Moviefone Editorial

Tag: @movieid:20083907

  • ‘Manchester by the Sea’ Allegedly ‘Inspired’ Couple to Kill Teen Son

    MBTS_3869.CR2This is beyond appalling.

    The fact is that a 16-year-old boy from upstate New York is dead. The prosecutor’s allegation is that the parents of that teen watched the movie “Manchester by the Sea,” got inspired by the horrific plotline, murdered their adopted son with special needs, then tried to cover it up with a fire.

    Norwich, N.Y. news station WBNG reported from the transcript of the recent bail review for Heather Franklin, 33, and Ernest Franklin II, 35, charged with murder, arson, and tampering with physical evidence in the death of Jeffrey Franklin, 16.

    According to the transcript, District Attorney Joseph McBride told the judge the Franklins adopted Jeffrey, a foster child with special needs, in 2012. His needs were said to be a “handful” for the parents, in that he had “bowel issues and he had urine control issues” and that was said to put “a very big strain in the family relationship,” and Heather Franklin complained on Facebook about the strain that was putting on her.

    So, to free themselves from this burden, they allegedly killed him.

    Spoiler alert: Spoilers from the plot of “Manchester by the Sea” after this point.

    McBride continued:

    “Judge, in this particular case, the defendant and her husband, co-defendant, were at home with Jeffrey on the night of February 28th. That night, according to this defendant, she watched a movie called ‘Manchester by the Sea.’ And in that movie, Judge, the main character in that movie kills his children by an accidental fire and is told in the movie that you can’t be prosecuted for accidentally killing your children, and within two hours of that movie playing to this defendant and her husband, Jeffrey’s deceased. She inexplicably left the house, driving around Chenango County and Delaware County, and doesn’t return until the fire totally engulfs the house.”

    Heather Franklin reportedly told police she went to a couple of stores looking for a certain drug, and that’s why she wasn’t at home. Prosecutors claimed to have evidence showing she didn’t go to the aisles that had the drug in either store.

    For the husband’s part, Ernest Franklin claimed that the fire was started at his house accidentally when his wife happened to be out shopping (just like Casey Affleck’s character in “Manchester by the Sea”) and he happened to leave the dogs outside.

    As McBride put it:

    “No one else was left in the house, and [Ernest Franklin], with all due respect, was not injured in any way trying to save the alleged — the victim in this particular case. […] There was evidence at the time that the police arrived, the defendant was very calm, cool, collected and pointed to the room where Jeffrey was lying and the defendant had no physical injuries from any attempt to try to save him. It later turned out, Judge, that after the examination of the — of the victim’s body, it was determined that the victim was killed before the fire and that there were no natural causes.”

    The prosecutor alleged that, based on evidence, Jeffrey Franklin didn’t have any smoke or soot in his mouth, trachea, or bronchi, which would be present if he had died in a fire.

    According to WBNG, no trial date has been set at this point.

    You can’t blame “Manchester by the Sea” for this, but it does show how disturbed minds can find “inspiration” for their (alleged) evil deeds just about anywhere, including in a heartbreaking Oscar-winning movie.

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  • Oscars 2017: Casey Affleck Wins Best Actor

    And the winner for Best Actor is … Casey Affleck for “Manchester By the Sea.”

    While Denzel Washington was the front-runner, Affleck surprised (nearly) everyone with his win, upsetting odds makers who’d pegged Washington as all but a sure thing. Affleck’s win is also the second Oscar to go to “Manchester by the Sea.” The movie’s writer/director, Kenneth Lonergan, won Best Original Screenplay earlier in the ceremony.

    The five Best Actor nominees at this year’s Academy Awards were Casey Affleck for “Manchester By the Sea,” Denzel Washington for “Fences,” “Andrew Garfield for “Hacksaw Ridge,” Ryan Gosling for “La La Land,” and Viggo Mortensen for “Captain Fantastic.”

  • Matt Damon Slams ‘Grotesque’ Oscars Campaign Season

    88th Annual Academy Awards Nominee Luncheon - ArrivalsTrying to win an Oscar can be gross. Just ask Matt Damon.

    He already has an Academy Award for co-writing “Good Will Hunting,” and he’s been nominated as an actor three times — Best Actor for “Good Will Hunting” and “The Martian,” and Best Supporting Actor for “Invictus.” Now he’s back on the nominee list in 2017 as a producer of “Manchester by the Sea.”

    Actors-writers Matt Damon (L) and Ben Affleck (R)Damon just talked to The Hollywood Reporter about making “Manchester by the Sea,” his frenemy Jimmy Kimmel as this year’s host, and how repulsed he is by the very political process of campaigning for Oscar votes.

