SpoutBlog on spout.com

• Sometime-Moldy Peach Adam Green talks to Gothamist about promoting the Juno soundtrack by playing The View: “They gave me a year’s supply of Café Bustelo for playing. Anyways I got a check for $900 with Mickey Mouse’s head printed on it. Me and my girlfriend couldn’t figure out why Disney was sending me money. It turns out that they own The View. But I’m glad that they don’t censor what Whoopie says.”
• FEARnet presents its list of Top 10 MILFS. “But don’t worry, were not talking incestuous mother-f-ing action here: we’re talking FEARnet MILFs!…the Moms I Like to FEAR!” It’s a lot better than it sounds. Via Tisch FIlm Review.
• Above: a frame from Amy Winehouse’s attempt to remake Jean-Luc Godard’s Weekend. J/K!

Under discussion:

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford  (2007)

Iron Man  (2008)

The Dark Knight  (2008)

In Bruges  (2008)

Rambo  (2008)

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly  (2007)

The 9th Annual Golden Trailer Awards were held in Los Angeles last night with what seems like a thousand winners announced in all sorts of categories representing movie marketing. There were awards for trailers, TV spots and posters divided up by genre (comedy, drama, horror, independent, etc.) and technical achievement (sound editing, motion graphics, etc.). While having too many categories can lead to questions of consistency — how does The Dark Knight beat out Iron Man for Best Action trailer but the latter film wins the Summer 2008 Blockbuster award? — it’s interesting to know which film’s ad employs the best music (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) and which has the best voice-over (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford).

Regarding Jesse James‘ win, though, I have to wonder how a film’s marketing can be so great if it doesn’t actually bring in an audience. In addition to its trailer being honored, its poster also won in the Best Drama category. Plus (and this is me just being picky), isn’t awarding the trailer’s voice-over a bit unfair considering it just utilizes part of Hugh Ross’ narration from the actual film? To me, this category should probably be honoring those “In a world … ” trailer voice-over guys. Nonetheless, I do love the trailer and the film and so I’ve included it for repeat viewing above.

Of course I understand that the Golden Trailers are more an honoring of craft than of successfulness. Still, if the trailer for In Bruges and the stencil poster for Rambo are the most original works in film marketing in the past year, we need some new designers right away.

Check out the list of winners and nominees after the jump

Best Action
The Dark Knight, Warner Bros., Intralink Film
Hellboy 2, Universal Pictures, Workshop Creative
Iron Man, Paramount Pictures, Create Advertising Group
Live Free or Die Hard, 20th Century Fox, Trailer Park

Best Animation/Family
Enchanted, Walt Disney Pictures, Craig Murray Productions
Kung Fu Panda, Paramount Pictures, Buddha Jones
Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, Fox/Walden Films, Trailer Park
Shrek the Third “Then”, Paramount Pictures, Sameth ADV/The Ant Farm

Best Comedy
Tropic Thunder, Paramount Pictures, Buddha Jones
Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Universal Pictures, Workshop Creative
Juno, Fox Searchlight, Tea:Wonderland
Meet Bill, First Look Studios, GoodSpot
Pineapple Express, Columbia Pictures, Ignition Creative

Best Documentary
Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?, The Weinstein Co., Buddha Jones
In the Shadow of the Moon, ThinkFilm, Celluloid Heroes
Sicko, Lionsgate/Weinstein Co., Ignition Creative
Standard Operating Procedure, Sony Pictures Classics, The Grossmyth Company
Surfwise, Magnolia Pictures, Big Science Film

Best Drama
No Country for Old Men, Miramax Films, Giaronomo Productions
3:10 to Yuma, Lionsgate, InSync Advertising
American Gangster, Universal Pictures, Intralink Film
Into the Wild, Paramount Vantage, Craig Murray Productions

Best Horror
I am Legend, Warner Bros., Skip Film
30 Days of Night, Columbia Pictures, Ignition Creative
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, Optimum Releasing, The Editpool
The Strangers, Universal Pictures, Buddha Jones

