Dave's Oscar predictions!!

So will I be right or will I be on? Or both? Only the guys with the envelope know. And, of course, Steven Spielberg, who know everything, right?

Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
Peter O'Toole, Venus
Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Until now, for the most part this category in the Oscar precursors has been dominated by Whitaker's towering and terrifying performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. He won the Critics Choice, the Golden Globe and SAG Awards, defeating basically the same crop of fellow nominees present for this final round. Whitaker even won the BAFTA in what is basically O'Toole's backyard, a key victory. But the Academy Awards are an entirely different animal, and I can't get out of the back of my head that O'Toole may be the greatest living actor never to have won a competitive Oscar. Hell, a few years ago he even briefly turned down the chance to get a lifetime achievement Oscar on the grounds that he was "still in the game" and wanted the chance to earn a "real" one. Well, here is his chance, most likely the last one for the 74-year-old veteran, and past history tell me that the Academy will defer from the frontrunner in favor of sentiment. At least O'Toole's work as an aging actor who falls for the very, very young relative of a friend has gotten rave reviews on its own, so it won't exactly be a repeat of past "make-up" awards for so-so acting (Al Pacino, anyone?) Still, this is one of those occasions where I wish there could be a tie so everyone could be happy.

Will Win: Peter O'Toole
Should Win: Forest Whitaker

Best Actress
Penelope Cruz, Volver
Dame Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
Dame Helen Mirren, The Queen
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet, Little Children

This has been an era of Oscar "locks" - performances that are so acclaimed that their anointing to Academy glory are done deals months before even the nominations are announced. Julia Roberts got that treatment for Erin Brockovich, as did Charlize Theron for Monster, Jamie Foxx for Ray and, last year, Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote. But none of them were as dominant as Helen Mirren, whose portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II all but ended the best actress competition before it barely began. (New name for the category: The Helen Mirren Invitational.) The interesting thing is that in a Mirren-less year, any of the other four nominees could have been the favorite going into the ceremony. But even they must know where the crow flies; all four were along for the ride at the SAG Awards, but none of them showed up to see Dame Helen take home another prize; what's more, Judi Dench has chosen knee surgery over appearing at the Kodak Theater this Sunday. Well, at least she'll be able to drink in private!

Will Win: Dame Helen Mirren
Should Win: Dame Helen Mirren

P.S. Mirren gives kick-ass speeches - though not as good as Meryl Streep - so we're expecting some sassy Shakespearean-level stuff from the victorious Dame.

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Mark Wahlberg, The Departed

As per usual, the supporting acting category is one of the tougher ones of the evening, and not just in terms of the talent level. There are at least three cool stories among the five nominees. You have Murphy, the former SNL genius who has gone on to an erratically successful film career punctuated mostly by mid-level comedies that involve him playing multiple characters in various degrees of latex, but showed off both his singing and dramatic talents as a burned-out James Brown clone in Dreamgirls. Then there's Arkin, the beloved veteran who went 38 years between nominations but is back again as the foul-mouthed, heroin-sniffing grandfather in Sunshine. And in one of the best Oscar stories in recent history, there's Haley's comeback story from has-been child actor (remember The Bad News Bears?) to resurgent character actor courtesy of his chilling child molester in Little Children. Throw in former Boston bad boy Wahlberg's turn as a true-blue Boston cop in The Departed and Hounsou's desperate fisherman in Blood Diamond, and it's clear that whoever gets the Oscar from Rachel Weisz will have a lot of reasons to be emotional. Murphy has been in the lead for most of the duration, but don't be surprised if Arkin catches him at the end. In fact, he may have a better chance of taking advantage of the "old coot" phenomenon than O'Toole - with the added benefit of actually deserving it as well.

Will Win: Eddie Murphy
Should Win: Alan Arkin

Best Supporting Actress
Adriana Barraza, Babel
Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi, Babel

No, I'm not splitting hairs here - both of these young ladies deserve to share the Oscar this year. The chances of that happening, of course, are minute. But what is clear is that without either of these two actors' presence in their respective movies, both Dreamgirls and Little Miss Sunshine collapse as viable entertainments. The role of Effie, the talented but discarded diva, was key to the Broadway musical of Dreamgirls, and it's even more important to the film version, so the fact that Hudson, an American Idol reject who had never acted professionally, pulled it off gave the movie its emotional heart, and she knocked it out of the cinema with her rendition of the show's signature tune. Meanwhile, there's the 10-year-old Breslin, whom the producers of Sunshine pegged as their wannabe beauty queen back when she was 6. Her wide-eyed but human optimism was the engine behind the VW bus that could. No other child performer - not even the anointed Dakota Fanning - could have done a better job. The odds still favor Hudson's keeping the Oscar all to herself, but as much as she blew my socks off, I won't mourn if Breslin pulls the upset.

Will Win: Jennifer Hudson
Should Win: Jennifer Hudson and Abigail Breslin

Best Director
Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears, The Queen
Paul Greengrass, United 93
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Babel
Martin Scorsese, The Departed

Finally it's going to happen. Finally one of the best filmmakers of his generation will get the one honor that has escaped his grasp all these years. Yes, after five nominations, Martin Scorsese is going to get his golden guy. We're pretty sure, that is. We've been here before, and so has he. Most everyone thought Scorsese would win for Raging Bull back in 1980 - but the Oscar went to Robert Redford for Ordinary People instead. Then there was 1990 and Goodfellas. Slam dunk, right? Wrong - thanks to Kevin Costner and Dances with Wolves. In 2002 it was Gangs of New York - and Roman Polanski for The Pianist. And in 2004 with The Aviator, Marty came up short again, that time to Clint Eastwood for Million Dollar Baby. Clint is back again, along with difficult work from Paul Greengrass and Alejandro González Iñárritu. But The Departed is not only a return for Scorsese to the fertile, bloody ground of crime and treachery, but also combines deft direction with solid entertainment value. In short, it may be the most accessible film in this category, with the man on top to thank for it. It's not the best film Scorsese has ever made, but it will do. Enjoy the standing ovation, Marty - you earned it.

Will Win: Martin Scorsese
Should Win: Martin Scorsese

Best Picture
Babel
The Departed
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

Even before one of the pegged favorites, Dreamgirls, didn't make the final cut, people knew this would be a tough choice. With no Titanic or Return of the King this year to make things simple, there still is no clear favorite even thought there are only hours before the envelopes will be opened. It's perhaps easier to say what may keep some of these films from winning. The Queen is a hoot thanks to Helen Mirren's performance and Peter Morgan's crackling script, but it also is the one nominee that could have easily been a TV movie. Letters from Iwo Jima is the kind of epic Academy voters usually love, and Clint Eastwood is a favorite of the group as well, but it's also a three-hour war movie that's done in Japanese. Babel may be the most polarizing nominee of them all, a multithreaded, multinational polemic about the need for communication that hits audiences over the head like an anvil. You either love it or hate it. (It's also very similar, in both format and divisive opinion, to last year's winner, Crash - a potential strike against it.) That leaves the violent crime drama The Departed and the caustic but heartwarming family comedy Little Miss Sunshine. The easy choice would be Martin Scorsese's Departed, a heady tale of corruption, the Mob and betrayal that displays the master's talents at their peak. But the better selection may be Sunshine, the low-budget wonder that deftly displays why, through it all - failed business deals, unfulfilled goals, awkward child stripteases - you can always count on your blood to come through at the end.

Will Win: The Departed
Should Win: Little Miss Sunshine

Must be a groovy tune she's listening to ...

This is supermodel Marisa Miller posing for the annual Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Notice anything missing?



Yeah, you're right. Why is Marisa using the crappy earphone that come with the otherwise excellent iPod? You think SI could spring for some of those fancy asymetrical Philips headphones! Sheesh ...

Oh, nice non-swimsuit on Marisa, too. (All the more reason to give Ms. Miller the proper audio equipment, since the magazine is saving money on costuming.)

Hair today ...

From the "someone has too much time on their hands" department, this tidbit from NBC News and the AP:


"A Florida company says it's come up with a handheld laser device that promotes hair growth. And now they say they've got the OK from federal regulators to sell it.

Yeah, this has "lawsuit" written all over it. The first time the "Hairmax Lasercomb" (swear to God, that's its name) zaps someone into an instant lobotomy, that's all she wrote.

