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Sep 16 09 2:03 AM
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22/08/2009 08:05
24/08/2009 01:45
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27/08/2009 17:44
Ok there were some people who saw TLS remarks were posted here and over at IMDB. Now I received a "tweet" from BAFTA's Scotand calling for "entries" which close on September 1, 2009. The time period for which a film qualifies for consideration is August 2008 through August 2009. I wonder if this is why it was shown? Link http://www.baftascotland.co.uk/news/47/bafta-scotland-awards-09-call-for-entries BAFTA's UK - is different....here's some info on eligibility. Interesting that TLS has a UK release date for January 2010 - it may qualify see below. Full Link http://www.bafta.org/awards/film/eligibility-and-rules,64,BA.html
Films must be released theatrically in the UK, within the Academy awards year: 1 January to 31 December 2009. Films that open between 1 January and 19 February 2010 inclusive may be 'qualified' by Distributors by being screened to Academy Film Voting Members by Thursday 17 December 2009.
To be eligible, a feature film must:
Films from all countries are eligible in all categories, with the exception of Outstanding British Film, Outstanding Debut, Short Film and Short Animation which are for British films only.
There are separate entry criteria for Short Film and Short Animation .
Please refer to the full Rule Book and the additional guidelines for the Special Visual Effects category:
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03/09/2009 21:39
The lineup, unveiled Thursday, including Jacque Audiard's "A Prophet," Lone Sherfig's "An Education," Werner Herzog's "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans," Jame Campion's "Bright Star," Anne Fontaine's "Coco Before Chanel," Andrea Arnold's "Fish Tank," Todd Solondz' "Life During Wartime," Michael Hoffman's "The Last Station," Rachid Boucharib's "London River," Cormac McCarthy's "The Road," and Michael Haneke's "White Ribbon."
The festival begins a four-day run Friday. Special events include tributes to Anouk Aimee, Viggo Mortensen and Margaethe von Trotta; a celebration of Manny Farber with a screening of 1934's "Toni"; a special medallion to Serge Bromberg with a showing of Henri-Georges Clouzet's "Inferno"; and the "Red Riding" trilogy made for British television.
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04/09/2009 08:07
Every Labor Day weekend, they stream into the box canyon from the coast, from Europe and middle America towns and college campuses, arriving starry-eyed and full of esoteric knowledge and with a love for movies that borders on rabid. ... There are dozens of movies for the offering this weekend, a dizzying array that can make the eyes glass over and the brain grow numb in deliberation. Gary Meyer, co-director of the festival, and Julie Huntsinger, the festival's managing director, stopped into the Planet offices this week to drop some knowledge about this year's lineup. Each had the tough task of picking five festival favorites. What they told us may help you festival-goers when you are plotting your schedule. Here goes: Huntsinger's picks: • "Red Riding." This trilogy of films has been adapted from four novels by David Peace. And each features a different director. The stories take place in West Yorkshire in a period that spans 1974-1983, and involves murder and double-crossing and stunning twists of plot. "It's a fantastic set of movies," Huntsinger said. TFF will offer a special back-to-back screening of "Red Riding" on Friday in the Palm. • "Fish Tank." This movie tells the story of 15-year-old Mia, a hardened English teenager wandering through life under her partying single mom, with only her love of hip-hop dancing as an anchor. "It's a really amazing snapshot of how hard it is to bee a teen in an underprivileged environment," Huntsinger said. • "Farewell." This French film is a story of double agents trading secrets, but it's also one of the Cold War's ending. With complex characters, an elaborate narrative and an amazing director, this one's not to be missed, Huntsinger said. "It's very, very compelling," she said. • "The Last Station." This adaptation of Jay Parini's novel is a comic-dramatic account of Leo Tolstoy's tumultuous final months. With a top-notch cast that includes Helen Mirren, James McAvoy and Christopher Plummer, the film is at turns funny and moving. Huntsinger called it "glorious." • "An Education." This film, with a screenplay by Nick Hornby, is a coming of age story of both a 16-year-old British girl (played by the bright Carey Mulligan) in the early '60s and her country. ...
