A GANGSTER, GEISHA, GROMIT, KING, and PENGUINS

GANGSTER = TSOTSI (gangster, hoodlum, thug) was the Oscar® winner for Best Foreign Language Film of 2005 at the 78th Academy Awards, 5 March 2006. Written and directed by Gavin Hood, this U.K./South African film is set in the Johannesburg township of Soweto. TSOTSI traces six days in the life of a ruthless young gang leader who ends up caring for a baby accidentally kidnapped during a car-jacking, which becomes a life-altering experience. It opened wide 24 February 2006, and is distributed by Miramax.

GEISHA = MEMORIES OF A GEISHA, directed by Rob Marshall (CHICAGO, 2002), stars Chinese actress Zhang Zivi (HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, HERO) in her first English-language role, as Sayuri who enters the hidden world of geishas. She is taught that a geisha is not free to love, or to pursue her own destiny. Her mentor, the legendary geisha Mameha (Michelle Yeoh), understands the limits of an intimate relationship with a special patron or danna, and teaches Sayuri to keep her feelings tightly reined. Unlike Sayuri’s defiant rival Hatsumomo (Gong Li), Mameha knows that a proper geisha cannot afford to indulge her passion for any man.

I think this film should have been nominated for the Best Film Academy Award®. It won three statuettes, Art Direction, Cinematography, and Costume Design. Had it been nominated for Best Film, it would have won more. I think it should have been nominated instead of CAPOTE, which contains little to compliment, except the actor Philip Seymour Hoffman's portrayal of the late author Truman Capote. Hoffman won best actor.

GEISHA'S nomination most likely did not happen because all the actors are Chinese, not Japanese. Yet, the film is set in Japan, and everyone knows that geishas exist only in Japan. It was a bad judgment call by someone involved with the film, but the buck must stop on director Rob Marshall's desk.

GROMIT = The winner of the best animated feature film was WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT. This hand-crafted clay animated feature film, directed by Nick Parks, is from DreamWorks SKG. Wallace, a cheese-loving inventor, voiced by Peter Sallis, and his loyal dog Gromit set out to discover the mystery behind the garden sabotage that plagues their village and threatens the annual giant vegetable growing contest. The film won almost every major animation award this season.

KING = The mighty ape wasn't nominated for Best Film of 2005, but KING KONG, directed by Peter Jackson, roared in three major technical awards, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects. The folks at Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic must be fuming. KONG will be released on DVD 28 March.

PENGUINS = Lots of them in the documentary feature winner, MARCH OF THE PENGUINS (La Marche de l'empereur), narrated by Morgan Freeman and directed by Luc Jacquet. It is an independent film (Canal+, France, in association with Buena Vista International Films, France), distributed by National Geographic Feature Films, and Warner Independent Pictures. PENGUINS documents the amazing march of the Emperor Penguins in order to procreate in a certain location of Antarctica. It is available now on DVD.

OSCAR® WINNERS IN A NUTSHELL

Here is the nutshell:

Motion Picture, CRASH; Director, Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain); Actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote); Actress, Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line); Supporting Actor, George Clooney (Syriana); Supporting Actress, Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener); Original Screenplay, CRASH; Adapted Screenplay (BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN). CRASH, directed by Paul Haggis, also received the statuette for Film Editiing, and BROKEBACK won for Original Score (Gustavo Santaolalla).

MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA was nominated in five categories and won statuettes for Art Direction, Cinematography, and Costume Design. However, KING KONG topped MEMOIRS in Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing. Plus, KONG won in Visual Effects, making a total of three wins for both.

Other film wins went to: Foreign Language Film, TSOTSI (South Africa, Gavin Hood, Director); Animated Feature, WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT; and Documentary Feature, MARCH OF THE PENGUINS, narrated by Morgan Freeman and directed by Luc Jacquet.

In the Short Films Categories: Documentary Short, A NOTE OF TRIUMPH: THE GOLDEN AGE OF NORMAN CORWIN; Animated Short. THE MOON AND THE SON: AN IMAGINED CONVERSATION; and Live-Action Short, SIX SHOOTER.

The Memphis hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia(Jordon "Juicy J" Houston, Paul "DJ Paul" Beauregard and Darnell "Crunchy Black" Carlton, Cedric "Frayser Boy" Coleman), made history when they performed the first hip-hop song ever performed on an Academy Awards telecast, "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" (music and lyrics by Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman, and Paul Beauregard) from HUSTLE & FLOW. Then, history was made again when the song won the Best Song of 2005. Singer Taraji P. Henson, the actress who played Shug and sang the hook (melody overlay) in the film, sang over the "boys" hip-hop vocal rhythm. The movie DVD and soundtrack CD, with the original explicit lyrics, are available. [Official Oscar Site]

THE ACTING OSCARS® WENT TO . . .

I picked Hoffman and Huffman for the best actor/actress awards, and scored 50 percent. To no one's surprise, Philip Seymour Hoffman won the Oscar® as Best Actor of 2005 for his portrayal of Truman Capote in CAPOTE.

However, I completely underestimated Reese Witherspoon's "Academy Likeability Quotient." She literally grew up in the industry. She, too, portrayed a real-life person, June Carter Cash, in WALK THE LINE.

After stints in modeling, beginning at age 7, and acting in commercials, Witherspoon landed her first major acting role in THE MAN IN THE MOON (1991). That role as a 14-year old tomboy earned her rave reviews. Roles in bigger films such as JACK THE BEAR and A FAR OFF PLACE followed shortly. She added executive producer along with acting credits for LEGALLY BLONDE 2: Red, White and Blonde (2003).

So, Hoffman and Witherspoon portrayed real people, and both were outstanding, the latter doing her own singing. That's always a plus for the Academy voters.

CUT TO:

MIMI
(Slapping herself on the forehead.)
How did I miss it?

MIMI continues to write.

As I wrote in an earlier post, the best supporting actor/actress categories are much harder for me to determine. George Clooney's "likeability quotient" is high, but there was that knawing feeling that Jake Gyllenhaal might ride the coattails of BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN to victory. When he didn't, and Clooney was named the Best Supporting Actor of 2005 (Syriana), with this being the first award bestowed, I began to think that BROKEBACK might not win best picture after all.

