Congratulation, Michael. Those sound like great "pictures". Having
seen Maggie Smith on stage and being a long-time fan of Alan Bennett,
I'll very much want to see "The Lady in the Van". And "Truth" sounds
killer.
As always, well done.
Quoting James Ayres <[email protected]>:
Here it is. Sorry not the first time.
Doc
Link to your HR Video:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/video/tiff-sony-pictures-classics-presidents-823444
DEADLINE - Sony Pictures Classics Comes Out Swinging With Three
World Premieres – Toronto Film Festival
by Pete Hammond
Sony Pictures Classics literally has taken the 40th Toronto
International Film Festival by storm in the past 24 hours. Not even
a steady downpour could dampen the spirits of SPC as they threw
their annual Saturday night dinner at Creme Brasserie here to
celebrate no less than three major world premiere Oscar contenders
unveiled in less than a day. Co-Presidents Michael Barker and Tom
Bernard have been busy to say the least. On top of that their
Cannes Grand Prize winner, Son Of Saul , continues its festival
march to the Dolby as one of the favorites to land a Best Foreign
Pete Hammond badgeLanguage Movie Oscar. But it was the triple
header I saw yesterday that grabbed my attention at this Canadian
feast of cinema that is almost impossible to navigate with so many
movies competing for attention. In consecutive order I saw
first-ever public screenings of director Marc Abraham’s Hank
Williams biopic I Saw The Light, then a transcendent performance by
the great Dame Maggie Smith in director Nicholas Hytner’s The Lady
In The Van, and capped off by the terrific directorial debut of
James Vanderbilt with Truth.
The latter tells the story of the CBS 60 Minutes 2004 scandal
about the investigation of President George W. Bush’s National
Guard record that almost took CBS News down with it, ended Dan
Rather’s career with the network, and forced the firing of star news
producer Mary Mapes who sadly hasn’t worked in television news
since. Writer/Director Vanderbilt has crafted a true eye-opener and
a hell of a journalistic thriller that will be a must-see for
serious moviegoers when it opens October 16. I am told that getting
it finished in time for Saturday’s 5 pm premiere was nearly as
nail-biting as what’s on screen, but Vanderbilt has really pulled it
off. Although neither star, Cate Blanchett, who brilliantly plays
Mapes, and Robert Redford who is terrific as Rather, made the trip
to TIFF, there is no question that their performances have thrust
them into the awards conversation with Blanchett turning in another
remarkable lead performance this year, and Redford, who despite
directing and Honorary Oscars has only been nominated once for
acting (1973’s The Sting, which was the same year Bush joined up
with the Guard possibly in order to avoid Vietnam). He should
definitely be a contender for Best Supporting Actor. He’s that
good. Even Dan Rather himself, who was in attendance for the
screening and party, told me he was impressed. “It wasn’t an
impersonation, but a real attempt to get at the essence,” he told me
about the performance. Rather gave a ringing endorsement of the film
itself. You can’t do better than that, and now over a decade later
this film (based on Mapes’ book) 75aims to get at the “truth”
whatever that might be.
Redford still looks like Redford but you really feel like you are
watching Rather. Not an easy trick for someone so famous playing
another person equally famous. The entire cast is excellent and two
of them were at TIFF, Topher Grace and Elisabeth Moss, who play
members of the 60 Minutes investigative unit. Grace compares the
movie to 70’s classics like All The Presidents Men and The Parallax
View and said working with Redford was a highlight in his career so
far. He also mentioned that it really has something to say about the
declining state of TV news pointing to inane questions he was asked
just while doing the TIFF red carpet for the film. He’s excited
about working now on Brad Pitt’s Netflix project War Machine, which
he describes as in the spirit of Dr. Strangelove. Emmy nominee Moss
spent much of the evening deep in conversation with her tablemate –
Rather – who seemed to be enjoying this foray into the world of film
festivals.
As for Blanchett who already has the highly praised Cannes entry
Carol (The Weinstein Company, November 20) firmly planting her in
the running for Best Actress, this riveting turn as Mapes could
thicken the plot. There is no way either role could be shoehorned
into supporting nods which is often the case when an actor has two
competing leading roles in the same year, so what happens? “I
thought she was great in both so that’s up for all of you to decide,
” Barker diplomatically answered when I asked about the campaign
tactics that might be employed here. My personal opinion is that
the Mapes role is just so overwhelmingly powerful that it would be
hard to deny her a nod. This is going to be a real Solomon’s choice
for the actors branch. Of course there is also the factor that
Blanchett won two years ago for another Sony Classics film Blue
Jasmine, so voters may not want to go back to this well so quickly,
but hey when a star is on this kind of roll just go with it.
And speaking of the Best Actress race, whatever happens in the case
of Blanchett, I do not see how the legendary 80 year old Dame Maggie
Smith can be denied yet another nomination for her hilarious,
heartbreaking, cranky, wry and winning performance as a homeless
woman who parked her van in a tony British neighborhood and ended up
living in the driveway of playwright Alan Bennetts for 15 years.
She’s magnificent in a full-blooded leading role in Hytner’s very
fine adaptation of Bennett’s 1999 stage play in which Smith starred.
Like Blanchett, Smith already has a leading and a supporting Oscar
on her mantle but hasn’t won since 1976’s California Suite (her
first came in 1969 for Best Actress in The Prime Of Miss Jean
Brodie), so they both may be going head to head for a third. This
film was not developed by SPC, but rather Sony’s Tri Star label
shortly after new Sony chief Tom Rothman took over that division. He
was at last night’s SPC party and told me he decided to turn it over
to Barker and Bernard. “They are the experts at releasing this kind
of movie,” he said. “We made it because I really believe in the
international aspect of the business. That’s where everything is
headed now and I think it’s important to make movies for the
international market.” He added this film will be very big in the UK
and those territories when it opens in November. It hits the U.S.
in December in time to qualify for the Oscars. If Dame Maggie isn’t
one of the five there should be a 60 Minutes-style investigation.
Although only Hytner made the trip to Canada I am told Smith is
understandably very proud of this film. The Best Actress race is
really heating up this year.
Of course the Best Actor contest is always competitive and it looks
like that again. British star, Tom Hiddleston could well be a
contender there for his powerful interpretation of country singing
legend Hank Williams who died at age 29 and had a troubled, dark
life in the limelight that is depicted in a no holds-barred way in
SPC’s other TIFF World Premiere I Saw
elizabeth-olsen-tom-hiddleston-isawthelight5The Light. Hiddleston,
who does all his own singing, really inhabits this man who had an
everlasting impact on country music. Elizabeth Olsen plays his first
wife and delivers her finest work to date. Although it will
inevitably be compared to the Johnny Cash biopic, Walk The Line,
this one dares to go into much darker places, enriched by that
unforgettable music. George Hamilton made a corny Hollywood style
biopic Your Cheatin’ Heart in 1964, but this one should stand the
test of time.
Quite a day in Toronto for Sony Pictures Classics, as always a real
player in awards season.
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