Vanity Fair: Hollywood Issue 2012

 Vanity Fair revealed the cover of it's 18th Annual Hollywood Issue today. And my, is it pretty. The actresses are (from left to right) Academy Award nominee, Rooney Mara (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), should-have-been nominee for Jane Eyre, Mia Wasikowska, Academy Award Nominee and future Hunger Games star, Jennifer Lawrence, Academy Award Nominee, Jessica Chastain (The Help), Olsen twins' sister, Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Adepero Oduye (Pariah), Thank-god-she-didn't-get-an-Academy-Award-Nominee, Shailene Woodley (The Descendants), Wife of Robin Thicke, Paula Patton (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocal), my year in advance nominee, Felicity Jones (Like Crazy), daughter of Phil Collins, Lily Collins (Abducted), and someone I had to Google to find out who she was, Brit Marling (Another Earth). It's the first time the cover was shot by photographer, Mario Testino. (I guess Annie Leibovitz decided to take a year off...or was asking too much.) They were going for a 1920's-30's feel this year and I think it's really gorgeous. It's airbrushed within an inch of it's life, but that adds to the glamour. It gives it a painterly quality and actually reminds me of fashion illustrations from the 30's. 

I actually have a subscription to Vanity Fair. The sole reason is to receive this issue. Every month I get it in the mail and I'm disappointed by the lazy cover subject. Is there really anything new to learn about Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, or Jennifer Lopez?  But, the Hollywood Issue can always be counted on for that three-page, fold-out cover of new stars. (Except in 2009 when Obama appeared on the cover instead. I was livid. They couldn't have done that for the February issue?) You see, the Hollywood Issue and I have a history. I have every year's issue since 1998. (Minus the Obama one. It was my protest against the breaking of a tradition.) In 1999, instead of flowers after my performance in the school play, my parents gave me that year's Hollywood Issue. Each year, I look forward to seeing what the theme will be and who will make that first panel. Some years have not been so great (4 male comedians with penguins?). Sometimes some of the predicted up-and-coming stars don't quite pan out (Quick- try to remember Claire Forlani, Alice Braga, or Sarah Wynter. There's a reason they're usually relegated to that third panel anyway). But, it always brings back a bit of classic Hollywood sophistication and fuses the feel of Old Hollywood with the modern Next-Big-Thing. My mom had this book, 'Life' Goes to the Movies, that I used to look at as a child. It really shaped my love of classic film because it made me want to know who these movie stars were. That's the same feeling I get with every new Vanity Fair Hollywood Issue. 

Eponine Watch: NO TAYLOR SWIFT!!! (Thank, God)

Sing a chorus of Hallelujahs! Shout it from the rooftops! All is well in the world because it was officially announced today (and confirmed by Universal Pictures) that the part of Eponine in the Les Misérables film will not be played by country star, Taylor Swift, as initially reported, but by an actual musical theatre performer. Samantha Barks, who played the part of Eponine in the 25th Anniversary concert, is set to star as the unlucky-in-love street urchin. She received the news today on stage after this evening's performance of Oliver! on the West End where she's been playing the part of Nancy. Les Miz producer, Cameron Macintosh, apparently made the announcement to her in front of the audience. What a dramatic way to announce a casting. It better well be true or that's just a cruel thing to do.

Swift had been in the running with three other well-known actresses and at the beginning of the month, it had been announced she had been offered the part. Did you she turn it down? Why would you audition for something that you obviously want, be offered the part, and then not want to do it? Was it something we said? Maybe she couldn't find a way to make her trademarked Surprised Face work for the character. I don't really give a damn why she's not doing it. I'm just excited that the filmmakers went with Barks.

Filming starts shooting soon and my levels of anticipation and excitement have just gotten higher (I bet you didn't think that was possible). To recap, we officially now have Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Russell Crowe as Javert, Annie Hathaway as Fantine, Amanda Seyfried as Cosette, Eddie Redmayne as Marius, and Samantha Barks as Eponine. (Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter are still in negotiations to play Eponine's parents, the Thenardiers.) Welcome to the cast, Sam! You are truly a god-sent. Before it's captured on film, let's take a look at the rightful Eponine in action.

Can You Mess Up Lines in a Silent Film?

