"Like a supermodel's vagina, let's all give a warm welcome to Leonardo DiCaprio." GOLDEN GLOBES ARE HERE!

   
        Hi guys! My favourite awards happened again! I enjoy the Golden Globes a lot. I know most people hate them because they're like oh so cool and above it, but I have a lot of fun with them and I end up loving most of the winners, even more than the Oscars (nominate Leo, you mofos!).

1) So they didn't show the red carpet again, which is highly annoying. My internet speed sucks right now and it really is a candle pain in the ass to google red carpet arrivals at 6 in the morning. And it's so cold here too. I wanted to sleep but like any female person of 21, I *needed* to see pretty/ugly/weird (Paula Patton wtf) dresses.
2) Fun fact: my exams are in 5 days and I haven't studied a thing and I should be getting up at 6 to study but obviously I have my priorities straight.
3) Elisabeth Moss looked fantastic! So sleek and shiny and geometric. And man, I want shoes like that! Hers was my absolute favourite look of the evening.

I also really loved what Queen Cate, Emma Stone, Lupita Nyong'o and Caitlin FitzGerald wore.

4) Um, what were Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Watson wearing? Yes, I get that "Lawrencing" is now a thing, but that was one weird-ass looking dress. And Watson's clothes made me feel uncomfortable. It was so strange. Either wear pants or wear a dress, god! I love both of these women, but noooo.
5) However, JLaw did photobomb Taylor Swift, so all's forgiven.

6) SEXYFASSYSEXYFASSYSEXYFASSYFEXYSASSYSESSYFAXY *brain dead due to Michael Fassbender's sexiness*

7) Scruff was a general trend among the hot, HOT men- Fassy, Idris Elba, Chris Pine (my scruffy god), Leo and the man with the best face on earth, Joaquin Phoenix.

8) Fun fact: Everytime they showed Joaquin Phoenix laughing during the show, my heart sang a song à la Her.

9) The show finally begins. Amy and Tina are there making jokes and everything is as beautiful as always. Some choice jokes.

"Welcome to the 71st Annual Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's Lee Daniels' The Butler Golden Globes Awards."

"We are hosting the Golden Globes for the second time because this is Hollywood and if something kinda works, they'll keep doing it until everybody hates it."

"American treasure, Tam Honks." (I'm going to use that throughout this awards season, I promise)

"Meryl Streep, so great in August: Osage County, proving there are still great parts in Hollywood for Meryl Streeps over 60."

"Gravity is the story of how George Clooney would rather float away into space and die than spend one more minute with a woman his own age." - Best. Thing. Ever.

"For his role in Dallas Buyers Club, [Matthew McConaughey] lost 45 pounds, or what actresses call, being in a movie."- This too. BEST.

They cut to Jennifer Lawrence for the Amy Poehler intro. Her reaction was hilarious.

The Julia-Louis Dreyfus intro deserves a whole lot of applause on its own. Smoke that e-cigarette, gurrrlll!

Points to Reese Witherspoon for being such a sport.

10) I love Amy and Tina hosting this much because they do point out things like in the case of Clooney and McConaughey that are so incongruous in today's pop-culture, but they do it with enough charm to get away with it.
11) Also, they really got it in for Tam Honks, Martin Scorsese and most of all, Matt Damon this year. Wonder why. Still, it was funny.
12) So the first award was Best Supporting Actress and Jennifer Lawrence won that. Her speech was really sweet, almost as adorable as her date, Nicholas Hoult. I just want to say that I really do think that she did a great job with the one dimensional character she got in American Hustle and used all of her god-given star power and charisma to flesh out that role the best she could. However, she should really not be getting any awards this year. There are far, far superior performances that *should* be getting attention but aren't. If you just go with the kind of character she played in AH, there were Scarlett Johansson, Emma Watson and Margot Robbie, all of whom would have been a better choice. I blame Harvey Weinstein.
13) The next award went to Jacqueline Bisset who went into shock a little bit and as touching as it was originally, it became kind of super awkward to watch, especially with all the qualudes jokes that immediately started on Twitter.
14) Oh Margot Robbie and Jonah Hill came to present the Best Picture nomination for The Wolf of Wall Street except the teleprompter was showing the wrong stuff and then they started explaining it and Robbie got all embarrassed. It was hilarious and so cute. Some backstage person, who just reached the highest point of their life then, gave them a written speech and they continued. I really like Robbie :)
15) Bryan Cranston and Breaking Bad won Best Drama Actor and TV Show (Drama) and it was so well-deserved and brilliant and then Aaron Paul wrapped up the latter speech with "Yeah bitch, thank you!" I have never missed a term of profanity more in my life. So annoyed he didn't get the Best Supporting Actor award. BITCHES!

16) The way they kept playing all the people off was super-annoying and disrespectful. Just calm your tits, orchestra.
17) They brought the real life Philomania Philomena and Nicki Lauda to present their respective films, Philomena and Rush. I greatly respect the Globes for doing that. For all the claims of it being a show pandering to Hollywood royalty, it is the only award show which actually brings all these people who are so far removed from all that glamour and on whose normal, exciting, amazing lives, we get a lot of the movies. Bravo, I say.

