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.

You are Invited to Oscar® Gala with an All Access Pass

Get the All Access Pass for the Oscars®

Movie fans, your “All Access” pass for Oscar Night® is now available on Oscar.com (www.oscar.com/all-access), the official online home of the 83rd Academy Awards®.  This new interactive feature will provide an experience to the online audience during the live Oscar® show never before available.

Beginning at 3:30 p.m. PT, 6:30 ET, Sunday, February 27, all Oscar.com visitors will experience Oscar’s red carpet through multiple camera positions capturing celebrity arrivals, glamorous fashions, and press activity.  During the telecast, users may visit the show’s control truck, check out the backstage “Thank You Cam” at which winners continue their acceptance remarks, and watch and listen as the winners take questions from the world’s press in the interview room.

For a premium Oscar Night experience, users may register ($4.99) for additional, exclusive viewing opportunities.  Multiple “360 cams,” a groundbreaking technology that users control with the click/drag functionality of the computer mouse, will be positioned throughout the red carpet, the Kodak Theatre and the Governors Ball, the Academy’s celebration immediately following Academy Awards.

On the red carpet, users will be able to watch Oscar nominees and presenters mixing and mingling as they enjoy the pre-ceremony champagne reception. Inside the Kodak Theatre, viewers will see the presenters’ hair and makeup area, watch the guests interact during commercial breaks and see the Academy’s official winner portrait area.

The access continues at the Governors Ball, where users will be able see Oscar winners arriving at the party and having their statuettes being affixed with nameplates. Designed to be perfect companion to the Oscar telecast, over the course of the evening, “All Access” users will have the ability to choose from more than 24 strategically placed cameras throughout the venue.

iPad, iPhone and iPod touch users can also get their own ultimate insider’s view with the new Oscar Backstage Pass App.  Available for download at the App Store  for $0.99, the Oscar Backstage Pass app includes the same features as “All Access” without the “360 cam” technology. (www.itunes.com/appstore)

Click the title of this post for all the details. 

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood and Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT, 8 p.m. ET.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Final Oscar® Ballot Return Deadline Looms

Completed final ballots for the 83rd Academy Awards^® must be returned to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) by 5 p.m., Tuesday, February 22. Ballots received after the deadline will not be counted.

Listed on the ballots are nominees in 19 Awards categories. Separate ballots for five categories (Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Foreign Language Film, Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film) are also due.

Following the tabulation of the votes at PwC, the winners’ names will be placed in sealed envelopes to be opened at the awards gala, Sunday, February 28, 2011.

The Academy's new interactive Web site is now fully open, and those who subscribe to special Oscar access will be able to view the gala on their PC, and do more with their smart phones. This is not limited to Academy members only. It is available to everyone who subscribes. Click the title of this post to access the site and learn more.

The gala will be televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Roger Ebert and I Pick Some Oscar® Winners

Firth and Carter

Mr. Roger Ebert made his Oscar® predictions for the 83rd Academy Awards® on his blog a couple of days ago. I made some of mine (best picture and acting awards) a couple of weeks ago, and posted them here on the second post down. I repeat those here with more explanation, and add some more because every year I do this competition with Ebert, but he doesn't know I do it. I can never enter an Oscar picking contest, because I can never pick the lesser categories, but I fare pretty well in the major ones.

Okay, I'm rolling up my sleeves, confirming my previous picks, and announcing some additional ones. Ebert writes his preference for Best Feature Motion Picture of 2010 would be THE SOCIAL NETWORK, if he were a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. However, he believes THE KING'S SPEECH will win because, “A British historical drama about a brave man struggling to overcome a disability, and then leading his people into World War II, looks better to the Academy than a cutting-edge portrait of hyperactive nerds.”

I, too, choose THE KING'S SPEECH for Best Feature Motion Picture. I choose it because I think it is as near to a perfect a movie as one can make. Normal viewers and Academy members appreciate a film they can enjoy without constantly being distracted by flaws here and there, especially in writing, directing, cinematography, film editing, sound editing, and an overpowering music score.

THE KING'S SPEECH is based upon the life of King George VI and his wife, later known as the Queen Mum of Britain. At this time in history, they are the parents of two young Princesses Elizabeth, now Queen Elizabeth II, and her late younger sister, Margaret.

The movie's focus is on Colin Firth's character, known to his family as Bertie, who becomes King George VI of England when the older brother Edward abdicates the throne to marry a divorcee, Mrs. Simpson. Young Bertie is confronted with the prospect of World War II looming on the horizon even before he becomes king.

As King of England, Birdie will need to address the nation over the new "fangeled" radio. No longer can a king wave from a car or a balcony. He must speak. However, Birdie has a debilitating stutter. What to do?

Firth's portrayal is not only about the mechanics of stuttering, but the anguish in the eyes of the young prince because he despises his inadequacy, which he cannot help but might overcome. Plus, the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) honored Firth for best performance of a male actor. As I often point out, 80% of SAG's nominees go on to win an Oscar. I, like Ebert, think Firth will win Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. In my judgment, his performance is above fantastic.

