Final Oscar Reaction: The Fashion!

What's an Oscar assessment without the best & worst dressed list. Angie has already posted her list, but after perusing all the pictures and watching the red carpet coverage, I am finally ready to post mine. (I don't post designer names because, well, I really don't care. Its not all about the dress to create a style. It depends who the dress is on just as much.)

I don't think anyone looked bad. Said to say, there weren't any disasters by anyone important (the last word being the key there.) I didn't care for Hilary Swank or Natalie Portman's dresses, but they were by no means disasters. When coming up with a top 10 list, I normally struggle to find people to put at the bottom of the pack, but this year I had to exclude several I enjoyed. Here goes:

10. OSCAR WINNER JULIA ROBERTS
God bless breastfeeding. (This is really the only good pic of her I could find. Most of Yahoo's sucked.)


9. KIRSTEN DUNST
Love the short hair and simplicity of her look.


8. OSCAR NOMINEE JULIE DELPY
Elegant and she and Ethan didn't get enough coverage.


7. PENELOPE CRUZ
Wow! Her and Salma looked so great together. I'll give Penelope the edge cause I love the color and her hair is better.


6. THE GYLLENHAAL'S
We all know what bringing your mother to the ceremony means, but what about your sister? Jake was best dressed male for my money and his sister was equally great. Love the Jarhead buzz cut, too. Is there a 12 step program for my Gyllenhaalicism? Maggie and Jake also had my favorite red carpet moment of the night. Maggie was talking to Star Jones-Reynolds-Blimp about the ring she was wearing, but could not remember the designer. Jake commented that the guy who designed it is at home chanting "SAY MY NAME! JUST SAY MY NAME!" I was laughing so hard at the way he was saying it and how Maggie and Star were just completely ignoring him.




5. OSCAR NOMINEE CATALINA SANDINO MORENO
Look how much better Catalina pulled off the tennis hair look than Hilary at the Golden Globes. A major debut, and a perfect followup to her stunning SAG dress.


4. OSCAR WINNER CHARLIZE THERON
She'd look great wearing a lamp shade and a trash bag. Some didn't like this, but I think she is perfection. What a great season for lady!


3. OSCAR WINNER GWYNETH PALTROW
See #10 comment. Easy, but flawless hair.


2. QUADRUPLE OSCAR NOMINEE KATE WINSLET
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride! What a perfect way to sign off the end of the Year of Winslet.


1. SANDRA OH
Yes, Renee and Emmy Rossum wore similar dresses, but neither looked as great as Sandra. She will be looked over for bigger stars, like she has been at every award she was at this year. In fact, over all this season, I believe Mrs. Alexander Payne was the best dressed. Here's her Oscar pictures as well as SAG and Golden Globe because she has hardly been covered at either of these.

Oscar Reaction: Part 2

+The acting clips sucked.
+The musical performances, especially coming after last year's amazing and fun numbers, fell flat. Having Beyonce singing 3 songs was a big mistake as predicted. Imagine how awful it would have been last year had the producers hired Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey sing "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow." Or someone else doing that koolkat Belleville song.
+Chris interracting with the people at the Magic Johnson theatre was the best, then Albert Brooks and Martin Lawrence showing up. Perfect.
+Wow, Scarlett's hair is really bad at the tech awards but looks better at the Oscars.
+Stop matching celebrity presenters up with animated characters. Have the animated people present themselves or not at all.
+Yes, there were lots of technical errors and someone saying that the ceremony was more like a high school performance with all the difficulties was pretty accurate.
+Cate to Martin: "I hope my son will marry your daughter."
+Thelma Schoonmaker seriously looks like Liza Minelli.
+Adam Sandler with Rock as Catherine Zeta-Jones was pretty funny.
MEMO TO HILARY SWANK: STOP WHISPERING THINGS IN YOUR HUSBAND'S EARS.
+Payne and Taylor were very sweet and professional. Hey, Paul Giamatti was there.
+Jake Gyllenhaal and Ziyi Zhang together are the sexiest presenters of the night.
+Morgan Freeman just winked at the camera. He's my hero!
+Robert Richardson thanking his mom was moving.
+"You won't be able to take your eyes off our next four presenters: Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek." LMAO!
+Samuel L. Jackson's overjoyed with The Incredibles love.
+The sound editor of The Incredibles is biting back at the notion that it is a technical award. Go you!
+God, some noise in the background again! Bless Jeremy Irons for commenting on the first one, while Salma just ignores it.
+"..and I applaud them." Good job, Miss Portman. We're glad you feel that way. Now shut up and hire a stylist.
+Rock's Oscar in the parking lot bit was great.
+Kate Winslet is so happy Finding Neverland won score.
+Annette Bening can say 'Yo Yo Ma' and seem dignified.
+Ugh, Sean Combs shouldn't be there. I think that the "Believe" performance was probably the best and Beyonce looks her best here.
+"For every greatly talented actor, there are five actresses that are nothing short of magical." Agreed Mr. Penn, but you didn't have to act (and look?) like an assclown.
+Kate Winslet's applause was very loud.
+As Rock stated earlier in the evening regarding Kidman, I think Miss Bening should get win a Razzie for that forced smile after Swank won.
+Gwyneth Paltrow: "..the first woman to ever breast feed an Apple."
+Kate is again overjoyed with Eternal winning. Dunst looks happy, too. For a second there I didn't understand why they showed Dunst. Now, Winslet is screaming and crying. I love her. Both Winslet and Dunst's nominated films each won an award. Go ladies!
+Jamie Foxx gives the best speech of the night.
+Julia Roberts is the surprise presenter of the night and looks like a knockout. God bless motherhood.
+The old Fockers present Best Picture to Million Dollar Baby.

