Fan Fare

Mai tais? This isn’t an Eastwood film shoot

Some films are made on a $6 million budget, others with $60 million. It’s the difference between long hours on set and sipping mai tais on the patio. Just ask “The Bang Bang Club” director, Steven Silver.

“The Bang Bang Club,” was 10 years in the making, shot last year over the course of 30 days and produced on a budget of 5 million euros. It’s still waiting to be picked up by a U.S. distributor.

When casting, Director Steven Silver told Reuters during the Toronto film festival that he had turned down other more high profile actors for the roles. He was looking for people who were able to immerse themselves into the culture, adding: “I needed actors who were prepared to deal with the difficulties and hardships of a low budget independent film.”

The film was shot in South Africa around the same time as Clint Eastwood’s ” Invictus”, which reportedly had a  budget of about $60 million.

“If you know anything about how Eastwood shoots, he shoots these 8 hour days,” said Silver, chuckling. “The grips from Eastwood’s film would be sipping Mai Tais on the patio while we were still slugging away.”

(Caption: A scene from the film “The Bang Bang Club”, starring Ryan Phillippe. REUTERS/TIFF)

Clint Eastwood’s “Invictus” named top movie for “grown-ups”

Clint Eastwood’s movie “Invictus”, featuring Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela, might not have bagged any of the top honors so far this awards season but it has come  top  of one annual list — “Best Movie for Grownups,” according to AARP The Magazine catering for the 50+ audience.

The ninth annual list ranking films for the 50+ audience — and ranking actors and actresses aged over 50 — also awarded Robert de Niro a Lifetime Achievement Award that will be presented at a Los Angeles Awards Gala on Feb. 16.

Other awards went to “Julie & Julia” for the ” Best Grownup Love Story,” “The Soloist” for the “Best Buddy Picture” and “Star Trek” for the “Best Movie for Grownups Who Refuse to Grow Up.”

Top acting honors went to Jeff Bridges winning best male actor 50+ for country singer Bad  Blake in “Crazy Heart,” Helen Mirren for best actress 50+ in “The Last Station,” and the best supporting acting awards went to Alec Baldwin for “It’s Complicated,” and Kim Basinger for “The Burning Plain.”

“In 2009, 50+ actors and filmmakers took center-stage on the silver screen, turning in performances and films that were riveting and nothing short of daring,” added Bill Newcott, entertainment editor of AARP The Magazine. “Tackling war, apartheid, sexuality and adding real depth to romantic comedies, the 50+ Hollywood community shows once again that they are an integral, much-needed element of the film industry. And 60-year old Meryl Streep proved without a doubt that she is the leading lady of our times, a critical and box-office cottage industry.”

Fans, Oscar at odds over movie picks

(Writing and reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)

After winning key awards from the Producers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild this past weekend, “Slumdog Millionaire” is a favorite to win best picture at the Oscars. But don’t tell that to everyday movie fans. The think Oscar voters are a bunch of elitists, and they have their own favorites from among the movies and performers shut out of Oscar nominations.      Movie fans picked Batman movie “The Dark Knight” as the year’s biggest Oscar snub, in a poll released on Monday by online ticket seller MovieTickets.com. Fans also said Clint Eastwood should have been nominated for best actor for his movie “Gran Torino,” Leonardo DiCaprio should have earned a nod for “Revolutionary Road,” Christopher Nolan should have been nominated best director for “The Dark Knight” and singer Bruce Springsteen should have been on the list of best original song nominees for “The Wrestler.”      Eastwood has long been a favorite with Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voters, with two best director and best film awards, but he got zero nominations for “Gran Torino,” a snub that has irked fans. Still, fans have rewarded Eastwood at the box office, with “Gran Torino” earning nearly $100 million since it opened on Dec. 12.        This weekend, the critically panned comedy “Mall Cop” ruled the box office for a second week in a row, taking in a strong U.S. and Canada total of $64.8 million in two weeks. There’s no chance that “Mall Cop” will be nominated for best picture next year, but in only a couple weekends it has outperformed the $72.8 million worldwide total for “Slumdog Millionaire,” the tale of an Indian orphan who beats the odds to win love and a game show. Still, with best picture wins at the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild awards, ”Slumdog” from director Danny Boyle is currently the frontrunner in the race to Oscars.

Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino”: Oscar roadkill

It was perhaps the biggest snub of the Oscar nominations, actor/director Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino” was overlooked by voters at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with no — zero — nominations. Or, was it?

(For a slideshow of nominees, click here, and for a list of nominees, click here.)

For weeks, as the road to Oscars’ Feb. 22 ceremony in Hollywood has laid out in front of award watchers, critics and industry groups have continually turned their heads as “Gran Torino” drove by — no Golden Globes or Broadcast Critics Choice awards, no nominations by producers, directors, actors or writers guilds. You could see the roadkill on the highway.

Yet, Eastwood is a favorite of the Motion Picture Academy voters. He has won two best director and best film awards (“Unforgiven” and “Million Dollar Baby”), but never won for acting. He was the star of “Gran Torino,” and the movie and his performance have earned mostly good reviews. Moreover, the film has been a hit with moviegoers who vote with their dollars at box offices ($78 million and climbing). As a result, many award watchers believed Academy voters would make Clint’s day. But they didn’t. And the question is, did they get it right or wrong?

“The Reader,” which has been seen by few people, earned a nomination for best picture over “Gran Torino” and Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” – a well-respected actor but hardly a household name — was nominated over Clint for best actor. Was that right?

In other surprises, Leonardo DiCaprio was shut out of the best actor category after turning in a strong performance in dark drama “Revolutionary Road,” and that film, which also starred Kate Winslet, also failed to make it in the best film and best director category with its filmmaker Sam Mendes (Winslet’s husband). Winslet did, however, land in the best actress race for “The Reader.”

And what about Batman movie “The Dark Knight.” It was 2008′s No. 1 movie at box offices, but was shut out of best director (Christopher Nolan) and best picture. The movie’s nominations — except for supporting actor for Heath Ledger – came mostly in technical categories like makeup, visual effects and sound-editing.

What’s your film called, Clint?

In one of the more bizarre mixups at this year’s Cannes film festival, the makers of Clint Eastwood’s competition entry did not actually know what it should be called.

Years of planning, casting and shooting, and Clint and his team could not even agree on the title by the time the world’s press descended on Cannes to see it.

They could agree on one thing — the title in French, which is “L’Echange”. Originally the movie starring Angelina Jolie as a 1920s mother who loses her son was down as “Changeling” or “The Changeling”, depending on who you asked. OK, I can just about handle debate over a “the” or two.

But then the production notes arrive in our press boxes and the translation is “The Exchange”. The problem came up at the press conference this week, when Clint and Jolie both added to the confusion by failing to confirm it either way.

When told that “The Exchange” had been put down in writing, Clint would only reply: “It may be in writing, but is it the truth?” Watch this space.

Cannes Fare 6 – Movie buzz and Clint Eastwood

We’re out by the harbor to offer some Cannes glitz, movie buzz and Clint Eastwood.