Oscar nominees came out this morning…here’s my thoughts and predictions, if you’re interested…
Best Picture
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Munich
I haven’t seen any of these, regrettably. But…my thought is that Munich will win. Spielberg and an international crisis = golden-man trophy.

Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote"
Terrence Howard, "Hustle & Flow"
Heath Ledger, "Brokeback Mountain"
Joaquin Phoenix, "Walk the Line"
David Strathairn, "Good Night, and Good Luck"
I’ve only seen Hustle & Flow, but I think Joaquin Phoenix will win. I want Philip Seymour Hoffman though.

Actress
Judi Dench, "Mrs. Henderson Presents"
Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica"
Keira Knightley, "Pride & Prejudice"
Charlize Theron, "North Country"
Reese Witherspoon, "Walk the Line"
No idea. Reese Witherspoon, probably. Again, haven’t seen any of these.

Supporting Actor
George Clooney, "Syriana"
Matt Dillon, "Crash"
Paul Giamatti, "Cinderella Man"
Jake Gyllenhaal, "Brokeback Mountain"
William Hurt, "A History of Violence"
I want Paul Giamatti. I love Giamatti-ape. But my money’s on Jake Gyllenhaal or George Clooney, based solely on the content of their movie.

Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, "Junebug"
Catherine Keener, "Capote"
Frances McDormand, "North Country"
Rachel Weisz, "The Constant Gardener"
Michelle Williams, "Brokeback Mountain"
Finger’s crossed for Catherine Keener for playing Harper Lee, but again, I think Michelle Williams will win for Brokeback Mountain.

Director
Ang Lee, "Brokeback Mountain"
Bennett Miller, "Capote"
Paul Haggis, "Crash"
George Clooney, "Good Night, and Good Luck"
Steven Spielberg, "Munich"
I’d be happy with anyone but Spielberg on this one. He’s gotten enough praise. Give it to Ang Lee, or Paul Haggis for making a movie about race relations and doing it realistically. Clooney will probably get it, because Oscar gravitates toward actors turned directors.

Foreign Film
"Don't Tell" Italy
"Joyeux Noel" France
"Paradise Now" Palestine
"Sophie Scholl - The Final Days" Germany
"Tsotsi," South Africa
You got me. Palestine or South Africa, because, hey, we feel bad for them, right?

Adapted Screenplay
Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana, "Brokeback Mountain"
Dan Futterman, "Capote" Jeffrey Caine, "The Constant Gardener"
Josh Olson, "A History of Violence"
Tony Kushner and Eric Roth, "Munich"
This is a tough one. Dan Futterman, who played that poor bastard son in The Birdcage, or Josh Olson, because A History of Violence was originally a graphic novel. But…they’ll probably be the ones who definitely wont win. I’d say anyone but them.

Original Screenplay
Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco, "Crash"
George Clooney & Grant Heslov, "Good Night, and Good Luck."
Woody Allen, "Match Point"
Noah Baumbach, "The Squid and the Whale"
Stephen Gaghan, "Syriana"
Writer/Directors should almost always win. But they wont this time. Clooney, or Stephen Gaghan, who wrote for Clooney.

Animated Feature Film
"Howl's Moving Castle"
"Tim Burton's Corpse Bride"
"Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit"
This is a toss-up between Howl’s Moving Castle and Wallace & Gromit. Burton’s follow-up to the classic Nightmare Before Christmas wasn’t received very well. But that’s who I want, nonetheless.

Art Direction "Good Night, and Good Luck."
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"
"King Kong"
"Memoirs of a Geisha"
"Pride & Prejudice"
Memoirs of a Geisha. All the way. Not who I’d pick *cough*King Kong*cough*...

Cinematography
"Batman Begins"
"Brokeback Mountain"
"Good Night, and Good Luck."
"Memoirs of a Geisha"
"The New World"
Any guesses? C’mon, this should be easy. Batman Begins. But it wont win. Another one for the Geisha.

Sound Mixing
"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"
"King Kong"
"Memoirs of a Geisha"
"Walk the Line"
"War of the Worlds"
I actually think War of the Worlds or King Kong actually has a chance to win this one.

Sound Editing
"King Kong"
"Memoirs of a Geisha”
"War of the Worlds"
Same as Sound Mixing. Since I don’t know the difference anyway.

Original Score
"Brokeback Mountain" Gustavo Santaolalla
"The Constant Gardener" Alberto Iglesias
"Memoirs of a Geisha" John Williams
"Munich" John Williams
"Pride & Prejudice" Dario Marianelli.
No question. John Williams. The real question is which movie will he win for?

Original Song
"In the Deep" from "Crash," Kathleen "Bird" York and Michael Becker
"It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from "Hustle & Flow," Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman and Paul Beauregard
"Travelin' Thru" from "Transamerica," Dolly Parton.
Easy pick. Dolly Parton. My choice is ”It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” though.

Costume
"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"
"Memoirs of a Geisha”
"Mrs. Henderson Presents"
"Pride & Prejudice"
"Walk the Line."
Charlie or Geisha. Hoping for Charlie.

Documentary Feature
"Darwin's Nightmare"
"Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room"
"March of the Penguins"
"Murderball"
"Street Fight"
Morgan Freeman told the story of those plucky flightless birds, so I’d like to see that win. I’d also like to see Murderball win because those guys are the toughest bunch of muthers on four wheels.

Documentary (short subject)
"The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club"
"God Sleeps in Rwanda"
"The Mushroom Club"
"A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin"
No idea.

Film Editing
"Cinderella Man"
"The Constant Gardener"
"Crash"
"Munich"
"Walk the Line"
I think Munich will win, but I think Crash should.

Makeup
"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"
"Cinderella Man"
"Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith"
I honestly think Star Wars deserves to win. Narnia didn’t do anything ground-breaking, and I don’t think Cinderella Man did either.

Animated Short Film
"Badgered"
"The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation"
"The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello"
"9"
"One Man Band"
Unless one of these is a Pixar short, I honestly don’t care.

Live Action Short Film
"Ausreisser (The Runaway)"
"Cashback" "The Last Farm"
"Our Time Is Up"
"Six Shooter"
I don’t really care about these either, although I should since these guys could be up for Best Picture next year…

Visual Effects
"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"
"King Kong"
"War of the Worlds"
Kong. ’Nuff said


There it is. I’m probably way off on all of these. Just have to see, I ‘spose.