Black Swan: Visual Effects

Looks to me like BAFTA shouldn't have been the only ones to nominate the Visual Effects crew for this film...

Oscars 2010

Greetings, readers! I join you from the couch at PopBopShop Girl's annual Oscar Extravaganza, replete with hors d'oeuvres and a healthy helping of judgment. As we get started with the Red Carpet and I fill out my official party ballot, refresh your mind with this year's nominees! Get comfy, y'all, cause it's gonna be a long night of Anne Hathaway's obnoxious cackle and a kajillion unnecessary movie montages. And with that, we're off to the Oscars!

RED CARPET
- Sharon Stone raided the Black Swan costume closet, to great effect! She looks stunning, and aloof.

- Melissa Leo, I love ya, but you cannot wear one of Liberace's jackets to the Oscars.

- Hilary Swank raided the Silver Swan costume closet, to great effect. She looks fab in silvery feathery, strapless, flared hotness. Nice choice.

- Helena Bonham-Carter was apparently not allowed to dress herself this time around, looking comparatively demure in a black corsety 1880s inspired getup.

- Jennifer Lawrence in a curve-skimming, red hot gown that matches the ah, carpet, as it were.  From the couch: "Shut. It."  We concur that it's like an extendable Baywatch swimsuit - "She looks amazing. She's not gonna win, but she looks amazing."

- CÉLINE DION!! Oh my god my heart will go on. She's wearing the Coeur de la Mer and her post baby bod looks SLAMMIN. Seacrest, she's going back to Vegas, you say? Sign me up. Immediatement.

- Penélope Cruz and her baby boobs and Sandra Bullock (in Vera Wang) arrive in quick succession, also wearing scarlet. Another trend, I see.

- Halle Berry in Hilary's dress, just a different color and with some fluffy bits.  Yet another trend.  It's Marchesa, and she looks super pretty.

- A collective gasp as we see Reese Witherspoon flirtatiously waving from her limo - "Come out! Come out!" we cluck. Love her. Aaaand she's out of the limo and we don't like the dress or the hairpiece. Tsk tsk.

- Nicole Kidman in an unflattering envelope kimono contraption. Nope.

- A head-to-toe shot of Penélope reveals her to have a bit of a firebird theme going on. I am picking up what you're throwing down, hot mama.

- Scarlet Johansson in merlot lace-cutouts.

- Mila Kunis in lavendar lace-cutouts.

- Gwyneth! Silver sheath by Calvin Klein, looking lovely.

- Robert Downey, Jr. From the couch: "He should send Charlie Sheen a thank you note, cause he just made RDJ's life look like nothin'."

- Mark Wahlberg and his pretty wife, then Michelle Williams, whose dress looks like it has miniature nipples all over it.

- Anne Hathaway, also in scarlet, strapless, with a flared train. Yes, let's start combining trends :)

- Cate Blanchett in questionable Givenchy - from the couch: "I like it in the wide shot, but not up close." Word. She, however, is gorgeous.

- Finally, Natalie Portman shows up.  Also in merlot Rodarte with a deep v-neck and draping over her baby bump, she looks glowy and pretty as usual. (From another camera, it's looking more plum than merlot...) Lots of couch debate on when she's due, although we concede that it's difficult to tell "...because she started at 8 pounds."

- It's 8:00 and we just realized that the show itself doesn't start til 8:30. Seriously?!

- Jennifer Hudson in (surprise!) scarlet, looking va-va-voom. From the couch: "I can't believe how much weight she's lost!"  "I know. I think she's probably very hungry."

- Fun (?) facts from the carpet: Justin Timberlake says it takes an hour to walk from the end of the carpet to the entrance of the theater, and Sandra says she hasn't worked a day in a year and a half.

- Apparently Gwyneth is performing tonight. I see she is continuing her tour of world domination.

- ABC is giving us a little backstage tour, and I don't really care. C'mon, let's get on with it already!

They heard me, and answered.

THE CEREMONY
8:30 - We begin with our first montage! Clips from every nominated film for Best Picture.

8:31 - Anne and James infiltrate a scene from Inception. It's marginally funny, but she's already overacting and ... op! Alec Baldwin! Seems like we're going to be going with the premise that the entire show is one of his dreams. Now we're in The Social Network, The Fighter (and no, Anne, you can't do a Boston accent.), True Grit (James is in a bear suit and Anne has two eyepatches).  Morgan Freeman: "Alex likes me to narrate his dreams."  We continue through the rest of the Top 10, with The King's Speech and "The Dance of the Brown Duck" flopping through Natalie's studio in Black Swan. Now they're in a Delorian, and they're onstage!

8:37 - Anne's in a bejeweled white strapless number. She's perky and I hate her. It's official. Jokes about how they're supposed to appeal to a younger demographic. Pats on the back to James for being nominated.  They say hello to their moms, who are mic'ed.  James's grandma gets massive applause! (we're gonna regret this at midnight.) "I just saw Marky Mark!" Too funny.

