Month: January 2019

Oscar voters on Tuesday showered Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” and Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Favourite” with a leading 10 nominations to the 91st Academy Awards, while two dominant but contentious Hollywood forces — Netflix and Marvel — each scored their first best picture nomination.

Though many expected “A Star Is Born,” Bradley Cooper’s tear-inducing revival of one of Hollywood’s most oft-remade show-business myths, to top nominations, Cooper was surprisingly overlooked as director and the academy instead put its fullest support behind a pair of smaller films by international directors.

With “Roma,” Netflix has scored its first best picture nomination, something the streaming giant has dearly sought. Cuaron tied the record for most decorated Oscar nominee ever for one film with four nods for his black-and-white, memory-drenched masterpiece. The Mexican-born director earned nods for direction, cinematography, original screenplay and best picture. Only Orson Welles (“Citizen Kane”) and Warren Beatty (“Reds,” ″Heaven Can Wait”) have landed four.

Lanthimos’ period romp “The Favourite” resounded most in the acting categories thanks to its trio of actresses: Olivia Colman in the best actress category, and Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone in supporting.

Along with “Roma” and “The Favourite,” the nominees for best picture are: “A Star Is Born,” ″Green Book,” ″Black Panther,” ″BlacKkKlansman,” ″Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Vice.”

Marvel also joined the club with “Black Panther,” the first superhero movie ever nominated for best picture. Despite the overwhelming popularity of comic book movies, they had previously been shunned from Hollywood’s top honor, to the consternation of some industry insiders. After “The Dark Knight” was snubbed, the academy expanded the best picture category from five to up to 10 nominees.

There has also been some resistance among some academy members to Netflix films since the company typically bypasses movie theaters. Steve Spielberg has said Netflix films are more like TV movies and deserve an Emmy, not an Oscar. Netflix altered its policy for “Roma” and two other films, premiering them first in theaters.

Spike Lee was nominated for his first directing Oscar 30 years after a writing nod for 1989′s “Do the Right Thing.” Notably left out of the category was Bradley Cooper, whose “A Star Is Born” landed eight nominations, including best actress for Lady Gaga, but was overlooked for Cooper’s direction. The other nominees were Lanthimos, Cuaron, Pawel Pawlikowski (“Cold War”) and Adam McKay (“Vice”).

On behalf of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, presenters Kumail Nanjiani and Tracee Ellis Ross unveiled nominations Tuesday morning from Los Angeles’ Samuel Goldwyn Theatre.

The nominees for best actor are Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale (“Vice”), Willem Dafoe (“At Eternity’s Gate”), Rami Malek (“Bohemian Rhapsody”) and Viggo Mortensen (“Green Book”).

Up for best actress are Yalitza Aparicio (“Roma”), Glenn Close (“The Wife”), Olivia Colman (“The Favourite”), Lady Gaga and Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”).

The nominees for best supporting actress are Amy Adams (“Vice”), Marina De Tavira (“Roma”), Regina King (“If Beale Street Could Talk”), Emma Stone (“The Favourite”) and Rachel Weisz (“The Favourite”). Tavira was something a surprise, while Claire Foy of “First Man” was left out.

Up for best supporting actor are: Mahershala Ali (“Green Book”), Adam Driver (“BlacKkKlansman”), Sam Elliott (“A Star Is Born”), Richard E. Grant (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”) and Sam Rockwell (“Vice”). Notably snubbed was Timothy Chalamet (“Beautiful Boy”).

The lead-up to Tuesday’s nominations was rocky for both the film academy and some of the contending movies. Shortly after being announced as host, Kevin Hart was forced to withdraw over years-old homophobic tweets that the comedian eventually apologized for. That has left the Oscars, one month before the Feb. 24 ceremony, without an emcee, and likely to stay that way.

