Tuesday, February 24, 2009

The 91st Annual Academy Awards Winners

Complete list of Academy Award winners and nominees
(CNN) -- Who walked away with Oscars this year? The following is a complete list of winners at the 81st annual Academy Awards.

Best Picture
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Frost/Nixon"
"Milk"
"The Reader"
WINNER: "Slumdog Millionaire"

Director
WINNER: Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"
Stephen Daldry, "The Reader"
David Fincher, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Ron Howard, "Frost/Nixon"
Gus Van Sant, "Milk"

Actor
Richard Jenkins, "The Visitor"
Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"
WINNER: Sean Penn, "Milk"
Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"

Actress
Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married"
Angelina Jolie, "Changeling"
Melissa Leo, "Frozen River"
Meryl Streep, "Doubt"
WINNER: Kate Winslet, "The Reader"

Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin, "Milk"
Robert Downey Jr., "Tropic Thunder"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Doubt"
WINNER: Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"
Michael Shannon, "Revolutionary Road"

Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, "Doubt"
WINNER: Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Viola Davis, "Doubt"
Taraji P. Henson, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Marisa Tomei, "The Wrestler"

Animated Feature
"Bolt"
"Kung Fu Panda"
WINNER: "WALL-E"

Adapted Screenplay
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," screenplay by Eric Roth, screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
"Doubt," written by John Patrick Shanley
"Frost/Nixon," screenplay by Peter Morgan
"The Reader," screenplay by David Hare
WINNER: "Slumdog Millionaire," screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

Original Screenplay
"Frozen River," written by Courtney Hunt
"Happy-Go-Lucky," written by Mike Leigh
"In Bruges," written by Martin McDonagh
WINNER: "Milk," written by Dustin Lance Black
"WALL-E," screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon; original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

Art Direction
"Changeling," James J. Murakami; set decoration: Gary Fettis
WINNER: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Donald Graham Burt; set decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
"The Dark Knight," Nathan Crowley; set decoration: Peter Lando
"The Duchess," Michael Carlin; set decoration: Rebecca Alleway
"Revolutionary Road," Kristi Zea; set decoration: Debra Schutt

Cinematography
"Changeling," Tom Stern
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Claudio Miranda
"The Dark Knight," Wally Pfister
"The Reader," Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
WINNER: "Slumdog Millionaire," Anthony Dod Mantle

Costume Design
"Australia," Catherine Martin
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Jacqueline West
WINNER: "The Duchess," Michael O'Connor
"Milk," Danny Glicker
"Revolutionary Road," Albert Wolsky

Documentary Feature
"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)"
"Encounters at the End of the World"
"The Garden"
WINNER: "Man on Wire"
"Trouble the Water"

Documentary Short
"The Conscience of Nhem En"
"The Final Inch"
WINNER: "Smile Pinki"
"The Witness -- From the Balcony of Room 306"

Film Editing
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
"The Dark Knight," Lee Smith
"Frost/Nixon," Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
"Milk," Elliot Graham
WINNER: "Slumdog Millionaire," Chris Dickens

Foreign Language Film
"The Baader Meinhof Complex," Germany
"The Class," France
WINNER: "Departures," Japan
"Revanche," Austria
"Waltz with Bashir," Israel

Makeup
WINNER: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Greg Cannom
"The Dark Knight," John Caglione Jr. and Conor O'Sullivan
"Hellboy II: The Golden Army," Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

Original Score
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Alexandre Desplat
"Defiance," James Newton Howard
"Milk," Danny Elfman
WINNER: "Slumdog Millionaire," A.R. Rahman
"WALL-E," Thomas Newman

Original Song
"Down to Earth" from "WALL-E," music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, lyrics by Peter Gabriel
WINNER: "Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire," music by A.R. Rahman, lyrics by Gulzar
"O Saya" from "Slumdog Millionaire," music and lyrics by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam


Animated Short
WINNER: "La Maison en Petits Cubes"
"Lavatory -- Lovestory"
"Oktapodi"
"Presto"
"This Way Up"

Live-Action Short
"Auf der Strecke (On the Line)"
"Manon on the Asphalt"
"New Boy"
"The Pig"
WINNER: "Spielzeugland"

