You wanna believe George Clooney is gay? The actor possesses a resume full of the most beautiful girlfriends in the business, but go right ahead. He won’t stop you. “I think it’s funny,” the actor tells The Advocate of such rumors. “But the last thing you’ll ever see me do is jump up and down, saying, ‘These are lies!’ That would be unfair and unkind to my good friends in the gay community. I’m not going to let anyone make it seem like being gay is a bad thing. My private life is private, and I’m very happy in it.” Clooney, of course, is dating Stacy Keibler (or is he really?!?) and is a firm support of gay marriage. “One day the marriage equality fight will look as archaic as George Wallace standing on the University of Alabama steps keeping James Hood from attending college because he was black,” he says. “People will be embarrassed to have been on the wrong side.”
Either animal obsessions are instinctive to this awards season, or someone’s been unduly influenced by Movieline favorites Uggie and Otis the Oscar Cat . There is no other real takeaway from the latest animated news video from the folks at NMA, which makes nifty work of summarizing an utterly depressing, anticlimactic Academy Awards evening that “clocked in at just under 10 hours.” Have a look and see if your memory matches theirs. [ NMA ]
Some folks out there may have enjoyed Billy Crystal ‘s ninth outing as host of the Academy Awards last night, but his turn was as tepid as James Franco’s 2011 “performance” was bizarre. Crystal’s Oscars -themed song and dance routine? Dated. The weak banter and soft barbs at Hollywood’s gathered illuminati? Snoozeville. Given that the previously and frequently great Crystal was upstaged by the night’s random moments ( Angelina Jolie’s leg, J. Lo’s boob, those Cirque du Soleil acrobats ) and young, actually funny presenters (the Bridesmaids crew and Emma Stone) it’s time to start anew and refresh what’s already known as the fussiest night in the film calendar. In other words: Who would make the ultimate, charismatic, hilarious, non-sucky Oscar host? Let’s start by taking anyone who already hosted the Oscars off the board, for freshness’ sake; that includes 2005 host Chris Rock , who provided last night’s telecast with a much-needed jolt of real talk hilarity as he presented Best Animated Feature. Or, say, Ellen Degeneres , Emmy-nominated for her 2006 turn, who was nonetheless all over the tube Oscar night in those movie-themed JC Penney ads. The tradition of hiring comedians to host is a longstanding one that paid off in spades in the days of Bob Hope (who hosted a record 18 shows). But these days even the most daring, subversive stand-ups (read: the funny ones) run up against the stifling sense of decorum perpetuated by the older-skewing Academy; it seems you either get an “edgier” host who dares to push the envelope and draw in the coveted younger demographic — Bieber alone can’t cut it, even if the ill-advised blackface gets press — or you hire a safe host who won’t go too far and bore everyone to death. In fairness to Crystal, he was saddled with an awfully boring script. The few sparks of life only came in the odd ad-lib or when he roasted celebs in the audience, but even that devolved into easy mean jokes. (Leave Nick Nolte alone!) Another past Oscar trend was to cast a slew of famous actors to host the night — charismatic personalities who split hosting duties and draw in diverse viewers. In 1974 it was the eclectic mix of John Huston, Burt Reynolds, David Niven, Diana Ross; a year later the Academy tapped Sammy Davis Jr, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, and Shirley MacLaine. Why not get the modern day equivalent of an A-lister superteam to host? I’m not talking Anne Hathaway and James Franco, but George Clooney ! Robert Downey Jr.! Sandra Bullock! Cute little Emma Stone, for goodness sake! Then again, maybe there are celebrities out there who could reinvigorate the Oscars solo: Oprah, for one? The talk show titan was batted around last year as a potential Oscar host before then-telecast co-producer Brett Ratner hired Eddie Murphy (who would also probably be great, if he were to come back). I’d watch an entire telecast hosted by Zach Galifianakis, even if it was a three-hour parade of weirdness on par with his and Will Ferrell’s crash cymbals gag. If the Academy’s older membership and demographic knew who the hell he was, Louis C.K. would be fantastically entertaining. And then there’s Sacha Baron Cohen… I’ll turn it over to you, Movieliners — who would make the perfect audience-grabbing, attention-holding non-snoozeworthy Oscar host… and would the Academy ever bite?
