The Oscars

Though I recognize that the Oscars are a little silly, in that quantifying movies or performances as the best is inherently impossible (and that mass vote isn't a particularly great determining factor), I still love to watch them. Sexy outfits, the opportunity for Oscar pools, and the fact that it does bring attention to worthy movies. What's not to like?

Plus any awards show that nominates more screenwriters (10 screenplays, 20 different writers nominated) than directors is all right with me :-)

Anyhow, now that the nomination dust has settled, a few thoughts:

-- Entertainment Weekly accurately picked 19 of the 20 acting nominees; the only one they got wrong was Mark Wahlberg, who took Jack Nicholson's slot. Which is interesting; it used to be that over-the-top performances by legends always got a nomination, if not a win (a la Al Pacino's in Scent of a Woman). Could it be that the voters are starting to reward more subtlety? One can only hope.

-- Not only is there a nominee who rose up through American Idol, but Ryan Gosling was a Musketeer with Britney Spears. There's something scary about this, but since Gosling is a good actor that makes it easy to accept.

-- Look for Scorcese to get his Oscar this year. Best picture is pretty wide-open though. I've heard mixed things about Iwo Jima, Babel doesn't seem to have the devout fans that Crash had, voters for Scorcese might go to something other than the Departed for best pic, and The Queen just seems sort of staid and small. Could Little Miss Sunshine sneak in and win it? It's the only one most voters might actually watch twice.

-- Oddly, the only Best Picture nominee that got nominated for a Best Actor or Actress Oscar was The Queen. None of them were nominated for Cinematography (the Cinematography nominees? Black Dahlia, Children of Men, The Illusionist, Pan's Labyrinth, The Prestige) or Art Direction (Dreamgirls, Good Shepherd, Pan's Labyrinth, Dead Man's Chest, The Prestige).

-- The rules for Best Foreign Language Film are a little strange, if Letters From Iwo Jima and Apocalypto weren't even eligible to be nominated. Maybe it's time to rename the category.

-- If the Dreamgirls backlash continues, Abigail Breslin could get Best Supporting Actress. The only younger nominees ever were Tatum O'Neal (who won for Paper Moon), Mary Badham in To Kill a Mockingbird, and Quinn Cumming in The Goodbye Girl. Good company, though none really did much after those roles.

-- The screenwriting rules are a little strange, if Letters From Iwo Jima can be considered an original script even though it was based on a real event, and Borat is considered an adaptation because the character was previously done on TV.

-- If Letters From Iwo Jima wins Best Picture, Paul Haggis will have had a hand in writing three Best Picture winners in a row. And he once wrote for The Facts of Life. When you are coming up through the ranks, no job is too small.

-- The Best Makeup nominees are Pan's Labyrinth, Apocalypto... and Click. Apparently it was a slow year for makeup.

-- Gimmes for the Oscar Pool? Scorcese, Forest Whitaker, Helen Mirren, Pan's Labyrinth as Best Foreign Film and Makeup. Dead Man's Chest for Best Visual Effects, Cars for Animated Feature. Other than that, you're on your own.