Say what you want but this LL man has stayed relevant for a hell of a long time… Two-time GRAMMY winner LL Cool J is set to host the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards, marking the first time in seven years that the music industry’s premier event will have an official host. “I’m thrilled to be part of Music’s Biggest Night,” said LL Cool J. “I will always have fond memories of my first GRAMMY Awards and to now be hosting the GRAMMY show, in the company of so many other incredible artists, is a dream come true. Great performances and great music — it’s gonna be a great night!” LL Cool J has hosted “The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown To Music’s Biggest Night” since its inception in December 2008, and this will be his first time hosting the annual GRAMMY Awards telecast. Recent past hosts include Queen Latifah at the 47th GRAMMY Awards and Jon Stewart at the 43rd and 44th GRAMMY telecasts. Over the years, additional GRAMMY hosts include Billy Crystal, Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell, among others. We not hatin’, check out pics of some of his best award moments next… Source
Over at Awards Daily, Sasha Stone forwards an interesting theory : “There is a school of thought where Oscar is concerned that goes like this: You can win if you can give them rock hard erections.” The latest in said awards trend, it would seem, is the February cover spread in GQ in which My Week with Marilyn ‘s Michelle Williams poses in lingerie as the magazine’s headline screams “Who Knew Michelle Williams Had This Body?” It’s a far cry from Williams’ perpetual pixie-mom persona, the one she broke out in her Golden Globe acceptance speech last weekend. But is her skin-baring the key to getting that coveted Oscar nomination/win ? Behold the press-shy Williams with a pseudo-Marilyn bedroom coif, selling sex with the vulnerable eyes of a deer. A very sexy deer, mind you (images via Just Jared ): Now, the PR move prompts a few questions: Is this really a historic, proven trend among female Oscar nominees? (See: Kate Winslet ‘s nude Vanity Fair spread, evidence in Stone’s theory, which may or may not have helped convince Oscar voters that her turn in The Reader was worth honoring.) Why won’t Meryl Streep (or Viola Davis, as Stone notes) take the same tack? And how far does a spread focusing on Williams’ sexiness and bare body help further the sentiment that she’s a great actress who turned in one of the best performances of the year? (Have the GQ readers who’d bite at this headline even seen My Week with Marilyn ?) I’m partly skeptical because the GQ cover isn’t particularly great, taking nothing away from Williams’ loveliness. My favorite image of the bunch above is the mirror shot, which allows that great face to convey real vulnerability and fragility — as if Williams had a moment of clarity, standing in front of a photographer in her see-through nightie, realizing that life as a would-be Oscar honoree on the campaign trail isn’t so wildly different from that of the doomed Monroe, compulsively and self-consciously putting on a pout for the cameras. Yes, sex sells. But does it really win Oscars? We shall see… [ To clarify: The Oscar nominations are announced Jan. 24; member voting closes Feb. 21. ] [ Awards Daily , Just Jared ]
Now here’s a trend I can get behind: “[U]p to December, there hadn’t been a single Russian film in the top 20. The film expected to create a bombastic box-office crater -– war epic Burnt By the Sun 2 , at $40m the country’s most expensive production ever –- fizzled out embarrassingly when part two was released in May. A few years ago, Russians learned to stop worrying and love the blockbuster as they began producing SFX-laden spectaculars like Night Watch ; now they’re learning about the flipside -– the car-crash pleasures of rubbernecking a box-office flop.” [ The Guardian ]
Today in the NY Times , David Carr has an intriguing look at the notorious 28-minute “documentary” When Mitt Romney Came to Town , a piece of presidential-campaign propaganda so slick and evocative that it brings to mind the work of contemporary Hollywood pros. Perhaps most notably, Carr writes, the film implicates Romney in a kind of “vampire capitalism” — which calls for some perspective from the Oscar-winning director of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn , Bill Condon. Naturally . It’s precisely the cheeky antidote the piece needs to counteract the sniffling stridency of Michael Moore (“Those in power will appropriate the counterculture to their own ends,” he tells Carr), but it’s also a concisely nifty illumination of how choices behind the camera affect perceptions of those in front of it: “From a technical perspective, they were very effective of taking the imagery of [the 1984 Ronald Reagan spot] Morning in America and gradually turning it into an episode of America’s Most Wanted ,” Mr. Condon said. “In the film, Romney literally blocks out the sun and the weather seems to turn. You are always looking down at Romney, while they shoot the people who lost their jobs from below. And there is a literal money shot, where Romney is posing with money, that looks like it was captured from a surveillance video.” “The title in particular is very good,” he said. “It sets it up right away that this is the mainstream versus Wall Street. The populism of that message took me by surprise and represents a calculation that the white working class, who are everywhere in this movie, are a big part of the Republican electorate.” Indeed. Now if only it were factual ! Can’t have it all, I suppose. Check the film out below, FWIW…
