Oscars 2016

[tazber]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 3:46pm

The Hateful Eight (Weinstein, fall)

Early script reviews of Quentin Tarantino's eighth film were not kind, but don't count out the Django Unchained follow-up, with a cast including Channing Tatum and Samuel L. Jackson.

Joy (Fox, Dec. 25)

David O. Russell's third collaboration with Jennifer Lawrence is the quirky story of Miracle Mop inventor and QVC star Joy Mangano.

Me and Earl and the Dying (Fox Searchlight, TBD)

Like Whiplash and Boyhood, the Sundance breakout could go all the way to next year's Oscars.

The Revenant (Fox, Dec. 25)

Alejandro G. Inarritu follows Birdman with a period Western starring Tom Hardy and a bearded Leonardo DiCaprio as fur trappers in Indian country.

Spielberg Cold War Spy Thriller (Disney, Oct. 16)

His untitled Lincoln follow-up promises Oscar fave Tom Hanks as an American lawyer recruited by the CIA to help rescue a pilot held in the Soviet Union.

Steve Jobs (Universal, Oct. 9)

Can director Danny Boyle pull it off? Michael Fassbender stars as the Apple legend from a talky three-act script by Aaron Sorkin.

Suffragette (TBD, fall)

Writer Abi Morgan's story of the early days of the feminist movement needs a U.S. distributor, but that shouldn't be tough with stars Meryl Streep, Helena Bonham Carter and Carey Mulligan.

Trumbo (Bleecker Street, TBD)

Bryan Cranston stars in Jay Roach's look at blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, whose story could resonate with Oscar voters looking to make amends.

and I'll toss in The Heart of the Sea. Ron Howard directs the story behind the inspiration of Moby Dick. They moved it from March to awards season in a show of confidence.
Link

[javero]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 3:51pm

Please let the Academy gods(and goddesses) pick Mindy Kaling to host. Anybody but...

[tazber]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 3:55pm

Have Fey and Pohler ruled it out?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 4:07pm

Get Maggie Smith to host. Write her a bunch of acerbic one-liners and you've got a hit on your hands.

And of course, the opening number will be "There is nothing like a dame..."

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 4:09pm

MINDY!!!!!!!!!!!

[javero]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 4:18pm

@Jordan

To me, the most successful hosts have been comedians with self-deprecating humor who don't aim to convince the rest of us that they're triple threat ala NPH and Mr. Jackman. Mindy's got that in spades without having a complex about her background, stature, or looks.

ETA: Sorry, Taz...I'm way off-topic.

Updated On: 2/23/15 at 04:18 PM

[tazber]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 4:19pm

Louis CK

Can you imagine?

[javero]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 4:25pm

o yea, Louis CK would be a hoot too!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 4:28pm

Kristen Wiig & Will Ferrell would be fun, also.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 4:31pm

Would Mindy really be an ideal choice? As has been pointed out before, the most successful hosts tend to be those with a background in stand-up, who are able to read the early responses from their audience and adapt to the tone of the room. Mindy is great with her scripted comedy, but would she be able to keep herself from sinking any better than Neil Patrick Harris did should the jokes end up not landing?

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 6:12pm

How about a non-comedian?

Somebody with gravitas, who plays it straight.

Oprah?

[javero]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 6:26pm

I can only speculate that Mindy would work out. Check out her speech at Harvard Law School Class Day 2014. In some ways, it's kinda highbrow compared to what she'd be expected to deliver at the Oscars.
Mindy Kaling's Speech at Harvard Law School Class Day 2014

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 6:31pm

How about no host at all?

Like the Grammys a few years ago.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 6:37pm

Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak.... could El Tercero Amigo be next for una trifecta Mexicana in as many years?

[javero]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 7:05pm

@henrikegerman

Isn't that a horror film?

Updated On: 2/23/15 at 07:05 PM

[tazber]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 7:37pm

It's a ghost story, so yes.

But it hearkens back to his films like Devil's Backbone and Pans Labyrinth.

He's a stunningly visual master when he's not smashing giant Robots around.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 8:52pm

"How about a non-comedian? Somebody with gravitas, who plays it straight."

I think this was why the Tonys kept begging Angela Lansbury to come back. She lent a bit of style to the show.

The problem with a non-comedian is how do you entertain the crowd? What is used as filler in between segments? If you don't have jokes or a musical number, what do you put in there?

[Auggie27]

Posted: 2/24/15 at 8:57am

"Following the best picture win on Sunday night by “Birdman” — a brainy film seen by fewer than five million ticket buyers in North America — the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences woke on Monday to soft television ratings for its Oscar telecast and fresh signs that its movie awards have become hopelessly detached from movie viewers."

An article larded with contradictions, bizarre logic and anecdotal evidence (plenty of egg-headed people despised "Birdman"; the assumption that it's a litmus test for elitist entertainment unwelcome only in rural or suburban America is simply not founded); but some points are raised.


Oscars Show Growing Gap Between Moviegoers and Academy

Updated On: 2/24/15 at 08:57 AM

[javero]

Posted: 2/24/15 at 10:52am

There's nothing new about the dichotomy between art and commerce. I'd hazard a guess that the latter has pulled ahead of the former. Thanks to commerce, we now have numerous means of mass communication and programming such that the Academy will have to make some adjustments if it aims to keep the Oscars poised to capture mind-share (and advertising dollars) going forward.

IMHO, Uncle Oscar is approaching the precipice of becoming a niche program. He's never been less relevant to the cool kids due to sundry reasons some of which might be painful for a few of us.

Similarly, 1974 called and said don't worry about her because she's in a good place now.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 2/24/15 at 6:20pm

On what planet is the utterly unsophisticated BIRDMAN "brainy"?

[Tag]

Posted: 2/24/15 at 6:51pm

It's time for Derek McLane to take a break from designing the show. It was gorgeous (if a bit too opulent). Around 80% of the upstage area is never used, and there is no reason why they can't incorporate a live orchestra into that space.

[javero]

Posted: 2/24/15 at 7:29pm

"On what planet is the utterly unsophisticated BIRDMAN 'brainy'?"

I had a similar reaction to FOXCATCHER. I'm all for a cerebral art film on occasion but it has to possess a modicum of entertainment value. And I maintain that Mark Ruffalo was all kinds of miscast in that snooze fest.

[MichelleCraig]

Posted: 2/24/15 at 8:05pm

I would love to see Dame Edna host the Oscars next year...might be a little too late, though. I think this current Farewell Tour is the real end to Edna's live performances.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 2/25/15 at 12:55am

I'm in the play-it-straight camp. I'm tuning in because I'm interested in the awards and the movies, not to see someone's act. Performances of the five nominated songs and clips of the other 23 nominees would provide plenty of entertainment value. It could actually end up being kind of classy.

[javero]

Posted: 2/25/15 at 1:51pm

Then it's settled.

#LetBrianWilliamsHostOscars2016