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Under discussion:

Princess Mononoke  (1997)

Spirited Away  (2001)

Persepolis  (2007)

Kung Fu Panda  (2008)

Wall-E  (2008)

Chicago 10  (2007)

Waltz With Bashir  (2008)

The Class (Entre les Murs)  (2008)

Animated, foreign-language, feature-length documentary. These are all separate categories for the Academy Awards, but they also together describe Ari Folman’s Waltz with Bashir, a film that has received tons of praise and Oscar buzz since premiering at Cannes last May. With such a rare combination and transcendence of genres, Waltz could possibly have been the first film to be nominated for Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary Feature and Best Foreign Language Film. Unfortunately, soon after being announced as Israel’s submission to the foreign category, Folman’s film fell out of contention for the documentary prize after its distributor, Sony Pictures Classics, had to choose between having a qualifying theatrical release and taking part in the New York Film Festival.

But even if Waltz had been deemed technically eligible for the doc category, would the nominating committee have given it much of a chance? According to the Academy’s Documentary Feature rules, the film “may employ partial re-enactment … animation … or other techniques, as long as the emphasis is on fact and not fiction.” Waltz could possibly fall under this guideline, yet the word “partial” is key. Does “mostly” constitute as ‘partial”? It will be interesting to see if another mostly animated documentary, Brett Morgen’s Chicago 10, is deemed ineligible or if it makes the committee’s shortlist of 15 semi-finalists.

Now, left with two categories to be considered for, Waltz will probably only garner one nomination. Here’s why Sony would be foolish not to concentrate on a push for the Animated Feature category:

The film has a much better shot at being one of the three titles up for Best Animated Feature, surely competing with Wall-E and Kung Fu Panda. In the seven years that the category has existed, there have been four foreign films nominated for Best Animated Feature, and one of these titles (Hiyao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away) actually won the award. Meanwhile, comparatively, there seems to have been no film nominated for the Foreign Language Film prize that was either animated or a documentary. A few films of each type have been submitted for contention in the foreign category (Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke and the recent Lebanese doc Before Flying Back to Earth, to name examples). However, it has been far more common for non-fiction foreign films to be nominated in the Documentary Feature category and for animated foreign films to now be nominated in the new Animated Feature category.

Regardless of the history of the Foreign Language Oscar, though, Waltz has less a chance of being a nominee in that category simply due to its near certainty of being nominated for the animation award. When a film is eligible for multiple categories, there’s a possibility that respective Academy branches will see that film as better suited – and only suited – for another award than its own. Therefore, the foreign category’s nominating committee could shrug off Waltz in the anticipation that the film will receive the nomination from the animation branch. Such a pass-off may have happened last year, when France chose Persepolis as its submission to the Foreign Language category. While the film ended up receiving a nomination for Best Animated Feature, it failed to even be shortlisted as one of the nine semi-finalists for the foreign prize.

Like Persepolis, though, Waltz faces stiff competition in the animation category from Pixar. Last year, the foreign contender was beaten by Ratatouille, while this year any dark horse candidate will be pummeled by Wall-E, especially if the latter film doesn’t garner a coveted Best Picture nom — the Academy will of course never need to include an animated film in the top category now that the genre has its own specific space. As for the foreign category, if Waltz does make it into contention, it will likely lose to Laurent Cantet’s The Class, which also fared better at Cannes during the festival’s awards ceremony (and which is also being distributed by Sony Classics). For the French, of course, it would be a bittersweet victory to beat an animated feature considering last year’s circumstances with its submission of Persepolis.

Despite the probability that Waltz will lose whichever category it’s nominated in, there is far more benefit to the film being recognized by the animation branch than the foreign branch. Films that are merely nominated for the Foreign Language Oscar do not necessarily come out of the Academy Awards with a greater guarantee of reaching an American audience. Comparatively, being listed as only one-third of a group that also includes blockbusters like Wall-E and Kung Fu Panda is sure to get Waltz more attention. Not only is it good company to be in, it’s a slimmer, more exclusive league, too.

