Word Reviews, and it’s exactly what it seems. I limit myself to a half dozen words to describe a movie, and that’s it. Some are challenging, some come out easily, but it’s become a fun exercise, combining creativity with brevity. Each one is posted on social media (Twitter handle below), and reactions are encouraged.

I mention this because we now find ourselves at the Quarter Pole of the six-month trudge that is Awards Season, which means a good chunk of movies have hit theaters and things are starting to become clearer. With that in mind, it’s time to take a purely unscientific, totally biased look at what’s out there, what is worthy and what isn’t, and how I personally think the various races should shake out. And, because I have introduced the concept, I will employ the Six Word Reviews (#sixwordreviews, #itsathing, #iammakingitathing #really) when talking about a particular movie.

Dunkirk 
Looks Great. No Soul. Wildly Overpraised.

Looking over the landscape, it’s pretty clear that this is going to get a Best Picture nomination, which I simply cannot understand because the story, such as it is, doesn’t add up to anything (indeed, director Christopher Nolan originally wanted to shoot without a script), there is no character work, it is riddled with factual inaccuracies, completely without any historical context, and otherwise sort of dull. I am on record about this, of course, and continue to not understand the appeal of either the movie or its director, but this appears to be a fait accompli, so I’ll just shrug and move on.

Blade Runner 2049
First viewing: Wow. Just … Holy Cats. Helluva flick. 
Second viewing: Second viewing does it no favors.

This is a conundrum because the first time I saw it I was mesmerized, and the second I was … confused. The movie is just absolutely spectacular to look at, no question, but it doesn’t quite add up, like, at all. I’m not sure which characters were working for what cause, what certain motivations were, what the heck Jared Leto was doing, it’s a big jumble, but if Roger Deakins doesn’t finally win a cinematography Oscar, there’s something sinister going on.

Battle of the Sexes 
Two brilliant performances. One mediocre film. 
It feels to me like all this movie does is create a showcase for the genius that is Emma Stone, and the skilled craftsmanship that Steve Carell brings to just about anything he does, but the movie itself is a snooze.

mother!
Jesus. What the f—- was that?
I hear talk that Jennifer Lawrence might get some attention for her performance here, but I’m not sure why because there is simply nothing about that movie that works. Literally nothing.

The Big Sick
A total breath of fresh air.
Can it be that this might just be the first romantic comedy in decades to get a Best Picture nomination? At the very least, the husband-wife team of Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon appear to be a deserved lock for an Original Screenplay nod. If the movie gets nominated, too, I will post a video on Twitter of myself dancing in celebration.

Stronger
Wow. Please go see this movie.
Actually, come to think of it, same goes for this flick, which is absolutely one of the best things I’ve seen this year. With any luck, both Jake Gyllenhaal and Tatiana Maslany will be recognized for their stellar work.

Mudbound
An “important film” that falls flat.
I find this Sundance hit confounding because, aside from some good performances — especially Mary J. Blige in a stunning supporting turn — it’s a self-important slog. Just like with Dunkirk and its style over substance direction, I don’t understand how a movie this poorly structured is getting so much positive attention for its screenplay.

Victoria & Abdul
Dame Judi’s great. The movie? Not.
Safe to say that the only thing worthwhile about this film is that it is a showcase for Judi Dench, and she is sure to get yet another Best Actress nomination for playing Queen Victoria, which is only fitting because she’s really good at it.


Wonderstruck
Enormous plot hole ruins a masterpiece.
At first, I really loved this movie. Loved it. But then I was talking with my friend Kyle Smith, the National Review’s Critic at Large. He had dismissed it out of hand, and when I wondered why, he asked me one simple question about the film and, in so doing, made me realize the plot was a house of cards, and by asking that one question (which I will not do here as it would spoil the whole movie) the house came tumbling down and my whole opinion changed. Suddenly, I was sort of aggravated. It might get some technical love, especially for Carter Burwell’s gorgeous score, but otherwise, nothing else really makes sense.

The Mountain Between Us
Far better than you might think.
I mainlined about nine movies in the last seven days, and this is, oddly, one of the better ones. And yet, it’s getting no awards attention at all. Idris Elba and Kate Winslet are both fantastic, it’s a big, romantic epic that zips right along and never feels cloying or stilted, but it’s being ignored, which I don’t quite get.

