Black Sheep @ The Box Office

Naturally, there was never any doubt that Pixar's TOY STORY 3 would open at number one.  Pixar's track record speaks for itself.  The question was always by how much it would open past their previous benchmark, THE INCREDIBLES, which opened to $70.4 million (and to be fair, FINDING NEMO is right behind with a $70.2 million opening).  When Woody and the gang opened to double what last year's UP opened to on its opening day, it became pretty clear, the lead would not be a narrow one.  Although not as high as the $120 million some were predicting, $109 million easily gives Pixar it's best opening weekend to date and also almost doubles the $57 million opening of 1999's TOY STORY 2.  If the total holds, TOY STORY 3 will also hold the record for the best June opening weekend of all time, scantily surpassing TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN, which opened to $108.97 million in 2009.  I wasn't kidding when I said scant.

And while the people at Disney / Pixar are partying it up, the people at Warner Brothers are crying in their beers over the disastrous opening of JONAH HEX.  The Josh Brolin / Megan Fox graphic novel western hybrid pulled in a pathetic $5 million.  Following the disappointment of SPLICE, WB's last release, this summer has not been too kind.  May had MACGRUBER; now June has JONAH HEX.

The only title to pull in a higher average than the $27K TOY STORY 3 amassed is indie comedy, CYRUS, starring John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill.  At $45K per screen on just four screens, the film should easily generate some strong buzz for its expansion.  Expanding by 30+ screens helped WINTER'S BONE improve about 300% over last week.  I caught the film this weekend and will be reviewing it later this week.  If it can continue to get people talking, it could find its way into an awards season push.  The Italian film, I AM LOVE, starring Tilda Swinton also preemed on 8 screens this week and earned a healthy $15K per screen start.

NEXT WEEK: TOY STORY 3 should have no trouble fending off the big budget has been releases, KNIGHT AND DAY, with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz on Wednesday and 3000+ screens and GROWN UPS, with Adam Sandler et al, following of Friday on 3200+ screens.  I will be avoiding both and catching Alain Resnais's WILD GRASS.  Yes, I'll take French existentialism any day over those two jokes.

Source: Box Office Mojo

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Shearing the Oscars: Animated Feature

This is a big year for the Animated Feature Oscar. For the first year since it originated in 2001, there were enough films released in the Academy calendar year to warrant expanding the number of nominees from the usual three to the maximum five. With Pixar's UP leading the category as the frontrunner, the expansion might not lead to an unexpected winner but it has already brought about one of the year's biggest surprise nominations, the very little known, THE SECRET OF KELLS. The unexpected inclusion meant big studio hopeful CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS and past winner, Hayao Miyazaki's PONYO were shut out. Let's take a look now at what did make the cut.

CORALINE


There is no denying the artistry of, CORALINE, Henry Selick's miniature epic. Not only is the stop-motion animation technique used so brilliantly, in both a creative and technical fashion, but the tale itself, based on the Neil Gaiman story, is genuinely original. While the film clearly connected with art enthusiasts and young girls, it may have been inherently too cold to remain fresh in voters' minds a year later. It has been honoured as one of the American Film Institute's Top 10 films of the year but this will not be Selick's year for Oscar as well

FANTASTIC MR. FOX


Wes Anderson's magical masterpiece, FANTASTIC MR. FOX, is the next biggest threat in this category. It is the only other nominee aside from UP to find its screenplay, co-written by Anderson and indie filmmaker, Noah Baumbach, honoured by critics' associations. The film's score, composed by Alexandre Desplat is also nominated for an Oscar. The National Board of Review even awarded Wes Anderson a special acheivement award for creating such a brave, new approach to animated film. All of these factors could push FOX past Pixar but it will have to dig a lot deeper still to get up as high as Pixar is.

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG


Disney was pushing two films for this category aside from UP, the aforementioned PONYO and their first 2D animation in years, THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG. Between the two, the latter is certainly the easier choice. Unfortunately, in my opinion, while I do feel Disney was able to get back to its roots with their fresh take on this classic tale, they did not do anything past presenting their first African-American princess to modernize their tested formula. They even brought Randy Newman back to compose a few diddies and, nothing against the perfectly acceptable songs, the Academy honoured him as well. This is a safe entry but no actual threat.

THE SECRET OF KELLS


GKIDS, the U.S. distributor for THE SECRET OF KELLS, opened their mostly hand-drawn fable in one Los Angeles theatre for one little week last year so that their film could be eligible for Academy consideration. Once they passed that hurdle, they held Academy screenings and shipped out screeners but did nothing really more to push their film. As it somehow managed to score a nod alongside these other films with distributors with deep wallets, the film must be pretty good. I cannot say, personally, as I'm one of the millions who hasn't seen it. Although I doubt it can pull off the impossible and take the win here, it's planned spring release will definitely be much more fruitful than I'm sure GKIDS ever imagined.

