• Small Talk – Daniel Radcliffe (2 of 2)

    In his latest movie, The Woman In Black, Dan traded his Hogwarts uniform for a totally new role as a Dad.

  • #freshpresslive – feb 10/12

    Natalia brings you the latest news on Adele’s interview with Anderson Cooper, Kristen Bell’s interview on Ellen is auto tuned, Ladyhawke’s latest music video and much more!

  • #freshpresslive – Feb 8/12

    Natalia discusses what’s new with Pharrell Williams and her thoughts on Karl Lagerfeld’s mean comments towards Adele’s weight. She also shows a roster of animals behaving like humans and, wait until you see the new size of coffee available at Starbucks!

  • #freshpresslive – Feb 7/12

    Natalia dishes the latest news on the Juno Awards nominees, the upcoming Spiderman 3D film starring Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield and is Katy Perry hooking up with Tim Tebow? Watch today’s episode to find out.

  • Small Talk – The Kooks (2 of 2)

    When The Kooks are in the studio they’re focused and most importantly, sober. Watch Hugh and Luke explain their reasoning below.

  • Small Talk – The Kooks (1 of 2)

    The Kooks released a new album called “Junk of the Heart,” and you would think Hugh and Luke would be very excited about it. Well, they seemed rather indifferent to be honest. We spoke about that and why they don’t care about critics.

  • #freshpresslive – Feb 2/12

    Natalia dishes the latest in entertainment news on Joan Rivers, Lana Del Rey and a brand new trailer for the movie Hunger Games.

  • #freshpresslive – Feb 1/12

    Natalia talks about how Snooki might be pregnant, Nicolas Cage’s Cage Rage, Elisabetta Canalis is dating Steve-O and more for Feb 1, 2012.

  • #freshpresslive – Jan 31/12

    Natalia dishes the news on Miley Cyrus breaking her tailbone, a 100 year old woman who plays the Nintendo DS to stay young and Houston, Texas contemplating a statute of Beyonce.

  • #freshpresslive – Jan 30/12

    David Beckham debuts a new line of underwear, the worst dressed celebrity – Shy’m and Matthew Broderick is back as Ferris Bueller with a brand new commercial airing during the Super Bowl on Feb 5th 2012.

  • Small Talk – Daniel Radcliffe (1 of 2)

    Daniel Radcliffe is back with his new movie The Woman In Black. It’s a bone chilling remake of a film from the ’80s. Ironically, Daniel actually scares very easily but he’s not afraid of ghosts. In this interview he tells us what really gives him the creeps.

  • Small Talk – Graffiti6 (2 of 3)

    Next time you’re struggling to make conversation, try asking this question: “If you could invite anyone (living or dead) to the perfect house party, who would it be?”

  • Small Talk – Graffiti6 (1 of 3)

    Graffiti6 is starting to make their North American invasion, and they are hitting up the Tonight Show. Does this sound familiar? Well the Beatles made the exact same journey over 40 years ago. Naturally, @jordans_life had to make some comparisons.

  • Small Talk – Nick Carter (3 of 3)

    Nick plays World of Warcraft. Not only that, he’s the head of his guild, demonstrating that it IS possible to juggle being a hardcore gamer with being a top-selling recording artist.

  • Small Talk – Nick Carter (2 of 3)

    During a LIVE interview on andPOP.com Nick Carter gave out a number and took phone calls from his fans. These were real phone calls from real fans who we gave exclusive access to one of the biggest recording artists of our generation.

  • Small Talk – Nick Carter (1 of 3)

    There were great questions about music, fitness, the backstreet boys but the most popular question, however, was about his underwear. In this clip Nick talks about his his ‘Haynes’ and covering his fans with glow in the dark paint.

  • Small Talk – Hedley (2 of 2)

    When releasing new music today, half the battle is online promotion. However, contests, signed merch and giveaways aren’t always the best solutions. When working on their latest album, Hedley came up with a brilliant idea, they decided to make trailers.

  • Small Talk – Hedley (1 of 2)

    It’s hard to prepare for an interview with Hedley. So in this interview, we threw caution to the wind, got a 24 of beer and broadcast the interview live on our USTREAM (andPOP.tv). Eventually Jacob, Dave and @jordans_life ended up talking about hairy legs, their newest music video and more.

  • Small Talk – Marina and The Diamonds (2 of 2)

    Diamandis from Marina and The Diamonds talks to us about her very serious disease. It’s called synaesthetic. And we lied, it’s not a disease. More like a cool condition. Diamandis explains further.

  • Small Talk – Neverest

    Would you be embarrassed if someone scrolled through your iPod? We sit down with Spee and Brendan to talk about the diverse music on their playlist.

 
 


Socio-Political Themes and New Faces Highlight Oscar Nominees

Posted by andPOP Staff on February 1st, 2006

Oscar’s feeling deep.

Reuters reports that when the nominations for the 78th Annual Academy Awards were announced yesterday, industry watchers were quick to point out that films about political and social issues are in this year – gay romance, race relations and government corruption are but a sample of the predominant themes.

“I think this year is the year that small movies get attention because they deal with complexities, they go to the gray area,” said Ang Lee, whose Brokeback Mountain nabbed eight nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. “They deal with issues, and they ask questions; they don’t really give resolution. That’s the mood this year.”

Crash, from Canadian writer-director Paul Haggis, and Good Night, and Good Luck both garnered six nominations each, including Best Picture. The other nominees in that category are Munich and Capote. Of the five Best Picture nominees, only Munich (which had a budget of $68 million) could be considered a big studio production. Steven Spielberg joked that he could have financed the other four movies and have enough money left over for The Squid and the Whale.

On a more serious note, Spielberg said, “This is a courageous year for filmmakers. … They are saying ‘If I never make another film, this one says what I think and feel.’”

A slew of new faces is also noticeable in the acting categories – 14 of the names are first-time Oscar nominees. Although the lack of proven star power may hurt ratings, it makes the competition more refreshing.

Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line) is the only one in the Best Actor category who has been nominated before. He faces off against Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow), Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) and David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck).

First-time Oscar nominees for Best Actress include Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line, Felicity Huffman for Transamerica, and Keira Knightley for Pride & Prejudice. The newcomers will compete with Oscar winners Judi Dench (Mrs. Henderson Presents) and Charlize Theron (North Country).

In the supporting actress category we have a lone past Oscar winner, Frances McDormand from North Country. The others are Amy Adams (Junebug), Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener), Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain) and Catherine Keener (Capote).

Finally, competing for best supporting actor with Oscar winner William Hurt (A History of Violence) are newcomers Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain), Matt Dillon (Crash), triple-threat George Clooney (Good Night, and Good Luck) and Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man).

The Academy Awards will air on March 5. Visit http://www.oscar.com/nominees/list.html for the complete list of nominees.


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