Movie awards season is here
Two announcements today make it clear that movie award season is upon us. First, British actor and comedian Ricky Gervais, most recently the star of The Invention of Lying, will host the Golden Globe Awards on January 17. Gervais is the first host of the show since 1995. His presenting skills at both the Emmys and last year's Golden Globes (watch him below) were a cut above all the rest. Second, The Hollywood Reporter, announced the return today of its yearly Awards Watch, both online and in print. It's not the only publication covering entertainment with an informed look at films – my friend Tom O'Neil does a masterful job at his Goldderby.com (take a look at his 12 front-runners now). Bookmark both if you're awards obsessed.
January 25, 2009
It's a 'Slumdog' night at SAG
The players from Slumdog Millionaire, who won for ensemble cast, are in the room. They are talking about how it is a movie they started in Mumbai, and when they heard the news of its 10 Oscar nominations last week, they were back in Mumbai.
Dav Patel, now just 18, says he was amazed that Kate Winslet, who he grew up watching, knew who he was. Freida Pinto says, "I hope I don't wake up tomorrow and someone says, 'Hey you were dreaming.' That would be bad." All the players are talking about why the movie is successful — "It's a love story, a story about an underdog" — and they are genuinely happy to have won the Screen Actors Guild Award.
Photo by Dan MacMedan/USA Today
Stars are still talking backstage
Sean Penn hits the press room and arrives to applause, then talks about Milk, giving
major props to Gus Van Sant for making the film great. "This is a
classic case of the director creating an environment." He talks about
how It feels like false humility, but this is one of those cases where the movie "feels top to bottom shared." He also makes a crack about
age: "Every time I do a movie, I re-learn how much older I am getting by
the crows feet on the screen."
The show may be over but we're still hoping for press room visits from other winners such as Hugh Laurie and Sally Field. Once the winners finish their speeches on stage, they run the gauntlet of press backstage at the Shrine, starting with the one-on-one room, so called because it is the actor with the host or hosts of individual shows, those such as Entertainment Tonight, as well as various Webcasts now. That's not easy duty because we're talking about 10 or so outlets. Then they go to a room full of photographers, where they stand and pose for all those pictures that will appear here and all over the internet and print venues tomorrow. Finally, they come to my room, the room full of dozens of print and online reporters, aka "the print pit."
Photo by Dan MacMedan/USA Today
Fashion rocks the red carpet
I'm no fashionista — I leave that to my daughter. But I had the luck to stand with the In Style
correspondent today so I got to view the gorgeous gowns, big baubles,
flawless make-up and perfect hair up close and personal. A few
impressions. There was lots of red, a little white and various shades
of blue. Many celebs had come from Washington inaugural festivities. A
connection? There was a little purple (Kate Winslet, Amy Adams), pink
(Holly Hunter) and green (Christina Applegate, Dana Delany, Melissa
Leo). Mindy Kaling (pictured) loved her BCBG dress for its embellishment at the
waist. "I'm an embellishment freak," she confesses, because "I'm
Indian." Jenna Fischer told In Style she wore Pamela Rowland
because the magazine had once featured her in its "look of the day"
wearing Rowland. Lisa Rinna, walking the carpet with Joey Fatone,
wears deeply cut orange and looks tanner than ever. All these ladies
look tan. I remind myself its fake. The guys look good, too. Jon
Tenney is sexily scruffy. David Duchovny is very slim. Frank
Langella, whom I have adored since he did Dracula, is cool in a Nehru
collared suit that would fit the Nixon era.
Photo by Dan MacMedan/USA Today
Laura Linney on Washington — now and then
Looking at Laura Linney now, who won for her performance as Abigail Adams in the HBO series John Adams. She is asked about being at the inaugural ceremonies at the Lincoln Memorial a week ago. "I barely have words for it," she tells us. "It's a day I'll never forget. My grandparents are buried in Arlington cemetery. A fantastic, fantastic day."
