Natalie Portman Wins Best Actress Oscar 2011 for Black Swan

A gorgeous Natalie Portman made her way carefully to the stage to accept her first Academy Award for her starring role in Black Swan, directed by Darren Aronofsky. Getting a hug from Jeff Bridges, Portman was greeted with what could have been the loudest round of applause of the night from the celebrity audience.

"Thank you so much to the Academy. This is insane, and I truly wish the prize tonight was to get to work with my fellow nominees. I'm so in awe of you. I am so grateful to get to do the job that I get to do. I love it so much," said Portman, shedding a few tears.
I want to thank my parents, who are right there, first and foremost for giving me my life and for giving me the opportunity to work from such an early age. And showing me every day how to be a good human being by example."

Keeping her emotions barely in check, Portman thanked her team, the directors who have remained her supporters throughout the years, and Darren Aronofsky. "You are a fearless leader," said Portman of her Black Swan director, "I am blessed to have just gotten to get to work with you every day for the period of time that we did."

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Academy changes rules for Oscar best song gong

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Science has adjusted its rules governing the Oscars to avoid a small number of films from dominating the best original song category and to ensure that the best foreign language films from around the world don't get overlooked.

Henceforth the number of nominated songs from each feature will be capped at two, although each individual film can spawn an unlimited number of songs for consideration.

In the 2006-07 original song Oscar race, both Dreamgirls and Enchanted fielded three nominations each. Neither won, incidentally: the prize went to Melissa Etheridge's I Need to Wake Up, from An Inconvenient Truth.

The Academy board also tweaked the regulations concerning foreign language films in a clear effort to avoid last year's situation in which the Palme d'Or winner 4 Weeks, 3 Months and 2 Days and the much-admired Persepolis were left out of contention.

Starting immediately with this upcoming season's 81st Annual Academy Awards hopefuls, a committee of members will select six films and an executive group of experts will be on hand to boost that number to nine by including widely respected titles that have been left out.

As in previous years, a second stage will then take place in which the shortlist of nine is whittled down to five nominations.

The 81st Annual Academy Awards is set to take place in Hollywood on February 22 2009.

source: http://film.guardian.co.u

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Vanity Fair is a finalist for six ASME awards

This year, the American Society of Magazine Editors has nominated Vanity Fair for National Magazine Awards in six categories, including the big one: General Excellence. The winners will be announced on May 1, but in the meantime you can check out all of our nominated features right here.

General Excellence

According to the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME), this category “honors the effectiveness with which writing, reporting, editing and design all come together to command readers’ attention and fulfill the magazine’s unique editorial mission.” Vanity Fair always seeks to mix glamour and intrigue with big, muscular reporting, but we had some notable successes in 2007, from Annie Leibovitz’s film noir portfolio to David Kamp’s profile of Sly Stone, to Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz’s essay on “The Economic Consequences of Mr. Bush.” Did we mention that special issue the guy from U2 put together?

Design

Vanity Fair’s design strives to be modern yet classic, simple yet sophisticated, minimal yet full of restrained energy. Its layout is meant to feel daring, refined, and free of pretense, always at the service of a story. Which is a long way of saying that the magazine has to look as smart and bold as the topics it covers. This was especially true in 2007. The archival images of the late fashion icon Isabella Blow, the never-before-seen photographs of Jack and Jacqueline Kennedy, the elaborately staged scenes in the film noir portfolio—these were just some of the indelible visuals that made this a year to remember.

Photo Portfolio

For the 13th annual Hollywood Issue, Annie Leibovitz collaborated with Academy Award–winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Deer Hunter, The Black Dahlia) to produce “Killers Kill, Dead Men Die,” a visual and literary extravaganza that pays tribute to the noir films of the 40s and 50s. With a plot conceived by fashion and style director Michael Roberts and a “script” written by Nathaniel Rich and Jim Windolf, this movie-within-a-magazine stars Ben Affleck, Alec Baldwin, Jennifer Connelly, Kirsten Dunst, Robert De Niro, and Jack Nicholson, among others.

Profile Writing

This category “honors the stylishness and originality with which the author treats his or her subject.” In late 2004, hotshot film talent, manager, and producer Pat Dollard left a successful career in Hollywood to shoot a pro-war documentary about American soldiers in Iraq. Once a self-described “doctrinaire liberal,” Dollard was attempting to re-invent himself as the right-wing Michael Moore. Evan Wright planned to shadow Dollard as he edited his film and pitched it around town, but the story morphed into something else entirely, as Dollard began to degenerate before the writer’s eyes into a maelstrom of drugs, sex, and violence. The result is a cautionary tale about our nation’s intertwined addictions to entertainment and war.

Reporting



This category “honors the enterprise, exclusive reporting and intelligent analysis that a magazine exhibits in covering an event, a situation or a problem of contemporary interest and significance.” São Paolo is a metropolis of 20 million people and the capital of Brazil’s largest and wealthiest state. In May of 2006, the city was shut down for days by a series of violent and orchestrated attacks. And then—quite suddenly—the attacks simply stopped, and life in São Paolo was allowed to return to normal. The entire episode had been a show of force coordinated by cell phone from inside São Paolo’s vast and notorious prisons. In “City of Fear,” William Langewiesche ventures deep inside the jails and slums of São Paolo to describe the emergence of the gang-led “proto-government” that runs more and more of the city with every passing day. But Langewiesche argues that São Paolo is not alone; for much of the world, he warns, São Paolo holds up a mirror to the future.

Feature Writing

This category, ASME says, “honors the stylishness and originality with which the author treats his or her subject.” In this case, the subject is a horse: Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby winner who had been a favorite to win the Triple Crown until he fractured his leg in the opening seconds of the Preakness. From the adrenaline rushes of Barbaro’s early successes on the racetrack to the heart-stopping crush of his leg, from the ups and downs of his surgeries and near recoveries to the bleak reality of his last days, Buzz Bissinger captures the rhythms and intimate details of the three and a half years of Barbaro’s brief, bright life.

Source: http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2008/03/asme200803

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80th Academy Awards Nominations Announcement

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2007 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2008, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center.

