How Traditionally Trained Are This Years Oscar Nominees?

For the fourth year in a row, I've taken a look at the education and drama training of the Oscar nominees in the acting categories. In years past, drama degrees have most often proved triumphant, but last year saw acting classes outside of college and no education beyond high school taking the biggest numbers. Where will this years research lead? Read on to find out!

Demián Bichir
Comes from a director father and actor mother and two brothers (referred to, by some, as the Barrymores of Mexico) Bichir was in his first professional play at age 3, started acting on television at age 14, and had his first lead in a play (Ah! Wilderness!) at age 17, all in Mexico. When he auditioned to train at Lee Strasberg in New York they told him he was already an actor and to save the tuition. Years later, he moved back to Mexico where he became a huge success, winning the Mexican equivalent of an Oscar. In terms of training, Bichir has said, "we had all we needed in our library at home"

College Education: None as far as I can find
Acting Training: Training through experience

George Clooney (Previously nominated twice for acting, won once)
No formal training. Attended Northern Kentucky University, then the University of Cincinnati, double majoring in History & Political Science, but did not graduate. Took classes at the Beverly Hills Playhouse.

College Education: Yes, but no degree
Acting Training: Classes

Jean Dujardin
No college education, worked in construction and in the army out of high school. Began his career with a one man show in Paris, but first garnered attention when he appeared on a French talent show. Appeared on a French comedy show before landing Brice de Nice, which made him a star.

College Education: None as far as I can find
Acting Training: No formal training

Gary Oldman
Studied at the Greenwich Young People's Theatre, then got his BA in theater arts from Britain's Rose Bruford Drama College. His dream was to go to RADA, but he didn't get in, advised to pursue something other than acting after his audition. Performed in rep for years after graduating, including with the RSC.

College Education: Bachelor of Arts
Acting Training: Formal training

Brad Pitt (previously nominated twice)
Journalism major at the University of Missouri, acting in many of his fraternity's shows on the side. Left college two weeks before earning his degree to move to LA & take acting classes, studying with Roy London.

College Education: Yes, but no degree
Acting Training: Classes and coaching

The rest after the jump



Glenn Close (previously nominated six times)
Graduated with a BA in drama and anthropology from the College of William and Mary and very soon after become a Broadway favorite. One of the only actors to receive an Oscar, Emmy and Tony nomination in the same calendar year (1984)

College Education: Double Major/Bachelor of Arts
Acting Training: Formal training

Viola Davis (previously nominated once)
Davis majored in theatre at Rhode Island College, graduating in 1988; in 2002 she received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the college. She also attended The Juilliard School for four years.

College Education: Bachelors Degree, MFA, and honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
Acting Training: Formal training

Rooney Mara
Spent a year at George Washington University before transferring to NYU, where she graduated in 2010 after studying international social policy and psychology. Got into acting because of her older sister, Kate

College Education: Bachelor's Degree
Acting Training: No formal training

Meryl Streep (Previously nominated 14 times, won twice)
Uber formal training. She received her B.A. in Drama at Vassar College in 1971 but also enrolled as a transfer student at Dartmouth College for a semester before that school had become coeducational. She later earned an M.F.A. from Yale School of Drama.

College Education: BA, MFA
Acting Training: Formal training

Michelle Williams (Previously nominated twice)
Dropped out of high school in 10th grade to pursue acting and opted for a home-school program. Got her high school diploma at age 15. Moved to Los Angeles at 16, emancipated from her parents. Spent a summer in the mid-aughts performing with Williamstown in Massachusetts as part of their company

College Education: No
Acting Training: Training through experience

Kenneth Branagh (Previously nominated once for acting)
BFA from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts,  honorary doctorate in Literature from Queen's University.

College Education: BFA
Acting Training: Formal training

Jonah Hill
Studied Drama, among other things, at the New School in New York, where he began writing plays before discovering he was interested in a career in acting, which he began pursuing immediately after graduating with 2004's I Heart Huckabees.

