Hearty congratulations to producer/filmmaker/one-man studio Roger Corman, who, as announced over the weekend, will be receiving an honorary Oscar to honor his long career and hefty body of work.

In addition to a long career as a producer and director of mainly genre films, Corman has taught many of America’s leading filmmakers their craft, emphasizing creativity and resourcefulness over high-concept and large-budgets. Seriously, the list of filmmakers who apprenticed under Corman is formidable, indeed.

Jamanites around the world can enjoy one of Corman’s most entertaining cult films, A Bucket Of Blood, free on the site. Some may wonder why the maker of a film like this could ever win an Oscar; many others, we suspect, will smile and say it’s about time.

Congratulations, Mr. Corman!

The folks who were apoplectic about the sweep of last year’s acting honors by non-Americans seem to have been stunned silent by the runaway success of Slumdog Millionaire, which took eight Oscars last night including Best Picture and Best Director. As David Thomson points out, this isn’t the first British film to be so honored. Indeed, many Bollywood regulars had their hands in its creation, to a degree that many in India have embraced the film as their own. That a multinational film should enjoy such success in the States, and have such honors bestowed upon it by the Academy, is surely a sign of continued, widespread embrace of world cinema over Hollywood formula.

We’re proud to be able to offer Jaman users two of last night’s winners. The British documentary Man On Wire emerged early as a favorite to win Best Documentary Feature honors – indeed, few narrative crime films released last year offered the same level of thrills (or transcendent joy).

Man On Wire

Tightrope walker Philippe Petit is joined on Jaman by Duchess of Devonshire Georgiana Cavendish. The costume design on The Duchess was an early favorite for the Oscar (the hats alone could have taken the award), and boosts an already-engaging biopic to epic, eye-popping heights.

The Duchess

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees!

The Oscars ceremony was simply amazing this year. Here’s who won:

Best Picture: UN CONTE DE NOEL

Best Director: Fatih Akin, THE EDGE OF HEAVEN

Best Actor: Jean-Claude Van Damme, JCVD:

Best Actress: Asia Argento, UNE VIELLE MAÎTRESSE

Best Supporting Actor: Michael Madsen, BOARDING GATE

Best Supporting Actress: Emily Mortimer, REDBELT

Best Acting Ensemble: HONEYDRIPPER

Best Picture By A Filmmaker Working In A Non-Native Language: FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON

Best Very Short Film: THE ANTHEM, dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Best French Thriller: ROMAN DE GARE

…okay, we had the Oscars a little early in DavidRobsonLand. But we’re not living in DavidRobsonLand (which is probably just as well for everybody) so the Oscars, of course, are happening this Sunday night.

Jaman is a great place for Oscar discussion. In fact, we’ve got some conversations going over in our Forums. Pop in and tell us who you think is going to win! Or, if you’re feeling fanciful, how about letting us know who SHOULD have been nominated?

No matter how one feels about the Oscars, they’re always a fun occasion for wagering. Be sure to enter your picks in Jaman’s Oscar poll: whoever guesses the most awards correctly has a chance at winning a whole year of movies here on Jaman!

Jaman’s best wishes go to all entering the poll, and we wish good luck to all this year’s Oscar nominees!

Not even the rain could take the shine off the premier night in British film, The Orange British Academy Film Awards held at London’s Royal Opera House. The event had a real sense of occasion with a glittering A-list attendance including Brangelina, Mickey Rourke, Penelope Cruz, Robert Downey Jnr, Sharon Stone as well as a host of British Film Royalty.
Jaman took to the red carpet, sucked up the atmosphere and then scurried inside to avoid the rain.
The Royal Opera House is as grand a venue as could be found anywhere for such an event and was packed to the rafters, but being over 150 years old it is not best suited to hold 2,000 plus 21st century beings. After waiting nearly an hour for the stars to file in flight socks maybe should have been advised as part of the black tie dress code to avoid DVTs.
Hosting the event was UK chat show host Jonathan Ross who was finally back from his enforced 3 month exile for being rude to pensioners and he was on best behaviour to curb his language as he was live on the BBC for the night but that didn’t stop others.
At the after party with our guests in tow we then headed off to the party of the night which was the Pathe Slumdog party where we hung out with Bond Girl Gemma Arterton and Courtney Love. The most in demand stars of the night were Dev Patel and Freida Pinto who were surrounded all night, Dev thanked Jaman for our kind words in our BIFA blog from last year. To finish our night off in style we got our hands on a BAFTA when we met Special Visual Effects winner Eric Barba and then headed off to the games room for a game of pool.
At the awards before hand it was Slumdog Millionaire that kept up the charge to Oscar glory with another amazing showing picking up seven BAFTAs in total. Slumdog was named Best Film, Danny Boyle picked up best director and the film also claimed, Adapted Screenplay, Music, Cinematography, Editing and Sound.
Brad Pitt was at the BAFTAs for the first time seeing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button collect three BAFTAs; for Production Design, Make Up & Hair and Special Visual Effects. Pitt was not amongst the winners himself as that honour was Wrestled (sorry I couldn’t resist) from him by the leap from the top rope of obscurity (I will try and stop I promise) by Mickey Rourke to win the Leading Actor award for The Wrestler. A well deserved win which was backed up with the most amusing acceptance speech of the night, just be glad you are not Mickey’s Personal Assistant. Best Supporting Actor award was presented posthumously to Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight which was a sombre point in the night but an important recognition of a lost talent.

