Last week, the 2015 New York Film Festival gave us potentially another piece of the awards season puzzle when they announced their Closing Night selection for the fest. In a bit of a surprise, it’s Don Cheadle’s directorial debut Miles Ahead, a biopic about musician Miles Davis. Cheadle co-wrote the screenplay and stars as Davis as well, making this not just a passion project of his, but the sort of film that Academy members can sometimes really gravitate to. The fact that NYFF put it in the super prestigious Closing Night spot only makes it more of a movie we really need to pay attention to…
Getting to be the closer at NYFF is a big deal for a flick. Unless this year is an anomaly, it more or less launches you straight into the heart of the Oscar race. Over the past 15 years, almost nothing in this slot has failed to garner at least one citation from the Academy, with everything being true contenders in multiple categories. In fact, we have one Best Picture winner, five Best Picture nominees, and over a half dozen that have taken home Academy Awards in one category or another. It’s probably even more important of a spot to be in than the Opening Night Selection, even if that one is a bit glitzier. Just look at what last year’s pick to finish off the fest was…Birdman. Enough said. Below you can see what the past 15 years (including this one) have looked like with this slot at NYFF:
2015 – Miles Ahead
2014 – Birdman
2013 – Her
2012 – Flight
2011 – The Descendants
2010 – Hereafter
2009 – Broken Embraces
2008 – The Wrestler
2007 – Persepolis
2006 – Pan’s Labyrinth
2005 – Caché
2004 – Sideways
2003 – 21 Grams
2002 – Talk to Her
2001 – In Praise of Love
2000 – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
That’s some great taste on the part of the festival programmers, right?
Anyway, in terms of Miles Ahead, if you don’t know who Miles Davis is, well…read a book, but he’s a legendary jazz musician. This film will look at the life and music of the legend, with Cheadle in the title role. He directs and co-writes with Steven Baigelman, Stephen J. Rivele, and Christopher Wilkinson, while the cast includes Ewan McGregor, Keith Stanfield, Michael Stuhlbarg, Emayatzy Corinealdi, and more. Biopics tend to be awards catnip, and with Cheadle having already gotten an Oscar nomination for Hotel Rwanda about a decade [...]
↧