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05/09/2009 13:07
James has always called TLS Chekhovian, which I took to mean part comedy/part tragedy, and Parini said that James 'proves himself a first-class comic actor here, and it's a brilliant performance on every level.' First review is in: TELLURIDE: 'The Last Station' premieres to the world Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:32 pm · September 4th, 2009 Michael Hoffman's "The Last Station," adapted from Jay Parini's novel about the last days of famed Russian author Leo Tolstoy, has been on my radar for quite some time. There seemed to be an air of awards potential around Christopher Plummer, who stars as a dwindling Tolstoy, and Helen Mirren, as his fiery wife, Countess Sofya. The film had its world premiere tonight here in Telluride in front of a packed audience. The line was out the door and around the block, partly because it's opening night, partly because of the fact that Helen Mirren is on-hand (though, as it turns out, not until later tonight). But those hoping to hear a nice chat with the actress after the film weren't disappointed for long: Hoffman had Vladimir Tolstoy in tow, overseer of the Tolstoy estate, and a number of other Tolstoy family members as well. But first, the film. It's a delightful effort with bright comedic spots throughout, but it's also thematically resilient in its depiction of a relationship, 48 years on, nearly torn apart by diverging philosophies on religion, property, etc. It's a touching exploration of love in its many forms. "Yes, it's hard," Hoffman said. "You want to do what you need to do, they want to do what they need to do, but I don't know what else to do." Christopher Plummer is serviceable as Tolstoy. It's not the baiting performance you might expect and I rather liked it for that. Helen Mirren - who seems to get more and more beautiful with age - is wild and, at times, gut-wrenching as a woman clearly in love with her husband but terrified of the endowment he may deny his family by signing his life's work into the public domain (at the encouragement of a dedicated disciple capably performed by Paul Giamatti). James McAvoy offers the film's great performance. He benefits from having the most complex arc, but he takes his Valentin Bulgakov - a devoted Tolstoyan who learns nuance in the doctrine where others see rigid discipline - on a touching journey of love, commitment, anxiety and passion. The Tolstoy clan came to the mic for a brief Q&A session with the audience after the film. Along with Vladimir (Tolstoy's great-grandson) was his niece, Sophya, so named for Mirren's Countess. There are plans to show the film in Russia, when the Tolstoy family convenes for an annual family reunion. One thing that struck me early on was the choice to film "The Last Station" in English, probably expected but, given the subject matter, a bit disorienting. But I liked what Vladimir had to say to that, as it was brought up by an audience member. "I think it's better that it is in English," he said, his daughter translating, "because that makes it more universal, and Leo Tolstoy's work was meant for all of mankind." It might sound contrived, but it fits snugly in with the film's themes of immortalizing one's art and being responsible with your legacy. But considering some 250 descendants attend that Tolstoy family reunion every year, it becomes clear that Tolstoy's legacy isn't merely on the page. "The Last Station" hasn't secured domestic distribution yet, but I imagine it won't have a hard time finding a buyer somewhere down the line. http://incontention.com/?p=13076#more-13076
06/09/2009 01:52
The Last Station is a straight-on period biopic starring Christopher Plummer as the aged Leo Tolstoy, the famed Russian author of War and Peace, constantly at war with his mercurial wife Sophya (Helen Mirren). Paul Giamatti, a scheming Tolstoy disciple, wants to share the author's copyrights with the masses, while Sophya fights for her husband's love and her children's inheritance. Caught in the middle is Tolstoy's loyal, vegetarian, celibate secretary (James McAvoy). Plummer and Mirren are equally matched blazing adversaries and McAvoy is wonderfully reactive as the virginal acolyte who not only loses his innocence, but starts to learn about love and marriage.
This German-financed $17-million movie is gorgeous-shot in the former East Germany-and utterly accessible and entertaining. The audience ate it up. This is one of those movies that's not so much a critic's picture as an adult crowd-pleaser. It seems well-matched to The Weinstein Co., Miramax or Goldwyn.
The question of future awards potential is strictly a matter of which distrib picks it up and when they release it. While IFC is talking with seller Robbie Little, the movie will next be shown at AFI Fest.
At the screening, I sat next to a line of Tolstoy descendents, including great great grandson Vladimir Tolstoy, who runs Yasnaya Poliana, the family estate south of Moscow, and his 24-year-old daughter Anastasia, a lovely literature grad student specializing in Nobokov at Oxford. Vladimir flew to Colorado through New York and Denver, and was returning the next day. Even though the movie was directed by an American, shot in Germany and stars a cast of English-speaking Brits, Vladimir said that he was glad that the film would spread the love of Tolstoy to the world. Several Telluride residents who are Tolstoy descendants read about the film in the program, contacted Vladimir and came to dinner with their Russian relatives Friday night.
Typically, the movie had a long road to getting made. But throughout its history actors reacted to its juicy roles. Producer Bonnie Arnold originally picked up the rights to Jay Parini's 1990 novel about the last year in the life of Tolstoy after finally convincing elderly Anthony Quinn that he would never make the movie. For a long time Robbie Little, who raised money overseas, waited for Anthony Hopkins and Meryl Streep to add the movie to their schedules, but they never did.
