In typical decadent fashion, Madonna rocked the stage in custom-made Givenchy ensembles.
The verdict is in on the Super Bowl Halftime Show: The stars loved Madonna and her Givenchy boots.
Oscar Nominations 2012
Moneyball
The Descendants
The Tree Of Life
Hugo
War Horse
Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close
Midnight In Paris
The Help
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Bérénice Bejo "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer "The Help"
Jessica Chastain "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer "The Help"
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Kenneth Branagh "My Weekend With Marilyn"
Jonah Hill "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte "Warrior"
Max von Sydow "Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close"
Christopher Plummer "Beginners"
Jonah Hill "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte "Warrior"
Max von Sydow "Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close"
Christopher Plummer "Beginners"
BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Glenn Close "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis "The Help"
Rooney Mara "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams "My Weekend With Marilyn"
Viola Davis "The Help"
Rooney Mara "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams "My Weekend With Marilyn"
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Demián Bichir "A Better Life"
George Clooney "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin "The Artist"
Gary Oldman "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt "Moneyball"
George Clooney "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin "The Artist"
Gary Oldman "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt "Moneyball"
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Michel Hazanavicius "The Artist"
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo "Bridesmaids"
J.C. Chandor "Margin Call"
Woody Allen "Midnight In Paris"
Asghar Farhadi "A Separation"
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo "Bridesmaids"
J.C. Chandor "Margin Call"
Woody Allen "Midnight In Paris"
Asghar Farhadi "A Separation"
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash "The Descendants"
John Logan "Hugo"
George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon "The Ides Of March"
Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin "Moneyball"
Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
John Logan "Hugo"
George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon "The Ides Of March"
Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin "Moneyball"
Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
BEST DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius "The Artist"
Alexander Payne "The Descendants"
Martin Scorsese "Hugo"
Woody Allen "Midnight In Paris"
Alexander Payne "The Descendants"
Martin Scorsese "Hugo"
Woody Allen "Midnight In Paris"
Academy Awards 2012 Best Supporting Actress nominees predictions
1.
Octavia Spencer for The Help
Born: 25th May, 1972 - Montgomery, Alabama, USA
Previous Oscar acting recognition: none
Oscar snubed performance(s): none
Oscar chances comment: Strong, funny and energetic - Octavia Spencer's performance in The Help will give her an Oscar nomination... and a win! She's such an amazing scene-stealer in The Help - she's simply magnetic!
2.
Bérénice Bejo for The Artist
Born: 7th July, 1976 - Buenos Aires, Argentina
Previous Oscar acting recognition: none
Oscar snubed performance(s): none
Oscar chances comment: She's a beautiful woman, playing a rising cinema star in the most acclaimed movie of the year - The Artist. She's very expressive, she's very charming, she's so sweet and nice to watch and she's having a wonderful awards season... so an Oscar nomination seems assured. Only a really talented actress could deliver a performance like hers in The Artist and I believe the AMPAS will have this fact in consideration and see her as an excuse to give another Oscar nod to what promises to be their favorite movie of the year.
3.
Shailene Woodley for The Descendants
Born: 15th November, 1991 - Simi Valley, California, USA
Previous Oscar acting recognition: none
Oscar snubed performance(s): none
Oscar chances comment: By more than holding herself alongside George Clooney (in one of the best performances of his career) in one of the most acclaimed movies of the year, Shailene Woodley is likely to become an Oscar nominee. Alexander Payne directed actors use to get Oscar nominations and after all the raves and the Golden Globe and Critics' Choice Awards nominations, she's one of the front-runners (missing a SAG Award nod may not hurt her Oscar chances a lot, since she's young and beautiful and this is her first big-screen performance).
4.
Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs
Born: 8th May, 1961 - Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, England, UK
Previous Oscar acting recognition: 2000 - Best Leading Actress for Tumbleweeds (nom);
Oscar snubed performance(s): none
Oscar chances comment: The AMPAS loves gender-bending (do you remember Cate Blanchett as one of the Bob Dylans?) and while some people simply can't fall in love for Glenn Close's leading performance in Albert Nobbs, McTeer is getting universal acclaim and award recognition. The movie isn't THAT good, but McTeer's performance is bright and her character is clearly alive, so she will get an Oscar nomination, with or without her co-star in the Best Actress nominees list
5.
