2012 Academy Award winners

After shaking things up last year with an attempt to draw in a younger audience through hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco, the Academy Awards returned to the tried-and-true master of ceremony in 2012 - Billy Crystal.

Crystal's hosting was what we expected - quite safe, a little cheeky but nothing controversial or surprising. But that wasn't the only predictable element - there were also no real surprising winners this year, with all the favourites taking home the coveted Oscar trophy.

Nevertheless, it was an entertaining night that showcased some of the most significant individuals and collaborations in cinema today. Many worthy winners, some amusing speeches and a great performance by Cirque du Soleil later, the Academy Awards demonstrated why it is still the most prestigious and exciting event in the entertainment industry.

The 2012 Academy Award winners:

Best cinematography
Robert Richardson, Hugo

Best art direction
Hugo

Best costume design
The Artist

Best make up
The Iron Lady

Best foreign language film
A Separation

Best actress in a supporting role
Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best film editing
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best sound editing
Hugo

Best sound mixing
Hugo

Best documentary feature
Undefeated

Best animated film
Rango

Best visual effects
Hugo

Best actor in a supporting role
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best original score
Ludovic Bource, The Artist

Best song
Man or Muppet, The Muppets

Best adapted screenplay
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash, The Descendants

Best original screenplay
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris

Best live action short
The Shore

Best documentary short
Saving Face

Best animated short
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore

Best director
Michel Hazavanicius, The Artist

Best actor in a leading role
Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best actress in a leading role
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Best picture
The Artist

2011 Oscar Winners

So sadly, another Academy Awards ceremony has come to an end. Both The King's Speech and Inception were the biggest winners on the night, each taking home four Oscars. however, The King's Speech won in the main categories, such as Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, as well as Original Screenplay and Sound Editing.

Here is a list of all the winners:

2011 Oscar Nominations

The Academy has just announced the nominations for this year's Oscars - an interesting mix of films and individuals.

Here are the nominations for the main categories:

Best Motion Picture of the Year
127 Hours
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem for Biutiful
Jeff Bridges for True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network
Colin Firth for The King's Speech
James Franco for 127 Hours

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence for Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman for Black Swan
Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale for The Fighter
John Hawkes for Winter's Bone
Jeremy Renner for The Town
Mark Ruffalo for The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams for The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech
Melissa Leo for The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit
Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom

Best Achievement in Directing
Darren Aronofsky for Black Swa
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen for True Grit
David Fincher for The Social Network
Tom Hooper for The King's Speech
David O. Russell for The Fighter


So who is going to take home the coveted golden statue?

Anne Hathaway as Catwoman

Warner Bros. have announced that Anne Hathaway will play Selina Kyle (a.k.a Catwoman) in the upcoming Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises.

Christopher Nolan will be directing the film, which will also see the return of Christian Bale as Batman, as well as the addition of Tom Hardy, who is set to play Bane (a character who hasn't appeared in the Batman films since Batman & Robin in 1997.

Other stars signed up for The Dark Knight Rises include Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine.

The film is scheduled to be released in Australia on July 19, 2012 and in the USA and UK a day later.

Robert De Niro filming in Melbourne

Robert De Niro has arrived in Melbourne and is staying in town for 10 days to shoot his role in the film The Killer Elite.

Here's an article and photos from the set as reported on The Age.

Co-stars Jason Statham and Clive Owen were in Melbourne a few months ago to film their parts.

Tim Burton in Melbourne!

Tonight I had the fantastic opportunity to attend my favourite director, Tim Burton's Castaway session at ACMI ahead of the opening of his exhibition on Thursday.

He revealed the top five films he would take on a desert island, which were an interesting mix of horror, monsters and... well, they weren't exactly Oscar-winning films!

But I'm not surprised with his choices, as you can see how his eclectic selection has had an impact on his own personal style and appreciation of films.

Can't wait to see the exhibition!

Martin Scorsese to make George Harrison doco

Martin Scorsese has announced at Cannes that he and Olivia Harrison have been collaborating on a documentary about Beatles guitarist George Harrison.

It will be called "Living in the Material World: George Harrison" and looks to be ready for a 2011 release.

With the input of George's wife, Olivia, you can expect to have some deeply personal and illuminating (not to mention never-before-seen) material, and with Martin Scorsese, well, you know you're going to have a quality final product.

There's been so much focus on John Lennon and Paul McCartney, I think it's about time we get an insight into the other Beatles members (maybe one day soon we'll get something on Ringo!).

So as a Beatles fan, I'm looking forward to this one!

Pirates of the Caribbean 4 to be made in 3D

BBC report that Disney have decided to film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (the fourth film in the series), in 3D.

Not really surprising, given the recent surge in popularity of 3D technology. For many people the third film was pushing it but I guess we won't know until when the film is released (June 2011) if 3D can help to increase the interest in the fourth film.

Nevertheless, I'm a loyal fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean films so I would happily watch it even if it wasn't in 3D.

Tim Burton's coming to town!

Just thought I'd mention the fact my favourite director, Tim Burton, is coming to Melbourne in June to coincide with his exhibition at ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image).

Tim Burton: The Exhibition will be on show from 24th June to 10th October, direct from the The Museum of Modern Art, New York, with the director also flying down to Melbourne to appear at two discussion sessions open to the public.

The exhibition will feature over 700 works, including paintings, drawings, puppets, costumes, storyboards and film from Burton's various projects over the years.

ACMI's hosted a number of interesting and popular exhibitions, such as Pixar: 20 Years of Animation and Game On (and just the other day I went to see Adam Elliot's Mary and Max exhibition), though I think Burton's exhibition could attract the biggest attendance yet.

It's great to see ACMI drawing such international names and exhibitions to Melbourne, and similarly to last year with the National Gallery of Victoria's popular Salvador Dali exhibition, I think the Tim Burton retrospective will provide an invigorating boost for Melbourne's cultural scene.

Happily Avatar after... or not

Looks like there is going to be not only a second Avatar film but third as well! According to this article in the Guardian, the second film will be set in the ocean, while the third one is likely to go to another planet.

It's certainly becoming almost common practice now to build on the success of films by adding a sequel... or two. I guess there's the assumption that it's more likely to replicate the success as the concept has already been largely 'tried and tested'.

Nevertheless, I'm not really a big fan of Avatar (see my review of the film here), so I'm hoping the next films will be better (though very rarely sequels are).

Robert Downey Jr as the Wizard of Oz?

I read an article in the Guardian website about the possibility of Robert Downey Jr playing the Wizard of Oz.

The proposed film would be a prequel to the classic 1939 film with Judy Garland, and is tipped to be called Oz the Great and Powerful.

It's fantastic to see Robert Downey Jr back and having so much success, with films like Iron Man (and the soon-to-be-released Iron Man 2 and 3!).

No doubt seeing him play a wizard (a well-known wizard at that) would be fantastic although it could be very risky to go near such a beloved classic - mixed feelings. Although I suppose it's similar to Johnny Depp's roles in both Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland.