That bottomless treasure trove of pop-culture conservatism know as Big Hollywood has done it again, showcasing a guest post from Kirk Cameron about his new documentary Monumental . It has it all: Growing Pains call-outs, Ronald Reagan quips, history tourism, longing gawks at American flags, Cameron and family saying grace… everything, perhaps, except Sarah Palin excreting some half-truth about Wasilla. Have a look! You won’t regret it, either. Those on the right will nod approvingly of the actor-filmmaker’s spirit-nourishing quest, and those on the left will reel ecstatically from all, oh, 241 reaction shots featuring Cameron in various stages of pride, vexation, indigestion, and/or all of the above. (I especially urge you to savor the side-splitting morsel around the :39 mark.) “What if real change doesn’t start at the top but at the bottom?” he writes at BH. “What if the best place to begin transforming our country is not the Oval Office but the dinner table?” Ha! Good luck with that — check-splitting with underemployed media types is at least twice as hard as guiding our nation. I can only imagine what it’s like with six kids. The Cameron screens one night only on March 27. Learn more here , or not. [ Big Hollywood ]
Oldman calls Best Actor nod ‘extremely humbling, gratifying and delightful.’ By Kara Warner Gary Oldman in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Photo: Focus Features Once again, the announcement of the Academy Awards nominations has made for a flurry of exciting headlines and news stories and lots of bets won and lost in Vegas. In addition to the early-morning reveal of the full list of Oscar-nominated individuals and films , the most exciting aspect of Oscar nomination day is the universal delight and happiness expressed by the lucky folks in question. Celebrated thespian and first-time nominee Gary Oldman was humbled by his Best Actor nomination for “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.” “This afternoon in Berlin I have learned that I was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Actor,” he said in a statement. “You may have heard this before, but it has never been truer than it is for me today, it is extremely humbling, gratifying and delightful to have your work recognized by the Academy, and to join the celebrated ranks of previous nominees and colleagues. Amazing.” Another first-time nominee in the Best Actor category is Demi
As sort of presumed, the John Hawkes/Helen Hunt-starring, man-in-an-iron-lung-virginity-losing, awards-ready indie drama The Surrogate made an impressive market showing Monday following its Sundance premiere, selling for $6 million — more than twice the figure noted in last week’s festival bidding-war preview — to Fox Searchlight. Not bad! The studio also has all but closed a deal on director Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild ; drop back by for more coverage of each from Sundance and, for The Surrogate in particular, from next year’s awards season. Ahem. [ Deadline ]
James Franco. Hank Azaria. David Cross. Ron Livingston. It’s a broad range of actors who’ve been enlisted previously to play Beat icon Allen Ginsberg, none of them quite delivering the poet’s intellect and spirit opposite the, er, best minds of his generation. Now comes the news that Daniel Radcliffe will take a shot of his own at Ginsberg in director John Krokidas’s Kill Your Darlings . THR today followed up on news originally hinted at by MTV , confirming that the actor — who’s first post- Harry Potter role in The Woman in Black finally surfaces in theaters next month — will star opposite Elizabeth Olsen, Dane DeHaan and Jack Huston. Set in 1944, it revolves around a murder that “draws together the great poets of the beat generation: Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs.” Radcliffe originally hesitated to commit to the project, but is enthusiastic enough. “It’s one of the things that’s on the table absolutely,” he told MTV. “It would be amazing and I’m very, very enthused for that script and that young director. It’s an independent film, it’s welcome to the world of independent film — from one day to the next it could happen or not happen. Until I’m there on the set, I’m not going to say anything about it.” Too late! And here I thought Radcliffe would never wear glasses for a role again. Look for KYD in theaters in 2013, meaning a possible fall 2012 festival run. Developing… [ THR , MTV ] [Photo: Getty Images] Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
We leave the Oscar odds up to the professionals, in Bigger Than the Sound. By James Montgomery George Clooney in “The Descendents” Photo: 20th Century Fox My buddy Corey (
