Posts Tagged ‘Oscars’

It’s official. People magazine’s Sexiest Man, Hugh Jackman, will host the 81st Oscars ceremony on February 22, 2009.

The producers were gracious enough to validate why Jackman was chosen by saying Jackman, “has style, elegance and a sense of occasion,” and while all that might be true, let’s get to the heart of the matter: He’s HOT!

Ever since we laid eyes on him in the 2001’s corny-but-sweet “Kate & Leopold” (which I’ve watched on several occasions – and yes! I DO have a life, thank you very much!), we were sold.

The voice, the facial bone structure, the man! Maybe I’m bordering on obsession here, but that doesn’t mean it’s not warranted. (Stalkers need love, too.)

Jackman will join an impressive, ever-growing list of “who-on-earth-will-be-next?” hosts, such as Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Steve Martin, and others.

So Jackman is far from the first to host the prestigious event…but he’s certainly the hottest. And that alone is reason enough for me to watch. I’m in.

“Saturday Night Live” had the presidential election to thank for garnering its highest ratings in years – even hitting 14 million viewers, the highest amount since 1994, when Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin appeared. Plus, it’s hard to say if the 33-year-old comedy show made a bigger star out of Palin or if the election made a bigger star out of her uncanny impersonator, Tina Fey.

But now that the election is over and the great Amy Poehler has left the show, will “Saturday Night Live” fizzle out or will it manage to stay in the spotlight as Palin has?

“Role Models” star Paul Rudd hosted Saturday’s first post-election episode and delivered a mediocre performance. Although he said what we all were thinking in his monologue when he joked about how much of a bummer it is to host “SNL” after the election is over similar to how the technical awards at the Oscars are a letdown compared to the big acting awards.

He turned out to be kind of right about the show being a letdown. The show was alright but not as funny as recent episodes. Americans voted for Barack Obama, but the show would have been better off if McCain won because Fey’s Palin impression is much funnier than Jason Sudeikis’ Joe Biden. The absence of Poehler was also well-noticed, and Abby Elliot and Michaela Watkins looked more like extras than the two newly hired comediennes.

Just as Palin overshadowed Republican presidential candidate John McCain, Justin Timberlake outshined Rudd when he popped up in a few scene-stealing moments. He did a two-minute, one-man version of how he would host the show complete with his Barry Gibb impersonation and his um… male anatomy music video with Andy Samberg, and he also danced in a leotard and high heels in a skit as musical guest Beyoncé’s back-up dancer.

The latter skit was just one of “SNL’s” many gay skits (think the French kissing family, Rudd and Samberg painting each other in the nude, Snagglepuss and two New Jersey guys proclaiming their love for each other) in perhaps a commentary on California’s Proposition 8 banning gay marriage thereby proving that even though the election is over, “SNL” is still the go-to-place for political satire and commentary.

The 60th Emmy Awards this past September turned up some first time winners and nominees like Bryan Cranston, Gabriel Byrne, Lee Pace and others. The 2008 Oscars also introduced first time nominees and winners such as: Tony Gilroy, Marion Cotillard and Tilda Swinton, just to name a few. But does adding “Award Winner” or “Nominee” to a resume help a career? Let’s take a look at winners and nominees from the 2000 awards season to see if Oscar or Emmy has helped them climb the Hollywood ladder.

The 2000 Academy Awards gave Russell Crowe his first nomination for “The Insider.” Since then, he’s seen his most notable role yet as Maximus in “Gladiator,” which lead to an Oscar win. He also received another nomination for “A Beautiful Mind.” Just an Oscar nomination has lead this actor into stardom.  

Hilary Swank had her first nomination and win for “Boys Don’t Cry.” She has since gained an Oscar for “Million Dollar Baby” where she worked with acclainmed director Clint Eastwood. Julianne Moore received her second nomination for “The End of the Affair” which has lead to staring in movies with Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep, Clive Owen and others. On the flip side, Janet McTeer collected her first and only Oscar nomination.  She has done other projects, but nothing to the magnitude of “Tumbleweeds.”

The Best Actor in a Supporting Role category introduced newcomers Michael Clarke Duncan, Haley Joel Osment and Jude Law. All three have had hugely successful careers since their nominations. Duncan had a reccuring role in the “The Whole Nine Yards” series and has costared with Will Ferrell, John C. Rielly, and Clive Owen. Osment received nominations for “Pay it Forward” and “Artificial Intelligence: A.I.” Jude Law has had staring roles in “Enemy at the Gate,” “Road to Perdition,” and “Cold Mountain.”

The Best Director category brought the first win for Sam Mendes director of “American Beauty.” Mendes later heads up films such as “Road to Perdition” and “Jarheads.”  This category also saw the first (and only) nomination for Spike Jonze director of “Being John Malkovich.” He will later direct “Adaptation.”

Switching to the Emmy’s and their effect on the crew that works for the small screen.

In the Outstanding Drama Series category, the winner was new TV drama “The West Wing.” This was the first nomination and win for the series, which continued gaining momentum in 2002 and 2003 by winning the same award and picking up Emmy’s in multiple categories each year it was on the air. Viewership topped out at 15 million per week on average! Emmy worked her magic on this beloved television show.

The Outstanding Lead Actor for a Drama showcased James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano. His second nomination, but first win (he will also win in 2001 and 2003) encouraged a proserous career completing nine films so far. On the other hand, Jerry Orbach’s first and only nomination for his work on “NYPD Blue” never landed him a statue or another Emmy nomination.

Leading Actress in a Comedy Series went to Debra Barone aka Patricia Heaton.  She will also win in 2001, but only receive nominations after that.  She recently stared in a show with fellow 2000 nominee Kelsey Grammer, but it was canceled. Two of the other four nominees have shows currently on television, Jane Kaczmarek and Debra Messing, proving that awards don’t necessarily improve a resume.

2000’s Emmy’s brought Thomas Schlamme a directing award for “The West Wing.” He would eventually win one more for directing. He would later direct the short lived “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.” Allen Coulter, another 2000 directing nominee, directed or has worked on multiple highly accredited TV shows such as “The Sopranos,” “Sex and the City”, “Rome” and others, but no Emmy wins so far.

The 2000’s Emmy’s brought a win (and two nominations for two episodes) to writer and creator Aaron Sorkin for “The West Wing” during its second year on the air. After “West Wing’s” end, Sorkin worked on a similar style show “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” which ran for a year. He switched to film, working on critically acclaimed “Charlie Wilson’s War” in which he received a Golden Globe nomination. He’s currently working on two films as a writer making those Emmy statuettes work for his credibility.  For writer Linwood Boomer, it’s a different story.  2000 would be the only Emmy for this writer for his work on “Malcolm in the Middle” even though he received one other nomination the following year. To date, “Malcolm in the Middle” was the last show he worked on, which ended in 2006.

It seems that being handed a statue with your name on it has a 50/50 chance of bettering your career in the compeititve entertainment world. You’re either a Jude Law or a Linwood Boomer.

The 81st Academy Awards will occur on February 22, 2009.

The Office star Rainn Wilson leaves his cubicle to play a has-been rocker in the aptly titled The Rocker opening Wednesday. It’s too soon to see how the movie career of Wilson, best known for dorky Dwight will fare, but in the meantime let’s take a look back at the best TV to movie crossovers.

George Clooney The Emmy-nominated ER doc hung up his scrubs for a successful movie career that spans box-office commercial fare (the Ocean’s Eleven franchise) to the critically acclaimed (winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Syriana). He’s also established himself as a bona fide writer and director with Good Night, and Good Luck.

Tom Hanks Before going on to win two Best Actor Oscars, he starred as a cross dresser in the 80s sitcom Bosom Buddies. Since then he’s starred in dozens of classic films like Forrest Gump and Saving Private Ryan, as well as writing, directing and producing.

Johnny Depp Now known for his chameleon-like ability to immerse himself into eccentric characters like Captain Jack Sparrow, Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd and Willy Wonka, Depp got his start playing a baby-faced undercover cop in 21 Jump Street. 

Leonardo DiCaprio Before he sailed on the Titanic, DiCaprio played a scrawny teen in Growing Pains. Now he’s grown up and starring in critically acclaimed films like The Departed and Blood Diamond while scoring three Oscar noms.  

Will Smith The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star now rules Fourth of July weekends in explosive movies like Independence Day, Men in Black and Hancock. He doesn’t just fight aliens though; he also was Oscar nominated for The Pursuit of Happyness and Ali.

Denzel Washington The St. Elsewhere star is another sexy TV doc who rocketed to the A-List with a number of classic films like Malcolm X and Training Day, for which he won an Oscar.

Jennifer Aniston The Friends star has starred in numerous films such as Office Space, The Good Girl, Derailed and The Break-Up; yet, she’s still best known as Rachel. But several upcoming films like Marley and Me may make us forget about that New York waitress with cute hair.

Steve Carell He’s just as good at getting laughs in films like The 40-Year Old Virgin, Little Miss Sunshine and Get Smart as he does in The Office, but he also kept it real with low key film Dan in Real Life.  

