Great Satan! Where's Mel's Movie in All this?

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 12:33 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Granted, I'm a fan of Mel Gibson's The Passion so forgive me a moment for sounding like a homie. I loved that Satan (Rosalinda Celentano in the photo) could make your skin crawl, and the revolting ugly baby scene, and the funny scene with Mary trying out a table and chair("It'll never catch on!"). Like it or not, The Passion shouldn't be dismissed simple because it depicts the life of "HE-Who's-Name-Must-Not-Be-Spoken." (No, not Lord Voldimort.)

But this is AWARDS SEASON and last year's two most talked about films are being snubbed by just about any Critics' or Associations' awards that matter. (Yeah I know, like any of them matter), First among the missing is Michael Moore 's controversial anti-'Dubya' project Fahrenheit 9/11 which was not "eligible" in any Golden Globe category because it was a documentary, and Gibson's Passion of The Christ was deemed ineligible -- for being in a foreign language! (Foreign language to whom? It's spoken in Aramaic and Latin -- which are, correct me if I'm wrong here -- virtually both alien languages to everyone on the planet.) Rules and political correctness be damned, both films will also be snubbed by the Oscars next month despite shattering box-office records and dominating headlines for months.

Other than these two, there weren't any really stand out films last year. I know fans are cheering for the Scorsese film The Aviator to win (too long), or maybe the excellent Clint Eastwood saga Million Dollar Baby, or the smallish Sideways, which is a solid film -- in a Showtime Specials sort of way. These front runner films did not light up the box office, like Gibson's and Moore's films did.

Most film critics decided The Passion was just not a good movie, artistically speaking, but we have to ask -- what exactly passes for a good movie with these critics? The Hours? American Beauty? About Schmidt?. Hated 'em.

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So That's Why Trainspotting was subtitled?

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 6:46 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

You loved the lads in Trainspotting, even if you had no clue what they said. Now a BBC online survey has found that favorite Scottish son Sir Sean Connery was the "most pleasant speaker" from Scotland, followed closely by Ewan McGregor (above) and Billy Connolly.

According to the survey, in the UK 54% of the population said they were pleased with the way they spoke, while a whooping 73% of those from Scotland said they were proud of their accent. The poll is part of a BBC project into the English language.

So, do you think you know Scots? Here's a sample translation:

Scottish - "Hinka cumfae cashore canfeh, ahl hityi oar hied 'caw taughtie."

English - "Do you think just because I come from Carronshore I cannot fight? I shall hit you over the head with a cold potato."

First Award - Ever! - For Leo DiCaprio

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 3:41 PM | Permalink

"I've never won anything before in my life," Leonardo DiCaprio told Fox New's Roger Friedman last night after he'd won Best Actor in a Drama for The Aviator at the Golden Globes. "Nothing."

Friedman reports that DiCaprio finally looks relieved, after winning an acting honor in a career that includes such notable work as What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Marvin’s Room, Gangs of New York, The Beach and Titanic.

He could tell Martin Scorsese (with him in the photo) what the experience is like since Scorsese has often been nominated -- and lost -- in the Best Director category.

Did Leo write an acceptance speech? "I did, because my mother told me to. But it wasn’t all finished. I was really shocked when they called my name."

So were several members of the 90-member Hollywood Foreign Press Association who believed, in fact, that Don Cheadle had won for Hotel Rwanda. The voting was that close...

Read Friedman's full story at foxnews.com.

Teri Hatcher Coulda Been A Bigger Has Been . . .

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 3:25 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Teri Hatcher had a great acceptance speech at the Golden Globes last night. Hatcher thanked ABC, the network that her show Desperate Housewives appears on, for "giving me a second chance at a career when I couldn't have been a bigger has-been."

Hatcher also told the audience that the award was the first time she'd ever been "nominated for anything [in] my whole life."

Some other highlights: William Shatner was tapped for Best Supporting Actor for Boston Legal. In his acceptance speech, Shatner, who plays a character named Denny Crane who enjoys the sound of his own name, approached the microphone and said, "William Shatner." The audience roared.

Sour-puss of the night: Lisa Marie Presley. What's with the constant angry chick look? It just doesn't work, LM.

Asked for the most autographs backstage by other celebrities: Mick Jagger.

Jamie Foxx Rules at the Golden Globes

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 2:59 PM | Permalink

It's the year of the Fox - as in Jamie Foxx, who is riding high after his big night at the Golden Globes: "I've been telling you I've been having the ride of my life right now," he told the audience. "It is so great that I wish I could take what I'm feeling and put it in the water system so everybody can drink it and we will all love each other a whole lot more."

Jamie Foxx was best actor in a musical or comedy for Ray. Foxx was also nominated in the category of supporting actor for Collateral, but lost to Clive Owen, who won for Closer. But he had the best acceptance speech by far, even eclipsing comedian Robin Williams.

Actor/comedian Robin Williams received the Hollywood Press' highest honor, the Cecil B. DeMille Award for outstanding contribution to entertainment. "I'd like to thank also the Hollywood Foreign Press for having an open bar. This makes this evening go kind of well." Williams riffed on the famous faces in the ballroom, saying, "I'd also want to thank you for having Prince, William Shatner, Puff Daddy and Mick Jagger on the same stage. That is the sign of the apocalypse.", One of the interesting match-ups was the win by Hillary Swank who won a statue for her role as a prize fighter in the drama, Million Dollar Baby, against Annette Bening, who won the Golden Globe for best actress in the comedy, Being Julia. The two also competed against each other in 1999 when Swank won the best actress Oscar for Boys Don't Cry over Bening who appered in American Beauty. Swank gave a great speech thanking director Clint Eastwood: "I don't want to ruin your 'Make My Day' image, but you have such a huge heart and you just envelop all the people around you with it."

