Disney's "A Christmas Carol" Poster

Though Disney may be returning to 2D animation with "The Princess & The Frog" they aren't going to throw in the towel with 3D animation yet either. In fact, they may have done one of the smartest things by signing a multi-picture deal with Oscar-winner Robert Zemeckis. Now Bob may be best known for "Forrest Gump" and the "Back To The Future" trilogy, but in recent years he's been perfecting motion capture technology. His most recent work was with "Beowulf," which took in so much more money with it's IMAX and 3D showings that Hollywood had to sit up and take notice. His most noticble work in recent years was "The Polar Express." Though the movie was snubbed an Oscar nomination in favor of Dreamworks (far more subpar in my opinion) "Shark Tale," Bob had the last laugh when word-of-mouth made his film a much bigger hit. Not only that, but IMAX found it could be a yearly tradition, and the thing was re-released for five years straight every Christmas at IMAX.

That said though "The Polar Express" is starting to run out of steam, and IMAX needs a new tradition to keep them alive during the holidays. Enter Disney's "A Christmas Carol." Bob has wrote the screenplay, directed the film, and Disney is finally coming home to IMAX after a long absense. What should make this a big hit is Jim Carrey providing the voice of not only Scrooge, but the three ghosts as well. If this movie is half as good as "The Polar Express" was we should have a new Christmas tradition on our hands. Oh, and hopefully the Academy won't blunder the nomination with this one.

Carrey Goes Gay

It turns out Jim Carrey's next major role after "Yes Man" will be playing a gay man in "I Love You Phillip Morris." The love interest will be played by the mostly reliable Ewan McGregor. While some people may find this shocking, I'm not too surprised. Jim Carrey is a man whose been wanting to be taken seriously for years. Trouble is, his serious movies rarely match the box office appeal that his comedy films do. So whenever he makes a Carrey-vehicle like "Yes Man," you know that he's only doing it for the paycheck. His next film will always be far, far more ambitious. Don't believe me? Just remember that after he made the highly sucessful comedy "Bruce Almighty" he then moved onto what is arguebly his best role to date: "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." Of course, Carrey has never been nominated for an Academy Award for any of these serious roles.

On one hand it surprises me, considering he's been in "The Truman Show," "Man on the Moon," "The Majestic," and the aforementioned "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." Then I remember that this is the Oscars we're talking about, and there are still many acclaimed actors who have never won an Oscar in actual competition (Peter O'Toole anyone?). Despite this history though, chances are this will be Carrey's first nomination. If for no other reason then the fact that the Academy feels that a straight man playing a gay man is "bold and daring," as if it's really a big stretch for Carrey to be acting flamboyant. I haven't seen the movie yet, and who knows if this is really an Oscar worthy film, but keep an eye on it next year. Something tells me this could really, truly be Carrey's first Academy Award nomination.