The Producers Guild Forecasts a Bland Outlook at the Oscars

Today the Producer's Guild of America (PGA) helped narrow down the potential list of Best Picture nominees.  Sometimes this group throws in some commercial success stories, i.e. Bridesmaids this year.  Bridesmaids making this list shows that it is gaining more and more momentum towards a Best Picture nomination.  People have compared this film to The Hangover, but Bridesmaids has already done much better than that laugher, and this film is a serious threat.  The other surprise nominee that needs to be taken a little more seriously today is The Ides of March.  March has four Golden Globe nominations and could be a serious contender.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo's nomination is less surprising because the producer is genius Scott Rudin, but this could help propel the film to more major nominations.

One film that is most likely out of the running is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.  If Potter could not get a nomination from this guild then the odds of a Best Picture nomination are pretty much dead in the water.  Two smaller films Drive and The Tree of Life were noticeably left off this list as well.  If this trend continues look for this to be one of the most generic celebrations of film. 

The not so surprising nominations were The Artist, The Descendants, The Help,Hugo, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, and War Horse.  These are the films that are out front for nominations, and to win the Best Picture honor.  Looking at this list of seven films makes me feel as though the the Academy (for the most part) like this Guild, will play it safe this year.  Films like Shame, Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy, Martha Marcy May Marlene, and many other will be ignored. While I am excited for films like The Artist, Midnight in Paris and Hugo, I can't help but hope the Academy will take more risks.  The upcoming Guild awards will help paint a clearer picture, but I predict a very bland year at the Oscars  

THE ARTIST-Producer: Thomas Langmann

BRIDESMAIDS-Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Clayton Townsend

THE DESCENDANTS-Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO-Producers: Ceán Chaffin, Scott Rudin

THE HELP-Producers: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Brunson Green

HUGO-Producers: Graham King, Martin Scorsese

THE IDES OF MARCH-Producers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Brian Oliver

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS-Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum

MONEYBALL-Producers: Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt

WAR HORSE-Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg

The Ides of March is a Smart Adeptly Made Political Thriller

The Ides of March (4 out of 5 stars)

Directed by: George Clooney (Good Night and Good Luck)

Written by: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Beau Willimon

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, and George Clooney

In the fast paced world of politics the idealistic media consultant Steven Myers has thee candidate he believes should be the President competing in the Democratic Primary, Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney). The film centers around Myers idealism and belief in the political system.  At the beginning of the film Myer's character helps craft a a response for his candidate which is aimed to state that the candidate has no religious connections, but Governor Morris believes in the Constitution.

At the center of this film is more than the search for the candidacy of the Democratic Presidential nomination.  The movie is about how power and corruption within the the campaign headquarters.  Steven is "friends" with Paul Morris (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) the campaign manager for Morris.  The film centers around both Democratic candidates trying to win one of the swing states in the primary, Ohio.  Paul tells a reporter for the Times Ida (Marisa Tomei) that Morris is a lock to take Ohio because they have a meeting with one of the top powerful Democrats in Ohio.

The power dynamic is centered around Steven because of his youthful optimism he cares about the candidate, politics, and the future of his country.  Meanwhile as Steven is seen becoming too powerful for Morris, Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti) the campaign manager for Morris's opponent goes after him hoping he will join their team instead.  As the film continues scandal and intrigue keep this film on a fast paced track leading you to an end that explores how politics can bring everyone to the edge and wipe away the optimism.

Gosling does a great job in this film as he goes from this bright eyed optimist to a man struggling with the corruption and power that exist within the political arena.  Like within other films Gosling's can play the leading man so well, he has charm (wooing Evan Rachel Wood's character).  The supporting cast filled with the candidate himself George Clooney who directed, wrote, and starred in this film is also impressive.  Clooney took this character to a level beyond boredom and gave him more depth and intrigue.  Giamatti plays his role with ease.  While  Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays this mentor who knows the game, but still fights the paranoia of the game he has to play day in and day out.  

I think the strongest part of this film beyond the acting is the writing.  The film is based on Beau Willimon's play "Farragut North" which chronicles his own work on political campaigns.  Heslov, Willimon, and Clooney work well to create the backdrop of the inner workings of a campaign and the struggle the staff has to fight for their candidate and to keep their jobs.  Politics is a dirty game, and the Ides of March uses the language of Caesar to show it!