Between Films... Thoughts on "American Hustle" Promos
Friday, October 11, 2013 at 9:57PM 
We've already done a "yes no maybe so" on American Hustle's A+ teaser. I loved that teaser so much I ended up purchasing Led Zeppelin's "Good Times Bad Times" on iTunes. But recently the full trailer debuted. Due to travels I hadn't commented.
I'm in Los Angeles for a few meetings and the enticing promos for American Hustle (those fab character posters, too) aren't just the talk amongst movie fans but rival Oscar teams, too. It seems like two conversations are running parallel: the ongoing Gravity conversation and the conversation about the films people haven't yet seen American Hustle and Her (which screens tomorrow for press). Are Captain Phillips and Twelve Years a Slave going to be able to find a large enough window between what's hot right now (Gravity) and what's still coming to steal some of that thunder?
The conversations I've had on the West Coast are a good reminder -- the internet can get so dully negative -- that many people who work on movies, whether its publicity, production, or full fledged movie stardom, started out as die-hard movie fans just like you and I.
So let's talk about the new trailer after the jump
'Thoughts I Had' on the Hustle trailer as they arrived without self censorship ...because who has time to edit these days? (I mean besides Thelma Schoonmaker, if you're speaking literally, who is undoubtedly chained to her editing bay right now trying to get The Wolf of Wall Street ready for Christmas. But that's another topic! I digress)
• Just saw Jeremy Renner in The Immigrant and he was almost suave there. Now he's suddenly Joe Pesci! And Christian Bale is giving DeNiro. Is this a Scorsese flick?
• No, no, it's not. The women clearly have too much to do for it to be a Scorsese flick. That and there's more than one of them. Dead giveaway!
• Interesting that the music would be so opposite from the rock vibe over the disco look that featured so heavily in the teaser. The first music cue could practically be the setup music for a romantic comedy... the first half wistful part where the heroine worries she'll never find love. Sleepless in New Jersey?
• If I love Amy Adams in this movie as much as I love her in the teaser and trailer, this will end up being my favorite of her star turns... or at least a close runner up to Junebug.
• Though that shot of Christian Bale's potbelly as she introduces him is kind of enraging when you consider the gender politics imbalance. Try imagining that being a shot of Amy Adams w/ Bale voiceover about how charismatic she is. You can't, can you? God women have it rough.
• ...Unless they look like Jennifer Lawrence or Amy Adams... are they both hitting their sexy peak in the same film? I was going to say something about the film melting in the projector but we've gone digital so everyone is safe. And also: what the hell is JLaw going to do for an encore once she hits thirty IN SEVEN YEARS since she keeps playing characters that make sense only if you pretend they're, like, 30.
• This is my favorite bit.
We gotta get over on all these guys. That's what we need to be thinking about right now. We gotta get over on all these guys."
Damn, Adams can just kill with a line reading. (See also that porch scene in The Fighter.)
• I bet Jennifer Lawrence has three scenes, tops, and they're just playing those up like crazy since she's such a hot draw.
YOUR TURN. What's the conversation like where you are: all Gravity or room for other films? And did this trailer make you more or less excited?
Reader Comments (23)
I liked the teaser better but I'm still super excited to see it. I do worry that JLaw's character is super limited, but her scenes look great at least.
Also, I JUST came back from Gravity. And I sadly agree with you, Nathaniel. B- from me.
Thoughts on The Immigrant?
For some reason, I keep thinking/hoping Adams is to "American Hustle" what Pfeiffer was to "Fabulous Baker Boys": a sexy, glamorous, talent-soaking star turn. Maybe Adams will get nominated but just not win: how can she? She's not de-glamming herself.
Oh, GAWD! I want/no NEED this movie so bad in my life right now! I don't even care about Oscar potential. Just feed this to me! Is Adams giving a little faux British accent? YES!
I haven't seen Gravity so I'm playing the avoid spoilers online game. I want to see it but 12 Years a Slave is a priority when it opens next week. And God help me if Jeffery Wells spoils HER tomorrow once it screens.
Amy Adams is, without exaggeration, giving me my life in these trailers. I'm so excited for this and for her to hopefully reclaim her good name after some of the overly-lukewarm (if not entirely unwarranted) Master reactions. The general consensus regarding her seems to strangely be that she has a lot to prove, even though I'd happily hand her two of her lost Oscars in a heartbeat.
LOL @Michael Eng. That first and last sentence sentence of what you wrote is EXACTLY how I'm feeling about this.
Oops I meant @Matthew Eng. I guess I was laughing too hard to read for a second there.
I agree that Lawrence is waay to young in this role - it'd be more appropriate for a casino-era Sharon Stone. With that said it looks like a big OTT fun character - I think she'll be a blast (probably overpraised - but a blast nonetheless). And damn - she's scorching.
I think you're engaging in some revisionist history here. Per your Yes, No, Maybe So for the teaser - Adams was in your 'Maybe so' and Lawrence, the one actor who you arent weary of, was in the 'Yes'. But I agree - after Adam's perf in The Fighter - I expect nothing less than greatness from her re-team with DOR, and she's looked fantastic (huge range of emotions, big part, at her most gorgeous) in both the teaser and the trailer. Frankly, I'm excited for the whole cast to play off eachother in messy DOR ways, and it looks like they def will be.
