Malkovich says Oscar campaigning is the only way to fill theatres
John Malkovich says awards campaigning is now the only way to get people into theatres.
The 72-year-old actor made the argument at the London Film Festival on Sunday, where early buzz tips him for an Academy Award nomination, the annual United States film prizes, for Martin McDonagh's CIA dark comedy "Wild Horse Nine" Variety. The talk centres on best actor, the Oscar for leading male performances, for his turn as a veteran CIA agent opposite Sam Rockwell.
Speaking at a Screen Talk, the festival's public interview series, Malkovich called the present contest "a different world" from his earlier runs. Then, he said, nominated films had already earned money and found a wide audience before voting began Variety. Now the interviews, audience sessions and industry screenings do the pulling power. The work runs through autumn and into winter.
Malkovich knows that circuit well. He was nominated for best supporting actor, the prize for performers outside the lead role, for "Places in the Heart" (1984) and "In the Line of Fire" (1993). He has never won. He has attended the ceremony only once, for "Places in the Heart" Variety. Both earlier citations came for supporting turns, not leads.
In "Wild Horse Nine," his character operates shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup d'etat, with the plot built around a mission to Easter Island Variety. The remote Pacific island is Chilean territory, and the period setting puts intelligence work against a moment of political rupture. Rockwell shares the marquee as his fellow operative.
The film held its U.K. premiere at the London festival on Friday, after premiering at the Venice Film Festival in September. In Venice, Malkovich won the best actor prize, decided by the festival jury Variety. Writer-director McDonagh has talked up his star, saying Malkovich deserves three Oscars for the performance RTÉ.
What makes this stand out is the bluntness. Malkovich is not presenting campaigning as vanity. For fans, this means expect to see him out front in the coming months, making the case in rooms and on stages if the film is to travel beyond festival crowds to general release.
