Chris Rock Hip-Hops Into Oscar Gig
BURBANK, Calif. - Chris Rock's eyes darted around the room, studying the chattering group of international print journalists. He licked his lips, clasped his hands ... and only dropped one F-bomb as they questioned him in a variety of accents.
"I'm never proper or careful, but I never curse in front of my mother, either," Rock told the writers. So he's not worried about getting bleeped on worldwide TV when he hosts the Feb. 27 Oscar ceremony.
"I don't think people are nervous," Rock said later during an interview with The Associated Press. "I just came off tour in America, a million people came to see me. They weren't nervous."
Shooting a glance at Oscar show producer Gil Cates, he asked, "Are you, Gil?"
Cates didn't flinch.
Neither has the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, although having the acerbic Rock as host is certainly a change of pace. The academy is known for its sedate style and the predominantly older, white membership that fills the Oscar night audience.
Rock mimicked the typical question he gets these days: "Oh, a black comic, how are you going to make it whiter? I'm like, `Dude, look around, can you get any whiter?'"
He honed his off-the-cuff style during a three-year run on "Saturday Night Live," plus the club circuit and hit HBO specials.
"How do I say this without sounding like an egomaniac?" he said. "I don't know a comedian that sells more seats than me in the red states and blue states, so I don't see where I have to change that much."
At least some of Rock's cockiness stems from the positive response he received during his recent "Black Ambition" tour.
"When I'm in West Palm Beach, Fla., there are old Jewish people at the show," he said. "When I'm in New Mexico, it's Mexicans. Wherever I'm at, the people show up."
Hip-hopping into the traditional footsteps of such Oscar emcees as Billy Crystal and the late Johnny Carson appealed to Rock, although he revealed he turned down the chance to host the Oscarcast several times before, believing it was "an old man's gig."
But he's 39 now, and it feels right.
"I like the tradition of the Oscars," he said. "I like that some of the greatest comedians ever have hosted the show."
How did Cates choose Rock as host? "Billy is doing a show in New York," he said, "Steve Martin is doing a movie."
Rock cut him off. "Ellen DeGeneres has crabs. Jay Leno's got a gig. They got to the R's. Burt Reynolds said no."
Creating an immediate buzz on Oscar night is Rock's No. 1 challenge.
"A great monologue does it," he said. "The secret to hosting awards shows is like sports — get a big lead and run out the clock. Then kind of hand off the ball and assist the show."
As a kid in Brooklyn, N.Y., Rock tuned in the Oscar show for the host's monologue, then tuned out.
"Any black people nominated? No, oh, back to bed," he said.
Not the case this year. Jamie Foxx is a best actor nominee for "Ray" and a supporting actor nominee for "Collateral" — two of this year's record five acting nominations for black performers.
"If he doesn't win, I will steal the sound editing Oscar," Rock declared.
Cates reminded him that award usually has multiple winners.
"They're all punks," Rock shot back.
Rock isn't a member of the academy, despite acting in "Head of State," "Bad Company," "New Jack City," "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka!" and, of course, "Pootie Tang."
Why not?
"If you're darker than a paper bag, you can't get in," he said.
Working a live audience is Rock's forte, a good thing since the Oscars are broadcast in real time around the world. ABC has not yet decided whether there will be a delay on the broadcast to protect against stray profanities, as there was in last year's post-Janet Jackson crackdown.
An Emmy-winning writer himself for his cable specials, Rock hired his own writing staff, and expects contributions from famous pals David Spade, Adam Sandler and Eddie Murphy.
"I've been kissing --- for years and now I'm going to reap the rewards," he said, cackling. "I've been paying for a lot of dinners and now I want jokes, damn it!"
How will Rock know if he's killing the Kodak Theatre audience on Oscar night?
"I'll probably pay more attention to the musicians in the pit than the stars because they're the closest you're going to get to normal people in the audience," he said.
"If I can get them laughing, I know I got the whole world laughing."
