Oscars

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And the Oscar Goes to … Matilda, If Ledger Wins

(Newser) - If Heath Ledger is named best supporting actor at Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony, his 3-year-old daughter will become the owner of the statuette. But it won't really belong to Matilda Rose Ledger until her 18th birthday, in 2023—and even then, only if she signs a contract. Ledger's nomination, and...

What Baby? Oscar Producers Beg MIA to Perform

Will bring 'large bed' on stage if necessary

(Newser) - The ratings-challenged Academy Award broadcast needs a boost, and producers are desperate for rapper MIA to perform her Oscar-nominated song, even though she just gave birth, MSNBC reports. “We are happy to bring some sort of fabulous bed on stage if that means MIA can be there,” they...

Oscar-Nom Films Still Slumping; Here's Why
Oscar-Nom Films Still Slumping; Here's Why
OPINION
Feb 16, 2009 8:12 PM CST

Oscar-Nom Films Still Slumping; Here's Why

(Newser) - Is the so-called "Oscar bump" fading? Academy favorites like Slumdog Millionaire and Frost/Nixon are stalled at the box office this year; only The Reader has filled more seats since being nominated. Yes, a stream of bona fide Hollywood hits has held them back, but it's more than that,...

Winslet's Oscar Bid Battered by Nazi Furor

'Nazi porn' asks use to 'empathize with mass murderer'

(Newser) - Mounting criticism of The Reader as an apologia for the Nazis is seriously undermining Kate Winslet's chances for an Oscar, reports the Telegraph. Critics have blasted the film as "Nazi porn," and the author of a book on Hitler charged in a recent article in Slate that it...

MIA Has a Boy; Will She Make the Oscars?

Baby's sex not yet public

(Newser) - MIA is now an M-O-M, reports Hitfix. The 31-year-old Sri Lankan singer and hip-hop artist delivered a healthy baby boy on Wednesday, notes People. It's her first child, and there's no word on the name yet. Now the big question: Can MIA—who performed at the Grammys on her due...

Academy to Presenters: Skip the Oscars Red Carpet

Presenters won't be seen until they present

(Newser) - After Oscar ratings hit historic lows last year, the Academy is taking a bold step: It’s asking presenters to skip their preshow jaunts down the red carpet, the LA Times reports. The Oscar honchos reckon that’ll force fashion-obsessed viewers to watch the actual envelope-opening parts of the show...

Please, No Oscar for 'Manipulative' Reader

(Newser) - The Reader is an “incoherent, exculpatory film” that offers false redemption for "ordinary Germans" involved in the Holocaust through a tired trope and far too much nudity, Ron Rosenbaum writes in Slate. The industry has already erred deeply by nominating the film and Kate Winslet’s performance for...

Sans Blockbusters, Oscar Scrambles to Build Buzz

Broadcast's ratings decline isn't helped by snub to Dark Knight

(Newser) - Producers of the Academy Awards are scrambling to add twists to a broadcast whose ratings decline won’t be helped by the lack of a blockbuster among the best-picture nominees, the New York Times reports. With the five nominees totaling less than half the box office of snubbed Dark Knight,...

Meet the Men Who Make Oscars
 Meet the Men Who Make Oscars 
Feb 1, 2009 7:13 PM CST

Meet the Men Who Make Oscars

Spotlight misses Chicago workers behind Hollywood's most coveted trophy

(Newser) - Come Feb. 22, Hollywood will be fêting the stars who take home the Oscars—but there’s little chance any of the acceptance speeches will thank the guys who made the statues. From Martin Vega, who melts pewter alloy for the hardware, to Eladio Gonzalez, who gives Oscar his...

Mall Cop Still Rocks Box Office

Comedy tops box office for 2nd weekend

(Newser) - Paul Blart: Mall Cop kept control of the box office for a second straight weekend by earning $21.5 million, Variety reports. Slumdog Millionaire, on the strength of 10 Oscar nominations,  shot into fifth spot and banked $10.6 million. Filling out the top five were Underworld: Rise of ...

