SPOTLIGHT MEDIA PRODUCTIONS   The 2015 Oscars, By Adrienne Papp   By Adrienne Papp The Oscars have been handed out, the corks on the champagne bottles have been popped, the winners are all sleeping off their hangovers, and the movie industry has put a wrap on the 2015 Oscars. On Sunday night during the 87th Academy Awards broadcast shown on ABC, “Birdman” took home Best Picture and Best Director...

   Oscar Dozen: What this reviewer said about the winners 1.Best supporting actor WINNER: JK Simmons for Whiplash “J.K. Simmons (Break Point, JOBS, Dark Skies, The Words, long-running white-supremacist villain on HBO’s Oz) is devilish and supremely sadistic. He too is a musician and has been a conductor, which shows. Watch him terrify you and keep you rivetted in the second half of the film.” 2. Achievement in makeup and hairstyling WINNER: The Grand Budape...

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent   Some actors find themselves between jobs, Michael Keaton found himself between careers.  Now Oscar-nominated for Birdman (Or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), the veteran actor had some “This Is Your Life” moments last night when he received the Modern Master Award from the 30th International Film Festival in Santa Barbara (SBIFF).  “Let’s call it a Renaissance,” intoned Leonard Maltin, who play...

SPOTLIGHT MEDIA PRODUCTIONS   Inside the 2015 SAG-AFTRA Awards, By Adrienne Papp   Debbie Reynolds and Adrienne Papp By Adrienne Papp One thing about the Hollywood awards season, you can always count on some things that are out-of-left-field unexpected, and there are always things that are completely expected and well-deserved. Voted on by 111,228 eligible SAG-AFTRA members, the SAG Awards are a key event in the buzz creat...

Birdman/The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance, Review: The Expected Vice of Knowledge Back in the 1980s and 1990s, actor Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) was known for his superhero role, Birdman, which spawned two sequels. He refused to do the third. Now a-used-to-be-big-star, Riggan is trying hard to make a comeback through drama, by staging Raymond Carver’s “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.” He will be co-starring with Lesley (Naomi Watts), who is also a movie star...