Tag Archives: academy

VIDEO: Natalie Portman Gives You Crazy Eyes in Latest Clip from Black Swan

Best Use of Crazy Eyes in a Motion Picture is not yet at category at the Academy Awards — it isn’t even recognized by the Hollywood Foreign Press — but based on Natalie Portman’s work in this new clip from Black Swan , maybe it should be. Because, damn , she looks crazy ! This bit of Black Swan marketing comes from the final act of Darren Aronofsky’s film, but don’t worry: There are no spoilers. Unless the fact that Portman’s ballerina performs Swan Lake in the film is a spoiler. Click ahead to watch, but be forewarned: Natalie will haunt your dreams.

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VIDEO: Natalie Portman Gives You Crazy Eyes in Latest Clip from Black Swan

Why Irvin Kershner Mattered

Irvin Kershner has died at the age of 87. He leaves behind some recognizable films ( The Flim Flam Man with George C. Scott; Eyes of Laura Mars with Faye Dunaway) and several sequels of various prominence ( The Return of a Man Called Horse , Robocop II and the renegade James Bond film Never Say Never Again ), never afraid to explore and extend the story of someone else’s work. So, really, it’s not a huge surprise in hindsight that he accepted the challenge of The Empire Strikes Back , the 1980 effort continuing the story that George Lucas started three years earlier with Star Wars . But could anybody have expected Kershner to knock this particular sequel out of the f*cking park?

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Why Irvin Kershner Mattered

20 Rejected Combinations that Were Considered to Host the Oscars in 2011

By now you’ve had a few hours to digest the news that James Franco and Anne Hathaway will host the Academy Awards next year , something that is likely a dream come true for Twentieth Century Fox (perhaps Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis can do an interpretive dance to commemorate the ten Best Picture nominees, too!). But who else was considered? Ahead, Movieline imagines 20 rejected Oscar-host pairings based on the selection of Franco and Hathaway.

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20 Rejected Combinations that Were Considered to Host the Oscars in 2011

Should Susan Boyle Sing at the Royal Wedding?

He’s already a reality show judge and record producer. But Simon Cowell is looking to add another title to his resume: wedding planner. Speaking to Extra , Cowell offered up an idea for who should sing at the royal nuptials between Prince William and Kate Middleton . “Susan Boyle would be perfect,” said the former American Idol panelist, adding that Boyle’s “I Dreamed a Dream” would be the ideal wedding song for the pair. As the world knows by now, William and Kate got engaged last month and have scheduled their exchanging of vows to take place at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011. Billions are expected to watch on television. Would Boyle be able to handle that pressure? Do you think she’d made a good choice to sing at the reception? [poll id=”1660″ /]

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Should Susan Boyle Sing at the Royal Wedding?

Anne Hathaway and James Franco to Host Academy Awards?

If Anne Hathaway wears what she donned for a recent EW photo shoot at next year’s Academy Awards, we think the following news is nothing short of exhilarating: According to Deadline Hollywood, Hathaway and James Franco are near-locks to host the 2011 Oscars. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has

