The Third Annual Fangirl Awards - Nominations

These nominations do not reflect the opinions of the editors at All Things Fangirl, but rather the Fangirl Academy, made up of over 100 lovely ladies who follow us on Twitter, read the blog, or know us in real life. In the case of a tie for the final slot in a category, the ATFG editors acted as the tie-breaker. Some ladies couldn't get their ballots in on time, but the everyone in the Academy will be allowed to vote on the winners.

Ballots to pick the winners will go out this week & the results will be announced February 24th!

* - Editor's Choice - Certain categories have an extra nomination. These additions represent something one of the editors at ATFG feels passionately about that we want to encourage you to check out! Often, the editor's choice was in 6th place for the nomination.

Enjoy!

Best Picture

The Artist

Bridesmaids

Drive

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

The Help

Hugo

Midnight in Paris

Shame

Tree of Life

Honorable Mentions: We Need To Talk About Kevin, Captain America, 50/50

Best Actor

Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldider spy

Jean Dujardin - The Artist

Joseph Gordon Levitt - 50/50

Michael Fassbender - Shame

Ryan Gosling - Drive

Honorable Mentions: George Clooney - The Descendants, Brad Pitt - Moneyball, Tom Hardy - Warrior, Leonardo DiCaprio - J Edgar

Best Actress

Kristin Wiig - Bridesmaids

Michelle Williams - My Week With Marilyn

Rooney Mara - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Tilda Swinton - We Need To Talk About Kevin

Viola Davis - The Help

Honorable Mentions: Meryl Steep - The Iron Lady, Charlize Theron - Young Adult, Elizabeth Olsen - Martha Marcy May Marlene, Kirsten Dunst - Melancholia

Best Supporting Actor

Alan Rickman - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Albert Brooks - Drive

Andy Serkis - Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Ben Kingsley - Hugo

Christopher Plummer - Beginners

Honorable Mentions: Benedict Cumberbatch - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Patton Oswalt - Young Adult, Tom Hiddleston - Thor

Best Supporting Actress

Berenice Bejo - The Artist

Carey Mulligan - Shame

Jessica Chastain - The Help

Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids

Octavia Spencer - The Help

Honorable Mentions: Helen McCrory - Hugo, Shailene Woodley - The Descendants, Marion Cotillard - Midnight in Paris

Best Director

David Fincher - Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Martin Scorsese - Hugo

Nicolas Winding Refn - Drive

Steve McQueen - Shame

Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris

Honorable Mentions: Terrance Malick - Tree of Life, Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist

The rest after the jump!

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What's Joseph Gordon Levitt Been Up To Lately?

Commissioned by and cross-posted on Film.com

Since reappearing on the film scene big time, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been one of the most prolific and beloved actors around, rocking six projects in 2009, and five in 2010 (and winning the Fangirl Award for Actor I Most Want To Marry two years running, his crush-worthiness inspiring this article). But with only one 2011 release, 50/50, which hit theaters back in September, we can’t help but wonder, what has he been up to since? We took a look at his last few months and broke it down.

Shooting His Five 2012 Projects

From May to November, Levitt found himself shooting scenes for Chris Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. I’m sure lots of people know who he is playing, or at least have an idea, but not me! After an initial casting rumor that he was stepping in as Alberto Falcone, most notably from The Long Halloween, I removed myself from speculation and have stayed safe from any and all news and rumors since. But in addition to that, he shot or began shooting Premium Rush, Looper, Lincoln, and Django Unchained. For those keeping track at home, that means in 2011 he worked with Chris Nolan, Steven Spielberg *and* Quentin Tarantino, just to name a few. Damn, boy.

Tweeting (though he hates that phrase)

Whenever you find yourself wondering what JGL might be doing with himself, you can always take to his verified Twitter account and/or tumblr. Mostly what he says is themed to hitRECord, his collaborative production company, with announcements about artists or shows, but every so often we also get treated to personal photos, musings (including a favorite tweet where he admits to being a bad Jew by eating latkes with ham and cheese) and favorite links, including this one which, if you like music at all, you should click on right now, recommendations (Movies: La Strada, Pizza: Antonio’s in the Valley), and pimping out his friends (see below), like any other Twitter account. This is easily the best way to stay connected to JGL during those long months when you can’t catch him on the big screen or on the red carpet.