Best Independent Trailer
Day Night Day Night, IFC First Take, Kinetic Trailers
Broken English, Magnolia Pictures, Kinetic Trailers
La Vie en Rose, Picturehouse, KO Creative
Shotgun Stories, Liberation Entertainment

Best Music
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Miramax Films, Mark Woollen & Assoc.
Middle of Nowhere, Bold Films, The Grossmyth Company
Once, Fox Searchlight, Hammer Creative
Rocket Science, Picturehouse, Big Science Film

Best Romance
Atonement, Focus Features, Intralink Film
27 Dresses, Fox 2000, Seismic Productions
My Sassy Girl, Gold Circle Films, Crew Creative
P.S. I Love You, Warner Bros., Mojo, LLC

Best Thriller
Vantage Point, Columbia Pictures, AV Squad
Cloverfield “Trailer #1″, Paramount Pictures, The Ant Farm
Eastern Promises, Focus Features, Hammer Creative
The Eye, Lionsgate, Seismic Productions

Best Video Game Trailer
The Simpson’s Game: Medal of Homer, Electronic Arts, Hammer Creative
Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft, Hammer Creative
Bourne Conspiracy: Weapons Trailer, Sierra, High Moon Studios
Call of Duty 4: “Modern Warfare”, ActiVision, The Ant Farm
Mass Effect, BioWare Corp., Hammer Creative

Best Voice Over
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Warner Bros., Mark Woollen & Assoc.
Fido, Lionsgate, Mark Woollen & Associates
Passchendaele: “Letters”, Alliance Films, INC, The Ant Farm
The Ten, ThinkFilm, Celluloid Heroes

Golden Fleece
Awake, Weinstein Co., Seismic Productions
Drillbit Taylor, Paramount Pictures, Buddha Jones
Gracie, Picturehouse, KO Creative
Southland Tales, Sony Pictures, Intralink Film

Most Original
In Bruges, Focus Features, Focus Features (in house)
Cloverfield, Paramount Pictures, Ignition Creative
Get Smart Teaser, Warner Bros., Workshop Creative
Semi-Pro Teaser, New Line Cinema, Workshop Creative

Summer 2008 Blockbuster
Iron Man: “Escaped”, Paramount Pictures, The Ant Farm
Hancock, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Create Advertising Group
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Paramount Pictures, Wild Card
Speed Racer, Warner Bros., Giaronomo Productions

Trashiest Trailer
Drive Thru, Lionsgate, Lionsgate
The Hottie & The Nottie, Regent Releasing, Happy Hour Creative
The Tripper, Coquette Productions, Sweet Spot Productions
Witless Protection, Lionsgate, Buddha Jones
Zombie Strippers, Stage 6 Films, WDA

Best Motion/Title Graphics
Hitman, 20th Century Fox, Create Advertising Group
Be Kind Rewind, New Line Cinema, Mark Woollen & Associates
The Dark Knight, Warner Bros., Intralink Film
National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, Walt Disney Pictures, Imaginary Forces

Best Sound Editing
I Am Legend, Warner Bros., Trailer Park
Nightmare Detective, Movie Eye Entertainment, The Solid State
Noise, Madman Entertainment, Music & Effects
The Strangers, Universal Pictures, Buddha Jones

Best Trailer - No Movie
Game, Create Advertising Group
MMovie, Full Stealth Films
Push, Happy Hour Creative
Stalkarazzi, Ragtime Monkey Productions

Best In-Theater Advertising
Mad Men, AMC, Happy Hour Creative/Trailer Park
Rambo Ultimate Edition 3 Pack, Lionsgate, Big Boss Creative
Rocket Science “In Theater DVD”, Picturehouse, Big Science Film

Best Foreign Action Trailer
Revolver, Sony Pictures, WDA
Bangkok Dangerous, Initial Entertainment Group, Zealot Productions
Dog Bite Dog, Arclight Films, The Solid State
Exiled, Magnolia Pictures, quixotic industries inc.