Oh, and notice from where this new invention comes - Florida, the vortex of all that is wacky and crazy in the known universe. Ask me about that sometime.

Click on the subject line if you're really concerned about your baldness problem.

Wild world of sports ...

One of my favorite news programs on the air doesn't air on CNN or Fox News. It airs on ESPN. Pardon the Interruption is a funny, entertaining and often informative half-hour series that involved two sports columnists from the Washington Post, Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, discussing (i.e. arguing) about the issues of the day - mostly, but not entirely, focusing on the wacky world of sports. The story goes that the two colleagues work across from each other at the Post and spent most of their time debating (i.e. yelling at) each other about what was happening in what news organizations affectionally call the "toy department". One day someone had the idea to take that concept to the airwaves. The show debuted on ESPN in 2001 and has become one of the most popular series on the cable channel.

This week, PTI is dark so ESPN can focus on this Sunday's Daytona 500, touting the return of NASCAR to its airwaves with a weeklong strip of preview shows. Right now, I suspect that Kornheiser and Wilbon must be chewing at the bit, as this may have been the worst week possible for them not to be able to go at it in front of their viewing audience. Not only have there notable stories in the actual field of play, especially the long losing streaks of both Duke University - four in a row - and the Boston Celtics - 18 (!) straight - but, in typical sports fashion, there have been plenty of shenanigans off the court as well, including:


* The positively stuptifying dismissal of San Diego Chargers head coach Marty Schottenheimer. Despite leading the Chargers to the best record in the NFL and having probably the most talented team in the league, Schottenheimer was fired Monday night after his long-standing feud with general manager A.J. Smith finally reached a point of no return. It's hard to determine, though, what was the dumber move - getting rid of a popular and knowledgeable coach who earned a 14-2 record (the best regular-season finish in team history, by the way); or doing it at such a late date that finding a suitable replacement may be all but impossible, especially since most observers thought that Marty would be gone as soon as the Chargers lost their playoff game to the New England Patriots. There are other ways to potentially sabotage a strong franchise, but perhaps none as asinine.


* The mindfart of former NBA star Tim Hardaway, who may have torched his future post-basketball employment prospects - not to mention his good name - with his incendiary comments regarding the presence of gay players in his former league. Asked on a Miami radio station about his reaction to the coming out of former player John Amaechi last week and how he would have dealt with a gay player on his own team, Hardaway passionately declared that he would have a real problem with that and went on to say that he "hates gay people," that he is "homophobic" and that homosexuality "shouldn't be allowed in the world, in the United States." Hardaway later apologized - not so much for his opinion but for stating it out loud - and Amaechi letter commented that he appreciated the honesty that Hardaway displayed, but the incident has left many NBA pundits scratching their heads. The real fun of this, of course, is that Hardway is fooling himself if he thinks that he has never showered alongside a gay teammate, because the law of averages would dictate that he has done just that. One must also wonder how he would have reacted if, say, a white player had replaced the word "gay" with the word "black." Or, in his case, "overrated."

* The weekly incident of a parent going haywire at his kid's sporting event - in this case, a father taking the officiating of his son's wrestling match into his own hands. Take a look (you will believe a 11-year-old can fly):



Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, don't it? If it's any consolation, it's unlikely that Law & Order will be doing an episode based on this incident - as they already did one about parent rage several years ago, that time involving actual murder and a hockey rink. Chin-ching!

Throw in, ironically enough, the run on NASCAR suspensions prior to Daytona, not to mention the chaos involving Anna Nicole Smith (a non-sports story, but still an irresistible one), and it's clear that Kornheiser and Wilbon would have plenty to talk about had they been on this week. They may have to expand to an hour, American Idol-style, just to catch up come Monday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. Eastern, 2:30 Pacific.

They say that dogs and their owners can start to look alike after a while ...

Well, here's Bill Cosby ...



... and here's Harry, the champion Dandie Dinmont terrier that he co-owns and that currently is a favorite to win Best in Show at the presitigious Westminster Dog Show tonight.



What do you think? And who will be top dog in the Cosby household tomorrow morning?

Click on the subject line to read the CNN story about Cosby, Harry and the dog show. (You have to admit, dog shows are very cute.)

And here is some info about the Dandie Dinmont, a breed that is very adorable but really could use a different name.

Some Grammy thoughts ...

As the 49th annual Grammy Awards fade into memory, some musings about the ceremony just completed:


* I purposely make an effort to avoid the political on this blog, but when you see the Dixie Chicks go five-for-five at last night's awards show, including the big three (album, record and song), you have to conclude a message was being sent. Not ready to make nice, indeed.

* By the way, the Chicks also won for best country album - quite an achievement considering they aren't supposed to be country anymore, right?

* Someone tone down Quentin Tarantino's drugs, please? (Or at least share.) My God, I think he blew out Tony Bennett's eardrums.

* My female friends went gaga over Sting's arms as The Police performed "Roxanne," and I really didn't get the hoo-ha - until Shakira came out and did "Hips Don't Lie," and proceeded to show that, nope, hips do not lie. OK, girls, now I get the Sting thing.

* Seriously, I almost started sobbing during the James Brown mini-tribute. Did we really need the live simulation of the Godfather's dance moves, though?

* Speaking of Mr. Brown - Christina Aguliera, whoa. Proof positive of the difference between her and Britney Spears. Mainly, Ms. Aguilera is a singer.

* VERY classy of Prince to buy ad time to thank the fans for his Super Bowl appearance, silhouetted devil cock notwithstanding.

* OK, Ludacris, we get it - you don't like Oprah. Well, get over it. Oprah could probably have you killed if she wanted, you know. She's done it before.

* Just be glad that Helen Mirren didn't record an album this past year - otherwise, it may have been a much different night.

From astronaut to ... ?

Update on the astronaut story - it just crossed the wires that Capt. Lisa Nowak has been charged with attempted first-degree murder in the aforementioned case. This is after she had been granted bail for the other stuff she's accused of, so I wonder if the Orlando police will have to rearrest her and this time hold her without bail. You know, 'cause attempted murder is more serious than attempted kidnapping and battery.

Maybe she's possessed by one of those space demons they always do movies about. Well, that could be her defense in court. Something's happened inside her head.

Spacey ...

Now, follow along, kids - this gets a bit complicated. Well, not complicated so much as bloody bewildering.


This is Lisa Marie Nowak. She's a captain in the United States Navy, and one of a handful of astronauts currently in the employ of NASA. Capt. Nowak has a distinguished record to be proud of - graduate of the Naval Academy, several medals, not to mention a recent successful mission on the space shuttle to the International Space Station. Her official NASA bio lists her hobbies as bicycling, skeet shooting, gourmet cooking and growing African violets. Oh, and she's also married with three children.


Now, this is Capt. Nowak earlier tonight. Looks a little different, does she? Well, there's a good reason for that - she's under arrest in Orlando for attempted kidnapping, attempted theft of a vehicle and other charges related to her allegedly trying to confront and abduct a woman whom she thought was a rival for the affections of another astronaut not her husband, a Cmdr. William Oefelein, USN. By the way, Nowak lives in Houston - yeah, she drove 900 miles through the Southeast to face off with this woman. The good captain also wore diapers during her car trip so she wouldn't have to stop along the way. (Astronauts wear adult diapers during launch and re-entry, I guess for obvious reasons. See, you learn something new every day.)

Looks like we have our first kooky love story of 2007, folks - and, appropriately enough, just before St. Valentine's Day. We're still early in this one, but from the initial details, this could put the Runaway Bride to shame. I can all but guarantee two things about this one:

1) We likely haven't heard anything yet, and

2) This will be a Law & Order episode by Christmas. Or at least an episode of NCIS.

Click on the subject line for the first of several articles about this caper.

And the winner of Super Bowl XLI will be ...

... the Chicago Bears, of course!

Final score: Bears 24, Colts 20.

Guaranteed!

(or not)

What goes through a groundhog's head on Feb. 2?

"Mofo, please put me the f*** down!"

Seriously, how would you feel if you were sleeping soundly when a pair of foreign hands suddenly woke your ass up and presented you in front of the world? Only two species of being have to endure that kind of behavior - groundhogs and drug dealers who don't lock their doors. And what have groundhogs done to deserve the perp walk treatment.

