Oscars 2017: After a Snafu, MOONLIGHT Gets Its Time to Shine...

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Moonlight after (eventually) winning Best Picture at the 89th Annual Academy Awards last night! Even though her movie didn't win the top prize after some goofball handed Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway the wrong envelope to read, it is awesome that Emma Stone won Best Actress for her performance as Mia Dolan in La La Land [which also won Best Director (for Damien Chazelle), Original Score, Original Song, Cinematography and Production Design]. Along with Best Picture, Moonlight also took home statuettes for Best Adapted Screenplay and Supporting Actor...for Mahershala Ali in his role as Juan, the Cuban crack dealer. In regards to the other acting categories, Viola Davis won Best Supporting Actress for her role as Rose Lee Maxson in Fences and Casey Affleck won Best Actor for his performance as Lee Chandler in Manchester By The Sea.



Rogue One: A Star Wars Story lost Best Visual Effects to fellow Disney film The Jungle Book (as predicted) and lost Best Sound Mixing to Mel Gibson's World War II epic Hacksaw Ridge...which also won an award for Best Film Editing. The sci-fi hit Arrival won an Oscar for Best Sound Editing, while the NASA biopic Hidden Figures unfortunately came away empty-handed. Warner Bros' Suicide Squad won the Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, while its fellow comic book flick Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice "won" four awards at the Razzies the night before.



Last night's ceremony was very memorable. Here's hoping that the Jimmy Kimmel-Matt Damon feud continues (assuming, of course, that Kimmel will be re-invited to host the Oscars again), Moana's Auli'i Cravalho will get to do more Oscar-nominated songs and sing them live during the Academy Awards, and that next year's Best Picture winner won't be revealed after the wrong film is announced. Oh, and that Emma Stone will turn down roles where she is cast as an Asian. Yes, I remember that movie Aloha. Moonlight won Best Picture one year after the film Spotlight took home the top prize at the Academy Awards. Expect the upcoming Kevin Sorbo flick Let There Be Light, which gets released this Christmas, to make waves at the Oscars next March. Carry on!

RIP, Bill Paxton (1955-2017)...

Just heard the very sad news that Bill Paxton—who was in such movies as Aliens, Apollo 13, Titanic, True Lies and Twister—passed away due to complications after heart surgery last night. He was 61. Farewell, Mr. Paxton... Titanic, Apollo 13 and True Lies are some of my favorite films of all time. I had the chance to be on set with Paxton when I worked on his new CBS TV show Training Day late last year. As expected, he was a very nice guy who got along with the crew, fellow cast members and background actors that day.

Rest In Peace, Mr. Paxton... You will be missed.

Photo of the Day: Han Solo Begins His STAR WARS STORY...

Just thought I'd share this group photo of the untitled Han Solo film cast...who gathered together as the next Star Wars spin-off flick began principal photography in London today. The Han Solo movie [directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and featuring Alden Ehrenreich (as Han Solo), Donald Glover (as Lando Calrissian), Joonas Suotamo (as Chewbacca), Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton and Phoebe Waller-Bridge], which takes place before the events of Episode IV - A New Hope (just like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story did), is set to open in theaters on May 25, 2018. That's a little over five months after the theatrical release of Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (on December 15 of this year) and exactly 41 years after A New Hope hit cinemas nationwide. The Star Wars juggernaut continues!

THE LAST JEDI Update: Rey's New Look Is Revealed!

Earlier today, StarWars.com posted this article mentioning that Force Friday II—the official sequel to the day that The Force Awakens merchandise was released in stores worldwide on September 4, 2015—will take place on September 1st of this year. To commemorate this announcement, Lucasfilm also revealed this photo of an empty box featuring Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega) at the top of this package. While the outfits of Poe and Finn look similar to what they wore in Star Wars: Episode VII (for the most part), it's clearly obvious that Rey will evolve the most in The Last Jedi. She let her hair down, there are subtle changes to her outfit (RE: a black garment visible underneath her collar), her expression in this image suggesting stronger confidence and determination and...she has a slight bruise near her left eye. What could that be from?

It remains to be seen if Rey will be welding Luke Skywalker's lightsaber for most of The Last Jedi. Though I'd hope that if/when she does build her own Jedi weapon, it will have a different color to its blade. Leave the green laser sword to Luke himself. Apart from that, I can't wait for Force Friday II to arrive this summer! I'm wondering what toy will be inside this box that Lucasfilm revealed, and if I'll buy said toy. We'll see. Happy Thursday!

Talking Sports on My Film Blog...

My favorite movie ad that aired during Super Bowl LI this evening was the one for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Absolutely amazing footage! This TV spot was shown before the Atlanta Falcons' trophy presentation.

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If you watched the Big Game tonight you'd find that funny.