One year ago: What Oscar pundits prophesized

Let this be a lesson to all of us smug Oscar seers who insist that they know how the current derby will play out. Most of us now say that it's "The Social Network" versus "The King's Speech" for best picture, Colin Firth ("The King's Speech") versus James Franco ("127 Hours") for lead actor and Natalie Portman ("Black Swan") versus Annette Bening ("The Kids Are All Right") for lead actress. But true? One year ago today, we weren't even talking about the eventual winners of lead actor and actress: Jeff Bridges ("Crazy Heart") and Sandra Bullock ("The Blind Side"). BEST PICTURE: Last year in mid-October we had a decent grasp of the best picture race...

127 Hours Academy Awards Annette Bening Black Swan Carey Mulligan Colin Firth Daniel Day-Lewis James Franco Jeff Bridges Natalie Portman Oscars The Kids are All Right The King's Speech The Social Network
10/21/2010 12:29
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Oscars have always welcomed the world

This year's Oscars numbered only one foreign-born winner -- Austria's Christoph Waltz ("Inglorious Basterds") -- among the four acting champs. However, that does not mean the Oscars are guilty of any homegrown bias. After all, six of the 20 acting nominees were from other countries, including "Nine" supporting actress contender Penelope Cruz, who is from Spain. She won that same category last year for her performance in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." Indeed, at last year's Oscars, Cruz was one of just three foreign-born folk among the acting nominees but they all won, including lead actress Kate Winslet ("The Reader") and supporting actor Heath Ledger ("The Dark Knight"). Winslet was the latest of 37 English actors to...

Academy Awards Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Christoph Waltz Daniel Day-Lewis Javier Bardem Kate Winslet Marion Cotillard Oscar nominations Oscars Penelope Cruz
03/10/2010 10:19
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Forum posters predict Jeff Bridges will finally win at Oscars

Our forum posters have been just as busy as the pro pundits when it comes to predicting the top Oscar races. They have already weighed in on best picture (a tossup between "Avatar" and "Up in the Air) and best actress (Meryl Streep to win for "Julie and Julia") and now turn to the best actor race. Five of our six forum posters -- Atypical, Bocaboy7, Dr. McPhearson, Kams, and seanflynn -- predict Jeff Bridges to finally prevail at the Oscars for "Crazy Heart," his fifth bid The sixth -- Pacinofan -- thinks George Clooney will win his second Oscar for "Up in the Air," while the rest have him in second place. Contenders are...

Academy Awards best actor Colin Firth Daniel Day-Lewis George Clooney Jeff Bridges Morgan Freeman Oscar nominations Oscars
01/08/2010 09:10
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Oscars predix: Who's ahead in the best actor derby

Already our savvy forum moderators gave us their gutsy Oscars predix for best picture and lead actress. Now these pundits come out swinging over the lead actors' slugfest: Chris "Boomer" Beachum, Matthew "Boidiva02" Cormier, Darrin "DoubleD" Dortch, Robert "Rob L" Licuria, Andrew "andrew" Pickett and Paul Sheehan. Read the reax of our regular forum posters here. Personally, my own picks are Jeff Bridges, George Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis, Colin Firth and Viggo Mortensen. I'd like to add Freeman to my lineup too, but I have a hunch that it's probably an emotionally reserved role, like Nelson Mandela in real life, and maybe even a supporting one. I have a sneaky suspicion that Warner Bros. is pushing...

Academy Awards Colin Firth Daniel Day-Lewis George Clooney Jeff Bridges Matt Damon Viggo Mortensen
11/06/2009 09:46
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Sean Penn is the ninth actor to win two lead Oscars

With his win for "Milk," Sean Penn became the ninth man to have matching lead actor Oscar bookends, having earned his first in 2003 for "Mystic River." While Penn only had to wait five years to win that second Oscar, last year's champ Daniel Day-Lewis ("There Will Be Blood") didn't gain entry to this exclusive club until 18 years after winning his first Oscar in 1989 for "My Left Foot." The first seven actors to pull off this impressive feat were: Spencer Tracy ("Captains Courageous" 1937; "Boys Town" 1938); Fredric March ("Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" 1932; "The Best Years of Our Lives" 1946); Gary Cooper ("Sergeant York" 1941; "High Noon" 1952); Marlon Brando ("On...

Academy Awards best actor Daniel Day-Lewis entertainment news Oscars Sean Penn Tom Hanks
02/23/2009 18:24
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Is 'The Dark Knight's' Heath Ledger doomed at the Oscars?

Don't get carried away with all of the Oscar buzz for Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight" that you see in USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, everywhere. Remember: Only one star has won an Oscar from the grave (Peter Finch, "Network") and roles like the Joker are rarely even nominated. Maybe this next Oscars factoid may help to put things in more clear perspective. After the beloved Spencer Tracy died in 1967 after giving a dynamic, heartfelt performance in best picture nominee "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," he was widely expected to win best actor, but lost to Rod Steiger ("In the Heat of the Night"). However, Tracy's de facto widow Katharine Hepburn won...

