DKME Entertainers of 2006!

Here's my selection for the Top Entertainers who made the world of Pop Culture for 2006.


1. Sacha Baron Cohen
2. Meryl Streep
3. "Grey's Anatomy"
4. Nelly Furtado and Timbaland
5. The Dixie Chicks
6. Alec Baldwin
7. Julia Louis-Dreyfus
8. Daniel Craig
9. Kathy Griffin
10. Stephen Colbert

Box Office Predix: Dec. 29 - 31

1. Night at the Museum - $30m / $107m / $180m
2. The Pursuit of Happyness - $18m / $96m / $150m
3. Dreamgirls - $17.5m / $43m / $115m
4. Rocky Balboa - $12m / $50m / $80m
5. The Good Shepherd - $10.5m / $33m / $58m
6. Charlotte's Web - $10m / $49m / $85m
7. We Are Marshall - $8m / $23m / $45m
8. Eragon - $7.5m / $53m / $72m
9. The Holiday - $6m / $47m / $62m
10. Black Christmas - $4m / $12m / $20m

December Oscar Predix (4 of 5)

And here we go....

(top 5 in each category are the nominees)

Best Picture:
1. The Departed
2. The Queen
3. Letters From Iwo Jima
4. Dreamgirls
5. Babel
6. United 93
7. Little Miss Sunshine

Best Director:
1. Martin Scorsese - The Departed
2. Stephen Frears - The Queen
3. Clint Eastwood - Letters From Iwo Jima
4. Alejandro Inarritu Gonzalez - Babel
5. Bill Condon - Dreamgirls
6. Paul Greengrass - United 93
7. Clint Eastwood - Flags of Our Fathers

Best Actor:
1. Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland
2. Peter O'Toole - Venus
3. Leonardo Dicaprio - The Departed
4. Ryan Gosling - Half Neslon
5. Will Smith - The Pursuit of Happyness
6. Sacha Baron Cohen - Borat
7. Ken Watanabe - Letters From Iwo Jima

Best Actress:
1. Helen Mirren - The Queen
2. Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal
3. Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
4. Penelope Cruz - Volver
5. Kate Winslet - Little Children
6. Maggie Gyllenhaal - Sherrybaby
7. Renee Zellweger - Miss Potter

Best Supporting Actor:
1. Jack Nicholson - The Departed
2. Brad Pitt - Babel
3. Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls
4. Michael Sheen - The Queen
5. Mark Wahlberg - The Departed
6. Ben Affleck - Hollywoodland
7. Jackie Earle Haley - Little Children

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
2. Rinko Kikuchi - Babel
3. Cate Blanchett - Notes on a Scandal
4. Catherine O'Hara - For Your Consideration
5. Adrianna Barazza - Babel
6. Emily Blunt - The Devil Wears Prada
7. Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine

Best Original Screenplay:
1. The Queen
2. Babel
3. Little Miss Sunshine
4. Volver
5. Letters From Iwo Jima
6. Stranger Than Fiction
7. United 93

Best Adapted Screenplay:
1. The Departed
2. Dreamgirls
3. Little Children
4. Notes on a Scandal
5. The Last King of Scotland
6. Children of Men
7. The Devil Wears Prada

Art Direction:
Children of Men - Dreamgirls - Flags of Our Fathers - Marie Antoinette - Pan's Labyrinth

Cinematography:
Children of Men - The Departed - Dreamgirls - Letters From Iwo Jima - The Painted Veil

Costume Design:
The Devil Wears Prada - Dreamgirls - Marie Antoinette - Miss Potter - Pan's Labyrinth

Editing:
Babel - The Departed - Letters From Iwo Jima - The Queen - United 93

Makeup:
Apocalypto - Pan's Labyrinth - Pirates of the Caribbean 2

Original Song:
Bobby - Charlotte's Web - Dreamgirls - Happy Feet - The Pursuit of Happyness

Score:
Babel - Charlotte's Web - Notes on a Scandal - The Painted Veil - The Queen

Sound Mixing:
Casino Royale - The Departed - Dreamgirls - Pirates of the Caribbean 2 - Superman Returns

Sound Editing:
Cars - Happy Feet - Pirates of the Caribbean

Visual Effects:
Pirates of the Caribbean 2 - Poseidon - Superman Returns

Animated Feature:
Cars - Flushed Away - Happy Feet - Monster House - Over the Hedge

Documentary:
Deliver Us From Evil - An Inconvenient Truth - Jesus Camp - Shut Up and Sing - The War Tapes

10 YEARS AGO....

It opened with $6.3m over its first 3-days, barely enough to make it in the top 5. Costing only $11 million, the film would rely on word of mouth and stellar reviews to keep it in theatres for almost half a year. 10 years later, it and its sequels had made more than half a billion at the worldwide box office. If you want to thank (or perhaps blame) a film for Hollywood's youthquake, the marketing of independent films and the comeback of the horror genre, then this is where it began.

10 years ago today.

OSCAR POSTER!

I love it.

Box Office Predix: Christmas Weekend

1. Night at the Museum
3-day: $30m
4-day: $41m
Projected Final: $160m

2. The Pursuit of Happyness
3-day: $17m
4-day: $23m
Projected Final: $140m

3. Rocky Balboa
3-day: $16m
4-day: $21.5m
Projected Final: $75m

4. Eragon
3-day: $11m
4-day: $14m
Projected Final: $74m

5. Charlotte's Web
3-day: $9.5m
4-day: $12.5m
Projected Final: $95m

6. We Are Marshall
3-day: $9m
4-day: $12.5m
Projected Final: $55m

7. The Good Shepherd
3-day: $7m
4-day: $9.5m
Projected Final: $40m

8. The Holiday
3-day: $5.5m
4-day: $7.5m
Projected Final: $64m

9. Happy Feet
3-day: $5m
4-day: $6.5m
Projected Final: $175m

10. The Nativity Story
3-day: $5m
4-day: $6m
Projected Final: $45m

Apocalyptpo
3-day: $4m
4-day: $5m
Projected Final: $52m

Blood Diamond
3-day: $4m
4-day: $5m
Projected Final: $40m

Dreamgirls
Christmas Day: $4m
Projected Final: $95m

Black Christmas
Christmas Day: $3.5m
Projected Final: $20m

More critics awards....

LAS VEGAS FILM CRITICS:

Picture - The Departed
Actor - Forest Whitaker
Actress - Helen Mirren
Supporting Actor - Djimon Hounsou - Blood Diamond
Supporting Actress - Jennifer Hudson
Director - Martin Scorsese
Screenplay - Jason Reitman - Thank You For Smoking
Cinematography - Emmanuel Lubezki - Children of Men
Film Editing - Thelma Schoonmaker - The Departed
Score - Thomas Newman - The Good German
Song - "Ordinary Miracle" - Charlotte's Web
Family Film - Charlotte's Web
Documentary - An Inconvenient Truth
Animated Film - Monster House
Foreign Film - Pan's Labyrinth
Costume Design - Marie Antoinette
Art Direction - Marie Antoinette
Visual Effects - X-Men: The Last Stand
Youth in Film Award: Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine
Best DVD: Superman Ultimate Collectors Edition
William Holden Lifetime Achievement Award - Peter O'Toole

LVFCS Top 10 Films for 2006
Letters From Iwo Jima
The Departed
Babel
United 93
Dreamgirls
Blood Diamond
Thank You For Smoking
Perfume
The Queen
Flags of Our Fathers

DALLAS-FORT WORTH FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION:
Best Films of 2006:
1. United 93
2. The Departed
3. Little Miss Sunshine
4. The Queen
5. Babel
6. Letters From Iwo Jima
7. Dreamgirls
8. Blood Diamond
9. Little Children
10. Flags of Our Fathers

Best Actor:
1. Forest Whitaker
2. Leonardo Dicaprio - The Departed
3. Ryan Gosling - Half Nelson
4. Peter O'Toole - Venus
5. Leonardo Dicaprio - Blood Diamond

Best Actress:
1. Helen Mirren
2. Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal
3. Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
4. Kate Winslet - Little Children
5. Penelope Cruz - Volver

Supporting Actor:
1. Jackie Earle Haley - Little Children
2. Jack Nicholson - The Departed
3. Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls
4. Djimon Honsou - Blood Diamond
5. Michael Sheen - The Queen

Supporting Actress:
1. Cate Blanchett - Notes on a Scandal
2. Jennifer Hudson
3. Adriana Barazza - Babel
4. Rinko Kickuchi - Babel
5. Emily Blunt - The Devil Wears Prada

Director:
1. Martin Scorsese
2. Paul Greengrass - United 93
3. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Babel
4. Clint Eastwood - Letters From Iwo Jima
5. Stephen Frears - The Queen

Foreign Language Film:
1. Letters From Iwo Jima
2. Pan's Labyrinth
3. Water
4. Volver
5. Apocalypto

Documentary:
1. An Inconvenient Truth
2. Deliver Us From Evil
3. Shut Up and Sing
4. Neil Young: Heart of Gold
5. This Film Is Not Yet Rated

Animated Film:
1. Happy Feet
2. Monster House

Screenplay:
1. Little Miss Sunshine
2. Babel

Cinematography:
1. Apocalypto
2. Babel
3. Children of Men

Russell Smith Award (for best low-budget or cutting-edge independent film) - Half Nelson


SOUTHEASTERN FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION

Picture - The Departed
Top 10:
1. The Departed
2. Letters From Iwo Jima
3. The Queen
4. United 93
5. Little Miss Sunshine
6. Babel
7. Pan's Labyrinth
8. Little Children
9. Thank You For Smoking
10. Notes on a Scandal

Best Foreign-Language Film - Pan's Labyrinth
Best Director - Martin Scorsese
Best Actor - Forest Whitaker
Best Actress - Helen Mirren
Best Supporting Actor - Jackie Earle Haley - Little Children
Best Supporting Actress - Jennifer Hudson
Best Original Screenplay - Little Miss Sunshine
Best Adapted Screenplay - The Departed
Best Documentary - An Inconvenient Truth
Best Animated Film - Cars
Wyatt Award - Shut Up and Sing

LONDON FILM CRITICS

British producer
Paul Greengrass, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, "United 93"
Al Clark, Ken Marshall, Rachel Robey, Paul Andrew Williams, "London to Brighton"
Lisa Bryer, Andrea Calderwood, Charles Steel, "The Last King of Scotland"
Rebecca O'Brien, "The Wind that Shakes the Bar-ley"
Graham King, "The Departed"

