What’s up Universe?

My name is Benjamin Zidel and I am the lead producer and director for Good Natured Dog Productions Music Videos. It is part of my duty as a member of this elite production squad to have supreme survival skills, make everyone homemade meatballs AND write a blog every now and again (Once a week, I know AJ.) I have never written a blog before so yes, blog virgin, be gentle…here goes nothing!

Unless you work in a coal mine, you would know Spring has arrived and you can feel the city embrace the new season with open, loving arms. We missed you. Along with the warm weather comes a plethora of ‘Happy For Life’ things. No matter what point you are in your life, these things should/could make us/you/me happy.

Happy For Life Things

1.) Driving with the windows down, radio up, wind through the hair! When it’s 75 degrees 12 days before April Fools’, it’s like torrenting great weather, get it while you can!!!

2.) Dining on the patio of your favorite restaurant with the game on, a bucket of icy brews with your best buds and some hot wings. Simply awesome.

3.) Live music begins to blossom in the city with outdoor concerts, festivals and local shows taking hold of the night life. It’s when the biggest bands begin their lengthy national tours and local acts hit the best bars Boston has to offer. Which leads me to a few homegrown music troupes I wanted to share with our readers. Below you will learn a bit about each group and where you can see them perform next!

ChillSet – A widely influenced (blues/acoustic/jazz,/motown) trio of roommates that eat, sleep and breath music makin’, ChillSet is poised to ascend to the next level in 2012. They recently released their first music video for “PLAYiN’ DiRTY” and will be debuting their new album “GutterTown” next month. Hailing from Medway, MA, ChillSet will host a live concert event at The Middle East in Cambridge, MA to celebrate the release of the album on April 14th, 2012. Tickets $10 (proceeds donated to The Jimmy Fund)

Now these guys have been playing music a long time, all over the place stylistically in previous bands. But once they figured out their style, the chemistry really developed. I have difficulty finding bands to compare ChillSet to and it’s a totally refreshing problem to have. ChillSet has a level of fun infused in their style of performing, interacting with the crowd, humorous banter between band members, lest we forget their love of alcoholic libation, really creates a memorable experience. They always bring it and everyone leaves happy.

Link to video:

Doctor Doom Orchestra – “The Doctor Doom Orchestra is a 7 piece Reggae / Hip Hop / Funk band also out of Boston, Massachusetts. Their diverse sound touches on more than the 3 genres, although those are the most present when listening to DDO.

Their vocals combine Smooth R & B mixed with raspy rock & conscious to the point raps. Their instrumentation & musical arrangements build a mesh of sounds that holds the attention of audience of all ages and preferences.

The most appealing aspect of this powerhouse band is their willingness to share the spotlight amongst all 8 members. In a world filled with Icons, All-stars & heroes DDO truly embodies the spirit of a all for one and one for all attitude.”

Haven’t seen DDO yet but it will happen soon! Can’t wait. shout out to Dave Pratt.

Next Show: March 23rd CD Release show @ The Elevens (Northhampton, MA) Tickets $7

Link to video:

Wobblesauce – “Based out of Boston, Wobblesauce brings an eclectic mix of live electronic funk, rock, and dance music! Combining Mike McCarthy’s sick-nasty synth lines with Jake Boynton’s disco/dubbed out basslines, Cody Rountree lays down fat beats and monstrous fills on the drums!

Wobblesauce has wobbled Boston venues such as Harper’s Ferry (opening for Emancipator,) Great Scott, Wonder Bar, and Wadzilla Mansion. New York shows include Thumpty Manor, Hartwick College, and Lovin Cup.”

I saw them at The Wonder Bar in Allston, MA and fell completely head over heels with their other worldly sound. I highly recommend seeking out their show “Wobble Wednesday” at the Wonder Bar, cheap appetizers, solid drinks, face melting electro jam band. Ya dig?

Next show: March 30 @ The Middle East (Cambridge, MA) Tickets $13

Link to video:

Watch. Enjoy.

Here are the expert opinions of Raymond Lisi for your enjoyment!

