David Bowie (1947-2016)

News of the death of David Bowie, who passed away earlier this week just two days after his 68th birthday, came as a huge shock - not least because, just last week, he released his twenty-fifth studio album Darkstar.

From the glorious glam rock genderbending of Ziggy Stardust, through the Berlin trilogy with Brian Eno, to his collaborations with Placebo, Queen and the Pet Shop Boys, Bowie continually reinvented himself and his musical style. Iconic songs such as 'Heroes', 'Changes', 'Starman', 'Space Oddity', 'Life On Mars' and 'Let's Dance' shifted the cultural landscape of the UK and his music has been used in such diverse projects as Moulin Rouge!, Sixteen Candles, Se7en, The Wedding Singer, Dogville, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou and The Kids Are All Right

Although Bowie had an illustrious music career, he also had an interesting and diverse film career. As this is a film blog, the focus of this tribute will primarily be his film work.

Bowie made his film debut as the eponymous character in Nicolas Roeg's The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976). As the humanoid alien Thomas Jerome Newton, who comes to Earth looking for water as his home planet is undergoing a severe drought, Bowie is an arresting presence as he negotiates the venality and greed of the world (despite later admitting that he was heavily abusing cocaine throughout the filming). On its initial release, the film met mixed reviews- with Roger Ebert calling it 'preposterous and posturing'-  but has since gone on to be considered a cult classic. Bowie won the Saturn Award for Best Actor for his performance.

In a re-released version of perennial Christmas favourite The Snowman, Bowie appears as the adult James who narrates his adventure with the snowman. He then went on to appear opposite Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon in Tony Scott's vampire fantasy romance The Hunger as the lover of Catherine Deneuve's character. He also gives an acclaimed performance as Major Jack Celliers in the World War II prisoner-of-war movie Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence.

He was offered, but declined, the role of Max Zorin in A View To A Kill (which instead went to Christopher Walken). He was considered for the role of Sharaz Jek in the Doctor Who story The Caves Of Androzani but the filming dates clashed with his Serious Moonlight tour. In 1986, Bowie appeared as Vendice Partners in Absolute Beginners, a musical drama about 1950s London (for which he also provided the title song, and sang 'That's Motivation' and 'Volare'). Whilst the film screened out of competition in the 1986 Cannes Film Festival, it was panned by the critics and was a box office flop (making less than a million dollars in the US and only making £1.8 million against a budget of over £8 million in the UK).

However, Bowie appeared in another film in 1986 that has gone on to be one of the most beloved movies of the 1980s: Labyrinth. His performance as Jareth the Goblin King will probably be the film role that Bowie is most remembered for (not least because of the impressive codpiece). He's a strangely sensual villain, charismatic yet sinister. He also recorded five songs for the film's soundtrack including the earwormy 'Magic Dance' and 'As The World Falls Down'. Yet, like many of the films Bowie was involved with, this too had mixed reviews on first release and lost money at the box office- thus being considered a commercial failure- but has since been re-evaluated and lauded as a cult movie. 

After Labyrinth, Bowie appeared as Pontius Pilate in Martin Scorsese's controversial The Last Temptation Of Christ and appeared in the film prequel Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me as Philip Jeffries. In 1996, he appeared as Andy Warhol in the biopic of American painter Jean-Michel Basquiat (Warhol acted as Basquiat's friend and mentor). He made a well-received cameo as himself in Zoolander and provided the voice of Maltazard the Wizard in the English-language version of Arthur And The Invisibles. He also appeared as Nikola Tesla in The Prestige.

There really is no other word to describe David Bowie than icon. A true cultural icon. The world is a darker place for his passing.

Tez
for The Watchers

Alan Rickman (1946-2016)

Like many, we at The Watchers were deeply upset to hear of the sudden and unexpected passing of the great Alan Rickman who has died at the age of 69.