Yes, it's all about Gravity. Have you seen the Nymphomaniac promos?
PS Patrice Chéreau. Such a great loss.
If JLaw were in a Woody Allen movie she would win this Oscar in a cakewalk. But I still see the nomination.
The teaser was better but this is still a really enticing trailer. I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw Joe Pesci when looking at Jeremy Renner!
Speaking of Renner...I'm here for Adams and Lawrence but it's funny to me that people think he has a better shot at a nomination than Bradley Cooper, who seems to be a possible co-lead with Bale and Adams. Maybe they figure that he and Bale are both leads and Bale will edge him out? Or maybe Renner's role seems showier (B.Coop's hair, though!!)? Of course none of this matters until people see the film anyway.
Totally agree about J.Law's lack of age-appropriate roles, she's either playing too young (Katniss) or too old/ambiguously aged (Tiffany Maxwell, her character in AH). Wasn't her role in Serena originally intended for Angelina Jolie? I love her, so I can forgive her for it, but it's still a valid question that you posed.
I think in some cases J.Law is being cast too old, but she may pull off this character since the woman seems immature. Serena appears to be a disaster, so in that case she may have failed, which is a shame since that's such a meaty role.
I thought the trailer focused more on the guys this time,i saw some of the ladies scenes in the trailer left out,I DO NOT GET THE BASHING OF HER THE MASTER PERFORMANCE.
I don't know. I do think Adams looks very good here, but on the whole, I'm not that enthused for the film - some of the jokes (the curlers, Lawrence's scene with her son) verge into too-cute-by-half territory for me. Part of it may be my antipathy toward SLP or the fact that I'm just tired of Cooper and Lawrence. Annapurna has a great track record though.
I wasn't that interested in this one, but with the second trailer I like it better. I realized that Amy Adams will have all the plus aspects of her role in The Fighter, but this time, instead of being paired up with Mark Wahlberg she's teamed up with Christian Bale who is more on her artistic wavelength. Now, those two together, creating a scene and characters who are deeply involved with each other- that's going to be something to watch.
Also, I think the scene starting at :58 and it's fallout is going to be a great one. I love Adams' silent upset expression there.
Matthew Eng - your comment is on the sidebar for a bloody good reason. I simply am incapable of understanding the general opinion about Amy Adams. She is one of the very best actors working today. I hate to call a 4-time Oscar nominee underrated because that just feels wrong and ridiculous, but if there's anyone I feel justified saying that about, it's Amy Adams.
Also, huh, YAY! I completely agree about the fact that there are WOMEN! And they're DOING THINGS! Definitely not a Scorsese flick. Say what you will about Russell, at least he's genuinely interested in the female characters in his movies. I'm also less concerned about Lawrence because I think he re-wrote the part for her, so even though she's probably playing older (sigh), and Bale could actually be a her father (DOUBLE SIGH), Russell probably took that into consideration when he wrote the part.
As for the trailer - I've seen a lot of negative reactions to it which I don't understand. I mean, sure, Led Zep >>>> ELO (even though I'm a fan of both, yes, I just admitted to liking ELO on the internet!) and there's a lull somewhere in the middle of the trailer that is completely out of sync with the rest of it, but it still leaves me very excited about the movie. There seems to be in general a rush of negative opinions/underpredictions for American Hustle lately on the internet, and I'm kind of wondering if it's because people have been waiting for it for so long that it feels backlash is due even though no one has seen the movie yet? Or people are so certain about Gravity or 12 Years a Slave or Captain Phillips that they feel AH can't possibly live up to that level so they're starting to grumble already? I don't know, it's just bizarre. Maybe it's good for AH, it's not the sight unseen frontrunner anymore so it has less to live up to. People would be pleasantly surprised if it's really good rather than nitpicking if it's not a masterpiece.
Sidenote - the reaction to Her! <3 <3 <3 <3 I want to see that movie so badly.
according to some peoples who were at the screen tests, Cooper and Lawrence are the louder characters and these persons don't seem to complain how Jennifer is too young for her character and she has more than 3 scenes
To follow up what french girl just said, I've also heard a report (I can't be sure if it's a trustworthy one, but still) that not only is Jennifer Lawrence's part substantial, but she gives the best performance in the movie. Again, these early test screening mutterings are hard to take too seriously, but for what it's worth, Lawrence may end up being a real threat for Supporting Actress.
Can everyone please stop remaking Goodfellas and Casino? The '70 New Yawk/Jersey thing has been done to death and I'm officially over it. Amy Adams looks like the only one adding any sense of freshness.
Lawrence careening down the hallway looks great. I too liked the first teaser better, but I still want to see this film even if I am over the Goodfellas/Casino thing at the same time and I really didn't like SLP.
Lawrence is more likely to get an Oscar nomination than any of the other actors combined. Ppl who saw the test screening said she was the best in show. Lets wait and see.
This was how ppl said she was too old for Hunger games and she did a fantastic job; too young for Silver linings playbook nd she won an oscar.
She has a mature talent.