2.24.2008

What a GREAT Oscar ceremony this year. Few things could have gone better.

Number one highlight of the night was Marion Cotillard winning Best Actress. Sure, this might not seem so important to some, but she was a long shot almost all season, and I'm so happy for her. She was so genuinely shocked and so completely deserved it.



And also, No Country for Old Men winning Picture/Directors/Writing is fantastic.

Time to do a tally. Total I had... 15 for 24. Ouch. But no worries since mostly what I missed were categories I blindly guessed in (literally, random picks). I had 7/8 on the 'big eight' (Pic/Director/writing categories/acting categories), and for what I claimed to know, I hit 12/15, which is a very good percentage. Actually, all I really missed were costumes, set design, and supporting actress. Yay, I still think I can hold my title as an 'Oscar pundit.' Or, as much as one can be.

A full list of winners can be found here.

And so the whole process starts over again.

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About 75 minutes until the Oscars start. Here is a quick list of my predictions, which will either be amazing or awful. I'm leaving the explanations at the door -- so I know some of these are long shots but hey, I stand by my choices.

Best Picture: No Country for Old Men
Best Director: Joel and Ethan Coen
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Actress: Marion Cotillard
Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem
Best Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett
Best Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody - Juno
Best Adapted Screenplay: Joel and Ethan Coen - No Country for Old Men
Best Cinematography: There Will Be Blood
Best Art Direction: There Will Be Blood
Best Costume Design: La Vie en Rose
Best Editing: The Bourne Ultimatum (note: if NCfOM wins this it wins Best Picture easily)
Original Song: Falling Slowly
Original Score: Atonement
Animated Feature: Ratatouille
Foreign Language Film: The Counterfeiters
Sound: No Country for Old Men
Sound Editing: No Country for Old Men
Visual Effects: Pirates of the Caribbean (yes I'm picking against the general consensus of Transformers)
Makeup: La Vie en Rose
Animated Short: Peter and the Wolf
Live Action Short: The Tonto Woman
Documentary Short: La Corona
Documentary Feature: No End in Sight




If this happens, I will be a happy man.

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2.20.2008

All right, just linking to two posts on the collaborative blog.

First I have my fairly extensive Oscar predictions. Check that shiznit out.

Also, a post on the last week of Big Brother. Check that out, too.

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2.15.2008

I know you all love me.

As of this very moment, I plan to dedicate all of my serious blog posts to a new domain, where I will be contributing alongside two of my friends, who are both equally, if not more witty than I.

Check this shit out.

eggsnbloggin.blogspot.com

It will be the next best thing since Yahoo! Check back daily.

But also, for those of you who love me, I will still post here for blog of a more personal note, as well as copy/paste a couple posts here and there of importance (maybe Oscar predictions). So favorite both blogs.

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2.11.2008

It is now just under two weeks until the Oscars, and the only really significant award left is the ACE Eddie Awards. Editing is pretty important, but nonetheless, here are some predictions.

It is very hard to separate what I think is statistically the best bet from what I want to win. Some people make up lists with their 'prediction,' their 'alternate,' and their 'spoiler.' What in the hell kind of list is that? Even if you shot in the dark you still have a 3/5 chance. If I had three guesses per category I'd never be wrong.

As of right now I'm going to do a small list of the 'smart money' bet, and the 'if I had a vote.' That's two, yes, but before the ceremony I will man up and make one official prediction for every category, even small stuff like Live Action Short. But for now -- opinions.

Best Picture

All smart money here would go on No Country for Old Men. It has won the DGA, PGA, WGA, SAG ensemble, and countless critics' awards. It has the second highest box office by a decent margin (about $10 million ahead of Michael Clayton, though about $60 behind Juno). It has 8 nominations, tied for the most. Honestly, anything else winning here would be an 'upset.' I enjoyed four of the five nominees, but NCfOM should be the winner.

Best Director

Joel and Ethan Coen for NCfOM should win here. They are the smart bet, since they won the DGA, and that almost never counteracts the Oscar. It is probably the best precursor out of them all. However, I wouldn't mind seeing Julian Schnabel win for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

Best Actor

Daniel Day-Lewis wins. There is no close second and no spoiler here. Which is kind of interesting since there were some other great performances this year.

Best Actress

This gets interesting, and one of the toughest to call. Julie Christie is the favorite, with so many awards so far this season; however, Marion Cotillard has my vote. I liked Away From Her, but La Vie en Rose was a better film, and I think Cotillard deserves this Oscar. Oddly enough, though, they may split the vote and make way for Ellen Page, who I'm not predicting, but her character is certainly lovable and she is in a Best Picture nominee that had huge box office success. There could be a spoiler here.

Best Supporting Actor

Javier Bardem wins, and again, anyone else winning would be both a crime and extreme upset.

