Tuesday, January 30, 2007

'SUNSHINE' trailer

It may be a standard concept, but I have no doubt Danny Boyle will pull it off. And WHAT A SEXY CAST!

Go here.

Hoskins, Descent gals join DOOMSDAY

I didn't think this project was going ahead so soon. It could even be out by the end of year. WOOHOO!

From Comingsoon.net:

Academy Award-nominated actor Bob Hoskins will join Rhona Mitra for writer/director Neil Marshall in Rogue Pictures' action-thriller Doomsday, which begins production February 9th in South Africa and the U.K. Rogue co-presidents Andrew Karpen and Andrew Rona made the announcement today.

Crystal Sky Pictures' Steven Paul and Benedict Carver are producing Doomsday for Rogue in association with Intrepid Pictures. Intrepid principals Trevor Macy and Marc D. Evans are executive-producing Doomsday with Peter McAleese. Creative executive Alex Heineman is overseeing the project for Rogue, which holds worldwide distribution rights to Doomsday.

In Doomsday, a lethal virus spreads throughout a major country and kills hundreds of thousands. To contain the newly identified Reaper, the authorities brutally quarantine the country as it succumbs to fear and chaos. The literal walling-off works for three decades – until Reaper violently resurfaces in a major city. An elite group of specialists, including Eden Sinclair (Mitra), is urgently dispatched into the still-quarantined country to retrieve a cure by any means necessary. Shut off from the rest of the world, the unit must battle through a landscape that has become a waking nightmare.

Hoskins will play Bill Nelson, a career policeman who nominates Eden for the mission and monitors its progress.

Also joining the production are Alexander Siddig ("24") and Adrian Lester ("Hustle"). Rounding out the cast are several alumni from Marshall's previous films, including Sean Pertwee, Darren Morfitt, Emma Cleasby, and Chris Robson, of Dog Soldiers; MyAnna Buring and Nora-Jane Noone of The Descent; and, from both pictures, Leslie Simpson and Craig Conway.

The writer/director is also marking his third consecutive movie with cinematographer Sam McCurdy and production designer Simon Bowles. Paul Hyett will be designing special makeup effects, as he did on The Descent.

Karpen and Rona commented, "'Doomsday' is going to be a true thrill ride for audiences, and we’re delighted to have this fine cast and crew aboard."

Doomsday marks Hoskins' second picture for Rogue, following his memorable villain role opposite Jet Li in Louis Leterrier's popular 2005 film Unleashed. The actor was most recently seen starring in Allen Coulter's Hollywoodland, for Rogue sibling company Focus Features.

In addition to Doomsday, Rogue and Crystal Sky Pictures are partnering on writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson's Castlevania, adapted from the top-selling video game and detailing Dracula's origins. Intrepid has an ongoing multi-year production and co-financing deal with Universal Pictures and Rogue Pictures.

Saturday, January 27, 2007

SAG Predix!

They are Sunday night at 8PM on TNT & TBS!

In TV, I hope Grey's Anatomy wins Drama Ensemble just to see who speaks and how awkward it is.

Anywho...

Actor: I'll stick with Forest Whitaker, but Peter O'Toole is breathing down his neck.

Actress: Helen Mirren. (Streep will not be there as she is doing something IMPORTANT with Al Gore.) Though Streep could win this as Mirren will probably win TV Movie Actress, and her Devil Wears Prada role seems like the type of thing actors love.

Supporting Actor: Ooh here goes. Dicaprio was placed in Supporting for The Departed, and he really deserves to win some award. But Eddie Murphy just won the Globe, but haven't I heard that actors don't like him? Alan Arkin - maybe.
I'll go with Alan Arkin, with Leo being the upset.

Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson. I think Abigail Breslin would be the only possible alternate, as SAG loves its child actors.

ENSEMBLE - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
The Departed being the alternate.


Also, Ryan Gosling is nominated. I hope McAdams is there to support him. Can't wait to see her pink hair again - LOL.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Box Office Predix: January 26 - 28

1. Epic Movie - $15m / $15m / $35m
2. Smokin Aces - $9m / $9m / $24m
3. Night at the Museum - $8m / $215m / $236m
4. Dreamgirls - $7.5m / $87.5m / $112m
5. Catch and Release - $7m / $7m / $20m
6. Stomp the Yard - $6.5m / $49.5m / $64m
7. The Queen - $4.5m / $42m / $65m
8. The Departed - $4.5m / $126.5m / $142m
9. Pan's Labyrinth - $4m / $16m / $35m
10. The Pursuit of Happyness - $4m / $152m / $164m
Blood and Chocolate - $3.5m / $3.5m / $8m
Babel - $3.5m / $28m / $40m
Letters From Iwo Jima - $2.5m / $6m / $20m
Notes on a Scandal - $2.5m / $9m / $20
Children of Men - $2.5m / $31m / $37m

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Well, those were.......interesting?

LEO for BLOOD DIAMOND?

Seriously?

THE GOOD:
-I went 5/5 in both actress & supporting actress.
-Ryan Gosling is nominated, so Rachel McAdams will work that red carpet.
-Borat and Children of Men for Screenplay.
-Patricia Field's Devil Wears Prada work getting nominated. In case you don't know, present-set films NEVER get nominated for Costuming. Field's name did the trick.
-Paul Greengrass.
-Lots of Mexicans. Salma was so cute when Sid said Penelope's name.
-MARK WAHLBERG!!!

THE BAD:
-No DIXIE CHICKS.
-Dreamgirls fans are so pissed right now.
-Only 5 for The Departed?
-No Jack Nicholson.

THE UGLY:
-Leo for BLOOD DIAMOND????
-Just go away Clint.
-The most nominated film didn't get a Best Picture nomination?
-Dreamgirls' 3 song nominations? I've heard the music in this film, and, well.....



BEST PICTURE:
Babel - The Departed - Letters From Iwo Jima - Little Miss Sunshine - The Queen

DIRECTING:
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Babel
Martin Scorsese - The Departed
Clint Eastwood - Letters From Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears - The Queen
Paul Greengrass - United 93

ACTOR:
Leonardo Dicaprio - Blood Diamond (??????????????)
Ryan Gosling - Half Nelson
Peter O'Toole - Venus
Will Smith - The Pursuit of Happyness
Forrest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland

ACTRESS:
Penelope Cruz - Volver
Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren - The Queen
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet - Little Children

SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley - Little Children
Djimon Honsou - Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls
Mark Wahlberg - The Departed

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Adriana Barraza - Babel
Cate Blanchett - Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi - Babel

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Babel - Letters From Iwo Jima - Little Miss Sunshine - Pan's Labyrinth - The Queen

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Borat - Children of Men - The Departed - Little Children - Notes on a Scandal

ANIMATED FILM:
Cars - Happy Feet - Monster House

ART DIRECTION:
Dreamgirls - The Good Shepherd - Pan's Labyrinth - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - The Prestige

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
The Black Dahlia - Children of Men - The Illusionist - Pan's Labyrinth - The Prestige

COSTUME DESIGN:
Curse of the Golden Flower - The Devil Wears Prada - Dreamgirls - Marie Antoinette - The Queen

DOCUMENTARY:
Deliver Us From Evil - An Inconvenient Truth - Iraq In Fragments - Jesus Camp - My Country, My Country

FILM EDITING:
Babel - Blood Diamond - Children of Men - The Departed - United 93

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
After the Wedding - Days of Glory - The Lives of Others - Pan's Labyrinth - Water

MAKEUP:
Apocalypto - Click - Pan's Labyrinth

ORIGINAL SCORE:
Babel - The Good German - Notes on a Scandal - Pan's Labyrinth - The Queen

ORIGINAL SONG:
"I Need to Wake Up" - An Inconvenient Truth
"Listen" - Dreamgirls
"Love You I Do" - Dreamgirls
"Our Town" - Cars
"Patience" - Dreamgirls

SOUND EDITING:
Apocalypto - Blodd Diamond - Flags of Our Fathers - Letters From Iwo Jima - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

SOUND MIXING:
Apocalypto - Blood Diamond - Dreamgirls - Flags of Our Fathers - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

VISUAL EFFECTS:
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - Poseidon - Superman Returns

Monday, January 22, 2007

My Last Minute For Your Consideration...

Most of these will be forgotten tomorrow, but I'll give them a little push regardless.


