A strong sense of place has always been a hallmark of director Alexander Payne‘s work but with ‘The Descendants’ it would become even more central. From the beginning, he and his crew of frequent collaborators were acutely aware that they were going where few filmmakers have gone before by following an intimate family drama into the lush fabric of Hawaii.

All of the conflicting juxtapositions of contemporary Hawaiian culture — modern and ancient, urban and wild, growth and preservation — became wrapped into the film‘s design, from the photography to the sets. The newest of the U.S. states, Hawaiian history goes back 1500 years, when Polynesian explorers first sailed canoes by the light of the stars to the fertile string of volcanic islands. Later, settlers arrived from across Polynesia – Tahiti, Samoa and Tonga – forging a distinctive matriarchal culture with its own language, customs, art forms and legends.

In 1810, King Kamehameha, Chief of the Big Island, united all the islands into one Hawaiian Kingdom. Soon after, Christian missionaries began to arrive, followed by colonialists from mainland United States. In 1893, a group of American businessmen overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy, paving the way for annexation. Meanwhile, the culture continued to evolve and adapt, merging elements of American values with native Hawaiian ways.

When Hawaii became a U.S. state in 1959, it was dubbed the ‘Aloha‖ state’, reflecting the impossible-to-translate Hawaiian word that conveys an open-hearted spirit rooted in a love of the land.

“My grandfather, he really loved this place. So did your mother. So does your mother.”

– Matt King.

To capture the islands as they are today — as rife with developers and suburbia as they are with laid-back surfers and Polynesian traditions — with a fresh eye, Payne reunited with director of photography Phedon Papamichael, who previously worked with him on ‘Sideways’. As soon as he read the script, Papamichael knew it was going to be something different. “It was a very dialogue-driven story, which usually means the film will be less visual,” he begins.

“But in the case, the opposite was true. Because of the way the Hawaiian setting is juxtaposed with the King family‘s struggles, the visuals take on a major role. It was going to be very important to capture the beauty and nature of the surrounding environment so you can understand the conflict Matt feels over selling his family‘s land.”

Papamichael divided the film between two Hawaiis: the more hectic, citified Hawaii of Honolulu and the stunning, natural Mecca of Hanalei Bay on the island of Kauai, draped with verdant, tropical rain forests and surrounded by sapphire seas. “We really wanted to give a feeling for the community in Honolulu but also the beauty of the coast so you understand what could be lost and the connection to history that is there.

That‘s why we decided to shoot wide-screen, which Alexander has only done once before, on ‘Election’,” he explains. “We decided that it would be a lot of fun to have that epic frame with these small, human figures confronted with the majesty of the landscape.”

At the same time, both men wanted the film to stay true to Payne‘s distinctively unadorned style, which is almost an anti-style. “I like to bring an almost documentary style to fiction filmmaking,” says Payne. “It gives the story a sense of reportage.” Papamichael concurs.  “With Alexander, one of the biggest assignments is always to make sure the photography doesn‘t get in the way of the story. He really loves realism, to the point that if we go

to a location and there are tree trimmers working nearby, he says ‘great‘ and he embraces that as part of what‘s going on in the scene,” he explains. “Or, for example, when we shot in the bar where George Clooney meets Beau Bridges, it was very important to Alexander to have the real locals who frequent the place be in there to get that feel of reality. The same goes for lighting. It‘s always very natural, to the point that the audience should never realize that they‘re watching a crafted film.”

He continues, “We really want the audience to be taken in by the characters without distraction. The emotions are so intense and the writing so strong, we don‘t need to add visual drama.” Hawaii, however, often brought its own drama. “The light there is challenging because it is constantly changing,” notes Papamichael.

“It can go from overcast to sunny in the time frame of one shot. Fortunately, both Alexander and George, being a filmmaker himself, are very good at reacting in the moment so you can switch scenes around. It gave us a lot of flexibility.”

The article Realism of Hawaii in Oscar Winner ‘The Descendants’ appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

As Matt King, the protagonist of Oscar-winner ‘The Descendants’, tries to find his footing as a father to Alexandra and Scottie, he is surrounded by friends, foes and relations who keep throwing him off course. The cast of characters that complete the ensemble that the three Kings run into on their journey towards reconciliation are an accomplished ensemble of actors hand-picked by director Alexander Payne.

