Screener Watch: The Pre-Thanksgiving Motherlode

Although this won’t be the last day before Thanksgiving I receive something, I received screeners from four different production studios (Fox Searchlight, Millennium Entertainment, Roadside Attractions and Universal) by mail today, hence the title “motherlode”. Magnolia/Magnet still holds the record for single-day delivery, but today was a pretty solid receipt day. Anyway, I’ll list these by studio alphabetically so no one thinks they’ve got an unfair advantage.

FOX SEARCHLIGHT

The Descendants

Genre: Comedy Drama
Stars: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Judy Greer, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Matthew Lillard
Director: Alexander Payne
Premise: A land baron tries to re-connect with his two daughters after his wife suffers a boating accident.
Oscar Chances: It’s already on the Best Picture radar along with director, screenwriting and a pair of acting nods for Clooney and Woodley. The film could pick up editing and cinematography nominations as well.
Campaign-Proposed Categories:

Best Picture (Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor)
Best Director (Alexander Payne)
Best Adapted Screenplay (Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash)
Best Actor (George Clooney)
Best Supporting Actress (Shailene Woodley, Judy Greer)
Best Supporting Actor (Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Matthew Lillard)
Best Film Editing (Kevin Tent)
Best Cinematography (Phedon Papamichael)
Best Art Direction (Jane Ann Stewart, Matt Callahan)
Best Costume Design (Wendy Chuck)
Best Sound Mixing (Jose Antonio Garcia, Frank Gaeta, Patrick Cyccone)
Best Sound Editing (Frank Gaeta)
Best Makeup (Julie Hewett, Karen Iboshi Preiser, Waldo Sanchez, Debra L. Rego)

Rotten Tomatoes:
90% (114 critics; as of 11/21/11)
Metacritic:
83 out of 100 (34 critics; as of 11/21/11)

The Tree of Life

Genre: Drama
Stars: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, Fiona Shaw, Tye Sheridan
Director: Terrence Malick
Premise: The story centers around a family with three boys in the 1950s. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence.
Oscar Chances: With Oscar, you should never ignore Malick. Even when he’s not competing for Best Picture, his films usually pick up tech prizes. This film, however, has done incredibly well with critics, but it released much earlier in the year, which means interest in the film may have waned. If critics groups give it a boost through the fall, it could be well in the running for several nominations.
Rotten Tomatoes:
84% (229 critics; as of 11/21/11)
Metacritic:
85 out of 100 (43 critics; as of 11/21/11)

MILLENNIUM ENTERTAINMENT

Rampart

Genre: Crime Drama
Stars: Woody Harrelson, Ned Beatty, Ben Foster, Ice Cube, Anne Heche, Brie Larson, Cynthia Nixon, Sigourney Weaver, Robin Wright
Director: Oren Moverman
Premise: Set in early 1990s Los Angeles, veteran police officer Dave Brown, the last of the renegade cops, works to take care of his family, and struggles for his own survival.
Oscar Chances: Woody Harrelson is already in strong consideration for a Best Actor nomination, but if the film is popular enough with critics and audiences, Harrelson could also pull along Ned Beatty and Sigourney Weaver plus the screenplay.
Campaign-Proposed Categories:

Best Picture (Lawrence Inglee, Clark Peterson, Ben Foster, Ken Kao)
Best Director (Oren Moverman)
Best Original Screenplay (James Ellroy, Oren Moverman)
Best Actor (Woody Harrelson)
Best Supporting Actor (Ned Beatty, Ben Foster, Ice Cube)
Best Supporting Actress (Anne Heche, Brie Larson, Cynthia Nixon, Sigourney Weaver, Robin Wright)
Best Cinematography (Bobby Bukowski)
Best Art Direction (David Wasco, Sandy Wasco)
Best Film Editing (Jay Rabinowitz)
Best Original Score (Dickon Hinchliffe)
Best Sound Editing (Javier Bennassar)
Best Sound Mixing, Leslie Shatz, Gabriel Serrano, Lisa Pinero)
Best Costume Design (Catherine George)
Best Makeup (Linda Dowds, Lori Guidroz, Lisa Layman, Samantha Wade)

Rotten Tomatoes:
73% (15 critics; as of 11/21/11)
Metacritic:
61 out of 100 (5 critics; as of 11/21/11)

ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS

Albert Nobbs

Genre: Period Drama
Stars: Glenn Close, Janet McTeer, Mia Wasikowska, Brendan Gleeson, Aaron Johnson
Director: Rodrigo Garcia
Premise: Glenn Close plays a woman passing as a man in order to work and survive in 19th century Ireland. Some thirty years after donning men’s clothing, she finds herself trapped in a prison of her own making.
Oscar Chances: Apart from Close who’s a fairly solid bet for a nomination, the film has the potential of earning Janet McTeer a nomination, but more likely nominations come in Art Direction, Costume Design and Makeup.
Campaign-Proposed Categories:

Best Picture (Glenn Close, Bonnie Curtis, Julie Lynn, Alan Moloney)
Best Director (Rodrigo Garcia)
Best Adapted Screenplay (Gabriella Prekop, John Banville, Glenn Close, Istvan Szabo)
Best Actress (Glenn Close)
Best Supporting Actress (Janet McTeer, Mia Wasikowska)
Best Supporting Actor (Brendan Gleeson, Aaron Johnson)
Best Art Direction (Patrizia Von Brandenstein, Jenny Oman)
Best Cinematography (Michael McDonough)
Best Costume Design (Pierre-Yves Gayraud)
Best Makeup (Matthew W. Mungle, Lynn Johnston, Martial Corneville)
Best Film Editing (Steven Weisberg)
Best Original Score (Brian Byrne)
Best Original Song (“Lay Your Head Down” – Brian Byrne, Glenn Close, Sinead O’Connor)

Rotten Tomatoes:
60% (5 critics; as of 11/21/11)
Metacritic:
N/A (0 critics; as of 11/21/11)

UNIVERSAL

Bridesmaids

Genre: Comedy
Stars: Kristen Wiig, Chris O’Dowd, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy
Director: Paul Feig
Premise: Competition between the maid of honor and a bridesmaid, over who is the bride’s best friend, threatens to upend the life of an out-of-work pastry chef.
Oscar Chances: While the talk for Melissa McCarthy seems more wishful thinking than actual contender, Robert Downey Jr. was nominated for Tropic Thunder in spite of it being a comedy, so anything can happen. If McCarthy’s a nominee, the film’s screenplay could also be in the running for a nomination.
Campaign-Proposed Categories:

Best Picture (Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Clayton Townsend)
Best Director (Paul Feig)
Best Actress (Kristen Wiig)
Best Supporting Actor (Chris O’Dowd)
Best Supporting Actress (Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy)
Best Original Screenplay (Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig)
Best Cinematography (Robert Yeoman)
Best Film Editing (William Kerr, Mike Sale)
Best Art Direction (Jefferson Sage, Douglas Mowat)
Best Costume Design (Leesa Evans)
Best Makeup (Heba Thorisdottir, Kate Shorter, Janine Rath-Thompson, David Danon)
Best Sound Mixing (Kenneth McLaughlin, Marc Fishman, Adam Jenkins)
Best Sound Editing (George Anderson)
Best Original Score (Michael Andrews)