‘I’m here to get you the 18-24 demographic,’ Biebs jokes to Billy Crystal during the Academy Awards opener. By Jocelyn Vena Justin Bieber appears in a “Midnight in Paris” parody at the 2012 Oscars Photo: ABC Billy Crystal knows how to get the kids to watch the Academy Awards. When he wasn’t appearing in parody scenes from Oscar-nominated films at the opening of Sunday’s (February 26) show, he was taking a second to lock in the tween viewership, with a good dose of Holocaust-related humor for added measure. For his parody of the Woody Allen flick “Midnight in Paris,” a tux-wearing Justin Bieber rolled up to the Academy Awards host, who was sitting on a stoop. “Come here, come here,” he shouted to Crystal. “What’s up? I’m here to get you the 18-24 demographic. So how long do you want me to sit here for?” “A couple seconds, I think, will do it,” Crystal said. The two then exchanged some awkward, lingering glances waiting out the appropriate amount of time before they could move on to the next part of their gag, which, of course, focused on Hitler and the Holocaust. “So what are you going to do now?” Crystal inquired. Bieber replied, “We’re gonna go hang out with Hemingway and Fitzgerald.” That “we’re” he was referring to was Bieber and Rat Packer Sammy Davis Jr. Crystal, done up as Davis Jr., added, “And then we’re gonna go kill Hitler. Billy, is Biebs the young Sinatra, or am I nuts?” “Oh Sammy, stop it!” Bieber laughed, before pulling off. The opening sketch also included homages to “The Artist,” “The Help,” “Moneyball” and “The Descendants,” to name a few, with appearances by nominees including George Clooney and Jonah Hill. After the sketch closed out, Crystal hit the stage for a musical number. The MTV Movies team has the 2012 Oscars covered! Keep it locked at MTV.com all night and beyond for updates on the night’s big winners and the best red-carpet fashion . Join the live conversation by tweeting @MTVNews with the hashtag #Oscars. Related Videos Oscars 2012: Red Carpet Highlights Oscars 2012: Show Highlights Related Photos MTV Style | 2012 Oscars Red Carpet Photos Related Artists Justin Bieber
Adam Sandler has set a new high mark for low brow comedy. The actor picked up 11 Razzie Award nominations last night, shattering the previous record (five) held by Eddie Murphy and setting himself up as the clear favorite for these anti-Academy Awards, as the ceremony honors the very worst in movies each year. Overall, the film Jack and Jill garnered an impressive 12 nominations, including worst film, actor and actress for Sandler; worst supporting actress for Katie Holmes. and worst supporting actor for the great Al Pacino. Check out the full list of Razzie nominees – which includes Sarah Palin! – below. WORST PICTURE • Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star •New Year’s Eve •Transformers: Dark of the Moon •The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 WORST ACTOR • Adam Sandler, Just Go With It & Jack and Jill • Nick Swardson, Bucky Larson • Russell Brand, Arthur • Taylor Lautner, Abduction & Breaking Dawn • Nicholas Cage, Drive Angry 3-D, Season of the Witch, & Trespass WORST ACTRESS • Adam Sandler, Just Go With It & Jack and Jill • Sarah Palin, Sarah Palin: The Undefeated • Sarah Jessica Parker, I Don’t Know How She Does It & New Year’s Eve • Kristen Stewart, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 • Martin Lawrence, Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR • Al Pacino, Jack and Jill • Patrick Dempsey, Transformers: Dark of the Moon • James Franco, Your Highness, • Nick Swardson, Jack and Jill & Just Go With It • Ken Jeong for four movies—Big Mommas,The Hangover: Part II, Transformers & Zookeeper. WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS • David Spade, Jack and Jill • Martin Lawrence, Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son • Nicole Kidman, Just Go With It • Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Transformers: Dark of the Moon • Katie Holmes, Jack and Jill WORST SCREEN ENSEMBLES • The Entire Cast of Bucky Larson • The Entire Cast of Jack and Jill • The Entire Cast of New Year’s Eve • The Entire Cast of Transformers • The Entire Cast of Breaking Dawn WORST SCREEN COUPLE • Nicholas Cage & “anyone sharing the screen with him in any of his three 2011 films” • Shia LaBeouf & Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Transformers • Adam Sandler & Jennifer Aniston or Brooklyn Decker, Just Go With It • Adam Sandler & Katie Holmes, Al Pacino or himself, Jack and Jill • Kristen Stewart & Taylor Lautner or Robert Pattinson, Breaking Dawn. WORST PREQUEL, SEQUEL, REMAKE OR RIPOFF • Arthur • Bucky Larson • The Hangover: Part II • Jack and Jill • Breaking Dawn WORST DIRECTOR • Michael Bay, Transformers • Tom Brady, Bucky Larson • Bill Condon, Breaking Dawn • Dennis Dugan, Jack and Jill & Just Go With It • Garry Marshall, New Year’s Eve WORST SCREENPLAY • Bucky Larson • Jack and Jill • New Year’s Eve • Transformers • Breaking Dawn
Will The Artist defeat The Descendants ? Will Billy Crystal make us laugh? Will George Clooney outhunk Brad Pitt? Will anyone be able to pronounce the last name of director Michel Hazanavicius? The 84th annual Academy Awards get underway in just a few hours and THG will be live blogging the ceremony. Bookmark this page now and return as soon as the opening credits roll to join in a discussion of the winners, the fashion, the jokes and the horrible music numbers. We’ll see you then! WHICH NOMINEE WILL WIN BEST PICTURE?
