Circuit Round-Up (Week Ending 4/29)

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• Wow, where do I even begin? This was the James Cameron of weeks here The Awards Circuit. We delivered big, and as a result our success was tantamount to Camerons’ Avatar and Titanic in my book. As you can see, The Awards Circuit has undergone a huge transformation, evolving what you all know and love into the finest site for Movies, Television, and Awards Prognostication. The final bits will be completed on Tuesday, coinciding with the actual 4th Year Anniversary Day! The passion we have in making this site the empire we all know it will soon become is unlimited, and I hope all of you are genuinely satisfied with the new revamp. Furthermore, we didn’t slow down when it came to delivering the latest and greatest in movies and television. Without a doubt, this week was the most numerous in volume when it came to articles hitting the site on a daily basis. I hope you appreciate our boost in quantity and quality! Because this was an enormous week, I’ll try and boil everything down as definitively as possible, so bear with me.

• We began the week with Joey Magidson’s television review of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ new HBO comedy, ‘Veep.’ I’m a huge fan of ‘Seinfeld’, and an even bigger fan of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, so expect this to be on my weekly TV viewing schedule. Next, Joey followed up with a review of a highlighted Tribeca Film Festival flick, ‘The Girl’, starring Bright Star’s most shining star, Abbie Cornish. ‘The Lucky One‘ and ‘The Five-Year Engagement’ were two other films Joey Magidson reviewed for us, the former of which caused Joey to feel the antonym of its title for having watched it.

• Mr. Magidson also posed an invaluable question to our readers: What is Jack Nicholson’s greatest acting role? For his 75th birthday, the various responses from our readers concerning the illustrious career of one of cinema’s finest actors may be the greatest present Mr. Nicholson could ever hope to receive.

• Joey’s DVD Picks-of-the-Week were once again fine selections. Mr. Magidson chose the little-seen horror film, ‘The Innkeepers’ (how did this fall off my radar?), as his new release recommendation. For his vintage choice, Joey selected Richard Linklater’s ‘Dazed and Confused’. Aside from ‘Grease’ and ‘The Breakfast Club,’ this is easily one of my favorite high school films to ever be released. The film perfectly captures the 70′s youth era, making its trip back in time a nostalgic pleasure for all.

•  It was television business as usual for myself and Anna Belickis. On Dancing with the Stars, the eight remaining celebrities tried their best to shimmy and shammy to songs from the timeless Motown era. Unfortunately, not even being one of the instrumental players of that period could save her this week, as living legend Gladys Knight was sent packing. Say what you will about Roshon (He’s single-handedly taken “annoying” to a new level), but he was the superior dancer when it came to the two in their Dance-Off on elimination night. On The Voice, Teams Cee Lo and Adam proved their dominant coaching skills as nearly all eight contestants from both teams delivered stellar performances. To top it off, America and the judges made the right choice on who to send to the semifinals. If Jamar Rogers doesn’t end up this season’s winner, I’ll cry fowl like I did when Dia Frampton lost to Javier “Boring” Colon. Speaking of crying fowl, I drew polarizing responses for my commentary on this week’s American Idol.  I don’t deny that Jessica Sanchez is an amazing vocalist, but I also can’t bring myself to root for someone who tries to pull in pity votes, especially with six contestants remaining.

• One of our newest additions to the team, Terence Johnson, continues his quest to become cinema’s own version of Walter Cronkite. With stories ranging from Gina Carano landing a role in ‘Fast and the Furious 6′ to the announcement of the jury committee for this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Terence Johnson’s breaking news reports are as riveting as they are important to the world of cinema. Keep up the fine work, sir!

• There were trailers aplenty this week: ‘G.I. Joe Retaliation’, ‘Lawless’, ‘Brave’, ‘Peace, Love & Misunderstanding’, ‘This is 40′, and ‘Hope Springs.’ I admit, I broke my cardinal rule of not watching trailers when I showcased ‘Peace, Love & Misunderstanding,’ but to be fair to myself, I watched snippets only. Trust me, my eyes will be wide open when I see ‘The Avengers’ this Friday, as the new ‘Dark Knight Rises’ trailer is sure to be in the upper echelons of badassery. Which of our announced trailers was your favorite this week?

• We also had four new Award Profiles for everyone. I began with Wes Anderson’s ‘Moonrise Kingdom’, acknowledging its small Oscar chances while also never giving up hope, especially in the “Best Original Screenplay” category. Anna followed up with her take on ‘Hope Springs.’ Is there a fourth Oscar in the wings for Meryl Streep? Probably not, but it’s best not to bet against a nomination. Terence jumped in with his first Awards Profile of the year, giving us a in-depth look at the Academy Award chances for ‘Inside Llewyn Davis.’ The question isn’t whether the film can land in the Oscar pool; it’s whether it’s able to be in contention this award season, as a 2013 release looks imminent at this point. Finally, Joey tackled another Gosling project, Derek Cianfrance’s ‘Place Beyond the Pines’, and pondered the acting nomination chances for Gosling after his snubbed role in last year’s superlative ‘Drive.’ Hey, if a car failed Gosling, maybe a motorcycle will let him ride to Oscar heaven.

• Robert Hamer gave us his box office forecast for the Weekend Openings. ‘The Five-Year Engagement’ might as well have been retitled to: ‘A Very Long Engagement Part 2′ after its recent complaints of the overly-long running time. That may hurt its overall box office totals this weekend, and I expect ‘Think Like a Man’ will once again enrapture the nation when all is tallied. To be honest, this was probably my least favorite weekend for new releases in quite some time. It’s the calm before the storm that will be ‘The Avengers.’

• Gearing up for the next televised awards show, Editor-in-Chief Clayton Davis gives a stab at predicting the 2012 MTV Movie Award Nominees. I’m thinking four names are a shoo-in: Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Robert Pattison, and Taylor Lautner. Only one of these over-obsessed actors is deserving of playing Moneyball at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards.

• We also welcomed our newest staff writer to the team, Mark Johnson, former head of Awardcontenders.com. We are glad to have Mark as part of the team, and apparently so are the rest of you, as his impeccable examination at some of Oscar’s biggest nomination snubs drew in over thirty comments from our readers. If this first impression article is any indication, Mark Johnson is going to have a very long career at The Awards Circuit.

• Once again, look around you, and marvel at this amazing new redesign and restructure. This is just one of many steps we are taking to make The Awards Circuit one of the largest and most popular online sources for everything movie/television/awards-related. Your continued readership is paramount, and we would’ve never made it four years without your constant loyalty. So again, thank you all, and we’re looking forward to celebrating The Awards Circuit 4th Year Anniversary on May 1st with everyone! Thanks again for another fantastic week!

On a Serious Note:

We suffered a major loss at The Awards Circuit with the passing of John H. Foote’s beloved wife, Sherri Foote. Please reach out to John if you can, and keep him and his family in your prayers during this difficult time.  I’m sure he’ll appreciate it!

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