The 90th Academy Awards took place at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles tonight. Sweeping top honours after gaining the most nominations (13) was Guillermo del Toro‘s Toronto-filmed Fantasy The Shape of Water winning four awards including Best Picture, Directing, Production Design and Original Score. The Film’s Toronto Crew celebrating tonight at Palais Royale, were credited for being a part of the Film’ success. del Toro, who has been vocal about his love for Toronto using the City regularly to base his productions, encouraged other Genre Filmmakers to continue breaking ground with the door he helped open.
See del Toro’s speech:
#ShapeOfWater‘s Guillermo Del Toro wins for Best Director at the 90th #Oscars! Don’t miss this amazing speech! pic.twitter.com/g0T9ICGtSn
— ABC Network (@ABCNetwork) March 5, 2018
While many saw Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri as the favourite to win Best Picture, it still took acting honours for Leading Actress with Frances McDormand and Supporting Actor with Sam Rockwell. McDormand gave a memorable speech which had her laughing nervously, devoting her time on-stage getting all her fellow female nominees to stand together in a call for inclusion and equality. Both The Shape of Water and this premiered at TIFF ’17 with the latter winning the coveted People’s Choice Award and the two are released by Fox Searchlight.
See McDormand’s speech:
Best Actress winner Frances McDormand rallies the crowd. Presented by @ATT. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/6loAtYheKZ
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 5, 2018
Dunkirk‘s win tally would come in at three with scores for Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Film Editing. Blade Runner 2049 by Canadian Director Denis Villeneuve, would win for Cinematography and Visual Effects. Disney’s Coco was awarded Animated Feature and also for Original Song with Remember Me, performed on the broadcast by Gael García Bernal, Miguel and Natalie Lafourcade. Call Me By Your Name earned one win for Adapted Screenplay. Allison Janney nabbed Supporting Actress for her work in I, Tonya, which presenter Jodie Foster who appeared on-stage in crutches, would joke that Meryl Streep was responsible for her injury, having “I, Tonya-ed” her.
The Evening was hosted by Funnyman Jimmy Kimmel who tackled head-on several issues of now including #MeToo and #TimesUp using case in point, the substantial pay gap between Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams on re-shoots for nominated All the Money in the World. Despite both being represented by William Morris Endeavor, Wahlberg was paid eight-times Williams‘ salary, although the former made right by donating his earnings to #TimesUp.
Kimmel joked that the Oscar statue is the ideal man in that he “keeps his hands to himself, never says a rude word and doesn’t have a penis. He is a statue of limitations”. A running joke for the evening was that the winner with the shortest speech would win a jet ski in the same vein as The Price is Right, which Leading Actor winner Gary Oldman was clear he wouldn’t be winning as he took his time thanking those responsible for his success. Oldman‘s Film Darkest Hour would win also for Makeup.
See Kimmel‘s running joke with the help of Helen Mirren:
Following an outcry that the Oscars lacked diversity, that certainly was addressed full force this year and repeatedly the theme of inclusion was brought-up throughout the night. We would see female nominees in categories like Directing (Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird) and Cinematography (Rachel Morrison, Mudbound) and first-time Nominee Jordan Peele winning Original Screenplay for Get Out. A Fantastic Woman starring Chilean transgender Actress Daniela Vega, would win Foreign Language Film. Basketball icon Kobe Bryant also would win his first Oscar for Animated Short Film, Dear Basketball.
Complete list of winners here.
(Photo/video credit: The Academy/Getty Images/ABC)
Nominations for the 90th Academy Awards were announced at 8:22 AM ET in Los Angeles with Andy Serkis and Tiffany Haddish filling hosting duties. Leading the way with 13 nominations is Guillermo del Toro’s Toronto-made Romance-Fantasy The Shape of Water with 13 nominations including Best Picture, Directing, Lead Actress (Sally Hawkins), Supporting Actress (Octavia Spencer), Original Screenplay and more.
