Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games, and Oscar

The Hunger Games director Gary Ross believes that Jennifer Lawrence's performance at Katniss Everdeen is strong enough to be worthy of an Oscar nomination.

“The range in this performance, the emotional terrain that she investigates, the demands of what this role are,” he raves of Lawrence’s portrayal of series heroine Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old forced alongside other children into a televised fight-to-the-death. “It’s such an intensely physical role and an emotional one. She carries the entire movie. To be able to do that at that age is so kind of incredible that I was in a little bit of awe. Do I think she should be nominated? Absolutely."

Art houses

Indie filmmakers tend to have their films play at art houses more than the mainstream cinemas. I know. I've seen a large number of films across the city in Louisville when I could drive just 2-5 minutes away to see something at Cinemark.

David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson looks at the future of the Art House.

18th Annual SAG Awards Winners

It was a big win for The Help tonight over Oscar favorite The Artist. But if you recall, in January 2010, Inglorious Basterds took home best cast. However, George Clooney was getting a clean sweep through awards season for his role as Matt King in The Descendants. It is hard to say whether a loss in the SAG Awards will help or hurt his chances...the only difference is that Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated instead of Gary Oldman for SAG.

Best Cast, Motion Picture The Help

Best Actress, Motion Picture Viola Davis, The Help

Best Actor, Motion Picture Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best Cast, TV Drama Boardwalk Empire

Best Actor, TV Drama Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire

Best Actress, TV Drama Jessica Lange, American Horror Story

Best Actor, Miniseries or TV Movie Paul Giamatti, Too Big to Fail

Best Actress, Miniseries or TV Movie Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce

Best Cast, TV Comedy Modern Family

Best Actress, TV Comedy Betty White, Hot in Cleveland

Best Actor, TV Comedy Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Supporting Actor, Motion Picture Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Stunt Ensemble, Film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Stunt Ensemble, TV Game of Thrones

Support booksellers

In addition to Amazon.com for your one-stop shopping needs, booksellers need your help now, perhaps more than ever before.

Barnes and Noble, perhaps, is on its last stand.

THESE are trying times for almost everyone in the book business. Since 2002, the United States has lost roughly 500 independent bookstores — nearly one out of five. About 650 bookstores vanished when Borders went out of business last year.

No wonder that some New York publishers have gone so far as to sketch out what the industry might look like without Barnes & Noble. It’s not a happy thought for them: Certainly, there would be fewer places to sell books. Independents account for less than 10 percent of business, and Target, Walmart and the like carry far smaller selections than traditional bookstores.

Without Barnes & Noble, the publishers’ marketing proposition crumbles. The idea that publishers can spot, mold and publicize new talent, then get someone to buy books at prices that actually makes economic sense, suddenly seems a reach. Marketing books via Twitter, and relying on reviews, advertising and perhaps an appearance on the “Today” show doesn’t sound like a winning plan.

What publishers count on from bookstores is the browsing effect. Surveys indicate that only a third of the people who step into a bookstore and walk out with a book actually arrived with the specific desire to buy one.

“That display space they have in the store is really one of the most valuable places that exists in this country for communicating to the consumer that a book is a big deal,” said Madeline McIntosh, president of sales, operations and digital for Random House.

What’s more, sales of older books — the so-called backlist, which has traditionally accounted for anywhere from 30 to 50 percent of the average big publisher’s sales — would suffer terribly.

Seth Rogen talks 50/50 snub

Seth Rogen talked about 50/50 being snubbed by the Academy.

Yesterday when the Academy announced this year’s nominees, it tellingly avoided giving comedy blockbuster Bridesmaids that 10th Best Picture slot in favor of a Supporting Actress nod for Melissa McCarthy and one for Original Screenplay, while the touching, poignant, critically adored 50/50 was left completely shut out. Actually, 50/50's producer-star Seth Rogen predicted just such a snub when his film’s Oscar potential was first discussed back in September. “I know for a fact that some people are appalled by the movie,” Rogen told EW.[...]

50/50 was nominated for Best Comedy/Musical at the Golden Globes, and Reiser won the National Board of Review’s award for Best Original Screenplay. But the film was completely snubbed at the Oscars, where Reiser was thought to have a good shot at landing a Best Original Screenplay nod.

Reiser was nominated for original screenplay by the WGA as well.

My thoughts on the Oscar snubs

The morning that the Oscar nominations are announced are one of the times of year that I look forward to. It’s tied with Selection Sunday. Why is that? Because the nominations are chosen by people within the industry.

Sometimes, like today, they don’t get it right. Other times, there are just so many great fucking performances that there just are not enough slots to be able to award everyone with a nomination.
Shailene Woodley was one such actress. Her performance in The Descendants was received with rave reviews but sadly, she was snubbed of a nomination.

