Weekend Screening Schedule

Three big movies open this weekend.

The first is Semi-Pro starring Will Ferrell. I already ranted about him yesterday, so I'm just going to take a deep berath and move on to the next film, which is The Other Boleyn Girl. Reviews are mostly mixed/negative, but I'll still waste $12 on it for Eric Bana, and in case there are any camp moments between Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman (no wonder I'm always so broke...)

Also opening is Penelope, which if memory serves me correctly was supposed to open last year. I don't need a pig nose to smell a bomb here. Look for this one to come and go without too much damage.

What will you be seeing this weekend?

PS - our very first interactive survery/poll will begin this weekend, so stay tuned! I'll have details for you tomorrow.

When will it end?

Not only is Will Ferrell starring in this weekend's "Semi-Pro," it also appears he'll be in the upcoming summer comedy "Step Brothers" co-starring John C. Reilly. Have a look:



Few things in Hollywood confuse me more than the ever-lasting power of Will Ferrell. Shouldn't people have grown sick of him by now? In the span of five years, he's gone from charming and likeable to perhaps the most painfully unfunny guy on Earth. I just don't get it.

What gives, bloggers? Why does Ferrell keep making these inane movies, and when will it stop?

Gary Susman on Sunday's Oscars

Gary Susman posted a great piece at PopWatch which criticizes those who had problems with Sunday's telecast.

I have major fears of what Gil Cates might do to next year's telecast, assuming gets the job, but hopefully he'll listen to what Susman has to say:

There's been a lot of handwringing and fingerpointing over the record low ratings of Sunday's Oscar telecast, but it's actually pretty easy to place the blame: It's mainstream Hollywood's fault. People didn't watch because they didn't have a rooting interest in the nominated movies, since they hadn't seen most of them. And that's because they were mostly indie movies that didn't have the marketing and distribution behind them that big-studio movies typically have. Viewership always spikes in those years when hit movies that have been well marketed and widely distributed are the top contenders (Titanic, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Departed). But those years are almost accidental now because the studios generally are not in the business of making Oscar-worthy movies. They've left that business to the indies (or the studios' own quasi-indie specialty divisions). The Oscars has therefore become a niche show, not much different from the Independent Spirit awards, only with better clothes. The mystery isn't why fewer people are watching, it's why the Oscars can draw an audience as large as that for an American Idol season premiere.

Read the rest HERE.

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I agree with pretty much everything Susman has to say here. And even if Hollywood was desperate to find a popular movie to nominate they could have easily went with "The Bourne Ultimatum," a rave reviewed and now 3-time Oscar-winning film. But that's another story.

What do you think of Susman's piece?

A Look Ahead To...March

Now that the 2007 Oscar race is officially over, it's time for us to move forward.

2008 predix won't be revealed until April. Of course, I'm already obsessing over them (Go Kate Winslet, Frank Langella and Viola Davis!) but right now I need a tiny break from everything Oscar. I'm sure all of you do, too.

In the meantime, here's a look at a couple of movies I'll be keeping my eye on over the next 31 days:

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Release Date: March 7
Starring: Frances McDormand, Amy Adams

---I really don't see this going anywhere with Oscar. Maybe a costume or a makeup nod, but nothing major. As for the acting: pending good reviews, Frances McDormand could make it to the Globes, but I don't see it happenng. And Amy Adams, well, she'll have her hands full with "Doubt" in the fall.


Stop-Loss
Release Date: March 28
Starring: Ryan Phillippe, Channing Tatum

---I don't expect much from this one, either, but it's nice to see Kimberly Pierce working again. This is shockingly her first film since "Boys Don't Cry," which of course won Hilary Swank her first Oscar in '99. Where has Pierce been, I wonder?

Oscar Recap: 2007

Now that I've had an extra day to think about it, here's a quick rundown of Oscar's 5 best and worst moments from Sunday:

5 BEST:

05. Markéta Irglová's speech
---In today's world of rushed speeches, this was a nice gesture by Jon Stewart. And speaking of which...