Martin McDonagh‘s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which like The Shape of Water is distributed by Fox Searchlight and winning the People’s Choice Award at TIFF ’17, is seen as the Best Picture favourite. It comes hot-off a win for Motion Picture Drama at the Golden Globes and three Screen Actors’ Guild Award wins earlier this month. It gets seven nods including Directing, Lead Actress (Frances McDormand), Supporting Actor (Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell), Directing and Original Screenplay, among others.
While there was uproar that Greta Gerwig was omitted from Directing honours at the Globes, the Academy shows their respect for the Lady Bird Helmer in light of the #MeToo and #TimesUp initiatives at the forefront of discussion. Rachel Morrison also becomes the first woman ever to get a Cinematography nod at the Oscars for Mudbound.
Director Jordan Peele like Gerwig finds Oscars recognition with his first Feature, the Horror Get Out. The Film sees Daniel Kaluuya up for Leading Actor and Peele up for Original Screenplay.
Being in the news much of late with allegations of sexual misconduct, James Franco was omitted from the list despite great acclaim for his The Disaster Artist. The Film centering around “the worst Movie ever made”, The Room, does get a nod for Adapted Screenplay. Others are expressing discontent Armie Hammer for Call Me By Your Name and Wonder Woman were disregarded.
Singer Mary J. Blige gets her first Oscar nomination as an Actress (Supporting) for her work in Mudbound. She also is up for Original Song with Mighty River from that Netflix release.
Canada gets recognized with Canadian-produced Animated Feature The Breadwinner, in which Angelina Jolie produced. Many thought her First They Killed My Father would get a Foreign Language Film nod but alas it missed.
See more of this year’s Nominees below:
Best Picture
Leading Actor
Leading Actress
Directing
Supporting Actress
Supporting Actor
Documentary
Animated Feature
Foreign Language Film
Original Song
Adapted Screenplay
Original Screenplay
The Academy Awards air 8 PM ET on Sunday, March 4, 2018 on ABC.
(Photo credit: The Academy)
The 75th annual Golden Globes Awards took place tonight in Beverly Hills, California. With the #TimesUp initiative front and center of our attentions, we saw all talent uniformly wearing black to draw attention to the cause for equality and an end to sexual harassment in the workplace.
Seth Meyers hosted the affair boldly poking-fun at the likes of Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein. In the face of change, he calls 2018 “the year marijuana was allowed and sexual harassment wasn’t anymore.”.
Oprah Winfrey who next can be seen in Disney‘s A Wrinkle in Time, was awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement. Her Wrinkle Co-Star Reese Witherspoon introduced her as being all “a noun, a verb and an adjective”. And even Meyers joked DeMille should be honoured she was given the award. Winfrey recalls herself as a kid in Milwaukee back in 1964, watching Anne Bancroft speak a historic five words on television, “The winner is Sidney Poitier“. She hopes to inspire another black girl watching tonight seeing her be named the first ever black Cecil B. DeMille Award Winner. Winfrey states, “I wanted to express gratitude to all women who endured years of abuse and assault as they like my mother had mouths to feed, bills to pay and dreams to pursue.”. Recounting the story of rape (1944) victim Recy Taylor whose six attackers never were persecuted, she defiantly states that we are at the end of an era, “Their time us up!”.
“I want all of the girls watching here now to know, that a new day is on the horizon.” @Oprah accepts the 2018 Cecil B. de Mille award. #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/hbquC1GBjm
— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) January 8, 2018
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri scored huge in the Film categories including a win for Motion Picture Drama. Martin McDonagh was awarded Screenplay for the Film which he also directed. He jokes, “My mother really wanted Lady Bird to win.”. Oscar Winner Frances McDormand before tonight had been nominated seven times for a Globe, but finally received her first win for Actress in a Motion Picture Drama. She declined to make political comments but expressed pride that the Film still is filling seats in brick and mortar theatres across the U.S. the “old-fashioned” way. Sam Rockwell, after a career spanning almost three decades, finally won a Golden Globe for his work in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. “It’s nice to be in a movie people saw”, he kids before thanking others involved with the TIFF ’17 People’s Choice Award-winning Film and also wife Leslie Bibb.