Rachel Weisz received the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress of 2005 (The Constant Gardener). She was the favorite going in, and when you read the previous post, "Songs and Scores," please click the link for GARDENER to hear Spanish composer Alberto Iglesias' unusual score. He has been composing for Spanish movies since 1980. GARDENER is based on the novel by John le Carré, and Weisz's co-star is Ralph Fiennes. In my humble opinion, the movie deserved more than it received from the Academy.

AND THE OSCAR® WENT TO . . .

Lucky for me, this is National Procrastinations Week, because I haven't had the energy to tackle synthesizing the Sunday night Oscar® broadcast before today. The major critics have. The interesting thing is that they were mostly miffed that the front runner BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN didn't win. Many were shocked that CRASH did. Too bad. They are professional writers, seeing all the films, so they should have seen the possibility at least. Only a couple of the ones I have read did.

When it came time for Best Director category, the last award before Best Picture, BROKEBACK had been awarded statuettes for Adapted Screenplay and Original Score, and CRASH for Original Screenplay and Film Editing. They were basically even in the race. Each had made a slim showing compared to previous best picture wins. So, at that point, it was impossible to call the best picture winner.

Both Paul Haggis (Crash) and Ang Lee (Brokeback) were nominated in the directing category. Although it doesn't always happen, the norm is for the winner of this category will signal that the film they directed will win Best Picture. The opposite happened in 2005 (77th) when Martin Scorsese was nominated for directing THE AVIATOR. Almost everyone reasoned that since Scorsese had never won an Oscar for directing, this would be his year as THE AVIATOR was favored to win Best Picture. However, the award went to Clint Eastwood for directing MILLION DOLLAR BABY, while THE AVIATOR won Best Picture oF 2004. I never expected it to happen two years in a row. When Ang Lee's name was announced as Best Director of 2005, I thought, "BROKEBACK is going to take the top honor, and I'll have egg on my face for predicting a win for CRASH."

Jack Nicholson handled the top award announcement perfectly. His expression was priceless as he announced, "And the Oscar goes to . . . CRASH." This in a year when the box office continued to sink, Oscar's projected TV ratings were considered precarious, provocative independent films dominated over big studio movies for Oscar recognition and, now, a small-budgeted ensemble drama from outside Hollywood had the audacity to take first prize. I was thrilled, and there is no egg on my face for going out on a limb while many others followed the pack!

IT'S SHOWTIME!

Well, it's time to go get dressed for the Oscar® Party tonight. Hope you are ready! Have a wonderful time, and come back tomorrow evening, read my "chewing" of the results, and put in your two cents worth.

GOOD NIGHT, and GOOD LUCK!

HOW TO PICK THE BEST FILM WINNER (maybe)

There is a way to discover the Academy's possible Best Film choice early in the Oscar® telecast, and I find this method about 90% effective. Well, one must allow for an occasional "zinger." It will help to impress your fellow viewers, if you announce your choice about two and one-half into the broadcast. Here's how it works:

Early in the awards, one can predict the winner by keeping a tally of which of the five movies nominated for the Best Picture Oscar actually win in the following categories: Best Actor, Actress, Screenplay, and Directing. It also helps if a major film wins for Cinematography and/or Editing, with Original Score a plus. Actually, any Guild award counts, so count them. Of course, not every film nominated is also nominated in the "also helps" categories. Therefore, a film not among the top five might win one of those, possibly crashing the theory. The trick is to know in which categories each of the top five films appear, and count only those wins for the top films.

To get a list of all movie nominees, and each category for which it is nominated, go to the Official Oscar Site and print the list. HINT: For the alphabetical listing of films and each of their nominations only, print pages 9 - 13, or print all (14 pages) for the whole enchilada.

Now, have you downloaded and printed your ballot yet? I repeat again, you will find one at IMDB (pdf).

GOOD FUN, and GOOD LUCK!

ACTORS, ACTRESSES, AND COATTAIL AWARDS

Best Actor and Actress - Hoffman and Huffman

PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN (Capote) has won almost every major Best Actor Award this season, including best actor Golden Globe in the drama category. His portrayal of the late author Truman Capote is exceptional and uncanny, to say the least, and this one is probably a done deal.

That is not to discount HEATH LEDGER (Brokeback Mountain), who could win on the coattails of the movie because it is being touted as the sure best film winner. JOAQUIN PHOENIX (Walk the Line) is the popular choice, having won the Golden Globe in the musical/comedy category, and Walk the Line has done well at the box office, having topped one million.

TERRENCE HOWARD is nominated for Hustle & Flow, instead of Crash, and that may weaken his chance. DAVID STRAHAIRN (Good Night, and Good Luck) gives a perfectly understated performance as Edward R. Murrow, the newsman who quietly and deliberately countered the mass hysteria surrounding the McCarthy-led, "commie witch hunt in the 1950s." The problem for STRAHAIRN is, "Who really remembers Murrow fifty years later?" The problem for WILLIAM HURT (A History of Violence), is that the title of the film may hurt his chances (no pun intended).

FELICITY HUFFMAN (Transamerica) has also won some important awards in this category, including the Golden Globe in drama, and she has the highest female "likeability" quotient among Academy members. Of course, there are some heavyweights running strongly, chief among them REESE WITHERSPOON (Walk the Line), winner of the Golden Globe in musical and/or comedy, is a popular choice. KEIRA KNIGHTLEY (Pride & Prejudice), would win hands-down if beauty were the only requirement for wining. Both DAME JUDIE DENCH (Mrs. Henderson Presents) and CHARLIZE THERON (North Country) are certified heavyweights. However, I don't think this is the year, or the movie vehicle, that will allow either to win. Neither film has made any kind of a showing at the box office."

Best Supporting Actor and Actress - This category is always a crap shoot, because there are so many variables, but I'm going with CLOONEY and WEIZ.

There are three actors who stand the best chance of winning the best performance by an actor in a supporting role. The leader of the pack is GEORGE CLOONEY (Syriana), also nominated for best director and producer of Good Night, and Good Luck; and he won the Golden Globe in the best-supporting category. Of all the actors, CLOONEY has the highest male "likeability" quotient among the Academy members.