Again, this ceremony was better than last year. I personally think 2002 had the best (the year Halle Berry cried.) It was over four hours. People bitched. But you know this only happens once a year. Who cares how long it is? Keep in mind that was also the year with the disasterous Donald Sutherland/Glenn Close announcing and the freaky people doing the backflips in the background. Yeah, but it was full of emotion, humor and felt like an awards ceremony.

Oscar Reaction

You can find the winners anywhere on the net. But you should know who all won because you watched the ceremony. Right?

Anyway, I'll be posting fashion picks and best & worst dressed tomorrow. Then, on Friday, my exclusive year in advance predictions for the very excited 05/06 Oscar season. I'll have why next year is really going to be the year.

This was the highest rated ceremony since 2000, even besting last year's Lord of the Rings sweep. That's fairly impressive considering the biggest Best Picture nominee grossed no more than $94m before the show. Here's what I thought about the show and everything:

Chris Rock: I'll rank him higher than Billy Crystal last year, but I still prefer Steve Martin. Rock's monologue was too fast paced and he was rushing through it. Martin did that during the '03 Oscars when the war was kicking off. He did have several funny moments but he shouldn't be back next year. Maybe several years down the line he should come back. Several liberal jokes went over well with the audience and there didn't seem to be an squirming on the audience's part.

The beauty pageant Oscars: Well, it made more sense that what it seemed but I don't think it worked entirely. Presenting in the audience went smoothly, but these people really deserve to go to the stage. This didn't really take much away from the show, but it didn't add anything at all.

There were zero surprises and it was a competitive year. The only genuine surprise was The Motorcycle Diaries winning Best Song. That was it. None of the speeches were really that great and they all felt way too rushed. Even last year's speeches when we had already seen everyone give a speech 10 times before were more heartfelt. Gil's request for people to say something special was pretty much ignored.

Final verdict regarding the show: It was entertaining, but over too fast. It was too lightweight and not enough surprises or emotion.

When I do my predictions for next year, I'll give suggestions for what I think could make next year great.

Hope everyone had a great Oscar season!

Razzie Winners: Go HALLE BERRY!

My respect for that gorgeous Oscar winner just went through the roof. Bless her for having a great sense of humor!

From yahoo:
"George W. Bush won the "Razzie" worst actor of the year award on Saturday for his performance as president in "Fahrenheit 9/11" but his moment in Hollywood's dubious spotlight was eclipsed by Halle Berry , who actually turned up to receive her embarrassing accolade.

Berry was named worst actress of 2004 by the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation for her performance in "Catwoman" and she showed up to accept her "Razzie" carrying the Oscar she won in 2002 for "Monster's Ball."

"They can't take this away from me, it's got my name on it!" she quipped. A raucous crowd cheered her on as she gave a stirring recreation of her Academy Award acceptance speech, including tears.

She thanked everyone involved in "Catwoman," a film she said took her from the top of her profession to the bottom.

"I want to thank Warner Brothers for casting me in this piece of shit," she said as she dragged her agent on stage and warned him "next time read the script first."

It is rare for a Razzie winner to show up at the spoof awards held on the night before Oscars -- but Berry did, saying her mother taught her that to be "a good winner you had to be a good loser first." She received a standing ovation.

Bush, beating such established Hollywood heroes as Colin Farrell and Vin Diesel , won the Razzie for worst actor of the year for his appearance in Michael Moore's documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11."

Bush, two members of his administration, Britney Spears and the storybook about a goat that the president was reading to children as the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were taking place all took top honors at the "Razzie" awards, now in their 25th year.

"Catwoman" tied with "Fahrenheit 9/11" by winning four "Razzies" -- worst picture, worst directing, worst screenplay and worst performance by an actress for Berry and her "berry bad" work.

John Wilson, founder of the nonprofit Golden Raspberry Award Foundation that gives out "Hollywood's least coveted trophies," said Moore's anti-Bush documentary allowed the foundation's nearly 700 members to do some Bush bashing of their own.

The president not only was named worst male actor in a leading role, he also won for being half of the year's worst screen couple when paired with either Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or "My Pet Goat," the book he was reading to schoolchildren on the morning of Sept. 11.