James Franco, Anne Hathaway May Host The Oscars

Actors reportedly have been asked to host and it ‘looks like’ both have accepted. By Eric Ditzian James Franco and Anne Hathaway Photo: Jon Kopaloff/ Jim Spellman/ FilmMagic/ WireImage In an unexpected Oscar turn two years ago, Anne Hathaway joined host Hugh Jackman onstage for a parody of “Frost/Nixon.” And James Franco ‘s entire career, from starring in “General Hospital” to appearing as a pillow-humping version of himself in “30 Rock,” can be filed under the category of “What will that dude do next?” Well, as unexpected as it may be, next up for both Franco and Hathaway might be jobs co-hosting the 83rd Annual Academy Awards next year. Deadline Hollywood reports that the actors have been offered the gig and it “looks like” both have accepted. MTV News’ requests for comment from the Academy and Franco and Hathaway’s reps were not returned as of press time. Whether or not Franco hosts the show, he figures to play a prominent part in the ceremony. The 32-year-old is considered a lock for a best-actor nomination for his turn as a trapped hiker in “127 Hours,” the Danny Boyle-directed drama that’s also expected to nab a Best Picture nod. Hathaway, 28, meanwhile, remains a long-shot in the best-actress category for “Love & Other Drugs,” a film that received mixed reviews and reeled in just $14 million over the extended Thanksgiving holiday. Hiring Franco and Hathaway as hosts would certainly mark a strategic turn by the Academy, which has long been accused of being out-of-touch with the young pop-culture mainstream. A quick scan of the last two decades of Oscar history shows that not one host has even been as young as in his or her 30s when emceeing the show. Most recently, 64-year-old Steve Martin and 51-year-old Alec Baldwin assumed hosting duties, notching the show’s best ratings in five years.

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James Franco, Anne Hathaway May Host The Oscars

Help Find an Oscar-Winner With Movieline’s Exclusive Jean-Luc Godard ‘Missing’ Poster

So if you bet “yes” in yesterday’s poll of whether or not Jean-Luc Godard would personally accept his honorary Oscar at this fall’s Governors Awards, things aren’t looking good for you. A report late Wednesday notes that the Academy has yet to even find Godard to notify him — let alone invite the 79-year-old French New Wave legend to collect his winnings in person in Los Angeles. Godard’s absence persists as of this writing, a development that requires significant measures. Click through to join the hunt with Movieline’s official “missing” poster.

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Help Find an Oscar-Winner With Movieline’s Exclusive Jean-Luc Godard ‘Missing’ Poster

Super Bowl Could Push Oscars To Mondays In 2013

Awards show has taken place on Sunday nights for the past decade. By Gil Kaufman Photo: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage The Oscars may get blitzed by the NFL. The producers behind the biggest night in movies (well, except for the MTV Movie Awards ), are considering moving the Academy Awards from its Sunday night seat to Monday nights in order to avoid competition from the National Football League. According to Variety , Oscar runners are keeping a close eye on the negotiations between NFL owners and players over a new collective bargaining agreement that could add two games to the regular season, which could push the Super Bowl to the same night as the Oscars. Unnamed sources told the magazine that the switch from 16 to 18 games is an almost sure thing beginning with the 2012-13 season. Rather than endure scorching August preseason games and potential conflicts with baseball, the NFL is likely to push the start of the regular season past Labor Day, which would kick the playoffs into February. If that scenario unfolds, then the Super Bowl — typically held the first Sunday in February — could air on the same night as the 2013 Academy Awards in late February. The executive director of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, Bruce Davis, said he’s keeping an eye on the NFL situation and is prepared to possibly shift the Oscars back to Monday, the night on which the show aired for decades before moving to Sunday in 1999. “Yes, it’s a concern for us,” Davis said of the NFL scenario, noting that the academy and football league have had some back-channel discussions, though he doubted the NFL would take the needs of the Hollywood awards show into consideration when making its decision on the new schedule. “I think our inclination would be to go earlier rather than later, but we need to see,” Davis said of possibly moving the show to a Monday in February rather than back to the first week of March in order to avoid the most-viewed program of the year. “There’s no rule it has to be on a Sunday … we’re looking at a lot of different options.” The Oscar-cast has moved around quite a bit over the years, shifting up to February in 2004 after complaints about the too-long awards season and moving back a week twice in the past six years to avoid competing with the Winter Olympics. The NFL shuffle could also impact the Grammys, which also air in February, but its unlikely to force a shift in the date for that show.

