Blogs 12 Long Island: And the Oscar goes to...

By Elisa DiStefano

And the Oscar goes to...
we have to wait until Feb. 22nd to find out, but nominees will be announced tomorrow.
What are your picks? I recently saw Slumdog Millionaire, and I loved it. I loved the story-- the child actors were phenomenal. Call me a prude, but it was nice to see a movie without sex and nudity. In Bollywood, none of that is allowed, so the kiss on the lips was a risk. They swept all of their categories at the Golden Globes (4 awards in total) and won best movie at the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, which is known as an Oscar predictor. I had a chance to go to the awards and was very excited to interview director Danny Boyle, screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, and breakout star (who took home the Breakthrough Performance by an Actor) Dev Patel.

Dev was adorable-- he blushed and disagreed when I called him Hollywood's new "it" boy! He joked about the strange faces he makes every time Slumdog wins an award. They were all surprised and happy that Americans embraced the film-- and they are all nervous for their premiere in Mumbai tomorrow night (which happens to be the same day the Oscars are announced).

Another possible contender is Viola Davis who starred in Doubt. She won the Breakthrough Performance by an Actress at the Board of Review, but did not win for Supporting Actress at the Globes. Where will she be tomorrow morning when the Oscar noms are announced? She said she'll be under the covers with ear plugs because she'll be so nervous!

It was a thrill to see Clint Eastwood (who won best actor). He spoke about another possible Oscar nominee, Angelina Jolie, who he referred to as his "surrogate daughter" as well as a "great talent" and "great humanitarian".

Ann Hathaway took home best actress for her work in Rachel Getting Married. I interviewed Ann and her co-stars of Bride Wars at the NYC premiere. I asked Ann how she prepares for an awards show-- she said that she diets! She is so thin-- she does not need to! Ann was also passed over for the Golden Globe, but has a good chance of winning the Oscar.
Speaking of Bride Wars-- did you know co-writer (she also stars in the movie) June Raphael is a Long Islander? She's a Rockville Centre native, Southside High grad, and based the movie on her experience working with brides at the wedding mecca "The Coral House" in Baldwin! It was nice to see June's Long Island best friends with her on the Tiffany Blue carpet! June is about to become a bride herself-- she is engaged to actor and fellow Long Islander Paul Scheer-- from the Human Giant. Look for June and Paul in the The Year One with Jack Black this spring.
Another Long Island movie to look out for-- Adventureland! It debuted at Sundance this week. It's written by Long Islander Greg Mottola and is based on his summer job at Adventureland! They re-created our Adventureland for the movie. It stars Twilight's Kristen Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg and Ryan Reynolds. Wouldn't it be great to have an outdoor premiere at our Farmingdale amusement park!?!?
And congrats to Stony Brook's own Kevin James! The King of Queens was King of the Box Office this weekend. Paul Blart: Mall Cop came in #1 at $38 million this weekend!