Of course, being nominated in both categories would be the best option for Waltz, even if it walks away with neither trophy. Obviously an arthouse film, particuarly one with the triple handicap of being an animated, foreign-language documentary, will always benefit from having its title heard multiple times during the Oscars telecast.

Under discussion:

Keane  (2004)

L'Enfant  (2005)

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist  (2008)

After a long layover at Port Authority spent reenacting scenes from Keane (see what I did there? I went for the obscure but creepy reference, instead of the topical, populist one) I took the bus up to Woodstock, NY this weekend, to spend about 24 hours at the Woodstock Film Festival. I finally saw Sean Baker’s Prince of Broadway, an improvised family dramedy which plays something like a Hollywood remake of L’enfant set in the bootleg luxury trade on the streets of New York; it won big at LAFF and took Woodstock’s top narrative prize on Saturday night. The awards ceremony where Broadway was honored was indie star-studded, surprisingly casual and fun, and –– maybe unsurprisingly––littered with references to the ongoing presidential election. “Kevin, we’re giving you the Maverick Award,” screenwriter Ron Nyswaner said at the start of the show to director Kevin Smith. “That means we think you’re qualified to be the leader of the free world.”

You’ll find some of the night’s most memorable quotes, from Smith, Ang Lee and others, below the jump. Above, you’ll find video of James Schamus’ Trailblazer Award acceptance speech, and the tail end of his introduction by Lee.

“It seems like right now our industry is broken, but more importantly, our country is broken. So let’s get Obama in office, and then let’s brainstorm how to fix indie film.” Sean Baker, director of Prince of Broadway, which remains undistributed.

“In part because he lived with AIDS for 20 years, Jim brought a fragility to his [editing].” — Amy Taubin, presenting an award named after the late editor Jim Lyons.

“Boycott Dollar!” — Frozen River actress Melissa Leo, in the midst of a very strange monologue which is probably best left unpublished, in part about her difficulties getting a rental car at La Guardia.

“Boycott CVS. I tried to rent a car from those motherfuckers…” — Kevin Smith

“Every time I start a film, it’s like the Madonna song, “Like a Virgin.” It’s like I’m doing it for the first time. I could not do it alone. I need James [Schamus] with me.” — Ang Lee.

“He is profane, he is acerbic. He is one of the greatest humanists I’ve ever met.” — John Sloss on Kevin Smith.

“In any other year, it’d be great to be called a maverick. I’ve made the exact same fucking movie eight times, and 15 years later, they’re like, “You’re a maverick,” and I’m like, “Whatever.” Maybe we should rename the award…I suggest we call it the Dress-Wearing Cocksucker Award. I’m a married man and I have a kid, but I’ve always been a bicurious bear.” — Kevin Smith

INTERVIEWS

Paul Rudd and David Wain Interview, Role Models, Fantastic Fest 2008

Ronnie Bronstein: The Media Diet

Watchmen director Zack Snyder on Hollywood and Video Games

REVIEWS

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist

Rachel Getting Married

The Pleasure of Being Robbed

Che Review and Steven Soderbergh Press Conference, NYFF 2008

Changeling Review, NYFF 2008

I’m Gonna Explode

Religulous

Ballast

Irina Palm: Hooker With A Heart (and Hand) Of Gold

The Wrestler Review, NYFF 2008

Watchmen Preview

Donkey Punch Review, Fantastic Fest 2008

Barack Obama’s White Christmas with Samuel Fuller

Zombie Girl: The Movie Review, Fantastic Fest 2008

NEWS

New York Film Festival 2008 Opening Night Pictures

Branagh’s THOR. Casting Call

Che Release Strategy

ORPHANS on DVD Today

High School Record on Pitchfork.TV

What to watch and where to watch it

Fantastic Fest 2008: Complete Coverage

The Wrestler Press Conference, NYFF 2008

Netflix Watch Now Coming Soon to Macs!?!

Halloween Costume Ideas Based on New Movies

FilmCouch #90: Blindness, In Debt We Trust, I’m Gonna Explode

Confessions of a Pirate

LISTS

Could BLINDNESS Really Happen? Five Doomsday Movies Ranked by Likelihood

10 Coolest Film Presidents

Under discussion:

The Manchurian Candidate  (2004)

This review originally appeared during the Toronto Film Festival. Rachel Getting Married opens in select cities today.