Supporting Zooey Deschanel

JGL has tons of equally well known friends, but the one that by far gets the most love on his Twitter account and sparks the imagination of his fans the strongest, is Zooey Deschanel. He regularly posts about or in support  of her. Join me over here for Exhibit A, Exhibit B,  Exhibit C, and of course Exhibit D, which leads me to...

Singing

So much singing. Swoon.

-Thriller, with a full band including Sean Lennon on bass

-Doing a cover of Redneck Woman by Gretchen Wilson

-With Anne Hathaway

-An original song!

hitRECord – Website & Shows

The main focus of JGL’s 2011 was his website and arts collective of sorts, hitRECord. I’ve been a fan of hitRECord since its inception (see what I did there?) and seriously regret not participating more before it became as huge as it is now. The idea is simple – contribute your art. That’s it. A writer posts a poem. An actor submits a recording of himself reading the poem. An illustrator submits a series of illustrations. An animator animated them. A composer adds a score. Suddenly, a short film is created, the product of artists from all over the world, brought together thanks to one mister Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Ever seen theMorgan M. Morgensen shorts? All started (and ended) with hitRECord. Furthermore, hitRECord hosted a creative center called the RECroom at Sundance and is returning this year with a show, and JGL regularly puts on similar events where collaborative projects are screened and created, always featuring a few surprise guests and at least one musical number from JGL himself. I’ve been to two, one in New York and one LA, and have always had a great time. The Fall Formal, which boasted Anne Hathaway singing, also had Gary Oldman stepping in to do a reading (an activity that famous friends and audience members get to partake in from time to time) and a foray into scripted work done live, filmed, and later edited, like this scene with Neil Patrick Harris, written by Rian Johnson.

Occupying Wall Street

In November, Levitt spent some time Occupying Wall Street in NYC, and went on to turn the footage into a hitRECord project. The result will screen on January 26th at Sundance.

Releasing RECollection and the new edition of  The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories

The Tiny Book Of Tiny Stories is a compilation of multiple stories made up of only a couple sentences, each written by a hitRECord member and illustrated by another. RECollection is  a 64 page book, DVD and CD collection, comprised of work from 471 hitRECord artists. Badass.

All in all, the coolest thing about Joseph Gordon-Levitt is how active he is – CONSTANTLY – and it all stems from his true passion for art. I know people who have gone to hitRECord shows and found the whole thing a little self important, but frankly, the reason why thousands of people go to these shows across the world (yes, he had a show in London and Toronto for TIFF in 2011) is mostly because of *him*, and yet it exposes them to the art of people who aren’t famous and normally don’t get a showcase like this. And if JGL has an air of “what I’m doing is awesome”, well, that’s because it is. I recently had the chance to chat with Pete Forester, a filmmaker based in New York, whose piece Find the Sun was turned into a short film with hitRECord and played at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, who was able to speak brilliantly to this,

At the heart of all this is Joseph Gordon-Levitt, or as anyone from hitRECord knows him: Joe. Joe created the original website with his incredible brother, Dan, and has ushered it into the gigantic force it’s become. The way that he’s done this, though, has not been through talking about his indie accolades or the long list on imdb. He’s done this by caring about content and quality. Joe goes by “Joe” – sometimes “Regular Joe” – to make a point, I think. That when you sit down with him as a hitRECorder, you sit down with a fellow hitRECorder. Sure that fellow hitRECorder happens to be in the next Batman movie, but the discussion is about the short film you’re going to make together, not some study in celebrity. In 2010, anyone who came into the RECroom would have to take a second to find Joe – as we were all at our computers working as hard as we could to get done what we could. And Joe was there, in the trenches working with us – he blended right in: falling asleep at his computer and taking showers whenever there was a free minute. But what’s funny, from someone who was there, is that this isn’t remarkable at all to me – or to anyone else who was in that room. Because to me, to us, to the hitRECord community: Joe is Joe. He’s a worker, a curator, a fellow artist who is eking out the best that he can from us. He definitely acts as a shepherd to his flock, but he’s as elbow deep as anyone else.