Footage of Bush continuing to read after being given first word of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon was one of the key scenes in Moore's highly critical film.

Two other "Fahrenheit" stars were "honored." Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was named worst supporting actor and pop star Spears won for worst supporting actress for a clip in which she declared blind faith in Bush's policies while popping chewing gum.

Winners receive a golf ball-sized figure of a "Raspberry" atop a mangled Super 8 film reel that is spray-painted gold. It has an estimated street value of $4.97, although Wilson said costs were rising as Super 8 film reel cans are getting harder to find."

How to Throw an Oscar Party - by an Expert (ME!)

This will be the fourth Oscar bash I've thrown/co-hosted. Its a bit late to be posting, but hopefully my friends and blog readers will get a kick out of my party and some of the ideas. Save em for next year folks!

The party runs about 6 hours so lots of food and drink is a must. Your party should start 2 hours before ABC's presentation when the main red carpet coverage on E! and TV Guide Channel starts. Most of these stations run things all day, but no celebrities really show up until about 15 - 20 minutes into their preshow (6PM for east coast!) ABC does their own coverage half an hour before the start of the actual ceremony (8:30PM) They have that assclown Billy Bush hosting, and E! has that superblimp Star Jones-Reynolds so making fun of them is a must. Joan and Melissa do the whole self-mocking thing, though I do actually like Melissa. She's fun. Anyways, the preshow is when to eat and drink and play some games. Go over who everyone is rooting for and perhaps who will be off limits to make fun of. Kidman isn't there this year, so anyone is fair game I suppose. Here's what I'm serving during this year's preshow bash:

+Pinot Noir & Merlot for Sideways. "I am not drinking any fucking Merlot!" Hehe. Throw in some cheese and crackers as well.
+Diet Pepsi for Ray
+Vodka Tonics for Closer
+Pasta Puttenesca for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
+Baby Shrimp for Vera Drake (they look like little fetuses!)
+Wings for The Aviator
+Bread for The Passion of the Christ
+Peter Pan Peanut Butter and Scottish Three Berry Jam for Finding Neverland. Get it. Berry Jam. J.M. Barrie.
+Tangerines for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
+Grapes for Maria Full of Grace
+The Incredibles Pez Dispensers
+Shrek 2 Gummy snacks.
+Lemon Meringue Pie for Million Dollar Baby

I'd also suggest something from McDonalds for Super Size Me.
All food will be served on Spider-Man 2 party plates.

I have those fun party poppers on hand for my guests to pop whenever someone they were rooting for wins. Of course, that leaves a lot up to chance. So if someone I love is just shown on TV, I may just pop one off for fun.

Anywho, I hope everyone has a fun Oscar night and at least one thing they were rooting for wins. Its only 2:15PM and I'm already buzzed from those Vodka Tonics.

Its Oscar Day!

Happy Happy Oscar Day!


Meet me at the Kodak....

Countdown to Oscar: 1 Day To Go

is this what they look like before makeup? lmao!

Almost here! Yippee! This is the point where you almost stop caring who wins and just look forward to the actual ceremony. I've heard almost no advanced word on what anyone is wearing other than that Halle Berry is doing some kind of special thing with her shoes. Who knows! Many women decide on their outfits the day of the ceremony and make last minute changes that send their stylists screaming. The buzz is old school The Aviator fashion will be back in big time which thrills me to no end. I heard old Hollywood.

Here's all the ceremony information:

Master of Ceremony: Chris Rock

Scheduled Presenters:
Sean Penn - Best Actress
Charlize Theron - Best Actor
Tim Robbins - Best Supporting Actress
Renee Zellweger - Best Supporting Actor

Drew Barrymore
Annette Bening
Halle Berry
Cate Blanchett
Orlando Bloom
Pierce Brosnan
Sean Combs
Penelope Cruz
Leonardo DiCaprio
Kirsten Dunst
Jake Gyllenhaal
Salma Hayek
Dustin Hoffman
Jeremy Irons
Samuel L. Jackson
Scarlett Johansson
Laura Linney
Edna Mode
Mike Myers
Al Pacino
Gwyneth Paltrow
Natalie Portman
Prince
Emmy Rossum
Adam Sandler
Martin Scorsese
Barbra Streisand
John Travolta
Robin Williams
Kate Winslet
Ziyi Zhang

Scheduled to Perform:
Antonio Banderas and Santana
Counting Crows
Josh Groban
Beyonce Knowles

From what I heard, all nominees should be in attendance. Very exciting.

