Variety breaks down how Comedies (and a Musical) at the Golden Globes may predict the Oscar nominees...

It's a very interesting read, found here. The article deals with long shots and sure things, and the movies they mention are Bruno, Easy Virtue, (500) Days of Summer, Funny People, The Hangover, The Informant!, In the Loop, The Invention of Lying, It's Complicated, Julie & Julia, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Nine, A Serious Man, Up in the Air, and Where the Wild Things Are. Take note that Up in the Air is actually competing in the drama category, but other than that, it's a solid list.
-Thoughts on the article and which films have the best chances at a nomination?

Montreal to get some Funny People a week early

Variety has the story on the impending debut of the latest Judd Apatow film/Oscar hopeful:
Judd Apatow's "Funny People," starring Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen, will unspool at Montreal's 13th Just for Laughs Film Festival a week before its U.S. release.
Co-stars Aziz Ansari and Aubrey Plaza will attend the screening July 25; the comedy goes wide Stateside July 31.
The fest, which unveiled part of its program Monday, opens July 10 with Gallic star Jean Dujardin at the screening of his "OSS 117: Lost in Rio" -- one of a slew of French pics at the event.
Broken Lizard members Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske will be on hand July 22 to introduce "Broken Lizard's the Slammin' Salmon," which stars the troupe and Michael Clarke Duncan, at its Canadian preem.
Helmer Bobcat Goldthwait will be at the fest for the screening of "World's Greatest Dad," starring Robin Williams as a teacher who wants to become a professional writer.
Thesp Joshua Leonard will tubthump "Humpday," which also stars Mark Duplass. Writer-thesp Charlyne Yi will be on hand to introduce her pic, "Paper Heart."
The 18-day fest is the film component of the Montreal Just for Laughs comedy festival.
-It's no secret that I'm a champion of the script and think that it has some real potential in this year's Oscar race...in about a month we'll all have a better idea though...

What's your favorite movie really about?

While taking what time we could between watching movies and courting beautiful women to browse the Internet earlier today, Joey and I happened to come across a fun little post over at postmodernbarney.com, a website I've never frequented but was linked to via IMDb. For all you movie enthusiasts (which I'm assuming if you're reading this includes you), they've put up a stripped down, almost uncomfortably accurate series of one-sentence summaries for various films, TV shows, and comics. Our personal favorites are Lord of the Rings, Lars and the Real Girl, and W.

Check it out here, and let us know your favorites.

Paul Blart Has A Terrible Secret...

Taking a quick break from the awards focus, here's a priceless video that's been circulating the web. I'll let it speak for itself:

- I really kind of want to see this movie now...

Thank Goodness, It Was All A Dream...

So it would seem that Joaquin Phoenix's recently depressing foray into rap may be less delusional tragedy and more inspired comedy. Entertainment Weekly has the scoop:

Two people close to Joaquin Phoenix tell EW that the actor's recent attempt to reinvent himself as a rapper is not what it appears to be.

Ever since the actor announced he was ditching his career in movies to try to make it as a rap artist, speculation has flown wildly about what, exactly, the two-time Oscar nominee might be thinking. Following his widely panned three-song debut as a rapper at a Las Vegas nightclub on Jan. 16 -- a shambling performance that concluded with the actor falling off the stage -- two competing theories emerged: Either Phoenix is perpetrating an elaborate Andy Kaufman-style hoax (with an assist from his friend and brother-in-law Casey Affleck, who's ostensibly shooting a documentary about his career transition), or he's truly lost his marbles. The truth, it seems, is closer to the former. "He said, 'It's a put-on. I'm going to pretend to have a meltdown and change careers, and Casey is going to film it,'" says one source who recently worked with Phoenix.

Though Phoenix's interest in music is sincere (he earned Oscar and Grammy nominations for his turn as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line and has directed several music videos), with this supposed career reboot he is evidently trying to both lampoon pompous actors and punk the media that covers them. Whatever his motivation or ultimate endgame, don't expect him to break character anytime soon. "It's an art project for him," says a source. "He's going full out. He probably has told his reps that he's quit acting. Joaquin is very smart. This is very conscious. He has a huge degree of control."

