James Earl Jones, Oprah to Get Oscars

After 10 years, an opportunity to fix mistakes: Lowen Liu

(NEWSER) - Slate wants to fix the Oscars—"Academy Awards ceremonies are laughable, even to those of us who love them," the site declares —so it's asking writers and editors to offer up their proposals in advance of the Feb. 26 ceremony. Lowen Liu's idea : Allow for a re-vote on the major categories 10 years later. That would mean that this year, Academy voters could finally make up for the travesty that occurred when A Beautiful Mind won over such "diverse and dazzling" films as English manners mystery Gosford Park and the theatrical Moulin Rouge! More»

No more tweens, boring categories, unfunny hosts

(NEWSER) - The Oscars tried really hard for a broader appeal this year—10 best picture nominees! A Neil Patrick Harris appearance!—but even so, Ramin Setoodeh is "having trouble remembering anything that happened during the lethargic 210-minute ceremony." He offers five ways the Oscars can really improve in the future in Newsweek:

• Hire hosts who are actually funny: Joining the now decade-long tradition of hosts who have bombed, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin “opened the show like the old uncles at your family reunion.”

First directing honors for a woman as Iraq thriller reaps 5 awards

(AP) - The Iraq war thriller The Hurt Locker earned the Best Picture Academy Award tonight, and Kathryn Bigelow won for best director. Bigelow is the first woman in the 82-year history of the Oscars to earn Hollywood's top prize for filmmakers. Among those Bigelow beat were ex-husband James Cameron, the best director winner for 1997's Titanic, who was nominated this time for his sci-fi spectacle Avatar. Bigelow and Cameron were married from 1989 to 1991. More»

The Blind Side as White Lady Saves the Day and more

(NEWSER) - It’s just about time for the Oscars, but first, check College Humor ’s list of what some of the nominated films should be called, if we’re being honest with ourselves.

• Avatar: Predictable, with James-Cameron-ripping subtitle, “From the guy who knows how to spend $280,000,000.”
• The Blind Side: White Lady Saves the Day
• Inglourious Basterds: Inaccurate Trailer (“Brad Pitt’s hardly in it, and it’s mostly in French.”)

Film critic talks about life after cancer treatments

(NEWSER) - Roger Ebert is fine with the way his face looks after cancer surgeries, and he tells Oprah he's not going through another one for purely cosmetic reasons. "This is the way I look, and my life is happy and productive so why have any more surgery," he said in the interview airing on today's Oprah Winfrey Show. "Nobody looks perfect, we have to find peace with the way we look and get on with life." More»