As you may have noticed, TV owns the lions’ share of good scripts, good
parts for older women, everything the movies aren’t providing.
(Although staying on TV is tough in of itself).

So it’s no wonder film stars have been enjoying a career resurgence on the small screen: Alec Baldwin, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen, Bill Paxton, Toni Collette, Glenn Close, Holly Hunter, Kyra Sedgwick, Gary Sinise, and Gabriel Byrne
are just a few examples. Even if they don’t want to commit to a series,
you’ll find the television movies/miniseries category littered with
pedigreed actors: Jessica Lange, Joan Allen, Kenneth Branagh, Meryl Streep, and Al Pacino, for example.




In the middle of her guest arc on 30 Rock, Julianne Moore (complete with Boston accent) has reportedly been courted for TV pilots, including a remake of Prime Suspect. Also on TV networks’ wishlists for new series: Maria Bello, Demi Moore, and Matt Dillon (whose younger bro Kevin has had much success on Entourage).



I scrolled through lists of Oscar nominees in the past decade and found
it hard-pressed to find someone who didn’t at least guest star on a TV
series since then. But who would you love to see make the full-gig jump
to small-screen glory? Perhaps Susan Sarandon or Uma Thurman in an edgy drama for Showtime? Kevin Spacey as the next nemesis on Dexter? Billy Bob Thornton in the next incarnation of CSI? –Ellen

The U.N. Assembly dedicated Wednesday, January 27, as International
Holocaust Remembrance Day, a date which marks the anniversary of the
liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Several poignant, yet brilliant films
are set against the backdrop of this horrific era of our history. In
the hands of extraordinary actors and directors, these sensitive, yet
brutal movies have earned numerous awards and critical acclaim.






• Schindler’s List: Director Steven Spielberg won his first-ever Academy Award in 1994 for Schindler’s List and delivered a heartfelt speech paying homage to Holocaust survivors and “the six million who can’t be watching this.” Watch it here. 
  The story of one man’s quest to save the lives of more than 1,000
  Polish Jews who worked in his factory is beautifully shot in stark
  B&W. This was also the first movie I watched in a theater that
  called for an intermission (its run time is 195 minutes), yet Schindler’s List never felt as thought it were a long movie. The film does an incredible job of bringing you into another world.



• Life is Beautiful: Director/star Roberto Benigni, who won the Best Actor Oscar, deftly
  handles the tale of World War II Italy with a sprinkling of humor that
  doesn’t make the audience uncomfortable. Its lighthearted,
  head-over-heels love story at the beginning of the film is an effective
  contrast to the sorrowful ending. At first glance, Life is Beautiful 
  seemed like an odd name for a film on such a painfully, brutal subject,
  but trust me on this one: at the end, the title makes sense.



• The Pianist: This heartbreakingly beautiful tale features Adrien Brody in his 2003 Oscar-winning role as Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jew living in German-occupied Warsaw. At times, The Pianist 
  was almost too painful for me to watch, but the audience in the theater
  stood and applauded at the end of this brilliant film. Director Roman Polanski,
  whose mother died in Auschwitz, received the Best Director Award. Say
  what you will about Polanski’s legal troubles; no one could have done a
  finer job directing this film.



• Sophie’s Choice: The always-awesome Meryl Streep picked up a Best Actress Oscar in 1983 for her portrayal of a Holocaust survivor. 
  Using flashbacks, the film delves into Sophie’s terrifying past, but
  fear and brutality cloud her present life in New York City with husband
  Nathan (Kevin Kline). While Sophie’s Choice always
  lands on various “Top 10 Saddest Movies” lists, it also provides an
  eye-opening look at male-female roles in post-WWII America.



• The Diary of Anne Frank: 
  The film, based on the book by the same name, follows the wise and
  courageous titular character (played by Millie Perkins) and her family
  hiding from Nazis in Amsterdam. It has moments where it strays away
  from the book, but that doesn’t ruin the story. Diary, which scooped up several Oscars in 1960, including Shelley Winters’ win for Best Supporting Actress, finally came out on DVD several years ago and it’s worth having in your collection.







