Popcorn 'N Roses

SAG Winners: No real surprises, though Supporting Actress wasn't quite what was expected...

This is why we don't need to do a special show following the Screen Actor's Guild awards - there are only FIVE friggin' awards to the film world...and here they are:

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, There Will Be Blood

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
JULIE CHRISTIE, Away From Her

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
JAVIER BARDEM, No Country For Old Men

Outstanding Performance by a female Actor in a Supporting Role
RUBY DEE, American Gangster

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

No big shocks...and all worthy performances, from what we've heard...

Subject:CINEMA #95 - "Decidedly Disney, Part One: The Animated Shorts"

Kim and TC kick off their three-week Disney miniseries with a look at the animated shorts!

Also, this weeks' Callback with some exciting site news, this week's anti-Bonehead Of The Week, a review of the Coen Brothers' No Country For Old Men, Showcase Cinema's Kung-Fu Flicks...

And the final segment, in which TC and Kim share their thoughts about the tragic death of Heath Ledger, with some choice words for Fox News anchor and radio host John Gibson...this section of the show is bleeped explicit, especially near the end.

Some quick notes..

First off, we goofed on one of the titles of next week's Kung Fu Flicks - it's actually Bruce Lee Fights Back From The Grave, not Bruce Lee Has Risen From The Grave...

Also, I totally forgot about my reason for existing on this Big Blue Marble (outside of Kim, of course), the X-Games Men's Snowboard Superpipe finals, are tonight - last year's champ Steve Fisher missed the cut last night (or, as I like to remember his fall last night, TC's most funnest ever shadenfruede moment ...), as did Louie Vito and a number of others, but Shaun White will be back trying to reclaim his gold, and will be getting a run for his money from a few others including Mason Aguerre and the always awesome Danny Kass and Antti Autti.  So what i'm trying to say is that I won't be watching the SAG Awards, but we'll have alist up tomorrow...and we may or may not have a special about them, so don't definately be on the lookout for it.

Next Week, Part two of our Decidedly Disney minseries, the Animated Features!

Subject:CINEMA listeners react to the passing of Heath Ledger

Subject:CINEMA Listeners and PNR Visitors have been sending in their thoughts about the passing of Heath Ledger. I thought i'd share some of them with all our readers.

First of all, From Kim

Calling You

They called you "Star"
Some called you "Friend"
One called you "Father"
All called you "Excellent"
Now you belong to the Universe
And we are left to wonder
What more you could have done
But we have the gifts you left us
And for those - we are grateful
You truly are a star - forever now above us
Shimmering in Eternity

- For Heath

From Rob Collier, Coos Bay OR

I saw the news online at Digg.com about this. How sad. I truly hope
this was an accidental overdose and not a suicide. I dread seeing all
the news in the coming days on the "paparazzi" channels with their
speculation and commentary. Shows like that make me ill. I have only
seen a couple of his films and I am still looking forward to his Joker
in the The Dark Knight film.

Rest in Peace and God Bless You Heath Ledger.

From Jonathan Lyttle, Edinburgh, Scotland

I just finished typing this [letter]and then heard the tragic news about Heath Ledger. It has certainly made me pause for thought. I guess I’ll still send this email but I’m not sure what to say about Heath. What can you say when stuff like this happens?

I haven’t seen many of his movies but I recently saw Brokeback Mountain . My reaction to it was a bit like The Maltese Falcon – I just couldn’t take it seriously. However, subconsciously, there must have been something about his performance that got to me because I was really looking forward to seeing him as the Joker in the upcoming Batman movie. I felt that this was the movie that was going to propel him to household-name status and convert me into a fan. This could still happen, but sadly, too late.

My heart goes out to his family and especially his little daughter. Yes, he was a movie star but he was also a father and that’s the real tragedy here. I know you’ll pay tribute to him and I’ll say a little prayer when I listen to it.

Posted by our friend Larry Richman on his 411blog:

Academy Award Nomination Day should be a happy one. In theory. Who would have thought that, come the end of the afternoon, it would not be the most important story of the day?

