There were only 9 Best Picture nominations. So what was the 10th biggest vote getter– but not with enough votes to qualify? Everyone’s going to want to know that answer. My guess is “Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” which did receive a SAG nomination for Best Enssemble. Runners up might be The Master, The Sessions, Skyfall, and Flight. We will probably never know. But it’s a shame the Academy simply didn’t include a 10th nominee just to round out the list!
Oscars: Now it’s “Silver Linings” vs. “Lincoln”
It’s like a rivalry comparable to the Red Sox and the Yankees. Weinstein Company vs. Dreamworks. “Silver Linings Playbook” vs. “Lincoln.” Shades of “Shakespeare in Love” vs. “Saving Private Ryan.” The two hottest Oscar movies have now been clarified. They are each nominated for Best Picture and Director. “SLP” has four acting nominations. “Lincoln” has three. They each have screenplay nominations. And they are each terrific films.
The 2013 Oscars are going to be a hot night, that’s for sure. Meantime, Weinstein Company has three of the five Best Supporting Actors– Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robert DeNiro, and Christoph Waltz. They have two Best Actors–Joaquin Phoenix and Bradley Cooper. And two supporting actresses–Jacki Weaver and Amy Adams. Not to mention two Best Pictures–SLP and Django. They also have one foreign film–Kon Tiki. Amazingly, “The Untouchables” didn’t make it. But it’s made a fortune, so that’s some consolation.
The other big story is “Beasts of the Southern Wild.” This cool little movie by Benh Zeitlin was bought by Fox Searchlight at Sundance in 2012. It really struck a nerve. The little girl, Q, who is 9 now and 6 when she filmed it, has never acted before. Very nice. Bravo.
A big disappointment: no nomination for John Hawkes in “The Sessions.” He is just a wonderful actor who turned in a brilliant performance. There is an Oscar in his future.
And the other big story is no director nominations for Ben Affleck, Quentin Tarantino. Kathryn Bigelow or Ben Affleck. This is jaw dropping. Surprise noms for Michael Haneke and Zeitlin upset the apple cart. Director noms for Russell and Spielberg are good, but not surprises.
Oscar Nominees: Oldest (85) and Youngest (9) Actresses Ever
Oscar nominations snubbed both directors Ben Affleck (Argo) and Tom Hooper (Les Miz). The oldest and youngest actresses ever were nominated– Emmanuelle Riva (85) and Q from Beasts of the Southern Wild (9). Wow. “Silver Linings Playbook” got everything–Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress. That’s a winner. The race is now between “Silver Linings” and “Lincoln.”
A big snub for Kathryn Bigelow, director of “Zero Dark Thirty.” After all the controversy about the CIA etc.– nothing. That makes THREE big directors who lost out. The spoilers were Michael Haneke (Amour) and Benh Zeitlin (Beasts). Again. A big deal.
No love for “Skyfall”– it failed to be the first ever nominated James Bond movie. Javier Bardem and Judi Dench were also passed over. Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio were passed over in “Django” for Christoph Waltz– I thought that would happen.
“The Master” got three Best Acting nominations including Joaquin Phoenix for Best Actor. His performance overcame his anti Oscar comments in a magazine article earlier this fall.
