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Roger Ebert – You Inspire Us

Moviewallas

I just finished watching (no actually sobbing my way through) an extremely witty and moving talk on TED.com “Roger Ebert: Remaking my voice”. Which featured film critic Roger Ebert and his wife, Chaz, friends Dean Ornish and John Hunter, who came together to tell his incredible story. Ebert lost his lower jaw to thyroid cancer and as a result lost the ability to eat and speak. But he did not; as he reminds you, lose his voice.

During this delightful and enlightening 19 minute conversation on TED.com Ebert talked (yes, talked through his computer voice “Alex” and through his companions all three extremely eloquent themselves), about his many surgeries and setbacks that he experienced which ultimately resulted in him losing the lower part of his jaw. (Also available in a very worthwhile article at at Esquire magazine). It was the internet – his blog, Twitter, and Facebook amongst other world wide web tools that gave him a new voice for his film work and his effervescent lively thoughts on just about everything. In recent times, he has tried his hand as an Amazon affiliate, he’s become a finalist in the New Yorker caption contest, and he’s even started a controversy or two (Our very own Techwalla has also got involved in the lively “Can video games be art” debate). He’s also developing a new computer-aided voice based on the tens of thousands of hours of captured audio from his TV work.

Any way you cut it, Roger Ebert is a legend. Born June 1942 Roger Joseph Ebert is not only one of the best known American film pundits and screenwriters, but the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1975; A dream moviewallas can only aspire to. Best known for his film review column (appearing in the Chicago Sun-Times since 1967, and later online) and for the television programs he co hosted with fellow movie buff Gene Siskel for a combined 23 years the disagreements between the two were often legendary and very popular. Following Siskel’s death in 1999, Ebert teamed with Richard Roeper for the television series “Ebert & Roeper & the Movies”, which began airing in 2000. Although his name remained in the title, Ebert did not appear on the show after mid-2006, when he suffered post-surgical complications related to thyroid cancer that left him unable to speak. Ebert ended his association with the show in July 2008 but in February 2009 he stated that he and Roeper would continue their work on a new show. Ebert’s current show, “Ebert Presents at the Movies”, premiered on January 21, 2011, with Ebert appearing in a brief segment called “Roger’s Office”. Ebert’s movie reviews are syndicated to more than 200 newspapers in the United States and worldwide. He has written more than 15 books, including his annual movie yearbook which is primarily a collection of his reviews of that year.

Ebert

As I sit here with my own computer gathering my thoughts in time for our next podcast, two things strike me most; firstly, Ebert’s passion for doing what he does and just how gifted he is with words and secondly, his beautiful wife who seems to be his rock and seems to give him no slack. After all, why should she, this man is a razor edged master of language who could probably describe a Picasso to you with his pen – Mr. Ebert, you inspire us in so many ways. TED.com, thanks for making this available to us. Fellow Moviewallas, I urge you to watch this TED2011 Roger Ebert

Truth In Trailers

Moviewallas

Check out the trailer for ‘Bad Teacher’ at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3131219225/

The preview for this film looks like fun. ‘Bad Teacher’ certainly has what looks like a great cast for a comedy: Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake and Jason Segel. Cameron Diaz should know that she is never stronger than when she is in a good comedy. Timberlake has the good sense to make fun of his own image in most of his films. And Jason Segel knows his way around funny (‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’, ‘I Love You Man’, and TV’s underrated ‘How I Met Your Mother’). I really hope this film does not suck.

Because previews often mislead. Some are so long, and reveal so much of the film, they might as well screen the whole damn movie while they are at it (for shame, ‘Iron Man 2’). Some trailers however are amazing, stand-alone films in their own right that know exactly how to whet audience interest in a movie, e.g., the preview for the new ‘Star Trek’ reboot. I have the highest respect however for trailers that give nothing away about a film, or show very little footage of the movie, but still manage to create excitement (e.g., ‘The Social Network’, or my personal favorite, ‘Alien’). The worst of all are good trailers for bad movies (are you listening, ‘Red Riding Hood’?). In this instance, I guess at least the individuals hired to create the trailer did their job well; it is just the audience who gets robbed out of their money.

