With the Academy Awards show this Sunday, February 24, everyone is wondering which movie will win Best Picture this year. Most prognosticators believe Argo will walk away with the big prize because it has been cleaning up with other awards. A few wonder whether Argo will win because Director Ben Affleck was not nominated in the directing category. Yet, while some pull for a dark horse like Silver Linings Playbook, it seems clear that Argo is the front-runner going into Sunday.
I will not make a guess, but I do think this year was one of the best years for movies in recent years. In addition to Argo, I enjoyed many of the other nominated films like Life of Pi and Django Unchained. But if I had a vote for the Best Picture Oscar, I would vote for Lincoln.
Of course, nobody knows who will win this year, but we can look back on past Best Picture winners. Nelson Carvajal has created this cool video of all of the Academy Award Best Picture winners. How many can you identify?
The music for this Oscar montage is “November” by Max Richter.
Which film do you think should win Best Picture? Leave your two cents in the comments.
The Kansas Legislature is currently considering whether to honor Toto from The Wizard of Oz (1939) by making the cairn terrier the official state dog. But what initially appeared as a harmless piece of state legislation has stirred up controversy in the state.
Although Rep. Ed Trimmer explained he proposed the bill to get kids interested in the legislative process, some have complained that the bill wastes the valuable time of the legislators. Still, eleven other states have passed similar bills recognizing various breeds of dogs.
The real controversy has come from an issue raised by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), who fear that the legislation will increase demand for cairn terriers and an increase in puppy mills that mistreat the small dogs. The debate has highlighted some other criticisms of Kansas laws that do not adequately protect animals. PETA also notes that there are a large number of dogs waiting to be adopted in animal shelters and suggests that if an official state dog is named, it should be “the humble, healthy, and 100 percent lovable all-American mutt.”
Yes, a few states have official state cats. For example, Maryland has the calico cat and Massachusetts has the tabby cat, with both states recognizing a color of cat instead of a breed. Maybe Kansas could avoid the PETA concerns by choosing a dog color.
Speaking of The Wizard of Oz, there is a funny clip from Sunday’s Academy Awards show that features a focus group evaluating the film. The clip includes members of the cast of Best in Show (2000) and A Mighty Wind (2003): Bob Balaban, Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Jennifer Coolidge, and Fred Willard.
[March 2012 State Dog Update: The bill to make Toto the State Dog of Kansas died in committee. The representative who introduced the bill noted that he will probably try again next year.]
Photo Courtesy of Mollie.
What do you think about the proposed bill to recognize Toto? Who is the Wicked Witch in this debate? Leave your two cents in the comments.
While we anticipate the winners of this year’s Academy Awards, it is a good time to look back on the history of the Oscars. This quiz will test your knowledge of some of the most controversial years.
See how well you remember those controversial choices. Answer these ten questions about which film won the Best Picture these years, where in retrospect, many believe another film should have taken home the gold statue.
How did you do? Which year do you think the Academy was most wrong in its Best Picture choice? Who will win this year? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Seven years after the release of the excellent film Sideways director Alexander Payne released his follow-up film, The Descendants. I hear Oscar buzzing. . . .
Slate reconsidered Blue Velvet 25 years after the film’s release.
For Veterans Day, the Los Angeles Times chose the best war films from American cinema for each war.
The “Atlas Shrugged, Part 1″ producer is planning Part 2 despite the poor box office for the first movie.
Television Piers Morgan quit “America’s Got Talent” to focus on another talent show: the 2012 presidential election. In related news, Howard Stern might join “America’s Got Talent.”
The producer of next year’s Oscar telecast, Brett Ratner, stepped down after making a stupid gay slur. After Ratner’s announcement, the Oscar host, Eddie Murphy, announced he would no longer host the show, apparently because he had only agreed to do the show because he had worked with Ratner on Tower Heist. Vegas just announced that the payout on bets for “Eddie Murphy wins an Oscar in the next decade” went up 1000%.
Regis Philbin’s last week on Live! with Regis and Kelly will include guests Kathie Lee Gifford, David Letterman and Tony Bennett.
13-year-old “X Factor” singer Rachel Crow started out life in a crack house before she was adopted. Although I had been favoring Josh Krajcik to win, Crow’s performance this week was probably the best of the group.
Other News ‘Family Circus’ creator Bil Keane died at age 89.
Slate had an interesting discussion of “The New Classics,” enduring books, films, ideas, etc. since 2000.
“This is Nixon unplugged“is how Historian Stanley Kutler described new recordings of the former president available online for the first time, including Nixon’s grand jury testimony.
In honor of Joe Frazier, who passed away, Life magazine presented a slideshow of never-seen photos from “The Fight of the Century” of Ali vs. Frazier in 1971
Two new biographies about Charles Dickens are out. In related news, I have had a two-volume Dickens biography on my shelf for more than a decade that I have yet to read. Now, I do not know where to start. Maybe I will watch a movie. . .
What was your favorite pop culture story this week? Leave your two cents in the comments.
