Variety Oscar Contender: ‘The Imitation Game’

8 Nov 2014 2:53 PM PT

 

Variety has been putting out a lot of information on Oscar contender projects, including The Imitation Game.   But the information is spread across multiple areas and searching for the information can be tedious.  We have consolidated their Variety Studio, Contender and Profile information here for your convenience.  All  are © 2014 Variety – All rights reserved.

Benedict Cumberbatch

Project: “The Imitation Game” – “I tracked (the project), is the lingo I think, which is the only time I’ve really done that for a role. There was just something about (Alan Turing) that immediately struck a chord for me.”

 

Actor on Actor Interviews to air on Southern California PBS

Variety‘s awards season events continue to grow with the “Actors on Actors” conversations set to be shown on PBS SoCal. The interview show features one-on-one conversations between actors and actresses including Benedict Cumberbatch, Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon and Jessica Chastain in discussion with one another about their craft and films.

Four episodes of the Variety Studio series will air, starting on December 21 at 7 p.m. Subsequent episodes are set for Sunday, December 28 at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. and on January 4 at 7 p.m. WNET in New York will also air the series, which will be distributed to PBS stations around the country in January. The videos will also stream on Variety.com beginning November 18.

“We have such an incredibly talented and dynamic group of actors joining us for these insightful, intimate one-on-one conversations on the art and craft of acting,” said Variety’s co-editor-in-chief Claudia Eller, “And we are absolutely thrilled to watch our celebrated Actors on Actors pairings jump off the page and into the homes of PBS’ prestigious viewership.”

“Variety is a perfect partner to bring a series like this to PBS viewers,” said Andy Russell, PBS SoCaL COO. “Variety’s great journalism and editorial insight, combined with an extraordinary group of actors, will offer our audiences a compelling inside look at conversations between the leading actors of our time.”

Featured conversations will include: Cumberbatch (“The Imitation Game”) with Edward Norton (“Birdman”), Gyllenhaal (“Nightcrawler”) with Patricia Arquette (“Boyhood”), Josh Brolin (“Inherent Vice”) with J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash”), Oscar Isaac (“A Most Violent Year”) with Gugu Mbatha Raw (“Belle”), Eddie Redmayne (“Theory of Everything”) with Laura Dern (“Wild”), Witherspoon (“Wild”) with Michael Keaton (“Birdman”), Hilary Swank (“Homesman”) with Tilda Swinton (“Snowpiercer”), Keira Knightley “(The Imitation Game”) with Ethan Hawke (“Boyhood”), Jessica Chastain (“A Most Violent Year & Interstellar”) with Mark Ruffalo (“Foxcatcher”), David Oyelewo (“Selma”) with Jack O’Connell (“Unbroken”), Jenny Slate (“Obvious Child”) with Felicity Jones (“Theory of Everything”), Marion Cotillard (“Two Days, One Night”) with Timothy Spall (“Mr. Turner”), Christoph Waltz (“Big Eyes”) with Ralph Fiennes (“Grand Budapest Hotel”), Jennifer Aniston (“Cake”) with Emily Blunt (“Into The Woods”), and James Corden (“Into The Woods”) with Kevin Costner (“Black and White”).

 Variety Studio Interviews

Producers Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowski and Teddy Schwarzman and writer Graham Moore talked “The Imitation Game” and finding their inspiration in the historical figure of Alan Turing when they stopped by the Variety Studio.

 

Benedict Cumberbatch said he first read the script for Alan Turing drama “The Imitation Game” while filming “Star Trek” and immediately fell in love with the project. Co-star Keira Knightley also spoke about her fondness for Turing and the WWII-based drama at the Variety Studio.

 

 

Alexandre Desplat’s Twin Takes on WWII: ‘Imitation Game’ and ‘Unbroken’

 

Posted at Variety on November 5, 2014 by Jon Burlingame

Alexandre Desplat’s five 2014 releases are as diverse as ever, from the quirky sounds of “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and the action pulse of “Godzilla” to the wartime drumbeat of “The Monuments Men.”

But it’s his last two films that are bound to draw the most attention at awards time: “The Imitation Game,” due Nov. 21, and “Unbroken,” slated for a Christmas release. Both are powerful, fact-based dramas focusing on quietly heroic individuals.

In the case of “The Imitation Game,” the story of the mathematical genius Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) charged with breaking the German code machine Enigma during World War II, director Morten Tyldum posed a challenge: “I wanted music that could be subjective, inside this head of this awkward, brilliant mathematician. At the same time I wanted music that would depict the epic scope of the war; a tender, fragile love story; and the thriller element, the spy story. I wanted music that felt classic, yet at the same time had elements that were unique and contemporary.”

It was a tall order, especially in three weeks, the time given Desplat to craft his score. The composer met with Tyldum at his Los Angeles studio and suggested mirroring the complexities of Turing’s thought processes with three pianos.

These pianos, Desplat says, “were programmed, or should I say computerized, with random algorithms, as an homage to Turing’s invention. These fast scales and arpeggios have a dual task, playing both the fast activity of Turing’s brain, and the chase — the ticking clock to crack the Enigma code.”

“Alexandre has so many ideas,” says Tyldum. “He doesn’t just want to impose his music. He’s so willing to take notes, to move things around. To me, the music became its own character.”

For “Unbroken” — Angelina Jolie’s film based on Laura Hillenbrand’s best-seller about Olympic track star Louis Zamperini’s ordeal as a Japanese POW — Desplat navigated a delicate balancing act between pathos and hope. “We had a few scenes that were visually painful but needed to be uplifting for the audience,” Jolie says. “We relied on Alexandre to help guide the audience emotionally through music, to redirect the feeling and help lift the spirit of the viewer.”

As opposed to “Game,” Desplat had more time and a personal advantage: He met the real man behind the story.
“A few stars were aligned,” Desplat recalls. “I asked if I could meet Louis, chat with him, learn about his musical world, his sound world.”

It turned out Zamperini’s house was only two blocks from Desplat’s new L.A. studio, and the composer — a runner himself — often ran past it while in town.

“The orchestra is much larger (than ‘Imitation Game’), but I always kept the orchestra to a gentle dynamic. Never fortissimo,” says Desplat. “He’s a hero, but a human hero, not a superhero. So when the orchestra swells, it’s very powerful but without overwhelming either the character or the film.”

There is also a sparing and subtle use of choir. “A delicate touch was required,” says Mike Knobloch, Universal president of film music. “It’s almost like the hand of God, touching Louie’s soul and spirit at his lowest point.”

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