Johnathan Pryce – This Had Oscar Buzz

181 – Leatherheads

This week, we are once again returning to the diminishing returns of George Clooney’s directorial career with 2008′s Leatherheads. The directing follow-up to his Oscar-nominated Good Night and Good Luck, this lighthearted film about the early days of American pro football stars Clooney as a player opposite Renée Zellweger as a journalist trying to break the story of a college football star (John Krasinski) who falsified the war hero story that made him famous. The film was received positively by critics and mildly by audiences, but was quickly forgotten as a hodgepodge of screwball comedy, sports crowdpleaser, and post-war drama.

In this episode, we look back at Clooney’s directorial attempt to follow in the footsteps of his collaborators and the 2005 Oscars where George Clooney earned three Oscar nominations, including winning in Best Supporting Actor for the forgotten Syriana. We also discuss Zellweger’s post-Oscar career fade, a what-if scenario for Clooney not winning for Syriana, and just how unsafe early football seems.

Topics also include the Zellweger movie we call “SOS backwards”, being blocked by LightsCameraJackson, and another round of Alter Egos.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | RSS

152 – De-Lovely

Birds do it, bees do it; let’s do it, let’s talk De-Lovely! Reuniting Kevin Kline with his Life As A House director Irwin Winkler, the film casts Kline as the legendary songwriter Cole Porter. Also starring Ashley Judd as his devoted wife Linda, De-Lovely caught attention for its depiction of the Porters’ marriage amid his open homosexuality and also for casting a smorgasbord of adult contemporary musicians to sing the Cole Porter songbook. But the film received middling reviews despite its soundtrack success and met the end of its awards road with Globe nominations for Kline and Judd.

This episode, we discuss how De-Lovely meets all of the boring mechanics of the musical biopic genre, and compare it to another 2004 prestige film’s depiction of a marriage with gay polyamory (and another 2004 musical biopic that is even worse). We also get into the stops and starts of MGM studios over the past few decades, the trajectory of recent Bond themes, and which of the film’s musical numbers we enjoy most.

Topics also include the Lilith Fair, the Grammy soundtrack prize, and the AARP Movies for Grownups Best Time Capsule prize.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | RSS