Jonathan Demme’s first fiction film since his 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidatee (and only his second non-documentary in ten years), Rachel Getting Married is orchestrated like an extraordinarily intimate work of direct cinema. Working from a script by Jenny Lumet (daughter of Sidney), Demme shot the dysfunctional family drama on a combination of grainy, handheld 35mm and consumer video––without rehearsal, with a huge ensemble cast made up of actors and musicians, with a soundtrack consisting entirely of diegetic music performed either on or just off camera by the likes of Robyn Hitchcock, New Orleans jazz saxophonist Donald Harrison Jr, TV On The Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe (who also plays the key role of the man Rachel is getting married to) and sometime American Idol Tamyra Grey. For a film featuring not only said reality competition castoff but a tour de force performance from a two-time Teen Choice Award nominee, it’s almost unfathomably dark and emotionally tough. It’s essentially a Dogme 95 film directed by Robert Altman, which will be a frightening proposition for some, and something akin to cinematic ecstasy for others. It’s the latter for me.

Anne Hathaway plays Kym Buchanan, a career drug addict who takes leave from her latest stint in rehab to attend the wedding of her older sister Rachel (played Rosemarie DeWitt, who moves from her breakout role as Don Draper’s beatnik mistress on Mad Men to take on what seems like her righful place as a Maura Tierney/Catherine Keener type, a no-nonsense brunette destined to be counter-cast against ingenues). The wedding is set to take place at the Buchanan family’s sprawling Connecticut manse, which, to the externally prickly but internally fragile Kym’s dismay, has filled to bursting with assorted friends and family of the bride and groom, all with a different role to play in the weekend’s festivities under the watchful eye of the girls’ fastidiously caring father Paul (Bill Irwin) and his second wife Carol (Anna Deavere Smith). Kym drops into this swirl and instantly changes its chemistry with her acid tongue and total lack of filter. As she struggles to earn recognition and some modicum of trust and forgiveness from her weary sister, Kym forges a tenuous bond with best man Keiran (Mather Zickel)––who, like Kym, sneaks out daily to attend AA meetings––while also seeking out her mother (Debra Winger), who seems to be conspicuously distant; we soon learn that this is par for the course.

Hathaway is given the predictable cosmetic grit (homemade haircut, raccoon eyeliner, fingers constantly twitching for a smoke), but she turns Kym into something much more than a Hollywood cipher of addiction. She’s a bit of a girl who cried wolf: toxic though she can be, especially to those who are less than sympathetic to her struggles, Kym seems to be both serious about sobriety and deeply regretful regarding past, nearly unforgivable mistakes, but she’s made so many plays towards atonement in the past that anyone she’s hurt before is wary of getting fooled again. Hathaway’s vulnerability in this tricky role is stunning, but slyly so: as a viewer you can loathe her presence, as some of the personalities in the film speace seem to, and then with a single cut realize that she’s gone from a scene and not only miss her, but actually, actively worry about where she is and what she’s up to.

As the familial conflict builds to a violent breaking point and then becomes somewhat ameliorated by the boundless romance of the wedding and the wild joy of the all night dance party that follows (if nothing else, this is a fantastic example of the Endless Party movie), Kym’s frustration, sadness and sorrow uncomfortably and unignorably seeps in from the margins, like the smoke from her constant cigarette floating over from her solitary corner of the room. The most exciting thing about Rachel may be its refusal to permanently sort out the family’s life-long problems in the space of the film. Even as practical truces are formed and a tentative romance just barely begins to bloom, we get the sense that progress will be slow, leaving a damp-eyed Rachel to smoke alone in a corner at many supposedly fun functions in the future.

Despite the presence of star Hathaway, Rachel’s commercial prospects are probably slim, which makes it all the more puzzling that this film is having its North American premiere here in Toronto this weekend and not last weekend in Telluride. Why this film was reportedly rejected by that exclusive festival is a mystery to me. Supremely artful in its formal riskiness and at least as emotionally raw and resonant as a good deal of the Cannes holdovers that did make the line-up, its omission in favor of forgettable domestic products like Flash of Genius and American Violets is inexplicable.

