And the 2011 Oscars Go To...

The King's Speech ruled over the 2011 Academy Awards on Sunday, taking home four honors including Best Picture and Best Actor for the movie's star, Colin Firth.

The royal drama, about stuttering British monarch George VI, led the competition with 12 nominations going into this year's Oscars, and edged out the likes of Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception and The Social Network to claim the most coveted title of the night.

Firth was crowned Best Actor in a Leading Role, emerging triumphant over Javier Bardem (Biutiful), Jeff Bridges (True Grit), Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) and James Franco (127 Hours).

Filmmaker Tom Hooper also basked in Oscar glory as he was hailed Best Director, beating Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan), David O. Russell (The Fighter), David Fincher (The Social Network) and Joel and Ethan Coen (True Grit).

Pregnant Natalie Portman fought back tears as she walked away with Best Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal of a tormented ballet dancer in Black Swan, ahead of Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right), Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole), Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone) and Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine).

She gave special thanks to her Black Swan choreographer and fiance Benjamin Millepied, telling the audience, "So many people helped me prepare for this role... my beautiful love, Benjamin Millepied who choreographed the film and has now given me the most important role of my life."

It was also a golden night for The Fighter, about tough Boston, Massachusetts boxing legends Mickey Ward and Dickie Eklund, as Christian Bale and Melissa Leo dominated the Best Supporting categories.

Meanwhile, moviemaker Francis Ford Coppola, actor Eli Wallach and historian Kevin Brownlow were given a standing ovation in recognition of the lifetime achievement honors they received at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Governors Awards in November. Fellow honoree Jean-Luc Godard did not attend the ceremony.

Oscars co-hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco opened the 2011 Academy Awards with a hilarious spoof poking fun at the Best Picture nominees, while 2010 presenter Alec Baldwin and Morgan Freeman also made surprise appearances in the skit.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi, Randy Newman, and Florence Welch and A.R. Rahman provided the music for the night as they performed the tracks nominated for Best Original Song.

And Celine Dion took to the Kodak Theatre stage in Los Angeles to sing Smile during the ceremony's annual In Memorium segment, remembering the stars lost in the past 12 months, including Tony Curtis, Leslie Nielsen, Dennis Hopper, Pete Postlethwaite and Gloria Stuart.

The complete list of winners at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards is as follows:

Best Picture: The King's Speech
Best Actor in a Leading Role: Colin Firth, The King's Speech
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Best Director: Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
Best Screenplay - Adapted: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Best Screenplay - Original: David Seidler, The King's Speech
Best Foreign Language Film: In a Better World (Denmark)
Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3
Best Documentary (Feature): Inside Job
Best Art Direction: Robert Stromberg and Karen O'Hara, Alice In Wonderland
Best Cinematography: Wally Pfister, Inception
Best Sound Mixing: Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick, Inception
Best Sound Editing: Richard King, Inception
Best Original Score: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network
Best Original Song: We Belong Together from Toy Story 3, Randy Newman
Best Costume: Colleen Atwood, Alice in Wonderland
Best Documentary (Short Subject): Strangers No More
Best Film Editing: The Social Network
Best Make-up: The Wolfman
Best Animated Short Film: The Lost Thing
Best Live Action Short Film: God of Love
Best Visual Effects: Inception

The Social Network is Golden at the Globes

The Social Network has virtually locked in its Best Film Oscar after landing four big awards at the Golden Globes on Sunday night.

Just two days after picking up the main prize at the Critics Choice Awards, the film won top honors at the Globes, while there were also accolades for David Fincher (Best Director), Aaron Sorkin (Best Screenplay) and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Best Score).

The night's big loser was The King's Speech, which led all nominations with seven, but went home with only one - a Best Actor gong for Oscars favourite Colin Firth.

The ceremony's highlight came when Michael Douglas took the stage at the Beverly Hilton Hotel to hand out the Best Motion Picture (Drama) award a week after announcing he was winning his cancer battle.

The healthy looking movie veteran received a standing ovation and then joked, "There's gotta be an easier way of getting a standing ovation... I'm very very happy to be here tonight."

Alongside Firth, Paul Giamatti (Barney's Version), Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right) and Natalie Portman (Black Swan) won the night's top acting awards for comedy and dramatic movies, while Christian Bale and Melissa Leo claimed the Best Supporting Actor and Actress drama prizes for their roles in boxing drama The Fighter.

In the TV categories, Glee and Boardwalk Empire were the only multiple winners - Glee claimed Best Comedy or Musical Series, while stars Jane Lynch and Chris Colfer won acting honors. Boardwalk Empire was named Best Drama Series and its star Steve Buscemi landed a Best Actor prize.

