2013 Oscar Nominations

There were nine films announced in the Best Picture category by Emma Stone and Seth MacFarlane this morning in Hollywood. Early front runner Lincoln received the most nominations with twelve. Life of Pi follows in close second with eleven nods. Both Les Miserables and Silver Linings Playbook scored eight nominations each. Silver Linings Playbook is also the first film in 31 years to receive acting nominations in all four of the acting categories (the last was 1981's Reds). Skyfall is the first Bond film to be nominated in 30 years and it received five total nominations. Amour, Django Unchained and Zero Dark Thirty were also given five nods each.

While many were suprised that Ben Affleck was not nominated for Best Director, Argo did receive seven nominations. The Best Actress category features the eldest and youngest nominees ever in its category with Amour's Emmanuelle Riva, 85 and Beasts of the Southern Wild's Quvenzhané Wallis, 9. The Oscar host himself is a nominee; Seth MacFarlane wrote the lyrics to Best Original Song nominee "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" from Ted. 

I have a lot of work to do. I have currently only seen two of the Best Picture nominees and am excited to get to it. I am most eager to check out Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook. It also looks like a majority of the films are readily available in theaters right now. When it comes to categories like Best Documentary Feature and when I really get down to the movies that only have one nomination each, it can get tricky. I am continuing with my annual goal to see all the films nominated for Best Picture, movies featuring all the acting nominees, and as many nominated films that I can consume after that. Oh and ps, Emma Stone really needs to eat something.

Check out all the nominees on the official Oscar website -- every year they make improvements and provide a more interactive experience. The 'View by Film' option on the Oscar site shows the movie poster and lists total nominations for each film and in what category. The classic one page ballot is missing for the second year in a row. I found an excellent one page ballot in minimal time here. This year the Oscar app is available for iPod, iPad and Android, for free.

And here are the nominees...
Best Picture
Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
Best Actor
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight
Best Actress
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin, Argo
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Director
Michael Haneke, Amour
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Best Original Screenplay
Amour, Michael Haneke
Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino
Flight, John Gatins
Moonrise Kingdom, Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty, Mark Boal
Best Adapted Screenplay
Argo, Chris Terrio
Beasts of the Southern Wild, Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin,
Life of Pi, David Magee
Lincoln, Tony Kushner
Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell
Best Animated Feature:
Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph
Best Cinematography
Anna Karenina, Seamus McGarvey
Django Unchained, Robert Richardson
Life of Pi, Claudio Miranda
Lincoln, Janusz Kaminski
Skyfall, Roger Deakins
Best Costume Design
Anna Karenina, Jacqueline Durran
Les Misérables, Paco Delgado
Lincoln, Joanna Johnston
Mirror Mirror, Eiko Ishioka
Snow White and the Huntsman, Colleen Atwood
Best Documentary Feature
5 Broken Cameras
The Gatekeepers
How to Survive a Plague
The Invisible War
Searching for Sugar Man
Best Documentary Short
Inocente
Kings Point
Mondays at Racine
Open Heart
Redemption
Best Film Editing
Argo, William Goldenberg
Life of Pi, Tim Squyres
Lincoln, Michael Kahn
Silver Linings Playbook, Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers
Zero Dark Thirty, Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg
Best Foreign Language Film
Amour, Austria
Kon-Tiki, Norway
No, Chile
A Royal Affair, Denmark
War Witch, Canada
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Hitchcock, Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane
Les Misérables, Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell
Best Original Score
Anna Karenina, Dario Marianelli
Argo, Alexandre Desplat
Life of Pi, Mychael Danna
Lincoln, John Williams
Skyfall, Thomas Newman
Best Original Song
“Before My Time” from Chasing Ice, music and lyric by J. Ralph
“Everybody Needs A Best Friend” from Ted, music by Walter Murphy; lyric by Seth MacFarlane
“Pi’s Lullaby” from Life of Pi, music by Mychael Danna; lyric by Bombay Jayashri
“Skyfall” from Skyfall, music and lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
“Suddenly” from Les Misérables, music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil
Best Production Design
Anna Karenina, Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, production Design: Dan Hennah; Set Decoration: Ra Vincent and Simon Bright
Les Misérables, Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Anna Lynch-Robinson
Life of Pi, Production Design: David Gropman; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
Lincoln, Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson
Best Animated Short
Adam and Dog
Fresh Guacamole
Head over Heels
Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare”
Paperman
Best Live Action Short
Asad
Buzkashi Boys
Curfew
Death of a Shadow
Henry
Best Sound Editing
Argo, Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn
Django Unchained, Wylie Stateman
Life of Pi, Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton
Skyfall, Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers
Zero Dark Thirty, Paul N.J. Ottosson
Best Sound Mixing
Argo, John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia
Les Misérables, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes
Life of Pi, Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin
Lincoln, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins
Skyfall, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson
Best Visual Effects
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White
Life of Pi, Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott
The Avengers, Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick
Prometheus, Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill
Snow White and the Huntsman, Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson

