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Fall is here.

Which, for Hollywood, means, after a record-setting summer box-office haul involving a caped crusader, a cast-iron hero, a crystal skull, and a cute waste-disposal robot, it’s time to get serious. Fall is Oscar season, after all. Since 1980, only six of the 28 Best Picture winners have been released outside of the autumn season; a few films, in fact, were even given limited release in December for Oscar consideration — such is the luster of Academy Award gold.

The fall film slate for ’08 doesn’t look to be much different than past years, with many familiar names fronting potentially Oscar winners.

So, for your consideration ...

• Nights in Rodanthe, starring Richard Gere, Diane Lane, James Franco, Scott Glenn. Friday.

The plot: Two strangers in crisis, Adrienne Willis (Diane Lane) and Dr. Paul Flanner (Richard Gere), meet at an inn in Rodanthe, N.C., just as a major storm looms off the coast. Their weekend relationship, of course, has a life-changing impact.

The background: Lane and Gere reunite for their third film pairing (Cotton Club and Unfaithful) to star in the novel by best-selling author Nicholas Sparks, with three previous novel-to-films to his credit: Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, and The Novel.

• Miracle at St. Anna, starring Derek Lee and Michael Ealy. Directed by Spike Lee. Friday.

The plot: The true World War II tale of four U.S. soldiers who were members of the all-black 92nd Buffalo Soldier Division stationed in Tuscany, Italy. Trapped behind enemy lines, one of the soldiers risks his life to save an Italian youth.

The background: Lee commented that his recent success with the 2006 crime thriller Inside Man — at nearly $185 million worldwide, his biggest-grossing film — didn’t help him when it came to financing Miracle at St. Anna. Perhaps not coincidentally, at the Toronto Film Festival Lee announced he is working on a sequel to Inside Man.

• Rachel Getting Married, starring Anne Hathaway, and Rosemarie DeWitt. Directed by Jonathan Demme. Oct. 3.

The plot: Hathaway stars as a drug addict who leaves rehab to attend her sister’s wedding, and re-opens family wounds in the process.

The background: Hathaway’s performance — along with Mickey Rourke’s in the indie The Wrestler — was all the buzz at the Venice Film Festival, where Rachel Getting Married debuted, and left critics talking Oscar nomination.

• Appaloosa, starring Viggo Mortenson, Renee Zellweger, Jeremy Irons and Ed Harris, who also directs. Oct. 3.

The plot: In this Western, Mortensen and Harris play hired guns sent to clean up a New Mexico town run by a ruthless rancher (Irons). Their longtime friendship is also tested by the advances made to them both by a beautiful widow (Zellweger).

The background: Harris loved the Robert B. Parker’s western so much that he opted to return to the director’s chair for the first time since 2000’s Oscar-nominated Pollak. He also recruited Mortensen to the picture three years ago by giving him a copy of the novel as they were promoting their film A History of Violence at the Toronto Film Festival.

• The Duchess, starring Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes.

The plot: An 18th-century period piece chronicling the life of celebrated beauty and socialite Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, whose personal life involving an adulterous husband and her own scandalous affair is mired in drama.

The background: Amanda Foreman, who wrote the biography on which the film is based a decade ago, recently told London’s Daily Express she’s since reevaluated Georgiana. “I realize now, 10 years on, that she’s a modern woman because she’s struggling to have it all, like the rest of us. It doesn’t mean that your life is a failure, it just means you can’t have it all,” Foreman said. “That’s what her life shows.”

• Happy-Go-Lucky, starring Sally Hawkins and Alexis Zegerman. Directed by Mike Leigh.

The plot: A comedy about an eternally-upbeat North London school teacher whose unflinching optimism is tested by those around her.

The background: Written and directed by Oscar winner Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky has received high praise on the festival circuits, especially for Hawkins’ performance.

• Body of Lies, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. Directed by Ridley Scott. Oct. 10.