Other TV acting honors went to Claire Danes, Al Pacino, Jim Parsons, Katey Sagal and Laura Linney.

The full list of winners is:

MOVIES
Best Motion Picture (Drama) - The Social Network
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama) - Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama) - Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
Best Motion Picture (Comedy Or Musical) - The Kids Are All Right
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Comedy Or Musical) - Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Comedy Or Musical) - Paul Giamatti (Barney's Version)
Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Christian Bale
Best Animated Feature Film - Toy Story 3
Best Foreign Language Film - In a Better World (Denmark)
Best Director - David Fincher (The Social Network)
Best Screenplay - Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network)
Best Original Score - The Social Network by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Best Original Song - You Haven't Seen The Last of Me by Diane Warren/Cher (Burlesque)

TELEVISION
Best Television Series (Drama) - Boardwalk Empire
Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series (Drama) - Katey Sagal (Sons of Anarchy)
Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series (Drama) - Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire)
Best Television Series (Comedy Or Musical) - Glee
Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series (Comedy Or Musical) - Laura Linney (The Big C)
Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series (Comedy Or Musical) - Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)
Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made for Television - Carlos
Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television - Claire Danes (Temple Grandin)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television - Al Pacino (You Don't Know Jack)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television - Jane Lynch (Glee)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television - Chris Colfer (Glee)

Cecil B. DeMille Award - Robert De Niro

Christian Bale Bids Bye Bye to Batman

Christian Bale is planning to hang up Batman's cape after playing the vigilante in a third and final movie.

The actor insists The Dark Knight Rises will be his final outing as the comic book superhero - unless director Christopher Nolan has other plans.

Bale says, "This will be, I believe, until Chris says different, the last time I’ll be playing Batman."

Matt Ross Talks About the Debut of His Gay Love Interest on HBO’s “Big Love”

Last night the fourth season premiere of HBO’s Big Love was televised and the character of Alby Grant, whose struggle with his sexuality has just been glimpsed at in past years, got a boyfriend!

Matt Ross, who plays Alby, talked to Brandon Voss of The Advocate about what is happening with his character. Here is a portion of the interview:

When you found out that Alby would have a love interest this season, did you as a straight actor see that as a challenge?
No, because love is love. The challenge for me was just making the emotional adjustment to being more emotionally present. He has many wives and he has children, but he’s obviously not heterosexual, so he’s clearly suffering a great deal. I always thought of Alby as this sort of junkyard dog who’s been kicked and beaten for his whole life by his father, so I had this idea of him as this emotionally disturbed, soul-deadened individual until I learned that he was living this secret life. To open that up and actually feel love was difficult for me to navigate.

The gay community appreciates representation on TV, but not so much when the gay character’s a ruthless villain like Alby. Will having a love interest make Alby a more sympathetic character?
That’s an excellent point, and I hope so. I’m clearly built as an antagonist on the show, so when his homosexuality began to be sketched in, I worried about that too, because you don’t want to portray a community’s negative characteristics. But then I also thought, Well, we’re not a public service announcement; we’re a narrative drama and people are complex. I applaud what we’re doing because it’s more truthful not to worry so much about creating a positive image of a gay man, but instead try to create a complex image of a man who happens to be gay. That’s at the heart of what we’re doing here. Alby’s not defined by his homosexuality, and I think that’s a very mature, evolved way to write drama.

Tell me about working with Ben Koldyke, who plays Dale. Was it easy to be intimate with him on camera?
Well, we didn’t know each other before, but I was very fortunate to have Ben, because you never know who you’re going to get. Ben is just a very open, present, serious actor who’s really game for anything, which is what the role required. Frankly, intimate scenes are no less awkward if it’s with a man or woman, but it can be awkward when you view the other person as a close friend, so I was happy I didn’t know him. You just sort of show up, do the work, and let go. It was very comfortable. We both just wanted to do justice to the relationship and make it real.

You mentioned the truck stop restroom scene in season 3, but that wasn’t the first time in your career that you’d played a closeted gay man getting attacked from behind in a bathroom.
Oh, in American Psycho? I think I was attacking Christian Bale! [Laughs] No, you’re right. He came in the bathroom to kill me and I turned around and kissed him. So it was sort of the same, only last time I was singing Les Misérables.

Batman Bale Will Start Shooting Again Next Year

Christian Bale will slip back into his rubber Batsuit next year to begin shooting the sequel to The Dark Knight.

The Hollywood actor has confirmed he will return as Bruce Wayne/Batman for the third time in director Christopher Nolan's forthcoming film, but a production schedule had yet to be released.