I was just preparing my article about the Oscar nominations when word came of Heath Ledger's death. Needless to say, as most people, I was stunned -- in disbelief. I wanted to say something but there were just no words. I sent and received phone calls, emails, MySpace messages, etc. for hours until I almost collapsed. Keeping busy helped since I didn't have to stop and think about this terrible loss.

It didn't really hit me until today as I started to hear back from friends of mine who had worked with him. Several friends were in movies with Heath and many others knew him or had met him through other people. Everyone said what a classy guy he was, caring and intelligent and talented.

Needless to say, writing about nominations wasn't exactly a priority at that point. I even received some release updates for films I've been following and that took a backseat as well. So you'll excuse me if this blog isn't on top of the news right now as much as usual. In two days I leave for a week at the Santa Barbara Film Festival so we'll be focusing on that.

What a loss. My heart goes out to Heath's family and all who knew him or were touched by him and his work.

***
If you'd care to share your thoughts about this awful tragedy, please send them along to subjectcinema (at) popcornnroses.com. In addition to posting as many as we can, we'll also be discussing this tragedy on this weekend's Subject:CINEMA.

Words are failing both of us right now...

HEATH LEDGER 1979-2008

The news of Ledger's sudden death today has hit both Kim and I like a ton of bricks.  We were both fans of his work, and his untimely death, coming just prior to what would have cemented him as a true superstar, his work as the Joker in the upcoming The Dark Knight, is truly a tragedy. You are NOT supposed to die when you're just 28 years old, with a career that was making him one of the most in-demand actors in the business.

Drugs may have been involved in his death; police will know more tomorrow, but right now, all the articles I've read indicate it may have been an accidental overdose of the sleeping pill Ambien, which he was taking to combat his insomnia and fatigue during the filming of the aforementioned Dark Knight. Contrary to rumors, he was NOT found in Mary Kate Olsen's apartment; apparently Ledger owned an apartment in the same building as the Olsen twin.

More will be out tomorrow, and i'll be commenting then...right now, i'm just so completely stunned, I don't know what to say...

Godspeed, Heath...you will always be Skip Englblom to me...your Oscar-worthy performance in Lords Of Dogtown cemented you as one of my favorite actors...no matter what happened, I wish you peace and happiness in the afterlife...

Revisiting my score for Cloverfield...

It is a very very VERY rare occasion when I change my inital score of a movie. It happens only once in a blue moon (as the old cliche' goes...)

Since we reviewed Cloverfield on Sunday's edition of Subject:CINEMA, I have been giving the movie a lot of thought.  This lot of thought was triggered by the fact that nobody I went with - Kim and our friends Stacy and Jenn - liked it, while I did.

Kim wasn't able to put her finger on WHY she didn't like it, she just didn't. I HATE those kind of "Because I said so" arguments, but she knows what she likes, and she definately did NOT like it.

Initially, I scored the movie a 4.0 out of 5 - pretty high as it is -  citing the beginning of the movie, which I felt was awfully whiny and self-absorbed.

But isn't that exactly WHAT we were supposed to see? Maybe I was a little harsh in my expectations. You're NOT supposed to care about the partygoers, really...not until the trouble starts. And by that point, you ARE learning to care about Rob, and Lilly, and Marlena, and Hub...and Jason as well...

Stacy and Kim both didn't think there was enough of the monster. Ok, fine...but if that's the case, let me ask this question - What amateur with a camcorder could possibly be expected to capture more than a glimpse of a monster that's killing people right and left without rhyme or reason while running from it?

If that's what you're looking for, you're asking WAY too much of this movie. And you're ignoring that very fact - this isn't SUPPOSED to be a filmmaker; it's supposed to be a terrified 20-something carrying a video camera while running for his life.

Besides, you get a REALLY GOOD LOOK at the monster - IMHO - in the final 8 or 9 minutes of the movie, and not once but TWICE - first, from the helicopter, and then from the first person shot. Is it enough? That's an individual call, but for me...yes, it was. And is.

