Bartlet for Olbermann's timeslot

During an interview on the awards circuit, Aaron Sorkin mentioned one of his projects is on track to get a pilot order from HBO.  For some time now Sorkin has been working on a television drama set behind the scenes of a nightly cable new show.  How exciting!  It will be like “The West Wing” meets “Broadcast News.”  And it’s going to be on HBO?  I think I know what my new favorite yet-to-be-made television show is.

Imbalance of power

On Wednesday, Salon published an interview with Mark Regnerus co-author of "Premarital Sex in America: How Young Americans Meet, Mate and Think About Marrying," The book explains that women who achieve success in college, then in the workforce are left with a small pool of similarly educated and financially stable men.  The imbalance of power forces many women to compete for men.  They argue that women’s success comes at a cost to sexual bargaining power, where men call all the shots with less commitment and more sex.  Regnerus and his partner gathered their data from four national surveys and interviews with men and women between the ages of 18 and 23. 

Regnerus explains in the interview that women as a group, not men put a value on sex.  The price of sex is measured by the amount of time it takes a man and a woman to first have sex, and by the number of partners sub-optimal men have intercourse.  Regnerus found that 35% of men’s relationships become sexual within two weeks, 48% within a month.  In summation, it doesn't take long for men to access sex, so it must not be all that valuable.  When comparing sub-optimal men (high school drop-out and unemployed) to men who are the road to success, Regnerus found that the sub-optimal men had more partners.  These findings go against theory that if sex is valuable to a woman then she's not going to trade it away for a lesser partner.

You like me. You really like me!

Oscar nominations will be announced this Tuesday at 8:30am EST.  I've already mentioned what movies I think (and hope) will be nominated for Best Picture.  Below are my predicions for who will be nominated in the acting catagories.

Best Actor

Jeff Bridges True Grit Rooster Cogburn

Ryan Gosling Blue Valentine Dean

Jesse Eisenberg The Social Network Mark Zuckerberg

Colin Firth The King's Speech King George VI

James Franco 127 Hours Aron Ralston

Best Actress

Annette Bening The Kids Are All Right Nic

Nicole Kidman Rabbit Hole Becca

Jennifer Lawrence Winter's Bone Ree Dolly

Natalie Portman Black Swan Nina Sayers

Michelle Williams Blue Valentine Cindy

Best Supporting Actor 

Christian Bale The Fighter Dicky Eklund

John Hawkes Winter's Bone Teardrop

Jeremy Renner The Town James Coughlin

Andrew Garfield The Social Network Eduardo Saverin

Geoffrey Rush The King's Speech Lionel Logue

Best Supporting Actress 

Amy Adams The Fighter Charlene Fleming

Helena Bonham Carter The King's Speech Queen Elizabeth

Mila Kunis Black Swan Lily

Melissa Leo The Fighter Alice Ward

Hailee Steinfeld True Grit Mattie Ross

JFK

Today is the 50th anniversary of JFK's inaugeration.  I watched the speech and video coverage of the event this afternoon, and it's interesting to see how different people's speech, dress and interests were.  My favorite image is the man riding a Bison in the Inaugural parade.

Anne Hathaway = Catwoman?

Warner Bros. released a statement this afternoon announcing the lineup for the newest Batman film, "The Dark Knight Rises."  Christopher Nolan, director of the two most recent installments about the comic book hero, has selected Anne Hathaway as Catwoman and Tom Hardy, from "Inception," to play the villain Bane.  Bane is an escaped prisoner who is abnormally strong after being pumped full of drugs, and is known as "the man who broke the Bat" after he broke Batman's spinal cord in the comic's storyline.  Whether or not that indicates the end of Nolan and Christian Bale's relationship with the series is unclear.  Hathaway beat out a slew of other actresses for the role, including Keira Knightley, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Blake Lively and Natalie Portman.

Halle Berry's Catwoman was universally hated.  Her performance was voted the worst of the year in 2005, and the film is one of Roger Ebert's most hated films.  Michelle Pfeiffer's role as Catwoman in "Batman Returns" was critical success.  The film, which was released in 1992, had the highest grossing opening weekend of any movie up until that point.  Lee Merriwether's portrayal of the character was simply iconic. 

Nolan's previous two installments of Batman received praise for their psychological, introspective take on the series; Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning performance as the Joker in "The Dark Knight" was gritty, and a far cry from the comical villains in other superhero movies.  While Hathaway is probably the best choice from the list of actresses that were considered, she has a major challenge ahead of her to make the role her own, and transform herself from the good-natured, and generally sunny roles she traditionally plays.

OMG...RHOBH!

I have made my distaste for poorly scripted television shows clear in the past here, here and here.  However, I am guilty for having a soft spot for trashy reality television. 

