THE FRONT RUNNER : Awards Talk

[jo]

Moving on to TIFF ( Toronto), for scheduled screening and from Telluride notes --


culturedvultures.com/2019-oscars-at-a-glance-tiff-preview-part-i/

The Front Runner | September 8th

Jason Reitman’s second film to hit the big screen this year (the first being Tully), The Front Runner is a biopic about Gary Hart, 1988’s failed presidential wannabe, and how sexual allegations sunk his hopes and dreams. Hugh Jackman stars as Hart, with Vera Farmiga, Sara Paxton, Alfred Molina, Mike Judge, Kevin Pollak, Ari Graynor, and J.K. Simmons filling out the cast. The film premiered last week at the Telluride Film Festival, where Jackman received glowing reviews, some chronicling it as the best of his career. The movie itself, however, was less acclaimed, but with 75% of critics from Rotten Tomatoes giving the film the thumbs-up. We’ll see if that’s enough for the film to take off and live up to its title.

[jo]

Maybe a bit of wishful thinking...but --

wouldn't it be something if they both win Oscars for their current movies

http://instagram.com/p/BnObHI3hUtB

[jo]

It looks like TELLURIDE has established the top Oscar bets -- this time, it is The Hollywood Reporter which makes its initial overall assessments --

www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/awards-pundits-telluride-roma-all-rest-1139384


Re THE FRONT RUNNER --

FEINBERG: There were quite a few imperfect movies with standout performances: Hugh Jackman as Gary Hart in The Front Runner, Nicole Kidman as an L.A. detective in Destroyer and Matthew McConaughey as a delinquent’s dad in White Boy Rick — each of whom stands a shot at landing an acting nom (Jackman and Kidman in the lead acting categories, but McConaughey in supporting).

[jo]

There's another related feature from The Hollywood Reporter, with emphasis on a Critic's Perspective ( Todd McCarthy) --

www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/a-solid-telluride-but-alfonso-cuarons-roma-rose-rest-1139361

Cannes’ loss was Telluride’s gain, as Netflix’s most anticipated titles of the season, Alfonso Cuaron’s almost universally embraced Roma and Orson Welles’ nearly five-decades-in the-making The Other Side of the Wind, made their big splashes over the weekend at the 45th edition of the festival.

For several of the most in-demand filmmakers, including Cuaron, Damien Chazelle with First Man, Yorgos Lanthimos with The Favourite, Mike Leigh with Peterloo and Olivier Assayas with Non-Fiction, it was a matter of quick appearances in Venice followed by the long trip to Telluride high in the Rocky Mountains. But it seemed like more than worth the travel involved, as all these films were, for the most part, very enthusiastically received.

But so were several others. A surprise for many was the turn to a genuinely serious and convincing performance by Melissa McCarthy in Marielle Heller’s Can You Ever Forgive Me?. Jason Reitman’s The Front Runner, with Hugh Jackman very sharp as Gary Hart during his self-sabotaged presidential campaign, was widely regarded as a return to form for the director. And a couple of less high-profile entries — Yann Demange’s White Boy Rick, starring Matthew McConaughey, and Joel Edgerton’s gay conversion therapy drama Boy Erased, with Lucas Hedges, Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman — earned approving nods from audiences here...


More...

[jo]

It seems media ( especially the movie press) all do summary articles/discussions of major festival screenings!

This is the 3-corner assessment of the TELLURIDE FESTIVAL ( Chief critic Richard Lawson, Rebecca Keenan, and Mike Hogan).


www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/09/telluride-film-festival-2018-oscars-academy-awards


It is a fairly long discussion -- here are the excerpts that relate to THE FRONT RUNNER :

Keegan: The Favourite fires on every level—three strong performances by Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, and Olivia Colman, and an extraordinary level of craft by director Yorgos Lanthimos, who tells a kind of punk-rock version of All About Eve set in the 18th-century court of English Queen Anne. It’s a testament to Stone’s career that at 29 years old, she is already a Telluride veteran—she was here in recent years for La La Land, the film which won her an Oscar, Birdman, which earned her a supporting-actress nomination, and last year’s Battle of the Sexes. I think I responded to The Favourite because it is such a relief to laugh right now, and Stone deploys her knack for physical comedy a lot.
I also love a movie that starts a feisty debate, and one that has been doing that here is The Front Runner—Jason Reitman’s dramedy about the infidelity scandal that killed Gary Hart’s 1988 presidential ambitions, transformed the relationship between politicians and journalists, and eventually led to the completely bizarre state of American political discourse in 2018. On my gondola ride with a couple who had just seen the film, they had a spirited . . . uh . . . discussion about just how bad we should feel for Hart, or how much we should blame the journalists who broke the news of his affairs.