Oh, by the way, the poor rodent didn't see his shadow, which means that spring will arrive early this yeah. Yeah, tell that to my friends in Chicago, where the high temperature on Super Bowl Sunday will be 6. Fahrenheit.

A Hoot(er) and a half ...

Be careful what you ask for - or, in the case of the town of Troy, Michigan, what you don't ask for. The Detroit suburb wants to promote an image of a clean, business-and-family-friendly city, which probably explains why they are so resistant to having a Hooters within its borders. If you click on the subject line, you will read about how the Troy government's efforts to get rid of the one Hooters franchise already there have backfired. But the story itself is not necessarily the reason I'm writing about this. It's because of this line from the article about a fact that makes this situation all the more priceless:

"Critics are concerned that the restaurants' scantily clad servers don't fit the image the city seeks to project in its Big Beaver commercial district. Fleming said officials are trying to make the area a "world-class corridor."

"Big Beaver" - you can't make crap like that up. If one of the Troy shopping centers is called "Heavenly Hills" or something like that, we really have a winner.

El Diablo! The mark of the devil?

OK, this has to a sign of something - click on the subject line to read and see the story of the chicken in Colombia that was born with the feet of a duck.

I'm guessing this is one bird that won't end up in the fryer anytime soon. Though his career as a YouTube icon probably is set.

Barbaro (2003-2007)

News has just broken that Barbaro has been euthanized after suffering serious complications from the broken leg the Kentucky Derby winner sustained in last year's Preakness Stakes. There are those who scratch their heads about why so much time and money was invested to save the life of a horse, especially when almost any other horse would have been put down on the spot the moment the seriousness of his injury had been confirmed. And, yeah, there were millions in stud fees involved with the decision to keep Barbaro alive. But this horse was also a a member of Roy and Gretchen Jackson's family. And he was also a graceful and talented athlete. I have heard how grown men cried when they watched Secretariat win the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown in crushing fashion in 1973, and I know a lot of people wept when that great horse passed on in 1989. I'm guessing more than a few tears will be shed today as word of Barbaro's ultimate fate spreads.

Fly balls ...

• Apparently the oldest person in the world, 115-year-old Emiliano Mercado Del Toro of Puerto Rico, has passed away. Say, you never notice how often the designated oldest person in the world dies? Boy, that's not a title I'd want. Seems to have a curse on it.

• There's been much talk about which athlete, Tiger Woods or Roger Federer, had the more dominating performance this past weekend. Tiger won his seventh PGA tour event in a row, the second-longest streak in history, while Federer won the Australian Open while not losing a single set, the first time that's happened at a Grand Slam event in 27 years. But my vote is for the other 2007 Aussie Open champion, Serena Williams, who came into the tournament unseeded and out of shape and proceeded to mow through the field, including a devastating 6-1, 6-2 defeat of the current No. 1 player, Maria Sharapova. It was Williams' first Grand Slam victory in two years, and easily her most inspirational. If this is any indication of what's to follow for the rest of the year, Serena may be the women's tennis equivalent of Helen Mirren - where the other players may be better suited staying home than showing up for the abuse.


• Speaking of Dame Helen, the above scenario is exactly what happened last night at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Mirren picked up yet another best actress (or "female actor," as the SAGs accurately call the category) for her superb work as Elizabeth II in The Queen. That was no surprise, obviously. What was a bit shocking was that Mirren was the only nominee in her category to show up. Meryl Streep had an excuse - a previously scheduled event where she was giving an environmental award to, ironically enough, Prince Charles - but whither Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench or Kate Winslet. Expect most or all of them to appear at the Academy Awards to watch Dame Helen take home the big one (after all, it is the Academy Awards), but their absence last night is just further proof at how complete Mirren's triumph has been this Oscar season. Indeed, in an era of Oscar locks (Jamie Foxx, Charlize Theron, Steven Spielberg), Mirren is the lockiest lock of them all.


• If you haven't seen the trailers for 300, the latest movie to use green-screen effects to bring one of Frank Miller's graphic novel creations to full life - what the hell's your problem? If these clips are any indication, this will be the first true blockbuster of 2007 and will put Sin City to shame - and I adore Sin City. Go here and prepare to be dazzled. God, I'm praying for a new trailer during the Super Bowl.

Bear vs. Colt?

In case you happen to be one of that species of being that lives under a very, very, very large rock, you know that the Super Bowl will be played exactly one week from today between the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears. This is a tremendously big deal across the country, as it always is, as the Super Bowl has become more than just a championship football game, but also an increasingly valid excuse for more and more people to go wacky, at least for a week or two. And now, thanks to the Internet, there's even more ways for those of us with an exhuberance of spirit, or at least a lot of free time on their hands, to show off. Which explains the existence of Bear Vs. Colt.


Yes, it's exactly what it looks like - a battle royale between a guy in a bear suit and a guy in a colt suit. If I understand the premise correctly - and who knows if I am - they will have one fight a day until the game itself. What's more, you will observe that both Bear and Colt have their own MySpace page where you can wash yourself with even more Bear and Colt goodness!

I don't know - makes you wish they were playing the damn game tomorrow, doesn't it?

Click on the subject line to see the videos, if you really have to.

The Oscar has spoken, Part I

The nominations for the 79th annual Academy Awards are in. Commence with the fancy headlines!

Dearly Departed!
Babel On!
Reign of The Queen!
Let the Sunshine In!
Dreamgirls Nightmare!

OK, that last one may not be entirely fair, considering that Dreamgirls in fact leads all motion pictures with eight nominations, including the favorites in the supporting actor and actress categories. But it's also a fact that most people, myself included, had the Motown-motivated musical as a sure lock to be one of the final five films up for the best picture Oscar. In fact, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the folks in charge of all of this chaos, admitted that this is the first time in the history of the Oscars that the film with the most nominations didn't land in the best picture race.

What happened? Apparently Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima happened. The Japanese-language companion piece to his other World War II epic, Flags of Our Fathers, ended up being the better movie, and the Academy, which has been drinking the Eastwood Kool-Aid for more than a decade, took the opportunity to honor the former Dirty Harry for his bold vision of war. But one movie had to go, and thus Beyoncé has one less reason to get all dolled up on Feb. 25. (Of course, someone is going to have to sing some of the three new Dreamgirls tunes that received best original song nods, so maybe Ms. Knowles may want to show up at the Kodak Theater anyway, lest Ann Reinking be called to take her place. And God knows we don't want that.)

The absence of Dreamgirls from the best picture category is one of the few glitches in my attempt to correctly predict the major Oscar nominees. What had been very unstable had solidified in recent weeks, making my job and that of other prognosticators a little bit easier. As a result - and at the risk of tooting my own horn - of the 20 acting nominees, I nailed 18.5 of them. (I missed Djimon Hounsou and had Leonardo DiCaprio getting nominated for the wrong movie.) Still, as Dreamgirls shows, the Academy Awards are never 100 percent predictable. Thank God, perhaps, because if they were so formulaic, the ratings would really be in the toilet. Indeed, while the annual bemoaning about the lack of popular blockbusters among the major nominees and the subsequent predictions that this will damage the ratings of the Oscar broadcast has already begun, there are others who say that the fact that the best picture race is totally up in the air will only add suspense - and, thus, eyeballs - to the occasion. And if that doesn't help, there's always Ellen DeGeneres dancing her ass off. Hey, it beats Debbie Allen.

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Leonardo DiCaprio in “Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Ryan Gosling in “Half Nelson” (THINKFilm)
Peter O’Toole in “Venus” (Miramax, Filmfour and UK Council)
Will Smith in “The Pursuit of Happyness” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Forest Whitaker in “The Last King of Scotland” (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Alan Arkin in “Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
Jackie Earle Haley in “Little Children” (New Line)
Djimon Hounsou in “Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Eddie Murphy in “Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Mark Wahlberg in “The Departed” (Warner Bros.)

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Penélope Cruz in “Volver” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Judi Dench in “Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight)
Helen Mirren in “The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada” (20th Century Fox)
Kate Winslet in “Little Children” (New Line)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Adriana Barraza in “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Cate Blanchett in “Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight)
Abigail Breslin in “Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
Jennifer Hudson in “Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Rinko Kikuchi in “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)

Achievement in directing
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage) Alejandro González Iñárritu
“The Departed” (Warner Bros.) Martin Scorsese
“Letters from Iwo Jima” (Warner Bros.) Clint Eastwood
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada) Stephen Frears
“United 93” (Universal and StudioCanal) Paul Greengrass

(Only three out of five here, though one of those is a faux pas on my part for forgetting that Stephen Frears directed The Queen. Don't know if that reflects positively or negatively on his skills.)

