PAGE 6C THURSDAY, FEB.

23, 2012

2012 ACADEMY AWARDS PREVIEW, GUIDE AND SCORECARD

THURSDAY, FEB. 23, 2012 PAGE 7C

Nominees for the 84th Academy Awards

Actor in a Leading Role H Demin Bichir in A Better Life H George Clooney in The Descendants H Jean Dujardin in The Artist H Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy H Brad Pitt in Moneyball Actor in a Supporting Role H Kenneth Branagh in My Week with Marilyn H Jonah Hill in Moneyball H Nick Nolte in Warrior H Christopher Plummer in Beginners H Max von Sydow in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Actress in a Leading Role H Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs H Viola Davis in The Help H Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo H Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady H Michelle Williams in My Week with Marilyn Actress in a Supporting Role H Brnice Bejo in The Artist H Jessica Chastain in The Help H Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids H Janet McTeer in Albert Nobbs H Octavia Spencer in The Help Animated Feature Film H A Cat in Paris, Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli H Chico & Rita, Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal H Kung Fu Panda 2, Jennifer Yuh Nelson H Puss in Boots, Chris Miller H Rango, Gore Verbinski Art Direction H The Artist, Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould H Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan H Hugo, Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo H Midnight in Paris, Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hlne Dubreuil H War Horse, Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales Cinematography H The Artist, Guillaume Schiffman H The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Jeff Cronenweth H Hugo, Robert Richardson H The Tree of Life, Emmanuel Lubezki H War Horse, Janusz Kaminski Costume Design H Anonymous, Lisy Christl H The Artist, Mark Bridges H Hugo, Sandy Powell H Jane Eyre, Michael OConnor H W.E., Arianne Phillips Directing H The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius H The Descendants, Alexander Payne H Hugo, Martin Scorsese H Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen H The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick Documentary (Feature) H Hell and Back Again, Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner H If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman H Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky H Pina, Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel H Undefeated, TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Rich Middlemas Documentary (Short Subject) H The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement, Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin H God Is the Bigger Elvis, Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson H Incident in New Baghdad, James Spione H Saving Face, Daniel Junge and Sharmeen ObaidChinoy H The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen Film Editing H The Artist, Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius H The Descendants, Kevin Tent H The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall H Hugo, Thelma Schoonmaker H Moneyball, Christopher Tellefsen Foreign Language Film H Bullhead, Belgium H Footnote, Israel H In Darkness, Poland H Monsieur Lazhar, Canada H A Separation, Iran
The Weinstein Company Sony Pictures Releasing/Baldur Bragason www.wendersimages.com Sony Pictures Classic

Nominees for the 84th Academy Awards

Makeup H Albert Nobbs, Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle H Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin H The Iron Lady, Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Jean Dujardin and Brnice Bejo The Artist

Rooney Mara The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Wim Wenders Pina

Marion Cotillard and Owen Wilson Midnight in Paris

Lets hear it for the girls

By Gina Joseph
[email protected]; @gljoseph

Music (Original Score) H The Adventures of Tintin, John Williams H The Artist, Ludovic Bource H Hugo, Howard Shore H Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Alberto Iglesias H War Horse, John Williams Music (Original Song) H Man or Muppet, from The Muppets, Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie H Real in Rio, from Rio, Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown; Lyric by Siedah Garrett Best Picture H The Artist, Thomas Langmann, Producer H The Descendants, Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers H Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Scott Rudin, Producer H The Help, Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers H Hugo, Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers H Midnight in Paris, Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers H Moneyball, Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers H The Tree of Life, Sarah Green, Bill Pohlad, Dede Gardner and Grant Hill, Producers H War Horse, Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers Short Film (Animated) H Dimanche/Sunday, Patrick Doyon H The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg H La Luna, Enrico Casarosa H A Morning Stroll, Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe H Wild Life, Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby Short Film (Live Action) H Pentecost, Peter McDonald and Eimear OKane H Raju, Max Zhle and Stefan Gieren H The Shore, Terry George and Oorlagh George H Time Freak, Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey H Tuba Atlantic, Hallvar Witz Sound Editing H Drive, Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis H The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Ren Klyce H Hugo, Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty H Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl H War Horse, Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom Sound Mixing H The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson H Hugo, Tom Fleischman and John Midgley H Moneyball, Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, David Giammarco and Ed Novick H Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin H War Horse, Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson Visual Effects H Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson H Hugo, Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann and Alex Henning H Real Steel, Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg H Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett H Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier Writing (Adapted Screenplay) H The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash H Hugo, Screenplay by John Logan H The Ides of March, Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon H Moneyball, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin; Story by Stan Chervin H Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Screenplay by Bridget OConnor & Peter Straughan Writing (Original Screenplay) H The Artist, Written by Michel Hazanavicius H Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig H Margin Call, Written by J.C. Chandor H Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen H A Separation, Written by Asghar Farhadi

