The Road To OSCAR ... but what will we find when we get there?
The Writers' strike will quite likely cause the Academy Awards show to go the way of the Golden Globes -- winners will be announced at a press conference, rather than the traditional red carpet and really big show.
Still, if anything might seduce me back to LiveJournal, i think we all knew it would be this: my annual race to see every nominated film. Nominees were announced today, and the awards will be presented (or, at least, announced) on Sunday, March 23rd. This year, i will be in Creston overnight on Oscar night -- you may recall that last year i was on my way home from Creston on Oscar Sunday when my bus broke down, causing me to be six hours late ... missing the much of the live broadcast of the show!
This year's list of nominees (not including short films) comes from 44 different films. So far, i've seen 12:
Across The Universe (Achievement in Costume Design)
The Bourne Ultimatum (Film Editing, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing)
Charlie Wilson's War (Supporting Actor for Philip Seymour Hoffman)
Eastern Promises (Actor for Viggo Mortensen)
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Actress for Cate Blanchett; and Costume Design)
Michael Clayton (Actor for George Clooney, Supporting Actor for Tom Wilkinson, Supporting Actress for Tilda Swinton, Directing for Tony Gilroy, Original Score, Best Picture, and Original Screenplay)
No Country For Old Men (Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem, Cinematography, Directing for Joel & Ethan Coen, Film Editing, Best Picture, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Adapted Screenplay)
Norbit (Makeup)
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End (Makeup, and Visual Effects)
Ratatouille (Animated Feature, Original Score, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Original Screenplay)
Sicko (Documentary)
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (Actor for Johnny Depp, Art Direction, and Costume Design)
11 films on DVD now, or soon:
Away From Her (Actress for Julie Christie, and Adapted Screenplay)
La Vie En Rose (La Môme) (Actress for Marion Cotillard, Costume Design, and Makeup)
No End In Sight (Documentary)
Once (Original Song)
Surf's Up (Animated Feature)
3:10 To Yuma (Original Score, and Sound Mixing)
Transformers (Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects)
The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (Supporting Actor for Casey Affleck, and Cinematography) - on DVD 2/5
Gone Baby Gone (Supporting Actress for Amy Ryan) - on DVD 2/12
American Gangster (Supporting Actress for Ruby Dee, and Art Direction) - on DVD 2/19
In The Valley Of Elah (Actor for Tommy Lee Jones) - on DVD 2/19
4 films in Kelowna Theatres now:
Atonement (Supporting Actress for Saoirse Ronan, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Original Score, Best Picture, and Adapted Screenplay)
Enchanted (3 nominations for Original Song)
The Golden Compass (Art Direction, and Visual Effects)
Juno (Actress for Ellen Page, Directing for Jason Reitman, Best Picture, and Original Screenplay)
8 films i'll have to see in Vancouver:
August Rush (Original Song)
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly (Le scaphandre et le papillon) (Cinematography, Directing for Julian Schnabel, Film Editing, and Adapted Screenplay)
I'm Not There (Supporting Actress for Cate Blanchett)
Into The Wild (Supporting Actor for Hal Holbrook, and Film Editing)
The Kite Runner (Original Score)
Persepolis (Animated Feature)
The Savages (Actress for Laura Linney, and Original Screenplay)
There Will Be Blood (Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis, Art Direction, Cinematography, Directing for Paul Thomas Anderson, Film Editing, Best Picture, Sound Editing, and Adapted Screenplay)
And 9 films that can't be seen anywhere (so far):
Beaufort (Foreign)
The Counterfeiters (Die Fälscher) (Foreign)
Katyn (Foreign)
Lars And The Real Girl (Original Screenplay)
Mongol (Foreign)
Operation Homecoming: Writing The Wartime Experience (Documentary)
Taxi To The Dark Side (Documentary)
12 (Foreign)
War / Dance (Documentary)
Now isn't the time for comments and predictions -- the mass media does a fine enough job of that ... but i have to say one thing: once again, the Animated Feature category is a joke. I've heard that Persepolis is amazing, but i've heard that from CBC Radio's "Q" host, Iranian-Canadian Jian Ghomeshi ... and Persepolis is based on the work of the Iranian-French writer, Marjane Satrapi. I'm looking forward to seeing it. But where is "The Simpsons Movie"? Did they not submit it? It was far more entertaining than Ratatouille! Hell, even Bee Movie was better than Ratatouille!
Anyway, as you can imagine, compiling this journal entry has been incredibly time consuming, so i should run along with the rest of my day ... which will now -- no doubt -- include a stop at the video store, and a visit or two to my local multiplex(es) tonight!
