Atlanta Oscar Viewing Party Set for Enzo at Trilith

Atlantans or visitors looking for camaraderie during the 2025 Academy Awards may find their red carpet and other dreams a reality at ENZO's second-annual Oscars Viewing Party set for Sunday.

The Italian restaurant near Trilith Studios -- where (a few clicks south of the world's busiest airport) filmmakers captured scenes of last year's "Megalopolis" and the upcoming "Superman" -- opens its doors at 6 p.m. counting down to ABC's live 7 p.m. ET broadcast of the 97th Academy Awards. 

Tickets ($100) remain available, with proceeds benefiting local nonprofit Two Sparrows Village. 

According to press materials, "Throughout the evening, attendees will savor a curated menu of Chef Andrea Montobbio's signature dishes [and] expertly crafted cocktails inspired by iconic films."

Glancing at ENZO's dinner menu brought to mind dreamy days and nights, and shopping for truffles with a Torino-based food stylist, for client Casa Barilla during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Northern Italy. 

Fellow Atlanta PR exec and Silver Screen Capture critic Stephen Michael Brown will emcee -- I'm hoping some of his prize giveaways include film promotional items or memorabilia from recently reviewed and best original screenplay-nominated "September 5" though I would settle for a silk robe from closer-to-Enzo's vibe "Conclave."

Hope to see you there and compare our Oscar ballots. I'll be the guy at the piano crooning about a bottle of red, a bottle of white ... and scenes from, well, you know ...

Event image via ENZO; first-annual Oscar Viewing Party images by Chucky Khang

Ennio Morricone: The Ecstasy of Gold(en statues)

This year's Oscar nominees yielded my worst-ever predictions ballot, with only seven correct picks.

But one correct selection was for music from "The Hateful Eight," inspiring a wave of Olympic memories. 

I was so pleased to see Ennio Morricone win the Academy Award for best score. His walk to the stage instantly took me back to meeting and interviewing the Italian legend 10 years ago!

Morricone's from-the-heart acceptance speech translated as genuinely appreciative of the honor and of the company he keeps; it was classy he gave a shout-out to fellow nominee John Williams -- attending for his 50th Oscar nod -- who shared box seats for the ceremony.

Of course, Williams also had a cameo in that decade-ago conversation I shared with Morricone. Here's the story from that day that seems not so far in the past.

The date was February 13, 2006, and in Torino, Italy, working at the Olympics, I enjoyed the good fortune of a morning off to attend a five-ringed press conference featuring Morricone on stage. 

The composer of more than 500 soundtrack songs and scores -- including the legendary "Dollars Trilogy" westerns, "Cinema Paradiso" and the haunting "Gabriel's Oboe" from "The Mission" -- was giving Italian media a preview of his concert to take place at the Olimpiadi Invernali Medals Plaza that evening (the same stage where then-recent "American Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson also performed, and where Whitney Houston attempted but struggled to sing a few nights later).

Hosted by the Torino Departments of Culture, Tourism and Film, the press conference was mostly for domestic reporters in the Piemonte Media Center. This was my very first "blogger Nick" press conference where I talked my way in sans credentials and senza blog (you read that right, this blog was not yet launched but partially inspired by the day's memorable events -- from those Games, I relied on a patient co-worker to relay daily updates as the word blog was barely in my lexicon).

Most of the press conference was in Italian, but the hosts were kind enough to deploy a translator, and when the media Q&A began, I was not shy to raise my hand and get called on by the one and only Ennio.

My question was a two-parter paraphrased here: Many Olympic films now have famous soundtracks, and the Olympics enjoy several soundtracks written by a famous film composers. Have you ever met ["Chariots of Fire" composer] Vangelis or John Williams, and were you, Mr. Morricone, ever invited to compose Olympic music or Olympic movie music?

Morricone maintained eye contact during my entire question, then he answered with a sincere gaze, which I captured on camera during his response (see photo at left). 

To the surprise of many, including the translator beside me, Morricone responded in English, first thanking me for the question, then explaining that he did not meet Vangelis but he had met John Williams a few times. 

Morricone said he did not compose music for sports movies, nor had he received an Olympic composing invitation, but that he was honored to perform for athletes that evening. 

