Trent Reznor + Wife Mariqueen Maandig + Zachary Levi + Mandy Moore: The Oscars

Trent Reznor and wife Mariqueen Maandig.

Trent Reznor and wife Mariqueen Maandig at the Oscars

Sporting an ultra-cool look, Trent Reznor and wife Mariqueen Maandig, both members of the hip, experimental band How to Destroy Angels, arrive at the 2011 Academy Awards ceremony held on Feb. 27 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

Trent Reznor, formerly the frontman of the alternative rock group Nine Inch Nails, and fellow How to Destroy Angels band member Atticus Ross went on to share the Best Original Score Oscar for their work on David Fincher’s Facebook movie The Social Network.

After Reznor’s Oscar win, “I want to thank you like an animal” became a Twitter hit – in reference to a similar-sounding line found in the Nine Inch Nails’ 1994 song “Closer.”

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ Oscar 2011 competitors were:

• Hans Zimmer, at one point the favorite for the Best Original Score Academy Award, for his work on Christopher Nolan’s Inception.
• A.R. Rahman for Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours.
• John Powell for Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders’ How to Train Your Dragon.
• Alexandre Desplat for Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech.

‘The Social Network’: Trent Reznor feature film debut – as composer

As found on the IMDb, The Social Network is the first feature film to have music (co-)composed by Trent Reznor. Adapted by Aaron Sorkin from Ben Mezrich’s The Accidental Billionaires, the film stars Best Actor Oscar nominee Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, Justin Timberlake, Max Minghella, Josh Pence, and Rooney Mara.

Reznor’s next big-screen effort will be another collaboration with David Fincher: a Hollywood remake of the international Swedish blockbuster The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, starring Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig.

In front of the camera, Reznor has been seen in small roles in:

• Paul Schrader’s Light of Day (1998). With Michael J. Fox. Gena Rowlands. Joan Jett.
• Maria von Heland’s Recycled (2000). With Peter Lohmeyer. Amanda Ooms. Ingo Hasselbach.

Trent Reznor and wife Mariqueen Maandig were married in 2009.

Update April 2015: Last year, Trent Reznor once again joined forces with David Fincher, co-writing with Atticus Ross the music for the psychological thriller Gone Girl, starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike.

Trent Reznor and wife Mariqueen Maandig photo: Richard Harbaugh / © A.M.P.A.S.

Zachary Levi and guest: Tangled singer on the Oscars’ Red Carpet.

Zachary Levi

Pictured above is Zachary Levi and a guest on the 83rd Academy Awards’ Red Carpet on Sunday, Feb. 27, just outside the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

At the Oscar ceremony, Zachary Levi and Mandy Moore performed “I See the Light,” a Best Original Song nominee – music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater – from the animated feature blockbuster Tangled.

The 2011 Best Song winner turned out to be Randy Newman’s “We Belong Together,” from another animated feature, Toy Story 3 – last year’s biggest domestic box office hit.

Zachary Levi’s movie debut took place in Mark Douglas Miller’s comedy short Reel Guerrillas (2005), while his feature film debut was in a supporting role in John Whitesell’s comedy Big Momma’s House 2 (2006). Most notably, he was seen in Betty Thomas’ Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009), with David Cross and Jason Lee.

Zachary Levi will next be seen in Ryan Schifrin’s short No Rest for the Wicked: A Basil & Moebius Adventure, also featuring veteran Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange).

On television, Levi is best known for the TV series Less Than Perfect and Chuck. In the latter, he plays computer nerd Chuck Bartowski.

Photo of Zachary Levi at Oscars 2011: Ivan Vejar | © A.M.P.A.S.

Mandy Moore: Tangled voice actress/singer on the Academy Awards’ Red Carpet.

Mandy Moore

A regal, silver-dressed Mandy Moore is seen above on the 2011 Academy Awards’ Red Carpet. As mentioned earlier in this article, during the Oscar ceremony Moore and Zachary Levi sang “I See the Light” from Disney’s animated hit Tangled, a musical about the Rapunzel fairy tale.

“I See the Light” was one of four nominees for the Best Song Academy Award. The other three were:

• “If I Rise” by A.R. Rahman (music), Dido (lyrics), and Roland ‘Rollo’ Armstrong (lyrics), from 127 Hours.
• “Coming Home” by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges, and Hillary Lindsey, from Country Strong.
• And the eventual winner, “We Belong Together” by Randy Newman, from Toy Story 3.

