After running up a huge gross of more than $250 million worldwide since its late August opening, director Quentin Tarantino’s WWII epic “Inglourious Basterds” is now shifting gears from its initial marketing phase as a “popcorn picture” to serious Oscar contender.
Thursday that campaign seemed to begin in earnest for the Weinstein Co. when Tarantino was honored with the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Kirk Douglas Award for excellence in film at a black-tie gala at the Four Seasons Biltmore resort in Montecito, a voter-rich area with close to 100 Academy members in residence at various times.
Festival organizers threw a lavish cocktail party and sit-down dinner featuring generous clips of such Tarantino landmark movies as “Reservoir Dogs,” “Jackie Brown,” “Kill Bill” and of course “Inglourious Basterds.” Among those in attendance were Douglas and wife Anne, who were seated next to the honoree, star Diane Kruger and the film’s producer, Lawrence Bender. Festival director Roger Durling and board President Jeffrey Barbakow (former MGM/UA head) both made amusing and well-received remarks. Comedian and Santa Barbara resident Dennis Miller shared a table with “Basterds” co-star Samm Levine along with the entire Barbakow clan, including wife Margot and sons Bennett and Max.
A consultant working on the film told me this campaign is a fun one so far, as the pressure is off. The film is already more successful than even their wildest hopes, so awards are just the icing on this particular cake. Considering the strong response the film seems to be getting in the industry, nominations for screenplay, directing, supporting actor (Christoph Waltz, maybe even Brad Pitt, too), editing, cinematography, sound, costumes and best picture are realistic goals in a wide-open season so far, especially if the film’s occasionally graphic violence doesn’t turn off queasy voters. With Oscar maven Harvey Weinstein calling the shots anything is possible, even with internal competition from other expected Weinstein contenders, including the still unseen “Nine,” “A Single Man” and perhaps “The Road” (at least for Viggo Mortensen).
Mention
Christoph Waltz on Brad
When you first heard Brad Pitt’s accent for [Aldo] Raine, what do you think? Your characters, their encounter at the end, it’s a very strange relationship. His accent seems incredibly risky to me, but I think it works in the end. Your opinion?
Christoph Waltz: Well, I read the words on the script, and in a way, when I heard Brad Pitt speak like that, it was 100% congruent with the words. Right now, I can’t separate one from the other. Even when I go back to the written word, I hear Brad say it. So, apparently, that is how it was written. And when we worked together, I learned something from Brad, something that I really admire in him, how generous he is. And I really learned how generosity on a set, how it can actually change…how generosity has an influence on everyone who is there and working on the film. Everyone who is around him. And he has a professional calmness and he’s just such a cool guy. He’s not impersonal, and he’s immensely generous. And this generosity allowed me to rise to the occasion, I feel.
Source/discuss. Thanks Gabriella.
Resident Supports Brad Pitt As Mayor & Shares Memories Of the Famous Couple
Brad Pitt may not have any confidence in his own mayoral bid but one person who benefited from his Make It Right Foundation thinks otherwise. Melba Leggett-Barnes, who received a new home through the charity, chatted with RadarOnline.com about her recent run-in with Pitt and the support he has shown her from the moment they met. She also discusses her experience with Angelina Jolie and what the actress is like as a mom.
“I think he would win no problem – I know that I would vote for him. I saw Brad on Tuesday and he gave me a great big hug before he did his interview with Anne Curry,” Leggett-Barnes shared. “He is a very genuine and down-to-earth person and although he has said his policies wouldn’t go with the position of mayor a lot of people would love to see him in the job.” (Pitt had joked that he could not win an election because of his pro-gay marriage, marijuana legalization, and no religion views.)
“Both my husband Baxter and I are very grateful to him and his foundation for giving us another chance because we lost everything in the hurricane,” she added. Their $150,000 environmentally friendly house was one of the first to be built by Pitt’s foundation after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. Several of their neighbors drowned in the hurricane and the they ended-up living in a trailer before the Make It Right Foundation stepped in and started to rebuild much safer homes.
“When we met he asked us how we were all doing and everyone around here speaks well of him and Angelina Jolie.”
Kaiser Chiefs meet Brad
On Friday night in New Orleans, Britain’s Kaiser Chiefs wrapped their series of dates supporting Green Day with a spectacular finale that included a stage invasion and a superstar sighting.
“Brad Pitt was there,” Kaiser’s drummer Nick Hodgson told Spinner Saturday morning. “It was totally cool. We met Brad Pitt.”
Hodgson explained he ran into the star as the actor came out for the show. “He had his kids with him,” he said, kindly declining our request to tell us which
Brangelina spawnchildren (Pax & Maddox) were in attendance (although he noted they had headphones on). “[There were] a couple security and that, but he was just sat in the normal seats.”Although the Kaiser Chiefs are big stars in the native England, headlining festivals and topping charts, Hodgson revealed his band couldn’t help but feel star struck over the leading man. “We had a photograph taken just like regular nerds,” he said, before revealing that act didn’t come without a little trouble. “We had the camera set to video so we had to call him back. He was cool. It’s not the first time [that’s happened].”
Source/discuss. Thanks Gabriella.
Co-star mention
Novak complimented Pitt for his constant good nature. “Brad would keep his [Southern] accent between takes, spend a lot of time choosing his guns and weapons,” Novak said. “He always brought a sense of fun to the set.”
