Eastwood's Hoover film starts shooting February 5

Director Clint Eastwood begins filming his biopic about J. Edgar Hoover beginning this weekend and Los Angeles has been picked the city to shoot in. The film will star Leonardo DiCaprio playing the man who was director of the FBI, with the film being simply titled J.Edgar.

Also starring in the film are Armie Hammer, who'll play longtime friend and roommate Clyde Tolson, with other roles going Judi Dench, Naomi Watts and Josh Lucas will be portraying Charles Lindburgh.

Rumor the script will address many of the scandles Hoover took part in personally and professionally, especially his rumored homosexuality and cross dressing.

Neill Blomkamp's follow up to District 9

For fans of District 9, director Neil Blomkamp's next project will NOT be a sequel to his Oscar nominated movie, but will still stay in the sci-fi genre that will be titled Elysium. Sony pictures has bought the rights to the film ( written by Blomkamp ) and will star Jodie Foste, Matt Damo and Sharlto Copley. Blade Runner set designer Syd Mead will assist Blomkamp i the area because he was a big fan of District 9 and offered to lend any help he could to the project.

The script and the plot have been under very tight wraps to this point, but there have been some leaks as to that it has a similar social allegory that District 9 had and that the film will be " big" and takes place 100 years in the future.

Happy birthday to director Frank Darabont

Frank Darabont turns 52 today. You might say " who ? " He's not an exactly household names when it comes to famous directors such as Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg or even Ridley Scott, but... that is quite OK with me, as I feel he deserves to be paid the attention as I think he directed one of the best movies of all time, at least in my humble opinion. Well if you didn't know it's none other than The Shawshank Redemption. Darabont is not a prolific director. He doesn't have a whole lot of movies in his filmograhy, but the couple other films he has directed such as The Green Mile and The Majestic I thought were good movies.

The last film he directed was the horror themed The Mist, which I feel is one of his weakest efforts to be honest. He has nothing listed for upcoming projects other than directing a episode of the popular new A&E series The Walking Dead. I'm very interested as to what project he chooses next.

The Avengers shaping up

The cast of The Avengers; l-r Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsforth, Chris Evans Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo and Joss Whedon ( director ) at Comic Con. Joss Whedon is mostly known as a screenwriter with previously screenplay credits as Toy Story, Alien:Resurrection and Titan A.D.

The Avengers, the Marvel comics amalgam made up of such luminary super hero's as The Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and Hawkeye to name a few, will commence filming in April and looking at a May 4th 2012 release date. Oscar nominiee for Atonement, cinematography Seamus McGarvey wil handle the lensing with the movie filming on a 150 million dollar budget.

For Hulk fans who do not know this, Edward Norton will not be returning as Bruce Banner and Mark Ruffalo has stepped in to play The Hulk.

The King's Speech leads 83rd annual Oscar nominations

Best motion picture of the year

“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight), A Protozoa and Phoenix Pictures Production, Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
“The Fighter” (Paramount), A Relativity Media Production, David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
“Inception” (Warner Bros.), A Warner Bros. UK Services Production, Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
“The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features), An Antidote Films, Mandalay Vision and Gilbert Films Production, Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company), A See-Saw Films and Bedlam Production, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight), An Hours Production, Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
“The Social Network” (Sony Pictures Releasing), A Columbia Pictures Production, Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
“Toy Story 3″ (Walt Disney), A Pixar Production, Darla K. Anderson, Producer
“True Grit” (Paramount), A Paramount Pictures Production, Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
“Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions), A Winter’s Bone Production, Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

Achievement in directing

“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight), Darren Aronofsky
“The Fighter” (Paramount), David O. Russell
“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company), Tom Hooper
“The Social Network” (Sony Pictures Releasing), David Fincher
“True Grit” (Paramount), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Performance by an actor in a leading role

Javier Bardem in “Biutiful” (Roadside Attractions)
Jeff Bridges in “True Grit” (Paramount)
Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company)
James Franco in “127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actress in a leading role

Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features)
Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole” (Lionsgate)
Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions)
Natalie Portman in “Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight)
Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine” (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

Christian Bale in “The Fighter” (Paramount)
John Hawkes in “Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions)
Jeremy Renner in “The Town” (Warner Bros.)
Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features)
Geoffrey Rush in “The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

Amy Adams in “The Fighter” (Paramount)
Helena Bonham Carter in “The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company)
Melissa Leo in “The Fighter” (Paramount)
Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”(Paramount)
Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom” (Sony Pictures Classics)

Best animated feature film of the year

“How to Train Your Dragon” (Paramount), Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
“The Illusionist” (Sony Pictures Classics), Sylvain Chomet
“Toy Story 3″ (Walt Disney), Lee Unkrich

Achievement in art direction

“Alice in Wonderland” (Walt Disney), Production Design: Robert Stromberg, Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1″ (Warner Bros.), Production Design: Stuart Craig, Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
“Inception” (Warner Bros.), Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas, Set Decoration: Larry Dias and Doug Mowat
“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company), Production Design: Eve Stewart, Set Decoration: Judy Farr
“True Grit” (Paramount), Production Design: Jess Gonchor, Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh

Achievement in cinematography

“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight), Matthew Libatique
“Inception” (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister
“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company), Danny Cohen
“The Social Network” (Sony Pictures Releasing), Jeff Cronenweth
“True Grit” (Paramount), Roger Deakins

Achievement in costume design

“Alice in Wonderland” (Walt Disney), Colleen Atwood
“I Am Love” (Magnolia Pictures), Antonella Cannarozzi
“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company), Jenny Beavan
“The Tempest” (Miramax), Sandy Powell
“True Grit” (Paramount), Mary Zophres
Best documentary feature

“Exit through the Gift Shop” (Producers Distribution Agency), A Paranoid Pictures Production, Banksy and Jaimie D’Cruz
“Gasland”, A Gasland Production, Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
“Inside Job” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Representational Pictures Production, Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
“Restrepo” (National Geographic Entertainment), An Outpost Films Production, Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
“Waste Land” (Arthouse Films), An Almega Projects Production, Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley

Best documentary short subject

“Killing in the Name”, A Moxie Firecracker Films Production, Nominees to be determined
“Poster Girl”, A Portrayal Films Production, Nominees to be determined
“Strangers No More”, A Simon & Goodman Picture Company Production, Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
“Sun Come Up”, A Sun Come Up Production, Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger
“The Warriors of Qiugang”, A Thomas Lennon Films Production, Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon

Achievement in film editing

“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight), Andrew Weisblum
“The Fighter” (Paramount), Pamela Martin
“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company), Tariq Anwar
“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight), Jon Harris
“The Social Network” (Sony Pictures Releasing), Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

Best foreign language film of the year

“Biutiful” (Roadside Attractions), A Menage Atroz, Mod Producciones and Ikiru Films Production, Mexico
“Dogtooth” (Kino International), A Boo Production, Greece
“In a Better World” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Zentropa Production, Denmark
“Incendies” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Micro-Scope Production, Canada
“Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi)” (Cohen Media Group), A Tassili Films Production, Algeria

Achievement in makeup

“Barney’s Version” (Sony Pictures Classics), Adrien Morot
“The Way Back” (Newmarket Films in association with Wrekin Hill Entertainment and Image Entertainment), Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
“The Wolfman” (Universal), Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

“How to Train Your Dragon” (Paramount), John Powell
“Inception” (Warner Bros.), Hans Zimmer
“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company), Alexandre Desplat
“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
“The Social Network” (Sony Pictures Releasing), Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

