Spike Jonze – Way Too Indie http://waytooindie.com Independent film and music reviews Fri, 02 Dec 2016 17:34:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Way Too Indiecast is the official podcast of WayTooIndie.com. Our film critics grip and gush about the latest indie movies and sometimes even mainstream ones. Find all of our reviews, podcasts, news, at www.waytooindie.com Spike Jonze – Way Too Indie yes Spike Jonze – Way Too Indie dustin@waytooindie.com dustin@waytooindie.com (Spike Jonze – Way Too Indie) The Official Podcast of Way Too Indie Spike Jonze – Way Too Indie http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/waytooindie/podcast-album-art.jpg http://waytooindie.com Oscars 2014 Predictions http://waytooindie.com/news/awards/oscars-2014-predictions/ http://waytooindie.com/news/awards/oscars-2014-predictions/#respond Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=18640 Over the past several weeks we have provided an extensive individual breakdown for all of the major Oscar categories. Today we have compiled our 2014 Oscars Predictions on a convenient one sheet for you, along with links to our previous analysis. Oscar night is right around the corner, so be sure to tune in to […]]]>

Over the past several weeks we have provided an extensive individual breakdown for all of the major Oscar categories. Today we have compiled our 2014 Oscars Predictions on a convenient one sheet for you, along with links to our previous analysis. Oscar night is right around the corner, so be sure to tune in to see how well we predicted.

86th Academy Awards will air March 2, 2014 at 7 p.m. ET on ABC.

Complete List of 2014 Oscar Predictions:

Best Picture:

American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Director:

David O. Russell – American Hustle
Alfonso Cuarón – Gravity
Alexander Payne – Nebraska
Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave
Martin Scorsese – The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actor:

Christian Bale – American Hustle
Bruce Dern – Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club

Best Actress:

Amy Adams – American Hustle
Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock – Gravity
Judi Dench – Philomena
Meryl Streep – August: Osage County

Best Supporting Actor:

Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper – American Hustle
Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill – The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club

Best Supporting Actor Analysis: Why we think Jared Leto will win

Best Supporting Actress:

Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts – August: Osage County
June Squibb – Nebraska

Best Supporting Actress Analysis: Why we think Lupita Nyong’o will win

Best Original Screenplay:

Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell – American Hustle
Woody Allen – Blue Jasmine
Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack – Dallas Buyers Club
Spike Jonze – Her
Bob Nelson – Nebraska

Best Original Screenplay Analysis: Why we think Spike Jonze will win

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke – Before Midnight
Billy Ray – Captain Phillips
Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope – Philomena
John Ridley – 12 Years a Slave
Terence Winter – The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Adapted Screenplay Analysis: Why we think John Ridley will win

Best Foreign Film:

The Broken Circle Breakdown
The Great Beauty
The Hunt
The Missing Picture
Omar

Best Foreign Film Analysis: Why we think The Great Beauty will win

Best Cinematography:

Philippe Le Sourd – The Grandmaster
Emmanuel Lubezki – Gravity
Bruno Delbonnel – Inside Llewyn Davis
Phedon Papamichael – Nebraska
Roger A. Deakins – Prisoners

Best Animated Film:

The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
The Wind Rises

Best Documentary:

The Act of Killing
Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty Wars
The Square
20 Feet from Stardom

Best Film Editing:

Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten – American Hustle
Christopher Rouse – Captain Phillips
John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa – Dallas Buyers Club
Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger – Gravity
Joe Walker – 12 Years a Slave

Best Original Score:

John Williams – The Book Thief
Steven Price – Gravity
William Butler and Owen Pallett – Her
Alexandre Desplat – Philomena
Thomas Newman – Saving Mr. Banks

Best Original Song:

“Happy” – Despicable Me 2
“Let It Go” – Frozen
“The Moon Song” – Her
“Ordinary Love” – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Best Production Design:

American Hustle
Gravity
The Great Gatsby
Her
12 Years a Slave

Best Costume Design:

