Tag Archives: Oscars

Leo, ‘The Revenant’ & ‘Mad Max’ win big at 88th Oscars

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Let’s not bury the lead here. Last night at the 88th Annual Academy Awards, audiences were witness to a feat once thought maddeningly impossible: Leonardo DiCaprio won the Oscar for Best Actor. We did it! His movie, Revenant, went into this years Oscars with 12 nominations and came away with 3; in addition to Leo’s momentous win, the Academy also awarded the painstakingly gritty film’s director Alejandro G. Iñárritu with his second consecutive Best Director win (see last year’s Birdman) and it also won for Best Cinematography. The film with the most wins of the night was Mad Max: Fury Road. It swept the majority of technical categories including Best Sound Mixing and Editing, Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, and Production and Costume Design. Spotlight surprised at the end of the ceremony when it was crowned Best Picture; earlier in the night it won Best Original Screenplay. Elsewhere, Inside Out was named Best Animated Feature, 87-year-old composer Ennio Morricone was recognized for his already iconic score set to Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, and Ex Machina deservedly managed to beat out Star Wars, Mad Max, The Martian, and The Revenant for Best Visual Effects. Click here for the full list of winners.

The show itself, though it ran long by 30+ minutes, was relatively entertaining throughout. Host Chris Rock ran with the #OscarsSoWhite diversity problems surrounding the telecast leading into it. No doubt his controversial monologue resonated with audiences; muted laughs and applause told the story well. Personal highlights throughout the night included surprise appearances from Star Wars, Toy Story, and The Minions characters and a powerfully emotional musical performance by Lady Gaga. And of course, Leo is now an Oscar-winning actor.

Help Leonardo DiCaprio grab the Oscar in hilarious button-mashing browser game

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There are those of us who are just as desperate as Leonardo DiCaprio to see the actor win the Oscar. And then there’s The Line, a London-based animation studio who has gone out of its way to create a hysterical and addicting platformer that puts you in control of Leo’s chase for the gold. Leo’s Red Carpet Rampage is a free-to-play arcade-style browser game that has you button-mashing your frustrated feelings away as you make The Revenant star run down the red carpet towards Oscar. But watch out for the many distractions including pushy photographers, icebergs, and Lady Gaga. Along the way you’ll earn Golden Globe, Emmy, SAG, and BAFTA combos. Things get intense during bonus games including “Quaalude Overdose,” “Act Harder,” and “Find the Black Nominee.”

Though the Oscar might seem like a lock for the veteran and wholly deserving actor, anything can happen come the Academy Awards. Help Leo finally win the big prize! The game’s an absolute riot. Click here to play now.

‘The Revenant’ & ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ lead Oscar noms

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We’re in the swing of awards season, people! Days after the Hollywood Foreign Press Association praised The Revenant and Mr. Robot at the Golden Globes, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this year’s Oscar nominees. The Revenant continues its hot streak leading the charge with 12 Oscar nominations including nods for star Leonardo DiCaprio (will this finally be his year?!) and director Alexandro G. Iñárritu. If you recall, Iñárritu is also on a roll having swept the Oscars last year with big wins for Birdman.

The following flicks are in the running for Best Picture: The Big Short (landed 5 nods total), Bridge of Spies (6 nods), Brooklyn (3), Mad Max: Fury Road (a whopping 10!), The Martian (7), The Revenant (12), Room (4), and Spotlight (6).

As per usual, there are snubs galore and here are some of the most frustrating. Ridley Scott (The Martian), Quentin Tarantino (The Hateful Eight), and Steven Spielberg (Bridge of Spies) were left out of the Best Director race. They were undeservedly overlooked when the Academy selected Adam McKay (The Big Short), George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road), Iñárritu (The Revenant), Lenny Abrahamson (Room), and Tom McCarthy (Spotlight). Elsewhere, and somehow, someway, Aaron Sorkin was not nominated for his impeccably adapted screenplay for Steve Jobs. And then there’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Though you might not agree that North America’s highest-grossing film of all-time deserved a Best Picture nom, it certainly warrants recognition for more than its brilliant Original Score, Visual Effects, film editing, and sound mixing and editing. Still, sci-fi diehards have Mad Max to root for come the telecast.