Tangled performed quite well at the U.S. and Canada box office, but Lee Unkrich’s Disney-Pixar release Toy Story 3 was the year’s biggest commercial hit.

Mandy Moore has been appearing in big-screen productions with some regularity since 2001. Titles include John Turturro’s all-star Romance & Cigarettes (2005), with Susan Sarandon and Kate Winslet; Richard Kelly’s Southland Tales (2006), with Seann William Scott and Lou Taylor Pucci; Ken Kwapis’ License to Wed (2007), with Robin Williams and John Krasinski.

Mandy Moore photo on the Oscars’ Red Carpet: Darren Decker | © A.M.P.A.S.

Steven Spielberg and daughter Destry Spielberg: Academy Awards’ Red Carpet.

Steven Spielberg and daughter Destry

Steven Spielberg and daughter Destry Spielberg arrive at the 83rd Academy Awards, held on Feb. 27 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

Spielberg has taken home two Best Director Oscars: Schindler’s List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998). Schindler’s List also won Best Picture, but Saving Private Ryan lost to John Madden’s Miramax-distributed Shakespeare in Love.

There was quite a bit of animosity at the time, as some felt that Miramax, owned by brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein, overdid its Oscar campaigning – while still managing to sway enough Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members to vote for its film.

Somewhat ironically, at the 2011 Academy Awards ceremony Steven Spielberg presented the Best Picture Award to The King’s Speech. Toplining Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush, Guy Pearce, and Claire Bloom, this British production was distributed in the United States by none other than The Weinstein Company, chaired by Bob and Harvey Weinstein.

Upcoming Steven Spielberg films

Steven Spielberg has completed filming the thriller Bridge of Spies, from a screenplay by Joel and Ethan Coen, and starring Tom Hanks, Amy Ryan, Alan Alda, Mark Rylance, Austin Stowell, and Sebastian Koch.

Additionally, Spielberg is currently working on The BFG – no relation to the expression “BFF” – based on a Roald Dahl novel, and featuring, among others, Mark Rylance, Rebecca Hall, Ruby Barnhill, Bill Hader, and Penelope Wilton.

Announced Spielberg movie projects include:

• It’s What I Do, to star Best Actress Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) as wartime photographer Lynsey Addario.
• Montezuma, from a screenplay by Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List, Moneyball), adapting an original by blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo – one of the Hollywood Ten – whose efforts included Roman Holiday, The Brave One, Spartacus, and Johnny Got His Gun.
• The sci-fier Ready Player One.

Destry Spielberg is the director’s daughter with his Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom leading lady Kate Capshaw. Spielberg had been previously married to Best Supporting Actress nominee Amy Irving (Barbra Streisand’s Yentl).

Steven Spielberg and daughter Destry Spielberg photo: Darren Decker | © A.M.P.A.S.

Matthew Libatique and Andrew Weisblum.

Oscar-nominated cinematographer Matthew Libatique and editor Andrew Weisblum

Pictured above are Black Swan cinematographer Matthew Libatique and editor Andrew Weisblum on the 2011 Oscars’ Red Carpet, just outside the Kodak Theatre. Both Libatique and Weisblum were shortlisted for their work on Darren Aronofsky’s psychological drama starring Best Actress Oscar winner Natalie Portman.

The 2011 Academy Award winner for Best Cinematography was Wally Pfister for Christopher Nolan’s Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, and Michael Caine.

Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall shared the Best Film Editing Oscar for their work on David Fincher’s The Social Network, featuring Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, and Rooney Mara.

‘Black Swan’ cast

Besides Natalie Portman, Black Swan also features Mila Kunis, Winona Ryder, Barbara Hershey, Vincent Cassel, and Benjamin Millepied. The low-budget production has grossed more than $200 million worldwide.

Cinematographer Matthew Libatique and editor Andrew Weisblum photo: Richard Harbaugh / © A.M.P.A.S.

Annette Bening and Warren Beatty on the Oscars’ Red Carpet.

Best Actress nominee Annette Bening and husband Warren Beatty

Smiling radiantly, Best Actress Academy Award nominee Annette Bening and husband Warren Beatty are seen above as they arrive at the 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, held on Feb. 27, ’11, at the Kodak Theatre, located in the world-renowned (but locally not all that prestigious) Los Angeles suburb of Hollywood.

Annette Bening was in the running for her performance as the lesbian companion / wife to Julianne Moore and mother / adoptive mother of Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson in Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids Are All Right. Bening lost the Best Actress Oscar to Natalie Portman for her mentally unbalanced ballerina in Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan.

