Screen Junkies » Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

‘Tinker Tailor Solider Spy’ Producers Planning A Sequel To Lull Us Gently To Sleep

Penn Collins — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 18:13:34 +0000

Spy films are generally some of the most boring films ever made. This opinion may open me up to criticism that I don’t appreciate nuance, delicate tension, etc. Whatever. Spy films move at a snail’s pace, and there seems to be little in the way of differentiation between some of the best and some of the worst.

That said, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was one of the most painful films of the last year to watch. It was long, boring, and at the risk of being redundant, British.

Thank heavens they’re making a sequel to return us to this world. Tim Fellner, head of Working Title studio, made the unsettling statement:

“We are working on another one. Tim Bevan is putting it together as we speak with Peter Straughan and Tomas Alfredson, so yes it’s in development… It did unbelievably well and it didn’t cost hardly anything… But things take time. Tim is passionate about making sure we do another one.”

And now I’m passionate about stopping it from being made.

Gor Blimey, Here Are The 2012 BAFTA Award Winners!

Joseph Gibson — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:44:17 +0000

Tonight, the BAFTA Awards took place. In case you’re some kind of ignorant fool, BAFTA stands for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and many Oscar prognosticators consider the awards useful in predicting the Academy Awards. Anyway, here’s a list of all the big winners, for your reading pleasure.

Best Film: The Artist

Alexander Korda Award for Outstanding British Film of the Year: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, for The Artist

Best Actress: Meryl Streep, for The Iron Lady

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, for Beginners

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, for The Help

David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction: Michel Hazanavicius, for The Artist

Best Original Screenplay: The Artist

Best Adapted Screenplay: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Film not in the English Language: The Skin I Live In

Best Animated Feature Film: Rango

And here’s your obligatory joke about a silent movie winning Best Original Screenplay: Best Original Screenplay!? It’s a silent movie!! Boom.

Why Do We (Or Don’t We) Care About The BAFTAs?

Penn Collins — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:29:24 +0000

It’s Hollywood’s hallowed awards season. And aside from the Oscars and maybe the Golden Globes, the distinctions between the awards offered can be murky at best. You may or may not know that BAFTA stands for “British Academy of Film and Television Arts.” So it’s British, but that’s about all the layperson would know. So, why should they care?

The awards are often considered a decent prognistication of the Oscar outcomes, but honestly, what award ISN’T considered an indicator of Oscar buzz? Let’s take a closer look at the BAFTAs so that you can determine if they’re worth your time and energy.

(Spoiler alert: Unless you’re nominated or a film critic, a walk around the neighborhood might serve you better than tuning into this guy’s ceremony)

What are the BAFTAs?:

The BAFTAs are the annual awards given out by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. While the academy represents both film and television, as the name states, the award ceremonies are delineated so that fans of cinema the world over aren’t subjected to watching a sweep by whatever national program Brits were watching before Downton Abbey.

The Academy has 6,000 or so professionals in the industries of film, television, and, recently, video games. This is important because, unlike the Oscars, which are voted on by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scientists, the BAFTAs are voted on by video game and television professionals as well, which makes them a little less “insder-y” if you want to be diplomatic, and a little less “up their own butt” if you don’t.

They take place at Royal Albert Hall in London in mid-February, always before the Oscars and always after the Golden Globes.

How They’re Judged:

Lucky for you, this is where it gets kind of complicated. What’s that? You didn’t want to spend your weekend studying how the BAFTA Award winners are determined? Tough shit. This is happening.

Around 250 films get entered in all for the various categories. Every Academy member can vote up to 12 times (!) in every category. From there, the 15 with the highest vote totals form the shortlist for each category. Then, each Academy member can vote 5 times for the nominees, creating a shorter shortlist of 5 films per category. From THERE, all Academy members can only vote in the following categories:

Best Film
Leading Actress
Leading Actor
Supporting Actress
Supporting Actor
Film Not in the English Language
Outstanding British Film
Documentary

All of the other categories, like editing and sound, are voted on only by members specific to that field. Of course, to complicate matters, this flow chart (taken from BAFTA’s website) states that there are only 6 universal categories (with the actor and actress categories having two awards each for lead and supporting performances) on which everyone can vote.

Ok. This means that you don’t have some 80 year-old woman who was a child star in the 1940’s voting on Best Sound and Best Visual Effects. That seems to be an edge the BAFTAs have over the Oscars in terms of “accuracy.” However, considering the Oscars are still the alpha dog come awards season, how much does being the rightful winner if someone else gets the biggest award? Probably not much.

