BIGLENS THE KENT FILM MAGAZINE | VOLUME 9 ISSUE 3 | Spring 2013
The Awards Issue
Hello everyone, We’re rolling out the red carpet and inviting you to our special awards issue. Forget the Golden Globes, the BAFTA’s and the Oscars: we have the BigLens exclusive on who should have won what and the unsung heroes of 2012/3.
After you’ve got to grips with the award season, we offer you our views as to where the awards should go. There’s Best Director, Best British film, Best Actor / Actress, Best Edited Picture and Why Hugh Jackman deserves an Oscar (and believe me I wouldn’t argue about this one or the claws might come out...) With all the glamour and pizzazz of Hollywood’s finest I present to you the 1st annual BigLens Academy Awards, (the Biggies just didn’t sound right…) I had prepared a long and emotional speech thanking my mother, my primary school teacher, my goldfish Mr Fishy Fish for always being there and never blowing bubbles at my dreams, but instead I’ll just thank all the great writers who have made this issue possible and of course the dazzling and star studded team of editors we have who have made this issue worthy of the Academy itself.
Editor’s note
We have a return of our ‘beginners guide’ feature that gives you the tools needed to tackle this award season and come out with more success than The Kings Speech (and none of that pesky stutter).
And the Oscar goes to… Until next time everyone! Keep it reel, Lauren Tildsley.
SMALL PRINT Editor: Lauren Tildsley Editor: Jess Bashford Editor: Patrick Doolittle Editor: Harriet Cash Editor: Joe Buckley Art Editor: Laura Naude
lt262@kent.ac.uk jab59@kent.ac.uk pd214@kent.ac.uk hc248@kent.ac.uk jb652@kent.ac.uk lsn3@kent.ac.uk
If you have a passion for film and would like to contribute to BIGLENS, please email us! BIGLENS is produced with the support of Kent Film, a society of the University of Kent Students’ Union. All information is provided in good faith. Articles are not necessarily the opinions of the editors of BIGLENS, of the Kent Film Society or of Kent Union. Everything that is already copyrighted, is theirs. Everything not, is the intellectual property of the individual writer, so no thieving.
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SCREENINGS ARE EVERY THURSDAYS AT 7PM IN GLT1. SEE YOU THERE!
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The Beginner’s Guide to Awards Season Around September time, the dust has just about settled on the summer blockbuster. From amongst the rubble there is a whisper of some small independent film which has garnered praise from a major festival or two around the world. A production company and distributor pick it up, if it has not been already. This film, they feel, may be their big success of the year, if they give it enough attention in the right places. They know of course that they will have to contend with larger awards-bait films which will be arriving in the coming months and will immediately draw attention. They must be strategic and keep the buzz going strong into December and the awards season. Then if all is going well and awards are being won, they will ramp up the momentum with an eye on the Holy Grail: The Academy Awards. A win at the Oscars would change things. It gives prestige and moneymaking opportunities to the company and will result in the company becoming more powerful in the film business. This is the goal. And so begin the awards season campaigns. Harvey Weinstein was and is the biggest proponent of this type of strategy and he is immensely successful at it. His films have collected countless Oscar nods over the years, helping him to become a titan of film production and someone you cross at your peril. Campaigns like his have unfortunately reduced the awards season to an election of sorts based on publicity, good marketing and throwing the best parties. Producers will lay on luncheons and dinners for awards’ judges across America and to a much smaller degree, Europe.
