Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle

Today, Warner Brothers released/leaked the first image of Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman from The Dark Knight Rises. I was none too impressed with the costume choice, until I read on one blog that perhaps this character is purely Selina Kyle, before she transforms into the feline femme fatale that we all know and love (forgetting about Halle Berry, and remembering purely Eartha Kitt and Michelle Pfeiffer). Hathaway has proven that she is an actress to be trusted in almost any role, so I hope, for every fanboy out there that she brings to the role what she has brought to countless others.

The release of this photo comes on the heels of other set photos being leaked, as the film continues to be shot in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

There was originally much speculation as to whether Hathaway would be playing just Selina Kyle, as well, but she put those rumors to rest after confirming to Oprah back in February that she would indeed be playing her feline alter ego as well.

Other new additions to the the Christopher Nolan-directed film also include Tom Hardy as Bane, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake and Marion Cottilard as Miranda Tate, in addition to returnees Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Liam Neeson.

I would trust Christopher Nolan with my life after seeing what he did with The Dark Knight, so understandably my expectations are quite high for the film. We shall wait and see, however, as The Dark Knight Rises will be released in theaters on July 20, 2012.

**Picture courtesy of Warner Brothers/TheDarkKnightRises.com

Zoe Saldana, the next big action star?

After Avatar, it was only a matter of time before Zoe Salanda got to headline her own movie. Little did we know she would be playing a stone-cold and, might I add, smoking hot, assassin out for revenge.

Ever since I saw her in Center Stage, I knew there was something special about her. Granted, that movie is a total C-level film, but a total cult-classic that anyone who has seen the movie can attest to.

Today, Sony Pictures released the first trailer (embedded below) for the Zoe's new film, Columbiana, and all things considered it looks absolutely ridiculous. The intensity and pacing for the film is exactly what you expect from this type of film, and I'm hoping it delivers. The film could go either way though--it will either be absolutely ridiculous in the most amazing way possible, or it will just be a total snoozefest. I'm clearly hoping for the former, and no doubt it could do wonders for Saldana's career. We've seen her do comedy (Guess Who, Death at a Funeral), Sci-Fi (Star Trek), and Drama (The Terminal), and it will be interesting to see what Saldana does with her newfound rise to the next level.

Hollywood surely won't be complaining if the film is a hit. There aren't too many female actresses these days that can carry an action film, besides Angelina Jolie and.....ummm....ughhhhhh.....yea. Shall we add Zoe Saldana to that list?

The film comes from the creators behind Taken, and is directed by Olivier Megaton, best known for helming Transporter 3 (and reportedly directing Taken 2, with Liam Neeson). The trailer has a very distinctive feel that elicits memory of past Luc Besson films, a la The Professional, as well as the first Taken.

Colombiana comes out on September 2, 2011 in the United States, the same weekend as another film that I am excited for, the much-delayed The Debt (more about that in a later post).

[Side note: Where on earth has Michael Vartan been? I feel like he hasn't done a film sinceNever Been Kissed. (OK fine- he made Monster-in-Law, but even that was 6 years ago.)]

"The Book of Mormon" leads Tony Award nominees

The Tony Award nominees were announced this morning via past winners Anika Noni Rose and Matthew Broderick. Not too many surprises, "The Book of Mormon" leads the pack with 14 nominations, followed by "The Scottsboro Boys," with 12 (which was quite the surprise, considering it closed months ago).

I was shocked, however, to find that Daniel Radcliffe was NOT nominated for Best Actor in a Musical for "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" (do you think Voldermort is on the nominating committee? he..he....he). I assumed everyone would eat him up on Broadway, in addition to the fact that he actually got positive reviews for his performance. Better luck next time, Harry Potter.

Anyways, I got to blog about this morning's announcement for CNN.com's Marquee Blog. Check it out!

http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/03/book-of-mormon-leads-tony-award-nominations/

(Photo above is of Radcliffe and my BFF, Anderson Cooper, who actually does the narration for the musical. For an interesting write of how Andy got the Broadway gig, check out Dave Itzkoff's article for the New York Times here.)

Can friends fall in love for "One Day?"

So it's already May? Wow, that sure came out of nowhere. Well, with the summer creeping up on us, we also welcome the start of the summer movie season (YAY for some people, NAY for others). With a lot of films coming up, I will be looking at the ones that I am most excited about.

