Posts Tagged ‘Oscar’

“Dream big,” Ellen Page’s “Juno” character tells her step mom. Indeed, the film’s director and stars did.

Not only was “Juno” nominated for four Oscar nominations, its stars and director won awards, or as they are called “Beavers” at their native Canada’s ninth annual Canadian Comedy Awards Friday night in Saskatchewan.

Montreal-born Jason Reitman won Pretty Funny Film Directing, Halifax-born Ellen Page won Pretty Funny Female Actress of the Year, and Ontario-born Michael Cera won Pretty Funny Male Actor of the Year for “Superbad” (even though he also was in “Juno”).

Cera’s “Superbad” costar, Vancouver-born Seth Rogen, won a Beaver for writing the raunchy but funny teen comedy. He also won Pretty Funny Comic Person of the Year for his recent performances in “Knocked Up” and “Pineapple Express.”

You can see the show and the rest of the winners when it airs next March on Canada’s The Comedy Network.

In the meantime, read on to see what other celebrities hail from the land up north.

Eric McCormack – Toronto, Ontario

Jim Carrey – Newmarket, Ontario

John Candy – Toronto, Ontario

Lorne Michaels – Toronto, Ontario

Avril Lavigne – Belleville, Ontario

Shania Twain – Windsor, Ontario

Mike Myers – Scarborough, Ontario

Pamela Anderson – Ladysmith, British Columbia

William Shatner – Montreal, Quebec

Paul Shaffer – Thunder Bay, Ontario

The incomparable James Earl Jones, who certainly needs no introduction, will receive the 2008 Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in January 2009.

Though Jones has acted in nearly 100 films, as well as headlined on Broadway, the 77-year-old is best known as the voice of Darth Vader of the Star Wars trilogy (who can ever forget, “Luke, I am your father!”?), and the voice of Mufasa in The Lion King.

He is also the sobering voice behind CNN’s tagline, which simply says, “This is CNN.” Never has any news program sounded so reliable. The SAG award will feel right at home in Jones’ abode, alongside his many other awards and recognitions, including an Oscar nomination, two Tony awards, three Emmys, and the National Medal of Arts.

Jennifer Hudson, the Oscar-winning actress who made her remarkable breakthrough with a soul-wrenching I’m Telling You I’m Not Goin’, accepted the proposal of one David Otunga.

David, most-known as Punk on VH1’s irritating I Love New York 2, popped the question over the weekend – and she said YES!

Otunga is a former lawyer and Harvard Law School grad, while Hudson is…well, she’s Jennifer Hudson. The two started dating in 2007.

This summer saw the release of another Hollywood adaptation of a Broadway hit.  Following in the leotards and tap shoes of Hairspray and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, this summer saw the release of Mamma Mia!

Now, Mamma Mia! has been thrilling audiences worldwide for several years now.  For those that don’t know, the show is a jukebox musical. Meaning, all of the songs used in the film are from the cannon of a particular artist.  Most of these end up flopping…but not Mamma Mia!

I’m sure by now you’ve heard how bad Pierce Brosnan is and how wishy-washy the story is.  Well, yes Pierce is no Frank Sinatra.  And the story isn’t Gone with the Wind.  But who cares!

The movie is fun and light-hearted and doesn’t take itself  too seriously.  I mean, it’s a musical with all disco songs—can it take itself too seriously?  Also, Meryl Streep lends the film some serious street cred.  Unlike most, she knows how to ACT a song.  She doesn’t just sit there and sing inviting all to bask in the golden sounds from her voice.  No, she takes a song, finds out the meaning behind it for her character, the motivation behind it and BAM there it is.

So, will this be up for any awards like Chicago?  No.  Not even a technical or artistic Oscar like Sweeney Todd.  But so what?  Go out, see the film, let loose and let your inner Dancing Queen come out and play!

Helen Mirren’s publicist must have had the day off when she gave an interview for the September British GQ. The Oscar star’s candid remarks on date rape and drug use has prompted scores of negative media attention.

Mirren took a somewhat non-chalant stance on the subject of date rape saying it was a “tricky subject”, having been a victim herself as a student. Her definition of rape occurred in a situation “of a couple engaged in sexual activity but the woman said ‘no’ at the last second.”

To further aggravate anti-rape campaigners Mirren commented, “I don’t think she can have that man into court under those circumstances. I guess it is one of the subtle parts of the men/women relationship that has to be negotiated and worked out between them.”

If that wasn’t enough raise eyebrows, Mirren talked about her former love of cocaine.

In a positive light, Mirren is a well-respected and Academy Award winning actress who is speaking out on touchy-subjects, unlike many celebrities. I applaud her honesty. At least she doesn’t sugarcoat or avoid private issues during an interview. Perhaps this media attention can summon further conversations on date rape and awareness. 

