Academy Award

By tomoneil 6) Kim Basinger in “L.A. Confidential” over Gloria Stuart in “Titanic” for best supporting actress of 1997: Most Oscar pundits projected a win for Stuart for her spellbinding performance in “Titanic,” even though the film wasn’t really about acting. The chance to see the charming octogen...

By tomoneil • Pete Hammond points out an interesting change in the rules for Oscar nominations: "Beginning this year, anyone who has ever been nominated at any time for an Oscar in a category outside of their own area will now be allowed to also nominate in that race too." As per Pete, "This means multi-h...

By David Thomson Frank Langella will be 72 on New Year's Day, and he is ready. I was going to add "at last". Because for decades he seemed an uneasy actor on screen. His stage reputation was beyond dispute, and people said that he looked the part – tall, dark and thirsty – when he did Dracula (1979). But he wasn't rea...

By tomoneil Golden Globes expand animation race to five nominees Quiz: What film ties the record for most Oscar nominations? Quiz: Who wrote the most best-picture winners at the Oscars? Inside track on the Oscars' best picture and best director races

By tomoneil Golden Globes expand animation race to five nominees Quiz: What film ties the record for most Oscar nominations? Quiz: Who wrote the most best-picture winners at the Oscars? Inside track on the Oscars' best picture and best director races

By tomoneil nuggets: 'Precious' shatters box office record; Taylor Swift soars on 'SNL'; still mad for 'Mad Men' Quiz: What roles were nominated for both a Razzie and an Oscar? Oscars quiz: Which movies won for writing, directing and acting, but failed to win best picture?

By tomoneil In 2001, Goldstein issued his earliest odds on the best-picture race, betting on "Ali" in August — long before he saw it and seven months before the Oscar ceremony took place — with 4-to-1 odds. "Ali" wasn't even nominated; "A Beautiful Mind" triumphed.

By tomoneil • Jeff Wells embeds the new trailer for "Green Zone" and wonders why Universal bumped this new pic by Oscar nominee Paul Greengrass ("United 93") to March. Theorizes Jeff, "They figured the Academy would never nominate two Iraq War movies for best picture, and that 'The Hurt Locker' was to...

The shocking omission of "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" from the list of Gotham Awards nominees has triggered an uproar. Does this mean that there's a backlash against the likely Oscars contender since it swept top awards at the Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals? Wi...

By Jeremy Kay Awards season campaigning is like that. It's a sophisticated barrage of screenings, on-stage Q&A sessions, TV ads, screenings, appearances on the talk-show circuit, screenings and DVD screeners that bleeds into the psyche until the voters who decide these things are blubbering...

By Alex Billington A few weeks back when I was at the Telluride Film Festival, my friend Peter Sciretta (of SlashFilm) and I caught up with Oscar nominated director Jason Reitman to talk about his new film Up in the Air, which we had both just seen (read my review). As you know, from my coverage of Telluride, the g...

By Marshall Fine Jennifer pops up in Needy's kitchen later that night, covered with blood and spewing black vomit. The next day in class, however, Jennifer seems none the worse for wear. When male classmates start turning up brutally disemboweled, Needy eventually figures out that Jennifer is responsib...

By Vanessa Thorpe We have got so much talent in this country, but our industry is just an adjunct of the American film industry," said Gems, who has submitted testimony to the committee. "Hollywood dominates. Of course, at the moment Hollywood has the best overall product, but we invented cinema in many resp...

By Barry Levinson I thought I'd ask one of the so-called treasured demographically enhanced viewers what they thought of the Oscar changes. I have been reading about the Academy of Motion Pictures changes for the coming Oscar telecast. What seems clear is that the changes are basically about achieving hig...

By Andrea Chalupa Two years ago, while at Portfolio.com, I was moved by my colleague's review of the Webby Awards -- the Oscars for the Internet. She was... Two years ago, while at Portfolio.com, I was moved by my colleague's review of the Webby Awards -- the Oscars for the Internet. She was disappointed that, given...

By Marshall Fine When Departures won the Oscar in February as best foreign-language film, no one was more surprised than director Yojiro Takita. But then, Departures was a... When Departures won the Oscar in February as best foreign-language film, no one was more surprised than director Yojiro Takita.

By tomoneil Pixar's 10th flick, "Up," is getting a joyous reception at the Cannes Film Festival. It's the fanciful tale of a grumpy old man (voice of Ed Asner) who ties thousands of balloons to his house so he can travel in comfort and see South America. Four previous Pixar flicks won best animated featur...

