Happy New Year!

Let's get all dolled up like Michael Fassbender here and go out on the town! Have a Happy New Year! And I'll be back in 2012 with new posts including my top ten films of 2011 and my most anticipated films of 2012. In the meantime, let Zooey and JGL soothe your soul with their New Year's duet...

Alternate Oscar Ballot

As much as I love the Oscars, wouldn't it be exciting to see them give out awards to the categories that really matter. Like, Best Kiss or Best Action Scene. What's that you say? Those are categories at the MTV Movie Awards? Well, maybe they're on to something...Behold the Alternate Nominees of 2011:

Worst Performance By a Previous Oscar Winner 

Nicolas Cage Trespass, Drive Angry, Season of the Witch

Jodie Foster The Beaver

Tom Hanks Larry Crowne

Nicole Kidman Just Go With It, Trespass

Natalie Portman No Strings Attached, Your Highness

Best Jessica Chastain Performance

Jessica Chastain Coriolanus

Jessica Chastain The Debt

Jessica Chastain The Help

Jessica Chastain Take Shelter

Jessica Chastain The Tree of Life

Hottest Actor: Male

Michael Fassbender Jane Eyre, X-Men:First Class, Shame

Chris Hemsworth Thor

Ryan Gosling Crazy, Stupid, Love; Drive

Chris Evans Captain America: The First Avenger

Glenn Close Albert Nobbs

Hottest Actor: Female

Mila Kunis Friends With Benefits

Rachel McAdams Midnight in Paris

Michelle Williams My Week With Marilyn

January Jones X Men:First Class

Meryl Streep The Iron Lady

Most Stylish

The Gods in Immortals

The Driver's satin bomber jackets in Drive

Lisbeth Salander's punk looks in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (It even inspired an H&M line)

Emma Frost's all white 60's ensembles in X-Men:First Class

J.Edgar Hoover in his mother's dress and pearls in J.Edgar

Best Performance by a Non-Human, Best Scene Stealers, and more after the jump

First Look: The Paperboy

Since being Oscar nominated for directing Precious,  Lee Daniels has been having a hard time with his follow up project. It looked like his film about Matin Luther King, Jr and the Civil Rights movement, Selma, starring Hugh Jackman, was all set to go back in 2010. But, that film lost finance before it started filming. Then there were reports he was readying a script called The Butler about a man who worked in the White House. The film that finally got made is The Paperboy about a reporter who covers a story about a man on death row and ends up falling for the man's lady friend.

Today brings the first look at the poster for the film and, well, it's very...pink. I do enjoy the old fashioned washed out colors of it-perhaps a hint at the look of the cinematography.  But, I'm most curious about the casting of this film. These four actors seem like an odd pairing. And then I found out that it was originally set to star Tobey Maguire and Sofia Vergara who both dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. They were replaced with...Matthew McConaughey and Nicole Kidman. Um, are these actors even the same type? It's good to see that McConaughey is working with good directors like Daniels and Steven Soderbergh. He was poised to be the next big actor after A Time to Kill and then it seemed he couldn't stop being the good ol' boy in every romantic comedy ever made. But, I'm not sure what to make of the presence of Efron here. He's not exactly the first choice I would have in mind for a movie starring Nicole Kidman. But, I'm up for seeing him in something that he'll actually be acting in. (Confession time. After relentlessly making fun of Charlie St.Cloud -he plays catch with his dead brother!-I watched it on Netflix and...didn't hate it.)

Also, in Precious related news released today-that you didn't even know you wanted to know-Jennifer Hudson revealed in a new book (she has a book?) that she was actually offered the role of Precious but turned it down because she didn't want to gain weight. Instead she chose to do that heavyweight powerhouse, Sex and the City...The Movie! I just cannot imagine how that film would have been with Hudson. She's not much of an actress. I hope Gabourey Sidibe is giving her 10% of her earnings because she wouldn't have a career without her...

Merry Christmas

Time Capsule: Ashley Judd, 4th Best Actress of This Millennium

I used to have a magazine addiction. I would collect magazines with my favorite actors on the cover  (Kate Winslet, Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, etc. I have a 'Movieline' with Kate on the cover from 1998) or that had a cover story with a list of say the 30 greatest actors under the age of 30. When I moved out of my dorm in college, I had two suitcases. One with clothes, the other with magazines. Luckily I have weened myself off of the need to collect magazines. (Perhaps because no one really buys magazines anymore and everything is online.) Luckily, my parents- understanding my need to hoard-have safely kept my magazines waiting for me in the garage. Thank god they did because there's nothing like taking out a 12-year-old magazine and seeing how wrong we were.

