By Jay A. Fernandez

After last year’s skirmish-that-never-actually-happened involving Proposition 8 protestors and the Sundance Film Festival, it would appear that the fest organizers are launching a little cheeky payback.

To recap:

After California voters passed Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage, with major backing from Mormon groups, gay rights advocates threatened to boycott theaters in Park City, Utah, owned by one of the Prop 8 supporters during the 2009 festival in January. This would have affected the part of the festival’s program that showed at those theaters, had the protestors followed through on their threat.

At the time, festival organizers gently but firmly reminded everyone that Sundance has long been a champion of LGBT work and provided a forum for same when others wouldn’t touch it. Thus, boycotting the festival’s offerings — even indirectly — would be counterproductive at best.

So, nothing much happened.

Cut to the 2010 edition.

Screening in the documentary portion of the out-of-competition Spotlight section is “8: The Mormon Proposition.” Filmmaker Reed Cowan dove into an investigation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ support of the measure, and Sundance is none-too-subtlely screening the results. (Trailer below.)

Also, GLAAD has stepped up its involvement with the festival by becoming an official Institute associate with programmed panels and events running through the week to highlight LGBT films and filmmakers.

By Jay A. Fernandez

Reps for the Sony Pictures Classics release “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” the latest fantasia from Terry Gilliam, are distributing statements from co-stars Johnny Depp and Jude Law. This was the film Heath Ledger was working on when he died last year, and Gilliam asked Depp, Law and Colin Farrell to help finish the film as variations on Ledger’s character.

Here are the statements:

JOHNNY DEPP:
“Maestro Gilliam has made a sublime film. Wonderfully enchanting and beautiful, ‘The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus’ is a uniquely ingenious, captivating creation; by turns wild, thrilling and hilarious in all its crazed, dilapidated majesty. Pure Gilliam magic!!!

It was an honor to represent Heath. He was the only player out there breathing heavy down the back of every established actors neck with a thundering and ungovernable talent that came up on you quick, hissing rather mischievously with that cheeky grin, ‘hey… get on out of my way boys, i’m coming through…’ and does he ever!!! Heath is a marvel, Christopher Plummer beyond anything he’s ever done, Waits as the Devil is a God, Lily Cole and Andrew Garfield, the very foundation, are spectacular, Verne Troyer simply kicks ass and as for my other cohorts, Colin Farrell and Jude Law, they most certainly did Master Ledger very proud, I salute them.

Though the circumstances of my involvement are extremely heart-rending and unbelievably sad, I feel privileged to have been asked aboard to stand in on behalf of dear Heath.”

JUDE LAW:
“I have always loved Terry Gilliam’s films. Their heart, their soul, their mind, always inventive, touching, funny and relevant. When I got the call, it was a double tug. I liked Heath very much as a man and admired him as an actor. To help finish his final piece of work was a tribute I felt compelled to make. To help Terry finish his film was an honour paid to a man I adore. I had a great time on the job. Though we were all there in remembrance, Heath’s heart pushed us with great lightness to the finish.”

SPC released the movie in New York and L.A. Christmas Day; it goes wide January 8.

By Jay A. Fernandez

Well, you knew it was going to get a title change. “A Couple of Dicks,” while a bullseye for the typical Kevin Smith crowd, wasn’t going to draw anyone else to his attempt to break out of the Kevin Smith box.

So here we have “Cop Out,” and its newly released trailer:

While I like that Warner Bros. is playing off its own storied cop/crime film legacy, this project hits a little too generic in contrast (starting with the meaningless punny title). Like Chris Tucker, a little Tracy Morgan goes a long, long way. And though this is Bruce Willis in his element — and he had mad chemistry with Sam Jackson in the third “Die Hard” — he looks kind of neutered here.

And in a strange new trend, this trailer doesn’t say a thing about the plot. I’m the first to gripe when a trailer unspools the whole freakin’ storyline, but can we get some hint of what the challenge or thematic throughline is for these characters you want us to come spend time with? The fact that you think they’re funny together (of which there isn’t much evidence here) is not nearly enough.

Sadly, this new title will be its own tempting bullseye for those Smith fans who will see this film as just that.

By Jay A. Fernandez

Now that 21 critics’ groups have weighed in, we have the tallies for four of the top awards-season prizes — best film, best director, best screenplay adapted and original (unless the group gave a single script nod).

(Here are some of the lists: New York Film Critics Circle, Los Angeles Film Critics Association and London Film Critics Circle.)

What this means for the Oscars is (mostly) easy to divine.

Adapted screenplay and director have built up a solid consensus, with Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner’s adaptation of Walter Kirn’s novel “Up in the Air” nearly unanimous in the former category and “The Hurt Locker” helmer Kathryn Bigelow taking a vast majority of the prizes in the latter category. Reitman and Turner are virtual locks for the Oscar at this point, and Bigelow is looking very strong.

The critics were split down the middle on Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber’s “(500) Days of Summer” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” in the original screenplay category. Tarantino has his faithful, and his screenplays are a delight, but he’s already got one (for “Pulp Fiction”).

Neustadter and Weber, on the other hand, are total newbies and threw their own delightful twist on a worn-out genre. The Academy loves the fresh voice come Oscar night, and Diablo Cody, Michael Arndt, Sofia Coppola and Alan Ball have statuettes to prove it.

The biggest head-scratcher is best picture. “The Hurt Locker” got more votes, but “Up in the Air” is clearly the more Academy-friendly film. It has greater scope, more fun, a wider range of praiseworthy elements — and Bigelow scored director nods from groups who determined “Air” the better picture.

What this tells me is that the top Oscar votes will actually be split: Bigelow for director (which brings the additional crowd-pleasing factor of bestowing the award for the first time on a female director), and “Air” for picture.

