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Nickelodeon’s 22nd Annual Kids’…

LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 28: Actress Megan Fox arrives at Nickelodeon’s 2009 Kids’ Choice Awards at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion on March 28, 2009 in Westwood, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

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Nickelodeon’s 22nd annual Kids’ Choice Awards was on last night, and host Dwayne Johnson made quite the entrance, sailing in on a zip line and landing smack dab center stage, a.k.a. the Slime Pyramid. Whoever thought up the whole slime theme for these awards knew what they were doing!

A few highlights:

Favorite TV Show: Nick’s "iCarly," starring Miranda Cosgrove.

Favorite Animated Voice: Jack Black, for voicing the title role in Dreamworks’ "Kung Fu Panda." He arrived onstage in a motorcycle sidecar, saying "Skadoosh! I am touched, I am moved, I am pumped, and I am jazzed. I promise you will try my hardest to make ‘Kung Fu Panda 2′ even more awesome than that first one."

Favorite Movie Actor: Will Smith

Favorite Actress: Vanessa Hudgens, who thanked her little sister Stella "for asking all her friends at school to vote."

Favorite Movie: "High School Musical 3"

Favorite Animated Movie: "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa"

Favorite Female Singer: Miley Cyrus, who said, "I really thought I was going to lose. Unlike any other awards show, it’s all because of you guys, so thank you guys so much."

Favorite Male Singer: Jesse McCartney

Favorite Song: Beyonce’s "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"

Favorite Book: Stephenie Meyer’s "Twilight" series

Other winners included Dylan Sprouse (TV actor), Selena Gomez (TV actress), Peyton Manning (male athlete), Candace Parker (female athlete), "American Idol" (reality show), "SpongeBob SquarePants" (cartoon) and Guitar Hero World Tour (video game).

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Post from: Film Gecko

Well, this news isn’t good. I just read in Variety that DreamWorks Animation’s net income fell 45% last quarter to $52 million, from $94 million the year before.

Even though sales of “Kung Fu Panda” DVDs generated $102 million during the quarter, revenue still fell 31% to about $200 million, down from $290 million.

Hmmm, this is a little different report than I posted earlier this month. I don’t know about you, but I’ll be one sad puppy if this company, which helmed films like “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa,” “Over the Hedge,” and “Flushed Away” takes a dive.

CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg said in a statement that he thinks 2009 will be driven by more “Madagascar,” as well as “Monsters vs. Aliens,” the company’s first 3D release which opens in theaters March 27, 2009.

“We believe that Monsters vs. Aliens will reset the bar for what moviegoers should expect from a CG animated film,” Katzenberg said.

I hope so. I’m pulling for you, DreamWorks!

Image: Paramount/DreamWorks Animation

Post from: Film Gecko

Danny Boyle wins outstanding directorial achievement in feature film for "Slumdog Millionaire," Director’s Guild of America. It’s the runaway hit of the season, and I’m sure this little flick will score big at the Oscars, too. In his acceptance speech, Boyle said, "Dream hard."

"Kung Fu Panda" wins best animated feature, Annie Awards. In fact, it picked up ten awards, which seems surprising to me, given that one of the other nominees was "Wall-E." 

Vikas Swarup and Simon Beaufoy win a Scripter Award for "Slumdog Millionaire." Wow, what a group of nominees, though, including "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "The Reader," and "Revolutionary Road." I’m glad I don’t have to pick the best out of these great screenplays.

"Slumdog Millionaire" wins outstanding movie cast at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Heath Ledger wins best supporting actor for "The Dark Knight," which also took home the award for film stunt ensembles at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

"Slumdog Millionaire" earns a best picture award from the Producers Guild of America.

"Wall-E" wins best picture of the year from the Online Film Critics Society, while "The Dark Knight" picks up four awards, including director (Chris Nolan), best supporting actor (Heath Ledger), cinematography (Wally Pfister), and original score (James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer).

Stay tuned!

Image: Slumdog Millionaire, TM and copyright, 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, All Rights Reserved; The Dark Knight, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2008; Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Post from: Film Gecko

He recently talked up his company’s resilience to the global recession and outlined its film slate through 2012, including new installments to the "Madagascar" and "Kung Fu Panda" franchises. "Kung Fu Panda 2" is scheduled for a June 2011 release, and "Madagascar 3" for summer 2012.

It’s somehow comforting to think that family movies might not be swayed by a spiraling economy. You have to wonder why. Maybe it’s because family movies are usually a good way to spend time together. And they’re also a fun escape from any dire financial situations we might be facing.

I’ve often thought that people go to light-hearted movies more during hard times. It takes our mind off of things, offers a good escape from the world, and is just plain fun, no matter what’s going on outside the theater.

Katzenberg has a more scientific theory as to why DreamWorks is doing well. He says it’s because the company isn’t dependent on advertising and subscription businesses, which "clearly sets us apart," he said at the company’s recent investor and analyst day in midtown Manhattan.

Analysts have cited DWA’s pure-play entertainment focus as a major reason why the company’s stock has fared better than that of its peers in recent years. See? Back to my escapist theory. 

"Panda," "Madagascar 2," and "Shrek 3" have pulled in $2 billion at the global box office. "Panda" and "Madagascar 2" will end the year inside the top 10 films of 2008.

Upcoming are 2009’s "Monsters vs Aliens," and 2010’s fourth "Shrek," "How to train your Dragon" and "Mastermind."

"There is tremendous resilience in movie going," said Katzenberg. "Wal-Mart and McDonald’s are about the only businesses that can say that … the greatest value and bargain that exists today is going to your local theater."

Images: DreamWorks Animation; The Hollywood Reporter

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1) “Kung Fu Panda” – a really cute animated movie featuring the voice talents of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, and Angelina Jolie. Read my review here.

2) “Secrets of the Furious Five” - a straight-to-DVD sequel to “Kung Fu Panda” that has Po the Panda and the Furious Five facing Shifu’s biggest challenge. Read more about both movies here.

THE GIVEAWAY: I have ONE package to give away (includes both movies). To enter the contest, simply leave a comment on this post by midnight on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2008. Be sure to include a valid email address. A winner will be drawn randomly. I’ll email the winner for their snail-mail address after the contest ends. Good luck!

Image: Amazon.com

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Stevenson recently directed “Kung Fu Panda,” which went over well as a family movie. I dunno … is “He-Man” pegged as a family movie? And even if it isn’t, I guess we don’t have to pigeonhole Stevenson into just one genre, right?

Any thoughts on this?

Image: Amazon.com

Post from: Film Gecko