I Want To Thank the Academy

Nominations for the 85th Academy Awards were announced this morning, so I want to thank the Academy for recognizing some of my favorite films and performances. First of all, as the world’s most avid movie musical fan, I’m especially pleased about those 8 nominations for Les Misérables -- including Best Picture, Best Actor (Hugh Jackman, be still my heart) and Best Supporting Actress (Anne Hathaway).

And I’m also happy about an equal number of nods for Silver Linings Playbook as well as the Best Supporting Actor nomination for Christoph Waltz in Django Unchained. Plus I was pleasantly surprised to see A Royal Affair on the list for Best Foreign Language film. But the greatest relief for me this morning came when I heard Naomi Watts’ name called as one of the nominees for Best Actress. I would have been soooo disappointed if she hadn’t met the cut for her outstanding performance as a mother struggling to be united with her family in the aftermath of a Tsunami in The Impossible (which should have been nominated for Best Picture, in my humble opinion.)

As expected, Lincoln emerged as the leader in this year’s field with a total of 12 nominations in important categories like Best Picture, Best Director (Steven Spielberg), Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis), Best Supporting Actor and Actress (Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field). We’ll find out who the Oscar winners are on Sunday, February 24, during the traditional ABC televised Academy Awards show. Check out the complete list of nominees by clicking on the link below.

http://www.imdb.com/oscars/nominations/?ref_=rto_nb_acd

'Water for Elephants' Preview

On April 22, Water for Elephants parades into our nation’s multiplexes. Based on Sara Gruen’s wonderful novel, this film boasts a star-studded cast including Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, and Christoph Waltz. If ever a book cried out for filming, it’s this one. In fact, not since my husband and I read the first Harry Potter book have we been so eager to see the movie version of an author’s work. We were not disappointed with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone -- and we hope the film treatment of Water for Elephants does justice to this exciting and romantic story set in the circus world of the 1930s.

The story contains lots of cinematic potential, especially considering its colorful characters -- including a brave and long-suffering elephant named Rosie -- as well as suspenseful situations in the big tent and on trains as the circus travels from town to town. Pattinson (the guy from “Twilight” movies) portrays Jacob, a young veterinarian student who drops out of college after his parents die in a tragic accident. When Jacob finds himself signed on as a circus veterinarian, he falls deeply in love with Marlena (Witherspoon), the gorgeous lady who performs with the circus horses. Marlena’s sadistic hubby (Waltz, the ruthless Nazi colonel in Inglorious Basterds ) stands in the way of true love, so the plot thickens.

Be sure to mark your calendar for Water for Elephants. It’s probably the kind of film you must see on the big screen.

Thanks to Nikki Starr for recommending Sara Gruen's book to me -- and to Diana Saenger for mentioning it on our Movie Addict Headquarters "Page to Screen" episode.

Oscar® Highlights

Although getting off to an awkward start, last night’s 82nd Annual Academy Awards Show included some interesting highlights. Here’s a list of my favorite moments:

■ Christoph Waltz, Best Supporting Actor winner, delivering an exceptionally well-thought-out acceptance speech about his exciting Inglourious Basterd’s journey under the direction of Quentin Tarrantino.

■ Sandra Bullock, Best Actress winner, giving the most gracious (and amusing) acceptance speech of the evening while looking so beautiful in her sparkly lace-trimmed silver gown.

■ Mo’Nique, Best Supporting Actress winner, reminding everyone how important it is to “do what’s right instead of what’s popular.”

■ Presenters Robert Downey Jr. and Tiny Fey humorously bantering about the different ways an actor and a writer look at screenplays.

■ The dynamic group dance number performed to the nominated musical scores.

■ Funnyman Ben Stiller, made-up as a Na’Vi from Avatar, presenting the Best Make-Up Award to the Star Trek folks.

■ A woman, Kathryn Bigelow, finally being named Best Director.


Unfortunately, some parts of the show didn’t work for me. Am I alone in this, or was there too much George Clooney teasing going on? Sure, George is a good sport, but co-hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin went overboard in this regard. And I’m disappointed about not hearing the original song nominees. While clips of them from the movies helped, I would prefer longer versions sung live during the show. And, most of all, I desperately missed Hugh Jackman.