I try very hard to resist the likes of the "Bachelor," but why did one of the contestants have fangs?  How do these girls become attached after spending mere hours with the man?  Why does every one-on-one reaction devolve into a make out session?  I must continue watching the show until I have the answers. 

Rachel Zoe is not a real person.  As evidenced by "The Rachel Zoe Project."

I love French macaroons, the Chloe Marcie bag and regular out-of-state weekend getaways.  I also love "Jersey Shore."  I am repulsed, yet mesmerized by Sammi and Ronnie's volatile relationship, the Situation's narcissism, and Snooki's slow growth into a sentient being.

My most recent obsession has been "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills."  Adrienne Maloof owns casinos, basketball teams, a beautiful Beverly Hills home, and more, yet she insists on wearing tinsel in her extensions.  I love her for it.  Kim Richards and Taylor Armstrong are such sad, sad women.  One yearning to be loved it consumes her every thought, the other in a loveless marriage where she regularly refers to her marriage as a “business relationship."  Then there's Camille Grammer.   If you don't watch the show, no words can explain this woman.  To give you an idea of her character, I will tell you this: she employs four nannies to care for her two children.  That's probably adequate.

This brings me to the reason I began this post in the first place.  A preview for the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hill" reunion special hit the web today and it's so positively delightful that I could not keep it to myself.

Rabbit Hole and Blue Valentine

I just saw the movies “Rabbit Hole” and “Blue Valentine,” and I was pleasantly surprised by both of them.  I’m not one for the broken family, flawed character, relationship examination type of film, so I went into both films expecting something similar to “Rachel Getting Married.”  Both films were very different from one another, but featured amazing performances from Nicole Kidman, Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling.

“Rabbit Hole” follows a couple, played by Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart, as they try to pick up the pieces after their young son is killed in an accident.  It’s easy to see why Kidman’s performance as Becca is getting Oscar buzz.  There are no gimmicks to Kidman’s role, which just requires a raw and heartfelt performance as a grieving mother.  Watching Becca’s journey through the grief is touching, as she grapples with marital troubles, loss of purpose and daily reminders of her son.

“Blue Valentine” takes viewers through the beginning of a relationship with the novelty and the highs, and the end of a relationship with the boredom, the sadness and the lows.  The film doesn't answer the question of what happens between then, and now, but Gosling's character, Dean provides insight into the differences between men and women and how they approach love.  Dean tells his coworker that men are more romantic because they will wait for the perfect girl.  Women, on the other hand, settle for a man that meets their needs at any given moment.  Dean satisfied Cindy's needs when her world was falling apart, but he believed he had found his one true love.  As we see Dean and Cindy in the present, it is clear that Dean hasn't changed much from when the two first met, but Cindy's needs have changed tremendously.

Gosling's acting in "Blue Valentine" is top notch, and though he may get nominated for an Oscar, winning is a long-shot against Colin Firth and James Franco.  Just like Kidman's performance in "Rabbit Hole," there are no gimmicks to Gosling’s role.  He is not portraying King George VI in Great Britain on the brink of World War 2.  Nor is he playing a man who had to cut his own arm off after becoming trapped by a boulder in Utah.  Instead he’s Dean, a balding, twenty-something trying to make sense of his withering marriage.  Gosling has gotten attention before for his roles in “Lars and the Real Girl,” and “Half Nelson,” both of which were indie flicks like “Blue Valentine.”  Perhaps his time will come when he does a bigger budget film by a larger studio.

UPDATED: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter... and more

In December Hollywood released 2010's Black List and I previously noted which items on the list I most look forward to seeing on the big screen.  A few of the films are already in pre-production, but it will be at least a year until they hit theaters.  Here are some interesting updates:

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Tim Burton will produce Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, with Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) directing.  Twentieth Century Fox has set a June 22, 2012 release for the macabre 3D movie which is based on Seth Grahame-Smith's book. Five actors have been screentesting for the role of young Abe Lincoln: Josh Lucas, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, James D'Arcy, Benjamin Walker, and Adrien Brody. 

It's a mix of semi-knowns and unknowns, stage and screen vets.  I think I like Benjamin Walker most.  It's a lot of Lincoln for 2012.  Spielberg's in development Lincoln project, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, is also slated for a 2012 release. 

UPDATE: It looks like Benjamin Walker has come out as the front-runner in studio's search for Lincoln.

Snow White and the Huntsman

Snow White And The Huntsman, will be released by Universal on December 21, 2012.  Charlize Theron

has signed on to the project to play the Evil Queen.  Also attached to the movie as the Huntsman is Michael Fassbender, who can be seen in this year's "Jane Eyre", as Mr. Rochester.

UPDATE: Viggo Mortenson is now in talks to play the Huntsman, while Kristen Stewart is screening for the role of Snow White.  I understand her desire to get out from underneath the "Twilight" behemoth, and it'd be a great move for her as an actress.  It's just unfortunate because this project sounds like it could be really interesting, and Stewart's acting is sometimes unwatchable.  I'd love to see Hailee Steinfeld in this role.