In the category of best actor, both Ryan Gosling and Michael Fassbender were snubbed. Gosling and Fassbender opened many films in the calendar year. Gosling should have been nominated for his performance in Drive or The Ides of March. Fassbender was though to be a fucking shoe-in for his performance as a sex addict in Shame. Did the NC-17 factor turn off some votes? I don’t know.

Disney was shut out of animation this year. They released Cars 2, which was only made for the toys and shit, but Winnie the Pooh was snubbed?!? Come on, voters!

Only two songs, out of all eligible songs were nominated. The Muppets are the de facto winner even with one song making the final cut. Time to change the rules, music branch.

Both Original and Adapted screenplay saw snubs with not including 50/50, Win Win, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, or The Help. Win Win would have gotten some better recognition had the film been released in the 3rd or 4th quarter of the year.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was nominated, or as most folks are calling it Extremely Awful and Incredibly Shitty. When you take into account Rotten Tomatoes, this is the worst fucking film of all time to have ever received a nomination for Best Picture. The Stephen Daldry Effect? Maybe. This film could very well see both an Oscar nomination for best picture AND a Razzie nomination for Worst Picture. Now, wouldn’t that be something!

84th Annual Academy Award Nominations

Here is the complete list of nominees for 84th Academy Awards (Oscar) ceremony.

Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Actress in a Leading Role
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn

Actress in a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help

Animated Feature Film
A Cat in Paris Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
Chico & Rita Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
Kung Fu Panda 2 Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Puss in Boots Chris Miller
Rango Gore Verbinski

Art Direction
The Artist, Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
Hugo, Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
Midnight in Paris, Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
War Horse, Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Cinematography
Guillaume Schiffman, The Artist
Jeff Cronenweth, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Robert Richardson, Hugo
Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Janusz Kaminski, War Horse

Costume Design
Lisy Christl, Anonymous
Mark Bridges, The Artist
Sandy Powell, Hugo
Michael O'Connor, Jane Eyre
Arianne Phillips, W.E.

Directing
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Documentary (Feature)
Hell and Back Again, Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
Pina, Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
Undefeated, TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

Documentary (Short Subject)
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement, Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
God Is the Bigger Elvis, Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
Incident in New Baghdad, James Spione
Saving Face, Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

Film Editing
Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Kevin Tent, The Descendants
Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Thelma Schoonmaker, Hugo
Christopher Tellefsen, Moneyball

Foreign Language Film
Bullhead Belgium
Footnote Israel
In Darkness Poland
Monsieur Lazhar Canada
A Separation Iran

Makeup
Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle, Albert Nobbs
Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland, The Iron Lady

Music (Original Score)
John Williams, The Adventures of Tintin
Ludovic Bource, The Artist
Howard Shore, Hugo
Alberto Iglesias, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
John Williams, War Horse

Music (Original Song)
“Man or Muppet” from The Muppets; Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio” from Rio; Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett

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

Short Film (Animated)
Dimanche/Sunday, Patrick Doyon
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
La Luna, Enrico Casarosa
A Morning Stroll, Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
Wild Life, Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Short Film (Live Action)
Pentecost, Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane
Raju, Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
The Shore, Terry George and Oorlagh George
Time Freak ,Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
Tuba Atlantic, Hallvar Witzø

Sound Editing
Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis, Drive
Ren Klyce, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty, Hugo
Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl, Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom, War Horse

Sound Mixing
David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Tom Fleischman and John Midgley, Hugo
Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick, Moneyball
Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin, Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson, War Horse

Visual Effects
Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning, Hugo
Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg, Real Steel
Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett, Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier, Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Hugo, Screenplay by John Logan
The Ides of March, Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
Moneyball, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin; Story by Stan Chervin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Screenplay by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan

Writing (Original Screenplay)
The Artist, Written by Michel Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
Margin Call, Written by J.C. Chandor
Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen
A Separation, Written by Asghar Farhadi

8

Rand Paul detained

Rand Paul was alledgedly detained by the TSA today.

The Kentucky senator triggered an alarm during routine airport screening and declined to finish the process, said a TSA official, but was “not detained at any point.” A targeted pat-down is usually used to address the alarm.

“Passengers, as in this case, who refuse to comply with security procedures are denied access to the secure gate area. He was escorted out of the screening area by local law enforcement,” the official said.

When I flew back from Midway last year, one time I went through the body scanner AND got patted down. The second time? Just went through the scanner and no pat down.

Bachelorette

Adam McKay and Will Ferrell produced Bachelorette, which debuts this week at Sundance.

