The King's Acceptance Speeches Begin

King and Queen of the BIFAs

The British Independent Film Awards forced the reluctant king to the mic again when they gave Colin Firth the Best Actor prize for his stammering royal in The King's Speech. The BIFAs also gave the movie 4 additional prizes: Helena Bonham-Carter and Geoffrey Rush took their first wins of the season and the film won screenplay and the BIFA equivalent of Best Picture "Best British Independent Film."

The smear campaign or truth-telling depending on how you view these things has also begun but the Oscar buzz isn't letting up any time soon.

After the jump the complete BIFA winners list with commentary.



British Independent Film The King’s Speech
Director Gareth Edwards, Monsters
Debut Director Clio Barnard,The Arbor
Screenplay David Seidler, The King’s Speech
Actress Carey Mulligan,  Never Let Me Go
Actor Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
Supporting Actress Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
Supporting Actor Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech
Promising Newcomer Joanne Froggatt, In Our Name
Achievement in Production Monsters
Raindance Award Son of Babylon
Tech Achievement Visual Effects, Monsters
Documentary Enemies of the People
British Short Baby
Foreign Film A Prophet

Carey & Rosamund @ the BIFAs

Beyond the big dog (King's) the indie genre flick Monsters did quite well for itself. I have the screener right here. Maybe I should watch.

As for Carey Mulligan winning Best Actress for Never Let Me Go, Monty would not approve. And if you ask me Andrew Garfield was "best in show". And I don't understand Helena's win at all. I hope everyone understands that I am in HBC's corner -- I think she's been grossly underrewarded for years and ought to have 3 Oscar noms and an actual statue on her mantle -- but I just don't see it for this performance. There's nothing to it beyond the very typical awards bait of "supportive spouse." If she's nominated it'll be the easiest get outside of Bill Murray's for Get Low; two people doing things they can do with their eyes closed that aren't remotely challenging or interesting.

I have to say that I'm surprised as anyone (maybe moreso) that Geoffrey Rush is the true champ within The King's Speech. How he managed to curtail his usual hamminess into something nearly subtle when it's actually one of his hammiest and most eccentric characters is a minor miracle. But then I'm far more allergic to him than most so perhaps my perception is skewed. Alas, despite my enthusiasm for his turn here comes yet another awards season where the gigantic roles will win the supporting prizes. Poor character actors everywhere can never catch a break.

Moving on. Have any of you seen Monsters? Are you happy that The King's Speech is winning prizes?

"I hope she'll be a fool..."

.

"... that's the best thing a girl can be in this world -
a beautiful little fool." - Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

(pic by Baz Luhrmann) JA from MNPP here. Deadline reported a little earlier today that Carey Mulligan will presumably play Daisy Buchanan for Baz Luhrmann's Gatsby, you know, if he gets around to making a Gatsby. (Who knows with Baz?) But for now as the Magic Eight Ball says signs point to yes. And perhaps the best visual I'll be given today is in their article:

"Mulligan was on the reception line for The Fashion Council Awards in New York when she got the call on her cell phone from Luhrmann, just a few minutes ago. She burst into tears on the red carpet in front of Karl Lagerfield and Anna Wintour."

Thanks for that, Deadline. They forgot to mention the part where the tears of an innocent caused those two's fangs to burst forth.

Anyway I think she's a great choice. What about y'all? And will Baz really get around to making this movie for real? And what do we think about Leo DiCaprio as Jay and Tobey Maguire as Nick?
.

Links: Cher, Cheyenne, Celestia, Carey and CQueen

Guardian good piece on Anne Heche, her not totally recovered career post-Celestia, and Hollywood's double standards about men and women with troubled souls.
After Elton first look at Cheyenne Jackson on Glee. He's replacing Idina as the Vocal Adrenaline coach. I guess that means he's off 30 Rock? But this'll be a better fit anyway. Yay for singing stars!
Lazy Circles speaking of Cheyenne...
Natasha VC makes a brilliant observation on the quality of Al Pacino's acting.
Broadway Buzz A Cher bio-pic style Broadway musical is in the works from director Andy Fickman (You Again)


Avengers Assemble have you seen these new YouTube shorts, the superhero team gathers to discuss business/politics. It's such a weird concept that I am forced to enjoy. They need to speed up line delivery a bit but each episode has a few good laughs.
Film Freak Central on Let Me In (I thought this review was interesting. Positive but definitely keeps the original in mind.)
Coming Soon Sacha Baron Cohen to play Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in a biopic. Filming starts in 2011. You know what's weird? The internet rumor mill spends so much time talking about pre-production and development that by the time something is official, one could swear it was official 7 or 8 months prior! and that it's totally old news.
PopWrap Carey Mulligan has been making surprise appearances at movie theaters in NYC to introduce Never Let Me Go. How cool.
Pussy Goes Grrr offers up a late "best shot", a minimalist one, from the wonderful Pandora's Box (1929)
/Film Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies) writing a new live-action version of Pinnocchio.
37 Posters by Jerod Gibson is a design project using movie quotes in the shape of the movie's iconography for new posters. Fun. The one for The Big Lebowski is probably my favorite.
Movie|Line Andrew Garfield sings "Bed Intruder". Wait, what? I have to post it here. It's just too funny/weird.



HELP. I'm curious as to what you all use for your blog reading? Do you click directly to the sites or do you use a blog reader? In the past I've always used bloglines which is where roughly 2/3rds of my link roundups are pulled from. I have hundreds of subscriptions... some of which I read and some of which... well, there's only so much time. Bloglines is shutting down as of October 1st so I'll have to rebuild elsewhere. I think I'll start from scratch so to as freshen up. Any suggestions?
*

Curio: A Carey Mulligan Makeover

Alexa here. Instant remakes of foreign films are almost always pointless, but it's encouraging that David Fincher and (possibly?) Carey Mulligan are attached to the English remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. But with all this Mad Men anticipation in the air, I've been thinking of Carey's 60s schoolgirl makeover in An Education. Viola Vintage will custom make the dress for you (although the fabric could use a change):

With an updo and some inspiration, you'll be ready for some Jenny-esque, coming-of-age lazing about, as in this photo homage by Luka Fontò:

And who knows, maybe Carey will inspire us to go a bit more emo with our look in 2012.

Yes, No, Maybe So: Never Let Me Go

I guess June is when the OscarBait trailers begin their stampede? I always forget summertime occurences as I have already melted. I hate summer. Yesterday we performed our patented three pronged expectation-management on Somewhere. Today Mark Romanek's adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's best seller Never Let Me Go.



You might not want to read this if you're worried about subject/thematic spoilers. I still need to read the book but I feel like this would have been great to go into blind. I'm glad that the trailer is hinting rather than telling, as all trailers should.

The cast is a big draw: Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightley, Sally Hawkins (looks like a good part), Charlotte Rampling... it just keeps on giving people that are a) fine actors and b) interesting to look at in one way or another. And they're all in the service of sober non-f/x driven sci-fi which is all too rare at the movies. [SPOILER] This one has to do with a school for clones though this trailer doesn't make that too specific. [/SPOILER] The last such sci-fi flick that comes to mind was Children of Men and those three words strung together should prompt fine cinematic memories.

This is an entirely personal thing. I don't tend to respond well to bifurcated structures where we get used to one actor playing a role and have to switch to another or switch back and forth. I like it when movies cover a short frame of time in their character's lives. Movies are most equatable with short stories, if you ask me. The television miniseries is the ideal home for novel adaptations but nobody in Hollywood agrees with this assessment. That said, that's the only "no" I could come up with which is a great sign. And those young girls do seem well cast to evoke Mulligan & Knightley.

Blade Runner (1982) is one of the greats and when an image like the one to your left explicitly calls it mind, it's both exciting and worrying. It seems likely that the movie will similarly examine entirely human concerns about the purpose of life, the mystery of the soul, and the fear of death through the distancing protection of a genre lens. Can Mark Romanek do all this justice? He's got a great eye and makes absolutely incredible music videos. But I didn't get much apart from aesthetic value from his previous feature, One Hour Photo. There's so much rich thematic possibility here: Do I have a soul? Is my life not even mine? Will loving someone save me? There's not enough time. All these moments will be lost like tears in the rain.

In short, I'm a yes. But I do think I should read the book first since it's supposed to be incredible. I'd rather know the real thing before experiencing its copy, even though the copy looks to have plenty of soul.

You?
*

An Education on the Ensemble Class

In trying to keep up with DVD promises, I've given An Education (2009) a second look. First thing I noticed the second time through was a vaguely wary expression on Carey Mulligan's face the very first time you see her. Before she has anything to be worried about.


It's as if she knows that this is not a post about how great she is!

One of the chief and actually insightful digs at the movie, from certain unconvinced parties, is that director Lone Scherfig is so enamored of Mulligan's Jenny (and yes there's plenty to be enamored of) that she passes up numerous opportunities to complicate the movie. Our relationship to the youthful arrogance of the protagonist really does need a tougher investigation. Jenny really does need to be told. [Has she been told? Tell her. Oh snap!] This is the reason I love every tiny bitter morsel from Emma Thompson as the stern headmistress. More please.

But it wasn't just Scherfig that had trouble looking away from Mulligan's star-is-born turn. How else to explain the curious little attention the film received outside of its Actress and Best Picture bids. The film has amazing costume work, smart art direction and terrific original songs. Regarding this last bit, there's zero excuse for the Academy's music branch to pass up "You've Got Me Wrapped Around Your Little Finger".



The song even gets a showcase scene and is intertwined with the narrative, something they're actually supposed to be looking for when they vote. The characters even sing it in the car while driving.

But the best thing about the film is for sure the ensemble play. Scherfig makes some fine shot sequence choices to accentuate the interplay between her "clever" foursome of lovers: Jenny & David (Carey Mulligan & Peter Sarsgaard) and the highly flavorful duo of Danny & Helen (Dominic Cooper & Rosamund Pike). One early scene of the foursome in a bar offers audiences the rare opportunity to watch four actors acting simultaneously. I watched this scene four times in a row to look at each performance and they're all fully engaged. Oh the joy of medium shots!


Only after we're already made some observations about their group dynamic does the more generic cross cutting, shot / reverse shot pattern, take over (you know the pattern, it's the way 99% of movies film every single conversatzzzzzzz zzz zzz). I love how the scene begins with Helen holding bitchy court -- she theorizes that college girls might be born ugly -- but as soon as she's turned her attention's Jenny's way, "books?", Scherfig zeroes in and the blocking changes. The two men begin to flank Jenny, gradually pushing Helen right out of the frame. Scherfig sees what's happening to the group dynamic (fresh meat!) and illustrates accordingly.

One of the most interesting textural bits in the movie is how nearly every character -- not just Jenny -- swoons for any sort of flattering attention; They're all hungry flowers, leaning towards sunlight or water. Dominic Cooper excepted, as he seems very self contained.

