While my favorite part of For Your Consideration is Marilyn Hack's plastic surgery, I also love that dreaded morning when the Oscar nominations get announced. Some actors wait anxiously to hear their name announced, while others, thinking they're totally off the Academy's radar, get nods while they're snoozing. Then, to add insult to injury, the losers get tracked down for embarrassing meltdowns and awkwardness on television. It's not quite that bad in real life, but as I read the reactions of those who received Golden Globe nominations, that movie keeps popping up in my head. So, check out these reactions, courtesy of Variety:

Dudes Chewing on Their Nails Hoping to Get Nominations: Jeremy Piven & Focus Features
"I got a call around 5:30, but I was up, believe it or not." -- Piven

"I was sitting here at Focus with about 35 very happy colleagues." -- FF head James Schamus on leading the studio nominations.

Those Who Prepared Speeches: Joe Wright, Atonement & Brad Bird, Ratatouille

"I think we were, as a team, very passionate about the film and story. I don't think we looked up from the little world we created around ourselves." "You need to make all actors feel loved, respected, and supported. That applies to the 12-year-old Saoirse Ronan or a slightly-older Vanessa Redgrave. Acting is an exposing and vulnerable job. You need to make them feel safe." -- Wright -- Extra props given for use of "slightly older."

"One of the messages of the film that most critics understood was that it wasn't anti-critic, but was saying if you're a critic or artist, don't get far away from what you love, and if, as a director, if you're focused on box office or awards and not the film itself, you'll take your eye off the ball." "And most importantly, this nomination shouldn't be taken as an endorsement for rats cooking our meals for us." -- Bird

Lads and Ladies with a Little Bit of Cockiness: Craig Zadan, Hairspray & Julie Taymor, Across the Universe

"It's so interesting that a couple of years ago we were accused of bringing the musical back with Chicago, and now you have this year with Sweeney Todd, Hairspray, and Across the Universe. There was no musical for so many years, and we're so proud of what Chicago has done for the musical." -- Zadan

"It's tremendous as we weren't on the pundits lists and didn't have big ads. I feel, in a way, that we were the engine that could. People vote from their heart, and I feel very gratified." -- Taymor

More About that Damned Strike: Piven, again! & Russ Smith, Juno

"I don't know about whether or not I'll be attending because to be honest with you, I don't know a lot about the rules and limitations of what is happening. I need to look into it. Writers are kind of these unsung heroes... I hope they get what they deserve, and I'll do anything I can to help that." -- Piven

"Our hope is that there's gonna be some sort of dispensation. Every day we're hoping they work something out, but we'll have to see." -- Smith -- In other words: please end the strike, I want my big moment!!

Last week Peter Martin told us about rumors that Ang Lee might be working on a less explicit version of his NC-17-rated Lust, Caution for release in China. Now The Hollywood Reporter confirms it's true: Moviegoers in mainland China will see a version with less lust and more caution.

(With a film called Lust, Caution, and a story about cutting out the naughty parts, the headlines practically write themselves. I apologize.)

Lee's new film, which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and is currently showing at Toronto, got its NC-17 rating for the United States a few weeks ago -- a rating he and Focus Features didn't argue with. As Monika Bartyzel reported on Aug. 24, Focus CEO James Schamus said, "When we screened the final cut of this film, we knew we weren't going to change a frame. Every moment up on that screen works and is an integral part of the emotional arc of the characters."

Well, apparently in China, about 30 minutes' worth of moments aren't quite as integral to the characters' emotional arcs. That's how much Lee has cut from the film's 156-minute running time to appease Chinese censors. (There's no rating system in China, so every film has to be generally acceptable for all audiences.) Lee reportedly has done the editing himself to maintain artistic integrity, and he's satisfied with the new version.

Which brings up a question: If the film works just as well when it's 30 minutes shorter and containing less sex and violence, why not release that version in the U.S., too, and avoid the box office death that an NC-17 rating all but ensures? I'm speaking from a purely financial standpoint. Obviously, if cutting stuff out harms the film's message or impact, leave it in and keep the rating. I suspect the film really isn't as good in its shorter form, and that Lee is doing what he has to in order to secure the lucrative Chinese box office. Sometimes you have to make tough decisions like that when art and commerce intersect.

Looks like the Joel and Ethan Coen (ever wonder why Joel's name always comes first?) have decided to get serious for Focus Features and Working Title, the shingle that previously helped produce Coen flicks like Fargo, The Hudsucker Proxy and The Big Lebowski, among others. Following news that Brad Pitt is set to star alongside George Clooney and Frances McDormand in Burn After Reading, comes word from Variety that the Coen's will follow up that pic with one called A Serious Man. Described as a "dark comedy in the vein of Fargo," both Ethan and Joel intend on being credited as writers, producers and directors on the two films.