Let’s hear it for our winner of Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, Frances McDormand! She’s honored for her role in @3Billboards. #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/1bJOBP3YNW
— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) January 8, 2018
HBO’s Big Little Lies was a major force in the Television categories winning TV Miniseries or Movie. Nicole Kidman was awarded her fourth Golden Globe for her Actress work, thanking her Co-Star, Co-Producer and fellow Nominee Reese Witherspoon with whom together she brought the HBO release to Television. Kidman despite getting the cue to shorten her speech, thanked her husband Country Star Keith Urban last, telling him “When your cheek is pressed against mine, the whole world just melts away, I love you.”. Co-Stars Laura Dern and Alexander Skarsgård also won for their work as Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress (Dern‘s fourth Globe too!) in the Miniseries.
Lady Bird, which premiered at TIFF ’17, won Comedy or Musical. The Film which loosely is based on Greta Gerwig‘s life, also is her directorial debut. Gerwig thanked her hometown Sacramento for giving her the wings and roots needed to succeed in life. 23-year-old Saoirse Ronan already has been nominated for three Globes but alas gets her first win tonight for her acclaimed work in Lady Bird. She kept pointing-out in her humble speech how her mom out of excitement was in the audience on FaceTime while she was on-stage.
A round of applause for Saoirse Ronan taking home the award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for her role in @LadyBirdMovie! #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/fXm4pygZ41
— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) January 8, 2018
Visionary Guillermo del Toro made a teary acceptance for Director with The Shape of Water while the Orchestra had tried drowning his speech out due to time restrictions. “Turn the music down, it’s taken me 25 years to get here” he said, drawing cheers from the audience. Moments before, Natalie Portman presenting his award alongside Ron Howard, pointed-out how all Nominees in the Category were male.
Gary Oldman was awarded Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in TIFF ’17 selection Darkest Hour. In his speech, he told us how his wife puts-up with his incredible dedication telling others “I go to bed with Winston Churchill and wake-up with Gary Oldman.”.
A massive congratulations to Gary Oldman for being awarded the Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama award for his role in @DarkestHour! #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/YyPfI7iBNl
— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) January 8, 2018
Jeered widely for having made the worst movie of all time, The Room, Filmmaker and Cult Icon Tommy Wiseau got the last laugh joining Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy Winner James Franco on-stage tonight. Franco stars in and directs The Disaster Artist which recounts Wiseau‘s process making that Cult Classic. Franco thanked his younger brother Dave in his speech saying “He always wanted his own Coen Brother” to make Films with and it looks like he too along with Wiseau saw his dream come true.
Allison Janney who delivers a chilling portrayal of Tonya Harding’s mother LaVona Golden in I, Tonya, was awarded a well-deserved Globe beating-out some stiff competition including Laurie Metcalf whom many also feel is deserving for her work in Lady Bird. Janney made a poignant statement about perception of truth in Media, an enlightenment after having worked on the Film which gives us a fresh perspective on the disgraced Figure Skater. It was a good night for both Tommy Wiseau and Tonya Harding.
.@AllisonBJanney is awarded Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture for her outstanding work in @ITonyaMovie. Yay! 👏 pic.twitter.com/tgg72x8p30
— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) January 8, 2018
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was this year’s Dark Horse, winning Comedy Series and also Rachel Brosnahan (House of Cards) winning Actress in a Comedy Series. The Amazon Series centers on a Jewish housewife in the ’50s who becomes a Stand-up Comedian.
Elisabeth Moss shone a light on Canada dedicating her Actress in a Drama Series win to Margaret Atwood who wrote the source material on which Toronto-made The Handsmaid’s Tale is based. The Series also took home a Globe for Drama Series. This is her second Golden Globe win, her first for Miniseries Top of the Lake.
