Of the main categories on the nomination list for the Academy Awards, I find that the supporting role nods offer the most confusion; a lot of contention always arise as the supporting characters can vary greatly in age, screen time and seriousness.

This years nominations have left me with two sore points; Jonah Hill for ‘Moneyball’ and Melissa McCarthy for last years hilarious ‘Bridesmaids’. But I’ll get back to those.

First of all, let us talk about those who were left out. The greatest surprise was the horrendous omission of Albert Brooks. In the run-up to the nomination announcement, it was predicted to be a split battle between Christopher Plummer for ‘Beginners’ and Brooks for the acclaimed ‘Drive’. The award showers in the run-up had pointed to this situation, even to Brooks as the possible winner this year, so for him to not even get a shot at the target was shocking. Fans were baffled over the final decision but Reuters could report that the man in question took the bad news in good humor, tweeting shortly after the announcement: “I got ROBBED. I don’t mean the Oscars, I mean literally. My pants and shoes have been stolen,” and later put a candid twist on Sally Fields notorious 1985 acceptance speech: “And to the Academy: “You don’t like me. You really don’t like me.”

Brooks was not the only snub; Shailene Woodly, who plays George Clooney’s daughter in The Descendants, was mentioned as a prime candidate, as well as the scene-stealing Patton Oswalt for the bittersweet comedy ‘Young Adults’. That Young Adults was left out completely is a whole other crime in itself.

There are of course the nods who came about despite an averagely performing package. Some speak against Janet McTeer and her role in the drama ‘Albert Nobbs’, saying she got the nomination at the expense of Woodly. One IMDB.com user went as far as to say “To me, McTeer completely overacted her part. [...] Contorting the face to look “manly” is one of the most simplistic and poorest forms of acting I can envision.” But in for those in favor; McTeer was subtle and endearing in her portrayal that reflects a unique situation – no one could even imagine that a woman would dress up as a man in 19th century Ireland. Both her and Glenn Close (who is also nominated) are meant to be women, pretending to be men. Not actual men. McTeer was on all accounts a scene-stealer, like Oswalt, and her nomination is if possible, more deserved than Close’s.

Then we have Max von Sydow, who alongside the nominated cast members of ‘The Artist’ makes 2012 the year where a whopping three acting nominations were given without a single word spoken (that is a lie; Jean Dujardin has one line). Much controversy has been dragging behind the 9/11 drama ‘Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close’ for stealing away a nomination for Best Picture despite mixed reviews. But von Sydow is a keeper; in silence he conveyed the delicate highs and devastating lows of contemporary human emotion and though the movie has been labelled an overall misfire (the New York Post called it “emotional blackmail” and the Toronto Star singling it out as ‘calculated Oscar bait’), you can’t deny a performance like that. Not to mention that some actually liked the overall film, thanks to him.

Much ado about nothing?

When the Academy pronounces the nominations, it is given without pattern nor order. Sometimes it feels like the nominations for supporting roles are made in an equally disorderly manner. The field is incredibly obscure and you ask yourself; on what basis is it decided what constitutes a worthy supporting part?

The first contention is screen time. A look back at the Oscar records show that screen time is no hindrance when it comes to dazzling the Academy. The shortest-ever winning performance for an Actor in a supporting role was Anthony Quinn for ‘Lust for Life’ in 1955, only dominating the screen for a mere eight minutes. Shortest Supporting Actress performance was won by Beatrice Straight in 1976 for a meager 5 minutes and 40 seconds. Judi Dench is another example when she won in 1998 for her eight minutes work in ‘Shakespeare in Love’.

In comparison, the shortest Best Actor performance to win was David Niven’s 15 minutes and 38 seconds in ‘Seperate Tables’. Next to him is Anthony Hopkins for 16 minutes in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’.

Clearly, time is not the greatest obstacle. Supporting parts are simply tough to evaluate because they usually do the background work that lifts everything else. And it varies how talented or important that lift is. Scene-stealers are naturally favored, but the Academy has an equally recurring tendency of nominating a main character as a Supporting performance if they ‘don’t really know where to put them’, e.g. they are reluctant to recognize a performance in the more significant Leading category.

This year our first question is why Bérénice Bejo was nominated in the Supporting category by the Academy — but as a Leading actress at the BAFTA awards. What constitutes a lead performance over a supporting one? Can there only be one main character? This is not the first time that the Academy makes these types of calculated mistakes and it’s a shame because a lead character being categorized with supporting characters will either rob them of their due diligence or destroy their chance of winning because the voters will be distracted by the misplacement. Bejo will not win this year.

Read the continuation of this debate here.

