Natalie Portman in Black Swan.By Hap ErsteinGoing into today’s release of Academy Awards nominations, it looked like a two-horse race between The Social Network and The King’s Speech -- both superior pictures -- and nothing about the announcements from Hollywood changes that.Both movies, of course, made it into the field of 10 for Best Picture and they … [Read more...]
Film feature: Film historian Osborne to sound off on Oscars at Crest talk
Film historian Robert Osborne.By Hap ErsteinThe Academy Awards have been going through a transition lately, with notable rule changes to either improve the voting process or at least increase ratings for the annual telecast.Still, the awards themselves remain of value, says film historian Robert Osborne, the genial host of Turner Classic Movies.“I care about the process, and I … [Read more...]
Film commentary: Oscars show still long, but much more entertaining
Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker.By Hap ErsteinLeave it to Steve Martin to sum up Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony with a final ad-lib, calling the broadcast so long that “'Avatar' now takes place in the past.”At three-and-a-half-hours, it actually ran longer than James Cameron’s bloated, 3-D science fiction epic, which got left in the dust by the documentary-like The Hurt … [Read more...]
Film feature: Look for ‘Hurt Locker,’ Bullock, Bridges to take Oscars
A scene from The Hurt Locker.By Hap ErsteinAnd then there were 10.No, not by a process of elimination, but by inflation. I’m talking about the new, probably not improved, look for the Academy Awards, with its revised voting dynamic for best picture. Not only are there 10 nominees for the top Oscar, but members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be ranking … [Read more...]
Film commentary: Academy goes populist route with Oscar hopefuls
Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington in Avatar.By Hap ErsteinThe first results of the Academy Awards’ grand experiment to cheapen -- uh, I mean widen -- the Best Picture nominations were announced this morning, and predictably, there were a couple of films that made the cut that would not have come close in past years.Let’s just call it the Blind Side Effect, named for the … [Read more...]
2009 Oscars: A ‘Slumdog’ triumph, but revamped telecast had mixed results
Dev Patel and Freida Pinto in Slumdog Millionaire.By Hap ErsteinCall it Slumdog Snowball.The sweet -- well, except for the terror scenes -- film about a lower-caste tea boy who triumphs on a Mumbai game show, rolled over the competition at Sunday night’s new-look Oscars ceremony. Slumdog Millionaire won eight of the 10 Academy Awards for which it was nominated, losing only for … [Read more...]
Oscar predictions: Ledger, Cruz, Langella, Winslet, ‘Slumdog’
By Hap ErsteinProbably the most important thing to keep in mind when handicapping the Academy Awards tonight (8 p.m., ABC) is that quality -- in films, performances and other skills -- is usually a secondary consideration in the voting.Oscar victories have a lot more to do with rectifying past snubs, nominees’ personal comeback stories, voters’ opinions of the people up for the … [Read more...]
Commentary: Let the grousing begin over Oscar nominations
The late Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight.By Hap ErsteinThe Academy Awards went largely for dark dramas in its Best Picture nominations, announced this morning, but not dark enough to include 2008 box office champ The Dark Knight.Christopher Nolan’s somber, slam-bang latest installment in the Batman series had to settle for a few nods in the technical categories and … [Read more...]