Detroit’s loss could be Cleveland’s gain.

Last week, Marvel Studios pulled out of doing location shooting in Detroit for their upcoming Avengers film following Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s repeal of tax break incentives designed to lure filmmakers to the state. While Snyder may be turning his back on filmmakers, Governor John Kasich in neighboring Ohio is hoping to lure the production to Cleveland.

The Cleveland Leader is reporting that Governor Kasich is lobbying to have Marvel bring the film’s location work to the northern Ohio city when it starts production later this spring. Reportedly, the production, to be directed by Joss Whedon, would inject approximately $40 million into the local economy.

I still wish that Marvel would shoot the film in New York City, where the Avengers have called their home for four decades in the comics. But if Marvel is going to shoot in another city, I suppose Cleveland is a good substitute. After all, it’s the town Howard the Duck has been calling home for years.

Quentin Tarantino’s next film is going to be a spaghetti western.

If you are surprised by this, then you just haven’t been paying attention. It should be fairly obvious by now that the director has been working his way through the various film genres over the course of his career. He’s had tips of the ten gallon hat to westerns in some of his films before, most notably Kill Bill Volume 2. In his most recent movie, the men-on-a-mission, World War Two adventure Inglorious Basterds, he blatantly quoted John Ford’s seminal western The Searchers in one shot. For Tarantino to be making his next film in the spaghetti western tradition just feels like the right next project for the director.

And what makes this news even more interesting is that it looks like Tarantino will be working once again with his Inglorious Basterds star Christoph Waltz. The German actor made quite an impact in Basterds, winning an Academy Award for this his first English-language film and it is exciting to hear that the two will be teaming up again.

Outside of these two points, though, there is not much known about the project. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of rumors flying about. (It is a Tarantino project after all.) Italian director Franco Nero has been saying in the press that the film will definitely be called The Angel, The Bad And The Wise, but as good a title as that is, it has already been debunked over at AintltCool. Nero is also saying that Treat Williams, Keith Carradine and himself all have roles in the picture, but I think we can take that with the appropriately-sized grain of salt. Another rumor pegs production to begin in the Fall, possibly in Italy and Spain. Again, apply salt as you feel necessary.

The biggest upset of the night was the fact that there were not any upsets. The favorites won in pretty much every category, just like everyone knew that they would. And I think this led to this telecast being regarded on the Internet as one of the most boring, even though it was relatively short by Oscar standards.

The favorites winning out is only part of the reason why this was such a snoozefest. Another big reason had to be the host. James Franco and Anne Hathaway are charming people. They’re easy to look at, too. But together, on this night, they were deadly. They became magnified reflections of their usual film roles. Hathaway became the overly hyper sweetheart who was a little too eager to please, and Franco became the laconic and acerbic young man who was having trouble staying awake.

Granted, they weren’t given much to work with. When dressing in drag is the creative apex, you are in trouble. But the hosts, well, the whole show as a matter of fact, seemed more than just a bit off.

Not that there weren’t high points. Kirk Douglas’ bit at times seemed for the first couple minutes like it was anything but a joke. But once you caught on, it became a brilliant bit of comedy. Melissa Leo dropping the f-bomb was something that doesn’t happen every day. And Trent Reznor winning the Oscar for Best Music made a certain demographic in the viewing audience feel old. And there was an acceptance speech here and there that added levity to the proceedings.

But the show had the feel of a bunch of 50 year olds trying to appear hip for the younger demographic. The opening bit with Franco and Hathaway cameoing their way throughout the Oscar nominated films was a dumbed down version of similar intros that have opened the show before. And the autotuned film musical segment was really painful to watch. And, really, announcing that the Academy agreed on a new contract with ABC for the telecast really isn’t big enough to be announced at the telecast.

The reason why the awards were predictable was because all the favorites truly deserved the award. All of the winners in the major categories were the best in their particular category. It’s even hard to be outraged that Christopher Nolan got passed over for Best Original Screenplay because David Seider’s script for The King’s Speech was witty excellence.

So, it’s hard to get upset over anything at this year’s show. It was blah to the next level. But tame and safe was probably exactly what the Academy wanted.

