First off, does anybody care? I usually don't, but I thought there were more great films released this year than in years past, so I'm onboard more than usual.

My favorites:

Best Picture:
"Atonement"
"Juno"
"Michael Clayton"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
George Clooney in "Michael Clayton"
Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood"
Johnny Depp in "Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
Tommy Lee Jones in "In the Valley of Elah"
Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Casey Affleck in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men" (By a longshot)
Hal Holbrook in "Into the Wild"
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Charlie Wilsonís War"
Tom Wilkinson in "Michael Clayton"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
Julie Christie in "Away from Her"
Marion Cotillard in "La Vie en Rose"
Laura Linney in "The Savages"
Ellen Page in "Juno"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Cate Blanchett in "Iím Not There"
Ruby Dee in "American Gangster"
Saoirse Ronan in "Atonement"
Amy Ryan in "Gone Baby Gone"
Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton"

DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson - "There Will Be Blood"
Ethan Coen & Joel Coen - "No Country For Old Men"
Tony Gilroy - "Michael Clayton"
Jason Reitman - "Juno"
Julian Schnabel - "The Diving Bell And The Butterfly"

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Brad Bird - "Ratatouille"
Diablo Cody - "Juno"
Tony Gilroy - "Michael Clayton"
Tamara Jenkins - "The Savages"
Nancy Oliver - "Lars and the Real Girl"

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson - "There Will Be Blood"
Ethan & Joel Coen - "No Country for Old Men"
Christopher Hampton - "Atonement"
Ronald Harwood - "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Sarah Polley - "Away from Her"

Among others, "Ratatouille" is my favorite for animated. "The Bourne Ultimatum," and "No Country for Old Men," should split the sound categories. And, I was disappointed "No Country for Old Men," didn't get nominated for score, .

indybob, you are a wild-man. You posted a massive thread early - relatively - on a Sunday morning. You must have limited your consumption last night.

I usually enjoy watching the AWs, but I never view all of the nominated films. I can't truthfully make picks without seeing all the performances.

The only two nominated films that I have seen are: There Will Be Blood and Juno.

The films that I will definitely see before the awards ceremony aires are: No Country For Old Men, Michael Clayton, Gone Baby Gone, and American Gangster.

The performance by Daniel Day-Lewis was outstanding - possibly his best work. We could start two additional threads regarding his performance and the movie in general.

Juno was a very pleasant surprise. The performances were great across the board, but Ellen Page and Michael Cera stole the show. And I always appreciate a movie that introduces great music into the storyline - High Fidelity is one of my favorite movies.

Regarding the Best Supporting Actor category, I think I can safely say that Casey Affleck does not belong on the same list with Philip Seymour Hoffman - one of the best actors in the world; see Owning Mahoney if you haven't yet - and Tom Wilkinson. However, apparently Javier Bardem trumps both of them.

The performance that I want to see the most is Cate Blanchett in I'm Not There.

By the way, I just learned that Naptown is a nickname for Indy.

gigabit,

Nah, not too wild (depends on who you ask though), but I'm usually an early riser, and I did have a couple of beers last eve, with dinner and at a movie (There Will Be Blood).

You're right, it's not good to judge the flix without seeing everything. I've seen about half the list, and all the Best Picture nominees, save Atonement.

Hoffman is a fantastic actor. But, Bardem's character in NCfOM is stunning. Best and creepiest "bad guy," to come along in years. I can't imagine a more perfect performance. Make sure you go see him, and I'll check out CW's War if it's playing locally.

Yep, Naptown is a local nickname for Indy. Comes from its old reputation of being a backwater city where little changes. Less true than it used to be.

I only watch the Hollywood award shows for the profound political/moral insights expressed during acceptance speeches.

If Ellen Page wins and her career takes off, it will be interesting to see if she remains as grounded as she appears to be now - still living in a house with roommates in Halifax and having supper with her family every week. No doubt she would move to Hollywood, but could she maintain her apparent normalcy?

quote:

Originally posted by bman:
If Ellen Page wins and her career takes off, it will be interesting to see if she remains as grounded as she appears to be now - still living in a house with roommates in Halifax and having supper with her family every week. No doubt she would move to Hollywood, but could she maintain her apparent normalcy?

bman,

I think it genuinely depends upon how you define "normal". Is Anne Hathaway "normal"? Natalie Portman? Well, no, not really, but they seem grounded, centered with good priorities and values, and with an understanding of what is really important in life. I think Page would/will go that route. Although, to be fair, she does have an unusual tomboy vibe that will be interesting to see how it plays out over time and if it dampens her ability to get to the pinnicle of the movie industry.

I agree with almost the entire OP with the exception being that I would give the Oscar for best original screenplay to Brad Baird. Also, while I agree with Bardem as the winner, if I were to comment on the race that I think is the clearest, it would be for best actor in a lead role. DDL is just on a different level than everyone else.

quote:

Originally posted by cdr:
I only watch the Hollywood award shows for the profound political/moral insights expressed during acceptance speeches.

What a great country we live in where Presidential candidates get 15 seconds of network air time to express their views, and high school drop outs get 5 minutes.

I stoped watching award shows when Annie Hall beat Star Wars.

quote:

Originally posted by indybob:
First off, does anybody care?

Not one bit....

I don't care about the Oscars but I'm a massive Jon Stewart fan so I'll probably TiVo it just to watch him and skip through the rest. As I recall the last time he was on there was a hilarious pseudo-homoerotic montage.

The Oscars are total crap anyway. With hindsight, how many of the awards really stand up?
Is "How Green Was My Valley" really a better movie than either Citizen Kane or The Maltese Falcon?
On what alternate reality is Braveheart better than the Usual Suspects?
And Terminator, Strange Days and Fight Club weren't even *nominated*? Please.

I'd have to be paid to watch them pat each other on the back.

I can not wait to hear all the political opinions of these informed, well educated and learned actors.

I'd rather poke my own eyes out with red hot pokers than watch the Oscars.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Tong BBP:
...........I'm a massive Jon Stewart fan.......

I truly feel sorry for you....

quote:

Originally posted by wineismylife:
I'd rather poke my own eyes out with red hot pokers than watch the Oscars.

What if they poked out the eyes of the losers with hot pokers? Pay per view?

quote:

Originally posted by Stefania Wine:

I stoped watching award shows when Annie Hall beat Star Wars.

Are you suggesting Annie Hall shouldn't have won that??

quote:

Originally posted by Gigond Ass:

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Tong BBP:
...........I'm a massive Jon Stewart fan.......

I truly feel sorry for you....

I agree completely! I think Jon Stewart is talentless, unless you consider forced laughter a talent.

quote:

Originally posted by Gigond Ass:

quote:

Originally posted by wineismylife:
I'd rather poke my own eyes out with red hot pokers than watch the Oscars.

What if they poked out the eyes of the losers with hot pokers? Pay per view?

That I'd watch!

I tuned-in and watched a bit of the ceremony, and it was, in a word...

BORING!

Haven't watched a minute of this in 3 years.

Johnny Carson was the last host with real class.

It's usually pretty cheesey, but watch here and their when I'm surfing.