Val Kilmer and the breast

Matt Patches ‏ @misterpatches

Interview with Val Kilmer took a weird turn when it segued to the time he raped Angelina Jolie in Alexander. http://ow.ly/axhvv

Val Kilmer on Fake Val Kilmer, Real Tom Cruise and Saving Angelina Jolie's Breast

By Matt Patches , Hollywood.com Staff | Thursday, April 26, 2012

VICE Films Executive Director Eddy Moretti had an idea: team up with his longtime friend, director Harmony Korine (Gummo, Trash Humpers and the upcoming James Fraco/Selena Gomez movie Spring Breakers), draft a series of filmmaking rules ("This film must be the best film you have ever made," "The hero tells bad jokes. But they're good," "A stuffed animal needs to make an appearance") and hire international directors to help create an innovative cinematic experience. The result was The Fourth Dimension, a triptych of trippy short films helmed by Korine (Film #1: Lotus Community Workshop), Aleksei Fedorchenko (Film #2: Cronoeye), Jan Kwiecinski (Film #3: Fawns).
To headline the operation, Korine recruited Val Kilmer, who portrays a deranged version of himself in Lotus Community Workshop. Donning a Hawaiian shirt and ball cap, "Val Kilmer" heads to a skating rink to provide a group of small town folks with some insane motivational advice ("Tell me your awesome secrets! Tell me your awesome secrets!"). Portraying a version of himself in this fashion is a bold move, and one I was anxious to delve into after watching the film at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Your character in Lotus Community Workshop is named Val Kilmer. Is there any hesitation when someone comes to you and asks you to play a version of yourself? Was it always Harmony's intention to fictionalize your real self?
Val Kilmer: That he sort of finagled because the character's name was Hector. He said, 'You know, it might be interesting if we went in with all the energy, if we tell the audience that it's you coming to talk.' So I said, 'Sure.' And when it got closer, and he started saying my name more than the character's name, I said, 'So you don't want to shoot it both ways? I say some pretty awful things.' Hector does. I've had my share of misunderstood interviews, so I'd hate to see these in isolated clips.
He said, 'Don't worry.' And as soon as I really imagined not worrying, of course it's not me, it's a character. I think most of the world has some idea of who Tom Cruise is, even with all this meltdown and recovery and things. But… no. You spend your lifetime getting to know your spouse. Why do you think you know Tom Cruise? Because you've seen him in a bunch of interviews? He was acting.
We all do it all day long. You act for your boss. We all act to get what we want. Our dog acts. He acts sad if you don't let him out. We all act all day. It became something easy to embrace. And I had to trust Harmony. Trust your director. If you don't, you can usually feel reserve if you feel sensitive to how performances are put together. When I gave myself all the way to it… maybe the next incarnation might move into more of a collaboration, where I would be able to take greater risks with that one idea, but because it's so absurd — I'm preaching — I think it's clear it's not me.
Did playing yourself still have to be an extension of yourself?
Val Kilmer: I think any creation of an actor is supposed to be an extension. It is even if they're completely lying. Then you learn something about how they lie, how they cover their story. I won't name the actress, but an actress got a rather hideous face lift. But then she played a character who talked about getting a face lift. So she was talking about it.
I think in performance, you get a persona, and then you refine it, then you make projections of that. Like Clint Eastwood sold an idea about a character. We're all thinking the same thing when we say 'Clint Eastwood.' Singular, uncompromising, violent — they all involve those things.
I will admit that I haven't always understood Harmony's films on a plot level, but I always enjoy them on a tonal level. How does he explain his motivations and ideas to help bring you into the fold?
Val Kilmer: Poorly [laughs]. He's much more clever than he lets on. He doesn't like to talk about it — that's to his credit. It's a real talent of restraint in not being articulate about things that become an intellectual process. Like these rules. He didn't tell me about them. I'll turn around and he has a blindfold on. He's telling me to say this one particular sentence that isn't completely to do with the scene. It's a dubious honor.
Do you find that your process changes when you tackle material that's heightened realism like this film versus realistic roles? I know you're currently touring in a one man show based on the life of Mark Twain.
Val Kilmer: I wouldn't call this heightened realism. It doesn't feel like that.
What would you call it?
Val Kilmer: It's my name, but I obviously don't dress like that. I don't ride a BMX bike. I haven't changed my profession and I don't live in Nashville. I don't live with Harmony's wife, who plays my girlfriend. So, I wouldn't call it that. I don't have an alternative suggestion.
Perhaps Lotus Community Workshop is straight fantasy. Is it still the same process?
Val Kilmer: Everything is the same at the beginning, you're just trying to make a realistic application of what's written, and personalizing it. It's always realistic in that way. I fought a dragon once in a movie. I really cared about killing him, but I wasn't trying to convince you it was real. It was just real. It just matters if I believe it's real. Or if you're in love with a costar and she's a dragon. Imagine that she's not. 