Performance by an actor in a leading role
George Clooney in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
(DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Tommy Lee Jones in “In the Valley of Elah” (Warner Independent)
Viggo Mortensen in “Eastern Promises” (Focus Features)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Casey Affleck in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.)
Javier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Charlie Wilson’s War” (Universal)
Hal Holbrook in “Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment)
Tom Wilkinson in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal)
Julie Christie in “Away from Her” (Lionsgate)
Marion Cotillard in “La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse)
Laura Linney in “The Savages” (Fox Searchlight)
Ellen Page in “Juno” (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Cate Blanchett in “I’m Not There” (The Weinstein Company)
Ruby Dee in “American Gangster” (Universal)
Saoirse Ronan in “Atonement” (Focus Features)
Amy Ryan in “Gone Baby Gone” (Miramax)
Tilda Swinton in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

Best animated feature film of the year
“Persepolis” (Sony Pictures Classics) Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Brad Bird
“Surf's Up” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

Achievement in art direction
“American Gangster” (Universal)
Art Direction: Arthur Max
Set Decoration: Beth A. Rubino
“Atonement” (Focus Features)
Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood
Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
“The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners)
Art Direction: Dennis Gassner
Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Art Direction: Dante Ferretti
Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Art Direction: Jack Fisk
Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Achievement in cinematography
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.) Roger Deakins
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Seamus McGarvey
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Janusz Kaminski
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roger Deakins
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Robert Elswit

Achievement in costume design
“Across the Universe” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Albert Wolsky
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Jacqueline Durran
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal) Alexandra Byrne
“La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Marit Allen
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount) Colleen Atwood

Achievement in directing
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Julian Schnabel
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight) Jason Reitman
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) Tony Gilroy
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Paul Thomas Anderson

Best documentary feature
“No End in Sight” (Magnolia Pictures)
A Representational Pictures Production
Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
“Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience” (The Documentary Group)
A Documentary Group Production
Richard E. Robbins
“Sicko” (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company)
A Dog Eat Dog Films Production
Michael Moore and Meghan O’Hara
“Taxi to the Dark Side” (THINKFilm)
An X-Ray Production
Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
“War/Dance” (THINKFilm)
A Shine Global and Fine Films Production
Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine

Best documentary short subject
“Freeheld”
A Lieutenant Films Production
Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth
“La Corona (The Crown)”
A Runaway Films and Vega Films Production
Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega
“Salim Baba”
A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke Production
Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello
“Sari’s Mother” (Cinema Guild)
A Daylight Factory Production
James Longley

Achievement in film editing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal) Christopher Rouse
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Juliette Welfling
“Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment) Jay Cassidy
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roderick Jaynes
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Dylan Tichenor

Best foreign language film of the year
“Beaufort” A Metro Communications, Movie Plus Production
Israel
“The Counterfeiters” An Aichholzer Filmproduktion, Magnolia Filmproduktion Production
Austria
“Katyń” An Akson Studio Production
Poland
“Mongol” A Eurasia Film Production
Kazakhstan
“12” A Three T Production
Russia

Achievement in makeup
“La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
“Norbit” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount) Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (Walt Disney) Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli
“The Kite Runner” (DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Participant Productions, Distributed by Paramount Classics) Alberto Iglesias
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) James Newton Howard
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino
“3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Falling Slowly” from “Once”
(Fox Searchlight)
Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
“Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney)
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“Raise It Up” from “August Rush”
(Warner Bros.)
Music and lyric by Jamal Joseph, Charles Mack and Tevin Thomas
“So Close” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney)
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney)
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

Best motion picture of the year
“Atonement” (Focus Features)
A Working Title Production
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight)
A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production
Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith, Producers
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
A Clayton Productions, LLC Production
Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent, Producers
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production
Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
A JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production
JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, Producers

Best animated short film
“I Met the Walrus”
A Kids & Explosions Production
Josh Raskin
“Madame Tutli-Putli” (National Film Board of Canada)
A National Film Board of Canada Production
Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
“Même les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)” (Premium Films)
A BUF Compagnie Production
Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse
“My Love (Moya Lyubov)” (Channel One Russia)
A Dago-Film Studio, Channel One Russia and Dentsu Tec Production
Alexander Petrov
“Peter & the Wolf” (BreakThru Films)
A BreakThru Films/Se-ma-for Studios Production
Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman

Best live action short film
“At Night”
A Zentropa Entertainments 10 Production
Christian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth
“Il Supplente (The Substitute)” (Sky Cinema Italia)
A Frame by Frame Italia Production
Andrea Jublin
“Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)” (Premium Films)
A Karé Production
Philippe Pollet-Villard
“Tanghi Argentini” (Premium Films)
An Another Dimension of an Idea Production
Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans
“The Tonto Woman”
A Knucklehead, Little Mo and Rose Hackney Barber Production
Daniel Barber and Matthew Brown

Achievement in sound editing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal)
Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Skip Lievsay
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney)
Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Christopher Scarabosio and Matthew Wood
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)
Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins

Achievement in sound mixing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal)
Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney)
Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane
“3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate)
Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)
Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin

Achievement in visual effects
“The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners)
Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (Walt Disney)
John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier

Adapted screenplay
“Atonement” (Focus Features)
Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
“Away from Her” (Lionsgate)
Written by Sarah Polley
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn)
Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

Original screenplay
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight)
Written by Diablo Cody
“Lars and the Real Girl” (MGM)
Written by Nancy Oliver
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
Written by Tony Gilroy
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney)
Screenplay by Brad Bird
Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
“The Savages” (Fox Searchlight)
Written by Tamara Jenkins

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The 80th Annual Academy Awards

The 80th Annual Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, February 24, 2008.

The following schedule may change and you should check it periodically or check the press releases section of this Web site to be sure you have the most recent information about the 80th Awards.

• Monday, December 3, 2007: Official Screen Credits forms due
• Wednesday, December 26, 2007: Nominations ballots mailed
• Saturday, January 12, 2008: Nominations polls close 5 p.m. PST
• Tuesday, January 22, 2008: Nominations announced 5:30 a.m. PST, Samuel Goldwyn Theater
• Wednesday, January 30, 2008: Final ballots mailed
• Monday, February 4, 2008: Nominees Luncheon
• Saturday, February 9, 2008: Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards presentation
• Tuesday, February 19, 2008: Final polls close 5 p.m. PST
• Sunday, February 24, 2008: 80th Annual Academy Awards presentation

Source: http://www.oscars.org/80academyawards/timetable.html

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'Walk to Beautiful' tops IDA awards

Michael Moore honored for docu career

Mary Olive Smith's "A Walk to Beautiful" has won the top feature documentary prize from the Intl. Documentary Assn.

The docu, feted Friday night at the Directors Guild of America Theatre, won out over "Crazy Love," "Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience," "Sicko," and "Taxi to the Dark Side."

