In honor of the race for the White House, John Oliver did a piece on the ‘awakening’ of the 2012 presidential campaign.
Oscars Best Picture Race Rules Change Again
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has changed up the Best Picture race once again. After two years of having a Best Picture category with 10 contenders, the Academy governors voted on a new rule which will allow for an element of surprise every January when the Oscars are announced.
Here’s the scoop from the Academy’s June 15, 2011 press release:
The Board voted to institute a system that will now produce anywhere between five and 10 nominees in the category. That number won’t be announced until the Best Picture nominees themselves are revealed at the January nominations announcement.
“With the help of PricewaterhouseCoopers, we’ve been looking not just at what happened over the past two years, but at what would have happened if we had been selecting 10 nominees for the past 10 years,” explained Academy President Tom Sherak, who noted that it was retiring Academy executive director Bruce Davis who recommended the change first to Sherak and incoming CEO Dawn Hudson and then to the governors.
During the period studied, the average percentage of first-place votes received by the top vote-getting movie was 20.5. After much analysis by Academy officials, it was determined that 5% of first-place votes should be the minimum in order to receive a nomination, resulting in a slate of anywhere from five to 10 movies.
“In studying the data, what stood out was that Academy members had regularly shown a strong admiration for more than five movies,” said Davis. “A Best Picture nomination should be an indication of extraordinary merit. If there are only eight pictures that truly earn that honor in a given year, we shouldn’t feel an obligation to round out the number.”
If this system had been in effect from 2001 to 2008 (before the expansion to a slate of 10), there would have been years that yielded 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 nominees.
The final round of voting for Best Picture will continue to employ the preferential system, regardless of the number of nominees, to ensure that the winning picture has the endorsement of more than half of the voters.
Other rule changes approved by the Board include:
In the animated feature film category, the need for the Board to vote to “activate” the category each year was eliminated, though a minimum number of eligible releases – eight – is still required for a competitive category. Additionally, the short films and feature animation branch recommended, and the Board approved, refinements to the number of possible nominees in the Animated Feature category. In any year in which eight to 12 animated features are released, either two or three of them may be nominated. When 13 to 15 films are released, a maximum of four may be nominated, and when 16 or more animated features are released, a maximum of five may be nominated.
In the visual effects category, the “bakeoff” at which the nominees are determined will expand from seven to 10 contenders. The increase in the number of participants is related to a change made last year in which the number of films nominated in the visual effects category was increased from three to five.
Previously, the Board approved changes to the documentary feature and documentary short category rules that now put those categories’ eligibility periods in line with the calendar year and thus with most other awards categories. The change means that for the 84th Awards cycle only, the eligibility period is more than 12 months; it is from September 1, 2010 to December 31, 2011.
Ocean Grove Announces 2011 Tour Dates
Ocean Grove, an alternative rock band that got together after being a part of backing bands for some big acts, is releasing their new EP – Another Place to Stay – on June 21, 2011. In support of the release, the band will go on tour with He Is We.
In the press release announcing the release of the EP and their 2011 tour, the group offered this explanation as to the band’s origins:
“After touring the globe and enjoying some of the greatest times of their lives, John Taylor (vocals/guitar), Ryan Liestman (keys/backing vocals), Greg Garbowsky (bass/backing vocals), Jack Lawless (drums) decided it was time to start their own project, one that would see them develop a truly unique rock n’ roll sound – Ocean Grove.
There, the band shacked up in a beautiful Victorian home near the ocean to focus on a real and more rock n’ roll sound. After recording 14 songs in two weeks, Ocean Grove finally felt they had come into their own. The EP, Another Place to Stay, mixed by Paul Hager (Van Halen, Goo Goo Dolls, American Hi-Fi) and mastered by renowned recording studio Sterling Sound (Adele, Green Day) is an EP filled with feel-good songs pulling from their greatest influences such as The Beach Boys, Tom Petty, and Weezer. The inspiration for the EP came from years of experiences and all the little things life throws our way.”
The band is proud of all their past accomplishments like having played with acts such as Stevie Wonder, Brad Paisley, and Vince Gill, and performing on over 50 television shows, but Ocean Grove is ready to continue something truly special and all their own, just like their bond as a band. With their new EP and positive outlook on all that’s to come, they are ready for just about anything.”
