The Oscars

Jon Stewart:
There's nothing quite like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences running away from its most recent previous Oscar show host, as fast as it possibly can. It happened with Chris Rock, and now it's happened again in the wake of The Daily Show host's stint on The Yearly Show. By rushing out the news of Ellen De Generes' selection as the next MC, a full four months on the calendar before Stewart was announced as savior in 2005, AMPAS is treating him like an Emmy loser rather than the winner that he is. There was no mention of Stewart in the press release that went out to the media late Thursday, just backhanded jabs such as this quote from producer Laura Ziskin: "the show requires someone who can keep the show alive and fresh and moving, as well as someone who is a flat-out great entertainer." Oh well, if early Internet petitioners have their way, Stewart will be in the running in the fall of 2008 for a much bigger MC-ing gig, one that will probably require the adoption of a middle initial.

Ellen DeGeneres is getting called up to the big leagues.

The popular daytime talk show host will host the 79th Annual Academy Awards, it was announced today. DeGeneres has previously hosted the Grammys twice and the Emmys twice.

The two-time Daytime Emmy winner for Outstanding Talk Show Host will follow in the footsteps of Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, Billy Crystal, Steve Martin and Whoopi Goldberg -- the last five Oscar hosts.

(Mar. 6, 12:30PM ET) -- Alex Deighton has never been invited to the Oscars, but now he's been officially UN-invited. TMZ has obtained a letter threatening Deighton with arrest and prosecution if he dares enter where they say he shouldn't.

TMZ first introduced you to Alex Deighton a few months back. You see, Alex is a party crasher... a gate crasher... an uninvited guest. He has made his way into dozens of A-list events -- like the Academy Awards -- without an invite and under the radar. Now it seems TMZ's story caught the Academy's eye as well.

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
(Mar. 6) -- ABC is in for a "Crash" landing in the Oscar ratings.

An estimated 38.8 million people watched the Academy Awards Sunday, down 8 percent from last year and the worst since 2003, according to Nielsen Media Research. Except for the 2003 count of 33 million viewers when "Chicago" took the best-picture award the Oscars hadn't dipped below 40 million viewers since 1987, Nielsen said.

The ceremony, where "Crash" won a surprise best picture trophy, drew a 27.1 rating and a 40 share. Each rating point is equivalent to 1.1 million homes, while the share indicates that 40 percent of the TVs in use last night were tuned to the awards.

Last year's metered markets had a 30.1 rating and 43 share, Nielsen said.

The ceremony's central lesson: Play a real person enmeshed in wrenching drama, win an Academy Award.

It worked last year for Jamie Foxx in "Ray" and this time around for Reese Witherspoon's portrayal of June Carter Cash in "Walk the Line" and Philip Seymour Hoffman as the glory-hungry writer in "Capote."

Sunday's Oscars were anything but predictable, however, as the explosive race drama "Crash" denied "Brokeback Mountain" the best-picture Oscar despite the gay Western love story's front-runner status and its best-director award for Ang Lee.

With six different films dividing up the top six Oscars, the ceremony hosted by first-timer Jon Stewart denied anyone unmitigated bragging rights.

Witherspoon, who joined co-star Joaquin Phoenix as country legend Johnny Cash in singing in the film, gave credit for her performance to her mother and grandmother.

"They taught me a lot and a lot of characteristics that a woman should have in life, and how tough women are and how strong we are," she said backstage. "And I feel like it really helped my performance with June, because I sort of came in with an innate knowledge of who she was as a woman."

Hoffman's performance captured Capote's charm and the author's self-serving style as he gathered material for his groundbreaking book, "In Cold Blood."

Asked what the late author would have thought of his portrayal, Hoffman said backstage: "He's a pretty elusive guy, so I don't know. I don't know. It depends on if he liked me or not and I don't know if he would."

"Crash," featuring an ensemble cast in intersecting story lines over a violent, disturbing 36-hour period in Los Angeles, was lifted by a late surge of praise that carried it over "Brokeback Mountain," which had won most other key Hollywood honors.

"We are humbled by the other nominees in this category. You have made this year one of the most breathtaking and stunning maverick years in American cinema," said "Crash" producer Cathy Schulman.

The film was also honored for original screenplay by the film's director, Paul Haggis, and Bobby Moresco, and film editing. "Brokeback Mountain" captured best adapted screenplay for Larry McMurtry ("Lonesome Dove") and Diana Ossana, and musical score for Gustavo Santaolalla.