This happens every few years. In 2006, Ang Lee took the prize for “Brokeback Mounatin” while “Crash” won the picture prize. In 2003, Roman Polanski took the directing honor for “The Pianist” while “Chicago” took the top prize. In 2001, Steven Soderbergh won for directing “Traffic” while “Gladiator” won picture.

But perhaps the best predictive analog for this year is 1999, when Steven Spielberg won the prize for directing “Saving Private Ryan” while “Shakespeare in Love” took the picture win. Note the pattern when these awards are split: The edgier critical pick walks away with the directing prize while the more digestible, broader, mainstream offering gets the top slot.

This year will be no different. Or do you think I’m wrong?

Full tally after the jump:

By Jay A. Fernandez

Whoo, boy. The Fox action-comedy “Knight and Day” has a trailer. And it’s a surprisingly enjoyable experience watching Tom Cruise step back into likable human terrain.

This is how a trailer should be done. It’s electric. It introduces the characters effectively, as well as establishes their chemistry. It blows some shit up. And it hints at a plot without talking the thing to death and obliterating any chance at surprise when you finally sit down to see the thing.

Not to hammer “The Bounty Hunter” too much, but contrast this trailer with that one and note the vast difference in appeal.

Anyway, this trailer does exactly what it’s supposed to do and sets up a fun action ride to look forward to next summer.

By Jay A. Fernandez

The trailer for “Sex and the City 2“ is over at Moviefone. It’s excruciating to sit through, even as it assures us of the “amazing things” that will happen in this follow-up to the $401 million-grossing first feature.

What those things are have not been included in the trailer, nor is any hint at a plot. Oh, except a shot of the four ladies striding in line up over a dune in the Moroccan desert. Huh?

To me, this smells like the second “Bridget Jones” movie, when they shipped poor Bridget off to Thailand for no good reason. That the place where the production was filmed was later destroyed by the southeast Asian tsunami not long after should serve as a warning to anyone who contributed to the filming of “SATC2.”

It’s clear that Warner Bros. and the filmmakers expect you simply to swoon at the very sight of the SATC girls’ fabulousness trotted back onto the big screen. Good luck with that.

You have been warned.

By Jay A. Fernandez and Matthew Belloni

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s annual Golden Globes festivities will take over the Beverly Hilton Hotel January 17.

Yes, that’s three weeks from now. But it’s never too early to map out your afterparty attack.

The Beverly Hilton will once again be the Big Top under which the various celebrity circuses will sparkle and whirl, spilling one into the next. Here’s a partial list of locations for all your cocktail and canoodling needs.

(Be sure to check back for updates, as more events and relevant commentary are sure to be added.)

1. Warner Bros. Studios/InStyle — Oasis Courtyard

You get the most bang for your buck at the WB/IS shindig, since it  merges fashion with the famous and anyone else who’s got even a tenuous relationship with celebrity. Plus, the Bros. had a mighty fine, eclectic year — “The Hangover,” “Harry Potter,” “Terminator Salvation,” “Watchmen,” “The Blind Side,” “The Final Destination,” “Sherlock Holmes” — so expect the babes, bubbly and back-slapping to be free-flowing.

*Note: InStyle is also having its annual GG viewing dinner, hosted by managing editor Ariel Foxman.

2. HBO – Circa 55 + Poolside

While not quite the critical dynamo it was two years ago, HBO still fields a splendid Globes bash with a reliable hip quotient. Keep in mind: as the night goes on, this thing gets packed, so go early if you want to hang there. With a sublimely resurgent “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (jammed full of “Seinfeld”), the ratings-happy “True Blood” and newcomer “Hung” carrying the series mantle, the cabler also did well with “Grey Gardens” and “Taking Chance” on the feature side. And don’t forget the comedy fixtures — from Will Ferrell and Robin Williams to Wanda Sykes, Danny McBride and Zach Galifianakis — that ramps up the unpredictability factor should they swing by.

3. NBC Universal – Hotel Rooftop

Putting NBC Universal that far off the ground with minimal safety railings seems like a bad idea given the year the film division has had. Better install some kind of aerial netting for when things get drunkenly bleakest. And don’t loiter on the sidewalks.

4. Summit Entertainment – Stardust Room

Summit’s critical breakout, “The Hurt Locker,” has been feted by just about every critics group in the country — for picture, director Kathryn Bigelow and writer-producer Mark Boal’s screenplay. The Globes followed with its own tank load of nominations. So here’s looking to an explosive party.

5. The Weinstein Co. – Old Trader Vics space

Yes, TWC still has a party. And this year they actually have a reason to throw one. “The Road” may have dead-ended and “Halloween II” may have run out of candy, but homegrown hero Quentin Tarantino delivered his biggest hit with “Inglourious Basterds.” Between that, “Nine” and Colin Firth’s vaunted turn in “A Single Man,” the glamour and movie geek chic should be thicker than Brad Pitt’s Tennessee accent.

By Jay A. Fernandez

Trailers for some upcoming Sundance Film Festival 2010 offerings are starting to pop up online.

First Showing has one for “Boy,” a World Cinema Narrative Competition film from New Zealand, written and directed by Taika Waititi. It involves an 11-year-old with a Michael Jackson fixation and an oddball absentee father who suddenly returns. The off-center humor looks appealing.

Apple has exclusively put up the one for “Frozen,” a Park City at Midnight selection that Anchor Bay has already picked up for U.S. distribution. Anchor Bay will open it in theaters February 5, two weeks after its world premiere at the festival. It looks like a nice, freezing-cold variation on the trapped-in-a-miserable-situation subgenre.