Ben stiller – This Had Oscar Buzz

Netflix and the Academy have had a rapidly evolving relationship in the past several years. This week, we look at the short trajectory from demonstrative shutout for Beasts of No Nation to a potential domination this season with a discussion of their 2017 awards also-ran The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected). The less heralded and less seen of Noah Baumbach’s two films for the streaming giant stars Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, and Elizabeth Marvel as extended siblings coping with their difficult father’s (Dustin Hoffman) waning health – and we kind of adore it.

Launched at the Cannes Film Festival (along with Okja) to boos at the sight of the Netflix logo, the film got lost in the shuffle for both critics and streamer-averse awards voters. Though Netflix would break through major categories that year with Mudbound, the streamer stigma would continue to play out in future seasons. This week, we’re talking about the whole Netflix thing, Noah Baumbach’s long break with Oscar post-The Squid and the Whale, and “Myron/Byron”.

Topics also include Marvel’s underrated performance, the 2017 Best Original Song nominees, and Sigourney Weaver introducing herself as herself.

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In the fall festival season, a primo premiere status can assert a film as having major Oscar ambitions. This week’s title, 2013′s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, is a such a case – after debuting an eye-catching trailer, the film debuted as the centerpiece selection of that year’s New York Film Festival. But this typically very selective festival provided a major platform for the film that the film couldn’t measure up to, earning the film an underwhelming status it couldn’t overcome before its Christmas day release.

Directed by and starring Ben Stiller, the film struggles with the payoff of its character arc and its sense of magical realism, making for a disappointing modern remake. This week, we look at the film’s heavy-handed product placement and music cues, and the brief recent history of New York Film Festival’s world premiere gala selections.

We also discuss this year’s fascinating and defensible Golden Globe acting nominations, the film’s notoriously unruly first press screening, and we predict this year’s National Board of Review Top Ten.

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Tag: Ben stiller

110 – The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)

068 – The Secret Life of Walter Mitty