British newcomer
Andrea Arnold, writer/director, "Red Road"
Paul Andrew Williams, writer/director/producer, "London to Brighton"
Jodie Whittaker, actress, "Venus"
Clare-Hope Ashitey, actress, "Children of Men"
Rebecca Hall, actress, "The Prestige"

British actress in support
Emily Blunt, "The Devil Wears Prada"
Emma Thompson, "Stranger than Fiction"
Juliet Stevenson, "Pierrepoint"
Emily Watson, "The Proposition"
Helen McCrory, "The Queen"

British actor in support
Eddie Marsan, "Pierrepoint"
Michael Caine, "The Prestige"
Bill Nighy, "Notes on a Scandal"
Leslie Phillips, "Venus"
Dominic Cooper, "The History Boys"

British actress
Judi Dench, "Notes on a Scandal"
Helen Mirren, "The Queen"
Kate Winslet, "Little Children"
Loraine Stanley, "London to Brighton"
Kate Dickie, "Red Road"

British actor
Sacha Baron Cohen, "Borat"
Toby Jones, "Infamous"
Timothy Spall, "Pierrepoint"
James McAvoy, "The Last King of Scotland"
Christian Bale, "The Prestige"

British director
Andrea Arnold, "Red Road"
Stephen Frears, "The Queen"
Christopher Nolan, "The Prestige"
Kevin Macdonald, "The Last King of Scotland"
Ken Loach, "The Wind that Shakes the Barley"

Actress
Helen Mirren, "The Queen"
Penelope Cruz, "Volver"
Judi Dench, "Notes on a Scandal"
Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada"
Joan Allen, "The Upside of Anger"

Actor
Jeff Daniels, "The Squid and the Whale"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote"
Richard Griffiths, "The History Boys"
David Strathairn, "Good Night, and Good Luck"
Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland"

Screenwriter
Peter Morgan, "The Queen"
Noah Baumbach, "The Squid and the Whale"
Guillermo del Toro, "Pan's Labyrinth"
Dan Futterman, "Capote"
Michael Arndt, "Little Miss Sunshine"

Director
Guillermo del Toro, "Pan's Labyrinth"
Pedro Almodovar, "Volver"
Paul Greengrass, "United 93"
Martin Scorsese, "The Departed"
Alfonso Cuaron, "Children of Men"

British Film (the Attenborough Award)
"Children of Men"
"The Queen"
"Red Road"
"The Last King of Scotland"
"The Wind that Shakes the Barley"

Film of the Year
"The Departed"
"Little Miss Sunshine"
"Volver"
"United 93"
"The Queen"

PHOENIX FILM CRITICS:
Best Picture
United 93

Top Ten Films (In Alphabetical Order)
Babel
Bobby
Borat
Children of Men
The Departed
The Last King of Scotland
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen
United 93

Best Director
Martin Scorsese - The Departed

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Helen Mirren - The Queen

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Jack Nicholson - The Departed

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Cate Blanchett - Notes On A Scandal

Best Ensemble Acting
Little Miss Sunshine

Best Screenplay written directly for the screen
Little Miss Sunshine

Best Screenplay adapted from another medium
The Departed

Best Live Action Family Film
Charlotte's Web

Overlooked Film of the Year
Hard Candy

Best Animated Film
Flushed Away

Best Foreign Language Film
Letters From Iwo Jima

Best Documentary
An Inconvenient Truth

Best Use of Music
Dreamgirls

Best Cinematography
Apocalypto

Best Film Editing
The Departed

Best Production Design
Marie Antoinette

Best Costume Design
Marie Antoinette

Best Visual Effects
Superman Returns

Best Stunts
Casino Royale

Breakout Performance of the Year - On Screen
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls

Breakout Performance of the Year - Behind the Camera
Emilio Estevez - Bobby

Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role - Male
Jaden Smith - Pursuit of Happyness

Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role - Female
Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine

SAN DIEGO FILM CRITICS SOCIETY AWARDS:
Picture: Letters from Iwo Jima
Director: Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima
Actor: Ken Takakura, Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles
Actress: Helen Mirren, The Queen
Supporting Actor: Ray Winstone, The Proposition
Supporting Actress: Lili Taylor, Factotum
Adapted Screenplay: Jason Reitman, Thank You For Smoking
Original Screenplay: Karen Moncrieff, The Dead Girl
Foreign Language Film: Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles
Animated Film: Cars
Documentary: Shut Up and Sing
Cinematography: The Illusionist
Production Design: V for Vendetta
Editing: United 93
Score: Gustavo Santaolalla, Babel
Ensemble: Babel
Body of Work in 2006: Edward Norton

Presenting GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEE EMILY BLUNT! WAIT!!! SCRATCH THAT.......PRESENTING DOUBLE GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEE EMILY BLUNT!!!!

I'm just joyous over that. I'm leading an Emily Blunt Pride Parade in my house at this point. I am banging a drum and chanting EMILY BLUNT. AND HOLY FUCKING SHIT! SHE ACTUALLY HAS TWO NOMINATIONS!!!!

I personally think that the non-AMPAS awards bodies this year are just going to go for whatever, thus keeping us thrown off till Oscar nominations are announced.

Drama:
Babel - Bobby - The Departed - Little Children - The Queen
LOL. Booby.

Actress - Drama:
Penelope Cruz - Volver
Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal
Maggie Gyllenhaal - Sherrybaby
Helen Mirren - The Queen
Kate Winslet - Little Children
Woohoo! 5/5.

Actor - Drama
Leonardo Dicaprio - Blood Diamond
Leonardo Dicaprio - The Departed
Peter O'Toole - Venus
Will Smith - The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland

NO GOSLING! I'm betting he goes the way of Amy Adams and gets an Oscar nod anyways.

Musical or Comedy
Borat - The Devil Wears Prada - Dreamgirls - Little Miss Sunshine - Thank You For Smoking

Eh, about what I expected.

Actress - Musical or Comedy
Annette Bening - Running With Scissors
Toni Collette - Little Miss Sunshine
Beyonce Knowles - Dreamgirls
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
Renee Zellweger - Miss Potter
LOL. Renee can get in for anything. Interesting that Collette is over Breslin and got the film's only acting nod. No O'HARA! :-(

Actor - Musical or Comedy
Sasha Baron Cohen - Borat
Johnny Depp - Pirates of the Caribbea.....don't really care
Aaron Eckhart - Thank You For Smoking
Chiwetel Ejiofor - Kinky Boots
Will Ferrell - Stranger Than Fiction
Chiwetel is a cool nod. Boo on DEPP! Jessica Biel was so cute saying the entire title of Borat this morning.

Foreign-Language Film
Apocalypto - Letters From Iwo Jima - The Lives of Others - Pan's Labyrinth - Volver

Animated Film
Cars - Happy Feet - Monster House

Supporting Actress
Adriana Barraza - Babel
Cate Blanchett - Notes on a Scandal
Emily Blunt - The Devil Wears Prada
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi - Babel
ASLDKFLKASDGJKLJASDKLJHLSJ! BLUNT! BLUNT! BLUNT! BLUNT! BLUNT! BLUNT! BLUNT! Hudson will win.

Supporting Actor
Ben Affleck - Hollywoodland
Jack Nicholson - The Departed
Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls
Brad Pitt - Babel
Mark Wahlberg - The Departed

This is actually a very cool lineup. I think one of them will get left out and Alan Arkin will get in for Oscar.

Director:
Clint Eastwood - Flags of Our Fathers
Clint Eastwood - Letters From Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears - The Queen
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Babel
Martin Scorsese - The Departed
LOL. NO BILL CONDON! That is a huge snub. As for Clint Eastwood's double nom, this is how I feel: EMILY BLUNT.

Screenplay
Babel - Little Children - Notes on a Scandal - The Departed - The Queen
That actually rocks? Go Children and Notes.

Original Score
The Painted Veil - The Fountain - Babel - Nomad - The Da Vinci Code

LMAO! I'm guessing Veil or Babel is winning this rather shitty lineup.

Original Song
Pursuit of Happyness - Dreamgirls - Bobby - Happy Feet - Home of the Brave

They skipped on both documentary songs from Dixie Chicks and Melissa Etheridge. Hmm.



TV
Drama
24 - Big Love - Grey's Anatomy - Heroes - Lost

Grey's so WINNING this shit.

Actress - Drama
Patricia Arquette - Medium
Edie Falco - The Sopranos
Evangeline Lilly - Lost
Ellen Pompeo - Grey'a Anatomy
Kyra Sedgwick - The Closer
Evangeline and ELLEN!?!?!?!? LMAO. I'm guessing Krya wins.

Actor - Drama
Patrick Dempsey - Grey's Anatomy
Michael C. Hall - Dexter
Hugh Laurie - House
Bill Paxton - Big Love
Keifer Sutherland - 24

Don't care.

Comedy or Musical
Desperate Housewives - Entourage - The Office - Ugly Betty - Weeds
I think Office will win, but Ugly could be sittin' pretty. Tehehe.

Actress - Comedy or Musical
Marica Cross - Desperate Housewives
America Ferrera - Ugly Betty
Felicity Huffman - Desperate Housewives
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - The New Adventures of Old Christine
Mary-Louise Parker - Weeds
I've changed my name to Darren-Louis. It's very trendy now. Julia or America gets it.

Actor - Comedy or Musical
Alec Baldwin - 30 Rock
Zach Braff - Scrubs
Steve Carrell - The Office
Jason Lee - My Name Is Earl
Tony Shaloub - Monk
OMG ALEC!!!!

Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV
Bleak House - Broken Trail - Elizabeth I - Mrs. Harris - Prime Suspect: The Final Act
Don't have HBO. Don't watch PBS. Don't give a damn.

Actres - Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made For TV
Gillian Anderson - Bleak House
Annette Bening - Mrs. Harris
Helen Mirren - Elizabeth I
Helen Mirren - Prime Suspect: The Final Act
Sophie Okonedo - Tsunami: The Aftermath

Mirren: winning 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

Actor - Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made For TV
Andre Braugher - Thief
Robert Duvall - Broken Trail
Michael Ealy - Sleeper Cell: American Terror
Chiwetel Ejiofor - Tsunami: The Aftermath
Ben Kingsley - Mrs. Harris
Bill Nighy - Gideon's Daughter
Matthew Perry - The Ron Clark Story
Yawn.

