NEW OSCAR PREDIX: WHO IS RISING?

BEST PICTURE
ANOTHER YEAR
BIUTIFUL
HEREAFTER
HOW DO YOU KNOW
INCEPTION
GET LOW
THE FIGHTER
THE KING'S SPEECH
TOY STORY 3
THE WAY BACK

BEST DIRECTOR
James L. Brooks, HOW DO YOU KNOW
Mike Leigh, ANOTHER YEAR
David O' Russell, THE FIGHTER
Peter Weir, THE WAY BACK
Clint Eastwood, HEREAFTER

BEST ACTOR
Colin Farrell, THE WAY BACK
Leonardo DiCaprio, INCEPTION
Javier Bardem, BIUTIFUL
Robert Duvall, GET LOW
Mark Wahlberg, THE FIGHTER

BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening, THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
Lesley Manville, ANOTHER YEAR
Nicole Kidman, RABBIT HOLE
Natalie Portman, BLACK SWAN
Anne Hathaway, LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, THE FIGHTER
Geoffrey Rush, THE KING'S SPEECH
Bill Murray, GET LOW
Jack Nicholson, HOW DO YOU KNOW
Matt Damon, TRUE GRIT

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Julianne Moore, THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
Bryce Dallas Howard, HEREAFTER
Dianne Wiest, RABBIT HOLE
Helena Bonham-Carter, THE KING'S SPEECH
Barbara Hershey, BLACK SWAN

GOODBYE DENNIS HOPPER

From EW: Dennis Hopper, who died Saturday at age 74 after a battle with prostate cancer, was always a fighter. Early in his career, the Dodge City, Kan., native fought tooth-and-nail against onscreen phoniness with a Method intensity he learned at the Actors Studio. In his second act, he revolutionized Hollywood with his 1969 directing debut Easy Rider – an existential road movie whose Harleys, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll message struck gold with an underserved counterculture audience. But Hopper, the newly minted hippie icon who was no stranger to career ups and down, burned out and faded away in a swirl of drugs and alcohol. The third act of Hopper’s life was one of repentance, recovery, and career rehabilitation, as the actor got clean and sober in the mid-1980s and spent the next three decades turning in a handful of brilliant performances, including his Oscar-nominated turn as an alcoholic basketball coach in 1986′s Hoosiers. But the fighter ultimately lost his toughest battle when he passed away from cancer.

Whether playing leading men or supporting parts, oddballs or villains, Hopper was always a welcome presence on film. He gave every movie he graced a spark of unpredictability — you never knew what he might do next. Hopper learned his raw, naturalistic technique with the best, sharing the screen with his idol James Dean in both 1955′s Rebel Without a Cause and 1956′s Giant. In the late ’60s, in the wake of the summer of love, Hopper and pals Peter Fonda, author Terry Southern, and an unknown actor named Jack Nicholson teamed up to make Easy Rider. They raised the $400,000 budget independently, shot the movie on the fly, and watched in amazement as the receipts rolled in. Easy Rider grossed $60 million and won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. The film’s success also opened the studio doors to a new generation of long-haired young film brats who would go on to re-energize American cinema in the ’70s. But Hopper will be remembered as much for what he accomplished onscreen as behind the camera. He leaves behind a string of indelible and daring performances in such films as Apocalypse Now, Blue Velvet, True Romance, and Speed.

MICHAEL DOUGLAS, OSCAR CONTENDER?

After Jay Leno said that Michael Douglas should win an Oscar for his new movie - not WALL STREET 2 but SOLITARY MAN -, EW critic Lisa Schwarzbaum says that it is Douglas best work since WONDER BOYS. I have seen SOLITARY MAN trailer and it doesn't look Oscar worthy. Let's wait.

From EW: In contrast to the emotional inertia of the character he plays, a former big-wheel car dealer gunning toward self-destruction as he nears 60, Michael Douglas surges ahead in Solitary Man with the best work he's done in the decade since Wonder Boys. Douglas portrays Ben Kalmen, a New York player gone to seed and divorced from a good, mature woman (Susan Sarandon, equally revitalized). He's squandering the love of his adult daughter (Jenna Fischer, superb). And he's compulsively chasing inappropriate women — some as young as the college-age daughter (Imogen Poots) of his girlfriend (Mary-Louise Parker).

With an outstanding screenplay by Brian Koppelman and disciplined direction by Koppelman and David Levien, a story that could have been generic (or worse, scented with flowery bulls---) turns into a precise, honest, and affecting drama. And recognizing the gift of such a character, Douglas does Ben Kalmen the honor of playing him exactly as he lies.