It’s a testament to Hugh Jackman’s understated performance as Hart, a notoriously enigmatic figure, that they and I were so lost in the story we debated, as we rose at least 1,000 feet in the sky. Some critics seemed to want Reitman to give them a tidier telling of the tale, with more sharply drawn heroes and villains. Personally, I liked his restraint, and I expect to see Jackman’s name on Oscar short lists.



Lawson: I agree that The Favourite came as a very welcome tonic in these grim times. It’s not the cheeriest movie, maybe, but it has a wicked fizz to it...



Speaking of: Rebecca, I’m with you on The Front Runner. I was surprised by how much it engaged me—it’s funny and fast, but also pretty thoughtful about the strange and increasingly strained relationship between politics and media. And Jackman is great! I loved seeing him in this more downbeat, recessive mode. He really is a nuanced actor, not just the big, bombastic showman we typically paint him as. The Front Runner feels very much like a movie whose fortunes will really be decided at the Toronto International Film Festival, which kicks off on September 6.


Toronto is a massive festival, and low-key, unflashy The Front Runner will need to attract a good deal of buzz to avoid disappearing in the crowd. There is a much bigger press pool there, though, so the film has better odds of getting eyeballs on it. Look: if Trumbo can ride a Toronto bump all the way to a Bryan Cranston nomination, this superior film about a somewhat forgotten 20th-century historical figure should be able to as well. I’d have to imagine Hugh Jackman is as good of a stumper as Cranston is...



Hogan :In fact, I might rate Redford’s chances ahead of Jackman’s. While I thoroughly enjoyed The Front Runner, I’m not sure the Academy will embrace Jackman’s performance. The whole point of Gary Hart’s tragedy is that he was an Obama-level generational political star whose downfall was brought on by a mix of media tabloidization and his own reckless arrogance. (Or is it arrogant recklessness?) Jackman delivers on the reckless-arrogance side of the equation, but oddly, considering he’s one of the most charismatic men alive, he doesn’t do much to convey why people were so excited about Hart in the first place. As for the film’s lack of black-and-white morality, for that I salute Jason Reitman. To me, the film played almost like a monster movie—with today’s scandal-obsessed media environment in the role of the monster that no one actually wants, and no one can stop...

[jo]

From the comments of Michael Hogan ( VANITY FAIR article) --

Jackman delivers on the reckless-arrogance side of the equation, but oddly, considering he’s one of the most charismatic men alive, he doesn’t do much to convey why people were so excited about Hart in the first place.

Maybe that was the directorial intention -- Gary Hart was more than just charisma! That he had intellectual depth and a strong sense of national priorities...and that a more serious portrayal would be truer to the real person?



Also, these comments from Jason Reitman ( from the GoldDerby interview just posted) --

Says Reitman, “One word you hear a lot about Gary Hart is ‘enigma,’ even from the people who are close to him. Here was this brilliant guy who was also clearly flawed and made human mistakes, but he’s a hard guy to penetrate. And as an actor, Hugh is someone who has so much warmth. His heart beats right out of his chest, and you feel it in his performances, whether he is the Greatest Showman or whether he’s Logan and he’s literally ripping arms off. And I’ve never seen him do anything like this, where he plays a closed box that’s just giving you these tiny windows to find a way in.”

And maybe that was also the acting perspective by Hugh Jackman that he wanted to inject into this real-life portrayal!





Btw, Mike Hogan's background :

Mike Hogan
Mike Hogan is Vanity Fair’s digital director, overseeing VF.com, social media, video, and digital editions. He is the former executive entertainment editor of The Huffington Post and editor-in-chief of Moviefone. Before making the shift to digital, he was a senior editor at Vanity Fair magazine, assigning everything from celebrity cover stories to national-security exposés.