College Education: Bachelor's Degree
Acting Training: Yes, unclear *how* formal

Nick Nolte (Previously nominated twice)
Graduated from Pasadena City College, then attended Arizona State University, Eastern Arizona College, and Phoenix College. Attending college on sports scholarships, he eventually left due to poor grades and began pursuing theater. Studied at Stella Adler in LA and performed with the Pasadena Playhouse.

College Education: Yes, but no degree
Acting Training: Classes

Christopher Plummer (Previously nominated once)
Performed in high school and got experience performing on the road with the Canadian Repertory Theater. Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Western Ontario.

College Education: Did not attend
Acting Training: Training through experience

Max von Sydow (Previously nominated once)
Started a theater club in high school, then studied at the Royal Dramatic Theatre acting school in Stockholm, the foremost school for theater training in the country.

College Education: No liberal arts education
Acting Training: Extremely formal training

Bérénice Bejo
Her father was a filmmaker so she grew up watching tons of movies, every single weekend growing up, she and her sister would pick a film and watch with the family. Wanted to be an actress since she was five years old, first audition at age 17. Never wanted to have any other profession.

College Education: None as far as I can find
Acting Training: No formal training

Jessica Chastain
Acted Shakespeare all throughout high school before attending and graduating Julliard.

College Education: BFA
Acting Training: Formal training

Melissa McCarthy
Went to FIT for two years to study fashion design, but dropped out once she found her true calling - comedy. Studied at The Actors Studio and the Groundlings and did regular stand up and appeared in productions frequently in New York before moving to Los Angeles and landing Gilmore Girls.

College Education: Yes. but no degree
Acting Training: Classes

Janet McTeer (Previously nominated)
Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Afterwards, she joined the Royal Exchange Theater and performed at the RSC.

College Education: BFA
Acting Training: Formal Training

Octavia Spencer
BS in Liberal Arts from Auburn University, plus classes at a popular coaching studio in Los Angeles.

College Education: BS
Acting Training: Classes and coaching

EDUCATION

College Degrees: Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, Viola Davis, Rooney Mara, Meryl Streep, Kenneth Brannagh, Jonah Hill, Jessica Chastain, Janet McTeer, Octavia Spencer - 10

Non Degree Conservatory Program: Max Von Sydow - 1

College Dropouts: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Melissa McCarthy, Nick Nolte - 4

High School Through Home School: Michelle Williams - 1

Completed High School (and only high school): Demián Bichir, Jean Dujardin, Christopher Plummer, Berenice Bejo - 4

ACTING TRAINING

Formal Training in College: Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, Viola Davis, Meryl Streep, Kenneth Brannagh, Jonah Hill, Jessica Chastain, Janet McTeer – 8

Formal Acting Training Outside of College: Max Von Sydow - 1

Acting Classes/Coaches/Camp (nonformal): Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Nick Nolte, Melissa McCarthy, Octavia Spencer - 5

No Formal Training … or Nonformal Training: Damian Bichir, Jean Dujardin, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Berenice Bejo, Michelle Williams - 6

So there you have it. This year, more than any year yet, represents the biggest argument for both attending college and receiving formal training. Although if the winners go the expected route, only one of the four will fall into that category. Watch how things shake out this Sunday when we watch The Artist win everything and cry. TEAM OLDMAN/PITT!

Read past Training articles: 2011 2010 2009

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Taylor Lautner: Yay or Nay

Crossposted on and commissioned by Film.com

With Abduction coming out today, Taylor Lautner's first starring vehicle, we thought we should take this opportunity to evaluate the young actor's chances of making the jump from supporting cast member to leading man. Does he have what it takes or should he just stick to the sidelines? It's investigation time - Pros and Cons style.