Angelina [Jolie] tells a story — and I'm happy she mentions is because it's so weird. [In Alexander] I'm raping her. And her breast fell out of her nightgown. And during the take, I kind of made sure my face blocked her breast and covered it up, all while grunting and sweating.
That is acting.
Val Kilmer: I was a bit out of the moment [laughs]. But, it always involves large and small paradoxes. Making people believe. Harmony is really good at that. The things that are just given in it, the hard cuts — I ride a bicycle, but I live in a mansion. What does that mean? It's fun to contemplate. I'm talking about myself, but it's clearly not me.
Are scenarios like that ever confusing for you as a performer?
Val Kilmer: No, I was never confused because the text is so singular. He's a motivational speaker, but he doesn't care about anything motivational speakers care about. He doesn't have a selfish bone in his body. He really wants people to get better — he just happens to be crazy. Or stupid. Probably stupid.
Find Matt Patches directly on Twitter @misterpatches and remember to follow @Hollywood_com!

Matt Patches' and TIME Review

Angelina Jolie's gut-wrenching look into the Bosnian War that must be seen.

By Matt Patches

In the Land of Blood and Honey adorns the name "Angelina Jolie" across its marketing materials, but don't expect to see the seraphic starlet pop up on screen. Jolie makes her directorial debut with the Bosnian war film, a powerful drama that strives for realism in its use of homegrown talent, the setting's native tongue and graphic depictions of violence. The goal of the movie is apparent: the genocide committed across the Balkan region in the early '90s was all but swept under the rug, and Jolie is ready to unleash those horrific truths upon willing audiences. In the Land of Blood and Honey pulls no punches. The movie is terrifying and provocative, telling a conventional love story only as a way of connecting with the mainstream. War is ugly, and Jolie's film presents it truthfully.
Ajla (Zana Marjanovic) and Danijel (Goran Kostic) are two Bosnians in the beginnings of a relationship—one that is eventually cut short by the eruption of conflict. Danijel, a Serb police officer, is recruited by his militant leader father Nebojsa (Rade Serbedzija) to join the Serb Army, whose goal is wipe the country clean of Bosnian Muslims. He's eventually reunited with Ajla, after she's captured by the Serbs and incarcerated in a concentration camp. There she is subjected to mental and physical torture, serving the Serbs as they return from systematically wiping out her people and routinely being the target of their sexual abuse. Before finding himself whisked away on reassignment, Danijel clues Ajla into an escape route, which sends the prisoner on a journey through the war-torn country, in hopes of reuniting with her family, and possibly, Danijel.
While the Romeo and Juliet-esque romance between Danijel and Ajla adds to the weight of the situation, it never feels like the focus of In the Land of Blood and Honey. Rather than developing the complexity of the duo, Jolie uses her characters as emotional proxies, which works as a window into the unimaginable events of the war. Marjanovic and Kostic deliver compelling performances as Danijel and Ajla–both characters struggle with what they're romantic actions with one another mean to their respective causes—but even with their thread, the real drama comes from the world around them.
There's no safety filter on the gut-wrenching atrocities Jolie puts on display: lines of Bosnian Muslims stripped naked and executed, women seized by the Serbs and used as human shields, and hidden refugees sacrificing their own just to remain concealed. The film is shot simply, but the images speak for themselves. At times, the character/dialogue-driven moments feel more like necessary pit stops before the next harrowing sequence—even in introspective moments, like a scene in which Danijel contemplates and resists sniping a nearby enemy—but without them, the movie would lack the necessary truth of the final product.
In the Land of Blood and Honey is a complicated film, one that doesn't entirely work as an act of storytelling, but whose end goal is a grisly success. Jolie's commitment to history makes the film a brave work of art and a must-see. Blood and Honey will leave you shaken, and it's an experience you owe yourself to have.

