Do You Really Want to Say "No" to Anton Chigurh?

Whenever major award nominations are announced, there's always immediate talk of "who got snubbed" because he/she didn't receive a nomination. But for the most part, especially with the Oscars, most actors who turn in note-worthy performances end up being recognized in some way. Movies are so pervasive in our culture that if someone does something really amazing in one, someone's going to notice. But with that said, sometimes a mind-blowing performance does fall through the cracks, either because the actor's film didn't get enough recognition, or the actor doesn't have enough "buzz" around himself. And then sometimes, the entire industry just commits one big, colossal fuck-up. And so far, it looks like the latter might have occurred in the case of recognizing Javier Bardem for his performance in "Biutiful".

A few weeks ago, we started noticing how many critics were mentioning that they wished that Bardem would win some recognition for his performance as a Spanish underworld figure who is dying of cancer and attempts to put his life in order before his demise. The movie caused a stir at Cannes last year, but for some reason after almost thirty different critics awards have been given in the past few weeks, there hasn't been one mention of Bardem..
A few weeks ago, the director of "Biutiful", Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, told Eonline.com that he screened his film for actor Sean Penn a year ago, and when it was over, Penn was speechless for 15 minutes, stunned at Bardem's performance. And now, today, Julia Roberts was quoted as saying that she thought Bardem should get an Oscar nomination, saying that, "If there's not hope for talent, then we're (expletive)."
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(javier bardem and julia roberts in "eat pray love")

So with this kind of acclaim, why hasn't Javier Bardem won one single trophy in this movie award season so far? It's a head scratcher. But let's face it, sometimes, as a people, we're more like sheep than human beings with their own minds, and when someone makes the first move to honor someone, everyone else just follows along. And sadly, it looks like no one made the first move this year to recognize Bardem. It's especially strange considering that Bardem just won an Oscar three years ago for "No Country For Old Men", so it's not like he's not on the radars of Hollywood awards-givers. But don't panic, something tells us that Bardem might still get an Oscar nom. In Hollywood, when Sean Penn and Julia Roberts speak, people listen.
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In related Javier Bardem news, Bardem has made no secret of the fact that he's dying to be on the hit t.v. show, "Glee". He's told anyone who will listen that he and the show's producer, Ryan Murphy, have discussed that Bardem would play a heavy-metal rock-and-roller. But lately, Bardem has told several reporters that he hasn't received a script yet, and that he fears his lack of a singing ability might hurt his chances to be on the show. Really? Javier, please, having no ability to sing has nothing to do with being on "Glee". And yes, we're looking at you, Britney.

"Ugly Betty" Made Us Want to Hurt Someone, Too

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Normally we write about A-List actors here at East Village Afternoon, but today, it's all about the bit actors..

(at right: michael brea,

at left: luca argentero)

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Michael Brea, 31, had small roles in "Ugly Betty" and "Step-Up 3D", but has just won himself a starring role, that of a lifelong inmate in a New York state prison, coming soon. Brea was arrested yesterday at his apartment in Brooklyn, New York, after police say that he held his mother hostage and then murdered her with a samurai sword while screaming Bible passages. Neighbors heard screams coming from an apartment at about 1:30 a.m. and saw blood splattered on the apartment windows. Responding officers had to subdue Brea with a taser, and found that the body of Brea's mother was badly hacked, decapitated and stabbed multiple times. Wow. It's okay, Michael, calm down, Bristol Palin didn't win, it's going to be alright.
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On a happier note, we've got our eye on an up-and-comer who we hope to soon see more of. 32 year old actor Luca Argentero became famous in Italy in 2003 when he was a contestant on Italy's version of "Big Brother", afterwhich he got some t.v. hosting gigs and then, luckily for us, posed for a beefcake calendar. From there he climbed the career ladder in Italy very quickly, getting t.v. acting roles, then short films, then feature films. We might finally be seeing more of him in the U.S., though, as he just had a small role in the Julia Roberts vehicle, "Eat Pray Love". Although Argentero's just been cast in a new mini-series for Italian t.v., at this moment he doesn't have any other Hollywood films in the works. But Ryan Murphy, the director of "Glee", was his director in "Eat Pray Love", so come on, Ryan, can't you find a place for Luca in the halls of William McKinley High? Couldn't Sue Sylvester use a personal masseuse whose shirt falls off a lot?

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Eat Me, Julia Roberts

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We predicted a few months back that the Julia Roberts vehicle "Eat Pray Love" would do well, and we were right. The film opened last weekend, and was only beaten at the box office by the all-star action flick, "The Expendables", starring Sylvester Stallone.
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But we're sure, as we also said back then, (click on "Movies - Eat Pray Love" in the Labels list at the right of this page), that "Eat Pray Love" was helped a great deal by the fact that Roberts' co-stars were three of the sexiest men in Hollywood, James Franco, Javier Bardem and Billy Crudup. Hell, we'd see the movie for James Franco alone, even if it did mean sitting through 90 minutes of Julia Roberts.
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Next up for James Franco is Danny Boyle's "127 Hours" in which Franco plays real-life Aron Ralston, the mountain climber who found himself trapped on a mountainside in Utah when a boulder rolled onto his arm, and he had to go to horrific lengths to free himself. Boyle won the Best Director Oscar for 2008's "Slumdog Millionaire".
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But we're more excited about the movie that Franco is currently filming. Believe it or not, they're making a prequel to "The Planet of the Apes", the 1968 Charlton Heston sci-fi classic which spawned a very popular five film franchise. "Rise of the Apes", which co-stars the "Slumdog Millionaire" beauty, Frieda Pinto, will tell the story of how the apes gained the ability to speak, which eventually helped them to overthrow their human masters.
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Actually, there was an earlier revisit of the "Planet of the Apes" franchise, a remake of the original film in 2001 which starred Mark Wahlberg, but we're just going to pretend that one didn't happen.
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(Click on "Actors - James Franco" in the Labels list at the right of this page to read our other posts about James Franco.)