And so the Oscar season is in full swing. Sunday night, five days before any press sees it, Paramount is screening the space soap “Interstellar” for an A List crowd. They’re hoping to pull off a “Gravity” type success.
Secret invites tout the appearances of director Christopher Nolan as well as producer Emma Thomas (aka Mrs. Nolan), Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway, Emma Thomas, and others at the AMC Lincoln Square IMAX theater followed by a swanky dinner at the ’21’ Club. No press allowed. In fact, Paramount is hopeful that no one will write, Tweet, or other wise communicate their feelings about “Interstellar” until November 6th– three days after the New York premiere.
The guest list is supposed to be hush hush, too, although paparazzi should be picking off names at both locations.
So what’s the story on “Interstellar”? A source I spoke to last week says it has, of course, “amazing” special effects, even better than “Gravity.” and it’s not even in 3D. Nolan fans who started with the brilliant, backwards-told “Memento” and who were able to figure out “Inception” will be knee deep in long essays by the day it opens.
(Watch the trailer: “Interstellar” sounds a little like what happened to Krypton before it exploded. Everyone has to leave Earth before it explodes. Maybe they wrap a baby up in a Prada blanket and send him into space.)
The 169 minute movie– that’s 2 hours, 49 minutes– also features Casey Affleck, Matt Damon, Michael Caine, Ellen Burstyn, and the rarely seen Wes Bentley. The powers that be are mounting a Best Actor campaign for Matthew McConaughey (who just won, so the likelihood is small), and Jessica Chastain for Best Supporting Actress (where she’ll tangle with the likes of Keira Knightley, Felicity Jones, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts and so on). “It will get all the tech nominations and win them,” my source insists.
“Interstellar” is produced by Linda Obst, author of the Hollywood memoir with the best title ever: “Hello, He Lied.” That title just rings true for everyone if you’re a journalist trying to get a straight answer from anyone about anything in the film business. Obst really had it down, and that was in 1996.
