Coming out on September 28 is the movie ‘Won’t Back Down’, about two women, standing up to the school system. It stars Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal but playing another teacher, Michael, is Oscar Isaac, one of today’s most in-demand actors, who is currently on screens as a covert operative in ‘The Bourne Legacy’.

Isaac’s Michael is a progressive teacher who employs innovative methods to make learning exciting for his young pupils. When he meets Jamie, romance blossoms, and Michael is caught up, reluctantly, in her and Nona’s quest. “Michael’s teaching style is working for his class, so he’s reluctant to uproot what seems to be successful and rewarding,” says Isaac. “But Jamie forces him to look at the bigger picture and see how he can make even more of a difference in the lives of the entire student body.”

Academy Award nominee Rosie Perez portrays Breena Harper, a teacher torn between the crusade led by Jamie and Nona, and maintaining an imperfect status quo. “Breena’s at a crossroads,” says Perez. “She’s flawed but has a great heart, and that’s what makes her relatable.”

In casting the role, director Daniel Barnz had told his casting director to pursue a “Rosie Perez-type,” skeptical that he could land the actress. “But we got her!” says the director. “Rosie has extraordinary passion for the character and subject matter. She is vibrant and funny, and well-versed in the issues facing so many teachers today.”

Rounding out the starring cast is Academy Award winner Holly Hunter, who takes on the role of Evelyn Riske, the conflicted head of the teachers’ union. “Evelyn asks a lot of questions about herself and her positions,” says Hunter. “She’s torn between her role in the system and making the changes that best serve the school and the kids. She’s facing a big shift in her thinking.”

“Holly is one of our most beloved actors, even when she plays an antagonist, as she does in ‘Won’t Back Down’,” notes Barnz. “She brings warmth, sympathy and complexity to the character.”

Taking on co-starring roles are Lance Reddick (“Fringe”) as Nona’s estranged husband Charles Alberts; Marianne Jean-Baptiste (an Oscar nominee for “Secrets and Lies”) as Olivia Lopez, the chairperson of the board of education; Golden Globe winner Ving Rhames as the school’s principal, Emily Alyn Lind, as Maggie’s daughter Malia; and Dante Brown and Nona’s son Cody.

‘Won’t Back Down’ was filmed on location in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which Barnz lauds for its “great spirit, and mix of Midwestern flavor and Eastern (U.S.) feel.” Adds producer Mark Johnson: “It’s an aggressively proud city, with an impressive beauty,” noting Pittsburgh’s downtown triangle area, and convergence of three rivers.”

Barnz, production designer Rusty Smith, and director of photography Roman Osin, BSC wanted a palette that evolved through the story.  For early scenes, they created a cold, wintery environment with a desaturated color palette.  As the characters’ journeys progress, and their dreams and plans come to life, the colors deepen and become richer.  Says Smith: “By the end of the story, we’re in spring and everything is vibrant and full of hope.”

Osin’s camera is constantly on the move, enhancing ‘Won’t Back Down’’s strong energy and helping convey the characters’ restlessness and relentless pursuit of their cause and for their battle.

But what drives the film most of all, is the cast’s and filmmakers’ passion for the material and the struggle it depicts. Says Barnz: “My hope is that audiences connect to ‘Won’t Back Down’ whether they’re a parent or not. The film deals with universal and relatable themes, including taking on something bigger than oneself, and discovering you have the strength to accomplish anything.

“That’s a powerful message for audiences, everywhere,” he continues. “It’s not just an American story.”

The article Oscar Isaac, Rosie Perez Rounds Up Cast of ‘Won’t Back Down’ appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

‘Won’t Back Down’ is a powerful story – inspired by true events – of parenthood, friendship, hope and courage. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis portray determined mothers who will stop at nothing to transform their children’s failing inner city school. Facing a powerful and entrenched bureaucracy and a system mired in traditional thinking, they risk everything to make a difference in the education and future of their children.

The film echoes the overarching themes of such beloved pictures as ‘The Blind Side’, ‘Erin Brockovich’ and ‘Norma Rae’, all of which depict women who right a wrong by taking matters into their own hands and force necessary change for the collective good. These characters embraced the chance to step into the arena and fight the good fight because no one else was going to do it.