After four nominations, Ewan McGregor finally gets his first Globe win for Actor in a TV Miniseries or Movie with Fargo. Another Canadian connection, the Series was filmed in Calgary.
Sterling K. Brown was awarded his first Globe for his work on Series This is Us. The rising star next can be seen in Marvel’s Black Panther and reminded his kids in his speech he’d be there to take them to school tomorrow morning, in addition to expressing his awe of Oprah Winfrey being seated before him on the podium.
The ONLY way to start an acceptance speech. 🙌 @SterlingKBrown 🙌 #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/34vexLiKA1
— GIPHY (@GIPHY) January 8, 2018
After getting a nod last year and seeing MASTER OF NONE, for which he has directing and writing credits, Funnyman Aziz Ansari gets a Globe for Actor in a Comedy Series. He becomes the first ever South Asian Actor to win a Globe.
In addition to having grossed almost $600 million worldwide, Disney•Pixar‘s Coco goes on to Globe success, winning Animated Feature.
Hot off its #1 success on the Billboard Hot 200 Album Chart, The Greatest Showman also wins a Globe for Original Song, This is Me, sung by Keala Settle and also Kesha.
Fatih Akin‘s In the Fade won Foreign Language Film. The German Film starring Diane Kruger as a woman dealing with the aftermath of a terrorist attack, received a TIFF ’17 Premiere.
Awards Season culminates in the Academy Awards which air Sunday, March 4, 2018 on ABC, 7 PM ET.
(Photo credit: Getty Images)
Truly we are blessed to work with an outstanding Team whom we wouldn’t be able to do it without. While you will see many Year’s Best Lists pop-up around this time of year, what makes our Team unique is that we genuinely are paying Filmgoers like you. These are real opinions without the critical pretension, of individuals who know a lot about Film and individuals who live and breathe Film. We all work day and night jobs like all of you, juggling screenings and junkets into our crazy schedules for the love of Film.
We thank David Baldwin, Jonathan Godfrey, Siobhán Rich, Amanda Gilmore and Justin Waldman for their amazing work on the daily!
We thank you for joining us on our adventures throughout the year and hope you’ll be around as we share our thoughts with you on the upcoming 2018 slate.
From our family to yours!
DAVE BALDWIN
The real world may have been a complete nightmare in 2017, but the celluloid world was nothing short of incredible. Each month gifted us with exceptional films that continually surpassed any and all expectations. While there were some terrible stinkers sprinkled throughout, 2017 will go down as a banner year for cinema. There was something for everyone, from blockbusters to indies to everything in-between, and it was incredibly hard to narrow down a list of just 10 of those films. I could easily list 10-20 more genuinely outstanding pictures — it was really that great of a year. And while there is a dark cloud over Hollywood right now, I’d like to think this year’s films prove that we are finally moving in the right direction instead of reliving the past.
1. The Shape of Water
2. The Big Sick
3. Baby Driver
4. Ingrid Goes West
5. Get Out
6. Call Me By Your Name
7. Raw
8. The Disaster Artist
9. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
10. I, Tonya
JONATHAN GODFREY
The Red Turtle
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
Trainspotting 2
mother!
Ghost in the Shell
Blade Runner 2049
Alien Covenant
Justice League
Your Name.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
These are the movies that moved me the most this year. Many of them performed poorly with regards to revenue and reviews. Nevertheless, I enjoyed them deeply, and in my own way. They are all passion projects that were beautiful to behold. So much so that I don’t have an overall “favourite.” I have “favourites,” and I can’t wait to find ten more in 2018.
