According to TMZ, former bassist of American rock band Alice In Chains Mike Starr died at the age of 44. Mike Starr was found dead at his home in Salt Lake City, Utah- Tuesday March 8, 2011.
Mike Starr was arrested for illegal prescription drug possession in Salt Lake City in February. Back in 2009, Starr appeared on the third season of Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew.
It's a terrible shock and tragedy, Starr's father told TMZ. Mike Starr's former bandmates issued a statement offering their support for his family.
It's so cute that film critics circles are so interested in "their own" as it were. Boston is always accused of rallying behind Boston-set films (in their defense they often have many of them to choose from) and a few days back Utah, where 127 Hours takes place, really handed that film some water in its moment of need. Not that the Academy voters are actively debating Utah's choices before filling out their ballots this week... they're more likely to be swayed by James Franco's grandma (see video after the jump).
But given that 127 Hours has been slipping down a thin rocky crevice away from sunny awards heat (AWKWARD METAPHOR ALERT) it'll take every honor it can get. Will AMPAS go for it or do we have another Into the Wild (2007) on our hands i.e. lots of preseason heat, little to show for it on Oscar nom morn?
Utah Film Critics Best Picture(tie) 127 Hours and The Social Network Best Director(tie) Christopher Nolan for Inception and David Fincher for The Social Network Best Actor James Franco in 127 Hours Best Actress Natalie Portman in Black Swan Best Supporting Actor Christian Bale in The Fighter Best Supporting Actress Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom Best Screenplay Aaron Sorkin in The Social Network Best Cinematography Enrique Chediak and Anthony Dod Mantle for 127 Hours Best Documentary Catfish Best Foreign Feature(tie) Micmacs and A Prophet Best Animated Feature Toy Story 3
Nice to see some love for Catfish which has been mostly ignored since many critics groups seem to be voting directly from the limited pool of Oscar documentary finalists.
Meanwhile, Phoenix honored no films set in Arizona... though they came as close as they could with Let Me In. And they almost became the only critics group to ignore The Social Network. Instead they went 'cross the Atlantic for both of their big ones: The King's Speech and Inception.
The King's Inception: What will Cobb find inside Bertie's dream?
Phoenix Film Critics Best Picture The King's Speech [top ten: 127 Hours, Inception, Never Let Me Go, Shutter Island, The Kids Are All Right, The King's Speech, The Social Network, True Grit, Toy Story 3, Winter's Bone] Best Director Christopher Nolan for Inception Best Actor Colin Firth in The King's Speech Best Actress Natalie Portman in Black Swan Best Supporting Actor Christian Bale in The Fighter Best Supporting Actress Melissa Leo in The Fighter Breakthru Performance (on camera) Chloe Moretz in Kick-Ass Breathru Performance (off camera) Debra Granik for Winter's Bone Best Youth Performance (Male) Kodi Smit-McPhee in Let Me In Best Youth Performance (Female) Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit Best Screenplay (Original) Inception Best Screenplay (Adapted) The Social Network Best Live Action Family Film Eyesore in Wonderland Overlooked Film of the Year Never Let Me Go Best Original Song "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" Burlesque Best Cinematography Roger Deakins for True Grit Best Score Hans Zimmer for Inception Best Editing Inception Best Art Direction Inception Best Visual Effects Inception Best Stunts Inception Best Costume Design Eyesore in Wonderland Best Documentary Restrepo Best Foreign Feature Biutiful Best Animated Feature Toy Story 3
Remind me to never move to Phoenix. You know why.
Okay. Normally I don't take well to those annual gripes that go something like "if this movie didn't have the best ____, how is it the best picture? yadda yadda", ignorant as they sometimes are to the fact that voters are supposed to be voting on different criteria for each category. But seriously. How do they explain this one? Inception has a better screenplay and better direction than The King's Speech and it's "best" at just about everything (it won 7 categories) but it still loses Best Picture to The King's Speech? I guess Colin Firth's performance is Best Everything in order to lift the Speech up out of reach of Inception's dream invaders.
Recent reports suggest that President Obama's Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar, is prepared to agree to, and is actively promoting, legislative language that would eliminate Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for all gray wolves in the Northern Rockies, including those in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and portions of Washington, Oregon and Utah.
The proposal is arbitrary and strikes a blow at the very foundation of the Endangered Species Act. Hundreds of wolves — maybe more than a thousand — could be killed. And you and I could lose America's most effective tool for protecting imperiled wildlife.
Utah Earthquake- 4.9 magnitude earthquake has hit Utah - Thursday around 6 p.m. MDT. The quake was centered five miles from and a mile below Randolph, UT, and 77 miles from Salt Lake City. The quake was quite high in magnitude but didn’t do any harm to the city. There were no reports of casualty or major damages according to the U.S. Geological Survey. This is the worst earthquake experienced in Utah over 18 years. The strongest earthquake that hit Utah was a 4.3 magnitude in 1963.
According to TMZ, former bassist of American rock band Alice In Chains Mike Starr died at the age of 44. Mike Starr was found dead at his home in Salt Lake City, Utah- Tuesday March 8, 2011.
