Richard Jenkins Is The Man!

The amazing Richard Jenkins has a few new videos on the popular site Funny Or Die for a little webseries called "Hollywood Tales with Richard Jenkins" in which he reflects on his experiences in big name films with big names stars... when he wasn't one really. Richard Jenkins is beyond funny, you just have to see it to believe it! And while you're at it, buy or rent The Visitor! All I can say is, Richard Jenkins is the man! Check it out!

See more Richard Jenkins videos at Funny or Die

See more Richard Jenkins videos at Funny or Die

See more Richard Jenkins videos at Funny or Die

The Tidbits For The Day...

To start off:

-Slumdog Millionaire won the top prize at the Toronto Film Festival, the Cadillac's People's Choice Award, voted on by festival audiences... Yeah, it's lookin good now...

-The Visitor won the top prize over at the Deauville Film Festival. While having a surprising box office for a small indie film, Richard Jenkins, the film's star, has been recieving major Oscar buzz for Best Lead Actor. According to Screen Daily News (http://www.screendaily.com/ScreenDailyArticle.aspx?intStoryID=40839), the Deauville Film Festival has been a very good Oscar predictor, especially for such films as Crash and Little Miss Sunshine.

-Want a taste of Jack White's song for the new James Bond movie. Well in the new Coke Zero (Zero Zero 7) ad, he provides an instrumental sample from his song "Another Way To Die," in which he duets with Alicia Keys. It's a pretty cool commercial too...


-Over at Fataculture (http://fataculture.wordpress.com/2008/09/14/toronto-08-slumdog-wins-peoples-choice-award-poke-yourself-in-the-eye-if-you-didnt-see-that-coming/), they compare Slumdog Millionaire to other past winners of the top prize from TIFF and see how they stood in awards after the festival. They point out that in 2007, Eastern Promises won, in 2006, it was Bella, in 2005 it was Tsotsi, and in 2004 it was Hotel Rwanda. Eastern Promises was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Drama Film and it's star Viggo Mortensen was nominated for lead actor at the Oscars. Bella was not nominated for any Oscars... Tsotsi won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film for South Africa. And Hotel Rwanda's Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo were nominated for Best Lead Actor and Supporting Actress. It was also nominated for Original Screenplay. HR was also nominated for Best Drama Film at the Golden Globes, along with Don Cheadle and Best Original Song.

About the history, Fataculture had this to say:

Whether or not that is an indication of things to come (mass appreciation, wide critical praise, awards recognition…you get the picture) I’m not so sure. Not every film that wins this award makes it in the outside world in a big way. But that doesn’t matter. What does is that it is on the map, and people are going to see it.

And Nathaniel over at The Film Experience broke down past TIFF-gems and how they fared come award season - http://filmexperience.blogspot.com/2008/09/naked-gold-man-tiff-prizes.html

-The Creative Arts Emmys were this weekend, and a few early honors were handed out, like the Guest Acting awards. For the drama side, Cynthia Nixon won Guest Actress for Law & Order: SVU and Glynn Turman won Guest Actor for In Treatment. For the comedy side, Kathryn Joosten won a second time for Guest Actress for Desperate Housewives and Tim Conway won for Guest Actor for 30 Rock.

The always hilarious Kathy Griffin won a second time for her reality show "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List," which is probably the only reality show that I watch and actually love. But this year, Kathy tried to keep her speech clean because she didn't want to get fired from presenting at the Emmys this Sunday. But way to go Kathy!

And you can now call Sarah Silverman an Emmy winner! She won Original Music and Lyrics for "I'm F*cking Matt Damon" for Jimmy Kimmel Live! Since then, Silverman and Kimmel have broken up, but the song is still hilarious!


John Adams was the big winner with 8 wins, but Mad Men was the big winner for a series with 4 wins.

Class of 2008?

