Cast of "Marvel's The Avengers" Presents at 2013 Oscar Ceremony

"The Avengers Cast" – Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo – to Present on Oscar® Show

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – “Marvel’s The Avengers” cast mates Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo will present together on the Oscar stage, show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today.

"We are happy to re-unite the ‘Avengers’ cast to present on our show," said Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. "Audiences who enjoyed the year's biggest box office hit will be excited to see these terrific actors back together again."

Downey has twice been nominated for an Oscar, for his leading role in “Chaplin” (1992) and for his supporting role in “Tropic Thunder” (2008).

Evans, who will be making his first Oscar show appearance, will be seen in the upcoming “The Iceman.”

Jackson was nominated in 1994 for his supporting role in “Pulp Fiction.” He can also be seen in this year’s Best Picture nominee “Django Unchained.”

Renner was nominated for his leading role in 2009 Best Picture winner “The Hurt Locker” and for his supporting role in “The Town” (2010). Renner had roles in this year’s “The Bourne Legacy” and “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” (2011).

Ruffalo received his first nomination for his supporting role in 2010 Best Picture nominee “The Kids Are All Right.”

Oscars® for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, February 24, at the Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and will be hosted by Seth MacFarlane live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.


ABOUT CRAIG ZADAN AND NEIL MERON
Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are producers of critically acclaimed and award-winning feature films, television movies, series, and Broadway productions. Their feature films include The Bucket List, Footloose, Hairspray, and Chicago, which won six Academy Awards including one for “Best Picture.” For television, they’ve produced films of “Steel Magnolias,” "Life with Judy Garland," and "A Raisin in the Sun," among many others and the series “Smash” and “Drop Dead Diva.” They recently returned to their roots in live theater by producing Broadway revivals of the Tony-winning “Promises, Promises” and the Tony-winning 50th Anniversary revival of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”

Cast of Oscar-Winning "Chicago" Reunite at 2013 Oscars

Reunion Of "Chicago" Stars – Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, Renée Zellweger, And Catherine Zeta-Jones – To Present On 10th Anniversary Of The Film's Oscar® Win

Academy Award® winners Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones will join their "Chicago" cast mates Richard Gere and Queen Latifah to present together on-stage at the Oscars®, show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today.

"We are very excited to reunite the stars of 'Chicago' to present on the Oscars, on the 10th anniversary of the movie's win for Best Picture," said Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.

Zellweger, Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah received nominations for their performances in the film. Jones and Queen Latifah were nominated for their supporting roles, Jones took home the Oscar that year. Zellweger, who was nominated for her lead performance in the film, has been nominated three times, and won in 2003 for her supporting role in "Cold Mountain."

Gere, Queen Latifah, Zellweger and Zeta-Jones join a stellar list of previously announced Oscar presenters including Mark Wahlberg, Ted, and "The Avengers" cast members Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo; returning 2011 Oscar winners Jean Dujardin, Christopher Plummer, Octavia Spencer and Meryl Streep; special guests Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Daniel Radcliffe, Channing Tatum and Charlize Theron; and performers Adele, Dame Shirley Bassey, Norah Jones and Barbra Streisand.

Oscars for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, February 24, at the Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and will be hosted by Seth MacFarlane live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.


ABOUT CRAIG ZADAN AND NEIL MERON
Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are producers of critically acclaimed and award-winning feature films, television movies, series, and Broadway productions. Their feature films include The Bucket List, Footloose, Hairspray, and Chicago, which won six Academy Awards including one for “Best Picture.” For television, they’ve produced films of “Steel Magnolias,” "Life with Judy Garland," and "A Raisin in the Sun," among many others and the series “Smash” and “Drop Dead Diva.” They recently returned to their roots in live theater by producing Broadway revivals of the Tony-winning “Promises, Promises” and the Tony-winning 50th Anniversary revival of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”

Happy Valentine's Day 2013

Cause you readers are Negromancer's Valentines.

Review: "Vertigo" Gets Better With Each Viewing (Happy B'day, Kim Novak)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 20 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Vertigo (1958)
Running time: 129 minutes (2 hours, 9 minutes - 1996 restored version); MPAA – PG-13
DIRECTOR: Alfred Hitchcock
WRITERS: Alec Coppel and Samuel Taylor (based upon the novel, …d’Entre les Morts by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac)
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Burks
EDITOR: George Tomasini
COMPOSER: Bernard Herrmann
Academy Award nominee

MYSTERY/DRAMA/ROMANCE/THRILLER

Starring: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore, Henry Jones, Raymond Bailey, Ellen Corby, and Konstantin Shayne

The subject of this movie review is Vertigo, a 1958 mystery and psychological thriller directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock (who did not receive a screen credit as producer). The film underwent a major restoration in 1996, which was produced by James C. Katz. The film is based upon the 1954 crime novel …d’Entre les Morts by Boileau-Narcejac, the penname of French crime fiction writers, Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo was a box office failure at the time of its initial release, and it even received mixed critical reaction. Today, many consider the film to be Hitchcock’s masterpiece, with some going so far as to call it one of the greatest films of all time. It’s not just that the film is an unusual mixture of mystery, drama, and romance with an occasional light-hearted touch of the comic; it is also that the film is a taut suspense thriller and a doomed romance with a surprising twist.

