

I considered starting this post with a series of exclamation points but then came to my senses, not only because it would be grammatically incorrect but also because I don’t want to set my expectations too high for the new movie “On the Road.”
I’ve been waiting for this trailer for so long. The movie, based on Jack Kerouac’s bestselling book of the same name, follows Dean and Sal, members of the Beat Generation. They follow the U.S. roads on their fast-paced search for “It.”
The movie has a star studded cast: Kristen Stewart, Kirsten Dunst, Viggo Mortensen, Amy Adams and Steve Buscemi. Plus, the trailer includes the best line in the book: “the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.”
The movie still doesn’t have a release date. All we know for now is that it’s “Coming Soon.” What a tease! Will you see it?
When one thinks of Kristen Stewart, ‘princess’ isn’t usually the first word that comes to mind. Greasy, monotone, and dull? Maybe.
But a princess is exactly what Stewart will play in her next film. According to Perez Hilton, producer Palak Patel confirmed via Twitter that Stewart will play the iconic Snow White in the film ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’. The film by Universal is a dark and gritty adaptation of the classic fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, revolving around a huntsman who is ordered to kill Snow White but instead chooses to let her go and save her.
Charlize Theron and Viggo Mortensen are also rumoured to star in the film, Theron as the Evil Queen and Mortensen as the Huntsman, although both stars haven’t been officially confirmed.
I’m interested in how this film will turn out. I’m all for dark remakes of childhood fairytales, but this totally departs from the original plot to the point of it being totally unrecognizable. Unless seven midgets follow Kristen Stewart around throughout the entire film, how is this film even related to the original?
Stewart as Snow White is definitely an interesting choice, too. Snow White is usually portrayed as this regal, innocent, gentle woman – and Kristen Stewart is none of these things. She will either pull off some amazing acting or put her own dark and dreary take on the character. My guess is on the latter.
But my real beef with this news isn’t about Stewart, it’s the fact that I’m tired of remakes. Red Riding Hood, Alice in Wonderland, Beastly… when will this fairytale remake madness stop? I mean, I like the fact that they put dark spins on these tails, that part is interesting. But can’t Hollywood come up with some original story lines?
Try writing words on pieces of paper and picking out of a hat. For example, let’s say you pick “shoe” and “money” out of a hat, then you could make a movie about a magical shoe that leads you to a life of wealth and fortune. But, every time you put on that shoe, Ke$ha releases a new single. Then a story of decisions and consequences would occur, starring Jesse Eisenberg as a pondering young teen. See, it’s not that hard. Be original, Hollywood.
It’s official: Ellen Page and her pregnant alter-ego “Juno” are Oscar worthy.
The film received nods in several category where it will be the only comedy competing against some huge, heavy-hitter dramas. 20-year-old Page is up against the likes of Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age), Julie Christie (Away From Her), Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose) and Laura Linney (The Savages) for Best Actress.
“Juno” is nominated for Best Picture against the critical favourites “Atonement,” “Michael Clayton,” “No Country for Old Men” and “There Will Be Blood.”
Screenwriter Diablo Cody and Canadian director Jason Reitman also scored a nomination for “Juno.”
Sarah Polley will also be representing Canada at the awards. She was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for her film, “Away From Her.”
With so many fantastic performances, it will be especially hard to guess the winners this year. The Best Actor category is an exciting list: George Clooney (Michael Clayton), Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood), Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd), Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises) and Tommy Lee Jones (In The Valley of Elah).
Other notable nominations are 13-year-old Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men) and Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James?).
James McAvoy and Keira Knightley were noticably snubbed for their lead performances in “Atonement.”