Best Supporting Actress

Almost more interesting than Lead Actress. There almost is no favorite here, with each nominee having pros and cons. Ruby Dee won the SAG, but has almost no screen time, her performance was mediocre, and is not in a Best Picture nominee -- but she gets the old lady sympathy vote. Cate Blanchett would win here for sure, just like in Notes on a Scandal, if she hadn't won for The Aviator a few years ago. However, she is my favorite, and prediction. Tilda Swinton has lots of word of mouth, and may be Michael Clayton's consolation prize. I dislike all things Michael Clayton, but wouldn't mind too much if she took it. Amy Ryan had early buzz but it has faded, and Saoirse Ronan, while delivering a fantastic performance, will be neglected because she is so young. Shame.

Best Original Screenplay

Say what you want, but the screenplay for Juno is well constructed. It has snappy dialogue, yes, but also the plot mechanics and flow of scenes is top notch, and it deserves to win. And it is the smart bet. Though, I'd love to see Ratatouille take this, because simply a Best Animated Feature Oscar is not enough for this movie.

Best Adapted Screenplay

This is where Joel and Ethan Coen may trip up, though they are still the frontrunners, with a WGA and Golden Globe win, among other things. Paul Thomas Anderson may spoil here for There Will Be Blood, but my personal choice is Ronald Harwood for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. The Coens already have a writing Oscar, but then again, Harwood has one as well (The Pianist). I think Diving Bell is brilliant, though, and should be awarded either here or in Directing.




Those are the 'Big Eight' in a nutshell. Some of the more exciting races will be editing and cinematography, but I will write about those later.

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2.09.2008

I am well aware that everyone wants to be like me, and as such, here is what I will be doing tomorrow (Sunday, the 10th). You should be doing it too.

Turner Classic Movies Day!

If you get TCM you should watch all of these movies.

9:30AM - Gaslight (solid flick with Ingrid Bergman, winning her her first Oscar)

11:30AM - Spellbound (Ingrid Bergman again, this time with Hitchcock)

1:30PM - The Maltese Falcon (arguable one of the best movies ever made)

3:15PM - Murder on the Orient Express (decent movie with more Ingrid, her third Oscar here)

5:30PM - Sleuth (Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine, directed by Joe Mankiewicz)

8:00PM - The Nightmare Before Christmas (everyone knows this one)

9:30PM - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (best of the trilogy)

1:00AM - Silence of the Lambs (we all know how great this one is)

Oh man, what a great schedule. I wish I didn't need to eat, I'd watch all of those. I'll probably just opt for Spellbound and Sleuth, since I've seen all the rest.

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2.07.2008

Last night was a pretty amazing TV night. TCM was showing Vertigo and Rear Window back-to-back, as well as Project Runway on Bravo (with Ricky going home, thank God). Two of Hitchcock's best flicks (plus I still have a crush on Grace Kelly), and some great television.

And as a transition, Vanity Fair has done some amazing photos in their new issue. Modern actors posing in some classic Hitchcock moments. I highly suggest you check it out.

The best:

Charlize Theron (great in pretty much anything)
Marion Cotillard (I luff her -- luff, two F's)

The worst:

Scarlet Johansson (bad choice)
Renee Zellweger (just bad in general, looks nothing like Kim Novak)

The rest are pretty good. I don't even mind Seth Rogan as Cary Grant... and that is a huge downgrade.

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2.06.2008

I think I am becoming sort of a Bravo addict. Obviously I lourve Project Runway, but I find myself getting sucked into even the worst shows on the network. Top Chef isn't too great, but interesting. Make Me a Supermodel is, actually, the worst show on the network, but I don't mind it being on in the background while I'm online.

One of the newer shows is Millionaire Matchmaker. I watched a full episode for the first time last night, and I'm honestly shocked by the show. The main girl (hostess, whatever her name is) blatantly goes out and superficially picks girls and tells them what to do so the man will want to spend money on them. I've never seen such obvious pairing of sugar-daddying and gold-diggering -- at least on television.

For example, last night the hostess told all her girls to have long, straight hair. No curls, at all. One girl, who was, I don't know, like 30 (and yes, I called a 30 year-old a girl), had hair just short of shoulder length and it was straight and she looked pretty. She walks in, and the hostess was like, "I told you to get hair extensions. These girls don't listen, and that's why you're all still single."

And the guys are all so boring. It's either really dorky men with no social skills (one couldn't think of any small talk beyond favorite animals), or men who just want to have sex. And I mean, who doesn't, but you don't need to be on a TV show for that, especially if you're a millionaire.

Granted a lot of this is staged, but still. Anyone who promotes stereotypes and shallowness this much is worth a watch -- at least for one episode.

In other news, I love Jon Stewart. And I also love Project Runway. So logically Tim Gunn going on the Daily Show would be like a dream come true! Here's the link. Check it out. I like how Tim says he frequently disagrees with the judges. So do I, Tim. So do I.

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