MONTE

…and the Oscar goes to?

 FROM the Founder
The 81st Academy Award came and now they’re gone. Fortunately, I consider this
award ceremony the best Academy Awards show ever, and I mean that literally.
Never have I felt so inspired by award shows since Halle Berry had made history
in 2002, when she was honored as the first African-American to win the Best
Actress Oscar. As the 81st Academy Awards brought me to tears, I felt more
motivated, confident and encouraged that my goal to win an Academy Award is
possible. For the past two years of Monte Pictures, I have devoted my time,
creativity, and passion to my members, who I am gratefully appreciative to
everyone single individuals who receives my monthly newsletters.

Hopefully, one day I will have a story to tell myself when I become successful in
the show business. I have to say, I love to read awe-inspiring individuals like J.K.
Rowling, the author who created the multi-billion dollar franchise Harry Potter; a
single-mother on welfare who wrote Harry Potter in a coffee shop and her daily
commute from Manchester to London on the train. Now tell me if that’s not
encouraging! I have to tell this short story because I think it’s hilarious, whenever I
go to Universal Studios theme park and we take the Studio Tour, my family
usually joke about that one day they are going to push me off the tram and yell
“Run!”. That story became a legend in its own right, when Steven Spielberg
jumped on the Studio Tour tram and wondered about the empty back-lot and
befriended an editor. I am ecstatic about this edition because I want to honor
women of color. The subject is very important to me and I have to dedicate this
edition of my newsletter to my mother and sister for being strong women. Like
always, I wish you and your family great health!

- Javier Serrano

*I hereby acknowledge that all photography enclosed in this Monte Pictures©

newsletter is for educational purposes. This is neither a non-profit organization nor
an independent publication. The use of this newsletter is to inform, persuade and
entertain Monte Pictures© members at no cost. Questions or concerns, please
feel free to contact me on your behalf. (619) 450.3638 or email me at:
info@montepictures.com
 Oscar Show: Spectacular, Spectacular!
Who knew Anne Hathaway could sing? We all knew that Hugh Jackman, the
host, could sing because he won the Tony Award for Outstanding Actor in a
Musical for 2004, The Boy from Oz; but when Hugh picked Anne Hathaway up
from her seat and carried her on stage, I knew from that moment that chemistry
between the both was about to blossom. Jackman stated in People magazine:
“After that I was able to relax. I knew we were going to be OK after that. But
when we were planning that whole thing for live TV, it was a bit tense.”

Jonathan Demme, most famous for directing the 1991, The Silence of the
Lambs, stated to LA.COM: “Anne Hathaway has more talents than we know.”
And I have to agree humbly because we loved her as a princess in the
Princess Diaries, she wowed us in “Prada” and she starred in a low-budget film
about overcoming drug addiction in “Rachel Getting Married”. It seems to me
we will be seeing more of Anne Hathaway in the years to come.
 Academy
8 Awards

‘Slumdog Millionaire: the little film that could’

Slumdog Millionaire: the little film that could and did has delighted
viewers alike. On 22 February 2009, Slumdog went from swarming
neighborhoods of Mumbai to the Hollywood’s golden film, winning top
annual honors, a total of eight Academy Awards including Best Picture
of the year. If you haven’t seen it, I strongly recommend it. Here is a
short synopsis to give you a tease: It’s the Indian version of the world-
famous quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire, about a shy young
Jamal who was born and raised in the slums of Mumbai and has a shot
to become a millionaire.
Kate
Winslet
Kate Winslet: Looks Like Sixth Time’s A charm
Kate Winslet deserved her Oscar glory this year, previously nominated five –
time without a single win, but few can argue that her Best Actress Oscar win
should had been for Revolutionary Road and not for The Reader. As a
filmgoer and I do consider myself a film critic, I would have given Kate
Winslet the Oscar for ‘Road’ and not for The Reader.

Let me explain, members of the Academy love Holocaust films, see Adrian
Brody in The Pianist, Meryl Streep in Sophie’s Choice, Haing S. Ngor in The
Killing Fields; are you getting my point? The Reader was Kate Winslet shot
for Oscar glory than Revolutionary Road. Don’t get me wrong, Kate did an
absolute glorious performance in The Reader, playing Hanna Schmitz, an
older woman who has an affair with a fifteen-year-old boy, then disappears
only to resurface years later as one of the defendants in a war crimes trial
from her actions as a concentration camp guard.

What would really have convinced me and critics alike, if Kate would have
learned German for the role? Meryl Streep had to learn to speak Polish and
Polish with an English-accent. But it looks our generations of great actors
really don’t want to perform at that high degree of difficulties. I do have to
admit, I am very pleased that Kate won her Oscar, but I preferred Anne
Hathaway’s performance in Rachel Getting Married. Additionally, after
reading several predictions by famous critics, I was appalled to learn that
winning an Oscar was a career achievement and not the performance of the
year.