D
Courtesy of Dale Robinette

Octavia Spencer The Help

Warner Bros./Francois Duhamel

Thomas Horn and Tom Hanks Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

irector Paul Feig could not be more proud of his film Bridesmaids. Not only did it win the Critics Choice Award for Best Comedy Movie and the Peoples Choice for Favorite Comedy Movie, but three cast members are up for Academy Awards. Melissa McCarthys portrayal of Megan, the humorous, self-made woman, is nominated for Best Supporting Actress, and coscribes Kristin Wiig and Annie Mumolo are up for Best Original Screenplay. No shocker there, considering the movie earned $288 millionplus in ticket sales. Feigs movie is about a maid of honor (Wiig) whose life unravels as she leads her best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph), and her bridal party (Rose Byrne, McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ellie Kemper) on a wild ride down the road to matrimony. Given that premise, Feig finds it surprising and a little silly that its considered groundbreaking. Women have been funny as long as men have been funny, said Feig, who grew up in Mount Clemens and will be making his first appearance at the Oscars. Funny people are funny people. Its not based on gender. You either have a funny view of the world and a fun way of expressing it or not. Whether that view makes it to the big screen is another story. Women have not been given a chance to be funny in movies because its been a male-dominated field. Men are writing their version of what a woman might do, Feig said. What we tried to do with our women is allow them to be real. Take the gross-humor scene that features the bridesmaids suffering from bad Brazilian food while at an upscale bridal store. Imagine youre

He is the creator of the short-lived but critically beloved TV series, Freaks and Geeks, which launched the careers of Seth Rogen, James Franco and Jason Segel, and earned Feig two Emmy nominations for comedy writing. Hes the author of two humor novels, Kick Me: Adventures in Adolescence and Superstud. Hes appeared as a character actor on TV, in movies and has directed some of this generations funniest sitcoms including Arrested Development, The Office and 30 Rock, a multi-awardwinning show created by former Saturday Night Live head writer Tina Fey. Tina Fey is an amazing writer, and so funny in the way she expresses herself, Feig said. Feig also considers Katharine Hepburn, Judy Holiday, Carole Lombard and Irene Dunn funny actresses. However, unlike Fey and Wiig, these actresses had little input into the jokewriting process. Mindy Kaling, who plays Kelly Kapoor on TVs The Office, is humorous onscreen and shares her funny view of the world as one of two female writers on the staff of 14. Amy Poehler is hilarious in Parks and Recreation and she has written several episodes for the show. Theres a bunch of talented women who have a funny view of the world and a fun way of expressing it, Feig said. One comic actress that Feig has always admired is Goldie Hawn. Hell soon have the pleasure of working with her in the HBO comedy pilot, Viagra Diaries, which Feig is to direct. Hawn (Death Becomes Her, OverUniversal Pictures board, Private Benjamin, and TVs Attending the Oscars for the first time is former Detroiter and Hollywood director Paul Feig, who is surrounded by Laugh-In) plays a woman in her 60s the talented cast of Bridesmaids, including , from left, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCar- who, after her husband has a midlife thy, Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig and Rose Byrne. crisis and leaves her, struggles with being single for the first time in 35 fastened into a bridal dress, when street. manhole cover and squats before the years. Bridesmaids cast member Wendi McLendon-Covey is rumored suddenly you feel the rumbling of The men on the set envisioned her rocket launches, saving face and to be playing Hawns daughter. I running into the street and relieving dress. something going awry in the pit of Thats how we work-shopped the cant wait, said Feig, of the opportuherself so violently that it knocks her your stomach. The script called for the bride to run to the bathroom, and off her feet. The womens version has script, said the 49-year-old director, nity to work with Hawn. Shes so upon seeing it occupied by the other the bride thinking on her feet. After who has done enough work in come- funny, inventive and smart. She was dy to know what makes people laugh. always one of my comedy heroes. running into the street she sees a girls (also suffering) darts into the