Sound Editing
WINNER: "The Dark Knight," Richard King
"Iron Man," Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
"Slumdog Millionaire," Glenn Freemantle and Tom Sayers
"WALL-E," Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
"Wanted," Wylie Stateman

Sound Mixing
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
"The Dark Knight," Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
WINNER: "Slumdog Millionaire," Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
"WALL-E," Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
"Wanted," Chris Jenkins, Frank A. MontaƱo and Petr Forejt

Visual Effects
WINNER: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
"The Dark Knight," Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
"Iron Man," John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

For more on the stars, the speeches and the spectacle, check our source, cnn.com

Monday, February 23, 2009

RAZZIE Awards Winners [celebrating the worst of the WORST films of the year]

Razzies Announce Their "Winners"
The Love Guru nabs 3 big ones
source: rottentomatoes.com

No awards season would be complete without the Golden Raspberry Awards (AKA The Razzies), awarded each year to the very worst movies to hit Hollywood. This year's winners were announced on Saturday evening, and multiple-nominee The Love Guru took home not only top honors, but a couple others as well, and Paris Hilton received three Razzies as well.

Leading the pack in nominations was Disaster Movie (2 percent on the Tomatometer), which managed to earn six nominations; The Hottie & the Nottie (5 percent), up for honors in five categories; and Uwe Boll's In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, which also earned the Teutonic Terror a Worst Career Achievement Razzie.

The complete list of nominees:

Worst Picture

Disaster Movie & Meet the Spartans (double nominee from the same writer-directors)
The Happening
The Hottie & The Nottie
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
The Love Guru - WINNER

Worst Actor

Larry the Cable Guy, Witless Protection
Eddie Murphy, Meet Dave
Mike Myers, The Love Guru - WINNER
Al Pacino, 88 Minutes & Righteous Kill
Mark Wahlberg, The Happening & Max Payne

Worst Actress

Jessica Alba, The Eye & The Love Guru
The cast of The Women (Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Meg Ryan)
Cameron Diaz, What Happens in Vegas
Paris Hilton, The Hottie & The Nottie - WINNER
Kate Hudson, Fool's Gold & My Best Friend's Girl

Worst Supporting Actor

Uwe Boll (as himself), Uwe Boll's Postal
Pierce Brosnan, Mamma Mia! - WINNER
Ben Kingsley, The Love Guru & War, Inc. & The Wackness
Burt Reynolds, Deal & In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
Verne Troyer, The Love Guru & Uwe Boll's Postal

Worst Supporting Actress

Carmen Electra, Disaster Movie & Meet the Spartans
Paris Hilton, Repo! The Genetic Opera - WINNER
Kim Kardashian, Disaster Movie
Jenny McCarthy, Witless Protection
Leelee Sobieski, 88 Minutes & In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale

Worst Screen Couple

Uwe Boll and any Actor, Camera, or Screenplay
Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, What Happens in Vegas
Paris Hilton and either Christine Lakin or Joel David Moore, The Hottie and the Nottie - WINNER
Larry the Cable Guy and Jenny McCarthy, Witless Protection
Eddie Murphy and Eddie Murphy, Meet Dave

Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off, or Sequel

The Day the Earth Blowed Up Real Good
Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - WINNER
Speed Racer
Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Worst Director

Uwe Boll, 1968: Tunnel Rats, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale and Uwe Boll's Postal - WINNER
Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans
Tom Putnam, The Hottie & the Nottie
Marco Schnabel, The Love Guru
M. Night Shyamalan, The Happening

Worst Screenplay

Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans
The Happening
The Hottie and the Nottie
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
The Love Guru - WINNER

Worst Career Achievement

Uwe Boll

if you ask me, both Disaster Movie & Meet the Spartans are the worst movies last year. But then those movies do NOT deserve to win ANY award. Not even the Razzies.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Remaking A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

