Behind the Scenes – Rehearsals continue at the Dolby Theatre.

If there’s anything you can bank on, it’s my Oscars picks. Since I started covering the Academy Awards five years ago, my picks have been scorchingly accurate in the major categories with 29 out of 35 correct selections. Last year I banked a little heavy on Boyhood and Birdman and it cost me. This year I have expanded my prognostications to nine categories from my usual six. Break a leg, Leo….and good luck to the rest:

Best Picture
The Revenant

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Brie Larson, Room

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Sylvester Stallone, Creed

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Alicia Vikander, Danish Girl

Directing
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, The Revenant

Animated Feature Film
Inside Out

Foreign Language Film
Son of Saul, Hungary

Writing (Original Screenplay)
Straight Outta Compton, Screenplay by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff; Story by S. Leigh Savidge and Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff

SIDEBARS

I have to say that I’m addicted to the sidebars that the Academy hands out for news and liners columns. They’re like Hershey’s Kisses or Lay’s potato chips, you just can’t stop snacking on them:

• In 2011, the balloting rules first allowed for the possibility of between five and ten nominees for Best Picture. For the first three years, there were nine nominees. For the past two years, there have been eight.
• Steven Spielberg has set the record for the most Best Picture nominations for an individual producer with nine.

So combined, Spielberg and I have two Oscars…not bad!

• In the Acting categories, eight individuals are first-time nominees (Bryan Cranston, Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, Brie Larson, Charlotte Rampling, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rachel McAdams and Alicia Vikander). Five of the nominees are previous Acting winners (Eddie Redmayne, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Winslet).
• At age 25, Jennifer Lawrence is the youngest four-time Acting nominee.
• Sylvester Stallone, who received his first Acting nomination in 1976 for Rocky, is the sixth person nominated for playing the same role in two different films. He follows Bing Crosby as Father O’Malley in Going My Way (1944) and The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945); Paul Newman as Fast Eddie Felson in The Hustler (1961) and The Color of Money (1986); Peter O’Toole as Henry II in Becket (1964) and The Lion in Winter (1968); Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974); and Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth I in Elizabeth (1998) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007). Of these, only Bing Crosby and Paul Newman won Oscars (in 1944 and 1986, respectively).
• Roger Deakins has the most nominations for Cinematography of any living person with 13. Charles B. Lang, Jr. and Leon Shamroy share the all-time record with 18 nominations each
• Sandy Powell now has the most nominations for Costume Design of any living person with 12. The overall record in the category belongs to Edith Head with 35 nominations.
• John Williams extends his record number of music scoring nominations with 45. His overall total of 50 nominations (including five for Original Song) increases his record for the most Academy Award nominations of any living person (the only person with more is Walt Disney at 59).
• Thomas Newman’s nomination for Original Score for Bridge of Spies is his 13th and brings the total for members of the Newman family (Alfred, Lionel, Emil, Thomas, David and Randy) to 89, more than any other family.
• Two Original Song nominations are from documentaries this year, a first: “Manta Ray” from Racing Extinction and “Til It Happens To You” from The Hunting Ground. Previous nominations were for “More” from Mondo Cane (1963); “I Need To Wake Up” from An Inconvenient Truth, which won an Oscar in 2006; “Before My Time” from Chasing Ice (2012); and “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me (2014).
• With his two nominations for Sound Mixing (for Bridge of Spies and Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Andy Nelson has tied Kevin O’Connell’s record for the most individual nominations in the category with 20.
• Inside Out is the ninth animated feature to receive a Writing nomination. To date, none has won. With his fourth Writing nomination this year, Pete Docter has tied Andrew Stanton for the most writing nominations for animated films.

Forty years ago, Jack took home the gold for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.

#TBT – The 48th Academy Awards

May Oscars 2016 Be as Nuts as the 1976 Academy Awards … Brian Raftery’s column on wired.com deserves a read. He writes:

FORTY YEARS AGO, Oscar voters were grappling with many of the same quandaries facing the Academy today. Should they reward the man-versus-nature tale with the famously troubled production, or the ripped-from-the-headlines true-tale drama? Will that unfairly overlooked smash-hit musical drama with the predominantly black cast get a trophy? And when Jack Nicholson keeps his sunglasses on for the entire ceremony, is he doing it for cool-cred reasons, or to simply hide the fact that he’s napping? 

