Everybody's Linking for the Weekend

I am running off to a Mother's Day brunch in a few hours, so up I'm early for our linking today!  Let's see what we missed this week!

On Entertainment...

-Katherine Heigl's show State of Affairs has been cancelled, posing the question of what's next for the (former, let's be honest here) movie star.  At only 36, she's hardly past her prime in terms of still landing movies and has a gay-themed comedy out later this year, but I wonder if the star of hits like Knocked Up and 27 Dresses can actually make it to a second phase in her career-her public battles with Shonda Rhimes, the high-profile cancellation of her NBC series, and perhaps most critically, the major tanking of the Stephanie Plum franchise (which could have been HUGE if the film had been successful as there's a major fan-base for the Janet Evanovich series, particularly amongst middle-aged women), have left her with no major hit in four years.  Very few actors can go that long (save Ryan Reynolds) without Hollywood starting to pull-back.  If I were her I'd take a year off and then try my hand at an Indie drama or something of that ilk where she's working for scale but might win back the critics.

-Legendary R&B singer Ben E. King passed away this week.  King didn't always receive the same sort of plaudits that some of his contemporaries like Smokey Robinson did, but he had a dynamite voice and had some of the finest songs of the era, first as lead singer of The Drifters ("There Goes My Baby," "Save the Last Dance") before embarking on a solo career with "Spanish Harlem" and the picture-perfect "Stand By Me."

-As my brother put it, "do we have another Grey Gardens on our hands?" with the news that Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman will costar in an adaptation of Liane Moriarty's Little Big Lies.  For those of you who don't partake in constant conversations about show business awards, this is an allusion to the Emmy/Globe/SAG battles that took place between Grey Gardens' stars Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore.  The two Oscar winners will be joined by a third actress considering the book has three key roles for women-wonder if they'll go with the theme of blonde Oscar winners and pick Charlize Theron?  We shall see!

On Politics...

-One of the principle reasons I'm excited for debates in the presidential elections for the Democrats is that it will push Hillary Clinton to talk about a few pet issues of Democrats that we definitely want amped up in the next administration, principally surrounding climate change.  As we learned this past week, we had yet another warmest quarter on record, and California's tragic drought continues to ravage the state (thankfully Gov. Jerry Brown has realized the correlation and started to pass massive environmental law changes, but we need all 49 other states to get on board as well).  In other related environmental news, we saw another reason for Gov. Brown's need for change to California laws: air pollution.  A list of the ten most air-polluted cities in America included four in the Golden State.  It's worth noting that these cities are almost certainly getting more air pollution due to the increased amount of dust in the air, causing in some cases an entire month of unhealthy breathing.  Like almost every environmental cause, getting climate change under control would solve this, but instead we get presidential candidates like Marco Rubio who think it's no big deal.  And for the record (this link should always be shared), here is a link to the list of senators who think that Climate Change is real and man-made.  If your senator voted no, I suggest you write them or at the very least don't vote for them the next election.

-The United Kingdom had what was one of the more shocking election results in recent history, when David Cameron, after running neck-and-neck in polls, saw his majority increase and defied all of the polling.  After rather abysmal results in the Midterms in November and in Israel earlier this year, one has to wonder if polling, at least in its traditional model, is going the way of the dodo.  Honestly, I don't recall three elections being so out-and-out wrong, and political insiders ranging from Nate Silver to David Axelrod all seem to agree.  Labour will also have to do a lot of soul-searching.  Ed Miliband, who hasn't been able to unify the English and Scottish elements of his party, ended up losing both and had to resign as leader, while Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats learned five years later how much the members of his party hated his deal with the Conservatives, watching his party all-but-evaporate from Parliament.  Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper, and perhaps even Ed Milband's brother David (whom he had a famously public battle with for the leadership position in 2010) all are the leading contenders, but after the shellacking they received this past week, they have their work cut out for them.

-The Providence Journal eviscerated former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee over his purported plans to run for president, and I have to say that I agree, and I wish that the press would have such a discerning eye when it came to the Republican side of the aisle.  Chafee, who has been a member of three different parties in recent years, has an unimpressive tenure as governor (he wouldn't even have won the primary) and his term in the Senate was as a Republican-in what universe does that translate into a Democratic nominee?  That being said, people like Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina continue to inexplicably get press coverage.  Carson is famous for giving one speech in 2013 and for filling the Pat Robertson-void in the Republican primary (which, let's face it, is already being filled by Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee).  Carly Fiorina's two most public endeavors were universal failures (her tenure at Hewlett-Packard and her 2010 Senate bid).  These people have absolutely no right to the press coverage they are receiving, and have the same shot at being president as I do.