‘Won’t Back Down’ is also a David vs. Goliath tale whose structure, says director Daniel Barnz, plays out in unexpected ways for a drama focusing on two characters. “In a way, we treat this as a kind of war film, so we endeavored to give ‘Won’t Back Down’ as much scope as possible,” he explains. The story depicts a series of battles in which the lead roles are combatants waging war against a broken system. The weapons they employ are hope and action.

Audiences will identify with many of the struggles facing Jamie Fitzpatrick (Gyllenhaal) and Nona Alberts (Davis) as they fight for their children against a powerful bureaucracy. Theirs is a story that emboldens and enlightens, and posits that one person can make a difference. Says Barnz: “I hope audiences take away a feeling for the power of the individual. We have the power to change things – for our children and for the next generations.” Oscar-winning producer Mark Johnson (‘Rain Man’) echoes: “Vital change can start with a single person and then another, and before you know it, there’s a block of people who are demanding, ‘We want something better for our children!’”

Viola Davis, an Academy Award nominee for her work in ‘The Help’, takes this idea to the next level. “It is our job, as human beings, to live a life bigger than ourselves, or otherwise we are not living. We must risk more, love deeper, and leave something on this Earth bigger than ourselves.”

Barnz presents these big ideas in a compelling portrait of the emotional lives of the two principals, who are the film’s heart and soul. They are mothers from opposite sides of the social and economic track, but who are equally determined to save the futures of their kids, as well as their own. For Gyllenhaal’s Jamie, the journey is about ensuring her daughter isn’t doomed by a poor education; for Davis’ Nona, it’s about rediscovering her passion for teaching.

Sporting tattoos and rocker-chick wardrobe, Jamie is far from a prototypical activist who would be leading a charge in education reform. Says Gyllenhaal: “I wanted Jamie to be surprising; that she’d be the last person you’d expect to care enough about this issue to drop everything and risk everything to effect these huge changes.  She’s not a political person, so this activism is coming from her heart.”

Gyllenhaal’s choices in bringing Jamie to life impressed her director. “Maggie has created an original and unique character,” says Barnz. “She wanted Jamie to have a past that was completely disconnected from school issues or education reforms.”

Nona teaches second grade, but her passion for the work has faded, largely from frustration with a system that no longer seems to work. When we meet Nona, she is re-evaluating her life and choices.  “She has experienced the death of her mother, the end of her marriage, and she feels guilty about her young son who is an underachieving student,” says Davis. But joining forces with Jamie helps Nona tap into all the things that made her feel alive, rekindling her passion for teaching. In the course of rebuilding her child’s school, Nona is rebuilding herself.”

It is a complex role, which Davis communicates in powerful yet simple ways. “What is extraordinary about Viola is her ability to communicate 10,000 emotions in a single expression,” marvels Barnz.

The fact that Jamie and Nona are so different – socially, economically, personally – makes their teaming even more powerful. “The characters are opposites who are perfectly matched,” notes Barnz. “Jamie and Nona are so different when they first come together, that sparks fly and they clash. That electricity is fascinating to watch as they struggle to overcome the divide between them.”

The same holds true for the varying personalities and approaches of the two actors taking on the roles, further enhancing the chemistry and sparks. “Maggie is a fiery, passionate and political person,” notes Barnz. “Viola is thoughtful and a bit more reserved. Both artists have tremendous emotional depth.”

The article Viola Davis, Maggie Gyllenhaal Lifts Up ‘Won’t Back Down’ appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Leading online betting firm Sky Bet has updated its full list of Oscars betting [http://www.skybet.com/betting/tv-and-film-specials/oscars/t10003442.html] markets ahead of the 84th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday. Black and white silent movie ‘The Artist’, which picked up the Producers Guild Award and also won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy/Musical, looks a shoo-in to win Best Picture at 8/1 ON, with the odds having been cut from a pre-Christmas 2/1.

The French tribute to the silent movie received ten Oscar nods, although it was beaten by Scorsese’s 3D charmer ‘Hugo’ (25/1), which received 11 nominations. ’The Artist’ dominates several other categories, with its helmsman Michel Hazanavicius, looking certain to win Best Director at odds of 1/10 after being hailed as outstanding director of the year at the Directors’ Guild of America Awards last month.

The film’s leading man Jean Dujardin shot to favouritism in the Oscars Best Actor betting after winning the BAFTA and now heads the betting at 8/11 (from 2/1). George Clooney was relegated to second favourite to take home the lead actor gong for his performance in comedy-drama ‘The Descendants’ and may now be backed at 11/10, having drifted from 2/5. Gary Oldmanis bidding for his first ever Oscar and is quoted at 20/1 to win for his performance in ‘Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy’.

