Awards Watch: MTV Movie Award Nominations

It is a case of extremes as far as the nominations for the 18th Annual MTV Movie Awards (announced earlier today) are concerned. On one hand, we have Twilight (which was totally ignored when it came to all other 2008 film awards), scoring a field best seven nods; on the other, we have Slumdog Millionaire (which won every prize in sight, including Oscar's Best Picture), coming in a close second with six nominations. Both films are vying for the top popcorn trophy for Best Movie, alongside The Dark Knight, High School Musical 3: Senior Year and Iron Man.

Among the other notable nominees in MTV's many wacky categories (including the new "Best WTF Moment") are Heath Ledger's Joker up for Best Villain (gee, do you think he'll win?), a rematch of the Academy's Best Actress line-up (Kate Winslet, Angelina Jolie and Anne Hathaway, albeit for totally different films for the latter two) and two man-on-man lip locks (Milk's James Franco and Sean Penn and I Love You, Man's Thomas Lennon and Paul Rudd) in the Best Kiss race.

As with the nominations, anyone can vote for the final awards, which will be presented live on MTV May 31 (hosted by Saturday Night Live's Andy Samberg). For a quick look at all the nominees, see the comments section below.

Awards Watch: Saturn Nominations

As could be expected from a group called The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, The Dark Knight dominated their recently announced Saturn Award nominations, leading the pack with 11 nominations. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Iron Man also finished strongly, with 9 and 8 film nominations (respectively), while Lost dominated the television categories, also with 11 nominations.

What is not as expected is the ASFFHF's broad definition of genres; according to them, Clint Eastwood's Changeling and Gran Torino are thrillers and Slumdog Millionaire is a fantasy (as if that movie needs any more awards any way), among other head-scratchers. And while most would agree that The Happening is a horror film, even more would say it was just plain horrible; and yet, there it is, nominated for Best Horror Film.

The 35th Annual Saturn Awards will be presented June 25. For a quick look at all the film nominees, see the comments section below.

Out in Film: Rupert Everett

Idol worship: Rupert Everett, actor.

- His screen debut was in the Academy Award-winning short film A Shocking Accident, followed by roles in such television productions as Princess Daisy, The Far Pavilions and Arthur the King.

- He burst onto the international scene with his acclaimed performance of Guy Bennett, an openly gay English public school student, in the stage and screen versions of Another Country. A string of smaller films — Dance with a Stranger, Duet for One, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, The Comfort of Strangers, Inside Monkey Zetterland — followed, capped off by the Bob Dylan flop Hearts of Fire.

- After supporting roles in Prêt-à-Porter (a.k.a. Ready to Wear) and The Madness of King George, he received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for his witty portrayal of Julia Roberts' gay pal George in My Best Friend's Wedding. He next played Christopher Marlowe in Shakespeare in Love and got another Globe nod for An Ideal Husband.

- Other film roles include Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream, the villain in Inspector Gadget, Madonna's baby daddy in The Next Best Thing, Algy Moncrieff in The Importance of Being Earnest and King Charles II in Stage Beauty on film and Valmont in Les Liaisons Dangereuses and the title sleuth in Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking on television. He has also lent his vocal talents to the animated films The Wild Thornberrys Movie, Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third, as well as voicing the fox in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

- Returning to the stage, he makes his Broadway debut this week in the revival of the classic Noël Coward comedy Blithe Spirit. His next film project will be the action comedy Wild Target.

Awards Watch: PGA Winners, More

This year's awards race is starting to sound like a broken record, as Slumdog Millionaire, Man on Wire and WALL-E took the top prizes in their respective categories at the Producers Guild of America Awards last night. As previously announced, Milk was honored with the Stanley Kramer Award for "dramatically illuminating provocative social issues".

In more Awards Watch for the week, the Motion Picture Sound Editors guild announced their Golden Reel Award nominees, including a Career Achievement Award for WALL-E MVP Ben Burtt. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight and Iron Man led the nominations with three each; see the comments section below for a quick look.

And the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will air live on both TNT and TBS this evening. In addition to the usual trophies, James Earl Jones will receive their Life Achievement Award. And as usual, we will be live blogging all the film winners right here at Movie Dearest. The festivities start 8:00 PM EST.

Awards Watch: VES Nominations

Batman may have been the biggest superhero at the box office last year, but Iron Man was tops with the Visual Effects Society, which nominated the hit for a field best five nominations today.