Best Foreign Comedy Trailer
My Best Friend, Optimum Releasing, The Editpool
Free Rainer Teaser, Kinowelt Filmverleih, Fleischmann Trailer
Kenny, Madman Entertainment, Xenon Pictures
Run, FatBoy, Run, New Line Cinema, The Creative Partnership

Best Foreign Drama Trailer
And When Did You Last See Your Father? Sony Pictures Classics, Zealot Productions, Inc
4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, IFC Films, Kinetic Trailers
Counterfeiters “Theatrical Trailer”, Sony Pictures Classics, quixotic industries, inc
Maradona: The Hand of God, Xenon Pictures Inc
Padre Nuestro (Sangre de mi Sangre) “Traicion”, Icon Film Distribution, Fix Comunicacion

Best Foreign Horror/Thriller Trailer
The Eye 3, Lionsgate, Lionsgate
Boy Eats Girl Trailer, Lionsgate, Lionsgate
Tell No One, Revolver Entertainment, Empire Design
THEM Trailer, Dark Sky Films, Workmanship Creative

Best Foreign Romance Trailer
Paris Je T’aime “The Dance”, First Look Studios, Trailer Park
Control, Momentum Pictures, Zealot Productions Inc.
Love Songs, IFC Films, Kinetic Trailers
Priceless, Samuel Goldwyn, Kinetic Trailers

Most Original Foreign Trailer
Persepolis “Trailer 2″, Sony Pictures Classics, The Grossmyth Company
Ausbilder Schmidt “In A World…”, Universal Pictures, Fleischmann Trailer
Control, Momentum Pictures, Zealot Productions Inc
Die Welle, Constatin Films, Trailerhaus

Best Anime Trailer
Doctor Strange, Lionsgate, Lionsgate
Waltz with Bashir, The Match Factory, Fleischmann Trailer

Best Action TV Spot
Bourne Ultimatum “I Remember”, Universal Pictures, Empire Design
Forbidden Kingdom ” Legendary Warriors”, Lionsgate, Mojo, LLC
Resident Evil:Extinction “The World”, Screen Gems, InSync Advertising
Rush Hour “International”, New Line Cinema, Intralink Film

Best Animation/Family TV Spot
Harry Potter & The Order of The Phoenix “Great Wizards”, Warner Bros., The Ant Farm
Golden Compass “Epic”, New Line Cinema, Intralink Film
Horton Hears a Who “Whomongous”, 20th Century Fox, Trailer Park
Ratatouille “One Word Kids”, Walt Disney Pictures, Craig Murray Productions

Best Comedy TV Spot
Harold & Kumar 2 “Campaign”, Warner Bros., mOcean
Harold & Kumar 2 “Sneak Peek/Pastry”, Warner Bros., mOcean
Juno “TV Spot”, Fox Searchlight, Seismic Productions
Sicko “Money”, Lionsgate/Weinstein Co., InSync Advertising

Best Drama TV Spot
There Will Be Blood “Music Review”, Paramount Pictures, The Ant Farm
21 “Innocence: 60″, Sony Pictures, AV Squad
The Great Debaters “Good”, Weinstein Company, InSync Advertising
Michael Clayton “Secrets”, Warner Bros., BLT A/V

Best Horror TV Spot
Saw IV “Clown Blinks”, Lionsgate, Fishbowl
28 Weeks Later “Alarm”, Fox Atomic, Celluloid Heroes
30 Days of Night “Graphic Novel Post”, Sony Pictures, Create Advertising Group
Shutter “More to Fear”, 20th Century Fox, The Ant Farm

Best Romance TV Spot
27 Dresses “Invite Event”, Fox 2000, Trailer Park
Atonement “Love Story”, Focus Features, Intralink Film
Becoming Jane “Great Story”, Miramax Films, Mojo LLC
Good Luck Chuck “Dangerous”, Lionsgate, Fishbowl

Best Summer 2008 TV Spot
Wanted “Choice Revised”, Universal Pictures, Create Advertising Group

