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Hammond On Cannes: A New Day Comes To The Fest As HBO and VOD Movies Compete For Palme d’Or

By PETE HAMMOND | Wednesday May 22, 2013 @ 5:32am PDTTags: Behind The Candelabra, Cannes Film Festival, Cannes Wrap-Up, Only God Forgives, Radius-TWC
Pete Hammond

An HBO film? A VOD movie? Competing for the Palme d’Or, all seriously in one of the last bastions of pure cinema, the Cannes Film Festival‘s main competition? Oui!

With HBO’s Behind The Candelabra and Radius-TWC‘s Ryan Gosling-starrer Only God Forgives from Cannes darling Nicolas Winding Refn, a new day — and date — has dawned here. And in all these cases, huge movie stars who might not have considered anything but a traditional theatrical release and all the trimmings that go with that are suddenly here with projects that — while also possibly traveling the theatrical route, too — will simultaneously, or even first, be seen on smaller screens. This might have been considered sacreligious in the Cannes of old, but in this ever-changing film industry it’s the way of the future, at least partially.

HBO made a big splash Tuesday night with its extremely well-received Steven Soderbergh-directed movie Behind The Candelabra, the story of a very closeted Liberace and his relationship with a young man that has become one of the best-reviewed films here. Its Oscar-winning stars Michael Douglas and Matt Damon hit the Palais Grand Theatre’s red carpet, won raves and immediate awards talk here, even though one person said of the film’s Palme d’Or chances, “I can’t imagine Cannes giving an award to an HBO movie”. Really? Well, who could have imagined Cannes, a few years ago, actually embracing HBO and letting it compete at the big table which is exactly what Candelabra is doing. Many observers here think Douglas is in fact the frontrunner for the Best Actor prize for his uncanny portrayal of the uber-flamboyant Liberace. I would go as far to say that Douglas and Damon, who plays his young lover Scott Thorson (the man who wrote the expose upon which the film is based), would easily have been nominated for Oscars had this gone theatrical instead of cable in America (it will be in theaters internationally). Instead the film, which HBO begins airing Sunday in the U.S., and its stars will just have to settle for sweeping the Emmys, as it most likely will do. That it also represents what Steven Soderbergh says is his final film for the foreseeable future could actually increase his Palme d’Or chances in my view, perhaps as a message that he shouldn’t quit so soon. How ironic that no major studio or distributor wanted the film when it was initially pitched. But HBO jumped at the chance. Douglas for one is extremely grateful. He even had to hold back tears and got very choked up trying to thank his colleagues during the Cannes press conference yesterday for waiting for him while he underwent his cancer treatments.

So as their movie hits TV screens in America, could Soderbergh or his film be winning a prize in Cannes the same day? Stranger things have happened, but that would be a first. READ MORE »

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Hammond On Cannes: Sun Comes Out As Parties, Deals And Movies Take Over Croisette

By PETE HAMMOND | Monday May 20, 2013 @ 4:31am PDTTags: Cannes Film Festival, Cannes Wrap-Up, Dallas Buyers Club, Harvey Weinstein, Inside Llewyn Davis, Leslie Moonves, Paul Haggis, Tim Burton
Pete Hammond

The sun finally came back to a windy and rainy Cannes but the weather clearly couldn’t slow the nonstop parties, premieres, deals and hype for which this festival is famous. And despite the rain on Saturday the turnout for Lionsgate’s big Catching Fire bash was wall-to-wall at Baoli Beach, with everyone including star Jennifer Lawrence crowded into the large tent. One exec there actually was happy with the monsoon-like conditions. “The rain probably kept 30% of our RSVPs away which is probably good because i don’t know how we could have squeezed them in,” he said.