Years later, a mutual friend brought Arnold together with Michael Hoffman (Soapdish, Restoration), who had long wanted to do the movie, but didn't know how. One night, he confessed at Friday night's Galaxy screening, as he was realizing that he didn't want to do yet another studio comedy, he suddenly remembered this movie and saw in a flash how to do it. It wasn't just about Tolstoy and his contentious family and followers, it was about "love and marriage. It's a struggle for all of us," he said.
The Parini book is a Rashomon-like distillation of six diary accounts of that year, from family members, Tolstoy followers and the auteur himself, who kept a public and a secret diary. The film changed course as the actors brought in more snippets of information, so that Leo and Sophya's marriage took front and center. She bore him 13 children and wrote out War and Peace six times by hand. He had a nervous breakdown after finishing Anna Karenina. The producers plan to screen the film for the 250 or so Tolstoy extended family who convene at the estate for reunions every year or so.
05/09/2009 13:12
No mention of James being there? Good review on James' performance. Waiting on Anne Thompson's Review http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2009/09/05/telluride_red_riding_the_last_station/ (she too is wondering why they are not showing at Toronto)
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06/09/2009 18:16
Can't Miss: The Last Station Michael Hoffman's Last Station is surely one of the most expected movies of this year for us. The film stars Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren. The film is about the last days of the famed Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Helen mirren will be playing his fiery wife, Countess Sofya. The film was premiered at recent Telluride festival. The film was filled with people who were loyal supporters of the writer. The film feels a tad too simple for many of the viewers who attended the function. The film has its light moments and is sure to get distributor as soon as the festival season is out. Paul Giamatti plays one of Tolstoy's able disciples. While Christopher plays the author with not so much as a whisper. But the biggest surprise of the film was surely James McAvoy who offers the films richest performance. He has surely got the hands up from most of the critics. The only hitch was the fact that the film was made in English which might have been a little disorienting for the audience.
The film was premiered at recent Telluride festival. The film was filled with people who were loyal supporters of the writer. The film feels a tad too simple for many of the viewers who attended the function. The film has its light moments and is sure to get distributor as soon as the festival season is out. Paul Giamatti plays one of Tolstoy's able disciples. While Christopher plays the author with not so much as a whisper.
But the biggest surprise of the film was surely James McAvoy who offers the films richest performance. He has surely got the hands up from most of the critics. The only hitch was the fact that the film was made in English which might have been a little disorienting for the audience.
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06/09/2009 23:02
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07/09/2009 05:44
07/09/2009 19:09
Submitted by: Spectacle 9/6/2009 10:32:46 AM PT Standing Ovations for Last Station. Helen Mirren's great performance was the big ticket in Telluride last night. We loved her as the mad, wonderful, loving Sophya Tolstoy. This is a very intelligent and very entertaining movie. http://www.variety.com/in...ckCommentsFull&artic leid=VR1118008102&talk_back_header_id=6618896#366032
The Last Station_ - A biopic on the last year of Tolstoy's life. With a coming of age/romantic subplot between his male secretary and a carefree follower. I felt I learned a reasonable amount about Tolstoy's social movement and watched an enjoyable relationship film. Helen Mirren is wonderful as Tolstoy's wife who loves him even though she violently disagrees with him on almost every one of his social principles. http://seattlefilmfest.blogspot.com/2009/09/telluride-day-3.html
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08/09/2009 04:37
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By John Horn reporting from telluride, colo. >>>
September 8, 2009
Christopher Plummer plays Tolstoy and Helen Mirren stars as his wife, Sophia. The film is based on a historical novel by Jay Parini published in 1990 that caught the attention of the late Anthony Quinn. (Stephan Rabold)
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08/09/2009 07:32
Posts: 589 08/09/2009 08:28
08/09/2009 17:30
08/09/2009 17:39
Some encouraging news from Anne Thompson's post-Telluride wrapup: "Popular new film faves were Up in the Air, Bad Lieutenant, Life During Wartime and The Last Station, which was in play with attending distributors."
