2005 oscar fun-fact

• The five low-budget Best Picture nominees evenly split the major nominations - no film received more than 8 nominations. They were all modest in scope, and challenged political, sexual and intellectual mores. Of the five nominees, only one of them had a budget over $14 million (Spielberg's Munich at $70 million), and three of them were budgeted at about $7 million. Two were biopics. None of the films grossed more than $53 million at the box-office at the time of the nomination's announcements in late January:
• All five of the Best Picture-nominated directors were nominated for Best Director. This is very rare and has happened only three other times in Oscar history: 1957, 1964, and 1981.
  
• With his two nominations, George Clooney became the first to receive directing and acting nominations for two different films in the same year. Paul Haggis and Steven Spielberg were also nominated for producing (Best Picture) Crash and Munich, respectively.
• Special mention should be made of the fact that Woody Allen earned his 14th career writing nomination (all for Best Original Screenplay) for Match Point - it was his 21st career nomination. He has won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar twice, for Annie Hall (1977)
  and Hannah and Her Sisters (1986). The next closest nominee remained Billy Wilder, with 12 career writing nominations and 3 career writing wins.
• For the first time in the short history of the Best Animated Feature Film category, none of the three nominees were CGI films:
• Best Supporting Actor nominee was 56 year-old, four-time nominee William Hurt, in a powerfully unsettling, creepy 10-minute role as brutal mobster Richie Cusack in A History of Violence (with 2 nominations, including Best Screenplay Adaptation). [Hurt's prior three nominations were all for lead roles, including a win for Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), and nominations for Children of a Lesser God (1986) and Broadcast News (1987).]
  

The Notorious Bettie Page |

| Official Movie Site | Picturehouse

The most successful pin-up of the 1950s, Bettie Page’s legendary photographs made her the target of a Senate investigation into pornography, and turned her into one of the first sex icons.

"Brokeback Mountain" leads Oscar nominations - Yahoo! Movies

"Brokeback Mountain" leads Oscar nominations - Yahoo! Movies: "'Brokeback Mountain' leads Oscar nominations
Reuters - Jan 31, 05:44

Gay romance 'Brokeback Mountain' led the Oscar nominations on Tuesday with eight nominations overall, including one each for best picture, best director and best actor in a lead role for Heath Ledger.

Also nominated for best film were 'Capote,' about author Truman Capote, race relations drama 'Crash,' 'Good Night, and Good Luck,' about newsman Edward R. Murrow and 'Munich,' which details the aftermath of the killings of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.'

The Oscars, which are given out by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, are world cinema's top prize. The awards will be handed out on March 5 in Los Angeles."

Razzies!!!

USATODAY.com - O-Factor

On the eve of the Academy Award nominations, The Golden Raspberry Award Foundation (you gotta love the title), announced its own contenders for the worst movies of the year. Leading the pack: Son of the Mask, with eight nominations. Dukes of Hazzard was right behind with seven nods.

Even Tom Cruise couldn't avoid the wrath of the raspberry. He was nominated in the new category "most tiresome tabloid target."

The "honors" will be handed out -- when else? -- March 4, a day before the Oscars.

YouTube - Mariah drunk 1999 vma's after party europe.

YouTube - Mariah drunk 1999 vma's after party europe.

The fifth contender

This year oscar nominees race in acting catagory is all about 4 sure thing but who will be the fifth person who make the cut.

Russell Crowe or Terrence Howard?
Ziyi Zhang,or Keira Knightley?
Ziyi Zhang, Ziyi Zhang,or Keira Knightley
Ziyi Zhang,

Quick note about DGA

USATODAY.com - O-Factor: "To the surprise of no one, Ang Lee was named filmmaker of the year this weekend at the Directors Guild of America awards banquet for his Brokeback Mountain. The win -- over competition including George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck and Paul Haggis' Crash -- means that anything short of Lee taking the best director Oscar would be a tremendous surprise. In the DGA's 57 year history, the guild has predicted the best director Oscar winner a stunning 51 times.

Of course, one of those rare exceptions included Lee, who won the DGA award in 2001 for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but Stephen Soderbergh took the Academy Award for Traffic. Don't look for a similar upset this year."

Did you know??

Lauren Bacall once called up Shelley Winters whose husband, Tony Franciosa she was having an affair with, and said, "I've been waiting for Tony for an hour. Where the hell is he?" "Lauren," Shelley replied, "you're complaining to me because my husband is late for a date with you?" "Well, dear," Lauren said, "if your husband doesn't respect your marriage, why should I?"