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Stars will attend at the producer’s ‘recommendation’. They shake hands with voters and discuss the film casually or in formal Q and A sessions, before a producer sends everyone home with a copy of the film. Obviously those stars that are more artistically inclined aren’t thrilled with this part of the movie business- just ask Joaquin Phoenix. It also seems like such things shouldn’t really effect how voters behave. However, according to Harvey Weinstein himself, this year he cost ‘Django’ and ‘The Master’ Oscar recognition by his failure to distribute DVDs to voters. Normally at this stage of the awards season, we already know who will win the major awards at the BAFTAs/Oscars by looking at the vast amounts of critic’s awards. Thankfully it’s not quite so clear-cut this year which at least gives the viewer a more exciting watch. It also means campaigns will rage on as the front runners try to distinguish themselves from the pack. I have to say I’m not against awards for film making being given out; all areas of life have recognition for good work, and in the film world, such recognition can be life changing. The issue I have is the political nature of deciding who wins. However seeing as it’s almost impossible to ever separate that from any important large scale vote, I won’t worry about it. I will enjoy the final award shows for all the positives that they do have. Richard Madgwick
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You’ve seen this film a hundred times. Boy meets girl. Boy helps girl, girl helps boy. Then what? Well I won’t ruin the ending but I’m sure you could guess. A LOT of romantic comedies rely on this 3 act structure to the point where it now seems to have been taken hostage by rom-coms, never to be released. Silver Linings Playbook is no different. Except it is. I haven’t seen every romantic comedy ever made (not that I’ve tried), but I can safely say that I have never seen one like this. David O Russell and co. seem to have caused the 3 acts that were taken hostage to develop Stockholm Syndrome. The tired old structure is seduced into supporting what is being recognised as some of the year’s best filmmaking. The closest resemblance to another film it has is The Fighter, David O Russell’s last endeavour, which in subject matter would struggle to be less similar to SLP. What is constant in both however, is a group of people, brilliantly portrayed, who go about their business unaware of an audience. Nothing seems contrived or staged as people deliver lines over the top of one another, no one waiting for a cue. The story revolves around Pat, (Bradley Cooper) who struggles with bipolar disorder and tries to take it on with nothing but a positive attitude. His long term goal is to win back his wife who left him after a violent episode. To do so, he must team up with Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), who also has social issues, and together they impact each other and those around them. I don’t know a lot about the kinds of issues that are tackled in this film, so it’s hard to tell if it is a good representation of real people who have the same conditions as the characters. However from what I do know, I bought it and I was engrossed. On top of that, the movie fulfils the golden rule of making us care. Pat knows that he has issues and all he wants is a silver lining to the dark cloud that is his mental disorder. We want that for him too. The pursuit of something better results in all sorts of challenges for him and his family, which are both sad and yet, for the audience at least, very funny. 6
Best Film:
This film would surely have failed to provide such emotion if it wasn’t for the genuineness with which the story is portrayed. I’m not sure whether to credit the acting or the screenplay and direction more, but I think in the case of David O Russell it doesn’t really matter, it’s all very closely fused. His films, this one included, are very much character driven rather than plot driven. He is an ‘actor’s filmmaker’, with a style and direction that evidently lends itself to getting good performances out of his cast. He gives great opportunity for actors with well-drawn, three dimensional characters and simultaneously requires actors to make them living, breathing and believable people. This film is arguably the best example and execution of that so far in his career. The cast however could have been very different, if filming had gone ahead when the script was first written 5 years ago. Originally, it was cast with Zooey Deschanel and Vince Vaughn in the lead roles. Make of that what you will. Personally I’m glad he waited until Jennifer Lawrence was around, whose first scene with Bradley Cooper reassures the viewer (if you needed it) that the rest of the film is going to be well worth watching. As alluded to, the acting all around is fantastic. Robert De Niro, who finally appears in something worthy of his ability again, has gotten another Oscar nomination for his role. Cooper and Jacki Weaver, who plays Pat’s mother, are nominated too. All good performances, but as I say, all indebted to what David O Russell has produced for them in the script and how he’s allowed them to be so free with it. The movie really is great scene after great scene. In particular a dance sequence which is as bipolar as the dancers themselves, and almost feels like it deserves its own round of applause. As the film races to the conclusion we are so won over by it, we don’t care about structure or a recognisable plot. We only care about the characters and what happens to them. In achieving that end, the film succeeds in transcending its genre and is simply a great film. Richard Madgwick 7
