Tobey Maguire excited fans with a personal introduction at the premiere of the new film Babylon and surprised everyone with a champagne toast.
Per Screen Rant, in a cellphone video recently removed from Twitter, in keeping with the upcoming movie’s themes of debauchery and hedonism, Maguire handed out miniature bottles of champagne, but not before sneaking in an avuncular joke about checking everyone’s ID. Returning to the screen for the first time since joining the ensemble cast of Spiderman: No Way Home, Maguire, star of the original Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy, Pleasantville, Brothers and even The Boss Baby, is back in this scandalous period piece about the decadence running rampant through Hollywood as silent films were being replaced by talking pictures.
The plot of Babylon captures the flair of the 1920s as the audience bears witness to the demise of several beloved performers who fly too high, and inevitably fall. In creating an accurate representation of the era, the film earned an R-rating from the MPAA due to its drug use, nudity, violence, and sexual content. The cast includes, in addition to Tobey, Oscar-winners Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt, along with Diego Calva who previously starred in I Promise You Anarchy. The eighty-million dollar production filmed from the hills and deserts of California to the original Hollywood sound stages at Paramount, and the opulent Bel Air mansions of Los Angeles.
Awards Aplenty for Babylon
Babylon won’t be released in theaters until Dec. 23, 2022, but it has already been nominated for five Golden Globes, including best actress for Robbie, best actor for Calva, best supporting actor for Pitt, and best picture. Tobey Maguire plays an unsettling character named James McKay, whose role in the plot is unknown, but Maguire’s performance is exceedingly ghoulish. The cast is rounded out with Jovan Adepo, Olivia Wilde, Samara Weaving, Jean Smart, Spike Jonze, and Li Jun Lei. The outcome of the globe nominations will not be announced until Jan. 10, 2023. Voting for Oscar nominations begins soon after on Jan. 12-17, and the Oscar nominees are announced on Jan. 24, 2023.
The writer and director of Babylon, Damien Chazelle, is known for his Oscar-winning film La La Land, another December release that won him the Academy Award for Best Director in 2017. His other award-winning films include Whiplash and First Man. Babylon hits theaters on Dec. 23.
Source: Screen Rant