I should say that Joe does use his celebrity in the hitRECord community. He uses it to inspire and to add volume to voices that would otherwise go unheard. He’s quick to mention that his career started because of a great number of variables that leaned beautifully in his favor. But he doesn’t think creative enterprise should be hampered by visibility. And the only way to change the system is from within – he’s our ace in the hole; he’s the mole. But it’s not a secret. You can see that when he has a mic in his hand: he speaks into it so more people can hear what others are saying. That’s Joe: turning up the volume on what he sees as beautiful.

So, to answer the question, what has Joseph Gordon Levitt been up to lately? A LOT more than anyone might have expected.

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ARCHER GIVEAWAY CONTEST!

You know you want this on your wall.

All Things Fangirl is happy to present the opportunity for you to own a jumbo sized edition of this poster from our friends over at FX. Two- that's right, TWO- lucky winners will be plastering this beauty all over their personal space.

Here's what ya gotta do to win.

1. follow our writers on Twitter
@Eruditechick
@Loquaciousmuse
@Castling
@TooAdorkable

2. Shoot an email to allthingsfangirl at gmail.com, containing your name and shipping address, with your favorite quote from Archer in the subject followed by #ArcherATF. Example:


"I'm gonna be a pirate king. - #ArcherATF"

3. Comment to this post with who your favorite member of ISIS is and why. This may or may not sway our judgement, as we'll be pulling names out of a hat. It may just make us happy because we love Archer so damn much.

In closing, look at this hot rolling slab of man:

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Predicting The Top Line Oscar Winners: Six Week Mark

Cross-posted on and commissioned by Film.com

Oh Oscars. Here you are, a mere six weeks away! This time last year I was writing epic pieces on how The King's Speech didn't have a chance in hell of winning, and why The Social Network was the best ever and would easily walk away with the trophy. How quickly things turned around. This year no category is set in stone, though the Critic's Choice Awards would certainly like us to think otherwise. For those of you that aren't plugged into the scene, here's a look at what the safe bet predictions are at this time. Though, between you and me, I hope most of these drastically change by February 26th and below you'll also catch my two cents on the upset front. I should note: These were all the safe bet predictions BEFORE the Critics Choice Awards aired so….yeah. Let's just hope some of these are wrong and this year doesn't become another snoozefest.


Supporting Actress

Six Weeks Out Safe Bet: Octavia Spencer, The Help


Everyone loves The Help and Spencer was fantastic, providing a lot of the films comedy where Davis provided the heart, but still managed to be completely sympathetic in her…questionable practices. Personally, I think Chastain's role was a bit more of an acting challenge, but nailing a role simply is not something to be discounted either. Still, I wonder if a flashier role will end up upsetting come Oscar night. Something's got to be slightly unpredictable. Will this be the category to fulfill that duty?


But Don't Be Surprised If: Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids


A lot of people are arguing that Melissa McCarthy has the potential to upset here, and while I think that is valid and possible, it also strikes me as just SO bizarre. Comedic performances should be appreciated and acknowledged more, yes, and McCarthy stole Bridesmaids out from under the whole rest of the cast. But to win? An Oscar? Seems more about riding the Melissa McCarthy train than really awarding her performance, and I would hate to see her reach the pique of praise in one year and than have everyone forget about her or call her overrated. Let's just calm down here a little bit, I think. Still, I would be remiss in my duties if I didn't seriously acknowledge her dark horse potential. Assuming she even gets a nomination, I can see more passion behind Academy voters checking the box for McCarthy than for the other favorite to upset and critics prize leader, Jessica Chastain.


My Hope: A category where I doubt my two favorites will be nominated, so I don't really have much at stake, but both Spencer and Chastain were fantastic, I'm happy to root for The Help picking up an award here, especially if Davis ends up not getting Actress.


