It's that time of year again!  Tomorrow morning we will find out which films are nominated for the 82nd Academy Awards.  And then I will be begin my movie going marathon to try and see all the films that are up for awards.  Of course I am particularly interested in which films will be up for the Make up award.  Make-up Artist Magazine recently posted a great article on their site that went through the different movies in 2009 with notable make ups:

http://makeupmag.com/news/newsID/682/

The Oscars will be air Sunday March 7th.  I am really looking forward to Steve Martin co-hosting last time he had hosted I was a senior in college.  He is so funny, he's been my favorite host.  Here are some site you can check out for more info on the show:

http://www.oscars.org/

http://oscar.go.com/

 I am on a roll of watching all the oscar nominated films.  Latest one that I saw was The Duchess.  It is available to rent and is up for Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction.  After seeing this movie, which is based on the life of the Duchess of Devonshire Georgiana Cavendish I feel as though I can never complain about anything in my life again. 

I found it to be a beautiful movie and though one could say the story was depressing I just found it amazing that it is true.  Hair was phenomenal by Jan Archibald who won the oscar last year for La Vie en Rose.  The make up designer for The Duchess was Daniel Phillips who was inspired by 18th century paintings by Joshua Reynolds and Maria Cosway.  Keira Knightly is so beautiful and the make up in this movie makes her look like she stepped out of the famous portrait of the duchess by Thomas Gainsborough.

I also rented In Bruges which is up for Best Screenplay.  This movie I found very, very depressing.  It is a dark comedy and I, for  the most party, really enjoy dark comedies but this one was grey and I like them black.  There is a scene where one of the characters survives a great fall.  Kudos on this, very freaky and very gross.  The way it was shot with close up on the face yet you can see bits of blood and flesh just out of focus was quite gruesome. 

I was sick last week which was perfect for movie going.  Just today I was able to catch The Wrestler.  The Wrestler is up for two oscars: First up is Mickey Rourke for Best Actor (up against Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”; Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”; Sean Penn, “Milk”; and Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”;)  Marisa Tomei is nominated for Best supporting actress against : Amy Adams, “Doubt”; Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”; Viola Davis, “Doubt”; and Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Mickey Rourke was phenomenal.  What I was not expecting was all the great make up.  Lots of blood effects and scarring.  Marisa Tomei is also sporting some nipple piercings and quite a few tattoos.  I really liked this movie.  The style they shot it in really made you feel like you were walking with Randy through all of his experiences.  Mickey Rourke played it so that you felt sympathy but never pity.  He was a flawed character but a good person at heart.  It also made me view wrestling in a whole different way, as an art form, a type of theatre, and wrestlers are artists, performers.  The deli counter scene was just precious and again it showed Randy as a person who has a special talent of being able to connect, and actually needing to connect with others.  Just Awesome.

I also saw Hellboy II: The Golden Army today.  I was delighted that Doug Jones' voiced his character Abraham Sapien this time around.  I adore Doug Jones.  I worked with him on Angel of Death in October and he impressed me so much with his personality and professionalism.  I am leaning towards Hellboy to pick up the oscar for best make up. 

I do not understand what happens to me during this time of year. I seriously feel like a kid on Christmas morning during award season. There is no rhyme or reason and I have decided not to analyze it but to just enjoy it. Since finding out the nominees yesterday morning I have managed to watch 5 of the nominated movies. I caught Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire in the show and I rented Wall-E, Kung Fu Panda and The Visitor, man do I love the redbox. If I had to marry a vending maching it would be the redbox, it is the coolest invention since velcro, tab, and the walkman.

Best Make up Nominees:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Greg Cannom a 9 time nominee

The Dark Knight, John Caglione Sr. and Conor O'Sullivan this the 2nd time for both

Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz both 1st time nominees

I have seen all these films expect for Hellboy II and I can't wait to check it out.

So I just had a photoshoot this last Sunday and I had the opportunity to work with a new photographer.  It was a great experience and I want to share it.  The photographer is Adam Bouska you can check out his work on his website:  http://www.bouska.net/ Adam really impressed me with his working style.  He was great communicating what he wanted and needed and he had a great energy and spirit.   He has beautiful work and I definitely see him going far. 

We were working on portfolio shots for a young actor, Brant Daughtery.  I had worked with Brant back in Chicago on a short film that he co-wrote and co-produced with Director Christopher Hayden.  You can check more about their work on Chris' blog:  http://quispychronicle.blogspot.com/

I am happy to be working again with these great people who I had wonderful experiences with back home in the Midwest.  It is making L.A. seem more and more like home to me.