8:41 - We are watching a movie from 1939. Gone With the Wind.  1939. Seriously?!

8:42 - Anne introduces Tom Hanks by screaming into her microphone, and I like her less, if possible.

8:44 - He somehow ties in the aforementioned irrelevant clip, and presents the Oscar for Best Art Direction to Alice in Wonderland. I care not. Marginally cute that he put a Mad Hatter hat on his statuette.

8:46 - Tom gives the Oscar for Best Cinematography to Wally Pfizter for Inception.

8:51 - Kirk Douglas canes his way out and manages to make a joke! "James! It's much better out of the cave!" As he flails a bit, from the couch: "Who thought this was going to be a good idea?" and "He sounds like the giant in The Princess Bride."

8:53 - Montage of Best Supporting Actress.  We all wonder what Animal Kingdom is, but from the couch: "I'm happy for this random woman." Hailee Steinfeld looks fabulous!

8:58 - Kirky's taking forever, but at least now the stalling is a joke. Best Supporting Actress goes to Melissa Leo for The Fighter. "Wow. Mine?" She proceeds to give a gap-filled, bleeped-out speech that includes comments about how many people who matter to her are not there. I loved her and voted for her on my ballot, but damn, this is awkward.

9:01 - Justin Timberlake says "I'm Banksy."  Funny :)  Mila Kunis isn't so funny. "No, you're not, Justin." Pulls up an "app" for a better backdrop for the Best Animated Short montage.

9:03 - The Oscar for Best Animated Short goes to The Lost Thing.  From the couch: "He needs a passport to get to the stage from where he's sitting."  It's funny cause he's short too. And Australian.

9:05 - Best Animated Feature Film montage.

9:06 - The Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film goes to Toy Story 3.  Good speech! Humble and well-put.

9:12 -Anne reminisces about the first Oscars, in 1929. Introduces Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin.

9:13 - Wearing white tux tops, the two men introduce Best Adapted Screenplay, which goes to Aaron Sorkin for The Social Network. Well-spoken, but overly long speech.  Then again, the screenplay was wordy too, so what did we expect?

9:17 - Montage for Best Original Screenplay, which goes to David Seidler for The King's Speech. "My father always said to be I would be a late bloomer. I believe I'm the oldest person to win this particular award."

9:23 - Anne Hathaway, in a girl-tux (hot!), sparkly shoes, and a ponytail, sings "On My Own ...cause someone's a Huuugh Jackass." Homegirl's got a nice voice, I grant you that, but... it's upstaged by

9:25 - James Franco in a platinum wig, hot pink dress, his face looking (weirdly) like Heath Ledger, although I think he was going for Marilyn.

9:26 - Helen Mirren presents in French. Russell Brand translates into Ali G speak. "Yo! My Oscar-winning performance as a Queen was much more convincing than Colin Firth's as a King." Best Foreign Language Film goes to In a Better World, from Denmark.

9:29 - Reese and her fake hair introduce the montage for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.  Jeremy Renner appears to have brought his mother! Take a cue from Ben Affleck, buddy? Cute :)

9:32 - Christian Bale takes it home for his amazing performance in The Fighter. Dickie Eklund stands up! Gets a plug for his website... did I hear a "Boooo"? Hmm.

9:38 - Studio execs discuss the relationship between ABC and the Oscar Broadcast.  It's continuing.  Thank god.

9:39 - Anne, in a new dress (strapless, black/white, feathery motifs) introduces Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman. I wonder if they ever get tired of having to do things together purely because they're both Australian.  What if they didn't like each other? What then?! I've clearly not been paying attention through the montage about sound, because now an orchestra is playing famous movie themes on stage, and I don't know how they got there.

9:42 - The Oscar for Best Original Score goes to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for The Social Network. I typed that before they said it. BAM.

9:45 - James intros ScarJo and Matthew McConaughey, who present the Oscar for Best Sound Mixing to Laura Hirschberg, Larry Rizzo, and Ed Novick (?) for Inception.

9:48 - The Oscar for Best Achievement in Sound Editing goes to Richard King for Inception.

9:54 - Marisa Tomei in a blahbidyblah navy number recaps the technical awards, which she presented in a separate ceremony a couple weeks ago. From the couch: "Yup, there's a reason these don't make it into the broadcast."  James: "Congratulations, Nerds."

9:55 - Cate Blanchett and her fabulous haircut present Best Make Up to The Wolfman.  "That's gross," says Cate.

9:58 - Best Costume Design goes to Alice and Wonderland. Typed that one early too. BAM. Questionable mesh gloves for a costume designer, no? Also... her face doesn't move. From the couch:
"That was painful."
"Yeah, well she wasn't nominated for writing."
"You've seen 'Project Runway.' Fashion people can have more oomph!"

10:00 - Favorite Oscar Song montage.  Actually, I really like this :) And not just because Céline got a nod.

