The Best Jack Nicholson Movies of All Time On His 75th Birthday

Jack Nicholson, one of the greatest actors of Hollywood turned 75 on April 22, 2012.A brief history on his entry into movies…

When he initially got to Hollywood in the late fifties with a dream to make a living in the movies, Jack was not an immediate hit. For some time, he was an assistant at Hanna-Barbera, and essentially showed promise as an animator. But drawing cartoons wasn't his reason for being there. So he gave up.

He then worked with  Roger Corman now and then for several years, appearing in such cult items as ‘The Little Shop Of Horrors’ (1960) and ‘The Raven’ (1963).By the late sixties,though he was not successful as an actor,he was step by step resigning himself to working behind the camera as a writer/director. Then providence played a hand.

His good friend Dennis Hopper was getting ready to shoot ‘Easy Rider’  and had a huge tiff with  character actor Rip Torn, who'd been cast to play gonzo lawyer George Hanson in the film.All of a sudden, Rip was out, and Jack was in.

Jack almost stole that movie, earning himself his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Though clearly he'd broken through, it was hardly predicted the level of success that was to follow.

Over the next six years, Jack was nominated for Best Actor four times, and won his first Oscar in 1976, for ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest’. Thus far, he has been nominated 12 times, and won three Academy Awards.

Though Jack is 75, he seems ageless, chiefly when you revisit his best films which includes:

• One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
• Chinatown
• Easy Rider
• The Last Detail
• Carnal Knowledge
• About Schmidt
• The Shining
• Terms Of Endearment
• A Few Good Men
• Something's Gotta Give
• As Good As It Gets

New Set of Writers for Oscars to Depict a Sharp Focus on Comedy

Oscar producers Brett Ratner and Don Mischer are exhibiting a strong focus on comedy for the 84th Academy Awards presentation to be held in February. The twosome have hired a group of veteran screenwriters to bring some humor to the show. The scribes boast credits for shows counting "Saturday Night Live" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and will be making an attempt to breathe new life into a program that in the last few years seemed to have fallen flat.

Many of the writers have a record of working with either Ratner or his Oscar host, Eddie Murphy, and will work chiefly with Murphy. They will put in writing bits for the actor-comedian ahead of time and will be backstage in the writers’ room the night of the event.

Ratner stated that he was new to this and that he wanted to feel comfortable, since he had to drive this whole thing. Hence he brought in guys with whom he had a personal relationship and with whom he had worked before.

The one, beyond doubt veteran Academy Awards scribe on the case is Jon Macks, who besides writing for the last 14 Oscar shows has also penned bits for the Emmys and the Country Music Awards.

Oprah Winfrey Might Host The 2012 Oscars

Possibilities exist for Oprah Winfrey to host the next year’s Oscar Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in February. This is based on a report brought out by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences(AMPAS).According to the columnist Bill Zwecker, Academy honchos strongly believe that Oprah Winfrey could significantly expand the show’s audience.

In case, Oprah Winfrey accepts the hosting, then she will be the third solo female host in Oscar history, the other two women being Whoopi Goldberg and Ellen DeGeneres. Until now, there has been no sign of a statement yet from Oprah’s side to acknowledge the Oscar hosting.

If Oprah Winfrey accepts the spot as next year’s anchor for the Oscar Academy, it is expected that there will be a remark on the rise of television ratings. And it will be a new record for the increase of audience and viewers as well. For the 2011 Oscars, Oprah Winfrey was present, handing out the statuette for the best documentary host.

Cate Blanchett And Her Couture At The Academy Awards 2011

Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett’s Givenchy Couture gown at this year's Academy Awards, created quite a stir, leaving most people with several different of opinions. The others present for the Awards either loved it, or hated it. And Cate Blanchett spoke about her bold fashion choice with Instyle Magazine while promoting her film Hanna.

She said that majority of people get so worried about dressing for other people, on the other hand one needs to wear what one likes. In case people get it, they get it and if they don’t, then it doesn’t matter. There are so few houses that can manage to do couture,and since the red carpet is such an amazing showcase that one needs to celebrate it. She stated that the reason behind the choice of her dress that was it was very architectural and the breast piece was made all out of elastic.Additionally she said that she was really tempted to wear it due to the color combination.

Academy Award Winner Colin Forth Might Obtain Knighthood

Oscar winner Colin Firth is reportedly in order for the utmost honour that can be bestowed on anyone. The 50 year old adored actor is being considered for a Knighthood after the royal family were so awed with his performance in The King's Speech.

A source close to the royals stated that Colin has been a huge ambassador for Britain all through his career and his insightful portrayal of King George VI has won him much admiration among the royal family and of course, the film's many fans.

While another source commented on the Queen's private viewing of The King's Speech stating that The Queen loves a good film.'The King's Speech' is close to the bone as it is a portrayal of her family in the 1930s. But she found it poignant and enjoyable. She was clearly pleased by some of the lighter moments.

Colin Firth will get to know if he has made the honours list the week before the Queen's Birthday Honors list when it is declared in June.

For the meantime Colin is set to star in My Fair Lady and will next be seen at the side of Gary Oldman when Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy opens across the UK on September 16.

