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Human Grease Stains and the Golden Globes

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Good morning: In today’s edition of The Industry, we look at:

Christopher Nolan’s grace, Succession’s grease, The Golden Globe Awards and an angry postal worker.

Let’s go!

GOLDEN GLOBE WINNERS

Best Motion Picture – Drama

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language

Best Actor Drama

Best Actor Comedy

  • Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers

Best Supporting Actor

  • Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer

Best Actress Drama

  • Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon

Best Actress Comedy

  • Emma Stone, Poor Things

Best Supporting Actress

Best Director — Motion Picture

  • Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture

The Best Screenplay award was probably the most surprising of the night, beating out Oppenheimer and Barbie, a decision much more aligned with Cannes, where the film took the Palme d’Or, than the Golden Globes.

With the Hollywood Foreign Press no longer overseeing the voting, a new era of film critic voters from over 75 countries seems to have tilted the awards to more auteur-driven projects.

TV Awards

Succession won big:

Get the full list of Golden Globe winners ​here​.

Notable Quotes:

Emma Thomas (prod: Oppenheimer):

“I’m so pleased that Chris has been acknowledged because I just think that what he does is unlike anything anyone else is doing… Chris sort of brings the best out in people by being the very best himself.”

Cillian Murphy (Best Actor Drama: Oppenheimer):

“I knew the first time that I walked on a Chris Nolan set that it was different. I could tell by the level of rigor, the level of focus, the level of dedication, the complete lack of any seating options for actors…. I want to thank Chris and Emma for having the faith in me for 20 years and six fecking pictures.”

Emma Stone (Best Actress Comedy: Poor Things):

“Bella falls in love with life itself rather than a person, and she accepts the good and the bad in equal measure. And that really made me look at life differently.”

Matthew Macfadyen (Best supporting actor Succession):

“I just adored every second playing the weird and wonderful human grease stain that is Tom.”

For More:

In a nod to the writer’s strike, Daniel Kaluuya, Hailee Steinfeld and Shameik Moore pretended like studio executives had written their presenter speeches. It was purposefully painful (​clip​).

Will Ferrel and Kristen Wiig’s silly dancing was delightful (​clip​).

Kieran Culkin’s “suck it Pedro” ​moment​.

THE INDUSTRY NEWS

Universal buys Steven Spielberg-produced short story. The upcoming film, Long Lost, will be based on a 50-page short story written by Colin Bannon, who has had seven scripts on the Black List:

Here’s the official synopsis for Bannon’s Long Lost:

The story of a recently married woman whose life is upended when her husband’s long lost wife shockingly returns, sparking fears that she’s hatching a sinister plan to reclaim what was once hers.

Now that Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment is producing the project, it should guarantee that one of Bannon’s projects will make it to audiences.

Christopher Nolan has grace. During his Best Director speech at the Golden Globes, he reminded us of the value of friendship:

“The only time I’ve ever been on the stage before was accepting one of these on behalf of our dear friend Heath Ledger and that was complicated and challenging for me and in the middle of speaking I glanced up and Robert Downey Jr. caught my eye and gave me a look of love and support.”

He continued:

“I thought it’d be simpler accepting for myself but as a director of course as I stand here I suddenly realized I can only accept this on behalf of people. As directors we we bring people together and we try and get them to give their best and Cillian Murphy, my partner in crime for 20 years…”

It was an unpretentious moment and it was beautiful to see Nolan use the Golden Globe stage in such an artful way.

Megalopolis is coming to town. Francis Ford Coppola spoke about his much-anticipated new film, which he personally financed for $120M:

“All I can say is that I love the actors in it…it’s unusual, and it’s never boring other than that wait and see, it’s only going to be a few months until it’s out.”

The cast of Megalopolis is stellar: Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, and Dustin Hoffman.

Here’s the official synopsis:

The fate of Rome haunts a modern world unable to solve its own social problems in this epic story of political ambition, genius, and dangerous love.

While we’re optimistic for an early 2024 release date, Coppola’s previously self-financed epic, Apocalypse Now, took so long during post-production that journalists started calling it ​“Apocalypse When”​.

THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT

Samuel L. Jackson is “The Black Godfather.” Jackson is set to play 1970s gangster Frank Moten, who was found guilty of conspiracy in 1976 for a ​$200M narcotics ring​, in the upcoming Peacock series Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist, which stars Kevin Hart.

Here’s the official synopsis:

The infamous story of how an armed robbery during the night of Muhammad Ali’s historic 1970 comeback fight changed not only one man’s life but an entire city’s destiny.

Jackson’s most famous role was playing the philosophical gangster Jules in Pulp Fiction (Does he look like a bitch? ​scene​). He’s also played a gangster in:

  • True Romance (1993)
  • Hard Eight (1996)
  • Jackie Brown (1997)

Jackson has recently played Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D, the government arm that interacts with superheroes in a series of Marvel movies.

It’ll be refreshing to see him take on the role of a gangster again.

Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist was ordered ​back in December​. No release date has been set.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers. Her performance as a lonesome cafeteria manager and grieving mother was complex and heartfelt. Watch her ​character featurette​.

