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Oscar Show rundown, complete and timed to the second!

February 24th, 2008 by Scott Marks

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I don’t know when or how, but some time during tonight’s
broadcast, there will be Hope!

Want to know the perfect time to throw a bag of corn in the microwave or pay a visit to the commode during Hollywood’s yearly reenactment of the Bataan death march? Here’s your blow-by-blow breakdown of tonight’s festivities.

Looks like there will be no Irving Thalberg award (never liked him anyway after what he did to the Marx Bros.) or a Jean Hersholt giveaway for that matter. There is buzz about Nicole Kidman paying tribute to either Sydney Pollack and/or Heath Ledger, but nothing is confirmed. The only honorary award will go to production designer par excellence Robert Boyle.

The show starts at 5:30 (PT). The picture runs three hours and twenty-nine minutes (giver or take a commandment); there will be many intermissions.

I want to thank all of you who read Emulsion Compulsion on a daily basis. I love everybody! Gotta’ go…the red light is blinking. (Blows kisses to audience.)

OPENING MONOLOGUE: 6 minutes

AWARD #1: COSTUME DESIGN
Jennifer Garner: 5:50 PM (PT)

AWARD #2: ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway

AWARD #3: MAKEUP
Katherine Heigl: 5:57

BATHROOM BREAK / NOMINATED SONG PERFORMANCE #1 :6:03:09
“Happy Working Song” 2:07
Amy Adams-vocs, orchestra

AWARD #4: VISUAL EFFECTS
Dwayne Johnson: 6:09

AWARD #5: ART DIRECTION
Cate Blanchett: 6:13

Laughter ensues when Jon Stewart jokes about Blanchett’s double nomination as Queen Elizabeth and Bob Dylan.

AWARD #6: ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Jennifer Hudson: 6:18

PRESENTER INTRO PERFORMANCE
Keri Russell: 6:27

POPCORN BREAK / NOMINATED SONG PERFORMANCE #2: 6:27
“Raise It Up”
Jamia Simone Nash, Impact Repertory Theatre of Harlem, Total Praise Community Choir, Orchestra

AWARD #7: LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Owen Wilson: 6:30

AWARD #8: ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Barry B. Benson: 6:36

AWARD #9: ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Alan Arkin: 6:39

SCI-TECH AWARDS RECAP
Jessica Alba: 6:49:20

AWARD #10: ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
James McAvoy, Josh Brolin: 6:50

PRESENTER INTRO PERFORMANCE
Future Oscar winner Miley Cyrus: 6:57:38

PHONE BREAK / NOMINATED SONG PERFORMANCE #3: 7:00
“That’s How You Know”
Kristin Chenoweth-vocals, Dancers, Marlon Saunders-singer, Steel Drummer, Kids, Tuba Players, Chorus

AWARD #11: SOUND EDITING
For you youngsters in the audience, Jonah Hill & Seth Rogen: 7:06

AWARD #12: SOUND MIXING
More with Jonah Hill & Seth Rogen: 7:09

AWARD #13: ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Forest Whitaker: 7:15

SMOKE BREAK / NOMINATED SONG PERFORMANCE #4: 7:27:43
“Falling Slowly”
Glen Hansard-vocals, guitar, Marketa Irglova-vocals, piano

Jack Nicholson to present a montage of Best Picture winners over the last 80 years.

AWARD #14: FILM EDITING
Renée Zellweger: 7:33

HONORARY OSCAR TO ROBERT BOYLE
Nicole Kidman, Randy Thomas, Robert Boyle: 7:38

AWARD #15: FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Penélope Cruz: 7:47

PRESENTER INTRO PERFORMANCE (Patrick Dempsey)

OXYGEN BREAK / NOMINATED SONG PERFORMANCE #5: 7:54:46
“So Close”
Jon McLaughlin-vocals, Featured Dancers, Ballroom Dancers , Band Member Extras, Bill Conti

AWARD #16: ORIGINAL SONG
John Travolta, Ballroom Dancer-Valentina: 7:55

AWARD #17: CINEMATOGRAPHY
Cameron Diaz: 8:04

IN MEMORIAM TRIBUTE (3:00)
Hilary Swank: 8:11

AWARD #18: ORIGINAL SCORE
Amy Adams: 8:15

AWARD #19: DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Tom Hanks and Special Guests: 8:19

AWARD #20: DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Tom Hanks: 8:22

AWARD #21: ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Harrison Fordz-z-z-z-z-z: 8:30

AWARD #22: ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Helen Mirren: 8:37

AWARD #23: DIRECTING
Martin Scorsese!: 8:47

AWARD #24: BEST MOTION PICTURE
Denzel Washington: 8:49

GOODNIGHTS 8:53:49 (Jon Stewart)

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Oscar predictions and last minute thoughts on Hollywood’s longest night

February 23rd, 2008 by Scott Marks

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Oscar……………………………….Picks

At least we have one thing to look forward to: Marty is guaranteed to make an appearance to hand out this year’s best director award.

