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A Golf Story: Just When You Think You've Seen It All
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- Written by Matthew Toomey
An Amazing Golf Story
I have to share a golf story to start this week’s Film Pie blog. I’ve spent the last week in Melbourne accompanying 6 Queensland golfers who were competing in the 2011 Victorian Amateur Championships.
On Saturday, I was watching the second round of the men’s event and caught up with a particular group as they completed their first nine. The group included Victorian Todd Sinnott who was 5 under after 9 holes around Commonwealth Golf Club. He then birdied the first 4 holes of the next nine to reach 9 under par through 13 holes. It was amazing to watch. I turned to the Queensland coach and said something along the lines of “I’m watching on 59 watch and I’m not leaving this group until they finish”. Unfortunately, Sinnott stumbled with a bogey and double bogey on the run home to finish with a 66 (6 under par). It was still the best score of the day.
Just when you think you’ve seen it all in sport, something new pops up to amaze you. Let’s just say that if this next story was in a movie then I wouldn’t have believed it.
The final round of the event was held Sunday at Kingston Heath which is ranked as the number one course in Australia (see here).
I was walking the course and trying to keep up with the Queensland guys who were spread across a few different groups.
I caught up with one of the groups as they completed the 9th hole (their 6th hole of the round as it was a shotgun start). One of the players, Western Australia’s Cruze Strange, rolled in a 30 foot birdie putt to be 6 under through 6 holes. He then stepped up on the 10th tee (their 7th hole of the round) and he hits it to 2 feet. The birdie puts him 7 under after 7 holes!
Rick Coleman from Queensland then steps up and then makes a hole-in-one – which I captured with my digital SLR. First one I’ve seen live in years!
In a similar vein to the day before, I declared that I’d be following this group for the rest of the day. Lucky I did. Cruze holed his 50m approach shot on the 14th for an eagle and came to the last hole of the day at 9 under par. It all looked to be coming unstuck though after he hooked he tee shot into the bush and was forced to take an unplayable lie. He had one final piece of brilliance in him. Cruze ran his next shot up onto the green and then holed a 12 foot par putt for 63 (9 under par).
He has just come from 10 shots behind to win the event by a single shot!
I can now say tell everyone that I saw someone shoot the lowest score ever on Australia’s number one golf course. Oh, and I also saw a hole-in-one. Does it get any better than that?
I took a few photos from the day and you check them out on Facebook by clicking here.
Awards Season Update
Several critics groups have announced their award winners over the past week and to bring you up to speed, here they are…
Los Angeles Film Critics Association
Best Picture – The Descendants
Best Actor – Michael Fassbender (Shame, A Dangerous Method)
Best Actress – Yun Jung-hee (Poetry)
Best Supporting Actor – Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
Best Supporting Actress – Jessica Chastain (every single film)
Boston Film Critics Association
Best Picture – The Artist
Best Actor – Brad Pitt (Moneyball)
Best Actress – Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn)
Best Supporting Actor – Albert Brooks (Drive)
Best Supporting Actress – Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)
San Francisco Film Critics Association
Best Picture – The Tree Of Life
Best Actor – Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
Best Actress – Tilda Swinton (We Need To Talk About Kevin)
Best Supporting Actor – Albert Brooks (Drive)
Best Supporting Actress – Vanessa Redgrave (Coriolanus)
Indiana Film Critics Association
Best Picture – The Artist
Best Actor – Paul Giamatti (Win Win)
Best Actress – Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene)
Best Supporting Actor – Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
Best Supporting Actress – Viola Davis (The Help)
A few other critics associations (San Diego, St Louis, Detroit) have announced nominees (5 in each categories) but won’t reveal the winners for a little while.
The Artist leads the way so far in the best picture race. Centrebet has it as a $1.75 favourite already to take home the most prestigious Oscar statuette.
I’m not as convinced that it will win. It’s a very good film (and I won’t be too upset if it actually wins) but I think it has its weaknesses. It drags a little in the last hour as the story struggles to go the distance. It leaves me asking the question – would people be as enthusiastic about the film (and in particular its screenplay) if it weren’t told using black and white? I realise that’s part of the film’s charm but I saw a few movies this year that had a more compelling story (e.g. The Descendants, The Skin I Live In, Shame, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).
The acting races are still wide open. Last year, Colin Firth cleaned up most of the critics’ awards en route to an Oscar victory. That won’t be the case this year. As noted above, we have 4 different actors winning best actor, actress and supporting actress. It’s only the supporting actor category that seems to have narrowed – now a duel between Albert Brooks (Drive) and Christopher Plummer (Beginners).
