urjnasw xkfjjkn just texted me reminding of the Academy Awards, aka Oscar, would be take place this Sunday, February 24th. Looking at the long list of the movies and actors/actresses/etc. nominated this year, I would think this year’s competition should be interesting. All the big names are there, from directors to actors and actresses, Steven Spielberd, Ang Lee, Ben Affleck, George Clooney, Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Bradley Cooper, Denzel Washington just to name a few. Whoever go home with empty hands would be a lost.
According to abc.com, here’s a sneak peek of it.
THE OSCARS — Seth MacFarlane hosts the outstanding film achievements of 2012 televised live by the ABC Television Network and in more than 225 countries worldwide, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24 (8:30-11:30 p.m., ET). The Oscars will include multi-platinum selling singer-songwriter Adele performing the Oscar-nominated theme song from the latest James Bond movie, and Barbara Streisand singing at the event for the first time in 36 years. The show will also feature a tribute to the James Bond movie franchise, which is celebrating its 50th Anniversary. Oscar Best Picture Chicago will reunite the cast on the 10th anniversary of their win during a special celebration of movie musicals of the last 10 years. In addition, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Norah Jones will perform the Oscar-nominated theme song from Ted, “Everybody Needs a Best Friend,” and the cast of The Avengers will be on hand to present.
Best Picture Oscars Nominations 2013
Best Actor Oscar Nominations 2013
Best Actress Oscar Nominations 2013
So, I told urjnasw I was rooting for Les Mis, and urjnasw replied he loved it too. It is his all-time favorite musical. Here’s a piece of information from wikipedia for those of you who don’t know of it.
Les Misérables (pron.:/leɪˈmɪzərɑːb/ or /leɪˌmɪzəˈrɑːb/; French pronunciation: [le mizeˈʁabl]), colloquially known as Les Mis orLes Miz/leɪˈmɪz/, is a sung-through musical based on the novel of the same name by French poet and playwright Victor Hugo. It has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, original French lyrics by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, with an English-language libretto by Herbert Kretzmer. Set in early 19th-century France, it is the story of Jean Valjean, a burly French peasant of abnormal strength and potentially violent nature, and his quest for redemption after serving nineteen years in jail for having stolen a loaf of bread for his starving sister’s child. Valjean decides to break his parole and start his life anew after a kindly bishop inspires him to, but he is relentlessly tracked down by a police inspector named Javert. Along the way, Valjean and a slew of characters are swept into a revolutionary period in France, where a group of young idealists make their last stand at a street barricade.
The musical was originally conceived and produced in France, before its English-language adaptation, which opened at theBarbican Centre in London, England, on 8 October 1985, where the production overcame bad reviews through word of mouth, launching what has turned out to be a global phenomenon.
Until today, Les Mis is still the most long-time run international musical in the world. By international, I meant it was translated into 21 languages and performed around the world since its birth in 1985. I love the 10th year anniversary concert in London which was released to a DVD with all the big names in musical theater. The 20th year anniversary concert is also a good one. My favorite Lea Salong went from Eponine in the 10th year version to Fantine in the 20th year version. She played, of course sang, superb in both of the shows; however, to me Lea was the one Eponine, period. Watch her On My Own and A Little Fall of Rain to see what a fine singer/actress she is.
I can go on and on all day about this musical, but I’d rather stop here. Just one last thing to say, if you haven’t watched this, please do. If you are not into musical theater, I would recommend you see the movie first, because with movies it’s always easier for you to get the story line and of course the visualization parts would help a lot. Once you’re familiar with the story, go back to either 10th or 20th year anniversary version. The video quality in the 10th year version is somewhat under today’s average, but let me tell you that’s what they called the All-Dream Cast. Each singers are experts in their own roles like Michael Ball, Ruthie Henshall, Lea Salonga, Phillips Quast, and the original Jean Vajean, Colm Wilkinson. In the 20th version, you’ll get more decent video quality and some actually really good singing like Alfie Boe, Ramin Karimloo, and Lea Salonga again. However, I’ll leave it to you for opinions are subjective, aren’t they?
By the way, the movie will be released on March 22. I watched it twice in the theater but will absolutely have to own one too.
Finger crossed for Les Mis this Sunday!! Also, urjnasw will be in town again on that day. How awesome is that!! Now I’m wondering what urjnasw will do and where he’ll watch the Oscars. Should I invite urjnasw over? Hmm… decision decision…
Stories of urjnasw xkfjjkn and me 