BEST ACTOR
BEST ACTRESS I have a love-hate relationship with the Oscars. I don’t agree with all their choices, however, every now and then they do something right and this year, it’s nominating Jennifer Lawrence for Best Actress for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook. This is the second time she’s been nominated (her first was for Winter’s Bone, but she lost out to Natalie Portman for Black Swan) and she’s already won Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical Role at the Golden Globes and Outstanding Female Actor in a Leading Role at the SAGs. But will she now be able to bag the Oscar too? I think she definitely deserves it. I love every performance that Lawrence has given, so naturally when I went to see Silver Linings Playbook I was expecting great things. However I found that my expectations were surpassed; I saw what a truly fantastic actress she is. Silver Linings Playbook could have been an incredibly weak film- the story is fairly predictable and the humour could sound forced or awkward if it hadn’t have been executed so well. But it is the actors’ performances that make this film award-worthy. While some were pleasantly surprised at Bradley Cooper’s acting chops, Jennifer Lawrence outshone him with the effortless humour and charisma that she brought to the role. Many actresses were considered for the part; Anne Hathaway was even confirmed for the role but was forced to drop out due to scheduling difficulties. It has been reported that Lawrence’s audition was seen only as a formality because the director thought she was too young for the role, at the age of 21. But she showed her acting ability to be beyond her age and won herself the part. This was the best decision that the director could have made for Silver Linings Playbook, because it wouldn’t have been the same with another actress. Her balance of a sassy “I don’t give a shit” attitude and her character’s vulnerability is beautiful and what I think defines the role. In other hands the character could have become either of the two extremes, rather than straddling the divide and providing us with a superb performance. Jennifer Lawrence’s performance is Oscar worthy because she defies expectations and delivers a mature performance that many actors her age could not achieve. She will never just been known as Katniss from the Hunger Games, she has managed to present herself as a serious actress with the skill to be around for a long time. If she doesn’t win this year, which I hope she does, she will win in the future. Natalie Saunders 8
When I saw bright eyed, ridiculously handsome ladies man, Hugh Jackman in the first scene of Les Miserables I was shocked at the transformation he had endured in order to play the role of Jean Valjean to the best of his ability. It’s one thing playing a completely different role for this film, but the gruelling intensity that he forced his body through to play Valjean sounds unbearable. To achieve his gauntly appearance, with those hollow cheeks and sunken eyes, he forced his body to undergo severe bodily, lifestyle and dietary changes. It definitely paid off...he is a picture of reality for this film after putting himself through starvation periods of 36 hours with minimal amounts of food and nothing to drink, not even a drop of water. When we hear that an actor/actress is putting their body through an extreme change for a film we don’t seem to think much of it, and don’t always notice the significant changes but this for sure was one of the most shocking images I have seen in terms of bodily changes and sacrifice. Jackman’s character changes significantly throughout the film. At the beginning he is just a number in a prison, serving time for stealing bread and attempting to escape the prison. He is nothing but a gaunt, malnourished number that suddenly transforms into a confident, well dressed fuller faced mayor. The change in his body is an impressive element which not many actors would be willing to sacrifice, Jackman lost fifteen pounds for his filming in the prison scenes and then had to gain weight to look healthier and successful in the later scenes; so he gained thirty pounds to show this. His performance is spectacular from the beginning all the way through the film, and he becomes increasingly easier to bond with emotionally as his character develops into a loving, caring man who tries to do best by those around him. The strange gaunt man at the beginning of the film is a distant memory as we slowly watch Valjean grow old and let go of the little girl he treats as his daughter. Hugh Jackman is best known for three giant metal claws emerging from his knuckles, but this film shines a different light on him and really highlights the strength in his acting and versatility. Not only is his acting spectacular and unique in this film but also his singing is