HELLO OSCAR NOMS!

      The Academy for Motion Pictures and Arts are going to announce the nominees for the 85th Academy Awards soon. There are still a number of "Oscar" films that I still haven't watched yet like Silver Linings Playbook, Les Miserables, The Sessions, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and The Master, among others. So basically the following are my wishlist/predictions for the Big 5 and Supporting categories.

Best Film: Once again we do not know how many there will be. My gut says it will be less than last time (9 nominees).

Mine- 1) Cloud Atlas

2) Django Unchained

3) Argo

4) Beasts of the Southern Wild

5) Holy Motors

6) Skyfall

7) Moonrise Kingdom

8) The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Special wish that has no chance- The Avengers. Eat slugs, Avatar!

Theirs- From my list, I reckon only Argo will make it in for certain. Django Unchained, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Cloud Atlas, Moonrise Kingdom are maybes and Holy Motors, Skyfall and The Perks of Being a Wallflower will take a lot of effort and genuine love on the part of the Academy voters. Lincoln is probably the only definite nominee there is, which is a shame because I fell asleep in it. Zero Dark Thirty is a frontrunner too, though I was not all *that* impressed. I haven't seen other possibilities like Les Miserables and Silver Linings Playbook. Life of Pi is another strong contender. Amour seemed like a frontrunner some months back but I guess it will only prevail in the Best Foreign Film category.

Winner- I really don't know right now, and I kind of like it.

Best Director: The year of the returning winners and new hope.

Mine- 1) Wachowski Siblings & Tom Tykwer, Cloud Atlas

2) Ben Affleck, Argo

3) Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingom

4) Ang Lee, Life of Pi

5) Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained/ Michael Haneke, Amour

Special wish that has no chance- For the fanboys out there, Joss Whedon, The Avengers and Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises

Theirs- Past winners such as Steven Spielberg for Lincoln, Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty and Tom Hooper Les Miserables are almost locks. From my list, I think Affleck and Lee might be locked. Michael Haneke's nomination for Amour is long-awaited, so it would be nice. 

Winner- I would choose either the Cloud Atlas team or Affleck. I think one of the past winners might get the big prize though, with a possible blindside from Affleck.

Best Actress: Old and new and everything in between. Haven't seen enough from this category.

Mine- 1) Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

2) Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea

3) Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone

4) Emmanuelle Riva, Amour

5) Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games

Special wish that has no chance- Princess Merida, Brave (no, I do not accept the fact that she isn't real).

Theirs- Lawrence is getting nominated for her role in Silver Linings Playbook, for sure. The other decided nominee and frontrunner is Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty, who I liked but did not like enough. My favourite Wallis has very little chance unfortunately, and Weisz's powerful performance is also doubtful to make it through. Naomi Watts might get in for The Impossible. Helen Mirren and Judy Dench are possibilities too, for their work in Hitchcock and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel respectively. Keira Knightley is standing on shaky grounds for her role in Anna Karenina.

Winner- Wallis has blown me away and I doubt I will see a better female performance this year. For the Oscars, it is a fight between Chastain and Lawrence, with Riva being a dark horse.

Best Actor: I'm on the same boat with this as I am with the Best Actress category. Depressing.

Mine- 1) Denis Lavant, Holy Motors

2) Denzel Washington, Flight

3) Jean-Louis Trintignant, Amour

4) Mads Mikkelsen, The Hunt

5) Jack Black (I know, right?!), Bernie

Special wish that has no chance- Logan Lerman, The Perks of Being a Wallflower/ Daniel Craig, Skyfall

Theirs- Daniel Day-Lewis is our god etc. I liked him in and as Lincoln, but meh (please do not come to my house with pitchforks, please!). Only Denzel will make it through for my list, sadly. Even though I have not watched the film, I am really dying for Hugh Jackman to be nominated for Les Miserables. Other possibilities are John Hawkes for The Sessions, Bradley Cooper (I knowww, right?!) for Silver Linings Playbook, Richard Gere (eep!) for Armitage and Joaquin Phoenix for The Master, if he hasn't antagonised all the voters yet.

Winner- Lavant's performance is mindblowing, and too out there for Oscars. DDL's fandom knows no bounds, so yeah, he's probably going to pick up Oscar #3.

Best Supporting Actress: Uhhhhhhhhhh.

Mine- 1) Rosemary DeWitt, Your Sister's Sister

2) Anne Hathaway, The Dark Knight Rises

3) Rebel Wilson, Pitch Perfect

4) Judy Dench, Skyfall

5) Jennifer Ehle, Zero Dark Thirty

Special wish that will never happen- The three women of Bachelorette.

Theirs- Let's just say, none of mine. Hathaway will be nominated for Les Miserables. Sally Field for all that in Lincoln, Helen Hunt for The Sessions and my favourite unseen performance by Nicole Kidman in The Paperboy. Maggie Smith for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Amy Adams for The Master are big possibilities.

Winner- This award is Hathaway's to lose. I am already impressed with her, so I guess she is my pick too.