18) The song categories were presented by P. Diddy (is that what he's called now?), Usher the third, Duke of Doucheville or something like that, and Kate Beckinsale, aka the oddest trio ever. Beckinsale looked positively vampiric. Someone wants another Underworld sequel, holla! They gave both the awards to All is Lost. Diddy was seriously pissed and tried to hug Bono, out-awkwarding Bisset by a mile.

19) AND NONE FOR TAYLOR SWIFT, BYE! (No, it will *never* get old)
20) Amy Adams won Best Comedy Actress for what seemed to me the only dramatic part in American Hustle. Seriously, with or without the hideous British accent, Sydney was a sad and dark character. Still, I do love Adams so I will pretend she got it for all the other times she's deserved to win. I wish actual comedic performances like those by Greta Gerwig and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, or if we are going the "dramedy" way, Julie Delpy would have won :( Anyways, RDJesus gave the award so yippee!
21) The Miss Globe this year was Kevin Bacon's and Kyra Sedgwick's daughter. That was the boring bit. Then Tina Fey came and introduced Mr. Globe, her son with someone in the audience- Randy.          

SO FUNNY! (look at Idris saying yes *swoons*)

22) Robin Wright won for House of Cards and thanked David Fincher. We should all thank Fincher just for existing.
23) Best Supporting Actor went to Jared Leto. Like uh duh. I've already lost interest in this category. For a tiny second, I thought maybe Fassy would win (since Hill isn't nominated- booooo), but nope. And then Leto went up and started talking about waxing again- like shut up about that already! Yes, I think you have very pretty eyes and very nice hair and are generally hot and your performance in Dallas Buyers Club was rather good, but now, you are just annoying me.
24) I started watching the Game of Thrones season 4 trailer during Leto's speech. Jorah, I have missed your sexy sexiness.
25) Oh then my own Khaleesi, Emma Thompson came on stage with her shoes in one hand and a martini in the other, to present the Best Screenplay. I would go to war for her.

26) Spike Jonze won the award for Her! YAAAAYYYYYYYY!! Spike Jonze has overtaken Paul Thomas Anderson for the being second sexiest director (Fincher being the first, duh). He's so cute and attractive and I want him.
27) Andy Samberg went Best Comedy Actor for Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Leo shook his hand :) His speech was the best of the night. It was like a parody of a speech but it was still honest. I loved it. Also, all the SNL people looked so happy.

28) The Great Beauty won Best Foreign Film. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! That movie was so over-the-top, it made my brain bleed. Also, it didn't star Adèle Exarchopolous and Lea Seydoux so we all know who the real winner is here.
29) Real-life Disney prince and princess, Chris Pine (unffff) and Emma Watson came to present Best Animated Feature, which went to Frozen and thus it was all very apt.

Let's take a moment to appreciate him again.

30) Khaleesi from the show, Emilia Clarke and Chris O' Donnell (I think :/) came to present Best Comedy Actress and it FINALLY went to Amy Poehler for Parks and Recreation. Apart from one award that will come up later, this was my favourite win of the night. I love her and her performance and her speech was hilarious too. Aubrey plaza was jumping out of joy (April Ludgate would not approve). Also, ew who wants to kiss Bono? He's like 80 years old.
31) The Woody Allen tribute happened next. He won the Cecil B. Demille Award, and Emma Stone gave the introduction. I cried during the montage of his films. Since Woody doesn't come to award shows, his cinematic other half, Diane Keaton (who just rocked her tuxedo), accepted on behalf of him and she sang a song, like Annie Hall would, in appreciation.

"Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold. A circle is round, it has no end. That's how long you're going to be my friend."

It was so beautiful. She also spoke about how Woody has written such incredible roles for women over the years, and then the camera just panned across the room and there were indeed so many "Woody" actresses there. 179 actresses have been in his movies. Like wowsers. I cried here too. I really love Woody. If anyone deserves to live forever, it is him. I seriously want to meet him just once in my life. Also, kind of amazing that Stone and Keaton both came. Hopefully, it is a sign.

32) Ben Affleck's ugly chin came next, with the rest of him, to present the Best Director award which went to Alfonso Cuarón. Woo hoo! I literally fist-pumped the air when his name got announced. He seems like a wonderful person.
33) Then came THE award. I had started losing faith about Leo winning Best Comedy Actor because of this America Hustle sweep, but bless the film gods, LEO WON! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!!! He pointed out how weird it was that he won for his comedic performance, thanking his " fellow comedians" but seriously, no one has made me laugh more in a movie. I wish Kate Winslet was there though. Then Leo could have declared his love for her like she did all those years back and the world would become an even better place. #JackandRose4eva

34) Still, the HFPA seemed pleased as punch with American Hustle, presenting it with Best Film Comedy/Musical. Just so wrong. I am going to start hating on AH because of all this unnecessary love. It is not the best film of any genre, except if wearing bad wigs or showing too much cleavage or blowing up an oven were genres. Please let it not become a frontrunner. It shouldn't even get an Oscar nomination.
35) Then Golden Globe winner Leonardo DiCaprio came to present Best Dramatic Actress. His intro (title of the post) was AWESOME. Seeing him present the award to Cate Blanchett was great. I think both of them have done similar work this year- using all of their talent and charisma and then just going batshit crazy with it. Cate is so graceful and beautiful. I don't think I could ever look directly at her. She's like the sun. Also she questioned the horrible play-off music-

"I just wondered if people at home can really hear this music or do they suddenly just think that you're just getting really fast because you're having a panic attack."
Followed by this cracker of a line-
"Plying me with vodka in the way Judy Garland was probably plowed with barbiturates."
How do they come up with this stuff?