Supporting Actress - All Television
Emily Blunt - Gideon's Daughter
Toni Collette - Tsunami: The Aftermath
Katherine Heigl - Grey's Anatomy
Sarah Paulson - Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Elizabeth Perkins - Weeds

EMILY!!!! Uh, Katherine or Sarah wins it.

Supporting Actor - All Television
Thomas Haden Church - Broken Trail
Jeremy Irons - Elizabeth I
Justin Kirk - Weeds
Masi Oka - Heroes
Jeremy Piven - Entourage

I hate Justin Kirk's character on Weeds in the first season but haven't seen the second. So I dunno.



Fun morning!


DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS????

ELLEN POMPEO AND RENEE ZELLWEGER WILL BE IN THE SAME ROOM. THE EARTH SHALL IMPLODE.

GOLDEN GLOBE PREDICTIONS!

I tried. They are announced Thursday morning! As always, some categories can have 6 in them, so I added an alternate.

I'd love to see Gretchen Mol, Kirsten Dunst, Matt Damon (for Departed), Emily Blunt and Frances Mcdormand pick up some noms. I doubt much will come for them, though.

Anywho...

Picture - Drama
Babel - The Departed - Notes on a Scandal - The Queen - United 93
Alt: Half Nelson

Picture - Comedy/Musical
Borat - The Devil Wears Prada - Dreamgirls - Little Miss Sunshine - A Prairie Home Companion
Alt: Stranger Than Fiction

Actor - Drama
Leonardo Dicaprio - The Departed
Ryan Gosling - Half Nelson
Peter O'Toole - Venus
Ken Watanabe - Letters From Iwo Jima
Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland
Alt: Will Smith - Pursuit of Happyness

Actor - Comedy/Musical
Sacha Baron Cohen - Borat
Aaron Eckhart - Thank You For Smoking
Will Ferrell - Stranger Than Fiction
Richard Griffiths - The History Boys
Greg Kinnear - Little Miss Sunshine
Alt: Garrison Keillor - A Prairie Home Companion

Actress - Drama
Penelope Cruz - Volver
Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal
Maggie Gyllenhaal - Sherrybaby
Helen Mirren - The Queen
Kate Winslet - Little Children
Alt: Naomi Watts - The Painted Veil

Actress - Comedy/Musical
Annette Bening - Running With Scissors
Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine
Beyonce Knowles - Dreamgirls
Catherine O'Hara - For Your Consideration
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
Alt: Renee Zellweger - Miss Potter

Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine
Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls
Jack Nicholson - The Departed
Brad Pitt - Babel
Michael Sheen - The Queen
Alt: Ben Affleck - Hollywoodland

Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett - Notes on a Scandal
Shareeka Epps - Half Nelson
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi - Babel
Emma Thompson - Stranger Than Fiction
Alt: Meryl Streep - A Prairie Home Companion

Director
Bill Condon - Dreamgirls
Clint Eastwood - Letters From Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears - The Queen
Paul Greengrass - United 93
Martin Scorsese - The Departed
Alt: Robert Altman - A Prairie Home Companion

Screenplay
The Departed - Dreamgirls - Little Miss Sunshine - The Queen - Stranger Than Fiction
Alt: Notes on a Scandal

Foreign Language Film
Curse of the Golden Flower - Letters From Iwo Jima - The Lives of Others - Pan's Labyrinth - Volver
Alt: Apocalypto

Score
Apocalytpo - Charlotte's Web - Letters From Iwo Jima - Notes on a Scandal - The Queen
Alt: The Painted Veil

Song
"You Know My Name" - Casino Royale
"Listen" - Dreamgirls
"Song of the Heart" - Happy Feet
"I Need to Wake Up" - An Inconvenient Truth
"The Neighbor" - Shut Up and Sing
Alt: "Love You I Do" - Dreamgirls

Animated Feature
Cars - Flushed Away - Happy Feet - Monster House - A Scanner Darkly
Alt: Curious George


TV Stuff:
I expect The Office, Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty to score multiple noms. That is that.

Box Office Predix: Dec. 15 - 17

1. Eragon - $24m / $24m / $70m
2. Charlotte's Web - $22m / $22m / $135m
3. The Pursuit of Happyness - $18m / $18m / $90m
4. Apocalypto - $8m / $29m / $52m
5. The Holiday - $8m / $24.5m / $54m
6. Happy Feet - $7.5m / $148m / $168m
7. Casino Royale - $5m / $136.5m / $154m
8. Blood Diamond - $5m / $17m / $30m
9. The Nativity Story - $4.5m / $22.5m / $35m
10. Unaccompanied Minors - $3.5m / $10m / $18m

BFCA, DC, NYFCC, SFFCCA,

Broadcast Film Critics Association
12th Annual Critics' Choice Awards:

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”
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 ACTING ENSEMBLE:
Babel
Bobby
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Little Miss Sunshine
A Prairie Home Companion

BEST DIRECTOR:
Bill Condon – “Dreamgirls”
Clint Eastwood – “Letters from Iwo Jima”
Stephen Frears – “The Queen”
Paul Greengrass – “United 93”
Martin Scorsese – “The Departed”

BEST WRITER:
Michael Arndt – “Little Miss Sunshine”
Guillermo Arriaga – “Babel”
Todd Field and 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
For Your Consideration
Little Miss Sunshine
The Devil Wears Prada
Thank You For Smoking

BEST FAMILY FILM (LIVE ACTION):
Akeelah and the Bee
Charlotte’s Web
Flicka
Lassie
Pirates of the Caribbean 2

BEST PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION:
Elizabeth I
The Librarian
Nightmares & Dreamscapes
The Ron Clark Story
When the Levees Broke

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 & Sing”
“Never Gonna Break My Faith” – Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Blige – “Bobby”
“Ordinary Miracle” – Sarah McLachlan – “Charlotte’s Web”

BEST SOUNDTRACK:
Babel
Cars
Dreamgirls
Happy Feet
Marie Antoinette

BEST COMPOSER:
Philip 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”

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
An Inconvenient Truth
Shut Up & Sing
This Film Is Not Yet Rated
Who Killed the Electric Car?
Wordplay


WASHINGTON DC ARE FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION:
Best Film - United 93
Best Director - Martin Scorsese
Best Actor - Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland
Best Actress - Helen Mirren - Dreamgirls
Best Supp. Actor - Djimon Hounsou - Blood Diamond
Best Supp. Actress - Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
Best Acting Ensemble - Little Miss Sunshine
Best Original Screenplay - Little Miss Sunshine
Best Adapted Screenplay - Thank You For Smoking
Best Animated Feature - Happy Feet
Best Documentary - An Inconvenient Truth
Best Foreign Language Film - Pan's Labyrinth
Best Breakthrough Performance - Jennifer Hudson
Best Art Direction - Marie Antoinette

(They have Art Direction but no other techs?)

NEW YORK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE:
Best Picture - United 93
(Runner-ups: The Queen & The Departed)
Best Director - Martin Scorsese - The Departed
(Stephen Frears - The Queen & Clint Eastwood - Letters From Iwo Jima)
Best First Film - Half Nelson
(Little Miss Sunshine & A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints)
Best Actress - Helen Mirren - The Queen
(Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal & Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada)
Best Actor - Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland
(Ryan Gosling - Half Nelson & Sasha Baron Cohen - Borat)
Best Foreign Film - Army of Shadows
(Volver & The Death of Mr. Lazarescu)
Best Non-Fiction Film - Deliver Us From Evil
(49 Up & Borat & An Inconvenient Truth)
Best Animated Film - Happy Feet
(A Scanner Darkly & Cars)
Best Supporting Actor - Jackie Earle Haley - Little Children
(Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls & Steve Carell - Little Miss Sunshine)
Best Supporting Actress - Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
(Shareeka Epps - Half Nelson & Catherine O'Hara - For Your Consideration)
Best Screenplay - The Queen
(The Departed & Little Miss Sunshine)
Best Cinematography - Pan's Labyrinth
(Curse of the Golden Flower & Children of Men)

SAN FRANCISCO FILM CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDS:
Best Picture - Little Children
Best Director - Paul Greengrass - United 93
Best Original Screenplay - Brick
Best Adapted Screenplay - Little Children
Best Actor - Sacha Baron Cohen - Borat
Best Actress - Helen Mirren - The Queen
Best Supporting Actor - Jackie Earle Haley - Little Children
Best Supporting Actress - Adriana Barraza - Babel
Best Foreign Language Film - Pan's Labyrinth
Best Documentary - An Inconvenient Truth
Marlon Riggs Award for courage & vision in the Bay Area film community
Stephen Salmons co-founder & artistic director San Francisco Silent Film Festival
Special Citation in honor of Arthur Lazere
"The Death of Mr. Lazarescu"

Boston Film Critics & AFI Top 10 & NYFCO & LAFCA

Boston Film Critics:

Best Picture - The Departed
(runner-up: United 93)

Best Director - Martin Scorsese - The Departed
(Paul Greengrass - United 93)

Best Actor - Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland
(Ryan Gosling - Half Nelson)

Best Actress - Helen Mirren - The Queen
(Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal)

Best Supporting Actor - Mark Wahlberg - The Departed
(Michael Sheen - The Queen AND Alec Baldwin - The Departed / Running With Scissors The Good Shepherd)

Best Supporting Actress - Shareeka Epps - Half Nelson
(Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada)

Best Ensemble Cast - United 93
(The Departed)

Best Screenplay - The Departed
(The Queen)

Best Foreign Language Film - Pan's Labyrinth
(Volver)

Best Documentary - Deliver Us From Evil AND Shut Up and Sing
(51 Birch Street)

Best New Filmmaker - Ryan Fleck - Half Nelson
(Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris - Little Miss Sunshine)

Best Cinematography - Guillermo Navarro - Pan's Labyrinth
(The Painted Veil AND Curse of the Golden Flower)


American Film Institute Movies of the Year - Official Selections:
Babel
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
The Devil Wears Prada
Dreamgirls
Half Nelson
Happy Feet
Inside Man
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
United 93

New York Film Critics Online:
Picture - The Queen
Actor - Forest Whitaker -The Last King of Scotland
Actress - Helen Mirren - The Queen
Director - Stephen Frears - The Queen
Supporting Actor - Michael Sheen - The Queen
Supporting Actress - (tie) Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls AND Catherine O'Hara - For Your Consideration
Breakthrough Performer - Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
Screenplay - Peter Morgan - The Queen
Documentary Feature - An Inconvenient Truth
Foreign Language Picture - Pan's Labyrinth
Animated Feature - Happy Feet
Cinematography - Dick Pope - The Illusionist
Film Music/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 affects women.

