Miss Michigan crowned Miss America 2008

LAS VEGAS -- Miss Michigan Kirsten Haglund, a 19-year-old aspiring Broadway star, was crowned Miss America 2008 on Saturday in a live show billed as the unveiling of the 87-year-old pageant's new, hipper look.

Haglund, of Farmington Hills, Mich., sang "Over the Rainbow" to clinch the title. She beat Miss Indiana Nicole Elizabeth Rash, the first runner up, and Miss Washington Elyse Umemoto, the second runner up for the $50,000 scholarship and year of travel that comes with the crown.

Haglund, who studies music at the University of Cincinnati, grew up in a pageant family. Her mother is an active volunteer, and her grandmother Iora Hunt, competed for the crown as Miss Michigan 1944. Hunt was in the audience Saturday.

Haglund, a cheery, classic blond, wore a revealing silver sequined dress and black bikini during the evening gown and swimsuit portions of the pageant. As her platform issue, she promised to advocate for awareness of eating disorders, an illness from which she has recovered.

Haglund claimed 2007 Miss Michigan honors last June in Muskegon. She entered that pageant as Miss Oakland County and won a $10,000 scholarship.


Haglund was the second Farmington Hills resident to be crowned Miss Michigan in as many years. Angela Corsi won last year in her fifth and final year of eligibility.

The crowning at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip was aired for the first time on TLC. It capped a four-week reality series, "Miss America: Reality Check," which followed the contestants as they were pushed to shed the dated look of Miss Americas past and adopt a more updated style.

The show was the latest in a series of attempts to find an audience with a younger demographic after more than a decade of declining ratings.

The 52 newly made-over aspiring beauty queens who sought the top tiara sported updated hairdos, sassy attitudes and red carpet-worthy fashion throughout the competition.

Usually tame by modern TV standards, the swimwear competition kicked it up a notch. Most contestants wore black bikinis, and some struck provocative poses and twirled as the audience howled.

Contestants also wore blue jeans and added a bit of humor to the traditional opening number, the parade of states.Producers had hoped a new confident attitude would show through on the catwalks, and Miss Utah, Jill Stevens, an Army medic who served in Afghanistan, didn't disappoint.

"Home of the country's highest birth rate -- as long as the Osmonds don't move," she announced.

Stevens made it to the final 16, selected as "America's Choice," based on voting via text messages from viewers of a reality show that was designed make over the beauty queens and attract a new generation of fans. Judges chose the other finalists.

Miss Utah didn't make it to the final 10, but she took the disappointment with pluck. She dropped and gave the audience push ups before joining the other losers.

Producers added a twist to the interview portion, as well. They asked people on the street to pose questions, and the results were edgier than usual. Contestents were asked about binge drinking, HIV and Britney Spears' pregnant younger sister, Jamie Lynn.

"No I don't think she should be fired," Miss Indiana Nicole Elizabeth Rash said. "They're still people, they're still human beings. We all deserve second chances."

The long-struggling pageant had promised a new look for this year's beauty battle. "Entertainment Tonight" reporter Mark Steines was the master of ceremonies of the show. Clinton Kelly of TLC's hit "What Not to Wear" also helped with the hosting duties. Kelly had instructed the girls on how to update their looks during the reality show.

The pageant sounded different, too. A deejay spun dance music from turntables set up on stage. Contestant danced and waved to the audience during commercials breaks. The losers were seated on risers on one side of the stage, while the parents of the finalists, in black tie, were seated on the other.

The show was the latest in a series of attempts to find a new audience after more than a decade of declining ratings. The fading institution was dropped from network television in 2004. It spent a two-year stint on Country Music Television before being picked up last summer by TLC, a cable channel reaching 93 million homes in the U.S.

TLC added the pageant to its reality-TV stable, and announced plans to reinvent the look of the show and find an "It girl" ready for modern celebrity.

In addition to the $50,000 scholarship, Haglund will embark on a year of promoting the pageant, her platform issue and the Children's Miracle Network, a pageant partner.