    Here’s a portion of the Q&A:

    How has the Oscar-going experience changed over the years?

    With ‘Good Will Hunting,’ that was kind of the start of campaigning. I went through that experience and then didn’t go again for years. Then I was nominated as a supporting actor but didn’t really participate a lot. Then, last year with ‘The Martian,’ I ended up at a bunch of these cocktail parties and it was just so grotesque. It had been accepted that there was a whole season and we all were expected to treat it almost like a political campaign. It felt like it had gotten out of control. It seemed like that Harvey Weinstein, full-court press [worked]. Now I’m wondering if those days are over. I certainly hope they are.

    Do you have any advice for host Jimmy Kimmel?

    Evidently, he said that he doesn’t care at all who wins as long as I lose. I tried to get on his Oscar show last year. I mean, I was nominated; he still didn’t let me on. Somebody asked me, ‘Do [you] want him to do bad?’ I just want him to live up to my extremely low expectations.

    Ah, the Matt-and-Jimmy feud never gets old. But it’s interesting to hear about these self-promotion parties from the perspective of a nominated actor.

    88th Annual Academy Awards Nominee Luncheon - ArrivalsIn 2016 Damon was up against Bryan Cranston in “Trumbo”; Michael Fassbender in “Steve Jobs”; Eddie Redmayne in “The Danish Girl”; and Leonardo DiCaprio, who won for “The Revenant.” So they probably suffered through the same forced cocktail party chit-chat together. It’s like you have to do several month’s worth of extra acting on top of the nominated role. But Leo was going to win that thing no matter what, so you could argue that the campaigning was a waste of time and effort, as well as just a “grotesque” way of selling yourself.

    The 2017 Oscars air Sunday, Feb. 26 on ABC. Here’s the full list of nominations.

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  • This Year’s Oscar Race Is Gonna Get Ugly

    Remember this column’s hope, expressed last week, that the sheer excellence of this year’s nominees might keep the Oscar race from getting ugly and political? Well, that was awfully naive.

    After watching Sunday’s Screen Actors Guild Awards, it’s clear that there’s no keeping politics out of this year’s Oscars. From the speeches made by many of the winners, it’s apparent that much of Hollywood is worked up over POTUS’ actions, particularly his travel ban. Even if such sentiments don’t directly influence the way Academy members vote, there are sure to be similar fiery speeches throughout Oscar night, no matter who wins.
    20151023_Moonlight_D08_C1_K1_0878.tifIf Academy voters followed the example of the Screen Actors Guild members, not just with their speechmaking but also with their awards picks, we might have a very different race from the one pundits are predicting. Three of the four SAG acting winners were African-Americans (Mahershala Ali of “Moonlight” and Viola Davis and Denzel Washington of “Fences“). The evening’s top prize, Best Ensemble (the SAG equivalent of Best Picture), was an upset victory for the predominantly African-American cast of historical drama “Hidden Figures,” while Oscar front-runner “La La Land” wasn’t even nominated (guess the actors didn’t consider the Ryan Gosling–Emma Stone vehicle an ensemble piece).

    It’s true, there’s some overlap between the Guild membership and the Academy, where actors make up the largest voting branch. Over the years, the SAGs have had a success rate above 70 percent for picking individual acting winners at the Oscars. And Ali and Davis were already the oddsmakers’ favorites for Supporting Acting Oscars.
    With Washington’s surprise victory over Casey Affleck (“Manchester by the Sea“) for the SAG Best Actor prize, the SAGs have now made the Academy’s Best Actor slot a real competition, the toughest call among the major categories.

    But the Oscars are unlikely to echo the SAG preference for “Hidden Figures.” For one thing, the SAG membership goes for female-driven ensembles a lot more often than the Academy does; for instance, they picked “Little Miss Sunshine” over eventual Oscar-winner “The Departed” and “The Help” over “The Artist.” (For all the talk about racial parity among this year’s Academy Award nominees, few have mentioned that Best Picture and most behind-the-camera categories remain overwhelmingly male-dominated.)

    Don’t count “La La Land” out for Best Picture — it still won all the other important precursor awards. Over the weekend, it won the Producers Guild prize, which, like the Oscars, uses a preferential ballot, and which has correctly predicted the eventual Best Picture trophy winner more than two-thirds of the time.

