Eugene Hernandez: Building Buzz by Eugene Hernandez (November 9, 2009)
Ivan and Jason Reitman at the "Up in the Air" event (left) and Lee Daniels with Gabby Sibide and Colin Powell at a "Precious" party.
New York, NY, November 9, 2009—“Precoius” v. “Up in the Air”? That was the case on Thursday night in Manhattan as the two expected Oscar contenders hosted competing events in New York City. Colin Powell caused a stir as he mingled inside Soho’s new Crosby Street Hotel during the party for “Precious.” Across the room, Quincy Jones held court for awhile before the two joined forces for a power chat and then left together. The Cinema Society’s Andrew Saffir, who hosted the bash with Tommy Hilfiger, beamed inside the intimate gathering as a tuxedoed Powell gladhanded the film’s producers. Nearby, I ran into film star Gabby Sibide who recounted her recent morning show dance with Ellen Degeneres, while friends and new fans sipped 1800 Tequila. With ten films set to score best picture Oscar nominations in early February, marketers are increasingly angling for attention. It’s been a busy few days on the Manhattan cocktail party circuit and Thursday night offered a preview of two emerging awards season frontrunners. The gathering for Lionsgate’s “Precious,” on the eve of its spectacular opening weekend at the box office, capped a steady stream of pre-release attention for the multiple Sundance award winner. As the “Precious” folks partied downtown, an equally likely Oscar contender was in the spotlight uptown. A modest cab ride away, at Rouge Tomate on the Upper East Side, hostess Peggy Siegal grabbed my arm. “Have you met Ivan Reitman,?” she asked me. Before I knew it, I was at Reitman’s table and he was on his feet, gushing proudly about the chance to work so closely with his son, Jason.
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AFI Fest
AFI Fest '09
BROKEN EMBRACES
A Film By Almodovar, Starring Penelope Cruz Opens New York 11/20, Opens Los Angeles 12/11 Opens additional cities 12/25 Where is it opening by you? www.sonyclassics.com/brokenembraces/dates.html "Astonishing! A Masterpiece!" Jeffrey Lyons, KNBC Weekend Today "Cruz with Almodovar makes BROKEN EMBRACES soar!" Richard Corliss, TIME Written and Directed by Pedro Almodovar www.brokenembracesmovie.com www.facebook.com/brokenembracesmovie |
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I too think the season’s release schedule is very thin. Where are all the holiday releases?
The Ten Nominees thing worries me, it’ll make it harder to beat a “Big” film that has a large voting block of academy members who’ll vote for self-interest and perhaps keep a deserving smaller film from a real shot at the award since alternative votes will be split presumably even moreso than usual.
I certainly hope “Paranormal Activity” and “Precious” give some incentive to buyers to get back in the game….I’ve got a movie coming in 2010…It’s Paranormal Activity meets Precious meets Transformers :) How’s that for box-office viability? battlethemovie.blogspot.com
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