10:02 - Kevin Spacey introduces the first of the live performances of the nominated songs.

10:03 - Randy Newman performs "We Belong Together," from Toy Story 3. I wonder if I'm wrong in assuming that this is when a lot of stars make a run to the loo.

10:04 - Kevin intros the next song, and thinks to himself, "I thought I was better than this."

10:05 - Mandy Moore (in a dress the size and color of an ocean) and Zachary Levi perform "I See the Light" from Tangled. From the couch (guess who): "You do not deserve to stand beside Céline on the Oscar-winning stage."

10:11 - James intros Jake Gyllenhaal and Amy Adams.  She's wearing a sparkly navy number that looks like a sapphire version of the ruby slippers material. He looks dashing as usual.

10:12 - Jake: "Shorts are the hardest category to pick on your home-Oscar-ballot." True story. "Make an effort to see them. It might just make you a winner."

10:13 - Best Documentary Short goes to Strangers No More - ironically, I picked this for my ballot, thinking, "I like friends. I'd like to not be strangers."

10:14 - Best Live Action Short goes to God of Love. I picked Nawewe, because it's called Nawewe. :::sigh:::  "Shoulda gotten a haircut," quips the Jewfro-sporting dweeb who accepts.  He continues to be funny, to our general enjoyment.

10:17 - New dress for Anne. It is sparkly, silvery, and has fringe. In a funny "every movie was actually a movie-musical" montage, we remix scenes from Harry Potter 7.1, Toy Story 3, The Social Network, Twilight: Eclipse. From the couch: "They're auto-tuning Harry Potter." 

10:19 - Oprah Winfrey (will the Oscars be on OWN next year? O is for Oscar!) introduces the documentaries.

10:22 - Best Documentary Feature goes to Inside Job.  Little political statement about financial executives not going to jail, then back to speeching.  Very nice.

10:26 - Gotta say, Anne's hair looks great.  And she brings out Billy Crystal!! Such love. He gets a standing ovation. And in his tribute to Bob Hope's 18 years of hosting this show, he's way funnier than anything we've seen tonight... like, by a lot.

10:30 - Bob Hope is also funnier than other things tonight.  And he's now dead.

10:31 - Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law (where have you been?) present (funnily, but I'm starting to get too tired to type it out as to how) Best Visual Effects to Inception.

10:34 - Best Film Editing goes to The Social Network.

10:40 - Best dress yet for Anne - dark red, strapless, with beautiful piping designs. 

10:41 - Jennifer Hudson (skinny minnie!) introduces Florence Welch (in gorgeous orange!) and ... someone. They sing "If I Rise," from 127 Hours.

10:43 - Gwyneth Paltrow performs "Coming Home" from Country Strong. She sounds nervous, in her new dress, which is one-shouldered, tan, and sparkly. She finished and looked pissed (rightfully so).

10:46 - Best Original Song goes to Randy Newman for "We Belong Together." He's funny! Self-deprecating.  Jovial.  Sarcastic.  Love it.

10:51 - BEST MODERN FAMILY COMMERCIAL EVER. 

10:52 - The orchestra is back. Céline! In a new (boring) tan, strapless dress. Singing "Smile" for the In Memoriam section. Tony Curtis. Jill Clayburgh. Pete Postlethwaite. Lena Horne.

10:56 - Halle Berry commemorates Lena Horne with tears in her eyes.

11:01 - We're in the homestretch.  Anne, in latex-looking blue monstrosity, thanks Céline and Halle and intros Hilary Swank.

11:02 -Katherine Bigelow, wearing a horror she found in the Star Trek dumpster, presents Best Director to Tom Hooper for The King's Speech. He, in addition to Colin Firth in his GG speech, references their "Triangle of Man Love."  Those Brits. They're so sassy.  Beautiful thank you to his mum, who apparently found the story!

11:05 - James intros Annette Bening, who is wearing a godawful mess of a sparkly dress.

11:06 - Annette narrates the montage for the random tribute awards that happened another night.  Kevin Brownlow, Francis Ford Coppola, and Eli Wallach appear onstage to get their applause in person.

11:11 - Anne cannot stop "whoop!"ing into her microphone.  Arrrrgh.  Jeff Bridges presents Best Actress in a Leading Role, but first gives lovely thoughts to each lady one by one (Annette Bening, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lawrence, Natalie Portman, Michelle Williams).

11:16 - Best Actress goes to Natalie Portman for Black Swan.  Beautiful Tiffany earrings, Nat. :)  You're gorgeous.  She's thanking what seems like the entire crew.

11:19 - Is it bad that I'm hoping that Anne falls down because of this awful blue dress? Rachel Zoe, are you to blame for this?!

