Matt vs. the Academy

Another Oscar day has arrived. Since I'm writing this late Saturday night, most of you will be reading this on (or after) Oscar day. Here in Las Vegas, I will be hosting a small party for the cast and crew of Aussie Improv Comedy Explosion . I may not have had time recently to discuss this year's awards race as I had hoped, but for those interested, here are my 2010 Oscar predictions . As we wait to hear the announcement for the latest Best Picture winner, we look at another nominee from 2005... Brokeback Mountain Director : Ang Lee Screenplay : Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana (based on the short story by Annie Proulx) Starring : Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway, Randy Quaid, Linda Cardellini, Anna Faris Academy Awards : 8 nominations 3 wins, including Best Director Ennis Del Mar (Ledger) and Jack Twist (Gyllenhaal) get hired to tend some sheep in the Wyoming mountains over the summer of 1963. Through the lonely months, th...

Quite a jam-packed week it's been here in Las Vegas. With Valentine's Day, my birthday and a weekend visit from my darling wife, I've been just a little busy. I also managed to squeeze in two more shows - front row seats to probably my favourite magic act, Penn & Teller , who did not disappoint, and then a fun and raucous night at the medieval jousting show Tournament of Kings . And there's still a gazillion other shows on my wish list... In the midst of all that activity, I took a look at the next nominee from the Best Picture race of 2005... Capote Director : Bennett Miller Screenplay : Dan Futterman (based on the book by Gerald Clarke) Starring : Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Clifton Collins, Jr., Bruce Greenwood, Bob Balaban, Mark Pellegrino, Chris Cooper, Amy Ryan Academy Awards : 5 nominations 1 win, for Best Actor (Hoffman) Fresh off the success of his novel Breakfast at Tiffany's, author Truman Capote (Hoffman) comes across a...

Another week of shows has passed here in Las Vegas - both as performed and as seen. While I've been treading the boards of the V Theater at Planet Hollywood in Aussie Improv Comedy Explosion , I've also managed to see some other shows on the Strip. Fellow Aussies Human Nature have an incredibly slick and entertaining Motown show at the Imperial Palace. And I also was blown away by two Cirque du Soleil shows - the creative and moving Love at the Mirage, which features the music of the Beatles, and the spectacular and awe-inspiring Ka at the MGM Grand, which features theatrical stunts that boggle the mind, including indoor fireworks ... Indoor fireworks, I tell you! As we launch into another year of nominees, the poll for the next year of review has now been posted. Let me know which 1970s shortlist you would like to see next by voting in the poll on the right. Last night, I began my review of 2005's Best Picture contenders by having a look at... Good Night, and Goo...

There have been numerous verdicts during the course of Matt vs. the Academy that have been maddeningly difficult due to an abundance of quality cinema. Choosing my favourite nominee from 1930/31 is likewise difficult, but for the opposite reason. The shortlist is perhaps the weakest that I have covered to date, with no film jumping out as a clear winner. The nominees for Best Picture of 1930/31 are: Cimarron East Lynne The Front Page Skippy Trader Horn Clearly, with the advent of sound, motion picture production took some time to adjust and the kinks were still being ironed out a few years later. Without dialogue, silent films essentially relied on melodrama to communicate their stories. Once sound arrived, melodrama was no longer required but it stuck around anyway. The five films above are not entirely without merit, however. While each picture fails to size up to later classics, they each excel in at least one aspect. Adventure story Trader Horn is perhaps the most melodrama...

The first few shows of Aussie Improv Comedy Explosion are under our collective belt and word is spreading of our improvised insanity. On stage this week, I have drowned on a water-slide, sung about gum-scrapers and confessed to stealing a cat with Lindsay Lohan. What happens in Vegas... We've reached the end of the current crop of nominees so make sure to get your vote in for the next year of review. The poll is over there on the right hand side of the screen. Last night, I caught the final nominee from the 1930/31 Best Picture race... Trader Horn Director : W.S. Van Dyke Screenplay : Dale Van Every, John Thomas Neville, Richard Schayer, Cyril Hume (based on the book by Ethelreda Lewis and Alfred Aloysius Horn) Starring : Harry Carey, Edwina Booth, Duncan Renaldo, Mutia Omoolu, Olive Golden Academy Awards : 1 nomination 0 wins In Africa, we meet a man who calls himself Trader Horn (Carey), presumably because he is in the business of trading elephant ivory. He an...

I am writing this post from Las Vegas, the third city I have visited in as many posts. The last few days have been spent preparing for the opening of Aussie Improv Comedy Explosion , the comedy show in which I'll be performing for the next month. You may not think there would be any need for rehearsals for an improvised show, but believe it or not, we have found plenty of things to work on, not the least of which is promoting the show to our potential audiences. While the show opened earlier tonight, we have a small rotating cast, so I participated only as an audience member this evening. My first performance on stage will be tomorrow night. Last night, I made the most of some down time by watching another in the Academy's race for Best Picture of 1930/31... The Front Page Director : Lewis Milestone Screenplay : Bartlett Cormack and Charles Lederer (based on the play by Ben Hecht & Charles MacArthur) Starring : Adolphe Menjou, Pat O'Brien, Mary Brian, Edward...

After almost a month away, I am finally back in New York City... but not for long. This week, I head back to the other side of the country to perform in an improv show in Las Vegas! Yep, I'll be a bona fide Vegas performer, right there on the Strip. A rotating cast of Australian improvisers will perform in  Aussie Improv Comedy Explosion  at the V Theater in the Planet Hollywood Resort beginning on January 31. So, if you're planning on being near Sin City during February, come check it out. Tomorrow morning, bright and early, the Oscar nominations will be announced. As always, I have made my predictions as to which films will be recognised - and just in time, too. For anyone out there who might be interested in this sort of thing, here are my guesses . While we wait for the Academy's picks for 2010, here's a look at their Best Picture winner of 1930/31... Cimarron Director : Wesley Ruggles Screenplay : Howard Estabrook Starring : Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, E...