With everyone drying out Sunday there seemed to be even more party-hopping than usual. At the crowded Participant Films party at the Carlton, Focus Features CEO James Schamus was accepting congratulations on his re-upping at the company. I have rarely heard him wax more eloquently about a film than Focus’ recent pickup of The Dallas Buyers Club, the movie where Matthew McConaughey lost about 50 pounds to play an early AIDS victim. It’s not dated yet according to Schamus but is planned  for fall sometime. “It’s just a bloodbath trying to pick the right date in that period but this movie is extraordinary. I just so admire what Matthew has been doing with his career in the last couple of years between Magic Mike, Killer Joe, The Paperboy, Mud and now this. You know me, I don’t rave like this a lot, but he really knocks this one out of the park. It is the performance of a lifetime,”  he says of the actor in a film that is sure to be a main focus of Focus’ awards-season plans. Read More »

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Hammond On Cannes: Wet Fest’s Official Competition Finally Heats Up With Coen Brothers’ ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’

By PETE HAMMOND | Saturday May 18, 2013 @ 2:10pm PDTTags: Benicio Del Toro, Cannes Film Festival, Cannes Wrap-Up, Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis, Joel Coen, The Past
Pete Hammond

The first purely American entry in the 2013 Cannes Film Festival competition (opening nighter The Great Gatsby was Out of Competition), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen‘s terrific Inside Llewyn Davis had its first press screening Saturday night to strong response and big buzz on the very rainy Croisette. This tale of a talented folk singer unable to balance art and commerce, and who never quite hits the big time in the late ’50s/early ’60s emerging folk scene, is pure Coen Brothers with a winning mixture of brilliantly observed comedy and darker moments that give it an edge most reminiscent of Coen movies like Barton Fink, which won the Palme d’Or on their first try at Cannes in 1991. Joel Coen also took the Director award that year and again for The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001) among the seven previous times they have been in the Cannes competition. 1994′s The Hudsucker Proxy, 1996′s Fargo, 2000′s O Brother Where Art Thou, 2004′s The Ladykillers and 2007′s No Country For Old Men represent their other numerous chances to reap a second Palme d’Or since Barton Fink but none of them did the trick.

Judging from initial reaction, at least among the press, Inside Llewyn Davis probably makes them an early front-runner for that second Palme. We say early since the film doesn’t have its official black tie premiere at the Palais until Sunday night, only the fourth day of the competition. But with its superb acting including leading man Oscar Isaac as the morose but oddly engaging Llewyn and a great supporting cast including Carey Mulligan, John Goodman (just great), Justin Timberlake, Stark Sands and a scene-stealing cat (or cats? – you’ll see) among others, plus the Coens’ knack for catching this era in all its glory, I suspect this will remain a contender for the entire week of debuts to come. Read More »

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Hammond On Cannes: Weinstein Brings Out Stars For 2013 Oscar Contenders

By PETE HAMMOND | Friday May 17, 2013 @ 1:30pm PDTTags: August: Osage County, Cannes Film Festival, Cannes Wrap-Up, Grace Of Monaco, Harvey Weinstein, Nicole Kidman, The Weinstein Company
Pete Hammond

Following a relatively new tradition they started a few years ago, The Weinstein Company on Friday night brought together a group of buyers, partners and press to preview its 2013 slate and meet filmmakers and stars. Although Harvey Weinstein never once mentioned the word “Oscar”, you can tell that’s definitely what he is thinking with a diverse mix of prestige projects that should give the awards-happy company lots of campaign fodder for 2013. He said after a rocky start the company has had a very good last four years and for 2012 made more than they ever did at Miramax. He also made a plea to the international audience gathered for the presentation at the Majestic Hotel for the continued independence of European filmmaking, especially in light of problems with the European Cultural Initiative. “We can’t let Europe be the same like the United States. What’s great about European movies is they are different and as long as they reflect their culture there will always be special movies like Amour, which we didn’t release last year, and so many movies like that. So keep your eye on the newspaper when this stuff comes up for votes or things we can do to influence it,  I think it’s very important,” he said.