I came across an 'Entertainment Weekly' dated Winter 1999. It's The 100 Greatest Entertainers 1950-2000. The list itself still holds up pretty well. The Top 10 were: 

The Beatles

Elvis

Marilyn Monroe

Steven Spielberg

Madonna

Frank Sinatra

The Cast of SNL

Michael Jackson

Lucille Ball

The Simpsons

Nothing stands out as being especially ridiculous. Probably because they went pretty classic and stuck with iconic people that everyone knows. The only ones I would argue now are SNL and The Simpsons. Not that they don't belong on the list somewhere. It's just that in the past 12 years since the list came out, both shows have still been on the air and its diminished their impact on society. There is certainly something to be said for longevity. But, watching the shows today makes you long for it's glory days. Neither is really a part of the public awareness anymore nor do they hold the same importance as they once did.  

But my favorite part was a section in the middle in which an online poll (they did those in 1999?) asked who were the next greatest entertainers of the next millennium. Such greats as The Dave Matthews Band and Seth Green took the number one spot for best musical group and television actor. But, since I always tend to gravitate to the cinematic, let's take a look at the Actor and Actress. Actress first:

Could Julie Win an Emmy? You Betcha

That's right Emmy. I'm comin' for ya!

When it was announced that Julianne Moore was cast as Sarah Pain in a new HBO movie, I wondered if she could pull it off. Today brought the first look of Julie in action. We'll have to see once the film, Game Change, airs in March how broad the portrayal is. But, she certainly looks the part more than I thought and seems to be channeling Palin pretty well. (Ed Harris, however, looks a little too virile to be McCain). 

Julie already has a Daytime Emmy for her work on As the World Turns, perhaps this role will bring her a Primetime (aka-real) Emmy. Nicole Kidman as Martha Gellhorn to Clive Owen's Hemingway will also appear in an HBO biopic next year. The Best Actress in a Miniseries or Made for TV Movie 2012 is certainly looking star studded already. Any other Oscar nominated actresses wanna get in a biopic for next year to join them? Perhaps Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher or Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe? Oh, wait...

Video Links: Hobbits, Actresses, and Drunk Santa

~Damn internets. We just got the trailer for The Dark Knight Rises yesterday and today brought the trailer for Peter Jackson's next chapter in The Lord of the Rings franchise- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Which is the first of two planned movies. Cause that seems necessary. I do enjoy the Trilogy. In fact, every year at Christmas time, my family watches the extended version of all three films in one day. 10 plus hours of Orcs, Enya/Annie Lennox easy listening, and Liv Tyler's British accent. I don't think anyone has made it through all three without a nap here or there. But watching the trailer, released 10 years almost to the day that Fellowship of the Ring was released in the theatre, I wasn't getting excited. Instead I had this feeling of déjà vu. It has the exact same look and feel as the other films. It seems a little pointless. Maybe something fresh could have been created if Guillermo Del Toro had directed it as intended. Oh, well. It'll make tons of money and I guess that's the real reason it was made...

~Oscar hopeful, Carey Mulligan, is on the cover of 'W' Magazine. Their website also has a great video thats part of Lynn Hirschberg's Screen Test series in which Carey talks about Shame and how she got the part. She's so cute. I love seeing her all dolled up. I saw her this summer when she was getting out of a show she was doing Off-Broadway and let's just say she dresses like a serious actor-complete with clogs and page boy hat.

~Speaking of serious actors, Meryl Streep was on 60 Minutes this past Sunday. It seems like she's everywhere lately. She likes to pretend that winning a third Oscar isn't that important to her, but you just know it is. But is The Iron Lady gonna hold up next to her wins for Sophie's Choice and Kramer vs. Kramer? Although Margaret Thatcher holds a little more heft that Julia Childs. So, maybe this could be the year...

~Did you see any movies this past year? If you did, chances are Jessica Chastain was in it. The Juilliard grad appeared in five films this year (The Tree of Life, The Help, The Debt, Take Shelter, and Coriolanus.) She just received SAG and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress for The Help and an Oscar nom for that film seems inevitable. But, Fox Searchlights, the studio behind The Tree of Life, thinks she should be nominated for her work in their film. And no For Your Consideration print ad in the trade papers will do-how Miramax 90's. They have put together a video campaign that is much classier than it sounds.

