Sunset Boulevard - Feb 23 2007

The Oscars are coming! I'll have a full run-down on the winners ready next week, but until then, you can take a look at my Oscar thoughts and predictions here if you need a refresher before the big event. They'll be at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood and Ellen DeGeneres is hosting (I love her!). As far as predictions go, I think the closest race is in the Best Picture category where there seems to be a dead heat between The Departed, Babel, and Little Miss Sunshine. I have a feeling Babel will win which would probably be my last pick in that category - but then so was Crash last year...only time will tell. What I'm most excited about is something I just heard this morning - that Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Francis Ford Coppola will be co-presenting the Best Directors award. I pray this goes to Scorsese. What a great crowd to have up on stage - could be interesting...

This Saturday - shall we say, Oscar Eve - are the Independent Spirit Awards. I guess you can say they're like the Oscars for the little guys, and if you don't live in a big city, it might be difficult for you to have seen any of the nominated films this year. You can see a list of nominations here: http://www.imdb.com/features/rto/2007/isa. My favorite little indie of the year was Wristcutters: A Love Story about a post-suicide afterworld where people can't smile, and a young man on a journey to find the love he left behind. It's nominated for best first screenplay. Awards will be shown live on IFC at 5:00 pm EST or later (and edited) on AMC at 10:00 pm EST.

While most of us may be sitting at home quietly sipping champagne or slipping into our PJs for the big events this weekend, the A-listers are out-and-about. Pictures from the big parties - most notably, InStyle, Vanity Fair, and Elton John's party - will no doubt be plastered all over the papers, magazines, and tabloids next week. What we won't see is what happens behind the no-media-allowed doors to the smaller, exclusive parties. My question to you is, what are you doing for the Oscars?

Speaking of no media allowed, Barack Obama held a huge fundraiser in Los Angeles on Tuesday night hosted by DreamWorks founders Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen and attended by celebrities galore. Bill O'Reilly had some nasty things to say about the fact that press were barred from the event, trying to insinuate that Obama is somehow dishonest and sneaky. Excuse me, but I think the exclusivity has less to do with Obama and more to do with the celebrities who have paid money to go to a dinner without being harassed by press and paparazzi. In any case, what garnered more attention was David Geffen's by now notorious comments about the Clintons, who he'd been a long time, very generous supporter of. I'll leave it to the political correspondants to hash out the details, but really...is all this negativity necessary? Personally I like them both less because of the squabble. I think Time Magazine has characterized it quite aptly as All About Eve - with a charismatic understudy possibly upstaging the mentor -- but what about all the other candidates? Is it only Hilary and Barack or will more be going gaga for Hollywood soon?

In the side of Hollywood that's less politics, more business, here's a few of the newly announced projects and casting decisions:
*George Clooney and Cate Blanchett will play the leads in Wes Anderson's animated Fantastic Mr.Fox.
*Lest you forget the Meet the Parents franchise, Little Fockers is now safely on its way to a theater near you. Sure to make a few hundred mil.
*Benderspink acquired rights to Brian Haberlin's comic Area 52
*Barry Levinson signed on to direct Boone's Lick, a western starring Tom Hanks and Julianne Moore and written by Dianna Ossana and Larry McMurtry of Brokeback Mountain fame.
*Marcia Gay Harden and Toby Jones will star in The Mist, an adaptation of the Stephen King novel.
*Jason Bateman and Allison Janney have joined Jennifer Garner and Michael Cera in Juno which will be directed by Jason Reitman. This is going to be a funny little offbeat comedy - I'm very excited.
*Darren Lynn Bouseman, straight from the success of Saw II and Saw III is now continuing the low-budget horror franchise with Saw IV. Didn't see that coming...

And finally, what you were all waiting for I'm sure (actually, probably not): Britney Spears. Honestly, it's like watching a trainwreck, isn't it. Into rehab, out of rehab, shaving her own head, tatoos, into rehab again, out of rehab again, now in rehab again? When did Kevin Federline become the responsible parent? I think the bigger issue though is not just Britney herself, it's the concept. These stars get thrust into the spotlight at such a young age, and although we can sit and envy their money and their fame, and the fact that they can get restaurant reservations the day of - honestly, what a skewed perception you must get of the world when it quite literally revolves around you. Are you telling me that not one of the tens of people she has around her dedicated only to serving her - her parents, her agent, her publicist, her assistant, her husband, her friends...not one of them could have seen this coming and said - no, Britney, enough! We're taking out out of the spotlight. We're running an intervention! It's not just Britney, its all of these young actresses, models, athletes. No one can impart upon you the wisdom needed to be able to stay grounded when there's such a shift in your worldview -- you have to rely on the people around you to constantly reinforce that you're human, too. People like Britney certainly have to have accountability for their own actions - but let's call on the industry that feeds her for some accountability too.

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Alex M., Movie Correspondent

Alex's column, Sunset Boulevard, published every Friday to Gather Essentials: Movies, is a weekly summary of the movie industry's biggest stories.

Alex is a film school grad working at a production company in Hollywood. She's been passionate about movies since she knew what they were and always has an opinion (for better or worse).

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