Ella's Oscar Picks and Predicks.

Hah. I had way too much fun with such a silly title.

So, for as far back as I can remember, my little family and I have watched the Academy awards every year in its entirety, routing for certain artists, predicting wins, and saying "I knew it" after every single award is announced, even when we got it wrong. And because of that, I cannot ignore them. I don't care if they're a little bit rigged: it's the only race I ever watch (in fact, it's the only television I ever watch), so I take it quite seriously. In a fun way.

So, without further ado...

MY PREDICTIONS (who will win):

BEST PICTURE: 'ARGO' (Ben Affleck, George Clooney, Grant Heslov)

BEST ACTOR: DANIEL DAY-LEWIS (Lincoln)

BEST ACTRESS: JESSICA CHASTAIN (Zero Dark Thirty)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: CHRISTOPH WALTZ (Django Unchained)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: ANNE HATHAWAY (Les Mis)

BEST DIRECTOR: STEVEN SPIELBERG (Lincoln)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER: CLAUDIO MIRANDA (Life of Pie)

BEST COSTUME DESIGNER: JACQUELINE DURRAN (Anna Karenina)

 BEST EDITING: WILLIAM GOLDENBURG (Argo)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: AMOUR (Austria)

BEST HAIR AND MAKE UP: LES MISERABLES

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: ALEXANDRE DESPLAT (Argo)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG: SKYFALL (Adele)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: LIFE OF PI

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: ARGO (Chris Terrio)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: ZERO DARK THIRTY (Mark Boal)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: LES MISERABLES

I can't give my picks and predictions to categories in which I haven't seen all of the nominated films (e.g. short films, documentaries, foreign language film).

...and, MY PICKS (who I want to win):

BEST PICTURE: BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

Consider that one of the criteria for 'best picture' is the level of magic in the film.

BEST ACTOR: JOAQUIN PHOENIX (The Master)

This character didn't exist before. Now it does, curtesy of Joaquin. You could say the same for Bradley Cooper's 'Pat' in Silver Linings but, unfortunately, Joaquin Phoenix blows everyone else out the water.

BEST ACTRESS: MARION COTILLARD (Rust and Bone)

Hands down brilliance and not even nominated!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN (The Master)

Because he made it happen for himself.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: ANNE HATHAWAY (Les Mis)

I genuinely didn't want to like Les Mis or its performances, but Anne Hathaway gave me no choice.

Try to dispute me after watching her rendition of I Dreamed A Dream. I'm not even going to bother.

BEST DIRECTOR: DAVID O RUSSEL (Silver Linings Playbook)

Because he saw the good actor in Bradley Cooper and showed it to the world.

And because he seems to extract great performances from actors I'd otherwise have overlooked.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER: ROGER DEAKINS (Skyfall)

Mainly because of his work in Bardem's opening scene.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN: SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMEN

I could be completely wrong but I think a lot of Charlize's costumes were made out of brilliantly recreated animal parts?

BEST EDITING: ZERO DARK THIRTY

(Co-edited by William Goldenberg from Argo!)

Particularly in the last 30 minutes of the film. Gripping.

BEST HAIR AND MAKE UP: LES MISERABLES

I so want Hitchcock to win something but the aging and the character in Les Mis was just too good.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: THOMAS NEWMAN (Skyfall)

Maybe I'm just a sucker for the 007 theme.

Also, his IMDB profile is so much more impressive than his google images.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG: SKYFALL (Adele)

It isn't over 'til Adele sings. Then it's over.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: THE HOBBIT

I think creating that world must've been a lot of fun and hard work.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: LIFE OF PI

The CGI in this film made me think it deserved best cinematography. Tricky and brilliant.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

(Matthew Quick - David O Russell)

Because I don't often want to read the book once I've seen the film and I'm sure that counts for something.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: DJANGO UNCHAINED (Quentin Tarantino)

Because although it may just be an American remake of Inglorious Basterds, I love the satisfaction that Tarantino writes into his hilarious, clever revenge stories. And his rhythm is just perfect. Even without Sally Menke (bless).