By tomoneil Who's ahead to be nominated at the Tony Awards? Drama Desk nominations Should the Drama Desk revamp its awards? Billy' vs. green goliath at Outer Critics Circle nominations Tony nominations to be announced on May 5 Inside track: Tony Awards' derby for best play

By tomoneil Matt Damon says Oscars usually get it wrong Quiz: Which movie won the most Oscars without winning best picture? Get Gold Derby on Twitter. Join the Gold Derby Group at Facebook. Become friends with Tom O'Neil on Facebook. Get Gold Derby RSS feed via Facebook. RSS Feedburner. RSS Atom.

At the Oscar ceremony of 10 years ago, which usually follows an all-too-familiar procedure, there was one unexpected and unruly event. Usually when one is singled out for a Lifetime Achievement award, there is unanimous approval and a standing ovation. But when Elia Kazan received his we...

By Michael Jones The Harvey Milk behind Milk is ill served. He is probably a much more interesting man inhabiting a much more interesting time than is revealed by the Oscar winning screenwriter, the Oscar nominated director, or the actor who won an Oscar for best example of what the Academy thought we shoul...

By Jamie Frevele Before completely writing me off, I know it must seem a bit strange to compare an Oscar-nominated and award-winning film with a small movie that... Before completely writing me off, I know it must seem a bit strange to compare an Oscar-nominated and award-winning film with a small movie that...

By tomoneil Oscars quiz: Who's the youngest winner of best actress? Quiz: Who got demoted at the Oscars? What you can spy up on the Oscars bridge Oscars censored in 53 Asian nations Quiz: Which gals did Oscar jilt the most? Cheers and boos for the Oscars show Live blogging the Oscars

By tomoneil Can 'Watchmen' win over the Oscars? Cheers and boos for the Oscars show Live blogging the Oscars Get Gold Derby on Twitter. Join the Gold Derby Group at Facebook. Become friends with Tom O'Neil on Facebook. Get Gold Derby RSS feed via Facebook. RSS Feedburner. RSS Atom.

By tomoneil Kris Tapley of InContention.com: "This is the best Oscar telecast I’ve ever seen." Guy Lodge of InContention.com called it: "a muted, largely tasteful, faintly insular ceremony." Live blogging the Oscars Oscars are the Emmys' biggest winner

By tomoneil Lead actress winner Kate Winslet ("The Reader") won supporting actress with the Screen Actors Guild as well as the Golden Globes before being bumped up to lead actress and winning the BAFTA. Oscar nominations follow guild awards as a guide

By The Huffington Post News Team Rinna noted, however, that from her perch she saw fewer stars than she had expected. It was a tactic to keep some stars off the red carpet so they'd be a surprise during the ceremony. Jennifer Aniston and Tina Fey were among those kept under wraps until the telecast.

By Tallulah Morehead As my longtime readers and fans know, I have only contempt for the silly trinket known as The Oscar, which is why in a movie career that spanned the silents and the talkies, I have never been nominated for one. The Academy respected my contempt, and never nominated me, which is more than they d...

By odelljamie There were two aspects of the night that I thought were pretty cool. First, I watched the Oscars with my kids. They really enjoyed the show even though they hadn’t seen the movies (other than the animated films) and didn’t know who most of the people were. They enjoyed the Oscars so much that the...

Please enjoy my icon's brand-new Oscar gown from Yahoo Avatars.) Sarah Jessica Parker, belted Dior ballgown in kind of an off white, long loose wavy hair. Viola Davis in a gold halter dress, diamond brooch--kind of a burnished gold, not a scary Vegas lamé gold. Very nice.

By tomoneil OSCAR PREDICTIONS • Gold Derby odds on the top Oscars races OSCARS TELECAST OSCARS HOST: HUGH JACKMAN OSCAR NOMINEES OSCAR RACES • The Oscars' best picture usually = big picture OSCAR FLASHBACK • Did 'Ben-Hur' deserve to win best picture at the Oscars? OSCAR QUIZZES

By Jason Solomons Oscar night has lost a certain mystique for us in the UK, that's for sure. Gone are the days when a fuzzy telecast graced the BBC, with Hollywood royalty such as Bob Hope or Bette Davis or even John Wayne. The Oscars used to be a chance to catch celebrities "as they really are", maybe mouthing "sh...

By tomoneil Ben-Hur" is not only a past Oscars champ (best picture, 1959), but it's tied with "Titanic" and "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" as the biggest winner ever (11 awards). Did "The Godfather: Part II" deserve to win best picture? Photo: MGM

Supporting Actor Supporting Actress While Streep has won both the sag Award and the Critics’ Choice for Doubt, Winslet has amassed even more hardware for The Reader (albeit as Supporting Actress—Silver resolved this dilemma by giving Winslet half-credit for awards she won as a Suppor...