Angelina Jolie Goes Dark in the Land of Blood and Honey

 By Mary Pols | @MaryPols | December 22, 2011

In Angelina Jolie’s respectful and more than respectable directorial debut, the grimly immersive In the Land of Blood and Honey, a woman ends up in a Serbian rape camp overseen by a man she had a fleeting romance with on the eve of civil war in the former Yugoslavia. On their last encounter before the war, the pair — Danijel, a Serb policeman (Goran Kostic) and Ajla (Zana Marjanovic), a Muslim who aspired to be a painter — seem like newcomers to each other, still strangers, but obviously entranced. This might have been their only date. They nuzzle, drink and dance to live music. Then a bomb blows out the walls of the club and put an end to everything promising between them. Their next encounter comes a few months later as Danijel bends Ajla over a table, pretending to rape her as part of his camp’s orientation process.
During production the movie, which Jolie also wrote, was plagued with rumors that it featured a character who falls in love with a rapist. But while some of the character’s motivations remain fuzzy, particularly those that spur a reconnection between the couple in a third setting, In the Land of Blood and Honey is not a love story. It’s more a study in self-preservation, for both of the parties involved. Ostensibly the sex between Ajla and Danijel is consensual, but can it ever really be so when she and her people are the prisoners of Danijel and his people? The movie’s strength lies in the provocative nature of this question, though Jolie’s answer lacks quite the force it should have, given the set-up.
That there would be rumors trickling out isn’t surprising, not just because of the enormity of Jolie’s fame but because the film does indeed explore the complicated grey areas between captor and captive; some word of that must have gotten out. The perspective of almost every other character in the film is without ambivalence – the Serbs are louts – but in Danijel, Ajla encounters some humanity, crippled though it may be. He cuts her from the herd on that first day to keep for himself. Yet the protection only goes so far; when she’s subject to another soldier’s sadism, Danijel doesn’t intervene, only offering comfort later, when he feels safe. His sincerity is not in question, but his courage is.
Because Jolie is known for her very public passions, which have progressed from the relative simplicity of the carnal to a globally-oriented expression of the maternal, the relatively sedate tone of In the Land of Blood and Honey is unexpected. The systematic use of rape as a weapon of war is depicted with discretion (the brutality was far more vivid in The Whistleblower, another 2011 Bosnian war-themed release). Jolie might show a shrieking woman being carried away by a soldier in the background, but she keeps much of the horror off screen, at a remove from Ajla.
Meanwhile, her scenes with Danijel read as lovers taking pleasure in each other’s company, legs and limbs tangled languidly in the sheets. Or maybe not entirely: “If only you had been born a Serb,” he says to Ajla in the aftermath of one session. Is that a storm brewing on her brow? It’s unclear because the woman remains something of a cipher – like her director, a dark haired beauty of regal bearing and poise. Yet she also remains worlds apart from the tough girl characters Jolie herself has specialized in, more of a lady in the tower. Danijel keeps her under lock and key in a spacious, pleasant room and as she gazes out of the window, with an air of the fairy tale princess or Gothic heroine about her, there is a discomforting romanticizing of captivity.
If there’s some element of Stockholm syndrome that plays into her relationship with Danijel, so be it. If she’s faking the attraction, her desire to survive by any means is admirable. There’s a hint that she’s operating as part of the resistance, along with her sister (Vanessa Glodjo, who has some of the film’s most touching scenes) but unfortunately those dots aren’t clearly connected. Going back over In The Land of Blood and Honey after its dramatic, tragic conclusion, the pieces of the puzzle don’t entirely track.
But then again, George Clooney’s first effort as a director, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, also ambitious (while hardly as emotionally grueling as this) didn’t entirely gel either. No one should be surprised that Angelina Jolie is as capable behind the camera as in front of it; why wouldn’t she be? Here’s an Oscar winner who travels the world on behalf of the United Nations listening to horror stories from refugees; processing pain is a regular sideline for her. She has been directed by the likes of Clint Eastwood and Michael Winterbottom and partakes in domestic bliss with a man once known primarily as a pretty face but who has quietly turned into one of the best actors of his generation. And she’s smart. All the components are there. No wonder In the Land of Blood and Honey is the most compelling, heartfelt movie Jolie has made in years. She isn’t in it, but she’s all over it.

Matt Patches on the Waldorf Press Con

Angelina Jolie on Confronting the Bosnian War in 'In the Land of Blood and Honey'

By Matt Patches , Hollywood.com Staff | Tuesday, December 20, 2011

"I had been haunted for years, traveling in the field, by the lack of intervention, by the trauma people face, in post-conflict situations. Seeing their pain, wondering if we could have done something about this, something before. Violence against women, man's humanity against man—all of it. So I sat down privately to write something, and this led me clearly to Bosnia. It was a war of my generation."
Angelina Jolie wasn't planning on making a movie before coming across the real life terror of the Bosnian War, a conflict that found the country's Muslim population at odds with aggressive Serbian forces from 1992 to 1995. But the truths uncovered in her research pushed her pen the screenplay that eventually would evolve into her feature film debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey. During a recent press conference held in New York, Jolie and her local cast, which featured real life survivors of the conflict, explained to several journalists and me how she brought the movie to life.
"It was [a conflict] I felt a responsibility to learn about, because I didn't know. The more I learned, the more I was overwhelmed by the guilt of what I didn't know, and was shocked by how long this went on and what was going on. So when I sat down with this one particular woman, she told me this story…it was very hard, very emotional…Her memory of being used as a human shield was one that she explained in great detail. And then she said this one thing, even though it wasn't the most violent, it broke her when they took the old women and made them dance naked. She could never recover from it. So we tried to recreate it."
Blood and Honey, which was recently nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes, follows two halves of a former romantic couple as they attempt to stay afloat during the war: Danijel, a Serbian soldier, and Ajla, a Bosnian refugee. For Jolie, it's not another Romeo & Juliet story: "It's an oversimplification. We know that story as two people who are from opposite sides who find their way to each other. So, ours is the exact opposite of that. Ours is two people from the same side who are then told they are different and can not be together. We sometimes refer to it not as a 'love story,' but a 'love story that could have been,' if not for war. A beautiful family that could have happened."

