Mo'Nique to Announce Oscar Nominees

I'm riffing on a conversation from Facebook (sorry Matt & Erik!) here but since Mo'Nique will announce the Oscar nominees on January 25th with AMPAS president Tom Sherak, can she please do it in character as Mary Jones!!?!

Frankly, no matter which wonderful film or actor gets a terribly unjust snub that morning (and I know a handful who are in danger), it'd still be the greatest Oscar morning of all time if Mo'Nique will rip down one of those 5 screens that hang behind the podium as soon as she's displeased with one of the names uttered.

I know you know the set I'm talking about...

the general setup each year.

Just rip down one of them screens, Mo'Nique!

Hurl it at the sea of reporters, caught off guard. You'll be all anyone talks about that Tuesday even though you didn't even have a movie this year.

This is my new favorite Oscar nomination morning fantasy of all time! If you share this fantasy, pass it on. We can will it into happening. Hear us oh great Mo'Nique!
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Top Ten: New Academy Members 2010

it's not Tuesday but it's time for a Top Ten anyway... as this is yesterday's news already!

AMPAS used to hide their membership roster like the vote tallies but in the information age, they've opened up. Now we get to see the whole list of new invitees each year. I wonder how they keep they're membership around 6,000 given how many people they invite annual. Maybe enough people reject the offer, stop paying their dues, or pass from this mortal coil each year to balance it out?

You can read the full list of recipients at Indiewire, but as is the Film Experience tradition, we like to pinpoint the newest (potential) members whose future ballots we'd most like to see. So let's have at it.

New Academy Member Ballots We Most Want To See

10 Bono & The Edge (music)
They're two separate people but we'd like to imagine them filling out their ballots together inbetween sets. We'd like to also imagine that they'll have better taste than the rest of the often confounding music branch.

09 Bob Murawski (editor)
We love his work on The Hurt Locker and the Spider-Man films and he's a fellow Michigander. Extra points for that. Plus editing happens to be the most fascinating category in terms of how one judges it? How do you know how well an editor is doing if you can't see all the unused footage? And are they really that obsessed with just choosing the movies they love as their nominees or are their individual ballots so very individual that only the absolute common denominators are able to rise up to snag nominations, the common denominators being the pictures people love most, regardless of editing skill (i.e. Best Picture nominees)

08 Laura Rosenthal (casting director)
It's the job I'm personally most jealous of in Hollywood. I assume the casting directors can only nominate in the Best Picture category but in a way, shouldn't they have a say in all four acting categories? Their very business is studying actors and deciding who is best... for the part. Some interesting things on her resume: The Messenger, Chicago, I'm Not There, Far From Heaven and Savage Grace. It's worth noting that this woman was smart enough to give Samantha Morton her first two American gigs (Sweet and Lowdown and Jesus's Son)

07 Janet Patterson (costume designer)
Her filmography is short but damned if her accomplishments aren't tall. Consider: Peter Pan, The Piano, Oscar & Lucinda, Bright Star, Holy Smoke!, The Portrait of a Lady. She should already be an Oscar winner by now but after four nominations, it's nice that they're extending an offer. Strangely, the Academy's costuming branch is so small that last I checked it wasn't even listed among their categories. Are there really more makeup artists in AMPAS than costumers (click here and scroll down to bottom of page). If so, why? But then again, maybe my numbers are out of date.


06 Peter Sarsgaard (actor)
He finally wore down their resistance. That Shattered Glass (2003) snub still stings years later. He works a lot and even if we're starting to want him to truly surprise us again (we fear he's going to become a Ben Kingsley i.e. a great actor who shamelessly phones it in for too many paychecks) we like him. Who will he vote for? Besides Maggie & Jake.

05 Adam Shankman (director)
He's had experience in producing, acting and directing and was a key player in this last Oscar ceremony. We don't mean this in a judgmental way but he strikes us as the type that will vote for his friends. But he seems to have so many of them that won't he have to snub most of them each time he votes? Does having a million friends, mean voting for your friends doesn't really compromise your ballot? Now, Academy members can only nominate in the category of the branch they're invited to join (as well as Best Picture... then they can vote for the winners in most other categories when the final ballots go out). So this means that he'll be able to have his say at who did the best directing job each year. We love Hairspray and we don't begrudge him Academy membership -- he's a serious power player -- but as a director? Wouldn't he be a better fit for the producer's branch?

04 Zoë Saldana (actor)
This All American beauty (of Dominican/Puerto Rican descent) was probably invited due to those back-to-back blockbusters (Avatar, Star Trek) but if you stop to consider that she's acted opposite everything from green screens (Avatar and the like) to wood (Britney Spears, Crossroads) and on to A grade thespians like Johnny Depp and Sigourney Weaver she probably knows a thing or two about the acting process in all its iterations. And having recently singled out Tang Wei in Lust, Caution as one of her favorite performances, we know the girl is discerning and willing to look beyond Hollywood for "best". AMPAS could use more of that. We would love to see her nomination ballot in all four acting categories this coming January.

03 Jacques Audiard (director)
This French auteur's last three features Read My Lips, The Beat That My Heart Skipped and A Prophet have all crackled with intelligence, electricity, fine acting and interesting choices. Now being great at something is not the same thing as being great at judging it... but it surely can't hurt. We're always curious about AMPAS's foreign outreach. How many of them say yes to membership and when they do, how international are their ballots compared to, say, Ron Howard's... or Adam Shankman's for that matter?

Audiard directs with his hands.

02 Vera Farmiga (actor)
Her breakthrough, critically speaking, came when she won the LAFCA Best Actress prize for Down to the Bone (2004). Incidentally that film was directed by Debra Granik, who's currently helping Jennifer Lawrence break through with Winter's Bone (2010). Will more actresses line up to work with Granik? That'd be a smart move. It took the Academy another five years to notice Farmiga. Given her frequently fine rapport with male co-stars, we're actually more curious about how she'll vote for the male acting categories than her own. We know she loves Michael Fassbender so... points for that. But the real reason she's ranked so high is those crazy eyes. What do they see? We like to theorize that people with crazy eyes are actually crazy. And crazy is way better than same ol' same ol' when it comes to awards balloting.