Jessica Chastain for The Tree of Life
Born: March 29, 1981 - California, USA
Previous Oscar acting recognition: none
Oscar snubed performance(s): none
Oscar chances comment: I don't remember any actress or actor who had such a wonderful breakthrough year: The Tree of Life, Take Shelter, Coriolanus, The Debt and The Help. Chastain deserves the Academy's recognition for such an incredible breakthrough year and her performance in The Tree of Life, in spite of not being the most Oscar looking, it's the most divine one - she looks so ethereal that you start asking yourself if this beautiful woman is an human being! Voters will easily want to nominate Chastain and I've a feeling that they will go for her performance in Malick's latest.
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6.
Vanessa Redgrave for Coriolanus
Born: 30th January, 1937 - Greenwich, London, England, UK
Previous Oscar acting recognition: 1967 - Best Leading Actress for Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment (nom); 1969 - Best Leading Actress for Isadora (nom); 1972 - Best Leading Actress for Mary, Queen of Scots (nom); 1978 - Best Supporting Actress for Julia (win); 1985 - Best Leading Actress for The Bostonians (nom); 1993 - Best Supporting Actress for Howard's End (nom);
Oscar snubed performance(s): 1987 - Prick Up Your Ears; 2007 - Atonement
Oscar chances comment: I really do believe that IF Oscar voters watch Coriolanus, they will want to nominate Vanessa Redgrave "titanic" performance as a "monster mum". Redgrave has been away from the Oscar races since 1992/1993, which is too long for such an acting queen and the Academy loves to honour its "old treasures". No one can ignore Redgrave's performance in Coriolanus, which is (one of) the best acting performance of the year, but the question here is "Will enough Oscar voters see Coriolanus?"
7.
Jessica Chastain for The Help
Born: March 29, 1981 - California, USA
Previous Oscar acting recognition: none
Oscar snubed performance(s): none
Oscar chances comment: Jessica Chastain Oscar-nod-worthy performance of the year #2! While it is no better than her turn in The Tree of Life, but just completely different, Chastain benefits from The Help's Best Picture front-runner status and for showing such great comedic chops. Awards are more generous with this performance than Chastain's one in Terrence Malick latest, but the AMPAS loves drama more than comedy, so things may be a little different from the awards season...
8.
Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids
Born: August 26, 1970 - Plainfield, Illinois, USA
Previous Oscar acting recognition: none
Oscar snubed performance(s): none
Oscar chances comment: People love a funny fat lady and Melissa McCarthy's performance in Bridesmaids is simply hilarious and she's able to steal the scene. A lot of people didn't take her Oscar chances THAT seriously (me included), mostly due to "that something the AMPAS seems to have against comedies", but the truth is that Melissa got SAG Awards, BAFTA and Critics' Choice Award nominations! To be honest, I think there would be other performances who deserve Oscar recognition better than Melissa's, but... this is a hell of a damn good comedic performance and the movie is so popular!.
9.
Carey Mulligan for Shame
Born: 28th May, 1985 - Westminster, London, England, UK
Previous Oscar acting recognition: 2010 - Best Leading Actress for An Education (nom);
Oscar snubed performance(s): none
Oscar chances comment: Carey Mulligan surprised both critics and audiences with her raw and "dynamite" performance as the sister of a sex-addict in Shame and got some considerable Oscar buzz around her. She received a big couple of major critics awards' noms and since the Academy loves a young and beautiful classy actress with great acting chops in a performance with nudity somewhere, Mulligan's Oscar hopes still alive!
10.
Jessica Chastain for Take Shelter
Born: March 29, 1981 - California, USA
Previous Oscar acting recognition: none
Oscar snubed performance(s): none
Oscar chances comment: Another great Chastain performance, but the Take Shelter belongs to Michael Shannon performance, in spite of all the raves she won as her work as a wife of a mentally unhealthy (???) man. She got an Independent Spirit Award nomination for this one and the Academy members go for performances in indie productions, sometimes... so, it can be an expected surprise!
Elizabeth Smart
The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that ABC News has hired former kidnap victim Elizabeth Smart to serve as a contributor.
According to the network, Smart will comment on missing persons cases. The now 23-year-old was abducted from her Salt Lake City, Utah, bedroom in 2002 and held for eight months.
"She’ll help our viewers better understand missing person stories from someone with the perspective to know what a family experiences when a loved one goes missing," ABC News spokesperson Julie Townsend said.
Townsend said ABC's news division has been in discussions with Smart for some time. She has spoken both publicly and in court about her ordeal and her family published a book which CBS adapted into a movie in 2003.
