video Did you make it all the way to the end of last night's marathon Oscar broadcast? It wasn't the longest one in history - that was 2002 -- but boy did it ever feel like it. Between Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin's Catskill-esque opener, a number of extra longs montages, an even longer dance number, and this new thing they are doing when five actors laud their five best actor counterparts...well you'd be forgiven for not making it to the end. It was a good end however, Kathryn Bigelow made Oscar history by becoming the first woman to win for Best Director, and Sandra Bullock's speech was utterly charming and down to earth: "Did I really deserve this or did I just wear you down?" Just before the clock struck midnight Hurt Locker walked away with the top prize. (more...)

video Was George Clooney part of the act or was he really as disgusted with Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin's opening act as his face seemed to suggest. Twitter seems to think the former...but wouldn't it be great if it were the latter? George Clooney is the Wayne Gretzky of the Oscars! Video below...make up your mind for yourself. (more...)

Well this one we didn't see coming: The Oscars opened with the Best Actor and Actress nominees smilingly arrayed on the stage — a glittering tableau broken by the showstopping opening number, starring...Neil Patrick Harris? NPH hosted the Emmys, back in September; this awards show is being hosted by Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. Well, whatever — obviously Oscar high commandant Adam Shankman wanted a sassy, spectacular opening number, so NPH it was. And, it was — a big, showstopping be-sequined number, complete with feathery showgirls, and cute lyrics about the state of Hollywood (though not nearly as zingy as they might have been, alas). It was short and sweet, and a way to introduce "the biggest pair since Dolly Parton" — Baldwin and Martin, descending from the ceiling into a jokey comedy routine that, alas, lacked the energy of the preceding act. Was it a good move? Yes to open with NPH; no to not push Martin and Baldwin to be part of it. Ceding this huge moment was them playing it safe — and if there's one place to play it safe, fine, it's the Oscars, but still. Wish we could have seen their descent from the sky as a lead-in to something larger. NPH is a crowd pleaser galore, but what would have pleased the crowd more: An opening number by the actual hosts. Anyhow — here's NPH with the oddly-titled, "No-one Wants To Do It Alone." (more...)

Who: Alec Baldwin interviewed by Janet Maslin
What: TimesTalks’ “Live with Alec Baldwin”
Where: The Times Center
When: December 3, 2009
Thumbs: Up

What's not to love about Thanksgiving? For one day in the middle of the week (a fact which used to fascinate and confuse me as a child growing up in Canada) an entire country of 300,000 million people stops everything they are doing to sit down, stuff themselves with food and drink, and watch football (I'm told...about the football party anyway). So yes, that part's great. The part about being crammed into a house with various your family members may or may not be great depending, but that's where the tryptophan and liquor come in! (more...)

If you've ever seen the television network Video Hits 1 (a.k.a. VH1), you're probably familiar with flamboyant Barney's creative director Simon Doonan and his one-man crusade to reintroduce the cravat into mainstream fashion. He's known for his typically catty comments on the I Love the series, where what follows the word "the" in the title is any number from 1915 to 2020.

In his real life, Doonan is the Creative Director of the New York department store Barneys, and is responsible for, among other things, the store's street-level window displays. Earlier this week, the store revealed its displays for the season the theme of which, in the grandest of holiday traditions, is Saturday Night Live. If you find that to be an odd choice, I'd guess you're not alone.

The displays are heavy on allusion to various characters, scenes and personalities from the series' 35 years - but deciphering each of those references is hindered by the primary mode of presentation, papier-mâché. (Or, as Americans say: paper mache. Barney's generally prefers the fancy French spelling.) I can't help but suspect that this medium was chosen primarily to evoke sympathy - after all, it's possible, if not probable, that they were actually made by a class of  fourth graders. If their teacher saw fit to distribute gold stars for their hard work, who could possibly mock them?

Well, me. (more...)

The Aughts Rotten Tomatoes has unveiled what it deems its Worst of the Worst, those movies of the past decade that received the worst reviews.

Not surprisingly, Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever was the number one worst movie, with a grand total of 0% good reviews. The cast was promising: - Antonio Banderas, Lucy Liu - so why so bad? Do you really want to see it to find out? That goes pretty much for all the movies on the list — from Glitter to Swept Away to The Hottie And The Nottie. Which prompted a natural follow-up question: what directors and actors had the worst results on Rotten Tomatoes from 2000-2009? Thanks to computers, we have the answer. (more...)

It's official: Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin will be co-hosting the Oscars. Martin, who's successfully hosted the Oscars twice in the past, is a common-sense pick; teaming him up with Baldwin, who's never hosted before, is a bolder move. How'd he get the gig? The answer may be in these four words: Elle Women in Hollywood. (more...)

Double your pleasure, double your fun? It's just been announced that Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will co-host this years Oscars. Per The Wrap: (more...)

This is fantastic - the folks at Daily Fill & Movie Fill have done a major data cull, ranking SNL alumni by their total movie grosses and Rotten Tomato rankings. The results? Eddie Murphy dominates (thank you, Norbit), Tina Fey is in last place (but give her time), and Rob Schneider's doing better than Will Ferrell, Chevy Chase and Billy Crystal (When Harry Met Sally and City Slickers? Really). (more...)