Randolph described her first read of Alexander Payne’s script:

“I’ve felt like I had to fight for fully realized characters with complexities or even start writing or producing myself… I was so overjoyed to read this character, someone who was really struggling, but also trying to persevere in spite of her situation.”

Here’s a snippet from her award speech:

“To Alexander Payne, thank you for giving me the opportunity to portray this beautiful and flawed woman… You have made me feel seen in so many ways that I have never imagined…”

Randolph has an upcoming project entitled ​Bride Hard​, about a mercenary group kidnapping a wedding party only to realize the maid of honor is a secret agent.

Sarah Snook took the Best Actress in a TV Drama award at the Golden Globes. Her character’s icy demeanor cracked open during an all-out marital battle in the final season of Succession (​clip​).

During her Golden Globes speech, she offered a rare compliment of a casting director:

“Thank you Francine for putting me in front of Jesse [the show’s creator].”

It was a brief nod, but Francine Maisler is one of the best casting directors in the industry:

While it’s clear the Academy Awards won’t stretch their run time to include a Best Casting Director award, it’s hard to imagine what these movies and shows would be like without their craft.

For a deeper dive on the subject, check out ​Casting By​ (2012).

FESTIVALS AND RESOURCES

Sundance’s Spotlight Event: “A Cinematic Dialogue with Richard Linklater” is an enriching discussion with the acclaimed filmmaker, celebrating over three decades of his influence in indie cinema. Linklater, a five-time Oscar nominee (Before Sunrise trilogy, Boyhood) and a pivotal figure in the Texas film scene, will share insights into his creative journey, covering his diverse works and innovative directing styles.

The virtual event begins on Saturday, January 13th from 1 – 2:15 pm EST. Register for free ​here​.

INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT

Big Beach has produced some of the most heartwarming indies over the years.

The company’s impressive list includes:

The company has made four big hires in the past couple of years:

Big Beach’s latest project is Out of My Mind, which will play as a Family Matinee at Sundance.

Save the nipple! A small documentary about a conservative man’s quest to reconstruct his wife’s nipple after she lost it to cancer is genuine, heartfelt and evocative (​trailer​). Visit Films (It Follows, Primer) served as a sales rep and just locked Kino Lorber for distribution.

The director, Justin Johnson, stated:

“Crafting this deeply personal film about my family has been an incredible journey, and I can’t think of a better partner than Kino Lorber. With their track record of success and their outstanding curated catalog, I’m thrilled to have them bring Mom & Dad’s Nipple Factory to the masses!”

The film won the Best Feature Audience Award at the Milwaukee Film Festival.

It’s inspiring to see films that play at smaller festivals still have an opportunity to access mainstream audiences.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

The Boy and the Heron wins Best Animated Film at the Golden Globes. In another upset, where Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse could clinched the award, the expanded voting committee selected Hayao Miyazaki’s film.

The producer and co-founder of Studio Ghibli, Toshio Suzuki, who did not attend the ceremony in person, made a statement:

“I am very happy to hear the news that The Boy and the Heron has received an award at the historic Golden Globe Awards. This is the first Golden Globe awarded to a Studio Ghibli film and it is a very special feeling.”

Suzuki continued in a darker vein:

“Since the beginning of the year, Japan has been hit by a series of tragic earthquakes and accidents. When I hear the reports of many people still waiting for rescue in the disaster areas, I am filled with a sense of despair. In such a situation, I hope the bright news of winning an award can bring a smile to everyone’s face, even if only a little.”

The Boy and the Heron became the first Studio Ghibli film to achieve number one at the box office in the US. It is considered the ​Oscar front-runner​.

Toby Jones spurs a public outcry for miscarriage of justice at the post office. Jones has had a prolific career, playing everyone from the house elf Dobby in Harry Potter to the high-ranking British intelligence officer in ​Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy​ (2011). His latest project with ITV, ​Mr. Bates vs. The Post Office​, is causing a scandal.

Here’s the official synopsis:

One of the greatest miscarriages of justice in British legal history where hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters and postmistresses were wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting due to a defective IT system.

Following a public outcry, the British Communication Workers Union is demanding that the former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells be stripped of her CBE (Commander of the British Empire), a British award ranked just below knighthood.

It’s fantastic to see the empathy Jones created on screen for his character translate into a tidal wave of support for those post office workers who were wronged.

The show is available to watch in the UK on ​ITVX​.

Watch the trailer ​here​.

READER SPOTLIGHT

Will Roberts played General George C. Marshall in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (​clip​). His dedication to the craft is evident in every role he undertakes.

With a career spanning several decades, he has honed his skills as a film and television actor, weapons expert, and magician, boasting ownership of the ​oldest magic shop​ in California. His diverse talents have seen him set two Guinness World Records (including ​most people spun inside a lasso)​.

For a deeper dive into Robert’s work, check out his ​website​.

If you’d like to be featured in our “readers spotlight,” ​click here​ for more information.

ON THIS DAY

1993. Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi debuts at the Toronto Film Festival and will go on to become the lowest-budgeted film ever to gross $1M.

Happy Monday.

Written by Gabriel Miller. Research by Spencer Carter.

Editor: ​Gabriel Miller​.

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