American Hustle
The Grandmaster
The Great Gatsby
The Invisible Woman
12 Years a Slave

Best Makeup & Hairstyling:

Dallas Buyers Club
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
The Lone Ranger

Best Sound Editing:

All Is Lost
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Lone Survivor

Best Sound Mixing:

Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Inside Llewyn Davis
Lone Survivor

Best Visual Effects:

Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
The Lone Ranger
Star Trek Into Darkness

Best Short Film (Live Action):

Aquel No Era Yo
Avant Que De Tout Perdre
Helium
Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa?
The Voorman Problem

Best Visual Short Film (Animated):

Feral
Get a Horse!
Mr. Hublot
Possessions
Room on the Broom

Best Documentary (Short Subject):

CaveDigger
Facing Fear
Karama Has No Walls
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall

]]>
http://waytooindie.com/news/awards/oscars-2014-predictions/feed/ 0
Oscar Analysis 2014: Best Original Screenplay http://waytooindie.com/news/awards/oscar-analysis-2014-best-original-screenplay/ http://waytooindie.com/news/awards/oscar-analysis-2014-best-original-screenplay/#respond Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=17977 The screenplay category is notorious for giving smaller indie films a chance for recognition that they may not receive anywhere else on Oscar night. That is not exactly the case this year as all but one (Blue Jasmine) of these nominees received a Best Picture nod (though really only one (American Hustle) is considered an […]]]>

The screenplay category is notorious for giving smaller indie films a chance for recognition that they may not receive anywhere else on Oscar night. That is not exactly the case this year as all but one (Blue Jasmine) of these nominees received a Best Picture nod (though really only one (American Hustle) is considered an actual contender in that section). But I attribute this exception more as praise for the Academy for including such films like Her and Nebraska in the Best Picture category because in most years these could have been edged out by more mainstream picks like Saving Mr. Banks or August: Osage County.

In my opinion, there is a pretty clear standout amongst the nominees, and that is Spike Jonze’s Her. Quite literally, this film contains the most original screenplay out of the bunch when a lonely writer (Joaquin Phoenix) develops a romantic relationship with an operating system. The film is unbelievably charming and remarkably thought provoking. It’s biggest competition in this category will be David O. Russell’s American Hustle, but I am still baffled as to why the film is getting so much acclaim. I personally believe the only real achievement in American Hustle is earned from its acting talent. Nonetheless, look for it to be a major player in all categories including this one.

Woody Allen has received an impressive 16 nominations for screenwriting over the years, but I do not suspect his riches to rags story in Blue Jasmine has what it takes to win this year, especially considering he won the category just two years ago for Midnight in Paris. Dallas Buyers Club certainly sounds like an Academy favorite; a true American story about a controversial person, but the narrative of the film never quite reaches the emotional payoff it aims for. And while Nebraska is easily my favorite Alexander Payne film, many will dismiss it for its lack of depth and rather simple story.

There are a few misses that come to mind as far as films not getting a nomination that should have. Nicole Holofcener’s Enough Said was a humble, yet sincere romantic comedy that really moved me. The classic three-act story in The Place Beyond the Pines would have been an excellent addition to this group. But the category really missed its opportunity highlight a small film that received no Oscar nominations this year, Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha. The film feels like it was penned by a young Woody Allen (remember his impressive nom count?) as it packs a light and whimsical story around a very likeable but flawed character. Frances Ha was relatable, humorous, and charming. Oh, and it is shot in New York.