Top 10 Films:
Babel (Paramount Vantage)
The Fountain (Warner Bros.)
Inland Empire (Absurda)
Little Children (New Line)
Little Miss Sunshine (Fox Searchlight)
Pan's Labyrinth (Picturehouse)
The Queen (Miramax)
Thank You for Smoking (Fox Searchlight)
Volver (Sony Pictures Classics)
Water (Fox Searchlight


2006 Los Angeles Critics Association winners:

Picture: "Letters From Iwo Jima"
Runner-up: "The Queen"

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

Actor: Sacha Baron Cohen, "Borat" and Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland" (tie) (no runner-up)

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

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

Supporting actress: Luminita Gheorghiu, "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu"
Runner-up: Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls"

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

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

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

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

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

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

Animation: "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"

Career achievement award (previously announced): Robert Mulligan

HAPPY AWARD SEASON!

The Globes are announced Thursday. Top 10s are coming up fast.

Some of us need validation for not having anything else to offer in life.

Way to Go, Chicks!

5 Grammy Nominations, an NBR shoutout, and I will FINALLY get to see your movie over the next week! Wahoo!

Album of the Year!
Record of the Year!
Song of the Year!

National Board of Review WINNERS - FUCK YOU EASTWOOD!

So yesterday, I ALMOST put The Devil Wears Prada into the top 10 and Stranger Than Fiction for Screenplay. DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT.

Nevertheless, go THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, MR. RACHEL MCADAMS, HELEN MIRREN, CATHERINE O'HARA, THE DIXIE CHICKS and THE DEPARTED. I love you all very much.


Best Film: Letters From Iwo Jima
Best Director: MARTIN SCORSESE - The Departed
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: CATHERINE O'HARA - For Your Consideration
Best Foreign Film: VOLVER
Best Documentary: AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
Best Animated Feature: CARS
Best Ensemble Cast: THE DEPARTED
Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: RYAN GOSLING - Half Nelson
Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: JENNIFER HUDSON - Dreamgirls & RINKO KIKUCHI - Babel

Best Directorial Debut: JASON REITMAN - Thank You for Smoking
Best Original Screenplay: ZACH HELM - Stranger Than Fiction
Best Adapted Screenplay: RON NYSWANER - The Painted Veil


Top Ten Films:
(and, in alphabetical order)

BABEL
BLOOD DIAMOND
THE DEPARTED
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
THE HISTORY BOYS
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
NOTES ON A SCANDAL
THE PAINTED VEIL

Top Five Foreign Films:
CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER
DAYS OF GLORY
PAN'S LABYRINTH
VOLVER
WATER

Top Five Documentary Films
51 BIRCH STREET
AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS
SHUT UP & SING
WORDPLAY

Top Independent Films
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


Career Achievement - ELI WALLACH
Billy Wilder Award for Excellence in Directing - JONATHAN DEMME
Career Achievement in Producing - IRWIN WINKLER
William K. Everson Film History Award - DONALD KRIM
The BVLGARI Award for NBR Freedom of Expression - WATER and WORLD TRADE CENTER


How does World Trade Center get a Freedom of Expression Award? UGH!

No Dreamgirls or The Queen in the top 10. HOLY SHIT!

Where's United 93 and A Prairie Home Companion?

Box Office Predictions: Dec. 8 - 10

1. The Holiday - $17m / $17m / $94m
2. Apocalypto - $13m / $13m / $40m
3. Blood Diamond - $12m / $12m / $44m
4. Happy Feet - $10.5m / $135m / $166m
5. Casino Royale - $8.5m / $128.5m / $152m
6. Unaccompanied Minors - $6.5m / $6.5m / $23m
7. Deja Vu - $6m / $53m / $66m
8. The Nativity Story - $5m / $15m / $35m
9. Deck the Halls - $4.5m / $30.5m / $45m
10. Santa Clause 3 - $3m / $71m / $80m


kate does a happy dance after discovering she gets to fuck justin because she switched with cameron

National Board of Review Predictions!

They announce tomorrow!

Best Film - The Departed

Top 10:
1. The Departed
2. Babel
3. The Queen
4. Dreamgirls
5. Little Miss Sunshine
6. United 93
7. The Painted Veil
8. Little Children
9. A Prairie Home Companion
10. Children of Men

Director - Paul Greengrass - United 93
Actor - Ryan Gosling - Half Nelson
Actress - Helen Mirren - The Queen
Supporting Actor - Brad Pitt - Babel
Supporting Actress - Meryl Streep - A Prairie Home Companion & The Devil Wears Prada
Ensemble - Little Children
Original Screenplay - Volver
Adapted Screenplay - The Departed
Directorial Debut - Ryan Fleck - Half Nelson
Breakthrough Actor - Joseph Cross - Running With Scissors
Breakthrough Actress - Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls

10 Best Posters of 2006!

A rather uneventful year in inspired one sheets! Ah well...

#10 - Yah! PUNS!


#9 - Pretty!


#8 - This is how you do floating heads.


#7 - The notepad ones for this are great, but sometimes a simple image from the film is the way to go.


#6 - Black & white opposing #1.


#5 - Black & white opposing #2. See, this movie's marketing was perfect!


#4 - Ah, I love me some vintage wannabe.


#3 - Lions Gate can do no wrong in the marketing department.


#2 - Isn't it nice that for once the man is showing the skin?


#1 - Lions Gate can again do no wrong. An eye catcher if there ever was one.

10 Best Trailers of 2006

That is of movies that were released in 2006. Not trailers that were released in 2006. Just to clarify.

Top 10 Posters Coming Soon

#10
This is probably the only top 10 list you'll ever see this movie near. A perfect example of exactly how a watered down PG-13, crap remake should be marketed.

#9
Generating more laughs than any other trailer this year (and some say the film did the same thing), it holds some of the film's funnier moments out and briefly sets up the story and ends with a very funny scene.

#8
If only every high concept film could be sold as grim and elegantly as this one is. Love the Sigur Ros music!

#7
Watching this film, I realized why the latter trailers really goofed up on selling this: taking some scenes out of context can really give it a campy feel. Only this trailer showed the film for the epic, completely movie'd film it was.

#6
Boy, they really do know how to market horror remakes, don't they? Expertly cut, particular the way it showcases the film's most graphic moment (and probably the year's most disturbing movie scene) by not showing any violence whatsoever.

#5
Here's a beautiful pair! Both teaser and full trailer work excellently and give us that dreamy Coppola aura.

#4
Can you really make a great trailer and give everything in the movie away at the same time? You damn well can. Takes notes, studios. (Fuck you Ashley Judd and your Double Jeopardy!)

#3
A trailer for audiences to hate! Too bad audiences don't appreciate the craft behind a fine trailer and would most likely BOO at this hypnotic and mysterious gem.

#2
And the same goes for this one, which isn't really a trailer at all. An extended clip that still worked as a trailer and was put before many movies before the film's (very successful run), this is exactly how to sell a film without showing any footage after the product's first reel.

#1
Trailer perfection! While the movie was as some put it "an unintentional black comedy", the trailer is sexy, sleek and dangerous recalling the type of Hollywood noir we just don't see much of anymore. That was the trailer. The film was something else entirely. And isn't that what marketing is all about?

SATELLITE NOMINATIONS

Not Golden Satellites. Just Satellites.

GO GRETCHEN!!!

Motion Picture Drama:
Half Nelson - The Departed - Flags of Our Fathers - The Queen - The Last King of Scotland - Babel - Little Children

Motion Picture Comedy/Musical:
Little Miss Sunshine - Thank You For Smoking - The Devil Wears Prada - Stranger Than Fiction - Venus - Dreamgirls

Motion Picture Foreign Language:
The Lives of Others - Volver - Changing Times - Water - Syrian Bride - Apocalypto

Motion Picture Animated/Mixed Media:
Cars - Ice Age 2 - Happy Feet - Flushed Away - Pan's Labyrinth

Motion Picture Documentary:
Deliver Us From Evil - Jonestown: The Life & Death of Peoples Temple - An Inconvenient Truth - The US Vs John Lennon - Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man - The War Tapes

Director:
Martin Scorsese - The Departed
Clint Eastwood - Flags of Our Fathers
Pedro Almodovar - Volver
Stephen Frears - The Queen
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Babel
Bill Condon - Dreamgirls

Screenplay - Original:
Changing Times - House of Sand - Babel - Volver - The Wind That Shakes the Barley - The Queen

Screenplay - Adapted:
Flags of Our Fathers - Thank You For Smoking - The Departed - Little Children - A Prairie Home Companion - Dreamgirls

Ensemble - Motion Picture:
The Departed

Actress - Motion Picture Drama:
Penelope Cruz - Volver
Helen Mirren - The Queen
Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal
Gretchen Mol - The Notorious Bettie Page
Maggie Gyllenhaal - Sherrybaby
Kate Winslet - Little Children

Actor - Motion Picture Drama:
Derek Luke - Catch a Fire
Joshua Jackson - Aurora Borealis
Forrest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland
Ryan Gosling - Half Nelson
Patrick Wilson - Little Children
Leonardo Dicaprio - Blood Diamond

Actress - Motion Picture Comedy/Musical:
Julie Walters - Driving Lessons
Annette Bening - Running With Scissors
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
Toni Collette - Little Miss Sunshine
Jodie Whitaker - Venus
Beyonce Knowles - Dreamgirls

Actor - Motion Picture Comedy/Musical:
Joseph Cross - Running With Scissors
Aaron Eckhart - Thank You For Smoking
Sasha Baron Cohen - Borat
Peter O'Toole - Venus
Will Ferrell - Stranger Than Fiction

Actress in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture:
Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine
Lily Tomlin - A Prairie Home Companion
Blythe Danner - The Last Kiss
Rinko Kikuchi - Babel
Cate Blanchett - Notes on a Scandal
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls

Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture:
Donald Sutherland - Aurora Borealis
Adam Beach - Flags of Our Fathers
Leonardo Dicaprio - The Departed
Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine
Brad Pitt - Babel
Jack Nicholson - The Departed

Original Score:
The Lives of Others - Flags of Our Fathers - Notes on a Scandal - Brick - The Da Vinci Code - Babel

Original Song:
"Upside Down" - Curious George
"You Know My Name" - Casino Royale
"Never Let Go" - The Guardian
"Till the End of Time" - Little Miss Sunshine
"Love You I Do" - Dreamgirls
"Listen" - Dreamgirls

Cinematography:
House of Sand - Flags of Our Fathers - The Black Dahlia - A Good Year - X-Men: The Last Stand - The Fountain - Curse of the Golden Flower

Visual Effects:
Flags of Our Fathers - Pirates of the Caribbean 2 - X-Men: The Last Stand - V For Vendetta - The Fountain - Pan's Labyrinth - The Da Vinci Code

Film Editing:
X-Men: The Last Stand - Flags of Our Fathers - Babel - Miami Vice - Dreamgirls

Sound:
X-Men: The Last Stand - Flags of Our Fathers - Babel - Dreamgirls - The Da Vinci Code

Art Direction & Production Design:
Marie Antoinette - Flags of Our Fathers - Dreamgirls - Pan's Labyrinth - V For Vendetta

Costume Design:
Marie Antoinette - The Black Dahlia - Curse of the Golden Flower - Dreamgirls - The Devil Wears Prada

Box Office Predix: Dec. 1 - 3

1. Happy Feet - $19m / $123m / $175m
2. The Nativity Story - $18m / $18m / $80m
3. Casino Royale - $17m / $118m / $155m
4. Deja Vu - $10.5m / $43.5m / $65m
5. Deck the Halls - $6.5m / $25m / $42m
6. Turistas - $6m / $6m / $14m
7. Santa Clause 3 - $5.5m / $74m / $90m
8. Borat - $5m / $116.5m / $127m
9. Stranger Than Fiction - $3m / $36.5m / $44m
10. Flushed Away - $3m / $61m / $68m
11. Van Wilder 2 - $2.5m / $2.5m / $6m

First Nominees of the Season: Independent Spirit Award Nominations!

Best Feature:
American Gun
The Dead Girl
Half Nelson
Little Miss Sunshine
Pan's Labyrinth

Best First Feature:
Day Night Day Night
Man Push Cart
The Motel
Sweet Land
Wristcutters: A Love Story

Best Director:
Robert Altman - A Prairie Home Companion
Jonathan Dayton & Valeria Faris - Little Miss Sunshine
Ryan Fleck - Half Nelson
Karen Moncrieff - The Dead Girl
Steven Soderbergh - Bubble

John Cassavetes Award:
Chalk
Four Eyed Monsters
Old Joy
Quinceanera
Twelve and Holding

Best Screenplay:
Friends With Money
The Illusionist
The Painted Veil
Sorry, Haters
Thank You For Smoking

Best First Screenplay:
Conversations With Other Women
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
Half Nelson
Little Miss Sunshine
Wristcutters: A Love Story

Best Female Lead:
Shareeka Epps - Half Nelson
Catherine O'Hara - For Your Consideration
Elizabeth Reaser - Sweet Land
Michelle Williams - Land of Plenty
Robin Wright Penn - Sorry, Haters

Best Male Lead:
Aaron Eckhart - Thank You For Smoking
Ryan Gosling - Half Nelson
Edward Norton - The Painted Veil
Ahman Razvi - Man Push Cart
Forest Whitaker - American Gun

Best Supporting Female:
Melonie Diaz - A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
Marcia Gay Harden - American Gun
Mary Beth Hurt - The Dead Girl
Frances McDormand - Friends With Money
Amber Tamblyn - Stephanie Daley

Best Supporting Male:
Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine
Raymond J. Barry - Steel City
Daniel Craig - Infamous
Paul Dano - Little Miss Sunshine
Channing Tatum - A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints

Best Cinematography:
Brothers of the Head
Four Eyed Monsters
Man Push Cart
Pan's Labyrinth
Wild Tigers I Have Known

Best Documentary:
A Lion in the House
My Country, My Country
The Road to Guantanamo
The Trials of Darryl Hunt
You're Gonna Miss Me

Best Foreign Film:
12:08 East of Bucharest
The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros
Chronicles of an Escape
Days of Glory
The Lives of Others


Channing Tatum - award nominee!

Snub of the morning: No Maggie Gyllenhaal for Sherrybaby

November Oscar Predix!

Best Picture:
The Departed - Dreamgirls - Little Miss Sunshine - The Painted Veil - The Queen

Best Director:
Robert Altman - A Prairie Home Companion
Bill Condon - Dreamgirls
Stephen Frears - The Queen
Paul Greengrass - United 93
Martin Scorsese - The Departed

Best 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

Best Actress:
Penelope Cruz - Volver
Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren - The Queen
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
Naomi Watts - The Painted Veil

Best Supporting Actor:
Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine
Matt Damon - The Departed
Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls
Jack Nicholson - The Departed
Michael Sheen - The Queen

Best Supporting Actress:
Cate Blanchett - Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
Carmen Maura - Volver
Catherine O'Hara - For Your Consideration

Best Original Screenplay:
Babel
Breaking and Entering
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen
Volver

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Children of Men
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Notes on a Scandal
The Painted Veil

Art Direction:
Children of Men - Dreamgirls - Flags of Our Fathers - The Good German - Marie Antoinette

Costume Design:
Dreamgirls - The Good German - Marie Antoinette - Miss Potter - The Painted Veil

Cinematography:
Children of Men - The Departed - Dreamgirls - The Good German - The Painted Veil

Editing:
Children of Men - The Departed - Dreamgirls - The Queen - United 93

Makeup:
Apocalypto - Pirates of the Caribbean 2

Original Song:
Bobby - Dreamgirls - An Inconvenient Truth - Happy Feet - Shut Up and Sing

Score:
The Good German - Miss Potter - Notes on a Scandal - The Queen - The Painted Veil

Sound:
Casino Royale - The Departed - Dreamgirls - Pirates of the Caribbean 2 - Superman Returns

Sound Editing:
Cars - Happy Feet - Pirates of the Caribbean 2

Visual Effects:
Night at the Museum - Pirates of the Caribbean 2 - Superman Returns

Animated Feature:
Cars - Flushed Away - Happy Feet - Monster House - Over the Hedge

Documentary:
Deliver Us From Evil - An Inconvenient Truth - Jesus Camp - Shut Up and Sing - The War Tapes

Box Office Predix: Nov. 24 - 26

1. Happy Feet - $30m / $90m / $150m
2. Casino Royale - $25m / $88m / $138m
3. Deva Ju - $22m / $31m / $72m
4. Deck the Halls - $16m / $23m / $64m
5. Borat - $8m / $107m / $124m
6. Bobby - $7.5m / $9.5m / $26m
7. Santa Clause 3 - $7m / $62.5m / $80m
8. Flushed Away - $6m / $57m / $69m
9. The Fountain - $5.5m / $8m / $17m
10. Stranger Than Fiction - $5m / $31m / $40m
11. Tenacious D - $5m / $8.5m / $17m
12. The Queen - $2m / $20.5m / $50m
13. For Your Consideration - $2m / $2.5m / $10m

Goodbye, Robert Altman.

If you're a movie lover, this is probably the worst news in a very long time.

I'm happy they rewarded him the honorary Oscar early this year. I'm happy A Praire Home Companion was an acclaimed minihit. And I think he'd be happy that it was his last film when you consider who is in it and, of course, what the film is about.

3 Women is one of my favorite films. It was sort a 70's version of Lynch's recent Mulholland Drive, a film about our dreams and the power they have over us. Robert was one of the few filmmakers who could fully utilize the one of a kind talent that was Shelley Duvall. And only a few days after this year's Oscars did I see Nashville for the first time. Robert Altman was a once in a lifetime filmmaker, a man who took big ensemble casts and had them come in and out of a film as the camera just roamed and explored. He threw plot out the window, and focused on the people. His most famous trademark was probably the overlapping dialogue. You know, the way real people talk. He also happened to be a diehard liberal. When you look over his long list of films and all of the people in Hollywood he's worked with, well, any of us would be lucky to ever get 1% of that.

Now, back to A Prairie Home Companion. I was going to write a post a month or so back debating the ending of the film. The film's scene - before the musical finish - will now be bittersweet. Unfortunately, it seems Virginia Madsen's Angel of Death, Azfadel, wasn't coming for whom we think. But the message of the film is ultimately this: forget death, and remember what we did in life.

Thanks, Bob, for the memories. You will be missed.


AP ARTICLE:

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Robert Altman, the caustic and irreverent satirist behind "M-A-S-H,""Nashville" and "The Player" who made a career out of bucking Hollywood management and story conventions, died at a Los Angeles Hospital, his Sandcastle 5 Productions Company said Tuesday. He was 81.

The director died Monday night, Joshua Astrachan, a producer at Altman's Sandcastle 5 Productions in New York City, told The Associated Press.

The cause of death wasn't disclosed. A news release was expected later in the day, Astrachan said.

A five-time Academy Award nominee for best director, most recently for 2001's "Gosford Park," he finally won a lifetime achievement Oscar in 2006.


(AP) Director Robert Altman poses Oct. 3, 2006, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Altman, the caustic and...
Full Image


"No other filmmaker has gotten a better shake than I have," Altman said while accepting the award. "I'm very fortunate in my career. I've never had to direct a film I didn't choose or develop. My love for filmmaking has given me an entree to the world and to the human condition."

Altman had one of the most distinctive styles among modern filmmakers. He often employed huge ensemble casts, encouraged improvisation and overlapping dialogue and filmed scenes in long tracking shots that would flit from character to character.

Perpetually in and out of favor with audiences and critics, Altman worked ceaselessly since his anti-war black comedy "M-A-S-H" established his reputation in 1970, but he would go for years at a time directing obscure movies before roaring back with a hit.

After a string of commercial duds including "The Gingerbread Man" in 1998, "Cookie's Fortune" in 1999 and "Dr. T & the Women" in 2000, Altman took his all-American cynicism to Britain for 2001's "Gosford Park."

