The Oscars!

These were the most hyped Academy Awards in my 16 years watching. Surprises and dazzling showmanship were promised. Alright, Sid Ganis, show us what you've got...




















Hugh Jackman entered to a big-band jazz arrangement of the Lawrence of Arabia theme. It was surprisingly cool. The stage design was, as promised, more intimate. The band was onstage, and the decor evoked an old Hollywood ballroom. The stage wasn't very high, so the host was nearly at eye level with the nominees, and free to walk up to them for a kiss hello. He joked that Meryl Streep's 15 nominations must be attributable to steroids, and she flexed her muscles for him. Awesome.

Jackman, rather than a comedian, was chosen to host so that he could bring the song-and-dance pizazz he brought to his Tony Awards hosting duties. He started off with a Best Picture medley that at first seemed like a pale imitation of Billy Crystal's signature opening. But he soon made it his own, with a giggling, free-wheeling energy. The best part was when he pulled Anne Hathaway onstage for a cheeky duet in which his David Frost and her Richard Nixon pull in close and nearly kiss.















He also killed with a number featuring silver-clad dancers doing frenetic robot moves as Jackman sings "The Reader!" And just as you think to yourself that the telecast has reached a new low for incongruous, bad-taste musical numbers, he belts the next line of the song: "I haven't seen The Reader!" Take that, Harvey Weinstein!

The first award of the evening was Best Supporting Actress. First they showed clips of previous Supporting Actress winners' acceptance speeches. (Except the curtains didn't open for the first 10 seconds: Clips played behind a black curtain, and someone could be heard yelling "Steve, open them! Open them!") Then they replayed five of those clips over hanging panels, which were lifted to reveal former winners Eva Marie Saint ('54), Goldie Hawn ('69), Anjelica Huston ('85), Whoopi Goldberg ('90), and Tilda Swinton ('07). Then each woman gives a speech about each of the five supporting actress nominees. Oh, my god, are they going to do this for every acting category? This will take for-EVER! And yet, the one-on-one tributes are the best part; each nominee's eyes filled with tears during her presentation. (Though I groaned when Whoopi Goldberg said of Amy Adams, "It's not easy playing a nun!" Ah, yes, that Academy Award-winning classic.) The winner was Penelope Cruz: She gave a gracious speech, and like her boyfriend Javier Bardem did last year, ended by speaking in Spanish to her native country.















The Academy made a cryptic statement that the awards will be presented in a way that "tells a story." We learned what that meant when Hugh Jackman explained the categories will be presented in the order they occur in the production of a film, meaning the screenplay awards are first. Writer-actors Steve Martin and Tina Fey gave this presentation hilariously: "It has been said that to write is to live forever...the man who wrote that is now dead."
















The winners were Dustin Lance Black for Milk and Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire. Black gave a poignant, emotional acceptance, thanking Harvey Milk for inspiring him in his own life and sending a message of hope to all the gay teenagers watching.

Jennifer Aniston and Jack Black gave the animation awards, and Black delivered one of the cruelest zingers, alluding to the bitter rivalry between animation studios: "Every year I do a Dreamworks film, take my paycheck to the Oscars, and bet it all on Pixar!" Then Pixar's Wall-E beat Dreamworks's Kung Fu Panda, and Black gave a "Yesssss!" (Also, while Black was joking about his own film, the cameras cut to Panda co-star Angelina Jolie. But the gossip mill thought it was a Jen/Angie thing. Eyeroll.)

Sarah Jessica Parker and Daniel Craig presented ALL THREE art department awards. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button took Art Direction and Makeup, and The Duchess took Costume Design. This was disappointing, because the costume winner was a man; the winners in this category are almost always women, and they almost always wear a fabulously weird dress.

Robert Pattinson and Amanda Seyfried presented a time-wasting montage about onscreen romances of 2008. Notable only because they included Sean Penn's passionate liplock with James Franco.

Ben Stiller has appeared on the Oscar stage in Starsky and Hutch garb and in a green-screen body suit. This time he wore a Crazy Joaquin Phoenix beard.

















He and Natalie Portman gave Best Cinematography to Anthony Dod Mantle for Slumdog Millionaire.

Jessica Biel gave the obligitory shout-out to the Sci-Tech Awards.

In lieu of a time-wasting montage about comedy films in 2008, Judd Apatow shot a short film in which James Franco and Seth Rogan put on their Pineapple Express costumes and watched the comedies of 2008 while stoned. (Those comedies included The Reader and Doubt.) Then they watched Milk and the Penn/Franco liplock played onscreen again, this time for the purpose of a lame gay panic joke between the Pineapple guys. It ended with them trying to make one of Janusz Kaminski's Oscars into a bong.

















The three stars of the film then appeared live, and told the audience that Janusz Kaminski is the first cinematographer to present on the telecast, to which Kaminski said, "Suck on that, Anthony Dod Mantle!" THAT'S what this show has always been missing: Cinematographer smack-talk! Franco mangled the name of the winning Live-Action Short, Spielzugland, and he and Rogan burst into stoner giggles.

Hold onto your hats! Next was the big musical number, a hodge-podge of songs from musicals (often just a single LINE of a song) from Hugh Jackman, featuring Beyonce Knowles (who tried to sing "Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails" like a sex kitten -- ick), and the stars of High School Musical and Mamma Mia!, presumably to court the tween demographic. The production number was designed by Baz Luhrmann, and it prominently featured music and film clips from Moulin Rouge.

Next came the Supporting Actor presentation, starring Joel Grey ('72), Christopher Walken ('78), Kevin Kline ('88), Cuba Gooding Jr. ('96), and Alan Arkin ('06). (Why didn't you show up, reigning winner Javier Bardem?) Arkin spoke praises for, and I quote, "Seymour Philip Hoffman", but it was Gooding who embarrassed himself by pretending to scold Robert Downey Jr. for stealing black roles when "the bruthas need the work!" Yikes. The most inspired choice of the entire broadcast was having Christopher Walken talk about Michael Shannon in Revolutionary Road. How much would you pay to see Shannon as his RR character do a scene with Walken?!?! The winner was Heath Ledger, and his parents and sister had the surreal task of accepting his award. They spoke kind words of thanks, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house, or at home watching. I sincerely hope the Ledgers were able to bypass the predatory press room following their acceptance.
















Another time-wasting montage interviewed the directors of the documentary nominees. It was briefly fun when one of the directors had an expletive bleeped, an offscreen voice said, "You just said, '[bleep]'," and the director froze.

Bill Maher came out and snarkily complained about having to follow the devastating Supporting Actor presentation. Then he complained his documentary Religiolous wasn't nominated, and made snarkier statements championing agnosticism. (Dude, I'M an agnostic, and you make me cringe!) Doc Feature went to Man on Wire, and the film's manic subject, Philippe Petit, stormed the stage to do a coin trick and balance the Oscar on his chin. Worthy of Jack Palance.
















Will Smith presented FOUR awards in a row: Visual Effects to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Sound Editing to The Dark Knight, and Sound Mixing and Film Editing to Slumdog Millionaire.

Eddie Murphy held Jerry Lewis's Oscar close to his chest as he told the audience why Lewis was receiving the Herscholt Humanitarian Award. Then he gave the award "from one Nutty Professor to another", even though Lewis publicly blasted Murphy's remake.

Indian composer A.R. Rahman waited in the wings to perform the nominated songs from Slumdog as Alicia Keys and Zac Efron read the nominees for Best Score. They declared Rahman the winner for Slumdog Millionaire, so he came onstage, accepted the award, stashed it somewhere backstage, then came out again to sing "O Saya." Rahman went offstage while John Legend (subbing for Peter Gabriel) sang "Down to Earth", came back onstage to sing "Jai Ho", left the stage so Keys and Efron could present Best Song, and came right back onstage to accept the statuette for "Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire. Rahman must have been exhausted.

Liam Neeson and Frieda Pinto presented Best Foreign Language Film, because they are foreign. It was neither of the two front-runners: Okuribito from Japan was the surprise winner, and the Japanese cast and crew took the stage. India wasn't the only country to crowd the podium!

Usually the "Death Reel" is accompanied by orchestra music, but this year it was lifted by Queen Latifah's tender rendition of "I'll Be Seeing You." Well done, producers. The prestigious last-clip-before-blackout spot went to Paul Newman, as it should have.

Reese Witherspoon gave Best Director to Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire and he bounced like Tigger, just as he promised his kids he would.

Here come the Best Actress winners! Sophia Loren ('61), Shirley MacLaine ('83), Halle Berry ('01), Nicole Kidman ('02), and Marion Cotillard ('07) paid tribute to the nominees. Anne Hathaway looked like she would bawl her eyes out as the great Shirley Mac praised her acting and singing. The winner was...please, please, please...YES! KATE WINSLET!
















Kate hugged all five presenters and kept it together during her speech. She tried to find her Dad in the sea of attendees, asked him to whistle so she could find him, and Papa Winslet let out one helluva piercing whistle that brought down the house. Yay for Kate!