Image Courtesy of  ©Douglas Kirkland 2012

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In celebration of this year’s Academy Awards, the Queen’s Film Theatre (QFT) in Belfast hosted a special screening of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 hit film ‘The Godfather‘. The screening was in partnership with Jameson Irish Whiskey, and offered audiences the opportunity to relive, or experience for the first time, this Oscar-winning film on the big screen.

The Godfather, featuring an all-star cast headlined by Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, was a low-budget production which upon its initial release went on to take in close to $300,000,000 at the box office worldwide, as well as to win Academy Awards for Best Actor (Brando), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Drama.

Therefore, it was no surprise that the film was included in the QFT’s “series of special themed film experience events celebrating cult classics from a range of different genres“, or that Domino’s Pizza joined forces with the organisers to make this event more than just a typical trip to the cinema.

For this event, the QFT was transformed with a projected image of Brando in character hanging in the middle of the foyer. Audience members were treated to a special pre-show warm-up, during which they could pose with plastic top hats and novelty moustaches, but it wasn’t long before the film theatre was packed with eager fans waiting for the curtain to go up.

Only one woman admitted to being a first-time viewer of ‘The Godfather’, however, her admission garnered her nothing but envy from the speaker who introduced the film, while a prize raffle brought some extra entertainment value to the screening as various audience members won prizes ranging from tickets to future QFT/Jameson events, to a bottle of Jameson whiskey, and to a limited-edition artwork print of The Godfather, which was clearly the most sought-after item judging from the crowd’s disappointed groans when the winner was announced.

As for the film itself, there were no signs of fatigue or boredom from the dozens of people who had already seen the film countless times. In fact, iconic moments such as Hollywood producer Jack Woltz finding his horse’s decapitated head in bed with him received exactly the kind of mixed horror and amusement that one would have expected to hear from an audience during the film’s original theatrical run thirty-eight years ago.

It is a testament to the timelessness of this film that the audience was still engaged and responsive by the time the last scene faded to black well after 1a.m. The sold-out screening reflected the public’s eagerness to support the QFT and Belfast’s local film community, with the film’s introductory speaker noting that the QFT was the only film theatre in the city to offer screenings of ‘The Artist’ – a film widely tipped to win Best Picture at this weekend’s Academy Awards – and other critically-acclaimed films which often elude mainstream attention.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the night was that it managed to be such a success, especially at the price of £10 per ticket for a film which many can watch on DVD in the comfort of their own homes. Attendee Danielle Lavery put things into perspective by explaining that while she knew the film “inside-out”, there was something unique about viewing the film on the big-screen, the way it was originally intended and the way that The Godfather first made its indelible cultural mark on audiences around the world.

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Leading online betting firm Sky Bet has updated its full list of Oscars betting [http://www.skybet.com/betting/tv-and-film-specials/oscars/t10003442.html] markets ahead of the 84th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday. Black and white silent movie ‘The Artist’, which picked up the Producers Guild Award and also won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy/Musical, looks a shoo-in to win Best Picture at 8/1 ON, with the odds having been cut from a pre-Christmas 2/1.

The French tribute to the silent movie received ten Oscar nods, although it was beaten by Scorsese’s 3D charmer ‘Hugo’ (25/1), which received 11 nominations. ’The Artist’ dominates several other categories, with its helmsman Michel Hazanavicius, looking certain to win Best Director at odds of 1/10 after being hailed as outstanding director of the year at the Directors’ Guild of America Awards last month.

The film’s leading man Jean Dujardin shot to favouritism in the Oscars Best Actor betting after winning the BAFTA and now heads the betting at 8/11 (from 2/1). George Clooney was relegated to second favourite to take home the lead actor gong for his performance in comedy-drama ‘The Descendants’ and may now be backed at 11/10, having drifted from 2/5. Gary Oldmanis bidding for his first ever Oscar and is quoted at 20/1 to win for his performance in ‘Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy’.

The lead in the Best Actress race has also changed over the past fortnight, with double Oscar winner and 17-time nominee, Meryl Streep, having been usurped at the top of the betting by ‘The Help’ star, Viola Davis. Davis is odds-on at 4/6 to prevent Streep (out to 11/10 from 1/2) claiming a third Oscar for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in ‘The Iron Lady’. It looks a two-horse race between Davis and Streep, with ‘My Week with Marilyn’ star, Michelle Williams, their nearest rival at 18/1.

Sky Bet’s Oscars betting expert, Helen Jacob, said: “The Artist seems way ahead of its rivals in the race to win Best Picture and Director but the lead acting categories are closer, with the favourites having flip-flopped in recent weeks.”