A combination murder-mystery and class-war satire set among snobbish socialites and their servants on an English estate in the 1930s, "Gosford Park" was Altman's biggest box-office success since "M-A-S-H."

Besides best-director, "Gosford Park" earned six other Oscar nominations, including best picture and best supporting actress for both Helen Mirren and Maggie Smith. It won the original-screenplay Oscar, and Altman took the best-director prize at the Golden Globes for "Gosford Park."

Altman's other best-director Oscar nominations came for "M-A-S-H," the country-music saga "Nashville" from 1975, the movie-business satire "The Player" from 1992 and the ensemble character study "Short Cuts" from 1993. He also earned a best-picture nomination as producer of "Nashville."

No director ever got more best-director nominations without winning a regular Oscar, though four other men - Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Clarence Brown and King Vidor - tied with Altman at five.

In May, Altman brought out "A Prairie Home Companion," with Garrison Keillor starring as the announcer of a folksy musical show - with the same name as Keillor's own long-running show - about to be shut down by new owners. Among those in the cast were Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Kevin Kline, Woody Harrelson and Tommy Lee Jones.

"This film is about death," Altman said at a May 3 news conference in St. Paul, Minn., also attended by Keillor and many of the movie's stars.

He often took on Hollywood genres with a revisionist's eye, de-romanticizing the Western hero in 1971's "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" and 1976's "Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson," the film-noir gumshoe in 1973's "The Long Goodbye" and outlaw gangsters in "Thieves Like Us."

"M-A-S-H" was Altman's first big success after years of directing television, commercials, industrial films and generally unremarkable feature films. The film starring Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould was set during the Korean War but was Altman's thinly veiled attack on U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

"That was my intention entirely. If you look at that film, there's no mention of what war it is," Altman said in an Associated Press interview in 2001, adding that the studio made him put a disclaimer at the beginning to identify the setting as Korea.

"Our mandate was bad taste. If anybody had a joke in the worst taste, it had a better chance of getting into the film, because nothing was in worse taste than that war itself," Altman said.

The film spawned the long-running TV sitcom starring Alan Alda, a show Altman would refer to with distaste as "that series." Unlike the social message of the film, the series was prompted by greed, Altman said.

"They made millions and millions of dollars by bringing an Asian war into Americans' homes every Sunday night," Altman said in 2001. "I thought that was the worst taste."

Altman never minced words about reproaching Hollywood. After the Sept. 11 attacks, he said Hollywood served as a source of inspiration for the terrorists by making violent action movies that amounted to training films for such attacks.

"Nobody would have thought to commit an atrocity like that unless they'd seen it in a movie," Altman said.

Altman was written off repeatedly by the Hollywood establishment, and his reputation for arrogance and hard drinking - a habit he eventually gave up - hindered his efforts to raise money for his idiosyncratic films.

While critical of studio executives, Altman held actors in the highest esteem. He joked that on "Gosford Park," he was there mainly to turn the lights on and off for the performers.

The respect was mutual. Top-name actors would clamor for even bit parts in his films. Altman generally worked on shoestring budgets, yet he continually landed marquee performers who signed on for a fraction of their normal salaries.

After the mid-1970s, the quality of Altman's films became increasingly erratic. His 1980 musical "Popeye," with Robin Williams, was trashed by critics, and Altman took some time off from film.

He directed the Broadway production of "Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean," following it with a movie adaptation in 1982. Altman went back and forth from TV to theatrical films over the next decade, but even when his films earned critical praise, such as 1990's "Vincent & Theo," they remained largely unseen.

"The Player" and "Short Cuts" re-established Altman's reputation and commercial viability. But other 1990s films - including his fashion-industry farce "Ready to Wear" and "Kansas City," his reverie on the 1930s jazz and gangster scene of his hometown - fell flat.

Born Feb. 20, 1925, Altman hung out in his teen years at the jazz clubs of Kansas City, Mo., where his father was an insurance salesman.

Altman was a bomber pilot in World War II and studied engineering at the University of Missouri in Columbia before taking a job making industrial films in Kansas City. He moved into feature films with "The Delinquents" in 1957, then worked largely in television through the mid 1960s, directing episodes of such series as "Bonanza" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents."

Altman and his wife, Kathryn, had two sons, Robert and Matthew, and he had a daughter, Christine, and two other sons, Michael and Stephen, from two previous marriages.

When he received his honorary Oscar in 2006, Altman revealed he had a heart transplant a decade earlier.

"I didn't make a big secret out of it, but I thought nobody would hire me again," he said after the ceremony. "You know, there's such a stigma about heart transplants, and there's a lot of us out there."


IMDB Filmography


"The death of an old man is not a sad thing." - A Prairie Home Companion

"Descent" director Neil Marshall's next film will be.....

DOOMSDAY! I'm hyped!

From Zap2it:

Rhona Mitra is set to topline "Doomsday," Neil Marshall's follow-up to the critically admired gore-fest "The Descent."

Marshall's new film, which will begin production in early 2007, will come from Rogue Pictures, the genre arm of Focus.

"Doomsday" focuses on the aftermath of a lethal virus that kills hundreds of thousands and leads to a major national containment, the construction of a literal wall. Well, 30 years later, the virus returns. Stupid virus. It's up to a group of specialists, including Mitra's Eden Sinclair to do something or other.

"Neil's intense filmmaking style will keep audiences on the edge of their seats throughout 'Doomsday,'" promise Rogue Co-Presidents Andrew Karpen and Andrew Rona. "Rhona is a stunning actress, and we're currently lining up a strong cast for the other lead roles."

Mitra is best known for her regular TV roles, which have included stints on "The Practice," "Boston Legal" and "Nip/Tuck." Her big credits include "The Life of David Gale" and the upcoming "Shooter" and "The Number 23."

Box Office Predix: Bond & The Penguins

1. Casino Royale - $44m / $44m / $155m
2. Happy Feet - $36m / $36m / $170m
3. Borat - $16.5m / $93.5m / $130m
4. Santa Clause 3 - $10m / $54m / $82m
5. Flushed Away - $9m / $51.5m / $74m
6. Stranger Than Fiction - $8m / $24.5m / $44m
7. Let's Go To Prison - $4m / $4m / $10m
8. Babel - $3.5m / $13m / $30m
9. Saw 3 - $3.5m / $75.5m / $83m
10. The Departed - $3m / $114m / $140m


he's thinking of judi dench when he does that....so is she

Box Office Predix: Nov. 10 - 12

1. Borat - $23m / $62m / $120m
2. Stranger Than Fiction - $16m / $16m / $55m
3. Flushed Away - $14m / $36m / $72m
4. Santa Clause 3 - $13.5m / $37m / $80m
5. A Good Year - $9m / $9m / $27m
6. Saw 3 - $7m / $70.5m $85m
7. The Return - $6.5m / $6.5m / $15m
8. Babel - $6.5m / $8.5m / $34m
9. The Departed - $5.5m / $110m / $145m
10. The Prestige - $5m / $46m / $58m
11. Harsh Times - $3.5m / $3.5m / $8.5m
12. The Queen - $3m / $14m / $50m


GET. BENT. TAX. MAN.

Box Office Predix: Nov. 3 - 5

1. The Santa Clause 3 - $22m / $22m / $85m
2. Happy Feet - $18m / $18m / $70m
3. Saw 3 - $14m / $59m / $82m
4. Borat - $10m / $10m / $50m
5. The Departed - $7m / $101m / $140m
6. The Prestige - $6m / $37m / $52m
7. Flags of Our Fathers - $4m / $26m / $38m
8. Open Season - $3m / $81m / $87m
9. Man of the Year - $2.5m / $32.5m / $38m
10. Flicka - $2.5m / $17.5m / $23m

DARREN'S 40 FAVORITE "SCARY MOVIES" EVER!

Well, instead of a Best Horror Films or Scariest Horror Films, I've made this list. I have to be broad, don't I? Enjoy one of these tomorrow and have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!



40. MIMIC (1997)
Mira Sorvino battles human-bugs in the creepy subways of New York City. Grimy and stylish. Not for those who dislike bugs.

39. THE FLY (1986)
Speaking of bugs, David Cronenberg's remake features Jeff Goldblum transforming into a fly. Some great gore, and Geena Davis as the woman who dares love a fly.

38. JEEPERS CREEPERS (2001)
A brother and sister take a road trip home and get caught in a small town where a very hungry monster has come out of hibernation to feed. The Creeper s effectively done, but a gimmicky plot point involving a psychic is just a little too silly.

37. THE RING (2002)
Far more of a chilling mindfuck than a horror film (that is until its heart-stopping final moments), Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean) crafts a very aesthetically pleasing (some of the genre's best cinematography and music can be found here) film featuring Naomi Watts as a mother battling the sinister effect a videotape has on whoever views it.

36. I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (1997)
Four teens dispose of a body after a car accident and come to regret it a year later. Feels straight out of 80's slasher, which ends up not being such a bad thing. Jennifer Love Hewitt and Sarah Michelle Gellar star.

35. DOG SOLDIERS (2002)
A group of Scottish soldiers hold up Night of the Living Dead-style in a house in the woods as a group of werewolves try to infiltrate from outside. Neil Marshall's debut effort makes up in genre bending what it lacks in budget.

34. DEAD CALM (1989)
Nicole Kidman, in one of her first major roles, plays a vulnerable woman stranded on a boat in the middle of the ocean with a killer (Billy Zane) as her husband (Sam Neil) watches from afar. The constant bobbing of the boat is enough to make the viewer seasick, which is a nice distraction from the thick tension.

33. SEVEN (1995)
How many people actually knew the seven deadly sins before David Fincher's highly influential film? Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman are the cops tracking down the killer with a gimmick. Gwyneth Paltrow gets her breakthrough as Pitt's wife, meeting a gruesome and infamous demise.

32. MISERY (1990)
Kathy Bates won an Oscar for her portrayal of a psychotically obsessed fan of a writer (James Caan) who holds him captive in her secluded home. One of cinema's greatest female villains.

31. FREAKS (1932)
Tod Browning's film is still banned in several countries, an odd bit of trivia especially once you see it and realize there isn't much worthy of banning as far as content. It's the tale of group of circus sideshow freaks (all of them 100% genuine) and the woman who attempts to marry one for the sole purpose of getting his inheritance. The freaks eventually catch on and plan their revenge. You'll be surprised how much you're rooting for them in the end. One of us, indeed.

