Will OZ be The Great and Powerful?

As February finally comes to a close, March is the month we'll finally get to see what James Franco is really made of. OZ: The Great and Powerful comes out next week on March 8. As does another film based on a book, The Monk. Also being released on March 8 but in the UK, is Broken, a movie I can't wait to come to the U.S. ! So what to expect?There's the ultra-splashy mega-budget big-name-actor-studded retelling of a classic American story OZ:...

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Happy Birthday Mr. Steinbeck

John SteinbeckBorn February 27, 1902   Salinas, CaliforniaDied December 20, 1968  New York, New YorkThe Grapes of Wrath, The Pearl, East of Eden, Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row. Steinbeck's novels have been adapted for the screen many times over and in several languages. Check out the complete list on imdb.com  and for more info on the Pulitzer Prize winning author, visit the National Steinbeck Center on line ... or if you're out west,...

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The Road Home leads to Leonardo DiCaprio

 “I am a bit drained. I'm going to take a long, long break.  I’ve done three films in two years and I’m just worn out.”  Leonardo DiCaprio, BILDLeonardo DiCaprio, whose quote in Germany's BILD had been much cited and interpreted as evidence that Leo's leaving the movie business, was as silly as it sounded. Besides having screen adaptations of both Dennis Lehane's Live by Night and Erik Larson's Devil in the White City somewhere...

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Hey Oscar! The party's over...now go home!

Picture Source: Entertainment TonightTHE big night in movies is behind us, and even with a day to digest everything I have to say I'm still disappointed that the Oscar show didn't reach the dazzling heights of this year's films but c'est la vie. Maybe Tina and Amy will host next year! As for this year's host Seth McFarlane; he proved he can sing and dance and that he can be tremendously funny. He also showed that he can bomb and just as easily cross...

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Dreaming of France: Emmanuelle Riva

It would have been perfect had the revered French actress Emmanuelle Riva received a Best Picture Oscar as an 86th birthday present yesterday but alas it was not to be. The top award went to a much younger actress, Jennifer Lawrence, for her role in Silver Linings Playbook. And she was great!But Riva, who  did 'beat out' Lawrence (if you must look at it that way) for the BAFTA this year for her work in the sad and intimate Amour could probably...

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The Oscar Winners 2013

Here's to the winners! CONGRATS!Click here to see the complete li...

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Is everyone ready for the big night?

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New Catching Fire movie posters released: This girl is on fire!

We all know that with the huge success of the first Hunger Games movie and now Silver Linings Playbook that this girl IS on fire! Jennifer Lawrence's The Hunger Games Catching Fire movie has just released two more posters for the movie which comes out November 22. But where's the fire?Am I the only one confused about the iciness of the look compared to the more fierygraphics of the first poster released?While I have tons of time before the movie...

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The Perfect Oscar Shoe?

NO! This is NOT the perfect Oscar shoe! It's a perfectly ugly shoe ... isn't it? *Last year I was lucky enough to attend the Oscars as my brother's date - he works for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science and goes every year. For a few years his wife was sick of it all, so he started taking other family members and last year was my big chance.But I had nothing to wear plus I was feeling heavy and out of shape and couldn't bear the thought...

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Nicholas Sparks gets $5 Million for "The Longest Ride"

Nicholas Sparks does it again. Safe Haven is doing well, just as he said, taking in $36 million here in the states since its' Valentine's Day release...and that's without Keira Knightly who was originally supposed to play the part of Katie, which ultimately went to Julianne Hough. Now Deadline is reporting that after something of a bidding war, Fox 2000 has bought the rights to The Longest Ride.  The purchase price of $5 million is high - but...

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The Oscars: What movies will win in the craft categories?

Thursday already! The Oscars are this Sunday ... did you vote in my Best Picture poll? So far Les Miz has almost half the vote, the rest divided up among the remaining films except for Argo which got Zero votes and may well win and Django Unchained which most certainly won't. While I'm not expecting the Academy members votes to align with our vote, I'm curious to see what takes the top prize, as it were. I'm almost more interested in the the so-called...

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Freedom by Jonathan Franzen: First Paragraph, Teaser Tuesday

"The news about Walter Berglund wasn't picked up locally -- he and Patty had moved away to Washington two years earlier and meant nothing to St. Paul now -- but the urban gentry of Ramsey Hill were not so loyal to their city as not to read the New York Times."This is the beginning of Freedom, Johnathan Franzen's highly praised novel about the American family. Published in 2010 the book was an Oprah Book Club recommendation and Scott Rudin snatched...

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Oscar drama: NEW Silver Linings Playbook video

Take a trip over to the AMPAS site for anup-close look at this uber cool Oscar posterdesigned by English artist Olly Moss.Today is the deadline for members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to cast their votes in time to be counted for this year's ceremony, set for Sunday.  At this point the Best Picture seems a clear battle between the popular Argo and the historical drama Lincoln; presumably leaving the disturbing but...

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Dreaming of France: Mr. Morgan's Last Love trailer

CLICK HERE to see the TRAILERThere are some beautiful glimpses of Paris scenery in this new trailer for Mr. Morgan's Last Love. The film stars Michael Caine as a lonely American widower in Paris who strikes up a friendship with a young French woman played by Clemence Poesy. His kids, Gillian Anderson and Justin Kirk do not approve. Jane Alexander is in the mix, it looks like she plays a family friend. The movie is based on the French novel La Douceur...

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New trailer (video):The Company You Keep directed by Robert Redford

Thriller addicts: there's still plenty of time to read Neil Gordon's The Company You Keep before Robert Redford's screen adaptation hits theaters in L.A. and NYC on April 5th... and hopefully the rest of the country shortly after! I wrote a more detailed post  last month (January 16,2013) ... today I just want to share the new trailer.I've been critical of Redford, who directs, for his own casting. The man's a great talent but I felt the...

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Will you see Safe Haven or Beautiful Creatures this weekend?

Ouch! The critics have dismissed Safe Haven for being schmaltzy and predictable - weighing in with a really stinking 13% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes . Who knows if they've read the book? I haven't but I know enough to expect a predictable and schmaltzy love story from a movie based on any Nicholas Sparks book. Because that's what he does. Anyway the novel's author is characteristically unconcerned. He said "It will do well; they all do."...

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What's the Most Romantic Movie Based on a Book?

In my extremely humble opinion, it's The Notebook based on the Nicholas Sparks novel. For Valentine's Day what could be better than snuggling up with a great romantic movie? (Okay, besides that!) I doubt I can get my husband to sit through it but since I own the most romantic movie of all time, maybe I'll just pop it in before he comes home. The chemistry of Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams as Noah and Allie really is impossible to beat. I'm betting...

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WWW Wednesday: What I'm Reading: Now. Last. Next

What are you currently reading?I began The Fault In Our Stars by John Green a few minutes ago! So far, so good.  At a few pages in I like the character's disdainful voice; since he has cancer I'm assuming it's faux cocky? I'm assuming it is a 'he' but at this point there's nothing, besides that tone of voice, that indicates whether it's a 17 year old girl or guy. I expect I'll know for sure soon enough. The Fault In Our Stars been optioned for...

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