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“I Need to Wake Up” from “An Inconvenient Truth” (Paramount Classics and Participant Productions)
Music and Lyric by Melissa Etheridge
“Listen” from “Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Music by Henry Krieger and Scott Cutler
Lyric by Anne Preven
“Love You I Do” from “Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Music by Henry Krieger
Lyric by Siedah Garrett
“Our Town” from “Cars” (Buena Vista)
Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“Patience” from “Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Music by Henry Krieger
Lyric by Willie Reale

Best documentary feature
“Deliver Us from Evil” (Lionsgate)
A Disarming Films Production
Amy Berg and Frank Donner

“An Inconvenient Truth” (Paramount Classics and Participant Productions)
A Lawrence Bender/Laurie David Production
Davis Guggenheim

“Iraq in Fragments” (Typecast Releasing)
A Typecast Pictures/Daylight Factory Production
James Longley and John Sinno

“Jesus Camp” (Magnolia Pictures)
A Loki Films Production
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady

“My Country, My Country” (Zeitgeist Films)
A Praxis Films Production
Laura Poitras and Jocelyn Glatzer

Best animated feature film of the year
“Cars” (Buena Vista)
John Lasseter

“Happy Feet” (Warner Bros.)
George Miller

“Monster House” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Gil Kenan

Best foreign language film of the year
“After the Wedding” A Zentropa Entertainments 16 Production
Denmark

“Days of Glory (Indigènes)” A Tessalit Production
Algeria

“The Lives of Others” A Wiedemann & Berg Production
Germany

“Pan’s Labyrinth” A Tequila Gang/Esperanto Filmoj/Estudios Picasso Production
Mexico

“Water” A Hamilton-Mehta Production
Canada

Best motion picture of the year
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
An Anonymous Content/Zeta Film/Central Films Production
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Jon Kilik and Steve Golin, Producers

“The Departed” (Warner Bros.)
A Warner Bros. Pictures Production
Nominees to be determined

“Letters from Iwo Jima” (Warner Bros.)
A DreamWorks Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures Production
Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg and Robert Lorenz, Producers

“Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
A Big Beach/Bona Fide Production
Nominees to be determined

“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
A Granada Production
Andy Harries, Christine Langan and Tracey Seaward, Producers


Place your bets, kids! Who do you have?

Pick the Oscars!

Less than 24 hours from now, Salma Hayek will sashay across the stage at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences headquarters in Beverly Hills - and, after the gathered masses pick their tongues off of the floor, she will help announce this years batch of Oscar nominations. At this point, only a very few humans know who those lucky few will be. But that doesn't mean that the rest of us can't guess. For the past several years, I've been sending my Oscar prediction to a select few friends so they can point and laugh at how far off I am. This year, I figure, why not share my ineptitude with the rest of the universe. Thus spake Dave.

5:30 a.m. L.A. time is when we will know for sure. I'll mix the bloody Marys - though I won't be having one myself.

Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Jack Nicholson, The Departed
Mark Wahlberg, The Departed

Wild Card: Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond; Michael Sheen, The Queen

Supporting Actress
Adriana Barraza, Babel
Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi, Babel

Wild Card: Catherine O'Hara, For Your Consideration

Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Departed
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
Peter O'Toole, Venus
Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Wild Card: Sasha Baron Cohen, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Actress
Penelope Cruz, Volver
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet, Little Children

Wild Card: Beyonce Knowles, Dreamgirls

Director
Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Bill Condon, Dreamgirls
Guillermo del Toro, Pan's Labyrinth
Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima
Paul Greengrass, United 93

Wild Card: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Babel; Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, Little Miss Sunshine

Picture
Babel
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

Wild Card: Letters from Iwo Jima; United 93

Dropping the ball ...

There I was, playing up the fact that I was going to keep all three of you abreast of how the major Oscar precursors were going, and then I drop the ball after just a few days. I think I may have a mild case of ADD, or maybe I just bore easy. But either way, I'm going to endeavor to catch up in the coming days so you're up to date with the Academy Awards race - which, by the way, has been renamed the Helen Mirren Invitational in honor of the one absolute lock of this year's Oscar contest, if you want to call the best actress competition a "contest." I call it "over."

It's a gas?

"Breaking news" from CNN:

Gas-like odor permeates Manhattan

NEW YORK (AP) -- Authorities were investigating the source of a mysterious gas-like odor Monday that stretched across a large part of Manhattan, including Rockefeller Center.

My question: So how is this unusual from any typical Monday morning in Manhattan?

The lights on every college campus in the Western World should dim tonight ...

... and not just because of the weekly kegger. Word from Tokyo that Momofuku Ando has died at age 96. The name, as colorfully as it rolls off the tongue ("Hey Momo, how's it hanging?"), likely means nothing to most of you two readers. But if you went to college or university and ever was in need of a quick, hot snack during a study break - or just got really famished after that third joint - then you have benefited from Mr. Ando's genius. Because he was the guy who invented the instant Ramen noodles that have satisfied many a undergraduate's appetite through the years. This guy even has a museum dedicated to his contribution to society and sodium overdoses.


So the next time you rip open a package of chicken-flavored Top Ramen, think of Mr. Ando as you fire up the microwave. You may owe your diploma to Momo.

Click the subject line to read up on Mr. Ando's culinary contribution.

Man of the Hour ...

I'll admit it - in my old age, I've become a softy. Heck, I've been known to cry while watching soup commercials. And, occasionally, I'll tear up watching a news story about something simple act of kindness or inspirational feat. One of the last times I wept for that reason was watching that autistic kid score 20 points in the high school basketball game last year. And then there was Thursday night, when I finally watched the CBS News item about Wesley Autrey, a 50-year-old construction worker and Vietnam vet who on Jan. 2 risked his life to save a teenager that he didn't know. When the young man had a seizure in on a New York subway platform and fell onto the tracks and into the path of an approaching train, Autrey - whose two young daughters were with him - jumped onto the tracks and covered the boy with his own body as the train sped over them with only a couple inches of clearance between safety and a very close haircut.

Naturally Autrey is being showered with praise and attention from all corners. His story has gone international Donald Trump has given him $10,000, and he's also received a free trip to Disney World, a medal from the city of New York and, naturally, a years' worth of free subway rides. David Letterman had him on his show tonight; Ellen DeGeneres' turn comes next week. Geez, even Howard Stern gave this guy props with little sense of sarcasm. And through it all, Autrey insists that he is not a hero, that he was just doing what was right. He didn't do it for the gifts he's received, wasn't even thinking about any of that when he went to protect young film student Cameron Hollopeter from certain death. Cameron's father, by the way, vehemently disagrees with Autrey about the hero part. (Oh, and that's the part of the story when I really lost it.)

Damn, I'm crying again.

CBS News, via YouTube

He scores, he scores!

Who needs Rocky Balboa when we have Ian Johnson. The Boise State running back certainly has the gift of timing. Not only did he score the winning two-point conversion on a fantastically performed "Statue of Liberty" trick play to lead the undefeated Broncos to a instant classic, 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in in last night's Fiesta Bowl, but minutes later, in front of God and the nation, an exuberant Johnson got down on bended knee and popped the question to his girlfriend, Boise State cheerleader Chrissy Popadics.

Now, I'm not the biggest fan of the public marriage proposal, mostly for the pressure it puts on the proposee. I mean, what are you supposed to say when the spotlight is on you like that? Say no? But in this case, it was such a purely joyous moment (Johnson had the ring in his hotel room and was not planning to ask Popadics at the game itself) that you couldn't help but smile or cry or both at the sight. Add the fact that Johnson was laid up only several weeks earlier with broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung, and the circle is complete. Cue the triumphant music, guys, and wish the happy couple a full life in the land of potatoes.

Click the subject line for the whole story. Click below for the winning play.

Saddam takes one more with him ...

Or, alternatively, the first candidate for the 2007 Darwin Award.

But, seriously, what?

A young boy who tried to copy hanging scenes from the
execution video of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein died in central
Pakistan, said police on Monday.

