My Ballot: Best Original Score, Twice Over

Jumping back into the FiLM BiTCH Awards now. They're my long running personal awards for best of any given year. I usually try to wrap up the exact-correlative Oscar categories before the Academy's nominations but obviously that didn't happen this year. Oops.

Herewith the next couple of awards: Best Original Score and Best Adapted/Mix or Song Score.

I have two categories since so many films these days use a mix of original and previously recorded material for their soundscapes. You'll find that animated films are well represented in one category or another. Mr. Fox is Fantastic, everyone agrees. Coraline and Up are not just eye candy but ear candy, too. And then there's Karen O's work on Where the Wild Things Are which I like to think of as a hipster remembrance of the mysteries of childhood rather than a child-like score. Even with all the kiddies singing.

You'll find that my score nominees have a greater overlap with Oscar's choices than usual. I still can't believe The Hurt Locker got nominated in this category. That's not the type of score they go for, no matter how expressive, worthy and helpful it is to the film. To my mind that out-of-character nomination is a sure indicator that they really love the film. I liken it to that "costume design" nomination for Avatar from the Costume Designers Guild or that make-up nomination for Avatar from the BFCA which had to be mad declarations of love for the Na'Vi rather than a reflection of the, you know, costumes and makeup, animated as they were. I realize this is a bad likening since Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders aren't exactly unworthy for their contribution to The Sexy Locker. It's just the out-of-character bit is all.

Finally, two questions

1. Is Alexandre Desplat the hardest working man in Hollywood? He scored seven... that's right SEVEN motion pictures this year: Julie & Julia, Twilight: New Moon, Coco Avant Chanel, Chéri, Fantastic Mr. Fox and two over in his native France Un Prophete and L'Armée du Crime.
   
2. What are your favorite films, musically speaking, this year?
   

Remember...

Jose here with a small reminder now that the awards season is going full throttle...

Before getting too excited about all the upcoming features, let's not forget how spectacular Michelle Pfeiffer was in Chéri. Nate has been saying it throughout the year so I thought I'd join him in this particular pleading.

If only for how stunning she was in the last scene and for lacking any self-consciousness when it came to looking, and acting, her age. I'm sure when it comes to Oscar time, quoting her character in the film, "I'm probably making a fool of myself..", their memories seem only to start working come the fall. But then again she makes it, and my reminder, seem more appropriate when she says "...then again, why not? Life is short."

Related: Nathaniel's Best Actress predictions

Tues Top Ten: Best of Year (Thus Far)

We're not technically halfway through the year (oops. missed that opportunity) but let's say January releases don't really count. That's not a stretch to say. If the year ended today here's what my top ten would like like (alpha order) with the Best Picture nominees in red. This isn't really the warm up to TFE's awards (unless the remainder of the year is hugely disappointing) it's more like lacing up your gym shoes before heading out to the warm-up. We hope.


Top Ten as of July 14th
larval stage

• (500) Days of Summer
• Coraline
• Duplicity
• Hunger
  
• The Hurt Locker
• Moon
  
• Julia
• Prodigal Sons
• Star Trek
  
• Up

I bent my usual roles (no documentaries -- since the goals are so different than regular feature films. How does one compare?) because I love Prodigal Sons so very much and want to keep reminding you about it before it premieres. This is the last "best of year (thus far)" post you'll get before the awards in January. Here's everything I've seen thus far. The three films I most regret missing and shall try to catch up with are Sin Nombre, Drag Me to Hell and Summer Hours.

And now the acting categories... my preferences NOT how Oscar might view them. That's an important distinction (Hunger for instance is not eligible at the Oscars this year due to a one week run in LA last year). Obviously the heavyweight Oscar hopefuls have not yet entered the room. Hollywood saves them for the holidays.

Best Actress

• Amy Adams, Sunshine Cleaning
• Emily Blunt, Sunshine Cleaning
• Zooey Deschanel, (500) Days of Summer
• Michelle Pfeiffer, Chéri
• Tilda Swinton, Julia

Only one of these women (Pfeiffer) can be expected to see awards season traction. But unless Chéri gets a significant Golden Globe or DVD boost, we might not have seen any of the eventual nominees yet.