• You could fill a small multiplex just with new releases this weekend, as eight movies either open nationwide or significantly expand today. And yet most moviegoers will still likely choose Beverly Hills Chihauhua over everything else. Meanwhile, Michael Moore fans are sure to go for Bill Maher’s first-person doc Religilous, Michael Moore haters are sure to go for the conservative fantasy An American Carol and teens who are too cool for talking dogs are certain to put Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist at #2 on the box office chart. Will adults just stay home rather than have to choose from the rest, which includes Appaloosa, Blindness, How to Lose Friends and Influence People and Flash of Genius?
• A little bit JFK, a little bit Veronica Guerin: producer John Davis (I, Robot) will make a film about the conspiracy theory surrounding the death of columnist and TV personality Dorothy Kilgallen, who dug deep into the JFK assassination before she died mysteriously and suspiciously from a combo of drugs and alcohol.
• George Romero has begun shooting another zombie movie, this one set on an isolated island and seemingly focused on the issue of euthanasia.
• Still not acknowledging they’ve got a certain disappointment on their hands, Summit Entertainment continues it’s hopes that Twilight will be a blockbuster franchise. And despite it’s lack of appeal in any way to boys, the studio will attempt to woo the males with new action-centered trailers.

Under discussion:

Changeling  (2008)

Pasadena, 1928. Single mom Angelina Jolie is a switchboard supervisor who glides around the telephone company on rollerskates. It’s adorable, but her signature smoky eyes and blood red lips mean she’s probably moonlighting as either a tramp or a clown. Scenes confirming one option or the other were, unfortunately, left on the cutting room floor.

The LAPD is corrupt –– so corrupt that the holiest man in town is John Malkovich. So when Angie’s son goes missing, they give her back a “fake boy,” and the evil detective (Jeffrey Donovan) can’t figure out if the ensuing scandal means he should have an Irish accent or not.

We drink every time Angelina hysterically proclaims, “He’s not my son!” We get very drunk, and this may be why we can’t figure out why Clint Eastwood made a cheap-looking Lifetime movie that eventually turns into an “And justice for all!” episode of SVU. Just when the drinking game is starting to get really out of control, there’s a twist so shocking that it’s punctuated by two inches of ash falling off a policeman’s cigarette … in slow motion.

This sobers us up pretty quick. “Really, Clint?” we say out loud, right in the middle of the screening. But no one can hear our cry, they’re so overwhelmed by the sound of Angelina’s constant tears, which just keep flowing, long after the stakes have vanished, because Eastwood can’t help but indefinitely extend the misery. So we shrug. “Oscars for all!” Now for another drink.

Under discussion:

Miss Congeniality  (2000)

There Will Be Blood  (2007)

Iron Man  (2008)

Juno  (2007)

The Dark Knight  (2008)

Baby Mama  (2008)

Hancock  (2008)

Burn After Reading  (2008)

Wall-E  (2008)

Son of Rambow  (2007)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull  (2008)

Wanted  (2008)

Tropic Thunder  (2008)

The Women  (2008)

House Bunny  (2008)

Zombie Strippers  (2008)

With Halloween less than a month away, it’s time to start thinking about what to go as. That is, if you haven’t already. A good costume-loving cinephile typically knows well in advance what he or she will dress up as for Halloween (and Comic-Con, too). But if you’re one to wait until the last minute, and also one who likes to be a lot more contemporary than, say, dressing up as a Ghostbuster or Edward Scissorhands, I’ve got some suggestions for you for costumes based on recent films.

Check them out after the jump.

“Nuke the Fridge”  - from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

For this costume, you need to prepare a basic Indiana Jones costume and then build a ’50s-style fridge costume out of cardboard to go around your whole body. It could look something like this, except instead of just exposing your head, you show your whole body, dressed in Indy clothes. When people ask what you are, explain the terrible scene from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, as well as how it has spawned this new term for when a movie franchise goes sour. Also, if you like to be demonstrative, feel free to throw yourself into the air as if being propelled by a nuclear blast.

