bottled lightning

Academy Award Nominees 2012

2012-01-24T22:06:00.000+08:00

The nominations for the 2012 Oscars have been announced.

best picture:

The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

best director:

Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris
Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist
Terrence Malick for The Tree of Life
Alexander Payne for The Descendants
Martin Scorsese for Hugo

best actor:

Demian Bichir in A Better Life
George Clooney in The Descendants
Jean Dujardin in The Artist
Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt in Moneyball

best actress:

Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis in The Help
Rooney Mara in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams in My Week With Marilyn

best supporting actor:

Kenneth Branagh in My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill in Moneyball
Nick Nolte in Warrior
Christopher Plummer in Beginners
Max von Sydow in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

best supporting actress:

Bérénice Bejo in The Artist
Jessica Chastain in The Help
Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer in Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer in The Help

best original screnplay:

Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist
Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig for Bridesmaids
J.C. Chandor for Margin Call
Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris
Asghar Farhadi for A Separation

best adapted screenplay:

Alexander Payne, Jim Rash, and Nat Faxon for The Descendants
John Logan for Hugo
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Beau Willimon for The Ides of March
Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian for Moneyball
Peter Straughan and Bridget O’Connor for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Academy Award Nominations 2012 Forecast

2012-01-24T20:42:00.003+08:00

Here are the nominations we should hear tonight, in the order in which they could possibly be nominated:

best picture-

The Artist
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris

If there will be more nominees, we might see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Moneyball or Bridesmaids.

best director-

Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist
Martin Scorsese for Hugo
Alexander Payne for The Descendants
Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick for The Tree of Life

David Fincher might replace Malick with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

best actor-

George Clooney in The Descendants
Brad Pitt in Moneyball
Jean Dujardin in The Artist
Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Leonardo DiCaprio in J. Edgar

Other possibilities are Michael Fassbender (in Shame) and Demian Bichir in (A Better Life).

best actress-

Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady
Viola Davis in The Help
Michelle Williams in My Week with Marilyn
Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs
Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk about Kevin

Others who might sneak in- although dark horses- are Rooney Mara (in Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Kirsten Dunst (in Melancholia).

best supporting actor-

Christopher Plummer in Beginners
Kenneth Branagh in My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill in Moneyball
Albert Brooks in Drive
Nick Nolte in Warrior

Others who could step in are: Armie Hammer (in J. Edgar); Patton Oswalt (in Young Adult); and, Max Von Sydow (in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close).

best supporting actress-

Octavia Spencer in The Help
Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids
Berenice Bejo in The Artist
Jessica Chastain in The Help
Janet McTeer in Albert Nobbs

Shailene Woodley (in The Descendants) might still make the cut.

best original screenplay-

Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris
Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist
Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig for Bridesmaids
Asghar Farhadi for A Separation
Terrence Malick for The Tree of Life

Other possibilities: Will Reiser (for 50/50) and Tom McCarthy (for Win Win).

best adapted screenplay-

Aaron Sorkin & Steven Zaillian for Moneyball
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash for The Descendants
Tate Taylor for The Help
John Logan for Hugo
Steven Zaillian for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Other possibilities: Peter Straughan and Bridget O’Connor (for Tinker Tailor Solider Spy) and George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Beau Willimon (for The Ides of March).

BAFTA Nominations 2012

2012-01-17T19:23:00.012+08:00

The nominees for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards have been announced.

best film:

The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Help
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

outstanding British film:

My Week with Marilyn
Senna
Shame
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
We Need to Talk about Kevin

best film not in the English language:

Incendies
Pina
Potiche
A Separation
The Skin I Live In

best director:

Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist
Nicolas Winding Refn for Drive
Martin Scorsese for Hugo
Tomas Alfredson for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Lynne Ramsay for We Need to Talk about Kevin

best original screenplay:

The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Guard
The Iron Lady
Midnight in Paris

best adapted screenplay:

The Descendants
The Help
The Ides of March
Moneyball
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

best leading actor:

George Clooney in The Descendants
Jean Dujardin in The Artist
Michael Fassbender in Shame
Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt in Moneyball

best leading actress:

Berenice Bejo in The Artist
Viola Davis in The Help
Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk about Kevin
Michelle Williams in My Week with Marilyn

best supporting actor:

Kenneth Branagh in My Week with Marilyn
Jim Broadbent in The Iron Lady
Jonah Hill in Moneyball
Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Ides of March
Christopher Plummer in Beginners

best supporting actress:

Jessica Chastain in The Help
Judi Dench in My Week with Marilyn
Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids
Carey Mulligan in Drive
Octavia Spencer in The Help

best cinematography:

The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

best editing:

The Artist
Drive
Hugo
Senna
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

best production design:

The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- Part 2
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

best costume design:

The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
My Week with Marilyn
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

best make up and hair:

The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- Part 2
Hugo
The Iron Lady
My Week with Marilyn

best sound:

The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- Part 2
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

best special visual effects:

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- Part 2
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
War Horse

best original music:

The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

best animated film:

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Arthur Christmas
Rango

best documentary:

George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Poject Nim
Senna

outstanding British debut by a director or producer:

Richard Ayouade for Submarine
Paddy Considine & Diarmid Scrimshaw for Tyrannosaur
Joe Cornish for Attack the Block
Ralph Fiennes for Coriolanus
Will Sharpe, Tom Kingsley, & Sarah Brocklehurst for Black Pond

The Artist leads with 12 nominations, followed by Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy with 11. Hugo has nine, but was shut out of the best picture race.

Bejo is nominated as a lead actress, and Albert Nobbs was ineligible.

Winners at the Golden Globe Awards 2012

2012-01-16T12:50:00.000+08:00

Here are the winners of this year's Golden Globes:

for film-

best drama: The Descendants

best actor: George Clooney in The Descendants
best actress: Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady

best comedy or musical: The Artist

best actor: Jean Dujardin in The Artist
best actress: Michelle Williams in My Week with Marilyn

best director: Martin Scorsese for Hugo
best screenplay: Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris

best supporting actor: Christopher Plummer in Beginners
best supporting actress: Octavia Spencer in The Help

best animated movie: The Adventures of Tintin
best foreign language film: A Separation (from Iran)

best original score: Ludovic Bource for The Artist
best original song: "Masterpiece" from W.E.

for television-

best drama: Homeland

best actor: Kelsey Grammer in Boss
best actress: Clair Danes in Homeland

best comedy or musical: Modern Family

best actor: Matt LeBlanc in Episodes
best actress: Laura Dern in Enlightened

best miniseries or TV movie: Downton Abbey
best actor: Idris Elba in Luther
best actress: Kate Winslet in Mildred Pierce

best supporting actor in a TV series, miniseries, or TV movie: Peter Dinklage in Game of Thrones
best supporting actress in a TV series, miniseries, or TV movie: Jessica Lange in American Horror Story

Golden Globes 2012 Forecast for Television

2012-01-14T15:09:00.006+08:00

Here are my predictions on who will possibly win the Golden Globe on Monday:

best drama:

will win- Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
should win- Boardwalk Empire (HBO)

best actor:

will win- Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad
should win- Steve Buscemi in Boardwalk Empire

best actress:

will win- Claire Danes in Homeland
should win- Claire Danes in Homeland

best comedy:

will win- Modern Family (ABC)
should win- Modern Family (ABC)

best actor:

will win- Thomas Jane in Hung
should win- Johnny Galecki in The Big Bang Theory

best actress:

will win- Zooey Deschanel in New Girl
should win- Laura Linney in The Big C

best supporting actor:

will win- Eric Stonestreet in Modern Family
should win- Eric Stonestreet in Modern Family

best supporting actress:

will win- Sofia Vergara in Modern Family
should win- Sofia Vergara in Modern Family

Golden Globes 2012 Forecast for Film

2012-01-13T12:33:00.003+08:00

Here are my predictions on who will the Golden Globes on Monday, in the order in which they could possibly win:

best motion picture- drama:

The Descendants
The Ides of March
Hugo
The Help
Moneyball
War Horse

best lead actor:

George Clooney in The Descendants
Brad Pitt in Moneyball
Leonardo DiCaprio in J. Edgar
Ryan Gosling in The Ides of March
Michael Fassbender in Shame

lead actress:

Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady
Viola Davis in The Help
Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs
Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk About Kevin
Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

motion picture-comedy or musical:

The Artist
Midnight in Paris
My Week with Marilyn
Bridesmaids
50/50

lead actor:

Ryan Gosling in Crazy Stupid Love
Jean Dujardin in The Artist
Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 50/50
Owen Wilson in Midnight in Paris
Brendan Gleeson in The Guard

lead actress:

