Ted 2 set for June 2015 release

Seth MacFarlane's sequel to 2012's Ted, appropriately titled Ted 2, will hit theaters on June 26, 2015.

Ted, starring Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis, told the story of a man living with a teddy bear who came to life when he was a young boy. It was Universal's biggest hit in 2012 making $550 million at the box office. MacFarlane will return to voice Ted and will also be writing and directing the sequel.
The sequel will join a very busy 2015 schedule including Jurassic World, Inside Out, Assassin's Creed, The Terminator, and Independence Day 2. Ted 2 will hit just 2 weeks before Universal's Despicable Me spin-off, Minions.

I personally hated Ted, so this is definitely a 2015 release I will be skipping.

Ellen DeGeneres returns to host the Oscars

After the seeming failure of Seth MacFarlane's show this year, the Oscars have tapped yet another previous host to return for the 86th Academy Awards on March 2, 2014. That would be Ellen DeGeneres.

She first hosted back in 2007 and was tapped after MacFarlane apparently turned down an offer to return after citing scheduling conflicts. Many are speculating the choice to go with DeGeneres is due to her ability to keep the mood light and fun without rocking the boat toward too raunchy. Not to mention the fact that she earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for her hosting skills back in 2007. She has also earned a total of 45 Daytime Emmy nominations for her talk show Ellen which has aired for 10 seasons. Show producers Craig Zadan and Neal Meron will return for the show as well.
Another project DeGeneres has coming up is voice work to return as Dory for the Disney/Pixar sequel Finding Dory which hits theaters in 2015.

2013 Academy Award Winners!

Nothing too surprising this year, but it was a good show. I have to say because I can admit when I am wrong... Seth MacFarlane was a great host. I hope he hosts again in the future.

Anyway, here are the winners!

* Best Picture:
Argo

* Best Actor:
Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln

* Best Actress:
Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook

* Best Director:
Ang Lee - Life of Pi

* Best Original Screenplay:
Quentin Tarantino - Django Unchained

* Best Adapted Screenplay:
Chris Terrio - Argo

* Best Supporting Actor:
Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained

* Best Supporting Actress:
Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables

* Best Animated Feature:
Brave

* Best Animated Short:
Paperman

* Best Foreign Language Film:
Amour

* Best Cinematography:
Life of Pi

Best Editing:
Argo

* Best Costume Design:
Anna Karenina

* Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
Les Miserables

* Best Sound Mixing:
Les Miserables

* Best Sound Editing (there was a tie):
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty

* Best Visual Effects:
Life of Pi

Best Live Action Short Film:
Curfew

Best Production Design:
Lincoln

Best Original Score:
Mychael Danna - Life of Pi

* Best Original Song:
"Skyfall" - Skyfall

Best Documentary Feature:
Searching for Sugar Man

Best Documentary Short:
Inocente 


The categories with the star next to them indicate that my prediction was correct. The only categories that I predicted and missed are Best Original Score and Production Design. All the rest without stars I didn't predict so I didn't technically lose. Alright, I'm done tooting my own horn.
I'm a bit disappointed that Quvenzhane Wallis didn't take Best Actress, but she has many years ahead of her. I'm happy Jennifer Lawrence won and I must say that I like her more after seeing her fall up the stairs while walking to accept her statue. That was awesome. I am also kind of bummed that Hugh Jackman didn't win, but I fully expected Daniel Day-Lewis to take it. We all did.
The main surprise for me was Life of Pi winning Best Original Score. I was sure it was going to go to Argo or Lincoln, so that was one that got everyone.

I loved the overall theme of the show which basically was the tribute to the movie music over the years. We had a reunion (kind of) for Chicago as well as performances from Seth MacFarlane, Channing Tatum, Charlize Theron, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Daniel Radcliffe, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jennifer Hudson, Adele, Norah Jones, Dame Shirley Bassey, and Barbara Streisand. We also had cameo appearances from Michelle Obama, William Shatner, and Ted. Yes, the star of MacFarlane's stupid teddy bear movie.
As far as presenters went it was fairly ordinary. Jack Nicholson shared the Best Picture announcement with Michelle Obama, Kristen Stewart hobbled onstage looking like she was on drugs, and Paul Rudd and Melissa McCarthy kind of proved they have no comedic chemistry whatsoever. Oh, and Dustin Hoffman grabbed Charlize Theron's ass. I saw it.