And let’s not forget these notables:




• The Reader: Best Actress winner Kate Winslet plays a former Nazi prison guard on trial for war crimes..



• Holocaust: 
  The critically acclaimed and popular 1979 television miniseries follows
  each member of the Jewish Family Weiss throughout Hitler’s reign in
  Germany.



• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: This 2008 film tells the story through the eyes of an eight-year-old boy who befriends a Jewish boy in a concentration camp.



• Uprising: Jon Voight and David Schwimmer star in this 2001 TV miniseries about a group of Jews who rebelled against the Nazis in Warsaw.



• Nuremberg: 
  An Emmy-winning TV miniseries dramatizing the famous war-crime trials
  following the defeat of Germany in World War II, starring Alec Baldwin and Brian Cox.
  





–Francine Ruley

Welcome to the Oscars® Fashion Forum at Amazon.com. I’ve chosen my 12 picks for best and worst gowns of the 82nd Academy Awards® red carpet presentation. Like the year that preceded it, this year’s gowns stayed away from the wild and mostly maintained the mild, making it a challenge to come up with a hit or a definitive miss. What do you think?





HITS (click on photos to see larger)



Sandra Bullock shimmered and stunned in a champagne column dress from Marchesa. An exquisitely embroidered sheer overlay cascaded down her clingy silken skirt. Her lustrous brown hair, worn loose, was the perfect complement.



 



Cameron Diaz deserved the gold for her dress alone. Appropriately attired in—we’re talking about the designer, not the statuette—a spangled bronzed Oscar de la Renta gown, the actress radiated confidence and charm.





Mo’Nique ruled in a royal-blue gown with satiny folds that flattered and formed in all the right places. She gets extra points for the historical nod (hello, Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel) and the perky gardenias in her hair. I’m an old-fashioned boy at heart.



Always-elegant Kate Winslet went with Yves St. Laurent for this most magical of nights. Her beaded bodice shone like armor, a nice contrast to the drapey duchess silk skirt. A diamond drop necklace and vintage Veronica Lake hair style complete the look.



Queen Latifah reigned supreme, this year in a figure-flattering dress of pale lilac silk. The ornate silver beading across the single-shoulder strap and the diagonal stripe accenting her waist added contrast and interest. Long live the Queen!



I’ve saluted a queen, why not honor a dame? Helen Mirren looked stately in her lavender spangled gown. From Badgley Mischka, its age-defying beauty was matched only by her Chopard gems and dandy arm candy Christopher Plummer.







MISSES (click on photo to see larger):



Nominee Vera Farmiga may have been confused—was it an awards ceremony or a flamenco performance? Her magenta Marchesa monstrosity puts the fan in fandango, with multiple tiers of fan-like ruffles dancing their way down the dress.



Jennifer Lopez’s ice-pink butterfly confection from Armani Prive perhaps should have remained prive-private. The pink ornamentation at her waist looked like it was ready for takeoff. Maybe Jenni from the block should have driven around the block before deciding on this frock.



How many shades of purple can a girl cram into one Oscar gown? Zoe Saldana seemed determined to find out, evidently. An asymmetrical sash served as the great divide between a delicately beaded top and the roaring ruffles beneath.



Even though I adore both Sarah Jessica Parker and Chanel (not necessarily in that order), I’m torn. SJP’s sickly yellow Chanel Couture was a shapeless sack for the lithe star in this rare fashion misstep. The bizarre bun seemed top-heavy and mismatched. Will the next Sex and the City redeem her? Let’s hope so!



While I loved Carey Mulligan’s vintage ‘50s silhouette, chic short haircut, and Fred Leighton chandelier earrings, I found Prada’s random collection of forks, spoons, and scissors a bit cutlery-contrived. When asked about it on the red carpet, she replied, “I don’t know.” I don’t either.



