In which I explain my theory about gazebos

Captain's Log: February 1
Last movie watched: The Best Years of Our Lives (and that makes 45!)
Song currently stuck in head: Crazy In Love by Beyonce

Welcome to Part 2 of our discussion on 1960s Best Picture Winners Which I Have Seen, or “The 60s: They’re Back!”. Today’s omail (or oblog?) is brought to you by the Academy Awards for Costume, Makeup and Art Direction, or the Period Film’s Best Friends. The main contenders across all like awards seem to be Benjamin Button, Revolutionary Road and The Dark Knight. The only name I’ve heard of in any of these categories is Catherine Martin, Costume Designer for Australia, and so she can’t be discounted. (No, not just because I’ve heard of her, but because I’ve heard of her because she’s good at what she does.) I’m thinking...probably Benjamin Button.

I like the costume awards. I like seeing the sketches to see how closely they end up matching to the finished product. Also I like hearing about how much research and detail went into it all. I remember hearing about Road To Perdition, when the costume designer searched high and low for fabric that would have existed in 1931 Chicago. It’s commitment, at the very least.

Speaking of costumes, especially those made out of drapes and fashioned into cute little Austrian lederhosen, it’s time to talk about 1965’s classic, The Sound of Music. It’s so catchy, and who, when perched on an Austrian hilltop, wouldn’t just want to break into song? No one, that’s who. This film also contains the basis for what I call the “gazebo moment”. It’s the moment in a musical where I really start to lose interest. In this film, it was when the adults (Maria and Captain Von Trapp) dance about in the gazebo. I was bored. All that kissy-kissy silliness. More lederhosen! Other gazebo moments include that guy falling in love with Eliza in My Fair Lady, and the “gotta dance” number in Singing In the Rain. In fact the only musical I can think of that doesn’t have a gazebo moment is Mary Poppins. It’s 100% goodness, probably helped by me being too ignorant to know what to think about Dick Van Dyke’s cockney accent.

But back to the movie at hand. Says here that while the Von Trapp family ends up hiking over the hills to Switzerland, in reality they “Walked to the nearest train station”. Well jeez. No one’s gonna write a song about that. Where’s that lonely goat herd when you need him? My favourite of the kids was always Kurt. You know, the one who says “I wonder what grass tastes like?” I feel I would have gotten along well with him.

Moving on. Oh goody. It’s one of my favourite films ever. It’s A Man for All Seasons, from 1966, which follows the trial of Sir Thomas More, childhood friend of Henry VIII, who was sentenced to death for refusing to say he agreed with Henry’s divorce and subsequent marriage to Anne Boelyn. The best part about this film is that it doesn’t matter what you think about divorce and remarriage. It’s the conviction and strength that More displays in refusing to sell his faith. It's the inspiration you feel from watching a person refuse to do what is easy versus what is right. And Paul Scofield – let us not kid ourselves, this guy is fantastic. The whole film is just another example of filmmakers caring enough about their material to make it well.

OOH! This just in: Frank Langella (ie, the guy who should win Best Actor for his role in Frost/Nixon) is playing More in the upcoming Broadway play! Woo!

But check this out:

"I do none harm, I say none harm, I think none harm. And if this be not enough to keep a man alive, in good faith I long not to live."

I mean...wow. They just don’t talk like that anymore. Of course, much as I adore this film (and I really do), there is also this:

“It is so often the way, too late one thinks of what one should have said. Sir Thomas More, for instance, burned alive [untrue] for refusing to recant his Catholicism, must have been kicking himself, as the flames licked higher, that it never occurred to him to say...'I recant my Catholicism’.”

Brilliant.

Next! It’s Sidney Poitier’s favourite of his films (and you'll see why), 1967’s In the Heat of the Night. Another favourite, one I saw on a damaged print, so it came out...sorta pink. Nevertheless, it’s a strong story about racial tensions and prejudice in America, and Sidney is amazing. Its most famous scene is probably the part where Rod Steiger takes Sidney for a likely suspect (ie, black), and ends up discovering that the latter is in fact a respected detective from Philadelphia (otherwise known as the “They CALL me MISTER TIBBS” scene), but its most important scene is the one where, questioning a wealthy, white local, the man slaps Sidney in the face. And then Sidney slaps him right back. Apparently the script originally had Sidney’s character not reacting to being slapped, but Sidney, whose father had instilled in him values that he was no one’s inferior, felt that this was stupid (but in more eloquent language), and demanded that he react realistically. Ok, boil it all down and it's "Some guy slaps Sidney Poitier who slaps him back", but think about the time: it was a BIG DEAL. And man, was it worth the fight.

We have two more films to run through, first of which is 1968’s Oliver! (Oh yes, WITH the exclamation mark.) A chirpy little story about orphans, thieves, murder, and a crusty old man named Fagin. I enjoyed this movie a lot, largely due to Jack Wild’s portrayal of the Artful Dodger, also the songs are darn catchy. Its gazebo moment is a little one, but it’s when Nancy’s singing “As Long As He Needs Me”. Mushy grownup stuff. This was the only G-rated film ever to win Best Picture! Good lord, they’re a depraved little bunch over there at the Academy. It’s not, possibly, the most realistic depiction of orphan life, and hang on, there’s a murder in it, but...oh well. Kids have got to learn sometimes.

