Film Junk » Awards

Anvil! The Story of Anvil Among Academy Award Documentary Snubs

Sean — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:12:11 +0000

Although documentaries have gained a fair bit of mainstream acceptance over the past decade, the average moviegoer is still highly unlikely to know or care about most of the films that are being released in the realm of non-fiction. And considering the kinds of docs typically recognized by the Academy Awards, it's easy to see why people might be turned off from the genre. Year after year, they seem to place higher value on "important" subjects, rather than deft storytelling and artistic merit. Once again this year, the short list of movies nominated for Best Documentary Feature seem to be lacking in not only imagination but also accessibility. Which is not to say that there aren't some great movies on this list, but to be honest, I've only seen 1 out of the 15 titles -- and that's coming from someone who actually cares about docs. So it's only natural for people to point out all kinds of glaring omissions from the movies that actually got any sort of theatrical release this year... some deserving, and others not so much. Anvil: The Story of Anvil is one of the major flicks missing here, and although I can't say I ever expected to see it get nominated, let's not forget, we're not even talking nominations here... this is just the short list! On the other hand, Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story is one of his weakest films to date, and its omission is totally fine by me. Still, there are all kinds of other critically acclaimed films that were shunned including: We Live in Public, The September Issue, Tyson, Good Hair, Not Quite Hollywood, Crude, and No Impact Man. What do you think, did any of these movies get robbed? Check out the 15 potential finalists for Best Documentary Feature after the jump.

The Beaches of Agnes (Dir. Agnès Varda)
Burma VJ (Dir. Anders Østergaard)
The Cove (Dir. Louie Psihoyos)
Every Little Step (Dir. James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo)
Facing Ali (Dir. Pete McCormack)
Food, Inc. (Dir. Robert Kenner)
Garbage Dreams (Dir. Mai Iskander)
Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders (Dir. Mark N. Hopkins)
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (Dir. Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith)
Mugabe and the White African (Dir. Andrew Thompson and Lucy Bailey)
Sergio (Dir. Greg Barker)
Soundtrack for a Revolution (Dir. Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman)
Under Our Skin (Dir. Andy Abrahams Wilson)
Valentino The Last Emperor (Dir. Matt Tyrnauer)
Which Way Home (Dir. Rebecca Cammisa)

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Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin to Host the Oscars… Together!

Sean — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:40:54 +0000

Well this is a pleasant surprise. It came out a week or two ago that Hugh Jackman would not be returning to host the Academy Awards this year, and also that Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr. were offered the gig but apparently turned it down. Yesterday it was announced that the Oscars would, however, still have two hosts after all as both Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin have agreed to come together to do the honours. What a great idea. Steve Martin previously hosted the Oscars back in 2001 and 2003 and, from what I remember, he did a great job. A lot of people have wanted to see him back, and with the addition of Alec Baldwin (his first time hosting) I think a lot of people will be very happy. "I am happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin," Martin said. Baldwin responded: "I don't play the banjo but I'm thrilled to be hosting the Oscars -- it's the opportunity of a lifetime." It remains to be seen whether or not this year's ceremony will once again have a strong musical element (Hairspray director Adam Shankman is still co-producing, I believe), but either way I think the arrangement has a ton of potential. What do you think, will Martin and Baldwin make for a great team? And more importantly, will they find a way to get Tina Fey involved somehow?

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Ricky Gervais to Host the Golden Globes

Sean — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:04:59 +0000

Everyone knows that The Golden Globes have always played second fiddle to the Academy Awards, and yet, with the inclusion of the Musical or Comedy categories, along with the recognition of TV shows, the ceremony has a lot more mainstream appeal than the Oscars. Now, after over 10 years of getting by without a host, the Globes have apparently decided to spice things up a bit by calling on British comedian Ricky Gervais to emcee next year's event. Gervais is one of a few people that had been getting pushed as a potential host for the Oscars, after a number of hilarious appearances on various award shows either presenting or accepting awards. However, the fact is, his edgy humour would probably have been a bit too much for the high class Academy Awards. Since he has previously won a couple of Golden Globes, this really seems like the most appropriate place for him anyway. Gervais was quoted as saying, "I have resisted many other offers like this, but there are just some things you don't turn down." He was also apparently promised free rein on the show, which is all the reassurance I need that this will be a great match. What do you think, will Gervais do a good job hosting the Golden Globes? Does it increase or decrease your likelihood for tuning in?