What Do They Matter?:

That said, since the BAFTA nominations and awards both precede the Oscars, it’s thought that, more and more, the BAFTAs are influencing Oscar voters, namely by suggesting British films for Oscar nomination that otherwise would have gone unnoticed. So, thanks for that, BAFTAs. They have served as a decent predictor since they moved in between the Golden Globes and Oscars in 2001. Of course, some of the correlation could just be due to the fact that the two academies share some members, who ostensibly vote for the same films for each award.

So, if you find your Sunday night lacking, and wouldn’t mind taking a gander at one of the myriad “Oscars Jr.” ceremonies, tune in to BBC1 at 9 PM British time to watch the Oscars’ last dress rehearsal!

Here is a list of the nominees. Do with it what you will.

Best Film

The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Help
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Film Not in the English Language
Incendies
Pina
Potiche
A Separation
The Skin I Live In

Outstanding British Film
My Week with Marilyn
Senna
Shame
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
We Need to Talk About Kevin

Director
The Artist – Michel Hazanavicius
Drive – Nicolas Winding Refn
Hugo – Martin Scorsese
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Tomas Alfredson
We Need to Talk About Kevin – Lynne Ramsay

Original Screenplay
The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Guard
The Iron Lady
Midnight in Paris

Adapted Screenplay
The Descendants
The Help
The Ides of March
Moneyball
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Cinematography
The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

Editing
The Artist
Drive
Hugo
Senna
Tinker Tailor Solider Spy

Production Design
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

Make Up & Hair
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
The Iron Lady
My Week with Marilyn

Costume Design
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
My Week with Marilyn
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Special Visual Effects
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
War Horse

Documentary
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Project Nim
Senna

Sound
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

Original Music
The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Animated Film
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Arthur Christmas
Rango

Leading Actor
Brad Pitt (Billy Beane) – Moneyball
Gary Oldman (George Smiley) – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
George Clooney (Matt King) – The Descendants
Jean Dujardin (George Valentin) – The Artist
Michael Fassbender (Brandon) – Shame

Leading Actress
Bérénice Bejo (Peppy Miller) – The Artist
Meryl Streep (Margaret Thatcher) – The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams (Marilyn Monroe) – My Week with Marilyn
Tilda Swinton (Eva) – We Need to Talk About Kevin
Viola Davis (Aibileen Clark) – The Help

Supporting Actor
Christopher Plummer (Hal) – Beginners
Jim Broadbent (Denis Thatcher) – The Iron Lady
Jonah Hill (Peter Brand) – Moneyball
Kenneth Branagh (Sir Laurence Olivier) – My Week with Marilyn
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Paul Zara) – The Ides of March

Supporting Actress
Carey Mulligan (Irene) – Drive
Jessica Chastain (Celia Foote) – The Help
Judi Dench (Dame Sybil Thorndike) – My Week with Marilyn
Melissa McCarthy (Megan) – Bridesmaids
Octavia Spencer (Minny Jackson) – The Help

OH! And if you’ve made it this far, you deserve a little Easter egg. Miss Piggy is the BAFTAs red carpet host. Which is pretty neat.

Caption This ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ Pic, And Win $135 Worth Of Cool Stuff

Jame Gumb — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:30:11 +0000

Want to win $135 worth of cool crap? Well then, you’ve come to the right website. Our friends with benefits over at Focus Features are putting up a ton of cool prizes for our Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy caption contest. All you have to do is come up with the funniest caption, and you’ll win all this stuff? What kind of stuff? I’m glad you asked.

One winner will receive:

• $50 Fandango Gift Card
• T-Shirt
• Voice Recorder Pen
• Post-it Note Cube
• Movie Tie-in Book
• Soundtrack
• Luxury Chess Set

So there you have it. Now say something funny in the comment section. And be sure to check out Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which hits theaters everywhere January 6th.

Thanks for playing.

7 Spy Movies That Make Espionage Boring

Penn Collins — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 23:43:30 +0000

As one gets older, a little more worldly, and a little more sophisticated, they realize that spies aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. The paradigm shifts away from James Bond, the quintessential spy, to bureaucratic schlubs that sit behind desks and have probably never worn a trench coat in their lives. It’s disheartening. As such, we find out that most spy films don’t feature fake passports, dead drops, and, in the case of the Bourne series, fights with rolled-up magazines.

