'Harry Potter,' 'Inception' and 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse' earn multiple nominations for MTV Movie Awards

The nominations for the 2011 MTV Movie Awards were announced Tuesday morning, with "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" snagging the most with eight, followed by "Inception" with seven, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1" with six and "The Social Network" garnering five.

The unconventional award show will air June 5 from the Gibson Amphitheatre with "Saturday Night Live" regular Jason Sudeikis as host.

Among the nominations announced Tuesday morning are:

Best movie

"Black Swan," "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1," "Inception," "The Social Network" and "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"

Best female performance

Emma Stone, "Easy A"; Emma Watson, "Harry Potter";  Jennifer Aniston, "Just Go With It";  Kristen Stewart, "Eclipse"; and Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"

Best male performance

Daniel Radcliffe, "Harry Potter"; Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network"; Robert Pattinson, "Eclipse"; Taylor Lautner, "Eclipse"; and Zac Efron, "Charlie St. Cloud"

Best breakout star

Andrew Garfield, "The Social Network"; Chloe Grace Moretz, "Kick-Ass"; Hailee Steinfeld, "True Grit"; Jay Chou, "The Green Hornet"; Olivia Wilde, "Tron: Legacy"; and Xavier Samuel, "Eclipse"

Best comedic performance

Adam Sandler, "Just Go With It"; Ashton Kutcher, "No Strings Attached"; Emma Stona, "Easy A"; Russell Brand, "Get HIm to the Greek"; and Zach Galifianakis, "Due Date"

Best villain

Christoph Waltz, "The Green Hornet"; Leighton Meester, "The Roommate"; Mickey Rourke, "Iron Man 2"; Ned Beatty, "Toy Story 3"; and Tom Felton, "Harry Potter"

Best kiss

Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "Inception"; Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe, "Harry Potter"; Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, "Eclipse"; and Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, "Black Swan"

Voting in these and other categories begins today at http://www.MovieAwards.MTV.com and closes on June 4. However, voting for the best picture winner will continue throughout the ceremony.

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Photos: 2011 MTV Movie Awards top nominees

MTV Movie Awards scorecard: A complete list of this year's nominees

— Susan King

Photos, from top: Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in "The Twlight Saga: Eclipse"; Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 1." Credits: Kimberly French / Summit Entertainment; Warner Bros. Pictures

Oscars: Natalie Portman wins for lead actress

Natalie Portman won the Oscar for lead actress for her performance in “Black Swan” at the 83rd Academy Awards on Sunday night. It was the first Oscar win for the 29-year-old mother-to-be who played a prima ballerina descending into madness. Portman was considered the favorite to win the Academy Award, having already won the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and a BAFTA award, the British equivalent of the Academy Award.

Portman was competing against Annette Bening for “The Kids Are All Right,” Nicole Kidman for “Rabbit Hole,” Jennifer Lawrence for “Winter’s Bone” and Michelle Williams for “Blue Valentine.”

The Academy Awards are taking place at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood and are being televised live on ABC. We'll carry all the breaking news and reaction here on Awards Tracker.

-- Susan King

Photo: Natalie Portman accepts her Oscar from Jeff Bridges. Credit: Getty Images.

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Oscars: Behind the scenes at rehearsals

Jeff Bridges gave a lead actress Oscar to Natalie Portman on Saturday afternoon at the Kodak Theatre. "Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!" Bridges shouted, signaling that Portman's acceptance speech was running long. Two minutes later, Bridges gave the same Oscar to Nicole Kidman. "Oh, you're Nicole Kidman? Hi, Nicole," Bridges said.

Neither actress was offended by Bridges' informal manner, since  neither was actually there. Bridges, who is nominated for lead actor this year for his performance in "True Grit," was one of dozens of stars who arrived to rehearse their roles in Sunday's Academy Awards, with the help of a small army of stand-ins. Celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks, Robert Downey Jr., Halle Berry, Javier Bardem, Reese Witherspoon, Hilary Swank, Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand, Helen Mirren and Jennifer Hudson practiced key skills like teleprompter reading, crossing the stage without tripping and pronouncing the foreign language nominees' names.

Some had pieces of their wardrobe along -- Swank brought some steep crystal-encrusted heels to try out, and her co-presenter for best director, Kathryn Bigelow, carried her gold shoes -- while most kept it casual.