01 Mo'Nique (Actor)
Admit it, she'd top your list too. On account of what the hell would that ballot look like? Her already legendary performance in Precious showed previously hidden depths so maybe she'll be able to see it in others, too? In addition to her being an atypical Oscar winner (they don't usually go for female comics) we're intrigued by whether or not she'll take the process seriously given that when last year's race first began she seemed famously disinterested. Will that initial skepticism make her one of those types that just votes for her friends, or doesn't vote at all or even refuses membership? Or will she just crack herself up like she does onstage while she scribbles down outlandish performances? Or did the Oscar journey, which culminated in that beautiful shout out to Hattie McDaniel's history-making win for Gone With the Wind (1939), convert her to the importance of the legacy of Hollywood's High Holy Night?
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The rest of the lists if you're curious [source]

Actors:
 Tobin Bell (Saw), 
Miguel Ferrer (Traffic), 
James Gandolfini (In the Loop), 
Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air), 
Mo’Nique (Precious), 
Carey Mulligan (An Education), 
Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), Ryan Reynolds (The Proposal), LaTanya Richardson Jackson (Mother and Child), 
Peter Riegert (Traffic), 
Sam Robards (American Beauty), 
Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones, pictured left), 
Adam Sandler (Funny People), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious), Shaun Toub (Iron Man), 
Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds), 
George Wyner (A Serious Man)

Animators:
 Ken Bielenberg (Monsters vs Aliens), Peter de Seve (Ratatouille), 
Steve Hickner (The Prince of Egypt), 
Angus MacLane (Toy Story 3), 
Darragh O’Connell (Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty), Simon Otto (How to Train Your Dragon), Bob Pauley (Toy Story 3), 
Willem Thijssen (A Greek Tragedy)

Art Directors/Set Decorators/Production Designers:
 Kim Sinclair (Avatar), Dave Warren (Sweeney Todd), Maggie Gray (The Young Victoria), Douglas A. Mowat (The Sixth Sense), 
Caroline Smith (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus), 
Kirk M. Pertruccelli (The Incredible Hulk), 
Edward S. Verreaux (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra)

Cinematographers:
 Barry Ackroyd (The Hurt Locker), 
Christian Berger (The White Ribbon, pictured left), Hagen Bogdanski (The Young Victoria), 
Shane Hurlbut (Terminator Salvation), Tom Hurwitz (Valentino The Last Emperor), 
Dan Mindel (Star Trek), 
Tobias Schliessler (Hancock), 
Stephen Windon (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift), Robert Yeoman (The Squid and the Whale)

Costume Designers:
 Catherine Leterrier (Coco before Chanel)

Directors:
 Juan Jose Campanella (The Secret in Their Eyes), Lee Daniels (Precious), 
Claudia Llosa (The Milk of Sorrow), Lone Scherfig (An Education)

Documentary:
 Nancy Baker (Born into Brothels), 
Rick Goldsmith (The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers), Davis Guggenheim (It Might Get Loud), Tia Lessin (Trouble the Water), 
Cara Mertes (The Betrayal), 
Frazer Pennebaker (The War Room), 
Julia Reichert (The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant), 
Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me)

Film Editors:
 Robert Frazen (Synecdoche, New York), 
Dana E. Glauberman (Up in the Air), Joe Klotz (Precious), 
John Refoua (Avatar)

Live Action Shorts: 
Joachim Back (The New Tenants), 
Gregg Helvey (Kavi)

Makeup Artists and Hairstylists:
 Kris Evans (X-Men The Last Stand), 
Jane Galli (3:10 to Yuma), 
Mindy Hall (World Trade Center), Joel Harlow (Star Trek), Jenny Shircore (The Young Victoria, pictured left)

Music:
 Christophe Beck (The Hangover) 
T Bone Burnett (Crazy Heart), 
Brian Tyler (Fast & Furious)

Sound:
 Frank Eulner (Iron Man 2), Adam Jenkins (I Love You, Man), Tony Lamberti (Inglourious Basterd), Dennis Leonard (The Polar Express), 
Tom Myers (Up), 
Paul N.J. Ottosson (The Hurt Locker), Resul Pookutty (Slumdog Millionaire), Gary A. Rizzo (How to Train Your Dragon), Michael Silvers (Up), Gwendolyn Yates Whittle (Avatar)

Visual Effects:
 Matt Aitken (District 9), Karen Ansel (Angels & Demons), 
Richard Baneham ( Avatar), Eric Barba (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Paul Debevec (Avatar), Russell Earl (Star Trek), 
Steve Galich (Transformers), 
Andrew R. Jones (Avatar), Dan Kaufman (District 9), 
Derek Spears (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor), 
Steve Sullivan (Avatar), 
Michael J. Wassel (Hellboy II: The Golden Army)

Writers:
 Neill Blomkamp (District 9), Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker), Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious), Nick Hornby (An Education), Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek), 
Tom McCarthy (Up, pictured left. He's also an actor), Roberto Orci (Star Trek), Terri Tatchell (District 9)

At Large, Executives, Producers & Public Relations
 Christopher W. Aronson, 
Jim Berk
, Philippe Dauman
, Sheila DeLoach
, Donald Peter Granger
, Nathan Kahane
, Andrew Karpen, 
Ryan Kavanaugh, 
David Kosse
, David Andrew Spitz
, Emma Watts, Stephanie Allain, Gregory Jacobs, Jon Landau, Marc Turtletaub, Glenn Williamson, Dwight Caines, Suzanne M. Cole
, Tommy Gargotta
, Sophie Gluck
, Josh Greenstein
, Pamela Levine
, Wendy Lightbourn, 
Michele Robertson, 
Tony Sella, Darcy Antonellis and John Lowry

Which ballots do you want to see?
Do you think anyone will reject the offer?
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Podcast: Post-Oscar Season 2 Finale

For the final podcast, the original gang is back together: Nick, Joe, Katey and yours truly, Nathaniel. We'll be back soon for a new season but this time we close out the film year with the final discussion of Oscar's 2009/10 hoedown throwdown. You can download the podcast through Mediafire or Rapidshare. We're quite gabby this time (72 minutes) so bear with us as we pick apart the Oscar ceremony in our usual train-of-thought manner. Among the topics:

• Neil Patrick Harris's opening number. Did it really happen?
• George Clooney escape from his famous attractiveness
• Secret love for Hope Floats
• Smug and sour bitches
  
• Up in the Air's shutout and Jason Reitman's Oscar future
  
• Barbra Streisand's diva shit
• Can loving Gabourey Sidibe be wrong when it feels so right?
  