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Super Bowl Could Push Oscars To Mondays In 2013

‘Piranha 3D’ Sequel Already Planned

Film made $10 million in its opening weekend. By Kara Warner Jerry O’Connell in “Piranha 3D” Photo: Gene Page / Dimension Hot off the $10 million opening weekend for “Piranha 3D,” Dimension Films announced Monday (August 23) that a sequel is already in the works “We are thrilled that audiences are not just loving ‘Piranha 3D,’ but cheering for it,” producer Mark Canton said in a statement. “And it’s fantastic that so many critics are really getting the movie and recommending it. We can’t wait to get to work on the sequel.” We’ve been following the blood- and breast-filled production since its humble beginnings, back when we visited the Lake Havasu, Arizona, set where co-star Paul Scheer bragged to us that the film’s blood content would likely break records . “Over 600 gallons of blood were used in this movie so far, and we’re not even done,” co-star Paul Scheer told us when we visited the set. “This is gonna be the most boobs and blood in any motion picture of all time.” Despite the film’s seemingly campy nature — complete with the cast’s cheeky Funny or Die video, in which they ask the Academy to consider “Piranha 3D” for a Best Picture Oscar nomination — the 1978 original film and its 1981 sequel “Piranha II: The Spawning” launched the careers of respected filmmakers Joe Dante, John Sayles and James Cameron. And if those established pedigrees aren’t enough, director Alexandre Aja knows what it takes to get moviegoers into theaters. “There’s going to be 3-D double-D boobs!” he laughed when we talked to him earlier this summer. “I want to know exactly how many different girls’ boobs are in the movie. I think it’s a lot. I think blood-wise, I have to get the final number, but we are beyond anything you can even imagine.” With a current rating of 81 percent Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes , the film has struck a chord with critics as well. MTV’s own Kurt Loder called the film’s effects “top notch,” “fluid” and just plain fun. “The thrills here may be traditional, but they’re still actually thrilling,” he wrote. The Associated Press ‘ Christy Lemire gushed about the film: “Run, don’t walk: ‘Piranha 3-D’ is hilariously, cleverly gory. Mere words cannot describe how awesomely gnarly ‘Piranha 3D’ is, how hugely entertaining, and how urgently you must get yourself to the theatre to see it. Like, now.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Piranha 3D.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘Piranha 3D’

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‘Piranha 3D’ Sequel Already Planned

Patricia Neal, Oscar-Winning Actress, Dies At 84

Star of ‘Hud’ and ‘The Fountainhead’ famously recovered from a semi-paralyzing stroke in 1965. By Eric Ditzian Patricia Neal in 1952 Photo: Gene Kornman/ Getty Images Oscar-winning Patricia Neal died on Sunday at the age of 84, The New York Times reports. In 1964, Neal won a Best Actress Oscar for her turn as the resilient housekeeper Alma opposite Paul Newman in “Hud.” A year after her Academy Awards triumph, though, the actress suffered three strokes that left her in a three-week coma. Afterwards she was semi-paralyzed and without the ability to speak, though she eventually learned to walk and talk again. Despite an impaired memory, the actress returned to the big screen for 1968’s “The Subject Was Roses,” playing a vindictive mother. She again secured an Oscar nomination, but this time lost out to dual winners Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand. Neal got her start at the age of 21 opposite Ronald Reagan in the 1949 comedy “John Loves Mary.” She went on to star in films like “A Face in the Crowd” (1950), “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (1951) and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961). One of her most prominent roles came in 1949, when she nabbed the coveted lead role in “The Fountainhead,” an adaptation of the Ayn Rand novel. The role also lead to a love affair between Neal and co-star Gary Cooper, a relationship that lasted for three years but ended when Cooper declined to leave his wife and family. Neal became pregnant during the affair and had an abortion, as she revealed in a 1988 memoir. “If I had only one thing to do over in my life,” she wrote, according to the Times, “I would have that baby.” Neal was married for 30 years to “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” author Roald Dahl, with whom she had five children. They divorced in 1983. Though the Times does not give a cause of death, People reports that Neal had lung cancer. She died at her home in Edgartown, Massachusetts.

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Patricia Neal, Oscar-Winning Actress, Dies At 84