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Live From Hollywood...
Mar9
'The Hurt Locker' is Oscars' dream film
Kathryn Bigelow at the Governor's Ball after the Oscars (courtesy LA Times)
By KENNETH TURAN
Everyone wants the chance to dream, and if Sunday night's Oscar results are any indication, the people who work in the dream factory most of all.
It takes away nothing from "The Hurt Locker," which really was the best film of the year, or the exceptional directing job done by Kathryn Bigelow, to speculate that more than the acknowledgment of excellence was behind that film's triumph in the hotly contested best picture race.
It seems fair to say that an almost subconscious yearning in part motivated the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to vote the way they did. A yearning for a Hollywood that once existed but doesn't anymore, a Hollywood where films like "The Hurt Locker" were business as usual and not something that was such an aberration, so outside of current norms, that it very nearly didn't get made at all.
But if you voted for "The Hurt Locker," you could pretend that wasn't so. You could vote for a dream of a better world where these films lived long and prospered. And if the film actually won, it would be so much easier to make believe that that traditional Hollywood is still here when the reality is that it's gone, gone, gone.
For though it was made with very modern skills, technologies and attitudes, "The Hurt Locker" at its core is a throwback to a time as far back as 1944, when "Casablanca" was the best of the 10-movie field, and the major studios were in the day-in day-out business of making smart, exciting, character-driven films intended primarily for a grown-up audience.
Jeff Bridges after winning Oscar for Best Actor for his role in 'Crazy Heart' (courtesy INF / People)
Jeff Bridges won't be pinching himself anytime soon. If all of this is an Oscars dream, he's fine with that.
"It's unbelievable," Bridges, 60, told PEOPLE at the Governor's Ball after winning the Best Actor Oscar on Sunday for Crazy Heart, nearly 40 years after his first nomination, for 1971's The Last Picture Show.
"This could be a dream," he said. "I might wake up. Maybe not. Not for a while, anyway."
The actor credited his friends, family and colleagues for their love and support during his long and winding road through Hollywood. During his acceptance speech, he raised the Oscar to the sky and addressed his late parents, Lloyd and Dorothy.
"Thank you, Mom and Dad, for turning me on to such a groovy profession," he said. "This is honoring them as much as it is me."
Actor Sandra Bullock accepts her Razzie award for the 'worst actor' in Los Angeles on Saturday. (courtesy Associated Press)
"Something tells me you all didn't watch the film," Sandra Bullock said as she accepted the Razzie Award as worst actress of 2009 for "All About Steve" at the Barnsdall Gallery Theater in Hollywood on Saturday night. "I thought no one went to see this film, but I know that there are more than 700 members here. That means that the majority of the 700 cast their vote, so that means 352... ?"
As she arrived on stage, she pulled a wagon filled with DVDs, noting, "We brought everybody in the audience a DVD of 'All About Steve.' " She asked the audience members to watch it, rethink their decision and if they agree that she really wasn't that bad, "I will come back next year. I will give back the Razzie."
Showing good humor, Bullock accused members of voting for her just because she promised to attend.
"I said I would show up and then I miraculously won!" she said, adding that her victory is further proof in Hollywood that "all you have to do is show up and you get an award."
Tim Burton's 'Alice' opens with whopping $116.3 million at the box office, a 3-D record
(courtesy Disney)
Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's trip down the rabbit hole drew huge crowds, as "Alice in the Wonderland" earned a whopping $116.3 million in its opening weekend - a record for a 3-D film.
That total easily surpassed all other films in release and gave Walt Disney Studios an even bigger opening than that of the hugely popular 3-D film "Avatar." It also marked the biggest opening weekend for a non-sequel.
"This is just one of those cultural phenomenons that has caught everybody's interest," said Chuck Viane, Disney's president of distribution. "They don't come like this very often."
The enormous early success of the film - which beat forecasts - came on Oscar Sunday, adding to the intrigue. Before the weekend, Disney and 20th Century Fox competed over the available 3-D ready screens; screens outfitted for 3-D are rapidly rising, but still number less than 4,000 in the U.S. and Canada.
Academy Awards Hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin
Steve Martin (r) and Alec Baldwin (l) will serve as co-hosts of the 82nd Academy Awards. (courtesy ABC)
By ALICE MAGGIN and BRADLEY BLACKBURN
When you think back to Academy Awards ceremonies over the years, you might not remember what Julia Roberts wore or who won for best supporting actor, but you probably remember the hosts, particularly if they made you laugh and kept the show moving along.