• Avatar in 20 years. Did the Academy dodge a bullet?
• Shouldn't all of the acting presentations have been famous duos rather than current co-stars (like Pfeiffer & Bridges)?
• Hidden satirical messages
  
• Nick's competing Precious allegiances
• Navigating the difficult post-Oscar period
  

Once you're done listening, continue the conversation right here. Are you glad "the ten" is booked for at least three years?

Previous Oscar Night Reviews: Fashion | Party Fashions | Tribeca Review | Best Moments | Worst Moments | Lingering Questions | Lingering (Gay) Questions | Hug it Out With Jeremy Renner | 'The Money Shot'

"You've Never Always Seen Oscar Like This"

Advertising can be so misleading. The tagline for the 82nd Academy Awards was, "You've never seen Oscar like this!" But from the gaudy opening song to the mix of new and old Hollywood presenters through time wasting dance numbers, scripted "banter," and clip montages, it was more like, "You've always seen Oscar like this!"

To be fair, there were some tweaks to ancient traditions. We don't normally get to see the Lead Actor and Actress nominees until late in the show, except in reaction shots, but the producers made a savvy decision to showcase the biggest stars instantly. Just as soon as the show had begun, all ten walked out to smile at the cameras in their gowns and tuxes; bubbly Precious star Gabby Sidibe stole that moment by adding diva posing to her close-up. The show also jettisoned the Original Songs performances, though in their place was a lengthy and frankly confusing interpretative dance number featuring the Original Score nominees. Why, pray tell, was Up accompanied by "the robot"—WALL-E was last year's Pixar movie—and what did the "pop-n-lock" say about The Hurt Locker???

Read the rest at TRIBECA FILM.

That's the last of my weekly Oscar columns for Tribeca Film (sniffle). The season is done. For the finale, I'm talking about the mixed messages Oscars always presents from Art vs. Commerce to Performance vs. Politics.

Also right here... Oscars in Review: worst & weirdest moments, most wonderful moments and all 09/10 awards season posts
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Gold Dust-Off

Adam of Club Silencio with a few after-Oscar thoughts...

• Mo'Nique rightfully wins Best Supporting Actress and preciously says, "First, I would like to thank the Academy for showing that it can be about the performance and not the politics." Mo'Nique doesn't advertise, but she has been officially branded with Oprah's seal of approval, and prefers to be called "Tyler Perry's Mo'Nique."

• Each one of us is "a brain, an athlete, and a basket case. A princess and a criminal..." Someone help me decide which was which during that John Hughes tribute.

• The cast of Twilight: New Moon reminds us that the horror genre never gets any respect. Their presentation of said montage is horrifyingly valid proof of that. Included in the clip: Edward Scissorhands (because he resembles someone you'll get at Super Cuts?), Leprechaun (because he's taller than most actors), and The Texas Chainsaw Masscare: The Next Generation (because Renee Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey still managed careers after such drivel, up to and including more drivel).

• Sandra Bullock's Best Actress win is unexpectedly and harmoniously balanced by her Razzie win for Worst Actress. Her grace and good humor certainly did soften the blow to our collective Blind Side.

• Sandy Powell wins Best Costume Design for The Young Victoria and wants you to know that you were wrong in even nominating her for dressing Monarchs. Contemporary fashion is where it's at, she says. And besides, she already has two Oscars. Poor, poor Sandy. After tonight she goes back to the dredges of period costuming, and wallowing in the inevitable winning of even more Academy Awards.

• Music by Prudence wins Best Documentary Short. Elinor Burkett reminds co-creator Roger Ross Williams that one only has a short time to get to the heart of a subject. Thus she proceeds to heartlessly cut him off and fill the entire time.

• Kathyrn Bigelow becomes the first female to win Best Director! We celebrate the win because it's deserving, it's a historical triumph, and there are so many cutaways to Jeremy Renner.

• Avatar loses Best Picture. I see you, James Cameron, returning to your studio to digitally create a cast of thousands to weep just for you.

And the Winner Is... Mo'Nique (Supporting Actress Greatness)

Y'all know how we love the split screen madness on Oscar night. I wish they filmed it in slo-mo, I love it so much. I actually wished they had the split screen up through the ENTIRE acting presentations so you can spy on the faces and project your own meaning on to the collected famous (possibly nervous, heartbroken, pissy, relieved, happy, confused) faces for whole minutes at a time.

the envelope is opening | "Mo... | "Nique"! (it sinks in)

In such a locked up category everyone is composed. Penélope is totally chill 'Already won this. Yep, just as I predicted' Maggie was smiling like that the whole night, just happy for that Crazy Heart ride. Mo'Nique is totally ready. Closes her eyes for the Royal Blessing. Then heads to the stage. Congratulations Mo'Nique. One of the most deserving Best Supporting Actress winners ever.

While we're on the subject... you didn't ask for it OR expect it. But here you go, the film experience ballot if you could only hold the Oscars once a decade (GOD FORBID!):

Nathaniel's Choice For Best Supporting Actress 2000-2009

• Holly Hunter, thirteen (nominated, lost)
  
• Mo'Nique, Precious (the Oscar winner)
  
• Michelle Pfeiffer, White Oleander (snubbed)
  
• Miranda Richardson, Spider (snubbed)
  
• Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton (the Oscar winner)
  

I think that's what it would be. SO hard to narrow down that much. Argh. Maybe I'd drop Richardson for somebody? I haven't seen that performance in a long and is it as tripled in its genius as I remember? The winner? Tilda or Mo'Nique. But it's too soon to ask, too soon!!! And here's my favorite of Oscar's winners this past decade.


Yes, Oscar and I are sympatico for three years running in this category, sharing the same gold winner. Never thought that would happen. Three consecutive thrilling years in any category is so rare! This means we're due for another Cold Mountain or A Beautiful Mind travesty come February 2011. But let's not worry about that just yet! Happy thoughts. Mo'Nique!

Spirit Awards Live And Possibly Spirited (Or Dispirited) Blogging

10:52 The unwieldy title is accurate because my mood is inscrutable at the moment. Even to myself. What's yours like?

