A Cinderella Story

Barkhad Abdi or better known as Muse, Somali pirate captain, from "Captain Phillips" has risen from nowhere and his story is one to read about. His first ever film landed him an Oscar nomination and a chance to work with one of the greatest actors ever Tom Hanks. Abdi is a native of Somali and he immigrated to America for a better life. HE was a limo driver in Minneapolis and heard about casting for a movie which included Somali pirates. He and a group of friends got the parts and it has changed their lives completely. He is so shocked of the recognition he has gotten and I find a very special message in his story.

As a filmmaker (or anyone in the film industry) you are up against all odds as you have to prove yourself to be recognized. I say that just because you are an unknown does not mean you are not going to make it. Barkhad lived in poverty for most of his life so if he can go and make a big name for himself I feel that anyone can do the same. Audiences love these stories and when they hear about them it draws them to see the movie and how he can act with someone such as Hanks. I saw "Captain Phillips" and to me he was a great actor and it was hard to believe that he is a rookie to the industry.

For an interview with Barkhad CLICK HERE

Nomination Denied!

Voting for the Oscar winners does not start until February 14th and for certain a composer that doesn't seem to confident about his song, it means he wants to start getting pushy with the voters. Bruce Broughton wrote "Alone Yet Not Alone" for a movie with that title, he is also apart of the academy's music branch. according to people in that branch Broughton emailed most of the voters urging them to consider his song. People complained and Bruce was in trouble. The voting is conducted in a "fair and ethical manner" and due to Broughton's pushing he was punished by getting his nomination taken away.

I'm really surprised at this, first of all the film was only released in 11 theaters and made about $100,000 so not many people know about it, second, why push people? Just to win, this really brings me to believe that Bruce was not confident in his work. This is the first time this is happening in Oscar history and now there is an opening for another nominee. The film "Alone Yet Not Alone" will be released later this year on a larger scale which intrigues me, so I think i will get a chance to see it.


For more on the Story - Click Here

The Hanks Era Over?

Tom Hanks, a well known actor most famous for the 1995 film "Forrest Gump" has made a great impact on the film industry. Being not only a well known screen actor but also very popular voice actor for his role in the "Toy Story" series. This year he starred in two very heart warming films. In "Saving Mr. Banks" Hanks played the legend Walt Disney. Personally I think that to play that role is an extreme honor. Disney created some of the most iconic cartoon characters and to play him must have been very special to Hanks. In "Captain Phillips" Hanks plays the lead role of a captain whose cargo ship is taken over by Somali Pirates.

Over the years the Oscar nominations have left Hanks of the list for Best Actor and Supporting Actor. To me this is surprising because one of the most famous actors in the industry hasn't won any awards recently. The last award Hanks got was for "Cast Away" in 2001. 13 years since he last won and Oscar and even this year he has been shut out. I like Tom Hanks he is one of my top five favorite actors and his films this year were actually very good. Yet the industry votes and they know what they like so if he is not winning anymore  the era of new actors is upon us and we must learn to accept it. Tom Hanks is still a great actor.

For more info: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope

 

The Clash of Giants

This years films were all great and I got the chance to see a couple of the really good ones. The list of the oscar nominations were released today and the two big companies tied for most nominations are Sony and Warner Bros. Warner brothers have films like "Her" and "Gravity" nominated for 21 awards while Sony has films like "Captain Phillips" "Blue Jasmine" and "American Hustle" up also for 21. This intrigues me because since they are so popular to be nominate for these many awards what makes them so special. I want to see these movies so I can get a personal look at why these movies should get the awards they are running for. Both of the production company's films also grossed enormous amounts of money that seems to be no surprise according to the nominations.