Seeing as A Serious Man is slated to be a serious dark comedy, one has to assume that Burn After Reading will go a different route. That film is said to revolve around a CIA agent who loses the computer disk in which his (or her) tell-all book is stored. In the Variety article, they mention that Brad Pitt will play a trainer at a gym (did we know that already?), while rumors suggest Clooney will play a killer of some sorts, and not the strikingly-handsome protagonist. Hmm, do you think McDormand will play the CIA agent? Or have the Coen's not decided on a star (ahem, Billy Bob) yet? And, with nothing else lined up after Burn, me wonders whether McDormand will sign up for back-to-back Coen flicks; perhaps she'll take on another Fargo-like role and win a second Oscar. These are good times for all you Coen fanatics out there; aside from the aforementioned two films, their latest, No Country for Old Men, will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next month, before arriving in theaters later this fall.

It's no wonder the film is called A Little Game, because it's taken some strategic playing in order to get all the pieces to fit correctly. Only a few months after Focus Features lost control of the then Gabriele Muccino-directed flick -- causing Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz to abruptly vacate their roles and abandon the project -- Focus co-chair James Schamus has convinced Ang Lee to take over for Muccino and helm the film. According to Variety, Lee will begin production on A Little Game (based on the French play A Little Game of Consequence) as soon as he's finished with Lust, Caution, his directorial follow-up to Brokeback Mountain.

A Little Game originally fell apart after Carrey and Diaz voiced concern over the pic's third act, and when a rewrite wasn't up to par, the two split -- officially squashing all hope of the duo's much talked-about reunion after first pairing up on The Mask. Following the fall out, Schamus was desperate to get this thing made, going so far as to take on the rewrite himself and, now, pulling Lee onboard for his third straight pic with Focus, and 11th collaboration with Schamus.

Plot concerns an engaged Brooklyn couple who, because of a rumor, decide to pretend they've broken up in order to see what their friends and family really think of their relationship. No word yet on whether Carrey and Diaz will return (it's highly doubtful), but I couldn't see them together in the first place. Then again, I have a hard time picturing Diaz in any role that's worth my hard-earned dollars.

Focus Features ran into a fairly large obstacle on Tuesday when stars Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz and director Gabriele Muccino all vacated their posts from A Little Game, due to begin filming Oct. 19. Ouch. Both stars had problems with the third act of the film, based on a French play, and a promised rewrite failed to make everyone happy, which has turned A Little Game into A Big Mess.

Studio head James Schamus is tackling the rewrite himself, having written The Ice Storm and other films, in the hopes the movie can still be salvaged, at least with Jim Carrey onboard.

Carrey is finding himself in turbulent waters without anything to guide him to shore lately, having had Used Guys and Ripley's Believe It or Not! fall apart before shooting. He also fired his agents recently, which in Hollywood effectively states "do over!" We'd fire our agents too after both saddling us with the Tea Leoni curse and failing to capitalize on our excellent turn in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Carrey's problem, it seems, is that he wants to be taken as a serious actor after appearing in both Eternal and The Majestic. However, this guy is goofy to the core, and that's a good thing. But he's already crossed the line of taking himself, and his press, too seriously. Hopefully he can find a happy medium without doing films like Ace Ventura III, which is happening without him anyhow.

Related Posts:

Carrey and Diaz Reunite for Muccino Pic

Muccino Learns Consequence

The WTF Files: Ace Ventura 3??

We reported at the end of June that Joaquin Phoenix had agreed to star in the screen version of John Burnham Schwartz's novel Reservation Road. The novel, which was adapted by Schwartz himself, tells the story of a college professor whose young son is killed in a hit-and-run accident. The event (quite understandably) sends the man into a tailspin, and he heads out to track down the driver of the car -- who, meanwhile, has gone into a tailspin of his own, trying to decide if he should turn himself in or maintain his self-loathing freedom. Whew.

When the casting news first came out, it wasn't known which role Phoenix would play, but Variety reported this morning that he'll be the father, a gig that should allow him lots of room to work his patented Phoenix-agony. (I think I'm tearing up a little bit at the mere thought of watching him.) Appearing opposite Phoenix -- and, based on the plot summary, matching him angst-for-angst -- will be Mark Ruffalo as the tortured/hunted driver.*

The film, the first to come out of a new deal between Focus Features and Random House, will be directed by Terry George, who also did some late work on the screenplay. Production begins this fall.

*The IMDb also lists Jennifer Connelly in the cast, but that's not been confirmed by any industry sources.

