OscarWatch: Trek Nominee Gets Speech Help + Quinto & Madonna Party + Predictions + more [UPDATED]

Tomorrow is the Oscars and of course there is a lot of media attention. Below we some of the latest Trek-related Oscar articles, including a nominee getting speech advice, Quinto and Madonna hanging at a pre-Oscar party, Michael Giacchino talking about his scores, and a breakdown of predictions for the Star Trek categories.  

 

UPDATE: ‘Three words’ from Trek nominees

Good Morning America has reached out to many of the Oscar nominees to share three words on what being nominated means to them. The video below includes a number of Trek’s nominees.

UPDATE 2: Makeup nominees talk Trek

The AP is reporting from today’s pre-Oscar makeup and hair artists symposium, where Star Trek’s three nominees talked about their work on the film.

"We’re thrilled there were 40-plus makeup artists, 12 of which are out here today, who stood beside us," said "Trek" makeup department head Mindy Hall at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. "They weren’t behind us. They were beside us, taking the designs and bringing them to life."

Clips highlighting the work from the three nominated films were shown, and present nominees took questions from the audience. The "Trek" makeup team, which also includes alien designers Joel Harlow and Barney Burman, revealed they went through seven different designs for the villainous blunt foreheaded Romulan race.

"From the get go, we all wanted to do work that was worthy of this," said Burman of their nod.

UPDATE 3: Zoe Talks Oscars & Avatar
Zoe talked to Access Hollywood about getting ready for the Oscars and Avatar.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Star Trek Sound Mixer gets Oscar Speech help

Anna Behlmer is nominated for Best Sound Mixing for her work on Star Trek. This is actually her tenth nomination. Just in case this time is the charm, Anna has accepted the help of Time Magazine columnist Joel Stein. Stein has an article about this at Time.com, here is an excerpt:

I suggested opening her speech by saying she understands that members of the Oscar audience don’t want to hear from a sound mixer because they’re only interested in the fame and glamour of sound editors. Anna flinched at that idea because apparently the relationship between sound mixers and editors is a little tense. So I suggested coming up with a list of people she wasn’t going to thank, including the stars and director, since they would never thank the sound mixer. Anna said she’d like to avoid antagonizing J.J. Abrams, the powerful director of Star Trek. But she at least agreed to cut her list down so she was thanking only Abrams and to admit in the speech that she’s doing it only so he’ll hire her for Mission: Impossible 4.
[Read more: time.com]


“Star Trek” Oscar-nominees Andy Nelson and Anna Behmler at a Dolby pre-Oscar party

Quinto and Madonna hit it off at pre-Oscar party

On Thursday Star Trek’s Zachary Quinto was spotted at a Grey Goose-sponsored pre-Oscar party in West Hollywood packed with big name celebs like Quentin Tarantino, Clive Owen, Natalie Portman, Madonna and more. And according to the LA Times, the new Spock and The Material Girl really hit it off:

Madge, clad in a silver top and black fur-lined coat, hit it off with "Star Trek" and "Heroes" star Zachary Quinto. The two were so chummy they carried their lovefest from the balcony to a table inside. [Read more: latimes.com]

And then there is this report from the event from LaineyGossip:

I don’t think I can adequately describe to you the amazingness of the moment. Madonna in a fur collared coat, preening at a harem of gorgeous men who are there to do her bidding, hand picking the ones allowed to stand close to her, rejecting the ones she deemed unworthy, and ultimately settling on a new favourite. We witnessed the coronation of Zachary Quinto.


Quinto and Madonna from the Grey Goose Party – became fast friends

Giacchino’s Star Trek idea – forget you are in space

Star Trek composer and Oscar nominee (for Up) Michael Giacchino has another pre-Oscar profile and interview with the BBC. The interview includes some discussion of Star Trek, where Giacchino reveals he struggled with it at first:

It was the greatest call to ever get and the most terrifying call to ever get. When I first started writing music for that film nothing sounded right. What I was doing was writing music based on my perception of Star Trek the brand…

Someone said to me – forget the idea that we’re in space, you’re writing the score for the story of two guys who meet and become the best of friends. And that’s when I came up with the theme that’s in the movie.


Giacchino with his Grammys for "Up" – poised for an Oscar

Star Trek category predictions roundup

Here is the full updated breakdown of Oscar predictions of the four Star Trek categories from the entertainment press (via awardsdaily.com).

  sound sound
editing
FX Makeup
OW’s Most Likely THL Avatar Avatar Star Trek
Sasha Stone (AD) Avatar Avatar Avatar Star Trek

Kris Tapley (IC)

THL Avatar Avatar Star Trek
Ryan Adams (AD) Avatar Avatar Avatar Star Trek
Damien Bona (Inside Oscar) Avatar Avatar Avatar Star Trek
Scott Feinberg (AWI) Avatar Avatar Avatar Star Trek
Pete Hammond, Envelope
 
