The 81st Annual Academy Awards

Started by Sleepless, July 03, 2008, 08:45:51 AM

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MacGuffin

Judd Apatow to create short film for Oscar show 
Raunch-meister Judd Apatow will unleash a short film and live material during this year's Oscar telecast.
By Sandy Cohen, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Judd Apatow is coming to the Oscars — and he's bringing a new film.

The comedy writer-director-producer, whose screen credits include Knocked Up, will unveil fresh material on stage and on screen during the Oscar telecast on Feb. 22, said show producers Bill Condon and Laurence Mark.

They said Apatow and his work will appear during a tribute to comedy.

"We're thrilled to say that our contemporary comedy master Judd Apatow is contributing both a film and live material to that part of the show," Condon said Wednesday.

"Judd was truly a prince to hop on and truly whip up special shooting for it," Mark added. "It's a big deal."

Condon and Mark have kept mostly mum on details of the show, but they have said that filmmakers of all stripes will participate. Last week they announced that Moulin Rouge! director Baz Luhrmann would create a production number featuring Oscar host Hugh Jackman. Capote director Bennett Miller is also contributing a film sequence to the telecast.

The Oscars will air live from the Kodak Theatre on ABC.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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hedwig

it might be something i ate, but i think this ceremony actually sickens me now. :shock:

SiliasRuby

Strangely enough, last night I had a nightmare about the oscars and when I woke up, I threw up.
The Beatles know Jesus Christ has returned to Earth and is in Los Angeles.

When you are getting fucked by the big corporations remember to use a condom.

There was a FISH in the perkalater!!!

My Collection

MacGuffin

Peter Gabriel Pissed At Oscar Producers And Won't Perform At Academy Awards
Source: Deadline Hollywood

EXCLUSIVE: I'm told that Peter Gabriel just pulled out of performing at the Academy Awards show. In a letter to the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences, the co-writer and performer of Wall-E's "Down To Earth" says he doesn't think the nominated songs, and their writers and performers, are getting enough respect during this year's Oscars telecast. That's because the show's producers, Larry Mark and Bill Condon, have reduced the song segment to a medley of the three songs nominated for "achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original Song)"  -- "Down to Earth" from WALL-E (Walt Disney), with music by Gabriel and Thomas Newman and lyric by Gabriel; "Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) with music by A.R. Rahman nd lyric by Gulzar; and "O Saya" from Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) with music and lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam. I'm told the producers have slotted 90 seconds in the medley for each song sung by its original performer. But Gabriel said in his letter that he was only being offered 65 seconds for his song. "I don't feel that is sufficient time to do the song justice, and I have decided to withdraw from performing," Gabriel informed AMPAS. "I fully respect and look forward to the producers' right to revamp the show. Even though song writers are small players in the filmmmaking process, they are just as committed and work just as hard as the rest of the team, and I regret that this new version of the ceremony is being created in part at their expense." I'm told that the medley is the brainchild of the producers in their attempt to get the Oscar show's running time down to 3 hours -- which, frankly, would be a miracle given that it usually runs more than 4 hours. No word yet on whom the producers will choose to sing in place of Gabriel.

UPDATE: Here is the text of Peter Gabriel's letter:

"I was delighted when "Down to Earth" was nominated for an Oscar. I was also pleased to have been asked to perform the song in the Oscar ceremony. However, in recent discussions with the Producers, it became clear that despite there being only three nominees, only 60-65 seconds was being offered, and that was also in a medley of the three songs. I don't feel that is sufficient time to do the song justice, and have decided to withdraw from performing.

I fully respect and look forward to the Producers' right to revamp the show. Even though song writers are small players in the film making process, they are just as committed and work just as hard as the rest of the team and I regret that this new version of the ceremony is being created, in part, at their expense."

I still very much look forward to attending the ceremony."
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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Kal

That sucks. The people who run this academy are fucking idiots.

Also, I keep trying to understand how the fuck The Wrestler was not nominated for best song.

72teeth

"Have you ever seen a one-legged Dog
making his way down the street?
Have you ever seen a one-armed man
Punching at nothing but the breeze?
"
                      -Bruce Springsteen

"Probably the saddest thing you'll ever see
is a mosquito sucking on a mummy.
Forget it, little friend."

                       -Jack Handey
Doctor, Always Do the Right Thing.

Yowza Yowza Yowza

private witt

"If you work in marketing or advertising, kill yourself.  You contribute nothing of value to the human race, just do us all a favor and end your fucking life."  ~Bill Hicks

Stefen

Quote from: 72teeth on February 13, 2009, 02:13:00 AM
"Have you ever seen a one-legged Dog
making his way down the street?
Have you ever seen a one-armed man
Punching at nothing but the breeze?
"
                      -Bruce Springsteen

"Probably the saddest thing you'll ever see
is a mosquito sucking on a mummy.
Forget it, little friend."

                       -Jack Handey

HAHA
Falling in love is the greatest joy in life. Followed closely by sneaking into a gated community late at night and firing a gun into the air.

MacGuffin

Hugh Jackman plans for `intimate' Oscars

LOS ANGELES – Hugh Jackman says he knows the Oscars ceremony isn't about him, but he'd better enjoy it all the same.

"Celebration is the key. I'm certainly going to have a good time. If I'm not going to have a good time, how the hell is anybody else?" said Jackman, who sounded up for the job in a phone interview Friday, less than two weeks before the Feb. 22 ceremony airing on ABC.

Academy Awards producers Laurence Mark and Bill Condon have said they plan to take the ceremony in a new direction. Asking the multitalented star of "Australia" and the "X-Men" films to host was their first apparent step.