incredibly unexpected. With all the cast singing live on the set of filming, there is a sense of real dedication and realism in their emotions when performing their scenes. This was obvious for the likes of Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfreid and Russell Crowe, but Hugh Jackman was the voice that surprised me. It jumped out with its power; meaningful tones and real emotion spread across his face. Despite the fact he is playing a role, to me it felt like he had gotten so far into his character and the narrative that it felt like he was just performing as himself and every emotion he felt and sung, I could connect and empathise with. Therefore winning an Oscar for Best Actor would not only be a compliment on his dedication and change in physical appearance, but it would highlight the amazing element of his acting abilities. Jackman has set a very high bar for himself in the future and I truly don’t believe that he will be able to top the excellent, exquisite, unique performance that we saw in Les Miserables. Stephanie Vivian 9
Whilst Haneke is not the most obvious choice for Best Director this year, (especially placed in the category with the powerhouses of Spielberg and Lee) I would like to propose why he should win this February. This is the first time he has been recognised by the academy, even though he is a regular at Cannes, having won the Palme D’or twice out of six nominations. One can argue that his earlier films have not been Oscar-friendly, and that this is why he has been overlooked; films with themes of masochism (The Piano Teacher) and torture (Funny Games) lack moral tone, for example. Although in this case, Amour is no picnic either. His selection can be seen as the fruition of his directorial talents- he has finally reached a standard of near perfection that he has been crafting since the 1970s, and the academy has finally taken notice. The in-depth exploration of an elderly couple coping with the effects of a stroke hardly puts a smile on the audience’s face. It has been described as his answer to the Hollywood weepy, and in true Haneke style he is able to, perhaps for the first time, show his humane side with this delicate topic, whilst creating a sense of mournful melancholia. He allows the film to play out devoid of sentimentality, breaking those Hollywood rules that we’ve grown so accustom to. His greatest talent here is to infuse his text with a tenderness, which allows it to be beautiful as well as difficult to watch. This is life for Georges and Anne- they will live through it as best they can. Many will I’m sure, disregard Amour as a grim, depressing lesson in death, and something to avoid. This is not so. Instead, it is important to realise that this is a film about love and how selfless humans can be. As already mentioned, Haneke is up against Lee, who may have filmed the un-filmable with Life of Pi, but the brilliance of Amour is that it doesn’t need to be an epic story set over oceans and exotic lands. 10
Best Director Michael Haneke
“I make my films because I’m affected by a situation, by something that makes me want to reflect on it, that lends itself to an artistic reflection. I always aim to look directly at what I’m dealing with. I think it’s a task of dramatic art to confront us with things that in the entertainment industry are usually swept under the rug.” Michael Haneke
Shot almost entirely in the small space of the couple’s apartment, Haneke does not need any fantasy elements to portray the terrifying. Death is something that we all fear and it is an everyday reality, and time is presented this way within Amour. It is the enemy. When life is hard it becomes a repetitive, day-byday slog. The camera glides through the apartment, allowing us an intimacy with its geography by the end of the film, such is its prison like representation paralleling Anne’s imprisonment within her body. Strokes are such an everyday occurrence that we forget the horror of the debilitation that they cause. Haneke’s ability to coax such outstanding performances from his actors (Emmanuelle Riva, aged 85 has been nominated for her first Academy Award for her performance) whilst creating and building upon his signature style of coldness and detachment is an achievement. There is such juxtaposition between the subject matter, and the way in which it is filmed. It is shot in such a way as to enclose the viewer within the stifling apartment, forcing them to watch the often unwatchable, or at least uncomfortable. It takes bravery to put on screen what is often brushed under the carpet: What happens to us when we get old? Will it be painful and humiliating? Haneke answers “yes” and the repeated use of long takes means we must confront his fearless tale that places such truths on screen. If this was a film in the hands of a Hollywood director it would be a sure fire choice for Best Director. Unfortunately, because there is no sentimentally and no miracle in which the lead is cured, whilst nominated, and whilst deserving of best Oscar, I think it will be a surprise if Haneke does win. Yet its nomination serves to pave the way for future films. As a director your subject is allowed be dark, graphic and heartbreaking, as well as Oscar bait. Alice Elliot 11
The Force Behind the Film Ian Claydon
Rule Britannia!
