Red Carpet Interview from December 10th

This YouTube video via blacktreemedia shows interviews from the red carpet at the Zero Dark Thirty premiere on December 10th.  Jennifer can be seen to the side during Jessica Chastain's interview, beginning at minute 1:28, and then her own begins around minute 2:20, lasting about a minute an a half. (Yes, it's really Jennifer Ehle though the name wasn't said quite right.) There is another section, lasting about a minute, in which Jennifer speaks about both Zero Dark Thirty and Robocop beginning at minute 8.

Another From the Interview Room

I don't know how long Jennifer and Kyle were held in that room that day while interviewer after interviewer trooped through, but here's another. Enjoy!

A Brief Interview

Jennifer spoke at the premiere in Los Angeles.

Premiere in Los Angeles

Andrea Mandell, USA Today, reported on the Zero Dark Thirty premiere in Los Angeles December 10 and had a quote from Jennifer.

"At the Hollywood premiere held at the Dolby theater, Jennifer Ehle, who plays a similarly dedicated analyst, talked about the women she and Chastain take on. Both were heavily researched by Boal, and like all the characters in the film, are carefully distorted so as not to reveal the real operatives' identities.

"I love that they're women that are not defined by their relationship to a man, which is extremely unusual in a film, especially for a female protagonist, for the part Jessica plays," she said. "They're defined by their relationship with their work."

Here’s an offering of photos  -- love the dress and the hairstyle (which can be seen best in the second from last) -- from Monday night, primarily via Getty  and  wireimage .

  

Sound Bites

Sasha Stone (Awards Daily) previews Los Angeles Film Critics picks coming up on Sunday.

 

Zero Dark Thirty will have a Washington D.C. Premiere Jan. 8 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

Director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal will be on hand to discuss the film following the screening.

Brad Brevet at Rope of Silicon has updated Oscar predictions after seeing Zero Dark Thirty.  

“Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal have again teamed to turn in an excellent feature film that is unlike any procedural thriller I have seen before, both in its intensity and sense of realism.”

“Zero Dark Thirty, however, is energy, ambition and meticulous craftsmanship on the part of Bigelow, Boal and their collaborators.”

“I can't imagine a scenario at the moment where Mark Boal doesn't win for Zero Dark Thirty. Boal has crafted a screenplay that is unflinching and manages to tell a very serious story that sells its emotion based on the details and characters without resorting to over-dramatization.”

 

 

Character names have now been now added to Zero Dark Thirty at imdb

“Jennifer Ehle --- Jessica”

 

At The Daily Beast Jace Lacob wrote about “The Dilemma of the Female Spy”

“Maya maintains uneasy friendships with her colleagues; her camaraderie with Jennifer Ehle's old-school CIA analyst Jessica—also based in part on a real-life operative—mostly consists of IMs sent via satellite phone.”

Pete Hammond at Deadline Hollywood said there is an official premiere of Zero Dark Thirty on what I think must mean next Monday December 10, but I’m not sure if that is the date. Might there be a red carpet and pictures??

“Sony also will be throwing their official world premiere of the film Monday night, a week before Oscar ballots are sent, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood — the site of the Academy Awards — with a big reception to follow at the Ray Dolby Ballroom — the site of the Governors Ball.”


 

Sasha Stone (Awards Daily) previews Los Angeles Film Critics picks coming up on Sunday.

 

Zero Dark Thirty will have a Washington D.C. Premiere Jan. 8 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

Director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal will be on hand to discuss the film following the screening.

Brad Brevet at Rope of Silicon has updated Oscar predictions after seeing Zero Dark Thirty.  

“Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal have again teamed to turn in an excellent feature film that is unlike any procedural thriller I have seen before, both in its intensity and sense of realism.”

“Zero Dark Thirty, however, is energy, ambition and meticulous craftsmanship on the part of Bigelow, Boal and their collaborators.”

