It's October, Time for More Predictions

[Mister Tee]

Well, Italiano, let's start off with, Fuck you and the horse you rode in on.

Is it bad that I immediately had an image of Italiano riding into a restaurant on a horse painted green?

Care to explain the "painted green" part?

I believe it's a Life is Beautiful reference...to bring the conversation full-circle.

[Greg]

Well, Italiano, let's start off with, Fuck you and the horse you rode in on.

Is it bad that I immediately had an image of Italiano riding into a restaurant on a horse painted green?

Care to explain the "painted green" part?

[kaytodd]

The release dae for Gondry's new film is Jan. 25? Isn't that a sign that the studion thinks it will come and go unnoticed? Too bad.

[flipp525]

The Family Stone was a lovely little film that was mismarketed as a screwball comedy when it should have been marketed as what used to be called a seriocomedy and is now called (I hate this term) a dramedy. Diane Keaton's lovely performance should have been singled out despite the film's poor showing but was not. The film belongs on a "shame on the Academy list", not this one.

I couldn't agree with you more, Big Magilla. Maybe it's unpopular to say but I simply loved The Family Stone. My sister and I were so bored at grandma's during Christmas two years ago that we actually saw it twice in two days because we enjoyed it so much. Diane Keaton's character is definitely a highlight and I would've singled her out for a nod in the line-up that year (maybe in Frances McDormand's place). Her scene at the dinner table when SJP goes off on the gay adoption thing is priceless -- sad, heartfelt, triumphant and true.

What I really enjoyed about it though, were the relationships between the siblings. It reminded me of how my family deals with new people and, specifically, how I act around my five male cousins who are all brothers, with me as their gay sixth brother (I used to spend every summer with them from ages 8-18 in Vermont). There's this sense of joshing around and joking but with an undercurrent of love and acceptance. I could relate to the Stone family dynamics. I liked how they sort of banded together to take down a threat to their family pride. It was very familiar.

Flip is a valuable and cherished member of this Board, and your post is contemptible.

Aww...thanks, Damien.



Edited By flipp525 on 1193247720

[OscarGuy]

Marco, Michel Gondry's next masterpiece of filmmaking, Be Kind Rewind, is to be released Jan 25, 2008.

They moved it? It was scheduled for 2007. it looks quite funny and I don't like Jack Black at all.

[ITALIANO]

Oh, good to know...

[Penelope]

Marco, Michel Gondry's next masterpiece of filmmaking, Be Kind Rewind, is to be released Jan 25, 2008.

[ITALIANO]

So, let's see.

A bashing of the animated film category...check.
Its defense...check.
Italiano rehashing the Benigni/McKellen, one-sided debate...check.
Damien and Tee sounding off on various subjects, not necessarily all of them film-related...check.
Discussion of derailed Oscar dreams...check.
Sabin championing a dark horse...check.
Magilla trying to act as mediator...check.
All borne out of a discussion of someone's predictions...check.

Oscar season is in full swing!

I thought that after all, with no new Bill Condon movie (and after Dreamgirls I guess we'll have to wait for a long, long time), no new - as far as I know - Michel Gondry movie, well, this was the time to have some fun before the precursors come.

[rolotomasi99]

Well, yeah, most of the films on the list failed to live up to the hype for the reasons stated but I don't think The Family Stone belongs on the list. A failed supporting actress campaign is not exactly big potatoes. The film didn't fail at the box office because of mixed reviews. It simply got lost in the glut of films released at the same time. A bigger failure was the same day's release of Rent.

The Family Stone was a lovely little film that was mismarketed as a screwball comedy when it should have been marketed as what used to be called a seriocomedy and is now called (I hate this term) a dramedy. Diane Keaton's lovely performance should have been singled out despite the film's poor showing but was not. The film belongs on a "shame on the Academy list", not this one.

yeah, i have never understood the type of thinking where something like X-MEN 3, which cost $210 million to make and earned $234 million at the box office, is considered a hit; yet a film like THE FAMILY STONE, which cost $18 million to make and earned $60 million, is considered some sort of failure.
sure, more people went to see X-MEN 3, but the saying "if you build it, they will come" applies. usually, the more expensive your movie, the more people will come to see all that money on the screen. add in the probably hundred million dollars more spent on advertising, plus the sequels setting up the fan base, X-MEN 3 looks like the failure, not THE FAMILY STONE.
however, i remember reading an article where a hollywood executive said it was better to be known for being responsible for a movie that made $100 million that failed to make a profit, rather than being invovled in a movie that only made $20 million even if that was 5 times its budget. it is this type of thinking that gives us so many crappy movies.

[Big Magilla]

Magilla trying to act as mediator...check.

I gave up on that half way through yesterday. I am supposed to be retired, you know. :O

[Big Magilla]

here is a really good article about what causes an oscar front runner to be derailed.
for my money, this year's snubbed film will be SWEENEY TODD. like MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, it will probably sweep the more cinematics awards (set, costume, cinemtography, etc.) but fail in all the dramatic categories (director, script, acting) which will ultimately keep it from a best picture nomination.flops.html[/URL]

Well, yeah, most of the films on the list failed to live up to the hype for the reasons stated but I don't think The Family Stone belongs on the list. A failed supporting actress campaign is not exactly big potatoes. The film didn't fail at the box office because of mixed reviews. It simply got lost in the glut of films released at the same time. A bigger failure was the same day's release of Rent.

The Family Stone was a lovely little film that was mismarketed as a screwball comedy when it should have been marketed as what used to be called a seriocomedy and is now called (I hate this term) a dramedy. Diane Keaton's lovely performance should have been singled out despite the film's poor showing but was not. The film belongs on a "shame on the Academy list", not this one.

[OscarGuy]

So, let's see.

A bashing of the animated film category...check.
Its defense...check.
Italiano rehashing the Benigni/McKellen, one-sided debate...check.
Damien and Tee sounding off on various subjects, not necessarily all of them film-related...check.
Discussion of derailed Oscar dreams...check.
Sabin championing a dark horse...check.
Magilla trying to act as mediator...check.
All borne out of a discussion of someone's predictions...check.

Oscar season is in full swing!

[rolotomasi99]

here is a really good article about what causes an oscar front runner to be derailed.
for my money, this year's snubbed film will be SWEENEY TODD. like MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, it will probably sweep the more cinematics awards (set, costume, cinemtography, etc.) but fail in all the dramatic categories (director, script, acting) which will ultimately keep it from a best picture nomination.


http://theoscarigloo.blogspot.com/2007/10/top-10-oscar-flops.html

[rolotomasi99]

Rolo I think Zemeckis is by far the worst director of the last two decades, He makes Lumet look like Jean Renoir. I avoid him like the plague.

it makes me so happy to hear you say that.

i agree with you, animated feature is a waste of five minutes of my time on oscar night. oh shit, i think i might be catching damienitis! :p

[Okri]

I definitely see where dws/Damien are coming from though. From a sheer numbers perspective, it's a little disconcerting to see the top quarter of films all getting nominated. That said, I prefer the animated victories to the main category ones, but I think that speaks more to the weakness of the latter than to any great success with the former.

Given how empty 2006 was, I might've voted for Happy Feet (certaqinly over Cars).