Later this week, we’ll be able to cross a few contenders off the list. If you don’t earn a Screen Actors Guild nomination or a Golden Globe nomination, your chances are all but gone. We’ll see how it plays out.
I’ll be doing my top and bottom 10 list for the year in a future blog but do tune into ABC Digital across Australia this Sunday at 1:30pm AEST (12:30pm Brisbane time) to hear me talk about the best films of the year with host Phil Smith. It should be a great show!
Critics Vs. Studios: The Embargo Dilemma Continues
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- Written by Matthew Toomey
I don’t have a lot to talk about this week. I’m off to Melbourne from Wednesday to Sunday to help manage a few Queensland golfers who are competing in the Victorian Amateur Championship. I’ve therefore taken a week off and haven’t had the chance to write any reviews.
Well, I have written one review – for Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. I can’t share it with you until next week however because there’s a review embargo currently in place. In fact, it’s not the only film I’ve seen in the past few days that I can’t yet discuss.
Review Embargoes
Review embargoes are serious business at this time of the year. Studios want to keep a tight lid on their films until just the right moment – hoping that a combined wave of publicity can help steer the film into the Oscar spotlight.
The topic has become a huge talking point however in regards to David Fincher’s remake of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. David Denby from The New Yorker became the first to publish a review – despite having signed an embargo that nothing could be said until December 13.
Many other critics and bloggers have weighed in on the argument. Jeffrey Wells provides a neat summary on his website which you can check out here. It includes the emails between critic David Denby and Dragon Tattoo’s producer Scott Rudin which make for fascinating reading.
Both sides make persuasive arguments but I have to side with the distributors and filmmakers in this case. They will almost always have the upper hand. I can’t think of many critics who are powerful enough to break an embargo and then not get blacklisted and banned from future previews (severely limiting their profession).
Awards Race
Whilst on the subject of awards, the first batches have been turned in. The New York Film Critics Circle gave their top prize to The Artist and the National Board of Review followed a few days later with their choice of Hugo. The European Film Award winners were announced over the weekend with Melancholia winning best picture.
The race is still rather murky and I don’t expect things to become clearer until a few more critics awards are dished out. It still has the appearance of a wide open race.
The two most significant lead up awards – the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Golden Globe Awards reveal their nominees on December 14 and December 15 respectively. I can’t wait to see who makes the cut and as always, I hope for some surprises.
Top 10 List
I’ll be printing my top 10 and bottom 10 lists in a final blog in a few weeks time but in the meantime, you can get a sneak peak on the 612ABC website.
I had to put a preliminary list together for my final show with Spencer Howson for the year and we went through them on air (with some caller feedback too). You can read the list and listen to the podcast by clicking here.
Interviewing The Cast Of The Inbetweeners!
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- Written by Matthew Toomey
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I live a pretty busy life and so I don’t spend that much time watching television. I could probably count on one hand the number of television shows that I’d watch on a regular basis.
One of them, however, is The Inbetweeners. A friend introduced me to the show and I picked up the DVDs of the first two seasons whilst in London last year. The third and final season recently came out in Australia.
When I heard that stars Simon Bird and Joe Thomas would be on the Gold Coast to promote The Inbetweeners Movie, the “fan boy” in me jumped at the chance to speak with them. The film is fantastic (you can read my review here) and here's how the interview went down...
Oh, and you can download a 5 minute extract of the audio from the interview by clicking here.
Matt: I’m here today with Simon Bird and Joe Thomas. Guys, welcome to the Gold Coast!
Simon: Thanks for having us.
Matt: Schoolies week is on at the moment and it’s very appropriate that you guys are here given the theme of the movie. Do you guys have the equivalent of schoolies week in the UK?
Simon: We do but we don’t really holiday in the UK. We have two sets of exams – one when you’re 15-16 and one when you leave school at 17-18. After both of those, people usually go on a holiday with their friends.
Because we don’t have anywhere nice and hot like the Gold Coast in our own country, we kind of go over to other people’s countries and ruin them. In this film the boys go off to Malia which is a resort in Crete. There are a few other places in Europe that the English school kids tend to go like Thalarki and Magaluf.
From what I’ve heard, it’s very similar to schoolies week. People are letting off steam after their exams and it’s their first holiday away without their parents. That’s the idea behind the film – these four characters have just finished school and they go off on their first holiday abroad.