UP


It is so easy to say great things about Pixar. I could not believe they pulled this one off, to be honest. And when I realized after seeing it that they had, I could not really believe I ever doubted them. Pixar hasn't always won over the hearts of the Academy though. MONSTERS INC lost the inaugural Animated Feature award to SHREK and CARS lost to HAPPY FEET in 2006. Those two weren't also nominated for Best Picture though. Besides, they have won four out of the last eight years so it isn't that a big a stretch to see them taking it a fifth time. It's no bigger stretch than a rickety old man and a boy scout flying high above the world in house attached to hundreds of helium balloons anyway.

WHAT WILL WIN? UP

WHAT MIGHT STILL WIN? FANTASTIC MR. FOX

Next up in Black Sheep's Academy Awards spotlight, it's time to get down to the written word and look at this year's nominees in the writing categories. That's next weekend. In the meantime, Black Sheep reposts full reviews for some of the nominated animated features all week.

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Oscars @ Home

There are over 40 different films nominated for Oscars this year and less than 30 days before the actual telecast. Let's be real here. Unless you've been thoroughly preparing for this throughout the year, you will not get a chance to see all the nominated films in time. Even if you did prepare, or are a film critic like myself and have seen 30 of the nominated films already, there are some selections, like the surprise animated feature nominee, THE SECRET OF KELLS, which won't reach theatres until after the awards are handed out. And so I suppose the goal is to do the best we can with what time we have and with the resources available to us.

This is where I come in. I will help you make sure you see as many of the right films possible before the big night. To make it easier on you, I'll start with all the nominated films that you can get at the video store or on demand or delivered to your door. Believe it or not, there are 16 films available to rent before the telecast airs, five of which are nominated for Best Picture. You can start your journey comfortably in your living room and work your way up getting out of the house and into the crowds to see the rest. I will rank them in order of importance and list the awards they are nominated for so that you can see why I consider them important.

1. THE HURT LOCKER
Nominated for:

PICTURE
DIRECTOR
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
ACTOR
FILM EDITING
CINEMATOGRAPHY
ORIGINAL SCORE
SOUND MIXING
SOUND EDITING


Tied for the most nominations with AVATAR, THE HURT LOCKER is your first stop. Unfortunately, as it only pulled in $13 million or so in theatres, it is a lot of people's first stop so it might be hard to find. If you're a fan of the war genre and appreciate the tension that only dismantling bombs can carry, you should just buy it. It's a gorgeous film. THE HURT LOCKER has a great chance to win in all of its categories, except the acting (sorry, Jeremy Renner), so this is a must if you want to follow on the big night.

2. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Nominated for:

PICTURE
DIRECTOR
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
SUPPORTING ACTOR
FILM EDITING
CINEMATOGRAPHY
SOUND MIXING
SOUND EDITING

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS has only one less nod than THE HURT LOCKER but not as much buzz. I would say it would be a surprise Best Picture winner but if anyone has a shot at a directing upset, it's Quentin Tarantino. Christoph Waltz is a lock for Supporting Actor and Tarantino might take the screenplay nod instead of the directing award. This one is also a must see.

3. DISTRICT 9
Nominated for:

PICTURE
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
FILM EDITING
VISUAL EFFECTS

DISTRICT 9 is a long shot in all of it's categories but the fact that it managed that much attention in such big categories makes me think a lot of people liked this one. It is a must see before the telecast just because of what it is nominated for but as it won't likely win, it won't be the end of everything if you miss it.

4. UP
Nominated for:

PICTURE
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
ANIMATED FEATURE
ORIGINAL SCORE
SOUND EDITING


UP has a very good chance to beat FANTASTIC MR. FOX for Animated Feature and an off chance at the screenplay bid so it is a contender but I don't see it as a Best Picture threat. Composer Michael Giacchino could grab another award for his score but I don't know how many people watch the Oscars for the music category. If you haven't seen UP, you should. You'll be happy to see it win whatever it does.

5. A SERIOUS MAN
Nominated for:

PICTURE
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Two biggies there but no support in any other category suggests people liked A SERIOUS MAN but weren't floored by anything in particular about it. Personally, I loved everything about it and still think Michael Stuhlbarg was robbed in the Best Actor category. It comes out tomorrow and Black Sheep's full review will be up then.

6. JULIE & JULIA
Nominated for:

ACTRESS

JULIE & JULIA only has the one nomination but it happens to be a record-breaking one for Meryl Streep and people are saying that it is going to come down to her or Sandra Bullock in THE BLIND SIDE. If you want to get in on that race, you need to start here.