~And finally, in honor of the holidays, Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes, and Jim Carrey as Santa in Funny or Die's Drunk History: Twas the Night Before Christmas. 

The Dark Knight Rises Over Moon River

The internets were all a buzz today with the release of the official trailer to The Dark Knight Rises. And with the release of the prologue on IMAX screens attached before the new Mission Impossible film, it's looking like every plot point and action sequence will be dissected and scrutinized well before it's July opening. I'm just as excited as everyone else. After all, it's nice to see the entire cast of Inception is back together (I guess Leo was too busy. Ellen Page-what's your excuse?). Heath Ledger won an Oscar for the last Batman movie. Maybe Tom Hardy has a shot this time since the Academy loves when an actor plays a character with a disability. But, I think I was most excited to see that Annie Hathaway's Catwoman is actually, in fact, Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's.

An Evening With Louise

    My friend and neighbor, Tom Blunt, does a monthly series at the 92nd Street Y in TriBeCa called Meet the Lady. It's a celebration of interesting ladies, cinematic and otherwise, and each show has a theme or honors a particular woman. This past Saturday was a tribute to actress and writer, Louise Lasser. I'm not gonna lie-I wasn't really familiar with her work. In fact, I hadn't even heard of her until the American Master's PBS Documentary on Woody Allen and found out that they had been married. So, I went in not exactly sure what to expect from the evening.

The signature pigtails

    After the opening montage of clips from her work, I knew we were in for an interesting evening.
    There was a hilarious scene from an early Woody film, Take the Money and Run. And Louise was in  Requiem for a Dream and Happiness-turns out I have seen her in things! But, what she is known for is a 70's television show in which she received an Emmy nomination, "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman". Clips were shown of that show and to say it's bizarre is an understatement. Y'all, I'm not even sure how to describe it. It was shot like a soap opera but it was a sitcom(?). I'm not entirely sure. It's a show with no laugh track-which, I kinda needed because I'm not sure if it was supposed to be funny or not. But, it was clear from the sold out audience that they were fans of the show. Louise said they shot over 100 episodes (or 300, I think I may have misheard. Just know it was a hell of a lot of episodes for a show to film in a year). Tom said only the first 25 episodes are available on DVD. That's a shame to put in all that work and have it virtually disappear. Who can we call to get on this?
   We also got to see a couple of Louise's early commercials from the 60's including this delightfully dated gem:

    Louise had a great story about this. She said she had been auditioning for two years without getting anything and then finally booked this. The day it was set to film, she came down with a fever and didn't think she could make it. They told her to come anyway. She said she felt delirious. Her hands were shaking so much that when she had to hold the packets they told her, 'you know, you have to keep the product steady for the beauty shot'. The shoot wrapped early and she thought for sure that nothing was gonna be used. But the commercial was such a success that it won multiple Clio awards-which honor excellence in advertising. Including a Best Actress Clio for Louise-the first person to receive the honor.

   The evening was filled with great antidotes and moments. Advil, courtesy of an audience member, was had at one point. Lipstick was shared between host and guest. But, mostly it was a celebration of an actress that may not be a household name, but has had a fascinating career. It was a lovely tribute to a unique performer. I'm grateful to Tom to bringing her to my attention.

Critics' End of the Year Roundup

2011 is coming to end. Which means critics are making their best films of the year lists. I love a good list. I still have so much to see that I probably won't make my top 10 list until January. And because I know you are all busy people-but really wanna know what Time magazine liked the best-I've compiled a list (remember how I love those) of what various critics picked. Use it to update your Netflix queue, go to the theatre, pretend like you've seen a movie that no one has heard of. Either way you can thank me later.


The original and still the best Roger Ebert who went with 20 films this year:

1. A Separation
2. Shame
3. The Tree of Life
4. Hugo
5. Take Shelter
6. Kinyarwanda
7. Drive 
8. Midnight in Paris
9. Le Havre
10. The Artist
11. Melancholia
12. Terri
13. The Descendants
14. Margaret
15. Martha Marcy May Marlene
16. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
17. Trust
18. Life, Above All
19. The Mill and the Cross
20. Another Earth

A.O. Scott and Manohla Dargis at The New York Times decided on a random number and chose to list them alphabetically this year:

A.O. Scott's:

