Academy to use "preference voting" for Oscar best picture

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I just got an email from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that a new "preference voting" system will be used to select the Best Pictute for the 2010 Oscars. That news plus the fact that now there will be not five but 10 pictures in contention for the award means the category is essentially being returned to a hybrid of its design of a period between 1936 and 1943.

The difference is then, preference voting was used for the final ballot of the selection for Best Picture. In 2010 it applies to the voting process as a whole.

Academy President Tom Sherak said “Instead of just marking an 'X' to indicate which one picture they believe to be the best, members will indicate their second, third and further preferences as well. PricewaterhouseCoopers will then be able to establish the Best Picture recipient with the strongest support of a majority of our electorate.”

That creates the prospect of a really controversial outcome on 2010. Let's say we have one movie that gets first choice of all picts of 50 percent of all votes. But then let's say we have another movie that gets second choice for all votes cast, 100 percent. That means the second choice movie would win, even if it didn't get a single first place vote. The academy didn't indicate to what degree the weight between first and second choice would be, so stay tuned.

Hugh Jackman, James Franco, 134 others new Academy members

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Ok. Actor Hugh Jackman, before he ran around in the buff in Wolverine, was the host of this year's Academy Awards ceremonies. But would you believe he wasn't even a member of the Academy? Well, that changed today. Jackman, actor James Franco from the Spiderman movie series, and 134 others were announced as new members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in a  press release emailed to me today.

According to the Academy, the limit of new memberships extended is 166, but as has been the case in past years, the membership committees extended fewer invitations to become members than the limit. What's interesting to me is that one has to be invited to become a member - I assumed that came with being in the Screen Actors Guild or other movie union organizations.

It explains to a degree why the Academy seems so conservative in its movie award choices: it has a membership that is older than that for the Guild because, according to Academy President Sid Ganis “These filmmakers have, over the course of their careers, captured the imagination of audiences around the world", which generally means they've been around for a while. There are exceptions, however, the best one being Dakota Fanning, who was invited in 2006 when she was just 12 years old. But look at the body of Fanning's work: movies like Man on Fire, War of the Worlds, Charlotte's Web, and Push, to name a few. By contrast, well-known names like Jackman, Franco, Casey Affleck, and Anne Hathaway were just invited to become members this year.

The full list of new members, sent to me by the Academy, is below. It includes not just actors, but animators, art directors, cinematographers, costume designers , directors, documentary producers, executives, film editors, live action short film makers, makeup artists and hairstylists, producers, production designers, public relations specialists, set decorators, sound experts, visual effects masters, scenic artists and writers.

Interesting how writers were the last to be listed. Oh well.

There are notables names in that area, too. One that sticks out is Paula Wagner, who teamed with Tom Cruise to make the Mission Impossible series. And another is under "Director" is Tyler Perry. But what's interesting is how we can see the "Hollywood pecking order": if you're in this membership group, your an elite person in the business. Here's the list of new Academy members for 2009:

Actors
Casey Affleck
Emily Blunt
Michael Cera
Viola Davis
James Franco
Brendan Gleeson
Anne Hathaway
Taraji P. Henson
Emile Hirsch
Hugh Jackman
Melissa Leo
Jane Lynch
Eddie Marsan
James McAvoy
Seth Rogen
Paul Rudd
Amy Ryan
Michael Shannon
Michelle Williams
Jeffrey Wright

Animators
J.J. Blumenkranz
Konstantin Bronzit
Kendal Cronkhite
Rodolphe Guenoden
Byron Howard
Kunio Kato
Doug Sweetland
Chris Williams

Art Directors
Andrew Ackland-Snow

At-Large
Matthew D. Loeb
Redmond Morris

Casting Directors
John Papsidera
Bernie Telsey

Cinematographers
Russ T. Alsobrook
Anthony Dod Mantle
Henner Hofmann
Claudio Miranda
Rodney Taylor
Mandy Walker