Performance by an actor in a leading role
- Bradley Cooper in “Silver Linings Playbook”
- Daniel Day-Lewis in “Lincoln”
- Hugh Jackman in “Les Misérables”
- Joaquin Phoenix in “The Master”
- Denzel Washington in “Flight”
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
- Alan Arkin in “Argo”
- Robert De Niro in “Silver Linings Playbook”
- Philip Seymour Hoffman in “The Master”
- Tommy Lee Jones in “Lincoln”
- Christoph Waltz in “Django Unchained”
Performance by an actress in a leading role
- Jessica Chastain in “Zero Dark Thirty”
- Jennifer Lawrence in “Silver Linings Playbook”
- Emmanuelle Riva in “Amour”
- Quvenzhané Wallis in “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
- Naomi Watts in “The Impossible”
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
- Amy Adams in “The Master”
- Sally Field in “Lincoln”
- Anne Hathaway in “Les Misérables”
- Helen Hunt in “The Sessions”
- Jacki Weaver in “Silver Linings Playbook”
Best animated feature film of the year
- “Brave” Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman
- “Frankenweenie” Tim Burton
- “ParaNorman” Sam Fell and Chris Butler
- “The Pirates! Band of Misfits” Peter Lord
- “Wreck-It Ralph” Rich Moore
Achievement in cinematography
- “Anna Karenina” Seamus McGarvey
- “Django Unchained” Robert Richardson
- “Life of Pi” Claudio Miranda
- “Lincoln” Janusz Kaminski
- “Skyfall” Roger Deakins
Achievement in costume design
- “Anna Karenina” Jacqueline Durran
- “Les Misérables” Paco Delgado
- “Lincoln” Joanna Johnston
- “Mirror Mirror” Eiko Ishioka
- “Snow White and the Huntsman” Colleen Atwood
Achievement in directing
- “Amour” Michael Haneke
- “Beasts of the Southern Wild” Benh Zeitlin
- “Life of Pi” Ang Lee
- “Lincoln” Steven Spielberg
- “Silver Linings Playbook” David O. Russell
Best documentary feature
- “5 Broken Cameras” Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
- “The Gatekeepers” Nominees to be determined
- “How to Survive a Plague” Nominees to be determined
- “The Invisible War” Nominees to be determined
- “Searching for Sugar Man” Nominees to be determined
Best documentary short subject
- “Inocente” Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine
- “Kings Point” Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider
- “Mondays at Racine” Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan
- “Open Heart” Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern
- “Redemption” Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
Achievement in film editing
- “Argo” William Goldenberg
- “Life of Pi” Tim Squyres
- “Lincoln” Michael Kahn
- “Silver Linings Playbook” Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers
- “Zero Dark Thirty” Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg
Best foreign language film of the year
- “Amour” Austria
- “Kon-Tiki” Norway
- “No” Chile
- “A Royal Affair” Denmark
- “War Witch” Canada
Achievement in makeup and hairstyling
- “Hitchcock” Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel
- “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane
- “Les Misérables” Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
- “Anna Karenina” Dario Marianelli
- “Argo” Alexandre Desplat
- “Life of Pi” Mychael Danna
- “Lincoln” John Williams
- “Skyfall” Thomas Newman
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
- “Before My Time” from “Chasing Ice” Music and Lyric by J. Ralph
- “Everybody Needs A Best Friend” from “Ted” Music by Walter Murphy; Lyric by Seth MacFarlane
- “Pi’s Lullaby” from “Life of Pi” Music by Mychael Danna; Lyric by Bombay Jayashri
- “Skyfall” from “Skyfall” Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
- “Suddenly” from “Les Misérables” Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil
Best motion picture of the year
- “Amour” Nominees to be determined
- “Argo” Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck and George Clooney, Producers
- “Beasts of the Southern Wild” Dan Janvey, Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald, Producers
- “Django Unchained” Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin and Pilar Savone, Producers
- “Les Misérables” Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward and Cameron Mackintosh, Producers
- “Life of Pi” Gil Netter, Ang Lee and David Womark, Producers
- “Lincoln” Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers
- “Silver Linings Playbook” Donna Gigliotti, Bruce Cohen and Jonathan Gordon, Producers
- “Zero Dark Thirty” Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow and Megan Ellison, Producers
Achievement in production design
- “Anna Karenina” Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
- “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey“ Production Design: Dan Hennah; Set Decoration: Ra Vincent and Simon Bright
- “Les Misérables” Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Anna Lynch-Robinson
- “Life of Pi” Production Design: David Gropman; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
- “Lincoln” Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson
Best animated short film
- “Adam and Dog” Minkyu Lee
- “Fresh Guacamole” PES
- “Head over Heels” Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly
- “Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare”” David Silverman
- “Paperman” John Kahrs
Best live action short film
- “Asad” Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura
- “Buzkashi Boys” Sam French and Ariel Nasr
- “Curfew” Shawn Christensen
- “Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)” Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele
- “Henry” Yan England
Achievement in sound editing
- “Argo” Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn
- “Django Unchained” Wylie Stateman
- “Life of Pi” Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton
- “Skyfall” Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers
- “Zero Dark Thirty” Paul N.J. Ottosson
Achievement in sound mixing
- “Argo” John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia
- “Les Misérables” Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes
- “Life of Pi” Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin
- “Lincoln” Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins
- “Skyfall” Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson
Achievement in visual effects
- “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White
- “Life of Pi” Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott
- “Marvel’s The Avengers” Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick
- “Prometheus” Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill
- “Snow White and the Huntsman” Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson
Adapted screenplay
- “Argo” Screenplay by Chris Terrio
- “Beasts of the Southern Wild” Screenplay by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
- “Life of Pi” Screenplay by David Magee
- “Lincoln” Screenplay by Tony Kushner
- “Silver Linings Playbook” Screenplay by David O. Russell
Original screenplay
- “Amour” Written by Michael Haneke
- “Django Unchained” Written by Quentin Tarantino
- “Flight” Written by John Gatins
- “Moonrise Kingdom” Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
- “Zero Dark Thirty” Written by Mark Boal
Justin Bieber Hosts “SNL” Since He Wasn’t Invited to Grammy Awards
Justin Bieber, pot smokin’ cult leader, will host “Saturday Night Live” on February 9th. There’s a reason he has that date open. Bieber was not invited to the Grammy Awards on February 10th or any other Grammy weekend event. On the 9th, when most of the music biz will be either at the NARAS Lifetime Achievement ceremony or at Clive Davis’s all -star dinner concert, the Biebs will be horsing around on “SNL” to promote his “acoustic” album. If New Year’s Eve or other videos are evidence of what that will be like, then the sound of strangling geese is what to expect.