SIOBHÁN RICH
The Big Sick
Call Me By Your Name
Don’t Talk to Irene
Foxtrot
Get Out
Girls Trip
Ladybird
Loveless
The Post
Shape of Water
Split
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
I found it incredibly difficult to narrow down my list this year. Presented as always in alphabetical order, this list does not include Logan, Wonder Woman or Baby Driver but does include a movie that was criminally left off TIFF’s list for Canada’s Top Ten. I included a comedy that had people falling off their seats and one that reflects what my family looks like. I also snuck in some early favourites to balance out my top two foreign films from TIFF ’17 and a late entry which blew me away. Finally, I rounded out my top twelve with a few hits from TIFF that will definitely be making a comeback during Oscar season.
AMANDA GILMORE
Lady Bird
Call Me By Your Name
The Florida Project
Get Out
A Ghost Story
Dunkirk
The Shape Of Water
The Disaster Artist
Mudbound
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
My Top Ten are in no particular order. In my Top Ten there are Films that I found unique, told honest depictions of the human condition and/or pushed the boundaries of filmmaking. All the Films showcase outstanding acting, writing and direction done by all involved. These Films are in my Top Ten because no matter what time they came out throughout 2017 they have stayed with me until the end. And will probably stay with me throughout the years to come. Hope you enjoyed them if you have seen them. And I hope you seek out the ones you haven’t!
JUSTIN WALDMAN
2017 has been one roller coaster of a year for Hollywood, or Christopher Plummer being in like every movie (ha!). However if you can look past all the horrible things that have plagued Hollywood this year, there are plenty of quality films that hit the silver screen this year. In absolutely no particular order here at my top ten movies for 2017.
The Big Sick
Logan/Wonder Woman
Lady Bird
Call Me By Your Name
Get Out
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
The Disaster Artist
The Post
The Shape of Water
Logan Lucky
These films all possess something to them that made them stand out this year, whether it be the subject matter, the performances, the unexpected fantastic ride it took you on, each of these 11 movies gave me something this year. As well they all have massive re-watch value and are endlessly delights to watch.
For Mr. Will‘s Best-Of 2017 including Movies, Music and Celeb Spottings, click here!
Surprise! Or not. STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI opens with a huge bang for Disney, raking-in a superb $220 million from 4,232 theatres. Critics are loving this follow-up to 2015’s The Force Awakens with 93% on the Tomatometer and a resounding A CinemaScore from Audiences. It still however is unable to best the $247 million opening its Predecessor had.
Animated Feature FERDINAND is a distant second with $12.3 million from 3,621 theatres for 20th Century Fox. Starring John Cena, it gets 75% in the Tomatometer and an A CinemaScore.
In third is COCO with $9.2 million now in its fourth week out, surpassing the $150 million-mark domestically for Disney.
WONDER is in fourth with $5 million for eOne Films/Lionsgate Films. It has made a successful $108 million already over five weeks in North America.
DADDY’S HOME 2 is showing incredible longevity into the Holidays in sixth with $3.3 million for Paramount Pictures in its sixth week. It is just shy of $100 million.
In eighth is THE DISASTER ARTIST expanding to 1,010 theatres with $2.4 million for Elevation Pictures/A24 Films. It has made $12.7 million over three weeks.
LADY BIRD continues to capitalize off its Oscar buzz in tenth with $1.9 million from 947 theatres for Elevation Pictures/A24 Films. It has made $25 million thus far.
COCO remains atop the Box Office a third consecutive week for Disney with $19 million from 3,748 theatres. Thus far in its domestic run it has grossed a healthy $136 million over three weeks. Expect though for that reign to end next weekend with fellow Disney release STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI with its eyes on the prize.
JUSTICE LEAGUE once again finds itself in second with $9.4 million, a total $211 million thus far over four weeks for Warner Bros.
WONDER is in third this weekend with $9.3 million for eOne Films/Lionsgate Films, just surpassing the $100 million-mark over four weeks.
TIFF ’17 selection THE DISASTER ARTIST expands beautifully to fourth this weekend at 840 theatres across North America for A24 Films/Elevation Pictures. It earns $6.4 million and a total $8 million over two weeks. It comes with strong word of mouth and a 94% on the Tomatometer.
