Jane Heller

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Not the Oscars but Almost

February 28, 2016

Brie Larson Spirit

That’s Brie Larson during her moving acceptance speech for Best Actress for “Room” at yesterday’s Film Independent Spirit Awards. I was sitting close enough to snap the pic. After years of couch-potato-watching the show, which takes place the day before the Oscars in a huge tent on the beach in Santa Monica, I was invited by my super cool pals at Bank of America, one of the event’s biggest sponsors, to attend, and our table was front and center.

Michael and I arrived at the pier where hundreds of film industry folks were gathered, and we were mobbed by people wanting our autograph (just kidding). A guy did ask me if I was a singer; he said I looked like a rock star. I’m guessing he was drunk.

me at spirit awards

Nobody on the red carpet shouted, “Jane, who are you wearing?” But if they had, I would have said, “My friend Laurie Burrows Grad let me borrow stuff from her closet.” She lent me the sequined black jacket, white buttoned down shirt and black tie. The black jeans were mine, courtesy of The Gap.

Shortly after arriving, I made my way into the Effen Vodka tent (another sponsor) and emerged with one of these pink drinks.

Vodka spirit awards

It had pink grapefruit juice and ginger in it and I forget what else. Suffice it to say, it was tasty. Michael, my designated driver, abstained.

M at spirit awards

Eventually, we made our way into the main tent and found our table. We were seated with our BOA/Merrill Lynch buddies, Kim Merritt and Brandon Burriss, along with some of their other clients, an actor, a producer, etc. All very congenial and fun to be with. Lunch wasn’t the event’s strong suit – chicken that had been sitting there in the heat for who knows how long is just not appealing – but the entertainment and awards made up for it. The show’s hosts were “SNL’s” Kate McKinnon and Kumail Nanjiani from HBO’s “Silicon Valley.” Their parodies of nominated films, like this one of “Carol,” set the tone.

But it was the presentation of the awards that were my favorite part. I loved that both Idris Elba and “the kid” (I never get his name right) from “Beasts of No Nation” were winners.

Beasts stars

“Spotlight” swept the big categories (picture, director, original script, ensemble cast) and I was thrilled about that. I also loved that the producers brought the Boston Globe journalists on whom the characters were based, along with the child abuse victim who blew the whistle on the priests. As for “Room,” not only did Brie Larson snag her award, but Irish writer Emma Donaghue won a Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and it was so well deserved. I’m amazed how she was able to adapt her bestselling book as a “newbie” (her term).

Emma Donaghue

By the way, “Carol’s” two leading ladies may have gone home without a statuette, but I adored Cate Blanchett’s dress, which was sort of a flowing body tattoo. Rooney Mara’s “style” confounds me.

Blanchett and Mara

When all the awards had been given out, it was time to get up and drive back to Santa Barbara. After sitting for hours, Michael and I were not looking forward to sitting for even more hours in traffic, but we pretended to be happy about it.

M and me at table

Tonight’s the Oscars, and I’ll be back to watching in my baggy yoga pants and a T-shirt, eating takeout pizza with friends and making snide remarks at the TV. I hope I stay awake.

Filed Under: Mainly Jane Tagged With: Bank of America, Beasts of No Nation, Brandon Burriss, Brie Larson, Carol, Cate Blanchett, Emma Donaghue, Film Independent Spirit Awards, Kim Merritt, Merrill Lynch Private Banking, Room, Santa Monica, Spotlight

Movie Day: “Spotlight”

November 15, 2015

spotlight poster

I so wanted to be a journalist by the end of this movie. As the credits rolled, I kept thinking what a noble profession journalism is when it’s not about sensationalism and how maligned it’s become, especially during this presidential campaign season. Which is another way of saying I loved “Spotlight.” Finally, a film that more than deserves all the accolades and prizes it’s garnered. The acting, the writing, the direction – all first rate.

Based on true events, it’s the story of the investigative unit of the Boston Globe that, in 2001, spent many months getting to the truth of the sex abuses by Catholic priests and exposing not only the guilty priests but the monumental cover-up at the highest levels of the church. The so-called spotlight team won a Pulitzer for their work, and in this movie we see why.

Michael Keaton leads the team, and as good as he was in “Birdman,” he’s even better here because the part is less showy. He and his reporters, played by Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo, among others, are as committed to their jobs as they are to the Catholic church having been raised in it, so their conflicts abound. Their investigation is boots-on-the-ground hard work, overseen by their new editor, played by the always good Liev Schreiber, and by “Mad Men” star John Slattery as Ben Bradlee, Jr. There’s no romanticizing of the investigation, no glamorizing and, best of all, no speechifying. These journalists speak like real people, not characters from a screenwriter’s imagination. And the result is surprisingly suspenseful – a thriller without the car chases and snarling villains. It’s a straightforward exercise in filmmaking, and it’s all the more engrossing for it.

And yes, I’m putting “Spotlight” on my Best Picture list for Oscar time – a no-brainer.

Filed Under: Mainly Jane, Movies, News stories Tagged With: John Slattery, Liev Shreiber, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Spotlight

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About Jane Heller

Jane Heller is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Her fourteen breezy, witty novels of romantic comedy and suspense are now entertaining millions of readers around the world, along with her two books of nonfiction.

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