LOS ANGELES - While Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock's chances for Academy Award gold were advanced with their trophies at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the blockbuster "Avatar" may have felt a touch blue.
The computer-assisted performances in James Cameron's "Avatar" didn't make the cut for SAG nominations. But the groundbreaking sci-fi film remains a strong best-picture contender for the Oscars in March.
For Bridges of "Crazy Heart," Bullock of "The Blind Side" and for SAG supporting-acting honorees Mo'Nique of "Precious" and Christoph Walt of "Inglourious Basterds," there's reason to suspect the Oscar ceremony will be a happy rerun of Saturday's SAG Awards and last Sunday's Golden Globes.
All four were recognized at the Globes, as well, while "Avatar" was named best drama and Cameron won as best director.
He will face competition from director Quentin Tarantino, whose "Inglourious Basterds" won the SAG Award for best ensemble performance, which can be a precursor to the top Oscar award. Last year, SAG's movie cast award was presented to "Slumdog Millionaire," which went on to win the best picture Oscar.
"It was an honor to be part of it, Quentin," "Inglourious Basterds" cast member Eli Roth said in accepting the award for his fellow actors in the off-kilter World War II revenge saga.
Bullock declined — strenuously — to look ahead.
"Shhhhh. Shhhhh. Shhhhh," Bullock said backstage when she was asked to speculate on her Oscar chances. She won for her portrayal of a tenacious real-life mom, Leigh Anne Tuohy, who helped a youth in need, future American football player Michael Oher.
"I would be a hostess or a waitress or a house restorer before I ever considered myself an actor, because I never thought I was good enough," she added.
Although respected by his peers, Bridges has largely been bypassed for major awards.
"I love being an actor — pretending to be other people and getting into the shoes of other folks," said Bridges, who plays a hard-luck, hard-living country singer in "Crazy Heart."
Waltz was honored for his role as an enthusiastically ruthless Nazi. Mo'Nique's trophy came for her searing portrayal of an abusive mother in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire."
On the TV side of the SAG Awards, the cast of AMC's 1960s Madison Avenue saga "Mad Men" won the trophy for best drama series ensemble for the second year in a row, while 19 cast members of Fox TV newcomer "Glee," about misfits in a high school singing club, accepted the award for best comedy series ensemble.
"Glee" claimed the best comedy series award at the Golden Globes.
Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey of NBC's "30 Rock" won for best acting in a comedy series, allowing Fey to get in a sly joke about NBC and its bitter late-night battle with Conan O'Brien in her acceptance speech.
"I just wanted to take a moment to say to everyone at NBC, we are very happy with everything, and happy to be there," she said. Both she and Baldwin won the awards last year.
Golden Globe winner Michael C. Hall of Showtime's "Dexter," wearing a cap because of treatment he's receiving for Hodgkin's lymphoma, won best actor in a drama series. The award for best actress in a drama went to Julianna Margulies of CBS' "The Good Wife."
Kevin Bacon won as best actor in a movie or miniseries for the war-themed drama, "Taking Chance," while Drew Barrymore received best actress honors in the category for "Grey Gardens," about eccentric relatives of Jacqueline Onassis.
Betty White, 88, accepted a lifetime achievement award from Bull+ock for an enduring career that included "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "The Golden Girls," and showed her sharp comedic chops.
When Bullock joked that she finds White annoying, White shot back, "Isn't it heartening to see how far a girl as plain as she is can go."
"I should be presenting an award to you for the privilege of working in this wonderful business all this time. And you still can't get rid of me," White told the audience.
Actors in two highly critically acclaimed films went home empty-handed, including "Up in the Air" star George Clooney and the film's supporting actresses, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick. The cast of "The Hurt Locker" also lost out.
Clooney, however, was lauded by SAG President Ken Howard for helping organize Friday's telethon to raise money for earthquake-devastated Haiti, a rare reference to the tragedy.
Two honors not shown in the telecast went to stunt ensembles for the film "Star Trek" and the TV show "24."