I saw a poll where people who viewed THE KING'S SPEECH gave it a 97% enjoyment rating. TRUE GRIT was next with 88% followed by THE FIGHTER at 80. No other movie in the poll but THE KING'S SPEECH was higher than 88%.

Geoffrey Rush may well win Best Supporting Actor on his own merit portraying the king's speech therapist and eventual friend, as Ebert predicts. I feel the role limited Rush's acting, but he could win due to the "coattail" effect from the movie.

However, SAG gave their award to Christian Bale, who in THE FIGHTER depicts the ne're-do-well, drug-ravaged older half-brother boxer, Dickey Ecklund. Dickey's younger half-brother Mickey Ward, portrayed by Mark Wahlberg, also boxes but defers to his mother's support of Dickey to go for the title, rather than seeking the title himself.

This movie, as is THE KING'S SPEECH, is based on a true story. Some of the family are still living, especially the brothers. Bale in THE FIGHTER, like Firth, disappears into the character of Dickey. I choose Bale.

Ebert goes with Hailee Steinfeld, TRUE GRIT, for Best Supporting Actress. Although, he points out, she was really an actress in a leading role. I do not dispute that. However, she is just "out of the gate" as an actress, so she was nominated in the supporting category. I do not think she will win anything, not that she doesn't deserve it. Again, as with Bale, I am going with SAG who honored Melissa Leo (THE FIGHTER). See my second post down about the SAG Awards.

Natalie Portman

For Actress in a Leading Role, beautiful Natalie Portman (BLACK SWAN) was born in Israel, received an Oscar nomination for THE CLOSER (2001), seems to be the favorite, and has all the chops to win. I should choose her to win, as did Ebert. I am  not doing so. I am swallowing hard and choosing someone else.

There are extenuating situations concerning Annette Bening, also nominated in the category for THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT, which compel me to go against the popular assumption and choose her:

(1) Besides the current movie, Bening has previously been nominated three times for an Oscar for acting, two for best actress, BEING JULIA (2004) and AMERICAN BEAUTY (1999), and one for supporting actress for THE GRIFFTERS (1990). (2) THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT received three nominations for 2010, for best motion picture, screenplay, and Bening. Obviously, she has support from her peers for an acting Oscar.

(3) Also, both Bening and her husband, Warren Beatty, are well respected by Academy members, and her interpretation of the "male" in the movie's Lesbian relationship is superb. (4) Bening is now slightly over 50,  has made 28 movies as an actress, is still beautiful, and she has no Oscar for her efforts.

(5) Natalie Portman is young, turning 30 this year, and was nominated for an Oscar in 2001 for CLOSER. She still has time to hone her acting, and I do not think she has reached her acting potential yet. Remember, SAG winners receive an Oscar 80%, not 100%, of the time, and I think this may be one of the times their nominee does not win. I know it is a long shot, but I am taking it.

I believe the Best Director will be Tom Hooper, THE KING'S SPEECH. H received the Directors Guild of America award. Again, unlike with THE SOCIAL NETWORK, I became so engrossed in the movie, I never noticed the camera. That is the way it should be. If anyone has ever directed on stage or screen they watch the blocking in a production. I have, and the blocking was excellent. For those that do not know what blocking is, it is the placement of the actors in a scene.

I agree with Ebert that Aaron Sorkin's adapted screenplay for THE SOCIAL NETWORK will be the topper. The movie is based on the novel, The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich.

Ebert believes Mike Leigh's original screenplay for ANOTHER YEAR is the best original screenplay of the year, but he thinks David Seidler will win for THE KING'S SPEECH. So do I. It won the Writers Guild Award for best original screenplay.

I agree with Ebert that TOY STORY3 will win the Best Animated Feature Film Oscar hands down. It is the most popular animated movie of the year, grossed over $400 million, and is also nominated for Best Feature Motion Picture. I would say it has a big edge over the other two nominated movies in the animated feature film category.

I also agree with Ebert about BIUTIFUL (Mexico), directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, who also co-wrote the screenplay.  I hope it will win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film because it deserves to win. Iñárritu received a directing Oscar nomination for BABEL in 2006.

BIUTIFUL'S star is the Spanish Oscar winner (NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN), Javier Bardem. He and his Spanish wife Penelope Cruz have a new son, and many Academy members like that because they also like both Bardem and Cruz. He is nominated for Best Actor for his performance in this movie as the dying father, a performance that is, "magnifico!" 

Hans Zimmer won the Hollywood Music in Media Award in November for his original score for INCEPTION, and Ebert liked the score for THE SOCIAL NETWORK, but he believes, as do I, that the Oscar will go to Alexandre Desplat for THE KING'S SPEECH. For me, the score was like the camera, I hardly noticed it was there, but when I listened during transitions, I liked what I heard. As Ebert says, THE KING'S SPEECH will sweep some of the awards with it, i.e., that "coattail effect" again, and the score may be one.

