In 1986 he gave an outstanding performance as Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy and although he won the Evening Standard British Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer and the ALFS Award for Actor of the year, there was still no Oscar nomination. Later on his roles in such films as The Professional and The Contender still came and went without even a flirtation with the idea that he was possibly in the running for a nomination.

But as we’ve learned from the past, the Academy and its choices aren’t always clear to the rest of us. How many times was Marty Scorsese nominated for iconic films before he finally won for Best Director for The Departed in 2006? Was Kevin Costner’s Dances with Wolves really that much better than Scorsese’s Goodfellas when the two were pitted against each other in 1990? The wolf dies in the end, people! Sure Joe Pesci’s Tommy DeVito gets whacked too, but at least he had it coming. The wolf’s death is just unnecessary and scarring. I fear the members of the Academy may be dipping too much into the champagne that I hear flows down the streets of Hollywood — or something — and it must be stopped!

Here are 10 other actors who have been overlooked for some of the greatest performances we’ve seen in the past few decades. Perhaps if the rest of the world was as hopped up on these imaginary streets of champagne, we’d be able to understand how some of these actors have been ignored for far too long.

Related posts:

• The Oscars 2012 Nominations Are Out!
• Eddie Murphy Drops Out As 2012 Oscars Host In Solidarity With Tower Heist Director Brett Ratner
• Check Out Steve Martin’s Letter To Eddie Murphy With Advice For Hosting The Oscars

Post from: Crushable

Not only does the Best Lead Actor category not include Michael Fassbender, who played his role of an emotionally wounded sex addict perfectly in Shame, but the Academy also failed to recognize one of the best films of the year, Beginners.

Written and directed by Mike Mills, the film is based on his real-life experience with his father, (played impeccably by Christopher Plummer and who received a nomination for the role), and his coming out at the age of 75. The character, Oliver, who is portrayed by the always near-perfect Ewan McGregor, is forced to not only deal with his mother’s recent death and his father’s coming out, but the fact that his father, Hal, although in denial about it, has terminal cancer.

Beginners is interconnected by a series of flashbacks where Oliver is trying to remember moments as they actually were, as opposed to how his memory has filed them away. It’s a poignant example of how when our lives are truly in emotional turmoil our brain shuts off as a coping mechanism and it chooses to conjure up the past on a level with which is easier to deal.

After Hal’s death, Oliver becomes the owner of Hal’s dog, Arthur, who like Oliver is equally heartbroken and confused by the events that have occurred. Because of this pain on the part of Arthur, he can’t be left alone without crying and yelping. In turn, this leads to one of the most endearing aspects of the film – Oliver having to take Arthur with him everywhere.

A few months after the loss of his father and with Arthur in tow, Oliver meets Anna, a beautiful French actress played by the beautiful French actress, Mélanie Laurent, at a costume party. Their relationship evolves quite quickly and it’s almost too-real to witness just how much of yourself you can see in these characters who grapple at the strings of potential love all while dealing with their own emotional baggage.

Beginners is not a happy movie; and its ending, just like with love in real life, does not offer something definitive. In other words, there is no sunset in which Oliver and Anna ride off into as the credits begin to roll. Instead, it’s a film about love in all its forms. It’s about love for family, friends and if you’re willing to risk it and put yourself out there, love for another person who, like you, is willing to risk something in the hopes of getting that often elusive ending — that which being ‘forever.’

The poster for Beginners includes the tagline “This is what love feels like,” and it honestly summarizes the film perfectly in just those few words. Love hurts like hell sometimes, but when it comes down to it, you don’t want it any other way. If you’ve never known the anguish that comes with loving someone more than you love yourself, then you can’t fully appreciate when that agony passes and the elation begins.

Why the Academy didn’t understand all that and give Beginners a nomination is mind boggling.

