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There’s one big piece of news on the entertainment circuit that you should be paying attention to: how cool is the new Amazing Spider-Man 2 trailer. According to popular opinion, it is with stars Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone that the franchise has really found its footing and this second film from Garfield’s trilogy looks pretty much amazing, judging from the trailer, released yesterday.

The special effects look particularly gorgeous.

We already know that the masked superhero will be taking on a trio of The Green Goblin (Chris Cooper) The Rhino (Paul Giamatti) and Electro (Jamie Foxx,) the latter of whom has a particularly cool scene in the trailer, as he goes after Spider-Man with whips of static electricity. Not to mention that his one line in the trailer is said with enough power to convert any non-believers in Foxx’s aptitude for the role. The point of the trailer is fairly obvious: Electro is coming and the lights are going out. In fact, that could make for some sneaky real-world parallels and maybe a power/electricity analogy here and there, which Marvel have obviously caught on to. 

Continue reading: New 'Amazing Spider-Man 2' Trailer Looks Awesome, But How Will It Do Against 'The Winter Soldier?'

All eyes were on the Oscars red-carpet at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles this evening for the hottest dresses and obvious disasters at the biggest night on the movie industry's calendar. To be fair to Hollywood's starlets, there were far more successful outfits than fashion faux-pas and almost no wardrobe malfunctions in sight!

Inside the theatre, it was Ben Affleck's 'Argo' that won the eventual dual with Lincoln for Best Picture, though Ang Lee's 3-D drama Life of Pi was the unofficial success story of the night with 4 wins - more than any other film. Lee even wrestled the award for Best Director away from big favourite Steven Spielberg. Elsewhere, there was predicted success for Jennifer Lawrence who won Best Actress for Silver Linings Playbook and Daniel Day-Lewis established himself among the greatest actors of all time, securing an unprecedented third Oscar for Best Actor. Anne Hathaway offered up a suspiciously rehearsed acceptance speech after winning Best Supporting Actress while Christoph Waltz won the male equivalent for his role in Django Unchained. 

Jennifer Lawrence Won The Oscar For Best Actress

Continue reading: Oscars Red Carpet: Stacy Keibler, Jennifer Aniston Among Best Dressed (Photos)

It was all looking so promising for Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. According to the bookmakers, everything was in the historical epic's favor to pick up the 'big four' on Oscar night. Spielberg would win Best Director, Daniel Day-Lewis will land Best Actor, Sally Field might even win Best Actress, and the movie will almost certainly win Best Picture. The big-budget movie scored strong reviews from critics, though somehow, Ben Affleck's Argo team have snatched the major awards away from its grasp.

Today would have been Abraham Lincoln's 204th birthday - a milestone that Warner Brothers probably assumed would be celebrated with Spielberg and co white-washing the Oscars. Not so. Instead, the Associated Press honored it by noting how "nap-worthy," the late President's recent biopic is.  

"Yes, I fell asleep," confessed the 54-year-old marketing executive in Long Beach, Calif. "I only have two clear memories of the movie: a bunch of old white guys sitting around talking and Sally Field in a perpetual state of angst," goes one of the passages in the piece, before the writer adds, "The soliloquies started. That was something I didn't know about Lincoln, his tendency to give long-winded speeches at inappropriate times. The elderly lady next to me fell asleep and started snoring softly and before I knew it, I was nodding off, too."

Continue reading: Lincoln's Oscar Chances All But Disappear After 'Nap Worthy' Article

With the nominations for 2013's Academy Awards being revealed today, all the fields are open in the four major categories as there seems to be no real, clear cut contenders for the top prizes.

Lincoln has taken the brunt of the nominations, with twelve nominations in total, so it looks as though Steven Spielberg's historical epic might be favourite for some of the top awards too- Daniel Day-Lewis, Steven Spielberg and the film itself looking odds on favourite with Oddschecker.com. But still, are things really as clear cut as they seem? Maybe not, with the odds aside, the close(ish) ones at that, nothing really seems that clear really.

Avatar was the odds on winner back in 2010, but it was the former Mrs James Cameron, Katherine Bigelow, to see her film sweep the awards. Day-Lewis in particular has some competition in his field, with Cannes winner Joaquin Phoenix and first time nominees Bradley Cooper and Hugh Jackman biting at his heels. Both Argo and Zero Dark Thirty look as though they could take the top award of the night from under the president's nose, but with no Ben Affleck, it does look as though Ang Lee may be Spielberg's only competition to top director gong.

Continue reading: Odds Are On For No One As Oscars Look To Be Close

Dame Helen Mirren was among a star-studded guest list at the Palm Springs International Film Festival over the weekend (January 5-6, 2013)

It might not be mentioned in the same breath as the Oscars or the Golden Globes, but one look at the red carpet of the Palm Springs International Film Festival would be enough to dupe you into thinking that you were at either. That's because a huge raft of stars made an early appearance in this season's awards ceremony run, including Dame Helen Mirren, Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper, Naomi Watts and Helen Hunt.

Continue reading: PICTURES: Are You Sure It's Not The Oscars? Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper And Dame Helen Mirren Light Up Palm Springs Film Festival

Yesterday (January 6) saw Palm Springs as the setting of a lavish gala, marking the city’s own festival.

