OSCARS 2013

Presenting your host.........Seth MacFarlane.

Dude has a fourth Fox show on the way, too. Who did he sign his soul away to, and how do I summon that particular demon?

Ugh, so not looking forward to the whining of Batman fanboys.

Happily, that seems to have dropped off the Oscar radar.

Sadly, I am aware of the concept of an "Oscar radar."

Presenting your host.........Seth MacFarlane.

My brain read that as Seth Myers at first and I was all "good call," but then it registered the reality of the situation and now I'm sad.

haha who did people even think there could be oscar buzz for off dark knight rises? hardy? bale?

some deluded fans were thinking Nolan or Best Picture, stupidly hoping for a LOTR type thing where they "honor the franchise". i mean, i'm one of the bigger fans of Nolan's bat-movies on this board, but that's ridiculous.

yeah same here, pretty lol

I dunno, ROTK best picture win is pretty lol in retrospect. Not to mention, like, a whole slew of middlin'-to-awful movies that have won in my lifetime.

didn't the first two LOTR movies get best picture nominations before ROTK actually won it though. It made a certain amount of sense for it to win, I guess.

it's basically this thing where if something or someone gets nominated often enough, they feel obligated to make it/him/her win

Presenting your host.........Seth MacFarlane.

So, another reason to hate ceremony more than usual.

Funny your should all mention ROTK.

I've kind of hated Family Guy in a kneejerk way for a while (never actually seen more than a few minutes of it) but I found MacFarlane kind of charming on SNL. As long as he can repress the Family Guy voices, I think he might be OK.

Ted made a shitload of money after Fox passed on it, guy can do what he wants. He should co-host with Mark Wahlberg.

From that March list up top, looks like the new contenders will be Argo and Silver Linings. Dark Knight would've contended if it were half as good as the last one. John Hawkes sounds likely best actor nom for The Surrogate.

The 20 movies I think are probably at the top of the list right now:

Amour, Michael Haneke
Anna Karenina, Joe Wright
Argo, Ben Affleck
Beasts of the Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin
Cloud Atlas, Tom Tykwer & the Wachowskis
Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino
Flight, Robert Zemeckis
Hitchcock, Sacha Gervasi
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Peter Jackson
The Impossible, Juan Antonio Bayona
Life of Pi, Ang Lee
Lincoln, Steven Spielberg
The Master, Paul Thomas Anderson
Les Misérables, Tom Hooper
Moonrise Kingdom, Wes Anderson
Quartet, Dustin Hoffman
Rust and Bone, Jacques Audiard
The Sessions, Ben Lewin
Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell
Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow

Keeping Cloud Atlas in there in lieu of doily voters' likely faves Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Hyde Park on Hudson for fun. For now.

And what the hell ... the acting contenders according to reports from people who haven't seen the movies and are basing them on reports from people who OD'd on movies at TIFF:

Female Lead
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
Viola Davis, Won't Back Down
Keira Knightley, Anna Karenina
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Meryl Streep, Hope Springs
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed

Male Lead
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day Lewis, Lincoln
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Anthony Hopkins, Hitchcock
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Bill Murray, Hyde Park on Hudson
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Jean-Louis Trintignant, Amour
Denzel Washington, Flight

Supporting Female
Amy Adams, The Master
Samantha Barks, Les Misérables
Pauline Collins, Quartet
Ann Dowd, Compliance
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy
Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

Supporting Male
Alan Arkin, Argo
Russell Crowe, Les Misérables
James D'Arcy, Hitchcock
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Hal Holbrook, Promised Land
Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike
Ewan McGregor, The Impossible
Michael Pena, End of Watch

In other words, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

I've kind of hated Family Guy in a kneejerk way for a while (never actually seen more than a few minutes of it) but I found MacFarlane kind of charming on SNL. As long as he can repress the Family Guy voices, I think he might be OK.

Pretty much this. His monologue was kind of intolerable, though, so that doesn't fill me with hope.

If Helen Mirren gets an Oscar nomination for playing Alma Reville, the movies will have officially eaten themselves.

Jeff Wells declareth:

"This is about as GenX and GenY-friendly a choice as you can imagine. McFarlane is the un-Billy Crystal -- a no-offense-but-fuck-you choice for all the squares and boomers out there who've never watched Family Guy."

The thing I wanna know is: how did the dude suddenly manage to segue from voice actor-hood and cartoon producer-dom into these big-time hosting gigs as Himself? Is there a precedent for a career like his that I'm not thinking of?

Hiring a big band helps.