For Achievement in Music, Original Song, I must go with A.R. Rahman's "If I Rise" from 127 HOURS. Actually, Rahman's score for 127 HOURS may fool us all and win the Oscar for the score as well.

Two more to go. One for Outstanding Cinematography, and the other for Outstanding Film Editing. I agree with Ebert that the cinematography of  Roger Deakins, nominated for TRUE GRIT is outstanding. According to Ebert, Deakins has been nominated nine times and has not won one. Ebert thinks this might be his year, however, he goes with THE KING'S SPEECH and Denny Cohen. True, Cohen could benefit from the "coattail effect" but I am going with Deakins and TRUE GRIT, because I think he deserves it.

For Outstanding Film Editing, I go with THE SOCIAL NETWORK (TSN) since INCEPTION did not get a nomination in this category. The editing by Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter for TSN obviously was a complex challenge, and I think they met it. I do not fault the editing for THE KING'S SPEECH, but I think its complexity does not match that of TSN.

And that is as far as I go with my predictions now. Ebert has more choices on his blog, and you can read those by clicking the title of this post. Do you think you can outguess Ebert's picks? Click the title of this post and scroll down to find the $100,000 contest information. Can you outguess me? Sorry, if so, no money.

Here's a big tip in picking Best Motion Picture. Early on in the ceremony watch and note which film wins for: directing, cinematography, film editing, sound editing, writing, and it helps if it scores a win for best actor or actress. The film that wins at least the first five of these will, almost without exception, be the winner in the category. You can make book on it.

The Oscars® . There is an App for That!

If you have an iPad, iPhone and/or and iPod touch, you are invited to download and/or update your official Oscars® App. Do not have the application? Read on to see what you can do with it.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has unveiled the latest version of its Academy Awards® application, which reflects this year’s nominations, allows users to broadcast their own Oscar® picks, and will provide real-time Oscar Night® results.  More than half a million users downloaded the app following its debut prior to last year’s show.

Designed for the Academy by the Los Angeles-based creative shop Omelet, the app connects users to a comprehensive nominees list, trailers for the 10 Best Picture-nominated films, and an interactive ballot to predict winners in each of the 24 Academy Awards categories. Users’ predictions are saved to a database that enables sharing with friends via social media such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as by e-mail and SMS.

The app will also be active beyond Oscars Night, allowing users to be a part of the Academy’s year-round public events – screenings, tributes, exhibitions – in Los Angeles, New York and the San Francisco Bay Area. Users may also access the organization’s extensive Academy Awards database, which is the official record of all Oscar winners and nominees.

The Oscars App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch devices or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood and  Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Oscar® Acting Nominations Compared to Screen Actors Guild Awards

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was chartered 62 years ago. Since 1962, the Guild bestowed a number of luminaries with Life Achievement Awards, in both movies and television, but had never produced a televised awards ceremony with various "outstanding performance" categories until 1995.

In his book All About Oscar, Emanuel Levy notes the influence SAG award winners have at the Academy Awards. SAG's 61-year-history has shown that with 4,200 member actors representing 24 percent of voting Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members -- the largest voting block in the Academy -- 80 percent of SAG winners go on to win an Oscar. See More.

Remember when Sandra Bullock won Best Actress in a Lead Role for The Blind Side? Many scoffed. They thought SAG was off its rocker. It wasn't.

This year SAG members celebrated the 17th Annual Televised Screen Actors Guild Awards Gala. They now, too, award a heavy gold statuette of a male nude, or is it androgynous?

Their statuette holds a gold theatrical mask in each hand. The raised left hand holds the comedy mask, and close to his/it's shoulder, the right hand holds the drama mask. This year's Awards Gala was held Sunday, January 30, 2011, and was broadcast coast to-coast on TNT and TBS.

All these winners are also nominated for an Oscar. And, the winners are:

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture: The King's Speech;

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role: Colin Firth (King George VI) The King's Speech;

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role: Natalie Portman (Nina Sayers) Black Swan;

Outstanding Performance by a  Male Actor in a Supporting Role: Christian Bale (Dicky Eklund) The Fighter;

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Melissa Leo (Alice Ward) The Fighter.

I like their designations of female and male actor, but I am always in favor of removing gender biases. Why are we still using actor and actress in the 21st Century? They all act. Therefore, they are actors. 

So, will the above list repeat itself at the 83rd Academy Awards? The recipients were exactly the same for The Golden Globes, except there was no Best Cast Globe Award. The Globes are considered another reliable Oscar predictor.

For more on the 17th SAG Awards, and to see all the nominees and winners, click the title of this post.

Final Oscar® Ballots are in the Mail.

I remember that I wrote my next post would be: "Oscar® Acting Nominations Compared to Screen Actors Guild Awards." Of course, the order of posts depend upon what communications I get from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Today I received one.