However like Heath Ledger, JAKE GYLLENHAAL, (Brokeback Mountain) might benefit from the coattail effect. Both PAUL GIAMATTI (Cinderella Man), and MATT DILLON (Crash) certainly give strong performances, and both have won at least two prior major awards. Either one could squeak through if the vote is split, as often happens with this category.

RACHEL WEISZ (Constant Gardener) won the Golden Globe in this category, and seems to be a front runner. According to the buzz I hear and read, the film is well liked and so is WEISZ. Both she, and another not-too-well-known, AMY ADAMS (Junebug) are strong contenders. The same is probably true for FRANCES McDORMAND (North Country) as it is for Charlize Theron, this is not the year or the movie to make McDORMAND a winner.

MICHELLE WILLIAMS (Brokeback Mountain) has that coattail effect going for her. Either she, or CATHERINE KEENER (Capote), could win if the vote is split, which also happens fairly often in this category.

THE OSCARS® AND POLITICS

In the last official briefing on Friday before the big show, Oscar® producer Gil Cates, director Lou Horvitz, and Academy president Sid Ganis promised no political uproar. Though host Jon Stewart is known for his political comedy on "The Daily Show," and many of the nominated films have political themes, the Academy Awards® show isn't about politics, it's about "rewarding excellence" and reflecting the times, Cates said. Yet, if any Oscar winners want to make political statements during their acceptance speeches, that's fine. "It's their 40 seconds," he said.

The Oscar crew is prepared for anything Sunday, Horvitz said, even a rumored streaker. "If it's going to happen on the stage, we're going to cover it the appropriate way," he said.

Cates said there would be no limit on gay cowboy jokes, for or against. However, Ganis joked: "It's a three-and-a-half hour show, so 167 is the quota."

Pardon me, gentlemen, politics will be there big time, because a number of movies that will shine at the Academy Awards tonight are there by design. Who designed them? Social Entrepreneurs. Who are the social entrepreneurs? Well, in the movie business the chief among them is Jeff Skoll, along with his friend George Clooney, and others. A Social Entrepreneur is society's change engineer, a pioneer of innovation that benefits society.

Who is Jeff Skoll? He founded that little company selling all kinds of things on the Internet, called eBay. After he built it into a gigantic enterprise, he sold it for billions. Now his goal is to use movies to help change the world for the better by curing social ills, and God knows there are plenty of those to keep all the Social Entrepreneurs hopping.

First, he establish a non-profit, The Skoll Foundation, and one of his first projects was to make a deal with Warner Brothers to dub the movie GANDHI into Arabic. Skoll was shocked when he learned the film had never been dubbed into Arabic, and Palestinians had never seen the 1982 movie that won 9 Academy Awards, including best picture. He loves the film, and he believed Gandhi's message of non-violence was one the Palestinians should hear.

"The Gandhi Project" began in April 2005 when the movie premiered at the Cultural Palace in Ramallah. It has been shown in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron, and on the wall at the Qalandia checkpoint that marks the border between the Palestinian Territories and Israel.

Meanwhile, Skoll formed a production company, Participant Productions, to make new films that he believes will change the world for the better, one story at a time. The mission: "Participant believes in the power of media to create great social change. Our goal is to deliver compelling entertainment that will inspire audiences to get involved in the issues that affect us all."

And what does all this have to do with the 78th Academy Awards®? Three of Participant's films are nominated this year, including one for best picture, GOOD NIGHT and GOOD LUCK. The others are SYRIANA and NORTH COUNTRY, making a total of 11 nominations in all.

No politics at the Oscars? Hogwash!

ARE ACADEMY MEMBERS OUT OF TOUCH?

With ratings slipping every year for the Oscar® telecast, some think the members of the Academy are particularly anxious this year because of the preponderance of low-budget, under-viewed movies in the running. More than 55 million people watched the TITANIC win the Oscar in 1998. Compare that with just over 42 million viewing THE AVIATOR win last year.

This year, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, a saga of homosexual cowboys, has had a cultural impact - - the endless articles, the jokes, the spoofs - - that even people who haven't seen the film might want to see if it really does win Best Picture. On the other hand, many feel the Academy is out of touch, since the box office receipts for all five nominated movies combined ($229 M) is less than that of Star Wars III (over $380 M). Only the top grosser BROKEBACK ($73 M) broke into the top ten list, and only for one week.

The question a number of reviewers and critics are asking is, "If few people even go to see the nominated movies, why should they watch the Oscars?" Well, many non-industry people watch to gaze at the bling, glitz and glam, scope out the fashions, hear the music, to be generally entertained (jokes by the host, etc.), to see if their favorite star still looks good, or is getting long in the tooth.

Or, perhaps, they will get lucky and see a streaker like the one that shocked David Niven one year, hear a daring political statement like Michael Moore's, someone like Sasheen Littlefeather accept an award for someone like Marlon Brando, or hear a brilliant acceptance speech like the ones Laurence Olivier used to make. Of course, they could be watching simply to see if one of those almost dresses will finally fall down on the stage. There are many reason people watch, and there is much more to the Academy Awards than the movies themselves.

In the main, grownups watch the Oscar telecast. The nominated movies this year are for grownups. They deal with reality, but an exotic reality that the average working stiff wouldn't dare enter. They can, however, go to the movies, or rent the DVD, and for two hours be a wicked voyeur, legally.

These movies are all low budget (under 10M), and BROKEBACK because of its homosexual cowboy theme has been hyped the most. CRASH, with its "Can't we all get along in this California melting pot" theme has received the least attention. The others are in between.

The main purpose of instituting the Academy Awards®, besides honoring the industry's own, was to bring attention to the movies and increase the box office take. Well, grownup movies have been steamrolled by the big-budget movies aimed at the younger set, and Hollywood has fed them Pabulum with whiz-bang computer generated effects long enough. Perhaps, this year's nominate movies - - all of them - - will help the still-kids grow up, and the eyes of the adults open wide.

No, the members of the Academy are not out of touch. The majority of Amricans seem to be swimming in a noisy sea of cognitive dissonance, being driven to distraction, and the constant noise is too loud for them to hear, or see, what is really happening around them. Thank goodness for this year's producers and directors who are trying to change the cinematic course for the industry and the American People. More about this in my next post.