Jo

[jo]

Jeff Sneider, a veteran movie press member and former Editor of Tracking Board, makes this prediction --

[jo]

[jo]

Sasha Stone writes about contenders for BEST ACTOR --

www.awardsdaily.com/2018/09/10/willem-dafoe-joins-the-best-actor-race/


There's also a poll at the bottom of the article.


One reason which Sasha puts forward why some actors get nods/wins is because he is "overdue"! Hugh is more than overdue (The Fountain/The Prestige/LesMiserables/Prisoners/Logan/TheGreatestShowman/TheFrontRunner)

[jo]

Sept 10, 2018 17:47:00 GMT -5 jo said:

Sasha Stone writes about contenders for BEST ACTOR --

www.awardsdaily.com/2018/09/10/willem-dafoe-joins-the-best-actor-race/


There's also a poll at the bottom of the article.


One reason which Sasha puts forward why some actors get nods/wins is because he is "overdue"! Hugh is more than overdue (The Fountain/The Prestige/LesMiserables/Prisoners/Logan/TheGreatestShowman/TheFrontRunner)

Some performances have not been seen or seen by a very few ( Bale, Hedges, Dafoe etc) so the poll is turning more into a popularity contest. Let's vote for Hugh -- his portrayal has been praised by so many critics even if the movie itself draws more controversy than popular vote! Maybe pick him as the only choice ?


He's trailing after the top five.


Jo

[jo]

Sept 10, 2018 18:52:38 GMT -5 jo said:

Sept 10, 2018 17:47:00 GMT -5 jo said:

Sasha Stone writes about contenders for BEST ACTOR --

www.awardsdaily.com/2018/09/10/willem-dafoe-joins-the-best-actor-race/


There's also a poll at the bottom of the article.


One reason which Sasha puts forward why some actors get nods/wins is because he is "overdue"! Hugh is more than overdue (The Fountain/The Prestige/LesMiserables/Prisoners/Logan/TheGreatestShowman/TheFrontRunner)

Some performances have not been seen or seen by a very few ( Bale, Hedges, Dafoe etc) so the poll is turning more into a popularity contest. Let's vote for Hugh -- his portrayal has been praised by so many critics even if the movie itself draws more controversy than popular vote! Maybe pick him as the only choice ?


He's trailing after the top five.


Jo

Arguably the best description of his performance, voiced out by one of the cast/crew of THE FRONT RUNNER --

" astonishing and enigmatic"!

We do not often see Hugh give an unusual understated performance ( his usual roles and his screen persona usually shout out for attention) and so this is one portrayal that we can look forward to with much anticipation.


Jo

[jo]

Scott Mendelson of Forbes.com speculates on likely Best Picture contenders --

www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2018/09/12/first-man-vs-star-is-born-vs-black-panther-vs-netflix-at-oscars/#1da6e14f349a

While Sony’s The Frontrunner didn’t get a swell of rave reviews, it may click with post-festival critics and its topicality (Jason Reitman directs Hugh Jackman as doomed Democratic presidential contender Gary Hart) may turn it into an of-the-moment offering. To the extent that it has a shot, it’s partially due to being Sony’s only serious contender this year.

[jo]

USA Today assesses Oscar chances --

www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2018/09/13/oscar-race-shapes-up-during-toronto-film-festival/1284814002/

The Undecided

Who came back from Canada with work to do? Hugh Jackman's Gary Hart biopic, "The Front Runner," received mixed reviews, though Jackman's prospects could still rally. "The movie will have to do very well commercially to gain some footing" in the race, says IMDb.com special correspondent Dave Karger.

[jo]

Scott Feinberg of THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER assesses the post-festival Oscar possibilities!

