Oscar fashions: Divas and flops on the red carpet

And most of the stars didn’t disappoint Sunday night. They glittered in their borrowed jewelry and sparkled in their swankiest gowns.

Here’s my take on the best and the worst of Hollywood’s prom night.

The best
> Vera Farmiga got it absolutely right with her first Oscar red carpet trip. Nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her turn in “Up in the Air,” Farmiga looked like a rose in her fuchsia Marchesa ruffled, asymmetrical gown.


> Sandra Bullock, dressed in a form-fitting, shimmering champagne Marchesa gown with an embroidered leaf patterned bodice, looked an awful lot like the Best Actress Oscar she won for “The Blind Side.”


> Zoe Saldana, out from under her blue Na’vi “Avatar” makeup, wore a ruffled Givenchy dress that started at top in the palest lavender and deepened to its big, ruffled midnight blue train.


> Carey Mulligan, nominated for Best Actress for “An Education,” took a step back into Audrey Hepburn territory (complete with pixie haircut) in her beaded black Prada strapless dress decorated with tiny scissors, spoons and forks.


> Helen Mirren, nominated for Best Actress for “The Last Station” is always one of my fashion favs and she didn’t disappoint Sunday night in her sparkling lavender Badgley Mischka gown.


> Penelope Cruz was red carpet perfect, as always, in her strapless satin burgundy Donna Karan gown.


> Kathryn Bigelow, the first woman to win the Best Director Oscar, sparkled in a mocha sheath dress with a bodice decorated in beaded hearts.

The worst
> Diane Kruger’s black and white ruffled Chanel nightmare brings back painful memories of Uma Thurman’s 2004 shepherdess outfit and Bjork’s 2001 swan dress. There has to be one fashion disaster every year, but Kruger deserved better. Time to fire the stylist.


> Charlize, Charlize, Charlize, what were you thinking? Theron, an Academy Award-winner, has a beautiful body, but that Dior Couture gown put all the focus on her breasts and not in a good way.


> Maggie Gyllenhaal wore a blue brush-stroke Diers van Noten dress that looked more tie-dyed garage project than red carpet glam.


> Sigourney Weaver usually is a fashion star, but her red dress with a Christmas ornament shoulder clasp and black tie belt, just didn’t cut it.


> Elizabeth Banks’ Versace dress was beautiful, but the slate gray color didn’t do her any favors. She looked pale and drab.


And a final note, George Clooney was impeccably dressed as always, but he really needed to make a quick stop at the barber for a trim on his shaggy ‘do before he arrived at the Kodak Theater.

Source:coloradoan.com/

LEE DANIELS - DANIELS IMAGINED OSCAR SNUB

Filmmaker LEE DANIELS was convinced his movie had been left out of the Oscar nominations, because he was so tired he forgot the film titles would be announced alphabetically.
The director, who helmed Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire, got out of bed to watch Anne Hathaway reveal this year's (10) Academy Award nominees with Academy President Tom Sherak at an early morning TV news conference last Tuesday (02Feb10).
Daniels thought the nominations for Best Picture would be read out in order of the directors' names and he was convinced Precious had been left off the list when he heard Quentin Tarantino's nod for Inglourious Basterds.
And the moviemaker had already gone back to bed when his name was called out after Tarantino's.
He says, "When Tarantino was mentioned prior to Daniels, I went, ‘Oh, well, nuts.' And literally as I got back to the pillow I heard ‘Daniels,’ and I bounced back up.”
Daniels is also up for the Best Director award at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.

Source:contactmusic.com/

Oscar nominations: Fascinating facts, figures and milestones

With invaluable assistance from our many forum posters, here are interesting stats about this year's nominations for the Oscars.

Nine not so fine: "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker" lead this year's derby with nine nominations each; "Nine" managed just four nominations. However, beginning with "The Life of Emile Zola" in 1937, there have been 77 films that have landed 10 or more Oscar nominations. Last year's big champ "Slumdog Millionaire" won eight of its 10 races, while "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" managed just three wins from 13 nominations.

Money matters: On nomination day, "Avatar" broke the domestic box office record of 1997 best picture champ "Titanic" when it reached $601 million in receipts. The foreign title -- also held by "Titanic" -- fell to "Avatar" last week. While "Avatar" would thus be the highest-grossing best picture champ, "The Hurt Locker" -- with domestic receipts of $12.6 million -- would be the lowest when adjusted for inflation.

Take five: With double the number of entries in the best picture race, it is not so surprising that all five directing nominees helmed a contender. In the eight years from 1936 to 1943 when there were also 10 best picture nominees, the five directing nominees each year had a hand in one of those contenders save for 1936 and 1938. In 1936 Gregory LaCava ("My Man Godfrey") was the spoiler, while in 1938 it was Michael Curtiz ("Angels With Dirty Faces") who was the odd man out. Frank Capra took home the directing award in both those years, while Curtiz won his only Oscar in 1943 for helming "Casablanca" -- the last best picture champ to win over nine rivals.

All in the family: Father and son Ivan and Jason Reitman are nominated for producing "Up in the Air." Brothers Joel and Ethan Coen are double nominees for writing and producing "A Serious Man." Onetime married couple Kathryn Bigelow ("The Hurt Locker") and James Cameron ("Avatar") are each nominated for best director.