Finally, the Best Actor posse took the stage: Robert DeNiro ('80), Ben Kingsley ('82), Michael Douglas ('87), Anthony Hopkins ('91), and Adrien Brody ('02.) (Daniel Day-Lewis, like Javier Bardem, apparently blew off his reigning Best Actor duties.) My old crush Mr. Brody looked skeezy as hell with a greasy mullet and patchy beard, and DeNiro poked fun at Sean Penn's soapboxing and paparazzi fights. The winner was Sean Penn, and he himself admitted how difficult he is to like. He made a scolding plea for gay marriage rights (you're not helping!), but then gave a brotherly shout-out to the almost-winner, Mickey Rourke.















Steven Spielberg was ready to kill this thing and be done with it, but he was forced to drag out the Best Picture presentation with a montage of not just this year's nominees, but previous Best Picture nominees with similar themes! Are you kidding me?!?! The juxtapositions ranged from obvious (Frost/Nixon and All the President's Men), to groaningly crass (The Reader and The Graduate?!?! Really?) Slumdog Millionaire won its 8th of 10 nominations (and one loss, Best Song, was to itself), so the adorable children got to take the stage and grin their moony little faces off.

It was a loony show with tears, laughs, good music, and many spectacularly awful production choices. Everything an Oscar show should be.

Pretty Dresses!

White was the favorite on this year's red carpet. So how to make your white dress stand out from the pack? Penelope Cruz wore it best, in a full princess skirt with grey filigree details. Her vintage dress was 60 years old and she bought it eight years ago, saving it for a special occasion. (Good call!) Jennifer Aniston and Anne Hathaway went for silver sparkle. Taraji P. Henson looked lovely in delicate pleats that resembled a column of white rose petals. Nicole Kidman had a soft, ethereal texture with feathers. Marisa Tomei's dress looked like spilled stacks of paper, and yet it was so artfully designed, it was exciting instead of sloppy. Evan Rachel Wood had a nice sheen to her gown. The only dud here is Jessica Biel's dress, with a limp, awkward drape on the front that obscured her pretty figure.



















Black is usually the most common choice, and therefore the most boring. Halle Berry brought some interest to basic black with regal (but tasteful) gold patterning. Beyonce Knowles would have looked nice in black and gold too, if it wasn't for the awful cut of her gown; it was too tight and too big in all the wrong places, working against her awesome curves instead of with them. Performer Vanessa Hudgens had an interesting (if a little incoherent) gown. Diane Lane and Robin Wright had plain dresses, and so did Angelina Jolie, though hers was a wise choice given the opulence of her earrings. (See close-up below.)



















Amy Adams rocked her raspberry gown and AMAZING necklace. (See close-up below.) Virginia Madsen also sizzled in a killer shade and cut. I know Bridget Fonda is getting ripped on for her print dress, but I love it. The red and black pattern is spooky, but small and controlled, and balanced by a simple and elegant dress shape. Phoebe Cates looked nice in a breezy gown. The worst is definitely performer Amanda Seyfried, attacked by a giant bow. I'll never understand designers' fondness for the giant bow; I've never seen a single one that flatters the wearer.
















Blue was another favorite choice. None was more beautiful than Frieda Pinto's exquisite, flowing gown. Asymmetrical straps/sleeves/necklines were everywhere, and none was more daring or more successful than the elegant lace sleeve, in danger of looking frumpy if overdone, but saved by the simple strap and bare shoulder on the other side. The skirt was dreamy and the cobalt color magnificent. Sarah Jessica Parker also wore a heavenly skirt, hers in a pale seafoam shade. Queen Latifah wore her best Oscar dress yet; in the past she wore either plain black or too much glitz; here is the perfect balance with navy fabric adorned with a tasteful shower of blue jewels at the bust. Marion Cotillard's giant poof of black and blue should have been horrible, but somehow she rocks the look. Miley Cyrus's frosted petal dress also should have been a disaster, but the sweet neckline and careful distribution of color made it a funky success. Reese Witherspoon had the worst of the blues, because it had way too many motifs; just two or three and it would have been great. And yet the biggest disappointment was Kate Winslet. She wore such perfect gowns for her last five nominations, so it was a shame she finally won while wearing a slate blue dress ruined by lumpy black netting. Black lace overlay would have looked great, but the blobs on her shoulder and skirt did not. (But even in a bad dress, she is still beautiful.)





















Viola Davis, Tina Fey, and Leslie Mann all look fantastic in metallics.






















Alicia Keys and Natalie Portman wore almost the same shade of pink. Both looked fabulous.
















And the most troubling color family of all: Earthtones. Melissa Leo was sooo close; I love the brave choice of burnt orange, love the cap sleeves, love the jeweled sleeve clips, love the emerald earrings. Unfortunately the cut of the dress minimized her bust and maximized her waist, which is just cruel. (Shame on you, dress!) Her pendant was also an unsettlingly realistic-looking spider. Sophia Loren drowned in mustard ruffles. Meryl Streep had shapeless gray working against her beauty. Whoopi Goldberg looked terrible, but it's her job to bring the The Crazy. With bewildering gowns two years in a row, Tilda Swinton now has a special niche at the Oscars, so I've decided to embrace her comically bad style. Besides, I'm sure it's her fun way of thumbing her nose at Hollywood glamour, as a talented but fiercely independent spirit.

The jewels I covet: The dizzying necklace on Amy Adams. It appears to be cabochon-cut emeralds, rubies, and sapphires. (Keira Knightly sported all three of those stones in another astonishing necklace at the Oscars three years ago.) Marion Cotillard's glittering coin necklace also has me confused -- are they blue topaz? aquamarine? blue opals? -- and envious. And Angelina Jolie's monster-huge emerald earrings are spectacular.















Rarely do the gents have notable fashion choices, but here are my favorites. Mickey Rourke looked wonderfully crazy (wouldn't you have been disappointed if he didn't?), but his photo pendant of his dog Loki (who died six days earlier) was very sweet. Philip Seymour Hoffman made me laugh with his bizarre knit cap; "schlub" is his signature style, so I can dig it. Winning screenwriter Simon Beaufoy had some kind of beaded thing under his tux and crossing his tie, so kudos to him for wearing something interesting.











The best accessory of all? The gay marriage ribbon sported by the Milk men -- Dustin Lance Black, Cleve Jones, Emile Hirsch, and Josh Brolin -- and other celebrities like Richard Jenkins.

Julie's Predictions for the 81st Annual Academy Awards

An unbelievable stroke of luck has afforded me to see almost all of the nominated films in time for the ceremony, despite being too broke to go to the theatres or rent the DVD’s. So I’m happy to write a much more informed column this time around! (First, I must apologize to The Reader for calling it lame. Strangely enough, the film turned out to be an engrossing story, immediate on a human level and not at all the dull history lecture it seemed to be. My mistake.)

P.S.: Here is a picture of me at the "Meet the Oscars" exhibition in Chicago. That is a real Oscar, though it's likely that particular statuette will remain a prop for their annual exhibitions, and will never actually be given to a winner. But it was awesome to hold just the same!

Best Actor

Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Alas, Richard Jenkins is the first candidate who can be eliminated. Squeaking into the top five will have to be its own reward; he doesn’t have the star power or Big Dramatics to knock out the front-runners. Just about the same can be said of Frank Langella. Conversely, Brad Pitt is way too overexposed and jealousy-inducing to charm the voters. His is also an oddly blank performance, and not even the best one he gave in 2008: See Burn After Reading. The face-off in this category is between the medium-sized fame and excellent performances from Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke. Rourke took the Golden Globe, but Penn took the major critics’ awards and the SAG. Penn’s film is up for Best Picture but Rourke’s isn’t – in fact, it was shut out of the Screenplay category, too. Both have been ranked among the best actors of their generation, but while Penn picked up this award a mere five years ago (for Mystic River), Rourke has never won before. (Last year Daniel Day-Lewis was a repeat Best Actor winner, but he was miles ahead of his competitors; in a race this close, it’s more likely voters will want to spread the wealth.) Neither actor has the cuddliest reputation, but Penn’s appearances at awards shows are usually smug, while Rourke’s have been kooky-entertaining. And while Penn has been consistently nominated over the last 15 years (this is his fifth nod), Rourke’s surprise comeback this year was one of the most talked-about stories of the year, and I think that will give him the extra boost to settle this particularly close race. Prediction: Mickey Rourke Personal Pick: I think anyone but Pitt would be deserving. I would like to see Rourke win the coin-toss, but my heart belongs to Richard Jenkins.

