I really really have to say how ecstatic I am that GODS AND MONSTERS was named the top film of the year by the NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW up there in New York. Also, Ian McKellen won Best Actor.
Why am I so happy? Well ya see, it's been a long and perilous road for Bill Condon and his crew. First they were stuck with some showtimes at Sundance which pretty much made it to where distributors wouldn't get a good look at it. Their highest profile screening was early early in the morning after one of the largest party nights of the fest.
I still remember getting up in the ass crack of dawn up in them Northern Mountains and triapsing my ass through calf high snow to the theater. Scared to death of falling on my ass and cracking the very earth beneath my feet. I was first in line that morning. Eager... oh so eager to see the film. The pictures in that Entertainment Weekly highlights of Independent film issue had me so sold on the film that there was absolutely no way on the earth I wasn't going to get into seeing that film.
I had been invited by the filmmakers to attend, but then, that was the case with nearly every film up at Sundance. The screening was on the same day that I was to speak on my panel up there. An event I was quite nervous to attend I might add.
As I watched the film that first time I was literally shook all the way through the triple layer of socks upon my feet. Out in the lobby I greeted Bill Condon and asked if they had distribution. They didn't. It was as if a sledgehammer had hit me upon my head. I couldn't believe it. It was at that moment that I so sincerly wanted to be a rich billionaire with a movie studio at my control.
Why?
Well, because truly great films like this one are few and far between. After the movie, I literally ran the across the treacherous parking lot, trying to get to my hotel room to write about this film. I only had three hours till my panel, but fuck it, this was important... there was a great film that the world needed to hear about.
I wrote... I addressed it specifically to Distributors. Apparently it did a bit of good because Bill and Jack both told me that soon thereafter they were asked to screen the film to multiple distributors. Allegedly many of the top studio guys looked them in the eye and told them the film was TOO GAY.
What a complete load of bullshit, gay, straight, whatever the hell it was, it was one of the best films I had seen in several years. For months I continued to write reviews of the film under assumed alias, hoping to keep the film in the light, under attention. Not because I was paid (I wasn't), these filmmakers never bought me a plane ticket or a meal or any sort of possibly construed bribe you can imagine. I did this out of pure love of a film that looked like it may never have a chance to see the parting of curtains.
So, when LION'S GATE picked it up, I was ecstatic. I was overjoyed. I was scratching my head trying to figure out who the hell that was. Didn't matter I thought. It'll open. Then I heard they were going to push it for Oscars, then I heard they were going to release it on the date I had suggested in my original review.
But the reason I'm writing this isn't to do a 'I told ya so," but to remind you to get out and see this movie when it plays in your area of the world. It is quite honestly brilliant. And to tell the truth, I still love the film over any other this year.
That's why even though I have had a screener for months, I worked to get the film in our local ScreenWriter's Festival this year. It's why I got up and introduced the film as the best film I had seen all year. And it's why nearly everyone in the theater came up to thank me afterwards... I went home that night and called Bill Condon up and said, 500 people wanted me to thank you tonight... Amazing. CANDYMAN 2: FAREWELL TO THE FLESH, and then this. You just have to love the way film works. You just never know how these things are going to work out.
Let's see how the award season goes, it definately has gotten underway.
Just so you know, here's what won what with the National Board of Review....
I still remember getting up in the ass crack of dawn up in them Northern Mountains and triapsing my ass through calf high snow to the theater. Scared to death of falling on my ass and cracking the very earth beneath my feet. I was first in line that morning. Eager... oh so eager to see the film. The pictures in that Entertainment Weekly highlights of Independent film issue had me so sold on the film that there was absolutely no way on the earth I wasn't going to get into seeing that film.
I had been invited by the filmmakers to attend, but then, that was the case with nearly every film up at Sundance. The screening was on the same day that I was to speak on my panel up there. An event I was quite nervous to attend I might add.
As I watched the film that first time I was literally shook all the way through the triple layer of socks upon my feet. Out in the lobby I greeted Bill Condon and asked if they had distribution. They didn't. It was as if a sledgehammer had hit me upon my head. I couldn't believe it. It was at that moment that I so sincerly wanted to be a rich billionaire with a movie studio at my control.
Why?
Well, because truly great films like this one are few and far between. After the movie, I literally ran the across the treacherous parking lot, trying to get to my hotel room to write about this film. I only had three hours till my panel, but fuck it, this was important... there was a great film that the world needed to hear about.
I wrote... I addressed it specifically to Distributors. Apparently it did a bit of good because Bill and Jack both told me that soon thereafter they were asked to screen the film to multiple distributors. Allegedly many of the top studio guys looked them in the eye and told them the film was TOO GAY.
