Premise Media experiences the harsh reality of natural selection...

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Actor Ben Stein’s controversial documentary, which blasts evolution in favor of intelligent design, is up for the sale to the highest bidder.

That’s right. Between June 21 and June 28, you can submit bids online for all the rights to Stein’s Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed film. According to Forbes, it’s up for grabs as part of the liquidation of film producer Premise Media Holdings LP. The company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in December 2009 and is now seeking to sell the rights, court papers show.

In the film, Stein—a lawyer and former speechwriter for President Richard Nixon as well as the monotone-voiced teacher in both the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and television’s “The Wonder Years”—argues that the academic world unfairly punishes those who question evolution and support the theory of intelligent design.

Roger Ebert's annual film festival kicks off today...

...and the slate of films and film related events at Ebertfest is always worth taking a gander at. Here you go:

	WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27
	7:00 pm	Metropolis (154 min)	Alloy Orchestra
	10:30 pm	Natural Selection (89 min)	Robbie Pickering Writer/Director Rachael Harris Actor
	THURSDAY, APRIL 28
	1:00 pm	Umberto D (89 min)
	3:30 pm	My Dog Tulip (83 min)	Paul Fierlinger Director Sandra Schuette Fierlinger Director
	8:00 pm	Tiny Furniture (98 min)	Kyle Martin Producer David Call Actor Ryan Werner Distributor
	FRIDAY, APRIL 29
	1:00 pm	45365 (90 min)	Turner Ross Director Bill Ross Director
	4:00 pm	Me & Orson Welles (PG-13; 109 min)	Richard Linklater Director
	8:30 pm	Only You (PG; 108 min)	Norman Jewison Director
	SATURDAY, APRIL 30 (SPECIAL ACCESS & PARKING GUIDELINES)
	11:00 am	A Small Act (98 min)	Patti Lee Producer Jennifer Arnold Director Hilde Back Film Subject
	2:00 pm	Life, Above All (PG-13: 100 min)	Oliver Schmitz Director Khomotso Manyaka Actor Michael Barker Distributor
	6:30 pm	Leaves of Grass (R; 105 min)	Tim Blake Nelson Director
	9:30 pm	I Am Love (R; 120 min)	Tilda Swinton Actor
	SUNDAY, MAY 1
	12:00 pm	Louder Than a Bomb (99 min)	Jon Siskel Director Greg Jacobs Director Kevin Coval Founder & Artistic Director Lamar Jorden Steinmetz High School Poet Charles Smith Steinmetz High School Poet She'Kira McNight Steinmetz High School Poet Kevin Harris Steinmetz High School Poet Jésus Lark Steinmetz High School Poet

-Joey's Two Cents: It used to be called his Overlooked films fest, and this year's version seems to be focused on Tiny Furniture, Me & Orson Welles, Leaves of Grass, and I Am Love in that regard...thoughts?

Roger Ebert makes his Oscar picks!

Here you go:

Best Picture: On the day the Oscar nominations were announced, I made some quick guesses and toyed with the possibility that “True Grit” might sneak in. I've changed my mind and now agree with the conventional wisdom that “The King's Speech” will be the year's best picture winner. Still, “True Grit” or “The Social Network” could pull off an upset.

Actor in a leading role: Colin Firth for “The King's Speech.” Jeff Bridges is unlikely to win a second year in a row, and although James Franco did a heroic job under his (shall we say) constraints in “127 Hours,” Hollywood loves British history and often gives extra points to U.K. nominees.

Actress in a leading role: In the way that such matters are decided by currents wafting in the air, Natalie Portman has emerged as the consensus choice. She is very good in “Black Swan.” That's beside the point. Everyone is good in this category. But she gets to “act” the most, which to the academy, often means “act out in emotional displays.” She was required to do that by the logic of the role, which had Oscar written all over it.

Actor in a supporting role: Geoffrey Rush. Because it could be a “King's Speech” year. Christian Bale seems to have a good chance, but when a movie gets anointed, its aura shines on its other nominees, as if voters are thinking, “Well, if I voted for ‘The King's Speech,' doesn't that mean I keep voting for it?”

Actress in a supporting role: That tendency won't carry over to this category, however, because while Helena Bonham Carter as the king's wife was splendid, as she almost always is, the role wasn't showy. The academy has a way in this category of anointing a plucky young newcomer, and the winner will be Hailee Steinfeld, who in fact played the lead in “True Grit,” no matter what the academy thinks. Melissa Leo and Amy Adams will split support for “The Fighter.”

Directing: Well, here I'm more or less forced to choose Tom Hooper of “The King's Speech” because he won the Directors Guild Award, and you know the mantra: The DGA winner wins the best director Oscar 90 percent of the time. Contrarian speculation would be risky.