last night the latest (and possibly last) crop of sag awards were handed out. because the screen actors guild is this close to merging with the american federation of television and radio actors, there may not be any sag awards to hand out next year. there will still be an awards show, just probably with a different name. below are the winners from last night. overall, it looks nearly identical to the critics choice awards and golden globe awards' lists. but, of course, there are a couple surprises. the screen actors guild went more traditional with the big award, giving the king's speech cast the outstanding performance nod. this could mean bad news for the social network at next month's oscars - but don't count them out yet. since everyone from teenager dakota fanning to the 96-year-old screen actor's guild lifetime achievement award recipient ernest borgnine vote. the individual tv recipients are interesting, too. 30 rock has all but fallen off the award show radar, while hot in cleveland won't get recognized anywhere else, ever. but, i do like that alec baldwin and betty white each got to take home statues. check out the full list of winners:
outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture - the king's speech
outstanding performance by a male in a leading role - colin firth, the king's speech
outstanding performance by a female in a leading role - natalie portman, black swan
outstanding performance by a male in a supporting role - christian bale, the fighter
outstanding performance by a female in a supporting role - melissa leo, the fighter
outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series - boardwalk empire
outstanding performance by a male in a drama series - steve buscemi, boardwalk empire
outstanding performance by a female in a drama series - julianna margulies, the good wife
outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series - modern family
outstanding performance by a male in a comedy series - alec baldwin, 30 rock
outstanding performance by a female in a comedy series - betty white, hot in cleveland
last night, jesse eisenberg took on saturday night live alongside musical guest nicki minaj and - big surprise - mark zuckerberg, facebook's creator and the character jesse played in the social network. check out some highlights below, especially the digital short featuring none other than nicki.
you know the drill - here's my take on the who should get the big prizes at this year's academy awards.
best picture
127 hours
black swan
inception
the fighter
the kids are all right
the king's speech
the social network
toy story 3
true grit
winter's bone
the best picture race really comes down to two movies: the social network and the king's speech. those have been the prize-nabbing flicks at this season's award shows so far. my money is on the social network taking home the top honor. after the hurt locker took home the statue last year, i expect the bigger film to win. i'm not a fan of having 10 best picture noms - it's all political. the more titles nominated, the more big stars the academy can get to attend the show, and the more companies it makes happy. plus, all of these films can now be touted as "best picture nominee..." and, it seems like if something has its own "best..." category (i.e. foreign language, animated), there's no reason it should also grab top honors.
best actor
jeff bridges, true grit
javier bardem, biutiful
jesse eisenberg, the social network
colin firth, the king's speech
james franco, 127 hours
i thought the globes would give this prize to jesse eisenberg, but after colin firth grabbed both the critic's choice and glob, i expect him to head home with this one, too. his performance is much more nuanced and required a lot more acting than eisenberg's. it is nice to see franco finally get some credit for his performance in 127 hours - especially because he's hosting the show. the biggest surprise in this category? javier bardem. the biggest surprises? mark wahlberg for the fighter and ryan gosling for blue valentine.
best actress
annette bening, the kids are all right
nicole kidman, rabbit hole
jennifer lawrence, winter's bone
natalie portman, black swan
michelle williams, blue valentine
this is an interesting race because, until now, performances this awards season have been split between comedic and dramatic. until black swan, i would've said this was annette bening's award to lose. turns out she probably will. natalie portman gives the performance of a lifetime in black swan. while the movie is a little out there, portman's performance is top notch. the biggest surprise in this category is nicole kidman. rabbit hole's buzz has been pretty minimal, and kidman was most likely nominated just because she's a past winner. the biggest snub for me is julianne moore, who held her own against annette bening in the kids are all right.
best actor in a supporting role
christian bale, the fighter
john hawkes, winter's bone
jeremy renner, the town
mark ruffalo, the kids are all right
geoffrey rush, the king's speech
going off this year's precedence, christian bale's turn in the fighter will probably get him the award. it's nice to see that the academy didn't forget about winter's bone, a film that got a lot of buzz when it came out early last year, but got lost against all the other great films released in 2010. i'm also beyond excited that mark ruffalo got a nomination for the kids are all right. all the other shows completely snubbed him, when he gave one of the best performances this year.