"A Walk to Beautiful," directed and produced by Smith and exec produced by Steve Engel, focuses on five women in Ethiopia who have suffered from childbirth injuries and have been shunned by their family and villages. The film's won awards at the San Francisco Film Festival, where it premiered, and at the St. Louis Film Festival and is set for broadcast on PBS's "Nova" next year.

"A Walk to Beautiful" is not on this year's Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' short list of 15 finalists for Best Documentary Oscar.

The event also included presentation of an IDA career achievement award to Michael Moore, who directed and produced "Sicko," "Fahrenheit 9/11," "Bowling for Coumbine" and "Roger and Me."

"A Son's Sacrifice," from director Yoni Brook, producer Musa Sheed and exec producer Marco Williams, won the short documentary (40 minutes or less) competition. The film follows the journey of a young American Muslim who confronts his roots at his father's slaughterhouse in New York.

"Sacrifice" won over "Black and White," "Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy," The Fighting Cholitas" and "Freeheld."

"We Are Together (Thina Simunye)," from director-producer Paul Taylor and producer Teddy Leifer, won the inaugural Alan Ett Music Documentary award over "4," "Chops," "Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037" and "War/Dance."

Previously announced awards include the Outstanding Documentary Cinematography Award to Ken Burns' longtime collaborator Buddy Squires; the Pare Lorentz Award to Spike Lee and Sam Pollard for "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts"; the IDA Courage Under Fire Award to CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

Source: www.variety.com

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Academy to Open Film Museum in 2012

In New York we have the Museum of the Moving Image. I just assumed there was a similar kind of museum on the west coast, but I guess in all these years Hollywood never established something so obvious. Now, though, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has finally announced a plan to build a museum dedicated to cinema, or at least cinema through the eyes of the Oscars. Apparently it will be called The Academy Museum and is set to be open in 2012, three years after construction begins in 2009. So far the plan has no plans, or budget, but the Academy has hired French architect Christian de Portzamparc, best known probably for designing Paris' "Cite de la Musique (City of Music)" and NYC's LVMH Tower. The site for the museum has been chosen as a two-block, eight-acre plot near the Kodak Theater (home of the Academy Awards show) in Hollywood, which will allow the building to face the famous Hollywood sign.

According to Reuters, the museum is being planned as the world's largest and most ambitious of its kind. The report also has an interesting quote from de Portzamparc, who claims he's the perfect choice because he has "a true passion for cinema and often link this art to architecture: the art of motion, art of light, editing, sequencing of the time and the life, celebration of the living." Over at AP, there's another great quote from Academy president Sid Ganis, who wants the museum to be a "monument to the art of film." He told the newswire: "I want people to understand how film relates to the world around us, how storytelling in the film sense is accomplished and how, through film, we move ahead in our lives to some degree. I hope that's not too highfalutin', but that's what I'm hoping for." We'll have to wait and see if the museum is more dedicated to the history of film in all its glory or more dedicated to the history of the Oscars and the glory it thrusts upon specific films and branches of cinematic technique.

source: www.cinematical.com

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An open letter to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

MCN points us to an "Open Letter to the Academy" by Iraq in Fragments filmmaker John Sinno complaining about Jerry Seinfeld's joke about all five documentary nominees being "incredibly depressing."

I had the great fortune of attending the 79th Academy Awards following my nomination as producer for a film in the Best Documentary Feature category. At the Awards ceremony, most categories featured an introduction that glorified the filmmakers’ craft and the role it plays for the film audience and industry. But when comedian Jerry Seinfeld introduced the award for Best Documentary Feature, he began by referring to a documentary that features himself as a subject, then proceeded to poke fun at it by saying it won no awards and made no money. He then revealed his love of documentaries, as they have a very "real" quality, while making a comically sour face. This less-than-flattering beginning was followed by a lengthy digression that had nothing whatsoever to do with documentary films. The clincher, however, came when he wrapped up his introduction by calling all five nominated films "incredibly depressing!"

While I appreciate the role of humor in our lives, Jerry Seinfeld’s remarks were made at the expense of thousands of documentary filmmakers and the entire documentary genre. Obviously we make films not for awards or money, although we are glad if we are fortunate enough to receive them. The important thing is to tell stories, whether of people who have been damaged by war, of humankind’s reckless attitude toward nature and the environment, or even of the lives and habits of penguins. With his lengthy, dismissive and digressive introduction, Jerry Seinfeld had no time left for any individual description of the five nominated films. And by labeling the documentaries “incredibly depressing,” he indirectly told millions of viewers not to bother seeing them because they’re nothing but downers. He wasted a wonderful opportunity to excite viewers about the nominated films and about the documentary genre in general.

To have a presenter introduce a category with such disrespect for the nominees and their work is counter to the principles the Academy was founded upon. To be nominated for an Academy Award is one of the highest honors our peers can give us, and to have the films dismissed in such an offhand fashion was deeply insulting. The Academy owes all documentary filmmakers an apology.

Seinfeld’s introduction arrived on the heels of an announcement by the Academy that the number of cities where documentary films must screen to qualify for an Academy Award is being increased by 75%. This will make it much more difficult for independent filmmakers’ work to qualify for the Best Documentary Feature Award, while giving an advantage to films distributed by large studios. Fewer controversial films will qualify for Academy consideration, and my film Iraq in Fragments would have been disqualified this year. This announcement came as a great disappointment to me and to other documentary filmmakers. I hope the Academy will reconsider its decision.

On a final note, I would like to point out that there was no mention of the Iraq War during the Oscar telecast, though it was on the minds of many in the theatre and of millions of viewers. It is wonderful to see the Academy support the protection of the environment. Unfortunately there is more than just one inconvenient truth in this world. Having mention of the Iraq War avoided altogether was a painful reminder for many of us that our country is living in a state of denial. As filmmakers, it is the greatest professional crime we can commit not to speak out with the truth. We owe it to the public.

I hope what I have said is taken to heart. It comes from my concern for the cinematic art and its crucial role in the times we’re living in. [source]

John Sinno
Academy Award Nominee, Iraq In Fragments
Co-Founder, Northwest Documentary Association

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Why Dreamgirls isn't racing up the global box-office chart

Hollywood marketing departments are finding it very hard to persuade international audiences to watch films with black stars. It's like we've become the new deep south. [source]

Two Oscars but no Will Smith... Dreamgirls

These are difficult times in which to define your relationship with America. On the one hand, America is very bad: bombs, wars, all that sort of stuff. On the other hand, slightly embarrassingly, it's much less racist than the rest of the world. In terms of watching films with black stars, for instance, the rest of the world is less liberal than, say, the deep south.

