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Vera Farmiga Excited for Madonna movie

Vera Farmiga is looking forward to possibly working with Madonna, even though she’s never seen any of her film work.

The Up in the Air actress said she was delighted Madonna asked her to star in W.E., a project the singer is producing, co-writing and directing. The film tells the story of the relationship between Britain’s King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor.

“She approached me. We sat for a cup of tea and again for a cup of tea. Hopefully, it will all come together. I’m actually not familiar with her work, and I told her this flat-out. She sent a couple of films and I still haven’t seen them,” Farmiga said. “But no matter. I don’t really go by that. I go by other things. I go by scripts. I go with what I think I can do with a character and if I feel a kinetic energy with someone and I feel we can uplift and challenge each other.”

Vera, 36, isn’t bothered that ‘s only other directorial project, 2008’s Filth and Wisdom, was panned by critics because she understands that everyone has early work which won’t necessarily be a success.

“I certainly have things I wouldn’t want people to see,” she admitted to E! Online.

Read More | E! Online

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This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: March 9, 2010

Up in the Air DVDHere are some of the options available today:

  • The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Capitalism: A Love Story: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Hachi: A Dog’s Tale: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Old Dogs: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Paris: DVD, Blu-ray *releases March 10*
  • Planet 51: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Precious: DVD, Blu-ray
  • The Stoning of Soraya M: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Tapeheads: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Up in the Air: DVD, Blu-ray
  • The Who: The Kids are Alright: Blu-ray

Make sure to also check out the TV-on-DVD options for this week.

Read More | Amazon

The 2010 Academy Awards: Live Commentary

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Awards,

Oscar statues

When you throw in an extra host, add five more Best Picture nominees, take away the Best Song performances and nominate two formerly married directors—what do you get? A night that will surely be talked about.

Although many believe the will end with very few surprises, the possibility of an upset is still too great to ignore. Will the box office champ (Avatar) win Best Film as well? Or will The Hurt Locker - or even Inglourious Basterds - take the prize? Is Jeff Bridges a shoo-in for Best Actor…or could BAFTA winner Colin Firth sneak past him? Will Sandra Bullock have to deliver another acceptance speech, or will Meryl Streep take home her first Oscar since 1983?

To find out if the ceremony ends in a world of Hurt or Up in the Air, stay tuned here for the live results!

Click to continue reading The 2010 Academy Awards: Live Commentary

Read More | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

2010 Academy Award Nominations

Academy Award nominations 2010

After the list of nominees were announced this morning, two movies rose to the top of the pack. Avatar and The Hurt Locker - helmed respectively by James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow - both lead the field with nine nominations each. Thankfully, the formerly married directors still get along.

Even though this will be the first time since 1943 (when Casablanca won) that ten films will go up for Best Film, this year’s list only revealed a handful of surprises. Those who have been following other ceremonies during this awards season saw very little changes in the acting categories.

Here are some of the noteworthy mentions/omissions from today’s nominations:

  • Many had hoped The Hangover, Star Trek and/or (500) Days of Summer would go up for Best Picture. Many were left disappointed.
  • Is this the first time Daniel Day-Lewis wasn’t nominated for simply breathing?
  • Acting queen is up now up for her sweet 16th nomination for her role in Julie & Julia. (I believe I will one day see her 20th.)
  • Speaking of leading women, there will be three newcomers going up against vets Streep and (The Last Station): Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Carey Mulligan (An Education) and Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)—someone who wasn’t even an actress to begin with!
  • Disney/Pixar’s will be double-dipping it this year. The feature has been nominated in both the Best Film and Best Animated Film categories.

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Read More | Oscars

Box Office Breakdown: Avatar Makes It a Five-Peat

Avatar's Michelle Rodriguez

The has slowly started to take on water.

Over the holiday weekend, added another $54.6 million to its domestic total ($505 million), bringing it that much closer to The Dark Knight‘s second-place spot. The Golden Globe-winning film, which now stands at approximately $1.6 billion internationally ($200 million shy of Titanic), also became the first film since The Sixth Sense to win five straight weeks in a row.

