Oscar

Must-Watch: Best Animated Short Oscar Winner, THE FANTASTIC FLYING BOOKS OF MR. MORRIS LESSMORE

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 27th, 2012 at 1:08 pm

There were some quality nominees for this year’s Best Animated Short Oscar, but none of them came close to the winner, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.  The short is filled with clever visuals, vibrant colors, and a lot of heart.  At first, it almost seems like it’s going to be the intro for Reading Rainbow if the intro took up half the show.  But as the short develops, you see how stories (symbolized by books) shape and enrich our lives especially once we tell our own.  And it does all of this without dialogue.  The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore made me tear up by the end, and after watching the short, I hope you’ll understand and share my reaction.

Hit the jump to watch The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.

Winners of the 84th Academy Awards; THE ARTIST Wins 5 Including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 26th, 2012 at 8:56 pm

The Oscars are finally over.  The front-runner, The Artist, won the awards race by picking up Best Picture, Best Director (Michael Hazanavicius), Best Actor (Jean Dujardin), Best Costume Design, and Best Score.  There were also some big upsets as “locks” like The Tree of Life for Best Cinematography and Rise of the Planet of the Apes for Best Visual Effects were no match for Hugo, which ended up taking those categories and three more (Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Art Direction).  As for nice surprises…not really (unless you loved Hugo).

It was a forgettable year for the Oscars, and Billy Crystal, turning in his safe, predictable, and family-friendly routine was the perfect fit for a year that screamed “Don’t rock the boat!”  Last year’s Oscars took a chance on pairing Anne Hathaway and James Franco, and the show was a mess.  This year, they played it safe and the ceremony was still dull.  Quite simply, there was no films to root for and the “upsets” were for the establishment.  It was also funny to have the show and actors celebrate the theater when audiences are moving to OnDemand services, and studios are trying to make the theatrical release window even shorter.   Hit the jump for a full list of the winners, click here for mine and Adam Chitwood’s Oscar predictions (he did way better than me), and click here for my live-blog of the ceremony.

Matt Live-Blogs the 84th Academy Awards

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 26th, 2012 at 2:46 pm

We’re here at last.  The seemingly endless award season has reached its zenith/nadir.  I have never been less enthusiastic for the Oscars.  And I used to love the Oscars.  I loved the competition, I loved seeing the films and actors I loved get recognized with Hollywood’s highest honor, and this year I hardly have anything or anyone to root for.  This year, it’s mostly “Yeah, I can live with that.”  I know the awards don’t really matter, I know that the voting body is old white men, and I know my Oscar predictions are probably going to go down in flames (if you’re still trying to figure out your Oscar ballot, go with Adam’s picks; I’m playing the odds).

But this live-blog will keep me sane.  Sharing my frustrations and mockery with you fine people will help me get through this charade.  My live-blogging will kick in around 8:00pm (EST) and then just keep refreshing the page for my latest thoughts on the 84th Academy Awards.  I’ll also be live-tweeting (cross-platform mocking!) and you can follow me on Twitter at @MattGoldberg.  Together, we will survive.  The ceremony begins at 8:30pm (EST).

Infographic: Oscar Fashion Throughout the Years

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 22nd, 2012 at 7:51 am

Don’t lie: you mute the insipid Oscar red carpet banter and check out the dresses.  There’s nothing wrong with that.  The dresses are one of the finer points of the evening, and you get to see which actresses found the right mix between elegance and originality, and which actresses found what the designer’s fever dream looked like in gown-form.  The people at Dish Network, when not trying to convince us that satellite dish signals can’t be blown out by a gentle breeze, have put together a fun infographic about the dresses worn by the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress nominees from the past 22 years.

Hit the jump to check out the infographic.  The 84th Academy Awards air live this Sunday at 7pm EST on ABC.

Mike Myers Schools Kevin Kline on Oscar Etiquette in Funny-or-Die-Produced Promo

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 21st, 2012 at 12:34 pm

The 2011 Oscar race will finally be over this Sunday night, but winners need to know the proper way to accept the award.  To this end, Funny or Die has produced a promo on behalf of the Academy Awards starring Oscar-winner Kevin Kline (Best Supporting Actor for A Fish Called Wanda) and Sir Cecil Worthington (Mike Myers).  The sketch is meant to poke fun at the importance of the statue, but Worthington is really more of a reminder of the Academy’s largest voting block: old white men who have never won an Oscar.

Hit the jump to check out the promo.  The 84th Academy Awards air live this Sunday on ABC at 7pm EST.