Costume Designers
Deborah Hopper
Louise Mingenbach
Michael O’Connor
Michael Wilkinson

Directors
Rachid Bouchareb
Danny Boyle
David Frankel
Rod Lurie
Thomas McCarthy
Tyler Perry
Henry Selick

Documentary
William Gazecki
Rachel Grady
Rory Kennedy
Scott Hamilton Kennedy
James Marsh
Megan Mylan
Doug Pray

Executives
Daniel D.A. Battsek
Steve Beeks
Graham W. Burke
Joe Drake
Erik Feig
Paul Hanneman
Donald P. Harris
Claudia Lewis

Film Editors
Roger Barton
Hank Corwin
Chris Dickens
Elliot Graham
Kathryn Himoff
Leo Trombetta
Brent White
Pam Wise

Live Action Short Films
Reto Caffi
Jochen Alexander Freydank
F. Carter Pilcher

Makeup and Hairstylists
Howard Berger
Mike Elizalde
Louis Lazzara
Gerald Quist

Music
Jeff Danna
Andrew Dorfman
Peter Gabriel
Clint Mansell
A.R. Rahman

Producers
Mark Ciardi
Christian Colson
Gordon Gray
Broderick Johnson
Cathy Konrad
Andrew Kosove
James Lassiter
Russell Smith
Paula Wagner

Production Designers
Donald Graham Burt
Michael Carlin
Jane Ann Stewart
Kevin Thompson

Public Relations
Michael D. Camp
Marc Cohen
Megan Colligan
James C. Gallagher
David Kaminow
Sal Ladestro
Maria Pekurovskaya
Elizabeth Petit

Set Decorators
Rebecca Alleway
Peter Lando
Barbara Munch-Cameron

Scenic Artists
Robert Topol

Sound
Michael Barry
Derek Casari
Aaron Glascock
Ren Klyce
Peter F. Kurland
Karen Baker Landers
Hamilton Sterling
Deborah Wallach
Kim Waugh

Visual Effects
Christopher Bond
Matthew Butler
Chris Corbould
Rob Engle
Scott Gordon
Hal Hickel
Van Ling
Shane Mahan
Steve Preeg
Tim Webber
Edson Williams

Writers
John August
Dustin Lance Black
Courtney Hunt
Howard A. Rodman

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Sean Penn Wins Best Actor for "Milk" Acceptance Speech

I'm proud of Sean Penn for taking on daring tasks both in film and in life. He's a local man made good and does the SF Bay Area proud.

Here's the text of the speech, courtesy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences:

CATEGORY: Performance by an actor in a leading role
SPEECH BY: Sean Penn
FILM: "Milk"

======BEGIN TRANSCRIPTION======

Thank you. Thank you. You commie, homo-loving sons-of-guns. I did not expect this, but I, and I want it to be very clear, that I do know how hard I make it to appreciate me often. But I am touched by the appreciation and I hoped for it enough that I did want to scribble down, so I had the names in case you were commie, homo-loving sons-of-guns, and so I want to thank my best friend, Sata Matsuzawa. My circle of long-time support, Mara, Brian, Barry and Bob. The great Cleve Jones. Our wonderful writer, Lance Black. Producers Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks.

And particularly, as all, as actors know, our director either has the patience, talent and restraint to grant us a voice or they don't, and it goes from the beginning of the meeting, through the cutting room. And there is no finer hands to be in than Gus Van Sant. And finally, for those, two last finallies, for those who saw the signs of hatred as our cars drove in tonight, I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that way of support.

We've got to have equal rights for everyone. And there are, and there are, these last two things. I'm very, very proud to live in a country that is willing to elect an elegant man president and a country who, for all its toughness, creates courageous artists. And this is in great due respect to all the nominees, but courageous artists, who despite a sensitivity that sometimes has brought enormous challenge, Mickey Rourke rises again and he is my brother. Thank you all very much.

