2010 Academy Award and Oscar Week Events

February 18, 2010I just got my tickets to this years Academy Award Oscar-Nominated symposium events and I am very excited, to say the least. I will be attending the animation and make-up/hairstylist/special FX symposiums as I've done for 3 years straight. At each event, we see film clips from the nominated movie and the year's Oscar nominees discuss their work and take questions from the audience.

March 4, 2010
Academy Award Oscar-Nominated Animated Features Symposium:
The symposium featured 5 films;

3 that I had seen in theaters--
The Fantastic Mr. Fox (stop-gap animation) about a chicken stealing fox who can't go legit and be a family man. The Princess and the Frog(old fashion/classic Disney style 2-D hand drawn animation) based on the classic fairy tale but with a race twist and some New Orleans/bayou spice and Up (3-D CG/computer generated animation).

And 2 that I did not see--
Coraline (3-D CG)cautionary horror about a young girl who finds a creepy version of her parents(button eyes and all) after crawling through a door in her house and
The Secret of Kells (2D hand drawn film from Ireland) about a young boy monk in a small Irish village as the Vikings come to kill and pillage. It was a bit bloody and suspenseful (think Samurai Jack) but the tension is relieved when he meets a helpful faerie as he looks for ink in the woods(think fairies/power-puff girls). I think the ink was needed so that the older monks could finish translating copies of the Bible but I'm not sure. I can't wait to see Kells when it is released in the U.S., which the designer/writer/director, Tomm Moore, assured us will be soon. I love every thing animation and I had not even heard about The Secret of Kells before this event but, as it came from a small Irish studio, it's understandable.

Academy Award Oscar-Nominated Make-up/Hairstylist Symposium:

This event was great! The team who did the alien special FX for Star Trek had a full display booth. They even brought the 6'5" guy who played the "long-faced alien at the bar" (no kidding, that's how he's credited). The Italian team who did the movie, Il Divo, had some great insights on the business and the movie clips were awesome. Unfortunately, the make-up and hairstylist team for The Young Victoria was stuck at the airport clearing customs and missed the on stage panel discussion. They finally arrived for the buffet/meet and greet later and astounded us with their knowledge of hair, wigs and make-up of the Victorian era.

March 8, 2010 Oscar Update:
I decided to fore-go viewing this year so I stayed at church for both he 10 AM and 4 PM services and didn't watch the event. However, all my predictions were spot on!

Congrats to:
Kathryn Bigelow and The Hurt Locker,
Jeff Bridges
Sandra Bullock
Mo'Nique

and

Writers:
Best Original Screenplay

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Blind Side:
I still haven't seen The Blind Side yet but it's showing at my favorite $2 theater so I'll get to it soon and post my review. Better late than never(lol).

Update: March 21, 2010
The Wrong Kind of Bombshell:
The news about Jesse James infidelity broke this week and I am saddened for Sandra Bullock. She thanked him so often during the award season for having her back then you see this mess. It appears that the real Mrs. Touhy has reached out to Sandra during this tough time and I will continue praying for her also.

Movie Reviews:
Good news! I finally got to see The Blind Side and it was excellent! Sandra is totally believable and a force to be reckoned with and I left the theater wanting to see more of Big Mike and the Touhy family. I liked it so much that I suggested it for our "Jesus And A Movie" series at church and hopefully we will show it in April.