Related: Cannes: Weinstein Eyes ‘Philomena’ In First Big Bidding Battle Of Festival

After the 40-minute reel led by the August 16th release The Butler and ending with the long-gestating Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, Weinstein told me, “It’s a very eclectic, hard-hitting lineup that I am really proud of. What am I going to say? I feel very confident about this year”. Though he may not have been directly making an Oscar-season pitch (thankfully that’s still many months off even for Harvey — well, maybe not), he did make an overt plea for his official competition entries Only God Forgives and The Immigrant when introducing Cannes jury member Nicole Kidman, star of the December 27th release Grace Of Monaco. “We have a member of the jury with us tonight and she has to go for a jury meeting to hopefully decide which movie of mine wins the Palme d’Or. I have certainly given Steven (jury president Spielberg) enough money over the years,” he said to big laughs. Read More »

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Deadline Awards Watch With Pete Hammond, Episode 26

By PETE HAMMOND | Thursday May 16, 2013 @ 3:45pm PDTTags: Cannes Film Festival, Cannes Wrap-Up, Deadline Awards Watch, Martin Scorsese
Pete Hammond

Listen to (and share) episode 26 of our audio podcast Deadline Awards Watch With Pete Hammond featuring our awards columnist speaking from the Cannes Film Festival with host David Bloom. They discuss the festival’s opening days, including an exuberant Warner Bros. party worthy of Jay Gatsby; hanging out with Martin Scorsese as he seeks support for some Silence; a surprisingly candid Chinese competition entry and other films to watch for in this Fortnight.

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Hammond On Cannes: Martin Scorsese Hits Croisette To Drive Sales For His Moment Of ‘Silence’

By PETE HAMMOND | Thursday May 16, 2013 @ 12:55pm PDTTags: Andrew Garfield, Cannes Film Festival, Cannes Wrap-Up, Emmett Furla Productions, Irwin Winkler, Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, Randy Emmett, Silence, The Wolf of Wall Street
Pete Hammond

Doing something he says he has never done in his entire career, director Martin Scorsese has come to Cannes to personally sell a film to foreign buyers. But it is not just any film but rather a passion … Read More »

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Hammond On Cannes: Opening Night ‘Gatsby’ Party Wet But Elaborate

By PETE HAMMOND | Wednesday May 15, 2013 @ 7:28pm PDTTags: Baz Luhrmann, Brian Grazer, Cannes Film Festival, Cannes Wrap-Up, Christoph Waltz, Jeff Robinov, Leonardo Di Caprio, Moulin Rouge, Steven Spielberg, Sue Kroll, The Great Gatsby, Tobey McGuire
Pete Hammond

Baz Luhrmann followed up his biggest opening day in America with his biggest opening day in France as The Great Gatsby took in $78K in partial-day results that still were bigger than his Moulin Rouge and Australia. … Read More »

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Hammond On Cannes: Jury Takes Center Stage As Oscar Rivals Steven Spielberg And Ang Lee ”Worship” Each Other

By PETE HAMMOND | Wednesday May 15, 2013 @ 8:49am PDTTags: 66th Cannes Film Festival, Ang Lee, Cannes Wrap-Up, Christoph Waltz, Jury, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Nicole Kidman, Steven Spielberg, The Great Gatsby
Pete Hammond

Once rivals for Oscar in February and now fellow jurors in Cannes, Ang Lee called Steven Spielberg his “hero” as Spielberg praised Lee’s Life Of Pi, which won Best Director over Lincoln. This mutual lovefest took place as the jury for the 66th Cannes Film Festival was introduced to the world’s press this afternoon. Spielberg, who said he hasn’t served on any festival jury since 1974 (the beginning of his feature film career) is President and has been asked many times but said the timing was finally right. “I’ve been so consistently at work, especially in the spring months directing, that every time I’ve been approached to be on the jury I’ve been working so I suddenly found myself with an open year, and so that’s why this all came together this year. I am honored I was invited,” he said. Spielberg has been to Cannes many times before with films like E.T. and most recently, Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull.