The plot: In this thriller based on Washington Post columnist David Ignatius’ 2007 novel, Penetration, DiCaprio plays Roger Ferris, a CIA operative who uncovers a lead on a major terrorist leader. Ferris devises a plan to infiltrate the terrorist’s network in Jordan, but first must win the backing of CIA veteran Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) as well as the head of Jordanian intelligence, neither of whom Ferris is sure he can trust.

The background: Crowe lost 30 pounds for the part, while DiCaprio found a Southern drawl for his role. So why is it that Aussie Crowe’s American accent sounds more natural than DiCaprio’s?

• Pride and Glory, starring Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight, Noah Emmerich. Oct. 24.

The plot: The film follows a multigenerational New York City police family torn apart when one son on the force investigates a case involving his older brother and brother-in-law.

The background: Mark Wahlberg and Hugh Jackman were in discussions to star in Pride and Glory in 2001, but after the Sept. 11 attacks, the drama about corrupt New York City police officers was put on hold.

• Changeling, starring Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich. Directed by Clint Eastwood. Oct. 31.

The plot: Based on actual events from the late 1920s, Changeling is the story of Christine Collins (Jolie), a telephone-company employee who joyously celebrates the return of her kidnapped son — until she realizes the boy is not hers. As Christine desperately searches for the truth, she is confronted by a public dubious of her claims, and a corrupt police force determined to undermine her efforts.

The background: Jolie says her performance is a tribute to her mother, telling Entertainment Weekly: “That was very much my mother. Hated yelling at people, really was so decent and so sweet, but when it came to protecting her children, she somehow found this odd strength.”

• The Soloist, starring Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr. Nov. 21.

The plot: Journalist Steve Lopez (Downey Jr.) discovers Nathaniel Anthony Ayers (Foxx), a former classical music prodigy whose schizophrenia has left him homeless on the streets of Los Angeles. Amazed at Nathaniel’s violin playing and taken by his story, Steve endeavors to help the homeless man and a unique friendship is forged.

The background: Coming off two summer home runs with Iron Man and Tropic Thunder, Downey Jr.’s career couldn’t be hotter. What better then to cap the film season with a surefire tearjerker and potential Oscar bait? And the Academy loves biopics about musical prodigies with issues. Just ask Foxx (Ray) and Geoffrey Rush (Shine).

• The Road, starring Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, and Robert Duvall. Nov. 21.

The plot: A father (Mortensen) and son (Smit-McPhee) negotiate the cold and bleak landscape of post-apocalyptic America that’s now plagued with cannibals, while searching for possible salvation on the coast. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 2006 novel by Cormac McCarthy.

The background: Director John Hillcoat (The Proposition) told USA Today he eschewed a CGI world in distress in favor of the real one: in Pittsburgh. “It’s a beautiful place in fall with the colors changing,” Hillcoat said. “But in winter, it can be very bleak. There are city blocks that are abandoned. The woods can be brutal.”

• Australia, starring Nicole Kidman, and Hugh Jackman, Nov. 26. Directed by Baz Luhrmann.

The plot: An English aristocrat (Kidman) travels to Australia during the brink of World War II to sell the cattle-farm she inherited from her adulterous husband. She meets a local drover (Jackman) and reluctantly agrees to join forces with him to save the land.

The background: Luhrmann, who co-wrote and directed Australia, also co-wrote and directed Moulin Rouge!, which starred Kidman. Russell Crowe was originally cast as the drover, but bowed out of the movie in a salary dispute with 20th Century Fox.

• Milk, starring Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, and James Franco. Directed by Gus Van Sant. Dec. 5.

The plot: Milk is the story of California’s first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk (Penn), a San Francisco supervisor who was assassinated in 1978 along with Mayor George Moscone by a city official, Dan White (Brolin).

The background: Milk was filmed on location in San Francisco, and many of the slain official’s real-life friends and associates participated in the making of the film, with several appearing on camera. The 1984 documentary The Times of Harvey Milk received an Academy Award and was later produced as an opera.