Here is a complete list of the nominations:
BEST PICTURE
“Atonement”
“Juno”
“Michael Clayton”
“No Country for Old Men”
“There Will Be Blood”
BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
Julie Christie, “Away From Her”
Marion Cotillard, “La Vie en Rose”
Laura Linney, “The Savages”
Ellen Page, “Juno”
BEST ACTOR
George Clooney, “Michael Clayton”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”
Johnny Depp, “Sweeney Todd”
Viggo Mortensen, “Eastern Promises”
Tommy Lee Jones, “In the Valley of Elah”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, “I’m Not There”
Ruby Dee, “American Gangster”
Saoirse Ronan, “Atonement”
Amy Ryan, “Gone Baby Gone”
Tilda Swinton, “Michael Clayton”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Casey Affleck, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”
Javier Bardem, “No Country for Old Men”
Hal Holbrook, “Into The Wild”
Tommy Lee Jones, “No Country For Old Men”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Charlie Wilson’s War”
Tom Wilkinson, “Michael Clayton”
BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood”
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”
Julian Schnabel, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
Tony Gilroy, “Michael Clayton”
Jason Reitman, “Juno”
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Diablo Cody, “Juno”
Nancy Oliver, “Lars and the Real Girl”
Tony Gilroy, “Michael Clayton”
Brad Bird, Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird, “Ratatouille”
Tamara Jenkins, “The Savages”
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood”
Christopher Hampton, “Atonement”
Ronald Harwood, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”
Sarah Polley, “Away From Her”
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Beaufort” (Israel)
“The Counterfeiters” (Austria)
“Katyn” (Poland)
“Mongol” (Kazakhstan)
“12″ (Russia)
BEST ANIMATED FILM
“Persepolis”
“Ratatouille”
“Surf’s Up”
BEST ART DIRECTION
“American Gangster”
“Atonement”
“The Golden Compass”
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
“There Will Be Blood”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” Roger Deakins
“Atonement,” Seamus Mcgarvey
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” Janusz Kaminski
“No Country For Old Men,” Roger Deakins
“There Will Be Blood,” Robert Elswit
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“Across the Universe,” Albert Wolsky
“Atonement,” Jacqueline Durran
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” Alexandra Byrne
“La Vie En Rose,” Marit Allen
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street,” Colleen Atwood
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“No End in Sight”
“Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience”
“Sicko”
“Taxi to the Dark Side”
“War/Dance”
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
“Freeheld”
“La Corona” (“The Crown”)
“Salim Baba”
“Sari’s Mother”
BEST FILM EDITING
“The Bourne Ultimatum,” Christopher Rouse
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” Juliette Welfling
“Into the Wild,” Jay Cassidy
“No Country for Old Men,” Roderick Jaynes
“There Will Be Blood,” Dylan Tichenor
BEST MAKEUP
“La Vie en Rose”
“Norbit”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
“Atonement”, Dario Marianelli
“The Kite Runner”, Alberto Iglesias
“Michael Clayton”, James Newton Howard
“Ratatouille”, Michael Giacchino
“3:10 to Yuma”, Marco Beltrami
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Falling Slowly” from “Once”
“Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted”
“Raise It Up” from “August Rush”
“So Close” from “Enchanted”
“That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted”
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
“I Met the Walrus”
“Madame Tutli-Putli”
“Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)”
“My Love (Moya Lyubov)”
“Peter & the Wolf”
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
“At Night”
“Il Supplente (The Substitute)”
“Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)”
“Tanghi Argentini”
“The Tonto Woman”
BEST SOUND EDITING
“The Bourne Ultimatum”
“No Country For Old Men”
“Ratatouille”
“There Will Be Blood”
“Transformers”
BEST SOUND MIXING
“The Bourne Ultimatum”
“No Country For Old Men”
“Ratatouille”
“3:10 to Yuma”
“Transformers”
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“The Golden Compass”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
“Transformers”
Actor Viggo Mortensen is going political. He has set off on a three-day fundraising tour for New York Democrat Robert Johnson, who is challenging U.S. Rep. John McHugh for the 23rd Congressional District seat.
“I’m pretty skeptical of all politicians, and I think it’s only in the movies that you find no-strings-attached, sincere people,” said Mortensen on Thursday at a buffet dinner.
“Dr. Bob is that rare thing: He’s a man that’s not bought and paid for. I wish there were candidates like him all over the country,” he said.
The star of the Lord of the Rings trilogy said he has donated $2,100 to Johnson’s campaign, the maximum limit for an individual under federal election laws.