Lady Bird
A truly delightful slice of life.
I’ve seen chatter about writer-director Greta Gerwig getting some love for both those jobs on the film because the script is terrific and the performances, especially Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf as the title character and her mom, respectively, are spectacular. Both actresses should get nominated, if there’s any justice, and while I’ve never been a big Gerwig fan, she sure earned my respect here.


The Florida Project
Respected this movie, didn’t enjoy it.
Please see my above Six Word Review. Difficult, frustrating, annoying, but also fascinating, it feels like Willem Dafoe’s bravura supporting turn is the one sure thing that will come from a movie that was, for better or worse, like nothing else I’ve seen this year.



There are plenty of films I have yet to see, including Molly’s Game, Call Me By Your Name, First They Killed My Father, Phantom Thread, The Post, Darkest Hour, The Shape of Water, Wonder Wheel, Downsizing, The Disaster Artist, Breathe, Chappaquiddick, Hostiles, Last Flag Flying, I, Tonya, Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, The Greatest Showman, Roman Israel, Esq., and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which only excites me because, for the first time in years, I am seriously and genuinely jazzed about very little at the moment, and this offers fresh possibilities. Usually, by this point, I’ve already got a few flicks I am championing, but aside from a couple mentioned here, I’m still looking to be truly inspired.


Having said that, it’s worth pointing out some films from earlier this year that are getting attention, whether they deserve the recognition…


Logan — A brilliant and moving character coda.
Get Out — Are you kidding me? Just amazing.
The Hero — Movie’s good, Sam Elliott is transcendent.
Wind River — Just what a thriller should be.


or not …
The Beguiled — So boring, almost fell asleep twice.
Brad’s Status — Whiny middle-aged man movie. Snore.
Wonder Woman — Lots of fun, but nothing more.


Of that list, I think Jordan Peele’s astonishing directorial debut is the only one that’s going to get its due when the time comes, though Sam Elliott and Hugh Jackman really should be taken more seriously in the Best Actor race than they currently are.

The good thing about all this is there is a lot more to come, which means this is just the first installment in what will surely become an ongoing kibitzing about the state of the union, so to speak. Looking things over, I think I can sum up the proceedings of Awards Season so far with one last Six Word Review, just to top it all off.

Mediocre start, hopefully a grand finish.



Neil Turitz is a filmmaker and journalist who has spent close to two decades working in and writing about Hollywood. Feel free to send him a tweet at @neilturitz. He’ll more than likely respond.

[jo]

A research blog on "How much do Hollywood campaigns for an Oscar cost?"

has been posted on the Off-Topic Section ( Understanding the Film Business/Awards).

It is a very well-researched and informative article on the cost of Oscar campaigns.

[jo]

It looks like Hugh Jackman, James Mangold, and producer Hutch Parker are doing the rounds to enhance the chances of LOGAN for Oscar consideration. Along the way, there is mention of a spinoff script for Laura ( X-23) which seems to be on its early stages of development, according to James Mangold.

www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/logan-hugh-jackman-laura-movie-recasting-wolverine-1051147?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

October 24, 2017 6:30am PT by Aaron Couch
'Logan' Team on Dreaming Up a 'Laura' Spinoff and Finding the Drama in Wolverine's Goodbye

Courtesy of Berlinale


Hugh Jackman, James Mangold and producer Hutch Parker look back on the R-rated hit and weigh in on the possibility of Patrick Stewart getting his first Oscar nomination: "The fact that Patrick has not received those kinds of acknowledgements is astounding."

Hugh Jackman has said goodbye to Wolverine, but the story isn't quite over.


Seven months after the film hit theaters, Jackman and director James Mangold are still processing the level of praise lavished on the film, which exceeded their expectations from when they set out to tell story to end all Wolverine stories. Logan was made for less money than the previous two Wolverine films, but Jackman's R-rated swan song became the most financially successful of the three by far with $616 million worldwide (Mangold's The Wolverine made just over $414 in 2013) and it remains one of the best reviewed movies of 2017.

The film is continuing to defy expectations. While Logan is the rare superhero project that doesn't exist to help set up a shared universe or sequels, a spinoff is brewing ("We're just working on a script," Mangold says of a film that would center on Dafne Keen's Laura). And it has emerged as a possible awards contender.

"I think I have a kind of healthy contempt for this kind of film. Even the genre," Mangold tells The Hollywood Reporter when asked why the film appealed to comic book fans and general audiences alike. "I tried to bring with it a kind of jaundiced eye about formula that we've gotten really in the habit of delivering on, and trying to deliver a picture that offers some of the same sense of wonder and imagination that these films tend to offer, but doing so in a way where it's less about fetishizing costumes and equipment and CG effects and more about character."