He ranks Hugh Jackman among the top 5 Best Actor candidates...and The Front Runner among the second level threats for Best Picture.


www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/feinberg-forecast-oscars-2-1139789


Excerpts :

FRONTRUNNERS

Roma (Netflix) VENI, TELL, TIFF, NYFF
A Star Is Born (Warner Bros.) VENI, TIFF
Black Panther (Disney)
First Man (Universal) VENI, TELL, TIFF
BlacKkKlansman (Focus Features) CANN
The Favourite (Fox Searchlight) VENI, TELL, NYFF
Green Book (Universal) TIFF
Eighth Grade (A24) SUND, SXSW
A Quiet Place (Paramount) SXSW
Cold War (Amazon) CANN, TELL, TIFF, NYFF

MAJOR THREATS
Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Fox Searchlight) TELL, TIFF
If Beale Street Could Talk (Annapurna) TIFF, NYFF
Ben is Back (Roadside Attractions) TIFF
Beautiful Boy (Amazon) TIFF
The Front Runner (Sony) TELL, TIFF
Sorry to Bother You (Annapurna) SUND, SXSW

Best Actor

FRONTRUNNERS

Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born)
Ryan Gosling (First Man)
Lucas Hedges (Ben is Back)
Hugh Jackman (The Front Runner)
Viggo Mortensen (Green Book) — podcast

MAJOR THREATS

Steve Carell (Beautiful Boy)
John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman)
Jake Gyllenhaal (Wildlife) — podcast
Lucas Hedges (Boy Erased)
Steve Coogan (Stan & Ollie)
John C. Reilly (Stan & Ollie)
Lakeith Stanfield (Sorry to Bother You)
John Krasinski (A Quiet Place)
Stephan James (If Beale Street Could Talk)

POSSIBILITIES
Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther) — podcast
Willem Dafoe (At Eternity's Gate) — podcast
Ethan Hawke (First Reformed) — podcast
Jonathan Pryce (The Wife)
Robert Redford (The Old Man & the Gun)
Ben Foster (Leave No Trace)
John C. Reilly (The Sisters Brothers)
Joaquin Phoenix (The Sisters Brothers)
Oscar Isaac (Operation Finale)

[jo]

Interesting stats! Politicians and political figures are Oscar favorites ( nominations and wins)

www.goldderby.com/article/2018/oscar-flashback-playing-politician-best-actor-news/

How many are portrayed as flawed rather than heroic ?



Jo

[jo]

With the entry of THE FRONT RUNNER at the London Film Festival, it is included among the festival entrants that seem to have fairly good chances of earning some nominations --

culturedvultures.com/10-oscar-contenders-to-see-at-london-film-festival-2018/

The Front Runner


Possible Nominations:
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Leading Actor – Hugh Jackman
Best Supporting Actor – J.K. Simmons
Best Supporting Actress – Vera Farmiga


Reitman has been popular with the Academy in previous years with Juno and Up In The Air both seeing him receive Best Director nominations. This time with a look at politics and with Hugh Jackman leading the way, we could have a real contender on our hands. Filling out the cast are the likes of Vera Farmiga (Oscar nominee), Alfred Molina (Golden Globe nominee) and J.K. Simmons (Oscar winner), which all add prestige to this film about the downfall of a politician due to his life outside of work. This film feels it may be coming out at just the right time with so many stories about the line between professional and personal lives being blurred and the repercussions that are felt.

I wonder if it will also find favor with the BAFTA ( UK's equivalent of the Oscar award-giving body) ?

Jo

[jo]

theplaylist.net/competitive-oscar-season-decade-20180925/

Are We In The Midst Of The Most Competitive Oscar Season This Decade?

Gregory Ellwood September 25, 2018 2:12 pm Awards, Awards Campaign, News



Almost every awards season has at least one category which is a barn burner. A category where when the Oscar nominations are finally announced not one, not two, but sometimes even three legit performances (or films) are snubbed. Look no further than the 2015 Best Actor nods where incredible turns by Jake Gyllenhaal (“Nightcrawler”), David Oyelowo (“Selma”), Ralph Fiennes (“Grand Budapest Hotel”), Timothy Spall (“Mr. Turner”) and Matthew McConaughey (“Interstellar”) all failed to make the cut. And, on the flip side, there are often major categories that are so desperately scrounging for nominees that a nomination can come almost out of nowhere (we’re looking at you Marion Cotillard for “Two Days, One Night”). Let’s make one thing clear, it’s not even October 1st and it’s painfully obvious 2019 will resemble the former significantly more than the later.


Beyond a Best Picture race which has arguably 13 major players (nothing to scoff at), there are extremely competitive nomination races in Best Actor, Best Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Director and Adapted Screenplay. Even the often weak Original Screenplay category has some legitimate drama in its midst. And we might be months away from formally diving into it, but it’s obvious there are going to be snubs aplenty when it comes to Original Song. But, we digress because there is a lot to ponder. Let’s just take a quick overview, shall we?


