LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood's biggest stars strutted and posed on the Oscars red carpet on Sunday, as Iran hostage drama 'Argo' and presidential drama 'Lincoln' went into the movie industry's biggest night in a tight race for Best Picture.
Nominees Jessica Chastain, sparkling in a gold strapless Armani Prive dress, and Amy Adams in a gray strapless Oscar de la Renta gown, were among early arrivals walking the 500-foot (150-meter) long red carpet under warm, sunny skies.
Quvenzhane Wallis, 9, the breakout Best Actress nominee of indie film 'Beasts of the Southern Wild,' showed off her puppy-shaped purse to the delight of more than 100 photographers and cameras crews from around the world.
With several contests too close to call, a slate of big box office hits to celebrate and an unpredictable first-time host in Seth MacFarlane, surprises are in store when the curtain rises on the 85th annual Academy Awards.
Daniel Day-Lewis as U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is considered an unstoppable force to become the first man to win three Best Actor Oscars.
And buzz was building over a possible upset by France's Emmanuelle Riva, 86, in the Best Actress contest.
Riva, star of the harrowing Austrian entry 'Amour,' emerged as a dark horse in the past few days in a race that had been seen as a battle between 'Zero Dark Thirty' actress Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence of 'Silver Linings Playbook.'
A win by Riva would make her the oldest person ever to win an acting Oscar.
'Lincoln' goes into Sunday's three-hour plus ceremony with a leading 12 nominations, including a directing nod for double Oscar winner Steven Spielberg.
But its front-runner Best Picture status has been dented by the six-week victory streak enjoyed at other Hollywood awards by Ben Affleck's 'Argo.'
'It's been an interesting year,' said Matt Atchity, editor in chief of movie review website Rotten Tomatoes.
'I think 'Argo' probably has the best shot. It's certainly got the momentum. It has won so many top awards, and I think it's probably the movie to beat,' Atchity told Reuters.
If 'Argo' does prevail for the top prize, it will be the first movie to win Best Picture without its director even getting a nomination since 'Driving Miss Daisy' in 1990.
ANNE HATHAWAY OSCAR BOUND
Musical 'Les Miserables,' comedy 'Silver Linings Playbook,' shipwreck tale 'Life of Pi,' Osama bin laden thriller 'Zero Dark Thirty,' slavery Western 'Django Unchained,' indie film 'Beasts of the Southern Wild,' and 'Amour' round out the contenders for the best film of 2012.
In other categories, only Anne Hathaway is considered a sure bet to take home a golden statuette after starving herself and chopping off her long brown locks for her supporting turn as tragic heroine Fantine in 'Les Miserables.'
Awards pundits says Spielberg could lose out in the director's race to Taiwan's Ang Lee for his technical and imaginative feat in filming fantastical adventure 'Life of Pi' with a cast of exotic animals.
And the supporting actor Oscar could go to any of the five nominees - Robert De Niro ('Silver Linings Playbook'), Alan Arkin ('Argo'), Christoph Waltz ('Django Unchained'), Tommy Lee Jones ('Lincoln') and Philip Seymour Hoffman ('The Master').
The Oscar winners are chosen in secret ballots by some 5,800 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and handed out before an audience of 3,300 guests and tens of millions more watching around the world on television.
After several years of nominating little-seen movies, this year's nine Best Picture contenders have pulled in more than $2 billion in tickets worldwide.
Producers are promising a fast-paced show packed with music and big performances. But the man getting the early attention will be MacFarlane, the provocative comedian behind animated TV series 'Family Guy' and an unknown quantity as Oscar host.
'We are not going to know what works until we put it out there and see what plays in front of an audience,' Oscar telecast co-producer Craig Zadan told Reuters.
'It's a live show and that is always unpredictable. Once the train has left the station, whatever happens, happens.'
The Academy Awards will be broadcast live on ABC television in the United States, starting at 5 p.m. PST/8 p.m. EST (0100 GMT).
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Sunday, February 24, 2013
"Lincoln," "Argo" in tight race as Oscars roll out red carpet
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Oscars rolled out the red carpet on Sunday for the movie industry's biggest night, with Iran hostage drama 'Argo' and presidential drama 'Lincoln' in a tight race for Best Picture.
With several contests too close to call, a slate of big box office hits to celebrate and an unpredictable first-time host in Seth MacFarlane, movie fans could be in for surprises when the curtain rises on the 85th annual Academy Awards.
Before the festivities begin, nominees including Jennifer Lawrence, Hugh Jackman, Sally Field, Jessica Chastain, British singer Adele and 'Argo' producer George Clooney, along with performers Barbra Streisand and Jennifer Hudson will parade along the 500-ft long (152 meter) red carpet before dozens of photographers and camera crews.
Inside Hollywood's Dolby Theatre, Academy Awards history could be re-written.
Daniel Day-Lewis as U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is considered an unstoppable force to become the first man to win three Best Actor Oscars.
Buzz is building over a possible late upset by France's Emmanuelle Riva, 86, in the Best Actress contest that would make the star of harrowing Austrian entry 'Amour' the oldest person ever to win an acting Oscar.
'Lincoln' goes into Sunday's three-hour plus ceremony with a leading 12 nominations, including a directing nod for double Oscar winner Steven Spielberg.
But its front-runner Best Picture status has been dented by the six-week victory streak enjoyed at other Hollywood awards by Ben Affleck's 'Argo.'
'It's been an interesting year,' said Matt Atchity, editor in chief of movie review website Rotten Tomatoes.
'I think 'Argo' probably has the best shot. It's certainly got the momentum. It has won so many top awards, and I think it's probably the movie to beat,' Atchity told Reuters.
If 'Argo' does prevail for the top prize, it will be the first movie to win Best Picture without its director even getting a nomination since 'Driving Miss Daisy' in 1990.