Best Actress

Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, The Reader

I never thought I’d say this, but the Academy got it right! After seeing The Reader and Revolutionary Road, I learned that Kate Winslet’s performance in the first film is absolutely a leading role – it had no business competing for Supporting Actress at the Globe and Guild awards – and superior to her performance in the second film. Kate’s category switch had some wondering if her Oscar chances had been spoiled, if she would have had a better chance winning Best Actress for her marital quarrels with Titanic co-star Leonardo DiCaprio as directed by her real husband Sam Mendes, rather than as an unrepentant Nazi who seduces a teenage boy. I would argue that neither character is likeable, and while Winslet sometimes struggles with the overripe dialogue in RR, she is haunting as a woman without a conscience in The Reader, an uncomfortable reminder of how evil can be carried out by ordinary people. Furthermore, Best Actress characters don’t have to be pillars of morality: See the wins for Charlize Theron, Kathy Bates, and Louise Fletcher. The main reason I think her chances aren’t spoiled is that she has scored for The Reader no matter what category she is in. For her to be nominated in this category, she had to get not only more votes for The Reader in the lead rather than supporting category, but more votes for The Reader than RR. (It is possible she received enough votes to get two Best Actress nominations and one Supporting, but Academy rules state that actors cannot compete against themselves in the same category, nor can the same performance be nominated for both lead and supporting; if either or both scenarios occurred, the performance with fewer votes would be discarded.) And while the Academy overwhelmingly preferred her in The Reader, she still managed to win the SAG award in the supporting category. This is also her sixth nomination without a win, and the consensus among her peers is that this is her year. Former winner and tabloid mainstay Angelina Jolie can’t touch her. Relative unknown Melissa Leo was lucky just to land in the top 5. Anne Hathaway will probably win someday, but for now she’s too young, and her film received no other nominations. Meryl Streep won the SAG award because she didn’t have to compete against Winslet in The Reader, and it would be obscene for Streep to pick up a third Oscar while Winslet loses for a sixth time. (Which, by the way, would tie her with Deborah Kerr and Thelma Ritter for the Most Losing Actress in Academy history.) Prediction and Personal Pick: Kate Winslet (As much as I enjoyed Streep’s Bronx accent, Winslet and Hathaway were a class ahead, and I am on the Kate-Must-Win train. But I didn’t catch up to Frozen River and didn’t want to see Changeling.)

Best Supporting Actor

Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

Surprise nominee Michael Shannon is out; winning without at least a SAG nod is 99% impossible. Philip Seymour Hoffman is out; he just won Best Actor three years ago and hasn’t commanded any type of lead in the race. Josh Brolin is a slender possibility, since he’s been hot lately with No Country For Old Men and W. (Milk may have been a better film than W, but he was much better in the latter film. In fact, can I switch him with Brad Pitt so they’re both nominated in the right categories for the right roles?) Robert Downey Jr. has a marginally better shot, since he was possibly the most successful star of 2008 with both Iron Man and Tropic Thunder. It’s true that the Ben Stiller film is not the Academy’s typical cup of tea, but Downey transcended their usual prejudice against straight-up comedy by standing on the knife-edge of bad taste without stumbling. But even that performance wasn’t the best trick of the year. No one has ever been nominated for a comic book film until this year, because no actor brought such vivid psychological shadings to a cartoon role as Heath Ledger did with The Joker. Oscar buzz for his work began before he died, so let’s not forget that he will win because he absolutely deserves it. Posthumous acting nominations have gone to Jeanne Eagels, James Dean, Spencer Tracy, Ralph Richardson, and Massimo Troisi, but only Peter Finch (in Network) was voted a posthumous acting trophy; this year he will have distinguished company. Prediction and Personal Pick: Heath Ledger (The show’s producers have kept it a secret who will accept the award if he wins, but the statuette will become the legal property of his 3-year-old daughter Matilda when she turns 18.)

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

HERE is an Oscar race, the only acting category that’s truly up for grabs; there is no front-runner because the major awards went to Best Actress upgrade Kate Winslet. The only one I’ll eliminate is Marisa Tomei, because she’s won before and didn’t get a SAG nod. Taraji P. Henson could hope for a Tilda Swinton-style victory; last year this race had no favorite, and with Michael Clayton guaranteed to lose in all the other top categories, Swinton carried the flag for her film (so just insert Henson and Benjamin Button in that scenario.) Sometimes two nominees from the same film cancel each other out (like the women of Babel), but sometimes one is a clear favorite over the other (like the women of Chicago). Doubt is definitely the latter; while everyone with good taste loves Amy Adams, the favorite performance in this film is unmistakably Viola Davis’s. Some are turned off by the weepy nature of Adams’s role, while Davis makes a quiet but passionate appearance that leaves viewers devastated. I’ll put her very close to the finish line, but since her performance is only one12-minute scene (not impossible for a win but definitely a rarity) and the Tony-winning actress is barely known in Hollywood, I’ll give the slight edge to Penelope Cruz. She was a revelation in Volver two years ago, and she was the only burst of energy and entertainment in the insufferable Vicky Cristina Barcelona. She is now respected as a serious actress, Woody Allen films often charm this category, and she did win three of the four major critics’ awards at the start of the race. Her main disadvantage is that hers is the film’s only nomination, though Angelina Jolie and Marisa Tomei have won in this category on their film’s one nod. Prediction: Penelope Cruz Personal Pick: Viola Davis was my very favorite of these five. I really hope she pulls off a steal!

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
Doubt, John Patrick Shanley
Frost/Nixon, Peter Morgan
The Reader, David Hare
Slumdog Millionaire, Simon Beaufoy

The Writers’ Guild didn’t nominate The Reader, so David Hare is out. John Patrick Shanley already has a screenplay Oscar, and I don’t think he’ll pull a repeat as the only non-Best Picture nominee in the race. Eric Roth is not only a former winner, but many contend that Benjamin Button is just a rehash of his Forrest Gump screenplay. (The joke in Hollywood is that he already won for this movie 14 years ago.) Peter Morgan might pick up some sympathy votes from those who think he was robbed for The Queen, and Frost/Nixon proved once again he has a knack for finding the human drama in political scandals. Still, it’s hard to imagine any film being able to knock out Slumdog. The movie is unstoppable, and a win from the WGA awards is the best indication that the Writers’ branch of the Academy will carry the film to major victories. Prediction: Slumdog Millionaire Personal Pick: Anything but Button will be fine with me. I respect the other four nominees but I’m not terribly in love with any of them.

Best Original Screenplay

Frozen River, Courtney Hunt
Happy Go Lucky, Mike Leigh
In Bruges, Martin McDonough
Milk, Dustin Lance Black
Wall-E, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Jim Reardon

This was a truly screwy category this year; Milk is the only film nominated by both the WGA and the Academy. (Not surprisingly, it won the WGA award as well.) It’s also the only Best Picture nominee in this race, so I don’t think anything else is even a possibility. Prediction and Personal Pick: Milk, though it’s only my favorite over Wall-E, because I didn’t get catch up to Frozen River or Happy Go Lucky in time, and I have no interest in ever seeing In Bruges.

Best Director and Picture

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, David Fincher
Frost/Nixon, Ron Howard
Milk, Gus Van Sant
The Reader, Stephen Daldry
Slumdog Millionaire, Simon Beaufoy

The same five films are nominated in these two categories, and their fates are pretty much intertwined. Frost/Nixon is least likely, because Ron Howard has won before, and it’s the film viewers are least excited about. Harvey Weinstein, the Karl Rove of Oscar campaigns, is whipping up a fierce media push for The Reader – he’s the guy responsible for Shakespeare in Love beating Saving Private Ryan – but Stephen Daldry didn’t get the crucial DGA nod, making a win for him impossible and thus a Best Picture win nearly impossible. Benjamin Button has the Forrest Gump diss working against it, and the overriding sentiment that there was room for it among five nominees, but no one loves it enough to vote it first place. Fincher may get a few votes for the level-of-difficultly factor, but not nearly enough to shake up the race. Milk has become a cultural touchstone for the backlash against Prop 8, as a story of the gay rights movement in California (albeit in a different decade); maybe some will vote for this film as a show of support, but again, not nearly enough to shake up the race. Everyone loves Slumdog Millionaire: It won awards from every major Guild, it has Cinderella story uplift, yet the portrayal of desperate poverty gives it the “serious” cred so many Oscar voters need. In short, it can’t lose. Predictions: Danny Boyle and Slumdog Millionaire Personal Pick: Again, I’m not hugely in love with any of the nominees. I’m fine as long as Button doesn’t win. And sure, I’d like to see the adorable reaction shots of Dev Patel and Freida Pinto as their film hits the jackpot.

The Rest of the Races

I don’t know these categories very well, so use with caution.

Cinematography:
The moody palette of The Dark Knight, because even if the Academy couldn’t stomach a Best Picture nod for Batman, they must admit the photography is fantastic.

Editing:
The alternating chronology of Slumdog should do the trick.

Art Direction:
Benjamin Button got the highest nomination total this year, so at least a mini-sweep is in order, and the sheer number of historical sets will push Oscar’s buttons.

Costume Design:
I’ll say another one for Button, because the costumes cover almost every decade of the 20th century. If not, then the froufy gowns of The Duchess.

Score:
The pulsing, energetic Slumdog music.

Sound Mixing:
The first half hour of Wall-E is told entirely through sound, so that’s my guess. (Dark Knight is my second guess.)

Sound Editing:
Ditto for Wall-E. (And a runner-up ditto for Dark Knight.)

Visual Effects:
The Curious wizards who grafted Brad Pitt’s performance onto the bodies of both elderly and child actors.

Makeup:
The Curious wizards who made Pitt and Cate Blanchett look much younger and much, much older.

Song:
This category exists to be completely insane, so why bother? The days of Disney films automatically winning are over, so I’ll axe the lame-ass Wall-E song and guess “Jai Ho”, the dance track with soaring vocals featured in the jubilant finale of Slumdog (rather than the film’s other nominated song, because I can’t place where in the film the song appeared.)