Here's some behind the scenes pics:


pierson, swank card and cates - nonimportant person and linney


bloom and dunst - berry, robbins and zellweger


cruz and hayek - rock

Payne goes to Cannes

Alexander Payne will be the president of the Un Certain Regard Jury, an official selection of the Festival de Cannes, from May 11th to 22nd.
An American filmmaker, Alexander Payne directed Citizen Ruth, his first feature, in 1996. In 2002, About Schmidt, the lead played by Nicholson, was selected at Cannes then nominated for an Oscar before being awarded the Golden Globe for best screenplay. He received the same award again in 2005 for his latest film, Sideways, which has been a great popular and critical success. Sideways has been nominated for five of the Oscars which will be awarded on February 27th of this year: best film, best director, best actress and best actor in a supporting role and best adapted screenplay.

payne and wife sandra oh --->

Countdown to Oscar: 2 Days To Go

Be sure to check back tomorrow where I list some information about my Oscar party including what I'll be serving. I'll also do some show information including who will be there and why the Oscars are relevant after 77 years. Anywho, here is who I'll be rooting, cheering and - with the assistance of an abundance of wine - probably be screaming and eventually crying for.

Best Animated Feature:
The Incredibles

Best Art Direction:
The Aviator

Best Cinematography:
The Aviator

Best Costume Design:
The Aviator

Best Film Editing:
The Aviator

Best Makeup:
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Best Music - Score:
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Best Music - Song:
"Accidentally In Love" from Shrek 2

Best Sound Editing:
Spider-Man 2

Best Sound Mixing:
Spider-Man 2

Best Visual Effects:
Spider-Man 2

Best Writing - Adapted Screenplay:
Before Sunset

Best Writing - Original Screenplay:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Best Actor in a Supporting Role:
Clive Owen - Closer
Suggested Clip: "Now fuck off and die, you fucked up slag."/Larry interrogates Anna.
Like all the actors in Closer, Clive has to go through a varied amount of emotion. Observe his embarassment, and horniness, when he tries to impress Anna at the aquarium; his pain and the way he winces at every move Jane makes at the strip club; his confidence when he confronts and ultimately destroys Dan. He does it all, and never once lost my sympathy or came off as pathetic.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role:
Cate Blanchett - The Aviator
Suggested Clip: "We have to be very careful..."/Katharine talks about the price of fame.
My embarassing confessing: I've never seen a Katharine Hepburn film. I know, someone's going to want to shoot me for that. Consider this: I've only ever heard adjectives to describe her. Not just her screen prescence, but her off screen personality. Blanchett embodies every characteristic you've heard about Miss Hepburn while at the same time creating a completely organic character.

Best Actor in a Leading Role:
Leonardo Dicaprio - The Aviator
Suggested Clip: I don't have the exact quote - something along the lines of "It I take the cap and put it in my pocket."/Howard is officially mad.
What makes this performance, in my mind at least, better than Jamie Foxx's? Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles is stunning to watch, and you never feel that you're watching Foxx. After the film is over, its almost forgotten. After The Aviator is over, you still have Howard in your mind: his madness, his obsession, his triumphant life. And when you see Dicaprio step into a leading man role for the first time, you get a thrilling feeling that even after a near decade long career its only the beginning.

Best Actress in a Leading Role:
Kate Winslet - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
"Nothing makes any sense. Nothing makes any sense."/Clemetine, confused, pleads to Patrick to take her to the Charles.
See Below Comments.

Best Directing:
Martin Scorsese - The Aviator

Best Picture:
The Aviator

MY BIG FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION:
You guys know I'm an actress whore, so here goes:
I'd like to acknowledge that this year's best actress contenders all seem to be made of little moments. Granted, Imelda Staunton spends the last half of Vera Drake crying and Hilary Swank does just about anything an actress can do in role to guarentee her an Oscar in Million Dollar Baby. The smallest of these is one most people will forget: about 10 minutes into Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Kate Winslet's character is walking along the street where she's stopped by Joel, the man she's met earlier in the day. He asks her if she'd like a ride, and she turns and faces the direction she was heading. She takes a small step forward and like a bullet turns back around and hauls it to his car. That's what makes Kate's performance as a modern day Annie Hall so great. She has Clementine down pat. The actress bursts out of those corsets that have defined most of her career and the result is a live wire that everyone stares at in awe. If there is any justice in the film world, Kate Winslet will walk away with her first Oscar Sunday night with the most lively and engaging an actress has been in ages. As far as deglamming, come on people! She dyed her hair, like, a lot!

Countdown to Oscar: 3 Days To Go

Other Predictions:

STANDING OVATION PREDICTION -
MOST LIKELY TO GET A STANDING OVATION IN EACH CATEGORY
Picture - Sideways
Director - Whoever Wins Will Get a Standing O.
Actor - Jamie Foxx - DUH! He'll own the crowd. It will be great.
Actress - Kate Winslet - she'll get the loudest applause when noms are announced.
Supp. Actor - Morgan Freeman - see below comments.
Supp. Actress - Virginia Madsen - Great comeback, now we'll never see you again.

Okay, when Morgan Freeman wins, Renee Zellweger will be presenting the award to him. Chris Rock will be the host. Can we say Nurse Betty reunion? This will be my favorite part of the show if any attention is called to it. All 3 of them were so great in the film and it went unnoticed in awards season. Cept for when Renee won the Globe and was in the restroom.