And then there’s #OscarsSoWhite. For the second consecutive year in a row, the AMPAS is showering decidedly white actors and filmmakers with nominations and neglecting incredibly talented African Americans. Director F. Gary Gray and his box office hit Straight Outta Compton…Ryan Coogler’s Creed and its star Michael B. Jordan…Samuel L. Jackson for The Hateful Eight…Will Smith for Concussion…Idris Elba for Netflix’s Beasts of No Nation. All snubbed. This simply isn’t fair, and let’s hope that it doesn’t become an annual trend.

The 88th Academy Awards, hosted by Chris Rock, airs Sunday, Feb. 28 at 7pm (est) on ABC. Click here to view the full list of nominees.

‘Birdman’ & ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ win big at the Oscars

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Prior to the 87th Academy Awards, Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel garnered the most nominations and what do you know–the two films ended up walking away with the most statues at four apiece. Birdman took home the most coveted award of the evening as it was crowned Best Motion Picture of the Year. Helmer Alejandro G. Iñárritu was crowned Best Director and the film’s original screenplay and cinematography were also awarded. Grand Budapest Hotel was recognized for its achievements in production design, music, costume design, and makeup and hairstyling. Following close behind with two wins was Whiplash scoring Oscars for film editing, sound mixing, and supporting actor J.K. Simmons. Frontrunner Boyhood walked away with a single win for supporting actress Patricia Arquette. The Theory of Everything star Eddie Redmayne won for his leading role in the Stephen Hawking-inspired film, surpassing frontrunner Michael Keaton (Birdman). Julianne Moore nabbed an Oscar for her dramatic turn in Still Alice. Elsewhere, The Imitation Game won Best Adapted Screenplay and Disney’s Big Hero 6 was named Best Animated Movie.

Click here to view the full list of winners.

‘American Sniper’ & ‘Birdman’ lead the charge at the Oscars this year

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‘Tis the season for awards. On the heels of the Globes wrapping up, the Oscars is raring to go. Today the nominees for the 87th Academy Awards were announced in earnest and they eight films vying for Best Picture are American Sniper, Birdman, Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything, and Whiplash. Alexandro G. Iñárritu (Birdman), Richard Linklater (Boyhood), Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher), Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel), and Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game) are competing for Best Director. Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel garnered the most nods with nine apiece. American Sniper and Boyhood followed closely in second with six nods each. Foxcatcher, Interstellar, The Theory of Everything, and Whiplash each scored five nominations.

With every award show there are snubs. I could rant about how the sci-fi epic Interstellar only received technical and musical nods, with nothing to show for its superb director Christopher Nolan and actors Matthew McConaughey and Jessica Chastain. But no, I’m here to splay my fury about the fact that The LEGO Movie–which was previously deemed a frontrunner for Best Animated Feature–was NOT nominated for Best Animated Feature! Looking past the nearly $258 million the movie made domestically, The LEGO Movie is a technical marvel with a unique presentation, fun characters and voice cast, and a memorable story that managed to capture the imaginations of all ages. The movie was and continues to be more than popular amongst critics and movie-goers alike. It was defeated at the Globes by How to Train Your Dragon 2, which was a shocker. But the fact that it’s not even in the running here is truly unfathomable. I don’t get it. A snub for the ages. Making the cut are Big Hero 6, The Boxtrolls, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Song of the Sea, and The Tale of Princess Kaguya. Ever heard of those last two? Neither have I. At least co-director Phil Lord is able to take it in stride; he tweeted, “This is not a tragedy. Congrats to incredible crew and cast of The Lego Movie, who made a classic.” He also attached this image of an Oscar made of LEGOs. It’s true: “Everything Is Awesome” received a nom for Best Original Song, but still, everything is not awesome.

Cool off with me by watching this funny clip from Conan. During the nom announcements this morning, Academy president Cheryl Boone Issacs flubbed Mr. Turner cinematographer Dick Pope’s name calling him “Dick Poop.” Shortly after becoming a trending topic on Twitter, the late night host took it to a whole other level.

The Academy Awards, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, airs February 22 on ABC. Click here to view the full list of nominees.

