Tuesday, February 2

• Complete List of Oscar Nominations, Avatar and The Hurt Locker Lead

  This morning, nominees for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards were announced at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California. Leading the 2009 race are Avatar and The Hurt Locker, each with nine nominations, including Best Picture.

  The eight other movies in this year's expanded Best Picture race are The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man, Up, and Up in the Air.

  To find out what other movies and people received nods from the Academy, see the complete list of 2009 Oscar Nominees.

  Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin will host the awards show on Sunday, March 7, 2010.

  
  

  Posted 02/02/2010 by reelz

  Related: Alec Baldwin | Steve Martin | District 9 | Inglourious Basterds | Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire | A Serious Man | Up in the Air | Up | Avatar | The Blind Side | An Education | The Hurt Locker

Monday, February 1

• Razzie Nominations Announced, Land of the Lost and Transformers 2 Lead the Pack

  We have to wait until tomorrow to hear the Academy Award nominations for 2009. While we await word on the year's best, we can certainly have fun with the year's worst.

  Earlier today, the Razzie Awards announced their nominations. For the uninitiated, the Razzies have "celebrated" the most laughable, horrific, and jawdroppingly awful movies and performances each year since 1980. Past "winning" actors include Pauly Shore, Andrew Dice Clay, Madonna, Sylvester Stallone, and The Spice Girls. Past "winning" pictures include Showgirls, Battlefield Earth, Freddy Got Fingered, Gigli, and Catwoman.

  This year, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Land of the Lost were singled out for shame, receiving seven nominations a piece. In the running for acting "honors" are The Jonas Brothers, Megan Fox, Miley Cyrus, and Steve Martin, among others.

  Interestingly enough, Sandra Bullock may have a chance to win both an Academy Award and a Razzie in the same year, which no one has ever done. She will more than likely get an Oscar nod for The Blind Side, and she is up for a Razzie for All About Steve. For the latter, she's also nominated with Bradley Cooper for Worst Screen Couple. Their competition includes:

  Kristen Stewart & EITHER Robert Pattinson OR Taylor Whatz-His-Fang for The Twilight Saga: New Moon

  Cue the Team Edward and Team Jacob outrage.

  The Razzies also announced their picks for the decade as well, singling out actors and movies that got multiple awards or received large percentages of votes. Choices included Ben Affleck, Eddie Murphy, Mariah Carey, and Paris Hilton.

  You can view the entire history of nominees and recipients here. This year's Razzies will be announced on Saturday, March 6, the night before the Oscars.

  
  

  Posted 02/01/2010 by Rich Z

  Related: Bradley Cooper | Sandra Bullock | Steve Martin | Megan Fox | Taylor Lautner | Robert Pattinson | Kristen Stewart | Miley Cyrus | All About Steve | Land of the Lost | Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Wednesday, November 4

• Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin to Host Oscars

  Hugh Jackman, just a few days ago, refused a repeat performance as Oscar host. Yesterday, Cinema Blend reported that Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr. had also been offered the job, but turned it down.

  The report closed on a positive note, citing that at least the choice indicated a push towards a younger, hipper direction. In retrospect, this statement is as funny as it is wrong. Why? Because the Academy announced a short time later that its choices for next year's hosts are ... Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.

  Scratch your head. Raise a furrowed brow. Begin discussions of all the odd-couple pairings in TV and movie history. Producer Bill Mechanic had this to say about the selections, made with co-producer Adam Shankman:

  Adam and I, from our first meeting on, knew we wanted an emphasis on comedy. If we err in any one direction, we want to take a show that can feel long and boring at times and make it feel shorter and more fun. The idea of two co-hosts who could move things along just seemed like a great idea.

  In its write-up of the story, The Hollywood Reporter cited some nifty Oscar trivia, pointing out that this would not be the first time the telecast featured multiple hosts. The very first Oscar ceremony in 1929 was hosted by Douglas Fairbanks and William C. de Mille. Jerry Lewis and Celeste Holm shared duties in 1957, although they were in different locations (Lewis in Los Angeles, Holm in New York).

  In 1972, the Academy chose the trio of Sammy Davis Jr., Helen Hayes, and Alan King, and again went for a trifecta in 1987 with Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn, and Paul Hogan.

  In response to Tuesday's decision, Martin quipped, "I am happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin." Baldwin followed by saying, "I don't play the banjo, but I'm thrilled to be hosting the Oscars."

  
  

  Posted 11/04/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Adam Shankman | Alec Baldwin | Ben Stiller | Hugh Jackman | Steve Martin | Robert Downey Jr. | Bill Mechanic

Tuesday, February 3

• Steve Martin "Wings" Karate in The Pink Panther 2

  The versatile comedian-actor-writer Steve Martin returns as Inspector Jacques Clouseau in The Pink Panther 2, for which he helped write the screenplay. This time around, the bumbling French detective sets his sights on a thief stealing the world's treasures.