Bieber is currently involved in a weird Twitter debacle in which kids are allegedly being told to “cut” (literally) themselves after Bieber was caught on film by TMZ smoking big blunts. I don’t know what anyone expects him to do. Plucked out of the wilds of Canada with no education, this miniature person has very little actual talent other than being able to dance in the manner of NSync channeling Michael Jackson. His manager is living it up, sending out Tweets from events and vacations around the world while Bieber–whom Scooter Braun refers to as The Kid–is getting into more and more trouble. You know this will end in tears.
Anyway, rend garments, sleep all night in Rock Center, and get ready. The Biebs is coming to town. We will be away, listening to real music all weekend.
British Academy Goes for Argo, Les Miz, Pi, Lincoln, Zero Dark
BAFTA, the British Academy, has announced its nominees for its own Academy Awards. The Best Picture nominees are Argo, Les Miz, Life of Pi. Lincoln, and Zero Dark Thirty. Silver Linings Playbook was about a sport they didn’t understand (football) and Django Unchained was shown to them very late. Anyway, both movies got a lot of acting and miscellaneous nominations. Also Quentin Tarantino was nominated for Best Director nevertheless, which is strange. So was Michael Haneke, director of Amour. So they directed well, but not the best pictures. And neither Tom Hooper nor Steven Spielberg was nominated for Best Director, even though they made the best pictures. In the end BAFTA will choose a Michael Powell movie from the 40s or 50s, and everyone will have a good cup of tea.
BEST FILM
ARGO Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney
LES MISÉRABLES Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh
LIFE OF PI Gil Netter, Ang Lee, David Womark
LINCOLN Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy
ZERO DARK THIRTY Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow, Megan Ellison
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
ANNA KARENINA Joe Wright, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster, Tom Stoppard
THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL John Madden, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Ol Parker
LES MISÉRABLES Tom Hooper, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh, William Nicholson, Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer
SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS Martin McDonagh, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin
SKYFALL Sam Mendes, Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
BART LAYTON (Director), DIMITRI DOGANIS (Producer) The Imposter
DAVID MORRIS (Director), JACQUI MORRIS (Director/Producer) McCullin
DEXTER FLETCHER (Director/Writer), DANNY KING (Writer) Wild Bill
JAMES BOBIN (Director) The Muppets
TINA GHARAVI (Director/Writer) I Am Nasrine
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
AMOUR Michael Haneke, Margaret Ménégoz
HEADHUNTERS Morten Tyldum, Marianne Gray, Asle Vatn
THE HUNT Thomas Vinterberg, Sisse Graum Jørgensen, Morten Kaufmann
RUST AND BONE Jacques Audiard, Pascal Caucheteux
UNTOUCHABLE Eric Toledano, Olivier Nakache, Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Yann Zenou, Laurent Zeitoun
DOCUMENTARY
THE IMPOSTER Bart Layton, Dimitri Doganis
MARLEY Kevin Macdonald, Steve Bing, Charles Steel
McCULLIN David Morris, Jacqui Morris
SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn
WEST OF MEMPHIS Amy Berg
ANIMATED FILM
BRAVE Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman
FRANKENWEENIE Tim Burton
PARANORMAN Sam Fell, Chris Butler
DIRECTOR
AMOUR Michael Haneke
ARGO Ben Affleck
DJANGO UNCHAINED Quentin Tarantino
LIFE OF PI Ang Lee
ZERO DARK THIRTY Kathryn Bigelow
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
AMOUR Michael Haneke
DJANGO UNCHAINED Quentin Tarantino
THE MASTER Paul Thomas Anderson
MOONRISE KINGDOM Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola
ZERO DARK THIRTY Mark Boal