What is your favorite movie trailer?

Fancy One of These Wagers for the Academy Awards?

Award Shows News Predictions

Not to be outdone by the categories of awards themselves, a betting company in the UK is creating their own inventive assembliges to incentivize anyone who wishes to gamble this year. At Bodog.com (supposedly the world’s largest betting brand) instead of voting for the usual “Best Film”, “Best Director”, “Actor” or “Actress”, one can place a wager on the following:

How many of the big 3 award winners (Director, Actor, Actress) will visibly cry when receiving their award?
- None: 4/7
- 1: 3/2
- 2: 5/1
- All 3: 20/1
Oscars Specials – How many times will the word Thanks or Thank You be used in the acceptance speech of the Big 3 Awards (Director, Actor, Actress)?
- Over/Under 20: 10/11
What will be the Predominant Color of Natalie Portman’s Dress at the Awards Ceremony?
- Black 3/1
- White 3/1
- Blue 4/1
- Cream/Beige 9/2
- Pink 9/2
- Red 5/1
Will Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds attend the Oscars together? Yes 6/1
Will any Oscar recipients fall on their way to the stage? Yes 15/1
Will Geoffrey Rush be wearing a hat? Yes 6/4

Dice

Now you may be asking yourself “why”? Well, apparently there is a feeling that the Oscars look even more predictable than normal this year (Colin Firth is 1/50 to win Best Actor!) so the categories were put togteher to help the long evening be a little more entertaining. Perhaps our own moviewalla listeners could come up with a few inventive categories of our own???

Envious About the King’s Speech? – Julia Roberts is Crowned Queen

Celebrity Directors News Sneak Peek

The ultimate “Pretty woman” now has a new title; “Wicked step mother” or “Queen” even. Relativity Media has closed a deal with Oscar®-winner Julia Roberts to play the Queen in its upcoming untitled Snow White feature, based on the Brothers Grimm story which will be directed by Tarsem Singh (Immortals, The Cell). The studio stated Pre-production has begun and principal photography will start in April. The theatrical release date is set for June 2012.

Julia Roberts

Relativity’s Snow White a retelling of one of the most beloved fables of all-time, will eschew the traditional story in favor of a more modern tale full of comedy and adventure. After her evil stepmother kills her father and destroys the kingdom, Snow White bands together with a gang of seven quarrelsome dwarfs to reclaim what is rightly hers. The script was written by Melissa Wallack (Meet Bill) and Jason Keller (Machine Gun Preacher).

The film’s producers are Ryan Kavanaugh (The Fighter), Bernie Goldmann (300) and Brett Ratner (Rush Hour franchise). The executive producers are Tucker Tooley (The Fighter), Jeff Waxman (Immortals), Tommy Turtle (Immortals), Jamie Marshall (Immortals), Josh Pate (Friday Night Lights) and John Cheng (Horrible Bosses).

Relativity’s CEO Ryan Kavanaugh commented, “Julia was our first and only choice to play the Queen. She is an icon, and we know that she will make this role her own in a way that no one else could.”

I don’t know about you, but I love me a good fairy tale and can’t wait to see who will be Prince Charming

Snow White

Will the Annie Awards winner be a good predictor of “Best Animation” for the Oscars?

