Two Ladies: Margaret and Catwoman
Friday, August 5, 2011 at 8:34AM beedle-dee-deedle-dee-dee ♬
Margaret. Last night I was having a conversation with a reader and he asked me if I thought that Margaret, that long-delayed Kenneth Lonergan film about a traumatized young Manhattanite (Anna Paquin) was going to have any impact on the Oscar Race. I told him I'd been answering that question annually for the past five years. Each year the question feels weirder and weirder. If you're new to movie fanaticism, here's a good rundown of the timeline and the things that went wrong in getting the movie into theaters.
Here's Matt Damon and Anna Paquin on set... in... wait for it... 2005. Matt was still a thirtysomething and Anna wasn't yet SOOKIIIIIIEEE.
on the set of Margaret
As to the Oscar question, truthfully I care not a smidgeon. I just want to see it. It's been drifting, transparent, like a ghost in our peripheral vision for years. I don't even what to see a critic's screening. I want to buy a ticket, sit in the theater holding it, come home and frame it with the inscription:
THIS REALLY HAPPENED!"
The press release I received yesterday morning said September 30th but until the day I'm holding that ticket stub it will remain an ectoplasmic dream.
Catwoman. The Dark Knight Rises has released its second official character image (the first was of Tom Hardy's hunched back) and it's Our Miss Hathaway as Cyclops Catwoman riding a very Nolan-esque wild hog. He sure likes those dunebuggy big wheels.
I love Hathaway. I love Catwoman. But my inner child is not okay with either of them stealing Batgirl's motorycle mojo, you know?
I had...uh... this friend... yeah, a friend... who used to pretend to be Batgirl while riding on the back of his dad's motorcycle. This...uh... friend was smart enough to not share this fantasy out loud with my dad his dad but it was a pretty regular occurence. Like, every time he hopped on the motorcycle!
Don't judge.
und i'm the only man. ja ♬
Anna Paquin, Anne Hathaway, Batman, Catwoman, Margaret, Oscars (11)
Reader Comments (23)
lol at "I had this friend"
It's interesting that Margret has taken so long to get to the screen, esp considering the popularity of its two leads.
And idk what to make of the hathaway image...I'm actually shocked we are getting so much from the nolan camp as well as spoiler photos. I thought they were secretive...
I just don't see why we should be all that excited about Margaret. The guy made one very good movie. It will be his second film. Not the Second Coming.
Personally, I'm curious but not more excited to see it than I am for other films this year that haven't been delayed.
Then again, I haven't known about this movie for years like other people have.
Catwoman/Anne: Zzzzz costume.
I'm pretty sure your friend turned out to love strong female movie characters and write about them. He must be as awesome as he was then.
And.. are you impying something about Nolan?
I say: Don't judge until we see it in motion. What he's implying about Nolan? I'd say nothing, unless someone else gets it. As for Margaret: It'd be REALLY creepy if this impacts the Oscar race. They've aged so much since they shot the footage that I wouldn't be comfortable with this movie on the campaign trail no matter how it turns out.
lol @ the last part.
The early campaign for The Dark Knight Rises doesn't seem nearly as fascinating as The Dark Knight's campaign, but I feel confident that Nolan will keep the quality high so he can finish out the series strong. Absolutely can't wait.
As for Margaret...FINALLY. Even if it's panned, I'll have to check it out.
Anne looks so bland in this picture. Where's the sexiness, where's that je-ne-sais-quoi?
Nolan has Cotillard in the movie. Why didn't he cast her as Catwoman? Wouldn't this have been the much better choice?
Its not just the mode of transportation but the outfit itself screams more Bat Girl than Catwoman to me.
I'm rooting for Annie "are you ok" -- and will add that Nolan's visual aesthetics do nothing for me but I know I'm just a vocal minority on that one.
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I didn't like You Can Count On Me. I heard Ruffalo was suppose to be Shmay and from what I recall, recall, recall, he wasn't!
God, will people even need to see TDKR when it comes out? Sometimes, I hate the Internet. We can't be surprised by anything anymore.
I can't imagine the studio will put much Oscar effort behind Margaret unless it's a huge critical and commercial hit. It's more likely that they just want to get it out there and be done with it.
And as for Nolan's postulation about "a threequel has never been good" I would love to point you to ARMY OF DARKNESS, an awesome end of the series, even if it's not AS GOOD as Evil Dead 2. (Though Evil Dead 2 is within my top 50 films ever made, so it'd be hard to be within that league.)
That's some expensive shit Catwoman has. :/ So she's a rich brat like Batman?
I was really hoping that the first still we got of Annie as Catwoman would be a little more costume-centric, and not about a motorcycle. Let's see a little leather and whip next time!