“I can't imagine a scenario at the moment where Mark Boal doesn't win for Zero Dark Thirty. Boal has crafted a screenplay that is unflinching and manages to tell a very serious story that sells its emotion based on the details and characters without resorting to over-dramatization.”

 

 

Character names have now been now added to Zero Dark Thirty at imdb

“Jennifer Ehle --- Jessica”

 

At The Daily Beast Jace Lacob wrote about “The Dilemma of the Female Spy”

“Maya maintains uneasy friendships with her colleagues; her camaraderie with Jennifer Ehle's old-school CIA analyst Jessica—also based in part on a real-life operative—mostly consists of IMs sent via satellite phone.”

Pete Hammond at Deadline Hollywood said there is an official premiere of Zero Dark Thirty on what I think must mean next Monday December 10, but I’m not sure if that is the date. Might there be a red carpet and pictures??

“Sony also will be throwing their official world premiere of the film Monday night, a week before Oscar ballots are sent, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood — the site of the Academy Awards — with a big reception to follow at the Ray Dolby Ballroom — the site of the Governors Ball.”

Erlingur Gretar’s comments on Zero Dark Thirty at Filmophilia .

“Zero Dark Thirty is absolutely brimming with talent. Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke and Kyle Chandler may top the credits list, but the procession of well-known, talented almost-stars that follows is almost unreal. James Gandolfini, Jennifer Ehle, Harold Perrineau, Joel Edgerton, Jeremy Strong, Mark Strong, Scott Adkins and Chris Pratt are among the most notable”


 

From an article about top performances of 2012 by Awards Daily, Sasha Stone

“Jennifer Ehle, James Gandolfini, and Kyle Chandler also rock the house.”

 

Read this review by Patrick Bromley if you possibly can. It is an excellently written analysis of Zero Dark Thirty.

“It's a no-frills procedural, about nothing more than it's about, and it's tense and smart and totally effective.”

“Jennifer Ehle, a fellow analyst who at first is competitive but fast becomes a friend”

 

Scott Chitwood at Coming Soon reviewed Zero Dark Thirty

“Jennifer Ehle is noteworthy as Jessica, Maya's initial nemesis and eventual friend.”

Charlie Rose, on his December 6 show, interviewed Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boals. Click Kathryn's photo at the page to see to see the video of the program.

The video is about 52 minutes long and there is a clip of a scene with Jennifer around minute 38.

 

Jennifer talks about Zero Dark Thirty in these Junket Interview sound bites posted at Trailer Addict .

The first half has sound bites from Jennifer. The second half is Kyle Chandler.

 

That clip of sound bites is also at YouTube.

Jennifer Ehle speaks about Zero Dark Thirty

The National Board of Review selected “Zero Dark Thirty,” as the best film of the year. They have also given Kathryn Bigelow the best directing honors . So that's two for two in awards given so far in the picture and directing categories. Jessica Chastain, who plays a tough CIA operative who obsessively leads the hunt, was named the NBR's best actress. 

The list of all categories and winners can be seen in this article by Paula Schwartz at NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM which states “This is now the film to beat for the Oscar!”

She also writes, “There were some genuine surprises from the NBOR, including Best Supporting Award to the seasoned and wonderful character actress Ann Dow. She was in a critically well-received but little seen film, “Compliance.” This is a huge upset, meaning she has bested favored actresses like Sally Field in “Lincoln,” Jennifer Ehle in "Zero Dark Thirty," Anne Hathaway in “Les Misérables” and Amy Adams in “The Master.”

Showbiz 411’s Roger Friedman gave the National Board of Review and its awards a review of their own and added, “To give Ann Dowd Best Supporting Actress, the NBR had to skip over Sally Field, Anne Hathaway, Amy Adams, Jacki Weaver, Jennifer Ehle, at least, to find someone obscure and who will not be nominated for an Oscar.”