Animated Feature:
Wall-E is nominated for a screenplay award. It was a genuine possibility for a Best Picture nod. Done and done.

Documentary Feature:
Man on Wire was the most widely seen, which makes it the front-runner. (But this category often sees front-runners mysteriously passed over.)

Foreign Language Film:
Waltz With Bashir falls somewhere between the foreign language, documentary, and animated feature categories. It won the DGA and WGA awards as a documentary. It will probably win here too, unless genre-sticklers go for The Class.

Julie's Own Damn Oscars (Or Anti-Oscars), Given By Her, Damnit!

Films I Actually Saw:

Baby Mama; Be Kind Rewind; Burn After Reading; Cadillac Records; The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; The Dark Knight; Doubt; Forgetting Sarah Marshall; Frost/Nixon; Iron Man; Milk; Rachel Getting Married; The Reader; Revolutionary Road; Slumdog Millionaire; Tropic Thunder; Vicky Cristina Barcelona; The Visitor; W; Wall-E; The Wrestler

Best Films:

The Visitor; Rachel Getting Married

Worst Film:

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Favorite Performances:

The cast of Rachel Getting Married

The cast of Tropic Thunder

The cast of The Visitor

Best Performances in Sucky Movies:

Mos Def, Be Kind Rewind and Cadillac Records

Worst Narration in Any Movie I've Ever Seen:

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Musical Numbers:

"Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire

"Get Back" from Tropic Thunder

"Dracula's Lament" from Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Best Guest Appearance:

The city of Chicago, The Dark Knight

Worst Guest Appearance:

Hurricane Katrina, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Worst Place to Live:

Connecticut, apparently, which bums the hell out of Kym in Rachel Getting Married, Walter in The Visitor, and everyone in Revolutionary Road.

Reactions to the Nominations

Best Actor
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

How I Did: 5/5

Hell yes! This is the first time I have aced Best Actor. I was nervous about picking Jenkins over Eastwood, but so glad I did. Eastwood has more awards and nominations than he can even keep track of, while Jenkins will get a huge career boost from this, so I'm most pleased.

Best Actress
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, The Reader

How I Did: 3/5 (Hawkins and Winslet in Revolutionary instead of Leo and Winslet in Reader)

Biggest shock of the morning! Hugest gasp! The rug was pulled out from under the female acting races when Kate Winslet was left off the Supporting Actress list, but then her bid for The Reader bumped out her bid for Revolutionary Road. Shocking. Absolutely stunning. On the plus side, this does clear up the problem of which nomination she should push for ultimately winning her first Oscar. Elsewhere, I was sorry to see Sally Hawkins left off but very excited for Melissa Leo.

Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

How I Did: 4/5 (Franco instead of Shannon)

Here was the second biggest surprise of the morning: Revolutionary Road was favored to ultimately win Best Actress, but was snubbed from the nomination list, and instead its only major nomination showed up here, in the left-field choice of Michael Shannon. I didn't even include him on my discussion for this award, his candidacy was so obscure. Of course Heath Ledger was nominated, but strangely, this posthumous nomination was bestowed on the one-year anniversary of his death.

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Taraji P. Hensen, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

How I Did: 4/5 (Winslet instead of Tomei)

Actually, I like how this works out. Winslet can't split her own vote between categories, and 10 different women are honored instead of nine. All the better when that other nomination goes to Marisa Tomei; I love her.

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

How I Did: 5/5

Score! No surprises here.

Best Original Screenplay
Frozen River
Happy Go Lucky
In Bruges
Milk
Wall-E

How I Did: 2/5 (Rachel, Vicky, and Wrestler instead of Frozen, Happy, and In)

Whoa. I knew this category would be crazy, but wow! In Bruges? Really? I groaned through the trailer for that about 10 times because it was in front of every single one of last year's Oscar contenders in the theatres. It looks like Milk has already won this award, because it is the only one here with a Writers' Guild nomination.

Best Director
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

How I Did: 4/5 (Dark instead of Reader)

Oh, come on, Academy, you suck! Now, I was not the biggest fan of The Dark Knight, but even I was hoping for Christopher Nolan on this. You guys screwed him for Memento and you screwed him for this. And instead you picked Stephen Daldry? Lame, lame, lame.

Best Picture
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

How I Did: 4/5 (Dark instead of Reader)

I'm not as disappointed about The Dark Knight coming up short in this race, but I still think it's an incredibly weak choice to snub it for The Reader. You folks are just suckers for the Nazi movies. For only the fourth time in Oscar history, all five Picture and Director nominees match up (1964, 1981, 2005, and now 2008), and for only the third time, those five films are all nominated for screenplay awards too.

And those were the nominations. Until later...

Julie's Predictions for the 81st Annual Academy Awards

It was a terrible year for ME at the movies. I lost my [awful] job in September, just as the fall crop of Oscar contenders hit the theatres, so I’ve been too broke to see anything. So if anybody has any screener copies…ya know…I’m jes’ sayin’…


Abbreviation Guide:
NYFC, LAFC, NSFC, NBR, CC: New York, Los Angeles, and National Society of Film Critics’ Awards; the National Board of Review; the Critics’ Choice awards. Prizes given by film critics.
GG: Golden Globes. Awards given by the Hollywood Foreign Press, whoever the hell they are.
ISA: Independent Spirit Awards. Given by industry film nerds.
SAG, WGA, DGA, PGA: The Screen Actors’ Guild, and the Writers’, Directors’, and Producers’ Guilds of America. These are the entirety of union members in their fields, the “elite” of whom are invited to join the Academy.

Best Actor

The man to beat is grumpy ol’ Sean Penn, who is winning more awards as Harvey Milk than he did for his Oscar-winning role in Mystic River. I really hope he doesn’t become the second-consecutive repeat-Best Actor winner – I am a total communist when it comes to the Oscars – and no one wants to hear more about how Jude Law is one of our finest actors. (Nonetheless, I am dying to see this movie.) Lurching from the opposite corner is Mickey Rourke. The actor from 80’s Oscar-nominated flicks Diner and The Pope of Greenwich Village retired from acting to pursue a boxing career, got his face pummeled into oblivion, and has now made a much-heralded comeback as The Wrestler. Penn and Rourke’s independent films will square off against two major studio releases. Brad Pitt has missed out with Oscar a few times in recent years, but he is sure to get his second nomination in his most Academy-friendly collaboration with director David Fincher, an F. Scott Fitzgerald adaptation in which the titular character ages backwards; it’s the sort of gimmicky makeup role voters love. By contrast, Frank Langella wore no makeup to more closely resemble Richard Nixon, and with the best reviews of his career, he’s the last sure thing in this race. (Langella will be nominated just 13 years after Anthony Hopkins was so honored for this same role.) A Golden Globe win for Colin Farrell doesn’t mean a thing; Best Actor in a Comedy was a weak category this year, somebody had to win, but none of them will come anywhere near a nomination. I don’t think Leonardo DiCaprio will make the cut this year. He generated a great deal of press for reteaming with his Titanic co-star Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road, but as with the former film, the majority of the attention is on her performance. Clint Eastwood can never be ignored; he was a surprise acting nominee four years ago for Million Dollar Baby, and with this film, his self-proclaimed final performance before retirement, he could charm the voters into one last nod. But I’m going to give the narrow edge to Richard Jenkins, the rock-solid character actor best known as the deceased patriarch on Six Feet Under, whose star skyrocketed with this leading-role performance in a film much more beloved than Gran Torino.

Best Actress

The award for biggest surprise of the year goes to Anne Hathaway. The 26-year-old actress, best known for Disney-produced or Prada­-clad fluff, and never before mentioned as a possibility for an Oscar nod, suddenly leapt to the front of the race with a startling performance as a recovering drug addict in Rachel Getting Married. But the race is far from over; she’s up against five-time loser Kate Winslet. Under the direction of her husband Sam Mendes, her performance has critics, insiders, and fans wondering if this will finally be her year. (Actually, add Winslet herself to that list, since she has publicly but politely declared she would love to win, and even hilariously sent-up her losing streak on the British comedy series Extras.) Third most likely to be nominated is…oh, yawn, it’s Meryl Streep again. The fabulous but over-awarded actress will break her own record as the most nominated performer in Academy history with a ridiculous 15th nomination. This time she’s a nun; it’s hard to believe two of Oscar’s favorite things – Streep and nuns – haven’t overlapped until this year. The last two slots are trickier; I’ve decided against Cate Blanchett, because early buzz for her has faded, and with four nominations in the past four years, perhaps it’s time to take a small break from Blanchett. The English Patient star Kristin Scott Thomas was also touted as an early contender, but her French-language film hasn’t connected to viewers as strongly as was expected. Brokeback Mountain nominee Michelle Williams is also a long-shot, in perhaps the tiniest, lowest-budget film ever to ask “for your consideration.” So the list will be finalized with some combination of Sally Hawkins, Angelina Jolie, and Melissa Leo. Hawkins scooped up the bulk of the major critics’ awards, though she was passed over by the all-important SAG nominations. Her director Mike Leigh has done well in the Best Actress race – he guided Brenda Blethyn and Imelda Staunton to nods in recent years – so that’s a big plus. Then what to do with the overexposed Angelina Jolie? Last year she received Globe and Guild nominations for A Mighty Heart but missed out on an Oscar invitation. With the same accolades for Changeling­ – another “missing family member” movie – will voters feel they owe her, or will they repeat the snub? Meanwhile, Melissa Leo, hardworking character actress from 2003 nominee 21 Grams, overcame the shoestring-budget origins of her film to land on some serious Best Actress lists, most notably the SAG and Critics’ Choice awards. It’s a tough call, but ultimately Sally Hawkins and Angelina Jolie have the heftier bids. (Know what would be great? If all three of these women were recognized and Meryl Streep gets bumped out. Because I am, after all, an Oscar communist.)

