Breakin' Down the Tony Awards

That about sums it up, I think. Clearly, the best moment of the night other than Brett Michaels' attack by a descending Broadway wall. Death by jazz hands.

Other than that . . . I thought it went pretty well. Neil Patrick Harris was decent, if upstaged by his SHINY SHINY suit (I especially loved the bitchy, Jeremy Piven-sushi bit), and Jane Fonda was there and looking FAB-U-LOUS, which makes me a happy camper.

Plus, GROWN UP KIRSTEN DUNST WAS THERE!

Samantha Mathis could cure cancer, and I would still remember her as Amy in Little Women.

Let's see . . . What else? There was an uncomfortable amount of men who thanked their wives, but Liza Minelli was there so it was all still pretty gay.

Yeah. Still crazy. But she's so much fun to watch, especially when that guy with a mullet from Rock of Ages was talking dirty to her.

And I AM SORRY, but did the music start to cut off Liza at one point? Do not make her come down off that stage. She will turn this car around.

There was a lot of hotness there, too, especially from those Hair boys in their tight jeans and hippie shirts. I wish I was Geoffrey Rush, for the first time ever.

But we also got Aaron Tveit from Next to Normal who I JUST realized was Nate's stuck up cousin on "Gossip Girl," on that episode where Vanessa whined and sulked in the corner for an hour (or is that every episode?) Anyway, yes please.

I was also rather fond of the actor playing Tony, i.e. his arms and the way his jeans fit.

I am not EXACTLY sure, however, why a gangster is dressed like he just stepped out of an Old Navy catalog or why he chose to wear that ensemble to a dance. A dance in a gym featuring the gayest looking basketball hoop ever realized.

Also, Karen Olivo is gorgeous.

And this makes no sense to me:

How . . . ?

I would also like to say that if I never hear the song 'Dancing Queen' again, it will be too soon. That song is TIRED. Why was Mamma Mia even there? At least sing a more interesting number. Christ!

In that same vein, note to awards' show producers. You tried it at the Oscars. You tried it here. Having two different sets of people performing two completely different songs at the same time does not work. It just becomes a jumbled mess of Puerto Rican ladies and Depression era gangsters wandering around the stage.

These kids will make three lucky girls very happy someday . . .

So, in short, the Tony Awards were shamelessly gay, shiny, geeky, and over-the-top. What else did you expect?

All the big names were there: Jane Fonda, Liza Minelli, Elton John, Dolly Parton, Harvey Fierstein and the small community of Keebler Elves that live in his throat, and John Stamos. Really, the only way it would have been better is if someone thought to invite Kristen Stewart.

Hiccup.

She probably would have fit right in!

Best Picture: Ranking the year's crop

. . . or I should say ranking the 4 I've seen since my interest in Frost/Nixon is minimal at best.

4. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: A technically impressive film with one great performance (that'd be Cate Blanchett) that nevertheless left me pretty unaffected. Full of clunky historical allusions to space shutte lanches, hurricanes, and music of The Beatles, this film was doomed from day one with a screenplay that values Q-U-A-N-T-I-T-Y of elements over any particular emotionally affecting quality. The end take on a slightly creepy vibe as well that I don't think was intentional. Had this not been the presumptive Best Picture winner before anyone saw it, I doubt anyone would still be paying attention to it outside of the techinical categories.

3. The Reader: A perfectly adequate movie in every way but not one I'm likely to remember for much longer. Whereas I'll still be impressed with a few of David Fincher's visual tricks for a while, most of this movie has already evaporated from my subconscious. Kate Winslet will probably win Best Actress for this, which is a shame because I can't think of anything particularly special in what she did here. Most of the film's attempts at sensual eroticism came off a little silly, and the plot is a pastiche of been there, done that elements. The best thing it has going for it is David Kross, a young actor who I hope finds better vehicles to display his growing talents in the future.

2. Milk: Well-made and perfectly acted by a group of solid actors, it does a good job of setting itself up as a period piece without resorting to jarring historical introductions. Instead, it integrated vintage television footage and newsreels in seemlesly, blending them into the film's narrative structure. Depicting events that feel as relevant today as they ever have, this film finds itself at the #2 spot simply because, try as Gus Van Sant might, I don't think there's a way to make a biopic that doesn't feel in some small way that it's all been done before, especially in the past decade. The screenplay also suffers from a few over sentimentalized points that just didn't need to be there (the kid in the wheelchair as exhibit A).

1. Slumdog Millionaire: Say what you will, but I think this would be a uniquely strange choice for Best Picture, even if it's path to the top spot of a film coming out of nowhere near the end of the year is all to familiar from the recent past (Million Dollar Baby, etc . . .) Danny Boyle's messy, hyperenergetic visual and storytelling style fit perfectly into the story, compensating for the (at times) visible inexperience of his lead actors. This is not a perfect film, but it's an interesting one, as most Danny Boyle films tend to be, and one that's distinctly different and diverse pedigree of creators would be a welcome choice for the top prize. Call it Crash 2.0 all you like (though, really, I have NO idea where you can make those comparisons from), but I'd be quite happy to see it go home with a golden boy.