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
ARGO Chris Terrio
BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin
LIFE OF PI David Magee
LINCOLN Tony Kushner
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK David O. Russell
LEADING ACTOR
BEN AFFLECK Argo
BRADLEY COOPER Silver Linings Playbook
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS Lincoln
HUGH JACKMAN Les Misérables
JOAQUIN PHOENIX The Master
LEADING ACTRESS
EMMANUELLE RIVA Amour
HELEN MIRREN Hitchcock
JENNIFER LAWRENCE Silver Linings Playbook
JESSICA CHASTAIN Zero Dark Thirty
MARION COTILLARD Rust and Bone
SUPPORTING ACTOR
ALAN ARKIN Argo
CHRISTOPH WALTZ Django Unchained
JAVIER BARDEM Skyfall
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN The Master
TOMMY LEE JONES Lincoln
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
AMY ADAMS The Master
ANNE HATHAWAY Les Misérables
HELEN HUNT The Sessions
JUDI DENCH Skyfall
SALLY FIELD Lincoln
ORIGINAL MUSIC
ANNA KARENINA Dario Marianelli
ARGO Alexandre Desplat
LIFE OF PI Mychael Danna
LINCOLN John Williams
SKYFALL Thomas Newman
CINEMATOGRAPHY
ANNA KARENINA Seamus McGarvey
LES MISÉRABLES Danny Cohen
LIFE OF PI Claudio Miranda
LINCOLN Janusz Kaminski
SKYFALL Roger Deakins
EDITING
ARGO William Goldenberg
DJANGO UNCHAINED Fred Raskin
LIFE OF PI Tim Squyres
SKYFALL Stuart Baird
ZERO DARK THIRTY Dylan Tichenor, William Goldenberg
PRODUCTION DESIGN
ANNA KARENINA Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
LES MISÉRABLES Eve Stewart, Anna Lynch-Robinson
LIFE OF PI David Gropman, Anna Pinnock
LINCOLN Rick Carter, Jim Erickson
SKYFALL Dennis Gassner, Anna Pinnock
COSTUME DESIGN
ANNA KARENINA Jacqueline Durran
GREAT EXPECTATIONS Beatrix Aruna Pasztor
LES MISÉRABLES Paco Delgado
LINCOLN Joanna Johnston
SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN Colleen Atwood
MAKE UP & HAIR
ANNA KARENINA Ivana Primorac
HITCHCOCK Julie Hewett, Martin Samuel, Howard Berger
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Peter Swords King, Richard Taylor, Rick Findlater
LES MISÉRABLES Lisa Westcott
LINCOLN Lois Burwell, Kay Georgiou
SOUND
DJANGO UNCHAINED Mark Ulano, Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti, Wylie Stateman
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Tony Johnson, Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick, Brent Burge, Chris Ward
LES MISÉRABLES Simon Hayes, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Jonathan Allen, Lee Walpole, John Warhurst
LIFE OF PI Drew Kunin, Eugene Gearty, Philip Stockton, Ron Bartlett, D. M. Hemphill
SKYFALL Stuart Wilson, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell, Per Hallberg, Karen Baker Landers
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Peter Bebb, Andrew Lockley
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, R. Christopher White
LIFE OF PI Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer
MARVEL AVENGERS ASSEMBLE Nominees TBC
PROMETHEUS Richard Stammers, Charley Henley, Trevor Wood, Paul Butterworth
SHORT ANIMATION
HERE TO FALL Kris Kelly, Evelyn McGrath
I’M FINE THANKS Eamonn O’Neill
THE MAKING OF LONGBIRD Will Anderson, Ainslie Henderson
SHORT FILM
THE CURSE Fyzal Boulifa, Gavin Humphries
GOOD NIGHT Muriel d’Ansembourg, Eva Sigurdardottir
SWIMMER Lynne Ramsay, Peter Carlton, Diarmid Scrimshaw
TUMULT Johnny Barrington, Rhianna Andrews
THE VOORMAN PROBLEM Mark Gill, Baldwin Li
THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
ELIZABETH OLSEN
ANDREA RISEBOROUGH
SURAJ SHARMA
JUNO TEMPLE
ALICIA VIKANDER
General Hospital Hits Two Year High in Ratings
I’m picking this up from tvbythenumbers.com: General Hospital hit a two year high in the ratings the last week of December–and that’s with the conspicuous absence of long time star Tony Geary. ABC Daytime must be choking on this after killing two soaps and almost doing away with this one. But producer Frank Valentini and head writer Ron Carlivati have totally revived the show that was almost suffocated death to by former exec producer Jill Farren Phelps.