And just released today was the trailer (or see below) for the film One Day, starring Jim Sturgess and Anne Hathaway. They star as a would be couple who sleep together on the night of their college graduation. Their relationship is then revisited once a year for the next twenty years. To me it sounds like When Harry Met Sally meets A Lot Like Love- pretty much any film that deals with people in love pretending that they can just be "friends," which we all know as not being true.

The trailer looks cute, although nothing too extraordinary. Jim Sturgess has always been on my radar, ever since Across the Universe, and he made quite the impression after the "just okay" 21. I see him as a lower grade James McAvoy, and it seems like Hollywood has been treating him quite the same.

It will also be interesting to see whether Anne can truly pull off the accent. She supposedly handled it well in Becoming Jane, which I never got around seeing (and probably never will), but that film lost all the buzz it ever had soon after its release. Will audiences buy it this time around?

One Day is Lone Scherfig's follow up to the amazing An Education, which brought us the beginning of what looks like a great career from current "It" girl Carey Mulligan.

Speaking of "it" girls, Anne Hathaway has already had her "it" girl moment (many times over it feels), and with her role as Selina Kyle coming up in the near future (who knows when the new Batman will actually be ready, though I am already peeing my pants excited about what Nolan will do with this one), she seems to have some exciting projects coming up.

Sturgess, on the other hand, already had the epic The Way Back released last year (which I loved), and has another film with Kirsten Dunst called Upside Down that has already been completed (though I know nothing about it, only having first learned about it after taking a look at his IMDB page.)

The truth is, these type of films are usually cute, and usually one that women always fall in love with. And with Lone Scherfig at the helm, I definitely am eager to see if she can pull it off.

PS--Anne Hathaway as butch? Not quite sure how I feel about that. But I do think these two looks good together--anyone smell off-camera romance?

Is the Arnold still a movie star?

Back in the day, many male and even some female actors and actresses were able to command $20 million +, and no one batted an eyelash. Some even got some major back-end percentages added on to their deals. For the most part, though those days are over.

Some stars, like Johnny Depp, who got a reported $35 million upfront for starring in the latest in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, according to Vanity Fair, might still be able to command that. Even Tom Cruise, once the biggest and most reliable star in the world, only got $12.5 million for writing, producing AND starring in Mission Impossible 4 (boy have things changed).

So when Deadline reported yesterday that Arnold Scharzenegger was negotiating for a new film role, I had no idea what kind of deal it would be. Turns out, it's not bad for an actor who hasn't

starred in a film since 2003, especially that disappointed both critically and financially.

According to Nikki Finke, Schwarzenegger will be getting $10 million upfront, plus 25% first dollar gross on the back end, which is quite paltry compared to the $25M/25% he used to get

in his heyday, but still an amazing deal for actors in this market.

In the film, titled Cry Macho, "the story revolves around a horse breeder (Schwarzenegger) who won the Kentucky Derby but whose wife and child get killed. He sinks into an alcoholic depression and winds up working for a hedge fund jerk who offers him a choice of getting fired or bringing back the rich guy's son living with the ex-wife in Mexico."

Sounds very similar to another film he starred in back in 2002, Collateral Damage, but I would like to think that Arnold wouldn't pick his first starring vehicle since leaving the Governor's mansion to be eerily similar to one he has done in the past.

It will be interesting to see how audiences will respond. I can assure that international box-office will be robust, as his films tend to do better worldwide than they do domestically. But, if given the right role in a film to which audiences will respond well, it could end up being a huge payday for the Arnold.

I will always have a special place in my heart for Arnold, who starred in one of my favorite childhood films, Kindergarden Cop. Now that's a film that can be on television whenever, wherever, and I will be forced to watch it. Like a fine wine, it only gets better with age.

Turns out, he was right along, just as he said he would. He's back.

First look at Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin

She may not have been everyone’s first choice to play Sarah Palin, but Julianne Moore
sure seems to have the look down pat.

In the first photo release from the set of HBO’s telefilm Game Change, Moore is seen sporting Palin’s trademark red suit, patriotic pin, and updo hair style. Gone also is Moore’s trademark red hair, instead opting for Palin’s brown, and it looks like she even has Palin’s mannerisms down to her trademark smile.And how does Palin feel about the film?