BEST PICTURE - THE DESCENT



BEST DIRECTING - ALFONSO CUARON - CHILDREN OF MEN



BEST ACTOR - MATT DAMON - THE DEPARTED



BEST ACTRESS - KIRSTEN DUNST - MARIE ANTOINETTE



BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - MICHAEL SHEEN - THE QUEEN



BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - EMILY BLUNT - THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA



BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - FRIENDS WITH MONEY



BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION

Sunday, January 21, 2007

FINAL OSCAR PREDICTIONS



My goal is to get 80% or higher correct.

They are announced Tuesday morning at 8:30AM Eastern on my major news channels. Salma Hayek will be this year's celeb co-announcer.


And here goes...

BEST PICTURE:

The above 5.

BABEL - THE DEPARTED - DREAMGIRLS - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE - THE QUEEN

I'm not even sure what could break in at this point. There seems to be 3 or 4 movies that could get in. First and foremost would be Clint Eastwood's Letters From Iwo Jima. But the movie had virtually no support from the guilds and seems to have minimal buzz and isn't doing to swell at the box office. Next up: Pan's Labyrinth and Children of Men. They were award season late bloomers, but sadly top 10 lists won't get you to Best Picture. That would leave United 93, which would be the most beneficial of the Academy's preferential style of voting. (You get enough #1 placements, and you're in.) But how many people refused to watch it? And who knows? If people do in fact let their maids fill out their ballots and that explains the Crash victory last year, then why shouldn't we assume they also give it to their stylists? Go The Devil Wears Prada. I guess I'll play it safe and assume Hollywood just loves Eastwood. NEXT IN LINE FOR BEST PICTURE: LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA

BEST DIRECTING:

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - BABEL
Martin Scorsese - THE DEPARTED
Bill Condon - DREAMGIRLS
Clint Eastwood - LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
Stephen Frears - THE QUEEN

NEXT IN LINE: Valerie Faris & Jonathan Dayton - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

Well, maybe Paul Greengrass. I think Bill Condon might end up being snubbed. The big question is will Clint cancel himself out with Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers? And will one of the remaining Mexican directors - Alfonso Cuaron and Guillermo Del Toro - sneak in. Cuaron stands the best shot between the two. But that Sunshine team did get a DGA nod, so that gives them the edge.

BEST ACTOR:

Sacha Baron Cohen - Borat
Leonardo Dicaprio - The Departed
Ryan Gosling - Half Nelson
Peter O'Toole - Venus
Forest Whitaker - The Last King Scotland

NEXT IN LINE: Will Smith - The Pursuit of Happyness

Okay, do I honestly believe Sacha will score here? Yes and no. Yes, because, again, of the way the Academy votes. He has a huge following and last minute voters may have been swayed toward marking his name at #1 with that dynamite Golden Globe speech. I'd say Gosling might actually be the weak link out of that lineup, and Smith in Pursuit of Happyness reeks of an I Am Sam-esque nomination.

BEST ACTRESS:

Penelope Cruz - Volver
Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren - The Queen
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet - Little Children

NEXT IN LINE: Maggie Gyllenhaal - Sherrybaby

This is pretty much a done deal.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley - Little Children
Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls
Jack Nicholson - The Departed
Mark Wahlberg - The Departed

NEXT IN LINE: Michael Sheen - The Queen

This is the category to watch. Here's a case where any of the above people could be snubbed. I chose Michael Sheen as the alternate because when in doubt always go with someone from a Best Picture nominee. And consider that someone almost always gets in without a Globe or SAG nod. Sheen fits the bill. Other than that, we could see Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt, Steve Carell, Djimon Honsou or even Leo being put in supporting for The Departed. Let's just hope this category doesn't end up being a dud come Tuesday morning.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Adriana Barraza - Babel
Cate Blanchett - Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi - Babel

NEXT IN LINE: Emily Blunt - The Devil Wears Prada

This was the wide open category for months, but now seems pretty set. Potential surprises include Toni Collette, Shareeka Epps or Catherine O'Hara.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Babel - Little Miss Sunshine - The Queen - Stranger Than Fiction - Volver
NEXT IN LINE: Pan's Labyrinth

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Children of Men - The Departed - The Devil Wears Prada - Little Children - Notes on a Scandal

NEXT IN LINE: Thank You For Smoking

Surprises will more likely occur in Adapted. I don't see Dreamgirls having any chance here. It feels barely in for Director? Even The Illusionist, Last King of Scotland, The Painted Veil, Borat or A Prairie Home Companion could get in here, too.

ANIMATED FEATURE:
Cars - Happy Feet - Monster House
NEXT IN LINE: Flushed Away

ART DIRECTION:
Curse of the Golden Flower - Dreamgirls - Marie Antoinette - Pan's Labyrinth - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
NEXT IN LINE: Children of Men

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
The Black Dahlia - Children of Men - The Illusionist - Letters From Iwo Jima - Pan's Labyrinth
NEXT IN LINE: Apocalypto

COSTUME DESIGN:
Curse of the Golden Flower - The Devil Wears Prada - Dreamgirls - Marie Antoinette - The Painted Veil
NEXT IN LINE: The Illusionist

DOCUMENTARY:
Deliver Us From Evil - An Inconvenient Truth - Jesus Camp - Shut Up and Sing - The War Tapes
NEXT IN LINE: The Ground Truth

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
Days of Glory - The Lives of Others - Pan's Labyrinth - Volver - Water
NEXT IN LINE: Black Book

FILM EDITING:
Babel - The Departed - Letters From Iwo Jima - The Queen - United 93
NEXT IN LINE: Dreamgirls

MAKEUP:
Apocalypto - Pan's Labyrinth - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
NEXT IN LINE: The Prestige

ORIGINAL SCORE:
Babel - The Da Vinci Code - The Illusionist - The Painted Veil - The Queen
NEXT IN LINE: The Fountain

ORIGINAL SONG:
"Never Gonna Break My Faith" - Bobby
"Ordinary Miracle" - Charlotte's Web
"Listen" - Dreamgirls
"Song of the Heart" - Happy Feet
"A Father's Way" - The Pursuit of Happyness
NEXT IN LINE: "I Need to Wake Up" - An Inconvenient Truth

SOUND MIXING:
Casino Royale - The Departed - Dreamgirls - Flags of Our Fathers - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
NEXT IN LINE: Children of Men

SOUND EDITING:
Cars - Casino Royale - Happy Feet - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - Superman Returns
NEXT IN LINE: Flags of Our Fathers

VISUAL EFFECTS:
Night at the Museum - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - Superman Returns
NEXT IN LINE: Poseidon


Tally:
The Departed - 8
Dreamgirls - 8
Babel - 7
The Queen - 6
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - 5 (UGH!)
Little Miss Sunshine - 4
Pan's Labyrinth - 4
The Devil Wears Prada - 3
Happy Feet - 3
Letters From Iwo Jima - 3
Little Children - 3
Notes on a Scandal - 3
Volver - 3
Cars - 2
Casino Royale - 2
Children of Men - 2
Curse of the Golden Flower - 2
The Illusionist - 2
Marie Antoinette - 2
The Painted Veil - 2
Superman Returns - 2
Apocalypto - 1
The Black Dahlia - 1
Blood Diamond - 1
Bobby - 1
Borat - 1
Charlotte's Web - 1
The Da Vinci Code - 1
Days of Glory - 1
Deliver Us From Evil - 1
Flags of Our Fathers - 1
Half Nelson - 1
An Inconvenient Truth - 1
Jesus Camp - 1
The Last King of Scotland - 1
The Lives of Others - 1
Monster House - 1
Night at the Museum - 1
The Pursuit of Happyness - 1
Shut Up and Sing - 1
Stranger Than Fiction - 1
Venus - 1
The War Tapes - 1
Water - 1


"That's all."

Friday, January 19, 2007

Darren's Most Anticipated Movies of 2007!

Excuse me if this is significantly less in depth as my previous lists.