Jane Eyre

1950's housewife on an acid trip

Is that Robert DeNiro?

LIVE BLOGGING: Golden Globes

Michael Douglas

11:00pm: Whew.  Three hours of live blogging is exhausting!


10:55pm: Best Picture Drama: Social Network.  Remember when everyone scoffed at the idea of a movie about Facebook?

10:49pm: I like that Colin Firth has a triangle of "manlove" with Tom Hooper and Geoffrey Rush.  Geoffrey Rush is his geisha.

10:47pm: Best Actor in a Drama: Colin Firth.  Finally, The King's Speech wins something!  I'm going to go rewatch this tomorrow.

10:40pm: Best Comedy or Musical: The Kids Are All Right.  Congrats.  You beat Burlesque. 

10:37pm: I wish Jennifer Lawrence won for Winter's Bone.  Or Hailee Steinfeld was at least nominated for True Grit.

10:36pm: Natalie Portman talking about how her fiancee had to say he didn't want to sleep with her in Black Swan, but was such a great actor cause he DID want to sleep with her.  A little strange to say in such a public setting considering he had a live-in girlfriend when their relationship began.

10:34pm: Best Actress in a Drama: Natalie Portman.  I just rewatched Star Wars 1-3 (nerd alert!) and it's interesting to see how her acting has sort of progressed.

10:33pm: I wonder if Inception had been released in the winter, instead of the summer if it would have been getting more recognition at the award shows.   The novelty has worn off a bit since July.

10:26pm: Best Actor in a Comedy: Paul Giamatti for Barney's Version.  Johnny Depp cancelled himself out with two noms.

10:23pm: Commercial Break: So far it's a Mad Men and King's Speech shutout.  Half hour left.

10:19pm: Best Comedy Series: Glee.  It is decent karaoke.

10:16pm: Best Director: David Fincher for Social Network.  Will Social Network take all the big awards tonight? 

10:14pm: It appears as if Megan Fox just flashed the audience.  Her dress was quite pretty though!

10:12pm: Commercial Break: Helena Bonham Carter is appearing on a lot of Worst Dressed lists.  Did anyone expect her to show up in Armani Prive with combed hair?

9:59pm: I do love Matt Damon doing DeNiro impressions though.

9:58pm: The Cecil B. DeMille award.  Thank god.  I was not aware Robert DeNiro was a great actor.  Little Fockers was cinema gold.

9:51pm: Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo from The Fighter.

9:48pm:  Jeff Parsons from Big Bang Theory (CBS) just won for Best Actor in a Comedy Series.  We were so close to a sweep.

9:47pm: Thomas Jane from Hung looks pissed to be at the Golden Globes.

9:41pm: Best Actress in a Comedy Series: Laura Linney.  Cancer is funny y'all!  Remember how great Community was, but wasn't nominated at all?

9:39pm: I'm kind of sad that the British Film Council no longer exists.  So many great movies.  For example, the Harry Potter movies.  NERD ALERT.


9:37pm: I know I made a crack about Tilda Swinton earlier, but she did speak Italian with a Russian accent in I Am Love, which is pretty impressive.  Denmark's interesting too.

9:33pm Commercial Break: Sandra, you're single.  It's no reason to let yourself go.

9:30pm: Best Supporting Actress in TV Comedy: Jane Lynch. Sigh.  Everyone loves Glee.

9:27pm: Aaron Sorkin said in his acceptance speech that he tries to write films under ths assumption that people who watch movies are as smart as people who make movies. Was he sitting a theater when Grown Ups was playing?

9:25pm: Best Screenplay: "You know what's better than a million dollars? A billion dollars."

9:20pm: Commercial Break: So far so good.  CBS hasn't won yet.

9:16pm: Claire Danes wins for Temple Grandin.  She has one of the best dresses of the night.
9:11pm: Is Tilda Swinton a real person?

9:08pm Commercial Break: Why do people like Michelle Williams' dress?

9:05pm: Don't know how I feel about Annette Bening's pointed sperm donor comment.  Followed by a long uncomfortable pause.

9:03pm: Best Actress in a Comedy: Annette Bening.  Shock.  Surprise. Snooze.

9:00pm Robert Downey Jr. is so cool and so inappropriate.  I think I'm in love.

8:57pm: Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3.  How is Burlesque nominated as a legitimate movie over Toy Story 3?

8:55pm: How much better does Justin Bieber's hair look?

8:51pm: Commercial Break.  How ridiculous is Scarlett Johansson's hair look?
8:39pm: Best Television Drama: Boardwalk Empire.  I have to wait one more year for Season 2?
8:35pm: Steve Buscemi wins!  Hooray for the character actor.

