GTBP Scorecard and Oscar Results

If you missed the Oscars telecast, you didn't miss much. I hate to say that, because I'm a big fan of the annual event—I treat it pretty much the same way I do Super Bowl Sunday: we have friends over, make tons of appetizers, have plenty of drinks, and play games while watching so we can have some winners of our own. But this year, the show just didn't do much for me. I thought that James Franco and Anne Hathaway brought pretty much nothing to the table, and were just really "safe" and uninteresting hosts. When Billy Crystal came out to tell an amusing story, I honestly thought for a second that the show's producers had realized that things weren't working and had decided to go to the bullpen for a tried-and-true host to handle the show's home stretch.

Despite my overall poor impression of this year's broadcast, there were some things to like. I thought the homages to Academy Awards ceremonies of the past were great, but wished we'd gotten more of them. And I really enjoyed the continuing gimmick of having the previous year's Best Actor and Actress winners—Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock in this case—deliver heartfelt messages to the current year's nominees while presenting those awards. As for acceptance speeches, I thought Aaron Sorkin's was the best—although he probably benefited from being preceded by the truly awkward Kirk Douglas appearance. Other than these few highlights, though, I thought the show was pretty ho-hum. We'd love to hear our readers' opinions of the show (especially if you disagree with me!), so please share them with us below.

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Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor wins Oscar

Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor and co-composer Atticus Ross took home the Academy Award for Best Original Score for their work on the David Fincher, Aaron Sorkin film The Social Network.
The Oscar will make a nicely matched book end with the Golden Globe for Best Original Score – Motion Picture Reznor and Ross snagged last month.

Despite Reznor’s chart success as the leader of Nine Inch Nails, The Social Network soundtrack only peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

He’ll score Fincher’s upcoming English-language version of The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo.

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Ed Koch Predicts the Oscar Winners

If justice is served in Hollywood tonight, the people and films I predict in the video below are the ones who will take home Oscars.

Do you agree with my choices? Leave your comments and let me know. Also, for my thoughts on the selection of Anne Hathaway and James Franco as hosts for this evening's telecast, watch my commentary here.


You can also check out my reviews of some of the films I call out in the above video, including: True Grit, Blue Valentine, Black Swan, The Fighter, The King's Speech and The Social Network.

And don't forget to follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

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Who Will Win Best Picture? : Oscars 2011 Poll

With just hours to go before the Oscars launch, it's time to tackle the big question: who's going home with the Best Picture award?

In a field of ten nominees, it's seemingly once again down to two familiar competitors. Just as "The Hurt Locker" and "Avatar" raced neck-and-neck throughout the 2009 Academy Awards, tonight's show appears to be a similar throwdown between the popular favorite and the critical darling: "The Social Network" versus "The King's Speech."

But is the race really down to two? What of the other eight contenders? We've got some analysis after the jump, and make sure to cast YOUR vote for the Best Picture winner in our poll!

In just about any other year, virtually all of the 83rd Academy Awards' nominees for Best Picture would have the award on lockdown.

"Inception" was a blockbuster masterpiece that deftly married big budget effects with a thought-provoking story, while "True Grit" brought the Western back into the limelight with a blazing fury. "127 Hours," from "Slumdog Millionaire" Oscar favorite Danny Boyle, is an equally powerful tale of what a man will do to survive when all hope seems lost. "The Kids Are All Right" and "The Fighter" both feature fantastic performances and easily relatable tales about family turmoil, camouflaged in the form of a dysfunctional lesbian couple and a past-their-prime boxing clan. "Black Swan" might be Darren Aronofsky's crowning achievement to date, and it certainly is for Natalie Portman, but Portman's Oscar is likely as far as this one's going to go. Similar story for "Winter's Bone" — the lesser-known indie drama's real victory is the slew of Oscar nominations it received, not the statues. And "Toy Story 3," arguably the best of the series, is going to walk away with Best Animated Feature; that's its prize.