Rather, the more realistic portrayals involve patient power struggles, leveraging the media, public perception, diplomacy, and (sigh) peaceful resolutions. Not a single one of them looks or acts like Austin Powers.

Here are seven movies that support my decision at 11 years old to not become a spy. Spying’s dumb.

Spy Game

Brad Pitt gets captured after trying to rescue a detainee from a Chinese prison. He will be killed in 24 hours unless the US comes forward and claims him. Sounds pretty exciting, right? Nope. The United States relies on his mentor, played by Robert Redford, to help them get some info on the captured agent. However, they actually are hoping he digs up dirt on Pitt so that they can let him die with a clear conscience. The film is peppered with flashbacks to Berlin and Lebanon when the two agents worked together.

It all works out, and very few people die. Such crap.

Breach

This spy film is based on a true story, so you just know it’s going to be boring. Robert Hannsen (played very well by Chris Cooper) was a CIA agent who was eventually convicted of spying for the Soviet Union, then Russia. But lest you think he’s some suave international man of mystery, think again. He’s a devout Catholic, a member of Opus Dei in fact, who convinces his clerk, Eric O’Neill (played by Ryan Phillippe) to resume churchgoing.

Phillippe finds that his original assignment, investigating allegations of Hannssen’s sexual deviancy, is a front for suspicions of treason. After surveiling him ad nauseum, the CIA catches Hanssen in the act of treason and arrests him. O’Neill becomes disillusioned and resigns to work in the private sector, possibly for Haliburton or something.

‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ Rolls Out An Awesome Trailer

Wookie Johnson — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:35:56 +0000

From the looks of this new trailer, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy looks like it will be this year’s best film about British guys not trusting one another.

Set during the Cold War, Gary Oldman stars as a former MI6 agent to root out a mole in the upper echelons of the agency. Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong, Toby Jones, John Hurt, Stephen Graham also star. The earlier teaser focused on Cumberbatch’s character whereas this one centers more on Tom Hardy, who first learns of the double-agent and brings the information to the organization. But can he be trusted? I say just fire the whole lot of them.

One Of These Men Is A Mole In ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ Teaser

Wookie Johnson — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 12:33:31 +0000

Super 8 drew unexpected backlash from people who need to have opinions about things because they felt the film looked too Spielbergish. However, I doubt that Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy will draw criticism for its retro 1970′s English vibe.

The English-language debut from Let The Right One In director Tomas Alfredson, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy stars Gary Oldman as a spy in the British Intelligence community trying to uproot a mole amongst its ranks. He sends British Namey Award Winner 2010 Benedict Cumberbatch to investigate five high-ranked agents to figure out which one it is. It turns into a race against time as the mole blows the cover of the best agents. And Colin Firth looks wicked guilty.

‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’ To Tinker In November

Geoffrey Golden — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 01:02:22 +0000

You know what’s a funny word? “Tinker.” Just thought I’d throw that out there.

Moving right along, Focus Features has announced a release date for Swedish filmmaker Tomas Alfredson’s new film, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The cast includes a few folks bat-swiped from The Dark Knight Rises, Gary Oldman and Tom Hardy, not to mention Colin Firth and Mark Strong. The spy drama will be released November 18, 2011.

3 photosNew ‘Dark Knight Rises’ Set Photos And The Secret Of Bane’s Ooze

Based on the novel by John Le Carre, Tinker, Tailor tells the story of a spy named George Smiley (Oldman), who must come out of retirement, tasked with finding a mole in British Secret Intelligence Service during the Cold War. This one’s got a lot of Oscar buzz around it, hence the November release. Also getting released that weekend are The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 and Happy Feet Two, two other serious Best Picture contenders. (Variety)

‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’ Aiming For Your Oscar Pool Next Year

Wookie Johnson — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 20:11:06 +0000

People sure are loving that Colin Firth. Last night he took home acting’s top prize and he’s picking up more roles than a clumsy baker. Talk about a regular Treat Williams.

Universal has just picked up Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, a film featuring Firth and Tom Hardy. Directed by Let The Right One In director Tomas Alfredson, the adaptation of the classic spy thriller centers around a British spy who must root out a mole within the highest levels of his organization. Oooo, I can sense a lot of intense Firth staring.

Both Summit and The Weinstein Company chased this one hard, but the win went to Universal. The film is currently in post and being prepped for awards season next year. So when you see Tom Hardy at next year’s Oscars with a surprising beard, you’ll know why. (Deadline)