SAG predix

Update: 1 out of 5. Not so good.

Best Ensemble
And the nominees are:
Slumdog Millionaire
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Winner?: A lot of people are saying Slumdog, but I can't really see that happening. It seems to be popular with actors, but it doesn't really have an industry popular cast. The saving grace of Doubt is its cast so that's where my money goes. Milk and Benjamin Button wins wouldn't be huge shockers, though.

Best Actor
And the nominees are:

Richard Jenkins- The Visitor
Brad Pitt- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frank Langella- Frost / Nixon
Sean Penn- Milk
Mickey Rourke- The Wrestler
Winner?: This is a tough call between Penn and Rourke BUT I would say Rourke has the momentum. Milk was pretty popular with SAG, though, so his win wouldn't be surprising.

Best Actress
And the nominees are:
Anne Hathaway- Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie- Changeling
Melissa Leo- Frozen River
Meryl Streep- Doubt
Kate Winslet- Revolutionary Road
Winner?: Going out on a limb here, but is there anyone Melissa Leo hasn't worked with during her long career as a character actress? She seems like the actress everyone is happy to see succeeding.

Best Supporting Actor

And the nominees are:
Josh Brolin- Milk
Robert Downey Jr.- Tropic Thunder
Dev Patel- Slumdog Millionaire
Phillip Seymour Hoffman- Doubt
Heath Ledger- The Dark Knight
Winner?: Duh.

Best Supporting Actress
And the nominees are:
Amy Adams- Doubt
Penélope Cruz- Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis- Doubt
Taraji P. Henson- The Curious Case of Benjamin Butto
Kate Winslet- The Reader
Winner?: Ruby Dee might have been a legend, but I still think that Viola Davis' performance and industry respect are comparable enough that she could snag the prize in an upset.

In praise of the 2008 Sundance First Feature

I was watching the wonderful Frozen River, and I was struck by its similarities with another great little movie released this year: Ballast. Both films opened last year at Sundance to much acclaim-Frozen River took the Grand Jury Prize-and both are surprisingly self-assured and confident debut features from newly-Academy Award nominated Courtney Hunt (for Best Original Screenplay) and Lance Hammer, respectively.

Both Hunt and Hammer are concerned in their films with the problems of lower class Americans-Hunt in the story of a single mother smuggling immigrants across the Canadian border and Hammer in the story of a loose-knit family unit that forms after a tragedy brings them together in the Mississippi Delta. The two families that make up the core of these films don't have extravagant dreams. In Ballast, a woman and her son find some form of economic and personal salvation in the running of a small, roadside gas station and food mart. In Frozen River, the main character gets into human smuggling in the hopes of finally affording a new double wide for her and her two kids.

The films contain what I would consider to be the two best performances by actresses last year. Perennially under appreciated actress Melissa Leo finally gets to show an audience what she can do with a great leading role in Frozen River and takes advantage of it. Her performance of Ray Eddy is distinctly human. Ray is a tired woman. She loves her kids but doesn't always know how to provide the best for them. In one particular sequence, we see her prejudices come to the surface. Leo juggles all of this-the desperation, the simpleness-and still injects a bit of humor into a few of her scenes.

Similarly, new discovery Tarra Riggs is a revelation in Ballast, playing a mother who's lost control of her family and is trying desperately to get it back. At times, this is an angry performance, but it never goes over the line into histrionics. She plays Marlee, a woman who will do anything for her son until circumstances intervene, forcing her to make decisions and grow as a woman in ways that ultimately allow her to do something for herself.

It would be a misnomer to say that Ballast and Frozen River examine the hardships of working class Americans in the exact same way. Frozen River has a more generally traditional narrative structure whereas Ballast's modus operandi is to follow its characters to an end that is not so much a resolution as the promise of better things to come. Nevertheless, both are powerful and distinctly human snapshots into the modern American psyche, executed skillfully by two new directors who I hope have even more exciting projects ahead of them.

SAG Thursday

The SAG Award nominations were announced this morning, and (in what has been up until now such a confusing and mostly unpredictable season) things got just a little bit clearer. There will always be last minute surprises, but the Screen Actors Guild did give us some indication of how things are shaping up.

Best Ensemble
And the nominees are:
Slumdog Millionaire
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The omission of Revolutionary Road here and in other categories really makes this a two way race for Best Picture between Slumdog Millionaire and Milk. I think the winner will be determined by how far along the inevitable Slumdog backlash is by the time voting ends. Either way, the fact it was able to get in with a cast whose most famous member was the comic relief on a British teen drama is kind of remarkable, especially since it beat out star heavy ensemble films like Rachel Getting Married and The Reader. Don't expect it to win, though.