“Coming Home” from “Country Strong” (Sony Pictures Releasing (Screen Gems)), Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
“I See the Light” from “Tangled” (Walt Disney), Music by Alan Menken, Lyric by Glenn Slater
“If I Rise” from “127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
“We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3″ (Walt Disney), Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

Best animated short film

“Day & Night” (Walt Disney), A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Teddy Newton
“The Gruffalo”, A Magic Light Pictures Production, Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
“Let’s Pollute”, A Geefwee Boedoe Production, Geefwee Boedoe
“The Lost Thing”, (Nick Batzias for Madman Entertainment), A Passion Pictures Australia Production, Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
“Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)”, A Sacrebleu Production, Bastien Dubois

Best live action short film

“The Confession” (National Film and Television School), A National Film and Television School Production, Tanel Toom
“The Crush” (Network Ireland Television), A Purdy Pictures Production, Michael Creagh
“God of Love”, A Luke Matheny Production, Luke Matheny
“Na Wewe” (Premium Films), A CUT! Production, Ivan Goldschmidt
“Wish 143″, A Swing and Shift Films/Union Pictures Production, Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite

Achievement in sound editing

“Inception” (Warner Bros.), Richard King
“Toy Story 3″ (Walt Disney), Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
“Tron: Legacy” (Walt Disney), Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
“True Grit” (Paramount), Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
“Unstoppable” (20th Century Fox), Mark P. Stoeckinger

Achievement in sound mixing

“Inception” (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick
“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company), Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley
“Salt” (Sony Pictures Releasing), Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin
“The Social Network” (Sony Pictures Releasing), Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten
“True Grit” (Paramount), Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland

Achievement in visual effects

“Alice in Wonderland” (Walt Disney), Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1″ (Warner Bros.), Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
“Hereafter” (Warner Bros.), Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell
“Inception” (Warner Bros.), Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb
“Iron Man 2″ (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment, Distributed by Paramount), Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick

Adapted screenplay

“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
“The Social Network” (Sony Pictures Releasing), Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
“Toy Story 3″ (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Michael Arndt, Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
“True Grit” (Paramount), Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions), Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

Original screenplay

“Another Year” (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Mike Leigh
“The Fighter” (Paramount), Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson, Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
“Inception” (Warner Bros.), Written by Christopher Nolan
“The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features), Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Seidler

Ok... two cents here; it's criminal that Robert Richardson's top cinematography in Shutter Island is snubbed. One of the best of the year, as is Rusell Boyd's on The Way Back too.
Happy for Hailee Steinfeld getting a nod, same for Jacki Weaver and John Hawkes. He has been around a long time and he deserves it. Sad to see Michael Douglas and Robert Duvall miss the cut. Someone needs to tell and explain to me why people think Jesse Eisenberg is so great in The Social Network. He was good...he wasn't great. I could have cast 5 other actors in the role who could have done better. Sorry Diane Wiest missed a nod in support for Rabbit Hole. I truly think her performance was a top 5 supporting role. Happpy for Nicole though. Much deserving. Don't get the Jeremy Renner nomination. He was good but I felt Sam Rockwell was better in Conviction.
And how did The Tillman Story miss the documentary cut ?! Are you freaking kidding me ?! That's one of the most moving films, let alone documentary of the year.
And it looks like the Academy has shunned Christopher Nolan again. Inception gets a picture and screenplay nod, yet he gets passed over by Oscar yet once again. That's my little bitch session.

My personal Oscar nominations coming very soon.

Happy birthday to Ernest Borgnine

Longtime actor Ernest Borgnine turns an incredible 94 years of age today. You have seen him in many movies, but it seems the one he won the best actor Oscar for in Marty is not one of them oddly enough. He is still acting and taking parts to this day and can be seen in the action movie Red with Bruce Willis, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren that is still in theaters.

Other notable roles you can see Borgnine in are Johnny Guitar, From Here To Eternity, Bad Day At Black Rock, The Vikings, The Dirty Dozen, The Wild Bunch, The Poseidon Adventure and Escape From New York.

2010 Razzie nominations

One of the least anticipated awards shows in Hollywood, (especially by those who've been nominated) the Razzie Awards have been dishonoring the very worst to come out of Hollywood since 1980.

This year, nominees were announced on the morning of January 24, 2011. Coming up, the the awards ceremony will be held on the traditional night before the Oscars — on Saturday, February 26, 2011.

According to the official Razzie Awards web site, nominees are determined by more than 725 film professionals, film journalists and film fans from around the U.S. and 15 foreign countries.

2011 Razzie nominees

This year, major brickbats go to 'Twilight Saga: Eclipse', 'The Last Airbender', 'The Bounty Hunter', 'Sex & The City 2', and 'Vampires Suck' with singular notices for performances utterly devoid of quality.

Worst Actor nods went to Ashton Kutcher for both 'Killers' and 'Valentine's Day'; Gerard Butler for 'The Bounty Hunter', Jack Black for 'Gulliver's Travels', Robert Pattinson for 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse' and 'Remember Me'; and Taylor Lautner for 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'.

Worst Actress nods went to Jennifer Aniston for 'The Bounty Hunter'; Miley Cyrus for 'The Last Song'; The Four "Gal Pals" for 'Sex & The City 2'; Megan Fox for 'Jonah Hex'; and Kristen Stewart for 'Twilight Saga: Eclipse'.

A new category for 2011 features the ever-so-trendy Worst Eye-Gouging Use of 3D including 'Cats & Dogs 2: Revenge Of Kitty Galore', 'Clash of the Titans', 'The Last Airbender' 'Nutcracker 3D' and 'Saw 3D'.

As usual, the Razzies suffered obsessive-compulsive disorder in nominating the same handful of movies over and over again in several categories. However, other likely contenders that didn't make the list this year included The Tooth Fairy, starring The Rock ("you can't handle the tooth") in a performance more painful than root canal — followed by another Jennifer Lopez stinker in The Back-Up Plan. And let's not forget the epic failure that was Furry Vengeance which may well have ended the careers of everyone involved including star actor Brendan Frazer.

Other likely nominees this year the Razzie missed? They included Dinner for Schmucks, MacGruber, and Marmaduke.

Producers Guild picks The King's Speech

In somewhat of a surprise, The King's Speech took home the Producers Guild award, which many thought or felt it was going to go to The Social Network. If you go back in history you see the PGA nominees and the Oscar nods line up pretty accurately

This actually makes the Oscar best picture race a little more interesting. It surely puts a little bit of a question mark to the people who think The Social Network is a slam dunk to win the best picture Oscar. The King's Speech also beat out 127 Hours, Black Swan, Inception, The Fighter, The Kid's Are Alright, The Town, Toy Story 3 and True Grit.

Top 25 rated films of 2010

Here are the highest rated mainstream films of 2010. I know there are some ratings that are skewed and some people would not agree with how high a certain percentage favored the film, but it is what it is ( every year too ) For example as you see below, 99% if people agreed on liking Toy Story 3

1) 99%- Toy Story 3- 248 reviews
2) 98%- Inside Job- 92 reviews
3) 98%- Exit Through The Gift Shop- 97 reviews
4) 97%- The Social Network- 260 reviews
5) 96%- Animal Kingdom
6) 96%- Restrepo- 102 reviews
7) 95%- True Grit- 187 reviews
8) 95%- The King's Speech- 176 reviews
9) 94%- The Town- 203 reviews
10) 94%- 127 Hours- 169 reviews
11) 94%- The Kid's Are Alright- 196 reviews
12) 93%- The Tillman Story-
13) 93%- Carlos- 56 reviews
14) 92%- Another Year- 78 reviews
15) 89%- The Fighter- 174 reviews
16) 88%- Black Swan- 210 reviews
17) 88%- Waiting For Superman- 102 reviews
18) 87%- Rabbit Hole- 125 reviews
19) 86%- Inception- 274 reviews
20) 86%- Get Low- 112 reviews
21) 86%- Please Give- 130 reviews
22) 86%- Unstoppable- 165 reviews
23) 83%- The Ghost Writer- 188 reviews
24) 81%- Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World- 227 reviews
25 80%- Despicable Me- 180 reviews
80%- Fair Game- 130 reviews
80%- The Way Back- 82 reviews ( 3 way tie for 25th spot )

Happy birthday David Lynch

Surrealist director David Lynch turns 65 today. He has been called the jigsaw director for his use of repeated motif's in his films. He has been nominated for 3 Best Director Academy Awards for The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive.
Other notable films he's directed are the cult classic Eraserhead, Dune, Wild At Heart and The Straight Story, which also garnered an acting Oscar nomination for the late actor Richard Farnsworth. Lynch hasn't directed a film since 2006 Inland Empire.