======END TRANSCRIPTION======

Penélope Cruz - Performance by an actress in a supporting role speech

CATEGORY: Performance by an actress in a supporting role
SPEECH BY: Penélope Cruz
FILM: "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

======BEGIN TRANSCRIPTION======

This is not going to be 45 seconds, I can say that right now. Has anybody ever fainted here? Because I might be the first one. Thank you so much to the Academy. I want to share this with my fellow nominees and

with the amazing ensemble of actors that I had the privilege to work with in this movie. Thank you, Woody, for trusting me with this beautiful character. Thank for you having written over all these years some of the

greatest characters for women. And I cannot talk about great female characters without thanking my friend Pedro Almodóvar for having made me part of so many of his adventures. Thank you, Bigas Luna, Fernando

Trueba, for giving me my first movies. Thank you, Harvey Weinstein. I wanted to dedicate this to my parents and to my brother and sister, to my friend Robert Carlo, who is not with us anymore, and to everyone who

has helped me from the beginning and you know who you are and I thank you from my heart.

I grew up in a place called Alcobendas, where this was not a very realistic dream. And I, always on the night of the Academy Awards, I stay up to watch the show and I always felt that this was, this ceremony was a

moment of unity for the world because art, in any form, is and has been and will always be our universal language and we should do everything we can, everything we can, to protect its survival. So I thank you so much

and I have to say something in Spanish, because everyone?

[Speaks in Spanish.]

======END TRANSCRIPTION======

Back In Oakland After A Trip To The Red Carpet On Oscar Eve!

Yep. I'm back on Saturday night editing video material from my one-day, first time trip to the site of the Academy Awards and to give you an idea of what it's like to be on The Red Carpet.


It was a total blast! For some reason getting used to this BlackBerry after swearing by an iPhone only to be the victim of a massive fraud scheme by AT&T, and that's what it is, I haven't used the phone's camera or video capabilities. It's just that the iPhone syncs really well with the Macintoch in a way that no other phone can match.


Or can it?


Anyway, I needed the trip. I spent most of the weekend with my Mom in Georgia and I love spending time with her. There's something to be said about family and the importance of maintaining your roota and knowing people who know and appreciate you. That's Mom. At 74 I don't know how much time I've got with her, so I'm going to take as much as I reasonably can.


The reason for the trip was that I was having a hard time dealing with death. My friend Mike McGuire was toppled by a massive heart attack that I think was trigger not just by his weight and diet, but his depression. The second was Ralph Grant, my step-brother-and-law, and both funerals were just seven days apart.


Seven days.


So I had some soul searching to do. And the week in a way gave me time to do it. I had a good time just working from Mom's home - and it's good to get away from Oakland because the city has a negative vibe that it can't seem to shake, although the Fox Theater Opening did a good job of changing that state of affairs. It's not enough.


So the last week featured Mom, then my ColoursTV promo shoot, and the one-day Oscar work, which I just returned from.


And my batteries are, I would say, 80 percent recharged.

Off To LA For The Academy Awards Today - Zennie

Yep. As my Twitter update reported, I'm off to Los Angeles for the Academy Awards -- well, for a visit to the grounds to make videos one day before the event. Excited? Yes! But I've got to get to the shower and get to the airport, and it's snowing on top of all that!

Catch the Academy Awards coverage over at our Hollywood Blog!

John Mayer will be Aniston's 'Oscar boyfriend'

RTÉ.ie Entertainment: Mayer will be Aniston's 'Oscar boyfriend': “Singer John Mayer has revealed that he will be accompanying Jennifer Aniston to the Oscars this Sunday.
In an interview with Popsugar, he said that he would be walking the red carpet with Aniston.
"I'm going to the Oscars. It's my first Oscars and it's my first time being an Oscar boyfriend."”

Oscar Party List (Partial) From Nikke Finke

More at Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood DailyThis is the list! But not all of them are here. Go to Nikke's blog for the rest of them : “WEDNESDAY, February 18th
6:30PM Children Mending Hearts Event
Sheryl Crowe will perform, Anderson Cooper will be honored
House of Blues, 8430 Sunset Blvd, Hollywood
 
6:30PM-9:30PM Swarovski 2009 Award Season Celebration
Thompson Hotel, 9360 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills

7PM-9PM Vanity Fair Dior Party
Hosted by Wendy Stark Morissey, LACMA and BMW
LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles

7:30PM Milk Private Dinner hosted by William Morris Agency
Chateau Marmont, 8221 West Sunset Blvd, Hollywood

8PM Alfre Woodard Dinner Honoring Taraji Henson, Viola Davis
 
THURSDAY, February 19
1PM Essence Honors Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon
Beverly Hills Hotel, 9641 Sunset Blvd, Beverly Hills

4PM GBK hosts Industry Mixer to celebrate 81st Academy Awards
SLS Hotel, 465 S. La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles

5:30PM Moet and Australians in Film
For Oscar nominees Kirk Bakster, Heath Ledger, Katherine Martin, Lee Smith, Ben Snow
And present the first annual Heath Ledger scholarship
Chateau Marmont, 8221 West Sunset Blvd, Hollywood

6PM-8:30PM Vanity Fair Dior Party Launch of Brandaid
Hosted by Paul Haggis, Diane Lane & Josh Brolin
Environment (Furniture), 8126 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles

6:30PM-11PM 4th Annual Oscar Wilde: Honoring the Irish in Film
Honoring Brendan Gleeson, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Hylda Queally
The Ebell, 743 South Lucerne Blvd, Los Angeles

8PM Sixth Annual Global Green Pre-Oscar Party
Hosted by Leonardo DiCaprio, Penelope Cruz, Orlando Bloom, Rosario Dawson
Avalon Hollywood, 1735 Vine St, Hollywood

FRIDAY, February 20
11AM 16th Annual Oscar Week Student Filmmakers Scholarship Luncheon
Hosted by the Multicultural Motion Picture Association
Four Seasons Hotel, Ballroom, 300 South Doheny Drive, Beverly Hills

5PM AMPAS cocktail party for Foreign Language nominees
AMPAS (Lobby), 8949 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills

5PM-8PM Women in Film hosts a reception honoring female nominees
With Perrier-Jouet Champagne
Hosted by Cathy Schulman, Donna Gigliotti, Wendy Finerman and Lili Fini Zanuck
Home of Peter and Tara Guber, Bel Air

6PM-8:30PM Bally’s Hollywood Domino Party To Benefit The Art of Elysium
Hosted by Kate Bosworth
Andaz Hotel, 8401 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood

7PM Haven - Fashion Show And Cocktails
Spring collections from designers Russell Simmons, Yansi Fugel, and Born Uniqorn
360 Trousdale Place, Beverly Hills

7PM Mont Blanc and UNICEF host Signature For Good event
Paramount Studios, 5555 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles

8:30PM Ari Emanuel-Endeavor party

10PM Bryan Lourd-CAA Party

SATURDAY, February 21
11AM Universal/Focus' Academy and Spirit Award Nominees Brunch
Hosted by David Linde and Felicia Rosenfeld, James Schamus, Marc Shmuger, Louis Hamagami

11AM DreamWorks hosts annual brunch for animation nominees

11:30AM Film Independent's Spirit Awards
2030 Barnard Way, Santa Monica

12PM Barry Diller Luncheon for Vanity Fair's Graydon Carter
Diller's Beverly Hills Estate

4PM IFC Indie Film Celebration
Shutters on the Beach, 1 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica

6:30PM Miramax Oscar Nominee Party
The London Hotel, 1020 N San Vicente, Los Angeles