There’s no denying that 2012 was one hell of a year for Britons. A bold statement perhaps, but in the year where a Dave Startup particular someone’s Diamond Jubilee boosted national pride ahead of the world looking to London for a Summer of Olympic games, no-one can deny that 2012 put the ‘Great’ into Great Britain. This triumphant year extends into the performance of film in Britain too. The industry recorded 2012 as one of the most successful of recent years, and considering the offering of British productions throughout it’s not difficult to see why either- but which was the best of the British bunch? For fans of the art house, Michael Fassbender showed that he had a lot of Shame in a hauntingly beautiful piece of filmmaking by Steve McQueen, and Peter Strickland’s brilliantly creative and unique Horror with a twist Berberian Sound Studio became a firm favourite amongst critics and cinephiles. We even taught the big guns over in Hollywood a thing or two about epic filmmaking with Prometheus. It may have divided opinions, but being produced by British director Sir Ridley Scott it created a successful British/American co-production. The impressive finale to director Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, also showed them- we’ll bring the talent, you bring the money! None of these films, as great as they are, really scream ‘British’ though, do they? Well there were a couple in particular that did. Aardman Animation released their latest stopmotion film The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists; a film which guaranteed a treasure trove of family fun and laughs with its pun-filled humour that epitomises the best of our unique Britishness. However, my pick of the British best has to go to one film, and in this case, an entire British institution. In equal accolade to the Jubilee and Olympic celebrations was the 50th anniversary of the cinematic adventures of a man who needs no introduction: Bond, James Bond. For five whole decades 007 has shaken and stirred generations of people around the world. To celebrate, not only did team Bond parachute the superspy into the Olympic stadium with her majesty the Queen, but they also released an outstanding film that encompassed the very best of 50 years in one – the ultimate Bond film. In the franchise’s 23rd film Skyfall, director Sam Mendes, Daniel Craig and the immense talents of its mostly British cast and crew proved that the adventures of 007 are just as relevant today as they were 50 years ago. Not only was it one of the most exciting action films in recent years, set and shot largely within the UK, Skyfall exhibited the best of British filmmaking talents, as well as the best of Britain itself. Grossing over $1 Billion in the world wide box office, Skyfall grabbed the attention of the world proving that even after 50 years, nobody does it better…
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How many films that have won Best Picture can you name? Or how many Best Actor winners? What about writers that have won Best Original or Adapted Screenplay? That last one is a bit trickier isn’t it, why? Because nobody cares. That’s right, the people who build these films from nothing, create the very concept, are forgotten, tucked away into that Oscar night lull when people yawn and wait for the pretty people to come back. Why is this? Why is there a complete disregard for the foundation of filmmaking? Is it that the movie industry has lost their quality control on writers, that the writer has become just a commodity that can be fired and replaced? Or can extra writers for rewrites be hired so easily, that it’s made the very act of writing become something that can be bought and sold? Writing is now something second to the studio’s distractible whim of what will make money, not making films because there’s a good script in place or a good reason to make a movie, but because they own the rights to something they want to remake. They can then hire a writer, then hire a second writer to rewrite it, then a third, and churn out any crap, undermining the entire profession. Or is it that we are at a time when people are writing not from experience or from research but from having watched lots of movies? However they still don’t pay attention to the clichés and the conventions, busting out the same derivative movies, with a knee jerk reaction of ’that’s what’s in other movies so it must be in this one.’. Full of exposition, pointless supporting characters and subplots, they have an overall complete lack of substance, depth or purpose. The Best Writer categories are dictated by the best picture nominations, which are in turn dictated not by quality but by box office receipts. But even the ‘good’ films pander to the box office, instead of depth and quality, melodrama is placed as the goal, with two dimensional characters, questionable character motivations and contrived overly emotional plotlines instead of a realistic exploration of an important subject. So what is it that’s made us forget about the writer? It’s probably a combination of many things, but mostly because writing is boring and actors and directors are interesting. There are great movies that occasionally sneak through into the Oscar Night hubbub, you just have to look past the glitz and glamour and see the writer, locked away alone for weeks to months to years. See the pain and dedication it takes to truly write a great script, to sit down at a typewriter and bleed.