The King’s Speech was the  big winner at tonight’s Academy Awards showing, taking home the prizes for Best Picture, Director, Lead Actor for Colin Firth and Original Screenplay. Christopher Nolan’s mindbending science-fiction adventure Inception also won four Oscars for Cinematography, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and Visual Effects. The Social Network, director David Fincher’s look at the rise of internet phenomenon Facebook took home three awards for Film Editing, Original Soundtrack and Adapted Screenplay.

The list of tonight’s winners are -

Best Picture – The King’s Speech, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers

Performance by an actor in a leading role – Colin Firth, The King’s Speech

Performance by an actor in a supporting role -  Christian Bale in The Fighter

Performance by an actress in a leading role – Natalie Portman in Black Swan

Performance by an actress in a supporting role – Melissa Leo in The Fighter

Best animated feature film of the year -  Toy Story 3, director Lee Unkrich

Art Direction -  Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney), Robert Stromberg (Production Design), Karen O’Hara (Set Decoration)

Achievement in Cinematography – Inception (Warner Bros.) Wally Pfister

Achievement in costume design – Alice in Wonderland, Colleen Atwood

Achievement in directing – The King’s Speech, Tom Hooper

Best Documentary Feature – Inside Job, Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs

Best documentary short subject – Strangers No More, Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon

Achievement in film editing – The Social Network, Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

Best foreign language film of the year – In a Better World,  Denmark

Achievement in makeup – The Wolfman, Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) – The Social Network, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song) – “We Belong Together” from Toy Story 3, Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

Best animated short film – The Lost Thing (Nick Batzias for Madman Entertainment) A Passion Pictures Australia Production Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann

Best live action short film - God of Love , Luke Matheny

Achievement in sound editing – Inception, Richard King

Achievement in sound mixing – Inception, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick

Achievement in visual effects – Inception, Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb

Adapted screenplay – The Social Network Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin

Original screenplay – The King’s Speech Screenplay by David Seidler

Jon M Chu, the director of the first Step Up dance movies and the Justin Bieber film currently in theaters, has been hired to direct Paramount’s GI Joe 2. On the face of it, the hiring certainly seems a bit out of the blue. I would imagine, though, that when he made his pitch to the studio for the job, he took a page from John Woo’s playbook and drew a parrallel between action and dance sequences. That still doesn’t address whether the follow up will have a better script.

Deadline broke the story of Chu’s hiring, but there also was another interesting nugget buried in their report. It appears that Paramount is now trying to see which actors they can lure back for the sequel, starting with lead Channing Tatum. I have to say that I am surprised by this, as it seems to imply that none of the cast was signed with sequel options when hired for the original film. Reportedly Sienna Miller will not be back as the Baroness, so that part will have to be recast. Also, Joseph Gordon Levitt has been fielding a lot of offers that are probably more appealing than GI Joe 2. I would guess that since it would be hard to exclude either character from the new film, those two roles will be recast.

But the even bigger surprise is that Paramount is insisting on moving ahead on a GI Joe sequel. While the first film did alright business, it was roasted by critics and audiences alike. I’m surprised to think that the studio believes that there is enough good will towards the idea of a sequel that would move forward.

It’s that time of the year again, Oscar time! The question everyone is asking (at least in my household) is this: in a year with so many perceived dead solid locks, could their be any surprising upsets? Well, of course there could! That’s what makes the Oscars the Oscars!

In this post, we go through the major categories, pick who we think will will, and who has the best chance for an upset. This way, all of our bases are covered (unless, of course, we are wrong). We’ll even give you our odds for an upset. So, here we go!

Best animated feature film of the year

• How to Train Your Dragon (Paramount) Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
• The Illusionist (Sony Pictures Classics) Sylvain Chomet
• Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney) Lee Unkrich

And the Oscar Goes to: Toy Story 3.

Unless it goes to: The Illusionist.

Chance of Upset: 75%

It’s a strong year for animated fare. All the nominees are crafted with heart and are strong candidates. Toy Story 3 should carry on Pixar’s domination of the category, but The Illusionist has a better than outside chance.

Adapted screenplay

• 127 Hours (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
• The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing), Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
• Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Michael Arndt. Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
• True Grit (Paramount), Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
• Winter’s Bone (Roadside Attractions), Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

And the Oscar Goes to: The Social Network.

Unless it goes to: Toy Story 3.

Chance of Upset: 56%

I think Sorkin will take this award, but out of the rest of the contenders, Toy Story 3′s team brought a lot of heart and feeling to a third installment of a franchise. That’s an accomplishment.