It seems to be that this year for the Oscars, we will be seeing many new faces come nomination time, and here are a few stars to lookout for in the next couple of months:

Josh Brolin

After becoming a more well know name after last year's Oscar-winner No Country For Old Men, Josh Brolin may just become the name you will hear quite a few times in the coming months as he takes on playing the current President George W. Bush in Oliver Stone's W. And though he will get a lot of press for W., it will most likely be Milk that will give him the Oscar nomination. Though there is a chance he will get nominated for W., watch out for him in Milk. I wonder what the real George Bush will think about his version, of well, him!?!

Elizabeth Banks

She is the "IT" girl of 2008! Watch out for her! Her name will be everywhere in the next couple of months, especially for playing the First Lady Laura Bush, as well as being in a "porno." Yes you read right. She will be starring alongside Seth Rogen in Kevin Smith's Zack And Miri Make A Porno as well as playing Laura Bush in W. How much more opposite can you get? Ha ha ha... She will also be seen in the comedy Role Models and the Toronto Film Festival gem Lovely, Still starring Martin Landau and Ellen Burstyn. But definetly watch out for Elizabeth Banks this season, especially for her Oscar chances for playing Laura Bush for Best Supporting Actress.

Anne Hathaway

She is practically a lock after recieving amazing reviews for her role as the sister from hell who shakes things up at her sister's wedding in Rachel Getting Married. We all remember her from The Princess Diaries and then making the shift to "adultland" in The Devil Wears Prada, and now she has gone even farther in Rachel Getting Married, a role that will most likely finally get her a nomination. In the past, Hathaway has attended the Oscars as a presenter for a few years, now she might attend the Oscars as a nominee! So definetly look out for Hathaway as she may get Oscar nomination number one!

Rosemarie DeWitt

She started to become well-known when she took on a role in (one of my favorite movies ever) Cinderella Man, starring alongside Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, and Paddy Considine, which in real life she is the granddaughter of James Braddock, who the movie is about, but she became more recognizable after nabbing the lead role in Fox's Standoff alongside Ron Livingston and then AMC's Mad Men alongside Jon Hamm. Now, she stars alongside Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married, and earning rave reviews as well, even some saying it would be a "crime" not to nominate her for Best Supporting Actress.

Sally Hawkins

Hawkins is the "breakout" star of the year. She won the Best Actress award at the Berlin Film Festival and has been recieving great reviews for her role as Poppy, a cheery schoolteacher, in Happy Go Lucky. The film is by Mike Leigh, who is known for his leading (unknown) women who earn Oscar nominations for his movie (such in the past as Imelda Staunton in Vera Drake and Brenda Blethyn in Secrets and Lies). It looks as if it's Sally Hawkin's turn! Definetly look out for Sally Hawkins as her chances are looking good for an Oscar nomination.

Richard Jenkins

What a role of a lifetime for this 61 year old! His role as Professor Walter Vale in the indie-gem of the year, The Visitor, was Jenkins's first lead role in a movie. In the past, he has been known for playing the supporting roles, but this time it was all about him! He was unbelievable in The Visitor, and he truly deserves an Oscar nomination! He earned rave reviews as The Visitor started to become bigger and bigger, and what a way to reward Jenkins then with a nomination! It would be the most deserved nomination among all of the nominees!

Michael Sheen

He should've got a nomination for playing Tony Blair in The Queen, but he was wrongfully shut out from recieving a nomination. Though the BAFTA Awards nominated him... But now he has another chance! He plays David Frost, the reporter who interviews President Richard Nixon, played by Frank Langella, post-Watergate. Sheen is reprising his role as Frost from the original stage version of Frost/Nixon, as Langella is doing the same. Sheen may finally get that nomination that he deserves!

Kodi Smit-McPhee

It seems to be that Kodi Smit-McPhee may be the child nomination of the year. He recieved rave reviews from down under in Australia for Romulus, My Father, in which he won the Australian Film Institute award for his role, but it may be his role in the Cormac McCarthy adapation The Road that will kickstart his future acting career as he stars alongside Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron in the post-apocalyptic tale about a man (Mortensen) and his son (Smit-McPhee) trying to survive by any means possible.