Some film contenders, like Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book” and the Freddie Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” have suffered waves upon waves of backlash, even as their awards tallies have mounted. On Saturday, “Green Book” won the top award from the Producers Guild, an honor that has been a reliable Oscar barometer. In the 10 years since the Oscars expanded its best-picture ballot, the PGA winner has gone on to win best picture eight times.

The season’s steadiest contender — Cooper’s “A Star Is Born” — looked potentially unbeatable until it got beat. Despite an enviable string of awards and more than $400 million in worldwide box office, Cooper’s lauded remake was almost totally ignored at the Golden Globes. Still, “A Star Is Born” was the sole film to land top nominations from virtually every guild group.

The academy is reportedly planning to go host-less following Hart’s exit, something it has tried only once before in an infamous 1989 telecast that featured a lengthy musical number with Rob Lowe and Snow White.

The Oscars last year hit a new ratings low, declining 20 percent and averaging 26.5 million viewers. Though ratings for award shows have generally been dropping, the downturn prompted the academy to revamp this year’s telecast. Though initial plans for a new popular film category were scuttled, the academy is planning to present some awards off-air and keep the broadcast to three hours.
…

U.S. singer Chris Brown and two other people are in custody in Paris after a woman filed a rape complaint, French officials said Tuesday.

Brown was detained Monday on potential charges of aggravated rape and drug infractions and remained in custody Tuesday, a judicial official said. Investigators have another two days to decide whether to let him go or file preliminary charges.

Brown’s publicists at Sony Music would not immediately comment on the complaint or say what Brown, 29, was doing in Paris.

Brown has been in repeated legal trouble since pleading guilty to the felony assault in 2009 of his then-girlfriend, Rihanna. He completed his probation in that case in 2015.

One of Brown’s bodyguards is among the others detained, according to a Paris police official.

The woman who filed the complaint said she met Brown and his friends at the club Le Crystal in the 17th arrondissement of northwestern Paris on Wednesday, and then they all went to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel near the Concorde Plaza in central Paris, according to the official.

Neither official was authorized to be publicly named discussing the investigation.

 
…

For documentary filmmakers, there’s no place like the Sundance Film Festival.

The mountainside festival which kicks off Thursday in Park City, Utah, has become known for launching nonfiction films to box office successes and awards, and this year is shaping up to be no different. The slate boasts a wide array of films about fallen titans, from Harvey Weinstein to Theranos’ Elizabeth Holmes, music legends Miles Davis and David Crosby, two of Michael Jackson’s sexual abuse accusers, the Cambridge Analytica/Facebook scandal, Apollo 11, Mike Wallace, Toni Morrison and Dr. Ruth.

In the past five years, three of the best documentary feature Oscar winners got their start at Sundance — “Icarus,””O.J.: Made in America” and”20 Feet from Stardom.” And most of this year’s Oscars shortlist premiered and won special honors at last year’s festival (like”Shirkers,””On Her Shoulders,””Of Fathers and Sons,””Dark Money,””Crime + Punishment” and”Hale County This Morning, This Evening”) and some are considered shoo-ins for a nomination, like”Three Identical Strangers,””RGB,””Minding the Gap” and”Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”

“Sundance is the greatest launching pad,” said filmmaker Julia Reichert.”I can’t think of another festival that shows fiction and documentaries that puts as much honor, respect and spotlight on the documentary.”

The three-time Oscar nominee returns this year with”American Factory,” looking at what happened when a Chinese billionaire bought a closed General Motors factory outside of her hometown of Dayton, Ohio and created 2,000 manufacturing jobs in an area still suffering from the plant’s initial closure.

“Most documentary filmmakers aspire to get into Sundance. It’s such a fantastic festival with great potential for distribution and raising the profile of a film. But particularly for films about American politics, it’s really a natural choice,” said Rachel Lears, who directed”Knock Down the House.” It follows four women looking to upset incumbents in a Congressional primary, including first-term New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is expected to be at the festival.

