Inside Josh's Mind

This blog gives a look into the eternal sunshine of my ever roving mind. I consider myself a social critic. I believe in Film, Music, Theatre, Musical Theatre, Gay Rights, the Right to Choose, Human Rights and YES I still believe in Barack Obama. I believe in most things left of center. I don't get any organized religion.They are all a sham. This is the gay pride flag. I am proudly gay. These are the things this blog is about. Love it, like it or leave it. We all have choices.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Happy Birthday Maura and Blythe

Happy Birthday Linda

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Sandra and Meryl Play the Oscar Game With Humor

LOS ANGELES – Sandra Bullock may be the front-runner for the best-actress Oscar, but for her, awards season is more about camaraderie than competition with her fellow nominees. Except Meryl Streep.
"With Meryl, when this whole thing started, I left her a voice mail going, 'You've got to watch your back. I'm gonna cut you. I'm gonna take you down,'" Bullock said with a laugh Tuesday after learning she and Streep were both nominated for Academy Awards. "And then she sent me dead orchids and told me to die, so I sent her a case of liquor and told her to toast to white trash."
Bullock — who kissed Streep on the lips when the two friends tied for best actress at the Critics' Choice Awards — said the best thing about collecting repeated accolades for her role in "The Blind Side" has been getting to know the other actresses she has been nominated with for the past month or more.
"You have to enjoy being with these women that you admire or love or like or have had friendships with or are just getting to know because you've got to take care of each other," Bullock said.
"No one, at least the people that I've met, no one cares about the end result or the statue," she said. "It's being able to sit in close proximity with these ladies ... and we have to go through this whole rigamarole and we just all look at each other and we get to know each other and you laugh at the absurdity of it all and how they pit women up against each other."
Despite becoming an Oscar nominee, the 45-year-old actress remains grounded. While speaking with a reporter about the Oscar nod, Bullock could be overheard telling her young stepdaughter, "I'll do your hair when I finish this."
"On one hand, it's a huge moment," Bullock said. "And on the other hand, you have to put your feet on the ground and get out of bed and do the things you always do."
The Academy Awards will be presented at the Kodak Theatre on March 7 and broadcast live on ABC.*

*(reprinted from associated press)

Let's Talk About Sandra

Longtime audience darling Bullock has never been nominated for an Oscar before but is considered the best-actress front-runner, playing a wealthy woman who takes in homeless teen Michael Oher, now a star with the Baltimore Ravens.

Bullock said "no one cares about the end result or the statue." For her, the awards run has been about rubbing shoulders with the actresses she's nominated alongside.

"You laugh at the absurdity of it all and how they pit women up against each other. We go, 'Why are they making us out to be fighting when we're just happy to share this moment?'" Bullock said. "The women I've met and gotten to know along the way have made me so happy for this business that didn't really support women for a long time. It's been really sweet. I feel really lucky to be working at this time."

Bullock is up against past Oscar winners Meryl Streep as chef Julia Child in "Julie & Julia" and Helen Mirren as Leo Tolstoy's bullheaded wife in "The Last Station," along with first-time nominees Carey Mulligan as a British teen involved with an older man in "An Education" and Gabourey Sidibe as a Harlem teen overcoming horrible abuse and neglect in "Precious."*

*(from the associated press)

Oscarbation: Not a Single Nomination?

not even best original screenplay??? damn!!! this film is the most original nonromantic romantic comedy in years!

My Nomination Surprises: Supporting Actress

i did the least well predicting this category. sure betty white was a long-long shot but one needs to dream and wish. at the same time there are three surprises here:

1. maggie gyllenhaal did get a nomination. this was 'the nice' surprise. i did not pick her but am happy the academy did. but julianna deserved it over her...but wait...

2. julianne moore did not get a nomination! duh! penelope cruz did? yet also deserved it over maggie.

3. penelope cruz got a nomination for 'nine'. i don't get it. she deserved it, and won, last year but not this time around. marion cotillard anyone? but over julianne?

soooo...maggie deserved it over penelope and julianna deserved over the two of them...oy!

Let the Gay Super Bowl Begin

the official 2010 oscar poster they say!