In ladies categories Kate Winslet was awarded the BAFTA for Leading Actress for The Reader and the Supporting Actress BAFTA went to Penélope Cruz for her role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

As the Brits were cleaning up at the Grammys stateside so was British talent at the BAFTAs in a great night for British film, In Bruges won the BAFTA for Original Screenplay and The Duchess won the BAFTA for Costume Design. Director/writer Steve McQueen received The Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer for their First Feature Film for Hunger. Jaman caught up with him at the Dinner where he proudly posed for us.
The BAFTA for Outstanding British Film went to the documentary Man on Wire which is a must see and a great achievement for a feature doc to be recognised amongst such strong competition.

I’ve Loved You So Long took away the Film Not in the English Language BAFTA and the award for Animated Film went to Wall•E. Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death won the Short Animation award and the Short Film award was presented to September.

The Academy Fellowship was awarded to Terry Gilliam who as you would expect gave a slightly surreal and zany speech which was very fitting. The award for Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema was presented to Pinewood and Shepperton Studios.

Once the awards were finished we were all shepherded into coaches and moved en mass to the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane in Mayfair. Jaman were joined for diner by ITV and some specially invited guests. Jaman are not sure if it was sour grapes for not picking up any awards, but Brad and Angelina gave dinner the big swerve, we tried to get an extra portion as they were not eating but failed dismally. Midnight was fast approaching and time for the real fun at the after party.

This year all of the after parties were held at the same venue (except Weinstein who held their bash at almost the polar opposite of town) which was maybe a sign of the global economic climate. Not deterred by this Jaman hit the dance floor and enjoyed live music from The Feeling who performed some fantastic covers as well as there own material.

Jaman had time to chat with Noel Clarke, director and star of Adulthood who won The Orange Rising Star Award.
This award recognises an international actor or actress who has demonstrated exceptional talent and has begun to be recognised as a film star in the making.
For more pictures from the night click here.
Here is the full list of the nominees and winners.

You can’t throw a stick these days without hitting an awards show. I like to think of it as a training session. After all - we awards junkies need to build up our endurance for the Oscars right? So with no further ado - here are the official winners of this years Screen Actors Guild Awards.

15th Annual SAG Awards® Recipients Announced!

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 25, 2009) - Screen Actors Guild presented its coveted Actor® statuette for the outstanding motion picture and primetime television performances of 2008 at the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® in ceremonies attended by film and television’s leading actors, held Sunday, Jan. 25, at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center.

The honorees were selected by the approximately 100,000 active members of the Screen Actors Guild nationwide.
Forest Whitaker presented James Earl Jones with Screen Actors Guild’s highest honor, the 45th Annual Life Achievement Award, following a filmed tribute.

Honored with individual awards were Sean Penn, Meryl Streep, Heath Ledger and Kate Winslet for performances in motion pictures and Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, Hugh Laurie, Sally Field, Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey for performances in television. Screen Actors Guild originated awards for the outstanding performances by a motion picture cast and by television comedy and drama ensembles. The Actor® for a motion picture cast performance went this year to “Slumdog Millionaire”, while the Actors® for television comedy and drama ensemble performances went this year to “30 Rock” and “Mad Men”. Screen Actors Guild’s honors for outstanding performances by a stunt ensemble in film and television were awarded to “The Dark Knight” and “Heroes”.