Shameless Self-Promotion of the Week...

The Harries brothers need to stop getting so attractive, as it's going to create conspiracy theories.

YouTube Video of the Week...

-Rupert Everett shares a rather hilarious story about a night out with Princess Margaret on The Graham Norton Show

Just One More...

-Time magazine has a fascinating look at the political views of Laura Ingalls Wilder, who was a Libertarian before that became a thing, and has finally seen her autobiography come to life on the Bestseller list.  In fact, I recommend you also read this article to get the full picture, as the memoir has become one of the hottest books of the season and is being printed. by a seven-person team in the middle of South Dakota (hardly what you'd typically consider a publishing hotspot).

Oscar Trivia: Stars Without an Oscar-Nominated Film

There are a lot of perks with being a movie star.  Global fame, money, free clothes, international platforms, legions of fans, people fawning over you, and you’re probably already gorgeous so you had that going for you to begin with.  However, one of the less-noted pieces of fame is that you generally have an Oscar-nominated film or two in your repertoire.  In fact, it’s extremely difficult to come up with a list of genuinely famous actors who have not been in an Oscar-nominated film (which is what I did below) and more importantly, it’s going to be a lot harder next year as many of the below actors are in major motion pictures that could be part of the Oscar conversation.

You may be thinking that this is a super easy game to play, but it’s not, as it isn’t just Meryl Streep and George Clooney movies that get nominated for the Oscars.  Adam Sandler, for example, starred in Click which was nominated for Best Makeup.  Miley Cyrus was the voice of a little girl in the Oscar-nominated Bolt.  Mike Myers had a bit part in Inglourious Basterds.  Kevin James had a role in Monster House.  By-and-large, if you’re famous enough to open a movie, you’re probably famous enough to have been in an Oscar-nominated film.  However, the ten below actors have never been (through my checking on IMDB) in an Oscar-nominated film and regularly star in motion pictures.  Let’s jump in and see when they got the closest/and if they have a shot this year!

Jessica Alba

Lifetime Gross: $931 million

Biggest Hit: Fantastic Four ($154 million)

Highest-Rated (all highest-rated according to Rotten Tomatoes Freshness Rating): Stretch

Best Shot She Had: I would assume it would be Sin City, which got nominated by the Sound Editors branch for a Golden Reel Award and received a number of critical awards from the St. Louis, Washington DC, and San Diego critics groups.

Does She Have a Shot This Year?: Doubtful-if the first Sin City film couldn’t make it, I have little confidence that its sequel will.

Jennifer Aniston

Lifetime Gross: $1.41 billion

Biggest Hit: Bruce Almighty ($242 million)

Highest-Rated: The Iron Giant

Best Shot She Had: Considering that it was in the years before the Animated Feature category, the reality is that the critically-celebrated The Iron Giant was never going to be a genuine player.  However, none of Aniston’s other films came close to being nominated, so I’m going to go with Iron Giant in perhaps a writing category (had the Animated Feature category existed at the time, Aniston wouldn't be on this list).

Does She Have a Shot This Year?: As we discussed earlier this month, absolutely; Aniston is, in my opinion, one of the current frontrunners for Best Actress and could score not only a nomination, but a nomination for herself with Cake.

Zac Efron

Lifetime Gross: $813 million

Biggest Hit: Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax ($214 million)

Highest-Rated: Hairspray

Best Shot He Had: If there’s a genuinely surprising person on this list, it would be Efron, who has been in some films with major shots at the Oscars.  Hairspray and The Paperboy both got Golden Globe nominations for acting, and Me and Orson Welles scored an acting nod at the BAFTA’s.  All-in-all, I think that he’s probably been the closest of any of these ten actors.

Does He Have a Shot This Year?: Not really-Neighbors was a big hit, but it’s not Oscar BAIT in the slightest.

