Lauren Bacall: Hollywood’s Glamour Girl Awarded Special Oscar

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Awards, Celeb News

She starred opposite Marilyn Monroe, Lionel Barrymore, Gary Cooper, Paul Newman, John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and Bogie…to name just a few. She was considered a quintessential glamour girl, she of smoky voice and killing one-liners. As the wife of Humphrey Bogart, she would have been Hollywood royalty anyway, but Lauren Bacall became a movie queen in her own right as early as 1945.

And she’s still working. Bacall recently appeared in Eve, has already wrapped on Wide Blue Yonder (it’s in post-production) and is currently working on Carmel (scheduled for a 2010 release). Appearing in more than fifty films, Lauren Bacall was nominated for an Academy Award only once in her career. This nod was given for her role in The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996), though she lost to Juliette Binoche (Best Supporting Actress, The English Patient).

Now, she’s getting another long-awaited nod from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Bacall will be awarded with an honorary Oscar to commemorate her four-decade Hollywood career, specifically for her “extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy.”

Well, Bacall probably qualifies for all of that.

Read More | Entertainment Tonight

• Tools:
• Permalink
• Comments (0)
• Digg This
• Share on Facebook
• Email this story

Academy’s Best Picture Field Grows to Ten

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Awards

As strange as the Golden Globes are (why are all the Best Supporting actors lumped into one category?), there are several reasons why that ceremony trumps the Oscars. In addition to the laid-back feel (an endless flow of alcohol helps), the ceremony annually gives ten movies a chance to shine. That’s five more than the Academy Awards does! That is, until now

Beginning in 2010, the Academy Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will do something it hasn’t done in nearly seven decades. At the 82nd Annual Academy Awards, ten nominees will all be lumped into one Best Picture category. (That’s one less than the Globes.) The last time the category was that broad, Casablanca emerged as the winner. (That year was 1943.)

Low broadcast ratings (artsy projects in limited release tend to alienate viewers) and backlash from angry Dark Knight fans (a film can be #1 and be worthy too) were likely factors in the decision.

“Having 10 Best Picture nominees is going allow Academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar categories but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize,” Academy president Sid Ganis said.

The 2010 Academy Awards airs Sunday, March 7, 2010 on ABC.

Read More | Futon Critic

• Tools:
• Permalink
• Comments (1)
• Digg This
• Share on Facebook
• Email this story

Film Academy Pays Tribute to 1939

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Action, Adaptation, Drama, Period, Political, Comedy, Awards

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decided to pay homage to one of the greatest years for movies by honoring ten legendary films from 1939. The Goldwyn Theater will offer up one of these treats every single week.

The tribute starts with what I believe to be the greatest of all stories told in book or cinema, Gone With the Wind. This Oscar-sweeping hit won most all the big awards in ‘39 and features the amazing pairing up Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable. Gable’s famous exit line remains the greatest in film history, as named by the American Film Institute. Scarlett O’Hara’s last spoken line - “tomorrow is another day” - is ranked twelfth by the AFI.

Click to continue reading Film Academy Pays Tribute to 1939

Read More | LA Times

• Tools:
• Permalink
• Comments (0)
• Digg This
• Share on Facebook
• Email this story

Top Oscar Moment: Ben Stiller

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Celebrity Gossip

The Academy Awards ceremony is always the biggest night in Hollywood. The movie elite put on their fancy clothes, get decked out in diamonds and spend an entire evening patting each other on the back even as they continue to entertain us, the viewers. Thanks.

It’s supposed to be a glittery, glamorous event where the movies of a single year are celebrated - and sure, it is that. It is also an opportunity to see the stars in their finest hour and in their finery, a chance to decide which movies we ought to rent at the video store and a reason to scream at the TV (“I can’t believe that movie won again!”).

It’s hours and hours of award-giving, speech-making and montage-playing, and for the most part it’s pretty boring. But in between all that filler there are a few moments that are worth noticing. At this year’s Oscar ceremony, there was one moment which is sure to live on in Internet video clip history for a long, long time. I’m talking about the greatest moment of the night - acceptance speeches notwithstanding.

Click to continue reading Top Oscar Moment: Ben Stiller

Read More | YouTube

• Tools:
• Permalink
• Comments (0)
• Digg This
• Share on Facebook
• Forum Discussion
• Email this story

The 2009 Academy Awards: Live Commentary

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Awards

After a year away from live Oscars coverage, I’m thrilled to be back for the 2009 Academy Awards.

Even though Dark Knight‘s snub will probably keep a number of viewers away (how many can honestly say they’ve seen The Reader?), I’m eagerly anticipating several moments from this evening’s broadcast.

Will Heath Ledger’s family bring the house to tears? Is Mickey Rourke going to make the producers wince? Will the cameras pan to Brangelina after Jennifer Aniston’s presentation? Are Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron really (really?) going to do a song and dance number?