Best Supporting Actor: Once again, my favourite category.

Mine- 1) Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained

2) Ezra Miller, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

3) Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike

4) Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
5) Michael Fassbender, Prometheus/ Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Special wish that will never happen- Alan Arkin doesn't get nominated for Argo, because I do not understand this much love.

Theirs- Arkin. Ugh. Robert De Niro is apparently back in full form in Silver Linings Playbook, so good for him. Philip Seymour Hoffman is another film geek god, so he will probably be nominated for The Master. Leo might get ousted by or be competing against co-stars Christoph Waltz and Samuel L. Jackson. In the most unexpected turn of events, people are really rooting for Javier Bardem in Skyfall (love it).

Winner- It's time for Leo. Please! He bled his own blood for the role! And he plays a happy person (somewhat)! Called Calvin J. Candie! When will the stars align to give us something like this again?!

Best Original Screenplay: Interesting year.

Mine- 1) Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom

2) Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

3) Zoe Kazan, Ruby Sparks

4) Rian Johnson, Looper

5) Michael Haneke, Amour

Theirs- They love Zero Dark Thirty loads. I think everyone in my list except Ruby Sparks can make it through. Also The Master is a good bet.

Winner- It's between some of my favourite filmmakers this year- Tarantino, PTA, Wes Anderson

Best Adapted Screenplay: Can comic books prevail?

Mine- 1) Steven Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

2) Joss Whedon, The Avengers

3) Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer and Andy Wachowski, Cloud Atlas

4) Chris Terrio, Argo

5) Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Theirs- Silver Linings Playbook and Lincoln are sure bets. Adaptations of super famous books like Les Miserables, Life of Pi and Anna Karenina are possibilities too.

Winner- Chbosky wrote the script based on his own bestselling novel. He's already a winner in my eyes. Silver Linings Playbook and Argo are frontrunners for the Oscars.

These winners are preliminary. We'll see if and how my decisions change.

Thoughts

This has taken a while. I call this THE MOTHER OF ALL THOUGHTS POST! Just think it is catchy...

1) Personal update- Yes people, I am alive. I have just been v.v.v.v.v.v. sick. I had a seriously bad case of viral fever and I was/am really weak. I am about the worst person in the world to ever fall sick, since I cannot swallow pills and literally prefer dying but yeah I was nursed back to health by my family. I then had to travel from Calcutta to Dubai in my fragile condition. They put me in a wheelchair which was super embarrassing and just added motion sickness to my list of discomforts. The plane journey itself was extremely boring. I have a history of discovering awesome shows in flights like Doctor Who and Luther. This time there was Kenneth Branagh and apparently Tom Hiddleston-starrer Wallander though the latter wasn't there and the show was boring as fuck. Also the only new film to watch was People Like Us (which was again very boring and overly dramatic) and Beasts of a Southern Wild, a film that has been on my to-watch list ever since I saw its trailer, was showing on the return flight so rats! The only good thing about this whole journey was that this unbelievably hot guy was there in my plane but yeah that led to nothing. Another thing I liked about it was in the five hours I seemed to have stood in the passport control line, there was a group of really quaint old British men behind me who were hilarious and right now while reading JK Rowling's latest The Casual Vacancy, I cannot quite stop picturing the men as part of the book. Right now my mother is force-feeding me back to health (or so she wishes) and I keep thinking back on the days of the illness where I was this close to finally being my own Tyler Durden but eh whatever. At least I can blog now.

2) Posters and pictures- Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, part 2 has the most hilarious poster of all time. I cannot get over how ridiculous it looks. Speaking of, Carrie looks plenty terrible too. What is a good poster is that of my most anticipated sequel of all time, The World's End. This film will be so epic. My darling Daniel Radcliffe is doing two films. There is a poster for his romcom The F Word with Zoe Kazan which looks sweet. There is also the released picture of him avec horns in Horns. It does look kind of retarded, but this film sounds cool. Also since we're talking about weird pointy things (TWSS), the new Wolverine picture looks mental. Hugh Jackman does not need to be that photoshopped. He is a beautiful man as it is.

3) Okay so you know how long I've been gone? Back when Seth MacFarlaine hosting the Oscars was big news. I haven't actually seen anything he has done (Family Guy, Ted) but it seems like a weirdly ballsy move by the AMPAS so we'll see where this goes. What is great hosting news is that Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will host the Golden Globes. YESSSS! I just keep thinking of Mean Girls for this, even though they are more famous for Saturday Night Live and Baby Mama together. Still, epicly awesome funny ladies FTW!

4) Continuing with my last weekly thoughts post about TV shows and movies- The Coen Brothers are making a Fargo movie. Woaaahh! I know right. I don't remember Fargo very well, just that wood chipper scene and saying "Yeah" like Frances McDormand for weeks after that. I am not big on Coen Brothers (yes I know blasphemy!) but this will be interesting. Also Alfonso Cuarón and JJ Abrams are making some sci-fi supernatural tv show together, whose premise is about "a girl in possession of a great gift/powers — which will come into their own in seven years — and the man who is sprung from prison to protect her from those trying to hunt her down ." Then David Fincher and Kevin Spacey have developed a political drama show called House of Cards. Why don't I know these things? It sounds pretty impressive. It also stars Robin Wright, Kate Mara and Corey Stall.