-If Million Dollar Baby wins screenplay, it will win Picture.
-If Hilary and Morgan lose, The Aviator will win Picture.
-If Virginia and Thomas win, we might see a Sideways Picture upset.
-If Charlie Kaufman gets a standing ovation, Kate Winslet's odds shoot up.
-If Vera Drake wins screenplay, Imelda will win.
-If a tree falls in the woods, will Leonardo come to its rescue immediately?
-Is Natalie Portman the new Winona Ryder?
-Any bets on anyone coming out of the closet if they win?

The BIG Four:

Best Actor:
1. Jamie Foxx - Ray - 50% chance of winning
2. Clint Eastwood - Million Dollar Baby - 25% chance of winning
3. Leonardo DiCaprio - The Aviator - 15% chance of winning
4. Don Cheadle - Hotel Rwanda - 6% chance of winning
5. Johnny Depp - Finding Neverland - 4% chance of winning

Best Actress:
1. Hilary Swank - Million Dollar Baby - 30% chance of winning
2. Imelda Staunton - Vera Drake - 24% chance of winning
3. Annette Bening - Being Julia - 23% chance of winning
4. Kate Winslet - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - 22% chance of winning
5. Catalina Sandino Moreno - Maria Full of Grace - 1% chance of winning

Best Director:
1. Martin Scorsese - The Aviator - 40% chance of winning
2. Clint Eastwood - Million Dollar Baby - 39% chance of winning
3. Alexander Payne - Sideways - 12% chance of winning
4. Mike Leigh - Vera Drake - 5% chance of winning
5. Taylor Hackford - Ray - 4% chance of winning

Best Picture:
1. The Aviator - 35% chance of winning
2. Million Dollar Baby - 34% chance of winning
3. Sideways - 22% chance of winning
4. Finding Neverland - 6% chance of winning
5. Ray - 3% chance of winning

Countdown to Oscar: 4 Days To Go

Tomorrow - the final four predictions.
Friday - who I'm rooting for.

Today -
(I've chosen to do these EW style)

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Cate Blanchett - The Aviator - 35% chance of winning
2. Virginia Madsen - Sideways - 28% chance of winning
3. Natalie Portman - Closer - 26% chance of winning
4. Laura Linney - Kinsey - 6% chance of winning
5. Sophie Okenedo - Hotel Rwanda - 5% chance of winning

Best Supporting Actor:
1. Morgan Freeman - Million Dollar Baby - 35% chance of winning
2. Clive Owen - Closer - 30% chance of winning
3. Thomas Haden Church - Sideways - 25% chance of winning
4. Alan Alda - The Aviator - 8% chance of winning
5. Jamie Foxx - Collateral - 2% chance of winning

Best Original Score:
1. Finding Neverland - Jan A.P. Kaczmarek - 35% chance of winning
2. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events - Thomas Newman - 25% chance of winning
3. The Passion of the Christ - John Debney - 20% chance of winning
4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - 14% chance of winning
5. The Village - James Newton Howard - 6% chance of winning

Best Original Song:
1. "Believe" - The Polar Express- 30% chance of winnning
2. "Accidentally In Love" - Shrek 2 - 28% chance of winning
3. "Learn To Be Lonely" - The Phantom of the Opera - 25% chance of winning
4. "Al Otra Lado Del Rio" - The Motorcycle Diaries - 12% chance of winning
5. "Look To Your Path" - The Chorus - 5% chance of winning

Best Original Screenplay:
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - 45% chance of winning
2. The Aviator - 20% chance of winning
3. Vera Drake - 16% chance of winning
4. The Incredibles - 12% chance of winning
5. Hotel Rwanda - 7% chance of winning

Best Adapted Screenplay:
1. Sideways - 40% chance of winning
2. Million Dollar Baby - 35% chance of winning
3. Before Sunset - 12% chance of winning
4. Finding Neverland - 9% chance of winning
5. The Motorcycle Diaries - 4% chance of winning

Box Office Predictions: Feb. 25 - 27

1. Hitch - $18m / $119m / $168m
2. Cursed - $16m / $16m / $38m
3. Constantine - $14m / $53m / $82m
4. Diary of a Mad Black Woman - $10m / $10m / $34m
5. Because of Winn Dixie - $7.5m / $23m / $42m
6. Man of the House - $7m / $7m / $19m
7. Million Dollar Baby - $6m / $63.5m / **
8. Are We There Yet? - $5m / $77.5m / $92m
9. Son of the Mask - $4.5m / $15m / $24m
10. The Aviator - $3.5m / $93.5m / **

waiting to find out how big momma got her house back

**-Final gross depends on how many Oscars the film wins.

Countdown to Oscar: 5 Days To Go

Technical Category Predictions:

Art Direction:
The Aviator - Finding Neverland - Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events - The Phantom of the Opera - A Very Long Engagement

Winner: The Aviator
Alternate: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events


Cinematography:
The Aviator - House of Flying Daggers - The Passion of the Christ - The Phantom of the Opera - A Very Long Engagement