11:20 - Sandra Bullock introduces the Best Actor montage with individual statements to each nominee, starting with "Javier. Hola. In... No Country For Old Men, you managed to scare an entire nation... with a haircut." Jeff Bridges. "Jeff. Dude, dude. You won this award last year."  (I have to say, I really want to be friends with Sandra Bullock.  She seems awesome.) Jesse Eisenberg. He really was so good. Colin Firth. We question the clip-pickers.  James Franco. From the couch: "I think he took tranquilizers."  From Sandra: "You are the number one reason children get picked up late from school because their mothers are watching you on General Hospital."

11:25 - Best Actor goes to Colin Firth for The King's Speech.  "I have a feeling my career's just peaked." He's wicked funny, self-deprecating, humble, and just adorbs.

11:30 - Aaand we're running over. 

11:31 - Anne, why do you have to keep wearing ugly dresses? And again with the "whoop"ing!

11:32 - Steven Spielberg gets played on to the theme from Jurassic Park. Hmm. He introduces the clips from the Best Picture nominees. They're all set to the final speech from The King's Speech. I bet whoever made that call is seriously hoping it wins... and whaddaya know,

11:35 - Best Picture goes to The King's Speech.  Good, but not my favorite. :::sigh:::

11:38 - The 5th Grade Chorus from PS 22 in Staten Island come on to sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."  From the couch: "I love that their singing part is written on their shirt."  All the winners descend to stand among them.  Here's betting the kid with Natalie is way happier than the kid with the Sound dude.

And on that joyful note, it's overrrrrrr!

*For my hostess' recap, go here.

Oscar Noms 2010

My picks in italics, for the ones I care about...  

Actor in a Leading Role

• Javier Bardem in “Biutiful”
• Jeff Bridges in “True Grit”
• Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network”
• Colin Firth in “The King's Speech”
• James Franco in “127 Hours”

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Christian Bale in “The Fighter”
• John Hawkes in “Winter's Bone”
• Jeremy Renner in “The Town”
• Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”
• Geoffrey Rush in “The King's Speech”

Actress in a Leading Role

• Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”*
• Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”
• Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter's Bone”
• Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”*
• Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”
• *I can't decide! Totally could see it being Natalie, but could also see push-back after the GGs for Annette. If money were on the line, I'd go with the former. 

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Amy Adams in “The Fighter”
• Helena Bonham Carter in “The King's Speech”
• Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”
• Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”
• Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”

Animated Feature Film

• “How to Train Your Dragon” Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
• “The Illusionist” Sylvain Chomet
• “Toy Story 3” Lee Unkrich

Art Direction

• “Alice in Wonderland”
  Production Design: Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Karen O'Hara
• “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”
  Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
• “Inception”
  Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas; Set Decoration: Larry Dias and Doug Mowat
• “The King's Speech”
  Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Judy Farr
• “True Grit”
  Production Design: Jess Gonchor; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
  

Cinematography

• “Black Swan” Matthew Libatique
• “Inception” Wally Pfister
• “The King's Speech” Danny Cohen
• “The Social Network” Jeff Cronenweth
• “True Grit” Roger Deakins

Costume Design

• “Alice in Wonderland” Colleen Atwood
• “I Am Love” Antonella Cannarozzi
• “The King's Speech” Jenny Beavan
• “The Tempest” Sandy Powell
• “True Grit” Mary Zophres

Directing

• “Black Swan” Darren Aronofsky
• “The Fighter” David O. Russell
• “The King's Speech” Tom Hooper
• “The Social Network” David Fincher
• “True Grit” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Documentary (Feature)

• “Exit through the Gift Shop” Banksy and Jaimie D'Cruz
• “Gasland” Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
• “Inside Job” Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
• “Restrepo” Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
• “Waste Land” Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley

Documentary (Short Subject)

• “Killing in the Name” Nominees to be determined
• “Poster Girl” Nominees to be determined
• “Strangers No More” Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
• “Sun Come Up” Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger
• “The Warriors of Qiugang” Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon

Film Editing

• “Black Swan” Andrew Weisblum
• “The Fighter” Pamela Martin
• “The King's Speech” Tariq Anwar
• “127 Hours” Jon Harris
• “The Social Network” Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

Foreign Language Film

• “Biutiful” Mexico
• “Dogtooth” Greece
• “In a Better World” Denmark
• “Incendies” Canada
• “Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi)” Algeria

Makeup

• “Barney's Version” Adrien Morot
• “The Way Back” Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
• “The Wolfman” Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

Music (Original Score)

• “How to Train Your Dragon” John Powell
• “Inception” Hans Zimmer
• “The King's Speech” Alexandre Desplat
• “127 Hours” A.R. Rahman
• “The Social Network” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Music (Original Song)

• “Coming Home” from “Country Strong” Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
• “I See the Light” from “Tangled” Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
• “If I Rise” from “127 Hours” Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
• “We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3" Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

Best Picture

• “Black Swan” Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
• “The Fighter” David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
• “Inception” Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
• “The Kids Are All Right” Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
• “The King's Speech” Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
• “127 Hours” Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
• “The Social Network” Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
• “Toy Story 3” Darla K. Anderson, Producer
• “True Grit” Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
• “Winter's Bone" Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

Short Film (Animated)

• “Day & Night” Teddy Newton
• “The Gruffalo” Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
• “Let's Pollute” Geefwee Boedoe
• “The Lost Thing” Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
• “Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)” Bastien Dubois

Short Film (Live Action)

• “The Confession” Tanel Toom
• “The Crush” Michael Creagh
• “God of Love” Luke Matheny
• “Na Wewe” Ivan Goldschmidt
• “Wish 143” Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite

Sound Editing

• “Inception” Richard King
• “Toy Story 3” Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
• “Tron: Legacy” Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
• “True Grit” Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
• “Unstoppable” Mark P. Stoeckinger

Sound Mixing

• “Inception” Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick
• “The King's Speech” Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley
• “Salt” Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin
• “The Social Network” Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten
• “True Grit” Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland

Visual Effects

• “Alice in Wonderland” Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
• “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1” Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
• “Hereafter” Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell
• “Inception” Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb
• “Iron Man 2” Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

• “127 Hours” Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
• “The Social Network” Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
• “Toy Story 3” Screenplay by Michael Arndt; Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
• “True Grit” Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
• “Winter's Bone” Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

Writing (Original Screenplay)

• “Another Year” Written by Mike Leigh
• “The Fighter” Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson;
  Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
• “Inception” Written by Christopher Nolan
• “The Kids Are All Right” Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
• “The King's Speech” Screenplay by David Seidler*
• *This is my second pick.

Golden Globes 2010

Here we go again, folks, with a live blog of this year's GGs from PopBopShop Girl's living room -- although, let's be honest, I'm probably sitting with the only person who stands a chance of reading this live... Regardless, I'll try to refresh every 15 minutes or so!

Red Carpet
- Tuning in to the E! Network's red carpet, immediately Carrie Underwood scores a run with her shiny Badgley Mischka strapless number.  She shoots the shit with Ryan Seacrest, and I wonder if she regrets that she is forced to be nice to him given their shared history on Idol.  Hmm.
- Helena Bonham Carter is wearing one red shoe and one green shoe, and has a mop of hair piled on her head.  She actually looks like her Harry Potter character, Bellatrix Lestrange. Given how refined her nominated King's Speech character was, I'm surprised.

- Nicole Kidman is pooching!!  From the couch: "Given that she's a skeleton, that's not exactly hard."  We discuss if she may be preggers... hmm.  Ugh I forgot their child is named Sunday.
- Justin Bieber (The Biebs) gets to go to the Golden Globes and I don't?! He's presenting?! From the couch: "He got a haircut."  He sounds like a child.  Oh wait, he is.
- Jane Krakowski beats Natalie Portman for "Best Pregnant Person Dress."  :::sigh::: It's another Badgley Mischka! Wow! Perhaps I have a fav designer and didn't even know it!
- Jane Lynch!
- Julianne Moore in a one sleeve, yet puffed one sleeve, FUSCIA number. She quickly makes Molly's Worst Dressed list. Oy.

- Sofia Vergara in red Vera Wang.  Wowza. Corset lacing up the back, boobs and pleats in front. Atta girl.  It helps you, too, that you keep pronouncing it "Wong."  However, I do not believe she only works out 2 times a week and the rest of it is her EasyTone Reeboks.  Puhlease.

- Catherine Zeta-Jones in a gorgeous emerald strapless Monique Lhullier.  Great choice.  Keepin' it real, Michael Douglass makes sure to ask about the Jets/Pats score in between giving updates on his cancer.  (The game is going horribly for the Pats, but his cancer is going well.)

- ANGELINA JOLIE IS NOT WEARING BLACK! Green Versace. Very retro. Very good choice.
- Another green gown on Miss Mila Kunis! Seems to be the color of the season. Aaaand of course they ask her about the sex scene.
- Sandra Bullock -- from the couch: "Glenda the Good Witch."  Too true.
- Robert Downey, Jr., usually so dapper, looks scruffy.  And for the last time, we don't care about your not famous wife.
- Kelly Osbourne is on the glam cam crew.  Unclear as to why this is a development this year.  Being skinny does not make you fashionable. PS.
- Christina Aguilera looks (a) naked and (b) like her boobies are about to make a cameo.
- Claire Danes, of awful Latisse commercial fame, is wearing hot pink and looks quite pretty!
- I want to be friends with Jon Hamm and Jennifer Westfeldt!  They look so fun!
- Halle Berry is NAKED.  Hoochie! Announces she is sweating, and that's her excuse for wearing no clothing.  NO.  However, she has my haircut, so she wins some points for that.

- From the couch: "Literally, Michelle Williams' dress looks like something I made in kindergarten. Hideous."

- J-Lo, wearing a white poncho. From the couch: "She looks like she's going to her Quinceñera." When talking to Seacrest! Out! she says, about being nervous about getting stuff on her dress, "Mark says 'Don't touch yourself!'"  $10 that makes it into quotes of the week, totally out of context. 

- Anne Hathaway, despite her dinner-plate-sized sequins on her Armani, looks pretty.
- Mandy Moore looks so pretty in a sapphire one shoulder mermaid number! She looks great, but I'd put her hair up to show her neckline off.

- Amy Adams looks lovely in navy.

- Thank the good sweet lord for people like Christina Hendrix, (who covered up her ta-tas, to stunning effect) who have HIPS! Love it.

- Tilda Swinton - Why are you such a hot mess?!  From the couch: "Went into some guy's closet, pulled out a men's dress shirt, and then paired it with her comforter."

And with that, off we go to THE SHOW!
- The host, Ricky Gervais.  I think his suit is checkered.  Maybe he'll drink at the podium again this year! A Charlie Sheen crack to get it started! "Seems like everything this year was 3-D, except the characters in The Tourist." Other targets: Cher, things not nominated, Scientology, Hugh Hefner and his penis, and Mel Gibson.  Off to a good start! Lots of "ohhhhhhhhhs!" from the couch.

- Scarlett Johansson, in a matronly horror, presents Best Supporting Actor in a Drama to Christian Bale for The Fighter.  Horrid hair, but I assume it's for a role.  Forgiven. Really nice comment to Mark Wahlberg. Dedicates it to his daughter! So cute.
- PS why is Geoffrey Rush wearing a hat and have a bald head?! Is he sick!?  :(
- LL Cool J and Julie Bowen present Best Actress in a TV Series Drama to Katie Sagal for "Sons of Anarchy."  Coyly, she says "I'm shocked! ... But I'm prepared."  Cute.
- Julianne Moore and Kevin Spacey introduce Miss Golden Globe, Gia Montegna, daughter of Joe.  They present Best Mini-series or Television Series to "Carlos."  Surprise! Definitely thought it would go to "Temple Grandin." On the plus side, I don't care about this speech, so I can eat the delicious food Molly has prepared.  From the couch: "I would rather he speak in Spanish."
- Bruce Willis, or as Gervais dubs him, "Ashton Kutcher's Dad," presents the clip for Red, nominated for Best Musical or Comedy.

- Leighton Meister and Garrett Hedlund present Best Actor in a TV Musical or Comedy to Chris Colfer for "Glee!!!!"  The couch screams with excitement! Everyone in the awards room looks THRILLED for him, as well they should.  What a cutie! "I think I just dropped my heart between Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, so if anyone sees it, please give that back to me."
- Michelle Pfeifer, in sheer purple, presents the clip for Alice in Wonderland, nominated for Best Musical or Comedy. 
- Eva Longoria almost trips on her way onstage - from the couch, "As if she hasn't had a bad enough year already." She introduces the President of the Hollywood Foreign Press. Short and sweet speech, just how I like it.
- Kevin Bacon and Milla Jovovich present Best Actor in a TV Series Drama to Steve Buschemi for "Boardwalk Empire." Thanks his 4-year-old nephew who called him and left a message, saying "Uncle Steve, wish me luck!" So cute!
- They go on to present Best TV Series - Drama to Boardwalk Empire. I have heard this show is great! Funny speech, including: "Holy effin' crap!" and "To my family back in Brooklyn: I can't believe I'm sitting at a table with Al Pacino, either!"  For the record, I love Kelly MacDonald - I hope her career leads to more awards.
- Andrew Garfield -- what the what?! He's British!! -- introduces the clip for The Social Network.

- Alec Baldwin and JLo present Best Original Song from a Motion Picture to "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" from Burlesque. Cher isn't there, which is disappointing. The speech is a mess of free association, despite her written notes.  From the couch: "She looks like Chris Jenner... meets Liza."
- They go on to present Best Original Score to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for The Social Network.
- Hailee Steinfeld and The Bieb present Best Animated Feature Film to Toy Story 3.  No surprise there, but wish it went to Despicable Me. 
- Aaaaaand Gervais is drinking. He's lost his jacket. I love the GGs.
- Robert Downey, Jr.: "Aside from the fact that [Ricky Gervais has] been hugely meanspirited with mildly sinister undertones, I'd say the vibe of the show is pretty good!" Presents Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, saying, "I'd give it to all five of you at once.  (The award.)" to Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right. Well, obvi.
- Annette gives a slightly robotic speech. :::sigh:::
- Sylvester Stallone, with a dapper pocket square presents the clip for The Fighter.
- Goeffrey Rush and Tilda Swinton present Best Actor in a Mini Series or TV Movie to Al Pacino for "You Don't Know Jack." Noticed: They don't play the "wrap it up" music for Pacino.