Much of Jolie's cast was either family members of or actual survivors of the war themselves, each one with their own harrowing story. Alma Terzic, who plays one of the women captured by the Serbs in the movie, recounts being five, seeing her mother's hair turn white for one night after father was kidnapped from her home. Vanessa Glodjo, Ajla's sister Lejla in the film, had a similarly distressing experience. When she was living on the front line, thirty Bosnian soldiers visited her home in preparation to engage Serbian forces, many of them between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one. When the skirmish end hours later, only ten returned.
But along with carrying the memories of war, Jolie also credits her cast for being "brilliant." The production moved at lightning speed as they shot the deeply emotional material on location. "They get it right the first time. We moved very fast. They didn't have many takes or many chances. What you see on screen is what they brought and they gave, and they gave it immediately."
Jolie admitted that, as an American actresses, she doesn't have "the depth of emotion, the depth of understanding and the commitment to art, the ability that people have in this region of the world," but that artistry is what enhanced the movie. Unlike Hollywood stars, every actor was on time and prepared. As Jolie puts it, "I got lucky."
Jolie is no stranger to working with A-List directors, and when tracing her directorship routes back to past collaborators, she credits "everybody." Specifically, Jolie gave a shout out to her Changling director, Clint Eastwood, who taught her a lot about, "working with people you love, who you think are great people. Making a family," and Michael Winterbottom (A Mighty Heart), picking up, "the way he set the tone and made it real and allowed for air and room for the actors to create something that was not pushed upon them."
Jolie concluded the conversation by citing the movie's greatest hurdle: the pressure of doing justice to this important moment in history. Balancing politics with dramatic storytelling was no easy feet, but even more difficult was asking her actors to recreate Blood and Honey's difficult scenarios. Jolie described a particular scene, in which a Serb soldier (Ermin Bravo) rapes a woman in front of a crowd of newly-acquired prisoners:
"That was our first day [of shooting]. Many of the cast had known each other, many had not. They came from all different parts of the region, many sides of the conflict. So I was very nervous that this first day was going to either cause more tension or…what would it do for us, but I hoped it would drop us into the reality of this film. And the first scene…I think it was shocking for everyone, horrifying. But as soon as I called cut, I noticed that Ermin picked up the woman that he had to rape in the scene, and gave her the biggest hug to make sure she was OK. And all the other men picked up the clothes off the floor and redressed the women themselves. And that was the beginning of how we would treat each other on this film. It set the tone. It taught me everything."
In the Land of Blood and Honey opens in limited release this Friday.
You can contact Matt Patches directly on Twitter @misterpatches and remember to follow @Hollywood_com!

Hollywood.com Review

In the Land of Blood and Honey

In the Land of Blood and Honey adorns the name "Angelina Jolie" across its marketing materials, but don't expect to see the seraphic starlet pop up on screen. Jolie makes her directorial debut with the Bosnian war film, a powerful drama that strives for realism in its use of homegrown talent, the setting's native tongue and graphic depictions of violence. The goal of the movie is apparent: the genocide committed across the Balkan region in the early '90s was all but swept under the rug, and Jolie is ready to unleash those horrific truths upon willing audiences. In the Land of Blood and Honey pulls no punches. The movie is terrifying and provocative, telling a conventional love story only as a way of connecting with the mainstream. War is ugly, and Jolie's film presents it truthfully.

Ajla (Zana Marjanovic) and Danijel (Goran Kostic) are two Bosnians in the beginnings of a relationship—one that is eventually cut short by the eruption of conflict. Danijel, a Serb police officer, is recruited by his militant leader father Nebojsa (Rade Serbedzija) to join the Serb Army, whose goal is wipe the country clean of Bosnian Muslims. He's eventually reunited with Ajla, after she's captured by the Serbs and incarcerated in a concentration camp. There she is subjected to mental and physical torture, serving the Serbs as they return from systematically wiping out her people and routinely being the target of their sexual abuse. Before finding himself whisked away on reassignment, Danijel clues Ajla into an escape route, which sends the prisoner on a journey through the war-torn country, in hopes of reuniting with her family, and possibly, Danijel.

While the Romeo and Juliet-esque romance between Danijel and Ajla adds to the weight of the situation, it never feels like the focus of In the Land of Blood and Honey. Rather than developing the complexity of the duo, Jolie uses her characters as emotional proxies, which works as a window into the unimaginable events of the war. Marjanovic and Kostic deliver compelling performances as Danijel and Ajla-both characters struggle with what they're romantic actions with one another mean to their respective causes—but even with their thread, the real drama comes from the world around them.

There's no safety filter on the gut-wrenching atrocities Jolie puts on display: lines of Bosnian Muslims stripped naked and executed, women seized by the Serbs and used as human shields, and hidden refugees sacrificing their own just to remain concealed. The film is shot simply, but the images speak for themselves. At times, the character/dialogue-driven moments feel more like necessary pit stops before the next harrowing sequence—even in introspective moments, like a scene in which Danijel contemplates and resists sniping a nearby enemy—but without them, the movie would lack the necessary truth of the final product.