'Take It All' Nominated over 'Cinema Italiano'

the academy voters went for 'take it all' over the terrible 'cinema italiano' from nine.
so at least we are spared from a kate hudson musical horror at the oscars.
i can only hope they get the luminous marion cotillard to sing her nominated song.
it probably will not win but just the same i'm rooting for it!

How'd I Do?

Picture 9 out of 10
Director 4 out of 5
Actress 5 for 5
Actor 5 for 5
Actor Supporting 4 out of 5
Actress Supporting 3 out of 5

And the 2009 Oscar Nominees Are:

'Avatar' and 'The Hurt Locker' lead with 9 nominations each.

Best Picture

* “Avatar” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
* “The Blind Side” Nominees to be determined
* “District 9” Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
* “An Education” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
* “The Hurt Locker” Nominees to be determined
* “Inglourious Basterds” Lawrence Bender, Producer
* “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
* “A Serious Man” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
* “Up” Jonas Rivera, Producer
* “Up in the Air” Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

Actor in a Leading Role

* Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
* George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
* Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
* Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”
* Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”

Actor in a Supporting Role

* Matt Damon in “Invictus”
* Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
* Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”
* Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”
* Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

Actress in a Leading Role

* Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
* Helen Mirren in “The Last Station”
* Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
* Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
* Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”

Actress in a Supporting Role

* Penélope Cruz in “Nine”
* Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”
* Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”
* Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”
* Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

Animated Feature Film

* “Coraline” Henry Selick
* “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Wes Anderson
* “The Princess and the Frog” John Musker and Ron Clements
* “The Secret of Kells” Tomm Moore
* “Up” Pete Docter

Art Direction

* “Avatar” Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
* “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
* “Nine” Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
* “Sherlock Holmes” Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
* “The Young Victoria” Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

Cinematography

* “Avatar” Mauro Fiore
* “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” Bruno Delbonnel
* “The Hurt Locker” Barry Ackroyd
* “Inglourious Basterds” Robert Richardson
* “The White Ribbon” Christian Berger

Costume Design

* “Bright Star” Janet Patterson
* “Coco before Chanel” Catherine Leterrier
* “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Monique Prudhomme
* “Nine” Colleen Atwood
* “The Young Victoria” Sandy Powell

Directing

* “Avatar” James Cameron
* “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow
* “Inglourious Basterds” Quentin Tarantino
* “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels
* “Up in the Air” Jason Reitman

Documentary (Feature)

* “Burma VJ” Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
* “The Cove” Nominees to be determined
* “Food, Inc.” Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
* “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers” Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
* “Which Way Home” Rebecca Cammisa

Film Editing

* “Avatar” Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
* “District 9” Julian Clarke
* “The Hurt Locker” Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
* “Inglourious Basterds” Sally Menke
* “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Joe Klotz

Foreign Language Film

* “Ajami” Israel
* “El Secreto de Sus Ojos” Argentina
* “The Milk of Sorrow” Peru
* “Un Prophète” France
* “The White Ribbon” Germany

Music (Original Score)

* “Avatar” James Horner
* “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Alexandre Desplat
* “The Hurt Locker” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
* “Sherlock Holmes” Hans Zimmer
* “Up” Michael Giacchino

Music (Original Song)

* “Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
* “Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
* “Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36” Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
* “Take It All” from “Nine” Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
* “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

* “District 9” Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
* “An Education” Screenplay by Nick Hornby
* “In the Loop” Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
* “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
* “Up in the Air” Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Writing (Original Screenplay)

* “The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal
* “Inglourious Basterds” Written by Quentin Tarantino
* “The Messenger” Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
* “A Serious Man” Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
* “Up” Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

And the Nominees Will Be???

picture

actress

(although i hope emily blunt knocks helen mirren of the list)

actor

supporting actress

supporting actor

director

Monday, February 1, 2010

R.I.P.: The Month of January 2010

jean simmons - actress
eric rohmer - director
james mitchell - actor
meip gies - humanitarian
erich segal - author
j.d. salinger - author
harve presnell - actor
teddy pendergrass - singer
zelda rubinstien - actress
ugly betty - series
miramax - studio