Another Place to Stay Tracklist:
1. Away
2. The Best
3. Take It Easy
4. Say Goodbye
Ocean Grove 2011 Tour Dates
06/21 – El Corazon, Seattle, WA
06/22 – A Club, Spokane, WA
06/24 – The Complex Grand Room, Salt Lake City, UT
06/25 – Marquis Theatre, Denver, CO
06/27 – Triple Rock, Minneapolis, MN
06/28 – Firebird, St. Louis, MO
06/29 – Summerfest 2011 – Rock Stage, Milwaukee, WI
06/30 – Subterranean, Chicago, IL
07/01 – Emerson Theatre, Indianapolis, IN
07/02 – The Eagle Theatre, Pontiac, MI
07/03 – The Basement, Columbus, OH
07/06 – The Studio at Webster Hall, New York, NY
07/07 – The Middle East, Cambridge, MA
07/08 – Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
07/09 – The Note, West Chester, PA
07/10 – Jamming’ Java, Vienna, VA
07/12 – 12th & Porter, Nashville, TN
07/13 – George’s Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville, AR
7/28 – House of Blues, Dallas, TX
7/29 – Stubbs’ Jr. Bar-B-Q, Austin, TX
7/30 – Warehouse Live Studio, Houston, TX
8/1 – Nile, Mesa, AZ
8/2 – Epicentre, San Diego, CA
8/3 – Chain Reaction, Anaheim, CA
‘Body of Proof’ Series Preview: Plot, Cast and Trailer
Dana Delany, Geoffrey Arend, and Jeri Ryan star in ABC’s primetime drama Body of Proof. The new series premieres on March 29, 2011 and follows Delany as a medical examiner with a tragic past.
Delany stars as Dr. Megan Hunt, Arend is Dr. Ethan Gross, and Ryan is Dr. Kate Murphey. The cast also includes Nicholas Bishop as Peter Dunlap, John Carroll Lynch as Bud Morris, Windell D. Middlebrooks as Curtis Brumfield, and Sonja Sohn as Samatha Baker.
The Synopsis: Brilliant and driven neurosurgeon Dr. Megan Hunt had it all, or so she thought. As the first female Head of Neurosurgery at a prominent Philadelphia university hospital, she never appreciated how the demands of her profession were taking a toll on her personal life until her husband divorced her and she lost custody of their then seven-year-old daughter.
Still reeling from this emotional trauma, Megan soon suffered a physical one, a car accident that left her with a condition called paresthesia — random attacks of numbness and cramping of her hands. Tragically, this condition failed to manifest itself until Megan’s first trip back to the operating room. She lost control of her instruments and her patient died on the table. Megan’s life as a neurosurgeon was over.
Five years later Megan has found a new life as a Medical Examiner. Although she’s no longer in the business of fixing what’s wrong with living patients, she’s still instinctively drawn to finding out what killed her dead patients and uncovering who was responsible and why. As she pursues the answers, the bodies of the dead provide the clues. The body is, in effect, the proof. And with her unique blend of smarts, instinct and a warehouse of medical knowledge, she can read a body like nobody else.
Megan can also ruffle feathers like nobody else. In her new career she has already developed a reputation for flouting convention and blurring the lines between the Medical Examiner’s Office and the Police Department. Dr. Kate Murphey, Megan’s boss, sympathizes to a degree. As Philadelphia’s first female Chief Medical Examiner, Kate didn’t get where she is without ruffling a few feathers herself. She hired Megan for her expertise and the results she could bring to the job. But Megan’s unconventional way of doing things presents Kate with an ongoing dilemma. Megan is brilliant but also polarizing. How much should Kate rein her in?
Cougar Town Series Preview: Who’s In It, What’s It About, and When Does it Air?
Courteney Cox and Busy Phillips lead the cast of the ABC half-hour comedy Cougar Town which premiered on September 23, 2009. The comedy follows a group of friends and focuses on their complex dating lives.
Courteney Cox stars as Jules, Busy Philipps is Laurie, Dan Byrd plays Travis, and Christa Miller is Ellie. Josh Hopkins plays Grayson, Ian Gomez is Andy, and Brian Van Holt stars as Bobby.
The Plot: Courteney Cox stars as Jules Cobb, a recently divorced mom in her forties facing the often humorous challenges, pitfalls and rewards of life’s next chapter. Along for the journey is her son – a college freshman, ex-husband, and friends who together make up her dysfunctional, but supportive and caring extended family… even if they have a funny way of showing it sometimes.
Jules’ circle of friends, a.k.a. “the cul de sac crew,” includes next-door neighbor Ellie (Miller), her sarcastic, unapologetic confidante; Ellie’s average, but loveable husband Andy (Gomez); Grayson, the overly flirty neighbor from across the street who’s also her “someday guy;” Laurie (Philipps), her younger, feisty protege; ex-husband Bobby (Van Holt), a classic under-achiever who tests her patience; and Travis (Dan Byrd), her dry and witty son who more often than not is the adult observer amongst the group.
Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Preview: Trailer, Plot, and Cast
CBS’s reimaginging of the classic dramatic series Hawaii Five-O will kick off season one September 20, 2010. Alex O’Loughlin takes on the starring role as Detective Steve McGarrett in the one-hour series airing on CBS.
The season one cast also includes Scott Caan as Danny “Danno” Williams, Daniel Dae Kim as Chin Ho Kell, Grace Park as Kono Kalakaua, and Taryn Manning as Mary Ann McGarrett.
The Synopsis: Hawaii Five-O is a contemporary take on the classic series about a new elite federalized task force whose mission is to wipe out the crime that washes up on the Islands’ sun-drenched beaches. Detective Steve McGarrett, a decorated Naval officer-turned-cop, returns to Oahu to investigate his father’s murder and stays after Hawaii’s Governor persuades him to head up the new team: his rules, her backing, no red tape and full blanket authority to hunt down the biggest “game” in town.
Joining McGarrett is Detective Danny “Danno” Williams, a newly relocated ex-New Jersey cop – a working man in paradise who prefers skyscrapers to the coastline – but who’s committed to keeping the Islands safe for his 8-year-old daughter; and Chin Ho Kelly, an ex-Honolulu Police Detective, and former protégé of McGarrett’s father, wrongly accused of corruption and relegated to a federal security patrol.
Chin’s cousin, Kono Kalakaua, is a beautiful and fearless native, fresh out of the academy and eager to establish herself among the department’s elite. McGarrett, repairing his relationship with his estranged sister Mary Ann, vows to bring closure to their father’s case, while the state’s brash new FIVE-0 unit, who may spar and jest among themselves, is determined to eliminate the seedy elements from the 50th state.
‘The Office’ Season 9 – Cast, Plot Details, and Trailer
NBC’s award-winning, incredibly popular half-hour comedy The Office comes to an end with season nine, premiering on September 20, 2012. The comedy, based on the British series starring Ricky Gervais, launched the careers of numerous actors including Steve Carell, John Krasinski, and Rainn Wilson.
THE CAST:
Rainn Wilson – ‘Dwight Schrute’
John Krasinski – ‘Jim Halpert’
Jenna Fischer – ‘Pam Beesly’
Ed Helms – ‘Andy Bernard’
BJ Novak – ‘Ryan Howard’
Leslie David Baker – ‘Stanley Hudson’
Brian Baumgartner – ‘Kevin Malone’
Angela Kinsey – ‘Angela Martin’
Phyllis Smith – ‘Phyllis Vance’
Kate Flannery – ‘Meredith Palmer’
Mindy Kaling – ‘Kelley Kapoor’
Creed Bratton – ‘Creed Bratton’
Oscar Nunez – ‘Oscar Martinez’
Paul Lieberstein – ‘Toby Flenderson’
Ed Helms – ‘Andy Bernard’
Craig Robinson – ‘Darryl Philbin’
Ellie Kemper – ‘Kelly Erin Hannon’
Steve Carell – ‘Michael Scott’ (left after the 2010/2011 season)
The Plot: A fly-on-the-wall “docu-reality” parody about modern American office life, The Office delves into the lives of the workers at Dunder Mifflin paper supply company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Regional manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell thru season 7) is a single, middle-aged man who is the boastful tour guide for the documentary.
With unshaken enthusiasm, Michael believes he is the office funnyman, a fountain of business wisdom, and his employees’ cool friend. He has no clue that his employees tolerate his inappropriate behavior only because he signs their paychecks. Painstakingly trying to be liked and to look cool, Michael comes off alternately absurd and pathetic. His prize possession is his “World’s Greatest Boss” mug — which he had to buy for himself.
Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) is a former office receptionist and is now a saleswoman. Pam’s office romance with Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) quickly evolved into marriage followed by the birth of their daughter.
Jim shares his working space with Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson), the arrogant assistant to the regional manager. Dwight is intensely irritating to normal people while Jim spends a lot of time finding new, interesting ways to drive Dwight crazy. Ryan Howard (B.J. Novak) is the young, smart, former temp who’s fall from grace as a Dunder Mifflin executive quickly landed him back at the bottom of the food chain in Scranton.