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Sandra Bullock hushes Oscar talk
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - For Sandra Bullock, sweeping up Hollywood awards is something new, but the actress said on Saturday after winning a SAG trophy that she didn't want to be just a "money maker" in any kind of movie, and that her latest film "The Blind Side" gave her that chance.
"If you look at my career, I don't think anyone would have said one day I can see her up here, no one would have predicted it, especially not me," Bullock, who was previously best known for light romantic fare, told reporters.
On Saturday, Bullock, 45, won a Screen Actors Guild Award for best actress in a movie drama, for playing a wealthy family woman who adopts a downtrodden high school football player.
That role in "The Blind Side" has performed at the box office like many of Bullock's movies, staying strong week after week, racking up a total of $231 million in the U.S. and Canada since its November release.
But it has also done something else for Bullock, earning her critical acclaim and a string of awards, including a Golden Globe last week and now a SAG Award.
When a reporter at the SAG Awards on Saturday suggested Bullock stands a good chance at winning her first Oscar, the actress "shushed" him mid-sentence and would not allow him to finish his question.
She also said that at one point, just considering herself an actress was difficult.
"I realized being an actor was something that I never owned up to, in a weird way," Bullock said.
"I would be a hostess or a waitress or a house restorer before I considered myself an actor, because I never thought I was good enough," she said.
But Bullock said she recently took a couple of years away from acting, and learned how to say "no" to mediocre roles, and that she also met her husband, motorcycle maker Jesse James, during that time.
"I was lucky that I wanted to better my work ... and that's a great business to be in that allows you to sort of switch gears, especially when they look at you as the money maker," she said.
Bullock first gained fame with 1994's action movie "Speed," which made $350 million at worldwide box offices, and she has been in a number of other hits since then, including the romantic comedy "Miss Congeniality."
Now, as she embarks on a new stage in her career, Bullock described her life as more than just Hollywood.
"I'm one of those people that knows how lucky she is and every day I get up and I count my blessings, and they're all there under one roof," she said.
(Editing by Jill Serjeant)
"If you look at my career, I don't think anyone would have said one day I can see her up here, no one would have predicted it, especially not me," Bullock, who was previously best known for light romantic fare, told reporters.
On Saturday, Bullock, 45, won a Screen Actors Guild Award for best actress in a movie drama, for playing a wealthy family woman who adopts a downtrodden high school football player.
That role in "The Blind Side" has performed at the box office like many of Bullock's movies, staying strong week after week, racking up a total of $231 million in the U.S. and Canada since its November release.
But it has also done something else for Bullock, earning her critical acclaim and a string of awards, including a Golden Globe last week and now a SAG Award.
When a reporter at the SAG Awards on Saturday suggested Bullock stands a good chance at winning her first Oscar, the actress "shushed" him mid-sentence and would not allow him to finish his question.
She also said that at one point, just considering herself an actress was difficult.
"I realized being an actor was something that I never owned up to, in a weird way," Bullock said.
"I would be a hostess or a waitress or a house restorer before I considered myself an actor, because I never thought I was good enough," she said.
But Bullock said she recently took a couple of years away from acting, and learned how to say "no" to mediocre roles, and that she also met her husband, motorcycle maker Jesse James, during that time.
"I was lucky that I wanted to better my work ... and that's a great business to be in that allows you to sort of switch gears, especially when they look at you as the money maker," she said.
Bullock first gained fame with 1994's action movie "Speed," which made $350 million at worldwide box offices, and she has been in a number of other hits since then, including the romantic comedy "Miss Congeniality."
Now, as she embarks on a new stage in her career, Bullock described her life as more than just Hollywood.
"I'm one of those people that knows how lucky she is and every day I get up and I count my blessings, and they're all there under one roof," she said.
(Editing by Jill Serjeant)
'Avatar' tops 'Legion' at Friday boxoffice
As if operating on cruise control, “Avatar” entered its sixth weekend of release once again atop the boxoffice rankings.
The Fox release picked up an estimated $9.1 million in North American theaters on Friday, easily fending off all newcomers. Of the three new wide releases, Sony’s “Legion,” an apocalyptic thriller about avenging angels, showed the most muscle. The R-rated movie directed by Scott Stewart and starring Paul Bettany, flew to second place for the day as it collected 6.7 million in 2,467 theaters.
