Corey Feldman "Disappointed" by Corey Haim Snub at Oscars (E! Online)

“I am gravely disappointed that the public outcry of the voices of Corey’s supporters and fans on his omission from the SAG memorial was not heard by the Academy,” Haim’s long-time friend and cohort said in a statement on Tuesday. “Corey dedicated his life to the film industry…The same industry that failed to dedicate even 30 seconds to his memory.”

Damn straight! I'm not going to lie - I saw pretty much all of the Two-Corey movies from back in the day. Just because someone is - how should I put it? - a little down and out when his time comes doesn't mean he shouldn't be in the montage.
Read the full article here.

HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE in Theaters March 4 / How I Met Your City, The Real One (New York Times)

Please hit the theatres and support this lovely indie film - and WINNER of the Sundance Audience Award! - produced by my good friend Jesse Hara and his company Tom Sawyer Entertainment. It was one of my favorite scripts and I still wish the company I was working for had been smart enough to get involved when they had the chance!

Josh Radnor (CBS' Emmy-nominated "How I Met Your Mother") wrote, directed and stars in HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE, a sharp comedy centered on a group of 20-something New Yorkers struggling to figure out themselves, their lives and their love.

There's also a great write-up in the New York Times, with a quote from the aforementioned Jesse Hara! (This is particularly exciting since I can now say I'm only once-removed from the NYT - which to me, is a big deal. Huge. And of course, this IS about me, right?)

And though New York may be the backdrop for HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE the title was inspired by Los Angeles. Mr. Radnor came up with it after hearing secondhand about the preachings of a “self-helpish teacher-slash-L.A. guy my friend used to go listen to in the valley,” he said. “He talked about your communication with the universe. He said that when you’re feeling something wonderful, being grateful is not enough. You have to say, ‘More, please.’"

“I never thought the title would stick,” he added. “But the first thing I heard from some people was that they loved it. There’s a positive charge around those words.”

Read the rest of the New York Times article here.
Please check out the film's website here, and find theater and show time info here.

TONIGHT - 2011 Oscar Special on Charlie Rose (Charlie Rose)

2011 Oscar Special with nominees Michelle Williams, Sebastian Junger, Aaron Sorkin, Natalie Portman, Mark Wahlberg, David Fincher, Javier Bardem, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Annette Bening, Charles Ferguson, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Lisa Cholodenko, Darren Aronofsky, David O. Russell, Colin Firth, Christian Bale and Tom Hooper.

Though Charlie can be a little bit of a fawner when it comes to actors and directors, he still does a great job of asking insightful and interesting questions. Tune in on PBS tonight!
Read the full article here.

Christopher Nolan's Inception Oscar Snub (The Daily Beast)

Nolan's Oscar snub remains awards season's biggest head-scratcher. It arrives as a kind of slap in the face for a filmmaking wunderkind whose meteoric rise from art house auteur to Intelligent Action Ace has made him, arguably, the hottest director in town. ...

Nolan's exclusion from the Best Directors Club throws into stark relief some of the tricky social mores and you-just-haven't-earned-it-yet-baby groupthink governing the annual popularity contest that is the Oscars.

Personally, I think this is the reason that the Oscars seem to be less relevant every year. (Am I allowed to say that?) Joe Public doesn't want politics and snootiness - he just wants the actual best movie/actor/director to win. Why is that so hard to understand? But, I guess that's why we have the People's Choice Awards.

The article goes on to examine a few other possibilities for why Nolan may not have been nominated - take a peek.

Read the full article here.

Colin Firth, With Vulnerability and Fortitude (Wall Street Journal)

Though the actor must be gladdened by the praise his performance has elicited generally, he seems especially pleased by the positive response from stutterers. "...The reason why people tell stories and read stories and see films is to feel less alone. And if there's a story that takes everyone through something like this, it's a way to say to others, 'Now you live through it and see how it feels.' And if my profession gets that wrong, we've lost that opportunity. So it's a great relief not to have dropped the ball."

If you didn't love Colin Firth before, you will after reading this interview. He is a class act.

Read the full article here.

National Book Award Winners for 2010 (Galley Cat)

Fiction winner: Jaimy Gordon, "Lord of Misrule"
Nonfiction winner: Patti Smith, "Just Kids"
Poetry: Terrance Hayes, "Lighthead"
Young People’s Literature: Kathryn Erskine, "Mockingbird"

This post has some nice links to interviews done with folks involved in the NBA, including a chat with winner Patti Smith. Plus, it's nice to keep tabs on what's happening outside of the script world sometimes.

And in case you're wondering what this particular award is all about, look no further:

The National Book Awards have become the nation's preeminent literary prizes.... Today, the Awards are given to recognize achievements in four genres: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People's Literature. The Winners, selected by [independent panels of five writers] for each genre, receive a $10,000 cash award and a crystal sculpture.

Read the full article here.

Emmy Roundtable - Party of Six (Newsweek)

Emmy-nominated actors Matthew Fox, Christina Hendricks, Eric Stonestreet, Bryan Cranston, Connie Britton, and Chris Colfer discuss their worst first gigs, most embarrassing moments, and behind-the-scenes secrets, like how 'Lost' really ended. ...

Cranston: That’s a very common thing that you hear from the civilian population. They think that there’s an actual destination, that every actor going into this business wants and needs to be a star. For me, that was never the case. All I cared about was to be a working actor.

Britton: And even the differentiation between film and television. That was always a thing, and still to some degree is. You know, “Oh, well, you know, it’s really about film,” or whatever. But for me it’s really about doing something that I’m just having the best time doing.

Hendricks: It’s funny, the assumption that’s like, “You’ve reached this amount of success with your television career, so naturally now you want to do movies.”

Fox: I think there’s so much better stuff going on in television than there is in film. They’re taking a lot more chances in television. They don’t have to put so many fannies in the seats, so there are more brave things happening on television, more interesting and new ideas..

I've always loved Newsweek's awards roundtables, and this one is no exception. Especially since they had the good sense to include Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights). Enjoy!
Read the full article here.
Watch a video of the complete conversation here.

Two Student Academy Award Winners Talk Inspiration, Future (Paste Magazine)

The SAAs were founded in 1972 as a means of honoring the best in student films, according to the Academy’s website. Past SAA honorees have included John Lasseter, Robert Zemeckis, Spike Lee and South Park co-creator Trey Parker.

While I'm sure the Student Oscar winners have representation at this point, still good to keep new talent on the radar.
Read the full article here.

Assessing the Pros and Cons of Moving the Oscars to January (Paste Magazine)

The Deadline report also notes the ABC telecast could run in conflict with—or uncomfortably close to—FOX’s broadcast of the Super Bowl. And in the (unlikely) event that that happens, which do we watch? How do you choose which viewing party to go to and get drunk on a Sunday night and eat too many hors d’oeuvres?

What does it mean that I actually could care less about when the Oscars take place, as long as it's not on Super Bowl Sunday? They're going to happen when they happen and they'll either help or not help the box office of those films nominated. Curious to know - how do you all feel?
Read the full article here.