By Drew Grant 2/24 6:56pm

The 85th Academy Awards

The Best Picture category isn't the only thing that bulked up.

The 85th Annual Academy Awards Live Chat, Hosted by the Dog From Family Guy

Update: Well, now we have an extra hour and a half of the red carpet! Talk amongst yourselves!

What is it about the Academy Awards? Intellectually, it’s hard to muster up that much enthusiasm about who “wore it best” (Ang Lee) or how modest Katniss will be in her acceptance speech, hopefully avoiding a First Wives’ Club reference that sounded like she was hating on Meryl Streep this time. And yet … we still feel compelled to watch. Maybe it’s because secretly, deep down, we still find it fascinating that the guy who does the voice of Stewie looks like the host of a reality game show about finding true love by having a dance-off on a stripper pole.

Or maybe it’s because we’re just suckers, who deep down believe that Beasts of the Southern Wild might still possibly have a chance against Argo or Lincoln.

Come join us, will you, on this the most magical of evenings for producers, people who are married to movie stars, and dress designers? We’ll be hosting a live chat below. Just click the big countdown button and you’re all set. Got it?

Great. Read More

By Drew Grant 2/24 10:59am

Academy Awards

9 Photos

oscar predictions

Leo and Tigers and Ben Affleck, (Arg)O My!: Who Will Be the Sorest Loser at Tonight’s Academy Awards?

Tonight is the 85th Academy Awards, and for all intents and purposes it should be a good one. Look at all those serious films, and the one movie by Quentin Tarantino! And with big snubs for Best Director for both Argo and Zero Dark Thirty, does that mean one of them will be be sweeping up the Best Picture Award as a consolation prize? And most importantly, is it too late to write in a ballot for Javier Bardem in Skyfall? Because he was great. Read More

By Drew Grant 2/11 3:11pm

Oscar Season

Christoph Waltz on Between Two Ferns

Zach Galifianakis Gets Oscar-Excited With Nominees in Between Two Ferns (Video)

We’re sure that Seth MacFarlane will do a serviceable job hosting the 85th Academy Awards in two weeks, but come on. Wouldn’t you much rather watch comedian Zach Galifianakis put his faux-awkward interview technique to good use and grill Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams for two hours instead? We don’t even need to root for winners when watching the latest installment of Between Two Ferns…the losers are a funnier lot anyway. Read More

By Drew Grant 12/20/12 9:35am

2012 in review

10 Photos

Biggest Over/Underachiever: James Franco

Celebrity Superlatives: Class of 2012

This has been a big year for the young Hollywood crowd! Channing Tatum made the cover of People‘s Sexiest Man Alive, Taylor Swift dated both a Kennedy and a New Direction, and Lena Dunham did everything else. But now that the year is coming to an end, it’s time we hand out the awards like “Best Smile” and “Most Likely to Become President” (both go to Ryan Gosling). Give a hand for your 2012 Class of Celebrity Superlatives! Read More

By Drew Grant 11/20/12 5:36pm

Big Apple Idolatry

Kevin Clash resigns (PBS)

Big Apple Idolatry: Elmo Resigns Amid Second Sex Scandal

– Kevin Clash, the voice of Elmo, has resigned from his role on Sesame Street after a second young man stepped forward to accuse the Academy Award-nominated documentary subject of being a sexual predator. 24-year-old Cecil Singleton is asking for $5 million from Mr. Clash, after claiming he met the voice actor on a phone sex line when he was 15. Then he made a pretty large leap in logic, claiming that Clash spent his days at Sesame “preying on teenage boys to satisfy his depraved sexual interests.”

– So in addition to bringing new chapters of Trapped in the Closet to IFC, R. Kelly is now bringing his hip-hopera to the Great White Way. Hey, it can’t be any worse than Ghost: The Musical. Read More

By Daniel D'Addario 10/31/12 12:50pm

television

Anne Hathaway (Getty Images)

The Show Must Go On: SNL Announces Upcoming Guests

Saturday Night Live, which kept airing planned episodes in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001, won’t be stopped by a hurricane. The show has announced two upcoming episodes: Anne Hathaway will appear on the November 10 episode (the first after the election) with musical guest Rihanna, while Jeremy Renner and Maroon 5 will appear November Read More