Spike Lee has called out Clint Eastwood over two of his World War II-era films because they do not include any African-Americans cast as soldiersLee specifically cited Flags of our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima He made the comments in Cannes while promoting his own WWII film Miracle at St Anna which tells the story of an all-black US division based in Tuscany ItalyMany veterans African-Americans who survived that war are upset at Clint Eastwood Lee said In his vision of Iwo Jima Negro soldiers did not exist Simple as that I have a different versionWhen Eastwood also in Cannes promoting his upcoming movie Changeling was asked to respond to Lees comments a moderator instructed reporters to limit questions to Eastwoods movie JR Whalen
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Question I just caught up with Showtimes Dexter and since I know from the podcast that youve been watching it too maybe you can answer my question In the last episode theres some kind of weird-looking Christmas thing on TV all you see is Santa and a couple of stiff white reindeer flying through the air Was that a real movie or TV special or was it made especially for the series PeachyFlickChick Its for real and its a loopy little Mexican number called Santa Claus 1959 in which Santa must battle a second-tier demon named Mr Pitch for the hearts and minds of the worlds children The film first made its way onto the childrens matinee circuit yes there was a time when theaters would book kiddie movies for the weekend and parents would drop off their little darlings to see them courtesy of Florida-based impresario K Gordon Murray I highly recommend the site The Wonder World of K Gordon Murray for in-depth info about his nutty re
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Nominations for the 79th Annual Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday morning by Salma Hayek — presumably because of the abundance of Latino names that she so deliciously enunciated — and Dreamgirls bested the rest with eight total nods, yet was conspicuously left out of the best-picture race. Babel followed with seven noms. Here's a look at the major contests:Best PictureBabel, The Departed, Letters from Iwo Jima, Little Miss Sunshine, The QueenLead ActressPenélope Cruz (Volver), Judi Dench (Notes on a Scandal), Helen Mirren (The Queen), Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada), Kate Winslet (Little Children)Lead ActorLeonardo DiCaprio (Blood Diamond), Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson), Peter O'Toole (Venus), Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness), Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland)Supporting ActressAdriana Barraza (Babel), Cate Blanchett (Notes on a Scandal), Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine), Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls), Rinko Kikuchi (Babel)Supporting ActorA...
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Stop me if you have heard this prattle before: The Chicago Film Critics Association on Thursday lauded Martin Scorsese's The Departed with honors for best picture, best director and best adapted screenplay, continuing the crime drama's veritable sweep of the pre-Oscar kudosfests. Likewise, Helen Mirren and Forest Whitaker copped the top acting trophies, while Rinko Kikuchi (Babel) and Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children) took supporting honors. Letters from Iwo Jima and An Inconvenient Truth won in the best foreign-language film and doc categories, while Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Ricky Bobby) was named most promising performer.
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The Los Angeles Film Critics Association has picked Clint Eastwood's second WWII-themed release, Letters from Iwo Jima (in theaters Dec. 20), as the best movie of the year, while The Queen took five honors, including best actress for Helen Mirren and best director for Stephen Frears. Also on Sunday, the American Film Institute unveiled its 10 Best list. On it were, natch, Letters, Dreamgirls, United 93 and Borat. (What? No Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny?) Their best-actor prize was shared by Sacha Baron Cohen and Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland).
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