ANNE HATHAWAY OSCAR BOUND
Musical 'Les Miserables,' comedy 'Silver Linings Playbook,' shipwreck tale 'Life of Pi,' Osama bin laden thriller 'Zero Dark Thirty,' slavery Western 'Django Unchained,' indie film 'Beasts of the Southern Wild,' and 'Amour' round out the contenders for the best film of 2012.
In other categories, only Anne Hathaway is considered a sure bet to take home a golden statuette after starving herself and chopping off her long brown locks for her supporting turn as tragic heroine Fantine in 'Les Miserables.'
Awards pundits says Spielberg could lose out in the director's race to Taiwan's Ang Lee for his technical and imaginative feat in filming fantastical adventure 'Life of Pi' with a cast of exotic animals.
And the supporting actor Oscar could go to any of the five nominees - Robert De Niro ('Silver Linings Playbook'), Alan Arkin ('Argo'), Christoph Waltz ('Django Unchained'), Tommy Lee Jones ('Lincoln') and Philip Seymour Hoffman ('The Master').
The Oscar winners are chosen in secret ballots by some 5,800 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and handed out before an audience of 3,300 guests and tens of millions more watching around the world on television.
After several years of nominating little-seen movies, this year's nine Best Picture contenders have pulled in more than $2 billion in tickets worldwide.
'We are so fortunate to inherit this great group of films that are also popular at the box office ... We just lucked out and had this fantastic year in film,' Academy Awards telecast co-producer Neil Meron told Reuters.
Producers are promising a fast-paced show packed with music and big performances. But the man getting the early attention will be MacFarlane, the provocative comedian behind animated TV series 'Family Guy' and an unknown quantity as Oscar host.
'We are not going to know what works until we put it out there and see what plays in front of an audience,' co-producer Craig Zadan said.
'It's a live show and that is always unpredictable. Once the train has left the station, whatever happens, happens.'
The Academy Awards will be broadcast live on ABC television in the United States, starting at 5 p.m. PST (0100 GMT).
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; editing by Jackie Frank)
With several contests too close to call, a slate of big box office hits to celebrate and an unpredictable first-time host in Seth MacFarlane, movie fans could be in for surprises when the curtain rises on the 85th annual Academy Awards.
Before the festivities begin, nominees including Jennifer Lawrence, Hugh Jackman, Sally Field, Jessica Chastain, British singer Adele and 'Argo' producer George Clooney, along with performers Barbra Streisand and Jennifer Hudson will parade along the 500-ft long (152 meter) red carpet before dozens of photographers and camera crews.
Inside Hollywood's Dolby Theatre, Academy Awards history could be re-written.
Daniel Day-Lewis as U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is considered an unstoppable force to become the first man to win three Best Actor Oscars.
Buzz is building over a possible late upset by France's Emmanuelle Riva, 86, in the Best Actress contest that would make the star of harrowing Austrian entry 'Amour' the oldest person ever to win an acting Oscar.
'Lincoln' goes into Sunday's three-hour plus ceremony with a leading 12 nominations, including a directing nod for double Oscar winner Steven Spielberg.
But its front-runner Best Picture status has been dented by the six-week victory streak enjoyed at other Hollywood awards by Ben Affleck's 'Argo.'
'It's been an interesting year,' said Matt Atchity, editor in chief of movie review website Rotten Tomatoes.
'I think 'Argo' probably has the best shot. It's certainly got the momentum. It has won so many top awards, and I think it's probably the movie to beat,' Atchity told Reuters.
If 'Argo' does prevail for the top prize, it will be the first movie to win Best Picture without its director even getting a nomination since 'Driving Miss Daisy' in 1990.
ANNE HATHAWAY OSCAR BOUND
Musical 'Les Miserables,' comedy 'Silver Linings Playbook,' shipwreck tale 'Life of Pi,' Osama bin laden thriller 'Zero Dark Thirty,' slavery Western 'Django Unchained,' indie film 'Beasts of the Southern Wild,' and 'Amour' round out the contenders for the best film of 2012.
In other categories, only Anne Hathaway is considered a sure bet to take home a golden statuette after starving herself and chopping off her long brown locks for her supporting turn as tragic heroine Fantine in 'Les Miserables.'
Awards pundits says Spielberg could lose out in the director's race to Taiwan's Ang Lee for his technical and imaginative feat in filming fantastical adventure 'Life of Pi' with a cast of exotic animals.
And the supporting actor Oscar could go to any of the five nominees - Robert De Niro ('Silver Linings Playbook'), Alan Arkin ('Argo'), Christoph Waltz ('Django Unchained'), Tommy Lee Jones ('Lincoln') and Philip Seymour Hoffman ('The Master').
The Oscar winners are chosen in secret ballots by some 5,800 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and handed out before an audience of 3,300 guests and tens of millions more watching around the world on television.
After several years of nominating little-seen movies, this year's nine Best Picture contenders have pulled in more than $2 billion in tickets worldwide.
'We are so fortunate to inherit this great group of films that are also popular at the box office ... We just lucked out and had this fantastic year in film,' Academy Awards telecast co-producer Neil Meron told Reuters.
Producers are promising a fast-paced show packed with music and big performances. But the man getting the early attention will be MacFarlane, the provocative comedian behind animated TV series 'Family Guy' and an unknown quantity as Oscar host.
'We are not going to know what works until we put it out there and see what plays in front of an audience,' co-producer Craig Zadan said.
'It's a live show and that is always unpredictable. Once the train has left the station, whatever happens, happens.'
The Academy Awards will be broadcast live on ABC television in the United States, starting at 5 p.m. PST (0100 GMT).
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; editing by Jackie Frank)
"Silver Linings" wins four honors at indie film awards
SANTA MONICA, California (Reuters) - Quirky comedy 'Silver Linings Playbook' dominated the Independent Spirit Awards on the eve of Hollywood's Academy Awards ceremony, winning four prizes including for Best Feature.
