CRITICS: OSCARS AMOUNT TO TEDIUM TV

Film critics wasted no time banging out reviews of Sunday night’s Oscars, with several of them posting their assessments of the affair within minutes after the ceremonies concluded. Indeed, Daily Variety‘s Brian Lowry posted his (negative) review of Billy Crystal’s opening as if he were racing a legion of tweeters. Actually, many of the reviews […]

FRANCO TELLS PLAYBOY WHY HE BOMBED AT OSCARS

James Franco knew he was going to bomb as a host on this year’s Oscars telecast well before the show ever went on the air, he suggests in the current edition of Playboy. “For three or four weeks we shot the promos and the little film that played in the opening,” he said. “In the […]

RUSSELL BUILDS HIS OWN BRAND

It’s certainly not often that one actor stars in the top two films at the box office (researchers are probably scrambling to see whether such a finish has ever occurred before), but Russell Brand nabbed that honor this weekend. [Update: Final figures released on Monday put Arthur in third place, not second; see below.] He […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: YOUR HIGHNESS

The last time we saw Natalie Portman and James Franco together was the night of the Oscar awards. Given critical reaction to their performances in Your Highness, we may see them next year at the Razzies. “Why did they do it?” asks Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times, who calls the movie “a juvenile excrescence […]

FRANCO: IT WAS ANNE HATHAWAY’S FAULT

James Franco has repeatedly denied that he was stoned when he co-hosted the Academy Awards show in February, and in a pretaped interview set to air tonight (Friday) on CBS’s Late Show with David Letterman, he gives his own theory about why everyone assumes he was. “Because — I love her, but Anne Hathaway is […]

OSCAR COMEDY WRITER VILANCH FAULTS FRANCO; FRANCO FAULTS BACK

Bruce Vilanch, who has written jokes for the hosts of countless awards shows for 20 years, has criticized James Franco for not taking his role as host of this year’s Oscars telecast seriously. In an interview with New York magazine’s Vulture blog, Vilanch joked that he suspects Franco took a nap. “I have to call […]

BOX OFFICE SLUMP CONTINUES

The virtually uninterrupted downtrend in ticket sales this year was extended once again as total receipts this weekend fell more than 13 percent behind last year’s for the comparable week. The top moneymaker was Battle: Los Angeles, with $35.6 million,but that was just a little more half what Disney’s Alice in Wonderland earned in its […]

ACADEMY AGREES: FRANCO AND HATHAWAY WERE A POOR CHOICE

The selection of James Franco and Anne Hathaway to host this year’s Oscars telecast was a mistake, a high-ranking member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has acknowledged. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, the member, who asked not to be identified, said, “A lot of us said Franco, who is […]

BLACK SWAN DOMINATES SPIRIT AWARDS

Black Swan was the big winner at independent filmdom’s annual Spirit Awards, winning for best picture, best actress (Natalie Portman) and best director (Darren Aronofsky). James Franco won the best actor award for his performance in 127 Hours. Films eligible for an award must have been produced for less than $20 million. Black Swan reportedly […]

FRANCO UNCONCERNED ABOUT POSSIBLY BOMBING AT OSCARS

James Franco insists he’s not putting his career on the line by co-hosting the Academy Awards show with Anne Hathaway this month. In an interview with Vanity Fair magazine, Franco said, “Look, they know we’re not Billy Crystal or Chris Rock. They’re not asking us because they’re expecting that. The show is going to be […]

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