Hammond: Scorseses Hugo Takes Hollywood; Is It A Best Picture Contender Or Pretender?

Another piece of this year’s Oscarmovie puzzlewas unveiled in a big way this weekend when Paramount rolled out Martin Scorsese’s 99.9% finished version of his first family film, 3D film and perhaps most personalfilm.Hugo, an ode to the early days of cinema and the eye-popping possibilities of movies. In an intriguing and highly unusual move , Paramount held a packed screening, with tons of invited press and bloggers included, at Regal’s Downtown LA Live theatres Saturday afternoon. Then that night they also played it atthe Samuel Goldwyn Theatrein Beverly Hills for the Academy’sofficial membership screening. That last move was interesting since most films play either weekend of opening or after for the Acad (although The Weinstein Co. is unspoolingtheir much praised ode to the early days of cinema, The Artist for its officialAcademy screening Sunday night). But it is extremely rare to show voters something that is still unfinished (one special effects shot was missing and the end credits are far from complete) but this film’s media rollout has been different from the start. It was first unleashed in a much less finished form at the NY Film Festival last month as a “work in progress.” Reaction on the web was all over the place, generally favorable, but did not signal a major awards contender outside of the obvious technical nominations for the film’s stunning look. That screening in hindsight may have been a miscalculation. This week things began to heat up. Paramount had a couple of “tastemaker” screenings for AMPAS membersa few days ago(one evening, one during lunchtime)where the median age range was said to be 60-plus with 50 members reportedlyat each. There were also reportedly80 members who checked in for the Regal screening that was accompanied by a livelypost Q&A moderated by director Paul Thomas Andersonwith Scorsese and his dream team of much-Oscaredcollaborators including DP Robert Richardson, production designer Dante Ferretti, editor Thelma Schoonmaker, composer Howard Shoreand visual effects supervisor Rob Legato. Scorsese received a highly enthusiastic standing ovation when he was introduced just as he did again today after a DGA screening for aQ&Amoderated byJames Cameron who told himthat Hugo was a “masterpiece.” He added “finally there is a Scorsese film I can take my kids to.”Musician Slash was among those also there and he latertweeted “Fantastic movie! NOT just for kids.” Before now I never sensed Paramount was positioning this film as a major Best Picturecontender but apparently with just 2 weeks to go before its November 23 opening they are letting the catout of the bag. In fact that is just the description one Par stafferemailed to describe the emerging campaigntelling methey now think it can possibly go all the way. “The Oscar pic no one saw coming. Stealthy. It is playing like gangbusters with the Academy. The cat is outof the bag,” it read. Another person connected with the film reported on last night’sprimetimeSaturday night Academy screening,spinning that there were about 450-500 memberswith their guests and that it was “looooooved”with solid, sustained applause and appreciation for “Scorsese’s homage to their industry.” This person feels it will now be a solid contender inmost major categories and “across the board” in crafts. Wishful thinking or based on truth? The attendance figure at the Acad screening is middling, nowhere near the packed houses for other recent Oscar contenders Midnight In Paris, Moneyball, The Ides of March to name three that nearly filled the place. Despite Scorsese’s name, part of the problem might be that it is currentlyperceived as more of a 3D kids film by Academy members who generally don’t lavish Oscar attention on that genre. Paramounties are positioning it as something with equal or even greater adult appeal and I would agree, if you can work them to a winter’s passion to see it the way it should be seen. It’s much more ambitious than the average studio family holiday offering. At the very least it’s definitely got HUGE film freakappeal (count me as one of those). Scorsese working at the absolute top of his game may be key to getting those older butts in seats.From my perspective it is a masterpiece of personal filmmakingalong the lines of Fellini’s Amarcord, Truffaut’s Day for Night and Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso. It goes without saying that the craftsmanship is as good as it gets and for those who can’t stand 3D this could be a game changer. Critic Leonard Maltin (who loved it) commented after the Regalscreening that oneextraordinary use of 3D in ascene involving co-starSacha Baron Cohen’s face moving progressively closer into the audience could be the one that “finally makes the3Dsale” to those who just think it’s a fad. I talked to producer Graham King in the lobby afterward and he said he was actually nervous that they were “finally” showing the film in its (near) finished state but couldn’t wait to have people see it — and see it on a big screen. “I really don’t want to send out the DVD screeners (to voting groups). I guess I have to but it kills me. It is not the way to see a movie like this,” he said. well aware that screeners are the reality of Oscar campaigning. He’s right, though, and films from master filmmakers that arehigh on the visually artistic scale ofHugo, War Horse and Tree of Life among otherswill undoubtedly be diminished significantly on the home video format. With looser Academy rules this yearregarding once-verbotenattendance of members where there are Q&As perhaps the numbers of voters seeing these films in theatres will increase. That would be a good thing all around, and especially for Hugo. Based on Brian Selznick’s children’s book, The Invention ofHugo Cabret,screenwriter John Logan and Scorsese have certainly retained thosefantasticalstory elements to which kids will relate, but it isin the film’s second half with a plot involving film pioneer Georges Melies (strongly played by Ben Kingsley)and his lost silentmoviesthat the connection to the wonderment ofcinemacomes alivein the hands of film aficionado Scorsese. “I’m hoping it will be educational for the audience,” King told me. Certainly it will inspire new generations of movie dreamersas well asthose who are already living the dream (in other words, the Academy). I would be shocked if some of Scorsese’s chief competitors in the Oscar race this year, Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen and Alexander Payne — film nerds all — aren’t completely in agreement with Cameron’s assessment of the film. The sequence recreating the making of Melies’ classic, A Trip to the Moon is a must for cineastes. It will befascinating to see how deftly Paramount can try to steer what on the page is a 3D kids movie, albeit a sophisticated one directed by Martin Scorsese, into a Best Picture race that just got more interesting.