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2009 Emmy Award Winners Announced

Sean — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:22:04 +0000

So the 2009 Primetime Emmy Awards took place last night... did you tune in? I hear it was a good show even though a lot of the winners were pretty much a given. 30 Rock and Mad Men both took home the big awards, but the hardware was spread out a bit more among other shows than in previous years. At any rate, just in case you missed it, we've got the full list of major award winners right here for you to review. Do you agree with the majority of the choices? For those who did watch the show, what were some of your favourite moments? What did you think of Neil Patrick Harris as the host? Check out the list of winners after the jump. COMEDY SERIES "Entourage" "Family Guy "Flight of the Conchords" "How I Met Your Mother" "The Office" WINNER: "30 Rock" "Weeds" DRAMA SERIES "Big Love" "Breaking Bad" "Damages" "Dexter" "House" "Lost" WINNER: "Mad Men" MINISERIES "Generation Kill" (HBO) WINNER: "Little Dorrit" (PBS) ACTOR IN A COMEDY WINNER: Alec Baldwin - "30 Rock" (NBC) Steve Carell - "The Office" (NBC) Jemaine Clement - "Flight Of The Conchords" (HBO) Jim Parsons - "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS) Tony Shalhoub - "Monk" (USA) Charlie Sheen - "Two And A Half Men" (CBS) ACTOR IN A DRAMA Simon Baker - "The Mentalist" (CBS) Gabriel Byrne - "In Treatment" (HBO) WINNER: Bryan Cranston - "Breaking Bad" (AMC) Michael C. Hall - "Dexter" (Showtime) Jon Hamm - "Mad Men" (AMC) Hugh Laurie - "House" (Fox) ACTRESS IN A COMEDY Christina Applegate - "Samantha Who?" (ABC) WINNER: Toni Collette - "United States Of Tara" (Showtime) Tina Fey - "30 Rock" (NBC) Julia Louis-Dreyfus - "The New Adventures Of Old Christine" (CBS) Sarah Silverman - "The Sarah Silverman Program" (Comedy Central) Mary-Louise Parker - "Weeds" (Showtime) ACTRESS IN A DRAMA WINNER: Glenn Close as Patty Hewes - "Damages" (FX Networks) Sally Field - "Brothers & Sisters" (ABC) Holly Hunter - "Saving Grace" (TNT) Mariska Hargitay - "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC) Kyra Sedgwick - "The Closer" (TNT) Elisabeth Moss - "Mad Men" (AMC) MADE FOR TELEVISION MOVIE "Coco Chanel" (Lifetime) WINNER: "Grey Gardens" (HBO) "Into The Storm" (HBO) "Prayers For Bobby" (Lifetime) "Taking Chance" (HBO) REALITY HOST Tom Bergeron - "Dancing With The Stars" (ABC) Phil Keoghan - "The Amazing Race" (CBS) Heidi Klum - "Project Runway" (Bravo) Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio - "Top Chef" (Bravo) WINNER: Jeff Probst - "Survivor" (CBS) Ryan Seacrest - "American Idol" (Fox) REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM WINNER: "The Amazing Race" (CBS) "American Idol" (Fox) "Dancing With The Stars" (ABC) "Project Runway" (Bravo) "Top Chef" (Bravo) ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE Kevin Kline - "Cyrano de Bergerac" ("Great Performances") (PBS) WINNER: Brendan Gleeson - "Into The Storm" (HBO) Sir Ian McKellen - "King Lear" ("Great Performances") (PBS) Kevin Bacon - "Taking Chance" (HBO) Kiefer Sutherland - "24: Redemption" (Fox) Kenneth Branagh - "Wallander: One Step Behind" (PBS) ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE Drew Barrymore - "Grey Gardens" (HBO) WINNER: Jessica Lange - "Grey Gardens" (HBO) Shirley MacLaine - "Coco Chanel" (Lifetime) Sigourney Weaver - "Prayers For