But first, I want to report that I have now seen all but one of the movies nominated for Best Motion Picture of 2010, that one being '127 Hours.' After seeing 'The Kings Speech', I can unequivocally say that, of all the movies I have seen this past year, 'The King's Speech' comes the closest to being the most perfect film of them all - - acting, directing, writing and technical.

I wish I could now hear the score by Alexandre Desplat because I was hardly aware of the music while viewing the film, and that is how a perfect film score should be. I was in awe of how Colin Firth seemed to actually have a speech defect. Talk about perfection. But, more about the acting in, hopefully the next post.

Final ballots for the 83rd Academy Awards® were mailed today (February 2nd) to the 5,755 voting members of the Academy. Completed ballots must be returned to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) by 5 p.m., PT, Tuesday, February 22nd.  Ballots received at PwC after the deadline will not be counted. Trust me, they mean it.

I remember when I was at PwC, actor Richard Crenna called me in a panic. He claimed his secretary had failed to send the ballot to arrive the day before, and he wanted to messenger his ballot over to me at once. My answer was, of course, "Sorry, Dick. Not possible." He was a fellow Trojan, and I often thought about calling him to see if he fired his secretary, but I didn't.

Listed on the final Oscar ballots mailed today are nominees in 19 Awards categories. Separate ballots for five categories (Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Foreign Language Film, Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film) will be distributed after verification of mandatory member attendance at screenings.

Following the tabulation of the votes, the winners’ names will be placed in sealed envelopes to be opened on Oscar Night®, Sunday, February 27th. On that night, Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Box Office and the Oscars®

WINTER'S BONE

THE KING'S SPEECH

There is often speculation that motion pictures that do well at the Box Office have more of a chance of winning an Oscar®. I have been an "Oscar watcher" for longer than I shall admit here and, frankly, there does not seem to be a correlation. I would love to research it and do a quantified statistical study. Anyone want to fund it? But, then, there are so many variables.

So, let's get down to crunching some numbers pertaining to this year's nominees for Best Motion Picture and their Box Office numbers just before they were nominated. We will do the winner's stats after the 83rd Academy Awards®, February 17.

Having compared the grosses of the ten nominees on January 24, let us rank them all, highest gross first with the number of their nominations in parentheses:

TOY STORY 3, $414.9M (5); INCEPTION, $292.5 (8); TRUE GRIT, $137.9M (10); THE SOCIAL NETWORK, $95.4M (8); BLACK SWAN, $83.2M (5 ); THE FIGHTER $72.6 (7); THE KING'S SPEECH, $57.3M (12 ); THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT (4 ); 127 HOURS (6); and WINTER'S BONE $6.2m (4). (For more see: Box Office Mojo.)

Please, keep in mind that these movies were released at different times. Some had a longer time to amass Box Office numbers than others but, even so, one can easily see that the Box Office receipts had little impact on the number of nominations a movie received.

To get a better comparison, let's break them down starting with TOY STORY 3, which was leading the Box Office receipts by miles just before the Best Picture nominations were announced. It was the earliest Best Picture nominee to release, June 18, and it's gross was $414.9 Million on January 24. By comparison, the lowest-budgeted independent movie, WINTER'S BONE, released June 11th, with a gross of $6.2M. The highest and the lowest. Yet, WINTER'S BONE is nominated for four Oscars, Toy Story, five.

The second best gross was INCEPTION'S $292.5M, released July 16th. We can compare that to the low-budget nominated movie released only two days before on July 9th, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT, which came in at $20.8M.

Moving on to Oct 1st, and to one of the most anticipated movies of the year, THE SOCIAL NETWORK. Its gross was $95.4M.

THE KING'S SPEECH was released November 26th, almost two months later, and grossed $57.3M. Do the math, use an algorithm, whatever, and you see right away that THE KING'S SPEECH was only $48.1M behind THE SOCIAL NETWORK on January 24th and, therefore, THE KING'S SPEECH shows stronger legs than THE SOCIAL NETWORK. Also released in November, 127 HOURS opened on November 5th, and it grossed a weak $11.2M. Wobbly legs at best.

Three nominated movies were released in December. BLACK SWAN opened first, December 3rd, THE FIGHTER on December 10, followed by TRUE GRIT on December 22nd. The last Best Picture nominee to open.

How do their gross totals on January 24 compare? One would think that the last movie opening would have the least gross. Not so. The last film grossed the most behind INCEPTION, which was released five months earlier. The grosses for the movies opening from the 3rd to the 22nd of December were: BLACK SWAN $83.2M, THE FIGHTER $72.6M, and TRUE GRIT $137.9M. I predict TRUE GRIT has legs of a stallion.

Click the title of this post to access the Official 2011 Oscar Web site. See previous posts, below, for more, and there will be many more posts between now and the February 27th 83rd Academy Awards Gala. Next Post: "Acting Nominations Compared to Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards."  The SAG awards will be held tomorrow night.