The set-pics I've seen of her on the vehicle look awful! Unsexy and plain ridiculous :(
That's supposed to be Catwoman? Are you kidding me? I grew up with the series as a toddler and Catwoman captured my imagination then - recaptured it with Pfieffer in the '90's- and now? Well, it probably won't be as bad the Halle Berry incarnation but I guess I shouldn't be surprised by this; Nolan has shown little to no interest or creativity in his films when it comes to female characters. I know this is just one still - but it's bringing back memories of Schumacher. NOT a good thing.
And, I completely agree with Lara re: Cotilliard, and Rami re: the Batgirl vibe.
I'm not a Nolan apologist by any means, but I think anyone who thinks they can tell anything from this picture and gnash their teeth and wail about it need to reevaluate. You can't possibly have a valid, strong opinion about Nolan's characterization of Selina Kyle based on an image. Don't be ridiculous.
I think Margaret will have an impact on the Oscar race...only to ultimate lose Best Picture to Flora Plum. :)
By the show, you mean Adam West, right? As in, the one where she acts like everyone else, putting Batman in giant deathtraps. Note: She's a thief with no reason to kill Batman in the comics and, in an adaptation hewing much closer to the comics than even the Burton films (Catwoman in Returns, for example, is the first of two adaptations of The Crow in a two year period) did, I'd expect that to be reflected. So, Kokolo, as for Catwoman being a rich girl? No. She stole the Batcycle... somehow. And as for the "unsexy" claim: Are you really surprised? Nolan's approach to get people to take Batman seriously is rampant desexualization and open philosophizing. As for the length of the next movie...every set revelation is making me say "Nolan...are you really submitting a 3.5 hour Batman movie?" 2 Ra's Al Ghuls (they say that Josh Pence is only playing Ra's in flashbacks, but if they're including the Lazarus Pits, Pence is also the main Ra's), a street smart girl who is either Holly Robinson or pre-origin Pamela Isley, a mad scientist who is either Hugo Strange or (more likely) Jason Woodrue, Tom Conti (who is either Penguin or Black Mask), Joey King (can't see her as anything but Batgirl), Christopher Judge (who might be Killer Croc) and then there's Cotillard (who some think might actually be Talia Al Ghul.) Overall: A 2 1/2 hour cut would be stretching credulity with up to six possible villains and Batman's crush (sorry, but summaries of her recent portrayal in the comics make her seem to seem less of a villain and more of an anti-hero) in the mix (Penguin, 2 Al Ghul's, Croc, Woodrue and Bane being the villains.) To put that in perspective: Batman Begins had two of the iconic rogues and The Dark Knight had one. He confirmed that Freeze and Riddler aren't involved but, this being an adaptation of Knightfall, there have to be A LOT of villains. And a giant run-time to accommodate all those villains. Which is why I say "3.5 hours."
I dont get why marion is in this movie and is not playing catwoman. I saw a bit of "new yor I love you" on tb the other night and wow, maggie Q would have been amazing as catwoman. She is stunning, goddess-like beautiful, sexy, sophisticated, mysterious, classy and has feline eyes.
RJ, thank you. Geez...like, this could be one moment in the film, and no one knows the context. Calm down everyone, haha.
@ john t. hahahaha flora plum! blast from the past. i remember being so excited when that movie was in development and almost ultimately came to fruition. i read a copy of a script MANY years ago and really thought it was incredible. shame.
ps i hate this catwoman costume. what the hell? i hope this is a prototype before she actually gets something resembling a "cat-woman" outfit. lame.
I cannot believe Margaret is finally seeing the light of day. I will find it absolutely hysterical if it gets even one single nomination from the Oscars after all this time. Supposedly, it's Magnolia-esque but we'll see since that's an incredibly slippery slope.
It's realistic. What C*unt would actually dress like a cat? The joker turned out better not looking all cartoon-y and, I'm sure in action, this will fit the character. It's not up to the costume to work, it's up to anne and nolan.
I'm not up-in-arms about Anne Hathaway's costume the way some people are, though, then again, I don't care that much about comic book movies sticking religiously to the source material. Especially considering that Chris Nolan's MO for all of his Batman movies has been to keep things grounded and realistic, I'm surprised that people expected her to actually dress up like a cat. I'm glad that she isn't, and like Poppy said, it's going to be more important to see her actual performance and to find out what their interpretation of the character will be than what she's wearing .
About Margaret, I've been interested in the film for a while, not as long as some, but still a pretty long time. I loved You Can Count On Me, and I really hope Lonergan lives up to that with his next film. Unfortunately, it looks like a real possibility that Fox Searchlight might just dump it in theaters (especially since they have two other potential Oscar vehicles in Martha Marcy May Marlene and The Descendants), but I hope they do put some effort into bringing some attention to the movie. I hear Anna Paquin, at least, is really good.