In the Land of Blood and Honey is a complicated film, one that doesn't entirely work as an act of storytelling, but whose end goal is a grisly success. Jolie's commitment to history makes the film a brave work of art and a must-see. Blood and Honey will leave you shaken, and it's an experience you owe yourself to have.

Matt Patches on Oscars

The 2011 Hollywood awards watch list

Content provided by Matt Patches
11/23/2011,
The first ten months of the year can be a mixed bag for award contenders. Maybe you'll see a few possibilities sprinkled amongst the comic book blockbusters, the joke-a-minute comedies and whatever else Hollywood has up their sleeves over January to October months, but for the most part, studios hold off to unleash their "Best Picture" challengers until late in the game.
Now that November and the holiday movie season is here, we can finally take a size up the competition. What we've seen, what's coming and what movies may make it to the finish line when the Oscars roll around in February. It's anyone's game… or is it?
Get ahead of your office Oscar pool with a look into the 2011 movies that are buzzing the loudest and guesses on who might take the gold!
 

In the Land of Blood and Honey
Starring: Zana Marjanovic, Goran Kostic and Rade Serbedzija
Director: Angelina Jolie
Release Date: December 23, 2011
The Buzz: Pretty much none, minus the first, shockingly well made trailer for Jolie's directorial debut. The movie centers on a romance amidst the Bosnian War and Jolie went out of her way to cast authentic actors for the parts. Meaning that, without stars, the movie's Oscar buzz is born purely from Jolie's name and the serious topic at hand.
Potential: One of this year's biggest wild cards. Everyone is waiting to be impressed by Jolie's In the Land of Blood and Honey, and if she pulls it off, an Oscar nomination seems like a given. The world loves Angelina Jolie, they want more female directors and they'll give her a nod of it's reasonable.