Bobby" (Lifetime) Chandra Wilson - "Accidental Friendship" (Hallmark Channel) SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY WINNER: Jon Cryer - "Two And A Half Men" (CBS) Kevin Dillon - "Entourage" (HBO) Neil Patrick Harris - "How I Met Your Mother" (CBS) Jack McBrayer - "30 Rock" (NBC) Tracy Morgan - "30 Rock" (NBC) Rainn Wilson - "The Office" (NBC) SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA Christian Clemenson - "Boston Legal" (ABC) WINNER: Michael Emerson - "Lost" (ABC) William Hurt - "Damages" (FX Networks) Aaron Paul - "Breaking Bad" (AMC) William Shatner - "Boston Legal" (ABC) John Slattery - "Mad Men" (AMC) SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE Len Cariou - "Into The Storm" (HBO) Tom Courtenay - "Little Dorrit" (PBS) WINNER: Ken Howard - "Grey Gardens" (HBO) Bob Newhart - "The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice" (TNT) Andy Serkis - "Little Dorrit" (PBS) SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY WINNER: Kristin Chenoweth - "Pushing Daisies" (ABC) Jane Krakowski - "30 Rock" (NBC) Elizabeth Perkins - "Weeds" (Showtime) Amy Poehler - "Saturday Night Live" (NBC) Kristen Wiig - "Saturday Night Live" (NBC) Vanessa Williams - "Ugly Betty" (ABC) SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA Rose Byrne - "Damages" (FX Networks) Hope Davis - "In Treatment" (HBO) WINNER: Cherry Jones - "24" (Fox) Sandra Oh - "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC) Dianne Wiest - "In Treatment" Chandra Wilson - "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC) SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE WINNER: Shohreh Aghdashloo - "House Of Saddam" (HBO) Marcia Gay Harden - "The Courageous Heart Of Irena Sendler" (Hallmark Hall Of Fame Presentation) (CBS) Janet McTeer - "Into The Storm" (HBO) Jeanne Tripplehorn - "Grey Gardens" (HBO) Cicely Tyson - "Relative Stranger" (Hallmark Channel) WRITING FOR A COMEDY "Flight Of The Conchords" - "Prime Minister" (HBO) - James Bobin, Jemaine Clement, Bret McKenzie, WINNER: "30 Rock" - "Reunion" (NBC) - Matt Hubbard "30 Rock" - "Apollo, Apollo" (NBC) - Robert Carlock "30 Rock" - "Mamma Mia" (NBC) Ron Weiner "30 Rock" - "Kidney Now!" (NBC) - Jack Burditt, Robert Carlock WRITING FOR A DRAMA "Lost" - "The Incident" - (ABC) - Carlton Cuse, Damon Lindelof "Mad Men - A Night To Remember" - (AMC) - Robin Veith, Matthew Weiner "Mad Men - Six Month Leave" - (AMC) - Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Matthew Weiner "Mad Men" - The Jet Set" - (AMC) - Matthew Weiner WINNER: "Mad Men" - "Meditations In An Emergency" - (AMC) - Kater Gordon, Matthew Weiner WRITING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES "The Colbert Report" (Comedy Central) - Stephen Colbert, Allison Silverman, Richard Dahm, Michael Brumm, Rob Dubbin, Opus Moreschi, Peter Gwinn, Jay Katsir, Frank Lesser, Tom Purcell, Glenn Eichler, Peter Grosz, Barry Julien, Meredith Scardino WINNER: "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central) - Steve Bodow, Jon Stewart, David Javerbaum, Josh Lieb, Rory Albanese, Kevin Bleyer, Jason Ross, Tim Carvell, John Oliver, Sam Means, Rob Kutner, J.R. Havlan, Rich Blomquist, Wyatt Cenac, Elliott Kalan, Rachel Axler "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" (NBC) - Mike Sweeney, Chris Albers, Jose Arroyo, Dan Cronin, Kevin Dorff, Andres du Bouchet, Michael Gordon, Berkley Johson, Brian Kiley, Todd Levin, Brian