2014 Oscar winners: ‘Gravity’, ’12 Years A Slave’ & ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ big winners

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Though 12 Years A Slave took home the top prize at this year’s Oscars for Best Picture, it was Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity that came away with the most statues. Gravity nabbed seven of them: Best Director, Original Score, Film Editing, Cinematography, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects. In addition to Best Picture, 12 Years was awarded two more Oscars; young rising actress Lupita Nyong’o was named Best Supporting Actress and it was awarded for its Adapted Screenplay. Dallas Buyers Club also came out on top winning three Oscars, too; Matthew McConaughey won Best Actor, Jared Leto won Best Supporting Actor (and Best Speech), and the movie was also awarded for its Makeup and Hairstyling. Elsewhere, Frozen won Best Animated Feature and its popular theme “Let It Go” by Adele Dazeem Idina Menzel was crowned Best Original Song.

Jump after the break for the full list of winners. Continue reading 2014 Oscar winners: ‘Gravity’, ’12 Years A Slave’ & ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ big winners →

2014 Oscar nods are in!

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The nominations are here for the 86th Academy Awards. There are nine films vying for Best Picture and they are American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, Gravity, Her, Nebraska, Philomena. 12 Years a Slave, and The Wolf of Wall Street. David O. Russell (American Hustle) Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity), Alexander Payne (Nebraska), Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), and Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street) are up for Best Director. American Hustle and Gravity are the most nominated movies this year with 10 apiece. As for snubs, people are buzzing that star Tom Hanks and director Paul Greengrass were not recognized for their respective contributions to Captain Phillips; also no love for Sam Rockwell (The Way, Way Back), Scarlett Johansson (Her), Pixar’s animated Monsters University, and Ed Sheeran’s phenomenal song “I See Fire” from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Click here for the full list of nominees.

Ellen DeGeneres hosts the Oscars live Sunday, March 2 at 7PM EST on ABC.

2013 Oscar winners: ‘Argo’, ‘Life of Pi’, ‘Les Mis’, ‘Lincoln’ & ‘Django’ big winners

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Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane proved to be a very entertaining host for the 85th Academy Awards on Sunday night. This year’s Oscars also shined the spotlight on musicals and even featured the First Lady announcing the winner of Best Picture which went to Argo. In addition to taking home the most coveted prize of the night, the Ben Affleck directed film also won Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Editing. The movie that won the most golden statues was Life of Pi with four; Ang Lee was named Best Director and the visually stunning movie also won Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects. Les Miserables racked up three Oscars for Best Sound Mixing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Anne Hathaway was named Best Supporting Actress. Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor for his uncanny portrayal of Lincoln and Steven Spielberg’s period piece also won Best Production Design. Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained also took home two awards for Best Original Screenplay and the incomparable Christoph Waltz won Best Supporting Actor. Elsewhere, Jennifer Lawrence’s performance in Silver Linings Playbook crowned her Best Actress, Pixar’s Brave was named Best Animated Feature, and Adele’s “Skyfall” deservedly won Best Original Song.

For the full list of winners, jump after the break. Continue reading 2013 Oscar winners: ‘Argo’, ‘Life of Pi’, ‘Les Mis’, ‘Lincoln’ & ‘Django’ big winners →

2013 Oscar nods are in!

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As we inch closer to the 85th Academy Awards the nominations tallied by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were announced today. Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln received the most nominations, 12 of them in fact. The period piece is up for Best Picture, Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis), Best Supporting Actor (Tommy Lee Jones), Best Supporting Actress (Sally Field), Best Director (Steven Spielberg), Best Adapted Screenplay (Tony Kushner), Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing, Original Score, Production Design, and Sound Mixing. Life of Pi is close behind with 11 nods including Best Picture, Best Director (Ang Lee), and Best Adapted Screenplay (David Magee). The remaining Best Picture contenders are Amour (5 nods total), Argo (7), Beasts of the Southern Wild (4), Django Unchained (5), Les Miserables (8), Silver Linings Playbook (8), and Zero Dark Thirty (5). Daniel Day-Lewis is up against Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables), Joaquin Phoenix (The Master), and Denzel Washington (Flight) for Best Actor. Clawing for Best Actress are Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Emmanuelle Riva (Amour), Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild), and Naomi Watts (The Impossible). The movies up for Best Animated Feature are Brave, Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, The Pirates!, Band of Misfits, and Wreck-It Ralph.

Who got snubbed? The biggest shockers are those who were not nominated for Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty), Tom Hooper (Les Miserables), Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained), Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master), and Ben Affleck (Argo; he also wasn’t nominated for Best Actor). Big acting snubs include Leonardo DiCaprio (Django Unchained) and John Hawkes (The Sessions). No technical nominations for Flight or Prometheus. Not a single nod for Rian Johnson’s Looper, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, and the Wachowskis’ Cloud Atlas. And blockbuster The Avengers only managed to land a single nod for Visual Effects.

