Thursday, February 14, 2008

Two Animated Princesses Are Better Than One

I didn't really intend to make this "Amy Adams" day (see earlier post) but she is probably the current public Valentine so, why not? The Academy has officially announced that she'll be singing at the Oscars (this we hoped for and expected) but here's the twist. She's only doing "Happy Working Song"

"That's How You Know", Giselle's other big number in Enchanted (the Central Park extravaganza), will be performed by none other than Kristin "Glinda" Chenoweth (Pushing Daisies, Wicked on Broadway)!!!


I couldn't possibly be happier about this announcement. There's probably only one woman in Hollywood that's closer to a living girlie cartoon than Amy Adams, and that's Kristin. I've seen her perform a few times on stage now. First in Wicked, then a solo show at Carnegie Hall, and finally at a one night special tribute to some ancient year and I'll tell you this... great material she can make better but she can also sell even terribly dated hokey 20s jokes and mediocre songs so expect "That's How You Know" to be even better on the Kodak stage than it was in the movie. She's the best thing to happen to musical comedy since... well, in a very long time.

The first batch of presenters were also announced. I'm disappointed that comeback queen Michelle Pfeiffer is not among them. As usual I like to break them down for you:


Because you won last year
Alan Arkin, Jennifer Hudson, Helen Mirren and Forest Whitaker
Because we plan to nominate you soon
Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy
Because you're one of the few billion dollar stars
Harrison Ford
We're sorry we snubbed you
Amy Adams, Jennifer Garner, Josh Brolin
You're dating Javier Bardem
Penelope Cruz
We gorge on things we like
Blanchett, Clooney, Tom Hanks, Marty Scorsese, Beelzebub, Renee Zellweger and Denzel Washington
Is there a red carpet if you're not on it?
Nicole Kidman
People who don't go to movies in the theaters or don't care about Oscar type movies, might still tune in to see the likes of you (we hope)
Jessica Alba, Steve Carell, Miley Cyrus, Patrick Dempsey, Cameron Diaz, Colin Farrell, Katherine Heigl, Jonah Hill, Dwayne Johnson, Queen Latifah, Seth Rogen and John Travolta 8

60 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jesus - Queen Latifah? hasn't that boat sailed yet?

but am dying to see Amy Adams up there (as well as Kristen) - finally the song portions of the show will not have me reaching for razor blades

Anonymous said...

Isn't it a bit odd that Keira Knightley has never been a presenter?
Even Orlando Bloom was once.

Anonymous said...

Miley Cyrus, Katherine Heigl and Patrick Dempsey?? WTF?

Kamila said...

I can't understand why Miley Cyrus was invited to be an Oscar presenter...

And I'd rather see Kristen Chenoweth singing "Happy Working Song". I would love to see Amy Adams performing "That's How You Know".

Anonymous said...

Denzel Washington should NOT be in that last row, especially if Nicole Kidman is not there. He should be in with the things we like category. He was nominated how many times over the years??? EXACTLY.


-Zee

Peter said...

MILEY CYPRUS????? AGH!

Anonymous said...

That is a Kristen poster, right? If so, then where do I get one? If not, then why not?

Anonymous said...

I agree with Zee.


I hate I donated money to this site, the blatant bias of putting Denzel with the likes of Patrick Dempsey, Miley Cyrus and Jessica Alba pisses me off. American Gangster is actually an Oscar nominated film , but you put Nicole botox Kidman and Tom Hanks in different Categeries. This blog blows.

NATHANIEL R said...

anonymous who donated.

I LOVE denzel washington. jeez. don't be so easily offended

i'll move him for you just to be sweet.

ryansumera said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ryansumera said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ryansumera said...

getting kristin was inspired.

Cengiz said...

I'm soo happy for the Cheno to be performing and not, I don't know, Beyonce!

And Nat..I'm surprised you mentioned Renee's name in full.