Born in Acton in 1946, Rickman did not start acting until he was 28 and graduated from RADA in 1974. One of his earliest TV roles was as Tybalt in the BBC Shakespeare version of Romeo And Juliet. He was always very comfortable on the stage, playing Mark Antony opposite Helen Mirren as Cleopatra and playing the Vicomte de Valmont in Les Liaisons Dangereuses onstage to great acclaim in both London and on Broadway.

Die Hard was Rickman's first feature film role and his performance as Hans Gruber is one of the most indelible villainous roles in action cinema, even though Rickman himself never thought of Gruber as 'the villain'. He was cast by the producers on the strength of his stage performance in Les Liaisons Dengereuses. However, director John McTiernan found it necessary to cut away from Gruber whenever he fires a gun, as Rickman had an uncontrollable habit of flinching whenever he pulled the trigger. 

After playing Gruber, Rickman then went on to play a romantic lead in Anthony Minghella's tearjerking Truly Madly Deeply as a cellist who dies and returns to his grieving partner as a ghost. He is easily the best thing about Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves, bringing a broad almost campy swagger to the role of the Sheriff of Nottingham, clearly relishing some of the more pointed lines in the script (such as the oft-quoted 'I'll cut your heart out with a spoon' and 'call off Christmas'). The film comes alive whenever he's on screen. He won a BAFTA for the role.

In Sense And Sensibility, Rickman went back to the romantic lead role as Colonel Brandon, delivering a wonderfully sensitive performance. He won a Primetime Emmy, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild award for playing Rasputin, and then appeared as Irish politician Eamon de Valera in Michael Collins. 

One of his best roles, as far as I'm concerned, is in Dogma, where he plays the Metatron (the voice of God). I remembered thinking at the time how, if God was real, you'd want him to have the voice of Alan Rickman. As the Metatron, he's flippant and incredibly funny, throwing out some delicious one-liners like 'do you go around drenching everybody that comes into your room with flame-retardant chemicals? No wonder you're single!' But there's also a sensitivity there, especially in the later scenes with Linda Fiorentino where he discusses talking to the young Jesus. 

However, if pushed to choose just one, I think my favourite Rickman film performance would be Galaxy Quest. He is just superb as Alexander Dane, a bumptious old luvvie sick and tired of trotting out the same old tired catchphrases as Dr Lazarus. There's something wonderful about his hauteur about falling so low- he played Richard III, there were five curtain calls- but yet he steps up and becomes the character again when needed. 

In 2003, he appeared in the British comedy-drama Love Actually. I've got a few issues with the film (it could do with a damn good edit for a start) but the strand involving Rickman and Emma Thompson as a couple whose relationship is tested when he is tempted to stray is one of the most compelling and well-acted parts of the film. It feels authentic against some of the broader stuff. 

He's the perfect fit for the voice of Marvin the Paranoid Android in the 2005 version of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and puts in a menacing turn as Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street. He's also great as the voice of Absalom the Caterpillar in Alice In Wonderful (and had already recorded his lines to reprise the role for Alice Through The Looking Glass). 

Other great Rickman performances are in the video for 'In Demand' by Texas (dancing with Sharleen Spiteri in a petrol station), as a disembodied head in the TV adaptation of Samuel Beckett's Play and reuniting with Emma Thompson as a pair of old flames who meet for dinner in The Song Of Lunch. He was also a director, directing Emma Thompson and Phyllida Law in the 1997 film The Winter Guest and the 2014 film A Little Chaos, starring Kate Winslet and Matthias Schoenaerts and in which he also played King Louis XIV.

But for many people, it will be his role as Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter franchise for which Rickman will be most remembered. He was J.K. Rowling's first choice- indeed, she wrote the character with Rickman in mind- but he was only given the role after Tim Roth (who was the studio's preferred choice) backed out. Rowling even told him more about Snape's character than had been revealed in the books at that point to better inform his performance. In a franchise that's stuffed to the ginnels with the cream of British acting talent and so many wonderful performance, it takes something to stand out - and he does. Sneering, sarcastic and dry, like all the best characters, he has another side to him and throughout the course of the eight films, Snape moves from out-and-out antagonist to something more like a hero, albeit with some shades of grey. 