best actress in a supporting role
amy adams, the figther
helena bonham carter, the king's speech
melissa leo, the fighter
hailee steinfeld, true grit
jacki weaver, animal kingdom
this list is nearly identical to every other list this season. expect melissa leo to win the oscar, just like she did the critic's choice and golden globe award. it's interesting that jacki weaver received noms across the board this year for a film that virtually no one has seen. again, it's politics. she's been nominated for everything else, and therefore she's been nominated for an oscar. expect her to blow up based on this nomination alone.
best animated film
how to train your dragon
toy story 3
the illusionist
is there even a question? toy story 3 nabbed a spot on the best picture list, so there shouldn't be any surprises here. it is interesting that only three flicks get nominated in the animation category. it seems like best picture could donate a few slots back to animation. disney's tangled definitely deserves a spot on this list, while the illusionist made it solely based on the fact that it's an art house favorite and intended for an older audience.
best director
darren aronofsky, black swan
david fincher, the social network
tom hooper, the king's speech
joel and ethan coen, true grit
david o. russell, the fighter
the man who more deserves this statue isn't even on the list. chris nolan proved he's more than just a one trick pony with inception, proving that there are still original ideas out in hollywood. but, because nolan was snubbed, the race comes down to aronofsky and fincher. aronofsky has a very distinct vision, while fincher was responsible for what is sure to be best picture. i'm guessing fincher will sneak by aronofsky to take home the title.
click here is see the nominations in all the lesser-cared about categories, and don't forget to watch anne hathaway and james franco host the 83rd annual academy awards februray 27th on abc.
it's no black swan, but it will definitely keep you entertained and leave the theater laughing. natalie portman's follow-up performance to the movie i like to call "creepy-ass ballerina," no strings attached, tells the story of adam and emma (ashton kutcher and portman, respectively), two childhood friends who reconnect as adults in la la land. the duo are both down on their relationship luck, until they decide to become friends with benefits. (or, as the movie awkwardly refers to it, "sex friends"). the movie is well written, well cast and well acted. the strength of no strings attached comes from the supporting cast (though i was happily surprised with the usually irritating ashton kutcher), which includes pretty much every side player from every movie and tv show you've ever seen - lake bell, abby elliott, mindy kaling, kevin kline and ludacris are just a few of the faces you'll see on screen. while some jokes are in bad taste, and some sight gags are more than over-the-top, you're getting what you pay for - you're there to see a comedy about sex and relationships. the movie's over-arching message might lead to increased promiscuity (spoiler - the plot is basically "become friends with benefits and wind up in love), but it shouldn't be anything to worry about. if you want to have a good two hours of laughs and love, definitely check out no strings attached. or, wait until the same movie comes out later this year, friends with benefits starring justin timberlake and natalie's black swan co-star mila kunis. fun fact: no strings attached was actually filmed under the title friends with benefits.
it looks like beyonce may be making her play to become the millennium's gay icon. the bootylicious singer/actress/designer/wig connoisseur is set to star in a new musical adaptation of a star is born. this will be the fourth time a star is born has been made, first in 1937, then again in 1954 with judy garland and most recently in 1976 with barbra streisand. the film's general plot revolves around a past-his-prime star (yet to be cast) who takes an up-and-comer (that would be beyonce) under his wing to - guess what - make her a star. clint eastwood is set to produce and direct the latest version , which is being made under the warner brothers banner. the question will be if beyonce can carry a film like this. all her other movies - austin powers: goldmember, dreamgirls, cadillac records and obsessed - have all had built in audiences, or been genre-driven. to create an original musical for beyonce may be too big of an undertaking, even with eastwood on board. i think the success of this remake hangs on who is cast alongside beyonce. apparently, will smith has been on the short list for a long time. but, it seems like a bodyguard-esque race-bending love story could bring more buzz, and a bigger audience, to the flick. production should start later this year, and expect a star is born to be released in late 2012/early 2013.