It’s something of a dress rehearsal for award season, and the Hollywood big-names in attendance took it as such. Attendees included actor-turned-director Ben Affleck, Naomi Watts, Helen Hunt, Bradley Cooper and many more. While some stars dazzled with their outfits, others rehearsed their award speeches for the biggies – the Golden Globes and Academy Awards. One such heavy-weight was Helen Mirren, who gave thanks in more than half a dozen different languages.

Another highlight of the night was Sally Field’s Lifetime Achievement Award, which she was presented with by Martin Sheen onstage at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Hollywood veteran is being pegged for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln earlier this season. On the red carpet, Field shared with reporters some of the stories from her childhood in Palm Springs. “Palm Springs will always make me smile,” she said. And while for Field the night might have been a walk down memory lane, for most others it offers a glimpse into the future – namely who and what will be the likeliest contenders for award success later this season.

Mooted by many to be an Oscar favourite, Steven Spielberg's political biopic, Lincoln, has broken records by being nominated for 13 Broadcast Film Critics Assn.'s Critics' Choice Movie Award nominations, The L.A Times reports.

Among the 13 nominations were best film, best director for Steven Spielberg, best actor for Daniel Day-Lewis, best supporting actress for Sally Field, best supporting actor for Tommy Lee Jones and best acting ensemble. The 18th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards will be handed out Jan. 10 - the same day that the Academy Award nominations are announced - and so represents one of the most exciting days of the year for film lovers. Fellow nominees in the most fiercly contested category - that of best film - are, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, The Master, Moonrise Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook and Zero Dark Thirty. 

Competing with Spielberg for best director are Ben Affleck for Argo, Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty, Tom Hooper for Les Miserables, Ang Lee for Life of Pi and David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook. The cinematic reimagining of the musical, Les Miserables is the second most recognised entry with 11 nominations, while the quirky romantic comedy Silver Linings Playbook scored 10, despite a mixed critical response.

Continue reading: Lincoln Makes Strong Oscar Statement With Unprecedented 13 Broadcast Film Critic's Choice Movie Award Nominations

Awards season got into full swing in New York last night (December 3, 2012), with the NY Film Critics Circle ceremony rewarding the best movies and performances of the year. Though the Golden Globes is considered a key barometer for the Oscars, it's been the New York awards' show that has correctly predicted the Academy Awards winners in recent years. For example, it named The Artist as Best Picture before it had stepped up its Oscars campaign in 2011, it rewarded Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady and crowned The Hurt Locker before it beat Avatar to the biggest prize of them all.

So what do Monday's results tell us about the Oscars race? Well, firstly, that Les Miserables might be in trouble after not picking up a single award. Musical movies have never found much success at the critics' awards, though Anne Hathaway was tipped to win Best Supporting Actress - it went to Lincoln's Sally Field instead. Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor, as he's expected to do at the Oscars, while Matthew Mcconaughey usurped the Best Supporting Actor award from The Master's Philip Seymour Hoffman. Another shock was Rachel Weisz's win in the Best Actress category, despite pretty much everyone in the industry predicting that Jennifer Lawrence will win the Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook. The biggest surprise of the evening was reserved for the top award - Best Picture - which went to Zero Dark Thirty. Forget Argo and Lincoln, because it was Kathryn Bigelow's drama about the hunt for Osama bin Laden that took the prize. The film currently holds a perfect score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, with Screen Crush writing, "This look at world's biggest manhunt may be the best manhunt movie ever made."

The result has affected the bookmakers' interpretation on the race for the Best Picture Oscar, slashing Zero Dark Thirty's odds to 14/1. Ben Affleck's Argo remains the favorite at 2/1. 

Continue reading: The New York Critics Predict The Oscars? Then Kathryn Bigelow Can Start Celebrating

Read anything on Sacha Gervasi's new movie Hitchcock, starring Sir Anthony Hopkins as the legendary Hollywood director, and you'll probably come across the phrases "Oscars buzz" and "Oscar tipped." The movie has enjoyed decent reviews from critics, though the press seem to have it nailed on for a nomination. It may well not be that straight forward.

History suggests that Hitchcock is the type of the movie the Academy will reward and with Hopkins and Dame Helen Mirren in the lead roles, it certainly boasts an appealing cast. However, the concluding months of 2012 have thrown up several serious contenders for the golden statuettes and Hitchcock may well be the movie to make way. Hopkins - who won Best Actor for Silence of the Lambs - has already decided to stop playing "nauseating games" with the Academy in order to win an Oscar and told Entertainment Weekly that he was too busy making films to launch a serious awards' season campaign for Hitchcock. "People go out of their way to flatter the nominating body [the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences] and I think it's kind of disgusting. Having to be nice to people and to be charming and flirting with them. That's always been against my nature", he added.

So what do the bookmakers think of Hitchcock's chances?

Continue reading: Is Sacha Gervasi's 'Hitchcock' Really Generating Oscars Buzz?

