Monday, February 27, 2012

"Hugo" and "The Artist" lead the winners of the 84th Academy Awards

Source: Rappler

"Hugo" and "The Artist" lead the winners of the 84th Academy Awards, held Sunday, February 26 (Monday, February 27) in Los Angeles.

Both films had 5 wins each, with the silent film "The Artist" taking Best Picture, Best Director for Michel Hazanavicius, and Best Actor for Jean Dujardin. It also took home awards for Costume Design and Original Score.

Photo courtesy


The film is the first silent film to win the top prize since "Wings," which won Best Picture back in 1928, in the first Academy Awards ceremonies.


The animated Martin Scorsese film "Hugo," meanwhile, won awards for Art Direction, Cinematography, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects.

Meryl Streep's performance as former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady" won for her the Best Actress Oscar, beating presumed frontrunner Viola Davis ("The Help").

A standing ovation from the crowd at the Hollywood and Highland Theater (the former Kodak Theater) greeted her third Oscar win, which came after a record 17 nominations throughout her career.
Octavia Spencer ("The Help") won Best Supporting Actress, while Christopher Plummer ("Beginners") made Academy history by winning Best Supporting Actor at the age of 82, the oldest awardee ever.

The Iranian film "A Separation," meanwhile, wins Best Foreign Language Film.
The Oscars was hosted by comedian Billy Crystal, who has led the ceremonies 8 times in the past.
Here is a list of the nominees and winners (highlighted) for the major categories at the 84th Academy Awards. This list is according to presentation of the awards during the ceremonies.

Cinematography
  • "The Artist" Guillaume Schiffman
  • "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Jeff Cronenweth
  • "Hugo" Robert Richardson
  • "The Tree of Life" Emmanuel Lubezki
  • "War Horse" Janusz Kaminski

Art Direction
  • "The Artist" - Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
  • "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" - Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
  • "Hugo" - Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
  • "Midnight in Paris" - Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
  • "War Horse" - Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Costume Design
  • "Anonymous" Lisy Christl
  • "The Artist" Mark Bridges
  • "Hugo" Sandy Powell
  • "Jane Eyre" Michael O'Connor
  • "W.E." Arianne Phillips

Makeup
  • "Albert Nobbs," Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
  • "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2," Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin
  • "The Iron Lady," Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Best Foreign Language Film
  • "Bullhead" Belgium
  • "Footnote" Israel
  • "In Darkness" Poland
  • "Monsieur Lazhar" Canada
  • "A Separation" Iran

Best Supporting Actress
  • Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist"
  • Jessica Chastain in "The Help"
  • Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids"
  • Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs"
  • Octavia Spencer in "The Help"

Film Editing
  • "The Artist" Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
  • "The Descendants" Kevin Tent
  • "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
  • "Hugo" Thelma Schoonmaker
  • "Moneyball" Christopher Tellefsen

Sound Editing
  • "Drive" Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
  • "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Ren Klyce
  • "Hugo" Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
  • "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
  • "War Horse" Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

Sound Mixing
  • "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
  • "Hugo," Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
  • "Moneyball," Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, David Giammarco and Ed Novick
  • "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
  • "War Horse," Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson

Documentary (Feature)
  • "Hell and Back Again," Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
  • "If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front," Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
  • "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory," Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
  • "Pina," Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
  • "Undefeated," TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Rich Middlemas
Best Animated Feature
  • "A Cat in Paris" Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
  • "Chico & Rita" Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
  • "Kung Fu Panda 2" Jennifer Yuh Nelson
  • "Puss in Boots" Chris Miller
  • "Rango" Gore Verbinski

Visual Effects
  • "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2," Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
  • "Hugo," Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann and Alex Henning
  • "Real Steel," Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
  • "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
  • "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

Best Supporting Actor
  • Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn"
  • Jonah Hill in "Moneyball"
  • Nick Nolte in "Warrior"
  • Christopher Plummer in "Beginners"
  • Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

