Friendly Voices - Gwyneth Paltrow

"A few months ago, in the heat of the tragic teen suicides that came about from intolerance of homosexuality, I saw a man on television who was apologizing for wishing death on gays from his facebook page. This member of an Arkansas school board was contrite for the violence in his words, but maintained that his values pertaining to homosexuality would remain, as he felt homosexuality was condemned in the bible. This concept, while foreign to me, is interesting, as it used to justify so much judgement and separation in our society. When my daughter came home from school one day saying that a classmate had two mommies, my response was, 'Two mommies? How lucky is she?!' What does it actually say in the bible that will cause some people to be upset by my line of thinking? Happy pride." - Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, writing on her personal blog.

The President's Speech

Dubya get's The King's Speech treatment.

Cut From Last Night's Oscars Show

See? It could have been worse after all.

Academy Award Winners

Best Picture - The King's Speech.
Best Leading Actor - Colin Firth, The King's Speech.
Best Leading Actress - Natalie Portman, Black Swan.
Best Director- Tom Hooper, The King's Speech.
Best Supporting Actor - Christian Bale, The Fighter.
Best Supporting Actress - Melissa Leo, The Fighter.
Best Foreign Language Film - In A Better World.
Best Animated Film - Toy Story 3.
Best Song - Randy Newman, Toy Story 3.

There were others, but you've already forgotten them. Not the gayest Oscar night ever, but I did note at least two shout-outs to gay partners, including from one of the Best Picture producers, who thanked his "boyfriend."

Oscars Open Thread

Go nuts, y'all.

Jennifer Hudson - Where You At

Open Thread Thursday

Oscar picks, let's have 'em. Do you throw one of them there big fabulous gay Oscar watching parties?

If Posters Told The Truth

More honest posters for all ten of this year's Best Picture nominees are here.

(Via - Boy Culture)

2011 Oscar Nominations

The 2011 Academy Awards nominations were announced this morning.

Best actor nominees include James Franco (”127 Hours”) , Jeff Bridges (”True Grit”), Colin Firth (”The King’s Speech”), Jesse Eisenberg (”The Social Network”), and Javier Bardem (”Biutiful”).

Best actress nominees include Annette Bening (”The Kids Are All Right”), Michelle Williams (”Blue Valentine”), Nicole Kidman (”Rabbit Hole), Jennifer Lawrence (”Winter’s Bone”), and Portman (”Black Swan”).

Best supporting actress nominees include Amy Adams (”The Fighter”), Helena Bonham Carter (”The King’s Speech”), Melissa Leo (”The Fighter”), Hailee Steinfeld (”True Grit”) and Jacki Weaver (”Animal Kingdom).

Best supporting actor nominees include Christian Bale (”The Fighter”), John Hawkes (”Winter’s Bone”), Mark Ruffalo (”The Kids Are All Right”), Geoffrey Rush (”The King’s Speech”) and Jeremy Renner (”The Town”).

Best director nominees are Joel and Ethan Coen (“True Grit”), Darren Aronofsky (“Black Swan”), Tom Hooper (“The King’s Speech”), David O. Russell (“The Fighter”) and David Fincher (“The Social Network”).

The movies up for best picture are “Black Swan,” “The Fighter,” “Inception,” “The Kids Are All Right,” “The King’s Speech,” “127 Hours,” “The Social Network,” “Toy Story 3,” “True Grit,” and “Winter’s Bone.”

Best foreign film nominees: Biutiful (Mexico), Dogtooth (Greece), In a Better World (Denmark), Incendies (Canada), Outside the Law (Algeria). Complete list here.

Swag Tuesday

Courtesy of the Karpel Group, today's swag booty is Cher: The Film Collection, a DVD box set of six of Cher's most memorable movies. This release goes on sale in North America today and here's what you get:

Good Times (1967)
In their one and only movie together, singing duo Sonny and Cher star in this happy, affectionate and lovably surreal film about – who else? –Sonny and Cher! An "impressive directorial debut" from Oscar® winner* William Friedkin, with a hilarious script by Tony Barrett.
Chastity (1969)
Cher makes an impressive debut as a reckless rebel who's taking the fast lane on the road to nowhere! Written and produced by Sonny Bono, Chastity is a gritty, gutsy ride through a powerful, emotional landscape filled with love, adventure, tragedy and truth.
Silkwood (1983)
Meryl Streep is stunning in this shocking true story about one woman's struggle against a huge corporation. Nominated for five Academy Awards®, including Best Actress (Streep) and Best Supporting Actress (Cher), this daring, provocative and critically acclaimed drama just shouldn't be missed!
Moonstruck (1987)
Fall under the delightful spell of Moonstruck, the mesmerizing romantic comedy from director Norman Jewison (Fiddler on the Roof) and Oscar® winner* John Patrick Shanley. Cher, in her Oscar®-winning** performance, along with Nicolas Cage and Olympia Dukakis excel in this explosively funny tale.
Mermaids (1990)
Cher is magical and electric, Winona Ryder enchanting and funny and Christina Ricci adorable and engaging in this hilarious and heartwarming portrait of a 1960s single-parent family trying to adjust to each other's growing independence.
Tea With Mussolini (1999)
Florence, Italy, on the brink of WWII: it was a time of social unrest and, of course... afternoon tea. Join Cher and an incredible cast of leading ladies as they host this radiant, beautiful film that is worth savoring.

We have three Cher: The Film Collection box sets to give away. Enter to win by commenting on this post and please remember to leave your email address in the text of your comment. Entries close at midnight on Thursday, west coast time. Publicists: If you'd like to take part in Swag Tuesday on JMG, please email me.

Oscar Winner Patricia Neal Dies At 84

Giorgio Moroder Turns 70

A reader tipped me that today is three-time Oscar, three-time Grammy winner Giorgio Moroder's 70th birthday. So in honor of my all-time favorite producer, here's a bit of his early work from the mid-late 70s. The first clip is a cheesily announced promo clip from Casablanca Records, but it's worth a look just to see how enormous the early synths that Moroder used were. I've been buying his records for 35 years!