http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001GQACGE/almosthuman
Animated dogs, regular mutts, Nazis, nuns, aliens that look like Keanu Reeves, superheroes and Miley Cyrus. Who needs Harry Potter anyway?
That's what Hollywood hopes audiences will be thinking for the next six weeks as it unwraps 2008's yuletide offerings. Not so long ago, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was expected to dominate the holiday season. But when Warner Bros. shuffled its latest J.K. Rowling adaptation to next July, it created a vacuum at the box office and an opportunity for rival studios. (Chief beneficiary? Twilight, based on the bestselling phenomenon about teens and vampires, which swooped into the adolescent wizard's old berth.)
Potter's not the only one skipping the holidays either. Both The Soloist (an Oscar hopeful with Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr.) and The Road (starring Viggo Mortensen) have also been pushed back into 2009. Presumably fewer competitors could mean merrier days for Brad Pitt, Clint Eastwood, Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicole Kidman — some of the stars headlining our holiday movie preview.
As always, release dates are as subject to change as Lindsay Lohan's sexuality.
Will Benjamin be right on the button?
As if Brad Pitt's life wasn't already pretty swell, now he's aging backwards.
This is the premise of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a romantic fable that reunites the 44-year-old superstar with his frequent director David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club). For producer Frank Marshall, the film's Christmas Day release will end a two-decade-long development process in which some of Hollywood's most powerful players flirted with adapting the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story. At various points, the project was circled by Steven Spielberg (who had hoped to direct Tom Cruise in the early 1990s), Ron Howard (who almost teamed with John Travolta in the mid-1990s), Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich) and Gary Ross (Pleasantville).
"It's been 18 years," says Marshall, whose credits include the Bourne and Indiana Jones franchises. "Nobody could figure out how to do it before without using four different actors."
Enter Fincher, who sparked to a draft of the script penned by Forrest Gump scribe Eric Roth about a man born an elderly infant at the end of the World War I who grows younger with each passing year. Cate Blanchett plays Daisy, the love of Button's life even though they're aging in opposite directions. "They meet in the middle," Marshall says.
Spanning eight decades, the film realizes its lead character with a combination of bleeding-edge effects: digital make-up, prosthetics and face-replacement technology (in which Pitt's face is pasted onto the bodies of different age-appropriate actors).
"The technology caught up with the story," Marshall says. "The great thing about it is it doesn't look like a special effect, which is the best kind of effect. You don't notice it; it plays right into the story ... In those eyes of an 85-year-old, you can see Brad Pitt. It's kind of spooky."
Of course, Fincher — the clinical visualist behind Panic Room and Zodiac — is no stranger to spooky. But how did he adjust to a story with such a broader emotional and fantastical scope? Very well, says Marshall, who explains Fincher's signature chilliness perfectly countered the story's potential sap factor. "It's unsentimental. It's not shmaltzy."
But is it also a $150 million risk? Will audiences turn out for a film concerned with morality, aging and lost love? Especially one that runs well over two hours? Marshall doesn't sound terribly worried. "I've had people who have seen it tell me that they thought it was short because they got swept up in the story. And the highest-grossing movie of all time, Titanic, was a lot longer than this."
Other Oscar-buzz movies
Along with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, these are the films generating the most Oscar heat. But as with all things pertaining to buzz, a word of caution: except for Milk, no one's seen them yet.
Australia
(Nov. 26)
Who's in it: Nicole Kidman, starved for a hit after a string of flops (The Golden Compass, The Invasion, Bewitched, etc.), and Hugh Jackman, who'd probably like to carry a blockbuster that doesn't require claws and muttonchops.
What's it about: As you can guess from the title, this $150-million opus is set Down Under in the days prior to World War II. Kidman plays an aristocrat who enlists a rugged rancher (Jackman) to help her on a cross-country cattle drive.
Why should we care? The director is Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge), who swaps that musical's hyper-kineticism for old-school Hollywood classicism. If it works, expect Academy voters — always suckers for grand sweeping epics — to drool.
Revolutionary Road
(Dec. 26, in limited release)
Who's in it: Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, reuniting for the first time since they ran into that iceberg 11 years ago.
What's it about: DiCaprio and Winslet are a married couple cornered by the American dream and crushed by 1950s suburbia. And you thought Titanic was a downer.
Why should we care? Behind the camera is Winslet's husband Sam Mendes, who tread similar ground in 1999's American Beauty. The source material — the 1961 novel by Richard Yates - is a literary classic and was one of the inspirations for TV's marvellous Mad Men.
Gran Torino
(Dec. 19)
Who's in it: Clint Eastwood — peerless and seemingly tireless at the age of 78 — directs himself for the first time since 2005's Oscar-winning Million Dollar Baby.
What's it about: Eastwood is Walt, a retired war veteran and bigot who slowly bonds with an immigrant family, then clashes with the street gang that's been threatening them.
Why should we care? Forget Changeling — this is the movie poised to make Eastwood's day at the Oscars and possibly earn him his first statue for best actor. (Boosting his chances? His suggestion that he may retire from acting and concentrate solely on directing from now on.)
Milk
(Nov. 26 in limited release)
Who's in it: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch and James Franco.
What's it about: Penn portrays Harvey Milk, the first openly gay politician elected in the U.S. and famed "Mayor of Castro Street" in San Francisco. His rise to power in the 1970s was tragically short-lived, though: he was assassinated by fellow city supervisor Dan White (Brolin).
Why should we care? Penn's performance is one of his finest — I know, I've seen it — and a lock for a best actor nomination. Timely and topical, the film, directed by Gus Van Sant, may also generate goodwill from Academy voters dismayed by California's recent ban on gay marriage.
Even more Oscar bait
For all the Oscar bait being released in December, you'd think it was the only movie-going month of the year. What about the films released so far in 2008? Which ones might be on hand at February's Academy Awards? Glad you asked:
The Dark Knight
What better way to entice TV viewers to tune into the show than recognize the second highest-grossing film in history? A best picture nod is a stretch, but look for the late Heath Ledger to be included in the supporting actor race.
W.
Josh Brolin could be nominated for his sympathetic, praised portrayal of George W. Bush. Otherwise, this Oliver Stone biopic probably won't merit much attention.
Wall-E
Sure, it's a shoo-in for a best animated feature Oscar, but could the robotic hero of this Pixar stunner surprise in the live-action category?
Changeling
Angelina Jolie should book the babysitter now, but beyond her best actress nomination, the outlook for Clint Eastwood's period drama isn't so promising.
Rachel Getting Married
Anne Hathaway is a lock for a best actress nomination for her turn as a repeat rehabber. Also in the running? Rosemarie DeWitt in the best supporting actress contest.
Tropic Thunder
With The Soloist bumped until March, Robert Downey Jr.'s best shot at reaching the podium is his go-for-broke work as a method actor who dyes his skin black in Ben Stiller's hip hit showbiz satire.
The Visitor
A very long shot, but not out of the question, particularly a best actor nomination for veteran character actor Richard Jenkins. He's already a sentimental favourite and this quiet, moving drama was one of the year's best.
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