Winner?: My pick would be Milk, but I'd say the smart money is on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which is full of very industry-popular actors.

Best Actor
And the nominees are:

Richard Jenkins- The Visitor
Brad Pitt- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frank Langella- Frost / Nixon
Sean Penn- Milk
Mickey Rourke- The Wrestler
Probably the biggest blow to Revolutionary Road is Leonardo DiCaprio's failure to get in here. It's not exactly a huge surprise, but the film really needed him to start gaining traction if it hoped to do as well as people thought it would earlier this year. Other than Brad Pitt, who I can't imagine making it to an Oscar nod (thought who knows for sure?), I'd say this is the usual suspects. Very nice to see Richard Jenkins continuing to build momentum for a performance I thought no one would remember but should.

Winner?: Sean Penn still has the momentum, and I don't think it's going to stop with the Screen Actor's Guild. Langella is a looming threat, however.

Best Actress
And the nominees are:
Anne Hathaway- Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie- Changeling
Melissa Leo- Frozen River
Meryl Streep- Doubt
Kate Winslet- Revolutionary Road
It's sad not to see Sally Hawkins or Kristin Scott Thomas here, and it's looking more and more like only one of them is going to make it. My money's on Hawkins whose been winning most of the critics' prizes thus far. This Oscar, though, is Kate Winslet's to lose, almost by default. She's long overdue, and the other contenders don't exactly have a lot of excitement behind them. Bride Wars is opening next month, so Anne Hathaway might want to hold up on writing that speech and just go find a pretty gown. She'll be in the building but probably not called to the stage.

Winner?: This is looking like more and more like Winslet's year to win the Oscar but never underestimate how much other actors love Meryl Streep. But I'm gonna go out on a limb and say if any category at the SAGs surprises, it'll be this one (cross your fingers Leo).

Best Supporting Actor
And the nominees are:
Josh Brolin- Milk
Robert Downey Jr.- Tropic Thunder
Dev Patel- Slumdog Millionaire
Phillip Seymour Hoffman- Doubt
Heath Ledger- The Dark Knight
Well, thank god that inexplicable Tom Cruise express didn't go anywhere after the Golden Globes nod. I'm sad not to see James Franco here, because it's looking less and less likely that he'll get in come Oscar time (even though, frankly, I'd rather see Hirsch nominated from Milk over Franco and Brolin). At this point, all but Patel seem pretty much assured nominations come January, and his chances have been given a large boost recently. If Slumdog Millionaire is as popular come Oscar time as it is now, he could very well find himself among the nominees. Oh, and I guess we're saying goodbye to Michael Shannon this season . . .

Winner?: Do you even need to ask?

Best Supporting Actress
And the nominees are:
Amy Adams- Doubt
Penélope Cruz- Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis- Doubt
Taraji P. Henson- The Curious Case of Benjamin Butto
Kate Winslet- The Reader
Despite flying way under the radar this entire season, Amy Adams keeps getting nominations at this late stage in the game. It's hard for me to imagine her getting an Oscar nod, but if Doubt does really well, I suppose she could sneak in with it. Still, I don't see her landing at #1 on people's ballots, especially with a co star overshadowing her. I think both Tomei and DeWitt have a shot at her place. Otherwise, this looks like our line up (although Henson isn't a lock by any means).

Winner?: Cruz has the momentum this year, but Davis' scene stealing turn is the kind of thing they sometimes like to honor in this category (i.e. Ruby Dee last year).

Speaking of something that wasn't funny . . .

I'm sorry. I don't want to keep pointing out that emperor doesn't have any clothes on, but Tom Cruizzz's cameo in Tropic Thunder was (outside of his first scene) actually pretty excrutiating.

It's pretty sad this year to see the once unstoppable Jerry Maguire having to embarrass himself by dancing to whatever trashy rap song it was in a rather mediocre Ben Stiller film just to get people to forget how crazy he is and come back onto Letterman and the Today Show with his tail between his legs so people will go see a movie about Germans with American accents trying to assassinate Hitler.

But, really, there's no reason to get self-righteous about the Golden Globes. There were dozens of people who should've made it in over him, but they didn't. The best we can all hope for is that he doesn't win.

Hear a Preview of 'The Wrestler' score.

In case anyone was actually wondering, I'm still alive.

Anyway, I don't really have time to post much these days, but something I though was pretty exciting came my way via Cinematical.

If you head over to music maestro Clint Mansell's MySpace page, you can hear a section of his score for Darren Aronofsky's (award winning) new film The Wrestler.

Exciting, no? It's got a great sound to it-somber and gritty with some redemptive notes near the end, and I can practically imagine the film unfolding to this without having seen a single frame.