36) Jessica Chastain came next to present the Best Drama Actor, which she gave to Matthew McConaughey (somewhere, Stevee Taylor was dancing). I admit I didn't listen to his speech but yaay! I am going to pretend the award is for WoWS, Magic Mike and Killer Joe instead.
37) Also, let's all give an award to Margaret for drunk-tweeting the Globes. It was beautiful.

37) And finally, Johnny Depp with bleached blonde hair came and presented Best Picture Drama (since Drama is soooo superior to Comedy), which went to 12 Years A Slave. A lot of people were relieved. I'm okay with it. I totally think that they will split the Best Film and Best Director at the Oscars too, 12 Years A Slave taking the former and Cuarón for the latter.

      And that was it. Yaay for Fassy coming on stage for *something*. There was no Gosling again and aww, no Hiddles even though half the Avengers were there. The only wins I am pissed with were American Hustle, The Great Beauty and Jon Voigt. Still, Leo, Amy, Spike and Woody were more than enough to make up for all that. Plus, so many shots of happy Joaquin. Anything that makes Joaquin happy, makes me happy. Now onto Ellen to wrap this up.

Be still, my beating heart.

Making a Case for Comedy

         Stevee Taylor's "Making a Case for" Blogathon has returned, asking us to champion those underrated gems in 2013 films that will have a hard time getting the awards attention they deserve. For my first post, I am going to talk about those actors or films I feel deserve to be considered for at least the Best Comedy/Musical section at the Golden Globes (since the Oscars have no such category because they are all serious old bores over there).

        I am, for one, constantly in awe of the power of comedy and also how easily comedic performances and movies are dismissed by people. One of my most favourite wins of all time has to be The Hangover winning Best Film- Comedy/Musical at the 2010 Golden Globes. Sure, the film spawned two totally unnecessary and annoying sequels, but the original is still one of the funniest films I have ever seen and was completely worthy of the mantle given to it.

        This year, I think there are a couple of performances and movies that I genuinely hope make the cut and here's my case for them-

Emma Watson in The Bling Ring

Quite possibly my favourite purely comic performance of the year. Watson is fabulous as Nicki Moore, the most shallow, spoilt and attention-hungry member of the group of teenagers who went around robbing celebrity houses in order to feel like one. I have a soft spot for actors who immerse themselves into ostentatiously ridiculous roles (see also: Scarlett Johansson in Don Jon and James Franco in Spring Breakers), and Watson is just fantastic playing the ditzy and bimbo-accented Nicki and makes her hilarious in everything she says or does.

Simon Pegg in The World's End

I would rally for a Best Actor Oscar nomination if it would have been a less competitive year. For now, I would love for Mr. Pegg to get recognised at least by the Globes for the truly magnificent job he did with Gary King. It's not easy being as unlikeable a person as King and still make him cool and funny. He's loud and crazy but also lets us see the cracks in the whole persona of Gary King. It is a bloody brilliant performance and it would be the bestest thing ever if he can get some or any awards attention for it. I swear, if he were a bigger star or the film wasn't a comedy per se, he would be getting more recognition.

This is the End and The World's End

2013 has been a good year for apocalyptic movies and none were better than these two comedies that both dealt with the end of days.

This is the End is flat-out the funniest movie I have seen all year. Though the premise sounds insane- a bunch of celebrities stuck in James Franco's house as the apocalypse hits the world, directors Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg totally pull it off. We have actors like Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Jay Baruchel, Emma Watson (again!) and so on parodying themselves and there is talk of Judgement Day and demons and there are drugs and an exorcism and a Milky Bar and cannibalism and home movies but it is all freaking hilarious! And then there's the ending which deserves an award all on its own. It was one of the most pleasantly (and by that I mean I was crying out of laughter) surprising movie experiences of my year, and I think a lot of people feel the same way, and therefore it would be great to see an actual super humorous film to get the Best Film- Comedy/Musical award. I would also love to see it get a Best Ensemble nomination at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Coming to The World's End, while it is not as funny as This is the End, I do think it is a smarter film with a lot of important themes that have been moulded incredibly well with all the comedic elements. As I wrote in my review, while on the surface it is a film about getting drunk with old buddies and alien invasions, it is actually about things like nostalgia, acceptance and alcoholism, and only a genius like Edgar Wright could show all that with so much hilarity. Plus, it would be great to see one of the most original trilogies of our time, The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy, get rewarded in some way. Because of the amalgamation of its complex ideas, Simon Pegg's performance, all the supporting actors, the amazing action sequences and most importantly in this case, the laughs, I think The World's End is totally deserving of a Best Film- Comedy/Musical nomination.

       More posts coming up. What did you think? Do you agree or disagree with my choices? Why aren't comedies given much awards attention? Please comment below.

Thoughts

Hiiii guys!! Let's just get down to my thoughts this week-

1) So remember how I talked about an inter-year drama competition in my college in the last thoughts post? Well, guess whose play grabbed the best play, best director, best actor and best supporting actor prizes?! All the hard work and body aches and lack of sleep paid off splendidly on the day of the competition and we did win ALL OF THE AWARDS (except technical but that's all cool).