Note: There following may contain spoilers.

“The casting in this film provided a new and interesting challenge for John Jackson and me — to piece together not just a believable nuclear family but also an extended family and a community of friends as well — all of whom inhabit a fairly narrow enclave of class and race,” says Payne.

For the catalytic role of Brian Speer, the mysterious real estate agent Matt King is chasing throughout much of the film, Payne cast Matthew Lillard, the tall, versatile actor best known for his comic performances and as Shaggy in the Scooby-Doo movies. When Lillard read for the role, he was convinced it was the longest of long shots.

“I walked in, and there were like five great looking guys waiting to read, all of them with that California movie star thing, strong chins and pecs and biceps,” he recalls. “I thought to myself, ‘There’s just no way.‘ I already know that the chances of me playing George Clooney’s wife’s lover are pretty slim.”

Lillard gave it his all and was satisfied just to have elicited praise from Payne. But four months later he was stunned when he received a call from Payne saying “I‘d love to have you be a part of this movie.” Payne recalls that Lillard‘s speedy approach clinched it. “I like it when actors act fast. Later I told him that he should do more of his audition with his kids in the car,” remarks the director.

For Lillard, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “Your whole life as an actor you look for the chance to be part of an experience that is this special,” he says. “I don‘t think I would ever have been the standard casting choice. I think I‘m outside the box, but that‘s what makes Alexander such a great director. He has the ability to make choices that set his body of work apart.”

As for Brian, who unwittingly becomes Matt King‘s greatest nemesis but also perhaps his liberator, Lillard says, “He‘s a real go-getter. He‘s a family man who truly loves his wife and kids as well, but he has a fatal flaw. He saw a financial opportunity with Matt‘s wife, only he got himself in too deep, too fast and suddenly, he‘s in the middle of an incredible situation.

What‘s fun about it is that George Clooney goes on this whole transformative journey of hunting my character. But then, Brian becomes a kind of oracle who sends him back to his family to find a way through.”

Another actress known primarily for her comedic abilities, Judy Greer, recently seen in the TV series ‘Mad Love’, was cast as Brian Speer‘s wronged wife, the seemingly soft-spoken Julie, who first runs into Matt King on a blissful Kauai beach. Greer was taken by the way her character defies expectations and is much more than comic fodder.

“She‘s a very modern mother figure,” Greer observes. “She‘s earthy and sensitive and committed to keeping her family together no matter what. I like that Alexander put a very calm and grounded human being into this situation.”

When the situation nevertheless explodes into chaos, it is Julie, not Brian, who finds herself at the center of a turbulent scene showing up at the hospital to make amends with Matt‘s comatose wife, only to find herself going off on a bedside rant. Greer could empathize with Julie‘s reasoning even if her behavior turns shocking. “I think Julie goes to see Elizabeth because she is confused and concerned,” says Greer. “Maybe she just wants to see the other woman.

When you find out your husband‘s been cheating, you‘re taken over by feelings of jealousy and inadequacy and anger and sadness and maybe she just wants to get a look at the woman who ruined everything she thought she had. She also has an incredible amount of compassion for Matt‘s situation. The beauty of the scene and the way that it is written is that it is all of these things at once. She becomes taken over by what she‘s really feeling.”

Image Courtesy of   Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com

The article Matthew Lillard’s ‘Unimagined Part’ in ‘The Descendants’ appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

As the King family struggles to make sense of their mother’s accident and exposed infidelity in the Oscar-winning film ‘The Descendants’, confusion also reigns in the emotions of Matt‘s father-in-law Scott Thorson, portrayed by veteran screen and television star Robert Forster (‘Jackie Brown’, ‘Mulholland Drive’).

A retired military man with a crusty drill sergeant‘s temperament, Scott is already dealing with his wife‘s Alzheimer‘s when he learns that his daughter‘s life is on the line. He channels all his frustration directly into blaming Matt. “Scott regards his son-in-law as a grave disappointment,” explains Forster. “He thinks his daughter was too much for him, she had too much spirit for this guy. Matt‘s got a lot of money but not a lot of drive, so he never rose to Scott‘s expectations of what a serious man should be. Scott‘s commanded men all his life, and Matt doesn‘t pass muster for him.”