Felicity, Jane, Lindsay say that GEORGIA will rule 2007

LOOKING FORWARD TO:

Winter/Spring
Now that Alias is over, Jennifer Garner needs a career other than cranking out baby Afflecks. Luckily for her fans (ME!), we get 2 movies with Miss Garner: CATCH AND RELEASE, from screenwriter Susanna Grant (Erin Brockovich, In Her Shoes) and THE KINGDOM from Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights). The first finds Jennifer trying to get over the death of her fiance and coping with the secrets he kept from her. The latter sees her joining Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper and Jason Bateman in a Saudi Arabia-set action film. ! As dimply cute as Jennifer is Jake Gyllenhaal, who hunts for the legendary ZODIAC killer in David Fincher's latest. Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr and Chloe Sevigny costar. Hilary Swank goes from boxing, to inner cities, to the bayou with the horror film THE REAPING. Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale encounter a horror of their own in VACANCY in which they play a couple staying at a cheap motel who find out they are about to be the stars of a snuff film. Christina Ricci is PENELOPE, a pig-faced woman going on a personal journey. The film is produced by and costars Reese Witherspoon. The reliably hilarious Anna Faris eats some of her roommates brownies and goes about her daily life while, unbeknownst to her, stoned in SMILEY FACE, costarring Jane Lynch and The Office's John Krasinski. If that doesn't have the makings of a cult classic, I don't know what does. And finally, there's 300, the latest from the creator Sin City and the director of the Dawn of the Dead remake. The trailer is delicious eye candy, as is the film's star, Gerald Butler.

SUMMER:



Lindsay Lohan will hopefully be in much better shape than she is now in May when the Garry Marshall-directed GEORGIA RULE hits theatres. In it, Lohan plays an out of control young woman (really stretching those acting skills, aren't we?) who is forced by her mother (Felicity Huffman) to stay with her grandmother (Jane Fonda) till she's a good little girl. Could be very schmaltzy, but that's a terrific cast. The sequel 28 WEEKS LATER picks up some time (perhaps 28 weeks) after the events of 28 Days Later and finds a group of American soldiers attempting to rebuild a destroyed London after a virus wiped most of it out. Catherine Zeta-Jones is a chef who becomes the guardian of her niece (Little Miss Sunshine's Abigail Breslin) in NO RESERVATIONS, costarring Patricia Clarkson and Aaron Eckhart and directed by Scott Hicks (Shine). Katherine Heigl gets KNOCKED UP by The 40 Year Old Virgin's Seth Rogen which features several of 40's supporting cast members. Catherine Keener imprisons Ellen Page in the basement for AN AMERICAN CRIME. Winona Ryder educates Simon Baker on SEX AND DEATH 101, from some of the people who brought you Heathers. And Keira Knightley reteams with her Pride and Prejudice director Joe Wright for ATONEMENT, due at the end of the summer. Oh, and at some point this year, another movie with Pirates and some giant green thing will hit screens. I have a feeling you won't here about these movies so I should tell you about them: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END and SHREK THE THIRD.

FALL:
Amy Adams voices and stars in ENCHANTED as an animated princess banished from her fairy tale world into the real world by an evil queen (Susan Sarandon). Once there she has to choose between Patrick Dempsey and James Marsden. Who said animated-turned-three dimensional princesses have it easy? Joaquin Phoenix, Jennifer Connelly, Mark Ruffalo and Mira Sorvino walk RESERVATION ROAD for director Terry George (Hotel Rwanda). Eric Bana falls for THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL one of which is played by Natalie Portman and the other by Scarlett Johansson. I'm not sure who plays the other Boleyn. Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche and Emily Blunt star in the latest from Peter Hedges (Pieces of April): DAN IN REAL LIFE. Josh Hartnett and Melissa George face vampires in Alaska during 30 DAYS OF NIGHT. Kimberly Pierce finally directs her follow up to Boys Don't Cry: STOP LOSS, starring Ryan Phillippe and Channing Tatum. Cate Blanchett returns to her breakthrough role as The Virgin Queen (quite a stretch for Blanchett, right) in ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE, costarring Clive Owen. It costars Clive Owen. That's Clive Owen. Ben Stiller and Michelle Monaghan stars in the next Farrelly Brothers movie, currently untitled. Charlize Theron's boyfriend Stuart Townsend directs Charlize and Susan Sarandon among many others in THE BATTLE IN SEATTLE, another one of those ensemble films in which a big event takes place in the background. Maria Bello, Emily Blunt and many others are part of THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB in which a group of Austen-ites find their lives mirroring the events of some of Jane's most famed works. Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor and Michelle Williams star in the thriller THE TOURIST. Renee Zellweger investigages CASE 39 with Ian McShane and Bradley Cooper. Paul Thomas Anderson returns after a 5 year respite to direct Daniel Day Lewis in THERE WILL BE BLOOD, a drama about oil. David Cronenberg's next stars Naomi Watts and Viggo Mortensen and is called EASTERN PROMISES.


HONORABLE MENTIONS - MOVIES JUST OUTSIDE THE TOP 10:

Nicole Kidman looks to get back on track with a little bit of everything. First, in late summer, she'll star in the Invasion of the Body Snatchers remake THE INVASION, costarring Daniel Craig. The project has been delayed almost a full year, and that August release date isn't promising. And we all know what happened with Nic's last 2 remakes. But who knows? It's got a talented director, Oliver Hirschbiegel. In October, Kidman will join forces with Oscar-nominated filmmaker Noah Bambauch for the rather amusingly titled MARGOT AT THE WEDDING, a family dramedy costarring Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jack Black. Noah has great skill with actors, so this could be what garners her Oscar nomination #3. In December, Nicole will star in Paul Weitz's adaptation of HIS DARK MATERIALS: THE GOLDEN COMPASS which will again unite her with Daniel Craig and he will be rejoined with his Bond girl, Eva Green. Quite a good looking cast. I'm not sure what HDM:TGC is about, but the early production skills are absolutely gorgeous. And I hear it will be very controversial as the novel it's based on has strong atheist content. Neat! Arguably the biggest Oscar contender of the year will be CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR, starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams and directed by Mike Nichols. The film is about a Texas congressman's covert dealings in Afghanistan, which has some dangerous consequences. Quite a stellar crew involved. And I haven't mentioned the screenplay is by Aaron Sorkin!! Harvey Weinstein will likely back Anne Hathaway during next year's Oscar race for Best Actress for her performance as the prefame Jane Austen (it really is her year, isn't it?) in BECOMING JANE. The period piece will costar James McAvoy as the young man who steals her heart and leads her to write some of literature's most prized works. Maggie Smith and Julie Walters also appear. Despite that it debuted at Cannes and was scheduled to be released in December AND was expected to garner Ashley Judd an Oscar nomination, Lionsgate made the odd decision to delay BUG till 2007. Let's hope the studio knows what it is doing and doesn't screw it over the way they screwed The Descent this past year. We'll know if they still haven't scheduled on a release date and Saw 4 is in theatres. Stupid Lionsgate! Judd plays a lonely woman who holds up in a hotel with a paranoid Gulf War veteran (Michael Shannon) who sees bugs everywhere. The movie received deafening raves after playing at Cannes. So what's the deal Lionsgate? You know how to market the biggest garbage like the Saw movies and Tyler Perry's movies! You know how to mount aggressive Oscar campaigns like the one you did with Crash! So why do you screw over acclaimed horror films like May, The Descent and now, apparently, Bug? Ah, I digress. One movie that is being marketed exceptionally is BLACK SNAKE MOAN. I must admit I was looking forward to this film because of the film's very talented director Craig Brewer (Hustle and Flow). It's about time Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci did great work again. But I was totally blown away by the film's trailer and posters. Word on the street is this is quite a great film, though why it's being released in February is anyone's guess. In it, Jackson plays a southern bluesman who chains a nympomaniac (Ricci) is his house in order to cure her. What a concept! And another delayed film: Danny Boyle's followup to 28 Days Later, SUNSHINE. Starring Chris Evans, Cillian Murphy and Michelle Yeoh, it's about a rescue mission in space to literally revitalize the sun as the earth dies. A silly concept it might be, but in Boyle's hands this could be a miniclassic in the making. The director of the Oscar-nominated Tsotsi makes his followup with the political thriller RENDITION, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Meryl Streep and Reese Witherspoon. Jake is apparently old enough now to play a CIA analyst. And my lovely Rachel McAdams plays Pierce Brosnan's mistress, who would rather murder his wife (Patricia Clarkson) than put her though a divorce in the noirish drama MARRIAGE, set in the 1940's. Chris Cooper costars. Hmm. McAdams as a femme fatale...how many days till we can see this? And how bout this for an honorable mention: A TV Miniseries. That's right. A miniseries. COMANCHE MOON is a prequel to one of the best miniseries ever (Lonesome Dove) and is written for the (small) screen by Oscar-winners Larry McMurty and Diana Ossana, the screenwriters of Brokeback Mountain. Brokeback's Linda Cardellini is just part of the huge ensemble cast that also includes Val Kilmer, Steve Zahn, Karl Urban, Rachel Griffiths, Melanie Lynskey and Adam Beach. The likely Emmy sweeper will air on CBS this spring, and apparently will get a huge push during the Super Bowl, so pay attention during that. Remember those awesome miniseries like The Stand? They just don't do those anymore. :-( Oh well. Sometimes movies suck and we have to depend on the small screen. I digress.


