Spooky tale set in rural England: a classic Victorian ”haunted house” where strange noises lure our hero “Arthur Kipps” (with his sputtering candle) into rooms long left unused… and suddenly… all the wind-up toys start moving! Pure mindless fun with a committed performance by Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter now grown-up). Kudos to Jane Goldman for another great genre-perfect screenplay.
January 29 (Sunday Morning): I’m kinda blue because Andy Trudeau won’t be doing his annual segments on the Oscar-nominated musical scores anymore, but I’m still an NPR junky, so the radio is on…
And the new host, Rachel Martin, says soon she’ll be starting a new segment on Oscar-nominated screenplays… Well, now I’m 100% awake…
And the time comes & Rachel introduces Sasha Stone of Awards Daily, & she says:
So, looking back at the group of nominees for best adapted screenplay, they’re really different movies. I mean the “Ides of March,” this is a kind of political drama; “The Descendents,” this family story; “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy;” and “Hugo,” which is a kids’ movie. Is that typical of the category to have such a broad range of movies?
And Sasha replies: It is typical in a way. But when you kind of drill down into it you’ll see similarities, which is that they’re all five male-driven storylines. And thematically, they’re all about a central character who’s kind of lost and searching, you know, to redefine himself in the world that he’s living in. And they’ll kind of follow that pattern.
Have I died & gone to heaven???
Shout Out to Sasha: You go, girl 
Click HERE for audio link & transcript.
Today I got a message from a friend who was all excited about a recent post by Claire Suddath of Time magazine. “Isn’t it great,” she said. “Time magazine is on to your issue!”
Well, yes & no. While I am always thrilled to see the MSM write about the underrepresentation of women filmmakers in the multiplex, it’s simply NOT true that “Only 5% of Directors in Hollywood Are Women.”
Over & over again, year after year, people read Martha Lauzen’s “Celluloid Ceiling” report & draw the wrong conclusions. You can’t simply ignore the denominator (the part about “the 250 top-grossing films of 2011″), and still trumpet the metric!
Since becoming a film critic, here’s something I know that most of you don’t: the number of films released in Chicago in 2011 was approximately 600! And that doesn’t count many of the films that played at our local film festivals, films released in LA &/or NYC that never got released here, films that went straight to DVD, etc.
Here’s what IS true: Only 5% of 2011′s commercially successful films were directed by women. Put another way: Men directed 95% of the films available to most of you in your local multiplex.
If you look at the problem Suddath’s way, the solution is to create more opportunities for women filmmakers. That’s fine with me & I’m all for it, but I do NOT believe that will solve the multiplex problem. It also lets us all off the hook. We can keep whining about “the problem” without having to do anything proactive to solve it.
My friends: The films are there; what’s missing are the audiences! Different diagnosis; different cure!
I just got called on the carpet for my Blue Oscar post, specifically this part:
“Here’s the troubling part for me,” says my friend. “Are you implying that Bridesmaid’s women screenwriters [Kristen Wiig & Annie Mumolo] haven’t earned their ‘Best Original Screenplay’ nomination even though they are the WGA’s credited screenwriters?” Maybe you don’t like Bridesmaids, but it’s very complicated for women in Hollywood who are forced to make compromises in order to get their films made, & I don’t want to diminish their accomplishments in this weird environment.”
Here’s my response: No, I am not saying they don’t “deserve” it. You are totally right. The environment is definitely “complicated,” & that’s not my call.
What I am saying is that my guess is that the screenplay AM/KW actually wrote would never have passed thru the male filters without the male-critic-pleasing additions made by the male producer & the male director.
Sure, sometimes we all have to make compromises, but everyone should know that they’re compromises. And insofar as this particular film is “an exception” to my basic thesis (that films with a female sensibility rarely make it thru the male filters), it’s an exception that smells like “something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”
Two years ago, I did everything in my power to support Kathryn Bigelow because she deserved it (not only for The Hurt Locker but for her body of work).
But two years later, when NO WOMEN have been nominated for Best Director since, we do have to ask why the only woman who ever won a Best Director Oscar won it for a film that had no women in it.
And we do have to ask why none of the women who work with Meryl Streep ever get recognized for their contributions in an art form that is all about team effort.
If we do not question these stats, then we’re implicitly saying continued ”compromises” are just fine & nothing needs changing 
Click here to download Oscar Impact Chart as a pdf –> 2012OscarChart
Katherine Heigl’s new film One for the Money is like one long episode in a TV caper series (e.g., Burn Notice), and fun in the same popcorn way.
Heigl stars as a Jersey girl who starts working for her cousin the bail-bondsman after she loses her fancy sales job. Knowing nothing but her need for cash, she quickly learns how to shoot straight, keep her cool, & track down perps on the lam.