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Arts/Arts_/Pictures/2012/8/28/1346152037722/Seth-MacFarlane-in-Prom-5-010.jpg

I've endured every Oscar telecast for at least the past decade, but I'm thinking I'll skip this one, just because of MacFarlane.

After averting my eyes from most of a Les Miz making-of teaser in a theater last weekend, I am proud to welcome it as the first contender of the year I will never see on pain of death.

Won't Back Down might count as that for me. Though reviews probably killed it.

Yeah, if Ms Davis gets nominated for that, we'll know Obamaism has successfully drowned labor in the bathtub.

Yes. That is precisely what we'll know.

IT IS, ACTUALLY.

I would like to read your tract regarding this matter.

NO, YOU WOULDN'T.

and bye Oscars

Getting this worked up over a movie you haven't seen that won't get nominated? Or that Obama will sill be sitting pres during K31th's next Oscar viewing party?

also of no interest

Well, it made about the same amount per screen as The Artist last weekend, so there's that...

won't back down looks vile

xp LOL

The thing I wanna know is: how did the dude suddenly manage to segue from voice actor-hood and cartoon producer-dom into these big-time hosting gigs as Himself? Is there a precedent for a career like his that I'm not thinking of?

― Old Lunch, Monday, October 1, 2012 4:12 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i think 10 years of encroaching ubiquity + being nominated for a Grammy for his album of old timey music + more and more onscreen appearances on talk shows, Comedy Central roasts, etc. had kinda set up McFarlane to be more of a celebrity and Ted's box office was the tipping point. Oscars probably realize what they're getting into but will still suffer some blowback when he says something vaguely "edgy" on the broadcast.

growing industry power + new yorker profile + big splash in movies this year + song and dance man + genuinely decent snl hosting gig + youth appeal (ie fans are under 50). he'll do a big song number, a big number where he puts himself in movie clips, and a ton of reference humor while introducing presenters. it will nowhere near as edgy as jon stewart nevermind chris rock.

well i put edgy in scarequotes after all! but honestly there were a couple moments in the SNL episode that were kind of stark reminders that his comedy can skew toward a "YEAH I SAID IT" politicallly incorrect schtick that feels a little out of place even on SNL and will be even moreso on the Oscars. i'm telling you, a joke that nobody would bat an eye at on Family Guy will make outraged Monday morning headlines, bet on it.

maybe a timely rebecca schaefer zing from mcfarlane

tbh considering the franco hathaway hosting you could probably abridge that to 'genuinely decent snl host + youth appeal' and that would be enough. that neil patrick harris is somehow never in the running seems some weird residue of anti-tv snobbery. kinda amazing that jay leno has never hosted considering how many times carson hosted and how often they've fallen back on 'fuck it just get a talk show host' (i mean ellen degeneres hosted once). this also seems like the sort of thing jerry seinfeld should be doing to occupy his time.

o i can see him cracking an abortion joke or an 'holocaust=oscar' remark but i don't think he'll say anything that might actually piss off anyone in that room, nothing on the level of chris rock telling hollywood to stop pretending jude law was a movie star or even letterman doing 'oprah uma'. what i would love is if they said they were gonna do a 'twitter oscars' and kept throwing the word twitter around but what it actually meant is the hosts were steve martin and albert brooks. on the bright side though maybe we get dan castellenata hosting the espys and tim and eric hosting the vmas next year.

over/under on "giggity"s during the telecast?

I will give the dude hella props if he never once references Family Guy (I will not be giving dude hella props).

this is kind of a make-or-break moment for MacFarlane as "actual celebrity" isn't it?

Here's a preview of what we can expect:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=_BdiS_WmAM4

all your EW charts and Jeff Wells blog summaries go here

Morbs was especially excited for me to share this one:

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/11/16/oscar-race-prize-fighter-lincoln-argo-silver-linings-life-of-pi/

Kris Tapley keeps murmuring about Jessica Chastain inevitably assuming the front-runner position once people see 0D30.

There's a major vacuum at the top of that category, so if she's even remotely good, she'll be a frontrunner.

I have to say, I don't completely understand how Beasts of the Southern Wild is an Oscar contender. I haven't seen it yet, but it just seems so far removed from Hollywood. It reminds me of something like George Washington: tiny budget, no-name cast w/kids in big roles, regional color, critical acclaim. Is the difference between the two simply that Beasts is a Fox Searchlight release? (NB: I'm not saying I don't think it deserves its buzz; I just wouldn't have predicted it.)

so, how bad has Seth McFarlane been so far?

as bad as expected muliplied by worse

Most-watched Oscars in 6 years, he should be back. Almost half the jokes were decent to great, btw. (And I fucking hate Family Guy.)

u_u

i think I just realized how much I hate the Oscars is what it boils down to. And that Seth McFarlane is terrible

But Denby wrote it! No wonder I laughed a couple times.

