Martin Scorsese finally wins an Oscar but he doesn't have a ton to say about the emotions of it. He's a film buff with an encyclopedia mind and he's back here talking about film perservation etc.Finally, someone gets him to reflect on the enormity of it all: "Good thing I didn't get it before. Maybe it would have changed the kind of movies I made or something. I'm glad that it went this way. I'm glad it's taken this long. It's been worth it."
While he campaigned for "The Aviator" and "Gangs of New York," he wanted to lie low on any campaigns for "The Departed" on his behalf: "Let's relax and make as good a film as we can."
On past losses: "You've got to get on with your life and get on with your work. The work is what's important."
He added: "Winning for me, I gotta tell you, is making the pictures."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Helen Mirren, who walked in carrying a vodka gimlet, is back here answering a question in perfect French. I have NO IDEA what she is saying but she sounds lovely. Is there nothing this woman can't do. Holding her first Academy Award ever, she told reporters backstage that she finished filming "Elizabeth I" (the TV movie that won her the Emmy, the Golden Globe and the SAG award) then had only two weeks before she began filming "The Queen" which had her playing Queen Elizabeth II for which she has won EVERYTHING. Then, after just after a month off, she began filming her final "Prime Suspect" movie for which she, of course, was critically acclaimed.
Before the ceremony, she said she felt "quite calm." She said she cared about winning but didn't dwell on it. "I didn't go there."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 09:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Eddie Murphy had already had the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards for best supporting actor by the time his comedy "Norbit" hit theaters. There was a school of thought that they movie, while a huge box office hit, might undermine Murphy's Oscar chance since it is such a silly comedy seemingly below a "serious" actor."
So someone asks Arkin: "Were you glad to see those bilboards for 'Norbit" going up around time: "I don't keep score," he said. "This is a fun kind of insanity. Who's to say who's better?"

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 09:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Those of us who have been covering the award shows this season, until tonight, Forest Whitaker's acceptance speeches have been horrendous. So when he won, some of us were keeping our fingers crossed. He did a smart thing: he prepared a speech and read from it. Usually that is so terrible for for Whitaker, it was wonderful because he wrote a wonderful, thoughtful speech and delivered it with so much heart.
Backstage, he was just as thoughtful on a variety of topics including the diversity of this year's nominees from African-Americans to Mexicans to Spaniards and on and on: "it's an amazing statement. We have ti be connected as a planet. This year, you see people from all over the world...Stories that are reflecting the diversity of humanity. We have to pay attention and understand that I affect you and you affect me."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 09:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What's better than interpretive dancing during a 3 1/2-hour awards show? Interpretive dancing in silhouette!

Posted by Fred Shuster at 09:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

When you think about the Britney Spears mess, it says something about success coming too fast. Spears is the same age - 25- as Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson. So as Hudson stood holding an Oscar and on top of the world backstage, she was asked what advice she might have for this trouled, bald, tatooed and now-in-rehab one-time performer: "I can only pray for her," Hudson said, before adding, "It's not really any of my business."
Tell THAT to the tabloids!

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 09:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Jennifer Hudson follows Hattie McDaniel and Whoopi Goldberg as one of only three African-American actresses to ever win the best supporting actress Oscar."This represents a change and a difference," she said backstage after I asked her about being added to this very exclusive club.
Asked about Eddie Murphy's loss, she said: "I just know that he did an unbelievable job. I feel at this point, just being a nominee, we're all winners."
Still, with Hudson's win and that of Forest Whitaker for "Last King of Scotland," it was an excellent night for African American actors who have been largely ignored by the Academy until 2002 when a change took place with the duel wins of Denzel Washington and Halle Berry (the only African-American actress to EVER win the leading actress prize). Since then, Jamie Foxx has won lead actor, Morgan Freeman supporting actor and now Hudson and Whitaker.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 09:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"This is the only naked man who will ever be in my bedroom," said best original song winner Melissa Etheridge backstage. As one of the world's most famous lesbians, she was asked about thanking partner Tammy Lynn Michaels as her wife in her speech and giving her a big kiss before taking the stage.
"She was so important to me, especially with this project," she said of Michaels. "She said, 'Write what you feel.' She saved my life. I was kissing her because that's what you do when you win and Oscar, you kiss your loved one."
As far as anyone raising an eyebrow over such same-sex affection, Etheridge said: "I think the Oscars, it's like a gay holiday. So it's really meaningful that [host] Ellen [DeGeneres] or myself, there's no token gay here. It's a real mix here."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 08:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

... for showing excellent judgment in leaving Anna Nicole Smith out of the In Memoriam package. Yeah. technically speaking she was in a couple of movies, but...

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 08:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Al Gore and the team behind "An Inconvenient Truth" were just wrapping up their backstage Q&A session and were almost out of the room when Melissa Etheridge's name was called as winner of best original song "I Need to Wake Up" which she wrote for the movie. Gore tip-toed back into the press room to watch Etheridge accept the Oscar. He clapped wildly and smiled ear-to-ear. He clapped again when Etheridge said "caring about the Earth is not red or blue, we are all green."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 08:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's kind of bizarre. Al Gore is back here taking questions, and at least three reporters have referred to him as "Mr. President." Finally, Gore says "I WAS president of the senate!"

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 08:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Celine Dion is singing on the screen and the backstage interview is the foreign film winner who is speaking in German. So what is there to do? Gossip with Richard Roeper! He heard that after losing the best supporting actor race to Alan Arkin, Murphjy left! If that's the truth, it's not very gracious of Norbit. After all, remember 10 years ago when poor Lauren Bacall, as much as a front-runner for "The Mirror Has Two Faces" as Murphy was for "Dreamgirls," smiled bravely and clapped after Juliet Binoche won (this pains me to this day) then not only did Bacall stay through the whole show, she went to the Governor's Ball and danced with Kevin Spacey.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 07:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

When Sherry Lansing saw Tom Cruise at a pre-Oscar party a few days ago, she said she thought he was kind of cold when he greeted her. When he presented her with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, he whispered into her ear that he really wanted to do it and that's why he couldn't say much at the party: "It was a secret. I had no idea who was giving me the award," Lansing said backstage.
She also, during a very loooooooooooooooooooong Q&A session, defended Cruise as an actor and believes he will be back at the top of his profession and be standing at the Academy Awards holding his own Oscar one day.
Cruise ex-wife Nicole Kidman, who presented the first award tonight with Daniel Craig, already has an Oscar, and ex-girlfriend Penelope Cruz is up for one tonight.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 07:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hooray!!! It happened. After Eddie Murphy's loss, I was a bit nervous about this. But Jennifer Hudson took the best supporting actress Academy Award for "Dreamgirls" and she was tearful and gracious. "I just have to take this moment in. I cannot believe this. Look what God can do."
She hugged Beyonce and others on her way up to the stage. I gotta say, it is so annoying to have the music start playing her off the stage. Dammit. Cut out the stupid costume segment and let the best supporting actress speak!
Over the music, Jennifer Hudson did thank Jennifer Holliday, who originated the role of Effie on Broadway, won the Tony for it 25 years ago, and was publicly pissed off over not being given even a cameo in the film.
Holliday should feel much better now and thanks to the classy Hudson, her legacy was honored.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 07:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Now I wish I hadn't blown off the producer of "The Lives of Others" on the red carpet. I was sure "Pan's Labyrinth" would win in this category, especially since it had already won for art direction and cinematography AND make-up! With six nods overall, it seemed to be a shoo-in to win at least five wins...OK, here comes best supporting actress! Will Jennifer win? I'm a wreck!

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 07:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Oscar producer Laura Ziskin meant well when she asked for some sort of display on stage of nominated costume designs. But what the hell was that? "Curse of the Golden Flower" and "Marie Antoinette" were showcased nicely, but the corgi next to the multiple versions of "The Queen," the two white-haired Mirandas in their "Prada" wear and the Voguish posing of the "Dreamgirls" were just campy gone weird.

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 07:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Something tells me that if Paraount Pictures studio head Brad Grey were receiving the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award tonight, Tom Cruise would not have shown up to present the honor. But since it was going to former studio head Sherry Lansing, under whom he enjoyed a heady run of hits over 20 years, Tommy was here with bells on. He's the perfect gentleman these days and I think the whole image makeover post-Oprah couch jumping and Brooke Shields bashing will work provided he follows it up with a good movie role and continued good behavior.
Sherry's speech was kinda stiff but she looks dazzling not just for a 61-year-old woman, but for a woman any age.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 07:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

-- Meryl Streep giving co-presenters (and co-stars) Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway the evil eye from the audience when they quiz each other over who forgot to fetch Miss Streep her capacinno (I can't spell it!)

-- Helen Mirren, that classy English Dame, saying the entire title of "Borat:Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kasakhstan" with a straight face and dignified manner...making it all the funnier.

-- Host Ellen asking Speven Speilberg to take a photo of her and Clint Eastwood in the audience. Then had him take a second one because it wasn't centered enough.

-- Ellen saying Dame Judi Dench was not at the awards because she was having "knee surgery" (she used air quotes) then adding that it was actually surgery on eyes. Then later she says she has to correct herself: "It wasn't her eyes...it was her boobs."

Ellen to nominees: "It's not that we don't have time for long speeches...we don't have time for boring speeches!"

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 07:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Was it me or did “The Departed” screenplay winner William Monahan just get played off – very gently – to “So Long, Farewell” from "The Sound of Music?"

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 06:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As an uncle who takes his niece and nephew to just about every animated film that comes out, I take special interest in the best animated film category. I figured "Cars" would win. It was good, it's Pixar, made gobs of money, had top-flight talent. But the movie that me and the kids really loved was Happy Feet. After it was over, my 5-year-old nephew Ben could not stop tap dancing. "I have happy feet!" he explained. I mostly loved that this film had a wonderful message about accepting people's (or penguin's) differences...that different isn't bad. Let people, or penguins, be their authentic selves.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 06:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Vice President Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio just came out to announce that for the first time in Oscar history, the show has gone green, meaning whenever possible, choices favored those that were ecologically sound.
Of course, it probably was much closer to green back in the early ‘30s when it was just a dinner get-together of Hollywood insiders. You wanna be really green? Don’t force the closure Hollywood Boulevard for about a week, leaving cars trucks and buses belching fumes while they idle in the traffic.
And don’t anybody remind Al about all the chemical waste involved in metal plating on those statuettes.

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 06:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Gosh, people keep calling me. Friends. A buddy Scott calls and says, "Hey, we're on the road. Do you know what radio station is playing the Oscars?" I whispered: "DUDE, I'm BACKSTAGE right now, I can't talk!" Then my friend Evan texts me to tell me he grew up with one of the winners and to ask him something but I don;t read the text until the guy was already out of the interview room.
Anyway, both Richard Roeper and I lament that fact that our predictions of major categories will not be perfect since we both picked Eddie Murphy to win. Richard and I are likethis now. I wouldn't be surprised if we went out and grabbed a few beers after this is over....