Article by : Associated Press

Oscar Forecast: Razzie Nominations

If you didn't know, Lindsay Lohan film a movie called I Know Who Killed Me, in which she played a small-town girl who may also have been a stripper named Dakota. That film led the Golden Raspberry Award nominations, which (dis)honor the worst flicks of the year. Eddie Murphy set a new record with five nominations in a single year (for all the characters he played in Norbit. Here's the complete list of nominees:




Worst Picture

Bratz

Daddy Day Camp

I Know Who Killed Me

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry

Norbit


Worst Actor

Nicolas Cage (Ghost Rider, National Treasure: Book of Secrets and Next)

Jim Carrey (The Number 23)

Cuba Gooding, Jr. (Daddy Day Camp and Norbit)

Eddie Murphy (Norbit)

Adam Sandler (I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry)


Worst Actress

Jessica Alba (Awake, Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver Surfer and Good Luck Chuck)

Logan Browning, Janel Parrish, Nathalia Ramos & Skyler Shaye (Bratz)

Elisha Cuthbert (Captivity)

Diane Keaton (Because I Said So)

Lindsay Lohan (I Know Who Killed Me)

Lindsay Lohan (I Know Who Killed Me) [double nomination for each role she played]



Worst Supporting Actor

Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End)

Kevin James (I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry)

Eddie Murphy (Norbit) [as Mr. Wong]

Rob Schneider (I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry)

Jon Voight (Bratz, National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, September Dawn, Transformers)


Worst Supporting Actress

Jessica Biel (I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, Next)

Carmen Electra (Epic Movie)

Eddie Murphy (Norbit) [as Rasputia]

Julia Ormond (I Know Who Killed Me)

Nicolette Sheridan (Code Name - The Cleaner)


Worst Screen Couple

Jessica Alba & EITHER Hayden Christensen (Awake) OR Dane Cook (Good Luck Chuck) OR Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer)

Any Combination of Two Totally Air-Headed Characters (Bratz)

Lindsay Lohan & Lindsay Lohan (I Know Who Killed Me)

Eddie Murphy (as Norbit) & EITHER Eddie Murphy (as Mr. Wong) OR Eddie Murphy (as Rasputia) (Norbit)

Adam Sandler & EITHER Kevin James OR Jessica Biel (I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry)


Worst Remake or Rip-Off

Are We Done Yet?

Bratz

Epic Movie

I Know Who Killed Me

Who's Your Caddy?

Worst Prequel or Sequel

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem

Daddy Day Camp

Evan Almighty

Hannibal Rising

Hostel - Part II


Worst Director

Dennis Dugan (I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry)

Roland Joffe (Captivity)

Brian Robbins (Norbit)

Fred Savage (Daddy Day Camp)

Chris Siverston (I Know Who Killed Me)


Worst Screenplay

Daddy Day Camp

Epic Movie

I Know Who Killed Me

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry

Norbit


Worst Excuse for a Horror Movie

Alien vs. Predator: Requiem

Captivity

Hannibal Rising

Hostel: Part II

I Know Who Killed Me


What was the worst movie you saw in 2007?
-- Ellen From www.amazon.com/daily

2008 Golden Globe Winners

Everyone golf-claps for Atonement, the winner of the Best Motion Picture Drama Award, the final Golden Globe handed out this evening, and it ends — just like that. It has to be one of the most anti-climactic moments in the history of entertainment. A congratulations is in order for Joe Wright though, whose film may now become a frontrunner for the Best Picture Oscar.

So here we are to run you through the list of Golden Globe winners, in a hopefully more entertaining manner than was just witnessed on the TV Guide Network. There was commentary about the Writers Strike, Mary Hart making bad jokes and a whole bunch of surprises — and above all, Juno got absolutely screwed. Then again, we could have seen that one coming.

Without further ado, here is the list of winners from tonight’s Golden Globes Ceremony Press Conference:

Category - Winner

Best Motion Picture - Drama - Atonement

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be

Blood

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama - Julie Christie, Away From Her

Best Performance by an Actor - Musical or Comedy - Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy- Marion Cotiallard, La Vie en Rose

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There

Best Director - Motion Picture Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men

Best Original Song - Motion Picture “Guaranteed”, Into the Wild

Best Original Score - Motion Picture Dario Marianelli, Atonement

Best Animated Film - Ratatouille

Best Foreign Language Film - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly


So there you have it, those are the winners from the movie side, at least. If you are interested in the TV winners, I would suggest heading on over to to IMDB.com’s Awards Page.

Article From : http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/ by Neil Miller