11:01 Eddie Izzard is so great. Smart choice of host. Have you ever seen his concerts? Brilliance. Eddie talks so fast and in so many circles (His show CIRCLE you must rent) that I can't even comment on this opening monologue but he's the best. "We're going to have shame and fear tonight... " haha. He's now telling the winners that they haven't really won if they win. The other nominees can still win instead if they kill the winner. Hee. Is this what Adam Shankman actually wanted when he started talking about the Oscars as reality tv, a sudden death round?

11:09 Best Supporting Actor winner Woody Harrelson (The Messenger) to his fellow nominees "I think you're all better." Is that so they won't try to take him out?


11:15 Regina King and Emile Hirsch are announcing Best First Feature. I like Regina King. Does anyone reading watch Southland? I like her perpetually sour mood in that, there's depth under it and you wonder why her character can't smile more... and you love it whenever her wall drops a little. Anyway, I think she's an underrated actor. She was so good in Ray and The Year of the Dog, too. Crazy Heart wins Chris Coo Scott Cooper this prize.

Writer/director Scott Cooper is quite attractive but uh... "If I see 20 or 25 films a year, you can bet that 22 or 23 of them are independent films" In an acceptance speech. You're a filmmaker and that's all you see? And you're saying it out loud?

11:26 Vera Farmiga is smoking hot. Those pupils are crazy light and she's smart enough to always surround them with the smoky eye. If you stare at them too long she will possess your very soul. And you might like it, too. Maggie Gyllenhaal is also looking sensational if a little more reality based... and favoring assymetrical decolletage. Yay, Geoffrey Fletcher wins Screenplay for Precious.

11:31 There's no commercials in this thing? That's when I do my photo editing! And pee. I need to pee. If there's no commercials soon I'll have to pull a Bad Blake. Where's the plastic jug? Speaking of... Jeff Bridges is singing one of Crazy Heart's numbers. I can't believe Oscar didn't want Jeff up there strumming and warbling. I'm not crazy about this "Funny How Falling Feels Like Flying" song though. Give me the Oscar nominated one or the "Somebody Else"


11:39 Mo'Nique wins Supporting Actress for Precious looking as polished and beautiful as ever. She talked about bringing your A game to a low budget movie and that the wardrobe for Mary Jones came from producer Lisa Cortes's closet. 'What that says about Lisa Cortes, I don't know' hahaha. This is such a great acceptance speech. To a beaming Gabby "You are a special gift to the universe"

11:45 Mariah Carey arrives... uh, expanded... to present Best Cinematography. Roger Deakins wins for A Serious Man. Eddie Izzard returns and the microphone keeps rising up from the floor and then falling back down. He calls it a "strange penis thing". The crowd doesn't seem to think he's funny but he is brilliantly funny. It's just his kind of cerebral chain of thought rapid fire cumulative laughs (funnier the more they sink in) is not the type of humor that maybe translates best to showing up in between acceptance speeches.

11:57 The John Cassavettes Award (for a super low budget movie) goes to Humpday. That was a good one.

12:03 The Robert Altman Award (for ensemble) goes to A Serious Man. For a second I thought they said A Single Man and I was like "Colin Firth and Julianne Moore are an ensemble??? Where I come from we call that a duo!" And in case you've always wanted to know what Ellen Chenoweth (Casting Director) looks like, here she is!

I've been seeing her name on movie screens my whole life and I did always wonder. Lately I pretend that she's actually Kristin Chenoweth's older sister and that they do not get along. Hence Kristin's trouble finding worthy film roles.

12:12 We so want to see Son of Precious. John Waters just pitched it. Someone to Watch Award goes to Easier With Practice.

12:16 This night is all about the blacktresses! Now it's Taraji P Henson's turn to come out looking fan-tas-tic. Oh, it's a tribute to Roger Ebert. Taraji is so cute, giggling, 'You always had great things to say about me so I love you!' Well, at least she's honest about it! I always wonder when filmmakers and actors honor critics. Like, do they do it through gritted teeth? It must be an odd relationship. Ebert and his wife are sponsoring this award "Truer Than Fiction" for documentary filmmakers. The Ross Brothers from Ohio win. They thank their mom "she's our producer... literally." Hee.

12:23 Carey Mulligan, like Marisa Tomei before her tonight, is wearing some sort of crushed jewelry superglued to a tight black bodice. This is another Best Screenplay category. I'm confused. We already had one. Maybe that was a "first screenplay" and this is for old pros? (500) Days of Summer wins. I bet this feels good for these guys after the Oscar snub.

12:31 ANVIL! THE PERFORMANCE OF ANVIL. You know, I'm glad people discovered this movie (rent it!) but the music is not why the movie is good ;) And Anvil! The Story of Anvil wins Best Documentary.

Incidentally, Maria Bello & Lenny Kravitz presented this award. I am so hot for Bello (I know I know blonde 40something actresses. they kill me) and I wish she'd get better jobs. There was a very weird moment when she seemed to be trying to welcoming Lenny to acting (via Precious) only she's like really talented. And he's like a musician who acted once. I kept wanting him to bust out "American Woman" with Maria Bello in the Heather Graham role.

12:47 Why do I hate David Spade? I always have. It's a weird personal reaction but ewww. I can't even look at the screen. Foreign Film goes to An Education.


Lone Scherfig fawns all over Carey Mulligan verbally just like she does visually in the movie! Surprisingly she reserves even crazier praise for Peter Sarsgaard 'best actor she's ever worked with' or some such. He looks adorable bald.

Stella Artois has sponsored tonight's event. But you might say they have hijacked the night's event because every time someone wins the logo comes up and blocks out the delighted winner. Bad form sponsor, bad form.


12:53 Best Actress goes to GABOUREY SIDIBE. Woooooot. I am gonna transcribe the whole thing (insert your own giggles) because she's just too delightful for words. Or rather... more delightful with words. Gimme a sec.

[huge applause] Stop! I'm getting nervous.

Thank you. [looking at statue] It's got wings on it, yay!

