Saturday
Aug042012
Yes, No, Maybe So: "The Paperboy"
Saturday, August 4, 2012 at 10:13PM I know you've been waiting to discuss this one or spent all your discussion energies elsewhere. But do it again. Humor me! You know how bad I want this movie, even if it's terrible. Let's break it down quickly since I'm all YESSSSSSSssssSSSsssS Gimme.
YES
- "That man is dangerous. Lovin' him is dangerous ♫" - perfect music choice
- Speaking of dangerous Pt 2 Nicole Kidman trashy, sweaty, in character, on fire. If she were a man people would bow down like they do with Daniel Day-Lewis.
- Speaking of dangerous Pt 3 Precious director Lee Daniels. Generally you can't achieve genius unless you're willing to risk looking ridiculous. Reviews suggested the latter but still. Brava for taking chances.
- Zac Efron's wet underwear contest and Nicole Kidman's gawdy costumes, Two great looks that look great together.
- The cast. Matthew McConaughey has been on a roll and Macy Gray is always welcome. She was just inspired in her cameo in For Colored Girls and memorable in Lee Daniels' Shadowboxer, too.
- "These your paperboys? What are they gonna do for me." // "They're gonna save you" Chills.
NO
- This trailer verges on the totally incoherent. "What the hell is going on?" can be a good future ticket buy question spurred on by a trailer but generally not in the "what the hell is going on within the trailer itself!?" kind of way. I think it's the overlapping sound editing. It's just cacophonous.
MAYBE SO
- John Cusack. I admit I am nothing like a fan. Very occassionally I'm intrigued but there are more misses than hits if you ask me.
the trailer in case you're also running late...
Are you a Yes? a Hell Yes? or a Gimme Now Before I Spontaneously Combust? no? maybe so?
I know I'm not supposed to think that Nicole has an Oscar shot for something this pulpy and outre but damn this looks like a killer part. Will she kill it?
Reader Comments (39)
I'm too excited. It looks chaotic, trashy and ridiculous, but that's what's so brilliant about it all. Plus Nicole, in a role for the ages, no doubt between this, the Grace Kelly bio, appearances in the Butler and Von Trier's film we will be spoilt - Nat, do you realistically think she'll ever win another Oscar? Realistically.
I'm so with you on Cusack. Ten or fifteen years ago, I would have proudly declared myself a devoted fan. Now? I'm barely able to mumble a "Yeah, he's okay." A talented actor wasted on an utterly unworthy career.
I admit that camp really, really, really isn't my thing, so I'm pretty much a "no" for this one, even considering Kidman.
I think it's a really poorly cut trailer but I think the movie's gonna be a lot of fun, even if it's a pos. It may be my most anticipated (that could just be because of Efron's ass though)
Sort of ... It is either going to be very good or very bad!!!
So much a yes that I'd watch a bad bootleg right now (which would seem oddly appropriate for this one). Bound to be a good time at theater in one way or another, and then there's KIDMAN. It's like the early Augths again and that quirky artistic drive (which serves her so, so well) that was only there in spurts towards the end of the decade is back in full force now. I think you're dead on with the Day-Lewis comparison, but as we're already seeing with re-evaluations of things like Birth, I think the legend/legacy factor will be firmly set when all is said and done.
It is a huge YES for me!
This looks trashy and weird and just right. It doesn't look like they are afraid to sell it that way. Kidman! She's giving me real Suzanne Stone-Maretto gone southern realness here.
Daniels should be applauded for wanting to take chances and have a voice. His films have been bonkers so far, why stop here?
OH MY GAWD YES! At the very least the film will be an enjoyable mess, so why the hell not? And I agree completely about John Cusack, he's been good in some things but he's never the reason I want to see a film.
Yes! I love Nicole when she's in her pedal to the metal "I'll do anything for my auteur" mode. And Lee Daniels deserves the thanks of a weary nation for getting Zac Efron to parade around in his underpants.
Hell, even if it is a complete disaster, I'll be in line on opening weekend. Even (especially?) disasters are fascinating to watch. Plus, Kidman? Sold.
Hell yes. I'm expecting something that John Waters will love the shit out of, and I cannot wait. And if it's anything less than a fabulous camp-fest, I'll be very upset.
Every review for this film that I've read (even those who trashed it) have really praised Nicole. I think the IndieWire/The Playlist review may be one of the only exceptions. But that reviewer just seemed downright OFFENDED about everything that was on display here, lol. But I know Time Magazine and Guy Lodge in particular stated that she she deserved Best Actress at Cannes, even though she didn't realistically have a shot in hell for something like this. An aside, but I really hope she nabs that award one day, she's way overdue. It just seems wrong that she's one of the few Von Trier heroines who left that festival empty-handed.
