academy awards

The 404 1,214: Where we stop shaking and start snooping (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Satire site The Onion apologizes for offensive Oscar tweet.

- Daniel Tosh apologizes on Twitter for rape joke during stand-up routine.

- The most terrifying button on Facebook.

- Billboard starts counting YouTube Hits on its Hot 100 lists, Harlem Shake gets first place.

- Video: Harlem residents respond to Harlem Shake.… Read more

'Brave' nets Pixar its seventh best animated feature Oscar

Although it didn't earn the critical acclaim of "Toy Story 3," "Up," or "Ratatouille," Pixar's 2012 film "Brave" joined those three hits, as well as three other Pixar predecessors, in winning the Oscar for best animated feature.

Beating out fellow nominees "Wreck-it Ralph," "Frankenweenie," "ParaNorman," and "The Pirates! Band of Misfits," "Brave" became the seventh Pixar film to nab the Oscar since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences began awarding the honor in 2002. No other studio has … Read more

Oscar awards show can now be seen online via ABC, Hulu

Those of you who missed the Oscars on TV last night can catch the entire show online.

As of 3 a.m. PT this morning, the full awards ceremony has been available for streaming through several outlets, including ABC.com, the ABC Player app for iOS, the free Hulu site, Hulu Plus, and ABC On Demand.

The streaming Oscars will be available only until this Wednesday at 9 p.m. PT. The online version will also offer its fair share of commercials. But the ads will be short and sweet -- 15 to 30 seconds in length.

"Tonight's … Read more

The Onion deletes offensive tweet about child Oscar nominee

The Onion has deleted a tweet that called 9-year-old Best Actress Oscar nominee Quvenzhane Wallis an extremely offensive name.

In its original tweet, the parody publication -- which is known for its dark humor and for regularly skewering public figures and institutions -- wrote that, "Everyone else seems afraid to say it, but that Quvenzhane Wallis is kind of a c---, right?"

Normally, The Onion is known by its many fans to be joking about almost everything it publishes -- even though its satire is often seen as legitimate commentary on a wide range of issues. But in … Read more

Google debuts event page for Academy Awards ceremony

Google is rolling out the red carpet for the Academy Awards with a destination site that promises to help movie fans "get more from the Oscars."

In a partnership with Oscars organizers, the Web giant has created a resource page to keep people engaged and informed in the days leading up to the awards ceremony on Sunday. While Google has created event-specific sites before, such as its election hub last year, this is the first time it has focused on the Oscars.

In honor of its Oscars debut, Google is making sure it gets as many of its … Read more

Tech wizards behind movie magic honored by Oscars

Most movie fans won't be thinking of the Oscars for two more weeks, but the Academy has already honored some of the innovators who have made significant behind-the-scenes contributions over the years to movie making, including the computer graphics behind "Shrek."

Unlike the Academy Awards ceremony that will be held February 24, which honors only movie achievements of 2012, last night's Scientific and Technical Awards recognized those who demonstrated a "proven record of contributing significant value to the process of making motion pictures" but is not limited to the previous year's achievements.

The … Read more

Why 'Rango' and 'Hugo' won at the Oscars

If there's been one thing you could count on every year since the Academy Awards started honoring animated features, it's that Pixar would walk away with the Oscar. Through last year, six of the studio's eight films won golden statuettes.

But Pixar's 2011 entry, "Cars 2," a box office success but a critical failure, not only didn't win on Sunday, it wasn't even nominated. And that meant a golden opportunity for a slew of other animated filmmakers.

In the end, it was "Pirates of the Caribbean" director Gore Verbinski's &… Read more

Familiar names dominate Oscar visual effects nominations

When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled its Oscar nominations this morning, there were some very familiar names among the honorees.

Joe Letteri, for example. And Tim Burke and Scott Farrar.

These may not be people that appear regularly in the pages of "Us Weekly," but to those who follow the visual effects industry, they're on par with Meryl Streep and George Clooney.

Only one film can win the Oscar for best visual effects, but today, five films were nominated.

As usual, George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic was honored, this year for its … Read more

The 404 978: Where you're today's lucky winner (podcast)

Since Jeff can't attend the 26th annual Game Developers Conference on March 5 in San Francisco, we're doing the next best thing and bringing part of the show to him!

General Manager Meggan Scavio is our guest today and we're getting all the details on the upcoming show, like the split among console, PC, and mobile gaming, the rise of independent game developers, and sequelmania! We'll also rant about 3D games and the convergence of the film and gaming industries.

She'll also join us in the second half of the podcast where we'll run … Read more

Nine Android apps for movie lovers

The road to the Oscars is well under way, with the winners of the Critics' Choice Awards and the Golden Globes having been announced already.

In anticipation of the Academy Awards, here are nine Android apps for movie lovers:

Android apps for movie trailers, showtimes, rentals, and more

1. IMDb IMDb is almost as old as the Internet and has been an Amazon.com company since 1998. The Android app provides a plethora of information on movies and TV shows. You can look up cast bios and photos, watch trailers, check ratings, look up showtimes, and create news alerts on … Read more