Tina Fey

Lifetime Gross: $530 million

Biggest Hit: Megamind ($148 million)

Highest-Rated: Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me

Best Shot She Had: Megamind was a contender in a particularly competitive year for Animated Feature, but that Box Office might have helped it had the year gone five-wide.  I would assume, though, that Mean Girls could have been a contender in Best Screenplay if it had been the phenomenon upon release that it is now, so I’ll go with that.

Does She Have a Shot This Year?: Yes, kind of.  While I don’t 100% know if the Elaine Stritch documentary should count, she definitely was a key player in Muppets Most Wanted, which could end up in the Best Original Song category, as that franchise frequently scores music nods.  A little more Box Office would certainly have helped her odds, though.

Katherine Heigl

Lifetime Gross: $745 million

Biggest Hit: Knocked Up ($148 million)

Highest-Rated: King of the Hill (not the hit FOX animated series, but instead an early 1990’s Steven Soderbergh drama)

Best Shot She Had: I would assume that at some point Judd Apatow was in contention for a writing award considering the critical acclaim and box office he typically gets.  Knocked Up is the most likely contender of his films to have gotten some votes in that column.

Does She Have a Shot This Year?: No-Heigl is far more concerned about the ratings of State of Affairs, her highly-anticipated return to television than she is getting an Oscar-nominated film on her résumé this year.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

Lifetime Gross: $1.639 billion

Biggest Hit: Fast and Furious 6 ($239 million)

Highest-Rated: Racing Dreams

Best Shot He Had: He's been in a couple of major visual effects feasts, principally The Mummy Returns, which would have been his best shot at a nominated film.

Does He Have a Shot This Year?: No-neither of the two Hercules movies is a film many people will remember a week after they saw it, much less months later for a high honor.

Lindsay Lohan

Lifetime Gross: $492 million

Biggest Hit: Freaky Friday ($110 million)

Highest-Rated: Teenage Paparazzo

Best Shot She Had: Bobby at one point was supposed to be an awards contender, but only got cited by the SAG Awards, and working with Robert Altman usually results in a citation for acting or directing, but A Prairie Home Companion couldn't quite cut it in that regard.

Does She Have a Shot This Year?: No-Lohan doesn't even have a film out this year, I believe, and is far more focused on-well, being a tabloid fixture?  Everything she touches lately turns to lead (not even Oprah could save her), so I am assuming this isn't going to happen, and she won't be considered a movie star in the same way the other nine are in a few years.

Kellan Lutz

Lifetime Gross: $1.48 billion

Biggest Hit: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse ($300 million)

Highest-Rated: Love is All You Need

Best Shot He Had: You may question Kellan Lutz as a movie star, but he's headlining films now and has made more box office than most people on this list, so I'm going to stick with him for now.  Probably the only chance he had was during the Twilight series when it came to Best Original Song, as there were a number of hits from those films that could have been contenders if Oscar had been willing to look past the glittering vampires.

Does He Have a Shot This Year?: The Legend of Hercules doesn’t really seem Oscar-worthy even by the low standards of Best Makeup, so no.

Paul Rudd

Lifetime Gross: $1.143 billion

Biggest Hit: Monsters vs. Aliens ($198 million)

Highest-Rated: Casting By

Best Shot He Had: Probably either Clueless or The Perks of Being a Wallflower, both critically-acclaimed, particularly for their screenplays, but probably left off of the list due to the youth-oriented aspects of the films.

Does He Have a Shot This Year?: No-his movie with Amy Poehler They Came Together barely made a blip on the radar screen (did you know it was released)?

 Channing Tatum

Lifetime Gross: $1.721 billion

Biggest Hit: The Lego Movie ($257 million)

Highest-Rated: Foxcatcher

Best Shot He Had: Honestly, maybe Magic Mike?  Matthew McConaughey easily could have scored a nomination for the film, though if we don’t count that, than perhaps Public Enemies (Art Direction) or GI Joe (Visual Effects).

Does He Have a Shot This Year?: He’ll be off of this list this year.  Tatum not only has the critically-acclaimed Foxcatcher making plays for writing, acting, and Best Picture, but he has two animated films that could factor into the Animated Feature race: The Lego Movie and The Book of Life.

There are the eight-what are your thoughts?  Who gets off this list first?  What major actors am I missing?  And which actor that I name-checked that does have a nominated film are you most surprised to see included?  Share in the comments!