The Cons

Lack of Acting Talent
The overarching problem with Lautner is the fact that he can't act. He tries to act. And occasionally is okay. But mostly, he is untrained, and not in that raw, interesting kind of way, but in the "doesn't know what he is doing at all even remotely" kind of way. The biggest offense and proof that he has no idea what is going on is that he is, and excuse the actorly term, CONSTANTLY off voice. The easiest way to spot a wannabe actor is when you notice what I call "gravely voice". It means the so called performer doesn't know how to warm up or use his voice, so he defaults to a gravely tone that is a combination of nerves and an attempt at naturalism. Taylor Lautner is so guilty of this, he was giving ME a sore throat during Abduction. Other "gravely voices" can be found hanging out on the CW. Lautner rarely feels honest, and always feels angsty-squinty. His default facial expression is smolder. And he has no idea how to listen, take his time with a moment, or allow something to truly happen on the inside, informing the choices he makes. He does what the script says and not very believably. Granted, the supposed acting lessons he took between Twilight films did make somewhat of a difference, but certainly not enough.

More after the jump




His Face
I don't like it. He doesn't have movie star looks, no matter how much you try to tell me he does. I'm all for unique looking people, but untalented weird looking muscle machines who think they are hot and think I should think so too? This industry isn't exactly screaming for any more of those, you know? Hollywood is trying to make him a star because of his connection to Twilight and his body. Those aren't good enough reasons. There are plenty of actors who this industry tries to make into a star simply because he is pretty and sometimes that girlie gene in me takes over and I'll even see a movie *just* for a boy. (Case in point: What's Your Number for Chris Evans. I'm not ashamed. He is TALENTED TOO.) But Lautner is not that boy. His face makes my face hurt. A lot like his voice makes my throat hurt! Taylor Lautner is bad for me.

Bad Taste = Poor Decision Making
The only movies he has done in his adult life are the Twilight films, Valentine's Day and Abduction. That's zero for five right there. It shows he has no barometer regarding what's actually good, as opposed to awful. Even "fine" or "not bad" would be an upgrade from awful. But no. A movie star needs to know how to pick his projects and Lautner has no discernible idea how to do that.

The Pros

The Brand

Yes, he does have a brand. He is Jacob Black. He has crazy abs. Girls and women and boys and men all over the world love him for this, no matter what. We'll see how Abduction does this weekend, but the thinking now is that his brand alone can open a movie. If Abduction is huge, despite the fact that it is one of the most incompetently made films I've ever seen, it will be because the Taylor faithful turned out en masse.

Boy Next Door Off Screen Persona

Whereas Robert Pattinson has always been displayed as the kind of odd, mysterious one, Lautner, throughout the Twilight process, has taken on more of the sweet, boy next door kind of attitude. I happen to think there's a massive ego underneath the palatable facade, but a lot of his adoring public does not, and being perceived as nice and genuine can go a long way. An even longer way if you can back it up in reality. But can he?

Martial Arts Ability

The best part about Abduction, well the best part about Abduction was Jason Isaacs, but the other not horrible part was anytime Lautner showed off his parkour and martial arts ability. He's actually pretty remarkable. And this is something he came to the table with, as the black belt has been studying karate since he was six years old, and has won three Junior World Championships. It's not something many other actors his age can boast and is incredibly impressive. Anytime he was jumping, punching or spinning, I actually sat up for a second, I took notice. This is where he needs to focus his attention, not on trying to be a leading man.

So what is the conclusion? I find it hard to believe that this kid is going to have a lasting career. Robert Pattinson did nothing for either Remember Me or Water for Elephants, box office wise or quality wise, and Lautner is even weaker than Pattinson is as an actor. Abduction might do okay, but will quickly vanish when anyone other than a 14 year old girl hears how insipid it is. For the most success, I do think Lautner should stray towards the action and more opportunities to do his own stunts and explore his physicality further, but I don't see how he could ever be a Matt Damon, Harrison Ford or even Jason Statham with such a limited acting ability. If he wants to be the star Abduction is trying to make us think he is, he has gotta take some time to really learn how to do this thing and learn the difference between a good script and a bad, really bad, like really REALLY bad one. So, sorry Taylor, for the time being, my answer is Nay. You have some potential hanging out in the depths of your being, but you have wise up, get over yourself, and be open to learning A LOT to do so.