Jennifer Lawrence, 22, who plays a feisty young widow in 'Silver Linings Playbook,' was named best actress and David O. Russell picked up the best directing honor on Saturday.
Lawrence and Russell are also in the running for Oscars on Sunday, where 'Silver Linings Playbook' is nominated for Best Picture.
'When you make a film from the heart, there is no such thing as genre. They are just real people, and if it's funny in or of itself, that's what happens and that's what my whole cast taught me,' Russell said in accepting his award.
Austrian drama 'Amour,' about an elderly couple coping with the effects of the wife's debilitating stroke, won the Best Foreign Film award on Saturday, strengthening its march toward expected Oscar success on Sunday.
The Independent Spirit Awards are handed out by the Los Angeles-based non-profit group Film Independent and are widely considered the top honors for low-budget and art house movies in the United States.
The ceremony, held in a tent on California's Santa Monica beach, are a more laid-back affair than the formal and glitzy Academy Awards ceremony. Bruce Willis, Salma Hayek, Jeremy Renner, Daniel Radcliffe, Amy Poehler and other celebrities were treated to a casual lunch.
The awards for 'Silver Linings Playbook' largely shut out rival fantasy movie 'Beasts of the Southern Wild,' which won one award for cinematography but lost in three other categories.
First-time director Benh Zeitlin, 30, had been considered a front-runner at the Spirit Awards for the mythological film, set in a Louisiana swamp.
'Benh Zeitlin is a young man, so Benh Zeitlin will be back,' Russell quipped on stage.
'Amour' director Michael Haneke, 70, who also won honors at the Cesar Awards in France on Friday, was on hand to accept his award on Saturday. 'I have the impression I'm the oldest man here,' he joked.
Backstage, the veteran German director told reporters through a translator that he was looking forward to the Oscars, where 'Amour' is a contender in five categories including for Best Picture.
'I feel wonderful. It's a complete surprise of course. No one expected that a film with themes like aging and death would have such success. It's been very rewarding for everyone involved,' Haneke said.
Helen Hunt was named Best Supporting Female for her role as a sex therapist in 'The Sessions,' while her co-star John Hawkes, who plays a paraplegic, took the Best Male Lead award.
Backstage, Hawkes told reporters that the role was a physical challenge, but worth it.
'Anytime people notice your work, it gives you more confidence,' Hawkes said.
'The Invisible War,' an insight into rape and sexual assault in the U.S. military, won the Best Documentary award.
Amy Ziering, one of the film's writers, made an emotional acceptance speech, telling service members 'you are heard. You are not alone and you are no longer invisible.'
Matthew McConaughey was a winner for his supporting role as a male stripper in comedy 'Magic Mike.' The actor, who has enjoyed the biggest critical success in his career for the film, accepted the trophy saying, 'I had to take my pants off to win an award.'
(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy, Editing by Jill Serjeant and Paul Simao)
Jennifer Lawrence, 22, who plays a feisty young widow in 'Silver Linings Playbook,' was named best actress and David O. Russell picked up the best directing honor on Saturday.
Lawrence and Russell are also in the running for Oscars on Sunday, where 'Silver Linings Playbook' is nominated for Best Picture.
'When you make a film from the heart, there is no such thing as genre. They are just real people, and if it's funny in or of itself, that's what happens and that's what my whole cast taught me,' Russell said in accepting his award.
Austrian drama 'Amour,' about an elderly couple coping with the effects of the wife's debilitating stroke, won the Best Foreign Film award on Saturday, strengthening its march toward expected Oscar success on Sunday.
The Independent Spirit Awards are handed out by the Los Angeles-based non-profit group Film Independent and are widely considered the top honors for low-budget and art house movies in the United States.
The ceremony, held in a tent on California's Santa Monica beach, are a more laid-back affair than the formal and glitzy Academy Awards ceremony. Bruce Willis, Salma Hayek, Jeremy Renner, Daniel Radcliffe, Amy Poehler and other celebrities were treated to a casual lunch.
The awards for 'Silver Linings Playbook' largely shut out rival fantasy movie 'Beasts of the Southern Wild,' which won one award for cinematography but lost in three other categories.
First-time director Benh Zeitlin, 30, had been considered a front-runner at the Spirit Awards for the mythological film, set in a Louisiana swamp.
'Benh Zeitlin is a young man, so Benh Zeitlin will be back,' Russell quipped on stage.
'Amour' director Michael Haneke, 70, who also won honors at the Cesar Awards in France on Friday, was on hand to accept his award on Saturday. 'I have the impression I'm the oldest man here,' he joked.
Backstage, the veteran German director told reporters through a translator that he was looking forward to the Oscars, where 'Amour' is a contender in five categories including for Best Picture.
'I feel wonderful. It's a complete surprise of course. No one expected that a film with themes like aging and death would have such success. It's been very rewarding for everyone involved,' Haneke said.
Helen Hunt was named Best Supporting Female for her role as a sex therapist in 'The Sessions,' while her co-star John Hawkes, who plays a paraplegic, took the Best Male Lead award.
Backstage, Hawkes told reporters that the role was a physical challenge, but worth it.
'Anytime people notice your work, it gives you more confidence,' Hawkes said.
'The Invisible War,' an insight into rape and sexual assault in the U.S. military, won the Best Documentary award.
Amy Ziering, one of the film's writers, made an emotional acceptance speech, telling service members 'you are heard. You are not alone and you are no longer invisible.'
Matthew McConaughey was a winner for his supporting role as a male stripper in comedy 'Magic Mike.' The actor, who has enjoyed the biggest critical success in his career for the film, accepted the trophy saying, 'I had to take my pants off to win an award.'