Overall the show wasn't bad. I thought some of MacFarlane's jokes went a little far, but anyone who has any common sense knows that was to be expected. I actually thought he was a good host. He was the best one since Hugh Jackman, for me, and was definitely better than Ricky Gervais ever was.
Congrats to Argo and all the winners. To the losers... better luck next time!

My predictions for the 2013 Academy Awards

I think there are going to be some surprises waiting for us regarding the 85th annual Academy Awards, but for now I am going to share my predictions for how the awards will go this year. I'm not going to predict every category as I have not seen every movie, such as documentary shorts and foreign films, but I will do my best.

Best Picture:
I think Argo is going to take this one. Starting out a lot of people were thinking Lincoln was a sure thing but seeing how unpopular Lincoln has seemed to be at the other award shows I don't think it will take Best Picture. Not unless the Academy is going to surprise us. I personally think Beasts of the Southern Wild or Les Miserables should win but those are both long shots. The only other movie besides Lincoln I can see giving Argo a good run for its money is Silver Linings Playbook.

Best Director:
Seeing that the Academy stiffed Ben Affleck, who has swept this category everywhere else, I don't really know who else to pick. They also stiffed Tom Hooper for Les Miserables. Out of the choices I think it will go to either Ang Lee or Steven Spielberg, leaning more toward Ang Lee. I would like to see Benh Zeitlin win for Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Best Actor:
There is no competition for this category. It should be Hugh Jackman for Les Miserables, but it's going to be Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln.

Best Actress:
This one is tough for me. I would love to see Quevanzhane Wallis win for Beasts of the Southern Wild. She was fantastic and I want her to win badly. However, I would also be happy with Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook. I think Lawrence is probably going to win it.

Best Supporting Actor:
It's going to be either Robert De Niro for Silver Linings Playbook or Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained. Leaning more toward De Niro.

Best Supporting Actress:
Anne Hathaway for Les Miserables. Enough said.

Best Animated Film:
I have no doubt Brave is going to take this one. Pixar almost never loses in this category. I would like to see either ParaNorman or Frankenweenie win this one, but I highly doubt either of those will beat out Brave. They probably won't even beat out Wreck-It Ralph.

Best Cinematography:
It should be Skyfall but it will be Life of Pi.

Best Costume Design:
I would give it to Les Miserables, but I am thinking this one will go to Anna Karenina.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
Les Miserables. It could go to The Hobbit, though.

Best Original Score:
I think it should go to Thomas Newman for Skyfall, but it probably will go to Alexandre Desplat for Argo.

Best Original Song:
"Skyfall" by Adele. If it goes to anyone else I am turning the show off.

Best Production Design:
Les Miserables, again, is my pick but it probably is going to Life of Pi or Anna Karenina.

Best Animated Short:
Paperman is my choice and what I think will win. At least it should win.

Best Sound Editing:
The Dark Kn.... oh wait, I forgot. Skyfall.

Best Sound Mixing:
Skyfall or Les Miserables

Best Visual Effects:
This one is no doubt going to Life of Pi. I think it should go to The Avengers or The Hobbit. I'm not a Lord of the Rings fan, but I am smart enough to know Peter Jackson is a wizard when it comes to visual effects.

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Argo or Silver Linings Playbook

Best Original Screenplay:
Hands down should be Moonrise Kingdom, but I am predicting Amour or Django Unchained.


We'll see how my predictions turn out tomorrow night! 

2013 Academy Award nominations announced; Lincoln in the lead

Lincoln leads this year's Oscar nominations with 12 total while The Dark Knight Rises got snubbed completely. It didn't even get a nomination for visual effects or original score. I am also a little bummed The Avengers only got visual effects. I thought it had a decent shot at a couple other categories. Also among the snubs are Kathryn Bigelow, Tom Hooper, and Ben Affleck for Best Director and Moonrise Kingdom in just about every predicted category. John Hawkes and Leonardo DiCaprio were also left out of the Best Actor category.