30. WES CRAVEN'S NEW NIGHTMARE (1994)
Wes Craven's solution to 5 mostly forgettable sequels to his original classic is a reality bending film that has Freddy crossing over to the real world and stalking Heather Langenkamp (as herself!) and the crew of a Nightmare on Elm Street sequel. The shrewd, cunning premise is fully realized and shows the impacts movies have on their makers.

29. SCREAM 2 (1997)
Easily the best slasher sequel ever made (not that its competition is all that great), Wes Craven's 2nd installment had the daunting task of opening just one year after the megahit, highly acclaimed original. Picking up 2 years after the events of the first film, Sydney (Neve Campbell, firmly establishing herself as the next generation's Jamie Lee Curtis) is now at college as a copycat killer goes on a rampage. Bloodier, with more of a fun and playful tone than the first.

28. MAY (2003)
If Carrie had survived prom night and lived to her mid 20's, she'd be a lot like May (Angela Bettis), Lucky McKee's creepy anti-heroine. As May desperately searches for a friend in a world that has branded her a freak, she discovers people only have great parts and that no one is a perfect whole. Her solution: combine the parts to make a perfect friend. Like the best of indie films focusing on lost twenty-somethings crossed with Frankenstein, May also features another invaluable turn by Anna Faris (Scary Movie) as a lesbian vixen.

27. ALIENS (1986)
James Cameron takes over the reigns from Ridley Scott and helms this action packed sequel which finds Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver, earning the Oscar nomination that Linda Hamilton and Uma Thurman wouldn't!) battling a group of aliens. The action is virtually nonstop, and yet always exhilarating and terrifying.

26. SUSPIRIA (1977)
Dario Argento's horror films have been described as the Douglas Sirk of the genre. Never so is that more true than with Suspiria, a beautifully violent film about a ballet student (Jessica Harper) in a European school where students start dying and the teachers are up to something. Even some of the most lush production design and visuals can't distract from the horror on screen including the opening death, which will probably be the only time I ever declare an onscreen murder both graphic and gorgeous.

25. THE OTHERS (2001)
Nicole Kidman delivers her best dramatic work battling ghosts - and perhaps God - in auteur Alejandro Amenabar's haunted house drama. Set during World War II, Kidman stars as a woman with sunlight intolerant children who must maintain her composure while her husband is off at war. As new housekeepers (led by the superb Fionnula Flanagan) come to work in the eerie, dark mansion, they aren't the only arrival in the house. Opening almost 2 years after The Sixth Sense, this film is a far better example of the twisted ghost story than M. Night Shyamalan's.

24. THE EVIL DEAD (1981)
Long before Sam Raimi ignited life in the comic book movie world with his Spider-Man movies, he directed this deliciously schlocky B-movie about a group of young people unleashing evil in a cabin in the woods. Fan favorite Bruce Campbell kicked off his career here, reprising his role in a few sequels. The virtually non existent budget only enhances the film's funny/scary feel.

23. JOY RIDE (2001)
Before JJ Abrams created the cult hits Lost and Alias, he wrote this edge of your seat thriller about a deranged trucker (CB handle: Rusty Nail) stalking 2 brothers and a girl as they drive across the mid west. Paul Walker, Leelee Sobieski and Steve Zahn deliver their best work. The Hitcher and Duel went here before, but neither succeeded the way director John Dahl's nearly flawless genre film does. The last 20 minutes, even though most was revealed in the trailer, are the perfect example of heart stopping.

22. TREMORS (1990)
Though being able to connect Reba McEntire to Kevin Bacon in a round of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon will no doubt impress your friends, it's not the only reason to see this grade A B-movie. Large, carnivorous underground worms wreak havoc in a small, desert community leading to big laughs and bigger thrills in this gloriously campy homage to monster movies of the past.

21. GREMLINS (1984)
One of the rare Christmas horror classics, this PG-rated Steven Spielberg produced film actually led to the installation of the PG-13 rating after parents complained about the film's violent content. A childhood staple, the mayhem will inspire more fun than scares for an adult audience.

20. THE EXORCIST (1973)
This typically ranks first among greatest horror film lists, but I do think it is somewhat overrated. One of the first genuine blockbusters (and probably the only to involve religion on the other side of The Passion of the Christ), Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair deliver first rate performances in what is still a terrifying and shocking ride.

19. ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968)
Mia Farrow stars as the mother to be, who begins to learn that the child she is about to birth is the devil. The creepy New York City apartments and neighbors add kick to Roman Polanski's gothic drama. Farrow's illustrious work is some of the genre's best. And Ruth Gordon proves that nosey neighbors are always not to be trusted.

18. THE HAUNTING (1963)
Forget the effects laden remake and go for this classic psychological haunted house film. A group of people agree to spend a weekend at Hill House, a supposedly haunted mansion. Their days are filled with well developed character insight, and nights with things that go bump and all sorts of ghostly occurrences. Both are equally riveting. The best of the old fashioned haunted house stories.

17. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)
After he directed the 70's shockers The Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes, Wes Craven turned his attention to our nightmares and the impact they have on us. Creating one of cinema's most memorable villains, Freddy Krueger, Craven tells the story of Nancy, a teenager afraid to go to sleep as Freddy lurks in her nightmares waiting to kill her there, thus killing her in reality. Check out Johnny Depp in his early work and in one of slasher cinema's most bloody moments.

16. THE FOG (1980)
It begins very appropriately with an old man telling a group of children a ghost story, and that's exactly what the film feels like: a masterfully told, old fashioned ghost story. Jamie Lee Curtis, mother Janet Leigh and most memorably Adrienne Barbeau star in this tale of the small Northern California coastal town Antonio Bay battling an eerie fog that has come ashore carrying a hundred year old ghosts. John Carpenter directs.

15. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999)
Easily the most divisive film in horror (and perhaps non-horror) film history. Your love (or hate) of the film depends largely on your proximity to creepy woods and your ability to let yourself go to a film. Operating on nothing but the most stripped down of fear (there's no score, no pop-out spooks), the most successful independent film and marketing campaign revolves around three missing film students who venture into the woods of Maryland to shoot a documentary about a legendary local witch. They are never heard from again. Absolutely harrowing (in this film lover's opinion) especially the final chilling moment.

14. 28 DAYS LATER (2003)
Danny Boyle's all-too-timely, post apocalyptical thriller revolves around 4 survivors who must fight together against a virus that has wiped out most of the population of London. The "infected" are fast moving, blood thirsty violent human beings turned zombies, thus throwing out the antiquated image of slow, stupid zombies. The film, shot in glorious DV, is also a very involving and deeply human story of man's struggle to survive. Cillian Murphy (Red Eye) and Naomi Harris (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest) star.

13. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
It has a Best Picture Oscar, which pretty much means that to some people it's not an actual horror movie. That's right: movies involving diabolical cannibals, serial killers and women getting skinned aren't horror movies? Jodie Foster is at her very best as the fragile FBI agent tracking down a serial killer with the help of another (TAH-DAH!) serial killer: Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector. Jonathan Demme's artfully violent masterpiece is considered one of the greatest films of all time, but hang on to your skin. You just might fly out of it. Or have it ripped from you. Whichever.

12. ALIEN (1979)
So Spaceballs may have ruined some of the impact of this film's highly regarded chest-popping sequence. Despite that, the rest is some of the best science fiction ever put on film. A crew investigates a SOS message from a ship on a distant planet and soon discover that it wasn't a SOS, rather a warning as an alien species is about make the ship its home. Sigourney Weaver, towering and elegant as always, stars in master director Ridley Scott's film.

11. PSYCHO (1960)
Perhaps the first official slasher film, Alfred Hitchcock's most famous film tells the story of Norman Bates, the shy and psychotic manager of the Bates motel and the murders he must clean up after his mother goes a little mad. Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh star. Despite its age, the film still packs a punch, particularly the oft-parodied shower sequence.

10. THE THING (1982)
Genre fave Kurt Russell may have eventually crossed over to the mainstream by being Goldie Hawn's arm candy, but his best work lies in the early 80's and in the films he did with John Carpenter. The Thing is a remake of the 1950's B-movie classic, where a group of scientists in the Antarctic battling an alien species that can assume the person - or thing! - it kills. The special effects are wonderfully cheesy by today's standards, but still have impact as it's some of the most creative makeup work you'll ever see. The blood testing sequence is classic.

9. DAWN OF THE DEAD (1979)
The second installment in George Romero's Dead series focuses on a foursome of survivors holding out for months in an abandoned mall as the outside world is ravaged by zombies. Equal parts scathing satire on a consumerist society and gory horror film, it's probably the most realized of the Dead films and certainly the one that puts the zombie world in perspective. There are many different versions of Dawn of the Dead available but any of them will likely be the most gory film you will ever see. A surprisingly worthy remake in 2004 took the film in a more action oriented route, and managed to be a solid film on its own terms.

8. THE DESCENT (2006)
It turns out that when trapped underground in a cavern, flesh craving, high evolved bat-people are the least of your worries. Especially when you have friends that will take any chance at screwing you over in order to save their own ass. Yes, Neil Marshall's expertly directed creature feature about 6 female cave divers battling an undiscovered and very hungry new species turns out to be a battle of woman vs woman, instead of woman vs beast. A bleak morality play disguised as a horror film, this serious side adds to the depth of this modern genre masterpiece.

7. CARRIE (1976)
Sissy Spacek, in perhaps her best work and the greatest performance by an actress in a horror film, stars as Stephen King's creation - a telekinetic outcast who uses her powers to seek revenge against those who wronged her at her high school prom. Be prepared the film's notorious final jolt, ripped off numerous times but never as effective as it is here. Brian De Palma directs one of his best films, even if the film plays different in a post-Columbine world.

6. SCREAM (1996)
If Psycho is the mother of all slasher movies, Halloween the brother and Texas Chain Saw Massacre its in-bred cousin, then that would make Scream the bastard stepchild that blabs all of the family's secrets. Writer Kevin Williamson helps Wes Craven shred apart some of the clichés he invented with what may be the most clever of slasher films. Managing to both parody and pay homage to the then dead genre with cameos and in-jokes galore, the film surrounds a group of horror-savvy teens (led by Neve Campbell) as they must battle or die at the hands of a serial killer who uses horror trivia to dispatch his victims. As gruesome as it is hip and hilarious.

