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Talking New Moon With Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene

BuzzSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:15:50 -0800

Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner may be dominating the promotional circuit right now, but they're not the only cast members with something to say about New Moon. I had the opportunity to chat with costars Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene, aka Emmett and Alice Cullen, during their recent stopover in SF. They chatted about their characters, the vampire craze, and what it's like to be a "Twilight celebrity." Here are highlights:

On why so many people are crazy for the Twilight Saga:
Ashley: I think this film in particular is highly relatable. There are a lot of situations that people can relate to. The love story - everyone can relate to being in love or being in lust. You add the vampire, and it adds that next level fantasy. Vampires are mysterious and sensual and dangerous and unattainable. And everyone wants what they can't have. I think on another level that this came together at the perfect time. All the elements just fit, the casting was spot on, and we're in a difficult time right now with our economy. That's why you never have a drop in ticket sales because everyone wants an escape, and this movie is very much an escape from reality.
Kellan: It's a good escape but also it deals with so many situations, on so many positive notes. Just looking at it from the vampire coven to the wolf pack. It just deals with everyday issues just on bigger levels, in a way. And you have Bella as the keystone in many situations. You can just all relate from different countries to issues within the United States. It's easily relatable.

To read a lot more about working with three different directors and why they feel so lucky, just read more.

On how their portrayals of the Cullens are similar or different from the books:
Kellan: We got the jobs because we brought something new to it. You can interpret the characters each their own, but I think it's what we did alongside. Just like Kristen said - she's playing Bella but she's putting her Kristen spin on it, just like all of us are. And I think that's what's making it unique. We're still following the cheat sheets that Stephenie created by making the books, and there's Wikipedia. We have a lot of information to go off of. But I hope it's what I did in my audition that set it apart from the other guys trying out.

Ashley: I think it's mannerisms too. People do fall in love with this book, but I think part of it is that they always want more. You can't write out every human mannerism. You can imagine it, but seeing the emotion in someone's eyes and seeing them be affected it - it was kind of easy to give something to it, because we were just being people. We kinda just got lucky.
On how much more of the Cullens we can expect in the remaining movies:
Kellan: Realistically, we stick pretty close to the books. Obviously us Cullens would love to be in the books a lot more, which would mean we'd be in the movies a lot more. Talking New Moon, the scenes that the Cullens - except for Ashley, playing Alice who gets to go to Italy and be a main lead in the movie - us Cullens, we have to stick really close to the books, and the scenes that we're in are really crucial to the story, as you know - the birthday scene, the voting scene. I don't know, it was kind of a tease. Chris Weitz is such an amazing director, and for us, for myself - I only worked about a week on that movie. And it didn't even seem like I really got a taste for what it was.