Cheered on by her grandmother (Debbie Reynolds) & her BFF (Annie Parisse), she’s got a great coach at the firing range (Daniel Sunjata), and the hunky “dirty cop” she’s after (Jason O’Mara) is worth the chase!
Directed by Julie Anne Robinson (an established director of successful TV series such as Grey’s Anatomy & Weeds) with screenplay by Stacy Sherman (God Sleeps in Rwanda), Liz Brixius (Nurse Jackie) & Karen Ray.
Heigl with Debbie Reynolds
Click HERE to read FF2 haiku.
Photo credit: Ron Batzdorff/Lionsgate
Tilda Swinton stars as “Eva,” a mother desperately searching for answers after a tragedy. What did she know & when did she know it? And why, once her worst fears began to come true, didn’t her husband “Franklin” (John C. Reilly) see the danger too?
Director Lynne Ramsay locks us into Eva’s POV; we never know the real “Kevin” Ramsay creates from her 3 astonishing young actors (Rock Duer as “Toddler Kevin,” Jasper Newell as “Kid Kevin,” & Ezra Miller as “Teen Kevin”), but she convinces us that Eva’s heartbreaking epistemological dilemma is both real & totally relevant to our own lives.
Start Here: Our legal system presumes that someone is “innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” but how can you “prove someone guilty” before they’ve done “it”–the thing you fear is about to happen? And how do you explain your concerns when they are based on nightmares rather than facts? And what if you do try to put your “gut feelings” into words, but the person you love most doesn’t want to hear you?
These are the issues around which Kevin’s spiraling plot turns, and Ramsay has written a great screenplay (with co-writer Rory Kinnear) that honors all the complexity of Lionel Shriver’s award-winning novel.
If I ruled the world, We Need to Talk about Kevin would have received multiple Oscar nominations on 1/24/12 including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Score, and Best Supporting Actor X 2 (for both Reilly and Miller)… but when the day came, Kevin was completely shut out…
And so it goes
Click HERE for FF2 Haiku.
Tilda Swinton (left) with John C. Reilly (right): Long-married, still in love, but totally unable to discuss the difficulties that have now overwhelm their lives.
Photo Credits: Nicole Rivelli
A labor of love based on a novella by George Moore: Abused orphan makes her living as a male waiter in an exclusive Edwardian hotel.
Glenn Close buries herself in the lead role, allowing others in her superb cast to shine (especially Janet McTeer as Albert’s confidante as well as Mia Wasikowska & Aaron Johnson as doomed young lovers).
This is one of those “period pieces” which transport you to another time & place, in this case somewhere much more formal & slower-paced than our own. So be prepared to “settle in” a bit & then enjoy
Click HERE for FF2 Haiku.
On 1/24/12, Glenn Close (left) received an Oscar nomination in the “Best Actress” category, & Janet McTeer (right) received an Oscar nomination in the “Best Supporting Actress” category.
Photo Credits: Patrick Redmond
1/29/12 Update: So yesterday Rich & I headed to the multiplex to see 2 of the 3 films mentioned in this post (the ChickFlick & the PrickFlick). Our combine response to our colleague’s post: We thought One for the Money was cute, but The Grey was a totally waste of time & talent. Rich also instructs me to add the following comment: “Jason O’Mara is still adorable. Just look at his smile and his abs, and you’ll be fine.”
2/1/12 Update: Accordings to Rotten Tomatoes (as of today), One for the Money has a 3% Rotten score & The Grey has a 78% Fresh score. Box office to date for One for the Money is $11.5M and Box office to date for The Grey is $19.7M. If the future resembles the past, then One for the Money will likely be gone from theatres before Valentine’s Day. And so it goes
2/6/12 Final Update: So Saturday, we went to see Big Miracle. I liked it more than Rich did, but we were both pleasantly surprised to discover that it was fundamentally a story about the media & how much media attention determines what gets funded (& vice versa). Drew is fine (& actually quite dowdy) as an aggressive activist who is often her own worse enemy. The “babe” is played by Kristen Bell. One thing for sure: Audience response at the end of Big Miracle was way more positive than audience response after The Grey. And so ends this mini-case study of critic bias at the multiplex!
PENNY’S FIRST POST ON JANUARY 26:
God Bless Facebook! One day after posting my “Blue Oscar 2012” chart, I noticed this tread currently running down the right edge of my Profile page:
Post from a male colleague: This is shaping up to be a rough weekend. It will take a H-U-G-E miracle to get me through Saturday morning’s screening of Drew and the whales (my gag-reflex kicked in during the trailer) and I’ll be there opening night to cover Katherine Heigl’s latest bestowal. Can’t I just review these two sight-unseen?
Response from Friend One (male name): Drew is still adorable. Just look at her smile and her tits, and you’ll be fine.
Response from Friend Two (male name): I would rather see the whale movie that Katie Heigl. BTW, have you seen The Grey yet?