THE TOP 10:

#10 - EVENING

It might as well be called The Hours 2. As her daughters (Natasha Richardson and Toni Collette) prepare for her death, Ann Grant (Vanessa Regrave) reflects on the time in her youth when she first fell in love. Claire Danes will play the young Ann, and Patrick Wilson will be the object of her affection. Rounding out the cast is Hugh Dancy, Eileen Atkins, Glenn Close, Mamie Gummer, and in a cameo appearance, Meryl Streep. The film's screenplay is written by Michael Cunningham (author of The Hours) and the film is directed by Lajos Koltai. It could be really special, as it has some of the best pedigree of any film this year, or could be another How to Make an American Quilt. Due June 15, from Focus Features.



#9 - SPRING BREAKDOWN

Rachel Dratch, Amy Poehler and Parker Posey are friends forced to escort their boss's daughter (Amber Tamblyn) to a popular spring break destination where they get a second chance at being young and wild. Dratch wrote the screenplay and I hope she has the razor sharp comedy skills her former Saturday Night Live cohort displayed for Mean Girls. Missi Pyle, Jane Lynch and Seth Meyers round out the cast. April 13.



#8 - THE NANNY DIARIES

Scarlett Johansson plays a college student who gets a job working for an affluent New York City couple (Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney) as a nanny. The dramedy is Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini's follow up to American Splendor. The supporting cast includes Chris Evans, Alicia Keys (yes, that Alicia Keys) and Donna Murphy. April 20.

#7 - MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS

Wong Kar Wai's first English-language film also finds Norah Jones in her first film. Jones plays a young woman on a soul-searching journey across America attempting to resolve questions about love, while encountering many memorable characters. Hmm. Trip across America? Soul searching? Did I mention who else is in it? Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Rachel Weisz and David Strathairn. SCORE. From the Weinstein Company, Blueberry is currently scheduled for fourth quarter.

#6 - THE SIMPSONS MOVIE

Need I say more? Yes, this: Please. Don't. Suck. (July 27)



#5 - I'M NOT THERE

With all these biopics, it was bound to happen that someone would make a film about Bob Dylan. This one stars Christian Bale as Bob Dylan. It also stars Richard Gere as Bob Dylan. Oh yeah, and Heath Ledger as Bob Dylan. And how bout this: Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan. Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven) directs this rather unconvential biopic, with a handful of actors starring as Bob Dylan in various vignettes of the singer's life. As other characters in the film, watch out for Julianne Moore, David Cross and Michelle Williams. Williams will get it on with Blanchett-Dylan. This has the potential to be great. Or really bad. (TBA 2007)

#4 - LUST, CAUTION

Ang Lee follows up Brokeback Mountain in predictable fashion: with something completely unlike his last project. Lee directs this espionage thriller set in World War II era Shanghai. It stars Tony Leung, Tang Wei and Joan Chen. How will it be? As Grace Adler so expertly described all of Ang's films: "A little slow paced, but visually stunning." Either way, it certainly has the most intriguing title of the year. From Focus Features, it hits theatres September 28.



#3 - THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM

Can Jason Bourne still score big after James Bond's comeback? You betcha. Hot off the critical success of United 93, Paul Greengrass returns to direct the third go-round of the acclaimed espionage series. This one will find Bourne trying to find out more informatino about his past, as cops, federal officers and Interpol agents keep him in their crossheirs. Julia Stiles and Joan Allen reprise their roles, and are joined by franchise newcomers Paddy Considine, David Strathairn and Edgar Ramirez. (August 3)



#2 - GRINDHOUSE

What do you get when the minds that brought you Pulp Fiction, Sin City, Kill Bill and From Dusk Till Dawn team up to bring you a double dose of schlocky exploitation cinema? GRINDHOUSE. Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez each direct their own 90 minute film, attach some fake trailers in the middle, and us hardcore gorehounds get over 3 hours of carnage candy. Tarantino's segment - titled Death Proof - is a slasher film where the killer is Kurt Russell in a kickass car. Rodriguez directs Planet Terror - a zombie film. In addition to Russell, Grindhouse features Rose McGowan (with one good leg and a machine gun for the other), Marley Shelton, Freddy Rodriguez, Bruce Willis, Naveen Andrews and Rosario Dawson. (April 6)



#1 - SPIDER-MAN 3

Spider-Man was very good. Spider-Man 2 is, in my opinion, the most perfect superhero film ever. And the same screenwriter as the illustrious #2 returns for this segment. So, what's gonna happen with Spider-Man 3? Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) goes to the dark side (hence the new dark suit) and must battle new villains Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) and Venom (Topher Grace), while trying to win the affection of MJ (Kirsten Dunst) and resisting the temptations of Gwen Stacey (Bryce Dallas Howard, blonde and gorgeous!). It's very soap operatic, on a large epic scale. Sam Raimi returns as director. But you already knew that. (May 4)

HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT 2007 MOVIE YEAR!

And here's hoping Miss Lohan is out of rehab in time to film LOSS OF A TEARDROP DIAMOND so that can become my most anticipated movie of 2008. :-)

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Box Office Predix: Jan. 19 - 21

1. The Hitcher - $15m / $15m / $37m
2. Night at the Museum - $12m / $205m / $238m
3. Stomp the Yard - $10m / $38m / $58m
4. Dreamgirls - $8m / $77m / $115m
5. The Pursuit of Happyness - $5.5m / $145m / $165m
6. Freedom Writers - $5m / $26m / $37m
7. Children of Men - $4.5m / $28m / $42m
8. Pan's Labyrinth - $3.5m / $9m / $30m
9. Alpha Dog - $3m / $12m / $17m
10. Arthur and the Invisibiles - $3m / $9m / $15m

Golden Globes: Best Dressed

Worst Dressed:
Rinko Kikuchi. Maybe Beyonce, too.

Sienna Miller went with the other Swiss Miss look Gwyneth Paltrow rejected last year.

Cameron Diaz & Vanessa Williams, for the shit they are getting, did some questionable things with their looks, but other than each's hair, I thought they looked kinda good? I think most people looked rather bland, so they stood out. Cate Blanchett, however, looks boring in a bad way. Angelina Jolie's look was boring, I thought. There seems to be nothing going on there.

Overall, I don't think anyone looked outstanding.

Best Dressed - Honorable Mentions - No one really great, but they look GOOD:
Teri Hatcher, Drew Barrymore, Rachel Weisz, Renee Zellweger, Sara Ramirez, Chloe Sevigny, Sandra Oh, Courteney Cox, Jessica Biel, Hayden Panetierre

BEST DRESSED:

#10 - Kate Winslet - Loved the makeup, the dress is nice but kinda dull.


#9 - Sarah Paulson - the same thing as Kate, only much better. I love how on E! she admitted how drunk she was.


#8 - Eva Longoria - I originally thought she was best dressed, but I've kind of gone down on this since.

#7 - Reese Witherspoon - FAB SHOES! This might be a bit too casual for the Globes, but she looks like a knockout. Dropping Ryan did girl goood! Best shoes of the night, though.

#6 - Katherine Heigl - Whereas Reese is too casual, this might be a bit too formal. Nevertheless, she's to die for. Her hair is similar to her Emmy look.


#5 - Felicity Huffman - Casual elegance! I actually liked when she had her glasses. The green is a breath of fresh air compared to all the white of the evening.


#4 - Toni Collette - As is the blue! Great hair. She looks great and like she's ready to have fun.

#3 - Sarah Jessica Parker - This woman always looks divine at the Globes. Renee and Reese did well with this look, but SJP brings it home.

#2 - Ali Larter - what a surprise! This is very simple, like most everyone else, but oh so stunning!


#1 - Emily Blunt - Again, the white! However, the overall look here goes great together. Great hair, great tan, great dress, great date, great actress! And I didn't know she had such a rack?

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Globe Reaction: Zzzz

Fairly awful show. The direction of it was horrible. I mean, after 5 hours of the Beatty segment, you think they would've shown Warren kiss Annette, but no. He goes to kiss her. And then they cut to random people. Smart.

Except Ugly Betty, America, Peter Morgan, Scorsese, Meryl, Alec and Sacha. Everyone else was either awful (the whole Tom Hanks-Warren Beatty love fest felt like it was never going to end), completely forgettable (Hudson, Clint) and just awkward (Forest).

