Tag Archives: Best Actress

Quvenzhané Wallis Gets An Aplology For The Onion’s Tweet

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Quvenzhané Wallis Gets An Aplology For The Onions Tweet

By Caitlin Beck

The Onion deserves to be chopped for its tweet about 9-year-old “Beasts of the Southern Wild” star and Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis on Sunday. And the Internets agree.

The tweet from the satirical publication read, “Everyone else seems afraid to say it, but that Quvenzhané Wallis is kind of a c—t, right? #Oscars2013.” Although the post was deleted an hour after being posted, the twitterverse was already outraged and lashing out at the site.

Via Vulture, The Wire’s, Wendell Piece tweeted, “@TheOnion Identify the writer. Let him defend that abhorrent verbal attack of a child. You call it humor I call it horrendous, ” later adding, “It doesn’t matter what the intent was, it was offensive and they should apologize to Quvenzhane.” The Onion later issued an official apology for their mistake, writing, “It was crude and offensive—not to mention inconsistent with The Onion’s commitment to parody and satire, however biting.”

Wallis was the youngest ever to be nominated for Best Actress, and was up against Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain, Naomi Watts and Emmanuelle Riva for the Oscar, which ultimately went to Lawrence for her role in “Silver linings Playbook.” Still, she has plenty to celebrate. The young actress has confirmed that she will be playing the lead role of “Annie” in the Jay-Z and Will Smith remake of the classic that is set to hit theaters in 2014.

Oscars: The Seven Youngest Academy Award Nominees Ever

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Oscars: The Seven Youngest Academy Award Nominees Ever

By Beckett Mufson

If Quvenzhané Wallis wins at this year’s Oscars, she will be the youngest Academy Award winner ever. If she doesn’t win, she will still be among the elite dramatic forces of small children who are good at pretending to be other small children, which is a respectable accomplishment. Each of these starlets earned a permanent place in the day care of cinema history, and are the standard that child actors everywhere are measured against.

Here they are the best of the youngest and the youngest of the best the Academy has ever seen.

Justin Henry, 8 years-old, for “Kramer vs. Kramer”
Justin Henry is the leader of this prestigious bunch because of his Best Supporting Actor nod for playing Billy Kramer in “Kramer vs. Kramer” (1979). His childlike honesty and earnestness are the heart and soul of the film, earning him his place as the youngest Academy Award nominee of all time.

Quvenzhané Wallis, 9 years-old, for “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Nine-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis’ portrayal of Hushpuppy in “Beasts of the Southern Wild” (2012) illustrates a vastly different perspective on childhood than the metropolitan family crisis that earned Justin Henry his nomination. Hushpuppy plays with rodents and bugs instead of toys, and tears apart crabs with her bare hands instead of having her dad make her French toast. She’s the beastly Incredible Hulk to Henry’s prim and proper Captain America, but both actors convey the same childlike innocence that brings movies about family to the next level. This innocence, combined with her compelling reaction to some very adult problems, puts her in the top tier of the ferocious competition for Best Actress of 2013.

Jackie Cooper, 9 years-old, for “Skippy”
“Skippy” came out in 1931, so it was among the earliest films to participate in the Academy Awards. Thus when Jackie Cooper was nominated for the Oscar at a mere nine years of age, he didn’t have much competition for the imaginary award of “Youngest Nominee Ever.” That said, his interpretation of Skippy was still spot on, highlighting the highs and lows (mostly lows) of Depression-era class struggles. He held the title of youngest Oscar nominee until 8-year-old Justin Henry swept it away in 1979.

Mary Badham, 10 years-old, for “To Kill a Mockingbird”
The classic novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” received acclaim on every level in 1960 when it was published, and the 1962 film adaptation starring film legend Gregory Peck followed suit. Mary Badham‘s nomination for Best Supporting Actress was among a whole slew of awards that marked “To Kill a Mockingbird” as one of the most celebrated films of the decade. Badham’s Scout Finch lives the typical life of a tomboy in a small Alabama town (if there is such a thing) until her father, Atticus, defends a black man in court. Badham’s performance stunningly captures a child struggling to deal with race and isolation in pre-Civil Rights Movement America.