All the years of winning academic prizes (nerd alert) have not made me as happy as getting this, which I got along with my co-director Garima. 21 is going pretty great so far :)

2) Charlie Hunnam dropped out of the 50 Shades movie. Hehehehehehehee. Yeah, this movie is totes going to happen.

3) Speaking of the "other" sex movie that I can't seem to quite make up my mind about, Nymphomaniac has released possibly my favourite character posters of all time. I love it. I love it for the same reason I love the opening scene of Marie Antoinette. I think von Trier is daring us to mock him and it is awesome. Just look at those faces. He and the film's publicity team totally know what people think the film will be like and they're giving it to them. LET THERE BE PUN-Y HEADLINES!

4) Matt Smith has officially stepped down as the Doctor *sniff* and is now going to play none other than Patrick Bateman in the American Psycho musical. This leaves me with conflicted feelings because as happy as I am for Smith and have full faith in his acting and singing abilities, an American Psycho musical just sounds like sacrilege of the highest kind. Like superior business card + dinner reservation at Dorsia X 100000000 BAD!!! Why are they making this musical at all? Apparently there's some song where people gyrate about brands or something. What?! But still, go Matt Smith!! :/ :/

5) One of my most anticipated films currently in production has a release date now. The Fault in Our Stars, the film based on John Green's amazing novel, starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort will release on 6th June, 2014. I am super duper excited for this film. In related news, the director of last year's beautiful The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky and the writers of The Spectacular Now (which stars Woodley) and (500) Days of Summer, Michael H. Webber and Scott Neustadter will team up to make While We're Young. This is based Adena Halpern's book 29 about a woman in her seventies who gets to become to her twenty-something self for one day. It will star Emma Watson who was in Perks. I think it sounds amazing. These are a group of extremely talented people who are more than capable, as we have seen, of showing incredible stories onscreen. I am looking forward to the movie a lot.

6) Benedict Cumberbatch is all over the place! He was voted Sexiest Male Movie Star by Empire Magazine (Miss Watson got the title in her sex). His interview on Reddit was awesomesauce. I mean, he talked about his, Matt Smith's and Hiddles's cheekbones! If I ever write a book on bone structure, those three will be part of the Holy Trinity of Cheekbones (I'm a little obsessed with cheekbones if you weren't aware...). He also came on the Graham Norton Show with none other than Harrison Ford. My favourite thing though was his "Rickman-Off" with Jimmy Fallon-

Simple joys of life.

7) Following the news of Elizabeth Olsen joining the cast of The Avengers: Age of Ultron as the Scarlet Witch, we now know that Aaron Johnson will play her onscreen brother, Quicksilver. I'm pretty happy about this. I like Johnson as an actor and I really hope there's a nice scene where all the male superheroes get shirtless. Well, Johnson and Chris Evans at least.

8) I know I don't usually talk about any television shows (except Doctor Who and Sherlock of course) but I have been watching a number of shows that I just feel like sharing my thoughts on. First of all, this season of American Horror Story is going to be awesomeness itself. I loved the first episode "Bitchcraft". The name alone gave me unimaginable joy but what a fantastic episode and ZOMG what a cast! Of course the older actresses, Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates and Angela Basset are on fire, but I am very pleased with the entire ensemble. My only issue with this season is the lack of Zachary Quinto who would have made it so much more sassier and beautiful. Next, there is the Vampire Diaries spin-off The Originals, which I daresay is going to surpass, well, the original. It has all the hotness, crazy twists, zingy one-liners of The Vampire Diaries minus the annoying romantic drama. WIN! I'm really enjoying it. I literally just started watching Sleepy Hollow and that too is quite an entertaining show. It reminds me of Elementary a bit, but I do like the story and Tom Mison is pretty. Another new show that I am liking a lot is Masters of Sex. I mean, Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan in a period setting- 'nuff said. Finally, I would just like to mention that I was really distracted by Chris Pratt's obvious fitness throughout the season premier of Parks and Recreation. PROMINENT SEXY CHEEKBONES, OH MY!

9) Stevee's back!!!!!!!! Yaayyy! This also gives me the perfect opportunity to say that Jessica Chastain's Facebook statuses are among the things that make life worth living.

10) Posters- I still haven't watched Gravity :'( But do check out these spectacular fan posters. Even though I just professed my love for the Nymphomaniac character posters, I also really adore those of American Hustle. I would actually build an altar to the Amy Adams one. The posters of The Double are supremely cool and weird and I need this movie like now. I really like Oldboy's new poster. It's interesting and fans of the original will see a lot of familiar elements. The US poster of Blue is the Warmest Colour is very pretty too. A bit of a cliche to say it, but I do really love the colours in it. Conversely, I despise the Labour Day poster. Yes, just use the one official and rather boring image of your film so far as its poster without even trying to change it a teeny bit. Gahh.

11) Trailers- The only thought that kept going through my head while watching the Charlie Countryman trailer was that Ron is in a film with Mads Mikkelsen and Hugo Stiglitz! I can't quite give a shit about anything else in it, sorry. I couldn't even watch all of I, Frankenstein's trailer, soooo... Why Aaron Eckhart, why? The full trailer of Monuments Men has more Jean Dujardin, so yaay! And the full trailer of American Hustle made me even more excited about the Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence. Yes, Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Renner all also look great and will probably be excellent in the movie, but it's a total ladies show for me. The new trailer of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug gives me hope because a) I think they *will* show Thorin as more of a dick in this one, which he was in the book, b) I am totally going to get aroused by a CGI dragon's voice in this movie. Benedict, you beauty. I really liked the trailer of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit because hey, Chris Pine in a suit being all action hero-y! My priorities are so sorted. I think it will be a fun movie though, so there you go. 