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The 2011 Golden Globes: What We Learned

crossposted from Film.com

It's that time of year again! In which we reflect on the grand & not at all frivolous evening that was the Golden Globes. What did we learn this year about the Oscar race, about Hollywood, about life, about Angelina Jolie's shockingly not-always-glossy lips? My very scientific analysis below:

The Social Network Officially Cannot Be Beat
I mean, yes, most of us figured it was a lock for the Oscar anyway, but after rumblings of possible Globes upsets from The Fighter or The King's Speech turned out to be rubbish, I don't think there's anything stopping the film at this point. Picture, writer, director are in the bag. So most likely editing as well. #oscarhistoryreference.

I'm beginning to hear insider discussion of another film in particular upsetting on the night (more on this when I do my annual interview with an Academy member), but a lot in the atmosphere would have to change in a month for this to be possibility. When every critics group picks the same movie, its subject is named Time's Person of the Year AND everyone says the Academy will be out of touch if they pick something else, it doesn't leave much room for members to vote with their hearts, does it? It would be nice one year if the Academy got to actually pick its favorites instead of being bullied into staying in line. For more on this topic, check out an article I wrote last season - Oscar & The Art of Influence. This year also happens to be the first time in a long while that I actually think the unstoppable force sweeping the Oscar pre-season DESERVES the win, but it feels tainted when the Academy doesn't really have a choice.

Ricky Gervais Will Not Be Hosting Next Year
The HFPA is reportedly very upset with the British comedian, because it turns out they're all still in elementary school, but some folks, like Badass Digests' Devin Faraci don't think he went far enough. Still if the "Golden Globes Boss" (is that an official title? really?) doesn't get the joke anytime soon, expect a safer choice to be announced for next year. Laaaame. I personally enjoy the RDJ coined "sinister" undertone of Gervais hosted evenings. It leads to a fun game called "Which Actors Are Self Aware and Which Actors Have Their Heads Up Their Asses?" (For those keeping score at home, Self Aware: Johnny Depp, Steve Carrell, Bruce Willis. Head up your ass: Tim Allen, the HFPA, Scientologists.)

There Are Five Kinds of Actors: Classy & elegant (Colin Firth, Annette Bening, Claire Danes) Charming & Hilarious (Tina Fey, Jane Lynch, Steve Bushemi), Slightly Insane (Melissa Leo, Tilda "Happy New Year" Swinton, Christian Bale), Mind-bogglingly Awkward (Robert De Niro, Natalie Portman, Andrew Garfield) and Get Off The Damn Stage (Jennifer Lopez, January Jones). Though Bale was actually in fine form last night. Perhaps fashioning himself as a knight on the outside brought out his inner chivalry and good nature.

Rango Opens Nationwide March 4th
I can never unlearn this


Hollywood is Still Too Afraid of Scientologists to Laugh at Scientology Jokes
One of the best (it's funny cause it's true!) jokes of the evening took a fun stab at the Church of Scientology. But due to the fact that there was a Scientologist at every other table, no one could really get away with laughing without fear of disappearing into the night. If Ricky Gervais suddenly vanishes this week - we all know why.

Andrew Garfield Will Be The Perfect Peter Parker
His flub would have looked embarrassing on anyone else. But Peter Parker makes awkward look GOOD ya'll.