So here we go:

Best Picture:
Argo
Amour
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Director:
Ang Lee - Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg - Lincoln
David O. Russell - Silver Linings Playbook
Michael Haneke - Amour
Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Actor:
Denzel Washington - Flight
Hugh Jackman - Les Miserables
Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln
Joaquin Phoenix - The Master
Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook

Best Actress:
Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook
Quevenzhane Wallis - Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts - The Impossible
Emmanuelle Riva - Amour

Best Supporting Actor:
Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln
Robert De Niro - Silver Linings Playbook
Alan Arkin - Argo
Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master
Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained

Best Supporting Actress:
Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables
Helen Hunt - The Sessions
Sally Field - Lincoln
Amy Adams - The Master
Jacki Weaver - Silver Linings Playbook

Best Original Screenplay:
Mark Boal - Zero Dark Thirty
Quentin Tarantino - Django Unchained
Michael Haneke - Amour
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola - Moonrise Kingdom
John Gatins - Flight

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Tony Kushner - Lincoln
Chris Terrio - Argo
David O. Russell - Silver Linings Playbook
David Magee - Life of Pi
Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Foreign Language Film:
Amour
No
A Royal Affair
Kon-Tiki
War Witch

Best Animated Feature:
Frankenweenie
Brave
ParaNorman
Wreck-It Ralph
The Pirates! A Band of Misfits

Best Documentary:
The Gatekeepers
How to Survive a Plague
Searching for Sugar Man
5 Broken Cameras
The Invisible War

Best Documentary Short:
Inocente
Kings Point
Mondays at Racine
Open Heart
Redemption

Best Production Design:
Lincoln
Life of Pi
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Anna Karenina
Les Miserables

Best Cinematography:
Life of Pi
Skyfall
Lincoln
Django Unchained
Anna Karenina 

Best Film Editing:
Zero Dark Thirty
Argo
Silver Linings Playbook
Lincoln
Life of Pi

Best Original Score:
Dario Marianelli - Anna Karenina
Mychael Danna - Life of Pi
Thomas Newman - Skyfall
John Williams - Lincoln
Alexandre Desplat - Argo

Best Original Song:
"Skyfall" - Skyfall
"Suddenly" - Les Miserables
"Pi's Lullaby" - Life of Pi
"Before My Time" - Chasing Ice
"Everybody Needs a Best Friend" - Ted

Best Visual Effects:
Life of Pi
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Prometheus
Snow White and the Huntsman
The Avengers

Best Costume Design:
Lincoln
Anna Karenina
Les Miserables
Mirror Mirror
Snow White and the Huntsman

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
Hitchcock
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Miserables

Best Sound Editing:
Skyfall
Argo
Zero Dark Thirty
Life of Pi
Django Unchained

Best Sound Mixing:
Skyfall
Lincoln
Life of Pi
Les Miserables
Argo

Best Animated Short:
Adam and Dog
Fresh Guacamole 
Head over Heels
The Longest Daycare
Paperman

Best Live Action Short:
Asad
Buzkashi Boys
Curfew
Death of a Shadow
Henry


As far as my predictions go, I expect Lincoln to win as many as it was nominated for because that is how these awards seem to go every year. However, I am really pulling for Quevenzhane Wallis to take home Best Actress. That girl pulled me in and didn't let me go and she deserves the best recognition in the industry for that. If she doesn't win I will be disappointed. I will also be upset if Hugh Jackman doesn't take it home. He was fantastic in Les Miserables.
And for once I think I will be happy with any winner for Best Animated Feature. I would prefer Frankenweenie take the statue, but I won't be upset if Brave or Wreck-It Ralph or ParaNorman beat it out. I don't mention the Pirates flick because I don't think it has a chance of winning. I think it was a filler nomination.
I also want to say that if Adele doesn't win for "Skyfall" I am going to flip my lid. And speaking of Skyfall, how did this not get nominated for Best Picture? That is a shock to me.

Seth MacFarlane and Emma Stone to announce Oscar nominees

The 2013 Academy Award nominations will be announced on Thursday, January 10th at 8:30am EST by Emma Stone and this year's host Seth MacFarlane. He is the second host in Academy history to announce the nominations. Charlton Heston is the only previous host who announced the nominations when he did so in 1974.

Here's to hoping the nominations are justified this year!