DGA to Oscar? Hazanavicius Nears Finish Line

This weekend everyone is a winner! So many awards. And SAG continues the trend tonight (we'll be live blogging right here). Can clapping for 30 days straight give you carpal tunnel?

Let's start with the biggie, the DGA Awards. Last year's winner Tom Hooper (The King's Speech) passed the baton, in the shape of that golden eagle plaque, to this year's winner Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist). Tom Hooper got ambitious post awards flurry as is busy on Les Miserable. Hazanavicius will chase The Artist with another film inspired by Old Hollywood. He's going to remake The Search (1948) which The Film Experience readers will know as Montgomery Clift's debut. (All we can say is good luck finding another Monty. That's an irreplaceable star in Hollywood's firmament.) Given that The Search is a post World War II drama about an American soldier and a child who survived Auschwitz, maybe Hazanavicius won't be a one hit wonder with AMPAS. Time will tell.

One of the best things about the more specific awards night like the DGA is that there is time to honor the nomineees as well, so even if you don't win, the night is still about you. Each director takes the stage to receive their plaque. Kathy Bates accepted in person for Woody Allen who never shows up at this sort of thing although he did speak via satellite this time. 

Michelle Williams with James Marsh's prizeDGA PRIZES

• Director, Feature Film: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
• Director, Documentary: James Marsh, Project Nim (which was recently shut out of the Oscar nominations in its category)
• Director, MiniSeries: John Cassar, The Kennedys
• Director, Drama Series: Patty Jenkins, The Killing "Pilot"
• Director, Comedy Series: Robert B Weide, Curb Your Enthusiasm "Palestinian Chicken" (wow. people are still excited about this show? Who knew?)
• Director, Variety: Glenn Weiss, the 64th Annual Tony Awards
• Director, Reality Show: Neil P Degroot, Biggest Loser
• Director, Commercial: Noam Murro (Biscuit Filmworks)
• Director, Daytime Television: William Luel, General Hospital "Intervention"
• Director, Children's Television:  Amy Schatz, A Child's Garden of Poetry

Does this mean Hazanavicius has the Oscar sewn up?
Not necessarily...  More after the jump including stats and photos. 

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Go L*nk Yourself

Gabby Sidibe snapped by Terry Richardson on 08/23/11 at the Our Idiot Brother premiereSome Came Running "The Trouble With Movie Stars" the distraction of stardom in The Tree of Life and other films.
Funny or Die Dave Franco in "Go F*ck Yourself". (I know he's James Franco's brother but he looks to me like the offspring of James Franco f*cking James Marsden.#amiright?)
Awards Daily has some words about Oscar's history with black actresses. This topic is about 200 times as complicated as anyone will ever claim it is but I am horrified to realize that there are still people trying to say that Gabby Sidibe just played herself in Precious. Anyone who has spent more than two seconds watching her on a talk show versus seeing her in Precious would have to be braindead to not notice the difference. Night and day.

Boston Wesley Morris on The Help. I sometimes feel like a fanboy when reading Morris's reviews . He's just great: anecdotal when it benefits the piece, funny without congratulating himself for it, and critical without being mean-spirited; his scalpel is sharp, his hand steady and he never accidentally lops off the joy of movies, while carving a fine point.
New York Times tennis rivalries and Andy Samberg portraying them. Fun!
Form is Void "5 from Dorothy Parker"  
Cineuropa Joachim Trier's Oslo August 31st up for another prize. It seems more and more certain that this will have to be Norway's Oscar submission. 
Film Drunk choice quotes from Ryan Gosling's Esquire profile. 

Look, Helen Mirren arrives at the premiere of The Debt

I'm guessing she makes grown women half her age weep. Look at that bod! She is 66 years old.

Finally... I don't know how I keep missing the big stories but I didn't even know about the eastern Earthquake yesterday until after the fact when people kept asking me if I felt it? Felt what? This is what I tweeted about it.

Speaking of... so then I find it that everyone is talking about Ryan Gosling breaking up a fight here in NYC and I didn't know about that either. I'm in a fog!

Review: Arthur (2011)

Since I very recently saw Arthur (1981) on Netflix Instant Watch, I had a bit of a trouble disconnecting myself from the original while watching the new version 30 years later.

Dudley & Liz vs. Russell & Greta

The more things change the more they stay the same? The comedy Arthur (1981) opened during a recession and high unemployment rates. Here we are again in 2011 when all but the richest are hurting and that drunken millionaire is rearing his head again. He's hoping you'll laugh with him or at him -- either will do as he has no shame. The first time around audiences did just that. They embraced Arthur's reckless entitlement and threw millions more into his seemingly bottomless coffer, turning the film into one of the biggest blockbusters of early 80s cinema.

The remake, also named ARTHUR (2011) is in some ways a recreation with virtually the same character in a nearly identical plot. The few changes are cosmetic. Even Arthur's net worth hasn't changed all that much...

READ THE REST @ Towleroad

What do you make of this Arthur or the earlier one?

Oscar Gown Clearance Sale!

All dresses must go!! Low low prices !!!

Today is the official last day of Oscar 2010 posting (but for the mandatory podcast on Sunday) so to wrap things up, some random comments and some fashion highs and lows and why we HATE the ubiquitous fashion term "on trend" even when Tim Gunn says it.

But let's start with INDECISION: Sharon Stone, Jennifer Hudson, Marisa Tomei, Mila Kunis... should we love or hate these looks. Help.

Crazy Lady. Weight Watchers Success Story. "Sex Angel" and Dangerous Mila

Mila is giving the evil (smoky) eye in this photo. Who or what is she so pissed about? When the reporters asked JHud what color her dress was we wanted to shout out "If that's red I wanna know what's orange" but she answered tangerine orange which seems correct.

Unbest and Best after the jump. We already covered the nominees (SUPPORTING and LEAD) so they're not included.

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