McCann, Guy Nicolucci, Conan O'Brien, Matt O'Brien, Brian Stack, Andrew Weinberg "Late Show With David Letterman" (CBS) - Eric Stangel, Justin Stangel, Michael Barrie, Jim Mulholland, Steve Young, Tom Ruprecht, Lee Ellenberg, Matt Roberts, Jeremy Weiner, Joe Grossman, Bill Scheft, Bob Borden, Frank Sebastiano, David Letterman "Saturday Night Live" (NBC) - Seth Meyers, Doug Abeles, James Anderson, Alex Baze, Jessica Conrad, James Downey, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Erik Kenward, Rob Klein, John Lutz, Lorne Michaels, John Mulaney, Paula Pell, Simon Rich, Marika Sawyer, Akiva Schaffer, John Solomon, Emily Spivey, Kent Sublette, Jorma Taccone, Bryan Tucker WRITING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A DRAMATIC SPECIAL "Generation Kill - Bomb In The Garden" (HBO)- David Simon "Grey Gardens" (HBO) - Michael Sucsy, Patricia Rozema "Into The Storm" (HBO)- Hugh Whitemore WINNER: "Little Dorrit" (PBS) - Andrew Davies "Taking Chance" (HBO) - Ross Katz DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES Julian Farino, "Entourage" (Tree Trippers) James Bobin, "Flight of the Conchords" (The Tough Brets) WINNER: Jeff Blitz, "The Office" (Stress Relief) Millicent Shelton, "30 Rock" (Apollo, Apollo) Beth McCarthy, "30 Rock" (Reunion) Todd Holland, "30 Rock" (Generalissimo) DIRECTING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL Susanna White, "Generation Kill" (Bomb in the Garden) Michael Sucsy, "Grey Gardens" Thaddeus O'Sullivan, "Into the Storm" WINNER: Dearbhla Walsh, "Little Dorrit" (Part 1) Ross Katz, "Taking Chance" Philip Martin, "Wallander: One Step Behind" DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES WINNER: Bruce Gowers, "American Idol" (The Final Three) Jim Hoskinson, "The Colbert Report" (No. 4159) Chuck O'Neil, "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (No. 13107) Jerry Foley, "Late Show With David Letterman" (Episode 2932) Hal Grant, "Real Time With Bill Maher" (No. 705), HBO, Bill Maher Prods. and Brad Grey Television in association with HBO Entertainment Don Roy King, "Saturday Night Live" (Host: Justin Timberlake) ORIGINAL MUSIC AND LYRICS WINNER: "81st Annual Academy Awards," Song: "Hugh Jackman Opening Number" "A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All," Song: "Much Worse Things" "The 2008 ESPYS," Song: "I Love Sports" "Flight of the Conchords" (Unnatural Love), Song: "Carol Brown" "A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa," Song: "I Wish I Could Be Santa Claus" "Saturday Night Live" (Host: Justin Timberlake), Song: "Motherlover" VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES "The Colbert Report," Comedy Central, Hello Doggie with Busboy Prods. and Spartina Prods. WINNER: "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," Comedy Central, Central Prods. "Late Show With David Letterman," CBS, Worldwide Pants "Real Time With Bill Maher," HBO, Bill Maher Prods. and Brad Grey Television in association with HBO Entertainment "Saturday Night Live," NBC, SNL Studios in association with NBC Studios and Broadway Video DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES Michael Rymer, "Battlestar Galactica" (Daybreak -- Part 2), Syfy, R&D TV in association with Universal Cable Prods. Bill D'Elia, "Boston Legal" (Made in China/Last Call) Todd A. Kessler, "Damages" (Trust Me) WINNER: Rod Holcomb, "ER" (And in The End) Phil Abraham, "Mad Men" (The Jet Set)

