While my favorite part of For Your Consideration is Marilyn Hack's plastic surgery, I also love that dreaded morning when the Oscar nominations get announced. Some actors wait anxiously to hear their name announced, while others, thinking they're totally off the Academy's radar, get nods while they're snoozing. Then, to add insult to injury, the losers get tracked down for embarrassing meltdowns and awkwardness on television. It's not quite that bad in real life, but as I read the reactions of those who received Golden Globe nominations, that movie keeps popping up in my head. So, check out these reactions, courtesy of Variety:

Dudes Chewing on Their Nails Hoping to Get Nominations: Jeremy Piven & Focus Features
"I got a call around 5:30, but I was up, believe it or not." -- Piven

"I was sitting here at Focus with about 35 very happy colleagues." -- FF head James Schamus on leading the studio nominations.

Those Who Prepared Speeches: Joe Wright, Atonement & Brad Bird, Ratatouille

"I think we were, as a team, very passionate about the film and story. I don't think we looked up from the little world we created around ourselves." "You need to make all actors feel loved, respected, and supported. That applies to the 12-year-old Saoirse Ronan or a slightly-older Vanessa Redgrave. Acting is an exposing and vulnerable job. You need to make them feel safe." -- Wright -- Extra props given for use of "slightly older."

"One of the messages of the film that most critics understood was that it wasn't anti-critic, but was saying if you're a critic or artist, don't get far away from what you love, and if, as a director, if you're focused on box office or awards and not the film itself, you'll take your eye off the ball." "And most importantly, this nomination shouldn't be taken as an endorsement for rats cooking our meals for us." -- Bird

Lads and Ladies with a Little Bit of Cockiness: Craig Zadan, Hairspray & Julie Taymor, Across the Universe

"It's so interesting that a couple of years ago we were accused of bringing the musical back with Chicago, and now you have this year with Sweeney Todd, Hairspray, and Across the Universe. There was no musical for so many years, and we're so proud of what Chicago has done for the musical." -- Zadan

"It's tremendous as we weren't on the pundits lists and didn't have big ads. I feel, in a way, that we were the engine that could. People vote from their heart, and I feel very gratified." -- Taymor

More About that Damned Strike: Piven, again! & Russ Smith, Juno

"I don't know about whether or not I'll be attending because to be honest with you, I don't know a lot about the rules and limitations of what is happening. I need to look into it. Writers are kind of these unsung heroes... I hope they get what they deserve, and I'll do anything I can to help that." -- Piven

"Our hope is that there's gonna be some sort of dispensation. Every day we're hoping they work something out, but we'll have to see." -- Smith -- In other words: please end the strike, I want my big moment!!

Last week Peter Martin told us about rumors that Ang Lee might be working on a less explicit version of his NC-17-rated Lust, Caution for release in China. Now The Hollywood Reporter confirms it's true: Moviegoers in mainland China will see a version with less lust and more caution.

(With a film called Lust, Caution, and a story about cutting out the naughty parts, the headlines practically write themselves. I apologize.)

Lee's new film, which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and is currently showing at Toronto, got its NC-17 rating for the United States a few weeks ago -- a rating he and Focus Features didn't argue with. As Monika Bartyzel reported on Aug. 24, Focus CEO James Schamus said, "When we screened the final cut of this film, we knew we weren't going to change a frame. Every moment up on that screen works and is an integral part of the emotional arc of the characters."

Well, apparently in China, about 30 minutes' worth of moments aren't quite as integral to the characters' emotional arcs. That's how much Lee has cut from the film's 156-minute running time to appease Chinese censors. (There's no rating system in China, so every film has to be generally acceptable for all audiences.) Lee reportedly has done the editing himself to maintain artistic integrity, and he's satisfied with the new version.

Which brings up a question: If the film works just as well when it's 30 minutes shorter and containing less sex and violence, why not release that version in the U.S., too, and avoid the box office death that an NC-17 rating all but ensures? I'm speaking from a purely financial standpoint. Obviously, if cutting stuff out harms the film's message or impact, leave it in and keep the rating. I suspect the film really isn't as good in its shorter form, and that Lee is doing what he has to in order to secure the lucrative Chinese box office. Sometimes you have to make tough decisions like that when art and commerce intersect.

Looks like the Joel and Ethan Coen (ever wonder why Joel's name always comes first?) have decided to get serious for Focus Features and Working Title, the shingle that previously helped produce Coen flicks like Fargo, The Hudsucker Proxy and The Big Lebowski, among others. Following news that Brad Pitt is set to star alongside George Clooney and Frances McDormand in Burn After Reading, comes word from Variety that the Coen's will follow up that pic with one called A Serious Man. Described as a "dark comedy in the vein of Fargo," both Ethan and Joel intend on being credited as writers, producers and directors on the two films.