Category Predictions

Who Should Win: Her
Who Will Win: Her
Deserves A Nomination: Frances Ha

Best Original Screenplay Nominees

Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell – American Hustle (review)

Woody Allen – Blue Jasmine (review)

Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack – Dallas Buyers Club (review)

Spike Jonze – Her (review)

Bob Nelson – Nebraska (review)

Previous Category Analysis

Best Shorts
Best Supporting Actress
Best Supporting Actor

]]>
http://waytooindie.com/news/awards/oscar-analysis-2014-best-original-screenplay/feed/ 0
Best ‘Her’ Trailer Parodies: Philip Seymour Hoffman and SNL http://waytooindie.com/news/best-her-trailer-parodies-philip-seymour-hoffman-and-snl/ http://waytooindie.com/news/best-her-trailer-parodies-philip-seymour-hoffman-and-snl/#comments Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=17929 Spike Jonzes’s film Her is without a doubt incredibly endearing, thought-provoking, and technologically probable as a socially awkward man (Joaquin Phoenix) in the not so distant future falls in love with his advanced Operating System (voiced by Scarlett Johannson). Though admittedly, the premise sets itself up for people to easily make fun of it. After […]]]>

Spike Jonzes’s film Her is without a doubt incredibly endearing, thought-provoking, and technologically probable as a socially awkward man (Joaquin Phoenix) in the not so distant future falls in love with his advanced Operating System (voiced by Scarlett Johannson). Though admittedly, the premise sets itself up for people to easily make fun of it. After all, Her is about developing a relationship with a computer. There has already been several spoofs about the film, but we bring you two of the best ones that we have seen so far.

Scarlett Johansson gets replaced by Philip Seymour Hoffman

Jonah Hill plays Joaquin Phoenix and falls for himself, a skit from Saturday Night Live

]]>
http://waytooindie.com/news/best-her-trailer-parodies-philip-seymour-hoffman-and-snl/feed/ 1
Her http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/her/ http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/her/#comments Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=16720 In the near future of Her, LA has a few new buildings in its skyline and is as smoggy as ever. The haze only adding to its dreaminess. The metro extends all the way to the beach (something all Angelinos have been craving for years), and the fashion trends favor nerd appeal, with high-waisted pants […]]]>

In the near future of Her, LA has a few new buildings in its skyline and is as smoggy as ever. The haze only adding to its dreaminess. The metro extends all the way to the beach (something all Angelinos have been craving for years), and the fashion trends favor nerd appeal, with high-waisted pants for men and minimal makeup on women. People walk around, hardly acknowledging one another, muttering into the small wireless earpieces they wear to stay constantly connected to their smart devices.

We’ve already become a society that doesn’t bat an eyelash at people staring at small square screens in their hands around the clock, so this next possible step depicted in director Spike Jonze’s vision of the future does seem entirely likely. It’s when Jonze presents another technical possibility that a unique, and dare I say plausible, love story emerges.

Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) writes love letters for a living; a romantic profession that fits his introverted and lonely personality. Having recently split with his wife (Rooney Mara), he mopes from work to home, shrugging off invitations from co-workers (Chris Pratt) and long-time friends (Amy Adams and Matt Letscher). Intrigued by new software, he buys himself a new operating system. After answering only a couple quick set-up questions (including a very open ended “how is your relationship with your mother?”), and choosing a female voice for his new OS, Theodore’s new computer is up and running.  She decides to call herself Samantha and with Scarlett Johansson’s sultry voice giving her life, it’s easy to see why Theodore instantly finds himself being pulled into deeper and deeper conversations with her.

Samantha has the ability to learn and adapt and through her newborn digital eyes Theodore begins to see the beauty in his ordinary life, not to mention a companion who always has his best interests at heart. Samantha’s unbridled curiosity and rapacious interest in Theodore are the sort of ingredients that would win any man’s heart. Given he’s also a romantic attuned to the power of words, it isn’t long until he is very much in love with this bodiless digital cloud of a dream girl.

Her indie movie

Theodore and Samantha’s relationships have some obvious challenges, which seem surprisingly easily overcome. First off: public acceptance. Turns out people are falling for their operating systems on the regular, and this is a future where people ask very few questions. They overcome their physical differences, being that Samantha lacks any physical form whatsoever, and all I can say is, thank you Mr. Jonze for the black screen during that scene. Later Samantha does try to find herself a surrogate to be with Theodore, but it’s too uncomfortable for him and ends up being a strong “life” lesson for her in accepting her own form. Even the most basic of relational difficulties, jealousy, insecurity, boredom, all seem overcome in time. Instead it’s a more unanticipated technical difficulty that threatens their love in the end and there is no geek squad that can intervene in matters of the heart.