"We're movin' around! We're everywhere!" said a hoodie-and-jeans-clad Kunis as she practiced her stage walk and waved at a very enthusiastic seat filler, who turned out to be Hudson's 18-month-old son.

Timberlake moonwalked downstage between takes.

"A pop-up mike?! That's cheeky," said Brand, as he practiced announcing with Mirren. "Don't stand over that, Russell," Mirren cautioned him with a wink.

"Do you want your publicist to have this or do you want it?" Downey was asked about his Oscar credential, which had a photo of the actor. "I want my hairdresser to have it, to duplicate that look," Downey said, before stepping into place to rehearse.

"They changed my words!" Bardem said, while squinting into the teleprompter. Told teasingly to breathe, he said, "I can't breathe in this," smoothing his hands over his blazer.

By day's end, the real Nicole Kidman had turned up. Dressed in a slinky red dress, Kidman, no stranger to the Academy Awards as a previous winner, got some direction on one of Oscar's new wrinkles. "We have substantial envelopes this year, so you can get a feel for them," Kidman was told, as she was handed her rehearsal prop.

Gazing out into the crowd, Kidman looked for her seat and smiled when it was finally pointed out to her. She'll be sitting in the front row.

 -- Rebecca Keegan

Photo: Hilary Swank, left, and Kathryn Bigelow on Saturday practice presenting for the Oscars. Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

Oscar mash-up: Wentworth Miller's 'Stoker' is Kidman + Firth + 'Kids Are All Right's' Wasikowska

It's nice to see that all this award season schmoozing is leading to some real deal-making. Both Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman have been on the circuit in a big way for months and now it looks as if the two will be partnering for the drama "Stoker" from actor-writer Wentworth Miller and Fox Searchlight.

According to my colleague Steve Zeitchik, the lead acting contenders will play sister- and brother-in-law in the film that "Oldboy" director Chan Wook-Park will helm. Also in the cast is the "Kids Are All Right" daughter Mia Wasikowska, who plays the daughter who befriends her uncle after her father suddenly passes away.

It's not the first time that two Oscar nominees from the same "class" have gone on to star opposite each other soon after the season is over. Newly minted best buds Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep signed on to the film adaptation of the Tony-winning play "August: Osage County" last October after having a merry time together on the campaign trail.

And Brad Pitt and Sean Penn can be seen in May in Terrence Malick's "A Tree of Life." They were both lead actor nominees in 2009 for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Milk," respectively. That same year, Melissa Leo was nominated for lead actress for "Frozen River" while Amy Adams received a nod for supporting actress in "Doubt." As you all know, the two costarred in this season's "The Fighter."

Considering all these events these people attend together and how much of their working lives are put on hold during the award season, it's nice to see that some business gets done amid the self-congratulating.

-- Nicole Sperling 

Photo of Colin Firth by Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times; photo of Nicole Kidman by Reuters

Hugh Jackman's advice for Oscar hosts: Start big and move fast

 
EXCLUSIVE: Hugh Jackman has some advice for James Franco and Anne Hathaway, this year's Oscars hosts: Start big and then just move fast.

"I'd tell them, 'Just remember put everything into the opening,' " says Jackman, who hosted the gala in February 2009. "Everyone remembers the start of the show. You do your opening and all of that and then don't worry too much because, after that, it's just a room full of people -- increasingly upset people -- who haven't won."

Jackman, who will present the Oscar for best score this year with his "Australia" costar Nicole Kidman, said the audience at the Kodak Theatre gets increasingly frosty and sour as the envelopes get opened. Plenty of people head to the bars in the lobby, and the ones who stay in their seats aren't in the mood to laugh.

"Don't try to get them on your side, you're just going to lose them," Jackman said. "Be good at the beginning, and after that just be quick."

The 42-year-old Aussie actor feels a connection to one of this year's hosts; Hathaway was a sensation as his surprise singing accomplice during his Oscars opening-musical number.

"Anne was so great working with me when I did mine," Jackman said. "I knew she would be good, but I didn't know she would nail it like that."

Jackman is now preparing to film a new Wolverine movie, this time with "Black Swan" director Darren Aronofsky. The actor has plenty of emcee experience (a three-time host of the Tonys, he won an Emmy for one of those years) but said that the Oscars gig was a tightrope night he won't soon forget.    

"If I blow it because I'm no good, that's fine. I'll live. I just didn't want to blow it because I was nervous. If you blow it because you're nervous, that's hard to live with. That will stay with you."