Michelle Williams in My Week with Marilyn
Charlize Theron in Young Adult
Kristen Wiig in Bridesmaids
Jodie Foster in Carnage
Kate Winslet in Carnage

director:

Martin Scorsese for Hugo
Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist
Alexander Payne for The Descendants
Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris
George Clooney for The Ides of March

screenplay:
Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist Alexander Payne, Jim Rash and Nat Faxon for The Descendants Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon for The Ides of March Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian for Moneyball

supporting actor:

Christopher Plummer in Beginners
Jonah Hill in Moneyball
Kenneth Branagh in My Week with Marilyn
Viggo Mortensen in A Dangerous Method
Albert Brooks in Drive

supporting actress:

Jessica Chastain in The Help
Shailene Woodley in The Descendants
Octavia Spencer in The Help
Berenice Bejo in The Artist
Janet McTeer in Albert Nobbs

original score:

Ludovic Bource for The Artist
Howard Shore for Hugo
John Williams for War Horse
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Abel Korzeniowski for W.E.

original song:

"Hello, Hello" by Elton John and Lady Gaga from Gnomeo and Juliet
"The Living Proof" by Mary J. Blige from The Help
"Lay Your Head Down" by Sinead O'Connor from Albert Nobbs
"Masterpiece" by Madonna from W.E.
"The Keeper" by Chris Cornell from Machine Gun Preacher

best animated feature film:
Rango (directed by Gore Verbinski)
The Adventures of Tintin (Steven Spielberg)
Puss in Boots (Chris Miller)
Cars 2 (John Lasseter)
Arthur Christmas (Sarah Smith)

Filipino maids in Hong Kong

2011-03-01T10:28:00.001+08:00

From the Associated Press:

HK star Lau channels China earnings to local films -

"While mainland China is now enjoying the fruits of rapid economic growth after years of political upheaval and central economic planning, Hong Kong has long enjoyed a high standard of living thanks to its bustling port economy. Filipino maids and domestic helpers from other Southeast Asian countries are common among middle-class Hong Kong families, let alone the super wealthy."

Oscars 2011

2011-02-28T13:16:00.001+08:00

The King's Speech led the winners of the 83rd Academy Awards with four statuettes for best picture, best director (Tom Hooper), best actor (Colin Firth) and best original screenplay (David Seidler).

Another big winner was Inception, which won four of its eight nominations: best cinematography, visual effects, sound mixing and sound editing.

On the other hand, The Social Network copped three prizes: best adapted screenplay (Aaron Sorkin), best original score (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) and best editing (Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter).

Christian Bale and Melissa Leo received the Oscars for acting in a supporting role, for their turn in The Fighter.

Toy Story 3 earned statuettes for best animated feature film and best original song (for "We Belong Together" by Randy Newman).

Alice in Wonderland was a surprise winner of two Oscars (out of three nominations): best art direction and costume design.

Other winners were:

Natalie Portman (in Black Swan) - best actress

The Wolfman - best makeup

In a Better World (Denmark) - best foreign language film

Inside Job - best documentary feature

Strangers No More - best short-subject documentary

God of Love - best live action short film

The Lost Thing - best animated short film

Razzies 2011

2011-02-27T19:58:00.000+08:00

The Last Airbender led the winners of the Golden Raspberry Awards, receiving prizes for worst picture, worst director, worst screenplay, and worst eye-gouging misuse of 3-D. Jackson Rathbone was chosen worst supporting actor for turns in The Last Airbender and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

M. Night Shyamalan was tapped worst director and worst supporting actor in 2006 for Lady in the Water.

Sex and the City 2, on the other hand, took the awards for worst actress; worst screen couple or ensemble; and, worst prequel, remake, rip-off or sequel.

Ashton Kutcher was worst actor (for "Killers" and "Valentine's Day), and Jessica Alba was worst supporting actress (for "The Killer Inside Me," "Little Fockers," "Machete" and "Valentine's Day).

Independent Spirit Awards 2011

2011-02-26T20:23:00.003+08:00

Black Swan led the winners of the the Independent Spirit Awards copping the prizes for best picture, best director (Darren Aronofsky), best cinematography (for Matthew Libatique) and best actress (Natalie Portman).

Winter's Bone received the awards for best supporting actor and actress (John Hawkes and Dale Dickey).

Other winners were:

Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg (for The Kids are All Right) - best screenplay

James Franco (for 127 Hours) - best actor

Get Low (Aaron Schneider, director) - best first film

Lena Dunham (for Tiny Furniture) - best first screenplay

The King's Speech (United Kingdom) - best foreign film

Exit Through the Gift Shop - best documentary

Daddy longlegs - John Cassavetes Award for best film made for under $500,000

Please Give - Robert Altman Award for Director, Casting Director and Ensemble Cast

Forecast for the 2011 Academy Awards

2011-02-26T07:30:00.009+08:00

Here is how I think the nominees will fare in Monday's Oscars, based on the order in which they could possibly win.

best picture-

The King's Speech
The Social Network
True Grit
The Fighter
Inception

best director-

David Fincher for The Social Network
Tom Hooper for The King's Speech
David O. Russell for The Fighter
Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for True Grit

best original screenplay-

The King's Speech
Inception
The Fighter
The Kids are All Right
Another Year

best adapted screenplay-

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

best actor-

Colin Firth in The King's Speech
Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network
James Franco in 127 Hours
Jeff Bridges in True Grit
Javier Bardem in Biutiful

best actress-

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

best supporting actor-

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

best supporting actress-

Melissa Leo in The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit
Amy Adams in The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter in The King's Speech
Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom

best cinematography-

True Grit
Black Swan

best editing-

The Social Network
The King's Speech
The Fighter
Black Swan
127 Hours

best costume design-

The King's Speech
True Grit
Alice in Wonderland

best makeup:

The Wolfman
The Way Back
Barney's Version

best visual effects-

Inception
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Alice in Wonderland

best original score-

The King's Speech
The Social Network
Inception
How to Train Your Dragon
127 Hours

best original song-

If I Rise from 127 Hours
W Belong Together from Toy Story 3
I See the Light (Tangled)
Coming Home (Country Strong)

best sound mixing-

Inception
True Grit
Toy Story 3

best sound editing:

Inception
True Grit
The King's Speech
The Social Network
Salt

best art direction-

The King's Speech
True Grit
Inception

best animated feature film- Toy Story 3

best foreign-language film -

Incendies
Biutiful
In a Better World
Outside the Law
Dogtooth

The Splintered Soul in "Black Swan"

2011-01-31T18:37:00.010+08:00

Black Swan is an intensely delirious movie that charts a girl’s descent into dark territory.

A ballet company in New York is staging Swan Lake, and its director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) elects to replace Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder) with Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) as the Swan Queen.

Leroy has doubts. He thinks Nina has the perfect technique to be the White Swan, but she is stiff and cold- sexless to be the Black Swan. What follows is Nina’s struggle to be perfect as well for the Black Swan role.

Black Swan’s director Darren Aronofsky and writers Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz and John McLaughlin expertly draw from literary and cinematic traditions to skillfully depict Nina’s unraveling.

Nina’s interior life resembles Rapunzel’s: She is locked up in the tower by an overbearing Mother Gothel (Barbara Hershey as Erica). They live together, and clearly, Erica supports Nina’s ambitions and dotes on her. But maybe too much: Erica wakes her, feeds her, undresses and dresses her, even taking Nina’s earrings out herself.

Consider an early scene in which Nina talks about having a dream. At first, we assume that she is talking to her mother. Much later, we realize she may have been talking to herself. This is what she does when she is by her lonesome. In the hallways of the theater, she is all by herself many times, even as girls her age talk and laugh among themselves.

In another early scene, mother and daughter regard a fruit. “How pretty,” they say; talking like children. Nina’s bedroom is full of stuffed toys- designed like a child’s room.

Hershey convincingly plays a mother who is by turns sweet and suffocating, jealous and protective. Erica used to be a ballerina herself and while she wants her daughter to realize her dreams, she admits at one point that she thought her daughter cannot handle the pressure. She is also aware that her daughter is unstable, so she wishes Nina would stop harming herself. A nail-clipping scene that will dare you to look away would show how shockingly involved Erica is, and how layered this involvement is. In another scene, Erica urges Nina to have a little cake after Nina cops the plum role. Subsequently, Erica demonstrates how forceful she is whether she wields a knife or a nail clipper.

In this particular shot, the camera is tilted to convey the uneasiness in their relationship. We observe that Erica is lit partially, and we know that she is not all cheer. “Sweet child,” she coos, and we know these words are veiled. While Nina lies on the bed, her mother towers over her, and while the hand touches Nina’s head tenderly, it could very well be pushing the head down. Nina is severely restricted, by herself and her mother, and she has to acknowledge this.