Discussing More Best Picture Oscar® Nominations

In the Previous post directly below, we looked at the Academy Awards® nominations, announced January 25th. We began with the Best Picture nominee that received the most nominations for the coveted Oscar®, The King's Speech (12), and right behind it, True Grit (10). Next in the order of the number of nominations for Best Picture, are The Social Network, Inception and The Fighter. The Social Network and Inception each received eight nominations.

Besides the Best Picture nod, other nominations for The Social Network are: Best Actor for Jessie Eisenberg’s portrayal of  Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, Director (David Fincher), Adapted Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin) and Original Score (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross). Other Achievement nominations are for Cinematography, Film Editing and Sound Mixing.

The other nominations for Inception are: Art Direction, Cinematography, Original  Score, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, and Original Screenplay (Christopher Nolan). 

The surprise is that the creator of the film and director, Christopher Nolan, was nominated for Original Screenplay, but did not receive a nomination for Best Director. Because Nolan did not get a nomination in that category, and there is no nomination for Film Editing, either, Inception may be hurt in the final voting. The more nominations related to the Hollywood Guilds, the more votes a movie garners. With large Academy memberships are the Screen Actors Guild of (SAG), The Producers Guild of America (PGA) and the Director's Guild of America (DGA). The SAG nominations are this weekend.
 
The Fighter is next with seven nominations. Besides Best Picture, The Fighter received three acting nominations, as did The King's Speech. Christian Bale is nominated for an actor in a supporting role; Amy Adams for an actress in a supporting role; and Melissa Leo for an actress in a supporting role. Other Achievement nominations were: Directing (David O. Russell); Film Editing; and Original screenplay (Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson).
 
Click the title of this post to access the Official 2011 Oscar Web site. There will be many more posts on this blog discussing the nomination categories between now and the February 27th 83rd Academy Awards Gala. Next post? "Box Office and the Oscar".

Best Picture Oscar® Nominations and One Long Shot

I found no surprises in the Oscar nominations announced today by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the 83rd Academy Awards®. I haven't even seen The King's Speech, yet, but I tapped it a month ago to get an Oscar® nomination for the Best Motion Picture of 2010. It received the most nominations, twelve in all.

Actors Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush all received nominations, a stellar lineup. Firth was nominated for Best Actor in a lead role. Rush and Carter were nominated in the acting supporting categories, actor and actress respectively. Director Tom Hooper made the cut for achievement as best director.

The other nine Best Picture slots went to 127 Hours, The Kids Are All Right, Black Swan, The Social Network, Inception, The Fighter, Winter's Bone, Toy Story 3, and True Grit. The King's Speech did exceedingly well in the technical categories to gain a sure footing on the path to a Best Motion Picture Oscar.

Remember boys and girls, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has the biggest voting block in the Academy. Thus, where SAG goes, the academy usually follows. SAG will give their awards this Sunday (30th).

All the actors nominated for their roles in The Social Network are also nominated for SAG awards in the same categories. Plus, the movie is nominated for the Best Cast award. The others nominated by SAG for best cast are: Black Swan, The Fighter, The Kids Are All Right and The Social Network.

The other directors nominated are: David Fincher (The Social Network), Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan), the Brothers Cohen (True Grit) and David O. Russell (The Fighter).

The King's Speech received seven other nominations for achievement in: art direction, cinematography, film editing, original score, original screenplay, sound mixing and costume design.

Getting the most nominations is always commendable in the Oscar race, but movies have racked up the most nominations before, only to go home empty handed. I do not think The King's Speech will experience that problem.

Now, that I have acknowledged True Grit above, I must clarify the statements used in some of the reporting about the movie's lack of even a single Golden Globe nomination. The words, or phrases, used were snubbed, overlooked, passed over, ignored, etc. The truth is, True Grit was not released until December 22, and the Globes ballots were mailed to members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) on December 2nd. The final screening date was the 8th, press conferences the 9th, and ballots were due at Ernst and Young on the 10th for tabulation. Paramount set the HFPA an impossible task.

In not releasing True Grit before December first, Paramount allowed the studio to grab a good box office gross over the holidays, and take the lead in money charts, but it was too late for True Grit to get any Golden Globe nominations. I think that was a bad move by Paramount.

True Grit came in second in the Oscar race with ten nominations, including acting honors for Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld. Also, the aforementioned Cohen brothers directing nomination as well as their nomination for best adapted screenplay. In the other "achievement in" categories, True Grit was nominated for: art direction, costume, cinematography, film editing, sound editing and mixing.

Actor Jeff Bridges (Rooster) is nominated by SAG for best actor. SAG nominated actress Hailee Stienfeld (Mattie) in the best supporting actress category, too. There has been some contention about Stienfeld's supporting actress nod. Some believe that she should have been nominated as best actress.