Bridesmaids;  A Bright Summer Day; Cedar Rapids; A Dangerous Method; The Descendants; The Future; The Help; Incendies; Into the Abyss; Margin Call; Meek’s Cutoff; Mysteries of Lisbon; Le Quattro Volte; The Tree of Life; Tuesday, After Christmas; War Horse; Warrior; Weekend; Winnie the Pooh; Young Adult

What are you guys looking at? You're on more critics list then any other film

Manohla Dargis's:

Abracadabra; Aurora; The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu; Bridesmaids; Contagion; A Dangerous Method; J. Edgar; Le Havre; Hugo; Melancholia; Moneyball; My Joy; Mysteries of Lisbon; Of Gods and Men; Poetry; Le Quattro Volte; The Return; Seeking the Monkey King; The Skin I Live In; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; Voluptuous Sleep; Warrior

Entertainment Weekly, Time, Rolling Stone, New York Magazine and The New Yorker after the jump

What would Miranda Priestly Say About This?

How exciting to see 5 Million Time Oscar Nominee (and yet, only 2 time winner) and all around great, Meryl Streep, grace the cover of the most well known fashion magazine in the world. Of all the things Mary Louise is, fashionista is not one of them. I bet she got a kick out of doing this. I bet she was all, Who me? Oh, well, why not? But, I feel like its a missed opportunity. They decided to go all earth mother and hippie soccer mom chic (who doesn't love a prairie skirt shirt dress?). I'm guessing that's probably how she is in real life. But, isn't the cover of Vogue the place to glam it up? And, you know, maybe just sneak a photo of her in Miranda Priestly mode posing with Anna Wintour? Am I reaching for the stars here? Not really. That's all...

Golden Globe Noms! Now with 2 times the Gosling and Winslet...

My roommate text me this morning asking why I was recording Sandy Bullock on the Today show. It's a good question seeing as we have history. But, it was for the Golden Globe nominations. And it worked this time! (Thanks for nothing TNT and SAGs) Thank god it did because there were some laughs to be had. And not like last year where the laughs came from the Best Comedy or Musical category. (Oh, it will never get old making fun of Angie and Johnny Depp being nominated for The Tourist.) The four random stars of (big) screen and (small) screen at first seemed like odd choices but I now want to write some sort of rom-com to star Rashida Jones in hipster glasses, Gerry Butler looking rugged, Sofia Vergara not being able to pronounce anything, and shameless promoter, and complete delight, Woody Harrelson. But, let's move on to the nominees:

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

1. THE DESCENDANTS
   Sofia Vergara Ad Hominem Enterprises; Fox Searchlight Pictures
2. THE HELPDreamWorks Pictures, Participant Media; Touchstone Pictures
3. HUGOParamount Pictures presents a GK Films Production; Paramount Pictures
4. THE IDES OF MARCH
   Columbia Pictures, Cross Creek Pictures, Exclusive Media Group, Crystal City Entertainment; Sony Pictures Releasing
5. MONEYBALL
   Columbia Pictures; Sony Pictures Releasing International
6. WAR HORSE
   DreamWorks Pictures; Touchstone Pictures

I would just like to point out that I cut and paste this directly from The Golden Globe website. Notice something odd about the film company that made The Descendants? I wonder how long it will take them to correct that. One of the highlight's of the announcement was Woody leaning into the mic and announcing that his film Rampart opens January 27 and it somehow got left off the list. They have six nominations and the average The Ides of March gets a nod? Its looking like Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is fading from awards potential. It hasn't gotten anything from any awards body. Its gonna have to have good word of mouth when it opens if its gonna get traction. Predicted Winner: War Horse

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Glenn Close Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis The Help
Rooney Mara The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton We Need To Talk About Kevin


With Michelle Williams competing in Comedy or Musical it opened up the field to another actress vying for that fifth slot at Oscar. It's looking in more and more like it's gonna be Tilda. And Kiki is all but forgotten for Melancholia. They went with Rooney Mara here. I think it'll be a huge box office success, but I think this will be it for her. It's such a power house of big name dramatic ladies this season. It's really between Meryl and Viola. But...Predicted Winner: Meryl Streep The Iron Lady I hope she wears pearls.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

George Clooney The Descandants

Leonardo DiCaprio J. Edgar

Michael Fassbender Shame

Ryan Gosling The Ides of March

Brad Pitt Moneyball

Movie stars and hot guys! I mean, what a talented group of actors. But, really this is a handsome group of fellows and they are, in fact, talented. When this was announced Woody asked if there was a name left off. It was a cute moment. Looks like he really wants to be recognized for Rampart. It seems more people like J.Edgar more than I thought. And I'm happy about Fassy's nom. And Gosling was nominated in drama and comedy. Is there anything he can't do? Predicted Winner: Brad Pitt Moneyball

I think this is the only promo pic for this movie

The Kardashians SAG Nominations Are Here!