    “La La Land” also won the American Cinema Editors’ Eddie award for Best Edited Comedy or Musical. (Like the Golden Globes, the ACE Eddies have separate categories for comedy/musical and drama; the drama prize went to Best Picture Oscar nominee “Arrival“). By the way, Oscar pool pickers, the cartoon feature prize at both the PGA and ACE awards went to tolerance parable “Zootopia,” so pencil that one in for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
    Even SAG voters weren’t immune from “La La” mania. They gave the Best Actress trophy to Emma Stone, who cemented her place as the Oscar front-runner.

    And even Stone, whose movie doesn’t carry a weighty message about what life is like for marginalized people in America, felt compelled to mention contemporary politics in her SAG speech. Academy voters could grant the frothy musical romance a sweep in its nominated categories, and they still might not be able to avoid having the winners complain about politics.

    Will that make a difference to Oscar voters? There’s still a lot that can happen between now and February 13, the day Academy members receive their final ballots. This week alone, guilds representing the directors, cinematographers, animators, and visual effects artists will hand out their prizes.

    Still, the inevitability of political speeches from the Dolby Theatre podium could free up Academy members to decide they don’t have to make political statements with their votes, since the winners will make them no matter who they are.

    Maybe we’re still being naive, but couldn’t that mean that voters will be free to pick favorites based on merit alone?

  • Constance Wu: Casey Affleck’s Oscar Win Will Be ‘a Nod to Trump’

    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Hosts an Official Academy Screening of MANCHESTER BY THE SEA“Fresh Off the Boat,” is upset about Casey Affleck’s Best Actor Oscar nomination for “Manchester by the Sea.”

    She doesn’t appear to have an issue with the film itself, she’s frustrated because Affleck had been the focus of sexual harassment allegations, but whatever he did or did not do was never brought up for serious discussion, and it never got in the way of his awards campaign. (In 2010, Affleck settled sexual harassment lawsuits filed by two women — a producer and cinematographer — from the set of his Joaquin Phoenix mockumentary “I’m Still Here.”)

    To Wu — and others who have brought up the allegations — Affleck got a free pass, and he’ll probably ride that free pass to the podium.

    The 22nd Annual Critics' Choice Awards - ArrivalsThe 2017 Oscar nominations were released Jan. 24, and right afterward Wu tweeted her strong reactions. She’s not taking the posts down either, even after admitting she was told it would be better for her career not to go there.

    A lot more people know Casey Affleck than Constance Wu, and that stardom has power. But she is not the only one to wonder why some people aren’t even questioned about their pasts, while others are ostracized for alleged behavior. (Nate Parker’s 1999 rape scandal — he was found not guilty, but it’s complicated — and its affect on his 2016 film “Birth of a Nation” have been referenced a lot in comparison. But, heck, Katherine Heigl stopped getting work just for daring to criticize “Knocked Up,” and she still can’t get through interviews without being asked about allegations that she’s “difficult.”)

    This is Affleck’s second nomination, after his Best Supporting Actor nod for 2007’s “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.” Asked by Entertainment Weekly to compare the two experiences, he said, “I just didn’t know jack back then — I wasn’t smart enough to appreciate what it really means to have all these people who you’ve seen forever and admired as actors and artists to acknowledge you. I wasn’t able to take that in and appreciate what was good about that moment. This just feels a bit calmer and better and deeper and nicer.”

    The Oscars will be awarded Sunday, Feb. 26 on ABC.

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  • Sylvester Stallone & Casey Affleck Had a Mean Girls Tiff at Golden Globes: Reports

    74th Annual Golden Globe Awards - ArrivalsYou can’t sit with the cool kids, Sly. Just take your lunch and eat it in the bathroom stall.

    Sylvester Stallone‘s daughters were Miss Golden Globes at Sunday’s 2017 Golden Globe Awards, and maybe he should’ve just gone up on stage to stand with them, ’cause he did not have a seat. Or his wife did not have a seat. Apparently there was some kind of seating mixup at his assigned table, which was with the “Manchester by the Sea” crowd — star Casey Affleck, film producer Matt Damon, and writer/director Kenneth Lonergan.

    Turns out, there was only one seat left at the table, so Stallone and his wife Jennifer Flavin were left in an awkward position. When Casey Affleck later tried to apologize over the confusion — even though he wasn’t exactly in charge of seating arrangements, so it wasn’t his fault — Stallone reportedly told him off.

    Full diva!

    A source told People that, when the seating mistake first became clear, no one made an effort to accommodate the Stallones, “who grew frustrated and seemingly embarrassed, and eventually retreated to the green room backstage. The couple would not return to the table and watched the show from backstage instead.” A second source confirmed “confusion” over seating but said there was no ill will toward Stallone from Affleck, Damon, or anyone else. (What were the actors supposed to do? It would’ve been kind to help them find another seat, but it’s not like Sly Stallone is some kind of shrinking violet who can’t solve his own problems.)