(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy, Editing by Jill Serjeant and Paul Simao)
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Oscar show promises music, megastars and James Bond
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Bigger stars, more music and edgier comedy are on the menu for Sunday's Oscar ceremony, when the most coveted awards in the movie industry are handed out during a glittering Academy Awards show.
Producers of the three-hour Oscar telecast at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre are promising a faster-paced show and more face time with first-time host Seth MacFarlane, while honoring the best films not just of 2012 but also of decades past.
'We have more performances on that stage than we can ever remember there being in the past. And we are not trotting people out just to sing and dance. Every single thing you see on that stage will be related to movies,' said Craig Zadan, who is producing the Oscar telecast for the first time with Neil Meron.
'We have devised ways that we are hoping will make the pacing faster ... That doesn't mean we are not going to give as much weight to honoring the winners, but there has been a lot of dead space in the show (in the past),' Zadan told Reuters.
Steven Spielberg's presidential movie 'Lincoln' heads into Sunday's ceremony with a leading 12 nominations, followed by Ang Lee's shipwreck tale 'Life of Pi' with 11, French Revolutionary musical 'Les Miserables' and romantic comedy 'Silver Linings Playbook' with eight apiece, and Iran hostage drama 'Argo' with seven.
All five are competing for Best Picture, the top prize, in a tight race that has narrowed in recent weeks to 'Lincoln' or 'Argo' and will be the last to be announced on Sunday night.
JAMES BOND AND MUSICALS
Before then, Zadan and Meron have assembled an array of performers and presenters that almost outshine the actors, actresses, directors and screenwriters who have been waiting since early January to see if they will go home with a golden Oscar.
They include A-listers Barbra Streisand, Jack Nicholson, Jane Fonda, John Travolta and Jennifer Aniston, along with younger stars Daniel Radcliffe, Kristen Stewart and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
But don't count on seeing all six surviving James Bond actors on stage for the planned special 50th anniversary tribute to the British secret agent's illustrious movie career.
'We have a tribute to James Bond which is really exciting and thrilling, but it never included the concept of six guys coming out and standing there awkwardly on the stage,' Zadan said, quashing speculation that Daniel Craig, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, Roger Moore, Sean Connery and George Lazenby would unite on Sunday.
The nominations for 'Les Miserables,' where Anne Hathaway is tipped to win Best Supporting Actress, has opened the door to a celebration of the last decade of musicals.
The tribute will feature Hathaway, her Oscar-nominated co-star Hugh Jackman, as well as 'Dreamgirls' and 'Chicago' Oscar winners Jennifer Hudson and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
MacFarlane, the creator of provocative animated TV series 'Family Guy,' will also be showing off his vocal skills, and spending more time on stage than has been traditional for Oscar hosts.
'What happens a lot in the past is that the host comes on, talks for a lot, and then disappears for half an hour. We are not doing that. We are having Seth be there a lot, out there introducing things, and that allows for more pacing and comedy,' said Zadan.
But there will be plenty of room for the unpredictable - and that's not even counting possible upsets when the winners' envelopes are unsealed.
'We love the fact that people don't quite know what they're going to get with Seth as a host,' said Meron. 'We live for the moments that happen on stage. Those are some of the great Oscar moments of the past.'
The Oscar winners are chosen by some 5,800 movie industry professionals who are members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The Academy Awards ceremony, in its 85th year, will be broadcast live on ABC television in the United States, and to more than 225 other nations.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant editing by Jackie Frank)
Producers of the three-hour Oscar telecast at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre are promising a faster-paced show and more face time with first-time host Seth MacFarlane, while honoring the best films not just of 2012 but also of decades past.
'We have more performances on that stage than we can ever remember there being in the past. And we are not trotting people out just to sing and dance. Every single thing you see on that stage will be related to movies,' said Craig Zadan, who is producing the Oscar telecast for the first time with Neil Meron.
'We have devised ways that we are hoping will make the pacing faster ... That doesn't mean we are not going to give as much weight to honoring the winners, but there has been a lot of dead space in the show (in the past),' Zadan told Reuters.
Steven Spielberg's presidential movie 'Lincoln' heads into Sunday's ceremony with a leading 12 nominations, followed by Ang Lee's shipwreck tale 'Life of Pi' with 11, French Revolutionary musical 'Les Miserables' and romantic comedy 'Silver Linings Playbook' with eight apiece, and Iran hostage drama 'Argo' with seven.
All five are competing for Best Picture, the top prize, in a tight race that has narrowed in recent weeks to 'Lincoln' or 'Argo' and will be the last to be announced on Sunday night.
JAMES BOND AND MUSICALS
Before then, Zadan and Meron have assembled an array of performers and presenters that almost outshine the actors, actresses, directors and screenwriters who have been waiting since early January to see if they will go home with a golden Oscar.
They include A-listers Barbra Streisand, Jack Nicholson, Jane Fonda, John Travolta and Jennifer Aniston, along with younger stars Daniel Radcliffe, Kristen Stewart and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
But don't count on seeing all six surviving James Bond actors on stage for the planned special 50th anniversary tribute to the British secret agent's illustrious movie career.
'We have a tribute to James Bond which is really exciting and thrilling, but it never included the concept of six guys coming out and standing there awkwardly on the stage,' Zadan said, quashing speculation that Daniel Craig, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, Roger Moore, Sean Connery and George Lazenby would unite on Sunday.
The nominations for 'Les Miserables,' where Anne Hathaway is tipped to win Best Supporting Actress, has opened the door to a celebration of the last decade of musicals.
The tribute will feature Hathaway, her Oscar-nominated co-star Hugh Jackman, as well as 'Dreamgirls' and 'Chicago' Oscar winners Jennifer Hudson and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
MacFarlane, the creator of provocative animated TV series 'Family Guy,' will also be showing off his vocal skills, and spending more time on stage than has been traditional for Oscar hosts.