5. THE SHINING (1980)
Like the typical Kubrick production, this one was plagued with problems from the get go. And like the typical Kubrick film, it's nothing short of a masterpiece. No matter what author Stephen King thinks of the final product, this is an intense character study of a man driven to madness by his own isolation. Despite the grand interiors, the film feels incredibly claustrophobic, and this is the rare well made haunted house film that will appease the gore hounds. In a word: spooky.

4. JAWS (1975)
A bit hesitant the last time you went in the ocean, were you? Gee, I wonder why. Actually, the shark in this movie is enough to keep people out of pools, baths, sinks, anything with water. This and The Exorcist were 2 of the first official blockbusters, though this film is given credit for creating the summer blockbuster. A beach is shut down after a series of shark attack and a crew is dispatched to kill the great white responsible. Steven Spielberg directs, and John Williams' score is probably the genre's best...

3. HALLOWEEN (1978)
Actually, John Carpenter's score to his own film is the genre's best. Jamie Lee Curtis stars as Laurie Strode, a babysitter being stalked by Michael Myers on Halloween night. Simple and yet very effective, Carpenter's best film revived the slasher genre and created a movie star out of Janet Leigh's daughter, Miss Curtis. That's just one of the film's many inside jokes.

2. THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (1973)
Not as violent as many believe it to be - there's actually very little blood on screen, director Tobe Hooper's indie feels at times like a documentary, perhaps even a snuff film. As a group of teens venture across Texas, they get caught in slaughterhouse where Leatherface and his family of cannibals have some disturbing plans for them. Star Marilyn Burns delivers what may be the longest Oscar clip, spending the last half of the movie crying, running, screaming with a look of blood-curdling horror plastered on her face. And three decades prior to the current red state vs blue state mentality, the film proves what we've always known: No matter where hippies go, rednecks will kill them.

1. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)
Survivors barricade themselves in a farmhouse as the outside world turns into flesh-craving zombies. George Romero's very low budget, hugely successful film is the easily the most terrifying film ever made. In grainy black and white, the film's impact echoes throughout the ages and is given new life given the current climate in the world where a biological attack is repeatedly warned. Adding to the film's stark realism, Judith O'Dea is no Sigourney or Neve, as she sits almost helplessly at a loss for words. The film's other lead is Duane Jones, a black man, and the fact that the film and its characters are probably the first in movie history to call no attention to the difference in races proves that when in the most horrific situation, there's virtually no point in separating ourselves for any reason from others. Though the zombie invasion is eventually controlled as the film ends, it's far from a happy ending. Even without zombies, it's still a dark world we live in.


So..

What's your favorite scary movie?

Box Office Predix: Oct. 27 - 29

1. Saw 3 - $34m / $34m / $85m
2. The Departed - $9.5m / $90.5m / $130m
3. The Prestige - $9m / $28.5m / $50m
4. Flags of Our Fathers - $7m / $21m / $40m
5. Open Season - $6m / $77m / $92m
6. Flicka - $5.5m / $14.5m / $26m
7. Catch a Fire - $5m / $5m / $14m
8. The Grudge 2 - $4m / $37m / $46m
9. Man of the Year - $4m / $28m / $37m
10. Marie Antoinette - $3.5m / $10.5m / $19m
**Running With Scissors - $3m / $3.4m / $10m


sad times at the box office

Rachel McAdams signs on to a movie! 'Bourne Ultimatum' plot details! Darren overabuses exclamation point!

!!!!!

Both pieces of info from the illustrious ComingSoon.net

RACHEL MCADAMS IS THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE!

TMZ reports that Rachel McAdams (Wedding Crashers, Red Eye, The Notebook) is in talks to star in New Line's The Time Traveler's Wife, based on Audrey Niffenegger's bestselling novel of 2003.

McAdams would be reteaming with screenwriter Jeremy Leven, who wrote the screenplay for The Notebook. The site adds that Stephen Frears (Dirty Pretty Things) and German director Robert Schwentke (Flightplan) are at the top of the studio's list of directors.

The Time Traveler's Wife is the story of Clare, a beautiful art student, and Henry, an adventuresome librarian, who have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-three and Henry thirty-one. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity in his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing.

The Time Traveler's Wife depicts the effects of time travel on Henry and Clare's marriage and their passionate love for each other as the story unfolds from both points of view. Clare and Henry attempt to live normal lives, pursuing familiar goals—steady jobs, good friends, children of their own. All of this is threatened by something they can neither prevent nor control, making their story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

My thoughts: This could be really great. Or really bad. It has Rachel McAdams, so I hope for the former. I hope they pick Frears. At one point, though, Gus Van Sant was attached.

BOURNE ULTIMATUM PLOT WILL BE....

Relatively the same as the first 2!!!

Matt Damon returns as the trained assassin Jason Bourne for the latest showdown in "The Bourne Ultimatum." In the follow-up to 2002's "The Bourne Identity" and 2004's "The Bourne Supremacy"--the smash hits that have earned over $500 million at the global box office--acclaimed director Paul Greengrass ("United 93," "The Bourne Supremacy") joins returning cast members Julia Stiles and Joan Allen and new additions David Strathairn and Paddy Considine.

All he wanted was to disappear. Instead, Jason Bourne is now hunted by the people who made him what he is. Having lost his memory and the one person he loved, he is undeterred by the barrage of bullets and a new generation of highly-trained killers. Bourne has only one objective: to go back to the beginning and find out who he was.

Now, in the new chapter of this espionage series, Bourne will hunt down his past in order to find a future. He must travel from Moscow, Paris, Madrid and London to Tangier and New York City as he continues his quest to find the real Jason Bourne--all the while trying to outmaneuver the scores of cops, federal officers and Interpol agents with him in their crosshairs.

My thoughts: It would probably be best to keep the majority of the action - and hopefully big car smashing sequence - in America. I'm pretty psyched with the terrific additions to the cast (Strathairn and Considine), but please don't let Stiles turn into his love interest. Someone like Asia Argento or Ludivine Sagnier would be nice!

October Oscar Predix (#2 of 5)

I think box-office may have hurt Flags of Our Fathers. I think Dreamgirls looks like a solid blockbuster that gets tech nods but nothing more. So there. The Departed's box office is hard to ignore, and The Queen is knocking them out in limited release.....So here goes:

Best Picture:
1. The Departed
2. The Good German
3. The Queen
4. Babel
5. Little Miss Sunshine

Best Director:
1. Martin Scorsese - The Departed
2. Stephen Frears - The Queen
3. Steven Soderbergh - The Good German
4. Alejandro Inirritu Gonzalez - Babel
5. Paul Greengrass - United 93

Best Actor:
1. Peter O'Toole - Venus
2. Leonardo Dicaprio - The Departed
3. Forrest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland
4. Ryan Gosling - Half Nelson
5. George Clooney - The Good German

Best Actress:
1. Helen Mirren - The Queen
2. Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
3. Penelope Cruz - Volver
4. Cate Blanchett - The Good German
5. Kate Winslet - Little Children

Best Supporting Actor:
1. Jack Nicholson - The Departed (currently campaigned as lead, but that should change soon)
2. Brad Pitt - Babel
3. Tobey Maguire - The Good German
4. Michael Sheen - The Queen
5. Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine

Best Supporting Actress:
(Oh kill me now.....Annette Bening is currently being campaigned lead for Running With Scissors. The movie itself is doing poor with critics, so it might be smart to put her in supporting where she can actually get nominated. Jennifer Hudson's fans are putting her here on the strenght of one musical number and no actual proven acting talent. If you're going to compare her to Queen Latifah getting in for Chicago, you have to keep in mind how big Chicago was. I don't see that with Dreamgirls. Bobby is very divisive, but everyone really likes Sharon Stone's performance in it. If The Departed does in fact go over big, there's a chance it could pull in Vera Farmiga given how weak this category is. Maggie Gyllenhaal could get in for World Trade Center or Stranger Than Fiction even, but STF would have to be a Best Picture nominee for her to get in. There's still those Prairie Home Companion gals - Meryl Streep & Lily Tomlin - and even the Friends With Money gals - last year's nominees Catherine Keener & Frances McDormand - might be remembered if this category gets even weaker. Even The Devil Wears Prada's Emily Blunt shouldn't be overlooked at this point. Hell, even Jessica Biel in The Illusionist shouldn't be dismissed. If I were 20th Century Fox, I'd put Meryl in supporting for Prada where she would easily win the actual statue. That would bump her out of lead, and put Marie Antoinette's Kirsten Dunst in. Eh, who knows. I considered actually skipping this category but I might as well go with..

(unranked)
Arriana Barazza - Babel
Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine
Carmen Maura - Volver
Sharon Stone - Bobby
Emma Thompson - Stranger Than Fiction

Original Screenplay:
1. The Queen
2. Babel
3. Little Miss Sunshine
4. Stranger Than Fiction
5. Volver

Adapted Screenplay
1. The Departed
2. The Good German
3. Little Children
4. The Last King of Scotland
5. Children of Men

Art Direction:
1. Marie Antoinette
2. The Good German
3. Flags of Our Fathers
4. Dreamgirls
5. The Nativity Story

Costume Design:
1. Marie Antoinette
2. Dreamgirls
3. Miss Potter
4. The Good German
5. The Devil Wears Prada

Cinematography:
1. The Good German
2. Dreamgirls
3. Flags of Our Fathers
4. Children of Men
5. Apocalypto

Editing:
1. The Departed
2. Babel
3. United 93
4. The Good German
5. Flags of Our Fathers

Makeup:
1. Apocalypto
2. Marie Antoinette
3. Dreamgirls

Original Song:
1. Shut Up and Sing
2. Bobby
3. An Inconvenient Truth
4. Cars
5. Dreamgirls

Score:
1. The Queen
2. The Good German
3. Children of Men
4. Babel
5. The Departed

Sound Mixing:
1. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
2. Dreamgirls
3. The Departed
4. Superman Returns
5. Casino Royale

Sound Editing:
1. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
2. Cars
3. World Trade Center

Visual Effects:
1. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
2. Superman Returns
3. Night at the Museum