A spokesperson for ABC told CNN that Smart could be on the air within a matter of weeks.
The announcement comes at the same time that ABC is touting a two-hour news special to run on Sunday about another famous kidnap victim, Jaycee Dugard.
Dugard was abducted in 1991, held for 18 years and gave birth to two children by her captor. She has written a book, "A Stolen Life," which is soon to be published and will share her story with ABC's Diane Sawyer during the special.
Elizabeth Smart, who was kidnapped at age 14 and was held by a Salt Lake City street preacher for nine months in 2002 and 2003, has joined ABC News as a paid contributor.
An ABC spokeswoman said Thursday that she will “help our viewers better understand missing person stories from someone with the perspective to know what a family experiences when a loved one goes missing.”
ABC said that its staffers had been in talks with Ms. Smart about the position for “quite some time,” and that she could appear on the network in the coming weeks.
The surprising hire was first reported Wednesday night by The Daily Beast, which asked, “Other than fame — as the victim of a horrifying crime — what exactly are her qualifications?”
ABC News has hired Elizabeth Smart, who was kidnapped as a teenager in 2002 and held captive for nine months, as a contributor.
Smart is slated to appear on multiple ABC platforms, including such programs as "Good Morning America" and "Nightline." She is expected to come on the air in the next few weeks.
"She'll help our viewers better understand missing person stories from someone with the perspective to know what a family experiences when a loved one goes missing," said ABC communications veep Julie Townsend. "And her contributions will be focused on looking ahead, not looking back at her own story."
According to the network, Smart will comment on missing persons cases. The now 23-year-old was abducted from her Salt Lake City, Utah, bedroom in 2002 and held for eight months.
"She’ll help our viewers better understand missing person stories from someone with the perspective to know what a family experiences when a loved one goes missing," ABC News spokesperson Julie Townsend said.
Townsend said ABC's news division has been in discussions with Smart for some time. She has spoken both publicly and in court about her ordeal and her family published a book which CBS adapted into a movie in 2003.
A spokesperson for ABC told CNN that Smart could be on the air within a matter of weeks.
The announcement comes at the same time that ABC is touting a two-hour news special to run on Sunday about another famous kidnap victim, Jaycee Dugard.
Dugard was abducted in 1991, held for 18 years and gave birth to two children by her captor. She has written a book, "A Stolen Life," which is soon to be published and will share her story with ABC's Diane Sawyer during the special.
Elizabeth Smart, who was kidnapped at age 14 and was held by a Salt Lake City street preacher for nine months in 2002 and 2003, has joined ABC News as a paid contributor.
An ABC spokeswoman said Thursday that she will “help our viewers better understand missing person stories from someone with the perspective to know what a family experiences when a loved one goes missing.”
ABC said that its staffers had been in talks with Ms. Smart about the position for “quite some time,” and that she could appear on the network in the coming weeks.
The surprising hire was first reported Wednesday night by The Daily Beast, which asked, “Other than fame — as the victim of a horrifying crime — what exactly are her qualifications?”
ABC News has hired Elizabeth Smart, who was kidnapped as a teenager in 2002 and held captive for nine months, as a contributor.
Smart is slated to appear on multiple ABC platforms, including such programs as "Good Morning America" and "Nightline." She is expected to come on the air in the next few weeks.
"She'll help our viewers better understand missing person stories from someone with the perspective to know what a family experiences when a loved one goes missing," said ABC communications veep Julie Townsend. "And her contributions will be focused on looking ahead, not looking back at her own story."
Elizabeth Smart's Abductor Gets Life in Prison Without Parole
SALT LAKE CITY (CN) - The man who kidnapped Elizabeth Smart and held her captive for 9 months was sentenced Wednesday to two life sentences in prison without possibility of parole. "I don't have very much to say to you," Smart told her rapist and abductor, street preacher Brian David Mitchell, who sang at his sentencing hearing.
Mitchell kidnapped Smart, then a teen-ager, at knifepoint in 2002, and held her for 9 months at makeshift camps in the mountains above Salt Lake City and in Southern California with his wife, Wanda Barzee. They plied her with alcohol, tied her to trees, raped her and forced her to watch them have sex.
Mitchell, a self-proclaimed prophet, said Smart was to be his plural wife. He tried, but failed, to kidnap another child bride in California.