For Best Supporting Actor, Christopher Plummer (‘Beginners’) looks all but home and hosed at 1/33 and Octavia Spencer at 1/25 (‘The Help’) looks certain to land what could be the best actress double for ‘The Help’.

Sky Bet is also offering a number of novelty special bets on the Oscars ceremony itself, which takes place at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday, February 26th.

Veteran actress Meryl Streep accidentally swore onstage at the Globes and Sky Bet go 7/2 that the Oscars best actress winner turns the air blue again in her acceptance speech. It’s even money that the best actress cries during her speech and 10/1 that any recipient’s address consists of a single ‘Thank you!’

 Sky Bet Odds: Oscars Betting

Best Film

The Artist 1/16

The Descendants 10/1

Hugo 25/1

The Help 25/1

War Horse 40/1

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close 80/1

Moneyball 80/1

Midnight in Paris 80/1

The Tree of Life 100/1

  Best Director

Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist 1/10

Martin Scorsese – Hugo 6/1

Alexander Payne – The Descendants 22/1

Terrance Malik – The Tree of Life 33/1

Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris 50/1

Best Actor

Jean Dujardin – The Artist 8/11

George Clooney – The Descendants 11/10

Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy 20/1

Brad Pitt – Moneyball 20/1

DemianBichir – A Better Life 50/1

Best Actress

Viola Davis – The Help 4/6

Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady 11/10

Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn 18/1

Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs 40/1

Rooney Mara – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 50/1

Best Supporting Actress

Octavia Spencer 1/25

Berenice Bejo 8/1

Jessica Chastain 25/1

Melissa Mccarthy 25/1

Janet McTeer 40/1

Best Supporting Actor

Christopher Plummer 1/33

Kenneth Branagh 14/1

Max Von Sydow 22/1

Nick Nolte 33/1

Jonah Hill 40/1

Oscars specials

Lead or supporting actress to cry during acceptance speech Evens

Lead or supporting actor to swear during acceptance speech 9/4

Lead or supporting actress to swear during acceptance speech 7/2

Lead or supporting actor to cry during acceptance speech 6/1

Any recipient’s speech to consist of single “thank you” 10/1

Streaker to run on stage and interrupt ceremony 16/1

Any of the 6 major award winners to drop the statuette 16/1

Any winner to fall over on stage 20/1

George Clooney win best actor and Meryl Streep win best actress 6/4

George Clooney win best actor and The Descendants win best picture 9/1

George Clooney to win an Oscar No 8/11 Yes Evens

For the full range of Oscars odds from Sky Bet, click here [http://www.skybet.com/betting/tv-and-film-specials/oscars/t10003442.html]

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/TheArtist.TWC

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Women and girls are scarcely present either on screen or behind the scenes in Academy Award-nominated movies, according to a new USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism study that analyzed Best Picture Oscar contenders from 1977 to 2010.

The research team, led by communication professor Stacy L. Smith and including Marc Choueiti and Stephanie Gall , analyzed the frequency of females in Best Picture-nominated films from 2007 to 2010, and compared those numbers to findings as far back as 1977.

“Once again, females are grossly underrepresented and undervalued on screen and behind the camera,” Smith said. “These findings, obtained from films determined by voting members of the Academy, reveal yet another aspect of gender inequality in film.”

Only 32.6 percent of speaking characters from 2007 to 2010 were female, which translates into an on-screen ration of 2.1 males to every one female. Only 14.3 percent of directors from the same time period are female.

“Despite comprising roughly half of the population, females are still less than a third of all speaking characters in movies,” Choueiti said. “This is true for both prestigious films like the ones nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and the 100 top-grossing films per year.” The study also analyzed the ethnicities of speaking characters, which showed more examples of a lack of diversity in Hollywood films.

Of the speaking characters analyzed for race, 78 percent were white. Black actors accounted for 11.6 percent of the speaking roles. Latino actors accounted for 1.9 percent of speaking roles – even though they purchased 26 percent of domestic movie tickets in 2010, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.

“Perhaps the most egregious underrepresentation is behind the camera,” Smith said. “However, for females, there was a small glimmer of good news. The most recent Best Picture-nominated films have nearly as many female directors as those spanning 30 years prior.”There were five female directors of Best Picture-nominated films from 2007 to 2010; there were six from 1977 to 2006. While that shows improvement, Smith said there is a long way still to go.

“Our data reveal, cautiously, that more females were employed on screen in Oscar nominations than in years past,” Smith said. “While a small step forward, parity is still nowhere in sight. The lack of equality sends a message to future content creators and consumers about who is and who is not important and who is and is not valued in film.”