This Sunday, for the first time in 23 years, the hosting duties will be handled by more than one person. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will share the stage.
The last time multiple hosts helmed the Oscars was 1987 when Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn and Paul Hogan did it, but never in the ceremony's 82-year history have there been just two co-hosts.
Martin's got experience under his belt, having hosted in 2001 and 2003, but it will be Baldwin's first turn on the Oscar stage.
"I've hosted twice before alone and they felt I needed help," Martin quipped.
"They felt it didn't go so well," said Baldwin.
The show's producers think the pairing of Baldwin and Martin harkens back to some of the great comedy teams of film -- Abbott and Costello, or Martin and Lewis.
Something about the imaginative whimsy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland seems particularly suited for the screen, but it's influence has hardly been unique.
Critics say the story has inspired filmmakers "since film's infancy," has been an "irresistible invitation" to special effects creators, and has "always" been a stage and film favorite. All of which is true, in some sense. At least 25 TV and film versions have been made. (Over 30, says the National Post's Chris Knight.) The first was a surprisingly compelling (and now online!) silent film from 1903. The newest is the well-hyped Tim Burton version, which comes out on Friday alongside no fewer than five DVD re-releases.
But all the buzz and critical praise raises a question: has the story had any more influence on cinema than its contemporaries? Going by the number of films it's inspired, no. Two novels from the 1860's match "Alice" on the number of films they've inspired, while another two trail not terribly far behind.
Johnny Depp creates another memorable character for director Tim Burton
Johnny Depp as 'The Mad Hatter' (courtesy Disney)
By RICK BENTLEY
No actor working today has played so many oddly costumed, weird-looking and strange characters as Johnny Depp.
There may be a slight madness to his method of creating such memorable roles as Edward Scissorhands, Capt. Jack Sparrow, Willy Wonka and now the Mad Hatter in his new film, "Alice in Wonderland." But Depp's soft-spoken and unassuming manner makes people feel comfortable and believe in him.
Veteran producer Richard Zanuck, for example, says he sleeps well before shooting a film with Depp because he can count on the actor setting a positive tone on the set.
Depp's unpretentious demeanor is apparent in how he views his career. Despite more than $5 billion in tickets sold for his films, Depp says he is amazed he's still a working actor.
"My whole experience on this ride, since day one, has been pretty surreal," Depp says. "I'm still completely shocked I get jobs and am still around. It's been a kind of wonderland and I have been lucky. I had no idea where anything was going. I thought after I had done 'Cry Baby' with John Waters and 'Edward Scissorhands' with Tim (Burton), I thought they were going to cut me off at the point. But I'm still here."
"Alice in Wonderland" is his seventh collaboration with director Burton.
Master Sergeant Jeffrey S. Sarver believes screenwriter Mark Boal based "virtually all of the situations" in the film on events involving him and claims he coined the phrase "the hurt locker," according to a statement from lawyer Geoffrey Fieger in Southland, Michigan, who is representing Sarver.
A news conference is planned for Wednesday at Fieger's offices, at which time more details are expected on what Sarver's lawyers said was a "multimillion dollar suit."
The film's distributor, Summit Entertainment, issued its own statement on Tuesday reiterating the movie's claim that it is a "fictional account" about soldiers in the battlefield.
"We have no doubt that Master Sergeant Sarver served his country with honor and commitment risking his life for a greater good, but we distributed the film based on a fictional screenplay written by Mark Boal," Summit said.
Boal was a journalist in Iraq embedded with a squad that dismantled bombs, and he wrote a story about them for Playboy magazine. He developed his story into a screenplay about the soldiers and focused on one in particular, Will James. From that screenplay came the movie.
Sarver claims Boal was embedded with Sarver's unit and that he is James. Sarver says James' nickname in the movie, "Blaster One," was Sarver's "call signal" while in Iraq.
Top 10 Academy Awards most memorable Oscar moments
(courtesy The Associated Press)
By Stephen Whitty/The Star-Ledger
The Academy Awards have provided some memorable moments over the years. Michael Moore (left) accepts the Oscar for best documentary feature for the film Bowling for Columbine during the 75th annual Academy Awards Sunday, March 23, 2003, in Los Angeles.
Yes, it's boring, boring, boring. Except when it isn't. And any show that has more than 80 annual appearances under its belt, is going to rack up a few oh-no-they-didn't moments (listed here by the year of the event and/or telecast).
Click the Continue Reading at link to see Stephen Whitty's list
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