"I'm so proud of the movie," Lee said backstage, where he was asked if he was disappointed that "Brokeback Mountain" lost best picture and what might have kept it from winning. "Why they didn't go for it I don't know. You're asking a question that I don't know the answer. ... Congratulations to the 'Crash' filmmakers."

Front-runners usually prevail, but there have been some notable dark-horse winners at past Oscars. Underdogs that came away with best picture include "An American in Paris," "The Greatest Show on Earth" and "Oliver!"

Supporting-performer Oscars on Sunday went to George Clooney in "Syriana" and Rachel Weisz in "The Constant Gardener."

Clooney's win capped an exceptional year in which he made Oscar history by becoming the first person nominated for acting in one movie and directing another. (The Edward R. Murrow tale "Good Night, and Good Luck" earned him directing and writing nominations.)

"Crash," an Oscar rarity that was shot outside the studio system on a meager $6.5 million budget, became a solid box-office hit, grossing $55 million domestically.

The cast of "Crash" includes supporting-actor nominee Matt Dillon, Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Howard, Thandie Newton, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Jennifer Esposito and Ryan Phillippe.

Although Comedy Central's Stewart proved a relatively tame host, the ceremony was given a jolt of life by the raucous hip-hop tune "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from "Hustle & Flow." The song, with expletive-laden lyrics edited for the ceremony, won the prize for best song. The song was written by the rap group Three 6 Mafia, consisting of Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman and Paul Beauregard.

"You know what? I think it just got a little easier out here for a pimp," Stewart joked after the performance.

The stop-motion family tale "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" won the Oscar for best animated feature film. The Antarctic nature tale "March of the Penguins," a surprise smash at the box office, was honored as best documentary.

"King Kong," from "Lord of the Rings" creator Peter Jackson, won three Oscars, for visual effects, sound mixing and sound editing. The Japan drama "Memoirs of a Geisha" also earned three, for cinematography, costume design and art direction, while the fantasy epic "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" was picked for best makeup.

By DAVID GERMAIN, AP MOVIE WRITER

(Mar. 4) -- No matter who wins Sunday, Hollywood can both brag about an unusually daring crop of Academy Awards films and hang its head in embarrassment that hardly any came from the studios that dominate the movie business.

The Oscars are as establishment as it gets in the entertainment world. So it's a triumph of art over commerce that low-budget, fierce dramas such as the cowboy romance "Brokeback Mountain," the ensemble tale "Crash," the Truman Capote story "Capote" and the Edward R. Murrow saga "Good Night, and Good Luck" are the awards darlings this time over the escapist blockbusters that often rule.

"It doesn't have anything to do with the budget of the film. It has to do with the scope and scale of ambition, and the skill that people brought to it to realize that ambition," said James Schamus, a producer of best-picture front-runner "Brokeback Mountain."

"None of these films is small in what they're trying to accomplish," he said.

Those films -- along with their fellow best-picture nominee, the assassination thriller "Munich" -- had rung up $230 million in domestic grosses as of a week before the Oscars. Last year's best-picture nominees tallied $315 million and together drew the smallest audiences among key Oscar contenders in 20 years.

What the Oscars signal this time is dissatisfaction with the big movies into which the studios pour most of their money. In the eyes of the 5,800 industry professionals who vote on the Oscars, dark character stories were more deserving than the usual studio crowd-pleasers.

Oscar attention always draws more people to see nominated films, and that has been especially helpful for this year's best-picture contenders, most of which have not had the benefit of huge marketing budgets.

"Munich" was the only best-picture nominee to emerge from a big studio. The others were independently produced or came out of studio-aligned arthouse banners such as Focus Features and Sony Pictures Classics.

The beauty of the academy "is it points to things that aren't necessarily something that audiences would generally go to," said George Clooney, a triple nominee as supporting actor in the oil-industry thriller "Syriana" and for directing and co-writing "Good Night, and Good Luck."

Artistic triumph though they may be, the Oscars themselves may suffer for it, at least in TV ratings. Generally, the fewer people who have seen the key nominees, the fewer who tune in to watch the Oscars.

With last year's modest box-office lineup at the Oscars, 42.1 million people caught the show, down 1.4 million from the previous year, when "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" was the big Oscar draw. The biggest Oscars audience was 55.2 million the year king of blockbusters "Titanic" ruled the ceremony.

As of last weekend, 36.4 million people had seen this year's five best-picture nominees in theaters, compared to 173.8 million the year of "Titanic." "Crash" already is out on home video, adding millions more viewers to this year's best-picture field, but still leaves the ceremony at risk of becoming a ratings dud.

