Podcast: Fall Film Preview... "Lady Stuff Coming Up!"
Sunday, September 1, 2013 at 9:00PM 
Labor Day Weekend is notoriously unfriendly to movie openings unless you can find a gem at your arthouse... so Katey, Joe, Nick and Nathaniel are looking ahead to the Fall Film Season on this week's podcast.
Films speculated upon include Ridley Scott's The Counselor, Alfonso Cuarón directing Sandra Bullock in Gravity, Steve McQueen & Michael Fassbender reunited for 12 Years a Slave, George Clooney's Monuments Men, Spike Jonze's Her, August: Osage County and many more. We answer these fives questions and you should, too, in the comments...
• Which two movies are you most excited about?
• Which performance are you most curious to see?
• Which film are you most suspicious of?
• Whose life is going to change this fall when their movie hits?
• Which premiere party would you most like to attend?
You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download it on iTunes. Please note: There won't be a new podcast next weekend since ½ of us will be festing in Toronto and dashing madly from screening to screening.
Reader Comments (46)
A:OC
Loving this new podcast every week.
And a shout out to me? IT CAME TRUE!
Also, personally, I would choose to attend the Runner Runner premiere because the only way to conquer our greatest fears is to face them head on.
- if you mean "excited about the potential for them hopefully winning the rave recognition they deserve", then BEFORE MIDNIGHT and BLUE JASMINE. If you mean "excited about seeing", then probably CAPTAIN PHILLIPS and ALL IS LOST (though neither are "feverish anticipation")
- Judi Dench in PHILOMENA (close second: Leo in WOLF OF WALL STREET)
- AMERICAN HUSTLE
- Chiwetel Ejiofor
-THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ELEANOR RIGBY (both premieres)
Which two movies are you most excited about?
The Counselor and 12 Years a Slave
Which performance are you most curious to see?
Michael Fassbender in 12 Years a Slave
Which film are you most suspicious of?
Riddick
Whose life is going to change this fall when their movie hits?
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Which premiere party would you most like to attend?
12 Years a Slave
I'm really excited to see Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle, actually. I feel like she's been stoically carrying movies on her shoulders for a few years now, and I'm desperate to see her in a role where all she has to do is pull Amy Adams' hair and bug her eyes out.
As an aside, it's so much fun listening to these podcasts, and so unbelievably refreshing to hear oscar/movie podcasts from people who don't sound constantly cynical and disillusioned. Joy is a pretty rare internet commodity.
"... and so unbelievably refreshing to hear oscar/movie podcasts from people who don't sound constantly cynical and disillusioned."
AMEN.
'Gravity' and 'Her'-Most excited about.
Bullock (Holding thumbs for her to wow everyone) and Dujardin (What are they going to do with this French actor?)-curious to see.
August: Osage County-most suspicious of.
A difficult question so I will just be optimistic, Margo Martindale, she deserves to get better and more noticeable roles.
August: Osage County-Premiere Party. Julia, Meryl and Juliette, they are such different actresses. Ewan is of cause a big bonus.
The second trailer of The Counselor made my heart sink. I was so looking forward to it with the first trailer. Fassbender seems to have a boring lead role, Diaz is pushing too hard, Bardem and Cruz are doing what they have done before, why is Pitt even in this movie? I want to be totally wrong about this.
I'm hoping Cameron is on her Vanilla Sky game for The Counselor like trailers are leading me to believe because when she's good, she is highly watchable. Also, wow to Sandy Bullock hitting her Oscar stride yet again. Her 40s have treated her well, career-wise anyway.
I'm sure I've said this before, but your podcast is really fantastic. Your chemistry is unmatched and you also have such funny, insightful, intelligent discussions. Loving this new weekly schedule. Keep it up guys! :)
Which two movies are you most excited about?
American Hustle
&
The Wolf of Wall Street
Which performance are you most curious to see?
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Which film are you most suspicious of?