Despite all of their worthiness, the eight aforementioned contenders are not going to walk away with the Best Picture award this year. It's down to "The Social Network" and "The King's Speech," the two films that have dominated awards season through and through. Momentum seems to be on "The King's Speech" side, and it's certainly tailor-made for Oscar gold on the surface: a British drama about royalty and strife, armed with brilliant actors like Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush and beautiful direction from Tom Hooper. How can this story of overcoming personal adversity possibly lose?

"The Social Network" is what stands in the way. This is a movie that is very much of our time, exploring the making and dangers of the social networking community's most powerful tool. Facebook brings so many of us together, but it tore its founders apart. It's a shockingly devastating tale thanks to hard work from David Fincher, Aaron Sorkin and the entire cast. It's won several top prizes at awards shows, though the recent resurgence of "King's Speech" has seemingly derailed Fincher's Oscar hopeful. But don't be surprised if "The Social Network" has proudly accepted the academy's friend request by the end of Oscar night.

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"The King's Speech" was crowned best picture Sunday at an Academy Awards ceremony as precise as a state coronation

"The King's Speech" was crowned best picture Sunday at an Academy Awards ceremony as precise as a state coronation, the monarchy drama leading as expected with four Oscars and predictable favorites claiming acting honors.

Colin Firth as stammering British ruler George VI in "The King's Speech" earned the best-actor prize, while Natalie Portman won best actress as a delusional ballerina in "Black Swan."

The boxing drama "The Fighter" claimed both supporting-acting honors, for Christian Bale as a boxer-turned-drug-abuser and Melissa Leo as a boxing clan's domineering matriarch.

"The King's Speech" also won the directing prize for Tom Hooper and the original-screenplay Oscar for David Seidler, a boyhood stutterer himself.

"I have a feeling my career's just peaked," Firth said. "I'm afraid I have to warn you that I'm experiencing stirrings somewhere in the upper abdominals which are threatening to form themselves into dance moves."

Among those Portman beat was Annette Bening for "The Kids Are All Right." Bening now has lost all four times she's been nominated.

"Thank you so much. This is insane, and I truly, sincerely wish that the prize tonight was to get to work with my fellow nominees. I'm so in awe of you," Portman said.

Network censors bleeped Leo for dropping the F-word during her speech. Backstage, she jokingly conceded it was "probably a very inappropriate place to use that particular word."

"Those words, I apologize to anyone that they offend. There is a great deal of the English language that is in my vernacular," Leo said.

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Best Picture Winner Oscars 2011:'The King's Speech'

King George VI triumphed and made his speech, and now, the film made the biggest speech of the night: "The King's Speech" was crowned Best Picture at the 2011 Oscars.

The World War II-set drama about friendship, trust and overcoming the odds beat out nine other films, including Golden Globe winner "The Social Network". It's the first time the Academy has awarded a film about British Royalty the top slot.

Colin Firth, who won for Best Actor, starred as King George VI, a stuttering King of England who must overcome his speech impediment to deliver a speech and inspire a downtrodden country as Nazi bombs rain down. Geoffrey Rush played his quirky speech therapist, Lionel Logue, while Helena Bonham Carter plays a young Queen Mum.

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Mark Ruffalo interview: Oscars 2011

"Just think,” a friend of Mark Ruffalo’s told him excitedly, after he’d been nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his part in The Kids Are All Right. “You’ll never be a B-list actor again!”

There may well be something in this. After more than 20 years of being one of those recognisable faces whose name hovers elusively on the tip of people’s tongues, life may be about to change for Mark Ruffalo.

Yet in many ways getting an Oscar nomination is one of the least interesting things to happen to him. Not when you put it alongside the brain tumour, the paralysis and the family tragedy that led him to quit Hollywood. And then, when there seemed to be tranquillity in his life, he found himself accused of being a terrorist.

At one point in our conversation, Ruffalo refers to his having been scarred by experience. This isn’t said bitterly, or with any self-pity; it’s just that he’s led a pretty bizarre life and it’s left its mark.

On the outside, though, you’d never guess anything had gone amiss. At 43, his tousled black hair may have a few grey sprigs, but his face hasn’t lost its youthfulness and nor has his manner. Sitting in Claridges restaurant dressed in a sweatshirt, forking slices of papaya into his mouth, he looks like he belongs on a different planet to the rest of the guests.