George Clooney and BFF Brad Pitt to face off in Best Actor category. By Gil Kaufman Asa Butterfield in “Hugo” Photo: Paramount Pictures A silent picture, a baseball flick, a horse tale, a 3-D children’s movie for grown-ups, a infidelity family drama, an ode to classic cinema and a film that tackles race relations against the backdrop of the 1960’s civil right movement. The nominations for Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards read like a travelogue of the history of film. The names of the nominees for the 84th annual Academy Awards , hosted by Billy Crystal, were announced on Tuesday (January 24) morning and in addition to a lot of the expected vote-getters, a few dark horses emerged from the pack, which was led by Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” with 11 nods, followed by the acclaimed silent film “The Artist” with 10. For photos of all the Oscar nominees, click here. The Best Picture race will be a dogfight between one of the year’s most lauded films, the French silent movie “The Artist,” director Alexander Payne’s family drama “The Descendants,” the inspiring tale of “The Help,” Scorsese’s 3-D children’s film/ode to his love of the movies, “Hugo” and one of Woody Allen’s most box-office friendly flick in years, “Midnight in Paris.” Also making the list was the Brad Pitt baseball drama “Moneyball,” as well as Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse,” reclusive director Terrence Malick’s existential “The Tree of Life” and “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.” The bids for “The Artist” mark the first time in nearly 80 years that a black-and-white silent film is the leading contender to take the Best Picture award. The Oscars will air live on February 26 from the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. Golden Globe winner George Clooney and his pal Pitt will vie for the Best Actor award for their work, respectively, in “The Descendants” and “Moneyball.” They will need to overcome a strong bid from Jean Dujardin in “The Artist,” as well as Gary Oldman in the drama “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.” Also in the mix is the surprise vote for Mexican actor Demian Bichir, who was praised for his work in “A Better Life” as a gardener in East L.A. intent on keeping his son out of a local gang. It’s a mix of the usual suspects and some new names in the Best Actress category, with 16-time nominee Meryl Streep leading the list for her take on Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron lady,” Viola Davis earning major kudos for her work as a sweet-natured maid in “The Help,” Michelle Williams getting a nod for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in “My Week With Marilyn” and first -time nominee Rooney Mara for her goth punk blitzkrieg in “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” Glenn Close was also honored for her gender-bending turn in “Albert Nobbs.” Best Director will pit three legends — Scorsese, Allen and Malick — against Payne and a rising star in against Payne Michel Hazanavicius for “The Artist.” The Best Supporting Actor category features Kenneth Branagh (“My Week with Marilyn”), Johan Hill (“Moneyball”), Nick Nolte (“Warrior”) Christopher Plummer (“Beginners”) and Max Von Sydow (“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”). In the Best Supporting Actress race, Octavia Spencer (“The Help”), will take on “Janet McTeer (“Albert Nobbs”), Melissa McCarthy (“Bridesmaids”), Jessica Chastain (“The Help” and Berenice Bejo (“The Artist”). Break-out “Saturday Night Live” star Kristen Wiig and her writing partner Annie Mumulo were honored with a Best Original Screenplay bid for their explosively funny “Bridesmaids” script, along with Allen for “Midnight in Paris,” Hazanavicius for “The Artist,” Asghar Farhadi for “A Separation” and J.C. Chandor for “Margin Call.” The Animated Feature battle will feature such popcorn pleasers as “Kung Fu Panda 2” going up against “Puss in Boots” and “Rango” as well as two lesser-known movies, “A Cat in Paris” and “Chico & Rita.” Related Videos Oscars 2012: And The Nominees Are… Related Photos 2012 Oscar Nominees
‘It’s going to be pretty intense,’ he promises MTV News at Sundance about the ‘Bad’ finale. By Josh Wigler, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston in “Breaking Bad” Photo: AMC By now, “Breaking Bad” fans are well aware that Walter White (Bryan Cranston) is the danger. He blew the face off of an ingenious criminal drug lord in a dramatic seasons-long showdown. He secretly poisoned a little boy as a means to manipulating his on-again off-again business partner into helping him kill said drug lord. Ladies and gentlemen, make no mistake: four seasons deep, Walt has finally broken bad. With only one season remaining before “Breaking Bad” closes the meth lab for good, it’s anybody’s guess how the saga of the cancer-stricken chemistry teacher-turned-murderous meth manufacturer will ultimately resolve itself. But there is one person who claims to know how the AMC drug thriller ends: Aaron Paul, the anything-but-“Bad” actor who stars on the show as reluctant drug slinger Jesse Pinkman. “I know how it ends,” Paul told MTV News at the Sundance Film Festival , where he’s promoting the release of his new movie “Smashed.” You wouldn’t think Paul would spill any further details, but he proceeded to drop a bombshell bigger than the one that took out Gus Fring . “Jesse dies,” he deadpanned. And just like Fring, our jaws dropped to the floor at the stunning revelation. But true to Pinkman’s prankster ways, Paul immediately cracked up and cleared the air. “No, no, no! He doesn’t die! Or maybe he does,” he continued ominously. “I don’t know! Actually, I have no idea what’s going to happen. But I’m excited to see [it play out].” No matter how “Breaking Bad” reaches its conclusion, it will all come to an end one way or the other, sooner rather than later. “[There are only] 16 more episodes, and then we’re done,” Paul said. “We start shooting at the end of March. I think it’s going to be a full sprint to the finish, and it’s going to be pretty intense.” The 2012 Sundance Film Festival is officially under way, and the MTV Movies team is on the ground reporting on the hottest stars and the movies everyone will be talking about in the year to come. Keep it locked with MTV Movies for everything there is to know about Sundance. Related Videos Sundance 2012: Interviews From Park City