“I’m sorry ya’all, I love you but I have to kick these shoes off. This is the ultimate party and I’m living the dream of so many young actors and actresses out there and I’m having my Diet Pepsi alongside Hollywood’s best and brightest.” Or maybe Octavia Spencer was just being modest? Or introducing the evening’s best euphemism for unlimited buckets of HFPA-brand bubbly? As in, “Someone take away Emily Blunt’s Diet Pepsi ,” etc. etc. [ LAT ]
You might have heard there was a big awards show last night? And as usual, the 69th Golden Globes delivered their standard array of highlights, lowlights and headscratching curios over three hours at the Beverly Hilton. Let’s revisit the ups and downs in words and pictures, shall we? Check out the full gallery here .
The predictions are made , the tables are set, the booze is on ice, and host Ricky Gervais’s knives are sharpened. The only thing left to do at the 69th Golden Globe Awards is to give the damn things away. And, of course, follow along with Movieline’s live commentary. Click through to monitor the evening’s big winners and to chime in with your thoughts. Happy Globesgoing! [Scroll past the CoverItLive module for the complete list of film and TV winners.] Movieline’s 2012 Golden Globe Awards Livetweet BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA : TBA BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL : TBA BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE : TBA BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA : TBA BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA : TBA BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL : Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM : The Adventures of Tintin BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM : A Separation BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE : Octavia Spencer, The Help BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE : Christopher Plummer, Beginners BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE : Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE : Ludovic Bource, The Artist BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE : “Masterpiece,” W.E. BEST TELEVISION SERIES — DRAMA : Homeland BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES — DRAMA : Claire Danes, Homeland BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES — DRAMA : Kelsey Grammer, Boss BEST TELEVISION SERIES — COMEDY OR MUSICAL : TBA BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES — COMEDY OR MUSICAL : Laura Dern, Enlightened BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES — COMEDY OR MUSICAL : Matt LeBlanc, Episodes BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION : Downton Abbey BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION : Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION : Idris Elba, Luther BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION : Jessica Lange, American Horror Story BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION : Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
As yet another incredible season begins to gradually wind down, we’re roughly 48 hours away from one of the year’s most closely watched, hotly competitive high-stakes all-star showdowns to date. But enough about the New York Giants’ journey on Sunday to battle their NFC-rival Green Bay Packers. We’ve got the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards to predict! While Jen Yamato and I invite you to join us Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT for Movieline’s Golden Globe livetweet extravaganza, now’s the time to apply everything you’ve divined through the Oscar Index , our 2012 Golden Globe subplots , your bum knee and/or any other reliable awards barometers you might have at your disposal. We’re focusing on the movie categories only at this time (*: carefully calibrated predictions from Movieline’s Institute For the Advanced Study of Kudos Forensics); weigh in with yours in the comments. And we’ll see you back here on Sunday! BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA The Descendants The Help* Hugo The Ides of March Moneyball War Horse BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL 50/50 The Artist Bridesmaids* My Week With Marilyn Midnight in Paris BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs Viola Davis, The Help * Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA George Clooney, The Descendants * Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar Michael Fassbender, Shame Ryan Gosling, The Ides of