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Posted on 01/10/2006 9:31:10 AM PST by SirLinksalot
Oscar Indicators
James Hirsen, NewsMax.com
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced its choice of host for the 78th Annual Academy Awards. It's one of today's foremost wisecrackers, host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" Jon Stewart.
Stewart apparently landed the Oscar gig after Billy Crystal turned it down citing scheduling conflicts.
In a press release announcing the Academy's selection, Stewart lampooned the fact that he was second fiddle, describing it as "another sad attempt to smoke out Billy Crystal."
The comic already has some award show experience under his belt, having served as host for the Grammy Awards in 2001 and 2002.
Evidently, he intends to take a week off from his "Daily Show" duties to work with his writers, who will most likely assist him in preparing the requisite number of Bush-bashing jokes.
Meanwhile the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have announced some nominations of their own. This is significant in that their selections tend to serve as predictors of Best Picture Academy Awards. In fact, no movie has ever won an Oscar for Best Picture without first having been nominated by at least one of these two groups.
If the PGA/WGA forecasting pattern holds true, "Munich," "Memoirs of a Geisha" and "Match Point" are already out of the running.
When the PGA and the WGA ignore films, arrows point toward losses, while conversely, films that are nominated by both groups can take on front-runner status.
In this awards cycle, movies nominated by both groups include "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "Crash."
"Capote" also squeaked out a win for Best Picture from the National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) after six ballot rounds. Based on the almost universal raves given by critics to "Brokeback Mountain," one might have expected the film to win the NSFC Best Picture award in a landslide. But the critics group snubbed the movie, with the exception of giving a Best Actor nod to Heath Ledger.
Regarding the actors and directors unions, the controversial film was the nomination leader. It earned four Screen Actors Guild (SAG) nominations and a Directors Guild of America (DGA) nomination for Ang Lee for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film, a precursor for a Best Director Oscar.
Other DGA nominees include George Clooney for "Good Night, and Good Luck," Paul Haggis for "Crash," Bennett Miller for "Capote" and Steven Spielberg for "Munich."
As an interesting side note, the online gambling sites have "Brokeback" as the clear betting favorite.
We'll find out who wins the bets and the statuettes on March 5.
So is this the story of a cowboy who "broke his back mounting?" My question is "who or what was he mounting?"
Ok, anyone want to guess the opening scene of the awards with Jon Stewart? Jon will ride in on a large white stallion...with a white hat on...and dismount...then walk bow-legged up to the podium...to say..."just too many nights out there on the lonely prarie".
Anyone want to bet?
October Sky was great, and of course a true story. Definitely worth seeing.
I think Crash will win far more than people expect. Best Original Screenplay for sure. Maybe Best Picture. Ang Lee might win Best Director though. Heath Ledger should win Best Actor, but it's a very close contest with Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who was also great. I'd like to see Matt Dillon win Best Supporting Actor for Crash. All in all, Crash is the best of the high profile movies I've seen so far this year. I still have some to see though.
who cares?
the other day at my gym (whose membership list is full of dirtbag liberals the likes of RFK Jr, Billy Baldwin, Andy Cuomo) they were talking about movies...
someone asked me if I saw a cetain movie- Munich...
I answered him honestly- "fuq hollywood- I don't voluntarily give them $.02 of my money and have not been to the movies in five years!"
Yes, the chocolate vanilla swirl pudding that will be served at all the post Oscar parties.
This is the crappiest group to select from I can recall.
I loved WOTW!
Brokeback should've been entered at the Pr0n Flick Awards this week.
Gyllenhall plays a scientist or something, no? I remember friends saying good things about it at the time.
Sorry, Oscar night is the night I will be shampooing my hair.
I thought it was pretty good but hardly Oscar quality. Same for King Kong though it was too long.
Or maybe the Mike Piazza awards?
Billy played gay back in Soap.
Of course not--what do we "little" people know about films?
I'm with you. I saw Crash in its early limited release, put it at the top of my best picture list and nothing I saw knocked it off number one for me.
I thought there was not a bad acting performance from any of the actors in the major roles, with the exception of possibly Brendan Frasier, but his major role was minor compared to the others. I also think that Terrance Howard will become one of the rising "new" actors we will be seeing much more of.
If anyone had not seen Crash, I would encourage them to see it before the Oscars.
Domestic:
1) Star Wars $380 mil
2) Harry Potter $281 mil
3) Chronicles of Narania $247 mil
4) War of the Worlds $234 mil
5)Wedding Crashers $209 mil
6)Charlie and the Chocolate Factory $206 mil
7) Batman $205 mil
8) Madagascar $193 mil
9) King Kong $192 mil
Kong and Narnia have not finished their run, and the order changes a little for the world wide figures.
King Kong or Star Wars will get something for special effects but that is about it. These awards have long since lost touch with the audience, not that there is anything anyway this year that is stupendous.
No, he plays one of four teenage boys in a small West Virginia mining town who decide to try to build a rocket. This happens in 1957, just after Sputnik and before America was able to build a rocket that didn't explode on launch. The book's title was "Rocket Boys".
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