Tom O'Neil of the awards Web site, theenvelope.com says this year's Oscar show will probably be the lowest rated ever, but it shouldn't matter.

"If we judge the success of the Oscars by the number of people who watch them, then we're as guilty as Hollywood studios who judge the success of movies by how many people see them," he said.

Still, ABC and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are trying to maximize the show's appeal, loading up on A-list celebrities as Oscar presenters, including Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Lopez, Nicole Kidman and Tom Hanks.

The marquee players provide name recognition for an Oscar show whose acting nominees are heavy on less-familiar performers such as David Strathairn of "Good Night, and Good Luck" and Amy Adams of "Junebug."

Academy president Sid Ganis said first-time host Jon Stewart should help lure viewers, as well as the cultural phenomenon over the gay love affair in "Brokeback Mountain."

The Oscar drama itself also may entice movie fans to tune in. There are acknowledged favorites in most key categories, including "Brokeback Mountain" director Ang Lee, "Capote" star Philip Seymour Hoffman as best actor and Reese Witherspoon as country singer June Carter in "Walk the Line" as best actress.

But none of the front-runners look like slam-dunks, and dark horse winners could walk away with any of the top Oscars.

Some awards watchers feel "Crash" could pull an upset over "Brokeback Mountain" for best picture. The best-actor lineup is particularly strong, with any of the other four nominees a potential spoiler for Hoffman. For best actress, Witherspoon faces serious competition from Felicity Huffman as a transsexual preparing for a sex change in "Transamerica."

Win or lose, a number of top nominees will be on stage as presenters, including Clooney. It will be the first trip to the Oscars for Clooney, who turned down invitations to present awards in the past because he only wanted to show up if he were nominated.

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

(Mar. 4) -- Oscar nominees Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal and Frances McDormand are among those expected to step out of green vehicles and onto the red carpet at the Academy Awards ceremony Sunday.

In all, 25 VIPs are participating in the fourth annual "Red Carpet, Green Cars" event sponsored by Toyota Motor Corp. and the environmental organization Global Green USA. McDormand, Phoenix, Gyllenhaal, Jennifer Aniston and George Clooney are all expected to arrive at the Oscars in Toyota or Lexus hybrids, including the Toyota Prius, Lexus RX crossover and a hybrid version of the Toyota Camry, which goes on sale in May.

Event spokeswoman Kathy Kniss said the program began with just four participants in 2002, but interest in fuel-efficient vehicles has grown exponentially since then.

"There's a huge, huge following. People are flocking to the hybrids," Kniss said.

Other automakers are also getting into the act. Ford Motor Co. said Cathy Schulman, the producer of best-picture nominee "Crash," plans to arrive in a hybrid Mercury Mariner, while best-supporting-actor nominee Gyllenhaal's entourage is scheduled to show up in a Ford Excursion powered by clean-burning biodiesel.

By TMZ STAFF

(Mar. 3, 6:20PM ET) -- When the stars gather for the Academy Awards, there's often one other thing on their minds besides how they look or what they're going to say on stage. Where can they find a private bathroom?

What millions of people don't see on camera is that many of the celebs at the Oscars dread going into the lobby to use the public restrooms. Instead, the stars take refuge in the office of longtime Oscar telecast director Louis J. Horvitz.

The Emmy Award-winning Horvitz returns this year for another Oscar show, which ABC will broadcast live March 5 from the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. In an exclusive interview with TMZ, Horvitz reveals what goes on behind the scenes and what some stars are really like off camera.

The secret room at the Oscars where the stars love to gather is Horvitz's on-location office, which also doubles as a unofficial dressing room during the show.

Horvitz explains, "It leads right to the stage in the main hallway. There's a little bathroom in here too. There are only a few private bathrooms backstage without having to go out in the lobby. Almost all the stars at the Oscars have come through this room at one time. The basic line is, 'Do you mind if I use your bathroom?' Everybody does it: men and women. It's a unisex room."

Horvitz adds with a laugh, "I should've stood out there and presented them with hand towels and gone for tips."

Jack Nicholson is one of the stars who likes to use the private room the most. Horvitz reveals, "On show nights, Jack Nicholson is always asking, 'Where's the director's room?' Jack hangs out to watch the show on the monitors before he goes on stage. He has his feet up on the desk and enjoys himself. It gives me a good feeling because he has a safe harbor there."

Horvitz says that Nicholson is one of the best stars to work with at the Oscars. "He's such a cool guy. He doesn't like to rob the spotlight from anybody." Horvitz also had high praise for many other celebs, such as Clint Eastwood, Denzel Washington, Steven Spielberg, Morgan Freeman, Sandra Bullock, Meryl Streep, Will Smith and Nicole Kidman.

Other stars, Horvitz says, are bit more challenging. He says that Barbra Streisand has exact demands on how she wants to be lit and photographed on stage.

As for Julia Roberts, Horvitz says: "Julia is Julia. It's going to be her way or no way at all. She's no-nonsense. I learned through the years that she never wants to do entrances on stairs. One year, somebody said Julia wanted to do a stair entrance. We had a great stair entrance planned for her. Ten minutes into the segment, she's backstage saying, 'I'm not entering on the stairs. Change the entrance.' The reality is that leopards don't change their spots."

Horvitz says that Queen Latifah, an Oscar presenter this year, also has her own difficult ways. "I've been many places with her. You can never pin her down, and it's a nice thing that she's coming to the Oscars this year. Frankly, I wouldn't go out of my way to count on her to do the things I need. Can you get her to show up? It's hard to get her to commit to do many things."

The Oscars have their share of celebrities being unpredictable. But Horvitz says there's one star who's the biggest loose cannon of them all: Robin Williams. "If Robin comes anywhere near where I'm shooting," Horvitz says, "I've got a basic zone to get ready to follow Robin. He's so spontaneous, it's unbelievable. You've got to really work hard to keep up with him."

Horvitz and Oscar show producer Gil Cates decide whether or not to cut off people's acceptance speeches if they run over the allotted speech time of 45 seconds. Horvitz admits that whether or not to cut off a speech is a subjective judgment call, and it depends mainly on how good the speech is. Horvitz names Oscar speeches given by Roberto Benigni and Cuba Gooding Jr. as two of his all-time favorite Oscar moments. Their speeches were allowed to go on longer than usual, Horvitz says, because they were so joyfully spontaneous. The biggest turnoff? Speeches that are long lists.

On a live show like the Oscars, almost anything can happen. But one thing the stars should remember, Horvitz says jokingly: "It's not nice to upset a live television director."

FamilyMediaGuide.com, which tracks incidents of profanity, sex, violence and tobacco use in films, reported Tuesday that "Crash" had 182 expletives, including 99 utterances of the F-word.

The movie, about racial tensions in Los Angeles, is nominated for six Oscars, including best picture, best director, best screenplay and best supporting actor.

"Brokeback Mountain" ranked second among best picture nominees with 92 curse words, followed by "Munich" with 22, according to FamilyMediaGuide.com.

The record for most profanities in a film to win the best picture Oscar is held by the Vietnam War drama "Platoon," with 329. The Vietnam War drama "The Deer Hunter" is second with 208.

Defamer.com broke the story that the Academy wants to keep people in their seats during the Oscars ceremony by ending the policy of plying nominees with free drinks.

It sounded bizarre so TMZ checked, and Defamer is right on the money. An Academy official told us that drinks will be gratis from 2:15 - 4:30 PM Pacific Time, but that during the ceremony the bar will be cash only. The idea is to discourage attendees who are bored, nursing their losses, or in bad need of alcohol from straying from their seats during the telecast.

Wolfgang Puck is catering the event on both the food and the booze fronts. A Puck rep tells TMZ that they haven't worked out the price list yet but that drinks would be going for "average prices."

Note to Academy: George Clooney pulls in about 20 mil a film -- we're guessing if he wants a drink, he won't be deterred by a $6 price tag.

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The two have dominated Hollywood's awards season over their fellow nominees, Judi Dench in "Mrs. Henderson Presents," Keira Knightley in "Pride & Prejudice" and Charlize Theron in "North Country."

At the Golden Globes, Witherspoon took best actress in a musical or comedy and Huffman won for dramatic actress.

Witherspoon's win over Huffman at the Screen Actors Guild Awards seems to give her the Oscar edge. And it doesn't hurt Witherspoon's chances that "Walk the Line" is a $100 million hit, while "Transamerica" is a modest arthouse success.

But the Oscars have a history of honoring the little-seen gender-bending flick over the big, splashy hit. Just ask Annette Bening and Hilary Swank.

Six years ago, Bening was the favorite as a caustic suburban wife in the wildly popular "American Beauty." Like Witherspoon, Bening had won the Golden Globe for best actress in a musical or comedy and the SAG prize. Like Huffman, Swank had earned the Golden Globe for dramatic actress as a woman impersonating a man in the small art-house hit "Boys Don't Cry."

On Oscar night, Swank won.

This year's nominations were the first for both Witherspoon, a Hollywood marquee name whose hits include "Legally Blonde" and "Sweet Home Alabama," and Huffman, a respected stage performer who was largely a bit player on screen until her TV success with "Desperate Housewives."

Like "Walk the Line" co-star Joaquin Phoenix -- nominated for best actor as the love of Carter's life, Johnny Cash -- Witherspoon did her own singing and learned to strum the autoharp, the instrument that Carter played.

Witherspoon is an absolute spitfire in "Walk the Line," beautifully capturing the gabby humor of Carter's stage persona and the serious demeanor of a woman holding her passion for Cash in check until he cleans up his act in his private life.

In show business since age 12, Witherspoon's connection to Carter, part of the legendary country-music clan, goes back even further.

"I was 9 years old when I first heard the Carter family. I actually played her mother in the fourth-grade play, so I had to practice over and over again, 'I Saw the Light,' and play the autoharp," Witherspoon said. "So I had a little practice with the autoharp."

As gender-bending performances go, Huffman's is up there with Swank's, Dustin Hoffman's in "Tootsie" or Julie Andrews' in "Victor/Victoria."

In the road-trip tale "Transamerica," Huffman is a marvel of tics, shy glances, awkward posture and heartbreaking melancholy that underlies the sunny surface disposition of a man on the verge of becoming the woman she always wanted to be.

It was the first film lead Huffman had ever been offered, and she has worked tirelessly to get "Transamerica," shot on a tiny $1 million budget, seen as widely as possible.

"What I've actually decided is, I'm building a sandwich board, so I'm going to be going around ringing the bell," Huffman said. "The reason I would like people to see this film, aside from the fact that I actually am proud of it, is because I think it uplifts and I think it unifies. And I don't mean to be on a soapbox, but it's lovely to have stories that break down the walls of, 'You're different from me."'

Two nominees already have Oscars, Theron as best actress for "Monster" and Dench as supporting actress for "Shakespeare in Love."

Theron is an iron-willed tiger in "North Country" as a single mom who fights back against sexual harassment by male co-workers at a Minnesota mining company.

Before her remarkable transformation in "Monster," Theron was known more as a gorgeous face than a serious actress, despite a solid performance in "The Cider House Rules" and twice co-starring in Woody Allen films.

With her second nomination in three years, Theron has established herself as a Hollywood heavyweight.

A five-time nominee, Dench is a perpetual heavyweight whether in Oscar-nominated roles for "Mrs. Brown," "Iris" and "Chocolat" or playing spymaster "M" in the James Bond movies.

In "Mrs. Henderson Presents," Dench is a delightful mix of dictatorial derision and fickle fancy, playing a society widow who launches a nude stage revue in prudish 1930s London.

Dench had a scene-stealing role opposite first-time nominee Knightley in "Pride & Prejudice," the Jane Austen adaptation that was a throwback to old-fashioned period romances without a trace of modern cynicism.

A dance-rehearsal room is now an office for 50 production workers, complete with desks, phones and computers and, natch, a table topped with coffee, chips and Krispy Kremes.

What was once a hallway is becoming a glamorous green room, designed to look like an old-fashioned movie theater lobby. Posters from this year's best-picture nominees line the wall, illuminated just so by overhead lights being adjusted by a man with a screwdriver perched precariously on a ladder.

It's the Oscars countdown.

Foxx, who received an Oscar last year for portraying Ray Charles in the movie "Ray," has begun performing tracks from his album "Unpredictable."

"It's good to be surrounded by black folks," Foxx said. "Black folks are music."

Foxx said after the show that music was "what I always wanted to do."

An FBI official, who did not want to be identified, tells TMZ the prospect of terrorist threats is "pretty huge." Another law enforcement source says there's greater concern than usual because of 'Paradise Now,' a controversial film about two would-be Palestinian suicide bombers who target Israel. The movie is up for Best Foreign Language Film.

An LAPD official tells TMZ that the law enforcement presence won't increase because of the film, adding that resources are "sufficient" to cover the event.

"I don't think we're going to win any," a deadpan Clooney told reporters Friday, where "Syriana" was screened at Berlin's annual film festival. "There's been a lot of 'Brokeback Mountain' stuff."

His nomination in the screenplay category for "Good Night, and Good Luck" puts him up against Stephen Gaghan, who wrote and also directed "Syriana."

In "Syriana," Clooney plays a veteran CIA agent assigned to assassinate the heir to the throne in an oil-rich Persian Gulf country.

"Oscar nominations are as important as anything," he said. "The hope is that people will see this film I don't know about wins."

Clooney grew a beard and piled on weight for the role.