I also called the movie "innovative", which Stacy took issue with. She pointed out that "The Blair Witch Project" came first. SO What? It's been almost nine years since that movie...and what movie has used the first person techinique since then? I can't even think of ONE. And there has NEVER been a first person camera movie of this scale...Cloverfield takes the innovations used in Blair Witch and blows them away by a hundredfold at least. The Blair Witch Project is cataloging the goings on of three or four people out in the woods somewhere - Cloverfield is cataloging the destruction of a major US city and the thousands of people it's affecting.  Comparing the techinques - fine. Comparing the scale - not even close.

So as I was thinking of the basic arguments, I began to think of WHY I liked Cloverfield so much. As I said on the show this week, I normally HATE monster movies. Then it dawned on me...

The critics calling it a monster movie are wrong...Cloverfield is NOT a giant monster movie...giant monster movies are about the monster...Godzilla, Gorgo, even Reptilicius...they're the focal point of those movies.

No, Cloverfield is a DISASTER movie. It's primary focus is NOT the monster, but the havoc and destruction he's causing, and how it affects one group of friends in Manhattan. It's the scale of the disaster that's happening that is the focal point...the monster is there and is the cause, no doubt, but it's the HUMAN factor that's the true story.

The question that the audience asks first (apart from my little group, heh heh) is not "How are we going to kill this thing?" but "Are Rob and his friends going to survive this attack?".

It is on that very point that everyone's personal perception hinges. If you're asking yourself the first question, you're not going to like this movie. If you're asking yourself the second question, then you are.

The cinema style used - and NOT used - in Cloverfield - and how effectively it was utilized - will make it go down in history as a movie that becomes part of your basic curriculum in film school - and unlike Blair Witch, which didn't really spawn any major imitations (unless you count this movie) until now, Cloverfield WILL.

So after thinking long and hard about it, I've decided to revisit my original assessment, and regrade the movie. After taking into account the above, and my own thoughts that were bugging me after seeing it the first time, I am changing my score for Cloverfield from a 4.0 to a 4.5 - it still had one or two little flaws that bugged me, but not enough to knock the score down a whole point.

And as I was composing the above, Kim finally put her finger on WHY she didn't like the movie:

"The reason's been kicking around in my head for a few days, and you making me think about it has brought it to the surface.

There's no POINT.  We don't know why things are happening the way they are.

Real Life is random like that.

When I go to the movies, I want more than Real Life.

And THAT'S why I don't like "Cloverfield".

Now it makes sense to me, for her and even more for me.

OSCAR NOMINATIONS ARE HERE!!

I'm NOT pleased about the complete lack of nominations for Hairspray, nor am I pleased that Tommy Lee Jones somehow squeaked by Emile Hirsch to land a Best Actor Nomination for "In The Valley Of Elah"..but other than that, there's no real surprises...

BEST PICTURE
“Atonement” (Focus Features)
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight)
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount
Vantage)
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)

BEST DIRECTOR
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé
Renn) Julian Schnabel
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight) Jason Reitman
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) Tony Gilroy
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount
Vantage) Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Paul Thomas Anderson
 
BEST ACTOR
George Clooney in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros.,
Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Tommy Lee Jones in “In the Valley of Elah” (Warner Independent)
Viggo Mortensen in “Eastern Promises” (Focus Features)

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal)
Julie Christie in “Away from Her” (Lionsgate)
Marion Cotillard in “La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse)
Laura Linney in “The Savages” (Fox Searchlight)
Ellen Page in “Juno” (Fox Searchlight)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Casey Affleck in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.)
Javier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Hal Holbrook in “Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Charlie Wilson’s War” (Universal)
Tom Wilkinson in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett in “I’m Not There” (The Weinstein Company)
Ruby Dee in “American Gangster” (Universal)
Saoirse Ronan in “Atonement” (Focus Features)
Amy Ryan in “Gone Baby Gone” (Miramax)
Tilda Swinton in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight) Written by Diablo Cody
“Lars and the Real Girl” (MGM) Written by Nancy Oliver
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) Written by Tony Gilroy
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Screenplay by Brad Bird
Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
“The Savages” (Fox Searchlight) Written by Tamara Jenkins

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
“Away from Her” (Lionsgate) Written by Sarah Polley
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé
Renn) Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount
Vantage) Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Beaufort”
A Metro Communications, Movie Plus Production Israel
“The Counterfeiters”
An Aichholzer Filmproduktion, Magnolia
Filmproduktion Production
Austria
“Katyn´”
An Akson Studio Production Poland
“Mongol”
A Eurasia Film Production Kazakhstan
“12”
A Three T Production Russia

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“No End in Sight” (Magnolia Pictures)
A Representational Pictures Production Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
“Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime
Experience” (The Documentary Group)
A Documentary Group Production
Richard E. Robbins
“Sicko” (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company)
A Dog Eat Dog Films Production Michael Moore and Meghan O’Hara
“Taxi to the Dark Side” (THINKFilm)
An X-Ray Production Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
“War/Dance” (THINKFilm)
A Shine Global and Fine Films Production Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine

ANIMATED FILM
“Persepolis” (Sony Pictures Classics) Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Brad Bird
“Surf's Up” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

ART DIRECTION
“American Gangster” (Universal) Art Direction:
Set Decoration: Arthur Max Beth A. Rubino
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Art Direction:
Set Decoration: Sarah Greenwood Katie Spencer
“The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with
Ingenious Film Partners) Art Direction: Set Decoration: Dennis Gassner Anna Pinnock
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
(DreamWorks and Warner Bros.,
Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Art Direction:
Set Decoration: Dante Ferretti Francesca Lo Schiavo
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Art Direction:
Set Decoration: Jack Fisk Jim Erickson

CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward
Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.) Roger Deakins
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Seamus McGarvey
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé
Renn) Janusz Kaminski
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount
Vantage) Roger Deakins
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Robert Elswit

COSTUME DESIGN
“Across the Universe” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Albert Wolsky
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Jacqueline Durran
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal) Alexandra Byrne
“La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Marit Allen
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
(DreamWorks and Warner Bros.,
Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Colleen Atwood

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
“Freeheld”
A Lieutenant Films Production Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth
“La Corona (The Crown)”
A Runaway Films and Vega Films Production Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega
“Salim Baba”
A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke
Production
Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello
“Sari’s Mother” (Cinema Guild)
A Daylight Factory Production James Longley
 
FILM EDITING
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal) Christopher Rouse
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé
Renn) Juliette Welfling
“Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road
Entertainment) Jay Cassidy
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount
Vantage) Roderick Jaynes
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Dylan Tichenor

MAKEUP
“La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
“Norbit” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount) Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
(Walt Disney) Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

MUSIC (SCORE)
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli
“The Kite Runner” (DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel
Entertainment and Participant Productions,
Distributed by Paramount Classics)
Alberto Iglesias
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) James Newton Howard
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino
“3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami

MUSIC (SONG)
“Falling Slowly” from “Once”
(Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
“Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney) Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“Raise It Up” from “August Rush”
(Warner Bros.) Nominees to be determined
“So Close” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney) Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney) Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
“I Met the Walrus”
A Kids & Explosions Production Josh Raskin
“Madame Tutli-Putli” (National Film Board of Canada)
A National Film Board of Canada Production Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
“Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons
Go to Heaven)” (Premium Films)
A BUF Compagnie Production
Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse
“My Love (Moya Lyubov)” (Channel One Russia)
A Dago-Film Studio, Channel One Russia and
Dentsu Tec Production
Alexander Petrov
“Peter & the Wolf” (BreakThru Films)
A BreakThru Films/Se-ma-for Studios Production Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
“At Night”
A Zentropa Entertainments 10 Production Christian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth
“Il Supplente (The Substitute)” (Sky Cinema Italia)
A Frame by Frame Italia Production Andrea Jublin
“Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of
Pickpockets)” (Premium Films)
A Karé Production
Philippe Pollet-Villard
“Tanghi Argentini” (Premium Films)
An Another Dimension of an Idea Production Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans
“The Tonto Woman”
A Knucklehead, Little Mo and Rose Hackney
Barber Production
Daniel Barber and Matthew Brown

SOUND EDITING
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal) Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount
Vantage) Skip Lievsay
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Matthew Wood
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in
association with Hasbro) Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins

SOUND MIXING
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal) Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount
Vantage) Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane
“3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate) Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in
association with Hasbro) Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin

VISUAL EFFECTS
“The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with
Ingenious Film Partners) Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
(Walt Disney) John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in
association with Hasbro) Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier

With Oscar noms just a day away...the Razzie Nominations salute (?) Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan's "I Know Who Killed Me" racked up the most nominations in this year's Golden Raspberry Award nominations.