• Frost/Nixon, starring Frank Langella and Michael Sheen. Directed by Ron Howard. Dec. 5.

The plot: Based on the successful British play by Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon is the dramatic retelling of the post-Watergate television interviews between British talk-show host David Frost and disgraced former president Richard Nixon.

The background: Despite critical success in London and on Broadway, Langella and Sheen weren’t initially considered to reprise their roles in the film version of Frost/Nixon. After Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty turned down the role of Nixon, Langella got the call from Universal president and COO Ron Meyer, telling Entertainment Weekly: “He said,
‘We’d like you to come join us.’ I said, ‘Where are you?’ He said, ‘No, for the film!’”

• Doubt, starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams. Directed by John Patrick Shanley. Dec. 12.

The plot: Set in 1964 in a Bronx Catholic School, the drama by Shanley tells the story of a nun who accuses a priest of sexually molesting a 12-year-old boy. The play won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The background: Shanley, who won an Academy Award for best screenplay for Moonstruck and wrote and directed Joe Versus the Volcano, also wrote and directed Doubt. He’s also credited with co-writing Congo, but don’t hold that against him.

• Revolutionary Road, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Directed by Sam Mendes. Dec. 26.

The plot: Based on the critically acclaimed 1961 novel by Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road is the story of a young couple desperately trying to live the American dream in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s. They marry, have two children and watch their lives fall apart.

The background: This is the first pairing of Winslet and DiCaprio since their epic tragedy-on-the-icy-seas Titanic in 1997. Revolutionary Road also marks the first time Mendes has directed wife Winslet.

• Gran Torino, starring Clint Eastwood, who also directs. December.

The plot: A disgruntled Korean War vet Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) opts to reform his neighbor, a young Hmong teenager, after the youth tries to steal Kowalski’s prized possession, a 1972 Gran Torino. In the process, Walt must confront his own bigotry.

The background: Eastwood has been busy behind the camera and finally decided to step in front of it for the first time since 2004’s Million Dollar Baby. He has been nominated twice as an actor and director in the same film (1992’s Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby.) Both times he lost the actor Oscar but won the director Oscar.

Potential blockbusters
Not every movie strives for Oscar gold. Many — if not most — this year would prefer box-office green, and to be crowned runner-up to the 2008 Box-Office King, Dark Knight, and its nearly $520-million-and-counting haul.

Leading the list of fall blockbusters was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, until it was recently announced that the film’s November release was being pushed back to summer 2009.

There to take the boy wizard’s place is the latest installment in the newly energized Bond franchise, with Daniel Craig returning as the super spy.

But don’t discount girl power either — learn the lessons of Titanic — with the first theatrical release of the High School Musical franchise, or for Twilight, the first installment in the bestselling vampire novel series.

The Day the Earth Stood Still, starring Keanu Reeves, should, at the very least, bring out curiosity seekers: those curious about Reeves as an alien, and science fiction lovers curious about this remake of a sci-fi classic.

Among the film’s to further help Hollywood’s bottom line ...
Eagle Eye, starring Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson and Billy Bob Thorton. From the mind of Stephen Spielberg comes a cat-and-mouse high-tech thriller directed by D.J. Caruso. Friday.

Flash of Genius, starring Greg Kinnear, Lauren Graham, Dermot Mulroney, Alan Alda. Oct. 3. A Tucker-esque drama based on the true story of Detroit college professor Robert Kearns (Kinnear) who invents the intermittent windshield wiper and wages an epic war against the auto industry to get credit for it. (OK, Flash of Genius is admittedly not blockbuster material, but there was nowhere else to include it in this roundup since “potential sleeper hit” is not a category.)

High School Musical 3: Senior Year, starring Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale. Oct. 24. After two Disney Channel movies, Troy Bolton (Efron), Gabriella Montez (Hudgens) make their theatrical debut. Given how huge this franchise is — the movies have been seen by an estimated 455 million people worldwide — what took them so long to get there?

