Oscar Movies That Would Have Been Better with Female Leads

The Academy Awards are on Sunday and while we’re all wondering if Viola Davis and The Help or George Clooney and The Descendants will take home big prizes, the approach of Oscar night got me to thinking about the need for more leading roles for women in big movies.

And I don’t mean where they just play the wife of the girlfriend or the hooker. I mean where they are the star in a quality movie and where the whole movie lives and dies with them.

So here's my list of five previous Oscar winning movies, and how they might have been even better with female leads:

NEW YORK, Feb. 24, 2012 People look at the Oscar statuettes displayed at an exhibition held at Grand Central Station in New York, the United States, Feb. 23, 2012.

True Grit: Not that Oscar winner Jeff Bridges wasn't great playing Rooster Cogburn. And how wonderful was the adorably steely Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross, the young woman who hired Cogburn to avenge the murder of her father?

But think about this: how about Susan Sarandon as the only woman marshal in the old west? She's hired by a young man to avenge the murder of his father. Why doesn't he hire a man in the male dominated old west?  Because none of the male marshalls will take him seriously. Just think about the fabulous dramatic tension as the kid wants to hire a man but Sarandon convinces him to hire her because she's after the bad guy for her own reasons. Her name: Henny Cogburn.

 

From HBO to PBS: What's Coming Up On TV This Spring

The holidays are over and that means so are the doldrums of television.  Finally, we TV addicts will get new episodes of favorite shows and premieres of a whole crop of new shows.  And as your intrepid TV watcher, I'm here to tell you about the shows I'll be excited to see debut on my flat screen.

New Shows

 

Smash is NBC attempt at reproducing the success of Glee, and they've recruited American Idol alum, Katherine McPhee to star.  It's about producers mounting a new Broadway show.  It's from the producer's of the film Chicago and also stars Debra Messing and Anjelica Houston. This has the potential to be a fabulous show, and if the writing lives up to the premise, NBC may finally have a hit on its hands.

Keifer Sutherland returns to Fox with a role that's very different from 24's Jack Bauer.  That of a father whose 11-year-old son is emotionally challenged and communicates with the world in a very unusual way in Touch.  The whole premise of the show and how the kid communicates through numbers and shows how people are interconnected all over the world is a little hard to describe, but I'm willing to give it a chance.  It co-stars Danny Glover.

Also on Fox is Alcatraz, the latest show from J.J. Abrams about a police detective who tracks a grisly modern day murder to an Alcatraz prisoner that died 30 years ago.  I said it was J.J. Abrams, didn't I?  And where J.J. goes, I follow.  The show stars Sarah Jones (pictured below), Sam Neill and Jorge Garcia.

 

The march of film stars turning to television in search of edgy drama and quality writing continues as the versatile Don Cheadle stars in Showtime's House of Lies, about less than ethical corporate consultants and their clients. Showtime is still basking in the glow of its masterful thriller, Homeland, which just concluded, and if House of Lies, which premiered this week, comes even close to that kind of quality, it'll be a grand show indeed.

A Pre-Thanksgiving Day Treat: Macy's Parade Balloons Up Close

 

Kermit the Frog

 
Last night I did something I’ve always wanted to do. That’s head over to Central Park West around 79th street, the night before Thanksgiving and watch as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons are inflated.  I’d never done it before so when I got the opportunity to go behind the scenes with a group of fellow bloggers, courtesy of Macy’s, I jumped at the chance.

B. Boy in Progress

Our small group met on Columbus Avenue and 75th street around 4 o’clock and were greeted with a steady drizzle but excited tourists and New Yorkers, eager to get a preview of the big parade.  As with any big event in New York, there are glitches and even though we had bona fide press passes firmly around out necks, the NYPD didn’t want to let us into the restricted area where all the balloon goodies waiting.  But our contact Lauren Roseman did some fast talking and got us through.  

Safely behind the police barricades, we were able to get a closeup look at some of the hard work that goes into getting the 15 giant balloons and 44 mid-size balloons ready for their Thanksgiving Day close-ups.  There were spotlights along the street so workers and spectators could see the balloons more clearly and large speakers piped out jaunty Christmas music.

Julius the Monkey

First we hit 79th street where the balloons at the head of the parade are located.  They’re lined up on the street in the order they will appear in the parade.  Earlier this week, they were transported through the Lincoln Tunnel from their new studio home in Moonachie, New Jersey, to the streets of Central Park West.

