Oscars: Kim Basinger in, Jeff Bridges out for Hyundai — but all for the show

Bridges has been the voice of Hyundai for the past three years, and the South Korean automaker is the exclusive automotive sponsor for the Academy Awards broadcast. But Bridges is also nominated as Best Actor for his performance in Crazy Heart.

And therein lies the problem. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences prohibits sponsors from running advertising featuring any of the night’s nominees or presenters,which put Hyundai in a bind.

In order to comply with the rules , Hyundai decided to make seven commercials with other actors’ voices. Bridges suggested a short list of colleagues, and last week Hyundai finished recording the final ad with assists from Kim Basinger, Richard Dreyfuss, David Duchovny, Catherine Keener, Michael Madsen, Mandy Patinkin and Martin Sheen.

Hyundai has purchased seven ads that will air during the program and in one pre-show spot. Hyundai signed a three-year option with ABC in 2009.

According to Chris Perry, director of marketing communications for Hyundai, the Oscars buy focuses on the 2011 Sonata, a mid-sized sedan poised to take on Toyota’s Camry and the Honda Accord. Of the eight spots that will air during the Academy Awards, six will be devoted to the Sonata, while the remaining two will tout the Genesis coupe.

“Our presence in the Academy Awards continues our ‘Big Voices in Big Places’ mantra that we started delivering on earlier this year,” Perry said. “We started with the Super Bowl, we’re back for our second Oscars and you’re going to see a lot of us in the [FIFA] World Cup.”

Sourcwe:theweeklydriver.com/

'Precious' Director Lee Daniels Describes His 'Crazy' Oscar Nomination Morning

FROM MTV.COM: Lee Daniels' "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" has already received a slew of awards love, from film festivals and the Golden Globes to the Screen Actors Guild and the Independent Spirits. Its string of praise stretches back over a year, to when the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, winning both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award.

But none of that acclaim makes the morning of Oscar nominations any easier, as Daniels told MTV News just hours after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made its 2010 selections.

Source:moviesblog.mtv.com/

Mike Shepherd: Christian schools and white-flight image

Blind-sided by the reality portrayed in the Oscar-buzz-generating film starring Sandra Bullock, the public may now perceive small Christian schools not as bastions of segregation, but as beacons of hope for African-American students.

Instead of keeping black kids out, most private schools want them in. Including them gives many kids hope for staying in school and playing sports and gives the schools a real hope of being competitive in the private-school leagues.

Now that the true story of Baltimore Ravens tackle Michael Oher has made it to the big screen, no one can truthfully echo the critics of the 1960s and '70s who saw the Christian school movement as nothing more than white flight from the newly integrated public schools. Thanks to The Blind Side, that image may be changing.

The movie portrays a homeless black kid adopted by a wealthy white family and sent to a Christian school, where he excels at football. The kid who was failing learns to pass his classes; the one who had no bed to sleep on gets a room of his own; the kid who had little hope of a high school diploma goes to college.

All of this takes place because free individuals make free decisions about how they run their lives. There is no government mandate that certain kids go to private schools.

A public school teacher, I have always favored free choice in education. I spent two years in South America teaching in a private Christian school run by missionaries. My wife home-taught my daughter for 2 ½ years before my daughter entered (and excelled in) Texas public schools.

My sons have attended Christian schools. One such school, Christway Academy in Duncanville, recently won the state championship in six-man football, and African-Americans made up a majority of the team.

Another school, Canterbury Episcopal in DeSoto, has won two state championships in basketball in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools league.

The Blind Side did us all a favor by focusing on real schools, not stereotypes. To the faithful, the movie gave hope that their private schools will be acknowledged for what they really are: stepping stones to success for kids of all races. As the sign over the front gate to the Memphis Christian school featured in movie reads, "With God all things are possible."

I wish continued success to The Blind Side this award season. But more important, I wish rich blessings in heaven and on earth to the teachers and coaches at private schools who help make all things possible for kids like Michael Oher.

Mike Shepherd of Duncanville is an educational writer, teacher and a Community Voices volunteer columnist. His e-mail address is shepherdmike@sbcglobal.net.

Source:dallasnews.com/

Hyundai and Oscar on a Collision Course?

Wednesday afternoon, I wrote about the Academy’s rules on advertising during the Oscar show, and how the restrictions governing commercials that feature Oscar nominees could affect Hyundai if the auto manufacturer bought commercial time on the show, as it did in 2009.

At the time, I didn’t know if Hyundai, whose ads use uncredited voiceovers from all-but-certain Best Actor nominee Jeff Bridges, was planning to once again be an Oscar sponsor.

