Oscar hopefuls hit HFPA's awards season kickoff.
So did you feel it Thursday? Not the earthquake. The official start
of the Hollywood awards season.
The Oscar race kicked off this week at the Hollywood Foreign Press
Assn.'s annual luncheon presentation of financial grants at the
Beverly Hills Hotel.
This was the first of hundreds of events for award-hopeful actors and
actresses who will try to get -- and stay -- visible throughout the
coming months, all happy, willing and eager to talk about their
award-contending films and TV shows.
For this important first-stop luncheon, studios and personal
publicists try to arrange for their award-tagged stars to appear
onstage and accept HFPA donation checks on behalf of various film
schools and nonprofit organizations.
Simply put, it's smart to make time to do this for the organization whose members vote on the
Golden Globe Awards. Do I have to spell it out? V-O-T-E-S.
Let's take Josh Brolin. Why was he accepting a check for Film Aid
International? I'm sure he has an interest in the organization, but
could it also be because he has three big award-buzz movies opening
this fall? The Coen brothers' "No Country for Old Men," Paul Haggis'
"In the Valley of Elah" and Ridley Scott's "American Gangster."
To quote one publicist, "This is his year."
It may also be Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron's year. She
co-stars in "Elah," and showed up at the luncheon to accept a check
for the Film Foundation Inc. wearing a bright-green silk mini-dress
that looked like a naughty Elf nightie from a Victoria's Secret
Christmas catalog.
How about Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony? Is this their year too?
As Tom O'Neil, the Envelope's intrepid Gold Derby awards blogger,
pointed out before the lunch, the Globes are all about cultural
diversity, the voters love-love musicals and they previously nominated
Lopez for her breakthrough film, "Selena," about the Latina pop star.
So yes, "El Cantante" -- the couple's first film acting (and producing) together -- about acclaimed salsa music king Hector Lavoe could easily get a Globe nod.
Anyway, you get the picture.
Now
click here to see pictures of other
stars who also may find 2008 is "their year."