He said he vaguely recalled speaking with Williams not long after the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics (at which Williams' main Olympic themes debuted), but Morricone could not remember it being more than a brief conversation. They did not "compare notes" (I've wondered for the past 10 years whether Ennio knew this was a possible pun, and the extent to which it was expressed accidentally or on purpose). Next question!

I was stunned and could barely write his responses in my notebook fast enough.

He went on to take several more questions, at ease with a full room of microphones and cameras ... you know ... wait for it ... paparazzi. 

As the Q&A wrapped up, Morricone was surprised to learn the event hosts planned to present him with a certificate (or diploma?) for his Olympic performance. 

The composer graciously accepted the honor with sincere appreciation, just like his Oscar speech in Hollywood.

The press conference also yielded an etiquette lesson I've respected since 2006. 

After the formal event wrapped up, I made my way to the stage to express gratitude to Morricone. 

As we shook hands, and he thanked me for the question, I awkwardly held up my notebook to request his autograph. 

He signed the book, but Morricone was none too pleased to learn I was both an international (non-Italian) "journalist" and a poser at that (!!!). (Sidebar: The notebook is buried somewhere in the Nick archive, but when it's located I will post a photo of the autograph.)

To this day I have not asked for a single celebrity autograph (book signings notwithstanding) since Morricone's; rather, I've tried instead to enjoy the conversation or experience without the awkward-for-anyone approach with pen in hand. 

In case officials at the Rome 2024 Olympic bid committee are tuned in and reading this, I think it's a matter or national interest and pride for the team to invite hometown hero Morricone to compose a bid project soundtrack that could carry them to an Italy Olympic Opening Ceremony in eight years. 

It would be lovely to hear an Ennio sports soundtrack on the heels of his big night in L.A., and an Olympic theme could just be the perfect Morricone magnum opus. 

Academy Award image via Oscars.com photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.All other photos by Nicholas Wolaver copyright Nicholas Wolaver. Roma 2024 logo via Roma2024.org. 

Not So, Big O, for Oscar Nominations

The new Academy Award nominations are now circulating for consideration, and without surprise, a couple of major release films with Olympic connections -- "Foxcatcher" and "Unbroken" -- emerged on the short list of potential award recipients.

Neither made the cut for best picture, but as noted in reviews for each film, I concur with the Academy that these films were good but not great overall, with excellent specific parts of the film (i.e. acting, cinematography) worthy of Oscar attention.

"Foxcatcher" gripped five apt nominations: Best actor for Steve Carell, best supporting actor for Mark Ruffalo, directing for Bennett Miller, makeup and hairstyling with Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard, and best original screenplay forE. Max Frye and Dan Futterman.

I scratched my head about the original screenplay nomination as I thought Mark Schultz's book was the basis of the film. When I posted a question to Schultz's Facebook page, the response was, "The screenplay is the script written from the book and other research" to which I replied my original question was poorly worded. We'll see where the follow up conversation leads.

Meanwhile, "Unbroken" was selected in cinematography, sound mixing and sound editing. Though there will likely be chatter about Angelina Jolie and the film being "snubbed" for bigger categories like best picture and director, I did not feel this was a snub. Rather, its a good film (with technical excellence for which its nominations are appropriate) but not a great one.

The real "snub" from this blogger's perspective was in the best feature documentary category. I cannot believe the Academy left out the Roger Ebert-centric film "Life Itself" from the nominees. This is really disappointing, especially in a category the Academy got right so many times previously (with "One Day In September" or "Man On Wire" and "Bowling for Columbine" as great past picks). Oh, well -- "Life Itself" remains an outstanding film.

Let the Oscar ballot office pools commence!

Image via CBS

Oscar Comes To Atlanta

Watching the Academy Awards presentation tonight, it was good to see an array of nominated films take home some hardware.

Honorees for "The Fighter," "The Social Network" and "The King's Speech" appeared on my ballot, and it was good to see Melissa Leo, Christian Bale and Colin Firth victorious. Big relief to see that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross earned statues (bravo!).

Though it was pleasing to see a longtime actress favorite, Natalie Portman, as winner for "The Black Swan" I was rooting for Annette Bening's amazing, emotional performance in "The Kids Are All Right."