12) Finally, I don't know how but I missed it when they announced that Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer are co-starring in Guy Richie's The Man from U.N.C.L.E. But goodness, look at the all-man gorgeousity-

The mind races.

This turned out to be quite a hormones-driven post. Sorry about that. Byeeeeee.

Thoughts

         AND IT'S BACK! It has been more than 2 months since my last weekly thoughts post and obviously a lot has happened since then. Here are my thoughts on the biggies, so to speak.

1) Natalie Portman dropped out of the new Fassy-Macbeth film and her replacement is none other than Marion Cotillard. I had thought that Portman would be interesting but this is just PERFECT! The amount of talent and sexiness that is going to be unleashed will be amazing. I have the Scottish play in college this year (second year, yaay!), and our professor was talking about how we will watch its various cinematic adaptations when we're done with the text, and all I could think of was how my favourite one is yet to come. I am so excited for this.

2) Sooooooo... Batfleck. My biggest problem with the casting is not even the acting thing. It's just that Ben Affleck has a super ugly chin and it will look awful in his Batman mask. The only reason I liked him in Argo was because the beard was hiding that chin. And he's also coming in the new David Fincher movie, Gone Girl. Just no. I don't want this. Make movies, Ben. Don't come in any! However, I do love the Rosamund Pike casting.

3) So they're actually making the Fifty Shades of Grey film. HOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW?! Anyways, Charlie Hunnam and Dakota Johnson will star as the pervs protagonists, Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. Apparently a lot of people are v. unhappy with Hunnam because they wanted Alexander Skarsgard instead. First of all, I don't understand why this film is having fangirl problems. I mean, it's a mommy porn book, not some great work of literature. Secondly, Hunnam is quite hot but I too agree that Askars would have been ideal casting. Christian Grey can be a very intriguing character in more capable hands than that of the author, E.L. James. As for Johnson, I am pretty certain now that more guys are going to watch this film than girls because she is plenty attractive. Though I will wait for trailers and stuff, I do think that I will watch this when it comes out just to see what the heck have they done with the material. My only hope is that they don't shy away from male nudity. Not that I want to stare at penises or whatever, but I do get wayyyyyyy more than my share of boobs on television and film.

4) James Spader is going to play Ultron in The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Ultron is obviously the baddie, and a rather powerful one at that, but director-braniac Joss Whedon is going to make some interesting changes. I am anyways very excited for this film, seeing how I am gaga about the first Avengers movie. Spader is a very cool choice, and he has some big shoes to fill after the God of Mischief (and cheekbones), Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston.

5) The Book Thief has been made into a movie starring Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson. I am so annoyed by this. This is one of the only books that has actually made me cry and whenever I envisioned a film, I could only see an animated one. From whatever I can make of the trailer, it looks very generic. It's World War 2, it's Nazi Germany, there is a kid, there are British actors putting on German accents- it's all been seen before. One of my favourite things about the book was that it was narrated by Death and that was one of the biggest reasons I thought its film could only be made in an animated form. I don't think this version has Death as a character at all, which is a shame. The book ends with Death saying, and this is one of my most favourite last lines in a book ever, "I am haunted by humans." And I just don't see it happening in the movie. I really wish people would try and think out of the box once in a while. So glad The Little Prince will be animated (that made me cry too).

6) Other casting news- Benedict Cumberbatch dropped out of Guillermo Del Toro's next film, Crimson Peak. Shame I say! I read the plot of the film and he was probably set to play a kind of a sinister charmer-type character, which would have been perfect, what with his voice and all. No news on the replacement yet. My one-time dream husband, Josh Hartnett, is having a sort of comeback in a psycho-sexual horror TV series called Penny Dreadful. It will co-star Eva Green and is being written by John Logan who has penned films like Hugo and The Aviator. I think it sounds very cool and mysterious and I like it when actors I used to obsess over do well. Shows that I had taste :P In a similar vein, Tom Sturridge has gotten two very exciting roles. He will star in Oliver Assayas's Sils Maria, playing Chloe Moretz's boyfriend (ew), but the cast also includes big names like Juliet Binoche, Kristen Stewart and Daniel Bruhl. He will also star in Thomas Vinterberg's English language debut, the film adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd, along with Carey Mulligan and Matthias Schoenaerts. Two fantastic projects, methinks. Next, James McAvoy will play Frankenstein in the new Frankenstein movie. It is being directed by Paul McGuigan and Chronicle's Max Landis has penned the script. McAvoy will co-star with my favourite person in the world, Daniel Radcliffe, who is playing Igor. This is going to be a twist on the classic horror tale and seeing how these two gorgeous, blue-eyed and very talented actors have already been cast, I can't wait to see who they pick to play the monster. Mia Wasikowska has been replaced by Rooney Mara in Carol, the film based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith. It is going to be directed by Todd Haynes and also stars Cate Blanchett. I personally think it is a step down, albeit not a very big one, because I feel that the Blanchett-Wasikowska dynamic was a better one. Still, Mara is a fine actress and I just want this movie now. Finally, Sir Ian McKellen is going to play Sherlock Holmes in Bill Condon's A Slight Trick of the Mind where the renowned sleuth is made to come out of his retirement to solve a case. All I can think of is that that Sherlock is a sexy one. It's also funny to note that Condon just made The Fifth Estate with the best Sherlock to date, Benedict Cumberbatch.