The prolific documentarian Alex Gibney is also back with his latest,”The Inventor: Out For Blood In Silicon Valley” which looks at the rise and fall of the multibillion dollar tech health care company Theranos and the psychology of its founder, Elizabeth Holmes.

“[Sundance has] always promoted docs and it’s always promoted them in a way that puts them on the same footing as scripted films,” Gibney said.

One of the most anticipated premieres is”Leaving Neverland,” a 233-minute film from BAFTA-winning director Dan Reed about two of Michael Jackson’s accusers. It will screen only once in Park City, on Jan. 25, before airing on HBO and British public broadcaster Channel 4 in two installments this spring. The Jackson estate has already denounced it as”just another rehash of dated and discredited allegations.” Jackson was acquitted of molestation charges in 2005.

For some, Sundance was an obvious choice because of the subject matter. That was the case for the Harvey Weinstein documentary,”Untouchable,” from director Ursula Macfarlane. Her film charts the disgraced mogul’s career from his early days as a music promotor in Buffalo, to the heyday of Miramax and up to his fall in October of 2017 with the torrent of sexual misconduct and rape allegations against him that spanned decades, some of which allegedly have occurred at the festival. Weinstein has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.

It was a sprint to get it done in time for this year’s festival, however, having less than a year to do so.

“We always wanted it to be submitted to Sundance and we put a lot of pressure on ourselves. … Halfway through the summer we thought no, we can’t, this isn’t going to work. And (producer) Simon (Chinn) came in and saw a rough cut and said let’s send it. It was all hands on deck. It’s been an intense few months,” Macfarlane said.”It’s the perfect place for a film about Harvey. It’s where he had a lot of successes and he changed it and the whole kind of vibe of the industry.”

For entirely different reasons, the team behind”Love, Antosha,” about the life of the late actor Anton Yelchin, also sought out a coveted Sundance spot.

“Anton had so many projects that went through Sundance. It was always a home away from home for him,” said director Garret Price.”For his last movie to be there, essentially, it all feels like the way it’s supposed to be. I think it’s where he would have wanted it.”

Yelchin died at age 27 in 2016 in a”freak accident,” when his Jeep rolled down his driveway and pinned him against a pillar and a security fence.

“I wanted to tell a coming-of-age story and a linear story through his eyes,” Price said, who will be doing interviews at the festival alongside Yelchin’s parents.”The challenge of a story like this is it ultimately ends in tragedy but I didn’t want to make a tragic story. I wanted to make an inspiring story.”

Whether a first-time director like Price or an Oscar-winner like Gibney, filmmakers are also energized by the moment documentary films are having in the culture, which is good for those looking for distribution deals. This past year a number of Sundance docs went on to gross more at the box office than some of the buzziest scripted films.”Won’t You Be My Neighbor” netted $22.8 million,”RBG” made $14 million and”Three Identical Strangers” grossed $12.3 million. Reichert thinks there’s a particular thirst for non-fiction because of the decline of in-depth reporting from local newspapers, and Gibney added that the quality has improved too.

“Docs have gotten better over the past 10-15 years. They’re just more engaging. … And we’ve been able to educate the audience and now they come to these stories not because it’s spinach but because it’s a full meal,” Gibney said.”You can get your spinach and have an ice cream sundae at the end.”
…

It was all a bit overwhelming for the latest opponent who could do nothing to slow Serena Williams at the Australian Open. So Dayana Yastremska, an 18-year-old from Ukraine, found herself wiping away tears as she walked to the net.

Williams knows what it’s like to be the one weeping after a loss. She put her right hand on Yastremska’s shoulder and consoled her by saying, “You’re so young. You did amazing. Don’t cry.” Then they embraced, and Williams patted Yastremska on the back.

“I could tell she was quite upset. I kind of liked that. It shows she wasn’t just there to play a good match — she was there to win. She wanted to win. That really broke my heart,” Williams said. “I think she’s a good talent. It’s good to see that attitude.”

Maybe she will be tested in the fourth round, because no one has come close to making her work too hard so far, including the 6-2, 6-1 victory on Saturday.

