Streep: Move Oscars Before Other Awards

Some execs remain opposed to expanded Best Picture nominee list

(NEWSER) - The point of doubling the number of Academy Award best picture nominees this year was to draw more viewers to the show. The pitfall: Hardly anything Oscar worthy has emerged, writes Kim Masters for the Daily Beast. And while most nominees hit theaters later in the year, 30% fewer films will come out this year than during that time in 2008. More»

Best Actress winner donates $10K to struggling Central Falls school

(NEWSER) - Meryl Streep's Best Actress win over Viola Davis was the big upset of the Oscars; even Streep herself seemed surprised, calling the whole process "a crapshoot." But now she's making it up to Davis—in a big way. Streep donated $10,000 to a struggling school in Rhode Island in Davis' honor, Reuters reports. Davis has been championing the bankrupt Central Falls, Rhode Island , where she grew up, inspiring Streep to send a check to the Segue Institute for Learning, a charter school in town facing the loss of its building. Click for more on Central Falls' woes . More»

Billy Crystal brings the same old stuff

(NEWSER) - Last night's Oscars, like its Best Picture, was a throwback to a different time in film history. And though the show may have topped last year's Anne Hathaway-James Franco fiasco, it was boring and tired throughout:

• "The whole night looked like an AARP pep rally," writes Alessandra Stanley in the New York Times . "For a town that prides itself on tinsel and titillation, the night was pretty tame." "It all looked very familiar," but that "is perhaps necessary when so few of the nominated films are."

Silent film grabs 7 Brit honors, Meryl Street wins Best Actress

(NEWSER) - In what could be a preview of the Oscars, The Artist swept the top honors at the Bafta movie awards in London yesterday. The quirky black-and-white film raked in seven British movie honors, including those for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Actor for French star Jean Dujardin. "Some people thought there was no script because there was no dialog, so the British are very clever," said filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius when he picked up the screenplay trophy for the silent picture. More»

Or, Natalie Portman: From Black Swan to Thor

(NEWSER) - This year has seen many an Oscar winner in less-than-deserving films, from Tom Hanks in Larry Crowne to Frances McDormand in Transformers. Over at Grantland , Lane Brown averaged the Rotten Tomatoes scores of all an actor’s films since the Oscar victory—first through 2010, then through this year. The difference—measured in “cubas” (sorry, Mr. Gooding)—reveals how much the actor tainted his or her Oscar this year. And the winners are: More»