But Emily Blunt has a Golden Globe? Yippee! Meryl referred to her as "darling Emily." Right on. I loved Meryl's little dig on Stanley Tucci.

Red carpet coverage: Much improved. Still, E!, get rid of Debbie. At least they panned up the dresses, which is sometimes all I ask for. Everytime I saw someone I didn't know, I figured they were in the supporting cast of Heroes and most of the time they were. :-) And good lord what did Rosanna Arquette do to herself?

Anyways, here's the winners. I'll post 10 Best Dressed List later.

Best Picture (Drama): Babel
Best Picture (Musical/Comedy): Dreamgirls
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Best Actor (Drama): Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
Best Actress (Drama): Helen Mirren, The Queen
Best Actor (Musical/Comedy): Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat
Best Actress (Musical/Comedy): Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
Best Supporting Actor: Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls"
Best Screenplay: Peter Morgan, The Queen
Best Foreign Language Film: Letters from Iwo Jima
Best Animated Feature: Cars
Best Original Score: Alexandre Desplat, The Painted Veil
Best Original Song: "The Song of the Heart" - Happy Feet

Best TV Series (Drama): Grey's Anatomy
Best TV Series (Musical/Comedy): Ugly Betty
Best Actor (TV - Drama): Hugh Laurie, House
Best Actress (TV - Drama): Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
Best Actor (TV - Musical/Comedy): Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Best Actress (TV - Musica/Comedy): America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Best Supporting Actor (All Television): Jeremy Irons, Elizabeth I
Best Supporting Actress (All Television): Emily Blunt, Gideon's Daughter
Best Actor (Miniseries/TV Movie): Bill Nighy, Gideon's Daughter
Best Actress (Miniseries/TV Movie): Helen Mirren, Elizabeth I
Best Miniseries/TV Movie: Elizabeth I

Saturday, January 13, 2007

GOLDEN GLOBE WINNER PREDICTIONS!

Prediction:

When they call Rinko Kikuchi's name, the camera will accidentally be on Renee Zellweger. When they call Renee Zellweger's name, the camera will accidentally be on Ellen Pompeo. When they call Ellen Pompeo's name, the camera will accidentally be in a trashbag.

I will only give my opinion in the film categories if I've seen 3/5 or more of the nominees. TV categories - I will give my opinion anyway! :-)

If it is italicized, I've seen it!

You'll notice I have Dreamgirls winning 4, which really doesn't make sense. LOL. I don't think that will happen, but I really don't know what to pick. Though watch them do what they did 2 years ago and give the first two awards to the same movie, then give that movie nothing else: So maybe BABEL's Pitt and Kikuchi???

Picture - Drama:
Babel - Bobby - The Departed - Little Children - The Queen
WILL WIN: The Departed
NEXT IN LINE: The Queen
Many say Babel, but I'm doubting it here. But maybe.
I'D VOTE FOR: The Queen

Picture - Comedy/Musical:
Borat - The Devil Wears Prada - Dreamgirls - Little Miss Sunshine - Thank You For Smoking
WILL WIN: Dreamgirls
NEXT IN LINE: Little Miss Sunshine (though Prada seems their thing)
I'D VOTE FOR: The Devil Wears Prada. Make fun all you want.

Director:
Eastwood - Eastwood - Frears - Inarittu - Scorsese
WILL WIN: Scorsese
NEXT IN LINE: Frears
I'D VOTE FOR: Scorsese

Screenplay:
Babel - The Departed - Little Children - Notes on a Scandal - The Queen
WILL WIN: The Queen
NEXT IN LINE: Babel
I'D VOTE FOR: The Queen

Actress - Drama:
Cruz - Dench - Gyllenhaal - Mirren - Winslet
WILL WIN: Helen Mirren
NEXT IN LINE: Umm..Cruz?
I've seen one of these! I'm going to cry!

Actress - Comedy/Musical
Bening - Collette - Knowles - Streep - Zellweger
WILL WIN: Meryl Streep
NEXT IN LINE: Look TO DA LEFT TO DA LEFT of Streep.
I'D VOTE FOR: Streep

Actor - Drama:
Dicaprio - Dicaprio - O'Toole - Smith - Whitaker
WILL WIN: Forest Whitaker
NEXT IN LINE: Departed Dicaprio
Like last year, if Whitaker takes this, it's smooth sailing toward Oscar. But Dicaprio could spoil?

Actor - Comedy/Musical
Cohen - Depp - Eckhart - Ejiofor - Ferrell
WILL WIN: BORAT!
NEXT IN LINE: Eckhart?
I'D VOTE FOR: The future Mr. Isla Fisher!

Supporting Actor:
Affleck - Murphy - Nicholson - Pitt - Wahlberg
WILL WIN: Eddie Murphy
NEXT IN LINE: Brad Pitt for some stupid reason.
I'D VOTE FOR: Jack Nicholson.

Supporting Actress:
Barazza - Blanchett - Blunt - Hudson - Kikuchi
WILL WIN: Jennifer Hudson
NEXT IN LINE: RINKO!
I'D VOTE FOR: How can I put this BLUNTly.....

Original Score:
The Painted Veil - The Fountain - Babel - Nomad - The DaVinci Code
WILL WIN: Ummm...they didn't give it to Gustavo last year, so Babel is a possibility. BUT - I'll be brave and go with THE FOUNTAIN.
NEXT IN LINE: The Painted Veil

Original Song:
Happyness - Dreamgirls - Bobby - Happy Feet - Home of the Brave
WILL WIN: Dreamgirls?
NEXT IN LINE: Bobby

Foreign Language Film
Apocalypto - Letters From Iwo Jima - Lives of Others - Pan's Labyrinth - Volver
WILL WIN: Pan's
NEXT IN LINE: Iwo Jima

Animated Film
Cars - Happy Feet - Monster House
WILL WIN: Happy Feet
NEXT IN LINE: Cars
I'D VOTE FOR: Monster House LOL.

TV - Drama
24 - Big Love - Grey's Anatomy - Heroes - Lost
WILL WIN: Grey's
NEXT IN LINE: Heroes
I'D VOTE FOR: Grey's

Actress - Drama
Arquette - Falco - Lilly - Pompeo - Sedgwick
WILL WIN: Mrs. Kevin Bacon
NEXT IN LINE: Mrs. Thomas Jane
I'D VOTE FOR: Sedgwick.

Actor - Drama
Dempsey - Hall - Laurie - Paxton - Sutherland
WILL WIN: Sutherland again?
Next in line: Paxton?
I'D VOTE FOR: Hugh Laurie - maybe he'll win again?

TV - Comedy/Musical
Housewives - Entourage - Office - Betty - Weeds
WILL WIN: THE OFFICE! IT BETTER
NEXT IN LINE: BETTY!
I'D VOTE FOR: THE OFFICE!

Actress - Comedy
Cross - Ferrerra - Huffman - Louis-Dreyfus - Parker
WILL WIN: AMERICA!
NEXT IN LINE: Julia!
I'D VOTE FOR: ANYONE WOULD BE DESERVING here. But I'll go with beautiful AMERICA.

Actor - Comedy
Baldwin - Braff - Carell - Lee - Shaloub
WILL WIN: ALEC BALDWIN!
Next in Line: Jason Lee
I'D VOTE FOR: ALEC BALDWIN, though Steve or Jason would be great too.

Mini-Series/TV Movie Shit:
Bleak House - Broken Trail - Elizabeth I - Mrs. Harris - Other Mirren Project
WILL WIN: Elizabeth I
NEXT IN LINE: Bleak House
I'D VOTE FOR: BLEAK HOUSE cuz I've seen nothing here.

Actress - TV movie shit
Anderson - Bening - Mirren - Mirren - Okonedo
WILL WIN: Mirren takes two. I think Gillian or Annette might actually take this?
Eh, who cares?
I'll vote for Dana Scully!

Actor - TV movie shit:
Braugher - Duvall - Ealy - Ejiofor - Kingsley - Nighy - Perry
There's like 7 nominees? So,umm, does it really even matter?

Supporting Actress - TV
Blunt - Collette - Heigl - Paulson - Perksons
WOW GOOD SHIT.
WILL WIN: I'll go out on a ledge here: Sarah Paulson who is hilarious and a lesbian so she rocks!
NEXT IN LINE: Katherine Heigl
I'D VOTE FOR: Blunt baby. Or Paulson

Supporting Actor - TV
Church - Irons - Kirk - Oka - Piven
WILL WIN: Jeremy Piven I guess.
NEXT IN LINE: the other Jeremy?
I'D VOTE FOR: Jeremy Irons. I can't stand Kirk on Weeds and I'm sorry but I think Jeremy Piven is a real asshole.