Anne Hathaway to play Catwoman

Anne Hathaway has been chosen to be in director Christopher Nolan's Batman follow up The Dark Knight Rises, to play Selina Kyle aka Catwoman. Tom Hardy will also play a Batman nemesis Bane.

As usual, the fan boys are crying foul at how wrong the Hathaway casting is by adding every actresses name you can think of. Actually...I don't have a problem with it. She's pretty and she will most likely take some martial arts training and she'll fill Catwoman's costume just fine. The biggest selling point to this cating choice is that Hathaway has the acting chops to go along with that skin tight costume.

Filming on the movie is said to begin in May or June, and to hit theaters July 12, 2012 release date.

The Way Back preview/synopsis

Janurary 21

Directed by Peter Weir ( Master & Commander, The Truman Show ) starring Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Colin Farrell, Saoirse Ronan, Dragos Bacur, Gustaf Skarsgard. Cinematography by Oscar winner Russell Boyd ( Master and Commander ) editing by Oscar nominee Lee Smith ( The Dark Knight, The Prestige ) Original score by Burkhard Von Dallwitz ( The Truman Show )

Premise: Based of the book The Long Walk by Slawomir Rawicz, this film reveals the utter horror of a Siberian gulag and follows the exploits of a group of prisoners who escape. Led by a former Polish officer ( Sturgess ), they journey across snow covered Siberian forests, Mongolian deserts, Tibetan hills before trekking over the Himalayas to reach India and freedom.

One is readily absorber by the determined efforts of the group to survive the many hardships they encounter.

Rated PG-13 for violent content, depiction of physical hardships, a nude image and brief strong language. 133 min.

Oscar chances ? Earlier in 2010 I thought this film would challenge for the most Oscar nominations but it got a terrible Oscar run and a very limited release in the states. I thought if anything the movie would have been locked in for a best picture, supporting actor ( Harris ) cinematography, and costumes. I have a friend that saw it in Los Angeles and made the comment it's easily one of the best photographed films of the year. The film was handled extremely lousy by the distributor.

BAFTA nominations

AFTER scoring just one of seven awards it was nominated for at the Golden Globes, The King's Speech leads the 2011 BAFTA nominations but hopes for a better result.
Lead actor Colin Firth, who won the film's single Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of the stammering King George VI, has again been nominated in the Best Actor category at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards announced yesterday.

The King's Speech received 14 BAFTA nominations, including Best Supporting Actor for Australian Geoffrey Rush and Best Film.

Rush lost out on the Golden Globe on Sunday to Christian Bale for his role in The Fighter. Other Australian Golden Globe film nominees Jacki Weaver and Nicole Kidman both missed out on BAFTA nominations.

Ballet thriller Black Swan received the second highest number of BAFTA nominations with 12 nods, while Inception received nine and True Grit eight.

Offering a ray of hope for the Australian/British production of The King's Speech to beat The Social Network at the Oscars next month, the BAFTAs last year chose The Hurt Locker for Best Film, which went on to win the Oscar, while the Golden Globes chose Avatar.

Winners will be announced at the BAFTA Awards ceremony in London on February 13.

2011 BAFTA NOMINEES:

BEST FILM
BLACK SWAN
INCEPTION
THE KING’S SPEECH
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
TRUE GRIT

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
127 HOURS
ANOTHER YEAR
FOUR LIONS
THE KING’S SPEECH
MADE IN DAGENHAM

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
THE ARBOR Clio Barnard (Director), Tracy O’Riordan (Producer)
EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP Banksy (Director), Jaimie D’Cruz (Producer)
FOUR LIONS Chris Morris (Director/Writer)
MONSTERS Gareth Edwards (Director/Writer)
SKELETONS Nick Whitfield (Director/Writer)

DIRECTOR
127 HOURS Danny Boyle
BLACK SWAN Darren Aronofsky
INCEPTION Christopher Nolan
THE KING’S SPEECH Tom Hooper
THE SOCIAL NETWORK David Fincher

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BLACK SWAN Mark Heyman, Andrés Heinz, John McLaughlin
THE FIGHTER Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson
INCEPTION Christopher Nolan
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg
THE KING’S SPEECH David Seidler

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
127 HOURS Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Rasmus Heisterberg, Nikolaj Arcel
THE SOCIAL NETWORK Aaron Sorkin
TOY STORY 3 Michael Arndt
TRUE GRIT Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
BIUTIFUL Alejandro González Iñárritu, Jon Kilik, Fernando Bovaira
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Søren Stærmose, Niels Arden Oplev
I AM LOVE Luca Guadagnino, Francesco Melzi D’Eril, Marco Morabito, Massimiliano Violante
OF GODS AND MEN Xavier Beauvois
THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES Mariela Besuievsky, Juan José Campanella

ANIMATED FILM
DESPICABLE ME Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois
TOY STORY 3 Lee Unkrich

LEADING ACTOR
JAVIER BARDEM Biutiful
JEFF BRIDGES True Grit
JESSE EISENBERG The Social Network
COLIN FIRTH The King’s Speech
JAMES FRANCO 127 Hours

LEADING ACTRESS
ANNETTE BENING The Kids Are All Right
JULIANNE MOORE The Kids Are All Right
NATALIE PORTMAN Black Swan
NOOMI RAPACE The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
HAILEE STEINFELD True Grit

SUPPORTING ACTOR
CHRISTIAN BALE The Fighter
ANDREW GARFIELD The Social Network
PETE POSTLETHWAITE The Town
MARK RUFFALO The Kids Are All Right
GEOFFREY RUSH The King’s Speech

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
AMY ADAMS The Fighter
HELENA BONHAM CARTER The King’s Speech
BARBARA HERSHEY Black Swan
LESLEY MANVILLE Another Year
MIRANDA RICHARDSON Made in Dagenham

ORIGINAL MUSIC
127 HOURS AR Rahman
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Danny Elfman
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON John Powell
INCEPTION Hans Zimmer
THE KING’S SPEECH Alexandre Desplat

CINEMATOGRAPHY
127 HOURS Anthony Dod Mantle, Enrique Chediak
BLACK SWAN Matthew Libatique
INCEPTION Wally Pfister
THE KING’S SPEECH Danny Cohen
TRUE GRIT Roger Deakins

EDITING
127 HOURS Jon Harris
BLACK SWAN Andrew Weisblum
INCEPTION Lee Smith
THE KING’S SPEECH Tariq Anwar
THE SOCIAL NETWORK Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter

PRODUCTION DESIGN
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Robert Stromberg, Karen O’Hara
BLACK SWAN Thérèse DePrez, Tora Peterson
INCEPTION Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Doug Mowat
THE KING’S SPEECH Eve Stewart, Judy Farr
TRUE GRIT Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh

COSTUME DESIGN
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Colleen Atwood
BLACK SWAN Amy Westcott
THE KING’S SPEECH Jenny Beavan
MADE IN DAGENHAM Louise Stjernsward
TRUE GRIT Mary Zophres

SOUND
127 HOURS Glenn Freemantle, Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Steven C Laneri, Douglas Cameron
BLACK SWAN Ken Ishii, Craig Henighan, Dominick Tavella
INCEPTION Richard King, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A Rizzo, Ed Novick
THE KING’S SPEECH John Midgley, Lee Walpole, Paul Hamblin
TRUE GRIT Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff, Peter F Kurland, Douglas Axtell

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Nominees TBC
BLACK SWAN Dan Schrecker
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 Tim Burke, John Richardson, Nicolas Ait'Hadi, Christian Manz
INCEPTION Chris Corbould, Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Peter Bebb
TOY STORY 3 Nominees TBC

MAKE UP & HAIR
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Nominees TBC
BLACK SWAN Judy Chin, Geordie Sheffer
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin
THE KING’S SPEECH Frances Hannon
MADE IN DAGENHAM Lizzie Yianni Georgiou

SHORT ANIMATION
THE EAGLEMAN STAG Michael Please
MATTER FISHER David Prosser
THURSDAY Matthias Hoegg

SHORT FILM
CONNECT Samuel Abrahams, Beau Gordon
LIN Piers Thompson, Simon Hessel
RITE Michael Pearce, Ross McKenzie, Paul Welsh
TURNING Karni Arieli, Saul Freed, Alison Sterling, Kat Armour-Brown
UNTIL THE RIVER RUNS RED Paul Wright, Poss Kondeatis

THE ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
GEMMA ARTERTON
ANDREW GARFIELD
TOM HARDY
AARON JOHNSON
EMMA STONE

2010 Golden Globe winners

And the winners are...

Best Motion Picture – Drama
* The Social Network
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
* The Kids Are All Right
Best Director – Motion Picture
* David Fincher for The Social Network
Best Motion Picture- Drama
* The Social Network
Best Motion Picture- Comedy/Musical
* The Kid's Are Alright
Best Director
* David Fincher- The Social Network
Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
* The Social Network: Aaron Sorkin
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
* Colin Firth for The King’s Speech
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
* Natalie Portman for Black Swan
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
* Paul Giamatti for Barney’s Version
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
* Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
* Christian Bale for The Fighter
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
* Melissa Leo for The Fighter
Best Original Song – Motion Picture
* Burlesque: Diane Warren (“You Haven’t Seen The Last of Me”)
Best Original Score – Motion Picture
* The Social Network: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Best Animated Film
* Toy Story 3
Best Foreign Language Film
* In a Better World (Denmark)

Best Television Series – Drama
* “Boardwalk Empire”
Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy
* “Glee”
Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
* “Carlos”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Movie – Television
* Al Pacino for You Don’t Know Jack
Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Movie – Television
* Claire Danes for Temple Grandin
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
* Jim Parsons for “The Big Bang Theory”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
* Laura Linney for “The Big C”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama
* Steve Buscemi for “Boardwalk Empire”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama
* Katey Sagal for “Sons of Anarchy”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role – Television
* Chris Colfer for “Glee”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role – Television
* Jane Lynch for “Glee

Not too much difference between Friday's Critic's Choice awards. Nice to see newcomers to award shows, Katy Sagal and Steve Buscemi pick up wins.

First look at Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man

I know this is a few days after the fact, but just in case anyone missed this...



The new Spider-Man reboot, out July 3, 2012 also stars Emma Stone, Martin Sheen, Sally Field, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary and Campbell Scott. Oscar nominee John Schwartzman ( Seabiscuit, The Rock ) providing the cinematography.

Priest trailer

May 13, 2011

Directed by Scott Charles Stewart ( Legion ) starring Paul Bettany, Karl Urban, Maggie Q, Christopher Plummer, Lily Collins, Brad Dourif, Cam Gigandet.

Premise: PRIEST, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller, is set in an alternate world -- one ravaged by centuries of war between man and vampires. The story revolves around a legendary Warrior Priest from the last Vampire War who now lives in obscurity among the other downtrodden human inhabitants in walled-in dystopian cities ruled by the Church. When his niece is abducted by a murderous pack of vampires, Priest breaks his sacred vows to venture out on a quest to find her before they turn her into one of them. He is joined on his crusade by his niece's boyfriend, a trigger-fingered young wasteland sheriff, and a former Warrior Priestess who possesses otherworldly fighting skills

BFCA winners

Best Picture: The Social Network
Best Director: David Fincher, The Social Network
Best Actor: Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
Best Actress: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Young Actress: Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Best Ensemble: The Fighter
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network
Best Original Screenplay: The King’s Speech
Best Foreign Language Film: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Best Documentary Feature: Waiting for Superman
Best Animation: Toy Story 3
Best Comedy: Easy A
Best Picture Made for TV: The Pacific
Best Action Movie: Inception
Best Cinematography: Inception
Best Editing: Inception
Best Art Direction: Inception
Best Visual Effects: Inception
Best Sound: Inception
Best Makeup: Alice in Wonderland
Best Costume Design: Alice in Wonderland
Best Song: 127 Hours, “If I Rise”
Best Score: The Social Network

Inception- 6, The Social Network- 4, The Fighter- 3, The King's Speech- 2

Jim Carrey's new penguin based film

Jim Carrey's next film which he is currently shooting in New York City, is an adaptation of the 1938 children's novel, Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard & Florence Atwater.

It's about a wealthy New York businessman who finds his life change for the better when he inherits six penguins.

The film is being directed by Mark Waters ( The Spiderwick Chronicles, Mean Girls ) and also starring Carla Gugino, Angela Lansbury, Philip Baker Hall and Madeline Carrol. Look for an August 12th release date.

True Grit surpasses 100 million mark

The Coen brothers have have hit a career mark in box office gross, with True Grit crossing the 100 million mark, with receipts at 103 million, breaking their previous record at 74 million. The film has already made a profit on it's 100 million dollar budget as well.
It's believed that the film will reach the 300 million mark world wide.

Michelle Pfeiffer to star in new film

Popular screenwriter Alex Kurtzman ( Mission Impossible:III, Star Trek ) will be taking his screenwriting talents and go behind the camera for his directorial debut. The writer/director has already lined up a nice cast that includes the likes of Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks and Olivia Wilde and now he's added another name.

There are reports that Michelle Pfeiffer has joined the cast of the drama and will play the mother of Chris Pine's character. In the film, Pfeiffer's estranged husband dies and when her son comes home, a major secret is uncovered: he has a sister (Banks). He is then charged to bring her a $150,000 inheritance. Production is scheduled to begin next week and the film will be released in 2012.

Debra Granik writing Pippi Longstalking treatment

This kind of surprises me as her follow up to the popular indie Winter's Bone. I wouldn't think she'd be doing a children's story.

The LA Times has a great piece up that looks at a number of recent and upcoming films that offer tough, practical heroines that stand in stark contrast to a lot of the female characters that media offers up to young women. One of the highlighted films is Winter’s Bone. Mentioning the latter, the paper drops an interesting tidbit: director Debra Granik is working on a new treatment for Pippi Longstocking with her producing partner Anne Rosellini.
The article calls the character ‘the original tomboy,’ and while the name might evoke for some the image of a character whose time has passed, just refresh on a description of Pippi to see how easily she might be the focus of a film with some broad appeal:

Nine-year-old Pippi is unconventional, assertive, and has superhuman strength, being able to lift her horse one-handed without difficulty. She frequently mocks and dupes adults she encounters, an attitude likely to appeal to young readers; however, Pippi usually reserves her worst behavior for the most pompous and condescending of adults. She turns white around the nose whenever she gets angry, though this rarely happens. Pippi’s anger is reserved for the most extreme cases, such as when a man ill-treats his horse.