Hailee Steinfeld Will Be STUNNING in 10 Years
That girl has a FACE. I don't care if she's only 14. You can tell. Especially seeing her tower over that small child girls her age are supposed to be lusting after, when she was presenting. Here's hoping she goes the way of Scarjo Napo & Anpaq and not the way of Dustin Diamond. #legitimatestatement

Best Actress Race Is Still Up In The Air 80/20 Natalie Portman/Annette Bening
For some reason there is a prevailing notion that the quality of one's speech at the Golden Globes will determine the Oscar outcome. A. that's dumb and B. that also might be true. But I've heard from the Portman Supporters that Bening was too stiff and from the Bening Supporters that Portman was too frenetic. We can't ALL be Chris Colfer, you guys. So. Back to square one. Yes, Natalie is young & pregnant & glowy, but Benning is legendary, has never won, lost twice to Hilary Swank of all people, and is married to 1962 Golden Globe winner for Most Promising Actor, Warren Beatty. Maybe, just maybe, the winner of this category will be based on whose performance the Academy members like best. What a notion. Long story short, I don't think Portman has it all tied up as some critics too. If Bening wins on the night, it will be seen as an upset, but at least there is still a POSSIBILITY of an upset, which can't really be said for Best Actor or Supporting Actor. 

For Supporting Actress, Melissa Leo is still the clear front-runner, but if we're going by the very precise method of measuring speeches, Leo's...all over the place-ness may have hurt her chances . Let's hope those "who gives the best speech" Academy members saw her delightful & classy speech at the Critics Choice Awards this weekend. This woman's been acting a LONG time. And is amazing. Give her an Oscar please.

The Cast Of Love Actually Rules
Wins for Laura Linney & Colin Firth and plenty of shots of Andrew Lincoln at the table for nominated drama The Walking Dead. When Colin Firth won, I definitely said "I hate uncle Jamie" out loud. Did anyone in the room understand why I would ever say something like that in that moment? No. Did I care? AbsoLUTELY not.

Lea Michele Doesn't Understand What Being A Human Being is
The amount of mugging Lea Michele was engaging in Sunday night was bridging on offensive. Sometimes you can feel something without mutating your face into multiple shapes and sizes. Life isn't musical theater. Well. Actually. I guess her life is about as close as it gets. But she stills needs learn how to be a person at some point.

Garrett Hedlund May Also Not Understand What Being A Human Being Is
But that's because he's a robot

If a Television Show is Shiny & New and/or Glee, It Will Win All The Gold
I love Boardwalk Empire, but Mad Men season four may go down in television history as one of the best seasons of television that ere was. Boardwalk Empire is a great new show that didn't pick up until halfway through its first season. But everyone in it talks funny and the lead is a movie star, so, ok, yeah, that makes sense.
Also, yes, Glee is definitely, hands down the best musical nominated for best TV Show, Musical or Comedy, but it is not the best comedy. Jane Lynch & Heather Morris are doing their best to hold down the fort, but Modern Family has not a single weak or lacking comedic performer in the entire bunch. Globes, when you tempt me with interesting, deserving choices like Katy Sagal & Chris Colfer, I forget that you're mostly worthless. But then you remind me, so it's okay.

Christian Bale worships Robert De Niro, Tilda Swinton is in awe of Al Pacino, Lori from the Walking Dead has a Melissa Leo fixation, Melissa Leo has a crush on Jeremy Irons and Natalie Portman loves Jeff Bridges.
Though who doesn't?

Mark Wahlberg is The King Of Hollywood
I don't like Mark Wahlberg so I don't really like this lesson, but he is inexplicably a producer on Boardwalk Empire and apparently Christian Bale & Melissa Leo would have been nothing in The Fighter without him. So. Bully for you, Mark Wahlberg.

Celebrities Are Friends With Other Celebrities!
This isn't, erm, a "lesson" per se, but it's an excuse to list the fun friendship sightings of the night: Jake Gylenhaal and Jason Segel  during E!s Red Carpet,, Emma Stone & Mila Kunis unwittingly creating the greatest gif in gif history, Katy Sagal  & Ed O Neil via reaction shot.

Robert Downey Jr & Emma Stone Have Good Chemistry
No? Just me?