Indeed, according to a report in the New York Times, Hollywood marketing departments are finding it very hard to persuade any non-Americans to watch films with black stars. They're even referring to "international" audiences - ie everyone who isn't in America - as "the new south". Reginald Hudlin, director of House Party and The Ladies Man, tells the NYT: "In the old days, they told you black films don't travel down south. Now they say it's not going to travel overseas."

It's especially awkward when you find the latest black movie to be rejected - Dreamgirls, staring Beyonce and Eddie Murphy - picked up two Oscars with a further six nominations from those reactionary Christian conservative rednecks. For most Hollywood movies, international sales make up roughly 52% of the total cash earned, according to figures from Kagan Research. For Dreamgirls, however, we international moviegoers contributed less than half our usual total - just 22% of ticket sales.

And that's actually pretty generous. Are We There Yet with Ice Cube did 16%, Hustle and Flow did 6% and the two Barbershop movies did almost nothing at all. The only black stars who can overcome this prejudice - and what else can it be? Can anyone seriously claim that Dreamgirls is worse than American Pie III? - are Will Smith and Denzel Washington, although Martin Lawrence is clawing his way up.

To be fair, we Brits can afford to feel a little less redneck than our continental cousins. When Screen International broke down European admissions, the UK made up 78% of the continent's audience for Barbershop and 98% for Brown Sugar. Put a big star like Will Smith in the picture and it's slightly more balanced - for Enemy of the State, the UK accounted for only 37% of the European audience, still trouncing France (13%) and Spain (10%).

"It's also worth pointing out that it's almost impossible for anyone but the most die-hard filmgoer to name any non-white actors from any European country," adds Screen's editor Michael Gubbins. "Although that may be because the British audience has a greater affinity for US black culture at every level." And yet, before we get too smug, this paper pointed out last weekend in The Guide that there are more black British actors on US primetime screens than there are on British telly. When it comes to anti-Americanism and race, we might have a bit of a splinter-versus-beam situation on our hands here.

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Miami Film Fest, March 2-11

Every night, the latest films from world renowned directors and emerging filmmakers are showcased at the historic Gusman Theater: Award-winning dramas, crowd-pleasing comedies, wondrous historical dramas and tense thrillers premiere in this gala section.

Click on film title for film details and long synopsis

Alatriste (Alatriste) (Spain,147 min.) Director: Agustín Díaz Yanes Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Elena Anaya, Javier Cámara, Antonio Dechent, Juan Echanove, Eduardo Noriega, Ariadna Gil, Unax Ugalde, Eduard Fernández, Enrico Lo Verso, Blanca Portillo Courageous and unassuming, Diego Alatriste is a 17th century swordsman determined to honor his commitments and maintain his integrity in the turbulent declining years of the Spanish empire. Viggo Mortensen leads an all-star cast in this swashbuckling period drama—the most expensive Spanish-language film ever made—about the incomparable silent warrior of Arturo Pérez-Reverte’s wildly popular novel series.

Antonia (Antônia) (Brazil,90 min.) Director: Tata Amaral Cast: Leilah Moreno, Cindy, Quelynah, Negra Li, Sandra de Sá, Thaíde, Thobias de Vai Vai, Maionezi, Nathalye Cris, DJ Hadji, Ezequiel da Silva, Max B.O., Z'Africa Brasil, Black Gero, DJ Negro Rico, Chico Santo, Marcus Vinicius Kamau, Fernando Macário Part Dreamgirls, part 8 Mile, Antonia is the rousing story of the members of an all-girl hip hop group who learn to discover themselves as they make their way on the mean streets of São Paulo. The film’s uniquely Brazilian ambience offers a distinctly and pleasantly Latin spin on "Girl Power."

Beauty in Trouble (Kráska v nesnázích) (Czech Republic,110 min.) Director: Jan Hrebejk Cast: Ana Geislerová, Jana Brejchová, Emília Vášáryová, Josef Abrhám, Roman Luknár, Jirí Schmitzer, Jan Hrušínský, Jirí Machácek, Andrei Toader, Nikolay Penev, Jaromíra Mílová, Adam Mišík, Michaela Mrvíková, Raduza. The Czech team behind such festival gems as Divided We Fall and Up and Down delivers this multi-character tale of a beauty in trouble, her car-thief husband, and a wealthy ex-patriot who is reminded that things are more complicated in the homeland. This masterful film is sexy, funny, and sharp as a knife.

Black Book (Zwartboek) (Netherlands/UK/Germany/Belgium,145 min.) Director: Paul Verhoeven Cast: Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman, Halina Reijn, Waldemar Kobus, Derek de Lint, Christian Berkel, Dolf de Vries, Peter Blok Paul Verhoeven helms this engrossing, yet violent, tale of espionage, intrigue and betrayal set in Nazi-occupied Holland. Carice van Houten gives a remarkable performance as a beautiful Jewish torch singer who joins the Dutch resistance in the final days of World War II.

Dark Blue Almost Black (Azul Oscuro Casi Negro) (Spain,105 min.) Director: Daniel Sánchez Arévalo Cast: Quim Gutiérrez, Marta Etura, Antonio de la Torre, Héctor Colomé, Raúl Arévalo, Eva Pallarés, Manuel Morón, Ana Wagener, Roberto Enríquez Jorge dreamed of being a businessman. But, his father’s debilitating stroke and a brother’s prison sentence made him a caretaker and part-time janitor instead. When his childhood crush returns from a stint studying abroad, Jorge begins to yearn for something better. Youthful romance clashes with familial pressure in a stirring drama of lost opportunities and second chances.

First Snow (USA,101 min.) Director: Mark Fergus Cast: Guy Pearce, Piper Perabo, William Fichtner, J.K. Simmons, Jackie Burroughs, Shea Whigham, Adam Scott Beware the first snow. A roadside psychic warns a stranded motorist of his impending doom in this powerful parable about the struggle between fate and will. Guy Pearce exudes feverish intensity as af man who revisits his demons (among them a recently sprung felon) in the hope of escaping destiny.

Heart of the Earth, The (El Corazón de la Tierra) (Spain/UK/Portugal,115 min.) Director: Antonio Cuadri Cast: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Sienna Guillory, Philip Winchester, Bernard Hill, Joaquim de Almeida, Jorge Perugorría, Ana Fernández, Fernando Ramallo, Juan Fernández Antonio Cuadri directs this spectacular production based on actual historical events. Set in 1888 against the backdrop of Huelva, Spain’s Riotinto mines, this epic saga of love and power centers on the deep friendship between two women caught up in the first “environmental” protest in history. The film’s stellar cast includes Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace), Sienna Guillory and Joaquim de Almeida.