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Academy Awards Change Best Picture Voting Process

Sean — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:31:24 +0000

Earlier this week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences continued their overhaul of the Oscars with what might appear to be a fairly minor change in how votes are tallied for the Best Picture category. This minor change, however, could potentially alter the kinds of movies that take home the biggest award of the night, especially now with the expanded number of nominees. Starting next year, Academy members will be required to rank all ten nominated films in order of preference, rather than simply casting a vote for the single movie that they want to see win. In this way, if there is no consensus on the first place votes, a movie that was consistently ranked second or third by more people could actually end up winning the award. So what kind of results can we expect? Who knows! It stands to reason that it will be harder for very divisive films to eek out a win, and easier for more broad crowd pleasers. Is this an example of the Rotten Tomatoes mentality starting to bleed over into the Academy Awards? Maybe. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see how predictable next year's winner turns out to be.

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Spike TV Announces 2009 Scream Awards Nominees

Sean — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 22:10:30 +0000

Spike TV has announced the nominees for the 4th annual Scream Awards, their award show dedicated to genre films. Contrary to what the name implies, it's not just focused on horror; there are also categories for science-fiction, fantasy and comic book movies as well. While most of these award shows are pretty lame, I have to give Spike props for bringing attention to some smaller flicks that people may not yet have seen. I mean, just for Pontypool to even get mentioned is pretty amazing. Maybe these awards are not entirely based on sponsors and ratings after all. It is a little weird, however, that they hold these awards in October, because it means that films from both 2008 and 2009 are eligible in some cases. You can head to the official website right now to see the full list of nominees and vote in each category. The winners will be announced on Tues. Oct. 27th at 10 pm; check out some of the nominees from the major categories after the jump. Best Horror Movie

Dead Snow
Drag Me to Hell
Let The Right One In
Friday the 13th
Splinter
My Bloody Valentine 3D

Best Fantasy Movie

Coraline
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Up
Twilight
Watchmen
X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Best Sci-Fi Movie

Knowing
Moon
Outlander
Star Trek
Terminator Salvation
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Best Comic Book Movie

Dragonball: Evolution
Punisher: War Zone
The Spirit
Watchmen
X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Best Foreign Movie

Dead Snow
Eden Lake
Let The Right One In
Martyrs
Pontypool
Timecrimes

Best TV Show

Battlestar Galactica
Dexter
Fringe
Lost
True Blood
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

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Wall-E Wins Hugo Award as Best Science-Fiction Film of 2008

Sean — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:43:33 +0000

The 2009 Hugo Awards were announced earlier this week, which, for those who don't know, are probably the highest-profile awards to honour creative works that fall strictly within the realm of science-fiction and fantasy. The categories includes novels, short stories, graphic novels, film and TV, among others, and I was a little bit surprised to learn that the winner for the past year in "Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form" was Pixar's animated film Wall-E. Upon hearing this my first thought was, sure it's a good movie, but is it really the best science-fiction film to be released in 2008? The more I think about it though, it just makes me realize that 2008 was a pretty weak year for science-fiction movies in general. The other nominees were The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, and METAtropolis (an audiobook anthology). I guess looking at those choices, I might be more inclined to vote for Wall-E. Plus, if anything, Brad Bird's The Incredibles seemed even more out of place when it won the same category back in 2005. The real upset this year, in my opinion, was Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog beating out the Lost episode "The Constant" for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form! Maybe I just don't understand the criteria though. What do you think, was Wall-E the best science-fiction flick of 2008, and is 2009 already shaping up to be a better year for sci-fi? Check out the full list of winners via the link below.

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30 Rock Leads 2009 Emmy Nominations

