Oscar Press Room: Melissa Leo Talks F-Bomb, Her Controversial Campaign

Melissa Leo has been on the Hollywood scene for year.  She finally got recognized for her role inThe Figheter.  Check out some of the highlights backstage from Leo's interviews!

On dropping the F-bomb during her acceptance speech:Those words, I apologize to anyone that they offend. There's a great deal of the English language that is in my vernacular.

On the real-life woman she played, Alice Ward:Well, the dress I'm wearing tonight I'd like to think that Alice would have liked it, and that was part of the choosing for it. She is a manager of her sons, was caught on camera quite a lot at the edges of the boxing ring, and I noticed a lot of the footage of Alice at the fights had her in white. Might not be so true anymore, but I think back in the days of black and white, it showed up well on camera. So that was some of the thought into it and into being here tonight. Alice, I did have the opportunity to meet. I could not have played her without having met her. I wouldn't have even know where to begin in many ways. The external part of Alice was Mark Bridges, the costume designer, and David O'Russell encouraging the hair department to cut my hair shorter and shorter and dye it and all of that. But no, I don't know that Alice's sense of style and my sense of style are too similar in too many ways.

On Kirk Douglas stretching out announcing the winner:You know, it's really funny, you know, because he's an old actor. If anybody is an actor, he's an actor, right? And actually, he was doing us all this huge favor, because the longer he strung it out, the calmer I got to be. I got to take more than one glance over at Amy, who was sitting just in front of me away from where he was, I wanted to watch him because he was delightful to watch and I wanted to peek at Amy, so he strung it out in a rather delightful way for me and actually allowed a heart rate that had gotten fairly high as the category was announced to settle a little bit and wait and see what the envelope said.

When asked about her controversial Oscar campaign:There's nothing to vindicate, and there was no campaign. It was a photograph in a magazine; I wanted a pretty photograph in a magazine, that's all it was.

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The Razzie Awards: The Winners Are...

It has become a tradition that the night right before the Academy Awards for the best films of the year, the Razzie awards for the WORST films of the year are handed out.

The Razzie awards were handed out last night -Sex and the City 2andThe Last Airbenderwere the realwinnerloser of the night.

So they wasn't the greatest film of the year, but did the two films deserve THAT many Razzies? 

See below for the full list of winners

WORST PICTURE
The Last Airbender

WORST DIRECTOR
M. Night Shyamalan,The Last Airbender

WORST ACTOR
Ashton Kutcher,KillersandValentine’s Day

WORST ACTRESS

Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Catrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon,Sex and the City 2

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jackson Rathbone,The Last AirbenderandThe TwilightSaga: Eclipse

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
 Jessica Alba,The Killer Inside Me, Little Fockers, Machete,andValentine’s Day

WORST EYE-GOUGING MISUSE OF 3-D
The Last Airbender

WORST SCREEN COUPLE/WORST SCREEN ENSEMBLE
The cast ofSex and the City 2

WORST SCREENPLAY
M. Night Shyamalan,The Last Airbender

WORST PREQUEL, REMAKE, RIP-OFF OR SEQUEL
Sex and the City 2

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Weekend Movie Preview: February 25, 2011

The crude R-rated comedyHall Pass, starring Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis, will surely attract couples, but another guilty pleasure action-packed Nicolas Cage filmDrive Angrywill battle it out for the top spot.

Box office analysts predictHall Passwill take the top spot, earning an estimated $16 million in 2,950 theaters.  Drive Angry isn't even estimated to come in at number two, although it may surprise with a number of action-craving men wanting to get down and dirty with the likes of Nic Cage. 

The flick is estimated to bring in about $12 million in 2,290 theaters, behindGnomeo and Juliet($14 million) andUnknown($13 million).

Justin Bieber: Never Say Neveris also set to hit theaters again this weekend with a newly edited"Director's Cut for Fans."  Not sure how much traction this will get, but it just might attract the young female population, with not much else this weekend for them to take in.