In honor of Jean Dujardin's surprise SAG award win last night, I'm posting this video of bloopers from the set of The Artist. It may be the world's most adorable bloopers. If I wasn't aware it was a blooper reel I would have just assumed it was an actual comedic short film they had assembled. It's looking like that charm is gonna take them all the way to Best Picture at the Oscars. The main question is: can Jean surprise and take Best Actor?

Live Blogging The SAGs Ceremony

8:02 They're doing the classic intro for the SAGs: I'm an actor. Everyone is so awkward. You would think as actors they would be able to do better in saying such awful copy.

8:05 Best Supporting Actor: My roommate says that Armie Hammer has a great voice. Then we hear Leo in the J. Edgar clip who must definitely does not have the best voice. Especially in that movie.

8:07 Christopher Plummer wins. No surprise there. He has a sweet speech but keeps doing this odd thing with his mouth where he's making a sucking sound. Is he losing his dentures?

8:12 Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer. Another no brainer. If she wasn't already winning the Oscar she would be with that speech. She managed to honor everyone from the woman who have come before her to pave the way and the present day down-trodden. Wow, imagine if this was actually an award that mattered...

8:22 Now we've gone to TV. Best Actor in a Comedy: Alec Baldwin. 6th consecutive win in this category! Man, Steve Carrell never wins anything. And now he will officially never win an award for 'The Office'. Some Country music starts playing in the middle of the '30 Rock' theme. Get it together SAGs!

8:25 Moving right along. Best Actress in a Comedy: Betty White. She won last year. Her clip was awful. Is it time for some Betty backlash? I just realized that theirs no supporting category. Its just everyone in there.

8:31 That was a fun montage of local actors in films. Its nice to honor working actors who make a living acting but don't get recognition. But, Mike Tyson as a local actor from Las Vegas is a bit of a stretch.

8:35 Best Ensemble in TV Comedy: Modern Family. Everything is so predictable. They even wrote a skit for the kids they were so confident of their win. After seeing that, is it too late to take back the award?

8:43 Best Actress in a TV Movie or Miniseries: Kate Winslet Mildred Pierce. I wrote that before they actually announced it. Where's Kate? Is she suddenly over winning awards?

8:47 Is that a wife-beater underneath Zoe Saldana's old lady caftan?

8:48 Best Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries: Paul Giamatti Too Big To Fail. He's a no show as well. Makes the ceremony go more quickly. And now the SAG president is speaking so, scratch that...

8:59 That was the highlight of the evening. Drinking game from the set of Bridesmaids. Drink everytime someone says "Scorsese". There was a reason that movie was so successful. Those ladies are funny. Hopefully they bring the funny to the Oscars. God knows it needs it.

9:01 Mary Tyler Moore tribute. I'm making a salad. Talk amongst yourselves...

9:17 Best Actress in Drama: Jessica Lange 'American Horror Story' (Did Kathy Bates have a feather fan with her? Someone cast her as a Madame in a brothel soon.) Lange is really good at playing crazy, but part of me feels it's not that different from her real life.

9:21 "If Drag Queens love you, you'll have the longest career. They know phony and they know real." Kathie Lee Gifford courtesy of Tina Fey

9:23 Best Actor in a Drama: Steve Buscemi 'Boardwalk Empire' Drink! He said Scorsese!

9:26 Meryl now presents In Memoriam. She's so somber tonight. I don't like this Meryl.

9:37 Best Ensemble Drama: Boardwalk Empire. I still have to see that show. HBO sure takes its sweet ass time putting shows out on DVD at Netflix. (Which apparently, they're thinking about not doing at all anymore.) Luckily, the first season is up now. I'll get on it soon. Just as soon as I watch Roman Polanski's Tess. (God, I hate when I don't update my queue in time.)

9:41 Best Actor  (we're back to film): Jean Dujardin The Artist Finally, a surprise! I'm just glad it's not Clooney. Maybe the best Actor race is more exciting than we thought. Oh, to be charming and French...
(What was with Natalie Portman presenting? She seemed annoyed or exhausted. I know she has a newborn, but you don't think everyone else in that room isn't exhausted from all these awards ceremonies?)

9:52 Best Actress: Viola Davis The Help Emotional speech. I got a little misty eyed. I do love when people are able to do the thing they love. And Viola obviously loves acting.