Matthew MacCoughney, Dallas Buyer's Club
Whose life is going to change this fall when their movie hits?
Ejiofor, is there any other answer?
Which premiere party would you most like to attend?
The Monuments Men. Because Clooney knows how to throw a party, right?
Which two movies are you most excited about?
Gravity and Her because sci-fi needs to be rehabilitated this year. And like Joe, I have faith in Sandra Bullock.
Which performance are you most curious to see?
Adele Exarchpoulous because I would love another foreign leading actress of a Cannes winner having us speculating of Oscar chances.
Which film are you most suspicious of?
The Fifth Estate and A:OC for reasons Katey stated and all the exterior scenes giving me some terrible Doubt vibes.
Whose life is going to change this fall when their movie hits?
Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor, if there is any hope for the world because seriously, Hollywood, you are 10 years late.
Actress: Amy Adams- Gurl, get it.
Director: Steve McQueen- Most of America knows next to nothing about him or his movies
Which premiere party would you most like to attend?
12 Years a Slave because dancing and drinking Fassbender sounds both potentially amazing and terrible. But I do want to hang out with Michael K. Williams and Brad Pitt and drink shirley temples with Quevenzhane.
P.S. Nathaniel, are you going to Under the Skin at TIFF? You seemed eager hearing the somewhat polarizing word-of-mouth at Telluride.
Which two movies are you most excited about?
Her and American Hustle
• Which performance are you most curious to see?
Joaquin Phoenix in Her
• Which film are you most suspicious of?
Saving Mr. Banks
• Whose life is going to change this fall when their movie hits?
J.C. Chandor
• Which premiere party would you most like to attend?
12 Years a Slave (mmm... Fassy...)
• Which two movies are you most excited about?
American Hustle and The Wolf of Wall Street
• Which performance are you most curious to see?
Amy Adams, American Hustle
• Which film are you most suspicious of?
Grace of Monaco
• Whose life is going to change this fall when their movie hits?
Chiwetel Ejiofor
• Which premiere party would you most like to attend?
The Counselor
I am hoping Cameron Diaz is gonna do a career rethink and The Counsellor revise her career like Bullock.
Awesome podcast, as usual! Thanks a lot, guys!
I'm most looking forward to Gravity and Her .
Curious to see JLaw in American Hustle because although I'm not her biggest fan (as an actress, I've got such a crush on her as a person, like the whole of America) it looks like a really fun character were maybe she gets to be a bit OTT and put her real life goofiness to good use.
I'm also suspicious about The Monuments Men , although it may easily be due to the terrible trailer.
I think ScarJo's career will change, in the sense that she may again be recognised as a talented performer (like Nathaniel said in a post recently). It looks like she will be awesome in both Don Jon and Her (sorry, Samantha Morton, but you can't beat Scarlett's voice) and I'm really intrigued about her work in Under the Skin . I hope she knows how to cash in on a good strike like this, together with her uber-bankable status thanks to The Avengers , and continues to make good choices and take part in interesting projects.
And... I'd love to go to the The Counselor premiere. To hang out with Fassbender and my compatriots Pe & Ja. And also to see if Cameron Diaz is as insuferable as she appears... hopefully I'd feel like I was with her alter ego in Lost in Translation .
Thanks again guys! (I need to find new words)
I'm loving the new Katey!
PS Nick, I'm totally growing a moustache...
Which two movies are you most excited about?
Her and Inside Llewyn Davis. I've already seen 12 Years a Slave, which I loved.
Which performance are you most curious to see?
Idris Elba in Mandela
• Which film are you most suspicious of?
American Hustle, from the previews it looked really campy and the cast looks a bit over the top.
• Whose life is going to change this fall when their movie hits?
I would like to say Lupita Nyong''O, but we know how filmmakers feel about Black women especially dark skinned ones.
So Chiwetel Ejiofor.
• Which premiere party would you most like to attend?
