Patton Oswalt at the 'Young Adult' premiere - Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures
Patton Oswalt was nominated for an Annie for voicing Remy the rat in Ratatouille – and the film won nine Annies in 2008 – and now the comedian/actor has been named as host for the 39th Annual Annie Awards. To be held on February 4, 2012 at UCLA, the Annie Awards honor overall excellence as well as individual achievement in a total of 28 categories ranging from best feature, production design, character animation, and effects animation to storyboarding, writing, music, editing, and voice acting.
Patton, who’s currently on screen in the live-action R-rated adult comedy Young Adult starring Charlize Theron and Patrick Wilson, had this to say about being chosen as the Annie host: “The Annies are where the real weirdos hang, and it’s a visual feast just to have a drink with them. I can’t wait.”
“Patton’s comedic talent, audacious humor, and love for animation will bring great energy and visibility, not to mention fun to this year’s ceremony,” stated ASIFA-Hollywood President Frank Gladstone. “We are extremely excited to have him aboard.”
For more details and ticket info, visit annieawards.org.
Had Steven Tyler been a contestant on American Idol, odds are he wouldn’t have received a golden ticket to Hollywood for this rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the Baltimore Ravens vs New England Patriots AFC Championship game on January 22, 2012. Tyler did miss up a line from the song and, of course, he sang it like a rocker would – lending it his Steven Tyler/Aerosmith-ish vibe which didn’t sit well with some fans.
Check out the video and see what you think of Tyler’s take on “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Episode 10 of the first season of Once Upon a Time airs tonight, with romance guiding the storyline.
Here’s what we can expect from the January 22, 2012 episode on ABC: “Mary Margaret and David continue to grapple with their unrequited love, and Emma and Regina grow suspicious over a mysterious new stranger in town. Meanwhile, in the fairytale land that was, Snow White yearns to ease her breaking heart as Prince Charming’s wedding to King Midas’s daughter approaches.”
Red Hot Chili Peppers (Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros Records)
Warner Bros Records just announced new shows in April and May 2012 have been added to the Red Hot Chili Peppers I’m With You World Tour. The group says that because of Anthony Kiedis’ foot injuries, the tour will now kick off on March 29th in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The group will be inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame in April.
Newly Announced Tour Dates:
04/27 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre (on sale 1/27)
04/30 Ottawa, ON Scotiabank Place (on sale 1/27)
05/02 Montreal, QC Bell Centre (on sale 1/28)
05/04 Newark, NJ Prudential Center (on sale 1/28)
05/07 Boston, MA TD Garden (on sale 1/27)
05/10 Washington, DC Verizon Center (on sale 1/27)
05/11 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center (on sale 1/27)
05/25 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Arena (on sale 1/28)
05/26 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena (on sale 1/27)
05/28 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena (on sale 1/28)
05/30 Pittsburgh, PA Consol Energy Center (on sale 1/27)
06/01 Detroit, MI Joe Louis Arena (on sale 1/27)
06/02 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena (on sale 1/27)
06/04 Columbus, OH Schottenstein Center (on sale 1/27)
06/06 Cincinnati, OH U.S. Bank Arena (on sale 1/27)
06/07 Louisville, KY KFC Yum Center (on sale 1/28)
Previously Announced Tour Dates
03/29 Tampa, FL Tampa Bay Times Forum
03/31 Orlando, FL Amway Arena*
04/02 Sunrise, FL Bank Atlantic Center*
04/04 Raleigh, NC RBC Center*
04/06 Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Arena
04/07 Columbia, SC Colonial Life Arena*
04/09 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum
04/10 Duluth, GA Gwinnett Center*
04/12 Memphis, TN FedEx Forum*
08/11 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center*
08/12 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center*
08/14 Oakland, CA Oakland Arena*
08/15 Oakland, CA Oakland Arena*
09/23 San Diego, CA Valley View Casino Center*
09/25 Phoenix, AZ Jobring Arena
09/27 Denver, CO Pepsi Center*
09/29 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center*
10/02 Dallas, TX American Airlines Arena*
10/04 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena*
10/20 Houston, TX Toyota Center*
10/22 Oklahoma City, OK Chesapeake Arena
10/24 Tulsa, OK BOK Arena
10/25 Little Rock, AR Verizon Arena
Michael B Jordan and Dane DeHaan lead the cast of the sci-fi horror film Chronicle, directed by Josh Trank. 20th Century Fox’s PG-13-rated thriller will open in theaters on February 3, 2012.
Dane DeHaan stars as Andrew Detmer, Michael Kelly plays Richard Detmer, Michael B Jordan is Steve Montgomery, and Alex Russell is Matt Garetty. Luke Tyler plays Sean, Rudi Malcolm is Wayne, and Anna Wood is Monica.
Official Synopsis: Three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to their developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their darker sides begin to take over.
“After he died, I found this key in my father’s closet. How do I find the lock that it fits?,” asks nine-year-old Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn), struggling to make sense of the horrors of the events on 9/11 when his father (Tom Hanks) died in the World Trade Center in the dramatic film Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.
Convinced that his late father has left him a final message hidden somewhere in New York City, Oskar develops a very elaborate system with the few clues he has to set out every weekend in search of a lock that will fit the mysterious key. Driven by a relentless, active mind and an overwhelming fear of losing what little connection he has left with his father, Oskar searches the five boroughs, meeting many different people and overcoming many of his stifling fears, such as riding on the subway or being able to deal with loud noises, all the while hoping to find one last connection with his hero, his teacher, his father.