Daniel Day-Lewis was reluctant to play his role, and Sally Field almost didn’t get hers! It seems that getting the cast together for Lincoln wasn’t an easy thing to do. It’s already been widely reported that Day-Lewis was initially reluctant to play the role of 16^th American President Abraham Lincoln, such was its gravitas; for Field though the problem was slightly different – she was potentially too old to play Lincoln’s wife Mary Todd.

USA Today reports that Field was initially broached to play the first lady when Liam Neeson was attached to appear as Lincoln; the pair are of similar age. However, Day-Lewis is some 10 years younger than the actress, whilst Field is also 15 years older than Todd was at the time. Her fears were reportedly confirmed after Day-Lewis got the main role and Spielberg told her he couldn’t see her playing Todd. She insisted on a test but still didn’t get the part.

However Spielberg wasn’t sure about his decision and set up a meeting between her and Day-Lewis, where it all clicked into place. "He came and walked across the room and he was totally my darling, Mr. Lincoln," says Field. "And I stood and gave him my hand. I said, 'Mr. Lincoln — '" The rest was history, as they say.

Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln has certainly attracted the sort of attention that usually precedes pretty successful awards seasons. Gladiator, The Kings Speech, The Departed; just a couple of the big budget, big name movies to sweep the Oscars having courted high praise from critics towards the end of the year.

Lincoln – a biopic of America’s 16^th President played with aplomb by Daniel Day Lewis – appears to be Spielberg’s finest film in years, but is that good? In a blog on The Huffington Post, David Edmund Moody pulled out the M-word. Yep, the M-word. Calling Lincoln a “modern masterpiece,” though somewhat patronisingly warning, “…this film is not for the masses. It is too rich and complex, the pace too leisurely, the dialogue too intricate and subtle, to reach the audience it deserves. Time will tell whether it deserves a place next to City Lights and Citizen Kane.” Still, it’s good to known that Spielberg is coming up with something packing a little more substance than say Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull or even the tame War Horse. A.O Scott of the New York Times heaped praise on the movie and Spielberg’s direction, writing, “To say that this is among the finest films ever made about American politics may be to congratulate it for clearing a fairly low bar,” while Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times wrote, “There is nothing bravura or overly emotional about Spielberg's direction here, but the impeccable filmmaking is no less impressive for being quiet and to the point.” Much of the praise is firmly directed in Day-Lewis’ direction – a superb actor known for choosing his roles wisely. Reports suggest he was reluctant to sign on to the epic tale, though his performance has left bookmakers all but paying out on him landing the Oscar for Best Actor in February 2012. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said, “The phenomenal Daniel Day-Lewis plays Lincoln with immersive, indelible power in Spielberg's brilliant, brawling epic.”

Continue reading: Is Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln Really A Modern Masterpiece?

The Steel Magnolias remake, aired on Sunday (October 7, 2012) achieved impressive viewing figures, proving to be Lifetime’s most successful show since at least 2004, reports MTV News. It was the third-most watched original telecast ever for the channel.

A remake of the 1989 feature surrounding the lives of six resilient female friends of various ages - this time with an all African American cast led by Queen Latifah - delivered an average of 6.5 million total viewers in its premiere, according to Nielsen. "We couldn't be happier with the great response "Steel Magnolias" and "Abducted: The Carlina White Story" received from viewers this weekend," said Rob Sharenow, Lifetime's executive vice president of programming in a statement. More specifically, The Sony Pictures Television-produced film averaged 3.2 million adults 25-54, which, being a key demographic is great news for Lifetime. On Saturday (October 6, 2012) the premiere of the Lifetime original "Abducted: The Carlina White Story" also generated strong viewership, earning 4.1 million total viewers, but Steel Magnolias was the clear winner; the film scored the studio’s best audience since Life Is Not a Fairy Tale: The Fantasia Barrino Story in 2006 and was the top cable movie among total viewers since 2007.

The diversity of the cast demonstrated the universal nature of the themes, with the story being virtually identical to the original feature film, which, having been filmed in the late 80’s, features a predominantly white cast. Julia Roberts and Sally Field, for instance, starred in the 80’s version.

The Lincoln trailer debuted in-between the 2012 Presidential Debate, giving the film a great audience for its teasing premiere.

Whether you were watching the debate unfold on ABC, CBS or CNN you will have struggled to miss the shiny new trailer for Steven Spielberg's upcoming presidential epic. Scenes from the Civil War open the trailer with Lincoln, portrayed by Daniel Day Lewis reciting The Gettysburg Address in the background, and quickly we see the president conflicting with members of his cabinet. The film also stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones and Sally Field. The advertising and P.R buffs involved in the film must have been licking their lips at the chance to showcase the new trailer at the debate, as it looks like it was the perfect time to showcase the film. Lincoln hits selected theatres November 9, with a wider release planned for November 16.

Films such as Ben Affleck's Argo and Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman's The Master already are proven Academy Awards contenders through rapturous reactions from festival crowds or early theatrical audiences, but Lincoln may have something to say about that. With Oscar fever reaching higher temperatures by the day, many have already tipped Paul Thomas Anderson's post wartime drama to take the big prize, with the films protégé set to scoop the individual prizes, but early indications would suggest that Daniel Day Lewis could upset the odds.