Best Picture-nominated films with one or more female screenwriters showed a higher percentage of female characters than did films written solely by men. The industry adage, “Write what you know,” applies to this scenario, Smith said in the report, and may indicate that studios or financiers feel more comfortable hiring women to write female roles.

This signifies a shift from the team’s Academy Award findings conducted in 2008, which suggested that female directors played a bigger role in creating more female characters on screen. In 2008, Smith and her team saw that under a female director, female speaking characters jumped from 26.8 percent to 41.2 percent.

This study and more of Smith’s work on gender and the media may be found online at annenberg.usc.edu.

Image Courtesy of   Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com

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With her nomination for The Iron Lady, Meryl Streep extended her record for having the most Academy Award nominations by any single actor. Her portrayal of the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher earned her a place on the shortlist for the 17th time. However, Streep has won an Oscar on only two occasions, and her last victory took place 30 years ago at the 55th Academy Awards, when she was named Best Actress for Sophie’s Choice.

In fact, out of 79 major industry nominations (14 from BAFTA, 3 from the Emmys, 26 from the Hollywood Foreign Press, 5 from the Grammys, 13 from the Screen Actors Guild, 1 from the Tonys, and the aforementioned 17 from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences), Streep has managed to take home just 16 of those titles since her first Tony nomination in 1976. Considering her status as “the most critically acclaimed actress of the modern era,” this tally seems somewhat surprising.

Yet, 2012 could prove to be the year that Streep breaks her three-decade run of Oscar losses. Already this awards season, she has been the recipient of a Golden Globe, the Berlin International Film Festival’s Homage and Honorary Golden Bear, and – most notably – her first BAFTA in 31 years.

Streep’s one significant loss so far for The Iron Lady has been at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, which took place on January 29 and saw her lose to Viola Davis, who won for The Help. Davis is likely to be Streep’s main competitor at the Academy Awards, in a category which also includes Glenn Close, Rooney Mara, and Michelle Williams, who cannot be counted out after her win for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy at this year’s Golden Globes.

Still, it appears all but certain that the Academy Award’s Best Actress title will be a two-horse race between Davis and Streep. Counting in Streep’s favour is the fact that she both defeated Davis at the BAFTAs and broke her own 31-year gap between BAFTA wins, last winning in 1981 for The French Lieutenant’s Woman.

Counting against Streep is the fact that she was awarded by British voters for her role as a well-known British figure in a film shot entirely in Britain. The same acknowledgement by American voters cannot be counted upon after The Iron Lady failed to be nominated at the Academy Awards for any other category except Best Makeup.

The Help, meanwhile, is in the running for Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress, with two nominations alone in the latter category. Also counting against Streep’s favour is the fact that the Screen Actors Guild Award, which Davis won, has proven to be the most indicative of who will be triumphant at the Academy Awards.

Taking the last decade as an example, here are a list of women who won the Screen Actors Guild Award and went on to win the Academy Award that same year:

• Natalie Portman (2010).
• Sandra Bullock (2009).
• Helen Mirren (2006).
• Reese Witherspoon (2005).
• Hilary Swank (2004).
• Charlize Theron (2003).

Streep, therefore, cannot count out Davis just yet, but she is certainly going into this year’s Oscar race with her strongest case for success in many years.

Image Courtesy of  Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

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The Descendants has been nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director (Alexander Payne) and Best Actor (George Clooney).  Building on the success of the film, the The Descendants soundtrack, available now from Sony Classical, has been #1 on Billboard’s World Music chart for the last seven consecutive weeks.

From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winning Sideways, set in Hawaii, The Descendants is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife suffers a boating accident off of Waikiki.

The event leads to a rapprochement with his young daughters while Matt wrestles with a decision to sell the family’s land handed down from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries.  The film, from Fox Searchlight Pictures, opened in the U.S. on November 16th.

The Descendants, based on Kaui Hart Hemmings’ highly acclaimed novel of the same name, is scored exclusively with Hawaiian music. Hemmings, who comes from Hawaii, weaves into her writing the island themes of family, soil and inheritance, and the movie too has a strong sense of place, not least thanks to its soundtrack. Given the intention of the filmmakers to lend the movie a distinct Hawaiian flavour, the natural direction to take was to use the sounds of the islands, and the music plays a crucial part in evoking an authentic mood.

Most of the titles on the soundtrack feature established masters of Hawaiian music, whether modern and classical: names such as Gabby Pahinui, Ray Kane, Keola Beamer, Lena Machado, Sonny Chillingworth,Jeff Peterson, and Rev. Dennis Kamakahi.

