Winners at the 2010 Metro Manila Film Festival

The winners of the 36th Metro Manila Film Festival were announced yesterday at the Meralco Theater.

best picture- Ang Tanging Ina Mo (Last na 'To)

second best picture- Rosario
third best picture- RPG: Metanoia

best director- Wenn Deramas for Ang Tanging Ina Mo (Last na 'To)
best screenplay- Mel del Rosario for Ang Tanging Ina Mo (Last na 'To)
best story- Mel del Rosario for Ang Tanging Ina Mo (Last na 'To)

best actor- Dolphy in Father Jejemon
best actress- Ai-Ai de las Alas in Ang Tanging Ina Mo (Last na 'To)
best supporting actor- Dolphy in Rosario
best supporting actress- Eugene Domingo in Ang Tanging Ina Mo (Last na 'To)
best child performer- Xyriel Manabat in Ang Tanging Ina Mo (Last na 'To)

best cinematography- Carlo Mendoza for Rosario
best editing- John Wong for Rosario
best musical score- Jesse Lasaten for Ang Tanging Ina Mo (Last na 'To)
best theme song- Gaya Ko from RPG: Metanoia, performed by Protein Shake (featuring Ney and Kean)
best production design- Joel Luna and Miki Hahn for Rosario
best sound- Ditoy Aguila for Super Inday and the Golden Bibe; and Ambient Media for RPG: Metanoia
best makeup- Nestor Dayno for Si Agimat at si Enteng Kabisote
best visual effects- Rico Gutierrez for Si Agimat at si Enteng Kabisote

best float- Rosario

most gender-sensitive animation - RPG: Metanoia
most gender-sensitive film - Ang Tanging Ina Mo (Last na 'To)

best independent film- Presa by Adolf Alix Jr.
Gatpuno Antonio Villegas Cultural Award- Rosario

best dressed male- Dennis Trillo
best dressed female- Jennylyn Mercado
faces of the night- Sen. Bong Revilla and Sam Pinto

2010 Screen Actors Guild Award nominees for television

Modern Family led the field with four nominations in the Golden Globe Awards. The show is nominated for best comedy series cast, and for individual performances by Ty Burrell, Sofia Vergara and Ed O'Neill.

Here are the nominees:

drama series-

best cast

Boardwalk Empire
The Closer
Dexter
The Good Wife
Mad Men


best actor

Steve Buscemi in Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall in Dexter
Jon Hamm in Mad Men
Hugh Laurie in House


best actress

Glenn Close in Damages
Mariska Hargitay in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Julianna Margulies in The Good Wife
Elisabeth Moss in Mad Men
Kyra Sedgwick in The Closer


comedy series-

best cast

Glee
Hot in Cleveland
Modern Family
The Office
30 Rock


best actor

Alec Baldwin in 30 Rock
Ty Burrell in Modern Family
Steve Carell in The Office
Chris Colfer in Glee
Ed O'Neill in Modern Family

best actress

Edie Falco in Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey in 30 Rock
Jane Lynch in Glee
Sofia Vergara in Modern Family
Betty White in Hot in Cleveland


movie or miniseries-

best actor

John Goodman in You Don't Know Jack
Al Pacino in You Don't Know Jack
Dennis Quaid in The Special Relationship
Edgar Ramirez in Carlos
Patrick Stewart in Macbeth

best actress

Claire Danes in Temple Grandin
Catherine O'Hara in Temple Grandin
Julia Ormond in Temple Grandin
Winona Ryder in When Love is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story
Susan Sarandon in You Don't Know Jack


Those with three nominations are:

Mad Men
Glee
Temple Grandin
You Don't Know Jack


Missing from the list is the cast of Lost for its final season.

2010 Screen Actors Guild Award nominees for movies

The nominees for the Screen Actors Guild Awards have been announced, with The King's Speech and The Fighter each getting four nods.

The nominees:

best cast-

Black Swan
The Fighter
The Kids are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network


best actor-

Jeff Bridges in True Grit
Robert Duvall in Get Low
Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network
Colin Firth in The King's Speech
James Franco in 127 Hours


best actress-

Annette Bening in The Kids are All Right
Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman in Black Swan
Hilary Swank in Conviction


best supporting actor-

Christian Bale in The Fighter
John Hawkes in Winter's Bone
Jeremy Renner in The Town
Mark Ruffalo in The Kids are All Right
Geoffrey Rush in The King's Speech


best supporting actress-

Amy Adams in The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter in The King's Speech
Mila Kunis in Black Swan
Melissa Leo in The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit


best stunt ensemble-

Green Zone
Inception
Robin Hood


The biggest surprise is the inclusion of Hilary Swank, when contenders such as Michelle Williams, Halle Berry and Julianne Moore have been passed over. Also shut out were Ryan Gosling, Mark Wahlberg and Michael Douglas.

The life achievement award will be given to Ernest Borgnine.

The awards will be presented on January 30.

2010 Golden Globe nominations for television

Glee leads nominees for the Golden Globe awards with five nods, including best musical or comedy, which it won last year. Cast members Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele, Chris Colfer and Jane Lynch are nominated.

Aside from the best musical or comedy category, Modern Family has nominations as well for Eric Stonestreet and Sofia Vergara. In contrast, three of their co-stars were nominated in the this year's Emmys.