Photo by Amy Hobbs

BEST PICTURE

Nominees:
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
Tree of Life
War Horse

Let’s admit it, this has been a sub-par year for film, and there’s a good chance your favorite
movie of the year is not among those competing for the Best Picture Oscar. This makes for one of
the least interesting Academy Awards in some time, and an even duller Best Picture race. Right
now betting against The Artist would probably be a foolhardy move. But I can’t shake this feeling
in my gut that we’re about to see a Crash-esque upset by The Help. I am not bold enough a
soothsayer to predict that, but don’t be surprised at all if The Help pulls of the upset. This awards
season has been a stagnant one, with most of the winners locked up long ago. But in the months
leading up to the nominations, most of the categories felt pretty locked up too. Then we were
treated to a plethora of surprise inclusions and snubs on nominations day. I have a feeling the
ceremony itself will go the same way.

Will Win: The Artist
Should Win: Tree of Life
Possible Upset: The Help

BEST DIRECTOR

Nominees:
Michel Hanazavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick, Tree of Life

This lineup looks like a cineaste’s dream: Malick, Allen, Scorsese, Payne. But it’s the guy that
no one has heard of who has the best chance of taking home the gold, a la Tom Hooper for The
King’s Speech last year. After winning the DGA, Hanazavicius seems like a lock for the award,
but the amount of surprise nominees and even more surprising snubs this year has me thinking
that the critics and guilds’ tastes this year won’t mirror the Academy’s (see Best Actor below).
That is why I’m predicting a win for The Tree of Life’s Terrence Malick. No matter you’re
opinion of Tree of Life, the Academy seems to love Mr. Malick and I think they will reward him
this year for his career as cinema’s most ambitious philosopher.

Will Win: Terrence Malick, Tree of Life
Should Win: Terrence Malick, Tree of Life
Possible Upset: Michel Hanazavicius, The Artist*

*I know he shouldn’t be considered an upset because he’s the front-runner, but it’s my article and
I can do whatever I want in it.

BEST ACTOR

Nominees:
Demian Bechir, A Better Life
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
George Clooney, The Descendants
Gary Oldman, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

This is the most heated category of the year, with every nominee a legitimate threat to win.
Dujardin is the handsome, charming, new guy in the group. He smiles often and has a good sense
of humor. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s the star of the beloved Best Picture front-runner. But will
voters have flashbacks of the mistake that was Roberto Begnini? Mr. Dujardin is certainly not
as goofy or hyperactive, but he isn’t the kind of dramatic heavyweight that his fellow nominees
are. George Clooney is the most liked man in Hollywood, but with a win here he will have
gotten 7 nominations in 6 years and two wins, which seems excessive even for Mr. Clooney. He
is very good in The Descendants, but not Best Actor-winning good. The exact same sentiment
goes for Brad Pitt in Moneyball (who should have been nominated for his career-best work in
The Tree of Life). Demian Bechir is a hard-working and stalwart actor whose reward was the
nomination itself. Which leads me to Gary Oldman. He is considered by many as one of, if not
the, best actors working. That this is his first nomination is astounding. Many of today’s most
accomplished actors often cite him as a source of inspiration and his performance in Tinker,
Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a master class in subtlety. After winning the Golden Globe and SAG
awards, my brain is telling me to pick Mr. Dujardin. But my gut says Mr. Oldman will pull off
the upset.

Will Win: Jean Dujardin
Should Win: Gary Oldman
Possible Upset: Gary Oldman

BEST ACTRESS

Nominees:
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Before we start, I must confess something: I’m madly in love with Viola Davis. She radiates
intelligence, warmth, strength and beauty. She will win this award and most likely give the best
speech of the night. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s look at the rest of the nominees. The
response to Albert Nobbs was lukewarm, and it looked like a vehicle designed solely to win
Glenn Close an Oscar. The same goes for Meryl Streep and The Iron Lady. Don’t get me wrong,
Meryl Streep is probably the best thespian alive today, but it’s become sort of a tradition over
the last 30 years to nominate her once every few years, but give the award to someone else.
That could change this year, however. Rooney Mara and Michelle Williams are very talented
actresses and each did fine work in their respective films, but the chances of either one winning in
a category featuring powerhouses like Streep, Close and Davis are slim.