5) Casting news round-up- Daniel Radcliffe may be starring in Frankenstein which will bring a  sci-fi spin on the classic horror story. It sounds very offbeat and cool and I like everything Radcliffe has been attaching himself to post-Potter so this can continue the trend. Ben Whishaw might star in Steven Spielberg's Robocalypse. I love Whishaw and think he's a wonderful actor and it will be very good for his career to be attached to a big project like this. Martin Freeman and Eddie Marsan have joined the already awesome cast of The World's End. I really cannot effing wait for this film. Not only will Marc Webb be returning to direct The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (YUCK), but Shailene Woodley is in talks to play Mary Jane Watson (DOUBLE YUCK). I like Woodley but I think I have made my animosity towards the first Amazing Spider-Man movie and the absolutely horrendous role of Mary Jane Watson be known far and wide. I will hate this film too. I know it. Robert Pattinson will star alongside Carey Mulligan in Hold on to Me which is about a real life femme fatale and seems like a juicy part for Pattinson to, pardon the pun, sink his teeth into. Amy Adams will star as Janis Joplin in a biopic directed by Lee Daniels, which sounds very interesting even though I have not seen any of Daniels's work yet. Also Natalie Portman may star as Jackie Kennedy in the biopic Jackie that was once a pet project of Darren Aronofsky and Rachel Weisz. I can see it happening.

6) Apparently Benedict Cumberbatch is the new James Bond villain for whenever Bond 24 will come out? What? Why do I read about these things in Indian tabloids? That's bloody amazing though. Just the thought of verbal and possibly physical sparring between two very attractive British men in suits *fans herself*.

7) Since when was Michael Fassbender part of the Terrence Malick film that also has Rooney Mara and Ryan Gosling? It's very hard to keep track since Malick is making like 50 movies, but this is the music festival one. But man, Fassy and Gosling in one movie together is not going to be good for my nerves. Still, who knows who will actually make the final cut (this thought keeps me up at night).

8) Everyone has heard this, yes? I kept hearing it even though it was triggering my headache back when I was sick-

9) Back when I was gone, Sati's absolutely brilliant site Cinematic Corner turned 1 year old. Her blog puts mine, and let's face it, probably yours to shame also. It is just that good and that pretty. And it's only a year old, a prospect that makes me sick and disgusted. Let's hope it continues to be this awesome for many many more years to come.

10) Edgar Wright will be definitely making the Ant-Man film so good on Marvel for officially becoming wayyyyyyy cooler than DC. Also Agent Coulson will be there in the S.H.I.E.L.D. tv show pilot so maybe he didn't die, which will be very sneaky on Nick Fury's part. Still yaay! because Agent Phil Coulson is ab fab.

11) Trailers- The Lone Ranger which looks wayyy too serious, and it should have more of Armie Hammer seeing that he is in fact the Lone Ranger. A proper trailer for Lincoln came out that does not make it look like War Horse with Daniel Day-Lewis. I like it so much more. Stoker that looks ahmazing and creepy and is definitely one of my most anticipated films of next year. Zero Dark Thirty also released an actual trailer that makes sense. I'm still not a hundred percent sold on this film but I do love me some Jessica Chastain and this is like her first proper big profile lead role so yaay! Hitchcock looks really good and fun. Anthony Hopkins is killing it as Alfred Hitchcock and Helen Mirren looks really good too. I love how Scarlett Johannson doesn't even get a mention. It ain't her movie! Carrie's teaser looks good until you actually get to Carrie, being played by Chloe Moretz. She looks stoopid. They will all laugh at her!! The new Gangster Squad trailer has a lot more Emma Stone to offer, but it looks the same to me. I have become so much lesser enthused about this film as time has gone by. Still, gotta love Gosling in a suit. Finally the latest Django Unchained trailer is all sorts of batshit crazy, especially in the form of one delicious Calvin Candie, played by Leonardo Di Caprio. This film will be fantastic.

12) Finally, who else was devastated by the mid-season Doctor Who finale? I have never cried like that for a tv show ever. I will write about it but for now-

Truth. Troll.

Okay so I will be back soon. I hope. Byeee.

Thoughts

Helloo one and all! I know I'm late but I was internet-less for the past few days. I had declared my "blogging hiatus" on Twitter before this, but then I figured that's just my own blogging pattern.

1) So the reason I was internet-less was because I had gone to New Delhi to give an entrance exam which must be a foreign concept for most of you, but yeah- Indian education system is gaga. But then one of the GK questions was:
Which of the following is not a cult film- a) Hugo; b) Enter the Dragon; c) Star Wars; d) The Godfather
AKA- Best. Question. In. An. Academic. Exam. Ever.
Yes the answer is pretty obvious for someone with the most basic amount of film knowledge, but still, the little evil film nerd in me did do a secret maniacal laugh for all those who wouldn't get this :D Oh joys.