Pre-Oscar Nomination musings

For me, nothing emulates the giddy joy of hopping out of bed early Christmas morning to see what Santa brought, like the morning the Oscar Nominations are announced at 5:30am Pacific time. The Academy announcement tomorrow January 10th will bring out similar squeals of delight and joy from me. Sometimes the nominations are even a birthday gift, nominations have been announced on my bday several times in the past few years. This year the Academy wanted to push the calendar up, beat award season fatigue and as a result the nominations are out before the Golden Globes air Sunday, January 13th at 5pm Pacific time/8pm Eastern on NBC.

Emma Stone and Seth MacFarlane will be announcing the nominations. This is the first time since 1972 that a host of the Oscar show has announced the nominees. 

Prior to the announcement, I couldn't help but wonder what the repercussions of the online Academy voting system might be. This is the first time voting has taken place online. The old Hollywood presence in the Academy often anchors the Oscars in honoring more traditional films. Older folks notoriously use less technology and it will be interesting to see how this change to the nomination process will affect the nominations.

There can be anywhere from 5-10 films nominated for Best Picture. I am predicting that 8 films will be nominated for Best Picture. Dave Karger, formerly of EW and my personal Oscar guru of many years, now found on Fandango, predicts 6 nominated films (Argo, Les Misérables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, and Zero Dark Thirty). Check out his video for his full run down. Karger's EW replacement, Anthony Breznican, whom EW has dubbed their Prize Fighter (we'll see about that), is listing 10 Best Picture nominees and saying that just the first 6 are definite: 1. Lincoln 2. Zero Dark Thirty 3. Les Misérables 4. Argo 5. Life of Pi 6. Silver Linings Playbook 7. Amour 8. Beasts of the Southern Wild 9. Moonrise Kingdom 10. Skyfall.

Earlier this week on 1/8, the Director's Guild announced their nominees:
• Ben Affleck, Argo
• Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
• Hooper, Les Miserables
• Ang Lee, Life of Pi
• Steven Spielberg, Lincoln.

The Writer's Guild nominations were announced January 4th and are as follows. I did not include the Documentary Screenplay category because there is no equivalent in the Oscars and documentaries having screenplays seems odd, possibly even questionable.
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
• Flight Written by John Gatins
• Looper Written by Rian Johnson
• The Master Written by Paul Thomas Anderson
• Moonrise Kingdom Written by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
• Zero Dark Thirty Written by Mark Boal
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
• Argo Screenplay by Chris Terrio; Based on a selection from The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez and the Wired Magazine article “The Great Escape” by Joshuah Bearman
• Life of Pi Screenplay by David Magee; Based on the novel by Yann Martel
• Lincoln Screenplay by Tony Kushner; Based in part on the book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower Screenplay by Stephen Chbosky; Based on his own novel
• Silver Linings Playbook Screenplay by David O. Russell; Based on the novel by Matthew Quick

Here is an interesting link to an EW article that discusses winners and nominated films prior to the kickoff of the Oscar race.