I've already expressed my love for Pike with a Supporting Actress nomination but there are other magical things happening within the ensemble, too. Unfortunately the acting isn't always consistent. Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour, for example, both have smart moments as Jenny's eagerly gullible parents, but they swing a little too broadly at other times.

I don't know if it's that stinging late film appearance by Sally Hawkins in a pivotal role but the film makes me think of a Mike Leigh movie.

What?!? Yes, that's a bizarre reference point. Hear me out.

The character work in An Education doesn't have the depth or discipline of Leigh's standard six months worth of improv and rehearsals, and the movie absolutely doesn't have the same high art tone or deep insights. I know that. An Education just zips merrily along, charging through even its darkest moments without considering them too carefully. It's paced and styled for the multiplex, even if it never fully crossed over with mainstream audiences. But I think of Mike Leigh because his movies by their very design always feel a bit ephemeral. You're hyper aware that had his camera swung to the left or right, or left that scene earlier to follow an exiting character, a completely separate and equally interesting movie would be waiting for you on the other side.

An Education is strong enough during its best moments to make me believe or at least fantasize that there's a few movies just off to either side or behind it, should the writers, actors, and director have decided to go another way with it. On second viewing this is the order in which I'd like to see those movies.

• The Miseducation of Helen, a biopic, in which Rosamund Pike takes center stage. Was she always this dim and devilish? How hard does she have to work to keep Danny's (Cooper) attentions and keep herself swathed in the fur and finery he provides? (I'm guessing there's been a procession of Danny types.)
  
• The Art of the Steal a prequel, in which Danny (Cooper) and David (Sarsgaard) begin working together. An Education never looks closely at this relationship but if you stop to think about it for just a minute, it sure needs looking at. What is the power balance really like? Does it seesaw back and forth?
• The Prime of Miss Stubbs in which we follow this entire school year from the exhausted well meaning perspective of Jenny's teacher (Olivia Williams) and the headmistress (Emma Thompson) becomes the defacto secondary lead.
  
• Educating Graham in which we follow awkward Graham (the sympathetic Matthew Beard) as he grows into a fine writer and learns that Jenny wasn't everything. There are plenty of interesting girls in college and they're less pretentious about it.
  

To close I'd just like to share this Graham-related dialogue exchange that I love but had completely forgotten about. Jenny's dad has already fallen for David's con artist charm, however age inappropriate he may be, and takes the opportunity to disparage Jenny's young friend.

Jack, Jenny's Father: Better than that young man you brought home for tea.

Marjorie, her mother: [thinks the comparison is unfair] David's a lot older than Graham.


Jack: Graham could live to be 200 years old and you'll never see him swanning around with famous authors.

Jenny: Graham might become a famous author for all you know!

Jack: Becoming one isn't the same as knowing one. That shows you're well connected.

Some people's fathers...

I love this tiny crumb of a suggestion that Jenny does like the age appropriate but unsophisticated Graham. She's just not into him in that way. That said she doesn't seem to enjoy the ribbing he gets from both her parents and friends. Perhaps she knows somewhere deep inside that she's not that much more extraordinary than him... she's just a little further along in her Education.
*

We Can't Wait: #3 NEVER LET ME GO

The We Can't Wait series nears it's end with an adaptation of a book about events shrouded in mystery; just like the film itself...

Never Let Me Go
Directed by: Mark Romanek
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield, Sally Hawkins, Charlotte Rampling, Andrea Riseborough

Synopsis: A woman reflects on her mysterious years at a private boarding school as she reunites with two friends scarred by those days.
Brought to you by: Film4 and Fox Searchlight Pictures
Expected release date: TBA

Dave: In a moment of unintentional foresight, I actually read 'Never Let Me Go' before I knew anything about it being turned into a film; it's a superb book, taking the reader to surprising, uncomfortable and devastating places, with a sci-fi aspect that never really registers as such because it's treated in so downtrodden and normalised a way. I'm not sure I thought it was a particularly cinematic novel but I also don't see why it can't work; the prose is fairly straightforward, so all that really needs doing is retaining the gripping way the mystery of the whole thing unfolds. I'm intrigued to see what Mark Romanek does visually; One Hour Photo was a solid enough film but I'd hope for at least a little bit of an infusion of his music video days, at least to liven up what could be a rote imagining of the boarding school of the first third.

But let's not fool ourselves; it's the cast here that we're all getting glinty eyes over. It might be Carey Mulligan's first big project post-breakthrough, but my eye goes straight to Andrew Garfield on the credits; although between this, Red Riding and his blindingly good performance in Boy A it's a wonder the boy can crack a smile any more. Then there's people like Keira Knightley and Charlotte Rampling hanging around too. A possible acting masterclass? Is Romanek the man to really coax greatness out of these actors?

JA: If he could coax greatness out of Robin Williams - and I think he was pretty dang great in OHP - I don't foresee him having much trouble with these lovely folks here, Dave.

I'm about as much in love with Ishiguro's book as I am with anything written in the past ten years though, so I ought to be terrified about an adaptation. But I ain't. I ain't at all! Mulligan, Garfield, Rampling, Sally Hawkins, Andrea Riseborough - just saw her on stage with Hugh Dancy and Ben Whishaw a couple of months ago in The Pride and she's become a pet project of mine to trumpet her name whenever given the chance, and she's got a good role here as Miss Lucy - and begrudgingly Knightley, who I loved in Pride & Prejudice and... I'll leave it at that.

