The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences a.k.a. the Oscar Award folks, shocked the Hollywood community yesterday by announcing that the 82nd Academy Awards® for the 2009 season will feature 10 best picture nominees.
This move, while obviously made to generate more interest in the awards (ratings have been dropping like a stone in recent years), actually goes back to the earlier roots of the award presentation.
According to the Academy announcement, “For more than a decade during the Academy’s earlier years, the Best Picture category welcomed more than five films; for nine years there were 10 nominees. The 16th Academy Awards (1943) was the last year to include a field of that size; Casablanca was named Best Picture. (In 1931/32, there were eight nominees and in 1934 and 1935 there were 12 nominees.)”
(more…)

The Atlantic City Host Awards recognize employees who represent the highest standards for the hospitality industry and related professions in Atlantic City.
Fittingly, a new award category recognizing the Best Casino Games Personnel will top the 2010 Host Awards, and will be named the Raymond Kot Award in honor of the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort employee whose life was tragically taken in May 2009. Addition of the Raymond Kot Award will bring the Host Awards categories to 28.
“Ray Kot was a veteran casino gaming employee who was respected by all who knew and worked with him through the years,” says Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority (ACCVA) board member and Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc. CEO Mark Juliano (pictured). “It will be an honor to his memory to present an Atlantic City casino games employee with this prestigious award.”
The Atlantic City Host Awards are sponsored by the ACCVA to salute and encourage excellent customer service. Proceeds from the Host Awards benefit the ACCVA Foundation, a charitable, tax-exempt organization established to attract a greater diversity of visitors to and investment in Atlantic City, and to foster quality partnerships in and around the region.

Rants and raves about burning topics that have caught my attention midweek, be it greedy corporate shenanigans, frustration or joy in regards to the Philly sports teams, a movie or DVD that has fired up my imagination, an intriguing personality, or my on-going battle to lose weight in our fast food world. — Lori Hoffman, Associate Editor, Atlantic City Weekly

In the new hit movie The Proposal, Sandra Bullock’s character Margaret, the bitch boss from hell, lets her hair down in a touching scene with Ryan Reynolds as Drew. She talks about the little things she loves and says, “I think Brian Dennehy is sexy.”

Brian Dennehy

Well I agree with Margaret. Brian Dennehy has always had that gruff big teddy bear sex appeal about him. A prolific character actor and sometimes leading man in the 1980s and ’90s, he was one of the most popular actors on the planet in movies, TV and stage. Now 70 (he turns 71 July 9), Dennehy’s reign as the go-to character actor might be in his rear view, but it is still a pleasure to see him when he pops up in a small role or provides the voice for a rat (in Ratatouille).

A native of Connecticut, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1959. He later went to Columbia University on a football scholarship, moving on to Yale to study acting. It’s no wonder that his early film roles included playing a pro football player in Semi-Tough (1978). Starting with an episode of Kojak in 1977, he currently has 153 acting credits listed on the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB) and that doesn’t include his stage work.
He has an Atlantic City connection. He starred briefly in a detective in the series Big Shamus, Little Shamus (1979) set in Atlantic City, just as casinos were coming into the city. His character, Arnie Sutter, raising his 13-year-old son alone (hence the title), was the house detective at the Hotel Ansonia in Atlantic City, which was soon transformed into a casino-hotel. With the advent of gambling, his character had plenty of scam artists and scumbags to keep him busy. While the series was not filmed here all the time, they did shoot some exteriors of AC as it was going through its transition into a gambling mecca.
(more…)

Ryan Howard had a key hit last night.

The Phillies ability to win on the road and not at home is one of those wacky baseball statistics that a roomful of shrinks couldn’t figure out no matter how many sessions they had with J-Roll, Chase and the big fella. After hearing Ryan Howard complain that he is tired of hearing about it (losing at home), let me tell you Ryan, the fans are tired of watching it. Stop losing and you’ll stop hearing about it.
Seeing the Phils go out and pummel Tampa Bay, their World Series foes last year, 10-1 last night on the road, got me to thinking. Phillies fans have got to go out to the home games and make the players feel like they are on the road. Let’s boo J-Roll like he is in New York and wear Mets jerseys. Let’s do the Atlanta Braves tomahawk chop when the opposing team is mounting a rally. Let’s groan when Brad Lidge comes out to nail down a win (assuming the team can get to the ninth inning with a lead). Let’s boo when our pitchers throw to first to hold a runner on.
(more…)

The Roots

The Borgata announced today that The  Roots (”most recently known for their tenure as the house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon“)  will hold a residency at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa beginning Friday, July 24. The rap band is set to play an exclusive series of shows at Borgata’s  Music Box. Each show will feature a special guest. Following each performance, the band will host an official Borgata Nightlife afterparty, the first to be held at MIXX, with music by guest DJ and Roots’ member, Questlove.
“As Philly natives, we have been to Borgata before and know it’s the leader in the Atlantic City nightlife scene,” Questlove is quoted as saying in the press release.  “We couldn’t be more excited to make Borgata our new home,”
Tickets for the first performance on Friday, July 24, are priced at $49.50 and will go on sale Saturday, June 27 at 10am.  The performance at The Music Box will start at 10pm. Visit The Borgata’s site for more.