John McCain recently called Barack Obama “the biggest celebrity in the world.” If so, then it’s appropriate Hollywood’s biggest celebrities would come out to celebrate Obama and this week’s Democratic National Convention in Denver last week.

Among the stars included Oprah Winfrey, Scarlett Johansson, Steven Spielberg and wife Kate Capshaw, Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, Kerry Washington, Jennifer Lopez, Rosario Dawson, Jessica Alba, Charlize Theron, Angela Bassett, Ashley Judd, Kirsten Dunst, Chevy Chase, Forest Whitaker, Josh Brolin, Hill Harper, Fran Drescher, Annette Bening, Spike Lee and Jamie Foxx.

And it wasn’t just actors. Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson sang the national anthem, and singers Sheryl Crow, Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Kanye West and the Black Eyed Peas were also on hand.

Celebrities publicly endorsing candidates and making a spectacle at the convention is both criticized and embraced by citizens – even among the celebrities themselves.

Private Practice and Wings star Tim Daly, who is the president of the nonprofit group Creative Coalition that brings stars together to discuss important issues, thinks celebrities have every right to discuss their viewpoints.

“Performers are citizens and in the U.S., we are allowed to talk about our beliefs. It’s also the privilege of people not to listen,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “The interesting thing about celebrity involvement is that they’re the only group of so-called lobbyists who stand to gain nothing from what they do, except to support the causes they believe in.”

Yet, Kid Rock tells Showbiz Tonight he thinks stars shouldn’t publicly endorse candidates. In fact, when a big star announces who he or she picked, he doesn’t want to vote for that candidate.

Nevertheless, the stars will continue to mingle with politics. Daly told the L.A. Times the Creative Coalition will also be bringing stars to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul this week.

ABC announced on Monday the new lineup of celebs who will be shimmying and waltzing onto Dancing with the Star’s seventh season starting Sept. 22.

We’ve got the oldest and youngest contestants to ever compete, athletes who want to add the mirror ball trophy to their gold medal collection, a former boy bander, a Soap diva and more.

Read on for the complete line-up and my commentary on who might win and who might get voted off faster than a quickstep.  

Susan Lucci: This daytime diva will have plenty of votes from her devoted allegiance of soap fans; yet, she’s notoriously known for not winning the Emmy 18 years in a row before finally winning in 1999. On DWTS, she’s only got one chance to win! 

Lance Bass: The former ’N Sync member’s chances look pretty good because he has dance skills from his boy band days. Plus, fellow ’N Syncer Joey Fatone is a previous runner-up.

Cloris Leachman: The 82-year-old Oscar-winning actress is DWTS oldest ever star to compete (the previous eldest star was George Hamilton who was 66 in Season Two). We all love Mary Tyler Moore’s Phyllis and no disrespect to her, but she will have very stiff competition with the younger stars.

Toni Braxton: The Grammy-winning singer has a heart condition, but it is unknown if it will affect her rigorous dancing regimes. Season One champ Alec Mazo as her partner could help her odds.

Misty May-Treanor and Maurice Green: With four of the past six DWTS winners being athletes, the two-time gold medal-winning Olympic athletes could face off on the dance floor. Green has an extra edge being partnered with two-time winner Cheryl Burke.

Kim Kardashian: The reality star and celebutante recently injured her foot, which may give her an early disadvantage. Also, the young and pretty don’t always have the right moves. Just ask previous young and pretty stars, Willa Ford and Shannon Elizabeth, who got voted off early.

Brooke Burke: Speaking of young and pretty contestants, this TV host/model might have the same low chances as Kardashian. 

Cody Linley: The 18-year-old Hannah Montana star is the youngest star to ever compete. With two-time winning Julianne Hough as his partner, Linley could make the final cut.

Ted McGinley: The actor from Married With Children and Hope and Faith is notorious for being on shows right before they get cancelled, so here’s just hoping he doesn’t get DWTS cancelled.  

Warren Sapp: The former NFL star has the athlete DWTS winning streak increasing his odds. Plus, partner Kym Johnson, who helped Joey Fatone place second in Season 4, is a serious contender

Rocco DiSpirito: DWTS has had actors, athletes, singers and comedians, but DiSpirito is the first chef to compete. He’s good in the kitchen, but the dance floor… who knows?   

Jeffrey Ross: The comedian might not be laughing on the dance floor. Comedians generally have two left feet (see Adam Corolla and Steve Guttenberg). Plus, partner Edyta Sliwinska is the only professional dancer to compete in every season but is yet to win.