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, starring Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric The Entertainer, Andy Richter, Bernie Mac and Alec Baldwin. Nov. 7. The sequel to the 2005’s animated hit finds Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria, King Julien, Maurice, and the penguins and the chimps marooned on the distant shores of Madagascar, so they concoct a plan to escape only to end up crashing in the wilds of Africa. Not sure a sequel to Madagascar was needed, but the lure of another nearly $200 million blockbuster was obviously too tempting to resist.

Quantum of Solace, starring Daniel Craig, and Judi Dench. Nov. 14. And to think, there were once doubts about Craig playing Ian Fleming’s creation in 2006’s Casino Royale. Those sceptics seemed to have disappeared amid the film’s financial haul — $166 million — and near-unanimous critical praise.

Twilight, starring Kristen Stewart, and Robert Pattinson. Dec. 12. Author Stephanie Meyer’s wildly popular vampire series makes it to the big screen with this adaptation of the first book. Meanwhile … still waiting for a sequel to 1994’s
Interview with a Vampire based on Anne Rice’s bestselling vampire series.

The Day the Earth Stood Still, starring Reeves, and Jennifer Connelly. Dec. 12. A remake of the 1951 classic sci-fi film about an alien visitor and his giant robot counterpart who visit Earth. The original dealt with mankind’s potential to destroy the world through nuclear annihilation. The remake focuses on mankind’s potential to kill the planet through global warming. “Klaatu barada nikto.”

Seven Pounds, starring Will Smith. Dec. 19. Smith re-teams with the director and producers of The Pursuit of Happyness for another feel-good movie about a suicidal IRS agent (Smith) who falls in love and changes the lives of seven strangers.

Yes Man, starring Jim Carrey. Dec. 19. Carrey is Carl Allen, a go-nowhere guy whose life revolves around the declaration “no” — until a self-help program teaches him the power of yes, and changes his life. If this sounds vaguely familiar, recall the Seinfeld episode where George tries a similar opposite approach to his life, and does and says everything he normally wouldn’t do. Only Yes Man is stretched an hour or more longer.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, starring Brad Pitt, and Cate Blanchett. Directed by David Fincher. Dec. 25. Pitt plays Benjamin Button, a man born in his 80s at the end of World War I who ages backwards into the 21st century.
Adapted from the 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the movie is not to be confused with Mork and Mindy, which introduced the character of Mearth (Jonathan Winters), who also was born as an older man who ages backward.

Valkyrie, starring Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilksinson, and Terrence Stamp. Directed by Bryan Singer. Dec. 26. Cruise’s career makeover as a comic-actor is temporarily put on hold as he stars in this true historical drama about German officer, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who leads an operation to assassinate Hitler.

Comedy
If the holidays bring you enough drama at home so that you’re looking for some comedic escape at the cinemaplex, the studios have you covered, too.

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings. Oct. 3. Two 20somethings, Nick (Cera) and Norah (Dennings), randomly meet and begin a late-night romance as they travel New York in search of a legendary band’s secret concert. With an indie soundtrack that includes Band of Horses, Vampire Weekend, and Bishop Allen, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is actually pretty good.

What Just Happened, starring Robert DeNiro, Sean Penn, and Bruce Willis. Directed by Barry Levinson. Oct. 3.

DeNiro and Levinson team up again after Wag the Dog for another satire, this time chronicling a Hollywood producer Art Linson (DeNiro) working furiously to get a film made. What Just Happened was written and produced by Art Linson, a real-life movie producer who based the script on his bestselling memoir. The once-reliable Levinson has had a tough go of it in the last few years with the bombs Man of the Year and Envy, but poking at his own industry seems to be a can’t-miss.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno, starring Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks. Directed by Kevin Smith. Oct. 31. Zack (Rogen) and Miri (Banks) are in financial straits, so the two lifelong platonic friends decide to do what any lifelong platonic friends would do: make an adult film together to make some cash. The word on this romantic-comedy is it’s Smith’s best work since the under-appreciated Chasing Amy.