The Descendants
Starring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster
Director: Alexander Payne
Previously Released: November 16, 2011
The Buzz: A George Clooney dramedy from the man behind Sideways, About Schmidt and Election? It's no surprise that Payne's new film has been going over well with festival audiences -- The Descendants is hilarious when it dabbles in comedy, heartbreaking in its dramatic moments. The story revolves around a man who discovers his comatose wife was having an affair before her tragic accident, leaving him displaced and in charge of his two daughters. George Clooney delivers one of his best performances to date, but even more impressive is Payne's ensemble cast, including an impressive turn by The Secret Life of an American Teen's Shailene Woodley.
Potential: The Descendants may be the movie to beat in 2011. It has the A-List talent, an out-of-nowhere newcomer, a handful of oh-right-that-guy! supporting roles (Bridges, Forster, Matthew Lillard, Judy Greer) and a director the voters already love. Expect this one to be in the running for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Screenplay and potentially Supporting Actress. A great film that plays broadly enough to win some big awards.
Drive
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Previously Released: September 16, 2011
The Buzz: Director Refn and Ryan Gosling set out to make their gritty crime film the way they wanted to, a meditative too-cool-for-school drama full of color and pseudo-'80s music. The movie managed to do solid business, garnering praise from critics and auidences, but left some misguided people less than thrilled. In fact, the movie has had numerous lawsuits filed against for misrepresenting itself in trailers. That's what you get for trying to be original! Early buzz saw Gosling and Refn as shoe-ins, but the focus has begun to turn from style and substance to the movie's real life problems.
Potential: At this point, with all the hullabaloo over what Drive was or wasn't, the movie's awards prospects seem to be dwindling. Gosling is solid in the movie, but it may not be showy enough for voters (especially if they were closing their eyes during the elevator scene). The movie is slick and satisfying, but I don't expect this one to revive itself in time to win awards.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Starring: Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Max von Sydow
Director: Stephen Daldry
Release Date: January 20, 2012
The Buzz: Daldy is batting three for three with his award/movie ratio, with Billy Elliot, The Hours and The Reader all nabbing Best Director nominations. Now he joins to past Oscar winners to the equation, Hanks and Bullock, plus a topic that is sure to stir a few audience members: September 11. These are the kind of movies the phrase "Oscar bait" was born to describe -- but only because the talent is known to deliver. Extremely Loud skipped the festival circuit, so the one remaining, intriguing question mark is the film's young star Thomas Horn, who supposedly carries the movie.
Potential: The first trailer for the movie didn't do much to inspire, but as is always the case, the past is as much an influence on who's nominated and who wins than the movie itself. The combo of Daldry/Hanks/Bullock may negate actual quality, making Extremely Loud a Best Picture shoe-in. Early word is that legendary actor Max von Sydow's role is sizable and meaty enough that he could be the real scene-stealer.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Starring: Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig, Robin Wright
Director: David Fincher
Release Date: December 21, 2011
The Buzz: Take one of the most popular books of the last decade, add the Oscar-nominated director of The Social Network and throw in some killer actors and you've got yourself potential double-winner, one that plays to both the mainstream and art house crowds. The pulpy novel may not be obvious Oscar-fodder, but with Fincher at the helm and Mara with her biggest role to date, the possibilities are there. No one has seen the movie yet, but the trailers have been keeping the movie on brain since the summer.
Potential: There's a lot of competition out there and even with Fincher's keen eye for visuals, the murder mystery source material may not be heavy enough for true Oscar consideration. The one with the most on her side is Mara, who transformered herself from beautiful ingenue
The Help
Starring: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Allison Janey, Jessica Chastain
Director: Tate Taylor
Previously Released: August 10, 2011
The Buzz: Unknown Tate Taylor adapted and directed an adaptation of his childhood friend Kathryn Stockett's acclaimed novel The Help, turning it into the kind of sugary sweet drama that's been virtually non-existent since the '90s. Reviews were above average, with heaps of praise for Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, and the movie went on to hit number one at the box office three weeks in a row.
Potential: As a gargantuan, feel-good hit of the summer, The Help is one of the safest bets for Best Picture material. Award prognosticators are up in the air over the acting talent, but almost everyonea agrees that Spencer could take home the Best Supporting Actress statue, with Viola Davis being a solid prospect for Best Actress.
Hugo
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Chloe Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen
Director: Martin Scorsese
Release Date: November 23, 2011
The Buzz: Scorsese's latest premiered at a secret screening during the New York Film Festival, drawing divisive opinions from the crowd. People expecting a kids movie were rather taken aback by the movie's mature, whimsical storyline, while others (like myself, which you can read about here), found it entrancing. The movie is chock full of references to the early days of cinema, which didn't necessarily jive with expectations. The movie was unfinished, but amongst all the dividing elements, the 3D stood out in all post-screening murmurs.
Potential: Hugo is a love letter to the movies, which could potentially win over some of the older voting members. While the finished cut I saw was a bit jumbled in its storytelling, Scorsese could easily pull off a Best Director nomination for his innovative use of 3D. I may also be the only person who thinks Butterfield's performance in the lead role of Hugo is a pleasant surprise -- not once do you consider the young discovery to be a "child actor."
Ides of March
Starring: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Evan Rachel Wood, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright
Director: George Clooney
Previously Released: October 7, 2011
The Buzz: Clooney returning behind the camera to direct an A-List cast on a hot political topic sounds like an Oscar frontrunner, but reviews were middling and the box office return below expectations. The movie premiered at Venice Film Festival, with Clooney taking home the Brian Award (Note: after a few minutes of research, I can't figure out what a person wins a Brian award for...), but sailed in to theaters this October to little fanfare.
Potential: Did Ryan Gosling pull a Jude Law and over-saturate the market with his slew of solid performances? With so many movies in one year, and without anyone in particular earning rave reviews, Gosling may have fizzed out on his chances at an Oscar nomination. But if the contest for Best Actor and Best Director are looking weak, Gosling and Clooney are in line to take the spots -- but winning feels like a stretch.