What a complete load of bullshit, gay, straight, whatever the hell it was, it was one of the best films I had seen in several years. For months I continued to write reviews of the film under assumed alias, hoping to keep the film in the light, under attention. Not because I was paid (I wasn't), these filmmakers never bought me a plane ticket or a meal or any sort of possibly construed bribe you can imagine. I did this out of pure love of a film that looked like it may never have a chance to see the parting of curtains.
So, when LION'S GATE picked it up, I was ecstatic. I was overjoyed. I was scratching my head trying to figure out who the hell that was. Didn't matter I thought. It'll open. Then I heard they were going to push it for Oscars, then I heard they were going to release it on the date I had suggested in my original review.
But the reason I'm writing this isn't to do a 'I told ya so," but to remind you to get out and see this movie when it plays in your area of the world. It is quite honestly brilliant. And to tell the truth, I still love the film over any other this year.
That's why even though I have had a screener for months, I worked to get the film in our local ScreenWriter's Festival this year. It's why I got up and introduced the film as the best film I had seen all year. And it's why nearly everyone in the theater came up to thank me afterwards... I went home that night and called Bill Condon up and said, 500 people wanted me to thank you tonight... Amazing. CANDYMAN 2: FAREWELL TO THE FLESH, and then this. You just have to love the way film works. You just never know how these things are going to work out.
Let's see how the award season goes, it definately has gotten underway.
Just so you know, here's what won what with the National Board of Review....
As I watched the film that first time I was literally shook all the way through the triple layer of socks upon my feet. Out in the lobby I greeted Bill Condon and asked if they had distribution. They didn't. It was as if a sledgehammer had hit me upon my head. I couldn't believe it. It was at that moment that I so sincerly wanted to be a rich billionaire with a movie studio at my control.
Why?
Well, because truly great films like this one are few and far between. After the movie, I literally ran the across the treacherous parking lot, trying to get to my hotel room to write about this film. I only had three hours till my panel, but fuck it, this was important... there was a great film that the world needed to hear about.
I wrote... I addressed it specifically to Distributors. Apparently it did a bit of good because Bill and Jack both told me that soon thereafter they were asked to screen the film to multiple distributors. Allegedly many of the top studio guys looked them in the eye and told them the film was TOO GAY.
What a complete load of bullshit, gay, straight, whatever the hell it was, it was one of the best films I had seen in several years. For months I continued to write reviews of the film under assumed alias, hoping to keep the film in the light, under attention. Not because I was paid (I wasn't), these filmmakers never bought me a plane ticket or a meal or any sort of possibly construed bribe you can imagine. I did this out of pure love of a film that looked like it may never have a chance to see the parting of curtains.
So, when LION'S GATE picked it up, I was ecstatic. I was overjoyed. I was scratching my head trying to figure out who the hell that was. Didn't matter I thought. It'll open. Then I heard they were going to push it for Oscars, then I heard they were going to release it on the date I had suggested in my original review.
But the reason I'm writing this isn't to do a 'I told ya so," but to remind you to get out and see this movie when it plays in your area of the world. It is quite honestly brilliant. And to tell the truth, I still love the film over any other this year.
That's why even though I have had a screener for months, I worked to get the film in our local ScreenWriter's Festival this year. It's why I got up and introduced the film as the best film I had seen all year. And it's why nearly everyone in the theater came up to thank me afterwards... I went home that night and called Bill Condon up and said, 500 people wanted me to thank you tonight... Amazing. CANDYMAN 2: FAREWELL TO THE FLESH, and then this. You just have to love the way film works. You just never know how these things are going to work out.
Let's see how the award season goes, it definately has gotten underway.
Just so you know, here's what won what with the National Board of Review....
Well, because truly great films like this one are few and far between. After the movie, I literally ran the across the treacherous parking lot, trying to get to my hotel room to write about this film. I only had three hours till my panel, but fuck it, this was important... there was a great film that the world needed to hear about.
I wrote... I addressed it specifically to Distributors. Apparently it did a bit of good because Bill and Jack both told me that soon thereafter they were asked to screen the film to multiple distributors. Allegedly many of the top studio guys looked them in the eye and told them the film was TOO GAY.
What a complete load of bullshit, gay, straight, whatever the hell it was, it was one of the best films I had seen in several years. For months I continued to write reviews of the film under assumed alias, hoping to keep the film in the light, under attention. Not because I was paid (I wasn't), these filmmakers never bought me a plane ticket or a meal or any sort of possibly construed bribe you can imagine. I did this out of pure love of a film that looked like it may never have a chance to see the parting of curtains.