- NBC passes on The Office spin-off
- The Office Will Have an Extended Farewell Episode
- John Krasinski and Greg Daniels Interview
‘Our Idiot Brother’ – Trailer, Review and Cast Info
Paul Rudd stars as the “idiot” sibling in the comedy film, Our Idiot Brother. Directed by Jesse Peretz, the R-rated comedy is heading to theaters on August 26, 2011.
Paul Rudd plays Ned, Elizabeth Banks stars as Miranda, Zooey Deschanel is Natalie, Emily Mortimer is Liz, Steve Coogan is Dylan, and Hugh Dancy is Christian. The cast also includes Adam Scott as Jeremy, Kathryn Hahn as Janet, Rashida Jones as Cindy, TJ Miller as Billy, Janet Montgomery as Lady Arabella, and Sterling Brown as Omar.
Official Synopsis: Every family has one: the sibling who is always just a little bit behind the curve when it comes to getting his life together. For sisters Liz (Emily Mortimer), Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel), that person is their perennially upbeat brother Ned (Paul Rudd), an erstwhile organic farmer whose willingness to rely on the honesty of mankind is a less-than-optimum strategy for a tidy, trouble-free existence.
Ned may be utterly lacking in common sense, but he is their brother, and so, after his girlfriend dumps him and boots him off the farm, his sisters once again come to his rescue. As Liz, Miranda, and Natalie each take a turn at housing Ned, their brother’s unfailing commitment to honesty creates more than a few messes in their comfortable routines. But as each of their lives begins to unravel, Ned’s family comes to realize that maybe, in believing and trusting the people around him; Ned isn’t such an idiot after all.
- Paul Rudd on his character, his costume, and the appeal of Our Idiot Brother
- Elizabeth Banks on the story, the cast, and reuniting with Paul Rudd
- Reviewed by Kevin Finnerty / Reviewed by Ian Forbes
- Photo gallery
‘Breaking Dawn Part 1’ Footage and Cast Headed to Comic-Con
If you’ve bought your tickets and are heading to San Diego for the annual geekfest known as Comic-Con, then here’s a bit of news you can use. Summit Entertainment will be showing off footage from The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 and hosting a Q&A with the director and cast (we don’t know who yet) on July 21, 2011 in Hall H.
Summit will also be doing presentations on The Three Musketeers, the 3D adventure film from Paul W.S. Anderson, and the alien invasion film The Darkest Hour, directed by Timur Bekmambetov.
In addition, Summit Entertainment will have a booth where Comic-Con attendees can talk to “select actors and filmmakers from Summit films” over the phone. Authors Erin Morgenstern (Night Circus), Isaac Marion (Warm Bodies), and Veronica Roth (Divergent) will also be on hand to sign autographs. All three are working with Summit on bringing their books to the big screen.
‘A Bird of the Air’ to Hit Theaters in 2011
Joe Coomer’s novel The Loop serves as the inspiration for A Bird of the Air, a comedy/drama/romance starring Rachel Nichols (Conan the Barbarian) and Jackson Hurst, directed by first time feature film helmer Margaret Whitton. Roger Towne adapted Coomer’s novel for the big screen.
Paladin will be releasing the film in the fall of 2011, so says the company’s president, Mark Urman.
Commenting on the pickup, Urman said, “This is a truly enchanting film that took me completely by surprise. Not only does it introduce two enormously appealing stars who are relative newcomers to the independent film scene, but it also establishes Margaret, an actor whose work I have long admired, as a highly-skilled director with a point of view all her own.”
Coomer’s book “tells the story of Lyman (Hurst), a lovable loner whose job patrolling highways at night, aiding stranded motorists and injured animals, keeps him at a distance from other people. When an extremely rare and highly talkative parrot flies into his home one day, Lyman needs to figure out where the bird comes from and tries to decode its often cryptic and highly literary utterances. Enlisting the aid of Fiona (Nichols), a sexy librarian who is as interested in Lyman’s secrets as she is in the bird’s, the pair set off on a search that doesn’t always lead them where they think they’re going, but which gradually leads them to one another.”
Executive producer Warren Spector stated, “We’re looking forward to working with Mark Urman and his team at Paladin. Mark’s credentials in the world of specialty distribution are second to none, and we’re delighted that he brings such expertise and passion to the distribution of this very special film.”
“Mark Urman has an incredibly deep understanding of all aspects of filmmaking, and his wonderful taste and instincts — coupled with boundless energy — should make for a very exciting theatrical life for A Bird of the Air,” added producer Steven Tabakin. “We couldn’t be in more capable hands.”
The A Bird of the Air cast also includes Judith Ivey, Linda Emond, Buck Henry, Phyllis Somerville, and Anjanette Comer.
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