Best Actor finds Christian Bale (“Vice”) vs. Bradley Cooper (“A Star is Born”) vs. Willem Dafoe (“At Eternity’s Gate”) vs. Ryan Gosling (“First Man”) vs. Hugh Jackman (“The Front Runner”) vs. Rami Malek (“Bohemian Rhapsody”) vs. Viggo Mortensen (“Green Book”). Are you sure you know who’s gonna drop out of that group, because you can expect that John C. Reilly (“Sisters Brothers”), Robert Redford (“Old Man and the Gun”), Lucas Hedges (“Boy Erased”), Steve Carell (“Beautiful Boy”) and Ethan Hawke (“First Reformed”) will make some legitimate noise during the season if anyone in the first group falters.


Best Actress still has Fox Searchlight deciding on whether Olivia Coleman should be lead or supporting (cough, the latter), but without her in the mix her “Favourite” co-star Emma Stone still has to place in a race versus Viola Davis (“Widows”), Lady Gaga (“A Star is Born”), Felicity Jones (“On the Basis of Sex”), Nicole Kidman (“Destroyer”), Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”), Julia Roberts (“Ben is Back”) and Saoirse Ronan (“Mary Queen of Scots”). And of course, that’s assuming Keira Knightley (“Colette”) and Glen Close (“The Wife”) fade to the background, Toni Collette (“Hereditary”) isn’t taken seriously because she starred in a horror movie and Emily Blunt (“Mary Poppins Returns”) is deemed too commercial a performance by voters after expected Golden Globe and SAG love. That’s a significant amount to count on.


But, please. It only gets worse with the murderer’s row in Supporting Actress. Again, we potentially have Olivia Coleman (“The Favourite”) joined by Claire Foy (“First Man”) — yes, the former and future “Crown” queens — Margot Robbie (“Mary Queen of Scots”), Amy Adams (“Vice”), Sissy Spacek (“The Old Man and the Gun”), Elizabeth Debecki (“Widows”), Nicole Kidman (“Boy Erased”), Regina King (“If Beale Street Could Talk”) and Rachel Weisz (“The Favourite”). Want to assume Spacek will fall to the wayside? Well, watch out for Michelle Yeoh (“Crazy Rich Asians”) waiting in the wings to fill the gap.

Supporting Actor is only slightly easier to gauge because the unseen “Vice” includes potential nominated turns from Steve Carell and Sam Rockwell. Even with those two out of the field you’ve got former winner Mahershala Ali (“Green Book”), Timothée Chalamet (“Beautiful Boy”), Sam Elliott (“A Star is Born”), Richard E. Grant (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”), Michael B. Jordan (“Black Panther”) and Matthew McConaughey (“White Boy Rick”). Perhaps Jordan or McConaughey don’t make the cut, but Nicholas Hoult (“The Favourite”) and Daniel Kaluuya (“Widows”) will both be stealth players and word is Lin-Manuel Miranda is the best performance in “Mary Poppins Returns” so don’t overlook that beloved multi-talent either. So sure, maybe Chalamet and Elliott are locks but good luck figuring out the rest before the voting deadline.


As for Adapted Screenplay, “A Star is Born,” “BlacKkKlansman,” “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” “First Man,” “If Beale Street Could Talk,” “Leave No Trace,” “The Sisters Brothers” and “Widows” should all land nominations, but three of those films will be pushed to the side. And that assumes the Writer’s Branch doesn’t decide to reward “Black Panther,” “The Front Runner,” “Crazy Rich Asians” or even “Love, Simon” (granted, some with better shots than others). At least Original Screenplay nods are pretty much a given for “Roma” and “The Favourite” with “Sorry To Bother You” having an excellent shot to also get in the club (which would not have been the case last year).