“I think I’ll just grit my teeth and bear whatever comes my way with that movie,” Palin told Fox News late last month, instead ridiculously suggesting that whoever “capitalizes on pretending to be” her should chip in for her children’s braces.

The film, which began production today (Wedneday), is based on Mark Halperin and John Heilemann’s 2010 book about the 2008 presidential election. The story follows Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign, beginning with his selection of then Alaska governor Sarah Palin to his defeat at the hands of Barack Obama in November of that year.

Along with Moore, the already stellar cast includes Ed Harris as John McCain, Woody Harrelson as Steven Schmidt, McCain’s senior advisor, and the recently announced Ron Livingston as senior campaign adviser Mark Wallace, who had the daunting task of prepping Palin for her now famous debate with then Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden.

Director Jay Roach, best known for his work on comedies such as Meet the Parents and the Austin Powers franchise, will be helming the film. He will be reuniting with writer Danny Strong, whom he worked with on another HBO political film, 2008’s Recount.

If released before the Emmy deadline, everyone will be wondering whether Moore can actually challenge HBO’s recent Mildred Pierce-star Kate Winslet for the Best Actress statue. From what we can tell from this photo, as well as Moore past excellence in almost every role she plays, it could end up being quite a race.

The real questions remains: who will be remembered as making for a better Sarah Palin, Tina Fey or Julianne Moore? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Vera Farmiga's career "up in the air?" Not anymore

A few years ago you might not have recognized her name. She starred alongside heavyweights Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson in Martin Scorcese's The Departed, and got major buzz for her award-winning turn as a drug-addicted mother and wife in Down to the Bone, directed by Winter's Bone scribe Debra Granik.

But it now seems that Vera Farmiga is a name you won't ever forget. As Deadline first reported, the Oscar-nominated actress has just joined the Universal Pictures’ thriller Safe House.

Farmiga will be joining Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds in the Daniel Espinosa-directed drama. In the film, Reynolds plays young CIA operative assigned to escorting a dangerous criminal (Washington) to safety after their safe house is attacked. Farmiga “will play a CIA operative supervising Reynolds' character.” The film, which is already in production, is set to be released on February 10, 2012.

I have always been extremely interested in Farmiga's film choices, and this upcoming role in Safe House seems like a nice transition for her. Every actress has to have that somewhat thankless role as the beaut in an action film at some point in her career. See Sandra Bullock, Natalie Portman, Penelope Cruz, Charlize Theron, Anne Hathaway, and the list goes on.

I thought Farmiga was great in Departed, if not spectacular, and it definitely brought her career to the next level. Personally though, I will always remember Farmiga for her turn in 15 Minutes, a 2001 thriller starring Ed Burns and Robert DeNiro, in which is witness to an arson attack they are investigating. I recognized her beauty right from the get-go, and hoped she would have a bright future in the business.

Though it was really her Oscar-nominated role as a sexy business executive in Up in the Air, opposite George Clooney, that brought her to the level she is at now. She was able to play beautiful and damged so seemlessly well, that in the end you felt for a character that we weren't supposed to feel for.

And now Farmiga is currently co-starring in the extremely-well reviewed “Source Code, opposite Jake Gylenhaall, and had her directorial debut, Higher Ground, debut at Sundance earlier in the year.

With the news of her role in Safe House, plus a reported role in an adaptation of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge, I'm excited for what she has coming up in the future. Plus, I will always have a "guilty pleasure" spot in my "film loving heart" for Orphan, whose ending I don't think anyone saw coming.

Why there will never be another Joan Crawford

With the first two parts of Mildred Pierce airing last Sunday, it got me thinking about both Kate Winslet and Joan Crawford (well duh, that makes sense!). Obviously, any comparison of the two is totally unfair, as many generations between them and a different Hollywood system would make it almost impossible. That being said, and with Kate taking on a role that won Crawford her first and only Oscar, I still can't help but wonder what Crawford's legacy will be.

