Yikes : “[T]he Motion Picture Association’s claims of $58 billion in actual US economic losses and 373,000 lost jobs came from this press release . These numbers originated at a think tank called the ‘Institute for Policy Innovation’ – an organization that Businessweek once profiled in an article called ‘ Op-Eds for Sale .’ In it, an IPI analyst freely admitted to taking payoffs from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff in exchange for writing ‘op-ed pieces boosting the lobbyist’s clients.’ The IPI’s president supported this behavior, saying it was neither wrong nor unethical, and dismissing those who apply ‘a naïve purity standard’ to the business of writing op-eds. This doesn’t necessarily mean that MPAA lobbyists paid the IPI to conjure up these numbers. But whatever their genesis, they’re not easy figures to support.” [ TED Blog via The Dish ]
The 43rd Annual NAACP Image Awards awarded The Help three top honors in what came as no surprise to most observers and fans of the Academy Award-nominated picture. The film received another boost heading into next Sunday’s Oscars, winning Outstanding Motion Picture as well as wins for actresses Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer. The ceremony Friday at the Shrine Auditorium, which honored diversity in the arts, was punctuated by moving tributes to Whitney Houston and George Lucas. Davis and Spencer also won at the SAG Awards this winter . Yolanda Adams performed the spiritual song “I Love the Lord, He Heard My Cry” as part of a tribute to pop superstar Houston, who died last week at the age of 48. As part of the tribute to Lucas, Jennifer Hudson and Ne-Yo performed “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” while Red Tails director Lucas sang along from his seat. Hudson also claimed the outstanding album prize for I Remember Me . Other winners announced during the two-hour telecast included a pair of TV stars, Regina King for her role in SouthLAnd and LL Cool J for NCIS: Los Angeles .
Over the past week, notorious hacker group Anonymous has launched numerous DDoS attacks that disrupted service to a number of popular websites. The global hacker collective recently took down websites belonging to the Department of Justice, Universal Music, the Record Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America to protest SOPA, PIPA and the takedown of Megaupload…. Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Boy Genius Report Discovery Date : 23/01/2012 15:38 Number of articles : 4
‘Luther’ star talks to MTV News about upcoming ‘Pacific Rim,’ ‘Thor 2’ and ‘Avengers.’ By Kevin P. Sullivan, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Idris Elba Photo: MTV News Idris Elba might have been celebrating at the 2012 Golden Globes for his “Luther” win, but he has a number of high-profile projects coming up also worth cheering over. MTV News’ Josh Horowitz caught up with the British actor to get an update on Elba’s role in several of 2013’s biggest movies. Next year, Elba will star in Guillermo del Toro’s big, ambitious, monster versus robot movie “Pacific Rim.” The actor has been in Toronto filming del Toro’s first film since 2008’s “Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” and he said he can’t wait to get back. “I’m going back tomorrow morning. I’ve been there for five months,” Elba said. “I love it. Guillermo’s a genius, and the film we’re making is a huge film, bad monster movie and robots and me.” If starring in del Toro’s next film wasn’t enough, Elba also has his own spot in the Marvel universe to worry about. The actor confirmed that his character, Heimdall, would be making another appearance soon. ” ‘Thor 2’ for sure,” Elba said. ” ‘Avengers,’ we’re not sure about, but ‘Thor 2’ we’re going at it again.” Elba won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television for “Luther,” a BBC series about a troubled detective. He shared his excitement about winning for a smaller show. “This is great. We made our little show in London, and now we’re getting this worldwide recognition of it,” Elba said. “Love it.” Check out the 2012 Golden Globes winners , and don’t miss all the fashion from the Golden Globes red carpet ! Check out everything we’ve got on “Pacific Rim.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos On The Red Carpet At The Golden Globes 2012 Golden Globes: Highlights From The Show Related Photos Golden Globes 2012 Press Room