2) Even though I was away for 3 days, my dashboard is full of amazing blogposts. Here are my three most favourite- Southern Vision's 25 Most Important Films of the Last 25 Years, Eternity of Dream's Paris in Genres and Cinematic Paradox's 100 Films Facts about Stevee.

3) I am pretty sure that if I were to write a 100 Film Facts About Me list, 95 of those facts will focus on Johnny Depp and Ryan Gosling. Just today, during my flight when I was going through my usual Fight Club-esque "mid-air collision" fantasies, I started thinking about what would be my last thought before my brain explodes or whatever and I first decided on "Ryan Gosling" but then I thought that would be wayy to shallow so then my thought process was like "Films- Woody Allen- New York- Buildings- The Tree of Life- Emmanuel Lubezki- okay no I don't want my dying thought to be Emmanuel Lubezki. Ryan Gosling it is!" So sad, but true. Imagine if I actually articulate this thought (unlike you know, all of this), and "Ryan Gosling" will become my last words and if I'm a nobody then, it's sort of fine though v. odd, but if I do get famous somehow, this is what will be on my IMDb Trivia page and what authors like John Green would know. Gah I really need to borrow someone's brain!

4) I am sorry if I am making no sense. Which I probably am not. I just really need to blog all of a sudden!

5) So the MTV Movie Awards happened. It has officially become my most favourite award show ever because it gave Johnny Depp the Generation Award, after which he played with The Black Keys. FUCK YEAH!! Other things I liked: Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield presenting- they are oh so cute, Jennifer Lawrence's acceptance speech- [referring to the popcorn shaped statuette] "I can't eat this", Joseph Gordon-Levitt fangirling over Gary Oldman and Christian Bale, Bale remembering Heath Ledger, Fasstheron and all the Fassdong jokes which will NEVER get old, Shailene Woodley winning Best Newcomer, Harry Potter winning Best Cast because obviously *in an Alan Rickman voice*, and finally Emma Stone winning The Trailblazer Award. The presentation video was hilarious but then Stone's heartfelt acceptance speech was absolutely lovely and makes me hungry for her Oscar speech, whenever that will happen. What wasn't so lovely was Russel Brand, Twilight still winning everything and Kristen Stewart's desperate attempts at being funny.

6) Logan Lerman and Douglas Booth are joining the Darren Aronofsky Noah project, and Emma Watson is also in talks. Apart from the lead, my anti-Depp, Russel Crowe, I love everyone else connected with this film. And my god- what a role for Watson if she joins the cast! Definitely watching this now (ah damnit!).

7) So I had considered doing a separate post on this, but as soon as the Django Unchained trailer came out, my dash was full of posts about it and then I became lazy. As usual. But OHMYGAWDIAMSOFRIGGINEXCITEDICOULDDIE!!! It is so fucking amazing! Quentin Tarantino is one of my most favourite film makers ever and the first one in whose mind I'd like to go all "Being John Malkovich" if I could because it is a wondrous place. CLEARLY! I love the music and Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz and the look and the guns and the slavery and the "D is silent" and everything. I especially love Leonardo Di Caprio with his southern drawl and yellow teeth and kooky smile. I really especially love the blood on the cotton plant. So pretty! Oh this film cannot come soon enough!!

8) Other less important and infinitely less awesome trailers- The Bourne Legacy. It looks fun, though I really need to get cracking with the other two sequels. Edward Norton is going to be the baddie! Flight, which looks really random. It is made by Robert Zemeckis and stars Denzel Washington, but I don't know. Not really sold on the trailer, though I do love it when people play "Gimme Shelter" in films. Wreck It Ralph, which looks really sweet and fun. Unfortunately I am the furthest thing from a gaming nerd on this planet, so I am not geeking out on it like everyone else. The Perks of Being a Wallflower has my second most favourite trailer of this week. I don't know whether it's the upcoming big 2-0 birthday or what, but I'm suddenly obsessed with teenage angst and stuff. So this is perfect. I really like Logan Lerman, and Watson looks really pretty and quite alright. Ezra Miller has made me a fan ever since last year's We Need to Talk About Kevin, so I really like him too. A great trailer, all in all.

9) Finally, I swear I snorted really loudly when I saw this-

Obviously

Byeee!!!

