Last Night the LA Times reported that Jimmy Fallon was in talks to host and Lorne Michaels was in talks to produce the Academy Awards. This would've been great, if it were true, which is still up in the air. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) ultimately chooses who hosts and produces the Oscars but the Oscars are on ABC, so ABC and Disney get to have a say in that matter. ABC/Disney was none to pleased with the idea of giving the job to the host of a rival's late night show. "When the idea came up of Fallon, we made it clear that we were not [...]
Academy Awards producer Brian Grazer has announced that Sacha Baron Cohen will be on the red carpet dressed as General Aladeen from The Dictator, but he will be "part of the show… as himself." It's a surprisingly civil compromise, considering that just this morning, "Aladeen" was threatening the Academy with "unforeseen and unimaginable consequences." But at the end of the day, everyone involved got exactly what they wanted: lots of free publicity. And that's what's most important.
Admiral General Shabazz Aladeen took some time out of his busy schedule of executions to discuss the Academy's recent disapproval of his plan to attend the Oscars. "Normally I would be impressed by an act of cowardice by a faceless regime,” he said to the Today Show this morning. “But this is personal. I have issued them an ultimatum: They have until midday on Sunday to give me my tickets back. If they do not, they will see and face unforeseen and unimaginable consequences." Who knows what Aladeen's capable of? The only thing clear right now is that his buddy Sacha Baron Cohen sure knows how to [...]
Adios, hopes for a Best Picture Oscar for Bridesmaids. We knew you briefly, but you brought light and laughter to our hearts. Now we're gonna go hang out with our REAL friends, hopes for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Bridesmaids and hopes for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Melissa McCarthy. See you on the red carpet, dead hopes. Or not, because you are dead and also imaginary.
Following its nominations for Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and AFI awards, the world's top "Oscarologists" now place Bridesmaids within their top ten lists for Best Picture nominees. I have a lot of questions about this, mostly about what it takes to be an Oscarologist (Can you major in Oscarology? Is there a standardized test to get one's Oscarology license? Do they use crystal balls, or is it more of a tea leaf thing?), but overall Bridesmaids looks like it's got a good shot at a Best Picture nomination. Hooray!
Donald Trump learned how to use his computer's video camera yesterday to deliver an opinion that nobody asked for about Sacha Baron Cohen's red carpet stunt this weekend. He calls the act "disgraceful" and claims that if the security guard standing by had been "real security," Cohen would be in the hospital. Now, I haven't been to security school, but I'm pretty sure "Awards Show Detail" doesn't mean you're supposed to punch people enough times to send them to the ER when all they do is get someone's suit messy (as part of a joke that the Academy knew was coming, no less). Luckily for America, [...]
Well, the Oscars are this Sunday and it's starting to look like Bridesmaids really isn't going to get that surprise last-minute Best Picture nomination we were all counting on. So the New York Times has put together a thorough examination of why the Academy continually snubs comedies when it comes to the night's highest honor. In addition to great clips from some of the funniest movies of the past century, the debate includes sentences like this one: "Comedy by its very nature is a mirror into the unruly, anarchic soul lurking behind the monocle." The New York Times on poop jokes, ladies and gentlemen.
So after hearing that Sacha Baron Cohen was planning to attend the Oscars dressed as his character from The Dictator, the Academy notified Cohen's representation and the studio behind the movie that they want a full report on his plans, including what color socks and underwear he will be wearing and whether he's really going to wear that? (No, it's fine, it looks fine on you. I just thought you might try on the suit I got you last month. I just don't want you to be underdressed and feel uncomfortable. No, I'm just saying, do whatever you want, but don't complain to me if everyone else [...]
"Guys, would you mind taking a listen to some of my new Oscar material? Feeling a little nervous about it. I mean, I know I've done this more times than anyone but Bob Hope, but you never can be too prepared, right? Okay, how about, uh: I've been getting ready for the Oscars and my White Swan is ready, but my Black Swan's another story! Uh, I'm so nervous I feel like I'm about to give The King's Speech! …Was that not this year? I really haven't been to the movies in a while." – Billy Crystal
Back in the summer of 2002, when Jimmy Fallon released his first and only album The Bathroom Wall, I was at the peak of mix CD-making phase. The albums weren’t for my friends or girlfriend (ha), but rather, for me, myself, and Josh. Mp3 players were still a few years away from becoming ubiquitous, so if I wanted to listen to multiple songs by a variety of artists, and not carry around my cumbersome, carefully alphabetized booklet of CDs, I had to make a mix for the 20-minute bus ride to school, and for the 40 it took to get back. (Don’t ask.) Rather than include anything cool, like [...]
Awards, shmazords. The biggest thing you missed by falling asleep at 8:30 last night instead of watching the Oscars was Sacha Baron Cohen delivering on his promise of red carpet Dictator-ship and pouring the ashes of Kim Jong Il all over a clearly unhappy Ryan Seacrest. General Aladeen gets a bit of ash on his own feet, too, but luckily his socks were inexpensive.
Seinfeld writer Carol Leifer is currently writing for her seventh Oscars, her third with Billy Crystal as host. In this interview, she explains the division of labor among the writers (one team for Crystal and one for the rest of the show) and how seriously Ben Stiller takes his material (very). Meanwhile, the rest of the world can use the information she gives us to start thinking about our own Oscar pools. I'm looking for two to one odds that the broadcast goes black and white and silent at some point for a joke about being sucked into The Artist; any takers?
Get ready for a red carpet scandal. Sacha Baron Cohen wants to attend the Academy Awards as his character from The Dictator, but there's a chance the Academy will veto his costume choice. They're not big fans of promoting specific movies during the Oscar telecast, apparently. But at least for the pre-show red carpet, it doesn't seem like the Academy has much of a leg to stand on – they can't stop an actor from wearing what he wants, right? Plus, total commitment to the character is SBC's whole shtick. It's actually kind of surprising that he hasn't already tried to attend the Oscars as Borat or Bruno.
Oscar frenzy has begun with the first official Academy Awards trailer from Funny or Die, starring Megan Fox and Josh Duhamel, with appearances by Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, and Robin Williams' Fu Manchu moustache. It's a departure from the usual clip-based trailer and looks like an effort to get people excited for a fresh, new, relevant Oscars. (By showing us that the host has been living in a stone-walled cave growing his hair out since 2003.)
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