Nevertheless, this weekend will not be quite the success last weekend proved to be and will probably end up as another dismal box office weekend.

Hall Pass- A couple of married guys are granted the opportunity to  do whatever they want and sleep with whoever they want for one week by their wives.  Things get a little out of control when it's not everything they bargained for and their wives start doing the same thing.

Hall Pass Trailer

Drive Angry- Nicolas Cage plays a man who comes back from the dead to save his granddaughter from an evil cult leader who is going to sacrifice her.  Amber Heard plays a waitress that helps him out on his journey and Billy Burke plays the cult leader who is threatening to sacrifice Cage's granddaughter.

 

Drive Angry Trailer

Justin Bieber Never Say Never: The Director's Fan Cut- The widely successful and surprisingly good Justin Bieber documentary has been re-released for one week only to give his die-hard fans more insight into the singer's life.  Director Jon Chu decided he had too much footage on the cutting room floor and reworked the film to share even more Biebs with his fans.

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never 30 Second Spot

Limited Release:

Of Gods and Men- Perched in the mountains of Algeria in Northern Africa, a group of French Christian monks must decide what to do when a group of Islamic fundamentalists kill a group of foreigners.  The Christian monks must decide whether to hold their ground at the monastery or flee, leaving the villagers under the protection at the mercy of the rebels.

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Patrick Wilson, James Marsden Set to Star in Loft

Patrick Wilson and James Marsden have signed on to star in a remake of the 2008 Belgian film,Loft, reportsVariety.

The director from the 2008 film, Erik Van Looy will be back to direct the remake as well.

The 2008 version follows five married men who share ownership of a loft that they all use to meet their mistresses.  They find a woman's murdered body in the loft and each begin to suspect the other of having killed the woman.  The story is finally revealed through flashbacks from each of the men.

The film is set to start filming this spring.

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Steve Carell to Star in Drama, Dogs of Babel

Steve Carell is all set to star in the new filmDogs of Babelfrom Mandate Pictures, the studio announced.

The novel by Carolyn Parkhurt, follows the story of Paul Iverson who returns home one day to discover his wife's body in their backyard.  The police say the death is an accident, but Paul is not convinced.  He searches for answers to a mystery only the family dog Lorelei witnessed.

Carell is usually known for his comedic role, but Mandate president Nathan Kahane is confident in Carell's acting ability, saying""Steve is one of those rare talents who can make you laugh uncontrollably and at the same time evoke real emotion. We can't wait to see how he brings the role to life."

Producers Corey May and Dooma Wendschuh have been anxious to bring the novel to the big screen for a long time,"From the first time we read Carolyn's manuscript, we couldn't wait for the opportunity to bring 'Dogs of Babel' to the big screen. We are thrilled to now be working with Steve, who shares our passion for the story."

It will be interesting to see Carell in a dramatic role, especially one that sounds so heart-wrenching and sad.

The film still does not have a director, but plans to find one are in full swing.

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Oscar Watch: Best Supporting Actress

Join in the fun and predict who you think will win in all the major categories.  Check out the official printable Oscar's ballot below and print it out on Oscar's night to have your say!

Every day leading up to the big night, we will give you some insight into the nominees and choose our favorite for who will take home the gold. Then it's your turn!  Take part in our Poll and guess who you think will win big.

Melissa Leo has been the front runner for most of the Oscar season for her performance inThe Fighter, but as we previously reported,she's since lostthat seeming guarantee with picture she posted on her personal website.

Leo had previously admitted she took the photos without the knowledge of Paramount or her representation.  Today, she's telling a different story toThe Daily Beast, saying it was Paramount's idea and she was just going along with it.

"I've been busting my ass, trying to get the movie sold and seen, and now I show up where they ask, get put into hair and makeup that they pay for, so I can promote this thing,"she admits."So I'm a little confused. I thought this is what we're doing. This is what all the girls are doing."