As we get into Oscar month I will also share and discuss the Independent Spirit Award nominations and the BAFTAs.

For today, in an effort to provide you with well-rounded information, the Screen Actor's Guild nominations that have been out since December 12th are listed below. The SAG Awards will be broadcast on TBS and TNT on January 27th.
FILM
Male Actor, Lead
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Denzel Washington, Flight
Male Actor, Supporting
Alan Arkin, Argo
Javier Bardem, Skyfall
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Female Actor, Lead
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Female Actor, Supporting
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy
Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Cast in a Motion Picture
Argo
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
TV
Male Actor, TV Movie or Miniseries
Kevin Costner, Hatfields and McCoys
Woody Harrelson, Game Change
Ed Harris, Game Change
Clive Owen, Hemingway and Gellhorn
Bill Paxton, Hatfields and McCoys
Female Actor, TV Movie or Miniseries
Nicole Kidman, Hemingway and Gellhorn
Julianne Moore, Game Change
Charlotte Rampling, Restless
Sigourney Weaver, Political Animals
Alfre Woodard, Steel Magnolias
Male Actor, Drama Series
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Damian Lewis, Homeland
Female Actor, Drama Series
Claire Danes, Homeland
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Asylum
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Male Actor, Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Louis CK, Louis
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
Female Actor, Comedy Series
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Betty White, Hot in Cleveland 
Ensemble, Comedy
30 Rock
The Big Bang Theory
Glee
Modern Family
Nurse Jackie
The Office
Ensemble, Drama
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Homeland
Mad Men
Life Achievement Award
Dick Van Dyke

2013 Golden Globe nominations

The Golden Globe nominations have been announced. The known Oscar build-up is of course where my focus is at. Some clues to what the Oscar nominees may include are the multiple nods given to Argo, Lincoln and Django Unchained. The best acting drama categories are often helpful hints towards the acting categories of the Academy Award nominees. The winners at the Globes tend to be more dead on predictors of actual Oscar nominees or even winners. The Academy announces its nominations on Thursday January 10 at 5:30am so they will be out before the Globes. I love me some quality tv programming as well so the entire Golden Globe experience is enjoyable.

The 70th annual ceremony broadcasts Sunday January 13th on NBC. The awards show will be hosted by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. I am delighting in how amusing these two will be together (both are nominated for Best Actress in a comedy series as well). Check out the promo.

Here is the full list of nominees:

Best Motion Picture — Drama
Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Richard Gere, Arbitrage
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea

Best Motion Picture — Comedy Or Musical
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Moonrise Kingdom
Salmon Fishing in the YemenSilver Linings Playbook

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Comedy Or Musical
Emily Blunt, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Maggie Smith, Quartet
Meryl Streep, Hope Springs

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Comedy Or Musical
Jack Black, Bernie
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Bill Murray, Hyde Park on Hudson
Ewan McGregor, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Alan Arkin, Argo
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Best Director — Motion Picture
Ben Affleck, Argo
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Best Screenplay — Motion Picture
Argo, Chris Terrio
Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino
Lincoln, Tony Kushner
Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell
Zero Dark Thirty, Mark Boal

Best Original Score — Motion Picture
Anna Karenina, Dario Marianelli
Argo, Alexandre Desplat
Cloud Atlas, Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimet and Reinhold Heil
Life of Pi, Michael Danna
Lincoln, John Williams

Best Original Song — Motion Picture
“For You ” (music and lyrics by Keith Urban), Act of Valor
“Not Running Anymore” (music and lyrics by Jon Bon Jovi), Stand Up Guys
“Safe and Sound” (music and lyrics by Taylor Swift, John Paul White, Joy Williams and T Bone Burnett), The Hunger Games
“Skyfall” (music and lyrics by Adel and Paul Epworth), Skyfall
“Suddenly” (music by Claude-Michel Schonberg and lyrics by Schonberg and Alain Boublil), Les Miserables

Best Animated Film
Brave
Frankenweenie
Hotel Transylvania
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It Ralph