Police Detective John “Scottie” Ferguson (James Stewart) has a crippling fear of heights (acrophobia) and it inadvertently costs a fellow officer his life during a police foot chase across the rooftops of San Francisco. His fear causes Scottie to retire, but an old friend, Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore), comes to Scottie with a unique problem that requires his skills. Elster believes that his pretty young wife, Madeleine (Kim Novak), is possessed by the tormented ghost of her grandmother. He convinces Scottie to tail Madeleine and make sure she doesn’t come to harm in her mentally shaky state, but Scottie slowly falls in love with Madeleine while tracking her daily movements. However, a tragic accident draws Scottie into a complex vortex of deceit, murder, and obsession, and Scottie’s mind can’t handle the strain of figuring out what’s really happened.

So much about this film amazes me. Bernard Herrmann’s mesmerizing score is one of the most beautiful examples of film music; it’s so haunting and so easily alters the mood when Hitchcock requires it. The handsome cinematography is almost too lavish for a noir-ish, mystery thriller like Vertigo, but it ably serves the long, lingering shots. Edith Head’s fabulous costumes, in particularly Kim Novak’s gowns, are both stylish and evocative – creating the dreamlike and ethereal qualities that add to Vertigo’s ambiance. The performances are good with James Stewart appearing unusually limp and impotent as a besieged detective/hero. Kim Novak swoons from coquette to working girl/devil girl with chameleonic ease.

As usual, however, the star is Hitchcock the director. Despair has rarely been so beautiful and love so rarely a gorgeously concocted labyrinth of tricks. He lays it all before us, a pulsating rhythm of surreal moments, fever dreams, and brilliant switches. Reality really isn’t what it seems, or maybe it is. Reality is more than just what passes in front of the eye. If you can’t figure that out, your mind will go falling through a vortex. Vertigo is Hitchcock’s supremely clever spin on the mystery film – all the way to the haunting final shot.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
1959 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White or Color” (Hal Pereira, Henry Bumstead, Sam Comer, and Frank R. McKelvy) and “Best Sound” (George Dutton-Paramount SSD)

1989 National Film Preservation Board: National Film Registry

Friday, January 27, 2006

Adele to Sing "Skyfall" Theme at 85th Oscars Ceremony

Adele to Perform Academy Award®-Nominated Song from "Skyfall" at Oscars®

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Multi-platinum selling singer-songwriter Adele will perform the Oscar®-nominated theme song from the latest James Bond movie at the 85th Academy Awards®, the show's producers announced today. "Skyfall," from the film of the same name, was announced as a nominee for Original Song at the Academy’s Nominations Announcement on January 10. The song, written by Adele and Paul Epworth, is the first Bond theme ever to debut in Billboard's Top 10 and the first to be nominated for an Oscar since "For Your Eyes Only" in 1981.

Adele's exclusive Oscar show performance will be the first time she will have performed "Skyfall" anywhere live and will also mark her first U.S. television performance since the Grammys® last year.

"It's an honour to be nominated and terrifyingly wonderful to be singing in front of people who have captured my imagination over and over again,” said Adele. “It's something I've never experienced and probably only ever will once!"

"We have enormous respect for Adele's unique artistry as a songwriter and a singer," said Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the producers of this year's Academy Awards show. "She is currently one of the most successful recording artists in the world, and we believe that her performance of 'Skyfall' will be an exciting Oscar moment for audiences watching at the Dolby Theatre™ and on television screens around the world."

Oscar.com celebrates Adele's performance with a special gallery of some of the most memorable James Bond theme songs through the years:

http://oscar.go.com/photos/themed-galleries/movies/bond-theme-songs

Oscars for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, February 24, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and will be hosted by Seth MacFarlane live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.


ABOUT CRAIG ZADAN AND NEIL MERON
Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are producers of critically acclaimed and award-winning feature films, television movies, series, and Broadway productions. Their feature films include The Bucket List, Footloose, Hairspray, and Chicago, which won six Academy Awards including one for “Best Picture.” For television, they’ve produced films of “Steel Magnolias,” "Life with Judy Garland," and "A Raisin in the Sun," among many others and the series “Smash” and “Drop Dead Diva.” They recently returned to their roots in live theater by producing Broadway revivals of the Tony-winning “Promises, Promises” and the Tony-winning 50th Anniversary revival of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”

"Insidious Chapter 2" Contest Winner Announced

Earlier this month, FilmDistrict held a video contest in search of the biggest Insidious fan ever, hosted by director James Wan. The prize? A walk-on role in INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2.