I'm so excited. Okay, I'm kind of a dork. My mom used to pay me $2 a day to go to school and I used to ride by an independent movie theater. I saved up my money for a week so I could see Welcome to the Dollhouse. And that's the first film I saw where I thought... I could do that. So to be corny I'll say that is perhaps when my independent spirit was born. Now I am officially corny.

I'd like to thank our casting directors Billy Hopkins and Jessica Kelly. I'd like to thank all of our producers who worked tirelessly, our awesome awesome director, our screenwriter. They all collaborated to make me look good. Or too look bad because there was no makeup on set at all. No makeup. We all looked bad. I'd like to thank my fellow actors who... taught me how to act. Really I showed up not knowing anything. I still hardly know anything. I'm going to call all those tricks up for my next role!

And I'd like to thank everyone here with independent spirit and our studio Lionsgate. Thank you so much!

Delightful.

12:59 I think this is the end. Eddie Izzard never takes a breath and he just makes me laaaaaaauuugh. Wait, what? THREE more awards to go. No fair. I'm ready for the triple Z

1:05 Maggie Gyllenhaal, her right breast, and Ryan Reynolds present Best Actor to Jeff Bridges. Weird but very affectionate moment(s) between Jeff & Maggie during the intro, presentation and acceptance speech.


Weird partially because they played lovers in the movie and their energy in person is ALL daddy and daddy's little girl. So, uh, yeah. Kinda creepy when juxtaposed with scenes from the movie. But I love them both. Jeff's speech is filled with lots of "man"s and "baby"s. He and Mo'Nique should have a conversation. The Dude keeps looking up and talking to dearly departed people. Three of them.

1:11 Jodie Foster and Jeremy Renner look right together. Hmmmmm. J&J rave about Jeff and then they announce Best Director which goes to Lee Daniels for Precious. After a very lengthy giddy trip to the stage (he stops and hugs each Precious star) Jodie gives him a backpat and Jeremy kisses him. Lee Daniels is having a very good night.

He says "Kathryn Bigelow is not here tonight but I am' He is overcome with emotion. He literally says nothing after saying Mo'Nique's name but just tears up. I understand. I saw the performance, too.

1:20 PRECIOUS = BEST PICTURE. The Hurt Locker is probably so glad it held its release a year. Not that I want other movies to follow suit. It avoided the fate of being that Indie Spirit darling which rules over Oscar weekend until the actual Oscars. Of course there are much worse fates than to have a glitzy party with influential peers in your industry celebrating you. Congratulations to Precious! Lee Daniels to his producer (the one with the Mary Jones wardrobe) "Tell all these white people what you gotta say!"

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FiLM BiTCH AWARDS Medals Ceremony

This site's 10th annual honors have been announced. Cue the title themes to Bright Star and The Hurt Locker. Hunger doesn't really have a score so just cue a tinny radio transmission of Margaret Thatcher's voice. I dunno, get creative. Director Steve McQueen certainly did.

The Na'Vi honor the ceremonial wins of their destroyers.
Avatar wins 3 gold and 2 silver in technical categories.

The gold, silver and bronze medals are now announced for all of the "traditional" categories. I'm still working on the extra fun pages. Many of these medals were tough calls, so don't get too flummoxed if your favorites were bronze instead of silver or some such. Next month I might wish I'd switched a few up. After all, so much of "favorites" is mood-driven and susceptible to rescreenings. Although, don't get me wrong, there are incontestable gold medals, too. Tilda Swinton's win for Julia and Mo'Nique's for Precious were easy calls. They're the two best performances of 2009 (with Christoph Waltz a semi-distant third though he too is quite marvelous) and they'd be high up on a "decade" list, too.

The Hurt Locker reigns with the highest medal count (4 gold among them). What can I say, it was a rare "consensus" year for me. It was also a good year for toons. Between them, Coraline, UP and Fantastic Mr. Fox took 7 medals.

P.S. Before anyone freaks out about "The Dude" losing gold, remember that I owe him nothing. I didn't keep him waiting nearly as long as Oscar voters did. He won the top prize here just five years back for The Door in the Floor... a performance I still prefer to that Crazy Heart.

P.P.S. More awardage and final Oscar Predictions coming tomorrow.

Supporting Actress Smackdown 2009

I haven't participated in a "Smackdown" over at me pal StinkyLulu's place for ages. What better time to correct that than during Oscar season? It won't surprise you that Mo'Nique has my vote for Precious but see how many hearts (on a scale of five) each nominated performance gets from myself, StinkyLulu, and the rest of the panel and what we had to say about Maggie Gyllenhaal, Penélope Cruz and the Up in the Air girls, too.


Related...
Supporting Actress Reader's Choice Have you voted? Time is running out. I've also spruced up this page to include more details like "how'd they get nominated" and such. Enjoy
FiLM BiTCH Awards It's time for the Medals Ceremony for our nominated supporting stars (male and female). Cue the national themes of Austria and the United States.

Oscar Symposium Day 3: Big Finale Remix

Previously on the Symposium: Nathaniel was talking about Tarantino's mastery of 'The Moment' and how it excuses his messy indulgences elsewhere. As a filmmaker he's a perfect match for our DVD chapter-menu culture


Guy Lodge: I think it's a spot-on point, and I'm both intrigued and troubled by the idea of Basterds being a success story of latter-day audience inclination to edit their own movies. My problem is that, while I'm as capable as anyone else of filleting out treasurable moments -- -- "Attendez la crème!" -- from the sheer morass of stuff in the film, my brain can't blithely discard the missteps as you imply others can. For much sorrier reasons, the wincingly awful appearance of Eli Roth burns as brightly in my memory as that exquisitely extended opening sequence, so much so that one can't eclipse the other.

But I think you've latched onto a selectivity that has boosted the fortunes of a number of contenders this year besides Basterds: everyone has cut out and stuck the 'Married Life' sequence of Up into their cinematic scrapbooks, but who really wants the rest? Precious, whatever your take on it, is made for mental re-editing -- Joe Klotz's baffling nomination notwithstanding.