9:56 Best Ensemble: The Help People really love that movie. I'm glad that it went to a film that actually is an ensemble.

And the ceremony is over in 2 hours. In and out, but as a whole- kinda boring. The music and copy just seemed so dated. The first SAGs were in 1995, but this ceremony seems even older than that.

Well, I've survived my first live-blog of an awards show. How do you feel about the winners? The real surprises really came toward the end. Do you feel most people had tuned out before then? On to the Oscars in Feb!

Live Blogging The SAGs Red Carpet

6:00 Live from the Red Carpet on E! is on TV. The live feed is on my computer. I feel overwhelmed. It may be a disaster. I'll try to do the best I can. Come back often for updates.

6:08 You know, perhaps two hours before the ceremony starts is a little early to start. It's been on for 8 minutes and no one has showed up yet.

6:11 People from 'The Good Wife' just appeared from out of a spinning giant bottle of champagne. It's gonna be that kind of night...

6:13 Finally, first spotting of someone and it's...Octavia Spencer from The Help. I guess it could be worse. At least she's a nominee. 


6:18 An E exclusive, Suri from '30 Rock' is engaged. Try to contain your excitement. Her fiance looks 12 and a foot shorter than her. Well, we're off to a good start...

6:22 Glenn Close sighting! Sorry, Julianna Margulies. You just aren't holding my attention

6:25 Octavia and Josh Hopkins from 'Cougartown' are friends and came together? That's an odd pairing, but I approve.

6:31 The feed has just informed us that today is Oprah's birthday. But, who can concentrate on such news when Ashlee Simpson (what's she doing there?) is talking about her favorite haircut. Short and blonde for those of you who care. Which is no one.

6:33 Armie Hammer...with really bad slicked-back, duck flip hair in the back. He looked better in his mug shot.

6:38 They just showed a clip of Brad Pitt on an episode of 'Dallas' from 1988. Patrick Duffy said he directed the episode. Brad kinda looks the same...

6:47 Ross is talking about Beaches with Mayim Bialik. I love it. She doesn't seem that eager to talk about it saying it was back in 1989. The Beaches soundtrack was the first cassette tape I remember owning. Give me some inside info, Mayim!

6:51 Viola Davis looks great in a white Marchesa but her deep voice and laugh are throwing me off.

6:52 My friend just text saying that Nick Nolte looks like Father Christmas. I haven't seen him yet but hope he's wearing a fur trimmed red suit.

6:56 I'm getting a Princess Leia as Jabba the Hut's slave girl vibe from Kristen Wiig. Perhaps its the chocker that takes up her entire neck. But her impression of Kris Jenner was fun.

6:58 Matthew Lillard looks so old. He played teenagers through his early 30's and suddenly age has caught up with him.

7:00 Jonah Hill gained back all the weight he lost. He's talking about how he thought the people at E were rude when they were surprised about his Oscar nomination. But, I mean, Jonah- think about it. You just got an Oscar nomination and you've appeared in a film where you couldn't stop drawing dicks on things. Isn't exactly the start of a career that gets Oscar nominations...

7:13 Melissa McCarthy's husband (from Bridesmaids) looks like a child molester. Loved how she avoided a high five by turning it into a handshake.

7:18 Colin Hanks sounds exactly like his dad.

7:28 Does anyone really believe that George Clooney and Stacy Keibler are actually dating? This is the most fake PR manufactured relationship.

7:31 E just incorrectly identified Ellie Kemper on the red carpet as Grizz Chapman from '30 Rock'. Nothing like a lady named Grizz...

7:36 Guiliana and Jane Lynch just juggled together. They should take that show on the road!

7:42 Will Meryl ever stop wearing the same style of dress? Her hair always looks so messy. She's really subdued due to an illness.

7:44 Diana Agron from 'Glee' had a Heidi braid wrapped around her head and then apparently took a day long nap to achieve just the right amount of disheveled. She and Meryl Streep must share a hair stylist.

7:48 Maya Rudolph and Gwyneth Paltrow went to grade school together! How fun. Ross asked if they ate pizza rolls together. Somehow I feel like Gwyneth has never eaten a pizza roll ever. Even when she was a child.