Annette Bening: Four Oscar nominations

The Kids Are All Right was Annette Bening’s fourth Academy Award nomination. Her previous ones were:

• The Grifters (1990). Best Supporting Actress.
  Director: Stephen Frears.
  Winner: Whoopi Goldberg in Jerry Zucker’s Ghost.
• American Beauty (1999). Best Actress.
  Director: Sam Mendes.
  Winner: Hilary Swank in Kimberly Peirce’s Boys Don’t Cry.
• Being Julia (2004). Best Actress.
  Director: István Szabo.
  Winner: Once again Hilary Swank, this time for Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby.

As can be seen above, Annette Bening has yet to take home an Academy Award, though late last year she was the New York Film Critics Circle’s Best Actress for The Kids Are All Right.

Warren Beatty Best Actor Oscar nominations

Warren Beatty has never won a Best Actor Oscar either. However, he did come out on top in the Best Director category for Reds (1981), a romantic-historical drama starring Beatty himself, Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson, and Maureen Stapleton.

Warren Beatty’s four Best Actor nominations were for the following:

• Bonnie and Clyde (1967).
  Director: Arthur Penn.
  Cast: Faye Dunaway. Gene Hackman. Estelle Parsons. Michael J. Pollard.
  Winner: Rod Steiger in Norman Jewison’s In the Heat of the Night.
• Heaven Can Wait (1978).
  Director: Warren Beatty and Buck Henry.
  Cast: Julie Christie. Charles Grodin. Dyan Cannon. Jack Warden. James Mason.
  Winner: Jon Voight in Hal Ashby’s Coming Home.
• Reds (1981).
  Director: Warren Beatty.
  Cast: Diane Keaton. Jack Nicholson. Maureen Stapleton.
  Winner: Henry Fonda in Mark Rydell’s On Golden Pond.
• Bugsy (1991).
  Director: Barry Levinson.
  Cast: Annette Bening. Ben Kingsley. Harvey Keitel.
  Winner: Anthony Hopkins in Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs.

Photo of Annette Bening and Warren Beatty on the Oscars’ Red Carpet: Darren Decker / © A.M.P.A.S.

Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg: ‘The Kids Are All Right’ director and screenwriter at the Academy Awards.

‘The Kids Are All Right’ director Lisa Cholodenko and screenwriter Stuart Blumberg

The Kids Are All Right writer-director Lisa Cholodenko and screenwriter Stuart Blumberg, both nominated for the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, are pictured on the 2011 Oscars’ Red Carpet.

Starring Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, and Josh Hutcherson, the comedy-drama The Kids Are All Right tells the story of a “lesbian family” – two mothers (Bening, Moore); their two children (Wasikowska, Hutcherson) – whose (mostly) happy household is nearly torn apart after the kids’ biological father and semi-anonymous sperm donor (Ruffalo) comes into their lives.

The Kids Are All Right director Lisa Cholodenko and screenwriter Stuart Blumberg photo: Darren Decker / © A.M.P.A.S.

Gary Gilbert and Jordan Horowitz, ‘The Kids Are All Right’ producers.

‘The Kids Are All Right’ producers Gary Gilbert and Jordan Horowitz on the Red Carpet

Seen above are Best Picture Oscar contender The Kids Are All Right producers Gary Gilbert and Jordan Horowitz on the 83rd Academy Awards’ Red Carpet, just outside the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

A curiosity: Gary Gilbert was nominated as one of The Kids Are All Right producers; Jordan Horowitz was not. Barring a handful of exceptional cases, according to Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences regulations only three producers per film are eligible to receive an Oscar nomination.

The nominated producers of The Kids Are All Right were Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, and Celine Rattray.

‘The Kids Are All Right’: Oscar nominations

Ultimately, The Kids Are All Right lost the Best Picture Oscar to Tom Hooper’s British period drama The King’s Speech, starring Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush, Guy Pearce, and veteran Claire Bloom.

As mentioned earlier in this post, Best Actress nominee Annette Bening lost to Natalie Portman for Black Swan. Besides, Best Supporting Actor nominee Mark Ruffalo lost to Christian Bale for David O. Russell’s The Fighter. And Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg lost in the Best Original Screenplay category to David Seidler for The King’s Speech.

Photo of The Kids Are All Right producers Gary Gilbert and Jordan Horowitz: Ivan Vejar / © A.M.P.A.S.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (A.M.P.A.S.) website.