Craig: Yes, the cast. I'm excited to see Rampling, Garfield and Hawkins here - and Mulligan has shown she can do boarding school cool already. Although with the exception of Keira Knightley, who hasn't completely convinced me in any film yet. But this one - along with her role in Cronenberg's new one - might see her expand a bit from the corsets and pirate girl area and she may surprise me. Though whenever they say Knightley, I say Rosamund Pike. She might have been a good choice here, though isn't she slightly older than the other two principle cast members? And would that matter? But yes, Jason, Andrea Riseborough - she was great in Happy-Go-Lucky (could she be the secret surprise here?).

Jose: Without knowing what the book was about, this film adaptation got my attention only by the cast (this could be the year of the great female ensembles). Keira, Carey and Sally all had wonderful breakthrough roles in the past decade and are some of the most fascinating actresses out there. I hope they will continue to prove their worth here, if not there's always the brilliance of Charlotte Rampling who can do no wrong.

Craig: Mark Romenek is such an interesting choice for director too. I'll echo the thoughts about One Hour Photo being quite the nifty film, and he's got the style factor sorted.

Jose: I'm sure Romanek will bring an interesting visual conception to the project; his One Hour Photo was clinically beautiful to watch and for a man who has confessed he wanted to become a director because of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the sci-fi angle of this tale sounds like bliss. I hope he gets inspired by his work on Madonna's Rain for this...

Keira, Carey and Andrew enjoying a moment off-camera; you can tell because they're smiling...

Craig: I never got to reading the book (mainly due to the ending being spoiled for me, darn it), so I feel I've missed out on a great piece of fiction here. I'll have to leap into this film version in the hope that it'll have a few surprises in store, which, by the sounds of it, it will have. I'm a sucker for downtempo sci-fi and everything all together does actually sound as if it could make for an extraordinary and fresh approach.

JA: I adore this book. If they can capture one tenth of the beauty and sadness therein, this will be something very very special to me.

Dave: There's a great weight of expectation there. I think that the fact, beyond the novel and the cast, this is another film we know very little about just makes the anticipation of it greater, because we just don't know. It's another film that looks so very promising on paper, but who can know if it will deliver? The fact that Fox Searchlight are on-board for American distribution suggests they've seen something of worth, though.

Are you excited, readers? Do you trust in Romanek, Carey and Keira? Or did you never want to let go of the book and let it up on that screen?

"We Can't Wait: Summer and Beyond" complete series: The "orphan" picks Nathaniel (Burlesque), JA (Love and Other Drugs), Jose (You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger), Craig (What's Wrong With Virginia?), Robert (True Grit) and Dave (Brighton Rock); Team Film Experience Countdown #12 It's Kind of a Funny Story, #11 Sex & the City 2, #10 Scott Pilgrim vs the World, #9 Somewhere, #8 The Kids Are All Right, #7 The Illusionist, #6 Toy Story 3, #5 Inception, #4 Rabbit Hole, #3 Never Let Me Go, #2 Black Swan and #1 The Tree of Life.

Linked & Looped

MovieFone Anne Thompson gives Sandra Bullock some career advice but...
Cinematical doesn't so for Uma Thurman. They just worry that it's headed south
Interview Susan Sarandon grills Carey Mulligan on stardom, Shia and...uh... street walking
I Need My Fix interesting plastic surgery quote from Demi Moore. That is if any plastic surgery quotes can ever be interesting. People torture actresses about this way too much
Cracked "How to Write a Nicholas Sparks Movie." teehee

CHUD 5 movie gimmicks for James Cameron to revive next
Movie|Line interviews The Doors keyboardist and the subject of Oliver Stone's film is raised. Good candid stuff
Everything I Know... reviews The Addams Family on Broadway. I'm so sad that I keep hearing such lackluster things. But this often happens with shows with built in audience. Somewhere deep down in the core of the creative team on shows such as these, whether they'd like to admit it or not, they must know that the quality isn't crucial to success

Finally, Old Hollywood has a choice quote from Tallulah Bankhead, the über quotable. Did any of you had a chance to see the Broadway play Looped? It closes this weekend sadly but I thought it was a good show. And it was definitely up my alley: Old Hollywood gossip, a crazed actress, a Tennessee Williams subplot, even an Oscar conversation. The play is about a looping session for an unintelligible line reading that Tallulah gave in her last film role in 1965's Die! Die! My Darling! You wouldn't think that'd be enough of a concept to sustain a full length Broadway show but the play manages to keep you involved. And I hope the Emmy-winning Valerie Harper (pictured left from the show) is rewarded with a Tony nomination this summer. The Tony voters aren't quite the freaks for mimicry that Oscar voters are but I'm rooting for her nonetheless.

Eliza Mulligan-Doolittle

...Just you wait Henry Higgins. Just you wait.

You'll be sorry but your tears'll be too late.....>>>......

Audrey Hepburn and the latest "new Audrey Hepburn" Carey Mulligan

So it looks like the remake of 1964's Best Picture My Fair Lady is going to happen after all. Carey Mulligan will be playing Eliza Doolittle instead of Keira Knightley as previously reported. Now, this is why I don't spend hundreds of posts tracking every pre-production film the way most sites do -- well, that and the time and the lack of staff and the preference for actual movies rather than movies no one will see for another year or three -- because things are always in flux. The Carey Mulligan news is also a handy illustration of why I never trust either rumors or denials. It was less than a month ago that Mulligan said there was zero truth to the rumor.

