Though many expected Alexander Payne to take on a bigger budget project following the modest, but extremely well-received “Sideways” and “The Descendants”, the director/writer/producer chose an even lower-key film – “Nebraska.” And, unlike “The Descendants”, Payne didn’t even get the star support of someone like George Clooney, instead focusing on underrated veterans such as Bruce more »

With the rumor mill grinding like crazy on who will step in Seth MacFarlane’s shoes as the next Oscar host (Justin Timberlake is in pole-position right now, by the way), it’s probably time to take a little breather and talk about something else concerning the Academy Awards. Like the next award season’s schedule, which has more »

Seth MacFarlane did an arguably good job in boosting the Oscar ratings this year, but the chances of him hosting the ceremony again are slimmer than him ever winning a statuette. And we all know there’s no way in hell he’s ever going to be nominated a second time, let alone have a shot at more »

As you may have heard, Seth MacFarlane’s performance as host of this year’s Oscars got some pretty negative reviews (including from me). Now in addition to the carping from powerless television critics, actual elected officials have gotten into the mix. On Wednesday, two California State Legislature members wrote a letter condemning MacFarlane’s various misogynistic and degrading jokes more »

Yours truly writes about the inexplicable freakout that greeted Michelle Obama’s appearance at the Oscars (Philadelphia magazine) Rush’s Geddy Lee is “psyched” about the upcoming Toronto Blue Jays season (Yahoo Sports) 13 instances in which it’s okay to use the “c-word.” Hint: Most of them are associated with British and Irish gangster films (Pajiba) The more »

As first noticed by Splitsider early this morning, late last night in response to a question from a fan on twitter Seth MacFarlane said he wouldn’t host the Oscars again, even if asked. His exact words in response to the question “Would you host the #Oscars again if asked?” were ”No way. Lotta fun to have more »

After the breath of fresh air of the surprisingly entertaining Golden Globes broadcast, it seems we’re back to business as usual in awards show land. Last night’s Seth MacFarlane-hosted broadcast of the 2013 Academy Awards had all the defects one typically associates with these occasions. It was overlong, going on well past its scheduled end time, awkward, more »

2012′s wild Oscar season came to a close Sunday night with “Argo” taking home the award for Best Picture and the major awards spread far and wide. “Life of Pi” won the most awards of any film, with just four. In fact, the “Big Eight” awards- Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress and more »

Here’s your box office report for this past weekend, complete with snarky commentary.. 1.) “Identity Thief,” $14.1M. Closing in on $100 million. You know what just passed $100 million? “Silver Linings Playbook.” My aggravation over the Oscars in general (I’m writing this Sunday night) coupled with my hatred for David O. Russell’s patronizing, “whatsa matta you?” examination more »

EntertainmentTell’s Stephen Silver, Eric Deamer and Brian Allen live-blogged the Academy Awards on Sunday night. The transcript is below:  

I may not be as good at prognostication as certain other people with my same last name. But as a critic who saw over 100 movies in 2012, I thought I’d weigh in on what to expect on Sunday night. Once again, don’t forget to tune in to our first annual Academy Awards live blog more »

One of the longest-running Broadway musicals in history is returning to the Great White Way, with the news Tuesday that “Les Miserables” will have another Broadway revival next year.  According to The Wrap, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s popular musical will follow its successful movie adaptation last year with a return to Broadway. The show more »