7PM Focus Features Party
BLT Steak, 8720 Sunset Blvd, Hollywood

8PM Jeffrey Katzenberg's The Night Before Party for MPTF
Beverly Hills Hotel (The Pool), 9641 Sunset Blvd, Beverly Hills

9PM Tag The World Pre-Oscar Night Charity Gala
in affiliation with The American Humane Film And TV Unit
Hosted by Amber Valletta, Lorenz Tate, Wilmer Valderrama, Jesse Metcalf
My House, 7080 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood

TBD Julianne Moore & Sally Morrison Dinner: Diamonds In Africa
Chateau Marmont, 8221 West Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles

TBD Charles Finch Pre-Oscar Dinner
Madeo, 8897 Beverly Road, West Hollywood

TBD Sony Pictures Classics 2009 Oscar Nominee Dinner
Cecconi’s, 8764 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood

TBD The Weinstein Company Oscar nominee party
Andaz Hotel, 8401 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood”

2009 Academy Awards Nominations Annouced Today

Well, Oscar time is here. The 2009 Academy Awards take place in just one month! Forest Witaker, fresh from his appearance at the 2009 Presidential Inauguration and the "We Are One" Concert, presented the nominees with Oscar President Syd Ganis. Here's the video:



But that was only part of the list. Here's the full list of nominees:

The 2009 Oscar nominees are:

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Richard Jenkins THE VISITOR
Frank Langella FROST/NIXON
Sean Penn MILK
Brad Pitt
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Mickey Rourke THE WRESTLER

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Josh Brolin MILK
Robert Downey Jr. TROPIC THUNDER
Philip Seymour Hoffman DOUBT
Heath Ledger THE DARK KNIGHT
Michael Shannon REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Anne Hathaway RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
Angelina Jolie CHANGELING
Melissa Leo FROZEN RIVER
Meryl Streep DOUBT
Kate Winslet THE READER

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams DOUBT
Penélope Cruz VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
Viola Davis DOUBT
Taraji P. Henson
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Marisa Tomei THE WRESTLER

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
BOLT
KUNG FU PANDA
WALL-E

Achievement in Art Direction
CHANGELING
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
THE DUCHESS
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

Achievement in Cinematography
CHANGELING
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Achievement in Costume Design
AUSTRALIA
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DUCHESS
MILK
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

Achievement in Directing
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
FROST/NIXON
MILK
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Best Documentary Feature
THE BETRAYAL (NERAKHOON)
ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
THE GARDEN
MAN ON WIRE
TROUBLE THE WATER

Best Documentary Short Subject
THE CONSCIENCE OF NHEM EN
THE FINAL INCH
SMILE PINKI
THE WITNESS - FROM THE BALCONY OF ROOM 306

Achievement in Film Editing
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
FROST/NIXON
MILK
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
The Baader Meinhof Complex
The Class
Departures
Revanchee
Waltz With Bashir

Achievement in Makeup
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
DEFIANCE
MILK
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
WALL-E

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)
WALL-E "Down to Earth"
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE "Jai Ho"
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE"O Saya"

Best Motion Picture of the Year
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
FROST/NIXON
MILK
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Best Animated Short Film
La Maison en Petits Cubes
LAVATORY - LOVESTORY
OKTAPODI
PRESTO
THIS WAY UP

Best Live Action Short Film
AUF DER STRECKE (ON THE LINE)
MANON ON THE ASPHALT
NEW BOY
THE PIG
SPIELZEUGLAND (TOYLAND)

Achievement in Sound Editing
THE DARK KNIGHT
IRON MAN
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
WALL-E
WANTED

Achievement in Sound Mixing
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
WALL-E
WANTED

Achievement in Visual Effects
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
IRON MAN

Adapted Screenplay
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
DOUBT
FROST/NIXON
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Original Screenplay
FROZEN RIVER
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
IN BRUGES
MILK
WALL-E

Now comes the hard part. Predictions. But event then, my question is this: are you going to watch the Oscars? Let me know!