In this morning’s roundup of Oscar news ‘n’ notes from around the web, it’s an Oscar-eve roundup of memorabilia, movie stars, lawsuits, rude jokes and bomb squad photos
The Foreign Policy website puts up a remarkable photo essay showing the work of actual bomb techs in Iraq: “The Real Hurt Locker,” they call it. Many of the dramatic, eye-opening photos look like scenes out of the movie; others point out the liberties the filmmakers took. Kayvan Farzaneh’s text lays out, clearly and succinctly and calmly, the difference between the fictional world of the film and the real world in which these bomb techs operate. (Foreign Policy)
When he’s not blogging at Gold Derby, Tom O’Neil collects awards and awards memorabilia – and once a year, at Oscar time, he shows off some of his collection by curating an exhibition at the Hollywood Museum, just across the intersection from the Hollywood & Highland center. Along with the Oscars, Golden Globes and even a Razzie on display, O’Neil has Katherine Hepburn’s Oscar nomination plaque for “Suddenly, Last Summer,” while studios have donated original costumes from many of this year’s nominated films, including “The Hurt Locker,” “The Blind Side” and “Inglourious Basterds.” Oh, and if you’re tired of how the Oscars just concentrate on, you know, good movies, there’s stuff from “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and “Twilight: New Moon,” too. Details at Gold Derby.
They’re all connected. USA Today puts together a nifty graphic in which you can trace the connections between all the nominated actors. Some, like George Clooney and Matt Damon, have direct ties to more than a dozen of their fellow nominees; others, not so much. Mo’Nique, for instance, has co-starred with two other nominees, Gabourey Sidibe and Helen Mirren, and has something in common with Stanley Tucci because they’re both the parents of twins. And did you know that Sidibe and Clooney share a birthday? (USA Today) (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Andrew Gumbel says the Oscars have a problem: not enough movie stars. He’s not talking about the Oscar show, he’s talking about the Best Picture nominees, only three of which (“Up in the Air,” “Inglourious Basterds” and “The Blind Side”) have big-time, movie-star leads. Of course, “Avatar” hardly needs movie stars to attract viewers, and the whole point of the casting in “The Hurt Locker” was not to put movie stars in the lead roles. He also talks about the “Oscar bump,” the increase in ticket sales caused by nominations, and says it’s largely missing in action as well. (The Guardian)
“The 10 Most Interesting Oscar Lawsuits Ever,” says Eriq Gardner. Four of the 10 involve people suing the Academy; six are the other way around. Number one is Disney’s lawsuit after Oscar producer Allan Carr used the character of Snow White in his opening number without permission. Others include the Academy suing a chocolatier, the “Hackademy Awards,” the heirs of Mary Pickford, an Oscar-winner impostor, and Sasha Stone, who currently runs the Awards Daily website, for originally calling her site “Oscarwatch.”