Mubashar Ali, 9, hanged himself, while re-enacting Hussein's hanging
with the help of elder sister, 10, after tying a rope to a ceiling fan
and his neck in his home in Rahim Yar Khan district on Sunday, said a
local police official.

The father of the deceased boy said that his children had been
watching the video of Saddam Hussein's execution on television and
attempted to imitate the hanging as other family members thought they
were playing in another room.

"My wife and sister rushed to rescue Mubashar when children cried for
help from the adjoining room, but he died due to hanging," said
Alamgir Paracha, father of Mubashar.

Police said that the death was accidental and a case of parental
negligence.

"It was an accident which happened due to carelessness of parents,"
said district police chief Sultan Ahmad.

Images of the fallen Iraqi dictator with a strap around his neck,
surrounded by executioners in balaclavas, were repeatedly telecast by
Pakistani television channels at the weekend.

Commentators and the media across Europe had expressed shock and
unease on Sunday at graphic television pictures showing the last
moments of Hussein just before his execution.

Looks like we made it ...

... to yet another year, though we lost James Brown, Gerald Ford and some guy named Saddam during the transition from 2006 to 2007. (Remember when the last week of the year was also the slowest in terms of news? Well, not so much this time around.) The news today was filled with numerous local reports about the first babies to be born after the calendars was changed. They all looked cute in their 2007 sashes and all, but trust me - most of them were royally pissed after having been in their warm cocoon of free food and no diapers for nine months. But at least a lot of them will be getting free "baby bundles" or whatever the various businesses and newspapers that sponsor these prizes for the first ones out of the mommy wagon are calling them. Goodies awaiting the newbies include gift cards and gift certificates galore, as well as everything from sippy cups to, in one case, two chicken strip baskets from Dairy Queen. (Er, I'm guessing that's not for the baby.)

But careful, kids. If the IRS is going after the gift baskets for the Oscar and Emmy nominees, what makes you think they're going to leave your little pink butts alone?

Merry Christmas ...

Some bits of cheer to add to the holiday celebration of you, Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2006. (No, I don't think I'll ever get over that.)

From last year, SNL's Christmastime for the Jews:




From 1977, the "classic" duet of "Little Drummer Boy" by Bing Crosby and David Bowie (click here for a great Washington Post article about the genesis of the mash-up):



A very cute rendition of "Christmas Don't Be Late" by Alvin and the Chipmunks - only, not so much (and, no, I don't know who these people are):



Finally, for the demented out there, the real story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer:



Merry Christmas, people. See you on the other side!

The last "Harry Potter" novel will be called ...

Harry Potter and the Deathy Hallows.

Oooooo - I'm guessing this one won't be filled with laughs.

Still, it beats J.K. Rawlings' first choice - Harry Potter's Apocalypto.

See what happens when you keep everything to yourself?

Even the nutjobs who run North Korea know enough to set up lines of successions to their absolute nutjob power should they kick off suddently. But nooooooo - apparently that was above Saparmurat Niyazov, the absolute nutjob ruler of the former Soviet republic of Turkmenistan. He had been the number-one guy of this Central Asian nation since well before the breakup of the USSR, and after independence in 1991, Niyazov went really nutjob by setting up a cult of personality of the likes that even Stalin, Castro and even Regis would envy. This cat put his face on the money. He had his portrait hung in just about any open space in the country. He named airports, schools, even months of the year and days of the week after himself. And his word was law, and that was that.

And now, for him, that's really that. 'Cause the nutjob is now a dead nutjob, taken out by his heart, which apparently didn't get the memo that Niyazov was the absolute ruler of Turkmenistan. Oh, well. Now the fun really begins, as there will be a lot of would-be nutjobs applying for the job of the top banana. And by "applying," I mean possible gunplay. This is how the best civil wars are created. Or maybe they could just install Borat and be done with it.

(Yeah, I know, Borat is from a differnet -stan. But, really, once you've met one -stan, haven't you met them all?)

Click on the subject line to read more about the death of this particular nutjob.

Taco Bell - blimey!

Just saw a commercial for Taco Bell in which the company's president, Greg Creed, declares the the Centers for Disease Control has given the Mexican fast-food restaurant the all-clear following the E.coli outbreak at several of its East Coast establishments. I don't know what's more disturbing - that some of Taco Bell's burritos may have been guided missiles of bacterial, or that the guy in charge is really a Brit.

How was this a good idea?

A basketball game of the women's college variety was played Monday night in Phoenix between Arizona State and Texas Tech. The home team won 61-45, but not before the contest was stopped with a little over four minutes left to play - on account of rain. That's right, the game was played outside - at Chase Field, the usual home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, to be exact. Oh, by the way, Chase Field has a retractable roof. It just happened to be open this night, and there wasn't any opportunity to close it before the basketball court became too wet to continue.

Somewhere, somehow, the powers that be whom had the bright idea to pull this stunt forgot that, in the winter, the desert can get pretty chilly at night. So cold that several of the players wore long-sleeved shirts underneath their tank top jerseys. When you read the story that's attached to this post, you will read that many of the fans who gathered to watch the Sun Devils and Lady Raiders were bundled up "like (Green Bay) Packers fans at Lambeau Field."

Yeah, nothing like hot chocolate and a touch of pneumonia to go with your women's college basketball.

Everybody sing along!

I am not a singer. I don't even play one on television. But there I was, sitting in one of several studios at a karaoke restaurant in L.A.'s Koreatown neighborhood, about to perform the time-honored Journey power ballad "Don't Stop Believin' " at my friend Tamara's 30th birthday party. What was I thinking, I was, well, thinking to myself.

Tamara is great. She's a writer's assistant for a Top Ten crime drama, and she's also an excellent singer. She's been performing in choirs and a cappella groups since before she was in college. And she loves karaoke. But this was the first time I joined her on one of her musical get-togethers. And I went to the party bound and determined not to sing - even though I had, just in case, practiced in the safety of my shower. But the atmosphere was so addictively cheesy. There we were, Tamara and her boyfriend and her other pals and me, in this sterile room with long couches and the world's largest coffee table. Interspersed on the table were several thick books that were filled with song titles and the corresponding numbers, which were to be punched into the large karaoke machine in a corner of the room. The machine consisted of nine TV screens. The middle one was where the lyrics for the selected songs would be displayed for the performer. The other eight screens were displaying silent images from MTV 2.

Many of the songs were Korean, a few were randomly Vietnamese. But a large section were available in English, even though a few of my favorites were missing. No "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins? And whither "More Than This" by Roxy Music, immortalized in karaoke form by Bill Murray in "Lost in Translation"?

Anyway, the birthday girl took the mic to perform the evening's first song, Jewel's "Foolish Games." The lyrics popped onto the screen, accompanied by images of - Korea pastoral life? (An ongoing theme, I assure you.) And Tamara ... blew the roof off of the joint. (Is it really fun when someone actually can hold a tune at karaoke?) I should have been intimidated. But the atmosphere was intoxicating. And so I decided to throw caution to the wind - besides, if I was going to embarrass myself, might as well do it in front a group of near-total strangers.

My first mistake of the evening was trying to emulate Steve Perry with my first lyric of "Don't Stop Believin' " - I nearly blew my voice off in one moment. But I adjusted myself and finished the song with the requisite amount of early ’80s passion. My score from the machine was good. (Oh, yeah, the machine scored us - very randomly, if you ask me.) And then, later on, I made my second mistake - my second song, "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas. A song that basically says that we're all going to die. Happy birthday, Tamara!

Well, at least it wasn't Sarah Brightman's version. That would have sent the entire party over the cliff.

So for my last number, I went upbeat: Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train." I kind of rocked the house with that one, even though the video of Korean pastoral ducks threw me for a bit of a loop. So, in the end, I did have a lot of fun. In fact, despite my better judgment, I'm considering having my next birthday party at a karaoke bar. Though I may have to convince more than one of my friends to come. I'll take a guess that Tamara will be into it, though.

The San Francisco Film Critics Circle ...

Leave to the San Francisco Film Critics Circle to march to the beat of their own collective drummer in bestowing their 2006 awards. You will see that their top movie of the year is a bit off the beaten path, that Forest Whitaker's winning streak has been ended by a gregarious foreigner (and I don't mean Peter O'Toole) and that the best original screenplay award from the Bay Area critics has gone to a small indie that can best be described as teen noir. But there is some stability - right, Dame Helen? After all, her movie was called The Queen.