On Matt‘s side of the family, things are proceeding no more smoothly, especially when he starts to balk at an agreed-upon deal to sell the family‘s high-worth land to a local developer of golf resorts. This brings him into conflict with his laid-back cousin Hugh, played by two-time Golden Globe winner Beau Bridges. Bridges was drawn to the script for a lot of reasons. “Two of the reasons I wanted to be involved are Alexander Payne and George Clooney,” he remarks. “These are two guys at the top of their game. I thought that would be pretty interesting.”

He was also pulled in by his own passionate connections to Hawaii, a place that is almost a second home to him; he has visited regularly since childhood and attended college at the University of Hawaii. “You can watch life unfold there,” he says of the islands. “Hawaii seems to have retained some of the simplicity of life that is missing elsewhere.” Hugh‘s character reflects back to Matt a way of life he is suddenly questioning. “Hugh is

interesting,” Bridges muses. “Like Matt, he‘s a mixed descendant of missionaries and Hawaiians, but he wants to sell the land they‘ve inherited. He justifies his position by saying that the land is going to be sold to a local businessman and not to someone who‘s going to build a Wal-Mart . . . but he still wants the money.”

Bridges also thinks Hugh believes he‘s looking out for Matt in a time when his cousin might not be thinking straight – even if Matt feels like he‘s finally seeing things clearly for the first time. “I think Hugh, in his heart, truly wants the best for Matt,” Bridges concludes, “but he also does not want him to be a fool, and in his mind, not selling this valuable land is just crazy!”

The article Family Ties: ‘The Descendants’ Tells of Troublesome Relations appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

‘The Descendants‘, George Clooney’s latest movie, tells the story of Matt King (George Clooney), who is living in Hawaii with his wife and two daughters. His wife suffers a massive head injuries during a boating accident and falls into a deep coma. Matt has always been busy with his job and his travelling so he decides to stay with his daughters and tries to protect them from their common tragedy. Meanwhile, Matt discovers the real truth about his wife; that she has been having an affair with a real estate guru. Alongside his daughters, Matt must learn how to deal with his wife’s infidelity, his life, and the meaning of family. The movie is a blend of comedy and serious emotion that will make any heart bleed if it has ever gone through an unexpected personal trauma.

The Descendants has been nominated for some of the main Oscar awards this year; looking at Best Picture, Best Director (Alexander Payne), Best Actor (Clooney), Best Adapted Screenplay (Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash), and Best Editing (Kevin Tent).

The rest of the field for Best Picture is mirrored by different facets of cinema: “Hugo”; “The Artist”; “Midnight in Paris”; “The Help”; “Moneyball”; all have their stronger and weaker points. But the question is: Are the cinematic triumph of The Descendants strong enough to secure any of the five awards it has been nominated for?

George Clooney’s fans and critics believe that his performance is in a league of its own: “Clooney’s performance as Matt may be the best of his career,” says Phil Wallace of Picktainment.com. This seems to be true because he was capable of conveying to the audience the pain, the suffering and the strength of a husband and father who is thrown into the truth about his life. Clooney has never taken on a character like this before. Even thought Matt is vulnerable, a powerless father and a widower, Clooney shows that even a character like this is within his reach as an actor.

This year’s nominations are dominated by Michel Hazanavicius’s ‘The Artist‘, with 10 nominations, and Martin Scorsese’s ‘Hugo‘ with 11 nominations, giving The Descendants tough competition for the win. Although The Descendants may not sweep the winning table, no one can deny Clooney’s hard work and Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rush efforts with their screenplay, which may land them  the award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Image Courtesy © Douglas Kirkland 2012

The article Can ‘The Descendants’ Sweep Tonights Oscar 2012? appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

When Kaui Hart Hemmings was first creating the character of Matt King — shell-shocked husband, inexpert father and reluctant Hawaiian land baron — she dared to dream of who might play him on the screen. The person that came to her back then was George Clooney, the Academy Award winning actor and filmmaker renowned for performances that are often as darkly funny as they are palpably human.

Clooney has established himself as one of today‘s leading men, but the chance to play a husband and father in ‘The Descendants’ is a notable departure from his usual roles. He was the smooth-talking convict in the Coen Brothers‘ screwball musical comedy ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’, the heist pro in the blockbuster Ocean’s Eleven series, the CIA agent in an Oscar winning performance in Stephen Gaghan‘s ‘Syriana’.

