Fifty Shades of Grey The Movie: The Early Favourites

It is the most talked-about book of the season – the most erotic and sensual novel to hit out shelves in years, written by British writer, E.L. James. Set largely in Seattle, it is the first instalment in a trilogy that traces the deepening relationship between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, and a young business magnate, Christian Grey.

The Plot…

Anastasia Steele is a young college student who is drafted by her best friend Katherine Kavanagh to interview the successful young entrepreneur Christian Grey for their student newspaper. Steele finds him attractive, confident, commanding, and intimidating. She leaves the interview convinced it went badly; she tries to forget about Grey until he turns up at the hardware store where she works part-time. After Grey leaves the hardware store, Steele realises that she likes him. Grey tries to warn her that he is not a “heart and flowers” kind of guy, but this makes Steele want him more and want to uncover his secret. Grey also admits he wants her for her beauty, wit, and independent spirit, but on his own terms. Steele is shocked to learn Grey’s singular erotic taste. Grey proposes a BDSM relationship, which Steele knows nothing about. When the couple embarks on a passionate, physical and daring affair, Steele learns more about her own dark desires, as well as the Grey’s secrets.

The Movie…

There are talks about replicating all the power, drama, passion, sex and artistry of the book into a motion picture but the big question is, who will play the roles of Christian and Anastasia.

For Anastasia, here are the top 5 names that could possibly give life to this controversial character;

EMMA WATSON

EMMA STONE

ALEXIS BLEDEL

KRISTEN STEWART

ROONEY MARA

I would personally go for either Rooney or Emma Stone – whoever plays this part needs to be exceptionally brilliant in terms of acting and both actresses definitely got it. I won’t be surprised though if Emma Watson gets it as this could be the biggest non-Harry Potter break she is waiting for.

As for Christian Grey’s character, a lot of names pop up but remember, whoever is chosen to play this role needs to possess not just the acting ability but also that physical charisma, the body, the face, the sex appeal as this film will certainly (heavily) rely on Christian Grey;

IAN SOMERHALDER

 

HENRY CAVILL

 

KELLAN LUTZ

 

MICHAEL FASSBENDER

 

RYAN GOSLING

 

Michael and Kellan would be good choices – underrated, fit for the character although I think, of these 5, Ryan Gosling would be the perfect choice. He certainly embodies everything that is Christian Grey. Ryan and Emma Stone will actually make a perfect pair.

What about you guys, who do you think should bag these coveted roles?

 

Oscars 2012: Prince of all Media’s winners are…

At last! I’ve come to that point where my mind and heart have agreed who to win this year’s Academy Awards. As always, the Best Actor and Best Actress categories are the toughest to choose from. I’ve seen majority of the nominated films and performances and done my bit to research on the others so I guess I am in a position to weigh things up and lay down my cards…

First stop, Best Supporting Actor:

This category, although there are five actors nominated, is a 2-man battle… shall I say a strict 2-man battle. I’ve seen 4 of the 5 splendid performances and I think the media and critics will agree with me if I say it’s a toss between Christopher Plummer and Jonah Hill. Now, we’re down to which performance has actually captivated the heart of the academy. Based on their respective roles, Plummer’s character is more interesting and dramatic in that sense, however, Hill’s portrayal in Moneyball was a revelation. Who deserves the award more? The late-bloomer or the man who has more to show…

The Prince of all Media’s choice is…. CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER!

 

Then of course Jonah Hill is my second choice. I’d like to see Kenneth Branagh in that top spot too though I don’t think he will snatch the Oscars this year. As for Max Von Sydow…. next category please.

 

Best Supporting Actress:

This is so cool! I’ve seen all five performances and I kinda like each one of them. I have my very personal favourite and I also have my eyes on someone who, so far, has swept the awards for this category. Unlike the Best Supporting Actor category, this lot is more like a 3-woman race. Jessica Chastain is so pretty that you can easily fall for her performance despite it being a so-so acting in general. Berenice Bejo, on the other hand, won my heart with her timeless beauty and expressive eyes as Pippa Miller in The Artist but that doesn’t mean she can reign supreme in this year’s awards night especially under the threat of The Help’s Octavia Spencer who, in my opinion, should have been nominated as Best Actress instead as she shared the spotlight with Viola Davis in the said film. Enough blah-blah-blah…

Prince of all Media’s choice is… OCTAVIA SPENCER!

 

I’d love to see Berenice to win it but I highly doubt that because Octavia is just a sure winner this year. Possible upset? I think they all deserve to win so no one could surprise us.

 

Best Director/Best Picture:

It’s always a question whether the Best Picture and Best Director winner should always come from the same film. This year, I think that is safe to say. All 9 nominated films were created by 9 brilliant directors. The seniors; Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese gave us their remarkable masterpieces whilst newbie Michel Hazanavicius dared to present us something different. I was surprised not to see George Clooney in this category for Ides of March as I thought it wasn’t too bad for a non-director to come up with such quality of a film. As for the nominated movies, there are only two films which I think will go head-to-head – that doesn’t mean though the other nine are crap. Is it the film that tackles the ups and downs of being a father or the film that challenges the viewers by presenting a magnificent story minus the words?!

Prince of all Media’s choices for Best Director and Best Picture are… MICHEL HAZANAVICIUS & THE ARTIST!