Hhmm... still scratching my head. But maybe she will put a new spin on it and make the story all her own.

Thor trailer

May 6

Directed by Kenneth Branagh ( Dead Again ) starring Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Stellen Skarsgard, Kat Dennings, Rene Russo, Idris Elba, Ray Stevenson, Tom Hiddleson, Adriana Barazza.

Premise: The powerful but arrogant warrior Thor is cast out of the fantastic realm of Asgard and sent to live amongst humans on Earth, where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders

Good news... Michael Douglas cancer free !

In his first interview since undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment, the 66-year-old actor said that his tumour is gone and he is confident he has beaten cancer.

'The odds are, with the tumour gone and what I know about this particular type of cancer, that I've got it beat ' Douglas said.

Doctors have warned the Wall Street star that he should not be too quick to dismiss concerns that the cancer could return.

But while he still has to undergo monthly checks, Douglas and wife Catherine Zeta Jones are 'absolutely delighted' at the news.

The Oscar-winning actor, who was given just a 50-/50 chance of surviving the stage four cancer when it was first diagnosed four months ago, is already looking forward to making the most of the rest of his life.

'It's put a timeline on my life. I'm 66 now. You know, I'm fortunate I've got a mother who's 88. She'll kill me. She may be 87. My father's 94. So, you know, I feel good about those genes,' he said.

'But it's definitely a third act. And so you're a little more conscious of your time in how you choose to spend it,' he added.

Douglas had been on tenterhooks waiting to see the results after completing his cancer treatment before Christmas.

But last month, doctors told him his chances of a full recovery had increased to 80 percent and he was spotted taking his 42-year-old wife and two young children, Dylan, ten, and seven-year-old Cary on trips to Disney World. Rumors are that he's ready to tackle the Liberace project next this spring.

Director's Guild nominees

Here's the DGA's 2010 nominees...

Darren Aronofsky- Black Swan
David Fincher- The Social Network
Tom Hopper- The King's Speech
Christopher Nolan- Inception
David O' Russell- The Fighter

Missing in action- Danny Boyle- 127 Hours, Ethan & Jole Coen- True Grit, Debra Granik- Winter's Bone, Mike Leigh- Another Year

I still think Danny Boyle has a good chance at the Oscar's. I'm OK with O'Russell getting a DGA nod. He was lionized there for awhile making many enemies over the years with the Clooney and Tomlin fiasco's. It looks like now he checked his ego at the door and concentrated on making a good film. There's no denying his film and he's the director. He belongs there. Now Darren Aronofsky ? I think he'll be the odd man out at the Oscar's. I think either Debra Granik or Danny Boyle will make that 5th slot.

American Society Of Cinematography nominees

The American Society of Cinematographers announce their 5 nominees for 2010...

Matthew Libatique (Black Swan)
Wally Pfister (Inception)
Danny Cohen (The King’s Speech)
Jeff Cronenweth (The Social Network)
Roger Deakins, ASC (True Grit)

Big omissions- # 1 would be the best cinematography and lighting of the year by the great Robert Richardson on Shutter Island. Not having him on the list is criminal.

This was a very good year for cinematography. I don't get any attention being paid to The Social Network on a technical level. This showering it with nominations in technical categories is lame. Like always all these guilds pick one movie that they clamor over like they don't have a mind for themselves. Just because they have all decided that it's the best movie of the year doesn't automatically put in the cinematography category. I'm sorry, Jeff Crenenweth doesn't have squat on Richardson.
These ACS nominees aren't guaranteed the Oscar nomination though.

Other notable films that could have made the list are 127 Hours, The Ghost Writer, Winter's Bone, The American, Harry Potter & THe Deathly Hallows Part I and Tron:Legacy.

After 3 years Linklater is back

Director Richard Linklater ( Dazed and Confused, School Of Rock ) is back after three years and is currently in post production on the dark comedy Bernie, that stars Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey, Shirley MacLaine and Rip Torn.

The film's premise is set in small-town Texas, the local mortician ( Black ) strikes up a friendship with a wealthy widow ( MacLaine ), though when he kills her, he goes to great lengths to create the illusion that she's alive only to be invested and second guess by the local private investigator ( McConaughey )

No word on when the film will be released only that it will be out in 2011.

UK actor Henry Cavill status growing

There is a somewhat young ( 27 ) actor that seems to be on a acting elevation with some good scripts and film roles coming his way.

British actor Henry Cavill, who some may remember as Evan Rachel Woods's boyfriend in Whatever Works... will be seen in two movies this year, one is The Cold Light Of Day with Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver as his parents in this kidnapping thriller.

Then he can be seen in the action film Immortal ( pictured ) which Cavill co-stars along side Mickey Rourke, Freida Pinto and John Hurt.

I don't think he's on the radar of many people right now but that could change coming into 2012.

On set photos from Hugo Cabtret

Here are some recent photos from the set of Martin Scorsese's next film Hugo Cabret. The film stars Asa Butterfield, Chole Moretz, Ben Kingsley ( pictured ) Sasha Baron Cohen, Jude Law, Christopher Lee, Ray Winstone, Emily Mortimer, Michael Stuhlbarg and Richard Griffith. The great Roberet Richardson is doing the cinematography and long time Scorsese editor Thelma Schoonmaker is naturally cutting the film. This is truly a film to keep your eyes on.
If you didn't know anything about it, the film tells the tale of an orphan boy living a secret life in the walls of a Paris train station. When Hugo encounters a broken automaton, an eccentric girl, and the cold, reserved man who runs the toy shop, he is caught up in a magical, mysterious adventure that could put all of his secrets in jeopardy.
Look for a December 19 release date.

Director Joe Carnahan thrown to the wolves

Joe Carnahan, who brought you some gritty crime films such as Narc and Smokin' Aces, is tackling a different kind of story this time and is getting in pre-production on the outdoor thriller The Grey.

Premise: In Alaska, an oil drilling team struggle to survive after a plane crash strands them in the wild. Hunting the humans are a pack of wolves who see them as intruders.

The film will begin shooting soon in Britsh Columbia, Canada and will star Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulrony, James Badge Dale, Dallas Roberts, Frank Grillo and Joe Anderson. The film will be released some time in 2012.

Happy birthday to Nicolas Cage

Nic Cage turns 47 today. I wish I could ask him to pick better roles these days. The scuttlebutt about his choice in films lately, is that he's taking everything offered because of outstanding debts. That's kind of sad because he really is better than that. Not that all his movies are stinkers, but he seems to crank out about 4 a year and he gets into that sleepwalking mode at times in some of his movies. But because he has won an Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas and he has been good in many films he's more than worthy of a birthday shout out.

Charlize Theron on the set of Young Adult

Charlize Theron is right in the middle of filming her next movie which is titled Young Agult, that just so happens to reunite Juno writer and director Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman. The film also stars Patrick Wilson and Elizabeth Reaser.

The premise of the movie is about a divorced writer ( Theron ) from the Midwest returns to her hometown to reconnect with an old flame ( Wilson ), who's now married with a family.

