The Academy Adds New Members

Source: blog.zap2it.com

The Academy that brings us the Oscars each year has just added 176 new members to its society. Matthew McConaughey and Jonah Hill can be found on the list posted by The Academy. Check out the rest of the new members below:

Actors
Simon Baker – “Margin Call,” “L.A. Confidential”
Sean Bean – “Flightplan,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”
Bérénice Bejo – “The Artist,” “OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies”
Tom Berenger – “Inception,” “Platoon”
Demián Bichir – “A Better Life,” “Che”
Jessica Chastain – “The Help,” “The Tree of Life”
Clifton Collins, Jr. – “Star Trek,” “Traffic”
Bryan Cranston – “Contagion,” “Little Miss Sunshine”
Jean Dujardin – “Les infidèls, “The Artist”
Richard E. Grant – “The Iron Lady,” “Withnail & I”
Jonah Hill – “Moneyball,” “Superbad”
Ken Howard – “J. Edgar,” “In Her Shoes”
Diego Luna – “Milk,” “Y Tu Mamá También”
Margo Martindale – “Secretariat,” “Million Dollar Baby”
Melissa McCarthy – “Bridesmaids,” “The Back-Up Plan”
Matthew McConaughey – “The Lincoln Lawyer,” “A Time to Kill”
Janet McTeer – “Albert Nobbs,” “Tumbleweeds”
S. Epatha Merkerson – “Mother and Child,” “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”
Sam Rockwell – “Cowboys & Aliens,” “Moon”
Andy Serkis – “The Prestige,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
Octavia Spencer – “The Help,” “The Soloist”
Lili Taylor – “Being Flynn,” “High Fidelity”
Nia Vardalos – “For a Good Time, Call…,” “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”
Kerry Washington – “Django Unchained,” “Ray”
Michelle Yeoh – “The Lady,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”

Designers
Laurence Bennett – “The Artist,” “Crash”
David Brisbin – “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” “Dead Presidents”
Scott Chambliss – “Cowboys & Aliens,” “Mission: Impossible III”
Wendy Chuck – “The Descendants,” “Sideways”
Maria Djurkovic – “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “The Hours”
Sanja Milkovic Hays – “Battle: Los Angeles,” “Mission to Mars”
Mayes Rubeo – “Avatar,” “Apocalypto”
Anne Seibel – “Midnight in Paris,” “The Devil Wears Prada”
Sharon Seymour – “The Ides of March,” “Friday Night Lights”
Sammy Sheldon – “X-Men: First Class,” “V for Vendetta”

Cinematographers
Florian Ballhaus – “Mr. Popper’s Penguins,” “The Devil Wears Prada”
Oliver Bokelberg – “Win Win,” “The Station Agent”
Anna J. Foerster – “Anonymous”
Larry Fong – “Super 8,” “300”
Alwin Kuchler – “Hanna,” “Proof”
Toyomichi Kurita – “Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family,” “Waiting to Exhale”
George Mooradian – “Crazy as Hell,” “Nemesis”
Guillaume Schiffman – “The Artist,” “OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies”
Terry Stacey – “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen,” “Friends with Money”

Happy Birthday, Paul Rudd!

Trivia!
**Besides ’40-Year-Old Virgin,’ Rudd has appeared in two other films with Steve Carell. Name them!**

Paul Stephen Rudd was born on April 6th, 1969, in Passaic, New Jersey. Classically trained in theater at Oxford University, Paul primarily plays comedic roles. He is well-known for playing similar characters in enormously successful films like ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’, ‘Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy’, ‘Knocked Up’, ‘Role Models’, ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’, ‘Our Idiot Brother’, ‘Dinner For Schmucks’, & many more. His early breakout role was alongside Alicia Silverstone in ‘Clueless’, which then led him to a reoccurring role as Phoebe’s boyfriend in the hit TV show ‘Friends’.

  • Raised in Overland Park, Kansas.
  • His parents were Jewish immigrants from England.
  • Original family surname is “Rudnitzky”.
  • Was a DJ at Bar Mitzvahs before his career took off.
  • His favorite musician is Tom Waits.

Movie Trailer for Seth MacFarlane’s ‘Ted’

Mark Wahlberg plays John, your average Boston native who when a child wished his teddy bear, Ted, to come to life. This comes true and they remain best friends well into his adult years. Voiced by Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy), Ted’s irresponsible and vulgar lifestyle becomes an issue when John attempts to seriously date the woman of his dreams, Lori, played by Mila Kunis.

This live-action film will be Seth MacFarlane’s directorial debut and we are pumped!

Tell us what you think!

Betty Boop: Jazz Age Flapper and Sex Symbol

Betty Boop: Jazz Age Flapper and Sex Symbol

Inspired by actress Helen Kane, Betty Boop made her first appearance on August 9, 1930. She was made to be a jazz-induced flapper girl with more heart than brains in over a hundred animated films. As a symbol of the Depression era, she became one of the most well-known and popular cartoon characters in the world.

Betty Boop is also regarded as one of the first and most famous sex symbols on the animated screen. While other female characters at that time were merely clones on their male counterparts with eyelashes and high pitched voices, Betty Boop wore revealing dresses, high heels, a garter, and even showed cleavage. Her films were very daring since sexual behavior in film was considered taboo at the time. More daring was the portrayal of sexual harassment on the big screen. The lewd behavior of men [she encounters] is exposed in scenes where Betty is relentlessly pursued, tied up, and even threatened her job if she doesn’t submit to their sexual advances.

The sexual innuendos and Jazz Age attraction of Betty Boop were forced to tone down in 1934 due to decency guidelines of the Motion Picture Industry. She was made to be a fully dressed housewife and career girl to appeal to a more juvenile demographic. This new portrayal hurt her success and resulted in the decline of her series, and attempts to bring her into the new big band and swing era were met with little or no interest.

In the 1980′s advertising and marketing companies brought Betty Boop’s likeness back into the public eye. The subsequent merchandising success of her character in her original, sexier form has surpassed her exposure in films and comic strips, and has become popular worldwide once again.

Even though the animated cartoons of Betty Boop have enjoyed a much deserved rediscovery over the last 30 years, most audiences today are completely unaware of Betty’s place in the history of cinema, animation, and sex.

We have two amazing ‘Betty Boop Collections’ you can watch instantly on BIGSTAR Movies! Each featuring some of her most beloved classics with her ample moves and trademark sultry ways. Click an image to watch now…


Today in Movie History: Filmmaker Akira Kurosawa Was Born

Legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa was born on this day in 1910, in Toyko, Japan. Other than anime and Godzilla movies, Kurosawa’s samurai period epics are what most of the world associates with Japanese cinema. Regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 films in a 57 year career. He died on September 6, 1998.

(Above photo: Akira Kurosawa, Francis Ford Copolla, & George Lucas)

Did you know…
-His film ‘Seven Samurai’ was remade as the American western ‘The Magnificent Seven’.
-His film ‘Yojimbo’ was remade as Sergio Leone’s spaghetti western ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ starring Clint Eastwood, “the man with no name”.
-’Hidden Fortress’ was a obvious source of inspiration for George Lucas’ ‘Star Wars’ where a ragtag band tries to transport a princess to safety and eventually help her free her land.
-Lucas also used Kurosawa’s “wipe effect” to fade from one scene to another.
-Kurosawa’s influences can be seen in all films by Quentin Tarantino, and even some by Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and Francis Ford Copolla.