Seeing as A Serious Man is slated to be a serious dark comedy, one has to assume that Burn After Reading will go a different route. That film is said to revolve around a CIA agent who loses the computer disk in which his (or her) tell-all book is stored. In the Variety article, they mention that Brad Pitt will play a trainer at a gym (did we know that already?), while rumors suggest Clooney will play a killer of some sorts, and not the strikingly-handsome protagonist. Hmm, do you think McDormand will play the CIA agent? Or have the Coen's not decided on a star (ahem, Billy Bob) yet? And, with nothing else lined up after Burn, me wonders whether McDormand will sign up for back-to-back Coen flicks; perhaps she'll take on another Fargo-like role and win a second Oscar. These are good times for all you Coen fanatics out there; aside from the aforementioned two films, their latest, No Country for Old Men, will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next month, before arriving in theaters later this fall.

It's no wonder the film is called A Little Game, because it's taken some strategic playing in order to get all the pieces to fit correctly. Only a few months after Focus Features lost control of the then Gabriele Muccino-directed flick -- causing Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz to abruptly vacate their roles and abandon the project -- Focus co-chair James Schamus has convinced Ang Lee to take over for Muccino and helm the film. According to Variety, Lee will begin production on A Little Game (based on the French play A Little Game of Consequence) as soon as he's finished with Lust, Caution, his directorial follow-up to Brokeback Mountain.

A Little Game originally fell apart after Carrey and Diaz voiced concern over the pic's third act, and when a rewrite wasn't up to par, the two split -- officially squashing all hope of the duo's much talked-about reunion after first pairing up on The Mask. Following the fall out, Schamus was desperate to get this thing made, going so far as to take on the rewrite himself and, now, pulling Lee onboard for his third straight pic with Focus, and 11th collaboration with Schamus.

Plot concerns an engaged Brooklyn couple who, because of a rumor, decide to pretend they've broken up in order to see what their friends and family really think of their relationship. No word yet on whether Carrey and Diaz will return (it's highly doubtful), but I couldn't see them together in the first place. Then again, I have a hard time picturing Diaz in any role that's worth my hard-earned dollars.

Focus Features ran into a fairly large obstacle on Tuesday when stars Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz and director Gabriele Muccino all vacated their posts from A Little Game, due to begin filming Oct. 19. Ouch. Both stars had problems with the third act of the film, based on a French play, and a promised rewrite failed to make everyone happy, which has turned A Little Game into A Big Mess.

Studio head James Schamus is tackling the rewrite himself, having written The Ice Storm and other films, in the hopes the movie can still be salvaged, at least with Jim Carrey onboard.

Carrey is finding himself in turbulent waters without anything to guide him to shore lately, having had Used Guys and Ripley's Believe It or Not! fall apart before shooting. He also fired his agents recently, which in Hollywood effectively states "do over!" We'd fire our agents too after both saddling us with the Tea Leoni curse and failing to capitalize on our excellent turn in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Carrey's problem, it seems, is that he wants to be taken as a serious actor after appearing in both Eternal and The Majestic. However, this guy is goofy to the core, and that's a good thing. But he's already crossed the line of taking himself, and his press, too seriously. Hopefully he can find a happy medium without doing films like Ace Ventura III, which is happening without him anyhow.

Related Posts:

Carrey and Diaz Reunite for Muccino Pic

Muccino Learns Consequence

The WTF Files: Ace Ventura 3??

We reported at the end of June that Joaquin Phoenix had agreed to star in the screen version of John Burnham Schwartz's novel Reservation Road. The novel, which was adapted by Schwartz himself, tells the story of a college professor whose young son is killed in a hit-and-run accident. The event (quite understandably) sends the man into a tailspin, and he heads out to track down the driver of the car -- who, meanwhile, has gone into a tailspin of his own, trying to decide if he should turn himself in or maintain his self-loathing freedom. Whew.

When the casting news first came out, it wasn't known which role Phoenix would play, but Variety reported this morning that he'll be the father, a gig that should allow him lots of room to work his patented Phoenix-agony. (I think I'm tearing up a little bit at the mere thought of watching him.) Appearing opposite Phoenix -- and, based on the plot summary, matching him angst-for-angst -- will be Mark Ruffalo as the tortured/hunted driver.*

The film, the first to come out of a new deal between Focus Features and Random House, will be directed by Terry George, who also did some late work on the screenplay. Production begins this fall.

*The IMDb also lists Jennifer Connelly in the cast, but that's not been confirmed by any industry sources.