Painfully sentimental and manipulative, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a melodrama that uses the tragic events of September 11, 2001 as a backdrop and driving force for one child’s journey through life and the understanding of it.
The film has top-notch performances by Sandra Bullock as Oskar’s devastated mother who can barely get out of bed and function after the loss of her soul mate, and by Max Von Sydow as the mysterious, silent tenant of Oskar’s grandmother who eventually befriends Oskar and begins to go with him on his quest for the key’s lock. Hands down, the best performance in the film is by newcomer Thomas Horn as the odd, determined Oskar who uses the search for the lock to the key to try to make sense of the tragedy of 9/11 and to avoid experiencing and dealing with his overwhelming grief of losing his father. His performance is truly mesmerizing.
The film suffers, however, by being extremely heavy-handed and exploitative with all the flashback scenes of September 11, 2001, with Oskar picturing his father and others falling from the World Trade Center as well as the repetitive scenes of Oskar’s home phone ringing and only being picked up by the answering machine to have his father leave message after message trying to get a hold of his son to tell him he loves him one last time.
If this movie were based on a true story, the scenes would hold more pure emotional impact. Since it’s not, they come off as forced, uncomfortable melodrama that only exist to help the filmmakers campaign to try and obtain Oscar consideration.
Uneven and depressing, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a film that tries to be about grief, forgiveness, friendship, love, and moving on with life, but gets trapped in its own trite and uninvolving storytelling.
GRADE: C
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close hits theaters in wide release on January 20, 2012 and is rated PG-13 for emotional thematic material, some disturbing images, and language.
Joe Anderson (Across the Universe) sits down and chats about his character and about working with Liam Neeson in The Grey in this video courtesy of Open Road Films.
The Plot:
Liam Neeson leads an unruly group of oil-rig roughnecks when their plane crashes into the remote Alaskan wilderness. Battling mortal injuries and merciless weather, the survivors have only a few days to escape the icy elements – and a vicious pack of rogue wolves on the hunt – before their time runs out.
Emily Blunt and Rosemarie DeWitt in 'Your Sister's Sister' - Photo by Benjamin Kasulke/IFC Films
For the first time ever, the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) will open with a film that was produced in and shot by a Seattle filmmaker. Lynn Shelton (Humpday) wrote and directed Your Sister’s Sister starring Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Mark Duplass, and the film made its debut in 2011 at the Toronto Film Festival.
“Lynn Shelton has made a pitch-perfect comedy of errors, infused with the right balance of humor and pathos that I absolutely love,” stated SIFF Artistic Director Carl Spence announcing the film’s selection as the festival opener. “As a rising star in the independent filmmaking scene with international recognition, it makes perfect sense for Lynn Shelton to be the first local-based filmmaker in 38 years to open the Seattle International Film Festival.”
“I am thrilled beyond measure that Your Sister’s Sister has been chosen to open the 2012 Seattle International Film Festival, and that it represents the first locally produced film to ever receive this honor,” said writer/director Shelton. “I hope the city will come raise a glass to our incredibly talented crew and to the entire Seattle film community, without which this film would never have been made. After a world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival and a U.S. premiere at Sundance, our homecoming in May will be the sweetest celebration of them all.”
The Seattle International Film Festival runs May 17 through June 10, 2012. Ticket info and festival details can be found at SIFF.net.The Plot:
A year after his brother Tom’s death, Jack (Duplass) is an emotionally unstable slacker. When he makes a scene at a memorial party, Tom’s ex-girlfriend Iris (Blunt) offers up her family cabin on an island in the Pacific Northwest so Jack can seek catharsis in solitude. Once there, however, he runs into Iris’ sister Hannah, a lesbian reeling from the abrupt end of a seven-year relationship who finds solace in the affable Tom’s unexpected presence, and the two bond over a long night of drinking. The blurry evening concludes with an awkward sexual incident made worse by Iris’ sudden presence at the cabin the next morning which sets into motion a twisted tale of ever-complicated relationships.
We are not done with the whole ‘found footage’ thing. WWE Studios has acquired the rights to the found footage horror spec script Bermuda, so says WWE Studios President Michael Luisi. Bobby Lee Darby and Nathan Brookes (Slaughter co-writers) came up with the spec script, which is set in the Bermuda Triangle (hence the film’s title).
The story, according to WWE Studios, “focuses on a documentary film crew that goes missing and the only trace of their disappearance comes when their film footage, chronicling their final terrifying days, is found.”
“The Bermuda Triangle has always been an intriguing and mysterious setting,” stated WWE Studios President Michael Luisi. “Bobby and Nathan’s script puts a very unique spin on the found footage genre,” added Luisi.
I miss Justin Chatwin and hope he’s back as a central character on Shameless soon. But until I get my wish, we still have the adventures of the Gallagher family to entertain us.
Airing on Sunday, January 22nd, Season 2 Episode 3 has this to offer viewers: “Fiona hopes her moral compass isn’t leading her astray when she reconnects with her married high school crush, but when she finds an abandoned purse with over five hundred dollars inside, she assumes her luck is finally changing; Frank is willing to do just about anything to stay in Dottie’s good graces, even marry her; after Harry’s passing, Debbie becomes obsessed with death; Kevin thinks about buying the Alibi; Lip meets with a colonel to glean information for Ian about West Point; Jody asks Frank for Karen’s hand in marriage.”
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