So, when LION'S GATE picked it up, I was ecstatic. I was overjoyed. I was scratching my head trying to figure out who the hell that was. Didn't matter I thought. It'll open. Then I heard they were going to push it for Oscars, then I heard they were going to release it on the date I had suggested in my original review.
But the reason I'm writing this isn't to do a 'I told ya so," but to remind you to get out and see this movie when it plays in your area of the world. It is quite honestly brilliant. And to tell the truth, I still love the film over any other this year.
That's why even though I have had a screener for months, I worked to get the film in our local ScreenWriter's Festival this year. It's why I got up and introduced the film as the best film I had seen all year. And it's why nearly everyone in the theater came up to thank me afterwards... I went home that night and called Bill Condon up and said, 500 people wanted me to thank you tonight... Amazing. CANDYMAN 2: FAREWELL TO THE FLESH, and then this. You just have to love the way film works. You just never know how these things are going to work out.
Let's see how the award season goes, it definately has gotten underway.
Just so you know, here's what won what with the National Board of Review....
What a complete load of bullshit, gay, straight, whatever the hell it was, it was one of the best films I had seen in several years. For months I continued to write reviews of the film under assumed alias, hoping to keep the film in the light, under attention. Not because I was paid (I wasn't), these filmmakers never bought me a plane ticket or a meal or any sort of possibly construed bribe you can imagine. I did this out of pure love of a film that looked like it may never have a chance to see the parting of curtains.
So, when LION'S GATE picked it up, I was ecstatic. I was overjoyed. I was scratching my head trying to figure out who the hell that was. Didn't matter I thought. It'll open. Then I heard they were going to push it for Oscars, then I heard they were going to release it on the date I had suggested in my original review.
But the reason I'm writing this isn't to do a 'I told ya so," but to remind you to get out and see this movie when it plays in your area of the world. It is quite honestly brilliant. And to tell the truth, I still love the film over any other this year.
That's why even though I have had a screener for months, I worked to get the film in our local ScreenWriter's Festival this year. It's why I got up and introduced the film as the best film I had seen all year. And it's why nearly everyone in the theater came up to thank me afterwards... I went home that night and called Bill Condon up and said, 500 people wanted me to thank you tonight... Amazing. CANDYMAN 2: FAREWELL TO THE FLESH, and then this. You just have to love the way film works. You just never know how these things are going to work out.
Let's see how the award season goes, it definately has gotten underway.
Just so you know, here's what won what with the National Board of Review....
But the reason I'm writing this isn't to do a 'I told ya so," but to remind you to get out and see this movie when it plays in your area of the world. It is quite honestly brilliant. And to tell the truth, I still love the film over any other this year.
That's why even though I have had a screener for months, I worked to get the film in our local ScreenWriter's Festival this year. It's why I got up and introduced the film as the best film I had seen all year. And it's why nearly everyone in the theater came up to thank me afterwards... I went home that night and called Bill Condon up and said, 500 people wanted me to thank you tonight... Amazing. CANDYMAN 2: FAREWELL TO THE FLESH, and then this. You just have to love the way film works. You just never know how these things are going to work out.
Let's see how the award season goes, it definately has gotten underway.
Just so you know, here's what won what with the National Board of Review....
Let's see how the award season goes, it definately has gotten underway.
Just so you know, here's what won what with the National Board of Review....
Best Films of the Year:
#1: GODS AND MONSTERS
#2: SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
#3: ELIZABETH
#4: HAPPINESS
#5: SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
#6: THE BUTCHER BOY
#7: LOLITA
#8: THE THIN RED LINE
#9: A SIMPLE PLAN
#10: DANCING AT LUGHNASA
BEST ACTOR: IAN McKELLEN for GODS & MONSTERS
BEST ACTRESS: FERNANDA MONTENEGRO for CENTRAL STATION
BEST FORIEGN FILM: CENTRAL STATION
BEST DIRECTOR: SHEKHAR KAPUR for ELIZABETH
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: ED HARRIS for both THE TRUMAN SHOW and STEPMOM
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: CHRISTINA RICCI for THE OPPOSITE OF SEX and BUFFALO 66 and PECKER
BEST DOCUMENTARY: WILD MAN'S BLUES
BEST ENSEMBLE ACTING: the cast of HAPPINESS
A SPECIAL ACHEIVEMENT IN FILMMAKING WENT TO: ROBERTO BENIGNI for STARRING IN and DIRECTING and PRODUCING and WRITING: LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