This seems like a risky move to me. Mulligan's already got the 'new Audrey Hepburn' tag as she worked the fashions with stick thin elegance all awards season. Maybe her agents aren't worried. After all every young actress must suffer the "new so and so" thing as they come into their stardom. [tangent: There was even a time --shudder with me now -- that Entertainment Weekly tried to call Julianne Moore the new Julia Roberts. I'm like an elephant. I never forget. Could any two actresses be more different?] But it's one thing to be labelled "the next so and so". It's quite another to be labelled so and then sign up to take on one of their signature roles. It's risking direct comparison. And who wants to risk comparison to one of the greatest movie stars of all time?

I don't exactly object to My Fair Lady being remade (though I assumed it would be a non-musical version when I first heard the news) and I'm thrilled that Emma Thompson is involved. That's a sure sign that the book inbetween the classic score will be witty. In truth I'm just happy that any musical is still getting made after Nine's bombing. See, Hollywood has a way of assuming that one thing equals every other thing ("Avatar made billions. Therefore ALL movies will make billions if we convert them to 3D!") so I feared Nine's financial blood bath would spell the end of the musical resurgence despite all the musical hits that directly preceded it.

Carey & Anne & Keira, Doolittle Triplets

I have no idea if Carey Mulligan can sing or not but this is yet another situation where we have a movie musical happening and Anne Hathaway is not starring in it. What is going on here? If any single actress from Young Hollywood should be doing musicals, it's her. She's the only one who has made it completely obvious that she was born for it. And yet nothing. Still. (And I don't think they'll let her do her own singing as Judy Garland in that biopic, you know?) And you'd think Hathaway would be a total fit for Eliza. Hollywood loves to see actors repeating themselves and Hathaway has had a lot of training at Pygmalian-esque screen make-overs (The Princess Diaries, The Devil Wears Prada).

If the movie does happen (we're still early in the process mind you), I will die with curiousity waiting for Oscar to react. The original My Fair Lady was a huge Oscar sensation but for Audrey herself who wasn't even nominated, despite it being one of her three signature roles (the others obviously being "Holly Golightly" and "Princess Ann"). It's widely believed she was snubbed as misplaced karmic punishment for winning the role when the producers deemed Julie Andrews (who originated it on Broadway) unfit to sell a movie, having no previous film experience. Andrews got the last laugh becoming a huge film star that same year, winning the Oscar for Mary Poppins and chasing it with The Sound of Music, one of the biggest box office behemoths of all time.

Lingering Golden Questions (Oscar Night Recedes)

I guarantee that this is the last post about Oscar night! Or wait. No. Second to last.

What was Meryl taking pictures of with her iPhone? And why can't we see them? Meryl e-mail them to the film experience immediately! (Include your phone number. Plz and thx).

Is Sean Penn really not an official Academy member? He said so in his incoherent speech. So does this mean Guy With Opinions has never been able to share them on an Oscar ballot box? Weirdness.

Do you think Claudia Rose and David E Kelley are pissed that it's never been "Pfeiffer's Turn"? Pfeiffer's daughter and husband (who weirdly has no hit television series on the air at the moment) accompanied her to the big show.


It's always somebody's "turn" in Hollywood (this year: Bullock & Bridges). Do you think that Hollywood types make peace with Their Turn never happening after the first several fuckover moments and that umpteenth ginormous paycheck? Or do you think it eats at them... or at least their loved ones?

Whose unlikely turn is next? People will pretend otherwise (hindsight being 20/20) but if you had told people in 2006 that Mickey Rourke had a near win in his future, they'd have laughed at you. If you had told people in 2007 (or, hell, even last summer) that Sandra Bullock would be a winner by 2010... same result. So what horrors and/or satisfying surprises await: Kathleen Turner, Jennifer Aniston, Molly Ringwald, Demi Moore, Keanu Reeves, Tom Cruise, Meg Ryan, Marsha Mason, a second Oscar for Cuba Gooding Jr? Impossible sounding things are always happening in Hollyweird.

Can Maggie and Jake make another movie together? They're not like Warren & Shirley. They like each other! It's been almost 10 years since Donnie Darko and they're infinitely bigger stars now. Pretty please?


Was anyone fired on Monday, March 8th? Because we think whoever played "I am Woman" as Kathryn Bigelow's exit music and "Thank Heaven For Little Girls" as Amanda Seyfried's entrance music, should've been.

Why do we feel like Carey Mulligan is already plotting her Oscar night revenge? She's taking business cards, still playing sweet sixteen (she's 24), working that innocent pixie. Just below the surface lies an impish schemer! (We're guessing). Surely she knows that she's the surest thing going in Young Hollywood in terms of the Oscar-Winner-To-Be mantle.

But will they make her wait as long as Dame Kate Winslet? Sorry... Dame-To-Be.

When Colin Farrell and Jeremy Renner were spooning did... okay okay, I'm stopping. I'm stopping. I get obsessive. Oscars over and out. There are no answers to these haunting questions anyway. If you beg to differ, please provide them in the comments.

WWCW?

What Will Carey Wear?
If any actress this year has been prepped to be a new fashion icon, it's Carey Mulligan. This has more than a little to do with "star is born!" hoopla (more than hype) and "next Audrey Hepburn" nonsense (such pressure!). Even if her clothes don't always fit (as the Fug Girls have griped) She's had quite An Education in red carpet this past year. I imagine the pressure is on to be the Best Dressed Best Actress at the Oscars tonight.