Ashley: In the third film, you'll see a lot more of the Cullens because it's all of us collaborating and then getting ready to fight this war that's coming up. In the second one, my character got a much larger role because Alice is the Cullen, other than Edward, that really embraces Bella and they end up becoming best friends. In the beginning, you see her throw this huge party for Bella, and then Alice is the one who does, in fact, come back for Bella when everyone else decides to skip town. Alice is responsible for dragging Bella over to Italy, and she and I the whole time are fighting to save my brother's life. And then of course we get held up by the Volturi and stuff like that. My character got to grow a lot, which is really cool. You get to actually see the relationship develop between Bella and Alice, where in the first one you didn't. The first one was very much about the romance and showing the audience why these two people are willing to die for each other.
On working with a different director on each film:
Ashley: Each director is going to be very different. They're artists as well, and I don't think any of them are quite the same. The books, when you read them, all have very, very, different tones. So I think it's highly appropriate that we switch directors each go. The first one is very much a romance and is a very scenic, beautiful film. And Catherine's really, really great at capturing that. She's very high energy and works well in chaos and stuff like that. And it was fantastic because we didn't quite know what we were getting ourselves into, and so it was nice to have her to guide us when we were freaking out a little bit. She was just so high energy, and it was really contagious. We were sad to lose her and move on to the second film, but then we got Chris Weitz and he's the complete opposite! But great as well. He's so giving and caring and collaborative and created this atmosphere that was kind of a safe haven for us. And it was really nice because we didn't know, switching directors, if they were gonna embrace us or if they had a completely different vision than what we created in the first one. It was nice that he was right there on the same page with us. And the second one is a warmer film, even from the color scheme. The first one is very blue tones, and the second one is much richer and warmer and I think he did a great job at capturing that. And we just finished shooting with David Slade, and I think he's highly appropriate as well. He just finished shooting 30 Days of Night and Hard Candy, and they're both very dark, edgy films. And Eclipse is very much that. It's all centered around the anticipation and us getting ready to fight this huge war. We just finished filming, we haven't gotten to see much of it, but I think it's gonna be fantastic. He is, technically, the most advanced director. The angles that he shot and how he knows that tweaking something can affect a whole scene and the lenses. He was really nice to work with.
On coping with the fan effect and being a "Twilight celebrity"
Kellan: That's what blows my mind, 'cause I feel like it's really unearned in a way. The fans are making our careers. Without them, we wouldn't be working and doing the saga. There's so many times that trilogy books become a movie and the first one bombs, and then that's it. And you're always hopeful that you get to do them all. Especially since we're all in love with our characters. I love Emmett Cullen to death, he's my favorite character I've ever played. It's just so cool to have made it this far, and I think we all hope that we get to finish this series and do Breaking Dawn. This is such a blessing, it's every actor's dream to be part of something like this. It's not terribly hard either. We don't shoot halfway around the world; we don't shoot for a year of our lives. I know a lot of us have homes, we have pets, we have family. And it's really nice to shoot on the West Coast, either Portland or Vancouver, and have the chance to fly down if we need to. But it's definitely amazing to be part of something like this. And I don't think any of us knew how crazy it would be and how exhilarating it would turn out to be. Going to the premiere, really just, wow. I don't even remember it because I was really just starstruck by how many fans and signs and cameras. It felt like I was just walking through a strobe light room. It's amazing.

Ashley: I still think we can't really wrap our heads around what's going on and what's happening. We're still in the midst of filming and kept very busy from one film until the next. It's only these brief moments where you sit back and are actually able to take a breath where you go "Whoa. Wow. This is crazy." I mean, the amount of tickets they've already sold for New Moon - I'm pretty sure I can't even get a ticket if I tried to see my film in Jacksonville and it's mind boggling. We're just very lucky. I went into this film thinking "Oh my gosh, I got a job" and the it turned into the biggest break of my life. I think we all feel very blessed to be a part of this.
On how it feels to be part of Twilight fan fiction:
Kellan: It's an escape, in a way. We do live in a trivial time period right now. There's so much depression that it's kinda cool to be a part of something where people use it to be an escape. In a way that's kinda what Stephenie did -she had a dream and just elaborated on it. It became a huge success and it's really encouraging that people are doing the same and just making up this journey.

Ashley: That's why people love it so much I think. You can take it and make what you want of it. Before the demographic was teenage girls, but now it's women of every age and guys are starting to get into it, too. It's because there is that element of fantasy. If you're 8 years old you look at it one way; if you're 80 years old you look at it another. I think it's fantastic that we can draw such a huge crowd. The other thing is - it blows my mind but people are making connections over this film and over this book. there are mothers and daughters and grandmas who can all sit and talk about the same story and all fantasize about it and I think that's a really cool thing. I think it's rare.

To see all of our Twilight and New Moon coverage, check out TwilightSugar!

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:30:00 -0800

Tuesday means it's time to rev up your entertainment engine with new releases in music and new DVDs to add to your Netflix queue. I've checked out today's movie offerings and have some recommendations for the movies that are worth your rental time below.

This Summer's hit from Pixar is as tear-jerking as it is funny and light, and equally entertaining for kids and adults. Up is a story about an old man, voiced by Ed Asner, who attaches his home to balloons to escape his rapidly changing neighborhood.

I loved the emotional and original story, and wouldn't be surprised to see it nab a Best Picture nomination. The DVD has a ton of fun extras like cartoon shorts Partly Cloudy and Dug's Special Mission, and the expected making-of featurettes.

98%

See two more new releases when you read more.