NATHANIEL R said...

cengiz --i mentioned it in a post somewhere. for 2008, i've decided to give everyone i've ever hated a second chance.

it's the kinder gentler Nathaniel until they piss me off again.

technically i should NOT have called hillary swank "beelzebub" ... i broke my own rule there. But it was force of habit.

i apologize. where's the rosary?

Anonymous said...

Nothing against Kristin Chenoweth, but that's a big f-you to Idina Menzel, who was actually in "Enchanted" and would have killed in "That's How You Know". It's odd enough that Amy Adams is only singing once, but there was a better connection there that could have been utilized to sing that centerpiece song.

And these presenters? Jessica Alba, The Rock, Cameron Diaz, MILEY CYRUS??? Please get Meryl and Diane and Jack and Warren and The Bening to save me from this foolishness quickly, please.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunatley the Oscars are as Hollywood as they come and they want the kids watching in order to boost the ratings.... hello Hannah Montana and the Scorpion King. Kill me. I'd too love a Meryl/Julianne/Viggo/Winslet/Judi/ Sarandon/Penn parade of class and talent but it ain't gonna happen in this lifetime. It won;t bring in the Bratz generation

Rant over.

Cengiz said...

Nat --Just like Celine Dion screams "It's all Coming Back To Me Now. Here's hoping she can win you back

Anonymous said...

It's ridiculous to have tv stars like Katherine Heigl and Patrick Dempsey, if they wanted to skew younger, couldn't they have added Scarlett Johansson or Keira Knightley? And Miley Cyrus? That's a new low for them, I thought this was the oscars, not the teen choice awards. I'd rather have Renee and Hilary any day over this crap!

I hope they fix this by getting Julianne Moore, Kate Winslet or even Charlize Theron. Anyone that's been previously nominated will do for me over the current presenters!

adam k. said...

"Is there a red carpet if you're not on it?" (Nicole Kidman)

That is rather like the age-old "if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it makes a sound?" How profound.

J.D. said...

MILEY CYRUS?!?!??!

Well, it is a Disney-owned channel...

adam k. said...

Yeah, getting these presenters IS kinda scraping the bottom of the barrel. And worse yet, I don't see how i'll help the ratings. I mean, will tweens really watch the oscars JUST cause Miley Cyrus or whoever is presenting? How would the tweens even know? They don't follow these things. No little girl is gonna tug on her mommy's dress and force her to turn on the oscars in order to see Miley Cyrus. She's just gonna watch that concert movie thing again on YouTube.

Basically, this reeks of pandering, and helps no one.

adam k. said...

And re: Idina Menzel not singing, it IS a defensible argument that Kristin C is just more girly and more Giselle-like and hence better suited to the song. Maybe that's why Idina wasn't cast as Giselle. Maybe they feel bad they didn't cast Kristin in the movie at all.

NATHANIEL R said...

see i don't even know who that is

Nathaniel's popculture knowledge gaps:

1. new basic cable child stars
2. reality tv stars (i'm so surprised this trend is as powerful as ever --how can people take this much narcissism from idiots? and dozens of new "stars" that are exactly the same each year)
3. sports stars
4. some hip hop stars
5. people famous for hanging out with people who are famous just for being famous zzzzzzzz

NATHANIEL R said...

i should say i'm talking about miley cyrus here. every other name mentioned i totally know who they are ;)

adam k. said...

Miley Cyrus is the girl who plays Hannah Montana, who just starred in that Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus movie. I only know this because my little sister just went to one of her concerts and ended up explaining to me who she was. Otherwise I'd be as clueless as you.

adam k. said...

I mean don't get me wrong, I'm not PROUD that I know who she is.

ryansumera said...

if michael clayton had a best song nom, idina would be the one to call,

Anonymous said...

Isn't Miley Cyrus just 14 years old?

Anonymous said...

People like Kate Winslet and Keira Knightley tend to only show up at events like this when nominated. It's refreshing, quite frankly. Keira might show because Atonement is nominated, but who knows.

RJ said...

Why is Jessica Alba invited every year? Why?

Robert said...

Jessica Alba is the Tech award starlet this year.