U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball sentenced Mitchell Wednesday afternoon before a full courtroom at about 3:30 p.m., after remarks by prosecutors Robert Steele and Felice Viti, defense attorney Parker Douglas, and Elizabeth Smart and her father, Ed.
Elizabeth, now 23, addressed Mitchell directly and faced him from the center of the courtroom.
"I don't have very much to say to you," she said.
"I know exactly what you did. I know that you know what you did was wrong. You did it with a full knowledge. I also want you to know that I have a wonderful life now, that no matter what you do, it will not affect me again. You took away 9 months of my life that can never be returned, but in this life or next, you will have to be held responsible for those actions, and I hope you are ready for when that time comes."
Smart's father preceded her and told Mitchell, "Your perversion and exploitation of religion is not a defense. It is disgusting, and it is an abuse that anyone should despise. You put Elizabeth through 9 months of psychological hell. ... I hope at some point in your life you are able to repent of it."
Prosecutor Viti said that the mentally competent Mitchell was "effective in stalling his legal proceedings for 7 years," until Wednesday's sentencing.
Elizabeth's "world changed, changed suddenly, violently and without warning" Viti said. "The boogeyman under the bed and the monster in the closet became real.
"For 9 months Ms. Smart endured and survived. ... Those 9 months can never be recovered and what she lost can never be replaced. ... We are confident that a life sentence is where law and justice intersect."
Kimball gave Mitchell an opportunity to speak, but the man with a long beard and flowing hair, eyes closed, quietly sang church hymns, as he's done throughout the proceedings.
Judge Kimball said: "This is an unusually heinous and degrading set of facts and circumstances that lasted for 9 months, and it's certainly even horribly unusual for this kind of crime.
"We know the facts here, and this is a horrible crime, and a life sentence does reflect the seriousness."
Kimball handed down two life sentences on Missing Children's Day.
Mitchell was found guilty in December of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines for sex.
Mitchell has 10 days to appeal. The Federal Bureau of Prisons will assign him a location outside of Utah, as the state has no federal prison. He will not be eligible for parole.
Mitchell kidnapped Smart, then a teen-ager, at knifepoint in 2002, and held her for 9 months at makeshift camps in the mountains above Salt Lake City and in Southern California with his wife, Wanda Barzee. They plied her with alcohol, tied her to trees, raped her and forced her to watch them have sex.
Mitchell, a self-proclaimed prophet, said Smart was to be his plural wife. He tried, but failed, to kidnap another child bride in California.
U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball sentenced Mitchell Wednesday afternoon before a full courtroom at about 3:30 p.m., after remarks by prosecutors Robert Steele and Felice Viti, defense attorney Parker Douglas, and Elizabeth Smart and her father, Ed.
Elizabeth, now 23, addressed Mitchell directly and faced him from the center of the courtroom.
"I don't have very much to say to you," she said.
"I know exactly what you did. I know that you know what you did was wrong. You did it with a full knowledge. I also want you to know that I have a wonderful life now, that no matter what you do, it will not affect me again. You took away 9 months of my life that can never be returned, but in this life or next, you will have to be held responsible for those actions, and I hope you are ready for when that time comes."
Smart's father preceded her and told Mitchell, "Your perversion and exploitation of religion is not a defense. It is disgusting, and it is an abuse that anyone should despise. You put Elizabeth through 9 months of psychological hell. ... I hope at some point in your life you are able to repent of it."
Prosecutor Viti said that the mentally competent Mitchell was "effective in stalling his legal proceedings for 7 years," until Wednesday's sentencing.
Elizabeth's "world changed, changed suddenly, violently and without warning" Viti said. "The boogeyman under the bed and the monster in the closet became real.
"For 9 months Ms. Smart endured and survived. ... Those 9 months can never be recovered and what she lost can never be replaced. ... We are confident that a life sentence is where law and justice intersect."
Kimball gave Mitchell an opportunity to speak, but the man with a long beard and flowing hair, eyes closed, quietly sang church hymns, as he's done throughout the proceedings.
Judge Kimball said: "This is an unusually heinous and degrading set of facts and circumstances that lasted for 9 months, and it's certainly even horribly unusual for this kind of crime.
"We know the facts here, and this is a horrible crime, and a life sentence does reflect the seriousness."
Kimball handed down two life sentences on Missing Children's Day.
Mitchell was found guilty in December of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines for sex.
Mitchell has 10 days to appeal. The Federal Bureau of Prisons will assign him a location outside of Utah, as the state has no federal prison. He will not be eligible for parole.
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