it looks like 2011 will be a banner year for anne hathaway. we're not even a month into the new year, and the love and other drugs actress has already lined up two highly coveted spots in two highly anticipated projects. after creating her own character to play on glee, creator ryan murphy took anne up on her offer to play kurt's lesbian aunt. apparently hathaway will film her episode sometime in the next couple of weeks - meaning her episode will air before the end of the current season. if hathaway's full vision for her character makes it onto the small screen, she'll get to sing "no one is alone" from the broadway musical into the woods.
as for her other big role, christopher nolan has cast hathaway in the final installment of his batman franchise, the dark knight rises. hathaway will play selina kyle, the woman who will become catwoman. hathaway joins tom hardy as bane in the third film. there's no word yet on whether or not hathaway's catwoman will be good or evil, or even if she'll transform into catwoman in the film, but this news couldn't make me more excited. the film is set to be released in july 2012, with production slated to begin this spring.
last night, the 68th golden globe awards came and went. the globes are always one of my favorite award shows to watch because it includes both tv and movies - all your favorite stars are actually brought together for one night. ricky gervais took the reins as host for a second year and, judging by the crowd's reaction to him last night, i'm not sure he'll be back for a third round. to me, that's a good thing - the globes used to be the one show you could count on not having a host, because they really don't need one. gervais opened with a five-minute monologue and then popped up a handful of times to introduce presenters. the show's announcer could have done that.
now onto the awards. there were some surprises, some upsets and a lot of great moments. here is the complete list of winners and some of my favorite acceptance speeches. plus, i check up on whether or not my predictions were right.
best picture, drama - the social network
best picture, comedy or musical - the kids are all right
actor, drama - colin firth, the king's speech
the hfpa went with the most traditional choice out of the category. while i think this was jesse eisenbergs to win, firth pulled an impressive performance in the king's speech.
actress, drama - natalie portman, black swan
actress, comedy or musical - annette benning, the kids are all right
actor, comedy or musical - paul giamatti, barney's version
this was one of the night's major upsets. barney's version hasn't even hit wide release, and giamatti still took home the award. he's an award show favorite, so i can't say i'm completely surprised; but i bet you i won't find barney's version entertaining at all.
best animated feature - toy story 3
best supporting actress, motion picture - melissa leo, the fighter
the best supporting actress category was up in the air this year, with none of the actresses giving stand out performances. the critic's choice awards on friday set the tone for the rest of the season, so expect melissa leo to take home the other big prizes this year.
best supporting actor, motion picture - christian bale, the fighter
the fighter came in late in the game this awards season, and therefore i wasn't expecting it to take home too many prizes. but, christian bale is an actor deserving of his time in the award show spotlight.
best director, motion picture - the social network
best screenplay, motion picture - aaron sorkin, the social network
tv series, drama - boardwalk empire
tv series, comedy or musical - glee
actress, drama (tv) - katey sagal, sons of anarchy
definitely the most deserved award of the night. everyone expected the good wife's julianna marguiles to take home the globe for a second year in a row. color everyone shocked to see fx's little-watched sons of anarchy not only get a nomination, but win an award. katey sagal is one of hollywood's overlooked talents, and for her to get recognition for her decades of work now is much appreciated, but past-due.
actor, drama (tv) - steve buscemi, boardwalk empire
while i expected the show to win, i didn't expect buscemi to take home an award himself. buscemi is one of the great "where do i know him from?" actors, so it's nice to see him get some recognition, too.
actress, comedy or musical (tv) - laura linney, the big c
actor, comedy or musical (tv) - jim parsons, the big bang theory
it wasn't the best episode, but it also wasn't the worst. check out some highlights from gwyneth's guest gig below. unfortunately, the highlight of the show - a bar mitzvah sketch - isn't posted online.
and don't forget to check out the golden globes tonight on nbc. i will be live tweeting @bricesander, with a full recap here tomorrow.