And as for Hannah Nevada, sure it's scraping the bottom of the barrell. But if they're gonna try to increase ratings, I think we all prefer this to listening to Beyonce and Antonio Banderas sing and demoting the Shorts Categories

Anonymous said...

Knightley won't show. That's confirmed in Friday's edition of the Daily Mail.

NATHANIEL R said...

ok. that explains it. didn't realize that miley PLAYED hannah. got it. ;)

i have no tweens in my life obviously. my niece is getting married (god, i'm old! *sniffle*)

gabrieloak said...

I believe one reason Kristin was chosen was because she is on an ABC television show and it never hurts to do cross promotion.

I actually avoid Kristin whenever possible. I recognize her talent but I've never liked her since I saw her in the Broadway debut in Steel Pier. And for some reason she is in shows I have tickets for, like several Encores and then a transfer of The Apple Tree to the Roundabout.

But she is suitable for the Enchanted number.

Glenn Dunks said...

What's the bet that Cameron Diaz announces Best Animated Feature and Queen Latifah announces Best Original Song (or one of the performers). It seems like they do that every single year!

And if Jack Nicholson announces Best Picture I'm gonna scream. I was thinking who else they would get. Not Denzel because they didn't nominate either of his movies very much so he might be bitter. It could be Travolta, I guess.

I would hope Nicole decides not to show. She's pregnant so she doesn't need to be flying unnecessarily and she's not nominated. Hmmm.

Who's singing "Happy Working Song"?

Anonymous said...

Shame about Keira, while it is refreshing that she doesn't turn up unless nominated, it would've been nice to see her. She always brings glamour to the red carpet and I'd have loved to see what she'd wear!

NATHANIEL R said...

er, Glenn. didn't you read the post?

Anonymous said...

amy adams is my new favorite actress and kristen chenoweth is just plain adorable...guess ill actually watch the oscars this year then...or at least until these two awesome people are done with their numbers.

Anonymous said...

Is it confirmed that Keira is not going to the awards? If so, how terribly disappointing. Would've loved to see what she wore. Plus her film did get 7 noms inclusing Best Costume thanks to HER green dress.

As for the presenters, yeah some are just plain WTF (Miley Cyrus). Heck if they wanted to get the tween viewers they could've settled for Zac Efron who was AT LEAST in a film last year.

As for Alba, yeah she's the Tech Girl this year. And Dempsey/Heigl apart from starring in one of ABC's signature show (cross promotion!) also did pretty well last year in film.

Random thought: Why hasn't Meryl Streep never presented Best Picture while Jack Nicholson has done it SEVEN times? Insanity.

Glenn Dunks said...

Sorry, I meant the other Enchanted song? Or was that "So Close" not sung by Gisele? I can't remember that song.

Anonymous said...

thank god no j lo....she always turns up like a bad penny.

jane fonda will be doing "best Picture."

El Gigante said...

Nate no need to apologize for making Amy Adams the feature actress of the day on the blog. She is to my blog what Kate Winslet and Meryl Streep are to this one.

As for Glenn, "So Close" is sung by contemporary adult vocalist John McLaughlin. I don't know if he's performing it at the Oscars but I could've sworn I read on E's popwach blog he was. Though I must admit as probably one of the biggest Enchanted fans ever the music performance I'm MOST looking forward to is Glenn Hansard and Marketa Irglova singing "Falling Slowly." That will be AMAZING.

Anonymous said...

And re: Idina Menzel not singing, it IS a defensible argument that Kristin C is just more girly and more Giselle-like and hence better suited to the song. Maybe that's why Idina wasn't cast as Giselle. Maybe they feel bad they didn't cast Kristin in the movie at all.

That's a weak excuse for ditching someone who was actually in the film for someone who wasn't (and don't think it's just chance that ABC would tap someone who's featured on one of their shows, "Pushing Daisies"). Idina Menzel would have been great with this song, and she should have been given first dibs. She can be plenty "girly" enough to pull off a song at the Oscars.

The Jaded Armchair Reviewer said...