Asked about being on the Cannes panel with Spielberg after defeating him for the Oscar almost three months ago Lee said, “Steven and I are good friends. I worship him. I don’t know how he looks at me, but I worship him. I don’t think any result would change how I feel about him or even myself. He’s my hero.” Spielberg responding seemed at a loss for words. “I don’t know how to answer that, except to say Ang and I have been friends for a long time and we’ve never ever been competitors, we’ve always been colleagues and that will just contiinue. And certainly I worship Life Of Pi and therefore I worship Ang Lee as well.” Read More »

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Hammond On Cannes: Festival Kicks Off With Most Anticipated Slate In Years

By PETE HAMMOND | Tuesday May 14, 2013 @ 9:48am PDTTags: Alexander Payne, Behind The Candelabra, Cannes Wrap-Up, HBO, Inside Llewyn Davis, Martin Scorsese, Matt Damon, Michael Douglas, Nebraska, Robert Redford, Steven Spielberg, The Coen Brothers, The Great Gatsby, Thierry Fremaux
Pete Hammond

After two years in a row of heavily influencing the Oscar race, the 66th Cannes Film Festival lineup may make it three this year. Certainly I see very long and winding Croisette lines to pick up press or market credentials at the Palais, which is adorned with posters of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward in a provocative still shot from their fluffy France-set 1963 comedy A New Kind Of Love. One early clue came when the jury was announced, beginning with President Steven Spielberg and including such Oscar winners as Ang Lee, Nicole Kidman and Christoph Waltz. And if it’s not enough to have those icons prominent at this year’s fest, add The Great Gatsby‘s Baz Lurhmann whose film is the opening night event with a gala after-party, and Martin Scorsese who will also be in town for a yacht party announcement of his longtime gestating directorial effort Silence on May 16th. Certainly many of the Cannes contenders both in and out of competition are from Academy Award winners and Cannes veterans back with intriguing films that make up a high profile and potent selection with advance buzz.  Competing are the Coen Brothers, Steven Soderbergh, Roman Polanski and Alexander Payne plus a slew of famous names in front of the cameras both on screen and on the Red Carpet this year.

Related: Fleming: Can Sizzle Reels Make Sizzling Deals This Year?

As for the competition and key sidebars, one perennial Cannes question os whether it’s a good idea to ready or even rush a film designed for year-end release in order to play at the Festival in May. Particularly of that means risking negative reviews which can be a real buzz killer. Take, for instance, Payne’s last minute entry Nebraska from Paramount, which almost didn’t appear here. In the initial forecast Deadline posted on March 13, we thought Payne’s film fit in with the auteurist nature of the fest, it’s in black and white, and its filmmaker is quite a favorite in Cannes. (He has had only one film previously in competition – 2002′s About Schmidt – and won no prize, but he not only headed the jury for Un Certain Regard in 2005 but also was a member of the main competition jury last year.) Yet shortly after this prediction I was told Cannes wasn’t in the cards due to Payne’s fondness for long post-production time. He didn’t want to be rushed. Then the studio saw the film about a week before the Cannes deadline and execs urged Payne to put it into the festival. He took Nebraska to Paris to show to Cannes programming honcho Thierry Fremaux with just two days to go before the press conference announcing the 2013 lineup. Now it is one of the most anticipated screenings even though it ooccurs towards the end of the Festival on May 23. Paramount claims  it recently had a successful research screening in Pasadena and has dated the film for November 22nd, right in the heart of Oscar season (Payne is a two-time Screenwriting Oscar winner for Sideways and The Descendants).

Conversely there was absolutely no doubt Joel and Ethan Coen would be bringing their latest, the 1960′s-set Greenwich Village folk music tale Inside Llewyn Davis screening on May 19. It is their 8th time around this particular block so they are virtually Cannes regulars. CBS Films won’t release the movie stateside until December 6, another prime Oscar date.