Flash Back

Film 100

Film 100
A Ranking of the 100 Most Influential People
in the History of the Movies

to Joan With Love

"The best time I ever had with Joan in a film was when I pushed her down the stairs in 'What ever happened to Baby Jane?'"


"Why am I so good at playing bitches? I think it's because I'm not a bitch. Maybe that's why Miss Crawford always plays ladies."

"Hollywood's first case of syphilis, I wouldn' t sit on her toilet." (on Joan Crawford)

"She has slept with every male star at MGM except Lassie." (on Joan Crawford)


"You should never say bad things about the dead, you should only say good... Joan Crawford is dead, good!" - on the death of her long-time nemesis.

Cult Classic "The Bat"

The Bat, an extravagant story about a serial killer after a million dollar, which I don't see in many movies any more. The acting is top notch (with Price as standout and Agnes Moorehead My Favorite), the women in it are not a screamers but brave and self-dependent strong characters, and the story flies all over the place, which just makes it more interesting.

"A successful man is one who make more money than his wife can spend. A successful woman is one who can find such a man."

Lana Turner

Anytime and freedom get 100 hits in 3 days

also it's No. 54 most view Video this week at You tube .com .
here is a fullversion of Freedom edit by Mr. Dom

Screen Duo

in the late 1930s and early 1940s, Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland's communal career differed from that of other well-known screen pairs of the era in that despite their onscreen chemistry and the popularity of their pictures, their home studio never really developed movies specifically designed to exploit their joint appeal. Rather, with a single exception (the screwball comedy FOUR'S A CROWD (1938)), their films together are primarily a series of costume adventure films showcasing Flynn as a dashing swashbuckler or heroic cavalryman with de Havilland playing his love interest with varying degrees of character strength and spirit but never-wavering charm and beauty.

Their first film together, CAPTAIN BLOOD (1935) set the standard for future Flynn-de Havilland pairings, and in it, both screen novices quickly established themselves as competent performers whose classic good looks and patrician speaking styles made them well-suited to period pieces.

...As a result, though de Havilland demonstrates as much of a flare for feisty, spirited heroines as Flynn does for mischievous, swashbuckling heroes, her thespian skills are adequately evinced in only half of the films, and it wasn't until the seventh in the series that she joined Flynn with co-star billing above the title.

*************************

Unlike other studios which developed film formulas to showcase popular screen teams like Ginger Rogers & Fred Astaire, Judy Garland & Mickey Rooney, Myrna Loy & William Powell, or Katharine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy, when it came to Flynn and de Havilland, Warner Bros.... Their characters only live happily ever after in four of the films, and Flynn's character actually dies in three of the others. Rather than a conscious effort to give movie audiences what they wanted, Flynn and de Havilland's numerous joint ventures for Warner Bros.(reel classic.com)

Hedy Lamarr Mother of Cellphone (what??)

“Any girl can be glamorous.
All you have to do is stand still and look stupid.”

— Hedy Lamarr

The woman many critics and fans alike regard as the most beautiful ever to appear in films was born Hedwig Eva Kiesler in Vienna, Austria, and was a student of theater director Max Reinhardt in Berlin.... The studio changed her name to the more elegant "Hedy Lamarr" and put her in a series of exotic adventure epics such as Algiers (1938) and White Cargo (1942).... DeMille's spectacular Samson and Delilah (1949)
(mini bio IMDB.com)



DID YOU KNOW ???

• Her profile was the most requested in the 1940s by women to their plastic surgeons.

• Hedy drugged her maid to escape her husband and homeland.
• Was co-inventor the telecommunications method known as "frequency hopping", which used a piano roll to change between 88 frequencies and was intended to make radio-guided torpedoes harder for enemies to detect or to jam under the name "Secret Communications System"
• Frequency hopping; created by Lamarr and George Antheil, is now widely used in cellular phones and other modern technology (read full story HERE)
  

• Arrested for shoplifting in January 1966. Found not guilty.

• Arrested for shoplifting in 1991. One year probation.
• Only one acting award she had won was "Sour Apple Award" Least Cooperative Actress. (oops)
  

Mr. DeMill I'm ready for MY close Up!

Very hot Video that people are talking about.....

Finger Clubbing

http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec04/ch039/ch039b.html

Finger Clubbing

Finger clubbing is an enlargement of the tips of the fingers or toes and a loss of the angle where the nails emerge.