Matt: One of the things I love about the TV series is that there are so many laugh out loud, cringe worthy moments. What do you guys think when you see these scripts for the first time?
Joe: Sometimes I think they’re mugging me off. They’ve just come up with a list of crazy things we can make Joe do.
Simon: That is true! The writers have told us that. Joe has really been through the wringer.
Joe: Most of my body has now been on public display. There’s not much left to sell. There’s what – one testicle left and part of my penis?
Matt: What’s with all the public nudity in the series? It’s again a theme in the film.
Joe: Boys just do end up naked and I don’t know why it is. There was a documentary about these types of holidays and a lot of these lads seem to be naked for no reason in the early evening in the street. I don’t know what it is.
Simon: Walking around the Gold Coast actually over the last couple of days, I’ve noticed there are a lot of Australian lads who seem to enjoy showing off their bodies.
Joe: To be fair to the Aussies, they have much better bodies than the English. In general, English men should keep their clothes on. (laughs)
Matt: Well you’re doing ok with your own tans. Most people I see come over from the UK are usually here to get some sun.
Joe: Well thank you. Simon actually has quite an oily complexion. Simon has at various times been described as the Jewish one from the show and the Arab one from the show.
Simon: Yeah, I have naturally dark skin so I pick up a tan quite easily. Joe is more of a “burner”.
Joe: I’m more of a classic English skin type. I had to plaster my self with sun cream yesterday…
Matt: So you had a chance to get around the Gold Coast yesterday?
Simon: We did but not as much as we’d like actually. This is a flying visit and we’re off to Sydney later today. We’ve been doing interviews most of the time but we got a chance to do some jet skiing which was brilliant.
Matt: I guess I should get back to the show and particularly the movie. A lot of people in Australia won’t be familiar with The Inbetweeners. It’s had a much smaller release here than it has in the UK. All four characters are so distinctive. Did you guys have much of a say in how they were created and developed?
Joe: It was more left to the writers. They looked at what they had to work with and literally wrote the show around what we like and what we were capable of.
The writers were friends growing up and these characters are based on themselves. I think you do find that if you look at a group of boys, there will be these “stock types” within them.
Simon: You’ve got the dumb one, you’ve gone the dirty one… Like Joe said, the reason the show works is because it’s based on real life and real experiences. These characters are based on real people.
Joe: Yeah, we’ve increasingly met them in our travels. (laughs) What the writers have done with the movie is instead of going with the dramatic extremes of storylines, they attempt to capture what would actually happen to four average lads who go on a holiday like this. They’re not exceptional in any way. This is the experience that most people would have.
Simon: A lot of the comedy comes from their expectations not being met. They view this holiday a bit like a film – like it’s going to be epic and legendary but in reality it’s more of a disappointment… just like this film. (laughs)
Matt: Hahaha. No, we can’t say that. Your own profile in the UK as the series has built up over the last three years – have you found yourself getting recognised more and more?
Joe: Yeah but it’s quite confusing because I play a character called Simon and Simon plays a character called Will. If we’re together and someone calls out “Simon” then we genuinely have no idea who they’re talking to.
Simon: It started as such a tiny show and the first series didn’t get many viewers at all. Then something happened in between the first and second series and no one can put their finger on what it was. The DVD sales started taking off and for the first episode of the second series, we had millions more viewers and it was the same for the third series. We’re just very grateful.
Matt: So where did the movie come from? There have been so many great TV series but why make a movie of The Inbetweeners?
Joe: I think Iain and Damon had an idea of making a show about a lad’s holiday. First of all, they wanted to bring this genre of “teenage comedy” to the UK. You see a lot more of this style of film coming from the United States.
Alongside that, they though the holiday would work because it’s a good “bite sized chunk” for a film. The series itself has reached a point where they can’t take it much further because they’ve done their final exams and graduated. It’s the last hurrah for these four boys together and they may not see each other this.
Simon: It was a risky decision for Iain and Damon to make the film because there have been a lot of films made, especially in England, of sitcoms. A lot have done very badly both at the box-office and critically. We knew it was a risk but luckily, it seems to have paid off.
Matt: The box-office in the UK has been ridiculous. Four weeks atop of the chart and it’s now in the top 25 of all time in the UK.
Joe: Yeah. We expected the film to find an audience but everyone was surprised by how successful it has been. We are chuffed with how well it’s done in the UK.