To find out if this will be the year of the Slumdog or the underdog, stay tuned here for the live results!

Click to continue reading The 2009 Academy Awards: Live Commentary

Read More | Oscars

• Tools:
• Permalink
• Comments (0)
• Digg This
• Share on Facebook
• Email this story

Javier Bardem Won’t Present Oscar to Penelope Cruz

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Awards, Celebrity Gossip

Thanks to a scheduling conflict, one of Sunday’s most highly-anticipated moments will not happen as predicted.

Should Penelope Cruz win the award for Best Supporting Actress (that’s the way things seem to be trending right now), the statue will not handed to her by Javier Bardem. Although that job usually goes to the previous year’s Best Supporting Actor winner, Cruz’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona costar - and real-life boyfriend - won’t actually be in attendance.

According to E! Online, the No Country for Old Men actor will not be able to break away from a shoot in Barcelona. He is currently there filming Biutiful with director Alejandro González Iñárritu.

But it turns out Bardem’s presence would have been a moot point anyway. The producers are supposedly breaking with tradition and mixing up their lineup of presenters.

Read More | E! Online

• Tools:
• Permalink
• Comments (0)
• Digg This
• Share on Facebook
• Email this story

Ledger’s Family to Accept on Behalf of Heath

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Awards

Should Heath Ledger win the Academy Award later this month, you can expect a passionate acceptance speech from that Kodak stage.

Over the past few weeks, director Christopher Nolan and Gary Oldman have stepped in on Ledger’s behalf. Now someone else will have the honor.

According to Nolan, members of Heath’s family will be the ones accepting any posthumous Oscar given to the Dark Knight star. Although it’s not known which relatives might take the mic, Ledger’s father, mother and sister have all spoken to the media before.

The 81st Annual Academy Awards will air live Sunday, February 22nd on ABC.

Read More | Entertainment Weekly

• Tools:
• Permalink
• Comments (0)
• Digg This
• Share on Facebook
• Email this story

2009 Academy Award Nominations

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Awards

Despite no major wins for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at Jan. 11’s Golden Globes, the film lead all entries at this morning’s Academy Award nominations. The Brad Pitt feature will go into next month’s ceremony with 13 opportunities to walk away with at least one statue. (Slumdog Millionaire will have 10 chances.)

Here are some of the noteworthy mentions from today’s press conference:

• Kate Winslet (The Reader) - a double-winner just a few weeks ago - only received one nomination this morning. Meryl Streep will only get one chance as well for her role in Doubt.
• Although it wasn’t represented at the Globes, Frozen River was recognized several times today.
• Heath Ledger‘s nomination (on the anniversary of his death!) was expected; The Dark Knight‘s omission was a disappointment.
• Four acting nods for Doubt didn’t equate to an honor for the film.
• Several pleasant announcements in the Best Actor/Supporting Actor categories: Richard Jenkins (The Visitor), Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road) and Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder). Shannon got the only major nom for his picture.

Click to continue reading 2009 Academy Award Nominations

Read More | Oscars

• Tools:
• Permalink
• Comments (0)
• Digg This
• Share on Facebook
• Email this story

Dark Knight Gets Its January Return Date

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Sequels, Thrillers, Awards, Box Office, Distribution

You might want to hold off buying that Batman DVD just a little while longer.

Although The Dark Knight will be available for home video starting this Tuesday, the movie will soon be hitting a much larger screen. Starting January 23rd, the second-highest domestic grosser of all time will once again be entering the multiplexes.

Why now? Well, there are two very good reasons. Those who don’t recognize the significance of the “premiere” date should know that it was chosen for a reason. January 23rd just happens to fall one day after the Oscar nominations are announced. Could Warner Bros. be planning on a posthumous nod for Heath Ledger? If so, a re-release could remind voters of this summer’s most noteworthy performance.

And the second reason? Money. Knight is very close to reaching the $1 billion mark. Another $4 million will put the blockbuster in a group currently occupied by Titanic, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.

Read More | Variety

• Tools:
• Permalink
• Comments (0)
• Digg This
• Share on Facebook
• Email this story

Dark Knight Set to Re-Release in January

Posted by Kathleen Kane Categories: Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Classics, Mystery, Sequels, Thrillers, Awards, Box Office, Distribution

Warner Bros. now has plans to re-release Christopher Nolan’s record-breaking Batman sequel this January.

While I initially heard the news of The Dark Knight‘s re-release plan, I was excited to see that it may have a second chance to break Titanic‘s record; however, I was met with disappointment to discover that their motives linked to more materialistic goal named Oscar.

January is the prime voting season for the Academy Awards, and those determined folks at Warner Bros. don’t want anyone over there to forget about that impressive summer blockbuster of theirs.

Click to continue reading Dark Knight Set to Re-Release in January

Read More | The Hollywood Reporter

• Tools:
• Permalink
• Comments (1)
• Digg This
• Share on Facebook
• Email this story