Black Swan’s first crucial plot point is a trade common in fairy tales: a bargain that will cost you. Nina will get to play the Swan Queen if she can show Leroy how to play the Black Swan.

True to the Swan Lake story, Nina (the princess) finds herself tapped by the artistic director (the prince), thereby getting the happiness she seeks. However, she finds the Black Swan role a burden (the curse) because she does not know how to seduce the audience. Her mother (the sorceress) has cloistered her, and therefore crippled her. Lily, another member of the troupe (another swan, Odile from the source) who exudes the wildness and the passion required, threatens to ensnare the director and usurp the Swan Queen role.

Is Lily out to get her? Black Swan toys with us by blurring the lines between the real and the fantastic. It plays in line with the traditions of psychological horror fiction (The Turn of the Screw, The Innocents, The Others), in which the ghost may or may not be imagined, and the virginal heroine is repressed and possibly unhinged.

How much of it is delusion? How much is real and how much is imagined? In the scene in which she pleasures herself, she is startled to find her mother sleeping nearby. Is her mother truly in her bedroom, or did Nina conjure her image to repress her erotic feelings? Either way, it adds to the development of the themes of the movie.

Aronofsky also achieves his effects through various strategies. He uses mirrors and hallways and doubles to suggest an identity crisis, the anxiety it brings and a need to deal with it. These characterize free choice and an opportunity to learn and grow. In many scenes, mirrors force Nina to look at who she really is. Hallways represent a period of transition, a journey into the unknown. Additionally, the camera constantly moves and swirls, to indicate that Nina's personality is in flux.

Plus Nina has doubles in her mother, Beth and Lily.

The casting of Ryder, Portman and Kunis is inspired: Ryder as the aging star forced to retire, Portman as the star of the moment and Kunis as the ascendant star. Just like her character, Portman reaches for greatness, and achieves it.

Early in the movie, Leroy recounts the story: A sweet girl finds herself cursed to be a swan, and only true love can set her free. Before a prince can declare his love, the black swan tricks him and seduces him. The white swan kills herself and finds freedom in death.

In the middle of the movie, Nina meets her self- her alter ego, the shadow- in an alley. We know from literary history that meeting your doppelganger is a sure omen of death. Does she die in the end? We cannot say conclusively, but she definitely dies a glorious, symbolic death. She has to accept her shadow- to be uninhibited, to wake up to her flaws, to become a woman.

Black Swan succeeds in exploring parts of Nina’s personality that have been suppressed, and her disintegration after attempting to embody both swans.

Photo from http://columbus.metromix.com/movies/photogallery/black-swan-photos/2179365/photo/2325807

2011 Academy Award nominations

2011-01-26T01:49:00.003+08:00

The nominees for the 83rd Academy Award have been announced.

best picture-

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

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

best director-

Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan
David O. Russell for The Fighter
Tom Hooper for The King's Speech
David Fincher for The Social Network
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for True Grit

best original screenplay

Mike Leigh for Another Year
Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson and Keith Dorrington for The Fighter
Christopher Nolan for Inception
Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg for The Kids are All Right
David Seidler for The King's Speech

best adapted screenplay-

Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy for 127 Hours
Aaron Sorkin for The Social Network
Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich for Toy Story 3
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for True Grit
Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini for Winter's Bone

best actor-

Javier Bardem in Biutiful
Jeff Bridges in True Grit
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
Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine

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
Melissa Leo in The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit
Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom

best cinematography-

Black Swan
Inception
The King's Speech
The Social Network
True Grit

best film editing-

Black Swan
The Fighter
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network

best original score-

How to Train Your Dragon
Inception
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network

best original song-

Coming Home from Country Strong
I See the Light from Tangled
If I Rise from 127 Hours
We Belong Together from Toy Story 3

best art direction-

Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Inception
The King's Speech
True Grit

best costume-

Alice in Wonderland
I Am Love
The King's Speech
The Tempest
True Grit

best sound mixing-

Inception
The King's Speech
Salt
The Social Network
True Grit

best sound editing-

Inception
Toy Story 3
Tron: Legacy
True Grit
Unstoppable

best makeup-

Barney's Version
The Way Back
The Wolfman

best visual effects-

Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Hereafter
Inception
Iron Man 2

best animated feature film-

How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3

best foreign-language film

Biutiful (Mexico)
Dogtooth (Greece)
In a Better World (Denmark)
Incendies (Canada)
Outside the Law [Hors-la-loi] (Algeria)

best documentary feature-

Exit Through the Gift Shop
Gasland
Inside Job
Restrepo
Waste Land

best short-subject documentary -

Killing in the Name
Poster Girl
Strangers No More
Sun Come Up
The Warriors of Qiugang

best live action short film-

The Confession
The Crush
God of Love
Na Wewe
Wish 143

best animated short film-

Day and Night
The Gruffalo
Let's Pollute
The Lost Thing
Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)

Forecast for tonight's announcement of Oscar nominees

2011-01-25T09:35:00.007+08:00

Here are my predictions on who will most likely be nominated for an Academy Award this year:

best picture:

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

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

If anyone is going to drop off the list, it would be The Town, to be replaced by 127 Hours. Which is an unlikely scenario.

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

If anybody is to fall off the list, it would be Darren Aronofsky. Think of Moulin Rouge- another divisive movie. Which would allow Joel and Ethan Coen to be nominated for True Grit.

best original screenplay:

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

I can see Inception missing out, with the slot going to Another Year.

best adapted screenplay:

127 Hours
Rabbit Hole
The Social Network
True Grit
Winter's Bone

127 Hours might be passed over for Toy Story 3.

Other possibilities in the screenplay categories are Biutiful, Blue Valentine, Get Low, The Ghost Writer, Made in Dagenham and Never Let Me Go.

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

This category looks tight, but Eisenberg or Franco might have to give way to a spoiler, such as Javier Bardem (Biutiful), Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine) or Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter).

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
Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit

The first four look like locks, although I fear Kidman will be passed over. In any case, the fifth nod might go to Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine) or Halle Berry (Frankie & Alice).

Williams has better chances at being nominated than her co-star Gosling.

best supporting actor:

Christian Bale in The Fighter
Andrew Garfield in The Social Network
Jeremy Renner in The Town
Mark Ruffalo in The Kids are All Right
Geoffrey Rush in The King's Speech

Garfield might find himself upset by John Hawkes (Winter's Bone), or Renner might be replaced by co-star Pete Postlethwaite, who died earlier this month. Don't count Michael Douglas (Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps) yet.

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

Kunis might find herself pushed out by co-star Barbara Hershey, or Dianne Wiest (Rabbit Hole) or Sissy Spacek (Get Low) might sneak in.

Look for Steinfeld in the supporting actress category, and Lesley Manville (Another Year) in either the lead or supporting actress category.

Plus Julianne Moore (The Kids are All Right) might pull off a surprise and show up in the fifth slot for lead actress, although it is more likely that she will land in the supporting field.

2011 Golden Raspberry Award nominees

2011-01-25T01:43:00.003+08:00

The nominees for this year's Razzies have been announced. The Last Airbender and Twilight Saga: Eclipse lead the field with nine nominations apiece. They are followed by Sex and the City 2 with seven; The Bounty Hunter, Vampires Suck and Valentine's Day, four each; Little Fockers, three; and, Clash of the Titans, Jonah Hex and The Spy Next Door, two each.

worst picture:

The Bounty Hunter
The Last Airbender
Sex and the City 2
Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Vampires Suck

worst director:

Sylvester Stallone for The Expendables
M. Night Shyamalan for The Last Airbender
Michael Patrick King for Sex and the City 2
David Slade for Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer for Vampires Suck

worst screenplay:

M. Night Shyamalan for The Last Airbender
Michael Hamburg & Larry Stuckey for Little Fockers
Michael Patrick King for Sex and the City 2
Melissa Rosenberg for Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer for Vampires Suck

worst actor:

Jack Black in Gulliver's Travels
Gerard Butler in The Bounty Hunter
Ashton Kutcher in Killers and Valentine's Day
Taylor Lautner in Twilight Saga: Eclipse and Valentine's Day
Robert Pattinson in Remember Me and Twilight Saga: Eclipse

worst actress:

Jennifer Aniston in The Bounty Hunter and The Switch
Miley Cyrus in The Last Song
Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis in Sex and the City 2
Megan Fox in Jonah Hex
Kristen Stewart in Twilight Saga: Eclipse

worst supporting actor:

Billy Ray Cyrus in The Last Song
George Lopez in Marmaduke, The Spy Next Door and Valentine's Day
Dev Patel in The Last Airbender
Jackson Rathbone in The Last Airbender and Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Rob Schneider in Grown Ups

worst supporting actress:

Jessica Alba in The Killer Inside Me, Little Fockers, Machete and Valentine's Day
Cher in Burlesque
Liza Minnelli in Sex and the City 2
Nicola Peltz in The Last Airbender
Barbra Streisand in Little Fockers

worst prequel, remake, rip-off or sequel:

Clash of the Titans
The Last Airbender
Sex and the City 2
Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Vampires Suck

worst screen couple/ensemble:

Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler in The Bounty Hunter
Josh Brolin's face and Megan Fox's accent in Jonah Hex
the entire cast of The Last Airbender
the entire cast of Sex and the City 2
the entire cast of Twilight Saga: Eclipse

worst eye-gouging misuse of 3-D:

Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore
Clash of the Titans
The Last Airbender
Nutcracker 3-D
Saw 3-D

The ceremony will be held on February 26.

