Plenty to talk about this week so let’s get right to it.
Golden Globes Competition
The 2010 Golden Globe Awards are being held next Monday (Jan 18) around lunchtime Brisbane time. They’re always an important lead up to the Oscars. Generally, the winners take on front-runner status… particularly if they make a good acceptance speech (tears never hurt).
I have an Oscars competition each year but to make things a little more interesting in 2010, I’ve put together a Golden Globes competition too. I've picked six tricky categories (including one in the TV field) for you to chew over. Simply pick who you think will win and you're in with a chance. There's also a tie-breaker question in case it's required - you must guess the age of the presenter of the Best Motion Picture Drama award.
The prize is a double movie pass to the film of your choice (I'll even try to get you along to a preview if I can). As an alternative (and this will be useful for those not in Brisbane), I'll buy you a DVD that you’ve always been after.
Entries close on Sunday night, January 17 and you can enter by visiting the Film Pie website right here - http://www.thefilmpie.com.
Golden Globe Bets
I usually have a bet or two on the Golden Globes (as well as the Oscars) and this year is no exception.
I’d like you to think that I have some credibility when it comes to this sort of thing so you can check out my history right here. I’m up just over $4,500 for the past 14 years and that ain’t bad.
That said, I’ve found things quite tough this year at the Globes. There are obvious winners (Waltz, Mo’nique) but some categories are wide open. That being the case, I’ve gone for value in the two big categories…
$100 on The Hurt Locker at $5.50 to win best drama to return $550.
$50 on 500 Days Of Summer at $6.00 to win best comedy/musical to return $300.
$100 on Carey Mulligan at $2.50 to win best actress (drama) to return $250.
With Up In The Air at $1.80 (ridiculously short) and Avatar at $3.75, I think there’s good value in The Hurt Locker’s $5.50. Any of these three films could win but for the awards darling (Hurt Locker) to be at such long odds is too good to resist. Considering that Kathryn Bigelow is $1.65 to win the best director prize, I’ll take $5.50 any day of the week!
Nine is the front runner in the best picture drama category but never has a film looked so vulnerable. It flopped at the box-office and it didn’t even make the top 15 at the British Academy Awards shortlist. Whatever the Golden Globes folk were smoking when they submitted their nominations, will surely have worn off by now. I see 500 Days Of Summer and The Hangover as the two big dangers. Given my love for the former, I’ve taken a punt at the odds of $6.00.
I wanted to have one bet amongst the acting categories and have singled out Carey Mulligan in a wide open race. I think she’s wonderful in An Education but is up against Sandra Bullock (my arch nemesis) for The Blind Side and Gabby Sidibe for Precious. She’s won quite a few awards already and I think she’s got the smooth English charm to woo the Hollywood Foreign Press (who run the Globes). If Bullock wins, it will give me yet another reason to dislike her (aside from her last 40 movies).
The Hurt Locker
While speaking of The Hurt Locker, I can now answer a question which people have been putting to me – will we ever see it here in Brisbane? It’s a serious Oscar contender and it was released more than 6 months ago in the United States. What’s going on???
The good news is that film will be released in Brisbane on February 25. It will be showing at the Hoyts Regent, Palace Centro, Balmoral, Southbank, Chermside and Gold Coast Arts Centre cinemas. Excellent news about the release (although very close to the Oscars themselves) and I can’t wait to see it.
Avatar
I discussed Avatar in great detail last week but as a quick update, it is now the highest grossing film in Australian box-office history. Last Friday night, it had taken an estimated $58.8m which defeats Titanic’s record of $57.7m. Yes, the 3D prices are higher and yes, there’s been inflation but it’s still phenomenal when you consider that the 12 year record was defeated by Avatar in just 22 days. Who knows how much it will end up making??? Also of interest is the fact that 78% of all customers here in Australia have seen it in 3D (which is great).
Avatar now has $429 million in the bank in the United States and $1.3352 billion from worldwide takings. Titanic’s record will not last for much longer.
Australian Box-Office
A new Australian vampire movie shot here in Brisbane called Daybreakers opened in the United States last week with a nice $15m. Many have been critical of the Australian film industry in recent years (because we make films which aren’t marketable) so it’s good to see local product making a mark internationally. I’ve seen the film (which is quite good) and I’ll publish my review when it’s released in early February.
Here’s a link to an article on the Inside Film website which shows all the 2009 Australian films and how much they made at the box-office. For some films, the news wasn’t good but it’s not easy competing against overseas product. And I can assure you that there are plenty of good films around the world which make no money (just go to the Sundance Film Festival for example). My point is that it’s not just in Australia where people won’t see decent movies.
I have to laugh though at Prey, which sits at the bottom of the list. I remember seeing it on a Saturday night at the Palace Barracks (in a big cinema I might add) and I was the only soul in the theatre. But the fact that it made just $744 is dreadful. Considering I paid $10 for my ticket, I can now proclaim that I contributed 1.3% of the total box-office of a movie. That’s funny for me but not so funny for the film’s producers. It was a terrible movie though (featuring in my worst 10 of the year list).
Margaret Pomeranz – A Good Sport
At The Movies with Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton is one of my favourite shows on the television. I try not to miss it each week. The way they interact is hilarious.
For fans of Margaret, you’ll hopefully find this clip very amusing – an on-line ad for the new Triple J Breakfast show. She’s a great sport.
The Ice Storm
I almost didn’t know about it but last Wednesday I was able to see a screening of The Ice Storm at the Gallery Of Modern Art. It’s part of a retrospective of the films of Ang Lee (which include Sense & Sensibility – my favourite romantic film and Brokeback Mountain). Former premier Wayne Goss was in the crowd so I give him a thumbs up for having good taste.
The film is 12 years old and yet I can remember seeing it with my younger sister on Boxing Day in 1997 at the now defunct Village Twin. It’s such a great film and if you haven’t seen it yet, keep an eye out for it in DVD stores (or on television).
It was great seeing it on the big screen again but the final 20 minutes was ruined by the inattentive projectionist. The lens was too low and as a result, the bottom of the screen was cut off and we could see the odd boom mike at the top. There were plenty of laughs in the audience which ruined the emotional ending.
That does it for another week. Don’t forget to enter the Golden Globes competition!