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Game On: Wreck It Ralph for Best Animated Feature Film Forget slightly disturbed dead kids, red-headed princesses with a knack for archery and pirates sailing the clay seas. The only player in this game is Wreck It Ralph. The film is a homage to old school gaming and has characters as varied as Ken and Ryu from Street Fighter to zombies from House of the Dead. Each reference and pun one-ups the last and they’re a clear sign of Lee and Johnston’s passion for gaming and skill for writing. From the opening 8-bit sequence to the high def world of Heroes Duty the film spans gaming evolution within the sphere of Litwak’s Arcade. Wreck It Ralph manages to create a new world from somewhere we thought we already knew, much like the hidden world of toys shown in Toy Story. Only this world is far better, because via Game Central Station you’re only a monorail away from a new adventure. Watching this film you are challenged to think about the life of a bad guy, and now I’m not sure I could eat any of the ghosts when playing Pacman (especially Clyde) without feeling guilty. You are entirely drawn into Ralph’s quest and find yourself rooting for the bad guy in a way that I never thought possible. Another surprise from the film was the effectiveness of 3D, something which up until now has felt more like a gimmick in other films. Wreck It Ralph levels up 3D and weaves it into the visually diverse worlds of the movie. For example, the sickly sweet world of Sugar Rush is so saccharine soaked that watching it puts you at risk of real sugar rush, when it is viewed in 3D. When things risk becoming too sweet though, there is always the fantastic voice of Jane Lynch as Sergeant Calhoun to fire a few shots into the sticky mush. John C. Reilly’s voice is dynamic, funny and moving taking him to a bonus level of performance. Based on these performances and the others within the film, whoever was in charge of voice casting deserves their own medal, because the voice actors are perfectly suited to their characters. This film has evolved the category for Best Animated Feature and it’s going to be tougher to beat than a cybug. Just like Ralph’s desire for a medal, director Rich Moore must be hoping for an Oscar. It’s gold and shiny, but sadly the trophy doesn’t have ‘Hero’ written on it. Now let me close up with the bad guy affirmation: Ralph is a bad guy, but that doesn’t mean that this is a bad film. Come Sunday 24th February I really think this film will tear the competition apart faster than chickenhawk in a coop of crippled roosters.
Lauren Tildsley
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The Unsung Awards As always during award season, there is a list of efforts that don’t get a look in on nominations. But some of these unrecognised achievements deserve a mention, so here is my list of the successes that I believe were overlooked this time round.
BEST DIRECTOR Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win an Oscar for Best Director in 2008 for The Hurt Locker, which won a further five Oscars that year. This year she hasn’t been, which comes as a shock given how carefully considered and intelligent Zero Dark Thirty is. Bigelow’s film tells the story of the ten-year operation that eventually found and killed Osama Bin Laden, and has been met with controversy regarding the portrayal of torture and the supposed endorsement of the extreme tactics used during this period. To the contrary, Bigelow brings a neutral approach to the film. She presents a lack of bias and a focus on facts that leaves certain scenes free to shock or move the audience without the need for manipulation. The best compliment I can give it is that it feels like a feature-length episode of The Wire, both in its sincerity and subtlety. Surely the judges have missed a trick in letting Bigelow slip under the radar this year.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Wally Pfister served as a DP for the last time this year, before taking the plunge into directing a science-fiction movie due to be released in 2014. Christopher Nolan is a popular and respected director of our time, yet not many people know how much his films benefit from Pfister’s work; the two collaborating on every single one of Nolan’s films except his debut feature. His work this year in The Dark Knight Rises is another clear indicator of his extensive knowledge and creativity
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY A big surprise this year was the writing debut of Zoe Kazan, with her insightful and entertaining Ruby Sparks, in which she also starred. It’s refreshing to see what at first glance looks like a quirky rom-com actually use an interesting concept to comment on the nature of relationships, and even spare a few moments to apply a feminist take on the gender politics of the genre. Partly influenced by Charlie Kaufman, yet with a distinct artistic voice, Kazan is a screenwriter worth looking out for.
BEST PICTURE
Martha Marcy May Marlene has been overlooked for awards. This decision is absurd given the critical reception the film received, as well as winning the Directing Award at Sundance Film Festival. An atmospheric portrayal of the paranoia and inability to assimilate to everyday life of the titular Martha, Sean Durkin wrote and directed an intense drama, grounded by the understated performances of both Elizabeth Olsen and John Hawkes. Scenes are either foreboding or haunted by the damaging events at the centre of the film, making this a film that really gets under your skin. It is difficult to understand why this engrossing film hasn’t been given the recognition it’s due. Jack Godwin
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