Shooting is being filmed in New York and Minnesota. Eric Steelberg ( Up In The Air, 500 Days Of Summer )is providing the cinematography.

Quentin Tarantino's top 20 films of 2010

Tarantino's favorite films of 2010:

1. Toy Story 3
2. The Social Network
3. Animal Kingdom
4. I Am Love
5. Tangled
6. True Grit
7. The Town
8. Greenberg
9. Cyrus
10. Enter the Void
11. Kick-Ass
12. Knight and Day
13. Get Him to the Greek
14. The Fighter
15. The King's Speech
16. The Kids Are All Right
17. How to Train Your Dragon
18. Robin Hood
19. Amer
20. Jackass 3-D

His yearly top lists choices are if anything, interesting. I think I have about half of the same movies as him. Curiously, Sofia Coppola's Somewhere did not make the list, although it won the grand prize from the Venice Film Festival jury, which Tarantino chaired as President.

Country Strong Preview/Synopsis

Written and directed by Shana Feste ( The Greatest ) starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Garrett Hedlund, Tim McGraw, Leighton Meester and Marshall Chapman. Cinematography by John Bailey ( The Producers, As Good As It Gets ) Editing by Conor O' Neill ( Murderball ) Original score by Michael Brook ( Into The Wild, Affliction )

Premise: A rising young singer-songwriter, Beau Hutton (Garrett Hedlund), gets involved with fallen country music star Kelly Canter (Gwyneth Paltrow) and the pair embark on a tour to resurrect her career, helmed by her husband/manager, James (Tim McGraw), who accompanies them along with beauty queen-turned-singer Chiles Stanton (Leighton Meester). Complications arising from romantic entanglements and old demons threaten to derail them all.

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements involving alcohol abuse and some sexual content. 112 min.

Oscar chances ? I don 't see it. It's not receiving any pre-Oscar attention at all. The reviews have been mixed at best as well. Personally, I thin k it's way too early for the female version of Crazy Heart so close to Bridges just winning less than a year ago.

Bafta has their nominees to pick from

I don't ever remember having so many nominees in each category. Maybe they have always done this and are just revealing how their voting sysytem is this year.
Note: the asterisk show what film or performance are tabulating the most votes.

Best film nominees

127 Hours
Another Year
Black Swan
The Fighter
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
Made In Dagenham
Shutter Island
The Social Network
The Town
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone

Leading Actor

Aaron Eckhart (Howie) – Rabbit Hole
Ben Affleck (Doug MacRay) – The Town
Colin Firth (King George VI) – The King’s Speech *
James Franco (Aron Ralston) – 127 Hours *
Javier Bardem (Uxbal) – Biutiful *
Jeff Bridges (Marshal Reuben J Cogburn) – True Grit *
Jesse Eisenberg (Mark Zuckerberg) – The Social Network *
Jim Broadbent (Tom) – Another Year
Johnny Depp (Mad Hatter) – Alice In Wonderland
Leonardo DiCaprio (Cobb) – Inception
Leonardo DiCaprio (Teddy Daniels) – Shutter Island
Mark Wahlberg (Micky Ward) – The Fighter
Paul Giamatti (Barney Panofsky) – Barney’s Version
Robert Duvall (Felix Bush) – Get Low
Ryan Gosling (Dean) – Blue Valentine
Glaring omission: Michael Douglas ( Solitary Man )

Leading Actress

Andrea Riseborough (Rose) – Brighton Rock
Annette Bening (Nic) – The Kids Are All Right *
Carey Mulligan (Kathy) – Never Let Me Go *
Gemma Arterton (Alice) – The Disappearance Of Alice Creed
Gemma Arterton (Tamara Drewe) – Tamara Drewe
Hailee Steinfeld (Mattie Ross) – True Grit
Jennifer Lawrence (Ree) – Winter’s Bone
Julianne Moore (Jules) – The Kids Are All Right *
Michelle Williams (Cindy) – Blue Valentine *
Natalie Portman (Nina Sayers / The Swan Queen) – Black Swan *
Nicole Kidman (Becca) – Rabbit Hole
Noomi Rapace (Lisbeth Salander) – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Rosamund Pike (Miriam Grant-Panofsky) – Barney’s Version
Sally Hawkins (Rita O’Grady) – Made In Dagenham
Tilda Swinton (Emma Recchi) – I Am Love

Supporting Actor

Andrew Garfield (Eduardo Saverin) – The Social Network *
Andrew Garfield (Tommy) – Never Let Me Go
Ben Kingsley (Dr Cawley) – Shutter Island
Bill Murray (Frank Quinn) – Get Low
Bob Hoskins (Albert) – Made In Dagenham*
Christian Bale (Dicky Eklund) – The Fighter *
Dustin Hoffman (Izzy Panofsky) – Barney’s Version
Geoffrey Rush (Lionel Logue) – The King’s Speech *
Guy Pearce (King Edward VIII) – The King’s Speech
Jeremy Renner (James Coughlin) – The Town
Justin Timberlake (Sean Parker) – The Social Network
Mark Ruffalo (Paul) – The Kids Are All Right *
Matt Damon (La Boeuf) – True Grit
Pete Postlethwaite (Fergus ‘Fergie’ Colm) – The Town
Vincent Cassel (Thomas Leroy / The Gentleman) – Black Swan
Glaring omission: Michael Douglas ( Wall Street 2 ) John Hawkes ( Winter's Bone )

Supporting Actress

Amy Adams (Charlene Fleming) – The Fighter *
Barbara Hershey (Erica Sayers / The Queen) – Black Swan *
Ellen Page (Ariadne) – Inception
Geraldine James (Connie) – Made In Dagenham
Helena Bonham Carter (Queen Elizabeth) – The King’s Speech *
Helena Bonham Carter (Red Queen) – Alice In Wonderland
Lesley Manville (Mary) – Another Year *
Marion Cotillard (Mal) – Inception
Melissa Leo (Alice Ward) – The Fighter
Mila Kunis (Lily / The Black Swan) – Black Swan
Miranda Richardson (Barbara Castle) – Made In Dagenham *
Olivia Williams (Ruth Lang) – The Ghost
Rebecca Hall (Claire Keesey) – The Town
Rosamund Pike (Lisa Hopkins) – Made In Dagenham
Winona Ryder (Beth Macintyre / The Dying Swan) – Black Swan
Glaring omission: Jacki Weaver ( Animal Kingdom )

Directing

Danny Boyle- 127 Hours *
Tim Burton- Alice In Wonderland
Mike Leigh- Another Year
Darren Aronofsky- Black Swan *
David O'Russell- The Fighter *
David Fincher- The Social Network *
Niels Arden Oplev- The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Christopher Nolan- Inception *
Lisa Cholodenko- The Kid's Are Alright
Tom Hooper- The King's Speech *
Nigel Cole- Made In Dangenham
Martin Scorsese- Shutter Island
Lee Unkrich- Toy Story 3
Ethan and Joel Coen- True Grit
Glaring omission: Debra Granik ( Winter's Bone )

Vanishing On 7th Street trailer

Directed by Brad Anderson ( Transiberian, The Machinist ) Starring Hayden Christianson, Thandie Newton and John Leguizamo.

Premise: A mysterious, seemingly global blackout causes countless amounts of people to simply vanish into thin air, leaving only their clothes and possessions behind. As more and more people disappear, so does daylight, forcing a small handful of survivors to band together in an abandoned, dimly-lit bar on Detroit, Michigan's 7th Street, struggling to combat the apocalyptic threat. Realizing they may in fact be the last people on Earth, the darkness begins to hone in on them alone. As the situation worsens, they know one thing for sure, that only the diminishing light sources can keep them safe. As the lights fail, all the characters vanish one by one until in the end no one is left.