As an actor, Alan Rickman was often typecast as a villain (thanks to his superb roles in Die Hard and Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves) but was equally adept as a romantic lead, in comedic roles, in period pieces and contemporary ones. Many will feel the fact he was never nominated for an Oscar as an egregious oversight.

He is survived by his wife, Rima Horton, who he was with for over fifty years and who he married in 2012. Our thoughts and with her, his family and friends at this time.

Tez
for The Watchers

Awards Season 2016: Academy Award Nominations

As announced earlier today, here is a selection of the nominations for this year's Academy Awards:

BEST PICTURE

The Big Short

Bridge Of Spies

Brooklyn

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Room

Spotlight

BEST DIRECTOR

Lenny Abrahamson (Room)

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (The Revenant)

Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)

Adam McKay (The Big Short)

George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

BEST ACTOR

Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)

Matt Damon (The Martian)

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)

Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)

BEST ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Brie Larson (Room)

Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)

Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)

Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christian Bale (The Big Short)

Tom Hardy (The Revenant)

Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)

Mark Rylance (Bridge Of Spies)

Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)

Rooney Mara (Carol)

Rachel McAdams (Spotlight)

Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)

Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

A full list of nominees can be found here.

I work that out as 28 out of 33 (for 85%) which is higher than last year. Really pleased with that.

The Revenant has 12 nominations, with Mad Max: Fury Road on 10. It's a bit of a surprise not to see Carol named in the Best Picture category, but it's been fairly represented elsewhere (in the acting and screenplay categories). Shaun The Sheep Movie and When Marnie Was There from Studio Ghibli are in contention for the Best Animated Feature, but are up against Inside Out (which also got a screenplay nomination). Star Wars: The Force Awakens gets four nominations, all in the technical departments, whilst SPECTRE gets a nod for Best Original Song for 'Writing's On The Wall'. I was overjoyed to see Amy named in the Best Documentary Feature category. 

The 88th Academy Awards will be handed out on Sunday 28th February, in a ceremony hosted by Chris Rock

Massive congratulations to all nominees!

Awards Season 2015: Tez's Official Academy Award Nomination Predictions

Tomorrow, the nominations for the 88th Academy Awards will be announced and, like last year, the nominees for all 24 categories will be announced in the telecast. At 5:30am PST, directors Guillermo del Toro (Crimson Peak, Pan's Labyrinth) and Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain, Life Of Pi) will announce the nominees for some of the technical categories (including cinematography, make-up and hairstyling, sound editing) as well as Best Original Song and Best Documentary Feature. 

Then at 5:38am PST, Cheryl Boone Isaacs (President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) and actor John Krasinski (The Office) will announce the rest of the nominees, including the acting categories, Best Director and Best Picture.

As has been my practice for the last few years, I like to try and predict who will be nominated (this is done for Best Picture, Best Director and the four acting awards). Below is my list of who I think will be named on Thursday.

NB. Just like the last few years, the Academy rules state that there could be anywhere between five and ten Best Picture nominees. I have selected ten films. If the total number of films nominated is less than ten, but one of the movies selected is named in my list of ten, I will count it as a successful prediction.