Damn my DVR! TNT was airing Miss Regina King, perpetual best friend, Miss Judy Greer, and <swoon> SAG president, Ken Howard, announcing the nominees for the 18th Annual Screen Actor's Guild Awards and I only got to see the nominees in the TV Miniseries/Movie before it cut off! Oh, well. At least I have the Golden Globe Nominees tomorrow. Don't let me down, DVR! Anywho, enough about my problems. Let's get to the nominees! Surprises are in store:

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

THE ARTIST (The Weinstein Company)

BÉRÉNICE BEJO / Peppy
JAMES CROMWELL / Clifton
JEAN DUJARDIN / George
JOHN GOODMAN / Al Zimmer

PENELOPE ANN MILLER / Doris

BRIDESMAIDS (Universal Pictures)
ROSE BYRNE / Helen
JILL CLAYBURGH / Annie’s Mom
ELLIE KEMPER / Becca
MATT LUCAS  / Gil
MELISSA McCARTHY / Megan
WENDI McLENDON-COVEY / Rita
CHRIS O’DOWD / Rhodes
MAYA RUDOLPH / Lillian
KRISTEN WIIG / Annie

THE DESCENDANTS (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
BEAU BRIDGES / Cousin Hugh
GEORGE CLOONEY / Matt King
ROBERT FORSTER / Scott Thorson
JUDY GREER  / Julie Speer
MATTHEW LILLARD  / Brian Speer

SHAILENE WOODLEY  / Alexandra King

THE HELP (DreamWorks Pictures / Touchstone Pictures)
JESSICA CHASTAIN / Celia Foote

VIOLA DAVIS / Aibileen Clark
BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD / Hilly Holbrook
ALLISON JANNEY / Charlotte Phelan
CHRIS LOWELL / Stuart Whitworth
AHNA O’REILLY / Elizabeth Leefolt
SISSY SPACEK / Missus Walters
OCTAVIA SPENCER / Minny Jackson
MARY STEENBURGEN / Elaine Stein
EMMA STONE / Skeeter Phelan
CICELY TYSON / Constantine Jefferson
MIKE VOGEL / Johnny Foote

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (Sony Pictures Classics)
KATHY BATES / Gertrude Stein
ADRIEN BRODY / Salvador Dali
CARLA BRUNI / Museum Guide
MARION COTILLARD / Adriana
RACHEL McADAMS / Inez
MICHAEL SHEEN / PaulOWEN WILSON / Gil

Who's Missing: Well, for one thing, all of the actors from the nominated films. Thanks to Nathaiel over at The Film Experience for pointing this out. Where are all the great actors from the ensemble of Midnight In Paris? Corey Stoll is the only performance from that film that anyone talked about. Yet, somehow French First Lady, Carla Bruni, made the cut? Other great ensemble casts that could have made the cut: Drive, Win Win, Rampart, New Year's Eve...

Thoughts: All in all, a pleasing list. All the films have a good mix of comedy and drama in them. Sometimes I think those actors confuse this category with Best Picture and not what it actually is. The only film I wouldn't exactly consider an ensemble is The Artist. The film is pretty much just Dujardin, Bejo, and, of course, Uggie the dog. But, it's probably my favorite movie that I've seen so far this year. So, I'll let it pass. 

But Imagine It In 3-D

Two official photos have been released of Baz Lurhmann's Australian filmed, 3-D extravagance of a required book from your high school English class. And, my, are they pretty:

"Tobey, doesn't Long Island look suspiciously like the set of Moulin Rouge..."

"Leo-can we talk about how bad J. Edgar was? But, don't speak-just hold me..."