The nominees are:

drama-

best series

Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
Dexter (Showtime)
The Good Wife (CBS)
Mad Men (AMC)
The Walking Dead (AMC)


best actor

Steve Buscemi in Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall in Dexter
Jon Hamm in Mad Men
Hugh Laurie in House


best actress

Julianna Margulies in The Good Wife
Elisabeth Moss in Mad Men
Piper Perabo in Covert Affairs
Katey Sagal in Sons of Anarchy
Kyra Sedgwick in The Closer


musical or comedy-

best series

The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
The Big C (Showtime)
Glee (Fox)
Modern Family (ABC)
Nurse Jackie (Showtime)
30 Rock (NBC)


best actor

Alec Baldwin in 30 Rock
Steve Carell in The Office
Thomas Jane in Hung
Matthew Morrison in Glee
Jim Parsons in The Big Bang Theory


best actress

Toni Collette in The United States of Tara
Edie Falco in Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey in 30 Rock
Laura Linney in The Big C
Lea Michele in Glee


best miniseries or movie-

Carlos (Sundance Channel)
The Pacific (HBO)
Pillars of the Earth (Starz)
Temple Grandin (HBO)
You Don't Know Jack (HBO)


best actor

Idris Elba in Luther
Ian McShane in Pillars of the Earth
Al Pacino in You Don't Know Jack
Dennis Quaid in The Special Relationship
Edgar Ramirez in Carlos


best actress

Hayley Atwell in Pillars of the Earth
Claire Danes in Temple Grandin
Judi Dench in Return to Cranford
Romola Garai in Emma
Jennifer Love Hewitt in The Client List



best supporting actor in a series, miniseries or movie-

Scott Caan in Hawaii Five-O
Chris Colfer in Glee
Chris Noth in The Good Wife
Eric Stonestreet in Modern Family
David Strathairn in Temple Grandin

best supporting actress in a series, miniseries or movie-

Hope Davis in The Special Relationship
Jane Lynch in Glee
Kelly MacDonald in Boardwalk Empire
Julia Stiles in Dexter
Sofia Vergara in Modern Family


All the series and actors from television who won last year are nominated again this year.

Robert De Niro will be given the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award.

2010 Golden Globe nominations for movies

The King's Speech led the field with seven nominations in the annual Golden Globe Awards, followed by The Social Network and The Fighter (!) with six apiece.


Here are the nominees:

drama-

best picture

Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The King's Speech
The Social Network


best actor

Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network
Colin Firth in The King's Speech
James Franco in 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling in Blue Valentine
Mark Wahlberg in The Fighter


best actress

Halle Berry in Frankie and Alice
Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman in Black Swan
Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine


musical or comedy

best picture

Alice in Wonderland
Burlesque
The Kids are All Right
Red
The Tourist


best actor

Johnny Depp in Alice in Wonderland
Johnny Depp in The Tourist
Paul Giamatti in Barney's Version
Jake Gyllenhaal in Love and Other Drugs
Kevin Spacey in Casino Jack


best actress

Annette Bening in The Kids are All Right
Anne Hathaway in Love and Other Drugs
Angelina Jolie in The Tourist
Julianne Moore in The Kids are All Right
Emma Stone in Easy A



best director

Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan
David Fincher for The Social Network
Tom Hooper for The King's Speech
Christopher Nolan for Inception
David O. Russell for The Fighter


best screenplay

Christopher Nolan for Inception
Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg for The Kids are All Right
David Seidler for The King's Speech
Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy for 127 Hours
Aaron Sorkin for The Social Network


best supporting actor

Christian Bale in The Fighter
Michael Douglas in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Andrew Garfield in The Social Network
Jeremy Renner in The Town
Geoffrey Rush in The King's Speech


best supporting actress

Amy Adams in The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter in The King's Speech
Mila Kunis in Black Swan
Melissa Leo in The Fighter
Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom


best animated film

Despicable Me
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Tangled
Toy Story 3


best original score

Danny Elfman for Alice in Wonderland
Hans Zimmer for Inception
Alexandre Desplat for The King's Speech
A.R. Rahman for 127 Hours
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for The Social Network


best original song

Bound to You from Burlesque
Coing Home from Country Strong
I See the Light from Tangled
There's a Place for Us from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
You Haven't Seen the Last of Me from Burlesque


best foreign language film

Biutiful
The Concert
The Edge
I am Love
In a Better World


Missing from the list is True Grit, but The Tourist drew three nods, as did Burlesque. Winter's Bone got only one acting nomination. Johnny Depp is a double nominee for best actor in a comedy.

The awards will be presented on January 16.

2010 New York Film Critics Circle Awards

The New York Film Critics Circle has picked The Social Network as best picture, and David Fincher best director.

The Kids are All Right won for best screenplay, best actress (Annette Bening) and best supporting actor (Mark Ruffalo).

Other winners were:

best actor- Colin Firth in The King's Speech
best supporting actress- Melissa Leo in The Fighter

best cinematography- Black Swan
best first feature- Animal Kingdom
best animated film- The Illusionist
best foreign language film- Carlos
best non-fiction film - Inside Job


I bet the National Society of Film Critics will choose Carlos for best picture. Or maybe Mother, or Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives?

AFI Top 10 lists for movies and television

The American Film Institute has released their list of the year's best in movies and television.

for movies-

Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids are All Right
127 Hours

The Social Network
The Town
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone


Special awards were given to The King's Speech and Waiting for 'Superman,' the first time they were given. Both were ineligible for inclusion in the top ten list because a movie has to be a narrative feature and largely an American production.

There were 13 members in the panel that made the selections for movies.


for television-

The Big C
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Glee
Mad Men

Modern Family
The Pacific
Temple Grandin
30 Rock
The Walking Dead


There were 13 members in the panel that made the selections for television.

2010 Los Angeles Film Critics Awards

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association has chosen The Social Network as best picture, winning three other prizes.

David Fincher was picked best director; Aaron Sorkin for best screenplay; and, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for best musical score.

