I was disappointed to hear that George Clooney's upcoming film, "Up in the Air," was moved back from November 13 to December 4. The release date was changed so that it wouldn't conflict with Clooney's other film, "The Men Who Stare at Goats" - a quirky military satire that Clooney also produced (Overture Films is releasing it on November 6).

But I was sad because it means that moviegoers will have to wait a little longer to see it. No question that it will be worth the wait, because it's a terrific film that, mark my words, will win the Oscar for Best Picture. A bold statement to be sure, but one that I stand by 100%. Here's why...

...The third film directed by Jason Reitman is a quantum leap of maturity over his previous efforts, 2005's well-crafted "Thank You for Smoking" and 2007's excellent "Juno."  Clooney plays a jet-setting executive who travels around the country to fire people from corporations whose CEOs are too scared to do it themselves. It's a powerful, profound and very funny movie, and Clooney - a Best Supporting Actor Oscar-winner for 2005's "Syrianna" - has never been better.

Barring any unforeseen cinematic masterpieces that may be unleashed in November or December (which is when the real Oscar contenders usually come out), I think the Oscar race basically comes down to three movies: "The Hurt Locker," "Precious" and "Up in the Air."

"The Hurt Locker" is the first Iraq War movie to break through to the masses after a number of box office failures failed to connect with moviegoers - like "Stop-Loss," "The Lucky Ones," "In the Valley of Elah" and "Lions for Lambs," just to name a few.  But "The Hurt Locker" isn't just a great Iraq War movie; it's a great movie period - a visceral and exceptionally well-directed movie that captures the perils of combat better than any film since 1987's "Platoon."

With Beatlemania at it's highest peak since the Fab 4 first invaded America on February 7, 1964, thanks to the release of "The Beatles Rockband" and the long-awaited remastered CDs, it's hard to believe it's been almost 40 years since the act you've known for all these years called it a day.
 
Many fans (and even most non-fans) still blame Yoko Ono for the breakup of The Beatles, even though there were many reasons why they couldn't, y'know, work it out.  But the Yoko issue has been set in stone, along with the fact that Yoko and Paul -- two of John Lennon's biggest loves -- spent many years bickering, while their relationship over the last decade, while cordial, has been tense.
 
It was shocking -- in a pleasant way -- to hear that Yoko actually gave Paul some credit for a change, even if it was a backhanded compliment, when she admitted that The Beatles could not have existed without Paul.
 
It is true that John created The Beatles, and he was definitely considered to be the de-facto leader in the group's early mop top days. In their first-ever recorded interview for radio, which was done a mere six weeks after "Love Me Do" was released in September 1962, Paul says that "John is, in fact, the leader of the group."
 
But three things happened to change that balance of power...
 
1) After The Beatles stopped touring, John was miserable living in the suburbs with his family, while Paul was still single and took advantage of his freedom to engage in the Swinging London art scene -- that gave him the confidence to exert his influence over the group, which ultimately resulted in more groundbreaking fare like Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
 
2) John was more affected by the drugs The Beatles were experimenting with, which was another reason why Paul stepped forward.
 
3) When The Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, died, somebody had to lead the group, and for a while, that somebody was Paul.
 
OK, I'm done.

By Terri MacLeod

I cannot believe it's been 10 years since John F. Kennedy Jr. died. I remember the morning vividly when I woke up to the news he was missing. I can still see the image of the boats circling in the water looking for his downed plane. I can recall the chills and utter disbelief I felt at that moment!
 
I had the great fortune to meet and interview John over the years as a producer at Access Hollywood. In fact, I was the last person to interview John. I remember him hobbling over to me in crutches and telling me about his paragliding accident - just a few days later he was gone.

By Darius Pirnazar

 

Since the tragic news of the sudden passing of Michael Jackson broke, there have been millions of reasons given, merely attempting to describe his greatness. 

 

But for me, he represented way more than what he was in real life as an entertainer -- he was my family's "safe place" to go during a time in which survival, in its literal sense, was our number one priority. 

Now I know people will read this and say this is cliche and they've heard it all before, but let me explain:

I was born in 1979 in Tehran, Iran and if you know anything about history, you know that the events that took place in Iran shaped the next 30 years in U.S. Middle East relations, and we have somehow experienced the trickling effects of the Iranian revolution, whether its war or high gas prices. But, this isn't a political-based blog, so I'm just giving this background information so you, the reader, can understand why I claim that MJ was bigger than life.   

By Terri MacLeod


The King of Pop will live on forever. The gravity-defying moonwalk, the sequined glove, the cropped pants, and black loafers - Michael defined my generation. I can document my life by his music. When the news broke of his sudden death, I (like the rest of the world) was stunned, shocked and saddened - now a week later, I still can't believe Michael Jackson is gone!

When I returned home from work on June 25, I told my 14-year-old daughter about his death. ...To which she replied, "Why are you upset about him? Isn't he the creepy guy who slept with young boys?"  

My daughter's reaction shocked me! She had no appreciation or understanding of Michael's musical legacy. Obviously, this generation isn't growing-up on Michael. Most tweens today are familiar with his dance moves and mega-hits like "Billie Jean" or "Thriller," but for the most part Michael's 'Wacko Jacko' reputation eclipsed his immense talent, or, seemingly so to my daughter.  