Oh yeah, and for a couple of last year's highlights, check out these old entries:
"A road less travelled ... this year ...", the 2007 version of today's entry
"...with connections in Kelowna for OSCAR...", my sad Oscar Sunday story of road failure
Still, if anything might seduce me back to LiveJournal, i think we all knew it would be this: my annual race to see every nominated film. Nominees were announced today, and the awards will be presented (or, at least, announced) on Sunday, March 23rd. This year, i will be in Creston overnight on Oscar night -- you may recall that last year i was on my way home from Creston on Oscar Sunday when my bus broke down, causing me to be six hours late ... missing the much of the live broadcast of the show!
This year's list of nominees (not including short films) comes from 44 different films. So far, i've seen 12:
Across The Universe (Achievement in Costume Design)
The Bourne Ultimatum (Film Editing, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing)
Charlie Wilson's War (Supporting Actor for Philip Seymour Hoffman)
Eastern Promises (Actor for Viggo Mortensen)
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Actress for Cate Blanchett; and Costume Design)
Michael Clayton (Actor for George Clooney, Supporting Actor for Tom Wilkinson, Supporting Actress for Tilda Swinton, Directing for Tony Gilroy, Original Score, Best Picture, and Original Screenplay)
No Country For Old Men (Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem, Cinematography, Directing for Joel & Ethan Coen, Film Editing, Best Picture, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Adapted Screenplay)
Norbit (Makeup)
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End (Makeup, and Visual Effects)
Ratatouille (Animated Feature, Original Score, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Original Screenplay)
Sicko (Documentary)
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (Actor for Johnny Depp, Art Direction, and Costume Design)
11 films on DVD now, or soon:
Away From Her (Actress for Julie Christie, and Adapted Screenplay)
La Vie En Rose (La Môme) (Actress for Marion Cotillard, Costume Design, and Makeup)
No End In Sight (Documentary)
Once (Original Song)
Surf's Up (Animated Feature)
3:10 To Yuma (Original Score, and Sound Mixing)
Transformers (Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects)
The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (Supporting Actor for Casey Affleck, and Cinematography) - on DVD 2/5
Gone Baby Gone (Supporting Actress for Amy Ryan) - on DVD 2/12
American Gangster (Supporting Actress for Ruby Dee, and Art Direction) - on DVD 2/19
In The Valley Of Elah (Actor for Tommy Lee Jones) - on DVD 2/19
4 films in Kelowna Theatres now:
Atonement (Supporting Actress for Saoirse Ronan, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Original Score, Best Picture, and Adapted Screenplay)
Enchanted (3 nominations for Original Song)
The Golden Compass (Art Direction, and Visual Effects)
Juno (Actress for Ellen Page, Directing for Jason Reitman, Best Picture, and Original Screenplay)
8 films i'll have to see in Vancouver:
August Rush (Original Song)
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly (Le scaphandre et le papillon) (Cinematography, Directing for Julian Schnabel, Film Editing, and Adapted Screenplay)
I'm Not There (Supporting Actress for Cate Blanchett)
Into The Wild (Supporting Actor for Hal Holbrook, and Film Editing)
The Kite Runner (Original Score)
Persepolis (Animated Feature)
The Savages (Actress for Laura Linney, and Original Screenplay)
There Will Be Blood (Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis, Art Direction, Cinematography, Directing for Paul Thomas Anderson, Film Editing, Best Picture, Sound Editing, and Adapted Screenplay)
And 9 films that can't be seen anywhere (so far):
Beaufort (Foreign)
The Counterfeiters (Die Fälscher) (Foreign)
Katyn (Foreign)
Lars And The Real Girl (Original Screenplay)
Mongol (Foreign)
Operation Homecoming: Writing The Wartime Experience (Documentary)
Taxi To The Dark Side (Documentary)
12 (Foreign)
War / Dance (Documentary)
Now isn't the time for comments and predictions -- the mass media does a fine enough job of that ... but i have to say one thing: once again, the Animated Feature category is a joke. I've heard that Persepolis is amazing, but i've heard that from CBC Radio's "Q" host, Iranian-Canadian Jian Ghomeshi ... and Persepolis is based on the work of the Iranian-French writer, Marjane Satrapi. I'm looking forward to seeing it. But where is "The Simpsons Movie"? Did they not submit it? It was far more entertaining than Ratatouille! Hell, even Bee Movie was better than Ratatouille!
Anyway, as you can imagine, compiling this journal entry has been incredibly time consuming, so i should run along with the rest of my day ... which will now -- no doubt -- include a stop at the video store, and a visit or two to my local multiplex(es) tonight!
Oh yeah, and for a couple of last year's highlights, check out these old entries:
"A road less travelled ... this year ...", the 2007 version of today's entry
"...with connections in Kelowna for OSCAR...", my sad Oscar Sunday story of road failure