The Razzies, as they're affectionately known, have been around since 1980, celebrating the worst of cinema each and every year.

The Complete Nominees list:

Worst Picture
Bratz
Daddy Day Camp
I Know Who Killed Me
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
Norbit

Worst Actor
Nicholas Cage — Ghost Rider, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, and Next
Jim Carrey — The Number 23
Cuba Gooding, Jr. — Daddy Day Camp and Norbit
Eddie Murphy (as Norbit) — Norbit
Adam Sandler — I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry

Worst Actress
Jessica Alba — Awake, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and Good Luck Chuck
Logan Browning, Janel Parrish, Nathalia Ramos, and Skyler Shaye — Bratz
Elisha Cuthbert — Captivity
Diane Keaton — Because I Said So
Lindsay Lohan (as Aubrey) — I Know Who Killed Me
Lindsay Lohan (as Dakota) — I Know Who Killed Me

Worst Supporting Actor
Orlando Bloom — Pirates of the Carob-bean: At Wit’s End — aka Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Kevin James — I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
Eddie Murphy (playing Mr. Wong) — Norbit
Rob Schneider — I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
Jon Voight — Bratz, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, September Dawn, and Transformers

Worst Supporting Actress
Jessica Biel — I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry and Next
Carmen Electra — Epic Movie
Eddie Murphy (playing Rasputia) — Norbit
Julia Ormond — I Know Who Killed Me
Nicolette Sheridan — Code Name: The Cleaner

Worst Screen Couple
Jessica Alba & Either: Hayden Christiansen (Awake), Dane Cook (Good Luck Chuck), or Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer)
Any Combination of Two Totally Air-Headed Characters — Bratz
Lindsay Lohan & Lindsay Lohan — I Know Who Killed Me
Eddie Murphy (as Norbit) & Either: Eddie Murphy (as Mr. Wong) or Eddie Murphy (as Rasputia) — Norbit
Adam Sandler & Either: Kevin James or Jessica Biel — I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry

Worst Remake or Rip-Off
Are We Done Yet? — Remake/Rip-Off of Mr. Blandings Builds his Dream House
Bratz — “A rip-off if ever there was one!”
Epic Movie — “Of every movie it rips off.”
I Know Who Killed Me — Rip-Off of Hostel, Saw, and The Patty Duke Show
Who’s Your Caddy — Rip-Off of Caddyshack

Worst Prequel or Sequel
Alien vs. Predator: Requiem
Daddy Day Camp
Evan Almighty
Hannibal Rising
Hostel: Part II

Worst Director
Dennis Dugan — I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
Roland Joffe — Captivity
Brian Robbins — Norbit
Fred Savage — Daddy Day Camp
Chris Siverston — I Know Who Killed Me

Worst Screenplay
Daddy Day Camp — Geoff Rodkey, David J. Stem, and David N. Weiss
Epic Movie — Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer
I Know Who Killed Me — Jeffrey Hammond
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry — Barry Fanaro, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor
Norbit — Eddie Murphy, Charles Murphy, Jay Sherick, and David Ronn

Worst Excuse for a Horror Movie (a new category this year)
Alien vs. Predator: Requiem
Captivity
Hannibal Rising
Hostel: Part II
I Know Who Killed Me

Now, I take exception to Nicholas Cage's nomination - I loved Ghost Rider and thought he did a great job. And I feel the same about Jessica Alba and Ioan Gruffudd in Fantastic Four:Rise Of The Silver Surfer. But the rest....ehhhhh...