Best Picture Nod Brings $6.7M Boost

Advertising is expensive, but nominations can pay off big for studios

(Newser) - With studios shelling out huge bucks to push their films on Oscar voters—Frost/Nixon probably dropped hundreds of thousands for a few days of spreads in the Hollywood papers—could such ad blitzes actually pay off? The answer is yes: A best picture nomination is worth at least $6.7...

Downey: Googling Myself 'A Hoot'

Hathaway, too, cops to habit; Pitt not so much

(Newser) - Celebrities really are just like us: They Google themselves, too, reports Perez Hilton. At an Oscars celebrity panel this week, Robert Downey Jr. admitted it: “I love all that shit, personally. Because it’s a hoot.” Anne Hathaway then reversed course: “I lied before when you asked...

Family Thrilled by Heath Oscar Nod

Still-grieving kin celebrate Joker nomination

(Newser) - Heath Ledger's three sisters are still struggling with the loss of their brother, but they are grateful for the legacy he left behind, they tell the Sydney Morning Herald. His death a year ago "seems like nearly yesterday, and we are all nursing broken hearts," said sis Kate,...

Brangelina Just Happy to (Both) Be Nominated

Pitt's Benjamin Button scores 13 Oscar nods; Jolie scores for Changeling

(Newser) - Oscar was kind to Brangelina today, with both halves of the power couple landing nominations, People reports. Brad Pitt received a best actor nod for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, while Angelina Jolie is in the best actress running for Changeling. “I’m especially happy for David Fincher,...

Ledger, Rourke Nab Oscar Nods
 Ledger, Rourke Nab Oscar Nods 
Jan 22, 2009 8:16 AM CST

Ledger, Rourke Nab Oscar Nods

Benjamin Button, Slumdog lead the pack

(Newser) - Exactly a year after his death, Heath Ledger has been nominated for an Academy Award, AP reports. Ledger's Supporting Actor nod was the only nom for The Dark Knight, while The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire rose to the top with 13 and 10 nominations respectively. Other...

Rourke Finds Comeback Light at End of Dark Tunnel

Wrestler actor self-destructed on the way to role of a lifetime, Golden Globe honors

(Newser) - After the collapse of his career—admittedly his own fault—Mickey Rourke has found his way back up the Hollywood ladder with his recent Golden Globe for The Wrestler. Despite many promising turns during the 1980s, CNN reports, self-destructive behavior and problems with authority—which Rourke attributes to childhood abuse—...

He's a Fine Wrestler, Not So Great Texter
He's a Fine Wrestler, Not
So Great Texter
opinion
Jan 2, 2009 12:11 PM CST

He's a Fine Wrestler, Not So Great Texter

Rourke's errant message trashing Penn is a hoot

(Newser) - Oh, Mickey. Though Mr. Rourke is back from the dead and getting Oscar buzz for his turn in The Wrestler, he still can't quite shake his "primitive" instincts, writes Marina Hyde in the Guardian. She takes great joy in his recent phone text miscue, in which he trashes the...

Critic's Confession: Seeing Oscar Movies Is a Big Pain

Getting to the theater a problem

(Newser) - There are 7 weeks left until the Oscars, and if you start now, and get to the theater every other day, you might just be able to see all the contenders. Hollywood has made being an Oscarphile tough work, writes David Carr of the New York Times. After months of...

Oscar-Worthy Comebacks
 Oscar-Worthy Comebacks 
Dec 30, 2008 9:00 PM CST

Oscar-Worthy Comebacks

Some celebs are best after years of fermenting

(Newser) - Some stars combust and others fizzle, but a few are reborn. Metromix honors the second wave:
  • The Wrestler was made for Mickey Rourke, the "one-time '80s sex symbol" turned professional boxer.
  • Drug habits wrote off Robert Downey Jr. until the Iron Man returned with back-to-back hits.
  • Dennis Hopper
...

Cash-Strapped Studios Spend Big on Oscars

Pricey ads run for contenders despite industry layoffs

(Newser) - America's financial crisis hasn't stopped studios from dropping big money in their quest for Oscars, Nikki Finke writes on Deadline Hollywood Daily. Amid layoffs and cutbacks, Paramount took out 7 full-page ads for Revolutionary Road in the New York Times, and Disney spent $675,000 for a Wall-E insert in...

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