Fincher tied with Olivier Assayas, whose Carlos was the runner-up for best picture. Carlos was adjudged best foreign-language film, for which the runner-up was Mother.

Alexandre Desplat ("The Ghost Writer") shared the honors for best musical score.


Other winners were:

best actor- Colin Firth in The King's Speech
best actress- Kim Hye-ja in Mother (from South Korea)

runners-up: Edgar Ramirez in Carlos, and Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone

best supporting actor- Niels Arestrup in A Prophet (from France)

best supporting actress- Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom (Australia)

runners-up: Geoffrey Rush in The King's Speech, and Olivia Williams in The Ghost Writer

runner-up for best screenplay: David Seidler for The King's Speech


Other awards:

cinematography- Matthew Libatique for Black Swan; runner-up: Roger Deakins for True Grit

production design- Guy Hendrix Dyas for Inception; runner-up: Eve Stewart for The King's Speech

best animated film- Toy Story 3; runner-up: The Illusionist (by French filmmaker Sylvain Chomet)

best documentary- Last Train Home; runner-up: Exit Through the Gift Shop

career achievement award- Paul Mazursky

new generation- Lena Dunham for Tiny Furniture

The Douglas Edwards Experimental/Independent Film/Video Award- Jean-Luc Godard for Film Socialism

Legacy of Cinema Awards-

Serge Bromberg for Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno; and,

The F.W. Murnau Foundation and Fernando Pena for the restoration of Metropolis

The awards will be presented on Jan. 15 in Los Angeles.

2010 nominees for the Writers Guild of America Awards for Television

The nominees for the Writers Guild of America Awards for television were announced yesterday.

Among the nominees for best new series is The Walking Dead, which Alien Zapper has been obsessing about starting today, without knowing that it got a nod for its writers. The show's pool of writers includes Frank Darabont, who has directed excellent Stephen King adaptations (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, The Mist).

The list of nominees:

drama series-

Boardwalk Empire - Written by Meg Jackson, Lawrence Konner, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki, Margaret Nagle, Tim Van Patten, Paul Simms, Terence Winter (HBO)

Breaking Bad - Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Tom Schnauz, John Shiban, Moira Walley-Beckett (AMC)

Dexter - Written by Scott Buck, Manny Coto, Charles H. Eglee, Lauren Gussis, Chip Johannessen, Jim Leonard, Clyde Phillips, Scott Reynolds, Melissa Rosenberg, Tim Schlattmann, Wendy West (Showtime)

Friday Night Lights - Written by Bridget Carpenter, Kerry Ehrin, Ron Fitzgerald, Etan Frankel, Monica Henderson, David Hudgins, Rolin Jones, Jason Katims, Patrick Massett, Derek Santos Olson, John Zinman (NBC)

Mad Men - Written by Jonathan Abrahams, Lisa Albert, Keith Huff, Jonathan Igla, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Brett Johnson, Janet Leahy, Erin Levy, Tracy McMillan, Dahvi Waller, Matthew Weiner (AMC)

comedy series-

30 Rock - Written by Jack Burditt, Hannibal Buress, Kay Cannon, Robert Carlock, Tom Ceraulo, Vali Chandrasekaran, Tina Fey, Jon Haller, Steve Hely, Matt Hubbard, Dylan Morgan, Paula Pell, John Riggi, Josh Siegal, Ron Weiner, Tracey Wigfield (NBC)

Glee - Written by Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy (Fox)

Modern Family - Written by Jerry Collins, Paul Corrigan, Alex Herschlag, Abraham Higginbotham, Elaine Ko, Joe Lawson, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Dan O'Shannon, Jeffrey Richman, Brad Walsh, Ilana Wernick, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker (ABC)

Nurse Jackie - Written by Liz Brixius, Rick Cleveland, Nancy Fichman, Liz Flahive, Jennifer Hoppe-House, Mark Hudis, Linda Wallem, Christine Zander (Showtime)

The Office - Written by Jennifer Celotta, Daniel Chun, Greg Daniels, Lee Eisenberg, Brent Forrester, Amelie Gillette, Charlie Grandy, Steve Hely, Jonathan A. Hughes, Mindy Kaling, Carrie Kemper, Jason Kessler, Paul Lieberstein, Warren Lieberstein, B.J. Novak, Peter Ocko, Robert Padnick,Aaron Shure, Justin Spitzer, Gene Stupnitsky, Halsted Sullivan, Jon Vitti (NBC)

new series-

Boardwalk Empire -Written by Meg Jackson, Lawrence Konner, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki, Margaret Nagle, Tim Van Patten, Paul Simms, Terence Winter (HBO)

Justified - Written by Dave Andron, Wendy Calhoun, Benjamin Cavell, Fred Golan, Gary Lennon, Benjamin Daniel Lobato, Chris Provenzano, Graham Yost (FX)

Men of a Certain Age - Written by Bridget Bedard, Warren Hutcherson, Rick Muirragui, Jack Orman, Ray Romano, Mike Royce, Lew Schneider, Mark Stegemann (TNT)

Treme - Written by Lolis Eric Elie, David Mills, Eric Overmyer, George Pelecanos, Tom Piazza, Davis Rogan, David Simon (HBO)

The Walking Dead - Written by Frank Darabont; Charles H. Eglee, Adam Fierro, Robert Kirkman, Jack LoGiudice, Glen Mazzara (AMC)

episodic drama (any length; one airing time)

“Boom” (The Good Wife), Written by Ted Humphrey; (CBS)

“The Chrysanthemum and the Sword” (Mad Men), Written by Erin Levy; AMC

“The End” (Lost), Written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse; ABC

