BRET'S AN OSCAR WINNER!!!

[size=150:2calf34r]
And finally, Muppets!
I told you the rock ballad "
Man or Muppet"
by Bret McKenzie (yes, The Conchords' Bret McKenzie) was an amazing song. Now, the Academy thinks so too, since it's only one of two tunes picked for Music (Original Song) – the other from the animated film Rio. Maybe it's sad that this is the nomination that made me squeal this morning. But if it's wrong to be thrilled that the Muppets get a fifty/fifty shot at an Oscar, I don't want to be right.

http://www.peoplestylewatch.com/people/ ... 00,00.html

[size=150:1m1wdnc8]'I'm over the moon' says Muppet man McKenzie
By Paul Harper
11:11 AM Wednesday Jan 25, 2012


Bret McKenzie is waiting for Kermit the Frog to confirm whether he will accompany him to the Oscars.

The Flight of the Conchords star today had his song Man or Muppet - from the film The Muppets - nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards.

"
I'm over the moon,"
McKenzie told nzherald.co.nz.

"
I knew there was a chance, but I definitely wasn't sure we were going to get a nomination."


Man or Muppet, sung by How I Met Your Mother star Jason Segel, was one of three songs from the film long-listed for nomination.

"
I'm really happy it's Man or Muppet - that's my favourite song in the film,"
said McKenzie, who could be asked to perform the song at the live ceremony.

"
I think it is the best musical moment in the film. It's the strongest musical moment.

"
Everyone has had a time in their life when they've thought, 'Am I a man or a Muppet?'.

"
I think it connects on multiple levels."


Man or Muppet will go head to head with Real in Rio from the animated hit Rio, which was written by Brazilian music legends Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown with lyrics by Siedah Garrett, as the only two nominations in the category.

"
How confident am I? There is a 50 per cent chance,"
McKenzie said. "
The odds are good, in terms of Oscars, it seems. The only thing that would be better would be if there was only one nomination. Much better odds."


McKenzie is looking forward to attending the February 26 award ceremony.

"
It's going to be incredible. Hearing about the Oscars - it's the big Hollywood event. It's a huge honour to get to go."


Working with Kermit the Frog was a highlight of working on The Muppets film for McKenzie.

"
It's a strange feeling being star struck by a puppet,"
he said. "
I didn't realise Kermit was real. Now he's a friend of mine.

"
I'm waiting for an email from him. I want to see if he's coming to the Oscars.

"
He doesn't really do the red carpet. He's not great on his feet."


McKenzie called his mother Deidre Tarrant in Wellington early this morning to share the news.

"
It's pretty good, eh? We're pretty proud,"
she said. "
Very thrilled. Very stoked."


"
I was up all night singing the other song (Life's a Happy Song), but it's great Man or Muppet went through. I was giving it the vibes.

"
Man or Muppet is amazing. The video is great for that. That's the question - are you are a man or a muppet? That'll be on everyone's lips."


Segel congratulated McKenzie on Twitter.

"
Holy Moly! Man or Muppet was nominated for a best song Oscar! Congrats to Bret McKenzie and the whole Muppet team!!! So happy for everyone!"


After the awards, McKenzie said he had a "
bunch of different projects"
lined up.

"
I guess the one that is most relevant is Two Little Boys. I'm acting in a film that Robert and Duncan Sarkies have made. That's coming out this year.

"
That's exciting because that's a New Zealand film and I play a Southland bogan. It's very different to the Muppets. I've been lucky to be involved in some really fun projects in the last couple of years."

[size=150:16zdg9e1]'Muppets' Music Man Says Oscar Nod Was 'A Big Surprise'
[size=140:16zdg9e1]Bret McKenzie's 'Man or Muppet' is up against 'Real in Rio' for Best Original Song.

By Kara Warner (@karawarner)


There are always plenty of shocks, snubs and surprises when it comes to the unveiling of Oscar nominees each year. Today's announcement was met with all of the above, but overall there were more pleasant surprises than not.

