American Trailer

I figured I'd been discussing music a lot today so I should probably give you guys some movie goodness. Here is the trailer for American Gangster. I have been a bit psyched about this movie for a while. It's directed by Ridley Scott for one and secondly it stars Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. I am a huge fan of Crowe's acting (even if the man himself is kind of a tool) so I'll be happy to see him on the screen for the first time since Cinderella Man. I wasn't a fan of Denzel Washington in his Oscar-winning Training Day, so I just hope that he doesn't suffocate the movie, but I still hold lots of faith. I prediced it'd do quite handsomely at next year's Academy Awards and, well, there were also those posters which I all but ate using a knife and fork to devour their awesomeness.

I think they're taking a bit of a cue from Scorsese's The Departed, but that's alright. They gotta do what they gotta do. Below are some screencaps for shits and giggles. Could Roger Bart become a player in the Best Supporting Actor category? Can Russell Crowe even attempt to overthrow Denzel in Best Actor - or could they nominate both?! Or is Russell actually Supporting? The trailer doesn't focus on him as much, and considering they tried to pass Leo DiCaprio off as Supporting for The Departed last year I wouldn't put it past them. Ooh, the questions I want answered now! Alas, America has to wait until November. I hope I and everyone else on planet Earth doesn't have to wait much longer.

Well Played, Poster: American Gangster

See, this is why I insult, degrade and get so god damn angry about bad posters. Because I know that with a little bit of effort this marketing tool can be mindblowing, and amazing, and stunning, and a sort of thing of beauty. I haven't had a reaction to a poster like this since last year's flatout genius poster for Suburban Mayhem - a poster I wanted to hang on my wall even before seeing the movie (and still sorta do, despite not loving the film).

JoBlo recently got an exlusive look at the posters for the new Ridley Scott film American Gangster starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. I love them like I imagine someone loves their own child. I want to marry them and drive cross country in a comby van sharing our love for each other to both wanton rebels from the wrong side of the tracks whom we know are capable of change (as all those dance films teach us, they can change), but also to conservative church-going folks who are scared of the love we share. We will try to bring them over to our part-gothic, part-hipster party so that we can convert them to our freeloving ways.

Seriously. I cherish these two posters. I covet them. I believe they were sent to me from those cruel and heartless bastards in Hollywood as a means of apologising for all the nasty shite I've had to endure from it. Apology accepted.


[click to watch them grow]

Seriously. I'm kvelling right now and I ain't even Jewish!

I'm sure none of y'all will love these even half as much as I do but, damn, these are just... wow. This is what a poster should be. Not some halfarsed cropped movie still on a white background. Aaagh. Someone stop me, please or I won't stop. I'll just keep gushing. I know sooner or later they will release a poster with both of the designs smushed together, and the DVD (the regular one, not the special edition) will feature both Denzel and Russell in their natural guises sans artiness.

But whatever, until then I have this... this... thing of beauty. I can only hope that the movie is half as good, which is sort of strange considering it's only a poster, but 'tev YOU DON'T KNOW ME!

Year in Advance Oscar Predictions

Gimme a break. I'm bored and I'm feeling crazy.

Of course nobody knows anything at this stage (/cliche) but this is just my random-completely-for-fun predictions. There are some high profile movies that I'm neglecting in the major categories (Sweeney Todd, The Kite Runner - name one movie Marc Forster has directed that's any good?), while tipping some smaller films that have gotten attention (yes, even Ben Affleck's Gone Baby Gone. Gotta be a little crazy at these things). Of course, there will be some titles that slip into 2008, or titles that slip back from '08 to 2007 (3.10 to Yuma for example). There are also some titles that are hanging in limbo at the moment. Francis Ford Coppola's Youth Without Youth for instance. I'm just going to ignore that title as of right now because it's Francis Ford Freakin' Coppola. Who knows when it will be completed.

And obviously the technical categories are a ridiculous arena to predict. But who cares. It's sorta fun. Gotta give props to Kris over at InContention (yes, yes) for his rundown of titles. I'm not going to add commentary to these because, I figure, at this stage there's no point rationalising my predictions and explaining my thought process (essentially, because there is one). Nor am I doing "alternates" or "sixth placers" because, really, that list would be long. We really don't know a single thing.

BEST PICTURE
American Gangster
Atonement
Charlie Wilson's War
Gone, Baby, Gone
Reservation Road

BEST DIRECTOR
Ben Affleck, Gone, Baby, Gone
Susanne Bier, Things We Lost in the Fire
Mike Nichols, Charlie Wilson's War
Ridley Scott, American Gangster
Joe Wright, Atonement

BEST ACTOR
James McAvoy, Atonement
Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Benicio del Toro, Things We Lost in the Fire
Joaquin Phoenix, Reservation Road
Denzel Washington, American Gangster

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, The Golden Years
Julie Christie, Away from Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose (aka La Môme)
Julianne Moore, Savage Grace
Natalie Portman, The Other Boleyn Girl

(I know I said no alternates, but I really want to predict Keira Knightley for Atonement. Especially considering I'm predicting it elsewhere and if she was (deservedly) nommed for the also Joe Wright directed P&P why not this? Hmm.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Sasha Baron Cohen, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Ed Harris, Gone, Baby, Gone
Mark Ruffalo, Reservation Road
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Emily Blunt, Charlie Wilson's War
Helena Bonham Carter, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Bette Midler, Then She Found Me
Vanessa Redgrave, Atonement
Susan Sarandon, In the Valley of Elah

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Cynthia Mort, Bruce Taylor & Roderick Taylor, The Brave One
Stephen Knight, Eastern Promises
James C Strouse, Grace is Gone
Noah Baumbach, Margot at the Wedding
Brad Bird & Jan Pinkava, Ratatouille

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Christopher Hampton, Atonement
Sarah Polley, Away from Her
Alan Sorkin, Charlie Wilson's War
Terry George & John Burnham Schwartz, Reservation Road
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

BEST EDITING
American Gangster
Atonement
Charlie Wilson's War
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
There Will Be Blood

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Atonement
My Blueberry Nights
The Other Boleyn Girl
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

BEST ART DIRECTION
Across the Universe
Atonement
The Golden Compass
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Alexandra Byrne, The Golden Age
Arthur Rowsell & Rita Ryack, Hairspray
Sandy Powell, The Other Boleyn Girl
Penny Rose, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Collen Atwood, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

BEST MAKE-UP
Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium
Stardust
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

(So, I originally had Norbit down. But I don't even think these guys will nominate that? Surely... right?

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
I Am Legend
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Spiderman 3

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Atonement
Gone Baby Gone
Manolete
Michael Clayton
Ratatouille

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Enchanted
Hairspray
Hairspray
Ratatouille
Reign Over Me

BEST SOUND MIXING
3.10 to Yuma
The Golden Compass
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Spiderman 3
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

BEST SOUND EDITING
American Gangster
The Golden Compass
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Ratatouille
Spiderman 3

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Bee Movie
Ratatouille
The Simpsons Movie

(Yeah, no Shrek the Third, okay!)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
China
France
India
Italy
Poland

(how random are those?)

I have no idea why I seemed to have completely snubbed certain movies while predicting other ones (especially the supporting actress category. no way in hell is that lineup occuring)