11 Days til Oscar: Julianne Moore's Mood Right Now?

Julianne Moore has been nominated for an Oscar five times and was thisclose to two additional nominations (Magnolia & A Single Man). She arguably ought to have two naked gold men already, if you look back over the years. Having been close so many times do you imagine this is her mood right now... hanging over an abyss... is disaster or glorious rescue coming?

But, as stated many times on this actress-loving site, the Oscars are notoriously stand-offish about fifty-something actresses.  Will Julianne Moore finally break the curse? Literally no fifty-something has won Best Actress since Shirley Booth in Come Back Little Sheba (1952) more than sixty years ago. Like Julianne Moore now, she was 54 years old. 

It's as if once you're no longer young the voters need you to be a grande dame before you're awardable again. And then usually only if you're a living legend (Streep, Hepburn, Page).

Do you think Julianne Moore is aware of any of this or just basking in the career honors glow of precursor season? Are you nervous for her or counting down to a moment of fan joy? And if she does win do you think a standing ovation will be waiting for her? 

Dinosaurs & Toys: New Posters!

Manuel here bringing you a double dose of dino-related posters. Jurassic Park and Toy Story, two seminal early 90s smashes continue to make waves in 2014. This shouldn't be so surprising seeing as they both function as perfect metaphors for Hollywood, one premised on the ability to bring back to life the dead and forgotten, the other quite literally representing a world where our cherished toys get a big screen treatment.

Jurassic Park, as we know is headed for a splashy 2015 summer sequel. Word on Jurassic World has been quiet (give or take a couple of pics of Chris Pratt in a body-hugging Henley) but since we are only eight months away (!), it’s clear publicity for the film will start kicking into high gear. This is necessary as they’ll be busy dropping plot hints and opening dates and casting rumors for the inevitable sequel by the time the film is actually in theaters. In any case, director Colin Trevorrow released the poster below via Twitter this week.

Toy Story, which had a significantly more successful run as a movie trilogy, has of late been the subject of a couple of funny if feather-weight short films (airing either before Disney/Pixar films or during prime time on ABC) that take our beloved characters into new situations as if they were a couple of CGI-variety show performers. They took on horror last year and this year they’re up against a bunch of dino-fiends in Toy Story That Time Forgot. (I will say, I like the teaser poster better).

Are you excited to revisit these worlds? Do these posters get you excited for these new projects or nostalgic for the properties they inevitably call to mind?  

Linkville

Television Blend Baz Luhrmann may direct Napoleon as a miniseries for television
House Next Door on the Oscar prospects of August: Osage County. Yet another critic who thinks Julia is the MVP. I'm mystified but congrats, Julia!
In Contention wonders if The Wolf of Wall Street is just what Oscar season ordered? We know that the SAG screening went sensationally well in Los Angeles. Our friend Paul, who we just featured in Reader Spotlight, thinks Leonardo DiCaprio is now the Best Actor frontrunner and tweeted this photo from the festivities:

And then they plied us with food, alcohol and music. Unnecessary, but yum. #howlingwolf @kristapley @nathanielr pic.twitter.com/QFXsU8nK0a

— Paul Outlaw (@poutlaw) December 1, 2013

Cinema Blend Jurassic World not a reboot (thank god) but a sequel set 22 years in future. Chris Pratt, suddenly in demand since slimming down and bulking up for ZDT, rumored for lead.
Variety Fernando Eimbcke's Club Sandwich wins the Turin Fest. We interviewed its actress icymi. 

RIP Paul Walker (1973-2013)
And finally, as you've undoubtedly heard by now, Paul Walker died yesterday in a car accident in California en route to or from a charity event of all things. Terrible. He was 40 years old. The actor starred in all but one of the six episodes of the big screen series The Fast and Furious. It's worth noting that The Fast and the Furious 7 is currently filming. There's no word yet on exactly how and what they'll do to finish it without him but the movie will undoubtedly move forward.

The original F&F franchise director Rob Cohen told Variety:

His American beauty, his athleticism, the directness of his approach to the character, his effusive, down-to-earth personality brought joy to me and everyone around him."

Aside from the F&F franchise we'll remember him most for that All American b&w jock beauty in  Pleasantville (1998) and one of the best B movies of the early Aughts Joy Ride (2001).

Jurassic Memory (Feat. Tilda Swinton)

What did you see over the weekend? Sadly I didn't catch a movie (a rarity!) outside of festival screeners. I know you're probably over Jurassic Park (1993) which we discussed last week at length. I mean it's 20 years old plus fading in its second weekend of rerelease, but I have one more Jurassic Memory to share if you'll indulge me.

You may have noticed that I didn't announce my "Best Shot" so I thought I'd draw you a little Movie Diary in order to do so. Better late than never. I bet you're dying to know how Tilda Swinton's Orlando fits into a Jurassic Park comic. 

Visual Index ~ Jurassic Park's Best Shots

By now you know the drill. Each week on Hit Me With Your Best Shot we ask interested bloggers to select one shot they think of as best from the pre-assigned movie and tell us why. (Next Wednesday is A Star is Born (1954) which was coincidentally just the focus of a Mad Men scene) This week's movie is Steven Spielberg's '93 blockbuster JURASSIC PARK (just discussed on the podcast) which is currently in rerelease. Great movies back in theaters is the only upside to the 3D craze according to The Film Experience.

So let's helicopter in to that island of intentional amusements and unexpected terror. The 13 blog collective's choices are  after the jump

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