Best Thriller TV Spot
No Country for Old Men “Friend-o”, Miramax Films, Buddha Jones
Hostel II “Big Drill”, Lionsgate, Fishbowl
I Am Legend “One”, Warner Bros., Skip Film
Saw IV “Whats on the Tape”, Lionsgate, Fishbowl

Most Original TV Spot
Shrek the Third “Shrekstra #1″, Nickelodeon, Trailer Park
Blacksheep “TVC”, New Zealand Film Commission, The Solid State
I Am Legend “Quarentine”, Warner Bros., Skip Film
In Bruges “Hideout”, Focus Features, Focus Features (in house)

Best Action Poster
Resident Evil: Extinction, Screen Gems, The Refinery
3:10 to Yuma “Wild Posting”, Lionsgate, Ignition Print
The Bourne Ultimatum “One Sheet”, Universal Pictures, Crew Creative
Day Watch, 20th Century Fox, Cold Open

Best Animation/Family Poster
Shrek the Third “Teaser Poster”, Paramount Pictures, The Ant Farm
August Rush, Warner Bros., The Refinery
Forbidden Kingdom “Final”, Lionsgate, Ignition Print
The Golden Compass, New Line Cinema,The Refinery

Best Comedy Poster
Step Brothers “One Sheet”, Sony Pictures, Ignition Print
Evan Almighty, Universal Pictures, The Ant Farm
In Bruges “One Sheet”, Focus Features, Mojo, LLC
Semi-Pro “One Sheet”, New Line Cinema, Crew Creative

Best Documentary Poster
Religulous “Toast”, Lionsgate, Ignition Print
The 11th Hour, Warner Independent Pictures, Mojo,LLC
In the Shadow of the Moon “Teaser”, ThinkFilm, Crew Creative
Taxi to the Dark Side, ThinkFilm, Cold Open

Best Drama Poster
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford “One Sheet”, Warner Bros., Crew Creative
Eastern Promises “One Sheet”, Focus Features, Ignition Print
La Vie En Rose, Picturehouse, The Refinery
Snow Angels, Warner Independent Pictures, The Cimarron Group

Best Horror Poster
The Eye “One Sheet”, Lionsgate, Ignition Print
28 Weeks Later “Teaser”, Fox Atomic, Intralink Film
The Ruins “Face”, Paramount Pictures, Ignition Print
Saw IV “International Teaser”, Lionsgate, Crew Creative

Best Independent Poster
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, ThinkFilm, Cold Open
Control “Quad Poster”, Momentum Pictures, allcity
Jimmy Carter Man From Plains “One Sheet”, Sony Pictures Classics, Ignition Print
This is England “Quad Poster”, Optimum Releasing, allcity

Best International Poster
Trade, Roadside Attractions, Mojo LLC
3:10 to Yuma “Yellow”, Lionsgate, Ignition Print
The Bourne Ultimatum “International One Sheet”, Universal Pictures, Empire Design
Sweeney Todd “International One Sheet”, DreamWorks, Crew Creative

Best Romance Poster
27 Dresses “One Sheet”, Fox 2000, Ignition Print
Fool’s Gold “One Sheet”, Warner Bros., Ignition Print
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry “One Sheet”, Universal Pictures, Crew Creative
P.S. I Love You “One Sheet”, Warner Bros., Crew Creative

Best Summer 2008 Blockbuster Poster
The Dark Knight “Teaser”, Warner Bros., Intralink Film
The Dark Knight “Batman Teaser”, Warner Bros., Crew Creative
Sex and the City “Teaser”, New Line Cinema, The Ant Farm
Step Brothers “One Sheet”, Columbia Pictures, Ignition Print

Best Teaser Poster
Silver Surfer “Teaser”, 20th Century Fox, New Wave Creative
Quantum of Solace “Intl Teaser One Sheet”, MGM, Empire Design
Saw IV “Tools”, Lionsgate, Crew Creative
Zodiac “One Sheet”, Warner Bros., Mojo, LLC