Best Supporting Actor

This has been a bittersweet race to follow, with the late Heath Ledger at the forefront. The introverted actor deserved to win for Brokeback Mountain but would have been too shy to give much of a speech; this year he could win but won’t be able to give any speech at all. By contrast, Robert Downey Jr. brings one of the most absurdly comedic candidacies to the race, portraying an uber-Method actor who undergoes pigment surgery to play an African-American movie role. (It’s truly an odd year when the front-runners both hail from summer blockbusters, in genres the Academy most snobbishly ignores.) Josh Brolin should safely land his first nomination, as the star of last year’s Best Picture winner with career-best notices and a respectable tally of precursor awards. Finally, Philip Seymour Hoffman is on solid footing for his second-consecutive Supporting Actor nod as the priest who squares off against Sister Streep in Doubt. The fifth lucky fella won’t be NSFC winner Eddie Marsan or Globe nominee Ralph Fiennes, both choices that reflect the endlessly offbeat/square choices of those respective organizations. Tom Cruise scored major comeback points with his cameo in Tropic Thunder, but the role is probably too small and the man himself is probably still too polarizing to make the cut. Dev Patel could be the only actor from the beloved Slumdog Millionaire to capture a nod, unless he’s too much of an unknown for voters’ tastes. So I’m going to take a chance and guess James Franco, one of the hottest breakthrough performers of 2008, gets the wild-card slot, one that would literally recognize his dramatic turn in Milk and figuratively honor his comedic turn in The Pineapple Express. (First Oscar nomination for a Freaks and Geeks alum, pretty please?)

Best Supporting Actress

Woody Allen strikes again: For 31 years, he has consistently populated the female acting categories with women from his films, and this year he will send Penelope Cruz to her second nomination. Next there’s Kate Winslet, in this race as a German woman with a mysterious past in The Reader; with this and her starring role in Revolutionary Road, she will jump from a five- to a seven-time nominee in one year. Hey, Kate: If you want to win an overdue Oscar, you have to pick which one to campaign for and stick with it; don’t end up like Julianne Moore, split between Far From Heaven and The Hours and then going home empty-handed! Two more actors from Doubt will command nominations, both Viola Davis, the Tony-winning actress in a brief but harrowing role, and Junebug nominee Amy Adams as the nun under Meryl Streep’s wing. For the wide-open fifth nod, don’t count on Hanna Schygulla, another strange pick from the NSFC, or Rosemarie DeWitt, an early contender (and rare supporting performance with the Title Role) who lost steam. It’ll be one of two classic Supporting Actress roles: a heart-of-gold/last-chance-at-love girlfriend from Marisa Tomei, or a heart-of-gold/source-of-strength Mama from Taraji P. Henson. (You may remember Hensen as the actress who sung the hook on “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” in both the film Hustle and Flow and the performance on the Oscar telecast. I bring up “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” whenever possible. ) It’s a coin-flip decision, but with Benjamin Button poised to pick up more nods than The Wrestler, I’ll call it for Taraji P. Hensen.

Best Adapted Screenplay

This year was unusually short on adaptations, so this could be the easiest race to predict. Slumdog Millionaire, adapted by Full Monty writer Simon Beaufoy, is on a roll with the Golden Globe and mounting suspicion the film could ultimately grab Best Picture. Forrest Gump winner Eric Roth has the most literary offering in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and with the film headed for a flurry of nominations, he’s a near-certainty. Then there are two writers who adapted their own stage plays for the screen: Doubt by John Patrick Shanley (an Oscar winner for Moonstruck) and Frost/Nixon by Peter Morgan (a nominee for The Queen). These four are so far ahead of the rest of the pack, but that pack is awfully small. The WGA rounded out their choices with The Dark Knight, but since the film is more admired for its performances and visual style, I don’t see the Academy following suit. Revolutionary Road opened to tepid reviews, and awards groups have almost exclusively honored its performances only, making this a long-shot for a writing nod (and completely out of the running for Director and Picture.) That leaves The Reader to bring up the rear: It’s holocaust-themed and penned by The Hours nominee David Hare, so that should tidy things up nicely. I’m hard-pressed to find any other direction the race could go: Elegy? The Secret Life of Bees? The members of the writers’ branch let their teenage daughters fill out their ballots and Twilight sneaks in?

Best Original Screenplay

HERE is the fierce competition for a screenplay nomination! There is literally only one guaranteed nomination, for the only Best Picture candidate in this contest, Milk. Then the race splinters. There are five guys the Academy loves to nominate: Charlie Kaufman, Mike Leigh, last year’s champs the Coen brothers, and the most nominated writer in Academy history, Woody Allen. There are the indie darlings, which always fare better in the screenplay awards than with Director and Picture: Frozen River, Rachel Getting Married, The Visitor, The Wrestler. Finally there is the nearly-annual animated flick with solid gold reviews, a foregone conclusion for Best Animated Feature, that is somehow always reserved the last seat at the table. This’ll be a doozy! First I’ll cross off Synedoche and Frozen River since they didn’t break out of the ISA “ghetto.” Next I’ll eliminate the Coens, because Oscar has honored them for their comparatively-highbrow offerings – the crime/morality tales Fargo and No Country For Old Men, and their Odyssey adaptation O Brother Where Art Thou? – but not for any of their all-out Bizarro-fests. (Burn is definitely the latter.) Argh, I have to eliminate two more? From the frequent-nominee category, I’ll scratch off Happy Go Lucky and predict Vicky Cristina Barcelona, because Woody got the WGA nod and Mike Leigh didn’t. In the Independent Spirit corner, I’ll give the tiniest demerit to the low-key Visitor and choose The Wrestler, a WGA nominee with a classic comeback story line that earned raves for never feeling clichéd, and Rachel Getting Married, for building strong momentum early in the season, and for its Academy pedigree: First-time writer Jenny Lumet is the daughter of four-time directing nominee Sidney Lumet. (Oscar does love a good dynasty.) Lastly, Finding Nemo creator Andrew Stanton will pick up his second writing nod for the universally-lauded Wall-E. Yet there are STILL dark-horse possibilities in Gran Torino, the Foreign-Language frontrunner Waltz With Bashir, In Bruges, even Tropic Thunder…

Best Director

The following notable films of 2008 were directed by women:

Cadillac Records, Darnell Martin
Elegy, Isabel Coixet
Frozen River, Courtney Hunt
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, Patricia Rozema
The Secret Life of Bees, Gina Prince-Blythewood
Stop-Loss, Kimberly Peirce
Then She Found Me, Helen Hunt
Twilight, Catherine Hardwicke
Wendy and Lucy, Kelly Reichardt

On to the 78th Annual Boys’ Club. For now, the leader of the pack is Trainspotting director Danny Boyle, who left his native England to film Slumdog Millionaire in Mumbai. Another sure-fire first-time nominee is American David Fincher for his time-spanning epic …Benjamin Button. Ron Howard, a previous winner for A Beautiful Mind, is sure to be mentioned for bringing cinematic drama to two guys sitting down and talking in Frost/Nixon. Finally, Good Will Hunting nominee Gus Van Sant has directed some very odd films in the past 10 years with mixed results, but widespread praise for his stirring biopic Milk will easily return him to Oscar’s favor. The film world has wondered since July if The Dark Knight can overcome the Academy’s prejudice against action flicks. But let’s consider the competition: Revolutionary Road’s Sam Mendes is out. Stephen Daldry is pretty much out; reviews for The Reader were dutifully respectful but unenthusiastic. Indies Frozen River, The Visitor, and Rachel Getting Married are too small for the big-league races. Clint Eastwood directed two films this year, like the crazy movie-making machine he was two years ago with companion WWII films, but neither Changeling nor Gran Torino have shown any clout in this category. Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler hasn’t muscled ahead of its competitors. Mike Leigh was an inexplicable Best Director nominee four years ago, so can’t be ignored, but he’s still quite unlikely. Doubt has picked up many accolades for its script and performances, but absolutely none for its director John Patrick Shanley. This category often likes to save a spot for a foreign language film, in which case Ari Folman’s Waltz With Bashir could be a surprise choice. There are even rumors that the Academy could make history with a first nod for an animated flick by drafting Wall-E. Still, the most likely candidate is Christopher Nolan, an almost-nominee for Memento, who pulled off the rare feat of making a sequel superior to the original.

Best Picture

Here is a mirror image of the Best Director contest: Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, and Milk have this one all sewn up. And with none of the remaining Best Director candidates looming larger than the rest, The Dark Knight will once again swoop in for the steal.