The Ugly Truth

Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler play opposite each other in this romantic comedy that hinges on the notion that women want love, while men only want sex. I couldn't find much romance, though; in its place are cliches and some truly cringe-worthy moments.

But if you're one of the many who loves Gerard Butler, you may enjoy his boorish behavior. DVD extras include deleted scenes, two alternate endings, director commentary, and a gag reel.

15%

Spread

Ashton Kutcher is just a gigolo in the indie Spread. OK, maybe he's not exactly a gigolo, but it's pretty close - his character Nikki hangs around wealthy women like Anne Heche, exchanging good lovin' for a place to stay. When he unintentionally falls for a mysterious girl, his sugar mama ways are challenged.

Kutcher's role is more dramatic than what he usually takes on, and the love scenes are supposedly pretty steamy. Included in the DVD's extras are a feature called "The World According to Nikki," commentary with Kutcher (who also produced the movie), and deleted scenes.

13%

Mad Men, "Shut the Door. Have a Seat": This Week's 5 Maddest Moments

BuzzSugar — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:30:53 -0800

Wow. The biggest surprise of the third season finale of Mad Men isn't actually a plot point, but how light and almost exciting it manages to be. For a show that's normally so tense and tightly wound, this week's episode has a quick pace, and at times, a sense of humor. Of course, there is still disappointment and heartache; some of our predictions for the finale come true, but some go sadly unfulfilled.

Without further ado, let's talk about the door that closes and the one that opens this week, and as usual, the finale's five maddest moments, when you read more.

So long, Connie: It's eccentric hotelier Conrad Hilton that breaks the news to Don that rival agency McCann is buying PPL, and Sterling Cooper along with it. Don's plenty irate, as it's Hilton's fault that he was signed into a three-year contract and is thus, trapped. However, Don's bitterness quickly turns to ambition, when he rallies Burt, then Roger, to buy back Sterling Cooper from PPL. Pryce is unhelpful in even supplying the purchase price for the men, quashing the buyback plans, but then another scheme is launched: Pryce fires Don, Roger, and Burt so they can form a new agency.
Draper Dissolution: While an exciting change is happening for Don in his career, back at home a bleak change is coming. Betty informs Don that she's seen a divorce lawyer and advises him to do the same. It's painful watching these two spar, and I wanted so much for them to figure out how to fix it - but the ball is clearly in Don's court and he does nothing to sway Betty to call off the divorce. Sure, he tells her to, and even suggests that she might need psychiatric help. Oh, and he tells her that he gave her everything she wanted materially, insinuating that should be enough. Don may know what his clients want, but in his marriage, he has no idea what Betty wants.
Irreconcilable differences: Don sheepishly tolerates the divorce talk until he's having drinks with Roger, who spills the beans about Betty taking up with Henry Francis (I do have to say, it is rather nice to see these two getting along, acting like buds). This sends a drunken Don home to wake up Betty for a confrontation about her indiscretion, and things get nasty and uncomfortably physical. Again, Don manages to push Betty into even more resolve, and she tells him that she's going to Reno to initiate the divorce. Don and Betty devastate the kids with the news of their separation, and Betty makes good on her threat to go to Reno after Don softens a tiny bit - to tell her that he won't fight her.
Don, at your service: One of my favorite parts of this episode? Seeing Don put through the paces by Pete and Peggy. He's always treated them like underlings, and they finally have the opportunity to assert themselves. Don obliges them both and tells them how valuable they are, but not before Peggy pushes back. Her backbone straightens when she's first told of the new company and assures Don that she's had "other offers." Luckily, Don doesn't take no for an answer, and visits Peggy at home, telling her he'd spend the rest of his life trying to hire her if she turned him down now. It's so touching to see Don put aside his ego to acknowledge these others, and it makes me sad that he can't do something similar for Betty.
Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce: The gang's back together! It's thrilling good fun watching the new company assemble - Roger and Don get the agency's most prized employees one by one, plus my favorite: Joan! She's a necessity to help find all the files and materials in the office, and, they realize, a force that had been holding the company together. Her role in Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (can you say "Michael Scott Paper Company"? I told you these two shows have a lot in common!) is a given. With everything coming together so perfectly, though, I wondered why Sal isn't also called in. I suppose we have next season to look forward to for that. Speaking of, next Summer can't come fast enough.