I've always been a big fan of Baz Luhrmann's films. (Have I mentioned that I saw Moulin Rouge! six times in the theatre? I even like Australia more than most people. Although, do people talk about or even remember that movie? I bet if you asked Nicole Kidman about it she'd really have to rack her brain to recall anything.) What I love about his films are they're all distinctly his vision. He has a visual style that is unmistakable. I love how he's not afraid to make something lushly beautiful and wonderfully theatrical. So, it will be interesting to see what he does with The Great Gatsby. It's really the first time that he hasn't created his own world. He's working within the constraints of the novel. (Even though he didn't write Romeo + Juliet, it's definitely his own version. He took that story and put his twist on it.) From what I can tell, Gatsby, appears to be a more straight forward rendition. Oh, except for that whole filming in 3-D thing. You gotta hand it to a man that is using a technique usually reserved for animation and action films and apply it to an adult drama based on a classic American masterpiece. Baz certainly makes the film he wants to make. I'm just glad I get to experience them...

It's A Coffee Luvah's Dream

One of my favorite scenes in film this year was Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling's courtship scene in Crazy, Stupid, Love. (It's such a shame that the film wasn't a bigger success. It was so smart and entertaining; really well written and acted. Which is a rarity in most rom coms. I just saw Friends With Benefits, so, believe me-it's rare.) It starts off with the Dirty Dancing lift and only gets better from there. Those two have such great chemistry (apparently I'm not the only one who thought so because they're starring together again in Gangster Squad). The actors really play off each other as the characters share more about themselves. It's a great combination of funny and sweet. At one point in the getting to know you montage, Stone starts doing a monologue about drinking a decaffeinated coffee at night. Is she coming up with that herself, I thought, because it's hilarious.

Around this same time my friend started calling everything "a coffee lover's dream".

What are you doing, I asked. What is that from?
Oh, you've never seen Lauren Bacall's commercials from the 80's for High Point? It's genius.

So, thanks to the randomness archive that is youtube, I was able to experience the crazy genius of High Point. And, wouldn't you know, Emma Stone's monologue is from one of those High Point commercials.

I'm so glad that this is in my life now. Bacall's delivery in her husky voice and Brooklyn accent make me laugh out loud every time. I can't decide what I love more: the table, complete with lamp, set up in the back of a car, the glass teacups placed on top of each other capturing that deep brewed flavah, or the possessed look in her eyes-as if taking the caffeine away somehow has made her more intensely high strung. She may not have an Oscar, but she'll always have High Point. Mmmm...

Watch Emma Stone's take on it after the break at around 1:16...

Hitchcock Times Two

Hollywood is full of people with great ideas. Where else could someone come up with not one, but three, live-action Alvin and the Chipmunks movies? And for some reason, everyone seems to get the same great idea at the same time. 1998 was a banner year of the same great idea. We got two computer animated films about ants (the aptly named, Antz, and Pixar's A Bug's Life) and two films about a meteor hurtling towards earth to destroy life as we know it (Michael Bay's Armageddon and the slightly more realistic, Deep Impact). Next year will bring us a double dose of Snow White. And now comes word that two films about Alfred Hitchcock are in development. Luckily, the movies only share Hitchcock and his wife as characters and are about different times in the director's life.

 

     It was reported today by The Hollywood Reporter that Helen Mirren is in talks to join Anthony Hopkins as Hitchcock's wife in Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho. (I wonder what that's about?) Sacha Gervasi, who directed the documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil!, is attached to direct the film which has been in development for four years and based on a book by Stephen Rebello. I always love films about filmmaking especially when famous actors get to play other famous people. I wonder who will be cast as actress (and Jamie Leigh Curtis's mom), Janet Leigh. This sounds like it could be interesting. I've only seen Psycho once back in high school but it seems like they have their work cut out for them. That film has some iconic images that are pretty ingrained in people's memories. 

      The other is an hour and a half BBC film called The Girl that focuses on Hitchcock's relationship with actress (and Melanie Griffith's mom), Tippi Hedren. The film is based on the book, "Spellbound By Beauty: Alfred Hitchcock and His Leading Ladies" by Donald Spoto.  Hedren has apparantly given her blessing. She has even cooperated with the filmmaker's and met with actress Sienna Miller, who has been cast as Hedren. Hitchcock will be played by British actor, Toby Jones (who starred as Truman Capote in the other movie about his life. You know, the one that didn't win Philip Seymour Hoffman an Oscar. See, more movies about the same thing!). I'm more excited about this one. I wasn't familiar with Hedren and Hitchcock's relationship until I was aware of this project and it sounds intriguing. Apparently, Hitch became obsessed with her and tried to make her over a la Vertigo. He also tried to destroy her career when she refused his sexual advantages. Juicy stuff. I'm also glad to see that Sienna is acting again. I feel like most people only know her as a tabloid staple and Jude Law's on-again, off-again fiancée. But, I think she's talented. I think she was great as Edie Sedgewick in Factory Girl and I thought she really had magnetic star quality on Broadway in After Miss Julie. 

