grizzly man Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Werner Herzog shot with air rifle during interview
Filed under: Documentary »
Just in
case you haven't gotten your quota of movie-related bizarre today, here's one that's sure to satisfy. The BBC was
videotaping an interview with Wener Herzog about 2005 movie Grizzly
Man, a documentary about how young environmentalists Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard were killed by bears
while attempting to live among them in Alaska. (The
movie was reviewed this past August by our own Ryan Stewart.) Cue the bizarre: while filming an outside scene, some
miscreant shot at Herzog with an air rifle, apparently hitting him in the abdomen. Herzog insisted he wasn't hurt, and
said he didn't want the BBC to try and chase down the offender.The bizarro scene is even more amazing considering the interview that follows. At the interview's 4:00 minute mark, we see Herzog sitting with Treadwell's ex-girlfriend, listening to the tape that Treadwell made during the attack; the lens cap was on Treadwell's video camera, so only the sound was captured. Herzog whispers to the woman: "Julie, you must never listen to this." "I know, Werner," she replies tearfully, "I'm never going to." (Herzog chose not to include the audio in his film.) In another clip, Herzog describes Treadwell's irrational fearlessness of nature, and his belief that the natural world was in "balance and harmony". "I believe the common denominator of the universe is not harmony," intones Herzog, "but chaos, hostility, and murder."
Maybe the shooter was just trying to drive the point home.
Grizzly Bear Man - worth it for the half-assed Herzog impression alone
Filed under: Documentary », Awards », Oscar Watch »
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences once again proved its critical acumen and relevancy when, late last
year, they failed to add Grizzly Man to their short list of possible Best Documentary Oscar noms. But don't
worry, AMPAS – Werner Herzog will have his revenge. That's the takeaway from Travis and Jonathan's Grizzly Man spoof currently making the rounds. It's
amazing how a big fuzzy bear suit has the ability to transform tragedy into comedy. Now, repeat after
"Werner": "To engrave the Oscar, it is H-E-R-Z-O-G. It's about time, seriously. I drug a boat over a
mountain, for chrissakes. Give me some props."[via Defamer]
Chicago film critics pick Crash
Filed under: Documentary », Drama », Romance », Thrillers », Awards », Newsstand », Trophy Hysteric »
In what might be called a surprising move, the Chicago Film Critics Association yesterday
turned its back on the critically trendy Capote
and Brokeback Mountain and instead named
Paul Haggis' Crash
their best picture of 2005. Based on the words of the group's chairman, it sounds like the voice of one particular
Chicago critic had a disproportionate amount of power during decision-making time. Said Dan Gire, "Roger Ebert's
over-the-top enthusiasm for the film's quality and message had a great deal to do with providing us the impetus to
award it best film." Hmm. So, do they do a ballot-based vote, or just sort of sit in a room, push their favorites,
and then raise their hands? It's not as if the latter isn't OK, it's just unclear from the article exactly how things
work - perhaps Mr. Ebert can come by and clarify things for us.In another break with the mainstream, the CFCA named Joan Allen - an incredibly gifted actress whose lack of recognition has always been completely baffling - best actress for her work in The Upside of Anger. (Good for them - it's about damn time someone gave that woman an award.) The other major categories, however, offered no surprises: Philip Seymour Hoffman was their best actor, David Cronenberg best director, and Grizzly Man best documentary.
Critics love those gay cowboys
Filed under: Awards », Politics », Oscar Watch »
Today Show critic Gene Shalit may not love those gay cowboys (yes, we know, they're sheepherders, but "cowboys" sounds so much more rugged and manly), but the rest of the film critics sure do. Brokeback Mountain stomped all over the competition at the Broadcast Film Critics Association's Critics' Choice Awards, snagging wins in three cats, including Best Picture. The film also won honors for Michelle Williams for Best Supporting Actress, in an award shared with Amy Adams for Junebug, and for Ang Lee as Best Director. The BFCA wins bode well for the films shot at Oscar gold next month - five of the six past years winners of Best Picture at the Critics' Choice.
Brokeback's Heath Ledger lost out to Phillip Seymour Hoffman for Capote, and Reese Witherspoon declared, "I love critics! This year, anyway," as she took the Best Actress prize for her portrayal of June Carter in Walk the Line. Paul Giamatti snuck in a surprise victory over George Clooney for Best Supporting Actor, while Crash won the screenplay and ensemble awards. March of the Penguins continued to dominate the documentary scene, beating out Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Murderball, Mad Hot Ballroom and Grizzly Man, in a race that could end up closely mirroring the Oscars. However, two documentaries that I think should get noms - Favela Rising and Boys of Baraka - were ignored in the Critics' noms in spite of Favela Rising winning the International Documentary Association's top award for feature lenth documentaries in November (actually Favela shared the award with another film, Our Brand is Crisis, but still, other documentary filmmakers thought it rocked). Look for interviews with directors of several documentaries on the Oscar shortlist within the next month here on Cinematical, because we love you, and we know you need your serious film talk to wash the taste of Bloodrayne out of your mouths.
Complete list of 2005 Critics Award winners and nominees is here.
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