One of our favorite nominees is "
Flight Of The Conchords"
actor-turned-"
Muppets"
music supervisor Bret McKenzie, who scored a Best Original Song nod for his "
Man or Muppet."


MTV News was lucky enough to get a few minutes on the phone with the still-in-shock McKenzie, who called in from his home in New Zealand.

"
We're celebrating with breakfast,"
McKenzie said. "
I woke up to the phone ringing nonstop, so then I picked up my phone and saw the news. I was very excited. I don't sound it, but I am very excited. It's a great day."


The multitalented New Zealander revealed that while "
Man or Muppet"
is his favorite song in "
The Muppets"
and that he is very proud of the earnest ballad, he never expected it to be recognized for anything.

"
I really wanted it to be hilarious and beautiful, and I feel like we got that combination. It's sincere but ridiculous,"
he said. "
The idea of children singing the song at school cracks me up."


McKenzie said that the nomination surprised almost the entire "
Muppets"
team, except perhaps writer/star Jason Segel, who made an outlandish prediction during production about the earnest tune's award potential.

"
The night we recorded 'Man or Muppet,' we had a few drinks and Jason Segel was predicting we'd get together at the Oscars, but he was joking,"
McKenzie recalled. "
[Maybe] that guy can see the future."


Once the actor/musician gets over the shock of his nomination, he'll have to start preparations for how the song will be performed during the 84th annual awards ceremony.

"
I don't know yet [how the song will be performed] but I was thinking we'll definitely need a man and a Muppet,"
McKenzie joked. "
Yeah, that's what we need."


When asked about his chances, McKenzie marveled at the fact that there are only two nominees, "
Man or Muppet"
and "
Real in Rio"
from "
Rio."


"
I was amazed there were only two nominees;
I was surprised. It seems unusual, but it's great because the odds are 50-50,"
he said. "
The only thing I guess would be better if there was only one nomination."

[size=150:2jewz8d4]'Muppets' songwriter Bret McKenzie talks about facing off against Sergio Mendes in the Best Song Oscar race: 'I'm hoping we have a drum battle on the red carpet!'
by Clark Collis

Because of the 487 hour (approx.) time difference between Los Angeles and New Zealand, Bret McKenzie was asleep when it was announced his Muppets movie tune “Man or Muppet” had been nominated for an Oscar. “My phone was ringing hot,” says the Kiwi and Flight of the Conchords member about discovering the news. “Then I checked my email. I had a lot of emails.”

For the first time in Oscar history the Best Song category is a straight two-ditty race with “Man or Muppet” facing off against “Real in Rio” from Rio. That also makes it something of a Conchord-versus-Conchord conflict given that McKenzie’s bandmate Jemaine Clement voices a cockatoo in the animated blockbuster. “I know, imagine if it had been Jemaine’s song from Rio,” laughs McKenzie. “That would have put real pressure on the band’s politics.”

“Real in Rio” was co-penned by Brazilian musician Sérgio Mendes. Would McKenzie care to kick off a war of words with the South American maestro? “Is he looking or a battle? Well, let’s just say I’m hoping we have a drum battle on the red carpet. No, I’ve seen Rio and it’s great. I’m a big fan of Sérgio Mendes.”

Unsurprisingly, McKenzie says he doesn’t know as yet what the plan is with regard to performing “Man or Muppet” on Oscar night. “It would be great to perform it onstage,” he says. “But, however we perform it, there’s got to be a man and a muppet involved!”

[size=150:13rfrwht]Conchord nabs Oscar nomination

LATEST: Flight of the Conchords' Bret McKenzie feels like a "
new world is opening up"
after this morning being told he has been nominated for an Oscar.

McKenzie has received the award nod for his song Man or Muppet in the film The Muppets.

The 84th annual Academy Award selections were announced this morning in Los Angeles.

McKenzie's nomination follows his receiving of a Critics' Choice award, beating out Mary J Blige and Elton John, for his work on the Muppets, for which he was musical director.

"
I'm having a great day. It's a great way to start a day with news you've been nominated for an Oscar,"
McKenzie said.