“Help Me” (House), Written by Russel Friend & Garrett Lerner & Peter Blake; Fox

“I.F.T.” (Breaking Bad), Written by George Mastras; AMC

“I See You” (Breaking Bad), Written by Gennifer Hutchison; AMC

episodic comedy (any length; one airing time)

“Anna Howard Shaw Day” (30 Rock), Written by Matt Hubbard; NBC

“Earthquake” (Modern Family), Written by Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh; ABC

“Nightmayor” (The Sarah Silverman Program), Written by Dan Sterling; Comedy Central

“Starry Night” (Modern Family), Written by Danny Zuker; ABC

“When It Rains, It Pours” (30 Rock), Written by Robert Carlock; NBC

“Wuphf.com” (The Office), Written by Aaron Shure; NBC

animation-

“Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences” (Futurama), Written by Patric M. Verrone; Comedy Central

“Moe Letter Blues” (The Simpsons), Written by Stephanie Gillis; Fox

“O Brother, Where Bart Thou?” (The Simpsons), Written by Matt Selman; Fox

“The Prisoner of Benda” (Futurama), Written by Ken Keeler; Comedy Central

“Treasure Hunt” (Back at the Barnyard), Written by Tom Sheppard; Nickelodeon

comedy/variety/talk series

Penn & Teller: Bullshit! (Showtime)

Saturday Night Live (NB)

The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central)

daytime serial

As the World Turns (CBS)

General Hospital (ABC)

One Life to Live (ABC)

The awards will be presented on February 5 in Los Angeles.


Photo from http://www.roamersandlurkers.com/walking-dead-tv-series/241-walking-dead-episode-5-wildfire-review-poll.html

Bringing in the cowbells

For those of you who think Maggie Wilson is marrying too young (21 years old!), here she is out to prove that not only is she of marrying age, but also of age to ... whatever she is trying to do here.

Here is what Maggie Wilson has to say to those who do not approve of her prenuptial video with fiance Victor Consunji (32 years old):

"We wanted to revolutionize wedding videos," sabi ng 21-year-old actress. "Kasi halos lahat ng wedding videos, puro pa-cute, puro pa-sweet, and we wanted to do something different. Yung nakakaintriga talaga. And then, the original reaction that we wanted to get from the people is we want to make them feel uncomfortable."

From different sites I went to, it looks like more people like it than not.

The context is prenuptial, so it boggles the mind how people can find this video romantic, or that they would feel that a prenuptial video can be sensual exclusively, and not romantic. Maggie Wilson says their parents love it, so it makes you wonder what their parents are like. As in, How young? Were they from Woodstock?

Also, how comfortable would they be in showing this to their children in the future?

Alien Zapper does not think it revolutionary, as it is as bride-centric as all the other prenuptial videos out there. Your thoughts?

What would Sue Sylvester say?

TV Guide Canada had quoted Ed O'Neill supposedly saying:

“I love Jane, honestly I do. I’m dying to star in one of Christopher Guest’s movies alongside her, but I don’t think she should have gotten the Emmy for that part. [Sue Sylvester] is just a one-note character.... Sofia is just so, so funny. I don’t think people realize how hilarious she is. She’s so sharp with her wit, it’s amazing.”

Jane Lynch's representative did not have an immediate reaction, and when they finally did, all they said was: “[L]et it go, that’s what we’re doing.”

It's good that Jane Lynch did not resort to launching a disrespectful tirade of her own, what with O'Neill missing out on a nomination in the most recent Emmys when every one of Modern Family's major stars was nominated. Worse, he was never nominated for Married With Children.

Even better for me that I waited a day before weighing in on it.

Ed O'Neill has denied saying his Modern Family co-star Sofia Vergara deserved the Emmy over Jane Lynch. His statement reads:

“Last week I spoke to a group of journalists and one quoted me supposedly saying of Jane Lynch, ‘I don’t think she should have gotten the Emmy for that part.’ I never said those words and transcripts of the press conference attest to that fact. Of course I root for my dear friends Sofia Vergara and Julie Bowen (and all of my colleagues on our show) at Emmy time, but I absolutely never said, nor do I believe that Jane — whom I think is an enormous talent — was undeserving of the award. I reached out to her yesterday to ensure she knew I’d been misquoted but I wanted to clear this up publicly as well.”

So far, TV Guide Canada has not released a statement.

Of course, following the fallout, the story can no longer be found on the website of TV Guide Canada.

But the story has been picked up by different sources, so there is no reason for you not to read the whole article.


Photo from http://www.zap2it.com/tv/fall-tv-preview/zap-modern-family-pictures,0,2702560,showall.photogallery

Kris Aquino strikes again

You know how politics has become the kingdom of entertainment personalities? From people endorsing candidates to people actually running for office?

Well, now even TV newscasts have become showbiz platforms.

Probably only Kris Aquino can turn TV Patrol into The Buzz.

Or at least, be the first to do so.

What annoys in this clip is Aquino saying (at the 1-minute mark) that it is James Yap's camp that "always talks when the cameras and the microphones are around." Has she declined any opportunity for an interview? That she has movies and shows to promote is not an excuse; it makes it worse.


Photo from http://joelguinto.wordpress.com/2007/05/04/kris-aquino-james-yap-couple-on-the-mend/

Awesome?

Have you ever wondered about changing your name to something real cool?

From the Associated Press comes this article about a Douglas Allen Smith Jr. who changed his name to Captain Awesome. Unfortunately, it's not about Barney Stinson, but somebody from Chuck.

The implications of such name change?