With Rachel Weisz already getting good notices for her performance in Rian Johnson's latest, The Brothers Bloom, this looks to be the year of Mr. and Mrs. Aronofsky.

Aaaah . . . the sweet smell of success.

Did Anyone Else Notice . . . ?

Director John Carney's girlfriend who played the ex-girlfriend in the 'Lies' section of Once was at the Oscars


Here's the video, which just happens to be my favorite scene from any film released in 2007.



But seriously . . . how great was it to see these 2 win?


Also, Rosamund Pike was there with Joe Wright!



He needs to cast her in something good very soon.

A Message from Sacheen Littlefeather

Don't forget to watch The Oscars! You never know what might happen . . .

Ladies and Gentleman: The Class of 2008

As I was looking at the Academy Award nominee group shot, it struck me how everything in life seems to relate back to high school.

You have the strangely hot teacher and her favorite students, one of whom is almost definitely working for a little 'extra credit' . . .


Those weird, arty kids you secretly wish you could hang out with . . .


The musicians just biding time until they can hit the road . . .


The stoners . . .


And that creepy art teacher you're pretty sure is selling them weed . . .


That mismatched couple who fights all the time but never breaks up . . .


The class clown . . .


The popular jocks . . .


And the scrawny kid they beat up on . . .


The overacheiver destined for the Ivy League . . .


The principal everyone loves . . .


Short kids . . .




Tall kids . . .


Bad hair days . . .


Lots of unfortunate year book photos:





And, of course, the queen bee: the most popular girl in school . . .


Man . . . this brings me back!

I'll leave you with this.


See you at the Oscars!


I'm Kristen Stewart, and I (hiccup) approved this message.

Everyone Breathe a Sigh of Relief

Via The Carpetbagger:

It has been decided that, after all the hubbub, "Falling Slowly"-the best song nominee from the indie musical Once- IS eligible and was included on the ballots. Thank god.

Now, as long as they don't have Beyonce sing every song or award a truly terrible song like they have in the past, I'll be happy.

The SAG Awards: A Story in Pictures

Now, I COULD talk about what the surprise win by Ruby Dee means to the Oscar race or the touching tribute given by Daniel Day Lewis to Heath Ledger, but I think I'll just poke fun and make wild assumptions instead.

First of all, this has got to stop.


I'm SORRY, but there is a difference between scruff and nasty looking laziness. When did razors go out of vogue? Seriously . . .






LOOK, JUST LOOK. Take note male celebrities . . . you aren't being different or anti-establishment anymore. You're just following a trend.

At this point, showing up to an awards show looking like you DIDN'T wake up from a bender three minutes ago is a statement.


MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY is shaven . . . MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY. When Mr. Yeehaw looks classier than you, it's time to reconsider.

Still, it beats showing up dressed in costume as your eccentric aunt* . . .


. . . or Norma Desmond . . .



. . . or should I say Mrs. Robinson?


Lest you think I'm being ageist, I will say that Michelle Pfeiffer was looking as hot as ever.


LOOK! The stage just got 50% douchier.


Speaking of douchebags, guess what you are if you wear sunglasses indoors?


Maybe he's hung over from a wild party the day before.

And maybe he went with Kristen Stewart.


Speaking of completely made up celebrity couples, someone at the SAG Awards was doing their job.


That's two amazingly gorgeous people. The cheekbones . . . oh, the cheekbones.

But really, how fantastic did Kate Beckinsale look?





I can't wait for Snow Angels.

But back to celebrity couples. Last night, some were hot . . .



. . . and some were decidedly not


Have you heard the rumor about her being pregnant? Who wants to bet the baby comes out Vietnamese? Any takers?

Vietnam . . . Asians . . . that reminds me. I love Sandra OH, but no.


No.

Moving on, I don't think Mickey Rooney really understood what was going on.


By looking at that picture, you would THINK he was being honored last night. He wasn't, but he gave a speech anyway. He had a nice little joke about opening envelopes, though, so I'll let it slide.

Unfortunately, Mickey wasn't the only old timer who seemed a little . . . overwhelmed by the proceedings.


No, I don't mean Charles Durning. Poor Burt Reynolds, he looked pretty used up. Maybe he just came from a party . . .

. . . probably the same one Kristen Stewart was at.


TINA FEY WON! TINA FEY WON! TINA FEY WON!


I love that hat rack.

Congratulations go out to all the winners.





And last, but not least . . . Casey Affleck. Just because no one took a picture of you last night doesn't mean I didn't see you chewing gum when your name was announced. Come on now. Don't pretend like you'd rather not be there. We all know you're full of it.

This was all in good fun, just to be clear. I'm a fan of 90% of these people. These are just some observations I had to share.

*Let it be known that I adore Jane Krakowski, but that dress was crazy . . . endearingly so.