And that's it. Until next year. And then one day I'll be at the ceremony.

Promise.

Acting Advice from Jessica Chastain to the drama school graduate.

Today, I had a life-changing experience.

To update you first: I have done 3 out of 6 auditions. All of them have taught me much more than I could've asked for. Especially Juilliard - which I didn't get into. I've since realized (and it's taken me the full week to realize it completely) that it's probably a blessing in disguise. I was bruised and battered and buried under the reality of it my 'failure' and guess what? I'm still here. I'm still alive. And I will win if you bet I haven't learnt one of the most important lessons for an actor to learn:

"Right after The Tree of Life (2011) came out, I started hearing about strategies for my career. And I made a decision that I wasn't going to do anything based on a strategy. If I don't continue to challenge myself and risk failure, I have no business being an actor. I'm not an actor to be a personality. I want to see every part I take like a master class. And you know what? I'm going to fail sometimes. And that's OK. Because when you fail, you learn more."

-Jessica Chastain.

Since my Juilliard audition, I've had a lot of ups and downs trying to figure out what I can do to be better. And so many ideas run through my mind but I can't do it all and I have to be clever when it comes to designing my 'practice' because another thing I've learnt up here at the 'centre of the universe' is that there are millions more just like me trying to do what I want to do.

By the way, beautiful brainiac, Jonathan Sierck recommended this book to me and it's brilliant and if you nodded your head even subconsciously while reading that last sentence, you should read it:

So, here I am, left with trying to work out how to do this because I am hell-bent on doing it and doing it properly. I joined Juilliard's mailing list (before the audition... awkward) and a few days ago I got a mail from them advertising an exclusive 'Conversation with Jessica Chastain' at Lincoln Centre, Friday 3pm.

Wow. I went on my own today to experience (because 'listening', 'observing', or 'attending' would not do this justice) Jessica Chastain speaking about everything from going to Juilliard, through her many incredible films, her methods and challenges, to fellow actors and directors, projects, theatre and work ethic. At the end there was a short Q&A and without preparing or deciding to actually ask a question, my hand shot up and they selected me to ask her - best actress nominee - anything I wanted.

And the first question that came to mind (probably because of how much thought I'd given it for the past week) was at 52:30 in this live recording of the conversation. And the answer, so simple and brilliant, has catapulted me psychologically to where I need to be to make it happen for myself.

"Do the work when no one's watching."

And I will thank her to her face on the other side of the work.

X

Charlize Theron - Young Adult - obsessive acting.

Movie Obsession: YOUNG ADULT
Charlize Theron & Patton Oswalt
Directed by Jason Reitman
Written by Diablo Cody

"I didn't actually read the script, I had someone read it for me.... No, I'm just kidding. I just wanted to say something really obnoxious."

Carey Mulligan - Shame.

Movie Obsession: SHAME

Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan

Directed by Steve McQueen

Written by Steve McQueen & Abi Morgan

Steve McQueen: "You're like Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire - It's amazing but you can be better!"

Streetcar

65 years ago, A Streetcar Named Desire took Broadway by storm with a two-year run starring Marlon Brando, Jessica Tandy, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden.

Since then, Cate Blanchette, Jessica Lange, Alec Baldwin and many other actors have interpreted Tennessee Williams' infamously heart-wrenching text. 

 

Next week, UCT's 3rd and 4th year students give it a shot under Luke Ellenbogen's direction. If you're in Cape Town, do support.

Montana Season 2

I'm on T.V. tonight (24.01.12) for a few seconds in a South African series called Montana. SABC1; 8.30pm. In the first scene. Try not to blink.


Click here for more info.

Meryl Streep: 52 Nominations and Counting.

Meryl Streep has been nominated as best actress for:

16 Academy Awards (Oscars),

11 Bafta Awards,

25 Golden Globe Awards,

and loads more.

Holy smokes, lady.

Dakota Fanning talks about learning to go to high school.