Wings also figured in Fox’s family comedy “Tooth Fairy,” starring Dwayne Johnson. But the PG movie, directed by Michael Lembeck, didn’t fly quite as high, and with $3.5 million from 3,344 locations, could be found in the fourth spot.
“Extraordinary Measures,” the first title from the new CBS Films, lagged behind. Despite the star power of Harrison Ford and Brendon Fraser, the PG-rated medical drama directed by Tom Vaughan, checked in in sixth place, with $2.1 million from 2,549 theaters.
Rounding out the top five, the second weekend of Warner’s end-of-days tale, “Book of Eli,” stood in third place with $5 million. And, in its second weekend of wide release, Paramount’s “The Lovely Bones” was fifth, collecting an additional $2.6 million.
The Fox release picked up an estimated $9.1 million in North American theaters on Friday, easily fending off all newcomers. Of the three new wide releases, Sony’s “Legion,” an apocalyptic thriller about avenging angels, showed the most muscle. The R-rated movie directed by Scott Stewart and starring Paul Bettany, flew to second place for the day as it collected 6.7 million in 2,467 theaters.Wings also figured in Fox’s family comedy “Tooth Fairy,” starring Dwayne Johnson. But the PG movie, directed by Michael Lembeck, didn’t fly quite as high, and with $3.5 million from 3,344 locations, could be found in the fourth spot.
“Extraordinary Measures,” the first title from the new CBS Films, lagged behind. Despite the star power of Harrison Ford and Brendon Fraser, the PG-rated medical drama directed by Tom Vaughan, checked in in sixth place, with $2.1 million from 2,549 theaters.
Rounding out the top five, the second weekend of Warner’s end-of-days tale, “Book of Eli,” stood in third place with $5 million. And, in its second weekend of wide release, Paramount’s “The Lovely Bones” was fifth, collecting an additional $2.6 million.
Forbes lists biggest flops of last five years
Sean Penn delivered "one of his greatest screen performances" as Willie Stark in "All the King's Men," according to The Hollywood Reporter's review of the film in 2006.
Nevertheless, the Sony Pictures film earned just $9 million at the worldwide boxoffice. Factor in its $55 million production budget and it amounts to Hollywood's biggest flop of the past five years, according to the prolific listmakers at Forbes magazine.
After eliminating movies without star power, Forbes divided each movie's boxoffice take by its production budget to figure out the shortfall. "All the King's Men" failed to earn back 84% of its production budget, bad enough to earn it first place among flops.
In second place is "The Express," Universal's movie starring Dennis Quaid about late college football star Ernie Davis. The 2008 movie failed to earn back 75% of its production budget.
Fox's 2005 film "Stay" was third, a movie that failed to earn back 73% of its budget despite the efforts of Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts. The film's pedigree included director Marc Foster ("Monster's Ball") and writer David Benioff ("Troy").
Even Quentin Tarantino shows up on the list, courtesy of his co-direction of "Grindhouse" for the Weinstein Co. The 2007 movie that featured Josh Brolin and Bruce Willis failed to earn back 65% of its budget.
Other movies on the list of the 15 biggest flops of the past five years include "The Fountain" with Hugh Jackman, "The Invasion" starring NIcole Kidman and two movies with Eddie Murphy: "Imagine That" and "Meet Dave."
The full list is at Forbes.com.
Nevertheless, the Sony Pictures film earned just $9 million at the worldwide boxoffice. Factor in its $55 million production budget and it amounts to Hollywood's biggest flop of the past five years, according to the prolific listmakers at Forbes magazine.
After eliminating movies without star power, Forbes divided each movie's boxoffice take by its production budget to figure out the shortfall. "All the King's Men" failed to earn back 84% of its production budget, bad enough to earn it first place among flops.
In second place is "The Express," Universal's movie starring Dennis Quaid about late college football star Ernie Davis. The 2008 movie failed to earn back 75% of its production budget.