Music (Original Score)
  • "The Adventures of Tintin" John Williams
  • "The Artist" Ludovic Bource
  • "Hugo" Howard Shore
  • "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Alberto Iglesias
  • "War Horse" John Williams

Music (Original Song)
  • "Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets," Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
  • "Real in Rio" from "Rio," Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown; Lyric by Siedah Garrett
Best Adapted Screenplay
  • "The Descendants" Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
  • "Hugo" Screenplay by John Logan
  • "The Ides of March" Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
  • "Moneyball" Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin; Story by Stan Chervin
  • "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Screenplay by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan

Best Original Screenplay
  • "The Artist" Written by Michel Hazanavicius
  • "Bridesmaids" Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
  • "Margin Call" Written by J.C. Chandor
  • "Midnight in Paris" Written by Woody Allen
  • "A Separation" Written by Asghar Farhadi

Short Film (Live Action)
  • "Pentecost" Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane
  • "Raju" Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
  • "The Shore" Terry George and Oorlagh George
  • "Time Freak" Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
  • "Tuba Atlantic" Hallvar Witzø

Documentary (Short Subject)
  • "The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement," Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
  • "God Is the Bigger Elvis," Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
  • "Incident in New Baghdad," James Spione
  • "Saving Face," Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
  • "The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom," Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

Short Film (Animated)
  • "Dimanche/Sunday" Patrick Doyon
  • "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
  • "La Luna" Enrico Casarosa
  • "A Morning Stroll" Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
  • "Wild Life" Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Best Director
  • Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
  • Alexander Payne, "The Descendants"
  • Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"
  • Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
  • Terrence Malick, "The Tree of Life"

2011 Governors Awards (Given last November 12, 2011)
  • Honorary Awards: James Earl Jones, Dick Smith
  • Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Oprah Winfrey

Best Actor
  • Demián Bichir in "A Better Life"
  • George Clooney in "The Descendants"
  • Jean Dujardin in "The Artist"
  • Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
  • Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"

Best Actress
  • Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs"
  • Viola Davis in "The Help"
  • Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
  • Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady"
  • Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn"