It's interesting that the finale also weaves in flashbacks of Don's early childhood, as this season's premiere did. What Don is remembering now, though, is how his father died. The elder Whitman was faced with losing his home, and after breaking free of the cooperative, readies a trip to the city to sell his crop. His spooked horse kicks him in the head, killing him, with the young Don as witness. It's an obvious parallel to Don's circumstances, who's losing his home, as in his marriage; and, losing his home, as in his life's work. Of course, he only manages to take control of one of those.

So what did you think? Did this season wrap up the way you wanted it to? And even though we won't see the Draper family or the worker bees of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce until the fourth season returns, you can still join the Mad Men group in the community to chat about the show year-round.

Photo courtesy of AMC

Vampire Diaries "Lost Girls": The Good, the Bad and the Bloody

BuzzSugar — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:30:36 -0700

The cat's outta the bag on this week's episode of The Vampire Diaries, but Elena isn't the only one who has a rude awakening. We also get to see the history on the lives of Stefan, Damon, and Katherine in the 1860s - and the story behind those olden-day photos.

As usual, I've picked the moments from this episode that stand out as the good, the bad, and the bloody, so to see them just (spoilers ahead!) read more.

The Good

Turns out Katherine is a triflin' friend, indeed. Not only is Stefan and Damon's first love as selfish as Stefan mentioned before, but she's actually the vampire who turns both brothers to the dark side - and against each other.
Speaking of turning people into vampires, Damon decides to give Vicki the blood transfusion of her life. Her transition is surprisingly emotional; she cries to Stefan that she remembers things now, and begs to go home. Sorry, Vick, home is not where you're headed.
One of my favorite scenes this week? The dance-like-no-one's-watching sequence for Damon and Vicki. (Except I was watching. And I loved it.) Their slow dance scene is actually pretty cute, too; until, well, Damon breaks Vicki's neck.
On second thought, maybe this Katherine was pretty smart. Living forever in a freaky threesome with Stefan and Damon? Sounds sexier than Big Love.

The Bad

Is it OK that I don't care that much about Elena dumping Stefan and being all heartbroken about it? There's just so much more excitement going on Mystic Falls than Elena finding out her potential boyfriend is a vampire. She's feeling excessively sorry for herself - it's so Bella in New Moon.
Speaking of which, the Twilight parallel gets a little too close for comfort this week with Stefan revealing his secret to Elena. In particular, the scene where he says he's been 17 since 1864 is such an echo of Twilight's "How long have you been 17?" " . . . A while" scene.

The Bloody

Um, let's briefly discuss Damon and Vicki sucking each other's blood from their wrists. It seems sexual, it feels weird. OK, that's enough.
Vampire hunting squad 0, vampires 1. After Logan shoots Stefan with a wooden bullet, Damon actually comes to the rescue for his brother. Even though he says it's because if anyone kills Stefan, it'll be him, there seems to be a little deep-seated loyalty in saving Stefan - something we glimpsed in the flashback sequence before they were undead.
Aw, Vicki's character actually made me like her this episode - the kicker was her sheepish "I'm sorry" after feeding on Logan.

Seriously, this was one of my favorite episodes so far because of the action and the flashbacks. What did you think?

Dying to talk even more about the show? Join the Hooked on Vampire Diaries in the community!

Photo courtesy of The CW

A Serious Man: Seriously Hard To Wrap Your Head Around

BuzzSugar — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:00:10 -0700

I like the Coen brothers. I loved No Country For Old Men, I still enjoy quoting Frances McDormand lines from Fargo - I even appreciated their most recent project, Burn After Reading despite lukewarm reviews. So I went into A Serious Man with high expectations. Perhaps a bit too high.