Original screenplay

• Another Year (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Mike Leigh
• The Fighter (Paramount), Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson. Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
• Inception (Warner Bros.), Written by Christopher Nolan
• The Kids Are All Right (Focus Features), Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
• The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Seidler

And the Oscar Goes to: The King’s Speech.

Unless it goes to: Inception.

Chance of Upset: 89%

Odds are that The King’s Speech will win in what could be a runaway blowout for the movie. But the Academy likes to give consolation prizes to directors who were snubbed in other categories. That, and Inception‘s inventiveness make it a strong upset prospect.

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

• Amy Adams in “The Fighter” (Paramount)
• Helena Bonham Carter in “The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company)
• Melissa Leo in “The Fighter” (Paramount)
• Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit” (Paramount)
• Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom” (Sony Pictures Classics)

And the Oscar Goes to: Melissa Leo

Unless it goes to:Hailee Steinfeld

Chance of Upset: 97%

I am going to go on a limb here and say if there is an upset in any category, there will be one here. Although, a lot of people are saying the same thing. Leo is truly deserving–her performance was awe-inspiring, but the Academy likes give awards to youth actors in this category. A lot.

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

• Christian Bale in “The Fighter” (Paramount)
• John Hawkes in “Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions)
• Jeremy Renner in “The Town” (Warner Bros.)
• Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features)
• Geoffrey Rush in “The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company)

And the Oscar Goes to: Christian Bale

Unless it goes to: Jeremy Renner

Chance of Upset: 1%

Yeah, if there is a mortal lock here, it’s Bale. If he doesn’t get the award, there is something seriously wrong. But if I had to pick any underdog, and I have to, my gut tells me Renner has the best chance, which is slim to none.

Performance by an actress in a leading role

• Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features)
• Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole” (Lionsgate)
• Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions)
• Natalie Portman in “Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight)
• Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine” (The Weinstein Company)

And the Oscar Goes to: Natalie Portman

Unless it goes to: Michelle Williams

Chance of Upset: 27%

Portman left it all on the screen in Black Swan, and the Academy loooooves that. But there have been rumblings she is vulnerable. Most of these rumblings involve Bening, but I think if there is an upset, Williams will be the one to do the upsetting. She left it all on screen too, in a less esoteric film.

Performance by an actor in a leading role

• Javier Bardem in “Biutiful” (Roadside Attractions)
• Jeff Bridges in “True Grit” (Paramount)
• Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
• Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech”  (The Weinstein Company)
• James Franco in “127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight)

And the Oscar Goes to: Colin Firth

Unless it goes to: James Franco

Chance of Upset: 13%

Yeah, it’s pretty much Firth’s award to lose. He played a real person, a monarch no less, who overcomes a medical malady in a time of need. That’s catnip to the Academy. But Franco has three things going for him:1) He was pretty much the movie, being on screen almost the whole time 2) He also struggled with adversity. I mean, he had to act like he cut his own hand off, for goodness sake! And…3) He’s co-hosting the awards. Which would be a trip if he won. A long shot, but an intriguing one.

Achievement in directing

• Black Swan (Fox Searchlight), Darren Aronofsky
• The Fighter (Paramount), David O. Russell
• The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company), Tom Hooper
• The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing), David Fincher
• True Grit (Paramount), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

And the Oscar Goes to: Tom Hooper

Unless it goes to: David Fincher

Chance of Upset: 99.9%

Almost a 100% chance of upset? Hey, what gives!?! I don’t get to do this, do I?  Well, here is why I did this. I think there will be a split between Director and Picture this year. The Social Network will win one, The King’s Speech the other. However, I don’t know exactly which category each film will carry. I slightly favor Hooper here, but not enough to make Fincher that much of an underdog.  So, there you go.

Best Picture

• Black Swan (Fox Searchlight) A Protozoa and Phoenix Pictures Production, Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
• The Fighter (Paramount) A Relativity Media Production, David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
• Inception (Warner Bros.) A Warner Bros. UK Services Production, Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers)
• The Kids Are All Right (Focus Features) An Antidote Films, Mandalay Vision and Gilbert Films Production, Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
• The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company) A See-Saw Films and Bedlam Production, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
• 127 Hours (Fox Searchlight) An Hours Production, Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
• The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing) A Columbia Pictures Production, Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
• Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney) A Pixar Production, Darla K. Anderson, Producer
• True Grit (Paramount) A Paramount Pictures Production, Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
• Winter’s Bone (Roadside Attractions) A Winter’s Bone Production, Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

And the Oscar Goes to: The Social Network

Unless it goes to: The King’s Speech

Chance of Upset: 99.9%

See above for my logic on the percentage. And while The King’s Speech has everything the Academy likes in a movie, I’m giving the ever-so-slight advantage to The Social Network, which is more relevant.