Admittedly, I have never been much use when it comes to handicapping the Oscars. As much as I enjoy the more ghoulish aspects of the ceremony, I detest what these prizes represent. Art shouldn’t compete especially when all everyone is concerned with is commerce. Besides, who cares about art when we have starlets on the red carpet eager for our evaluation of their designer gowns?

Contests to predict the winners have been going on for ages. In the late 70s, a high school chum dreamed that he entered the offices of the Chicago Tribune with chain in hand screaming “I’M HERE TO BEAT SISKEL.” My literal minded crony was fantasizing over the newspaper’s annual “Beat Siskel” contest that asked readers to outguess their prized critic’s Oscar picks.

Every year I tried to beat (down) Siskel and every year I lost. I haven’t a clue as to what (other than wind) goes through the minds of Academy voters. It might help if they were to occasionally nominate a picture that displayed something other than nice scenery and good intentions. Over the past twenty years, only three best picture winners (The Last Emperor, Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby) appeared on my top ten lists. (The fact that it took the Academy decades to finally catch up with Clint Eastwood owes more to the law of averages rather than any genuine recognition of artistry.) Conversely, Rain Man, Schindler’s List, Forrest Gump, Braveheart, Shakespeare in Love, American Beauty, Chicago and Crash all found worthy homes in my critical dungeon.

In a not so bold attempt to make me look like a schmuck come Monday morning, here are the pictures and people that will probably lose simply because I prematurely envisioned them winners. My choices by no means indicate a film that deserves acclaim; it’s what my gut tells me the Academy voters will go for.

Best Picture: “Atonement,” “Juno,” “Michael Clayton,” “No Country for Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood.”

Best Actor: George Clooney, “Michael Clayton”; Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”; Johnny Depp, “Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street”; Tommy Lee Jones, “In the Valley of Elah”; Viggo Mortensen, “Eastern Promises.”

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”; Julie Christie, “Away From Her”; Marion Cotillard, “La Vie en Rose”; Laura Linney, “The Savages”; Ellen Page, “Juno.”

Best Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”; Javier Bardem, “No Country for Old Men”; Hal Holbrook, “Into the Wild”; Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Charlie Wilson’s War”; Tom Wilkinson, “Michael Clayton.”

Best Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, “I’m Not There”; Ruby Dee, “American Gangster”; Saoirse Ronan, “Atonement”; Amy Ryan, “Gone Baby Gone”; Tilda Swinton, “Michael Clayton.”

Best Director: Julian Schnabel, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”; Jason Reitman, “Juno”; Tony Gilroy, “Michael Clayton”; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”; Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood.”

Foreign Film: “Beaufort,” Israel; “The Counterfeiters,” Austria; “Katyn,” Poland; “Mongol,” Kazakhstan; “12,” Russia.

Adapted Screenplay: Christopher Hampton, “Atonement”; Sarah Polley, “Away from Her”; Ronald Harwood, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”; Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”; Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood.”

Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody, “Juno”; Nancy Oliver, “Lars and the Real Girl”; Tony Gilroy, “Michael Clayton”; Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco, “Ratatouille”; Tamara Jenkins, “The Savages.”

Animated Feature Film: “Persepolis”; “Ratatouille”; “Surf’s Up.”

Art Direction: “American Gangster,” “Atonement,” “The Golden Compass,” “Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” “There Will Be Blood.”

Cinematography: “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” “Atonement,” “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” “No Country for Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood.”

Sound Mixing: “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “No Country for Old Men,” “Ratatouille,” “3:10 to Yuma,” “Transformers.”

Sound Editing: “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “No Country for Old Men,” “Ratatouille,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Transformers.”