He was also nominated for an Academy Award for his performances as the law firm fixer in Tony Gilroy‘s thriller ‘Michael Clayton’ and the workaholic, airline miles collector in Jason Reitman‘s ‘Up In The Air’.

Clooney has also made his mark as a writer/director, garnering Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay for ‘Good Night, And Good Luck’, and directing and co-writing this fall‘s ‘The Ides of March’. Co-producer George Parra notes that the pairing of Payne and Clooney for the first time on this project was an intriguing match. “They‘re both incredibly talented and, after this movie, I think they will forever be friends.

They got along from day one. Alexander is the ultimate professional, very serious and polite and can be fun at times. But he‘s very serious when he‘s at work. George, on the other hand, is the ultimate prankster. He loves to laugh a lot and he‘s hysterical, so between their two personalities, the set had terrific energy.”

They were both open to great creativity and just letting the film happen. Once Clooney was cast in the central role, the challenge was to build the rest of the King family around him. Payne soon began an exhaustive series of auditions to find that tricky family chemistry made up of equal parts love, fury and miscomprehension, working closely with casting director John Jackson, who has collaborated with him since his first film, ‘Citizen Ruth’.

The director considers the auditions a significant part of the creative process. “We auditioned a ton of people for every part, even one line parts. I think auditions are good. I like to have actors come in and read the words,” Payne says. It was especially key to find two young actresses who were capable of holding their own against Clooney in the roles of his two willful and defiant daughters Alexandra and Scottie, who resent Matt for never having been an involved parent until now.

“I’m the back-up parent. The understudy.”– Matt King

For Alexandra, a feisty free spirit who worries that she takes after the mother she is angry with, Payne ultimately chose Shailene Woodley, best known for the television series The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Woodley, in her first major film role, struck Payne right away as ready to take on the emotional rigors of a role that would take her from a boarding school bad girl to a young woman trying to stitch her family back together.

“Like the rest of the cast, she gave the best audition,” recalls Payne. “It was as simple as that.” Woodley was thrilled because, by the time she auditioned, she was already in love with the story. “It‘s a heart-wrenching journey about growth,” she comments. “I love how everybody in the story grows in their ability to love, grows in maturity, in figuring out their individuality and who they are as a family.”

As for Alexandra, Woodley enjoyed the idea of taking her from a wild rebel with a chip on her shoulder to a young woman ready to battle for her loved ones. “She starts out as a teenager who feels like a victim — to her, the reason why her life is horrible is because her dad did this and her mom did that,” she observes.

“But during the course of the movie, she starts to realize that she‘s responsible for her own happiness and it isn‘t up to her parents. It‘s fun to watch her grow up in the moment.  She‘s always been a bit manipulative but now she‘s doing it to help her dad fight his demons.”

Alexandra‘s relationship with Matt is one that Woodley believes a lot of kids will relate to from their own experiences. “I think she loves her dad but she kind of looks at him as the childish one in their relationship and she‘s always felt like she needed to take on a parenting role with him,” Woodley describes. “It‘s only later that she learns to give him his own power as a father.”

Another big challenge for Woodley was finding all the multi-colored shadings of Alexandra‘s barrage of mixed feelings around her mother that are at once incredulous, angry, worried, sad and freaked out. Woodley had to literally dive deep, as this storm of emotions begins in a pivotal scene when her father tells her that her mother is not going to recover while she‘s taking a dip in the family pool. “She‘s in the pool, treading water and she has no idea how to react to this news,” explains Woodley.

“She feels trapped, so she submerges herself into the water, the one place where she can scream at the top of her lungs and not feel vulnerable. It was such an emotional release to go down there and scream and cry hysterically. It was heartbreaking for me to do, but also empowering.” Later, when Alexandra sees her once wildly vibrant mother unresponsive in a hospital bed, her raw emotions come to the surface.

“In that scene, I think part of Alexandra hates her mom and part of her just wants to be held and cry in her mother‘s arms for hours. It is very emotional,” says Woodley. “I think the little girl in Alexandra just yearns for the mother she always wanted but never had, but the young woman in Alexandra is starting to accept that it will never happen.”