The best picture long shot? That would be Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney), which I previously suggested would probably be nominated in the Best Motion Picture category, as well as the Best Animated Feature Film category. With it in the last category are: How to Train Your Dragon (Paramount) and The Illusionist (Sony Pictures). If I were voting, I would vote for Toy Story 3 for the Oscar in this category. It is no Fantasia. I think the Best Picture nomination is a "special salute" to Walt Disney and all those who participated in the Toy Story trilogy, and that, in itself, is a good thing.

The same was probably true about the salute to UP last year. I personally felt that the salute was not only for Walt Disney and Pixar, as well as all who participated, but it was an extra special salute to Mr. Edward Asner and Mr. Christopher Plummer.


More posts to follow about the nominations. Next post, "Discussing Three More Best Picture Nominees".

Oscar® Nominations on Internet and Mobile

  

Tomorrow morning, Tuesday, January 25, the 83rd Academy Awards® nominations announcement will be streamed live on the Internet, which will also be available for viewing on mobile devices. As usual, the nominations will be broadcast from the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Web and Mobile cast will begin at 5:30 a.m. PT with “Road to the Oscars®,” featuring Chris Harrison, host of ABC’s The Bachelor and TV Guide Network’s Academy Awards red carpet show. His co-host will be Dave Karger, senior writer at Entertainment Weekly. Livestream.com will facilitate the stream on behalf of the Academy.

Harrison will introduce several brief segments that celebrate the year in movies as well as the upcoming Oscar® ceremony. Karger will join him in a discussion of movie trends from 2010 and how those trends might be reflected in the nominations.

Academy President Tom Sherak and last year’s Supporting Actress winner, Mo’Nique, will then take the stage in the Samuel Goldwyn Theater at 5:38:30 a.m. PT, to reveal the nominees for 10 categories: Leading Actor, Leading Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Animated Feature Film, Directing, Foreign Language Film, Adapted Screenplay, Original Screenplay and Best Motion Picture.

Immediately following the live announcement, Harrison and Karger will return to discuss interesting facts about the year’s nominees, Academy records that may have been broken, the movies receiving the most nominations and the races that look to be especially compelling.  Additionally, they will be revealing a new piece of information about the Oscar telecast.

In February, “Road to the Oscars” will return exclusively on Oscar.com, the official Web site of the Academy Awards (click title of this post). Harrison will host the 10-episode series, with Karger offering insights about each of the 10 movies nominated for Best Picture.

The January 25 nominations announcement edition of “Road to the Oscars” can be viewed on Oscar.com (click title of this post), Oscars.org, Facebook.com/TheAcademy and Livestream.com/AcademyAwards, as well as on other sites that choose to embed the stream.  The stream will also be enabled for mobile devices.

As usual, numerous television stations and networks will broadcast the 5:38:30 a.m. announcement live. However, the “Road to the Oscars” content before and after the announcement will be available exclusively online and on mobile devices.

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.The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Three Categories announce Oscar® Race Short Lists

 

The ballots are in for nominations for the 83rd Academy Awards® in the categories for which all Academy members voted. Committees are hard at work choosing the films submitted by certain guilds in the Academy considered having the knowledge to choose those nominees.

 The nominees will be announced live next Tuesday, January 25, 2011, at 5:30 a.m. PT, in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Making the announcement will be Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President, Tom Sherak, and Oscar-winning Academy member, actress Mo’Nique.

The committees choosing the nominees for the Best Foreign Language Film of 2010, the Best Special Effects, and Best Makeup have issued their short lists:

Nine Foreign Language Films Continue in Oscar Race

Sixty-six films originally qualified in this category and now there are nine. The films, listed in alphabetical order by country with director, are:

Algeria, Hors la Loi (Outside the Law), Rachid Bouchareb;

Canada, Incendies, Denis Villeneuve,

Denmark, In a Better World, Susanne Bier;

Greece, Dogtooth, Yorgos Lanthimos;

Japan, Confessions, Tetsuya Nakashima;

Mexico, Biutiful, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu;

South Africa, Life, above All, Oliver Schmitz;

Spain, Tambien la Lluvia (Even the Rain), Iciar Bollain;

Sweden, Simple Simon, Andreas Ohman.

Foreign Language Film nominations for 2010 are again being determined in two phases. The Phase I committee, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based members, screened the 66 eligible films between mid-October and January 13. The group’s top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy’s Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute this shortlist.

In Phase II, this list will be winnowed down to the five nominees by specially invited committees in New York and Los Angeles. They will spend today, January 21, through Sunday, January 23, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots.

Seven Features Vie in Special Effects (VFX)

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, AMPAS®, for short, announced seven films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 83rd Academy Awards.

The films are listed below in alphabetical order:

Alice in Wonderland

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Hereafter

Inception

Iron Man 2

Scott Pilgrim vs the World

Tron: Legacy

All members of the Visual Effects Branch were invited to view 15-minute excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films on Thursday, January 20. Following the screenings, the members voted to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration. Those five will be announced next Tuesday, January 25.

