Are you ready? Yes,
I'm currently speaking to you. Are you ready for the Oscars?
It's without a doubt the most exciting time to be a movie fan.
Call me a movie mark, but I'm up bright and early watching the
pre-show to take in all the festivities. I also stay up late
watching the post show interviews and coverage up until the next
morning. I also make sure to check out Oprah's Oscar show on
Monday. I get excited just thinking and talking about it. It is
the Super Bowl for movie fans. I rarely sleep on Oscar night.
I also tape it all. Before you ask, No, I don't have a
girlfriend. But who needs one when you have the Oscars?
My goal with this
column is to make sense of the nominations and give my thoughts
on them.
The Academy tried to
show this year that they are diverse and open to new films and
actors. Did anyone ever think "Little Miss Sunshine" would get
nominated for Best Picture when it was released last August?
Did anyone think the Academy would show courage and nominate
Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson?" The Academy is doing their best
to think outside the box with their nominations this year. Does
anyone remember the year when all the independent films won? I
believe they called it "The Year of the Indy." We have that
again this year with some of the nominations. The Academy also
did their best to give props to classic directors like Scorsese
and Eastwood.
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They tried to make everyone
happy this year. Speaking of Scorsese and Eastwood, they
competed against each other two years ago with "Million
Dollar Baby" and "The Aviator." Scorsese,
unfortunately, came up on the losing end of that battle.
In all honesty, he shouldn't have won that year.
"Million Dollar Baby" was a much more involving story
than "The Aviator." "The Aviator" was a well-made,
well-crafted, and entertaining biopic, but it's not a
film that is going to stay with you for a long time.
"Million Dollar Baby" was a film that hit you right in
the heart and didn't let go. I think those are the
films that the Academy usually remembers when it comes
time to hand out the big award. I hope they change
their way of thinking this year and give Scorsese his
long awaited Oscar. I just wonder what Scorsese will
say in his acceptance speech. Peter O'Toole also looks
to get his first Oscar after eight tries and coming up
empty. Wouldn't it be fantastic if Peter O'Toole and
Scorsese both hoist up Oscars together? I know it would
put a smile on my face. |
The most disappointing category has to
be Best Supporting Actress. I really hope Jennifer Hudson doesn't
win. I don't consider her an actress. She looks to be the favorite
to win due to the lack of competition in this category. The roles
are just not there anymore. I was extremely disappointed to see no
nomination for Jack Nicholson in "The Departed." He gave an
amazing, screen-popping performance as a man who is pure evil. I
think Jack's problem is that he's so good that people take him for
granted. The same can be said for Meryl Streep. Only this year,
she's nominated for her role in "The Devil Wears Prada."
Fox Searchlight gets their props as I mentioned above with a
nomination for "Little Miss Sunshine" as the Best Picture of the
Year. They received a nomination two years ago for their Indy hit
"Sideways." "Sideways" came up short at the Oscars, but the
nominations helped the film with DVD sales when it was released two
months later. Don't underestimate the power of the Oscars. Its
impact is felt for years to come. Look at what it did for one of my
favorite actors Terrance Howard. He has a lot of interesting work
coming up in the new year. I hope it does the same for Ryan
Gosling, who can do all sorts of roles. He can do romantic work in
"The Notebook" or intense drama in "Half Nelson." He's the Sean
Penn of this generation. I say that with confidence. I can't wait
to see what he has planned for the future.
The strongest category this year has to be Best Actress. We have a
multitude of talented actresses in some very engaging roles. This
might be the strongest group of women in quite some time. The Best
Actor category looks very competitive as well, but I think Leo gets
the Award this year. He's been doing some solid work for the past
half-decade and deserves to get awarded for it. "Babel" looks to be
the "Crash" of 2006. Does that mean it will win Best Picture? Only
time will tell. Maybe Eastwood will sneak in and win with his film
due to the current war. I think it will come down to "Babel" and
"The Departed." If they invite Scorsese again and don't let him
win, I might just cry. I'm serious. I can't take poor Scorsese
getting abused like this. It's too much for my feeble white mind to
handle. He's a fellow Italian and he deserves it!
Looking back on 2006, maybe it was a decent year at the movies. It
was not a fantastic year by any stretch of the imagination, but it
had its moments. I only wish that "United 93" got nominated over
"Little Miss Sunshine." But then again, the Academy is trying to
give some props to the comedy genre. A genre that is almost always
overlooked when it comes Oscar time. All I know is that I'm
counting down the seconds, minutes, and hours until the Oscars.
I'll be posting my thoughts on this site and also watching all of
the Oscar films to catch up. What are your Oscar plans? Whatever
they are, enjoy every second of the Oscar countdown. Because once
it's over, we are left with nothing. We are left with the horrible
stretch of films from March to April. Nobody wins during that
stretch.
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