This year’s Oscar nominations have touched off a firestorm of criticism over the lack of racial diversity. To the contrary, the fact that no minorities were tapped is actually an affirmation of the selection process. Critics say the failure to nominate “Selma” director Ava DuVernay, or the movie’s star, David Oyelowo, reflected a racial bias. Criticizing Academy choices has become an annual blood sport, and social media has only increased the bloodletting. This year though, a pack mentality has seized on the race card....
Top Oscar nominees “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Birdman,” “Boyhood” at least four other Best Picture nominees share one thing in common. They are all fairly low budget indie movies. This year’s big-money pictures have been scorned,, again. The Oscars have never been about the money (supposedly), but about film artistry, craftsmanship and stellar acting. But in recent years it almost seems like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscars, is trying to prove to the world that Hollywood really is too cool for school....
Sandra Bullock led “Gravity” to the top of the leaderboard for Oscar nominations, along with “American Hustle” and “12 Years a Slave,” setting up an interesting match up for Academy Awards. But as always, some snubs and notable omissions overshadowed the picks. Let’s get the snubs out of the way, right off the bat....
Jennifer Garner, half of one of Hollywood’s hottest power couples, captured most of the attention on the red carpet for the Dallas Buyers Club premiere, last night (Oct. 17), at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills. She sizzled in a navy blue, sleeveless Vionnet dress that showed off her sexy shoulders. ...
Ben Affleck was gold at the Golden Globes. He not only won best director while his film, “Argo,” won best picture, but he also was clearly the crowd favorite, after giving an emotional shoutout to his wife Jennifer Garner....
Martin Sheen and Ed Asner, the liberal conscious of Hollywood, have joined the protest against Kathryn Bigelow’s film “Zero Dark Thirty,” for the way it portrays torture in the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. Actor David Clennon began the campaign urging other Academy members to boycott the film in the Best Picture category....
Seth McFarlane raised eyebrows at an otherwise sleepy 5:30 am press conference to announce the Oscar nominations with a Hitler joke that must have embarrassed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as much as it insulted two entire nations. Watch it here....
Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln led the pack with 12 Oscar nominations followed by Ang Lee’s “Life of Pi” with 11 as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled its choices for the 85th Academy Awards. Although mostly predictable, there were a few surprises. Just over 5,700 voting members will make their choices from nominations announced this morning (Jan. 10) from the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Emma Stone and this year’s host Seth McFarland did the honors....
Kristen Stewart has her relationship back with Robert Pattinson. Now her career could use some of the same kind of love from Oscar. Will she’ll get it for “On the Road?” Although she built a huge fan base through five “Twilight” films, she never caught a break from critics, who generally panned her performance in every movie. But “On the Road” is different. Stewart is finally allowed to cut loose in a role that really gave her the chance to act. An Oscar or even Golden Globe really isn’t out of the question. ...
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart may be back together as a couple, but when it comes to business, they apparently have agreed to go it alone. Both actors have been spotted out at official events solo, but there may be a simple explanation. Kristen hung with Hollywood heavyweights like Amy Adams, Helen Hunt, Will Smith, Tom Hanks, Virgina Madsen, George Lucas and Quentin Tarantino, so the networking opportunities were ample. Rob, meanwhile, was spotted at a luncheon at Osteria Mozza celebrating Richard Gere’s new movie, “Arbitrage.”...
Brad Pitt and George Clooney will go head-to-head once again along with Gary Oldman for Best Actor, while nine films were tapped for best picture. The lists includes several dark horses among favorites like “The Help,” “Moneyball,” and “The Artist.”...
Anne Hathaway pushed back today (Apr. 7) at critics who called the Oscars, which she hosted with actor James Franco, “the worst show ever.” She says critics were too tough....
James Franco and Anne Hathaway looked like such a fun couple in the previews and promos leading up to the Academy Awards, but once the show got rolling, Franco was flat, Hathaway looked like she was dancing without a partner, and the winners, were, well, too predicable....