Joel McHale is the latest addition to the cast of Seth MacFarlane’s just-heading-into-production comedy Ted. McHale will play the slimy boss of star Mark Wahlberg who is a human resources professional’s sexual harassment nightmare with his constant hitting on Wahlberg’s co-worker, to be played by Mila Kunis.

The film revolves a wish that was granted to Wahlberg’s character made as a child to have his teddy bear come to life. Two decades later, the stuffed toy, to be voiced by Family Guy creator MacFarlane, is still alive but now causing problems for his owner.

McHale has had a busy schedule of late. In addition to headlining the ensemble cast of the NBC series Community now in its sophomore year, he has roles in three films scheduled for release later this year - Spy Kids 4, What’s Your Number? And The Big Year. He will be hosting the Independent Spirit Awards ceremony tomorrow evening.

Earlier this week, Giovanni Ribisi joined the cast. Filming commenced this past Tuesday in the Boston suburb of Norwood.

Drive Angry In 3D (Summitt Entertainment 2,290 Theaters, 104 Minutes, Rated R): As Nicolas Cage slowly works his way through the low-rent genres, he kills two birds with one stone this week. He takes on Grindhouse -style action and the 3-D trend. I fear to see what is coming next.

The plot is simple. A cult leader has stolen Cage’s baby. He wants it back. Gunshots, chases and explosions ensue.

Considering that Cage put out a film in the last few weeks that went down in flames, don’t hold your hopes for this one, no matter how good the supporting cast is around him. It might be worthy if it has a sense of humor, but the ads make it hard to tell if that’s the case.

Hall Pass (Warner Brothers/New Line, 2,950 Theaters, Rated R): Wow. Two R-Rated films in one week. What year is this, 1986?

This film has a lot going against it. On the surface, it’s about two men who’s wives let them out of their marriage for a week so they can experience being single again. First off, speaking as a married man, that never happens. At least not without consequences. Two, the men are played by Owen Wilson and Jason Sudekis as dorks. Why do I call them dorks? Because they want to cheat on Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate, that’s why.

But it’s done by the Farrelly Brothers, who haven’t done so well in the last couple of years but are solid directors. The cast has a lot of high points, namely Fischer and Richard Jenkins. And it’s going up against Drive Angry, so it’s got that going for it, which is nice.

As we’ve known for some time, the hold up in getting a third Ghostbusters film in front of cameras has been almost entirely dependent on whether or not star Bill Murray deigns to slide an unlicensed nuclear accelerator onto his back for one more go-round. Everybody else involved seem to like the screenplayt by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg and they’re just waiting on Murray to give it the nod as well.

The problem is Murray hasn’t read the script yet.

In an interview with Howard Stern on his Sirius-XM, Murray admitted that he had been procrastinating on getting to the screenplay.

[Producer Ivan Reitman]’s puzzled that I haven’t gotten to this [script]. Well, I’ll get to it. I gotta get to it. I feel bad. I got a message and I think people — I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. It’s not the foremost thing in my mind, so I don’t think about it.

Murray again explained his reticence with a line he has used before in interviews – “I only made one sequel. It was Ghostbusters 2, and it didn’t end up the way it was presented.”

Although Murray was calling in to the Stern show to discuss the DVD release of his latest film Get Low, he wound up talking about a good portion of his career in a discussion that lasted almost an hour. You can hear all of it below. His thoughts about Ghostbusters 3 comes midway through the second part.

Giovanni Ribisi has joined the cast of Seth MacFarlane’s comedy Ted.

The film stars Mark Wahlberg as a man whose childhood wish that his teddy bear could come to life was granted. While this can be great fun when you’re ten, complications can arise when he’s still hanging around two decades later. Ribisi will be Whalberg’s friend Donny who is strangely obsessed with Ted, the living teddy bear. MacFarlane will supply the voice of the titular living toy.

Family Guy creator MacFarlane started production on this his debut feature film yesterday, with filming commencing in the Boston suburb of Norwood.