scream 4 is less than 4 months away. it can't get here soon enough. the latest trailer for the film has hit the internets, and it's even better than the first teaser. from the looks of it, scream 4 will be the best flick in the series since the first one. check out the trailer above.
the latest music video from t. swift has hit the interwebs. "back to december," the second single off swift's latest speak now, is slowly creeping its way up the charts. "december" is reportedly about swift's short-lived romance with twilight star taylor lautner. if you look at the album booklet, swift puts secret messages in her lyrics by capitalizing certain letters; the secret message for "back to december" reads "tay." the video is basically angst ridden with more angst, as swift mopes, pants-less, around her apartment while her love interest wanders the snowy streets. oh, it also snows inside taylor's apartment while she sits naked in a bathtub. normal. hopefully they release a faster song (like "better than revenge" or "the story of us") so that taylor can actually do something in the next video.
andrew garfield is spiderman
sony released the first official picture of the social network's andrew garfield as spiderman. it doesn't look like he'll disappoint.
also, i can't wait for this.
it better not disappoint. even though it probably will...
american idol winner carrie underwood makes her big screen debut in soul surfer. the movie is based on the story of bethany hamilton, who made headlines after losing her arm from a shark attack in 2003. anna sophia robb (who was last seen in escape to witch mountain) takes on the role of hamilton, with helen hunt and dennis quaid playing her parents. none of the actors speak in the trailer, so i guess we'll have to wait until april to know if underwood is cut out for the movie biz. underwood plays one of bethany's many supporters post-attack. in addition to soul surfer, carrie has lined up a guest-starring gig on an episode of law and order: svu to air later this year. prior to this, underwood's only acting gig was a one-time guest spot on how i met your mother.
lisbeth salander has arrived
the first images of the social network scene steeler rooney mara as lisbeth salander have hit the web. a release date for the girl with the dragon tattoo, the first film adapted from the "millenium trilogy," has yet to be announced, but thanks to w magazine, you can get a taste of just how well rooney pulls off salander's style. when director david fincher first announced that mara would play lisbeth, i was a little (ok, a lot) unsure as to whether or not she could pull it off. based off these images, i'm convinced. i just hope they film all three films back to back so that rooney doesn't have keep cutting her hair into that...style? w's latest issue hits newstands later this month.
how do you know you've seen a bad movie? after you've seen how do you know?, you'll know. the latest from james l. brooks features a great cast (reese witherspoon, owen wilson, paul rudd and jack nicholson), but not much else. it's as if someone found three different movie scripts, and decided it would just be easier to make one movie out of them. when i first saw the trailer, i thought it was just bad advertising; that they were going to rely on witherspoon's box office draw more than plot or reviews. going in, i had no clue what the plot was going to be, or who the characters were. turns out that even after seeing it, i'm not sure i can answer those same questions. brooks is known for his thinking-man romantic comedies (think as good as it gets or spanglish), but how do you know? is a thinking man's romcom with little thought put into it. the actors aren't all that believable in their roles (teeny tiny reese as a champion softball star? goofy owen wilson as america's favorite baseball player?), and that's partly due to the fact that the roles aren't all that well defined. we know almost nothing about any of the characters other than their names and occupations (except for rudd's george, whose occupation was never made known, but we do know he works for his dad, nicholson). too many disjointed story-lines and no resolution made me leave the theater with more questions than answers. plus, more than half the movie looked like it was shot out of focus (or i need new contacts). better to skip how do you know? knowing that you can catch reese and rudd in more films later this year.
nuthin' but a glee thang
check out funny or die's latest viral video, a glee-infused take on dr. dre's "nuthin but a g thang." the video stars modern family's sofia vergara, glee's heather morris and comedian riki lindhome, as well as multiple cameos by morris' glee costars. hopefully this will tide you over until glee returns with new episdoes february 6, following the super bowl.
and, if you're a reality tv junkie, hop over to kidd kraddick's website to see my friend alli give her weekly recaps and commentary on the bachelor. her blogs and vlogs will be posted every tuesday, and you can hear her thoughts on the current season every tuesday morning on the nationally syndicated radio show. find out if kidd kraddick can be heard in your city here.