12 Years a Slave-Fassy and Chewy
Returned to the internet after a long weekend to find this podcast...success! I wanna have boozy brunch with these podcasts. They're such a treat.
Which two movies are you most excited about?
Of the big names, I'll say Blue Is The Warmest Color and American Hustle. But I wanna shout out Le Congrès, the Robin Wright Hollywood cartoon satire, which sounds totally fascinating to me whenever I remember that it exists.
Which performance are you most curious to see?
I'm gonna go with Julia Roberts in August Osage County because I am obsessed with how for all of her America's Sweetheart accolades, Julia has built her career off of a mixture of charm and odiousness. This looks like it could be another addition to the My Best Friend's Wedding/Erin Brockovich side of Julia that I find totally watchable and totally interesting.
But I'm also pumped for the ScarJo triptych of Under The Skin, Don Jon, and Her.
Which film are you most suspicious of?
12 Years A Slave, because (unpopular opinion) I HATED Shame, which I thought was beautiful but entirely oblique, with no room for air or character or even fresh insight on its central thesis. But I think even more than that, I'm very very very suspicious about slave narratives, and as you all said in the podcast, that role of the evil slaveowner is so played out. What's more I think that the potential framing of the film as a "black man endures the unspeakable crimes of a deranged white society" is totally reductive and, frankly, historically suspect when it comes to addressing the way that slavery worked in America. When we reduce slavery to a heinous crime committed by white madmen and enacted on black victims, we change the realities of slavery into a palatable narrative that we can say that we've moved beyond, rather than a part of our history that is still recognizable today. That said, it is exciting to hear a black diasporic voice speak on the topic of slavery without a white intermediary.
Whose life is going to change this fall when their movie hits?
Chiwetel Ejiofor of course, and good for him.
Which premiere party would you most like to attend?
American Hustle has got to be the most fun premiere, right? They have to live up to that trailer.
@TB, um are you aware that 12 Years is a true story written by Solomon Northup ? Are you also aware that there are only 19 films about slavery and that includes Lincoln and Gone With The Wind. The last movie on slavery before Django was Sankofa 1993 that was 20 years ago. So how exactly is Slavery or the evil slavemaster played out???Compare that to over a hundred films on the Holocaust. There are very few films on slavery and from someone who actually experience it even FEWER.
Oh and in case you're still wondering, he pronounces it Chew-ih-tell Edge-ee-oh-for.
12 years a Slave is a horror story and based on one man's perspective. I'm sorry, but I don't see that as reductive.
@Melissa--You're totally right, I'm absolutely letting how much Django and Lincoln bugged me hang over my memory of slavery on film, that was my mistake. I am absolutely aware that 12 Years A Slave is based on the memoir by Solomon Northup. Have you read it? From the look of the trailer, a significant amount of Northup's accounts have been removed or altered in a manner in a way that I find problematic. I'm not saying that the film won't be good. I'm saying that I'm skeptical of the hype at the moment, and I'm skeptical of the way in which this film is being packaged as authentic.
Yes, I read it a few years ago and while not every single detail was included I still thought it was amazing. I saw the nearly 3 hour test screening. I'm not sure what you got out of a 2 minute trailer that made you feel like it is misrepresenting Northup's account. Anyway I'm not angry that you may not like it or not excited about it. I'm more angry that people are calling this reductive. Seriously!! There are hardly any films on slavery and even fewer from the Black perspective on slavery. I mean there are more American films on the Holocaust than on freaking Slavery in the US. That is a WTF for me.
@TB, I posted my reply not sure where it went:
I read it a few years ago and while not every single detail was included I thought it was amazing. I saw the nearly three hour test screening so it has been edited since then, but I'm not sure what you saw in the 2 minute trailer that made you think it was misrepresenting Northup's account. I don't care if you don't like it or not excited by it. My problem is that there are very few films on slavery and even fewer from the Black perspective. There are more American films on the Holocaust than on Slavery in the US. To call this reductive is a huge WTF for me.
