SOPA, Santorum and Seal
If you’re feeling withdrawal symptoms from reduced doses of Occupy Wall Street rabble-rousing (we hear they’re just hibernating), the success of last week’s SOPA blackout ought to cheer you up. Read More
Oscars
Doggone It! Harvey Weinstein and DVF Celebrate The Artist
Gossip columnist Liz Smith made her way through the dining room of the Monkey Bar on Monday afternoon, where Harvey Weinstein, Diane von Furstenberg and George Stevens, Jr. were hosting a promotional lunch on behalf of The Artist—the black-and-white silent movie that Mr. Weinstein is gently, persuasively shepherding toward an Academy Award for Best Picture—and surveyed the scene, perched side-saddle in a red leather booth. Ms. Smith, who is supposedly in her eighties, looked a few decades younger in a black leather jacket with white stitching from Carlisle. Read More
New York, LA Times Now Decides What Documentaries Nominated For Academy Awards
Adding to the already long list of confusing and nonsensical plans for handing out the little statues from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, it was announced today that documentaries would be considered for Oscar nomination only if they had been reviewed in The New York Times or The LA Times beforehand.
This may not be as terribly insane as it seems. (Though it does seem pretty random, not to mention biased: giving an outside organization the power to wield a nomination verdict conclusively is actually unheard of.) Despite the rise of DIY film making and festival showcases, it's true that both Times do an admirable job reviewing most documentaries of note--one could make an argument that The New York Times actually skews towards the more esoteric form of film-making because traditionally documentaries have been considered "high-brow" films.
So this shouldn't be a problem, right?
Read More
What the Hell Happened to the Oscars?
Red was the dominant color at the 83rd Academy Awards, and by the end of three hours and 45 minutes, I was seeing plenty of it. If this was the year when some brain-dead jerk who never heard of the term "moving pictures" decided to move into the age of cyberspace, all I can say Read More
Writer James Franco Opens Bar Called Writer’s Room, Because He’s a Writer
Today, Academy Awards co-host James Franco broke his silence on one of the most sought-after pieces of information this Oscar season, a bit of gossip that eludes the ears of even the most well-connected of industry vets: where's the after party going to be?
Now we have a lead. People has some Franco-given info about Read More
A First Look at Franco and Hathaway’s Oscar-Hosting Chemistry [WATCH]
The producers of the 83rd Academy Awards broke from tradition when they chose two fresh-faced actors as hosts, breaking the tradition of hiring over-the-hill comedians.
So how will James Franco and Anne Hathaway fare? ABC gives us the first glimpse in a TV spot that shows the duo "rigorously preparing for every possible Oscar emergency." Read More
Will Natalie Portman Be the Next Best Actress Winner to Suffer the Curse?
No Strings Attached isn't just another bad Ashton Kutcher movie (though, wow, is it that). It's a movie that "could destroy everything" for would-be Oscar winner Natalie Portman, says Rex Reed. Whether or not Portman's march to the podium is interrupted, there's a long tradition of Best Actresses immediately following up their Oscar roles Read More
Oscar Nominations 2011: The Academy ‘Likes’ The Social Network
The Academy has spoken! Oscar nominations were announced this morning, and there are few true surprises. Quick points: if The Social Network sweeps, maybe Trent Reznor will grab a statuette for his soundtrack? If Exit Through The Gift Shop grabs the award for best documentary, will Banksy waltz on stage to collect his winnings? The Read More
Franco and Hathaway to Take Time Off From Yale and Nudity, Respectively, to Host Oscars
Meet your hosts for the 2011 Academy Awards: James Franco and Anne Hathaway. Ever heard of these young upstarts?
James Franco is a Yale graduate student who moonlights in film. He can currently be seen in "127 Hours" cutting his own arm off with a tiny knife, and enjoys Denis Johnson stories. Anne Read More
The New Yorker‘s Richard Brody Sticks Neck Out For Jean-Luc Godard, Accused Anti-Semite
In August, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced it would be bestowing an honorary award upon Jean-Luc Godard. On the surface this makes perfect sense: more than anyone else, Godard is responsible for the French New Wave movement, one of the 20th century's most enduring artistic movements — in film or Read More
With Godard Set to Receive Oscar, Search for Auteur Leaves Flacks Breathless
Jean-Luc Godard—French New Wave pioneer and filmmaker nonpareil—is set to be among those receiving an honorary Oscar this year, but chances are he would not like to thank the Academy. This can't be much of a shock: the man whose unstoppable brand of cinema was fêted at Film Forum earlier this summer is known to be a bit Read More
The Floppy-Haired Fellows
The most striking thing about this year’s Oscars, other than that a female director finally won? The guys’ hair. There was George Clooney, whose longish (for him) do had a distinctly feathered quality in the front. Then there was James Cameron, whose soft, elongated bowl cut channeled ABBA, and was possibly blow-dried. But Mark Boal, Read More
Snoozy Oscar-fest Ends Big With Bigelow!
Well, so that happened! Was it just us or were these just the most tediously boring Oscars in ages? And who should we blame? Maybe we should start with the very strange stage design, which we’re guessing was intended to be a nod to old Hollywood glamour, but felt more like an early-'70s set Read More
Hurt Locker Pushes Its Case a Little Too Hard
In this morning's Observer, Richard Siklos writes about the Academy Awards' new voting system, and the lengthy politicking process that has everyone hopeful of bringing down the front-runners. "[T]he extra time has also allowed awards campaigners to reach deep into their bag of tricks," he writes.
A little too deep apparently. The L.A. Times Read More
Jews on the Red Carpet
To call this the year of Jews in film sounds like the setup for a bad joke. What, runs the imagined punch line, is it also the year of Canadians in curling?
Well, yes, actually. Jews are having something of a Hollywood moment. No fewer than three of the nominees for best picture at Sunday's Oscars--Inglourious Read More