But as for The Paperboy, I think Oscar is completely out of the question. But she does indeed look fantastic and seems to be having a fuck load of fun. Had a part like this been in something a little (a lot?) less pulpy and John Waters-ish, I think she'd have a great shot. All of the ingredients are there on paper: against-type, transformation, etc.
Oscar wise, her slate looks much better next year, what with The Railway Man and Grace of Monaco.
This is giving me off the charts Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil vibes. Yeesh. I'll see it, but ...
I'll be seeing this for the following reasons
1. Nicole Kidman
2. Zac Efron in underwear
3. Macy Gray's cameo
I will not be seeing it for these following reasons
1. This awful trailer
2. John Cusack
Oh, and how could I forget? Lee Daniels - I absolutely loved Precious.
I hated Precious. I'm a yes for Kidman only.
A big YES for me. This seems like another great Kidman performance. Many critics has said this is her best perf. since 2Die4, I cannot wait!!
Yes, but just for Kidman
If Oscars were fair they would nominate Nicole Kidman in a minute. She seems to deserve a nom so badly. Why can't Academy separate a good perfomance from a bad movie?? Unless you're Streep or Winslet it seems they can't. Or maybe, just because your name is Nicole Kidman you never deserve to get a nom. She does more than any other actress but she's always snubbed. Ok she was nominated for Rabbit Hole (she's terrific in it) but a grieving mother in an indie movie would have taken a nom to Linday Lohan too. I hope with time, awards will like Kidman more. She has an incredible talent but "history" remembers winners and I don't want to see her in a corner of movies history. She has to be remembered as a GREAT actress not as a movie star and fashion icon.
Liz N.: Exactly. I'd think he should have gotten an Oscar nom for Grosse Pointe Blank, but only High Fidelity is close to that good performance wise.
Totally agree on the ddl comparisson,hopefully reviewers will wake up in a few years to say she is the riskiest and most versatile actress of her generation,glad she looks less plasticy too.
morganisaqt -- realistically, i do not think so. Usually one is enough and the history of double Oscar winners doesn't have a strong correlation to brave risk-taking actors.
Mee88 -- but she's already a winner. so there's that. History will remember her as all of those things I bet.
Nicole Kidman is a legend. This is not a subject up for debate, it is a fact! No actress lasts this long if she aint.
As for the trailer, She upstages everybody in this trailer. Looks like campy fun!
Nat, pleeeeze..
."...Nicole Kidman trashy, sweaty, in character, on fire. If she were a man people would bow down like they do with Daniel Day-Lewis..."
It takes a lot for a film to make Kidman not the number one reason I'm going, but Efron in rain-soaked tighty-whitey's takes number one.
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!
When Kidman starred in Margot At the Wedding, Justin Chang writing about Oscar nominations praised Kidman and Jason Leigh's performances but claimed they should and would not be nominated because there was nothing noble about their characters. This was the same year DDL and Javier Bardem got praised to the high heavens and were nominated for There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men, respectively. Apparently, their characters were filled with nobility.
I have to say though that there are pockets/institutions that have given Kidman her due - BFI (they did a film series on her a few years ago and there is a book on her coming out soon from them) so even if the different award bodies only remember her one or twice in a decade eventually someone wakes up and sees what is there.
All I read about Kidman's performance in The Paperboy was praise...unless the smaller award bodies such as ISA, Gotham, Satelitte herald her performance then it will not be nominated because critic award bodies don't bother to nominate her despite the fact that she is usually in the top 10 or top 20 of that Village Voice critics poll.
They had me at trashy Nicole Kidman. Then I found out she'd be peeing on Zac Efron and my God, who in America doesn't want to see that? I almost hope it's terrible. If this and Magic Mike are both hits, I have to wonder if Hollywood is finally putting out the right kind of trash.
Well, I was pretty much a HELL YES GIMME NOW the second I saw the poster. Miss a Nicole Kidman movie? I don't think so, my friends. I must say that I do agree with the DDL comparison and if there were any justice in the world Nicole Kidman would have at least double the number of Oscar nominations as she has now. I'm not totally sold on her southern accent (little slices of her inner Aussie seem to make cameos in all of her films no matter what the setting is it seems) but I'll let that slide just for the joy of seeing Nic look sexier and more confident than any 20 year-old statarlette out there.
