Oscar Submissions: Serbia, The Netherlands, Angelina Jolie & the Austrians

The Oscar Submissions continue to trickle in.

THE NETHERLANDS (7 nominations, 3 wins)
For about a decade from the mid 80s to the mid 90s Dutch-language films were the rage with Oscar voters with 3 nominations which all went on to win the big prize. The country last nomination was for 2003's Twin Sisters but given their track record (at least one nominee a decade since their first) they'll be golden again soon. This year they've selected Maria Peter's Sonny Boy which is a true scandalous story based on a best selling book about a 40 something married woman and her affair with a 19 year old black student. The couple get pregnant. Trivia note: Their child --  "Sonny Boy" being the Al Jolson inspired nickname they gave him -- is supposedly still alive and an octogenarian now!

Oscar does like a true story. And they like epics involving World Wars. Here's the dialogue free teaser and you can decide for yourself how Oscar might respond.

SERBIA
They've never been nominated but there's got to be a first time. Dragan Bjelogrlic's Montevideo God Bless You which seems, from descriptions, to be a nostalgia soaked period piece about 1930s Belgrade just as much as it's a sweeping inspirational story of young men with big (sports) dreams, in this case football (soccer). To be specific their dreams take them to the  First World Football Championship in Montevideo, Uruguay.

If IMDb can be trusted on Serbian film industry goings on (they sometimes get foreign film info wrong) they're already filming a sequel  which is this movie. Can anyone translate that title for us?

This is quite a bit different than the type of film Serbia usually submits. They've never submitted a film by this director before and the films don't usually skew this young either. The film stars two relative newbies Milos Bikovic (previously on Serbian TV series) and Peter Stager (film debut).

Milos Bikovic and Peter Stager

Will Oscar take a longer look this time?

The closest Serbia has come to a nomination was The Trap in 2007 which made the finals but not the shortlist.

AUSTRIA (3 noms, 1 win)
Austria's entry this year also trains its lens on a young man, the 19 year old Roman (Thomas Schubert). Roman, though, doesn't have big dreams but is just trying to build a new life after prison.  Guilt haunts him for his teenage crimes. The film is directed by the actor Karl Markovics (most recently seen in the international hit Unknown).

It's worth noting that the movie is already an award winner. Schubert won Best Actor at the Sarajevo Film Festival and who handed him the prize but global icon Angelina Jolie, who was honored herself (and accepted tearfully) at the very same event. So should Breathing (Atmen) be Oscar nominated, Schubert might have another chance to share oxgyen with her. He's already experienced one embodiment of Hollywood glamour, just not the gold plated kind. 

Angelina Jolie at the Sarajevo Film FestivalPREVIOUS SUBMISSIONS AND SPECULATIONS

Lazy Stupid Link

Links starring the cast of... u guessed it.
My New Plaid Pants 'Today's Fanboy Delusion' featuring Ryan Gosling.
Film Dr thinks the movie is "mostly stupid" 
La Daily Musto in praise of Marisa Tomei. Nearly twenty years since that Oscar win and still going strong.

Movie|Line 9 milestones in the evolution of Julianne Moore
Grantland on Julianne Moore's adulteress film tendencies. 

At this point, her very presence in a movie alerts us to an unstable sexuality lurking just below the surface — or at least at the bottom of that extra glass of Chardonnay. She’s a marriage-wrecking, conflict-creating, ginger-haired Jezebel.

It's true. The adulteress thing is getting as default mode as the Bad Mommy thing we've discussed repeatedly.

Miscellania
Bat Blog Tom Hardy on the set of Dark Knight Rises 
Boy Culture Abel Ferrara and his DP remember Dangerous Game. Lots of Madonna stories.. and yes, she was good in that film, detractors be damned. 
Television Blend Rosie O'Donnell gets a show on Oprah's network.
The Wrap Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt plan to do less acting. Sigh and also: hasn't Angelina already been doing less acting even as she's continued to make films ;) ?

And finally just a heads up that Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking is now available on DVD. It's funny. My favorite part was the celebrity genealogy section that sprung from the Elizabeth Taylor vs Debbie Reynolds Eddie Fisher scandal. 

Highest Paid Actresses. What Are They Worth To You?

Forbes released a list of the highest paid actresses a few days ago, tallying earnings between last summer and this one. Have you stopped to think it over? As usual there's not much in the way of specifics as to how they earned the money but it's usually a combo of residuals, new movie deals, and commercial endorsements and the numbers are pre-tax and pre-overhead -- their agents and managers get a chunk of this as does the government. (But you know how kind the government is to millionaires so don't worry for their bank accounts! Millionaires aren't expected to help so the ones with true altruism -- hi Angie! -- are even more lauded for it.)