Before the leaves start to fall and the Oscar bait movies start to roll in, here’s a wrap-up of the movies that exploded, charmed and humored their ways onto my list of the summer’s best movies.

The Dark Knight The second highest grossing film behind Titanic stands out from the rest of the superhero flicks with its genre-bending qualities. Rather than pure action and no substance, this film is more of a noir with its brooding cinematography and deep questions of morality; yet, it still has heart-stopping, realistic action sequences. And of course there’s Heath Ledger’s astounding performance as the anarchy-loving Joker whose negative outlook on the human condition is the perfect foil against the Dark Knight himself.  

Wall∙E Can Pixar do no wrong? It’d be easy to dismiss a lonely mute robot and insist instead on re-watching the more conventionally desirable Toy Story or Finding Nemo, but Wall∙E proved to be an emotionally charged film with a touching love story between two robots and a timely ecological message.

Iron Man This superhero movie’s most endearing quality is its rich character development. We see Tony Stark go from selfish billionaire creator of military weapons who, after an Afghan kidnapping and injury, uses his own machinery to become Iron Man in order to fight against the evil he helped induce. Not only is it about the redemption of Tony Stark, it was also the ignition of Robert Downey, Jr.’s happily received A-List comeback.

Tropic Thunder Sure it was crude and it offended lots of people, but this outrageous satire still managed to be one of the best comedies of the year with its unflinching ability to skewer self-important and ridiculous actors, its abundantly talented cast and its hilarious use of cameos by famous actors.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull It wasn’t as well-received as expected, but it was great to see Indy again. The extraterrestrial-related plot skewed from typical Indy plots, but at its heart Indiana Jones is about the fun, never-ending series of cliffhangers. The addition of Shia LaBeouf and Cate Blanchett made for interesting story lines and good performances, and the return of Karen Allen’s Marion was a lovely déjà vu.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona Declared as one of Woody Allen’s better films of recent times, this film boasts beautiful scenery, good performances and – like all Allen’s films- intelligent ponderings on love.

American Teen It’s the nonfiction version of The Breakfast Club with its portrayals of teen angst seen through the perspectives of real life teen archetypes. What makes this film different than all John Hughes’ films, however, is that these characters are actually real people which give it more resonance and intimacy.

Beloved Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman was seriously injured in a car accident in Mississippi on Sunday night. Freeman was driving with another passenger.

He was airlifted to Regional Medical Center about 90 miles from the scene of the accident. Witnesses say Freeman’s car was airborne and rolled over several times before ending in a ditch.

The 71-year-old actor was conscious as he was extracted from the car, even joking to the rescue crew and onlookers. No details were available regarding Freeman’s passenger.

Robert Downey Jr. wears blackface for a new role in “Tropic Thunder” – something not new in Hollywood.

Robert Downey Jr. has played some high profile roles: Armored superhero Iron Man, silent film star Charlie Chaplin and British sleuth Sherlock Holmes in the upcoming Guy Ritchie film. Now in the new comedy “Tropic Thunder” he plays a black man. What’s so noteworthy about that? Well, he’s white.

In the film opening August 13, he plays an Oscar-winning actor cast in a big-budget Vietnam War movie. So you see, Downey isn’t playing a black man. He’s playing a white actor playing a role originally written for a black actor. But is a white guy appearing in blackface racist? Controversial?

Downey and Ben Stiller, the film’s co-writer and director, think satire. Stiller told Entertainment Weekly that he and Downey “always focused on the fact that they were skewering insufferable actors, not African-Americans.”

So far there’s been no uproar from early screening goers or moral outrage from Al Sharpton. In fact, Stiller told EW that he was relieved at the positive reaction from black audience members after screening a rough cut of the film. “It seems people really embrace it,” he said. Downey’s black co-star Brandon T. Jackson also embraced Downey’s portrayal.

“When I first read the script, I was like, ‘What? Black face?’ But when I saw him (Downey Jr.) (act) he, like, became a black man. To be honest, he played a black dude better than anybody I’ve seen!” Jackson told starpulse.com.

A white actor wearing blackface isn’t new to Hollywood. Old Hollywood actors Judy Garland, Joan Crawford and Shirley Temple to contemporary stars Sarah Silverman, Billy Crystal and Angelina Jolie have all performed in blackface. Fred Armisen (of Venezuelan and Japanese descent) even plays Barack Obama on “Saturday Night Live.”

The newest Hollywood actor to don blackface isn’t worried his performance is disrespectful. “At the end of the day, it’s always about how well you commit to the character,” Downey told EW. “If I didn’t feel it was morally sound, or that it would be easily misinterpreted that I’m just C. Thomas Howell in , I would’ve stayed home.”