Kermit and Miss Piggy to Present at the Academy Awards

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 17th, 2012 at 9:35 am

Every day, the Academy is announcing new presenters for the Oscars, and those press releases are worthless.  No one cares if Ben Stiller will be reading nominees off a card.  But today, the Academy has made a terrific-yet-maddening announcement regarding a duo of presenters.  Kermit and Miss Piggy will present at this year’s Academy Awards, and it will be the fifth time that Muppets have presented at the Oscars.  While I’ll be happy to see them, the announcement makes me even more frustrated with this year’s ceremony.  First, there won’t be a performance of The Muppets nominated song, “Man or Muppet”, which might have made sense due to set construction concerns.  However, there was enough time and money to build a stage for Cirque du Soleil, who should be seen live (or at least in a movie theater) rather than your TV.  And now that they’re going to have Muppets on stage anyway, it feels like the Academy is saying, “Muppets, you’re good enough to deliver a little banter and read names off a card, but no one wants to see you sing a song on live television.”  At least “Man or Muppet” will probably win the Oscar.

Hit the jump for the press release.

2012 Oscar Preview: Best Animated Feature, Best Original Screenplay, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Technical Category Quick Picks

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: November 26th, 2011 at 10:19 am

Continuing on with our look at the 2012 Oscar race, today we delve into Best Animated Feature and the technical categories. As Pixar’s Cars 2 was the studio’s worst-received feature to date (it currently sits at 38% on Rotten Tomatoes), we’ve got ourselves an actual competition in the Animated Feature category. Not only that, but if all 18 films that were submitted to the Academy are deemed eligible, we’ll have a total of five nominated films. This leaves us to debate the merits of Rango and The Adventures of Tintin against the likes of Puss in Boots and Arthur Christmas.

Additionally, we’ve taken a stab at Best Original Screenplay, Best Adapted Screenplay, and the technical categories. As these are incredibly tricky to predict this far out (and my picks would be doomed to haunt me come February), I’ve simply listed a couple of frontrunners in each category instead of going in depth. Though it’s still early, we’ve got an overall picture of how things look like they’ll stack up; so hit the jump to check out the state of the race so far. If you missed our previous preview articles, be sure to take a look at our picks for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, and Best Actor and Best Actress.

2012 Oscar Preview: Best Actor and Best Actress

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: November 25th, 2011 at 7:19 am

Yesterday we unveiled our picks for the top contenders in the Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress categories for the upcoming 84th Academy Awards. Today, we’re taking on Best Actor and Best Actress. Though it’s still relatively early in the race, we’ve got some surefire contenders and a couple of clear frontrunners for the top acting categories. In addition to Academy darlings like George Clooney and Meryl Streep, we’ve seen some extraordinary performances from relative newcomers likes Elizabeth Olsen and Michael Fassbender. As I stressed yesterday, it’s still pretty early so things can definitely change between now and February, but there are certainly some clear frontrunners in these two races already. Hit the jump to see find out how everyone stacks up.

2012 Oscar Preview: Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: November 24th, 2011 at 9:20 am

Ah, November. Leaves are falling, colder weather is here (depending on where you live), and the 2011 movie season is coming to a close. While angry shoppers and red Starbucks cups generally mean it’s time to start preparing for the many awkward/tense family encounters that are sure to come, it’s also time to start thinking Oscar. We’ve seen a few contenders throughout the year, but a plethora of heavyhitters will be opening over the next 5 weeks.

To aid in your Oscar polls (or to quench your curiosity) we’ve compiled a state of the race preview as of this lovely Thanksgiving week. Granted, a lot can change from now until February, but a good portion of the major players have already been screened and we’re starting to get a sense of how it could all play out. We’ll be examining all the major categories over the next four days, kicking things off with the infamously unpredictable Best Supporting Actor and Actress. Hit the jump to see where things stand.

Eddie Murphy Confirmed to Host the Oscars

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 6th, 2011 at 11:42 am

It seems like the Academy is making a serious effort to makes the 2012 Oscars somehow worse than last year’s clusterfuck.  First, they hired Brett Ratner whose name inspires confidence in no one except for Brett Ratner.  Then last week we learned that Ratner wanted his Tower Heist star Eddie Murphy to host the ceremony.  Now Deadline is confirming that Murphy will MC next year’s show and I am confirming that I have somehow found a way to be even less interested in the Oscar telecast.

I have multiple problems with Murphy.  First off, he hasn’t top-lined a good film since Bowfinger.  Second, he hasn’t taken a chance since his dramatic supporting role in Dreamgirls didn’t win him an Oscar.   He doesn’t really try to give comic performances any more and phones in awful family comedies.  Finally, and this one is just a personal preference, I think an Oscar host should have the ability to do self-deprecating humor to balance the jokes he or she is going to make at the audience’s expense.  That’s never been Murphy’s style.  The only upside to this news is that we get to see how Murphy does stand-up on a big stage a scant 24 years after Raw.

