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Seth Rogen Independent Spirit Awards Monologue: Host Blasts Brett Ratner, Chris Brown And Mel Gibson In Hilarious Opening

Christopher Rosen — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 22:54:13 EST

Move over, Ricky Gervais and Billy Crystal. Seth Rogen was the emcee at the 27th annual Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, Calif. on Saturday afternoon, and the "50/50" star killed during his awards-show hosting debut while taking aim at Brett Ratner, Mel Gibson and the Grammys during his hilarious opening monologue. "The best thing to come of awards season is we learned what a horrible bigot Brett Ratner is," Rogen joked, referring to Ratner's homophobic slur about rehearsing that caused the director to step down as Oscars producer. He went on to wonder if Ratner would have been a better fit as producer of the Grammy Awards. "At the Grammys, you can literally beat the shit out of a nominee and be asked to perform twice," Rogen said to thunderous applause. (The Grammys came under fire two weeks ago for giving Chris Brown a platform just three years after he assaulted his then girlfriend, Rihanna.) Discussing the year's Spirit Award nominees, Rogen was just as quick-witted. He joked that "Drive" was a silent film, before commenting on the villains in Nicolas Winding Refn's moody noir, played by Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman. "'Drive' made Jews so scary I thought Mel Gibson directed it," he said. As for "The Artist" -- which wound up winning four Spirit Awards, including Best Feature -- Rogen quipped, "I thought we created the whole foreign film category to stop this shit from happening." PHOTOS FROM THE SPIRIT AWARDS:

Academy Awards 2012: Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep Turn Up For Final Rehearsal

Christopher Rosen — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 20:18:59 EST