I used to love all lists as I once interpreted all of them as "people love lists as much as I do!" but now of course it only means "crank up the page views!" . Forbes is especially shameless as you actually have to hit arrows and whatnot an incredible 34 times to read every word of the article! Page View Trickery. I'll save you the trouble. The list is as follows:

1. ANGELINA JOLIE - $30 million
2. SARAH JESSICA PARKER - $30 million
3. JENNIFER ANISTON - $28 million
4. REESE WITHERSPOON -$28 million
5. JULIA ROBERTS - $20 million
6. KRISTEN STEWART -$20 million
7. KATHARINE HEIGL - $19 million
8. CAMERON DIAZ - $18 million
9. SANDRA BULLOCK - $15 million
10. MERYL STREEP - $10 million

On first glance it might seem like a boring list of ubiquitous names but if you stop to consider it offers up a few different career trajectories. You've got your TV stars who leveraged that into massive global fame and then steady film careers  (SJP, HEIGL, ANISTON), you've got a woman who became synonymous with Great Acting (STREEP) early in her career and just refused to vacate her throne, you've got an Otherworldly Movie Queen who seems to belong to the entire world less for her movies than for her celebrity and outreach (JOLIE), you've got the RomCom Queens of the 1990s (ROBERTS, BULLOCK) and their natural successor (WITHERSPOON) who all won Oscars as career honors. [Theory: it's much easier to win an Oscar after RomCom riches than to just win an Oscar due to your dramatic gifts. Discuss!]

And then you've got DIAZ who is sort of in the Roberts/Bullock/Witherspoon school but maybe closer to a Meg Ryan in terms of Hollywood's lack of interest in rewarding her for it (other than monetarily). Finally, you've got a new rock star like franchise queen (STEWART). Will Stewart be able to convert her Twilight fame into a career beyond celibacy-advocate vampirism?

You can't just have a gazillion corporate endorsement print campaigns like Scarlett Johannson or Julianne Moore to name two quick examples, you need to get paid a lot to make the movies that you do make. 

Two things are certain about making it to the top ten.

1. You need to have long hair.
2. If you're not a true original (Streep) and if you haven't slept with Brad Pitt (Aniston and Jolie) it's absolutely crucial to headline romantic blockbusters and/or a single blockbuster franchise. (SJP, Witherspoon, Bullock, Roberts, Diaz, Stewart). 

That covers everyone but Katharine Heigl but maybe you'll have better luck explaining her in the comments.

l i n k

Another day, another several celebrities with new ad campaigns.  Here's Angelina Jolie for Louis Vitton (reportedly she's not wearing any makeup here and wearing her own clothes) and Tobey Maguire for Prada.

How many of them do you think make more money posing for ads than actually acting? Even the ones who command huge actorly paychecks.

oh yes... a few links

Self Styled Siren a fun post on romantic choices, "sleeve tuggers" and The Phantom of the Opera (1943)
Alt Screen celebrates Buster Keaton in College.
Men's Journal spends manly time with Kyle Chandler.
Cinema Blend a retro poster for Captain America: The First Avenger
Super Mercado a fan poster for "The Case" that movie within the movie Super 8

Off Cinema
The Daily Beast thorough critical rundown of new TV season. Pan Am with Christina Ricci sounds great and they say it's sexy, too.
Basket of Kisses roots for Mad Men hard at the inaugural "Critics Choice" for television.
Londonist 8th Annual Naked Bike Ride. This looks like it would hurt. They do some naked bike riding in that Flemish movie The Misfortunates. Have any of you seen that? It's surprisingly affecting, despite being relentlessly sozzled and depressed.

Tony Aftermath
The ratings were up 10%. Yay!
BlogStage has video highlights of the Tonys. I added a couple of these to my live blog in case you're just joining us and want to catch up.
La Daily Musto takes off the blindfold on those Tony related "blind items"... this link is for theater obsessives only, though.
Sarah's Tumblr thought the Tonys were fine but this shirtless photo of Gene Kelly made her night.
Movie|Line thinks the Oscars should take after the Tony Awards. But some of this oft-heard advice is impossible: You can't get rid of the precursors. Oscar has no say in those. They'd have to collapse on their own. Plus, the technicals should not be cut (though maybe the "short film categories" could go without spoiling that it's a night about cinema. Still I like my Oscars long. But they do need to have more spirited presentation. HIRE NEIL PATRICK HARRIS & HUGH JACKMAN AS A DUO. (see also TFE's live blog for their wonder-twin-powered duet)

Thank You From The Birthday Boy.

How old is The Film Experience?

The Film Experience is so old that when we started  Angelina Jolie was more famous for bloody antics (necklace vials, t-shirt scrawls) than for her humanitarian efforts. She had not yet collected or birthed any of those adorable children!

TFE is a dinosaur of the internet, yes, but it's a cute plant-eating one that never did anyone but Hilary Swank any harm! This dinosaur would like to live to see the next stage of human, animal, actress, mutant and movie evolution. You can prevent the meteor of webxtinction by donating just a couple dollars a month. It's like universal health care (TALKING ABOUT MOVIES SAVES LIVES!). If everyone reading pitched in a teensy bit nobody would notice the money and everyone would be healthier and happier and this service they need (heh) would always be available to them.

I promise to shut up about this real soon and thank you if you've already donated. You are the few, the proud, the sexy, the patron saints of The Film Experience community. (Some international readers are having trouble donating and some are not. I'll look into this.)

a cup of coffee : $2.50USD - monthly I'll get the popcorn : $5.00USD - monthly movie ticket on me! : $10.00USD - monthly

I ♥ The Film Experience

If you can spare the price of a cup of coffee (or more if things are good for you financially) once a month, please to consider it. If you're not comfortable with a recurring cup of coffee or tub of popcorn, why not a one time donation. It is Nathaniel's birthday after all... (Yes, I'm shameless. It's 2011) and I have boring needs like: computer maintenance. Example: I have to take both my desktop and my laptop in for maintenance / memory boosting next week.

Those spinny wheels on both Macs are just killing me and the Tek Serve people think my hard drive is going wobbly. Slowing me down soooo much.

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