AWARDS RACE

But what’s keeping “Gatsby” from he top spot on amazon? None other than TV star Zooey Deschanel’s new album with partner M. Ward. They call themselves “She and Him.” It’s their third edition of songs together. Interesting–that the likeable Deschanel is holding Jay Z and friends back. In physical sales of[...]

Robert DeNiro ran the Cannes Film Festival jury in 2011. He told me that when Steven Spielberg was named the head of this year’s jury, the “Lincoln” director called him for advice. “I told him, Have fun with it. It’s hard work but he’ll enjoy it.” DeNiro also says[...]

For its first two thirds, Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby” is busy busy busy with nary a minute to avoid an onslaught of stylized metaphors. People keep asking me Is it like “Moulin Rouge”? Well no, it’s not nearly as unruly because Luhrmann has to stick– more or less-[...]

For the first time, the entire voting membership of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will automatically be eligible to vote in all 24 Oscar categories, Academy President Hawk Koch announced today at a meeting of the Academy’s members. The Academy’s Board of Governors approved a plan[...]

The 17th Annual Hollywood Film Festival (HFF), hailed by “Variety” as “the ultimate networking opportunity” and by The New York Times as “the first mandatory stop in the awards season.” A long-standing and well-respected celebration of the very finest in big-screen storytelling, HFF presents promising filmmakers with countless opportunities[...]

For a 17th consecutive year, the Hollywood Film Awards® continues its mandate of celebrating Hollywood cinema and recognizing excellence in Hollywood, both in-front and behind the camera. This year the Hollywood Film Awards® Gala ceremony takes place on October 21, 2013, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills. In the[...]

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the ABC Television Network today announced the dates for the 86th and 87th Oscar® presentations. The 86th and 87th Academy Awards® will air live on ABC on Oscar Sunday, March 2, 2014, and February 22, 2015, respectively. Key dates for the Awards[...]

The next Oscars? The new season begins, like, now, with “The Sapphires” opening on March 22nd. Pencil it in for Golden Globe Comedy/Musical, and if it takes, off, well, who knows what else? Mainly next winter we will be looking hard at Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep in “August: Osage[...]

By Michael Russnow In the aftermath of my review of the Oscars and that of many others who seemed to agree Seth MacFarlane’s humor was often wanting, I thought I’d offer a postscript as to why for most people the John Wilkes Booth joke didn’t work. It had nothing to do with[...]

By Michael Russnow This year’s Oscars show on ABC wrapped after a bit over three and a half hours and there were a bunch of great moments, a bit of tedium and a lot of disappointment over the tasteless antics of host Seth MacFarlane. Look, I’m not a prude, though I’ve[...]