LOS ANGELES — The Academy Awards are a big deal – even to A-listers. That's why a parade of stars came through the theater at the Hollywood & Highland Center Saturday to run through their lines and prepare to address their peers in front of a worldwide audience of millions. MUPPET REHEARSAL: Even celebrities of the felt variety took time to practice their lines. Though Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy have been famous for decades, they still rehearsed like the dedicated pros they are. The two Muppets and their invisible operators delighted the crew of show workers with their playful banter and puppet antics. Film academy president Tom Sherak was so taken with the two that he sat nearby throughout their rehearsal. "Hey Don, it's been too long," Kermit said to the show's producer-director, Don Mischer. "I'm going to try to get up there and see you," Mischer replied over the theater loudspeaker. "I have no idea how to get down there," huffed Miss Piggy. After their rehearsal, the two formally dressed stars were placed on special stands, shrouded in black cloth and carried away. BACKSTAGE MEETING: Oscar host Billy Crystal, who has declined to speak with reporters and kept his rehearsals closed throughout the week, emerged from his dressing room to observe the proceedings Saturday. Wearing jeans, sneakers and a newsboy cap, the comedian blended in with the rest of the backstage workers_ so much so that he had to re-introduce himself to an admired colleague. "Hi James, Billy Crystal," he said to James Earl Jones, who received a Governors Award late last year and will be honored again at Sunday's ceremony. As soon as the actor recognized Crystal, he hugged him. "With that cap on, I thought you were a hoodlum," Jones said before wishing the comedian well on his ninth Oscar-hosting stint. "Have fun tonight," Jones said, "and tomorrow night." A BLAST OF "BRIDESMAIDS": The cast of "Bridesmaids" reunited on the Oscar stage and dosed the theater with a blast of energy. "Oh my God, I cannot believe I'm there!" Rose Byrne said when she spotted her seat near the front of the theater. "I see you!" Maya Rudolph said to Kristin Wiig, pointing out her seat-saving placard. As the actresses prepared to make their entrance alongside co-stars Melissa McCarthy, Ellie Kemper and Wendi McLendon-Covey, they threw up jazz hands and pretended to disco dance. McLendon-Covey also played an oversized air guitar. Once they emerged and hit their marks, McLendon-Covey pointed her toe and lifted her skirt to overtly flash some leg, cracking up the audience of show workers. (The rest of the women wore pants – and all rocked in towering heels.) When Wiig missed one of her lines, she confessed, "I'm so glad we're doing this rehearsal!" FUNNY WOMEN: Emma Stone ran into the "Bridesmaids" cast as she stepped into the wings, stage right. Oscar producer Brian Grazer introduced her to the rest of the ladies. "I hear about you all the time!" Stone gushed to Melissa McCarthy, who is nominated for her supporting role in the film. "The Help" star then turned to Maya Rudolph and told her, "You on `Saturday Night Live' was so amazing!" Stone offered a round of hugs, but Kristin Wiig stayed back. "I have a cold, so I can't get in there," said Wiig, a nominee for the "Bridesmaids" screenplay. "So we can't make out right now?" Stone replied. When she noticed the women's statuesque stilettos, Stone asked: "Wait, were we supposed to bring shoes?" Still, she stepped on stage in her flats and soared through her rehearsal. PHOTO OPP: Even veteran producer and multiple Oscar winner Brian Grazer was excited about seeing stars: The Academy Awards producer posed with nearly every celebrity who came to rehearsals. "Can I take a picture with you guys? For my obituary?" the 61-year-old said to presenters Tina Fey and Bradley Cooper, who happily obliged. "I want one picture," Grazer declared to Sandra Bullock, who said, "We just did one!" Still, she smiled for another photo. Chris Rock posed for multiple pictures with the producer and his sons, both on stage and in the green room. "When I came to town, Grazer was running things," Rock said. "Thirty years later, nothing's changed." Christian Bale came to the theater carrying his young daughter, who was wearing a wizard costume. He handed her off to his wife to pose with Grazer. Colin Firth and Tom Hanks also took pictures with the producer. "You can take as many as you like," Firth said. FAKE OSCARS, REAL PRESENTER: Tom Hanks wore jeans, boots and his always-affable smile at his morning rehearsal. The two-time Oscar winner and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences governor posed for photos with the show's producers before practicing his presentation. "Brian Grazer, can you believe it?" Hanks said as he embraced the producer. "You saved the day!" Grazer stepped in as co-producer with Don Mischer in November after Brett Ratner – who had been tapped to co-produce with Mischer – resigned following his public use of a gay slur. Hanks greeted the camera operators and stage managers who've worked the Oscar show for years before presenting his category. After opening the prop envelope, the actor said, "The fake rehearsal Oscar goes to..." EASY IRON: "The Iron Lady" wears jeans and a ponytail? Meryl Streep, up for her 17th Academy Award, this time for playing Margaret Thatcher, kept things casual Saturday for her rehearsal, arriving in jeans, flats and a black sweater. Of course, she'll be supremely glammed up on Sunday: Streep's publicist joked that the best-actress nominee plans to wear "17-inch heels."

Independent Spirit Awards 2012: Winners List (PHOTOS)

Christopher Rosen — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 19:06:18 EST

Film Independent gave out its Spirit Awards for the 27th time on Saturday afternoon in Santa Monica, Calif. While the telecast of the ceremony -- hosted by a ribald Seth Rogen -- won't happen until 10 p.m. EST on IFC (tape delaying an awards ceremony in the age of Twitter = SMART!), Moviefone is happy to pass along the winners. As you may have guessed, "The Artist" found a way to dominate, with Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer, Shailene Woodley and "Margin Call" taking home hardware as well. Check out the full list of Spirit Award honorees below. BEST FEATURE: "The Artist" BEST DIRECTOR: Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist" BEST MALE LEAD: Jean Dujardin, "The Artist" BEST FEMALE LEAD: Michelle Williams, "My Week With Marilyn" BEST SUPPORTING MALE: Christopher Plummer, "Beginners" BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE: Shailene Woodley, "The Descendants" BEST FIRST FEATURE: "Margin Call" JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Feature Under $500,000): "Pariah" BEST SCREENPLAY: "The Descendants" BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY: "50/50" BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: "The Artist" BEST DOCUMENTARY: "The Interrupters" BEST FOREIGN FILM: "A Separation" ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD: "Margin Call" PHOTOS FROM THE SPIRIT AWARDS:

