The Wrestler. Springsteen's Song Leaked, Fox Searchlight Picks Up, Clips Released, Is It Really An Oscar Contender?

To start off, hear it while you can, In Contention has Bruce Springsteen's song for The Wrestler. And I have to say, its a very beautiful, soft, acoustic song. This will surely be a contender for Best Original Song at the Oscars this year, and it should definetly make "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" seem scared - http://www.incontention.com/?p=1746

And since we are on the topic of The Wrestler, not only did it win the top prize at Venice, but it was just picked up today by Fox Searchlight Pictures. Just recently, Fox Searchlight Pictures also picked up another hot Oscar contender from the festivals, Slumdog Millionaire. And also in The Wrestler news, here are the first few little clips from the movie along with an interview with Darren Aronofsky and Mickey Rourke from The Associated Press.


But then again, it is kind of funny to see that this movie is being considered as Oscar worthy after seeing this video:


I don't know, maybe I shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but this really doesn't seem like the Oscars's cup of tea... Especially with these photos of Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei (a bloody wrestler and a stripper). I think it will actually turn Oscar voters away. I mean we are talking wrestling and strippers here, people! I dont know. I really just don't get it...:

The song is really good, kudos Bruce, I love it, but even though The Wrestler just won over at Venice, I really am still not completely sold on this yet, but maybe I should just see the movie when it comes out, but I'll be damned if the Oscar voters open their arms really wide for this movie come nomination time...

What A Week It Has Been So Far For "Rachel Getting Married"...

First, let's start off with the terrible poster that was just released today that looks like a poster that was meant for a made for tv movie from 1998. Lets hope that this poster is meant just for the festivals and they come up with a much better poster soon!

But now that I got that off my chest, Rachel Getting Married just premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and boy what a reaction it got! It is being called a "breath of fresh air" after all the lacklusters that have been premiering there so far in the main competition. Review after review, Anne Hathaway is getting MAJOR Oscar buzz for her role as Kym, the sister from hell who has been in and out of rehab and shows up for her sister's wedding.

Rosemarie DeWitt, who plays Rachel, the sister, has also earned major Oscar buzz as well for Best Supporting Actress, with Kris Tapley at In Contention saying:

"Top honors go to Ms. Dewitt, who harnesses her character’s hypocrisies while maintaining an even keel within Lumet’s most complex creation. She approaches the warmth of sisterly familiarity and the sizzle of bridezilla conceit with equal aplomb, making for the film’s most fully realized performance."

The Times Online also had this to add (http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article4668737.ece):

"Hathaway was matched in the film by Rosemarie DeWitt (best known for her role in the television series Mad Men) as Rachel, the sister who resents the fact that Kym’s demons look set to upstage her wedding. Witty, insightful and poignant..."

And The Star adding this (http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/FilmFest/article/488130):

"Jonathan Demme smartly directs Hathaway and DeWitt in a championship tussle of raging talents, the prize being likely nominations for both women when award season rolls around."

Debra Winger has also been recieving some buzz, but even though her role is "small," it is being called "memorable," as she plays the matriarch of this dysfunctional family.

And with critics going ga-ga over RGM, let's see what some have to say:

Over at Screen Daily (http://www.screendaily.com/ScreenDailyArticle.aspx?intStoryID=40522):

Hand-held, free-wheeling and at times joyously spontaneous, the dogme-like Rachel Getting Married sees Jonathan Demme paying tribute to Robert Altman (in particular A Wedding) but there's such a large dose of music in here it almost forms a genre of its own... Packed with superb performances, in particular from Anne Hathaway in the lead role and Debra Winger in a small supporting turn she makes memorable, Rachel Getting Married will undoubtedly be up for awards consideration in the major categories.

And at The Times Online (http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/film_reviews/article4670206.ece):

A mercurial handheld camera flits through the family home, picking up on the subtle ebb and flow of tensions and recriminations, the anxieties that weigh on the family thanks to the presence of the chaotic, damaged, self-described “Shiva the destroyer”. The screenplay, by Jenny Lumet, is smart, spiky and observant. She has a knack of dropping unexpected revelations into scenes that send the film off into new directions.

It’s remarkable that, given how deeply unsympathetic and self-obsessed her character is for much of the film, Hathaway manages to make her so likeable.