Make Sure To Watch These Movies In February

The month of Oscar is here and some movies are still catching up the Global release train. At the front of the line is Spotlight which is being compared with “All the President’s Men” which was released in 1976. “Spotlight” takes up the story of investigative journalists, who expose a scandal burning at the core of an institution.

Liev Schreiber, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, and Michael Keaton play the role of journalists who work together for almost a decade to expose the cover up. “Spotlight” has taken the attention of Academy Award members and is in the race for best pictures, with Tom McCarthy being nominated for best directors.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

“A Bigger Splash” is a critically acclaimed movie that is scheduled to hit the big screen next month, along with this come the “Hail, Caesar!” which is the latest from the Coen brothers. Another movie that is scheduled to come out in February is “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” wherein the characters of Jane Austen are confronted by an army of un-dead. This movie is based on the 2009 novel with the same name.

“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” is said to have lowbrow premise but it has some high-calibre casting including Lily James playing the role of Elizabeth Bennet, Charles Dance as Mr Bennet, and Matt Smith as Mr Collins. James expresses the added resonance to the story is being provided by mash-up of themes.

Zoolander 2

The Zoolander sequel accumulated lot of attention before it came out, with controversy surrounding Benedict Cumberbatch being a transgender model. Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller will take up their roles after 15 years and they will be seen along with Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell. Kim Kardashian and Justin Bieber also make an appearance.

Race

In 1936 Olympics an African American athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals and the movie “Race” is a biopic on the star athlete with Stephen James appearing in the first movie of this kind. Also to be seen in the movie, are Jason Sudeikis and Jeremy Irons in what is said to be one of the many biopic that are made on Owens. This time the movie has the blessing from Owen’s family, with his daughter stating that it can inspire viewers.

Chronic

Tim Roth perform in the upcoming drama movie “Chronic” and he tries to compensate for the disaster that was caused in United Passions which was sponsored by Fifa. He plays the role of a nurse who works with terminally ill and he withholds the secret about himself but radiates in repose a swallowed pain and sadness.

Rams

At the last year Cannes Film Festival, “Rams” was the winner of Un Certain Regard prize. The movie is a story about two brothers who keep fighting and are sheep farmers in the same valley. Grimur Hakonarson is the writer and director of the movie and is a perfect combination of tragedy and near-absurdist comedy.

Stephen Furst Of Animal House Speaks On Change Of Rules From The Academy

Oscar 2016 fever is catching up with everyone. With so many people attached to this highly prestigious award in movie making industry, it is impossible and rather stupid to imagine that everyone will feel satisfied.

A rule may be like some, but may be disliked by few. Oscar organizers have proposed changes in membership and related rules and actor Stephen Furst, known for Babylon 5 and Animal House has hit back on the changes publicly.

Taking into account the chaos that has been created for the lack of diversity in the nominations, Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs has pledged to double minority and female members.

Stephen Furst has blamed that Academy was sexist and ageist as its members comprises mainly of older, white men. The problem is that not all the movies are being watched by enough of members.

There has been a lack of accountability on the part of the Academy. No check is made on how many DVDs are being sent to which member. Above all, there is no check whether these DVDs are being watched or not.

In an open letter sent by Stephen Furst and which was published on Variety states that the simple reason for the lack of diversity in the nomination this year is that not all movies are being watched by the Academy members.

In the four acting categories there has been all white line up and this has caused uproar among film-makers and actors. It is evident from the fact that actor Will Smith and his wife-actress Jada Pinkett Smith and director Spike Lee have decided not to attend Academy awards this year.

The Academy awards have long been criticized for having the features of white, older, disproportionate and middle class men.

Offended and Sadened

The Academy has responded to the growing unrest in the movie industry and in an attempt to improve diversity in leadership it has decided to create three new seats on its board of governors.

In another change, it has been decided that members who have been inactive in the industry in the past decade will be stripped of their voting rights.

Boone Isaacs, president of the Academy mentioned that these moves will significantly change the composition of the membership.

The recent move from the Academy has not been accepted totally by actors like 60 year old Stephen Furst. He mentioned that the latest move is quite disturbing and he felt saddened and offended. The reason is older members like him have been up as scapegoat by the Academy to divert the attention of people who are saying that there is lack of diversity in the Academy Awards nomination this year.

Furst also added that just like it is important to have diversity in movies, it is also important to have diversity in Oscar nominations.

Passwords and Streaming

Straight Outta Compton, a movie about rap group NWA has been nominated by Furst along with Beasts of No Nation featuring Idris Elba and actors Jason Mitchell, Zoe Saldana, Abraham Atta, and Tessa Thompson for awards.