Director & Actor has been chosen to be the new Freddy

With their Friday the 13th remake in theaters today, this week was a good time apparently for New Line Cinema and Platinum Dunes (a company built almost entirely on the concept of horror remakes) to get things rolling for their remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, although apparently they've decided to lose the "A" since I never see it mentioned in stories about this remake. First off, the director for the remake will be veteran music video helmer Samuel Bayer, who will make his feature debut, but is responsible for some of the 1990s most memorable videos, like Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit, Blind Melon's No Rain and The Cranberries' Zombie. As for the casting of Freddy Krueger, although there had been rumors about Billy Bob Thornton a few months back, Latino Review is reporting that the current top choice is Jackie Earle Haley, AKA Rorschach in Watchmen. Filming might start as soon as later this spring.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Denzel & Cruising are spying on Ludlum's Matarese Circle

[Source: The Hollywood Reporter]

Moviegoers hoping to see Denzel Washington and Tom Cruise face off on the big screen will get their chance with MGM's big-budget adaptation of "The Matarese Circle." Cruise is in final negotiations to take on the role of the Russian spy Vasili Taleniekov, the mortal enemy of American intelligence operative Brandon Scofield (Washington). "Eastern Promises" director David Cronenberg will direct the globetrotting potential franchise-launcher.

Cruise, an ownership partner in MGM division United Artists, had been considering several projects, including the Spyglass Entertainment thriller "The Tourist" and the Universal comedy "Food Fight." Reps still are working out where the "Matarese" shoot will fit in chronologically. But committing to "Matarese" keeps Cruise playing home-team ball as he is developing a number of potential producing and starring projects at MGM and UA. The "Matarese" property could benefit Cruise's acting career as well because it represents a return to the high-tech action milieu that served him well in the "Mission: Impossible" franchise most recently visited in 2006.

Adapted by "Wanted" scribes Derek Haas and Michael Brandt, as well as Cronenberg, from a 1979 Robert Ludlum novel, the "Matarese" story line revolves around the longtime archenemies who are forced into a distrustful collaboration against a wide-reaching political conspiracy orchestrated by a mysterious organization called the Matarese.

Ludlum drew inspiration from David Rockefeller's Trilateral Commission in the 1970s, but the screenwriters have updated the time frame from the Cold War to a contemporary setting.

After "Quantum of Solace," MGM regains sole proprietorship of the James Bond juggernaut, and Guillermo del Toro's two-part adaptation of "The Hobbit" is in the works. But neither is likely to see screen time before 2011 or 2012. Ludlum wrote a follow-up to "Matarese" in 1997 called "The Matarese Countdown," to which the studio also has acquired the rights. The CAA-repped Cruise most recently starred in the UA release "Valkyrie," which has grossed $139 million worldwide. He also appeared in a high-profile cameo for the DreamWorks comedy "Tropic Thunder."

[Read the FULL STORY here]

Sunday, February 08, 2009

Rourke Not Crimson Dynamo in Iron Man 2?

Source:MTV
February 4, 2009

In January when trade reports announced that Mickey Rourke was in talks to play a villain in Iron Man 2, it was believed that he would take on the role of Crimson Dynamo. Robert Downey Jr. tells MTV that doesn't seem to be the case, however:

"That's actually incorrect," Downey told MTV News when asked if Rourke was being considered for the aforementioned Iron Man rogue. When pressed if, instead of Crimson Dynamo, Rourke was up for the role of Whiplash, another potential role bandied about on blogs these days, Downey had a more cryptic response.

"I can neither confirm nor deny that," said Downey. "Or maybe it's some semblance of both. Here, I can tell you everything about the story except I won't give away the ending. The nerd stuff is top-drawer security."

Stay tuned for possibly more on his role soon. Iron Man 2 is scheduled for a May 7, 2010 release.

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

RAMBO will be back!


Rambo's sneaking upon us again
Not Another RAMBO!
Stallone broke the news to "Extra" about the latest Rambo film, saying, "Yeah, we are doing another 'Rambo,' but the conflict is whether to do it in America or a foreign country."
FULL STORY here [source: EXTRA]

I am a BIG BIG fan of the RAMBO movies. But this news of doing a new one scares me. The last one was excellent enough, served as a sequel to clean up the shame of Rambo 3, and also served as a good "series ending" to the Rambo saga. The last movie was so good that you'd prefer the series to end right there with some sense of gracious pride, rather than have a sequel that threatens to tarnish the entire series. Sure, I am excited for the next RAMBO movie. Sure, I'm gonna watch it. But if you ask me, as of right now, I'd rather this sequel not exist.