Oscar Nominations

Tommy Lee Jones is astounded that he was nominated for best actor for "In the Valley of Elah" rather than "No Country for Old Men".




The full list of nominations can be found here. I won't draw this one out, and since I know you're dying to know my picks so you can place your bets they are as follows:








Best Picture


"No Country for Old Men" will just barely beat out "There Will Be Blood".

Best Director


Obviously it's either the Coen Bros or Paul Anderson. I'm going to give it to Anderson since I think the Academy is going to split their votes between 'No Country' and 'Blood.' But if the Coen's win best director, then they'll also win best pic. Why? I have a feeling...

Best Actor


No doubt--Daniel Day-Lewis. A bet against him is a bet against liberty.

Best Actress


I think Blanchett is going to win the supporting nod for "I'm Not There" just because the Academy has to give that film some credit, and it's not nominated for any of the bigger titles. Thus the best actress nod is going to Ellen Page for 'Juno'. It might seem like a longshot, but I think the Academy is going to have a soft spot for this cute little independent flick, and Page was adorable in her role.

Best Supporting Actor


Again, no doubt--Javier Bardem for "No Country". A bet against him is a bet against America.

Best Foreign Film


Shrug...the one you can least understand, and going by language I'm betting on 'Mongol' from Kazakhstan. I think we still owe them for Borat.

Best Original Screenplay

Going 'Juno' on this one. Got a great buzz and its the most fun Hollywood's had actually having a baby rather than aborting it. Oooouch, that was a really nasty comment.


Best Adapted Screenplay

I'm going for "No Country for Old Men" but don't be surprised if "The Diving Bell" wins it. If you bet on "Bell" get good odds.


Best Animated Feature

Gotta go "Ratatouille" on this one, but "Persepolis" probably will deserve it. But if you're a fan of Ayn Rand and Ratatouille doesn't win, you kill someone and then act really arrogant about it.


Best Cinematography

'Atonement'. If you don't know why, go see it.


Best Score

'Atonement'. Probably it's the only movie outside of a musical where you almost want to watch the movie to hear the score. It's dynamic.


Best Song

Well 'Enchanted' is nominated for three of the five songs, so find the one by Randy Newman and bet on that.


As far as the rest...well you're on your own partner, cause I know less than zero about costume design and sound mixing. Flip a coin or do innie-minnie-mynnie-moe. Either way the even money, as usual, is that the actual show will suck, with or without writers.