Sean — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:48:00 +0000

The nominees for the 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were announced today in Los Angeles, and the show to garner the most nods was 30 Rock, which received a record 22 nominations for a comedy series. With the Emmys expanding their number of nominees from five to six in certain categories, some new shows were finally able to get some recognition, although a few big shows were still overlooked in their final seasons: most notably The Shield and Battlestar Galactica. There are a ton of categories so I only included some of the major nominees below. For the complete list visit the Emmy Awards official website. What do you think of the nominees? Did any of your favourite shows get left out? What are the biggest oversights? Outstanding Comedy Series 30 Rock Entourage Family Guy Flight Of The Conchords How I Met Your Mother The Office Weeds Outstanding Drama Series Big Love Breaking Bad Damages Dexter House Lost Mad Men Outstanding Made for TV Movie Coco Chanel Grey Gardens Into The Storm Prayers For Bobby Taking Chance Outstanding Miniseries Generation Kill Little Dorrit Outstanding Animated Program (Under One Hour) American Dad - "Sixteen-Hundred Candles" Robot Chicken - "Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II" South Park - "Margaritaville" The Simpsons - "Gone Maggie Gone" Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Series Late Show With David Letterman Real Time With Bill Maher Saturday Night Live The Colbert Report The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Special Chris Rock - Kill The Messenger Kathy Griffin: She'll Cut A Bitch Ricky Gervais: Out Of England The Kennedy Center Honors Will Ferrell: You're Welcome America. A Final Night With George W. Bush Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords) Tony Shalhoub (Monk) Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) Steve Carell (The Office) Charlie Sheen (Two And A Half Men) Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) Michael C. Hall (Dexter) Hugh Laurie (House) Gabriel Byrne (In Treatment) Jon Hamm (Mad Men) Simon Baker (The Mentalist) Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie Kiefer Sutherland (24: Redemption) Kevin Kline (Cyrano de Bergerac (Great Performances)) Brendan Gleeson (Into The Storm) Sir Ian McKellen (King Lear (Great Performances)) Kevin Bacon (Taking Chance) Kenneth Branagh (Wallander: One Step Behind) Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series Tina Fey (30 Rock) Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?) Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine) Sarah Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Program) Toni Collette (United States Of Tara) Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds) Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series Sally Field (Brothers & Sisters) Glenn Close (Damages) Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) Holly Hunter (Saving Grace) Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) Outstanding Lead Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie Chandra Wilson (Accidental Friendship) Shirley MacLaine (Coco Chanel) Drew Barrymore (Grey Gardens) Jessica Lange (Grey Gardens) Prayers For Bobby (Sigourney Weaver)

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Academy Tweaks Best Original Song Oscar Criteria and Cuts Tribute Awards

Sean — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:43:56 +0000

Following up on last week's announcement about adding more Best Picture nominees, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have introduced a couple of additional tweaks to the Oscars that will further streamline the ceremony. The first change is that they have decided to relegate all of the special tribute awards (such as the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, Thalberg Award for creative producers, and miscellaneous honourary career achievement awards) to a separate ceremony in November, a black-tie gala limited to 500 invited guests. This will free up some time during the main Oscar telecast, and also allow them to give out as many of these special awards in a given year as they see fit. Win/win if you ask me. The second, and slightly more confusing, change is that they have modified their method for selecting nominees for Best Original Song. Every year voters watch clips of the films where each song was used, and then rate it on a scale from 6 to 10. (Apparently the requirement of a song to be used in an actual scene, rather than over credits, is why Bruce Springsteen's "The Wrestler" was shut out.) The new rule stipulates that a song must receive an average rating of 8.25 in order to be nominated, and if no songs qualify, there will simply be no nominees that year. It seems like this may be a way of slowly phasing out the Best Original Song category altogether, perhaps without ruffling too many feathers. Do you agree with these changes? Do you think they should just eliminate the Best Original Song category?

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Academy to Expand Number of Oscar Best Picture Nominees

Sean — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:29:21 +0000

Have you ever passed on watching the Academy Awards because your favourite film (The Dark Knight) wasn't among the Best Picture nominees? You're probably not alone, but starting next year, there is now a slightly better chance that you will actually have a reason to watch. At a press conference today in Beverly Hills, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that they will be doubling the number of Best Picture nominees from 5 to 10. Back in the '30s and '40s, the Oscars had previously included 10 nominees as well, but somewhere along the way the field was cut down to speed up the ceremony and narrow the focus. Now they are hoping to bring recognition to more movies, even if they don't have a shot in hell at winning the actual trophy. President Sid Ganis had this to say:

"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... I can't wait to see what that list of ten looks like when the nominees are announced in February."

So, is this a good thing? Does it even matter? I don't think it will change the kinds of movies that win Oscars, but I am guessing the Academy wants to allow a few more mainstream favourites to sneak in and at least be mentioned alongside the usual suspects. While it may create the illusion of recognition for some of those fan favourites, in the end, I think it will just lead to disappointment and frustration when they never end up winning. Thoughts?