Matt Damon Continues to be Smarter Than Just About Everyone Ever
His  De Niro intro was so clever, that it seemed to go over the heads of  most of the audience for about 85% of the speech. For some reason his  speech convinced ME that he must be the greatest husband evar. I have no  explanation for this.

Smart Girls Have More Fun...
...But you'll only get to go to the Golden Globes if you're beautiful. Thanks for mixed messages, everyone in the ballroom/Hollywood.

Another year, another slew of life altering lessons learned. And hey, even if this awards season turns out to be as boring & predictable as we're all suspecting, at least we know to look forward to some great speeches. I'll take all the giggly Natalie Portman, self-deprecating Colin Firth, bizarrely ecstatic Christian Bale and energetically sincere Melissa Leo I can get.

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In Which I Briefly Talk About Being A Fan of Michelle Williams

 I experienced a lot of loss after his death. I lost my city because of all the paparazzi descending upon us. I actually lost my journal during that time, oddly enough. I literally couldn’t hold on to anything. It felt as if things were literally slipping through my fingers. Things were just streaming away from me. I lost my sense of humor. I’m still sort of looking for that.

- Michelle Williams, in an interview w/ The Daily Beast

For some reason, I have always been very affected by Michelle Williams. As a youngin, I related to her on Dawson's Creek, Dick was my favorite movie for about a year, I admired her work in Station Agent & Brokeback, then was devastated by Wendy & Lucy. And Blue Valentine is one of my favorites of this year, seen it twice, and I'm still in awe of her honest work in it, from top to bottom. And for whatever reason, I've always been fascinated with her quotes about Heath Ledger. I loved their story too, they were my "favorite Hollywood couple" as shallow as that is, and I was bizarrely affected by his death as well as what it meant for my favorite couple - that they would never get the chance to reunite. And because losing someone close to me is just about my #1 fear, mostly because of its inevitability in one way or another, I can't stop reading about how she has dealt with her grief.

This quote in particular, from a recent interview with The Daily Beast really stuck with me. I highly recommend reading the rest, link above.

I really want her to get an Oscar nomination for Blue Valentine. I think that's my "District 9 for Best Picture!" of this year. Though it could also be my "Fantastic Mr Fox for Score!" of this year. We'll know on January 25th. But I really do think she is one of the most talented, classiest and stunning actresses of her generation. So much so that it warranted a blog post.

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The New King of Crushdom - In Which I Write An Article About A Cute Boy SHHHH

Note: this may be the most ridiculous thing you've ever read.

Something happened in the past couple years.

This.

While many of us have understood the perfection of the man featured above since his days of pre-adolescent hilarity on 3rd Rock From The Sun, the majority of folks only realized recently that Joseph Gordon Levitt is an actor to be reckoned with whatsoever, let alone the most wondrous beauteous fellow in existence. Which he obviously is. From all that knowing him I've clearly experienced (Sidenote: I haven't), I know this to be true (Sidenote: I don't). He seems to be so totally sweet, funny, nice, talented, adorable and ATTAINABLE, for some god-forsaken season, so all of us have adopted him as our new #1 celebrity crush.

Over the course of the past few weeks (beginning w/ the opening of Inception), I keep noticing on Twitter, on Facebook, in life, more and more people naming JGL as their new love. I ask "who is your big celebrity crush?" and the answer is most often "Joseph Gordon Levitt", not to mention HE IS #1 ON IMDB'S STARMETER, a place which is reserved for people like Leo, RPatz & Marvel superheroes. Though Tom Hardy is #3, so granted, a bunch of this is all because of Inception, BUT STILL, OKAY?!

And the love is deep. The love is hard. The love is causing Facebook wars. Yes, that's right, 10-20 comment long status updates about who gets to marry JGL, that then cross over into Twitter and get even MORE people riled up about who is first in line. We all start arguing about who gets seniority, who gets to call the shots - "I've loved him since 500 Days!" "Since Brick!" Since Mysterious Skin!" "Since 10 Things I Hate About You!" "Since 3rd Rock From The Sun!" "Since Angels in the Outfield!" "Since he played Student #1 in Beethoven!" (<----- No one says that) And so on and so forth. It makes me wonder if when Leo started to hit it big - were there folks proclaiming, "I've been in it since Growing Pains, bitches!!"