Best Picture
  • "The Artist," Thomas Langmann, Pr"Hugo" and "The Artist" lead the winners of the 84th Academy Awards, held Sunday, February 26 (Monday, February 27) in Los Angeles.
  • Both films had 5 wins each, with the silent film "The Artist" taking Best Picture, Best Director for Michel Hazanavicius, and Best Actor for Jean Dujardin. It also took home awards for Costume Design and Original Score.
  • The film is the first silent film to win the top prize since "Wings," which won Best Picture back in 1928, in the first Academy Awards ceremonies.
  • The animated Martin Scorsese film "Hugo," meanwhile, won awards for Art Direction, Cinematography, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects.
  • Meryl Streep's performance as former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady" won for her the Best Actress Oscar, beating presumed frontrunner Viola Davis ("The Help").
  • A standing ovation from the crowd at the Hollywood and Highland Theater (the former Kodak Theater) greeted her third Oscar win, which came after a record 17 nominations throughout her career.
  • Octavia Spencer ("The Help") won Best Supporting Actress, while Christopher Plummer ("Beginners") made Academy history by winning Best Supporting Actor at the age of 82, the oldest awardee ever.
  • The Iranian film "A Separation," meanwhile, wins Best Foreign Language Film.
  • The Oscars was hosted by comedian Billy Crystal, who has led the ceremonies 8 times in the past.
  • Here is a list of the nominees and winners (highlighted) for the major categories at the 84th Academy Awards. This list is according to presentation of the awards during the ceremonies.
  • Cinematography
  • "The Artist" Guillaume Schiffman
  • "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Jeff Cronenweth
  • "Hugo" Robert Richardson
  • "The Tree of Life" Emmanuel Lubezki
  • "War Horse" Janusz Kaminski
Art Direction
  • "The Artist" - Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
  • "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" - Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
  • "Hugo" - Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
  • "Midnight in Paris" - Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
  • "War Horse" - Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales
Costume Design
  • "Anonymous" Lisy Christl
  • "The Artist" Mark Bridges
  • "Hugo" Sandy Powell
  • "Jane Eyre" Michael O'Connor
  • "W.E." Arianne Phillips
Makeup
  • "Albert Nobbs," Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
  • "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2," Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin
  • "The Iron Lady," Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland
Best Foreign Language Film
  • "Bullhead" Belgium
  • "Footnote" Israel
  • "In Darkness" Poland
  • "Monsieur Lazhar" Canada
  • "A Separation" Iran
Best Supporting Actress
  • Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist"
  • Jessica Chastain in "The Help"
  • Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids"
  • Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs"
  • Octavia Spencer in "The Help"
Film Editing
  • "The Artist" Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
  • "The Descendants" Kevin Tent
  • "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
  • "Hugo" Thelma Schoonmaker
  • "Moneyball" Christopher Tellefsen
Sound Editing
  • "Drive" Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
  • "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Ren Klyce
  • "Hugo" Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
  • "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
  • "War Horse" Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom
Sound Mixing
  • "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
  • "Hugo," Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
  • "Moneyball," Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, David Giammarco and Ed Novick
  • "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
  • "War Horse," Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson
Documentary (Feature)
  • "Hell and Back Again," Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
  • "If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front," Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
  • "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory," Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
  • "Pina," Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
  • "Undefeated," TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Rich Middlemas
Best Animated Feature
  • "A Cat in Paris" Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
  • "Chico & Rita" Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
  • "Kung Fu Panda 2" Jennifer Yuh Nelson
  • "Puss in Boots" Chris Miller
  • "Rango" Gore Verbinski
Visual Effects
  • "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2," Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
  • "Hugo," Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann and Alex Henning
  • "Real Steel," Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
  • "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
  • "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier
Best Supporting Actor
  • Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn"
  • Jonah Hill in "Moneyball"
  • Nick Nolte in "Warrior"
  • Christopher Plummer in "Beginners"
  • Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
Music (Original Score)
  • "The Adventures of Tintin" John Williams
  • "The Artist" Ludovic Bource
  • "Hugo" Howard Shore
  • "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Alberto Iglesias
  • "War Horse" John Williams
Music (Original Song)
  • "Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets," Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
  • "Real in Rio" from "Rio," Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown; Lyric by Siedah Garrett
Best Adapted Screenplay
  • "The Descendants" Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
  • "Hugo" Screenplay by John Logan
  • "The Ides of March" Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
  • "Moneyball" Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin; Story by Stan Chervin
  • "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Screenplay by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan
Best Original Screenplay
  • "The Artist" Written by Michel Hazanavicius
  • "Bridesmaids" Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
  • "Margin Call" Written by J.C. Chandor
  • "Midnight in Paris" Written by Woody Allen
  • "A Separation" Written by Asghar Farhadi
Short Film (Live Action)
  • "Pentecost" Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane
  • "Raju" Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
  • "The Shore" Terry George and Oorlagh George
  • "Time Freak" Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
  • "Tuba Atlantic" Hallvar Witzø
Documentary (Short Subject)
  • "The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement," Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
  • "God Is the Bigger Elvis," Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
  • "Incident in New Baghdad," James Spione
  • "Saving Face," Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
  • "The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom," Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen
Short Film (Animated)
  • "Dimanche/Sunday" Patrick Doyon
  • "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
  • "La Luna" Enrico Casarosa
  • "A Morning Stroll" Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
  • "Wild Life" Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby
Best Director
  • Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
  • Alexander Payne, "The Descendants"
  • Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"
  • Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
  • Terrence Malick, "The Tree of Life"
2011 Governors Awards (Given last November 12, 2011)
Honorary Awards: James Earl Jones, Dick Smith
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Oprah Winfrey

