Oscars 2008

Last year, I predicted some possible Oscars for this past year. Kinda fun, trying to guess what might be at the Oscars a year out. I actually got a few correct. Well, here's my prediction of what we might see for next year:

No Country For Old Men - Coen Brothers. Look for a Tommy Lee Jones nomination.

Charlie Wilson's War - Tommy Hanks, Julia Roberts & Phillip Seymour Hoffman, directed by Mike Nichols.

Michael Clancy - George Clooney

Rescue Dawn - Werner Herzog directing Christian Bale. Might be coming out too early though (March) to be remembered at the end of the year.

American Gangster - Ridley Scott directing Denzel & Russell Crowe (Would have liked to have seen Antoine Fuqua's version)

There Will Be Blood - Paul Thomas Anderson directing Daniel Day-Lewis.

The Golden Age - Elizabeth 2. Easy Blanchett nomination. Clive Owen, too.

Stop-Loss - Iraq war drama directed by Kimberly Pierce.

The Brave One - Easy Jodie Foster nomination here.

A Mighty Heart - Angelina Jolie could get a nomination here.

Trade - Looks amazing, dark as hell. Might also suffer from being released too early.

Zodiac - It'd be a bigger release in December. I only included it because it's Fincher. Probably wouldn't get any nominations.

The Darjeeling Limited (pic above) - Wes Anderson - Maybe a screenplay nomination.

Sweeney Todd - Depp & Sasha Baron Cohen (both could get nominations) directed by Timmy Burton

Things We Lost In the Fire - Halle Berry & Benecio Del Toro drama.

King Of California - Michael Douglas nomination.

The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford - Brad Pitt & Sam Rockwell nominations.

Che - Not sure if & when this is coming out.

So, if I had to pick the best pics for next year's Oscars, I would guess......

MICHAEL CLANCY

CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR

THE GOLDEN AGE

AMERICAN GANGSTER

RESCUE DAWN

Of course, any or all of these could suck. Dark horses here are There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men. If either or both are good, they could easily sneak in and take out American Gangster & Rescue Dawn. Also, I love the Trade trailer and hope the movie is as good.

Keep in mind, there may also be plenty of indies that come out of nowhere and take a slot or 2.

Best Animated possible nominations - Surf's Up, Simpsons, Ratatouille, Beowulf & Bee Movie. Bee Movie wins.

I'd Like to Thank........

Well, they finally gave it to Marty, but with his old gang coming out to give the award, was there any doubt? By the way, glad to see Coppola back in the game, with his movie Youth Without Youth in the can and Tetro getting ready to shoot.

A few surprises, namely Eddie Murphy not winning. And I doubt very much it had anything to do with Norbit. It's not the 1st time he's donned make-up for a goofball mindless comedy. No, I think it's his reputation as a douchebag. He's always been a stand-offish guy, at least from what I've read, and I think people remember that shit. But I think it was probably a close race anyways, but Arkin had a lot of sunshine support in the actors ranks, so he snuck on in.

Also, I figured Children Of Men would win cinematography. And I thought Cars was a no-brainer, very surprised Happy Feet won for animated.

Ellen did a good job, she did what she had to do.

What pisses me off about the Oscars is the actual presentation. They can EASILY cut an hour off of it. Do we need to see the "creation of America through film!" montage over and over, as well as the wacky sillouette people in the background? Or the motherfuckers making sound effects like the dude from Police Academy? If they cut some of the bullshit, then they could actually let people finish their thoughts, or if more than 1 person wins the Oscar for whatever category, they could actually let the 2nd Person speak!

Overall, it was a fine time. Glad Marty got it. And I'm looking forward to the soon-to-be-announced Leonardo DiCaprio/Al Gore buddy comedy, a remake of Like Father, Like Son. C'mon, they'd be perfect!

Oscar Love

It's kinda fun this year, since at least some of these awards are anybody's guess......

Best Pic:
I think it goes to the Departed, but if anyone steals it, it will be Iwo Jima. The Queen has zero chance, while Babel just doesn't hold up as a film (great performances, great sequences, but just too disjointed). Little Miss Sunshine is a fun movie, but the BEST of the year? Nah.