Roman Polanski’s Venus In Fur screening on May 25 on the last day of competition is the adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway play. It brings Polanski back to Cannes for the first time since winning his only Palme d’Or (for 2003′s The Pianist, which resulted in a Best Director Oscar). It stars  his wife Emmanuelle Seigner and Mathieu Almarac and though audiences and critics weren’t too impressed with the last Polanski Broadway play adaptation God Of Carnage, this dramatic work could be more up his alley. There’s also strong interest in French director  Arnaud Desplechin’s Jimmy P: Psychotherapy Of A Plains Indian screening May 18 largely due to lead actor Benecio Del Toro’s role as a Blackfoot Indian WWII vet. (But someone’s gotta change that lumbering title.) Cannes watchers also are buzzing about new works from three directors who are no strangers on the Croisette: Nicolas Winding Refn who won Best Director in Cannes for 2011′s Drive and has re-teamed with star Ryan Gosling as a drug smuggler in the May 22nd entry Only God Forgives. (I am told Kristin Scott Thomas steals this one as his mother). And though his films don’t make much noise in theatres, James Gray is a Cannes favorite  and back with his fourth competition entry, The Immigrant (formerly called Lowlife) screening May 24th with a starry cast of Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Renner. Jim Jarmusch brings his new Vampire story Only Lovers Left Alive which stars the always intriguing Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston and Mia Wasikowska . It has the distinction of being the last film to make the list and the last competition film to be screened: in the 10 PM slot on May 25th.

As always with Cannes there is just too damn much to see with many sidebar competitions like Un Certain Regard, Director’s Fortnight, Critics Week, Cannes Classics and so on. Certainly the opener for Un Certain Regard, Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring and Ryan Coogler’s Sundance sensation Fruitvale Station (summer releases stateside) are both screening on the sidebar’s first day of May 16th and are instant must-sees in addition to James Franco’s directorial outing, As I Lay Dying, on May 20th.

Read More »

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Deadline Awards Watch With Pete Hammond, Episode 25

By PETE HAMMOND | Thursday May 9, 2013 @ 3:06pm PDTTags: Deadline Awards Watch, Oscars, Stories We Tell, The Great Gatsby
Pete Hammond

Listen to (and share) episode 25 of our audio podcast Deadline Awards Watch With Pete Hammond. Our awards columnist and host David Bloom discuss the Motion Picture Academy’s big membership meeting, likely Oscar impacts of its new rules on foreign films; the Tony Awards nomination snubs of big Hollywood names; and the week’s new movies, including Baz Luhrmann’s sleek new take on The Great Gatsby and Sarah Polley’s autobiographical documentary Stories We Tell.

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Motion Picture Academy Email To Members: ‘We Want You To Be Advocates And Evangelists’

By PETE HAMMOND | Wednesday May 8, 2013 @ 12:07am PDTTags: Academy membership meeting, Dawn Hudson, Foreign Film Rules, Hawk Koch, Mark Johnson, Oscars
Pete Hammond

The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is still basking in the glow of its successful Academy general membership meeting on Saturday in LA and NY. So Academy President Hawk Koch and CEO Dawn Hudson sent out a letter summarizing the event to the Acad’s nearly 6,000-person membership Tuesday night. … Read More »

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Academy Meeting A Hit Say Hudson, Hawk – But What Did Members Think?

By PETE HAMMOND | Saturday May 4, 2013 @ 2:28pm PDTTags: Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Dawn Hudson, Hawk Koch, Seth MacFarlane
Pete Hammond

Today’s first-ever Academy membership meeting was deemed a success by both Acad President Hawk Koch and CEO Dawn Hudson, as well as a random sampling of several members with whom I spoke immediately following. Certainly the turnout was stellar with the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theatre (which has about 1000 seats) nearly full with members only (no guests) which Koch told me was the first time since it was built that the audience was near-SRO with only Academy members. Koch says New York and Bay Area venues were also well-attended which bodes well for continuing this as an annual event. “On a scale from one to ten, I give it a twelve”, said Koch who according to several attendees I talked to got lots of plaudits from those who asked questions in the audience. ”We’ll hear from our members. But in that room there was a lot of love for this event. I don’t think there has ever been an occasion where we just invited members. It was historic in that way. This kind of came out of the branch mixers we have done, and people asked about doing something cross-branches which was sort of the impetus for this meeting”, Hudson told me in a joint call with Koch shortly after the 12:35PM (PT) conclusion of the event. Read More »