Oscars 2012: Rooney Mara, Awards Season Behavior And The Academy Awards

Katie Calautti — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 12:34:08 EST

Should an Oscar nominee's behavior on the awards circuit affect her chances of taking home a statuette? Whether or not you think so, conventional wisdom holds that it does. So when an actress declines to play the "Oscar game," as Best Actress nominee Rooney Mara mostly has this season, people tend to talk. A lot. After the Academy Awards luncheon earlier this month, Scott Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter tweeted, "I'm personally a little sick of Rooney Mara acting like it's a horrible chore to have to do an interview, or show up at a tribute, or...attend an Oscar nominees luncheon. Stop sulking. You're an Oscar nominee. If Meryl Streep is willing to do it, you can suck it up too." That prompted Sasha Stone of Awards Daily to write a post saying, essentially, "This is her [Mara's] first big starring role, her first up front and center with the public - I think, personally, she's doing a great job handling it all." Who's right? Moviefone spoke to a public relations professional who's presently coaching a client through awards season about whether it's possible to win an Oscar by being nice - or lose one by being a jerk. In general, do you find that -- if a client wants a real solid shot at these big-ticket awards -- they have to play nice? Absolutely. How do you prepare a client for the publicity onslaught that a big award nomination entails? We do media-train people, but hopefully by the time we get to any kind of awards campaign, someone has done enough press that they're more or less comfortable. So was Rooney Mara's problem that she isn't that experienced? I think she just seems very uncomfortable with the whole thing. She seems like a person who just wants to be an actor and probably doesn't like the promotional aspect of her job at all. And how do you handle a client who isn't all that interested in press? If someone doesn't want to polish themselves for the media, it's finding the balance between letting them be true to themselves and not making them fake it, but also making sure that press find them approachable. Did Mara's handlers fail to find that balance? She isn't quite there, but she also did the big-ticket items -- the Vogue shoot and the interviews with Fincher. Some late-night appearances, the junket work. She hasn't been working the system as long as the other people have, and may not yet be comfortable with the attention she's getting. During the 2009/2010 awards season, Mo'Nique was criticized for not playing the game but won anyway. What's the difference? Mo'nique's thing was all about defying that Academy system, and her work stood out for itself. If Octavia Spencer did that too, she would probably still win, I think. So unless defying the game is your "thing," you have to play along? Yup. It's all so exciting, it's such an honor, how great to work with these people, etc. Then again, Rooney never had a shot of winning, so part of it is, why bother? Do you think her PR team backed off from pressuring her to perform? Since she's not going to win anyway? That would be my position, but I think I also tend to be more laid-back about everything. Whereas, with Mo'Nique, she was a frontrunner -- so they took her natural approach and spun it into something that made sense. The honest truth is, with Mo'Nique, you get into a situation where having a talented black woman tell a bunch of old white people she's not going to play their game. Don't they sort of HAVE to vote for her? Yeah. Fair point. It makes me love her so much more. Yeah -- me too.

Academy Awards 2012: Best Picture Category Blockbuster Free

Christopher Rosen — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 12:09:43 EST

LOS ANGELES -- It's a common complaint among movie fans – that the Academy Awards honors films no one has seen. Not quite right, but closer to the mark this year than most. For the first time in the three years since Oscar organizers expanded the best-picture category to more than five films, there's not a single blockbuster in the running. Billion-dollar worldwide hits such as "Avatar" and "Toy Story 3" have been in the best-picture mix the last two years, along with such huge smashes as "Up," "Inception" and "The Blind Side." The only contender this time that has made it to the $100 million mark domestically is the Deep South tale "The Help" at $169.7 million – big business for a drama with a heavily female audience. But the rest of the best-picture lineup ranges from a slim $13.3 million domestically for the family drama "The Tree of Life" to a modest $78.8 million for the World War I saga "War Horse" – one of the smallest audiences ever for a film from blockbuster maestro Steven Spielberg. It's not just studio bottom lines that are affected when Oscar films fail to catch fire at the box office. The Oscar show itself can suffer, since bigger TV audiences tend to tune in when enormous hits such as "Titanic" or "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" are in the thick of the awards race. As of last weekend, the domestic haul for this season's nine best-picture nominees totaled $595.6 million, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com. That's less than half the business done by the 10 nominees a year ago and about a third of the revenues for the 10 contenders two years ago (the Oscars have only nine nominees this time because of a rule change requiring that films receive a certain percentage of first-place votes). The big hits of 2011 – "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1," "The Hangover Part II" – just were not best-picture material. "I think there is a disconnect, but then I think there's supposed to be a disconnect. It's not about what are the most popular films. It's the films deemed by the voting body to be the best pictures of the year," said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "Often times, what the academy thinks is a great movie isn't a movie a general audience wants to see." Only four times in the last 30 years has the year's top-grossing film won best picture at the Oscars – 1988's "Rain Man," 1994's "Forrest Gump," 1997's "Titanic" and 2003's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." "The Hurt Locker" – domestic gross just $17 million – won best picture two years ago over "Avatar," which pulled in $760 million domestically and $2.8 billion worldwide. Critical acclaim and commercial success merged last year as "The King's Speech" was crowned best picture, the Oscar attention helping it to a domestic take of $138.8 million, a fortune for an old-fashioned period drama. Most of "The King's Speech" riches came after Oscar nominations were announced, the film packing in audiences in the wake of all the awards buzz. That's often been the great value of Oscar nominations for films that lack big marketing budgets. But this season, that usual bump at the box office has lost much of its bounce. George Clooney's family drama "The Descendants" fared the best, pulling in $24.3 million domestically since the nominations Jan. 24 to raise its total through last weekend to $75.6 million. "We still have a movie out there that's in release, and we want to get people to see it," "Descendants" producer Jim Burke said on nominations morning. "Frankly, these nominations help in that cause. We make what we call human films, and it requires word of mouth and people telling others to see it and critical response and audience reaction. It all helps. It all helps a lot." The silent film "The Artist," which has 10 nominations and is favored to win best picture, would be one of the lowest-grossing winners ever, with $28.1 million through last weekend. The Oscar attention certainly has helped, though. A bit more than half of its box-office cash has come in since the nominations. Martin Scorsese's Paris adventure "Hugo," which leads with 11 nominations, has had a so-so commercial run, padding its domestic dollars to $67.3 million, up $11.4 million since nominations day. Yet it has a timeless appeal that could keep it alive on video for the long haul. "It seems to be a picture that plays to the entire family and plays for different ages," Scorsese said. "It might have a life more than a year or two. Maybe in the future people will still see it and get more out of it as they grow older." That's a key purpose of the Oscars – calling attention to films that deserve to live on for years to come, rather than those that put up big numbers over opening weekend. Oscar attention can make all the difference for tiny films such as the Irish drama "Albert Nobbs," which went into general release the weekend after the nominations and has pulled in $2.4 million since, largely on the strength of acting honors for Glenn Close and Janet McTeer. "We did this little film for love and almost no money, and now we're here walking up red carpets," McTeer said. "It means that more people are likely to see the film. When you've done a film for the love of the beast, it's very, very exciting. It's wonderful that more people might go and see it. That's why we do it, isn't it?" ___ Associated Press Entertainment Writers Derrik J. Lang and Anthony McCartney contributed to this report.