I didn't know that much about Joan Crawford until I first saw Mommie Dearest when I was about 12 years old or so. Crawford will forever be known more for her distaste for wire hangers and axing down trees in her garden than for her acting, which is quite unfortunate. I wasn't old enough to truly understand most of the films I watched as a youngster, but I knew it was something special. When I finally got around to watching the original Mildred Pierce about a year or so ago, Crawford's performance was nothing short of extraordinary. My first thought was that it's hard to imagine that someone as glamorous as Crawford would be this stay-at-home frumpy housewife. However, she plays it off pretty well given the circumstances. [It's interesting to note that Angelina Jolie was claimed to have been miscast by many critics, commenting that no one would believe Angie has a neglected housewife. I don't necessarily agree with that, however]. Crawford was one of few actresses who made the successful transition from silent films, and even continued to prove her worth after being labeled "box office poison" in the late 1930s.


The best part about Crawford, however, was the fact that you couldn't take your eyes off her. I re-watch Mildred Pierce to this day, and I'm still mesmerized in the same way that I will always bow down to Bette Davis after watching All About Eve. There are only a few actresses throughout the modern era, in my opinion, that this can be said about. Crawford, Davis, Katherine Hepburns, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Judy Garland, Audrey Hepburn, and Marilyn Monroe. (Though Monroe's acting accomplishments are much less than the rest of that list). They were all great actresses who were able to mix their beauty with their talent. It's hard to think that the same can be said of actresses right now.


Meryl? Not particularly. Cate Blanchett? Meh. The only ones that come close, in my opinion, are Angie and Kate Winslet. Angie more for her looks, Winslet more for her ability to just light up the screen whenever she's on it. I watched the trailer to Winslet's last three big films- Little Children, Revolutionary Road, and The Reader, and I begin to remember why Winslet is one of the greatest actresses of our time. But it's not her beauty that catches us (though she is quite stunning). Its the way she is able to become the character. She was Hanna Schmitz- you felt for her, you believed her, and sympathized with her. Any actress who can make you sympathize with a character that is not written with that intention is doing something right.
Actresses unfortunately have to work harder now than ever before to win over critics and audiences a like. Looking at what Winslet is doing now on HBO, it's hard to imagine that the critics won't absolutely fawn over her performance. Reviews have proven most already are, and an almost certain Emmy win will solidify that. But she is no Joan Crawford. Then again, no one is. No one ever will be. Just like people are saying that there will never be another Elizabeth Taylor, I think, even more so, there will never be another Joan Crawford.


*just as a side note and rant, Faye Dunaway has been totally crucified for her role in Mommie Dearest, and her career would never recover. In my opinion, she has been so unjustly criticized for that role. THe performance may have been camp at its best, but that was Joan Crawford. Her life was camp, and she was a true force of nature. Why critics would punish Dunaway is beyond me, especially after her unmatched filmography at the time. But at least we can still revel in the fact that we have Bonnie and Clyde, Chinatown, and Network to keep us satisfied.

And for some fun, re-watch this amazing trailer for the 1981 film.

Does Natalie Portman Deserve the Oscar?

We heard rumors today that might question whether Natalie Portman deserves her Oscar. According to Sarah Lane, Natalie's stunt double in last year's "Black Swan," Natalie only did 5% of the actual dancing seen in the movie. "All the other shots are me," Lane claims.

What about the claims that Natalie trained for over year for her role as ballerina Nina Sayers? When a lot of the discussion around Natalie's performance centered around her ability to transform herself into a seemingly professional ballerina, it puts her performance into question... or does it?

"Physically, I trained starting a year ahead of time, and then the six months prior to [shooting] the film, went into a sort of hypertraining, where I was doing five hours a day of both ballet and crosstraining with swimming," Natalie told reporters at a press conference at the Venice Film Festival late last year.

It's hard to believe that Natalie would lie about something like that. And there's no taking away from the real method acting that took place on this film. Her body, her mannerisms, her demeanor- you believed that Natalie was going through everything a real ballerina would go through. So what's the real problem with this?

Well, according to Lane, Fox Searchlight explicity told her not to speak publicly about her role in the film, so as not to take anything away from Natalie and her Oscar campaign.

“They were trying to create this facade that she had become a ballerina in a year-and-a-half,” Lane commented to Dance Magazine in December. “So I knew they didn’t want to publicize anything about me.”