Friday, January 12, 2007

ACE Noms, BAFTA Noms - GO BLUNT!

American Cinema Editor Awards -The Eddies:
Drama:
"Babel," Stephen Mirrione, Douglas Crise
"Casino Royale," Stuart Baird
"The Departed," Thelma Schoonmaker
"The Queen," Lucia Zuccheti
"United 93," Clare Douglas, Christopher Rouse, Richard Pearson

Comedy/Musical:
"The Devil Wears Prada," Mark Livolsi
"Dreamgirls," Virginia Katz
"Little Miss Sunshine," Pamela Martin
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," Craig Wood, Stephen Rivkin
"Thank You for Smoking," Dan Glauberman


THE BAFTA NOMS!

FILM
BABEL - Alejandro González Iñárritu/Jon Kilik/Steve Golin
THE DEPARTED - Brad Pitt/Brad Grey/Graham King
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND - Andrea Calderwood/Lisa Bryer/Charles Steel
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE*
THE QUEEN - Tracey Seaward/Christine Langan/Andy Harries

THE ALEXANDER KORDA AWARD for the Outstanding British Film of the Year
CASINO ROYALE - Michael G Wilson/Barbara Broccoli/Martin Campbell/Neal Purvis/Robert Wade/Paul Haggis
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND - Andrea Calderwood/Lisa Bryer/Charles Steel/Kevin Macdonald/Peter Morgan/Jeremy Brock
NOTES ON A SCANDAL - Scott Rudin/Robert Fox/Richard Eyre/Patrick Marber
THE QUEEN - Tracey Seaward/Christine Langan/Andy Harries/Stephen Frears/Peter Morgan
UNITED 93 - Tim Bevan/Lloyd Levin/Paul Greengrass

THE CARL FOREMAN AWARD for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer in their First Feature Film
ANDREA ARNOLD (Director) - Red Road
JULIAN GILBEY (Director) - Rollin' with the Nines
CHRISTINE LANGAN (Producer) - Pierrepoint
GARY TARN (Director) - Black Sun
PAUL ANDREW WILLIAMS (Director) - London to Brighton

THE DAVID LEAN AWARD for Achievement in Direction
BABEL - Alejandro González Iñárritu
THE DEPARTED - Martin Scorsese
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE - Jonathan Dayton/Valerie Faris
THE QUEEN - Stephen Frears
UNITED 93 - Paul Greengrass

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BABEL - Guillermo Arriaga
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE - Michael Arndt
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Guillermo del Toro
THE QUEEN - Peter Morgan
UNITED 93 - Paul Greengrass

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
CASINO ROYALE - Neal Purvis/Robert Wade/Paul Haggis
THE DEPARTED - William Monahan
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA - Aline Brosh McKenna
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND - Peter Morgan/Jeremy Brock
NOTES ON A SCANDAL - Patrick Marber

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
APOCALYPTO - Mel Gibson/Bruce Davey
BLACK BOOK (ZWARTBOEK) - Teun Hilte/San Fu Maltha/Jens Meurer/Paul Verhoeven
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Alfonso Cuarón/Bertha Navarro/Frida Torresblanco/Guillermo del Toro
RANG DE BASANTI (PAINT IT YELLOW) - Ronnie Screwvala/Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
VOLVER - Agustín Almodóvar/Pedro Almodóvar

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
CARS - John Lasseter
FLUSHED AWAY - David Bowers/Sam Fell
HAPPY FEET - George Miller

ACTOR in a LEADING ROLE
DANIEL CRAIG - Casino Royale
LEONARDO DICAPRIO - The Departed
RICHARD GRIFFITHS - The History Boys
PETER O'TOOLE - Venus
FOREST WHITAKER - The Last King of Scotland

ACTRESS in a LEADING ROLE
PENELOPE CRUZ - Volver
JUDI DENCH - Notes on a Scandal
HELEN MIRREN - The Queen
MERYL STREEP - The Devil Wears Prada
KATE WINSLET - Little Children

ACTOR in a SUPPORTING ROLE
ALAN ARKIN - Little Miss Sunshine
JAMES MCAVOY - The Last King of Scotland
JACK NICHOLSON - The Departed
LESLIE PHILLIPS - Venus
MICHAEL SHEEN - The Queen

ACTRESS in a SUPPORTING ROLE
EMILY BLUNT - The Devil Wears Prada
ABIGAIL BRESLIN - Little Miss Sunshine
TONI COLETTE - Little Miss Sunshine
FRANCES DE LA TOUR - The History Boys
JENNIFER HUDSON - Dreamgirls

THE ANTHONY ASQUITH AWARD for Achievement in Film Music
BABEL - Gustavo Santaolalla
CASINO ROYALE - David Arnold
DREAMGIRLS - Henry Krieger
HAPPY FEET - John Powell
THE QUEEN - Alexandre Desplat

CINEMATOGRAPHY
BABEL - Rodrigo Prieto
CASINO ROYALE - Phil Meheux
CHILDREN OF MEN - Emmanuel Lubezki
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Guillermo Navarro
UNITED 93 - Barry Ackroyd

EDITING
BABEL - Stephen Mirrione/Douglas Crise
CASINO ROYALE - Stuart Baird
THE DEPARTED - Thelma Schoonmaker
THE QUEEN - Lucia Zucchetti
UNITED 93 - Clare Douglas/Christopher Rouse/Richard Pearson

PRODUCTION DESIGN
CASINO ROYALE - Peter Lamont/Simon Wakefield
CHILDREN OF MEN - Geoffrey Kirkland/Jim Clay/Jennifer Williams
MARIE ANTOINETTE - K K Barrett/Véronique Melery
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Eugenio Caballero/Pilar Revuelta
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST - Rick Heinrichs/Cheryl A Carasik

COSTUME DESIGN
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA - Patricia Field
MARIE ANTOINETTE - Milena Canonero
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Lala Huete
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST - Penny Rose
THE QUEEN - Consolata Boyle

SOUND
BABEL - José García/Jon Taylor/Chris Minkler/Martín Hernández
CASINO ROYALE - Chris Munro/Eddy Joseph/Mike Prestwood Smith/Martin Cantwell/Mark Taylor
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Martín Hernández/Jamie Bashkt
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST - Christopher Boyes/George Watters II/ Paul Massey/Lee Orloff
UNITED 93 - Chris Munro/Mike Prestwood Smith/Douglas Cooper/Oliver Tarney/Eddy Joseph

ACHIEVEMENT IN SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
CASINO ROYALE - Steve Begg/Chris Corbould
CHILDREN OF MEN - Frazer Churchill/Tim Webber/Michael Eames/Paul Corbould
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Edward Irastorza/Everett Burrell
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST - John Knoll/Hal Hickel/Charles Gibson
SUPERMAN RETURNS - Mark Stetson

MAKE UP & HAIR
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA - Nicki Ledermann/Angel De Angelis
MARIE ANTOINETTE - Jean-Luc Russier/Desiree Corridoni
PAN'S LABYRINTH*
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST - Ve Neill/Martin Samuel
THE QUEEN - Daniel Phillips

SHORT ANIMATION FILM
DREAMS AND DESIRES - FAMILY TIES - Les Mills/Joanna Quinn
GUY 101 - Ian Gouldstone
PETER AND THE WOLF - Hugh Welchman/Alan Dewhurst/Suzie Templeton

SHORT FILM
CARE - Rachel Bailey/Corinna Faith
CUBS - Lisa Williams/Tom Harper
DO NOT ERASE - Asitha Ameresekere
HIKIKOMORI - Karley Duffy/Paul Wright
KISSING, TICKLING AND BEING BORED - David Smith/Jim McRoberts

THE ORANGE RISING STAR AWARD (nominees announced on 8 Jan 2007)
EMILY BLUNT
EVA GREEN
NAOMIE HARRIS
CILLIAN MURPHY
BEN WHISHAW

Aren't Green, Harris and Murphy kinda already established?

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Guilds: Costumes, Cinematography, Writing!

