Katie Holmes is expanding her presence in the beauty world! The actress, who is the first celebrity face of Bobbi Brown cosmetics, just signed on as the co-owner and spokesperson for Alterna haircare. According to Holmes, one of the driving forces behind her decision was the brand’s eco-friendly nature. “I love that Alterna uses natural and organic ingredients and stays away from harsh chemicals like sulfates and parabens,”

Congratulations to Disney Studios for a banner year in film!   Disney Studios earned  12 nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Lincoln (the most for any film this year), including for the coveted title of Best Picture, and one nomination each for Brave, Frankenweenie, Wreck-It Ralph, Paperman andMarvel’s The Avengers.

 

Summary of Oscar® nominations:

Lincoln (DreamWorks/Touchstone)

— Best Picture

— Performance By An Actor In A Leading Role

— Daniel Day-Lewis

— Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role

— Sally Field

— Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role – Tommy Lee Jones

— Directing – Steven Spielberg

— Adapted Screenplay – Tony Kushner

— Music (Original Score) – John Williams

— Cinematography – Janusz Kaminski

— Costume Design – Joanna Johnston

— Film Editing – Michael Kahn

— Production Design – Rick Carter, Jim Erickson

— Sound Mixing – Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins

Lincoln has already been recognized with prestigious award nominations from the Art Directors Guild, the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the Directors Guild of America, the Producers Guild of America, the Screen Actors Guild, and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), among others. The film has also been nominated for seven Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture – Drama, and has been featured on over 150 Best of 2012 lists.

Brave (Disney•Pixar)

— Animated Feature Film

Brave has received award nominations from the Producers Guild of America, the Broadcast Film Critics Association, and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), among others. The film has received 10 Annie Award nominations and is up for Best Animated Feature Film at Sunday’s Golden Globe ceremony.

Frankenweenie (Disney)

— Animated Feature Film

Frankenweenie has received award nominations from the Producers Guild of America, the Broadcast Film Critics Association, and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), among others. The film received five Annie Award nominations and is nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature Film.

Wreck-It Ralph (Walt Disney Animation Studios)

— Animated Feature Film

Wreck-It Ralph has already been recognized with award nominations from the Producers Guild of America and Broadcast Film Critics Association, among others. The film received 10 Annie Award nominations and is nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature Film.

Paperman (Walt Disney Animation Studios)

— Animated Short Film

Marvel’s The Avengers

— Visual Effects – Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick

Marvel’s The Avengers has received an award nomination from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in the category of Special Visual Effects and received five nominations from the Visual Effects Society.

The motion picture industry is showing signs of a turnaround!

Hollywood got the top present on its Christmas list today: a lucrative 2012.

Despite a chilly summer at the box office, 2012 will mark the industry’s highest year on record and the first since 2009 when ticket sales increased, according to projections from analysts. The industry is expected to  see about $10.8 billion in ticket sales, according to analyses from Hollywood.com.

The haul would mark a 6% increase over ticket sales in 2011, when Hollywood took in about $10.2 billion.

Increased ticket revenue is bolstered by people returning to the multiplex: Attendance is up about 5% over last year. Though 2012 probably won’t challenge 2002’s modern-day admission record of 1.7 billion tickets sold, 2012 already has had 1.3 billion people pass through domestic turnstiles.

The industry has been affected by a  sagging economy and overload of 3-D pictures flatlined sales until this year, which saw the third-highest-grossing film of all time in The Avengers, taking in $623 million.

Other films, including The Hunger Games ($408 million), The Dark Knight Rises ($448 million) and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2 ($282 million) kept revenue afloat, despite slow August and September returns.

In addition, Hollywood studios continue to see a slow turnaround in home video sales after a seven-year decline, as consumers increase the numbers of movies and TV shows they stream online and buy more high-definition Blu-ray discs as DVDs fall from favor.

Growth in this ancillary market is crucial to Hollywood studios, whose films often generate more revenues from that market than from the domestic box office. For the first time, digital delivery of movies, a business that has great margins, surpassed movie rentals in the second quarter, with consumers spending $1.2 billion on movies from Netflix subscriptions, ITunes downloads and other digital distribution methods, an 81 percent increase.

The industry still has a ways to go to get back to the old days when movies ruled all entertainment but at least indicators show that we’re moving in the right direction.