BEST PICTURE

The Big Short

Bridge Of Spies

Brooklyn

Carol

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Room

Spotlight

Straight Outta Compton

BEST DIRECTOR

Todd Haynes (Carol)

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (The Revenant)

Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)

George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Ridley Scott (The Martian)

BEST ACTOR

Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)

Matt Damon (The Martian)

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)

Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)

BEST ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Brie Larson (Room)

Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)

Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)

Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christian Bale (The Big Short)

Idris Elba (Beasts Of No Nation)

Mark Rylance (Bridge Of Spies)

Michael Shannon (99 Homes)

Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)

Rooney Mara (Carol)

Helen Mirren (Trumbo)

Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)

Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

Usually a score of 15 is adequate, but given the fact that there could be anywhere between 5 and 10 Best Picture awards, I'ill be happy with a prediction of 18 or higher. Last year, I got 27 out of 33. I'm not that confident this year, and I'll tell you for why: there's a big question mark hanging over the lead Actress and Supporting Actress categories as there's a very real possibility that Rooney Mara and/or Alicia Vikander may be nominated as Best Actress for Carol and The Danish Girl, rather than in Supporting Actress. Different bodies have put them in different categories (although Mara has been more frequently placed in Supporting Actress, whilst Vikander has been equally in both). If one or both are bumped up to lead Actress then there are a couple of possibilities of what could happen; it's likely that Rachel McAdams will get a nod for her role in Spotlight or that Vikander herself will get a Supporting Actress nomination for Ex Machina. 

As for Supporting Actor, there's a lot of strong roles that have had previous nominations throughout awards season so it's the most fluid of categories in a way - you could easily see Paul Dano (Love & Mercy) or Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight) included in there, maybe even a nod for nine year old Jacob Tremblay for Room. 

In Lead Actor, I've gone for Matt Damon but wouldn't be too surprised to see Johnny Depp in his place for Black Mass (Depp got the SAG nomination ahead of Damon).

There are always sone surprises - last year, nothing for Laura Dern or Bennett Miller in the run-up and then Oscar nominations for Wild and Foxcatcher.

I'll post the nominees on Thursday afternoon so everyone can point and laugh and see how wrong I got it. Possibly.

Tez

Awards Season 2016: Razzies Nominations

And so we come to the awards which provide a nice counterpoint to the pompous, self-indulgent frippery of awards season. Dishonouring the very worst of cinema in the last 12 months, here, for your entertainment and education, are the full list of nominees for the 36th Annual Golden Raspberry Awards:

WORST PICTURE

Fantastic Four

Fifty Shades Of Grey

Jupiter Ascending

Paul Blart Mall Cop 2

Pixels

WORST ACTOR

Johnny Depp (Mortdecai)

Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades Of Grey)

Kevin James (Paul Blart Mall Cop 2)

Adam Sandler (The Cobbler/Pixels)

Channing Tatum (Jupiter Ascending)

WORST ACTRESS

Katherine Heigl (Home Sweet Hell)

Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades Of Grey)

Mila Kunis (Jupiter Ascending)

Jennifer Lopez (The Boy Next Door)

Gwyneth Paltrow (Mortdecai)

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Chevy Chase (Hot Tub Time Machine 2/Vacation)

Josh Gad (Pixels/The Wedding Ringer)

Kevin James (Pixels)

Jason Lee (Alvin & The Chipmunks: Road Chip)

Eddie Redmayne (Jupiter Ascending)

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting (Alvin & The Chipmunks: Road Chip/The Wedding Ringer)

Rooney Mara (Pan)

Michelle Monaghan (Pixels)

Julianne Moore (Seventh Son)

Amanda Seyfried (Love The Coopers/Pan)

WORST REMAKE/RIP-OFF/SEQUEL

Alvin & The Chipmunks: Road Chip

Fantastic Four

Hot Tub Time Machine 2

Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence)

Paul Blart Mall Cop 2

WORST SCREEN COMBO

All Four Fantastics (Fantastic Four)

Johnny Depp & His Glued-On Moustache (Mortdecai)

Jamie Dornan & Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades Of Grey)

Kevin James & EITHER His Segue OR His Glued-On Moustache (Paul Blart Mall Cop 2)

Adam Sandler & Any Pair Of Shoes (The Cobbler)

WORST DIRECTOR

Andy Fickman (Hot Tub Time Machine 2)

Tom Six (Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence))

Sam Taylor-Johnson (Fifty Shades Of Grey)

Josh Trank (Fantastic Four)

The Wachowskis (Jupiter Ascending)

WORST SCREENPLAY

Fantastic Four

Fifty Shades Of Grey

Jupiter Ascending

Paul Blart Mall Cop 2

Pixels

Fifty Shades Of Grey, Jupiter Ascending and Pixels all have six nominations whilst Fantastic Four and Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 have five. I didn't even realise they were making a sequel to Paul Blart Mall Cop but the fact that it appears here doesn't exactly strike me as a surprise.