- They present Best Actress in a Mini Series or TV Movie to Claire Danes for "Temple Grandin."  The real Temple is there! So sweet! "I have to thank you on behalf of the literally millions of lives who have been dignified... by you."
- Zac Efron introduces the clip for The Kids Are All Right. 
- The fake hate-fest between Gervais and Steve Carrell goes on, to hilarious effect.
- Tina Fey and Steve Carrell present Best Screenplay to Aaron Sorkin for The Social Network.
- Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth present Best Supporting Actress in a TV Musical or Comedy to Jane Lynch for "Glee." She is too funny: "I am nothing if not falsely humble."

- Olivia Wilde (looking like a sparkly princess) and Robert Pattinson present Best Foreign Language Film to In a Better World, from Denmark.  The lady hiked her dress up so high climbing the stairs that we could see her Spanx! Hollywood! They're just like us!
- Helen Mirren introduces the clip for The King's Speech using lots of birthing language. Awkward.
- Vanessa Williams and Blair Underwood present Best Actress in a TV Comedy or Musical to Laura Linney for "The Big C." Aaaaaand the bitch ain't there.  She's very busy and important.
- Jane Fonda, who apparently hasn't been to the GGs in 25 years, introduces the clip for Burlesque. It's unclear as to why she needed to return for that, but she did.
- Kayley Cuoco and Matthew Bomer present Best Actor in a TV Comedy or Musical to Jim Parsons for "Big Bang Theory." From the couch: "He'll be walking to the stage from San Francisco!"  He's totally in the cheap seats.

- Jeremy Irons presents Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture to Melissa Leo for The Fighter.  So deserved.  She looks beautiful!!! As her speech goes on and gets more and more enthusiastic, we consider that she also may be intoxicated.
- Matt Damon presents the Cecil B. DeMille Award to Robert DeNiro. After a montage that gained momentum towards the end and culminates in a resounding standing ovation, DeNiro gives a funny (phew!) speech. He seems like a chill dude, self-depricating, aware, and humorous.
- Megan Fox introduces the clip for The Tourist. 
- Annette Bening presents Best Director - Motion Picture to David Fincher for The Social Network. I pay no attention to his speech.
- Jimmy Falon and January Jones present Best TV Series - Musical or Comedy to "Glee." In the future, they should consider playing a different song each time. Mercedes looks great! From the couch, after their short speech: "They should have had a song prepared!!"
- Alicia Keyes introduces the clip for Black Swan.  From the couch: "Is she still pregnant?" "No, she just wrapped herself up in the red carpet."

- Halle Berry and her Hoo-Ha present Best Actor in a Feature Film - Musical or Comedy to Paul Giamatti for Barney's Version. He mentions that there are free boxes of Godiva chocolates. PB+Jealous. Then he thanks Canada.  He's definitely drunk.
- Joseph Gordon Levitt introduces the clip for Inception. 

- Jeff Bridges presents Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama to Natalie Portman for Black Swan. Don't love her dress. She's humble and gracious yet has a nerdy, nerdy laugh.  Not everyone can be perfect.
- Tom Hanks and Tim Allen present Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical to The Kids Are All Right.

- Sandra Bullock, with heavy, dark bangs that she could do without, and a dress that is notttttt so cute, presents Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama to Colin Firth for The King's Speech.  He uses the phrase "surprisingly robust triangle of man-love" in his speech - make of that what you will.  He also calls Geoffrey Rush "my geisha girl."  Why, Mr. Darcy! You funny.
- Michael Douglas, getting a riotous standing O for his apparently better health, presents Best Motion Picture - Drama to The Social Network. Kudos to the accepting producer for making the cast come up on stage - as first-time nominees, maybe they didn't know they could?

Two minutes early, we're done!

You never go back... swan.

Genius.

Golden Globe Nominations 2010

The noms are out and Awards Season 2010 has officially begun!  Read on, dear fans, read on:

Best Picture - Drama
Black Swan - My vote goes to this one, admittedly not yet having seen "The Fighter."
The Fighter
Inception
The King's Speech
The Social Network - Given last year's debacle between "Hurt Locker" and "Avatar," I can see them awarding this 'lighter fare' this year.

Best Picture - Musical or Comedy
Alice in Wonderland
Burlesque
The Kids Are Alright - Easy win, in my mind.
Red
The Tourist


Best Actor - Drama
Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
Colin Firth (The King's Speech) - My pick. It's still early in Eisenberg and Franco's careers, and Firth deserves the win.
James Franco (127 Hours)
Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine)
Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter)

Best Actress - Drama
Halle Berry (Frankie and Alice)
Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)
Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
Natalie Portman (Black Swan) - OBVIOUS choice, for me. Perhaps Williams or Kidman...
Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine)


Best Actor - Musical or Comedy
Johnny Depp (Alice in Wonderland)
Johnny Depp (The Tourist)
Paul Giamatti (Barney's Vision)
Jake Gyllenhaal (Love and Other Drugs)
Kevin Spacey (Casino Jack)
The only one I saw was Gyllenhaal, and it wasn't award-worthy, in my opinion. This one's an unknown.

