Tár team lobbies maestros to create Oscar buzz
NewsWe have been hearing from a number of well-known musicians who were approached by the production team with an invitation to view the Todd Fields film in the hope of securing an endorsement or, at least, the chance to drop their names in pre-Academy Awards publicity.
Some musicians we have talked to refused to attend a screening. Others saw the film but refused to be quoted afterwards.
Fields’s initial name-check of Marin Alsop was swiftly refuted by Marin, who denounced the film as a travesty of women in the podium.
Many are wondering how so respected a singer-turned-conductor as Nathalie Stutzmann allowed herself to be credited as an advisor.
The only musician to emerge from the movie with career enhancement is the young British cellist Sophie Kauer (pictured) who played the Elgar concerto and acted opposite Cate Blanchett as her last love-interest.
The scenes of the Elgar concerto were soundtracked by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Natalie Murray Beale.
“Many are wondering”
Who? That’s pure Trump right there. Many. Many people. All the best people in fact.
Did you ever consider that Nathalie Stutzman may have a different point of view to you? Or that she might be right?
Getting upset about this film is like a teacher getting upset about Dead Poet’s Society or a prison warder getting annoyed about the Shawshank Redemption.
Really is time some of you precious people get over yourselves. Whoever you are.
Get over yourselves … Jeeesh!
If the Dude endorses it, it might count for something in Hollywood; not so much if it’s coming from Jaap van Zweden.
“ The scenes of the Elgar concerto were soundtracked by the London Symphony Orchestra”
Hmm. Proof once more that there ain’t no noun that can’t be verbed.
It’s a film! You know, a story with made up stuff.
In taking themselves so seriously those musicians are unwittingly endorsing one of the major themes of the film.
I love how all of you stodgy, unaware music creatures hate this film. It must hit too close to home.
I lived in NY and interacted with composer and musicians and institutions for years l, but also have no stake in music anymore….. This film is well made and almost documentary like.
The more you talk bad about a well made film that normal people love, the more you look like a classical music weirdo.
The obsession with her conduction technique….. Just roflmao.
The Tár team ought to lobby the Bill Clinton of classical music. My hunch is, he would say yes in a heartbeat.
After all, he and Tár have a lot in common. 🙂
Galileo: “Nevertheless it moves …” Like it you or not, the film is a masterpiece: great acting at all levels, cinematography, plot, theme, production design, editing; i e., a perfect storm. And, why wouldn’t Todd Field and the producers promote their work and effort? Everybody does, it’s a legal market. And Alsop: snap out of it, it’s fiction!
I don’t agree on many issues with NL, but this afternoon I went to see Tar and I concur this is a terrible film. Nothing more to say – two hours of boredom and pompous nonsense.
I thought the movie was hilarious. It’s like someone observed a few conversations of musicians and put them all together without trying to bring much sense nor correlation in the story…also, apparently we are extremely sophisticated to the point that our words don’t make sense and we also all speak many languages lol The scene that deserves Oscar however is the “your apartment is for sale” song she sings towards the end “accompanying” herself on the accordion. That was a true human crazy moment that I actually appreciated. And of course from now on, every orchestra should have the opening trumpet solo of Mahler 5 offstage :))) biggest regret with all the quotations (you cannot start without me etc.), I wish she would scream “viola viola” and then stop the orchestra and look disappointed at some point :))
No scene deserves an Oscar as the movie is flat and entirely ego driven by its star who is also one of the Executive Producers. Nina Hoss was a pointless adjunct to Blanchett, a waste of her talent.
Give it a rest Norman. Another hit piece. It’s *A MOVIE*.
A dull and superficial movie.
Still a movie.
Oh, the irony of asking musicians, who suck at getting audiences into halls, to try and entice the general public to see a movie about said subject matter. HA!
Concerts at Wigmore Hall are often sold out such as earlier this week for a young Korean pianist who played Bach and Beethoven. So your comments are not informed by data or research at all. They make you look silly.
Oh. My. God. You are so correct, Henry. Classical music in the US is THRIVING. On any given night, orchestras, opera companies, and ballet companies are having to turn away throngs of exuberant patrons for lack of accommodations. How could I have missed such an obvious metric.
Funnily enough, it is possible for classical music to struggle in the USA (where funding for classical music — whether through philanthropy, trading income, or government subsidy — is extremely limited or non-existent beyond a few big-name orchestras, opera houses, and concert series), whilst it thrives in other parts of the world.
Yet another case of the chattering classes all over themselves n lecturing everyone about the deeper meanings of this movie n all the big hot issues we are supposed to care about: lesbians, sexual harassment, workplace power imbalance, zzzz… But the common folks don’t know n don’t care. Maybe 5,000 people have seen this movie, half of them on this site. Oscar, shmoscar zzzz.
There are no deeper meanings in the movie because it is shallow, superficial and dull. Many more than 5,000 have seen it. Just look at rentrak data or any data making wrong claims. It makes you look uninformed.
Shameful PR lobbying to try to give cred to frankly a dull and daft movie.
Why did they not make a film about
Toscannini who was a legend. Instead they
Make a film that is rubbish
“Many are wondering how so respected a singer-turned-conductor as Nathalie Stutzmann allowed herself to be credited as an advisor.” She is not credited as an advisor, her name simply appears in the acknowledgments. This is totally different. Please stop making shortcuts to try to create polemics.
This is a powerful human film. Honest adults should be able to handle the challenge and deal with their own issues. A tour de force. Magnificent.
Interesting movie. With a surreal twist in the end. Overall, it deals with the power of music to change reality and to shape inner and outer worlds. For better or for worse. A visionary , intriguing take on music and culture.
Nothing to be “wondering” about: Nathalie Stutzmann is a fine musician and an intelligent person.
You’ve got it wrong, folks. The only ones getting upset and writing in are those who watched it and liked it. Their defense is the usual, “it’s just a movie” group think. Do you place convoluted garbage on your food plate too?
Honestly, if this is the reaction we get from classical music lovers when it comes to Tar, I think classical music may as well piss off and die, and take the audience with it too. The world is already burning, we don’t need fragile boomers to make it worse.
Non-news. The academy has a long history of awarding Best Picture to the media team with the best “for your consideration” campaign, and if you can 1-up the competition by getting the testimonials of legitimate in-the-field musicians, you’ve got your trophy sorted…