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Academy Announces New Rule Changes At Membership Meeting; All Members Can Now Vote On Foreign Language Films

By PETE HAMMOND | Saturday May 4, 2013 @ 11:18am PDTTags: Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Dawn Hudson, Foreign Language Film Rules, Hawk Koch, Tom Bernard
Pete Hammond

The Academy announced rule changes that will allow  all  members for the first time to vote in all 24 categories including Foreign Language and Documentary Shorts, either via theatrical screenings or DVD.  Previously members had to attend special screenings for … Read More »

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Deadline Awards Watch With Pete Hammond, Episode 24

By PETE HAMMOND | Thursday May 2, 2013 @ 1:30pm PDTTags: Deadline Awards Watch, Ironman 3, Richard Zanuck, The Ice Man
Pete Hammond

Listen to (and share) episode 24 of our audio podcast Deadline Awards Watch With Pete Hammond. Our awards columnist and host David Bloom discuss the Motion Picture Academy’s move to diversify its membership (dominated by white men according to stats) and what it might mean for future Oscar nominees and winners; this weekend’s big Academy all-members meeting; and TCM’s new film about influential Oscar-winning producer Richard Zanuck, the man behind films from The Sound Of Music and Hello Dolly to Driving Miss Daisy and Cocoon. Pete also discusses this weekend’s film debuts, led by the summer season’s first box-office juggernaut Ironman 3. Indie alternatives debuting this weekend include The Ice Man starring Michael Shannon and Ray Liotta, and the considerably gentler Love Is All You Need, starring Pierce Brosnan and directed by Susanne Bier, who last directed the Oscar-winning foreign-language film In A Better World.

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Dick Zanuck Documentary Premieres At TCM Fest Closing

By PETE HAMMOND | Monday April 29, 2013 @ 3:42pm PDTTags: Johnny Depp, Lili Fini Zanuck, Richard Zanuck, Steven Spielberg, TCM, TCM Classic Film Festival
Pete Hammond

After four days of pristine presentations of certified vintage (mostly) classic movies, the TCM Classic Film Festival saved its only new film for the last day Sunday with the official world premiere of the documentary Don’t Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story Of Richard D. Zanuck. The 90-minute doc begins airing on TCM next month, and it’s not only a must for anyone interested in the extraordinary career of Zanuck, but as a primer on survival in the dog-eat-dog movie industry.

Even though the  Egyptian Theatre screening was a “world premiere”, the film actually was first seen in early October at Zanuck’s memorial service at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. (Zanuck died July 13 of a sudden heart attack at age 77). As his widow and co-Oscar-winning producer Lili Fini Zanuck (Driving Miss Daisy, Cocoon) told me before Sunday’s screening, “When it was time to do the memorial I was so grateful to have this footage. There’s just nothing that could come close. There’s no montage I could have come up with or people speaking — you never would have wanted people speaking for some 90-odd minutes. And I felt so fortunate that night at the Academy to have this incredible documentary. It is not that it just follows Dick’s life, it’s that it is incredibly inspiring to people… After the memorial some people came up to me and said ‘Oh I wish I knew Dick this way’, and I said ‘You would never know Dick this way’. He wasn’t that kind of person. He didn’t see himself as a role model of any kind I think. He was just doing his best , and in his youth he was sort of rough and tumble. He would have gotten a big kick out of people finding him inspiring.” Read More »

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Movie Academy Membership Quotas Dissolved: But Does It Mean Anything?

