The first on-air promo with Oscar hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway has arrived, and it shows the two of them “preparing for every possible Oscar emergency.” The highlight, obviously, is when he tackles her as she begins to have a wardrobe malfunction. Watch it below. Does it get you excited for their hosting gig? It did me. I’m curious what their playful energy will yield. And I’m suddenly hoping they continue the traditional bit of placing the host(s) in the Best Picture nominees. (Which would be easy for 127 Hours.) How would The Social Network have looked if Franco had starred in it? How would Black Swan have been different had it been Hathaway instead of Natalie Portman? I’m genuinely curious. I’d love to see them give us an actual taste of it before hitting us with the comedic twist. What’s your dream bit for these two now? If you need inspiration, here’s your full list of Oscar nominees. READ FULL STORY »
Tag: James Franco (51-60 of 75)
James Franco: Oscar nominee, poetry student, 'Daily Show' guest
James Franco was on The Daily Show last night to promote double-breasted sweaters, gush about romantic poetry, and talk about yesterday’s Oscar nomination — which he found out about on his way to class at Yale. Study hard, James, and watch out for those minifridges: READ FULL STORY »
James Franco and Anne Hathaway's first Oscar promo photo keeping mystery alive
Image Credit: Bob D'Amico/ABCLet them entertain you! To your left, see Anne Hathaway and first-time Academy Award nominee James Franco posing for an official Oscar photo promoting their hosting duties on Feb. 27. And besides Hathaway looking like she stole Hilary Swank’s 2005 Oscar dress — and James Franco looking like he’s posing for a senior photo in high school — we learn… nothing from this picture. Nothing! Come on, guys — can’t you give us at least a hint of what you’ll bring to the ceremony next month? Too much to ask for you to, say, dress as Rob Lowe and Snow White to tease your future song-and-dance number? Sigh. Instead, I’ll just have to use my imagination to make the photo more interesting. I choose to believe that’s actually Neil Patrick Harris hiding in the statue, ready to burst out for another show-stopping (or show-starting?) opening number. Or that it’s a really, really big piece of chocolate. Either way: Yum.
Have any guesses as to what James Franco and Anne Hathaway will do on their big night? And could we possibly have any more Oscar content on our site today?
Read more:
2011 Oscar nominees
James Franco gets Meredith Vieira to promise to polish his statue
Christian Bale has an Oscar nod, so now who’s the greatest working actor still emptyhanded?
Oscar react: David Fincher, Mark Wahlberg, and other nominees weigh in
Oscar nominations: The 5 biggest surprises
Oscar snubs: Christopher Nolan? Ryan Gosling? Barbara Hershey?
Amy Adams reacts to her third Oscar nomination
Trent Reznor reacts to Best Score nomination for ‘The Social Network’
Jeremy Renner reacts to Oscar nomination for ‘The Town’
Jennifer Lawrence reacts to Oscar nod for ‘Winter’s Bone’
Mark Ruffalo reacts to his Oscar nod for ‘The Kids are All Right’
Oscar react: David Fincher, Mark Wahlberg and other nominees weigh in
Excess Hollywood: James Franco picks up 'Iceman' job
James Franco, Michael Shannon, and Benicio Del Toro have all joined The Iceman. The film — which is based on Anthony Bruno’s The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer and Jim Thebaut’s documentary, The Iceman Tapes: Conversations with a Killer — centers on a contract killer (Shannon) who would freeze his victims. Del Toro will play the killer’s boss, while Franco plays his mentor, named Mr. Softee. I think we have a soundtrack!- High sci-fi(ve)! Sony has acquired Neill Blomkamp’s futuristic Elysium, which stars Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, and District 9 star Sharlto Copley. [Deadline]
- Rosie O’Donnell is set to host one-hour special with OWN following the May premiere of Becoming Chaz, a documentary centered on Chaz Bono.
- Toast Mia Wasikowska’s busy 2011! The actress is circling both the Prohibition-centric The Wettest County in the World — starring Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy — and Stoker, which follows a teen whose uncle suddenly and mysteriously appears following her father’s death. [Variety]
- Distributor-less, nevermore: Relativity Media has announced that it has acquired rights to The Raven, the thriller centered on Edgar Allen Poe starring John Cusack.