Image Courtesy of   Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com

The article Shailene Woodley Impresses in ‘The Descendants’ appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Shailene Woodley says she‘s grateful to director Alexander Payne for giving her the trust and support to navigate the bumpy terrain of merging outrageous situations with intensely real feelings in the oscar-nominated ‘The Descendants’. “Alexander is up there with a few of the favorite people I‘ve ever met in my life.

He‘s got such heart and I‘ve learned from him as a director and as a person. When he gets excited, he doesn‘t hold it in. He literally jumps up and down and talks in this funky voice and goes up and hugs people. You can‘t help but feel excited about life when you‘re around him. He possesses a great energy and definitely shows it to other people. As a director, he helped me find things about myself that I never thought I could find.”

Woodley says Payne always pushed for one bottom line; naturalism. “He might say, ‘Oh, Shai, I don‘t think that‘s natural, you would never do that in real life,’” she recalls. “That‘s how he brings out the best in people.” That kind of naturalism turned out to be easier than expected when Woodley began performing alongside George Clooney, who obliterated the intimidation factor right away.

“He turned out to be completely down-to-earth,” she explains. “He‘s kind of a goofball, always doing something silly, which kept the set light. I felt privileged not only to work with him, but to get to know him.”

Even though Matt King is trying to re-establish a connection with his kids, he finds youngest daughter Scottie a complete mystery, almost an alien life form, with whom communication of any kind is an iffy prospect. To find a young actress who could handle the humor and heartache of playing a preadolescent eccentric, Payne saw more than 300 girls from around the country.

He still hadn‘t found the right candidate with shooting about to start. That‘s when he encountered Amara Miller, a promising nine year-old newcomer from Pacific Grove, California.

He received an e-mail with her videotaped audition and recalls that “about a minute into it I just said, ‘oh that‘s her.‘ I don‘t need to see her. I knew that she was the one. I just knew she would show up. And like many things in life, she did, but in the most unpredictable way.” Adds producer Jim Burke: “Amara walked on the set like an old pro. She‘s a natural.

She‘d never been in a movie before but she was amazing.” Although she had no previous acting experience (she was once in an elementary school play but she had no lines), Miller seemed to have an instinctual feel for Scottie‘s quirkiness and uniquely uninformed role in their family adventure.

“Scottie is the one who doesn‘t know what‘s happening in the family,” she describes. “She doesn‘t know her mom is dying or that she had an affair with another man. She thinks that when they go to Kauai to find the guy that they‘re going on vacation. She‘s just running around being herself, doing what she wants, in the middle of all this stuff.”

Without much guidance from her family, Scottie has developed an almost feral quality of independence. “She‘s a trouble-maker,” laughs Miller. “She‘s one of those little girls who doesn‘t really care if she gets in trouble. She‘s still going to do fun, wild things even if she does. She has a sassy attitude.

She goes after what she needs. What Scottie needs might be time and attention, but she‘ll do anything to get it, which led to some of Miller‘s most intriguing scenes.”

“I do get to flip off George Clooney,” she laughs. “He was like ‘what?‘ His facial expression was so funny.”

For Payne, working with Miller — his first time directing a child in a major role — was no different from the adult cast. “The great thing about working with Amara is that I didn‘t have to treat her like a little girl. I could just tell she was an instinctive actress. I could just say, ‘No, do it more like this.‘ Or, ‘Please put a small pause between these two lines.‘ The way to treat people in general, and actors in particular, is to tell them the truth,” he sums up. “I was always able to do that with Amara.”

The article Defining a Family; Casting ‘The Descendants’ appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

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

The article Oscar Betting: ‘The Artist’ Dominates Many Categories appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Oscar-winning actor George Clooney has a surprising relationship with the ill-fated RMS Titanic, as will be revealed in an upcoming documentary.

It has been said that Sarah Clooney, a distant relative from County Laois, was the person responsible for making the carpets which lined the ship, and that Clooney will learn more about her story when he makes a visit to Ireland later this in year. His familial link will be detailed in Gabriel Murray’s documentary “George Clooney’s Irish Roots — The Real Descendants”, a pun on his latest film release.

The Belfast Telegraph first reported on this story, explaining that:

Sarah Clooney worked in the carpet factory in Abbeyleix owned by Ivo de Vesci. She had originally come from Dunamaggin, Co Kilkenny but moved to Abbeyleix after her family were evicted from their land.