In the Land of Blood and Honey
Starring: Zana Marjanovic, Goran Kostic and Rade Serbedzija
Director: Angelina Jolie
Release Date: December 23, 2011
The Buzz: Pretty much none, minus the first, shockingly well made trailer for Jolie's directorial debut. The movie centers on a romance amidst the Bosnian War and Jolie went out of her way to cast authentic actors for the parts. Meaning that, without stars, the movie's Oscar buzz is born purely from Jolie's name and the serious topic at hand.
Potential: One of this year's biggest wild cards. Everyone is waiting to be impressed by Jolie's In the Land of Blood and Honey, and if she pulls it off, an Oscar nomination seems like a given. The world loves Angelina Jolie, they want more female directors and they'll give her a nod of it's reasonable.
The Iron Lady
Starring: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent
Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Release Date: December 16, 2011
The Buzz: Meryl Streep. Playing a real life political figure. That's pretty much all you need to know. The Iron Lady has yet to screen in festivals, but with 16 Oscar nominations under her belt, the expectations are high for her to deliver a knock out performance as former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Potential: Only an act of God would keep Streep out of the Best Actress race. The rest of the film is anyone's guess, but Mamma Mia! director Lloyd doesn't inspire much confidence.
J. Edgar
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts
Director: Clint Eastwood
Previously Released: November 9, 2011
The Buzz: Eastwood's biopic of FBI head honcho J. Edgar Hoover madeits debut this year's AFI Festival, but early word is that the movie was a bit of a dud. The aged actor-turned-director tends to go soft when the drama gets heavy, with his past few movies middling out in the "OK" territory (Invictus, Hereafter). Leonardo DiCaprio is as solid as they come, but even the first trailer rang a little goofy and melodramatic.
Potential: Voters love them some Eastwood and DiCaprio, and the latter is probably a lock for the Best Actor race.
Midnight in Paris
Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams
Director: Woody Allen
Previously Released: June 10, 2011
The Buzz: Modern Woody Allen has been hit or miss: for every Match Point, you get a movie like Cassandra's Dream that never quite finds its footing or audience. Midnight in Paris was a huge hit for Allen, breaking out during the summer of action blockbusters and quickly becoming Allen's highest grossing film to date (the demand was so high for the movie, it was reopened in theaters after its limited run concluded). Stars Wilson and McAdams haven't been generating too much talk, overshadowed by the movie's general success.
Potential: Despite all the thumbs up approval for the film, Midnight in Paris may be a bit too light and whimsical to contend with the end-of-year heavy hitters. That said, it could sneak its way into the flexible number of Best Picture nominees (unlike last year, which sported ten, the 2011 count will be determined by X amount of movies achieving a certain number of votes). The spotlight here is on Allen, who could snatch up his 15th writing nomination and first directing nomination in 17 years.
Melancholia
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland
Director: Lars von Trier
Previously Released: October 21, 2011
The Buzz: I caught the movie at the New York Film Festival and was subsequently blown away by Dunst, who also won the Best Actress award at this May's Cannes Film Festival. Unfortunately, during festival interviews for the film, the always-lively director Lars von Trier made a crack about Nazis that exploded in a fury of bad press. The incident hasn't affected people's mostly-positive reviews for the film, but may have put a damper on any award consideration. Von Trier certainly isn't returning to Cannes any time soon.
Potential: Considering the joke controversy, Melancholia's chances look slim, but if distributor Magnolia makes a big enough push at the end of the year, reminding people of Dunst's reinventing turn, the actress may have a chance in the race. There might be a few technical awards in Melancholia's future, but other than that, it's all about the leading lady.
Moneyball
Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Director: Bennett Miller
Previously Released: September 23, 2011
The Buzz: Moneyball might be the quintessential Oscar movie, for better or worse. Brad Pitt stars in the adaptation of a best-selling sports book adapted by Steven Zaillian (Schindler's List) and Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) and helmed by Miller (Oscar-nominated for Capote). Throw in a hot young comedian flexing his range (Hill) and an Oscar-winning co-star (Hoffman) and you have the makings of a frontrunner. But reviews were mixed (I loved it), and Pitt's role didn't lend itself to flashy bravado.
Potential: The problem with an early Fall release date is that a movie's momentum can wane, with talk of other Oscar possibilities taking its place. Moneyball might be drowning in the flutter of its prestigious company, but as one of the truly great films of the year, may stick around long enough for it to creep up into the Best Picture race. If Brad Pitt's other lead role (Tree of Life) doesn't cancel him out, he also a good shot at a Best Actor spot. On the fringe if Miller, who once again knocks it out of the park (ahem) and could find himself with a second Best Director nomination.
My Week with Marilyn
Starring: Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh, Emma Watson
Director: Simon Curtis
Release Date: November 23, 2011
The Buzz: The slice of Marilyn Monroe life flick debuted at the New York Film Festival and the loudest comparison was "the King's Speech of 2011." That's both a compliment and a curse -- as our own musing on the movie details, My Week with Marilyn is a light, enjoyable film without much underneath. The only aspect people are really talking about is Michelle Williams, who embodies the blonde bombeshell's magnetism as well as diving into her darker side. Williams has already won an Actress of the Year award at the Hollywood Film Festival and the buzz for her performance should last all the way to February.
Potential: Williams is a lock for a Best Actress nominee and is already a clear frontrunner. If the King's Speech connection is as apt as those dropping the bomb insist, then Marilyn could be the feel good movie of the year -- which tends to translate to Oscar noms. There's not enough critical response for the movie to take Best Picture, but it's certainly a contender.
Shame
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan
Director: Steve McQueen
Release Date: December 2, 2011
The Buzz: McQueen's second film (and second teaming with Fassbender) has been working the festival circuit steadily, premiering in Venice then jumping to Toronto and New York. Along the way, it's picked up favorable response -- but each review found itself questioning of who could out the sexually explicit drama. Now Fox Searchlight has stepped in and embraced the movie's NC-17 rating, and with it, a push for Fassbender for Best Actor. He deserves it for sure -- the movie is a visceral experience and the actor pours himself into the role.