6) TV news- True Blood is finally ending! I was bemoaning the fact that HBO renewed it for a seventh season, but they've announced that it is to be the last season of the once great show. It is *still* a lot of fun, but mostly because it has become so batshit crazy that you kind of can't look away. Chiefly because of this. Neil Cross, the creator of the fantastic show Luther, has reportedly written a film script for a Luther movie, that is going to be a prequel to the tv series. First of all, yessssssss! More Idris Elba for everyone! Second of all, I really hope they find some way to include Ruth Wilson's delicious Alice Morgan, even if it is cameo. American Horror Story: Coven is going to start soon and its brilliant promos have started already. Also, look at this poster. SO BLOODY PUMPED!

7) Matt Smith is going to start filming his final episode as the Eleventh Doctor aka Worst Christmas Ever this week. He's going to wear a wig which is a bit depressing because his hair was one of the biggest reasons I started watching Doctor Who in the first place. Of course there is much, much, much more to the show than that, but it was definitely a stimulus. About the episode itself, apparently the villains, or at least one of the villains, are going to be the Cybermen. I was originally very against this because they are probably my least favourite villains, in New Who at least, but seeing how incredible Smith's performance in "Nightmare in Silver" was, it maybe a good thing. Oh and for any of us who thought we will only have our heartbroken, fat chance! Our hearts will instead be snatched from our chests and trampled upon and then have a bulldozer go over them, Moffat style! Moffat's told Doctor Who Magazine: "One of the horrors of regeneration is that a certain amount of his persona alters entirely. His appetites and his enthusiasm will change. And that’s sort of what I’m writing about now in Matt’s last episode, the fact that he’s terribly aware that he’s about to be rewritten. And it’s frightening..." I am going to be suicidal this Christmas, clearly.

8) Changing tracks, THIS IS FINALLY HERE!-

Simon Pegg is a god. Also, Pinto's faces.

9) Trailers- News has already started pouring in that Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave is incredible, with Chiwetel Ejiofor shining the most, and I think we can get a sense of that from the trailer. I only have seven words for The Counselor- Fassy Sex Eyes and Cameron Diaz, Hot Damn! You can read Sati's post for more details. I kind of squealed in the one of Jean Dujardin in the The Monuments Men trailer. I am looking forward to this film because I really like the plot. Fading Gigolo looks absolutely adorbs. I love Woody so much. I actually really like the trailer of Saving Mr. Banks, especially with that little "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" teaser. Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson are more than enough reason for me to be excited about it though. To be honest, I'm going to watch Thor: The Dark World just for Hiddles's Loki. Apparently they reshot it to add more Loki scenes so I can't be the only one. It looks quite fun on the whole too though. I'm only including Pompeii's trailer to emphasize on how dumb it looks and how much I don't want to watch it. Kit Harrington actually looks photoshopped to me. And his face is stupid. Spike Jonze's next, Her looks absolutely amazeballs. Love the cast, love ScarJo's voice, love the idea. V. excited. Dallas Buyers Club looks pretty good too, but unlike most people who are all for Matthew McConaughey in this, who *does* look brilliant, I am rooting for Jared Leto who I think is going to be even better. Also speaking of Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin's teaser looks freaky as hell but I think she's going to rock. Lars Von Trier's Nymphomaniac is going to be something. It has released three clips so far, of the first three "chapters" of the self-professed nymphomaniac Joe's life. All are shocking and intriguing in their own way. Coming to Bollywood, Krrish 3 looks like a terrible mixture of all superhero movies. It's going to be so bad that it has to be watched with a bunch of people and be laughed at. Can't wait. The best trailer I have seen in all this while, barring Kill Your Darlings of course, is David O. Russell's American Hustle. Love the cast, the music, the look and Amy Adams most of all. This looks great and I really, really, really, want Adams to win that Oscar already.

10) Finally, as is a semi-tradition with this blog, this is me indulging in my girl-crush on Emma Watson-

She was excellent in The Bling Ring!

Until next time.

Thoughts

          Hello everyone! So guess what? My exams have been postponed for another month which is great news except that they are starting the same day as the new ANTM cycle which is the Guys and Girls cycle AKA my most anticipated thing on TV ever! Gahhhhhhh.
           Don't judge me.

1) Gary Oldman is eyeing Benedict Cumberbatch and Ralph Fiennes for his second directorial feature, Flying Horse. It will be about a photographer who murders a theatre critic who is having an affair with his wife. I think this will be excellent. All of them should definitely act together, even though Oldman has separately costarred with both the actors- with Cumberbatch in Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy and with Fiennes in the Harry Potter movies. Honestly though, if the Harry Potter films were still being made, Cumberbatch would have definitely made it into its gargantuan British cast. He could have been a Death Eater, or maybe a younger version of Snape. Yes! They should actually make a Snape spin-off with Cumberbatch- I will not mind one bit. Anyways, I want Flying Horse now!

