Beauty and The Beast 3D
Disney did it with “The Lion King.” Now the 1991 classic, the first animated film to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, gets an extra dimension.
Death Comes To Pemberley — P.D. James
The beloved English mystery writer draws the characters of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” into a tale of murder and emotional mayhem.
The 2012 Academy Award nominations were announced Tuesday, with Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” leading the way with 11 nominations and the silent, black-and-white film “The Artist” collecting 10.
Best Picture
“The Artist” Thomas Langmann, Producer
“The Descendants” Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” Scott Rudin, Producer
“The Help” Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
“Hugo” Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
“Midnight in Paris” Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
“Moneyball” Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
“The Tree of Life” Nominees to be determined
“War Horse” Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers
Comment: Most experts figured seven or eight nominated films. Nine qualified under the new rules. “Extremely Loud and Incredible Close” and “Tree of Life” likely brought up the rear. “Bridesmaids” and “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” would have been better choices.
Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir in “A Better Life”
George Clooney in “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin in “The Artist”
Gary Oldman in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
Brad Pitt in “Moneyball”
Comment: Clooney, Pitt and Dujardin were an easy 1-2-3. Michael Fassbender (“Shame”) and Leonardo Dicaprio (“J. Edgar”) were snubbed in favor of Oldman and Bichir, who raised the most eyebrows on Tuesday for being nominated for his role as an undocumented gardener living in Los Angeles in a little-seen film.
Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh in “My Week with Marilyn”
Jonah Hill in “Moneyball”
Nick Nolte in “Warrior”
Christopher Plummer in “Beginners”
Max von Sydow in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Comment: Plummer is the odds-on favorite. Branagh was a definite. Hill had momentum. Either Von Sydow or Nolte cost Albert Brooks (“Drive’) a deserved spot.
Actress in a Leading Role
Glenn Close in “Albert Nobbs”
Viola Davis in “The Help”
Rooney Mara in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady”
Michelle Williams in “My Week with Marilyn”
Comment: Four locks. Mara beat out Tilda Swinson (“We Need To Talk About Kevin.”) for the final slot.
Actress in a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo in “The Artist”
Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids”
Janet McTeer in “Albert Nobbs”
Octavia Spencer in “The Help”
Comment: The five expected nominees, but we wish there had been room for Shailene Woodley (“The Descendants.”)
Directing
“The Artist” Michel Hazanavicius
“The Descendants” Alexander Payne
“Hugo” Martin Scorsese
“Midnight in Paris” Woody Allen
“The Tree of Life” Terrence Malick
Comment: The top four were gimmes, but Malick is the surprise. Either David Fincher (“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” and Steven Spielberg (“War Horse”) shoud have filled out the list.
Getting ready for a big day of football by perusing CNBC’s Darren Rovell’s list of “The NFL’s 10 Best Cheerleading Squads 2012.”
1. New England Patriots
2. Dallas Cowboys
3. Miami Dolphins
4. Houston Texans
5. Denver Bronocs
6. Philadelphia Eagles
7. New York Jets
8. New Orleans Saints
9. Oakland Raiders
10. Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore (12-4) at New England (13-3), 3 p.m., CBS
The Patriots are a clear favorite based on last week’s results. The Brady Bunch dominated an overmatched Broncos team. Tom Brady threw the ball wherever he wanted against little pressure, and New England took a big early lead. The Pats’ defense was more solid then usual. The Ravens, meanwhile, struggled against the Texans and a rookie quarterback at home. New England’s excellent home record combined with Baltimore’s .500 road record favors the Pats. The game still has to be won on the field, and as we saw last week in the NFC, great defense can overcome great offense. We also saw this season that defenses playing at a high level can slow down the Pats (19 pts/game against the Cowboys, Giants, and Steelers). Baltimore’s defense is on par or better then those three, so expect the Pats to have a difficult time moving the ball. The Ravens hope pressure up front and the ball-hawking skills of Ed Reed in the back will force Brady into mistakes. The Ravens will try to keep the ball away from the Pats by utilizing Ray Rice in as many ways as possible. Joe Flacco will also be able to make throws against a horrid New England secondary while not having to worry about the same type of pass rush he faced last week. This could be the swan song for the aging Ravens, and I look for them to cash in. Defense wins out again. Ravens 24, Pats 21
New York Giants (9-7) at San Francisco (13-3), 6:30 p.m., Fox
Talk about defense winning in the playoffs. Both the Giants and 49ers took down the dominant offenses of Green Bay and New Orleans last week. The aerial assault originally expected in the NFC Championship Game has been replaced by a good old-fashioned game of trench warfare. Neither team was expected to be here when the season started. Now both are on fire. The Giants have been dominant on both sides of the ball, blowing out both the Falcons and Packers. Their rushing game has picked up as well as their pass rush, which has made them look unbeatable. San Francisco made huge plays on both offense and defense in upsetting the Saints. But in a contest with two great defenses, what one turns the tide? Quarterback play will be the deciding factor. Alex Smith showed last week that when you take the reins off, he can make big throws. Eli Manning has showed that all season. Smith did it against a swiss cheese defense. Both quarterbacks will struggle overall but Eli will make enough big plays while avoiding the big mistake that Smith will make, especially in the red zone. I guess Eli wasn’t so crazy saying he was an elite quarterback after all. Giants 21, 49ers 17
Playoffs: 5-3
Regular season: 50-30
Save the date. Bruce Springsteen’s 17th studio album ‘Wrecking Ball’ has been set for a March 6 release.
Listen to a stream of the lead single “We Take Care Of Our Own” on Springsteen’s official website.
Song Titles:
We Take Care of Our Own
Easy Money
Shackled and Drawn
Jack of All Trades
Death to My Hometown
This Depression
Wrecking Ball
You’ve Got It
Rocky Ground
Land of Hope and Dreams
We Are Alive
Executive producer Jon Landau:
Bruce has dug down as deep as he can to come up with this vision of modern life. The lyrics tell a story you can’t hear anywhere else and the music is his most innovative in recent years. The writing is some of the best of his career and both veteran fans and those who are new to Bruce will find much to love on ‘Wrecking Ball.’”
Joss Whedon is cooking with all burners on. He’s busy filming the big-budget “The Avengers,” due in May. He directed a retelling of William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing.” And now he’s started a supernatural romance film “In Your Eyes” starring Abigail Spencer. Whedon wrote and will executive produce the film which has been described as “metaphysical love story about two seemingly polar opposites who are deeply connected in ways neither could have ever imagined.”
Spencer broke the news on Vulture on Monday:
It’s the most romantic film in the history of time. It’s a supernatural romance.”
More Whedon: “The Cabin in the Woods,” the long-delayed horror movie he co-wrote and produced, is set to hit theaters on April 13.
“Fairly Legal” star Sarah Shahi shares her sexual New Year’s resolutions in a four-page Men’s Health spread. And her relationship guidelines: devour her, capitalize on quickies, try new scripts, take turns and it’s okay to fall asleep.
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