Sean Oliver

MTV Movie Award Picks

Finally an award show comes along and I’ve actually seen all of the movies nominated. With the MTV Movie Awards coming up tonight, I thought I’d have to share my picks for the winners, since an opportunity like this might never come again. Especially because I have no plans to see any of the future “Twilight” movies and they will no doubt be nominated (as this year’s is).

Here are my picks:

• Best Song from a Movie: A.R. Rahman - Jai Ho (“Slumdog Millionaire”)
• Best WTF Moment: Naked Break Up (Jason Segal and Kristen Bell, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”)
• Best Fight: Seth Rogen and James Franco vs. Danny McBride, “Pineapple Express”
• Best Kiss: Paul Rudd and Thomas Lennon, “I Love You, Man”
• Best Villain: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Night” (by a mile)
• Best Comedic Performance: Steve Carell, “Get Smart”
• Breakthrough Performance, Male: Dev Patel, “Slumdog Millionaire”
• Breakthrough Performance, Female: Kat Dennings, “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist”
• Best Male Performance: Christian Bale, “The Dark Night”
• Best Female Performance: Angelina Jolie, “Wanted”
• Best Movie: Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”

For those of you who want the unabridged version, here are some of my thoughts on the nominees:

• Tough choice for “Best WTF Moment.” All of the scenes were great and really funny, but the Naked Break Up scene was just too funny and uncomfortably long - just awesome. Honorable mention to the Curved Bullet Kill scene from “Wanted.” Incredible.
• I think it’s absurd that “Twilight” was nominated for so many awards. This movie is a testament to everything that is wrong with the entertainment industry.
• In the “Best Kiss” category, I honestly think the top two contenders are the two man-on-man kisses, Paul Rudd/Thomas Lennon from “I Love You, Man” and James Franco/Sean Penn from “Milk.” I’m thinking the Rudd/Lennon one should win though. It’s almost poetically awkward and hilarious.
• In the “Best Female Performance” category, I would have probably chosen Kate Winslet if they used her stunning performance in “Revolutionary Road.” I know she won the Oscar for “The Reader,” but I still think she was so emotionally blank that I had trouble understanding what she was going through.
• The contest for “Best Movie” is definitely between “Slumdog Millionaire” and “The Dark Night.” I have to go with Slumdog, though, because despite the incredible spectacle of “The Dark Night,” everything about Slumdog is completely miraculous. The storytelling is almost as remarkable as the story, and the fact that it generated such tremendous social awareness of India’s slums makes it worthy, in my opinion, of some kind of Nobel Prize.
• I think MTV’s awards site is really leading the charge in leveraging the internet to involve viewers in its awards shows. The Academy Awards could learn a lot from MTV’s site. I love how they include clips of every nominee, so even if you haven’t seen all of the movies, you can still determine which deserves to win. Also for people like me who have seen them, it’s a great way to jog your memory.

Sean’s Oscar Picks

Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Lead Actor: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Best Lead Actress: Meryl Streep, Doubt

Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Best Supporting Actress: Viola Davis, Doubt

Best Writing (Adapted): Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Writing (Original): Dustin Lance Black, Milk

Best Animated Film: Wall-E
Best Foreign Language Film: Waltz With Bashir

Best Art Direction: James J. Murakami and Gary Fettis, Changeling
Best Costume Design: Jacqueline West, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Makeup: Greg Cannon, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Music (Score): A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire

Buzz in the Biz: 2.17.09

Ang Lee to Direct “Life of Pi” [Read Article]

I’m extremely excited to see the translation to film, here. Ang Lee has definitely made some winners in the past, so I’m sure he’ll be able to preserve the “Life of Pi’s” message (and its twist). That said, it’s going to be interesting to see how this translates to film. It’s a story built around a boy’s imagination, but there has to be a way to do this without it looking childish…

Polanski Must Return to the States for Dismissal [Read Article]

I’m sure he must have expected this. He’d be a fool to return to the United States after all this time, especially considering his advanced age. France is a beautiful place to live, and being a fugitive hasn’t prevented him from directing Oscar-winning films like “The Pianist.” Who knew being on the run could be so glamorous?

“Dollhouse” Disaster [Read Article]

Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse” premier was a big flop last Friday - only 4.7 million people watched the show. Pretty miserable showing, as the industry standard is a show needs at least 5 million viewers on Broadcast TV in order to avoid cancellation.

I watched the premier the other day with Tina, Jose, and Maria, and while I wasn’t impressed by the storyline, I was even less impressed by the format - scripted, serialized television. It’s a tired model that only works for ambitious epics like Heroes, House, NCIS, and the like. Otherwise, TV need have immediacy in order to be relevant. I think it’s success on Hulu and iTunes is evidence of the fact that people would rather watch shows like this at their convenience.

Buzz in the Biz: 1.17.09

ABC to Launch More Sitcoms [Read Article]

“Having struggled with half hours in recent years, the Alphabet is looking at ways to bring back situation comedies in the vein of past hits like ‘Roseanne’ and ‘Home Improvement.’”

I like this move by ABC. It shows the nets are moving to differentiate from each other, especially given NBC’s totally different prime time strategy with Jay Leno. It will be interesting to see how they do, but I think you can take the way CBS currently owns Monday night with ‘Two and a Half Men’ as evidence that people still love the sitcom.

Regardless of how this mid-season experiment develops, the real question for me is whether it will result in ‘Dirty Sexy Money’s’ axing. I’ve gotten to the point where I need that show to continue to survive.

Box Office Bloodbath Coming Soon [Read Article]

“The golden rule: Do everything you can in the four-week stretch between Academy Award nominations and Oscar ceremony. The five films landing in the best picture category can enjoy a significant box office bump as moviegoers try to catch up on their viewing before the kudofest Feb. 22.”

Release delays from the studios has given rise to an unprecedented number of nod-worthy films, most of which are slated for a wide release this month, including ’ Frost/Nixon,’ ‘Revolutionary Road, ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ and ‘Milk.’

Here’s the breaks: there’s only 5 Oscar nominations available, and there’s only so many B.O. dollars to go around. This will be very interesting to follow, and hopefully I will be able to stop having to go to small indie-focused theaters downtown to get my Oscar film fix.

‘Mad Men’ Creator Still Creating [Read Article]

Glad to see this series is staying alive. I have yet to start watching, but based on what I’ve heard, it would be a huge shame for this show to go under after only two seasons.