(Sorry, I couldn't resist.)


San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards (announced 12-10-06)
Best Picture: Little Children
Best Actor: Sasha Baron Cohen, Borat
Best Actress: Helen Mirren, The Queen
Best Supporting Actor: Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
Best Supporting Actress: Adriana Barraza, Babel
Best Director, Paul Greengrass, United 93
Best Original Screenplay: Rian Johnson, Brick
Best Adapted Screenplay: Todd Field, Tom Perrotta, Little Children
Best Foreign Language Film: Pan's Labyrinth
Best Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth

Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose ...

Peter Boyle: 1935-2006

Goodnight, funny man.

The BCFA ... now it gets interesting!

Until now, we've been working with outright winners, one or maybe two names or movie per category. But the Broadcast Film Critics Association changes that paradigm because its Critics' Choice Awards process with actual nominations from which the winners will be announced next month. Because the Academy Awards also come from nominations (see, you learn something new every day), the Critics' Choice has become an important precursor in terms of determining what the ultimate competition will be. Thus Forest Whitaker and Helen Mirren can't just claim even more hardware just yet; they'll have to wait for a few nervous week to find out what's what.

And for Whitaker especially, a treacherous future may await, for there, in the Best Actor category, has emerged for the first time the name of Peter O'Toole. He's up for his performance in an obscure comedy/drama called Venus, and this is critical because O'Toole, for all of his legendary acting roles (and seven Best Actor nominations from the Academy Awards) has never won a competitive Oscar. You may remember that he received an Oscar for lifetime achievement in 2003, but was extremely reluctant to do so because he felt that he still had a chance to pick up a "real" one in him. Well, here we go. Regardless of how good O'Toole is in Venus, the possibility that the Irish actor, who is 74 and has been in shaky health for the better part of 30 years (he's missing a pancreas and a hunk of stomach), could finally take home an Academy Award on his own merits is strong. But it may be nuts to Whitaker and his own breathtaking work as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland.

Well, that's OK, 'cause Forest will still get to take home the cool Oscar goodie basket - oh, never mind.

Broadcast Film Critics Association Critics' Choice Awards (nominations announced 12-12-06)
Best Picture
Babel
Blood Diamond
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Children
Little Miss Sunshine
Notes on a Scandal
The Queen
United 93

Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Departed
(Two Leos? Which one will have the hotter date?)
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
Peter O'Toole, Venus
Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Best Actress
Penelope Cruz, Volver
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet, Little Children

Best Supporting Actor
Ben Affleck, Hollywoodland
Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
Adam Beach, Flags of Our Fathers
Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Jack Nicholson, The Departed

Best Supporting Actress
Adriana Barraza, Babel
Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi, Babel
Catherine O'Hara, For Your Consideration
Emma Thompson, Stranger than Fiction

Best Director
Bill Condon, Dreamgirls
Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears, The Queen
Paul Greengrass, United 93
Martin Scorsese, The Departed

Best Acting Ensemble
Babel
Bobby
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Little Miss Sunshine
A Prairie Home Companion

Best Writer
Michael Arndt, Little Miss Sunshine
Guillermo Arriaga, Babel
Todd Field, Tom Perrotta, Little Children
Zach Helm, Stranger Than Fiction
William Monahan, The Departed
Peter Morgan, The Queen

Best Animated Feature
Cars
Flushed Away
Happy Feet
Monster House
Over The Hedge

Best Young Actor
Cameron Bright, Thank You For Smoking
Joseph Cross, Running With Scissors
Paul Dano, Little Miss Sunshine
Freddie Highmore, A Good Year
Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness

Best Young Actress
Ivana Baquero, Pan's Labyrinth
Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
Shareeka Epps, Half Nelson
Dakota Fanning, Charlotte's Web
Keke Palmer, Akeelah and the Bee

Best Comedy Movie
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
The Devil Wears Prada
For Your Consideration
Little Miss Sunshine
Thank You For Smoking

Best Family Film (live action)
Akeelah and the Bee
Charlotte's Web
Flicka
Lassie
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Best Picture Made for Television
Elizabeth I
The Librarian
Nightmares and Dreamscapes
The Ron Clark Story
When the Levees Broke

Best Documentary Feature
An Inconvenient Truth
Shut Up and Sing
This Film Is Not Yet Rated
Who Killed the Electric Car
Wordplay

Best Foreign Language Film
Apocalypto
Days of Glory
Letters From Iwo Jima
Pan's Labyrinth
Volver
Water

Best Song
"I Need To Wake Up", Melissa Etheridge, An Inconvenient Truth
"Listen", Beyonce, Dreamgirls
"My Little Girl", Tim McGraw, Flicka
"The Neighbor", Dixie Chicks, Shut Up and Sing
"Never Gonna Break My Faith", Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige, Bobby
"Ordinary Miracle", Sarah McLachlan, Charlotte's Web

Best Soundtrack
Babel
Cars
Dreamgirls
Happy Feet
Marie Antoinette

Best Composer
Phillip Glass, The Illusionist
Clint Mansell, The Fountain
Thomas Newman, The Good German
Gustavo Santaolalla, Babel
Howard Shore, The Departed
Hans Zimmer, The Da Vinci Code

And she is telling you ...

On Friday, the Dreamgirls juggernaut to the Academy Awards, which already has had a good pre-game thanks to several critics' awards and nominations, will begin in earnest when the movie version of the hit Broadway musical hits theaters in New York City and Los Angeles, leading up to its wide release at Christmas. The hype machine already had created tons of precious Oscar buzz that's surrounding not only the film as a whole, but especially former American Idol finalist Jennifer Hudson, who is considered a near-lock for a Best Supporting Actress nomination (at least) for her performance as the strong-voiced Effie, whose unceremonious ejection from the Supremes-like girl group at the heard of Dreamgirls leads to her performing the show's signature tune, "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going." It should be a triumphant moment for fans of the musical who celebrate it not only as sheer entertainment, but also for its place in the history of African Americans in entertainment. But behind the joy is another story, that of the original Effie, Jennifer Holliday. She sang that song more than a quarter century ago when Dreamgirls debuted on Broadway, a performance that brought houses down night after night and won her a Tony. But Holliday's road has been hard since then, and the renewed interest in Dreamgirls, instead of giving her a new burst of adoration, has instead opened additional wounds for the performer - mainly because, according to Holliday, the filmmakers and the studios (Dreamworks and Paramount) have all but ignored her contribution to the original Dreamgirls legacy.

Click on the subject line to read the Los Angeles Times article about Holliday, the movie and why she's feeling particularly pained at what could have been a glorious time for her. You will notice, if you read the story, that the studios have no comment about what guided their apparently dis of Holliday at this crucial time. One would hope they would do the right thing by her at some point, though a cameo in the movie would have been nice. One should also note that it's bad PR like this - real or otherwise - that has damaged or outright sunk more than one Oscar campaign in the past. Just ask Russell Crowe and Mel Gibson, among others. Considering how great this movie apparently is - I'll see it for myself this weekend - it would be a shame if unfortunately behavior against the entire production's biggest star screwed things up for everyone involved, then and now.

P.S. If you want a taste of Holliday's talents, play the video below to hear her perform "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going." I saw her do this number in person several years ago, but almost 20 years after Dreamgirls, and it put goosebumps on my goosebumps.

The New York Film Critics Circle ...

They've been around since 1935, and their current ranks include Rex Reed, Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly, Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal and Peter Travers of Rolling Stone. They're the New York Film Critics Circle, and they voted this morning on what they thought were the best films of 2006. These are their choices. There's one doozy among them - see if you can pick it out.


New York Film Critics Circle Awards (announced 12-11-06)
Best Picture: United 93
Best Actor, Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
Best Actress, Helen Mirren, The Queen
Best Supporting Actor, Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
Yes, that Jackie Earle Haley, late of The Bad News Bears (the Walter Matthau version) and Breaking Away (the film and the resulting TV series). Turns out that after he grew up, he left the acting world but not entertainment, segueing into producing and directing television commercials. Only recently has he returned to acting; he played a sex offender opposite Kate Winslet and Jennifer Connelly in Little Children. What we call this, boys and girls, is a feel-good story - child actor returns to make good. The Academy eats that stuff up.)
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Best Screenplay, Peter Morgan, The Queen
Best Foreign Film: Army of Shadows
Best Non-Fiction Film: Deliver Us from Evil
Best Animated Film: Happy Feet
Best Cinematography: Guillermo Navarro, Pan's Labyrinth
Best First Film: Ryan Fleck, Half Nelson

At this point, you may ask, is this Mirren/Whitaker juggernaut starting to get boring? To which I would respond, why don't you ask the two of them about that?