2) Speaking of other Hogwarts alumni, Emma Watson is going to reteam with Harry Potter producer David Heyman in Queen of the Tearling, the adaptation of the first book in a trilogy. The story is "set three centuries after an environmental catastrophe when a malevolent Red Queen holds considerable power". People are calling it the Game of Thrones for women, which makes no actual sense if you watch the show- the women are the biggest badasses in Westeros. Like duhhh. Still, I am really happy that Watson is going places, though I don't know if another blockbuster series is a good idea. Having said that, she has already played one of the most inspiring female role models in recent times so she is an apt choice for this.

3) This news came out on the morning of the day Matt Smith announced his retirement which was when my world ended. Anyhoo, Karen Gillan, Smith's ex-costar and companion on Doctor Who, is going to play a lead villain in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie, which is brilliant! She will be a baddie alongside another beautiful tall person, Lee Pace, and Michael Rooker. Rumours suggest that she will play a bounty-hunter named Angela but we will see if that's true or not. The film will also star Chris Pratt, John C. Reily, Zoe Saldana and Glenn Close. So happy for Gillan- redheads FTW!

4) Other casting news- Eddie Redmayne is going to play Stephen Hawking in Theory of Everything. The film will chronicle that period of Hawking's life when he was diagnosed with motor neuron disease and was told he has a couple of years to live, causing him to go into depression and have problems with his to-be wife. It sounds like a very demanding, dramatic role and it will be interesting to see what Redmayne does with it. It will be directed by Man on Wire director, James Marsh. Next, Leonardo DiCaprio is going to play Rasputin and Jason Hall, the screenwriter who wrote the upcoming Steven Spielberg-Bradley Cooper movie American Sniper, is going to pen the script. It's still very much in early development but it sounds cool and weird and I'm glad to see that Leo is still after that Oscar. GIVE HIM THAT OSCAR, YOU BASTARDS! Finally, the dude who did win the Oscar, Christoph Waltz might be starring in Roman Polanski's True Crimes which is based on a New Yorker article about a Polish detective solving a cold case that leads him into Poland's underworld. Waltz has worked with Polanski on the delightful Carnage, where he outshone everyone else, and it would be very cool to see Waltz do something subdued and grim like this.

5) Oh btw, are you guys listening to our podcast? You can click on the page above named "Across the Universe Podcast" to listen :)

6) I am on such a Bollywood music binge right now, all because of Yeh Jawaan Hai Deewani. This song in particular-

Yes I am plugging a song in a language most of you don't understand about a festival most of you don't celebrate but imagine there's no countries, it isn't hard to do etcetera etcetera. THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!

7) Posters- Well, not actual posters but discarded ones in fact. Spike Lee's Oldboy remake starring Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen and Sharlto Copley didn't use these 4 posters but I think they're pretty cool, especially the trunk one.

8) Trailers- Touchy Feely made by Lynn Shelton who direcred the wonderful Your Sister's Sister, looks just as sweet and touching (haha get it?). This too stars Rosemary DeWitt, along with Ellen Page, Scoot McNairy and Allison Janney. Filth has another awesomely disgusting red-band trailer out. I really want to watch this. The Way, Way Back looks very good too. Loving Steve Carell and Sam Rockwell in it. 300: Rise of an Empire looks as over the top as one would expect. It kind of sucks that the main guy isn't hot but hey, Eva Green is one gorgeous lady. The trailer to The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has me concerned as it somehow features more Legolas than Bilbo. Also I disapprove of us not hearing Benedict Cumberbatch's voice in it. Thank god for all the Lee Pace though. Pretty elf is pretty. Naomi Watts-starrer Diana has a teaser out and it looks very boring, though I have faith in her. Aside from her exciting new project, Karen Gillan is also the star of Not Another Happy Ending which looks cute albeit predictable but I love her so I will watch it. Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer star in gangster-family-comedy The Family, erstwhile known as the v. exotic Malavita, and I might watch it. Might. The trailer of the week/fortnight is *obviously* Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine. It looks amazing and I'm really loving Cate Blanchett losing her mind and Sally Hawkins being just awesome. Two Oscars please.

9) Finally, how awesome is Hannibal? And Mads Mikkelsen? I give you-

Mads Mikkelsen

Sads Mikkelsen

Glads Mikkelsen

Bads Mikkelsen

Knee-pads Mikkelsen

Rads Mikkelsen

Plaids Mikkelsen

Cool-dads Mikkelsen

Honestly, I just wanted a lot of Mads Mikkelsen on my blog. Muahahahahaa.

Be careful of what or who you are eating. Good bye!

Thoughts

       Another late Thoughts post and I have nothing to say for myself except that I have been lazing around in my house ever since my summer vacations began last week. I haven't even started preparing for the exams that will start once the holidays are over. Sorry folks!

1) The Across the Universe Podcast that I have started with Mette and Sofia released its first episode and the feedback has been excellent so far. We are also on iTunes now where you can subscribe to the podcast and download and listen to the episodes, which are all free.

2) Andrew Garfield and Ken Watanabe will starring in Martin Scorsese's next, Silence. The film will follow Garfield's character, a 17th century priest who goes to Japan to find his mentor, but is instead faced with religious persecution. Watanabe will play his interpreter. Scorsese has been working on its script since 1988 when he read the novel of the same name by late Japanese author Shusako Endo, but has had trouble filming it due to its sensitive nature. I think this sounds excellent and so does the cast.