Thank God I found this site. This is where Nicole Kidman fans congregate. I love her. I think she is the best actress of all time and I think this movie will win her an Oscar. I love her sooo. She can't do no wrong. She is like fried food. Delicio
That is one horrible trailer- but Zac does look good in his underpants.
What Meryl Streep is to the rest of civilization Nicole Kidman is to me. Movie star good looks, star presence who can't teach or buy, and the unmatched ability to transform, her other, is Tilda Swinton.
I hate this trailer, it does a disservice.
Actually the trailer is amazing and I don't have any doubt for Kidman -She will be great as almost always-. But I think we need to keep the awards expectations low for this one, even when the actual reception for "The Paperboy" is mixed (56% in RT):
-Millenium studios is a small company and I have my doubts for them to making a serious awards campaign for her. Music Box didn't make it to Yolande Moreau and Noomi Rapace even when their performances have critical support.
-For the last 30 years, I only remember a performance at the same style nominated for the Oscar... Diane Ladd in "Wild at Heart". But that film have more "critical aura" and we know Ladd was at the Oscars. She invited several member for the Academy to see the movie at home and make a coctail. According to many sources and reviews, "The Paperboy" has: a. Nicole Kidman peeing Efron; b. Kidman masturbating in front of criminals; c. A gay sex scene with a sadic ending and d. John Cusack being a sexual predator and killer. It would be a really uphill battle for the nomination
-Also, Kidman's history for Oscar and awards seasons wasn't exactly a perfect match. Birth, Margot at the Wedding, The Golden Compass, To Die For, Eyes Wide Shut, The Portrait of a Lady... Nathaniel, we love Kidman, but we need to be realistic. We known what happened last awards seasons, especially last year, right now they in serious mode of predicting Oscars.
-At least for keeping her name up, Kidman needs a wave of critics awards, but I seriously doubt. With names as Quvenzhané Wallis, Emmanuelle Riva, Marion Cotillard, Maggie Smith and even Rachel Weisz needed advantage for that, I only hope for GG nomination - They love her- at most.
Kidman will run in the supporting category. Chances for a nom are very low now. She needs a miracle.
As much as I love (scratch that) worship Kidman, I agree with most posters about her chances of being nominated for The Paperboy. Yes, 90% of reviews so far about the movie have been nothing but 'showering' praise for her ballsy performance, but can anyone recall an actress being nominated for what seems to be such an amazingly trashy role?
Personally, I lost all respect for the Oscars when Cate Blanchett and Marion Cotillard were nominated in 2008 over Nicole for Margot. Both are very gifted actresses, but the Oscar BELONGED to Julie Christie that year; and Cate had no business being nominated one bit.
As far as The Paperboy is concerned, this movie will go down in a long list of movies which will invariably get overlooked with the awards bodies; unless of course her PR reps really start an aggressive campaign once the film comes out.
Just like Margot, Eyes Wide Shut, Birth, To Die For, Dogville, Fur (YES! Fur), this movie will definitely set a benchmark in Kidman's career when it comes to that amazing chameleonic character-driven portrayal that we Kidmaniacs love about her.
I'm so glad at least a couple of the many comments have mentioned To Die For... this is a perfect companion piece. Nicole Kidman is unique and WILL BE REMEMBERED... she's won her Oscar, been nominated for plenty, and true cinephiles, the keepers of the culture, will make sure she is part of the history and the current conversation both. No need for laments, children. Diva owns it and will continue to.
i'm pretty sure this is gonna be a mess, but a hot one
That man is dangerous. Lovin' him is dangerous - who sings this song
what is ths song name??????????? That man is dangerous. Lovin' him is dangerous - who sings this song
I'm in the Gimme Now Before I Spontaneously Combust camp. Plus it comes out on my birthday. I WILL BE THERE, worshipping Nicole Kidman as always and loving every second of the southern accents and pulpy goodness.
I adore La Kidman, and it's great to see so many accolades on this blog. I have to see this movie, and I know she will not disappoint. Nicole's face all mas-scary that way will be a drawing card for many fans who want to see her really go for it in this role. But then, she is nothing but 100 percent commitment, in or out of the trailer park. I am holding out hope she will get the recognition she deserves, but as you have all pointed out, Oscar has been a bitch to Nicole and for no good reason. @Kaye, thank you for your post about Julie being robbed that year. I had an Oscar party, and I was so disgusted with Cotillard winning that I asked everyone to leave! I was, to say the least, not happy.
Please please please can anyone tell me what is the name of the song during the jellifish scene??