Katey Rich of Cinema Blend in writing about the NBR awards, revealed she had had the pleasure of being the one to tell Jennifer the news of Kathryn Bigelow’s earlier NYFCC directing award only days before. She wrote that on the day those were announced she “was doing interviews for Zero Dark Thirty as the winners of the New York Film Critics Circle were being announced, and everyone was watching closely. Sony publicists and journalists like myself were obviously able to refresh our phones constantly, but even the talent knew exactly the score; when I walked in the room to speak to Kyle Chandler and Jennifer Ehle and told them Kathryn Bigelow had just been named Best Director by the group ...

...the National Board of Review also named Zero Dark Thirty Best Picture and Director, with an additional Best Actress pick for Jessica Chastain. It's way too easy to read too much into the NBR's picks, which in the last 10 years have lined up with Oscar's Best Picture exactly twice ... “


 

R. Kurt Osenlund has a piece at Slant magazine titled Oscar Prospects: Zero Dark Thirty in which he wrote, “ ... additional folks who may well have an Oscar shot here are Cinematographer Grieg Fraser, Original Score composer Alexandre Desplat, and longshot Supporting Actress hopeful Jennifer Ehle, who, nominatin or not, turns in some of the best work in her category this year.”

He listed prospects for the film in the following manner –

Surest bets: Best Picture; Best Director, Kathryn Bigelow; Best Actress, Jessica Chastain; Best Original Screenplay, Mark Boal; Best Editing.

Possibilities: Best Cinematography; Best Original Score.

Shouldn't be Overlooked: Best Supporting Actress, Jennifer Ehle.

 

Expanded scheduled release dates for Zero Dark Thirty

USA 19 December 2012(limited)

Spain 4 January 2013

Germany 10 January 2013

Italy 10 January 2013

Iceland 11 January 2013

USA 11 January 2013

Brazil 18 January 2013

France 23 January 2013

Netherlands 24 January 2013

Finland 25 January 2013

Ireland 25 January 2013

UK 25 January 2013

Belgium 30 January 2013

Australia 31 January 2013

Greece 31 January 2013

New Zealand 31 January 2013

Sweden 1 February 2013

Denmark 7 February 2013

Norway 8 February 2013

Japan 15 February 2013

Russia 21 February 2013

Argentina 28 March 2013

Tribute.ca spoke with Kyle Chandler and Jennifer Ehle in New York about the secrecy of the project and what it was like getting into their roles as CIA experts. Click on this >> LINK  << to see their interview with Bonnie Laufer Krebs for Tribute Entertainment Media Group.

Jennifer said she and Kyle were among the few who actually got to have the script in advance. Below is a still shot from the interview.

Updating another of her projects -- you can see a trailer Here for Love, Marilyn in which Jennifer read some of Marilyn Monroe’s words. Jennifer doesn’t appear in the clip, but you can hear her voice about 56 seconds in.

A toast to ZDT

I couldn’t hold off posting another update once I saw the video.

But first, a review from Scott Mendelson at Huff Post.

“It merely exists to tell its story, not tell you how to feel about it.”

“ ... it's clear that Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal are merely showing what these people felt, not proclaiming their own personal opinions on the subject.“

“The rest of the CIA crew are represented by the likes of Mark Strong, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Ehle, and James Gandolfini.  All of these people are presented merely as dedicated professionals and none of them are lionized nor villainized.  This is a story of professionals doing their jobs, plain and simple.”

For a short video clip from Zero Dark Thirty that includes a few seconds of Jennifer proposing a toast, go to this Trailer Addict link. Below is a still from it.

Awards Awareness

In the wake of Zero Dark Thirty winning three awards from New York Film Critics, here are some dates to note for the continuing awards season, culminating in the Oscars.

The International Press Academy has already announced nominees for its 17th annual Satellite Awards . The group is composed of entertainment journalist for both domestic and foreign outlets.

ZDT has been nominated in the following categories --

Motion Picture

Director

Actress in a Motion Picture

Screenplay, Original

Film Editing

Yet to come --

December 5. The National Board of Review announces nominations.