Will Win: Viola Davis
Should Win: Viola Davis
Possible Upset: Meryl Streep

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Nominees:
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max Von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

This category has, by all accounts, seemed locked up for months. Christopher Plummer has
swept all of the major awards (Critic’s Choice, Globe, SAG) and whatever critic’s awards he
didn’t win went to non-nominee Albert Brooks (who should be listed above). But there has been
a sentimental surge for surprise nominee Max Von Sydow lately, and some are saying he could
pull a last-minute upset. Either way, whoever wins will become the oldest winner of the award
in history, with Von Sydow and Plummer both being 82 years old. Perhaps the best example of
how strange this year has been for the Oscars, my favorite performance out of the listed nominees
didn’t come from legends like Von Sydow, Plummer, Nolte or Branagh, but from Jonah Hill,
previously known only for his work in raunchy comedies. Nick Nolte officially owns the gruff
and gravel-voiced-man-looking-to-redeem-himself role, and the Academy has now acknowledged
that fact with a stamp of approval. Kenneth Branagh proves once again what a renaissance man
he is with his fifth nomination for playing Sir Laurence Olivier in My Week with Marilyn. All five
of his nominations have come in different categories: Best Actor, Best Director, Best Adapted
Screenplay, Best Short Film-Live Action, and now, Best Supporting Actor.

Will Win: Christopher Plummer
Should Win: Albert Brooks (but Jonah Hill works too)
Possible Upset: Max Von Sydow

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Nominees:
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help

Not a very strong category this year and they completely ignored Judy Greer, who gave one of the
years best performances PERIOD with about 10 minutes of screen time in The Descendants, and
nominated Jessica Chastain for the wrong movie. But, I digress. This category, much like Best
Supporting Actor, has been sewn up for a while now. Octavia Spencer has swept all the major
awards and gives very genuine, heartfelt acceptance speeches. Those two factors all but guarantee
a win. At least this year the Academy had the good sense to nominate Melissa McCarthy for her
hilarious work in the otherwise over-rated Bridesmaids. Because the film suffers when she is
not on screen was a strange blessing for her, and helped her avoid the Academy’s tendency to
overlook massively popular comedic performances. If anyone is going to pull an upset, it more
than likely will be her.

Will Win: Octavia Spencer
Should Win: Melissa McCarthy
Possible Upset: Melissa McCarthy

MY PICKS FOR THE REST…

Original Screenplay: Midnight in Paris
Adapted Screenplay: A Separation
Cinematography: Tree of Life
Editing: The Artist
Art Direction: Hugo
Sound Mixing: War Horse
Sound Editing: Transformers
Costume Design: The Artist
Original Score: The Artist
Original Song: The Muppets
Foreign Language Film: A Separation
Documentary Feature: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Animated Feature: Rango
Visual Effects: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Makeup: Harry Potter
Live Action Short: The Shore
Animated Short: A Morning Stroll
Documentary Short: The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Oh Editing! One of my favorite pastimes. Much of a film can be sculpted in the editing room. You get to take the raw material put forth by the director and crew, to stitch together the story. It’s such a thrill, as the story starts to become clear, and when you can solve problems in Post. Ahhhh yes…FIX IT IN POST!!!

The Artist

Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius

The Descendants

Kevin Tent

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall

Hugo

Thelma Schoonmaker

Moneyball

Christopher Tellefsen

The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement

In the days leading up to Barack Obama’s victory in the 2008 election, a former civil rights activist looks back on the early days of the movement.

Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin – First Academy Award nomination.

God is the Bigger Elvis

In 1963, actress Dolores Hart, best known for her roles opposite Elvis Presley and her performance in the teen drama WHERE THE BOYS ARE, chose to leave Hollywood behind and become a Benedictine nun.

Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson – First Academy Award nomination.

Incident in New Baghdad

U.S. Army Specialist Ethan McCord recalls the tragic incident in Iraq that triggered his debilitating post-traumatic stress disorder and altered his view of the war.

James Spione – First Academy Award nomination.

Saving Face

A British-Pakistani plastic surgeon works to help women who have been injured in acid attacks, while his patients struggle to come to terms with the aftermath of their disfigurement.

Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy – Second Academy Award nomination.

The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

In the wake of the devastating tsunami in Japan, the people of the region hardest hit by the disaster draw a measure of hope from the annual cherry blossom season as they fight to rebuild their lives.

Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen – Second Academy Award nomination.

Belgium, “Bullhead”

For Jacky, a young man working on his family’s cattle farm in eastern Belgium, the crime ring surrounding the use of banned growth hormones represents both a financial opportunity and the possible exposure of his own troubled past.  With an old friend urging him to agree to an illegal deal, Jacky finds himself drawn into a dangerous web that has already resulted in the death of a policeman investigating the ring.

