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.
There’s a Haley, a Hollie and a Hallie. There’s also the daughter of a World Series pitcher and a young woman who auditioned five years ago and has now made a triumphant return. Indeed, it’s a mixed, talented bag of female American Idol semifinalists. They’ll perform live for the first time on Wednesday night, so now is the time to place your early bets. Sort through the following Fox promotional pics and then select a favorite and let’s see if one of these females can break the string of male Idol champions… WHO IS YOUR FEMALE FAVORITE?
Bruce Beresford-Redman, the former Survivor producer accused of killing his wife in Mexico two years ago, is speaking out for the first time and proclaiming his innocence. “Everyone seems to have decided that I killed my wife,” he tells 48 Hours Mystery in an episode airing Saturday at 10 p.m. “I didn’t kill my wife – I really didn’t.” In April 2010, the body of Monica Beresford-Redman turned up naked and beaten in a sewer near a resort in Cancun where she was vacationing with Bruce and their two children. Beresford-Redman, who was extradited to Mexico this month for the crime, was arrested soon after authorities found the corpse and witnesses at the hotel said they overheard the couple arguing earlier in the night. “For anyone who really believes… that you’re innocent until you’re proven guilty, please take a look at the evidence. Or in this case, the absolute complete lack of evidence,” says Beresford-Redman, adding: “I doubt that there will ever be a satisfying resolution for this because the evidence is gone. Even if I do manage to get off, I don’t know if Monica’s killers will ever really be caught.”
With nominees ranging from Oscar winner Martin Scorsese to rising star Michel Hazanavicius, we put forth who should win as well as who will. By Kara Warner Martin Scorsese, Asa Butterfield, Chlo
It’s almost showtime, folks! Ready your Oscar picks, sharpen your wits, and join Movieline as Hollywood and Indiewood fete the best of the year. Your friendly Movieline editors S.T. VanAirsdale and Jen Yamato will be on hand at @movieline during Saturday’s Independent Spirit Awards and Sunday’s Academy Awards , so synchronize your watches and join us in tossing back a few and Tweeting up a storm on the big day(s). First up is the Film Independent Spirit Awards, held annually on the beach in Santa Monica. The breezy affair celebrates the best of “indie” film — I put that in quotes since the word takes multiple meanings these days, though technically Film Independent considers films made for $20 million and under to qualify — and is hosted this year by Seth Rogen . A special credit this year goes to John Waters, who’ll provide “The voice of God” for the proceedings. Follow Movieline on Twitter for live-tweets from backstage in the winners’ room when the show begins Saturday at 1:30pm PT (the telecast will air on IFC that night at 10pm ET/PT) and check back here at Movieline.com for a wrap up of the night. Sunday, of course, is the big dance; join S.T. VanAirsdale and Jen Yamato for an 84th Academy Awards live-tweetstravaganza here at Movieline starting at 7pm ET/4pm PT with the red carpet, where we’ll watch as filmdom’s finest dazzles on their way into Hollywood’s glitziest shopping mall! Then let the bubbly-fueled snark rip at for the Oscars telecast Sunday at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT , hosted by Billy Crystal . Make sure to leave your Oscar predictions in the comments section before the telecast on Oscar Sunday so we can assign bragging rights to a victor at the end of the night… Catch up on Movieline’s coverage of this year’s Oscar race. Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Only time will tell just how many statuettes will ‘The Artist’ take home and whether talking puppets will grace the Oscar stage. By Kevin P. Sullivan Jean Dujardin and B
From Bob Hope to Chris Rock, MTV News looks back on the most memorable Academy Awards emcees. By Kevin P. Sullivan Anne Hathaway and James Franco at the 2011 Academy Awards Photo: Getty Images Every year, almost as important as the Best Picture winner is the host of the Academy Awards . Both grab headlines the next day, and both are sure to endure their fair share of criticism. With almost every host having to face the black-and-white judgments of “good host or bad host,” who ranks among the best and the worst? Here’s our take on the Oscar hosts worth awarding and the one’s that should have been snubbed. Best Billy Crystal If someone hosts the show nine times, there’s probably a good reason. Crystal carved out a niche for himself as the host of the big show starting in 1990 by keeping it light and throwing in a good song-and-dance routine for good measure. Johnny Carson The king of late night hosted the Academy Awards five times, the third most of any host. His overwhelming popularity from “The Tonight Show” carried over into his stints as host and made him one of the most consistently successful hosts. His familiarity with celebrities and experience with off-the-cuff comedy led to one of the Oscar’s most memorable lines: “I see a lot of news faces, especially on the old faces.” Bob Hope If repeat jobs as host are a measure of success, Bob Hope takes the top prize after hosting the ceremony a record 19 times. Famously calling attention to his lack of nominations, Hope’s self-deprecating humor made him an Oscar legend and a rightful spot as the show’s most frequent host. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin As the first paired hosts since Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn and Paul Hogan in 1987, Martin and Baldwin played off each other well enough to earn them the title of “best in recent years.” Though Martin had solo hosting duties in 2001 and 2003, it wasn’t until he joined forces with Baldwin that he earned his highest praise. Jon Stewart The host of “The Daily Show” faced a good deal of criticism after his first stint as host in 2006. He didn’t shy away from controversy, calling out the liberal politics of Hollywood and Scientology, but a positive audience response brought Stewart back for a second go two years later. Worst David Letterman The late-night host’s name often leads the pack when recalling the worst hosts in the history of the Oscars. His “Oprah, Uma” gag and the negative reaction it got precedes most talk of how Letterman actually did. Letterman never returned to host after his one appearance in 1995. Anne Hathaway and James Franco The most notorious hosts in recent years, Hathaway and Franco were supposed to welcome a younger audience and make the Oscars cool again. What resulted was an odd and scattered show that was neither very funny nor cool. Many complained the Franco had phoned it in, while others found Hathaway cloying. Chris Rock Rock’s greatest offense as host of the Academy Awards may have just been doing his normal routine, but the audience (and Sean Penn, in particular) didn’t take too kindly to the comedian poking fun at some of the faces in the crowd. Chevy Chase Chase hosted the show a total a two times, but only once by himself. The year after his solo gig, no one hosted, which is all you need to know about that. Jerry Lewis It may be hard to believe with today’s bloated ceremony, but in 1959, the ceremony wrapped up 20 minutes before it was scheduled to. To kill the leftover time, Lewis vamped on stage and forced some of the night’s winners to continue singing and dancing on stage. NBC eventually ended the show early, but the dead, ad-libbed airtime remains an infamous part of the Oscar legacy. Who else should make the lists of best and worst Oscar hosts? Leave your comment below! 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. Related Videos Oscars 2012: And The Nominees Are…
Christopher Plummer is a shoo-in for his affecting turn in ‘Beginners.’ By Eric Ditzian Christopher Plummer in “The Beginners” Photo: Focus Features Let’s begin this discussion of the 2012 Oscar nominees for Best Supporting Actor by pouring one out for “Drive” co-star Albert Brooks, who seemed to have a nod all locked up until he didn’t, leaving movie fans around the country to scratch our heads and wonder, Whappened? While we’re at it, big shout-out to Patton Oswalt, whose scenes in “Young Adult” were not only the most consistently entertaining but whose post-Oscar snub tweets proved the comedian is hilarious even in defeat. And Uggie — the only thing I truly loved about “The Artist” — was either ineligible due to his being a Jack Russell terrier or else cruelly discriminated against. Either way, he didn’t nab a nom. But we’re supposed to be past the point of whining about snubs, aren’t we? We’re supposed to be focused on celebrating the efforts of five fine supporting actors in five fine films, are we not? The thing is, this category is truly hard to get excited about. We’re not going to go so far as to call the nominees boring as a whole, but we will point out a) approximately 11 people saw “Beginners” in a theater; b) “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” is a wretched bit of magical realism lazily draped onto a very raw episode in American history; and c) it would have been way cooler had Kenneth Branagh been honored for helming “Thor” than for anything that occurred in “My Week With Marilyn.” And it is with this high praise and these high hopes that we edge toward the Best Supporting Actor category at this year’s Oscar. Here are our picks. Who Will Win : OK, OK, this is an easy category to mock, especially since the median age of its nominees is 106. But we must say this: “Beginners,” despite no one actually having seen it, is a beautiful movie. It is sweet and moving and complexly told not for complexity’s sake but because life itself is so damn complicated. Christopher Plummer’s turn as an elderly man who finally comes out of the closet following the death of his wife (only to die himself shortly thereafter) is an affecting one. If I don’t exactly see why this supporting performance is being held up as the finest of the year, if I can point to past Plummer roles more deserving of Oscar love (his recent portrayal of Tolstoy in “The Last Station,” for instance), I certainly can’t begrudge the 82-year-old his win. There’s no doubt that after a lifetime of service in Hollywood, he deserves it. Who Should Win : Not Branagh and not “Moneyball” star Jonah Hill. I remain ambivalent about their movies. And certainly not Max von Sydow, who could have delivered the greatest performance in the history of performances and still not rescued the superlatively grating “Extremely Loud.” Then there’s Nick Nolte, whose last Oscar nod came in 1998. He’s never won, and “Warrior” kicked a whole lot of ass. Who are we kidding, though? Given this collection of nominees, the only just choice is the man who’s a lock to actually win Best Supporting Actor: Mr. Christopher Plummer. 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. Related Videos 2012 Oscar Nominees