- HBO and Bryan Singer have optioned Bye, Bye Life: The Loves and Deaths of Bob Fosse, a biography of the legendary choreographer. This will be the second Fosse biography brought to life — Fosse chronicled his own story in 1979′s All That Jazz. Encore? [THR]
- Dawn Olivieri (Heroes) will star alongside Don Cheadle in Showtime’s House of Lies, about a less-than-honest management consultant. [Deadline]
- GK Films has picked up The Man’s Guide to Love, a comedy pitch inspired by themansguidetolove.com, which features love advice via man-on-the-street interviews. ‘Cuz if anyone knows anything about love, it’s the guy in the skeleton costume. In January. [Deadline]
This Week's Cover: The Oscar Race is On!
Natalie Portman took her fans by surprise this week with a big announcement: She’s pregnant and engaged to marry her Black Swan choreographer, Benjamin Millepied. But that’s hardly the only excitement she’s got coming in the new year. The 29-year-old actress — who graces the cover of this week’s Oscar Race issue — is poised to score a Best Actress nomination for her career-high turn as a tormented ballerina in Black Swan, a role she says nearly destroyed her. “There were some nights that I thought I literally was going to die,” she says. “It was the first time I understood how you could get so wrapped up in a role that it could sort of take you down.” Instead, the performance has lifted Portman into the ranks of Oscar shoe-ins this year (alongside 127 Hours star and Oscar co-host James Franco, who also gets his own EW cover this week) and turned Black Swan into an unlikely box office star — with a little help from a steamy love scene between Portman and co-star Mila Kunis. “Everyone was so worried about who was going to want to see this movie,” Portman says. “I remember them being like, ‘How do you get guys to a ballet movie? How do you get girls to a thriller?’ And the answer is a lesbian scene. Everyone wants to see that.”
For more on Portman and Franco, plus Oscar picks from EW’s Dave Karger, check out this week’s issue, on stands Friday, December 31st.
James Franco on 'Kimmel': '127 Hours' actor talks Oscar hosting gig -- and the one job he didn't get (hint: Team Edward v. Team Jacob v. Team Franco?)
James Franco — soon-to-be Dr. Franco (“for the signatures,” of course, according to the actor) — appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night to chat school, 127 Hours, and his upcoming surprise stint hosting the Oscars. So how did his latest resumé builder come about? “I never thought I would do it,” said Franco, who is pals with ceremony producer Bruce Cohen, who produced Milk. “About two weeks ago he called up and said, ‘I got it. I got it. I know what I want you to do … I want you to host.’ That was a shock. And at first my immediate reaction was like, well, no. I mean, I can’t! But then I thought, well, of course I have to do it. It’s kind of a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”
According to Franco, the timing was everything as well. Not only does the ceremony not conflict with the actor’s finals at Yale, but the 32-year-old Franco thinks his youth will only serve as a benefit. “I think it’s better to do when I’m young,” he said. “It’s not like it’s publicity or a push for my career, or like, get people to remember me after I’ve like faded away or something like that … It’s really for the experience.” (Hey, if there’s anything we know about TV actor/film actor/soap opera actor/student/teacher Franco, it’s that he likes new experiences.) Aside from discussing his possible nomination — he thinks hosting while nominated will “be taking the pressure off” — Franco also admitted that he has yet to even meet co-host Anne Hathaway. But never fear, the two have texted: “We’re text message buddies. We have good text chemistry.” Watch the four-part interview after the jump.
Bonus fun fact: Franco told Kimmel that he had asked former Oscar producer Bill Condon if he could appear in the The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, which Condon is directing. Condon’s answer? “He turned me down.” Well, that bites. READ FULL STORY »
Will James Franco and Anne Hathaway make you more likely to watch the Oscars?
Image Credit: Bob Charlotte/PR Photos (2)Well, that was unexpected: The Academy made a surprisingly bold gamble with its announcement today that James Franco and Anne Hathaway will be co-hosting this year’s Oscars — particularly for a group not often known for being especially surprising, bold, or gamble-y about much of anything. In the latest effort in its perennial campaign to goose up ratings for the Oscar telecast, the Academy is clearly banking on Franco and Hathaway (should we start calling them Francaway for short?) to draw in the kind of younger viewers who have largely spurned the Oscars in recent years. Not to be ageist about this, but last year’s hosts, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, are 64 and 51, respectively, while Franco is 32 and Hathaway is 28 — a good deal younger than even Jon Stewart or Chris Rock were when they hosted the Oscars in recent years.