I'm always so thoroughly entertained by these podcasts. The chemistry with you guys is a lovely cocktail of hilarity and informativeness.
**Which two movies are you most excited about?**
-August: Osage County
Foxcatcher
*** Which performance are you most curious to see?**
-A tie between Cameron Diaz and Steve Carrell
** Which film are you most suspicious of?**
- Ugh. August: Osage County. So much potential for brilliance or a mega letdown
** Whose life is going to change this fall when their movie hits? **
- I'd say I have to agree with Nick's (or was it Joe...ugh so embarrassing) thoughts on Will Forte. Big potential for a career shift for him.
** Which premiere party would you most like to attend? **
- The Counselor premiere. I want to gaze at Michael Fassbender up close, also I want to shake Cameron Diaz and demand to know what she was thinking accepting the role of Miss Hannigan, in the (getting worse by the day) remake of, Annie.
@Melissa--To say that it's reductive isn't to say that it's not an important film or that it shouldn't have been made, which is I think how my comment is being read. That is not my intention at all. I even said in my original post that I was excited to see that a black director was going to be the one adapting this story. And maybe the film is not reductive, I have only seen the trailer and read reviews. Obviously as someone who's been to a screening, you are much more the authority on the film's content than I am.
But Northup's accounts are so rich and so complex that I hate to see them boiled down into a Hollywood narrative, powerful though that may be. Part of what I think is so striking about his memoir is that there are such a range of people, black and white, and not all of them are deranged, but that even those who seem benevolent are implicated in this system of evil. I am interested in the ways in which Northup is an agent for his own life, I'm interested in the way that he finds fulfillment in work, even as a slave. I'm interested in his relationships with the other black people he meets, particularly the woman he fell in love with, Jenny. Maybe McQueen nails that and I just have been mislead, but I've been hearing two-parter between Ejiofor and Fassbender and that makes me leary.
"Part of what I think is so striking about his memoir is that there are such a range of people, black and white, and not all of them are deranged, but that even those who seem benevolent are implicated in this system of evil. I am interested in the ways in which Northup is an agent for his own life, I'm interested in the way that he finds fulfillment in work, even as a slave."
That's all included.
The only thing not is his relationship with Jenny.
"I've been hearing two-parter between Ejiofor and Fassbender and that makes me leary."
Fassbender doesn't show up until the second half of the film.
To say that it's reductive isn't to say that it's not an important film or that it shouldn't have been made
--------
Um I understood the first time, White Men being barbaric to Blacks is reducing slavery to just that. My point was there's been so few films on the subject how can we complain about this aspect when we rarely see it. Lincoln wasn't like that neither was Gone with the Wind or even half of the supposed films about slavery. Lots of lives were lost during slavery so we can't pretend like these horrors didn't occur.
Deranged White Men being Barbaric to Blacks how many slave movies actually show this? so how can it be played out? I guess that's my point.
Thanks podcasters and thanks Melissa & TB. Civilized conversation on a Labor Day weekend.
Which two movies are you most excited about?
12 Years a Slave and American Hustle. (But this changes every time I think about it.)
Which performance are you most curious to see?
Bale in American Hustle. (Runner-up: ScarJo in Under the Skin.)
Which film are you most suspicious of?
August: Osage County, unfortunately.
Whose life is going to change this fall when their movie hits?
Steve McQueen.
Which premiere party would you most like to attend?
American Hustle!
@Melissa--I think you're focusing on a very small part of what I wrote, and a part that I already admitted to carelessly exaggerating because the frustrations of films like Lincoln and Django and The Butler still loom so large in my mind. That was my mistake. But would you argue that this representation of slavery is not prevalent when you consider multiple forms of media? When you broaden slavery to include Reconstruction and the civil rights movement, doesn't this narrative seem even more prominent when it comes our cultural understanding of the black experience? What I was saying was that I was tired of seeing black people portrayed as victims at the hands of all-powerful white oppressors. You're right to call me out and say that there haven't been that enough films about slavery for that concept to be exhausted, but I don't think it's wrong to say that this narrative has been well-trod, from Uncle Tom's Cabin to Roots to Kanye West.