Seven Advance in Makeup Category

AMPAS has announced that seven films remain in competition in the Makeup category for the 83rd Academy Awards. The films are listed below in alphabetical order:

Alice in Wonderland

Barney’s Version

The Fighter

Jonah Hex

True Grit

The Way Back

The Wolfman

Tomorrow, Saturday, January 22, all members of the Academy’s Makeup Branch will view 10-minute excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films. Following the screenings, members will vote to nominate three films for final Oscar consideration, and they will be announced with all the nominees on the 25th.

Oscar® Nomination Ballots Due January 14

Voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences must return their completed Oscar® nominations ballots to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) no later than 5 p.m. Friday, January 14. Ballots received after that deadline will not be counted.

 Mo'Nique

The 83rd Academy Awards^® nominations will be announced live Tuesday, January 25, 2011, at 5:30 a.m. PT, in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater, by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak, and Oscar-winning actress and Academy member, Mo’Nique.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented Sunday, February 27, 2011, in the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood and Vine Highland Center^®. The gala will be televised live by the ABC Television Network, and also televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Possible Feature Film Oscar® Nominees

 

5,755 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences® have received nomination ballots for the upcoming 83rd Academy Awards®. Completed ballots must be returned to PricewaterhouseCoopers by 5 p.m. PT, Friday, January 14, 2011. Ballots received after the deadline will not be counted. See previous post for the complete list of eligible films.

Those of us who follow the movie business, but are not members of the Academy, always like to make our own lists and rate how close we come to picking the nominees and winners. I have managed to complete one nomination list. Here are 12 movies I think stand a very good chance to receive an Oscar® nomination for Best Feature Motion Picture:

• Alice in Wonderland
• Black Swan
• Frankie and Alice
• Inception
• The Fighter
• The Kids Are All Right
• The King's Speech
• The Social Network
• The Town
• True Grit
• Winter's Bone
• 127 Hours

Also, there is buzz for a possible nomination for Toy Story 3, not only for Best Animated Feature Film, but also for Best Feature Motion Picture. It is unusual for animated movies to be nominated in both categories. However, UP (2009) was nominated in both categories last year (2010). It won for Best Animated Feature Film.

The 83rd Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 25, 2011, at 5:30 a.m. PT, in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood and Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

List of Feature Films In race for Oscar Nominations®

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has released a list of films that qualify for this year's nominations for the February 83rd Academy Awards® in the Best Feature Film category. There are 248 films. Here is the list in alphabetical order:

A-TEAM, THE
AGORA
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
ALL GOOD THINGS
ALPHA AND OMEGA
AMERICAN, THE
ANIMAL KINGDOM
ANOTHER YEAR
ANTON CHEKOV’S THE DUEL
APAPORIS
APPLAUSE

BABIES
BARNEY’S VERSION
BIUTIFUL
BLACK SWAN
BLACK TULIP
BLUE VALENTINE
BOOK OF ELI, THE
BOUNTY HUNTER, THE
BROOKLYN’S FINEST
BURIED
BURLESQUE

CAIRO TIME
CASE 39
CASINO JACK
CATFISH
CATS & DOGS: THE REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE
CHARLIE ST. CLOUD
CHLOE
CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER, THE
CITY ISLAND
CLASH OF THE TITANS
COCO CHANEL & IGOR STRAVINSKY
THE COMPANY MEN
THE CONCERT
CONVICTION
COP OUT
COUNTRY STRONG
CRAYON
THE CRAZIES
CYRUS

DATE NIGHT
DAYBREAKERS
DEAR JOHN
DEATH AT A FUNERAL
DEFENDOR
DESPICABLE ME
DEVIL
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID
DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS
DREAMKILLER
DREAMS OF JINSHA, THE
DROOL
THE DRY LAND
DUE DATE

EASY A
EAT PRAY LOVE
EDGE OF DARKNESS
ESSENTIAL KILLING
EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP
EXPECTING MARY
EXPENDABLES, THE
EXTRA MAN, THE

FAIR GAME
FIGHTER, THE
FLIPPED
FOR COLORED GIRLS
FOUR LIONS
FRANKIE & ALICE
FROM PARIS WITH LOVE
FURRY VENGEANCE

GET HIM TO THE GREEK
GET LOW
GHOST WRITER, THE
GIRL ON THE TRAIN, THE
GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEXT, THE
GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE, THE
GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, THE
GOING THE DISTANCE
GREEN ZONE
GREENBERG
GROWN UPS
GULLIVER’S TRAVELS

HAPPY TEARS
HARIMAYA BRIDGE, THE
HARRY BROWN
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1
HEARTBREAKER
HEAVEN’S RAIN
HEMINGWAY’S GARDEN OF EDEN
HEREAFTER
HIDEAWAY (LE REFUGE)
HOLY ROLLERS
HOW DO YOU KNOW
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
HOWL
HUBBLE 3D