And do you want to discuss Director? Honestly, I don’t think you do because if it’s already such a headache for every consultant in town that it might drive you batsh*t crazy. In theory Damien Chazelle (“First Man”), Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther”), Bradley Cooper (“A Star is Born”), Alfonso Cuaron (“Roma”), Barry Jenkins (“If Beale Street Could Talk”), Yorgos Lanthimos (“The Favourite”), Spike Lee (“BlacKkKlansman”) and Steve McQueen, (“Widows”) would all be frontrunners for a nod in any other year. You wanna cut Coogler? O.K., who’s next? McQueen? Fine. Really hard to land a five after that, isn’t it? Oh and that assumes Adam McKay doesn’t deserve a nod for “Vice” or, dear god, Clint Eastwood isn’t back in the game with “The Mule” assuming it gets a last-minute push. Oh, and do you really want to ignore the incredible work Marielle Heller did on “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” or or Jacques Audiard’s miraculous “Sisters Brothers”? Maybe you ignore the later, but the former? Really? In 2018? (And the branch could always surprise by remembering Chloé Zhao’s work on “The Rider”.)


Like much this year or this past two years, these races aren’t normal and why there is such an abundance of riches is unclear. It may be as simple as the fact there are so many good movies being released during the last quarter of the year. It may be that the studio product is even stronger than normal and we’re assuming the Academy will embrace it. It may also be that the line between movies the industry loves and movies the industry likes will be much smaller than in previous seasons. Whatever the case there are a ton of races upon us and the fight for Oscar’s embrace is going to be fiercer than ever.

Prepare yourself.

Updated prediction pages for your pleasure.
Best Picture
Best Director
Actress
Actor
Supporting Actress
Supporting Actor
Original Screenplay
Adapted Screenplay
Foreign Language Film

Please check out the sets of predictions from the link.

For ACTOR :

Best Actor has turned into something of a bloodbath with seven legit candidates fighting for five slots. Two in particular, Rami Malek (“Bohemian Rhapsody”) and Christian Bale (“Vice”), haven’t screened yet, but are expected to be in the mix. The question is whether acclaimed performances from John C. Reilly (“The Sisters Brothers”) or Robert Redford (“Old Man and the Gun”) can also crash the party [Updated Sept. 21, 2018]


Likely Frontrunners

Christian Bale, “Vice”
Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”
Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”
Ryan Gosling, “First Man”
Hugh Jackman, “The Frontrunner”
Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”


Players

Steve Carell, “Beautiful Boy”
Lucas Hedges, “Boy Erased”
Stephen James, “If Beale Street Could Talk”
Brad Pitt, “Ad Astra”
Robert Redford, “Old Man and the Gun”
John C. Reilly, “The Sisters Brothers”
John David Washington, “BlacKkKlansman”


Likely Longshots

Chadwick Boseman, “Black Panther”
Ethan Hawke, “First Reformed”
Joaquin Phoenix, “Don’t Worry You Won’t Get Far On Foot”
Joaquin Phoenix, “You Were Never Really Here”

/QUOTE]

[jo]

Jeff Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere considers Hugh Jackman a very strong contender in the BEST ACTOR RACE --

hollywood-elsewhere.com/2018/09/mortensen-is-leading-best-actor-contender/

Mortensen Is Leading Best Actor Contender

I’ve thought and thought about it, and I just don’t see how any award-season handicapper who’s kept up with the festivals and the latest screenings can argue that Viggo Mortensen‘s Sopranos-styled performance in Peter Farrelly‘s Green Book isn’t the current Best Actor champ. Odds-wise, I mean.

Not that anyone is arguing against Viggo, but you get my drift. His amiable goombah guy — a nicely shaded, carefully measured performance that conveys an emotional journey that you can’t help but admire — reaches out and touches. It hits the classic sweet spot. No other performance so far is on this level. Please tell me how I’m mistaken about this.
Bradley Cooper‘s Kris Kristofferson-like performance as a drawlin’ drunk in A Star Is Born is pretty good, I have to admit. He’ll almost certainly be nominated….right, Bobby Peru?


But Hugh Jackman‘s Gary Hart in The Front Runner is, I feel, more formidable. Watching him play a considerate, highly principled guy who didn’t do anything all that bad or who at least feels that infidelity is a private matter…to watch this decent guy get taken down for no reason other than the fact that tabloid scandals drive ratings and sell newspapers is just tragic. I can’t get his performance out of my mind.