Writers Guild Nominees:
Original Screenplay:
"Babel" - Guillermo Arriaga
"Little Miss Sunshine" - Michael Arndt
"The Queen" - Peter Morgan
"Stranger Than Fiction" - Zach Helm
"United 93" - Paul Greengrass

Adapted Screenplay:
"Borat" - Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Peter Baynham & Dan Mazer, Story by Sacha Baron Cohen & Peter Baynham & Anthony Hines & Todd Phillips. Based on a character created by Sacha Baron Cohen.
"The Departed" - William Monohan. Based on the Motion Picture "Internal Affairs," written by Alan Mak and Felix Chong.
"The Devil Wears Prada" - Aline Brosh McKenna. Based on the Novel by Lauren Weisberger
"Little Children" - Todd Field & Tom Perrotta. Based on the Novel by Perrotta.
"Thank You For Smoking" - Jason Reitman. Based on the Novel by Christopher Buckley.

American Society of Cinematographers:
"Apocalypto" - Dean Semler
"The Black Dahlia" - Vilmos Zsigmond
"Children of Men" - Emmanuel Lubezki
"The Good Shepherd" - Robert Richardson
"The Illusionist" - Dick Pope

Costume Designers Guild:
Period:
"Curse of the Golden Flower" - Chung Man Yee
"Dreamgirls" - Sharen Davis
"The Illusionist" - Ngila Dickson
"Marie Antoinette" - Milena Canonero
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" - Penny Rose

Contemporary:
"Babel" - Michael Wilkinson
"Casino Royale" - TBA
"The Devil Wears Prada" - Patricia Field
"Little Miss Sunshine" - Nancy Steiner
"The Queen" - Consolata Boyle

Fantasy:
"Eragon" - Kym Barrett
"The Fountain" - Renee April
"Pan's Labyrinth" - Lala Huete
"V For Vendetta" - Sammy Sheldon
"X-Men: The Last Stand" - Judianna Makovsky

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Hate the Golden Globes? Suck it.

The Golden Globes will be Monday. They are probably the most fun of award shows. The Oscars are very formal and everyone seems kinda stiff. The Globes do not have a host. But they do have alcohol in front of celebrities. This leads to much amusement. Such as last year when Mary-Louise Parker won for Weeds and the most of the Desperate Housewives cast was shitfaced. And they televise this! Or when Reese Witherspoon won and then-husband Ryan Phillipe pretty much pushed her up to the stage. He was sloshed. And they televise this!

The main thing against the Globes is that they are starfuckers. But consider that they have in the past nominated people like Lauren Graham and Sarah Michelle Gellar for their very deserving TV work when the Emmy's did not. Or last year: A History of Violence got the two nominations it most deserved: For the film and one for Maria Bello. The Oscars gave it nods for William Hurt and the screenplay, neither of which it deserved. Or even last year that they gave Brokeback four awards, one it would go on to lose at the Oscars in a genuine moment of infamy, and the other (for Song) that they didn't even say it was eligible for.

Of course, many will say Pia Zadora winning a Globe would trump all this.

But really, it's a party. And for several of the past years, it's been far more entertaining than the Oscars. Plus, you just know they are going to do some awful music to introduce the show. I'm hoping it's 'Globe-a-licious', set to the lyrics of 'Fergilicious.' Wasn't it "Dontcha?" last year? I still remember "Waiting for the Globes" like it was yesterday. Ah, good times.

I should also mention that Meryl Streep is always hilarious when she wins an award at the Globes, and this year she shall win. And she will be funny. She's even funny when she loses: "Congratulations, Natalie."

My predictions will be up later this week.

Some presenters:

Drew Barrymore, Steve Carell, George Clooney, Geena Davis, Cameron Diaz, Hugh Grant, Adrian Grenier, Jake Gyllenhaal, Tom Hanks, Salma Hayek, Felicity Huffman, Eva Longoria, Jennifer Lopez, Sienna Miller, Sarah Jessica Parker, John Stamos, Sharon Stone, Justin Timberlake, Naomi Watts, Rachel Weisz and Reese Witherspoon.

The cast of Heroes will also present, including Adrian Pasdar. Pasdar is married to Natalie Maines. So I'm hoping my Dixie Chickie will be at the Globes. And I hope all three will attend the Oscars in support of their film.

With that in mind, here's who I'm most looking forward to seeing Monday night:

1. Emily Blunt - her big red carpet coming out!
2. Jake Gyllenhaal (man candy alert)
3. Cameron Diaz (someone always fun to watch at the Globes)
4. Sharon Stone (one woman standing ovations for all and two more words: RICHARD GERE!)
5. Reese Witherspoon (let's hope the drunk husband was the reason she never wore a damn good dress last year)
6. Penelope Cruz - I sorta love her now?
7. Kate Winslet - I sorta love her always
8. Rinko Kikuchi - I sorta think she's gonna be worst dressed in the most amusing way

After seeing Children of Men, just one question....

Why in the world did my husband teach a firecrotch our ping pong ball trick?

Clive, I thought only we could do that?

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Directors Guild of America Nominations!

Bill Condon - Dreamgirls
Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris - Little Miss Sunshine
Stephen Frears - The Queen
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Babel
Martin Scorsese - The Departed

Yawn.

Box Office Predix: Jan. 12 - 14

1. Night at the Museum - $17m / $186m / $225m
2. Dreamgirls - $13m / $70m / $125m
3. Stomp the Yard - $10m / $10m / $24m
4. The Pursuit of Happyness - $8m / $135m / $158m
5. Children of Men - $7m / $22m / $45m
6. Freedom Writers - $7m / $18.5m / $34m
7. Arthur and the Invisibles - $6.5m / $6.5m / $20m
8. Charlotte's Web - $5m / $73.5m / $86m
9. Primeval - $5m / $5m / $12m
10. Happily N'Ever After - $4m / $12m / $20m
11. Alpha Dog - $4m / $4m / $11m

Saturday, January 06, 2007

More Winners and such!

USC Scripter Noms:
Children of Men - The Devil Wears Prada - The Illusionist - The Last King of Scotland - Notes on a Scandal

National Society of Film Critics:
Picture - Pan's Labyrinth
Director - Paul Greengrass - United 93
Screenplay - The Queen
Actor - Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland
Actress - Helen Mirren - The Queen
Supporting Actor - Mark Wahlberg - The Departed
Supporting Actress - Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada & A Prairie Home Companion
Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth
Cinematography - Children of Men
Experimental Film - Inland Empire

Online Film Critics Nominations:
BEST PICTURE
Babel
Children Of Men
The Departed
Pan’s Labyrinth
United 93

BEST DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuaron - Children of Men
Guillermo del Toro - Pan's Labyrinth
Paul Greengrass - United 93
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Babel
Martin Scorsese - The Departed

BEST ACTOR
Sacha Baron Cohen - Borat
Leonardo Di Caprio - The Departed
Ryan Gosling - Half Nelson
Peter O’Toole - Venus
Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland

BEST ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz - Volver
Judi Dench - Notes On A Scandal
Helen Mirren - The Queen
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet - Little Children

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley - Little Children
Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls
Jack Nicholson - The Departed
Mark Wahlberg - The Departed

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Adriana Barraza - Babel
Cate Blanchett - Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi - Babel

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Babel
Little Miss Sunshine
Pan’s Labyrinth
The Queen
United 93


BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Children of Men
The Departed
Little Children
The Prestige
Thank You For Smoking

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Apocalypto
Babel
Children of Men
The Fountain
Pan’s Labyrinth

BEST EDITING
Babel
Children Of Men
The Departed
The Fountain
United 93

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Babel
The Fountain
The Illusionist
Notes On A Scandal
Pan's Labyrinth

BEST DOCUMENTARY
An Inconvenient Truth
Dave Chappelle's Block Party
Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing
Jesus Camp
Neil Young: Heart Of Gold

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Romania)
L'Enfant (Belgium)
Pan's Labyrinth (Mexico)
Volver (Spain)
Water (India)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Cars
Happy Feet
Monster House
Over the Hedge
A Scanner Darkly

BREAKTHROUGH FILMMAKER
Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris - Little Miss Sunshine
Ryan Fleck - Half Nelson
Rian Johnson - Brick
Neil Marshall - The Descent
Jason Reitman - Thank You for Smoking

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMER
Sacha Baron Cohen - Borat
Shareeka Epps - Half Nelson
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi - Babel
Ellen Page - Hard Candy

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Screen Actors Guild Nominees - proof how dumb actors actually are?

Film Ensemble:
Babel - Bobby - The Departed - Dreamgirls - Little Miss Sunshine

Actor:
Leonardo Dicaprio - Blood Diamond (??????)
Ryan Gosling - Half Nelson
Peter O'Toole - Venus
Will Smith - The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland

Actress:
Penelope Cruz - Volver
Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren - The Queen
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet - Little Children

Supporting Actor:
Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine
Leonardo Dicaprio - The Departed (he was placed here, but WHY THE FUCK!?!?!?!?!)
Jackie Earle Haley - Little Children
Djimon Hounsou - Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls
(This category is fucked.)