Best Foreign Language Film
Amour
The Intouchables
Kon-Tiki
A Royal Affair
Rust and Bone

Best Television Series — Drama
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Homeland
The Newsroom

Best Television Series — Comedy Or Musical
The Big Bang Theory
Episodes
Girls
Modern Family
Smash

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Drama
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Damian Lewis, Homeland

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Drama
Connie Britton, Nashville
Glenn Close, Damages
Claire Danes, Homeland
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Kevin Costner, Hatfields and McCoys
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock
Woody Harrelson, Game Change
Toby Jones, The Girl
Clive Owen, Hemingway and Gellhorn

Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Nicole Kidman, Hemingway and Gellhorn
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Asylum
Sienna Miller, The Girl
Julianne Moore, Game Change
Sigourney Weaver, Political Animals

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Max Greenfield, New Girl
Ed Harris, Game Change
Danny Huston, Magic City
Mandy Patinkin, Homeland
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Hayden Panettiere, Nashville
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Sarah Paulson, Game Change
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series — Comedy Or Musical
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Lena Dunham, Girls
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Amy Poehler, Parks And Recreation

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series — Comedy Or Musical
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Louis C.K., Louis
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made for Television
Game Change
The Girl
Hatfield and McCoys
The Hour
Political Animals

Cecil B. DeMille Award
Jodie Foster

Fall catch-up

I have not written a straight up movie review since July. This summer and fall have been very busy and I may not have been seeing movies at the rate that I usually do, but I certainly have been seeing movies. It's time to catch up because Oscar season is just around the corner.

Wreck it Ralph
This Disney animated movie takes place in the world of videos games and has an adorable concept. An arcade game bad guy, voiced by John C Reilly, is fed up with his existence and decides to venture into other games in the hopes of earning some respect in his home game. His adventure takes him to a modern Call of Duty type game, featuring an awesomely kick-ass Jane Lynch, and to the candy covered land of a go-cart racing little girl voiced by Sarah Silverman. The animation captures various genres and eras of video games in excellent detail. I predict that Wreck-It Ralph will join Brave in the Best Animated Feature race this year. The animated short "Paperman" that preceded the full length movie was sweet and is also a strong contender for Best Animated Short.

Argo
To be fair, I was predisposed to like this movie because of Ben Affleck and a historical topic. The era of the Iran hostage crisis is well captured and Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman and Victor Garber make up the strong supporting cast. Fun trivia, Victor Garber married Jennifer Gardner and Ben Affleck after playing her father on Alias for five seasons. George Clooney co-produced the film and Jimmy Carter speaks about the real life events over the end credits. This one is likely to have award season buzz.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower 
I did not expect this film to be as dark as it was but it certainly captured the high school experience. There were many moments of humor and the three young leads, Logan Lerman, Emma Watson (Hermione Granger in Harry Potter) and Ezra Miller are fantastic. Paul Rudd is also excellent in a small role as a freshman English teacher. As a kid of the 80s and 90s I had to love the references to mixed tapes and early 90s time frame. Though I have not read the book and can not comment on the strength of the adaptation, interestingly enough the movie's director is the novel's author Stephen Ghbosky.

Seth MacFarlane hosting the 2013 Oscars

It was announced today that the writer/director/star of this summer's Ted and the creator of Family Guy will be hosting the 85th Annual Academy Awards.

Despite never having hosted an awards show before, MacFarlane did a strong job hosting SNL this September. He will need to work on his cues, as evidenced by his appearance at last month's Emmy Awards as a presenter.

Hopefully the edgy humor that roars through the movie Ted will bring some new twists to the Oscar ceremony.  It seems like a much more calculated risk by the Academy than say the fail of 2011 with Anne Hathaway and James Franco. The Oscars will take place Sunday February 24th at the Dolby Theatre, formerly know as Kodak Theatre.