Something old, something new: Supporting actor nominee Christopher Plummer is a first-time contender at age 80 for his 86th movie, "The Last Station," while Gabourey Sidibe landed a lead actress nomination for her film debut in "Precious." Plummer also lends his voice to best picture nominee "Up."

Batting 1.000: Animated short nominee Nick Park ("Wallace & Gromit in A Matter of Loaf and Death") has won all four of his previous Oscar races -- animated short (1990, 1993, 1996) and animated feature (2005). In 1990 he was a double nominee, winning for "Creature Comforts" over "A Grand Day Out with Wallace & Gromit." In 1993 he won for "Wallace & Gromit in the Wrong Trousers," in 1996 for "Wallace & Gromit in A Close Shave" and in 2005 for "Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit."


Animated features: "Up" is the second animated feature after "Beauty and the Beast" to contend for best picture. While "Beauty" had five other nominations in 1991, including three song bids, score and sound, "Up" is contending in four other categories -- screenplay, score, sound editing and animated feature. That last category wasn't created till 2001, and this is only the second year -- after 2002, when "Spirited Away" won -- that there have been five rather than three nominees.

Only the lonely: The nominations for lead actor Colin Firth ("A Single Man"), lead actress Meryl Streep ("Julie & Julia") and supporting actor Stanley Tucci ("The Lovely Bones") are the only Oscar nods for those films.

Return engagement: Only two of last year's acting nominees are back in the Oscar race this year -- lead actress nominee Meryl Streep and supporting actress nominee Penelope Cruz ("Nine"). Cruz -- who won that same award last year for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" -- follows in the footsteps of supporting actress champs Estelle Parsons ("Bonnie & Clyde," 1967) and Lee Grant ("Shampoo," 1975), who both contended again the year after their victory; neither won. Bette Davis and Greer Garson share the record of most consecutive years nominated at five apiece in the lead actress category. Davis kicking off her reign in 1938 with a win for "Jezebel" while Garson began her run in 1941 with a nod for "Blossoms in the Dust."

Source:goldderby.latimes.com/

Oscar Best Actor

In the last fifteen years, only four times have the nominees in the Academy Awards’ best actor category matched those up for the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Two of those times took place in the last three years.

There’s a very good chance that this year will be the fifth time the two lists will mirror one another. So, why wasn’t Morgan Freeman listed up above for his stately performance as Nelson Mandela in Clint Eastwood’s Invictus?

Well, in all honesty, we’ve decided to go out on a limb in the Best Actor category. Apart from his National Board of Review win early in December, Freeman has had his name mentioned here and there, but he’s hardly been a favorite to win anything. A Serious Man fans, on the other hand, have been more enthusiastic; proof of that is the number of awards for best screenplay that this Joel and Ethan Coen dark comedy has received. Stuhlbarg, for his part, has also earned great reviews and even managed to land a Golden Globe nomination — something unusual for an actor who isn’t a stellar attraction.

So, we believe there’s a chance that Michael Stuhlbarg will be an upset nominee. That’s why we have him listed.

Other possible upsetters are: Viggo Mortensen for The Road, Matt Damon for The Informant!, Joseph Gordon-Levitt for (500) Days of Summer, and Robert Downey Jr for Sherlock Holmes. (Downey Jr’s humorous speech at the Golden Globes probably won him some extra votes.)

Hal Holbrook shouldn’t be completely discarded. It all depends on the number of screeners Academy members received. And if they bothered to watch That Evening Sun, which has been mostly ignored by critics and other groups.

If Daniel Day-Lewis gets a nod for Nine, Academy members will be turned into stone.

Photos: Crazy Heart (Lorey Sebastian / 20th Century Fox); Up in the Air (Dale Robinette / Paramount); The Hurt Locker (Jonathan Olley / Summit Entertainment); A Single Man (Eduard Grau/ The Weinstein Company); A Serious Man (Focus Features)

Source:altfg.com/

Oscar de la Renta!; Behind the scenes of Elisabeth’s job swap and see “Fashion Friday”

This Friday “The View” has something special stored for you. You get to watch the gorgeous Catherine Zeta-Jones talking about her Broadway musical plus you will taken behind the scenes of Elisabeth’s job swap and the biggest treat of them all – “Fashion Friday” with Oscar de la Renta.

Dominican/Puerto Rican, Oscar de la Renta is one of the world’s leading fashion designers
It all started in 1963, when in Paris, when Oscar realized that the future of fashion was not in haute couture, but in ready-to-wear – so he set off for America. But in New York, at the advice of Diana Vreeland, then Editor-in-Chief of Vogue, he returned to couture designing Elizabeth Arden’s custom-made clothing line. As Arden was known for beauty, not fashion, she promoted Oscar’s name on the label so that he was able to gain public recognition which paved the way for what was to become his own groundbreaking venture of the Oscar de la Renta signature ready-to-wear label, just two years down the road.

Oscar de la Renta’s Bridal collection, that was launched in 2008 gained huge recognition as the dresses featured extraordinary embroideries and beautiful fabrics, from silk duchess to French Alençon lace.

Oscar de la Renta is one of the leading design houses in the world today. The company has seen an influx of great young talent, as it continues to grow and expand as a global brand. His son-in-law Alex Bolen operates as Chief Executive Officer, step-daughter Eliza Bolen serves as Creative Director of Licensing, and his son Moises de la Renta works in the Design Studio.

Source:entertainmentandshowbiz.com/