BuzzSugar

Etsy Find: Cool Vinyl Laptop Decals

GeekSugar — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:05:19 -0700

If the Twilight laptop skin isn't your thing, then maybe this selection of cool and geeky ones will be. I first found this awesome Snow White laptop decal (which reminded me of yet another Twilight-themed decal), which incorporates your Apple logo into the piece. But then I kept browsing the shop and got hooked on all of the totally geeky decals, which can be used on your laptop, your Kindle, your walls, or wherever you want to stick 'em.

Good news is that these decals were made to be attached and then pulled off later, so you won't have any sticky residue after you've outgrown your artsy vinyl. Plus, with prices starting at $13 each, you can't really go wrong. Check out a few more of my faves below!

To see more pics of my favorites, just read more.

View 10 Photos ›

Buzz at WonderCon: Talking With the Creators of Pixar's Up

BuzzSugar — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:30:07 -0800

I enjoy learning pretty much anything related to the wizardry that goes on at Pixar which is why I jumped at the chance to chat with director Pete Docter and producer Jonas Rivera at WonderCon all about Pixar's forthcoming film, Up.

We spoke directly after the two men previewed clips from the movie to a large and enthusiastic crowd and later that evening I watched a special screening of the first 45 minutes of the film. I don't want to give anything away because I know how much I enjoyed my first peek, but I'll say there is much more to this movie than the trailer implies.

The footage I viewed contains everything we've come to expect from Pixar: outstanding animation, charming characters, and big laughs. And like Wall-E, the movie touches on some adult concepts. In fact, the entire audience (including myself!) was crying within the first 15 minutes.

We talked about this sophisticated nature of Pixar's storytelling compared to other animated films and lots more during our roundtable with the guys. To check out the interview, read more.

Warning: The following interview may be a bit spoilery so if you don't want to know a thing about this movie before watching it then look away friend, look away!

On animating humans vs. robots (or cars, or fish, etc.):
Docter: It's a good question because especially on this film we made a concerted effort from the onset to make it more caricatured and stylized and so you'll see [the movie's main character] Carl moving in a much more stylized way than say Mom in Toy Story. We just felt like this is a world where you have a house floating into the sky - it's gotta have a sense of caricature and simplicity to it that supports that reality.

On making nearly all Pixar characters so freaking adorable:
Rivera: It's just really about draw and draw and draw and draw and get those designs where we think they're just really super appealing. In our medium . . . humans are really, really hard to make look real and if they look too real they start looking dead and creepy and weird and so we found that mooshing the shapes and caricaturing them - Carl's only three heads high and so forth - and really playing with proportions to make them appealing almost made them look more real.

On whether or not they feel an inordinate amount of pressure after the success of Wall-E:
Rivera: I do!
Docter: Where I feel the most pressure is the other guys that I work with. Before we show it to you guys or the rest of the world I have to make [Wall-E director] Andrew Stanton and [writer/director Ratatouille] Brad Bird laugh or cry or whatever. You know, that's a tough order. But that's I think a part of the success of the films.
Rivera: I mean, this is the tenth film we've done and, you know, everyone's really liked the films so far that we've done so you do definitely hope they like it as much because you're so close to it. I mean honestly we've been in there for four years and have been looking at this every day and somehow you go home and you're like, "Man, dogs talk and . . . I don't know. Is this good? I don't know?"
Docter: Yeah, is this just weird or is it funny. . . .?

On telling surprisingly sophisticated stories through animation:
Docter: I think that for me when I sit down in a movie theater and the lights go down, I want to see something that speaks to me that I can recognize about myself and about the world. So we don't really think of these as, "Oh, we're making little kid movies" or " oh, we're making animated movies." We're just making movies and they happen to use this amazing technology that Pixar's developed and we get to work with these incredible artists, but first and foremost we're just telling stories that speak to us.