Biggest disappointment of the evening: Twenty-time nominee Randy Newman winning for original song (in my opinion, his was the least original, again).

Another letdown was that Winona Ryder received no nominations for her twisted character in "Black Swan" (she stabbed herself in the face with a nail file, for crying out loud!).

Going into the evening, I maintained that "The Social Network" might take home best picture, and though "The King's Speech" is excellent, the moodier tone of the former seemed more contemporary.

"The King's Speech" themes of friendship and British connections remind me of best picture from 30 years ago, another U.K. great (which some say 'saved' British cinema), "Chariots of Fire."

I was just seven years old when "Chariots of Fire" won best picture of 1981, and I still enjoy vivid memories of viewing this film on the big screen with my dad and my grandmother.

What a treat it was to again experience "Chariots of Fire" in a theatre last Thursday when the premiere 30th anniversary presentation, including Q&A with the film's Oscar-nominated director, Hugh Hudson, appeared as the centerpiece of the 2011 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival.

Interviewing Hudson during the film was an extraordinary treat.

In our one on one conversation in the lobby of Regal Cinemas Atlantic Station (with thanks to the AJFF's P.R. team at MS&L), Hudson explained that sport played an important part of his upbringing.

"I was always interested in sporting achievement," said Hudson. When asked about his earliest Olympic memories, he said, "I went to the 1948 London Olympics and have memories of Fanny Blankers-Koen. I saw her run!"

Hudson said that athleticism and the Olympics were not the intended themes of "Chariots of Fire;" rather, the "timeless story of youth standing up for [their] beliefs ... for their own sense of freedom, [and] refusing to have ideals diverted by their elders."

I asked Hudson to reflect on great Olympic films that preceded his, and the extent to which he studied Olympic films or film makers prior to "Chariots of Fire." Hudson replied that Leni Reifenstahl's "Olympia" was "breathtaking" and he also cited "Tokyo Olympiad" by Kon Ichikawa as influential.

"[But] they were pure documentaries," said Hudson, who added that the use of slow motion in those films made it to "Chariots of Fire" but with more criticism for his work.

When asked the extent to which the International Olympic Committee, British Olympic Association or other Olympic entities engaged Hudson before, during or after the success of his film, Hudson said they never contacted him (I found and still find this hard to believe since the film screened at several Games since 1981). Hudson said, "Going into Barcelona [in 1992] I wrote a script" and "had a part in Spain" that fell through, but he declined to provide more detail because he "might still use that idea."

After talking about the impact of early Olympic films on his career, I followed up with questions about Hudson's impact on Olympic films that followed his. Hudson said he enjoyed Steven Spielberg's "Munich" and it reminded Hudson that he planned to attend the Munich Games in 1972, but instead he only watched the Games on television. Hudson added he did not attend a Games since 1948, and that organizers for London 2012 are not in contact with him.

HELLO, are there any London 2012 publicists reading this? Golden opportunity awaits!

(Disclosure: Some P.R. elements of London 2012 are organized by Edelman, the agency where I work.)

The last question I was able to pose to Hudson before his next interview of the AJFF concerned the iconic opening and closing sequence of "Chariots of Fire" during which the mesmerizing, Oscar winning theme song by Vangelis is played. Hudson confirmed my suspicion, since elementary school in 1981, that the beach runners were up to their ankles in "freezing cold water in March" (later, during the audience Q&A, seen in the video below, Hudson also explained the scene involved several takes and a quirky miracle of film making led to a second filming that captured more dramatic waves pouring into the shoreline; he also shared more detail about his friendship with Vangelis).

During the audience Q&A, I also learned that Hudson married a "Bond Girl" from the James Bond film "The Living Daylights" -- Maryam d'Abo answered two questions outside the Atlanta screening of "Chariots of Fire," explaining that the first time she viewed Hudson's film she was a drama student -- with Colin Firth -- and she met Hudson several times during the 1980s before he remembered her (they married in 2003).

I found Hudson to be pleasant and conversational, offering to share his popcorn during our theatre chat. It would be tremendous to see the 30th anniversary edition of "Chariots of Fire" on the big screen in several cities now through London 2012. If it is screening near your favorite theatre, guaranteed, it is the best picture in town.

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver at the 2011 AJFF