"Why are you so into Pinot?"

“Uh, I don’t know, I don’t know. Um, it’s a hard grape to grow, as you know. Right? It’s uh, it’s thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early. It’s, you know, it’s not a survivor like Cabernet, which can just grow anywhere and uh, thrive even when it’s neglected. No, Pinot needs constant care and attention. You know? And in fact it can only grow in these really specific, little, tucked away corners of the world. And, and only the most patient and nurturing of growers can do it, really. Only somebody who really takes the time to understand Pinot’s potential can then coax it into its fullest expression. Then, I mean, oh its flavors, they’re just the most haunting and brilliant and thrilling and subtle and…ancient on the planet.”

The first casualty of Oscar 2010?

This is a hunch, but I think The Lovely Bones is going to be disappointed. The unenthusiastic response of the critics for a film as daringly artistic as this (relative to other ‘Oscar films’) will struggle to excite the audience’s or the Academy’s interest (although if it had the touch of Clint Eastwood, it may be spared any disappointment).

This reminds me of Revolutionary Road last year: adapted from an adored novel, unenthusiastic critical response, awards vehicle for snubbed Kate Winslet (TLB could be seen as this for Stanley Tucci) and poor box-office due to uneasy subject mature (I expect TLB to be an equally hard-sell, unless Peter Jackson can wave his magic with paedophilia and murder as well as he does with aliens, hobbits and apes). It was destined to be an Oscar contender, yet never gathered momentum…this is already scuppering TLB‘s campaign.

And with regards to Mr. Tucci…he deserves a gratuitous male lusting post of his own! And, more importantly, should have enough love carried from Julie & Julia to ensure a Supporting Actor nomination. Hoorah!

10 thoughts on…Mark Lawson Talks To Imelda Staunton.

1. I am convinced Imelda Staunton is my mother with a thinly veiled disguise. I’ve never seen them together in the same room! If you’ve ever met my mother you’d agree.
2. She should have that Oscar for Vera Drake. Will Mike Leigh bring her back into the game with their 2010 partnership? (With Jim Broadbent…I can’t wait!).
3. I love BBC iPlayer. Life with David Attenborough, Cranford (featuring a Staunton, Judi Dench and Eileen Atkins!) and so much more…Time-stealing at its most rewarding.
4. Mike Leigh is a successful Oscar predictor?
5. I wish a casting director had the balls to cast her as Juliet (in Romeo & Juliet) too.
6. I now want my favourite filmmakers to win a Venice Film Festival award more than an Oscar…it sounds so dreamy!
7. I should really complete that script of mine with a character fit for Staunton (see 1 for why).
8. She lives two doors down from Emma Thompson!!!! What a glorious piece of trivia.
9. I should see Taking Woodstock…I do love Ang Lee.
10. “I’m still open to offers”: everyone take note.

Twist and shout!

…

WARNING: Watch with care.

Those falling into the following categories should avoid Meet Me in St. Louis. Especially if you fall into all four.

A) You have recently moved away from your homeland, your family and your friends.
B) You have coincidentally severed some friendships since said move.
C) You have recently ended a serious relationship.
D) You are an adamant cynic…battling with the hopeless romantic inside.

This fatal combination makes this film as distressing as any Lars Von Trier offering, albeit in a rather more charming, and less gruesome, manner.

I can’t wait to go home for Christmas.

Quote.15

CHARLOTTE VALE

“Again, I’ve been just a big sentimental fool. It’s a tendency I have.”

As I watched Now, Voyager, sobbing in my university library, Davis‘ words inevitably struck me. She had seemingly lost her love, while I had gained the awkward glances of surrounding students. Of course her married-lover-turned-father-of-her-pseudo-adopted-daughter, Paul Henreid, does not let this moment linger…he rushes to Davis’ side. Obviously, I received no such romanticism. If only this was a world accompanied by a wonderful Max Steiner score, where cigarettes contain the ingredients of high romance (not a range of health issues) and where you, ultimately, have to settle for “the stars”.

Funnily enough, it seems that the moon, of the New Moon variety, is asking for me, via some very persuasive friends…but how can one want a werewolf or vampire when Now, Voyager has so much more to offer!

Happy Thanksgiving.

Cinematic mission statements x4

“I began writing what they call a mission statement…”

“…and so I made a major decision, I had to make sure I wouldn’t end up shit-faced and listening to sad-FM…”

“…I am risking my well-being for a deranged assignment.”

And the fourth (I swear this isn’t a cop-out!)…

It occurred to me that despite my 13 months of (albeit once inconsistent) blogging, I have ignored the importance of a mission statement – oh so important in setting a narrative into hyper-drive! The past 147 ramblings of ticklepickleme are easily, and obviously, connected: this is a blog dedicated to cinema.

Naturally this is not enough to distinguish myself from the sea of digital resources for film. But perhaps the honest, personal and devoted arena is. An arena where I can express myself through the world I delve into most…the wonderful world of cinema, where reality is projected, multiplied and exemplified.

I am afraid to admit I am more like Bridget Jones than Julie Powell or Jerry Maguire; a fumbling mess that trudges from one mistake to the other. And the similarities continue – I have proved my dearth at karaoke, I am an appalling public speaker, I am also under the illusion I can hold my drink (I am Irish after all!) and I share her fear that I may one day become Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction…

But if Bridget can avoid that, so can I. Right?

"People don’t always shiver because they’re chilly"

No, they shiver because of this trailer. If this is anything to go by, Elia Kazan had the right idea when he passed on this Tennessee Williams offering that had remained unmade for some 40 years. The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond comes across as a mixture of Death on the Nile with The Notebook…without that delicious cast and unlimited chemistry of the central pairing, respectively.

Unfair you cry? Sure. I haven’t seen the finished product, how could this be fair? Especially when Williams has created some of the greatest pieces of film and theater (A Streetcar Named Desire never ceases to stun me…). Still there is no hint that A) Bryce Dallas Howard, who I so love in The Village and Manderlay, has the right chops to really fulfill her character “rebelling against a world of privilege that could not accept her” and B) the film deals with any social issues, oh so prominent in Williams’ greatest achievements, beyond the central romantic divide between rich and poor (snore!).

Still it will prove highly intriguing to die-hard Williams fans…and I am open for a surprise delight!

Did someone mention Oscar?

I suspect the inner Marilyn Hack has taken hold of Sandra Bullock right now. A new contender for the actress Oscar…

Can she compete with the likes of Marion Cotillard (Nine), Abbie Cornish (Bright Star), Helen Mirren (The Last Station), etc. for a place alongside the unstoppable trio of Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia), Carey Mulligan (An Education) and Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)?

It certainly would be nice to recognise her, as she is one of Hollywood’s most charming starlets, even if the film itself reeks of overt sentimentality.

I think the Academy will bite.