04. Jon Stewart
---I wouldn't say he knocked it out of the park, but Stewart hit all the right notes when they were needed. Best moments: his "Oh, he went there!" jabs at Angelina Jolie and Cate Blanchett.

03. Bourne's mini-sweep
---The "Bourne" franchise had some incredible tech work over the years so it was nice to see it finally get recognized on this level. And now it looks like they'll be adding a fourth "Bourne" to the series, which I couldn't be more thrilled about. Oscar nods for Matt Damon and Joan Allen? A guy can dream.

02. Cate Blanchett reacing to her Best Actress clip
---This pic says it all:

01. The acting winners
---Even if they weren't your top picks, you can't really go wrong with these winners. There isn't a Jennifer Hudson or a Hilary Swank in the bunch.


5 WORST:

05. Katherine Heigl
---Please don't tell us how nervous you are, because we couldn't care less.

04. Filler montages
---The binocular montage was one thing, but Sid Ganis' trip to Price Waterhouse was just an obvious attempt to fill time that could have been better allocated elsewhere.

03. The return of Bee Movie
---Why did we have the bee presenting when the film wasn't nominated? Is it coming out on DVD or something?

02. The acting clips
---Boring and predictable. Once again, Oscar failed to reach the heights of Naomi Watts' clip in 2003.

01. The "Enchanted" numbers
---Subjecting us to three painful numbers from "Enchanted" nearly brought the show to a screching halt. While I didn't think Amy Adams' lonely performance of "The Happy Working Song" was as bad as others - it took balls for her to get up there - watching Kristin Chenoweth butcher "That's How You Know" and John McLaughlin take 10 minutes to sing "So Close" was enough to make me want to hate "Enchanted" forever.

The Best FASHION:

Sadly, I wasn't too thrilled with what I saw on the red carpet. Yes, there was a lot of red, but there weren't enough standouts. Still, here are my picks for the night's best dressed celebs:


And for the WORST:

Daniel Day-Lewis was a big winner inside the Kodak, but wife Rebecca Miller hit all the wrong notes on the red carpet:

And that about wraps up another Oscar season here at Everything Oscar! I had a blast, even if it the race itself wasn't all that thrilling.

What about you guys? What did you think of Sunday's Oscar telecast? What were the best and worst moments? Who were the best and worst dressed stars? And what did you think of the race overall now that it's over?

Quick Reactions

I'll have a full recap for you late tomorrow evening, but in the meantime here's what's going through my head at the moment:

---Great winners. For the first time in years, I have no qualms about any of the winners in the top 8 categories. Yes, Diablo Cody's win kind of sucked, but it was expected. And how can you bitch when such great performances won in each of the acting categories? I love it.


Other than that, there isn't much else I can think of at the moment. Although I kind of hate "Enchanted" after having to sit through the 3 song performances tonight. They should have just done a medley like they did with "Dreamgirls" last year.

What about you? What are your quick reactions for the evening?

Oscar Winners

Full recap tomorrow evening. Discuss the winners in the comment sections below!

BEST PICTURE: No Country for Old Men
BEST DIRECTOR: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
BEST ACTOR: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
BEST ACTRESS: Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Juno
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: No Country for Old Men
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: The Counterfeiters
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Ratatouille
BEST DOCUMENTARY: Taxi to the Dark Side
BEST ART DIRECTION: Sweeney Todd
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: There Will Be Blood
BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Elizabeth: The Golden Age
BEST FILM EDITING: The Bourne Ultimatum
BEST MAKEUP: La Vie En Rose
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: Atonement
BEST ORIGINAL SONG: "Falling Slowly" - Once
BEST SOUND DESIGN: The Bourne Ultimatum
BEST SOUND EDITING: The Bourne Ultimatum
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: The Golden Compass
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT: Freeheld
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM: Le Mozart des Pickpockets
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM: Peter & the Wolf


Enjoy the show!