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 06:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Alan Arkin's win for "Little Miss Sunshine" cuts into the sweep by persons of color. Djimon Honsou of "Blood Diamond" and Eddie Murphy of "Dreamgirls" -- who had a leg up from the SAG Awards, we thought -- were left in their seats. Arkin is the first "first-timer" among major categories. More to come, for sure.

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 06:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Alan Arkin took the supporting actor trophy over tough competition, including front-runner Eddie Murphy. I can only think this helps "Little Miss Sunshine" in the best picture race. Ellen Degeneres is now roaming around the audience, she doesn't head toward Murphy, who can't be happy, but did chat with Mark Wallberg, who was clearly just happy to be nominated. I think Murphy is probably planning "Norbit 2" right now, and I don't blame him! But Arkin is a worthy winner.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 06:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Those Oscars sure look COOL!! The night's first winners are backstage -- they won for art direction for "Pan's Labyrinth." I wonder if they would let me hold it just for a minute. C'mon. which of you hasn't wanted to hold up an Oscar and give a fake speech? I have a friend whose husband won an Emmy, and I was at their house for brunch one Sunday and did the whole stand-in-front-of-the-miirror-with-the-Emmy thing. They just laughed because apparently about a dozen people had done it before me that very day.

All these answers are in Spanish from the "Pan's Labyrinth" peeps. How do you say, "Can I borrow your Oscar for a minute in Spanish?"

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 05:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Great opening sequence with absolutely no frills. Short, sweet and endearing straight-on interviews with the nominees, cut just quickly enough. Thank you, Errol Morris. Then came Ellen DeGeneres. She's known for her apolitical comedy, and she likes it that way. But she did get in one impartial comment. It came after acknowledging Jennifer Hudson, noting the irony that Americans did not vote for her to win "American Idol," and yet here she is with an Oscar nomination for "Dreamgirls." "And Al Gore is here tonight, (for the documentary 'An Inconvenient Truth')," DeGeneres said. "Americans did vote for him, and.... It's very complicated."

Touche. Al and Tipper had a good laugh, and Ellen got big applause.

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 05:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The show starts in a few minutes! So I'm sitting across from Stacy Jenel Smith, who does Marilyn Beck's column with her, and I told her about how 3 or 4 years ago, I was seated next to Beck at a screening of "The Four Feathers" on the lot of Paramount Pictures and midway through...I FELL ASLEEP! (I wasn't reviewing it!) so Stacy calls Marilyn up and asks her if she remembers. She does and puts her on the phone with me! We had a good laugh.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 05:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's so much more fun watching stuff going on on the red carpet backstage than actually on the red carpet. When I was out there, it was cold and blustery, and now I'm inside here sitting next to Richard Roeper sipping hot tea. Which would you rather be doing? Cameron Diaz is on the screen right now blabbering on and on. But she looks a lot better than she did at the Globes. Now Eddie Murphy is on and he insists that he likes ALL his movies: "I even like 'Pluto Nash.' "

They are doing a spot on Ryan Gosling right now. I ask you, is it really necessary to keep bringing up that he was on "The Mickey Mouse Club" with Justin, Britney and Christina Agulera? I mean, do all roads lead to Britney? I wonder if Britney is watching the Oscars from her rehab facility, and if so, if she is watching them with a wig on ...

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 05:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I love Ricky Gervais! If you didn't catch his video message to Kate Winslet on E!'s red carpet coverage, then it's going to lose something in this translation. The creative genius behind "The Office" and star of "Extras" was polite and suportive of his old friend, but his Siamese cat apparently couldn't hold back, expressing her preference for Helen Mirren's performance and her snide opinion of Winslet's gown. Kate thoroughly enjoyed it, and that was the idea. Every nervous nominee should have a friend like him to help them relax on their way in to the big event.

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 04:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm back in the press room waiting for Roeper to get here. I've disagreed with many of his reviews this year so I hope things don't get ugly back here between us. But, some more red carpet sightings. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is here and said something about how cool it is to be mayor of LA where you can go from a baseball game in Encino to the Oscars. That's all fine, but he really should not have shown up at the Oscars wearing baseball gear.
KIDDING!
The queen Helen Mirren has arrived with hubby Taylor Hackford and said she was feeling "a combination of nerves and feeling unbelievably excited..it's always the most amazing afternoon and evening of one's life." She says her nominated role in "The Queen," allowed viewers to "look behind the curtain a bit behind the mystery of the monarchy."
And finally, Celine Dion shows up (not wearing the ridiculous backward white suit from years back...remember THAT?) and she said, "It's our fifth time at the Oscars and it's an amazing honor."
I'm just grateful she is not going to be singing "My Heart Will Go On." I can go another 25 years before hearing that song again.
Leonardo DiCaprio whisked by looking super-sharp with his hair slicked back and only stopping to sign an autograph for some little kid. I don't think Leo will win for "Blood Diamond" but, I believe he deserves to win.
Also, Jennifer Hudson whisked by. She looks like a winner already!

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 04:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Beyoncé said on Oscar's red carpet Sunday: "It's a wonderful year to be an African-American actor."
If only they'd get the names right.

At Saturday's Independent Spirit Awards -- the indie Oscars -- newcomer Shareeka Epps, the African-American who won best actress for "Half Nelson," was called "Shakira" twice by presenter Felicity Huffman

"Oh, my name's Shareeka by the way," Epps said from the Spirit Awards stage.

At the end of the night, the unbearable Sarah Silverman, who hosted, said "Next year's host will be Facility Hoffman." Good one, Sarah.

Posted by Fred Shuster at 04:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So here's the deal, the press bleacher I'm at is situated right before the celebs are going to walk into the Kodak, so by that time, they are sick of doing interviews, I would guess. But, I was shouting out questions to see if they'd give me just a little crumb of something.

To Jodie Foster, looking like a million bucks in a Vera Wang gown, I said, "Jodie! Who ya rootin' for for best director." She looks back, smiles and says, "Awww, Martin Scoresse." That's the man who directed her to her first Oscar nomination 31 years ago in "Taxi Driver." Egads! Time Flies. She, of course, has won two Oscars since then. ...

Then, knock me over with a feather, I see the stunning, beautiful, flawless Catherine Deneuve. Wow! Total babe. Asked her who she is rooting for to win best picture. This French goddess looked panicked and said, "I don't know! I don't know!" So, I figure she doesn't want to take sides ... or she doesn't even know who the heck is nominated!

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 04:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If you're ex-Idol contestant and Oscar nominee Jennifer Hudson, one good thing about being interviewed by Ryan Seacrest on the Academy Awards red carpet is his ability to get Simon Cowell eating a heapin' helping of crow on tape. Cowell submitted a video message just for Hudson, whom he drubbed during her "American Idol" performances in season three. "We're rooting for you," he said, predicting she would win the supporting actress honor for "Dreamgirls." Hudson was so touched that she expressed concern about her makeup being runined by a tear or two. Finally! Simon making somebody cry is a good thing.

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 04:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My credentials allow me access to the backstage interview room and what is called the press bleachers, which are different from what I'm used to but kinda fun. You are mixed in with seat-fillers, and I was sitting with Janice Campbell of Ontario, Calif., and Gale Wilson of San Dimas. We became fast friends and began giving our catty opinions of some of the fashions of the early arrivals. Some REAL nightmares! Joan Rivers must be fainting.

The co-screenwriter of "Borat" has arrived (not Sacha Baron Cohen, the other dude) and he told the announcer: "It's amazing, it's surreal. [Award season] seems to last forever. We hoped [the movie] would do well, but we were just blown away."

Paul Haggis, who won last year for "Crash," is up this year for adapated screenplay for "Letters From Iwo Jima," and says that with each Oscar win (he's won twice now) his wife says, "I get much better looking."

OK friends, I'm writing you this from the interview room, where I am slated to sit right next to Richard Roeper, who is currently doing the ABC pre-show. I'm going to go back out to the bleachers (and Janice and Gale) and see how the A-listers look now that they are arriving.).

Stay tuned!

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 03:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Kodak Theatre, anyway. Former Vice President Al Gore, hoping for a documentary award for director Davis Guggenheim's "An Inconvenient Truth," just did the red carpet thing with wife Tipper -- she in Bill Blass, he in Ralph Lauren.

He's as sharp and self-deprecating as ever. When E! host Ryan Seacrest asked him who could play Gore in a biopic, he replied, "I don't know ... William Hung?" If you've ever seen Al dance, you know his suggestion has some merit.

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 03:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm kinda under the weather here at the Oscars but will try my best to bring you what's going on. Got here later than I had hoped but had a chance to wander around the red carpet and chatted up Mark McGrath, the former Sugar Ray singer who is now co-host of "Extra." He could not have been nice and told me he is "still figuring this all out. It's been an interesting transition."
Then I saw Wolfgang Puck on the red carpet and walked right up to him, pointed to this tray of goodie he had and asked if it was all real chocolate Ichocolate Oscars, chocolate burgers etc). He said in his delightfully thicik accent: "Yes, all is chocolate except for salom on oscars at the bottom."
Gotcha.
I was just about to say hello to Joan Rivers when some Academy official demanded to see my credentials and said I was no longer allowed in this area. (bitch!)
I was ushered to the press bleachers where I was seated with some journalists and a bunch of seat fillers. The woman in front of me is from Japan and her dress has a big bow in the back. It's lovely. But, it is getting in my way. I feel like tearing it off.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 03:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Irony is alive and well and ready for its closeup at the Oscars. E! has announced that Jennifer Holliday, who may or may not still be extremely bitter about being passed over for the role of Effie in the "Dreamgirls" film, is going to provide live entertainment during its six-hour "Countdown to the Red Carpet" special. She's going to sing "And I'm Telling You, I'm Not Going" -- Effie's showstopper that marks the beginning of a steep personal and professional decline. Jennifer Hudson is picking up the hardware at nearly every awards show and is in the elite Oscar nominees club, but Holliday, who originated the role on Broadway, is digging her heels into the red carpet.

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 04:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Mark your calendars for two extraordinary, Oscar-nominated films, arriving on April 17th from Fox Home Entertainment:

THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
Oscar-nominee Forest Whitaker portrays the charismatic, yet psychopathic Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, who led one of the most horrific reigns of terror in modern times. Based on chilling, actual events, the film follows Amin’s rise to power and subsequent fall from grace chronicled from the perspective of his personal physician, a young Scotsman blinded by Amin’s charm who ultimately must confront both the reality of Amin and face the consequences of his own actions. Boasting gritty and realistic direction from documentary filmmaker Kevin MacDonald ("Touching The Void," "Being Mick") and a versatile supporting cast that includes James McAvoy ("The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe"), Gillian Anderson (“The X-Files”) and Kerry Washington ("Fantastic Four"), the DVD includes audio commentary by MacDonald, seven deleted scenes with optional director commentary, a “Capturing Idi Amin” documentary, and a Forest Whitaker featurette.