Lowdown: Andre 3000 helps out Esthero
The mystery man on Esthero's long-awaited follow-up to 1998's "Breath From Another" debut is Andre 3000 of Grammy-winning duo Outkast.
Up until recently, the identity of the big hip hop star on her song "Junglebook" has been under wraps. The album, "Wikked Lil' Grrls," is tentatively scheduled for a March 1 release in Canada.
The song, which has a light African pop feel, is a piece of escapism about living in the jungle. "I told him what it was about," says Esthero, whose album is a sexy, sophisticated blend of jazz, pop and urban musics. "It's basically a fantasy song of being tired of your surroundings and the idea of moving to the jungle and living in a tree fort, dancing with fireflies -- the desire for magic to be back in your life."
The Toronto-based singer envisioned Andre on the track, but wanted him to get a sense of the album. She gave him four songs from "Wikked," including the title track from her teaser EP, "We R in need of a musical ReVoLuTIoN!," plus "Every Day Is A Holiday (With You)," a song she co-penned with her friend, Sean Lennon.
"I wanted Andre to want to be a part of the record, not just part of a song," explains Esthero. "I thought it would be a big mistake to just send him the song because I don't know if he would've done it, but he called me a couple of days later and said., 'What are we doing and when?'"
Last July, she flew down to Atlanta's famed Stankonia Studios, where Andre laid down his vocal. After hanging out in the lounge as the singer created, he emerged with a cool part about making love like animals and feelin' cannibal. "I'll eat you alive," he sings on the otherwise tame song.
"When I heard the line, I thought he said, 'I'll eat you all night,' and I was laughing. I said to him, 'I don't think you can say that,' and he said, 'Noooooo, I'm saying, 'I'll eat you alive -- like a cannibal,'" she recounts. "He's so talented. It's so great to be around him, so humble, so fun. I'll remember the night in the studio with him forever."
Wikked also includes a plaintive gospel blues track called "Gone," with Cee-Lo Green of Goodie Mob. Esthero had worked with the group back in 1998 for a remix of Breath's "World I Know (Country Livin')" for the Slam soundtrack. On the other end of the spectrum is a pure happy pop track, "Everyday Is A Holiday (With You)," one of two songs co-written two years ago with Lennon at his New York home.
"The song was inspired by something Sean had already written, a song called "Happiness,' which we call The Muppet Song," says Esthero. "It had like that Henry Mancini (vibe), so I started writing something like that. The song was pretty much done. He helped me write the bridge and we sat there at the piano and just laid some background vocals and ideas, and that was that. He's got a beautiful left hand. He made the song come to life."
"Working with Esthero is like mainlining inspiration," says Lennon. "She's like inter-venus music. If songwriting is a highway, Esthero is a souped-up pink Lamborgini. If you don't wear a seat-belt, you get musical whiplash. 'Every Day...' was a garden already in bloom, she simply wanted someone to walk through it with. Lucky me."
Hollywood Braced for Closest Race in Years
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Academy members' eagerly awaited choices for best picture suggest a tight Oscar race rivaling the suspense of the 1999 derby, when "Shakespeare in Love" enjoyed a shock triumph over "Saving Private Ryan."
Tuesday's picks -- "The Aviator," "Sideways," "Finding Neverland," "Million Dollar Baby," and "Ray" -- turned out to be right in line with nominations and awards from a number of Oscar bellwethers, including the Golden Globes, the Critics Choice Awards and the Producers Guild of America Awards.
Miramax and Warner Bros.' "The Aviator" had landed the Golden Globe for best picture (drama), was a Critics' Choice best picture nominee, won the PGA's best picture award, and will compete for a the best ensemble cast prize at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Feb. 5.
Fox Searchlight Pictures' "Sideways" went home from the Globes with a best picture (musical/comedy) win, was the Critics' Choice best picture winner and received a SAG best ensemble nomination.
Miramax's "Finding Neverland," Warner Bros.' "Million Dollar Baby," and Universal's "Ray" each received best picture nominations at the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards. They will also compete for SAG's ensemble cast prize.