Avatar Avatar Avatar Star Trek
David Poland (MCN) THL THL Avatar Star Trek
Dave Karger (EW) Avatar Avatar Avatar Star Trek
Anne Thompson
RB
Avatar Avatar Avatar Star Trek
Steve Pond, The Wrap Avatar Avatar Avatar Star Trek
Brad Brevet (ROS) THL Avatar Avatar Star Trek
Guy Lodge (IC) THL Avatar Avatar Star Trek
Tom O’Neil The Envelope THL THL Avatar Star Trek
Ebert   Basterds Avatar Star Trek
Craig Kennedy
Living in Cinema
Hurt Locker Hurt Locker Avatar Star Trek
Greg Ellwood MSN Movies Avatar Avatar Avatar Star Trek
Eugene Hernandez
IndieWire
Hurt Locker Hurt Locker Avatar Star Trek
Pete Travers, RollingStone Avatar Avatar Avatar Star Trek
Scott Bowles (USA Today) Avatar Hurt Locker Avatar The Young Victoria
Susan W. (USA Today) Hurt Locker Hurt Locker Avatar The Young Victoria
Oscar Frenzy Hurt Locker Avatar Avatar Star Trek
Brinton
Oscar Breach
Hurt Locker Avatar Avatar Star Trek
Larry Abuliak (Fox News) Hurt Locker Avatar Avatar Star Trek
Richard Brody, New Yorker Hurt Locker Avatar Avatar The Young Victoria
CinemaIvazut Hurt Locker Avatar Avatar Star Trek
Steve Mason (ESPN) Hurt Locker Hurt Locker Avatar Star Trek
The Big Picture Hurt Locker Avatar Avatar Star Trek
Erik Childress (eFC/Oscar Eye, Cinematical) Hurt Locker Avatar Avatar Star Trek
Ed Douglas, Coming Soon Avatar Avatar Avatar Star Trek

 

 

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If Star Trek doesn’t win for Make up then we really know the Academy had it in for Star Trek

It’s not that the Academy has it in for Star Trek, it’s that the Academy thinks that the movie sucked.

Actually, I rather hope that Giacchino DOES base his next Trek score on ‘Star Trek the brand’….

Especially the TOS-Trek brand.

I’d love the next movie to reference some of the original cues a lot more this time around for a real TOS feel, whether ‘alternate timeline’ or not….

Am I the only one remembering Rick Berman quipping that the Insurrection script was so good, they are even talking about getting an Oscar before the movie came out?

4 – Ha! Insurrection was less “movie-like” than Nemesis, although it did have a better story.

Ive always thought if Deep Space Nine made a movie out of the “The Quickening” they’d have raked in every award they could have though.

@5: Speaking of DS9, I think a stage play version of “Duet” would rake in the Tony awards.

ZQ & Madge?
If he wasn’t gay before, that’d do it.

@1: Yeah, all those smoke-filled meetings and secret handshakes will have finally paid off for the Cabal To Be Mean To Star Trek.

I hope Star Trek gets at least one Oscar, just so the conspiracy-theory guys will … do what they always do, which is make the conspiracy theory more _complicated_ to allow for the apparent contradiction. It’s such an art form, really.

@7 That comment actually made me LOL

This Oscar thing….

What lessons can we learn from the fact (yes, it’s practically a fact) that Avatar swept (yes, I’m writing in the past tense even though it’s only 9:23 a.m. Sunday here on the ‘Coast) most of the awards?

Surprisingly little, actually.

What we can learn is actually more from The Hurt Locker.

One word: Gritty.

Trek already has most of what Avatar had; the execution wasn’t quite the same, but the qualities are there: science fiction, a forward-moving story, special effects, etc.

But what Trek needs more of is The Shock — The Shock of things that you can’t see on the streets of any major city in the civilized world. Gritty, warlike, macho-type shock that gets the buzz.

Avatar + The Hurt Locker should = ST2012.

Because, though Avatar had a little something that Trek didn’t have, Trek has a lot more of something that Avatar only has for a single movie: Philosophical grit, and plenty of it.

As many have said, various stories in DS9 had perhaps the most cinematic qualities of any in Trek. Lives of individuals and universes were changed. Hard-hitting stories were told — aside from “A Sacrifice of Angels” and the well-known battle arcs in DS9, there were excellent character studies like “For the Uniform.”

ST2012 needs to import the hard-hitting realism of that aspect of DS9, while remaining true to Trek.

As I think about it, Trek really has turned out to be more than anyone could ever have hoped it would be. It has turned out to be — as Futurama has put it — kind of a religion. Or at least a philosophy.

We need to put a face on that philosophy — a Campbellian face; a mythological face. We need to show an Avatarian Vietnam face, a indigenous face, a no-guts-no-glory face, a Christian / atheist / sacred / secular face, a no-atheists-in-foxholes face of Trek to the world. All that, in a universe that recognizes that God Does Not Actually Exist.

That, and strike box office platinum.

Can it be done?

Ask James Cameron.

#10, “Avatar + The Hurt Locker should = ST2012.”

Really, so if this were 2008 Oscars, Slumdog Millionaire + Milk should = ST2012? Or 2007, No Country For Old Men + Juno = ST?

“Trek has a lot more of something that Avatar only has for a single movie: Philosophical grit, and plenty of it.”

Care to elaborate?

Yeah, some day I will.

Re: Hat Rick.

From what I understand, the Hurt Locker earned about $18 million.
As much as Paramount would love an Oscar on their mantle, they don’t want it that badly.

#10: “We need to put a face on that philosophy — a Campbellian face; a mythological face. ”

Hopefully something intelligent and honest, rather than literally Campbellian. :/

#13: “From what I understand, the Hurt Locker earned about $18 million. As much as Paramount would love an Oscar on their mantle, they don’t want it that badly.”

This is fundamental truth, sadly.

13, good point.

14, no comment…. I like Joseph Campbell. :-)

#15: Fair play, then :)

Yeah if Madonna deemed him posse worthy the boy is gay.

Please let’s not speculate about someone’s sexuality. That’s private stuff. I love this website and I enjoy reading the postings, don’t ruin it for me. Zach is hot no matter what! He’s propably respectful to women and madonna can be at ease. Until someone comes out, let’s leave it alone!

If ST2012 is a combination of Avatar and The Hurt Locker, I’m going back to my Heinleins. Star Trek will be over. Maybe ST2012 should be Oprah + American Idol. That would prove even more popular.