Borat's Blow Off, and Other Oscar Snubbs

January 23, 2007

The shocking(?) headline after this morning’s announcement is the absence of Dreamgirls from both Best Picture and Best Director categories. (The flick did score eight nods; three for best song!)

But before we cry for Beyonce or start congratulating Helen Mirren, let us pay tribute to all the fine actors who were certifiably snubbed.

Best Actor NOT Nominated

Sacha Baron Cohen for Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Was there a funnier, smarter, more squirm-inducing performance this year? No.

Ken Watanabe Letters From Iwo Jima
The movie was nominated for Best Picture – Best Picture! – do they think it would be half as good without its star?

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Almodovar's Competition

January 19, 2007

It's all about "Pan's Labrynth" (a critic's favorite but a terribly dull flick) versus "Volver" from Almodovar in the Best Foreign Language category.

And that's after this release regarding the academy's narrowing it down to 9 finalist. They'll narrow it down to five next week: For the first time, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences unveiled a short list of potential nominees from 61 qualifying films in the category.

The nine movies in the running: ''Days of Glory'' from Algeria, ''Water'' from Canada, ''After the Wedding'' from Denmark, ''Avenue Montaigne'' from France, ''The Lives of Others'' from Germany, ''Pan's Labyrinth'' from Mexico, ''Black Book'' from the Netherlands, ''Volver'' from Spain and ''Vitus'' from Switzerland.

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DREAMing of a Front Runner

January 17, 2007

The Golden Globes, trade unions, film critics and just about everyone else in Hollywood have weighed in on 2006's best film achievements, helping to solidify the Academy Awards picture _ and muddy it up a bit, too.

With Oscar nominations due out Tuesday, a few clear front-runners and some intriguing wild cards have emerged, along with an unusually open race for the top prize.

Still to come are honors by the Directors Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild, whose nominations came out earlier this month. Those awards should help sort out the much of the Oscar outlook, but unlike most years, when a solid favorite often emerges, the best-picture category could remain up for grabs right up to awards night Feb. 25.

A look at how Oscar season is shaping up:

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Oscar Race Update: The Fight Continues

January 09, 2007

Battle lines are being drawn. Departed vs. everything else is how OUTzoneTV.com's PR dept sees it. Editorial staff is split between ensemble dramas like Bobby , Little Miss Sunshine, or Dreamgirls.

The actress category appears a lock for Helen Mirren, although some are hoping for a surprise upset. Like, "Oh, she's totally going to win anyway so I'm going to vote for Penelope Cruz." (That's what we're dreaming about.)

And no one can get a handle on how the Supporting Actor categories will fall. The Supporting Actress is always a disaster (Juliette Binoche anyone?). And the Supporting Actor category this year could have megastars from Jack Nicholson to realtively quirky less-thans such as Alan Arkin, or the creepy guy from Little Children.

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Little Miss Screen Actor's Guild Nomination

January 04, 2007

The ensemble drama Babel, the musical Dreamgirls and the road-trip tale Little Miss Sunshine each earned three nominations Thursday for the Screen Actors Guild Awards, while Leonardo DiCaprio and Helen Mirren both had two nominations.

But all we really care about is that Little Miss Genius, Abigail Breslin, the youngster at the heart of "LMS".

The guild picks are one of the last major announcements in Hollywood awards season before Academy Awards nominations come out Jan. 23. The Oscars will be presented Feb. 25.

And because SAG is so Los Angeles-centric. And so is "The Academy", SAG nominees have become synonymous with Oscar nominations.

Actors guild winners often go on to win Oscars, including three SAG winners from last year: lead performers Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote and Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line, and supporting actress Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener.

Last year's winner for the guild's prize for the overall acting ensemble, Crash, also went on to the win the best-picture Oscar.

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