Now, if only the Academy Awards telecast will do what the Oscars were originally designed to do, entice the viewers to the theaters, or to at least rent/buy the DVDs. All the films receiving nominations in any category this year are worth seeing.

PURCHASE A POSTER

Posters for the 78th Academy Awards® may be purchased at this link.

SONGS and SCORES

SONGS

Only three songs are nominated this year for the Oscar® in the category achievement in music written for motion pictures (original song). I am sitting at my computer, drinking coffee from a mug labeled, "9 to 5," which I received when a member of the Los Angeles Working Women, popularly known as "9 to 5". Some of us were asked to consult on the film project NINE to FIVE, and were given mugs in appreciation.

I went to my first Academy Awards® in 1980, and Dolly Parton sang the nominated "9 to 5" (music and lyrics by Dolly Parton). She was, as she is for this year's nomination, the original recording artist for the song as well, which topped the charts. The song didn't win. The honor that year went to "Fame" from FAME.

Now, I am writing that Grammy Award-winning Parton will perform her nominated original song, "Travelin' Thru" from TRANSAMERICA (music and lyrics by Dolly Parton), on this Sunday's telecast. Wish I could be there.

Kathleen "Bird" York will perform "In the Deep," from the film CRASH, for which she is nominated for writing the music and lyrics. (Her co-composer Michael Becker also is nominated for the music.) York's debut CD on EMI "Wicked Little High," which features "In the Deep," was released February 21.

The Memphis hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia (Jordon "Juicy J" Houston, Paul "DJ Paul" Beauregard and Darnell “Crunchy Black” Carlton, Cedric "Frayser Boy" Coleman), will make history when they perform the first hip-hop song ever performed on an Academy Awards telecast, "It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp" (music and lyrics by Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman, and Paul Beauregard) from HUSTLE & FLOW, along with Taraji Henson, the actress who sang the hook in the film.

I understand that Three 6 Mafia has "cleaned" the lyrics for the broadcast. I have not seen the movie, but I have heard the song and classify it as light hip-hop with far too much repetition for my brain. Because "It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp" skews "young," it might stand a chance of winning, even with the excess repetition, but I think not. The movie HUSTLE & FLOW received only two nominations, this one and one for Terrence Howard for actor in a leading role. He was fabulous in CRASH as well.

"In the Deep" is a haunting, sometimes discordant melody that compliments CRASH at poignant and powerful moments in the film. However, it is somewhat short on the "likeable" scale, as is the movie. The Academy likes "likeable". CRASH is my favorite to win, but I wonder about its chances of the film snagging the Oscar, and this song winning best song.

"Travelin' Thru" is a ballad, also with repetition, but not as grating to my ears as the HUSTLE & FLOW song. I think that for the Academy, this song is higher on the "likeable" scale than the other two songs. This nomination is probably some additional recognition for TRANSAMERA, not nominated for Best Film, or it could be Parton's year to receive some deserved recognition.

If early on in the telecast "In the Deep" wins best song. Look out! That means CRASH'S chances of winning Best Picture just went up a notch.

To listen to the songs, go to NPR, and clink the links under, "Hear the Nominees". Then, make a comment and tell me what you think.

SCORES

The five nominees for achievement in music written for motion pictures (original score) are: BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (Gustavo Santaolalla), THE CONSTANT GARDENER (Alberto Iglesias), MEMOIRS OF A GISHA (John Williams), MUNICH (John Williams), and PRIDE & PREDUDICE (Dario Marianelli -- love that name!).

The conundrum of scoring a film is that it should support the film, but not distract the viewer. In other words, if it's a good film score, the viewer shouldn't hear it. So, how do people vote for Best Film Score? They listen to the recorded version, or at least a number of clips, and you can as well.
To listen to clips from the film scores, click links: PRIDE, BROKEBACK and MUNICH, GEISHA and GARDENER.

OSCAR® PRESENTERS ANNOUNCED AND ALTMAN HONORED

FIRST: Download an Oscar® ballot at IMDB (pdf).

SECOND: Academy Award®-winning actor Jack Nicholson will join Oscar® nominee Jake Gyllenhaal, Eric Bana, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Stiller, John Travolta and Ziyi Zhang as presenters at the 78th Academy Awards ceremony, telecast producer Gil Cates (pictured above) announced today.

These presenters will join Hilary Swank, Jamie Foxx, Morgan Freeman, Jessica Alba, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Keanu Reeves, Will Ferrell, Queen Latifah, Terrence Howard, Meryl Streep, Will Smith, Steve Carell, Nicole Kidman, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Uma Thurman, Charlize Theron, Naomi Watts, Lily Tomlin, Reese Witherspoon, George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez and Salma Hayek on the telecast.

THIRD: Robert Altman (pictured above), previously nominated in the Best Director category five times ("M*A*S*H," NASHVILLE, THE PLAYER, SHORT CUTS, GOSFORD PARK), has never taken home the Oscar. He will this year, but not for directing. He receives an honorary Oscar® statuette to honor "a career that has repeatedly reinvented the art form and inspired filmmakers and audiences alike."

Altman has directed 37 films, produced 27, and written 16 of them. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, he began his film career there working on documentary, employee training, industrial and educational films. He made his first feature film, THE DELINQUENTS, in Kansas City in 1957, a low budget exploitation film which was distributed by United Artists. He moved to Hollywood and found work directing episodes of television series such as "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "Bonanza." In 1969, he was offered the script of "M*A*S*H," the success of which galvanized his feature film career.

Altman's films include McCABE and MRS. MILLER, THE LONG GOODBYE, THIEVES LIKE US, POPEYE, A WEDDING, and KANSES CITY. His current film, A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION, is in post-production.

Jon Stewart, host of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," will host the Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2005. Unless you have been in a coma, you know by now that the Oscar gala will be Sunday, 5 March, at the Kodak Theatre, Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 8 p.m. EST. A one-hour red carpet arrivals show will air one hour before the main telecast.

I Have Made My Choice for Best Picture of 2005!

The movie awards season that began in December culminates with Sunday night's broadcast of the 78th Annual Academy Awards®. Chicago Tribunes' syndicated columnist Clarence Page says that any one of the five nominated films is worthy of the Best Picture Oscar®, but he has chosen his favorite.

I'm in Clarence Page's corner both as to the nominated films being "for grown ups," and as to my pick for Best Picture this year. I know, I've been on the fence, but now I have decided. His comment today on NPR's "News & Notes with Ed Gordon" is the most succinct all-encompassing that I have heard concerning the five nominees.

When I heard him this morning, I jumped off the fence. I believe CRASH will pull and upset. Really. You must hear it!

Have you made your choice for Best Picture? Come on, post a comment. Do listen and discover our choice:

Windows Media Player

Real Player

Main link to Page's commentary on National Public Radio (NPR): "I've Already Picked My Best Picture Oscar."

Can CRASH Top MOUNTAIN for Oscar®?

FIRST: Final ballots for the Academy Awards® must be at the Los Angeles offices of PriceWaterhouseCoopers by 5:00 p.m. (PST) today!

CRASH, the low-budget, high intensity film about racial tensions in Los Angeles during a 36-hour time frame may be the "the little film that could," a dark horse that will sprint first to the finish line at the Oscars® for Best Picture, and possibly for Screenplay and Director. It has been nominated for 38 awards around the world, including 6 Oscars, and has won 19, many the most prestigious in the industry. Go to the IMDB and see for yourself - - picture, screen writing, acting, directing, editing, etc. See my Awards Page, and other links on this blog.

It is not an easy film to watch because the cinematic style is more complicated than the usual Hollywood film. With a nod to James Monaco, "reading" CRASH may not be easy for the casual viewer of Hollywood cookie-cutter films. Plus, anger and stress levels among the characters goes off the top of the chart, and the violence is graphic, but if one stays with CRASH, one will view one of the most powerful movies of the decade. It is available now on DVD, so put it in your NETFLIX queue and move it to the top!

Having lived in the Los Angeles area for many years, I was mesmerized, and that doesn't happen often enough for me with Hollywood films. Of course, this is an "Indy" through Lions Gate. Director/co-writer Paul Haggis wrote the script for last year's winner, MILLION DOLLAR BABY. It is a USA/German production, and having studied and taught German film, I see the Young German Film movements' influence in this film. Five languages are spoken: English, Spanish, Persian, Mandarin, Korean.

The biggest Academy "vote factor" for this film is the locale of Los Angeles, and the inter-racial theme. The majority of the voters live in Los Angeles, or New York. They will relate to this movie more than the average Joe.

I doubt that it will play well in Peoria, but I know members of AMPAS® will get it because they live it every single day. The hype is with BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN but my money, if had any, would be on CRASH for Best Picture of 2006. Then, again, BROKEBACK has the popular sentiment. Oh, me, I can't make up my mind.

NOMINATED ANIMATED FILMS GO RETRO

The mixing of live action and animation in WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? (1988) was a sea change for animated films. Soon, computer technology was the "new toy" for animation. Films using hand drawings, stop motion, and clay models (claymation) began to fade from the scene as studios closed animation departments, bought computers, software, and hired technocrats.

For the past decade computer generated animation has ruled the animation business. This year, none of the three nominated animated feature films depend upon computer generation. In some cases there may be some computer assistance, but the basic art forms are preserved.

HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE (Hauru no Ugoku Shiro, Japan) - This is a special animated feature in today's movie business. It involved thousands of hand-drawn frames, the type of animation Walt Disney pioneered. The Disney Company no longer uses the technique, has shutdown the division, and fired the artistic animators who were masters of the art form.

Disney holds the world-wide (except Asia) theatrical and Video / DVD distribution rights to all language versions of HOWL'S, including English. The production was directed by Hayao Miyazaki, and accomplished at Studio Ghibli Miyazaki, Tokyo. A former Disney executive, Stephen Alpert, is now senior vice-president of Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli, and his mission is to keep the original art form alive with a little help from his former employer.

PLOT: When a less than confident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent, yet insecure, young wizard and his companions who share his home that walks on legs.

TIM BURTON'S CORPSE BRIDE - This is a stop-motion animated feature film, directed by Mike Johnson, considered an expert in stop-motion animation. PLOT: When a shy groom practices his wedding vows in the inadvertent presence of a deceased young woman, she rises from the grave assuming he has married her.

WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT - This hand-crafted clay animated feature film from DreamWorks SKG, directed by Nick Parks, received the top Annie Award at this year's International Animation Awards. PLOT: Wallace, a cheese-loving inventor, voiced by Peter Sallis, and his loyal dog Gromit set out to discover the mystery behind the garden sabotage that plagues their village and threatens the annual giant vegetable growing contest.

RATING THE BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILMS

This is a long post, and I hope and enlightening one. Stay with me, please, so you will understand my predictions.

This year's five films nominated for the Best Foreign Language (BFL) Film Oscar® are a varied lot, and critics are hinting that the race is too close to call. Actually, they aren't that much different in their themes from the five films nominated for Best Picture, and knowing AMPAS® from first-hand experience, I'm going to call the race.

Themes encompass the choices of two young Palestinian men recruited as suicide bombers (PARADISE NOW - Palestine); a young male hoodlum about to explode in the South African shantytown of Soweto (TSOTSI - "gangster," South Africa); resistors to the Nazis from inside WW II Germany (SOPHIE SCHOLL - The Final Days, Germany); an Italian incest victim brought to awareness when a nightmarish memory resurfaces (DON'T TELL (La Bestia nel Cuore, Italy); and a spontaneous temporary Christmas truce between German, British, and French soldiers fighting in the trenches during World War I, (MERRY CHRISTMAS - (Joyeux Noel, France)

These are, from all accounts outstanding films, and at least three have U.S. distribution. Unfortunately, the rules for this category deem that the majority of the members of AMPAS cannot participate in the choice of the winner.

It works like this: Unlike most Oscar categories, voters for BFL Film nominees must see all five contenders in a theater, and sign certification that they have before they receive a ballot for this category. Viewing the films on videotape or DVD can't count.

All the nominated BFL films are shown at least once in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater, L.A., and in their New York City theater, as well as in local theaters in both cities, but Critics and filmmakers complain that the restriction means that probably less than 1,000 of the Academy's roughly 6,000 members will actually cast votes in this category. Only the Foreign and Documentary categories carry the same restriction. All members may vote for all other categories, except for this one and Documentary, even if they have not actually viewed the films involved.