What would he point to as his defining memory of that night, the year that "Slumdog Millionaire" took home the trophy for best picture?

"The great memory of it I have, the thing I think of most, is standing up there and looking out on all these Hollywood stars and seeing the same look on all their faces. They were all thinking, ''Oh, my God, thank God it's not me up there,' whereas I'm sure when comedians are up there, [the audience is] thinking, 'OK, what have you got?' With me [onstage], it was all, 'I don't believe you're doing this, thank God it's not me, good luck, mate, I wouldn't do it, good on you, mate.'"

-- Geoff Boucher 

Photo: Hugh Jackman hosting the Oscar in 2009. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

Oscar nominations: Nicole Kidman on an 'extraordinary journey'

 
For Nicole Kidman, who received a lead actress Oscar nomination for "Rabbit Hole," which she also produced, the honor goes to her whole team.

"What an extraordinary journey this film has taken me on! ‘Rabbit Hole’ has been a labor of love and I'm so thankful to John Cameron Mitchell, David Lindsay-Abaire and the brilliant cast," she said in a statement. "This nomination reflects all of the heart and soul that these people have put into it and I can't thank them enough."

Photo: Nicole Kidman and Miles Teller in "Rabbit Hole." Credit: JoJo Whilden / Lionsgate

Golden Globe predictions: 'King's Speech' or 'Social Network' to reign?

Predicting the Golden Globes is hard because the awards are bestowed by such a quirky group of foreign journalists with unusual tastes. But let's try it anyway. First the film categories.

-- Tom O'Neil

X = predicted winner

PICTURE (DRAMA)
"Black Swan"
"The Fighter"
"Inception"
"The King's Speech"
X - "The Social Network"

PREDICTION: This is a close contest between "King's Speech" and "Social Network." Members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. often like foreign-set films, especially when they involve the British aristocracy, as evidenced by past victories here by "Atonement," "The English Patient" and "Sense and Sensibility." But sometimes the foreigners strive to do the opposite – to prove how in tune they  are with hip Yankee fare such as "Avatar" last year – and "Social Network" this year? I think so, yes.


PICTURE (COMEDY/MUSICAL)
"Alice in Wonderland"
"Burlesque"
X - "The Kids Are All Right"
"Red"
"The Tourist"

PREDICTION: "Kids" is the only movie on this list that has any hope of an Oscar nomination for best picture, so it'll probably prevail. But is it really a comedy?


DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky, "Black Swan"
X - David Fincher, "Social Network"
Tom Hooper, "The King's Speech"
Christopher Nolan, "Inception"
David O. Russell, "The Fighter"

PREDICTION: Unlike Oscar voters, Globe voters often spread the wealth and reward helmers of films that don't win best picture. But I don't think that's going to happen this year.


ACTOR (DRAMA)
Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network"
X - Colin Firth, "The King's Speech"
James Franco, "127 Hours"
Ryan Gosling, "Blue Valentine"
Mark Wahlberg, "The Fighter"

PREDICTION: Firth hasn't lost a single award yet this season – and he's not going to lose this one, or any other, en route to the Oscar crown.

 

'Black Swan,' 'The King's Speech' lead BAFTA's Longlist nominees [Updated]

 

 
"Black Swan" and "The King's Speech" dominated the British Academy of Film and Television Arts' Longlist for the Orange British Academy Film Awards on Friday morning with 15 mentions each.

The Longlist is a result of the first round of voting by BAFTA members. The second round of voting, which begins Friday and concludes Thursday, will narrow the choices down to five nominations in each category. The final nominations will be announced Jan. 18 and the awards will be handed out Feb. 13.

Making the best film Longlist are "127 Hours," "Another Year," "Black Swan," "The Fighter," "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," "Inception," "The Kids Are All Right," "Made in Dagenham," "Shutter Island," "The Social Network," "The Town," "Toy Story 3," "True Grit" and "Winter's Bone."

Directors on the list are Danny Boyle for "127 Hours," Tim Burton for "Alice in Wonderland," Mike Leigh for "Another Year," Darren Aronofsky for "Black Swan," David O. Russell for "The Fighter," Niels Arden Oplev for "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," Christopher Nolan for "Inception," Lisa Cholodenko for "The Kids Are All Right," Tom Hooper for "The King's Speech," Nigel Cole for "Made in Dagenham," Martin Scorsese for "Shutter Island," David Fincher for "The Social Network," Ben Affleck for "The Town" and Lee Unkrich for "Toy Story 3."