Kim Johnson stops to speak with Hollywood Tv who she wants to see win at the awards, she talks Oscars (My Week With Marylin & The Help) and Dancing with the Stars! Find out what Kim has to say when it comes to the best performance between Brad or George at the Oscars!?!?! “Like” us on Facebook @ facebook.com
Independent Spirit Award-winner tells MTV News ending awards season with her co-stars is ‘so bittersweet.’ By Terri Schwartz Shailene Woodley Photo: Getty Images “The Descendants” took home a handful of awards from the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday afternoon, but none of the winners were more enthused about the honor than first-time nominee Shailene Woodley. The “Secret Life of the American Teenager” star has been rewarded repeatedly for her emotional turn as the teenage daughter of George Clooney’s character in the Alexander Payne-directed flick, and the 20-year-old continued that trend Saturday, winning Best Supporting Actress. Sunday night’s Academy Awards marks the last major awards show of the season for Woodley and her “Descendants” castmates. On the red carpet before the Spirit Awards, the young actress told MTV News that ending her time with her co-stars is “so bittersweet.” “Tomorrow’s the grand finale. It’s awesome, because I’ll be able to have clean socks and do laundry for the first time in a few months, but it is sad because every single night has been this beautiful little reunion of people, and tomorrow’s the last reunion,” she explained. At least the reunions will go out with a bang, since the entire cast, including Clooney, is expected to attend the Oscars . Even though they won’t continue to see each other on the awards circuit this year, Woodley expects she and her castmates will stay in touch. If Clooney falls out of contact, Woodley promised, “I will track him down and say, ‘Keep teaching me, because I haven’t learned enough yet!’ ” The actress has made quite a splash on the red carpet while doing rounds for “The Descendants,” and she said her Oscar-night dress is ready to go. Picking out the perfect outfit hasn’t been something to stress about — as she said, that’s what stylists are for. “I do have a dress. It hasn’t been that big of a process because I know nothing about fashion,” Woodley said. “I have an awesome stylist who does know a lot about fashion, and so I’m sure she would say it’s been a big process, but for me, it’s been very simple.” The MTV Movies team has the 2012 Oscars covered! Stick with us for everything you need to know leading up to the awards show, and on Sunday, February 26, tune into MTV.com at 5 p.m. ET for our two-and-a-half-hour red-carpet live stream and updates on the night’s big winners. To join the live conversation, tweet @MTVNews with the hashtag #Oscars.
Forty-eight hours to Oscar. Gut-check time — or maybe make that “gut-instinct check” time, a moment to break away from the meticulous zeitgeist-combing science of Movieline’s Institute For the Advanced Study of Kudos Forensics and make a few choices for myself. Not that they’ll be so different, but if you can’t go with a hunch where 5,765 fickle, insular industry minds are concerned, then what can you go with? We can’t all be be Otis the Oscar Cat , you know. Anyway, let’s make this quick: BEST PICTURE A certain voluble sliver of the Oscar punditocracy likes to whine about The Artist ‘s awards-season supremacy — as if it signaled some searing compromise of the Academy’s historic tradition of recognizing only the finest, most artistically challenging and rigidly contemporary work. These people sound like some bitter old man bitching about how the Super Bowl halftime show never features anyone good anymore, or some mouth-breathing fanboy complaining about the vanquished integrity of Star Wars . You guys, they were never good to begin with . In their own way — as meritocratic tastemakers — neither were the Academy Awards. This year’s foregone Artist win has less to do with regressive, reductive cultural tastes than it does with Harvey Weinstein being a good marketer, no different than 15 years ago. If these whinging bozos won’t learn, then can’t they at least shut up? Will win : The Artist Should win : Melancholia . Wait, what? Oh. Fuck it. That’s the best picture of 2011. Period. BEST DIRECTOR Have you seen Midnight in Paris recently? Man, that one does not hold up. The Descendants never did in the first place. Hugo is fine, but I think the groundswell of voters who got Terrence Malick into the competition in the first place could be formidable enough to actually sweep him right past Martin Scorsese into very close competition with Michel Hazanavicius. In fact, you know what? I’ll call it for Malick, why the hell not. Will win : Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life Should win : Lars von Trier, Melancholia . Yes, I heard you the first time. Make your own predictions. BEST ACTOR Here’s where I’m a lot more confident in the upset factor: Demi
The two-time Sexiest Man Alive landed his third Oscar nod for “Moneyball,” but he has yet to take home gold. By Kara Warner Brad Pitt in “Moneyball” Photo: Sony Pictures For all the swoons and sighs associated with any mention of Brad Pitt , the two-time Sexiest Man Alive has proved to be so much more than a pretty face. He’s a worldly, respected father of six and a highly successful, award-winning actor/producer who picked up his third Oscar nomination for acting this year for his portrayal of beloved Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane in “Moneyball.” Pitt is nominated for Best Actor, going head-to-head with best buddy George Clooney (“The Descendants”), Jean Dujardin (“The Artist”), Demi