Did the 2012 Golden Globe winners go according to plan? Or were there any big surprises? Are the Oscar favorites more or less cemented right now? The Help, The Artist, The Descendants and Hugo proved they are early Oscar leaders, with each film taking home some hardware Sunday evening. The Artist ’s wins for Best Score and Best Actor for Jean Dujardin kept the critical favorite squarely in the driver’s seat as an early Oscar favorite. After winning Best Actor for The Descendants , George Clooney is the man to beat for the honor at the Oscars. That film was also the best drama. Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical went to The Artist , while Meryl Streep won Best Actress (shocker) as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady . The Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement went to Morgan Freeman (above), who received the honor from Sidney Poitier and Helen Mirren. On the TV side, Homeland, Modern Family and Downton Abbey were the big winners. Kicking off the night was a Ricky Gervais monologue that went after stars such as Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian this year. So … there’s that. Here’s the list of Golden Globe winners for 2012: FILM Best Motion Picture, Drama The Descendants Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical The Artist Best Actress, Motion Picture Drama Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady Best Actor, Motion Picture Drama George Clooney, The Descendants Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Christopher Plummer, Beginners Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn Best Animated Film The Adventures of Tintin Best Screenplay Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Octavia Spencer, The Help Best Director Martin Scorsese, Hugo Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical Jean Dujardin, The Artist Best Foreign Film A Separation Best Song Masterpiece, W.E. Best Score Ludovic Bource, The Artist TELEVISION TV Series, Drama Homeland TV Series, Comedy Modern Family TV Movie or Miniseries Downton Abbey Actor in a TV Series, Drama Kelsey Grammer, Boss Actress in a TV Series, Drama Claire Danes, Homeland Actor, TV Series Comedy Matt LeBlanc, Episodes Actress in a TV Series, Comedy Laura Dern, Enlightened Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie Idris Elba, Luther Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or TV Movie Jessica Lange, American Horror Story Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or TV Movie Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Viola Davis and Michelle Williams, but who should win? MTV News breaks it down. By Kevin P. Sullivan Viola Davis in “The Help” Photo: Dreamworks After holding our breath for almost a month, on Sunday, we will find out who will be taking home this year’s Golden Globes . The competition has shifted significantly since the nominees were first announced in December, so we’re going to take a look at where the hopefuls stand and who has the best shot at winning gold. Here are our thoughts on the categories of Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama and Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical: Best Actress – Drama This Globes category contains the two nominees most people consider the lead contenders for Best Actress on Oscar night. Expect people to be paying close attention to this category in particular, since there hasn’t been a runaway favorite throughout awards season. This award could change all of that. Who Will Win : Viola Davis for “The Help.” With her win at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards , Davis confirmed theories that she was the favorite in this category. Her powerful performance played well with audiences across the board in a movie generally more liked than those of other nominees. Who Should Win : Viola Davis for “The Help.” Sorry, Ms. Streep, this is simply Davis’ year. Hers was an emotionally powerful performance and the one that left audiences weeping. She’s the favorite for a reason. Best Actress – Comedy or Musical With the exception of Michelle Williams, the actresses in this category turned in great performances but have lacked the buzz to make them serious Oscar contenders. Unfortunately, this category will be one of the few chances to honor some of the year’s best unsung performances. Who Will Win : Michelle Williams for “My Week With Marilyn.” It’s the dramatic role in the comedy category. That’s not the only difference here; Williams’ portrayal of the blond bombshell has been mentioned in nearly every other actress’ honor, unlike many of her fellow nominees. It’s an iconic performance that might skate by on an odd categorization. Who Should Win : Charlize Theron for “Young Adult.” It took balls to bring life to the wholly unlikable Mavis Gary, and it’s exactly the kind of unsympathetic portrayal that is rarely seen these days. Theron pushed away convention and expectation and turned in one of the most memorable performances in a stellar career. Stick with MTV News on Sunday night for the 2012 Golden Globes winners, and don’t miss all the fashion from the Golden Globes red carpet ! For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .
That unsubtle backhand slap you just heard was the sound of Steven Spielberg being whacked off his awards-season pedestal by the Directors Guild of America, which just announced Woody Allen, David Fincher, Michel Hazanavicius, Alexander Payne and Martin Scorsese as its 2012 Best Director nominees. This one has to hurt. Other, less conspicuous snubs include Moneyball director Bennett Miller and The Help ‘s Tate Taylor, the latter of whom who made his first Oscar Index appearance last week but seems likely to drop off by the next installment. As Steve Pond notes over at The Wrap, the DGA Awards are a significant Academy Awards precursor: “Typically, four of the five DGA nominees go on to receive Oscar nominations. In the last decade, the DGA has matched all five Oscar nominees twice, four out of five six times and three out of five twice.” Still! Ouch. For the record, here again are this year’s nominees: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris David Fincher, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist Alexander Payne, The Descendants Martin Scorsese, Hugo [ DGA ]
The New York Times reported Sunday that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ documentary branch is tweaking its qualification rules once again, allowing only theatrical nonfiction feature films that have been reviewed by the NY or LA Times to be considered for Oscar nominations. Furthermore, voting on nominees will be expanded to the entire 166-member Documentary Branch (as opposed to individual committees), and the Academy as a whole can vote for Best Documentary, regardless of how or where members saw the nominated films. The revisions have prompted more than a little hand-wringing around the doc community — for no especially good reason, alas. Here’s why: 1. Films they’re seeking to block will still get through. In a year when the Doc Branch fielded an unprecedented volume of submissions (thanks entirely to the 2010 rule change that expanded the 2011 awards year to 16 months), the Academy wants to screen out docs conceived and produced primarily for television but which qualify for the Oscars with a one-week theatrical run in Manhattan and Los Angeles County. By requiring a newspaper review, said Academy COO Ric Robertson, the Oscars are likelier to reward “genuine theatrical” documentaries. Which would be fine — if it were true: The same HBO-produced docs that are presently, quietly four-walled at the Coliseum Cinemas in Washington Heights or the Playhouse 7 in Pasadena are just going to do the same old thing in slightly more upmarket venues. 2. The process has always favored bigger films. Michael Moore, who made his name putatively fighting on behalf of the little guy in the face of outsized institutional malevolence, apparently helped engineer the expanded voting-bloc change in what the NYT ‘s Michael Cieply termed an effort to recognize more “popular and culturally significant films.” Ha. It not clear what these films would be except for maybe things like Moore’s own Capitalism: A Love Story and certain high-profile oversights like Werner Herzog’s long-playing 3-D doc Cave of Forgotten Dreams — a theatrical nonfiction treat if ever there were one. But the reality is that despite the annual snub ritual known as the documentary short list , theatrically geared films released by well-known specialty distributors win the majority of Academy attention when it matters — in the nominations — and the lion’s share of Best Documentary Feature wins. Even Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory , arguably this year’s frontrunner and a perfect example of the type of made-for-TV doc the Academy would hope to deflect, is a product of the well-heeled HBO Documentary Films. 3. It’s still all about the awards-season resources. Moore also told Sasha Stone that, in effect, “the new rules effectively protect the smaller fish from being chased out because the big fish have more money to manipulate the broken system.” I’ll believe it when I see it. The new screener permission alone plays right into those larger interests’ hands — or rather, into their campaigners’ hands: Guys like Harvey Weinstein, for example, can now flex their Academy muscle across the entire voting body while independently distributed docs will still only advance as far as their grassroots word-of-mouth (and thus their seasonal Oscar publicist) takes them. Suggesting that a film’s awards cred relies on critical and theatrical integrity is like saying Mitt Romney will win the Republican presidential nomination based on values. Please. 4. The NY and LA Times already review virtually everything — and filmmakers can appeal being omitted. The most vocal opposition to the new rules invokes such films as the current short-lister Semper Fi: Always Faithful , which qualified via the International Documentary Association’s DocuWeek program and has no record of a review in either newspaper. Would it be barred from consideration in future years? Probably not: As Stone also notes, DocuWeek inclusion costs not much less than four-walling a theater and sending an e-mail to a couple editors, and in the off chance that that tack fails, filmmakers and producers can appeal directly to the Documentary Branch for consideration. Which actually might be a disadvantage for the movies, simply because… 5.The Documentary Branch has no taste. Nonfiction greats like Herzog or Steve James or Frederick Wiseman aren’t routinely overlooked because of some qualification