Thoughts

1) First of all, congrats to everyone nominated for The Lammys! You guys rock :D


2) Cannes Film Festival got over this week. I was watching some show in which this Indian chick got to go and interview people like Wes Anderson and Edward Norton. Gah I hate her!! I want to talk to Ed Norton :( Anyways the Palme d'Or went to Michael Haneke's Amour. Haneke's previous film The White Ribbon was also a Palme d'Or winner. I didn't like that one much, but The Piano Teacher which one the Grand Prix back in 2001 has become a recent favourite of mine. I am very much looking forward to seeing Amour. This year the Grand Prix went to Reality. Mads Mikkelsen won Best Actor for his performance in Jagten (The Hunt) and Best Actress went to Cristina Flutur & Cosmina Stratan for their performances in Beyond the Hills. I must admit I haven't heard of many of the other films that won other prizes. The Caméra d'Or or Best First Feature Film did go to Beasts of the Southern Wild, which had also won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and which many of the critics are already calling one of the best films of the year so far. I am looking forward to seeing as many of these films as I can.


3) The Television BAFTAs took place this week as well. Benedict Cumberbatch lost again! I smell a Sherlock-hating rat with a pip-squeaky voice. What the hell people! Still, the best part of the show was when he, along with my soulmate and the current Doctor Who- Matt Smith, presented the Special Award to Steven Moffat, the headwriter for both their shows. The quirky sexy duo were just perfect. Also, Andrew Scott won the Best Supporting Actor for his chillingly brilliant performance of Jim Moriarty, which was awesome! Last year, this award was won by the fantastic Martin Freeman, who plays Doctor Watson and had been nominated again this year. So basically everyone has won except Cumberbatch. Curses! Also regarding season 3 of Sherlock, this is what Moffat had to say- "We’re trying to schedule everything around everything. Obviously, Sherlock Holmes is off battling Captain Kirk, and Dr Watson is helping Gandalf, and I’m in the TARDIS." Lovely bloke.


4) Oh Game of Thrones watchers- how bloody awesome was Blackwater?!! Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey are like my favourite TV actors at present. Also you must read this- A-Z of Game of Thrones. Go to J!!


5) Pictures- Bling Ring is on! Just from this one picture, it looks very different from what we have come to expect from Sofia Coppola. True she focuses on the bored privileged people a lot, but there is something very beautiful about that. This just looks, to borrow a word from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, very snooty. Also I am starting to get the feeling that Emma Watson may be the lead, though a huge part of me thinks otherwise. This poster for Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises hits the note in every single way. It's my favourite so far, and it is exactly what I would expect from Catwoman. I hope Anne Hathaway does justice to the role. Also, my most anticipated film of the year, Django Unchained, has released some new gorgeous shots and increased my anticipation even more. A teaser is coming out soon- YESSSS!!


6) Trailers- The aforementioned Amour's subtitled trailer is out. It has Isabelle Huppert in it, which is enough to make me want to watch the film. Abraham Lincoln:Vampire Hunter has a third trailer out. Theoretically, I like the idea of this film. However, now having watched Dark Shadows and seeing how writer Seth Grahame-Smith adapts movie scripts, I'm a bit scared. Still, the comments below the video are pretty hilarious. There is apparently some Tom Felton movie coming out called The Apparition. It also has Twilight's Ashley Greene and Captain America's Sebastian Stan. Yeah I don't really care, but I am a Harry Potter loyalist so I am obliged to post about it, despite Felton's hairstyle in this movie. The biggest teaser of this week is of Tom Hooper's adaptation of the musical Les Misérables. It honestly does nothing for someone like me, who is ignorant of the source material and who isn't brought to tears by the idea of a period musical, except of course for the high profile cast and Anne Hathaway's lovely singing (just give her the Oscar already!). For me personally, Hugh Jackman singing would have been a bigger draw. Still, I will wait for the trailer and hope that it changes my mind. 


7) Finally, this week I decided to go for some someecards humour for us film nerds-

Genius.

Ciao.

Thoughts

          Ahoy there mateys! No it's not Talk Like A Pirate Day, I'm just being weird. I recently found out that Wednesday is called Hump Day. That sounds very R-Rated. I know I'm not one to speak as I, very innocently I might add, indirectly sort of dropped the c-bomb in the last weekly thoughts post to describe a character from Game of Thrones :P Now I don't use that word in real life, it was just a reference to how another character described him, and the poster was from Tumblr. I do use the f-bomb, but that is because it's a great word. I'm going to try and make this post as kid-friendly as possible, just for the fun of it.


1) So Kurt Russell and Sacha Baron Cohen also dropped out of Django Unchained, following JGL's exit. What is wrong with these people?! I would put my life on hold just to be the garbage thrower on this set. You get to be around Quentin Tarantino and see a true genius at work. Gah. If anyone else leaves, I am going to start sending hate mails. Obviously that doesn't mean actual mail; I'm just going to think about it really hard and send negative vibes to them, like how I've been sending to the Academy ever since Tom Hooper won Best Director and doubly so since they completely and criminally ignored Harry Potter.


2) Something the Academy did do right was give Aaron Sorkin that Oscar for The Social Network. Now he is going to adapt Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs. They couldn't have chosen a more perfect person. This is the proper Steve Jobs film, and not the Ashton Kutcher hippie one. Now on to the casting of the legendary Apple creator- I really can't think of anyone. Noah Wyle played his younger version in the made-for-television film Pirates of Silicon Valley, which I haven't seen, but he seems like a very good choice. But seriously, my mind is blank for this. It will be interesting to see who they choose. Jesse Eisenberg was inspired casting for Mark Zuckerberg, so let's hope they strike gold again.


