Academy Awards® red carpet amid Hollywood streets closed down
To ensure public safety, support security strategies and facilitate the production of the 84th Academy Awards®, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the City of Los Angeles have finalized street closure plans around the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood.
To accommodate the construction of press risers, fan bleachers and pre-show stages along the Academy Awards red carpet, Hollywood Boulevard will be closed between Highland Avenue and Orange Drive beginning at 10 p.m. on Sunday, February 19, and remain closed until 6 a.m. on Tuesday, February 28.
MTA subway trains will bypass the Hollywood & Highland station after the last regularly scheduled train on Saturday, February 25, until 6 a.m. Monday, February 27. Service at the station will resume with the first scheduled train after 6 a.m.
Between Sunday, February 19, and Oscar Sunday, February 26, additional streets and sidewalks will be closed for varying periods.
Details of the closures and maps of affected areas are available from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, the Sixth and the Thirteenth District City Council field offices, at www.navigatehollywood.com, and on the Academy‘s website at www.oscars.org/closures. .
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.
In the new issue of Rolling Stone, Paul McCartney opens up about his history, family and non-stop career.
The 69-year-old has no plans to stop touring or recording. “You get the argument ‘Make way for the young kids,'” he tells Rolling Stone. “And you think, ‘F*** that, let them make way for themselves. If they’re better than me, they’ll beat me.’ Foo Fighters don’t have a problem, they’re good. They’ll do their thing.”
McCartney says he can see himself rocking well into his eighties. “I can imagine it,” he says. “As to whether my imagination will come true, I don’t know. The last couple of years, I’ve gotten into guitar – so there’s all sorts of little things that crop up that entice you forward, and you go, ‘Hmm, I’d like that.'”
Bradley Cooper stands in front of a giant Oscar® courtesy of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences®
Bradley Cooper will present at the 84th Academy Awards®ceremony, telecast producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer announced today.
Cooper will be seen next in “The Words” and, later this year, in “The Place Beyond the Pines” and “The Silver Linings Playbook.” His film credits include “The Hangover Part II,” “Limitless,” “Valentine’s Day,” “He’s Just Not That Into You,” “Yes Man,” “Failure to Launch” and “Wedding Crashers.”
Cooper joins a stellar list of previously announced Oscar® presenters, including Halle Berry, Rose Byrne, Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Tom Hanks, Angelina Jolie, Milla Jovovich, Ellie Kemper, Jennifer Lopez, Melissa McCarthy, Wendy McLendon-Covey, Maya Rudolph, Emma Stone and Kristen Wiig.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.
BODY OF PROOF - "Cold Blooded" - When the owner of a family owned and operated Italian restaurant turns up dead in the freezer, Dr. Hunt and the team take a closer look into family matters, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/RICHARD FOREMAN) DANA DELANY
Dana Delany‘s Body of Proof character, Megan Hunt has changed considerably since the show’s debut – and the actress is confident she’ll become more complex as the series continues.
“I think in the beginning Megan was almost emotionally autistic,” Delany acknowledges. “There are people like that, but now it’s become more of this family in the [Medical Examiner] office. Everybody has their role, everybody knows what part of the family they are and I think it’s evolving that way and I think we’re having a little more fun.”
It’s a welcome change from last season when Megan was essentially cat-fighting with her boss Kate Murphy (Jeri Ryan) over Megan‘s ex-husband. Delany admits the storyline wasn’t her favorite and seemed forced for the two tough female leads.
“I thought that was a little cheap,” she confesses. “Not that it doesn’t happen in life, but the minute you show two strong women fighting over a man I think, ‘Oh come on! Can’t we find something more to fight over than that?’ I think they realized that’s not really what our core audience wanted. Now, it’s just two smart women having differing points of view and butting heads that way. I enjoy a relationship like that.”
And now that Megan‘s mother Joan Hunt (Joanna Cassidy) is unemployed, it appears we’ll be seeing her hanging around the laboratory more often.
“Behind my back she sets me up with online dating,” Delany adds smiling.
It appears Joan‘s plans pan out because Megan will get a little lovin’ this season.
“Jamie Bamber (Scott Decker on the show) is delightful and very nice to look at,” she gushes. “And a good actor, too. I have to say that. I can’t be too sexist here. It’s always nice to see that side of Megan because she’s so tough in other areas and so in control and she’s so bad in her personal life. She’s just so awkward in her personal life and uncomfortable in that area. So far there has only been a kiss, so we’ll see.”
Delany insisted her scenes with Bamber ring true, too. Originally the writer had the love scene rough and tumble, but the actress suggested a much more romantic and gentle version between the two characters.