The Razzies really wouldn't be the Razzies without the usual ridiculing of Adam Sandler, so it's no surprise to see his name mentioned here several times. Mind you, Pixels was an irredeemable mess (apart from QBert; QBert was cool). Kevin James is in danger of becoming the next Adam Sandler with three 'nominations'. 

Considering the bad press and critical drubbing it got, Terminator Genisys should consider itself lucky to have dodged the Razzie bullet. Similarly, the cast of Fantastic Four are nomination-free (which is a miracle) as is Peter Dinklage, the only main cast member of Pixels to escap scorn (and he should also consider himself lucky). 

This year's Razzie Redeemer nominations- for former Razzie winners or nominees who have redeemed themselves cinematically in the last 12 months- are Elizabeth Banks, M. Night Shyamalan, Will Smith and Sylvester Stallone. You can vote for the winner of this award here.

As usual, the Razzies will be handed out the day before the Oscars, so you get to find out who wins on Saturday 27th February.

That only leaves the big one tomorrow: the Oscar nominations. I will post my nomination predictions shortly.

Tez

Awards Season 2016: Directors' Guild Awards Nominees

Quick one today, as the Directors' Guild Awards announced its shortlist for their Feature Film category (to be handed out on February 6th)

The nominees are:

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (The Revenant)

Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)

Adam McKay (The Big Short)

George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Ridley Scott (The Martian)

Last year, the DGA nominees named four of the five eventual Oscar Best Director nominees (with Bennett Miller as the curveball). Inarritu, McCarthy, Miller and Scott have been the names most mentioned this year, but interestingly it's Todd Haynes who usually makes up the quintet for Carol. 

Tomorrow, there's going to be a bit of fun when the Razzie Award nominations are out. What's the bets that Pixels and Fantastic Four will be all over it?

Awards Season 2016: Golden Globes Winners

Last night, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) announced the winners of this year's Golden Globe Awards, for both television and film, in a ceremony hosted by that obnoxious gobshite Ricky Gervais for the fourth time.

Here is the full list of film winners.

Best Motion Picture (Drama): The Revenant

Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy): The Martian

Best Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (The Revenant)

Best Actor (Drama): Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Best Actor (Comedy or Musical): Matt Damon (The Martian)

Best Actress (Drama): Brie Larson (Room)

Best Actress (Comedy or Musical): Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)

Best Supporting Actor: Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

Best Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

Best Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin (Steve Jobs)

Best Original Score: Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight)

Best Original Song: 'Writing's On The Wall' (SPECTRE)

Best Foreign Language Film: Son Of Saul

Best Animated Feature Film: Inside Out

Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award: Denzel Washington

This is the first of the major awards to be handed out, so predictably a lot of people are foaming at the mouth that DiCaprio's finally gonna win his Oscar. Still a lot to come, so don't be too premature, There is a lot of love for The Revenant and bizarrely The Martian (although you'll never be able to convince me that it deserved to go into that category). Stallone's reaction to winning is particularly special; he genuinely looked surprised. Happy to see Kate Winslet and Inside Out winning; I have to say I'm a little surprised that 'Writing's On The Wall' won Best Song as it's quite an insipidly bland one but there's no accounting for taste.

Right, tomorrow sees the Directors' Guild Award nominations (which will give me the final piece of the puzzle needed to complete my Oscar nomination predictions- these will go up on Wednesday, after the Razzie nominations).