In Contention

Tag: Oprah Winfrey

  • James Earl Jones, Dick Smith and Oprah Winfrey to receive Academy’s Governors Awards

    Okay, so nix her as a host possibility. Oprah gets the Hersholt.

    Dick Smith is an inspired pick for an Honorary Oscar. It’s interesting that I’m watching Tim Burton’s “Planet of the Apes” right now, which saw makeup artist Rick Baker shafted by the Academy, just as his mentor is announced for this honor. Baker talked a bit about Smith at Comic-Con last month.

    And James Earl Jones, well. Who’s going to argue with that? Anyway, the press release, in part:

    The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted tonight to present Honorary Awards to actor James Earl Jones and makeup artist Dick Smith and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to philanthropist Oprah Winfrey. All three awards will be presented at the Academy’s 3rd Annual Governors Awards dinner on Saturday, November 12, at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center®.

    [Photo: Columbia Pictures]

  • Oprah tops AMPAS wish list for Oscarcast host(ess)?

    UPDATE (6:40pm): Naturally, the Academy denies all this. Why would they confirm even if it was true? Why kill the suspense now? Anyway…

    EARLIER: Sasha Stone Twirected (get it? Tweet + directed?) me to a Chicago Sun-Times story that says Oprah Winfrey, fresh off her final daytime talk show stint, could be at the top of the Academy’s list of proposed hosts for the 84th annual Academy Awards. And, naturally, it would be a mutually beneficial kind of thing. Writes Bill Zwecker:

    If the widely seen gig is accompanied by a behind-the-scenes special and a post-Oscars show airing only on the Oprah Winfrey Network, it would give the struggling cable channel some added exposure. But I’m hearing that is a very separate potential deal.

    Furthermore, Zwecker says the feeling is that Winfrey would greatly expand the audience potential for the show, a continuous issue of debate and consideration behind the scenes.

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  • First Oscar presenters announced

    With the big night still over two months away, it’s rather early for us to be thinking of Oscar telecast details, but you can bet the show’s frantic producers aren’t feeling quite so calm about it all. As we speak, Rolodexes and little black books are being frantically rifled through as the list of presenters is drawn up, and today, we were given our first taste of what manner of star power will be joining hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco (still doesn’t sound right, does it?) on stage.

    No surprise that reigning Oscar champs Sandra Bullock and Jeff Bridges will be on hand, presumably to present the lead acting awards — the question is whether the producers will stick to the awkward “Logan’s Run”-style five-way presenting scheme they’ve used, to sharply diminishing effect, the last two years running. In the 2008 ceremony, they had the previous winners present their own category: Bridges’ likely repeat nomination this year should prevent that, though it’d be fun to watch him eulogize himself.

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  • ‘Waiting for Superman’ does Oprah

    I offered up my thoughts on Davis Guggenheim’s “Waiting for Superman” back when the film played the Los Angeles Film Festival in June.  My position is that the film, however emotional, doesn’t necessarily tell us anything we don’t already know and plays loose and fast with facts in order to slightly sensationalize the issue.

    All of that said, if it’s not quite there as a piece of art, it is extremely successful and commendable as a piece of activism.  And who in their right mind would argue with its message?

    The film opens in limited release tomorrow and got a big boost from Oprah Winfrey earlier this week when she brought Guggenheim, D.C. school district chancellor Michelle Rhee (who features prominently in the film) and recent tag-along Bill Gates onto the show to spread the message to an obviously gigantic audience in her farewell season.  (Interestingly enough, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg will announce his intentions to donate $100 million to New Jersey public schools on tomorrow’s show — talk about image spin/control.)

    Check out a clip from the episode after the jump (Oprah at her giveaway best) and do try to see the film when it comes your way.

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  • 10/22 Oscarweb Round-up

    Adam Shankman• Steve Pond takes note of an Oscar milestone regarding Adam Shankman: the first tweeting Oscarcast producer! [The Odds]

    • Tom O’Neil stirs the pot, says there might be a “Precious” backlash in the works. [Gold Derby]

    • He does so in response to Lou Lumenick, who wonders whether Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey are hurting the film. [Lumenick on Film]

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  • Tyson on Oprah’s couch

    I finally got around to James Toback’s documentary “Tyson” last night, which is an extremely thoughtful look at, well, one side of the heavyweight’s story.  Tyson makes for a captivating subject but I’m not sure the effort made for a captivating film.

    Tyson will be on Oprah this afternoon.  Here are a couple of highlights that have popped up up via CNN:

  • 9/22 Oscarweb Round-up

    Jane Campion• Peter Bart takes note of two of the season’s leading ladies of the Oscar circuit, unlikely rivals Jane campion and Kathryn Bigelow. [BF Deal Memo]

    • Eugene Hernandez on the Oscar marathon. [indieWIRE]

    • Bilge Ibiri compares “The Insider” to “The Informant!” [Future of Classic]

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  • Mendes and Oprah unite on ‘Netherland’

    NetherlandI’m glad Sam Mendes seems determined to up the languid one-film-every-three-years work rate he started out with, even if I think “Away We Go” would have benefitted from having a bit more time (and a lot more rewrites) lavished on it.

    He’s not the first director I thought of to helm an adaptation of Joseph O’Neill’s brilliant novel “Netherland,” a story of immigrant displacement in post-9/11 New York. Now I can see the fit rather neatly — and the combination of a Transatlantic narrative with a healthy dose of cricket in the proceedings must have been irresistible to the Brit.