The rest of the details have been under wraps, but Jackman, who thrice soared as host of the Tony Awards, dropped a few hints — including a more "intimate" look for the ceremony's home, the Kodak Theatre.

Jackman declined to give his favorites among the contenders, with one emotional exception: the late Heath Ledger, a best supporting actor nominee for "The Dark Knight." Ledger died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs last year at the age of 28.

"I can't hide the fact that I would really love for that honor to be bestowed upon him," Jackman said of his fellow Australian. "It would be fitting and I think he deserves it."

AP: How would you compare your Tony experience to that of the Oscars?

Jackman: The Oscars is obviously a very different beast. There's a lot of hype. There's so much anticipation. ... I chatted with Steve Martin on the phone who gave me some great tips. The first five or six minutes you're going to have possibly the best audience you've ever had in your life, because all of them know they're going be on camera at any moment, none of them have lost yet and they're all sort of generally ready for a good time. He said from that point on, just move it on quickly. Just be quick.

In terms of style, there's a quantum shift happening this year, and fingers crossed we get a lot of it right. ... There's an obvious amount of business that has to happen in the night. There's 24 awards; you can't change that. But I think Oscars could do a little more of the show in show biz. I think there's been a little too much business.

AP: The producers intend to try different things. Does that add to your excitement or trepidation?

Jackman: I think it's great. ... Obviously I'm not a standup comedian and generally there's been comedians who are actors as well (who) have been doing it for the last however many years. So there's not the same pressure. I don't think people expect me to come out and do seven minutes of bang-bang-bang jokes. ... They really just encourage me to do what I feel I do best. It's a night to have a feeling of celebration, of community.

The look of the theater is very different. It's more like the nightclub of your dreams. It's very intimate. ... It's got to be a lot closer. It's been a little austere in the past. You know, there's that stage, the host being up above the stalls, looking down at everybody. ... But this is a lot more intimate. It's still spectacular, being in the Kodak Theatre. But it's a real difference in the way things are laid out.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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polkablues

Anyone who's followed politics and/or baseball over the last couple years knows that Nate Silver is the new gold standard in statistical analysis, and he recently applied his savant-like talents to predicting this year's Oscars.  Here's his picks, along with the percentage of likelihood put out by his statistical model, but you should also check out the article for more info on how he came about these results:

Best Picture - Slumdog Millionaire (99.0%)

Best Director - Danny Boyle (99.7%)

Lead Actress - Kate Winslet (67.6%)

Lead Actor - Mickey Rourke (71.1%)

Supporting Actress - Taraji P. Henson (51.0%)

Supporting Actor - Heath Ledger (85.8%)
My house, my rules, my coffee

SiliasRuby

Stephen Colbert also predicted the same nominees for the oscars and did it last year too.
The Beatles know Jesus Christ has returned to Earth and is in Los Angeles.

When you are getting fucked by the big corporations remember to use a condom.

There was a FISH in the perkalater!!!

My Collection

MacGuffin

Oscar Winners Leaked?
by Erik Davis; Cinematical

My good pal Kevin over at Moviefone just sent over a link to a blog that's posting what they claim is a list of this year's Academy Award winners -- saying, "We don't know who leaked this, but thanks a bunch! Enjoy folks." Of course there's a very good chance it's a fake, but as Kevin noted in our AIM conversation: "I mean, it looks right... the fact that Best Supporting Actress is outta nowhere somehow lends it credibility." He's referring to Amy Adams, who this site says is the winner of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

But she's not the only surprise in the lot -- both screenplay awards seem a bit fishy, with Best Adapted going to The Reader and Original Screenplay going to In Bruges. Don't get me wrong, I think In Bruges is fantastic -- but will it win the Oscar? Doubt it. And what about The Curious Case of Benjamin Button winning Best Costume Design? As far as the big awards, they claim Slumdog Millionaire wins Best Picture and Best Director, while Mickey Rourke and Kate Winslet take top acting honors and Heath Ledger, of course, slides away with the Best Supporting Actor win. Those are all expected wins, though.

Check out their full list after the jump and let us know what you think. (Please note that in no way do we advise you to throw a bunch of money down on these picks. You'd be a giant moron if you did. Just sayin' ...)

Actor in a leading role: Mickey Rourke
Actor in a supporting role: Heath Ledger
Actress in a leading role: Kate Winslet
Actress in a supporting role: Amy Adams
Animated Feature Film: Wall-E
Art Direction: The Dark Knight
Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire
Costume Design: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Directing: Slumdog Millionaire
Documentary feature: Man on Wire
Documentary short: The Conscience of Nhem En
Film editing: Milk
Foreign language film: Departures
Makeup: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Music (Score): Defiance
Music (Song): Down to Earth (Wall-E)
Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
Short film (animated): Presto
Short film (live action): Auf Der Strecke (On The Line)
Sound editing: Wall-E
Sound mixing: The Dark Knight
Visual effects: Iron Man
Writing (Adapted screenplay): The Reader
Writing (Original screenplay): In Bruges
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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Fernando

maybe it was leaked by the same jerk that said hathaway was going win the globe..


Mac, who's getting the honorary award this year?

Stefen

Quote from: Fernando on February 19, 2009, 12:03:51 PM
Mac, who's getting the honorary award this year?

I've heard the posthumous award this year is being given to quality filmmaking.
Falling in love is the greatest joy in life. Followed closely by sneaking into a gated community late at night and firing a gun into the air.

Jefferson

Quote from: Stefen on February 19, 2009, 12:06:10 PM
Quote from: Fernando on February 19, 2009, 12:03:51 PM
Mac, who's getting the honorary award this year?

I've heard the posthumous award this year is being given to quality filmmaking.


:bravo: