Presenters and performances@ Oscars 2015

Here's the skinny on all the presenters and performances at Oscars 2015.

Drool factor: Chris Pine, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jared Leto

Source: Twitter (Hadley Freeman, The Guardian)

Awesome actors who've never won an Oscar

Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp- Being an A-List celebrity who has been immortalized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame doesn’t guarantee an Oscar. Nor does winning a Golden Globe award. Johnny Depp’s films have raked in millions at the Box Office but it’s baffling as to why the actor has never walked away with the golden statue. His performances in Sweeney Todd, Finding Neverland and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was exemplary and Depp got nominated thrice for an Oscar for all three films. But Johnny Depp hasn’t been lucky. What does it take an actor of his caliber to clinch the coveted award?

Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio: He’s smart, handsome and exceptionally talented. That’s Leonardo DiCaprio for you. The actor and producer started his career with TV commercials before doing soap operas like Santa Barbara and Growing Pains. Films naturally followed. Leonardo has established himself in Hollywood with films like Titanic, Romeo + Juliet. The Beach and Catch Me If You Can to name a few. Gangs of New York, Blood Diamond, The Aviator, Inception and The Departed only added to his success. But this Golden Globe winner has never been a recipient of the prestigious Oscar award. Leonardo has been nominated thrice. Films like Blood Diamond, The Aviator and What's Eating Gilbert Grape got him an Oscar nod but not the award. Wonder what causes a talented actor to miss the judges’ eyes. If not Leonardo, then who is the Oscar award fit for?

Richard Gere

Richard Gere: Humanitarian and actor Richard Gere has never won an Oscar and the reasons are obvious. Richard Gere is a Buddhist convert and a staunch supporter of the Dalai Lama. The Pretty Woman actor was banned the Academy 20 years ago when he took to the Oscars stage and used the podium to talk against the Chinese Government. Gere is known to take the cause of Tibetans in exile. Not only was the actor banned from setting foot on the Oscar stage, but he was also banned by the Chinese government from entering China for the stance he took. The actor took to the stage this year to perform a musical with his Chicago co stars Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta Jones and Queen Latifah. But will the Academy forgive him and concentrate on his films rather than his stance to make him eligible for the prestigious award?

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise- It comes a shock rather than a surprise that Hollywood’s highest paid and one of the most successful stars has never won an Oscar! The Mission Impossible series star, whose career spans three decades in Hollywood, is considered as one of the top 100 movie stars of all time, a feat that is difficult to accomplish. Over and over again, Tom Cruise has been voted as one of the world’s 50 most beautiful people and remains an influential figure in Hollywood. Cruise was nominated thrice for an Oscar for his roles in films like Magnolia, Jerry Maguire and Born on the Fourth of July. Did the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences think otherwise?

Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt-In spite of being a heart throb for millions, an actor of Brad Pitt’s caliber has never walked away wit the golden statue. Interestingly, Pitt who has played a myriad of characters over the years has been nominated three times for an Oscar for the films The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Twelve Monkeys and Moneyball. Although Pitt has won other prestigious awards like the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for the same film (Twelve Monkeys) that also got him nominated for an Oscar, he wasn’t lucky there. It comes as a surprise as to why is one of Hollywood’s most popular and highest paid actors snubbed by The Academy?



 

Funniest jokes in Oscar history

Ellen DeGeneres

Before actor Neil Patrick Harris takes the stage to host the 87th Academy Awards, we take a look back at the most humorous lines uttered by its hosts in history.

 Possibility No. 1: 12 Years A Slave wins best picture. Possibility No. 2: You're all racists. And now, welcome our first white presenter, Anne Hathaway! — Ellen DeGeneres (2014)

Dear Academy, I have never seen so many people with Botox in one room in my life. — Ellen DeGeneres (2014)

Django Unchained. This is the story of a man fighting to get back his woman, who's been subjected to unthinkable violence-or as Chris Brown and Rihanna call it, 'a date movie.' — Seth MacFarlane (2013)

So tonight, enjoy yourselves because nothing can take the sting out of the world's economic problems like watching millionaires present each other with golden statues. — Billy Crystal (2012)

We have Robert Downey Jr — an American who played an Australian playing an African American, nominated. Whereas I, who is an Australian who played an Australian in a movie called Australia, am hosting. — Hugh Jackman (2009)

Democrats do have a historic race going — Hilary Clinton vs. Barack Obama. Normally, when you see a black man or a woman president, an asteroid is about to hit the Statue of Liberty. — Jon Stewart (2008)

Clint Eastwood's a star, OK? Tobey Maguire's just a boy in tights! — Chris Rock (2005)

Oscar is, after all, 74 years old! He's almost old enough to get flowers from Anna Nicole Smith. Also, he is the only 74-year-old man in Hollywood who doesn't need Viagra to last three hours. — Whoopi Goldberg (2002)

Hosting is like making love to a beautiful woman. It's something I only get to do when Billy Crystal is out of town. — Steve Martin (2001)

This is the Academy Awards. Warning: contents may cause drowsiness; do not drive or operate heavy machinery. — David Letterman (1994)

I'm here to explain why black people will never be nominated for anything. This show is going out to 75 million people — none of them black. — Richard Pryor (1977)

 

2015 Oscar nominations: Complete list

This year, the Oscars are being hosted by the charming Neil Patrick Harris

The wait for Oscars is almost over. Here is the list of nominees.... Have a good look and support or root/ pray for your favourite...

Best Picture
Birdman
Boyhood
Selma
The Theory of Everything
The Imitation Game
The Grand Budapest Hotel

Actress in a Leading Role Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild Marion
Cotillard, Two Days One Night

Actor in a Leading Role
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper

Directing
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher

Actress in a Supporting Role
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Emma Stone, Birdman
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
Laura Dern, Wild

Actor in a Supporting Role
JK Simmons, Whiplash
Edward Norton, Birdman
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
Robert Duvall, The Judge

Foreign Language Film
Ida
Leviathan
Tangerines
Wild Tales
Timbuktu

Writing - Adapted Screenplay
Graham Moore, The Imitation Game
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
Anthony McCarten, The Theory of Everything
Jason Hall, American Sniper
Paul Thomas Anderson, Inherent Vice

Writing - Original Screenplay
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo, Birdman
Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler
E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman, Foxcatcher

Cinematography
Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman
Roger Deakins, Unbroken
Robert D. Yeoman, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Dick Pope, Mr Turner
Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lynzewski, Ida

Music - Original Score
Hans Zimmer, Interstellar
Alexandre Desplat, The Imitation Game
Johann Johannsson, The Theory of Everything
Alexandre Desplat, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Gary Yershon, Mr Turner

Makeup and Hairstyling
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy

Costume Design
Colleen Atwood, Into the Woods Anna B. Sheppard, Maleficent
Milena Canonero, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Jacqueline Durran, Mr Turner
Mark Bridges, Inherent Vice

Music - Original Song
'Glory' by Common and John Legend, Selma
'Lost Stars' by Gregg Alexander, Danielle Brisebois, Nick Lashley and Nick Southwood, Begin Again
'Everything Is Awesome' by Shawn Patterson, The LEGO Movie
'I'm Not Gonna Miss You', by Glen Campbell, Glenn Campbell: I'll Be Me
'Grateful', Beyond the Lights

Visual Effects
Interstellar
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Captain America: Winter Soldier
X-Men: Days of Future Past

Documentary Short Subject
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Joanna
Our Curse
White Earth
The Reaper

Documentary Feature
Citizenfour
Last Days in Vietnam
Virunga
The Salt of the Earth
Finding Vivian Maier

Film Editing
Sandra Adair, Boyhood
Tom Cross, Whiplash William
Goldenberg, The Imitation Game
Joel Cox and Gary Roach, American Sniper
Barney Pilling, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Sound Editing
Interstellar
Unbroken
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
American Sniper
Birdman

Sound Mixing
Mark Weingarten, Interstellar
Thomas Curley, Whiplash
Unbroken
American Sniper
Birdman

Production Design
Into the Woods
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Interstellar
The Imitation Game
Mr Turner

Short Film - Live Action
Boogaloo and Graham
Aya
Butterlamp
Parvenah
The Phone Call

Short Film - Animated
Feast
The Bigger Picture
A Single Life
The Dam Keeper
Me and My Moulton

Animated Feature Film
Big Hero 6
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Boxtrolls
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Song of the Sea

Blast from Oscars past: Remember these Oscars couples?