Jackman tells THR that after a worldwide tour promoting the film, he is at peace with hanging up the claws after 17 years and nine movies, feeling he delivered his definitive performance this time out. 

"I think there was a moment in the first X-Men …. probably five or six weeks in ….. when I felt I was really making Wolverine my own. It took me a little while to get there," says Jackman of his experience with the franchise as  whole. "I think it wasn’t until this last one, in terms of watching the movie, where I felt kind of separate from the character … where I could think, ‘Man I love that character’ …. I was probably not fully at peace with the work I had done with him until this last one."

Every few years following Heath Ledger's Oscar win for 2008's The Dark Knight, genre films have been popping up more frequently in the awards conversation. Recent years have seen 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road (six Oscar wins in the crafts categories, plus nominations for best picture and best director) and 2016's Deadpool (surprise best picture and best actor Golden Globes noms). This year, Logan and Wonder Woman are two comic book films in the conversation, and  20th Century Fox has fueled the flames by sending out screeners to Academy voters and scheduling the Logan team for appearances at awards-focused screenings and Q&As.


X-Men franchise producer Hutch Parker admits awards season recognition would be a nice bonus following the outpouring from fans and critics, though he maintains he's satisfied no matter what happens. 

"I'm realistic about the kind of movie this is, and I'm hopeful that various people in those positions will see it and recognize it — even though it is an R-rated movie, and even though it has a legacy as part of a comic book franchise," says Parker. "I'd love for people to be able to assess the craft on the performances and the work on their own merits."


One possibility for that recognition is Stewart. As soon as Logan hit screens, awards pundits began raising the question of whether Stewart could finally earn an Oscar nomination, thanks to the combination of the actor delivering one of his finest big screen performances yet, and the notion that a performer of his pedigree is overdue.

"The fact that Patrick has not received those kinds of acknowledgements is astounding to me," says Parker.
While Stewart is yet to earn a nomination for film work, he has received four Emmy nominations, as well as three Golden Globe nominations for television performances: in 1999 for Moby Dick, in 2005 for The Lion in Winter and in 2016 for Blunt Talk.

In Logan, Prof. X suffers from degenerative brain disease and must come to terms with losing his most valuable asset, his intellect. It showed audiences a side to Stewart that departed from the calm, cool and collected roles he'd played in Star Trek movies and previous X-Men films.

"It gave Patrick freedom that he hasn't had, certainly in these kinds of films. Patrick attacked this thing with ferocity. He was fearless about playing Charles' weaknesses as well as his strengths," says Mangold. "He wasn't worried about the vanity of it."


The script from Mangold, Scott Frank and Michael Green also gave Stewart and Jackman a lot of meaty material together, such as the nearly seven-minute, dialogue heavy scene early in film that takes place in a dilapidated tank.

"The level of depth and the drama in that one scene is probably more than the two of us have had to work with …. than all of the other films combined," says Jackman. "So, I think it’s just fun watching a thorough bred like Patrick Stewart gallop and … with the great scenes that he got to really show everything he can do."

As Mangold looks to the future and a possible Laura movie, he touches on the success of Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman this summer and what that means for female-fronted films.


"Patty's success with that film only solidifies more for studios that there's less to fear with a female protagonist," says Mangold. "The more that keeps getting hit home, that ends up giving me more space turning around and going, 'Well here we are with a female protagonist. That's incredible. And what are we going to do with her?' And that's where we are with that [the Laura script] right now, dreaming."


As Fox gears up to release three X-Men films next year, the studio has signaled interested in exploring the Marvel mutants through different film genres. April's New Mutants is being positioned as a horror film, for example, and a Laura spinoff could potentially branch out from the western-noir tinged Logan.


"Yes, there are other facets of that character and some others potentially to explore in their own way," says Parker, who spoke to THR while wrapping production on X-Men: Dark Phoenix earlier this month. "It may not be in the same exact tonality or with the same genre orientations as Logan, but I think part of what has been opened up in this universe to all of us now is, drawing on different genre traditions, there are new pathways to be opened for new characters that populate this universe."


One person who won't be involved in a spinoff is Jackman, who not only has hung up the claws, but also rules out staying on as a producer. (He previously produced 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine)
"No, I won’t be a producer on a Laura sequel," says Jackman. "But I will be lining up on the Thursday night at 10 pm to watch it though. She is just phenomenal."


