The Road, District 9, and Star Trek: Among Oscar® Makeup Race Shortlist

A "Prawn" from "District 9"

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences yesterday announced that seven films remain in competition in the Makeup category for the 82nd Academy Awards®.

The Academy Award for Best Makeup actually recognizes the individuals who perform both makeup and hairstyling duties. Like Best Visual Effects, this category has only three nominees, chosen from a list of seven finalists which are announced in a bake-off advance.

Certain names such as three-time Oscar® winner Greg Cannom (Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Mrs. Doubtfire) and six-time Oscar® winner Rick Baker (Tropic Thunder, Men in Black, How the Grinch Stole Christmas) show up with frequency. Creation of monsters and other fantastical characters such as Mike Elizalde's makeups in Hellboy I and Hellboy II, in addition to aging makeups, like those used by Greg Cannom in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, tend to be the branch’s preferred accomplishments.

The 82nd Oscar® Best Makeup finalists (in alphabetical order) are:

* “District 9”
* “Il Divo”
* “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
* “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian”
* “The Road”
* “Star Trek”
* “The Young Victoria”

Toni Servillo in Il Divo

The biggest surprise was the inclusion of Il Divo among the seven. Paolo Sorrentino’s biting satire has been mostly ignored by US critics’ groups. The makeup job in question transformed actor Toni Servillo into Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti, who is aged over several decades.

Robert Duvall (left) and Viggo Mortensen in "The Road"

The rugged survivors' makeups in The Road, Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic tale are haunting and unforgettable.

Eric Bana as the Romulan Nero in "Star Trek"

The successful reboot of the Star Trek franchise created the numerous famous characters, a bevy of Vulcans, Romulans, Orions, and most notably, Eric Bana’s antagonist Romulan Nero.

A "Prawn" from District Nine

While much of the work in Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 was achieved with visual effects, makeup nevertheless played a key role in capturing the hellish life in the title slum. Makeup effects and prosthetics were created by Jackson’s WETA crew.

Christopher Plummer as an immortal Eastern mystic
and Lily Cole as his daughter
in "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus."

Makeup is a key to Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, a circus movie involving a 1,000 year old title character. Sarah Monzani has been out of the race for 27 years since winning this award for Quest for Fire.

Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend as Victoria and Albert

in "The Young Victoria."

The Young Victoria captures the early years of the British monarch.

One surprising omission is that of James Cameron’s Avatar. That’s probably because much of the Na’vi’s look is a result of computer generated imagery, not actual makeup jobs. The makeup artists on the crew have yet to be widely recognized by the Academy.

On Saturday, January 23, all members of the Academy’s Makeup Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films. Following the screenings, members will vote to nominate three films for final Oscar consideration.

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

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'THE ROAD' Oscar® Buzz! & New International Trailer

After the success of No Country For Old Men it was only a matter of time before more Cormac McCarthy novels were adapted for the big screen.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Road film adaptation stars Viggo Mortensen who turns in a performance worthy of an Oscar® nomination. He just may take home the hardware this year!



Mortensen leads an all-star cast featuring Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce and young newcomer Kodi Smit-McPhee in this epic post-apocalyptic tale of the survival of a father (Mortsensen) and his young son (Smit-McPhee) as they journey across a barren America that was destroyed by a mysterious cataclysm.

The Road is an emotionally charged masterpiece adventure set in a post-apocalyptic world. It boldly imagines a future in which men are pushed to the worst and the best that they are capable of—a future in which a father and his son are sustained by love. Shot in real environment and "playing it for keeps emotionally" emotionally the tough journey unravelled in The Road is both beautiful to look at and believable, with an uplifting ending. In conclusion, being kind is the most important thing.

Check out the new UK (international) trailer below.



We highly recommend you experience The Road, a soon to become favorite 21st century classic. Looks like Harvey and Bob have another Oscar® contender to add to their slate of Oscar® Buzz films this year: NINE, A Single Man, and Inglorious Basterds! The Weinstein Company's The Road is currently playing in theaters across North America.

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'THE ROAD: Dream Sequence' Movie Clip with Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron

Viggo Mortensen in 'The Road'

Check out a new clip for The Road starring Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Robert Duvall, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Garret Dillahunt, and directed by John Hillcoat.

Synopsis
A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and, when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing: just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food--and each other.

The man (Viggo Mortensen) dreams about his past life. Watch the clip below.

Viggo appeared on David Letterman last night. Below is a clip from the show.



Time for another Oscar® nom for Viggo Mortensen, only this time he just might be going home with the coveted hardware from AMPAS®!

The Road opens in theatres on November 25, 2009.