On what goes into research at Pixar:
Docter: Actually this film has a lot born out of Peter Pan in terms of the styling. One of the great things about working at Pixar - a bunch of us go down to South America and do some research and as we were walking around we were like, "Hey that looks like Peter Pan!" We actually got to hike up one of these tabletop mountains.
Rivera: That's how big of dorks we are. We're in the jungle saying "That looks like Peter Pan!"

Images courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

Which Oscar-Winning Movie Do You Want to See Next?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:30:18 -0800

Not even Oscar host Hugh Jackman got to see all the nominated films before Sunday's big night. He even found a pretty hilarious way to work the fact that he hadn't seen The Reader into his opening bit.

Mr. Jackman is not alone, as I'm sure most of us still need to see some of the movies that took home awards on Sunday. I managed to get to most of them, but there are a couple I still need to see - and others I can't wait to see again! So tell me: what Academy-approved flick do you want to see next?

Source

All The Winners From The 2009 Oscars!

PopSugarUK — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 21:36:36 -0800

The 2009 Oscars took place in LA last night with our fellow Brits taking home a huge number of awards! Slumdog Millionaire was the big winner with eight gold statues including Best Picture and Best Director for Danny Boyle, while Kate Winslet won Best Actress for her role in The Reader - here's what she had to say in the press room following her win! Sean Penn won Best Actor for his role in Milk, beating out Mickey Rourke to the gong, while Penelope Cruz and Heath Ledger won the Best Supporting trophies, with Heath's award being picked up by his family. Pop, Buzz and Molly attended the ceremony, so don't forget to check out all the gossip from them, and stay tuned to PopSugar UK for more news!

Wall-E, Man On Wire, The Duchess and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button all won statues at the ceremony last night, so for a full list of winners, and photos from the press room of the presenters and winners, just read more.

Best picture: Slumdog Millionaire

Best director: Danny Boyle Slumdog Millionaire

Best actress: Kate Winslet The Reader

Best actor: Sean Penn Milk

Best supporting actress: Penelope Cruz Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best supporting actor: Heath Ledger The Dark Knight

Best original screenplay: Milk

Best adapted screenplay: Slumdog Millionaire

Best animated feature film: Wall-E

Best animated short film: La Maison en Petits Cubes

Art direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Costume design: The Duchess

Make-up: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire

Best live action short film: Spielzeugland (Toyland)

Best documentary feature: Man on Wire

Best documentary short subject: Smile Pinki

Visual effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Sound editing: The Dark Knight

Sound mixing: Slumdog Millionaire

Film editing: Slumdog Millionaire

Best original score: Slumdog Millionaire

Best original song: "Jai Ho" - Slumdog Millionaire

Best foreign language film: Departures (Japan)

View 30 Photos ›

Images include: Sarah Jessica Parker, Penelope Cruz, Jennifer Aniston, Jack Black, the Ledger family, Christopher Walken, Cuba Gooding Jr, Alan Arkin, Kevin Kline, Joel Grey, Seth Rogen, Anjelica Huston, Tilda Swinton, Goldie Hawn, Eva Marie Saint, Whoopi Goldberg, Kate Winslet, Sean Penn, Marion Cotillard, Sir Ben Kingsley, Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Adrien Brody, Anthony Hopkins, Daniel Craig, Danny Boyle, Tina Fey, Daniel Craig, A.R. Rahman, Dustin Lance Black.

Source

What Are Your Favorite Scenes From This Year's Oscar-Nominated Movies?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:30:48 -0800

I keep thinking about this great scene in The Wrestler between Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei's characters in a bar. I won't give it away for those who haven't seen the movie yet but it involves some funny dialogue between the two about the decade they agree was the best. It's a small, intimate moment rendered so perfectly that you completely forget you're watching two actors - it feels more like overhearing a conversation at your local dive bar.

Sometimes a movie contains a scene so well-done it has the power to stick around in our minds for years and years. Like one of the most romantic scenes in Wall-E: Eve and Wall-E's dance among the stars. So. Freaking. Cute. Not to mention beautiful. And Happy Go-Lucky contains an intense scene between the main character and her driving instructor that's so unsettling it will take me a long time to shake it off.