However, Bale's The Dark Knight co-star Gary Oldman, who portrays Commissioner Gordon in the movie adaptations, broke the news of the return of the Caped Crusader to fans at the annual Comic-Con in San Diego, California on Friday.

He told fans, "The next Batman is shooting next year. It's at least two years away. But you didn't hear it from me!"

Christian Bale Looks Crack Cocaine Addicted

Christian Bale looks to have lost a significant amount of weight and thinned his hair for his character in the new movie, The Fighter.

The 35-year-old British actor shot new scenes on Monday afternoon in Los Angeles. In the movie, Christian plays “welterweight boxer turned trainer turned drug addict” Dickie Eklund (welterweight is heavier than lightweight but lighter than middleweight).

FYI: Christian is a notorious method actor, who lost a staggering 63 pounds for the 2004 film The Machinist.

Christian Bales on the Cover of GQ

Christian Bale is featured on the June 2009 cover of GQ. Here are highlights of his article.

On unleashing the Rant on the set of Termination Salvation: “I’d definitely say that that guy who was yelling was at least half John Connor, and the rest was Christian Bale.”

On using his Americanized John Connor accent off-camera too: “I do that because I’m just not very good at switching between two voices. If I had the talent to turn it on and off on cue, I would. But I don’t, so I have to maintain. Otherwise I’m aware that I’m “doing an accent” whenever I’m filming, instead of just speaking. Hey, listen, I don’t make any excuses. None of it is excusable. You know, I feel I already said everything about this that needs to be said when I called up the radio station.”

On when he fell off the vegetarianism bandwagon: “I was up in Toronto and went to see that movie Life Is Beautiful. By myself. And when I came out, I had a craving for blood unlike anything I had ever experienced since I decided to go vegetarian at the age of 7. It was a compulsion. It was undeniable. I went to several restaurants, one right after the other, and got the biggest, bloodiest steaks I could get my hands on. It was the first time I had tasted flesh in almost twenty years.”

Termination Salvation opens in theaters this Friday, May 22nd.

Check out the full Christian feature at www.GQ.com. It ends pretty hilariously.

Star Sighting: Thumbs Up!

Long recovered from his infamous on-set freakout, Christian Bale is up with people as he greets fans Thursday at the Los Angeles premiere of Terminator: Salvation, which hits theaters May 21st.

Bale Avoided TV News After Heath Ledger's Death

Christian Bale refused to watch the news after his The Dark Knight co-star Heath Ledger died - fearing gossipy coverage would tarnish his memories of his friend.

Bale was left stunned after Ledger, who played the villainous Joker to his Batman in the 2008 blockbuster, died from an accidental prescription drug overdose in January 2008.

But he chose to block out all reports about his friend's tragic passing - because he didn't want to hear uninformed outsiders speculate about Ledger's death.

He tells Esquire magazine, "I paid no attention to it. I knew him, I knew the family and why the hell would I sit there listening to idiots who don't know anything at all? I literally didn't read anything, didn't watch anything (after he died).

"If I happened to be watching anything that came on, I switched over straight away. It's incredible the way the voyeuristic outlook is accepted as news."

And Bale still mourns Ledger's untimely death - because the Australian star was one of the few actors whose intensity and passion matched his own on set.

He adds: "Many times I'll work with actors and I can tell they're thinking, 'What are you doing? Why are you going that far with it?' or 'You're nuts!' With Heath, I could feel him going, 'I love it!'

"It felt like we were really pushing each other on, to the limits of where you can go with it. He was a good guy. There's not a lot of actors who I stay in touch with. But Heath was one of them."

Bale in Ring with Wahlberg for 'Fighter'

Christian Bale and director David O. Russell are poised to get into the ring with Mark Wahlberg on "The Fighter."

The picture is expected to begin production in July.

It tells the story of Boston fighter "Irish" Mickey Ward and how he was helped to the world lightweight championship by half-brother Dicky Eklund. Eklund once decked Sugar Ray Leonard and went the distance against the boxing legend before forfeiting his career to drugs and crime. He redeemed himself by training Ward through his Rocky-like run to the title.

Project reteams Bale with Relativity and its fledgling one-off picture division, which produced the Bale starrer "3:10 to Yuma." Over the past few years, "The Fighter" has drawn some of Hollywood’s biggest talents but was KO’d on two previous occasions. The project first came together with Boston natives Wahlberg and Matt Damon toplining for director Darren Aronofsky. Damon dropped out and Brad Pitt was poised to replace him, but the picture still stalled. Then Aronofsky moved on.