Matt: Is this the part now where the studio will want to sign you up for fifteen sequels?
Simon: Fortunately, it wasn’t made with a studio. Iain and Damon, the producers, made it with their own production company so they’re beholden to no one which is great. It means they won’t do anything unless they think it’s going to be as good.
There have been discussions about the possibility of a sequel but no decisions have been made as yet.
Matt: And the TV series? Is it done?
Simon: I think the TV series is probably done to be honest. It felt like such a step up in doing the film and it would feel like we’re going backwards to return to the TV series.
Joe: Also, we don’t know where the TV series would now take place unless they all got kept back a year for an undisclosed reason. (laughs)
Matt: I should finish up by asking that if the show has wrapped up, what lies in the future for you guys?
Simon: Joe and I have got some other shows on England. Joe’s in a very successful show called Fresh Meat which is about university students and is written by the guys that made Peep Show. I’m in a show called Friday Night Dinner which is a sitcom about a family.
We’re actually both writing a show together with our friend Jonny Sweet that is set in World War I. Joe and I knew each other before The Inbetweeners.
Joe: If you are an aficionado of The Inbetweeners, there’s an episode in series 2 where they go to a nightclub in London. Will’s would-be date fobs him off for another more suave gentleman who accuses Will of talking like he’s from a black and white film. That’s our friend Jonny Sweet who is the third member of our “gang”.
Matt: Thanks guys and I hope you have a great time travelling around the rest of Australia. I look forward to talking the movie up for all it’s worth.
Time To Sift Through The 2011 Awards Season Contenders
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- Written by Matthew Toomey
It’s at this point every year when I put together my awards show preview.
In the three months between December and February, the hunt will be on in earnest for those coveted Oscar statuettes. Whether we like it or not, an Academy Award is the most recognisable honour in the film community. Films nominated get a boost at the box-office and actors nominated can use it to help further their careers.
December is littered with critics awards with the two most important groups being in Los Angeles and New York. Their choices are likely to shape the early markets. By January, we’ll have had the two critical lead up awards – the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. If you’ve got those sitting on your mantelpiece, you’re all but assured of an Academy Award. The last minute lobbying and advertising will take place in February in the lead up to the ceremony itself on 26 February 2012. We can then sit back, relax and do it again in 12 months time.
When I look at “top 10” lists from critics and bloggers across the globe, you see so many worthy choices. There are small films, independent films, foreign films. Sadly, these are almost always overlooked when it comes to the Academy Awards. The big studios campaign hard and have a strong hold over voters. In the end, we’re left with a group of winners and nominees that are fairly predictable. Sure there are a few surprises but it’s not hard to identify what films and performances will be recognised by the Academy.
In my blog from this week last year, I picked 10 films that I thought would be nominated for best picture. I scored 9 out of 10 (choosing Another Year in place of Winter’s Bone). This was before a single critics award had even been announced. My choice for best picture was The King’s Speech and yep, it went on to win. I also included all 4 acting winners amongst my commentary. You can check out that blog by clicking here. I’m not at all trying to gloat (as many other pundits would have had similar picks) but rather I’m trying to emphasise the predictable nature of award season.
On that note, I thought I’d run through the major contenders for this year. Most of the contenders are yet to be released – they are saved for year end so as to be fresh in voters mind.
Those which have already been released that are in with a chance include Midnight In Paris, The Help, Moneyball, The Ides Of March and The Tree Of Life.
I won’t cover those in much detail but rather, I’ll give you a look at the contenders will see in Australian cinemas over the coming months. I’ve provided a brief plot overview from the Internet Movie Database. Here they are…
War Horse
Release Date In Australia: 26 December 2011
Director: Steven Spielberg (Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan)
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, David Thewlis, Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan, Jeremy Irvine
Plot Overview Per IMDB: Follows a young man named Albert and his horse, Joey, and how their bond is broken when Joey is sold to the cavalry and sent to the trenches of World War One. Despite being too young to enlist, Albert heads to France to save his friend.
The Iron Lady
Release Date In Australia: 26 December 2011
Director: Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia!)
Starring: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Richard E. Grant, Olivia Colman
Plot Overview Per IMDB: A look at the life of Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, with a focus on the price she paid for power.
Hugo
Release Date In Australia: 12 January 2012
Director: Martin Scorsese (The Departed, Gangs Of New York)
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Christopher Lee, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen
Plot Overview Per IMDB: Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Release Date In Australia: 12 January 2012
Director: David Fincher (Fight Club, The Social Network)
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Stellen Skarsgard, Robin Wright, Christopher Plummer
Plot Overview Per IMDB: Journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Craig) is aided in his search for a woman who has been missing for forty years by Lisbeth Salander (Mara), a young computer hacker.