Finger clubbing occurs when the amount of soft tissue beneath the nailbeds increases. The reason this increase occurs is not clear, but clubbing seems to occur with some pulmonary disorders (lung cancer, lung abscess, bronchiectasis), but not with others (pneumonia, asthma, emphysema). Finger clubbing also occurs with some congenital heart diseases or, in some cases, may be inherited and not indicate any disease."

Thanks for everything Julie Newmar"

"Tell me I'm beautiful, it's nothing. Tell me I'm intellectual - I know it. Tell me I'm funny and it's the greatest compliment in the world anyone could give me.''

Julie Newmar

Did you know??

The orignal Cat Woman Invented and marketed her own brand of pantyhose in the 1970s & 1980s that holds three U.S patents: 3,914,799 and 4,003,094 for "Pantyhose with shaping band for Cheeky derriere relief" and 3,935,865 for "Brassiere."

135 of I.Q.
Measurements: 37-23-37
Has 37" legs

For your Consideration

I was surprise her name not even mention in any award.
Not only she’s Brit had to act American but I think Thandie Newton Gave the one of the best performance in a wonderful cast of Crash

SAG. Lifetime achievement

USATODAY.com - O-Factor: "The Screen Actors Guild just announced that Jamie Lee Curtis will present the life achievement award to Shirley Temple Black at its annual awards show later this month.

SAG reps say Curtis was chosen at the request of Black, who admires Curtis' screen work and her side career as a children's book author."

Shirley Temple was certainly one of the biggest box office stars in the world (and she was only a child at the height of her fame). But that was during The Great Depression. Her last venture in entertainment was a children's story hour on television that started in the late 1950

When Black left Hollywood, she pursued a life in public service as a United Nations delegate in 1969, an ambassador to Ghana in 1974, a foreign affairs officer at the State Department in the 1980s and ambassador to the Czech and Slovak republics.

Women in Black

Black proves to be favorite colour of this year Golden Globe . Natalie and Swank are my fav.

黒は今年の金地球の好みのカラーであると証明する。Natalie 及びSwank は私のfav である。

The Wizard of Oil (aka Dubuya & Toto go iraq)

Wizard of Oil Premier


Full story can available Here

My Childhood Idol

News: "Oscar Winner Shelley Winters Dies at 85

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) - Shelley Winters, the forceful, outspoken star who graduated from blond bombshell parts to dramas, winning Academy Awards as supporting actress in ``The Diary of Anne Frank'' and ``A Patch of Blue,'' has died. She was 85. "

Change of heart.

eee
After listen to "Mary J. Blige "new CD "The Breakthrough " one more time . I was surprise how much I like it.

"The Breakthrough, which seems like the latest in her never-ending series of post-first-album comebacks, thankfully returns some of the drama to her music. " Entertainment Weekly"

Crash Might upset Mountain !!!

Entertainment Weekly's EW.com |: "After being largely snubbed in December's Golden Globe nominations -- a critical point in the Oscars race -- 'Crash' has bounced back in a flurry of critics awards and film industry honors since last week.

The film earned Critics Choice Awards on Monday night for its screenplay, co-written by Haggis, and for its ensemble cast. Last week, Haggis picked up a prestigious Directors Guild of America nomination for his work on the film, as well as a Writers Guild of America nomination for the screenplay.

The film also had three nominations from the Screen Actors Guild and a nod for best picture from the Producers Guild of America.

'Last week's sweep of the guild nominations by 'Crash' was absolutely the catalyst for this extensive mailing,' said Ortenberg, whose studio gained notice in 2004 with its release of Michael Moore's political documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11.'

The surge in recognition for 'Crash' also has led some pundits to count the film as a major rival of critical darling 'Brokeback Mountain' in the battle for a best picture Oscar.
"

Best Friend

There're story about Bette Davis and Olivia giving a press conference forHush Hush sweet Charlotte. It seems they were bickering a bit and Olivia said to Bette,"How would you like to do this with Joan Crawford?" Bette's retort,"How would you like to do this with Joan Fontaine?"

Fun Fact~

"Altman has been nominated for best director five times without ever winning, a record that ties him with Martin Scorsese, King Vidor, Alfred Hitchcock and Clarence Brown. Like Altman, Hitchcock and Vidor eventually received honorary awards. "

Consolation Prizes

: Entertainment Weekly: "Oscar news: Academy sends Altman a M*A*S*H note

35 years late than never. At the Academy Awards in March, seven-time Oscar bridesmaid Robert Altman (left) will get an Honorary Oscar. I know we're not supposed to think of Honorary Oscars as consolation prizes for old-timers (Altman turns 81 next month) whom the Academy has neglected to honor before (like Sidney Lumet last year, or Peter O'Toole three years ago), but c'mon. At least Altman, unlike some past winners, still has an active and flourishing career. It'll be interesting to hear his acceptance speech, given the obvious contempt the Player director has for the Hollywood establishment.