Her is well crafted and engaging to view, with many thoughtful details that include familiar LA locations. Production designer, and long-time Spike Jonze collaborator, K. K. Barrett has thought up a future that seems like it could be one trend away from being the current LA; and set decorator Gene Serdena styles Theodore’s futuristic home in a way that would have the Jetson’s drooling.

Joaquin Phoenix seems to do his best work when given an introverted character, allowing his eyes to convey both the loneliness of Theodore and his reawakening. He and Johansen have a subtle chemistry, the only kind a man and his computer could convey, but one that is believable and endearing. Johansen puts many a voiceover actor to shame, and it’s not hard to imagine the very facial expressions Samantha would make if there were a face to go with that voice.

Whether Jonze really intends for there to be any sort of moral message isn’t exactly obvious. Relationships grow, both together and apart. People, and technology, can and do change. What magic keeps any couple together? It’s really the same old love story we’ve heard a million times, but it never gets old when it’s told right. Society may or may not be headed toward this future possibility, but it can be counted as certain that people will always be looking for love, in whatever form it can and may eventually take. And it’s that age-old quest, reflected in both Theodore and Samantha, that makes Her a fantastic film.

Her trailer

]]>
http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/her/feed/ 1
The Industry’s Brightest Gather for SFFS Fall Celebration Panel http://waytooindie.com/news/industrys-brightest-gather-sffs-fall-celebration-panel/ http://waytooindie.com/news/industrys-brightest-gather-sffs-fall-celebration-panel/#respond Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=16241 This past Thursday in San Francisco, the San Francisco Film Society held their inaugural Fall Celebration, honoring four films that look to be contenders come Oscar season: Nebraska, Fruitvale Station, Her, and The Square. Patrons gathered at elite social club The Battery to celebrate cinema and raise money for the Society. Filmmakers and actors from the films were in […]]]>

This past Thursday in San Francisco, the San Francisco Film Society held their inaugural Fall Celebration, honoring four films that look to be contenders come Oscar season: Nebraska, Fruitvale StationHer, and The Square. Patrons gathered at elite social club The Battery to celebrate cinema and raise money for the Society.

Filmmakers and actors from the films were in attendance to participate in a panel before the night’s festivities, including directors Alexander Payne, Ryan Coogler, Spike Jonze, and Jehane Noujaim, and actors Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station) and June Squib (Nebraska). The questions tossed at the star-studded panel covered a wide range of topics, from origin stories to locations to budgets to filmmaking processes.

Hometown Hero

Bay Area native Ryan Coogler was visibly proud and humbled to be in San Francisco representing Fruitvale Station, his debut feature which reconstructs 22-year-old Oscar Grant’s last day on earth, before he was shot and killed by a transit officer in a BART station in Oakland. Coogler remembered being deeply affected by the news of Grant’s death, but felt the media lost the human angle of the incident. “Nobody was really talking about the fact that Oscar was a human being,” he recalled. “He wasn’t just a symbol…he was a 22-year-old guy who had hopes and dreams and relationships, and it all got cut short.”

The movie was filmed mere miles from where the panel was taking place, which Jordan (who plays Oscar) emphasized was key. “It was very important–especially to Ryan,” he said. “[Ryan] just didn’t see the film being shot anywhere besides here, where it happened, where Oscar was from.” Coogler got the green light to shoot in the Bay Area with some help from an influential supporter. “It’s always easier when you have somebody like Forrest Whitaker writing a letter or making a phone call,” Jordan said about the film’s famous producer and mentor to Coogler.

