Tag Archives: Oscar

The score

Posted on October 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

I’m not one to typically notice movie scores. And that’s not the reason I decided to watch Pride and Prejudice on E! tonight.

I have Matthew MacFadyen to thank for that.

But as I watched the Jane Austen classic for the umpteenth time, it was hard not to appreciate the music that underlies each scene — not telling us how to feel, simply providing the perfect accompaniment to the action.

I had a much more immediate appreciation of the score to Little Women when it was released in 1994. In fact, I bought the score before I bought the movie — an almost unheard of action on my part.

The music that accompanies the news of Beth’s death is in and of itself a showstopper.

And more recently I loved the soundtrack to The Social Network, which won a well-deserved Oscar.  I remember being excited that the same composers were doing the score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Which makes me think I pay more attention to movie scores than I originally thought.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Academy Awards, Commentary, Entertainment, Movies, Music

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

From page to screen

Posted on December 16, 2011 | 2 Comments

I can’t believe it.

I’m actually excited about the premiere of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

After slogging through that relentless tome of a book, believe you me, it’s nothing short of a miracle.

Several factors have come together to make me want to be one of the first folks in the theater.

1.  Whereas most books are better than their on-screen interpretations, the Tattoo movie can’t miss.  The English translation of Stieg Larsson’s bestseller was front-loaded with the most mind-numbing tedium imaginable before getting to the action that propelled readers through the rest of the book.  Stieg even found a way to make the ending slow.

Based on director David Fincher’s reputation and the killer trailers I’ve seen to date, I think it’s safe to say he hasn’t adopted the author’s penchant for pokey pacing.

I’m also psyched to hear Tattoo’s musical score is the work of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who penned the brilliant, Oscar-winning score for The Social Network.  In fact, the score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has already been nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Of course, Tattoo has a great cast.  And I’ve already mentioned the intense trailers.  Some critics have even applauded the film for sticking closer to the book’s original plot line than the Swedish version did.

Closer to the book?  I don’t want to know!

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Books, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Life, Movies

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

365 and counting

Posted on August 20, 2010 | 7 Comments

Today, The Sticky Egg celebrates its one-year anniversary.

I have posted something every day since I first ‘turned on the lights’ August 20th of last year.  Looking back, it’s kinda fun to remember why.

Earlier that same month, the movie “Julie & Julia” opened to rave reviews.   If you didn’t see it, it told the story of a New Yorker named Julie who, frustrated with her dead-end temp job, decides to cook all 524 recipes in Julia Childs’ “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” in one year and blog about it.  Julie’s quest and Julia’s life story are artfully intertwined in the movie, which earned Meryl Streep yet another Oscar nomination.

I saw the film opening weekend (shock, shock), and as I walked out, I overheard many people planning to cook fabulous meals the movie had inspired.

I just wanted to write a blog.

In the film, Julie’s daily blog chronicles her culinary successes and failures as she plows through Julia’s cookbook.  By the end of the movie, it has earned her faithful followers, a feature in The New York Times, and a book deal.  (Obviously, the movie later followed.)

After a year of writing The Sticky Egg, I too have faithful followers, and I look forward to their visits and comments.  I also have learned the discipline that a daily writing deadline requires — even one that is self-imposed — and have really come to enjoy it.

In fact, if I didn’t write a little something-something every day, I would miss it.

So, The Egg continues into year two and beyond.  And who knows?  That book deal could be just around the corner.

But back off, Meryl — I’m playing myself in the movie.

→ 7 Comments

Posted in Blogs, Celebrities, Entertainment, Food, Foods, Humor, Internet, Life, Movies, Philosophy, Writing

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Look again

Posted on August 13, 2010 | Leave a comment

There is nothing I love more than watching a movie and discovering a hidden gem.

You know — that actor or actress who’s the friend of the lead who looks kinda familiar but you can’t figure out where you’ve seen ‘em before.

But I can.

It’s one of my favorite pastimes.  Ask my friends.  I’m actually pretty annoying about it.  So I cannot believe that I totally missed this one.

After seeing Anna Kendrick play Jessica in three “Twilight” movies and nab a much-deserved Oscar nomination for her work in “Up in the Air,”  it was only this week during publicity for her upcoming stint in “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” — opening in theaters today — that I realized that I had seen her years ago in a little movie musical called “Camp.”

I think I hear my friends laughing at me….

If you haven’t seen it, “Camp” is about a summer camp for theater geeks.  Anna plays Fritzi, a wallflower who attaches herself to the camp diva…or so it appears.  At the end of the film, when all the campers are performing at the big gala for the parents, Fritzi sabotages the diva and steps in to sing her big number, “Ladies Who Lunch,” blowing off the roof in an incredible performance.

Of course, I didn’t know it was Anna then…just that there was this HUGE voice coming out of a teeny tiny little girl.

And that little girl was Anna Kendrick.

Well, knock me over with a vampire.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Broadway, Celebrities, Entertainment, Humor, Life, Movies, Music, Summer

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Yea!

Posted on February 22, 2010 | 2 Comments

There are a lot of wrongs in the world of entertainment.

- The Oscar going to the film or actor who runs the smartest campaign vs. the film or actor who is most deserving.

- Jay Leno returning to “The Tonight Show” after almost single-handedly running NBC into the ground.  (Oh wait, he had help from Jeff Zucker.  Good point.)

- “American Idol” torturing us with weeks of painful auditions.  Just get to the competition already, and let America decide!

But I digress…

Today I do not complain; I only celebrate.  For two great rights have occurred in the entertainment industry.

First, “Modern Family” won Best New Series at the Writers Guild of America TV Awards.

Sure, “30 Rock” and “Mad Men” won “Best Comedy” and “Best Drama” as expected, but seeing the brilliant “Modern Family” get the recognition it deserves bodes well for the years to come.  “30 Rock” may finally have some real competition in this category.

I couldn’t be more happy.

More good news for followers of Twitter’s “Shit My Dad Says.”  It’s being developed for television, and who has been cast as My Dad?

None other than William Shatner.

I would guess he was at the top of the casting wish list, and I can’t think of a better self-effacing comedic actor to do justice to this crazed persona.

See?  Sometimes entertainment gets it right.

(I assume Jeff Zucker wasn’t involved…)

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Humor, Internet, Movies, Television

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,