Open Thread

Having last minute jitters? Anxious for the show to start? Wondering who will be best dressed? Post your thoughts below.

Winners Predix Finalized...For Now

It's getting late so I'm going to go ahead and finalize my winners predix for the time being. You can view them in full here.

I decided to go with Marion Cotillard for Best Actress in the end. Julie Christie's probably going to win, but it's so hard to ignore all of Cotillard's pros. As others have said, she's young. She's beautiful. She gives a huge performance playing a real life legend no less. That screams Oscar.


Yet I'm not entirely convinced of the predicted outcome, so I'll sleep on it for now. If I decide to make any changes, it'll have to be before 12:00 PM EST. Otherwise, these are set.

Enjoy, and see you in the afternoon.

Call It, Friendo

Supporting Actress is such a mindf#@! this year that it's literally impossible to feel confident about predicting anybody. You could literally make a case for all of the nominees: Cate Blanchett's performance was the most talked about, and she won the Globe for it. Ruby Dee won the SAG, and's she's been in the business for decades. Saoirse Ronan is a kid in a Best Picture nominee, and you know how much they love that here. Amy Ryan swept the critics awards and her performance was the very definition of supporting. And Tilda Swinton is in the only film with multiple acting nominees, and she just won the BAFTA.

So who takes home the gold? I really have no idea. Odds are it will probably be Cate Blanchett, but Dave Karger and Nathaniel Rogers both went with Tilda Swinton so I might as well, too. They were right about Laura Linney. Plus: Michael Clayton has to win somewhere, right?

On a completely irrelevent side note: Even though I nominated Swinton and Ronan on my own ballot, I'm actually pulling for an Amy Ryan win. Her final scene in "Gone Baby Gone" still haunts me to this day.

What about you guys? Who are you predicting to win it? And most importantly: who are you rooting for?

Final Best Actress updates coming within the next hour.

Winners Predix In Progress

Here are my final winners predix in the folllowing categories:

Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Original Screenplay
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Animated Feature
Tech Categories

I'll tell you: I didn't have to think twice about Best Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor or the Screenplay categories. They've been locked up for at least a month now.

The tech categories were a little trickier to figure out. In past years I've taken chances on things ("It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp" being my favorite) but this year I'm not feeling too gutsy. Still, it'll be interesting to see if "Bourne" can actually pull off an Editing win, and if Kevin O'Connell will finally win an Oscar for Best Sound Design. Right now I'm predicting both to happen, but I'm doubtful.

Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress will be updated in a couple of hours. I'm really feeling the Cotillard buzz for some reason. Am I crazy?

And what about Supporting Actress? Should I go with Tilda Swinton, or should I stick with odds on favorite Cate Blanchett? Or what about Ruby Dee? Or Amy Ryan? Or Saoirse Ronan? SOS, bloggers!!

Also be sure to check out the 6th Annual Everything Oscar! Awards WINNERS while you're at it. See you in a few.

6th Annual Everything Oscar! Awards Winners

Winners for the 6th Annual Everything Oscar! Awards have been announced. Click HERE to view them in full.

What do you think of my winners? Were they expected? Were there any surprsies? And how do you think they'll compare to Oscar's picks tomorrow evening?

Razzie Winners

Oh, these are so great:

Worst Picture:
I Know Who Killed Me

Worst Actor:
Eddie Murphy (as Norbit)
NORBIT

Worst Actress (TIE) :
Lindsay Lohan (as Aubrey) and
Lindsay Lohan (as Dakota)
I KNOW WHO KILLED ME

Worst Supporting Actress:
Eddie Murphy (as Rasputia)
NORBIT

Worst Supporting Actor:
Eddie Murphy (as Mr. Wong)
NORBIT


Worst Screen Couple:
Lindsay Lohan
and
Lindsay Lohan
(as The Yang to Her Own Yin)
I Know Who Killed Me

Worst Remake Or Rip-off:
I Know Who Killed Me
Rip-Off of HOSTEL, SAW and THE PATTY DUKE SHOW

Worst Prequel or Sequel:
Daddy Day Camp

Worst Director:
Chris Siverston
I Know Who Killed Me

Worst Screenplay:
I Know Who Killed Me
Written by Jeffrey Hammond

Worst Excuse for a Horror Movie:
I Know Who Killed Me

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Speaking of bad, the 6th Annual Everything Oscar! Winners will be announced in the next hour or two. I'm still debating over a couple of categories.