I would think the overriding job of a host at this point is to generate lots of din, and to keep the show front and center (which, logically, it really shouldn't be any more). So he did that.

@DennisThePerrin
Is there a Kill List in Michelle's envelope?

holy shit that's hilarious

omg

morbs was that on twitter?

ok i found it

Dennis Perrin ‏@DennisThePerrin
LIFE OF PI is a visual metaphor for most of my romantic relationships. #Oscars

Dennis Perrin ‏@DennisThePerrin
Tarantino wins. My nigger! #Oscars

Dennis Perrin ‏@DennisThePerrin
You think there'll ever be hipster death camps? #Oscars

Dennis Perrin ‏@DennisThePerrin
Jennifer Lawrence reminds me of a girl I had a crush on in high school -- minus the restraining orders. #Oscars

Dennis Perrin ‏@DennisThePerrin
SARAH PALIN FOR POPE!

really great stuff

LIFE OF PI is a visual metaphor for most of my romantic relationships.

Meaning he made them up? I buy it.

Sorry your adventurous propaganda movie limped away with half a statue, honeybunch.

Sockpuppet Flight was a definite improvement.

lincoln only won half a statue?

Sorry your adventurous propaganda movie limped away with half a statue, honeybunch.

http://media.betterlucktomorrow.com/images/index_top.jpg

inevitable answer song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RD5NLYjBiQA

...prob nsfw

http://vfxsoldier.wordpress.com/2013/02/24/an-open-letter-to-ang-lee/
http://thinkinganimationbook.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/a-piece-of-pi.html
http://www.hitfix.com/motion-captured/the-visual-effects-community-sees-red-in-the-wake-of-oscar-protest-and-on-air-snub

I hope that one gets some traction and all, but raising the question of what today's movies would look like without VFX? ... Um, in many cases, much better.

JD & leong, do you also believe that the Haneke Twitter is the real one?

― Pope Rusty I (Dr Morbius), Monday, February 25, 2013 5:23 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Pretty sure the AW one is real...

― christmas candy bar (al leong)

i'm a little 'confused', maybe you have some inside info, bc at the bottom of armond white's city arts pieces it says "Follow Armond White on Twitter at 3xchair", which is the twitter that has those spielberg tweets.

Man, Macfarlane's shitty routine has me playing Marc Loi facebook feminist on "progressive" friends' walls. What have I become?

Andy Griffith was not snubbed in the obit roll, hayseeds; he had one great movie role.

But what about Spy Hard

armond generally otm

http://cityarts.info/2013/03/01/oscars-post-mortification/

Definitely feels like it was written by the guy who loved Norbit.

even in his real-life-crit he manages to fit in a fuckup (joseph gordon-lewis)

that's a cute fuckup tho

at least he put the PC feminist crap in the shitter.

To paraphrase a female “feminist” friend: “If you’re aghast at a song about boobs, you must be aghast at your own.”

riiight

http://sea.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/874483/christopher-doyle-interview-part-2-life-of-pi-oscar-is-an#

“Do you want me to tell the truth? Ai yay yay yay. Okay. I’m trying to work out how to say this most politely, and no offense to – I don’t know him personally – but what a total fucking piece of shit. Let me be blunt. Ah, fuck. I don’t care, I’m sure he’s a wonderful guy and I’m sure he cares so much, but since 97 per cent of the film is not under his control, what the fuck are you talking about cinematography, sorry. I’m sorry. I have to be blunt and I don’t care, you can write it. I think it’s a fucking insult to cinematography.

“I’m sure he’s a wonderful person, I’m sure he cares so much. But what it says to the real world is it’s all about us, we have the money, we put the money in, and we control the image. And I say fuck you, wankers. Are you fucking kidding? That’s not cinematography. That’s control of the image by the powers that be, by the people that want to control the whole system because they’re all accounts. You’ve lost cinema. This is not cinema and it’s not cinematography. It’s not cinematography.

