Oscar Night. Featuring Appearances By...

We already know that Anne Hathaway and James Franco are hosting and the only thing we have to say about that going forward is that Hathaway better sing again! From here and out we'll hear names of presenters. Most of them will be globally famous because that's how they do. So far we've got:

• Halle Berry
• Oprah Winfrey
• Jeff Bridges & Sandra Bullock -- last year's lead winners. We wonder if this means they'll return to the classic way of presenting acting statues, with Bullock handing out Actor and Bridges handing out Actress? Mars & Venus don'cha know.
• Marisa Tomei -yay!

I'll update this list as more presenters are announced.

Walk of Fame Newbies: Spacek, The Derns, Oprah

I know that a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame has to be (literally) bought. But I still find the whole thing weird, exciting and confusing. People get one when they're barely established, others when they're legends, some never. Oprah Winfrey is getting her star for television next year. Yes, the Oprah. She's been ruling the small screen for so long that she's as synonymous with it as Philo T Farnsworth. And it's only happening now?

Nevertheless, I love those photos of stars holding their stars. It's so meta. Plus, it's fun to see who comes out in support of them.

Anyway, the 2011 crop was announced. Two music acts that I'd love to see biopics on despite my aversion to the genre made the list: The Go-Gos (I've discussed that one already) and Oscar winner Melissa Etheridge.

Here's the complete "movie" list for 2011: Penélope Cruz (good time in her career for this. Nice) Bruce Dern & Laura Dern & Diane Ladd (listed separatedly but ♪ ♫ its a family affair... it's a family affair ♪), Ed Harris (maybe he'll be an Oscar winner for The Long Walk Home by the time that ceremony is held?), The Muppets (who already have a star for television), Reese Witherspoon, Kenny Ortega (wait, who?), Gwyneth Paltrow and three major players you'd have thought would have had them since the 70s or early 80s: director Ridley Scott, Carrie herself Sissy Spacek and the enduring Donald Sutherland.

Whose star will you end up visiting?
*

Oprah Again

This morning was my second trip to Oprah (phone photos are so... lacking) and once again it was a pop diva taking the stage. Christina Aguilera this time. I can't say I'm crazy about her new single "Not Myself Tonight." And the video is especially frustrating with its bold plagiarisms. Wouldn't it be so cool if Madonna & Lady Gaga joined forces as co-plaintiffs to sue her ass?

This Oprah trip wasn't at thrilling as the First Time! but it's hard to beat your first time at a live taping. Have you ever gone to one?

Precious Review

Precious has arrived... at least in three four cities: NY, LA, Atlanta and Chicago. Next week it expands to Philadelphia, Dallas, Washington, San Francisco, and Houston. I've reviewed it for Towleroad, so if you've had a chance to see it have your say in the comments.


You're barely a reel into Lee Daniel's Precious (based on the novel Push by Sapphire) before you begin to realize that maybe Job didn't have it so bad after all. Claireece "Precious" Jones is suffering. She's obese, she's a welfare mother of a disabled child, she's pregnant again, kicked out of high school, her parents abuse her, neighborhood kids taunt her. She's illiterate on top of that... as the twee incorrectly spelled opening credits foreshadow.

Before too long, though, "Precious" (Gabourey Sidibe) has enrolled in an alternate school for girls who are slipping through the cracks. She blossoms, as much as a continually trampled living thing can, under the guidance of a new teacher (Paula Patton). The further she steps away from her nightmare home life, the more she begins to see new possible futures. It's already hell at home but her abusive mentally ill mother Mary (Mo'Nique) is ready to drag her to the next circle when she realizes her meal ticket is transforming into a girl that might actually fly away.

read the rest at Towleroad
8

Oprah and Mariah Live (A Weekend Name-Dropping Frenzy)

What kind of a blog host would I be if I didn't share my unusually star-packed weekend story with you? I'd already tweeted about it but there's only so much detail one can pack into 140 character clips with service interruptions.

Friday Morning
I was up at the crack of dawn for Oprah Fridays Live two days back as they were broadcasting from Central Park. One of my closest friend's best friend works on the show, thus the invite. It's not like Oprah Winfrey knows who I am. I knew Mariah Carey would appear as guest but otherwise I went in to the event blind. I feared leaving deaf, memories of Mariah's ear-shattering top notes vaguely worrying me. I've never understood the appeal of that girlwoman and her butterfly / charm bracelet /sweet sweet fantasy / glitter world (is she 12? seriously) but the excitement about attending a live televised event was plenty to get me going and mimicking fandom during the "applaud now" moments. I ended up four rows back on the left side of the stage, with a great view of the Great Machine-like proceedings. Let's just say that Oprah's show is exceedingly well oiled.