ladies and gentleman, it has arrived. britney spears' latest, "hold it against me," made its way onto the internets and radio waves a day earlier than anticipated. you can't download the track until tomorrow, but feel free to listen all night long until itunes posts it at midnight. the song is very dance driven, with synthesized beats and a lot of repetition. it's definitely not spears' best work (which can be found here), but it sounds like britney is headed in the right direction musically. hopefully the rest of britney's album (expected to drop sometime this spring) improves on "hold it against me," because if this is the star track, then i definitely will hold it against spears and her team. the problem is that spears tends to release the strongest track off her album first, letting the other singles ride on the popularity wave of the first single (see: "baby one more time" and "crazy;" "oops...i did it again!" and "stronger;" "i'm a slave 4 u" and "not a girl, not yet a woman," etc.). check out "hold it against me" above and pray for better songs to come.
the hunger games trilogy is slated to become the next twilight or harry potter. the suzanne collins-penned trifecta already has a big literary following, and production on the first film in the series starts in just a couple of months - so, natch, i had to read it. the young adult series is super easy to read, and super fast paced. here's some background - 16-year-old katniss everdeen lives in futuristic panem, the country that inherited war-torn north america. panem consists of 12 unique "districts" (similar to our states) and a capital. after an uprising against the capitol some 70+ years ago, and the destruction of a 13th district, an annual "hunger games" is held and broadcast nationwide to remind everyone of the country's destruction. the hunger games consist of two tributes from each district competing in an area to the death, until only one tribute remains. it should be no surprise that, in the first book, katniss becomes one of those tributes. the first book follows her time in the games and (it shouldn't really be a spoiler, but just in case - spoiler alert!) the second and third books follow the after-effects of those games, which includes a second set of games for katniss and her co-tribute peeta. collins' stories are part anti-war allegory, part coming of age story. but don't worry - the stories aren't uber political, but rather a reminder of what war can bring. the books are filled with everything from political scandals to love triangles, giving every reader something juicy to hook onto. katniss' journey is filled with unexpected twists and turns until the very end; anything and everything you think you know about her world will surprise you, as will katniss herself. each of the books is not quite as good as the one that precedes it, but you'll want to keep going so you can know what happens. definitely check the series out if you want in on the next big thing to hit hollywood, or just want an easy fantasy read.
the cast of the trilogy has yet to be announced, so picture whoever you want as the characters. but, if you need some inspiration, the name being thrown around the most for the role of katniss is desperate housewives and nikita star lyndsy fonseca. and, after her oscar-buzz worthy performance in true grit, hailee steinfeld might be the next kristen stewart - but with better acting chops.
some movies are made to be entertaining, while others are made to win awards. the king's speech falls into the latter category. tom hooper's tale of king george vi's ascent to the throne is quite possibly the slowest film i've ever sat through, which is surprising as the flick runs under two hours. the movie is informative, and features some of the best acting to hit the screen in some time (it's no surprise that all 3 leads received golden globe noms), but it won't keep your attention. the king's speech is more likely to frustrate and annoy you than it is entertain you. the film's unifying device - the would-be-king's stutter - becomes beyond annoying; i found myself wanting to scream "just spit it out!" at the screen over, and over, and over again. firth is doing some of his best work here, but even he couldn't save me from wanting to bang my head against something repeatedly. it is a nice change of pace to see helena bonham carter playing a "regular person" (if you can count the queen of england as a "regular person"), but carter and geoffrey rush's (who plays the king's speech therapist) comedic gifts are wasted in the bland script. if you're someone who has to see every movie on the "must-watch before the oscars" list, then by all means see the king's speech. if not, check it out when it comes out on dvd, so that you can keep yourself entertained by doing something else while watching it.