“Whenever I read a scene like this I know a man has written the scene because that’s not what women like. That’s not sexy, at least to me and I’m like most women,” the actress advises. “We like somebody who holds back and makes us come to them a little bit. So the whole thing was sort of switched around that he held back and I was so uncomfortable that I pushed him against the wall and he was like, ‘Slow down. Relax.’ ”
It’s a smart direction for Body of Proof (Tuesdays, 10:00 p.m., ABC), but certainly expected from an intelligently written series.
Joely Fisher stars in a Hallmark romantic comedy tonight about a career women in the middle of her life never having experienced romance.
With Valentine’s Day approaching, Eve Lovett (Fisher), is worried she will never find true love. But when a mysterious stranger named Vernon Gart (Jamie Kennedy) shows up on the set claiming to work for Cupid, Inc., Eve has no idea her love life is about to get an arrow right through the pump .
The real Joely Fisher is (romantically speaking) is quite different from her Eve character. Entertainment Heartbeat talked to Fisher about the stretch she made to play the Eve role.
“It’s fun to create a character like that because I’ve never been a girl like that, I was a serial monogamist even before I was married; I always had a boyfriend and I’m not really one of those date-ery kind of gals, thank god. I don’t know what I’d do in the world today if I were single because it’s crazy out there,” Fisher says. “…I tried to play this character as if it wasn’t as important (like), ‘oh my god, I’ve got to get married before I’m forty or I’ll die.’ It was, ‘I have what I need; I am successful…I have good friends’ or what-have-you, and that’s how I tried to play it, because I don’t believe that you are whole without a partner, I think you can be a whole person alone, it’s awful nice when you have a valentine.”
With Jamie Kennedy playing opposite Fisher, we were curious how two naturally hilarious people work together on the set. “I am taking credit for his show business career I have you know,” Fisher tells us. “He was hired to do a small part on Ellen years ago, and I looked at Ellen and she looked at me and we were like, ‘this guy is funny,’ and it’s the first thing he’d ever done and he got hired as a regular…and I always remind him that he has a career because of me, but he hasn’t sent me a dime though.”
The Hallmark makeup department had to work hard to make Fisher look frumpy for the role, with more than just thick glasses and matronly hair. By the end of the film we see the Eve character beyond the summer of her life looking more like the sleek, vivacious Fisher herself. Knowing that Fisher is also a trained dancer, we asked what her daily regimen might be but she surprises us saying that she never uses her home gym since her habit of seldom sitting down while running everywhere works just fine.
Fisher is also an accomplished Broadway musical star, but we haven’t seen her on the big stage in a while but we were encouraged to hear that she may be ready for 42nd Street soon enough. “I did Grease five years before and then I did Cabaret,and then I said it’s going to be five years, every five years I’ll do a Broadway show, so now it’s been ten and I’m ready, there’s not a big play on right now and I’m really pissed that I didn’t get the part in Smash (she laughs in a delightful way without having to say that she’s kidding)…you’ll see me back on the stage again for sure, for sure…and happy valentine’s day!”
Cupid premieres (tonight) Friday February 11 (8p.m. ET/PT, 7C) on the Hallmark Channel.
Dr. Drew surprises a whole studio audience of unemployed viewers with a job on "Dr. Drew's Lifechangers" airing this Monday, Feb. 13th - photo Cr: Carin Baer/Dr. Drew's Lifechangers
Every single unemployed studio audience member’s life will be changed when surprises them with the gift that will forever alter the course of their lives…a good job!
With the unemployment rate looming near 9% last year, Dr. Drew and the show wanted to pursue what the show was created to do – Change Lives! So began a three-month long mission to try and help our unemployed viewers by creating a giant initiative we called “Putting America Back to Work.”
We partnered with LinkedIn to find a dozen companies looking for qualified candidates, and did a shout out to viewers looking for work.
Ten thousand resumes later, we created an intimate Job Fair that allowed company reps to do face-to–face interviews with hundreds of hand-picked job seekers.
From a struggling Marine Corp veteran who almost lost his family in the horrific earthquake in Chile, on the brink of sending his family back to South America because he could no longer support them, to a young stroke survivor with Autism who had sent out more than 150 resume without a single call back, to a homeless woman who had been living in her car with her two children, our audience was filled with unemployed viewers who thought they were coming back for a second interview, and to watch a taping of Dr. Drew’s Lifechangers that was “supposed to” put a face on the unemployed in America.
They’ll get the surprise of a lifetime as Dr. Drew announces to his unknowing audience filled with applicants – “You’re all hired!”
More than $2 million in annual salaries will be paid this year to these Dr. Drew’s Lifechangers viewers who are now gainfully employed!