2011 Producers Guild of America Awards

2011-01-23T19:11:00.002+08:00

The King’s Speech was proclaimed best film at the Producers Guild of America Awards on Saturday, beating The Social Network, among eight others.

Toy Story 3 was named best animated feature and Waiting for Superman, best documentary.

On the television division, Mad Men (AMC) was chosen best drama series for the third consecutive year, and Modern Family (ABC), best comedy.

The Colbert Report (Comedy Central) was best live entertainment reality show, and The Pacific (HBO) was best TV movie or miniseries.

The awards show was held at the Beverly Hilton and hosted by Judd Apatow.

Nominees for the Asian Film Awards 2011

2011-01-21T05:30:00.003+08:00

The nominees for the fifth Asian Film Awards have been announced in Hong Kong.

Confessions and Let the Bullets Fly lead the field with six nominations each.

Thirteen Assassins and Monga each received five nominations, while Aftershock and The Yellow Sea had four each.

Here are the nominees:

best film-

Aftershock (China/HK)
Confessions (Japan)
Let the Bullets Fly [China/HK]
Peepli Live (India)
Poetry (South Korea)
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Thailand)

best director-

Feng Xiaogang for Aftershock
Nakashima Tetsuya for Confessions
Jiang Wen for Let the Bullets Fly
Lee Chang-dong for Poetry
Miike Takashi for Thirteen Assassins (Japan/UK)
Na Hong-jin for The Yellow Sea (South Korea)

best screenwriter-

Jiang Wen for Let the Bullets Fly
Pang Ho-cheung and Heiward Mak for Love in a Puff (HK)
Lee Chang-dong for Poetry
Su Chao-pin for Reign of Assassins (China/HK/Taiwan)
Park Hoon-jung in The Unjust (South Korea)

best actor-

Chow Yun-fat in Let the Bullets Fly
Ge You in Sacrifice (China)
Ha Jung-woo in The Yellow Sea
Ethan Ruan in Monga (Taiwan)
Yakusho Koji in Thirteen Assassins

best actress-

Jeon Do-yeon in The Housemaid (South Korea)
Kikuchi Rinko in Norwegian Wood (Japan)
Matsu Takako in Confessions
Xu Fan in Aftershock
Michelle Yeoh in Reign of Assassins (China/HK/Taiwan)

best supporting actor-

Huang Xiaoming in Sacrifice (China)
Sammo Hung in Ip Man 2 (HK)
Okada Masaki in Confessions
Ryu Seung-beom in The Unjust (South Korea)
Yu Hae-jin in Moss (South Korea)

best supporting actress-

Aoi Yu in About Her Brother (Japan)
Kimura Yoshino in Confessions (Japan)
Carina Lau in Let the Bullets Fly
Shanty Paredes in Madame X (Indonesia)
Yoon Yeo-jeong in The Housemaid (South Korea)

best cinematographer-

Lee Mogae for I Saw the Devil (South Korea)
Jake Pollock for Monga
Mark Lee for Norwegian Wood
Hassan Kydyraliyev for The Light Thief (Kyrgyzstan)
Kenny Tse for The Stool Pigeon (HK)

best editor-

Yamashita Kenji for Thirteen Assassins
Koike Yoshiyuki for Confessions
Nam Na-young for I Saw the Devil
Hemanti Sarkar for Peepli Live
Meng Peicong for Under the Hawthorn Tree (China/HK)

best production designer-

Hayashida Yuji for Thirteen Assassins
James Choo for Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (China/HK)
Eros Eflin for Madame X (Indonesia)
Max Huang and Chen Po-jen for Monga
Lee Hwo-kyung for The Yellow Sea (South Korea)

best composer-

Saito Kazuyoshi for Golden Slumber (Japan)
Sandee Chan for Monga
Indian Ocean for Peepli Live
Peter Kam for Reign of Assassins
Jang Young-kyu and Lee Byung-hoon for The Yellow Sea

best costume designer-

Sawataishi Kazuhiro for Thirteen Assassins
Bruce Yu for Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
William Chang for Let the Bullets Fly
Yen Khe Luguern for Norwegian Wood
Choi Se-yeon for The Housemaid

best visual effects-

Lee Hyuk, Park Eui-dong and Ryu Hee-jung for 71 - Into the Fire (South Korea)
Phil Jones for Aftershock
Phil Jones for Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
Yamazaki Takashi and Space Battleship Yamato for SPACE BATTLESHIP (Japan)
Park Jung-ryul for The Man from Nowhere (Japan)

best newcomer-

Mark Chao for Monga
Aarif Lee for Echoes of the Rainbow (HK)
Omkar Das Manikpuri for Peepli Live
T.O.P. (aka Choi Seung-hyun) for 71 - Into the Fire
Zhou Dongyu for Under the Hawthorn Tree

The jury is comprised of 13 members, headed by director Yonfan (from Hong Kong).

The awards will be presented on March 21 in Hong Kong.

British Academy Film Awards 2011 nominees

2011-01-20T02:04:00.005+08:00

The King's Speech leads the nominees for the British Academy Film Awards with 14 nominations.

On its heels are Black Swan with 12; Inception, 9; 127 Hours, 8; and True Grit, 8.

best film-

Black Swan
Inception
The King's Speech
The Social Network
True Grit

best British film-

Another Year
Four Lions
The King's Speech
Made in Dagenham
127 Hours

best director-

Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan
Danny Boyle for 127 Hours
David Fincher for The Social Network
Tom Hooper for The King's Speech
Christopher Nolan for Inception

best leading actor-

Javier Bardem in Biutiful
Jeff Bridges in True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network
Colin Firth in The King's Speech
James Franco in 127 Hours

best leading actress-

Annette Bening in The Kids are All Right
Julianne Moore in The Kids are All Right
Natalie Portman in Black Swan
Noomi Rapace in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit

best supporting actor-

Christian Bale in The Fighter
Andrew Garfield in The Social Network
Pete Postlethwaite 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
Barbara Hershey in Black Swan
Lesley Manville in Another Year
Miranda Richardson in Made in Dagenham

best original screenplay-

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

best adapted screenplay-

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit

best film not in the English language-

Biutiful
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
I am Love
Of Gods and Men
The Secret in Their Eyes

best animated film-

Despicable Me
How to Train Your Dragon
Toy Story 3

Last year Firth won the best actor award for A Single Man.

Pete Postlethwaite is nominated best supporting actor for The Town.

The public will vote on the Rising Star Award. The nominees are Gemma Arterton, Andrew Garfield, Tom Hardy, Aaron Johnson and Emma Stone.

The awards will be presented at London's Royal Opera House on February 13.

Winners at the 2011 Golden Globe Awards

2011-01-17T15:08:00.004+08:00

Here are the winners at this morning's Golden Globe Awards:

for film-

drama:

best picture- The Social Network
best actor- Colin Firth in The King's Speech
best actress- Natalie Portman in Black Swan

musical or comedy:

best picture- The Kids are All Right
best actor- Paul Giamatti in Barney's Version
best actress- Annette Bening in The Kids are All Right

best supporting actor- Christian Bale in The Fighter
best supporting actress- Melissa Leo in The Fighter

best screenplay- Aaron Sorkin for The Social Network
best original score- The Social Network
best original song- "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" from Burlesque

best animated film- Toy Story 3
best foreign-language film- In a Better World

for television-

drama:

best series- Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
best actor- Steve Buscemi in Boardwalk Empire
best actress- Katey Sagal in Sons of Anarchy

musical or comedy:

best series- Glee (Fox)
best actor- Jim Parsons in The Big Bang Theory
best actress- Laura Linney in The Big C

best miniseries or movie- Carlos (Sundance Channel)
best actor in a miniseries or movie- Al Pacino in You Don't Know Jack
best actress in a miniseries or movie- Claire Danes in Temple Grandin

best supporting actor in a series, miniseries or movie- Chris Colfer in Glee
best supporting actress in a series, miniseries or movie- Jane Lynch in Glee

I am particularly happy that Katey Sagal (Peggy Bundy, Ed O'Neill's wife in Married...with Children; Cate, John Ritter's wife in 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter; Helen, Locke's fiancee in Lost; voice of Leela, the cyclop in Futurama) won.