For Your Consideration: Vanessa Redgrave in Coriolanus gives one of the top five performances of the year, hands down. The fact that she isn't making most short lists is absurd, and every actor should be somewhere between ashamed and offended. I find it hard to believe that ANYONE would watch Coriolanus and think Redgrave doesn't deserve a nomination. If she doesn't make the cut, mark my words, it's because no one bothered to put on the screener. Carey Mulligan also deserves a nomination here for breaking out of the box so triumphantly in Shame. She defied all expectations of what she is and can do, thanks to this fearless performance. The fact that she isn't being more seriously considered is baffling. I never thought Janet McTeer was a man for a SECOND! Berenice Bejo didn't even have to memorize lines! (Okay, that's a cheap shot, cause she was top notch at what she did do, but STILL.) Fingers crossed the actors branch doesn't go the obvious route with nominations here.


More after the jump!



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Armie Hammer, Finnick Odair And The Fan Hive Mind

Cross-posted on Film.com

Casting fan favorite properties has always been a beloved past time of mine, and I know I'm not alone. Especially when it comes to expansive universes (Game of Thrones) or casts that need actors of such a specific age that the best folks for the job are in constant rotation (Marvel's Runaways). Growing up in a media heavy environment, I am one of those folks whose brain tends to cast an actor immediately, if possible, to aid with the storytelling process when I'm reading. I know fans who disagree with this notion and don't even see adaptations so as not to tarnish their personal vision of who the characters are. Although I don't function that way, I admire that staunch loyalty to the written word. But for the fans out there who live to see something they love brought alive on the big screen, casting is major, and it's rare that we all universally agree that it has been done correctly. Even though most Captain America fans are on board with Chris Evans now, that was certainly not the case when he signed on. Same with Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss in the Hunger Games.

Which brings me the strange Hive Mind experience that occurred as I was finally reading Catching Fire this past week. There I was imagining Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Huchinson, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland in their respective roles, doing a great job, surrounded by mostly faceless blobs representing the other characters, my brain not finding it necessary to cast anyone particular yet, when all of a sudden I got to the character of Finnick Odair. The dashing charmer with a touch of cheese, the prince charming-ish looker who everyone assumes is a player, the classically beautiful golden skinned hunk. For some reason, my brain immediately went to Armie Hammer. Armie Hammer? He doesn't necessarily have golden skin. He certainly doesn't have bronze hair, though I suppose that could be fixed. But my mind had made its decision. Finnick would be played by Armie Hammer in my imagination and nothing could stop that. So I continued reading. And man, was Armie good. His build was perfect, so tall and muscular, his voice and eyes seamlessly making the transition from smooth and pompous to genuine and heroic. It felt so right in my bones.

So naturally, I took to Twitter to see what other people thought. Simply asking the question "Who did everyone cast as Finnick when reading Catching Fire?" and I was surprised to see multiple people respond, you guessed it, Armie Hammer. This was baffling to me. He doesn't really have golden skin or bronze hair. And yet so many of us went straight to his face. And then, the kicker. I was directed to this Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ArmieForFinnick. Yes, that's right. Completely unbeknownst to me when I randomly cast Armie Hammer as Finnick, there is already a Facebook movement going to get him cast. Not only that, but any Finnick page I could manage to get to while still avoiding spoilers, had Hammer in the profile picture or taking up a lot of space in the "Who should play him" section, easily more so than anyone else.

What does this all MEAN? Why did so many of us see someone, THIS someone, in this role immediately? Mirror Mirror, in which Hammer plays a prince, hasn't come out yet, and even if it had, when we first meet Finnick, we don't think of him as a genuine hero, we think of him as kind of smarmy. It's not like Hammer's role in The Social Network had anything in common with Finnick except, what, being popular? Normally if something like this happens, it's at least because the actor in question had just played a role of the exact same type. But this is not the case here.

To me, this is no doubt an example of the Hive Mind. Of course, unlike the Borg, we fans have our own individual identities and lives, but somehow, in this particular case, our brains linked up and decided collectively who should play the role of Finnick Odair in The Hunger Games. In all my years of being a fan and fantasy casting, something this peculiar and specific has never occurred before. The closest I've seen is Zach Levi circa Chuck season one for Yorick in Y: The Last Man, but that was because Chuck practically *was* Yorick, and in any event, that ship has long sailed. Perhaps none of this seems that bizarre or interesting to you, readers, but experiencing all of this myself hasn't happened before and I think it's pretty damn cool.