Check out the complete Best Supporting Actress nomination list and check out who our Oscar prediction - then make your own.

Amy Adams,The Fighter- Now that Melissa Leo isn't so lonely high atop the prediction ladder, many wonder if co-star Amy Adams will join her.  Amy Adams has been nominated three times, but has yet to take home the golden statue. Adams may sneak up on us this time and finally win for her performance inThe Fighter. Although, Adam's hasn't received much recognition so far for her work in the film, she has been quietly getting rave reviews for her role as Micky's girlfriend.

Helena Bonham Carter,The King's Speech- Helena Bonham Carter played the Queen mum in the film getting rave reviews this award season,The King's Speech.  Carter isn't a favorite to win, but if the night goes as predicted, withThe King's Speech, sweeping most of the major categories, she might just ride the wave and win along with her co-stars.  Her performance was worthy of a nomination, but perhaps not as gritty and emotional as some of the others in her category.

Melissa Leo,The Fighter- Melissa Leo has been the front runner for most of the Oscar season, but recently she has fallen out of favor in the Oscar race.  The actress posted some self-promotional photos on her personal website, with a caption reading"For Your Consideration."  The photos didn't go over well with some people and it might lose her the trophy.  In the past, actors who have done similar self-promotion have also lost when it came down to it.  Her performance inThe Fighter,on the other hand, was phenomenal and she does deserve the trophy based on that consideration alone.

Hailee Steinfeld,True Grit- Considering Hailee Steinfeld is pretty much the leading actress in this one, you would think she would have a pretty good chance at winning in a supporting role category.  Well, that just might be the case.  Many people are buzzing about the young actress and she's become another one of the favorites in the Best Supporting Actress category.  We wouldn't be surprised if the young 16-year-old takes home the gold.  Her performance is riveting and it's even more impressive when you consider she is a newcomer to the movie scene.  She can definitely hold her own against the likes of co-star Jeff Bridges.

Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom- Jacki Weaver is definitely the black sheep in this list and she is probably honored just to be nominated, but her performance in the indie flickAnimal Kingdomis probably not going to win her the golden statue. Animal Kingdomisn't nominated for anything else at the Oscars and hasn't had much press, so Weaver will probably be a product of her film and its traction during this year's award season.

Our Prediction: Melissa Leo,The Fighter

Although she's received some bad press in the last couple of weeks, we think Melissa Leo will still bring home the award.  Her performance was stunning and she deserves the award based on that factor alone.  Hailee Steinfeld might give the actress a run for her money though.  She has impressed critics and viewers with her candid, scene-stealing performance and it might win over Oscar voters as well.  So, although we say Leo will take home the gold, Steinfeld just might beat her out.  This one is a little tricky with all the negative press Leo has been receiving.

YOUR TURN!

WHO WILL WIN THE OSCAR FOR BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS?

	Amy Adams - The Fighter
	Helena Bonham Carter - The King's Speech
	Melissa Leo - The Fighter
	Hailee Steinfeld - True Grit
	Jacki Weaver - Animal Kingdom
View Results

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Cars 2 Debuts TV Spot During NASCAR

An all-new TV spot for the upcomingCars 2debuted Sunday during NASCAR's Daytona 500 race.  Fittingly, the Cars 2 trailer enjoyed a 60 second spot to promote the new fast-paced animated Disney/Pixar flick.

The trailer gives us a great glimpse into the storyline and some of the new cars featured in the upcoming sequel.

Cars 2 TV Spot

The film follows Lightning McQueen, voiced by Owen Wilson, and the tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) as they travel overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine who is the fastest car in the world.  Along the way, Mater gets caught up in his own adventure, a top secret spy mission.  He must choose between helping his friend and venturing deeper into his espionage adventure.

The film opens on June 24, 2011 in 3D, 2D, and IMAX.

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