The producers promise this to be the most life-changing episode yet on Dr. Drew’s Lifechangers on Monday, Feb. 13 at 3:00pm ET/PT on The CW.
This audience is filled with people that have gone through our interview process because of the job fair,” Dr. Drew said. “…many get to this point and never get that job. I’m getting anxious just thinking about you guys but I know something you don’t know, you’re hired, you’re hired, you’ve all been hired!”
While staying at the Marriott in Indianapolis before the Super Bowl, Madonna had a hydraulic yoga mat — with a platform that went up to the ceiling — installed in her suite, according to a local source.
To stay toned, limber and calm for the show, the singer also had a yoga teacher with her for the week — with the heat pumped up in the room for her yoga sessions reports US weekly.
But even Madonna indulged in some good ol’ American comfort food as she got ready for the biggest sporting event of the year — ordering 50 pizza pies from Papa John’s daily for her crew.
Madonna‘s pizza of choice? A veggie pie with no cheese.
Giving back can be this year’s cause celeb for some superstars, but for Brad Pitt, it’s a fervent lifetime commitment.
The Oscar-nominated actor took time out at the Academy’s Nominees’ Luncheon Monday to explain why he’s so passionate about helping others in need.
“There is no question that we’ve hit the lottery in some way,” he begins. “In the world you see so many struggles – even in our own country. So many people are hurting right now and [it’s] based on longitude and latitude, when they were born, what opportunities they’ve had. I’ve always wrestled with that. I feel very fortunate that I’m in a position where I can pass on that good fortune with a helping hand. I think it’s one of the nicest things about where I get to stand today.”
His movie Moneyball is a tale of triumph over adversity and Pitt believes that’s why audiences have responded to its message. That is certainly what got his juices flowing when he read the script.
“It was a story of value and getting second chances,” he explains. “People have been devalued by their occupation and surroundings and they have worth. That’s what these guys did at that time. They had talent that had been dismissed and disregarded…disregarded because of an evaluation system that was erroneous, but we’ve been doing it this way for 150 years. So, it makes me question what is success, what is failure. Maybe we don’t need to be summing each other up and ourselves up for whatever the last success or failure was.”
In case you missed the pic, it is still in a number of theaters – making the rounds so you can catch it before the upcoming Academy Awards (February 26th, on ABC).
Beverly Hills was the place to be Monday as this year’s nominees for the Academy Awards piled into the Beverly Hilton Hotel for the Academy’s Nominees’ Luncheon.
The bash is designed to create a winners’ atmosphere for all the people recognized for their achievements in film in the past year.
And judging by the comments from the different actors, all were having a great time mixing it up with their fellow nominees.
George Clooney has two nods this year: Adapted Screenplay for The Ides of March and Lead Actor for The Descendants.
“It’s always nice when people are kind to you and like the products you’re making and that’s a fun time because that doesn’t happen all the time as you know,” Clooney says. “It’s also fun because I get to spend time with people. I think a lot of people at home think we all just hangout together. I think they think we’re always at the Hilton drinking champagne and the truth is I hadn’t seen Brad [Pitt] in about a year when I saw him at the [Golden] Globes. So, it’s fun to catch up and it’s fun to see people I like and I haven’t seen in a long time – and get to meet people.”
Clooney’s buddy Brad Pitt, who has his acting nod for Moneyball, agrees that events surrounding the Academy Awards are a perfect time to celebrate the industry in style while reconnecting with friends.
“It is a nice time for us that we get to get together and pay our respects,” Pitt says adding, “It’s really nice.”
Clooney and Pitt met, and spent time, talking with fellow acting nominee Gary Oldman, who Clooney “enjoyed spending time with.”
The idea of competition between them appears to be mostly hype. Oldman, who has given remarkable performances in the past as both heroes and villains since the early ‘80s, was digesting his first Academy Award nomination for Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy.
“I’m deeply honored to be part of it,” Oldman begins. “I’ve decided to completely embrace it and I’m having the time of my life. It’s a fairytale. With just a shift of perception I think you can either be incredibly overwhelmed by it or embrace it and run with it. So, I’m thrilled and having a ball. I’m hanging out with George Clooney and Brad Pitt.”
Oldman is also considering what the nod means for his career at this stage of the game. One thing is for certain, whatever roles he chooses aren’t always based on a big paycheck.
“The Oscar’s better than the money,” he says smiling. “The villains are the one’s you do for money. They’re expensive…well they will be now.”
Fellow Brit, Kenneth Branagh has been nominated four times before this year’s supporting nod for playing acting legend Sir Laurence Olivier in My Week with Marilyn. But, he was never able to attend the luncheon before Monday.