Bruce Willis With classic films like the Die Hard franchise and The Sixth Sense, one almost forgets he won a Golden Globe for his TV show, Moonlighting.

Helen Hunt The Mad About You star went on to win an Oscar for As Good As It Gets and to star in Twister, but then she disappeared until this year’s underwhelming Then She Found Me, in which she starred, directed and co-wrote.

Woody Allen’s new film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, boasts big name stars: Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz and Oscar winner Javier Bardem. But there’s one actress you probably don’t know.

Her name is Rebecca Hall, and she plays the titular Vicky. The 26-year-old British actress belongs to a famous family of theater professionals including her father who is a world-renowned theater director. She’s appeared in a few films, of which The Prestige is her most notable.

Now Hall is moving into the spotlight as an American tourist who spends a summer in Spain with her friend Cristina (Johansson), and soon the two friends become entangled in a love affair with a sexy artist (Bardem). 

Hall tells the Los Angeles Times she’s been a fan of Allen’s since seeing Sleeper at age 11 and that acting in one of his films is a dream come true. After divulging this dream during an interview, Allen contacted her and soon offered her the role.

“So I said, ‘Give me the piece of paper to sign. I’ll play a doormat, that’s fine,’” she told the Times.

Hall can next be seen in the political drama, Frost/Nixon and the Oscar Wilde adaptation, Dorian Gray.

Here we are in the modern age of cinema; past the halfway point in the year and towards the end of the summer blockbuster season. Just as it is never too early to begin Christmas shopping, it is never too early to begin generating Oscar buzz.

In the Christopher Guest film, “For Your Consideration,” the demeanor and attitudes of a group of actors change dramatically when an independent media website suggests that their film and their performances in it could win them all Oscar nominations. With all of the egos flying around Hollywood, it’s not an unlikely story. Therefore, in forecasting these following ten predictions, I apologize to anyone who might be treated badly by any of the following artists.

1. Even before it opened to limited release, Emma Thompson’s performance in “Brideshead Revisited” was garnering buzz for the big “O.” This is a guaranteed nomination.

2. While I am against posthumous awards, I believe that not only will Heath Ledger’s performance in “The Dark Knight” earn a Best Supporting Actor nomination, but as of right now, his odds for winning are about 75%.

3. Speaking of “The Dark Knight,” the film will sweep most of the technical awards.

4. A lot of people are considering “Wall-E” as a shoe-in for Best Animated Feature. But before you put money on it, wait until you see “The Tale of Despereaux,” out in December.

5. Robert Downey Jr.’s performance as a white actor taking on an African American role in “Tropic Thunder” can be compared to the bold risk taking of Mel Brooks when he did “Blazing Saddles.” It’s so wrong, so non-PC. But if he gets away with it (and Downey does), he will not only shock audiences but he could shock himself into a nomination.

6. On another technical note, “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” will get a much deserved nomination for make-up.

7. It’s Academy tradition that if Meryl Streep works at all during any given year of cinema, she must be nominated. But this nomination will not come from “Mamma Mia.” It will come from her performance as Sister Aloysius in John Patrick Stanley’s “Doubt,” due later this year.

The list will be capped by three films generating buzz in the Best Picture category.

8. “Revolutionary Road” -  the reunion of Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, directed by Winslet’s husband, Sam Mendes.

9. “Frost/Nixon,” based on the Tony nominated play directed by Ron Howard.

10. Baz Luhrman’s “Australia.” The trailer alone will give you chills.

2008 overall has been a pretty good year for cinema; lots of movies based on plays, lots of groundbreaking technological effects. Look for more Oscar favorites the closer we get to the holiday season.

Ladies, don’t we know men are always one step behind? Just kidding, guys.

Seriously though, many male stars best known for their film roles are succeeding female film stars by making the move to the small screen.

With the exception of Alec Baldwin joining “30 Rock”, film actresses have inundated your TV for the past couple seasons. “Fatal Attraction” femme fatale Glenn Close joined “Damages”. After she was “The Flying Nun”, Sally Field acted in many films before returning to TV on “Brothers & Sisters”. Oscar winner Holly Hunter stars in “Saving Grace”, and Kyra Sedgwick became “The Closer” after a parlay in films like “Singles” and “Something to Talk About”.

Perhaps male film stars took notice after all four of these women recently scored Emmy nominations for Best Lead Actress in a Drama and they want to bask in the TV limelight too.

Here’s a look at male film actors coming to television in the fall:

Christian Slater (“Heathers”, “Windtalkers”) – Slater stars in NBC’s “My Own Worst Enemy” as a man with two very different personalities.