The soundtrack of The Descendants not only serves to remind movie-goers of a memorable film, but also opens up a superb cross-section of Hawaiian music over the decades to listeners unfamiliar with this genre. It provides the best possible introduction to some of the greatest masters of this soulful music.

Tracklisting:

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Nominations for the 84th Academy Awards were announced today (Tuesday, January 24) by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak and 2010 Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence.

Sherak and Lawrence, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her lead performance in “Winter’s Bone,” announced the nominees in 10 of the 24 Award categories at a 5:38 a.m. PT live news conference attended by more than 400 international media representatives. Lists of nominations in all categories were then distributed to the media in attendance and online via the official Academy Awards website, www.oscar.com.

Academy members from each of the branches vote to determine the nominees in their respective categories – actors nominate actors, film editors nominate film editors, etc. In the Animated Feature Film and Foreign Language Film categories, nominations are selected by vote of multi-branch screening committees. All voting members are eligible to select the Best Picture nominees.

Nominations ballots were mailed to the 5,783 voting members in late December and were returned directly to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the international accounting firm, for tabulation.

Official screenings of all motion pictures with one or more nominations will begin for members this weekend at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Screenings also will be held at the Academy’s Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood and in London, New York and the San Francisco Bay Area.

All active and life members of the Academy are eligible to select the winners in all categories, although in five of them – Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject and Foreign Language Film – members can vote only if they have seen all of the nominated films in those categories.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

Nominations for the 84th Academy Awards:

Actor in a Leading Role

• Demián Bichir in “A Better Life”
• George Clooney in “The Descendants”
• Jean Dujardin in “The Artist”
• Gary Oldman in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
• Brad Pitt in “Moneyball”

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Kenneth Branagh in “My Week with Marilyn”
• Jonah Hill in “Moneyball”
• Nick Nolte in “Warrior”
• Christopher Plummer in “Beginners”
• Max von Sydow in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

Actress in a Leading Role

• Glenn Close in “Albert Nobbs”
• Viola Davis in “The Help”
• Rooney Mara in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
• Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady”
• Michelle Williams in “My Week with Marilyn”

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Bérénice Bejo in “The Artist”
• Jessica Chastain in “The Help”
• Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids”
• Janet McTeer in “Albert Nobbs”
• Octavia Spencer in “The Help”

Animated Feature Film

• “A Cat in Paris” Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
• “Chico & Rita” Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
• “Kung Fu Panda 2″ Jennifer Yuh Nelson
• “Puss in Boots” Chris Miller
• “Rango” Gore Verbinski

Art Direction

• “The Artist” Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
• “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″ Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
• “Hugo” Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
• “Midnight in Paris” Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
• “War Horse” Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Cinematography

• “The Artist” Guillaume Schiffman
• “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Jeff Cronenweth
• “Hugo” Robert Richardson
• “The Tree of Life” Emmanuel Lubezki
• “War Horse” Janusz Kaminski

Costume Design

• “Anonymous” Lisy Christl
• “The Artist” Mark Bridges
• “Hugo” Sandy Powell
• “Jane Eyre” Michael O’Connor
• “W.E.” Arianne Phillips

Directing

• “The Artist” Michel Hazanavicius
• “The Descendants” Alexander Payne
• “Hugo” Martin Scorsese
• “Midnight in Paris” Woody Allen
• “The Tree of Life” Terrence Malick

Documentary (Feature)

• “Hell and Back Again” Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
• “If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front” Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
• “Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory” Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
• “Pina” Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
• “Undefeated” TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

Documentary (Short Subject)

• “The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement” Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
• “God Is the Bigger Elvis” Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
• “Incident in New Baghdad”James Spione
• “Saving Face” Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
• “The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom” Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

Film Editing

• “The Artist” Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
• “The Descendants” Kevin Tent
• “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
• “Hugo” Thelma Schoonmaker
• “Moneyball” Christopher Tellefsen

Foreign Language Film

• “Bullhead” Belgium
• “Footnote” Israel
• “In Darkness” Poland
• “Monsieur Lazhar” Canada
• “A Separation” Iran

Makeup

• “Albert Nobbs” Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
• “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″ Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
• “The Iron Lady” Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Music (Original Score)

• “The Adventures of Tintin” John Williams
• “The Artist” Ludovic Bource
• “Hugo” Howard Shore
• “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Alberto Iglesias
• “War Horse” John Williams

Music (Original Song)

• “Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets” Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
• “Real in Rio” from “Rio” Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Picture

• “The Artist” Thomas Langmann, Producer
• “The Descendants” Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
• “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” Scott Rudin, Producer
• “The Help” Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
• “Hugo” Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
• “Midnight in Paris” Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
• “Moneyball” Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
• “The Tree of Life” Nominees to be determined
• “War Horse” Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