'What happens a lot in the past is that the host comes on, talks for a lot, and then disappears for half an hour. We are not doing that. We are having Seth be there a lot, out there introducing things, and that allows for more pacing and comedy,' said Zadan.
But there will be plenty of room for the unpredictable - and that's not even counting possible upsets when the winners' envelopes are unsealed.
'We love the fact that people don't quite know what they're going to get with Seth as a host,' said Meron. 'We live for the moments that happen on stage. Those are some of the great Oscar moments of the past.'
The Oscar winners are chosen by some 5,800 movie industry professionals who are members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The Academy Awards ceremony, in its 85th year, will be broadcast live on ABC television in the United States, and to more than 225 other nations.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant editing by Jackie Frank)
Friday, February 22, 2013
ROLL CALL: Hollywood Catches Oscar Fever & A Bad Case Of Pre-Party Courtney Stodden
Your Daily Dispatch of Celebrity Shenanigans
You're On The List?: Hollywood has been all Oscars, all week - and America's favorite teen bride - Courtney Stodden - is doing her part to celebrate excellence in film... or something. Fear not, Courtney is not attending the show (Phew!, you never know, remember when the Academy thought it was a good idea for Snow White to open the show in song with Rob Lowe in 1989!?),but that didn't stop her from attending a few pre-parties, where she showed off amazing (horrid) sense of style (and her love of glittery clutches in the shape if lips and guitars). Let's hope this is the last we see of Courtney until after Sunday night (or ever).
PLAY IT NOW: Oscar Week: How To Get Perfect Red Carpet-Ready Skin!
Oscar Nominee Slammed For Favorite Hat!: Anne Hathaway might have an Oscar nomination - and recently received the Costume Designers Guild Awards style award - but Buzzfeed is slamming the actress for her love of a bold hat choice that she has been seen rocking in recent weeks. Hot or not? You decide!
Ride In Snooki's Ride!: If you ever wanted to take a ride with Snooki, here's the next closest thing! The reality star is selling her hot-pink-trimmed Cadillac Escalade on eBay. The current bid as of press time on Friday morning was just over $60,000 for the 2011 SUV, which Snooki autographed on the hood. Place your bid for Snooki's SUV, HERE! (No word if it smells like self-tanner and pickles).
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Oscars Flashback: Red Carpet Stars 2012
Adam Levine's Clothing Line Both Disturbs & Interests Us: Attention ladies, you can soon dress just like Adam Levine, when he launches 222 by Adam Levine for Kmart. So what will his women's line look like? 'It's like me but with breasts and a vagina,' he told E! about his women's collection. Adding, 'There's so much sexy out there. My line will figure out a way to represent my convoluted and confusing opinion on what is sexy.'
-- Jesse Spero
Copyright 2013 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Most Memorable Oscar Style Stars
You're On The List?: Hollywood has been all Oscars, all week - and America's favorite teen bride - Courtney Stodden - is doing her part to celebrate excellence in film... or something. Fear not, Courtney is not attending the show (Phew!, you never know, remember when the Academy thought it was a good idea for Snow White to open the show in song with Rob Lowe in 1989!?),but that didn't stop her from attending a few pre-parties, where she showed off amazing (horrid) sense of style (and her love of glittery clutches in the shape if lips and guitars). Let's hope this is the last we see of Courtney until after Sunday night (or ever).
PLAY IT NOW: Oscar Week: How To Get Perfect Red Carpet-Ready Skin!
Oscar Nominee Slammed For Favorite Hat!: Anne Hathaway might have an Oscar nomination - and recently received the Costume Designers Guild Awards style award - but Buzzfeed is slamming the actress for her love of a bold hat choice that she has been seen rocking in recent weeks. Hot or not? You decide!
Ride In Snooki's Ride!: If you ever wanted to take a ride with Snooki, here's the next closest thing! The reality star is selling her hot-pink-trimmed Cadillac Escalade on eBay. The current bid as of press time on Friday morning was just over $60,000 for the 2011 SUV, which Snooki autographed on the hood. Place your bid for Snooki's SUV, HERE! (No word if it smells like self-tanner and pickles).
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Oscars Flashback: Red Carpet Stars 2012
Adam Levine's Clothing Line Both Disturbs & Interests Us: Attention ladies, you can soon dress just like Adam Levine, when he launches 222 by Adam Levine for Kmart. So what will his women's line look like? 'It's like me but with breasts and a vagina,' he told E! about his women's collection. Adding, 'There's so much sexy out there. My line will figure out a way to represent my convoluted and confusing opinion on what is sexy.'
-- Jesse Spero
Copyright 2013 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Most Memorable Oscar Style Stars
Who needs an Oscar? Hollywood basks in industry's comeback
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The moguls of Hollywood might engage in more backslapping than usual at Sunday's Oscars, and it won't necessarily be over those golden statuettes.
The tuxedoed movie studio chiefs can boast about an unusually large number of blockbuster films in 2012 that lifted ticket sales for the first time in three years and stemmed a seven-year free fall in sales of DVDs and other home entertainment products.
But they can also show crucial progress on their home entertainment strategy, digital downloads and social media, plus lucrative long-term content deals with new players on the scene.
Tinseltown might just be striking the right balance between making what people want to see, getting it to them in a way that works and letting them share their buzz over social media.
Hollywood is a famously cyclical business that can hit a slump even in the best of economic times. But the recent spate of hit-making has put the industry on a high.
Take 'The Avengers,' a mashup of Marvel comic super heroes released by Walt Disney Co, that pulled in $623 million in domestic sales and was one of the five 2012 movies with ticket sales of more than $300 million, an industry record, according to the box office unit of Hollywood.com. The movie cost about $220 million to make.