Fans are excited for cult comedy’s return, but reshuffling ‘Parks and Recreation’ could mean trouble for the network’s lineup. By John Mitchell Amy Poehler in “Parks and Recreation” Photo: NBC Fans of cult comedy “Community” are rejoicing at the news that the show is set to return to NBC’s schedule after a three-month hiatus. It will rejoin the Thursday night lineup at 8 p.m. on March 15 to complete its third season, though no decision has been announced as to whether the low-rated, critically acclaimed comedy will get a fourth season. The show’s return will bump “30 Rock,” which has been pulling down series-low numbers in the 8 p.m. time slot since retuning on January 12, to 8:30 and “Parks and Recreation” will go on a five-week hiatus until “Up All Night” completes its season in April. “The Office” will hold on to its 9 p.m. slot. NBC has had a difficult time attracting viewers to what is easily the best comedy block on network TV, but it’s certainly not the first net to have that problem (Fox couldn’t keep “Arrested Development” on the air). This latest decision, however, seems unlikely to help for a few reasons. It was a mistake to pull “Community” in the first place; the show is so full of callbacks and self-referential asides that removing it for any length of time was bound to hemorrhage casual fans who are not as familiar with the storyline as die-hards. And sacrificing the much more welcoming “Parks,” which itself has struggled in the ratings despite widespread acclaim, to bring “Community” back is not going to pull in more eyes. Instead, it’s only going to weaken the already low-rated lineup. Here’s why. “Community” is not a welcoming show for new viewers. I am an avid TV watcher and a big fan of NBC’s smart Thursday comedies, but I’ve never been able to get into “Community” because I missed the boat early on. I’m not questioning its quality — by all accounts it’s a witty and wonderfully weird show — but it is loaded with callbacks and winks to a now three-season-long narrative arc, and if you haven’t been onboard since the beginning, you’re shut out. I’ve tried and failed to get into the show, even though it should be on my must-see list. Consequently, I suspect it is going to perform even worse in its old 8 p.m. time slot than when it left it in December. If it flops at 8, the results will be disastrous for “30 Rock,” which, without a strong lead-in, seems likely to lose even more viewers at 8:30. “Parks and Rec” currently outperforms its “Rock” lead-in; it has its own devout fanbase, many of whom seem to skip “Rock” and tune in specifically for “Parks.” “30 Rock” is arguably past its prime (though last week’s episode was admittedly the best in recent memory) and it is an expensive show to produce. Some expect that NBC may even announce that next season will be its last and that it will be a truncated 13-episode run at that. Matching “Community” with “30 Rock” from 8 to 9 is going to create an hour-long ratings void for NBC that is likely to negatively impact “The Office,” which already has been losing viewers since Steve Carell’s departure, though it remains NBC’s top Thursday comedy. As for “Up All Night,” it’s been managing numbers comparable to “Parks” at 9:30. Though, that means the well-reviewed family comedy is losing 30 percent of it’s lead-in. It’s a foolhardy move to temporarily shelve the only show that is really building on its lead-in (that’d be “Parks”) — I don’t think I’m going out on a limb when I say that “The Office” ratings function pretty independently of “Parks'” — especially when it’s being done for a show that seems unlikely to rope in new viewers. The reason for the shake-up, I suspect, is rooted in the network’s knowledge that the ends of “30 Rock” and “The Office” are near. They really want “Community” to work, and they trust enough that the brief absence of “Parks” from the schedule is unlikely to alienate viewers enough that they’ll abandon the show. (And they’re right. As upset as I am that “Parks” will be gone for five weeks, there’s no way I won’t be there when Leslie, Anne, Tom and Ron Swanson return on April 19.) A smarter choice would have been to move “Up All Night” to 8 p.m., where its star power (Christina Applegate, Will Arnett, Maya Rudolph) and subject matter — a onetime party couple adjusting to parenthood — might attract viewers who normally may look to CBS for Thursday night entertainment. Keep the often-heartwarming “Parks and Rec” at 8:30. “Parks” is, like “Rock” and “Community,” a little weird, but it’s the most accessible of the three and thus the most likely to keep the “Up All Night” audience and maybe build on it. “Community” is simply going to be an awkward fit anywhere on the schedule and is unlikely to ever be strong enough in the ratings to be a top-of-the-hour lead-in. If the net insists on keeping it — though it might want to consider a deal similar to the one reached to keep “Friday Night Lights,” another little-watched but much-loved show with a fervent fanbase, alive — it should consider moving it to 9:30, where it would benefit at first from “The Office.” NBC would be wise to greenlight a 13-episode season for “The Office” to let it wrap up story lines and depart the airwaves on its own terms before it is forced off by flagging ratings. It’s already had a great eight-season run; let it go out with grace. Conclude “The Office” big at Christmastime (the show has always shined with its holiday specials) and bring “30 Rock” back to conclude its own run with a 13-episode season in the spring of 2013. And for goodness’ sake, stop shifting everything around so often. Shuffling your best shows like this makes it difficult for current fans — and especially people who do not follow the ins and outs of entertainment industry news — to find the shows they already like. Do you agree with NBC’s decision to put “Parks and Rec” on a five-week hiatus for “Community”? Leave your comment below.