The Coens go incredibly dark and thought-provoking this time around, and unfortunately without any big-named stars attached like Clooney a la Reading or O Brother, Where Art Thou?, A Serious Man probably won't live on as one of their more memorable films for viewers. In fact, many people will probably feel put off by it. To see what I mean, read more

A Serious Man opens like a horror movie, which isn't surprising given the Coen's propensity for heavy themes (and often a few stab wounds) in their stories. The music is a big player, creating tension that doesn't let up for the audience even when the screen goes to black. But the antagonizing score fits well within the nightmare existence of Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a professor and devoted family man in '60s suburbia. First, his wife announces that she's leaving him for a touchy-feely close-talker; his unemployed brother spends entire 24-hour periods in his bathroom; and one of his foreign students is threatening to sue him. Really, the only thrill Gopnik ever gets in life is when his neighbor Mrs. Samsky sunbathes nude.

Poor Gopnik is a wound-up guy, and you feel for him and with him. (It's true; I had to decompress after this movie.) His world is spiraling out of control, so he seeks out three rabbis for a solution. Does Gopnik get the enlightenment he seeks? Not exactly, and neither do we as the audience.

There's not a single bad thing I can say about any of the actors. Each one was believable and charmingly offbeat in their role. The Coens are brilliant with character nuances - even some of the small two-minute parts managed to get laughs - but the larger picture just seemed murky from the get-go. The first five minutes of the film starts with a man in a village who accidentally invites a ghost home for dinner. It's all in Yiddish with subtitles, and it's almost like watching a stand-alone play, but I'm still not sure what it had to do with the rest of the plot, other than the Jewish religion and setting a dismal tone. So right away I felt semiconfused, but entertained nonetheless - which is pretty much how the duration of it went for me.

The film does have some great scenes - I loved the interaction between Gopnik and his foreign student, and his wife's new boyfriend Si is particularly funny - but trying to piece it together is a bit like banging your head against the wall (just like in the movie's trailer). I get that Gopnik's life sucks, but other than that, it's hard to tell exactly what we're supposed to glean from the story. I think that was sort of the point the Coens were trying to make - Gopnik doesn't get the answers he seeks, and neither do we.

Go see it if you're a hardcore Coenaholic, and enjoy the funny scenes without trying to analyze it too much. But if you prefer to dissect your movies, I'd say rent this one at home, because you may need to watch it twice.

What movies are you seeing this weekend? Review them in our Movie Review Group!

Photos courtesy of Focus Features

Announcing the 2009 Emmy Winners!

BuzzSugar — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:32:15 -0700

Well, the Emmys are over, and we have our full list of winners. Were you guys surprised by this year's picks? (Check out all my Emmy polls here.) I thought the show started out pretty unexpectedly when underdogs Kristin Chenoweth and Toni Collete took home trophies, and there were a few other surprises along the way. Towards the end, though, the big wins seemed pretty predictable with Mad Men for drama, 30 Rock for comedy - no surprises there.

I had a lot of favorite moments of the night - more on those later - but mainly, I just enjoyed seeing Neil Patrick Harris as host. I loved everything from his opening to Dr. Horrible, and most of you thought his opening number was pretty great, too.

For the full list of 2009 Emmy winners, just read more.
COMEDY SERIES
30 Rock

DRAMA SERIES
Mad Men

MINISERIES
Little Dorrit

ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad

ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Toni Collette, United States of Tara

ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Glenn Close, Damages

MADE FOR TELEVISION MOVIE
Grey Gardens

REALITY HOST
Jeff Probst, Survivor

REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM
The Amazing Race

ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Brendan Gleeson, Into The Storm

ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Jessica Lange, Grey Gardens

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Michael Emerson, Lost

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Ken Howard, Grey Gardens

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Cherry Jones, 24

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Shohreh Aghdashloo, House Of Saddam

WRITING FOR A COMEDY
30 Rock ("Reunion," Matt Hubbard)

WRITING FOR A DRAMA
Mad Men ("Meditations in an Emergency," Kater Gordon, Matthew Weiner)

WRITING FOR A VARIETY, MUSICAL OR COMEDY SERIES
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart (Steve Bodow, Jon Stewart, David Javerbaum, Josh Lieb, Rory Albanese, Kevin Bleyer, Jason Ross, Tim Carvell, John Oliver, Sam Means, Rob Kutner, J.R. Havlan, Rich Blomquist, Wyatt Cenac, Elliott Kalan, Rachel Axler)

