In Contention

Tag: Eminem

  • On the Academy’s tune tribulations

    Eminem in 8 MileFor the most part, I feel like this Eric Felten op-ed (in a new weekly Wall Street Journal arts column called “De Gustibus”) has its heart in the right place.  But in chastising the Academy for all but doing away with the Best Original Song category with a recent rule change, he takes some rather cheap shots at the group for awarding, in fact, some of the most worthy movie tunes of the alst few years.

    Forgive me but I happen to think Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” and Three 6 Mafia’s “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” to be, however on the nose, powerful additions to their respective films, and the Academy uncharacteriztically brave for singling them out.

    That having been said, it is true that members of the Academy rarely seem to recognize song work that stands the test of time.

    (more…)

  • Put to bed?

    Though I’m sure there will be those who want to peg this as damage control.  From the AP:

    Eminem says he knew full well what he was about to face at the MTV Movie Awards — including Sacha Baron Cohen’s bare butt.

    Enimem told the Web site RapRadar.com that the much-talked about stunt was all rehearsed, right down to Eminem’s mock disgust. Says the rapper: “I’m thrilled that we pulled this off better than we rehearsed it.”

    Eminem says when he left the show, he went back to his hotel and laughed for three hours, including as he watched the playback.

    The rapper calls himself a “big fan” of Baron Cohen, who he said approached him about the gag while he was in Europe.

  • 6/1 Web Round-up

    Eminem with Sacha Baron Cohen's hind-quarters at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards• Did you miss Eminem’s close encounter with Sacha Baron Cohen’s bare ass?  Never fear. [The Guardian]

    • Pixar’s “Up” reminds of the lonely sport of cluster ballooning. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Was Universal going for scary or sexy with the “Drag Me to Hell” poster? [The Big Picture]

    • Eric Snider notes the failure of high peaks so far at the 2009 box office, but fails to note the money is just spread out more than usual. [Cinematical]

    • Peter Sciretta digs into “Up” and comes up with a slew of Pixar Easter eggs. [/Film]

    • 10 cool old man protagonists for the “Up” fan. [Spout Blog]

    • Jeffrey Wells: “Terminator Salvation” apologist. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Brooks Barnes manifest a story about ‘The Princess and the Frog” out of thin, questionably resourced air. [New York Times]

    • After accusing the Edinburgh Film Festival to “caving in to anti-Israeli views,” director Gary Sinyor hands back his Charles Chaplin Award. [The Independent]