The complete list of recipients of the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®:

15th ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS® RECIPIENTS

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

SEAN PENN Harvey Milk “MILK” Focus Features

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

MERYL STREEP Sister Aloysius Beauvier “DOUBT” Miramax Films

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

HEATH LEDGER Joker “THE DARK KNIGHT” Warner Bros. Pictures

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

KATE WINSLET Hanna Schmitz “THE READER” The Weinstein Company

Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Motion Picture

“SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE” Fox Searchlight Pictures

RUBINA ALI Youngest Latika
TANAY HEMANT CHHEDA Middle Jamal
ASHUTOSH LOBO GAJIWALA Middle Salim
AZHARUDDIN MOHAMMED ISMAIL Youngest Salim
ANIL KAPOOR Prem
IRRFAN KHAN Police Inspector
AYUSH MAHESH KHEDEKAR Youngest Jamal
TANVI GANESH LONKAR Middle Latika
MADHUR MITTAL Oldest Salim
DEV PATEL Older Jamal
FREIDA PINTO Older Latika

PRIMETIME TELEVISION

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

PAUL GIAMATTI John Adams “JOHN ADAMS” HBO

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

LAURA LINNEY Abigail Adams “JOHN ADAMS” HBO

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

HUGH LAURIE Gregory House “HOUSE” FOX

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

SALLY FIELD Nora Walker “BROTHERS & SISTERS” ABC

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

ALEC BALDWIN Jack Donaghy “30 ROCK” NBC

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

TINA FEY Liz Lemon “30 ROCK” NBC

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

“30 ROCK” NBC

SCOTT ADSIT Pete Hornberger
ALEC BALDWIN Jack Donaghy
KATRINA BOWDEN Cerie
TINA FEY Liz Lemon
JUDAH FRIEDLANDER Frank Rossitano
JANE KRAKOWSKI Jenna Maroney
JACK McBRAYER Kenneth Parcell
TRACY MORGAN Tracy Jordan
MAULIK PANCHOLY Jonathan
KEITH POWELL Toofer

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

“MAD MEN” AMC

BRYAN BATT Salvatore Romano
ALISON BRIE Trudy Campbell
MICHAEL GLADIS Paul Kinsey
JON HAMM Don Draper
AARON HART Bobby Draper
CHRISTINA HENDRICKS Joan Holloway
JANUARY JONES Betty Draper
VINCENT KARTHEISER Pete Campbell
ROBERT MORSE Bertram Cooper
MARK MOSES Herman “Duck” Phillips
ELISABETH MOSS Peggy Olson
KIERNAN SHIPKA Sally Draper
JOHN SLATTERY Roger Sterling
RICH SOMMER Harry Crane
AARON STATON Ken Cosgrove

SAG HONORS FOR STUNT ENSEMBLES

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

“THE DARK KNIGHT” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
WADE ALLEN
RICK AVERY
DEAN BAILEY
RICHARD BURDEN
FRANK CALZAVARA
MARK CHADWICK
BRIAN CHRISTENSEN
GEORGE COTTLE
TOBIASZ DASKIEWICZ
JUSTO DIEGUEZ
MARIE FINK
JEAN-PIERRE GOY
MARK HARPER
ADAM HART
JAMES HEISNER
SY HOLLANDS TERRY JACKSON
PAUL JENNINGS
LUKE KEARNEY
MATT LeFEVOUR
RICK LeFEVOUR
TOM LOWELL
TONY LUCKEN
DANIEL MALDONADO
JON MALDONADO
JAMES MAMMOSER
KEVIN MATHEWS
TOM McCOMAS
TIM McHENRY
NATALIE M. MEYER
RICK MILLER
MARK MOTTRAM CHRIS NOLTE
ANDY NORMAN
CARL PAOLI
LINDA PERLIN
BRIAN PETERS
SCOTT PHILYAW
BUSTER REEVES
KEN REMER
RICHARD RYAN
JEFF SHANNON
KEVIN SORENSEN
JODI STARNES
TOM STRUTHERS
TODD ROGERS TERRY
JIM WILKEY
RICH WILKIE

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series

“HEROES” (NBC)
ROBERT ALONZO
HEATHER ARTHUR
ALLISON CAETANO
CHRIS CARNEL
DANE FARWELL
TIM GILBERT
TROY GILBERT
RYAN JAMES HAPPY CHRIS HOWELL
HORACE KNIGHT
WILL LEONG
JIM LEWIS
RICK MARCUS
AUSTIN PRIESTER
SIMON RHEE
MARK RICCARDI

PAT ROMANO
SPIKE SILVER
LEE SMITH
ERIK STABENAU
NANCY THURSTON
XUYEN “SAMMY” VALDIVIA
MARK WAGNER
MARCUS YOUNG

Screen Actors Guild Awards 45th Annual Life Achievement Award

James Earl Jones