The 81st Annual Academy Award nominations will be announced Thursday, January 22, 2009, at 5:30 AM Pacific time (8:30 Eastern.) Normally the nominations are announced on a Tuesday, but the Academy has wisely chosen to delay the announcement by two days, because they know they can’t possibly compete with Obama’s inauguration!

The Oscars!

The 80th Annual Academy Awards was a wounded affair, but it dragged itself across the finish line; the production value was non-existent, but it was made up for by many emotional speeches. The show was "saved" from cancellation due to the end of the writers' strike, but with so little preparation time before the show, it just wasn't the same. Poor Jon Stewart did his best, in a role that was doomed to fail no matter who filled it. He had a short, win-some lose-some monologue, after which he was just a referee for the stripped-down proceedings. Stewart had some great bits two years ago, particularly the Best Actress Attack Ads. The highlight of last year's show was the Marc Shaiman's music romp "A Comedian At the Oscars", performed by Will Ferrell, Jack Black, and John C. Reilly. This year...there was just nothing; there was no time to put anything together.

Here's how it all went down:

* The first award, Costume Design, goes to Elizabeth. Cate Blanchett is delighted.
* George Clooney appears. Everyone is happy.
* Jon gives a shout-out to presenter Steve Carell. Winner Brad Bird gives a great speech, mentioning his high school guidance counselor.
* La Vie en Rose wins Best Makeup and Marion Cotillard is positively giddy. I like her.
* Amy Adams sings -- can it be? -- without any creepy dancers, ridiculous backdrop, or stupid outfit, just her lovely self, a simple dress, and her sweet voice.
* Why is "The Rock" here? Who let him in?
* Cate Blanchett presents, looking ridiculously sexy for someone so pregnant.
* Jennifer Hudson gives Supporting Actor to "Harvey-er Bardem." Eek. He gives a gracious speech, says something in Spanish to his mother in the audience, she cries with joy, and it's very sweet.
* Keri Russell introduces the suckiest song.
* Owen Wilson presents Best Live Action Short, one can assume because of Bottle Rocket.
* A bee flies into the auditorium. It sounds like Jerry Seinfeld. Hopefully it was promptly swatted.
* Alan Arkin says the most boring teleprompter drivel in the driest manner possible, and it is hilarious. Then he drops a HUGE bomb by declaring Tilda Swinton the winner. She's shocked, humble, and pokes fun at George Clooney in her speech. Can't help but like her.
* Jessica Alba tells us about the Sci-Tech awards, continuing the Academy's tradition of sending a hottie to host the Too-Nerdy-and-Boring-For-the-Real-Show awards.
* Josh Brolin and James McAvoy appear, act silly, and...I'm sorry, I was swooning at James McAvoy, what happened? Oh, right, they presented Adapted Screenplay, for which both of their film's were nominated, and Josh's movie beats James's movie. The Coen brothers give a short, droll speech, knowing it won't be their last of the evening.













* To compensate for the tastefulness of Amy Adams's performance, a giant, ridiculous, overpopulated, musically bombastic production number is staged for the second nominated song from "Enchanted."
* Jonah Hill and Seth Rogan are presenting at the Oscars. That is awesome. Too bad their scripted "I wanna be Halle Berry" banter is lame. (And Jonah, her name isn't "Holly" any more than Mr. Bardem's is "Harvey-er.")
* Forest Whitaker delivers the second jaw-dropper of the evening: Best Actress is Marion Cotillard! Marion Cotillard! If you thought she was enthusiastic about her film winning Best Makeup...! She is shocked, shaking, laughing, completely overcome, and gives a nice speech. Yay for Marion Cotillard! Marion Cotillard! (Sorry, her name is fun to say.)
* Apparently, Colin Farrell is only asked to the Oscars to introduce songs performed by Irish musicians. First U2, now Glen Hansard. Hansard and Czech Marketa Irglova of the Irish film Once deliver a stirring performance of their lovely song, and they couldn't look happier.
* Jack Nicholson appears, as per his contract with the Academy.
* Renee Zellweger is shiny.
* Nicole Kidman's long necklace hangs not in the center, but anchored around her right breast. And oddly, it looks kinda cool.
* Penelope Cruz appears and says it's now time for Best Foreign Language Film! I laugh aloud; Gotta love the presenter-category match-ups.
* Yet another song from Enchanted, performed by some adorably scruffy young lad who I'm sure is throbbing the hearts of teens everywhere.
* Best Song goes to....Once! HELL, YES! Hansard and Marketa are floored, and receive the most enthusiastic applause of the evening. Amid whoops and cheers, Hansard gives a gracious speech, and Irglova is just about to start when the orchestra cuts her off. Everyone whelps with disappointment for her.


















* We come back from commercial break, and Jon Stewart asks Marketa Irglova to come back on stage and give her speech. Further proving that Jon Stewart and Marketa Irglova are both awesome.
* Cameron Diaz is no longer cute.
* Hilary Swank's introduction to the death reel invokes "some who were taken from us too soon." They gave Heath Ledger the prestigious last-one-before-the-fade-out spot, but somehow didn't include Brad Renfro at all.
* An award goes to Atonement, so there's a reaction shot of James McAvoy. Mmmmm...McAvoy.
* One of the documentary short winners (I don't know which one was Cynthia Wade and which was Vanessa Ross), makes a moving plea to end discrimination against same-sex couples, which she and her husband do not face. Part One of "Watch for some asshole to say something rude and obnoxious about that."
* Harrison Ford, the most wooden and least colorful person present, gives Original Screenplay to the least wooden and most colorful person present, Diablo Cody. She ends by thanking her family for "loving me just the way I am" and then cries.




















* Daniel Day-Lewis is the most gracious winner of the evening: On the way to accept Best Actor, he kisses competitor George Clooney and kneels reverently before presenter Helen Mirren. He also gives a fun speech. I love this guy.
* Martin Scorsese appears, and gushes that whoever wins Best Director will really appreciate the honor. Poor Marty. Anyway, the Coens win again, but Joel tells a funny story about the films they made when they were kids, and Frances McDormand watches from the audience with giddy pride for her husband and brother-in-law. I can't help but smile.
* Producer Scott Rudin, accepting Best Picture, thanks his life partner and calls him "honey." Part Two of "Watch for some asshole to say something rude and obnoxious about that."

And that was the show!

FASHION ROUND-UP

I cannot decided who was best dressed: It's a four-way tie between Cate Blanchett, Marion Cotillard, Helen Mirren, Saoirse Ronan.













Blanchett's dress is simply magnificent; the fact that it's a maternity gown is even more impressive. The deep royal purple color, the satin sheen, the intricate embroidery in the skirt, the funky neckline with green jewels...it was simultaneously royal and bohemian. (Perhaps a nod to both her nominated roles?) Helen Mirren's raspberry gown with crystal sleeves was elegant, and bolder and more feminine than some of the dresses on the actresses half her age. The color of Saoirse Ronan's dress -- true emerald green -- was enough to win me over, so the vintage details made it all the more delicious. I'm generally bored by white or black dresses, but I couldn't leave Marion Cotillard off my list, for the exquisitely patterned mermaid dress. Or, as one red carpet twit put it: "She looks like a fish, but, like, the prettiest fish there is."

Some of the best looks of the evening need to be seen in close-up to be appreciated:











Blanchett, Mirren, Anne Hathaway, Hilary Swank











Best jewels: Nicole Kidman, Julie Christie, Amy Ryan, Keri Russell, Laura Linney, Jennifer Garner, Miley Cyrus, Penelope Cruz

Worst dressed...well, it's clearly Julie Christie and Tilda Swinton. (Hard to say which is worse than the other.) Christie had a great color in merlot, but the cut and shape of the dress was completely ill-fitting and unflattering, making a perfectly gorgeous woman look frumpy. Even worse were the bulky pink gloves that reached all the way up to her sleeve line. She almost looked dressed to play in the snow. And there's no other way to put it: Tilda Swinton was wearing a garbage bag.




















I give "worst dressed" to an outfit that obscures or detracts from a person's natural beauty; I do NOT give it to mavericks with distinctive style. So I say not "worst", but "thank you" to Diablo Cody [see above], and the folks pictured below, for being fabulously weird. Because really, wouldn't you be disappointed if they looked just like everybody else?