Photo 1 from http://anothercomicgeek.blogspot.com/2010_01_17_archive.html

Photo 2 from http://sullytheurbanhillbilly.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html

Forecast for tomorrow's Golden Globes

2011-01-16T17:42:00.002+08:00

Who will win in the movies division-

drama:

best picture- The King's Speech
best actor- Colin Firth in The King's Speech
best actress- Natalie Portman in Black Swan

musical or comedy:

best picture- The Kids are All Right
best actor- Johnny Depp in The Tourist
best actress- Annette Bening in The Kids are All Right

best director- David Fincher for The Social Network
best screenplay- Aaron Sorkin for The Social Network
best supporting actor- Christian Bale in The Fighter
best supporting actress- Mila Kunis in Black Swan

I think the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will stick to its guns by choosing Johnny Depp's performance in The Tourist as the best in the musical or comedy category.

While I think they will pick Mila Kunis for best supporting actress, they might also go for Amy Adams in The Fighter.

Who should win in the television division-

drama:

best series- Dexter (Showtime)
best actor- Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad
best actress- Julianna Margulies in The Good Wife

musical or comedy:

best series- 30 Rock (NBC)
best actor- Thomas Jane in Hung
best actress- Edie Falco in Nurse Jackie

best supporting actor in a series, miniseries or movie- Chris Noth in The Good Wife
best supporting actor in a series, miniseries or movie- Jane Lynch in Glee

DGA nominees 2010

2011-01-10T08:51:00.002+08:00

The Directors Guild of America has announced its list of the five best directors in the past year. The nominees are:

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

The brothers Joel and Ethan Coen are widely believed to be in a tight race with David O. Russell to land the fifth slot for best director in the Academy Awards.

2011-01-05T03:43:00.003+08:00

The Writers Guild of America has announced its nominees for the best screenplay of the year.

best original screenplay-

Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids are All Right
Please Give

best adapted screenplay-

127 Hours
I Love You Phillip Morris
The Social Network
The Town
True Grit

best documentary screenplay-

Enemies of the People
Freedom Riders
Gasland
Inside Job
The Two Escobars
Who is Harry Nilsson (And Why is Everybody Talkin' About Him) ?

Many movies were declared ineligible for a nod, either because the movie was animated, or the writer(s) is not a member of the Guild. These movies included Toy Story 3, Another Year, Biutiful, Blue Valentine, The Ghost Writer, The King's Speech, Love & Other Drugs, Made in Dagenham, Never Let Me Go, The Way Back and Winter's Bone.

Eligible films that were passed over include Rabbit Hole, Fair Game, Get Low, Greenberg, Hereafter, Somewhere, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger and Shutter Island.

An omission here, though, does not mean they will not go on to receive an Oscar nomination. Last year An Education, Inglourious Basterds and Up were all deemed ineligible by the WGA for its guild honors, but these three got nominated for a screenplay Oscar.

The awards will be presented on February 5.

2010 Producers Guild of America awards

2011-01-05T03:10:00.001+08:00

The Producers Guild of America has named its 10 best productions of the year. The nominees are:

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

127 Hours
The Social Network
The Town
Toy Story 3
True Grit

Among those passed over are Another Year, Blue Valentine, The Ghost Writer, Shutter Island, The Way Back and Winter's Bone.

In other categories-

animated motion picture:

Despicable Me
How to Train Your Dragon
Toy Story 3

documentary:

Clinet 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer
Earth Made of Glass
Inside Job
Smash His Camera
The Tillman Story
Waiting for 'Superman'

Special awards will go to:

James Cameron (Milestone Award)
Scott Rudin ( David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures)
Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television)
Laura Ziskin (Visionary Award)
RealID (Vanguard Award)

The PGA awards will be presented on January 22 in a ceremony to be hosted by Judd Apatow.

Winners at the 2010 Metro Manila Film Festival

2010-12-27T18:52:00.002+08:00

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

2010-12-17T04:46:00.003+08:00

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

2010-12-17T03:56:00.005+08:00

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

2010-12-15T02:03:00.007+08:00

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

2010-12-15T01:53:00.004+08:00

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

2010-12-14T08:39:00.003+08:00

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

2010-12-14T07:36:00.003+08:00

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

2010-12-14T03:08:00.004+08:00

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

2010-12-11T08:45:00.000+08:00

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

2010-12-10T07:39:00.006+08:00

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?

2010-12-10T02:23:00.005+08:00

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

2010-12-09T09:14:00.006+08:00

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?

2010-12-09T04:47:00.005+08:00

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

2010-12-03T06:30:00.005+08:00

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

2010-12-03T01:52:00.004+08:00

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

2010-12-02T05:57:00.004+08:00

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

2010-12-01T01:03:00.003+08:00

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

2010-11-11T09:06:00.002+08:00

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

2010-10-06T18:24:00.003+08:00

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

2010-10-05T18:00:00.003+08:00

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

2010-10-04T19:08:00.006+08:00

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....

2010-09-29T21:02:00.003+08:00

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

2010-09-11T06:00:00.003+08:00

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?

2010-09-05T03:22:00.006+08:00

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

2010-06-24T10:05:00.000+08:00

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

2010-06-10T22:37:00.000+08:00

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?

2010-06-08T22:06:00.004+08:00

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

2010-06-02T16:49:00.006+08:00

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.

Cannes Film Festival winners 2010

2010-05-24T21:09:00.003+08:00

The winners of the 63rd Cannes Film Festival have been announced:

Palme d'Or (Golden Palm)- Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives by Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand)

Grand Prize- Of Gods and Men by Xavier Beauvois (France)

Jury Prize- A Screaming Man by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (Chad)

best director- Mathieu Amalric for On Tour (France)

best screenplay- Lee Chang-Dong for Poetry (Korea)

best actor- Javier Bardem in Biutiful (Mexico) and Elio Germano in La Nostra Vita (Italy)

best actress- Juliette Binoche in Certified Copy (Iran)

Camera d'Or (first-time director): Ano Bisiesto by Michael Rowe (Mexico)

best short film- Chienne d'Histoire by Serge Avedikian (France)

Outer Critics Circle awards 2010

2010-05-18T21:32:00.003+08:00

The winners of the 60th Outer Critics Circle awards were announced Monday.

"Memphis" and "La Cage aux Folles" each won four awards. "Memphis" was declared outstanding new Broadway musical, while "La Cage aux Folles" was outstanding revival of a musical.

Catherine Zeta-Jones ("A Little Night Music") and Montego Glover ("Memphis") were both named outstanding actress in a musical.

The Outer Critics Circle is an association of writers and commentators for all media covering New York theater.

The awards are to be given May 27.

For Dede Allen, who passed away on Saturday

2010-04-20T12:49:00.003+08:00

film editor Dede Allen, nominated for the Academy Award four times: Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Reds (1981), Wonder Boys (2000)

The Reader

2010-03-27T11:35:00.005+08:00

In a used-books store, I recently found Reading for a Living: How to be a Professional Story Analyst for Film & Television (Pacific Palisades: Blue Arrow Books) for only Php 45.

The author, who identifies himself as T. L. Katahn, begins with his own back story of landing the job of a reader. Then he points to what to look for in a submission, and to how to identify a beginner's script and a professional script.

So why do companies have a reader? Katahn says:

"Since these are the companies that shell out the money to make the films, they tend to be very picky about the ones they choose to produce. You may not always agree with their criteria, but it behooves you to be aware of their preferences."

Katahn demonstrates how to write a synopsis and how to break down a character. He also explains what a log line is, and what a reader should take note of in a plot line: continuity, complications, and the hook. On characters, it's motivation, flaws, and evolution.

After taking up writing the cover sheet, Katahn centers on how to get a job, formulating a job search plan and presenting the possibilities of where reading can lead. For example, he cites the rise of Sherry Lansing from story analyst to president of 20th Century Fox Studios. There is also practical advice on keeping books and producing sample coverages.

Additionally, Katahn throws in some things you might not know, as when you are in a library or an archive:

"You are not allowed to check scripts out or photocopy them, but you may read them and take notes on the premises."

In its appendices, the book offers a glossary, a list of proofreader's marks, sample scripts, and coverage.

Here's Katahn on how much money there is to make:

"You can expect to be paid about fifty to a hundred dollars for book coverages depending on how long or complex the manuscript is."

Because the book was published in 1990, some facts and figures have dated. For instance, this is Katahn on the tools of the trade:

"I'm writing this book on an IBM-compatible Tandy 4000 SX.... I use the FRAMEWORK word processing software by Ashton-Tate....Many writers swear by Microsoft WORD, however." (italics his)

In general, though, the book still captures the essence of a story analyst as it is still practiced today.

PEN/ Faulkner Award 2010

2010-03-24T20:43:00.001+08:00

Sherman Alexie was awarded the PEN/Faulkner award for fiction Tuesday for "War Dances," a collection of short stories.

The award, started in 1981, comes with a prize of $15,000.

Last year's winner was Joseph O'Neill for "Netherland."

4th Asian Film Awards

2010-03-23T12:09:00.004+08:00

The film Mother from South Korea copped the best picture prize at the fourth Asian Film Awards on Monday. It also grabbed the awards for best screenplay (Bong Joon-ho and Park Eun-kyo) and best actress (Kim Hye-ja).

Lu Chuan was named best director for City of Life and Death, and Wai Ying-hung was chosen best actress as well for At the End of Daybreak. Wang Xueqi clinched the best actor award and Nicholas Tse was honored best supporting actor, both for Bodyguards and Assassins.

The lifetime achievement award was given to 67-year-old Amitabh Bachchan of India, who received a standing ovation. He has made more than 180 movies in his career.

Director Zhang Yimou was cited for "outstanding contribution to Asian cinema," and John Woo was acknowledged as the top-grossing director last year for the second installment of Red Cliff. Its two parts together earned 570 million Chinese yuan ($83 million). Producer Terence Chang accepted the award for Woo.

A Little Hurt

2010-03-08T13:49:00.002+08:00

Here are the winners at the 82nd annual Academy Awards today:

best picture- The Hurt Locker

best director- Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker

best original screenplay: Mark Boal for The Hurt Locker

best adapted screenplay: Geoffrey Fletcher for Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

best actor- Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart

best actress- Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side

best supporting actor- Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds

best supporting actress: Mo'Nique in Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

best foreign language film- El Secreto de Sus Ojos from Argentina

best animated feature- Up

best cinematography- Avatar

best editing- The Hurt Locker

best art direction- Avatar

best costume- The Young Victoria

best makeup- Star Trek

best visual effects- Avatar

best sound mixing- The Hurt Locker

best sound editing- The Hurt Locker

best original score- Up (Michael Giacchino)

best original song- The Weary Kind (Theme From Crazy Heart) from Crazy Heart (Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett)

best documentary feature- The Cove

best documentary short- Music by Prudence

best live action short- The New Tenants

best animated short- Logorama

It's Sandra Bullock's to Lose

2010-03-08T08:37:00.005+08:00

Here are the nominees for today's Oscars, starting from the ones I predict most likely to win:

best picture: The Hurt Locker, Avatar, Inglourious Basterds, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, Up in the Air, District 9, The Blind Side, A Serious Man, An Education, Up

best director:

Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker
James Cameron for Avatar
Lee Daniels for Precious
Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds
Jason Reitman for Up in the Air

best original screenplay:

Inglourious Basterds
The Hurt Locker
A Serious Man
Up
The Messenger

best adapted screenplay:

Up in the Air
Precious
An Education
In the Loop
District 9

best actor:

Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart
George Clooney in Up in the Air
Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker
Colin Firth in A Single Man
Morgan Freeman in Invictus

best actress:

Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side
Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia
Gabourey Sidibe in Precious
Carey Mulligan in An Education
Helen Mirren in The Last Station

best supporting actor:

Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds
Christopher Plummer in The Last Station
Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones
Woody Harrelson in The Messenger
Matt Damon in Invictus

best supporting actress:

Mo'Nique in Precious
Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart
Penelope Cruz in Nine

best foreign language film:

The White Ribbon

best animated feature:

Up

best cinematography:

The Hurt Locker

best editing:

The Hurt Locker

best art direction:

Avatar

best costume design:

Nine

best makeup:

Star Trek

best visual effects:

Avatar

best sound mixing:

Avatar

best sound editing:

The Hurt Locker

best original score:

Up

best original song:

The Weary Kind from Crazy Heart

best documentary feature:

Food, Inc.

best documentary short:

The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant

best live action short:

The Door

best animated short:

A Matter of Loaf and Death

Land of the Losers

2010-03-07T23:20:00.000+08:00

The 30th Golden Raspberry Awards were presented earlier today.

worst picture: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
worst director: Michael Bay for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
worst screenplay: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

worst actor: the Jonas brothers (Kevin, Joe and Nick) in Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
worst actress: Sandra Bullock in All About Steve

worst supporting actor: Billy Ray Cyrus in Hannah Montana: The Movie
worst supporting actress: Sienna Miller in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

worst remake, rip-off or sequel: Land of the Lost

worst picture of the decade: Battlefield Earth
worst actor of the decade: Eddie Murphy
worst actress of the decade: Paris Hilton

New Arrival

2010-02-27T10:52:00.002+08:00

The Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino has announced their nominees for the 33rd Gawad Urian.

best picture:

The Arrival
Baseco Bakal Boys
Colorum
Engkwentro
Himpapawid

Hospital Boat
Kinatay
Lola
Last Supper No. 3
Ang Panggagahasa kay Fe

best director:

John Steffan Ballesteros for Colorum
Pepe Diokno for Engkwentro
Ralston Jover for Baseco Bakal Boys
Erik Matti for The Arrival
Arnel Mardoquio for Hospital Boat

Brillante Mendoza for Kinatay
Brillante Mendoza for Lola
Raymond Red for Himpapawid
GB Sampedro for Astig
Veronica Velasco for Last Supper No. 3
Alvin Yapan for Ang Panggagahasa kay Fe

best screenplay:

Linda Casimiro for Lola
Pepe Diokno for Engkwentro
Christopher Gozum for Anacbanua
Armando Lao for Biyaheng Lupa
Armando Lao for Kinatay

Erik Matti for The Arrival
Raymond Red for Himpapawid
Veronica Velasco and Jinky Laurel for Last Supper No. 3
Alvin Yapan for Ang Panggagahasa kay Fe

best actor:

Raul Arellano in Himpapawid
Allen Dizon in Dukot
Dwight Gaston in The Arrival
John Lloyd Cruz in In My Life
Coco Martin in Kinatay

Joey Paras in Last Supper No. 3
Felix Roco in Engkwentro
Alfred Vargas in Colorum
Lou Veloso in Colorum
Jacky Woo in Walang Hanggang Paalam

best actress:

Irma Adlawan in Ang Panggagahasa kay Fe
Janice de Belen in Last Viewing
Iza Calzado in Dukot
Rustica Carpio in Lola
Eugene Domingo in Kimmy/Dora

Anita Linda in Lola
Che Ramos in Mangatyanan
Rosanna Roces in Wanted Border
Vilma Santos in In My Life
Tessie Tomas in Sanglaan

best supporting actor:

John Arcilla in Himpapawid
Dennis Ascalon in The Arrival
Soliman Cruz in Himpapawid
Milton Dionson in The Arrival
Jose Ma. Javellana in Colorum

John Regala in Kinatay
Jake Roxas in Walang Hanggang Paalam
Ariel Ureta in Kimmy/Dora

best supporting actress:

Gina Alajar in Dukot
Glaiza de Castro in Astig
Jea Lyka Cinco in Hospital Boat
Maria Isabel Lopez in Kinatay
Gina Pareno in Baseco Bakal Boys

Marissa Sue Prado in Himpapawid
Miriam Quiambao in Kimmy/Dora
Dimples Romana in In My Life

The awards will be presented April 29 at Cine Adarna of the University of the Philippines (Diliman).

The current chair of the Manunuri is Dr. Roland Tolentino. The members are Grace Javier Alfonso, Butch Francisco, Mario Hernando, Bienvenido Lumbera, Mike Rapatan, Benilda Santos, Nicanor Tiongson, Tito Genova Valiente, and Lito Zulueta.