Best Supporting Actress

• Patricia Clarkson, Whatever Works
• Marion Cotillard, Public Enemies
• Alicia Delmore, Humpday
  
• Carrie Preston, That Evening Sun / Duplicity
  
• Kristin Scott Thomas, Confessions of a Shopaholic

This category is a wasteland thus far. That's not to knock these performances but they're mostly minor pleasures: Clarkson is typically strong but the character is a caricature. Cotillard handles the big emotional scenes very well but can't make sense of the nonsensical screenplay (in regards to her character Billie) and the voice is wrong. Etcetera. Silver lining: I will be watching Carrie Preston's career closely. Those are two very different performances and both detours from her Arlene character in True Blood. Well done.

Best Actor

• Michael Fassbender, Hunger
• Hal Holbrook, That Evening Sun
• Joseph Gordon Levitt, (500) Days of Summer
• Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
  
• Sam Rockwell, Moon

In case you're wondering, the only 2009 man with an actual shot at Oscar's shortlist so far (Johnny Depp, Public Enemies) would be my runner up here (give or take Ciarán Hands in The Eclipse). I liked what Depp was doing as John Dillinger but I needed him to do more of it. If someone decides to release Holbrook's vehicle, That Evening Sun, there's a chance he could be in the Oscar race, too, playing a defiant old codger who knows his time is winding down. It's not a grossly sentimental work (thank you!) but it definitely has an emotional current that the Academy could get pulled along with given the proper campaign and release.

Best Supporting Actor

• Jim Broadbent, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
  
• Paul Giamatti, Duplicity
• Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker
• Ray McKinnon, That Evening Sun
• Tom Wilkinson, Duplicity

And just for fun a few craft categories...

Best Art Direction

• Laura Fox, (500) Days of Summer
• Alan McDonald, Chéri
• Henry Selick, Coraline
• new Stuart Craig, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (eek. I forgot this the first time through. sorry)
  
• Alex McDowell, Watchmen
• Ricky Nierva, Up
  

Best Cinematography

• Dairus Khondji, Chéri
• Barry Ackroyd, The Hurt Locker
• Sean Bobbitt, Hunger
• Yorick Le Saux, Julia
• Dante Spinotti, Public Enemies

Best Costume Design

• Colleen Atwood, Public Enemies
• Consolata Boyle, Chéri
• Hope Hanafin, (500) Days of Summer
• April Napier, Julia
• Michael Kaplan, Star Trek

Best Original Score

• Bruno Coulais, Coraline
• Alexandre Desplat, Chéri
• Jordan Lehning, Make-Out With Violence
• Clint Mansell, Moon
• Michael Giacchino, Up
  

What are your favorite filmthings of the year thus far ?
Talk me into loving something else or something more. Do you expect your favorites will be washed away by the greatness of the fall / winter movies?

Chéri and Other Newbies

Some thoughts on Chéri (it's finally open!) and My Sister's Keeper are over at my weekly column at Towleroad. Feel free to comment there if you'd like. I've been accused of being "highbrow" for my lack of interest in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. If mistrusting Michael Bay means I'm highbrow I plead "GUILTY as charged" I mean... robots who speak jive?

As for Chéri and My Sister's Keeper, I'll have more on both of those movies up in the next couple of days. Stay tuned.

"Was that hard for you?"

Today I sat but two chairs away from Michelle Pfeiffer, my lifelong cinematic goddess. Longtime readers may be surprised to realize that I am coherent enough to type. This was only my second time in the vicinity of La Pfeiffer. The first time (before I was a *cough* professional) we were separated by a wall of paparazzi at the NYC premier of The Story of Us and I was about as coherent as, say, a tween at a Jonas Bros concert.

Cut to: Ten years later. I am happy to report that I did not hyperventilate (mostly). The room was too crowded for my tastes -- press days are strange -- but I did manage one exchange with her. People Magazine had just finished a long tangent about what she was like as a mom at home. I was finally able to speak. I allowed myself one breathless fanboy moment [sans squealing... I hope. I am scared to listen to the tape] "You're my favorite actress. ever." She was appropriately gracious about this love outburst. Then on to my question. I wanted to provide a segueway away from motherhood and back to the movies. 'Now that your children are teenagers you won't subject your pfans to another five year hiatus, will you?'

Was that hard for you?

Pfeiffer asked me in a gentle jesting tone, probably not expecting the very emphatic "YES. IT ACTUALLY WAS!" which erupted from me in response. At this she laughed and exchanged a faux familiar glance with the journalist to my right in a 'how about that?' type of aside. And then she got back to business answering my question. I got back to business taking my notes.

For the record: She wants to work more than she has been. She loves working. I can't tell you how wonderful that was to hear from her own lips.