I Am the Other Woman (Ich bin die andere) (Germany,104 min.) Director: Margarethe von Trotta Cast: Katja Riemann, August Diehl, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Kari Dor, Barbara Auer, Bernadette Herwagen, Dieter Laser, Peter Lerchbaumer A young engineer’s one-night stand with a mysterious, slatternly woman in his Frankfurt hotel room sends him down a rabbit hole of erotic obsession and domestic dysfunction in a striking artistic departure from one of the icons of German feminist cinema, Margarethe von Trotta.

Ira & Abby (USA,104 min.) Director: Robert Cary Cast: Chris Messina, Jennifer Westfeldt, Frances Conroy, Judith Light, Jason Alexander, Robert Klein, Fred Willard Neurotic Ira and free-spirited Abby are a mismatched Manhattan couple who impulsively get engaged just six hours after first meeting. Bliss is short-lived, however, when meddlesome parents and ineffectual therapists become involved. This warm, witty relationship comedy penned by actress-screenwriter Jennifer Westfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein) took home the Audience Award for best narrative feature at the 2006 Los Angeles Film Festival.

Jindabyne (Australia,123 min.) Director: Ray Lawrence Cast: Laura Linney, Gabriel Byrne, Deborra-lee Furness, John Howard, Leah Purcell, Stelios Yiakmis, Alice Garner, Simon Stone, Betty Lucas, Chris Haywood, Eva Lazzaro, Sean Rees-Wemyss, Tatea Reilly Based on a short story by Raymond Carver, Jindabyne is an allegorical tale of four men who discover a woman’s body on a fishing trip, yet fail to report it until their excursion ends. Gabriel Byrne and Laura Linney star in this haunting story of morality, marriage and murder set in the Australian countryside. The film won Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2006 Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards.

Page Turner, The (La Tourneuse de pages) (France,85 min.) Director: Denis Dercourt Cast: Catherine Frot, Déborah François, Pascal Greggory, Clotilde Mollet, Xavier De Guillebon A young girl who yearns to be a concert pianist finds her big recital sabotaged by the dismissive egotism of a famed musician. Humiliated, the girl bids farewell to her aspirations. Years later she methodically insinuates herself into the life of the woman who destroyed her dream. Vengeance is patient but devastating in this tense, simmering thriller.

Red Like the Sky (Rosso come il cielo) (Italy,96 min.) Director: Cristiano Bortone Cast: Luca Capriotti, Francesca Maturanza, Simone Gulli', Paolo Sassanelli, Marco Cocci, Simone Colombari, Norman Mozzato Set in Tuscany in the 1970s, this inspiring tale recounts a blind youth's personal battle to overcome not only his handicap, but also the doubts and preconceived notions of society. The film is based on the life of renowned sound editor Mirco Mencacci and his struggle to develop as an artist and affirm his talent. Audience award winner at the São Paulo International Film Festival.

Salvador (Spain/UK,138 min.) Director: Manuel Huerga Cast: Daniel Brühl, Tristán Ulloa, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Leonor Watling, Ingrid Rubio, Celso Bugallo, Joaquim Climent, Antonio Dechent, Carlos Fuentes, Joel Joan, Bea Segura, Olalla Escribano, Carlota Olcina, Andrea Ros, Biel Durán, Aida Folch A selection of Un Certain Regard at Cannes, Salvador is the gripping retelling of the life of Spaniard Salvador Puig Antich (passionately portrayed by Daniel Brühl), a young revolutionary who was the last political prisoner to fall victim to Franco's garrote.

Sounds of Sand (Si le vent soulève les sables) (Belgium/France,96 min.) Director: Marion Hänsel Cast: Issaka Sawadogo, Carole Karemera, Asma Nouman Aden, Saïd Abdallah Mohamed, Ahmed Ibrahim Mohamed Water is life. And for one African villager, his wife, and three children, the need for it means having to leave their parched home–risking mercenaries, land mines and the vicious desert sun–to reach the nearest productive wells. Set against the harsh and unforgiving landscape of sub-Saharan Africa, this is a story about sacrifice and courage in the face of overwhelming odds.

Ton of Luck, A (Soñar no cuesta nada) (Colombia/Argentina,96 min.) Director: Rodrigo Triana Cast: Diego Cadavid, Juan Sebastián Aragón, Carlos Manuel Vesga, Manuel José Chaves, Marlon Moreno, Verónica Orozco, Carolina Ramirez When the members of an anti-guerrilla unit, on patrol in the jungles of Colombia, stumble on $46 million in drug money, they decide to give in to temptation and divvy up the treasure. This tale of moral choices and their consequences is based on actual events.

Wonderful World, A (Un Mundo Maravilloso) (Mexico,118 min.) Director: Luis Estrada Cast: Damián Alcázar, Cecilia Suárez, Ernesto Gómez Cruz, Jesús Ochoa, Silverio Palacios, Antonio Serrano, Jorge Zárate, José María Yazpik, Plutarco Haza, Raúl Méndez, Guillermo Gil, Carmen Beato, Rodrigo Murray, Pedro Armendáriz When a homeless man is accidentally left out on the ledge of the World Financial Center his presence there is misinterpreted as a suicide protest. As a media firestorm ensues, the erstwhile bum is exploited by a government scrambling to protect its interests. Deliciously grim, this dark satire offers a wry commentary on the social and economic inequities of Mexico.

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Music on the Oscars: A Fistful of Morricone

While Ennio Morricone did receive an honorary Oscar, honoring his work for over 400 film scores, the presentation of his work left a lot to be desired. This slight had me feeling the (obsessive) need to go back and chronologize songs from all his movies that I could find (i.e., digitally avaiable). As a result, I present to you this playlist of his work from nearly one hundred films.

Playlist: Ennio Morricone

So what got me all hot and bothered about the Oscar presentation? First was the medley of songs they chose, and in particular, the instrumentation. For many of Morricone's scores, the instrumentation and production were just as important as the music written.

This is especially true of his early work for Sergio Leone Westerns, specifically "the man with no name" trilogy of spaghetti Westerns featuring Clint Eastwood: A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. For each of these he put to work his childhood friend Alessandro Alessandroni, who was a talented whistler as well as musician. Morricone also famously infused rock into the sound, in particular the twangy guitar dipped in reverb. Combine that with his addition of a flamenco-inspired trumpet to the mix and the sound of the Western would be forever altered. I don't necessarily blame Academy Awards musical director Willam Ross (where was Bill Conti this year?), as it's a huge undertaking, trying to encompass all that is Morricone with a traditional orchestra.