2012 Emmys

As far as the Red Carpet coverage went, the main headline seemed to be how hot it was in Hollywood this weekend. The stars of television were sweating buckets. I enjoyed Jimmy Fallon's well wishes to host Jimmy Kimmel as well as Kristen Wiig's comments about missing SNL. I am not certain why she made her departure but the sentiment was appreciated. Nominee Amy Poehler looked stunning in a black dress with a plunging neckline. When I Googled for a picture of said dress I was horrified to see the Poehler and Will Arnett have separated -- a) where have I been and b) what a bummer. Jon Hamm's much talked about navy tux looked black. Tina Fey looked gorgeous in a dark red dress with gold and black collar detail. Many comediennes looked fantastic in deep red tones including Mayim Bialik and Kat Dennings. Bright yellow was another winning color for the ladies. The light gold dress Christina Hendricks wore was a big miss -- the usually hot Hendricks looked unremarkable. Hendricks did confirm on the Red Carpet that she will re-team with her Drive costar Ryan Gosling in his directorial debut film (How To Catch A Monster, which is not expected until 2014).

The opening sketch that featured actresses back stage consoling a nervous Jimmy Kimmel was hilarious. Memorably included were Zooey Deschanel, Christina Hendricks, Mindy Kaling, Kathy Bates, Martha Plimpton, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, various reality tv hosts and Ellen DeGeneres.

Kimmel's monologue did not open with a bang but as he warmed up to topical issues it became very amusing. One winning line, "Being a Republican in Hollywood is like being a Chick a fil sandwich on the snack table at Glee," was particularly funny.

The awards began with the comedy section and this was certainly my favorite portion of the show. The year in comedy montage was awesome. Louis CK and Amy Poehler presented the first category and the nod to CK's appearance on Poehler's Parks and Rec was appreciated. The bit about the child actor who plays Lily on Modern Family being a holy terror was hilarious. Jon Cryer's win for Best Actor in a Comedy seemed just as off base as Steve Carell's loss in the category last year. His humorous acceptance speech that there had been a mistake and that he could not have possibly won partially made up for it.

Claire Danes continued on her victory streak at the Emmys for Homeland. She won previously at the Golden Globes for the role and in the previous season for Temple Grandin at both the Golden Globes and the Emmys.

During the variety and miniseries segments there were some comedic highlights. Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert tackled Jon Stewart after his win was announced. Ricky Gervais presented and was reliably entertaining, keeping in tone with his reputation. When Julianne Moore won for her portrayal of Sarah Palin in Game Change she commented that it was validating because Palin gave her a big thumbs down. Who knew Tom Hanks produced Game Change? Well delightfully so because we were able to hear him speak when it won Best Miniseries or Movie.

The main awards, Best Drama and Best Comedy, went to Homeland and Modern Family respectively.

And the winners...
Outstanding comedy series: Modern Family
Outstanding drama series: Homeland
Outstanding miniseries or movie: Game Change
Outstanding lead actor in a miniseries or movie: Kevin Costner, Hatfields & McCoys
Outstanding directing for a miniseries or movie: Jay Roach, Game Change
Outstanding lead actress in a miniseries or movie: Julianne Moore, Game Change
Outstanding writing for a miniseries or movie: Danny Strong, Game Change
Outstanding supporting actor in a miniseries or movie: Tom Berenger, Hatfields & McCoys
Outstanding supporting actress in a miniseries or movie: Jessica Lange, American Horror Story
Outstanding variety series: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Outstanding directing for a variety special: Glenn Weiss, 65th Annual Tony Awards
Outstanding writing for a variety special: Louis C.K., Louie C.K. Live at the Beacon Theatre
Outstanding lead actress in a drama series: Claire Danes, Homeland
Outstanding lead actor in a drama series: Damian Lewis, Homeland
Outstanding directing for a drama series: Tim Van Patten, Boardwalk Empire
Outstanding supporting actress in a drama: Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Outstanding writing for a drama series: Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, Gideon Raff, Homeland
Outstanding supporting actor in a drama series: Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
Outstanding host for a reality show: Tom Bergeron, Dancing with the Stars
Outstanding reality-competition program: The Amazing Race
Outstanding lead actress in a comedy series: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Outstanding lead actor in a comedy series: Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Outstanding directing in a comedy series: Steve Levitan, Modern Family
Outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series: Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Outstanding writing for a comedy series: Louis C.K., Louie
Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series: Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Liebster Blog Awards