The lead in the Best Actress race has also changed over the past fortnight, with double Oscar winner and 17-time nominee, Meryl Streep, having been usurped at the top of the betting by ‘The Help’ star, Viola Davis. Davis is odds-on at 4/6 to prevent Streep (out to 11/10 from 1/2) claiming a third Oscar for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in ‘The Iron Lady’. It looks a two-horse race between Davis and Streep, with ‘My Week with Marilyn’ star, Michelle Williams, their nearest rival at 18/1.

Sky Bet’s Oscars betting expert, Helen Jacob, said: “The Artist seems way ahead of its rivals in the race to win Best Picture and Director but the lead acting categories are closer, with the favourites having flip-flopped in recent weeks.”

For Best Supporting Actor, Christopher Plummer (‘Beginners’) looks all but home and hosed at 1/33 and Octavia Spencer at 1/25 (‘The Help’) looks certain to land what could be the best actress double for ‘The Help’.

Sky Bet is also offering a number of novelty special bets on the Oscars ceremony itself, which takes place at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday, February 26th.

Veteran actress Meryl Streep accidentally swore onstage at the Globes and Sky Bet go 7/2 that the Oscars best actress winner turns the air blue again in her acceptance speech. It’s even money that the best actress cries during her speech and 10/1 that any recipient’s address consists of a single ‘Thank you!’

 Sky Bet Odds: Oscars Betting

Best Film

The Artist 1/16

The Descendants 10/1

Hugo 25/1

The Help 25/1

War Horse 40/1

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close 80/1

Moneyball 80/1

Midnight in Paris 80/1

The Tree of Life 100/1

  Best Director

Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist 1/10

Martin Scorsese – Hugo 6/1

Alexander Payne – The Descendants 22/1

Terrance Malik – The Tree of Life 33/1

Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris 50/1

Best Actor

Jean Dujardin – The Artist 8/11

George Clooney – The Descendants 11/10

Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy 20/1

Brad Pitt – Moneyball 20/1

DemianBichir – A Better Life 50/1

Best Actress

Viola Davis – The Help 4/6

Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady 11/10

Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn 18/1

Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs 40/1

Rooney Mara – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 50/1

Best Supporting Actress

Octavia Spencer 1/25

Berenice Bejo 8/1

Jessica Chastain 25/1

Melissa Mccarthy 25/1

Janet McTeer 40/1

Best Supporting Actor

Christopher Plummer 1/33

Kenneth Branagh 14/1

Max Von Sydow 22/1

Nick Nolte 33/1

Jonah Hill 40/1

Oscars specials

Lead or supporting actress to cry during acceptance speech Evens

Lead or supporting actor to swear during acceptance speech 9/4

Lead or supporting actress to swear during acceptance speech 7/2

Lead or supporting actor to cry during acceptance speech 6/1

Any recipient’s speech to consist of single “thank you” 10/1

Streaker to run on stage and interrupt ceremony 16/1

Any of the 6 major award winners to drop the statuette 16/1

Any winner to fall over on stage 20/1

George Clooney win best actor and Meryl Streep win best actress 6/4

George Clooney win best actor and The Descendants win best picture 9/1

George Clooney to win an Oscar No 8/11 Yes Evens

For the full range of Oscars odds from Sky Bet, click here [http://www.skybet.com/betting/tv-and-film-specials/oscars/t10003442.html]

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/TheArtist.TWC

The article Oscar Betting: ‘The Artist’ Dominates Many Categories appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

With her nomination for The Iron Lady, Meryl Streep extended her record for having the most Academy Award nominations by any single actor. Her portrayal of the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher earned her a place on the shortlist for the 17th time. However, Streep has won an Oscar on only two occasions, and her last victory took place 30 years ago at the 55th Academy Awards, when she was named Best Actress for Sophie’s Choice.

In fact, out of 79 major industry nominations (14 from BAFTA, 3 from the Emmys, 26 from the Hollywood Foreign Press, 5 from the Grammys, 13 from the Screen Actors Guild, 1 from the Tonys, and the aforementioned 17 from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences), Streep has managed to take home just 16 of those titles since her first Tony nomination in 1976. Considering her status as “the most critically acclaimed actress of the modern era,” this tally seems somewhat surprising.