After a nationwide search that generated over 800 fan video submissions and 250,000 views on the film’s official YouTube channel, the winner has been selected!

The announcement was officially made on the film’s Facebook page(https://www.facebook.com/InsidiousFilm) and James Wan via a Twitter photo from set last night that said, “We sifted thru tons of entries. Everyone's a winner in my book, but like Connor Macleod said, there can be only one.”

The Twitter photo can be seen at: https://twitter.com/creepypuppet/status/301164004439629824/photo/1


21-year-old Michael James Grise from Orlando, Florida, won for his truly inspired and horrifying video. Grise will receive an all-expense paid trip to Los Angeles where he will be joining the cast and crew for his on-camera appearance in the currently-shooting production of INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2. His entry was personally selected by director James Wan, writer Leigh Whannell and producer Jason Blum.

Check out the winning video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxtZKKSQMAM

All video entries can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/insidiousmovie

INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2 arrives in theatres nationwide on August 30, 2013.


ABOUT INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2
INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2 is the sequel to 2010’s hit film that captivated horror movie audiences worldwide. Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye and Ty Simpkins return to reprise their roles in the film, directed by James Wan from a script by Leigh Whannell, who also wrote the first film. www.insidiouscastingcall.com

Review: First Bond Film, "Dr. No" Still the Blueprint

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 11 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux


Dr. No (1962)
Running time: 110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
DIRECTOR: Terence Young
WRITERS: Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather (based on the novel by Ian Fleming)
PRODUCERS: Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ted Moore (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Peter Hunt
COMPOSER: Monty Norman

SPY/DRAMA

Starring: Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman, Jack Lord, Bernard Lee, Anthony Dawson, Zena Marshall, John Kitzmuller, Lois Maxwell, and Louis Blaazer

Last year (2012) was the 50th anniversary of the release of Dr. No, the 1962 James Bond film and British spy drama. This movie, the first in the James Bond film series, was based on Ian Fleming’s 1958 novel, Dr. No.

The novel was adapted by three screenwriters: Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather, from a treatment written by Wolf Mankowitz, who did not receive a screen credit. Dr. No’s director, Terence Young, also contributed to the screenplay. Dr. No was also notable for John Barry’s now-famous arrangement of the James Bond theme, which was written by Dr. No’s composer, Monty Norman.

As Dr. No begins, John Strangways, the British Intelligence Station Chief in Jamaica, is murdered. In response, British MI6 agent, James Bond (Sean Connery), codenamed 007, is summoned to the office of M (Bernard Lee), his superior. M sends Bond to Jamaica to investigate the disappearance of Strangways. Bond is also told to cooperate with American CIA agent, Felix Leiter (Jack Lord), in order to determine if the recent disruptions of rocket launches from Cape Canaveral is related to Strangways’ disappearance.

Bond’s investigation in Jamaica keeps returning to a mysterious figure known as Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman), who has a mining operation on the nearby island of Crab Key. With the help of Quarrel (John Kitzmuller), a local tour guide (of sorts), Bond heads to Crab Key to investigate Dr. No. There, Bond also meets Honey Rider (Ursula Andress), a local shell diver and the first “Bond girl.”

It had been many years since I last saw Dr. No, and even longer since I first read Fleming’s novel. After recently seeing the film again, I was shocked by how fresh the movie seems. It helps that the new restoration, re-mastering, or re-whatever makes the film seem to sparkle and its colors pop as if they were taken from a painting.

Beyond that, the film is clean in its execution, with a simple, straightforward narrative. Dr. No’s smooth pace allows the viewer to get to know Bond, which was important for both this movie and for selling future Bond films. Dr. No’s concise pace also allows the viewer to get to know the colorful supporting characters. I loved the laconic British home secretary, Pleydell-Smith (Louis Blaazer).

Dr. No is, of course, not like modern Bond films, which are full of explosive, kinetic action and wall-to-wall special visual effects. This is a spy drama on a slow, cool burn. For me, Dr. No is the blueprint from which all other Bond movies (and quite a few other spy films) sprang. No matter how loud other Bond films got or how much they looked like science fiction movies, they owe practically everything they are to this first Bond theatrical film.

Time has not tamed the Sean Connery that stars as 007 in this film. He’s a crouching tiger and one cool cat. He’s still the boss, and Dr. No remains a classic and a treasure.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
1964 Golden Globes, USA: 1 win: “Most Promising Newcomer – Female” [Ursula Andress – shared with Tippi Hedren for The Birds (1963) and Elke Sommer for The Prize (1963)]

Saturday, February 09, 2013