Michael R. Roskam, director – Sixth Academy Award nomination for Belgium

Canada, “Monsieur Lazhar”

Bachir Lazhar has emigrated from his native Algeria to Canada, where he is awaiting approval of his asylum application.  When he is hired as a substitute teacher at a French-Canadian school, Bachir finds that he is often ill-equipped to deal with his new students and their shock over their previous teacher’s death.

Philippe Falardeau, director – Sixth Academy Award nomination for Canada.

Iran, “A Separation”

When an Iranian couple separate prior to their divorce, a chain of events is set in motion that will affect the future of two families.  After his wife’s departure, Nadar hires a woman named Razieh to care for his elderly father, but complications in Razieh’s own life give rise to an escalating series of problems.

Asghar Farhadi, director – Second Academy Award nomination for Iran.

Israel, “Footnote”

Talmudic scholar Eliezer Shkolnik has devoted his career to an exhaustive study of varying versions of the Jewish texts in an effort to ascertain as nearly as possible the exact form of the original works.  Dismissed by his fellow academics, Eliezer resents the popularity and success of his son, Uriel, whose less rigorous studies have won him wide recognition.

Joseph Cedar, director – Tenth Academy Award nomination for Israel.

Poland, “In Darkness”

As the Nazis begin the deportation of the city of Lvov’s Jewish population, a group of people seeks refuge in the city’s sewers.  With a local sewer inspector who moonlights as a thief serving as their only link to the outside world, the group faces the seemingly impossible task of creating a subterranean hiding place that will protect them for the duration of the war.

Agnieszka Holland, director – Ninth Academy Award nomination for Poland.

Albert Nobbs

In nineteenth-century Ireland, a shy hotel waiter named Albert Nobbs has spent years concealing a secret.  After meeting an outgoing painter who has chosen a different approach to an identical dilemma, Albert begins to consider abandoning a decades-long strategy of solitude and self-denial.

Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston – First Academy Award nomination for both.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

In the final chapter of the story of the boy wizard, Harry Potter faces his greatest challenge in his battle against the evil Lord Voldemort.  As Harry and his friends seek the remaining enchanted items containing parts of Voldemort’s soul, they must also prevent the dark lord from gaining possession of three magical objects — the Deathly Hallows — that would render Voldemort invincible.

Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin – First Academy Award nomination for all.

The Iron Lady

Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s struggle to cope with the vicissitudes of old age is interwoven with an exploration of her stunning rise through the ranks of the British Conservative Party and her long, often controversial tenure as its leader.  While her public life is dominated by her political ideology, the center of her private life remains her loyal husband, Denis.

Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland – First Academy Award nomination for both.

The Adventures of Tintin

When Tintin buys a model of a ship called the Unicorn, his curiosity is piqued by two men who both try to convince him to sell it.  Learning that the ship holds an important clue to the location of a hidden treasure, the boy reporter soon finds himself swept up in a dangerous adventure.

John Williams – This is his Forty-Seventh Academy Award Nomination.

The Artist

As the era of silent films draws to a close, two actors find their careers and their relationship influenced by the coming of talking pictures.  While popular screen star George Valentin resists the transition to sound, young Peppy Miller embodies a modern age that is leaving Valentin behind.

Ludovic Bource – First Academy Award nomination.

Hugo

Hugo Cabret is a young Parisian orphan who lives hidden away in the vast Gare Montparnasse train station.  When he is not eluding the station’s watchful inspector, secretly keeping its many clocks running, or tinkering with a mechanical figure that belonged to his father, Hugo observes the lives of the people who work in the station…including an irascible toy shop owner named Georges Méliès.

Howard Shore – Fourth Academy Award nomination.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

When a botched mission leaves no doubt that Britain’s intelligence agency, MI6, has a double agent among its top men, longtime agent George Smiley is recalled from his forced retirement to undertake an investigation.  Drawing on his years of knowledge and experience, Smiley begins unraveling the threads in the complex skein that makes up the dark world of international espionage.

Alberto Iglesias – Third Academy Award nomination.

War Horse

The horrors of war are seen through the eyes of a valiant horse whose young owner must relinquish him to the army at the start of World War I.  Separated from the farmer’s son who has raised and trained him, Joey enters the war as a cavalry horse and is soon plunged into the nightmarish heart of the conflict.

John Williams – Forty-Sixth Oscar nomination.