When asked about the state and future of the film industry, Coogler seemed to have an optimistic outlook. “The studio films that we’ve seen succeed this year…some have been about comic book characters from pre-existing franchises that studios could put money behind. But, we’ve had others that have been incredibly human. The more we see projects that can make a lot of money and also have human connections…we’ll see studios doing more of those.”

Click to view slideshow.

Big Studios and Indies Get Along…in Nebraska

Alexander Payne’s Nebraska–a road trip movie about a father (Bruce Dern) who takes his son (Will Forte) with him on a pilgrimage from Montana to Nebraska to collect prize money he’s won from a lottery–is a studio film shot in gorgeous black and white, with no major stars in its cast, one of those “human” films Coogler was gushing about.

Payne, whose first film, Citizen Ruth was shot over 40 days, was blown away when he asked Coogler how long it took to shoot Fruitvale (20 days.) “It takes me 20 days just to walk to the bathroom!” he joked.

When asked if anyone at Paramount, the film’s distributor, questioned the bankability of the project, Payne assured us that there weren’t any studio heads poking around the production. “To Paramount’s credit, no one [questioned that.] They gave me carte blanche. Once we agreed [on the] 13 and a half million base budget, they left me totally alone.”

Something in the Way She Moves…

Her, Spike Jonze’s latest window into his brilliant, hyperactive imagination, follows a sad-sack writer named Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) as he begins to fall for an operating system named Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), something like a super-advanced version of “Siri” tailored to be Theodore’s perfect companion. Despite a premise absolutely dripping with social satire, Jonze insists no grand statements exists at the core of Her. “I wasn’t trying to make a comment or a satire about society,” Jonze explained. “…the character of the operating system is just a voice, but we tried to create a character that is a fully developed being with their own longings, needs, and passion.”

“One of the things that was important to us when we were designing the movie was to design this very warm world…a heightened version of the world we’re in,” Jonze said of the significance of place in cinema. He further elaborated on geography’s emotional significance: “L.A. is this place where the weather’s always nice, the ocean is there, the mountains are there…but even in that light, in this world, the loneliness and isolation maybe hurts in a specific way.”

The Never Ending Story

Documenting the lives of six protesters in the Egyptian uprising that started in 2011 in Tahrir Square (and continues to this day), director Jehane Noujaim’s The Square went through a major change earlier this year when the state of the revolution continued to evolve. The film premiered at Sundance, where it won the audience award, and concluded with president Mohammed Morsi stepping down, to the joy of the Tahrir protesters. But “the story kept changing,” Noujaim explained.

Morsi’s replacement turned out to be just as disagreeable as he was, so the people, outraged, returned to the square. “Initially, we [followed] the bringing down of a dictator to the election of a new president. That was the political continuum,” she continued. “The more interesting story was when all of our characters were back in the streets again.”

So, Noujaim and her crew returned to Tahrir, filmed additional footage, re-edited the film, showed it at the Toronto International Film Festival, and got another audience award. Despite the ever shifting political landscape in Egypt, Noujaim is positive the project is finished. “Our characters have gone through a full arc.”

 

For more info, visit SFFS.org

 

]]>
http://waytooindie.com/news/industrys-brightest-gather-sffs-fall-celebration-panel/feed/ 0
Watch: Her trailer http://waytooindie.com/news/trailer/watch-her-trailer/ http://waytooindie.com/news/trailer/watch-her-trailer/#respond Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=13937 Last week it was announced that Spike Jonze’s latest film Her will close out the New York Film Festival in mid-October. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix as a lonely man who ends up falling in love with an advanced operating system (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) after the breakup of a long-term relationship. Those two are […]]]>

Last week it was announced that Spike Jonze’s latest film Her will close out the New York Film Festival in mid-October. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix as a lonely man who ends up falling in love with an advanced operating system (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) after the breakup of a long-term relationship. Those two are not the only recognizable names in the cast, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, and Olivia Wilde all also make appearances.

Watch the trailer for Spike Jonze’s Her:

]]>
http://waytooindie.com/news/trailer/watch-her-trailer/feed/ 0