P.S. When we get closer to Chéri's opening I'll share more from today's interviews (Rupert Friends, Stephen Frears and Christopher Hampton were also there), but let it suffice to say for now that I was h-o-r-r-i-f-e-d at the things coming out of the mouths of some of the other journalists. Someone even brought up Jessica Tandy's Oscar win... and not in the way one would think to bring it up (or better yet avoid it altogether) in Michelle Pfeiffer's presence... though she handled that faux pas with good humor, I must say. More on that later. Chéri opens on June 26th in select cities.

Chéri Gets a Trailer

Light and frothy... more Mrs. Henderson Presents than Dangerous Liaisons as the Stephen Frears oeuvre goes.



The book has a comic edge to be a sure. This much of one? It didn't read that way to me but Colette's prose is a flexible beauty.

Rupert Friend doesn't register much in this particular trailer but Kath & Chelle look like they're having some fun with it. Best bet for Oscar nominations? I'd say Costume Design first, Kathy Bates second. One of Michelle Pfeiffer's hats actually made me gasp. If you just watched this video you already know which one.

Pfeiffer Hits Berlin

Director Stephen Frears attends to his star La Pfeiffer.
"It's gonna be a hot time in the cold town tonight"

Abundant photos are starting to show up online now that the Chéri team have arrived in Berlin, held their press conference and early buzz is spreading. Here's The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt with what sounds like pre-review thoughts beginning to tumble out. A bit on Michelle Pfeiffer being "radiant" and a lot of "wonderfuls" about her performance and the picture itself. There's even a little aside for Julie Delpy's vampiric period piece The Countess, too. The most intriguing barely expressed note is that Chéri wasn't as much like Dangerous Liaisons (the other Frears/Pfeiffer collaboration) as one might expect.



Recommendation: Pfeiffer the Face is doing a great job keeping up with new promotional photos of TFE's #1 girl so check that site out.

Update: There's a mixed SPOILER-HEAVY review at Screen Daily but I wouldn't suggest reading it unless you've already read the book. Why do so many reviewers feel the need to describe everything? And uh-oh a negative review at Variety which is not pleased with Pfeiffer's performance but suggests that Kathy Bates will win fans as Madame Peloux.

For previous posts about Chéri: actors, plot, images, Oscar buzz please click the labels below.
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Colette and Audrey. Michelle and Kathy

I'm well into the novel Chéri, the movie version of which will premiere in just two days at Berlinale. It's a great read. There's exquisite descriptions of complicated emotions and intriguing relationships. There's also an unembarrassed sensuality to the material. If they can capture the nuances and the texture on film, it'll be quite a good sit.

I didn't know much about French novelist Colette (seated spectacularly, left) prior to the news about this movie and I blame that on Gigi the movie which is based on her most famous novel. I'd never read it because I didn't like the movie. I figured she wasn't for me. How wrong I was! The more I learn about Colette, the more I love. Not only am I instantly on board with her writing but then to learn that she was once a performer at the Moulin Rouge?!? Add in lesbian love affairs, the ability to frequently scandalize/offend the public and end up hugely celebrated anyway (enormous appealing!) and top it off with a crucial role in making Audrey Hepburn a star (she was a virtual unknown when Colette demanded she play "Gigi" on stage which led directly to Audrey's Oscar winning coming out ball in Roman Holiday)... well, in short, she's swoon worthy.


The romantic relationship she penned in Chéri is between the 49 year old Léa (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her closest friend's (Kathy Bates) gorgeous and callow 20something son, Chéri (Rupert Friend) but it begins when he is only a teenager. Before you start thinking about The Reader controversy all over again, the better modern film perspective might be --psychologically speaking and at least in the beginning of the relationship -- the Amber Waves / Dirk Diggler pairing in Boogie Nights. The older woman's childless maternal instincts seem to be all entangled with her sexual ones while the younger man's feelings are opaque and possibly skin deep. Who knows how far the film or any of the actors will take the material but it could be something.

I'm especially eager to see Bates and Pfeiffer play this oddly close but not at all close friendship.

They had known each other for twenty-five years. Theirs was the hostile intimacy of light women, enriched and then cast aside by one man, ruined by another: the tetchy affection of rivals stalking one another's first wrinkle or white hair.


Theirs was the friendship of two practical women of the world, both adepts at the money games; but one of them a miser, and the other a sybarite. These bonds count. Rather late in the day, a stronger bond had come to link them more closely: Chéri.