By PETE HAMMOND | Friday April 26, 2013 @ 7:45pm PDTTags: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Pete Hammond

Media reports swirled this afternoon that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is dissolving a rule in place since 2004 that created quotas to keep membership to minimum numbers and the eligible voting body to 5800-6000 members. Sources within the Academy have confirmed this to Deadline, but noted it really is old news since this change was voted by the Board Of Governors in October. The source also called it “non-news” because any changes that might come about because of it are still a work in progress. Conceivably, without the limit on new members in each of the 15 branches affected, these branches could open the floodgates and admit more members than ever before. But that is not likely to happen based on conversations I have had today with Acad insiders, including those most affected by the relaxation of rules.

An Academy source told me the change was enacted in October in order to be more “inclusive” and pave a path for admittance to industry members who have an impressive body of work but for whatever reason have not been granted membership. It’s a way to “open the ranks”, I am told, but it was also emphasized that it in no way will lessen the existing professional criteria that has always applied in bringing in new members. This rule change is just the first part of a process that will accelerate in May, when each branch meets to determine which new members of those who have applied will be granted entry into this most exclusive club; the application process closed several weeks ago, and there can be no more new applications for 2013 beyond those already processed. The recommendations will then go to the general membership committee and then to the Board for final approval. The Academy expects to release a list of those accepted for membership by mid-June, I am told. Last year, 176 members were admitted, and that number is fairly close to the norm for the past decade. Read More »

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Deadline Awards Watch With Pete Hammond, Episode 23

By PETE HAMMOND | Thursday April 25, 2013 @ 3:15pm PDTTags: Deadline Awards Watch, Michael Bay, Seth MacFarlane
Pete Hammond

Listen to (and share) episode 23 of our audio podcast Deadline Awards Watch With Pete Hammond. Our awards columnist and host David Bloom talk about the call the Motion Picture Academy made to Seth MacFarlane to host the 2014 Oscars; what makes a major film studio now that Lionsgate has joined the $1 billion box-office club; and the highlights of this weekend’s TCM Classic Movie Festival in Hollywood. They also preview the week’s movie debuts, including Michael Bay‘s “small” film Pain & Gain, the big mystery that is The Big Wedding and two indie winners in Mud, featuring Matthew McConaughey, and the Oscar-nominated dramatized version of Kon-Tiki.

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Hollywood’s Proud Past Lives Again This Week With AFI, TCM Classic Film Festival And Danny Kaye Centennial

By PETE HAMMOND | Wednesday April 24, 2013 @ 6:37pm PDTTags: AFI Night At The Movies, Barbra Streisand, Ben Stiller, Danny Kaye, Funny Girl, Max Von Sydow, TCM Classic Film Festival, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Turner Classic Movies
Pete Hammond

In Hollywood they say ‘everything old is new again’ and that has never been more true this week than with a massive celebration of classic films and stars. There is tonight’s AFI Night At The Movies with 13 classic titles (including Best Picture winners like In The Heat Of The Night  and Terms Of Endearment) taking up every screen at Hollywood’s Arclight Theatre complete with in-person introductions from their original stars (Shirley MacLaine, Cher, Sidney Poitier, Sally Field and Harrison Ford among them). There is a year-long centennial celebration of the great Danny Kaye and a reminder of his talent at year’s end with the Fox remake of a Kaye classic, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty. And starting Thursday with the World Premiere restoration of Funny Girl, the 4th Annual TCM Classic Film Festival kicks off its four day run in Hollywood.

Even as competing fests this week at Tribeca and in San Francisco try to steal the spotlight for new films from a new generation, The Turner Classic Movies fest has become a big deal focusing on the past. And not only for the network, but as a signature event where studios can show off new digital restorations of classic films with the same hoopla that might have accompanied their original premieres. Though its stars Barbra Streisand and Omar Sharif won’t be attending the Funny Girl restoration’s premiere at the Chinese Theatre tomorrow night (Sharif is in Europe; Streisand is sending a statement to be read by TCM host Robert Osborne) many vintage stars including festival honorees like Eva Marie Saint, Ann Blyth, Max Von Sydow and numerous others are expected to walk the red carpet. Competing for attention across the street at the Hollywood Roosevelt Pool will be TCM’s pristine digital presentation of 1958′s South Pacific with stars Mitzi Gaynor and France Nuyen on hand. TCM’s longtime talent exec, Darcy Hettrich has the herculean task of turning out all the great stars of Hollywood’s past  that keep these fans buzzing. Read More »