Meanwhile, - starring Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman - put up good numbers despite finishing in second place. Allen and Albert Hughes’ first movie since 2001’s From Hell raked in an impressive $38.4 million, giving Washington his second best debut ever. (American Gangster took in $43.6 million in 2007.) The receipts also made the film Warner Bros.’ best January opener to date.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Avatar Makes It a Five-Peat

Read More | Box Office Mojo

Box Office Breakdown: Avatar Leaps Further Up the Charts

Leap Year

Hear that sound? That’s knocking on Titanic‘s door.

Over the past three days, Fox’s sci-fi blockbuster padded another $50.3 million to its total, officially making it the top entry of 2009. (Sorry, !) The movie now stands directly behind Jim Cameron’s other film on the international charts ($1.34 billion compared to $1.84 billion) and is ranked 7th on the domestic charts. (The Dark Knight sits on that list at #2 with $533,345,358.)

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Avatar Leaps Further Up the Charts

Read More | Box Office Mojo

Box Office Breakdown: Avatar Dominating the Globe

Avatar

An absence of new movies meant very little change for the overall box office standings. A lack of competition, though, meant lots of movement for .

Over the weekend, the sci-fi extravaganza packed an additional $68.5 million to its already-impressive domestic total. The figure - a record for any entry in its third week - brought the film that much closer to becoming one of the top domestic grossers ever. Avatar ($352.1 million) is now only days away from passing 10th place finisher Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith ($380.3 million).

Internationally, is just a few rungs away from one of his other films. In just 17 days, the 20th Century Fox release has pulled in approximately $1.02 billion. That places Avatar behind only Titanic ($1.84 billion), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ($1.12 billion) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest ($1.07 billion).

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Avatar Dominating the Globe

Read More | Variety

Box Office Breakdown: Sherlock, Avatar Both Winners

Sherlock Holmes

A collection of wide releases contributed to the biggest weekend for movies in box office history.

Over the past three days, theatergoers shelled out over $275 million—a good portion of that going to . Despite slightly disappointing results last week, an improvement in weather - and strong word of mouth - helped the sci-fi flick pack on another $75.2 million to its $212 million domestic total.

Meanwhile, debuted in second place with first place-like numbers. The Guy Ritchie directed-film started its run with a record breaking haul on Christmas Day, only to fall behind the sci-fi entry. But Warner Bros. really has nothing to complain about. Holmes still closed the weekend with $62.4 million in ticket sales.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Sherlock, Avatar Both Winners

Read More | Variety

Box Office Breakdown: Avatar Stifled by Blizzard

Avatar

How big could ‘s debut really been? Thanks to a blizzard, we may never know. James Cameron’s first feature in 12 years pulled in approximately $77 million this weekend, enough to win first place but slightly lower than expectations. The movie, which was produced for around $310 million, never reached its full potential due to weather conditions on the East Coast.

As it was, the movie came in behind 2007’s I Am Legend for the best December opener ever. (The Will Smith film debuted to $77.2 million.) The 3D entry also ranked sixth - behind Star Trek, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and New Moon - for domestic debuts this year.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Avatar Stifled by Blizzard

Read More | Yahoo! Movies

2010 Screen Actors Guild Award Nominations (Film)

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories:

Precious

On January 17, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will award their choices for the 2009-10 film season. But on January 23, the people who star in those movies will declare their winners at the 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Here are some of the noteworthy mentions from this year’s list of film nominees:

  • , Inglourious Basterds, Up in the Air lead the pack with three mentions each.
  • Although Nine received a nomination for Best Ensemble, there were no individuals honored. (Could that be a Daniel Day-Lewis first?)
  • He may have been snubbed by the Golden Globes, but Jeremy Renner is getting his love now. The Hurt Locker star is up for Best Actor category.
  • Since the SAGs don’t differentiate between comedy and drama, Sandra Bullock, Meryl Streep and Matt Damon will have to settle for one nom each.

The will air Saturday, Jan. 23 on both TBS and TNT.

(You can find the full list of film nominees after the jump. Click here for the TV nominations.)

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Read More | Screen Actors Guild Awards

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