The next offense came when Celine Dion came out and butchered "Deborah's Theme" from Once Upon a Time in America (rechristened as "I Knew I Loved You"). This is a new version of the song, complete with lyrics and production from Quincy Jones. It's for the compilation that just came out last week called We All Love Ennio Morricone, which thankfully features a diverse group of artists, including Metallica doing The Good, the Bad and the Ugly's "The Ecstasy Of Gold" (which they often open their live shows with) and Roger Waters singing "Lost Boys Calling" from The Legend of 1900. It's an up and down collection, and is mostly saved by Morricone's own participation on many of the songs.

For Morricone, the past eight years have been littered with works that have gone straight to video, films that should've gone straight to video (Mission to Mars) and a lot of television. Betwen the honorary Oscar, the tribute album, and the paltry work of late, the time is ripe for a comeback, and there are two movies coming up that are thankfully setting up Morricone for just that. The first is the prequel to Brian De Palma's successful The Untouchables (titled The Untouchables: Capone Rising), which reunites Morricone and De Palma. The second is the very ambitious WWII picture Leningrad, which again reunites him with a favorite director in Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso, Malena). This was the project that Sergio Leone was rumored to be working on when he died in 1989, and was supposed to feature Robert De Niro, continuing their work together following Once Upon a Time in America.

So while we (and the Academy) look back on the legend, there appears to be plenty to look forward to as well.

drake lelane
whistling Morricone at the blog thus spake drake

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An inconvenient truth: eco-warrior Al Gore's bloated gas and electricity bills

Al Gore's home in Nashville's exclusive Belle Meade district, Tennessee. Photograph: Rusty Russell/Getty Images

Al Gore knows a thing or two about the vicissitudes of public life. Six years ago he was virtually written off as a has-been vice-president after he won the popular vote only to lose the 2000 race for the White House. On Sunday night his rehabilitation was completed as he was crowned the moral mouthpiece of Hollywood, receiving an Oscar for his global warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth.

In front of the cream of the movie industry and the world's cameras, he stood alongside fellow eco-warrior Leonardo DiCaprio and proclaimed the ceremony the first in the Academy Awards' history to be run on "environmentally intelligent" lines. "And you know what?" he told the adoring crowd. "It's not as hard as you might think. We have a long way to go but all of us can do something in our own lives to make a difference."

Twenty four hours is a long time in green politics. By Monday night Mr Gore found himself back in that all-too familiar place - the eye of the storm.

A little-known group based in his home state, the Tennessee Centre for Policy Research, had the idea of looking up Mr Gore's energy bills for his large home in the Belle Meade area of Nashville to see whether he practised what he preached.

The headline figures, released to the group under federal freedom of information rules, were striking. Last year the Gore household consumed 221,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity - more than 20 times the national annual average.

His household consumption of energy rose between 2005 and 2006, the bills showed, from 16,200 kWh a month to 18,400 kWh last year. In addition, he spent on average $1,080 (£550) a month on natural gas. Combined, his electricity and gas bills reached almost $30,000.

The group released the information on Monday night under the title "Al Gore's personal energy use is his own inconvenient truth". Its president, Drew Johnson, told the Guardian that he had no objection to someone spending $30,000 on energy to light and heat a multimillion dollar house. "I only have a problem with that person telling us what light-bulbs to buy and that we should get a new low-energy refrigerator. That's hypocrisy, and I'm proud to have exposed it," he said.

By yesterday the news of Mr Gore's energy bills was flying around the internet at a rate which, were the web petrol-powered, would have led to instant sea level rises. Conservative and libertarian bloggers, from Instapundit to Hot Air and Red State, luxuriated over the details, while progressive and liberal blogs led by the Huffington Post tried to discredit the report by describing it as a typical smear campaign. It had been timed for the Oscars, the Post's blogger said, by a group that had no official status and had connections with rightwing groups funded by ExxonMobil.

Mr Johnson denied the oil industry link and said he had no intention of smearing Mr Gore, but had been motivated simply by a desire to hold public figures to account.

His group, which is registered as a non-profit organisation, describes itself as an independent thinktank that promotes a vision of a free society grounded in property rights, individual liberty and limited government.

By yesterday morning Mr Gore's team was pulled into the controversy. Kalee Kreider, his environmental adviser, told the Guardian that "you can attack the messenger but the message remains the same". She said Mr Gore's fuel bills failed to tell the whole picture. All the energy used for the Nashville home came from a green power provider to the Tennessee Valley that draws its energy from solar, wind-powered and methane gas supplies, among other sources.

The Gores were installing solar panels on the roof of their home, Ms Kreider added, and making efforts to reduce their energy needs. Besides, Mr Gore had adopted a "carbon neutral" life whereby any emissions for which he was personally responsible were offset by buying green credits such as parcels of forests.

"The point about vice-president Gore is that he's devoted 30 years of his life to educating people about global warming. That says something about the man," she said.

Laurie David, the producer of An Inconvenient Truth, said that the furore was only to be expected. A leading global warming campaigner, she is familiar with criticism of this kind having been called a "jetstream liberal" for using private planes. "What this lame attempt to discredit Al Gore tells me is that we are winning. This is comedy at its best - it's straight out of the David Letterman show."

Mr Gore, or the Goracle as he is now known, has so far kept out of the fray. He is flying high, his old image as Bill Clinton's wooden sidekick long since forgotten. The Washington Post has dubbed him Al Gore: rock star, and he is planning a global round of Live Earth concerts for the summer. Rumours persist that he will make a late run for the 2008 election, prompting an elaborate joke at the Oscars in which he pretended to be announcing a presidential bid only to be shooed off stage.

With all that riding in his favour, he will wish to swat away the present noise as quickly as possible. If nothing else, though, this is a reminder that in politics - even if it's green - you should never take anything for granted. [source]

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No valium required: reading The Departed

The Departed was one of a pair of Oscar-nommed scripts that studios made officially available for download; the other is Picturehouse's Pan's Labyrinth. Both are PDF downloads; from WB, here's the Oscar-winning stylings of Mr. William Monahan.

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Academy Award: Digital Nation

As surely as night follows day, Oscar-hype season is subsumed by Oscar-second-guessing season. Thank goodness, one is decidedly shorter than the other. [source]

Yes, this Academy Awards ceremony was every bit as tiresome as everyone says was, and feared it would be. How could it not have been awful? No one in charge of AMPAS would ever loosen the stranglehold long enough to allow anything truly provocative or stimulating, and, indeed, no one invited to the Kodak Theater cares to see themselves or anyone else in the industry embarrassed in public. Their reason for attending is completely different than our’s is for watching.

No one with a vested interest in the outcome of the night’s events pays much attention to the quality of the skits, dance numbers and orchestral excesses. They love the Chamber of Commerce video presentations, which serve to extol the virtues of an industry that otherwise is content to turn out dozens of crappy titles for every one worthy of Oscar consideration. The celebrities are there for one specific reason … to be handed an Oscar by one of their own … or, failing that, to be photographed being magnanimous in defeat. If they can keep the gratis gowns and jewelry, so much the better.

Heck, if this were 1957, most of the nominees in the Best Performance categories wouldn’t even have bothered to show up. Why bother? Helen Mirren, Jennifer Hudson, Forest Whitaker were the "free spaces" in everyone’s Oscar pools, and only Alan Arkin and Eddie Murphy were given serious consideration in the supporting-male contest. The Best Director and Best Picture winners remained in doubt until the end, but most viewers in the Midwest or East Coast had surrendered.

Today, there’s some evidence to indicate that as many as a million more Americans tuned into all or part -- key distinction, there -- of the ceremony than were counted last year. No big deal, really, considering the competition. Even HBO and BBC America elected not to counter-program this year.

Still, the willingness of nearly 40 million Americans to sample the ceremony is nothing at which to sneeze, especially considering how few had bothered to visit the local multiplex more than once or twice last year. Oh, and the baloney about a worldwide audience of a billion viewers … I thought that nonsense was laid to rest five years ago, when a reporter actually did the math. Unless everyone with a TV in China and India was tuned in, the total would barely top 400 million.

But, it’s AMPAS’ party, and we’ll cry if we want to. I’d tune in to see who won, even if one of the dancing penguins co-hosted with the newly beatified former vice president, Al Gore. And, the Monday-morning quarterbacks in the press would trash them, as well.

It’s an odd game, isn’t it? In the lead-up to the ceremony, the media treats the Academy Awards as if they were God’s gift to mankind, and every nominee deserved the attention usually reserved for Nobel Peace Prize honorees. The studios exploit the press’ sudden willingness to pander to their every desire, by providing access to celebrities who might otherwise only talk to Vanity Fair or the New York Times. The actors and filmmakers agree to schmooze until the cows come home, while AMPAS keeps its collective lips close to ABC’s collective ass, in fear of alienating its closest ally.

Monday morning, ashamed of the complicity in this fiasco, the nation’s editors sic their critics on the producers of the ceremony. Agents and studio brass lick their wounds, and ABC executives count their money. By Tuesday, most of the 40 million souls who watched all or part of the ceremony can’t recall who won, let alone those who were nominated.

Sadly, even fewer will bother to check out the splendid documentary finalists, or the two or three foreign-language candidates that inarguably were even better than The Departed … which was a pretty damn good movie. (Water, The Lives of Others and Pan’s Labyrinth all succeeded in elevating the medium to places Hollywood hasn’t been in decades.)

It explains why AMPAS allows ABC to pitch the parties, fashions and frivolity associated with the Academy Awards over the products of its member studios, just as NBC pimps the Golden Globes as if it were spring break in Cancun. As long as the network doesn’t decide to put Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman on the red carpet, live mic in hand, no one’s gonna get hurt.

I won’t offer any suggestions for sweeping reforms, except, perhaps, that AMPAS forces ABC to sell less advertising inventory. This would serve not only to shorten the show, but also to keep audiences from deciding the cutesy-poo commercials are more entertaining than the film clips.

They might also consider attaching a semi-permanent host to the proceedings. Unfortunately, no one seems as willing to shoulder such a load as were Johnny Carson and Bob Hope, and that was back in the day when attendance was optional, the "best" movies never won, and reporters weren’t invited to the after-parties. It’s entirely likely that such a person -- Steve Martin and Billy Crystal come to mind -- wouldn’t wither under the heightened expectations of jaded viewers and critics, nor fear repercussions from a controversy-phobic ABC and AMPAS.

One thing that hasn’t been tried, and might relate to lovers of professional sports, competitive ice skating and real-time blogging, is for ABC to add a play-by-play announcer and expert analyst to the broadcast. They need not be as potentially scathing as Lewis Black or Kathy Griffin, but who wouldn’t tune in to hear Bill Maher and Arianna Huffington, for example, comment on what’s transpiring before viewers’ eyes. Heck, I’d settle for Bill O’Reilly and Jenna Jameson.

Then, at least, we might be able to glean the names of people whose faces are shown when a winner is announced: Ellen’s blond girlfriend, Portia; Melissa’s "wife"; Celine’s parasite husband; whoever came with Jack. The narration provided as the winners approached the podium, last night, was at once inane and intrusive. Wouldn’t Vin Scully have been a better choice?

Absent anything that earthshaking and improbable, though, wouldn’t it be swell if the media -- mainstream and alternative -- declared a moratorium on all Oscar speculation until Thanksgiving or, better, New Year’s Day? If nothing else, by curbing the avalanche of hype, the annual disappointment over the lameness of the ceremony would be reduced, in kind.

This much, I suggest, we in the entertainment media can sacrifice for world peace and cultural discourse. That, and exiling Mary Hart and Pat O’Brien to the Aleutian Islands for the period between Oscar nominations and the ceremony.


February 26, 2007

- Gary Dretzka

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Awards Season Isn't Over Yet: RTS Awards, Oscar Parties

Sick of seeing and hearing about Helen Mirren? Don't tell me you're suffering from awards fatigue just yet! That's the great thing about being international: we have all those British awards to cover, like the Royal Television Society awards, which had their nominations announced last night. And yes, Dame Helen rears her head again, as she's up for Best Actress for Prime Suspect.

Representing the best of British TV in 2006, the list included several BBC AMERICA shows. In fact, for us, it's like picking favorites among children: I don't envy the people who have to choose a winner among Doctor Who, Life On Mars, and The Street in the Drama Series category. The biggest controversy of last night's nominations is the absence of Eastenders for Best Soap (ITV's Coronation Street, Emmerdale, and The Bill are the contenders).

Here are select nominees:

Actor - Female

• Julia Davis - Fear Of Fanny
  
• Susan Lynch - Soundproof
  
• Helen Mirren - Prime Suspect

Actor - Male

• Jim Broadbent - Longford
  
• Philip Glenister - Life On Mars
  
• Michael Sheen - Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!