I bet if you pie chart her color choices these past several months black is incredibly dominant, with red being a close second. So I'm guessing she plays it sleek/safe tonight. Which is fine. I'm just hoping the future performances don't play it like that. Go for the gold every time, Carey.

I'm so looking forward to her next few years. She's already wrapped shooting on two 2010 pictures: the sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (I'm hoping they don't try to sell us on "Greed is Good" again. Bitter pill considering...) and the dramatic literary adaptation Never Let Me Go.

Most Likely To Return To the Kodak in Feb/March 2011?
*

Beauty Break: Return of the Pixie

Two of Hollywood's most in-demand young actresses, Carey Mulligan and Mia Wasikowska are now sporting blond pixies. Who's next? Is the 'do about to take over? It hasn't been this Hollywood prominent since Winona Ryder sported it so memorably in the early 90s.


I looked at these two photos from BAFTA (previous post) and an Alice in Wonderland event this weekend and all I could think was Project Runway companion look challenge. Variations on a theme it is: black florals for blond pixies.

What do we think of Mulligan's dress? I almost love it but I really hate it, too. I plan to co-star with it in my next romantic comedy.

More Pixies from Mia Farrow through Winona Ryder. Annette Bening & Halle Berry are probably the true loyalists, always returning to the look.




edited to add: and my beloved NATALIE WOOD. How could I forget?!

BAFTA Live! TapeDelay-Blogging

Nathaniel: Hey, kids. It's probably not sane to "tape-delay" blog the BAFTAs -- you probably already know who one, actually -- but this blog isn't exactly of sound mind during awards season (or, ahem, otherwise). I haven't heard about the winners yet. The second I opened a browser I sensed spoilers from all corners so I had to look away. Why doesn't the BBC-America broadcast it live? It's not like anyone who cares wouldn't watch it in the afternoon on a Sunday. But if you've already heard who won on the internet wouldn't that cut down your desire to tune in and thus lower the ratings? I don't get it. So that they could rerun broadcass of nature documentary Life of Mammals? I don't really care about the sharpness of a squirrel's front teeth or how kangaroo rats (omg. idon'tevenknow whatthoseare and I DON'T WANT TO KNOW) store their seeds. Especially not when movie stars are afoot. Someone get me a BBC executive on the phone!

I've also invited txtcritic, who liveblogged the SAGs for me when I was at Sundance, to join me for this event.

"I was hoping for a bigger laugh"

txtcritic: this is already dreadful.

Nathaniel: Whenever they do these collages of best moments from the year, why are they always the films that aren't nominated that get all the time? If they're so great, nominate them!

txtcritic: because clearly the most memorable movie moments of the year were featured in "Nine," "The Men Who Stare at Goats," "The Boat That Rocked" and "Coco Before Chanel."

txtcritic: Yaaaaay! "Moon" finally wins something!

Colin Firth presents an early award to Duncan Jones

Nathaniel: And that'd be the Best Debut Something Or Other. That's actually the title of the category. It was very schizo. The internet film community has been rooting for David Bowie's little boy all grown up (writer/director Duncan Jones) all year so a million facebook statuses just changed simultaneously.

I'm guessing.

txtcritic: If they play this "I See You" song every time "Avatar" wins an award tonight, I might not make it through the evening. Christ almighty.

Nathaniel: Sixty percent of the people in my apartment watching this awards show right now have NOT seen this movie yet. Where am I? Who am I?

txtcritic: They're showing clips from behind-the-scenes of "Avatar," and watching Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana having to seriously act with emotions while wearing these contraptions and dots all over themselves makes me genuinely impressed that they can get a line of dialogue out without cracking up.

txtcritic: Okay, I'll say it: Christoph Waltz is super eloquent, but I have trouble staying awake through his sentences.

Nathaniel: But they aren't run on sentences. Suck it up, man. I'm actually so impressed that he keeps coming up with new things to say. Remember when Jamie Foxx gave the same exact speech "My Grandma! RESPONSE AND CALL" 27 times in 2004/2005

Costume Design goes to Sandy Powell for The Young Victoria. I just interviewed her and I'll share more of that very soon.

Matthew So-Goode is on screen. Everyone just gasped. The Young Victoria took makeup.

txtcritic: well, judging by how the evening is going so far, "The Young Victoria" is clearly going to win Picture, Director, Actress, Editing, Adapted Screenplay and Visual Effects.

Nathaniel: Mo'Nique takes Supporting Actress. Weirdly Matt Dillon, who must not have been paying attention during this awards season, had to look at a card to introduce Lee Daniels, the director. He accepted for her. We're not sure why since he said virtually nothing other than making a joke about The Hurt Locker not having actresses in it.

Rupert Everett is announcing "Best British Film" . I don't care what anyone says -- including people in this room -- I love him. Even if you think he's an egotistical ass in interviews, at least he gives good quote. Down with celebrities who don't have anything quotable to say!

Rupert looking good after some weird face moments last year.

With both he and Colin Firth there it's like an Another Country reunion. Wow... the prize went to Fish Tank.

txtcritic: Ew, "Fish Tank." This should've been "In the Loop," by far. I honestly don't get what the appeal of "Fish Tank" is. It's just another familiar slice-of-horrible-life movie that doesn't say anything new or engaging. Please explain it to me.