“Chad Feldheimer”  - from Burn After Reading

This should be a pretty easy homemade costume. Just get a dark red polo, patch on a handwritten “Hardbodies Fitness Center” logo to the chest, spray a little temporary blond into your hair and strap an ipod to your arm. Maybe even add “Chad” name tag, despite Brad Pitt’s lack of one in the film. For lack of a better quirky indie character this year (like Napoleon Dynamite), it’s a good enough idea to get you by without need for too much explanation.

“Didier Revol”  - from Son of Rambow

If you want to be a little quirkier and a lot more obscure, though, you could seek out appropriate ’80s Euro clothing in your local thrift shop and go as this popular French exchange student. For this, you’ll still need some kind of temporary hair coloring for that skunk stripe, and you definitely need some red shoes. The jacket doesn’t need to be perfect, and anyway you can also just find a triangle-print midriff-exposing t-shirt and be fine. For your few cool friends who’ve seen the movie, it shouldn’t be too hard to get the idea across.

“Pepper Pots”  - from Iron Man

Another thing lacking this year was strong female roles in comic book and action movies, from which you can usually get hot costumes like Lara Croft and Selene from Underworld. But as boring as it will be to go as Pepper Pots (or Rachel Dawes, or Betty Ross), putting on a women’s pantsuit and dying your hair light orange will also serve as a protest against the 2008 tough woman drought. Sure, you could try to pass something off as Fox from Wanted, but nobody will get it. If you really need to do something with skimpy outfits and machine guns, there’s always the Sarah Palin costume. However, that’s obviously not movie related enough, unless you somehow make it clearly reference Miss Congeniality.

“The House Bunny”  - from The House Bunny

For the girl who likes to keep things simple, there’s fortunately the old Playboy Bunny staple. And now it’s more movie-themed thanks to the comedy The House Bunny. Just get some hot pink duds and some basic bunny ears and you’re all set. Just don’t let people assume you’re just a sexy bunny, or, worse, either Bridget Jones or Elle Woods. Another old standard that has recently become movie-themed: zombie stripper.

“Eve”  - from Wall-E

The girl who doesn’t like to keep things simple may want to attempt a homemade Eve costume. It’s possible that it could serve as a sexy costume, as it can consist of a white body stocking, posterboard-cut flap arms and a white garbage pail top for the head. But as hot as that tight-fitting stocking will be, the real shape of Eve’s body is far sexier. So get out those plastic-welding tools and come up with something more streamlined and rounded. Otherwise people might just think you’re an iPod or some other Mac product.

“There Will Be Blood group”  - from There Will Be Blood

If you’re looking for a good group-costume idea, and you don’t want to be Scooby and gang, then the characters and iconic props from There Will Blood are sure to be a hit. While three friends dress up as Daniel Plainview, H.W. Plainview and Eli Sunday, three other friends must dress as a bowling pin, a milkshake and maybe an oil rig (copy this Eiffel Tower costume).

“The Dude Playin’ a Dude Disguised as Another Dude” (aka “Robet Downey Jr. Blackface”  - from Tropic Thunder

Even Halloween is now a questionable time for a white person to put on blackface, but you might be okay with the dark face paint if you go as Robert Downey Jr.’s character, Kirk Lazarus, as his African-American Army sergeant character. It’ll be fun doing the voice, but it’ll be even more fun telling people why your race-altering costume is not un-PC, because it’s ironic and satirical. You can also invite your friends to dress up as the other actors and make it a Tropic Thunder group costume. Just don’t have anyone be Simple Jack, because that’s definitely not PC.

“Joker-Faced Meg Ryan”  - from The Women

Sometimes a good Halloween costume can come about by turning an another costume into something new. Like how John Carpenter turned a William Shatner mask into a Michael Myers make for Halloween. Now, for anyone wishing to go as the plastic-surgery disaster that is modern Meg Ryan (or her character, Mary Haines, in The Women), all you have to do is take a Dark Knight-style (and Heath Ledger-style) Joker mask, change the hair color or add on a curly blonde wig, and maybe flesh-out the color of the face.

“The Dark McCain”  - from The Dark Knight

Inspired by the cartoon of McCain as Batman