      So, what do you think of the double feature of Hitchcock? Have you seen Psycho and/or The Birds? Do you think Anthony Hopkins will give a fully realized performance and stop phoning it in like he has the past couple years? Are you as excited as I am to see Sienna play another real-life blonde? Share your thoughts!

So, what I'm saying is...sleep with me or you're fired.

Charlize-Never Go Away Again

It's been three years since Oscar winner Charlize Theron was the lead in a film. And now she's back! On the cover of magazines, starring along CGIed Grace Kelly and Marilyn Monroe in Dior commercials, doing foul-mouthed interviews, and, most importantly, acting.  I caught her hour long interview with Piers Morgan a couple of months ago and it only whet my appetite. It's now official: I have Charlize fever!

This is now my desktop background. What's South African for goddess...

Like almost everyone, I didn't come to apprecaite Charlize as an actress until Monster. (If you say you were a fan from back in The Devil's Advocate days-I call bullshit) Of course, she was always beautiful. Being a 5'10" former model will do that. And she was always pleasant enough in films like Cider House Rules. But her performance in Monster really announced her presence as one of the finest actresses working today. Roger Ebert even famously said it was one the greatest performances ever caputured on film. So, it's good to see that she's back on screen in Jason Reitman's Young Adult. She's already getting positive reviews and hopefully it leads to a third Best Actress nomination. I'm seeing the movie this weekend and the more I see of Charlize the more I can't wait!

This week I finally watched this year's The Hollywood Reporter's Actress Roundtable Discussion. (This year wasn't nearly as good as last year when Annette Bening and Helena Bonham Carter named names, talked about projects that got away, and genereally had a lively, engaging conversation ) This year the real stand out was, you guessed it-Charlize. There she was delightfully cussing again, talking about learning the birds and bees from Fatal Attraction, and really being the only actress that sounded intelligent and willing to have a dicussion. (Sorry, Michelle Williams, you may be a good actress, but interviews are not your strong suit.) Charlize was so charming; I found myself falling more and more in love with her. So, just one request: Now that you're back, please stay.

And it looks like my Charlize love-a-thon isn't going away anytime soon. Because she looks amazing as the Queen in next summer's Snow White and the Huntsman. Is it wrong to root for the villian?

Truer Words Were Never Spoken

Penny: Mmmmm, Eggnog is delish! Dairy and liquor are really one of those underrated combinations

Alex: Kinda like Garry Marshall and Hector Elizondo. Yeah, they may be coming for Julia Roberts and Annie Hathaway- but they're staying for Elizondo

For Your Consideration

Best Supporting Actress:

Carey Mulligan Shame

I wanna wake up in a city that doesn't sleep...

While much is being said about the NC-17 rating, the graphic sex scenes, and the stars' full frontal nudity, not enough is being said about the career changing performance given by, Carey Mulligan. 
Miss Mulligan came to the attention of many in her Oscar nominated performance as the innocent school girl, Jenny, coming of age in An Education. She immediately established herself as an English Rose. You know the type. Beautiful, fresh, intelligent, and proper. She followed her break-out role with the prerequisite big-budget girlfriend role in Wall Street 2. And returned to form in another good performance in Never Let Me Go. But, nothing she has done on film previously would prepare you for her blistering turn in Shame.
She arrives about a half hour into the film and immediately gives the film a jolt of energy. Up until then we have been following her brother, Brandon (Michael Fassbender), on his cool, rather distant journey through a sexual addiction. Mulligan bursts on the scene exposing herself, literally, with a vulnerability and humanness that the film has been lacking. Her Sissy is the emotional heart of the film. She is the catalyst for the audience to feel the journey these characters are going through.
Sissy is of the Sally Bowles mode. A fun loving singer that lives for the moment and is very much the little girl lost. It's a character that in the wrong hands can very quickly turn one-dimensional. But, Mulligan makes it her own giving this reckless woman layers of complexity. Sissy and Brandon have an odd relationship. They don't bat an eye at being nude together or emotionally ripping each other apart. There are many questions about how each of them arrived at this place in their lives. It's to the actors' credit that a back story is never revealed. It lives in the moments as anyone's history unknowingly shapes their lives.