He had been trying to sleep and had ignored the phone as it rang through the early morning, but finally got up around 7am.

"
I kind of had a feeling when the phone started ringing a few times it must be good news,"
he said.

The first email about the nomination came in at 5.03am.

Of the three songs from the film that could have been nominated, he was very happy at the choice of Man or Muppet.

"
Not only because I wrote it, but also because it's my favourite song in the film,"
McKenzie said.

"
The pictures and music work really beautifully together."


With only two songs in the category "
it means I have a 50 per cent chance of the award, which is great. The only thing which would be better would be if there was one nomination"
.

Having grown up with the Muppets on television, he knew them well and writing songs for the movie had been great fun.

"
It wasn't hard writing the songs, but it took a lot of time to develop them with the film so they worked for the picture."


The Oscars were "
kind of the ultimate Hollywood event, so it's very surreal - taking calls from the Hollywood press about getting the Oscar nomination"
.

By 10.30am he had already done "
a bunch of interviews"
.

Even though he had been living between Wellington and Los Angeles for the past six or seven years, and now knew Los Angeles well, "
this feels like a whole new world is opening up"
, McKenzie said.

Today he was in Wellington, where he was recovering from a bout of tonsillitis.

With a mother who was a dance teacher and a father who was a singer it was no surprise he had become a "
song and dance man"
.

It was encouraging that as a New Zealander he had been able to be successful overseas, and hopefully it would spur more New Zealanders to get into the industry.

He noted the role of the Conchords in paving the way for him to work on other projects.

"
It really opened a lot of doors in Hollywood. The most unlikely people are Conchords' fans,"
McKenzie said.

For now he was waiting for the release of Duncan and Robert Sarkies' movie Two Little Boys, in which he stars.

Beyond that, he was developing a few things in America, but nothing he could talk about yet.

Mother Deirdre Tarrant said the nomination was "
pretty amazing"
.

"
The family is thrilled. We've all been ringing each other up."

[...]

"
I'm really happy it's Man or Muppet - that's my favourite song in the film,"
said McKenzie, [size=200:dhk73gde]who could be asked to perform the song at the live ceremony.

[size=150:r2w13b3p]Bret McKenzie 'Mind-Blown' Over Oscar Nod For 'Man Or Muppet'

Bret McKenzie, half of the comedy and singing duo Flight of the Conchords, has one really big thing over his partner, Jemaine Clement: He has just been nominated for an Oscar.

His composition, "
Man or Muppet"
from "
The Muppets"
is up for a Best Original Song award and McKenzie has a really good chance of winning, considering there is only one other song nominated in the category. He'll compete with Sergio Mendes' "
Real In Rio"
from the film "
Rio"
for the coveted golden statue.

The low-key McKenzie was home in New Zealand when he heard about his nomination and spoke to The Huffington Post about the honor.

Congrats on your Oscar nomination!

Thanks very much, it's awesome news. There's a lot of Oscar buzz at my house. I just woke up and got the news. We're going to have a big family dinner tonight to celebrate, but we had a dinner planned anyway for my mom's birthday. We're tacking on the Oscar nomination to my mom's birthday. Hopefully it doesn't take too much attention away from her day.

You have a 50 percent chance of winning.

I know, it doesn't look like a proper list. It looks like there's been some sort of mistake, like they need to add a few more songs on there. It's great -- I've got 50-50 odds. The only thing that would be better is if there was one nomination.

Are you excited to hear your song played at the Academy Awards?

It's pretty mind-blowing. Actually, it's not pretty mind-blowing -- it's very mind-blowing. It feels like one of those "
I made it"
moments. After you go to the Oscars, what else do you do? That's where Hollywood stops.

You wore a lot of animal t-shirts on your HBO show "
Flight of the Conchords."
Will you be wearing one to the Oscars?

Perhaps, or one of those tuxedo t-shirts, something slightly more formal. That's more Hollywood;
that's what [George] Clooney will be wearing. I was at the Critics' Choice Awards last week and it's very surreal being in the same room as people like Meryl Streep, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg.