Best Thriller Poster
Untraceable “Diane”, Screen Gems, Ignition Print
Awake “One Sheet”, Weinstein Co., Ignition Print
Bug “Scarub”, Lionsgate, Ignition Print
Saw IV “Pig”, Lionsgate, Ignition Print

Best Wildposts
Forgetting Sarah Marshall “Wild Posts”, Universal Pictures, Crew Creative
30 Days of Night “Wildposting”, Columbia Pictures, Ignition Print
I Am Legend “Outdoor Series”, Warner Bros., Crew Creative
The Lookout “Wildposting”, Buena Vista Pictures, Ignition Print

Most Original Poster
Rambo “Stencil”, Lionsgate, Ignition Print
30 Days of Night “Character Poster A”, Columbia Pictures, Ignition Print
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, ThinkFilm, Cold Open
Slipstream “Poster”, Strand Releasing, The Solid State

Film Festival Categories

Best Film Festival Trailer
Horrorfest 2007 “50 Foot Woman Trailer”, Sweet Spot Productions
3:10 to Yuma “The Moment”, Lionsgate, Buddha Jones
He’s Just Not That Into You, Crew Creative
Horrorfest 2007 “Main Event Trailer”, Sweet Spot Productions

Best Film Festival Poster
LA Shorts Fest, Crew Creative
Bigger, Stronger, Faster, Cold Open
Chicago 10 Sundance Poster, New Wave Creative
Kabluey, Cold Open

A day after learning and announcing that his job at Premiere.com had been eliminated, Glenn Kenny has already set up a new personal blog, free of association with Premiere/Hachette. Well, sort of: the subtitle on the TypePad blog is, currently, “Film writer Glenn Kenny’s own bought-and-paid-for-blog, thank you very goddamn much.” The title-title is Some Came Running, and in the first entry, Kenny explains what he hopes to do with it: “Consider this space the drunken boat we stand in, trying to pull either and/or both of these figures in. Not to be loopy, or maudlin, or anything. Just a fancy way of saying…let’s hang, my friends.”

Related: “Hachette has always been an abortion of a magazine company,” writes Nick Denton at Gawker.

Under discussion:

Groundhog Day  (1993)

Your Blogger is having some computer issues this morning. While I get sorted, check out this blog post from Roger Ebert , in which he ponders the never ending Democratic primary in cinematic terms. “It must have been a species of torture for the anchors at CNN, who seemed caught in a Groundhog Day loop… The problem with a screenplay based on these events is that there would be a merciless sameness.” That quote brought to mind two things. First, this has probably been done already, but someone should do some kind of linguistic/historical study, charting the evolution of references to that movie as a universally identified synonym for eternal recurrence. Also: YouTube! The above clip, Groundhog Day in 5 Seconds, which reduces the Bill Murray classic to nothing but merciless sameness. Also:

Under discussion:

Hot Shots! Part Deux  (1993)

Platoon  (1986)

Saving Private Ryan  (1998)

Battle for Haditha  (2007)

I’ve always been conflicted by my hatred for war and my love for war films. But I can’t help being excited by cinematic combat. As Miguel Ferrer says in Hot Shots! Part Deux, “War … it’s fantastic!” Certainly his character is referring to the real-life action, but in a reflexive way he’s talking about war on film (he does break the diegetic space when he utters the statement, after all). And I have to say, in that context, no war film in recent years has been as fantastic as Nick Broomfield’s Battle for Haditha, which opened in New York yesterday.

The difficult thing about war films is that, despite often being exciting action movies, they’re about real, tragic situations, even if they’re fictional stories set in an actual war (the opening of Saving Private Ryan is of course the epitome of war films’ ability to be at the same time both affecting and awesome). Broomfield’s film has the additional difficulty of being about a real battle from a war that is still going on. And of course there’s that whole problem of Iraq War films being box office poison lately. But if the viewer is able to forget all that stuff, there’s a chance he or she will find Battle for Haditha totally exhilarating.