-Well that's a relief. I suspected such a brilliant performer wouldn't let himself sink so low on purpose. What're your thoughts?

Oh Dear...

For those of you who were curious just how well Joaquin Phoenix's rapping career is panning out, here's a fan video from a recent performance he gave in Las Vegas. It works out about as well as you'd expect:

-Somebody please tell me this isn't real. Please tell me that isn't an actor I respect and admire making a total 

ass of himself onstage (it is). And please tell me that's not Casey Affleck, another actor I respect and admire, 

documenting the travesty like it's the coolest thing ever (it's not). Please tell me it's all going to turn out that 

this is just a sad, sad practical joke. 

This is a sad moment for film enthusiasts. But maybe I'm blowing this out of proportion. What's your take?

Because Extra-Terrestrials Deserve To See All The Wooden Acting And Dodgy CGI That Earth Has To Offer...

According to WorstPreviews, 20th Century Fox has gone certifiably insane by announcing that The Day The Earth Stood Still will be broadcast to intelligent life across the galaxy. Seriously:

20th Century Fox has just announced that they will make history by transmitting the first motion picture in to deep space, making "The Day the Earth Stood Still" the world's first galactic motion picture release. The first deliberate deep space transmission of this sci-fi thriller will begin this Friday, December 12th, 2008, to coincide with the film's opening day on Planet Earth. If any civilizations are currently orbiting Alpha Centauri, they will be able to receive and view the film approximately four years from now in the year 2012.
In a time when global movie launches are now commonplace, Fox is raising the bar by spearheading, with Deep Space Communications Network located at Cape Canaveral, the ultimate in "wide release" platforms. As millions of Earthbound movie fans get their first look at "The Day the Earth Stood Still," the film will be zipping through space at 186,000 miles per second to a heretofore untapped possible consumer base orbiting the three star system, Alpha Centauri.
Commented 20th Century Fox domestic distribution president Bruce Snyder: "We at Fox always like to think big, and what's bigger than a 'galactic' release of a major motion picture event? We look forward to sharing 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' with our galactic neighbors near Alpha Centauri -- and look forward to their feedback...eight years from now."
Industry watchers and film historians will note that due to the distance between our solar system and the Alpha Centauri system, it will take over eight years (accounting for a roundtrip communication) to receive any Alpha Centauri reviews. The transmission is not a single beam aimed at just the Alpha Centauri system, but can be received by any advanced technologically capable civilization along the way to Alpha Centauri, and beyond.
Prior to its arrival at Alpha Centauri, the transmission of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" can be intercepted and viewed at various points in our own solar system (Distance from Earth – at the speed of light – and transmission time, as follows):
Moon: 0.000000038, 1.1991888 seconds
Sun: 0.000016, 8.41536 minutes
Mercury: 0.0000095, 4.99662 minutes
Venus: 0.00000476, 2.5035696 minutes
Mars: 0.0000076, 3.997296 minutes
Jupiter: 0.0000666, 35.028936 minutes
Saturn: 0.000135, 1.18341 hours
Uranus: 0.000285, 2.49831 hours
Neptune: 0.00046, 4.03236 hours
Pluto: 0.0006183, 5.4200178 hours

-I can't help but feel that if we're going to expose alien life to Earth cinema, that a Keanu Reeves toplining remake of "The Day The Earth Stood Still" isn't the best example we can give. "The Godfather", maybe? "Casablanca"? Hell, "Star Wars"? Years after we've all forgotten about this movie, we can look forward to establishing alien contact for the first time in history by receiving an E.T.'s lukewarm review of our depiction of what aliens are up to.

In case you haven't guessed, I'm not looking forward to this movie. But maybe somebody who is can shed light on why this is a good idea? What do you guys think?

A Break from Oscar Talk

This has very little Oscar relevance, but this is what happens to me every time I see Kate Winslett. 

SNL Digital Short - Jizz in my pants - 12/06/08 - watch more funny videos

Any movie moments make you jizz your pants? [exclude adult material haha]