Academy Awards

August 3rd, 2011 | 1:09 pm by Jordan Runtagh (@JordanRuntagh)

Oprah Gets An Oscar Just For Being Oprah

Oprah Winfrey hasn’t been in any movies lately, but that didn’t stop the Academy from awarding her an Oscar! It has been announced that the Queen of All Media will receive an honorary statuette on November 12th at the 3rd annual Governor’s Awards dinner in Los Angeles. The 57-year-old has earned the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, which recognizes outstanding philanthropic and charitable contributions. Oprah certainly fits the bill, with a host of charities to her name, including her Academy For Girls she recently founded in South Africa.

This is not Oprah’s first brush with the little gold man. She was nominated for an Oscar back in 1985 for her role in The Color Purple, but lost to Anjelica Huston. Is Oprah still quietly plotting her ice-cold revenge on Anjelica? Only Gayle King knows for sure. Also being honored is acting legend James Earl Jones, best known as the voice of Darth Vader. What’ll happen with the Lord of the Sith goes head to head with The Lord of Daytime Television? Stay tuned on November 12th to find out! There can be only one…

[Photo: Getty Images]

March 18th, 2011 | 1:45 pm by Anthony Miccio

Billy Crystal Says He Might Host The Oscars Again

Looks like the audience weren’t the only people who enjoyed seeing Billy Crystal at the Oscars this year. The eight-time host is considering coming back to the Academy Awards for another go. “It might be fun,” said Crystal, who last hosted in 2004. “I think the show needs to change. There’s too many awards and it has to sort of freshen itself up, and if I can be a part of that, that would be great.” Here’s the  real question: can he manage to fit ten movies into a medley?

Considering how well hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway went over this year, the odds would seem to be in Crystal’s favor for a big return. Sure, his talk about “freshening up” the Oscars is ironic enough to get Alanis Morisette stuck in our head ever since we read it, but it’s hard to imagine they’ll find a better mix of industry insider and irreverent comedian than Billy for the job. And he still has plenty of months to let his face de-Botox a little, maybe. Just consider it, Billy. Please.

[Photo: Getty Images]

February 10th, 2011 | 5:15 pm by Halle Kiefer (@hallekiefer)

James Franco Doesn’t Care If He Hosts The “Worst Oscars Show Ever”

James Franco sure has been blasé about his Oscars hosting gig. He’s so casual about his impending role at the Academy Awards actually, Franco doesn’t care if it’s the worst Oscars show of all time. “If it’s the worst Oscars show ever, who cares?” a squirmy James laughs in Vanity Fair’s The Screening Room. “It’s like, it’s fine. It’s one night. It doesn’t matter. If I host the worst Oscar show in the history of the Oscars, like, why do I care?” Um, because everyone in America will turn against you if you screw up? Because Anne Hathaway will leave bags of flaming dog doo on your stoop if you make her look bad? ”

Franco compares the event to the complexity of a movie, i.e. tries to pass the buck if he chokes on stage. “If the movie comes out horrible, it’s only partially my fault,” he said. “It’s the same thing with the Oscars. Yeah, we’re the hosts, but they’ve been working on this thing for six months. I hope they’ve been putting in good work.” Besides, if Franco blows it, shouldn’t the Academy have predicted it? “They know we’re not Billy Crystal or Chris Rock,” Franco reasons. “They’re not asking us because they’re expecting that, the show is going to be designed for what we can do.” So we can look forward to plenty of singing for Anne, and plenty of giggling and mustache-oiling for James.

January 5th, 2011 | 3:10 pm by Halle Kiefer (@hallekiefer)

Julia Roberts Says “We’re F—ed” If Academy Ignores Javier Bardem

Oscar Nominations come out January 25, and actors are ravenous for little tiny statues they can display in their bathrooms. Leading the brigade is Julia Roberts as she campaigns for Javier Bardem in Biutiful like a furious grizzly bear campaigns to keep hikers away from her cubs. Raves Roberts about Bardem’s role in the Spanish-language film, which she screened for a high-profile audience in L.A., “He’s so raw and completely open to sharing every emotion this character has.” When an EW interviewer informed her that someone he knew couldn’t finish the film as it was too “bleak,” Roberts retorted, “I don’t know how you couldn’t want to know what happens. I hope that person is haunted until the end of time wanting to know what happened.” Til the end of time! A-list actresses with their claws out are just the thing to get us through these long winter months. And even longer award shows.

So if her Eat Pray Love co-star was soooo great in his new film, why wouldn’t Javier get a nom? According to Roberts, it all has to do with the award campaign process. “I think the movie hasn’t gotten the exposure. You don’t know where it is. It’s like this hidden little jewel. Especially in this particular season, people don’t hunt for things. They just take what you throw in their face,” Julia explains. Like when Sandra Bullock campaigned so hard for The Blind Side last year that she won Best Actress, even though the movie is basically a cheesy family drama. Wait, who said that? Oh right, it was us. So if Bardem doesn’t get the nod? “If there’s not hope for talent, then we’re f–ed,” Julia fumed. She doesn’t just mean Hollywood either, you guys. She means everyone on the planet. And we believe her, because she’s Julia f—ing Roberts.

December 20th, 2010 | 5:45 pm by Halle Kiefer (@hallekiefer)

James Franco Hosting Oscars Because Everyone Told Him Not To

There are some people who just can’t help but rebel against The Man, like how James Franco is hosting the Oscars because everyone told him not to. Wait, what? According to the stoned man’s James Dean, “When we finally met and discussed it in person, all my representatives were saying, ‘No! Of course not! So that always sparks something in me. So I said, ‘Yes, of course!’ Because that reaction that they have is based on conventional wisdom of what makes a good career. And that can be boring — really boring.” See, everyone else on the planet rebels by getting an ill-advised Taz tattoo on their butt; only Franco sticks it to the powers that be by hosting the Academy Awards with Anne Hathaway.

Franco, who is also up for Best Actor at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, says he doesn’t even care if he’s terrible…which, of course, made us suspicious that he might actually be terrible. “Then I thought about it and I thought, well, why not? Because I’ll look bad? Well, I don’t care,” James said. “I’m happy to take the criticism. Even if it’s ‘The Worst Oscars Ever,’ I don’t care. It’s one night of the year.” Seriously, can anyone tell us why Franco would be so bad? We all saw Hugh Jackman do a robot-dance celebrating Kate Winslet’s The Reader in 2009. No one expect every host to reach that level of genius. We’re not totally unreasonable.

December 17th, 2010 | 1:13 pm by Lauren Olson (Deiman)

Anne Hathaway Invites PS22 To The Oscars, We Cry At Our Desks

First off, we’ll admit we’re total saps for anything these now-famous PS22 kids do. We also love Anne Hathaway and are suckers for award shows. Put all of these elements together and voila! Tears well up and we play off our sniffles as a cold.

Hathaway, along with Oscars producer Bruce Cohen, attended the PS22 chorus’ Annual Winter Concert and let them know that they’ll be flying out to sunny LA in February to sing at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards. Enthusiastic screams ensue. Watch the video above—we challenge you not to get warm n’ fuzzy.

November 29th, 2010 | 1:12 pm by Jordan Runtagh (@JordanRuntagh)

James Franco And Anne Hathaway Are Hosting The Academy Awards

It’s confirmed! Those precocious Hollywood heartthrobs James Franco and Anne Hathaway will be hosting the 83rd Annual Academy Awards this February. But will they be able to trump the smoldering sexual chemistry of  last years hosts, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin? That is the question. Variety is reporting that both young stars have signed on for hosting duties, and that a formal announcement could be made as soon as this week.

Anne got her Oscar shoes wet two years ago, when she performed in an opening musical number with host Hugh Jackman. And James Franco probably has a Ph. D in award show hosting or something. Although it seems like a pretty cool choice, it looks like they may be too qualified to host this year. Both actors are potential Oscar nominees for their respective roles in 127 Hours and Love and Other Drugs. If they get the nod, there is a chance that they will back out.

The Oscars seem to be taking a page from the Super Bowl Halftime playbook by booking much younger and hipper stars to try to improve ratings. And they couldn’t have picked a better duo; just this week Pace University faced a record number of applicants who wanted to get attend a taping of James Franco’s appearance on Inside The Actor’s Studio. And Anne Hathaway is hot off of hosting the best episode of Saturday Night Live so far this season. Will she get to do her hilarious Katie Holmes impression in front of the lady herself? Or will Tom Cruise not be letting her out of the compound that night?

[Photo: Images]