Soul Men, starring Samuel L. Jackson, and Bernie Mac. Nov. 7. This comedy about two backup singers in a R&B group who reunite at the funeral of their former lead singer turned bittersweet with the recent deaths of Mac and Issac Hayes, who has a cameo as himself.

Four Christmases, starring Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Duvall, Jon Favreau, Mary Steenburgen, Dwight Yoakam, Tim McGraw, Kristin Chenoweth, Jon Voight, Sissy Spacek. Nov. 26. Happily married San Francisco couple Kate (Witherspoon) and Brad (Vaughn) spend a not-so-joyous holiday with four sets of family members. Not to be a Grinch, but after last year’s coal-in-the-stocking gift Fred Claus, the thought of Vaughn in another Christmas comedy is about as appealing as fruitcake under the tree. Still, the big-name cast could make this a present worth opening.

Can’t miss
And then there’s the must-sees: Oliver Stone’s profile of George Bush released near election time. And Religulous, starring Bill Maher, which was directed by Larry Charles of Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan and Seinfeld fame.

Towelhead, starring Summer Bishil, and Aaron Eckhart. Directed by Alan Ball. Friday. A 13-year-old Arab-American girl (Bishil) struggles with her sexual awakening, her strict Lebanese father, and a bigoted Army reservist during the Gulf War. Based on Alicia Erian’s novel, Towelhead was written by Ball, who won an Oscar for his American Beauty screenplay and created the critically lauded Six Feet Under. The drama also marks Ball’s film directorial debut.

Religulous, starring Bill Maher. Directed by Larry Charles (Borat). Oct. 3. Irreverent comic and author Bill Maher (Real Time with Bill Maher, Politically Incorrect) travels around the world interviewing people about God and religion. Given that Maher is a devout atheist, his conversations with the religiously enlightened should be entertaining, at the very least.

City of Ember, starring Bill Murray, Tim Robbins, and Martin Landau. Oct. 10. The residents of the underground City of Ember have survived a post-apocalyptic world for centuries in their underground city of glittering lights. But as Ember’s generator begins to fail, two children go on a mission to learn the secrets of the civilization, and how to escape.

Based on the best-selling fantasy novel by Jeanne Duprau, City of Ember was written by Caroline Thompson, who penned Edward Scissorhands. Plus, it stars the always-entertaining Murray.

W, starring Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, Ellen Burstyn, James Cromwell, Richard Dreyfuss and Scott Glenn. Directed by Oliver Stone. Oct. 17. A quick tour of the life of George W. Bush (Brolin), from his wild and reckless days, to his political ascension, and up to the critical days leading up his decision to invade Iraq. Stone makes a movie about a sitting president, and releases it only 2 1/2 weeks away from the November presidential election, there’s no political agenda here. Right?

Rocknrolla, starring Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jeremy Piven, and Tom Wilkinson.
Directed by Guy Ritchie. Oct. 31.

When a Russian mobster orchestrates a crooked land deal, millions of dollars are up for grabs, and all of London’s criminal underworld wants in on the action. Word is that Ritchie has returned to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels form after the disastrous Swept Away starring his wife, Madonna.

The Spirit, starring Gabriel Macht, Eva Mendes, Samuel L. Jackson, and Scarlett Johansson. Directed by Frank Miller (300, Sin City). Dec. 25.

The story of a former rookie cop who returns mysteriously from the dead as the Spirit (Macht) to fight crime is based on the legendary comic strip of the same name. And how better to adapt the comic strip into a movie than famed graphic novelist Miller, whose 300 and Sin City works were also made into movies.

Contact Kirk Baird at:kbaird@theblade.com or 419-724-6734.

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