By tomoneil Nominated for 11 awards at the 1974 Oscars, "The Godfather: Part II" won six: best picture, director (Francis Ford Coppola), supporting actor (Robert De Niro), screenplay (Francis Ford Coppola, Mario Puzo), music score and art direction. In the best picture derby, it beat Coppola's ot...

By tomoneil By winning best picture at the BAFTA Awards, "Slumdog Millionaire" just became the second film, after "American Beauty," to sweep the top prizes from all of these awards: Golden Globes, National Board of Review, Critics Choice and the four guilds — producers, directors, writers and ac...

By tomoneil OSCARS • Can any Oscars rival beat 'Slumdog Millionaire' for best picture? • Jessica Biel emcees sci-tech Oscars • More secrets leaked about Oscars telecast • Jennifer Hudson triumphs at Super Bowl • Will Super Bowl win with Emmy voters?

By Dennis Palumbo But there are also foreseeable events, as cyclical as weather patterns, and we're in one now--the awards season. Just as accountants get swamped at tax time, I've noticed a severe spike in my creative patients' career axnieties during this annual frenzy of award nominations.

By tomoneil • John Patrick Shanley is assured of collecting at least one prize at the upcoming WGA Awards. A nominee for adapting his Tony Award-winning play "Doubt" for the screen, Shanley will be feted with the honorary Ian McClellan Hunter prize for lifetime achievement at the Feb. 7 awardsfest. VAR...

Did I mention that I just realized yesterday that the Golden Globes are this weekend? I mean, not that that's a huge problem, but I hadn't started strength-training mentally preparing myself for the liveblogging. (The goal, by the way, is to have something you can actually read a week late...

By Megan Smith So here's a calendar of award shows leading up to the big Kahuna, the Academy Awards in February. January 11th Golden Globe Awards, NBC 8PM. February 8th Grammy Awards, CBS 8PM. February 21st Spirit Awards, IFC 8PM. February 22nd Academy Awards, ABC 8PM.

By Lou Lumenick I've been no fan of frozen-faced Nicole Kidman, to put it mildly, in recent years. But she gives the first performance I've liked since "Cold Mountain'' (2003) in Baz Luhrmann's "Australia,'' which is more watchable and less of a mess than some of the early reviews out of Australia suggest...

By Ed Now, what can I tell you?!  Well, the title is a good place to start!  Despite the many shifts in narration, the focal character is the young Oscar, a first generation Dominican-American whose fate is pretty much decided before you even open the book, with a dark cloud (the family curse/"f...

By gproject Of course, comfort is not what the brothers want you to feel.  I think they take pleasure in detaching an audience from their true intent.  No Country for Old Men took you ‘on the run’ for most of the film, before slamming on the brakes and leaving Tommy Lee Jones to pick up the pieces.  The ending...

By Ed Liu He may still be the only producer of an animated film nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award, but Don Hahn is more than ready to get some company. To help speed the process, the veteran producer for the Walt Disney Company and two-time Oscar nominee (the second time for "The Little Matchg...

By Ken Evans Just ask your friends if they have seen No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Michael Clayton, The Assassination of Jesse James, The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, La Vie en Rose, Juno, Once, The Savages or Sweeney Todd. I'm sure you might find a few friends that have seen one or two, but...

By Kim Voynar There Will Be Blood continues to stand firmly in fifth place on the Oscar watch list for Best Picture over at Movie City News' Gurus o' Gold, with Atonement still pretty firmly in the top slot. Beneath Atonement, the Gurus have No Country for Old Men, American Gangster, and Charlie Wilson's...

In the weeks before the 78th annual Academy Awards, Brokeback Mountain producer Diana Ossana already suspected what few outside Hollywood could imagine: Her film was going to lose the Best Picture race. ''Several people told me they knew a lot of Academy voters who just refused to see the...

By Film School Rejects Letters from Iwo Jima, the second side of Clint Eastwood’s look at the famous Pacific struggle from World War II, was rushed for a 2006 release when it became apparent that the American side, Flags of our Fathers, was not generating the Oscar buzz necessary for a nomination. The strategy wo...

As the Academy Award season has now opened its door of greeting, and Hollywood has begun the dance of screening next year's hopefuls to voters, entertainment thoughts turn to visions of sugarplums and movies that got overlooked. "How could that person not get nominated?!!" is a traditio...