3) Charlie Kaufman is set to co-direct a stop-motion animated film Anomalisa which is, as its Kickstarter page reads "about a man crippled by the mundanity of his life". It will follow a character named Michael who is a celebrated motivational speaker who has, so as to speak, lost the motivation in his life, but all that changes when he meets a girl called Lisa. Sounds quite Kaufman-ish, and hence awesome. Voice cast so far includes David Thewlis and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Cannot wait.

4) Scarlett Johansson is going to direct her first film. Summer Crossing is based on the lost first novel of Truman Capote. It's a film that has been close to her for a long time now and it will be out in 2015. The story follows a 17 year old girl who falls in love with a Jewish parking attendant in 1945 New York.

5) Speaking of directorial debuts, my favourite one is well into its shooting now. How to Catch a Monster better be good, especially seeing how Matt Smith has shaved off his gorgeous, gorgeous hair for it. It is an interesting look overall though, and it doesn't hurt that he's shirtless throughout most of it. He is playing the antagonist Bully in the movie, and after the last Doctor Who episode "Nightmare in Silver" where he got to be a villain and was extremely effective at it, I cannot wait to see what he does.

6) Cannes Film Festival is also in full swing now. I did not know that Vidya Balan is in the jury. She is easily the best working Indian actress right now and I couldn't be happier. Plus I love her outfits. She and Christoph Waltz need to come in a film together. Also movie-wise, Asghar Farhadi's The Past is getting rave reviews so far, which is great because his A Separation is one of the most flawless films I have ever seen.

7) Jesse Eisenberg, Isabelle Huppert and Gabriel Byrne are going to star in Joachim Trier's Louder than Bombs. I have seen one film by Trier and it was Oslo, August 31st, which was a very well-made and affecting film, so I have high hopes for this. The official synopsis says that it is a Rashomon-style drama that "revolves around the character of a famous, late war photographer played by Huppert. On the eve of a retrospective of work, some three years after her untimely death, her husband and two sons discover an unsettling secret from her past." It sounds intriguing to say the least.

8) Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep and the ADORABLE James Corden are slated to star in Rob Marshall's adaptation of the musical Into the Woods. Joining them is the lovely Emily Blunt and also, scruffy gods Chris Pine and Jake Gyllenhaal are said to appear as princes. The last two are small parts but it feels like Hollywood is hacking my brain because good lord, aren't they like princes already? I am getting excited about this.

9) Reese Witherspoon is going to join her Walk the Line co-star, the great-faced Joaquin Phoenix in Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice. I really need to watch Walk the Line, but I guess this is a good choice. I have faith in PTA.

10) Nymphomiac is going to be some film. The first cast photo has been released and everyone's doing weird shit in it, as one would expect from a Lars von Trier movie. He is in the photo too with duct tape over his mouth. Read the text he sent to Nicolas Winding Refn. Read the entire interview while you're at it. It's hilarious.

11) Btw, the Doctor Who series finale is today and I am going CRAY CRAYYYYYYYYYY!!!

12) LOADS of trailers- August Osage County which looks fairly typical but I do like the idea of seeing Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts as a bickering mother-daughter pair. Also, what is up with Benedict Cumberbatch's hair? The Butler has that annoying uplifting music playing throughout which really distracts me from the trailer. Although that can be a blessing in disguise because who really wants to see John Cusack playing Nixon... sober? Still, I kind of want to watch it for Oprah. Pacific Rim has another fucking awesome trailer out. Jean-Pierre Jeunet has a delightful new movie out called The Young and Prodigious Spivet which has a lot of his characteristic elements in it. Jim Jarmusch's vampire flick Only Lovers Left Alive has two clips out (both of which are in that video). I think it looks amazing and Hiddles and Tilda Swinton have insane chemistry together. Richard Curtis is back with another awesome-looking romcom About Time which has time travel in it so huzzah! It stars Domnhall Gleeson, who looks adorbs in it, and Rachel McAdams and Curtis-regular Bill Nighy. I already wrote a whole post on the trailer of my most anticipated film of 2013, The World's End. Finally, the king of trailers this week is the one and only Gravity. It looks mindblowingly spectacular and I really hope they don't release anymore trailers because this is perfect. I want this film. Give it to me!!

13) Finally, my ultimate girl-crush Emma Watson is wowing everyone at Cannes. Her W Magazine shoot, entitled "The Prime of Miss Emma Watson" is stunning-

Just... wow.

Toodles!

"Let's go shopping."

A teaser is finally here! I have been going crazy ever since it was announced that Emma Watson is to star in the new Sofia Coppola film because I thought they were a match made in girly heaven, and now I am sure of it.

I am loving the whole vibe of The Bling Ring. As much as I loved Somewhere, I did think it was a bit too malaise and slow and this feels like more fun. With Sleigh Bells' "Crown On The Ground" playing in the background, we see a group of young thieves who robbed the homes of Hollywood personalities living the high life and the repercussions thereof. It looks gorgeous and playful and reminds me of my two most favourite Coppola films, Marie Antoinette and The Virgin Suicides. The former because of all the indulgence and the latter due to the crime aspect.

Also, I must mention Watson. Just one question- Hermione who?

Can't bloody wait for this now. It's going to be awesome!