Supporting Actress:
Adriana Barazza - Babel
Cate Blanchett - Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi - Babel


TV:
Actor In a TV Movie/Miniseries:
Thomas Haden Church - Broken Trail
Robert Duvall - Broken Trail
Jeremy Irons - Elizabeth I
William H. Macy - Nightmares & Dreamscapes
Matthew Perry - The Ron Clark Story

Actress In a TV Movie/Miniseries:
Annette Bening - Mrs. Harris
Shirley Jones - Hidden Places
Cloris Leachman - Mrs. Harris
Helen Mirren - Elizabeth I
Greta Scacchi - Broken Trail

Actor - TV - Drama:
James Gandolfini - The Sopranos
Michael C. Hall - Dexter
Hugh Laurie - House
James Spader - Boston Legal
Kiefer Sutherland - 24

Actress - TV - Drama:
Patricia Arquette - Medium
Edie Falco - The Sopranos
Mariska Hargitay - Law and Order: Special Victims Unit
Kyra Sedgwick - The Closer
Chandra Wilson - Grey's Anatomy
(Elijah Wood pronounced it Harti-gay. Hmm. Loved when Sandra Oh said 'Get up, girl!' after Wilson's name was said.)

Actor - TV - Comedy:
Alec Baldwin - 30 Rock
Steve Carell - The Office
Jason Lee - My Name Is Earl
Jeremy Piven - Entourage
Tony Shaloub - Monk

Actress - TV - Comedy:
America Ferrera - Ugly Betty
Felicity Huffman - Desperate Housewives
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - The New Adventures of Old Christine
Megan Mullally - Will and Grace
Mary-Louise Parker - Weeds
Jamie Pressly - My Name is Earl

Ensemble - TV Drama:
24 - Boston Legal - Deadwood - Grey's Anatomy - The Sopranos

Ensemble - TV Comedy:
Desperate Housewives - Entourage - The Office - Ugly Betty - Weeds

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Box Office Predix: January 5 - 7

1. Night at the Museum - $22m / $162m / $220m
2. The Pursuit of Happyness - $12m / $123m / $154m
3. Dreamgirls - $10m / $55m / $135m
4. Charlotte's Web - $9m / $69m / $100m
5. Children of Men - $8m / $10m / $35m
6. Freedom Writers - $7.5m / $7.5m / $29m
7. Happily Never After - $7m / $7m / $28m
8. The Good Shepherd - $6m / $47.5m / $60m
9. Rocky Balboa - $6m / $60.5m / $74m
10. Code Name: The Cleaner - $5.5m / $5.5m / $14m

Producers Guild of America Nominees

I went 4/5, but I got the alternate! Go me.

And the nominees are...

FILM
"Babel," (Paramount Vantage) Alejandro González Iñárritu, Steve Golin, Jon Kilik
"The Departed," (Warner Bros.) Graham King
"Dreamgirls," (Dreamworks SKG/Paramount Pictures) Laurence Mark
"Little Miss Sunshine," (Fox Searchlight) Marc Turtletaub, David T. Friendly, Peter Saraf, Albert Berger & Ron Yerxa
"The Queen," (Miramax Films) Andy Harries, Christine Langan, Tracey Seaward

ANIMATED FILM
"Cars," (Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation) Darla K. Anderson
"Flushed Away," (Dreamworks Animation) Cecil Kramer, Peter Lord
"Happy Feet," (Warner Bros.) Doug Mitchell, George Miller, Bill Miller
"Ice Age: The Meltdown," (20th Century Fox Animation) Lori Forte
"Monster House," (Sony Pictures Animation) Steve Starkey, Jack Rapke

LONG-FORM TELEVISION
"Bleak House," (PBS/BBC), Nigel Stafford-Clark
"Elizabeth I," (HBO) Suzan Harrison, George Faber, Charles Pattinson, Barney Riesz
"Flight 93," (A&E Television) David Gerber, Clara George
"High School Musical," (The Disney Channel) Bill Borden, Barry Rosenbush
"Mrs. Harris," (HBO) Elizabeth Karlsen, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon

EPISODIC TELEVISION DRAMA
"Grey's Anatomy," Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, James Parriott, Peter Horton, Rob Corn
"House," David Shore, Katie Jacobs
"Lost," J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, Bryan Burk, Jack Bender, Jean Higgins, Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz, Elizabeth Sarnoff
"The Sopranos," David Chase, Brad Grey, Ilene S. Landress, Terence Winter, Matthew Weiner, Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider, Henry Bronchtein, Martin Bruestle, Gianna Smart
"24," Joel Surnow, Robert Cochran, Howard Gordon, Evan Katz, Jon Cassar, Michael Loceff, Michael Klick

EPISODIC TELEVISION COMEDY
"Arrested Development," Ron Howard & Brian Grazer, David Nevins, Mitchell Hurwitz, John Amodeo, Dean Lorey,Jim Vallely,Richard Day,Tom Saunders
"Curb Your Enthusiasm," Larry David, Jeff Garlin, Robert B. Weide, Larry Charles, Tim Gibbons, Erin O’Malley
"My Name is Earl," Greg Garcia, Marc Buckland, Henry Lange, Jr.
"The Office," Greg Daniels, Kent Zbornak,
"Weeds," Jenji Kohan, Roberto Benabib, Mark A. Burley

VARIETY TELEVISION
"The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Ellen DeGeneres, Mary Connelly, Ed Glavin, Andy Lassner, Karen Kilgariff
"Late Night with Conan O'Brien," Lorne Michaels, Jeff Ross, Tracy King, Frank Smiley, Daniel Ferguson
"The Late Show with David Letterman," Maria Pope, Barbara Gaines, Rob Burnett, Jude Brennan
"Real Time with Bill Maher," Bill Maher, Scott Carter, Sheila Griffiths, Dean Johnsen
"The XX Olympic Winter Games: Opening Ceremony," Dick Ebersol, David Neal, Molly Solomon

NON-FICTION TELEVISION:
"The Amazing Race 9,"Jerry Bruckheimer, Betram van Munster, Jonathan Littman, Amy Chacon, Hayma "Screech" Washington, Evan Weinstein, Elise Doganieri, Mark Vertullo
"American Idol,"Nigel Lythgoe, Ken Warwick, Simon Fuller, Charles Boyd, Simon Lythgoe, Megan Michaels
"Dancing With the Stars," Conrad Green, Richard Hopkins, Izzie Pick
"Project Runway," Award Eligibility Under Appeal
"60 Minutes," Jeff Fager

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Guild Predictions!

They announce over the course of the next 10 days!

Producers Guild of America:
Borat - The Departed - Dreamgirls - Little Miss Sunshine - The Queen
Alternate - Babel

Directors Guild of America
Clint Eastwood - Letters From Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears - The Queen
Alejandro Inarritu Gonzalez - Babel
Paul Greengrass - United 93
Martin Scorsese - The Departed
Alternate - Bill Condon - Dreamgirls

Writers Guild of America
Original Screenplay:
Babel - Borat - Letters From Iwo Jima - Little Miss Sunshine - The Queen
Alternate - Volver
Adapted Screenplay:
The Departed - The Devil Wears Prada - Dreamgirls - Little Children - Notes on a Scandal
Alternate: Thank You For Smoking

Screen Actors Guild:
Actor:
Sacha Baron Cohen - Borat
Leonardo Dicaprio - The Departed
Ryan Gosling - Half Nelson
Peter O'Toole - Venus
Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland
Alternate: Will Smith - The Pursuit of Happyness

Actress:
Penelope Cruz - Volver
Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal
Maggie Gyllenhaal - Sherrybaby
Helen Mirren - The Queen
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
Alternate: Kate Winslet - Little Children

Supporting Actor:
Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls
Jack Nicholson - The Departed
Brad Pitt - Babel
Michael Sheen - The Queen
Mark Wahlberg - The Departed
Alternate: Jackie Earle Haley - Little Children

Supporting Actress:
Adrianna Barazza - Babel
Cate Blanchett - Notes on a Scandal
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi - Babel
Catherine O'Hara - For Your Consideration
Alternate: Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine

Ensemble:
Babel - The Departed - Dreamgirls - Letters From Iwo Jima - Little Miss Sunshine
Alternate: A Prairie Home Companion