Can Mel Make a Comeback?

Roger Corman, Gordon Willis, John Calley share the spotlight

(NEWSER) - A mere 65 years after her unforgettable screen debut, Lauren Bacall has won an Academy Award. The honorary Oscar was a high point of a ceremony last night in Los Angeles that also celebrated the careers of filmmaker Roger Corman, cinematographer Gordon Willis, and producer John Calley. "I can't believe it, a man at last!" the 85-year-old Bacall joked as she hoisted her new hardware. More»

Even Hollywood can make movies for the non-'lily-livered:' Nile Gardiner

(NEWSER) - "Hollywood may well be a bastion of liberalism, but it does continue to occasionally produce major films that advance conservative principles," Nile Gardiner writes in the Telegraph . His best of the aughts:

1. Master and Commander, 2003: The Peter Weir flick starring Russell Crowe is "an epic tale of heroism and love for country in the face of incredible odds, and a glowing tribute to the grit and determination that forged the British Empire."
2. Black Hawk Down, 2001: Critics may have called it an "anti-war film," but Gardiner doesn't buy it. Instead, it's "an extraordinarily powerful and deeply patriotic tribute to the heroism and bravery of the US military."

Ex-husband makes the list, too

(NEWSER) - With an ignominious 1:1 ratio of salary to receipts, Nicole Kidman snags the top spot on Forbes’ list of most overpaid movie stars. In other words, her films make a mere $1 for every dollar she’s paid, an average $15 million per flick. Ex-husband Tom Cruise is close behind at No. 3, with Jennifer Garner in the runner-up slot. More»

Director mixed art, commerce in classic American films

(NEWSER) - Oscar-winning filmmaker Sidney Pollack died of cancer today at age 73 in Los Angeles, the New York Times reports. His career, defined by classics like Tootsie and Out of Africa, spanned an era when directors wrangled stars and battled studios to make artful yet commercial films. He later grieved that mainstream movies are good only by "accident" in today's Hollywood. More»

Vanity Fair anoints a young generation of leading men

(NEWSER) - They're pretty, they're talented, and they're all the rage. Vanity Fair presents seven hot new young things.

1. Shia LaBeouf: Transformers, Indiana Jones
2. Kevin Zegers: Transamerica, The Jane Austen Book Club
3. Michael Pitt: Dreamers, Last Days, Silk