NOTES ON A SCANDAL

Two of the world’s best actresses, six-time nominee and Oscar-winner Judi Dench and three-time nominee and Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett deliver superb performances along with Golden Globe-winner Bill Nighy ("Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest," "Constant Gardner") in what The New York Observer called “a cinematic triumph of scalding intensity.” Directed by Richard Eyre ("Stage Beauty," "Iris"), the film is nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Acting nods for Dench and Blanchett as well as Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score. In the story, one woman’s mistake is another’s opportunity in this stylish, suspenseful thriller that binds two women together by the secrets that they share. The DVD features deleted scenes, director commentary, webisodes, multiple featurettes – including “Notes On A Scandal: The Story Of Two Obsessions” and “Notes On A Scandal: Behind The Scenes."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 02:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

One really cool thing about the Oscar nominees luncheon is that there is no pecking order when it comes to seating. Nominees are spread out throughout the Beverly Hilton Hotel ballroom which means there is no single table dedicated to "The Departed" or "Babel" etc. So this is why I found myself sitting right NEXT to Jennifer Hudson at lunch. You know, "Can you pass the butter?" close. She was very nice and remembered our little elevator ride at the SAG awards a few weeks ago when we chatted about the "Dreamgirls" soundtrack.
So that's pretty cool I figure, I'm good. Then a nice couple sits down to the left of me and it is Curtis Hanson and his wife. Curtis is not only an incredible director-screenwriter ("L.A. Confidential" "Wonder Boys") but he is also a member of the Academy's Board of Governors. I tell him how "Wonder Boys" is one of my very favorite films. He could not have been more friendly, full of questions and even stopping Sherry Lansing to introduce her to me as she makes her way to her table. Lansing is glowing and is to receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Oscars.
Several other nominees are at out table including writer Todd Field who wrote "Little Children" and was nominated previously for the terrific "In the Bedroom," and film editing nominee Christopher Rouse ("United 93").
So, our table in pretty top-notch.
Then the table right next to us fills up and i realize I am sitting back-to-back with Leonardo DiCaprio. I've seen both "Blood Diamond" and "The Departed" in recent weeks and tell him how good he was in both. I also tell him how moved everyone was by his tribute to Martin Scorsese a few nights earlier at the Directors Guild of America Awards. Mark Wahlberg is also at that table and I congratulate him on his supporting actor nomination.
Even though I have covered the industry for going on eight years, I realize that this is a really singular experience for me and I try and take it all in. But I'm also hungry so I'm not so overcome with awe that I don't dig into an appetizer platter that includes vegetable sushi roll with wasabi caviar, peking duck in mandarin pancake, smoked salmon canape with dill mouse, and (my favorite): Kyoto Beef Roll with cumcumber and jicama. Hey, I don't know what half that stuff is but it was all printed in the program so I am able to inform you in detail. It was TASTY!
Jennifer (as in Hudson) is with her acting coach but spending a lot of time on her Blackberry. I later find out that it's her sister she's communicating with and they are dealing with their mother who is fretting over what to wear at the Oscars.
As we dig into our artichoke salad, I start my head around and see that sitting at the table next to DiCaprio's but up on another level of the ballroom, is Helen Mirren, looking as lovely as ever. Eddie Murphy is at another nearby table which also includes director James L. Brooks. Scorsese is nearby and Leonardo goes over to give him a hug hello.
Before we are served the main course, all of the nominees are called to the stage for a big group picture. That is fun to watch and it is even more fun when they are then called, one at a time, from the bleachers is reverse alphabetical order to receive their nomination certificate as well as a gift bag that includes an official Oscar sweatshirt as well as a T-shirt, each with a line from one of the best picture winners of years past.
The process takes a long time but I don't mind because Wahlberg got his early and I find that we are standing next to each other at our tables watching the rest of the nominees and clapping wildly. Curtis Hanson had gone to stand with James L. Brooks and Jennifer was still up there so I felt a little abandoned at my table.
When Jennifer gets back to our table, I ask her what line her T-shirt has. She takes it out of the bag and we look: it's Diane Keaton's "La di da" line from "Annie Hall."
At this point, DiCaprio and Wahlberg are about to skip out before the main meal and Jennifer shyly taps Leo on the shoulder to ask if she can get a photo taken with he and Mark. Leo, looking pleasantly surprised, said, "I'd be honored."
I was honored to share this lunch with all of them.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 04:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

I got to the Beverly Hilton Hotel kinda early to watch the stars walk in and saw Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith nearly cause a riot when they entered the lobby and fans were lined up with cameras. I don't think there is a nicer couple in Hollywood when it comes to fans. They posed for pics, signed things and looked happy and relaxed. Forest Whitaker was also working the line tirelessly as was Penelope Cruz. When Abigail Breslin, the little girl from "Little Miss Sunshine" was giving an autograph, I thought: 'How cute, some star is letting her daughter give a fan an autograph." Duh! I soon realized who it was! Mellissa Ethridge, looking terrific, caused a frenzy and radiated such great energy as she interacted with fans.
Once the stars made it past the fans and a roomful of photographers, they entered the ballroom with an entrance crammed with superstars, legends and other nominees. When former Academy President and Oscar winner Karl Malden, now into his 90s, made his way to the door, Clint Eastwood quickly walked over to warmly greet him. Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg chatted against a back wall, out of eyeshot of most people. Djimon Hounsou stood near the entrance with his manager, looking dapper in a dark suit.
Now here's a scary moment for Peter O'Toole. He walks into the ballroom and the first face he see is...ME! Maybe I was the one who was scared. I had not thought he was coming since he missed the SAG Awards last week and the Golden Globe Awards in January. But there he was wearing a tan jacket and looking pleased to be among his peers. Our eyes met and I said: 'Peter O'Toole!" He smiled and said, "Hello." Then I said, "Good luck!"
Real articulate.
A few minutes, I see O'Toole hugging the very funny Bruce Vilanch who is usually on the writing staff for the Oscar telecast. They chat for a long while and at one point, O'Toole is petting Vilanch's trademark mop-top of blonde hair. After they parted, I walked over to Vilanch, who I have met several times in the past and said, "Do you and Peter O'Toole go way back?"
Bruce: "I'm the O'Toole family's pet Jew. I did 'An Evening with Peter O'Toole,' a one-man stage show, so I've known him for over 20 years. Whenever he comes into town, I get petted."
We both laugh. I laugh again when Helen Mirren walks in, with a friend, and is stuck in the middle of the crowd. She says: I don't know where we go here. Perhaps nowhere."
At one point, I stopped and took in my surroundings. Literally within a 10-feet radius of me are Penelope Cruz talking to Guillermo del Toro, Forest Whitaker, Will and Jada, Eddie Murphy and Sherry Lansing. It's surreal, and really terrific fun.
And lunch has not even started yet at this point. Will tell ya all about that in the next post.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 04:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Maybe you're a parent who spent more time last year in the G and PG realm of singing slugs and dancing penguins. Or maybe you mistakenly thought "The Good Shepherd" was a sure contender. Now it's almost time to fill out your Oscar ballot and you realize you haven't seen a single one of the candidates for best picture.
AMC is here for you. They've just announced that on Saturday, Feb. 24, AMC Burbank 16 will screen the entire slate back to back, starting at 11 a.m. That's "Babel," "The Queen," "The Departed," "Letters From Iwo Jima" and "Little Miss Sunshine" for one $30 ticket (and please note, the R rating rule applies to all). With a free large popcorn, free large soda and unlimited refills, it's probably the best deal this side of Netflix.

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Even if they win the Academy Award for their feature documentary "Jesus Camp," it would be hard to top the excitement of learning about its nomination. Heidi Ewing says she and co-director Rachel Grady were boarding a flight in New York for the West Coast to screen their film at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, and she asked the flight attendant how long they could keep their cell phones on because they were waiting for word about a possible Oscar nomination. The flight attendant passed the word to the cabin, and not long after the plane hit the air, Ewing and Grady got the good news.
"The captain made an announcement on the flight," she said. "We were laughing and crying. We drank an entire bottle of wine. We took all these photographs (with the cabin crew) like we've been friends for years.
"It was the perfect way to find out the news.... but honestly, it's shocking."

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 01:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

On Oscar night last year, Paul Haggis was celebrating a best picture win for his movie "Crash." So what does he do for an encore? He got himself nominated again this year in the adapted screenplay category. He co-wrote the story of "Letters of Iwo Jima" which is also a best picture nominee.
"II'm just a greedy pig," he joked from the New Mexico set of his next movie. "It's just really thrilling. Im especially happy for [director] Clint [Eastwood]. It was his passion from the beginning. He had a real passion to tell both sides of the story so I'm glad I could help him do that."
Haggis is currently directing "In the Valley of Ella" which, ironically, stars three Oscar winners: Charlize Theron, Tommy Lee Jones and Susan Sarandon.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 01:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Tom Perrota, a nominee for best adpated screenplay for "Little Children," got the news in Boston where he lives. He wasn't watching the television because he said the tension of the Golden Globes got the best of him: "There's an aspect of a bad dream, waiting for someone to say your name on television. I told my agent to call me if the news was good."
It was. He got a call.
“It’s more the feeling of relief and then real pleasure. I expect the worst. Now I can continue my Zelig-like appearances at places I don't belong."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Tuesday marked the first time that George Miller, a resident of Sydney, Australia, was actually in Los Angeles when the nominations were announced. (He’s received three previous nominations). Miller, nominated for “Happy Feet�? in the animated film category, arrived last week to attend the Golden Globes.
“In the past I was in Australia and getting a call at 1 or 2 in the morning,�? he says. “This is much more civilized. But I’m heading home tonight. I can’t wait to see my wife and kids and we’ll have a celebration.�?

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

When 30-year-old Gil Keenan was a student at Grover Cleveland High School in Reseda, he never thought he'd be going to the Oscars. But he's up for an Oscar for directing the film “Monster House�? which is competing with “Cars�? and “Happy Feet�? in the Best Animated Film category.
“It’s all very strange and silly and great. I didn’t expect to get nominated and definitely don’t expect to win. I get to play pretend and put on a tuxedo and go to a free show. I’m kind of taking it all with a grain of salt and just enjoying it. No one knows who I am. It’s gonna be ridiculous.I’m honored to be a part of it.�?

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Patrick Marber was home in London when the Academy Award nominations were announced. Apparently a realist more than an optimist ("It's my first nomination, maybe my only"), he did not have great expectations that his name would come up in the adapted screenplay category for "Notes on a Scandal."
"I turned my phone off. I didn't want to know. And if, 15 minutes' time after the nominations announcement, it looked busy, that was good news. And it was very busy.
"I remember this day two years ago when I didn't get nominated for 'Closer.' And the difference between the silence of no nomination and the noise of a nomination is dramatic. This, I have to say, is a bit more fun."

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If the look of any film this year is clearly the product of many individuals, it is "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." Art director Rick Heinrichs already is thinking about how to recognize everyone who had a hand in creating everything from the ships and the menacing sea serpent to the cages of human bones and a runaway water wheel -- without whipping out a list a mile long -- should he win the Oscar. "They tell you not to go up there with a laundry list, which I did the first time ('Sleepy Hollow'). And I learned a year later that they used my acceptance speech (at the Oscar nominees' luncheon) as an example of what not to do," he said.
"And I was nominated again for 'Lemony Snicket.' That was the year they were playing around with it and they had all five nominees up there on the stage at the same time. That was not good because you're standing there and you're the loser."

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

RYAN GOSLING, Best Actor nominee for “Half Nelson�? -- "I have tremendous respect for all the actors in this category and it's a great honor to be in their company. It's extremely encouraging to see a small film be recognized at this level. By recognizing me I feel that it honors everyone I love and for that I am truly grateful.�?

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

MARTIN SCORSESE, Best Director nominee for “The Departed�? said in a statement Tuesday:
“I am very pleased that ‘The Departed’ has been honored with five nominations for this year’s Academy Awards. I am particularly happy that the hard work of the entire cast and crew has been rewarded with a Best Picture nomination and that the specific contributions of Mark Wahlberg, our screenwriter William Monahan, and my longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker have been recognized with nominations as well.�?

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" was pretty much a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination, except in the eyes of director Davis Guggenheim. "I was a hundred percent certain we would not get nominated," he says. "I had the whole argument down pat: We're a slide show, the academy really takes very seriously what it takes to be a documentary, we didn't get a DGA nomination. It had all that against it."
What's in its favor, and definitely distinguishes it from its four rivals for the award, is the -- dare I say it? -- star power of former Vice President Al Gore.
"The thought of Al Gore on the red carpet at the Academy Awards -- that's a real victory march for him," Guggenheim said. "For ages he has been trying to get his message across about global warming, and people are really hearing it."
OK, so the ex-Veep and Tipper will be mingling with the stars on Feb 25. What's the most relevant way to make an entrance at an event for which celebs pull up in hybrid cars even when their films have nothing to do with environmental issues?
"At Cannes, we walked to the premiere," Guggenheim said.

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Adriana Barraza was home in Miami with her husband with the television on waiting for the Academy Award nominations to be announced. "I was prepared for this amazing ocassion." When her name was stated in the supporting actress category for "Babel," she said she "I jumped! I cried! I screamed like crazy! I kissed my husband many times. My husband cried. We were a mess."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The best sports this Oscar morning have got to be “Little Miss Sunshine�? directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton who were surprisingly not nominated even though their film got a best picture nod. But the pair still did interviews and were in surprisingly good humor.
“We’re in good company,�? Dayton said, referring to the omission of “Dreamgirls�? director Bill Condon from the category. “Of course we’re disappointed but to be disappointed after all that has happened to this film would be ridiculous. We’ve been directing together for 20 years but this is our first feature and we have to say, it’s been fantastic.�?
Joked Faris: “Our film is a little bit about losers so we’re comfortable in the loser spot...It’s hard when you only have five spots. We’re just so happy the film has done so well.
One major consolation prize: the pair have been nominated for the prestigious Director’s Guild of America award.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

“The main impression were the calls from old friends who were genuinely excited for my good fortune and it touches me deeply.�?
- Alan Arkin, Academy Award Nominee, Best Supporting actor, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Leonardo DiCaprio, nominated for Best Actor for "Blood Diamond," is in London for the premiere of the film there. He said in a statement: "I'm honored to receive this nomination from the Academy -- especially in a year full of such worthy nominees. I'm grateful to everyone who has supported 'Blood Diamond.' Being nominated is a tribute to everyone who worked on this film especially Ed Zwick. I am also thrilled for Djimon, Mark and Marty who are all so deserving of this recognition."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 09:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Peter O’Toole was nominated for his 8th BEST ACTOR Oscar today for his performance in VENUS. Upon learning of his nomination he said:

“If you fail the first time, try, try try, try, try, try, try again. Yoicks!�?

O’Toole was given an honorary Oscar in 2002 but has never won the award outright.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 09:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Best supporting actress nominee for "Babel," Rinko Kikuchi was in Paris doing a photo shoot when she got word of her first Academy Award nomination.
“A lot of people so far had been telling me they are sure I would be nominated and it was the best acting I had done but now that I got it, it’s more exciting than I thought it would be,�? she said through an interpreter. I knew when I was filming the movie was going to get a lot a lot of recognition and people would love it. I believed in the energy and the strength of the film. But when it came to myself, to get this recognized, I never thought I would ever get it.�?

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 09:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The man who won last year's best score Oscar for "Brokeback Mountain," including that memorable theme, is up again for the music of "Babel." In a giddy phone conversation a couple of hours after hearing about his nomination, Gustavo Santaolalla admitted something rather surprising: "I'm not an academically trained musician. I don't know how to read or write music."
Santaolalla, who first attracted Hollywood's attention with the score to "Amores Perros," has been a songwriter, performer, record producer and label executive for alternative Latin artists before settling into his current niche writing for movies. He believes the sort of training one picks up in a conservatory is only one aspect of a successful composing career. "Music really has to do with your heart, your soul, your mind and your ears."
While he's basking in the glow of his "Babel" nomination, he's working on his next project: "Things We Lost in the Fire," starring Halle Berry.
"Maybe we’ll talk again next winter," I said.
"You don't know how much I want to hear your voice again," he replied.

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 09:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Best Actress nominee and front-runner Helen Mirren's statement:

"I would like to thank the Academy, it is a great honour to be nominated. When the idea of making THE QUEEN was first mooted we had no idea that the result would have quite the impact it has had. It is astounding the way that audiences have responded by taking the film to their hearts.

It is one of the hardest roles to play not just a living person but one who is part of our everyday lives in Britain. Whilst her presence is with us from her image on the letters that come through our door and on the money we spend, we know so little of the woman behind the image. I hope that my performance has conveyed a sense of Elizabeth the woman as well as the Queen.

I am indebted to Peter Morgan for his tremendous screenplay and to director Stephen Frears who was a joy to work with and was sensitive to the nuance of the role.

I am so proud to be a part of this incredible film-making team and the recipient of this nomination.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 08:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Eight-time nominee “Dreamgirls�? was left out of best picture and best directors so had to be content with acting nominations for Hudson and Murphy as well as three nods for best original song with the tunes “Listen,�? “Love You I Do�? and “Patience�? as well as nominations for art direction, costume design and sound mixing.
After “Dreamgirls�? and “The Queen,�? the most nominations went to Mexico’s foreign film nominee “Pan’s Labyrinth�? and “The Queen�? with six apiece. They were followed by “Blood Diamond�? and “The Departed�? with five nominations each.
Movies with four nominations are "Little Miss Sunshine," "Letters From Iwo Jima," Notes on a Scandal" and box office behemoth "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."
Mel Gibson’s “Apocalypto�? was ignored in the major categories but got three nods for make-up, sound editing and sound mixing. Also with three are "Children of Men" and "Little Children."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 07:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The acting categories are more ethnically diverse than in most years. Five African-American performers received nods in major acting categories, three of whom are considered the front-runners: best actor nominee Forest Whitaker for “The Last King of Scotland�? and “Dreamgirls�? co-stars Eddie Murphy (best supporting actor) and Jennifer Hudson (best supporting actress).
Box office titan Will Smith received his second best actor nod for “The Pursuit of Happyness.�? He was last up for the award for “Ali�? in 2001. Nominated for best supporting actor for “Blood Diamond�? is Djimon Hounsou who also competed for the award in 2003 for “In America.�?
Spanish actress Penelope Cruz earned her first Oscar nomination for her role in the Spanish-language film “Volver,�? Adriana Barazza, an actress of Hispanic orgin, was nominated for supporting actress in “Babel�? as was Asian actress Rinko Kikuchi.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 07:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

“Babel�? nabbed seven nominations overall including nods for director Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu. He competes against a pair of directing legends: two-time best director Oscar winner Clint Eastwood for “Iwo Jima�? and “Departed�? director Martin Scorsese earned his eighth Oscar nomination but has famously never won.
Eastwood beat Scorsese two years ago for "Million Dollar Baby." Scorsese was nominated that year for "The Aviator."
Rounding out the directing category are Stephen Frears for “The Queen�? and Paul Greengrass for “United 93.�?
Left off the list was “Dreamgirls�? director Bill Condon and “Sunshine�? co-directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. All were nominated for the Directors Guild of America prize earlier this month which typically mirrors Oscar nods. Eastwood was not nominated for the DGA prize.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 07:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

“Dreamgirls�? may have earned Academy Award nominations (eight) than any other film Tuesday morning, but the musical was snubbed in a best picture category comprised of “Babel,�? “Letters From Iwo Jima,�? “Little Miss Sunshine,�? “The Departed�? and “The Queen.�?
The best picture race appears to be wide-open at this point, especially since the Producer’s Guild of America awarded its top prize to “Sunshine�? on Saturday night. The best picture prizes at the Golden Globe Awards last week went to “Babel�? (drama) and “Dreamgirls�? (musical or comedy).

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 07:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

She's been nominated six times for an Oscar and won once but Judi Dench was still thrilled to be included form her juicy role in "Notes on a Scandal."
“I’m very pleased. I’m in frighteningly good company. It is very nice of the Queen to allow me in for a minute. It was one of the harder parts I have played. At the end of the day I was quite glad to get back to the person I am. I had the power to do it because of Richard Eyre. He steered me through the rougher waters of it.�?

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 07:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"The Pursuit of Happyness" has turned out to not only be a major box office hit, but it has earned its star Will Smith his second Oscar nod. Smith is in New York working on his next movie but his publicist was quick to send out a statement from the actor:
“Congratulations to all of the nominees. It is a great honor to be considered among this calibre of performers. No competition, all celebration. Let the parties begin.�?
He must know Forst Whitaker has this thing sewn up so why not party?

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 07:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Two-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep earned her 14th nomination overall for “The Devil Wears Prada.�? Streep won her sixth Golden Globe last week and already held the record for the most nominations of any performer in history. Jack Nicholson and Katharine Hepburn each have 12 nominations.
“I am thrilled in a way that no one can possibly imagine,�? Streep said in a statement. “It’s extraordinary that anyone in the actor’s branch is even speaking to me, never mind nominating me yet again. I’m very, very grateful.�?

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 07:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There's been a lot of talk about "The Blood Diamond," Ed Zwick's drama about diamonds' role in financing a bloody conflict in Sierra Leone in the 1990s. DeBeers has expressed concern that the feature starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Connelly, hitting theaters Dec. 15, could take a toll on its Christmas and Valentine's seasonal sales.
More importantly, if the film is deemed an artistic success, what will it mean to awards season? An early predicition: Pearls will be bigger than ever on the red carpet.

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Honestly, this wasn’t unforeseen: A bunch of people are really hacked off that “Crash�? beat “Brokeback Mountain�? for the Best Picture Oscar. Guess that’s why they call it an “upset.�?

A reader clued me into this, which offers a good overview of the controversy, wondering if Hollywood is as progressive as George Clooney proclaimed it to be and (inevitably) raising questions regarding lingering strains of homophobia in the industry:

another step toward irrelevance?

And then, there are the folks who just thought “Crash�? was somewhere between undeserving of Hollywood’s highest honor and an unrelentingly overheated cheesefest. Here’s just one of many items from defamer.com, which in its live-blogging of the ceremony, concluded, “WORST. OSCARS. EVER.�?:

Oscar hangover

If you agree and haven’t checked it out yet, defamer.com has plenty of amusing barbs blowtorching “Crash.�?

Posted by David Kronke at 12:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Oscar night, everyone assiduously mentions how PriceWaterhouseCooperMcMandateCohenAlexandriaLoonDeTard (and whoever the accounting company has merged with in the past 45 minutes) has heroically prevented results of the upcoming Academy Award winners from getting out more than The United Arab Emirates may protect our East-Coast ports, yet tonight, it seemed just about all the pundits at ABC were echoing the same theme: There's always a surprise at the Oscars (which isn't really true); "Crash" could realistically upset "Brokeback Mountain" for Best Picture, and so on. And, indeed, "Crash" swiped top honors from the frontrunner.

Hence, a question for conspiracy theorists: Are these results really that protected? Were these guys tipped off in advance? Or are they just really good pundits, who divined the intentions of a capricious Academy far more sagely than widely-established-for-months conventional wisdom? At any rate, they sort of undercut the drama: Viewers for all the red-carpet nonsense were already primed to accept "Crash's" victory as something less than a surprise.

Posted by David Kronke at 12:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

No, that's a lie. I love to say that there's no reason on Earth why the Academy Awards should be taken seriously as a worthwhile measure of cinematic quality.

The Academy of Morons Who Thought Crash Was a Better Film Than Brokeback Mountain just proved it. Next year, really, these clowns need to be ignored.

Posted by Bob Strauss at 11:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

During all the endless post-Oscar prattle, the TV folks are talking to anyone they can get, and I don't want to name any names, but for God's sake, I must've seen what surely represents millions of dollars in malpractice suits against plastic surgeons. Honestly, some of these people look like their faces are covered in Mondo, that spackle you trowel on over dents in your car.

Posted by David Kronke at 10:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now that I’ve had some time to actually think about this, it seems to me that Jon Stewart’s rebound from his fairly weak start was something of a considered rebellion. All along, we heard that Stewart wasn’t going to do what previous hosts such as Chris Rock and David Letterman had done, which was shoehorn their sensibility into the Oscarcast, one reason being their efforts weren’t considered successful.

And, indeed, Stewart initially did the opposite – he inserted himself into the spectacle of the Oscar ceremony. There was that fairly lamentable opening short film, in which previous hosts for various reasons eschew the job, followed by lowly Jon Stewart getting the gig – and the chance to lounge in a bed with George Clooney and Halle Berry, besides. His opening monologue was hit-and-miss, with the bigger laughs coming from material that in fact wouldn’t have been out of place on “The Daily Show.�?

So I’m guessing that he’s a quick learn, and figured out that whatever he would do for the rest of the broadcast would have to represent more his acerbic sensibility and less the sort of institutional once-over-lightly that defines most Oscar programs. After all, Stewart has built his reputation for puncturing self-important windbags, not coddling them.

Which I think accounts for how he conducted himself thereafter. There was an interesting friction between the ceremony’s dreary same old same-old – montages, trying too hard on the production numbers, etc. – and his responses to it. He had wittily cutting comments about the montages that had been lovingly massaged by the show’s producers: “I can’t wait ’til later,�? he said after a particularly pointless one, “when we get Hollywood’s salute to montages.�? He poked fun at the fairly pretentious production of the performance of Best Song nominee “In the Deep.�? He was just sharper as the show went along, so whereas the personal approach was what torpedoed Letterman and Rock, it was what rescued Stewart in the end.

ABC’s post-game show crew is giving Stewart high marks, too – a B+, to be precise – but, hey, what’s ABC going to say? We were idiots to hire him?

Posted by David Kronke at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So now we know why Hollywood shouldn’t make any “issue�? flicks: Because the Oscar will invariably go to the most obvious one of the bunch. “Crash�? beat out what to my mind seemed a largely superior roster of movies for the Best Picture trophy; it was easily the least nuanced and tricky of the bunch, letting viewers know precisely how they were supposed to feel every step of the way, even having characters baldly state its themes. But, hey, now that it’s officially 2005’s Best Picture, here’s something that makes me look a fool.

Crash and burn, baby, burn

If you think that’s bad, here’s a really virulent and, to be honest, much better argued, attack on the film:

Crushing Crash

Oh, well, good on Lionsgate, the little studio that could. But this does kind of point out how the Oscar campaign can be affected by the time frame in which it’s conducted, how Academy voters can be put off when they hear too much about how a certain movie is a shoo-in. (In a way, though, it’s reassuring to know that even Hollywood can get sick of hearing about itself.) “Brokeback Mountain�? won virtually every major (and minor) award there was to win this year, except the one that counts, the one that puts it in the history books. This is kind of reminiscent of the year “Saving Private Ryan�? was considered the prohibitive favorite – until it wasn’t, and “Shakespeare in Love,�? tortoise-and-hare-like, slipped away with the Best Picture trophy.

No rule changes need be made, I’d say, because “quality�? is hardly an objective, uh, quality, and people whose favorites fail to win Oscars are usually over it by the next morning. But there might be a lesson here for future Oscar campaigners: Don’t strive for frontrunner status too early; don’t be a juggernaut (be glad if other groups spread the wealth by honoring other films); and, for God’s sake, don’t make a movie that both manages to commandeer the Zeitgeist and provide late-night comics with endless one-liners, because by Oscar night, people will be absolutely sick of hearing about it.

Posted by David Kronke at 09:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jack Nicholson looked surprised as he announced "Crash" was Best Picture. Which was the only speech cut off by the orchestra all night -- huh?

It sort of begs the question: Where was the tipping point where Academy voters tilted from the mainstream, which it hasn't done of late, and ignored "Brokeback Mountain" in favor of "Crash?" Had the voting been cut off sooner, would the result have been the same? Apparently, there's a downside to being the presumptive winner for so long -- people just kind of get bored with hearing the same old same old and say, 'To hell with it, I'll vote for something else.'

Winning Best Director, Ang Lee told his Oscar: "I just can't quit you." That alone kind of suggests he deserved not to win Best Picture.

Final thoughts on Stewart: Bumpy start, but overall, well done, sir.

Posted by David Kronke at 08:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Finally, some political commentary: Larry McMurtry, winning Best Adapted Screenplay for "Brokeback Mountain," championed "the culture of the book, which we mustn't lose." Like they're California condors or something.

Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for "Crash." A nervous speech about hammers and mirrors, which I took as a concession that the film lacks what some might call subtlety.

So Best Picture, if what the prognosticators earlier in the evening weren't just blowing smoke out their backsides, is still a tossup.

Posted by David Kronke at 08:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At this point, who has the most Oscars? Memoirs of a Geisha is sweeping everyone else, winning three technical trophies, for art direction, costume design and cinematography.

Jon Stewart with a pointed Oscar count: "Martin Scorsese, zero Oscars. 3-6 Mafia (Best Song winners for "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp"), one."

Again, as expected, Reese Witherspoon is named Best Actress for "Walk the Line."

"I never thought I'd be here in my whole life!" she enthused in a Southern accent she had lost quite a while ago and promptly proceeds to lose anew as her speech proceeds. Of her character, she noted, "She's a real woman."

Kind of the quintessential acceptance speech -- too many names thanked, emotional without really being affecting, rambling without completely falling apart, a requisite bit about self-empowerment, even nailed the humanizing moment where she told her kids to go to bed. (Wasn't that parodied in Tom Hanks' film at the beginning of the evening?)

She declared her intention to "make work that means something to somebody." Which explains "Just Like Heaven" and "Legally Blonde 2."

Posted by David Kronke at 07:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As has been expected by just about everyone for the past three months, Philip Seymour Hoffman won the Best Actor Oscar for "Capote."

Probably the most rambling speech of the night -- "I'm in a category with some great, great, great actors ... and I'm overwhelmed," he said, being equally repetitive when thanking "(director) Bennett Miller and (screenwriter) Danny Futterman, whom I love, I love, I love, I love..." His homage to his mother was sweet, though.

Only five more awards to go. Barring any more montages, we should be done in under a half-hour.

Posted by David Kronke at 07:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Crash won its first Oscar, for film editing. Which revealed Oscar's dirty little secret -- the longer the winner gabbles on, the less the music plays: When the winner, Hughes Winborne, announced he had passed his time limit, he told the orchestra to stop playing, and they did.

Posted by David Kronke at 07:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The remainder of the live blogging of the Oscars will be presented in the style of the acceptance speech for Best Song.

Posted by David Kronke at 07:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What is up with all these montages? Chuck Workman did one a decade or two back that did kind of stir you in its evocation of decades of film history in five or six minutes, but that's no reason to do it every damn year. The idea, of course, is to get you all nostalgic about film, to say, 'Gee, you know, movies really are magic; I think I'll go to the movies every week!'

Except, well, if you're watching the Oscars, you're quite likely already a film fan, so they're just preaching to the choir here. All these things do is prolong an already overlong production.

Again, Stewart seems to agree: "I can’t wait till later when we get Hollywood’s salute to montages."

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Sid Ganis, president of the Academy, is ladling out the requisite long-winded self-congratulatory hooey. He's going on about how stirring the montage of scenes from issue-oriented movies was, apparently having missed Stewart's wonderful dismissal of said montage as it ended: "And none of those issues were ever a problem again."

And he's saying, (I'm paraphrasing because I was too bored to listen closely), "No actor ever finished a scene and said, 'That'll look good on the DVD.'" Actually, I'll bet there are a lot of them who say that these days.

Hey, Brokeback Mountain won its first Oscar -- best score, Gustavo Santaolalla, who gave what may be the longest acceptance speech to date.

Posted by David Kronke at 06:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The guys who made "March of the Penguins" cavorted on the red carpet with giant plush penguins. And when they won the Best Documentary Oscar, they brought the things onstage with them, a bit of overkill if you ask me -- they could've used them as seat-fillers. Which apparently occurred to one of the filmmakers accepting their Oscar, who called the tuxedo-filled audience an "homage to our film."