The Dark Knight had to settle for four nods, along with Bolt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. See the comments section below for a quick look at all the film nominees.

The 7th Annual VES Awards will be handed out February 21.

Awards Watch: Cut and Paste

The Sex and the City gals have been pretty absent from the film awards race so far this year; even the Golden Globes overlooked them after showering the original show with eight trophies, half of which went to Sarah Jessica Parker alone.

Well, leave it to fashion to end that dry spell, as the Costume Designers Guild has nominated Patricia Field's designer duds from the Sex movie for their awards in the "Contemporary" category, which also includes Iron Man and Mamma Mia! Other nominees include Changeling and Milk among the "Period" nominees, while Batman competes with Prince Caspian for "Fantasy" honors. The 11th Annual CDG Awards will be presented February 17.

And in more awards news this week, the America Cinema Editors announced their nominees in three film categories. Contenders include The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Slumdog Millionaire, Tropic Thunder, WALL-E and Man on Wire. The 59th Annual "Eddie" Awards will be handed out on February 15.

For a quick look at all the film nominees from both guilds, see the comments section below.

Reverend’s Reviews: Gay Films Dominate the Best and Worst of 2008

It is significant that my choices for the best film and the worst film of 2008 are both gay-themed and made by gay filmmakers. While this is a mixed accomplishment, I say it is significant due to the sheer number of GLBT releases. As recent as five years ago, films with GLBT subject matter and/or by GLBT filmmakers were very rare. Today, however, it seems there is at least one opening in the Los Angeles area every week! This is a good thing, and a sign of the progress we’ve made in telling our stories.

Without further ado, here is my top-ten list of the best cinematic achievements (mainstream and GLBT) last year had to offer:

1. Milk: Sean Penn masterfully, even exuberantly, re-incarnates Harvey Milk, the first openly gay US politician. Director Gus Van Sant makes full use of his knowledge of filmmaking and GLBT history, and makes this important story engrossing no matter what one’s sexual orientation.
2. WALL-E: The animation titan Pixar's greatest film yet, told with characteristic humor and artistic brilliance yet bearing an unusually weighty moral about human responsibility for our environment … and our future.
3. Ready? OK!: This charming story of a little boy who longs to join his Catholic school’s cheer squad was a hit on the film festival circuit. Criminally, it appears it won’t be receiving a theatrical release. Watch for it on DVDthis spring from Wolfe Video.
4. Doubt: Imperious nun Meryl Streep meets Philip Seymour Hoffman’s possibly abusive priest. Dramatic and ethical fireworks ensue. Throw in excellent supporting performances by Amy Adams and Viola Davis and you have the most thought-provoking celluloid debate of 2008.
5. Waltz with Bashir: Ari Folman’s powerful, mostly animated rumination on memory and responsibility in the wake of a massacre of Palestinian refugees by alleged Christians with Israeli support. The filmmakers’ technique illustrates the theme of disassociation in the face of violence.
6. Happy-Go-Lucky: An unusually cheery movie from veteran British writer-director Mike Leigh, featuring a star-making turn by the Dearie Award-winning Sally Hawkins as a woman who always manages to look on the bright side of life. The world would truly be a better place if we all emulated her.
7. Four Minutes: Potent tale from Germany of a music teacher in a women’s prison who takes a talented but volatile new inmate under her wing. This film’s finale is one of the most exciting and haunting in recent memory.
8. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day: A valentine to a by-gone era and women’s longing for lives of substance. Frances McDormand and Amy Adams (who is making great choices as an actress; see Doubt above) are terrific, and the art direction and period details breathtaking.
9. Speed Racer: Fellow critics mercilessly denounced this dazzling, visually inventive adaptation of the Japanese animated series. It also features a game, big-name cast and family-affirming script. What’s more, it’s just plain fun ... more so than anything in the glut of summer superhero movies.
10. Chris & Don: A Love Story: A great, revealing documentary about the longtime relationship between the late writer Christopher Isherwood and his considerably younger partner, painter Don Bachardy. 2008 was a great year for documentaries but this one stood out for me.