Here's a brief synopsis of the film written and directed by Leslye Headland:

Regan is used to being first at everything. Imagine her horror and chagrin when she finds out the girl everyone called Pig Face in high school is going to tie the knot before she does! But Regan sucks it up and takes on bridesmaid duties along with her childhood pals: substance-abusing, promiscuous Gena and ditzy Katie. The single ladies are determined to put their bitterness aside and have an awesomely hedonistic bachelorette party. Armed with acerbic wit and seemingly endless supplies of coke and booze, the foul-mouthed femmes embark on one very long and emotional night filled with major wedding-dress panic, various bodily fluids, and cute ex-boyfriends.

The film has an impressive cast, too, starring Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan, James Marsden, Adam Scott, and Kyle Bornheimer.

Book Review: Lunatics

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Putnam Adult (January 10, 2012)

I have not laughed this hard since I watched Bridesmaids. Let me repeat. I have not laughed this hard at ANYTHING since watching Bridesmaids.

Abbott and Costello. Laurel and Hardy. Hope and Crosby. Martin and Lewis. Matthau and Lemmon. Belushi and Aykroyd. Farley and Spade. Now comes the buddy comedy team of Horkman and Peckerman.

What happens when humor writer Dave Barry writes a book with former Saturday Night Live writer Alan Zweibel? The answer: a shitload of hilarious fun that requires the presence of food to stay no more than 20 feet away. Do you want the book to be spit on? I didn't think so.

Lunatics is described as "an outrageous, laugh-your-butt off comic masterpiece of our time" and tackles issues that very well could have been inspired by 2011's Arab Spring as both Phillip Horkman and Jeffrey Peckerman find themselves being wanted for shooting a police officer on the George Washington Bridge, sneak onto a clothing-optional cruise ship, overthrow the Cuban government, bring food to Somolia, tackle the Middle East conflict, before bringing democracy to China, and urinating on Sarah Palin. It's not just that they do all those things but in the way that they just somehow happen to be there at the right time and still feuding with each other no matter the cost.

Steve Carell is already attached to star in the movie adaptation as Phillip Horkman. For some reason, I forgot that and was reading the Jeffrey Peckerman character in my head with Carell's voice. Oh, well. It does not make a difference who he plays because if the film is done right, and I expect that it will be, it will be one of Carell's finest films by far.

Zweibel writes the character of Horkman while co-author Dave Barry pens the chapters that come from Jeffrey Peckerman's point of view. Barry describes the character of Horkman as "a big, loveable, well-meaning dork" whereas Zweibel describes Peckerman as "a loud, offensively vile creature...in other words: Mel Gibson."

Phillip Horkman is a soccer referee and owner of The Wine Shop, which, to Peckerman's dismay, does not actually sell wine but instead, sells pets. Lots and lots of pets. A few days before, Peckerman, a forensic plumber, was upset with Horkman as his 10 year old daughter is called offsides. He feuds. The action begins.

The fight between Horkman and Peckerman escalate as they soon find themselves on the run and being hunted down by the NYPD and government for being terrorists. The rest is history for America's Most Wanted Terrorists.

Throughout the book, we get NBC News reports from Brian Williams. Williams, the funniest anchor in years, should have the comic chops to play himself in the film. More so, both Williams and Tom Brokaw cover this year's GOP convention which leads to more, promised hilarity as the GOP is at a stalemate over a presidential nominee. It gets worse. After Horkman recieves the GOP nomination, Peckerman is nominated by the Democratic Party.

Horkman and Peckerman have this ability, uncanny as it seems, to show up at the right place at the right time. In doing so, they become worldwide heroes.

Grade: A+

If you want to laugh your pants off, go read this book. Stop reading this blog right now and go read this book.

Why the KDP will never get my money...

Since Steve Beshear signed the redistricting plans into law and could not stand up to David Williams, then the Kentucky Democratic Party will never get any of my money ever again. If KY allowed independents to vote in primaries, I'd have switched a long time ago. But no, Beshear is gutless and has no fucking spine at all.

Go read a piece at Kentuckians for the Commonwealth.

he House, Senate, and Gov Beshear have passed re-districting plans that are vindictive against specific lawmakers, leave at least one incumbent lawmaker without a district to run for re-election, give constituents in another district a new senator who lives halfway across the state from the district he will now represent, and creates very oddly shaped districts that unnecessarily divide coherent communities and constituencies.

For example, Lexington's own Sen. Kathy Stein (a sponsor of KFTC’s Stream Saver Bill in the Senate), who has represented her constituents in either the House or Senate since 1997, will have the Lexington district she now represents moved to northern Kentucky. The western Kentucky district now represented by Sen. Dorsey Ridley – 200 miles away – will be moved to Lexington.

This leaves many in Lexington without an effective Senator who understands this community for the next 2 years.

A fucking shame and a digrace to Kentucky voters. Especially to those of us who voted Steve Beshear into office.