Short Film (Animated)

• “Dimanche/Sunday” Patrick Doyon
• “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
• “La Luna” Enrico Casarosa
• “A Morning Stroll” Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
• “Wild Life” Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Short Film (Live Action)

• “Pentecost” Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane
• “Raju” Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
• “The Shore” Terry George and Oorlagh George
• “Time Freak” Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
• “Tuba Atlantic” Hallvar Witzø

Sound Editing

• “Drive” Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
• “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Ren Klyce
• “Hugo” Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
• “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
• “War Horse” Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

Sound Mixing

• “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
• “Hugo” Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
• “Moneyball” Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick
• “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
• “War Horse” Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson

Visual Effects

• “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″ Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
• “Hugo” Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning
• “Real Steel” Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
• “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
• “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

• “The Descendants” Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
• “Hugo” Screenplay by John Logan
• “The Ides of March” Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
• “Moneyball” Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Story by Stan Chervin
• “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan

Writing (Original Screenplay)

• “The Artist” Written by Michel Hazanavicius
• “Bridesmaids” Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
• “Margin Call” Written by J.C. Chandor
• “Midnight in Paris” Written by Woody Allen
• “A Separation” Written by Asghar Farhadi

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Nine films will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 84th Academy Awards. Sixty-three films had originally qualified in the category.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:

• Belgium, “Bullhead,” Michael R. Roskam, director;
• Canada, “Monsieur Lazhar,” Philippe Falardeau, director;
• Denmark, “Superclásico,” Ole Christian Madsen, director;
• Germany, “Pina,” Wim Wenders, director;
• Iran, “A Separation,” Asghar Farhadi, director;
• Israel, “Footnote,” Joseph Cedar, director;
• Morocco, “Omar Killed Me,” Roschdy Zem, director;
• Poland, “In Darkness,” Agnieszka Holland, director;
• Taiwan, “Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale,” Wei Te-sheng, director.

Foreign Language Film nominations for 2011 are again being determined in two phases.

The Phase I committee, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based members, screened the 63 eligible films between mid-October and January 13. The group’s top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy’s Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the shortlist.

The shortlist will be winnowed down to the five nominees by specially invited committees in New York and Los Angeles. They will spend Friday, January 20, through Sunday, January 22, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots.

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

aspen rock / Shutterstock.com

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Oscar.com, the official online home of the 84th Academy Awards, is launching its award-winning Oscar Digital Experience today with a first look at Billy Crystal’s return to Oscar’s stage. One of America’s most beloved funny men, Billy starts the official countdown to the show talking about what the Oscars mean to him and setting the stage for weeks of extensive coverage on Oscar.com.

The site kicks off with an interactive timeline and Oscar’s official Blog, which will feature daily content including red carpet fashion trends from stylists and tips from master chefs and lifestyle experts on hosting the best Oscar viewing party. Oscar Buzz, the site’s social media page, will track real-time comments from fans using #Oscars and #OscarBuzz.

On Oscar Sunday, February 26, Oscar.com will have live cameras strategically placed everywhere from the red carpet to backstage, and even the Governors Ball, providing the ultimate insiders view before, during and after the show. The cameras will broadcast online, as well as on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

“Last year our team set the bar high in terms of interactive second screen experiences,” said Karin Gilford, senior vice president Digital Media, ABC.com. ”This year we are taking the best of what we learned and are building on it. Beginning today we’ll take visitors on an unparalleled journey all the way through Oscar Sunday.”

“Oscar.com is for the movie fan in all of us,” said Christina Kounelias, chief marketing officer, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. ”The site not only allows us to share the latest Oscar news, but also connects fans everywhere with 84 years of unforgettable Academy moments.”

Straight from the Academy’s photo and video archives, Oscar.com presents “Oscar History,” an interactive timeline that includes:

• Sidney Poitier becomes the first African-American to win the Oscar for Best Actor for Lilies Of The Field.
• Elizabeth Taylor with her Oscar for Best Actress in Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?
• Muhammad Ali surprises Sylvester Stallone with an onstage sparring session the night Rocky wins Best Picture.
• Tom Hanks takes home the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Philadelphia.
• Matt Damon and Ben Affleck charm audiences the night they win the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay forGood Will Hunting.
• Hobbits, Hobbits Everywhere. Peter Jackson is accompanied on stage by cast and crew members of The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King when he accepts the Academy Award for Best Picture.

On Nominations morning, January 24, Oscar.com welcomes back Internet personality Shira Lazar who will kick off the first video installment of “Oscar Buzz” by covering reactions from the social media world. “My Oscar Picks” will also go live. This interactive play-along game offers fans a chance to test their Oscar prediction skills. On Oscar Sunday, users will have the opportunity to play along during the telecast and predict category winners ahead of the opening of the envelopes.