Next up, though, is a far more accomplished player, No. 1-ranked Simona Halep, who took control by reeling off six consecutive games in one stretch and advanced by beating Williams’ sister, Venus, 6-2, 6-3.

After two tough three-set tussles, Halep had a much easier time of things, making only 12 unforced errors while Venus had 33. Halep played with her left thigh taped, but moved around the court well.

“She played pretty flawless,” said Venus, who exits before the fourth round at a fifth consecutive Grand Slam tournament.

Looking ahead, Halep said: “It’s going to be a bigger challenge. I am ready to face it.”

She’s lost eight of her past nine matches against Serena.

Might Venus offer her sibling any tips?

“I don’t know if Serena needs my help or not,” Venus said. “If she does, I’ll be there.”

Not only has Serena won every set she played this week — and 20 in a row at Melbourne Park, dating to the start of her 2017 run to the title (she sat out last year’s tournament after having a baby) — but Williams has ceded a total of only nine games through three victories.

Unlike any of Serena’s foes until now, Halep has won a major title, last year’s French Open. She’s been to three other Grand Slam finals, including a year ago at the Australian Open.

That resume pales in comparison to Serena’s, of course.

Whose doesn’t?

She is bidding for an eighth trophy at the Australian Open and record-tying 24th Grand Slam title in all.

As for the prospect of playing the Williams sisters in back-to-back matches, Halep called it “the toughest draw I’ve ever had.”

“I just want to try to play my best tennis,” Halep said, “because I have nothing to lose.”

Other women’s fourth-rounders set up for Monday: Naomi Osaka, the woman who beat Serena in last year’s chaotic U.S. Open final, against No. 13 Anastasija Sevastova; 2017 U.S. Open runner-up Madison Keys against No. 6 Elina Svitolina; and two-time major champion Garbine Muguruza against 2016 U.S. Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova, who beat No. 27 seed Camila Giorgi 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 on Saturday night.

Men’s matchups Monday with a quarterfinal berth at stake will be: No. 1 Novak Djokovic against No. 15 Daniil Medvedev; No. 4 Alexander Zverev against 2016 Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic; 2014 U.S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori against No. 23 Pablo Carreno-Busta; and No. 11 Borna Coric against No. 28 Lucas Pouille, who eliminated 19-year-old Australian wild-card entry Alexei Popyrin 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-7 (10), 4-6, 6-3.

Serena complimented Yastremska in the locker room after their match.

“She said, like, ‘You’re young, you’re very good and you will be a good player in the future.’ It’s nice to hear those words from a legend,” said the 57th-ranked Yastremska, who eliminated 2011 U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur in the first round and 23rd-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro in the second.

“If she thinks so,” Yastremska added about Williams, “then maybe that’s true.”

Williams grabbed a pair of service breaks and a 4-0 lead after less than 15 minutes and was well on her way to yet another easy-looking win.

Right from the start, Yastremska appeared a bit jittery, missing 9 of 10 first serves and double-faulting three times while getting broken in each of her opening two service games. By the end of the first set, the teenager had 13 unforced errors, nine more than Serena.

It didn’t get much better in the second set, and Serena wound up with eight aces while facing zero break points, and a 20-13 ratio of winners to unforced errors.

Yastremska was born in 2000, the year after Serena won her initial major, and grew up cheering for someone she calls “a legend.” Yastremska recalls swinging her racket in the living room at home while watching on TV at age 8 as her favorite player competed.

Surely, everything felt a tad different up-close-and-personal with the 37-year-old American in Rod Laver Arena.

What separates Williams from other top players?

“Everything. Small details. Her discipline. Her quality of the shots. How (committed) she is to every ball,” Yastremska said. “She (is) completely different. I don’t know how to describe that. It’s just there’s something special. What I’m trying to do is to go to the level that people are going to talk about me the same, that I have something special.”
…