Nathaniel: I can't because my screener was damaged. I need to buy a ticket. Also: I want to go back to something you said to me about Colin Firth. That A Single Man was to him what Rachel Getting Married was to Anne Hathaway: a movie that made you reconsider and totally love the actor in question who you didn't care about before. I'd love to hear which actors that the readers have had this experience with. TELL US.

txtcritic: the Orange Rising Start award, voted by *shudder* the public. I find it disturbing that Nicholas Hoult was nominated for one of the worst performances of last year -- he was basically auditioning to be a Ken doll. This will likely be Carey Mulligan, but deserves to be Tahar Rahim, who is unbelivable in "A Prophet." Jesse Eisenberg is adorable, but he's been "rising" for years now. Ew, gross, Kristin Stewart. I mean, I totally love and support her rocker-chick-aloof-lesbianism thing (even if she won't officially come out), but come the fuck on. I just looked at her IMDb filmography and she hasn't given ONE performance I would describe as better than serviceable.

Nathaniel: I've never heard the lesbian rumor. For her sake, I hope she IS a lesbian. At least that would make one interesting thing about her. I know I bag on Kristen a lot but I will say that the first time I've (almost) enjoyed her in a movie was in The Runaways in which she was playing a lesbian. Weirdly, she managed not to run her fingers through her hair. In other words: she should always wear wigs for future performances. For her that'd be like when people wear nasty tasting nail polish to stop the biting.

txtcritic: "Up in the Air" just won Best Adapted Screenplay, deservedly. Did the supposed Sheldon Turner / Jason Reitman feud flare up again? What in the hell is Reitman doing missing at these awards? What else is he doing?

Nathaniel: Maybe he's consoling Walter Kirn?

txtcritic: Walter Kirn is such a whiny bitch.

Nathaniel: "Experience the magic of Celtic Thunder." That might be the most amazing commercial I've ever seen. Hand me my phone and credit card.

Carey Mulligan, devoured by print fabrics

Nathaniel: A Prophet just won Best Foreign Film. Carey Mulligan, the presenter, seemed very happy about that win. txtcritic was also thrilled. Jacques Audiard had the BEST translator ever. She was hilarious. Translation with comic timing and attitude. What do we think is going to happen with Carey Mulligan? career-wise ... not Shia Labeouf wise.

Clive Owen, presenting Best Director, was just described as "smoother than a waxed otter". Um...

I'm trying to remember what Clive Owen looks like naked to decide if Jonathan Ross knows of what he speaks but I'm drawing a blank. Something is very wrong with me. I used to watch Close My Eyes on loop in college. Where has my memory gone?

Now Best Director goes to Kathryn Bigelow. We have no idea what her acceptance speech was. Especially the end.

And I just would like to dedicate this to never abandoning the need to find a resolution for peace.

Were those English sentences. No sense can be made of them.

UMA ALERT! --->

You know you're too far into awards season when you get the church giggles about microphone placement. But in our defense, UMA's breasts are so memorable that one always notices them.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship Award goes to Vanessa Redgrave. She is A-MAZ-ING. But you know, she's even less comprehensible than Kathryn Bigelow. Bizarrely incoherent, and I believe it approximated about 60% of the show. It ends with some sort of Shakespeare parallels.

txtcritic: I don't remember Shakespeare's Rosalind thanking the BAFTAs...


Nathaniel: Colin Firth wins Best Actor. He really was marvelous in A Single Man as many readers seem to agree (see the Best Actor poll)

Nathaniel: Mr. Mickey Rourke to present Best Actress. "Do you want this bareback or with a raincoat" WTF

txtcritic: AMAZING. Mickey Rourke just threatened to cum inside whoever wins Best Actress.

...and it's the wildly overrated Carey Mulligan. Thankfully Ms. Bullock wasn't nominated. The adorable, young, pretty, pixieish waif will be the one taking the Rourke load.

Nathaniel: Vile. This is a PG rated blog. PG-13 when we let loose. How is Carey "wildly overrated" when Sandra Bullock exists?

txtcritic: Because, even though she's winning undeserved awards, nobody is shouting ejaculatory praise about Ms. Bullock. Meanwhile, people are raving about Mulligan's "transcendant," "maginificent," "star-is-born" performance as if it's more than her just being adorable, and male critics wanting to screw her.

Nathaniel: male critics and Mickey Rourke apparently.

Nathaniel: On to Best Picture with Dustin Hoffman presenting. Did we like him in Last Chance Harvey? Readers?

txtcritic: I liked him quite a bit in that charming-if-forgettable movie. "The Hurt Locker" wins, and Mark Boal just called his earlier speech "uncharacteristically inarticulate." Arrogant much? Either way, Boal and Bigelow make an extremely hot/sexy "we can't announce we're official until after awards season is over" couple.

Nathaniel: There's a reason we keep calling it The Sexy Locker.


That Oscar for Best Picture is looking more and more secure. At this point, it doesn't feel like a two horse race to me. But some other sports metaphor. What?

BAFTA is over anyway. What did y'all think of the show?
*

Happy Valentine's Day! Best Actress Quiz

UPDATED: Now with answers at the bottom of the post

The following quiz is a random assortment of questions inspired by onscreen romances of the Best Actress nominees this year. Though not all of the questions are romantic in nature (murder, abuse and general movie questions also appear) we tried to start there. How many can you answer? The first person to answer each person gets credit when we update with the answers on Monday.

Bullock
Sandra Bullock plays adoptive mother and football fan Leanne Tuohy in The Blind Side. She's happily married to country star Tim McGraw in the film. In her other big hit this year, The Proposal her marriage with employee Ryan Reynolds is a business transaction.