On January 29, “Oscar Buzz” kicks off “Oscar Talks,” a four-part video series focusing on the Actor, Actress, Directing and Best Pictures categories.

Entertainment Weekly’s Dave Karger returns on February 1 to Oscar.com with “Nominated…with Dave Karger.” The 10-episode series will provide the ultimate film buff’s analysis of the Best Picture race.

It’s all glamour and glitz beginning February 11. “Best Dressed” launches with Rachel Smith, host of On The Red Carpet, doing interviews with stylists, makeup artists and hair stylists, as well as covering live events, and of course, offering post show analysis of Oscar Night fashion.

The 84th Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood and Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network.

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Bacardi Limited, the world’s largest privately-owned spirits company, declared recently that 2012 will be its most innovative year since the creation of BACARDI rum in 1862.

Throughout the year, Bacardi will host one-of-a-kind birthday parties, launch special promotions featuring 100 years of ground-breaking advertising, introduce a  $2,000 limited-edition decanter of rare BACARDI rum, offer travel retail exclusives and commemorative gifts, and much more for consumers to come together and share in the excitement.

“The passion and entrepreneurial spirit shown by my great-great grandfather in  Santiago de Cuba a century and a half ago gave birth to exceptional rum that would change the spirits industry forever,” said Facundo L. Bacardi, Bacardi Limited Chairman and fifth-generation Bacardi family member.

“These qualities remain key to our phenomenal success and position today as the world’s favorite and most awarded rum brand, with more than 400 awards to date.” Bacardi was founded in Santiago de Cuba on February 4, 1862, when Don Facundo Bacardi Massopurchased a small distillery.

After years of experimenting, Bacardi revolutionized the spirits industry by adding steps never before used in rum-making. He selected high quality blackstrap sugarcane molasses, isolated a special strain of yeast (still used today), filtered, mellowed his rums in American white oak barrels, and then blended them to create the perfect taste.

The smooth, light-bodied spirit he created, as opposed to the harsh “fire water” of the time, was BACARDI – the world’s first premium rum and the first mixable rum – helping usher in a cocktail culture that thrives today. The artful Maestros de Ron (Master Blenders) continue to follow the same exacting standards set forth by Don Facundo. “For the past 150 years, Bacardi—as a family, Company and brand—has brought people together through legendary parties and great-tasting cocktails.

Visit any bar, club or restaurant almost anywhere in the world, and the impact Bacardi has made on the spirits industry is crystal-clear,” said Seamus McBride, Bacardi Limited President and Chief Executive Officer.

“It’s incredible to see how a one-brand company founded 150 years ago has grown into the third-largest spirits company in the world with an enviable portfolio of iconic spirits including GREY GOOSE vodka, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin, DEWAR’S Blended Scotch whisky, MARTINI vermouth, ERISTOFF vodka and CAZADORES 100% blue agave tequila.”

Parties, Parties, Parties! BACARDI 150th birthday parties around the world will feature award-winning musical talent, top celebrities and other movers and shakers who, alongside consumers, will wish BACARDI happy birthday. Germany hosts the first BACARDI 150th party on  January 28, followed by Canada starting February 1, and the United States, Europe,  Latin America, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East  starting February 4.

On February 4, Rolling Stone magazine will honor BACARDI in Indianapolis the day before “the big game,” the most anticipated American football game in the U.S., with a “super” birthday party. In addition, Bacardi is thrilled to be partnering with celebrities and trendsetters in cities around the world who will throw their own events to wish BACARDI rum happy birthday.

Guests will celebrate with legendary BACARDI rum cocktails, some created more than 100 years ago, that continue to be among the most popular cocktails in the world – including the Original BACARDI Cuba Libre, the world’s favorite cocktail with more than six million enjoyed every day; the Original BACARDI Daiquiri; the Authentic BACARDI Mojito; and the BACARDI Pina Colada. Since its creation, BACARDI rum has been enjoyed in more than 365 billion cocktails.

That means every second of every day more than 200 BACARDI cocktails are being served and enjoyed around the world! Consumer Promotions By visiting the BACARDI Facebook page, with more than two million fans, consumers of legal drinking age in select markets can vie for BACARDI 150th birthday party tickets and BACARDI party kits filled with all ingredients to host their own unforgettable gathering.

In select markets, consumers will also be able to win or purchase commemorative BACARDI glassware, specialty packs and apparel featuring vintage brand advertisements and/or designs by artists of Cuban heritage. Limited-Edition Product To honor 150 years of Bacardi rum-making expertise and craftsmanship, eight Maestros de Ron, all Bacardi family members, have combined their extraordinary talents to create a very special, limited-edition BACARDI rum — Ron BACARDI de Maestros de Ron, Vintage, MMXII.