@Melissa--Thanks so much by the way for clearing me up on the contents of the film compared to the memoir!
• Which two movies are you most excited about?
Inside Llewyn Davis
Prisoners
• Which performance are you most curious to see?
12 Years A Slave
• Which film are you most suspicious of?
Captain Phillips
• Whose life is going to change this fall when their movie hits?
Lupita Nyong’o
• Which premiere party would you most like to attend?
Prisoners - That cast is unbelievable and I want to meet all of them
Lincoln was a movie on slavery that never showed slavery. It should the compromises and politicking behind emancipating slaves. Spielberg directed Amistad and that was much more about slavery.
And Django Unchained takes the slavery subject and adds stuff that was anachronistic like the Klan-like group (which anybody who read their history books knows existed post-Civil War) and the Mandingo killings. I am much easier on Django Unchained when I just think of it as a Spaghetti Western mixed with classic mythology story than something profound about slavery.
And the Solomon Northup story happened in my backyard in Saratoga. We read the book in history class. There's always been annuals exhibitions and talks about his story around here. Yet almost nobody knows the man's story. Representation of cinema is a small part of what is under-represented and it can go a long way. But few want to make that money in America because it implicates a segment of America. I may be in Upstate NY but I also come across more confederate flags than I wish to admit and frankly, I say bring on the movies of black history. I just find it interesting that Steve McQueen, a black Englishman whose background is rooting in Britain's colonial history, is the one directing it but I trust him after Hunger which is much more connected to the DNA of 12 Years a Slave than Shame.
"But Northup's accounts are so rich and so complex that I hate to see them boiled down into a Hollywood narrative, powerful though that may be."
Mr. McQueen is far from a Hollywood director. He directed a movie on the IRA hunger strike and made his follow-up an NC-17 movie (that even if you hated have to acknowledge it ain't Hollywood). Brad Pitt actually had a lot to do with the project not dying because his production company helped bankroll it and Fox Searchlight although a powerful subsidiary in the awards circuit is a pretty hands-off distributor. Unless you read John Ridley's script, how do you know what was left out or not? There are reviews out there. I suggest look into them to get a feel.
".... but I don't think it's wrong to say that this narrative has been well-trod, from Uncle Tom's Cabin to Roots to Kanye West."
Uncle Tom's Cabin, popular as it was, is a flawed book. Look up James Baldwin's critical essay on it, especially in comparison to Richard Wright's Native Son. It comes across more like The Help of its time than some Upton Sinclair-like expose. Roots is brilliant, it was popular, but the kind of attitude in 'nothing can top it so why bother' seems to only come with movies on history that implicates Americans as the bad guys. Imagine the other scenarios of those discussions in Hollywood studio offices: I am exhausted by WWII movies. Why couldn't it have just stopped after Bridge on the River Kwai? Holocaust movies are played out, don't you think it should've stopped after The Pianist? And as for Kanye, he clearly endorses 12 Years a Slave based on his VMA performance.
http://thefilmstage.com/news/the-unforeseen-connection-between-steve-mcqueens-12-years-a-slave-and-kanye-wests-vma-performance/
I'm looking forward to Streep's performance the most, of course. Now I'm reading she will be campaigned back to Lead Actress. It all makes me very suspicious.
CMG -- did you go to the solomon northrup day in saratoga i wrote about last month? -- they were going to show some of the film at the college.
Do any of the podcasters ever listen to old podcasts from previous seasons? After listening to the current one, I randomly played one from a few years ago (Hurt Locker year), and it was fun to hear you discuss directors/actors that are in the mix again. Your podcast is actually one I would gladly pay for. You really do have such great chemistry and talk about the Oscars and movies in a way I enjoy. Never do any one of you get into Eeyore mode, and I appreciate that. I had a four hour car ride back from Labor Day weekend vacation and it was lovely to spend it listening to you.