Original Score: “Atonement,” Dario Marianelli; “The Kite Runner,” Alberto Iglesias; “Michael Clayton,” James Newton Howard; “Ratatouille,” Michael Giacchino; “3:10 to Yuma,” Marco Beltrami.

Original Song: “Falling Slowly” from “Once,” Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova; “Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted,” Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz; “Raise It Up” from “August Rush,” Nominees to be determined; “So Close” from “Enchanted,” Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz; “That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted,” Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz.

Costume: “Across the Universe,” “Atonement,” “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” “La Vie en Rose,” “Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”

Documentary Feature: “No End in Sight,” “Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience,” “Sicko,” “Taxi to the Dark Side,” “War/Dance.”

Documentary (short subject): “Freeheld,” “La Corona (The Crown),” “Salim Baba,” “Sari’s Mother.” (No prediction.)

Film Editing: “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” “Into the Wild,” “No Country for Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood.”

Makeup: “La Vie en Rose,” “Norbit,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.”

Animated Short Film: “I Met the Walrus,” “Madame Tutli-Putli,” “Meme Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven),” “My Love (Moya Lyubov),” “Peter & the Wolf.”

Live Action Short Film: “At Night,” “Il Supplente (The Substitute),” “Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets),” “Tanghi Argentini,” “The Tonto Woman.”

Visual Effects: “The Golden Compass,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” “Transformers.”

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Oscar advertisers fear downbeat films will bring low ratings

February 21st, 2008 by Scott Marks

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Now that those pesky writers have been satisfied, it’s time for television to get back to doing what they do best: coddling their advertisers.

This year’s crop of downbeat and obscure best picture nominees have advertisers wringing their hands. Instead of tuning in for quality, they are hoping viewers, fatigued after months of reruns, will award the Academy with high ratings.

According to the New York Post, of the five nominated films, Atonement, No Country for Old Men, Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood and Juno, only one took in over $100 million at the box office.

Atonement is an exquisite, handsomely directed melodrama that is as demanding as it is devastatingly depressing. No Country is filled with graphic violence and enough clever plotting to keep general audiences away. There Will Be Blood is dank, character-driven and far too long to gain wide acceptance. Even fans of George Clooney are staying away from his earnest, duty-bound Michael Clayton.

The overwritten sitcom Juno glamorizes teen pregnancy and for my money is the darkest and most contemptible film of the bunch. It’s also the only one to ascended the box office ladder and reach the sacred $100 million mark. So much for my being in sync with the American public.

If the ratings tank it won’t be because the competition placed any roadblocks in the Academy’s path to success. Opposite the Oscarcast are reruns of Cold Case, Law and Order: Criminal Intent and The Simpsons.

The telecast, second only to the Super Bowl as TV’s biggest annual event, has been slipping in the ratings for years. Last year, 40 million people tuned in, up marginally from 39 million the previous year. Blame it on the glut of useless awards shows and and the hundreds of satellite channels vying for viewers’ attention.

Advertisers pay an average of $1.8 million for a 30-second spot.

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Roll in the red carpet: MoPA’s Oscar party cancelled!

February 21st, 2008 by Scott Marks

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Lest we forget, these two jadrools won Oscars and Hitchcock and Cary Grant didn’t!

Those of you wanting to witness my public rage when the former pole dancer picks up her best screenwriting statuette will have to rely on their imaginations. The Museum of Photographic Arts has called off its Academy Awards gala due to lack of interest.

What is it with San Diego’s film community? Worse yet, what’s with all the woosies scared to enter Balboa Park after sundown? Every decade someone is hurled over the Laurel Street bridge and locals fear that they’ll be next. We should be so lucky! Patrons can figure out how to make it to the Globe or Prado Restaurant, but when it comes to movies people look at the Park after dark as a leper colony.

Okay, maybe a buck-and-a-half a head was a bit stiff, but MoPA is a more than worthy cause. For you less charitable types there was free booze and a dinner whipped up by deliciously dependable Waters Catering. On top of that, Beth Accomando and I, two die hard Oscar-haters would be doing the color commentary. Even if you lose you win!

Just when I wrapped my mind around watching the Oscars outside my safety zone. Looks like another year sitting in my underpants, cleaning my gun and snacking on bread dipped in peach brandy.

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Writers Guild strike officially over

February 13th, 2008 by Scott Marks

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Not surprisingly, Nikki Finke’s Daily Hollywood Deadline in the L. A. Weekly was the first to report news that the writer’s strike is officially over. Kudos to Ms. Finke for her exceptional coverage throughout the ordeal!