Yet, 2012 could prove to be the year that Streep breaks her three-decade run of Oscar losses. Already this awards season, she has been the recipient of a Golden Globe, the Berlin International Film Festival’s Homage and Honorary Golden Bear, and – most notably – her first BAFTA in 31 years.

Streep’s one significant loss so far for The Iron Lady has been at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, which took place on January 29 and saw her lose to Viola Davis, who won for The Help. Davis is likely to be Streep’s main competitor at the Academy Awards, in a category which also includes Glenn Close, Rooney Mara, and Michelle Williams, who cannot be counted out after her win for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy at this year’s Golden Globes.

Still, it appears all but certain that the Academy Award’s Best Actress title will be a two-horse race between Davis and Streep. Counting in Streep’s favour is the fact that she both defeated Davis at the BAFTAs and broke her own 31-year gap between BAFTA wins, last winning in 1981 for The French Lieutenant’s Woman.

Counting against Streep is the fact that she was awarded by British voters for her role as a well-known British figure in a film shot entirely in Britain. The same acknowledgement by American voters cannot be counted upon after The Iron Lady failed to be nominated at the Academy Awards for any other category except Best Makeup.

The Help, meanwhile, is in the running for Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress, with two nominations alone in the latter category. Also counting against Streep’s favour is the fact that the Screen Actors Guild Award, which Davis won, has proven to be the most indicative of who will be triumphant at the Academy Awards.

Taking the last decade as an example, here are a list of women who won the Screen Actors Guild Award and went on to win the Academy Award that same year:

• Natalie Portman (2010).
• Sandra Bullock (2009).
• Helen Mirren (2006).
• Reese Witherspoon (2005).
• Hilary Swank (2004).
• Charlize Theron (2003).

Streep, therefore, cannot count out Davis just yet, but she is certainly going into this year’s Oscar race with her strongest case for success in many years.

Image Courtesy of  Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

The article Meryl Streep – The Oscars’ Favorite Loser? appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Leading online betting firm, Sky Bet, has unveiled its full list of Oscars betting markets following the announcement of the 84th Academy Awards nominations on Tuesday, January 24.

Black and white silent movie, ‘The Artist’, which last week picked up the Producers Guild Award and also won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy/Musical, is Sky Bet’s clear favorite to win Best Picture at 2/7, with the odds having been cut from a pre-Christmas 2/1.

The French tribute to the silent movie has ten Oscar bids, although it was beaten by Scorsese’s 3D charmer ‘Hugo’, which received 11 nods. This augurs well for its Best Picture hopes as the most nominated film has taken the top prize 15 times in the last 20 years, and Sky Bet makes ‘Hugo’ a 10/1 shot behind Golden Globe Best Drama champion, ‘The Descendants’ (4/1).

‘The Artist’ dominates several other categories with its helmsman, Michel Hazanavicius, as an odds-on favorite (8/13) to win Best Director and its leading man, Jean Dujardin, second in the Best Actor betting at 2/1. George Clooney is a hot favorite at 2/5 to take home the lead actor gong for his performance in the comedy-drama, ‘The Descendants’. Gary Oldman picked up his first ever Oscar nomination for ‘Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy’ and is quoted at 33/1.

Double Oscar winner and 17-time nominee, Meryl Streep, is the short-priced favorite at 1/2 to scoop a third gong for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in ‘The Iron Lady’. Viola Davis is her nearest rival for Best Actress at 9/4, with ‘My Week with Marilyn’ star, Michelle Williams, another threat at 11/4.

Sky Bet’s Oscars betting expert, Helen Jacob, said, “The Artist seems way ahead of its rivals in the race to win the top Oscar. ”Other categories, however, are not so clean-cut, with the battle for best actress between Meryl Streep and Viola Davis looking particularly close.”

For Best Supporting Actor, Christopher Plummer (‘Beginners’) is at 1/12, and Octavia Spencer is at 1/8 (‘The Help’) and looks to have the Best Supporting Actress category sewn up.

Sky Bet is also offering a host of novelty special bets on the Oscars ceremony itself, which takes place at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday, February 26.

Veteran actress, Meryl Streep, accidentally swore onstage at the Globes and Sky Bet goes 7/2 that the Oscars best actress winner turns the air blue again in her acceptance speech. It is even money that the best actress cries during her speech, and 10/1 that any recipient’s address consists of a single ‘Thank you!’

The article ‘The Artist’ Expected to Win Best Picture, According to Sky Bet appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.