3) David Yates won't be directing Your Voice in My Head. So weird. I was almost getting somewhat excited for this (it still sounds too weepy). The biggest reason for that was the inclusion of Stanley Tucci as the main male lead, opposite Emma Watson. Tucci needs his big role, so I hope he stays and they get a good director.


4) Clark Gregg, who played the uhmazing Agent Phil Caulson in the Avengers movies, is set to star in the next Jason Reitman film Labor Day. Yaay! I'm a huge Reitman fan and love all his films to bits. Gregg will be joining Kate Winslet (!) and Josh Brolin. The plot revolves around how Winslet's character and her son pick-up a drifter, played by Brolin, on Labor Day, who then turns out to be an escaped convict. Reitman's films are great dramedies, with unique characters, so it will be interesting to see what he does here.


5) The Lammys are going on in full swing. I have already nominated people. My favourite part though are all the excellent banners which can be seen here. I only just realised that my Weekly Thoughts are a regular feature since they happen every week more or less, and were eligible for Best Running Feature. Ah well, there's always a next time.


6) Trailers galore- The Gangster Squad, which despite its amazing cast and premise, looks a bit fishy to me, I don't know why. But yaay for the Gos doing "sexy time" with the Stone. What does look great is Argo which is Ben Affleck's next directorial effort. I love the whole idea of it... it looks funny and serious and engaging. There is the four-minute preview of The Amazing Spiderman which has a clip at the start and the rest is the trailer from earlier. I am not liking the look, or the sound, of this film at all. I hate the unnecessary loud rock music. One of the many reasons why The Avengers worked so well was because it didn't blow up the ears of its audience. Poor Andrew Garfield- at least he has his Tony nomination. There's Maniac's teaser trailer, in which Elijah Wood, with his big blue eyes, plays some kind of a creepy serial killer. It looks quite interesting, I'll give it that. The king of the trailers this week is not of a film, but of the one and only, fang-tastic True Blood Season 5! Woohoo! Eric Northman is back y'all, in period costume too.


7) All of my tv shows have ended or are ending. Curses! This is why I didn't used to watch so much tv- now I don't know what to do. All the season finales were great- The Vampire Diaries (yes I watch that, don't be alarmed) has the best season finale ever. Damon Salvatore rocks my boat! New Girl was as adorable as ever- especially loved the part when Zooey Deschanel tries to be the roadrunner. And then we have Parks and Recreation, where I cried when Leslie's dream finally came true. The only show that can make me laugh and cry effectively. Also Leslie Knope is a great role model, and I think the only one I have that my parents will approve of. Otherwise there are people like April Ludgate, Samantha Jones from Sex and the City, Mavis Gary from Young Adult, almost all of Allison Janney's characters, and Wednesday Addams of course. Game of Thrones has three more episodes left... it's getting very exciting. I didn't know the guy who played Theon was Lily Allen's brother! He's so ugly though, as are most of them. It's not a very good-looking cast, but quite a striking one. Once this gets over, I'll have to wait for True Blood. I love the new poster, as I love all of its posters. My favourite was the "cup of Joe" one- so witty and disturbing, just like the show. Also Doctor Who has a minisode out next week. It's those script-to-screen ones which are bound to terrible as they're written by kids, but yaay- Matt Smith! Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill have officially finished their tenure as the Doctor's companions and will be be sorely missed. Tears everywhere.


8) Finally, I love this-

Bye.

Thoughts

          I had a dream about writing this post. Isn't that super creepy? And super sad? I should be dreaming about buildings tumbling over and Matt Smith and Loki and shite. Blogging's taking over my life, AND I DON'T EVEN BLOG MUCH!! Anyways, here are my thoughts.

1) So District 9's Sharlto Copley is the man on everybody's mind right now. He is going to be the villain in the American remake of Oldboy and also star alongside Angelina Jolie in Maleficient. Now Ji-tae Yu as Woo-jin has become one of my most favourite villains ever. I love them diabolical like that. So he has big shoes to fill. But he seems like a very interesting choice. Josh Brolin of course will be the protagonist, called Joe Douchette in this version, directed by Spike Lee. In Maleficient, he'll be King Stefan who I'm guessing will be Sleeping Beauty's father. If he is the one who battles, per se, Jolie's Maleficient, it will be a much smarter option than giving such duties to some "teenage" actor who will definitely be overshadowed in every way. Having said that, I'm still rooting for Logan Lerman to get this part.

2) DJANGO UNCHAINED!!! These pictures were released at some point last week and OHMIGOD, I cannot wait!! Leo will be playing a man called Calvin Candie (another magnificent name by QT). He's holding a hammer. Looking at just the recent cinematic usage of hammers, we have Dae-su in Oldboy and the Driver in Drive. There will be beautiful ultraviolence my friends :D Also Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz as Django and Dr. King Schutlz(!!) respectively, look pretty cool. I love the look and the costumes. I'm guessing and hoping that the film will be a serious awards contender.