Weekend Screening Schedule

I'll be prepping for Oscar all weekend, so the movie theater is the last place you're likely to find me.

The good news is: nothing of note is opening, excpet for maybe Be Kind Rewind, which opened to mixed-positive reviews. Vantage Point might have been worth mentioning, but it was overpromoted to the point where I wouldn't want to see it even if it were 100% fresh on Rotten Tomoatoes.

What about you guys? Will be it a full weekend at the movies or are you more concerned about Oscar's telecast on Sunday?

Oscar Party Conversational Guide

If you're hosting or attending an Oscar party on Sunday, Heather Huntington of Reelz Channel offers a useful and humorous guide to surviving the casual telecast chatter.

Here's the link.

Oscar's Very Own YouTube Channel

The Academy's been pretty stingent about taking down Oscar videos in the past, but now it appears that they've launched their own channel on YouTube. Click HERE to see it in action.

Unfortunately, embedding has been disabled, but here's a link to my favorite Best Actress win: Diane Keaton for "Annie Hall."

Enjoy!

Biggest Oscar Snubs Ever According to EW

EW continues its list of the 100 Biggest Oscar Snubs Ever! with numbers 70-51. Here are the links to parts TWO and ONE.


What do you think of the list so far? And if you were voting, what would be your picks for the biggest Oscar snubs ever?

Sweeney, Glory, Compass Win Big at CDG

"Blades of Glory," "Sweeney Todd" and "The Golden Compass" won the 10th annual Costume Designers Guild Awards in feature film Tuesday evening.


Julie Weiss won the excellence in contemporary film award for the Will Ferrell comedy "Blades of Glory"; Colleen Atwood won the Costume Designers Guild prize for excellence in period film for the dark musical "Sweeney Todd" and Ruth Myers received the prize for excellence in fantasy film for "The Golden Compass." Myers also received the Lacoste Career Achievement in Film Award. Atwood is also nominated for an Academy Award.

Full story HERE.

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How will this effect Oscar? Is Sweeney set for a costume win or will another film take the prize?

NY Times Talks Oscar with Jon Stewart

Here's an interesting interview with Jon Stewart featured on the Times' website:

LOS ANGELES — In the bowels of the Kodak Theater, one floor below the auditorium where the elaborate set for the Academy Awards telecast on Sunday was already in place, Jon Stewart, unshaved and wearing Army boots, was sitting in his modest dressing room, just back from the latest planning session with his writing team.

Somehow, despite the fact that he had all of eight days to prepare for his role this Sunday as host of the Super Bowl of entertainment shows, he was, by his own words and all visual evidence, utterly relaxed. Maybe it was because finally, after 100 days of forced separation, he could talk to his writers again.

More HERE.

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What do you think? How excited are you for Stewart's big return to the Kodak?

My Blueberry Nights Trailer

From Apple's Japanese website.

What's the verdict? Will it make a dent this year or will it open without a bang?

With 6 Days to Go...

...how are YOU planning to celebrate the Oscars?

Since the writers strike dominated much of the season I didn't even think to make plans. Part of me wasn't even sure if we'd get a ceremony, which is why the idea of a relaxing night at home sounds better than anything else.

What about you?