December 9. Los Angeles Film Critics will announce its awards.

December 10. The American Film Institute will honor its Top 10 films of 2012.

December 11. Broadcast Film Critics Association nominees for the 18th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards will be announced.

December 12. Screen Actors Guild Awards nominees will be announced.

December 13. Golden Globe nods live at 8 a.m. on NBC.

January 3. The Producers Guild of America will announce nominees.

January 8. Directors Guild Awards will announce the five Feature Film nominees.

January ?  Nominees for the Writers Guild of America Awards announced.

January 10. Academy Awards -- Nominations announced 5:30 a.m., PT.

December 16. Satellite Awards presentation.

January 8. The National Board of Review awards ceremonies.

January 10. Critics’ Choice Movie Awards (broadcast on CW network 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET)

January 13. Golden Globes live on NBC.

January 26. Producers Guild of America awards ceremonies.

January 27. Screen Actors Guild Awards on TNT and TBS at 8 p.m. (ET)

February 3. Directors Guild Awards presented at annual dinner.

February 17. Writers Guild of America Awards will be given out.

February 24. The 85th Academy Awards (aired by ABC network)

More reviews and buzzviews --

I added the Movlieline insider peek at the NYFCC voting to the previous post. Here are some more from Andrew O’Hehir and Richard Corliss . So interesting!

At Indiewire Peter Knegt has some Oscar predictions in the Supporting Actress category. Yes, Jennifer is mentioned.

All the charts and graphs you could ever wish for in handicapping the awards season. Gold Derby has them.

‘Extra’s’ AJ Calloway interviewed Jessica Chastain who said about the film shoot, “We had to be so secretive about the film because we were just trying to make it without anyone getting in our way.” 

Matthew Garrahan’s piece titled Hunt for bin Laden cuts the CIA clichés mentions ‘Homeland’ may have jumped the shark then adds that Zero Dark Thirty shows the CIA more convincingly. In fact, he maintains the story Bigelow and Boal have brought to the screen is so gripping and brilliant that it makes Homeland and other portrayals of the CIA look like soap operas. 

Shaun Munro at Whatculture called Zero Dark Thirty An Outstanding Feat of Muscular Filmmaking

“Zero Dark Thirty is as clinical and journalistic as one should expect from the duo of Bigelow and Boal. It is a film of three parts, beginning by establishing the target needed to track Bin Laden down – a courier from his inner circle – then proceeding to track this target, and finally the much-hyped “pay-off”

...

Chastain is really just a cog in a large wheel, and she’s matched by one of the finest ensemble casts of recent years; the meatiest parts undeniably go to Clarke, Mark Strong (as Maya’s blood-thirsty CIA superior), Jennifer Ehle (a CIA colleague) and Kyle Chandler (a head CIA operative).”

Awards Daily, Sasha Stone , discusses Zero Dark Thirty’s Oscar chances after winning three awards from New York Film Critics. 

Joal Ryan at E Online tells What We Learned About the Oscar Race From the New York Film Critics Circle Awards  “Zero Dark Thirty May Be Even Finer Than You Thought” 

THR’s FEINBERG FORECAST Updated Projections (With 12 Weeks Until the 85th Oscars)

Rates all the categories

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (far down the list, as you will notice)

Front-runners

Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)

Sally Field (Lincoln)

Amy Adams (The Master)

Helen Hunt (The Sessions)

Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook)

Major Threats

Kelly Reilly (Flight)

Ann Dowd (Compliance)

Samantha Barks (Les Miserables)

Amanda Seyfried (Les Miserables)

Kristen Stewart (On the Road)Maggie Smith (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel)

Possibilities

Kerry Washington (Django Unchained)

Helena Bonham Carter (Les Miserables)

Emily Blunt (Looper)

Susan Sarandon (Arbitrage)

Nicole Kidman (The Paperboy)

Judi Dench (Skyfall)

Jennifer Ehle (Zero Dark Thirty)

 

In other award news, my colleague and I claim the award for tracking down and reading more mentions and reviews of Zero Dark Thirty than anyone outside the cast and crew and makers of the film, including their publicists and agents. No complaints, though. It's fun. Signed, Janet and Georgina.