  Martin recently spoke about reprising the role. "The great thing about a lot of these scenes, like the karate scene, is the other people have to be really good." he said. "Like the two kids -- they had to go to practice.... I don't have to look professional. It's really fun to just go out there and sort of wing it with, what do they call that, nunchucks." Get more details about the Pink Panther's return in our interview with Steve Martin.

  
  
  

  The Pink Panther 2 - Trailer

  Steve Martin Stars - Releasing Feb. 6, 2009

  Posted 02/03/2009 by reelz

  Related: Steve Martin | The Pink Panther 2

Monday, March 31

• Steve Martin and Diane Keaton will be Happy together

  According to Variety, Steve Martin and Diane Keaton will reunite onscreen for the Paramount comedy One Big Happy. Party of Five creators Chris Keyser and Amy Lippman penned the project and John Goldwyn and Lorne Michaels will produce.

  Although the exact details of the movie aren't clear, Variety says it is "a family comedy about a couple and a family reconnecting amid various obstacles."

  
  

  Posted 03/31/2008 by reelz

  Related: Steve Martin | Diane Keaton

Thursday, August 9

• Bring on the funny: More Mike Myers and Pink Panther, plus the Sandler/Playboy movie gets a Hanks

  Mike Myers has created a new character for the silver screen, and this one doesn't wear velour leisure suits. The Love Guru will star Myers as a man who was left at an Indian ashram as a baby and then raised by gurus and must use his enlightenment to help a troubled couple, says Variety.

  Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four,Sin City), Romany Malco (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Blades of Glory) and Verne Troyer (Austin Powers' Mini Me) will costar.

  Variety is also reporting that the sequel to Steve Martin's 2006 The Pink Panther is under way. Pink Panther 2 will feature Martin again reprising his role as Clouseau. Jean Reno (The Da Vinci Code, Ronin) and Emily Mortimer (Match Point, Lovely & Amazing) will also return.

  The script, which will be directed by Harald Zwart (Agent Cody Banks), has also attracted John Cleese (A Fish Called Wanda, Monty Python), Andy Garcia (When a Man Loves a Woman, Ocean's Thirteen) and Alfred Molina (Spider Man 2, Magnolia) to the cast. Pink Panther 2 will come out on February 13, 2009.

  Finally, The Hollywood Reporter has more casting news on the still Untitled Adam Sandler/Anna Faris comedy about the outcast Playboy bunny who becomes house-mother to a lame sorority. Monet Mazur (40 Days and 40 Nights), Beverly D'Angelo (National Lampoon's Vacation), and Colin Hanks (Orange County) are all joining the cast.

  
  

  Posted 08/09/2007 by reelz

  Related: Alfred Molina | Andy Garcia | Emily Mortimer | Jean Reno | John Cleese | Mike Myers | Steve Martin | Verne Troyer | Colin Hanks | Jessica Alba | Monet Mazur | Beverly D'Angelo | Harald Zwart | Romany Malco | The Love Guru | The Pink Panther 2 | The House Bunny

Wednesday, August 1

• Steve Martin and Chevy Chase do the cameo circuit

  There's something about cameos today in Hollywood.

  Saturday Night Live scion Lorne Michaels told MTV that Steve Martin will be playing a small part in the upcoming comedy, Baby Mama. The movie stars Tina Fey as a busy woman who hires a Amy Poehler to be a surrogate mother for her. Michaels wasn't revealing too much, but said that Martin did a couple of days on set. Greg Kinnear, Dax Shepard, Sigourney Weaver, Maura Tierney and Romany Malco will all have parts.

  And completing the SNL link, alum Chevy Chase will be doing a cameo in a live-action version of Jack and the Beanstalk. Katey Sagal (Married...With Children), Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride), Gilbert Gottfried (Aladdin) and Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future) will all be in the low-budget family-friendly fairytale, says The Hollywood Reporter. Word is that James Earl Jones is considering voicing the giant.

  
  

  Posted 08/01/2007 by reelz

  Related: Chevy Chase | Steve Martin | Jack and the Beanstalk

Monday, July 16

• Super-agent Ed Limato to leave ICM

  Co-President of ICM (International Creative Management) Ed Limato announced Friday that he will be parting ways with the agency, reports Variety. Why does this matter to movie fans?

  Well, it's simple: Limato represents such Hollywood power players as Mel Gibson, Denzel Washington, Liam Neeson, Richard Gere, Billy Crystal and Steve Martin. And whither he goes, they shall follow.

  The trouble, of course, is that Limato is held to a non-compete agreement, which prevents him from taking his clients with him should he choose to part ways with the agency. He will likely contest the agreement.

  We'll be sure to keep you posted. After all, the future of Apocalypto II and City Slickers XVI may hang in the balance!

  
  

  Posted 07/16/2007 by reelz

  Related: Billy Crystal | Denzel Washington | Liam Neeson | Mel Gibson | Richard Gere | Steve Martin