And what has happened, by the way, to general Gold Derby support for Ethan Hawke‘s career-peak performance in Paul Schrader‘s First Reformed? It’s an absolute scandal that he’s not on each and every spitballer’s top-five Best Actor chart right now, as opposed to just lists from Claudia Puig, Timothy Gray, Chris Rosen, ESPN’s Adnan Virk and myself.
As we speak, 17 Gold Derby handicappers are blowing Hawke off. Not because his masterful performance as a small-town minister isn’t a primal, conflicted, straight-from-the-gut vessel of anguish and longed-for redemption, but because A24 released First Reformed last May. By the tired-thinking standards of your go-along, follow-along prognosticator, this means that Hawke isn’t really in the game — respected but an awards-season also-ran. Not because of the quality of performance, but because of A24’s release strategy. Which is absolute bullshit. Shame on those 17.

A lot of people are behind the idea of Willem Dafoe‘s performance as Vincent Van Gogh in Julian Schnabel‘s At Eternity’s Gate. I am among them, but who’s actually seen the film? It played at the Venice Film Festival, will screen at the New York Film Festival on 10.12, and will open on 11.16.


Others are excited about Christian Bale‘s unseen performance as Dick Cheney in Adam McKay‘s Vice, which won’t open until 12.25. My gut is telling me that fat Bale playing a real-life Satan is not going to be nominated for anything. Not in this climate. You don’t get nominated for gaining weight and wearing great make-up. It may be that Bale’s actual performance will turn out to be the real deal, but I’m holding off on Bale for now.

Other prognosticators are big supporters of Robert Redford‘s lightweight dandelion-fuzz performance in The Old Man & the Gun, apparently as some kind of farewell-to-a-legend gesture in view of Redford’s Telluride statement about deciding to retire from acting. Which he later walked back.

I’m a supporter of Ryan Gosling‘s low-key but completely engaged performance as Neil Armstrong in First Man. Then again we all know deep down (and I’m not admitting this with any joy or satisfaction) that 85% or 90% of SAG isn’t going to feel all that passionate about this minimalist, emotionally muffled performance. They may respect it but most of them won’t be feeling any seat-of-the-pants enthusiasm.

[jo]

Given the recent announcements of festival screenings and awards for Hugh Jackman, AwardsDaily's Sasha Stone implies that Hugh Jackman may be on the campaign trail

www.awardsdaily.com/2018/10/01/hugh-jackman-honored-with-kirk-douglas-award-on-november-19-at-the-santa-barbara-international-film-fest/

Hugh Jackman Honored with Kirk Douglas Award on November 19 at the Santa Barbara International Film Fest

by Sasha Stone October 1, 2018 in BEST ACTOR, SBIFF 0


Hugh Jackman is taking on the awards race like a comer. It’s really only 50% the performance. The other 50% is whether or not the actor is going to campaign for the nomination. It seems weird, I know, to talk about it like that, or even say inane things like “on the campaign trail,” but that’s sort of how it goes. You show up so people know you’re around and remember you when it comes time to write down your favorite performances. Hugh Jackman and The Front Runner are front and center with today’s announcements. Santa Barbara, Savannah, Middleburg, etc.

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival announced today that Academy Award® nominee Hugh Jackman will be honored with the thirteenth annual Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film. The award will be presented at a black-tie Gala dinner at The Ritz Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara on Monday, November 19, 2018. The multi-faceted Jackman may best be known for Oscar nominated films THE GREATEST SHOWMAN and LES MISERABLES, THE X-MEN FRANCHISE, and PRISONERS. Jackman will next be seen in Jason Reitman’s THE FRONT RUNNER, in theaters November 6, 2018.

Since 2006, the annual Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film has been awarded to a lifelong contributor to cinema through their work in front of the camera, behind, or both. Past honorees include Dame Judi Dench, Warren Beatty, Jane Fonda, Jessica Lange, Forest Whitaker, Robert DeNiro, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, Quentin Tarantino, Ed Harris, and John Travolta.

“I am delighted that Hugh Jackman will receive the 13th annual Kirk Douglas Award. He’s an exceptional talent of stage and screen, and one of the nicest people in the business. It’s my honor to have my name linked with his on this year’s award,” states Douglas.

The 34th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place from Wednesday, January 30 – February 9, 2019.