The show added 217,000 viewers from December 24th to December 28th from the prior week, and had 590,000 more than it did the same week in 2011. This was Christmas week, when shows are usually slow thanks to low viewership. Not General Hospital. They are booming.Their total rating was a 3.0, and GH also finished second among the remaining four soaps among Women 18-49.
All this news comes as “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” are rumored to be on the way back, to the internet at least, via Prospect Park Productions. The word is they’ve got studio space and have hired a couple of the “All My Children” actors. But still word on the show’s respective stars, Susan Lucci and Erika Slezak, or any of the other principals. Time will tell.
PS Entertainment Weekly reports that Genie Francis is finally returning to “GH” as Laura for a run from February through at least the show’s 50th anniversary in April. That should propel them over the top.
Lance Armstrong Will Ask Oprah for Absolution, Forgiveness in Interview
Lance Armstrong has decided to come clean, so to speak. Since the big dope’s life is essentially ruined, he’s apparently going to admit it all and ask for forgiveness. And who better to give it to him that Oprah? She’s got him on January 17 from 9 to 10:30pm on the hard to find OWN channel. Good for her. It used to be that celebrities went to Larry King or Barbara Walters when they needed to eat crow publicly and return to the world.
But for this generation it’s Oprah. Lance will cry, his eyes will well up when he talks about his kids, he’ll show Oprah his scars from various surgeries, and recommend a healing expert in Nepal which she’ll put on her next Best Things list.
Will she grant him absolution? I hope not. But Armstrong has nothing to lose–he’s lost everything. He deceived the world for years, and kept lying about it. He had plenty of chances to explain himself. I don’t care if he came from a broken home, was beaten with a bat, or made to wash the dishes. Maybe this will be the last time we’ll have to hear from him.
We will wait for the usual clips, leaks, and advance bites.
PS Apparently the Showtime show, “60 Minutes Sports” is also headlining a tremendous piece by Scott Pelley. Check it out at CBSNews.com
http://www.showbiz411.com/2012/10/17/lance-armstrong-ousted-from-his-own-charitable-foundation
http://www.showbiz411.com/2012/11/12/lance-armstrong-erased-from-livestrong-name-image-removed-from-website
Directors Guild Nominations Shake Up Oscar Race: Ang Lee In, Russell Out
Directors Guild of America nominations: Steven Spielberg, Ben Affleck for Argo, Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty, Tom Hooper for Les Miserables, Ang Lee for Life of Pi. No David O. Russell or Quentin Tarantino in a tight race. But the DGA, matter as it does, doesn’t preclude changes when Oscar noms are announced tomorrow. But it does clarify the situation a bit. “Life of Pi” definitely looks stronger now, but you never know. This year, the DGA nominees can’t be used as a crib sheet for Oscar voters. The Academy votes were in last week, and the winners will be announced on Thursday. So it will be fascinating to see if the Academy on its own will follow this list or go another way. I do think either Russell or Tarantino could find their way into the Oscar top 5. Who would be dislodged is a mystery.