For once the Academy Awards came in handy. Were it not for the threat of Oscar breathing down execs’ necks, who knows how long the strike would have dragged on? Dismissing the Golden Globes is one thing. Are there any idiots in America that would go to a movie simply because it won a Globe? They’re spoilsports, anyway. Ms. Finke also reports that the Hollywood Foreign Press may take legal action against the WGA over the cancellation of the self-impressed gala.
As for the back-to-work writers, you have all had plenty of time on your hands, let’s hope that you spent some of it contemplating future of cinema. There will always be a schumck in the bunch who leaps at the chance of penning the sequel to Jumper or dialogue to punctuate canned laughter. Say no to sequels and remakes of perfectly fine movies. Lay off the thrill ride approach and get back to telling challenging and engaging stories.

Here is the official statement from the suits:

“This is a day of relief and optimism for everyone in the entertainment industry. We can now all get back to work, with the assurance that we have concluded two groundbreaking labor agreements - with our directors and our writers — that establish a partnership through which our business can grow and prosper in the new digital age. The strike has been extraordinarily difficult for all of us, but the hardest hit of all have been the many thousands of businesses, workers and families that are economically dependent on our industry. We hope now to focus our collective efforts on what this industry does best - writers, directors, actors, production crews, and entertainment companies working together to deliver great content to our worldwide audiences.”

Peter Chernin, Chairman and CEO, the Fox Group
Brad Grey, Chairman & CEO, Paramount Pictures Corp.
Robert A. Iger, President & CEO, The Walt Disney Company
Michael Lynton, Chairman & CEO, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Barry M. Meyer, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros.
Leslie Moonves, President & CEO, CBS Corp.
Harry Sloan, Chairman & CEO, MGM
Jeff Zucker, President & CEO, NBC Universal

And here is what the WGA had to say:

On Tuesday, members of the Writers Guilds East and West voted by a 92.5% margin to lift the restraining order that was invoked on November 5th. The strike is over.

Writing can resume immediately. If you were employed when the strike began, you should plan to report to work on Wednesday. If you’re not employed at an office or other work site, call or e-mail your employer that you are resuming work. If you have been told not to report to work or resume your services, we recommend that you still notify your employer in writing of your availability to do so. Questions concerning return-to-work issues should be directed to the WGAW legal department or the WGAE’s assistant executive director.

The decision to begin this strike was not taken lightly and was only made after no other reasonable alternative was possible. We are profoundly aware of the economic loss these fourteen weeks have created not only for our members but so many other colleagues who work in the television and motion picture industries. Nonetheless, with the establishment of the WGA jurisdiction over new media and residual formulas based on distributor’s gross revenue (among other gains) we are confident that the results are a significant achievement not only for ourselves but the entire creative community, now and in the future.

We hope to build upon the extraordinary energy, ingenuity, and solidarity that were generated by your hard work during the strike.

Over the next weeks and months, we will be in touch with you to discuss and develop ways we can use our unprecedented unity to make our two guilds stronger and more effective than ever.

Now that the strike has ended, there remains the vote to ratify the new contract. Ballots and information on the new deal, both pro and con, will be mailed to you shortly. You will be able to return those ballots via mail or at a membership meeting to be held Monday, February 25th, 2008, at times and locations to be determined.

Thank you for making it possible. As ever, we are all in this together.

Best,

Patric M. Verrone
President, WGAW

Michael Winship
President, WGAE”

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Vanity Fair Oscar party canceled due to Writers Guild strike

February 6th, 2008 by Scott Marks

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What would the Academy Awards be without the glitzy post game parties? A three-and-a-half hour snooze fest without the added incentive of a couple cocktails after the show.

Last night Vanity Fair decided to call off its annual Oscar gala. VF Daily issued the following press announcement:

“After much consideration, and in support of the writers and everyone else affected by this strike, we have decided that this is not the appropriate year to hold our annual Oscar party. We want to congratulate all of this year’s nominees and we look forward to hosting our 15th Oscar party next year. Inasmuch as Vanity Fair is a collection of writers, photographers and artists, we do feel ourselves in aligned solidarity with the writers, directors and actors in the film business.”

Remind me to renew my subscription to this fine, loyal, right-thinking publication.

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