Abigail Breslin, 10 years-old, for “Little Miss Sunshine”
“Little Miss Sunshine” (2006) was at the forefront of the mid-2000s indie movie boom that redefined the reinvigorated the field’s mainstream appeal. It had everything the perfect indie movie needs: a soundtrack of pop rock hits, the hand drawn titles that show just how unique and nostalgic the movie is, and a quirky female main character. While the first two aspects have become somewhat cliche pillars of the indie genre, the quirky female is expertly executed by Abigail Breslin. Her desire to win the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant while maintaining her quirky integrity (all the way through the supremely uncomfortable strip tease) is as believable as it is heartwarming (which is a lot).

Tatum O’Neal, 10 years-old, “Paper Moon”
Tatum O’Neal is the youngest person to emerge victorious from the vicious, sometimes disgusting battlefield that is Oscar season. At 10 years old, she played Addie Loggins in “Paper Moon” (1973), the tale of a con man and the girl who may or may not be his daughter. The movie begins on a decidedly depressing note: with Addie’s mom’s death and subsequent funeral. The story quickly picks up as Addie embarks on a heartwarming journey to her aunt’s house, finding happiness where she least expected it: with the con man who may or may not be her dad. Her heartwarming performance made her the youngest winner for Best Supporting Actress and the youngest person to win an Oscar in any category. Unfortunately for Tatum, Quvenzhané Wallis is creeping up her turf, and may snatch that honor out from under her aging feet at Sunday’s award ceremony.

Quinn Cummings, 10 years-old, “The Goodbye Girl”
Last, but not least, Quinn Cummings was nominated for her performance as Lucy McFadden in Neil Simon‘s classic rom-com, “The Goodbye Girl” (1977). Lucy is put in a classic American predicament in this Oscar-heavy film: her single mother is about to helplessly fall in love with some dude (but that dude is the hilarious Richard Dreyfus, so I guess we don’t blame her), and it’s up to her to make sure he’s a decent fellow. Every scene with her and Dreyfus is hilarious, and the end gets you right in the feels. Dreyfus himself puts it perfectly talking to the mom: “Listen, I can’t stand you, but you got a ten year-old in there I’m nuts about.”

You Decide The Academy Awards: Best Actor And Actress

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We are officially in day two of MTV Movies Blog’s reader-voted version of the Academy Awards. The polls for the Best Supporting categories are now closed, with the winners being revealed this Saturday (Feb. 23).

Watch MTV’s official Oscars roundtable and see our predictions!

Today we turn our attention to the main acting categories, Best Actor and Best Actress, and the decisions get that much harder. With no clear cut favorite, the reader choices will be all the more interesting.

Vote in the polls after the jump!

Polls close tomorrow (2/21) at 3 p.m. ET, so vote now!

idpu oscar You Decide The Academy Awards: Best Actor And Actress

Don’t forget to tune in for our Oscars red carpet live stream Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ET on MTV.com.

Stick with us for everything about the 2013 Oscars including nominees, predictions and full fashion coverage!

Jennifer Lawrence At SAG Awards: What Wardrobe Malfunction?

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Attention, amateur fashion police! Your concerns over Jennifer Lawrence’s SAG Awards dress — which appeared to have ripped Sunday night when Lawrence made her way to the podium to accept her Best Actress trophy — were unfounded. The navy dress, made by Christian Dior Couture, was designed with a split in the fabric, which, in motion, looked like a tear.

According to a statement from a spokesperson at Christian Dior Couture, there was no rip and no malfunction whatsoever.

“The dress is made with different levels of tulle and satin and that is what the viewers saw when Jennifer lifted her dress slightly,” a rep from the fashion design house told USA Today. “It was not ripped, and there was no malfunction … it was the design of the gown.”

Who did we pick for best dressed at the 2013 SAG Awards?

We are so relieved to hear this news, particularly because the buzz about the possible rip in Lawrence’s dress was starting to overshadow the happiness surrounding her win and the fact that she delivered yet another excellent awards acceptance speech. This time around, she gave good ol’ MTV a shout-out, because as it turns out, Lawrence received her entry into the Screen Actors Guild because of a promo she shot with the network way back when.

“I want to thank MTV. I’ll explain that,” she said. “I earned my SAG card when I was 14 — I did an MTV promo for ‘My Super Sweet 16,’ and I remember getting it in the mail and it being the best day of my life because it made me an official actor and put me in a category with you.”

Did you think Jennifer’s dress had ripped or did you know all along? Let us know in the comments!

SAG Awards 2013: Winners And Losers

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The Screen Actors Guild Awards can work as a rather dependable predictor of who will take home trophies in the acting categories just a few weeks later. The winners and losers Sunday night are largely those who cemented their Oscar hopes and those who may have to say goodbye.