• Which two movies are you most excited about?
August: Osage County and Gravity.
• Which performance are you most curious to see?
Sandra Bullock, Gravity.
• Which film are you most suspicious of?
August: Osage County. It was the most thrilling theatre experience for me so I will be there opening day, but the first trailer looked awful.
• Whose life is going to change this fall when their movie hits?
Paula Patton, Baggage Claim. I'd like to see her get more lead roles and this should be a hit.
• Which premiere party would you most like to attend?
Baggage Claim. I want to be wherever Boris Kodjoe and Djimon Hounsou are.
"• Which premiere party would you most like to attend?
Baggage Claim. I want to be wherever Boris Kodjoe and Djimon Hounsou are."
Good point.
Nathaniel- I really wanted to but work precluded me. I swear my classes as a kid include field trip to that area along with the heritage trail for the Underground Railroad around the same period.
Nebraska is also missing a trailer, as far as I can tell. I wonder why. And Disney's Frozen has a teaser only, which seems weird considering Disney's normal marketing strategies.
As for your questions...
Which film am I most suspicious of?
The Counselor. I know many are excited, but the trailer seems so serious until you get to Javier Bardem, who looks like he walked off the set of Burn After Reading. It's almost comedic. I wouldn't think twice about that, except that the screenplay is by Cormac McCarthy, who isn't exactly a zany type of guy. Something seems off.
I'm most excited for three films: Her, Inside Llewyn Davis, and Gravity.
I know we've said this before, and we also confess as much at the start of this 'cast, but it bears repeating: we're thrilled at the congenial, enthusiastic, occasionally-contrary-but-always-respectful reactions we get from you guys ... they mean as much to me as a participant as the warm collegiality among the four of us apparently means to you. And again, I'm so glad you guys dig that part of the podcast, because it's my favorite part about them also.
@TB and @Melissa: Following this discussion with great interest. I think the slave narratives of the 19th century constitute one of the biggest goldmines of exciting, contentious, and historically important material that Hollywood has never rightly delved into. Some of the stories are so gobsmacking. I'd die to see a movie about the Crafts, the married couple who escaped slavery together passing as a mistress and her servant, because Ellen Craft was so light-skinned they thought they could get away with this. Or a Harriet Jacobs movie? Forget about it. I think both of your perspectives on 12 Years are interesting, and I agree that popular representations of slavery are both pitifully few and often simplistic. I'd love to see more, especially since the literature is so rich and the legacies so profound and perennially timely. Just to clarify from my own part of the recorded conversation, I think the Charismatic Villain in general can be a bit overused, well beyond representations of slavery in particular. Actors playing Nazis, dictators, child abusers, comic-book villains -- there's a HUGELY wide net of folks who get praised for "putting a human face" on a private or public monster, or for "showing us the undeniable complexity or charisma of the evildoer." And I love a lot of those performances... but not all the performances that draw this kind of acclaim strike me as equally illuminating, and this kind of praise can be a cliche in itself. So I'm really interested to see what Fassbender does, and I hope it feels layered and complex in ways specific to this role and story, not just Charismatic Villainy of a kind that can feel too general or familiar. Hope this discussion keeps going - here, and through the fall!
In Toronto for the film festival for the first time. Excited and surprisingly nervous.
Two movies: Gravity and The Disappearance of Him and Her
Two performances: Scarlett Johansson in Under the Skin; Tahar Rahim in The Past
Suspicious of: (tie) Her and August Osage County
Life Change: JC Chandor
Party: The Wolf of Wall Street
Monuments Men = The Good Shepherd (remember that?)
I listen to a ton of podcast and yours is by far the best. Just so much fun AND interesting AND informative. I love it and listen to most episodes more than once! Thank you thank you thank you.
"Let go of Greig Fraser, you bitch!"
LOLOLOLOLOL.