We should be hearing opinions on the film quite shortly now. Two time Oscar nominee Director Stephen Frears has led six actresses to nominations in the past (for The Grifters, Dangerous Liaisons, Mrs. Henderson Presents and The Queen). Will Bates, Pfeiffer and Frears all head back to the Kodak theater in February 2010? It's too early to predict and entirely foolish to presume but that won't stop the hoping.
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I hope Keira Knightley isn't the jealous type...

Here's randy scrumptious Rupert Friend putting the moves on aging courtesan Michelle Pfeiffer in Stephen Frears costume drama Chéri


You can seem several more new stills at my friend Morrisey Bond's Gorgeous Pfeiffer fansite.

"WE CAN'T WAIT", this site's annual countdown of new movies we're lusting after begins on Wednesday, February 4th. Because I do a collective list I don't get to choose the order but if my guests don't put Chéri in their 'most wanted', I shall send them death glares to rival Pfeiffer's at her iciest.

And Now For Something Completely Linky

IZ Reloaded animated films that inspired Hayao Miyazaki
Thompon on Hollywood hot titles at Sundance this year
BBC News Boy George is going to prison :(
Slant's annual Oscar derby rundown
Awards Daily IFCMA, a film music critics group, announces their 2008 awards
In Contention quotes a BAFTA voter. Ha!
IndieWire a great thumbs down review of Slumdog Millionaire that explains quite well why it has very vocal haters
BBC News Slumdog's backlash now has its own backlash. Ahhhh, the sweet predictability of awards season

And finally, Pfeiffer The Face tells us that period romance Chéri, a reteaming of Dangerous Liaisons' director, writer and star will compete at Berlinale next month where none other than Tilda Swinton is presiding over the Jury. So in a way the Alien Goddess of 00s Tilda gets to decide whether Ice Goddess of the 80s/90s Michelle Pfeiffer takes home a Best Actress there. Hmmm.


I've received this news from abundant sources / readers over the past two days all of whom are making it very very difficult for me. See, I'm actually trying desperately NOT to post about Chéri every day... if you're curious click on the Chéri label below for previous articles. I can't go there weekly else the blog's title must change to Waiting For Pfeiffer's New Costume Drama to Open Blog. Just so you know that that unwieldy title is more or less accurate here are pointless brief videos of Pfeiffer on the set that you should charitably pretend I haven't watched hundreds of times already.

When is Chéri Coming Out?

If you're a Pfanatic like me you're probably anxious for any news of Michelle Pfeiffer's first truly exciting lead role in a decade (the last drama she herself carried was the hit thriller What Lies Beneath in 2000). Making Chéri even more special is that it's a romantic costume drama and she hasn't done one of those since Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence (1993).


Chéri, which briefly flirted with the idea of coming out in December 2008 along with 97 other movies, is now set for a UK release in March...much less crowded there. First release date announcements rarely hold so it probably doesn't mean much aside from the obvious, that the film is moving out of post-production and into the marketing/release/planning stage.

US bred Oscar watchers may blanch at the the notion of a spring release from the reunited Dangerous Liaisons team. Spring is no good for Oscar goes the groupthink. But even if this March UK release date sticks it's not neccessarily indicative of a lack of quality or faith. For one thing the UK isn't as beholden to December prestige glutting and some movies wait on the US release date even if they're opened everywhere else. Plus: the Best Actress category is statistically kinder to early year releases than any of the other top 8 Oscar categories.

Some of you may well be asking

Are you, life long Pfanatic, setting yourself up for disappointment expecting Pfeiffer to finally get her statue next year?

The answer is no I am not because I don't expect her to.


Though I fantasize about Pfeiffer winning the Oscar approximately every 5th hour of even numbered days in years with 12 months in them, I've never really expected it to take place past that dreadful 1989 loss. I am not expecting a podium moment for Chéri but a nomination sure would go a long way to helping me forgive the Academy for their relatively shabby treatment of one of the most important silver screen goddesses of all time. So I'll cross my fingers but expect Beelzebub to pick up a third for Amelia instead whilst Pfeiffer is snubbed. Prepare yourself for the worst and then celebrate if the fates are kinder than "worst".