"Wednesday that the academy may be preparing to announce a second honorary award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, naming the possible recipient as Jerry Lewis. "

feuding sisters,

Over the years, the Academy has recognized acting families, with awards bestowed upon siblings, parents and children, and even cousins.... But perhaps the most interesting, would be that duo of feuding sisters,Olivia De Havilland and Joan Fontaine who's private infighting, became Hollywood gossip, and who would butt heads at the Oscar ceremonies on more than one occasion!

Read full story at http://www.angelfire.com/film/robbed/suspicion.htm

Whirlpool (update)

Here is update clip of a movie Whirpool.



Whirlpool (1949)
Director Otto Preminger's mix of psychological suspense and film noir atmosphere stars Gene Tierney as a compulsive kleptomaniac married to noted psychoanalyst Richard Conte. Caught stealing a brooch from a department store, Tierney is freed thanks to the efforts of hypnotist Jose Ferrer, who says he can cure her of her condition...but is actually scheming to use Tierney in a bizarre murder scheme.

"Very interesting"


"Gene Tierney's class, loveliness, radiant beauty, talent are largely enough to erase the defects of "Whirlpool". Let me recommend this nice movie."

"One of the first things that struck me about Whirlpool is how good an actress Gene Tierney actually was. She does such a terrific job of portraying both the vulnerability and desperation of her character."

How Olivia De Havilland Change the face of Hollywood System and what became "De Havilland Law"

From the 192O’s to the early 1950’s the major studios exerted extremely tight
control over the star system, each carefully grooming a stable of stars,
strategically placing them in film roles, controlling their ‘private’ lives and creating
gaze. The studio system offered stars, in the words of Bette Davis, ‘the security
of a prison because although they were extremely well paid, they were penned in
by long-term contracts. virtually owned by their studio. Suspension was one of’ the most cruel
punishments that the studio bosses meted out to their stars. who refused to play a particular role was obliged to wait, unpaid, whilst that film
was shot and then half that time again. off what was originally only a seven year contract.

Beginning of the decline of’ the power of the major Hollywood studios. This event
was the de Havilland law suit of 1945. Jack Warner had loaned Olivia de
Havilland to David Selznick for Gone With the Wind (in which she played Melanie), but after she returned to Warners, he kept offering her insignificant
roles. She turned them down, so Warner suspended her. persistent extension of her contract was unfair practice and she challenged this
in the Courts - and won. A studio contracts were limited to a maximum of seven consecutive years
regardless of any suspensions, and contracts were frequently re-negotiated on a
regular basis. case, Olivia de Havilland celebrated her return to the screen - and her new found
freedom - with an Oscar-winning performance for Paramount in 'To Each His
Own'.


As Bette Davis often said, "Every actor in the business owes a great debt of gratitude to Olivia for what she did'



Note :California Labor Code 2855, otherwise known as the "De Havilland Law". This law was passed in 1945 in response to a legal battle waged by film star Olivia de Havilland, who fought to free actors from long-term studio contracts. The statute in question retains and protects the right of an entertainer to terminate a contract with an entertainment company after seven years without suffering repercussions or prosecution for future profit losses.

Wanna come?

My friend Shawn just remind me about "Noir city film festival " at Palace of Fine arts Anyone want to come with me??

http://www.noircity.com/noircity.html

Bye Bye Powerbook

Steve Jobs keynote would be complete without his trademark “one more thing.” This year’s was a doozy: a new laptop computer called the MacBook Pro. That’s right — no more PowerBook.

The MacBook pro features an Intel Duo Core chip that runs four to five times faster than the PowerBook G4, according to jobs — he called it the fastest notebook ever. All this, in a chassis that’s actually slimmer than Apple’s 17-inch PowerBook G4 model, and weighs in at 5.6 pounds. It features a 15.4-inch LCD screen that’s as bright as Apple’s desktop Cinema Displays.

The new MacBook Pro features a built-in iSight camera, much like Apple’s iMac systems, and an integrated InfraRed (IR) sensor supports Apple’s remote control, which can operate Front Row — the software that helps turn a Mac into a media center, which Apple first introduced in a refreshed iMac model in 2005.

Apple is taking orders today, but does not expect to begin shipping the MacBook Pro until sometime in February. A 1.67GHz model will cost $1,999. A 1.83GHz model will cost $2,499.

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/