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December 22, 2000

First of all, if you haven't checked out the Golden Globe nominees yet, click here

On Thursday morning the nominations for the 2001 Golden Globe awards were announced and on Thursday afternoon Ang Lee was still walking around with a confused look on his face. The Taiwanese director's CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, which was (and may still be) widely favored to grab the most Oscar nominations was only awarded two Golden Globe noms; one for Lee's directing and one for Best Foreign Language Film. On the other end of the spectrum, the Hollywood Foreign Press renamed themselves the Steven Soderbergh Fan Club Thursday.  Soderbergh's two qualifying movies, ERIN BROCKOVICH and TRAFFIC, were both nominated for Best Drama and the two movies racked up a total of nine nominations all told. So pretty much the only category either movie wasn't nominated in was Best Actor and ERIN BROCKOVICH didn't even have a lead male role. Good going Michael Douglas. You blew it!

Among the other films left out this year were QUILLS, CAST AWAY, and YOU CAN COUNT ON ME, all of which did not receive nominations for best film. Instead, SUNSHINE, a foreign film about a Jewish family who rise to power in WWII Hungary, got left in. SUNSHINE, a daaark horse, paid more for, er, I mean, beat out all the other films listed above for the coveted Best Drama. 

The Hollywood Foreign Press avoided the wrath of one angry butcher named Joey Baloney today by nominating Frances McDormand for her heartwarming performance as Mrs. Miller in ALMOST FAMOUS. Magazine cover favorite, Kate Hudson also snagged a Best Supporting Actress nod for her role as Penny Lane in Cameron Crowe's killer flick. By the way, Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes must be practicing Voodoo or black magic or hypnotism or something to snag her. Or maybe he just has some really good weed.

Jim Carrey was nominated for the third straight year as for Best Actor, Musical or Comedy for his portrayal of that lovable GRINCH.  HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS, by the way, became the highest grossing movie of 2000 and I am ashamed to say I haven't seen it yet. I hope Jim wins just so I can see his acceptance speech. Elsewhere in the comedy category, John Cusack was nominated for HIGH FIDELITY (for more Cusack news, see below) but curiously there was no Jack Black. His performance definitely stood out from all the rest in that movie.

OK, so you've read me drone on for long enough. But on one final note, congrats to Benicio Del Toro, who hitched his wagon to the star of Steven Soderbergh and rode it all the way to some well deserved recognition. The awards will be presented on Sunday, January 21, 2001 on NBC at 8 p.m. EST.
          

December 22, 2000

Dark Horizons continues their run of snagging great scoops with a whole page of previously unseen Tomb Raider pictures. Garth has a whole page full of them and I suggest you go check 'em out below:

< Click pic to see them all >
          

December 22, 2000

John Cusack beat out Ben Stiller and grabbed the role of Chuck Barris that was once occupied by Mike Myers. Cusack will star in the film along with George Clooney who has also been confirmed to be playing a CIA agent.  Bryan Singer will almost definitely direct, unless a huge X-Men sequel deal comes through (although, I wouldn't bet the farm on it) and production looks to be delayed until after the actors' and writers' strikes are settled.
          

December 21, 2000

Best Motion Picture, Drama
BILLY ELLIOT
ERIN BROCKOVICH
GLADIATOR
SUNSHINE
TRAFFIC
WONDER BOYS

Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
ALMOST FAMOUS
BEST IN SHOW
CHICKEN RUN
CHOCOLAT
O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?
WONDER BOYS

Best Director
Ang Lee, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON
Ridley Scott, GLADIATOR
Steven Soderbergh, ERIN BROCKOVICH
Steven Soderbergh, TRAFFIC
Istvan Szabo, SUNSHINE

Best Screenplay
Cameron Crowe, ALMOST FAMOUS
Stephen Gaghan, TRAFFIC
Steven Kloves, WONDER BOYS
Kenneth Lonergan, YOU CAN COUNT ON ME
Doug Wright, QUILLS

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Javier Bardem, BEFORE NIGHT FALLS
Russell Crowe, GLADIATOR
Michael Douglas, WONDER BOYS
Tom Hanks, CAST AWAY
Geoffrey Rush, QUILLS