Academy Awards Daniel Day-Lewis Jack Nicholson Javier Bardem Oscars
07/18/2008 08:46
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MTV Movie Awards nominations - Who got skunked

As usual, the MTV Movie Awards' nominations slapped recent Oscar champs. The academy's winners of best picture ("No Country for Old Men"), best actor (Daniel Day-Lewis) and actress (Marion Cotillard) aren't nommed in corresponding categories, but — horrors! — Day-Lewis isn't even in the race for best villain! Hey, aren't MTV execs worried at all about him swinging that bowling pin in revenge? Other shocking snubs include these from MTV's best-pic race: "The Bourne Ultimatum," "Ratatouille" and "Knocked Up" (apparently, there's room only for one Judd Apatow flick and that's "Superbad," which has 3 noms). We were waaaaay off predicting the best-kiss lineup. It's likely that the MTV kiddies didn't see "Atonement" (too uppity for...

Academy Awards Daniel Day-Lewis George Clooney Judd Apatow MTV Movie Awards MTV Movie Awards nominations Oscars Peter Jackson
05/06/2008 12:34
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MTV award for best kiss: Keira & James or Kevin & Adam?

Soon the nominations will be announced for the MTV Movie Awards, which take place in L.A. on June 1. Two categories are of keenest interest, of course: best villain and smoochers! The villains' slugfest will be a delightfully dastardly smackdown between those Oscar-grabbing devils Javier Bardem ("No Country for Old Men") and Daniel Day-Lewis ("There Will Be Blood"). Hmmm . . . I sure hope we see that played out on stage with Javier thrusting that cattle gun at Daniel while Daniel smacks his skull with a bowling pin. Can you think of any scene that would better sum up — in so many enlightening ways — what the whole recent Oscar derby was all...

Daniel Day-Lewis Jake Gyllenhaal Javier Bardem Johnny Depp MTV Movie Awards
04/24/2008 13:22
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There's no Oscar curse against early front-runners!

I'm getting sick and tired of beating up on this topic, but since it just reared its ugly head again in a ridiculous Hollywood Reporter article about Oscar strategy that contradicts itself, I can't resist wailing away one more time. Can we finally bury, once and for all, the absurd myth that it's a terrible thing to be out front early in the derby? That's the notion uninformed Oscar pundits keep touting to explain why "Brokeback Mountain," "Dreamgirls" and other early faves trip up. But timing seldom has anything to do with those tumbles. Now the Hollywood Reporter suggests that being the early front-runner was one of the key factors in Julie Christie's recent loss...

Academy Awards best picture Daniel Day-Lewis Oscars
03/09/2008 09:11
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Encores for Oscar winners?

While best actress Marion Cotillard makes headlines with her controversial political views, will she be back in the derby again for her upcoming turn as '30s torch singer Billie Frechette opposite Johnny Depp's John Dillinger in Michael Mann's "Public Enemies?" And who else among this year's Oscar winners could feature in next year's race? Lou Lumenick reports that the Coen brothers' follow-up film, "Burn After Reading," may well unspool at Cannes in mid-May. The Croisette certainly brought the duo good luck last spring as the rapturous response for "No Country for Old Men" launched it into the awards race. And, as Lou writes, "we wouldn't be surprised if it has a date at the New...

Academy Awards Brad Pitt Cate Blanchett Daniel Day-Lewis George Clooney Joel Coen
03/04/2008 08:46
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Keep dreamin', Rock!

First, Miley Cyrus. Now The Rock. Well, I guess if Goldie Hawn can win an Oscar, anything's possible, eh? "I had a chance to present an Oscar on Sunday and I was asked if I'd like to win one myself," Dwayne Johnson told the London Times. "And sure, of course, it's every actor's dream." Perhaps he believes he'll be nominated next year for his role as a marooned spaceship captain dodging aliens in upcoming "Planet 51"? Hey, quit laughing! Goldie won for a comedy! Or maybe for his upcoming actioner "Race to Witch Mountain"? In that case, he might tap the paranormal powers of his character to make golden things happen. Rock on! Frankly, if...

Academy Awards Daniel Day-Lewis Javier Bardem Oscars
02/28/2008 22:36
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Why I'm picking Clooney for the upset

"There's no way Daniel Day-Lewis won't win," George Clooney told The Envelope during a video interview at the Oscar nominee luncheon and recently insisted to Time. That's what all the pundits (save one cliff-jumper) believe, but I remind you that he also predicted he'd lose in the supporting slot when up against Paul Giamatti ("Cinderella Man"). And all of the pundits have been wrong before, like they were the last time they insisted that Daniel Day-Lewis ("Gangs of New York") would win for a different sinister role after he swept the precursor awards. However, jawdroppers happen all the time at the Oscars. (Remember when the wrong Richard — Dreyfuss — beat Burton?) If they didn't,...

Academy Awards best actor Daniel Day-Lewis George Clooney Oscars Tom Cruise
02/23/2008 08:42
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