    Variety reports that Mendes is “eyeing” the project with a view to direct, but he’s decisively on board as a producer, teaming with Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions and Focus Features. Meanwhile, Christopher Hampton (“Dangeous Liaisons,” “Atonement”) is on script duty, so you know this is a classy enterprise.

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  • PAGE TO SCREEN: “Push” by Sapphire

    Push by SapphireAs is clear from their determination to cling to the ungainly handle “Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire,” the team behind the upcoming big-screen adaptation of New York poet Sapphire’s well-regarded 1996 novella are keen to acknowledge the film’s literary heritage. (And not just because a lousy February release stole their original title.)

    It’s not surprising. “Push” was a minor publishing phenomenon in the 1990s that has since become a solid modern entry in the canons of both African-American and youth literature – the book wears its debt to Toni Morrison and Alice Walker proudly on its sleeve – so the film obviously wants to announce itself to Sapphire’s devoted readership.

    More subliminally, however, I suspect the film’s prominently advertised literary cache aims to differentiate it from any number of urban-leaning titles with similar themes but minimal artistic cred – and to lend it a varnish of prestige to awards voters wary of the subject matter.

    A glance at the bare-bones synopsis for “Push” or “Precious” – illiterate, physically and emotionally abused Harlem girl recovers sense of self-worth thanks to inspirational teacher – offers little indication of how the final work will be superior to Hollywood schlock of the “Dangerous Minds” ilk, or even Lifetime TV territory. (On the surface, this could easily turn into a facsimile of “Life is Not a Fairytale: The Fantasia Barrino Story,” minus the eventual fame and fortune.)

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  • OFF THE CARPET: Taking the temperature

    Jeremy Renner in The Hurt LockerIt’s somewhat surprising that our year-in-advance Oscar coverage is only three months old.  That now ancient list of predictions seems so long ago, and yet, even with Cannes behind us and this or that indication of a few of the contenders, I have no idea how to offer an educated update beyond general housekeeping.  The season, it seems, will remain elusive for just a little while longer.

    Here’s what we know: Critics didn’t respond to Universal’s “The Boat That Rocked” across the pond.  But the Brits hardly have a soft spot for Richard Curtis.  Along similar lines, Stephen Frears’s “Chéri” hasn’t exactly inspired either.  But both films, from awards savvy studios, could find a second wind when they eventually open Stateside.

    The biggest Oscar hopeful to emerge from this year’s Cannes fest is, in my opinion, Jane Campion’s “Bright Star.”  Heralded in some quarters as a return to form for the director, and snatched up by the intrepid Bob Berney (formerly of Picturehouse and now closing in on a name for his distribution company with partner Bill Polhad), the film could be a nominations hog, anywhere from six to 10 possibilities.  You’ll note all of my ponderings in that regard in the latest chart update below.

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  • 2/3 Oscarweb Round-up

    Oprah Winfrey• Lionsgate picks up Sundance sensation “Push” with Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry in on the publicity push. [Variety]

    • Aseem Chhabra wonders why negative portrayals of India from westerners always cause people to “freak out.” [Mumbai Mirror]

    • “Little Miss Sunshine” producer David T. Friendly, meanwhile, smartly tells reporters sniffing around the “Slumdog” smear story to “consider the source,” calls the whole scenario “fueled by sour grapes.” [The Wrap]

    • David Poland on the evaporating post-Oscar theatrical bump. [The Hot Blog]

    • Another Oscar section for all our obsessive enjoyment. [E! Online]

    • Michael Cieply reads into the body language of the season’s contenders at yesterday’s nominees luncheon. [The Carpetbagger]

    • Peter Bart chimes in from the scene as well. [Peter Bart]

    • Tom O’Neil on the steady leak of Oscarcast surprises. [Gold Derby]

    • Christopher Campbell’s reasons bot to underestimate “The Reader” at this stage. [Spout Blog]

    • Hilary Alexander reports from the BAFTA talent photo shoot. [Daily Telegraph]

  • Oprah talks ‘Button’

    So, Oprah tried to work her magic last week on “Australia” — today she’s turning her attention to “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett both appearing on today’s show.

    I guess you can expect a lot of Brangelina talk if that floats your boat, but hopefully, they’ll find some time to talk about the movie between all that. Tune in if you’re interested.

  • At least SOMEONE has seen ‘Australia’

    Some people are getting very excited about the gushing praise Oprah Winfrey heaped upon “Australia” in yesterday’s edition of her show, which was entirely dedicated to the movie. She proclaims it “the best movie I’ve seen in a long, long, long, long time,” so I guess she kind of liked it.

    While it’s heartening to hear warm words for the film, I think people may be placing a little too much stock in them — simply because it’s the only opinion of the film that has been expressed so far. I love Oprah, but we all know she’s not the most discerning voice out there.

    On the other hand, this does remind me of a similar show she devoted to “Moulin Rouge,” in which she said something to the effect that the film gave her the same kind of moviegoing rush that she got when she saw “The Wizard of Oz” as a kid. When I saw the film, I knew exactly what she meant. Hopefully, she’s onto something again here.

    Anyway, for those who are interested, here’s a rather haphazardly edited highlights reel of yesterday’s show. You’ve gotta love Oprah’s giddy enthusiasm at the start: