The Oscars: 5 Things You Didn't Know

As you know, I've been around Oscar activity all week long. I've been sleuthing around trying to find a few details about the show. Here's what I dug up so far.  Remember, things could change at the last minute because there is a rehearsal tomorrow morning, but as of Saturday afternoon, this is what I heard:

1.  Barbra Streisand is performing the Marvin Hamlisch-written "The Way We Were" as a tribute to the deceased composer and all of the other artists we lost in 2012.

2. Barbra is being dressed by her longtime friend and designer, Donna Karan, who has been buzzing around the star's house getting her outfit red carpet ready.

3.  They are restaging "Cell Block Tango" from Chicago with Catherine Zeta-Jones leading the way. (One of my favorite numbers ever in a musical theatre piece.)

4.  Seth MacFarlane will be crooning at some point during the show. Rumor has it, he sounds just like Frank Sinatra.

5.  The orchestra will not be housed at the Dolby Theatre. There just wasn't enough space for them. They will be playing at the Capitol Records building down the street. (This has been confirmed by WSJ  Online.)

I also released the names of the SYTYCD kids who are performing at this year's show.

For more inside scoop on this year's show and the behind the scenes shenanigans, watch my appearance on Film Snobbery.

The Inside Scoop on the Oscars...So Far

I'm in love....with these gowns. They are currently being sold at the divine vintage store Decades on Melrose.  They are both Christian Dior from the Autumn/Winter collection in 1963 and 1962, respectively.  I actually took these photos last night on my iPhone while I was passing by on my way to an event.  After doing a little research, I found out that they are a size 0 and there is no price listed...which means they are expensive, but this might be my dream Oscar gown. Which one do you like better?

I'm going to give you a little Oscars round-up today since there is a ton of news coming in from every direction.  So, pick and choose what you would like to read and view:

Fanboy Comics:  This so far is my favorite interview of the awards show season.  I sat down with Bryant and Barbra Dillon and chatted about the Golden Globes and what it means for the Oscar season. Take a listen, I think you will fall in love with their podcast.

My next album cover AKA me in 3D glasses at Wreck-It Ralph

The Paperman:  This is Disney Animation's Oscar-nominated Animated Short in this year's race.  I saw it before a screening of Wreck-it Ralph and it is so sweet, you just might fall in love. Watch it in full below:



Oscar Nominees Luncheon:  I will be back on the scene on Monday at the Oscar Nominees Luncheon where the nominees get their official certificates and they get...a sweatshirt??? Read this insider scoop on the gifts each nominee gets at the luncheon in The Hollywood Reporter. It's pretty fascinating.

Oscar Performances:  I've scoping out the show and I think it's going to a long one.  Already we have performances by Barbra Streisand, Norah Jones, Adele, 3 movie musical tributes, and more to come. I can confirm that SYTYCD choreographer Spencer Liff will be in the show along with some familiar SYTYCD faces. I'm also hearing rumors that Streisand might be doing a Marvin Hamlisch tribute.  Hhhmmm, it's going to be a musical extravaganza of a show! I'll keep you posted if I hear any updates or get any confirmations on the rumor.

Oscar Presenters:  The announcements are starting to trickle in with the first presenter announced today and it's kind of an obvious choice:  Mark Wahlberg and his co-star Ted voiced by Seth MacFarlane...who is also your Oscar host.  I'm hoping we see a few outside-the-box choices announced soon.  That always makes for an interesting show.

Have a great weekend!  If you are up early on the East Coast tomorrow, I will be on Cocktails and Conversation talking all about entertainment, the Super Bowl, and more! Join me here at 8am ET.  



 

Media Mondays

A Christmas picture with Pluto at Disneyland for the holidays. 

It's Christmas Eve, but it's still Media Mondays and I here to help you with your holiday movie choices.  If you are headed with the movies with your parents, you have 3 family holiday movie choices this year and I've seen them all!  Here is the order you should see these in:

My 1st Choice:  The Guilt Trip

Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen have great mother/son chemistry and the crazy scenarios they get into during their cross-country trip are exactly the same situations you get into with your own mother.  They nag, they love, and they always have a solution to every problem.  I was lucky enough to bring my own mom to the press junket.  See our interview with Barbra and Seth for iVillage.   

My 2nd Choice:  Parental Guidance

Well, I am currently embargoed until Christmas Day from talking about this, but here is what I will say...Billy Crystal and Bette Midler are great together in this family comedy.

My 3rd Choice:  This is 40 

Sigh.  I wanted to love this movie, but I couldn't.  It's long, it's shrill, and I feel like Judd Apatow is getting a little lazy in his filmmaking.  I love, love, love Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd has been a favorite of mine since Clueless.  I just wish this was a better movie.  You've been warned.

I did interview Paul and Leslie and this was a pretty hilarious moment...Paul tells me, "At 40, you are one day closer to death."  Okay, thanks for the uplifting advice!    Watch the interview here.

SheKnows: My 3 favorite articles from last week--
Rebel Wilson To Host the MTV Movie Awards--I just love her.
Danielle Fishel Graduates from College at 31--I love her too! Long live Topanga
David Letterman F-bombs Tom Cruise--If you didn't see this video, you must.  It makes Tom Cruise look relaxed and fun too.

Don't forget to enter my Holiday Gift Basket Giveaway, you have until midnight on Christmas Day PST!  

Or you can help me find a dress for Oscar Nominations.  Find a dress online that you think will look good on me and if I wear the winning dress, you get a $25 gift certificate to the store of your choice.  It's that easy.  Find all of the details here.  

Merry Christmas!

Media Mondays

Media Mondays chronicles all of the places I appeared, wrote, and discussed the latest in entertainment news.  It was kind of a slow week, but don't worry, this coming week is going to be a crazy one.  Make sure to follow my Twitter or Facebook page to see all of the up-to-the-minute entertainment news especially if you are a fan of Barbra Streisand, Seth Rogen, the Golden Globes, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, or Judd Apatow.  Seriously, that's the kind of week it is going to be.  I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season.  My cat sure likes my tree...and the water that goes in the stand.  

I love blinky cat photos.

Tom Barnard Podcast:  Oh, this was a fun week and I couldn't think straight.  I called Sandra Bullock's Miss Congeniality flick....Miss Confidentiality.  That's a totally different film...that doesn't exist. Listen here.

SheKnows: My favorite stories I wrote this week:

Brittany Murphy's final film is completed--Sigh, I still can't believe she's gone.  The photo in this article is gorgeous too.

John Travolta's Christmas video--I can't get enough of this. You must watch if you missed last week's viral video hit.

Kristin Chenoweth dating former Bachelor star--Weirdest couple ever?  I'm baffled, how about you?

And if you missed my Throwback Thursday photo, enjoy this gem from one of my Nutcracker years with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre:

Don't forget tonight at 6:35pm PST/9:35pm EST for Driving with Gass on KWSS.org.  I'll be giving the inside scoop on my interviews with Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen.  Come and join #RadioBurtt tonight!

Episode 9: Movies You May Have Missed

Now normally, I would start with a cast picture or a behind the scenes photo, but I want all of you to see the first time I met Juan Carlos Bagnell in person. Yes, he was kissing a crow. Okay, okay, it was our official launch party for The Web Files, Sandy bought the crow for atmosphere, and everyone took a liking to it. In fact, Brett Register of Absolute Disaster is now the proud owner of the crow who will hopefully make a cameo in one of his web series soon.

Back to the story, Sandy and I took a liking to Juan and the podcast he co-hosts with Lee Buckley called Movies You May Have Missed. The title explains it all......they will tell you all about a movie....you.....may.......have.......missed. It's a fun show for movie geeks who like to engage in a lively discussion or two about film. So, I thought it would be fun to do a "very special episode" kind of like the sitcom, Blossom, did back in the day. I pretty much invited myself on the show in exchange for a Web Files interview. Good thing Lee and Juan took the bait! The only rule they brought to the table involved me picking the movie. Easy, done, and sold! Mildred Pierce.

Anyone that knows me is well aware of my Oscar geek status. Yes, I can tell you how much it weighs, where it is made, the materials that go into making the statuette, who has won the most, how you vote, how you get into the Academy of Motion Pictures, and the gossip behind Barbra Streisand's 1968 Best Actress win. Mildred Pierce was the perfect movie to explore for Joan Crawford fans. It was her only win out of 3 nominations and it came after a 2-year lull in her career. Little did I know that Lee had an aversion to black and white film, so I am sure my choice was not something he was very excited about. What Lee should be excited about is the bet that he won. What bet am I talking about? Well, you will just have to view the episode of Movies You May Have Missed here: MYMHM

The afternoon was a blast filled with craft services, amazing audio, a 4-camera shoot, and cupcakes. Does life get any better than that? We had so much fun and I really think that shows on camera in both the interview and on MYMHM's show. I wish every set was like that. I also want to thank Voicecaster for donating the location since Lee's bachelor pad, the site for most of MYMHM's shows, was a bit small for the crew we brought that day. Oh, for those of you who need Lee's email address, it is featured prominently in our interview. Lee Buckley=bachelor pad=Ladies' Man.

So, I hope you enjoy this 'very special episode". As Joey would say, "Whoa!"