The Razzies will be announced, along with the Independent Spirit awards, the day before the Academy Awards, February 22.

Subject:CINEMA #94 - "The 2nd Annual Fethival of Film Fethivals!"

TC and Kim list some films to watch for from the Big Four winter film festivals - Sundance, Slamdance, Palm Springs, and Santa Barbara.

Also on The Show: The Callback, Bonehead OF The Week, an extended E-Mail segment, and TC and Kim face the biggest chasm they've ever had in their review of the JJ Abrams/Matt Reeves flick Cloverfield.

THIS WEEK'S NOTES:

Full notes coming Monday morning!

Just got back from seeing "Cloverfield"...

...and BOY are WE all pissed...

We went with Stacy and Jenn, naturally, and we were all set. We only decided that Cloverfield was a Opening Night must-see because of one thing - the JJ Abrams Star Trek movie teaser...

Which Showcase DID NOT SHOW on our print.

We were livid that we had to sit through a bunch of other useless trailers and didn't get the one we were intending to see.  We heard some people saying that it was on the OTHER print, showing in something Showcase just opened called the "Director's Hall"...

Needless to say, Showcase is going to get a really irritated letter from me, from Jenn, from Stacy, and from Kim...we were NOT happy...

Listen for the full review of Cloverfield on this weekend's edition of "Subject:CINEMA"...

More to follow on this controversy, i'm sure...I have a really interesting commentary brewing in my head, and Showcase - and Paramount Pictures - aren't going to like what i'm going to say...

Subject:CINEMA #93 - "It's All A Vast Conspiracy!!"

This week, TC and Kim take a look at conspiracy in the movies, from JFK to Hangar 18 and everything in between! (Or do they? How do we KNOW it's really them? How do we know it's not their dopplegangers?)

Also this week, a review of Cinematic Titanic's first offering, "The Oozing Skull", and a look back at four performers we lost over the last 10 days.

We'll be back on Sunday, with coverage of Sundance, Slamdance, Palm Springs, and Santa Barbara festivals on our 2nd annual Fethival of Film Fethivals!

AWARDS - "Atonement", "Sweeney Todd" take top picture honors at Globes

Gawd, what a joke...

The WGA strike reduced the annual Golden Globes to a press conference and the names of the winners were read on a schmaltzy entertainment news-style hour long show that would have been better off never airing...

The only major upset of the night was Julian Schnabel taking best director for "The Diving Bell And The Butterfly", which he snatched away from favorites Joel and Ethan Coen and their film "No Country For Old Men".

THE FILM WINNERS:

Picture, Drama: "Atonement."

Actress, Drama: Julie Christie, "Away From Her."

Actor, Drama: Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood."

Picture, Musical or Comedy: "Sweeney Todd."

Actress, Musical or Comedy: Marion Cotillard, "La Vie En Rose."

Actor, Musical or Comedy: Johnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd."

Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There."

Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men."

Director: Julian Schnabel, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly."

Screenplay: Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, "No Country for Old Men."

Foreign Language: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," France and U.S.

Animated Film: "Ratatouille."

Original Score: Dario Marianelli, "Atonement."

Original Song: "Guaranteed" from "Into the Wild."

The SAG Awards are coming along next...we know those will be better (?) because the WGA has granted them a waiver and will be writing the show...my, how CONVENIENT...

Better luck next year, Hollywood Foreign Press...

Subject:CINEMA #92 - "Resolutions We're GONNA Keep!"

This week, TC and Kim enter the Podcast Confessional to admit to 10 movies apiece that they've never seen and should have, and vow to watch and review them during 2008!

Also this week - The Callback, E-mail, a review of "Juno" and a review of the latest company of "RENT" to hit Boston!

OTHER NOTES:

No Bonehead on this show - we'll have one on Thursday's montly Special Midweek show!

Also, in the e-mail, we mention that Darren sent us a listing for a Matango toy from E-Bay. This morning, he sent us the pic as well - I was gonna just link to the E-Bay listing but since we have the photo - here goes:

Is this not the GOOFIEST toy you've ever seen? Yikes....and Thanks Darren!