The Trades on "The Other Boleyn Girl"

Variety:

Playing less fast and loose with history than Philippa Gregory's novel, "The Other Boleyn Girl" is a sexy, good-looking political bodice-ripper with an almost flawless cast at the top of its game. With a straight-arrow script by Peter Morgan ("The Queen") and smooth direction by Brit TV helmer Justin Chadwick ("Bleak House"), pic has the feel of an Old Hollywood studio costumer freshened up with contempo technique and acting styles. Tip-top cast, led by Eric Bana and Scarlett Johansson as Henry VIII and Mary Boleyn, could make this score beyond upscale auds with aggressive promotion and good reviews.

Read the rest HERE!


The Hollywood Reporter:

BERLIN -- Anne Boleyn was the one who managed to stay alive while married to England's King Henry VIII for 1,000 days, but her sister Mary in "The Other Boleyn Girl" would have been his queen if only she had been better at making babies.

That, of course, was always the problem. The Tudor line's grip on the throne was invariably threatened by the lack of a son, even though it would be daughter Elizabeth who reigned in the nation's golden age.

More HERE.

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The Variety review is promising, but I had a feeling this one was pushed back for a reason. Still: perhaps it's in for a Costume nod? We'll see.

Bourne, Sweeney Win ACE

From Variety:

The American Cinema Editors handed out a slew of awards this evening that included top honors for "The Bourne Ultimatum" and "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" in the drama and comedy categories for narrative features. Michael Moore's "Sicko" won out in the documentary field.

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Could "Bourne" do the same on Sunday? I had anticipated a "No Country" sweep, but I'll keep the hope alive if you'll let me.

Updates

Final updates continue tonight, and will finish off sometime during the next week. I can't say they're terribly exciting predix, but then again I can't say it's been a terribly exciting race, either.

But for now:

Best Picture
Best Director
Best Supporting Actor
Best Original Screenplay
Best Adapted Screenplay

Best Supporting Actress will be up by the weekend. I still have no idea who's gonna win that one. What about you?

YouTube Clip of the Week: The Pianist

With the Oscar race becoming duller by the minute, I long for more surprises like this one.

Enjoy:

Presenting the Presenters

And Miley Cyrus continues her quest for world domination:

At a press conference held at the Academy’s headquarters today (Thursday), Cates and Ganis announced the presenters scheduled to date, including all four of last year’s winners in the acting categories—Alan Arkin, Jennifer Hudson, Helen Mirren and Forest Whitaker—as well as Amy Adams, Jessica Alba, Cate Blanchett, Josh Brolin, Steve Carell, George Clooney, Penelope Cruz, Miley Cyrus, Patrick Dempsey, Cameron Diaz, Colin Farrell, Harrison Ford, Jennifer Garner, Tom Hanks, Anne Hathaway, Katherine Heigl, Jonah Hill, Dwayne Johnson, Nicole Kidman, James McAvoy, Queen Latifah, Seth Rogen, Martin Scorsese, Hilary Swank, John Travolta, Denzel Washington and Renee Zellweger.

Cates and Ganis also announced the performers of the nominated songs. Amy Adams will sing “Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted” (music by Alan Menken and lyric by Stephen Schwartz). Also from “Enchanted” (and written by Menken and Schwartz) will be “That’s How You Know,” sung by Kristin Chenoweth and Marlon Saunders, and “So Close,” to be performed by Jon McLaughlin.

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova will perform their nominated song, “Falling Slowly,” from the motion picture “Once,” and Jamia Simone Nash will perform “Raise It Up,” from “August Rush,” with the IMPACT Repertory Theatre of Harlem, headed by Jamal Joseph, who shares the song’s music and lyric credit with Charles Mack and Tevin Thomas.

Also scheduled to return to the Oscar telecast team will be writers Hal Kanter, Buz Kohan, Jon Macks and Bruce Vilanch.

Second-time Oscar show host Jon Stewart will also bring on several writers to work on the telecast.

Source.

Writers Strike is Over, Says NY Times

According to The New York Times, the Writers Strike has officially come to an end after a lengthy 3 month battle.