"Awesome says that judge also allowed him to sign his name as a right arrow, a smiley face and a left arrow.

He says his bank, however, has refused to accept the signature because it could be forged too easily."

Photo from http://dramas-blog.blogspot.com/2010/10/why-barney-stinson-is-awesome.html

2010 National Board of Review winners

The National Board of Review named The Social Network its best picture. The film also received honors for best director (David Fincher), best adapted screenplay (Aaron Sorkin) and best actor (Jesse Eisenberg).

It is surprising that they picked the Ryan Reynolds movie Buried for best original screenplay (Chris Sparling).

The other winners were:

Top 10 Films-

Another Year
The Fighter
Hereafter
Inception
The King’s Speech
Shutter Island
The Town
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone


Top 10 Independent Films-

Animal Kingdom
Buried
Fish Tank
The Ghost Writer
Greenberg
Let Me In
Monsters
Please Give
Somewhere
Youth in Revolt

Best Foreign Film- Of Gods and Men

Top Five Foreign Films-

I Am Love
Incendies
Love, Above All
Soul Kitchen
White Material


Best Documentary- Waiting for “Superman”

Top Five Documentaries-

A Film Unfinished
Inside Job
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
Restrepo
The Tillman Story

Best Animated Feature- Toy Story 3

Best Directorial Debut- Tim Hetherington & Sebastian Junger for Restrepo
Best Ensemble Cast- The Town

Breakthrough Performance- Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone

Special Filmmaking Achievement Award- Sofia Coppola for Somewhere


Among those passed over was The King's Speech.

The awards will be presented on Jan. 11 in New York.


Photo from http://www.tribune.ie/article/2010/oct/17/film-critic-paul-lynch-geek-drama/

2010 Grammy nominees

The nominees for the annual Grammy Awards have been announced.

Album of the Year:

The Fame Monster (Lady Gaga)
Need You Now (Lady Antebellum)
Recovery (Eminem)
The Suburbs (Arcade Fire)
Teenage Dream (Katy Perry)


Record of the Year:

Empire State of Mind (Jay-Z and Alicia Keys)
F*ck You (Cee Lo Green)
Love the Way You Lie (Eminem featuring Rihanna)
Need You Now (Lady Antebellum)
Nothin' on You (B.o.B. featuring Bruno Mars)


Song of the Year:

"Beg Steal or Borrow," Ray LaMontagne, songwriter (performed by Ray LaMontagne And The Pariah Dogs)

"F*ck You," Cee Lo Green, Philip Lawrence and Bruno Mars, songwriters (Cee Lo Green)

"The House That Built Me," Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin, songwriters (Miranda Lambert);

"Love the Way You Lie," Alexander Grant, Holly Hafferman and Marshall Mathers, songwriters (Eminem featuring Rihanna)

"Need You Now," Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott, songwriters (Lady
Antebellum)


best new artist: Justin Bieber, Drake, Florence & The Machine, Mumford & Sons, Esperanza Spalding

Eminem received the most nods with 10. Bruno Mars has seven; while Jay-Z, Lady Antebellum and Lady Gaga each scored six.

Recovery and Need You Now are the best-selling albums of the year in the United States.

Mars co-wrote F*ck You, and was featured on Nothin' on You- and both were nominated for record of the year.

Lady Gaga is nominated for album of the year for a second straight year, but no love for Bad Romance in the record and song of the year categories.

Katy Perry's "California Gurls" was one of the biggest hits in the past year, but was passed over in the record and song of the year categories. Somewhat surprisingly, however, she did manage to bag a nomination in the album of the year category over perceived heavy favorites Jay-Z and Sade.

Another surprise was the inclusion of jazz artist Esperanza Spaulding in the new artist category over B.o.B., despite his nomination for record of the year. Kesha was snubbed in this category, and everywhere else, despite having hit songs in the past year.

Sade got only two nods: for the singles Solider of Love and Babyfather in R&B categories.


Photo from http://theonemic.com/eminem-despicable-freestyle/

Grammy Awards predictions

The nominees for the annual Grammy Awards will be announced today, and here is my forecast.

Album of the Year:

The Blueprint 3 (Jay-Z)
The Fame Monster (Lady Gaga)
Need You Now (Lady Antebellum)
Recovery (Eminem)
Soldier of Love (Sade)

other possible contenders:

Revolver (Miranda Lambert)
Live at the Troubadour (Carole King and James Taylor)
The Suburbs (Arcade Fire)


Record of the Year:

Bad Romance (Lady Gaga)
Empire State of Mind (Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys)
Love the Way You Lie (Eminem)
Need You Now (Lady Antebellum)
Nothing on You (B.o.B. featuring Bruno Mars)

other contenders:

Airplanes (B.o.B. featuring Eminem and Hayley Williams)
California Gurls (Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg)
Dog Days Are Over (Florence + The Machine)
F*ck You (Cee-Lo Green)
Hey Soul Sister (Train)
The Only Exception (Paramore)
Soldier of Love (Sade)


Song of the Year:

Empire State of Mind (Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys)
The House That Built Me (Miranda Lambert)
Love the Way You Lie (Eminem featuring Rihanna)
Need You Now (Lady Antebellum)
The Only Exception (Paramore)


best new artist:

Justin Bieber
B.o.B.
Drake
Florence + The Machine
Mumford & Sons

other possible contenders:

The Band Perry

US movie awards season begins

The American movie awards season has begun with the announcement of nominees in the Independent Spirit Awards a few hours ago.

