Oscar® Performers and TV Show Revamp

James Franco

Anne Hathaway

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the nominated songs will be performed again this year. Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer, the producers of the 83rd Academy Awards® have announced some of the things to expect during Sunday's broadcast.

For instance, did anyone notice they were not performed last year? I did, and I did not like the omission.

Randy Newman will perform his "We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3. Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi, who sang the duet "I See the Light" on the Tangled soundtrack, will re-team with composer Alan Menken. Gwyneth Paltrow will sing "Coming Home," which she sang in Country Strong. The English singer known as Dido, who was nominated with Rollo Armstrong and A.R. Rahman for the song, "If I Rise" from 127 Hours, is not available. Florence Welch from Florence + the Machine will perform with Rahman.

Co-hosts Anne Hathaway, 28, and James Franco, 32,  will make double history at the broadcast. Not only are they two of the youngest hosts at the Oscars, there has never been a male/female duo carry the hosting duties together for the entire broadcast.

There will be no more presenter testimonials to the actors and actresses, and no more movie montages. Good riddance to both.

They are getting a bit cutie. For instance, some of the mothers and Franco's grandmother will tweet on their Twitter accounts during the show. Also, the producers have chosen an elementary school chorus, mostly 10-year-old students from P.S. 22 on Staten Island, N.Y., to sing "Over the Rainbow." Why? I have no earthly idea. We shall see.

The stage set will not be set. It will be projected, capable of constantly changing. This is very new. It should be interesting, but will it prove distracting?

Also, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ President Tom Sherak and Anne Sweeney, President of the Disney/ABC Television Group, announced yesterday that the ABC Television Network’s contract to carry the annual Academy Awards presentations has been extended for six more years, through 2020.

The 83rd Academy Awards, which will air live on Sunday, February 27, will be the 36th consecutive ceremony to air on ABC. Check local listings.

Nominations for 68th Golden Globes Launch Awards Season

Helena Bonham Carter and Colin Firth

With the announcement today by the Foreign Press Association of the nominees for the 68th Golden Globes, the Awards Season to honor the best movies released in 2010 is now officially open. The Golden Globes® will be presented January 16, 2011, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, hosted by Ricky Gervais, and broadcast live on NBC.

First of all, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association enlisted the help of actor Kevin Spacey to announce the 2011's Cecil B. DeMille award winner, actor Robert De Niro. Previous recipients include Martin Scorsese (2010), Steven Spielberg (2009), Warren Beatty (2007) and Anthony Hopkins (2006). Read more.

The British period piece, THE KING'S SPEECH leads the Golden Globes nominations with seven, including best drama and acting honors for Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush. Other best-drama nominees are:

The thriller BLACK SWAN, starring Natalie Portman as a emotionally challenged ballet dancer; the boxing saga THE FIGHTER, starring Mark Walberg; the sci-fi perplexer INCEPTION, starring Leonardo DiCaprio; and the Facebook chronicle THE SOCIAL NETWORK (TSW, for short), starring Jesse Eisenberg.

Eisenberg along with Firth, Portman and Walberg are nominated for best actor / actress in a drama. DiCaprio is not nominated. James Franco is nominated in the best actor category for his role in the survivor tale 127 HOURS, and so is Ryan Gosling for his role in the R-rated, marital-cycle drama BLUE VALENTINE.

Other best actress nominees are: Halle Berry (FRANKIE and ALICE), Nicole Kidman (RABBIT HOLE) and Michelle Williams (BLUE VALENTINE).

THE FIGHTER comes in second with six nominations. On TV, 'Glee' leads with five.

The Golden Globes have another best picture category for feature film besides Drama, that one being Best Musical or Comedy. I personally like this, and for years I have advocated for a similar category for the Oscars® but, so far, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences® will not depart from the one-size-fits-all Best Motion Picture category for feature films. 

Because of the extra Golden Globes category, THE TOURIST is recognized for the movie it really is - - a highbrow comic farce of Mati Hari-like foreign intregue, nothing or no one is what they claim to be movies. It's AIRPLANE for Ivy League graduates. Other movies in the Musical or Comedy category are: ALICE IN WONDERLAND, BURLESQUE, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT and RED.

Also because of that extra category, Johnny Depp has two nominations in the best actor category, one each for THE TOURIST and ALICE in WONDERLAND. Seven other actors and actresses, have a "best" nomination for a Golden Globe. It is likey they would not have been nominated had there been only on feature film  category.

Nominated for best original score in a motion picture is Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, for THE SOCIAL NETWORK score.  Reznor was recognized alongside A. R. Rahman, nominated for 127 HOURS, and who won an Oscar for SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE; Alexander Desplot for THE KING'S SPEECH; Danny Elfman for ALICE IN WONDERLAND; and Hans Zimmer for INCEPTION. All are heavy-weight award-winning composers.

Click the title of this post to access the best list of all the nominees along with additional information. Golden Globes Official Site.

Next up? The Academy Awards® for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood; Highland Center®, and televised live on the ABC Television Network.

Not Thrilled With Oscar Hosts Picks

Last week, the producers of the 83rd Academy Awards®, Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer, announced that actors James Franco and Anne Hathaway will serve as co-host of the Oscar® telecast in February. The news release admitted that "Both have previously appeared on the telecast but not in hosting capacities."

I searched diligently and could find no one TV show, or anything else, either have hosted, but according to the producers, "James Franco and Anne Hathaway personify the next generation of Hollywood icons— fresh, exciting and multi-talented. We hope to create an Oscar broadcast that will both showcase their incredible talents and entertain the world on Feb. 27."

Oh, joy. Much to look forward to. I have seen two attractive young people giving good performances on the screen, and both have exhibited reasonably good comic timing here and there, Hathaway more so than Franco.

On the screen, they are both candy for the eyes, and are usually enjoyable to watch, but they have no history with the Academy. I wager they know little about the Academy Awards prior to 2000. However, I am sure they will do a credible job of hitting their marks and mouthing their lines.

The only expression that describes what I am thinking about the broadcast this year is, "boring."  I'm sorry, but it is implausible to put two inexperienced young actors on stage and expect them to enhance the Oscar broadcast like Bob Hope, Johnny Caron, Billy Chrystal and so many other seasoned experienced hosts have done. Sometimes, experience and knowledge trump what is "hot" at the moment.

Of course, I wish them both success in their endeavors in their hosting duties.