hugo

Why 'Rango' and 'Hugo' won at the Oscars

If there's been one thing you could count on every year since the Academy Awards started honoring animated features, it's that Pixar would walk away with the Oscar. Through last year, six of the studio's eight films won golden statuettes.

But Pixar's 2011 entry, "Cars 2," a box office success but a critical failure, not only didn't win on Sunday, it wasn't even nominated. And that meant a golden opportunity for a slew of other animated filmmakers.

In the end, it was "Pirates of the Caribbean" director Gore Verbinski's &… Read more

Familiar names dominate Oscar visual effects nominations

When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled its Oscar nominations this morning, there were some very familiar names among the honorees.

Joe Letteri, for example. And Tim Burke and Scott Farrar.

These may not be people that appear regularly in the pages of "Us Weekly," but to those who follow the visual effects industry, they're on par with Meryl Streep and George Clooney.

Only one film can win the Oscar for best visual effects, but today, five films were nominated.

As usual, George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic was honored, this year for its … Read more

Hugo Chavez to take his fight to Twitter?

When Winston Churchill decided to make a stand against tyranny, he spoke these famous words: "we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."

The world has moved on a little since Churchill's day. So perhaps you, too, will experience a curious motion in your surroundings when I tell you of a report that Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela, has decided to fight the scourge of terrorism with similarly grand determination.

For Bloomberg is reporting … Read more

The 404 341: Where we like Natali a-latte

Wilson Tang is back in the house today, along with the lovely and ever-gracious Natali Del Conte. She's just come back from her vacation, and we find out how she stalked Tom Hanks from the film "Angels & Demons" (check out her Loaded piece this Thursday). And Justin disappears from his first ever hate-on during the show.

On today's show, we've got Wilson Tang backers calling to defend the man. Lots of e-mails as well from supporters, who think finding out Tyler Perry is in a movie is about as much of a non-spoiler as you can get. But if you really want spoilers, check out Wilson's lastest Tumblr post, where he finds many faults in the new "Star Trek."

In more stories from the Interwebs, Craigslist has finally acquiesced to state attorneys general, who wanted the erotic service section taken down. Now, a new section will appear, which will be moderated by Craigslist employees. We think it's too bad that all it took was one bad apple to ruin it for everyone. Now, Jeff has to find a new side job.

Speaking of bad apples, Microsoft has been running these "Laptop Hunter" ads on television, and Apple comes back with its own "Megan" ad. We just think it's hilarious that these customers end up buying a 10-pound monster with a 22-inch screen. Wilson thinks it's even funnier that a "filmmaker" would buy a PC to edit her film on. What's she going to use? Windows Movie Maker? Come on, if you can afford Avid, the price difference between a Mac and a PC is trivial.

Natali's best contribution to the show today is that she says the words "penis phone" on air and teaches us the Spanish slang for "schlong." Apparently, Venezuela's leftist president Hugo Chavez is releasing a government-subsidized cell phone named after a certain male body part. It's because of the vibration function we suspect.

Finally, "404" shows up in some of the most random places. Check this out. It's a demolished building with a 404 sign. Be sure to send in your favorite 404 signs around the world at the404 (at) cnet (dot) com. Or drop us a voice mail with more Wilson love at 1-866-404-CNET (2638).

EPISODE 341 Download today's podcast Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Jerry Yang finally takes advice from experts

The Chief Yahooey, Jerry Yang, has had enough.

Enough of journalists, bloggers, analysts, and all those who claim to know more about running his business than he does.

The simple fact is that he should have slipped down to Shutters on the Beach last weekend and met with two of the world's most important people, people who themselves have endured criticism from Lesser Beings.

Actor Tom Cruise and President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.

Is there any question that these two could help Mr. Yang solve the Yahoo crisis? Here's how it might have gone.

"I am glad … Read more