WRITING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Little Dorrit (Andrew Davies)

DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
The Office ("Stress Relief," Jeff Blitz)

DIRECTING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Little Dorrit (Dearbhla Walsh)

DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES
American Idol ("The Final Three," Bruce Gowers)

ORIGINAL MUSIC AND LYRICS
81st Annual Academy Awards" ("Hugh Jackman Opening Number")

VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
ER ("And in The End," Rod Holcomb)

LIST OF WINNERS IN THE CREATIVE ARTS CATEGORIES

GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live

GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Michael J. Fox, Rescue Me ("Sheila")

GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live: Presidential Bash 2008

GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Ellen Burstyn, Law & Order: SVU ("Swing")

GOVERNORS AWARD
Sheila Nevins, HBO Documentary Films

ANIMATED PROGRAM (FOR PROGRAMMING ONE-HOUR OR MORE)
Destination Imagination (Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends)

ANIMATED PROGRAM (FOR PROGRAMMING LESS THAN ONE HOUR)
South Park ("Margaritaville")

ART DIRECTION FOR MULTI-CAMERA SERIES
How I Met Your Mother ("Shelter Island, Not A Father's Day")

ART DIRECTION FOR A SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES
Pushing Daisies ("Dim Sum Lose Some")

ART DIRECTION FOR A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Grey Gardens and Little Dorrit

ART DIRECTION FOR VARIETY, MUSIC, OR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
American Idol ("Episode 821-822") and 2008 MTV Video Music Awards

CASTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
30 Rock

CASTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
True Blood

CASTING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR SPECIAL
Little Dorrit

CHOREOGRAPHY
81st Annual Academy Awards ("Musicals Are Back") and So You Think You Can Dance ("Adam and Eve/Silence")

CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A HALF-HOUR SERIES
Californication ("In Utero")

CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A ONE-HOUR SERIES
The Tudors ("Episode 303")

CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Little Dorrit: Part 1

CINEMATOGRAPY FOR NONFICTION
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations ("Laos")

CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR REALITY PROGRAMMING
Out of the Wild: The Alaska Experiment ("What Did I Sign Up For?")

COMMERCIAL
"Heist," Coca-Cola

COSTUMES FOR A SERIES
Pushing Daisies ("Bzzzzzzzzz!")

COSTUMES FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR SPECIAL
Little Dorrit: Part 3

COSTUMES FOR A VARIETY/MUSIC PROGRAM OR A SPECIAL
So You Think You Can Dance ("Episode 415-416A")

DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SPECIAL
"Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony" (Bucky Gunts)

DIRECTING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (Marina Zenovich)

MAIN TITLE DESIGN
United States of Tara

MAKEUP FOR A SERIES, MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR A SPECIAL (PROSTHETIC)
Grey Gardens

MAKEUP FOR A SINGLE CAMERA SERIES (NON-PROSTHETIC)
Pushing Daisies ("Dim Sum Lose Some")

MAKEUP FOR A MULTI-CAMERA SERIES OR SPECIAL (NON-PROSTHETIC)
MADtv ("Episode 1405")

MAKEUP FOR A MINISERIES OR MOVIE (NON-PROSTHETIC)
The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler (Hallmark Hall of Fame Presentation)

MUSIC DIRECTION
"Streisand: The Concert"

MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A SERIES (ORIGINAL DRAMATIC SCORE)
Legend of the Seeker ("Prophecy")

MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR A SPECIAL
Into the Storm

ORIGINAL MAIN TITLE THEME MUSIC
Great Performances

PICTURE EDITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES (SINGLE-CAMERA)
Breaking Bad ("ABQ")

PICTURE EDITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)
30 Rock ("Apollo, Apollo")

PICTURE EDITING FOR A MINISERIES OR MOVIE (SINGLE-CAMERA)
Taking Chance

PICTURE EDITING (SHORT FORM)
81st Annual Academy Awards and "Stand Up to Cancer"

PICTURE EDITING FOR A SPECIAL (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)
"Chris Rock: Kill the Messenger"