While, I am not here to debate Michael's addiction to painkillers, his questionable relationship with children, or his gasp-worthy plastic surgery, I do believe there are many life lessons we as parents can pass on to our children about Michael's complicated and seemingly very lonely life.

For starters, let's try and get our kids to stop and listen to the music. Michael is, in my opinion, the greatest entertainer our generation has ever seen! He set off a global phenomenon that is rarely seen and quite possibly will never be seen again. His music, his dancing, and his outright sheer genius as a performer, is something to celebrate and be inspired by. For a moment, try and forget all the craziness in his later years and let his music get passed on to the next generation, and hopefully, set into motion a new crop of young artists. As Michael once said, "I always wanted to do music that influences and inspires each generation."    

By Darius Pirnazar

As a member of the production team here at Access Hollywood, I was a part of our "Farrah Week" last week, in which we celebrated and dug deep into Farrah Fawcett's personal life and career. But even though this "special" is meant for celebration of all that is Farrah, I can't stop myself from feeling incredibly guilty.
 
I'm not sad just because of the fact that she's going through a bitter fight with cancer, because let's face it... she's had a wonderful life as a sex symbol and as a successful actress in Hollywood (and I'm saying this even though it might be a little harsh). I have lost three members of my immediate family to cancer and none lived a very glamorous life when they were healthy, so having cancer and losing the battle is not something new to me (or to anyone to that matter). I can guarantee that almost every person that reads this blog will definitely know at least one person that has had cancer or is currently battling it.
 
What bothers me is that I wasn't born when she was at the height of her career and I don't remember much about her when she was "it."  What I do remember is growing up seeing tabloid headlines taking swings at her and her family. And late night comedy shows and stand-up comics using her as the butt of their jokes.
 

 So "Star Trek" is the best-reviewed movie of the year, and it knocked "Wolverine" off the top of the box office with more than $72 million. A big start, but it's still logical to assume that most of the moviegoers who boldly went to see "Star Trek" over the weekend never even saw a full episode before in their lives.

 

Since the new movie is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, might I suggest going back to the original series to see what made it so great in the first place?  Start here - easily the greatest "Star Trek" episodes of all time.

5) "Where No Man Has Gone Before"   

Written by:  Samuel A. Peeples

Original Airdate:  September 22, 1966

Course Plotted:  At the edge of the galaxy, a mysterious force of energy penetrates the Enterprise and transforms two crewmembers into godlike creatures.

Why it's great:  The second pilot is also the first episode to feature James T. Kirk, and William Shatner proves that he had the Captain down from the beginning. It's also filled with high tension, as Kirk is forced to maroon an old friend on a barren planet before he takes over the Enterprise.

Where to Find it:  "Star Trek: The Original Series - Season One" (on DVD and Blu-ray)

By Darius Pirnazar
 
I'm so tired of people who voice their opinions without the full knowledge of the topic they're speaking about. 

Take Miss California for example; I don't have any issues with her voicing her opinion in regards to gay marriage. What bugs me so much is that she has now become the flag bearer for all of those who champion mindless rhetoric and oppose "CHANGE" in our society, without really knowing anything about the subject. 

I know... I know... we've heard the word "CHANGE" many a time during this past election season. But let's face it, "CHANGE" is what was needed in this country from The President on down.

Let's say, for example, Carrie Prejean (Miss California) was in this same pageant 60 years ago and she was asked if she believes that inter-racial marriages should be allowed.  Now, if she took the same approach as when she answered the question on gay marriage, how would we view her and her comments?

Access Hollywood movie critic Scott Mantz is in Rome, Italy, to cover the junket for "Angels & Demons." Read his first blog on his foreign adventures here.

Today was supposed to be the easy day.  Just three interviews with "Angels & Demons" director Ron Howard and supporting actors Ayelet Zurer and Pierfrancesco Favino.  Get to the Sony Hospitality Suite at 3 PM, start
interviews at 3:30 PM, be done by 4:30 PM.  Piece of cake.  Or so we thought.

The interviews were supposed to take place on the roof, which makes
sense -- if you're gonna be in Rome, make it look like Rome.  Otherwise,
what's the point of flying thousands of miles when you can just drive a
few miles to to get to the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills?

I'll never forget when I was asked the question...

"Mantz, did you read 'Angels & Demons?'"

Little did I realize where this was leading: to Rome, where the junket for the film version of "A&D" was going to take place.  Makes perfect sense, since most of it was filmed there.  But since I was never there before, I was both excited and nervous about the prospect of traveling halfway around there world to a country where they literally didn't speak my language.

Turns out that getting there was the hardest part.  Catch a flight to
Chicago, then run down three gates to catch my connection to Rome (with
just 20 minutes to spare -- fun!).  Between the length of both flights
and the time change, I was gonna hit some serious jet lag.  And as for
sleeping on the plane...well, fuggedaboudit.

By the time I landed, grabbed my bags and got to my hotel -- the Boscolo
Exedra in the heart of Rome -- I was way too excited to to take a nap (I
mean, really?).  I also had just a couple hours to check in, get my
computer up and running and, of course, see the movie.