Winter's Bone topped the list with seven nominations. The Kids Are All Right earned five, but Julianne Moore did not get a nod. This, despite the fact that there are six slots in the best actress category.


best feature

127 Hours
Black Swan
Greenberg
The Kids Are All Right
Winter's Bone


best director

Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan
Danny Boyle for 127 Hours
Lisa Cholodenko for The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik for Winter's Bone
John Cameron Mitchell for Rabbit Hole


best screenplay

Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg for The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini for Winter's Bone
Nicole Holofcener for Please Give
David Lindsay-Abaire for Rabbit Hole
Todd Solondz for Life During Wartime


best male lead

Ronald Bronstein in Daddy Longlegs
Aaron Eckhart in Rabbit Hole
James Franco in 127 Hours
John C. Reilly in Cyrus
Ben Stiller in Greenberg


best female lead

Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole
Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right
Greta Gerwig in Greenberg
Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman in Black Swan
Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine


best supporting male

John Hawkes in Winter's Bone
Samuel L. Jackson in Mother and Child
Bill Murray in Get Low
John Ortiz in Jack Goes Boating
Mark Ruffalo in The Kids Are All Right


best supporting female

Ashley Bell in The Last Exorcism
Dale Dickey in Winter's Bone
Allison Janney in Life During Wartime
Daphne Rubin-Vega in Jack Goes Boating
Naomi Watts in Mother and Child


best cinematography

Black Swan (Matthew Libatique)
Greenberg (Harris Savides)
Never Let Me Go (Adam Kimmel)
Tiny Furniture (Jody Lee Lipes)
Winter's Bone (Michael McDonough)



best first feature

Everything Strange and New
Get Low
The Last Exorcism
Night Catches Us
Tiny Furniture


best first screenplay

Jack Goes Boating ( Robert Glaudini)
Lovely, Still (Nik Fackler)
Monogamy (Dana Adam Shapiro/Evan M. Wiener)
Obselidia (Diane Bell)
Tiny Furniture (Lena Dunham)


best foreign film

The King's Speech
Kisses
Mademoiselle Chambon
Of Gods and Men
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives


best documentary

Exit Through the Gift Shop
Marwencol
Restrepo
Sweetgrass
Thunder Soul



John Cassavetes Award

Daddy Longlegs
The Exploding Girl
Lbs.
Lovers of Hate
Obselidia


Piaget Producers Award

Au Revoir Taipei
The Myth of the American Sleepover
Meek's Cutoff


Acura Someone to Watch Award

Hossein Keshavarz for Dog Sweat
Laurel Nakadate for The Wolf Knife
Mike Ott for Littlerock


AVEENO Truer Than Fiction Award

Marwencol
Summer Pasture
Sweetgrass


Robert Altman Award

Please Give



The members of the nominating committees were:

American Narrative

Ted Mundorff (chair)
Jennifer Fox
Melonie Diaz
Jennifer Todd
Larry Karaszewski
Nelson George
Karyn Kusama
Elvis Mitchell
Edgar Wright
Kasi Lemmons
Andre Royo
Adam Scott
Daniel Waters

Documentary

Rachel Rosen (chair)
Nanette Burstein
Laura Gabbert
RJ Cutler
Alonso Duralde
Wesley Morris
Marina Zenovich



Foreign

Mary Sweeney (Chair)
Julie Dash
Gail Mutrux
Neil LaBute
Patricia Riggen
Howard A. Rodman
Kenneth Turan

AVEENO Truer Than Fiction

Darius Marder (chair)
Lesley Chilcott
Geeta Ghandbir
Eugene Hernandez
Laura Poitras

Acura Someone To Watch

Alison Dickey (chair)
Kyle Patrick Alvarez
James Faust
Tom Hall
Ella Taylor

Producer's Award

Karin Chien (chair)
Seth Caplan
Lisa Cortes
Amy Kaufman
Barry Mendel


The Robert Altman Award is given to a movie's director, ensemble cast, and casting director.

The awards will be handed February 26, and Joel McHale will host.

Tainted

If you haven't noticed yet, the new plugs for the news and current affairs department of GMA-7 show snippets of the man in the street endorsing the station's newscasters, and they now include the line "Walang bahid-pulitika." They utter the line in their long-winded closing spiels ('Walang kinikilingan, walang pinoprotektahan, serbisyong totoo lang." What a mouthful.). Naturally, by this they do not mean they do not deal with politics- but that they are not tainted by politics. Such an aggressive push makes you wonder if they are hugely threatened by the return of Noli de Castro and Korina Sanchez to primetime television.

True, De Castro was the vice-president in the previous administration; Sanchez is married to a vice-presidential candidate in the May elections; and, Ted Failon is a former Leyte congressman. But to say they have been tainted by politics is to express an opinion- a cynical statement that needs to be challenged. Innocent until proven guilty, right? They have not been convicted of crimes and they are no longer in power: Why should they be stopped from going back to the industry they came from?

Even if we assume that they have been tainted, why should GMA have to point it out? No matter the subtlety with which they deliver it, it makes them no different from the kind of politicians they are distancing themselves from. They are not above the mud-slinging they supposedly abhor in defense of journalism as an industry with integrity. Why don't they just let the people come up with these observations themselves? Do they think the people are ill-equipped to determine which newscasters are credible?

GMA-7 should let their reporting- and not their marketing and advertising- speak highly of the kind of work they do.

Gaga on See-boo Pacific

This morning I was watching E! News, and on their "So True/So False" segment, Jason Kennedy asked: "Were flight attendants in an airline in the Philippines fired because of dancing to Lady Gaga? This is so false."

Kennedy identified the airline as Cebu Pacific, which he pronounced /see'-boo/. He says there have been 5 million hits, but when I checked 12 hours after the show, there have been 7 million views. Kennedy opines that those are nice Gaga-worthy moves, and Ryan Seacrest added, without a hint of irony: "Those would calm me in an emergency water landing."

This is the third consecutive day I'm writing about the Philippines finding itself on the world stage. Isn't that interesting?

Does it mean the Philippines is now most certainly a major player in pop culture (with Charice also being on Glee)? Or that I watch too much television? 

International Emmy nods 2010

The nominees for the International Emmy Awards have been announced. The Philippines got two nominations, both of them for ABS-CBN.

From The Star Tribune:

"Hoskins and Sbaraglia will be competing in the best actor category with Germany's Sebastian Koch for "Sea Wolf" and the Philippines' Sid Lucero for "Dahil May Isang Ikaw" ("Because There Is Only You"), which was also nominated for best telenovela...."

That's the British actor Bob Hoskins and the Argentine actor Leonard Sbaraglia.

Last year Angel Locsin got nominated as best actress for Lobo ("The Wolf").

Not being Alec Baldwin

This afternoon I was watching The Dish. At the start of the program, they showed a clip of William Baldwin asking Venus Raj that major question.

After the clip, host Danielle Fishel quipped:

"Later, Miss Philippines asked William Baldwin his biggest mistake, and he said: "Not being Alec Baldwin." (At which point the TV screen behind her showed a picture of Alec holding up an Emmy.)

Then Fishel added: "It could be worse (mock-whispering 'Stephen Baldwin' while they showed Stephen's picture). "

(Photo from http://nookdeejung.blogspot.com/2010/08/top-15-miss-universe-2010-contestants_25.html )

Other than that....

Last night Lamplighter and I were watching Noah, a TV series in which Kristine Hermosa plays yet another fairy.

I noted that Piolo Pascual and Kristine Hermosa had worked in the late '90s in Sa Sandaling Kailangan Mo Ako.

Me: Marvin Agustin was also in it, back when he could still act. 

Lamplighter: Was he ever able to?

Me: I liked it whenever he parodied Christopher de Leon ("Wala kang alam. Asawa lang kita.")

Lamplighter: Other than that....

Me: I think the lowest point was when he played the villain in Panday Kids. Truly awful.

Laughter ensued.

Yesterday

Yesterday afternoon, while on a jeepney ride to meet The Millers, I saw a woman cross the street, wearing a black shirt that reads:

Yesterday: All my troubles seemed so far away.

Today: You're here.

Coincidence?

Steve McQueen married a Filipina?

In the past month, I've been catching episodes of The Vampire Diaries, which is a cross between Dawson's Creek and I Know What You Did Last Summer- creations both by Kevin Williamson, who, incidentally, is the show runner of The Vampire Diaries.

In this horror-fantasy show, newcomer Nina Dobrev plays Elena, a young woman in love with Stefan, who turns out to be a vampire. Dobrev could be a stand-in for Katie Holmes (Dawson's Creek), or Shiri Appleby in Roswell, yet another teen drama on interspecies romance from the past.

The attraction to tune in, for me, was Ian Somerhalder, who plays Stefan's brother, Damon. You see, he was the first series regular in Lost to have been killed off, and you might know how addicted I am to all things Lost. (Watch Jimmy Fallon perform a "musical tribute" for dearly departed groundbreaking TV series at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards.) He is surprisingly wicked here in TVD, especially when you consider that he played a good guy in Lost.

One of the cast members listed in the credits is one Steven R. McQueen, and I have always wondered why he would use such a screen name.

Then I came across this Wikipedia entry on him (apparently he's the one who plays Elena's younger brother, Jeremy):

"Steven R. McQueen... best known for his role as Kyle Hunter in Everwood....

(He) was born in Los Angeles, California.... His paternal grandparents were actor Steve McQueen and Filipino-born actress Neile Adams."

The entry for Neile Adams states:

"Ruby Neilam Salvador "Neile" Adams... is a Filipino-American actress, singer and dancer....

...was born in Manila, in the Philippines. Her mother, Carmen Salvador, was of English, Chinese, and Filipino ancestry. Her mother... was the sister of basketball player and actor Lou Salvador, Sr..... was first married to... actor Steve McQueen, who insisted that she not work. Adams' influence with agents helped McQueen establish his own career.

In 1960, she co-starred with McQueen and Peter Lorre in a memorable episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents based on Roald Dahl's short story Man from the South. Recently, Adams has appeared in her own eponymous one-woman cabaret show."

Anyone who can confirm any of this?

(photo from tvfanatic.com/gallery/steven-r-mcqueen-photo/)

Dandy and Eccentric

From The State last week (June 17):

"LONDON- Self-styled dandy and noted British eccentric Sebastian Horsley,who found fame by having himself nailed to a cross in the Philippines, died Thursday at the age of 47....

Horsley is perhaps best known for a bungled attempt to have himself crucified in the Philippines in 2000 as part of an art project. The procedure almost ended in disaster when his foot support broke, threatening to rip his hands apart (he was caught and taken down from the cross just in time.)"

Yes- getting yourself nailed to a cross makes you dandy and eccentric. If you are rich. Otherwise, sira-ulo ka lang (You're just plain crazy).

Barbara Kingsolver wins Orange Prize for Fiction

Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna was awarded the Orange Prize for Fiction on Wednesday.

Others for consideration were:

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore

Black Water Rising by Attica Locke

The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison

The White Woman on the Green Bicycle by Monique Roffey

No kisses for Asimov?

From couponsherpa.com last week - Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts supposedly contains this bit:

"The Tinguian people of the Philippines kiss by putting their lips close together and inhaling. (There must be a brisk business for breath mints among the Tinguian.)"