I AM LOVE
I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS
IDIOTS AND ANGELS
ILLUSIONIST, THE
INCEPTION
INSIDE JOB
IRON MAN 2
IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY

JACK GOES BOATING
JACKASS 3D
JOHN RABE
JONAH HEX
JONESES, THE
JUST WRIGHT

KARATE KID, THE
KICK-ASS
KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT, THE
KILLERS
KING’S SPEECH, THE
KNIGHT AND DAY

LAST AIRBENDER, THE
LAST EXORCISM, THE
LAST SONG, THE
LEAP YEAR
LEBANON
LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA’HOOLE
LEGION
LET ME IN
LETTERS TO GOD
LETTERS TO JULIET
LIFE AS WE KNOW IT
LIFE DURING WARTIME
LIKE DANDELION DUST
LITTLE FOCKERS
LOSERS, THE
LOTTERY TICKET
LOUIS
LOVE & OTHER DRUGS
LOVE RANCH

MACGRUBER
MACHETE
MADE IN DAGENHAM
MAO’S LAST DANCER
MARMADUKE
MEGAMIND
MICMACS
MIDDLE MEN
MISCONCEPTIONS
MONSTERS
MORNING GLORY
MOTHER AND CHILD
MY DOG TULIP
MY NAME IS KHAN
MY SOUL TO TAKE

NANNY MCPHEE RETURNS
NEVER LET ME GO
NEXT THREE DAYS, THE
NIGHT CATCHES US
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET
NOWHERE BOY
NUTCRACKER IN 3D, THE

OSS 117 – LOST IN RIO
OCEANS
ONDINE
127 HOURS
THE OTHER GUYS
OUR FAMILY WEDDING

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2
PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF

PERFECT GAME, THE
PICTURE ME: A MODEL’S DIARY
PIRANHA 3D
PLEASE GIVE
PREACHER’S KID
PREDATORS
PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME
PURE COUNTRY 2: THE GIFT

QUEEN OF THE LOT

RABBIT HOLE
RAMONA AND BEEZUS
RED
RED HILL
REMEMBER ME
REPO MEN
RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE
RESTREPO
ROBIN HOOD
ROZYCZKA
RUNAWAYS, THE

SALT
SAW 3D
SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD
SECRETARIAT
SEQUESTRO
SEX AND THE CITY 2
SHE’S OUT OF MY LEAGUE
SHREK FOREVER AFTER
SHUTTER ISLAND
SICILIAN GIRL, THE
SIX DAYS IN PARADISE
SKYLINE
SOCIAL NETWORK, THE
SOLITARY MAN
SOMEWHERE
SORCERER’S APPRENTICE, THE
SPLICE
THE SPY NEXT DOOR
STEP UP 3D
STONE
SUMMER WARS
SWITCH, THE

TAKERS
TAMARA DREWE
TANGLED
TAQWACORES, THE
TEMPEST, THE
3 BILLION AND COUNTING
TILLMAN STORY, THE
TINKER BELL AND THE GREAT FAIRY RESCUE
TOOTH FAIRY
TOUCHING HOME
TOURIST, THE
TOWN, THE
TOY STORY 3
TRASH HUMPERS
TRON: LEGACY
TRUE GRIT
TWLIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE, THE
TYLER PERRY’S WHY DID I GET MARRIED TOO?

UNBEATEN
UNSTOPPABLE

VALENTINE’S DAY
VAMPIRES SUCK
VIRGINITY HIT, THE

WAITING FOR “SUPERMAN”
WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY
WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS
WARRIOR’S WAY, THE
WATERCOLORS
WAY BACK, THE
WELCOME TO THE RILEYS
WHEN IN ROME
WILD GRASS
WINTER’S BONE
WOLFMAN, THE
A WOMAN, A GUN AND A NOODLE SHOP
WRETCHES & JABBERERS

YOGI BEAR
YOU AGAIN
YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER
YOUTH IN REVOLT 

The rules for eligibility are:

• Films must be feature length (defined as over 40 minutes)
• Publicly exhibited by means of 35mm or 70mm film, or in a 24- or 48-frame progressive scan Digital Cinema format with a minimum projector resolution of 2048 by 1080 pixels
• For paid admission in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County for a qualifying run of at least seven consecutive days, advertised and exploited during their Los Angeles County qualifying run in a manner considered normal and customary to the industry.
• Films that, in any version, receive their first public exhibition or distribution in any manner other than as a theatrical motion picture release will not be eligible for Academy Awards in any category. (This includes broadcast and cable television as well as home video marketing and Internet transmission.) However, ten minutes or ten percent of the running time of a film, whichever is shorter, is allowed to be shown in a nontheatrical medium prior to the film’s theatrical release.

The 83rd Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 25, 2011, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, in the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar® presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.