I’m thrilled that my totally ‘80s dream girlfriend Molly Ringwald still looks fantastic. I’m less than excited about the deep-purple silk gown she wore for the John Hughes tribute, however. Were the matching bronze squiggle cuff and waist ornament a tribute to the same decade? Molly, Molly. It’s time to update.



Did I say it was Daniel’s Dozen? Well, let’s make that a Baker’s Dozen. I would be remiss if I didn’t include Neil Patrick Harris in our couture commentary. His snappy sequined striped tuxedo jacket in the opening number’s old-school Hollywood chorus line was nothing short of spectacular, and his youthful vigor set the tone for the evening. Well done, NPH, well done!



Agree or disagree? Please comment. –Daniel

Another year, another Oscar. You can see the complete list of winners & nominees here as well as buy past winners at Oscar Central. Here’s a rundown of highlights and lowlights for this year’s awards.



BEST


Bringing out past co-stars to effuse about the lead actor and actress nominees,
rather than last year’s cattle call of past winners to welcome the
newest to the fold. While last year’s was nice and all, it was often
painful when the speaker was reading praise off the TelePrompTer, very
obvious they hadn’t even seen the performance. Seeing Michelle Pfeiffer reminisce about Jeff Bridges from The Fabulous Baker Boys, etc. was a welcome trip down memory lane.


Gabourey Sidibe’s runway pose when her name was announced at the beginning of the show, when all the lead acting nominees came onstage.



The crackling “tension” that appeared to be going on between Alec Baldwin and George Clooney during the opening monologue. Priceless.



Jeff Bridges‘ emotional praise of his showbiz parents (and repeated use of the word “groovy” and “man”). Had Jason Reitman
(son of Ivan) had won Best Adapted Screenplay for Up in the Air, you
would have seen a similar speech, but alas, it was not to be.



Costume Design winner Sandy Powell (The Young Victoria) astutely observing that designers for movies that are not period dramas are underrecognized, but that their work is just as hard.



Taylor Lautner’s terrified expression when Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin mentioned his name during their opening monologue, tensing himself up for a joke at his expense.


The stars of the Animated Feature films being interviewed by Barbara Walters, press junket-style. Best is The Fantastic Mr. Fox lamenting that this isn’t a “real” category.



The tribute to John Hughes. Not in a long time have I seen a
montage of clips that perfectly encapsulated someone’s influence,
rather than just a mishmash of iconic well-known scenes. Plus it was
nice to see the number of actors who got their start in a Hughes pic.
The girl laughing at Watts wearing “boys’ underpants” in the
locker-room scene from Some Kind of Wonderful still stings today. (Side note: Vanity Fair has a terrific profile of the late ’80s writer-director).



No Best Song performances. I thought I would miss them. I didn’t.



The Best Score interpretive dance, which I would have put in the
“Neither Here nor There” category, except for the dance for Up, which
really made me appreciate the score even more.



The top half of Zoe Saldana’s gown.


NEITHER HERE NOR THERE


Neil Patrick Harris’ musical opening.
I love me some NPH, but the opening was not nearly as brilliant as his
Emmy number. Many confused audience members probably echoed Harris’
sentiment, “What am I doing there?”


Co-hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. When they were onstage, they were spot-on, and they had some great brief bits involving Snuggies and a riff on Paranormal Activity. The only complaint is not using them enough.


Ben Stiller presenting Best Makeup dressed in full Avatar getup.
I would applaud his fully committed performance had he not meandered
and rambled about wanting to “plug my braid into your dragon.”

Morgan Freeman
narrating the Best Sound introduction. Yes, he is the voice of God in
my head, but CBS Evening News, Visa.. is there anything the man hasn’t voice-overed yet?



The absence of the Governor’s Award, Honorary Oscar and Thalberg Award presentations.
They were done in a separate dinner so the honorees would get more air
time and a more intimate setting. Which is all well and good in keeping
the show short, but that Lauren Bacall acceptance speech alone looked like it was prime-time worthy.