Turns out going to a live taping is a long process: arrived at 6:45 AM, queued up, waited, ushered into holding area at 7:45, waited, seated by 8:30, waited, waited, at 9:30 came the crowd warm-up which largely consisted of a very chipper woman barking jovial orders at us. The live broadcast began at 10 AM. The highlight of the pre-show was a song and dance performance from a pack of four guys ("Mariah's BIGGEST fans") from Missouri who had been flown in by fairy godmother Oprah to see their idol. If you saw Oprah on Friday, two of the boys were invited up on the stage during the actual show when Oprah dropped yet more fairy dust on them: they would be appearing in Mariah's next video (understandably, they went berserk) and Oprah would also be flying them to Vegas for a concert. The Big O doesn't fool around with the gift-giving once she's become aware of your existence.

The highlight for me?

The show had just begun and Oprah was relaying the wonders of New York City: Central Park, shopping, Broadway. Suddenly there's orgiastic crowd squeals to my left and my head spins to see DANIEL CRAIG and HUGH JACKMAN --or as Oprah would say "Huu-ooOOO-oo JahckmnN'!" Yes, her voice is just as affected in real life -- who are mere yards away from me. They were walking swiftly together towards the stage. It was a total mindfuck blur of starpower. I'm sure I swallowed flies my jaw was so loose. Only four or five women blocked my ability to leap at the dream duo. For that I thank and curse them.

Other guests on the show were Mayor Bloomberg, Nick Cannon (who seemed more like Mariah's hyper fan than her husband although that's kind of cool. Maybe he's as trapped in his tween years as Mariah herself?) and Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa. In the audience, receiving much love from the stage, were Lee Daniels (the writer/director of Precious), the author of Oprah's new book club selection "Say You're One Of Them" and Oprah's gal Gayle King.

Oscar watchers should note that during the show I experienced a film-experience-familiar horror as Oprah raved about Mariah's "glammed down performance" in Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire. Mariah, already campaigning for a supporting actress nomination, delusionally suggested that the makeup people were adding bags and dark circles under her eyes and even gave her a moustache. In no way shape or form does she look like that (!) was the gist of her self promotion. Methinks the woman has been famous too long.

Which is the realest Mariah?

I ask you with all sincerity, which is more real:

• a 40 year old woman without glamour makeup under flourescent lighting or...
• a woman surrounded 24/7 by a team of makeup artists, wardrobe personnel, key lights and photoshop airbrush expert whose job it is to make her look 18?
  

Though we were close to the stage we could barely see Mariah during commercial breaks as the makeup artists surrounded her completely for touchups each time. Despite my cynicism regarding the praise that's inevitably heaped upon every 'deglam' performance, I do think Mariah appears to be doing good work in Precious and she was surprisingly funny/charming on the show. That said, I needn't have worried about my ears. She was so heavily corseted that she was definitely having problems breathing and her voice came out a whispery falsetto. I'm sure it sounded better on television.

Mariah doing the foreigner hit "I Wanna Know What Love Is"

There's more to say but I could ramble for hours...

Once we were off air, Oprah thanked the crowd quite graciously before we filed out. Her final exit, waving to the crowd with her arm literally and awkwardly raised up behind her, never turning back around to look at us, made me laugh. It totally reminded of that choice revealing bit in Madonna's Truth or Dare where her childhood friend says "I love you Madonna" as they part. Madonna, slipping around the corner and out of the camera shot, never looks back. Her offscreen voice dismisses the woman with a rote "I love you, too."

The rich and famous have no time for you!

Friday Night
Attended the Lance Horne show at Joe's Pub. The singer/songwriter is well loved by the Broadway crowd and Cheyenne Jackson, comedienne Lea Delaria (beautiful jazz voice. Get her CDs) and Michael Urie (Ugly Betty), among several others, were on hand to sing his songs. Alan Cumming (left, with Lance) was on stage the most singing about his recent marriage to his boyfriend as well as doing a funny duet with Cheyenne about condoms. The singer/actor/writer/cologne salesman / Nightcrawler will add recording artist to his resume next week when his CD is released.

The semi-famous were all on stage, except for N'Syncer Lance Bass, who was just a member of the audience. He walked right by us, some new arm candy hanging about him, to take a seat at a reserved table.

Jonny Lee Miller and Sienna Miller (no relation) and their ex-lovers

Saturday
Watched Sienna Miller (G.I. Joe) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting's "Sick Boy" and television's Eli Stone) perform After Miss Julie on Broadway. For what it's worth Sienna plays sexually charged unravelling sanity woman fairly well. Who knew?