it's a little bit walk the line. it's a little bit lindsay lohan. it's a lot a bit country strong. gwyneth paltrow's big return to the big screen isn't disappointing, just surprising. paltrow plays kelly canter, a not-quite-rehabed alcoholic country star on her comeback tour. the movie is less about kelly, though, and more about the, er, support (?) system around her. country strong is strongest when the whole ensemble is given the chance to shine through the sometimes over-thought plot. garrett hedlund and leighton meester give movie star-making performances, while tim mcgraw has definitely found his groove as the sometimes controlling, always supportive husband; mcgraw's hairpiece even gives a great performance - surprisingly, the hollywood foreign press completely snubbed the cast for any noms. writer/director shana feste is still finding her footing, so there are some slow parts, and some unnecessary scenes; but, the movie is full of heart and has enough great moments to make you leave wanting more. but don't think you're seeing a feel-good flick; you'll definitely come close to shedding a tear or two if you can hold them back. while the plot is nothing new, the music and performances are, and they're enough to make me say country strong is definitely one to put on your "need-to-see" list.
in the meantime, you can listen to this leaked demo (without brit's vocals) of "hold it against me." it's very club/dance driven, somewhere between uber-hit "toxic" and the controversial circus track "if you seek amy." hopefully the finished version falls more toward the "toxic" (read: polished) side, than "amy."
& if you're looking for my thoughts on last night's people's choice awards, check out my twitter @bricesander
at least he does when it comes to reality tv, especially on bravo. the pop-culture centric net lost two my favorite stars today - kathy griffin and camille grammer. griffin announced today, along with the net, that her emmy-winning series, my life on the d-list, won't be coming back for a 7th season. but, don't worry - the ginger funny lady isn't leaving the net anytime soon. she's set to film four comedy specials for bravo to run throughout 2011. griffin said she never meant to become a reality star, but don't call the d-list dead quite yet. griffin reportedly wants to create a curb your enthusiasm-style improvised faux-reality show that would incorporate some of the "characters" we've come to love on the d-list, as well as bringing on actors to play some of the other characters in griffin's life.
grammer reportedly wants off the real housewives train. the hollywood reporter claims the former wife of fraiser star kelsey grammer is done with the show, which has become a "let's all hate camille" party. i can't blame her - she's portrayed as a genuine crazy person who surrounds her self with other delusionoids (see: allison dubois) - but she's just so damn entertaining. the beverly hills cast met yesterday to film their reunion special, so i'm guessing something big went down between camille and her best frenemy kyle richards. while bravo has yet to make an announcement, a second season is sure to happen for the highly rated beverly hills bunch. let's just hope they can find someone just as crazy to fill in for camille should she decide to leave. but, if she doesn't get the $50 million pay-out she's expecting from kelsey, expect her back on the small screen.
one reality star set to get even more exposure is khloe kardashian. e! announced today that the youngest sister-kardashian will get her own spin-off from the net's successful keeping up with the kardashians alongside her la lakers' hubby lamar. while i know i'll probably watch it, is it necessary? hell to the no. and neither is khloe and kourtney take miami or the yet-to-premiere kim and kourntey take new york. they're all the same show! what's the point of having four different shows that all follow the same people? why not just show keeping up year round? with filming set to start in the next month or two, i don't understand when they'll ever film keeping up again. they might as well announce kylie and kendall, rob's world and kris & bruce forever while they're at it.
while the critics haven't loved it, little fockers continues to beat the competition at the box office. i went in with low expectations (after all the reviews, both professional and amateur) that i had heard, and i was happily surprised. little fockers fits right in with its predecessors (meet the parents and meet the fockers), striking the right balance between high and low brow humor. for every prat fall and projectile vomiting, there's a real moment on heart in the film. everyone brings their comedy a-game, especially new cast addition jessica alba, so much so that i wasn't ready for the movie to end when it did. fockers more than passed my watch test - i didn't look at it until the car ride home from the movie - and at just 98 minutes, it's the perfect movie length. while it won't win any oscars, and doesn't add anything new to the format perfected in the first two flicks, little fockers is bound to keep you entertained - it's the kind of escape you want at the movies. you don't have to think and it's not trying to teach you any lesson; you're just getting entertained.
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