Josh Lucas (“Poseidon”, “Sweet Home Alabama”) – Lucas is in charge of a family-run pharmaceutical business in Showtime’s “Possible Side Effects” written, directed and executive produced by Tim Robbins.

Simon Baker (“The Devil Wears Prada”, “Land of the Dead”) – After a stint on CBS’s short-lived “Smith,” Baker stars in CBS’s “The Mentalist” as a… you guessed it… mentalist.

Sean Bean (“Flight Plan”, “National Treasure”) – Bean costars in NBC’s “Crusoe” based on the novel, “Robinson Crusoe.”

Kurt Russell (“Tombstone”, “Tequila Sunrise”) & Laurence Fishburne (“The Matrix” trilogy) – The movie actors “Entertainment Weekly” reported are the top choices to replace William Petersen when he leaves “CSI” after this season.

Kristen Aldridge: You’ve won an Oscar and two Golden Globes, you’ve done so many incredible films…what is it like to achieve such success as an actor?

Jon Voight: Well you know it’s an interesting thing. Every once in a while I look back and say, I haven’t done too badly, and then I say I did that, and that one too…not bad! But it’s my work and if you live long enough you accumulate a large body of work. I’m still very interested in what’s going on next in the world and how you make a contribution to it by my work in film.

Kristen Aldridge: You certainly know how to pick powerful projects, what do you look for in a script?

Jon Voight: It’s really a combination of many things, but for me, I like to do films that have some relevance, that maybe are needed. I read a script and I think, well this is a nice thing to say, or this is maybe important to say, or right now I think we need something like this. You always need laughter and you always need love, so those are 2 perrenials. In the drama area, you always think if there is something worth telling in this tale.

After beating out 782 actresses for the role of Effie Melody White in “Dreamgirls”, I got the scoop from this powerful singer and talented actress on the red carpet – before her Golden Globe and Oscar wins – on what it was like to become a true dreamgirl.

Kristen Aldridge: You’re getting Oscar buzz for “Dreamgirls”! How does it feel to go from American Idol to something as legendary as the Oscars?

Jennifer Hudson: If feels so good! I feel like I’m dreaming, I really do feel like a true dreamgirl. I really do, it’s a blessing, God is good. I’m just glad to be here and to have a second chance. To have a second chance like this goes far beyond my wildest dreams.

Kristen Aldridge: What was it like to work with Beyonce, Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy?

Jennifer Hudson: It was just an honor, first off. What an experience for me to sit back, watch them all and understand why they are so great. So I would just sit back and take the time to learn from them.

Kristen Aldridge: I heard Oprah called you herself to congratulate you!

Jennifer Hudson: Oh my god, I don’t know what’s going to top Oprah calling me. It was the biggest honor, I didn’t even know it was Oprah on the phone talking to me. And I couldn’t say anything when I realized it, I was like “Uhhh Ahhh, this is Oprah!” That was a magical moment for me.

Kristen Aldridge: You’ve had so many memorable moments this year.

Jennifer Hudson: Yes, I am so lucky. Another special moment was meeting Whitney Houston. She has been my biggest musical influence other than my Grandmother. To meet her was a very magical experience. Signing my record deal, working with the world’s greatest director Bill Condon, being in the most unbelievable film…just living my dream.

The daughter of Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli, Liza Minnelli is truly a legend in the industry. She is one of few artists who has won entertainment’s top five awards – the Oscar, the Tony, the Emmy, the Grammy, and the Golden Globe. I had the honor to interview her on the red carpet at last year’s American Society of Young Musicians annual awards and benefit, where she was being inducted into the ASYM Hall of Fame.

Kristen Aldridge: Liza, you are an absolute legend in the business, what is it like to have your successful career?

Liza Minnelli: Well, I’ve had a lot of fun, I’ll tell you that! I’ve been lucky that I’ve been able to support myself doing it because I love to do it. It really pays off when you have awards like this tonight, especially because it gives other people a chance, and it’s really special to me because Sam (Harris) is giving it to me.

Kristen Aldridge: Yes, because tonight you’re being inducted into the Hall of Fame and receiving the Trailblazer Award!

Sam Harris: She’s influenced a lot of young people, and not only influenced them for her craft, she’s also personally nurtured so many people, so it’s really great for me to watch that being acknowledged publicly.

Kristen Aldridge: Congratulations to both of you, it was such an honor to meet you! Thank you so much, have a wonderful time tonight.

Liza Minnelli: You’re welcome, my darling!