Leading actor contenders on the Longlist  are Aaron Eckhart for "Rabbit Hole," Ben Affleck for "The Town," Colin Firth for "The King's Speech," James Franco for "127 Hours," Javier Bardem for "Biutiful," Jeff Bridges for "True Grit," Jesse Eisenberg for "The Social Network," Jim Broadbent for "Another Year," Johnny Depp for "Alice in Wonderland," Leonardo DiCaprio for "Inception" and "Shutter Island," Mark Wahlberg for "The Fighter," Paul Giamatti for "Barney's Version," Robert Duvall for "Get Low" and Ryan Gosling for "Blue Valentine." [For the Record: An earlier version of this report spelled Mark Wahlberg's name incorrectly.]

Making the list in the lead actress category are Andrea Riseborough for "Brighton Rock," Annette Bening for "The Kids Are All Right," Carey Mulligan for "Never Let Me Go," Gemma Arterton for "The Disappearance of Alice Creed" and "Tamara Drewe," Hailee Steinfeld for "True Grit," Jennifer Lawrence for "Winter's Bone," Julianne Moore for "The Kids Are All Right," Michelle Williams for "Blue Valentine," Natalie Portman for "Black Swan," Nicole Kidman for "Rabbit Hole," Noomi Rapace for "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," Rosamund Pike for "Barney's Version," Sally Hawkins for "Made in Dagenham" and Tilda Swinton for "I Am Love."

For more information on the BAFTA  Longlist, go to Bafta.org

 -- Susan King

Photo: Geoffrey Rush in "The King's Speech." Photo: Laurie Sparham / Weinstein Co.

Most surprising snub by the Writers Guild Awards: 'Rabbit Hole'

Quite a few high-profile movies are missing from Tuesday's nominations released by the Writers Guild of America, but many aren't eligible because the filmmakers weren't guild signatories or had other issues: "The King's Speech," "Winter's Bone," "Another Year," "Toy Story 3" and "Blue Valentine."

However, other films that were on the eligibility list but didn't make the final lineup were just snubbed, most notably "Rabbit Hole." The film, produced by and starring Nicole Kidman, was adapted to the screen by the same person who won a Pulitzer Prize for penning the celebrated stage version, which was nominated for best play at the Tonys: David Lindsay-Abaire. The celluloid version reaped great reviews (scoring 74 at Metacritic). USA Today said, "'Rabbit Hole' is profound and superbly acted, with a moving script superbly adapted by David Lindsay-Abaire."

Woody Allen has been a guild darling in the past, having been nominated 19 times, including recently for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (2008), but he was overlooked for "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger." Allen won four WGA Awards: "Crimes and Misdemeanors" (1989), "Hannah and Her Sisters" (1986), "Broadway Danny Rose" (1984) and "Annie Hall" (1977).

Other notable snubs: "Fair Game," "Get Low," "Greenberg" and "Somewhere."

-- Tom O'Neil

Photo: Nicole Kidman in "Rabbit Hole."  Credit: Lionsgate

 

Annette Bening needs an acceptance speech intervention

If I could give an acceptance speech right now, I'd like to thank Oscar blogger Scott Feinberg (ScottFeinberg.com) for digging up Annette Bening's train wreck at the Golden Globes when she won best comedy/musical actress for "Being Julia" (2004). I've been griping about it for years and now Scott's located it on the web.

If Bening had any chance of beating Hilary Swank ("Million Dollar Baby") at the Oscars, she blew it at the Globes podium by giving a b-o-r-i-n-g speech filled with an endless, rambling list of folks she thanked ... and thanked ... and thanked. It was a classic example of what not to do with an acceptance speech. See for yourself below.

Now we must wonder: Will she do it again on Jan. 16? At the upcoming Globes, she'll probably win best comedy/musical actress for "The Kids Are All Right." Over on the drama side, Natalie Portman ("Black Swan") or Nicole Kidman ("Rabbit Hole") will probably triumph and give a much better acceptance speech. If it's exceptionally better than Bening's, it may sway Oscar voters who are tuned in to the NBC telecast. The Golden Globes are often a contender's audition for Oscar night. After Hilary Swank ("Boys Don't Cry") and Jamie Foxx ("Ray") gave knockout performances at the Globes podium in years past, they sailed on to easy Oscar wins.

-- Tom O'Neil