Meanwhile, Wahlberg has continued to train for the movie and is in fighting shape.

Wahlberg will play Ward, a fighter who was losing bouts and was ready to hang up the gloves when his brother came back into his life. Bale will play Eklund, whose drugs and robbery spree drew him a 10- to 15-year sentence in state prison. There, he kicked drugs, became a model prisoner and emerged as a changed man who helped his brother reach the glory that eluded him.

Apologetic Christian Bale Calls F-Bomb Tirade 'Inexcusable'

Christian Bale apologized repeatedly Friday for his 36 F-bomb meltdown on the Terminator Salvation set, labeling his behavior "inexcusable" and "deeply embarrassing."

"It's been a miserable week for me," Bale, 35, said on The Kevin ^ Bean Show on KROQ-FM in Los Angeles.

In an audiotape that has swept the Internet (and become fodder for satirical music remixes), Bale is heard unleashing a four-minute profanity-laced verbal assault at the film's director of photography, Shane Hurlbut, who accidentally entered Bale's sight lines during shooting.

"I was out of order, beyond belief," Bale tells KROQ. "I acted like a punk. I regret that ... It is inexcusable."

The tirade, he says, stemmed from his intensity and enthusiasm for acting, but that "I made it ugly. I took it way too far."

"Please, I am asking people, do not allow my onetime lapse in judgment, my incredibly embarrassing meltdown, to overshadow this movie," he says.

Adds Bale: "I ask everybody to sit down and ask themselves, 'Have they ever had a bad day and ever lost their temper and really regretted it immensely?'"

As for the mocking and criticism he's received since the tape was revealed, he says, "I deserve it completely."

"Dark Knight" Soars at People's Choice Awards

Batman movie "The Dark Knight" soared away with five People's Choice Awards on Wednesday including favorite movie and on-screen pairing for stars Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger to kick off Hollywood's annual awards season.

Country singer Carrie Underwood, who rose to fame on television talent show "American Idol," was another big winner, hauling in three People's Choice Awards for favorite female singer, country song "Last Name," and star under 35 years-old.

"Fans and people voting for me are what gave me a career in the first place," Underwood said, acknowledging the voting by music lovers. "This is an amazing night."

The People's Choice Awards, in its 35th edition this year, are a widely watched measure of popular appeal for Hollywood stars and they mark a starting point for the industry's annual awards season which runs through the Oscars, the world's top film awards, that take place in February.

Adam Sandler was named funniest male star, Reese Witherspoon favorite female movie star, and Kate Hudson top leading lady among winners in more than 40 categories covering film, television, music and even online entertainment.
Sandler, Witherspoon and Hudson all echoed a familiar theme of the night by saying People's Choice honors were special because they were voted on by fans, as opposed to critics or members of industry groups.

The ceremony also has a more casual atmosphere compared to TV's Emmy's or the film industry's Oscars, where black ties and ball gowns are mandatory.

Noting that difference, Katherine Heigl, who accepted the trophy for best comedy movie for her "27 Dresses," told reporters backstage that she wore a pants suit because "it was after the holidays, so I didn't want to wear anything strapless or anything I had to suck in my stomach for."

Among film honors, "Dark Knight," which was 2008's top film at box offices with global ticket sales of nearly $1 billion, also proved to be the No. 1 movie of the night. Along with best film and on-screen match-up, it hauled in awards for favorite action movie, superhero for Bale as Batman, and for its cast.

"The Secret Life of Bees" was the winner of best film drama and favorite independent film, and animated "Wall-E" was the No. 1 family film for People's Choice voters.

In the TV arena, medical show "House" was named favorite TV drama, and "Two and a Half Men" was best TV comedy.

"The Mentalist" was top new TV drama while "Gary Unmarried" was the No. 1 new TV comedy.

"House" star Hugh Laurie took home the trophy for favorite male TV star, and Christina Applegate took the honor of top female TV star for "Samantha Who?"
Applegate, who revealed earlier this year that she underwent surgery for breast cancer, said the award meant a lot to her after a difficult year."

"I feel great. I really do," she told reporters backstage. "Each week gets easier and each week gets better."

Ellen DeGeneres was named best TV talk show host and "Dancing With the Stars" was the people's pick for No. 1 competition or reality TV show.

Along with Underwood, top winners in music included Kid Rock for favorite rock song "All Summer Long," Rascal Flatts for favorite group, Chris Brown best male singer and Katy Perry with best pop tune "I Kissed a Girl."

A complete list of winners can be found at www.pcavote.com.

Source: Reuters.com