Is it Bale's trophy to lose ?

I just read earlier that Christian Bale has won another precursor best supporting actor award. He's already won a few and has been nominated in several others that haven't chosen their winners yet.

A few months ago I felt the supporting category was going to go to Geoffrey Rush for his fine portrayal as speech therapist Lionel Louge. But now I am sensing the tide shifting over Bale's way. Many are calling his portrayal as Dicky Ekland a career best in a already impressive filmography, basically transforming himself into Ekland physically and emotionally.

It's surprising and a little shocking that Bale has never been nominated for a Academy Award before, but that's starting to look like that will change soon enough when they announce the Oscar nominations later on.

Question is, could there be another person that could cancel Bale or Rush out ? I don't see it this year. You have Andrew Garfield ( The Social Network ) Mark Ruffalo ( The Kid's Are Alright ) Sam Rockwell ( Conviction ) Michael Douglas ( Wall Street 2 ) Bill Murray ( Get Low ) John Hawkes ( Winter's Bone ) Jeremy Renner ( The Town ) and Ed Harris ( The Way Back ) left for the other three slots in that category.

De Niro named this years Cannes Jury President

Acting icon Robert De Niro has been named president of the jury for the 64th Cannes Film Festival this May. Other notable Jury Prize Presidents in the past have been Tim Burton, Quentin Tarantino, Sydney Pollack and Roman Polanski to name just several.

Also on his plate later this month, the actor will be awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement Award.

Fast Five trailer

I have zero interest...but... for those that are " Furious " fans, here's the trailer to the next installment of the franchise...

Why the Meryl Streep backlash ?

I'm going to give my two cents on comments I have read from visiting a website that briefly mentioned what movies you might be seeing in 2011. One of the movies that obviously is getting word of mouth is The Iron Lady; the bio-pic about the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, which will be portrayed by none other than the great Meryl Streep.

To the fans of Streep, this comes across to you like a no brainer choice. But... I was very surprised at the vitriol spewed towards Streep on this site. Many crying foul, that she only chases high profile roles that the voting Academy are well aware of ahead of time. This is straight out rubbish !

I think whoever ( and there seems to be many ) are plain off their rocker. Sure, you are right to your own opinion, but some of you are saying she... sorry Meryl...sucks. You people go back to your crack pipe, and leave great thespians alone. Meryl Streep is a consummate professional and takes her craft very seriously. I think I sense some jealousy in some way. But that doesn't surprise me, for some reasons, there will always be the haters on the good ones.

I am one of the people on board and anticipating Meryl's take on Thatcher. Why would you have a personal vendetta or strong dislike of a actress that never repeats herself twice ? And who can do EVERY genre in film, including comedy, song and dance and pull it off so naturally as Streep does.

I guess that haters and I will have to agree on disagreeing. But... I do know, by fact, that looking back into her filmography, that she has massively spread her acting wings wide and has kept her work fresh.

Bring on The Iron Lady !

2010 Producers Guild Nominations

Producers Guild Nominations 2010

127 HOURS
Producers: Danny Boyle

BLACK SWAN
Producers: Scott Franklin, Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver

INCEPTION
Producers: Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas

THE FIGHTER
Producers: David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, Mark Wahlberg

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
Producers: Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Celine Rattray

THE KING’S SPEECH
Producers: Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin

THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Producers: Dana Brunetti, Ceán Chaffin, Michael De Luca, Scott Rudin

THE TOWN
Producers: Basil Iwanyk, Graham King

TOY STORY 3
Producer: Darla K. Anderson

TRUE GRIT
Producers: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin

Well this looks like a pretty decent best picture list. Though if we go by past PGA nods, the Oscar nominations and PGA nods differ about 80%.

If I had to switch out and predict what will get in and what won't, I guess I would switch out The Town and Black Swan and see Oscar nominating Winter's Bone and Another Year in their place. That's just my prediction.

The Other Woman trailer

February 4th

Written and directed by Don Roos ( The Opposite Of Sex ) starring Natalie Portman, Scott Cohen, Charlie Tahan and Lisa Kudrow.

Premise:Emilia (Portman) is a Harvard law school graduate and a newlywed, having just married Jack (Scott Cohen, "The Understudy"), a high-powered New York lawyer, who was her boss – and married – when she began working at his law firm. Unfortunately, her life takes an unexpected turn when Jack and Emilia lose their newborn daughter. Emilia struggles through her grief to connect with her new stepson William (Charlie Tahan, "I Am Legend"), but is finding it hard to connect with this precocious child. Perhaps the most difficult obstacle of all for Emilia is trying to cope with the constant interferences of her husband's angry, jealous ex-wife, Carolyn (Lisa Kudrow).

Happy birthday Thelma Schoonmaker

Happy 71st birthday to editor extraordinaire, Thelma Schoonmaker. Who is she you may wonder ? She's only been Martin Scorsese's full time editor for the past 30 years, going all the way back to when she edited Woodstock.

She's a three time Oscar winner, snagging trophies for The Departed ( 07 ) The Aviator ( 05 ) and as mentioned previously, for Woodstock ( 1970 )

She has just finished cutting Scorsese's latest project Hugo Cabret that has now entered post production, and will make it to theaters this October.

Character actor Pete Postlethwaite passes away

Mr. Postlethwaite has passed away from a long time bout with cancer. He was just most recently seen in The Town as the crooked flower shop owner Fergie and also made a small appearance in Inception.

He's made many movies with some memorable performances. Probably his most shining moment was playing Gerry Conlan's father Giuseppe for In The Name Of The Father, which earned him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.

He was classically trained at the prestigious Bristol Old Vic Drama School and then spent time with The Royal Shakespeare Company.

Many might remember him most as the mysterious Kobayashi in The Usual Suspects, but he also had impressive turns in The Constant Gardener, The Shipping News, Amistad, The Lost World and Romeo + Juliet to name just several. Steven Spielberg once admitted that Peter Postlethwaite was " the best actor in the world." His presence on screen will certainly be missed. Rest In Peace.

Can Nicole Kidman pull the upset ?

I know that the Oscar nominations have not been made yet obviously, but I have been reading and seeing in a lot of places that discuss the Oscar's and specifically the best actress race, and it looks like most people are saying it's a two woman race between Natalie Portman ( Black Swan )and Annette Bening ( The Kid's Are Alright ).

Though both of those respective performances are very good and will be nominated, I am on the fence about Kidman's performance in Rabbit Hole. It's one of her best performances in years and might arguably be her best of her career. I certainly think it's much more well rounded than her role that won her the Oscar in The Hours.

I don't like forgone conclusion in the Oscar races, where people decided in November who's supposed to win. I'm seeing and reading that most feel Nicole will at least get a nomination for Rabbit Hole, but I have seen all three performances, and right now my thinking is that overall, I think Kidman's performance is the best. For me it would be between Kidman and Portman. You have to give credit where it's due towards Portman, not only is her performance in Black Swan her career best, but she's totally believable as that character and then she did her own point dancing too. Then you have the argument where some people think that Bening wasn't even the best in her movie, that it should go to Julianne Moore. That's a whole other argement.
So we definitely don't have a huge heavy favorite in this category, and I like that. Makes the predicting more interesting and not so easy.