The Descendants
Release Date In Australia: 12 January 2012
Director: Alexander Payne (Election, Sideways)
Starring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller
Plot Overview Per IMDB: A land baron tries to re-connect with his two daughters after his wife suffers a boating accident.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Release Date In Australia: 19 January 2012
Director: Tomas Alfredson (Let The Right One In)
Starring: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds
Plot Overview Per IMDB: In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's echelons.
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Release Date In Australia: 19 January 2012
Director: Sean Durkin
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes, Hugh Dancy, Brady Corbet
Plot Overview Per IMDB: Haunted by painful memories and increasing paranoia, a damaged woman struggles to re-assimilate with her family after fleeing an abusive cult.
J. Edgar
Release Date In Australia: 26 January 2012
Director: Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Ed Westwick, Judi Dench
Plot Overview Per IMDB: As the face of law enforcement in America for almost 50 years, J. Edgar Hoover was feared and admired, reviled and revered. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career and his life.
Shame
Release Date In Australia: 9 February 2012
Director: Steve McQueen (Hunger)
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale
Plot Overview Per IMDB: In New York City, Brandon's carefully cultivated private life -- which allows him to indulge his sexual addiction -- is disrupted when his sister Cissy arrives unannounced for an indefinite stay.
My Week With Marilyn
Release Date In Australia: 16 February 2012
Director: Simon Curtis
Starring: Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh, Julia Ormond
Plot Overview Per IMDB: Colin Clark, an employee of Sir Laurence Olivier's, documents the tense interaction between Olivier and Marilyn Monroe during production of The Prince and the Showgirl.
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Release Date In Australia: 23 February 2012
Director: Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Hours, The Reader)
Starring: Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Thomas Horn, John Goodman, Viola Davis, Max von Sydow
Plot Overview Per IMDB: A nine-year-old amateur inventor, jewelry designer, astrophysicist, tambourine player, and pacifist searches New York for the lock that matches a mysterious key left by his father when he was killed in the September 11 attacks.
The Artist
Release Date In Australia: TBA
Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Starring: Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, John Goodman
Plot Overview Per IMDB: Hollywood, 1927: As silent movie star George Valentin wonders if the arrival of talking pictures will cause him to fade into oblivion, he sparks with Peppy Miller, a young dancer set for a big break.
This year’s best picture race has been made murky by a rule change – there will now be between 5 and 10 nominees depending on the support level for the top films. This makes it hard for me to give a set list in my predictions. Assuming there could be up to 10, I thought I’d list out my top predictions in order of likelihood…
1. The Descendants, 2. The Artist, 3. War Horse, 4. The Help, 5. Midnight In Paris, 6. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, 7. Moneyball, 8. The Tree Of Life, 9. Hugo, 10. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
My early pick for best picture is The Descendants – a film I was lucky enough to see at its Toronto Film Festival world premiere. I can’t wait to see it again and it’ll be hard to beat in this year’s race.
In terms of the acting categories…
Best actor is a tricky one this year. George Clooney is wonderful in The Descendants and the Academy may wish to give him a best actor statuette to match his best supporting actor win from a few years ago. However, there are two great actors who are yet to win any Oscars – Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt who will be fighting hard for J Edgar and Moneyball respectively. DiCaprio has been getting raves for his performance (the film not-so-much) but I’m going to go out on a limb and choose Pitt for the win. I think he’s brilliant in Moneyball.
Best actress sees Meryl Streep again in contention and likely to pick up her 17th nomination for The Iron Lady. Viola Davis (The Help) and Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs) will give her a run but I think at long last, Streep will finally pick up Oscar number 3.
Best supporting actor is wide open. Many names have been thrown around and we won’t get a clear picture until a few critics awards are announced. Two veterans lead the discussion – Christopher Plummer (Beginners) and Max von Sydow (Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close). I have to lean towards Plummer at this stage but I’d also love to see Albert Brooks (Drive) in contention.
Best supporting actress sees Octavia Spencer (The Help) well out in front in early markets. Given the huge support for her film, I think she’s a near certainty (a big call I know). Others in this category will need to do some serious campaigning to unseat her.
I’ll be keeping you all updated on the race over the coming weeks through my blog. May the best film win!