BARDEM AND BINOCHE WIN CANNES

Palme d’Or: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Grand Prix: Of Gods and Men
Best Actor: Javiery Bardem, Biutiful and Ellio Germano for La Nostra Vita
Best Actress: Juliette Binoche, Copie Conforme
Screenplay: Poetry, Lee Chang-dong
Director: Mathieu Almaric, ournee or The Tour
Jury Prize: Un Homme de Crie – A Screaming man

WILL "BLUE VALENTINE" SAVE WEINSTEIN?

From NEW YORK MAGAZINE: Standing by the rooftop pool of the Palais Stephanie at about 2 a.m., surrounded by chocolates, sushi, and his producers, Blue Valentine director Derek Cianfrance told us that part of Harvey Weinstein’s first pitch to his team, after their smash premiere at Sundance, was a promise, now fulfilled, to take the film to Cannes. “He just said that he can get this film seen and that Ryan and Michelle needed to get Oscar attention," says Cianfrance, who now has an Oscar-season release date of December 31. "He said he’d bring it to Cannes because the stamp of approval is really important." It just so happened that Cianfrance is benefiting from a relative lack of worldwide celebrities or strong American films — and Valentine may emerge from the festival with stronger buzz than any other film.

"Being one of the few American films and the only independent American feature is just amazing,” said Cianfrance. “I’d love to see Ryan and Michelle get rewarded for going so raw, to the heavens and the basement." In the film, Gosling and Williams rough up their respective images with downbeat improvisation, rough sex, and screaming matches. But both looked blissed-out on the rooftop: In a fitted tux, Gosling lounged on a sofa, chatting with Harvey Weinstein. “He’s the movie-star version of me,” said Cianfrance. "He even wore my Eagles shirt in the movie. He said, 'That’s a rad shirt' — and he put it on."

Michelle Williams turned heads in a gorgeous beaded gown and bleached-golden short hair. "I’m having a great time — and I’m, like, the most anti-everything person," she said. “I just told myself there’s so many things to be really unhappy about, so when you have an opportunity to celebrate, I don’t want to pass it by. I mean, if I could go back and tell myself at 15, ‘Honey, you’re gonna make a movie and you might even be a little proud of it and then they’re going to ask you to go to France!” The only problem: She got a (barely noticeable) black eye the night before the premiere. "I wanted my daughter to sleep with me since we’re away from home," she said. "Then she kicked me in the face."

But so far, everything else is going according to plan. And Cianfrance couldn’t be happier. “In the twelve years it took to make this film, I would always sit at my desk and write and dream about taking this film to Cannes,” he said, “because I wanted to make the type of movie that could play at the same place that L’Enfant could play."

The first time Cianfrance was in Cannes, for a short film, it was nothing like this. "I jumped in the Blues Brothers 2000 parade, and I saw this crazy dude in a bunny costume with smoke coming out of his ears, putting his arm around kids and taking pictures, selling them for ten euros. Then he took the head off and I realized where the smoke was coming from: He was smoking cigarettes in there. This place is crazy, man."

MEET CANNES FRONTRUNNER: MIKE LEIGH'S "ANOTHER YEAR"

TWO OSCAR WINNERS UNDER A TREE...

What ever happened to Cuba Gooding Jr.? Here he is, having a good time with Helen Mirren. The movie is SHADOWBOXER and what makes it intersting now (besides the sex scene) is that it was directed by Lee Daniels, Oscar nominee for PRECIOUS. And Oscar winner Mo'Nique is also in the movie, with a character named... Precious. SHADOWBOXER is the story of Mikey (Cuba) and Rose (Helen), professional assassins. They are also lovers, and once upon a time Rose also knew Mikey's father. During an elaborate hit job for a malicious gangster, Rose fails to kill the main target, the gangster's pregnant girlfriend. Instead, she delivers her baby and convinces Mikey to help her protect them both. As Rose weakens from cancer, Mikey becomes breadwinner for this unusual family. But tranquility will not last.

"INCEPTION" TRAILER

LYNN REDGRAVE DIES AT 67

From EW: Lynn Redgrave died May 2 in N.Y.C. at age 67, the Associated Press reports, after a lengthy battle with breast cancer. The English actress was nominated for a best actress Academy Award in 1967 and earned a best supporting actress Oscar nod for her work in 1998′s Gods and Monsters. Redgrave’s death comes just one month after that of her older brother Corin Redgrave, and slightly over a year since that of their niece Natasha Richardson (daughter of their sister Vanessa Redgrave).