Tim Robey: What we're basically saying here is that a lot of these movies are screener-friendly. They can be browsed. And I have to say this faintly depresses me as an old-fashioned, packed-audience-on-opening-night, communal experience sort of guy. This is where I think the 3D selling point of Avatar is quite a canny ruse -- a trick to get people going back out to the movies rather than waiting for the inevitably diminished experience on their home TV -- and it's a ruse for which I have some respect. Did Cameron send out screeners for Avatar? Did he need to? To lesser extents, Up and District 9 (and to be fair, even The Blind Side) are films that audiences discovered together in their first few weeks of release, whether in a mall in Kentucky or the Odeon Leicester Square (where The Blind Side has yet to be unveiled, actually -- Sandy or no Sandy, UK distributors are understandably never in much of a hurry to release anything to do with American football. We get confused! Don't ask me what a Tight End is.)


Read the rest at Day Three of the Symposium
In which we discuss "the Ten", The Hurt Locker, Where the Wild Things Are, the scores, missing foreign films, screeners vs theatrical and wrap up this three-day party with Meryl Streep vs. Sandra Bullock and Nathaniel's favorite movie game "Re-Casting Couch"

Return and comment. It keeps the conversation going!
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Precious Day: What Will Gabby & Mo'Nique Wear?

<-- the Precious ladies at Sundance (even Sapphire!) 13 long months ago

Fashion rundowns of awards events tend to ignore the plus sized ladies (and the plus age ladies) but why should we? Mo'Nique hasn't been attending every event this season --thankfully the misplaced bizarre fury about that died down -- but when she shows up she aims to impress, baby. Gabby, on the other hand, has been working the campaign trail so hard one wonders how she's managing it and still effervescent through all. Maybe they have her 4 hour sleep rations?

Here's a brief history...

THE WARMUP

From left to right, January through September: Gabby hits a movie premiere (not her own) before fame truly hits; Monique attends the NAACP and the Essence Awards after Sundance (before all the "she won't campaign!" business hits which coincides with her busy summer touring and working on her new talk show); Gabby enjoys the spotlight (still a fresh feeling) at the Cannes premiere in a busy black evening gown; Gabby in bright orange for the TIFF premiere (not an easy color for red carpets. Be warned!) and Gabby at another premiere (not her own). I like those two dress down looks and I'm wondering if maybe she should approach the Oscars with more of a youthful funky spirit?

CAMPAIGN SEASON


From October 2009 to February 2010, it seems like Gabby showed up to virtually everything: film festivals, special galas, multiple premieres, talk shows, guild awards. I bet she logged as many miles in four months as Up in the Air's Ryan Bingham himself! Don't you kinda dig that Morticia-ish dress on top left? Go Fug Yourself wrote up her white dress from BAFTA on the bottom right. Gabby's fallback color: purple. Might we see her in it at the Oscars? Hmmm, she's never worn it to the biggest most glitziest events.

REHEARSAL DINNERS


Whatever will they wear to the THE MAIN EVENT?

Care to make a prediction? Often times -- and this has precious little to do with Precious -- I fantasize about the Oscars being a costume party for the nominees, wherein they have to come in character. I don't really wish this on Gabby, since it's so refreshing to see her bubbly and happy as Gabby rather than Claireece. But part of me can't get enough of Mo'Nique in that hideous floral onesie and part of me thinks that her final ensemble, recalls the turban and fur wrap of a Grand Actress Throwback as much as it can for a movie set in 80s Harlem. Fitting rather since Mary Jones is Acting her way through that social worker showdown. As is Mo'Nique.



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Actors and Actresses: Stats, Careers and Trivia

Now that we have our lucky twenty (no double dippers this year) in those twenty most coveted positions for movie actors, let's do a little rundown. We'll go factual and then opinionated.


most frequently honored: Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia) with 16 nominations and 2 wins. She's been nominated for 37% of her screen appearances.
least frequently honored: Captain Von Trapp himself, Christopher Plummer (The Last Station). This is his first nomination from 51 years on the silver screen.
widest stretch of honors: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) received the first of his five nominations way back in the 1971 race starring in Best Picture nominee The Last Picture Show, beating Streep to her first Oscar notice by seven years.

youngest: Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air), a Leo, is 24. She's also two and a half months younger than Carey Mulligan (An Education), a Gemini.
oldest: Plummer, a Sagittarius, turned 80 this past December.
most represented star sign: rowwwwr, we have five Leos (Woody, Sandra, Helen, Anna and Vera). I guess that's not surprising given Leo's show off nature.
least represented star signs: no Aquarius, Pisces or Aries nominees
shared birthdays: George Clooney (Up in the Air) and Gabourey 'Gabby' Sidibe (Precious) were both born on May 6th. Best Actress competitors Sandra Bullock and Dame Helen Mirren share July 26th.

tallest: Morgan Freeman (Invictus) is 6' 2½"
shortest: Kendrick is 5' 1½". Teeny-tiny!!!
highest paid?: Bullock and Clooney both command around $15 million a movie last I heard. Streep and Damon are obviously well compensated, too, though exact salaries are hard to come by. What's more they fluctuate from project to project and some stars take less for more of the gross, etcetera.
lowest paid: who knows though I'm willing to bet that someone got scale. Money isn't everything... especially when the role is plum.

number of birth countries: 5. USA (most of them), England (Mirren, Mulligan & Firth) Spain (Cruz), Canada (Plummer) and Austria (Waltz). [see also: Map of the Oscar World]
most likely to appear in a Best Picture Nominee: Meryl Streep has 5 to her credit (The Hours, Out of Africa, Kramer vs. Kramer, The Deer Hunter and Julia). Runners up: (tie) Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby, Shawshank Redemption, Unforgiven and Driving Miss Daisy) and George Clooney (Up in the Air, Michael Clayton, Good Night and Good Luck and The Thin Red Line) have both been in 4.
number of collective offspring: 31. La Streep (4) Freeman (4) Waltz (4) Tucci (3) Bridges (3) Mo'Nique (3) Harrelson (3) Damon (2) Firth (2) Plummer (1) Farmiga (1) Gyllenhaal (1). Clooney, Bullock and Mirren didn't share their remarkable DNA with the world.
most famous of those offspring: "Honey Bunny" herself Amanda Plummer ...and up until this moment I never made the daddy connection. Runner up: rising actress Mamie Gummer, daughter of Meryl & Don.