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Joan Allen, THE CONTENDER
Bjork, DANCER IN THE DARK
Ellen Burstyn, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM
Laura Linney, YOU CAN COUNT ON ME
Julia Roberts, ERIN BROCKOVICH

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Jim Carrey, HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS
George Clooney, O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?
John Cusack, HIGH FIDELITY
Robert De Niro, MEET THE PARENTS
Mel Gibson, WHAT WOMEN WANT

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Juliette Binoche, CHOCOLAT
Brenda Blethyn, SAVING GRACE
Sandra Bullock, MISS CONGENIALITY
Tracey Ullman, SMALL TIME CROOKS
Renee Zellweger, NURSE BETTY

Best Performance by an Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Jeff Bridges, THE CONTENDER
Willem Dafoe, SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE
Benicio Del Toro, TRAFFIC
Albert Finney, ERIN BROCKOVICH
Joaquin Phoenix, GLADIATOR

Best Performance by an Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Judi Dench, CHOCOLAT
Kate Hudson, ALMOST FAMOUS
Frances McDormand, ALMOST FAMOUS
Julie Walters, BILLY ELLIOT
Catherine Zeta-Jones, TRAFFIC

Best Foreign Language Film
AMORES PERROS, Mexico
CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, Taiwan
THE HUNDRED STEPS, Italy
THE WIDOW OF ST. PIERRE, France
MALENA, Italy

Best Original Score, Motion Picture
Tan Dun, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON
Maurice Jarre, SUNSHINE
Ennio Morricone, MALENA
Rachel Portman, CHOCOLAT
Mary Stuart, Kristin Wilkinson and Larry Paxton, ALL THE PRETTY HORSES
Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard, GLADIATOR

Best Original Song, Motion Picture
"I've Seen It All", DANCER IN THE DARK
"My Funny Friend and Me", THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE
"One In A Million", MISS CONGENIALITY
"Things Have Changed", WONDER BOYS
"When You Come Back To Me", FREQUENCY
           

December 21, 2000

One year from December 19th 2000 in the year 2001, one of the most anticipated movies in recent history will hit theaters. To commemorate this date, New Line Cinema announced on Tuesday (12/19/00) their plans for the upcoming marketing blitz surrounding THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, the first in the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy.  Among their plans are the first theatrical trailer which will premiere before THIRTEEN DAYS, opening January 12th. On that same date, the official LORD OF THE RINGS website will be launched internationally and much like the STAR WARS and TOMB RAIDER sites, will be updated with original information weekly.  The FELLOWSHIP one-sheet will be sent via e-mail to those who have subscribed to the mailing list on the site.
          

December 21, 2000

The Hollywood Reporter today confirmed what was reported here this weekend; Bruce Campbell will make an appearance in SPIDER-MAN.  He has been cast as the referee in the Peter Parker/Spidey vs. Bone Saw McGraw wrestling match. The trade also listed a few other projects on Campbell's plate including Frank Darabont's THE BIJOU, where he plays the star of a movie written by Jim Carrey's character, and the Matthew Perry/Elizabeth Hurley comedy SERVICING SARAH.
          

December 21, 2000

Yup, you heard that right.  A while back we reported that Chris Rock had signed to play the brother of a dead secret agent in Jerry Bruckheimer's BLACK SHEEP.  Now it is being reported that Sir Anthony Hopkins is in talks to join the cast as a veteran CIA agent forced to train Rock's character to take over where his brother left off.  If this isn't the weirdest casting news in a long time, I don't know what is.
 

December 20, 2000

Courtesy of Reel.com's Jeffrey Wells, we get a first look at the teaser poster for next year's Steven Soderbergh all-star flick, OCEAN'S ELEVEN. The movie stars George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, and Don Cheadle (among many, many others) and will hit theaters near you next Christmas. Not much to look at here, but man is this movie gonna be good!