Best Actor
  • Demián Bichir in "A Better Life"
  • George Clooney in "The Descendants"
  • Jean Dujardin in "The Artist"
  • Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
  • Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"
Best Actress
  • Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs"
  • Viola Davis in "The Help"
  • Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
  • Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady"
  • Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn"
Best Picture
  • "The Artist," Thomas Langmann, Producer
  • "The Descendants," Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
  • "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," Scott Rudin, Producer
  • "The Help," Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
  • "Hugo," Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
  • "Midnight in Paris," Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
  • "Moneyball," Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
  • "The Tree of Life," Sarah Green, Bill Pohlad, Dede Gardner and Grant Hill, Producers
  • "War Horse," Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

    Tuesday, February 21, 2012

    Another first from Globe: Visayan customer hotline


    Globe Telecom marks another milestone in the Philippine telecommunication industry, offering the first trilingual customer hotline service with the launch of its Visayan interactive voice response (IVR) system. 



    With the launch of the new hotline system, Visayan-speaking Globe subscribers can call 730-1000 from any landline or 211 from any Globe or TM mobile number and simply follow the voice prompts so they are directed to a Visayan-speaking customer service representative. They can then inquire about Globe broadband and landline services or raise concerns and requests, while conversing in Visayan. The Visayan-speaking customer service representatives (CSR), based in Cebu, will be on hand 24/7 to accommodate calls.


    “Once again, we are raising the bar of customer hotline services by putting in place a system that can fully understand queries and concerns of a specific group of subscribers,” said Joe Caliro, Head for Customer Experience of Globe. “This is a milestone not just for Globe but most importantly for our Visayan subscribers because their concerns will be addressed at the soonest possible time in their own language.” 

    The hotline service is done in partnership with Aegis People Support and Tech Mahindra, two of the best-in-class contact center firms in the global business process outsourcing (BPO) industry. 

    The Visayan language is the second most-widely spoken dialect in the country, with over 20 million Filipinos speaking the language in various provinces and cities in the Visayas and Mindanao. 

    In addition, Globe has set up more customer service channels in addition to its existing channels such as the Talk2Globe Hotline via 730-1000 (toll-free via Globe Landline) or 211 (toll-free via Globe/TM mobile), official Talk2Globe accounts in Facebook and Twitter, and the Talk2Globe e-mail account (talk@globetel.com.ph) to reach more subscribers and to immediately respond to queries and concerns on its services available for Globe subscribers. 

    These new Talk2Globe channels include chat functionality available on the Globe website or via Yahoo! Messenger (by adding the Talk2Globe account—Talk2GLOBECHAT) that provides real-time feedback from customer service representatives who are on duty 24/7. Globe subscribers anywhere in the Philippines can also get assistance by texting HELP to 1234 for free. 

    Globe also launched *143#, the newest and easiest quick-service menu that allows subscribers to know more about the latest Globe promos at the touch of a button for free. Just dial *143# and press the call button on the mobile phone to quickly access billing and load details, as well as call, text and surfing promos, do GCASH transactions, download related services, and share prepaid load to Globe and TM users without having to memorize registration codes and access numbers. 

    Saturday, February 11, 2012

    Whitney Houston Found Dead at 48



    A lot of us may have brought up an #RIPWhitneyHouston jokes on Twitter. This time, we are not laughing anymore as the singer battled with drugs.

    The publicist of the award-winning "I Will Always Loved You"singer confirmed her death. She was 48. Worse, she died on the eve of the prestigious Grammy Awards.

    While the cause of death has not yet been revealed, one can only wonder whether it was drug-related.Anyone who remembers Houston's early work and the impact it had on music can only be saddened by her death.

    Extending my condolences to the singer's family.

    Wednesday, February 8, 2012

    Audition for The Amazing Race Philippines

    The fastest reality show is now here in the Philippines!




    From the press release:

    "Fans of The Amazing Race franchise can expect the same level of heart-pumping adventure and thrilling challenges with the all new The Amazing Race Philippines."

    Interested fans should now start making their audition videos.

    Competition will be tough thus make sure you get noticed by the production team. Heh.

    TV 5 will post the audition schedules and procedures soon. Will keep you posted.