And some opinions...

most deserving: Mo'Nique is just smashing... and I'm not talking about television sets.
least deserving: Stanley Tucci. He's been Oscar nomination worthy before and even this year (Julie & Julia) but not for this overlabored eeeeeeeeevil turn.
most likely to get a career boost with this nom: Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)
most deserving of the plentiful "it's about damn time" nominations that were going on this season: Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air)
most likely to return again in the next year or two: Meryl Streep. Duh!... although one wonders how many more chances she'll get. She's getting the lion's share of roles for women over 55... but there's not that many of those roles to begin with. You could also make a case for Matt Damon who is almost 40 now and Oscar likes his men with some years on them. And Carey Mulligan may well be the next Oscar Default Girl if her management makes the right moves. [George Clooney & Penélope Cruz are hot-hot-hot Oscar regulars right now but Oscar tends to love movie stars passionately for short blocks of time and then move on. Will we see them again soon or is this the end of the romance for awhile?]
least likely to return: Gabby Sidibe. That's not as much of a knock as it sounds. She's great in the film and I'm so pleased she got nominated. But approximately 67% of acting nominees are never recognized a second time and there aren't that many roles for big girls.

most likely to wear something crazy: Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart)
most likely to make best-dressed lists: Penélope Cruz (Nine)
most likely to wear black: Carey Mulligan (An Education)

Can't wait to see what Vera, Maggie, Carey, Penélope and Dame Helen wear!

Want to add to or sound off about the trivia?
You know what to do.

Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress

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"Hold on to your butts."

Good day to all, txtcritic here.

I'm currently hung over from last night, when I went with a few friends to a midnight screening of "Jurassic Park" at our local Landmark Theatre (i.e. the only one in New York), the Sunshine. Aside from the fact that I'd never gotten the chance to see Spielberg's dino opus on the big screen (I was 7 years old when it was released, and chickened out at the last second when my family was going), it was a pretty unbelievable experience.

While sure, the silly flourishes stuck out even more on a big screen, I was taken aback by how well the movie holds up. It's paced incredibly well, the special effects are still staggering, and even when you know what's coming, some of those sequences still terrify; the T. Rex sequence at the halfway mark still had me fearing for the lives of Timmy and Lex. Not to mention it was a completely sold out crowd, applauding and cheering every few seconds, with "booooo"s in the appropriate spots (e.g.: the first appearance of the lawyer, Lex declaring "I'm a vegetarian"). Anyway, if you're in the area, they're showing it again tonight, and every weekend, the Sunshine shows a 'classic' movie, and usually a fun one to see at midnight with a crowd.

But I digress. I'm off to a shitty-movie-marathon day ("Extraordinary Measures," "Legion," "The Tooth Fairy"), but I should be back to my apartment around 7:00EST, when I will begin to drink and (attempt to) live-blog the SAG award red carpet arrivals, and then the awards themselves. It will be my first time really live-blogging, so bear with me as I work out the kinks.

Hopefully you'll join me tonight. Any long shots you're pulling for, or last-minute 'no guts, no glory' picks? Personally, I'd love to see Gabby Sidibe take Best Actress, and "Precious" or "Inglourious Basterds" throw a wrench into the awards race by taking Best Ensemble.

You BeLink With Me

DVD Beaver Bright Star is on its way to you... and just as beautiful as ever
<--- Neil Gaiman's Journal at the Golden Globes with Amanda Palmer ... I love them both but it's so funny to me how people as famous as Neil Gaiman -- who's written how many bestsellers now? -- get labelled "and guest" when the paparazzi snap away
ChexyDemical James Cameron... and Susan B Anthony?
Towleroad RIP Kate McGarrigle, wonderful musician and mom to the brilliant Rufus Wainwright. So sad
NY Times Avatar as rorschach test for what people happen to be thinking about these days
Stale Popcorn I absolutely love this ode to Mo'Nique in Precious. She really is an awesome terminator.
Guardian a funny bit on Mariah Carey's post-drunken awards season business venture
Against the Hype tweet-length reviews, a bunch of perceptive ones
Justin Bond to host a rare screening of Ken Russell's blasphemous The Devils (1971) on Monday in NYC. Who is going? Send me a full report.

Cinema Blend Channing Tatum to become a stripper again? Oh, Katey, you delight me with news
And the Winner Is... Scott Fienberg interviews the lovely Anne Hathaway about Valentino The Last Emperor! --->
Flick Filosopher's top ten list. MaryAnn always has a strong point of view. It occurs to me that i never did my top ten list. What is wrong with me this year season? Don't answer that!

I know what's wrong with me today: I've had packing anxiety (leaving for Utah tomorrow) and terribly slow and vexing computer issues today -- hence delays in posting and more awardage -- so I'll leave you with this video of a song I have loved for years "Hard Times" with Kate McGarrigle and family (including Rufus). I've loved this song ever since Mare Winningham and Jennifer Jason Leigh sang competing versions in Georgia (1995) so I've included that, too. God, Mare Winningham is so great in that movie. Have you seen it?



Beautiful.
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BFCA Live-Blogging, God Cheno Help Me

8:24 The "arrivals" special (VH-1 bitches) is about to begin. What does it mean that I'm slightly more excited for the pizza that's on its way. The website tells me that Zahidur is on his way with it right now. In truth, I'm more excited than I usually am due to Cheno (née Kristin Chenoweth). Are you watching? Even if I wasn't addicted to awards shows I would watch it for her. She's like sunshine and baby kittens and ice cream all at once.

<-- Even when she's crying, like when she won the EMMY, she's all those things. The Cuteness! It goes to eleven.

8:31 Zahidur was kind of a jerk. We tip well and he still didn't feel it was enough? What the F? You know... I do not understand why I am forced to watch the Jonas Bros when I tune in to a movie awards show? What the F do they have to do with the movies? Oh, I get it. The Shirley Temple tribute ringlet curls on his forehead.

8:36 Anna Kendrick claims that George Clooney is not intimidating to work with. I believe her.

8:41 Fashion Police Break!


Don't you think Marion Cotillard should probably quit with the mermaid thing? She already won the Oscar dressed as one. And Saoirse's dress is so old lady but then a little too busy to be in homage to The Golden Girls. And you better save that bizness till the SAG Awards anyway when Betty White is honored. I hope everyone comes in caftans. And I better see a cheesecake platter on every table.