Harumph! That isn't what I thought I'd learned from Happy-Go-Lucky and my Poppy obsession. Back to the drawing board for this eternal pessimist.
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Linkanizer

Variety your daily dose of Pushing Daisies cancellation (?) paranoia
Anne Thompson Oscar's Animated race
Defamer mixed buzz for Curious Cases & Revolutionary Roads
Reel Artsy Screenwriter Jenny Lumet wins the first of presumably multiple prizes for Rachel Getting Married
Pfeiffer the Face a new poster for Personal Effects (now aiming for 2009 release) and editing officially wraps on Oscar hopeful Chéri. Will we really have double Pfeiffer next year?
MTV Will Dolph Lundgren (50) and JCVD (47) actually reteam for a Universal Soldier sequel? (Let's do the time warp again)
A Socialite Life Jolie floats the notion that she's headed for retirement. I personally don't believe it. It's not like that lifestyle comes cheap. Those $20 million paychecks come in handy
The Hot Blog more Prop 8 fallout in filmmaking community
Getty Images Blame the Stylist: Maggie Gyllenhaal (oops)
EW's Entertainers of the Year: Pleased to see they included Neil Patrick Harris, Richard Jenkins (that Best Actor bid isn't going away, is it? --maybe I should move him back up in my predictions), Tina Fey, Jon Hamm, SJP & pals and La Streep. Iron Man Robert Downey Jr. is #1, natch
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Chéri Promotional One Sheet

It also functions as a torture device! (Why must they make me wait another whole year?!)
P.S. I hope they change the tagline.

Time to Read The Reader ?

As I'm sure you heard, The Reader, a WW II themed literary adaptation starring Ralph Fiennes and Kate Winslet is now heading for a December 12th release after months of rumors and speculation about continued delays. I know this will strike many as big 7 or 8 on the Awards Richter Scale, i.e. total Bait™Quake news -- lots of damage ahead to other contestants. But I'm leaning towards: not so much... maybe a 4 [i.e. noticeable shaking of items, rattling noises. Significant damage unlikely]

Sure, it sounds golden and both stars are still unOscared (I know!) but haven't the Weinsteins lost their touch with AMPAS since losing Miramax. Which recent campaign run by the Weinstein's has had all that successful of a run towards the Kodak theater? Part, though certainly not all, of the problem is that they only know how to do one campaign style:

1. Release very late in the year at a scarcity of theaters
2. Resist adding theaters. My god, only do that if you actually get Oscar nominations.
   
3. Spend lots of money on schmoozing precursor bodies instead
4. Cross fingers

I'm snarkily oversimplifying, sure, but my point is this: the annual Oscar race is an evolving beast and unless I missed some major development, they haven't done much evolving. This was a successful style of campaigning 10 years ago. Recent history suggests that it doesn't work as well anymore. The Weinstein's were very clumsy with the release of I'm Not There for example and ended up botching 'Blanchett's Second Oscar' momentum that her fans were so excited for. Not that I'm complaining, loving Tilda Swinton as I do.

On a now unrelated note -- The Reader makes me think of the 2009 Oscar race. That's how I'd come to think of it -- I must tell you a tragic story. Bored on the subway last night, awaiting my stop, I was killing time playing with my iPhone's Magic 8 Ball. On a whim I asked the truth-telling device "Will Michelle Pfeiffer's performance in Chéri next year finally win her that damn Oscar?" I gave my phone a gentle shake and you know what that Magic 8 Ball told me?


Unhappy with the answer, I decided to go for 2 out of 3. My Magic 8 Ball got even meaner.
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Divas Make You Wait

We waited five long years for Michelle Pfeiffer's wonderfully spirited 2007 comeback (Stardust & Hairspray) but it looks like Miramax and the Weinsteins got a little over optimistic with that proposed December 2008 date for her next Oscar bid, Chéri. I thought that that movie happened awfully fast! Word, direct from the studio to this pfanatic's ear, is that I should stop holding my breath in pfeverish anticipation. It's probably going to be a 2009 movie after all. With or without La Pfeiffer, 2008's Best Actress race is jam-packed with viable contenders.
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Mad Hattering with Michelle

La Pfeiffer seems to be having lots of trouble with her hat on the set of Chéri.

[img src]

Damn that Consolata Boyle and her millinery trickery!
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Teensy Update

Here's the first still from Chéri (2009... um, it's threatening to be released in 2008 now. ayiyiyiyi) --thanks Juanita & Boyd!


This marks Michelle Pfeiffer's return to period romantic drama for the first time in 15 years. Not that I'm counting. Not that I'm counting down. The costumes here are by Consolata Boyle who was Oscar nominated recently for dressing Helen Mirren as The Queen. I've written about the film [ahem]... a few times.