Producers Guild nominations announced Tuesday

Tuesday the Producers Guild will announce their nominations. For many in the know, the Producers Guild nominations usually fall in line very closely in order with the best picture Oscar nominations as well.
Last year they nominated The Hurt Locker, Invictus, Avatar, District 9, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, Up, Up In The Air. All of those earned Academy Awards nominations except for two That's pretty close. The year before they nominated Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Milk and Frost/Nixon. Only The Dark Knight wasn't nominated. So you get the picture.
So when you see the announments Tusesay, those films are probably going to be 80-90% of what you see when the Oscar nominations are announced.

Kill The Irishman trailer

March 11

Directed by Jonathan Hensleigh ( The Punisher )Starring Ray Stevenson, Christopher Walken, Vincent D'Onofrio, Paul Sorvino, Val Kilmer, Bob Gunton, Vinnie Jones, Fionnula Flanagan, Linda Cardellini, Mike Starr, Robert Davi, Jason Butler Harner.

Premise: The true story of Danny Greene, a tough Irish thug working for mobsters in Cleveland during the 1970's.

Sundance Film Fest Schedule

There are 57 feature films selected for the four competition programs of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival which begins this month, and the titles include some exciting works from returning filmmakers (including Oscar-winning documentarian James Marsh, whose 'Man on Wire' also won a Grand Jury Prize at the fest in '08), actors making their feature directorial debuts (Vera Farmiga and Paddy Considine, notably) and plenty of newcomers that we'll have fun being introduced to (such as Barry Levinson's son, Sam) when the event kicks off next month. Some of the stars who will appear in these works and others include Farmiga, Emma Roberts, Kate Bosworth, Demi Moore, Katie Holmes, and John C. Reilly.

One significant entry in the U.S. Dramatic Competition is 'Like Crazy,' a love story starring Anton Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence which marks the second film from Drake Doremus in two years to be competing. His previous work, 'Douchebag," debuted at Sundance in 2010. Doremus spoke with Cinematical today in response to the honor of having back-to-back selections:
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U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION

This year's 16 films were selected from 1,102 submissions. Each is a world premiere.

Another Earth (Director: Mike Cahill; Screenwriters: Mike Cahill and Brit Marling) - On the eve of the discovery of a duplicate Earth, a horrible tragedy irrevocably alters the lives of two strangers, who begin an unlikely love affair. Cast: William Mapother, Brit Marling, Jordan Baker, Robin Lord Taylor, Flint Beverage.

Benavides Born (Director: Amy Wendel; Screenwriters: Daniel Meisel and Amy Wendel) - A high school senior in a forgotten town has earned admission to the University of Texas at Austin but can't afford to go. Her one shot is a scholarship for winning the State Powerlifting Championship. Cast: Corina Calderon, Jeremy Ray Valdez, Joseph Julian Soria, Julia Vera, Julio César Cedillo.

Circumstance/U.S.A., Iran (Director and screenwriter: Maryam Keshavarz) - Iran's new generation fighting for personal freedom in the face of ongoing repression is explored through the lens of a teenage love triangle. Cast: Nikohl Boosheri, Sarah Kazemy, Reza Sixo Safai, Soheil Parsa, Nasrin Pakkho.

Gun Hill Road (Director and screenwriter: Rashaad Ernesto Green) - After three years in prison, Enrique is back in his beloved Bronx, back in the arms of an estranged wife and back in the life of his teenage son, who is stumbling towards a transformation that will put the bonds of their embattled family to the test. Cast: Esai Morales, Judy Reyes, Harmony Santana, Vanessa Aspillaga.

HERE (Director: Braden King; Written By: Braden King and Dani Valent) - On assignment to create a new, more accurate satellite survey of Armenia, an American cartographer forms a powerful bond with an Armenian expatriate and art photographer. Cast: Ben Foster and Lubna Azabal with Narek Nersisyan, Yuri Kostanyan and Sofik Sarkisyan.

Higher Ground (Director: Vera Farmiga; Screenwriters: Carolyn S. Briggs and Tim Metcalfe) - A frustrated young mother turns to a fundamentalist community for answers, but after years of dogma and loss, she must find the courage to ask the questions that will help her reclaim her life. Cast: Vera Farmiga, Joshua Leonard, John Hawkes, Dagmara Dominczyk, Norbert Leo Butz.

Homework (Director and screenwriter: Gavin Wiesen) - Quirky, rebellious George has no ambitions other than to cut his next class. But one day, one girl gives him the perfect reason to figure out who he really is. Cast: Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts, Michael Angarano, Elizabeth Reaser with Rita Wilson and Blair Underwood.

Like Crazy (Director: Drake Doremus; Screenwriters: Drake Doremus and Ben York Jones) - A young American guy and a young British girl meet in college and fall in love. Their love is tested when she is required to leave the country and they must face the challenges of a long-distance relationship. Cast: Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlie Bewley, Alex Kingston.

Little Birds (Director and screenwriter: Elgin James) - Amidst the stark landscape of the Salton Sea, two 15-year-old girls test the limits of their friendship when one follows the other to Los Angeles, only to discover that the boredom of home may be better than learning to survive in the big city. Cast: Juno Temple, Kay Panabaker, Leslie Mann, Kate Bosworth, Kyle Gallner.

Martha Marcy May Marlene (Director and screenwriter: Sean Durkin) - Haunted by painful memories and increasing paranoia, a damaged woman struggles to re-assimilate with her family after fleeing an abusive cult. Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, Brady Corbet, Hugh Dancy, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson.

The Music Never Stopped (Director: Jim Kohlberg; Screenwriters: Gwyn Lurie and Gary Marks, based on the story "The Last Hippie" by Oliver Sacks) - A father struggles to bond with his estranged son who suffers a brain tumor that prevents him from forming new memories. He learns to embrace his son's choices and to try to connect with him through the power of music. Cast: J.K. Simmons, Julia Ormond, Cara Seymour, Lou Taylor Pucci, Mia Maestro. SALT LAKE CITY GALA FILM

On the Ice (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Okpeaha MacLean) - On the snow-covered Arctic tundra, two teenagers try to get away with murder. Cast: Josiah Patkotak, Frank Qutuq Irelan, Teddy Kyle Smith, Adamina Kerr, Sierra Jade Sampson.

Pariah (Director and screenwriter: Dee Rees) - When forced to choose between losing her best friend or destroying her family, a Bronx teenager juggles conflicting identities and endures heartbreak in a desperate search for sexual expression. Cast: Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker, Kim Wayans, Charles Parnell, Aasha Davis.

The Reasonable Bunch (Director and screenwriter: Sam Levinson) - A pair of reckless siblings are dragged into a chaotic family wedding by their overwrought mother. Cast: Demi Moore, Kate Bosworth, Jeffrey DeMunn, Ellen Barkin, Ellen Burstyn, Thomas Haden Church.

Take Shelter (Director and screenwriter: Jeff Nichols) - A working-class husband and father questions whether his terrifying dreams of an apocalyptic storm signal something real to come or the onset of an inherited mental illness he's feared his whole life. Cast: Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham, Katy Mixon, Kathy Baker.

Terri (Director: Azazel Jacobs; Screenwriters: Patrick Dewitt and Azazel Jacobs) - Orphaned to an uncle who is fading away, mercilessly teased by his peers and roundly ignored by his teachers, Terri is alienated and alone. When the dreaded vice-principal sees something of himself in Terri, they establish a friendship which opens Terri up to the possibility that life is not something to be endured, but something to be shared, and even enjoyed. Cast: Jacob Wysocki, John C. Reilly, Creed Bratton, Olivia Crocicchia, Bridger Zadina.

Personally out of them all, I'm really curious and anticipating great character J.K. Simmons actually be a lead and carry a film in The Music That Never Stopped. Also keeping my eyes opne for The Guard as well.