Odds and ends from Friday:

• Though the President has left the building, he's currently making plans to stick around town a little while longer. Martin Sheen, who played TV President on The West Wing, will take on a role in the film Talk to Me for Focus Features. Pic, which will be set in 1960s Washington D.C., tells the real-life story of a radio station owner (Sheen) who hires controversial black on-air personality Ralph Waldo "Petey" Green (Don Cheadle). Green would ultimately go on to be somewhat of an icon in radio at a time when racial tension was at its peak across the country.
• Universal Pictures have teamed up with Boom Entertainment to bring the horror comic book Tag to the big screen. Talk about an intense and deadly way to play the game tag, story revolves around some average Joe who, while out with his girlfriend one night, falls victim to an ancient curse when a random stranger "tags" him. The curse makes it so this poor dude slowly begins to die, his body literally decomposing, forcing him to either give up and move on to a higher place or find someone else to pass on the curse to. Yikes, imagine explaining that one to your girlfriend: "Um, honey, I'm dying to see you tonight but, well, I'm actually dying ... so, yeah -- rain check?"
• Luc Besson is one of those directors who likes to float somewhere between worlds of crime and fantasy, giving us films like The Fifth Element, La Femme Nikita, Angel-A and the upcoming Arthur and the Minimoys. While Fifth Element was probably his most commercial hit here in the States, Besson's Léon (or The Professional) has garnered a large following and some think it's his best film. Besson recently squashed rumors of a sequel to Léon saying he has no plans to make one and is pissed people keep sending him scripts for an idea that's not theirs. He does admit, however, if there is going to be a sequel, he will write it. Damn, I guess my script for The Not So Professional will have to remain in my draw, where it belongs.

Hey, look -- it's another film about the war in Iraq. It's hard for me to get sarcastic here (Me? Sarcastic?) because I'm sure there are thousands of unbelievable stories to be told, but how about we space them out a little bit? In the last month alone, four different Iraq-related films have cropped up. And I imagine they'll just keep coming until we eventually decide to invade vacation in some other random country.

In saying that, break out the sun-screen and sandals folks -- we're heading back to Iraq. This time, Moroccan director Sanaa Hamri (Something New) will helm Dreams of a Dying Heart for Focus Features. Pic, which sort of reminds me of that whole Jessica Lynch story, revolves around a female chopper pilot who is shot down in Iraq and must race against time to save herself so that she can find a way back to her daughter. Personally, I dig stories about war told from a female perspective and so I can't really complain about this one too much. The script was written by Shawn Otto (House of Sand and Fog). No cast or production schedule was announced.

Focus Features, the indie specialty unit at Universal Pictures, launched in 2002 at the Cannes Film Festival. It was helmed by James Schamus and David Linde, but now that Linde is Universal's co-chairman, all eyes are on Schamus to keep Focus in its winning streak (they received 16 Academy Award nominations and 4 wins in 2005). Schamus will not only oversee Focus' international financing and distribution channels, but also develop specialized and animated films, as well as manage Focus' genre label, Rogue Pictures.
 
As a fan of the former Good Machine, Schamus' first indie production company, I'm willing to bet that Focus will stay on top of the specialized film division market. It was with Good Machine that Ang Lee and Schamus began their successful collaborations, and that Schamus and Ted Hope set about advancing the art of international financing to fund artistically riskier films at home. Schamus, who holds a Ph.D. in Film Studies from U.C. Berkeley, appears to be a mix of scholar and savvy businessman: he's a widely published film historian and theorist, and he executive-produced several Good Machine features that won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, including Edward Burns' The Brothers McMullen, Tom Noonan's What Happened Was . . . , and Todd Haynes' Poison.

 

Remember a few weeks ago, when Randy Quaid filed suit against Focus Features, trying to get paid $10 million more for his clearly brilliant, pivotal performance in Brokeback Mountain? He alleged that the studio fed him a sob story about how little money they had, and so he generously agreed to appear in the movie for $12.24 (an approximate figure) -- but evil Focus knew they were going to make boatloads of money on the movie, and were deliberately ripping him off! At least, that's what Randy thinks. Yesterday, though, he dropped his suit, proclaiming that the studio had seen the light, and generously agreed to pay him a bonus. That's sweet, right? Sure, except Focus says they didn't do it. According to their statement, "Focus Features never negotiated, offered or agreed to any settlement agreement with Mr. Quaid or his attorneys." Oh reeeeeally?

Randy, when you realize you've filed a completely absurd lawsuit and decide to drop the thing, it might be best to do it on the sly and slink away quietly, rather than crowing about a victory that didn't happen. Call me crazy, but I'm guessing studios don't really like to hire unpredictable, litigious, sketchy actors. (At least when they're not named Tom Cruise.)