Just as Laura will likely pick up the mantle for Logan, someone else will inevitably play Wolverine (this is Hollywood, after all). Even in a world where Ledger's Joker is no longer the latest big screen incarnation of the character, this one feels particularly wrong. But Jackman embraces the inevitability.

"I know someone will. I hope it will be recast," says Jackman.

Jackman's gracious attitude makes sense, as he wasn't the first actor cast as Wolverine. Dougray Scott was set to play Wolverine, but when shooting went long on Mission: Impossible 2, the team on 2000's X-Men asked Jackman to step in. Jackman, then a largely unknown stage actor, went on to become one of the biggest stars on the planet. He still recalls meeting Scott after the casting swap that changed his life.


"I met him early on and I said to him, 'Man, I am sorry.' And he said, 'It’s just business but you have just gotten one of the greatest roles out there so go crush it,' " recalls Jackman. "I was just remember being so impressed by that and his class that and hopefully I am a big enough guy that when someone else takes over, I will do exactly what was done to me … and I feel glad to just be a part of the legacy of that character. I feel great parts — great characters out live the actors that play them. Bond, Superman, Batman …. So, there you go."

*There is talk of Patrick Stewart being considered for Best Supporting Actor. What about Hugh Jackman! LOGAN centered on his character and Hugh did it full justice and more...

Unless he is too modest to want to discuss that possibility with THR?

Or that he could be under FOX consideration to push for an Oscar for GREATEST SHOWMAN instead ?  But why shouldn't Fox give each role portrayal an equal limelight for awards consideration.  Being recognized  for both ( for roles which are diametrically opposed from each other, but both excellently portrayed by Jackman) may actually enhance his chances for a win! Rules say that an actor can only be nominated for one acting role in each category,  but if discussions indicate that Hugh Jackman had turned out both excellent  portrayals, voters may want to give him bonus points when they finally vote ?

And what about Dafne Keen -- she completed the perfect trio in that movie? She should also be pushed for Best Supporting Actress. If Tatum O'Neal and Anna Paquin could win an Oscar for PAPER MOON & THE PIANO, respectively, Dafne shone even more impressively with her X-23 portrayal!



*Hugh must feel a little sadness with this long goodbye to the role... 7 months later after it was released to great critics' numbers and great box office numbers -- the movie press continues to press on about his signature role of Wolverine ( even talking of possible recasting). If only for sentimental reasons, I would like Hugh Jackman to be recognized for an Oscar win for this swan song of Wolverine! As I have expressed before, if it is THE GREATEST SHOWMAN that might push him for an Oscar win, I would like to think that it is because that movie proves the kind and depth of talent that Hugh Jackman possesses as an actor! But the WOLVERINE role gave him so much.... and also us fans so much!


*I wonder how much time the Oscar team for LOGAN will spend to promote the movie for Oscar/other awards consideration? It is still a long road ahead ( Golden Globes nods will be out early December while Oscar nods are out sometime in January).


Jo

[jo]

The widow of Len Wein ( creator of the Wolverine character) comments re Hugh Jackman saying that he hopes the role will be recast ( based on the original THR interview )--

[jo]

*Hugh must feel a little sadness with this long goodbye to the role... 7 months later after it was released to great critics' numbers and great box office numbers -- the movie press continues to press on about his signature role of Wolverine ( even talking of possible recasting). If only for sentimental reasons, I would like Hugh Jackman to be recognized for an Oscar win for this swan song of Wolverine! As I have expressed before, if it is THE GREATEST SHOWMAN that might push him for an Oscar win, I would like to think that it is because that movie proves the kind and depth of talent that Hugh Jackman possesses as an actor! But the WOLVERINE role gave him so much.... and also us fans so much!

LOL - why am I getting a ONCE BEFORE I GO vibe from this

[jo]

These tweets echo the sentiment of many --

[jo]

LOL -- why do I find it somewhat annoying to read " the former XMen star, Hugh Jackman"

And having to trawl pages of alerts which are all referring to the THR interview on LOGAN at the Oscars and Laura in a new movie


Jo

[jo]

Is this part of the revival of interest in LOGAN, re enhancing chances for an Oscar bid ?