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Andy Samberg, Will Ferrell and J.J. Abrams Sing “Cool Guys Don’t Look At Explosions”

Sean — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:13:33 +0000

Well aside from the Bruno/Eminem incident, I've been told that one of the highlights from this year's MTV Movie Awards show was Andy Samberg's song and montage entitled "Cool Guys Don't Look At Explosions". They've got the video online and available outside of the U.S. so I thought I would throw it up for anyone who didn't get a chance to see it. I have to admit, Samberg was smart to pick up on this action movie cliche which has indeed reached a point where it is now laughable. It has become almost required for every summer blockbuster lately... when it happened in X-Men Origins: Wolverine I couldn't help but roll my eyes. How many recent movies can you think of with characters walking away from explosions?

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2009 MTV Movie Awards Ask, What’s Better: Twilight or Slumdog Millionaire?

Sean — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:41:20 +0000

You might think that after Slumdog Millionaire cleaned up at the Oscars back in February, any and all questions about the best movies of 2008 had been definitively answered. But of course, you'd be wrong. The most prestigious movie awards of all are still yet to come... and guess what Slumdog? You've got some serious competition in the form of a little movie called Twilight! Everyone knows that the MTV Movie Awards are a joke, and I won't waste much time analyzing their list of nominees. However, I am glad to see that this year they've introduced a category for "Best WTF Moment" because, you know, the whole award show is basically a WTF moment! When you've got High School Musical 3 up against Slumdog Millionaire for Best Movie, it kinda calls into question your judging criteria... and are we really supposed to compare Kate Winslet's performance in The Reader to Anne Hathaway in Bride Wars? Anyway, check out the full list of nominees after the jump, and then follow the link below to cast your votes!

Best Movie

The Dark Knight
High School Musical 3: Senior Year
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
Twilight

Best Male Performance

Christian Bale (The Dark Knight)
Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man)
Shia LaBeouf (Eagle Eye)
Vin Diesel (Fast & Furious)
Zac Efron (High School Musical 3: Senior Year)

Best Female Performance

Angelina Jolie (Wanted)
Anne Hathaway (Bride Wars)
Kate Winslet (The Reader)
Kristen Stewart (Twilight)
Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

Breakthrough Performance - Female

Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia!)
Ashley Tisdale (High School Musical 3: Senior Year)
Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire)
Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana: The Movie)
Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical 3: Senior Year)
Kat Dennings (Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist)

Breakthrough Performance - Male

Robert Pattinson (Twilight)
Taylor Lautner (Twilight)
Ben Barnes (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian)
Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire)
Bobb'e J. Thompson (Role Models)

Best Comedic Performance

Amy Poehler (Baby Mama)
Anna Faris (The House Bunny)
James Franco (Pineapple Express)
Jim Carrey (Yes Man)
Steve Carell (Get Smart)

Best Villain

Derek Mears (Friday The 13th)
Dwayne Johnson (Get Smart)
Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
Johnathon Schaech (Prom Night)
Luke Goss (Hellboy II: The Golden Army)

Best Fight

Anne Hathaway vs. Kate Hudson (Bride Wars)
Christian Bale vs. Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
Ron Perlman vs. Luke Goss (Hellboy II: The Golden Army)
Robert Pattinson vs. Cam Gigandet (Twilight)
Seth Rogen and James Franco vs. Danny McBride (Pineapple Express)

Best Kiss

Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy (Wanted)
Freida Pinto and Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire)
James Franco and Sean Penn (Milk)
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson (Twilight)
Paul Rudd and Thomas Lennon (I Love You, Man)
Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron (High School Musical 3: Senior Year)

Best WTF Moment

Amy Poehler (Baby Mama, Peeing In the Sink)
Angelina Jolie (Wanted, Curved Bullet Kill)
Ayush Mahesh Khedekar (Slumdog Millionaire, Jumping in the Poop Shed)
Ben Stiller (Tropic Thunder, Tasting the Decapitated Head)
Jason Segel and Kristen Bell (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Naked Break-Up)

Best Song From a Movie

"Jai Ho" - AR Raham (Slumdog Millionaire)
"The Wrestler" - Bruce Springsteen (The Wrestler)
"The Climb" - Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana: The Movie)
"Decode" - Paramore (Twilight)

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