As we turn the corner toward the Academy Awards, the winners and losers at Sunday’s ceremony may look familiar in a few weeks, so those with an Oscar pool to win might want to pay attention.

These are the winners and losers of the 19th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards:

Winner: Jennifer Lawrence
The war of Jennifer versus Jessica may have very well come to an end at the SAG Awards. With “Zero Dark Thirty” still battling criticism in the press and Lawrence’s stock on the rise, the Best Actress race appears to be favoring the star of “Silver Linings Playbook,” who once again collected an award despite questionable health. Pneumonia or not, Lawrence jumped into the lead.

Loser: Opening Sequence Jokes
SAGs, listen: We get that you’re not a “fancy” awards show with a “host” or anything, but since that’s the case, you don’t have to try to be funny. Spare us the red-carpet shot of Jessica Chastain looking “Zero Dark Flirty” or making us listen as you tell Ben Affleck, “Argo grab your seat.” Puns have had better nights.

Winner: “30 Rock”
The big TV story of the night was a fond farewell to Tina Fey’s brilliant, but tragically under-watched, “30 Rock.” Though the comedy missed out on the ensemble awards, both Fey and Alec Baldwin (he wins every year) collected awards for the final season.

Loser: Best Picture Nominees That Aren’t “Argo”
When the Ben Affleck-directed thriller collected the Golden Globe for Best Picture – Drama, many took it as a nice redemptive note for the Oscar-snubbed director, but with the SAG win for Best Ensemble, a Best Picture win at the Oscars is looking more and more likely for “Argo.”

Winner: MTV
Thanks, Jen. We love you too.

What did you think about the winners and losers at the SAG Awards? Let us know in the comments!

Jennifer Lawrence Makes Herself The Target On ‘SNL’

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If there’s one thing viewers learned from the latest episode of “Saturday Night Live,” it’s that Jennifer Lawrence sure doesn’t mind poking fun at herself. As the host for the evening, the “Silver Linings Playbook” actress took multiple opportunities to make light of recent news headlines as well as “The Hunger Games” franchise.

Fresh off her Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical win at the 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards, Lawrence started strong with her opening monologue, which made fun of what some thought was a dis toward Meryl Streep during her ceremony acceptance speech. “I would never trash talk any of my fellow nominees at the Golden Globes, but the Oscars are another story,” she said with sass, before throwing jabs (and closing praise) at her fellow Oscar nominees, even including 9-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis. “You think you can beat me? Whatchu talkin’ bout, Wallis? Also, the alphabet called. They want their letters back,” she told the audience. Much like the real Tommy Lee Jones during last Sunday’s award show, an impersonator in the crowd kept a poker face, at least for most of her jokes.

When Lawrence wasn’t playing a wannabe New York lesbian bandmate or a contestant on a canine version Top Chef, she kept the self-targeted jokes coming, particularly during a skit where she reprised her “Hunger Games” role as Katniss Everdeen for a news conference only a short 10 minutes following Everdeen’s win in the film.

Sitting alongside a lookalike Games’ character, the District 12 warriors were bombarded with a series of silly questions like “What the hell kind of name is Katniss Everdeen?” and “Have you been using performance enhancement drugs?” But one of the best questions came from a reporter (naive to the annual tournament’s concept), who asked: “Did you have a chance to speak with any of the other competitors after the game?” Exchanging confused looks with her male tribute, Everdeen replied, “They’re all dead…That’s how the ‘Hunger Games‘ work.”

Lawrence hit another high note during her cameo in “SNL“‘s trailer film parody of “The Hobbit” and its never-ending sequels. In “Hobbit 10: The Elf Queen Tries To Pick An Outfit,” Lawrence appears as the elf queen with long blonde hair and contemplates which white dress she should wear. “We are going to be so late,” says one hobbit, to which she barks back, “No we aren’t!”

As the Luminers teased with MTV News in rehearsals, the 2013 Grammy-nominated band continued their PR momentum with a performance of smash “Ho Hey.” While it wasn’t the confetti-filled party like in the song’s video, the fivesome appeared to have just as much fun during the number. Before a red-lit set, the group chanted the feel-good tune as a few of the bandmates hopped and pranced beside each other. Returning to the Studio 8H stage just a few skits later, the folk-rock group performed their second single “Stubborn Love.” As the sounds of guitars, drums and the cello filled the stage, the band wailed the movie soundtrack-ready tune and was met with roar of applause.