    People was told that an additional chair was brought to the table, and seats facing the stage were freed up. But by that point Stallone had taken his ball and gone home, or at least to the green room.

    74th Annual Golden Globe Awards - Press RoomAfter Affleck won his Golden Globe, he crossed paths with Stallone in the green room and reportedly tried to apologize for the seating issue. Stallone was reportedly “not receptive,” which is rude, since it’s not like it’s Casey Affleck’s fault. If anyone had a right to be at the table, it’s the guy who was nominated and then won.

    A Globes insider shared more details with Page Six:

    “This wasn’t the fault of anyone from ‘Manchester by the Sea.’ Stallone and his wife came to the table late, as the show was starting, and when they got there, there was only one seat available. It was a mix-up by the organizers, as the ‘Manchester by the Sea’ group were all in their proper seats and didn’t take one of Stallone’s seats. Stallone immediately went backstage to watch as Jimmy Fallon started his opening. But when the first break came, a production worker for the show brought out an extra chair to make room for Stallone and his wife. They had the best two seats facing the stage.”

    But he didn’t want the seats by then. A second source told Page Six that Casey Affleck was mortified about the Stallone seating mix-up, and when he tried to smooth things over backstage, Rocky told him, “Get out of my face.”

    Stallone’s rep had this to say to People: “The story you refer to is an interesting rumor – but a rumor nonetheless. Sylvester Stallone had a wonderful evening attending and presenting at the Golden Globes and celebrating with his family and friends.”

    Moral of the story: One should always show up to events on time, especially live events that will not accommodate the fashionably late, so any issues can be resolved before it’s too late. Second moral: If an issue does arise, don’t be a diva about it.

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  • Ben Affleck Gets Revenge on Brother Casey for Not Thanking Him at Golden Globes

    Amazon Studios Golden Globes CelebrationCasey Affleck thanked a lot of people after winning the Golden Globe for best actor in a drama for “Manchester By the Sea.” But he didn’t mention one person — his brother. And Ben Affleck isn’t about to let him get away with it.

    On an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Ben ruefully noted that Casey thanked “a s— load of people,” including Amazon (a producer) and Matt Damon (also a producer). “I was a little taken aback,” Ben joked of being left off the long list.

    Kimmel even played a clip of Ben thanking Casey when he won his first Oscar for writing “Good Will Hunting.” But soon, Ben got his revenge by revealing all the dirt he acquired from growing up with Casey.

    “This would be the very first time someone would win an Oscar who didn’t brush his teeth from ages 10 to 14,” Ben said. “It would be the very first time that someone wins an Oscar who pulls his pants all the way down at the urinal. Most Oscar winners don’t do that.”

    Well, Casey, better start tweaking your Oscar speech. Big brother is watching you.

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  • National Board of Review Names ‘Manchester by the Sea’ Best Film of 2016

    manchester by the sea, national board of review, casey affleck, lucas hedgesThe National Board of Review has revealed its top choice for best film of 2016, with “Manchester by the Sea” nabbing the high-profile honor.

    “Manchester” centers around a man (played by Casey Affleck) who must care for his nephew (played by Lucas Hedges) after the boy’s father dies. Both Affleck and Hedges were given awards from NBR for their roles (Affleck cited for best actor, Hedges cited for best male breakthrough performance), and writer-director Kenneth Lonergan was honored with the Best Original Screenplay award.

    Other notable highlights from NBR’s 2016 awards include Best Animated Feature winner “Kubo and the Two Strings” (which beat out more high-profile fare like “Zootopia” and “Moana“) and Best Actress winner Amy Adams (edging out Oscar favorites Natalie Portman and Emma Stone). Also surprising was the lack of honors for “Fences,” the adaptation of the Tony-winning play, starring Denzel Washington (who also directed) and Viola Davis (considered a lock for an Academy Award nomination).

    The full list of winners is below. The awards will be given out at a National Board of Review gala in New York City on January 4, 2017.