Matt Live-Blogs the 83rd Academy Awards

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 27th, 2011 at 4:41 pm

Like any good Oscar ceremony, the 83rd Academy Awards will most likely drag on unto infinity.  Categories will blend together and you’ll find yourself waiting to see who wins “Best Costume Design for a Live-Action Short Starring Winter’s Bone“.  I’m trying to stop myself from being on auto-snark and hoping that the show is genuinely entertaining.  I find hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco to be charming so hopefully they’ll have some good material.  Last year, I didn’t expect much from Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin and I thought they did a terrific job.  While the Oscars are a show for rich people to congratulate themselves on a job well done, the host doesn’t have to tear the room down to make us poor slobs at home feel better.  There’s a balancing act and hopefully Hathaway and Franco can pull it off.

So get your Oscar ballots ready and hit the jump as I live-blog the 83rd Academy Awards.  Also, you can click here for my predictions.

Matt’s 2011 Oscar Predictions

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 25th, 2011 at 1:20 pm

I will be so happy once Oscar season is over.  I won’t have to hear about who’s up, who’s down, who deserves to win, and how Best Picture nominee A is more historically accurate than Best Picture nominee B.  For all the needless pomp and circumstance, the awards do serve a purpose.  Sure, studios like the kudos, but they really like the big business an awards film can generate.  Audiences like the awards because it’s a way of telling them “There were so many great movies last year, but here’s the one you must see because Hollywood agreed it was the ‘best’.”

But since the awards show appeals to our competitive spirit, I’ve decided to give my predictions for this year’s winners along with who I think deserves to win among the nominated films.  As a reminder, I will be live-blogging the Oscars, which air Sunday, February 27th, at 8pm on ABC.  Hit the jump for my semi-educated guesses.

Take the Time to Watch the Oscar-Nominated Animated Short THE LOST THING

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 18th, 2011 at 8:14 am

On our podcast last week, Curt raved about the Shaun Tan’s Oscar-nominated animated short film The Lost Thing.  The short is based on Tan’s 2002 children’s book of the same name, but it’s one of those “kids” stories that will probably be more emotionally affecting for adults. The story revolves around a young man who meets up with a bizarre entity that has the personality of a lovable, lost dog.  The man then tries to find a place for the creature in a mundane, repetitive world.

After taking the 15 minutes to watch the short, I can see why Curt loved it.  The short is hilarious, heartbreaking, and the visual style is absolutely gorgeous.  When you see an animated short like this, it makes you feel slightly depressed about the homogenization of major animated films.  I can’t help but wonder if a studio would have the guts to design a feature-length animated film that looks like this.

At some point today, you should really take the time to watch The Lost Thing.  You won’t regret it.  Hit the jump to check out the video.

INCEPTION Cinematographer Wally Pfister Wins at ASC Awards

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 14th, 2011 at 8:02 am

Inception cinematographer Wally Pfister won the American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement Award in the feature film category.  It was Pfister’s first win from the ASC.  He had previously been nominated for The Dark Knight and Batman Begins.  This year’s other nominees included Matthew Libatique (Black Swan), Danny Cohen (The King’s Speech), Jeff Cronenweth (The Social Network), and Roger Deakins (True Grit).  All five of these men have also been nominated for the Oscar for Best Cinematography and it’s tough to argue that they don’t deserve it.

While Pfister’s win from the ASC may give him a slight edge in the Oscar race, I still think this is going to be Deakins’ year.  It’s his ninth nomination and I think/hope that the Academy will finally give him his due.  However, if Pfister takes home the statue, you won’t hear me complaining.

The Academy Isn’t Comfortable Giving an Oscar to Banksy for EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 10th, 2011 at 12:10 pm

If elusive street artist Banksy wins Best Documentary for film Exit Through the Gift Shop at this year’s Academy Awards, how will he win?  It’s unlikely that he’ll reveal himself to everyone at the Kodak Theatre and the millions watching at home, but he should be allowed to win it on reasonable terms.  Unfortunately, Academy president Tom Sherak isn’t having it.  He tells The Wrap the he would prefer the film’s producer Jaimie D’Cruz and an executive producer accept the award on Banksy’s behalf:

“We suggested to them that it might be a good idea that if he did win, one of them would accept in his place – that it would not be dignified for the Academy to have somebody come up wearing a monkey’s head.”

Hit the jump for why Sherak’s suggestion is silly and disrespectful.

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