Juno

Adam Green of The Moldy Peaches made his comeback by appearing on the Juno soundtrack with his other half Kimya Dawson. They wrote that sacchrine-sweet song that Ellen Page and Michael Cera's characters sing to each other in the last scene, "Anyone Else But You." He answered some questions for the Gothamist blog, reminiscing about the Lower East Side, discussing his new album and telling his "only in New York story" in which a young kid tried to pay him to have sex with him.  read more »

So there's no way Adam Green could have known that, when asked by director Jason Reitman what music her character ought to listen to, Juno star Ellen Page would reply "The Moldy Peaches" faster than you can say "homeskillet."

And there's no way Mr. Green could have known the film would become such a runaway success, or that a tune by his old band, the Moldy Peaches, featured prominently therein would become one of iTunes' hottest downloads, or that the soundtrack would rocket to the top of the Billboard 200, or that he'd end up reuniting with ex-band mate Kimya Dawson after a four-year hiatus to perform their old songs in front of the ladies on The View, or that thousands of teens across the country would record their own cover versions of Juno's unofficial theme "Anyone Else But You," and then load them up on YouTube.  read more »

Juno is coming to the New York City stage! But, honest to blog, it's not Diablo Cody's Juno, it's the 1924 play by Sean O'Casey. Juno and the Paycock, which was adapted into a 1930 Hitchcock movie, is about a mom in 1920s Dublin who is struggling with an alcoholic husband and turbulent political times. As FilmStew.com notes, in what is either a misguided move or a shrewdly calculated attempt to sell tickets, that title has now been shortened to simply Juno for an upcoming March 27 – 30 run at New York's City Center.  read more »

“My brain hasn’t really processed it. I actually can’t believe it,” said Olivia Thirlby, via phone, early in the morning of Oscar Sunday. The 21-year-old actress, in Los Angeles, was eating breakfast (“I’m sorry for the crunching”) and about to embark upon the daylong process of readying herself for the red carpet to end all red carpets at the Kodak Theatre for Hollywood’s glitziest, puffed-up night. Ms. Thirlby portrayed Leah, Ellen Page’s braid-wearing best friend in this year’s little-movie-that-could, Juno—a film that not only surpassed expectations at the box office, but was the one bright spot in a lineup of Best Picture nominees that skewed dark and heavy.

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Before Tara McPherson was a successful commercial illustrator, making poster art for bands like the Strokes, Interpol, Duran Duran and Built to Spill; before having her sweetly creepy illustrations featured in Oscar darling Juno; and before preparing more than a dozen paintings and several sculptures for her first solo show opening Feb. 23 at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery, she was the vice president of the astronomy club. As a Santa Monica Community College student, she would spend weekends camping on the rocky deserts of Joshua Tree National Park, drinking beers and watching the stars until the sunrise snuffed them out of view. Ms. McPherson considered giving up art for an astrophysics degree. “But I was thinking, do I really want to be an astronomer? I’ll be alone logging data in the middle of the night,” Ms. McPherson, now 31, explained in her storefront Williamsburg studio, curled up in a paint-smudged black hoodie and turquoise-colored jeans. “But now here I sit by myself all night. Ironically enough, I’m doing the exact same thing I was trying to avoid. Becoming an artist, I didn’t realize I’d be alone so much.”  read more »

Who would have thought that some indie film about a pregnant teenager could become so abundantly successful? Yes, Juno. It’s garnered critical acclaim, four Oscar nominations, and has now passed the $100 million mark at the box office, making it Fox Searchlight Pictures’ first film to do so.

“This is an astonishing feat for us and the film has surpassed all our expectations,” said Peter Rice, Fox Searchlight’s president, in a statement released earlier today. “We knew this film had cross over potential and it has resonated with audiences all across the country.”

