Mel Brooks to be Honored by AFI

Posted on October 5, 2012 at 3:46 pm

The American Film Institute has announced that Mel Brooks will be presented with its highest honor. “Mel Brooks is America’s long-reigning king of comedy – and as he taught us long ago, it’s good to be the king,” said Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman of the AFI’s Board of Trustees. “He’s a master of an art form that rarely gets the respect it deserves, and it is AFI’s honor to shine a bright light on laughter by presenting Mel Brooks the 41st AFI Life Achievement Award.” Brooks is best known as writer/director of “The Producers” (he also adapted and wrote the songs for the Broadway musical), “Blazing Saddles,” “High Anxiety,” and “Spaceballs,” but he also produced the serious drama “The Elephant Man” and the lovely “84 Charing Cross Road,” both starring his late wife, Oscar-winner Anne Bancroft.

The award ceremony will take place next June and will be broadcast on TNT. I’m sure AFI will have a lot of fun putting together the line-up of stars and presentations to honor Mel Brooks, and I can’t wait to see it.

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Seth MacFarlane to Host the Oscars

Posted on October 3, 2012 at 8:32 pm

And next year’s Oscar host is…not a stand-up turned actor like Billy Crystal or Whoopi Goldberg or Steve Martin but a man who has never even attended the Academy Awards before and who did not even appear on screen in his first film, released earlier this year. Seth MacFarlane is the highest-paid man in the history of television for his three animated series, “Family Guy,” “The Cleveland Show,” and “American Dad!” He also wrote and directed the raunchy movie comedy “Ted” and provided the voice of the title character, a talking stuffed bear. He hosted the televised roast of Charlie Sheen and, improbably, received respectful reviews for his smooth singing on Music Is Better Than Words, an album of standards, backed by a full orchestra and using Frank Sinatra’s old microphone, on loan from the Smithsonian. He appeared as host of the season opener on “Saturday Night Live” last month but has not otherwise had much experience performing live.

The Hollywood Reporter calls him a “relative unknown” to the people who usually attend the Oscars, but his popularity with younger audiences made him appealing to the producers, trying to stay competitive with slicker, hipper, and earlier awards shows. But they will have to be careful not to alienate the show’s current fans, who may be concerned that he is neither as polished, as experienced, or as respectful as they want. Perhaps it is just those concerns that will attract a record audience.

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Kennedy Center Honors Announced: Dustin Hoffman, Led Zeppelin, David Letterman, and More

Posted on September 12, 2012 at 11:52 am

This year’s Kennedy Center honors have been announced: Dustin Hoffman, David Letterman, blues musician Buddy Guy, dancer Natalia Makarova and the rock band Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin is being honored as a band, but keyboardist-bassist John Paul Jones, guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant each will receive the Kennedy Center Honors. Drummer John Bonham died in 1980. The gala is scheduled for Dec. 4 at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and will be broadcast on Dec. 26 on CBS.

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Awards

Silverdocs: Awards

Posted on June 25, 2012 at 5:45 pm

Silverdocs, the Silver Spring, Maryland documentary film festival that concluded this weekend, received 2018 submissions for 114 places on the schedule.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKooIgzaQMg

Awards included: “Only the Young” (best U.S. feature), directed by Jason Tippit and Elizabeth Mims, is about three teenagers in a depressed Southern California suburb.

Planet of Snail,” (best world feature) was directed by Seungiun Yi and is the story on the deaf and blind South Korean poet Young-Chan and his devoted wife

“Kings Point,” (best short film), directed by Sari Gilman, is set in a retirement community in Florida.

“The Waiting Room” (special U.S. feature jury award), was directed by Peter Nicks and casts a spotlight on the real world that is often overlooked in the health care debates.

Special Flight” (world feature jury award) directed by Fernand Melgar, is about unjust treatment of immigrants in Sweden.

Audience awards: “Trash Dance” (feature) and “Sparkle” (short)

I saw four films at Silverdocs and all were superb:

“Photographic Memory,” the latest in the autobiographical series by “Sherman’s March” Ross McElwee, this one a return to the French region of Brittany, where he lived when he was a little older than his son Adrian, whose lack of focus troubles him.

“Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel,” the story of the legendary fashion editor.

“How to Survive a Plague,” with extraordinary archival footage of the activist movement that took on AIDS and changed health care and history.

“The Queen of Versailles,” about a wealthy couple with seven children who build the biggest home in America, complete with baseball field, ten kitchens, and a spa — until the financial crisis brings it to a halt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqDreqlPe98

Interviews with the filmmakers of the last two coming soon — stay tuned.

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MTV’s Movie Awards

Posted on June 4, 2012 at 9:13 am

They are brash, rude, silly, immature, and disrespectful, but the MTV Movie Awards are a lot of fun.

Over at the NPR blog Monkey See, Linda Holmes writes:

At the same time, there’s something to be said for these loose, largely fan-voted awards that dispense with awards like Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay (fans are not great at knowing what elements of a movie come from the director versus the screenwriter anyway) in favor of awards like … Best Kiss. Best Fight. And in some years, Best Scared-As-S—t Performance. (I kind of love the fact that last year, they nominated Ryan Reynolds in Buried in that category, because no, that movie isn’t great, but it’s creepy, and yes, he is scared.) And this year, they’re giving out Best Dirtbag. Well — it’s actually Best On-Screen Dirtbag. It’s probably easier to get somebody on stage to accept an award if the chyron doesn’t just say “Best Dirtbag: .”

While the Oscars are great at recognizing movies that have certain admirable qualities – distinctive and energetic acting, say, or beautifully stylized dialogue – they have never been nearly as good at recognizing the value of the entertainment side of moviegoing. They have been reticent to acknowledge on an institutional level that people go to the movies, much of the time, to experience something exhilarating. They go to laugh, to weep and swoon, to look at beautiful places, to be scared and excited and surprised. They don’t always go in order to see the most skilled artists at work. Sometimes they just want to be made to react.

It was a big year for “The Hunger Games.” Emma Stone was a highlight with her exceptionally thoughtful and gracious acceptance of the Trailblazer award and its message about blazing your own trails, and Fun. was a great choice for the kick-off song. This year’s winners are:

Movie of the Year
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1

Best Male Performance
Josh Hutcherson, The Hunger Games

Best Female Performance
Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games

Breakthrough Performance
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

Best Cast
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

Best On-Screen Transformation
Elizabeth Banks, The Hunger Games

Best Fight
Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson vs. Alexander Ludwig, The Hunger Games

Best Kiss
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1

Best On-Screen Dirtbag
Jennifer Aniston, Horrible Bosses

Best Music
“Party Rock Anthem,” LMFAO (21 Jump Street)

Best Comedic Performance
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids

Most Gut-Wrenching Performance
The cast of Bridesmaids

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Awards