[jo]

Sasha Stone earlier wrote a piece re the Oscar race -- but no clear-cut front runner has emerged as of this time.

www.awardsdaily.com/2018/09/28/predictions-friday-almost-october-still-no-clear-frontrunners/


But part of her predictions at this time is a slot for Best Actor nomination for Hugh...and second-level chances for THE FRONT RUNNER, for Jason Reitman, and for Adapted Screenplay.

[jo]

Jeff Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere is batting for Hugh Jackman again! In a big way!


hollywood-elsewhere.com/2018/10/jackmans-big-night/

Jackman’s Big Night

Will Hollywood Elsewhere attend the Hugh Jackman celebration in Santa Barbara on 11.19.18? I’d like to but we’ll see.

The star of Jason Reitman‘s The Front Runner (Columbia, 11.6) will be the recipient of the 13th annual annual Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film, which will be held as usual at the Ritz Carlton Bacara.

Some of us are aware of the moralistic undertow in Jackman’s performance as Democratic presidential candidate Gary Hart, and the fact that The Front Runner is a highly unusual film for its decision to present a canny, opportunistic infidel as a symbol of ethical decency — a politician with the usual egoistic flaws who nonetheless believes in governmental ideas and visions while keeping libidinal diversions in a box off to the side.


It also portrays the Miami Herald reporters and editors who made hay out of Hart’s mostly meaningless affair with campaign volunteer Donna Rice as…well, fellows who weren’t exactly advancing the cause of first-rate journalism.
It’s a movie that says “yeah, Gary cheated on his wife and so what? Because the real embarassment and the real mud came from what those journalistic bottom-feeders did to Hart and American political culture in the bargain.”

Out of 22 Gold Derby spitballers, why am I the only one who’s listed Jackman’s performance as one of the five most nominatable? I don’t know, but I can tell you for sure that most of the Gold Derby-ites are just following the pack mentality. On top of which a good portion of them probably haven’t seen The Front Runner…who knows?


Jackman’s performance strikes a chord. He’s playing a relatively decent fellow who winds up saying “c’mon, guys…is this what you want political coverage of a Presidential campaign to be about?”

On top of which Jackman doesn’t “act out” this tragedy. He snarls at it, fences with it, derides it, takes a poke at it and then becomes it. By the finale he’s a beaten man, accused and whipped and punched into submission, and for what?


The 2019 Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place between 1.20 to 2.9.

[jo]

Hugh Jackman is in the conversation in the BEST ACTOR race...but weak support for the movie may lessen his chances for a nomination, according to prognosticators from COLLIDER.

collider.com/best-actor-predictions-oscars-2018/

We'll see how the movie fares when it is released during the midterm elections...and if Hugh's portrayal is going to become a nomination favorite.

[jo]

Pete Hammond of Deadline, together with Anne Thompson ( Indiewire) and Tom O'Neill (GoldDerby) speculate on the Best Actor contenders. It looks like Hugh Jackman continues to be part of the conversation! Hope the push from the team and SONY creates greater awareness for the movie and Hugh Jackman! Lately, there have been some insightful articles/reviews that put some of the early negative reviews in a questionable light!

deadline.com/2018/10/oscars-best-actor-early-predictions-deadline-gold-derby-indiewire-video-1202476521/

[jo]

Interesting comment from Jeff Wells column, quoting a friend --

Race To The Middle

“It’s worth mentioning now and forever that the Oscar race has little to do with the reality of great movies. Well, sometimes the two realities converge but the Oscar race is mostly about a race to the middle. You’re looking for something that thousands of people can agree upon is great. We know this can’t possibly be true as Zero Dark Thirty and The Limey and Vertigo and Citizen Kane were ignored or under-valued by this consensus. As was Psycho and Jaws and most of the films I consider great. The Oscar race is what it is, but in too many instances it’s the last thing you want to rely upon for any kind of true measure of a film’s worth over the long haul. Fuck these people.” — sent by a journalist friend when I shared a disparaging view of a presumed Best Picture contender, written by a producer pal.

[jo]

Golden Globes expected and unexpected movie classifications ( Drama or Musical/Comedy) --

www.indiewire.com/2018/10/golden-globes-bohemian-rhapsody-a-star-is-born-musicals-1202010897/

It is assumed that THE FRONT RUNNER will compete in the DRAMA category. When the project was first announced, Jason Reitman described the film as a " political comedy", though.

We'll see.

Jo