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Oscars 2011: Here's what you need to know about each Best Picture nominee to win the office pool

Never got around to seeing "Winter's Bone"? Still trying to figure out what exactly happened in "Inception"?

That's okay: We've got your Best Picture crib sheet right here. Just read it before your Oscar party begins, and no one will ever know you fainted halfway through "127 Hours." (There are a few minor spoilers below, but if you haven't seen these movies yet, you might as well give up and start looking toward the candidates for 2012.)

BLACK SWAN

What You Need to Know: The feminine flip side to "Inception," Darren Aronofsky's trippy thriller went deep inside the troubled mind of an obsessive ballerina (Natalie Portman), leaving us shakily uncertain as to whether her nightmares were real.

Don't-Miss Moment: Well, we're fairly sure the sex scene between Portman and understudy Mila Kunis ranks pretty high for at least half the viewing public. But the exquisitely tortured finale was designed to take your breath away.

Life Lesson: When wings start growing out of your shoulder blades, it m

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Oscars 2011 Time: What Time Do the Oscars Start?

Oscars 2011 Time: What Time Do the Oscars Start?
By Moviefone Staff (Subscribe to Moviefone Staff's posts)
Posted Feb 27th 2011 1:12AM
Filed under: Oscar News
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It's Feb. 27, 2011 -- the date of the 83rd Academy Awards! And you're ready, with your Oscars ballot, your Oscars predictions, your Oscars party tips and your Oscars drinking game rules; and you've bookmarked the Oscar winners list, which we at Moviefone will be updating in real time. Now you just have one question: What time do the 2011 Oscars start?

For some people, the real show is the red carpet -- which starts at 6PM ET / 5PM CT / 3PM PT, and is televised on various channels, though the most popular coverage is on E!. Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic will be greeting the stars, asking what they're wearing, and providing fascinating banter of the "What parties are you going to?" variety.

And then the telecast of the Oscars ceremony begins at 8PM ET / 7PM CT / 5PM PT on ABC, hosted by James Franco and Anne Hathaway, who will join the pantheon of Oscar hosts and attempt to rank in your affections somewhere between Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg. (Want a peek at what the lineup of the show might be? Deadline Hollywood published some spoilers here.) Check your local TV listings

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Red Carpet: The Oscars 2011 time is quickly approaching.

The Oscars 2011 time is quickly approaching. Many people are trying to get their plans for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards in place before the stars hit the red carpet tomorrow night at the Kodak Theatre . . .

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Giuliana Rancic talks on her new reality show

Giuliana Rancic talks on her new reality show about how she’s just not ready to try for a baby again after suffering a devastating miscarriage. In a clip from and upcoming episode, Giuliana says that “I’m emotionally not ready now. I’m not ready to go through it again.”

I’m sure that’s a sentiment echoed by lots of women who have suffered miscarriages. Giuliana also goes on to relate that she felt a sense of guilt over the miscarriage and that she worried that her husband blamed her for the loss.

“I was feeling guilty and I thought maybe you thought I did something.” Which I think is also a common feeling for women in the same situation. Of course Bill responded with “That’s absurd.”

Miscarriage is something that many couples suffer through so it’s nice to see that they’re being so open and honest about how they feel about it.

You can catch Giuliana & Bill on the Style network Monday nights at 8 pm and 11 pm

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What Time Do the Oscars 2011 Start & What Channel? Find Out Here!

Oscar Sunday is a big day, not just for the stars up for an Academy Award but for countless movie and entertainment fans worldwide. Millions will tune in to see what one film get the best picture Oscar 2011, to see if Natalie Portman really wins best actress, and to see how James Franco and Anne Hathaway perform as the hosts. But there are some big questions, well one burning one.

What is the Oscars 2011 start time? What channel are they on and are you ready?The red carpet coverage starts at 6PM ET / 5PM CT / 3PM PT,on several channels but the E! one with Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic is pretty popular.

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