The films come into the race with certain advantages, but also face some specific problems. The critically acclaimed "Sideways," for instance, must confront the Academy's historic tendency not to take comedy seriously. Since 1934, only nine films that can be described as comedies or dark comedies have won the best picture Oscar, including "American Beauty" (1999), "Shakespeare in Love" (1998) and "Forrest Gump" (1994).
"The Aviator" has an advantage in that it's the only epic film in this year's best picture race. Epics have been one of the Academy's favorite genres over the years. At the same time, there's speculation that this could be the year the Academy finally acknowledges director Martin Scorsese with a best director win.
Scorsese's record of having been overlooked by the Academy, by the way, can be documented all the way back to 1974 when "Mean Streets" received no Oscar nominations. In 1976, "Taxi Driver" was nominated for best picture, but lost to "Rocky." In 1980, "Raging Bull" received best picture and director nominations, but Scorsese lost to Robert Redford, whose "Ordinary People" also won best picture. In 1988 Scorsese was nominated for directing "The Last Temptation of Christ," but lost to Barry Levinson for "Rain Man." In 1990, "Goodfellas" received best picture and director nods. Scorsese lost to Kevin Costner, whose "Dances With Wolves" also won best picture. And in 2003, "Gangs of New York" was a best picture and director nominee. Roman Polanski won best director for "The Pianist" and "Chicago" captured best picture.
Immediately after the nominations were revealed, London odds makers Ladbrokes Limited cited "Aviator" as its favorite to win best picture with odds of 4-5 and Scorsese as the favorite to win best director with odds of 4-6.
Excitement over best actor or actress prospects can also create momentum for a best picture contender. In the case of "Aviator," there's Leonardo DiCaprio in the best actor race. "Baby" has Clint Eastwood. "Neverland" has Johnny Depp. "Ray" has Jamie Foxx, the favorite according to Ladbrokes with odds of 1-4.
"Sideways," however, isn't in the best actor race. That slot went to Don Cheadle for MGM/United Artists' "Hotel Rwanda." Paul Giamatti's not being nominated for "Sideways" stands as one of this year's major surprises given the critical acclaim he received throughout the awards season to date.
On the best actress front, there's only one match-up with the best picture nominations, and that's Hilary Swank for "Baby." Ladbrokes is quoting 1-1 odds for Swank and 2-1 odds for Annette Bening for Sony Pictures Classics' "Being Julia."
Swank won the Globe for best actress-drama and Bening won the best actress-musical or comedy Globe. They were competing head to head in the Critics Choice Awards, where Swank was victorious. The last time these two actresses slugged it out was in 2000 when Swank won the best actress Oscar for "Boys Don't Cry" and Bening lost for "American Beauty."
There's also a strong best actress candidate in Fine Line Features' "Vera Drake" star Imelda Staunton, who has done well with critics groups all season. The odds are longer for Catalina Sandino Moreno for Fine Line's "Maria Full of Grace" and Kate Winslet for Focus Features' "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."
The predictability of the best picture Oscar nominations carried through to a large extent in other key categories, too, although there were a few surprises. In the best director race, for instance, Mike Leigh's nomination for "Vera Drake" came straight out of left field since none of the critics groups and other awards organizations had recognized him. But Academy members showed they understand the role a director plays in obtaining an awards worthy performance from his actors. Leigh was previously nominated in 1997 for writing and directing "Secrets & Lies" and in 2000 for writing "Topsy-Turvy."
There was, on the other hand, no directing nomination for Marc Forster for "Neverland." Although critics groups didn't embrace Forster, he did score key nominations in the Globes, Critics' Choice and Directors Guild of America races.
The Academy's final ballots go into the mail Feb. 3 and are due back by 5 p.m. Feb. 22. The 77th annual Academy Awards will take place Feb. 27.