Wildwood Business Improvement District (WBID) president William ‘Yogi’ Kurtz, owner of Neill’s Steak and Chowder House, recently announced that the business district is sponsoring a free trolley service for the downtown area every weekend all summer.
“Downtown Wildwood is a great place for families to visit while they are on vacation and enjoying our great beach and boardwalk,” said Kurtz. “Our downtown is home to dozens of great restaurants, pubs, pancake houses, delis, pizza shops and even one of the most quaint and unique movie theatres anywhere. This new service will allow our guests to hop on and hop off to visit all of these great businesses.”
(more…)

Chita Rivera

Now that summer is officially here, I’d like to see some summer weather instead of April repeating itself with all the rain. I was picking blueberries last Saturday and got soaked, although the berries were delicious and they were early because of all the rain.
Speaking of blueberries, this week fans of the blue “brain food” can get their fill at two blueberry festivals. I’m going to the Whitesbog Blueberry Festival in Browns Mills, NJ this Saturday, June 27. The annual Red, White & Blueberry Festival takes place in Hammonton this Sunday. Both should offer a berry-good time.

*****************
Also on Sunday, The Ocean City Pops Orchestra, opens its season at the Music Pier with a special guest, Broadway legend and two-time Tony Award winner Chita Rivera at 8pm.

*******************
Most of us go the Comedy Stop at the Tropicana to enjoy some belly laughs. Starting this weekend, however, ladies who’d like to watch sexy, gyrating washboard abs and other toned body parts can now check out the International Hunks Male Revue at the Stop on Saturday nights/Sunday morning at 12:30am (doors open at midnight). A girls’ night out that includes the 11:15pm comedy show followed by the hot bods sounds like a plan to me.

Nice piece on Entertainment Weekly’s Web site today about the late Ed McMahon’s Atlantic City Boardwalk days.

Gerard Butler hit the craps table at the Borgata.

Atlantic City is currently Hollywood East. Two movies are being filmed in town, Bounty Hunter, co-starring Scottish hunk Gerard Butler (300, PS I Love You) and Jennifer Aniston, and The Warrior starring Nick Nolte and Jennifer Morrison (House).
I heard that last night Butler was playing craps at the Borgata. According to my source, he needs to look like an expert for his film role and he needs a lot of work. He kept throwing the dice off the table. He was playing with his own money but being Scottish that means he was being careful with his funds. He lost his whole wad, $150. No, I didn’t miss any zeros folks. My friend reports that he was the sweetest and nicest celebrity she has ever seen on a game, without any of the “I’m a movie star” baggage. She said he was playing without getting too much attention. I guest the 300 fans don’t recognize him with without his warrior garb. He will be very big later this summer when his romantic comedy with Katherine Heigl, The Ugly Truth, opens. It was on my list of most anticipated films this summer.
Bounty Hunter is an action flick, with Butler playing a bounty hunter who’s hired to retrieve his ex-wife, a journalist who witnessed a murder and has skipped bail, played by Aniston. Bounty Hunter is scheduled to be released in late 2009.

On Thursday, July 9, the Atlantic City Farmers’ Market re-opens in the middle of Atlantic City for yet another summer. Located in Center City Park (on Atlantic Avenue between North Carolina and South Carolina avenues), the market will be open every Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm through Oct. 24. Live entertainment returns as well as the Thursdays in the Park concert series starts back up July 9. It will be held each Thursday from noon to 2pm through July.

This year’s lineup includes Eddie Morgan and Rek’d 4 Jazz (July 9), the Bob Sterling Band (July 16), The Frankadelics (July 23), and the Party Guys (July 30). The annual market will have the best in seasonal Jersey Fresh produce on hand from local farmers. If you happen to journey uptown after a nice time down at The Walk or on the beach, be sure to stop by to check out the fresh produce and live entertainment — it will surely add a soulful vibe to your day.. For more information, call 344-8338. - Chris Torres