1. Which of Sandra's former co-stars is actually married to a country star. And which movie did they star in together?
2. Which two-time co-star of Sandra's was romantically involved with the actress she was constantly compared to? Who am I talking about and what are their films together?
3. The Proposal isn't Sandra's first romantic comedy with an inappropriate work-place relationship. Name another.
   

Mirren
Perpetually randy screen goddess Dame Helen Mirren tempts her would-be celibate husband with goofy bedroom games in The Last Station.

1. Mirren has played a temptress many times. What's her most infamous film?
2. In which film did she bear the child of her half brother?
3. On which film did Mirren meet her husband?

Mulligan
Carey Mulligan plays Jenny, a 16 year old girl in An Education romanced by a much older man. Though most people are hearing about Carey now, she's been in the movies since 2005.

1. In Mulligan's debut film her onscreen sister was illicitly romanced by an older man. Name the movie.
2. Mulligan has only made 6 films but she's already co-starred with several Oscar nominees. Which of her former co-stars was also nominated for an Oscar this year?

Sidibe
Gabby Sidibe made a stellar debut in Precious. Since it's her first film she's only had two screen romances and both of them were imaginary, one with her 'light skinned boyfriend with real nice hair' and one with the math teacher she fantasizes about. Otherwise her character's sex life has been horrific. Sweet Lenny Kravitz as a male nurse is the first man to show her (chaste) affection.

1. Her imaginary boyfriend's name in the credits to Precious is "Tom Cruise". Has the actual Tom Cruise ever co-starred with any of this year's Best Actress nominees. If so, name the film.
   
2. In a sad coincidence, the actor who plays Precious's beloved math teacher has also played a child abuser. Can you name the film? His onscreen victim in that film was Golden Globe nominated just this year.
   
3. Lenny Kravitz has had plenty of sexy time in videos if not on film. Which two famous 90s actresses, neither of whom had Sidibe's success with awards show voters, have sexed it up in his music videos?

Streep
Meryl Streep jokes about being "a bit of a slut" in It's Complicated but two lovers in one movie is hardly slutty. It's the norm since many romantic movies have love triangles. In her Oscar nominated role in Julie & Julia she's even less of a harlot. For decades she has only had eyes for Stanley Tucci.

1. In which two films was Streep actually a bit of a slut? (i.e. more than two lovers)
   
2. One of Streep's most passionate onscreen romances was with a very famous actor who has also played the husband of one of Streep's fellow Actress nominees. Which actor and which two films am I referring to?
   

Extra Credit

1. Which of these nominees first tasted real fame by playing a role that had already taken another actress to a Best Actress nomination at the Oscars?
2. Which of these nominees played a role that another actress received a supporting actress nomination for playing?
3. Which two of these Actress nominees have been directed by the same man? [There's at least two correct answers]
   
4. Which of these Best Actress nominees has been killed by one of this year's Best Actor nominees in another movie?
5. Which two of these actresses both did voice work for the same animated film?

More on the Best Actress race. A shorter visual quiz if this one has stumped you: Who sent these Valentine's Day Cards? If you'd like to read previous posts on these actresses, click on the labels below.

THE ANSWERS

Bullock

1. Nicole Kidman (Practical Magic) is married to Keith Urban
2. Benjamin Bratt (Miss Congeniality, Demolition Man) was once Julia Roberts's man
3. Two Weeks Notice with Hugh Grant

Mirren

1. the X-Rated Caligula (1979)
   
2. Excalibur. She plays the wicked Morgana, mother to King Arthur's bastard son Mordred
3. White Nights with Mikhail Baryshnikov. Her husband is Taylor Hackford, who directed that film. He also directed her in the forthcoming whorehouse drama Love Ranch (2010)
   

Mulligan

1. Pride and Prejudice (1995)
   
2. Colin Firth (And When Did You Last See Your Father?)
   

Sidibe

1. Tom Cruise co-starred with Meryl Streep in Lions for Lambs
2. That'd be Mysterious Skin wherein the fine actor Bill Sage, who played Precious's math teacher, played the coach who abused Joseph Gordon-Levitt in his youth.
3. Gina Gershon ("Again") and Heather Graham ("American Woman") starred in his music videos -- the first one is curious. Gershon isn't sexy enough for someone? IMPOSSIBLE!
   

Streep

1. Mamma Mia! Three guys in one week? Who is Amanda Seyfried's babydaddy?
2. Plenty. Meryl is a bonkers gal who is continually lovin and leavin' em in this post war drama. Super hot (by which I mean ice cold) sex scene with Sting. (review)
   

Extra Credit

1. Pre-Speed, Sandra Bullock starred in the television series adaptation of Working Girl, playing Melanie Griffith's role.
2. Sandra Bullock again playing Truman Capote's fellow author friend Harper Lee in Infamous. Catherine Keener was Oscar nominated for that same role in the similar Capote (2005).
3. Barbet Schroeder directed both Bullock (Murder By Numbers) and Streep (Before and After)
   Lee Daniels directed both Mirren (Shadowboxer) and Sidibe (Precious)
   Robert Altman directed both Mirren (Gosford Park) and Streep (A Prairie Home Companion)
4. Jeff Bridges buried Sandra Bullock in The Vanishing (1993). He wasn't a nice guy.
   
5. Mirren and Bullock were part of the massively star heavy voice cast list for the animated Biblical epic The Prince of Egypt (1998).
   

*