Viggo Mortensen, Daniel Day-Lewis (possibly wearing shoes he cobbled himself), Rebecca Miller, Johnny Depp, Vanessa Paradis, Spike Lee

Best Actor

George Clooney	Michael Clayton	*NBR, GG, SAG	2, 1
Daniel Day-Lewis	There Will Be Blood	*NYFC, *LAFC, *NSFC, *GG, *SAG	4, 1
Johnny Depp	Sweeney Todd	*GG	3, 0
Tommy Lee Jones	In the Valley of Elah		3, 1
Viggo Mortensen	Eastern Promises	GG, SAG	1, 0

It won’t be Tommy Lee Jones, in the least-liked film in the bunch. Jones and also George Clooney are both former winners who don’t have the iron-strong candidacy to overcome the “He’s already got one” factor. (More on that later.) Meanwhile, Johnny Depp and Viggo Mortensen are two of our best actors, but sadly, it ain’t their year. Sweeney didn’t connect with viewers the way it was expected, and Depp’s exclusion from the SAG nominees indicates weak support. Mortensen is hurt by the relatively little screen time he has in Eastern Promises; he was great but it may not be enough. He’s going to get clobbered by the in-every-scene-of-a-three-hour-movie screen time of Daniel Day-Lewis. And what screen time it is. Day-Lewis, a winner for My Left Foot and nominee for In the Name of the Father and Gangs of New York, may have done the best work of his career, one that’s everything you could ask for in a Best Actor performance: A meticulously gradual psychological transformation, yet punctuated with heart-pounding moments; a character of astounding coldness with surprising moments of humanity, even tenderness; a characterization that is a complete disappearance of an actor into a character, yet it reminds you why you friggin’ love this guy. I don’t like repeat wins, but golly, he deserves it. Prediction and Personal Pick: Daniel Day-Lewis (But note that I didn’t catch up to Sweeney Todd, and I refuse to see In the Valley of Whatever, Paul Haggis.)

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett	Elizabeth: The Golden Age	GG, SAG	5, 1
Julie Christie	Away From Her	*NYFC, *NSFC, *NBR, *GG, *SAG	4, 1
Marion Cotillard	La Vie en Rose	*LAFC, *GG, SAG	1, 0
Laura Linney	The Savages		3, 0
Ellen Page	Juno	GG, SAG	1, 0

Cate Blanchett is the only one you can write-off completely; her second nomination as Queen Elizabeth I exists only as a novelty, not as a stepping stone to an actual win. Laura Linney may have a teensy shot at an upset; she wasn’t nominated by the SAG, and only one actor has ever won the Oscar without a SAG nomination in the history of the SAG awards. That one exception was Marcia Gay Harden in Pollock, a case of a tiny film with a late start in the race that gained momentum in the final stretch, and perhaps the same can be said for The Savages. Still, it’s quite a reach. Marion Cotillard was a revelation, with the most technically difficult performance in the group, but she may be too “foreign” to win: The Academy may love their Brits, but for any other foreigners, there lingers the uncertainty of giving an American award to someone who may rarely be seen on American screens again. We’re sure to see Canadian Ellen Page in American films for years to come, and she’s the best hope for an upset. She may be young, but at 20 she’s not a kid, she’s the only woman here in a Best Picture nominee, and the most crowd-pleasing Best Picture nominee at that. Everyone loves Juno; rabid fans could push her in. (She would squeak out Marlee Matlin, 21 years old in Children of a Lesser God, as the youngest Best Actress winner ever.) Still, Julie Christie has proven unstoppable in the race. I thought she was good but not the best of the year; apparently, no one agrees with me. After last year’s big to-do about 61-year-old Helen Mirren winning this ingénue-prone award, Christie, at 66, will become the third-oldest Best Actress winner ever. (Her first win, for Darling at age 24, is still in the record books as one of the 10 youngest winners ever.) So both of the leading role Oscars will go to people who’ve won before: Grumble, grumble. Prediction: Julie Christie Personal Pick: Cotillard, Linney, and Page were all outstanding. Any of them would be a delightful surprise. I think maybe a win for Linney would make me happiest. (But note I didn’t see Elizabeth 2: The Re-Elizabeth-ing.)

Best Supporting Actor

Casey Affleck	The Assassination of Jesse James…	*NSFC, *NBR, GG, SAG	1, 0
Javier Bardem	No Country For Old Men	*NYFC, *GG, *SAG	2, 0
Philip Seymour Hoffman	Charlie Wilson’s War	GG	2, 1
Hal Holbrook	Into the Wild	SAG	1, 0
Tom Wilkinson	Michael Clayton	GG, SAG	2, 0

Again, only one contender here is sure to lose: Any sensible person loves Philip Seymour Hoffman, but he just won 2 years ago, Charlie Wilson isn’t nominated in any other category, and he didn’t get the crucial SAG nod. The nomination is its own reward. Casey Affleck was amazing in The Assassination of the Long Title, and this is only a supporting role the way Ethan Hawke’s was in Training Day or Jamie Foxx’s was in Collateral: He’s the main character, the point of view character, has the most screen time, any way you slice it he’s the star of the picture, but because he’s opposite a super-duper movie star (Brad Pitt/Denzel Washington/Tom Cruise), they demote him to the supporting race. I think Affleck may actually have a bigger part than Best Actor nominee Viggo Mortensen; the quantity of quality could be a leg up for him. On the downside, after the 3-hour There Will Be Blood, voters may not be inclined to watch another 3-hour western, and may leave their screener copies of Assassination unopened. Plus he’s a young guy who voters may not be ready to induct into the winners’ club just yet. Tom Wilkinson could carry the flag for Michael Clayton; I think he is the best shot for the film to win anything. It is a perfect Supporting Actor part: Subtle and flashy, from a well-respected character actor. I didn’t catch up with Into the Wild, so I can’t comment on Hal Holbrook; I can only say people loved his performance, and at 82 years old, he could pull off a sentimental win. The only problem for Wilkinson or Holbrook is that they will simply be annihilated by Javier Bardem, murdering their chances with a quick air-gun shot to the proverbial forehead. The dude has won everything, and oh, how everyone is falling over themselves to say how great he was, perhaps the best villain in film history. I am not a fan of his non-specifically crazy-eyed performance, but sucks to be me – the guy’s got it made. Prediction: Javier Bardem Personal Pick: Loved Casey Affleck, loved Tom Wilkinson; either would be marvelous. Didn’t see Holbrook but I’d still be happy to see him win. (Didn’t see Hoffman, either.) I have no ill-will towards Mr. Bardem personally, but I hated everything about this movie.

Best Supporting Actress

Cate Blanchett	I’m Not There	*NSFC, *GG, SAG	5, 1
Ruby Dee	American Gangster	*SAG	1, 0
Saoirse Ronan	Atonement	GG	1, 0
Amy Ryan	Gone Baby Gone	*NYFC, *NSFC, *NBR, GG, SAG	1, 0
Tilda Swinton	Michael Clayton	GG, SAG	1, 0

Yet again, one actor can be immediately discounted: 13-year-old Saoirse Ronan. She’s too young, too unknown, and by the time her character “atones” for her sins, she is being played by an older actress. (Ronan, through no fault of her own, doesn’t carry the humanizing character arc, so she won’t connect with voters.) Entertainment Weekly actually thinks Tilda Swinton can win, but I think they’re crazy: Her brittle performance is spot-on but simply not dramatic enough to win. She is sure to be overshadowed by either the immersive characterizations of Amy Ryan and Cate Blanchett, or the lifetime achievement vote for Ruby Dee. Blanchett eerily disappears into the skinny jeans of Bob Dylan, convincing as a man and compelling as a person. I’m demoting her to third-most-likely to win because she just won this award 3 years ago (I still think if she wins again, it will be to bump her up to a Best Actress winner), and this is one kooky movie; I can certainly imagine older voters not sitting through the whole thing out of frustration and bewilderment. It’s sooo close between critics’ darling Amy Ryan and SAG winner Ruby Dee. Ryan has the heft of performance, but she may be too unknown, and her film may not have been seen by enough people. Dee is a beloved icon, in a much more widely-seen film, but she is in it for literally 5 minutes. (I still can’t stomach the idea of sitting through another Ridley Scott movie, and Dee’s entire performance can be seen in one clip on YouTube, so…I know it’s wrong to watch a performance out of context, but I did it. Scold me if you must.) Dee made the most of her cameo appearance, but geez, an Oscar for it? This is a role smaller than Judi Dench’s in Shakespeare in Love, and only slightly larger than Beatrice Straight’s in Network. (Dench and Straight both won for these roles.) Argh! So torn, I guess I’ll just have to roll the dice and go with… Prediction: Ruby Dee Personal Pick: Yeah, Amy Ryan should get it. But I won’t begrude Ms. Dee.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Atonement	Christopher Hampton	GG	2, 1
Away From Her	Sarah Polley		1, 0
Diving Bell and the Butterfly	Ronald Harwood	GG, WGA	3, 1
No Country For Old Men	Ethan, Joel Coen	*NYFC, *NBR, *GG, *WGA	3, 1 [each]
There Will Be Blood	Paul Thomas Anderson	WGA	3, 0

I see no hope for Atonement or Away From Her. Neither was picked by the Writers’ Guild, and while Away will be taken care of in the Best Actress category, Atonement is likely to lose out on everything. There’s a small chance for Diving Bell, though its lack of a Best Picture nomination is a setback, and Ronald Harwood just won this award 5 years ago for The Pianist. There’s a really good chance There Will Be Blood could steal. Sure, NCFOM has a stranglehold on Best Picture and Director, but remember that Blood tied it for the most nominations this year; voters who want to make it the de-facto runner-up for Best Picture may well decide to spread the wealth and give Paul Thomas Anderson at least one statuette for his monumental effort. Still, I have to say it is most likely that the excessive fondness for the ice-cold No Count’ will prevail. Prediction: No Country For Old Men Personal Pick: Ooh, I hope Mr. Anderson can draw some Blood in this contest. I’d also be happy for Sarah Polley. (But note I didn’t see The Diving Bell…)

Best Original Screenplay

Juno	Diablo Cody	*NBR, GG, *WGA	1, 0
Lars and the Real Girl	Nancy Oliver	*NBR, WGA	1, 0
Michael Clayton	Tony Gilroy	WGA	1, 0
Ratatouille	Brad Bird, Jim Capobianco, Jan Pinkova		2, 1 [Bird]
The Savages	Tamara Jenkins	*LAFC, *NSFC, WGA	1, 0

Cartoons don’t win. They get token nominations, but don’t win. (So don’t bet on the rat.) Lars hasn’t a chance, with no other nominations and the weakest all-around support of the five. It’s hard to say whether Michael Clayton or The Savages has an advantage over the other. Mike is the Best Picture nominee, and this could be the category it scores in (since a certain Western isn’t in competition.) Savages, on the other hand, has the more acclaimed script. But Juno has the best of both worlds: a Best Picture nominee and a respectable resume of screenplay awards. Comedies have a tough time winning the top award, but they fare very well in the writing categories: see Little Miss Sunshine, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Sideways, Lost in Translation, Gosford Park, Almost Famous, just to name examples from the current decade. Diablo Cody may be a first-time screenwriter, but she’s got the props to win. Prediction: Juno Personal Pick: An impossible call between Juno and The Savages. Either will make me cheer on my couch.

