'Benjamin Button' Reactions, New Trailer and 42 Trailer Pics

Second attempt at a screening brings a glow...

By: Brad Brevet
Published: Saturday, November 22nd 2008 at 10:24 PM

Cate Blanchett in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Photo: Paramount Pictures

Well, the second attempt at screening The Curious Case of Benjamin Button down in Los Angeles went off without a hitch as the first one abruptly ended 25 minutes in due to technical difficulties. Already two Oscar bloggers have weighed in with brief opinions and Oscar considerations and there aren't a lot of surprises outside of Cate Blanchett's instant rise to the top of the Best Actress category and the likelihood Brad Pitt may miss out due to a lot of CG work and his character being "more of a passive observer" in the film.

Sasha Stone weighs in at Awards Daily saying, "[If] I had to name the film that would probably have the best shot at winning Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Costumes [and] Art Direction it would be this one." Kris Tapley at In Contention is certain the film will bring ten nominations minimum "for Picture, Director, Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction, Cinematography, Film Editing, Makeup, Original Score and Visual Effects are virtually assured."

Tapley believes Blanchett will take Best Actress in a "cake walk" while Stone relays her opinion on Blanchett in the comments of her article saying:

She's incredible. With Winslet in Revolutionary Road it feels to me like a career-best performance. Blanchett has the more likable character, which is a good reason to fear her – it's hard to say if this is a career best – she is always good, isn't she.

Stone seemed to enjoy the film more than Tapley, but it seems the film affected several people as Tapley says "people were crying their eyes out over this thing."

In Contention also has an audio file of the Q&A that followed the screening with director David Fincher, Eric Roth and the tech crew, moderated by The Envelope's Pete Hammond. You can click here to listen and I am sure several more folks will begin weighing in soon enough and I will recap everything else later in the week. For now it sounds like I need to update my predictions.

And now check out the new international trailer courtesy of Bad Taste and thanks to Slash Film. I have also taken 42 screen captures from the trailer and added them to the gallery (click here for those) since Paramount seems insistent on not releasing any actual images from the film. Looking through the gallery I think you will see why this film will be a leading contender for cinematography and effects, and from what Tapley says Alexandre Desplat's score is something to enjoy as well.