The film presents a dramatization of the titular incident, in which a number of Iraqi civilians were killed by U.S. marines in a criminally retributive act following an IED attack on a military convoy. In a way, the film’s story parallels the massacre in Platoon, which was also based on a true event, only far more loosely. So, I wonder if Battle would be more popular with the critics (currently it has a low 44% approval on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences if it was similarly more fictionalized. Actually, Battle may be more fictionalized than it seems to be, but as it is shot somewhat like a documentary by a director well known as a documentarian, it’s easy to get the impression that it’s an accurate account of the incident.

Of course, the documentary manner in which the film is shot is more relevant to the Iraq War, from which we’ve seen a surplus of great non-fiction films, than a Platoon-style dramatic war film would be. And like those documentaries, Battle smartly addresses the issues relating to the war, such as the damaged psychology of the soldiers and the cause-effect nature of retaliatory incidents like Haditha. Still, despite its difference in discourse and contexts, it may be enjoyed on the same level as fictional war films like Platoon and Saving Private Ryan (and others).

And certainly there are other levels on which to appreciate Battle for Haditha. But I figure that people who appreciate war films for the action aren’t really being targeted, and so I feel it must be pointed out that this is indeed an awesome war film and not another depressing Iraq War film. OK, I guess it is both. And therefore it may be too soon to be taken as mere entertainment. But give it a few years (or a lot of years, depending on when the Iraq War ends), and it could be accepted as being as cool as other war film favorites.

Under discussion:

Funny Games  (2007)

I’ve been in a really ominous mood all day. I thought it was just because the sky is grey and I’ve been been listening to this Belong EP, which basically sounds like a prolonged death rattle, but now that I’m reporting the second major story about people losing their jobs in the past couple of hours, I’m starting to feel like it’s not just me. The whole internet feels like the last scene of Madam Butterfly today––death now fills the air.

Anyway: the news. Warner Brothers has shut down its two remaining, dueling indie arms, Warner Independent Pictures and Picturehouse. Warner’s COO Alan Horn released a statement basically saying that the shell of New Line will handle all low budget fare going forward, and claimed to be “confident that the spirit of independent filmmaking and the opportunity to find and give a voice to new talent will continue to have a presence at Warner Bros.”

So. What about acquisitions? Will Warners be sending one of the ten New Line employees left standing to Cannes next week, or will they just cede that game to the other indie arms and focus on the cheap genre fare that the new New Line is allegedly committed to churning out? What about the WIP and Picturehouse movies already in the can and on the shelf––like Picturehouse’s remake of The Women, or WIP’s anti-climax waiting to happen, Towelhead? Your guesses are as good as mine. I’m just hung up on the fact that Funny Games was the last WIP release. Funny Games killed a studio!

Entertainment Weekly’s cover story is peek at pre-production on W, Oliver Stone’s much-discussed George W. Bush biopic. That’s Josh Brolin above, in makeup for the lead role. In the story, we learn:

• That script that seemed too parodic to be true was apparently at least two drafts away from the shooting script.
• Bush historian Robert Draper on that early script: “[I]t just misses the guy…You come away with an even more hyperbolized caricature of Bush the Cowboy President than is already out there.”
• Dick Cheney had yet to be cast by the time the EW story went to press, but Stone is reportedly considering Paul Giamatti. Which would be AWESOME.
• In the effort to produce this thing quickly and cheaply (the projected release date for this yet-to-be made film has now inched up to October[!]), Stone is taking advantage of Louisiana’s massive tax breaks, presumably using The Bayou State as a stand in for Texas, D.C. and Yale.
• Speaking of that improbable release date: Stone’s producers are said to be “planning to run TV spots opposite McCain’s ads this fall.”
• Stone on W’s jokiness: “This movie can be funnier because Bush is funny. He’s awkward and goofy and makes faces all the time. He’s not your average president. So let’s have some fun with it. What are they going to do? ‘Discredit’ me again?’