But not everyone thinks this is an entirely good thing for Juno.  read more »

The 80th Annual Academy Award nominations have recently been announced amid the usual mix of old and new uncertainties and anxieties. After the political pollsters and pundits bombed out in foretelling the New Hampshire Democratic primary results, it is certainly a calculated risk on the part of this self-ordained prophet to predict this year’s Oscar winners at this early date.  read more »

Cialis, Viagra, Spanish Fly, whatever—nothing could save the Bucket List (No. 7) from a limp performance this weekend. The movie, starring geriatric gents Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, may have managed a robust national opening, but it was blown away here in the city like a couple of old farts on the observatory deck of the Empire State Building during a wind advisory. At 10 theaters, the film averaged a listless $9,000 per screen. Everyone’s seen Steel Magnolias: Pull the plug!  read more »

Sia—aka Sia Furler—does for little blacks sandals what Rihanna did for umbrellas. It's not hip-hop, but it's plenty catchy. (Check out her Web site, where she channels Miranda July.) You may recognize her voice from her work with Jamiroquai (or maybe not) or from Six Feet Under, which used her song, Breathe Me, in its finale. Her new album is Some People Have Real Problems.

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Movies in their fifth week are not supposed to post their best numbers to date, but that is precisely what Juno (No. 1) has done, averaging an astonishing $31,500 on eight screens. (According to Variety, Fox Searchlight is gleefully pointing out that Juno is outperforming Little Miss Sunshine, last year’s Academy Award nominee for best picture.) It is clear that this movie about an illegitimate fetus is quickening into a legitimate contender—if only there were an awards show for it to compete in.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood (No. 2) expanded into five theaters over the weekend and nearly doubled its tally, averaging an impressive $48,000 per theater. And this was before it garnered the best picture nod from the National Society of Film Critics over No Country for Old Men (No. 9). Just for good measure, Mr. Anderson picked up best director. (After working with Adam Sandler, how do you think it felt to direct Daniel Day-Lewis, like driving an Aston Martin after a mint green 1972 Volvo station wagon? Thought so.)  read more »

I strongly suspect that in the year 2007, there were more interesting pictures and, almost certainly, more interesting acting performances than I had time to see. After all, there were more than 500 films released in the New York area this year, not unlike most recent years. Hence, I apologize in advance to all the talented people I may have overlooked in my year-end rumination. Nonetheless, with all the wonders of contemporary technology, it is becoming easier to catch up, as it were, with any neglected masterpieces we may have missed during the year.  read more »

While The Golden Compass (No. 1) will be stealing headlines this morning for its lackluster performance—$26 million nationally ($420,000 of that from Manhattan) to offset its reportedly $180 million budget—this weekend’s box office receipts portended the rise of two Academy Award contenders: Jason Reitman’s Juno (No. 2) and Joe Wright’s adaptation of the Ian McEwan novel, Atonement (No. 5).

The comedy starring Ellen Page and Michael Cera averaged an astronomical $63,000 on three screens, beating out Atonement—currently, according to buzz and conventional wisdom, the Oscar forerunner for best picture—which had an impressive $55,000 average on two screens and The Golden Compass, which managed a rather respectable $42,000 average on 10 screens. So, to recap, in a town where neither Atonement, nor The Golden Compass faltered, Juno shined brightest. A Reitman hasn’t been this popular in this city, since the first Ghost Busters in 1984.  read more »

Okay, so maybe not all of us understood Todd Haynes' quirky tribute to Bob Dylan I'm Not There (The Observer's Andrew Sarris: "I confess. I was bored and confused most of the time"), but his "unique vision" is just what makes it an indie movie. That's why Mr. Haynes movie the pack of indie movies with four nominations and one honorary award for the 22nd annual Film Independent's Spirit Awards. I'm Not There nabbed nods for best feature, director, supporting male for Marcus Carl Franklin and supporting actress for Cate Blanchett, as well as the inaugural Robert Altman Award, which honors a film's director, casting director and ensemble cast.

As predicted Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Sarris: Conscious life itself, even at its most extremely limited parameters, has never been so richly ennobled on the screen as it is here.) and Jason Reitman's Juno (one of Sara Vilkomerson's Nine for November and December) each picked up four nominations, including best picture and director. Tamara Jenkins' The Savages also nabbed four nominations, including best screenplay and best male lead for Philip Seymour Hoffman. We're excited for that one!

Zach Braff and Lisa Kudrow announced the nominees Tuesday morning from the Sofitel Hotel in Los Angeles this morning.

Winners will be announced on Feb. 23, the day before the Academy Awards.

Full list of nominees after the jump.

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