Actor - Give it to Forest, but I've love to see Gosling snag it.

Actress - Mirren, whatever. Yawn. Wish Winslet would upset.

Supporting Actress - Looks like Jenny Hudson. Love that Rinko though.

Supporting Actor - I've always liked Murphy, so I'm cool with him winning, although it'd be awesome is Jackie Earle won, or even Wahlberg.

Foreign Film - Not Pan's. Can't picture the Academy getting behind it.

Director - Marty. But don't count out Clint.

Who do YOU think will win?

Good News!

A few months back I entered 2 screenplay contests, Fade In and The Screenplay Showcase Awards. Sent 2 screenplays to each, and this week I discovered:

One of my Fade In entries (they don't say which one) has been named a quarter-finalist. Yay! I think they announce semi-finalists next month. Fingers crossed!

And, another one of my scripts, A Couple Of Joes, was named one of the top 10 finalists for the Screenplay Showcase Awards (winner announced 3/17).

Sweet!

Next contests on my radar - Bluecat & Austin.

Mother Do You Think They'll Drop The Bomb

My option? Kaput.

Almost 1 year ago (April) I had a script optioned. Yay! Today, the company that optioned that script has dissolved and is no more. Boo!

Prospect Pictures - look them up. They gone.

What happened was they stopped developing new projects back in August (Cricket Hill was still on their slate at that time, however). It turned from a movie script into a TV pilot script.

But it seemed less likely that things would happen, as the more I talked to the director that was attached to direct the Cricket Hill pilot, the more he was saying that it was a great WRITING SAMPLE. Hmm. That's nice and all but.......

Luckily, I still have a good relationship with him. He's done movies, TV, commercials, and music videos, and is a great, great contact to have on my side. And he seems to honestly like my writing, so at some point in the future, I'm sure we'll work together.

Now, why are they gone? Don't know, and at this point, it doesn't matter. I've still got my new manager, which is good. I'm working on the Stand-In (high concept comedy) as well as my family/comedy Union, both of which I plan to finish within the month. Oh, and I plan on sending Union to Austin this year because I'm pretty damn sure I can win with it.

Point is, I've moved on. I've had enough ups & downs in this bidness so far not to let this crush me (this was my 4th option), and in the long run, perhaps it's all for the best.

Team to root for - The Fightin' Phils!
Movie to check out - Children Of Men
Music to check out - Peter, Bjorn & John as well as Silversun Pickups.
TV shows to watch - Flip This House, Intervention, Juvies, The Office, Scrubs, Dirty Jobs, What About Brian, Lost, Bones, Friday Night Lights.
Script to sell - Cricket Hill
Competition to win - Austin

Dialogue Can Be Overrated

Werner Herzog's got a new film coming (hopefully) in 2007, called Rescue Dawn, starring Christian Bale & Steve Zahn, about downed pilots (I believe they're in Vietnam). Looks good, I'm just glad to see more of Herzog's work.

One of the coolest, creepiest, screwiest films I've seen is "Aguirre, The Wrath Of God," starring his favorite whipping boy, Klaus Kinski. Simply mesmerizing. A stunner. Some if its pacing is like watching a snail race, but the end result will stay with you. Same goes for his fucked-up (that's a compliment) version of Nosferatu from the 70s. Great stuff.

He certainly doesn't rely much on dialogue, but more on the image. It got me thinking about how certain scenes can really blow the viewer away with little or no dialogue. I always fall back on the amazing Apocalypse Now. One of my favorite scenes of all time is when Robert Duvall is talking to Martin Sheen on the beach. It's not when he gives his classic "I love the smell...." line, but what comes after. He says, "You know, some day this war's gonna end......" and that's it. He has no words. He can't even think about that day. Good stuff.

They don't make 'em like they used to!

Rogen Rocks

This movie will be the sleeper of the summer. The trailers look great. It's got the 40 Year Old Virgin vibe (same filmmakers) and that's a great thing. Plus, Seth Rogen is the star. I've always loved this guy, funny as hell - usually the perfect sidekick - but now is his chance for a decent lead role, and it looks like he nails it.


Check out the Rated R trailer here.

Check out the regular (still funny) US trailer here.