In Contention

Tag: Taylor Lautner

  • Sweet smell of desperation

    Kristen Stewart at the 2009 BAFTA AwardsIt’s almost as if the ratings-hungry Oscarcast producers watched last night’s BAFTA sweep for “The Hurt Locker,” finally accepted they’re going to receive no assistance from the awards, and duly sprung into action.

    Right on cue comes today’s announcement that Miley Cyrus, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner and Zac Efron will all be presenting on March 7. Perhaps if they add Robert Pattinson, they can present the Best Supporting Actress category together, heartfelt individual tributes and all.

    Here’s hoping Stewart practises her smile over the next two weeks. Not even a BAFTA Rising Star award could cheer her up last night.

  • Shocker: Best Original Song nominees will not perform

    (from left) T Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham at the 2010 Golden Globe AwardsThis 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 the show along. That it will save money for distributors, who eat most of the costs (up to 7 figures) of schlepping singers in. That unless a song by Bruce Springsteen, Celine Dion, Sting or U2 were nominated, most of the worldwide audience is hearing the tune for the first time when it is sung. I mean, can anybody besides Tom Bernard or Michael Barker from Sony Pictures Classics hum a few bars of “Loin de Paname” from Paris 36?

    Dear Academy: I don’t think we can possibly bend over any further.

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  • Bring the pretty

    (left to right) Anthony Mackie, Jeremy Renner and Brian GeraghtyI never thought I’d have to mention Taylor Lautner in two separate posts in one day, but life is full of surprises that way. Still, this tidbit can’t pass without comment. In a NYT piece (spotted via Vulture) on ratings tactics for Sunday’s Golden Globes telecast, Brooks Barnes mines this foot-in-mouth groaner from aptly-named HFPA president Philip Berk:

    “Anybody connected with ‘Nine’ is going to be sitting ringside,” he said … Lining up younger stars has been a priority. Seated with “The Hurt Locker” contingent will be Taylor Lautner, the beefcake star of “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.” “He will be there to make the table look glamorous,” Mr. Berk said.

    Gee, way to make the talents behind the year’s most celebrated film feel welcome. For the record, I’ve met Kathryn Bigelow in person and can assure you that she doesn’t lack for glamor. And are its male stars really so hard on the eye? Hope no one’s losing their plus-one privileges for this.

  • ‘New Moon’ press conference at the Con

    The Twilight Saga: New MoonI skipped out on this morning’s “New Moon” press conference, despite the inevitable traffic spike attending would have given us.  Those bird’s-eye view photos of the masses, however, have been passed around over and over and over again just a few hours later.  Kinda crazy.

    Anyway, Jeff Wells, attending his first Comic-Con (which is its own delightful sit-com waiting to happen), was on hand and took the video below, but his matter-of-fact dismantling of the film’s stars and their attitude at the presser that is worth passing along:

    This morning’s New Moon/Comic-Con press conference began at 9:54 am — almost a half-hour late — inside a super-sized meeting hall within San Diego’s Bayfront Hilton. The film’s three stars — Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner — posed for photos and took questions from a throng of about 75 or 80 journalists…Lautner is clearly the most ambitiously press-friendly among the three. While Stewart and Pattinson did their usual usual — i.e., giving answers that suggested they’re a lot more complex and aloof and thoughtful than their participation in movies based on the Twilight series might suggest. It’s the age-old “I’ll do this but only if I can answer questions like Marlon Brando” routine. But Lautner, who has a bee-stung Beagle Boy nose , exhibited the personality of a publicist or a glad-hander. He clearly enjoys smiling and wants everyone to like him. He could be the next Regis Philbin if he wanted to go there.

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  • The only ‘New Moon’-related post you’ll see here…ever

    Traffic will take a quantum leap because of this very post alone.  I’ll let you decide what that means for society.

    The press release concerning the debut of the “New Moon” trailer, in part:

    MySpace Movies is excited to announce the trailer debut for The Twilight Saga: New Moon on Sunday, May 31 at 7:45 pm PT/10:45 pm ET. Fans of the highly anticipated film will be able to view the trailer in its entirety at www.myspace.com/trailerpark. They can also share the video with their friends by utilizing the embed code available on the page.

    In The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) is devastated by the abrupt departure of her vampire love, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) but her spirit is rekindled by her growing friendship with the irresistible Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). Suddenly she finds herself drawn into the world of the werewolves, ancestral enemies of the vampires, and finds her loyalties tested. Based on the best-selling book series, The Twilight Saga: New Moon opens in theatres everywhere November 20. It is the highly anticipated next installment to the movie Twilight, which has grossed $380MM globally at the box office, and has become a worldwide sensation and cultural phenomenon.