No Tank

2010-02-23T10:25:00.003+08:00

The winners of the Orange British Academy Film Awards on Sunday:

best film- The Hurt Locker
best British film- Fish Tank
best film not in the English language- A Prophet
best director- Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker

best original screenplay- The Hurt Locker
best adapted screenplay- Up in the Air

best actor- Colin Firth in A Single Man
best actress- Carey Mulligan in An Education
best supporting actor- Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds
best supporting actress- Mo'Nique in Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

best cinematography- The Hurt Locker
best editing- The Hurt Locker
best production design- Avatar
best costume design- The Young Victoria
best makeup and hair- The Young Victoria
best sound- The Hurt Locker
best visual effects- Avatar
best music- Michael Giacchino for Up

best animated feature- Up
best short film- I Do Air
best short animation- Mother of Many

best British debut- Duncan Jones, director of Moon
rising star- Kristen Stewart

outstanding British contribution to cinema- Joe Dunton, camera technician
Academy fellowship- Vanessa Redgrave

Awakening

2010-02-09T08:23:00.003+08:00

The nominees for the Laurence Olivier theater awards have been announced.

The finalists are:

best new play-

Enron
Jerusalem
The Mountaintop
Red

best new musical-

Dreamboats and Petticoats
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Sister Act
Spring Awakening

best new comedy-

Calendar Girls
England People Very Nice
Parlour Song
The Priory

best actor-

James Earl Jones in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Jude Law in Hamlet
James McAvoy in Three Days of Rain
Mark Rylance in Jerusalem
Ken Stott in A View from the Bridge
Samuel West in Enron

best actress-

Gillian Anderson in A Doll's House
Lorraine Burroughs in The Mountaintop
Imelda Staunton in Entertaining Mr. Sloane
Juliet Stevenson in Duet for One Rachel Weisz in A Streetcar Named Desire

Spring Awakening led the nominations with seven nods, followed by Enron and Jerusalem with six apiece.

Some other notable nominees are:

Keira Knightley, in the supporting actress division for The Misanthrope

Rowan Atkinson (yes, Mr. Bean!), in the best actor division for Oliver!

Melanie Chisholm (yes, Spice Girl Mel C), in the best actress in a musical category for Blood Brothers

The awards, given for excellence in theater (opera, musicals, and opera) in England, will be presented on March 21.

10 for 2010

2010-02-03T08:52:00.008+08:00

The nominees for the 82nd annual Academy Awards were announced last night (Manila time). The nominees are:

best picture: Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, A Serious Man, Up, Up in the Air

best director: Kathryn Bigelow for "The Hurt Locker"; James Cameron for "Avatar"; Lee Daniels for "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"; Jason Reitman for "Up in the Air"; Quentin Tarantino for "Inglourious Basterds"

best original screenplay: Mark Boal for "The Hurt Locker"; Quentin Tarantino for "Inglourious Basterds"; Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman for "The Messenger"; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for "A Serious Man"; Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, and Tom McCarthy for "Up"

best adapted screenplay: Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell for "District 9"; Nick Hornby for "An Education"; Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, and Tony Roche for "In the Loop"; Geoffrey Fletcher for "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"; Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner for "Up in the Air"

best actor: Jeff Bridges in "Crazy Heart"; George Clooney in "Up in the Air"; Colin Firth in "A Single Man"; Morgan Freeman in "Invictus"; Jeremy Renner in "The Hurt Locker"

best actress: Sandra Bullock in "The Blind Side"; Helen Mirren in "The Last Station"; Carey Mulligan in "An Education"; Gabourey Sidibe in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"; Meryl Streep in "Julie & Julia"

best supporting actor: Matt Damon in "Invictus"; Woody Harrelson in "The Messenger"; Christopher Plummer in "The Last Station"; Stanley Tucci in "The Lovely Bones"; Christoph Waltz in "Inglourious Basterds"

best supporting actress: Penelope Cruz in "Nine"; Vera Farmiga in "Up in the Air"; Maggie Gyllenhaal in "Crazy Heart"; Anna Kendrick in "Up in the Air"; Mo'Nique in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"

best foreign language film: "Ajami" (Israel); "El Secreto de Sus Ojos" (Argentina); "The Milk of Sorrow" (Peru); "Un Prophete" (France); "The White Ribbon" (Germany)

best animated feature film: "Coraline"; "Fantastic Mr. Fox"; "The Princess and the Frog"; "The Secret of Kells"; "Up"

best cinematography: "Avatar," "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "The White Ribbon"

best editing: "Avatar," "District 9," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"

best art direction: "Avatar," "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," "Nine," "Sherlock Holmes," "The Young Victoria"

best costume: "Bright Star," "Coco Before Chanel," "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," "Nine," "The Young Victoria"

best makeup: "Il Divo," "Star Trek," "The Young Victoria"

best sound mixing: "Avatar," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "Star Trek," "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"

best sound editing: "Avatar," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "Star Trek," "Up"

best visual effects: "Avatar," "District 9," "Star Trek"

best original score: James Horner (Avatar); Alexandre Desplat (Fantastic Mr. Fox); Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders (The Hurt Locker); Hans Zimmer (Sherlock Holmes); Michael Giacchino (Up)

best original song:

"Almost There" from "The Princess and the Frog," Randy Newman;

"Down in New Orleans" from "The Princess and the Frog," Randy Newman;

"Loin de Paname" from "Paris 36," Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas;

"Take It All" from "Nine," Maury Yeston;

"The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" from "Crazy Heart," Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

best documentary feature: "Burma VJ," "The Cove," "Food, Inc." "The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers," "Which Way Home"

best documentary (short subject): "China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province," "The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner," "The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant," "Music by Prudence," "Rabbit a la Berlin"

best animated short film: "French Roast," "Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty," "The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)," "Logorama," "A Matter of Loaf and Death"

best live action short film: "The Door," "Instead of Abracadabra," "Kavi," "Miracle Fish," "The New Tenants"

District Sci Fi

2010-02-02T09:15:00.010+08:00

Here are my predictions for Oscar nominations to be announced tonight (Manila time):

best picture: Avatar; District 9; An Education; The Hurt Locker; Inglourious Basterds; Invictus; Precious; Star Trek; Up; Up in the Air

Commercial successes that can possibly sneak in: The Blind Side, The Hangover, and It's Complicated. The chances for Nine have been nil, and A Serious Man is a very long shot.

best director: Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker; James Cameron for Avatar; Lee Daniels for Precious; Jason Reitman for Up in the Air; Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds

There has been a slight surge for Lone Scherfig for An Education, although that might not be enough. If it is, then that would mean two women will get nominated in this category in the same year. Neill Blomkamp (District 9) and Pete Docter (Up) are dark horses. Reitman might be passed over in this category.

best original screenplay: 500 Days of Summer; The Hurt Locker; Inglourious Basterds; A Serious Man; Up

Look for spoilers in Avatar and It's Complicated.

best adapted screenplay: District 9; An Education; In the Loop; Precious; Up in the Air

Fantastic Mr. Fox, Julie & Julia, or A Single Man might still make it.

best lead actor: Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart; George Clooney in Up in the Air; Colin Firth in A Single Man; Morgan Freeman in Invictus; Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker

There has been some support lately for Peter Sarsgaard (An Education), and it is too bad Ben Foster (The Messenger) has been left out of the race. If anyone is dropping out, that would be Freeman. But that would be unlikely because he is playing a political figure who is larger than life. How can the liberals resist?

best lead actress: Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side; Helen Mirren in The Last Station; Carey Mulligan in An Education; Gabourey Sidibe in Precious; Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia

Watch out for a surprise from Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria).

best supporting actor: Matt Damon in Invictus; Woody Harrelson in The Messenger; Christopher Plummer in The Last Station; Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones; Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds

Possible entries: Christian McKay (Me and Orson Welles) and Alfred Molina (An Education).

best supporting actress: Penelope Cruz in Nine; Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air; Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air; Mo'Nique in Precious; Julianne Moore in A Single Man

The tightest race this year. Nine has been on a downward spiral, and it is possible Cruz will lose her spot to somebody like Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart) or Samantha Morton (The Messenger). One of the ladies from Up in the Air may also have to yield her slot to someone from Inglourious Basterds- that's going to be Diane Kruger or Melanie Laurent.

