Tag Archives: Academy Awards

Kevin Hart Steps Down as Oscar Host Amid Anti-Gay Comments/Tweets Controversy

Kevin Hart Steps Down as Oscar Host Amid Anti-Gay Comments/Tweets Controversy

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Thursday night comedian Kevin Hart announced as the host for the upcoming 91st annual Academy Awards.

Hart’s withdrawal as host comes after a major backlash from the LGBT community outcry over  anti-gay tweets, and comments Hart made during stand-up routines in the past.. Some of the tweets were deleted throughout the day on Thursday, leading to an Instragram video from the comedian that only made matters worse for him.

“My team calls me, ‘Oh my God, Kevin, everyone’s upset by tweets you did years ago,’” he said in that video. “Guys, I’m nearly 40 years old. If you don’t believe that people change, grow, evolve as they get older, I don’t know what to tell you. If you want to hold people in a position where they always have to justify the past, do you. I’m the wrong guy, man.”

Hours later, Hart posted another video stating that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had given him an ultimatum: Apologize or we’ll find a new host.

“I chose to pass on the apology,” Hart said defiantly. “The reason why I passed is because I’ve addressed this several times. This is not the first time this has come up. I’ve addressed it. I’ve spoken on it. I’ve said where the rights and wrongs were. I’ve said who I am now versus who I was then. I’ve done it. I’m not going to continue to go back and tap into the days of old when I’ve moved on and I’m in a completely different place in my life.”

Less than two hours later, Hart announced via Twitter that he was stepping down (pushed?) from hosting the Oscars.

“I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year’s Oscars,” he wrote. “This is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists. I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past. I’m sorry that I hurt people. I am evolving and want to continue to do so. My goal is to bring people together not tear us apart. Much love and appreciation to the Academy. I hope we can meet again.”

The Academy refused to comment about Hart’s announcement.

#ForShameOscar – Academy Awards’ “In Memoriam” Segment Leaves Out Trans Actress Alexis Arquette

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#ForShameOscar - Academy Awards’ "In Memoriam" Segment Leaves Out Trans Actress Alexis Arquette

It seems that the Moonlight mix-up wasn’t the only major mistake at last nights Academy Awards.

In last nights “In Memoriam” segment producers of the Awards left out transgender actress Alexis Arquette who passed away of complications from HIV last September. Arquette had over 70 acting credits to her name—including The Wedding Singer, Pulp Fiction, Of Mice and Men, and Last Exit to Brooklyn—Alexis Arquette had, according to her sister, “a great career as a male, and came out as a trans woman and lived her life in her truth.

Patricia Arquette spoke with ABC News:

“I was really pissed off the academy left out my sister Alexis in the memoriam, because Alexis had a great body of work, but Alexis was one of very few trans artists that worked in the business,” she told ABC News.

“At a time when we have trans kids that can’t even go to the bathroom at school, you would think the academy would have a little bit more respect for a group of people that are murdered, and trans women of color are most likely to live in extreme poverty, making $800 a month, so I think the Oscars have a lot of learning to do.”

Here’s to you Alexis.  We remember.

 

Oscar Nominee Snubs and Surprises: Max Max: Fury Road Leaves Them In The Dust

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Tom Hardy

“Mad Max: Fury Road” was showered with honors by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, picking up Oscar nominations for best picture and best director.

There will be sex best picture nominees to join Max: “Bridge of Spies”, “The Revenant”, “Spotlight,” “The Big Short,” “The Martian,” “Brooklyn” and “Room.” Notably not among them: “Straight Outta Compton” and “Carol,” both of which were pegged to make the cut by awards handicappers.

The Revenant,” directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, drew 12 nominations in total — the most of any film — with Leonardo DiCaprio honored for his wounded frontiersman and Tom Hardy for his villainous supporting role.

With 10 nominations, George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” was the second most-honored film, although most of its support came from technical areas, like film editing, costume design and makeup and hairstyling. Behind “Fury Road” came “The Martian,” with seven nominations – although its director, Ridley Scott, was prominently snubbed – and “Spotlight,” with six, including nods for its director, Tom McCarthy, and two of its supporting actors, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams.

The acting fields were filled with familiar faces. As expected, Cate Blanchett came away with her sixth best actress nomination for “Carol.” Jennifer Lawrence, now a four-time nominee, this time for “Joy,” joined Ms. Blanchett in the category. Also selected were Brie Larson from “Room,” Charlotte Rampling from “45 Years” and Saoirse Ronan from “Brooklyn.”

DiCaprio, picking up his fifth acting nomination, will be competing against the reigning best actor winner, Eddie Redmayne, who picked up a nod for “The Danish Girl.” Voters also backed Matt Damon (“The Martian”), Bryan Cranston (“Trumbo”) and Michael Fassbender (“Steve Jobs”). Surprisingly Tom Hardy and his pouty lips was not nominated for MMFR.

Other SNUBS this year include Johnny Depp for his portrayal of Whitey Bulger in “Black Mass”.  Charlize Theron for her one armed ass-kicking convoy leader in MMFR, and Harrison Ford whos last turn as Han Solo will go awardless.

Here’s the complete list for the 88th Academy Awards:

BEST PICTURE
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight

BEST ACTOR
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, Creed

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

DIRECTING
Adam McKay – The Big Short
George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road
Alejandro G. Iñárritu – The Revenant
Lenny Abrahamson – Room
Tom McCarthy – Spotlight

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Anomalisa
Boy and the World
Inside Out
Shaun the Sheep Movie
When Marnie Was There

COSTUME DESIGN
Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Amy
Cartel Land
The Look of Silence
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Winter on Fire

DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Body Team
Chau, Beyond the Lines
Claude Lanzmann
A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness
Last Day of Freedom

MAKEUP AND HAIR STYLING
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
The Revenant

ORIGINAL SONG
“Earned It” – Fifty Shades of Grey
“Manta Ray” – Racing Extinction
“Simple Song #3” – Youth
“Til It Happens to You” – The Hunting Ground
“Writing’s on the Wall” – Spectre

ANIMATED SHORT
Bear Story
Prologue
Sanjay’s Super Team
We Can’t Live Without Cosmos
World of Tomorrow

SOUND EDITING
Mad Max: Fury Road
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The Martian
The Revenant

FILM EDITING
The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Embrace of the Serpent
Mustang
Son of Saul
Theeb
A War

ORIGINAL SCORE
Bridge of Spies
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Bridge of Spies
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant

VISUAL EFFECTS
Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Big Short
Brooklyn
Carol
The Martian
Room

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Bridge of Spies
Ex Machina
Inside Out
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Sicario

The Nominees for the 84th Annual Academy Awards — Take The Poll And Vote!

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Well the nominees are in. Good? Bad? Indifferent? Below are the list of nominees as well as polls for each of the categories. Please vote, and if you feel something or someone else should’ve been nominated, please include that in the comments section.

Best Picture
“The Artist” Thomas Langmann, Producer
“The Descendants” Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” Scott Rudin, Producer
“The Help” Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
“Hugo” Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
“Midnight in Paris” Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
“Moneyball” Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
“The Tree of Life” Nominees to be determined
“War Horse” Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers
[poll id=”11″]

*Take the rest of the Poll and vote for your favotite Nominees by clicking the READ MORE button below to open the full page!

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