http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/blog.php?12-Movie-Musings MousePad is a discussion forum covering family travel and entertainment, especially Disney. To visit the forum, go to http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/ . en Tue, 21 May 2013 20:27:57 GMT vBulletin 15 http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/images/misc/rss.jpg http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/blog.php?12-Movie-Musings http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/entry.php?512 Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:15:51 GMT ' ]]> Alex S. http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/entry.php?512 http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/entry.php?148-Disney-announced-new-nature-documentary-production-label Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:52:31 GMT Today Disney announced a new movie production label *Disneynature*. In a move hearkening back to... Today Disney announced a new movie production label Disneynature. In a move hearkening back to the days of Walt Disney and the True-Life Adventures this label marks an institutional return to nature documentaries, using the best in modern technology.

I haven't had a chance to look through the details yet but even if they are simple fluff, if they are as pretty as the Blue Planet HD showcases no Discovery are they'll be a happy addition to my reviewing workload. The announcement also included information on the first seven titles to be released under the banner over the next four years.

============

Burbank, California – April 21, 2008 --The Walt Disney Studios is launching Disneynature, a prestigious new production banner that will literally go to the ends of the earth to produce major big screen nature documentaries, Studios Chairman Dick Cook announced.

In the great tradition established by Walt Disney himself, Disneynature will offer spectacular entertainment about the world in which we live. The significance of the new banner goes beyond the studio, with The Walt Disney Company embracing this new initiative around the world through a number of its businesses, including publications, licensing, parks and educational outreach. Disney veteran Jean-Francois Camilleri, who has served as senior vice president and general manager for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures France will head the new unit. Disneynature will be based in France, where Camilleri and his team will oversee the initiation, development and acquisition of high quality feature projects.



Among the first films to be released domestically under the new label will be Earth, from award-winning British producer/director Alastair Fothergill, whose credits include the landmark Planet Earth series for the BBC and The Discovery Channel and The Blue Planet. Earth, which is produced by BBC Worldwide and Greenlight Media and co-directed by Mark Linfield, will take us on a tour of our home planet as we’ve never seen it before. It will be narrated by renowned actor James Earl Jones and will premiere theatrically on Earth Day, April 22, 2009. The film will also be released under the Disneynature banner in Latin America.

“We love balancing heritage and innovation and Disneynature is a perfect example of this.We are placing the legacy of Disney’s ‘True-Life Adventures’ in the hands of great modern filmmakers using dazzling technology,” said Robert A. Iger, president and CEO, The Walt Disney Company. “Disneynatureis a concept we look forward to building across the company and across the globe for years to come.And,we hope these films will contribute to a greater understanding and appreciation of the beauty and fragility of our natural world.”

Dick Cook added, “Our goal is for Disneynature to offer event films that will appeal to everyone who is captivated by the grandeur of nature and the wonder of great filmmaking. Thanks to today’s state-of-the-art creative tools, filmmakers have an unlimited ability to tell nature’s limitless stories. These stories are as engrossing as any works of fiction and are of a scale and scope that can only be fully appreciated on a big screen. At Disneynature, the sky is truly the limit.”

"Nature invents the most beautiful stories. Our role at Disneynature will be to tell these stories with passion and enthusiasm to the largest public possible around the world,” said Camilleri. “By working with the best wildlife directors, we will offer nature as never seen before, help the audience to discover the incredible beauty of our world but also understand the challenges for the future generations."

Alastair Fothergill added, “This is especially exciting because, thanks to the wide-ranging appeal of Disney, we can expect Earth, as well as Chimpanzee and Big Cats to be seen by the broadest possible audience. Disney has been an inspiration to wildlife documentarians for generations and it’s a genuine thrill to advance this extraordinary legacy under this new label.”



Among the other Disneynature projects currently in development or production are:

THE CRIMSON WING: Mystery of the Flamingos – Co-directed by Matthew Aeberhard and Leander Ward, and produced by Paul Webster (Kudos Pictures),this film will take viewers to the isolated shores of Lake Natron in northern Tanzania for a birds-eye view of the mysterious lives of flamingos. Worldwide roll-out begins December 2008

OCEANS -- Nearly three-quarters of the earth’s surface is covered by oceans. French co-directors Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud have set out to capture the full expanse of these waters that have played such a crucial and constant role in the history and sustenance of man. The deep and abundant oceans are places of great mysteries and dangers that this film will dare to explore. Domestic release 2010

ORANGUTANS: One Minute to Midnight – Directed by Charlie Hamilton James and produced by Frédéric Fougea, this film tells the true story of a six-year-old male orangutan and his little sister, who must take an incredible journey to find a home and a family. Worldwide release 2010

BIG CATS – Audiences will get to meet three mothers – a lioness, a leopard and a cheetah – as they explore their world on the great plains of Africa. Co-directed by Keith Scholey and Alastair Fothergill and produced by Alix Tidmarsh, this film will show how these magnificent animals survive on their power and their cunning, while they protect and teach their cubs the ways of the wild. Worldwide release 2011



NAKED BEAUTY: A Love Story that Feeds the Earth – In this film, nature is ready for its close-up … a very close-up, as exacting macro photography takes us to the realm of flowers and their pollinators. Acclaimed filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg introduces us to a bat, a hummingbird, a butterfly and a bumblebee, demonstrating their intricate interdependence and how life on earth depends on the success of these determined, diminutive creatures. Naked Beauty is produced by Blacklight Films and Alix Tidmarsh. Worldwide release 2011

CHIMPANZEE -- Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield co-direct this intimate look at the world of chimpanzees, with Christophe Boesch, head of the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation, serving as principal consultant and Alix Tidmarsh as producer. To be shot over three years in the tropical jungles of the Ivory Coast and Uganda, Chimpanzee will help us better understand this exceptionally intelligent species. Worldwide release 2012

About Jean-François Camilleri:

After beginning his career working in France with Warner Bros. International, which at the time distributed Disney films overseas, Camilleri came to Los Angeles in 1990 to work for Disney’s Buena Vista International (BVI). When Disney took over its own overseas distribution, he returned to Paris to help develop BVI’s offices in Europe. He then became in 1997 Vice President and general Manager for Gaumont BVI France. In 2004, BVI opened an office dedicated solely to the French market, with Camilleri as senior vice president and general manager. In this position, he also developed local co-productions and acquisitions, including The March Of The Penguins, which became the most successful French film ever in the US and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary. He will be serving as executive vice president and general manager of Disneynature.

About the filmmakers (in order of films):

Alastair Fothergill joined the BBC’s esteemed Natural History Unit in 1983, where, among many projects, he produced films with Sir David Attenborough. He served as head of the Natural History Unit from 1992-1998, when he chose to step down to work full-time on the award-winning Blue Planet. From 2002-2006, Fothergill was series producer of the landmark Planet Earth. He has entered a multi-picture deal with Disneynature.

Mark Linfield has had a prolific career, producing and directing many award-winning films, including The Battles of Braveheart, Orangutans: The High Society, The Temple Troop and The Life of Mammals with Sir David Attenborough.His most recent work has been the multi-award award winning Capuchins: The Monkey Puzzle and two episodes of Planet Earth, including the opening show, Pole to Pole, which won several Emmys.

Matthew Aeberhard worked with famed naturalist and filmmaker Hugo van Lawick on the feature films The Leopard Son and Serengeti Symphony before helming his own films on such subjects as golden jackals and baboons for National Geographic.

Leander Ward first encountered flamingos while filming in Mexico. He was cameraman on the BBC documentary Cape Buffalo: The African Boss, where he met Matthew Aeberhard and the two began developing the film that will become The Crimson Wing.

Academy Award nominee, Jacques Perrin, is a prolific French actor, director and producer. In 1968, he produced at age 27, the landmark film, 'Z'. In 2003, he produced the acclaimed film LES CHORISTES: both films were nominated for Best Foreign Film Academy Award. He also produced two of the most important natural history films ever made: MICROCOSMOS in 1996 and THE WINGED MIGRATION in 2001 which he also directed. Both received numerous awards around the world. Since 2005, he has been producing and co-directing Oceans.
Jacques Cluzaud is one of the leading French filmmakers working with innovative new cinematic technologies. In addition to traditional productions, he has created films for such formats as IMAX, water screens and a giant wall consisting of 850 monitors. While co-directing Oceans, he is also developing new technologies for sea and underwater shooting.

Charlie Hamilton James began his career as a wildlife filmmaker at age 16, working on David Attenborough's Trails of Life. He went on to serve as a cameraman working on such prestigious BBC productions as Life of Mammals, Wildlife on One, Andes to Amazon, Big Cat Diary and Planet Earth. At 26, James produced his first film with his wife Philippa Forrester – My Halcyon River – which won numerous international awards and elicited more requests for repeats than any other film in the BBC's history.

Frédéric Fougea is a nature documentarian and producer who has received more than 100 awards, including an International Emmy Award, Best Film at the European Nature Film Festival and the Gold Medal at the New York Film Festival. Among his provocative films are The Rise of Man, A Species Odyssey, The Fabulous Adventure of Man and Animal and Yeti, The Call of the Snowman.

Keith Scholey was born in Tanzania and raised in East Africa until his teens. He has returned to Africa to make a wide range of films, including Leopard: A Darkness in the Grass, The Great Rift and Big Cat Diary. He succeeded Alastair Fothergill as head of the BBC’s Natural History Unit from 1998 until 2003, being responsible for a wide range of award-winning films, including two David Attenborough productions and The Blue Planet. He is currently the Controller of Factual Production, responsible for all the BBC’s factual productions.

Louie Schwartzberg, as a director and cinematographer, has created some of the most iconic and memorable film moments of our time. His time-lapse, nature and aerial photography has brought audiences images never captured before. He has directed award-winning documentaries for National Geographic, The Hallmark Channel, The Discovery Channel and PBS, and his work has been featured in theatrical films ranging from War of the Worlds and Crash to American Beauty and E.T. In 2004, he produced and directed the award-winning Walt Disney Pictures release, America’s Heart & Soul. ]]> Alex S. http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/entry.php?148-Disney-announced-new-nature-documentary-production-label http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/entry.php?140-X-Files-titles-announced Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:28:41 GMT So Fox has, surprisingly late in the game, finally announced the full title of the new X-Files... So Fox has, surprisingly late in the game, finally announced the full title of the new X-Files movie hitting theaters on July 25th:

X-Files: I Want to Believe

I can't say that it is a very compelling title. Frankly, it sounds a bit like a pop song. I know it is appropriate for X-Files, but still.

I'm actually pretty excited by this movie but I have to wonder what its chances are in the busy summer blockbuster season. The first X-Files movie in 1998 (a decade ago) didn't exactly set the world on fire and it the meat of the blockbuster box office, teenaged and early 20s males were still in elementary school when X-Files went off the air. Do they care? Do they even know what this show is?

I've been very pleased to hear that the script for this movie will apparently avoid much emphasis on the mythology of alien conspiracies in favor of the style of their more standalone creep episodes.

I'm guessing, though, that this decision was more than just one of style but also because they realized nobody remembers the conspiracies laid out in the TV show. ]]> Alex S. http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/entry.php?140-X-Files-titles-announced http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/entry.php?134-A-Quantum-of-Bond Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:00:55 GMT So Sony has begun to release long lead promotional materials for the next James Bond movie A... So Sony has begun to release long lead promotional materials for the next James Bond movie A Quantum of Solace (I can't say that title fills me with excitement).

Does the dirty blond Daniel Craig still do it for you?


James Bond (Daniel Craig). Photo by Karen Ballard.

Does it help if he's been knocked around a bit?


James Bond (Daniel Craig). Photo by Karen Ballard.

Does the newest bond girl, Ukrainian model Olga Kurylenko please the eyes?


Camille (Olga Kurylenko). Photo by Karen Ballard.

After years in a coma (sorry Mr. Brosnan, you were a good Bond, it is just that the franchise was creatively moribund), Casino Royale and Daniel Craig returned Bond to some form of relevance. I have no idea if things can be maintained into a second title, but I'm certainly going to give it a shot.

Warning: The following plot summary from Sony Pictures contains spoilers


QUANTUM OF SOLACE continues the high octane adventures of James Bond (DANIEL CRAIG) in CASINO ROYALE.


Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, Bond and M (JUDI DENCH) interrogate Mr White (JESPER CHRISTENSEN) who reveals the organization which blackmailed Vesper is far more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined.


Forensic intelligence links an Mi6 traitor to a bank account in Haiti where a case of mistaken identity introduces Bond to the beautiful but feisty Camille (OLGA KURYLENKO), a woman who has her own vendetta. Camille leads Bond straight to Dominic Greene (MATHIEU AMALRIC), a ruthless business man and major force within the mysterious organization.


On a mission that leads him to Austria, Italy and South America, Bond discovers that Greene, conspiring to take total control of one of the world's most important natural resources, is forging a deal with the exiled General Medrano (JOAQUIN COSIO). Using his associates in the organization, and manipulating his powerful contacts within the CIA and the British government, Greene promises to overthrow the existing regime in a Latin American country, giving the General control of the country in exchange for a seemingly barren piece of land.


In a minefield of treachery, murder and deceit, Bond allies with old friends in a battle to uncover the truth. As he gets closer to finding the man responsible for the betrayal of Vesper, 007 must keep one step ahead of the CIA, the terrorists and even M, to unravel Greene's sinister plan and stop his organization.


]]> Alex S. http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/entry.php?134-A-Quantum-of-Bond http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/entry.php?132-A-5-Year-Plan Wed, 09 Apr 2008 17:22:27 GMT Disney has done an impressive thing and announced a full slate of feature animation titles over the... Disney has done an impressive thing and announced a full slate of feature animation titles over the next 5 years through 2012.

Ignoring the direct-to-DVD Tinker Bell series and 3D Toy Story re-releases, there are 10 planned theatrical releases:

• Wall-E (Pixar) - June 27, 2008
• Bolt (Disney Animation) - November 26, 2008
• Up (Pixar) - May 29, 2009* The Princess and the Frog (Disney Animation) - Christmas 2009
• Toy Story 3 (Pixar) - June 18, 2010
• Rapunzel (Disney Animation) - Christmas 2010
• Newt (Pixar) - Summer 2011
• The Bear and the Bow (Pixar) - Christmas 2011
• Cars 2 (Pixar) - Summer 2012
• King of the Elves (Disney Animation) - Christmas 2012

Of some interest in the pure scheduling of it is that in 2011 Pixar will for the first time release two movies in a single year. Meanwhile Walt Disney Feature Animation will skip that year and go two full years between releases.

Also interesting is that historically Disney has released big animated features around Thanksgiving but 2009 through 2012 those releases are listed as Christmas. We won't know what dates those actually mean for a while yet but if they really are Christmas releases it is an interesting change in release strategy.

So some initial thoughts on the next two years of Disney animation.

Wall-E (Pixar Animation)
Directed by Andrew Stanton (a bug's life, Finding Nemo)
Written by Andrew Stanton (Toy Story, a bug's life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo)


I must admit that I don't have a strong feeling about Wall-E. On the one hand I almost always feel this way about upcoming Pixar movies when all I've seen is the trailers. I suppose it is better to undersell and over deliver but it does make it hard to get excited.

My biggest concern about Wall-E is that it will play too much to the boys in the audience. Animation for boys generally seems to have trouble finding a big audience but Pixar seems to have skirted that line with The Incredibles and Cars.

It is also worth noting that it appears that Wall-E could be the last Pixar title for a very long time not released in 3D.

Bolt (Walt Disney Animation)
Directed by Chris Williams (directorial debut) and Byron Howard (directorial debut)


If you'll pardon the pun, this one really feels like a dog to me. The really big surprise is that it is the only title on the release that sounds bad on the surface.

John Travolta voices a dog who portrays an Underdog type character in a TV show. Unfortunately Bolt doesn't realize he isn't really a superhero, which causes problems when he is forced into a cross-country trek with Mittens (a cat, Susie Essman) and a hamster. Miley Cyrus also provides her voice (non-musically one presumes).

This one just feels completely obvious to me. I feel like I can already predict half the gags and the end of the movie. Hope I'm wrong.

Up (Pixar Animation)
Directed by Pete Doctor (Monsters, Inc.)
Written by Bob Peterson (Finding Nemo)



Up has the look of another male-focused adventure movie but for some reason this one appeals to me out of the box.

Carl (Ed Asner) is 78 years old and has lived a life dreaming of travel and exploration without ever actually doing it. Of course circumstances send him on a globe trotting adventure with a young Explorer Scout.

It'll be very interesting to see Pixar tackle a story entirely focused on humans without the crutch of anthropomorphic rodents (Ratatouille) or extreme stylization (The Incredibles).


The Princess and the Frog
Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements (co-directors of The Great Mouse Detective, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, Treasure Planet)


This one has been generating a fair amount of attention for quite a while for a couple reasons. First, it will be a "princess" tale where the princess in question is not white without the story requiring a non-white character (obviously, Mulan needed to be Chinese and Pocahontas had to be Native American). That's the important element for social and cultural observers, but for animation fans there's something more important.

It will be Disney's first 2-D animated movie since Home on the Range in 2004 and represents a reversal from the idea that Disney was out of that business. ]]> Alex S. http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/entry.php?132-A-5-Year-Plan http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/entry.php?128-A-Leatherheads-Fumble Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:38:58 GMT Nothing like a football movie to make newspaper headline writers happy. No matter what happens,... Nothing like a football movie to make newspaper headline writers happy. No matter what happens, when they do the post-weekend box office story, they'll have plenty of puns available with "fumble" or "touchdown" just being the lowest hanging of the fruit.

And fumble is definitely the winner this weekend. But I have to wonder why that is. Can anybody really be very surprised? I love watching George Clooney on screen, he has outgrown some of his annoying quirks (early on in his movie career he had this head nodding habit that drove me batty) and in terms of persona on and off screen, he is our generation's Cary Grant.

Clooney is the closest I've ever come to watching a contemporary actor and actually kind of say to myself "I wouldn't mind being him." If for no other reason than his ability to wear a suit.

But the fact remains, regardless of how much of a "movie star" Clooney is, he doesn't open movies. Clooney has appeared in 24 movies (19 of them in the last decade) and only 4 have topped the decidedly unimpressive domestic box office of $51 million. The first was in 1997 with the decidedly awful -- so awful that it was joked about in Tilda Swinton's Oscar acceptance speech -- Batman and Robin.

The other three all have the word "Ocean" in the title so you can hardly put their success solely on his shoulders.

Compare this to Tom Hanks with 20 $51 million movies. Or Tom Cruise with 16 (and Magnolia is the only movie he's done in the last 20 years that didn't get at least that much). Julia Roberts with 19. Even Ben Stiller tops him with 11 of them.

But this isn't necessarily a bad thing for George Clooney, because this The Facts of Life alum is steadily creating a filmography that most serious actors would kill for and several of my favorite movies have Clooney in them.

George Clooney may have just about the best taste in projects of anybody in Hollywood. Out of Sight, Three Kings, and O Brother, Where Art Thou? all in a phenomenal three year run and combined they only did $140 million. Intolerable Cruelty is a fabulous biting comedy and actually be second favorite Coen Brothers title. Syriana, Michael Clayton, and Good Night, and Good Luck were well worth the critical accolades (another $130 for the three).

So it really shouldn't be a surprise that Leatherheads didn't fill any seats. It is certainly the most mainstream movie he's done in years (other than the Ocean's sequels) but it also a movie with a pretty narrow conceit. It isn't a modern comedy set in the early days of professional football; instead it is trying to be a movie made in the early days of professional football.

Considering most people people heading to the theater won't even know who Rosalind Russell was, or that Renee Zellweger's is styled on her character in His Girl Friday, it is hard to see how this would appeal to them.

People who blink unfamiliarly at the mention of that movie, or The Lady Eve or Bringing Up Baby or The Philadelphia Story or Harvey or any of the great comedies of the 1940s or early 1950s aren't going to care much for a movie that attempts to recreate their magic.

Is definitely doesn't help that, unfortunately, the movie whiffs completely. I checked it out over the weekend and it just never generates any real interest or reason to care in any of the characters.

The oddest choice of all was to give Renee Zellweger the lines and pacing of a 1940s comedy but to not do so for anybody else. Zellweger's Rosalind Russell has no Cary Grant as her counterpart. There is one moment hinting at what could have been when Clooney and Zellweger first meet in the movie and it perfectly captures the quick snap-snap timing necessary, but it remains just a glimmer.

I love The Office and John Krasinsky is a big part of that. But like so many it appears that TV is his medium. He just looks small up there on the screen with Clooney, Jonathan Pryce, and even Renee Zellweger (who has been lucky more than good through her career).

All that said, though, in a montage showing Clooney riding a motorcycle from Ohio to Chicago he looked so good that for just a few moment I sat there thinking "I really wouldn't mind being him."

And THAT is a movie star. ]]> Alex S. http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/entry.php?128-A-Leatherheads-Fumble http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/entry.php?74-Away-from-Her Sun, 24 Feb 2008 09:45:44 GMT I did squeeze in some time to watch Away from Her so I've now seen all of the best actress nominations.

For those who don't know (and since this is one of those mostly unseen nominated films that would be pretty much everybody), Away from Her is the story of Grant dealing with having to put Fiona, his wife of 44 years into a home as she slides into oblivion due to Alzheimer's. And what he's willing to sacrifice to have her as happy as possible and also atone for some of his own past bad behavior.

It is a hard movie to watch and and Julie Christie does indeed do a fine job though I'd barely call it a leading role since the focus of the movie is squarely on Grant (Gordon Pinsent), and his is an even better performance.

I'm not over the moon about Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose but she was the best of the ones I'd seen and by a nose I'd still give her the little gold guy if it were up to me. ]]> Alex S. http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/entry.php?74-Away-from-Her http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/entry.php?72-Oscar-picks Fri, 22 Feb 2008 19:18:08 GMT This isn't an attempt to pick who I think will win, just my thoughts on who I would pick for the major categories. For each category, the titles in bold are ones I've seen.

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

This one is a complete no brainer for me: No Country for Old Men all the way. A lot of people have complained about the ending and how a couple key events were handled but they seemed perfect to me. Juno and Michael Clayton are both very worthy films that are simply up against a better movie. There Will Be Blood is an inspired failure from a fantastic filmmaker. Atonement just left me flat.

Best Actor
Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises), Tommy Lee Jones (In the Valley of Elah), George Clooney (Michael Clayton), Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd), Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)

Although There Will Be Blood didn't work for me in the end, the performance by Day-Lewis is amazing. He just disappears completely into the role (as he generally does). Clooney did a great job in Clayton but again is just up against better competition. Mortensen's fully nude sauna fight in Eastern Promises was intense but I didn't really see much else of interest in the role.

Best Actress
Julie Christie (Away from Her), Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age), Ellen Page (Juno), Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose), Laura Linney (The Savages)

This one is a near toss up between Marion Cotillard and Ellen Page but in the end I tip towards Cotillard even though I found the movie itself to be another iteration of the standard musical biopic (rough childhood, sudden rise, descent into jackassery). By the end of the weekend I'll have seen Away from Her so this vote could change.

Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Charlie Wilson's War, Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild), Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton), Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)

Bardem's Anton Chigurh is simply the best character of the year, so I am very confident in picking him despite missing three of the performances (mentally I replace Gone Baby Gone as the nominated Affleck performance and The Savages for Hoffman).

Best Supporting Actress
Ruby Dee (American Gangster), Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone), Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There), Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)

This is a really rough one as all are very good performances (though Ruby Dee's is probably a bit on the sentimental side) and I've missed what was, on paper, the most interesting performance of the year in Blanchett playing Bob Dylan.

Ultimately though, I come down in favor of Swinton's performance as a corporate lawyer that is just as shocked as everybody else at where she ends up going once the pressure is really on.

Best Director
Jason Reitman (Juno), Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton), Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men), Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), Paul Thomas Andeson (There Will Be Blood)

Again, I make it a sweep for No Country. The Coens continue to mature into amazing filmmakers and I'd give them the award for just the scene involving the dog.

Best Original Screenplay
Diablo Cody (Juno), Nancy Oliver (Lars and the Real Girl), Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton), Brad Bird (Ratatouille), Tamara Jenkins (The Savages)

Diablo Cody is probably going to win this but i have to give it to Brad Bird. As much as Ratatouille is a visually beautiful film, its true success is in the story and the characters and it would have been as great if done with stick figures in a flip book.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Christopher Hampton (Atonement), Sarah Polley (Away from Her), Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men), Ronald Harwood (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood)

The Coens again, though it isn't so strong this time. Much of what I think is great about No Country is purely on the screen and in the editing (not that these lines are solid, especially when the directors were the writers as well). ]]> Alex S. http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/entry.php?72-Oscar-picks