And now for my five worst movie-going experiences of 2008, from which I’m still recovering:

1. Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild: This is one of only three movies in my life I’ve walked out of before they ended. Unfunny and disgusting, I felt embarrassed watching it even with an all-gay audience, and I don’t offend easily.
2. Synecdoche, New York: Charlie Kaufman is a talented screenwriter, as evidenced by Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. His latest, however, is a pretentious, witless disaster that largely wastes a great cast.
3. The Gay Bed and Breakfast of Terror: A fun idea given a lame, low-budget execution. It’s all downhill after the enjoyable title song, “Watch Out for the Straights!”
4. Filth and Wisdom: Madonna’s direction isn’t half-bad in her debut behind the camera. Too bad she chose a poor script teeming with uninteresting characters to work with.
5. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian: An excessively violent but oddly dull entry in the C.S. Lewis series. A Crusades allegory for teenyboppers, who wisely rejected it.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.

Awards Watch: Playing Their Song

The music branch of the Academy has released the (not so) short list of the movie tunes eligible for this year's Best Original Song Oscar. And of the 49 songs that qualify for the next round of voting, 22% are from High School Musical 3: Senior Year. That's right, Disney submitted every single original song from their tweener hit (including "I Want it All", pictured), 11 total. However, unlike in previous years, only two songs per movie can be nominated due to new rules in effect this year.

Other Disney tunes making the cut include two from Bolt (which means the phrase "Miley Cyrus, Academy Award nominee" could become a reality ... shudder), "Down to Earth" from WALL-E and "The Call" from The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Also short-listed are such musical oddities as "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" from Hamlet 2, "Dracula’s Lament” from Forgetting Sarah Marshall and three rocking arias from Repo! The Genetic Opera, any of which (if nominated) will make for an interesting production number. I vote that Oscar host Hugh Jackman play Sexy Jesus, how about you?

See the comments section below for a quick look at the finalists.

UPDATED: Film Experience has collected sound bites from most of the eligible songs, including (double shudder) Clint Eastwood croaking out "Gran Torino".

MD Poll: Movie Dearest's Most Wanted

Bringing in 415 votes, the latest MD Poll -- which asked you to name your favorite summer movie hunk of 2008 -- was the most popular non-Oscar poll we have had to date. And the winner is: the scruffy, scrappy James McAvoy of Wanted fame. Seems quite a few of you (over 22%) agree with us that the sexy Scotsman is certainly crush worthy.

McAvoy wasn't the only hot import from the United Kingdom to catch your eye this past summer movie season. Ben Barnes (The Chronicles of Narnia's Prince Caspian) and Christian Bale (The Dark Knight's Batman) finished strong in second and third place respectively. Rounding out the top five were Vin Diesel (Babylon A.D.) and Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), the only two other stars to hit double digits.

Check out the full stats for this poll in the comments section below, and click here to vote in the latest MD Poll.

MD Poll: The Boys of Summer 2008

Now that the summer of 2008 is almost past, it is time to reflect on the movies we have seen, the important themes they expressed, the fine acting on display, the quality of their production and, most importantly, which one had the best man candy.

That's right, the latest MD Poll asks the burning question, "Who is the Hottest Summer Movie Hunk of 2008?" Reflect on the choices wisely, for this may be the most important vote you place all year. Once you make your informed and balanced opinion, place your vote in the sidebar to your right, and check back in two weeks for the final results.

UPDATE: This poll is now closed. Click here to see the results, and click here to vote in the latest MD Poll.

Bat Booty

If you want to be as styling as millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne, all you have to do is head over to The Noble Collection™for their line of Dark Knight inspired bat-accessories, such as:

• Batman™ Begins Cufflinks- You'll look suave and sophisticated for your own dark nights out on the town.
• The Batarang™ Folding Money Clip-Black Satin- Your very own mini-batarang for protecting your very own Wayne fortune.
• Batman™ Titanium Flex Ring- A subtle way to reveal your own secret identity.
• Batman Begins ™ Bronze- This 7-inch tall solid bronze statue will look impressive in your own Bat-Cave.

So head on over to The Noble Collection™to Get Props and Collectibles from Batman: The Dark Knight. Shop Now!And be sure to check out their other movie collections, including The Chronicles of Narnia, The Da Vinci Code, The Golden Compass, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, Superman and 300.

Women We Love: Tilda Swinton

Movie Dearest continues the month long countdown to the Oscars with two of our weekly signature features -- Cinematic Crush and Women We Love -- spotlighting our favorites of this year's acting nominees:

Object of our affection: Tilda Swinton, actress.

- Never one to go for the obvious, she began her film career in a string of Derek Jarman pictures, including Caravaggio, Aria and Edward II.

- However, it was her gender bending (literally) performance in Orlando that really brought her to the attention of world cinema.