The 100 Greatest Characters in the Last 20 Years

Yesterday, Entertainment Weekly came up with another pop culture list: the 100 greatest characters in the last two decades.

The list:

100. Tim Riggins from Friday Night Lights
99. The Bride from Kill Bill
98. Lisbeth Salander from The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and its sequels
97. Violet Weston from August: Osage County
96. Bernie Mac from The Bernie Mac Show
95. Wilhelmina from Ugly Betty
94. Truman from The Truman Show
93. Game Boys: Nathan Drake from the Uncharted series; Kratos from the God of War series; and Niko Bellic from Grand Theft Auto IV
92. Christopher Boone from The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-Time
91. Hancock from Hancock

90. Marge Gunderson from Fargo
89. Wikus van de Merwe from District 9
88. Napoleon Dynamite from Napoleon Dynamite
87. Tony Stark from the Iron Man series
86. Karen Walker and Jack McFarland from Will & Grace
85. Daniel Plainview from There Will Be Blood
84. Dr. Gregory House from House, M.D.
83. Jen Yu from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
82. Tracy Flick from Election
81. Amanda Woodward from Melrose Place

80. Gorillaz, the animated rock band
79. Elphaba from Wicked
78. Patty Hewes from Damages
77. Mimi Marquez from Rent
76. Tyler Durden from Fight Club
75. David Brent from The Office (original version)
74. Don Draper from Mad Men
73. Catherine Trammell from Basic Instinct
72. Kara “Starbuck” Thrace from Battlestar Galactica
71. Det. Alonzo Harris from Training Day

70. Mary Katherine Gallagher from Saturday Night Live
69. Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada
68. Effie White from Dreamgirls
67. Borat from Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
66. Allie and Noah from The Notebook
65. Lorelai and Rory Gilmore from Gilmore Girls
64. Maximus from Gladiator
63. John Locke from Lost
62. Jimmy Corrigan from Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth
61. Vic Mackey from The Shield

60. Mary Jones from Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Saphhire
59. Master Chief from the Halo series
58. Thelma and Louise from Thelma & Louise
57. Clayton Bigsby from Chappelle’s Show
56. Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother
55. Tracy Jordan from 30 Rock
54. Juno from Juno
53. Edward Cullen from the Twilight saga
52. Annie Wilkes from Misery
51. Omar Little from The Wire

50. Pearl the Landlord from FunnyorDie.com
49. Vivian Ward from Pretty Woman
48. Red from The Shawshank Redemption
47. Corky St. Clair Waiting for Guffman
46. Jerry Maguire from Jerry Maguire
45. Stewie Griffin from Family Guy
44. Jack Bauer from 24
43. Cal Stephanides from Middlesex
42. Sydney Bristow from Alias
41. Harold and Kumar from the Harold & Kumar series

40. Ron Burgundy from Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
39. Gob Bluth from Arrested Development
38. Elmo from Sesame Street
37. Keyser Söze from The Usual Suspects
36. Gollum from The Lord of the Rings
35. Dexter Morgan from Dexter
34. Cher from Clueless
33. Sarah Connor from Terminator 2: Judgment Day
32. Beavis and Butt-Head from Beavis and Butt-Head
31. Forrest Gump from Forrest Gump

30. “Stephen Colbert” from The Colbert Report
29. Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield from Pulp Fiction
28. Madea from several Tyler Perry films and plays
27. Frasier from Frasier
26. Kavalier and Clay from The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
25. Woody from the Toy Story series
24. Felicity Porter from Felicity
23. Austin Powers from the Austin Powers series
22. Eric Cartman from South Park
21. Roseanne Conner from Roseanne

20. Ally McBeal from Ally McBeal
19. Morpheus from The Matrix series
18. Sue Sylvester from Glee
17. Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider franchise
16. Bridget Jones from the Bridget Jones series
15. Shrek from the Shrek series
14. Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski from The Big Lebowski
13. Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean series
12. Fox Mulder and Dana Scully from The X-Files
11. Cosmo Kramer from Seinfeld

10. SpongeBob SquarePants from SpongeBob SquarePants
9. Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City
8. Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs and its sequels
7. Edward Scissorhands from Edward Scissorhands
6. Rachel Green from Friends
5. The Joker from The Dark Knight
4. Tony Soprano from The Sopranos
3. Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2. Harry Potter from the Harry Potter series
1. Homer Simpson from The Simpsons

I am particularly happy to note the inclusion of Daniel Plainview from There Will Be Blood (no. 85), Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada (69), and Gollum from The Lord of the Rings (36).

Also on the list: Christopher Boone from The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-Time (92), Cal Stephanides from Middlesex (43), and, Kavalier and Clay from The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (26).

Also included are: Karen and Jack from Will & Grace (86), Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica (72), Lorelai and Rory Gilmore from Gilmore Girls (65), Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother (56), and, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully from The X-Files (12).

But John Locke from Lost at no. 63? I would say Benjamin Linus is a greater character.

Sydney Bristow from Alias (42) should be ranked higher than Felicity Porter from Felicity (24).

Sue Sylvester from Glee (18) is too high, and so is Pearl the Landlord from FunnyorDie.com (50).

Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City (9) is higher than SpongeBob SquarePants (10)?

Rachel Green from Friends (6) is a great choice- and I will allow that she might belong in the top ten- but higher than Edward Scissorhands (7) and Hannibal Lecter (8)?

And Edward Cullen from the Twilight saga? I don't think they should be here.

I am most thrilled that The Joker from The Dark Knight (5), Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (3), and Homer Simpson from The Simpsons (1) top the list.