[jo]

A full account of Patrick Stewart's appearance at the Savannah Film Festival --

Sir Patrick Stewart entertains and enlightens in SCAD Savannah Film Fest Q&A 
By Jim Morekis
[e-mail]
@jimmorekis


IN A Q&A session that was as uplifting as the film it followed was bleak, Sir Patrick Stewart mixed hilarious stories with wise and insightful takes on life and art.

After the conclusion of the screening of the X-Men franchise film Logan – in which Stewart portrays Charles Xavier for what is apparently the last time – the half-hour-plus session with Stewart was unusually lengthy in comparison with most Q&As at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival.

But Stewart is clearly a fan favorite, and virtually no one left their seats in the Lucas Theatre until he was done.
The film itself, an ultraviolent entry into the growing category of R-rated superhero films, is lifted primarily by the outstanding performances of Stewart and Hugh Jackman as the eponymous protagonist.


Another unique aspect of Logan is that – spoiler alert! – it apparently gives us the death of both Wolverine and Xavier, without quite explaining how they ended up on the run and out of money.

“On films like this the scripts are guarded as if they were a collection of Koh-I-Noor Diamonds,” laughed Stewart, saying an early draft explained the characters’ situation.

“But they cut it. Now there are just very veiled references to what might have happened.”

On the subject of Xavier having “died” in previous X-Men films only to come back for another one, Stewart cracked the audience up by saying, “I didn’t die, I was vaporized. By Famke Janssen, a lovely woman – but mean!”


Stewart was only slightly coy in hinting at a follow-up, though clarifying that “It will not include myself, I assure you.”
Jackman and Stewart have become close friends while filming various X-Men projects, but the fact that Logan was their last together hit home during the Berlin Film Festival, Stewart said.'

At the conclusion of the film, Stewart looked over at Jackman, seated next to him, only to see the Australian in tears.
“I thought if Hugh Jackman can cry then I certainly can. I let it out, too,” Stewart laughed.

“Hugh reached over and took my hand and squeezed it. The end of the screening of Logan at the Berlin Film Festival had Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman holding hands. And weeping,” Stewart said. “Of course Hugh was saying goodbye to the franchise as well.”


The jovial friendship between Stewart and Jackman led to much good-natured teasing, as when Stewart recounted Jackman telling Logan director James Mangold that he envisioned the plot of the movie in a dream.

“It’s a little creepy,” laughed Stewart. “But Hugh’s Australian, and you know…. All that suntan lotion. It gets to you eventually.”



Stewart shared many stories of his much younger days, first starting out in theatre in the U.K. He says he was bald as soon as he left school.

“I looked like this when I was 19. Apart from my professional life, I thought my love life was over too,” he joked.
At one point, while “on the dole” in England, i.e. out of work and on unemployment, he received a job at a regional theatre as an assistant stage manager who occasionally could take on small roles.

“I unlocked the theatre in the morning, I put on the boiler for hot water for tea and coffee, and I swept the stage. Those were my tasks. I was in seventh heaven. I could look out front and there was a theater…. I was blissfully happy.”
To support his contention that almost everything good that happened to him was “a fluke,” he told the story of how he was cast in the role of Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

“I was aiding in a lecture for an English professor at UCLA. He said, ‘This will be much more fun if you and an actor friend of mine would read excerpts from the plays I’m lecturing about.’”

One of the attendees, Stewart said, was an executive producer of Star Trek.

“At some point during this scholarly academic evening he turned to his wife and said, we found the Captain.”
However, it took another six months to finalize the casting, Stewart said, because “Gene Roddenberry… didn’t want me. He made it very very plain to the studio and to his colleagues. ‘We don’t want a bald British actor.’”

Stewart recounted several stories of how fans have bared their hearts and souls to him over the years. He says the most moving such account came from a Las Vegas police officer who wrote him a letter.

“He said, ‘Often what I’ve seen and heard and experienced during the day has so brought me down. I feel so sad for humanity and sickened by the cruelty I’ve witnessed and the awfulness of some people’s lives, that the only thing I can do is go to my shelf and take down an episode of Star Trek and watch it, and I feel better,” he said.

“There’s no remark anyone has made which has pleased me and moved me more than that.”


Stewart closed with a transcendent definition of art and its importance.

“The thing about art… is it has the power to change lives. Our primary motivation has to be to entertain, first and foremost. If you don’t entertain, it’s a waste of time,” Stewart began.

“After that, it is to give people insight into other lives and other situations and other places that perhaps they’d never really considered that way before. That way you can have an impact on the world.”