The staging of Kathleen Bird York's performance of her Oscar-nominated song "In the Deep" from "Crash" asks the question: Does interpretive dance have any place at the Oscars? And answers it: No.

Stewart apparently agrees: "If you are trying to exit a burning vehicle, my advice is not to do it in slow motion." After a slow opening, Stewart's rallying.

Posted by David Kronke at 06:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Um, did it not occur to anyone to see if Lauren Bacall, yammering on for some reason about film noir, could read her teleprompter?

And apparently, the answer to my question is, "nowhere." Just a pointless, time-killing montage of old movies with virtually nothing to do with this year's nominees.

Posted by David Kronke at 06:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Demonstrative faces" is a kind of dumb phrase, and it tripped up Morgan Freeman as he delivered the Best Supporting Actress Oscar to Rachel Weisz for "The Constant Gardener." And the off-screen narrator had to spoil her moment by announcing she's "best known to audiences for her roles in 'The Mummy' and 'The Mummy Returns,'" which I imagine she wouldn't mind forgetting.

The orchestral underscores of the acceptance speeches seems to be working: Weisz's was short and sweet. She kind of hit a thematic cul de sac by noting that real-life crusaders such as the one she played in the film "are far greater people than me." The irony that it was nonetheless her on a stage accepting an award tripped across her face, so she wrapped it up with a simple thank you.

Posted by David Kronke at 06:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Finally, a gag that actually worked pretty well: Will Ferrell and Steve Carell presented the Best Makeup Oscar in really awful makeup -- not quite KISS bad, but bad. "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" won.

Do you really think the "Narnia" series is a legitimate tentpole franchise? They've already done the most famous book in the series, and they've already started the series out of order...

Stewart scores! Referring to another nominee in the Best Makeup category, "Cinderella Man," Stewart came out of the acceptance speech with this: "Imagine the difficulty of making Russell Crowe look like he got into a fight."

Posted by David Kronke at 05:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OK, we get it: they want the speeches to be really short. There was a film at the top of the ceremony in which Tom Hanks got mugged by the orchestra as his mock-acceptance-speech wore on. And this year, the orchestra is playing music as soon as the winner begins his or her speech, which is no doubt a distraction -- Colleen Atwood, Best Costume winner for "Memoirs of a Geisha," seemed thrown by it -- as well as a subtle but insistent reminder that it will only get louder as you keep yammering.

Back to Clooney -- he didn't thank anyone, just made an impassioned (if a smidgen self-serving) speech about Hollywood being out of touch -- championing civil rights and other progressive issues before the rest of the country embraced them. Which is a more interesting way of taking up your minute or so of TV time than reciting a laundry list of people no one watching at home knows.

Posted by David Kronke at 05:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

King Kong won the Visual Effects Oscar, dwarfed by Ben Stiller's appearance in a green bodysuit playing a special effect gone very awry. The idea may have looked good on paper, but didn’t really work; it certainly wasn't as amusing as Stiller was trying to sell it. Spielberg's dismayed reaction to Stiller's floundering was actually funnier.

"Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" won Best Animated Picture. To underscore the category's cartoonishness, director Nick Park and his producing partner wore silly, outsized bow ties and affixed same to their trophies. Not nearly as funny as the movie itself.

Posted by David Kronke at 05:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Things started bumpy for host Jon Stewart, whose first few gags fell decidedly flat. Things picked up when he noted that "Capote" and "Good Night, and Good Luck." both concerned crusading journalists in an impassioned search for the truth, adding, "Needless to say, both are period pieces." But the biggest laugh was at the expense of the eccentric pop singer who performed at the Oscars in a swan outfit: "Bjork could not be here tonight – she was trying on her Oscar dress, and Dick Cheney shot her." There were a lot of tight close-ups on Stewart than one ordinariliy sees on awards shows that felt oddly intimate and maybe a bit disorienting -- it was like they were trying to show the flop sweat.

George Clooney, Best Supporting Actor winner for "Syriana," had a better laughs-per-minute ratio: "All right, so this means I’m not winning (best) director," he said upon taking the stage.

Posted by David Kronke at 04:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The cast of “Desperate Housewives�? offered Felicity Huffman, Best Actress nominee for "Transamerica," best wishes via videotape – you know, it’s good that that show managed to get a little free publicity. Nonetheless, their message causes Huffman to tear up. “You’ve ruined my makeup, so thank you very much,�? Huffman mock-scolds Chris Connelly.

Jake Gyllenhaal, Best Supporting Actor nominee, concedes there’s not much left to say about his film “Brokeback Mountain:�? “It’s pretty much all been covered.�?

The theme continues: In a critics’ chat on the Best Picture nominees and favorite to win, Leonard Maltin and Joel Siegel both admit “Crash�? could be the spoiler this year.

Co-host Cynthia Garrett concludes, “America seems to be ready to think.�? Not that you can tell from the red-carpet show.

Speaking of thinking – or not – ABC’s promos for its upcoming sitcom “Sons & Daughters�? make it look a lot dumber than it is (it is, in fact, pretty smart). If these promos are what the network thinks will lure people to watch the show, they should’ve just gone on and made a stupid show. They’re certainly not appealing to people who like smarter, edgier comedy, which is what “S&D�? provides.

Posted by David Kronke at 04:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Billy Bush calls the red carpet “a conga line of luscious luminaries.�? Do they write this stuff in advance or just make it up off the top of their heads?

George Clooney tells Vanessa Minnillo, “We’ve been rather unburdened by success at these awards shows.�? He’s recycling his material – he said the same thing to Roger Ebert.

Terrence Howard tells Cynthia Garrett, “This is the beginning of a dream come true.�? Seems like he’s already put tonight past him – he wants scads more nominations in the future.

Posted by David Kronke at 04:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Apparently, there's a celebrity shortage on the Red Carpet, because ABC is airing an incomprehensible montage of movies with monkeys in them in an apparent homage to "King Kong." Which didn't get any major nominations. "Going ape, Hollywood style!" gushes Cynthia Garrett, miraculously avoiding to grimace on air.

Posted by David Kronke at 04:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

And now we get to see the same people we just watched get grilled by Ebert and Pennacchio get asked pretty much the same dumb questions by a different round of people.

Co-host Vanessa Minnillo declares, “I can tell you there’s nothing in the world like the excitement of Oscar night.�? Well, maybe for her. I can think of plenty of things more exciting than dressing up in really uncomfortable clothing and getting asked silly questions by TV personalities.

Over on E!, an announcer orders us to “Look at Jessica Alba – so regal." He adds, "That almost depresses me, her skin is so perfect.�?

Issac Mizrahi interviews "Brokeback Mountain" director Ang Lee and is interested in the guy's travel plans: "When do you fly out? How are you going to get the Oscar back to New York? I’m a little nervous about the metal detector."

Now, they're speculating as to whether Sandra Bullock is pregnant and discussing how much publicists get paid. Geez, these guys are making ABC's brain trust look like rocket scientists.

Posted by David Kronke at 04:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pennacchio to Jada Pinkett Smith: “I love the fact that every year, you support the industry and walk this carpet.�?

Pennacchio to Paul Giamatti, Best Supporting Actor nominee for “Cinderella Man:�? “People love your work.�?

That’s the last thing he gets to uncork, as the network red-carpet special begins now, meaning Pennacchio turns the buffoon baton over to Billy Bush.

Posted by David Kronke at 03:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

“I want you to win,�? Ebert tells Amy Adams, predicting she will win in an upset (his predictions seem to be what he wants to win; he’s gaga over “Crash�?); then he reminds her she was once a waitress in a Colorado diner. She concedes the point. He cites this as proof of the old only-in-Hollywood-do-dreams-come-true bromide. Don’t a lot of actors come from modest backgrounds?

Ebert then tells Larry McMurtry, “You’re a great author, as well.�? In case Larry was unaware of the fact.

“You know, she wears clothes,�? a fashion expert observes of Dolly Parton.

The Channel 7 red-carpet people are all about "Crash," not so much for "Brokeback Mountain."

The ever self-effacing George Clooney says of his multiple nominations, "That gives me three opportunities to lose, which is really exciting for me." Clooney and Ebert discuss the political content of his films, and discourse approaching an IQ is threatened, when Pennacchio gets to the pressing issue of the day: “(Clooney) said he was going to get a new tux – is this new?�? It wasn’t, nor was Pennacchio's penchant for banality.

Posted by David Kronke at 03:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The teeth-on-concrete ritual that is the Oscar red carpet is beginning, and already George Pennacchio is getting on my nerves. He and Roger Ebert interviewed Rachel Weisz, a Best Supporting Actress nominee for “The Constant Gardener,�? and blurted to her, “More importantly, your birthday is Tuesday!�? He added, with perhaps a little too much forced ebullience, “I know everything about you!�? A restraining order may be in order.

Posted by David Kronke at 03:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It probably doesn't compare to Phil Collins performing on both sides of the Atlantic during Live Aid, but Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and HDNet, is having a pretty sensational day.

Cuban began the day in Dallas, where his Mavericks played the Phoenix Suns, then hopped a jet for LA (he's still in the air as I type) for the Academy Awards, where he has two films up for trophies: He served as an executive producer on both "Good Night, and Good Luck.," and the documentary "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room." ABC interviewed Cuban midflight during its coverage of the Mavs/Suns game, to which Cuban was attentively attending on his plane.

Cuban's indisputably a pretty brilliant guy -- he's single-handedly injected life and energy into the NBA's ownership, and has made his billions being a few steps ahead of everyone else. He's been involved in smart, quality projects -- he also was behind Steven Soderberg's low-budget experiment, "Bubble," and its first-of-its-kind marketing scheme, in which it hit theaters, high-definition TV and DVD stores on the same day. And he even invites you to email him at his blog, blogmaverick.com, and sometimes, he'll even write back.

Though "Good Night, and Good Luck.'' may not come up a winner, "Enron" has a shot at Best Documentary. Bad omen, though: The Mavs blew a big lead to lose to the Suns.

Posted by David Kronke at 02:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hard to believe, but E! is already doing pre-pre-pre- Oscar coverage; has been since 9 a.m., in fact. If the idea of someone who could possibly care that much to watch all this effluvium is frightening, the "coverage" itself is clearly designed to send viewers fleeing in terror.

There was a profile of some obscure actress who went through a bunch of spa/exercise/diet stuff to lose some weight, followed by some chick from MTV's Laguna Beach visiting all those swag shops that pop up over this week (it’s like charity for wealthy celebrities, who I’m sure appreciate the generous assistance while, hmm, isn’t there something going on down in New Orleans?).

And then a jaw-dropper: “The breast is back, baby, in a big way.�? This per Debbie Matenopoulos, one of the hosts of this epic monument to profound superficiality, who actually presides over a segment on mammary glands. She’s accompanied by a young man who explains how to boost what Matenopoulos refers to as “the girls�? to a flattering angle. The young man, it should be noted, doesn’t look as though women’s breasts are exactly his thing, and yet here he is, on national television as a breast expert. Yakov Smirnoff was right, after all: What a country!