Winner: The Passion of the Christ
Alternate: The Aviator


Costume Design:
The Aviator - Finding Neverland - Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events - Ray - Troy

Winner: The Aviator
Alternate: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events


Film Editing:
The Aviator - Collateral - Finding Neverland - Million Dollar Baby - Ray

Winner: The Aviator
Alternate: Million Dollar Baby


Makeup:
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events - The Passion of the Christ - The Sea Inside

Winner: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Alternate: The Passion of the Christ


Sound Editing:
The Incredibles - The Polar Express - Spider-Man 2

Winner: The Incredibles
Alternate: Spider-Man 2


Sound Mixing:
The Aviator - The Incredibles - The Polar Express - Ray - Spider-Man 2

Winner: Spider-Man 2
Alternate: Ray


Visual Effects:
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - I, Robot - Spider-Man 2

Winner: Spider-Man 2
Alternate: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Countdown to Oscar - 6 days to go

The Oscars are Sunday night! This is my week long countdown to the biggest night in the world!

To keep all my bitterness and resentment to the side, I've decided to use today's "Countdown to Oscar" column to show what I would have chosen as the nominees in the major categories. The rest of the week will be examinations of the categories, who will win, some backstage gossip and info about the show, who I'll be rooting for, and some information on the party I'm throwing.

Here's who I would've voted for in each category:

Best Picture:
The Aviator - Before Sunset - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - House of Flying Daggers - Mean Creek

Best Director:
Michel Gondry - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Mike Nichols - Closer
Sam Raimi - Spider-Man 2
Martin Scorsese - The Aviator
Zhang Yimou - House of Flying Daggers

Best Actor:
Jim Carrey - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Aviator
Jamie Foxx - Ray
Paul Giamatti - Sideways
Topher Grace - In Good Company

Best Actress:
Julie Delpy - Before Sunset
Imelda Staunton - Vera Drake
Uma Thurman - Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Kate Winslet - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Ziyi Zhang - House of Flying Daggers

Best Supp. Actor:
Paul Bettany - Dogville
David Carradine - Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Rory Culkin - Mean Creek
Rodrigo De La Serna - The Motorcycle Diaries
Clive Owen - Closer

Best Supp. Actress:
Cate Blanchett - The Avitor
Kirsten Dunst - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Virginia Madsen - Sideways
Natalie Portman - Closer
Kate Winslet - Finding Neverland

Best Screenplay - Adapted:
Before Sunset - Closer - Mean Girls - The Motorcycle Diaries - Sideways

Best Screenplay - Original:
The Aviator - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - In Good Company - Kill Bill: Vol. 2 - Mean Creek

Best Costume Design:
The Aviator - Finding Neverland - House of Flying Daggers - Ocean's Twelve - Vanity Fair

Best Production Design:
The Aviator - Finding Neverland - Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events - The Phantom of the Opera - Vanity Fair

Best Cinematography:
The Aviator - Collateral - Hero - House of Flying Daggers - Ray

Best Editing:
The Aviator - The Bourne Supremacy - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - House of Flying Daggers - Kill Bill: Vol. 2

Best Sound Mixing:
The Bourne Supremacy - House of Flying Daggers - Kill Bill: Vol. 2 - Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow - Spider-Man 2

Best Sound Editing:
The Bourne Supremacy - Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow - Spider-Man 2

Best Visual F/X:
The Day After Tomorrow - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Spider-Man 2

Best Original Score:
Birth - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Finding Neverland - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Best Makeup:
Dawn of the Dead - Hellboy - Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Best Song From a Movie:
Accidentally In Love - Shrek 2
Learn to Be Lonely - The Phantom of the Opera
Old Habits Die Hard - Alfie
Super Size Me - Super Size Me
A Waltz For A Night - Before Sunset

News Bites and Other Thingies

I haven't been posting much, but over the next week I'll be doing full Oscar coverage. So, here's what I've been meaning to put up for a while:

+Star Wars: Episode 3 will be the opening night film at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Two other additions to the festival will be Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain and Ron Howard's Cinderella Man.

+Curtis Hanson's In Her Shoes, starring Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette, has been bumped from its April 8 release date to October 7. The reason given was excellent test screenings and for Fox to give the film and Diaz a big Oscar push. (Sidenote: YES! said in ecstatic girlish glee!) Gore Verbinski's The Weather Man has also been bumped from April to TBA 2005 for similar reasons. If you haven't yet seen the trailer for this film, do so. It is one of the best trailers in theatres and certainly makes the film look quite good. I'm getting a Wonder Boys vibe from it. Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine and Hope Davis star in the dramedy. Other new release dates: Shopgirl - Oct. 21; The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Apr. 29; The Brothers Grimm - Jul. 29; Memoirs of a Geisha - Dec. 9.

+The Untitled Niki Caro Project (formerly titled Class Action) has finally received some male blood in the form of Sean Bean and Woody Harrelson. The drama, a fictionalized account of the first sexual harassment lawsuit, stars Oscar-winners Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand and Sissy Spacek. The release date has been locked in as October 7. Is everything opening in October this year? Geesh! (Man, I have to see Brokeback Mountain, In Her Shoes, the Niki Caro movie, Land of the Dead, Shopgirl and probably about five other movies moved to this month in a matter of two weeks. Such work!)

+Cursed will be released on February 25. All planned screenings for the critics and press have been cancelled. Wonder why....

+Lions Gate will release the film High Tension with an R-rating and English dubbing. Sad news! The foreign indie was originally rated NC-17. I was looking forward to this one. The rating doesn't really piss me off but the dubbing does. Check out the film's website here.

+James Purefoy (Vanity Fair) has been cast opposite Natalie Portman in V For Vendetta. The film, from the producers of The Matrix trilogy, will be in theatres on Nov. 4. Production begins next month.

+Check out the awesome one sheet and trailer for Dark Castle's upcoming House of Wax. Yes, it stars Paris Hilton, but that poster more than makes up for it. Prey. Slay. Display.

+I love international posters. They are always better. Case in point: The Interpreter's domestic poster. The Interpreter's international poster.

+The Fantastic Four teaser trailer has been out for over a month but I just caught it for the first time about a week ago. It looks better than many made it out to be, but at the same time looks a bit derivative of the first X-Men. Oh, and two words: Chris Evans. Yum.

+Oscar-nominee Catalina Sandino Moreno has nabbed her second role. The actress will costar with Jennifer Lopez in the thriller Bordertown. The film focuses on a reporter who heads to a Mexican bordertown in order to investigate slayings of young factory women. Production begins March 7 in Mexico.

+Oscar-winner Halle Berry will reteam with her Monster's Ball director Marc Forster (Finding Neverland) for the story of Egyptian queen Nefertiti. Shooting on the currently untitled project is expected to begin early 2006.

Box Office Predictions: Feb. 18 - 20

1. Constantine - $26m / $26m / $75m
2. Hitch - $24m / $83m / $150m
3. Son of the Mask - $12m / $12m / $38m
4. Because of Winn Dixie - $10m / $10m / $38m
5. Million Dollar Baby - $6.5m / $54m / $85m
6. Are We There Yet - $6m / $69m / $85m
7. Boogeyman - $5m / $41m / $47m
8. Pooh's Heffalump Movie - $4m / $11m / $18m
9. The Aviator - $4m / $88m / $106m
10. Sideways - $3.5m / $58m / $72m


oh, keanu! tehehehe

BAFTA Winners

I was looking forward to the BAFTAs this year because I think of all the awards show nominees, their's were by far the best group. I forwarded through most of the show and their seemed to be a strong lack of star power. Cate, Clive & Leo were there, but not much else. Gillian Anderson was there, too. I must she is looking damn good but she seemed to be pushing one of those Madonna-British-accent things. It was kind of absurd. Also, Charlie Kaufman was adorable accepting his award. He was very shy and very nervous, but so funny. Here were the winners and what Cate Blanchett was wearing (since she looked radiant.)

Best Film - The Aviator
Best Director - Mike Leigh - Vera Drake
Best Actor - Jamie Foxx - Ray
Best Actress - Imelda Staunton - Vera Drake
Best Supp. Actor - Clive Owen - Closer
Best Supp. Actress - Cate Blanchett - The Aviator
Best Original Screenplay - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Best Adapted Screenplay - Sideways
Best Film Music - The Motorcycle Diaries
Best Hair and Makeup - The Aviator
Best Costumes - Vera Drake
Best Cinematography - The Aviator
Best Editing - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Best Production Design - The Aviator
Best Sound - Ray
Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects - The Day After Tomorrow

First Look: Capote

It is the lesser anticipated of the dueling Truman Capote projects. No surprise since the other one, Every Word Is True, has one of the best casts assembled in quite some time. Nevertheless, here's your first look at Capote, starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the title character and the lovely and amazing Catherine Keener as Harper Lee.

Box Office Predictions: Feb. 11-13

1. Hitch - $38m / $38m / $145m

2. Pooh's Heffalump Movie - $12m / $12m / $38m

3. The Wedding Date - $8m / $22m / $42m

4. Are We There Yet - $7m / $60m / $82m

5. Boogeyman - $7m / $30m / $42m

6. Million Dollar Baby - $7m / $44m / $75m

7. The Aviator - $4.5m / $82m / $110m

8. Hide and Seek - $4.5m / $43m / $53m

9. Sideways - $4m / $52m / $72m

10. Meet the Fockers - $2.5m / $269m / $275m





pretty sure this is a gay film

Lohan Gets Some Credibility Back (AND HOW!)

Lindsay Lohan has signed on to play Meryl Streep's daughter in Robert Altman's upcoming A Prarie Home Companion, a project that begins production in April. It was written by Garrison Keiller, who will also appear in the film. The cast, like all Altman films, is very large and diverse: Lily Tomlin, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kevin Kline, Lyle Lovett, Tom Waitts and the aforementioned Lohan and Streep. The film is about a small town's country music station. The last time Altman tackled country music the result was Nashville. Anywho, back to Lohan. It seemed lately her career was plunging due the partying, the dismissed music career and the Paris Hilton and Tara Reid gal-paling. Hopefully, she's dropped all this and will now go back to following through the promise she showed.







