The stars will certainly be in attendance at this year’s Oscar ceremony! From old to young, the producers have done a fantastic job lining up talent to present, perform, and make “special appearances.” Today, you get a good example of what I’m talking about with the announcement that Jennifer Aniston, Michael Douglas, Jamie Foxx, and Paul Rudd have been tapped to join an already impressive list of presenters. Have a look at the full list and the official press release after the jump.
Read more on Jennifer Aniston, Michael Douglas, Jamie Foxx and Paul Rudd To Present On Oscar® Sunday…
 Looks like Academy Award Nominees Jennifer Lawrence and Writer/Director David O. Russell will be teaming back up with The Weinstein Company for one of his next project, “The Ends of the Earth.” The Weinstein Company gave a press release today announcing.
David O. Russell is scheduled to be releasing “Nailed” starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jessica Biel, and James Marsden and an “Untitled Abscam Project” starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence from his Oscar-nominated Silver Linings Playbook.
Read the Full Press Release down below: Read more on David O. Russell and Jennifer Lawrence Re-Teaming for “The Ends of the Earth”…
 Dear AMPAS Voters
To the few AMPAS voters that still have their ballots and that are turning them in today, I know it’s been a long road. It’s been even longer for the admirers of your wonderful organization. Fellow pundits and I have tried very hard to decipher what it is you all are thinking as a whole. We’ve seen (or heard) sample ballots of some of you and while we don’t put a HUGE amount of stock into those, if they do represent you as a whole, there are some disheartening things about the way you make your choices.
Preferential balloting sucks! Pure and simple. I am no hater of Argo. I really love Ben Affleck’s film and it ranked #8 on my Top 10 of 2012. The reasoning behind its winning streak is what’s annoying. When we leave you to your own devices, not seeing DGA nominations, not seeing the Golden Globe or Critics Choice Winners, etc., you are a bit ambitious in your choices. Even though he doesn’t crack my top five of the year, I LOVE that you nominated Benh Zeitlin. An up and coming director with an exceptional eye for filmmaking deserves recognition from an organization such as yours. Michael Haneke helmed one of the finest films of 2012 that you nominated for Best Picture as well as the outstanding turn by the terrific Emmanuelle Riva. This shows maturity and gets, at least from me, some admiration for your group. Read more on Oscar Ballots Due Today!…
(The annual “Will Win/Should Win” of the Awards Circuit has been our most popular yet most challenging series where each writer let’s their final thoughts be known on the Oscar categories. Each writer will reveal their choices everyday leading up to the Oscar ceremony. Think you can do better? Let your final thoughts be known in the comment section or by joining our Oscar Pool. -CD)
It’s here, the Big One. The Oscars are finally upon us, generating a frenzy of excitement and a torrent of ever-changing predictions in its path to the big stage on Sunday. This is the highly anticipated annual organized free-for-all when ideals shatter, frustrations bubble over, and sometimes (though not often) pleasant surprises challenge the odds. The final results could go any which way, and especially in such a quality-loaded year, it’s been a dizzying process trying to peg the sway of Academy Voters. Finally dashing aside unrealistically hopeful designs of one candidate over another, I’ve joined my Awards Circuit colleagues in settling on the probable winners, though not without putting up a fight for my preferred winners. In the spirit of the games, here are my “Win Will/Should Win” Oscar Selections: Read more on Oscar 2013 Will Win/Should Win Selections (Melkonian)…
Categories: Article Tags: Argo, Bradley Cooper, Brave, Daniel Day-Lewis, David O. Russell, Disney, Jacki Weaver, Jennifer Lawrence, Joaquin Phoenix, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Mark Boal, oscar predictions, Paul Thomas Anderson, Prometheus, Quentin Tarantino, Robert De Niro, Roman Coppola, Silver Linings Playbook, Skyfall, Steven Spielberg, the dark knight rises, The Secret World of Arietty, Wes Anderson, Will Win/Should Win, Wreck-It Ralph, Zero Dark Thirty
 And the Nominees are…
Alan Arkin – Argo
Oscar Scene: “Argo fuck yourself”
Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook
Oscar Scene: “When life reaches out with a woman like this it’s a sin if you don’t reach back, I’m telling you its a sin if you don’t reach back!”
Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master
Oscar Scene: Lancaster Dodd processing Freddie Quell
Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln
Oscar Scene: Thaddeus Stevens facing off with Mary Todd Lincoln
Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained
Oscar Scene: Dr. King Shultz introducing himself to Django
There may be no category as up in the air this time around as Best Supporting Actor. Very few people are confident about their picks, and this is certainly as wide open as any the category has seen in years. It’s also noteworthy for featuring five nominees who are each prior winners, including one actor seeking his third Oscar. At least a three horse race, Best Supporting Actor may very well come down to who actually gave the best performance of the group. There are 100% other factors to consider, but with this tight a contest, it’s conceivable that voters actually took quality into account. The gentlemen nominated all are favorite sons to one degree or another, so lets dive in and take a look at them, shall we?
Read more on Oscar Circuit: Best Supporting Actor…
Categories: Article, Oscar Circuit Tags: Argo, Best Supporting Actor, Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained, Lincoln, Oscar Circuit, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook, The Master, Tommy Lee Jones
 It’s obvious that Would You Rather wants to be considered a somewhat more high class version of ‘Saw’, but it just doesn’t completely know how to go about doing that. Director David Guy Levy shows some interesting restraint in how he chooses to depict certain grisly events, but that almost seems at odds with what scribe Steffen Schlachtenhaufen has cooked up. There’s a cleverness inherent in repurposing the party game that gives the film its title and turning it into a horror movie device, but it takes more than cleverness to put out a successful and effective fright flick. This is by no means a bad film, but appears to be missing the final ingredient that would have made it recommendation worthy in my eyes. The lead performance of Brittany Snow (also a producer on the film) is pretty decent, and I’m always intrigued by seeing adult film performer Sasha Grey continue to try her hand at serious acting, but it never really adds up to enough. By no means is it torture porn, but I didn’t especially see the huge point that the movie is trying to get at. In the end, it’s a serviceable indie horror movie with unfulfilled aspirations of being something more.
Read more on Would You Rather (**½)…
 This week, we have a very unique situation. The column features not only my favorite film of 2012 (which also happens to be the frontrunner for Best Picture at the Academy Awards this weekend), but also a movie coming to Blu-Ray/DVD that was presumably so bad that I actually avoided it. Fans of the site know that I almost go out of my way to make sure that bad movies get their just desserts at The Awards Circuit just like good ones, so for me to tap out os seeing something really means a lot. I want to focus on the quality that’s hitting shelves today though, so lets focus our energy there. It’s obviously not going to be a secret what my top pick is, but I’m still thrilled to write more about it. No use delaying it…my PICK OF THE WEEK is the best film I saw last year. You all know what it is, so lets not beat around the bush. It’s: Read more on Joey’s DVD Picks of the Week (2/19/2013)…
(The annual “Will Win/Should Win” of the Awards Circuit has been our most popular yet most challenging series where each writer let’s their final thoughts be known on the Oscar categories. Each writer will reveal their choices everyday leading up to the Oscar ceremony. Think you can do better? Let your final thoughts be known in the comment section or by joining our Oscar Pool. -CD)
Ah-hah! What beautiful weather it has been! Blizzards in the north and hailing in the south, and here comes the 2013 Academy Awards! Another night of glamourous outfits, men in penguin suits, and gossip everywhere! Along with the speculation, hundreds of reporters and hundreds of thousands watching from home, for Seth McFarlane and Emma Stone to keep us entertained. And, well, here are my ideals and Oscar predictions for 2013!
Best Picture:
Will Win: Argo — After all the snubbing and gossip, and awards being won regardless of the best director snub, a win in the night feels inevitable and well deserved. I made a comment elsewhere about it being more of a pity vote, but I do feel the Academy has a balance and by taking away from Affleck, they will reward him in one way or another. Best Picture is an honor and I feel that, over all, altogether, ‘Argo‘ deserves some attention and acknowledgement from the Academy.
Should Win: Life of Pi — I fell in love with the beauty of the film, the difficult and emotional story, along with the overall composition and elements in the film. If judged on the same chart, I feel Life of Pi has out done many of the movies nominated!
Should Have Been Nominated: The Impossible and Moonrise Kingdom were, easily, the biggest snubs of the 2013! From emotional and overall, a super heavy story, the performances behind both films were excellent and deserved recognition. Read more on Oscar 2013 Will Win/Should Win Selections (Chai)…
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