Woody Allen’s New Film Gets a Home; Franco Does Bieber; Old Jews Speak Esperanto; Ethan Hawke’s New Play
Woody Allen’s next film, “Blue Jasmine,” will be released by Sony Pictures Classics. The classy mini studio has been Woody’s home for a while now, and they’ve always had great success with his pictures. from Gravier Productions. “Blue Jasmine” stars Alec Baldwin, Cate Blanchett, Bobby Cannavale, Louis C.K., Andrew Dice Clay, Sally Hawkins, Peter Sarsgaard and Michael Stuhlbarg. It is the story of the final stages of an acute crisis and a life of a fashionable New York housewife. The filmis produced by Woody’s sister, our friend Letty Aronson, with Stephen Tenenbaum and Edward Walson. Maybe it will go to Cannes…
James Franco does Justin Bieber: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evl1bGzhbwQ
…An email was recently generated by a primary New York-area speaker of Esperanto saying that he will be going to see an off-Broadway show co-created by Dan Okrent, the uncle of linguist scholar Arika Okrent. The show in question: the off-Broadway hit Old Jews Telling Jokes – or in Esperanto – Maljunaj Judoj Dirante Sxercojn, which actually translates as “Not Young Jews Say Jokes.”
In case your Esperanto history is rusty, Wikipedia says that the goal of its creator was to establish an easily learned and politically neutral language that transcended nationality, and would foster peace and international understanding between people. And if a mother-in-law joke can’t do that, is there any hope at all?
OJTJ is currently running in New York. Other productions, including Chicago and London, are being planned….
…from a press release: Ethan Hawke will direct and star in the title role of Clive, written by Jonathan Marc Sherman. The New Group will present the play’s world premiere Off-Broadway at The New Group at Theatre Row (The Acorn Theatre, 410 W. 42nd St.). The production features Brooks Ashmanskas, Vincent D’Onofrio, Zoe Kazan, and Jonathan Marc Sherman, among others. Previews begin January 17th with Opening Night set for Thursday, February 7th at 7 PM.
Daniel Day Lewis Likes Pop Culture But Is No Fan of “Downton Abbey”
Not everyone was watching “Downton Abbey” on Sunday night. Two time (and soon maybe three time) Oscar winner Daniel Day Lewis, a Brit who is also Irish, laughed when I asked if he’d been among the 7.9 million viewers of Matthew and Mary Crawley’s wedding. “Are you kidding?” he said, sort of smiling and outraged at the same time. “That [sort of thing] is why I left England!”
Apparently, the “Lincoln” star’s sixteen year marriage to American writer-director Rebecca Miller (daughter of the late quintessential American playwright Arthur Miller) has made him more like us that Shirley MacLaine’s Martha Levinson– who told all the other characters in Sunday’s episode that their days of splendor were at an end.
But what about Maggie Smith, I asked, naively? (I mean, we all love the Dowager Countess.) “Oh come on!” Daniel said, rolling his eyes, and laughing a bit. He’s not a snob–quite the contrary. In a prior conversation, he had recounted for me a full knowledge of current pop culture. He’s with it, just not into revisiting England’s imperious past.
There wasn’t a lot of standing on ceremony last night at the New York Film Critics Circle dinner, where DDL won Best Actor for playing Honest Abe. A guest of one of the film critics, a young Christian man, hurled an epithet at Michael Moore when the documentary filmmaker criticized the Catholic church during his speech. His “F– you!” was heard right across the mic, and the miso sea bass. Moore responded by speaking in Latin, and laughing it off. He’s been heckled before. But the moment seemed to enliven his speech about how the church had ignored the AIDS crisis initially, and he went on to present David France with his award for “How to Survive a Plague.”
Chris Rock arrived, presented an award, and when done, immediately exited. It would have taken more time to wait in line and buy a sweater at Banana Republic. “Magic Mike” director Steven Soderbergh came, sat until he was called, presented the very gaunt Matthew McConnaughey with his award for Best Supporting Actor, and then he left immediately thereafter. McConnaughey made a rambling 13 minute speech, briefly returned to his table, then he exited.
People seemed to be dropped like flies. Winner Sally Field made a nice acceptance speech for playing Mary Todd Lincoln, then she also hot footed it out of there. “Lincoln” director Steven Spielberg also made a quick run for the door. Doesn’t anyone stay for dessert anymore? Actually, some do: Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig, Daniel Day Lewis and Rebecca Miller, and French actress Emmanuelle Riva (“Amour”) all hung around for quite a bit, chatted and were all in great moods.
Craig–who is hard to get a read on sometimes– was all smiles when I mentioned how many awards and top 10 lists “Skyfall” had made it onto.
“Isn’t it great?” he said, which is a lot for James Bond. He and Weisz held hands all through this last part of the night, it should be noted. Aw, shucks!