Sarah kept in contact with the famous actor’s aunt, Rosemary Clooney, and the pair shared correspondence over many years.

It is worth noting that several members of Clooney’s family have achieved notoriety in their own right. Aside from his aforementioned aunt who won both an Emmy and a Grammy award during her career, his father Nick Clooney has run for Congress while his cousin Miguel Ferrer has starred in such films as Robocop and Mulan.

As for Clooney’s Irish ancestors, the documentary, which is expected to finish production in the coming months, will provide further insight into those who have lived – and who still do – in Ireland. Alleged “parish records” have been discovered, in which full details of Clooney’s ancestry are noted, however, the exact extent of this information will not be revealed until Murray’s documentary airs later this year.

Incidentally, Clooney had told The Irish Examiner as recently as last October that he had plans of partaking in a bike tour across Ireland at some point in 2012, on the recommendation of U2 frontman Bono. Clooney said:

It’s finally happening … I ran into Bono here in Toronto, who was in town for the documentary about U2 and he’s as much of a bike nut as I am. He started telling me about lots of cool places I should check out, so I’ve committed to going there in April.

In the meantime, Clooney has plenty of professional business to keep him occupied as he attempts to win his second Oscar for Best Actor with the critically-acclaimed film The Descendants. Clooney has already won a Golden Globe and a Critic’s Choice Award this year for his role in the film as a man in the midst of his family’s collapse, and so it would seem fitting that he will dive right into his own personal family story once Hollywood’s 2012 awards season is at an end.

cinemafestival / Shutterstock.com

The article George Clooney’s Titanic Ancestry appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

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:

The article Five Academy Awards Nomination for The Descendants appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Leading online betting firm, Sky Bet, has unveiled its full list of Oscars betting markets following the announcement of the 84th Academy Awards nominations on Tuesday, January 24.

Black and white silent movie, ‘The Artist’, which last week picked up the Producers Guild Award and also won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy/Musical, is Sky Bet’s clear favorite to win Best Picture at 2/7, with the odds having been cut from a pre-Christmas 2/1.

The French tribute to the silent movie has ten Oscar bids, although it was beaten by Scorsese’s 3D charmer ‘Hugo’, which received 11 nods. This augurs well for its Best Picture hopes as the most nominated film has taken the top prize 15 times in the last 20 years, and Sky Bet makes ‘Hugo’ a 10/1 shot behind Golden Globe Best Drama champion, ‘The Descendants’ (4/1).

‘The Artist’ dominates several other categories with its helmsman, Michel Hazanavicius, as an odds-on favorite (8/13) to win Best Director and its leading man, Jean Dujardin, second in the Best Actor betting at 2/1. George Clooney is a hot favorite at 2/5 to take home the lead actor gong for his performance in the comedy-drama, ‘The Descendants’. Gary Oldman picked up his first ever Oscar nomination for ‘Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy’ and is quoted at 33/1.

Double Oscar winner and 17-time nominee, Meryl Streep, is the short-priced favorite at 1/2 to scoop a third gong for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in ‘The Iron Lady’. Viola Davis is her nearest rival for Best Actress at 9/4, with ‘My Week with Marilyn’ star, Michelle Williams, another threat at 11/4.

Sky Bet’s Oscars betting expert, Helen Jacob, said, “The Artist seems way ahead of its rivals in the race to win the top Oscar. ”Other categories, however, are not so clean-cut, with the battle for best actress between Meryl Streep and Viola Davis looking particularly close.”

For Best Supporting Actor, Christopher Plummer (‘Beginners’) is at 1/12, and Octavia Spencer is at 1/8 (‘The Help’) and looks to have the Best Supporting Actress category sewn up.

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

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

The article ‘The Artist’ Expected to Win Best Picture, According to Sky Bet appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

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

The article 2012 Oscar Nominations Are Out: Scorsese’s Hugo Leads with 11 appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The nominations for the 2012 BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Film Awards have been announced, and French silent film The Artist leads the field with twelve nominations including one for Best Film.

BAFTA’s announcement of the nominees comes just days after The Artist and The Descendants swept the board at the 69^th Annual Golden Globes Awards, and it seems likely that both films will experience similar success at Britain’s equivalent to the Academy Awards.

