The organizers of the Coeur d’Alene Film Festival, which begins its three-day run on Friday, were lucky enough – it appears – to snag the John Travolta film “Lonely Hearts” for their event.Question is, will the film – which plays at 6 p.m. Friday and…
I’m issuing a mea culpa here. Not that anyone is going to give me a pass just because I’m willing to display contrition.My apology involves a couple of errors that I made, one on Friday, the other on Sunday.On Friday, I wrote the following line…
Finally, we come to best film. Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton (doing her traditional "Annie Hall" thing) take the stage (Keaton, unfortunately, doing the announcing).And the winner is ... "The Departed."Hmmmmm. After starting out so strong, the Spanish-language guys finished weakly. I figured "Babel" would…
Now comes the final three: Beginning with Best Actor. So Reese Witherspoon, winner last year for “Walk the Line,” comes out.And the winner is … Forest Whitaker for “The Last King of Scotland.”No surprise here. Let’s see if he can do a better speech than…
Jodie Foster takes the stage to introduce the annual reminiscence of those people in the industry who died in 2007. Some of the names include Bruno Kirby, Darren McGavin, Red Buttons, Glenn Ford, Don Knotts, June Allyson, Jane Wyatt, Maureen Stapleton, James Doohan, Carlo Ponti,…
Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson, two of the “Dreamgirls” cast, perform three of the film’s tunes that have been nominated for Best Original Song. And I have to admit that Beyoncé has nerve singing with Hudson, since her voice is only half as strong as her…
What I really like about this show is that it is taking shots at the film industry. The president of the Motion Picture Academy has to give his traditional speech in 60 seconds – and he does. Funny.Then Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst introduce the…
Clint Eastwood gets up to present a special award to Ennio Morricone, the Italian composer of such movies as “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” “The Mission,” “Days of Heaven,” “Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion,” “Bugsy,” “The Untouchables” and dozens of others.And then…
Best Documentary Short: "The Blood of Yingzhou District."I chose the one that played at the Spokane International Film Festival: "Recycled Life." I'm dying in the pool.
Another montage: the 50 winners of Best Foreign Language Film.“The Lives of Others” wins the Oscar. That’s a bit of surprise for the Mexicans, all of whom were certain – after the other wins – that “Pan’s Labyrinth” was going to win.
Now for Best Cinematography: Each of the cinematographers introduces a scene, explaining what he was trying to do. It follows the night's overall theme of filmmakers explaining their craft.And the winner is: Another Mexican! Guillermo Navaro for “Pan’s Labyrinth.”OK, say what you want. But this…
Best Costume Design: The comic bit played out is between Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Meryl Streep. Streep gets the big laugh by doing what Eddie Murphy did so well earlier: Glaring.Not that Murphy glared after losing to Alan Arkin. But his grin did seem…
Best Adapted Screenplay: I still can’t believe that “Borat” still got nominated in this category. But there you go.The producer who decided to introduce screenwriting by having Tom Hanks and Helen Mirren read from the screenplays while the movie scenes show on the screen ……
Best Animated Feature: Goes to George Miller's "Happy Feet." No surprise there. Again, global warming is on Hollywood's mind this year.
Wow. Eddie Murphy wins every other major award, and he can’t score an Oscar? Maybe it’s true: They won’t forgive him for “Norbit.” Nor for making millions of dollars on a number of other seond-rate comedies.Maybe the land shark should strike. Or Gumby.
Now is Kevin O’Connell’s time: Sound Mixing.Will he go oh-for-19? Likely.And the winner goes to … “Dreamgirls.”Sorry, Kevin. There’s always next year.
Best Live Action short? As my friend Ken says, "It's got to be one with subtitles."So true: "West Bank Story" wins.
Will Ferrell, Jack Black and John C. Reilly do a musical number that is one of the best I’ve ever seen. It makes the point that comedy doesn’t play well at the Oscars – and it does it, unlike Snow White and Rob Lowe, in…
Best lines so far:To Peter O’Toole: “You’ve been nominated, what, eight times? You know what they say: Third time is a charm.”Celebrating diversity: “If there weren’t any blacks, Jews or gays, there would be no Oscars … Or anyone named Oscar, for that matter.”
I love the beginning of the actual program, which is a collection of short interviews – actually one-liners – with many of the nominees. Eddie Murphy proves that he can make you laugh by doing … nothing.And it was directed by Erroll Morris ... which…
And here’s a thought: That picket thing that’s perched on the shoulder of Nicole Kidman’s dress? Think maybe it’s a spitbank so that she can chew some nicotine?
If you’re still undecided about who to pick as an Oscar winner, here are some odds offered a Vegas oddsmaker, John Avello, director of race and sports operations for the Wynn Las Vegas Casino Resort.Helen MirrenForest WhitakerThe DepartedNote this, though: Avello picked “Brokeback Mountain” last…
See the post immediately below? Ryan Seacrest just asked the British actor Michael Sheen, who played Tony Blair opposite Best Actress nominee Helen Mirren, "Is there a dirty side to Helen Mirren?"
As I type this, Jennifer Holliday – the original “Dreamgirls” singer on Broadway – is warbling her version of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.” Wow. Terrific. Great.I like Jennifer Hudson’s version better.
Here’s another thought:All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes…
A Dan Webster joint, discussing news, notes and everything about movies.
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