1) Highlights of Al Gore’s Challenge - We Can Solve it

For the Cinema YouTube Video of the Day, Click here>>

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We all remember the Cary Grants, George Clooneys, Al Pacinos, Robert DeNiros and Brad Pitts - and as wonderful as they all are, a great film they do not make - at least not on their own. Likewise, when it comes to making a difference, or working on an action, not everyone can get the glory. And a solid team is always stronger than one person working alone.

In honor of this, I give you - the Top 10 Actors Consistently in Supporting Roles. Often called character actors, the men below all did their part in smaller roles to make many films much more memorable.

Of course there a ton I didn’t mention - contribute to the discussion and leave your vote in the comments section. And if you want to learn how you can be a team player and TakePart, and sign up here at TakePart.com to join actions and meet folks you can work with and support in making the world a better place.

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1. Ned Beatty : His first role, in Deliverance (1972), set the stage for Ned Beatty to become someone that would entertain us quite frequently. With smaller roles in films that include Network, Superman, All the President’s Men, He Got Game and most recently Charlie Wilson’s War, Ned Beatty is one of the best examples of how being a team player can make the team (in this case “the movie”) something truly amazing. Below is a clip from his great performance in Network.

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It may not have won Best Picture (should have!) but There Will Be Blood packed a cinematic punch with social messages galore. Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic tale of a California oil man and his experience in a religious small town doesn’t take sides and watching Danial Day-Lewis and Paul Dano discuss the issues that we are all indirectly dealing with everyday is pretty powerful. But with a story about oil and evangelism, There Will Be Blood has no doubt been fostering lots of discussion.

And action almost always begins with discussion.

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One more Oscar note before I put the 80th Academy Awards to bed when it comes to blogging. Yesterday everyone was ripping on the Oscars, calling the show boring, flat and complaining that it isn’t a show for real movie lovers. Well duh! It’s a 3+ hour awards show that’s recognizing the best in Hollywood. So of course you get a show that’s long, not too controversial and the movies that win are the best of the best of the mainstream. I’m always surprised when people get angry about this. Of course the films nominated aren’t really the best films of the year (although I thought the Academy did pretty good this year, There Will Be Blood, Michael Clayton and No Country For Old Men, are actually really really good). Of course the host, in this case Jon Stewart, is kind of lame (although I thought he did a really good subtle job myself). What do you expect for a show being broadcast on a major network to tons and tons of people?

So why do I watch and why should you watch the show? Why am I always excited about it? My answers are below:

1. Back in the day really good films were nominated and did win - check out past nominees and winners from the 70’s or the 60’s or the 5o’s etc.. They were amazing films, and I guess each year I watch in hopes that things will again start to shift in American cinema, back to a time where blockbusters and the weekend box office didn’t rule the day. This year saw The Coen brothers winning a lot of awards and you know what Joel and Ethan Coen are really good filmmakers. I would argue that No Country is definitely not their best, but who knows, my guess is that more Americans will be inclined to give Barton Fink and Miller’s Crossing a look now.

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Part of the fun of watching the Oscars every year is listening to the speeches and hoping for words of wisdom, inspiration and of course words that make us laugh from some of most talented folks in the industry.

Below are my Top 5 Oscar Speeches from last night that made the 3+ hour show worth it.

1. Daniel Day-Lewis winning Best Actor for There Will Be Blood : It should be said that I have long been a fan of Daniel Day-Lewis, but that aside, his acceptable speech last night had all the elements - he started off with a simple joke, inspired us with his carefully crafted tribute to the great Paul Thomas Anderson, and then touched our hearts with the thanks he gave his co-stars and his family - all the while keeping calm and not rambling.

And that’s the closest I’ll ever come to getting a knighthood, so thank you.

My deepest thanks to the members of the Academy for whacking me with the handsomest bludgeon in town. I’m looking at this gorgeous thing you’ve given me and I’m thinking back to the first devilish whisper of an idea that came to him and everything since and it seems to me that this sprang like a golden sapling out of the mad, beautiful head of Paul Thomas Anderson.

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Several topics really stood out this week, including the Oscars as social advocacy inspiration, civil rights and Black History Month, and lots of hot news on entertainment going Green. Check out our most popular posts of the week on these subjects, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

Happy Belated “Freedom to Marry” Week!

Rosa and Raymond Parks: Valiant Valentine #5

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Nicole:

Top 10 Oscar Picks to Inspire Social Action

Cornel West: Black Thoughts On Black History Month

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Giulia:

H&M’s “Fashion Against AIDS”

Ed Begley Jr. Goes Green

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Gina:

Top 10 Best Picture Winners That Inspire

Remixing “Chicago 10″

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Kerry:

How To Set the World On Fire Without Burning Out

Eco-Brokers Cater to Green Homebuyers

The 80th Annual Academy Awards are almost upon us, and I’m sure you all have your favorite films that you’re routing for. We here at TakePart have our fave films too, of course based on their relevance to social action and advocacy. Check out our picks for these top 10 Oscar categories, and how these films have left the world a bit of a better place than before they arrived on the big (or little) screen!

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Actor in a Leading Role: Tommy Lee Jones in In the Valley of Elah

Tommy Lee Jones gives an incredible performance as a war veteran searching for his son, a soldier who recently returned from Iraq, but has now mysteriously disappeared. The shadow of the Iraq war is cast across several films that have been nominated this year, but Jones’ moving performance highlights the emotional and spiritual battles soldiers and their families must face long after they’ve come home from the combat zone.

and find out what you can do to help Veterans for Peace seek justice for veterans and victims of war, and to abolish war as an instrument of national policy.

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