Less hype, more Oscars?

Some observers are wondering if the key to Martin Scorsese's long-overdue Oscar victory was his non-campaigning campaign. Others are questioning whether it was the right award and the right director, but the wrong movie. My opinion? I'm just thankful he finally got the freakin' gold.

Blogging Oscar, 11:16 pm

A satisfying rush to conclusion. Forest Whitaker obviously heeded all the snippy critics who complained about his rambling remarks at other awards events, and brought along a very moving scripted acceptance speech to deliver when he was named Best Actor for The Last King of Scotland. (It was a bit sad, however, to note Peter O'Toole's expression -- as though the poor guy thought, "Oh, bloody Christ! Not again!" -- when he realized he was an eight-time loser.) Funny bandying among Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas as they prepared to give Martin Scorsese his long-overdue Oscar for Best Director. And just a few minutes later, it was hard not to laugh at Scorsese's unabashedly incredulous expression -- Spielberg looked like he had to snap him out of a shocked daze -- when The Departed was announced as Best Picture.

I can't really complain about any of the Academy's choices. But damn! Why did it take such a long time to dole out the gold?

I suspect some cynics will dis Ellen DeGeneres' turn as Oscarcast host. But, truth to tell, I thought she was swell. And one more An Inconvenient Truth comment: Is this the first time the Best Documentary also copped the prize for Best Song?

Blogging Oscar, 8:54 pm

Enjoyed the montage of scenes depicting writers in the movies. (Lord knows, I've always been able to relate to the scene in Julia where a frustrated Jane Fonda throws her typewriter out the window.) But after the well-deserved Adapted Screenplay win by William Monahan for The Departed, that lame "horse race" bit with the chintzy wooden-horse icons was pretty shameful. Kudos to Tom Hanks for his not-so-subtle critique with the most sarcastic rely I've ever heard him give a stupid question in public.

I can't... resist... Overwhelming urge... Must offer Oscar predictions...

My track record as an Oscar prognosticator is, to put it charitably, uneven. On the other hand, I did manage to predict the Best Picture win by Chariots of Fire a quarter-century ago. And I think there may be two similarly surprising upsets on Sunday night. For what they’re worth – which, trust me, likely isn’t much – here are my guesstimates, along with some second-guessing.

BEST PICTURE

WILL WIN: Little Miss Sunshine
SHOULD WIN: The Departed
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Marc Forster’s exquisitely spare yet emotionally resonant Stranger Than Fiction

ACTOR

WILL WIN: Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland)
SHOULD WIN: Peter O’Toole (for, I freely admit, purely sentimental reasons)
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Aaron Eckhart, for his ferociously funny and fearless performance as an amoral PR spinner in Thank You for Smoking

ACTRESS

WILL WIN: Helen Mirren (The Queen)
SHOULD WIN: Helen Mirren
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Gretchen Mol, for her tantalizingly ambiguous portrayal of a ‘50s pin-up queen who may be innocent and knowing in The Notorious Bettie Page

SUPPORTING ACTOR

WILL WIN: Alan Arkin (a.k.a. Upset No. 1) for Little Miss Sunshine
SHOULD WIN: Alan Arkin
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: James McAvoy, if only because he hasn’t been given sufficient credit for his shrewdly nuanced performance as the callow Scottish doctor who’s all-too-easily seduced by a gregariously psychotic Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. (It can be argued, of course, that McAvoy actually was the lead, and Whitaker was the supporting player – but, hey, that’s showbiz.)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

WILL WIN: Abigail Breslin (a.k.a. Upset No. 2) for Little Miss Sunshine
SHOULD WIN: Rinko Kikuchi for Babel
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Maggie Gyllenhaal for either World Trade Center or Stranger Than Fiction

DIRECTOR

WILL WIN: Martin Scorsese (The Departed)
SHOULD WIN: Martin Scorsese
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Robert Altman for the deeply affecting long goodbye of A Prairie Home Companion

The not-so-dearly `Departed' ending

The Oscar-nominated scriptwriter makes a strong case for the rat. (Beware of spoilers.)

BFCA: 'The Departed" is Best Film of 2006

But Dreamgirls and Little Miss Sunshine actually earned more Critics' Choice Awards last night.

Actors honoring actors

Early this morning in L.A., the Screen Actors Guild announced nominees for the annual SAG Awards given to film and TV thespians. Leonardo DiCaprio and Helen Mirren each landed two nominations. But many others -- including Jack Nicholson of The Departed -- are conspicuous by their absence. And it appears that SAG voters weren't terribly impressed by Sacha Baron Cohen's star turn in Borat. (Well, either that or they didn't think what Baron did qualified as acting.)

FYI: Film and TV nominees were chosen by two groups of 2,100 people randomly chosen from the guild's 120,000 members. The guild's full membership is eligible to vote for winners (which will be announced Jan. 28 during ceremonies cablecast on TNT and TBS).

If nominated, he will not campaign... No, seriously, he won't...

Richard Johnson of the New York Post has an interesting item in today's Page Six column. But I hope he'll forgive me if I respectfully suggest that he may have buried the lede. The item nails reporter L.A. Times reporter Paul Liberman for "recycling" quotes from a 2005 piece to create the illusion that he recently interviewed Martin Scorsese regarding the Oscar potential of The Departed. But Johnson save the really intriguing info until the very end: "The director, who's been nominated five times for Best Director and never won, is said to be purposefully not campaigning this year. 'He was embarrassed by all of the hoopla over The Aviator and Gangs of New York,' said Leslee Dart, Scorsese's rep."

Let the awards season begin: The National Board of Review honors 'Letters from Iwo Jima'

From Variety: Clint Eastwood's Letters From Iwo Jima has won the National Board of Review's top prize, taking home the first award in the kudos race for 2006. The rest of the top 10: Babel, Blood Diamond, The Departed, The Devil Wears Prada, Flags Of Our Fathers, The History Boys, Little Miss Sunshine, Notes on a Scandal and The Painted Veil.

I bet he had more fun at the movies than John Dillinger ever did

Did The Departed get a thumb's-up review from a not-entirely-objective critic? For Martin Scorsese's sake, I certainly hope so.