“SNL” went old-school, and we mean 1860s old-school as Lawrence ended her hosting duties with a skit about two lovers exchanging letters during the Civil War era. Despite the amount of eloquence and tender love that dripped from her character’s writing, her fiancé’s vapid responses included a photo of his genitals.

“Gregory, we are through,” she says in a final letter. “Harold Thompson has returned honorably from battle. I have accepted his proposal of marriage and burned the photograph you sent of your genitals with the inscription: now you.”

Did you enjoy Lawrence’s “SNL” episode? Tell us what you think below.

Jennifer Lawrence’s Golden Globes ‘I Beat Meryl’ Line Not a Streep Dis

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Tina Fey’s warning to Taylor Swift to “stay away” from Michael J. Fox’s son? That was a joke. Sacha Baron Cohen‘s takedown of Daniel Day-Lewis’ beard-growing skills, also clearly a joke.

But the one ha-ha nobody seemed to get (at least not right away) at Sunday night’s 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards
 was the one made by “Silver Linings Playbook” star Jennifer Lawrence,
 Accepting the award for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical, the frequently irreverent actress marveled at her trophy and blurted, “Oh, what does it say? ‘I beat Meryl!’ “


Some took the comment as a seeming dig at oft-nominated acting legend Meryl Streep, who was not in attendance, but was in the running for her role in “Hope Springs.” As you might expect, the Internet immediately ran hot with slams of the 22-year-old “Hunger Games” star, accusing her of disrespecting Streep, who has been nominated for 27 Globes over the years.

As it turns out, though, Lawrence was merely making a movie geek reference to the 1996 comedy “First Wives Club.” In that flick, Bette Midler‘s character tells Goldie Hawn, “Once you were a terrific actress. You even got an Oscar to prove it.” Midler touches the trophy in the scene and says to Hawn, “‘I beat Meryl.’ That’s what it says.”

Lawrence, a comedy movie geek, who told Vanity Fair in a recent cover story that she has seen “Dumb and Dumber” and “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” multiple times and recently logged her 50th viewing of “There’s Something About Mary,” wasn’t all jokes. She also offered heartfelt thanks to co-star Bradley Cooper, who she said, “make[s] me better every single day,” as well as her parents and brothers for supporting her.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without you being mean to me,” she said about her siblings to laughs from the room. “But then really supportive and loving. So thank you.”

Golden Globes 2013 Prediction: Best Actress

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We’re a little more than 24 hours from the first major awards show of the season: the Golden Globes! As we pass the time until funny ladies Tina Fey and Amy Poehler take the stage to host the annual ceremony, we’re offering up our predictions for the show’s bold-faced categories.

Without further ado, here’s our take on Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama and Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical:

Best Actress – Drama
Despite a pair of Oscar nominations to her name, this year marks Naomi Watt’s first Golden Globe nod — the only actress in the field to have not been previously nominated. Will the first time be a charm?

Who Will Win: It’s been a busy two years for Jessica Chastain, who’s earned back-to-back Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for her roles in “The Help” and “Zero Dark Thirty.” This will no doubt be the year the 35-year-old’s hard work is rewarded. (She’s already off to a good start having nabbed a Critics’ Choice Award.)

Who Should Win: Who should win is less of an open-and-shut case than who will win — Chastain’s not the only actress to have charmed critics this year. Marion Cotillard, Naomi Watts and Rachel Weisz have earned plenty of accolades along the way too. Yet, we’ll give the slight advantage to the “Zero Dark Thirty” star. It’s her time.

Best Actress – Comedy or Musical
Despite a field brimming with Hollywood veterans like Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Meryl Streep, it seems the only one anyone can talk about is relative newcomer Jennifer Lawrence. (Probably for good reason, considering she’s the only actress in this category to also be nominated for an Oscar.)

Who Will Win: Lawrence for “Silver Linings Playbook.” The buzz surrounding the David O. Russell adaptation, and the 22-year-old’s performance in particular, has been near deafening. It’d no doubt be an upset if Lawrence didn’t leave the ceremony with a gleaming orb tucked under her arm.

Who Should Win: This really is Lawrence’s award to lose. A playful performance like hers as Bradley Cooper‘s widowed love interest (and dance enthusiast) Tiffany is the kind of stuff the Hollywood Foreign Press Association goes gaga over.

Can “Zero Dark Thirty” track down victory? Will “Les Miserables” hear the voters sing? Check in with MTV News on Sunday night for the 2013 Golden Globes winners, and don’t miss all the fashion from the Golden Globes red carpet!