Do you think being from New Zealand gives you a good perspective?

Oh yeah, it's great to be able to leave America and take a break from it because it's a very career-driven place and New Zealand is almost the opposite. New Zealand is more about lifestyle than it is about career.

Perhaps, or one of those tuxedo t-shirts, something slightly more formal.

New Zealand is more about lifestyle than it is about career.

onlyalways wrote:What if it had been Jemaine's song?!

“I know, imagine if it had been Jemaine’s song from Rio,” laughs McKenzie. “That would have put real pressure on the band’s politics.”

emira wrote:

onlyalways wrote:What if it had been Jemaine's song?!

As Bret said,

“I know, imagine if it had been Jemaine’s song from Rio,” laughs McKenzie. “That would have put real pressure on the band’s politics.”

:#lol#:

blondesnotbombs wrote:Deadline Hollywood is reporting that [url=Original Song nominees will not be performed at the ceremony this year][/url]. :#cry#: :#sadlove#: :#fingerwave#: Hopefully that's just a dirty rumor.

blondesnotbombs wrote:

blondesnotbombs wrote:

chrissycubana wrote: I keep thinking of the weeping angels when I see the scary nekkid oscar humanoid creature standing behind him...

Don't blink, Bret!!!! Don't. Blink. !!!


:#shy#: :#shy#: :#shy#: :#shy#: :#shy#: :#shy#: :#shy#:

blondesnotbombs wrote:Deadline Hollywood is reporting that [url=Original Song nominees will not be performed at the ceremony this year][/url]. :#cry#: :#sadlove#: :#fingerwave#: Hopefully that's just a dirty rumor.

[size=150:1cdwh09o]No Oscar gig for Bret - report

Flight of the Conchords' Bret McKenzie might get robbed of the opportunity to perform in front of millions at this month's Oscar show.

Due to a complicated voting system only two songs got the nod this year, but organisers have decided to not let either artist perform, website Deadline.com reported today.

McKenzie's Man or Muppet is up against Will.I.Am's Real in Rio at the awards on February 26 (local time). Both beat the likes of Mary J Blige and Elton John.

Both studios - Rio's Fox and The Muppets' Disney - formally protested the decision to skip the performances at the ceremony but received turn-downs.

"
It doesn't make sense. They could have so much fun with Muppets and Rio staging,"
the website is quoting an insider as saying.

In past years, the nominees for Best Original Song have been performed and were seen as an entertaining break from the speeches.

Though this decision sounded firm because of the "
telecast's pressure-cooker time constraints"
, there was still hope, Deadline reported.

Academy Awards telecast producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer were still working on the show.

"
The show is not locked yet. Decisions about this and other things continue to be evaluated by the team trying to produce the most entertaining three hours possible."

[size=150:1cdwh09o]The Oscars doing their best to make sure you won't have to listen to any Muppets



by Sean O'Neal February 7, 2012

As part of its continuing efforts to cut running time and potential for fun, the Oscars may have dropped the annual Best Original Song performances from this year’s telecast, thereby eliminating the possibility that viewers would have to sit through a performance from The Muppets when they could be listening to a nice acceptance speech, or watching a tribute montage to, say, people wearing eyeglasses in movies. The decision comes amid an Original Song category that's already been more controversial than most, as dozens of eligible tunes written by everyone from Elton John to Madonna to Mary J. Blige to Glenn Close were rejected for various arbitrary reasons, leaving only The Muppets’ “Man Or Muppet” and Rio’s “Real In Rio.”

Now Deadline reports that the telecast’s producers are considering essentially finishing the job by ensuring that no one—not Bret McKenzie, Jason Segel, and possibly a bunch of Muppets, nor Sergio Mendes and whoever among Rio’s voice cast wants to sing (though definitely not Jesse Eisenberg)—hijacks the stage and interrupts the grim solemnity of Billy Crystal’s routine with their spontaneity. Of course, the decision isn’t totally final, likely depending on if Randy Newman can write a pleasantly innocuous piano ballad they can nominate before then.

[size=150:1cdwh09o]Bret McKenzie Plans On Smuggling A Muppet Into The Oscars

[size=140:1cdwh09o]The Oscar-nominted tunesmith may not see his Man Or A Muppet played at the Oscars, but he plans on bringing a felt friend along anyway.

I just got off the phone with Bret McKenzie, which is a bummer, since it means I didn't get to see handsome Bret McKenzie in person. But I did get to ask him all sorts of questions about The Muppets (including finding out whether puppets even exist in the Muppetverse), and I brought up the fact that it seems as if there won't be a Best Song performance at the Oscars this year.

"
It's a shame,"
he told me. "
It would have been really fun to get a man and a Muppet up on that stage."


"
It seems pretty definite,"
he said when I asked if it was possible the Oscar producers might change their mind. "
It didn't seem to fit into their program for the show."


But there may yet be a Muppet at the Kodak Theater during the ceremony, McKenzie said.

"
Maybe I'll bring a Muppet with me, just in case. I'll put a Muppet in my pocket and I'll do it from my seat."


It's hard to believe that the Oscars can't find the time to let Muppets up on stage. What sort of an awards show is this anyway? I'll have more with Bret McKenzie soon, including his belief that the odds could never be better for him winning an Oscar... since they're 50/50.

[size=150:si7j9aln]Bret McKenzie On How The 2012 Oscars (Probably) Won't Have Musical Performances.
ADD COMMENT ON FEBRUARY 07, 2012 BY ROSS A. LINCOLN

By now you've surely heard the bizarre news, first reported by Deadline a few hours ago, that the 2012 Oscars will be entirely music free, at least as far as the two - yes, only two - nominees for Best Original Song are concerned. It seems sometime last night, the producers of this year's telecast decided to axe live performances by nominees Sergio Mendes ("
Real in Rio"
from Rio) and Bret McKenzie ("
Man or Muppet?"
from The Muppets).

What the hell were they thinking? Mendes' song isn't great, but a lavish, Rio-themed performance seems tailor-made for the Oscars. And McKenzie's "
Man or Muppet"
is not only an instant classic, it practically begs for a live performance involving actual Muppets. It makes sense then that the reaction has been the collective voice of those who care about this thing shouting WTF, just as they've been doing ever since this year's exceptionally tiny number of nominees for Best Original Song was announced*. That reaction seems to have been unexpected, which might be why the 2012 Oscars producers have been quietly, and anonymously, walking things back a bit. While they haven't issued an official statement yet, an anonymous representative did reach out to Deadline on their behalf to spin things more favorably. "
The show is not locked yet,"
the source said. "
Decisions about this and other things continue to be evaluated by the team trying to produce the most entertaining 3 hours possible."


Yes, we all know this is probably not true, and that if songs make it into the final telecast it was the result of a policy reversal. But at least it's obvious that this is a PR headache the Oscar team doesn't want. We all know that the Oscars is more of an advertisement for the film industry than a celebration of artistic excellence. It's spectacle and gossip, formal ball and prom all rolled into one. It is, in other words, great television, just like the Superbowl. And like in the Superbowl, normally you need the musical performances just to mix things up. But when your nominees include a musical living legend and one half of the most beloved comedy duo of our time, failing to grab additional viewers by flaunting their talent is nuts. NVTS nuts. Stop dithering guys. Give us our singing Muppets, ok?

Serendipitously, this news broke this morning just as I was about to begin an interview with Bret McKenzie about his Oscar nomination. The full transcript of that interview will be up later this week, but it's worth noting now that I got to ask him about the axed performances, and his vision for how his would have gone. First confirming that he was informed of the decision last night, he was careful to make it clear he has "
no hard feelings for the Academy"
, and is happy to have been nominated, but that he considers the missed opportunity a disappointment. That he intended to perform with Jason Segal and a host of Muppets makes the decision to cut the performances a little insane. You can read the whole thing on Friday.