..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..R.J. Matson
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Michael Wilmington

Youthful Digression

Is it just me, or might 2005 pan out to be a showcase season for the next generation of filmmaking talent?

Among the bevy of perceived awards-caliber films in play, as well as those coming down the pike, I count 13 coming from filmmakers with less than four feature films to their directorial credit. It would have been 15 if not for the exit of Steven Zaillian's All the King's Men last week, and my decision to leave off The New World, Terrence Malick's fourth film in 30 years, as I doubt anyone would consider him a novice.

Even so, this is a season with considerable awards product coming from the youth of the industry, youth being a term I use figuratively. It seems a story worth considering more so this year than in any other year.

George Clooney has offered up a sophomore effort in Good Night, and Good Luck. that has become one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year.

Paul Haggis's ensemble drama Crash - touted as his directorial debut, but actually is second feature - stirred awards frenzy as far back as May.

The second helming endeavor from Bennett Miller (his first narrative feature) has likely paved the way for Philip Seymour Hoffman's first Academy Award nomination, with other potential notices within reach.

With their second and third films respectively, Rob Marshall and Sam Mendes offer perceived Oscar heavies in Memoirs of a Geisha and Jarhead.

Susan Stroman will leap from stage to screen with her first film, The Producers, the foundation for which is material already proven to be both Oscar and Tony worthy.

And Andrew Adamson is on his first live action venture with The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Adamson's Shrek installments were his initiation into the directorial arena of the business after a career in visual effects.

Craig Brewer, Noah Baumbach, Stephen Gaghan, Nikki Caro, Fernando Meirelles and Thomas Bezucha round out the list. One could even be so bold as to include Christopher Nolan and Shane Black, both adding well-received action films into the mix. Black finally makes his directorial debut after a lengthy stint as an action screenwriter, while Nolan's fourth feature undertaking fleshes a living, breathing character study out of an iconic DC Comics superhero.

The true veterans we find in play are few and far between, even if they are token faces in a film awards season. Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, Ang Lee and Stephen Frears - with a David Cronenberg here and a Ron Howard there.

I refrain from adding James Mangold and Curtis Hanson here, as I wouldn't deem them "veterans" per se. But regardless, the feisty and driven juvenescence seems set to out-number the tried and true directorially accustomed this season.

Every Best Picture line-up of the past 15 years, with the exceptions of 1992 and 2000, has boasted at least two contenders that came from directors embarking on the first, second or third feature projects. It isn't a frequent scenario to find an overabundance of seasoned vets in the mix for the top prize. That may or may not say something about the Academy's penchant for sniffing out new blood or flavors of the week each and every season, but it's something to take into account when analyzing an Oscar race all the same.

So, if we're to adhere to formula, two or more of the 13 directors mentioned above should place films in the final five.

Jarhead is out. The film is too distant and not in the league of Apocalypse Now or Platoon.

Hustle & Flow, The Squid and the Whale and Capote are all too tiny and performance-based.

Good Night, and Good Luck. looks better by the day, with disappointing contenders opening and others being moved out of the way, but it would take a significant amount of love within the Academy to rally a film this claustrophobic and minute into a major Oscar contender. It's not over yet, however.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe could suffer from Rings fatigue, if there is such a thing. At the very least it will be held to that standard, which is not a good thing.

The Family Stone may just be poised to be forgotten or overlooked with a new release date in the middle of the fray, while The Constant Gardener is already forgotten two months after release.

That leaves us with three.

Memoirs of a Geisha looks even better with full concentration from the studio, rather than splitting the focus with All the King's Men.

The Producers is chasing the same demographic as Mrs. Henderson Presents and a film that should not be counted out just yet, Cinderella Man.

And Crash, the year's first major awards player, is still lurking in the mix with an eager Lions Gate campaign pushing strong.

If I had to pick one, I'd go with Memoirs of a Geisha. Push me for two, I'd have to say The Producers over Crash purely for demographic reasons, but I still don't see that scenario panning out. Regardless, when the dust settles, we're virtually assured one or a few youthful candidates will be ushered into the realm of Oscar.

Who's it going to be?

October 25, 2005

Previous Oscartown Columns
9/01/05 - A Brave New 'Wood?
10/18/05 - Nothing New, Nothing Old... A Whole Lot of Nothing

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