But their celebrity kept getting in the way for me. During every slow moment in the Strindbergh inspired production (and there were a few... it's curiously paced) I kept thinking that Jude Law, Sienna's on again/off again ex, was performing Hamlet in a nearby theater and I wanted to be there. At one point in the climax of the production, Jonny's face was smeared with blood. I could only think of Angelina Jolie and how she used to write his name on her shirt in blood back in the mid-90s. Don't you miss crazy goth Angie?

<--- Finally, all I could think of was Jonny and Jude snogging and I began wondering if they're still close? Sometimes it seems like the famous are so inbred, everyone dating, befriending and otherwise smearing their DNA on everyone else who happens to be famous.

Sunday
I'm paying for all of this excitement. Totally sick... again (I hate you, flu!) so I guess I'm staying in to watch the EMMYS.

How was your weekend? Which celebs were involved in your activities be it on tv, screen or live?
*

TIFF: Toronto's Ego and Iran's Politics

Hi, I'm MattCanada, the new guest blogger from Toronto. My first mission is to relay information on the Toronto International Film Festival, but because I have just started a new job at a talent agency my ability to see hoardes of amazing films has been seriously diminished. I am only going to four films this year (very dissapointed!), but I thought I might give impressions of TIFF from a Torontonians perspective.

It is always an incredible experience being in the city for the festival. Films, celebrities, and film critics routinely make the front page of the major papers. Yorkville, the hub of upscale Toronto and thus the festival, becomes overrun with celebrity spotters, international media types, and, to be honest, a lot of tacky women and sleazy looking men looking to party and eat beside people like Oprah. At work people from LA and NYC are constantly dropping in, and relaying what they think about the latest ten films they've seen... that day. Everyone is always talking about what party they were invited to, or who they saw at some gala. Basically for ten or so days the laid back, unshowy, casual Toronto I know turns into something more akin to New York City or Montreal. This is all amazing but a little disconcerting, especially when all the stars pack up and head home, and Toronto's papers are once again filled with news of boom out West and bust out East. I love the festival, not only for the films, but also for turning the city I love into a lovably egotistical place.

Map from Metro News

Last night I saw my first film, the North American premiere of Hana Makhmalbaf's Green Days. The film is a clandestinely filmed dramatisation of the events leading up to the 2009 Iranian election protests, or Green Revolution. Makhmalbaf, the 20 year old daughter of famed director Mohsen, filmed without a permit during the demonstrations leading up to the election. She weaves a story about a woman's attempt to put on a play and search for answers to her country's political situation around the demonstrations. She also intercuts footage of the post-election governmental violence and repression. This film is powerful despite Makhmalbaf's contrived and unsubtle plot involving the play director. The film's power comes from its disturbing post-election images (especially the use of the now famous footage of Neda/"voice of Iran" being shot), juxtaposed with the optimism of the pre-election Mousavi supporters. Everything that is fictional is sub-par, and feels distinctly like student drama and student film. Having recently graduated with a degree in Film and Drama I do not use these dreaded, horrible terms lightly. I swear to God there is a scene where three women dressed as mimes (white face, black clothes) are literally silenced by an offscreen presence taping over their mouths. Subtle? No. Cliche? Yes, and of the highest order.

It has to be said though, that everything that is documentary has a gravitas and power that far outweighs the narrative and technical shortcomings. I saw this film with a theatre mostly packed with people wearing green bracelets and armbands in support of Mousavi and the Green Revolution, and their response was very positive. When I arrived at the theatre it seemed like everyone knew each other, people were embracing everywhere and everyone was speaking Farsi. When the film ended there was a nice (not overwhelming) round of applause. This leads me to the conclude that they admired the politics, but understood its faults. Overall, a mediocre film with some very powerful scenes.

Tonight I'm seeing the Cannes hit J'ai tué ma mère, and I'm so excited. It's a Québécois film from a cute gay 20 year old which is enough to make me call it my favorite film of the year, without even having seen it.
The director/writer/star Xavier Dolan is even the current coverboy for Toronto's fag rag Xtra. I'll get back to you with my thoughts.
*

20:07 (the chokecherry tree)

screenshots from the 20th minute and 7th second of a movie
this image courtesy of Nick. Thanks.

Oprah Loooooves Hairspray. Michelle Still Hates Interviews

Sometimes you see something that sets off so many different feelings in you that you don't even know where to begin. Such was the experience of watching Oprah's gushfest with the cast of Hairspray last week. She gushed so much I feared she would be rushed to County General for dehydration treatment.

She didn't just love the movie. She loooooooovvvvveed it. She loved it with several exclamation points. Either that or she owns stock in it. See for yourself...