Did you know that Queen Latifah has co-owned her own production company for 17 years? You did? Oh. Well, it's news to me. Flavor Unit, which started out in music management but has since produced films including Bringing Down the House and Beauty Shop, has signed a first-look deal with Rogue Pictures, the incredibly active genre arm of Focus Features. According to the terms of the deal, Flavor Unit will produce films (with "modest" budgets) through both Focus and Rogue, with the goal of making about three every year; already on the table for the company are Welfare Queen, Reality Sucks (yes, that's a parody of reality TV), and the obviously awesome Horror in the Hamptons which, according to Latifah, is "about a bunch of 16-year-olds chopping each other up." Oh hell yes!

The first product of the collaboration will be the aforementioned Welfare Queen, a based-on-a-true-story drama about a woman named Dorothy Woods, who "scammed the welfare system out of a fortune." The film will star Latifah as Woods, and the script is current being written.

The American film industry has traditionally viewed foreign film production primarily as competition. Lately, however, there has been a change, and the past few months have seen more serious stories about possible long-term collaborations -- specifically with Bollywood and South Korea, two thriving industries -- than ever before. One of the studios putting its money where its mouth is is Universal, who last night announced that Focus Features and Korea's LJ Film will co-produce a (primarily) English-language film about the life of "Julia Mullock, an American interior designer who married the last crown prince of Korea." According to Variety, the cost for the production (estimate to be in the $20-25 million range) will be split by the two companies, and Focus will own foreign rights to the film.

Though the marriage between Mullock and Kyu Lee (AKA Gu, Prince of Korea) took place in the 1950s, after the Korean royal family had ceased to have an official role, it nevertheless seems to have been a bit of a scandal, and Lee was ultimately forced by his family to divorce Mullock in 1982 because she had been unable to give him an heir. (What do you think are the odds are that the movie will feature a scene in which she says "I'M BARREN!"? Fingers crossed, people. Fingers crossed.)

Focus and LJ hope to have the film in theaters some time next year.

There are some films that adhere so closely to type that you know everything about them the moment the trailer has ended: characters, relationships, goals, dreams -- all are revealed in those two minutes. And you know, too, if this is a movie you want to see because it will move you to tears with its well-loved cliches, or if those same cliches will fill you with rage, and you need to avoid it like the plague. Gaby Dellal’s On a Clear Day is one of those films.

If you’ve seen The Full Monty, you’ve seen On a Clear Day. Hell, if you’ve seen Brassed Off, you’ve seen it. Or even Calendar Girls. Like those films, it’s just what it appears to be: a heart-warming story about someone who is hit with bad news, and hatches a crazy plan which, though he might not know it at the time, will restore not just his self-worth, but also the love of his drifting, distant family. It’s never surprising, but it doesn’t want to be; in fact, the whole thing is shamelessly tear-jerking and cliched, and also, impossibly, immensely likable.

Because Focus Features was sick of all this bidding-war nonsense, they recently entered into a deal with Random House, the terms of which dictate that the two companies will co-develop and co-finance a series of films based on Random House books. The resulting films will be distributed by Focus, but Random House will share ownership. (This is an awesome idea -- why has no one else entered into this sort of agreement? Or have they? Those in the know, please drop some knowledge in the comments.)

The first two Random House properties to be picked up under the agreement were both set in the Middle East; The Attack, a novel by Yasmina Khadra, and Curveball, "a nonfiction narrative about the beginning of the war in Iraq" are in early development. The most recent addition, however, has a much more megaplex flavor -- it's Dean Koontz's The Husband, a not-yet-published novel about "an ordinary working man whose love for his wife is put to the test over the course of 60 hours after his normal workday is interrupted by a phone call from a stranger." (Yawn.) Given that Koontz has sold roughly 459 billion books and regularly appears on best-seller lists, it seems likely that the film version of this one will be pursuing his typical, mainstream audience.

Though every conversation about Brokeback Mountain these days inevitably includes some discussion of how that damn homophobia (as opposed to, you know, the movie's quality) cost it the best picture Oscar, the reality of the situation is that audiences in the US are incredibly open to homosexuality in the movies, at least when compared to their counterparts in Latin America. Advertising in that region is carefully avoiding the gay elements of the film, and focuses instead on the awards (at least in Mexico, the release date was pushed back to follow the Oscar ceremony) it has received, as well as the general idea of romance. Additionally, based on a recommendation by Focus Features, Videocine, the film's Mexican distributor, is not advertising the movie in gay publications.

Now, while I understand that a conservative society might be troubled by Brokeback's content, it's a little unclear to me why tricking audiences into seeing the movie is a good idea. Well, actually, it's totally clear, just evil - even people who run screaming into the lobby at the first sign of manlove paid for a ticket, which is the bottom line for distributors. But why not advertise in gay publications? Readers will be interested in the movie, and it's not as if those who are opposed to homosexuality would be flipping through Out, see an ad, and decide not to see the movie.

If any readers wander in from Latin America, it'd be great to hear some first-hand reports of how the movie is being both advertise and received where you are.