Maybe in the near future, there will be a chance for Hugh and Patrick to work together again, if not in another film...maybe even on stage ?

Jo

[jo]

The jovial friendship between Stewart and Jackman led to much good-natured teasing, as when Stewart recounted Jackman telling Logan director James Mangold that he envisioned the plot of the movie in a dream.

“It’s a little creepy,” laughed Stewart. “But Hugh’s Australian, and you know…. All that suntan lotion. It gets to you eventually.”

LOL - maybe that was the reason why Hugh is very sure about giving up his Wolverine identity!

Logan was beginning to get into his dreams



Jo

[jo]

This was written by Anne Thompson right on the day LOGAN opened on March 3.

Someone posted the link on Twitter... not sure if this was brought up again because of the current Oscar campaign for LOGAN itself -- but it is good to think back as to what made LOGAN so good and so well-received by both critics and audiences alike!


www.indiewire.com/2017/03/logan-hugh-jackman-james-mangold-wolverine-1201788392/

[jo]

This is a talk show on various movie topics, including the Best Actor Race for this season --I initially found the access from this tweet --

Ignore the first part, it is discussions on Harvey W ( from inside info in the past) and other industry developments ( new movies, etc) ... and fast-forward to around 36 minutes in.

Three veteran movie press members - Jeff Sneider of Tracking Board, Justin Kroll of Variety and Simon Thompson of Forbes are in the panel.

www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2648&v=mQsUP659qDM

At around 36+ minutes in, the discussions veer towards the Oscars/Best Actor race

First, they talk about Darkest Hour and how Gary Oldman seems to be the clear frontrunner ( although Justin Kroll thinks this performance is not really Oldman's best - he thinks he did better in Tinker Tailor, etc). J. Kroll, one of the more prominent Variety film writers brought in the name of HUGH JACKMAN for LOGAN --

*if he could get in (get a nomination) which he said could be an uphill battle, he has the best chance to score a win, even over Oldman. He even calls him the best actor, even over Tom Hanks.
*they think this year is a weak one for Best Actor candidates and Hugh's performance in LOGAN could be competitive
*Jackman is very well-liked.
*Greatest Showman is said to be more of a commercial play than an awards play, hence HJ may have a better chance with LOGAN
*if they consider the superhero genre as awards-worthy, that boosts HJ's chances more ( this was mentioned later on in the discussion).
*Someone asked about Jake G and Thompson said that he liked him in Stronger but also mentioned Defoe. Kroll ( Variety) gave the longest and best pitch for HJ. He sounds like a fan

These are veteran movie journalists and they do not seem to have an agenda -- so maybe their discussion is not just idle buzz.

Of course, the movie press has not yet seen SHOWMAN so the talk that it is not awards-worthy even performance-wise is very debatable.

Jo

[jo]

Looks like Hugh is really pleasing his "orphaned" fans... and promoting the Oscar chances of LOGAN

[jo]

[jo]

Original tweet --

[jo]

How many "LOGANs" will there be on Halloween?

Not Wolverine from the XMEN team movies or even the first two movies in the Wolverine trilogy

But just grizzled, weary, cynical Oldish Man LOGAN ( who did not believe in comicbooks )


Jo

[jo]

As for Wolverine Hugh's promise for Halloween --

Twitter is waiting for that explosion


Jo

[jo]

All of a sudden -- why all these analyses and insights and critiques of the film version of WOLVERINE


www.cbr.com/fox-ruined-wolverine/

Snikt In The Bud: 15 Ways Fox Ruined Wolverine For Diehard Fans
CBR-30 minutes ago
More so than any other actor in any other superhero film, Hugh Jackman showed us all what it's like to embody a superhero. He played Wolverine on-screen...