Response from my male colleague: Just got home from seeing it. Well worth your time.
Now here are the films under discussion in this thread:
Big Miracle starring Dew Barymore: Directed by Ken Kwapis (director of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) with screenplay by Jack Amiel & Michael Begler (the team behind The Prince & Me directed by Martha Coolidge)
One for the Money starring Katherine Heigl: Directed by Julie Anne Robinson (established director of successful TV series such as Grey’s Anatomy & Weeds) with screenplay by Stacy Sherman (God Sleeps in Rwanda), Liz Brixius (Nurse Jackie) & Karen Ray
The Grey starring Liam Neeson. Written & directed by Joe Carnahan (who also did Narc, The A-Team & Smokin’ Aces).
I haven’t seen these films yet, so I have no opinion on any of them, and no idea how I will compare them once I have seen them. Furthermore, these are all “genre” films none of which were ever intended to be Oscar Bait…
But here’s my point: After reading this thread, do you really believe that this particular critic will enter the screening room, watch each film objectively, and emerge with unbiased opinions on what he’s just seen???
THIS JUST IN: Thanks to Melissa Silverstein, “Blue Oscar 2012″ is now live on IndieWIRE’s Women & Hollywood blog
Well, it’s happened once again…
Starting with a list of more than 600 films released in the USA in 2011 (including many excellent films written &/or directed by women), the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS aka “The Academy”) has just nominated 9 films in the Best Picture Category that were all written AND directed by men. Most of them are also about men with predominantly male casts. In most cases, the women on screen (if any) are relegated to supporting roles (most of which are minor roles, peripheral to the film’s main action).
Once again, in the Best Director category, we have no female candidates. Once again, in the Best Adapted Screenplay category, we have a woman nominated as co-writer of a screenplay (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) in which there are no lead actresses.
And in the Best Original Screenplay category, we have a film (Bridesmaids) that has plot holes you can drive a truck through, but the male critics loved it. Why? Well, this isn’t the time to rant on about this, but it doesn’t take much digging to learn that many of the scenes that the male film critics liked best were, in fact, added by the film’s male producer & the film’s male director. So exactly who are we rewarding in this case…?
So why is Oscar “blue” once again? Click here for my latest graphic Blue Oscar 2012.
Now I know it’s very hard to see what’s missing, but believe me, the truth is out there!!!
To me the most egregious omission is We Need to Talk about Kevin, which I think is the Best Film of 2011. So I was astonished (& heart broken) when Tilda Swinton wasn’t even nominated in the Best Actress category. But am I really surprised? Sadly no. When The New Yorker relegates responsibility for their Kevin review to their second stringer & he writes this: “The real story is the unexplained absence of family therapy.” then I’m already prepared for the worst.
I’ve discussed Kevin with some of my CFCA colleagues, & sure enough, even the best of them fail to see that Kevin is an epistemological drama (not a psychological drama). But Kevin doesn’t official open here until Friday, so you’ll have to wait a few more days for my full review.
Meanwhile, let the handicapping begin
Click here to download my Oscar Impacts chart (updated to include all stats for 2012) as a pdf –> 2012OscarChart
We all want to believe that Oscar is “gold” (that is, based on merit), so we begin with that assumption.
But close examination of the Oscar-nomination process reveals that Oscar is in fact “blue” (that is, heavily dependent on male filters).
Therefore most films by &/or about women are eliminated from contention early on, and they very rarely reach the finalist stage.
Films by women have a greater chance of success if they are about men (e.g., The Hurt Locker). Films about women have a greater chance of success if they are by men (e.g., Black Swan).
Films both by & about women are sometimes nominated, but rarely win anything (e.g., Winter’s Bone). The rare exceptions (e.g., Lost in Translation and The Piano both of which won Oscars for Best Original Screenplay) have very strong male characters, whereas films by male filmmakers can win Oscars even if they include no significant female characters (e.g., The Social Network).
Why does this happen, consistently, year-after-year? If happens because most film critics are men, therefore men are disproportionately represented on film festival juries, and in film critic circles (e.g., my own local group – the Chicago Film Critics Association).
With the exception of SAG (the Screen Actors Guild), men are also disproportionately represented in major guilds such as the DGA (the Directors Guild of America), the WGA (the Writers Guild of America) and the PGA (the Producers Guild of America).
Do I think this is conscious or deliberate on the part of male film critics and male guild members? No. I think it’s “second nature.” They like what they like, they consider their own views “the norm,” and they don’t really consider the idea that their own views might be biased.
And so it goes…
Click here to download Blue Oscar 2012 as a pdf –> BlueOscar2012
PS: Kudos & thanks once again to Sharon Rosenzweig, the incredibly talented artist who turns my “brainstorms” – fevered dreams or in this case sweat-soaked nightmares – into fabulous cartoons. Year after year, Sharon helps me keep laughing thru my tears 