In other TFE news...
I've updated both the review index (which you can always access from this blog's sidebars) and added a 2008 by grades page now that we're 5 months into the year. The Oscar predictions and the Actress Psychic contest will both be updated in June... and I hope to have a major relaunch of everything in July (I'm talking to web designers at the moment about how to streamline and make prettier, more user friendly). There will also (finally) be a new episode of the podcast this weekend, which will celebrate the US release of the Norwegian film Reprise.



Reprise is super. Best of the year thus far. It's actually a couple of years old but you know how foreign films take their sweet time arriving. I hope you will all give it a chance rather than seeing Iron Man a 4th time or Prince Caspian twice. Live a little.

And OK... this isn't such a teensy update anymore since I keep adding to this post. Here is the trailer for Woody Allen's newest film, Vicky Christina Barcelona. Enjoy. Anticipate. Comment. Ignore. The choice is always yours.

Wherefore Art Thou, Michelle?

I swear I'm not going to post about Michelle Pfeiffer every single day during the filming of Chéri. I'm not. To you non pfanatics who faithfully read The Film Experience, I salute you for your time-tested patience. If you are a pfanatic here's your chance to stare at the screen goddess on a lonely balcony for 4 minutes. Waiting for her Romeo no doubt. This looks to have been shot during the primping, blocking and filming of what we assume will be (at most) a 15 second shot in the actual film.



Michelle is looking very breasty in a nightgown while she gazes into the sky.

One assumes the character of Lea, a former courtesan, will do a lot of waiting around haughtily/gorgeously/sensationally for her troublesome young lover Chéri (Rupert Friend, Keira Knightley's man, pictured left, who you'll remember from Pride & Prejudice as the pretty but loathsome sister-stealing Mr. Wickham).

Would that this were a musical and Michelle/Lea could suddenly lift both arms heavenward on the balcony of the Casa Rosada and sing "Don't Cry For Me (Mon Cher Chéri)" I'll bet the evident backlighting here is going to beautify the shot considerably. Darius Khondji, Evita's own Oscar-nominated cinematographer in fact, does DP duty here. Ouiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.

Pfeiffer Working Through Her Birthday

I remain elated and shocked that Stephen Frear's adaptation of Cheri (see previous post for more on the project) is actually happening. But it is. Michelle Pfeiffer hasn't appeared in a prestige drama with a major director since Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence (1993). If the results are similarly strong, we shall all be blessed.

<---I'm not sure if this is the first we've seen of La Pfeiff on set (one previous paparrazi pic was released but it doesn't look a thing like her to me) but better photos will surface. The Face has the short video in which the paparazzi shout "happy birthday" and as Pfeiffer ducks into her car you can hear her unmistakable American nasal responding with a "thank you!". You're welcome, Michelle.

I'm not sure who the costume designer is (no one is credited yet on IMDB) but this is probably lovelier up close when you can see detailing. The film costars Rupert Friend, Oscar winner Kathy Bates and rising newcomer Felicity Jones (Brideshead Revisited).

"Who is He Niobe" (that's a cute username that only true Pfeiffer pfanatics will get a big kick out of) has posted a lovely video on YouTube celebrating Michelle's entire career. It's chronological so you can watch her age as it goes. Not that she ages in the way we mere mortals do.

Links: Jackman, Pfeiffer, Miss Jean Brodie

Planet Fabulon is one year old, today. Soon it'll be out of diapers! [NSFW]
Buzz Sugar celebrates Irish men for St. Patrick's Day
Fox Searchlight first look at the unknown actor cast as the Notorious B.I.G. for the biopic
Circus Hour Halle Berry had a baby girl
By Ken Levine a fun post that hopefully will help some of you Juno haters reconsider. 'What if a major had gotten a hold of Juno in the scripting stage?'
Nick revisits the 1997 Best Actress race
Towleroad John Krasinski is glad you can find him naked on the internet

Just Jared has Hugh Jackman and family at the beach (right, much more there). Again. They sure do spend a lot of time at the beach. This just in: I've now seen Jackman's wife Deborra-Lee Furness in two movies recently (Jindabyne and Sleepwalking) and am duly impressed with her acting skill. More please.
six things is in its prime. Just like Miss Jean Brodie!
Hollywood Reporter Cheri is really going to move forward (see: prev post) It'll FINALLY mark a return to prestige drama with a real director for Miss Michelle Pfeiffer. That's been a long time coming... like 10 years at least.