Mark Zuckerberg and Jesse Eisenberg Meet on Saturday Night Live

Movie persona meets the real inventor of Poking.

Mark Zuckerberg appeared on Saturday Night Live last night with Oscar-nominee Jesse Eisenberg, who portrayed the former in The Social Network.  Jesse delivered the opening monologue, with SNL mainstay Andy Samberg briefly interrupting while wearing a curly-haired wig and Zuckerberg's trademark hoodie (might I add, he did look close to Zuckerberg).  The real Facebook founder then joined the two near the end of the monologue.  It was the first time that Jesse and Mark ever met.

"Awkward." joked Andy as he left the two on stage.

James Cameron gets a Twitter Account and talks about Sanctum

With the urging of Ryan Seacrest, James Cameron got himself a Twitter account just yesterday. Not surprisingly, he's already gotten 37,724 followers in that short span of time. He's been devoting most of his tweets to his new project, Sanctum, a 3D action-thriller flick using the same 3D magic employed on Avatar.

The film is due to be released in the US on February 4, 2011 in the United States. The plot was heavily inspired by the near-death experience James Cameron's co-writer, Andrew Wight experienced when a freak storm collapsed the entrance of the underwater cave his crew was exploring.

From the mouth (or tweet, more accurately) of James, it seems the movie got good reviews. He quotes: "Thank god the #Sanctum press junket is over At least they liked the movie. SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: They all said they couldn’t breathe."

A thriller movie on 3D is definitely a great way to go, because the scare factor of the movie will definitely elevate when you're more immersed in what is happening. I can almost imagine the claustrophobic feeling of watching this movie inside a relatively small, dark movie theater.

Survey Sunday - Who d'you think will Win Oscar Best Picture?

We thought we'd kick off our "Survey Sunday" with an Oscar-related question. Vote away!



Just a bit of trivia: To date, there have only been 3 animated pictures nominated for Best Picture - Beauty and the Beast, Up, and this year: Toy Story 3. The first two did not win the coveted award, so let's see if Toy Story 3 can be the first ever animated film to win best picture. Honestly though, Woody and the gang have a lot of stiff competition this year, so it definitely won't be an easy win.

2011 Oscar Nominations Announced Today

The nominees for the 2011 Academy Awards were announced today.  The award ceremony will take place on February 27, 2011 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California.

Best Picture

The Social Network

Nominees:
127 Hours
Black Swan
Inception
The Fighter
The Kids Are All Right
The King's
Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone



Best Director

Darren Aronofsky

Nominees:
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Joel and Ethan Coen, True Grit
David Fincher, The Social Network
Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
David O. Russell, The Fighter





Best Actress

Natalie Portman

Nominees:
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine








Best Actor

Colin Firth

Nominees:
Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours






Best Supporting Actress

Melissa Leo

Nominees:
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom




Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale

Nominees:
Christian Bale, The Fighter
John Hawkes, Winter's Bone
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech







Best Animated Feature

Toy Story 3

Nominees:
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3

Don Cheadle Positive on War Machine Spin-Off

Don Cheadle confirmed that a War Machine spin-off film is in the works.

Funny Moments with Matt Damon

After seeing him kick serious butt in the Bourne series, it may be hard to imagine Matt Damon doing hilarious stuff to make you laugh.  But through the years, Matt has shown snippets of his uncanny sense of humor and there's enough material to make us wonder if he should showcase this comedic side more in his choices of film roles.  After all, Mr. Damon's definitely got the range.

How he had a hand in making an Italian guy strip for George Clooney:


"Feud" with Jimmy Kimmel - Guesting at Kimmel's show:


"Feud" with Jimmy Kimmel - Getting bumped out of his own Bourne movie:


His first of many Matthew McConaughey impressions at David Letterman's:

Beauty and the Briefcase Movie Review + DVD Release

Beauty and the Briefcase is a made for TV movie about a magazine writer named Lane (Hilary Duff) who does some undercover magazine work at an office filled with potential male co-workers to see if she can, indeed, find her "magic man" in the workplace. The Beauty and the Briefcase DVD is set to be released this coming February 8, 2011, so it felt like the perfect time to review this movie.

Steve's Take: Gil Junger, who brought us 10 Things I Hate About You a decade ago (has it really been that long since?), directs this original TV film and efficiently sews an internally cohesive romantic-comedy story within the 85 or so minutes of film time. The brightest spot in the film has to be Jamie Pressly who was near-perfect in her role as Kate White, Lane's boss. It is just unfortunate that that Liam character's irreverently fake Brit accent proves to be too distracting. On the whole, you get a sense that the film doesn't promise you anything but just wants you to go along with the ride. Verdict: If you like collecting films that fall within its genre, Beauty and the Briefcase is a worthwhile addition. Even if it is made for TV, it still trumps the more cheesy and cliche-ridden big screen flicks of late.

Merle's Take: Uniqueness isn't one of the strong points of Beauty and the Briefcase, as is the case with many chick flicks, but that doesn't really matter. Hilary Duff is charming as Lane - a mix of blonde humor and that distinctive trademark persona the actress brings. But what perhaps catches my attention more than anything is who she ends up with. Usually, I can tell within the first 10 minutes of a chick flick who the leading lady is going to end up with, but in this case, it felt almost like an equal toss up among her potential beaus (played by Matt Dallas, Chris Carmack, and Michael McMillian). That she ended up with the guy I chose was surely plus points for the movie. Verdict: Overall, Beauty and the Briefcase is perfect to own as a DVD. It's the kind of flick you'd like to watch when you just want a good ol' straight-forward chick flick that will leave a smile on your face.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Singing

As good an actor as he is, Joseph Gordon-Levitt wants to entertain you in a refreshingly different way:

Bad Romance at Summer in the City Show


La Valse à Mille Temps at Summer in the City Show


Carole King's Natural Woman at Summer in the City Show


La Bamba while shooting the indie film "Uncertainty"

Look out for Elizabeth Olsen at the Sundance

The Sundance is always a great place to watch out for budding movie stars, and Elizabeth Olsen may be the one to look out for this year. Yes, she is, in fact, the younger sister of the Olsen twins, so it will be great to see whether her career will be shadowed by the twins, or whether she can make a name for her own. Her two films are dark, psychological flicks - In "Martha Marcy May Marlene" she is a young woman who escapes a cult, while "Silent House" focuses on her bout with sanity.