3) Speaking of Leo, I had started watching Romeo + Juliet last night (which I will finish after posting this), and his introduction as Romeo has to be one of the best character intros ever. Accompanied by, what is in my opinion the sexiest Radiohead song ever, "Talk Show Host", the beautiful and broody Leo speaks in old Shakespearean terms, and oh what bliss! I think, well no I'm pretty sure that whatever age I may be, I will still fall in love with him then and there. My most favourite intro of all time is of course Josh Hartnett as Trip Fontaine in The Virgin Suicides, with Heart's "Magic Man" playing in the background. Only Juliet had Romeo, but all girls have had a Trip Fontaine at some point in their lives. And they always will, making him timeless and magical.

4) Trailers- Remember the time when there was only one trailer per film? Me too, because that was TWO YEARS AGO. Gah. I refuse to watch any and all featurettes. Including those of the much anticipated Prometheus, which has another trailer out. It gives us a little more clues to what we are to expect and also a look into Charlize Theron's character. I'm already pumped about it, so the trailer is a tad unnecessary for me. Next we have Beasts of the Southern Wild, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance this year. It looks absolutely beautiful, and in a way reminds me of Pan's Labyrinth because they're both about children escaping the problems of their surroundings by creating and entering magical realms of their own. Next we have the "sort-of sequel to Knocked Up" This is 40. As much as I love the cast, especially Paul Rudd, I really don't want to watch it. I think there are some secret life-lessons involved, most probably about forty-year-olds, but I will start worrying about them in spite of not being even twenty yet. Then there is the really weird trailer of 2 Days in New York, which follows the idea of 2 Days in Paris, both made by the wonderful Julie Delpy. It just looks like a clip, but I liked the first film, so I'll watch it. The forgotten superhero movie of the summer, The Amazing Spiderman has another and slightly painful trailer out. I will watch this because of Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone and maybe the humour, but poor Spidey. Then we have the slightly crazy A Fantastic Fear of Everything starring Simon Pegg. All I can say is, get Nick Frost and all will be made right :) Lastly, the king of the trailers is obviously The Dark Knight Rises. It just looks bloody incredible and I want to watch it right now and I love destruction of planes and bridges and so much JGL and Catwoman is awesome and Bane is scary and GAHHHH! MIND FRIGGIN' BLOWN!!!

5) Poster-wise, everyone needs to see and worship and somehow send me a copy of Charlize Theron's Snow White and the Huntsmen poster. Just look at it!!!!! Marvelous.

6) Finally, I started Game of Thrones last week and am now up to date with it. For those of you who follow me on Twitter, you will know of my overwhelming and kind of irrational hatred towards one character in particular-

Off with your head, Joffrey!!!

Bronn knows best. Bye.

I totally forgot to freak out about this...

JOMIHUIWOEIXOPHECGUESHUNUKIUWQ9UFYJSGDSJZDXJVNYDIXUYIUDROOOOOOOOOLLLLLL

           I love Tarantino's confidence in how the film can sell just based on his name. And it is true. The official synopsis of the film has been released-

           Set in the South two years before the Civil War, DJANGO UNCHAINED stars Academy Award®-winner Jamie Foxx as Django, a slave whose brutal history with his former owners lands him face-to-face with German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Academy Award®-winner Christoph Waltz).

           Schultz is on the trail of the murderous Brittle brothers, and only Django can lead him to his bounty. The unorthodox Schultz acquires Django with a promise to free him upon the capture of the Brittles - dead or alive. Success leads Schultz to free Django, though the two men choose not to go their separate ways. Instead, Schultz seeks out the South’s most wanted criminals with Django by his side. Honing vital hunting skills, Django remains focused on one goal: finding and rescuing Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), the wife he lost to the slave trade long ago.

          Django and Schultz’s search ultimately leads them to Calvin Candie (Academy Award®-nominee Leonardo DiCaprio), the proprietor of “Candyland,” an infamous plantation where slaves are groomed by trainer Ace Woody (Kurt Russell) to battle each other for sport. Exploring the compound under false pretenses, Django and Schultz arouse the suspicion of Stephen (Academy Award®-nominee Samuel L. Jackson), Candie’s trusted house slave. Their moves are marked, and a treacherous organization closes in on them. If Django and Schultz are to escape with Broomhilda, they must choose between independence and solidarity, between sacrifice and survival…

           Written and directed by Academy Award®-winner Quentin Tarantino, DJANGO UNCHAINED is produced by Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin and Pilar Savone. The executive producers are Harvey and Bob Weinstein, Michael Shamberg, Shannon McIntosh, and James Skotchdopole. DJANGO UNCHAINED will be released in the U.S. on December 25, 2012, and internationally by Sony Pictures.