But Leo never seemed reachable, he never seemed plausible as a real life love. But a think a little part of all of us seem to think we DO have a chance with JGL. He is single, he is young, he is open to meeting fellow artists & humans, he seems humble, he seems normal, if not slightly on the artsy side, he seems like someone you would sit down at a bar with and talk to until the sun came up. And despite being the #1 celebrity on IMDB and the name everyone throws out when discussing current celebrity crushes, something about him feels specifically our own, like, he is MY crush, not yours, not anyone else's. He has that personal connection to his audience that very few actors have. He seems like a find to everyone and anyone who watches him work. This is a rare and valuable quality.

I think I have to stop now, because there is only so much anyone can handle of a fangirl writing an entire article about a cute boy, but sometimes, it must be done, if only to capture a moment in time.

Tonight a friend told me she had a dream last night in which she and JGL were dating. My other friend and I responded to her "AUGH IM SO JEALOUS!" Because, as we all know now, what is a dream is real, what is real is a dream, it's all feels the same while it's happening, so experiencing dating JGL in a dream may be as real as it gets, so let's get on that, subconscious!

And now. JGL picspampron

Oh, and this is JGL opening for the band Old Springs Pike, a band that features someone I know, that  I've seen before...what are the odds...just stumbled across this....wtf

Him being a badass

Sidenote: I loved GI Joe, which I think means I automatically win the war, right?

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Saturn Awards Wrap Up 2010

I had the pleasure of attending the 36th Annual Saturn Awards last night and live tweeting the entire event for you readers. But in case you aren't a fan of Twitter, here are some highlight tweets from last night, along with some exclusive photos!

Awesome Quotes 

She got confused about which side of the card had nominees and which had the winner, but managed to turn her faux pas into a very endearing comedy bit. I like her about 3000 more times than I ever have before. Though as a Joss alum, she should have known how to pronounce the name of nominee Morena Baccarin.

A whole lot more after the jump!

Moments

I won't spoil it for those of you who don't watch Dexter, but DAMNIT. I really should have watched this show before last night cause I imagine what Benz said was something I would have never seen coming. The audience was audibly disturbed by the spoiler. Her comment elicited forlorn moans from all corners of the room. Rule of thumb, actors - try to avoid spoilers whenever possible. Yes Stephen Lang referenced nuking home tree, but who HASN'T seen Avatar? Honestly. Who hasn't. In this country. I want to know.

A really lovely moment. Plus presenter Catherine Hicks had just thanked Nimoy for discovering her & told him he looked fantastic. After they hugged on stage, she ran off to the side, half hiding herself like an embarrassed school girl - it was incredibly sweet. Between that, Anna Torv leading a standing o, and Nimoy admitting that he's never won anything for acting, the whole five minutes was supremely heartwarming. 

Okay. So Neil Marshall's name was called as a presenter, but no one came on stage. Naturally, Zach and Josh stepped in to save the day, running on stage, joking about taking Neil out with a blaster, only to discover he was there, just didn't realize his name had been called. They then sheepishly and hilariously left the stage and returned a few moments later to present the next award. When Sigourney Weaver won Best Supporting Actress, a comedy bit revolving around Zach being unable to do an impression of her while reading her acceptance letter, but maybe he could do impressions of other people, emerged. They also joked about how Chuck won nothing and it was "Bad Robot" night. The two of them brought so much energy to the stage, I hope they come back and present every year. 

The Mark Pellegrino Saga 

We got a little obsessed with the idea of being the next Jacob....

So that about does it for this year! Thanks for reading and hopefully we'll bring you just as much coverage next year. Maybe I'll even see you there! Complete list of winners here.

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