See you all Thursday for "It's All A Vast Conspiracy!" And don't forget to vote for us at PodcastAlley using the button on the contact pad above!

I am SO sorry...

...about the lack of coverage of various entertainment awards and such over the past two weeks. As most of our readers and listeners know, I was felled last week by a very bad cold.

This week, we were swamped at work with a massive systems change that kept me on the phone from the moment I arrived until the moment I left until today. Normally I have time to do work on the site and such between calls and on my breaks and lunch, but this week - No way Jose....

Then, there's planning for the launch of IndieFIlmSpotlight, which is supposed to go online January 20th, and two new podcasts...whew, it's been busy...

I should get somewhat caught up this weekend, so keep an eye out!

Subject:CINEMA #91 - "All Shook Up! Elvis In The Movies!"

Subject:CINEMA launches its third calendar year on the podwaves with a salute to Elvis Presley on the eve of what would have been his 73rd birthday!

We cover all 30 of Elvis' movies, from his beginnings to his end, and everything in between! Plus all the usual crazy stuff - The Callback, E-Mail, Bonehead Of The Week - and a look at some words some stuffed shirts tell us we can use anymore, and a look at the Chlotrudis Society For Independent Film's list of the 100 Funniest Movies of All Time.

It's the first of the month, so don't forget to vote for us at Podcast Alley!

Next Week - RESOLUTIONS WE'RE GONNA KEEP

See You with a new S:C in Seven! And stay tuned all week for more news and reviews!

STATE OF THE POPCORN ADDRESS- 2008

Happy new year...

As I ended 2007 and began 2008 with a mother of a cold, i'm not feeling the best physically. But mentally...well, i've never been better!

2007 was a growth year for PNR and S:C. We were featured on Adam Curry's popular Podfinder podcast, we were accredited by the International Press Association, and we joined the nominating committee for the Chlotrudis Society For Independent Film. We became registered voters for the Independent Spirit awards, and we saw our podcast numbers increase on a monthly basis. We added two new radio stations to the Marquee Mix family, as well as one non-MM station. We snagged our first official advertiser account through Blubrry as GoDaddy.Com came on board with us. And right as the year ended, we became a founding member of the Podcast Film Critics Association.

Now a brand-new year is upon us, and boy, have we got all kinds of interesting plans for 2008.

Front and center at the moment is the launch of a brand-new sister site, IndieFilmSpotlight, coming up in the next week or two; I had hoped to launch it on the first, but due to being sick have not had the time to finish up the debut site info. So look for it soon, probably on January 10th or so. IFS will focus solely on independent film news and reviews, and we look forward to working with a number of studios in getting the info out about films you should be hearing about and hopefully will get the chance to see.

Also, we have plans for a few other things as well. This includes the launch of two brand-new "Subject:CINEMA"-branded podcasts in the next 60 to 90 days, the relaunching of an official PNR/SC newsletter (not just the Yahoo group), a brand new look and feel for the website and more. Further details about the planned goings on will be coming soon, so keep tuned into PNR and S:C for the latest. And a great big "THANK YOU!" to loyal S:C Listeners Kyle Zielinski and Rob Collier for their help and input on the forthcoming new site.

Coming a little further down the road will be the local film festivals, which we'll be trying to provide complete and accurate coverage of; we'll also try to provide regular updates from Sundance, Slamdance, Santa Barbara, and Palm Springs from afar. We MAY YET get the chance to attend one of the bigger festivals later in the year, time and fundage will tell...and next year, come HELL OR HIGH WATER, I swear, I AM GOING TO SUNDANCE!!!

So anyway, we're chugging along fine, and will work towards getting the studios to take us seriously. A lot of indies already do, as do a number of other columnists, and the formation of the Podcast Film Critics Association should help as well. We will continue to bring you the latest in the ongoing awards season, and launch season two of our Summer Tour sometime this spring.

Thanks for patronizing Popcorn N Roses, and listening to Subject:CINEMA, which is rapidly approaching its 100th show! We couldn't make either one work without YOU!!!