Two other films - Warner Brothers' first Batman movie in four years 'The Dark Knight Rises' and Lionsgate Entertainment's 'The Hunger Games' -- each topped $400 million, more than any film released in 2011.
These three films won't get much attention at the Academy Awards on Sunday and only 'The Avengers' garnered a nomination, for Best Visual Effects. But in a another sign of Hollywood's winning year, six of the nine competitors for Best Picture hauled in at least $100 million apiece at U.S. and Canadian theaters.
James Bond also returned from a four-year absence with a vengeance and snagged five Oscar nods. 'Skyfall,' made jointly by MGM and Sony Pictures, grossed $304 million in domestic ticket sales and $1.1 billion internationally - the most of any of the 24 Bond films tracked by Box Office Mojo, and nearly twice as much as the second-ranked film, 'Quantum of Solace,' in 2008.
'It was a terrific year,' said Universal Pictures Chairman Adam Fogelson, whose studio made 'Ted' and Dr. Seuss' 'The Lorax,' both with box office sales over $200 million. 'Give consumers something that's interesting and you can still get them to come out of their house.'
U.S. and Canadian movie theaters sold more than 1.3 billion tickets in 2012, a 5.3 percent hike and the second time in five years that ticket sales increased. That propelled the box office to a record $10.8 billion, up nearly 5.8 percent.
'ASK ME NEXT YEAR'
The hit parade wasn't enough to turn the tide on the prolonged slide in DVD sales, which fell another 10 percent last year. But in a sign that studios and consumers are synching up on digital offerings, movie downloads, video on demand and streaming services like Netflix saw an increase in sales of 28.5 percent to $5.1 billion, according to the industry's Digital Entertainment Group.
The digital growth pushed the overall revenue figure for DVDs and home entertainment up by 0.2 percent, a step in the right direction.
'Consumers are getting comfortable with digital technology and are using it more,' said David Bishop, president of Worldwide Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
And Hollywood's studios seem to be feeling the same thing.
News Corp's Fox increased sales of digital downloads of its movies on services like Apple's iTunes and Amazon.com, dropping the price from $20 apiece to $15, and making them available two weeks ahead of sales of the same movies on DVD.
'We're making it easy for the consumer who says, 'I didn't see the movie or forgot to get a DVD' to just push a button,' Fox studio Chairman Jim Gianopulos said.
'The result is that we had twice as many downloads of 'Taken 2' and 'Prometheus' than we did of 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes'', he said, the latter a 2011 film that had much higher box office sales than other of the two.
Then there were advances in getting the word out.
Lionsgate boosted ticket sales for 'The Hunger Games' in what analysts say was Hollywood's most aggressive online marketing push. The studio stoked interest among the film's core younger audience by starting a year early with a near-constant use of Twitter and Facebook, a Tumblr blog, a YouTube Channel, and live streaming of the premiere on Yahoo.
The studios also saw a new cadre of bidders like Google, Amazon, Apple and Netflix lining up for rights to bring Hollywood movies into the living room. In December, Disney landed a deal with Netflix to stream its movies to television that could bring in an estimated $350 million in revenue a year, more than its current contracts.
Despite all of the advances of recent years, it is hardly certain that Hollywood can keep its winning streak going.
'It boils down to whether the industry can continue to make hit movies,' said Stephen Prough, co-founder of investment bank Salem Partners who oversees the firm's media and entertainment investment banking.
'To answer that, ask me next year.'
(Editing by Mary Milliken and Lisa Shumaker)
The tuxedoed movie studio chiefs can boast about an unusually large number of blockbuster films in 2012 that lifted ticket sales for the first time in three years and stemmed a seven-year free fall in sales of DVDs and other home entertainment products.
But they can also show crucial progress on their home entertainment strategy, digital downloads and social media, plus lucrative long-term content deals with new players on the scene.
Tinseltown might just be striking the right balance between making what people want to see, getting it to them in a way that works and letting them share their buzz over social media.
Hollywood is a famously cyclical business that can hit a slump even in the best of economic times. But the recent spate of hit-making has put the industry on a high.
Take 'The Avengers,' a mashup of Marvel comic super heroes released by Walt Disney Co, that pulled in $623 million in domestic sales and was one of the five 2012 movies with ticket sales of more than $300 million, an industry record, according to the box office unit of Hollywood.com. The movie cost about $220 million to make.
Two other films - Warner Brothers' first Batman movie in four years 'The Dark Knight Rises' and Lionsgate Entertainment's 'The Hunger Games' -- each topped $400 million, more than any film released in 2011.
These three films won't get much attention at the Academy Awards on Sunday and only 'The Avengers' garnered a nomination, for Best Visual Effects. But in a another sign of Hollywood's winning year, six of the nine competitors for Best Picture hauled in at least $100 million apiece at U.S. and Canadian theaters.
James Bond also returned from a four-year absence with a vengeance and snagged five Oscar nods. 'Skyfall,' made jointly by MGM and Sony Pictures, grossed $304 million in domestic ticket sales and $1.1 billion internationally - the most of any of the 24 Bond films tracked by Box Office Mojo, and nearly twice as much as the second-ranked film, 'Quantum of Solace,' in 2008.
'It was a terrific year,' said Universal Pictures Chairman Adam Fogelson, whose studio made 'Ted' and Dr. Seuss' 'The Lorax,' both with box office sales over $200 million. 'Give consumers something that's interesting and you can still get them to come out of their house.'
U.S. and Canadian movie theaters sold more than 1.3 billion tickets in 2012, a 5.3 percent hike and the second time in five years that ticket sales increased. That propelled the box office to a record $10.8 billion, up nearly 5.8 percent.