So this leaves me with one simple plea to whoever is casting Catching Fire. Though he may not seem totally right for the role, I encourage you to at least audition Armie Hammer for Finnick Odair. You don't want to see the Fan Hive Mind angry. See full post

12 Most Anticipated Television Events of 2012

Cross-posted on Film.com


We’ve discussed the big guns 2012 will be rolling out in cinemas, but the silver screen isn’t the only arena fans are itching to jump in to. Expect 2012 to also be a fantastic year for television, as we see the return of some of the greatest shows the small screen has to offer, as well as the launch of some major new programming. 

1) The Long Awaited Return of Mad Men (beware spoilers)

I CAN’T TAKE IT ANY LONGER. Season 4, in my opinion the best season of Mad Men yet, turned just about everything on its head, a move that’s become somewhat of a tradition atMad Men, pressing the reboot button with every season. Who knows where Season 5 could possibly take us, but when we last left Don Draper and friends, our charming main character had just proposed to his secretary, the free spirited Megan. Can this work out even close to well for anyone involved? Anyone’s gotta be better than Ice Queen Betty, right? It’s been way too long since one of the best shows on television has actually BEEN on television and its return is one of the absolute most anticipated television events of 2012.

2) Game of Thrones Season 2

Can this be a close second? Game of Thrones season one took the EVERYTHING by storm with its groundbreaking guts, commitment to big budget genre and faithfulness to its material. It broke every rule in the book and did so with a beautiful gusto. Season two sees the introduction of a myriad of new characters, including one played by Rose Leslie formerlyDownton Abbey‘s Gwen, and the second book is supposedly so good that even old school fans of the book have been advising me to watch, not read, because seeing these events unfold for the first time on screen will be an unbelievable treat. Will I be wearing my Daenerys end of season one Halloween costume to the premiere party I’m throwing? You bet. Don’t worry though, it’s primarily a nude colored bodysuit. I’m not crazy.

3) Chris Meloni joining True Blood

Bringing some true class to the table, Veteran Purveyor of Awesome, Christopher Meloni, is joining True Blood for season 5. Season 4 graced us with sure to be an Emmy nominated performance by Fiona Shaw, so a gap had to be filled as far as brilliant guest star was concerned. Meloni, who will be playing “an ancient, powerful vampire who holds the fate of Bill and Eric in his hands,” more than fits the bill.

4) Downton Abbey Season 2 Comes to America, Season 3 Airs In Britain In The Fall

I obviously downloaded Downton Abbey Season 2 from across the pond as it aired, but LISTEN, it’s okay, calm down SOPA, I’m gonna buy the Blu-ray anyway AND watch it on American television anyway, so I repeat, everyone calm down. The Emmy winner for Best Mini Series that has since become a full fledged television series, is long form Jane Austen meets old timey British soap and it’s my favorite. Season 2 goes to some very dark, dramatic, pulpy places, which has turned off some viewers, but I’ve loved every moment. This is truly the best ensemble on television, and I encourage you to pick up season one, watch season two (and the christmas special!) and buckle up for season three come the fall. Mary and Matthew forevers.

5) Alcatraz

There has been lots of behind the scenes turmoil as far as this new offering from JJ Abrams and Elizabeth Sarnow (who has since left the show) is concerned, which has made the genre community start to worry, but I’ll be damned if I don’t give this new science fiction program a shot. This story about presumed dead Alcatraz prisoners reappearing in present day, having not aged one bit, stars newcomer Sarah Jones and everyone’s favorite magical island castaway , Jorge Garcia. I’m still hoping for the best, but won’t be surprised if it ends up falling just short of the mark.

6) Smash

Let’s be honest. Glee isn’t quite working out the way we hoped. They cut back on the number of songs per episode, which was always my favorite element of the show, and frankly, have ceased to make much narrative sense since season one ended, if it even made it to then. But I still love musicals, I still love song and dance, and oh yeah, I LOVE JACK DAVENPORT. Smash, from executive producer Steven Spielberg, looks like a show I will be obsessed with, but never admit to obsessing over. Since it’s about putting on a fictional Broadway musical (about Marilyn Monroe yet!), expect lots of fun New York locations and impressive theater related cameos. Oh and actual quality singing by professionals, none of this auto-tune crap. If you’re still “pshhhing”, it’s created by Pulitzer Prize nominated playwright Theresa Rebeck, who also co-produced and wrote NYPD Blue and wrote forDream On.Yes, she also wrote the story (just the story, not the horrific screenplay!) of Halle Berry’s disastrous Catwoman, but hey, the exception that proves the talented rule, okay?