Jump after the break to see all the nominations. The 85th Annual Academy Awards, hosted by Family Guy‘s Seth MacFarlane, airs live Sunday, February 24 on ABC. Watch some of MacFarlane’s latest promos below.
 Continue reading 2013 Oscar nods are in! →

Seth MacFarlane is hosting the Oscars

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It was announced today that Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy, is set to host the 85th Academy Awards. MacFarlane is hot off his Saturday Night Live hosting stint and his motion picture directorial debut Ted which garnered over $420 million worldwide.

Oscars producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron had this to say about the newly minted host. “We are thrilled to have Seth MacFarlane host the Oscars. His performing skills blend perfectly with our ideas for making the show entertaining and fresh. He will be the consummate host, and we are so happy to be working with him.”

MacFarlane responded to the news like this: “It’s truly an overwhelming privilege to be asked to host the Oscars. My thoughts upon hearing the news were, one, I will do my utmost to live up to the high standards set forth by my predecessors; and two, I hope they don’t find out I hosted the Charlie Sheen Roast.” And with a video featuring his dad, embedded after the break.

In addition to his many voices (Family Guy, American Dad, The Cleveland Show), MacFarlane has a Grammy-nominated big-band jazz album under his belt, Music Is Better Than Words, so you can expect the jack of many trades to follow in his predecessor’s footsteps with a musical number, amongst other gags.

The Oscars air live Sunday, February 24 on ABC. Continue reading Seth MacFarlane is hosting the Oscars →

2012 Oscar winners: ‘The Artist’ & ‘Hugo’ win big

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Billy Crystal played host tonight at the 84th Annual Academy Awards and two movies came out big on top. The silent French film The Artist and Martin Scorsese’s Hugo took home five Oscars each. The Artist won the coveted Best Picture Oscar, as well as Best Director (Michel Hazanavicius) and Actor (Jean Dujardin), Costume Design, and Original Score. Hugo, on the other hand, won many of the technical awards including Best Cinematography, Art Direction, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, and Visual Effects. Other notable winners include queen of award shows Meryl Streep, who was recognized for her leading role in The Iron Lady; Octavia Spencer’s supporting role in The Help; Christopher Plummer at 82 became the oldest actor to receive an (acting-related) Oscar for his supporting role in Beginners; The Descendants won Best Adapted Screenplay and Midnight in Paris won Best Original Screenplay; Rango was named Best Animated Feature; and Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords grabbed a well deserved Oscar for his Best Original Song from The Muppets, “Man or Muppet.”

For the full list of winners, jump after the break. Continue reading 2012 Oscar winners: ‘The Artist’ & ‘Hugo’ win big →

2012 Oscar nods are in!

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A few days back the Golden Globes celebrated the best in the TV and film, bestowing the highest of honors to movies like The Descendants, The Artist, and Hugo. Following the Globes is the Academy Awards and just last week the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees. Martin Scorsese’ss Hugo is the most celebrated film going into the Oscars leading the pack with 11 nods. The family friendly 3D flick is up for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design, Film Editing, Music, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Special Effects. A mouthful, I know. The Artist is close behind with 10 Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Director (Michel Hazanavicius), Best Actor (Jean Dujardin), and Best Supporting Actress (Bérénice Bejo). The remaining Best Picture contenders are The Descendants, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, The Help, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, The Tree of Life, and War Horse. Dujardin is pitted against Demián Bichir (A Better Life), George Clooney (The Descendants), Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), and Brad Pitt (Moneyball) for Best Actor. And the following ladies are duking it out for Best Actress: Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs), Viola Davis (The Help), Rooney Mara (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady), and Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn). Major snubs include Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part II for Best Picture (it only landed the usual technical nods for Art Direction, Makeup, and Special Effects); Leonardo DiCaprio (J Edgar) and Michael Fassbender (Shame) for Best Actor; Andy Serkis (Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes) for Best Supporting Actor; The Adventures Of Tintin for Best Animated Film; and Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross’ major contribution to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo with their Original Score.

Hop after the break to see all the nominations. The 84th Annual Academy Awards, hosted by Billy Crystal, airs live Sunday, February 26 at 7PM on ABC. Continue reading 2012 Oscar nods are in! →