Boston Society of Film Critics ...

The Boston Society of Film Critics was formed in 1981. They also name their runners-up in the categories they judge.


Boston Society of Film Critics Awards (announced 12-10-2006)
Best Picture: The Departed (of course, it's just a coincidence that the film takes place in Boston - even if it was filmed in New York City)
Runner-up: United 93 (another connection - three of the four doomed flights on 9/11 originated in Boston. Of course, Flight 93 started in Newark so ... forget everything I just said)

Best Actor: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
Runner-up: Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson

Best Actress: Helen Mirren, The Queen
Runner-up: Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal (hey, two dames - cool!)

Best Supporting Actor: Mark Wahlberg, The Departed
Runners-up: (tie) Michael Sheen, The Queen; Alec Baldwin, The Departed, Running with Scissors and The Good Shepherd

Best Supporting Actress: Shareeka Epps, Half Nelson
Runner-up: Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada (interesting, as many have Streep getting nominated for the Best Actress Oscar)

Best Director: Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Runner-up: Paul Greengrass, United 93

Best Ensemble Cast: United 93
Runner-up: The Departed

Best Screenplay: William Monahan, The Departed
Runner-up: Peter Morgan, The Queen

Best Foreign Language Film: Pan's Labyrinth
Runner-up: Volver

Best Documentary: (tie) Deliver Us From Evil; Shut Up and Sing
Runner-up: 51 Birch Street

Best New Filmmaker: Ryan Fleck, Half Nelson
Runner-up: Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris, Little Miss Sunshine

Best Cinematography: Guillermo Navarro, Pan's Labyrinth
Runners-up: (tie) Stuart Dryburgh, The Painted Veil; Xiaoding Zhao, Curse of the Golden Flower

At this rate, Helen Mirren and Forest Whitaker may want to start figuring out what they're going to wear to the Kodak Theater on Feb. 25. Hopefully Dame Helen won't forget her shoes this time.

Los Angeles Film Critics Association ...

There are many film critics groups across North America. In recent years, they have proliferated like mice in a particularly choice piece of Gouda. But in the beginning, or at least not too long ago, there were four: The National Board of Review, the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Society of Film Critics. Even today, they are still the Big Four from which many good things flow. The NBR spoke on Wednesday. Today it was the guys from the vortex, L.A., who voiced their opinions.

The LAFCA started in 1975. Today there are about 45 members or so, including Leonard Maltin, Kenneth Turan and David Ansen. They're big cheeses, by the way, to continue the mouse metaphor. Unlike some of the other critics' groups, the LAFCA hedges its bets by announcing the second-place winners. Gutsy or playing it safe? You be the judge.


Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards (announced 12-10-2006)
Best Picture: Letters from Iwo Jima
Runner-up: The Queen

Best Actor: (tie) Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland; Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat (!!!!)

Best Actress: Helen Mirren, The Queen
Runner-up: Penelope Cruz, Volver

Best Supporting Actor: Michael Sheen, The Queen
Runner-up: Sergi Lopez, Pan's Labyrinth

Best Supporting Actress: Luminita Gheorghiu, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (she and the film are Romanian, in case you were wondering. I sure was.)
Runner-up: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls

Best Director: Paul Greengrass, United 93
Runner-up: Clint Eastwood, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima

Best Screenplay: Peter Morgan, The Queen
Runner-up: Michael Arndt, Little Miss Sunshine

Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, Children of Men
Runner-up: Tom Stern, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima

Best Production Design: Eugenio Caballero, Pan's Labyrinth
Runner-up: Jim Clay and Geoffrey Kirkland, Children of Men

Best Music: Alexandre Desplat, The Queen and The Painted Veil
Runner-up: Thomas Newman, The Good German and Little Children

Best Foreign-language film: The Lives of Others
Runner-up: Volver

Best Documentary/non-fiction film: An Inconvenient Truth
Runner-up: Darwin's Nightmare

Best Animation Feature: Happy Feet
Runner-up: Cars

Douglas Edwards Experimental/Independent Film/Video award: Old Joy (Kelly Reichardt) and In Between Days (So Yong Kim)

New Generation Award: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris (directors) and Michael Arndt (screenwriter), Little Miss Sunshine

The presence of Cohen as the co-winner of Best Actor is very interesting. Does this elevate him to true Oscar bait? Probably not, though it probably does guarantee him a place at the Golden Globe table for best actor in a comedy or musical. (It also begs the question, if he did land an invite to the Academy Awards, would he show up as Cohen or as Borat? Seeing how many people think the ceremony is a big bore, maybe the latter would be better for ratings.)

Washington DC Area Film Critics Association ...

Film Critics in Washington D.C.? Yeah, there are a few. And what do you know - they give out awards as well!

Interesting choice for their top film - but maybe not that surprising, considering the area ...


Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards (announced 12-10-06)
Best Film: United 93
Best Actor: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
Best Actress: Helen Mirren, The Queen
Best Supporting Actor: Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Best Original Screenplay: Michael Arndt, Little Miss Sunshine
Best Adapted Screenplay: Jason Reitman, Thank You for Smoking
Best Animated Feature: Happy Feet
Best Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth
Best Foreign Language Film: Pan's Labyrinth
Best Ensemble: Little Miss Sunshine
Best Breakthrough Performance: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Best Art Direction: Marie-Antoinette

New York Film Critics Online ...

New York Film Critics Online ...

One of the newer critics groups, the NYFCO consists of less than 30 members.


New York Film Critics Online Awards (announced 12-10-2006)
Best Picture: The Queen
Best Actor: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
Best Actress: Helen Mirren, The Queen
Best Supporting Actor: Michael Sheen, The Queen
Best Supporting Actress: (tie) Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls; Catherine O'Hara, For Your Consideration
Best Director: Stephen Frears, The Queen
Best Screenplay: Peter Morgan, The Queen
Best Ensemble Cast: Little Miss Sunshine
Best Breakthrough Performer: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Best Debut as Director: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, Little Miss Sunshine
Documentary Feature: An Inconvenient Truth
Animated Feature: Happy Feet
Foreign Language Picture: Pan's Laybrinth
Cinematography: Dick Pope, The Illusionist
Musical Score: Philip Glass, The Illusionist
Humanitarian Award: Deepa Mehta (Water) "for taking risks to create films about the difficulties of social change in India, especially as it effects women."

Top 10 Films (alphabetical)
Babel
The Fountain
Inland Empire
Little Children
Little Miss Sunshine
Pan's Labyrinth
The Queen
Thank You for Smoking
Volver
Water

The National Board of Review ...

The first film group to release its 2006 winners, as has been tradition, is the National Board of Review. The NBR was founded in 1909 in New York City - not to honor the best and brightest of the film world, but rather to protest the mayor's decision to revoke the licenses of several cinemas for the sake of "the morals of community" or something like that. The awards-giving didn't start until 1929; today about 150 people, including some who aren't professional critics, make up their ranks.