The Amateur Reviews blog nominated me and below are my 11 answers to their 11 questions.
The rules for the Liebster Blog Awards are:

1. Tell 11 things about yourself
2. Answer 11 questions the blogger who awarded you asked
3. Pass the award to 11 people
4. Give them 11 questions
5. Tell them about the award
6. Don't award people who are recipients already

The questions I received from Amateur Reviews and my answers:
1. Favourite James Bond and film?
Sean Connery is the best all time Bond without question. The best Bond film is 2006's Casino Royale because it completely reinvented the series for the 21st Century.

2. What film has the best sound track ever?
My favorite soundtrack is Good Will Hunting -- and this is a seriously tough question for me to answer because I love movie soundtracks.

3. If you could cast one leading lady and one leading man who would they be?
Tom Hanks and Keri Russell. Hanks was an instant answer though my leading lady took a little more thought.

4. Which is the film you secretly love, but feel you should hate?
The Wedding Date -- rom com drivel but for some reason I like it.

5. If you had the casting vote at the last Academy Awards, which film would you have win best picture?
This year if I was in the Academy, The Help would have won Best Picture. While I am at it, Demian Bichir would have won Best Actor for A Better Life.

6. Who would you chose to play you in a biopic of your life?
Alicia Silverstone.

7. What is your favourite movie scene of all time?
This is the question I struggled most with and really had to think about. I wanted it to be one that just came to me. This was the first one I thought of and I have decided on: the graveside scene in Steel Magnolias. It always makes me cry no matter how many times I have seen it and it ends in humor.

8. In your opinion, who is the most overrated director ever?
James Cameron. He makes Blockbusters, not amazing movies.

9. Harry Potter or Lord of The Rings?
Harry Potter.

10. If you could only ever watch comedies or action films for the rest of you life which would it be?
Comedies -- without a doubt.

11. What was the last movie that made you cry?
Hope Springs. I cry easy at the movies and that's ok.

I nominate:
http://200movies1woman.com/
http://nevertooearlymoviepredictions.blogspot.com/
http://www.themoviesnob.net/
http://thereelperspectives.wordpress.com/
http://whydidibuythismovie.blogspot.com/
http://shazahm.blogspot.com/
http://keepingplacewithkate.blogspot.com/

A couple are not movie specific bloggers but I want to see their answers!!

My 11 questions for my nominees:
1. What is your all time favorite movie quote?
2. If you could only watch one movie at home ever again, which one would you select?
3. What are your desert island top five movies?
4. Which movie in the last ten years is your favorite?
5. Which movie that was made before you were born is your favorite?
6. What actor or actress do you wish you were friends with because you just like them so much?
7. Who is in your top five?
8. What is your favorite movie adaptation of a book that you have read?
9. What movie has not yet been released but you can NOT wait to see?
10. What is your first recollection of going to the movie theater?
11. If you had a job in Hollywood, what would you want it to be?

11 movie thoughts from me:
1. Auntie Mame is my all time favorite movie.
2. Going to the movies is literally the best thing ever.
3. Oscar Season is like Christmas to me.
4. I have an embarrassing number of DVDs though I do not have blue ray or a flat screen tv.
5. I can watch When Harry Met Sally, Clueless, Steel Magnolias, and Field of Dreams over and over and over again.
6. This summer I have actually read more books than movies I have watched.
7. After the 2012 Oscars, I no longer subscribe to Entertainment Weekly but read online only.
8. People who say going to the movies is a bad date are silly. Going to the theater is never bad.
9. More theaters should serve beer. Regal and Cinemark really need to get on board.
10. I know everyone likes things like pizza and music but the way I love movies is truly a unique personality trait.
11. After this exercise, I am so glad I have plans to see two movies this holiday weekend!