Wouldn't that be nice? Seeing Sarsgaard and Gyllenhaal nominated in the same year?

best cinematography: Avatar; The Hurt Locker; Inglourious Basterds; Nine; White Ribbon

Robert Richardson (Inglourious Basterds) is the only American in this bunch.

best editing: Avatar; District 9; The Hurt Locker; A Serious Man; Up in the Air

best visual effects: Avatar; District 9; Star Trek

best art direction: Avatar; The Hurt Locker; Inglourious Basterds; The Lovely Bones; A Serious Man

best costume design: Coco Before Chanel; Julie & Julia; Nine; Sherlock Holmes; The Young Victoria

I Got a Feeling

2010-01-31T09:35:00.000+08:00

Here are my predictions for tomorrow's Grammy Awards:

album of the year: Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King (Dave Matthews Band)
record of the year: "Use Somebody" (Kings of Leon)
song of the year: "Pretty Wings" (Maxwell)
best new artist: Zac Brown Band

best pop vocal album: The E.N.D. (Black Eyed Peas)
best contemporary R&B album: I Am... Sasha Fierce (Beyonce)
best rap album: Relapse (Eminem)
best country album: Fearless (Taylor Swift)
best rock album: Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King (Dave Matthews Band)

best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals: I Gotta Feeling
best dance recording: Poker Face (Lady Gaga)
best alternative music recording: The Open Door (Death Cab for Cutie)

Blinded

2010-01-24T11:09:00.003+08:00

The winners of the 16th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards today are:

for film-

best cast: "Inglourious Basterds"

best lead actor: Jeff Bridges in "Crazy Heart"

best lead actress: Sandra Bullock in "The Blind Side"

best supporting actor: Christoph Waltz in "Inglorious Basterds"

best supporting actress: Mo'Nique in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"

best stunt ensemble: "Star Trek"

for television-

best drama series cast: "Mad Men"

best comedy series cast: "Glee"

best actor in a drama series: Michael C. Hall in "Dexter"

best actress in a drama series: Julianna Margulies in "The Good Wife"

best actor in a comedy series: Alec Baldwin in "30 Rock"

best actress in a comedy series: Tina Fey in "30 Rock"

best actor in a movie or miniseries: Kevin Bacon in "Taking Chance"

best actress in a movie or miniseries: Drew Barrymore in "Grey Gardens"

best stunt ensemble: "24"

Life Achievement: Betty White

The Gloriously Mad Will Rock

2010-01-23T08:28:00.004+08:00

Here are my thoughts for tomorrow's Screen Actors Guild awards tomorrow morning, Manila time:

Those who will win for film are-

best cast: Inglourious Basterds

best lead actor: Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart
best lead actress: Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia

I hope Bullock will not pull off an upset.

best supporting actor: Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds
best supporting actress: Mo'Nique in Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire

best stunt ensemble- Star Trek

For television-

best drama series cast: Mad Men deserves to win, and it will take this one.

best comedy series cast- Curb Your Enthusiasm is overdue, but the trophy will go to 30 Rock.

best actor in a drama series- Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) deserves to win, but the votes will go to Michael C. Hall (Dexter).

best actress in a drama series- Patricia Arquette is overdue for Medium, but Glenn Close will win for Damages.

best actor in a comedy series- Alec Baldwin will be awarded for 30 Rock, but I think Larry David deserves it for Curb Your Enthusiasm.

best actress in a comedy series- Edie Falco has a good chance for Nurse Jackie, but Tina Fey will most likely win for 30 Rock. I think Julia Louis-Dreyfus deserves it for The New Adventures of Old Christine.

best actor in a movie or miniseries- Kevin Bacon will win for Taking Chance.
best actress in a movie or miniseries- Jessica Lange will win for Grey Gardens.

Stunt ensemble- The deserving nominee is The Unit.

For nominations, click here.

Zero for Nine

2010-01-18T09:42:00.009+08:00

The winners of today's Golden Globes are:

for film-

best picture (drama)- Avatar

best picture (musical or comedy)- The Hangover

best director: James Cameron for "Avatar"

best actor (drama)- Jeff Bridges in "Crazy Heart"

best actress (drama)- Sandra Bullock in "The Blind Side"

best actor (musical or comedy)- Robert Downey Jr. in "Sherlock Holmes"

best actress (musical or comedy)- Meryl Streep in "Julie & Julia"

best supporting actor- Christoph Waltz in "Inglourious Basterds"

best supporting actress- Mo'Nique in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"

best foreign-language film- The White Ribbon

best animated film- Up

best screenplay- Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner for "Up in the Air"

best original score: Michael Giacchino for "Up"

best original song: "The Weary Kind (Theme from 'Crazy Heart')" (written by Ryan Bingham, T Bone Burnett) for "Crazy Heart"

for television-

best drama series- "Mad Men" (AMC)

best musical or comedy series- "Glee" (Fox)

best miniseries or movie- "Grey Gardens" (HBO)

best actor (drama)- Michael C. Hall in "Dexter"

best actress (drama)- Julianna Margulies in "The Good Wife"

best actor (musical or comedy)- Alec Baldwin in "30 Rock"

best actress (musical or comedy)- Toni Collette in "United States of Tara"

best actor (miniseries or movie)- Kevin Bacon in "Taking Chance"

best actress (miniseries or movie)- Drew Barrymore in "Grey Gardens"

best supporting actor (series, miniseries or movie)- John Lithgow in "Dexter"

best supporting actress (series, miniseries or movie)- Chloe Sevigny in "Big Love"

Damages

2010-01-17T09:52:00.004+08:00

Here's who should win the Golden Globes tomorrow morning, Manila time (For nominations, click here):

best drama:
House is overdue, but it does not look like it's going to win.

best comedy:
The Office is also overdue, but it also has slim chances.

best actor (drama):
Bill Paxton in Big Love

best actress (drama):
Glenn Close in Damages

best actor (musical or comedy):
Matthew Morrison in Glee

best actress (musical or comedy):
Toni Collette in United States of Tara

best supporting actor:
Neil Patrick Harris in How I Met Your Mother

best supporting actress:
Rose Byrne in Damages

Not So Complicated

2010-01-16T10:11:00.007+08:00

The Golden Globe Awards will be telecast Monday morning, Manila time. ( Click here for nominees. ) Here are my predictions in the movie categories:

best drama:
Up in the Air, but look to Avatar to possibly snatch the top prize.

best musical or comedy:
Nine, but this movie has been slipping in critical appreciation in the past few weeks. Watch out for a win by It's Complicated. The Hangover has good chances and 500 Days of Summer is a dark horse.

best director: James Cameron for Avatar, although critics would say it's his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow (for "The Hurt Locker") who should win.

best actor (drama):
George Clooney (in "Up in the Air"). Jeff Bridges (in "Crazy Heart") is a distant possibility.

best actress (drama):

Sandra Bullock (in "The Blind Side"), possibly Carey Mulligan (in "An Education").

best actor (musical or comedy):
This is the one most widely open to anybody. In descending order of possibility: Daniel Day-Lewis (in "Nine"), Robert Downey Jr. (in "Sherlock Holmes"), or Matt Damon (in "The Informant!").

best actress (musical or comedy):
Meryl Streep (in "Julie & Julia"), the surest thing this year for the Globes. Her closest competition would be herself (in "It's Complicated").

best supporting actor:
Christoph Waltz (in "Inglourious Basterds"). Damon (in "Invictus") is still a possibility, however small his chances are.

best supporting actress:
Mo'Nique (in "Precious"). The next sure thing.

best screenplay:
Up in the Air

best animated film:
Up

best foreign-language film:
The White Ribbon. A possibility: A Prophet, then Broken Embraces.

May It Be

2010-01-08T21:48:00.005+08:00

For Christmas, Lamplighter gave me "Hobbits, Elves, and Wizards" by Michael N. Stanton (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2001), addicted as I have been to The Lord of the Rings. In this book, Stanton treats the geography and history and themes of LOTR, along with (as the title implies) the races of Middle-earth, such as dwarfs, ents, and humankind. The book includes a long essay on the first part of the movie trilogy.

In his preface, Stanton writes:

"It always was and still is a pleasure for me to talk about and write about The Lord of the Rings, and I hope that pleasure shows through."

This is an accessible book even to non-fans.

During the holidays, I picked up the "Cambridge Guide to Fiction in English" by Ian Ousby (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998) at a used books store for Php 40. This is a survey of the English-speaking countries, and the Philippines is included. Here is the entry for F. Sionil Jose:

"Sionil, F(rankie) Sionil. 1924- Filipino. The foremost anglophone writer in the Philippines, he has published novels, novellas and collections of short stories. His reputation rests on the 'Rosales Quinology', consisting of The Pretenders (1962), Tree (1978), My Brother, My Executioner (1979), Mass (1982) and Po-on (1984). Beginning in contemporary middle-class settings, the sequence goes on to chronicle more than a century of life in every sphere of Philippine society."

The book deals with genres of fiction, types of novel, literary history and theory, and trends such as modernism, naturalism, realism, and magic realism. There are summaries of major novels, suggested reading among resources and references, and a list of selected literary prizes.

Most entries are relatively short, but this is nevertheless a helpful study of fiction in English.

These two books have been on my reading load since the holidays. Here's hoping 2010 will be a very good year in books.