10 nominees for The Best Picture Category for Oscars,2010

Including double the nominees for the Best Picture category for the Oscars next year….Will it attract more viewers for the Oscars next year?Will this culminate in a tough competition for the judges for selecting the best picture?Whats the final event gonna be like is hard to predict!

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis made the announcement on June 24th that the Oscars for 2010 to be held on March 7 will have 10 nominees for the Best Picture category. This decision was taken as the governors of the academy board felt that there were several other films which deserved to be in this category.The other qualified movies like 'Dark Knight', 'Iron-Man', 'Happy-Go-Lucky', 'The Wrestler' were left from this category due to the restriction of 5 nominees. Also,there was a debate with 'The Dark Knight', not being chosen in the Best Picture Category as it had sold $1 billion in tickets worldwide.

This brings us back to the days of 1943 when, for the 16th Academy Awards,there were 10 nominees for the best picture.The movie 'Casablanca' won the Oscars for the Best Picture that year.Those in Hollywood might feel that this is a brilliant opportunity for their movies to vie in this category.

On February 2nd, 2010 , movie buffs and those awaiting the Oscars will get to know the nominees for the 82nd Academy Awards.

Penelope Cruz Sanchez

Penelope Cruz Sanchez, a Spanish actress won the best supporting actress award at the Oscars this year for her outstanding performance in the movie "Vicky Cristina Barcelona". She is the first female actress from Spain to win an Oscar.Her career started with Spanish movies like "Jamon, jamon" and "Belle Epoque" in the year 1992.Both these movies won critical acclaim for her as a young actress. She is appreciated immensely for her performances in the movies "Volver" and "Todo sobre mi madre". She has delivered outstanding performance in many American movies too.

She was born in Madrid,Spain in April 28,1974 and had learnt classical ballet for 9 years at Spain's National Conservatory.Penelope Cruz speaks four languages such as Spanish, Italian, French and English. She is also known to have contributed sufficient time and money to charity.In one of her interviews, during the year 2007,she even expressed her wish to adopt a child in future.

Kate Elizabeth Winslet

Well known and much appreciated for her character Rose DeWitt Bukater in the 1997 American movie Titanic, Kate Winslet has won this year's Best Actress Award at the Oscars .She won this award for her character Hanna Schmitz in the movie The Reader.

The others nominated in the same category were:

Anne Hathaway – "Rachel Getting Married"
Angelina Jolie - “Changeling”
Melissa Leo - “Frozen River”
Meryl Streep - “Doubt”

Her acting career began with the TV series Dark Season in 1991. From then,on there has been no looking back for this talentedactress.Another critically acclaimed performance of hers was the portrayal of her character Marianne Dashwood in the movie Sense and Sensibility in 1995 .

Kate Winslet was the youngest actress to receive 2 oscar nominations at the age of 22.Now at the age of 33,she still remains the youngest actor of either sex to be credited with 6 nominations.

The others oscar winners:

Best Original Song :
'Jai Ho'-A.R Rehman and Gulzar
'Slumdog Millionaire'

Best Film Editing:
'Slumdog Millionaire'
Chris Dickens

Best Documentary - Short Subject:
'Smile Pinki'

Best Cinematography:
'Slumdog Millionaire'
Anthony Dod Mantle

Best Costume Design:
'The Duchess'
Michael O'Connor

Best Sound Mixing:
'Slumdog Millionaire'
Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Resul Pookutty

Best Sound Editing:
'The Dark Knight'
Richard King

Best Live Action Short Film:
'Spielzeugland (Toyland)'

Best Animated Short Film:
'La Maison de Petits Cubes'

Best Makeup:
'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'
Greg Cannom

Best Art Direction:
'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'
Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo

Best Visual Effects:
'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

And the winners of the 81st Academy Awards....

	Best Picture: 'SlumDog Millionaire'
	Best Director: 'SlumDog Millionaire'
	Best Original Score:A.R Rehman 'SlumDog Millionaire'
	Best Actor: Sean Penn 'Milk'
	Best Actress: Kate Winslet 'The Reader'
	Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger 'The Dark Knight'
	Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona'
	Best Animated Feature Film: 'Wall-E'

Best Foreign Film:
'Departures'
Japan

Best Original Screenplay:
'Milk'
Dustin Lance Black

Best Adapted Screenplay :
'Slumdog Millionaire'
Simon Beaufoy

Best Documentary Feature:
'Man on Wire'

The Curious case of Benjamin Button

This movie indeed stirs our curiosity to watch the movie.Nominated this year for nearly 13 Academy Awards,is altogether a totally different story.The nominations include Best Actor for Brad Pitt,Best Picture,Best Director for David Fincher as well as Best Supporting Actress for Taraji P. Henson. It was released on December 25th in USA.

The movie is an inspiration from the 1921 short story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald,which was of the same name.Scott Fitzgerald, was inspired from a quote by Mark Twain: "Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of 80 and gradually approach 18."

It depicts the life of a man named Benjamin Button who is born in his eighties and ages backwards with weird consequences.The story is set in New Orleans from the end of World War I in 1918 to the 21st century, following the unusual journey of life of Benjamin Button.