quirks or because some TV-oriented doc usurped their spots on the short list. They’re snubbed because year after year, no single Academy voting bloc has proven its intellectual laziness and lack of judgment more assiduously than the Doc Branch. Expanding the actual Documentary Feature Oscar voting across the entire Academy only proves that the form’s practitioners have next to no faith in the branch’s members to either recognize “popular” documentaries (which isn’t even the branch’s job anyway) or defend the short-list selections and eventual nominees it does choose. If they really wanted change, they would just burn the place down, split the insurance money 166 ways, and outsource the Best Documentary voting to the Cinema Eye Honors or another reputable awards body. Until then? The more things change, the more they stay the same. Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
‘The Artist’ and ‘The Descendants’ lead the way for the January 15th show. By Eric Ditzian George Clooney in “The Descendants” Photo: 20th Century Fox Sofia Vergara, Woody Harrelson, Rashida Jones and Gerard Butler announced the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s nominations for the 69th annual Golden Globes on Thursday morning (December 15), singling out “The Artist” (six nods) and “The Descendants” (five nods) in categories including Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director. Miniseries “Downton Abbey” and “Mildred Pierce” led the way on the TV front with four nominations each, followed by the likes of “Boardwalk Empire” and “Modern Family.” Hosted by Ricky Gervais for the third straight time, the Golden Globe Awards will air on Sunday, January 15 on NBC. Here is the full list of nominees: Best Motion Picture — Drama “The Descendants” “The Help” “Hugo” “The Ides of March” “Moneyball” “War Horse” 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 Motion Picture — Comedy or Musical “50/50” “The Artist” “Bridesmaids” “Midnight in Paris” “My Week With Marilyn” 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” Joseph Gordon-Levitt, “50/50” Ryan Gosling, “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” Owen Wilson, “Midnight in Paris” Best Animated Feature Film “The Adventures of Tintin” “Arthur Christmas” “Cars 2” “Puss in Boots” “Rango” Best Foreign Language Film “The Flowers of War” (China) “In the Land of Blood and Honey” (USA) “The Kid With a Bike” (Belgium) “A Separation” (Iran) “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 Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris” George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon – “The Ides of March” Michel Hazanavicius – “The Artist” Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash – “The Descendants” Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin – “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,” music by Elton John, lyrics by Bernie Taupin “The Keeper”— “Machine Gun Preacher,” music and lyrics by Chris Cornell “Lay Your Head Down” — “Albert Nobbs,” music by Brian Byrne, lyrics by Glenn Close “The Living Proof” — “The Help”; music by Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman, Harvey Mason Jr.; lyrics by Mary J. Blige, Harvey Mason Jr., Damon Thomas “Masterpiece” — W.E., music and lyrics by Madonna, Julie Frost, Jimmy Harry Best Television Series — Drama “American Horror Story” “Boardwalk Empire” “Boss” “Game of Thrones” “Homeland” Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Drama Claire Danes, “Homeland” Mireille Enos, “The Killing” Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife” Madeleine Stowe, “Revenge” Callie Thorne, “Necessary Roughness” Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Drama Steve Buscemi, “Boardwalk Empire” Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad” Kelsey Grammer, “Boss” Jeremy Irons, “The Borgias” Damian Lewis, “Homeland” Best Television Series — Comedy or Musical “Enlightened” “Episodes” “Glee” “Modern “Family” “New Girl” Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Comedy or Musical Laura Dern, “Enlightened” Zooey Deschanel, “New Girl” Tina Fey, “30 Rock” Laura Linney, “The Big C” Amy Poehler, “Parks and Recreation” Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Comedy or Musical Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock” David Duchovny, “Californication” Johnny Galecki, “The Big Bang Theory” Thomas Jane, “Hung” Matt LeBlanc, “Episodes” Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Cinema Verite “Downton Abbey” “The Hour” “Mildred Pierce” “Too Big to Fail” Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Romola Garai, “The Hour” Diane Lane, “Cinema Verite” Elizabeth McGovern, “Downton Abbey” (Masterpiece) Emily Watson, “Appropriate Adult” Kate Winslet, “Mildred Pierce” Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Hugh Bonneville, “Downtown Abbey” (Masterpiece) Idris Elba, “Luther” William Hurt, “Too Big to Fail” Bill Nighy, “Page Eight” (Masterpiece) Dominic West, “The Hour” 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” Kelly MacDonald, “Boardwalk Empire” Maggie Smith, “Downtown Abbey” (Masterpiece) Sofia Vergara, “Modern Family” Evan Rachel Wood, “Mildred Pierce” 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” Paul Giamatti, “Too Big to Fail” Guy Pearce, “Mildred Pierce” Tim Robbins, “Cinema Verite” Eric Stonestreet, “Modern Family” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . 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