- More mainstream projects followed, including The Beach, Vanilla Sky and Constantine, yet she stuck to her roots with such art house fare as Adaptation, Young Adam and The Deep End, receiving a Golden Globe and Independent Spirit Award nominations for the latter, wherein she played a distraught mother trying to save her gay son from being implicated in his lover's murder.

- Is best known for her chilly villainess in the blockbuster fantasy The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, a role she'll reprise in this year's sequel, Prince Caspian (considering she died in the first chronicle and wasn't in the original book, we'll have to wait and see how that works out).

- Finally Oscar nominated this year for Michael Clayton (which also just won her a BAFTA); she'll co-star again with George Clooney in Burn After Reading and then join fellow Supporting Actress nominee Cate Blanchett in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

UPDATE: Swinton tells MTV she has no idea how she got in Prince Caspian.

Super Movie Sunday

"Stop ... in the name of love ..."

On Super Bowl Sunday, nobody around here really cared about the football game; no, what really mattered was the commercials ... specifically, the newest TV spots for some of 2008's most anticipated movies:

• Iron Man: Robert Downey Jr. goes all Mr. Roboto.
• Wanted: Angelina Jolie enlists James McAvoy to kick some ass.
• Leatherheads: George Clooney plays on and off the field with Renée Zellweger and the adorable John Krasinski.
• The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian: Now even more Narni-er.
• WALL·E: Two old friends introduce Disney/Pixar's next big star.

The last one in particular looks like a real winner ... the kids are going nuts for the cute little robot already. I expect Disney will make lots of money off of cute little robot toys as well (I know I'll be getting one).

MD Poll: Dark Knight Triumphant

It was a close race between the caped crusader of Gotham and the teen wizard of Hogwarts, but in the end The Dark Knight rose to the challenge to become the official "Movie Dearest Most Anticipated Movie of 2008" according to the latest MD Poll. Harry Potter and the Half Blood-Blood Prince placed second, with the next adventures of Dr. Jones, the Narnia crew and Agent 007 rounding out the top five. Most surprising was the ninth place finish of Star Trek ... perhaps everyone is waiting to see the teaser trailer (reportedly attached to next week's Cloverfield) before they get their hopes up too high.

Also, all 16 of you who voted for the official nickname of the annual Movie Dearest Awards chose (drum roll, please) ... the "Dearies"!

See the comments section below for the full statistics for both of these polls. As for the next one, it will be up before you can click your heels together and say, "there's no place like home".

Click here to vote in the latest MD Poll.

MD Poll: What Will Be Great in '08?

2008 is shaping up to be a great year for movie fans, with many new movies already garnering loads of buzz even before 2007 is over. But the question is, which one are you looking forward to the most?

Can't wait for the next adventures of Batman, James Bond or Indiana Jones? Excited to return to Hogwarts or Narnia or to "where no man has gone before"? Does Speed Racer get your motor racing, or does WALL·E turn your crank? Or can you just not wait another minute to see Carrie Bradshaw on the big screen or to watch Meryl Streep belt an ABBA tune?

Well, you can let your voices be heard in this week's special "super-sized" MD Poll (located in the sidebar to your right, underneath my profile): not only will the poll run for a whole two weeks, but, considering all the exciting movies coming out next year, you can vote for up to three different movies. So get a clickin', and be sure to come back on January 11 to see the results.

UPDATE: This poll is now closed. Click here for the results, and click here to vote in the latest MD Poll.

Links via SlashFilm.com and Imdb.com.

Caspian, See

The official trailer for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is now available, and it looks to be an exciting return to the fantasyland of mythical creatures, epic battles and talking lions.

Speaking of which, Liam Neeson is back as the voice of Aslan, as well as all four of the young actors who played the Pevensie children in the first chapter. Joining them as the title royal is Ben Barnes, who should be breaking a lot of hearts around here once this movie hits theaters next May.

Links via YouTube.com and Imdb.com.

Poster Post: Some Day My Prince Will Come

The next Chronicles of Narnia movie just got a lot more interesting. Future crush object Ben Barnes stars as Prince Caspian, the savior of Narnia or something.

But who cares, that prince is a hottie, as you can see for yourself in this production video. It must be that one-two punch of a British accent and a cleft chin.

Prince Caspian will hit theaters next May. Click on the picture above for access to a huge high-res image of the poster.

Click here to buy Chronicles of Narniaposters from Amazon.com.
Links via Cinematical.com, Imdb.com and YouTube.com.