National Board of Review (announced 12-06-2006)
Best Film: Letters from Iwo Jima
Best Actor: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
Best Actress: Helen Mirren, The Queen
Best Supporting Actor: Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
Best Supporing Actress: Catherine O'Hara, For Your Consideration
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Best Adapted Screenplay: Ron Nyswaner, The Painted Veil
Best Original Screenplay: Zack Helm, Stranger Than Fiction
Best Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth
Best Animated Feature: Cars
Best Acting by an Ensemble: The Departed
Best Breakthrough Performance, Male: Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
Best Breakthrough Performance, Female: (tie) Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls, Rinko Kikuchi, Babel
Best Directorial Debut: Jason Reitman, Thank You for Smoking
Career Achievement Award: Eli Wallach
Billy Wilder Award for Excellence in Directing: Jonathan Demme
William K. Everson Award for Film History: Donald Krim
Career Achievement in Producing; Irwin Winkler
The Bvlgari Award for NBR Freedom of Expression: Water and World Trade Center

The NBR also likes lists - they have lists for the best films of the year and more:
Top Ten Films
Letters from Iwo Jima
and (in alphabetical order)
Babel
Blood Diamond
The Departed
The Devil Wears Prada
Flags of Our Fathers
The History Boys
Little Miss Sunshine
Notes on a Scandal
The Painted Veil

Top Five Foreign Films
Volver
and (in alphabetical order)
Curse of the Golden Flower
Days of Glory
Pan's Labyrinth
Water

Top Five Documentaries
An Inconvenient Truth
and (in alphabetical order)
51 Birch Street
Iraq in Fragments
Shut Up & Sing
Wordplay

Top Independent Films
(in alphabetical order)
Akeelah and the Bee
Bobby
Catch a Fire
Copying Beethoven
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
Half Nelson
The Illusionist
Lonesome Jim
Sherrybaby
10 Items or Less
Thank You for Smoking

So what does this mean? Helen Mirren's superb performance as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen may be the one lock at this year's Academy Awards, and Forest Whitaker was also getting a lot of Oscar buzz from his work as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. The big surprise of the NBR, though, may have been Letters of Iwo Jima as best film. This was the film Clint Eastwood made right after he directed Flags of Our Fathers, which was the first movie he did about Iwo Jima - specifically, about the men who raised the U.S. flag in the iconic photo from that battle. Letters is the Iwo Jima story told from the point of view of the Japanese; it's not fair to call it an afterthought, but he did get the idea to do it while preparing to direct Flags. Its success at the NBR instantly elevates it into Oscar consideration and could create a not-unpleasant dilemma for Eastwood. After all, the only thing better than having one Oscar-worthy film is to have two in the same year.

Welcome, all my friends, to the show that never ends ...

Well, actually, this show will be over next February 25 when Ellen DeGeneres takes to the stage of the Kodak Theater to get the 79th Annual Academy Awards underway. But the show began in full force this week when the film critics of the continent began dispersing their accolades to the movies and performances they felt were the best of 2006. Until the Oscar nominations are announced in the wee hours of January 23, it is these small groups of learned, (hopefully) informed folk who will set the tone for what may - or may not - be forthcoming from the Academy members. Some have compared the situation to the college football season, when a few polls and a computer determine which two teams will play for the still-mythical national championship, everything else be damned

This period can be both exhilarating and infuriating for true-blue movie buffs. It's fun and fascinating to see how a movie or an actor can take complete control of their category, especially if said movie or individual is a popular choice. At the same time, if a great performance seemingly is ignored, it can be pull-your-hair-out time. And then there is the knowledge that whatever the critics do or say could be shunned by the big boys themselves. Remember a few years ago when Sideways was out and everybody pointed to the work of Paul Giamatti as the sad-sack, borderline alcoholic schoolteacher who nearly lost Virginia Madsen. It would be the year of Jamie Foxx, who so kicked ass as Ray Charles in Ray. Foxx was the consensus choice for Best Actor, but Giamatti was nearly as much of a lock to be nominated. He even beat Foxx out for a couple of critics awards. But on the day the Oscar nods were announced, Giamatti was nowhere to be found, even as the movie and co-stars Madsen and Thomas Haden Church were recognized.

Who will get snubbed by the Academy this time around? We're far away from finding that out. But it's not too early to see what may be in store. This blog, having nothing better to do with its time (at least until spring training or the death of Castro) will keep track of the critics' awards, as well as other pivotal indicators such as the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards, as the Oscar approach. You know, for kids.

Just call her ... Curly?

How did she do that?

(In other circles, the better question would be why, but this is the world of pop music, after all.)

Fiji me? Fiji you! (Updated)

Breaking news that the democratically elected government of the Pacific island nation of Fiji has been toppled by the military in a bloodless coup. For those of you keeping score about Fijian politics, this is the fourth coup in 20 years, which has to be some sort of record on a par with Elizabeth Taylor's eight marriages. Though La Liz has had a lot more time to screw up her love life. I wonder how she would do as the head of state of Fiji.

The article about the coup can be accessed by clicking on the subject headline above, but what I love is the rationale for this latest shakeup. The head of the coup, one Commander Frank Bainimarama (obviously it's going to be a cruel, cruel summer over there), says that he is annoyed at the deposed government for being soft on the group who was behind the last coup six years ago. Remember that, Frank - no bitching from you if you get nailed to the wall for this adventure!

UPDATE: Oh, crap - just read a story about how the upcoming season of Survivor is being filmed on Fiji's second-largest island at this very moment. But no worries - E! Online reports that there's been no disruption of the show's production. So far, only the deposed prime minister has ended up on Exile Island.

Cat cuteness!

Because nothing says "awww" like a cat eating mashed potatoes off of somebody's finger!




This is Winston (the cat, not the owner of the finger). He's the co-star of his own blog if you want to see him taking part in more kitty antics.

Somewhere, Will Ferrell sheds a single tear with pride ...

What the Mississippi State University's Famous Maroon Band needs is ... even more cowbell!

Enjoy, and be humbled:

She's a gypsy, the Cookie Queen!

As I have pointed out on this blog before, my friend Beth is a Renaissance woman. Writer, editor, singer, raconteur - Beth may not be able to do everything, but she's pretty damn close. And another part of her skill set is her prowess around the kitchen, particular in matters of baking. Bread, brownies, cakes and cookies - she can pretty much do it all when it comes to a hot oven. And she'll probably hit me for saying all of this stuff about her - but I don't care. Besides, there's a reason for this tooting of her horn, so to speak. Because now we can add to her abilities the art of multitasking.

Beth's main blog already is bookmarked on the right-hand side of my little parcel of cyberspace (--------->). But now she has a new blog with a singular focus on her baking experiences. It's called The Cookie Queen's English , a clever name based on the fact that "The Cookie Queen" already was taken by another person on the Blogger system. But that's OK, as you can get the idea from the title that Beth's second blog will be about cookies - the art thereof, and also other topics related to baking. You can read about her decision to go in this direction here, and I plan to bookmark her new site in the very near future. Feel free to probe her mind about cookies or breads or other such matters. And tell her who sent ya, 'cause any traffic I can drive to The Cookie Queen's English probably strengthens my chance of getting a new batch of brownies from her.

Drunk baby!

There are so many things wrong with this story, it makes you reflect on the line from the film Parenthood when Keanu Reeves' dippy-but-profound character reflects on how you need a license to drive a car or own a dog or even go fishing, but how any dumb schmo can have a kid and become a parent. Ponder that, true believer, as you read the following news story that comes from the Colorado Springs area:

A 2-month-old girl brought to Memorial Hospital on Sunday with a blood-alcohol level equivalent to four times the legal driving limit for an adult was reportedly given formula mixed with vodka instead of water by mistake.

The baby was in good condition Monday after being taken to the hospital by her parents about 3:30 a.m. Sunday.

The baby’s parents did not return a phone call from The Gazette, but a family member told the newspaper the incident was an “accident” tied to an “unfortunate chain of events.” She would not elaborate and did not want to be identified.

The baby’s mother, however, told KKTV she mixed

a 3-ounce formula bottle for her daughter, not knowing the liquid in a water bottle was vodka, according to the station’s Web site. Sarah Smith, 19, told the station the accident happened Saturday night when the baby’s father went into a store to get diapers and she and the baby — who became fussy — waited in the car. She then made the baby a bottle.

Yeah, apparently the vodka was already in the car. And do I have to point out that the baby is not the only underage person described in this article.

Allow me to alter the paraphrasing of the movie quote above: Anybody can have a baby, but not all of them are parents.

Click on the headline to read the rest of the article, if you must.

One decade down ...

It was on this date 10 years ago that I moved from the frigid climes of Chicago to sunny Southern California. It was a transfer and promotion within my company of the time, but for a young entertainment journalist full of verve and promise, it was a tremendously big deal. And how has that move worked out for you, you may ask? Not so bad. A decade later, I am still writing, I am a published author (Snakes!), and I have a small but loyal and loving circle of friends both here and there, including pals back in Chicago whom I care the world about. Plus it's going to be 70 degrees here today while the Windy City currently is under a foot of snow and expecting zero degree temps in a few days! Score!

Here's hoping the next 10 years are even better. A best-seller and a Cubs World Series Championship would be nice.