And now, a shattering scoop: A report discovering that some of the other nominated actors had movies come out in some of the the same sundry years that George Clooney also found work. It should be noted that the hosts seem to understand that no one is watching – it feels like they’re addressing no one beyond their camera crews.

Back to the Mavericks-Suns game.

Posted by David Kronke at 01:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In honor of Oscar finally honoring Robert Altman, a number of movie bloggers – OK, there’s really no other word for this: nerds – will offer up essays upon essays appreciating the maverick director’s considerable contributions to film art.

As weirdly obsessive as this is, I also think it’s a wonderfully appropriate way to honor a guy who loves what-the-hell improvising. And a lot of those participating – including my longtime pal Matt, who explicates the endeavor in the link below – are impassioned cineastes who get it more than the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences tend to.

So: If you’re a longtime Altman fan, this sounds suspiciously like how you’re going to spend your weekend. And if Altman’s brilliance has always eluded you, here’s how you can discover what you’ve been missing.

Matt Seitz explains the Altman blog-athon.

Posted by David Kronke at 01:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So I was down at the Kodak Theatre today, getting my sandwich-sign-sized credential for Sunday's Academy Awards, and I picked up a list of Oscar-related goings-on for the press put together by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. One that stood out was a Pink's Hot Dogs event tomorrow that promises "five well-adorned, ready-to-photograph hot dogs that depict and celebrate Oscar's five Best Picture nominees." Hmmmm...

Continue reading "Oscars: Pink's and gold" »

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 04:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As good as the Oscar nominees may be, could they have been even better had the characters from the sundry films bumped into one another?

Probably not.

“Hustle and Flow�? and “Crash:�?

Cameron: That last awards ceremony may not have worked out so well for us, but I’m feeling really good about tonight! I think “Date My Mom�? has the inside track for the Best Reality Series Emmy!
Christine: And the helicopter footage of the last time I tried to escape from LAPD in a car chase is up for a local Emmy, which got me my SAG card!
DJay: Hey, hey, sorry to interrupt, but I’m in town trying to launch my new single, and in the meantime, I need to make me some money. What about you, young lady – you wanna work for me? You’re so fine I’ll give you a special deal – we split everything 60/40.
Christine: What?
Cameron: That’s my wife, you lowlife.
DJay: Whoa – take a look at you! You almost as handsome as me!
Cameron: Why, you’re practically my doppelganger!
DJay: Not only that, you practically my lookalike!
Cameron: You might be family – I’ll put you on the payroll at my production company.
DJay: It’s all pimpin’.

“Brokeback Mountain’s�? Ennis and Jack visit the Los Angeles of “Crash�? and bump into “Transamerica’s�? Bree as a bonus:

Jack (on Santa Monica Blvd.): When they said there were hills and canyons here, I expected something different.
Ennis: No sheep to herd, either, ’cept for all those people we saw amblin’ ’round talkin’ on them teeny little phones.
Officer Ryan: So, what do we have here? Well, well: a couple of midnight cowboys.
Jack: We just wanted to do a little fishing together.
Officer Ryan: Fishing for what, eh? I should warn you: Like everyone else in Los Angeles, I’m just an unbridled cauldron of seething hatred for anything different from myself, so I’m going to have to do something unspeakable to you guys.
(Officer Ryan proceeds to do something unspeakable.)
Ennis (philosophically): If you can’t fix it, you gotta stand it.
Bree: Toby? Is that you? I’ve been searching for my reprobate son – officer, what are you doing to them?
Officer Ryan (taking in Bree): Oh, God, it just keeps getting worse – I’d pray for an apocalyptic storm of frogs to cleanse this city, but that movie didn’t come out this year.

Continue reading "Oscars: Cross-pollinating the nominees" »

Posted by David Kronke at 01:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Everyone who gets into the entertainment-industry business, no matter how tangentially, has that one film or TV experience in his or her youth that served as an irrevocable hook. (Except, of course, for some of those who came of age after the mid-to-late ’80s, when the allure of easy fame and money rather than artistic expression became just as compelling, as fawning “Entertainment Tonight�? profiles began boasting about as much aesthetic merit as most Hollywood movies.) For me, it was Robert Altman’s 1975 masterpiece “Nashville.�?

Altman, who turned 81 today, will receive a (some believe) long overdue Oscar next month, one of those nebulous “lifetime achievement�? deals, a traditional Academy mea culpa acknowledging its penchant for rewarding work that’s more of-the-moment than enduring (can an honorary Oscar for Martin Scorsese be far behind?). In Altman's career, he's been 0-for-7 at the Oscars (including two nominations for producing Best Picture nominees). But then, as a self-styled maverick who preferred butting heads with studio executives over adhering to traditional narrative storytelling, that seems as it should be – you can scarcely be an outsider when the august body overseeing your craft rewards you for your craftiness, for your repeated refusal to play by their rules. He’d likely agree – he has always enjoyed trashing the Hollywood system to appreciative interviewers.

Continue reading "Oscars: Happy birthday, Robert Altman" »

Posted by David Kronke at 03:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Like most guys from Cincinnati, George Clooney likes his hometown's chili,

a weird brew with mealy ground beef and a zing derived from -- get this -- cinnamon. I admit I like it too, having eaten my share of Skyline Chili as a University of Cincinnati student. So back in 2000, when he gave me an exceptionally good interview a few days before his live television production of "Fail Safe," I thought it was appropriate for me to send him a little gift -- a couple of packets of Cincinnati chili seasoning. I reminded him of it Monday...

Continue reading "Oscars: Clooney and chili" »

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 04:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The motion picture academy has tapped Robert Osborne, host of Turner Classic Movies, Variety columnist and all-around Oscars historian, to be the official "celebrity greeter" on the red carpet. Osborne will introduce and interview any celeb who stops by his post. We presume he'll leave the breast-tweaking and underwear inquiries to Isaac Mizrahi of "E!"

Continue reading "Oscars: Red Carpet class" »

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 01:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The woman who has styled Oscars red-carpet looks for Courtney Love, Madonna and Aimee Mann has a new client to prep for the Academy Awards next month: herself.

Arianne Phillips, stylist to some of the world’s most trendsetting singers and actresses, was the wardrobe wizard on "Walk the Line," nominated for Best Costume Design. What’s interesting about this accolade is that it brings a thread of costume-designer history full circle. In the old days before stars had stylists, they would lean on costume designers for a little extra help at Oscar-time, sometimes ending up in frocks dusted off from studio wardrobe closets. Nowadays costume designers rarely do personal styling for stars, but Phillips is an exception: in between designing costumes for Madonna’s tours, she’ll do a movie here, a music video there, a magazine editorial here, a book there. Not only is Phillips an energetic maverick, she’s also a rare bird in that she is already talking about whom she’ll wear to the Academy Awards. “I will probably wear a dress that my assistant costume designer on Walk the Line will design,�? she tells ClothesHoarse. “His name is Carlos Rosario.�? We hope Rosario is ready for the aftermath: when Phillips dressed Madonna for the '97 Oscars (above) in Olivier Theyskens, the unknown Belgian designer pole-vaulted to almost unmanageable stardom. Now he's designing the venerable French line Rochas.

Posted by at 05:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Check out the gushy, uninteresting statements issued today by the nominees (posted elsewhere on this site) and your eyes will soon glaze over. A mere couple of examples:
"I am so thrilled to be nominated for something I loved working on every single day. I'm in such good company." - Judi Dench, best actress contender for "Mrs. Henderson Presents."
"Being nominated for an Oscar - and in such sterling company - is an honor, and I'm so proud to have been a part of Ang Lee's 'Brokeback Mountain' team." - Rodrigo Prieto, nominated for best cinematography for "Brokeback Mountain."
And so on.
These are creative people -- can't they say something vaguely creative?
Props to Terrence Howard for breaking out of the rut. Nominated for Best Actor for "Hustle & Flow," which also received a Best Song nomination for a number he absolutely nailed in the movie, he joked, "I wonder if that means I have to get up there and sing 'It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp'?"
Access the quotes, only if you've had sufficient caffeine:

Nominee effluvium

Posted by David Kronke at 02:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Herewith, the Academy Award nominees for Original Song: "In the Deep" from "Crash;" "It's Hard out Here for a Pimp" from "Hustle & Flow;" "Travelin' Thru" from "Transamerica."
That's it? In a category that traditionally hosts five nominees, members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (simply calling it the Academy makes it sound like we're on more familiar terms, which we're not) could only find three songs they liked? Out of hundreds of movies?
Well, that's just lazy. I'm not going to list any songs I think should've been nominated (though really -- nothing from "Corpse Bride" or "Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic?") -- I'm going to ask you to do it for me. What songs do you think should've filled out those final two spots in the Best Song category?
(I must confess, though, I'm mightily looking forward to the performance of "It's Hard out Here for a Pimp" at the ceremony; I think it deserves to win -- it really lifted that movie in an infectious manner. Plus I like the idea of a song praising a pimp receiving such a revered award.)

Posted by David Kronke at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire, Muhammad Ali withstood round after round of Joe Frazier's punches, leaning against the ropes, until Frazier was exhausted and Ali was still fairly fresh (if a bit sore) and Ali pummeled Frazier to the mat. The strategy was thereafter deemed the rope-a-dope.
Could Steven Spielberg have been doing the same thing in marketing "Munich?" He was extraordinarily quiet when the film came out, giving just enough interviews so that people would be somewhat aware that the movie was out.

There was no response to the sundry political sniping at the film.
Now, "Munich" wheezes across the Oscar nominee line. And Spielberg's fresh; now he can talk about this movie, which seems more relevant with every passing day. On the other hand, everyone's heard as much will-"Brokeback Mountain"-be-accepted? as they can stand. Can "Munich," by dint of being the biggest Best Film nominee with an outside chance of winning that people have likely heard the least about, finish with a flourish and snatch the Oscar from Ennis and Jack?

Posted by David Kronke at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hmm, seems like only yesterday I was hearing from the so-called Oscar experts -- rather insistently, as if a finger were being poked into my chest -- that "Munich" and "Memoirs of a Geisha" were going to be the movies to beat in the Oscar race. Though both could still nab a nomination or two, they have receded far from the heated race, while the pundits, Nancy Grace-style, blithely ignore their errors and continue to blather away, their credibility unsmudged in their minds, about who's gonna win NOW. And while I would bar no blogger from as much self-gratification as s/he can muster, it might be nice if they could write the occasional essay explaining why anyone should care about such pie-in-the-sky mooning. Analyzing and putting a social context on actual results is one thing (though I'd accept your argument that not everyone on the planet need be doing it), but just making it up as you go along just to hear your fingers clack on your keyboard is another altogether.