Winner!

Movie Journal  ~ Several hours after first posting to this entry, I'm updating to add this link to a fascinating account of behind the scenes at the New York Film Critics Circle awards voting and how consensus was reached, which was posted at Movie Journal.

NYFCC Announces Winners; ‘Lincoln’, ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ Win Three Each 

“Awards season just got serious.”

The New York Film Critics Circle Awards, in place for more that 70 years, are considered the first major film awards of the season, and can often be a harbinger of how Oscars are handed out.  The NYFCC Awards have successfully chosen (predicted?), as their Best Picture winners, an impressive 43% of the Best Picture Oscar winners.

Best Picture Zero Dark Thirty

Best Director Kathryn Bigelow Zero Dark Thirty

Best Cinematographer Greig Fraser Zero Dark Thirty

The NYFCC awards ceremonies will be held January 7th.

This is going to be a fun awards season.

A note on the making of the film –

In an interview Scott Adkins said “I wasn’t allowed to see a script because of the top-secret nature of the project. ... But what was frustrating was getting the lines thirty minutes before you’ve to go on and perform. But with these big budget films, you're not exactly rushed and you have enough time to get this thing right.”

Awards Season Begins Monday

The New York Film Critics Circle will announce their 2012 favorites on Monday. As one of the most influential critics’ groups in the United States, the New York critics’ choices have often been a harbinger of things to come at the Academy Awards and at other awards season announcements.

Gold Derby’s Tom O'Neil in a piece titled Experts predict 'Zero Dark Thirty' will win New York Film Critics Circle writes “Only a few of our experts are predicting winners of the New York Film Critics Circle, but we have a shrewd sampling of opinions. Looks like "Zero Dark Thirty" is out front to win Best Picture when victors are unveiled on Monday.”

The published reviews of Zero Dark Thirty continue to be positive and full of praise. Here are a few more that I liked.

Roger Friedman at Showbiz 411 discussed Oscar Buzz: What the Voters, Not the Prognosticators, Are Saying.

In the article, he said, “I have my own supporting favorites this year: Jennifer Ehle in “Zero Dark Thirty.” Scoot McNairy in “Killing them Softly.” Nicole Kidman in “The Paperboy.” Amy Adams in “The Master.”

There is a thoughtful review at Scott Mendelson’s blog. He says “The rest of the CIA crew are represented by the likes of Mark Strong, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Ehle, and James Gandolfini. All of these people are presented merely as dedicated professionals and none of them are lionized nor villainized.”  And also notes, “This is a story of professionals doing their jobs, plain and simple.”

A review by Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere is another one to read.  He wrote, “It may not warm the cockles of your heart, but for me Zero Dark Thirty is Bigelow's masterpiece. And big cheers in particular for Boal's screenplay, which nails right through and hones it all down, scene after scene after scene.”

Edward Douglas’s review tells us “Every so often, the film leaves Maya to follow another operative on their side-mission like Jennifer Ehle or Edgar Ramirez” and he praises “an eclectic and talented ensemble cast”, saying, “The impressive array of actors really delivers on Boal's script as they come in and out of the story.”

David Edelsteins’s List of Top 10 Movies of 2012 has Zero Dark Thirty at number one.  He said, “Kathryn Bigelow’s thriller is mercilessly gripping.” And that “This is a phenomenal piece of action filmmaking—and an even better piece of nonaction filmmaking.”

By Clayton Davis at Awards Circuit we're told, “Zero Dark Thirty is one of the best cast ensembles this year.”  and that director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal “display an impressive amount of control in the way the film is told and showcases some brilliant moments in filmmaking.  Zero Dark Thirty hooks you from minute one and just DOESN’T. LET. GO.  It’s one of the best pictures of the year!”