The Weinstein Company/Laurence Cendrowicz

Michelle Williams My Week with Marilyn

MJRs Oscar night keeps getting better

By Gina Joseph
[email protected]; @gljoseph

Oscar Night America Party guest Carolyn Sohoza attended the event last year as Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) from the Black Swan.
Journal Register Newspapers photo

The Detroit areas only Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences sanctioned Oscar Night America Party, at MJR Southgate Digital Cinema 20, is your chance to experience Hollywoods biggest party of the year, close to home. Every year it has grown

better and better, said Michael Mihalich, owner of MJR Digital Cinemas, which has been a Michigan-owned and operated company for more than 30 years. It is the next best thing to being there. Besides the pleasure of watching the Oscars on a big screen with surround sound, theres the camaraderie among movie enthusiasts and a lot of great food.

All of these restaurants donate the food and wine, and theres a ton of raffles, said Robin Hansen, marketing director for MJR. Film buffs some dressed in costumes inspired by their favorite Oscar-nominated character mingle, debate whos going to win and chow down. Then, when you go into the theater to actually watch the Oscars, its just like

being there, so infectious, Hansen said. Its really a lot of fun. All proceeds go to benefit the Southgate Community Players, the Overture Society and Ballet Americana, Hansen said. Advance tickets are $25, or $30 at the door, and can be charged by phone at 734-2824727 or online at scponstage.com. Guests who attend the event in costume

are eligible to win prizes (MJR gift cards). Doors open 7 p.m., Oscar premiere showing in the theater at 8 p.m., followed by the Academy Award presentations. Oscar Night America is sponsored by MJR Southgate, Sweet Arangements, The NewsHerald Newspaper, Comcast, Tubbys and Crystal Gardens. MJR Southgate Digital Cinema 20 is at 15651 Trenton Road, Southgate.

The 2012 Academy Awards airs this Sunday at 8:30 p.m. EST on ABC.

Let MJR Digital Cinemas roll out the Red Carpet for you...
WITH 8 LOCATIONS, THERES AN MJR DIGITAL CINEMA NEAR YOU
ADRIAN DIGITAL CINEMA 10 31 YEARS OF SERVING 1ST CLASS ENTERTAINMENT TO MICHIGAN AUDIENCES
3150 N. Adrian Hwy. Adrian, MI 49221 517-265-3055

PARTRIDGE CREEK DIGITAL CINEMA 14

17400 Hall Rd. Clinton Twp., MI 48038 586-263-0084

FREE REFILL ON POP AND POPCORN, EVEN KIDPACKS

Same Day Purchase

Join our MJR Movie Reward Program

Earn points for free pop, popcorn and even tickets

BRIGHTON TOWNE SQUARE DIGITAL CINEMA 20

8200 Murphy Dr. Brighton, MI 48116 810-227-4700

SOUTHGATE DIGITAL CINEMA 20

15651 Trenton Rd. Southgate, MI 48195 734-284-3456

WATERFORD DIGITAL CINEMA 16

7501 Highland Rd. Waterford, MI 48327 248-666-7900

CHESTERFIELD CROSSING DIGITAL CINEMA 16

50675 Gratiot Ave. Chestereld, MI 48051 586-598-2500

WESTLAND GRAND DIGITAL CINEMA 16

6800 N. Wayne Rd. Westland, MI 48185 734-298-2657

MARKETPLACE DIGITAL CINEMA 20

35400 Van Dyke Sterling Heights, MI 48312 586-264-1514

A MICHIGAN COMPANY LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED

GIFT CARDS AVAILABLE AT THEATRE BOX OFFICE