Jay & Silent Bob do Degrassi and North of 60 returns on coming week's TV
(CP) - "I got to make out with Caitlin Ryan. . .for hours!"
So boasted indie filmmaker Kevin Smith about his featured guest role on CTV's Degrassi: The Next Generation.
Well, not quite hours but he does have one smooching scene with the dishy Stacie Mistysyn who plays Caitlin, but only because Caitlin was drunk and afterwards she. . .well, let's not spoil it for both Smith and Degrassi fans. The first of three episodes airs Monday night.
Smith has made no secret of his longstanding adulation for the Degrassi franchise and in particular of a crush on Mistysyn, and so agreed last year to come to Canada, with Jason Mewes - his "hetero life-mate" and co-star in the popular Jay and Silent Bob movies - to basically play himself (albeit an unmarried version of Smith). Before the kiss, Caitlin, who is in a relationship with Joey (Pat Mastroianni), admits she thought Smith was gay.
In the story arc, they're shooting a new film called Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh? on location at Degrassi High, using students as extras, and Smith becomes involved in Caitlin's personal relationship problems.
Smith was limited to acting. He offered to write and direct the episodes but he's not Canadian and that would have put the series' Telefilm funding at risk. Watch for another riotous cameo, though, by Alanis Morissette whose character makes out with Jay. Degrassi is the top-rated shows on Noggin, a U.S. cable channel aimed at the teen crowd.
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Following its debut at last fall's Toronto International Film Festival, Shake Hands With the Devil, filmmaker Peter Raymont's searing documentary about Romeo Dallaire and his return to the site of the 1994 Rwanda massacre, pops up commercial-free on CBC's The Passionate Eye next Monday night.
Lt.-Gen. Dallaire, as many viewers probably already know, was the first Canadian commander ever of a United Nations mission to Africa when he was sent to Rwanda in 1993. But the world body and its member nations left him twisting in the wind with no money, no military resources and no mandate with which to intervene in the looming tribal war between Hutus and Tutsis in which 800,000 people were slaughtered in a 100-day genocide.
As the hour-long film shows, blame was sprinkled around liberally, to include not just Dallaire but the Belgians, the Catholic Church and the West in general. The experience left Dallaire depressed, haunted and even suicidal but this film, based on his own bestselling book of the same title, takes him back to the site of his trauma to face his demons and hopefully lead to a catharsis.
Shake Hands With the Devil was on the playbill for this year's Sundance festival and is scheduled for a home video release March 1.
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North of 60 continues to do even better as an occasional TV movie-of-the-week than it did as a weekly series for six years.
The fifth movie in the franchise, airing on CBC on Sunday, is called Distant Drumming and has already gathered some honours at the American Indian Film Festival in California. Angry at the way "white justice" treated him in Calgary when he was falsely convicted of murder, Teevee (Dakota House) returns to Lynx River anxious to make some big changes in the law enforcement system.
But Michelle and Peter (Tina Keeper and Tom Jackson) are concerned: would a Dene police force be answerable to Canadian law or to Teevee as both the newly empowered chief and head of Lynx River Resources? Meanwhile, when an Edmonton tourist is murdered, Michelle gets some investigative competition when Teevee brings in another native officer and expert on aboriginal justice (Jennifer Podemski).
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The man with the beard and cigar is recognized worldwide, and has been for nearly a half-century. But Fidel Castro, who rose up to became dictator of Cuba in 1959 and remains so today, also remains an enigma to all but a few.
Through the decades, he has confounded American presidents from Eisenhower to Bush, while surviving a CIA-backed invasion, countless assassination plots, an economic Embargo - even the collapse of his benefactor, the Soviet Union.
How has he done it?
Through interviews with relatives, childhood friends, fellow rebel leaders, Bay of Pigs veterans, human rights activists and journalists, American Experience: Fidel Castro paints a revealing portrait of an enduring leader. Produced by veteran filmmaker (and Cuba native) Adriana Bosch, this fine PBS documentary airs 9 p.m. Monday (check local listings).