'ASK ME NEXT YEAR'
The hit parade wasn't enough to turn the tide on the prolonged slide in DVD sales, which fell another 10 percent last year. But in a sign that studios and consumers are synching up on digital offerings, movie downloads, video on demand and streaming services like Netflix saw an increase in sales of 28.5 percent to $5.1 billion, according to the industry's Digital Entertainment Group.
The digital growth pushed the overall revenue figure for DVDs and home entertainment up by 0.2 percent, a step in the right direction.
'Consumers are getting comfortable with digital technology and are using it more,' said David Bishop, president of Worldwide Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
And Hollywood's studios seem to be feeling the same thing.
News Corp's Fox increased sales of digital downloads of its movies on services like Apple's iTunes and Amazon.com, dropping the price from $20 apiece to $15, and making them available two weeks ahead of sales of the same movies on DVD.
'We're making it easy for the consumer who says, 'I didn't see the movie or forgot to get a DVD' to just push a button,' Fox studio Chairman Jim Gianopulos said.
'The result is that we had twice as many downloads of 'Taken 2' and 'Prometheus' than we did of 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes'', he said, the latter a 2011 film that had much higher box office sales than other of the two.
Then there were advances in getting the word out.
Lionsgate boosted ticket sales for 'The Hunger Games' in what analysts say was Hollywood's most aggressive online marketing push. The studio stoked interest among the film's core younger audience by starting a year early with a near-constant use of Twitter and Facebook, a Tumblr blog, a YouTube Channel, and live streaming of the premiere on Yahoo.
The studios also saw a new cadre of bidders like Google, Amazon, Apple and Netflix lining up for rights to bring Hollywood movies into the living room. In December, Disney landed a deal with Netflix to stream its movies to television that could bring in an estimated $350 million in revenue a year, more than its current contracts.
Despite all of the advances of recent years, it is hardly certain that Hollywood can keep its winning streak going.
'It boils down to whether the industry can continue to make hit movies,' said Stephen Prough, co-founder of investment bank Salem Partners who oversees the firm's media and entertainment investment banking.
'To answer that, ask me next year.'
(Editing by Mary Milliken and Lisa Shumaker)
"Zero Dark Thirty": too cool, or too controversial for Oscars?
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Just three months ago, 'Zero Dark Thirty' looked like a strong contender for the movie industry's biggest prize.
But when the Oscar for Best Picture is handed out on Sunday, the thriller about the decade-long U.S. hunt for, and 2011 killing of, Osama bin Laden is unlikely to get its name engraved on the coveted gold statuette.
After a fierce campaign over the movie's depiction of torture that started in Washington and extended to human rights groups, 'Zero Dark Thirty' went from front-runner to also-ran at the Academy Awards.
Despite winning early honors from influential critics in New York, Washington, Boston and Chicago, pundits say the failure of 'Zero Dark Thirty' to win traction in Hollywood may have as much to do with its style as the heated debate it has provoked.
'It's a little cool,' said Dave Karger, chief correspondent for Fandango.com.
'Usually you need some kind of crowd-pleasing element to have a shot at winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and that is what (Iran hostage drama) 'Argo' has. It has a great rousing emotional aspect to it which 'Zero Dark Thirty,' by design, does not have,' Karger told Reuters.
'GROSSLY INACCURATE'?
Early signs of trouble for 'Zero Dark Thirty' came in mid-December when U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein, John McCain and Carl Levin sent a letter to movie studio Sony Pictures.
They called the film 'grossly inaccurate and misleading' for suggesting torture helped the United States track the al Qaeda leader to a Pakistan compound.
The senators cited intelligence records released in April 2012 that showed this was not the case and said the movie 'has the potential to shape American public opinion in a disturbing and misleading manner.'
Director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal said repeatedly that the film shows a variety of intelligence methods, not all of which produced results.
Three weeks later, Bigelow was omitted from the Oscar's Best Director shortlist, chosen by about 5,800 movie industry professionals who make up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Bigelow was only one of four big directors to be snubbed, and 'Zero Dark Thirty' received five Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture. But Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan was among those who pointed the finger at Washington.
'Chalk up this year's (Oscar) nominations as a victory for the bullying power of the United States Senate and an undeserved loss for Kathryn Bigelow,' Turan wrote in January.
In a column in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, deputy editor Daniel Henninger agreed.
'Had Senators Feinstein, Levin and McCain not saddled up their high horses in a December 19 letter to Sony Pictures denouncing the movie, 'Zero Dark Thirty' would not now be out of the running for Best Picture at the Oscars,' Henninger wrote.
Pete Hammond, awards columnist at entertainment industry website Deadline.com, said the political attacks on the film certainly had an impact before 'Zero Dark Thirty' was released in U.S. movie theaters nationwide in late January.
'But when it opened wide, it actually helped by bringing so much publicity, and now there has been a backlash against the backlash,' Hammond told Reuters.
FIGHTING BACK
By late January, Bigelow and Boal were making speeches, getting magazine profiles, and writing opinion pieces in which they directed critics to the U.S. officials who sanctioned, or turned a blind eye, to harsh interrogation techniques.
Victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks ordered by bin Laden voiced their support, as did departing U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who called it a 'great movie.'
Steve Elzer, spokesman for Columbia Pictures, the Sony Pictures unit behind the film, said the studio was very proud of the movie, saying it had generated 'an amazing national conversation.'
''Zero Dark Thirty' has been a huge critical and commercial success that has also been praised by a large number of experts, historians and academics outside of the political arena.
'No matter how we do at the Oscars on Sunday, we know this will be a motion picture that will be remembered many years from now. We couldn't be more proud to have been associated with this film,' Elzer told Reuters.
Despite the furor and small protests by human rights activists at some awards ceremonies, 'Zero Dark Thirty' has won stellar reviews and reaped more than $100 million at the worldwide box office, most of it in North America.
Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 94 percent positive rating. Oscar Best Picture favorites 'Lincoln' and 'Argo' score 89 percent and 96 percent respectively.