Fox's 2005 film "Stay" was third, a movie that failed to earn back 73% of its budget despite the efforts of Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts. The film's pedigree included director Marc Foster ("Monster's Ball") and writer David Benioff ("Troy").
Even Quentin Tarantino shows up on the list, courtesy of his co-direction of "Grindhouse" for the Weinstein Co. The 2007 movie that featured Josh Brolin and Bruce Willis failed to earn back 65% of its budget.
Other movies on the list of the 15 biggest flops of the past five years include "The Fountain" with Hugh Jackman, "The Invasion" starring NIcole Kidman and two movies with Eddie Murphy: "Imagine That" and "Meet Dave."
The full list is at Forbes.com.
Johnny Depp Sets Sail on Fourth 'Pirates' Movie
Captain Jack Sparrow will soon take to the seas again, and this time he is after the most sought-after treasure imaginable: the Fountain of Youth.
It was announced this week that the fourth installment of Disney's highly successful "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise will begin filming in Hawaii this summer. Johnny Depp once again plays the flamboyant Captain Jack, and Geoffrey Rush reprises his role as his adversary, Barbossa. However, costars Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley are not expected to return.
The film's story is loosely based on the 1987 pirate novel, "On Stranger Tides" by award-winning fantasy author Tim Powers. The book tells the story of a young man -- coincidentally named "Jack" -- who is captured by the pirate Blackbeard and forced to join in the search for the Fountain of Youth.
Ted Elliott, the co-writer of the first three "Pirates" movies, said that the story of the novel just happened to align with where they wanted to take the fourth film. He told Empire magazine, "We wanted to do a story about Blackbeard and the Fountain of Youth, and Tim Powers wrote a book about Blackbeard and the Fountain of Youth... it just turns out that to do that story you would need that book."
Johnny Depp signed on to appear in the fourth movie in 2008, before there was a script. It was announced at the same time he would also be playing Tonto in a film version of "The Lone Ranger," but that project has been delayed until after "Pirates" is finished.
Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom have both said they had no desire to return for a fourth movie. Knightley said in an interview, "It was a completely fantastic experience, and it was an amazingly large portion of my life, but I don't think I need to go there again. I think that it's done." Also, the director of the original trilogy, Gore Verbinski, will not be coming back. He is being replaced by Rob Marshall, the director of "Chicago" and "Nine."
"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" is scheduled to dock into movie theaters on May 20th, 2011. Johnny Depp will next be seen as the Mad Hatter in director Tim Burton's new version "Alice in Wonderland" coming this March.
It was announced this week that the fourth installment of Disney's highly successful "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise will begin filming in Hawaii this summer. Johnny Depp once again plays the flamboyant Captain Jack, and Geoffrey Rush reprises his role as his adversary, Barbossa. However, costars Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley are not expected to return.The film's story is loosely based on the 1987 pirate novel, "On Stranger Tides" by award-winning fantasy author Tim Powers. The book tells the story of a young man -- coincidentally named "Jack" -- who is captured by the pirate Blackbeard and forced to join in the search for the Fountain of Youth.
Ted Elliott, the co-writer of the first three "Pirates" movies, said that the story of the novel just happened to align with where they wanted to take the fourth film. He told Empire magazine, "We wanted to do a story about Blackbeard and the Fountain of Youth, and Tim Powers wrote a book about Blackbeard and the Fountain of Youth... it just turns out that to do that story you would need that book."
Johnny Depp signed on to appear in the fourth movie in 2008, before there was a script. It was announced at the same time he would also be playing Tonto in a film version of "The Lone Ranger," but that project has been delayed until after "Pirates" is finished.
Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom have both said they had no desire to return for a fourth movie. Knightley said in an interview, "It was a completely fantastic experience, and it was an amazingly large portion of my life, but I don't think I need to go there again. I think that it's done." Also, the director of the original trilogy, Gore Verbinski, will not be coming back. He is being replaced by Rob Marshall, the director of "Chicago" and "Nine."
"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" is scheduled to dock into movie theaters on May 20th, 2011. Johnny Depp will next be seen as the Mad Hatter in director Tim Burton's new version "Alice in Wonderland" coming this March.
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