“I’ve always, always been working,” Branagh explains. “The main thing about today is being in the company of people next door. And already the sort of camaraderie is as I imagined it might be at this point, which is just to feel the delight at being at this stage of things and not being quite so pressurized today and to celebrate what a lovely thing it is to be recognized like this.”
Melissa McCarthy is a newbie to the Oscars. Though she’s known for her starring role as Molly on the TV series Mike & Molly, McCarthy turned in one of the year’s funniest film performances as the uber-masculine Megan in the wild comedy Bridesmaids.
The actress has gotten a heap of praise and a supporting nom for her work in the movie, but she’s still trying to adjust to the idea of being recognized by the Academy.
“It’s been a pretty amazing, surreal world and I kind of keep pinching myself,” McCarthy acknowledges. “I’m really hoping that I don’t get the call where someone goes, ‘Kidding. Just kidding.’ ”
Viola Davis, who got her leading actress nod for portraying Aibeleen Clark in The Help, is actually happy she got the recognition in her 40s as opposed to her 20s.
“When I was 20 years old I was on Broadway and I just thought I could handle that success and I lost my hair,” she confesses. “I lost my hair because I was stress out because I think I read a bad review. I could not handle stress at all at that age. Now at 46, I just let so much of that go. At the end of the day you really have to define joy and happiness for yourself and I’m so glad that all of the scrutiny and exposure is happening now that I’m halfway done with my life ‘cause I’m wiser…and I got my hair.”
Glenn Close has been validated by her acting nomination – playing a woman disguised as the man Albert Nobbs in the pic Albert Nobbs. Close not only starred in the flick, but produced and wrote the screenplay as well. Her costar Janet McTeer also got a supporting nod for playing Hubert Page, another man in the pic, which made the recognition from the Academy all the sweeter.
You see it was 14 long years ago that she first optioned the original material and it took all that time to get the story from the page to the stage. But Close never gave up on her dream to get the movie made.
“I’m a Yankee,” she says with a laugh. “I don’t mean a general Yankee, I’m a real Yankee. I’ve got Stonewalls in my veins. It’s crazy. You have to have a very, very subjective belief in what you think is good. I love telling stories that I think will have an emotional connection with people and as an actress I like to be challenged by something that I’ve never tried before. So, this had all those elements. I wasn’t willing to throw in the towel and I’m glad I didn’t.”
The Academy Awards ceremony airs live from the Kodak Theatre on ABC, February 26th.
Check out the sound from the Academy’s Nominees’ Luncheon. The talent listed in order are: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Gary Oldman, Kenneth Branagh, Melissa McCarthy, Viola Davis and Glenn Close.
SMASH -- "Callbacks" Episode 102 -- Pictured: Katharine McPhee as Karen Cartwright -- Photo by: Will Hart/NBC
The musical-drama Smash kicks off with an all-star cast as it follows the lives of Broadway hopefuls and the powerbrokers who can make or destroy dreams all in search of a smash hit.
The cast includes Oscar winner Anjelica Huston as a tough producer and Emmy winner Debra Messing as a gifted musical playwright.
The promising newbies include American Idol season five runner-up Katharine McPhee, who knows a thing or two about auditioning in front of a tough group of judges. And it was the Idol experience that helped her steel her nerves.
“There is nothing wrong in knowing where you came from and where you got the stepping stone,” McPhee acknowledges. “For some it’s been a massive launching pad and for me it’s been a slow build. I’m very appreciative of it.”
The audition for the role of Karen Cartwright on Smash was relatively easy for McPhee, but then she had to wait for Executive ProducerSteven Spielberg to give his seal of approval to her joining the cast.
“I went in on a Friday to put myself on tape,” she begins. “I was OK and cool with giving them time to watch my tape,” McPhee deadpans.
Truth is, the actress/singer met the Oscar-winning filmmaker right after Idol…at his request.
“He wanted to meet me so I think there was a direct connection between the show and the meeting, knowing that he has had this idea for the show for five to six years now,” McPhee says convinced. “I know this has been in the pipeline.”
McPhee is also quick to point out that Smash doesn’t simply focus in on the drama unfolding for the actors, but rather the entire production adventure…good and bad. And her hopes are high that audiences will get hooked on Smash quickly.
“It’s really about making a Broadway show,” she insists. “Obviously the star is always the one that gets the attention because you don’t see what goes on behind the scenes, but that’s what’s interesting about our show. I think that people are intrigued about what happens behind the scenes…what the writers go through, what the director goes through, and what the actors go through. Hopefully people will just watch the show.”