Billy Crystal will Host the 2012 Oscars

No sooner did I tell you guys that Eddie Murphy was out as Oscar host, than Billy Crystal announced via Twitter that he will indeed be back to host the Oscars in 2012.

That sound you hear is the Academy breathing a huge sigh of relief.

It'll be Billy's 9th go 'round as host and what do you want to bet there'll be an Eddie Murphy cameo as well?

The 2012 Academy Awards will air on February 26th on ABC.

Eddie Murphy Drops Oscar Hosting Gig

 

Eddie Murphy (l.) stars in director Brett Ratner's new film, 'Tower Heist.'

Image courtesy: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Like many movie fans, I was pretty jazzed when the Academy announced that Eddie Murphy was going to host the 84th annual Oscar telecast in 2012.  Let's face it Eddie deserved the gig 'cause:

1. He's made Hollywood a fortune with movies like, "Beverly Hills Cop," "48 Hours," and "Shrek."
2. He was robbed, cheated, and rooked with a capital "R" out of that Best Supporting Actor statue for his first class turn in the film "Dreamgirls."
3. He can be incredibly funny.

But what happened next reads better than most scripts Hollywood is producing these days, and gave the people who run the Academy all kinds of headaches.

First Brett Ratner who was hired to co-produce the Oscars, and who brought Eddie on board as host, shot off his mouth last weekend about "rehearsals being for **insert gay slur here**."  But that wasn't bad enough. He followed that up with a stint on Howard Stern's radio show talking in great detail about his sexual exploits. 

Well the suits over at the Academy were understandably perturbed, and before you could say, "...And the Oscar goes to..." good ol' Brett had resigned amidst the critical heat.  Though he did apologize first.

Tarra and Bella: An Animal Love Story (Video)

Image Courtesy CBS News

 

You may have heard the story about the bond between an elephant, Tarra and a stray dog, Bella who lived together as friends in a Tennessee animal sanctuary.

The original story was reported by Steve Hartman on CBS's Sunday Morning:

They were so close, in fact, that when Bella got injured a few years ago and had to spend three weeks recuperating in the sanctuary office, guess who held vigil the entire time? Twenty-two hundred acres to roam free, and Tarra just stood in the corner waiting. Home video of their reunion shows how inseparable they'd become and remained, right to the end.

Unfortunately the end of the relationship came last week.  Fair warning, keep the tissues handy.

Here's the original story about the pair.

Y'all know I'm a sucker for doggies, but now I think I'm a sucker for elephants too.

Matthew Morrison's Halloween Party

Colton Haynes, Matthew Morrison, Bryan Fisher and a party guest

 

"Glee" may be off my TV radar this season but that doesn't mean that Matthew Morrison isn't still cute as a button, Or rather, bunny.  Here he is celebrating Halloween at his 2nd annual Halloween party presented by Bing. 

Happy Halloween!

"Revenge" and "Ringer:" Similar Shows, Solid Entertainment

Two new fall TV dramas, Revenge and Ringer, have become regular fixtures in my TV viewing calendar. And since both have been landing solid ratings each week, I was glad to hear they've each been picked up for full seasons.

Sarah Michelle Gellar in "Ringer," Image Courtesy: CW

Here's the lowdown on both shows:

They both have one world titles that start with the letter "R." 
They both star talented, blond actresses
They're both set in and around New York, including the ritzy Hamptons
They both have good guys, bad guys, blackmail, murder, betrayal and payback that rhymes with witch. 

Emily VanCamp in "Revenge," Image Courtesy ABC

Ringer marks the return of  Buffy Summers, er Sarah Michelle Gellar, to the CW.  The show takes the classic soap convention of the good twin and the evil twin, updates it, adds lots of money, and runs with it.

A Dead Qaddafi and the Media: Some Modest Thoughts

If you've been anywhere near a TV, newspaper or magazine this week, odds are you got a glimpse or more than that of Muammar Qaddafi's dead body, face or bloody wounds up close.  Personally, I'm happy for the Libyan people and won't lose any sleep because Qaddafi is dead, but I do question the broad dissemination of the images of Qaddafi's bloody face all over network and local news. 

First there was the shaky camera phone footage of Qaddafi when he was captured, alive but bloody.  Then there was the footage of his body being dragged through the streets after he was dead.  Then finally, the shots of his dead body in a meat locker where some Libyans understandably lined up to get a glimpse to prove that indeed Qaddafi was dead.