‘Descendants’ star George Clooney and ‘Artist’ actor Jean Dujardin are two of MTV News’ nominee picks. By Josh Wigler George Clooney in “The Descendants” Photo: 20th Century Fox In less than 24 hours, five actors will find themselves officially locked in on the road toward Oscar glory. The 2012 Academy Award nominations are set to be unleashed on Tuesday, and while there are certainly some expected front-runners who will be in the mix, there are always surprise nominees who make the cut. In the Best Actor category, however, things seem a bit more predictable this year. A handful of performers have found their names repeatedly honored with nominations throughout the current awards season and the trend isn’t likely to stop before Oscar night . From bureaus to baseball, from silence to sex, here are our predictions for the Academy Awards’ Best Actor nominees. George Clooney, “The Descendants” Already familiar with the taste of Oscar gold, Clooney is very likely on the cusp of another major win for his touching turn as “back-up parent” Matt King in Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants.” Clooney has been on an Academy-attracting hot streak in recent years, what with nominations for “Michael Clayton” and “Up in the Air.” Under the right circumstances, he could have easily claimed victories for either of those roles. Will he find himself in the right crowd this time around? Leonardo DiCaprio, “J. Edgar” Critics were not kind to director Clint Eastwood’s biopic about the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s polarizing founder. But DiCaprio’s performance as the titular J. Edgar Hoover is another story. The three-time Oscar nominee turned in a transformative performance as Hoover, both physically and spiritually, and is likely to be recognized with a fourth nomination, if not a win. Jean Dujardin, “The Artist” It’s said that silence is acceptance. If that’s the case, French actor Jean Dujardin could well be accepting a Best Actor award on Oscar night. As the star of director Michel Hazanavicius’ silent film “The Artist,” Dujardin proved the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words — in his case, moving pictures — as he stole the hearts of art-house moviegoers everywhere as George Valentin, a silent-movie actor facing the very real threat of falling from stardom to redundancy. Michael Fassbender, “Shame” Talk about baring it all! Fassbender truly shed every layer possible — and we do mean every layer — as sex addict Brandon Sullivan in director Steve McQueen’s “Shame.” It’s not easy for the star of an NC-17 film to cross over to the awards-season elite, but Fassbender has done exactly that, most notably with his Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor. While he’s not likely to win — a true shame, if you ask us — his inclusion on Oscar night feels like the climax, if you will, of the Irish-German actor’s truly inspired 2011. Brad Pitt, “Moneyball” After the shutdown of Steven Soderbegh’s take on the material, a rewrite from Oscar-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and the surprise hiring of Jonah Hill in his first dramatic role, “Moneyball” surprised everybody by simply existing. Unsurprising is the fantastic performance from Pitt, one of our most gifted (and gorgeous) actors. Pitt has yet to bring an Oscar home, despite numerous nominations over the years. His Billy Beane might be the most understated of all the characters likely to enter the Best Actor field this year, but true to the Oakland A’s general manager’s philosophy, it’s not always a grand slam that gets you the win. Share your predictions for Oscar’s Best Actor nominees in the comments below! Stick with MTV News as we cover the 2012 Oscar nominations — and snubs — on Tuesday, January 24! For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .
Brandy recently said that her “dream role” would be portraying Whitney Houston in a movie, and let other actresses know that she would be the best person to play Whitney. The two co-starred in the 1997 remake of Cinderella . Brandy said she has Whitney’s personality and “isms” down, but doesn’t want to do the singing. Brandy also said she would love to do a period piece like Mahogany or Lady Sings the Blues . Would you want to see Brandy play Whitney Houston onscreen? Read more here . RELATED POSTS: Brandy Possibly Collaborating With Drake? Monica And Brandy Reuniting For New Song Whitney Houston & Bobby Brown’s Drug Dealer Spills The Dirt [VIDEO] Whitney Houston On Aaliyah: “My Sparkle Has Gone” [VIDEO]
PARK CITY, Utah—The publicist for comedian and cast member of NBC’s “30 Rock,” Tracy Morgan, says the actor suffered from a combination of exhaustion and altitude when he collapsed at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. Publicist Lewis Kay says Morgan is grateful to the medical center staff for their care Sunday in Park City, where the elevation is 7,000 feet. Morgan was escorted from the Creative Coalition Spotlight Awards ceremony Sunday night at the festival. Kay says Morgan is seeking medical attention and is with his fiancee. He says hospital officials report no drugs or alcohol were found in Morgan’s system. Morgan is attending Sundance in connection with the comedy film “Predisposed,” one of the 100 films at the festival, in which he plays a drug dealer named Sprinkles.
