Like a Tiffany engagement ring presented in a Happy Meal box, sometimes the most beautiful gifts come in really cruddy wrapping. And such was the case with last night’s Academy Awards ceremony. On the one hand, the show managed to delight (if not surprise) me with one of the unlikeliest sweeps in Oscar history, making […]
The gift, not the wrapping
Posted by Guy Lodge · 4:36 pm · March 8th, 2010
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2/26 Oscarweb Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:34 am · February 26th, 2010
• Maria Puente on the wide array of villains represented by the year’s Oscar nominations. [USA Today] • Bill Mechanic tells Sharon Waxman that the Oscarcast will be “emotional.” [The Wrap] • Not movie related, but FYI, Batman’s is still bigger. [Hero Complex]
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Shankman and Mechanic on teamwork
Posted by Guy Lodge · 8:13 am · February 25th, 2010
In last Friday’s edition of Oscar Talk, Anne Thompson alluded to something of an elephant in the room regarding the upcoming Oscar ceremony: that curiously matched co-producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic are “not getting along.” As whispers to this effect continue to circulate around the industry, the pair have clearly aimed to dispel that […]
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What might have been
Posted by Guy Lodge · 2:25 am · February 20th, 2010
I agree with Anne Thompson in yesterday’s edition of Oscar Talk when she cautiously says that the hosting is one of the few things she’s not worried about in the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony. Steve Martin — tried, tested and funny on two previous hosting dates — is the definition of a safe pair of […]
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1/18 Oscarweb Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:56 am · February 18th, 2010
(Your non-Harvey-influenced round-up for the morning…) • Is Armando Iannucci planning to take the world of “In the Loop” to HBO? [CHUD] • Bill Mechanic responds to criticism over move to eliminate original song performances. [The Odds] • Actors on an actorless “Avatar.” [Los Angeles Times]
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Shocker: Best Original Song nominees will not perform
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:19 am · February 16th, 2010
This is a bit outrageous. Mike Fleming is reporting at Deadline Hollywood Daily that the original song nominees will not be asked to perform the tracks on the telecast: Explanations include that the songs never delivered ratings, and that is what this Oscarcast is all about. That not having the big production numbers will move […]
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In the trenches with AMPAS
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:57 am · February 3rd, 2010
I must admit that when I found out Monday night that our friend Anthony Breznican was embedded with AMPAS brass and nominations co-announcer Anne Hathaway for this USA Today feature story (and, therefore, knew the nominees at 9:00 that night), I was incredibly jealous. But that it yielded such an insightful little piece, well, fine […]
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Call it, friendo
Posted by Guy Lodge · 12:12 am · January 15th, 2010
Yesterday, Kris pointed you to Gregory Ellwood’s report on various Oscarcast developments, most of which either elicited a “wait and see” response from me or went over my head completely. (As a very old man of 26, I confess to having only a hazy grasp of who Taylor Lautner actually is. But I very much […]
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Almodóvar, Tarantino to present at Oscars, five-presenter system scrapped
Posted by Guy Lodge · 9:09 am · November 16th, 2009
A few weeks ago, The Film Experience’s Nathaniel Rogers invited alternative presenter ideas for next year’s Academy Awards ceremony. Among the suggestions I made was a more diverse roster of recognizable filmmakers deemed worthy of presenter status, naming Pedro Almodóvar as an example. Once again, Oscarcast producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman and I seem […]
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Fixing the Oscarcast … get your ideas in early
Posted by Guy Lodge · 6:43 am · October 26th, 2009
With the 2009 Oscar telecast a little over four months away, it may seem a tad premature for the annual round of “how-to-save-the-show” suggestions, but it’s really the best time — now that Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic have been handed the reins, they’ll be drawing up plans immediately. So the LA Times’s Mary McNamara […]
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WEEKLY WRAP: Oscar prods, Gotham nods, ‘Amelia’ clods
Posted by Guy Lodge · 9:08 am · October 24th, 2009
• The Academy finally named the producers for next year’s Oscar telecast, first-timers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic. • All of which added weight to the speculation that Hugh Jackman might return as host. • The Gotham Awards provided the season with its first set of nominees, though it inspired more talk for its omissions. […]
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Shankman and Mechanic named new Oscarcast producers
Posted by Guy Lodge · 3:25 pm · October 20th, 2009
Well, we were getting a bit impatient for the names to drop, but finally they have: Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic have formally been named as the producers of the 2009 Academy Awards telecast. As was the case last year, Oscar bosses have handed the reins to a pair of newcomers. Shankman, a choreographer-turned-filmmaker (not […]
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9/30 Oscarweb Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:57 am · September 30th, 2009
• Roger Ebert talks “Capitalism: A Love Story” with Michael Moore. [Chicago Sun-Times] • Noah Forrest stands up for Megan Fox against a weird culture of hatred toward the actress. [Movie City News] • George Clooney vs. George Clooney at the November box office. [Vulture]
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