8:33pm: Best Actor in a TV Series Drama, probably the strongest set of nominees.

8:25pm: Chris Colfer for Best Supporting Actor in a comedy series?  I'll accept it since it's not CBS.  But my heart still lies with Cam from Modern Fam.

8:10pm: Katey Sagal won for Sons of Anarchy!  Thank god the actress from The Closer didn't win again.
8:06pm: Christian Bale tonight:  Christian Bale in Little Women:

8:03pm: Best joke of the evening? "Also not nominated was 'I Love You Philip Morris,' Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor. Two heterosexual characters pretending to be gay.  So the complete opposite of some famous Scientologists, then."

Ophiuchus

Today the astrology world was rocked when an astronomer from the Minnesota Planetarium Society published findings that the moon’s gravitational pull on Earth has shifted the planet’s axis in such a way that the sun passes through thirteen constellations, instead of twelve.  Each astrological sign has shifted a few days, and is determined by the sun’s location throughout the year.   The newly added thirteenth astrological sign, Ophiuchus, lands on November 29 through December 17.  In other words, I am no longer a Sagittarius. 

According to Greek mythology Ophiuchus, also known as Asclepius, was the son of Apollo and Coronis.  When Apollo discovered his wife had been unfaithful, he killed her with an arrow but saved his son Asclepius by snatching him from Coronis’s womb as her body burned on the funeral pyre.

Apollo, clearly an unstable father, left his fetus son to a centaur, Chiron, who could raise the boy and teach him the arts of healing and hunting. Asclepius soon surpassed the centaur in his healing abilities, becoming so skilled in medicine that not only could he save lives; he could raise the dead.  Zeus, king of all the gods, became so enraged when Asclepius managed this feat since it was power reserved for the gods.  Zeus killed Asclepius with his thunderbolt.

I refuse to recognize my newly adopted zodiac sign.  Sagittarius is identified as the powerful centaur Chiron, the one who taught Asclepius.  It’s a fire sign, and one of four mutable signs.  It’s also ruled by the best planet: Jupiter.  No one knows anything about Ophiuchus, besides the few characteristics that describe them as healers, nerds and favorites.  And there's the fact that Ophichus messed up the entire zodiac calendar.  The symbol representing Ophiuchus is a staff covered in snakes.  Anyone who follows astrology would agree the trade off from Sagittarius to Ophiuchus is not a good one. 

Saint George and the Dragon

While planning for the trip to Paris, I found that every Wednesday there's a puppet show that takes place right near the apartment that LRL and I are staying at.  It reminded me of my favorite picture of all time.  Taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt in 1963 at a puppet show in Paris, the children are reacting to Saint George slaying the dragon.

Wedding china

In honor of Prince William's marriage to Kate Middleton official wedding memorabilia is available for purchase.  I'm not entirely sure if anyone still collects commemorative plates, but if I did I would probably buy mine from KK Outlet.  See pictures of the other plates here.

P.S.- I made this...

When I used to have time outside of work, I used to love crafting.  Perhaps this is something that contributes to my “eternal lone gypsy” persona.  I was one of those people who learned how to crochet, but not one of those people who carried it around everywhere as a badge of honor.   I went through a serious decoupage phase.  And I still have necklaces that I made with supplies from AC Moore and an antique shop in town.

The other day I stumbled upon the blog P.S. - I made this… and it has some really fun ideas for do-it-yourself clothing, jewelry and homewares.  Apparently the author go a book deal out of the, and is a favorite of @bergdorfs on Twitter.  My favorites which are all homewares are showcased below.

The first are John Derian-inspired dishes, which can be used to decorate walls, or coffee tables.  They’re made by decoupaging maps onto tin trays, or old dinner dishes.  I think it would be interesting to try this same idea with old antique photos.

The second item I loved was the non-porcelain, porcelain pottery.  It only requires a container, puffy paint and matte spray paint.  It’s very Jonathan Adler.

Lastly there are the metallic luxe home accessories.  Thought the items are from the dollar store, they look so chic when they’re metallic and sitting on top of the coffee table books.

Character actors

KAISER SOZE!!

Pete Postlewaite passed away this morning, which gave me reason to post the video above.  He was probably one of the better character actors out there.  Some of my favorites from past and present: Thomas Mitchell, Barry Pepper, Garrett Dillahunt, Alan Rickman, Steve Buscemi and Zach Galifianakis (pre-Hangover).  Kudos if you recognize some of those names.

Bring on 2011

"Just when you thought there was no choice but to embrace your path as the eternal lone gypsy, along comes an unparalleled amount of planetary activity in your romance sector."

I'm not arguing that this is inaccurate, but I'm happy that my Sagittarius 2011 horoscope thinks that I'm an "eternal lone gypsy."