Post from: Crushable

Though much maligned as genres, good sci fi, fantasy, and horror always take whatever ideas are floating around in the current cultural zeitgeist and examines them through a fantastical lens: spaceships; Jedis; Hobbits; dystopian futures; planets full of blue people; even dreams. These ideas can range from anything from such grand issues as fear of governmental power to more personal questions of identity and reality. And while all good films have strong ideas behind them, in sci fi, the story is often the vehicle that conveys the idea: That is, it can be said that the idea comes first, and the story is secondary to the idea. This is primarily due to the fact that sci fi usually originates from a “what if?” scenario: What if juvenile delinquency grows so out of hand that the world lives in constant fear of random violence? What if, then, the government is granted the power to rehabilitate these delinquents using a type of psychological conditioning that would once have been considered unethical? From these two what-ifs, we have a story of morality and whether the ends justify the means. We also have the story of A Clockwork Orange, nominated in 1971 (it lost to The French Connection). Here, the story is in service of examining this moral quandary, because without the moral quandary, the story wouldn’t exist. QED.

The films that tend to win Best Picture, however, work the other way around: The story comes first and foremost and everything else follows. This all comes back to Aristotle’s Poetics. According to Aristotle, the primary element of any tragedy is the plot, or mythos. Character (ethos) is next, thought (that is, the idea) comes third, and diction (or, how the thought is expressed), melody, and spectacle bring up the rear. Yep: the idea behind a story comes in a measly third place behind plot and character. True, Aristotle intended these rules to apply strictly to tragedy; however, these days, they’re acknowledged as useful tools of analysis no matter what the genre, so forgive my slightly relaxed use of them. Take a look at most of the Oscar-winning Best Pictures and you can see that they tend to follow Aristotle’s format: They’re big stories about big people, with the ideas more or less trailing in their wake. I’m overgeneralizing a little here, yes, but by and large, films like The Hurt Locker, Schindler’s List, Amadeus, The Godfather, Lawrence of Arabia, and so on are the rule, not the exception. I’m not entirely sure why this trend exists– maybe it goes back to sci fi’s history as a pulp thing or “low” culture– but then again, film was “low” culture as well once upon a time, so who knows.

Related posts:

• Gallery: Who Was At The Vanity Fair Oscars Party?
• Welcome To James Franco’s Live Oscar Feed
• To Get You in the Oscars Spirit, Here Are Some of the Most Memorable Oscars Moments
• Video: ‘South Park’ Spoofs ‘Inception’
• How Many Comic Books Did ‘Inception’ Rip Off?

Post from: Crushable

Last night’s revamped kid-tested and mom-approved Oscars closed with a performance by our favorite NYC elementary school chorus (second favorite goes to those break-dancing preteens on the subway). The PS 22 Chorus sang “Over the Rainbow” and worked to un-harden our hearts after three straight hours of watching celebrities thank one another. Go, these kids! So now do they get to go to Disneyland?

Post from: Crushable

Post from: Crushable

Whether you’ll be partying it up or sitting home alone on your couch, take some time out of your Oscar watching this Sunday night to join Crushable and our friends at BettyConfidential as we host an Academy Award-themed party on Twitter!

After the red carpet wraps up, and Anne Hathaway and James Franco have finished dancing and singing during their big opening number (we’re guessing), we’ll kick off our Twitter party at 9 p.m. EST/6 p.m. PST. For the next hour, (until 10 pm EST) join BettyConfidential and Crushable to answer questions, chat with fellow guests and — here’s the best part — you could win some big prizes just by participating. Here’s what you have to do:

• Be sure to follow @BettyBuzz and @Crushabledotcom on Twitter (required for entry).

• Between 9 and 10 p.m. EST, we’ll be posting questions every 15 minutes from @BettyBuzz and @Crushabledotcom. Remember to answer your question with the hashtag #bcOSCARS and tweet at us, and you’ll be entered to win prizes. You can also search for the #bcOSCARS hashtag to see what everyone at our party is talking about during the Oscars show. (Hashtags are just a part of your tweet that includes the # sign in front, used to keep track of Twitter topics.)

Sample Tweet: @BettyBuzz @Crushabledotcom James Franco is hilarious! #bcOSCARS

We have two awesome prizes to hand out to the people who participate the most, so to increase your chances of winning, answer as many questions as you can, tell your friends on Twitter about our awesome party and chat with the other partiers. The more active you are, the better your chances are to win one of the prizes. Don’t forget to use the #bcOSCARS hashtag!