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UPDATE: Seth MacFarlane Gets Oscar Call; Plus Why Academy Asked Back Zadan And Meron

By PETE HAMMOND | Monday April 22, 2013 @ 12:12pm PDTTags: Craig Zadan, Neil Meron, Oscars, Seth MacFarlane
Pete Hammond

UPDATE, 12:12 PM: After an initial denial, Deadline can now confirm that Seth MacFarlane did indeed get a call about returning as host of next year’s 86th Annual Academy Awards but has not given an answer yet. The big problem for MacFarlane, we are told by highly reliable sources, is his already full plate with a new Western comedy, A Million Ways To Die In The West, going into production soon as well as initial work on Universal’s sequel to Ted, which has amassed a worldwide gross of over half a billion dollars and is obviously a priority for the studio.

Despite saying after this year’s Oscars that he wouldn’t consider coming back, MacFarlane is mulling the offer but at this point isn’t sure he has the time to do it. For the 85th Oscar show, he was closely involved for four months, and that is a big-time commitment. The Academy, returning producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron and MacFarlane’s PR reps aren’t commenting so far, and neither is Academy president Hawk Koch.

MacFarlane’s comic Western film is being produced by the Ted team of Media Rights Capital and producers Scott Stuber and Jason Clark. MacFarlane, who directs, co-writes with Ted and Family Guy colleagues Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild, also stars as a bumbling sheep farmer in the comedy said to be in the vein of Blazing Saddles. Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried and Giovanni Ribisi co-star.

PREVIOUSLY, SATURDAY PM: Craig Zadan and Neil Meron aren’t talking yet (an Academy spokesperson said they are too busy at the moment producing their History Channel production of Bonnie And Clyde). But after the surprise announcement this week that they would be returning to produce the 2014 Oscar show, gossip blogs like HuffPo and others started spreading the obvious rumor that their handpicked — and controversial — 2013 Oscar host Seth MacFarlane already has been asked to do the gig again next year. Not true at all, Deadline has learned from MacFarlane’s reps. And shortly after the 85th Oscar show was over MacFarlane himself swore off any ambition to do the show again next year – or ever (of course never say ever). So with the false rumors out of the way let’s discuss what is true about the Academy’s Zadan/Meron play this week.

Even as much of the industry was in Las Vegas at CinemaCon for the past few days (including myself) seeing snippets of films still in production that could possibly turn up as Oscar contenders, the normally rigid Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences surprised us all by announcing 2013 show producers Zadan and Meron would be returning to produce the 2014 show as well, 11 months from now. Normally this is the first duty of an Academy President to choose after elections are held in August, and since current one-term President Hawk Koch will not be that person, it was quite unexpected to see him delivering this news in April, just a month and a half after the last show and before a new President would have any say in the matter, something Nikki specifically expressed shock at in her story on Tuesday.

After talking to numerous Academy insiders and board members this week who were directly involved in the process that led to this early bird choice, the word that comes up over and over is “continuity”. Other awards shows such as the Tonys, Grammys and even Emmys tend to go back to the same producers year after year, but as one former Academy President told me the Oscar show producing chores have lately been done “trial by fire”. Since the late Gil Cates produced his 14th and final Oscarcast in 2008, there has been a new team of producers every single year. The Board, which I am told was very much behind this decision, agreed that “continuity”, the kind they had in the Cates era, is important. That’s another reason the Academy has already announced show dates for both 2014 and even 2015 quelling any speculation the Oscars would move any earlier than the last Sunday in February (due to the Winter Olympics the 2014 show will be a week later on March 2).
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