Okay, what about the nominees' chances? First, mostly the older members of AMPAS have the time to view all the BFL and Documentary films, so the audience has a median age of about 60. Second, a large number of the members are Jewish, and/or supporters of Israel. Third, there are more male than female members of AMPAS.

Keeping the above demographics in mind, score points for SOPHIE SCHOLL (Who dares like the Nazis?). Remove points from PARADISE NOW, especially with the recent election of HAMAS in Palestine.

Add points for MERRY CHRISTMAS (nostalgia, Christianity, male bonding and such). Deduct points for DON'T TELL (it's a chick flick, and one that may make men uncomfortable to view).

What about TSOTSI? Add points because of current interest and sympathy for conditions in South Africa invoking good thoughts for Bishop Tutu and Bono, a juvenile punk finds redeeming value because of an unexpected relationship with a helpless baby (Who dares dislike a baby?), it's filmed mostly on location in Soweto (older members love films shot on location), Miramax is the distributor (great track record for independent film Oscar winners), and director/co-writer Gavin Hood is known in the U.S.

So, is TSOTSI my pick to win the BFL Film award? Sorry, I'll tell you later, but I will say that the two top contenders at this point, mentioned by others as well, are TSOTSI and SOPHIE SCHOLL, both for themes, milieu, over-all acting, and production values. They are both strong narrative movies and AMPAS members definitely prefer narrative films. Plus, standout performances by lead actors, South African Presley Chweneyagae, whose intensity may remind some of James Dean, and German Julia Jentsch, who plays a college student put to death for distributing anti-Nazi pamphlets are big pluses for both movies.

Stay tuned!

Final Oscar® Ballots Due Tuesday

Voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences® must return their completed final Oscar ballots to PricewaterhouseCoopers by 5 p.m., PST, Tuesday, February 28. 5,798 ballots were mailed to voting members of the Academy on Wednesday, February 8. Ballots received after the 5 p.m. deadline will not be counted.

Once PricewaterhouseCoopers has tabulated the votes, the winners’ names are placed in sealed, foil-lined envelopes. Two of the firm’s partners, Brad Oltmanns and Rick Rosas, will be the only two people to know the results prior to the envelopes being opened on Oscar Night®, Sunday, March 5.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements for 2005 will be presented on March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland®. It will be televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 8 p.m. EST, with a one-hour red carpet arrivals show beginning at 7 p.m. EST.

BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The 56th Berlin Film Festival (9 - 19 February) has now concluded. The German Berlinale is the first of Europe's three major festivals in this new year. It is considered, after Cannes and alongside Venice, to be one of the world's most prestigious film showcases. This year's festival had a preponderance of films dealing with social and political themes, especially homosexuality, violence, terrorism, religious indoctrination, corporate abuses, and the current rise of fascism. All of these developments threaten the privacy and freedom of individuals around the world. Remind you of the Oscars®?

WINNERS ANNOUNCED! Read my "nutshell" coverage on my Film Festivals 2006 Page, and see who won the Golden Bear and other awards. Also there's a direct link to the Official Web site for the Berlinale and other major film festivals.

Oscar®-Nominated "Shorts" Screen for Public in NYC

On Saturday, 25 February, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present two public screenings of the ten Oscar-nominated films in the Animated Short and Live Action Short categories. The screenings will feature the five films from each category, providing a rare opportunity for New York moviegoers to see the nominees prior to the 78th Academy Awards® telecast on Sunday, 5 March.

The screenings will be held at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m., EST, at the Academy Theater located at Lighthouse International in New York City. Film historian and television host Robert Osborne will serve as the host for both screenings. Tickets for the screenings are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid I.D. Advanced tickets may be reserved by calling 888-778-7575. The Academy's Theater at Lighthouse International is located at 111 East 59th Street between Park and Lexington avenues. All orders will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

The following ten Oscar-nominated short films will be shown at the New York screenings:

Short Film (Animated) - - Badgered; The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation; The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello; 9; One Man Band; and

Short Film (Live Action) - - Ausreisser (The Runaway); Cashback; The Last Farm; Our Time Is Up; and Six Shooter.

FINAL OSCAR® BALLOTS MAILED TODAY

Final ballots for the 78th Academy Awards were mailed today to the 5,798 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Completed ballots must be returned to PricewaterhouseCoopers by 5 p.m., Tuesday, 28 February. Ballots received after the deadline will not be counted. Once the auditing firm has tabulated the votes, the winners' names are placed in sealed envelopes to be opened on Oscar Night® Sunday, 5 March.

Listed on the ballots are nominees in 19 Oscar® categories. Separate ballots for five award categories (foreign language film, short and feature-length documentaries and animated and live-action short films) will be distributed after verification of mandatory member attendance at screenings.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements for 2005 will be presented on 5 March 2006, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m., PST. A one-hour red carpet show beginning at 4 p.m., PST, featuring arrivals, will precede the main event.

Johnny Cash Movie Walked the Plank

The headline for an article in The Los Angeles Times January31, written by Dean Goodman was, "Oscar makes Johnny Cash movie walk the plank." I thought it was so clever that I'm using an edited version as the title for this post. Many fans are disappointed, and there are those who will put forth reasons WALK THE LINE was slighted for a Best Picture nomination.

One was postulated by Joel Siegel on Good Morning America immediately after the nominations were read. He said something to the effect that he, and some other critics, have noted that the acting is the driving force of the film. By checking my Awards Page, I find at least seven Best Actress awards won by Reese Witherspoon, including a Golden Globe, Critics' Choice, and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) award. Now, that's impressive.

The film, on the other hand, has won only one major award as Best Picture, a Golden Globe. The reason it was able to win the Globe is that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association that runs the awards has two separate categories, Best Dramatic and Best Musical Film. That is the second, and major, reason it was not nominated for Best Picture by the members of AMPAS®. Musical films have always been forced to play second fiddle in the Oscar® race.

The Academy refuses to add a Best Musical category for the Oscars, which many feel it needs to do. If there had been such a category for the past decades, perhaps new movie musicals would be abundant today. Only recently did AMPAS add the Best Animated Film category, and that took a ten-year fight. The Best Musical category should have been added in the 1960's. It is probably too late for a musical film category.