Demi Moore introducing the “In Memoriam” sequence, but not mentioning anything about Patrick Swayze.



WORST



The Oscar pre-show. Two bad decisions were made here: Kathy Ireland “interviewing” stars, and including in the past red-carpet montage celebrity couples who are no longer together (Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford, for instance).

The failure of AquaNet. Judging by the frizzy coifs of Sarah Jessica Parker, Anna Kendrick, Demi Moore and others, some hairstylists will find themselves without a job tomorrow.

Kristen Stewart: For the love of God, stop fidgeting.

Using the sweeping theme from E.T. to announce… Elizabeth Banks (who was recapping the Sci-Fi and Tech Oscars). With that music, was anyone else expecting Steven Spielberg to walk out? Or Drew Barrymore?


Orchestra vs. winner playing chicken. The director from The Cove
awkwardly stood there as the cutoff music played, seemingly considering
if he should talk over the orchestra or get them to stop. He ended up
shrugging and leaving the stage, probably cursing co-producer Fisher Stevens for hogging all the air time.


The horror movie montage. Its purpose was … what, exactly?



The bottom half of Zoe Saldana’s gown.


BEST QUOTES
“Well, the time has come.” — Barbra Streisand, presenting Best Director to The Hurt Locker’s Kathryn Bigelow (the first female to win)


“Oscar AND Penelope. That’s an uber-Bingo.” –Christoph Waltz, whose Supporting Actor statue was given to him by Penelope Cruz


“It’s a collaboration between handsome gifted people and sickly little mole people.” –Robert Downey Jr., on the relationship between writers and actors



“I
want to thank Miss Hattie McDaniel, for enduring all that she had to so
that I would not have to.” –Best Supporting Actress winner Mo’Nique of the first African-American Oscar winner



“I want to thank the Academy for not considering Na’vi a foreign
language.” — director of El Secreto de sus Ojos, winner for Best
Foreign Language Film, of the made-up language spoken in Avatar


“I’ll never forget what you said to me about friendship on the last
day of shooting [The Shawshank Redemption]. He said, ‘Being a friend is
getting the other a cup of coffee. Can you do that for me, Ted? It is
Ted, isn’t it?’” — Tim Robbins, presenting Best Actor nominee Morgan
Freeman



“[He's a] fantastically fantastic mister foxy fox.” — Vera Farmiga, presenting Best Actor nominee George Clooney



“It is in the area of awards and accolades that you show a certain…
selfishness … That is why I have spearheaded a movement in the
Academy to cap the number of nominations by an actor at 16.” –Stanley
Tucci, presenting Best Actress (and 16-time nominee) Meryl Streep



“For not letting me ride in cars with boys till I was 18, ’cause she was right, I would have done what she said I was gonna do.” — Sandra Bullock, tearfully thanking her late mother

And the best of co-hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin:

 ”He directed A Single Man.” “And she weighs a single pound.” — Introducing designer Tom Ford and Sarah Jessica Parker

“Our
next presenter won a screenwriting Oscar at the age of 27, and then
went on to become an action star, which represents the first time a
screenwriter has gotten any action.” — introducting Matt Damon

“In Inglourious Basterds, Christoph Waltz played a Nazi obsessed with finding Jews. Well Christoph… (gestures to the audience) .. the motherlode.”



“Meryl Streep holds the record for most nominations for an actress. Or as I like to think of it, most losses.”



“She was so pleased to be nominated with him she sent him a beautiful
gift basket… with a timer.” “And he reciprocated by sending her.. a
Toyota.” –regarding the Best Director nominees (and friendly
ex-spouses) Kathryn Bigelow and James Cameron



“Oh look, there’s that damn Helen Mirren.” “That’s Dame Helen Mirren.” –Martin misreading the TelePrompTer



“The show is so long that Avatar now takes place in the past.”



——————————————————————–



What were your favorite moments? –Ellen