Posted by David Kronke at 01:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A few years ago, an alarming number of celebs starting "wearing Mom to the Oscars." A sweet thought, but LA.COMfidential says the trend made the extravaganzas look about as glamorous as a Sunday brunch. Perhaps the reason for the family affair is that stars are incapable of finding bathrooms on their own, or introducing themselves to other celebs. Mommy did little things like that (publicists being too busy keeping press at bay). Well, where there's need there's opportunity: enter the celebrity escort. It's not what you think it is, says Movieline's Hollywood Life magazine.

...a celebrity escort is not, in fact, a hooker, but one of the best-kept secrets in Hollywood—the person assigned by the production to shadow a predetermined star at all times, from the red carpet to the after-party, and get them where they need to go.

Stars can wave on their own, but they need help with everything else

Posted by at 04:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Write that pretend acceptance speech and have the camera handy. Starting Feb. 10, this year's Oscar statuettes -- minus the winners' names, of course -- will be on display for three weeks in a free exhibition, "Meet the Oscars: The 50 Golden Statuettes." Visitors at the Hollywood & Highland display will be allowed to hold a real Oscar. Then they can go down to a tourist trap shop on the boulevard and see just how cheesy those knockoffs are.

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Tuesday and Wednesday, according to estimations by boxofficemojo.com, "Brokeback Mountain" was the No. 1 film in America, despite the fact that it was playing in fewer than a third as many theaters as the No. 2 film, which had just opened last weekend. It's already earned twice its budget here in the States, something "King Kong" can't claim (though, yes, "Kong's" made scads more money). At any rate, can we all finally put to rest the notion that American filmgoers are too limited by ideology to embrace a good movie and focus on something that's really important, such as whether Harrison Ford has found his way home yet after the Golden Globes and if Angelina Jolie has outsourced her womb to Cambodia?

Posted by David Kronke at 01:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Alonso Duralde recently joked to me that this year will offer the spectacle of the gayest Oscar race in history, and he should know – he’s the author of the new book ``101 Must-See Movies for Gay Men’’ (Advocate Books, $14.95). Though I’ve known Alonso for almost two decades (a fact dropped to make both of us feel old), as a straight guy, I’m not allowed to use puns like “Oscar, is that a sword in your hands, or are you just GLAAD to see me?�? So I’ll just let Alonso talk us through this year’s Oscar race.

Continue reading "Oscar, I wish I knew how to quit you" »

Posted by David Kronke at 01:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Do any of films that do a one-week limited-engagement, Oscar-qualifying run in December, then disappear only to return at a later date (The World's Fastest Indian and Hookwinked were a couple that did it this year), ever actually get any Oscar nominations? I'm guessing not, but if someone can think of an example where this strategy actually worked, I'd be interested. Otherwise, it seems really stupid. It's a drain on a film's marketing campaign -- either you spend a lot of money just for one week's business, or you spend just a little and the film plays to empty houses while moviegoers to the heavily hyped holiday films. Then, you have to start all over when the film returns, and you're not helped as much by the local media because a lot of outlets have already run their reviews. Forget Oscars -- do any of these films ever actually turn a profit?

Posted by David Kronke at 02:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today in the Daily News, we try to deflate awards' season's overly bulging balloon a smidgen with an argument that today's best TV is better than the movies that we're spending so much time celebrating on this blog.

Check out the story, linked below, then feel free to agree or disagree -- as vociferously as you like. Call us -- OK, me -- any name that won't get you censored. And we'll respond.
Blogs are about dialogue, and that's what we want to start here, and if the give-and-take can be funny and insightful at the same time, all the better. (If you/we can only be funny, so be it; if it can only be insightful, the world may end.)

Daily News

Full disclosure: I used to be a movie critic -- a real movie snob, to be honest -- before reviewing TV for the Daily News (in fact, the Daily News was one of the local outlets for which I reviewed films; I've since withdrawn my membership from the LA Film Critics Association). Which either solidifies my position as a TV champion or makes me an abject turncoat. Which is your call.

Posted by David Kronke at 12:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Can we all agree now that Steven Spielberg's decision to stand mute on his latest film (while chirpily chatting with the usual suspects for "War of the Worlds") was a disastrous miscalculation; that, for better or worse, willingly and cheerfully grinding oneself up in the star-making machinery is just an occupational hazard come awards season? (And why wouldn't someone want to discuss a movie of such serious intentions, anyway? Why leave it to op-ed-page columnists to deconstruct? Why deprive people of a story that'd be infinitely more interesting than Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick reminiscing about yokking it up one last time for "The Producers?") Who wants to bet we'll see a couple of very high-profile profiles of Spielberg just before the Golden Globes (and, coincidentally, just before Oscar ballots are due)?

Posted by David Kronke at 08:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," has been named host of the Oscar ceremony. Like David Letterman, who hosted the show a decade back to shrugs, Stewart has no real movie resume to speak of (well, there is the immortal "Death to Smoochy"), but he has hosted the Grammys quite capably, and without injecting any of the politically charged topical humor he's now best-known for. He probably has a better ear as to what the Academy and viewers expect from such a spectacle than Letterman or Chris Rock, who both basically just shoehorned their brand of shtick into the show. What might be interesting is the disdain Stewart can display for such ceremonies and showbiz hype in general on "The Daily Show." Meaning nominees and attendees better be on their best behavior lest their misdeeds or arrogant attitude be revealed the next day on "The Daily Show."

Posted by David Kronke at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Producer Gil Cates is said to be on the brink of announcing his
choice to host the March 5 Academy Awards. While handicappers fling
around the obvious names -- Billy Crystal (he says no), Whoopi Goldberg
(we hope no) -- how about someone completely different? Andy Serkis.

In the past few years, Serkis probably has earned the
distinction of "most seen on the big screen yet unrecognized
on the street." A veteran of British stage, TV and screen, he has
developed a bit of a specialty "acting" and voicing characters whose
images are computer-generated. Let's stop wringing our hands, shall we,
about whether Serkis and other performers following in his footsteps
should be eligible for special acting awards. Such decisions take way
too long. Instead, let's throw a little spotlight on him now. Think
about it: He could do the first part of the show as creepy Gollum from
the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and the second as Kong, the great ape
with the expressive face.

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 06:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Attention Academy voters: Wedged into your mailbox this weekend, behind delayed greeting cards and year-end charity appeals, is your ballot for the 78th annual Academy Awards nominations.

Continue reading "Oscars: It's in the mail" »

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 05:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A new book posits that there are about 9,000 movie awards given out in a given year. That’s more than the number of actual movies that come out, according to The Economy of Prestige: Prizes, Awards and the Circulation of Cultural Value, by James English. The exponential growth in kudo-fests began in the 1970s and continues unabated, he writes, and there’s an intriguing paradox to it all. New Yorker critic Louis Menaud says in a review of the book that scandals over who gets awarded what, and brouhaha over whether the awards mean anything in the first place actually underscore the importance of such institutions:

His theory is that when people make these objections they are helping to sustain a collective belief that true art has nothing to do with things like politics, money, in-group tastes, and beating out the other guy. As long as we want to believe that creative achievement is special, that a work of art is not just one more commodity seeking to aggrandize itself in the marketplace at the expense of other works of art, we need prizes so that we can complain about how stupid they are.

The entertainment industry is certainly satisfying that need.

Posted by at 06:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Why do you suppose studios campaign hopelessly for yet bury small films in the middle of awards season? Yes, one imagines it’s to stoke the egos of the films’ participants, but by all but ensuring that these movies never emerge out from under an avalanche of other bigger-noisier-often-crummier movies, you’d think those egos would be pulverized under all that detritus by the idea of their work not being seen by anyone. I’m thinking specifically of a handful of films that were allowed to die in limited release, never given even the chance to strike out with a larger audience: ``Shopgirl,’’ ``Bee Season’’ and ``The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio.’’ I’m not saying any of these films are particularly accomplished – I’m suggesting they’re probably not good enough to earn significant awards support but good enough to find larger audiences than they were allowed to. I wonder at what point did the studios behind these movies decide/realize they were going to dump these things, that they weren’t really even going to try to find them audiences?

Continue reading "Crushed under the Awards Campaign Machinery" »

Posted by David Kronke at 02:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

American awards-showering bodies have so far overlooked "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada," the darkly comic, exquisitely shot, modern Western morality tale starring and directed by Tommy Lee Jones.
But the French, as they often do before us, got it back in May, when Jones won the best actor prize and Mexican writer Guillermo Arriaga ("21 Grams") took screenplay honors at the Cannes Film Festival.

Continue reading "Cannes: Tommy Lee Jones" »

Posted by Bob Strauss at 04:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If the Oscar voters were the least bit adventurous, then Andy Serkis would get a best supporting actor nod for playing the big ape in ``King Kong.'' Even his Oscar-winning co-star Adrien Brody told
our film critic Bob Strauss that he thinks ``Kong may be one of the best leading men this year''
Serkis even did double duty, first acting opposite his co-stars during the filming -- creating a touching relationship with Naomi Watts' Ann Darrow -- then doing it again wearing motion-capture sensors to create the animated ape. Brody doesn't know how getting a nomination for Serkis would work _ and neither do I _ but it's time for the Academy to take some chances. When's the last time you saw that much love on the screen?

Posted by Robert Lowman at 03:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Even if you don't read the entertainment trade magazines, you know that movie studios spend scads of cash in them buying "for your consideration" ads, campaigning for Oscar gold. And even if you're not in the biz, you know that playing a disadvantaged or minority character ups an actor's chances of getting nominated. Hence the creative Photoshop action at the blog World of Wonder for ads we'll never see. Well, not in the trades.

Posted by at 05:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

British designer Paul Smith may have just opened a giant, upscale boutique in Hollywood, but don’t expect him to roll out the red carpet for celebrities. “No, thank you!�? he exclaimed when LA.COMfidential asked if he had a team to woo stars gearing up for awards season. Though his tailored suits, with surprising touches like striped linings, are perfect for offbeat-yet-elegant Oscar style, Smith has eschewed the celebrity factor when it comes to promoting his brand. “We’ve never invited celebrities to front rows of shows. A 14-year-old student and a famous celebrity and a 70-year-old businessman are all equally important to me.�? So don't expect any statue-winner to thank him from the podium.

Posted by at 05:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Let the pre-Oscar hype begin! The designs (yes, plural) are out for the posters promoting the 78th annual Academy Awards, and it's nice to see the motion picture academy redeem its tacky color mish-mash of last year with two elegant options that celebrate the award's history. It may be "such a thrill to be nominated," but let's not kid ourselves -- it's all about getting your hands on the naked golden boy, right? That's the message (conveyed tastefully) in his-and-hers posters on view at www.oscars.org. They're closely cropped photos of past winners holding their precious prizes. Can you guess who?

Continue reading "Oscar ads go vintage" »

Posted by Valerie Kuklenski at 02:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)