The Academy referred me to ABC for sponsorship questions … ABC said they couldn’t release the names of any sponsors, and referred me to Hyundai … and, late in the afternoon, a Hyundai spokesperson confirmed the company’s plans.

Hyundai will be the exclusive automotive sponsor of the 82nd Academy Awards, and will run nine ads during the show. And yes, those ads will feature Bridges’ voiceovers. A company spokesperson said he was unaware of any potential conflicts.

But if AMPAS plays by its rules, conflicts are virtually inevitable. Academy restrictions on commercials featuring nominees (live or voiceover) specify that the ads can run, but they must be separated by one hour from the point in the show when the nominee’s category is presented.

And if that nominee is also a presenter, the ads must run an hour away from his or her other appearance as well.

With the Oscar show typically running 13 acts, which means it includes a dozen commercial breaks, it would be extraordinarily difficult to fit nine ads into the show and still leave an hour between those ads and the presentation of Best Actor.

Maybe the Academy will treat this situation differently because Bridges is offscreen and uncredited (though it’s obviously him). Maybe a different kind of compromise will be made.

However it plays out, $12.5 million (the ballpark figure for what Hyundai’s ads likely cost) is powerful incentive to make things work.

Source:thewrap.com/

Prytania Theatre, in a partying mood, gets its Oscar showcase going early

The nominations for the 2010 Oscars won't be announced until Tuesday (Feb. 2), but the Prytania Theatre is getting an early jump on its annual Academy Awards Showcase.

For the past two weeks (and continuing through Thursday, Jan. 21), the Uptown moviehouse has been showing the awards-season darling "Up in the Air." Starting today, the series cranks up in earnest, with five best-guess Oscar contenders slated to screen during the next five weeks.


Mo'Nique appears in a scene from 'Precious,' a role that won her the 2010 Golden Globe and SAG Award for supporting actress.The schedule:

"Invictus," starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in a feel-good historical drama about South African president Nelson Mandela's unconventional approach to healing his nation. Starts today.
"A Single Man," starring Colin Firth as a man who, after the death of his partner, attempts to go about his everyday business. Starts Feb. 5.
"Nine," the big-name musical -- starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson and a million others -- about a filmmaker juggling his personal and professional lives. Starts Feb. 12.
"The Hurt Locker," starring Jeremy Renner in an Iraq war drama about a U.S. bomb squad and its reckless new leader. Starts Feb. 19.
"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," starring Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique in a harrowing drama about an abused Harlem teen who, amid a life of misery, finds a thread of hope. Starts Feb. 26.

Source:nola.com/

Does Being a Multitasking Mom Hurt Mo'Nique's Oscar Chances?

This weekend, Mo'Nique took home two major awards for best supporting actress -- The Critics' Choice Award and the Golden Globe. And both times, the crowd gave the Precious star a standing ovation. Her devastating performance as an abusive mother clearly struck a chord, possibly even with Academy voters.

Unfortunately, more than a few Hollywood insiders aren't rooting for her -- but is it because Mo'Nique has allegedly demanded cash for publicity appearances, or is it because she skipped one too many press events to stay home with her kids?

After stars shoot a film, especially a small-but-acclaimed indie like Precious, publicity events (attending film festivals and awards shows, giving interviews, and generally giving the movie as much exposure as possible) are usually written into actors' contracts. And while Precious hasn't lacked for publicity -- Oprah's involvement alone guaranteed headlines -- Mo'Nique has been absent from many red-carpet events this season. The comedienne (this is her first dramatic movie role) has stated outright on her TV talk show that she doesn't believe in campaigning for awards. Still, most stars wouldn't dare miss a major event with awards looming in the near future, and Mo'Nique has now missed three -- including the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, which awarded her best supporting actress. Since Academy voters are Hollywood insiders, they presumably care about this sort of snub. Is Mo'Nique trying to sabotage her Oscar chances?

Not at all, said husband-slash-manager Sidney Hicks at the Critics' Choice Awards -- she's just trying to be a good mom. "I don't know if you know this," Hicks told reporters, "but she is the first woman of African-American descent to ever have a late night TV show in conjunction to being a mother. She is also a wife. She would rather play a bad mother in movies than play a bad one in real life."

Makes sense when you think about it -- if Mo'Nique were to travel to all those events, on top of hosting her daily BET talk show, when would she see her three boys (4-year-old twins Jonathan and David and their 19-year-old brother Shalon)? If Mo'Nique is a mom placing real priorities like family above superficial ones (like awards shows), we certainly find that refreshing! Perhaps the Academy will see it that way, too.

Source:ivillage.com/