7) The River

The found footage horror-mystery that has been described as Lost meets Paranormal Activity (and created by Oren Pell, the man behind the Paranormal trilogy) that made a splash at Comic-Con by screening its pilot and handing out fun mini branded flashlights, makes its debut on ABC this February. Bruce Greenwood plays an explorer who vanishes under mysterious circumstances. Six months later his family sets out to find him, fully funded by the explorer’s former producer, in exchange for them filming the whole expedition. They are assisted by a collection of supporting characters including the lovely Eloise Mumford, from the short lived Fox series Lone Star, who I’m thrilled to have back on my television set. Fingers crossed the eight episodes ordered by the network stick the landing with audiences.

8) (Formerly the House of Lies slot...but the pilot aired before posting so...) COUGAR TOWN IS COUGAR TOWNY!

I totally forgot Cougar Town was coming back because it's been so long and my whole self is so saddened by the lack of Penny Can, Big Joe (RIP), Big Carl and The Larmy that my mind simply blocked it out so I wouldn't be upset every day. If you're not yet convinced that Cougar Town rules, need I remind you about last season's Community/Cougar Town crossover? Come on, if Abed loves it, you KNOW it's good. The show brazenly makes fun of its title every single week in the opening credits, and has really found its grove as a slightly absurdist show about a bunch of friends who drink a lot of wine. Sometimes while wearing snuggies. Season 3 will see a guest star in Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke as Bobby's recurring love interest and newcomer Briga Heelan as someone Grayson got pregnant years earlier. ABC may have cut the episode order down to 15 from 22, but this show has a rabid and loyal following who know that each of those 15 episodes will be hilarious. GET IT TOGETHER, ABC. 

9) Awake

Perhaps my most anticipated new show of the mid-season, the show (known as REM when the pilot scripts were making the rounds) has gotten rave reviews over its season premiere, drawing positive Inception parallels when it comes to the subject of dreams versus reality, and it stars Jason Isaacs as a man torn between two worlds, one where his wife survives a horrific accident, one in which it’s his son that survives. But which is real? Also starring Laura Allen, Brooke English’s son who took Leo away from Greenelee on All My Children, and Jack Shephard’s son, Dylan Minnette. (This is how my brain works and I like it just fine.)

10) 30 Rock is Back!

30 Rock is one of those magical shows that is so good, I always doubt how good it is. I promise this makes sense. I always think to myself, there’s no way the show can STILL be funny. But it always is. Sure, there are off episodes and off storylines, every show has those, but ultimately, 30 Rock always brings the funny and it’ll be so nice to have Liz Lemon back in my life, making me feel a-ok about how much I love eating sandwiches and making noises instead of saying words.

11) Community Finishes up Season 3 and returns in the fall with Season 4

IF I SAY IT, IT WILL COME TRUE

12) Chuck and Desperate Housewives Come to an End

I have never seen an episode of Desperate Housewives. The fact that it is ending means nothing to me, but it was once a mega sensation, so its series finale is definitely worth a mention. The series finale *I* will be glued to the television for is none other than that of Chuck. Chuck lost me a little bit last season with the constant stream of EVERYONE’S A SPY! combined with EVERYONE’S A FAMOUS GUEST STAR! But this season has be right back on board and I’m loving every moment. I’m actually getting nostalgic for my deep obsession with the show and specifically Zach Levi that I felt during seasons one and two. I’m sad that it’s ending, but thrilled beyond belief that they squeezed five seasons out of NBC and are getting to finish the story they began. Jan 27, “Chuck vs. the Goodbye.”, I’m so there.


Honorable Mention: Paul Rudd comes to Parks and Recreation. Hat Tip: @oscar

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