Photo by Dan MacMedan/USA Today
'Mad Men' share their ensemble award
The Mad Men cast is in the room. Little Aaron Hart, who plays Jon
Hamm's son, is speaking for them. Hamm is ruffling his hair. The men
come in first and there are jokes about how the women aren't allowed on
the stage — a reference to the '60s sexism that is so obvious on the show. Hamm is
hamming it up and then the ladies arrive, including Christina Hendricks (pictured). They get asked about the
potential for a strike, and Hamm says, "Aaron, do you want to take that?"
There's a question about Jon Hamm's hair — because it's so NOT Don
Draper tonight. He says his Mad Men hair is easy because once it's
done, it doesn't move. Last year, a piece of the set fell on his head and
still, he says, "my hair was perfect."
Photo by Dan MacMedan/USA Today
'30 Rock' cast revels in their win
The 30 Rock cast is backstage — Jane Krakowski and Tina Fey arrive late. There's no Alec Baldwin, darn it. Tina jokes that "it's starting to feel like an imminent title wave of backlash." There's talk of the issue that most actors wanted to avoid tonight, the possibility of an actors' strike and Tina's reference to the Internet and being paid residuals for shows on the Web.
Photo by Dan MacMedan/USA Today
Kate Winslet is backstage
Kate Winslet, who won best supporting actress for The Reader, arrives in the room and says, "I don't have to make another speech, do I?" She's a little breathless having just done a number of one-on-one interviews with broadcast media and been snapped by a zillion photographers with her Actor. "There should be lessons at awards time. I am so bad at this, clearly I'm still learning." She was acknowledging that she'd been given a hard time by some pundits for a gushing Golden Globes speech when she won. She says when she hears her name, "It's such a shock it really does take your breath away."
Photo by Dan MacMedan/USA Today
Playing the press room waiting game
Still waiting for Tina Fey, Kate Winslet and Alec Baldwin in the press room. Can hear the photographers shouting and shooting in the next room. Meanwhile, more random notes from the carpet. I overhear Steve Carell telling a reporter "my limo doubles as my sex lounge." I think he was kidding. ... Oscar Nunez from The Office tells me that after several nominations for ensemble cast, the officemates are "due to blow up." He WAS kidding. ... Peter Jacobsen from House, also nominated as an ensemble cast despite fan annoyance with all the cast changes, says it's a show where "top down there are smart people who know they have a hit on their hands." ... Evan Rachel Wood and Holly Hunter — who starred together in the movie Thirteen — share a long, long embrace on the red carpet. ... Perrey Reeves (pictured), Mrs. Ari in Entourage, says she chose her dress because it floats and she twirled for affect. ... David Duchovny, who stars in my fave Californication, tells me that he likes that in starting with the second season "the heart of the show is coming through. It's really about love." Sadly, he walked the carpet without wife Tea Leoni. ... The Closer actors, Jon Tenney and Corey Reynolds, both tell me that the next five episodes are about "power" this season's theme, but the next season's theme will be "change." Tenny says, "We're getting with the zeitgeist." Reynolds says in his downtime from The Closer, he's writing.
Photo by Dan MacMedan/USA Today
From the real red carpet
I couldn't Twitter fast enough on the red carpet because the celebrities were coming at us rapid-fire. Now I'm in the press room and here are random notes from the earlier scene. Kate Winslet says she wants to enjoy this time: "I'm not exercising and I'm eating whatever I want." She is gorgeous in deep purple and walks the red carpet alone, husband Sam Mendes is nowhere in sight. ... Jenna Fisher from The Office says she's not sure Jim and Pam would allow the documentary cameras that film the office doings into their wedding. Hmmm. Jenna says Rainn Wilson is the cast ringleader and he will speak for them if they win tonight. They don't. ...My Mad Men crush Jon Hamm went whizzing by with girlfriend Jennifer Westfeldt. Even when he doesn't do Don Draper, he looks fabulous. ... Samantha Harris, Dancing with The Stars host, is so skinny! ... Dana Delany, the over-50 Desperate Housewives star whom I've been watching since she was in China Beach, looks fabulous in green Prada and tells me she won't go the plastic surgery route. ... Viola Davis, beautiful in golden yellow as you can see here, says the way to experience the hoopla of nominations is to "let go of expectations." ... About to see Tina Fey and hear Kate Winslet's speech. More to come.
Photo by Dan MacMedan/USA Today