“Lincoln”! Oh! Let’s talk about patriotism. Do you not fucking realise the rest of the world just sits back laughing. Do you not realise that you poor old fuckers with your Academy bullshit, you’re just sitting back, holding onto straws. You’re holding onto straws. Let’s get on with it. I don’t give a fuck what you think about me. Some of us have to engage with the real world. And it happens not to be about the history of Mr Lincoln freeing the slaves – which was the most disgusting first three minutes of a film I’ve ever seen. Oh, Mr Lincoln, oh, but you undestand… stop fucking fluffing yourselves.

he sort of articulates like a bad SNL character

oh behaaaave

i cert had the same thought about that award (to a film i hv no plans to ever see)

I had that thought as well, but I also thought Pi was deserving of the visual effects Oscar it received shortly thereafter.

xp oh i agree with him he just comes off like a parody, should've been cleaned up in editing

Best Cinematography hasn't been on a stellar run as of late, to be fair.

i cert had the same thought about that award (to a film i hv no plans to ever see)

I didn’t watch the Academy Awards but I’ve had a lot of feedback from people, including people from the ASC [the American Society of Cinematographers], by the way, and then you see, you give an award to a totally digitized image. I may be wrong, because I haven’t seen the film, because I don’t give a shit.

so yes we both know what that shit is like from the candyass clips

funny how most of the ppl complaining about that scene in 'lincoln' appear to have not heard any of the actual dialogue

agree, but he's a goddamn Aussie.

(and has made a ton of movies that might as well be silent)

As someone on a different MB commented: "Can't wait for next year's tribute to the one-year anniversary of the Les Mis movie!"

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron Return to Produce the Oscars®

BEVERLY HILLS, CA –The acclaimed motion picture, television and theater producing team of Craig Zadan and Neil Meron will return to produce the Oscars for a second time next year, Academy President Hawk Koch announced. The Academy Awards® will air live on ABC on Oscar® Sunday, March 2, 2014.

“Craig and Neil have the overwhelming support of the Academy's Governors to produce the Oscars again in 2014," said Academy President Hawk Koch. "In order to establish continuity with this year's enormously successful show, we felt it was important to give these consummate professionals the green light now to begin creating another great evening."

"We are very honored to have been asked to return as Oscar producers for a second year," said Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. "We look forward to creating a distinctive and entertaining show."

“Craig and Neil have great relationships, a sense of showmanship, and a passion for our Academy,” said Academy CEO Dawn Hudson. “And they’re a pleasure to work with. All perfect qualities for our show."

The February 2013 Oscars hosted by Seth MacFarlane, drew an average audience of 40.3 million total viewers and delivered a 13.0 rating among adults 18-49. The show was TV’s most-watched entertainment telecast in the last 3 years, and grew its overall audience for the 2nd straight year (+3%), surging 11% in adults 18-49 (13.0 rating vs. 11.7 rating) to its best numbers since 2010. In addition, the show scored gains year-to-year with adults 18-34 (+20% - 11.3 rating vs. 9.4 rating), hitting its highest number in 6 years – since 2007. Overall, it was the Oscars second-most-watched telecast since 2005.

Among the innovations that Zadan and Meron plan to bring back to the 2014 show is the Oscar Experience College Search, which allows young filmmakers to assist with bringing the Oscar statuettes on-and-off stage during the show.

The Zadan/Meron Oscars displayed a signature style that incorporated a single concept for the entire evening which linked together the disparate elements of the Oscar show through music, especially classic movie themes and the frequent appearances by MacFarlane to announce the evening’s presenters. The 2013 show was also distinguished by the use of motion picture talent as performers in the show such as the dance numbers performed by Charlize Theron, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Zadan and Meron served as executive producers for the 2002 “Best Picture” winner “Chicago,” which won Oscars® in 6 of the 13 categories in which it was nominated. Their credits also include the features “Footloose” (2011), “Hairspray,” and “The Bucket List.” Zadan also produced the original “Footloose” (1984).

Zadan and Meron’s work in television includes the series “SMASH” and such movies as “A Raisin in the Sun” and “Steel Magnolias.”

For Broadway, they recently produced the Tony Award® winning revivals of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” and “Promises, Promises.”

Their work has amassed 73 Emmy® nominations; 12 Tony nominations; and seven Grammy® nominations.

The Oscars will be held at the Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

tarantino tantrum just now on Channel 4 news: Perhaps he was pissed he didn't get a nom.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/quentin-tarantino-tells-interviewer-you-cant-make-me-dance-im-not-a-monkey-8446660.html
tbf krishnan was being really arsey.

― danzig, Thursday, January 10, 2013 7:54 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/robert-downey-jr-walks-out-of-nailbitingly-awkward-channel-4-news-interview--eJ9qJTJkgb

at first I was like "gimme a break Downey" but God, Krishnan is such a terrible fucking interviewer.