Ben Affleck to the Academy: "Argo F Yourself

Argo, by many reliable sources is slated to win “Best Picture” at Sunday's Academy Awards. The story of Hollywood heroism is truly an all-American story, starring an all-American boy, Ben Affleck. Affleck has been on an awards whirlwind that has marketed the movie by itself the last few weeks. Despite being snubbed a nomination for “Best Director,” hopefully that whirlwind will continue through to win the hearts of the Academy. Remember a young Affleck with his bro Matt Damon as they won accolades for their writing of the film Good Will Hunting in 1998. Ben has come a long way since then, but still has the heart of that young awkward man in his film making soul.

Born in Berkeley, California, but Raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts; the Boston sports apparel wearing director has cemented his place amidst Hollywood greats with Argo. Affleck has more than proven his directorial abilities with a film that took a crisis from the 80's and made it not only compelling enough to sit through for two and a half hours, but made you feel proud to be an American.
Produced with some help from George Clooney and Grant Heslov, Argo tells the story of how a CIA operative named Tony Mendez helped put together a fake film to save six American embassy workers being held hostage in Iran in 1980. Argo isn't just a great film; it's truly an American story. Other films nominated like Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty share the same theme, but Argo has a certain charm that Bigelow and Spielberg missed in their pursuits of telling American stories.
Arguably, any of the other films nominated for “Best Picture” could indeed be better films overall; but Argo has a balance of drama, comedy, patriotism, and suspense that somehow steps beyond the other films. It is an art in itself for an audience to remain in suspense when they ultimately know how the characters' fates, and Affleck executes this wonderfully. While Argo continues to to play it's part in the political race for Oscar, Ben Affleck's history paired with Tony Mendez's unmatched story of heroism makes Affleck the American boy who will take top prize on Sunday evening, if not in the eyes of the Academy, in the eyes of America.

Full article on Examiner.com 

Image Credit: Getty Images 

The Pretty Faces Off Camera

In 2010 Kathryn Bigelow took home the Oscar for "Best Director" for The Hurt Locker, which may have sparked some to say, "Women direct films?" Although many barriers have been broken, the gender stats of those working behind the scenes in film and television are still lop-sided.There's no need for a revolution on studios lots, but the lack of female screenwriters, directors, and producers leads to a lack of estrogen pumped films. 
The January issue of Vogue delved into the topic of women in filmmaking with our favorite Harvard grad, and the woman of the moment,Natalie Portman. Portman talks about starting her own production company with Annette Savitch, Handsomecharlie Films, with the goal of making more female- minded movies. Portman says, "Most movies are made by men, it's totally natural they're going to present their worldview, so we're trying to find more women  who are writers and directors who are expressing their worldview" (Vogue volume 201 no.1 p 102). 


The stress of Oscar buzz aside, Portman, who was an executive producer for No Strings Attached, discussed how the film almost never saw the screen. "This script had a character that was funny, with a real job and a real voice. but we had to fight to get it made. Studios always let boys be funny and raunchy, but it's a battle to convince them to let a girl; have that voice" (InStyle Volume 18 no.2 February/11 p 182). 
Maybe displaying that unexpected female character on-screen has attributed to the success of No Strings- it is slated to pass the $50 million mark by next weekend. Movies containing a strong female lead are refreshing since the woman is seen outside of her stereotypical film box.
   
Projects in development for Handsomecharlie Films are Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, along with Important Artifacts, which will co-star Brad Pitt (USA Today).  


Handsomecharlie Films recently teamed up with 1821 Pictures, allowing the two companies to produce projects together.