I'll take Miley Cyrus as a presenter over the Academy giving an Oscar to a "hip" choice (make-up branch are you listening?!) just to make the Academy seem in-tune with the younger audience.

James & Keira are probably gonna present Best Costume.

adam k. said...

JS, I hope you're not implying that Norbit is "hip."

Glenn Dunks said...

I agree about the Idina Menzel thing. It'd be like when Renee Zellweger dropped out of singing "I Move On" and instead of giving the spot to Queen Latifah they had given it to, for the sake of similaties, Kristen Chenowith.

It'd be very strange. It's not like Menzel can't sing.

Maybe there was conflict because the song she actually sung (for Beowulf) wasn't nominated...

Anonymous said...

Needs a bit more star power. I'd like it if they added Will Smith to the line up since he's the biggest star in world right now, looks great and he's quick with a quip. Definitely Jack too, he's there every year so he mights as well present. And another high profile female movie star or two would be great. Maybe Charlize, Kate or Naomi?

Anonymous said...

Yay! I LOVE Amy Adams...but I also love Kristen Chenoweth. Amazing in Wicked, loved her in The Apple Tree...*sigh.* I do like Idina Menzel, but I think that her voice isn't as suited to the "light and springy Disney Princess" that, well, Chenoweth just embodies.

But oh my dear lord, my eyes hurt after reading the "we invited you because you're famous" list. Miley Cyrus?? Katherine Heigl (sorry, she annoys me)??? Patrick Dempsey????

...Dwayne Johnson?????? I think I need to go lie down now.

Anonymous said...

Don't apologise Julia, Katherine annoys me too, she seems so smug and arrogant. In fact, I can't stand her!

Anonymous said...

I agree with Zee, me too!
Marco Milone
http://www.mellart.com (animation, art, cinema and comics

Catherine said...

Cameron Diaz? If I remember correctly, last year she rambled like a crazy person before presenting the award. I literally had no clue what she was saying.

NATHANIEL R said...

yeah, it is odd to me that they don't go with more movie stars who aren't very oscary. I mean why jessica alba and cameron diaz multiple times when there are so many other hot things out there that are in movies?

Anonymous said...

It will never happen, but I'd like them to come out with a list of the people they've asked, but who refused.

Anonymous said...

No one's happy with the "non-Oscary" people? Yeah, Miley Cyrus blows huge chunks, but some of them had great years that merit something like this (presenting at the Oscars). Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen had a huge year with "Knocked Up" (that should have made original screenplay, but I digress), Jonah Hill with "Superbad"/"Knocked Up", Cameron Diaz with "Shrek 3" (wow, that was a stretch, but bear with me!), Queen Latifah/John Travolta with "Hairspray", and Patrick Dempsey with "Enchanted"/"Grey's Anatomy". It's understandable seeing them picked to drum up ratings for ABC, whorey as they may be.

One presenter I'm really hoping for is Michael Cera. If Jonah Hill can get invited to present, then Cera should be sent the invite ASAP with his combo of "Superbad" and "Juno" (BP nominee).

Anonymous said...

No Uma ?
No Charlize ?
No Angelina ?
Hollywood is doomed.

Anonymous said...

They probably asked Angelina and Keira and they refused. Dammit.

Glenn Dunks said...

Anon 10.50, thing is Latifah and Travolta both presented the Best Original Song category last year and Latifah again the year before that. And they seem to get Cameron Diaz to announce Best Animated Feature more times than I can recall.

Patrick Dempsey will at least - surely, right? - be introducing the Enchanted medley. I'd love them to get Saiorse Ronan to introduce the Once performance being Irish and all.

Anonymous said...

I hope Emily Blunt is presenting!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I know that Queen Latifah presents Best Original Song all the time it seems, but at least there's a reason for her to be there this year (sort of) with "Hairspray" as opposed to the other times she's presented. It's star-whorey, and I'm not denying that, but at this late date, you do what you can do, and I get why she's such a perennial. She's a great television personality that can bring some diversity, humor, and spark to the inevitably tedious night, even if only for a few minutes.

Anonymous said...

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