Potential: NC-17 movies rarely find themselves nominated for awards -- the only Best Picture winner, Midnight Cowboy, actually won with the less damning "X" rating -- but Shame might have what it takes. Voters aren't known to lean towards the "perverse," but Michael Fassbender's enthralling role is the kind of emotional ride they look for in a Best Actor and McQueen's expert directing is undeniable. Nominating Shame could be an industry-changing move, shattering a stigma that's existed for far too long.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Starring: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Release Date: December 9, 2011
The Buzz: Based on the acclaimed novel by John le Carré, Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy was previously adapted as a mini-series starring Alec Guinness. Now it's a the ultimate British ensemble movie, headlined by Oldman, Firth and Hardy, but co-starring fantastic character actors like Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong and Ciarán Hinds. Adding to the array of talent is Tomas Alfredson, who previously directed the critical hit Let the Right One In and who appears to have crafted a tense, adult thriller (a rarity in current times). The movie played Venice Film Festival and has opened in the UK, and while people are high on the movie, it could potentially be too dense for the common voter (sad, but true).
Potential: No matter what the U.S. critical consensus is on Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy, star Gary Oldman should be touted as a frontrunner for Best Actor. He's gone long under-praised by the Academy and people want to give him an award. The fact that he's being praised for the role should help. The other possibility is a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Tom Hardy, the It-Guy of the past two years. Whether the movie can break out as a Best Picture possibility may depend on how it plays with American audiences -- something we'll know when release rolls around.
The Tree of Life
Starring: Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain, Sean Penn
Director: Terrence Malick
Previously Released: May 27, 2011
The Buzz: Director Terrence Malick began conceiving Tree of Life decades ago, and after years of writing and planning, the film finally went into production... in 2008. Malick spent years holed up editing the massive undertaking, a visually poetic look on existence, death and everything surrounding it, big and small. Fans of the reclusive filmmaker had built up a tremendous amount of anticipation for the film, a level few thought could be matched. Thankfully, when the film hit theaters it swept up most of its audiences. Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain and Sean Penn feel like bit players in the film's larger mosaic, leaving them out of the spotlight, but the movie continues to resonate and will likely end up on many a "Best of 2011" list.
Potential: Whether Tree of Life connected with Academy voters or not, it feels like an important film. That goes a long way and could help Malick land a Best Director spot, as well as a Best Picture nomination. While many are touting Pitt as a likely candidate for Best Actor, I don't see it -- unlike Moneyball, he feels removed from the action, and I imagine most voters would agree. Technical awards also feel like locks: the movie's special effects by guru Douglass Trumbell are breathtaking and Alexandre Desplat's score is riveting. In a just world, youngster Hunter McCracken would see a nomination (he is the lead), but it's unlikely.
War Horse
Starring: Jeremy Irvine, David Thewlis, Emily Watson, Tom Hiddleston, a Horse
Director:Steven Spielberg
Release Date: December 25, 2011
The Buzz: Steven Spielberg returns to dramatic realism with the epic story of a boy and his horse, crossing the landscape of war-torn Europe. A select (quiet) few have seen the movie, but already it's galloping its way to the front of the back for Best Picture. All the ingredients are there, from an ensemble of British thespians to the grandmaster of heartwarming filmmaking, and a triumphant John Williams score never hurts win voters over. This might be the one to beat, unless it's actually too heartwarming.
Potential: Nominations the board for War Horse. Picture, Director and every technical award under the sun. The only categories War Horse may not breach are the acting accolades -- much like Titanic, the sweeping epic may put an emphasis on scope rather than singular performances. If critical praise is high on this one, it shouldn't be difficult for it to go all the way.
We Bought a Zoo
Starring: Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church
Director: Cameron Crowe
Release Date: December 23, 2011
The Buzz: Crowe returns after an extended hiatus (post-Elizabethtown) with a sentimental family drama starring Damon as a father who moves his family to a zoo. Judging from the first trailer, the movie looks like a family friendlier version of Crowe's Jerry Maguire -- which opens the door for Oscar possibilities. No one has seen the movie yet, but history awards We Bought a Zoo automatic points.
Potential: The movie may end up being a bit to soft to be a real contender, but Matt Damon's so darn likeable, there's a strong possibility voters will show him some love. It speaks to his body of work-no one is going to nominate him for his performance in Contagion and after stiffing him for True Grit, the Academy owes him one.
Win Win
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale
Director: Tom McCarthy
Previously Released: March 18
The Buzz: There was already Oscar talk for Win Win when it premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival, but even with brilliant, comedic performances by Giamatti, Ryan and supporting star Cannavale, the movie's fallen to the wayside. As a champion of this movie, I insist people start talking about it more!
Potential: There is still a chance Win Win could come through all the way to the Oscars thanks to a little thing called the Golden Globes. Comedy is a hard sell for voters, but the Globes give the funny men and women of the year their own chance at glory. Giamatti and Ryan are shoe-ins and with enough chatter beforehand, could even bump a few bigger performances out of their way. McCarthy, one of today's best writer/director's, could also take a Best Original Screenplay nomination, a category that's always reaching for entries as Hollywood relies on source material as a creative crutch.
Young Adult
Starring: Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, Patton Oswalt
Director: Jason Reitman
Release Date: December 16, 2011
The Buzz: The creative team behind Juno is taking a different approach to building buzz for their new movie. Instead of running it at festivals, they're taking it to the streets, touring the movie across the country and playing to hometown audiences. Out of those screenings come two vibes: "strong" and "dark." The movie stars Theron as a burnt out young adult fiction writer who returns to her hometown to win back her ex-boyfriend (who is currently married). Reitman and writer Diablo Cody struck gold with their first collaboration and with witty writing, they could do it again. Word on the street is Young Adult may be Theron's best performance to date.
Potential: The pedigree might be there, but if Young Adult is too dark, too mean-spirited and puts all its chips on a character voters despise, it may not feel the love Juno saw a few years back. Then again, Theron won her first Oscar for playing a serial killer (Monster), proving that if the talent is there, so are the awards. Cody and Reitman both seem likely to nab respective nominations for writing and directing, but it'll all come down to response once Academy members see the film -- which the studio doesn't seem to interested in making happen.

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