PICTURE EDITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
This American Life ("John Smith")

PICTURE EDITING FOR REALITY PROGRAMMING
Project Runway ("Finale Part 1")

HAIRSTYLING FOR A SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES
Mad Men ("The Gold Violin")

HAIRSTYLING FOR A MULTI-CAMERA SERIES OR SPECIAL
Dancing With the Stars ("Episode 709")

HAIRSTYLING FOR A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
Grey Gardens

CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT IN INTERACTIVE MEDIA - NONFICTION
"The Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Digital Experience," nbc.com

CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT IN INTERACTIVE MEDIA - FICTION
"The Dharma Initiative," DharmaWantsYou.com.

LIGHTING DIRECTION (ELECTRONIC, MULTI-CAMERA) FOR VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY PROGRAMMING
American Idol ("Finale")

VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SPECIAL
"The Kennedy Center Honors"

SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAMS
"Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony"

SPECIAL CLASS - SHORT-FORMAT LIVE-ACTING ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMS
"Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog," drhorrible.com.

SPECIAL CLASS - SHORT-FORMAT NONFICTION PROGRAMS
"Writer's Draft"

CHILDREN'S PROGRAM
Wizards of Waverly Place

CHILDREN'S NONFICTION PROGRAM
Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am? With Maria Shriver and Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: Coming Home: When Parents Return from War

NONFICTION SPECIAL
"102 Minutes That Changed America"

NONFICTION SERIES
American Masters

REALITY PROGRAM
Intervention

EXCEPTIONAL MERIT IN NONFICTION FILMMAKING
The Memory Loss Tapes

WRITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

SOUND EDITING FOR A SERIES
Battlestar Galactica ("Daybreak: Part 2")

SOUND EDITING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR SPECIAL
Generation Kill: The Cradle of Civilization

SOUND EDITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)
"102 Minutes That Changed America"

SOUND MIXING FOR A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES (ONE HOUR)
House ("House Divided")

SOUND MIXING FOR A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Generation Kill: The Cradle of Civilization"

SOUND MIXING FOR A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES (HALF-HOUR AND ANIMATION)
Entourage ("Pie") and Weeds ("Three Coolers")

SOUND MIXING FOR A VARIETY OR MUSIC SERIES OR A SPECIAL
81st Annual Academy Awards and The 51st Annual Grammy Awards

SOUND MIXING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)
"102 Minutes That Changed America"

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS FOR A SERIES
Heroes ("The Second Coming/The Butterfly Effect")

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR SPECIAL
Generation Kill: The Cradle of Civilization

STUNT COORDINATION
Chuck ("Chuck Versus the First Date")

TECHNICAL DIRECTION, CAMERAWORK, VIDEO CONTROL FOR A SERIES
American Idol ("Episode 834A")

TECHNICAL DIRECTION, CAMERAWORK, VIDEO CONTROL FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR SPECIAL
"Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony"

VOICE-OVER PERFORMANCE
The Simpsons ("Father Knows Worst")

WRITING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SPECIAL
"Chris Rock - Kill The Messenger"

What Do You Think About the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series?

BuzzSugar — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:47:36 -0700

Glenn Close is taking home the Emmy for the second year in a row for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama for Damages! She beat out Sally Field, Mariska Hargitay, Holly Hunter, Kyra Sedgwick, and Elisabeth Moss.

I was pulling for Elisabeth Moss, but I'm not surprised about this one. What do you think about this win?

Vote on all my Emmy Awards polls here!

Movie Preview: Portman, Gyllenhaal and Maguire in Brothers

BuzzSugar — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:30:21 -0700

Based on Susanne Bier's 2004 film and directed by Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father), Brothers tells the story of a young man (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) who "comforts his older brother's wife and children after he goes missing in Afghanistan." The older brother is played by Tobey Maguire and the wife is played by Natalie Portman, and from the looks of the trailer, the wife ends up getting very close with her brother-in-law, which causes some tension when her husband returns home from war.

For whatever reason, I have a hard time buying Portman as a mother of two but otherwise the movie looks intense and heart-wrenching. Brothers opens Dec. 4 and you can check out the trailer for it if you read more.