08/09/2009 20:00
09/09/2009 02:00
09/09/2009 18:34
BEST ACTOR FRONT RUNNERS George Clooney Up in the Air Viggo Mortensen The Road (*here you go Hannah) Jeremy Renner The Hurt Locker Peter Sarsgaard An Education
LONG SHOTS Ben Foster The Messenger Morgan Freeman Invictus Daniel Day Lewis Nine Clive Owen The Boys Are Back Christopher Plummer The Last Station Ben Whishaw Bright Star
BEST ACTRESS FRONT RUNNERS Carey Mulligan An Education Meryl Streep Julie & Julia
LONG SHOTS Emily Blunt The Young Victoria Abbie Cornish Bright Star Penelope Cruz Broken Embraces Helen Mirren The Last Station Michelle Monaghan Trucker Saorise Ronan The Lovely Bones Hilary Swank Amelia Audrey Tautou Coco Before Chanel
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR FRONT RUNNERS Alfred Molina An Education Stanley Tucci Julie & Julia Christoph Waltz Inglourious Basterds
LONG SHOTS Anthony Mackie The Hurt Locker James McAvoy The Last Station ------------------------------ So TLS only made "Long Shots" for her Here is Supporting Actress which doesn't include anyone from TLS.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS FRONT RUNNERS Marion Cotillard Public Enemies Anna Kendrick Up in the Air
LONG SHOTS Penelope Cruz Nine Judi Dench Nine Samantha Morton The Messenger Mo'Nique Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire Rachel Weisz The Lovely Bones
09/09/2009 19:12
09/09/2009 22:49
11/09/2009 14:45
Literary legends come to life in Michael Hoffman's "The Last Station," an evocation of Tolstoy's last months on earth, and Jane Campion's "Bright Star," which dramatizes the unconsummated passion between the Romantic poet John Keats and his shy young neighbor Fanny Brawne-she's played by Abbie Cornish. The latter film opens next week, so, here again, I'll confine myself to saying that Ms. Cornish makes the star of the title, and of Keats's lyric poem, truly luminous.
"The Last Station," on the other hand, doesn't have a distributor, or didn't have one near festival's end. That situation should be remedied forthwith. Far from some lofty denizen of Masterpiece Theater, the Tolstoy portrayed by Christopher Plummer is a richly human creation as well as a huge one, and Helen Mirren adds one more marvelous performance to her filmography as Sofya, Tolstoy's wife of 48 years. When Mr. Hoffman introduced the film, he felt it necessary to tell the audience that if anything struck them as funny they should feel free to laugh. Good advice, albeit gratuitous. The greatest pleasure of "The Last Station" is its combination of complexity and the antic verve that the director brought to the 1991 "Soapdish," a scintillating farce about soap operas.
She is Sofya in "The Last Station," a comic-dramatic account of Tolstoy's final months, in which she portrays the writer's wife of 48 years and the mother of his 13 children. Christopher Plummer is Tolstoy. James McAvoy plays his secretary who becomes the comic foil between two formidable opponents scheming for control of Tolstoy's estate: Chertkov (Paul Giamatti) and Mirren, whose Sofya proves her dedication by copying, by hand, War and Peace six times.
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22/09/2009 22:22
Over Labor Day weekend, Michael Hoffman's "The Last Station" enjoyed an auspicious world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival. At the heart of the soaring biopic is a conundrum: author Leo Tolstoy's (Christopher Plummer) struggle in the last years of his life to balance fame and fortune with a commitment to a life devoid of material possessions. Weighing in for privilege is Tolstoy's wife of 48 years (and 13 children) Sofya (Helen Mirren). Her opponent in the debate is proto-Communist Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti), head of the Tolstoyan movement, a quasi political cult, which advocates pacifism, social equality, vegetarianism, and celibacy. The referee in the pitched battle is Tolstoy's secretary, Valentin Bulgakov, (James McAvoy). Handicappers fled from the theatre to their stations to place early Oscar bets on Plummer for his superb naturalistic performance; on Helen Mirren for doing what she does best, playing a sensuous, mercurial, demonstrative, determined female; on James McAvoy, the film's true protagonist, for his seamless evolution from comically enthusiastic, very green secretary into a complex man with real emotional heft.
At the heart of the soaring biopic is a conundrum: author Leo Tolstoy's (Christopher Plummer) struggle in the last years of his life to balance fame and fortune with a commitment to a life devoid of material possessions. Weighing in for privilege is Tolstoy's wife of 48 years (and 13 children) Sofya (Helen Mirren). Her opponent in the debate is proto-Communist Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti), head of the Tolstoyan movement, a quasi political cult, which advocates pacifism, social equality, vegetarianism, and celibacy. The referee in the pitched battle is Tolstoy's secretary, Valentin Bulgakov, (James McAvoy).
Handicappers fled from the theatre to their stations to place early Oscar bets on Plummer for his superb naturalistic performance; on Helen Mirren for doing what she does best, playing a sensuous, mercurial, demonstrative, determined female; on James McAvoy, the film's true protagonist, for his seamless evolution from comically enthusiastic, very green secretary into a complex man with real emotional heft.
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