Oscars 2012: Billy Crystal To Rescue 84th Academy Awards Show

Christopher Rosen — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 12:01:28 EST

LOS ANGELES — The Oscar ceremony has much to prove Sunday, including whether a blockbuster-free field can draw a TV audience and if Billy Crystal's host routine remains a crowd-pleaser. Brian Grazer and Don Mischer, the show's producers, are laughing off the challenges: "Comedy is the direction we're going in this year," said Mischer. For Crystal, who returns to the ceremony (8:30 p.m. EST, ABC) after an absence of eight years, that means jokes and patter that were being rehearsed at the last minute to avoid punch line leaks. The actor also is bringing back two of his trademark Oscar bits: A film sequence in which he appears via CGI in clips from the nine best-picture contenders, and a musical number that pays tribute to the ceremony and nominees. "It's everything everybody is going to want to see from Billy Crystal," Grazer said. "Billy was born for this job. He loves being the host and he does it with complete zest and enthusiasm. He makes it fun for everybody." Crystal has help. Presenting team Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis have a "great gag," Grazer promised, with more light moments planned courtesy of co-presenters Tina Fey and Bradley Cooper and, in a group effort, the cast of "Bridesmaids." There's a chance for controversy in a presidential election year and, with Sacha Baron Cohen invited, for mock political friction. Rumor has it Cohen will come dressed as the character from "The Dictator," his upcoming movie about a faux country's despot. Although there were hints of motion picture academy uneasiness about the possible stunt, "we're thrilled to have him," Grazer said. Among the high-wattage presenters for the 84th Academy Awards at the Hollywood & Highland Center (formerly the Kodak Theatre) are Halle Berry, Tom Cruise, Natalie Portman, Michael Douglas, Penelope Cruz and Angelina Jolie. They'll be framed by a stage set evoking a classic movie theater and the evening's theme: the enduring nature of the moviegoing experience. Nominees in the lead acting categories include Viola Davis for "The Help," Meryl Streep for "The Iron Lady," George Clooney for "The Descendants" and Jean Dujardin for "The Artist." But the night's starring role goes to Crystal, 63, who acknowledged in a Oscar.com video that "there's so much expected" of his return. He should have the audience's goodwill in his ninth Oscar gig since, in the best Hollywood tradition, he came to the rescue after Eddie Murphy dropped out as host. Murphy's exit followed that of ceremony producer Brett Ratner, who had drawn fire for using a pejorative word for gay men at a screening of "Tower Heist," directed by Ratner and starring Murphy. Oscar-winning movie producer Grazer ("A Beautiful Mind") jumped in to work with awards veteran Mischer. Last year's co-hosts aren't a hard act for Crystal to follow. Anne Hathaway and James Franco were picked to appeal to younger viewers but while Hathaway was game, an inert Franco proved ill-suited for the task. The nominees represent a different challenge for the show. Favorites include "The Artist," a daring black-and-white silent film; "Hugo," an unusual Martin Scorsese work that trades grittiness for charm; and the family drama "The Descendants" with Clooney as a cuckold. None has soared at the box office. Among the best-picture nominees, only "The Help," based on the best-selling book about 1960s race relations in the South, hit $100 million in ticket sales and counting (it's at more than $170 million.) Blockbusters were left in the cold. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," couldn't overcome the academy's resistance to the franchise. Nor, more understandably, could "The Hangover Part II," another 2011 success. Such snubs tend to produce the TV equivalent of a weak box office: low ratings. When a monster hit like "Titanic" ruled the Oscars in 1998, the ceremony drew an impressive 55.2 million viewers. "The King's Speech," last year's less-mainstream best-picture winner, was watched by 37.9 million people. There is an effort to boost viewership through social networks. The academy is inviting fans to make awards predictions on its Facebook page and share them with friends, while ABC will use Twitter to reveal the scene backstage and on the red carpet. At stake are advertising dollars as well as bragging rights in the award show competition. This month's Grammys – riding a wave of interest in Adele's post-surgery comeback and the death of Whitney Houston – drew nearly 40 million viewers to eclipse the Academy Awards for the first time since 1984. Forget nominee nervousness: Those anxious giggles may just be from Oscar himself. __ AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen contributed to this report.