Martin Scorsese's The Aviator won the award for best dramatic film, and Leonardo DiCaprio won the best actor award for his role in the film. Scorsese did not win best director however, as that honor went to Clint Eastwood won as best director for Million Dollar Baby.

DiCaprio gushed praise for the director: "Growing up in this business and truly wanting to be a part of the world of film, I'm a truly privileged person standing here today. But I must say, the pinnacle, the pinnacle of all that has been to work alongside one of the greatest contributors to the world of cinema of our time, and that is the great Martin Scorsese."

Director Alexander Payne's Sideways was named best comedy film and Spain's The Sea Inside, starring Javier Bardem, won as best foreign language film.

The Golden Globes have emerged as the key stop on the road to the highly prized Academy Awards Show, which will be held next month. With a nationally broadcast ceremony and a host of other events before and after the show, it is the entertainment industry's second biggest night. The Globes are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, with a membership of about 90 people. The Academy Awards have 6,000 film professionals eligible to vote for the Oscars.

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Queen Latifah To Host The Grammys

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 5:55 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Now this is a reason to watch the Grammys! With her regal presence and great style(and a Grammy winner herself), we can look forward to Queen Latifah hosting and performing at the 47th annual awards show.

The hip-hop artist is also nominated for best jazz vocal album for her latest album, The Dana Owens Album, a collection of soul, blues and pop standards.

Latifah launched her career with All Hail the Queen in 1989. Three more records followed in the '90s, and the single "U.N.I.T.Y." earned her a Grammy for best solo rap performance. She was nominated for an Oscar in 2003 for her role as Mama Morton in the film version of Chicago.

Kevin Bacon Delivers Another Great Performance

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 3:28 PM | Permalink

Bacon plays Walter, a child molester who is in parole after recently getting of jail. Walter is a loner, and is given a work placement in a lumber factory and resettled in an apartment which strangely overlooks a children's park. He spends his time keeping a low profile, attending weekly psychiatric visits, and trying to quell his demons by writing down his thoughts. , He gets a job in a sawmill working for Bob (David Alan Grier), who knows about his past but gives him the job as a favor to Walter's father. There he meets Vickie (Kyra Sedgwick, Bacon's wife), a tough woman coworker who takes interest in Walter. Only his brother-in-law (Benjamin Bratt) will pay him occasional, cautious, visits. Meanwhile, as he looks out of his window upon the school, he notices another man hanging about on a daily basis. Nicknaming him the Candyman, due to the fact that he is clearly trying to lure kids with the offer of sweets, Walter worries that he himself will be suspected of a new crime. Mos Def plays Sgt. Lucas, the cop assigned to visit Walter every couple of days to check on him.

This may seem similar to Mystic River, where Bacon played an adult victim of child abuse, and now he plays a role on the other side. The film's key scene is a well-played between Bacon and a little girl he meets in the park, and we watch mesmerized as he fights his inner demons and is tempted back to his old ways.

The movie is uncomfortable to watch, but the dialogue is so smartly written and the actor's expressions are so compelling that it's not to be missed.

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Tom and Nicole Not Cool?

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 3:16 PM | Permalink

The word is, that Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise's kids are so embarrassed by their famous parents that they won't let them pick them up from school, reports Britain's Femalefirst.com

Nicole says her adopted kids Isabella (12) and Conor (9) find it hard to deal with their Hollywood connections and have even asked to change their last names so people won't know who their parents are. , She said: "They're very embarrassed. They actually deny us, which is OK. They say, 'Don't come to our school. Whatever you do, don't come.'"

This is not the first time Isabella and Conor have been embarrassed by their parents. Tom, 42, recently revealed how his children make him feel old because he hasn't got to grips with modern technology. He said at the time: "Whenever we arrive somewhere, the kids have already found out all about it on the internet.

I tell them, 'Kids, I remember a time when there wasn't the internet and no cell phones either.' and they just look at me, as if to say, 'Oh my God, that's unbelievable!'"

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iPod Shuffle for $99

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 6:48 PM | Permalink

It's the size of a packet of chewing gum, but it's an iPod. How do they do it?

Apple on Monday introduced its fourth generation iPod, revised with a new interface similar to that found on the iPod mini and a new feature called Shuffle Songs. The new iPod Shuffle also sports a battery-life that's good to go for up to 12 hours of use at a time. The new player weighs less than three-quarters of an ounce and holds up to 240 songs. I'm impressed.

(Visit the site and scroll down to the bottom of the page where it say "Do Not Eat iPod Shuffle." They come back and tell me who the hell is eating these things?)

Director Danny Boyle Banking on Millions

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 3:11 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Can two orphan brothers, just 7 and 9 years-old, spend a quarter of a million quid in a week? We'll see how it's done in Millions, the latest film from director Danny Boyle.

The tag line goes that "When a railway heist goes wrong, an enormous bag of money falls from the sky into the hands of Damian and Anthony. There's only one thing to do - spend it like there's no tomorrow… because in 12 days' time Britain converts to the Euro and all sterling heads for the incinerator."

One boy wants to create a black market on the playground, while the other wants to help the poor – if he can find any.

Meanwhile, the train robbers want their money back.

I loved Danny Boyle's other films, Trainspotting, The Beach, Shallow Grave and 28 Days Later, and look forward to Millions, which has a scheduled release date for March in both North America and the UK.