7. IN THE LOOP
Nominated for:

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY


Although I was sad not to see Tom Ford pick up a nod for writing A SINGLE MAN, I am thrilled to see the screenplay for IN THE LOOP up for it instead. This is definitely one of the sharpest, dirtiest, most hilarious films I've seen in years. You likely have never heard of it but if you are debating watching it because of the nomination, good for you! You will laugh very hard at this British political satire. It is brave and shocking and again, so funny!

8. STAR TREK
Nominated for:

VISUAL EFFECTS
SOUND MIXING
SOUND EDITING
MAKEUP

STAR TREK may have missed out on the bigger prizes but these four nods tie STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME for the most Oscar nods for any Star Trek film. You don't need to see this beforehand but you should definitely see it.

9. THE COVE and FOOD INC.
Each nominated for:

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

You don't always get to see the nominated documentary features that easily and THE COVE and FOOD INC. are two that you don't want to miss. Both will change your life and just imagine how smart you'll look at your Oscar party when you can say you've seen two of the nominated documentaries.


THE REST ...

The following films are nominated here and there and also available to watch before the telecast, in case you wanted to be thorough. Once you're done with the first half of this list though, you should probably get to the theatre before the rest of these. Priorities, people!



BRIGHT STAR
(Nominated for Costume Design)

COCO AVANT CHANEL
(Costume Design)

CORALINE
(Animated Feature)

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
(Cinematography)

IL DIVO
(Makeup)

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
(Sound Mixing)

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Shearing the Oscars: Best Picture

As was started yesterday, Black Sheep continues today with a brief look at each of the ten Oscar nominated films for Best Picture. Yesterday, we looked at the first five, alphabetically, AVATAR, THE BLIND SIDE, DISTRICT 9, AN EDUCATION and THE HURT LOCKER. Today we continue with five more incredible films and I ask only one thing today. I ask that we take the time to acknowledge each of the nominated films and why they are being recognized instead of focusing on just two front runners.

All five of the following films deserve their place in this year's race. The remaining five Oscar nominees for Best Picture are ...

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS


I've seen this film three times now and it honestly took me all three viewings to get past director, Quentin Tarantino's ego in order to appreciate its beauty. At least I can say he's earned it. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS certainly stands as one of his finest works, potentially second only to PULP FICTION. A variety of his influences are not only being honoured here but actually reappropriated and given the Tarantino touch. Nominated for eight Academy Awards, including two for Tarantino himself as writer and director, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS should not be discounted as a serious contender. The Tarantino camp just has to want it as bad as Brad Pitt wanted his scalps in the movie.

PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE


I believe that had the Oscars taken place a few months ago, PRECIOUS would be taking the top prize. The reality is that this film first screened over a year ago at Sundance and has been making nothing but noise since then. By the time it screened at TIFF and took the audience award, insiders were calling it this year's SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. In other words, it was a sure thing. Maybe it was overkill or maybe it only had enough to strength to go so far, but interest in PRECIOUS dropped almost instantly when the box office receipts started dropping. I still believe it deserves its place in the winners' circle but it will be tricky to get people back on this train.

A SERIOUS MAN


I was really hoping to see A SERIOUS MAN included amongst the Best Picture nominees. This is one of the most personal stories the Coen Brothers, Joel & Ethan, have told and yet it is one of the least inclusive works I've seen from them. Their authenticity and playfulness with the idea of one man cursed by God is often hilarious and even more often, painfully uncomfortable. Led by a brilliant performance by Michael Stuhlbarg, perhaps my most disappointing acting snub, A SERIOUS MAN has not and will not reach enough of an audience to get enough votes in this category and the Coen's far better work, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, already took this prize just a few years ago.

UP


The people at Pixar are probably very happy about the five Oscar nominations their latest hit, UP, has earned. It is also only the second animated film in history to earn a Best Picture nomination. And while it may have been their biggest money earner in years, I do not personally feel this is their best work in years. I loved UP; I've seen in three times and have laughed and cried each time but WALL-E not making the cut last year is one of the major contributing factors to UP even having a shot at being nominated this year. A win for UP would be a consolation prize almost, I feel. It is edging out FANTASTIC MR. FOX in the Animated Feature category and that, and possibly Michael Giacchino's enchanting score, is likely as far as it is going to go.

UP IN THE AIR


Back when awards season was just starting, people were calling UP IN THE AIR the one to beat. It was winning critics awards over and over again, while director Jason Reitman and star, George Clooney, were looking like top contenders in their fields. The energy has died out some but it isn't too late to get it back. If the cast and crew work their magic on the scene, it shouldn't be too hard to remind people that UP IN THE AIR is an incredibly timely and tender piece about connecting with other people and other flights. Reitman's smooth touch and Clooney's classical charm give UP IN THE AIR an ease that let it glide right into your heart.

And so that sums up all ten nominees for the Best Picture Oscar. Who are you rooting for? Get creative!

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