So, Oscar win for career achievement, yes, most definitely, Kate Winslet; but,
performance of the year, goes to Anne Hathaway. Fortunately, Kate Winslet
was given an Oscar in her early thirties and not an honorary Oscar like Peter
O’Toole, who is seventy-six and holds the record for most Oscar nominations
with no wins: eight and he received his Honorary Oscar. In this case, it looks
like sixth time’s a charm for Kate Winslet.
Sean Penn
 Sean Penn: The True Best Actor of the Year
This award season was all about Mickey Rourke in his comeback film
The Wrestler. I believe he somewhat abused his power as an actor, the
reason why I say this, is because every speech he has given, for
example, at the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts)
when he was named Best Actor, he spoke with such hate to his agents
and publicists and always using inappropriate language. I mean, come
on, you’re a mature older man that was selected by peers for your
acting achievement.

Luckily, he wasn’t the only best actor of the year, thank God for Sean
Penn in Milk. The members of the Academy love real life people and
their struggles. Mickey Rourke performed amazingly but his character
wasn’t real, sort of the comparison to Hilary Swank in 2005 when she
won the Best Actress Oscar for playing a boxer. The circumstances are
different in this case because like Swank in Million Dollar Baby, there
was transformation, heart, passion, hard work, and giving your all into
the character. Unfortunately, Swank’s character Maggie Fitzgerald
wasn’t a real person too, but she made it look like she was a real
person. Mickey Rourke had almost every personification down to the
pin point as a wrestler, but I was not convinced, most audiences and
critics who not agree with me. Sean Penn convinced as Harvey Milk,
the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California as a
member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and murdered.

What I found to be interesting in Sean Penn’s Oscar speech was his

humanity towards Gays and Lesbians rights,” For those who saw the
signs of hatred as our cars drove in tonight, I think that it is a good time
for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect
and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's
eyes if they continue that way of support.”
Penélope Cruz
 Penelope Cruz: First time is a charm

I have to say, Woody Allen is a genius. He has directed six actors to Oscar
wins: Diane Keaton in Annie Hall, Michael Caine in Hannah and her Sisters,
Diane Weist in Hannah and her Sisters, Diane Weist in Bullets over
Broadway, Mira Sorvino in Mighty Aphrodite, and now, Penelope Cruz in
Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Penelope Cruz was honored on 22 February 2009
as the first Spanish actress to win an Oscar. For quite some time, the
Spanish starlet has faced amount of criticism over her poor pronunciation of
the English language, which she expresses: “I’m always insecure on the set
not matter what,” quoted from Fox News. Honestly, who cares? Penelope
won an Oscar and that has to mean for something.

Don’t be fooled by her underestimated talent, she can act. I first fell in love
with Penelope Cruz for her performance in Pedro Almodovar’s Volver. Her
performance was captivating, alluring, gorgeous, which she had gone to
share Best Actress Ensemble at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007 with the
rest of actresses in Volver. Penelope is gorgeous, don’t get me wrong. I bet
there are few people that would want her to shut up because her English-
accent, but who gives a damn, right? She brought me to tears when she
won her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress:

“This is not going to be 45 seconds; I can say that right now. Has anybody
ever fainted here? Because I might be the first one. Thank you so much to
the Academy. I want to share this with my fellow nominees and with the
amazing ensemble of actors that I had the privilege to work with in this
movie. Thank you, Woody, for trusting me with this beautiful character.
Thank for you having written over all these years some of the greatest
characters for women. And I cannot talk about great female characters
without thanking my friend Pedro Almodovar for having made me part of so
many of his adventures.” You can love her or you can love her, she will be
Oscar winner Penelope Cruz.
Heath Ledger
 Iconic: A Performance of a Lifetime
Kate Ledger, Heath Ledger’s sister expressed her emotions when
concluding her speech at the 81st Academy Awards on behalf of
Heath Ledger’s daughter Matilda: “We really wish you were, but we
proudly accept this award on behalf of your beautiful Matilda.
Thank you”. Now the question is, who get to keep Heath Ledger’s
Oscar statuette. As The Dark Knight grossed over $500 million at
the box-office domestically in the United States, Ledger received a
net profit of $20 million dollars. Heath’s parent stated publicly in
their home country of Australia that their son’s daughter Matilda will
inherit $16 million dollars out of the cool $20 million from the net
profit.

Eventually, Matilda will inherit the Oscar statuette, but due to her
age: three, she will have to wait until she’s eighteen in order to
keep the Oscar statuette. Recently, Michelle Williams, Ledger and
Williams met on the set of Brokeback Mountain in 2005 and were
engaged, but split in September 2007, has agreed to accept the
Oscar statuette on behalf of Matilda and will keep it until she turns
eighteen. It’s very unfortunate, Hollywood lost a great talent, but to
the respect as an actor, Ledger became the second actor to win an
Oscar posthumously. Several months ago, when I had seen The
Dark Knight at the theatre, I was totally blown away by the
performance of Ledger. And, everyone else there too! We all just
adored his mesmerizing, horrific performance as The Joker.

Jack Nicholson, the original Joker in Tim Burton’s Batman, has to

give Ledger credit for his performance. How does an actor recreate
an iconic movie villain? You challenge system. Ledger stated to
Empire: "I sat around in a hotel room in London for about a month,
locked myself away, formed a little diary and experimented with
voices — it was important to try to find a somewhat iconic voice
and laugh. I ended up landing more in the realm of a psychopath
— someone with very little to no conscience towards his acts."
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A good film is when the price of the
dinner, the theatre admission and the
babysitter were worth it.
– Alfred Hitchcock