Award Shows Competition Moviewallas Opinion Predictions

Which one is best “Toy Story 3” vs. ‘How to train your dragon” has long been a sometimes heated debate amongst the moviewallas. With two of the wallas adoring “Toy Story 3” and the other backing the “How to Train Your Dragon” train all the way to the Oscars. Needless to say, this will be a hard fight to the end since both animations are extremely good. Methinks this could turn into a replay of the “Big Mac vs. Whopper” debate of Ye Olde time (PS, who won that by the way?).

how to train your dragon

However at the 38th Annual Annie Awards held on Saturday, February 5 at UCLA’s Royce Hall a choice was made and DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon” won top honors as the Best Animated Feature. Often a predictor of the annual Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, the Annie Awards honor overall excellence as well as individual achievement in a total of 25 categories ranging from best feature, production design, character animation and effects animation to storyboarding, video games, writing, music and voice acting. (A complete list of the 38th Annual Annie Award winners can be viewed at www.annieawards.org.)

I decided to think of some of the merits of each of these terrific submissions to see if there was any way to separate the two:

Categories	Toy Story 3	How to Train your Dragon
Best Story	Winner
Most heart wrenching		Winner
Best rendition of a dragon that acts like a dog or Cat		Winner
Best story arc		Winner
Best ensemble cast EVER	Winner
The one that made me cry the most	Winner
The one that I would watch again and again	Winner
The one that I would watch if Toy Story 3 got worn out		Winner

So there you have it, both animations, both excellent and little to separate them. Even in trying to rate the two against each other, I found the choice so difficult. But remember, I loved “Toy Story 3” and sobbed uncontrollably at the end…for me I think what it comes down to was the familiarity and joy I felt seeing Woody, Buzz, Mr. Potato Head and the rest of the gang for the third time. That intertwined with Pixar’s amazing talent to tell the story of a young boy all grown up and leaving home for the first time and the impact it has on all of those you leave behind. Gosh, I’m tearing up just thinking about what a GREAT story this was as I write. Whatever your preference, “Toy Story 3” or “How to Train your Dragon” what more could we ask for than two brilliant animations in one year that are both deserving of the title “Best animation”

Toy Story 3

Oscar Nominations Tomorrow Morning – Am I the Only Excited One?

Award Shows Celebrity Opinion Predictions

The Oscar nominations are announced tomorrow morning – is anyone as excited as I am? I am not sure why I am so excited, I mean it’s not like I am waiting to find out if I get nominated or anything but I am really excited. I can’t even imagine how I would feel if I had a dog in the race? If I was in any jeopardy of getting a statuette, a gold-plated britannium on a black metal base which is 13.5 in (34 cm) tall, weighs 8.5 lb (3.85 kg) and depicts a knight rendered in Art Deco style holding a crusader’s sword standing on a reel of film with five spokes, would I be even more excited than I am now; a mere watcher of films?

oscar statue

If I was Colin Firth (c’mon I am British!) what would I be thinking tonight? Would I be nursing my cup of cocoa reassuring myself that it doesn’t matter what happens tomorrow because “I know I did a great job?” or “I don’t need another statue to prove I’m a great actor – I just loved playing a stuttering monarch that no one ever talks about”

What if I was Annette Bening – Surely the fact that I played “same sex marriage” and made it look damn convincing vs. that little whippersnapper who just had to learn to dance is worth a nod? C’mon guys you’ve looked me over so many times, everyone knows I am a GREAT actress!

And if I’m David Fincher, I mean I have a great body of work behind me already and I made a film about a networking website look like an exciting week in Ibiza – that takes a lot of talent

I am Christian Bale now – marveling at my ability to pull off the great Dicky Eklund. I had to train just as hard as Natalie Portman and I’ve been around longer, wait, statues make great things to throw at people, no? By the way, I wonder if Amy Adams or Melissa Leo will be nominated – wouldn’t it be great of we all got one.

Finally, what if I’m Toy Story 3 – I mean I totally deserve best film – just because I am rendered in code and not celluloid, should that be held against me?

Anyway, six hours to go, so I will just have to wait like the rest of them. My own hopes for nominations in one form or another are – “The Social Network”, “Kings Speech”, “Toy Story 3”, “Blue Valentine”, “127 Hours”, “The Kids are All Right”, “True Grit” and of course, “The Fighter”. Good luck all my faves of 2010!