As it turned out, the 48th annual Academy Awards ceremony—which featured such films as Jaws, Dog Day Afternoon, and Mahogany—wound up raising more questions than it answered. The event, now viewable on YouTube, took place halfway through a decade that had begun with a surge of personal, provocative, and rule-crooking new films, including some of that year’s clearly troubled nominees—not just Dog Day, but also contenders like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and the way-darker-than-you-remember Shampoo. Meanwhile, the whole industry was in flux: New stars had taken over, old genres were falling out of favor, and technologies were on the way that would change movie-making (and movie-going) forever. Read more…

AD OF THE WEEK/MONTH/WHATEVER


“We All Dream In Gold”

I try not to suck up too much, but the magic of the 2016 We All Dream In Gold commercial for the Oscars live telecast cannot be contained. Watch it and try to avoid getting the chills…simply impossible:

The post OSCAR WEEK 2016: My Picks appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

If you read Friday’s column you know I am home in Los Angeles. But, honestly, Europe still has a hold of me. I’m still stuck (mentally) at the New Year’s Eve Silvester Gala at Hofburg Palace (you know, the former imperial palace in the centre of Vienna that emperors used for their accommodations).

But it’s awards season and the opportunity to walk the red carpet and snap off images for Fox and a few others is much too alluring. The Oscars are February 28th and I have already been eyeballing the pilates VHS tape so I look good in a tux this year. A simple plea though, pray for me! Why? Because the trolls that make it to the red carpet with the arms extended like some fleshy selfie stick are nothing short of disgusting, two-faced demon looking to fill up their Instagram and Twitter accounts. I’m fully stocked with Purell Hand Sanitizer to exorcise any airborne viruses these trolls spread around.

Jane Fonda’s “Not Amused” Face

The real winners of the Golden Globes were Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, because they got hit with a bolt of “not impressed” shooting out of Jane Fonda’s eyes. I’d pay big bucks to get Jane Fonda to shank me with her eyes while looking like her head is breaking out of a prison of bedazzled coffee filters. She’s been practicing that look since she threw those MIAs under the bus in the Vietnam War and never looked back. For shame, Jane.

In a bit that was sponsored by their weed shop of choice, Jonah Hill pretended to be the bear from The Revenant while he and Channing Tatum presented the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture. Jane Fonda was one of the nominees and as her man Richard Perry’s face went full WTF, she silently judged those buffoons!

Don’t let the dress fool you. Just because she’s covered in clown collars doesn’t mean that she’s here for Jonah and Channing’s Barnum and Bailey antics. Jane Fonda did not put on that mockery of a dress just so the stars of 22 Jump Street could make a complete sham out of her category! This is serious business. Great work guys!

Seriously! Lady Gaga Wins? 

I didn’t know that Lady Gaga was married to a billionaire Israeli businessman?! And may a lightning bolt from heaven strike me down for comparing Lady Gaga to the talented angel that is Pia Zadora.

The Golden Globe winners were all over the place, so of course they continued with that theme by giving her an award for the accent acrobats and music video acting she did in American Horror Story: Hotel. While looking like she was doing third-rate Breathless Mahoney cosplay, Lady Gaga actually beat Felicity Huffman and Kirsten Dunst in the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Movie or Miniseries. And just like that, the Golden Globes won the award for Best Comedy Show of the Year!

Before Lady Gaga’s acceptance speech where she laid it on so thick that I’m still wiping the thickness out of my eyes and ears (that sounds sexy but it’s not), she made her way to the stage and bumped into Leonardo Dicaprio who let out a scared giggle:

Katy’s Golden Globes

I hear Katy Perry say, “I got my wig out and my globes!”