Best Actress - Musical or Comedy
Annette Bening (The Kids Are Alright) - Definitely Bening for this category. It might get complicated at the Oscars, without the drama/comedy split.
Anne Hathaway (Love and Other Drugs)
Angelina Jolie (The Tourist)
Julianne Moore (The Kids Are Alright)
Emma Stone (Easy A)

Best Supporting Actor
Christine Bale (The Fighter)
Michael Douglas (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps)
Andrew Garfield (The Social Network)
Jeremy Renner (The Town)
Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech)
I would be happy with Rush, Bale, Renner, or Garfield. The only one I'd be annoyed with is Douglas.

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams (The Fighter)
Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech) - Definitely a strong contender... but I've heard Melissa Leo simply makes 'The Fighter.'
Mila Kunis (Black Swan)
Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
Jackie Weaver (Animal Kingdom)

Best Director
Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
David Fincher (The Social Network)
Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)
Christopher Nolan (Inception)
David O. Russell (The Fighter)
Interesting category. Each in their own way created a strong piece of work in its genre. Not sure what the voters will go with.  I'd be happy with either Aronofsky, Fincher, or Nolan. 

Best Animated Feature
Despicable Me - I just loved this. I really did. I'd love to see it win.
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist - 'The Triplets of Belleville' was such a hit that I wouldn't be surprised if this takes the Globe, despite its less mainstream style...
Tangled
Toy Story 3 - And yet the love affair with Pixar continues.

Seems like it's gonna be a good year!

Black Swan

Director: Darren Aronofsky
Year: 2010
Rating: ****

I have been dying to see this since the seriously creepy preview came out in September or so.  Natalie Portman was already getting serious Oscar buzz even then, and let's face it, the thought of her escaping her usually-wooden ways in pursuit of the coveted statue seemed altogether tantalizing.  Although I have read all over Facebook that many disagree with me, I am going on the record and saying that I loved this movie.  It's scary, weird, creepy as all get out, thrillingly acted, and chillingly directed.  I spent half the movie hunched in my seat and peeking through my fingers, splayed entirely across my face, and I can't wait to see it again.

Portman totally delivers as Nina Sayers, a cowering, diligent dancer in the New York City Ballet company.  She toils away in the chor until finally Thomas LeRoy, the director of the company, (played deliciously by Vincent Cassel), features her as the Swan Queen in their upcoming production of Swan Lake, thereby replacing longtime ballerina front-woman, Beth (Winona Ryder).  He promises it will be a new production, stripped of excess and pared down to the raw emotion of the story -- a princess falls in love with a prince, who is then seduced by her evil twin.  Finally realizing that the only way to achieve perfection is to surrender to her unrequited love, she kills herself.

It's unclear as to whether art starts to imitate life or if it's the other way around.  Nina's technique is perfect, and the flawless, composed White Swan comes easy to her, but she finds she has to push herself to the absolute maximum in order to attempt to portray the seductive Black Swan - and even then it is frustratingly beyond her grasp.  A new dancer in the company, Lily (Mila Kunis), seems to have the art of seduction figured out to a T, and Nina herself starts to succumb to her easygoing, devil-may-care influence.  Lashing out at her hovering mother (Barbara Hershey), living in a constant state of paranoia, Nina, having been told both to find and simultaneously lose herself in order to dance better, starts to do both. 

Seems like all ballet movies (and by "all" I clearly mean this and Center Stage) have a requisite scene that shows the destruction-of-the-shoes -- you know, texture the sole, rip out the lining, run them under water, tear off the toe fabric, bash 'em on the floor, bang bang bang wow ballet is really grueling.  Coupled with this, of course, is the shot of the nasty, sore-ridden, battered and blistered feet, in this case, complete with breaking toenails.  The companies host extravagant galas in which our leading ladies are featured garnering money for the struggling company.  Not all that glitters is funded.  There are overbearing mothers spouting bitterness as they rue their own lost careers, the hopes for which they've since projected onto their daughters, who are meanwhile crumbling under the pressure as they dance late into the night before the studio mirrors.

All that is laced together masterfully by Aronofsky, who uses handheld shots and creepy camera angles to create Nina's claustrophobic, mad world.  From the first shot of the film, I started keeping track of how many times Nina is shown through a mirror, but had already lost count by five minutes in.  This is incredibly, subtly effective in terms of reinforcing our inability to know, along with Nina, what is real.  Portman is masterful at showing us Nina in her fragile, anxious state, literally trembling with fatigue, fear, and desire.  As she starts to (barely) bridle her inner aggression and power,  her transformation is seriously chilling, as it's a total 180 from where she began.  Laced throughout the movie is a theme of black versus white -- LeRoy's pristine office decor, the goodness (or badness) of Nina herself, and, of course, the leading Swans.  There is no room for gray in this world.

There are definitely some gross out moments, and you may leave the theater paranoid that something will jump out at you from behind every door, but like I said, it's thrilling and chilling in an awesome way that will leave you thinking about it for days.

Definitely see this.