Her choice of films alone will certainly set her apart from Mary-Kate and Ashley, who are mostly known for candy teen chick flicks.

Morgan Freeman Chain of Command

Check out Maxim.com's chart for an unofficial hierarchy of Morgan Freeman's various onscreen personas:

And we're not even counting Wayne Enterprises executive (The Dark Knight), and head of a thousand-year-old secret society of assassins (Wanted).

Now all we need is for The Maestro to do a voice-over and explain the chart.  Like for instance, how being an inmate has more authority than a driver and freed slave, voice notwithstanding.

Ricky Gervais' Golden Globes Monologue and Jokes

Some found them funny, others extremely rude.  Here are links to Ricky Gervais' opening monologue and other jokes for Golden Globes 2011:

Gawker (Complete version):http://tv.gawker.com/5735192/watch-ricky-gervais-extremely-uncomfortable-golden-globes-monologue

CelebTV on Youtube:



Entertainment Weekly also has a compilation of his "rudest" Golden Globe jokes:

• "Welcome to a night of partying and heavy drinking.  Or as Charlie Sheen calls it: breakfast."
• "I'd like to quash this ridiculous rumor going around that the only reason The Tourist was nominated so the HFPA could hang out with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. That is rubbish. That is not the only reason. They also accepted bribes.” (That line is what presumably prompted the HFPA president to shoot back, “Ricky, next time you want me to help you qualify your movies, go to another guy.”)
• “Nothing for Sex and the City 2. I was sure the award for best special effects would go to the team that airbrushed that poster.”
• Introducing Bruce Willis as “Ashton Kutcher’s dad.”
• “Also not nominated, I Love You Phillip Morris, with Ewan McGregor and Jim Carrey, two heterosexual actors pretending to be gay — the complete opposite of some famous Scientologists then.” Gervais added: “My lawyers helped me the wording of that joke.”

Gervais also introduced Robert Downey Jr. as someone better know for his stays "at the Betty Ford Clinic and the L.A. County Jail" than for his movie roles.  Downey retorted, "Aside from the fact that it's been hugely mean-spirited with mildly sinister undertones, I'd say the show's going pretty good so far, wouldn't you?"

Golden Globes Awards 2011

Official Results:

*Robert De Niro received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in motion pictures.

FILM

Motion Picture Drama: The Social Network
Motion Picture Musical or Comedy: The Kids are All Right

Actor in a Motion Picture Drama: Colin Firth, The King's Speech
Actress in a Motion Picture Drama: Natalie Portman, The Black Swan

Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy: Paul Giamatti, Barney's Version
Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy: Annette Bening, The Kids are All Right

Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: Melissa Leo, The Fighter

Director: David Fincher, The Social Network
Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Original Score: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, The Social Network
Original Song: "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" - Burlesque

Animated Feature Film: Toy Story 3
Foreign Language Film: In a Better World (Denmark)

TELEVISION

TV Drama Series: Boardwalk Empire
TV Musical or Comedy Series: Glee

Miniseries or TV Movie: Carlos

Actor in a TV Drama Series: Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Actress in a TV Drama Series: Katey Sagal, Sons of Anarchy

Actor in a TV Musical or Comedy Series: Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Actress in a TV Musical or Comedy Series: Laura Linney, The Big C

Actor in a Mini-series or TV Film: Al Pacino, You Don't Know Jack
Actress in a Mini-series or TV Film: Clair Danes, Temple Grandin

Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini-series, or TV Film: Chris Colfer, Glee
Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-series, or TV Film: Jane Lynch, Glee



Real-time Feed...

• Scarlett Johansson is first presenter for Best Supporting Actor. 
• Christian Bale wins Best Supporting Actor for The Fighter.  Michael Douglas, Andrew Garfield, Jeremy Renner, and Geoffrey Rush are other nominees.
• Is it just me or did Olivia Wilde look a bit like Keira Knightley in that get-up.
• Johnny Depp nominated twice in Best Performance in Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for Alice in Wonderland and The Tourist.  Paul Giamatti wins the award.  Jake Gyllenhaal and Kevin Spacey also nominated.
• Natalie Portman wins Best Performance in Motion Picture - Drama, remarks about the Black Swan movie scene where her partner, Benjamin Millepied remarked that he wouldn't sleep with her.  And now she's pregnant with his child in real life.
• Ricky Gervais introducing Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, "... <mouthful of fine introduction about Tom Hanks accomplishments and awards> .....and the other is Tim Allen." Hilarious!
• Colin Firth wins Best Performance in a Motion Picture - Drama for The King's Speech.  Other nominees are James Franco, Ryan Gosling, Jesse Eisenberg, and Mark Wahlberg.
• Best Motion Picture to be announced soon by a "special guest." 
• Michael Douglas to present the Best Motion Picture award. He looks great and healthy despite the cancer bout.  Standing ovation. 
• Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The King's Speech, The Social Network are the nominees.
• The Social Network wins Golden Globe Best Motion Picture.
• For those wondering why Kevin Spacey is there on stage for Best Motion Picture award, he's an executive producer for The Social Network. 
• "Thank you to God, for making me an atheist." - Ricky Gervais