And, speaking of prizes, at the end of the party, we’ll be giving away one $100 gift card to RedEnvelope.com to one winner while a second winner will take home a sexy and sassy gift package from Frederick’s of Hollywood: The Love Allover 3-piece pajama set PLUS their most-popular item, The Dream Corset with matching panties.

And everyone who participates will also be entered into BettyConfidential’s $750 Red Carpet VIP Red Carpet Swag Bag Giveaway. Winners of that giveaway will be announced Monday, February 28.

Make some time for Crushable and BettyConfidential on Sunday night, and you could win big. Why should the celebs get to have all the fun?

Related posts:

• Dear Academy Awards: Anne Hathaway and James Franco? Really??
• Video: Anne Hathaway Is Making Us Nervous For The Oscars
• Annette Benning Takes A Lap At The 2011 Oscars Lunch

Post from: Crushable

Nestled between the Golden Globes and Academy Awards on the film calendar, lie the BAFTA’s. London is abuzz with film award chatter as the British Academy of Film and Television Arts gears up to bestow their much coveted BAFTA’s (the Brit’s equivalent of the Oscar’s) upon the crème de la crème of the film industry.

As the rich and (sometimes not so) famous play down their palpable excitement at the possibility of getting their hands on the gleaming golden trophy, I anticipate the prestigious ceremony at London’s Royal Opera House to hold few surprises. With the BAFTA ceremony a mere few days away, I’ll be breezing my way through the nomination list to give a brief run-down who I think will be the big winners of the night.

With over 24 categories from Best Cinematography to Best Film, there are diverse areas for a film to shine. The King’s Speech is the talk of the town. After 7 Golden Globe, 12 Academy and a whopping 14 BAFTA nominations, it is safe to say Tim Hooper’s regal vehicle will be speeding away with at least half a dozen awards (Leading Actor, Original Screenplay and Best Film just a few to mention). The Black Swan is its biggest contender, coming head to head in the major categories of Best Director and Best Supporting Actress. Natalie Portman’s troubled ballerina will no doubt pirouette her way to the Leading Actress award, whilst The Social Network, Inception, The Kids Are Alright, The Fighter, Toy Story 3 and Biutiful are all set to be big winners too.

The jewel in the crown, ‘The Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema’ goes to the Harry Potter juggernaut which shows little chance of abating. Having watched the bespectacled wizard schoolboy grow up whilst fighting the forces of the evil Voldemort, has been a mind-blowing, poignant adventure. Hats off to producer extraordinaire David Heyman – I await The Deathly Hallows Part 2 with bated breath.

Related posts:

• Across The Pond: Brit Henry Cavill To Play Superman
• Across The Pond: Ricky Gervais, Piers Morgan, And Other Ex-Pats
• Across The Pond: Alastair Cook, King Of Cricket

Post from: Crushable

Not that we’re going to choose a side in the great Middle Earth battle between Franco and Neil Patrick Harris, but at least How I Met Your Mother knows what it is: a goofy, half-hour sitcom. The Academy Awards looks like it’s trying to nail down that ironic 20-something demographic with their unnecessarily farcical SNL-like campaign. Show some respect for the craft! The Motion Picture Association should stop trying so hard, as all ironic 20-somethings are now forced to liveblog every awards show under federal mandate anyway.

You know what these shows both need? More Cary Grant.

Related posts:

• Neil Patrick Harris And Puppies: Too Much Of A Good Thing?
• Neil Patrick Harris Is My Celebrity Nemesis
• A Year In Katy Perry’s Boobs

Post from: Crushable

Post from: Crushable

Regardless, here are the categories you care about (for a full list, you check out here), in fun gallery form!

Related posts:

• Gallery: The 2010 Razzie Nominees (And Our Picks)
• Video Gallery: Little Girls, Eric Roberts, Audition For ‘True Grit’
• In Your Dreams: 5 ‘Inception’ Mashups with the Movies It Stole From
• Eat Puke Dance: Black Swan’s Unhealthy Relationship With Food

Post from: Crushable