Great news for everyone involved, and even better news for we Oscar bloggers since it looks like we'll get a ceremony after all. Horray!

Best Actress Updates

Best Actress seems like it should be the easiest category to predict this year. Julie Christie has won virtually every precursor out there, and fits the mold of a Best Actress winner like a glove.


Still, I wonder: do people like Marion Cotillard, who just won the BAFTA, and Ellen Page still have a shot? Can either one upset or is Julie Christie too far out in front? And what about Laura Linney? Was she nominated for a reason or was the nomination simply her reward?

Discuss.

YouTube Clip of the Week. Plus: BAFTA Winners Announced!

In honor of "Atonement's" BAFTA win today, here's a short clip of one of my favorite scenes from the movie (sans a crucial and damaging word):



To view the full list of BAFTA winners, click HERE.

Best Actor Updates

Winners predix (finally!) begin with BEST ACTOR.

Yes, this is arguably the easiest race to predict, but I'm sick like a dog so cut me some slack here.

Questions for you all, though: is Day-Lewis really unstoppable, or can someone like Johnny Depp pull off an 11th hour upset? Also: assuming there will be a telecast, which scenes would you select for the acting clips in this category? And finally: which snubbed actors should have made the final five?

Discuss below.

Weekend Screening Schedule

If you're wondering why I haven't blogged all week, it's because I've been hit with possibly the worst case of the flu ever. It hit me on Wednesday afternoon and I've literally been asleep up until 5 minutes ago. Word to the wise: never, ever sleep with your window open in the winter.

Luckily, I'm starting to feel better. I won't be making it to the theater or anything crazy like that, but in case you're thinking about it, here are the new releases:

Fool's Gold (9% on Rotten Tomatoes)
Welcome to Roscoe Jenkins (32%---I had never heard of this until I saw a TV spot today in my state of delirium)
Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show 52%)

Category updates TOMORROW!

Oscar Nominees Luncheon Photos

The Oscar Luncheon was held today, and among the atendees was the very beautiful Marion Cotillard, seen here:

More pics HERE.

And here's the group shot that 17 was searching for, courtesy of Awards Daily:


To view a larger size, click HERE.

Fingers crossed that the writers strike rumors are true.

YouTube Clip of the Week: The Painted Veil

Such an underrated movie. The Academy totally missed out on strong nods for Best Actor, Actress, Screenplay and Score...

No Country for Old Men Wins PGA

Read the full story HERE.


The Best Picture race was over months ago, but this pretty much solidifes it once and for all. What do you think?

Weekend Movie Schedule

With movies like "The Eye" and "Over My Dead Body" opening this weekend you're probably better off avoiding the theater entirely.

In fact, this would be the best weekend to do it, as today marks the official beginning of TCM's 31 Days of Oscar. You can check out the full list of what's playing here.

Afterwards, feel free to share which movies you'll be watching/recording because, like the nerd that I am, I've already made mine:

February 1st
-Five Easy Pieces (2:30 AM)
February 2nd
-Gandhi (8:00 PM)
-The Trip to the Bountiful (1:15 AM)
Febraury 3rd
-Anchors Aweigh (6:00 AM)
-Gigi (4:00 PM)
-An American in Paris (6:00 PM)
-The Wings of the Dove (3:15 AM)
February 4th
-Sunrise (10:30 PM)
February 5th
-The Sterile Cuckoo (6:00 PM)
February 6th
-The Country Girl (12:15 AM)
February 12th
Theodora Goes Wild (7:45 AM)
February 13th
-Brief Encounter (5:00 AM)
February 15th
-Save the Tiger (8:00 PM)
February 16th
-Steel Magnolias (10:00 PM)
February 17th
-Amistad (10:15 PM)
February 18th
-Raintree County (4:45 PM)
February 21st
-The Thomas Crown Affair (1:45 AM)
February 22nd
-Equus (3:15 AM)
March 1st
-The Dresser (3:30 AM)

What about YOU? What do you plan on watching this weekend?