Yet 'Zero Dark Thirty' has picked up just one major prize in the Hollywood guild awards for directors, actors, producers and writers that are considered a predictor of Oscar success.
Boal won the Writers Guild of America trophy for Best Original Screenplay last weekend, and is a strong contender for the Oscar in that category on Sunday.
Jessica Chastain is thought to have a good chance at taking home the Best Actress prize for her performance as the feisty young CIA agent credited with tracking down bin Laden in the face of skepticism from her bosses.
'Jessica Chastain is a good place to put your 'Zero Dark Thirty' vote if you are wounded by the backlash against the film and want to express your support some place,' said Tom O'Neil, of awards website Goldderby.com.
However, the film, which is being promoted as the 'most-talked about movie of the year,' is seen as a long shot.
'Controversial movies suffer with Academy voters. I think 'Zero Dark Thirty' will have a tough time winning Best Picture because I think the Academy is going to go with less controversial choices,' Rotten Tomatoes editor in chief Matt Atchity said.
(Editing by Stacey Joyce)
But when the Oscar for Best Picture is handed out on Sunday, the thriller about the decade-long U.S. hunt for, and 2011 killing of, Osama bin Laden is unlikely to get its name engraved on the coveted gold statuette.
After a fierce campaign over the movie's depiction of torture that started in Washington and extended to human rights groups, 'Zero Dark Thirty' went from front-runner to also-ran at the Academy Awards.
Despite winning early honors from influential critics in New York, Washington, Boston and Chicago, pundits say the failure of 'Zero Dark Thirty' to win traction in Hollywood may have as much to do with its style as the heated debate it has provoked.
'It's a little cool,' said Dave Karger, chief correspondent for Fandango.com.
'Usually you need some kind of crowd-pleasing element to have a shot at winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and that is what (Iran hostage drama) 'Argo' has. It has a great rousing emotional aspect to it which 'Zero Dark Thirty,' by design, does not have,' Karger told Reuters.
'GROSSLY INACCURATE'?
Early signs of trouble for 'Zero Dark Thirty' came in mid-December when U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein, John McCain and Carl Levin sent a letter to movie studio Sony Pictures.
They called the film 'grossly inaccurate and misleading' for suggesting torture helped the United States track the al Qaeda leader to a Pakistan compound.
The senators cited intelligence records released in April 2012 that showed this was not the case and said the movie 'has the potential to shape American public opinion in a disturbing and misleading manner.'
Director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal said repeatedly that the film shows a variety of intelligence methods, not all of which produced results.
Three weeks later, Bigelow was omitted from the Oscar's Best Director shortlist, chosen by about 5,800 movie industry professionals who make up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Bigelow was only one of four big directors to be snubbed, and 'Zero Dark Thirty' received five Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture. But Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan was among those who pointed the finger at Washington.
'Chalk up this year's (Oscar) nominations as a victory for the bullying power of the United States Senate and an undeserved loss for Kathryn Bigelow,' Turan wrote in January.
In a column in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, deputy editor Daniel Henninger agreed.
'Had Senators Feinstein, Levin and McCain not saddled up their high horses in a December 19 letter to Sony Pictures denouncing the movie, 'Zero Dark Thirty' would not now be out of the running for Best Picture at the Oscars,' Henninger wrote.
Pete Hammond, awards columnist at entertainment industry website Deadline.com, said the political attacks on the film certainly had an impact before 'Zero Dark Thirty' was released in U.S. movie theaters nationwide in late January.
'But when it opened wide, it actually helped by bringing so much publicity, and now there has been a backlash against the backlash,' Hammond told Reuters.
FIGHTING BACK
By late January, Bigelow and Boal were making speeches, getting magazine profiles, and writing opinion pieces in which they directed critics to the U.S. officials who sanctioned, or turned a blind eye, to harsh interrogation techniques.
Victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks ordered by bin Laden voiced their support, as did departing U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who called it a 'great movie.'
Steve Elzer, spokesman for Columbia Pictures, the Sony Pictures unit behind the film, said the studio was very proud of the movie, saying it had generated 'an amazing national conversation.'
''Zero Dark Thirty' has been a huge critical and commercial success that has also been praised by a large number of experts, historians and academics outside of the political arena.
'No matter how we do at the Oscars on Sunday, we know this will be a motion picture that will be remembered many years from now. We couldn't be more proud to have been associated with this film,' Elzer told Reuters.
Despite the furor and small protests by human rights activists at some awards ceremonies, 'Zero Dark Thirty' has won stellar reviews and reaped more than $100 million at the worldwide box office, most of it in North America.
Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 94 percent positive rating. Oscar Best Picture favorites 'Lincoln' and 'Argo' score 89 percent and 96 percent respectively.
Yet 'Zero Dark Thirty' has picked up just one major prize in the Hollywood guild awards for directors, actors, producers and writers that are considered a predictor of Oscar success.
Boal won the Writers Guild of America trophy for Best Original Screenplay last weekend, and is a strong contender for the Oscar in that category on Sunday.
Jessica Chastain is thought to have a good chance at taking home the Best Actress prize for her performance as the feisty young CIA agent credited with tracking down bin Laden in the face of skepticism from her bosses.
'Jessica Chastain is a good place to put your 'Zero Dark Thirty' vote if you are wounded by the backlash against the film and want to express your support some place,' said Tom O'Neil, of awards website Goldderby.com.
However, the film, which is being promoted as the 'most-talked about movie of the year,' is seen as a long shot.
'Controversial movies suffer with Academy voters. I think 'Zero Dark Thirty' will have a tough time winning Best Picture because I think the Academy is going to go with less controversial choices,' Rotten Tomatoes editor in chief Matt Atchity said.
(Editing by Stacey Joyce)
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