We're family. We're meant to look after each other

The film isn't afraid to take it's time. There are many single shot scenes in which the camera lingers, daring you to look away. In a scene in which the siblings have a discussion, they are shot from behind with no cuts. Even though the entire conversation is done in profile we don't miss a thing. He, all icy reserve and she, bleeding heart on her sleeve, cut to the heart of what it means to be family. Wanting to stand on your own, but knowing that family is always there.

And in perhaps the film's best scene, the camera, in extreme close-up, focuses on Sissy giving the saddest performance of the song, 'New York, New York', that you've ever heard. With her voice and a furlong look, Mulligan gives the song a raw intensity. She acts through the song, giving the moment a glimpse into her character's fragility. The camera briefly cuts away to show that the song has brought a tear to Brandon's eye, momentarily melting his hard soul. As an audience member, it's difficult to invest in a character who is so closed off. If the film succeeds at all on an emotional level it is due to the performance of Carey Mulligan.

I Know All the Nominees Weren't That Great, But Really?!?

Everyone, I have a confession to make. I thought it would pass, but I can't seem to shake it.  Sometimes at night I wake up in a cold sweat. Why, you ask? Is it the state of the union? The ever increasing unemployment numbers? (that one should haunt me more) The fact that every new musical on Broadway is based on a film? To a degree, yes. But, the reason I have trouble sleeping at night is the fact that Sandy Bullock has an Oscar. It just isn't right.

Is that Meryl Streep in my rearview? Luckily this blonde wig  fooled everyone...

How did this happen? People like Sandy. In Hollywood and America. I get it. I'd rather have an ice queen over a girl next door any day. That's just me. But, just because you like someone as a person doesn't mean you should give them acting awards. 

Back in August of 09, I was waiting to see Meryl Streep in her soon to be Oscar nominated performance of Julie and Julia in the movie theatre. There was the usual summer movie previews. Tony award winner, Julie White, was sitting in front of me and decided that this would be a good time to try out a stand-up comedy routine. When the preview for The Blind Side came on it was a typical cliched story. The cheese was practically dripping from the screen. After it was over, Julie White shouts, "I smell Oscar!" The theatre unleashed uproarious laughter. Yeah, right. Like that piece of crap, Lifetime original movie, would ever take it's place in the Oscar canon. Cut to March 2010 and there's Sandy with a Best Actress Oscar in her hands.

 I realize this doesn't have the same effect on some people as it does me. So, as a reference, in no particular order, a list of actors and actresses who are Oscarless:

Best Actor 2012 Oscar Goes To...

So, after years of being in development and losing original star, Liam Neeson, in the process, Speilberg's Lincoln is finally filming. And some brave person has given us a first look of new star, Daniel Day-Lewis, in Honest Abe make-up. Apparently, he took a picture of DDL while at a restaurant in Virginia and posted it on twitter:

I wonder if those jeans and grandpa sneakers are period...

Looks pretty good even off the set. Which makes sense because DDL is notorious for going all crazy Method. According to Jeff Sneider at Variety, the actor hasn't stopped with the Lincoln accent since March and his real name doesn't even appear on call sheets. Intense. But, that's how you win a third Best Actor, folks. And you really have to be at that level in your career to be so committed. Can you imagine if say, Channing Tatum, did this kind of behavior? No one would stand for it. (Although, Chan, if you would care to stay in character from Magic Mike I'm sure no one would object.)

The film also stars Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones, James Spader, Lee Pace, John Hawkes, Jackie Earle Haley, and bunch of other fancy people. It is scheduled to open in late 2012. 

If Only Sutton Foster or Lea Salonga Were 15 Years Younger...

When I was growing up my two favorite musicals were, like many musical loving children of the 80's, The Phantom of the Opera (which we had on double vinyl. Try not to be jealous) and, of course, Les Miz. I would spend hours listening and singing along at the top of my lungs. It was a sad day when puberty came and I could no longer hit the high note that Christine sings at the end of the title song. (Don't think I didn't still try.) But, nothing spoke to my lil adolescent heart like Eponine's 'On My Own' from Les Miz. Which is why I'm not crazy about this news from the New York Post regarding the casting of Eponine in Tom Hopper's upcoming film of the musical. Joel Schumacher already messed up the film version of Phantom. A big part of that was in the casting. Don't make the same mistake, Hooper. Let's break down the four potential actresses/singers:

Is one of these four the big screen's Eponine? Yesh...