Favorite Oscar® Moments

The Oscars are coming! The Oscars are coming! So, of course, all movie addicts like me will be glued to our TV sets on Sunday, February 26, to watch Billy Crystal host the 84th Annual Academy Awards® telecast on ABC -- which motivates me to list my favorite Oscar moments from the past. Here they are, but in no particular order:

2009 – Host Hugh Jackman opening the show with a musical number poking fun at nominated films like Slumdog Millionaire, The Reader and Frost/Nixon.

1974 -- David Niven’s impressive composure when a streaker interrupted his comments during the 46th Academy Awards ceremony.

2002 -- Whoopee Goldberg’s outrageous costume changes (inspired by nominated films like Moulin Rouge!) while hosting the Oscars.

1985 -- Sally Field’s exuberant “You like me!” speech upon winning Best Actress for Places in the Heart.

1999 -- Roberto Benigni running on top of the theater seats to accept his Best Actor award for A Beautiful Life.

1992 – Seventy-three-year-old Jack Palance doing push-ups after being awarded the Best Supporting Oscar for City Slickers.

1964 – Winning Best Actor for Lilies of the Field, Sidney Poitier makes history as the first African-American male to receive an Oscar.

1989 – The dreadful, but great fun to watch, Snow White musical number with Rob Lowe (!).

1997 – Cuba Gooding Jr.’s enthusiastic “I love everybody” acceptance speech after winning Best Supporting Actor for Jerry Maguire.

1973 – Sacheen Littlefeather condemning treatment of Native Americans while accepting Marlon Brando’s Best Actor Award for The Godfather.

Honorable Mention: Any of Billy Crystal’s movie parody songs from his eight previous Oscar-hosting gigs.

Always the eternal optimist, I’m expecting to see more memorable moments while watching this year’s Academy Awards® show.

(Photo: Cuba Gooding Jr.)

A Fun Interview

For a movie addict like me, happiness is being interviewed by Rex Sikes on his Movie Beat radio show. The hour and a half just flew by on February 2! Rex made me feel very comfortable – and important. Plus he really knows a lot about movies, from behind the scenes as well as in front of the camera.

During our conversation, it was a treat to talk with someone who cares so much about his guest and the subject matter covered. I appreciated Rex’s keen interest in my work as a film critic as well as in my movie-related books. But there was no pressure to stick to a rigid agenda, so we had lots of fun during talking with each other during his wonderful show. Yes, indeed. Rex Sikes is a real pro -- and more power to him!

Here’s a link to Rex’s site: http://www.rexsikes.com/.

How Do You Write a Joe Schermann Song?

Thanks to independent movie director Gary King for sending me the link to the official trailer for his upcoming musical drama film, How Do You Write a Joe Shermann Song?

After watching this preview, I can hardly wait to see the entire movie! That's no surprise, of course, because I'm the world's most avid movie musical fan -- but this film looks like it's something special.

Here's the link:

http://vimeo.com/35980212

Sounding Off about Oscar Noms

Congratulations to all of the 84th Academy Award nominees announced this morning! Some wonderful films appear on the 2011 Best Picture list – with two of my favorites right on top. Hugo earned eleven nominations, and The Artist racked up ten.

But it’s interesting to note that without nods in two sound categories, The Artist – a silent movie -- would lead the pack with ten nominations to Hugo’s nine. Of course, a movie with very little sound has no chance of competing in “sound mixing” and “sound editing.” Still, both movies are recognized in the most of the key categories – and each of them made it to my Top Ten list.

However, would it hurt the prestige of the Academy to add a comedy or two on its Best Picture list? I couldn’t help hoping that Bridesmaids or The Muppets would sneak onto that group of nine distinguished movies to liven it up.

Regarding the acting nominations, I can’t understand how Tilda Swinton and Ryan Gosling were left out. Swinton gave the best female performance of the year in We Need To Talk About Kevin, and Gosling was simply spellbinding in Drive.

Listen to more rants and raves about the Oscar nominations by clicking on the link below.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/movieaddictheadquarters/2012/01/24/oscar-nominationsrants-raves

Everything Old Is New Again

Here’s some good news for movie fans! The Artist will be opening nationwide in January. This charming black-and-white silent film has already won numerous awards and seems on the way to a well-deserved Best Picture Oscar nomination. The film pays homage to silent movies. Its unpretentious plot follows an iconic film actor, who refuses to adapt to “the talkies,” and deals with his relationship with a spirited young woman whose star rises as his falls -- kind of like Singin’ in the Rain meets A Star Is Born. Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, French actors, fit their parts perfectly here.

In my opinion, this movie boasts the best ending of the year. It’s definitely a must-see, especially for fans of tap dancing (like me)!

Please don’t miss The Artist.

The Tree of Life Lauded by Online Film Critics

The Tree of Life picked up five important awards from the Online Film Critics Society this week. The film took home the prize for Best Picture, Best Director (Terrence Malick), Best Supporting Actress (Jessica Chastain), Best Editing and Best Cinematography. It was the only movie to earn more than one award.

Tilda Swinton (We Need To Talk about Kevin) and Michael Fassbender (Shame) won Best Actress and Best Actor, respectively. The remaining acting honor went to Christopher Plummer as Best Supporting Actor in Beginners.

Special awards were given to Jessica Chastain as breakout performer of the year and to Martin Scorsese in honor of his work and dedication to the pursuit of film preservation. (Scorsese founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization designed to promote film preservation.)

Please go to http://www.ofcs.org/ for the full list of winners.

Dr. Sallie Watkins: In Memoriam

Losing a dear friend and former colleague like Dr. Sallie Watkins makes me very sad indeed. Sallie was a real-life hero to me and to many others. I will never forget her generosity of spirit and willingness to help during crisis situations.

My husband Larry and I loved Sallie, mostly because of her marvelous sense of humor which we enjoyed tremendously. But we also admired and felt inspired by her intelligence, her compassion, her courage. It was a blessing to know such a wonderful person!

Our world is a better place because of Sallie’s splendid contributions as a nun, scholar, teacher, administrator, and humanitarian extraordinaire.

Dr. Sallie Watkins will be sorely missed by everyone who came in contact with her.

May she rest in peace.