I believe The Artist has pretty much secured its win but Michel’s victory is still uncertain, Martin could easily snatch that statuette away from him should the Academy decide to pay tribute to him as one of the Hollywood’s living legends.

 

Best Actor:

Will it be George? Will it be Brad? Will it be Jean? The awards season started with Brad Pitt as the ultimate choice for this category but his best pal, George Clooney entered the picture and even won the Golden Globe award. People started thinking its going to be George and Brad for this race but here we go again, another contender came into the race and is now the frontrunner, after his SAG victory… Jean Dujardin for The Artist. I’ve seen all three performances, in fact, all five nominees for this category. George’s acting is so good that you actually forget it was George Clooney. Brad’s performance on the other hand is one of the best I’ve seen from him although the character and the role is not that big to push him on top of the stage. And finally, Jean is just as amazing as the film. The Artist would have been a massive flop if not for Jean’s outstanding performance. My personal favourite is also who I think will win the Oscars so I guess I’m in a good place for this one.

Prince of all Media’s choice is… JEAN DUJARDIN!

George, of course, is my second choice followed by poor old Brad 🙂

 

And finally, the most exciting category of the night… Best Actress:

First and foremost, let me just say that the Academy should’ve chosen Tilda Swinton instead of Glenn Close as the former was just brilliant in the weird film called ‘We Need To Talk About Kevin’ unlike Glenn Close, I mean, who is Glenn Close?! I’m happy anyway that they’ve recognized Rooney Mara’s acting in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (I have a review coming up for that film). Her performance was infectious and effortless and although I think she could win the award, the race for Best Actress is down to just two; the legendary and unparalleled Meryl Streep vs the incredible Viola Davis. Both actresses have proven their amazing talents in acting. They even had a showdown of brilliance in the film Doubt few years ago. The media’s opinion on this category is mixed. Meryl started off at the high and secured the Oscars by beating Viola in the Golden Globe while Viola has won the SAG and has posed a tough competition. Both performances showcased their strengths as an actress. I’d like to see both of them to win but that is impossible. I think I will have to base my judgement on who gave the most convincing acting and who gave justice to their role. It is very difficult. I’d like to see _______ to win but I think _________ will win! I’ll keep it that way.

Prince of all Media’s choice (based on giving justice to the role) is… MERYL STREEP!

 

I won’t be surprised though if Viola wins it. I’d like Rooney and Michelle too… Glenn Close? Who the hell is Glenn Close?!

There you go, last year, I predicted 4/6 so it wasn’t that good… I’m hoping my predictions will be much better this year (fingers crossed) 🙂

 

Oscar nominees are out… Let the battle begin!

Best Picture
“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
“Hugo”
“Midnight in Paris”
“The Help”
“Moneyball”
“War Horse”
“The Tree of Life”

Best Actor
Demian Bichir, “A Better Life”
George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”
Gary Oldman, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
Brad Pitt, “Moneyball”

Best Actress
Glenn Close, “Albert Nobbs”
Viola Davis, “The Help”
Rooney Mara, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”
Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn”

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, “My Week With Marilyn”
Jonah Hill, “Moneyball”
Nick Nolte, “Warrior”
Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”
Max Von Sydow, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

Best Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo, “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain, “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”
Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs”
Octavia Spencer, “The Help”

Best Director
Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life”
Alexander Payne, “The Descendants”
Martin Scorsese, “Hugo”

Best Original Screenplay
Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
JC Chandor, “Margin Call”
Asghar Farhadi, “A Separation”
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, “Bridesmaids”

Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxton, Jim Rash, “The Descendants”
John Logan, “Hugo”
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, “The Ides of March”
Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian, “Moneyball”
Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughn, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”

Best Animated Feature
“A Cat In Paris”
“Chico & Rita”
“Kung Fu Panda 2”
“Puss in Boots”
“Rango”

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Bullhead (Belgium)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran)

Original Score
“The Adventures of Tintin,” John Williams
“The Artist,” Ludovic Bource
“Hugo,” Howard Shore
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” Alberto Iglesias
“War Horse,” John Williams

Best Original Song
“Man or Muppet,” The Muppets; Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio,” Rio; Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Achievement in Art Direction
“The Artist”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
“Hugo”
“Midnight in Paris”
“War Horse”

Best Achievement in Cinematography
“The Artist”
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
“Hugo”
“The Tree of Life”
“War Horse”

Best Achievement in Costume Design
“Anonymous”
“The Artist”
“Hugo”
“Jane Eyre”
“W.E.”

Best Documentary Feature
“Hell and Back Again”
“If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front”
“Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory”
“Pina”
“Undefeated”

Best Documentary Short Subject
“The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement?”
“God Is the Bigger Elvis”
“Incident in New Baghdad”
“Saving Face”
“The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom”

Best Achievement in Film Editing
“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
“Hugo”
“Moneyball”

Best Achievement in Makeup
“Albert Nobbs”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
“The Iron Lady”

Best Animated Short Film
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Best Live Action Short Film
“Pentecost”
“Raju”
“The Shore”
“Time Freak”
“Tuba Atlantic”

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
“Drive”
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
“Hugo”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
“War Horse”

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
“Hugo”
“Moneyball”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
“War Horse”

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
“Hugo”
“Real Steel”
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”

 

It is going to be a good battle especially for the Best Picture category. Please watch this space for my fearless forecast!