Viola Davis

You may recognize Viola Davis from Antwone Fisher, in which she recieved an Independent Spirit nomination, as well as tv shows Century City and Traveler. Now, she stars alongside Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams in Doubt. In the original stage version, Adriane Lenox won the Tony Award for the role as Mrs. Muller, which is the role Davis is playing in the film adapation.

James Franco

James Franco is being considered the next James Dean, but wait, didn't he already play him? The resemblance is striking, which led Franco to win a Golden Globe for his portrayl as Dean as well as earning an Emmy Award nomination for the role. Since then, Franco has starred in the Spider-Man series alongside Tobey Maguire and Kristen Dunst, Flyboys, and most recently Pineapple Express, in which he has now become more well-known. Now he is starring in a supporting role in Milk alongside Sean Penn. To get an idea of Franco's character in Milk, in which he play's Penn's character's gay partner, see this interview that Franco did with Jimmy Kimmel on his late-night talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!:

Why Richard Jenkins Will Get A Nomination For Lead Actor

Richard Jenkins. Oh yeah, that guy. From character actor to leading role, Richard Jenkins has become the best breakout star this year in film, and the best part about it, he's 61! And how about topping that with an Oscar nomination hopefully! In April, Jenkins's first leading role film, The Visitor, a small indie film, premiered to a whopping theater count of 4. Since then, The Visitor started to get noticed (mostly by word of mouth), started to play in more and more theaters, and soon, The Visitor became that little indie movie that everybody loves. Still in theaters after 21 weeks, The Visitor has grossed nearly $10 million in the box office. Wow! And not only that, but Jenkins started to gain a lot of Oscar buzz for his role as Walter Vale, the bland professor who travels back to his old apartment in New York City only to find a young couple, who turn out to be illegal immigrants, living in his apartment, and later sparking a close friendship with them.

Jenkins delievers a master class in acting, and his role in The Visitor has been the most compelling role so far this year. Jenkins 100% deserves an Oscar nomination this year, though he will be going up against big celebrity names like: Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road), Benicio Del Toro (Che), Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), Sean Penn (Milk), and Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). With The Visitor being premiered in April, many Visitor fans worry it won't get recognized at the Oscars this year. But Overture Films, The Visitor's distributor, will be releasing the film on dvd and blu-ray right in the middle of Oscar season in October, as well as a heavy campaign for Richard Jenkins for Best Lead Actor and Hiam Abbass for Best Supporting Actress. They really should push for Haaz Sleiman for Best Supporting Actor too... With the DVD coming out in October, it gives a chance for the Oscar voters to see it without having to sort through all the other DVDs that they get in December/January, and maybe this way, they will see just how brilliant Richard Jenkins is in The Visitor.

Also, I want to bring up the case of Julie Christie's nomination from last year. Away From Her, which was released in May 2007, got 2 nominations at the Oscars, including Best Lead Actress for Julie Christie. And if you think about it, Christie and Jenkins's situations are extremely similar. 1) Both films were released towards the first half of the year (April/May). 2) Both films feature older characters in the lead role. 3) Both films are written and directed by actors. 4) Both were surprise box office indie gems (With The Visitor with the edge, Away From Her is a Canadian film, and it got a good portion of it's box office dollars internationally...) 5) Both films featured the lead characters going through a [major] change in life. 6) Both lead roles earned rave reviews from both movie critics and moviegoers...

Also, with Jenkins's name being out there now and the fear that he will be forgotten, he recently starred alongside Will Ferrell, Oscar-nominee John C. Reilly, and Oscar-winner Mary Steenburgen in Step Brothers, which has a total right now of $96 million in the box office. And though I thought the movie sucked, I thoroughly enjoyed Jenkins and Steenburgen's roles in the film, but as for the rest of the film, blah... They saved part of the film though... Jenkins also stars alongside Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, and J.K. Simmons in The Coen Brother's highly-anticipated Burn After Reading which comes out in 2 weeks, though has been playing at film festivals recently.

Its outstanding peformances like Jenkins in The Visitor that need to be recognized more. I really hope that he can still get a nomination come Oscar voting time because he truly deserves that nomination!

*Remember, if you still haven't seen The Visitor yet in the theaters, it comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray October 7.