           First of all- BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER! The world better not end before this. Secondly, I was watching the old THR director's roundtable videos, and came across this, in which QT says that he'll stop directing at 60, and even earlier if films turn digital. I sure do hope and pray he reconsiders this. The man's a genius and even his bad films are fun. He may very well be the guy who finally gets Leo Di Caprio his Oscar. He just cannot stop making his absolutely brilliant and awesome films!

            QUENTIN TARANTINO FAN FOREVERRRRR!!!

Hellooo 2012!

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS! 

So last year I made quite an extensive list of films releasing in 2011, and I was a bit off in my predictions. I will make a similar list this time round- of films I will watch, and then of my most anticipated films of 2012.

• 21 Jump Street- The trailer was funny. Johnny Depp cameo!
• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter- Just because it has a cool name.
• Argo- Really liked The Town, and so I'm expecting great things from Ben Affleck's next project.
• Bin Laden film- I haven't seen any Katherine Bigelow films. Hopefully I will amend this by the time this releases.
• Cosmopolis- Cronenberg's next with Robert Pattinson as lead. Can RPatz show that he's more than a sparkly dead face?
• Dark Shadows- Tim Burton's next. I hope it brings us back to the good old Edward Scissorhands days.
• Dr. Seuss' The Lorax- It looks adorable, and I love Dr. Seuss stories!
• Frankenweenie- The other Tim Burton film. It looks adorable.
• Les Miserables- I hate Tom Hooper, but even that cannot stop my need to hear Hugh Jackman sing.
• Lincoln- So Daniel Day-Lewis is totally getting nominated for, and probably winning the Oscar for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in this. 
• On The Road- This was in my list last year as well, but it didn't release. I hope it's great.
• Perks of Being a Wallflower- I love me some teenage angst, and it has Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller.
• Skyfall- Bond 23. Not convinced about Sam Mendes but it really is one helluva cast.
• Snow White and the Huntsmen- Ugh, I am sooo on the Evil Queen's side. Charlize-liciousness is too much.
• The Amazing Spiderman- I am watching this for Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone only, unless they come up with some really mindblowing trailer.
• The Five-Year Engagement- Cute, funny and I love Emily Blunt.
• The Great Gatsby- The 3D aspect freaks me out, but it will be a Baz Luhrmann spectacular, and man Leo looks gorgeous!
• The Hunger Games- It looks cool enough, and it is said to be the next big franchise.
• The Wettest Country in the World- Really cool cast, including the lady of the hour- Jessica Chastain.
• This Means War- I'm sorry but I will let my hormones decide this.
• World War Z- A different take on the whole post-apocalyptic tale.

And now, my most anticipated films of 2012:

10) The Woman in Black

Daniel Radcliffe's first film role after Harry Potter (no HP film this year, or ever again *my creys*). The trailers have been fantastic, and it has the potential of being a really good scary movie. I hope it delivers.

9) Prometheus

After seeing Alien and Aliens recently, I am seriously hooked on to this series. Plus super-sexy cast with Fassy as an android.

8) The Avengers

The trailer looked like fun, and this will be the real clash of the titans as too many superheroes may spoil the broth. Love Loki though!

7) The Gangster Squad

The picture alone guarantees a spot here. But it does have a stellar cast and everyone is getting serious L.A. Confidential vibes from it. Oooh.

6) Gravity

Alfonso Cuarón's next is about two scientists played by Oscar-winners Sandra Bullock and George Clooney who are stuck in space together, and promises to be absolutely mindblowing with things we have never seen on the silver screen before *drool*.

5) Moonrise Kingdom
The most brilliant cast ever assembled in this- Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Frances McDormand and Harvey Keitel. Can't wait for the next Wes Anderson modern classic.

4) Brave
I am in love with Princess Merida, and my devotion to Pixar is absolute. They will make a comeback with this, I am certain.

3) The Dark Knight Rises
Uh duh. I mean The Dark Knight has to be one of the best films ever made, and Christopher Nolan is a certified genius, and the trailer of this looks fantastic. Also Catwoman :D

2) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Oh look it's my husband there with Gollum! I am so excited for this. LoTR is one of the greatest trilogies ever made, if not the greatest, and The Hobbit is certainly on the right track with that amazing trailer.

1) Django Unchained
The wonderful and violent genius returns with a Western. After what he did with Inglorious Basterds, I can't even fathom (not that I can ever fathom anything in any of his movies) what sort of pure brilliance is going to be shown here. Plus, Leo as a villain seems too delicious a role to miss. Absolutely dying to see this.

* I completely forgot about Nero Fiddled (formerly known as Bop Decameron) which is Woody's next and stars Jesse Eisenberg, who was born to act in a Woody Allen film. 
** Also the Untitled Terence Malick project... though Ben Affleck makes me want to puke.
*** Martin McDonagh's Seven Psychopaths, because we love In Bruges, don't we?
**** P.T. Anderson's The Master, as anything following up to There Will Be Blood has to be a cinematic event.
***** The next Refn-Gosling venture- Only God Forgives.


It will be a great year, ouie?