<---Lohan in Herbie: Fully Loaded

Say it ain't so! This is actually the truth!

My anticipation for this year's Oscars just went down (again!)



"New Rules at Oscars: Not All Winners Take the Stage

By Arthur Spiegelman



BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - The long walk down the Oscar aisle will be a lot shorter for some of this year's Academy Awards winners -- in fact, some will not make it to the stage.



Oscars telecast producer Gil Cates told the annual luncheon of nominees on Monday that he had major changes planned for the awards, including not inviting the victors in some categories to the stage.



Instead, Cates said they will receive their awards from a presenter parked in the audience. In other cases, all the nominees in a single category will be invited up on stage and the winner then announced.



And, finally, some nominees will get their Oscars the old-fashioned way, walking down the aisle to the stage after the envelope is opened and the name announced.



Cates said the changes for the 77th annual Academy Awards, to be broadcast on Feb. 27, were aimed both at saving time and making sure that every nominee is seen by a worldwide television audience estimated in the hundred of millions.



Many treasured Oscar moments have involved the trek to the stage, as when Italy's Roberto Benigni was named best actor in 1998 for "Life is Beautiful" and made an elaborate display of climbing over seats and people to get to the stage.



Cates, who this year, as in years past, made an impassioned plea for Oscar winners to keep their acceptance speeches short, said the main reason for the change was to "get more of the nominees seen on television."







Ok. Here's some ideas that are better than this:



Best Supporting Actor:

Renee Zellweger goes to present and brings all five nominees up. She stands with her back to them and throws the Oscar in the air. Whoever catches it wins.



Best Supporting Actress:

All the nominees stand in the entrance ways. Once Tim Robbins finishes "..and the Oscar goes to.." all the nominees run to the stage. Whoever makes it there first wins.



Best Actor:

All the nominees are hidden in certains points in the room each armed with rifles. Goal: kill your opponent. Last person alive wins.



Best Actress:

The actresses will be required to act another actress's role (ie: Hilary swallows pellets of heroine; Imelda plays a green-haired free spirit.) Meryl Streep, Jessica Lange and Sissy Spacek will sit in the audience and judge the performances. America calls in and votes. The actress with the most votes wins.



Best Director:

Three words: Pie eating contest.



Best Original Screenplay:

Drop all the nominees off on an island..."Charlie, the tribe has spoken!"



Best Adapted Screenplay:

Julie Delpy will stick her head in a bowl of cockroaches. If she wants to beat Alexander Payne, her head will remain there for 2 minutes.

Oscar Luncheon Pics

I'll start with the money shot:









To view entire gallery, go here.

Hope you liked Nic's dress at the Globes...

...because she's not coming to the Oscars! Kidman will not attend the Oscars this year after making appearances at the past three ceremonies. I'm hoping this year will be like last year and all 19 acting nominees will be present. Here's the confirmed list of presenters thus far:



Charlize Theron (presenting Best Actor)

Renee Zellweger (presenting Supp. Actor)

Tim Robbins (presenting Supp. Actress)

Scarlett Johansson (presenting the technical awards segment)

Halle Berry

Orlando Bloom

Penelope Cruz

Salma Hayek

Gwyneth Paltrow

Martin Scorsese

Robin Williams

Zhang Ziyi



Darren's Oscar Presenter Wish List:

Will Ferrell, Jake Gyllenhaal, Lindsay Lohan, Cameron Diaz, Uma Thurman, Mark Ruffalo and Naomi Watts (since Nic won't be there, get the next best thing.)



Oh, and Teri Hatcher. Just cuz.

SAG Winners

Best Ensemble - Sideways

Actor - Jamie Foxx - Ray

Actress - Hilary Swank - Million Dollar Baby

Supp. Actor - Morgan Freeman - Million Dollar Baby

Supp. Actress - Cate Blanchett - The Aviator



TV Ensemble (Comedy) - Desperate Housewives

TV Ensemble (Drama) - CSI

TV Actress (Drama) - Jennifer Garner - Alias (YEEEEESSSSSS!!!)

TV Actress (Comedy) - Teri Hatcher - Desperate Housewives (see Jennifer Garner)

TV Actor (Drama) - Jerry Orbach - Law & Order

TV Actor (Comedy) - Tony Shaloub - Monk



I didn't watch the entire show, only about half an hour. All of the Housewives looked outstanding. Teri Hatcher is becoming my favorite awards personality. Too bad she won't be at the Oscars. I saw James Garner's speech, and it was great. As for best dressed: Jennifer Garner, Kate Winslet, Sandra Oh and my Teri looked great. Also, another Teri - Polo, this time - looked terrific as well.

I'll try to catch the BAFTA's this coming weekend.