WALK THE LINE did receive five nominations: Best Performance by an Actor in a leading role (Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash), Best Performance by an actress in the leading role (Reese Witherspoon as June Cash); Costume Design; Film Editing; and Sound Mixing.

All these nominations came from AMPAS members who are members of guilds. They are the ones who make all the so-called "craft" nominations, including the directing and writing awards. Only the Best Picture nomination is voted upon by the entire membership. Of course, the entire membership votes for all final awards.

BEST FILM NOMINEES MAY RUFFLE FEATHERS

The one thing all the nominated films for Best Picture have in common are their strong social themes. Some critics have labeled them "Art House Films," but they are much more than that. The theme for the leader of the pack, BROKEBACK is homosexuality, set in the time of 1960's mores. [I never use the term "gay," if I can help it, because using the word gay that way is a perversion of the original meaning of it, and people who don't know history misread titles and statements such as "The Gay Nineties," "When Our Hearts Were Young and Gay,' etc.]

The theme for CAPOTE is social violence, but the main character is a homosexual, as was the real Truman Capote who wrote the book In Cold Blood about the true-life 1959 murders of the Clutter family in Kansas. MUNICH is about terrorism, specifically the terrible incident during the 1972 Olympics in the city of Munich, Germany, and its aftermath.

GOOD NIGHT is about those dark days in 1950's America that have become known as the McCarthy Era, when civil liberties were at the greatest risk of being constitutionally revoked in any time prior to the current Bush Administration. CRASH is the only one set in contemporary times. This Lions Gate Film, according to its Web site, "Takes a provocative, unflinching look at the complexities of racial tolerance in contemporary America in this case Los Angeles."

In other words, they all deal with contemporary social problems set in prior times, except for CRASH. It is much safer to deal with today's problems that way, because we can put them in a box and tell ourselves we are not involved, until the day our lives and the social concerns -- sexuality, murder, violence of humans against humans in general, authoritarianism, civil liberties, racial tolerance, etc., collide.

BLOCKBUSTERS SNUBBED FOR BEST FILM

The top box office films, all considered blockbusters, were snubbed this year by the members of AMPAS® when it came to the Best Film nominations. The big ones grossed (approximated for end of January) from top grosser: STAR WARS: EPISODE III (380 M); HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE (287 M); THE CHRONICLE OF NARNIA (286 M); WAR OF THE WORLDS ($234 M); and KING KONG ($213).

By comparison, the total gross for all the nominated films combined was $184 M, less than the lowest in the list above. To be fair, you will note in the table below that MUNICH was not released until 23 December, and BROKEBACK 9 December. But, on the other hand, CHRONICLES was released 9 December, and Kong 16 December. Compare the grosses.

TITLE - GROSS - RELEASE DATE
Crash - 53 M - 5/6/05
Brokeback Mountain - 51 M - 12/9/05
Munich - 40 M - 12/23/05
Good Night and Good Luck - 25 M - 10/7/05
Capote - 15 M - 9/30/05

And, just in case you are wondering, WALK THE LINE would not qualify as a blockbuster, either. It was released in mid-November, and its gross was only $106 M. Respectable but no cigar. More about this film later.

Box Office statistics from The Movie Times

OSCAR® NOMINATIONS ARE OFFICIAL

The cowboy love story BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN leads the nominations for the Academy Awards® with eight nominations, chief among them is best picture. Along with the top category nomination, the movie is up for: best director, Ang Lee; best actor, Heath Ledger; best supporting actor and actress, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Williams; best screenplay adaptation (from Annie Proulx's short story), Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana; best cinematography, Rodrigo Prieto; and best original score, Gustavo Santaolalla.

BROKEBACK made history today as the first movie openly addressing homosexuality to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar®. If it wins, hopefully it will help open the door for tolerance about sexuality, something sorely needed in America and world-wide.

The other best picture nominees include the usual suspects CAPOTE, the Truman Capote story, and the Edward R. Murrow chronicle GOOD NIGHT, and GOOD LUCK, each receiving six nominations. Steven Spielberg's assassination thriller MUNICH, about hunting down the terrorists after the carnage at the 1972 Olympics was a "maybe" on many lists, but it made it. There are two main reasons for the MUNICH nomination, and I shall discuss them in my next post.

The other nominee is the race-relations ensemble drama CRASH that has been mostly over-looked by some awards organizations and the general public. It edged out one of the favorites WALK THE LINE, the latter receiving only the best actor and actress nods. I shall also discuss the reasons for this in a subsequent post.

There are twenty-four categories for nominations. During the weeks preceding the Oscars, I shall discuss as many major categories as possible, and attempt to offer some insights as to the nominations and the possible winners on March 5.

I recommend you go to my Awards Page where you can track your favorite film, and see the major awards it has won so far this season. Also, there are many direct links to provide more information. The complete list of nominees is available on the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences'® Official Oscar Site

Academy Awards Nominations will be Announced Tuesday Morning

Nominations for the 78th Academy Awards® will be announced Tuesday, January 31, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' President Sid Ganis, and Oscar-winning actress and Academy member Mira Sorvino. They will unveil the nominations in ten of the 24 categories at a 5:30 a.m. (EST) news conference that will be attended by media outlets from around the world. Sorvino received an Oscar® in 1995 for her supporting role in "Mighty Aphrodite."

News media from around the world will be present at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Beverly Hill, for the live announcement at 5:30 a.m., PST. Press releases of the nominations in all categories, including those not announced, will be distributed simultaneously to news media in attendance, and via the Internet on the official Academy Awards Web site, www.oscar.com.

Official screenings for Academy members of all pictures with a nomination are scheduled to begin February 4 at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater and the Linwood Dunn Theater located at the Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study in Hollywood. Screenings in certain categories also will be held in London, New York and San Francisco.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2005 will be presented on Sunday, March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 8 p.m. EST. A one-hour red carpet arrivals show will precede the telecast at 7 p.m.

OSCAR® BALLOTS DUE THIS SATURDAY

Nomination ballots for the Academy Awards® from members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences must be received at the offices of PriceWaterhouseCoopers by 5:00 p.m., PST, this Saturday, January 21. They will be counted and the nominations announced Tuesday, January 31, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Beverly Hills, 5:30 a.m. PST. See links on this blog for "Films Eligible for Oscars®".