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'The Road' LA Screening with Viggo Mortensen on Nov 9th!

Join Back Stage on Monday, November 9 for a Los Angeles screening of the new film The Road, starring Viggo Mortensen, who will hold a Q&A immediately afterward.

The Road is based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy, author of "No Country For Old Men." In it, a father (Mortensen) must ensure the survival of his wife (Charlize Theron) and son in a post-apocalyptic wasteland where it appears almost all over humankind has vanished.

Mortensen's credits include "A History Of Violence" and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. He was nominated for an Academy Award in 2008 for his portrayal of the Russian mobster Nikolai in director David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises."

Another Oscar^® nomination for Mortensen? Absolutely! We'll be keeping a close eye on Viggo now that Awards Season is in full swing.

The screening will take place at 8 p.m. at:
The Landmark Theatre
1080 West Pico Blvd.
(free parking -- enter on Westwood Blvd. or Pico Blvd.)

To RSVP, please send an email to: theroadbackstage@gmail.com. Send your full name and please indicate if you plan to bring a guest. A reservation does not guarantee admittance.

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Source: BackStage.com

Viggo Starves on Dark Chocolate on The Road

Viggo Mortensen, 'The Road'
Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival
Mayfair Hotel, October 16, 2009, London, England.
(Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)

Actor Viggo Mortensen (LOTR, Eastern Promises, A History of Violence) turned 51 yesterday. Happy Birthday Viggo!

Viggo shed 20 pounds while filming The Road, based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel about a father and son struggling to survive in post-apocalyptic world.

Kodi Smit-McPhee and Viggo Mortensen in
John Hillcoat's 'The Road'
(Photo by Macall Polay/The Weinstein Company)

The lean actor got even thinner by sticking to a diet of dark chocolate and “a bit of red meat” during the 55-day shoot, director John Hillcoat said following a screening in Los Angeles.

Mortensen’s weight loss is evident in the movie. His ribs protrude noticeably in a couple of shirtless scenes.

Viggo Mortensen, 'The Road' press conference ,
Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival,
Mayfair Hotel, October 16, 2009, London, England.
(Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)

(L-R) Director John Hillcoat, writer Joe Penhall and actor Viggo Mortensen
(Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)

“He starved himself,” producer Steve Schwartz said. “He was in his role all of the time.”

In the film an unspecified catastrophe leaves the Earth’s soil sterile, forcing survivors to scavenge ruined cities for canned food while dodging cannibals. Mortensen’s character and his son try to maintain their humanity while searching for a safe haven.

The book won McCarthy the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2007 and the film earned Hillcoat a Golden Lion nomination at this year’s Venice Film Festival.

Last month we reported Mortensen was quitting acting after promoting The Road which opens which opens Nov. 25. Oh Viggo, please say it isn't so! I have a feeling we'll be seeing alot more of Viggolicious come awards season!

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Source: Bloomberg.com

Viggo Mortensen Quits Acting, What Will Become of The Hobbit's Aragorn?

In a recent interview Viggo Mortensen told Men’s Journal he is quitting acting! “I have no plans to do another movie. I don't know what's going to happen. I'm open to seeing how I feel in a while, but right now I'm not saying yes to anything. My agent is like, 'Well, if you don't do anything, people will forget about you...' I just feel like I've taken on too much for a while.”

Viggo has talked before about the negative impact excessive travel was having on his health. Now it seems like he’s taking it even more seriously. While it doesn’t sound like he’s calling it quits forever, he does seem determined to take some sort of extended break. His schedule is, after he’s done promoting The Road, mostly empty. So that might not seem like a problem, unless of you’re a fan of Lord of the Rings.

Though he’s not yet officially involved, Viggo was supposed to reprise his role as Aragorn in Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming series of movies based in part on The Hobbit. Some time in the next few months they’re actually going to start shooting in New Zealand.

The good news here is that Aragorn probably won’t show up until the second of Guillermo del Toro’s new Lord of the Rings movies. That could give Viggo the time he needs to recharge his batteries.

Aragorn does not appear in JRR Tolkien's original novel The Hobbit. However, Del Toro's Middle Earth movies may incorporate material not found in the books, including material from different eras which could allow them to involve familiar characters like Aragorn. On the other hand, it's far from written in stone and even Del Toro has kicked around several different ideas for how to handle the movies. Bottom line, no one's entirely certain what they'll be about yet. I only hope Mortensen will be rested up by then and back in the saddle as Aragorn. Middle Earth just wouldn’t be the same with a replacement Aragorn!

Viggo Mortensen in The Road

Mortensen is currently at TIFF promoting his latest movie The Road.

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Source: Cinemablend.com