According to pretty much EVERYONE (but specifically Vanity Fair, UsWeekly, E!, and People), Katy Perry – the Golden Globes presenter that made the majority of viewers turn to the person sitting beside them and whisper “Wait, why is she here?“, and Orlando Bloom – the Golden Globes presenter who I initially thought was a cleaned-up Charlie Sheen, might be a thing that is happening.

A whole bunch of blabbermouths who attended Harvey Weinstein’s afterparty squealed on Katy and Orlando by claiming they spent a good chunk of the night together doing the following: whispering, flirting, being flirty, leaning in close, getting super cozy, “sharing a vape pen“, and dancing together. One source added that Orlando would “touch the small of her back” when talking to her. The small of her back? Calm down, you two! It’s Harvey Weinstein’s Golden Globes afterparty, not the orgy scene from Caligula.

Obviously, Katy and Orlando’s G-rated middle school dance antics could be nothing more than two drunk n’ horny famous types who accidentally brushed up against each other on the way to the bar and were like “Oooh, let’s do that again, but on purpose.” Or maybe hooking up with some random dick like Orlando was Katy checking off Step 4 in her 12-Step recovery program.

That’s probably it.

RICKY and HIS JOKES

From the Hollywood Reporter… “Days after hosting the Golden Globes and still defending some of the racy jokes he did there, comedian Ricky Gervias was cracking on the Oscars.

The 2016 Academy Awards nominations were released Thursday morning and not a single nonwhite actor was given the nod in an acting category. This is the second year in a row with that result. Some, such a Al Sharpton, shared their anger over the snub. Gervais shared humor.”

Here are some of the intrepid hosts best shots on the live telecast:

On the audience and Sean Penn: “Shut up you disgusting, pill-popping sexual deviant scum. I want to do this monologue and go into hiding. Not even Sean Penn will stop me. Snitch!”

On Caitlyn Jenner: “What a year she’s had. She’s become a role model for trans people everywhere, showing great bravery and destroying stereotypes. She didn’t do a lot for women drivers. You can’t have everything, can you, not at the same time.”

On gender pay gap disparity: “Jennifer Lawrence made the news when she demanded equal pay for women in Hollywood. She received overwhelming support from people everywhere. There were marches on the street with nurses and factory workers saying, ‘How the hell can a 25-year-old live on $52 million?!’”

“Of course woman should be paid the same as men for doing the same job. And I’d like to say now, I’m being paid exactly the same as [what Tina Fey and Amy Poehler] did last year. No I know there were two of them, but it’s not my fault if they want to share the money, is it? That’s their stupid fault. It’s funny because it’s true.”

“All-female remakes are the big thing. There’s a female remake of Ghostbusters. There’s going to be a female remake of Oceans 11. And this is brilliant for the studios because they get guaranteed box office results and they don’t have to spend too much money on the cast.”

On Spotlight: “The excellent Spotlight has been nominated. Yeah. The Catholic Church are furious about the film as it exposes that 5 percent of all their priests have repeatedly molested children and been allowed to continue to work without punishment. Roman Polanski called it ‘the best date movie ever.”’

On his three personal Golden Globes: “I won three Golden Globes myself … one I keep by the bed to — it doesn’t matter why, it’s mine. I won it fair and square. It’s just the right shape and size, it’s nothing… yeah. To be clear: That was a joke about me shoving Golden Globes that I’ve won up my a**.”

Introducing Matt Damon: “It’s the star of the hilarious comedy The Martian. He is also the only person that Ben Affleck hasn’t been unfaithful to.”

Introducing Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Schumer: “Joy and Trainwreck. No not the name of Charlie Sheen’s two favorite hookers, the films of our next two presenters. They are best friends by the way and if you forget they said they’d tweet you. It’s like they’ve never had a friend before, please welcome Amy Schumer and Jennifer Lawrence.”

Introducing Eva Longoria and America Ferrera: “Eva Longoria and America Ferrera aren’t just beautiful, talented actresses they’re also two people who your future president, Donald Trump, can’t wait to deport.”

Introducing Kevin Hart and Ken Jeong: “When Brad and Angelina see these next to adorable little presenters, they’re going to want to adopt them. Please welcome Kevin Hart and Ken Jeong.’