8:49 Ohmygod. They've even coached their red carpet people to act like the BFCA doesn't matter unless it's reflecting the Oscars. I'm so deeply ashamed. Stand for yourselves, fellow media peeps! Stop announcing your own irrelevancy in the face of *THE OSCARS* Be your own game and people will be more into you.

8:57 I edited this out of the last podcast but Joe Reid begged James Cameron to cut his hair or be mistaken for an old lesbian:

TOO LATE.

Cuz this is ladies night... oh, what a night!

Zoe Saldana apparently loves the older women! And plastic dresses.

9:04 "Look at this dress!" Hee. But this opening host song's 'funny' lyrics are not really worthy of TONY winning Cheno. But that ending "Nancy, is it really that complicated? I don't think so" was pretty funny. I'll give them that.

9:12 The Ensemble goes to Inglourious Basterds. Diane Kruger announces that Quentin Tarantino "rocks".

9: 13 Kristen Bell looked pissed. What's that about?

9:15 OMG how awkward was that reference to helping the quake victims in Haiti. Poor Tobey Maguire gettin' that duty 'And now...' Supporting Actress: MO'NIQUE in Precious. Referencing her husband's reaction to the script

Mama, don't judge it. Just be it and leave it on the floor... I love you, Daddy.

I am thrilled that Mo'Nique won, I love those rhinestones on steroids round her neck. But I am so absolutely creeped out when married couples call each other any variation of mamma and daddy. It's not right!

9:25 Best Action Movie -- those are actually some good nominees -- Avatar. Duh. Meryl Streep looks confused. Apparently she hasn't been to Pandora. It's complicated.

9:29 Best Animated Feature Up. So far no surprises. I love the theme to Up. It might be my favorite thing about the movie. Okay. I think that was kind of an uncharitable acceptance speech. He couldn't mention how brilliant some of his competitors were? Or did I miss that while I was typing. If so I take it back. But I don't think I missed it. And really: Coraline... Fantastic Mr. Fox. That's some damn fine celluloid, mister Docter winner.

9:39 oy... a plastic surgery joke? Poor Kristen Bell. She had to deliver it. That's why she looked so pissed earlier. Best Young Actor goes to Saoirse Ronan


9:43 A tribute to John Hughes. The best part of it is Amy Poehler & John Krasinski's Pretty in Pink garb. hee. There was kind of a funny joke in there about the "each one of us is a brain, an athlete, a basketcase, a princess and a criminal" speech. It involved cuts to people in the audience to illustrate each type (Meryl Streep being the punchline for "a criminal") but nobody got the joke because the delivery and editing was so slow. It played like technical difficulties rather than as a joke. Too bad. Super fast delivery and editing and the Streep punchline woulda worked.

9:55 Supporting Actor Christoph Waltz. Nice acceptance speech. Humble and all about the choices that led to Inglourious Basterds.

How much do you want to bet Quentin is thinking about Kristin
Chenoweth's little piggies at this very moment in the broadcast?

9:57 I find it that Inglourious Basterds are seated across from A Single Man's team. Julianne Moore (love the sculptural dress though it's not so great, seated) seems to find Kristin Chenoweth funny. So: good taste Julianne. Kristin is working hard but the material is a bit rough.

10:00 Sarah Silverman cracks me up. Great gay joke. Best Comedy to The Hangover. Lame. (500) Days of Summer was a hundred times better.

10:15 Oops. I fell asleep. Best Song "Weary Kind" Ryan Bingham is so sexy. And I love that there's two Ryan Binghams in play this year (see also: Up in the Air)

10:20 Er... they just gave out all the technical prizes at once. Bad form! I don't like it when people pretend that cinematography is not as important as directing and writing and whatnot. It went like so: Avatar = cinematography, editing, art direction, sound, visual effects; District 9 = makeup; Young Victoria = costumes; Grey Gardens = TV movie; The Cove = documentary; Broken Embraces = Foreign Film; Up = best score.

10:21 My goodness. Claire Danes really hits her "T"s. Such elocution. Best Adapted Screenplay Up in the Air. Best Original Screenplay Inglourious Basterds. They're really churning out the awards. Tarantino's speech is good so you get the end, when he reveals that screenplay awards are because of actors.

These guys know. My material is not easy. It's hard. I cannot have dumb actors do my dialogue. I've tried it and it was a disaster. So I want to thank my lovely actors for taking my words and singing my song and doing my poetry. God bless you.

So cool. I love that he finally accepts that he's a terrible actor. Notice he was not in Basterds, f'ing it up.

10:34 MERYL STREEP (!) presenting Kevin Bacon with a prize for something. It has something to do with Bacon's charities. I have trouble concentrating because it's Streep and this has been a really long day and I ate too much pizza. Damn you Zahidur!


10:43 I am filled with joy that Best Director is for Kathryn Bigelow. I am proud to say that I've been backing her since Near Dark in the 80s and I am totally willing to scootch over and let everyone else join the bandwagon. There's plenty of room and it's about freaking time, people.

10:48 Vera Farmiga is presenting Best Actor which is perfect because she brings out great things from her leading men. Best Actor Jeff Bridges. Bridges got his director's name wrong but good save, there Jeff. God I love this man. But in the background I think it's very important to note this historic event.

I'm sorry Diane Kruger but I have to.


An actress EATS at an awards show. That made me almost as happy as the existence of Kristin 'sunshine+kittens+icecream' Chenoweth.

11:03 Best Actress Meryl Streep & Sandra Bullock. Yes, another tie. How does this happen? Is it fixed. Second year in a row with a best actress tie?

The Tie. The Superstars. The Kiss

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Both times, Meryl Streep is involved? But that was HILARIOUS. Because both of these women are. For those who couldn't see, they circled each other warily, Sandra shouted "bullshit" and then they kissed! So, so funny. And as we have grown accustomed to expecting, Meryl's speech was divine. She even bitched that her husband was "GOLFING!" ha ha.

11:16 Mark Boal (screenwriter) accepts Best Picture for The Hurt Locker. Love that movie. And can we just talk about what no one talks about here. The cast and crew are smokin'. I'm just sad that Anthony Mackie wasn't there. But I'm just going to start calling it The Sexy Locker.

And Cheno signs off claiming she's going to head backstage to make out with Sandra Bullock. And I'm signing off, too. But I'm hoping to make out with Kathryn Bigelow and Jeremy Renner instead.


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