Comedy Performance

• Kevin Bishop - Star Stories
  
• Stephen Merchant - Extras
  
• Catherine Tate - The Catherine Tate Show

Drama Serial

• Low Winter Sun
  (coming soon to BBC AMERICA)
• Prime Suspect
  
• Terry Pratchett's Hogfather

Drama Series

• Doctor Who
  
• Life On Mars
  
• The Street

Presenter

• Jeremy Clarkson, James May, & Richard Hammond - Top Gear
  
• Bruce Parry - Tribe
  
• Gordon Ramsay - Gordon Ramsay's F Word

Situation Comedy and Comedy Drama

• Green Wing
  
• Extras
  
• The Royle Family: The Queen Of Sheba

Soap

• Coronation Street
  
• Emmerdale
  
• The Bill

Writer - Drama

• Peter Morgan - Longford
  
• Simon Donald - Low Winter Sun
  
• Abi Morgan - Tsunami, The Aftermath

Get the complete list of nominees here.

Oscar partying, British style: according to those party crashers The Sun, Helen Mirren scarfed a burger and joked that she wants to play Camilla (at least, I hope she was joking...I thought she was sick of playing dowdy); Elton John kissed and made up with Simon Cowell over Cowell's dismissal of Elton fave Jennifer Hudson; Simon and Sharon Osbourne apparently had a row that included a "F*ck you!"; Daniel Craig almost smiled but not quite; and Peter O'Toole shakes off his Best Actor loss by diving into Cate Blanchett's cleavage.

The Daily Telegraph also presents a UK take on the Oscars: writer Tom Leonard ran into Billy Connolly who said the parties were "s*** - people just eating cheese straws, talking rubbish, getting drunk, and complaining about being stared at." Welcome to Hollywood!

James Christopher of The Times regurgitates my post from yesterday: Mexico triumphed, and Brits were big losers at the Oscars. Except his article is racist, natch: "no speak English equals trim speeches."

In other news

• I'm sorry, I think Daniel Radcliffe is adorable, but with facial hair he looks like an FTM transsexual who just started hormones. I'm just sayin'. (Daily Mail)
  
  
• Can I read an article in The Sun that doesn't inform us that Beth Ditto of The Gossip is "15-stone"?
  
  
• Turns out, ABC doesn't like Heather Mills so much either now that she's no longer a "Lady." Regarding her name change for Dancing With the Stars, a source tells The Sun, "It was a bombshell for ABC. Getting a Lady who was married to a Beatle was almost like signing royalty to them. They are gutted they had to drop the title."
  
  
• Oh, and disabled people hate her, too: From Digital Spy: "Campaigners argue that the estranged wife of Sir Paul McCartney should refrain from using her blue disabled badge to park her Mercedes four-wheel drive if she is mobile enough to compete on the celebrity dancing contest."
  
  
• Good Heavens: That "Beckhams in America" reality show is being talked about as if it were a done deal. They forget that no one other than the most devoted of Anglophiles gives a flying crap about them here.
  
  
• Now here's a reality show I want to see: "Supermodel Naomi Campbell is to star in an MTV reality TV show following her recruitment of a new personal assistant. "
  
  
• Sophie Ellis-Bextor praises the new crop of female British pop stars: "I'm glad to see the emergence of people with a brain and personality in pop like Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse."
  
  
• Catherine Tate is the patron of the Young Writers Festival in London, in which first-time playwrights have professional stagings of their works. Tate talks about her own writing style in the Telegraph: "I'm interested in the way people speak. I don't write gags; I wouldn't know how to. My comedy isn't about saying funny things, it's about saying things funny." P.S.: is it me, or is CT morphing into Cynthia Nixon before our eyes?
  
  
• Portishead has debuted a new song. (Gigwise)
  
  
• The Good, The Bad, and The Queen are set to play the final show ever at Hammersmith Palais. (Gigwise)
  
  
• Arctic Monkeys have recruited Dizzee Rascal to rap on their new album.
  
  
• Badly Drawn Boy has commenced his British acoustic tour of local chip-shops. It's all about preserving tradition, ya see. (Telegraph)
  
  
• American tycoons are snatching up British soccer teams. Is British football in danger of losing its identity?
  
  
• Jonas Armstrong, our own Robin Hood, is today's Hunk du Jour.

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Oscar wins at last for Mirren and Scorsese

Martin Scorsese accepts the best director Oscar for The Departed.
Photograph: Mark J Terrill / AP
Martin Scorsese accepts his best director Oscar. Photograph: Mark J Terrill / AP

The Gurdian

Martin Scorsese was finally honoured by the Hollywood establishment at last night's Oscars, ending a run of five failed nominations. Elsewhere the acting crowns went to Helen Mirren for The Queen and Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland.

Mirren, as predicted, was named best actress for her role as Elizabeth II, while Whitaker won best actor for his portayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. But in the ceremony's closing minutes Martin Scorsese swept all before him. It was the moment when Hollywood at last threw open its doors to the talented upstart from New York, a director who is widely regarded as the most influential film-maker of his generation.

For good measure, Scorsese's gangster epic The Departed also picked up the all-important best picture Oscar. The film finished the night with four awards in total, one ahead of the Spanish-language fantasy Pan's Labyrinth. Dreamgirls, Little Miss Sunshine and the documentary An Inconvenient Truth all came away with two awards apiece.

In a ceremony that stuck close to the bookies' predictions, there were few major surprises. Eddie Murphy entered the Kodak theatre as the slight favourite to win the best supporting actor Oscar for his turn in Dreamgirls. In the event he lost out to the veteran actor Alan Arkin, who won for his spry turn as a disreputable grandfather in the indie comedy Little Miss Sunshine.

Former American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson was named best supporting actress for Dreamgirls. "Look what God can do," she gushed on receiving her statuette.

Pan's Labyrinth was an early front-runner at last night's awards but conspicuously lost out to the German political thriller The Lives of Others in the hunt for the best foreign film Oscar. The acclaimed eco-film An Inconvenient Truth was named best documentary feature.

Prior to the ceremony there had been rumours that the film's star, Al Gore, would use the Oscars as a platform to declare his bid for the 2008 presidential elections. However, Gore opted to play his big moment for laughs, jokingly claiming that he was about to make a major announcement before allowing himself to be ushered off stage after overrunning his alloted time-slot.

"I was just drinking backstage with Jack Nicholson and Al Gore," George Clooney quipped a few minutes later. "I don't think he's running for president."

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