The staff at the Weinstein Company is in crisis mode today after the MPAA bestowed a dreaded NC-17 rating on its upcoming domestic drama Blue Valentine, starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Wiliams. I won’t even get into how ludicrous this decision is on the part of the MPAA. I’ve seen far more sexually explicit films get away with an R rating. As a huge fan of the film, I’m most worried about what today’s news means for its Oscar chances. The film might be too bleak to score a Best Picture nod (though if I had a ballot, it would be at the top), but I would have considered Gosling and Williams strong lead-acting contenders. But NC-17 movies simply don’t get Oscar nominations. (Unless you count a cinematography nod for Henry and June.) Ang Lee learned that the hard way with Lust, Caution. I would imagine the Weinstein Co. is considering making a few trims to the film to get an R, but it kills me to think that the version I saw (and can’t stop thinking about) in Cannes might not reach theaters. The movie isn’t scheduled for release until Dec. 31; here’s hoping they figure something out before then.
Part of the brilliance of The Social Network is that there’s no obvious character to root for in the film. Some people will come out of the movie sympathizing with Mark Zuckerberg (or at least the version of Mark Zuckerberg portrayed in the film), while others will despise him. So to finish up my interview with the cast members and their screenwriter, Aaron Sorkin, I asked them where their allegiances lay now that they’ve seen the finished product. Their answers surprised me. (Particularly Justin Timberlake’s: Though the PR people surrounding us halted the interview before he could respond, he told me after the cameras stopped rolling that he felt bad for, of all people, Eduardo’s girlfriend, played by Brenda Song.) Take a look at their responses below. And if you’ve seen The Social Network, tell me: Whose side are you on?
As someone who feels the awards season often drags on too long, I read with great interest John Horn’s L.A. Times story this morning indicating that the Academy is getting closer to moving its 2012 ceremony a few weeks earlier, to late January or early February. (This season’s telecast is scheduled for Feb. 27.) Clearly the Academy is sick of being viewed as an afterthought to all the other awards shows. And even though the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild awards would certainly move up their dates as well, anything that keeps the overall season a bit more brisk is a welcome change.
But I’m troubled by Horn’s revelation that the new logistics would require voters to watch some of the Oscar contenders online, since the studios wouldn’t have the time to schedule enough screenings or send out every DVD before the balloting deadline. The thought of Academy members judging the best films of the year on a computer screen just makes me sad. At this point I’d almost rather have the Oscar season remain a few weeks too long than know that many of the award-worthy films weren’t seen like they were meant to be seen: at least in some Academy member’s fabulous home screening room.
Yesterday my colleague Adam Markovitz explained — with David Fincher’s help — how actor Armie Hammer managed to portray twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss in The Social Network. His performance (or should I say performances) provide a bit of comic relief in the film and are truly a sight to behold. I’d even call Hammer a dark horse candidate for a Best Supporting Actor nomination if the film becomes a major overall player. (Though of course he’ll have to compete with his own costars Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake for the nod.)
In Part 4 of our interview with the Social Network gang, we focus on Hammer’s achievement, particularly in light of Fincher’s penchant for wanting dozens and dozens of takes for each scene. It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that Hammer had it worse than anyone else.
For weeks now I’ve been comparing Clint Eastwood’s upcoming drama Hereafter to 2006′s Babel, since they both include three distinct storylines that end up intersecting by the end of the film. (And because I loved both movies.) Now I’ve just received word from Warner Bros.’ awards consultant that Matt Damon will be campaigned in the lead actor category despite appearing in less than half of the film. By contrast, the entire cast of Babel was touted in the supporting categories. (Brad Pitt, Adriana Barraza, and Rinko Kikuchi earned Golden Globe nominations, while Barraza and Kikuchi repeated at the Oscars.)
This news surprises me, I have to admit. Maybe because I’m so into the Hereafter/Babel comparison, I’m feeling like the Academy strategy should be the same for both. But if you look at Hereafter‘s billboards, it’s clear the studio is selling the film as a Matt Damon vehicle, so this decision is consistent with the marketing plan. And by placing him in lead for Hereafter, Warner Bros. conveniently avoids vote-splitting with Damon’s supporting turn in the Coen brothers’ True Grit. (Did you see the trailer? It looks great.)
The bad news? He’ll have less of a shot at a nomination in lead, which is a shame, since he delivers a solid, emotional performance as a construction worker struggling to deal with his unwanted psychic abilities. But teaming with Eastwood in last year’s Invictus scored him a nod (albeit for supporting actor), so they’re clearly a formidable pair.
With glowing reviews and impressive box office, The Social Network will without a doubt be an Academy Award nominee in several major categories: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay are slam dunks even at this early date. But what will its toughest competition be? Let’s look at it race by race.
Best Picture I feel confident that we’ve now seen at least half of the 10 eventual Oscar nominees, now that Inception, The Kids Are All Right, Toy Story 3, and The Social Network have reached theaters and The King’s Speech, Hereafter, and 127 Hours have each played a festival or two. Of that list, The King’s Speech strikes me as the strongest overall contender. I also have a hunch that the Coen brothers’ version of True Grit could end up as a major player.
Best Director David Fincher’s been nominated once before, for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. He lost to Slumdog Millionaire‘s Danny Boyle, who could enter the race again this year for 127 Hours. But Fincher doesn’t need to worry about Boyle for the win. Besides The King’s Speech filmmaker Tom Hooper, Inception‘s Christopher Nolan and Joel and Ethen Coen for True Grit seem like top contenders. Again, it’s very early, but I could even see the Academy giving Best Picture to something more traditional like The King’s Speech and recognizing someone like Fincher in the directing category.