I'm surprised there wasn't more debate in American media circles about whether or not so much gruesome footage of Qaddafi should have been used.  During the first couple of days of coverage, there were warnings from news anchors before showing the footage, but by the end of the week, the shots just showed up out of nowhere.

Is it okay because he was universally considered a bad guy and deserving of whatever punishment the Libyans decided he should have?  Is it because once the footage was out there on the internet the networks and local stations didn't want to feel left behind?

Call me old fashioned and maybe the least bit squeamish, but I wish more restraint had been shown, because the almost casual broadcasting of the images has only added to our already high desensitization to that kind of violence.

RIP Steve Jobs

I'm not a Mac fanatic, never have been, but I have iTunes, an iPod, and a Droid X, none of which would exist without the visionary genius of the late Steve Jobs.  His impact in the technological and entertainment world will live for years to come.

Melissa McCarthy on SNL: Laughs A Plenty (Video)

There's almost no one hotter in entertainment right now than Melissa McCarthy.

She stole the show in the hit movie, "Bridesmaids," she won an Emmy last month as Best Lead Actress in a Comedy for her sitcom "Mike and Molly," and last night she hosted "Saturday Night Live."

Just about every sketch she did was a hit, but my favorite was the following.  Enjoy!

 

 

And as a special bonus, here's a sketch about NetFlix and their recent cochamamie changes in service. McCarthy's not in it, but I just think it's a hoot.

 

Life in ABC's "Suburgatory"

"Suburgatory" is about a teen, Tessa Altman (Jane Levy) and her single Dad, George (Jeremy Sisto) who move to the suburbs from Manhattan because Dad thinks there's too much trouble for Tessa to get into in the big city.

Next thing you know, as Tessa narrates, Dad has "bubble wrapped my life" and moved them to the land of overly friendly neighbors and oversized SUVs.

This doesn't sit well with Tessa, and the show revolves around her trying to adjust to her unfamiliar new home and her hostile new classmates.

"Suburgatory" has the mild sensibility of something you'd find on the Disney Channel and it may actually do well with the teen and tween set, but when it comes to viewing for adults, more laughs may be required.

Jane Levy is adorably likeable as Tessa and Jeremy Sisto is surprisingly sweet as her Dad.  I say surprising 'cause the last time I saw him, he was the off the chain, nut job, Billy Chenowith on "Six Feet Under." 

"Suburgatory" premieres Wednesday, September 8:30/7:30c on ABC but if you'd like a preview visit www.abc.com/suburgatoryscreening and enter code: DAGcrc5K6 to try out the show for yourself.

Image Courtesy: ABC/Karen Neal

NBC's "The Playboy Club:" Save Your Outrage

 

Image Courtesy NBC

Before it even premiered, the buzz about NBC's The Playboy Club was deafening. Gloria Steinem called for a boycott, the Parents Television Council urged affiliates to drop it, while at the upfronts, executives from the show claimed it would be all about female empowerment.

Well, the show premiered Monday night, and here's the scoop. The Playboy Club is a belated attempt to capitalize on AMC's excellent Mad Men. It's set at Chicago's Playboy Club in the early 60s and revolves around new Playboy bunny, Maureen (Amber Heard).

Within the first ten minutes of the episode, Maureen is nearly raped by a lecherous mobster in the backroom. Coming to her rescue is Nick Dalton (Eddie Cibrian), a crusading lawyer with a shady past.  But before Nick can do his hero thing Maureen gets the mobster in the neck with one of her killer stilettos.

Now because the mobster is a pretty dangerous character, Melanie and Nick get rid of the body and pretend nothing happened except that they went back to his apartment for a little pre-sexual revolution sex.

"Big Bang Theory Returns:" Penny and Raj Sittin' in a Tree (Video)

If you were as rivted by the "Big Bang Theory" cliffhanger as I was--Penny (Kaley Cuoco) and Raj Kunal Nayyar) waking up in bed together--you'll be itching for tonight's season premiere.  Here's a clip.

Dun, dun, dunnnnnnn!!!

I've Been On A Blogging Walkabout

Y'all may have noticed I've been a on blogging walkabout lately.

I didn't even realize I was going until I was gone:  loving the freedom of not posting, not writing, not thinking too hard.

It's been a tough year 'cause I'm still in school, still trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my life and still trying to earn a living while doing it.

But I'm back from my walkabout and ready to once again see where my words take me.