The definition of who is an “inactive” member from The Academy was also assessed by Furst and he found it troublesome and he claimed that The Academy is not infected by racism but by integrity issue.

Furst suggested that in case The Academy really wants to get away with the issue of diversity than it should stop sending screening DVDs. To make sure that the members have actually watched the movies, a password protected streaming service should be installed.

It will enable The Academy to keep a track on how many movies have been watched by which members.

According to BBC, in the end, Stephen Furst added that in order to come out with fair and fine nominations in the Oscar awards, this process will be really effective.

The Academy cannot control on what is being made by studios and film producers, but the body can make it compulsory for members to watch a certain percentage of movies before they can be allowed to vote.

In case anyone falls below this passing percentage, should obviously not be allowed to vote.

Will 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Emerge As Oscar Winner?

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” we know for sure will turn out to be one of the biggest blockbuster of the year and revive the slightly tattered Star Wars franchise. 

It is sure going to be another star on J J Abrams shoulder.

The makers of the movie have maintained a perfect balance to lure both the old and the young generation, with some of the familiar faces being brought back from the original trilogy along with the introduction of new generation of foes and heroes, not to forget about the abundance of non-stop action and emotion.

But, hold on, attracting a large group of audience is one thing, and winning an Oscar is slightly different. Has “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” got all the ingredients to be a blockbuster along with being able grab Oscars?

Unfortunately, when we take a look back, we will not be able garner much hope for the upcoming movie from the franchise. For Star Wars, the force has not been strong enough to shake the minds of Hollywood’s biggest award show.

Let’s begin with the first movie from the franchise, A New Hope. With six wins in technical categories from a total of 10 Oscar nominations, the first movie did set the bar high enough, something which no other movie from the franchise has been able to match.

Back in 1977, when the movie was released as Star Wars, it was something that was never seen before on the big screen, and indeed a history was made. Unfortunately, with all the praises won, the Oscar for best picture went to Annie Hall, a romantic comedy from Woody Allen.

The Empire Strikes Back

The fate of the second installment from the franchise, The Empire Strikes Back, was not much different. Reviews were stronger than the predecessor, but were not strong enough to impress the Academy Awards. The movie was only able to bag two wins, for sound design and visual effect, from a total of only three nominations.

Return of Jedi marched on the same footprints almost, with four nominations in same categories and an extra win for effects. For the remaining of the prequels, the award judges did not even took a note of them, it seems.

Does Academy Awards Hate Star Wars?

With all this story, it gives us an impression that Academy Awards considers Star Wars like a cousin brother or as if it is averse to high grossing, mainstream entertainment.

When we take a look at Avatar, Inception and Gravity, who all were nominated for best pictures, with director Alfonso Cuaron’ Gravity bagging a major win, it seems nothing is wrong with Oscars.

The Return of the King, the last movie from Lord of the Rings, were both honored for Best Director and Best Pictures, and the same goes for 1997 Titanic.

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is not like the aforementioned movies, for it does not take the cinema in any new direction. Abrams movies are emotionally satisfying and are technical accomplishments, but they go only on the path set by the franchise.

One of the first objectives of The Force Awakens is to revive the slightly ailing Star Wars franchise. The movie has got enough content to dominate the technical category. We do wish that it can pull a victory to the size of Titanic.

Source: The Guardian

Abigail Breslin Signed Lead Role For Dirty Dancing TV Remake

Abigail Breslin has been signed to play the lead character of Baby Houseman for the TV remake of 1987 famous classic movie Dirty Dancing. The remake project has been undertaken by US network American Broadcasting Company.

The stunningly beautiful Abigail Breslin, rose to popularity for her work in Little Miss Sunshine, and has been nominated for Oscar. The adorable celebrity is at present working for Scream Queen, horror comedy show.

The remake of Dirty Dancing will be controlled by Wayne Blair who takes the direction seat for the three hour adaptation. Blair is the man behind 2012 movie The Sapphires. As of now, no other person has been signed off for the remake and the air date is also to be finalized still.

The earlier Dirty Dancing portrayed a love story about a seventeen year old Baby, a character which was played originally by Jennifer Grey. Baby falls in love with her dance teacher Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze).

This was a life changing role for Swayze as he rose to stardom because of it and later he also recorded a soundtrack for the movie.

As of now, it is another big break for Abigail Breslin and most likely we will see another wonderful performance from her. All the best Abigail!

Source: BBC

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