This is awesome. I love Lynn Hirschberg's sessions with actors. They're so real, the black&white is beautiful and there's no obtrusive 'WELCOME TO THE LYNN HIRSCHBERG SHOW' jingle before each interview. I'll post a few more in the days to come, but for now here's one of my favourites:

And here's a more recent one about college and how she feels about introducing herself to people who already know who she is:

Rachel McAdams

Brings a new meaning to serious audition work. We go into castings and we're so concerned about ourselves and our look and our personality - which, granted, is all very important - but I know I've never just clearly worked on straight up this is the story and this is what I want stuff like she does in this video. It may not be perfect. But it's pretty insane for an audition tape. Especially considering she got the script the night before.

Other People.

I shot a really interesting short film a few months ago and the first poster has just come out. I'm really excited to see how the film will turn out. We're entering it into the Shnit festival, which - if we make it - means it will screen in Cape Town, Switzerland and Germany. Booya. Look out for it.

Cheers x

APM!

I got into APM. Cool.
I got onto the APM website. Cool.
MY PROFILE IS BETWEEN TWO MECHANICALS... Ridiculous.

!!!

Death of the Actor.

Today, the fb status of the day is my own one because it's just that damn epic:

"We presume that if the actor is not at class or rehearsal, it is dead - Sandra Temmingh".

Yep. That is what was said today. And that is also why I haven't been blogging nearly as much as I was before class (and rehearsals) started...!

I will try to do some this weekend. I have lots to chat about.

Cheerio.

x

Black Swan.

I have been hesitant to write this post. Not so much hesitant as I've been overwhelmed at the idea. But I feel inspired to write and I feel inspired by her and I feel strongly about this film. So, I'm going to do it. For all that feeling in me.

I'll start with the ending. As the credits ominously, slowly flashed their way on and off the bright white screen with the music all gone but for the cruel clapping applause from what felt like the audience I was sitting in, I felt the most overwhelming sense of defeat.... submergence... speechlessness... that has ever flooded my soul. And it was purely induced by the brilliance of the art that is my passion. Film.

I can't possibly do her justice - Natalie Portman - or even him - Vincent Cassel - or the director  - Darren Aronoffsky (who I suspected had directed 'Requiem for a Dream' and later found out had, indeed, done so). I was even mighty impressed by and even relieved at the transformation and hatching that came from  Mila Kunis (who also played the kid in Gia). When asked about the notorious film, Black Swan, I will always try to describe my utmost respect for and disbelief at the performance that Natalie Portman gives. Having rigorously trained for up to a year to be a convincing prima ballerina and having managed to keep up being a phenomenal, well-tuned,  "perfect" (there's a wonderful play on different conceptions of perfection in art in the film) actress, she pulls off a role that I think could easily have been played boring, rigid, anal and, as the plot unfolds, over-sexual. But not for Natalie. No. Natalie became something I've never seen before. In any actor. Sorry, Angelina.

So far, the only negativity I've heard with regards to this masterpiece of a film has been from ballerinas and their teachers, claiming that it "mis-portrays the world of Ballet and ballet companies", it is "clearly" made by someone who "hasn't researched the life of ballerinas enough", and that it is a gross "stereotype" based on the drugs, sex, and psychology of "American dance companies".

Well, firstly, it is a story set in America, it is a story about a ballerina who experiences situations of drugs, sex and psychopathic, lunatic craziness, AND our ballerina is a member of a dance company. Boom.

Secondly, I doubt the aforementioned critic-ballerinas have researched into the world of film-making, story-telling and interpretation for film. Perhaps the director's intention was to comment on the 'stereotype' of American dance companies and that the negative lumpy bits therein are the exact parts he had hoped to highlight (perhaps even directly aimed at these critic-ballerinas). I don't know Darren and I don't know ballet. But I do believe that this film is something horrific and terrific and fantastic and just plain brilliant and that it deserves the credit that I feel it has earned itself.

Hey, that's just me. NOT. I've seen a good 20 facebook status's about this film - all positive. And I haven't even reached the thousand-friends mark yet.

Over-and-out.

Something Pink and Something Blue.

Aaaaand, something slightly lighter:

Come what may...