Best Actor It’s easy to look at Jesse Eisenberg’s turn and say that he’s doing the same deadpan brainiac thing he’s done before, but I really hope the actors’ branch recognizes what a phenomenal performance he gives. The more the film takes off overall, the better his chances are—but beating the likes of Colin Firth (The King’s Speech), Robert Duvall (Get Low), Javier Bardem (Biutiful), and James Franco (127 Hours) will be difficult.
Best Supporting Actor I’ve already written about the decision to mount three supporting actor campaigns for The Social Network. I’d say Andrew Garfield is the film’s strongest shot at a nod here, though he’d face a slew of comparative veterans: Geoffrey Rush is a lock for The King’s Speech, while I’d say The Fighter‘s Christian Bale and The Kids Are All Right‘s Mark Ruffalo are also deserving of inclusion. Then there’s Matt Damon, who could be a Academy-friendly scene stealer in True Grit.
Best Adapted Screenplay I’d call Aaron Sorkin the clear frontrunner in this race; interestingly, though he’s won an Emmy for writing The West Wing and has also earned three Golden Globe nods in the screenplay category, he’s never been nominated for an Oscar. Perhaps the two other top adapted contenders are past winners in the original screenplay category: Toy Story 3‘s Michael Arndt (who won for Little Miss Sunshine), and the Coens (who have actually been victorious in both screenplay races). Thankfully for Sorkin, The King’s Speech and The Kids Are All Right will both compete in the original screenplay race.
Best Original Score It’s been exciting to see the Academy’s music branch embrace contemporary artists (A.R. Rahman, Eminem) over the past decade. Can we now dream that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ uniquely hypnotic Social Network score could actually get nominated? Please yes. If media attention determined the winner, it would certainly be a race between those two and Inception‘s Hans Zimmer. Though Toy Story 3‘s Randy Newman and The King’s Speech‘s Alexandre Desplat (both past nominees) would be formidable opponents as well.
At this point I see The Social Network at least leaving the Kodak with one piece of hardware. The next few weeks will dictate how much that number could rise.
Image Credit: Merrick MortonSo it didn’t break any box office records, but The Social Network‘s $23 million opening weekend is solid enough to keep the intelligent drama firmly in the awards hunt. In Part 3 of our 5-part cast interview, we focus on Justin Timberlake, who lets us in on a little secret to his performance as entrepreneur Sean Parker: He lost over 15 pounds for the role. Then, Jesse Eisenberg’s costars tell us how he is—and isn’t—like his big screen alter ego, Mark Zuckerberg. Click here to watch Parts 1 and 2.
It’s D-Day for The Social Network, which finally reaches theaters today after weeks of hype. It’s already earned the money reviews from the likes of EW and the New York Times—now it needs the box office to truly become a top Oscar player. As far as the major categories are concerned, it certainly seems on its way to a Best Picture nomination and also has a strong chance at scoring nods for Jesse Eisenberg (Best Actor) and, most likely, Andrew Garfield (Best Supporting Actor), but at this early date its best shot at an actual win feels like Best Adapted Screenplay. In Part 2 of our video interview with screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and the film’s cast, we discuss some of the best “talky” movies of all time, this one included.
Image credit: Christian Alminana/WireImage.com; Merrick Morton
When I sat down with the cast of The Social Network for an EW.com video interview this week, I had to ask them all what they thought of Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg’s recent $100 million donation to the Newark, N.J., school district. (Zuckerberg, pictured left, is played brilliantly by Jesse Eisenberg, right, in the film.) Of course it’s hard not to look at the timing of the announcement—just one week before the release of the not-so-flattering movie about him—and wonder if it was more than a coincidence. ”I think it was met by the press and by the blogosphere with a certain amount of cynicism that he was doing that to possibly deflect or offset any kind of criticism that he was going to get,” Social Network screenwriter Aaron Sorkin says in Part 1 of our 5-part chat. “I think it’s very unhealthy cynicism. I think that when someone does that, the only reasonable response is ‘Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.’” (Read full post)
Image credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images; Mike Coppola/FilmMagic.com
Last week I discussed Focus Features’ decision to campaign its two Kids Are All Right stars — Annette Bening and Julianne Moore — for Best Actress during the upcoming Oscar season. Not to be outdone, awards consultants for The Social Network tell me they’re planning no fewer than three Best Supporting Actor campaigns, for costars Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, and Armie Hammer. Garfield and Timberlake are no surprise: They’ve been talked about for weeks now, ever since the movie began screening for industry insiders and media types. But Hammer, who plays the studly Winklevoss twins (aided by some of David Fincher’s technical wizardry), is emerging as a prime scene-stealer as more and more people watch the film. It’s a strong, hooky performance that I’d guess voters will really appreciate once they understand exactly how it was accomplished.
There is, of course, a precedent here: On the Waterfront, The Godfather, and The Godfather Part II all scored a hat trick of supporting actor nominations. What’s interesting is that at this early date, there doesn’t seem to be a consensus on which costar is most deserving of a nomination. There are several other strong candidates this year: Geoffrey Rush for The King’s Speech, Jeremy Renner for The Town, Matt Damon for Hereafter. But the category doesn’t feel so crowded as to make multiple Social Network nods impossible. What all three guys have going against them is their age: Most years you’d be lucky to find one 30-or-under type in the supporting-actor mix, much less two or three.
Those of you that have seen The Social Network at a film-festival or college screening, which of the three guys would you most like to see nominated?
Check back here in the coming days for my video interview with Garfield, Timberlake, Hammer, Jesse Eisenberg, and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin. And follow me @davekarger.