Sometimes I think there should be an Academy Award category for Best Scene! What do you think? Which scenes from this year's Oscar-nominated films stick out to you the most?

The Wrestler photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight, Wall-E image courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures, and Happy Go-Lucky photo courtesy of Miramax

Oscar Worthy Gadgets: Wall-E's Junkyard Vintage Geek Finds

GeekSugar — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 07:30:38 -0800

It's only fitting that I'm reviewing Wall-E's Oscar worthy gadgets during the week before Valentine's Day, since enduring love is one of the film's main themes. And naturally, Wall-E was one of my top rated movies of last year, since a few of his costars are some of my favorite things: gadgets and robots. Nominated for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Screenplay at this year's Oscars, Wall-E takes animation to new heights, and keeps the geeks happy at the same time.

From Bic lighters to light bulbs and VHS tapes, Wall-E finds tons of items on the toxic wasteland called Earth that are unknown to him, but are totally low-tech to us now. The song and dance routine he learns from his VHS and tube TV give him endless hours of fun, while his collection of calculators and kitchen whisks keep him entertained after his long, trash collecting days alone. Although Wall-E eventually ends up on a futuristic space ship (hello sci-fi!), and finds himself among gobs of new robots and humans that are living lives driven by computers, all he wants to do is find Eve and make a home with her back on Earth. Aww, my heart.

Source

Oscars 2009: The Nominations!

PopSugarUK — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 06:14:19 -0800

The nominations for the 81st Academy Awards have just been announced in Hollywood, with The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button heading up the nominees with thirteen nominations!

Slumdog Millionaire matched Doubt with ten nominations each, Kate Winslet has been nominated for Best Actress, and on the anniversary of Heath Ledger's death, he's been awarded a posthumous nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

So without further ado, check out all the nominees!

Best Picture -
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

To see the rest of the nominations, just read more

Best Actor -
Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

Best Actress -
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kate Winslet - The Reader

Best Director -
Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry - The Reader
David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant - Milk

Best Supporting Actress -
Amy Adams - Doubt
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Taraji P Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler

Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey Jr - Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road

Best Foreign Language Film -
Revanch - Austria
The Class - France
The Baader Meinhof Complex - Germany
Departures - Japan
Waltz With Bashir - Israel

Best Animated Feature Film -
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E

Best Adapted Screenplay -
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Screenplay -
Happy-Go-Lucky
Milk
Wall-E
In Bruges
Frozen River

Source

Kate Winslet and Slumdog Win Multiple Golden Globes!

PopSugarUK — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Golden Globe Awards took place last night, and brought some fantastic success for our British nominees! Kate Winslet won two awards, for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for movies Revolutionary Road and The Reader. Meanwhile the fabulous Slumdog Millionaire continued its success from the Critics' Choice Awards by winning four Golden Globes including Best Picture (Drama), Sally Hawkins won Best Actress for Happy-Go-Lucky, and Tom Wilkinson picked up a Supporting Actor award for his role in TV series John Adams.

Other winners last night included 30 Rock, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Mad Men and The Wrestler, Heath Ledger won a posthumous Supporting Actor award for The Dark Knight, Colin Farrell won for In Bruges, and Steven Spielberg picked up the Lifetime Achievement award.

To see a full list of winners, Kate's emotional acceptance speech, plus more photos of Brits and other winners and presenters at last night's Golden Globe Awards, just read more.

MOVIES

BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST DRAMATIC ACTOR
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

BEST DRAMATIC ACTRESS
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

BEST ACTOR, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Colin Farrell, In Bruges

BEST ACTRESS, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kate Winslet, The Reader

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Wall-E

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE PICTURE
Waltz With Bashir

BEST SCREENPLAY
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST SONG
"The Wrestler" (performed by Bruce Springsteen, written by Bruce Springsteen), The Wrestler

TELEVISION

BEST TV SERIES, DRAMA
Mad Men

TV SERIES, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
30 Rock

BEST ACTRESS, TV DRAMA
Anna Paquin, True Blood

BEST ACTOR, TV DRAMA
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment

BEST ACTOR, TV MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

BEST ACTRESS, TV MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Tina Fey, 30 Rock