One person that Portman has on her side, however, is fiancee and father of her child, choreographer Benjamin Millipied. Lane “just did the footwork and the fouettes and one diagonal in the studio,” Millipied in an interview with the L.A. Times. “Honestly, 85 percent of that movie is Natalie,” he said.

So, should this take away from Natalie's Oscar win? What about other actors and actresses who have had similar issues? Should Marion Cottilard give back her Oscar, considering she didn't do most of the singing as Edith Piaf in "La Vie En Rose?" What about Adrien Brody's performance in "The Pianist?" He won an Oscar back in 2002, while only learning the exact keystrokes so it would seem like it was him playing the piano.

"They wanted to create this idea in people’s minds that Natalie was some kind of prodigy or so gifted in dance, Lane said. “It is demeaning to the profession and not just to me. I’ve been doing this for 22 years…. Can you become a concert pianist in a year and a half, even if you’re a movie star?” It's tough to imagine that anyone really though Natalie became a world-class ballerina in less than a year, but who knows with the Academy bunch.

Regardless, I don't think one can argue that Natalie didn't deserve that Oscar. "I just want to be perfect," Nina proclaims throughout the film. And for almost 2 hours, Natalie Portman came pretty darn close.

But what do you think? Would Natalie still have won the oscar had people known she only did 5% of the dancing (if that is even true).

UPDATED: Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky has finally released a statement regarding this situation. He said he got an editor to count the number of shots Natalie is dancing. "111 are Natalie Portman untouched. 28 are her dance double Sarah Lane," Aronofsky wrote. "If you do the math that's 80% Natalie Portman. What about duration? The shots that feature the double are wide shots and rarely play for longer than one second. There are two complicated longer dance sequences that we used face replacement. Even so, if we were judging by time over 90% would be Natalie Portman." Continued the director, "I am responding to this to put this to rest and to defend my actor. Natalie sweated long and hard to deliver a great physical and emotional performance. And I don't want anyone to think that's not her they are watching. It is."

Fox Searchlight has also released a statement, basically saying the same thing. "We were fortunate to have Sarah there to cover the more complicated dance sequences," Fox said, "and we have nothing but praise for the hard work she did. However, Natalie herself did most of the dancing featured in the final film."

However, I think film critic Roger Ebert summed it up best, when he tweeted: "Let us not forget Natalie Portman did ALL of her own acting in 'Black Swan,' and that's why she deserved her Oscar." Well said, Roger, well said.

Image Credit: Niko Tavernise; Inset: Joe Schildhorn/PatrickMcMullan.com

What are the expectations for Mildred Pierce?

I have so many things I want to say about this trailer. From when I first heard they were doing this, a lot of thoughts began to arise. Could Kate Winslet take on a role that Joan Crawford played so brilliantly AND won the oscar for (in 1945)? Of course, we are pretty much accustomed to Winslet being able to handle anything thrown her way...the same we expect from Meryl Streep and, to a lesser extent, Cate Blanchett. Those 3 rarely seem to disappoint, and with this and this coming out, I can only see the trend continuing.


But back to Kate. This is her first role since winning the Oscar for The Reader, which she totally deserved. The film, along with its book by Bernhard Schlink are, in my opinion, mind blowing and eye opening at the same time. Don't even get me started on the trailer, which is also one of my favorite ever. From Todd Haynes (director of Far from Heaven, starring Julianne Moore), we should expect a lot. He has 5 hours to turn adapt the book, almost 3 hours more than the original film did. We should, and rightfully so, be expecting a lot. The cast is rounded out by Evan Rachel Wood, Guy Pearce, and probably 2011 Oscar winner Melissa Leo (The Fighter). Although from what I can remember, Melissa's character doesn't play a huge role. I would have LOVED to see her play Ida Corwin, Mildred's confident and comedic partner.


Nonetheless, with this great cast and being broadcast on HBO, there will be a ton of expectations. Expected of course are an abundance of Emmy nominations and wins. Unless ERW trumps her, which will be difficult because HBO will almost certainly place her in the supporting category, Winslet should win the the trifecta of the Emmy, SAG and Golden Globe.