Hmmm.... why put him back into the limelight --



*to convince Hugh Jackman to return to the fold -- All is forgiven


*to tell OSCAR that this guy is a worthy winner of the golden statuette from Hollywood

[jo]

It looks like it was Marika who was going to faint when she saw Hugh's reply tweet

[jo]

Every kid wants to be Wolvie


Maybe they were not allowed to watch LOGAN

But Marika's 14-year old saw it, presumably with parental guidance



Okay, Big Wolverine -- show 'em what it's really like -- spandex and all


Jo

[jo]

And here's the 14-year old LOGAN

[jo]

A more complete account of Patrick Stewart's Q&A at the SCAD Film Festival in Savannah. Obviously a pitch for Oscar consideration for LOGAN... as the Q&A followed a screening of the movie itself


scaddistrict.com/2017/10/31/the-thing-about-art-according-to-sir-patrick-stewart/

After Sunday’s screening of the hit Marvel movie, “Logan,” the Lucas Theatre remained packed as audience members waited for the film’s star and Legends of Cinema Award honoree Sir Patrick Stewart to grace the stage. Stewart took his seat for a question-and-answer session to a standing -practically leaping – ovation and thunderous applause.
After joking about his character’s Taco Bell rant in “Logan,” Stewart became serious, saying that, in a market perhaps oversaturated with super hero films, this is one like no other. “[Before filming] a hint had reached me from somewhere that this was not going to be a typical X-Men movie, and that the only existing X-Men would be Logan and Charles,” he said. “There was a draft of the script where it was explained and they cut it, and instead there are now very veiled references to something having happened.”

Stewart said he preferred the more mysterious final version and the challenges it presented in developing his character. He did, however, mention that another movie – “I can tell you it will not include myself nor, I’m sure, Hugh [Jackman],” he said – is in the works, that will further explain the latent references in “Logan.”

Stewart talked at length about his friendship with Hugh Jackman – referring to him at one point as “a delectable human being” – and how emotional it was for the two to say goodbye to roles they had played for 17 years. In fact, Stewart said the first time he really watched “Logan” was at a screening at the Berlin Film Festival, and he struggled to conceal his emotions, until he looked over at Jackman and caught him crying as well. “I thought ‘Lordy, if Hugh Jackman can cry at the movie “Logan,” then I certainly can!’ and I let it out too,” Stewart said, laughing. “And Hugh reached over and took my hand and squeezed it tightly. So the end of the film went up at the Berlin Film Festival and Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman were holding hands. Both of us weeping.”

“I could not imagine there being a more appropriate farewell to the franchise for me,” Stewart said, “And somehow the fact that Hugh had said goodbye too seemed really appropriate.” He went on to express his confidence in the fact that the future of the franchise now rests on the shoulders of young Dafne Keen, who portrayed Laura in “Logan.”


Since seeing her audition tape in director James Mangold’s office – in which she performed her sides as written, as well as improvised – Stewart said he only became more impressed with Keen as both an actress and a person.

“The three of us were locked up in that darn truck for so long! For days and days and days in an unusually hot June in Louisiana, and we had such a marvelous time; she was such great company,” Stewart said. “Hugh and I both became so tremendously fond of Daphne, of her intelligence and her good humor and her downright ordinariness, which was just so nice.”


Of course, there is much that Stewart will take away from his 17 years playing Charles Xavier, but much from “Logan” in particular, he said. “The thing is, when the work is a certain quality, with the script and the direction and your on-camera colleagues, there is no alternative…it does affect one.”

Finally, when asked about the different types of fans from his dominant roles – Jean-Luc Picard in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” Charles Xavier in “X-Men” and his 27 years with the Royal Shakespeare Company in London – Stewart said he is always pleased to hear how his performances have helped or moved fans.

“Because, you know, the thing about art,” he said, “is that it has the power to change lives. And that must never be forgotten. Our primary motivation has to be to entertain, first and foremost, because if you don’t entertain it’s a waste of time, and, after that, it is to give people insight into other lives and other places and other situations that perhaps they have never really considered before. And in that way you can have an impact on the world.”

Patrick was a mainstay at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Hugh had a stint with the other major subsidized British theatre company, The Royal National Theatre ( Oklahoma!)...and was Jean Valjean in the film adaptation of the original musical version in English of an RSC show called Les Miserables!

Both carried with them their theatre training and experience in those tremendous portrayals in LOGAN! Hope OSCAR recognizes the quality of their acting expertise!


Jo

[jo]

Hugh seems a little sentimental now -- recognizing his fans who do NOT want to give up seeing him back as Wolverine! He has acknowledged a few representing those who made an effort to show their appreciation of his tenure as their beloved superhero.

[jo]

[jo]

Hugh Jackman
✔
@realhughjackman

My work here is done.

I could cry

He is closing the final chapter!

Hope OSCAR does appreciate the commitment and artistry that this actor gave to a role that is more than just memorable and remarkable! The fans of Wolverine and Jackman have manifested how his longterm portrayal has been a fondly remembered and admired icon in the last 17 years!

Jo