So, will the Golden Globe wins really impact the results of the Oscars®? It's my opinion that they will not. As previously noted, the Globes are awarded by the relatively small Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which has about 80 members, compared with the 5,800 film professionals eligible to vote for the Oscars®. The Globes have more categories, including comedy and musical films, and TV shows while the Oscars® are all about movies.

The Press Association is mainly composed of young men, most under age 45. The Academy members are also mostly male, but there are a greater number of females proportionately in the Academy, and the average age of voting Academy members is older. But, the most important difference is the cultural orientation. Academy members know and appreciate history, especially American history. They are "in tune" with American culture.

The foreign press, on the other hand, go for the younger actors, especially the beautiful young women, and if those young women happen to be blondes their chances of winning awards are much higher. The foreign press are intrigued with the old west, black culture, they l-o-v-e American music and musical performers, and movies that push the boundaries of cultural behavior.

The point I am making is that the nominees for the Oscars® will be somewhat similar, but they will also be different, as will the winners. There are a few Globe winners that will probably repeat at the Oscars®, but let's hold that speculation until the actual nominees are announced.

GOLDEN GLOBES TONIGHT

The 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, will be telecast live tonight on NBC, 8:00 p.m. (EST), it is a potential breakthrough night for movies dealing with homosexuality or transsexualism. The cowboy romance BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (homosexuality); the movie about In Cold Blood author Truman Capote, CAPOTE (a homosexual); and TRANSAMERICA (transsexuality), which is expected to catapult "Desperate Housewives" Felicity Huffman's career with a best actress award, are among the key contenders. The Globes are awarded by the relatively small Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which has about 80 members, compared with the 5,800 film professionals eligible to vote for the Oscars®. The Globes have more categories, including comedy and musical films, and TV shows. Yet, the Globes have an excellent track record at predicting the Oscars®, and winners catch momentum that can boost their chances come Oscar® night.

The members of the Association like movies that push the boundaries of movie making, and the five films nominated in the Best Dramatic Film category this year do that. They are: BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN; THE CONSTANT GARDENER; GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK; A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE; and MATCH POINT. Some would say the levity is that SirAnthony Hopkins will be honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement.

In the Best Foreign Film category, KUNG FU HUSTLE (Gong fu, Hong Kong Mandarin title) is the only film in the running not submitted to AMPAS® for a possible Oscar® nomination in that category, but it has already received awards at the Broadcast Critic's Choice Awards and the Boston Film Critics.

For more, see my Awards Page.

Golden Globes Monday Night - Here Come Oscars®

The 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards will be telecast live on NBC, Monday, January 16, 2006. Anthony Hopkins will be honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement.

SOME OF THE NOMINEES ARE (To view this with film links, Mimi's Awards Page):

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN garnered seven nominations: Best Picture, Drama; Actor (Heath Ledger); Supporting Actress (Michelle Williams); Director (Ang Lee); Screenplay (Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana); Original Score (Gustavo Santaolalla); Original Song ("A Love That Will Never Grow Old"). The surprise? Jake Gyllenhaa, who co-stars did not receive a nomination.

Other films nominated in the Best Drama category: THE CONSTANT GARDENER; GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK; A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, and MATCH POINT, Woody Allen's latest.

Foreign Films nominated: KUNG FU HUSTLE (Gong fu, Hong Kong Mandarin title); MERRY CHRISTMAS (JOYEUZ NOEL, France); PARADISE NOW (Palestine); THE PROMISE (WU JI, People's Republic of China); and TSOTSI (South Africa). All but Kung Fu Hustle have been submitted for a possible Oscar® nomination in the Best Foreign Film Category.

For the full list of nominations: http://www.thegoldenglobes.com/

Jon Stewart Will Host Academy Awards®

Jon Stewart, host of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" was tapped today to host the 2006 Oscars®, ending speculation that the host might be Steve Martin, late-night hosts Jay Leno or Conan O'Brien. Stewart hosted the Grammys® Music Awards in 2001 and 2002.

The 43-year-old star of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" follows a long line of standup comedians who have hosted the Oscars®: Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, Whoopi Goldberg, Chris Rock, Billy Crystal, etc.

"The Daily Show" has earned seven Emmys and a Peabody award. Stewart also won the 2005 Thurber Prize for American Humor for his book written with "The Daily Show" writers, America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction.

"I love a comic who can deal with the unexpected and has the ability to run the room," said Gil Cates, the producer of this year's 78th Academy Awards®, airing 5 March on ABC. "The speed of mind and fearlessness of a comic really adds to the show. My wife and I watch him every night," he said. "Jon is the epitome of a perfect host -- smart, engaging, irreverent and funny."

"He's a very, very popular entertainer with a mind that is quick, and you need that on a show like this," said Sid Ganis, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. "I'm very excited. Stewart is a superb choice — witty, current, intelligent and charming. What a terrific addition to our roster of great hosts!"

Hope these expectations are not too high. Good luck, Jon!

An Interesting Charlie Chaplin Tidbit

Read today that Aurélia Thierrée is acting in a production at the Teatro Principal (Principal Theatre) in Valencia, Spain, 4-8 January, entitled, "El Oratorio de Aurélia" (“Aurélia’s Oratorio”). Aurélia's mother and father, Victoria Chaplin and Jean-Baptiste Thierrée, developed and previously performed the piece as "The Invisable Circus," which evolved with a particular mix of clever transformations, magic acts, and circus-style balancing over the past two decades. Their aim was to delight and amuse their audiences, always careful not to let their light touch become heavy-handed overkill. It was an astute commentary on the traditional circus laden with tigers and trapezes. Now, Victoria has revised it for, and with, her daughter Aurélia, utilizing optical illusions with magical light effects mixed with nostalgic music hall nuances.

Victoria's parents were Charlie and Oona O'Neill Chaplin, so Aurélia's aunt is, of course, actress Geraldine Chaplin. One article I read states that Aurélia has a good relationship with her aunt.

One reviewer wrote, "Sit back, hold tight and return to the lost land of fantasy, where curiosity and marvels abound, and there is simply no limit to your imagination! You will be amazed and enchanted at the same time."

Sounds like a yummy theatrical experience that Charlie would have loved!