Oprahcrazed

I rarely watch Oprah but now I understand why Tom Cruise was jumping on couches. I thought she might be impersonating Arsenio Hall what with all the artificial whooping. John Travolta, a close personal friend of Oprah... and she wants you to know it, charmed the crowd and himself. He loves the accent he created for Edna Turnblad. He loves it so much that even after spending an inordinate amount of time talking about it, he brought it up again after the commercial break. Unfortunately one of Edna's most famous lines --the one about her diet pills wearing off --is almost unintelligible under the affected Baltimorean. I love what he says about the difficulties of musicals, that's a smart answer. But when he's talking about the accent all I can think of is the scene in Waiting for Guffman where Corky St. Clair tries an accent on for size.

Oprahtravolta

Based on the scenes shown we know Hairspray is colorful and bouncy. It looks like a lot of fun if suspiciously frantic in proving itself so (breathe a tentative sigh of relief). Musical comedy works best when you can't feel the heavy lifting. Hopefully the fatsuits, accents, wigs, and uneven score won't cause the talent to sweat.

Following Travolta was Michelle Pfeiffer. Ahem. After my heart stopped pounding (SO good to see her again. It's been years) I started giggling and feeling for her. She still hates to be interviewed. She hates it with exclamation points. She is one of the great movie stars but when it comes to playing herself? That aint her forte. She can't form sentences. She doesn't want to answer questions. She was not made for forced patter. My mind lept back to her very uncomfortable interview with Barbara Walters back in the day. It was chilly in there. And here on Oprah, sandwiched between the eager to please Travolta and the warm charisma of Queen Latifah, the temperature dropped a bit, too.

Here is the Michelle portion plus a bit o' Queen and Nikki Blonsky.

Oprahmichelle

My favorite part is the last bit. Oprah realizes Michelle has been quiet and no one has been addressing her and she tries for an olive branch. The response is the most relaxed Pfeiffer gets. "Someone has to play the villain."

Indeed.

They're beating the drums early for this potential crowd pleaser, aren't they? It doesn't open until July 20th and it got a full hour on Oprah two months prior. That's a lot of time to fluff some cotton candy. It better be sweet.
*

Oprah's Oscar Special

Did any of you watch it? I was mesmerized but not because I thought it was good. I love celebrities as much as anyone but there's something about Oprah's specials that puts me on edge. It's the overkill factor. Too much fame in the room too much celebration of said fame. At least with Oscar there's a sea of tiny beloved faces and nobody gets more than a couple of minutes to be worshipped. It's a fame free-for-all. In TV specials like this one, the stars are expected to be worshipped in detail: their every banal statement should be received as profundity. They bathe together in celebrity fabulousness, wash each others backs with collective ego, towel off with comforting wealth and then exfoliate their pampered beauty with a loofah full of self entitlement. On their way out the door...perhaps a gift bag? They deserve it.

There were two really fascinating things in the special though.

The first was the ability to see two types of stardom thrown into sharp relief. The first interview paired Julia Roberts and George Clooney, both of the charm offensive school of celebrity: self assured (haters might say "cocky"), prone to laughter, warm and amicable --easily radiating the illusion that they're friendly enough to let you hang around. This type of celebrity is personality based (even if they also happen to be talented) and is, unsurprisingly, wildly loved. The second interview was like a splash of cold water in comparison. It paired two chilly charismatic stars Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman from an entirely different school of celebrity. This kind of star the public finds fascinating but also possibly intimidating and more than a little unknowable: aliens as it were. This type of fame is based on talent or at least on the specificity of careers. Crowe is seen as a belligerent difficult genius. Kidman as an enigmatic beauty. Neither would have ever become stars solely by chatting up the press (Julia and George on the other hand...) One can't imagine kicking back and talking through the night with them. The appeal is decidedly non-verbal.

The shock of that transition... With Roberts and Clooney one wants, no EXPECTS, to sit in the room as they chatter away with conciliatory nudges and winks. With Kidman and Crowe, the primary feeling when you get this close is discomfort. It's just as easy to imagine them world famous in the 20s, when the magnitude of stardom was amplified by our remove. They don't sit as easily in today's 24-7 "celebrity" atmosphere. The familiarity of television didn't do Crowe and Kidman any favors but that coupled transition was still mighty interesting to witness.

The last interview brought Sidney Poitier and Jamie Foxx together with Oprah joining in at the end. The takeaway here was watching Poitier try to hold his humility and dignity in place while Jamie and Oprah tried numerous times to place him on the pedestal that he is prone to gracefully, gingerly sidestep. He's one of the greats but unlike Halle "the vessel" Berry he seems to understand his significant place in history without ever demanding all the credit for it or royalties from everything good that ever happened to anyone thereafter. He's a class act but deep down maybe he's an odd fit for Oprah's way with the endless back-patting.