7:54 Brad Pitt just spoke about in Moneyball when his daughter sings a song for him. That was a part of the film that took me out of the story. She sings a song that she supposedly wrote, but it's a song by a singer named Lenka. The film is set in the early 2000's yet Lenka wrote it in like 2007. Somehow his daughter went into the future and stole the song and made it her own.

7:58 We end the Red Carpet with Angie in a leather (?) darped dress. She wants us to travel the world and find out who we are. I will Angie, thanks!

Got MLK?

Always Bet On Streep and Clooney

Every year on the day after the Oscar ceremony, I send out an e-mail to my friends with my year in advance Oscar predictions in the four acting categories. It's definitely crazy to think ahead to the next year when that year's Oscar winners are probably still out partying with their Oscar in their hand. But, there's definitely a science to coming up with it. There are certain people (ahem, Meryl Streep) that are almost guaranteed a nomination no matter what the film. With a record 17 nominations, it's a pretty good guess that she'll be in the mix. And add the fact that she's playing a real person and you can practically send her nomination certificate in the mail already. You have to think about who is having a moment. What actors have been gaining momentum and seem like it's their time. And then there's the legends who have never been nominated or won. I usually get a couple right in each category, so let's see how I did this year:

Best Actor

George Clooney The Descendants

Leonardo DiCaprio J. Edgar

Ryan Gosling The Ides of March

Viggo Mortensen A Dangerous Method

 Gary Oldman Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

You're In, Oldman!

Who I got right: Clooney and Oldman. 

Clooney is another one like Streep, someone who's respected in Hollywood so it's pretty easy to go with him. And add the fact that he was working in an Alexander Payne film, who's no stranger to Oscar, and it's a safe bet. 

People were actually predicting, while the film was still shooting, that Leo was actually going to win because he's never won before. But, his performance in J. Edgar was weighed down by all that age make-up. And the movie was a snore. Nevertheless, it was looking like DiCaprio was gonna be in for the simple fact that he's DiCaprio. But, Oscar is always full of surprises and his snub was one of them on Tuesday morning. As much as I like being right, I'm glad he didn't make the cut this time. 

Many thought Gosling should have been nominated last year for Blue Valentine. And this year was definitely a big year for him. But, Ides of March just wasn't the film it should have been and Gosling seemed bored as well. He just kinda gave up. He'll be back soon though.

Viggo will get a second nomination one day. And playing Frued in a film by Cronenberg seemed like a good bet. But, the film never really gained any buzz and Viggo was more of a supporting role. 

The overdue Oldman finally received his first Oscar nomination. I was counting on it being his time to be honored. And his nomination just barely made it in. 

Best Actress

Felicity Jones Like Crazy

Rooney Mara The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Meryl Streep The Iron Lady

Charlize Theron Young Adult

Michelle Williams My Week With Marilyn

Don't look so sad. i correctly guessed you would be nominated a year in advance!

Who I got right: Mara, Steep, and Williams. This was my best category this year. I really debated about putting on Glenn Close, but I couldn't decide who to drop. If only I could go back and drop Jones...

Felicity Jones had just won an acting award at Sundance for this movie and Sundance buzz worked in previous years for Carey Mulligan and Jennifer Lawrence (both whom I correctly predicted in their respective years). Unfortunately, Felicity wasn't able to use that momentum to her advantage. And after seeing the film, her performance seems a little slight. I'm surprised she won over Elizabeth Olsen, who came closer to a nom than Felicity.

Poeple love that Lisbeth Salander. Noomi Rapace had Oscar buzz for the Swedish versions of the films, so it seemed natural that Rooney would actually get a nom for David Fincher's English language adaption. Her nom was another surprise on Tuesday morning (sorry, Tilda), but you should never underestimate The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo phenomenon. 

Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher. A cloistered monk could have guessed this nomination. 

Charlize! It should have happened. Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody were both nominated for their last collaboration and Charlize is a two-time nominee (and winner). Too bad people never really responded to the film. Charlize really did deserve this nom. I'm just glad she's working again.

This was another no brainer. Michelle Williams has two previous nominations and playing a real person, especially a well-known one like Marilyn Monroe, is classic Oscar bait. 

Supporting Categories after the break...