BEST MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
John Adams

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Laura Linney, John Adams

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Paul Giamatti, John Adams

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Laura Dern, Recount

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Tom Wilkinson, John Adams

CECIL B. DEMILLE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Steven Spielberg

View 35 Photos ›

Images include: Kate Winslet, Laura Dern, Bruce Springsteen, Ricky Gervais, Tom Wilkinson, Anna Paquin, Laura Linney, Paul Giamatti, Sally Hawkins, Zachary Quinto, Chris Pine, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Colin Farrell, cast of 30 Rock, Sam Mendes, Mickey Rourke, Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Kate Beckinsale, P Diddy, Hugh Laurie, cast of Mad Men.

Source

Sugar Bits - Slumdog Millionaire Wins Big at Critics' Choice

PopSugarUK — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:00:00 -0800

Slumdog Millionaire was the big winner at the Critics' Choice Awards in LA last night, receiving five awards. Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep tied in the Best Actress category, and Sean Penn won Best Actor for Milk. The Dark Knight, The Reader, and Wall-E were among the other films that won awards. - BuzzSugar
A private memorial service has been held in Florida for John Travolta's son Jett. The service at the Travoltas' house near Ocala took place six days after Jett died in the Bahamas. - BBC
Cristiano Ronaldo walked away uninjured after writing off his Ferrari sports car in a crash after it hit a roadside barrier under a tunnel near Manchester Airport yesterday. No one is believed to have been injured. - Independent
Amy Winehouse escaped an assault probe after throwing a glass of water over a fellow tourist at her Caribbean resort. She apologised to the woman and her partner, and her spokesman said: "Amy misunderstood a conversation and wrongly believed a slight was made. The matter has been resolved". - The Sun
Jordan/Katie Price has hit out at Lucy Pinder while editing the 3am column, saying: "Beneath that skirt is a bloke with b******s. She’s tough. A real bitch... And I’ll tell you something else – it’s b******s she’s all natural. She used to have a right beak on her, I reckon she’s had her nose done. And I’d say her lips and teeth are fake too." - Mirror
Electro-pop singer Little Boots has come top of the BBC's Sound of 2009 list, which aims to highlight the best new music talent for the new year and is based on tips from 134 leading UK tastemakers. Last year, Adele came top, followed by Duffy, The Ting Tings and Glasvegas. This year, dark London rock trio White Lies came second, with spirited singer-songwriter Florence and the Machine in third and Australian fantasy pop duo Empire of the Sun at four. - BBC

Source

Buzz Gift Guide: The White Elephants of the Entertainment World

BuzzSugar — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 07:30:48 -0800

Welcome back to my Buzz Gift Guide series for all the entertainment lovers in your life. Yesterday was all about the box sets, and today I'm covering the wonderfully schmaltzy world of white elephant gifts. Just so we're all on the same page, the estimable UrbanDictionary defines this category of gifts as "presents never actually useful in real life."

Take this Edward Cullen doll inspired by Twilight. It's totally awesome (or, you know, "awesome") and I want it for my desk, which is probably the best you can hope for in a white elephant gift. And while we're on weird dolls, this Rodney Dangerfield doll will surely produce that satisfying look of bewilderment on the recipient's face at your next white elephant exchange. It cracks me up that the product description proudly boasts that it does 11 whole minutes of stand-up.

Also in the world of weird entertainment-related gifts is the Ugly Betty poncho.

Gifts that fall into more a quirky and cute category here include this adorable little Wall-E plush doll that makes sounds, and this design-your-own-speakers kit.

Edward Cullen Doll (Pricing info TBD)	DIY Eco Speakers ($18.00)
Ugly Betty Poncho ($39.95)	8'' Mini WALL-E Plush with Sound ($12.95)	Rodney Dangerfield animated doll ($59.99)

Check out HolidaySugar for all of our holiday coverage and gift guides.