Odds and ends from Friday:

• Though the President has left the building, he's currently making plans to stick around town a little while longer. Martin Sheen, who played TV President on The West Wing, will take on a role in the film Talk to Me for Focus Features. Pic, which will be set in 1960s Washington D.C., tells the real-life story of a radio station owner (Sheen) who hires controversial black on-air personality Ralph Waldo "Petey" Green (Don Cheadle). Green would ultimately go on to be somewhat of an icon in radio at a time when racial tension was at its peak across the country.
• Universal Pictures have teamed up with Boom Entertainment to bring the horror comic book Tag to the big screen. Talk about an intense and deadly way to play the game tag, story revolves around some average Joe who, while out with his girlfriend one night, falls victim to an ancient curse when a random stranger "tags" him. The curse makes it so this poor dude slowly begins to die, his body literally decomposing, forcing him to either give up and move on to a higher place or find someone else to pass on the curse to. Yikes, imagine explaining that one to your girlfriend: "Um, honey, I'm dying to see you tonight but, well, I'm actually dying ... so, yeah -- rain check?"
• Luc Besson is one of those directors who likes to float somewhere between worlds of crime and fantasy, giving us films like The Fifth Element, La Femme Nikita, Angel-A and the upcoming Arthur and the Minimoys. While Fifth Element was probably his most commercial hit here in the States, Besson's Léon (or The Professional) has garnered a large following and some think it's his best film. Besson recently squashed rumors of a sequel to Léon saying he has no plans to make one and is pissed people keep sending him scripts for an idea that's not theirs. He does admit, however, if there is going to be a sequel, he will write it. Damn, I guess my script for The Not So Professional will have to remain in my draw, where it belongs.

Hey, look -- it's another film about the war in Iraq. It's hard for me to get sarcastic here (Me? Sarcastic?) because I'm sure there are thousands of unbelievable stories to be told, but how about we space them out a little bit? In the last month alone, four different Iraq-related films have cropped up. And I imagine they'll just keep coming until we eventually decide to invade vacation in some other random country.

In saying that, break out the sun-screen and sandals folks -- we're heading back to Iraq. This time, Moroccan director Sanaa Hamri (Something New) will helm Dreams of a Dying Heart for Focus Features. Pic, which sort of reminds me of that whole Jessica Lynch story, revolves around a female chopper pilot who is shot down in Iraq and must race against time to save herself so that she can find a way back to her daughter. Personally, I dig stories about war told from a female perspective and so I can't really complain about this one too much. The script was written by Shawn Otto (House of Sand and Fog). No cast or production schedule was announced.

Focus Features, the indie specialty unit at Universal Pictures, launched in 2002 at the Cannes Film Festival. It was helmed by James Schamus and David Linde, but now that Linde is Universal's co-chairman, all eyes are on Schamus to keep Focus in its winning streak (they received 16 Academy Award nominations and 4 wins in 2005). Schamus will not only oversee Focus' international financing and distribution channels, but also develop specialized and animated films, as well as manage Focus' genre label, Rogue Pictures.
 
As a fan of the former Good Machine, Schamus' first indie production company, I'm willing to bet that Focus will stay on top of the specialized film division market. It was with Good Machine that Ang Lee and Schamus began their successful collaborations, and that Schamus and Ted Hope set about advancing the art of international financing to fund artistically riskier films at home. Schamus, who holds a Ph.D. in Film Studies from U.C. Berkeley, appears to be a mix of scholar and savvy businessman: he's a widely published film historian and theorist, and he executive-produced several Good Machine features that won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, including Edward Burns' The Brothers McMullen, Tom Noonan's What Happened Was . . . , and Todd Haynes' Poison.

 

Remember a few weeks ago, when Randy Quaid filed suit against Focus Features, trying to get paid $10 million more for his clearly brilliant, pivotal performance in Brokeback Mountain? He alleged that the studio fed him a sob story about how little money they had, and so he generously agreed to appear in the movie for $12.24 (an approximate figure) -- but evil Focus knew they were going to make boatloads of money on the movie, and were deliberately ripping him off! At least, that's what Randy thinks. Yesterday, though, he dropped his suit, proclaiming that the studio had seen the light, and generously agreed to pay him a bonus. That's sweet, right? Sure, except Focus says they didn't do it. According to their statement, "Focus Features never negotiated, offered or agreed to any settlement agreement with Mr. Quaid or his attorneys." Oh reeeeeally?

Randy, when you realize you've filed a completely absurd lawsuit and decide to drop the thing, it might be best to do it on the sly and slink away quietly, rather than crowing about a victory that didn't happen. Call me crazy, but I'm guessing studios don't really like to hire unpredictable, litigious, sketchy actors. (At least when they're not named Tom Cruise.)