LADY BIRD is in ninth with $3.5 million from 1,557 theatres for A24 Films/Elevation Pictures. It is up to $22 million now in its sixth week out.
JUST GETTING STARTED starring Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman and Tommy Lee Jones, rounds-out the Top Ten with $3.5 million from 2,161 theatres for Broad Green Pictures. It hasn’t yet opened in Canada. It gets a 10% on the Tomatometer and a C CinemaScore.
COCO is set to top the Box office a second consecutive week in a row with $27 million from 3,987 theatres for Disney. Domestically it has made $119 million. In fact we see no changes from last week in our top four Movies, this due partly to the lack of new challengers released this weekend.
JUSTICE LEAGUE settles for second again this weekend with $15.8 million for Warner Bros. Over three weeks it has grossed $196.5 million over three weeks.
WONDER remains in third spot with $3.2 million for Lionsgate Films/eOne Films, grossing $88 million thus far in its North American run.
THOR: RAGNAROK is in fourth with $9.3 million, a total $291 million earned to date for Disney over five weeks.
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI expands to 1,430 theatres with $4.5 million for Fox Searchlight, good enough for seventh spot this weekend.
LADY BIRD continues to gain Oscar momentum in eighth with $4 million from 11,194 theatres for A24 Films/Elevation Pictures. It gets a boost with some hardware won this week including Saoirse Ronan‘s Gotham Awards victory for Best Actress.
THE STAR rounds the Top Ten with $3.8 million, a total $28 million over three weeks for Sony Pictures.
It ain’t U.S. Thanksgiving yet but Warner Bros. must give thanks to a powerful opening for JUSTICE LEAGUE earning $96 million in its opening from 4,051 theatres – completely in another league than its competition. This latest DC Comics Adaptation gets a B+ CinemaScore from Audiences and 40% on the Tomatometer from Critics.
WONDER starring Canada’s Jacob Tremblay has a very wonderful opening in second with $28.3 million for eOne Films/Lionsgate Films. Audiences are smitten with an A+ CinemaScore and a strong 83% on the Tomatometer.
THOR: RAGNAROK slips to third in its third week with $20.3 million for Disney. Thus far it has made $245 million domestically.
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS slips to fourth in its second week with $14.1 million for 20th Century Fox. In North America thus far it has grossed $52 million.
DADDY’S HOME 2 slips to fifth, also in its second week with $13.6 million for Paramount Pictures. It has made $49.4 million to date.
THE STAR earns $10.2 million from 2,837 theatres for Sony Pictures. It opened on Wednesday. The Nativity Story-centered Film gets 62% on the Tomatometer and an A CinemaScore.
LADY BIRD expands successfully to 238 theatres for A24 Films/Elevation Pictures with $2.4 million. Over three weeks it has made $4.6 million and has a perfect 100% CinemaScore.
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI expands to 52 theatres this weekend and earns $1.1 million for Fox Searchlight. The Oscar Contender sits at 94% on the Tomatometer and has the distinction of winning the TIFF ’17 People’s Choice Award.
JIGSAW rounds-out the Top Ten with $1 million for eOne Films/Lionsgate Films.
A v. healthy weekend at the Box Office, but alas THOR: RAGNAROK remains triumphant a second straight week. The latest in the Marvel Franchise earns $56.1 million in week two from 4,080 theatres, a total $209.1 million grossed thus far in North America.
In second is 20th Century Fox‘s MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS with $27.9 million from 3,331 theatres domestically. The Agatha Christie Adaptation with a star-studded cast gets 58% on the Tomatometer from Critics and a B CinemaScore.
DADDY’S HOME 2 opens in third narrowly edged-out for second, with $27.5 million from 3,575 theatres for Paramount Pictures. It gets 16% on the Tomatometer from Critics and an A- CinemaScore. It’s 2015 Predecessor debuted with $37 million by comparison.