< Click to see bigger pic >
         

December 20, 2000

I guess Vinny Testaverde wasn't the only Jet to blow it this weekend. It seems that because martial artist/actor Jet Li got a bit too greedy, he is being dropped for consideration in the hotly anticipated MATRIX 2 & 3. His asking price for both of the sequels was $13 million plus a backend deal, while he was offered only $3 million for each with no lucrative backend deals, as they were nabbed by Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne. The Wachowskis are currently looking at Michelle Yeoh (boy, who isn't these days) to take over the part vacated by Li.
        

December 20, 2000

The on-again/off-again CLERKS follow-up (first it was the live-action sequel, then it was the ABC cartoon re-edited into a feature, and then the brand new animated feature) is definitely on. In a post on View Askew, Kevin Smith's official site, Mr. Smith said, "I CAN guarantee the animated feature. We're working on it now." Sounds like a done deal. The plot will be an animated semi-autobiographical tale for Smith, revolving around Dante and Randal making a low-budget, black-and-white movie about their experiences working at the Quick Stop and RST Video.
        

December 20, 2000

Steve Martin has been named as the host of the 73rd Annual Academy Awards. Martin, who can be seen next in NOVOCAINE, a dark comedy about the world of dentistry and murder, was chosen for the March 25th telecast after previous host Billy Crystal was unable to return due to scheduling conflicts. In a press conference, Martin made light of the lack of an Oscar nomination throughout his career by saying, "If you can't win 'em, join 'em!" Among the other candidates considered were Emmy host Garry Shandling and stun gun victim David Spade. Nominees for the awards will be announced on February 13th.
        

December 20, 2000

Julia "Furious" Stiles has been cast alongside Matt Damon and Franka Potente in Doug Liman's BOURNE IDENTITY. Stiles (TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU) will play the role of Nicolette, "a field officer for a U.S. National Security Agency stationed in Paris." Wow, a nineteen year old field officer for the NSA? And here I am at 23 and writing for an internet movie site.
        

December 19, 2000

AICN is reporting, what they admittedly call a very big rumor, that there is a possible director for the FANTASTIC FOUR movie.  Peyton Reed who directed the teen/cheerleader fest BRING IT ON, according to their "pretty damn trustworthy source" will be taking over the director's chair from Raja Gosnell, who has moved on to destroy the SCOOBY DOO movie instead.  We'll see as time goes on if there is any truth to this rumor...
        

December 19, 2000

Contrary to reports all over the damn place (including right here) that Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar were stepping into the roles of Fred and Daphne in the SCOOBY DOO movie, Gellar has gone on the record stating it's all a big rumor.  She told Seventeen magazine that she doubts any actor would "stoop" to SCOOBY after filming a movie with that "high a content and level" such as her HARVARD MAN.  She said that Prinze, Jr. has signed on but she hasn't even read the script yet.  I think I smell a dig at her ex-boyfriend in there somewhere.
        

December 19, 2000

Cliff Robertson and Rosemary Harris have officially signed on to play Uncle Ben and Aunt May in SPIDER-MAN, while Sam Raimi himself stated at a THE GIFT press conference that Bruce Campbell will be also be in the movie.  He refused to elaborate but that should come as great news all the EVIL DEAD, etc., fans out there.  And in the last bit of SPIDEY news, it is reported that Kirsten Dunst will go redhead for her role as Mary Jane Parker.  Thank the lord.
        

December 18, 2000

The big cheese himself has given us his TOP 10 movies of the past year, Roger Ebert. His new critical side-kick, Richard Roeper, also divulged his list of favorite movies of the year 2000. Thanks to Quentin for the head's up.

Roger Ebert's TOP 10

1. "Almost Famous"
2. "Wonder Boys"
3. "You Can Count on Me"
4. "Traffic"
5. "George Washington"
6. "The Cell"
7. "High Fidelity"
8. "Pollock"
9. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"
10. "Requiem for a Dream"

Read more details about his picks here

Richard Roeper's TOP 10

1. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"
2. "Traffic"
3. "The Claim"
4. "The Contender"
5. "Wonder Boys"
6. "Finding Forrester"
7. "You Can Count on Me"
8. "Sunshine"
9. "Cast Away"
10. "Almost Famous"

Read more details about his picks here