The two aforementioned films will go head-to-head in the categories of Best Film and Best Leading Actor (for Jean Dujardin and George Clooney), while their screenplays will each compete in the Original and Adapted Screenplay categories, respectively.

Other Golden Globes winners are included in this year’s nominations, namely: The Adventures of Tin Tin: The Secret of the Unicorn for Best Animated Film; Meryl Streep for her leading role as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady; and Octavia Spencer for Supporting Actress in The Help.

Meanwhile, Martin Scorsese, has been nominated for his directorial job with Hugo and will also be the recipient of this year’s BAFTA Fellowship, placing him in such Academy ranks as, Sir Charles Chaplin, Steven Spielberg, Dame Maggie Smith, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Dame Judi Dench – all of whom have received the Fellowship since Alfred Hitchcock’s special recognition in 1971 for “outstanding achievement in the art forms of the moving image. It is the highest honour the Academy bestows”.

Unsurprisingly, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, the conclusion to the most successful film series in box office history and one which helped elevate the British Film Industry during the 2000s, failed to pick up any nominations for its acting, directing or screenplay; however, it did earn a place on the shortlist for Best Make Up & Hair, Sound and Special Visual Effects.

The Harry Potter film series has had mixed success during awards season in the past, but it was thought that a last-minute promotional push from Warner Bros. might help Deathly Hallows Part 2 achieve some recognition from the major award voters this season.

Nevertheless, the BAFTA voters have acknowledged one British cinema hit: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tomas Alfredson’s adaptation of the 1974 espionage thriller novel of the same name. Cast member Gary Oldman has been nominated for Best Leading Actor, while the film itself will vie for: Best Film, Best British Film, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Music, among several others.

The awards will be held on Sunday February 12 at London’s Royal Opera house, airing on BBC One, and will be hosted by Stephen Fry for the first time since 2006.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.mtv.co.uk

The article The Artist Leads BAFTA Nominations appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The time for deliberation is almost over. The voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have begun mailing out the nomination ballots for the 84th Academy Awards, scheduled to take place on Sunday February 26 and to be hosted by Billy Crystal.

The ballots themselves, which are to be completed by the 5,783 voting members of the Academy, must be returned by January 13 and will be announced on January 24, at which point firm-favourites and critics-choices will learn if their hopes of award-season glory have been warranted or wasted.

Some of those favorites include Meryl Streep and George Clooney, whose roles in “The Iron Lady“ and “The Descendants”, respectively, have already garnered them nominations from the Hollywood Foreign Press and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).

Other actors expected to receive Academy Award nominations based on prior accolades this season include: Michelle Williams for “My Week With Marilyn”, Ryan Gosling for “The Ides of March” – for which, incidentally, Clooney has received a Golden Globe nomination in the directing field -, Leonardo DiCaprio for the biopic “J. Edgar”, and Viola Davis for Dreamworks’ adaptation of “The Help”.

Statistically, the Golden Globes and SAGs have been shown to be the primary indicators of who will achieve success at the Academy Awards. For example, the 2010-11 awards season saw David Fincher’s “The Social Network” compete against Tom Hooper’s “The King’s Speech” in many of the major categories, with Fincher’s film triumphing at the Golden Globes, Hooper’s film triumphing at the SAGs, and each film ultimately walking away with a handful of Academy Awards.

This ceremony is in fact the last in Hollywood’s award season, so if this year’s voting replicates last year’s, it may go down to the wire as to who will indeed succeed in the Academy’s Best Picture and Acting categories. Therefore, while there may be little in the way of surprises awaiting the Hollywood press on January 24 when the nominations are announced, there will be no doubt added anticipation over whether the voters will sway away from favoring the abundance of high-profile biopics making waves this season.

These are namely: “The Iron Lady”, a study of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher; “My Week With Marilyn”, a week in the life of Marilyn Monroe; and “J. Edgar”, a study into the FBI director’s personal life and debated sexuality. Each film has already received multiple nominations from other major award bodies, but this may be a case where there are too many releases from the same genre which ultimately cancel each other out.

Aside from their acting nominations at the Golden Globes, none of the films managed to make the final cut into the Hollywood Foreign Press’ Best Motion Picture selection, so there may still be some spots up for grabs in the final Academy Award shortlist.

Whatever happens, it won’t be long until the public finds out.

Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com

The article Oscar Nominating Ballots Are in The Mail appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.