Introducing Mel Gibson: “I’d rather have a drink with him in his hotel room tonight than with Bill Cosby.”

Introducing Eddie Redmayne: “Our next presenter is an actress who is both beautiful and talented. Born in England she came to American and has taken Hollywood by storm. Please welcome the nominated star of The Danish Girl, it’s a dude, Eddie Redmayne.”

At the end of the gala: “Thank you, I’m afraid that’s it. We’re out of time. From myself and Mel Gibson, shalom.”

Backstage at the Globes.

Worth every minute of the wait.

Sniffer dogs were seen checking out the red carpet before the stars arrived.

Host Ricky Gervais arrived early.

Kirsten Dunst (with some guy) hanging out on the red carpet. They are a lovely pair.

Wiz Khalifa thought he was on the walk of shame and not the red carpet it seemed.

Jurassic World star Dallas Bryce Howard wowed on the red carpet

Olivia Wilde was loving life!

Take flight with Taraji P. Henson.

Newly engaged Eva Longoria looking right at ya!…

…and she commanded the red carpet.

Love the wig…where are your sharks?!

Katy realizing she had to go in without me! Gotta love the Golden Globes … Ricky, get me a drink, please.

Ah, the future ex-wife … hello Jen!

Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Stallone with the win! Absolutely!

Eva Green..even more captivating in black and white.

The post The Red Carpet and Beyond: Golden Globes 2016 appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

Q&A:
CHUCK NORRIS TALKS ABOUT ‘EXPENDABLES 2’
By the way, he’s not 72: ‘I’m 39 years old with 33 years of experience’ 

WASHINGTON – “The Expendables 2” opens
in theaters nationwide and some of the mega-action stars are talking up the
movie. But arguably the biggest action icon internationally gave his first
exclusive interview on the project to his favorite news source – the one that
serves as the flagship for his weekly political column and his weekly health
column. That would be Chuck Norris and WND. Several WND news editors did the
grilling. The sequel stars Norris, Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph
Lundgren, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jet Li, Bruce Willis, Jean-Claude Van Damme,
Terry Crews, mixed martial arts fighter Randy Couture and “rookie”
Liam Hemsworth. By the way, not to give anything away, but they do not all make
it out of “Expendables 2” alive.

WND caught up with Norris just before he headed to Hollywood for the screening
Wednesday night and had the chance to conduct this
exclusive interview.

Question: We’ve heard that Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis might share some
of your conservative views? Did you have a chance to talk politics at all with
your co-stars? What are they thinking about the 2012 election?
Answer: We only had one thing on our minds and that was making
“Expendables 2” the best it can be.

Q: Did you have fun making this movie with other top action stars?
A: It was great working with all the guys. I have known Arnold since the 1960s,
Van Damme since the 70s and Willis and Sly since the 80s.

Q: Is this going to be a classic for the ages?
A: Anytime you get action legends together, it has to be a classic.

Q: Any funny stories you can relate about the making of the film?
A: Sly said to me, “These Chuck Norris Facts are everywhere, why don?t we
put one in a scene?” My wife, Gena, said, “I have the perfect one for
the scene.” It is really funny, but you’ll have to see the movie to find
out.

Q: What was your reaction to seeing the final cut?
A: I haven’t seen it yet. But have heard great responses from the screenings.

Q: What’s the most redemptive message of the film?
A: Legendary heroes defeating the bad guys.

Q: You are 72. How can you possibly be doing action movies?
A: Because I’m 39 years old with 33 years of experience.

Q: Like you, some of your fellow cast-members, including Randy Couture and Jet
Li, are real-life martial artists. Did you ever spar with any of them?
A: We were too busy working.

Q: What was your favorite scene in this film?
A: Too many to mention. It is an action-packed film (I love action) that will
keep you riveted to your seat the whole time.

Q: Why did you turn down the offer to play a role in “Expendables 1”?
A: I wasn’t offered a role in “Expendables 1,” and I’m a guest star
in “Expendables 2.” 

The post The Chuck Norris Chat appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.