At this point, with backlash after backlash having happened, it's going to be a tough road ahead for "Green Book" and its desire to snag that best picture Oscar. Peter Farelly‘s film did not make my ten best list this year, but I can’t tell you how great it would be if this film actually pulled off the Oscar upset. SJW heads would roll, tempter tantrums would unfurl, it’d be a wonderful sight to see. Owen Gleiberman puts it quite nicely in his latest Variety column, titled “What Each Possible 2018 Best Picture Winner Would Mean,“ he believes that "Green Book" winning best picture would no doubt be "a nice, big, friendly “kiss our collective ass” message to the woke thugs in the film critic community." [Thanks, Jeff]:
Read moreDon Shirley’s Family Says “Green Book” is a “Symphony of Lies,” and That He Was Never Friends With Tony
I've been covering the dark cloud of controversy that's been looming over Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book,” a film that, in all likelihood, will be nominated for Best Picture, and all this despite Viggo Mortensen uttering the N-word last month at a Q&A, and despite accusations implying that it goes against the current grain of progressive thought, with the term "white savior" having been uttered more than a few times by film journalists.
Read moreOscar Watch: “Green Book” Starting to Pick Up Steam at the Box-Office
In its fifth week of release Peter Farelly's "Green Book" is starting to have major legs at the Box-Office. It accumulated an additional $2,780,000 in 1,215 theaters (+34) this weekend for a Cumulative gross of $24,660,000, not too shabby for a film that has been shunned as being "racist" and a "white savior" flick. That it is not. The crowd-pleaser, and that the film surely is, has remained in the top ten since its release back in November. Expect another bump come Christmas, with a plan by the studio to expand it to as many theaters as possible in mid-January once Oscar nominations are announced.
Viggo Mortensen Says Accusations of Racism are ‘Unfair’ and ‘Dangerous’
Viggo Mortensen spoke to France 24 [video interview] to promote his Oscar-contender “Green Book.” Of course, the conversation had to turn to the actor’s recent use of the N-word. If you remember, Mortensen used the derogatory word during a November post-screening Q&A. Mortensen has always maintained that his intention behind using the word was to explain the inherent core of what racism is about.
Read moreDespite Backlash, ‘Green Book' Wins National Board of Review's Best Picture Award
What Jeffrey Wells likes to call the National Alliance of Politically Correct Scolds and Admonishers (NAPCSA) will be very angry by today's announcement that Peter Farelly's "Green Book" has won won the National Board of Review best picture prize.
Read more‘Green Book' Disappoints at Holiday Box-office
I have consistently been saying that if "Green Book" wants to compete for the Best Picture prize then it has to have a successful box-office run. Right now, we are looking at "okay" numbers, nothing that spells out a runaway success -- its $7.1M weekend, in over 1000 screens, just doesn't cut it. Word of mouth will surely hit, more people will go see what is under my estimation the movie that has the highest quality mainstream appeal this holiday season.
Read morePeter Farelly's ‘Green Book‘ Slammed As ‘White Savior Film'
This past week's controversy, which had "Green Book" star Viggo Mortensen daring to utter the 'n-word' at a post-screening Q&A, slightly tainted director Peter Farelly's chances at winning a Best Picture Oscar, something which I've predicted might happen ever since I saw the film in September.
Read moreBest Picture: It's 'Star is Born' vs 'Green Book'
With the AFI screening of Mimi Leder's underwhelming RBG biopic "On the Basis of Sex" upon us, we don't have that many players left to screen as far as this year's Oscar race goes. All that's left is the Dick Cheney biopic "Vice," Clint Eastwood's "The Mule," and Josie Rourke's "Mary Queen of Scots" starring Saoirse Ronan, the latter of which is said to be a non-starter.
Read moreMahershala Ali: Viggo Mortensen’s Use of the N-Word Was ‘Hurtful,’ but ‘I Can Accept His Apology'
I will say this: Words do matter, but Mahershala Ali's statement today about the "n-word" and how its use “by those who aren’t black," not being "up for debate” is rather interesting and, ironically, opens up debate. For years now the word has been used by the people it was historically used to humiliate — many believe as a way to reclaim it. But does that make logical sense? Maybe the past should be the past and the word should be condemned by all, not being used as a way to let it die a slow death.
Read moreViggo Mortensen Apologizes After Using The N-Word During ‘Green Book’ Q&A
During a Q&A following a screening of his latest film "Green Book" on Wednesday (via THR), a film about racism in the 1960's, Viggo Mortensen answered a question by using the N-word. The actor was trying to describe how progress is being made in today’s climate. The gist of what he said was about how racism came in waves, saying “I’m gonna go off on a tangent here, but it’s important, and I don’t like saying the word, but, for instance, people don’t say n—— anymore.”
Read more'Star is Born' is our Best Picture front-runner, but watch out for 'Green Book'
Before I tackle the Best Picture Oscar race, here are a few important takeaways when it comes to this weekend's box-office totals:
The slasher genre has most definitely been reignited with "Halloween." David Gordon Green's sequel to the 1978 classic topped the box-office yet again, in its second week of action, with a strong $32M weekend. That puts its 2-week total at a whopping $132M. Watch out for a major bump this week as it seems to be the only Halloween-centered movie currently in theaters and many will want a fright night at the cinema on the 31st.
Read more'Green Book' will most likely be your Best Picture front-runner
Awards Watch writer Erik Anderson, who I finally had the pleasure of meeting at TIFF this year, knows his stuff and his list of the ten films most likely to be rewarded with a Best Picture nomination, is, more or less, what we'll likely be greeted with come nominations day January 24th. Although, I would replace the impenetrable "If Beale Street Could Talk" with "Eighth Grade." Also, if "Vice," the Dick Cheney movie, fails critically and/or commercially, I can see "The Hate U Give," which is going to get a huge push with reviews and box-office intake, sneak into the Best Picture race.
Read moreViggo Mortensen & Mahershala Ali Drama ‘Green Book’ Wins 2018 Toronto Film Festival People’s Choice Award
The very worthy winner of the coveted Grolsch People’s Choice Award, Peter Farrelly’s Green Book is the dictionary definition of crowd-pleaser. Featuring one of the funniest scripts I’ve seen in ages, it has immense relevance to America’s current flareup of racial animosity. It’s the true story of an Italian-American driver Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen) hired in the early ’60s to drive renowned African-American pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) on a concert tour through racist bible-belt states. From casting, to direction, to wry witty writing, this movie fires on all cylinders. [Review]
Read moreTIFF Recap: The Best Movies of the Fest
In previous years, I would include films in my TIFF recap that had also premiered at Telluride and Venice. But this year’s slate in Toronto was so strong, we can fill a full report with nothing more than the note-worthy world premieres that screened at the festival’s 42nd edition. There was plenty to cheer. Although Venice and Telluride perhaps featured the peak title of the festival season — Alfonso Cuaron’s masterful Roma — TIFF managed to deliver a memorable week. Artistic director Piers Handling and festival programmer Cameron Bailey year’s carved out an outstanding group of films, distinct from the other competitive festivals they compete with every September.
Read more'Green Book' is high-level mainstream entertainment [TIFF]
"Green Book" is directed by Peter Farelly who, along with his brother Bobby, is the 'auteur' that gave us such classic artistic statements as "Dumb and Dumber," and "There Something About Mary." Presenting "Green Book" at the world premiere last night, Farelly, unsurprisingly, mentioned, that after 40 years in the industry, this was the first time he got to present one of his movies at a film festival. With "Green Book" he may have just delivered the most successful and rousing screening of any filmmaker this festival.
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