Best Director

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly	Julian Schnabel	*GG, DGA	1, 0
Juno	Jason Reitman		1, 0
Michael Clayton	Tony Gilroy	DGA	1, 0
No Country For Old Men	Ethan, Joel Coen	*NYFC, GG, *DGA	2, 0 [Joel] 1,0 [Ethan]
There Will Be Blood	Paul Thomas Anderson	*LAFC, *NSFC, DGA	1, 0

The Euro crowd digs Diving Bell, but winning Director without a Picture nod is next to impossible. There Will Be Blood has the sprawl and scale of a Directing winner, but for some weird reason, everybody likes the other Western better. So Ethan and Joel become the first directing team to win this award since Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise for West Side Story in 1961. Prediction: No Country For Old Men Personal Pick: Anderson. Or Reitman. Or Anderson.

Best Picture

Atonement	*GG	7 nominations
Juno	GG, PGA	4 nominations
Michael Clayton	GG, PGA	7 nominations
No Country For Old Men	*NYFC, *NBR, GG, *PGA	8 nominations
There Will Be Blood	*LAFC, *NSFC, GG, PGA	8 nominations

Ugh. Just give it to them and let it be done with. Prediction: No Country For Old Men Personal Pick: Juno or There Will Be Blood. Hell, even Michael Clayton. Hell, even weepy old Atonement.

The Rest of the Races

I don’t specialize in these races, so use with caution.

Cinematography: Three-way race between the Westerns. The maestro (and double nominee) Roger Deakins deserves it for Jesse James but he’ll win for No Country.

Editing: The Coen brothers are both producers, directors, and writers of No Country, and each will win all three of those awards. But because they edited the film under the alias “Roderick Jaynes”, only one award will be bestowed to the non-existent Mr. Jaynes, so the brothers will go home with 7 trophies instead of 8. Criminey.

Art Direction: Either Atonement or Sweeney Todd. I think Sweeney may have more (and more stylized) sets.

Costume Design: Also either Atonement or Sweeney Todd. Again I’m guessing the artier Sweeney has the edge.

Score: The lonely win for Atonement, with its big, swoony music.

Sound Mixing and Editing: These awards go to the popcorn flicks, so I say both categories will go to most respected popcorn flick, The Bourne Ultimatum.

Visual Effects: No idea. I’m guessing Transformers is too shitty a movie and they’ll go with the genteel fantasy of The Golden Compass.

Makeup: Hands down, La Vie en Rose. Old age makeup has never gotten such intimate close-ups and looked so seamless.

Song: This category is completely insane. Lately, the trend has actually been the song that the music branch thinks makes it look hippest (Melissa Etheridge over Dreamgirls, “Hard Out Here For a Pimp” over Dolly Parton, that Uruguayan guy over a mushy Josh Groban ballad) so I guess the intimate duet from the kitchen-sink musical Once will trounce the three shiny Disney songs.

Animated Feature: So obviously Ratatouille. I haven’t seen Persepolis, but I’m assuming I’ll like it better than the slapsticky Pixar offering, so I hope Persepolis kicks some furry little ass.

Foreign Language Film: No idea. The Counterfeiters is about the Holocaust, so…

Documentary Feature: No End in Sight edges out Sicko.

Julie's Own Damn Oscars (Or Anti-Oscars) Given By Her, Damnit!*

* “Julie’s Own Damn Oscars (or Anti-Oscars) Given By Her, Damnit!” is a registered trademark.

Films I Actually Saw:

The Assassination of Jesse James…, Atonement, Away From Her, Blades of Glory, The Darjeeling Limited, Eastern Promises, Gone Baby Gone, I’m Not There, Juno, Knocked Up, La Vie en Rose, Michael Clayton, A Mighty Heart, The Namesake, No Country For Old Men, Once, Ratatouille, The Savages, The Simpsons Movie, Superbad, Talk to Me, There Will Be Blood, Waitress, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Year of the Dog

Favorite Films:
The Darjeeling Limited, The Savages, Juno

Favorite Films (Runners-Up):
Knocked Up, Superbad, Walk Hard

Favorite Westerns:

1. The Assassination of Jesse James…; There Will Be Blood [tie]
2. That is all.

Films I Liked Better Than No Country For Old Men (alphabetical)
The Assassination of Jesse James…, Atonement, Away From Her, Blades of Glory, The Darjeeling Limited, Eastern Promises, Gone Baby Gone, I’m Not There, Juno, Knocked Up, La Vie en Rose, Michael Clayton, The Namesake, Once , The Savages, The Simpsons Movie, Superbad, There Will Be Blood, Waitress, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Year of the Dog

Coen Brothers Movies I Liked Better Than No Country For Old Men (chronological)
Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, The Hudsucker Proxy, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou, The Man Who Wasn’t There, The Ladykillers (Seriously! Friggin’ Ladykillers!)

Absolute Worst Film I Saw All Year:
A Mighty Heart

The Julie Awards for Excellence in Women Filmmakers

1. Tamara Jenkins, The Savages
2. Sarah Polley, Away From Her
3. Mira Nair, The Namesake
4. Adrienne Shelley, Waitress

Favorite Performances (alphabetical)

Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James…
Adrien Brody, The Darjeeling Limited
Albert Brooks, The Simpsons Movie
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Olympia Dukakis, Away From Her
Laura Linney, The Savages
James McAvoy, Atonement
Peter O’Toole, Ratatouille
John C. Reilly, Walk Hard
Molly Shannon, Year of the Dog
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton
The entire cast of Juno
The entire cast of Knocked Up
The entire cast of Superbad

Most Crush-Inducing Performance
James McAvoy, Atonement

Least Favorite Performances (alphabetical)
Beth Grant, No Country For Old Men
Jonah Hill, Walk Hard
Lou Romano, Ratatouille
Martin Sheen, Talk to Me

Coolest Female Character
Juno MacGuff, Juno

Lamest Female Character
Carla Jean Moss, No Country For Old Men

Best Musical Numbers

1. Everything in Walk Hard
2. The opening credits of Superbad
3. “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” from Blades of Glory

Best Death
Nate Cox, Walk Hard

Worst Death
Pencil, Year of the Dog

Best Costuming

The green dress in Atonement. Want it!

Worst Costuming
Briony’s haircut in Atonement. She wore the same hairstyle for 60 years, just so the audience would recognize her from time shift to time shift. How nice of her.

Craziest Fucking Fight Scene Ever

1. Eastern Promises (You know which one I’m talking about)
2. There Will Be Blood (You know which one I’m talking about)

Heath Ledger, 1979--2008

I can’t really wrap my brain around the idea that Heath Ledger is dead. I have such an indelible image of him in my mind, as Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain, the one left behind after a wrenchingly tragic death, the one left to blink disbelievingly that someone so young, so good-hearted, so beautiful, could be taken from this earth so suddenly and horribly. I remember vividly the first time (and also the second time) I watched this performance in a darkened movie theatre, as Ennis feebly cradled in his hands the few earthly remains of another man’s life, and nearly choked on the wealth of emotion left behind. I imagined this character left to choke on that love and sorrow for the rest of his life; it was the most a film has ever made me cry. Now Ledger is the one gone too soon, breaking the hearts in every life he has ever touched.

I don’t presume to know who Heath Ledger really was, just because I saw him in a movie. I only know how he shook me to the core with that film, and as an actor, I know a performance of that magnitude simply can’t come from a soul that doesn’t have the deepest empathy for the human condition. That was the beauty of Brokeback Mountain, and the beauty of any film that achieves the highest and noblest goal of storytelling: To make us feel profoundly for people we have never met, and to carry that understanding to the people we do meet.

The storytellers who aim for this highest and noblest goal – be they actors, writers, directors – have a tough job. They live with open hearts and exposed skins; they damage easily. Whatever the circumstances of Heath Ledger’s death, I wish him rest and peace.