A blend of the finest rums laid to rest in oak barrels over the last 20 years and finished in 60-year old Cognac barrels, the vintage blend is presented in a hand-blown 500ml crystal decanter housed in a leather case and retails for US$2,000. Truly limited, only 400 decanters are available for purchase at select international airports and premium retail establishments around the world. Additional Bacardi 150th activities include:

• Airport Displays: At San Juan, Puerto Rico’s Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, a unique display of ten-foot-tall 3-D BACARDI bats will take up residence in February. Puerto Rico is home to the largest BACARDI rum distillery. BACARDI 150th exhibitions will also be featured at Miami International Airport and other select international airports.
• Birthday Cruise: Celebrity Cruises will mark the occasion with a February 4 party aboard the Celebrity Summit as it departs from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• Global Cocktail Competition: BACARDI will shake things up this year with a special edition of its Legacy Cocktail Competition, drawing mixologists from more than 25 countries to the finals in Puerto Rico on February 20.
• Corporate Responsibility: In the proud and long-standing Bacardi tradition of giving back, nearly 6,000 employees will engage for an entire month in corporate responsibility and philanthropic activities.  Bacardi also looks to the future with a sustainability initiative that raises the standard for the production and sale of premium spirits.
• National Geographic Channel’s “Ultimate Factories”: On February 11 at 8pm ET, “Ultimate Factories” will take U.S. viewers to the home of BACARDI rum in Puerto Rico to show how family tradition and technology meet. The program is slated to air internationally in the “Megafactories” series beginning in March, so be sure to check local television listings for times.
• Canada – Mar. 17
• Italy – Mar. 18
• Australia & New Zealand – Mar. 27
• UK & Latin America – Mar. 29
• Southeast Asia – Apr. 5
• Spain & Portugal – May 28
• Hungary, Norway, Sweden, Finland & Benelux – May 31
• Turkey – June 1
• Russia, Baltics, France, Romania & Greece – June 5
• Germany – June 21

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Actors, writers, and directors flooded the red carpet in Los Angeles last Sunday to celebrate the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards. The Emmy’s, often referred to as the Oscars of the television industry, originally started in 1949. The past 63 years the Emmy’s has been a thoroughly entertaining celebration of outstanding television and this year did not fail to deliver.

The comedy series Modern Family was most certainly a winner, taking home five awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series. Co-creator of the show, Steve Levitan, when asked how the cast would celebrate the wins said “Those over 21 will be drinking. We’re just going to have a party and hang out together and have fun. We actually enjoy each other’s company”.

The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons beat The Office’s Steve Carell for the lead actor in a comedy series. The award was presented to him by the infamous bad boy Charlie Sheen, which Parsons said was another complete surprise.

Talking about his win over Carell, Parsons admitted “That’s really who I thought it would be. “I felt it would be anybody but me and Steve had a better chance than anyone. That’s what my mother and other prognosticators had said.”

CBS’s comedy Mike and Molly’s Melissa McCarthy won her first ever Emmy for Lead actress in a Comedy Series. McCarthy’s facial expression was not only priceless but filled with complete shock and modesty. When she was announced the winner the other nominees gathered around her for a group hug to show their support and Rob Lowe placed a tiara on her head and handed her bouquet of flowers.

The actress beat other big T.V stars such as, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Laura Linney, Martha Plimpton and Edie Falco to the sought after award. Don Roy King took home perhaps one of the most prestigious awards, Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series.

King won the award for his directing on Saturday Night LIve. King told reporters receiving an Emmy “is a thrill.” “Working for a show that has the most remarkable people contributing…it’s a remarkable comedy.” The notorious comedy skit show has now won 142 Emmy Awards.

Gwyneth Paltrow won Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in the hit musical show Glee. Other winners included, AMC’s Mad Men for Outstanding Drama Series, Comedy Central’s Futurama for Outstanding Animated Program, and CBS’s The Amazing Race took home Outstanding- Reality Program.

While awards were being received inside the Nokia Theatre, outside on the red carpet is the annual unofficial fashion show. Celebrities strutted down the carpet looking glamorous and each year celebrity magazines publish worst and best dressed lists.

This year Kelly Osbourne, Beyonce Knowles and Nina Dobrev have been listed on the best dressed lists, while Christina Hendricks and Gwyneth Paltrow have been shamed on the worst dressed lists.

Stacie Stauff Smith Photography / Shutterstock.com

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