March Brad Pitt, Moneyball BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL Jodie Foster, Carnage Charlize Theron, Young Adult Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids * Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn Kate Winslet, Carnage BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL Jean Dujardin, The Artist Brendan Gleeson, The Guard Ryan Gosling, Crazy Stupid Love * Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 50/50 Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn Arthur Christmas Cars 2 Puss In Boots Rango * BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM A Separation (Iran) The Flowers Of War (China) The Kid With The Bike (Belgium) In The Land Of Blood and Honey (USA)* The Skin I Live In (Spain) BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE Berenice Bejo, The Artist Jessica Chastain, The Help Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs Octavia Spencer, The Help * Shailene Woodley, The Descendants BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn Albert Brooks, Drive Jonah Hill, Moneyball Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method Christopher Plummer, Beginners * BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris * George Clooney, The Ides of March Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist Alexander Payne, The Descendants Martin Scorsese, Hugo BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE The Artist The Descendants The Ides of March Midnight in Paris* Moneyball BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE Ludovic Bource – The Artist * Abel Korzeniowski – W.E. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Howard Shore – Hugo John Williams – War Horse BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE “Hello Hello” – Gnomeo & Juliet – Elton John “Lay Your Head Down” – Albert Nobbs – Sinead O’Connor “The Living Proof” – The Help – Mary J. Blige “The Keeper” – Machine Gun Preacher – Gerard Butler “Masterpiece” – W.E. – Madonna*
Paul Thomas Anderson diehards have gossiped for months over reports that the filmmaker is shooting an undisclosed portion of his next film, known as The Master , on 65mm — the IMAX film format used recently, and to great effect, by the likes of Christopher Nolan and DP Wally Pfister on The Dark Knight and Brad Bird and DP Robert Elswit on Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol . In a Twitter exchange yesterday, Pixar veterans Bird, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich geeked out over the joys of 70mm film, dropping a bit of confirmation that Anderson is indeed shooting in the format. In a conversation about 70mm exhibition and 65mm film shooting, Stanton — who just finished his first live-action foray, John Carter , for Disney — Tweeted: ” The Master is indeed in 65. They nearly lost a camera shooting in the Bay.” You’d think Bird would’ve known seeing as Ghost Protocol DP Elswit is Anderson’s longtime cinematographer, but… there you have it. Assuming Stanton is indeed in the know, this would confirm a report earlier this year by the Anderson-watchers at Cigarettes and Red Vines that Anderson was shooting The Master in 65mm with DP Mihai Malaimare Jr., who lensed Youth Without Youth , Tetro , and the forthcoming Twixt for Francis Ford Coppola. Though many speculate that the plot of The Master has ties to Scientology, all that is known officially is that it’s a post-WWII set drama revolving around a charismatic leader of a faith-based organization (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and a drifter who becomes his right-hand man (Joaquin Phoenix). In any case, it promises to be an unusual use of 65mm/70mm than what modern audiences are used to since the scope and visual detail that the format can achieve hasn’t really yet been employed in non-action usage. Surely cause for excitement — right, Anderson fans? (And for you Pixar fans — how amazing was it to witness the Tweet circle between Bird, Stanton, and Unkrich? So nerdy. So awesome.) [@ AndrewStanton , CinemaBlend , Cigarettes and Red Vines ]
The American Society of Cinematographers recognized a typically diverse, eclectic gang of shooters this morning, singling out cinematographers from four countries — including two first-time nominees — in revealing its 2012 awards nominations. Congratulations to Guillaume Schiffman ( The Artist ), Jeff Cronenweth ( The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ), Robert Richardson ( Hugo ), Hoyte van Hoytema ( Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ) and Emmanuel Lubezki ( The Tree of Life ) on their nods from the esteemed trade group, which will announce its winner on Feb. 12. Last year’s winner, Inception cinematographer Wally Pfister, continued on to win an Academy Award. The news is arguably another blow for War Horse , which has now been ignored by three awards bodies of varying importance — the ASC, the Directors Guild and the Art Directors Guild — in the last week. But! Steven Spielberg’s film did receive a fantastic illustrated review , so there is that. High-fives to all! [ ASC ]