On the biggest night in Hollywood, the stars walking the red carpet have some big decisions to make: what to wear, what to say, and maybe the most crucial decision—who to bring.

Over the years, we’ve seen the nominees bring some interesting dates to the Oscars, ranging from long time loves to short-term flings to supportive family members. Take a look at these amazing photos of couples from red carpets past.

Hollywood glam
Oscar night is all about the glamour, and these gorgeous couples took their style and grace from the silver screen to the red carpet.

Warren Beatty and Natalie Wood at the Oscars in 1962: The two starred in the 1961 film "Splendor in the Grass." credit: Hulton Archive / Getty Images

 

Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston at the Oscars in 1976. credit:Ron Galella/WireImage

 

Remember they dated?
Celebrity relationships can come and go in the blink of an eye. Some of Hollywood's biggest stars have been on the awards circuit for so long, we've seen them red-carpet test a number of their relationships. Did you remember that these stars were an item?



Before they became 'Carrie Bradshaw' and 'Iron Man,' Sarah Jessica Parker and Robert Downey, Jr. were side-by-side at the 1989 Oscars. credit: Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images

 

Juliette Lewis and Brad Pitt at the 1992 Oscars (bonus points for the hairstyles). credit:

Jim Smeal / WireImage

Oscar Odd Couples

Talk about a red carpet thriller! Michael Jackson made headlines for almost everything he did, but it was these Oscar dates that had people talking (and scratching their heads).

Michael Jackson and Brooke Shields at the Oscars in 1981. credit: Ron Galella / WireImage

 

The King of Pop with the Material Girl: Michael Jackson and Madonna at the Oscars in 1991. credit: Ron Galella / WireImage

 

It's all relative
On Oscar night, who better to have at your side than a beloved family member? But the relative-as-red-carpet-date can be a little tricky, walking that fine line between "awwww" and "ewww."

In the adorable category:

First-time Oscar nominees Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who took their mothers as their dates to the 1998 Oscars. credit:

Ron Galella / WireImage

 

Too close for comfort:

 

Angelina Jolie and her brother James Haven made everyone feel awkward at the Oscars in 2000. credit:

Mirek Towski / The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett

Which couples will leave their mark on the Academy Awards red carpet this year? We can't wait to find out!

 

(source: today.com)

How about cooking with wine?

Wine can add a great flavour to food during cooking. A few tips on how to not go overboard with this unusual ingredient.

I love cooking with wine. The first time I tried it was when I cooked white sauce pasta with Pinot Grigio. And let me tell you, it turned out to be awesome. It had a smooth texture coupled with a nice aroma of spices blended with wine. So, I researched more online, on how to cook with wine. What I found was extensive, coz you know, Internet has all the answers, but here, in this post I'm sharing with you some basic, but very useful tips...

Wine, conversations and cooking: A great way of enjoying food together

- Wine is a great ingredient to add to your food, if you don't want to use fatty oils or butter. Along with adding tons of flavour to a dish, it also give it a lot of moisture.

- If you are baking pastries, add wine instead of butter. You will get a wonderful light texture for your pastry, plus it will adds many distinct layers of flavours that you won't get otherwise.

- Avoid cooking with sweet wines. Instead, go for dry wines in white or red, because those don't contain nearly as much sugar. When you cook with a sweet wine, the dish will turn out to be extra sweet, because the wine is already full of sugar.

- Whenever you are cooking with any kind of alcohol, you must give it time to burn off, or your whole dish will tastes very alcoholic. So add wine at the beginning of the dish so that it can infuse and mix with all the meats and vegetables.

Food for thought :)

Salman Rushdie's new novel to be out in September

Salman Rushdie

Author Salman Rushdie's new novel, a wonder tale about the way we live, will be launched in September, an official statement said.

Hamish Hamilton, an imprint of Penguin, has acquired the rights of the novel Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights.

"It is a rich and multi-faceted work that blends history, mythology, and a timeless love story to bring alive a world - our world - that has been plunged into an age of unreason," the statement said.

"Inspired by 2,000 years of storytelling tradition yet rooted in the concerns of our present moment, it is a breath-taking achievement and an enduring testament to the power of the imagination," it added.

Rushdie, author of 11 novels, including the popular Midnight's Children, is known for his ability to use "magic realism" in his writings.