    • Best Film: “Manchester by the Sea”
    • Best Director: Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight”
    • Best Actor: Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”
    • Best Actress: Amy Adams, “Arrival”
    • Best Supporting Actor: Jeff Bridges, “Hell or High Water”
    • Best Supporting Actress: Naomie Harris, “Moonlight”
    • Best Original Screenplay: Kenneth Lonergan, “Manchester by the Sea”
    • Best Adapted Screenplay: Jay Cocks and Martin Scorsese, “Silence”
    • Best Animated Feature: “Kubo and the Two Strings”
    • Breakthrough Performance (Male): Lucas Hedges, “Manchester by the Sea”
    • Breakthrough Performance (Female): Royalty Hightower, “The Fits”
    • Best Directorial Debut: Trey Edward Shults, “Krisha”
    • Best Foreign Language Film: “The Salesman”
    • Best Documentary: “O.J.: Made in America”
    • Best Ensemble: “Hidden Figures”
    • Spotlight Award: Creative Collaboration of Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg
    • NBR Freedom of Expression Award: “Cameraperson”

    TOP FILMS

    • “Arrival”
    • “Hacksaw Ridge”
    • “Hail, Caesar!”
    • “Hell or High Water”
    • “Hidden Figures”
    • “La La Land”
    • “Moonlight”
    • “Patriot’s Day”
    • “Silence”
    • “Sully”

    TOP FIVE FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILMS

    • “Elle”
    • “The Handmaiden”
    • “Julieta”
    • “Land of Mine”
    • “Neruda”

    TOP FIVE DOCUMENTARIES

    • “De Palma”
    • “The Eagle Huntress”
    • “Gleason”
    • “Life, Animated”
    • “Miss Sharon Jones!”

    TOP 10 INDEPENDENT FILMS

    • “20th Century Women”
    • “Captain Fantastic”
    • “Creative Control”
    • “Eye in the Sky”
    • “The Fits”
    • “Green Room”
    • “Hello, My Name is Doris”
    • “Keisha”
    • “Morris from America”
    • “Sing Street”

    [via: The Playlist]

    Photo credit: Amazon Studios

  • Oscar Talk, Kenneth Lonergan Interview: CAN’T WAIT! Podcast Ep. 5

    Oscar Talk, Kenneth Lonergan Interview CAN'T WAIT! Podcast Ep 5So many Oscar contenders, so little time.

    In this week’s nearly Rachel Horner-free episode of CAN’T WAIT!, the Moviefone crew (Tim Hayne, Phil Pirrello, and Tony Maccio) do their best to filter through the onslaught of current Oscar frontrunners and come up with some best guesses as to who and what will be nominated. (Spoiler alert: All categories belong to the 1995 comedy classic “Heavyweights.” Not really, but you’ll get the reference if you listen to the podcast.)

    Director Kenneth Lonergan joins the podcast in the midst of our Oscars analysis, chatting with Phil about topics ranging from his Oscar-buzz-worthy “Manchester by the Sea” to his love of “Star Trek” and how it plays into the Casey Affleck-starring drama. Phil may or may not have called him Kenny. Also, apologies for the audio quality this time around — we’re still working out a few kinks with the on-location sessions.

    After mentioning a few more Academy Award-worthy movies that we haven’t seen but would like to at some point in our lives, we venture into recommendation territory. Noticeably absent Rachel Horner blesses us with her recommendation(s) from the road, while Tony and Phil offer up their picks from the comfort of the studio. Tim, on the other hand, contributes nothing.

    CAN’T WAIT! A Movie Lover’s Podcast Episode 5

    Here’s the rundown:

    • Intro: 0:00 – 0:49
    • Oscar talk: 0:49 – 22:36
    • Kenneth Lonergan interview: 22:37 – 40:39
    • More Oscar talk: 40:39 – 58:18
    • Recommendations: 58:18 – 1:04:13

    Total runtime: 1:04:13

    Subscribe to the CAN’T WAIT! podcast:

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  • The Trailer for Oscar Hopeful ‘Manchester by the Sea’ Will Leave You Emotionally Wrecked

    Manchester By the Sea“Manchester by the Sea” debuted at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year to universal acclaim and was subsequently bought by Amazon Studios for a whopping $10 million. And you can see why Kenneth Lonergan’s latest film had such an impact in the first emotional, stirring trailer.

    Casey Affleck stars as Lee Chandler, a Boston janitor who returns to his hometown after the death of his brother (Kyle Chandler). He’s shocked to learn that he’s been given guardianship over his teen nephew (Lucas Hedges). He struggles with being a father figure, as well as with ghosts from his past, including his estranged wife Randi (Michelle Williams).'Manchester by the Sea' (2016) Trailer

    “Manchester by the Sea” is already generating Oscar buzz, thanks to the rave reviews it received at Sundance. The performances by Affleck and Williams look top-notch from the trailer, and the movie will undoubtedly get even more acclaim after it screens at the New York and Toronto Film Festivals.

    “Manchester by the Sea” is set to open in theaters November 18.