A BAD MOM’S CHRISTMAS is in fourth in its second week out for STX Entertainment/eOne Films with $11.6 million. Thus far it has tallied $39.9 million.
Acclaimed TIFF ’17 selection LADY BIRD rounds-out the Top Ten with $1.7 million for A24 Films/Elevation Pictures in its second week out, expanding to just 37 theatres across North America.
One of the biggest breakout hits of TIFF ’17 saw not Indie Darling Greta Gerwig in front, but instead behind the camera. The star of acclaimed Films like Frances Ha and Jackie makes her directorial debut with self-written, though not entirely autobiographical LADY BIRD. For one, Gerwig unlike the Film’s central character would never make anyone call her by another name. Furthermore, she insists that none of its characters solely are based on people she knows, but more so bits and pieces of them.
The Film stars two-time Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan in its titular role (name inspired probably by the Mother Goose rhyme). It centers on a teen Sacramento girl struggling to break-free from the confines of her hometown to a post-secondary life in cultured New York City. Her family is struggling financially as well as she herself to make the grades needed to succeed at her big plan. All the while she begins to find herself in love and life, determined to defy her loving mother’s (played by TONY winner Laurie Metcalf) discouragement. Despite her defiance, Lady Bird very much is a story about the love shared between mother and daughter.
Gerwig looks to great coming-of-age films like Boyhood, 400 Blows and Amarcord for inspiration, but these largely are male-centric. Her Film gives us a refreshing spin as a look at a young woman’s experience with personhood.
Our Siobhán Rich (@Typo_Eh) had the pleasure of attending a junket with Gerwig recently in Toronto, her second visit to the City following Lady Bird’s festival success. The Film just gained domestic distribution through Elevation Pictures.
Siobhán asks Gerwig about the Film’s phenomenal casting.
Gerwig recalls about finding her perfect Lady Bird. “I met Saoirse here in Toronto at TIFF in 2015. She was here with Brooklyn and I was here with a Film called Maggie’s Plan. She read the script and she really responded to it. She had this real instinct about it. She said, ‘I know I’m from a tiny town in Ireland. And it’s all the way across the world but I just know this. I know character and I know this story. I feel it in my heart.’ We met-up and we read the whole script out loud. She read all Lady Bird’s lines and I read all everybody else’s lines. I just knew instantly that she was the right person for the part. But then I made her read the whole script because I’m selfish and I wanted to hear it out loud. That’s just what directors do! (LAUGH) So, I cast her and I moved the Movie for her because she’s my Lady Bird.”.
With several nods to Sondheim heard in Lady Bird, Gerwig‘s affection for Theatre is even more pronounced in the manner which she fills-out her cast. “Stephen McKinley Henderson I’d seen on Broadway. Lois Smith I’d seen off-Broadway. Laurie I’d seen at Steppenwolf and on Broadway. Tracy, I love all of his plays he’s written and I’d also seen him on Broadway. It felt like just a collection of people I think are incredible. Then the young cast: I saw Timothée Chalamet, who plays Kyle, on stage — I saw him in a John Patrick Shanley Play in New York called Prodigal Son and he was incredible. Beanie Feldstein just walked in and auditioned and I fell in love with her.”.
“There was a combination of ways we got that team together but really everyone was so great and I was so blessed with this cast. They were so ‘in it’ and able to make a family with each other.”.
Wearing her Helmer’s cap, she imparts an important bit of wisdom that helped make her directorial debut such a success. “Part of my process as a Director — I think the most important thing — is giving the candle, the little lit match of the character to the actor and saying, ‘It’s yours now. I don’t own it. I don’t know who this person is – it’s you. You tell me who they are because I can’t know what you know about this person.’ And I feel it’s this passing on of a character that’s vital to me.”.
Elevation Pictures release LADY BIRD Friday, November 10, 2017.
Get acclimated with one of the year’s greatest surprises. Check-out its Trailer:
Gerwig with us at TIFF ’17:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong/Elevation Pictures)
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