I also think this is a great career move by Winslet. She has won that elusive Oscar that took her 6 nomination to attain. The Emmy will pretty much be in the bag after this airs. Her next career move should be Broadway, which doesn't seem totally out of the cards at this point. Expect an announcement in the next few months that she will be starring in either a.) a revival of a classic Tennessee Williams play, or b.) a world premiere of some great British playwright (read: David Hare). Although Julianne Moore recently starred in one of Hare's plays on Broadway, The Vertical Hour, and totally bombed, Kate seems like a natural for the Broadway stage. I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next.


Until then, let's just keep watching the trailer AND this great "invitation to the set" until the miniseries premieres on HBO on March 27.


Credit: HBO

Can Natalie Portman do a musical?

For your Sunday viewing pleasure....

Thrillicious: 2008 SoBe Life Water Super Bowl Ad

In honor of Super Bowl weekend, I am posting the ad that I most remember from these past few years. As crazy as Naomi Campbell, no one can deny how glamorous she is. Out of any model I know, I would most want to interview her. What goes that mind of hers is anyone's guess. And the Daily Beast is right: "Conceptually this ad doesn’t quite hit the mark, but the overall message gets across: if you want to look like a supermodel, drink Sobe. And when the message gets through, dollars tend to follow."

Visual Effects Explained for Black Swan

I just think this video is so awesome. One of my favorite movies of the year, and it explains how the visual effects were for the film were done. I honestly though that Natalie Portman did MOST of the moves herself, so it is a bit disappointing to see that all they had to do was a head replacement. Although it is nice to see a film with a miniscule budget compared to other Hollywood films be able to do what they did.

And it still doesn't take away from Natalie's performance. Oscar winner? I think so!

Oscar Nominations..Do We Agree?

It's that time of year again. Oscar nominations..the time we await all year long. For the most part, nominations were business as usual. Black Swan, The Social Network, The King's Speech, and The Fighter. I think those four were the concensus for a while now as to which films would be nominated for Best Picture (although some might disagree). If the Academy still only nominated 5 films, I believe those four would definitely be in there. From there, things got somewhat tricky. True Grit seemed like the obvious choice for major oscar love. The Coen brothers, starring last year's Best Actor winner Jeff Bridges, alongside Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and new IT girl Hailee Steinfeld. Then the Globes snubbed it, and people were no longer sure what to think. What was going on? Then the film came out, it made $100+ million (and counting), and suddenly David Poland proclaimed he believed it was now the Oscar frontrunner. Blogger Sasha Stone "mocked," and Scott Feinberg "couldn't believed his eyes."

Well, I think Poland went a tad over-the-top in his prediction, but True Grit did end up getting 10 nominations, the second most nominations after the King's Speech with 12. I think its best shot at a major award belongs to Steinfeld in the Best Supporting Actress category. But even that category is a stacked race, with any of those ladies having the ability to walk away with gold. As long as we are talking about the Best Supporting Actress race, let's discuss the one issue I have with the race. People think Mila Kunis should have been nominated for Black Swan. Erroneous. Barbara Hershey's performance in that film as Natalie Portmnan's mother was nothing short of spectacular. She was so eary, so disturbing..almost like a modern day "Mommie Dearest" stage mother (I love me some Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford). Honestly, I really thought she would get a last minute nomination, a la Maggie Gylenhaal in Crazy Heart last year. But alas, Jacki Weaver got the last slot. I haven't yet seen Animal Kingdom, so I can't really say much as to how much she deserved it or not. But from what I have heard, she nails it.

Some other complaints? Black Swan not being nominated for Best Make-up and Best Costume Design? Comn Academy. No Ryan Gosling for Best Actor? Ryan and Michelle played off so well together--their story was one. If you nominate Michelle, how can you not nominate Ryan--even with how stacked the Actress race was. Speaking of Best Actress, I am still speechless as to how I Am Love has totally been off the radar. Tilda Swinton was absolutely awe-inspiring in that role, in which she learned to speak Italian with a Russian accent. I can't believe she did not launch more of a campaign, but from what I have heard about Tilda, not totally unexpected. And John Adam's score? I still listen to it on my iPod all the time.

Those are my initial complaints with this year's Oscar nominations. For your viewing pleasure, considering my love for Black Swan, I will leave you with a cool video in which the CG process for the film is explained and shown in a very cool way. Take a look.