Some are already grumbling that the Academy’s pick smacks a bit of generational pandering and sets the stage for a show that’s more like the MTV Video Music Awards than the Oscars as we’ve traditionally known them. Then again, virtually everyone complains endlessly about the Oscars as we’ve traditionally known them, so let’s wait and see. (It’s not like we’re talking about Steve-O and Snooki here.) In addition to their acclaimed acting careers, both Hathaway and Franco have charisma to spare and a knack for comedy (and Hathaway showed off her musical skills as well when she gamely pitched in with a song-and-dance number when Hugh Jackman hosted in 2008), so it’ll be interesting, to say the least, to see what they bring to the party. READ FULL STORY »
Sarah Palin, Justin Bieber, 'Jersey Shore' cast on this year's Most Fascinating People list
Image Credit: Donna Svennevik/ABCBarbara Walters has revealed eight of the 10 people on her Most Fascinating list, and as usual, it’s a puzzling mix. The list includes:
Justin Bieber: I really hope he sings a version of “Baby” in which he replaces the word “baby” with “Barbara.” Barbara, Barbara, Barbara, oooooh! That would indeed fascinate me.
Sandra Bullock: Agree! The whole first half of 2010 was Sandra Bullock time. Also, everyone loves her.
LeBron James: Was that ESPN special “fascinating” to you?
Jennifer Lopez: Hm.
Kate Middleton: Agree. A new, real-life princess. How fascinating.
Sarah Palin: This is her third year in a row on the list. For someone who despises the “mainstream media,” she sure gets a lot of coverage.
Betty White: It might seem like ages ago that Betty White hosted Saturday Night Live, but that was technically this year!
The cast of The Jersey Shore: Oy.
Usually ABC reveals nine people before the show airs, leaving just the numero uno most fascinating person a mystery, but I guess this year they want to build extra intrigue into the Dec. 9 airing.
So who does that leave us with? READ FULL STORY »
'Your Highness': James Franco gets stoned, Natalie Portman gets raunchy in red band trailer
Two of this year’s award season darlings look like being the James Franco-starring 127 Hours and the Natalie Portman-starring Black Swan. As it happens, Franco and Portman will be seen together next spring in Your Highness, a movie that I don’t think it’s rude to suggest has little hope of currying a whole lot of favor with Oscar voters. Instead, judging by the new red band trailer you can find after the jump, the movie is firmly aimed at people who believe that watching the foul-mouthed offspring of Pineapple Express and Monty Python and the Holy Grail would be a splendid way of spending a couple of hours. Certainly, it features more things unsuitable for young eyes and ears than I could shake a pair of coconut halves at.
Take a look and tell us what you think.
'127 Hours': Were you able to watch the amputation scene?
A strange phenomenon occurred at the theater when I went to watch 127 Hours yesterday — and I’m not talking about the baffling fact that some steel-stomached moviegoers walked into the film with snacks in-hand, apparently unfazed by reports of audience members fainting at screenings from the gore.
The oddity in question came just as this movie’s protagonist was about to cut off his own arm with the aid of a dull pocket knife. (That’s not really a spoiler, right?) As James Franco (playing trapped adventure junkie Aron Ralston) stuck his finger inside a puncture wound in his arm to begin the horrifying amputation process, I saw a wave of heads in the crowd disappear from my line of sight and settle into the shoulder of the person next to them. My non-scientific estimate — based on my observations from my seat at the back of the theater — would be that roughly one-third of the audience had little interest in seeing the rest of that scene.
The reaction would have come as less of a shock to me had the movie’s graphic scene come without warning, but we knew it was coming and that it was an important part of the story. (Personally, it was also the main reason my morbid curiosity and I bought a ticket.)
Perhaps my fellow audience members’ realistic estimates about their ability to handle the gruesomeness helped prevent any major incident during the screening. (Yes, no one fainted.) While that level of self-awareness should be applauded, I still think they kind of missed out.
What do you think, PopWatchers? Did you go watch 127 Hours this weekend? If so, were you able to watch the amputation scene? And did anyone faint at your screening?
Related:
EW Review: ’127 Hours’
On Twitter @EWSandraG
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