Moving from the only G-rated Best Picture winner to the only X-rated Best Picture winner: the following year’s (1969...tellingly) Midnight Cowboy. Ah, the hooker with a heart of gold. Naive young man puts on a cowboy outfit and travels to New York to begin his life as a...er...kept man. Let me tell you now, this is not a favourite film of mine (and Jon Voight ain't no Julia Roberts). In fact the only thing stopping it from joining Gigi at the bottom of the heap is Dustin Hoffman’s heartbreaking performance as Ratso Rizzo. It’s really astonishing. Also, this film made the line “I’m walkin’ here!” the perfect comeback to inconsiderate drivers. It’s also the first time the word “scuzzy” was used.

Hilarious piece of trivia: one studio executive said “If we could clean this up and add a few songs, it could be a great vehicle for Elvis Presley!” AHAHAHAH!

Also, this: The only X rated movie shown to a US President while in office.

Oh, I am SO sure...

And that’s it from me, chickadees!

Norfolk: "Oh confound all this. I'm not a scholar, I don't know whether the marriage was lawful or not but dammit, Thomas, look at these names! Why can't you do as I did and come with us, for fellowship!"
More: And when we die, and you are sent to heaven for doing your conscience, and I am sent to hell for not doing mine, will you come with me, for fellowship?
--- Nigel Davenport, Paul Scofield - A Man For All Seasons ---

In which Brad Pitt qualifies as a "special effect"

Captain’s Log: 31 January
Last movie watched: Cape Fear (the original, with Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum)
Song currently stuck in head: See below.

Hey mama welcome to the 60s! Oh oh oh oh ohhhohhhohhh.

Well, we’re moving on up the decades, and things like the Screen Actors Guild Awards have been announced (winners are Sean Penn for Milk, Meryl Streep for Doubt, Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight and Kate Winslet for The Reader. It doesn’t help an awful lot, since Winslet was a Supporting Actress in the SAG awards and is nominated for Leading Actress for the Oscars). The Producer’s Guild Awards have given Slumdog Millionaire and Wall*E top honours, while the various critics awards are tending towards Slumdog (though not overwhelmingly), Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married, and a toss-up between Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke for best Actor.

Today’s Oscar topic is the awards relating to Sound, Sound Effects and Visual Effects. As usual, I know very little about the technicalities of these awards, and my expertise is limited to “wow, that looks/sounds cool!” I like the chances for Wall*E on Sound Effects, though, since it actually used junk yard items to create various characters' voices. Nominees for Visual Effects are Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight and Iron Man. Two for explosions and fancy iron suits, and one for making Brad Pitt look like a very tiny, very old man (pictured). Previous winners in this category include Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Doctor Doolittle (one assumes that was for the giant snail, and not Rex Harrison). Basically, something needs to have been created that could not possibly have been filmed. In other words, Brad Pitt himself is not a special effect, but a very small, old Mr Pitt fits the bill.

But back to the swinging 60s – can you believe I’ve seen all but ONE of the Best Picture winners? Today’s sermon will begin with Billy Wilder’s 1960 classic, The Apartment.

(Sidebar, so last omail I forgot to talk about 1956’s The King And I, but then I’m not sure anyone really cares. Does anyone read these? Hello? Bueller? The hell with it. All you need to know is this: Yul Brynner did as he always has done, and kicked ass.)

[Second sidebar: what the heck am I talking about? That movie didn't win Best Picture, which may be why I didn't mention it in the first place. Clearly I shouldn't be putting "attention to detail" on my resume]

So, The Apartment stars Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and Fred MacMurray (oh yes, that guy, from My Three Sons). It was remade by Amy Heckerling as Loser (although none of the trivia sites say this, I’m sticking to it. I’m probably just smarter than them...or something), but in its originalform it was gorgeously done. A corporate slave lends his apartment to his boss, who uses it as a love nest to “meet up” with his mistress (MacLaine), whom Lemmon is secretly in love with. Jack Lemmon delivers Billy Wilder’s beautiful lines like he was born to (Kevin Spacey, on winning his Oscar for American Beauty, dedicated his award to Jack Lemmon's performance in this film), and though it’s a simple story, it was made back in the day when they did simple stories really well.

The opposite of the simple story is the following winner, set in the good old days of New York, where the graffiti was legible and the gangs danced and whistled. It’s 1961’s West Side Story. Notable in my household as one of only two films that my mother has walked out of (the other being Blazing Saddles, although I can't imagine why). It’s basically Romeo and Juliet with half the deaths and 90% more dancing. But you have to admire the person who thinks “This Shakespeare play...bet I could turn it into modern day New York gang warfare. But you know what would make it better?” Apparently the answer was a lot of clicking and whistling and calling people “Daddy-o”. Nicknames like “Big Deal” and “A-Rab”, described in Wikipedia as “the weary one of the gang”. Here’s B-Side! The diabetic of the gang! Keeping it real, man.

But even bigger than this (seriously? You ask. Bigger than “Daddy-o”?) was the movie that was, while not bigger than Ben Hur (it’s six minutes shorter), was at least sandier. 1962’s Lawrence of Arabia was the sandiest thing to hit the movies until The English Patient came along in the late 90s. Peter O’Toole was the title character who, as Noel Coward said later, if he was any prettier, “would have been called Florence of Arabia”. Gotta give it Noel, though. Look at him there in the poster. He was the 1960s version of the Pretty Boy.

The film also stars Anthony Quinn, Alec Guinness, Claude Rains and renowned master bridge player Omar Sharif, whose entrance is one of the most awesome in movie history. In fact, when they were introduced, O’Toole decided that “No one is called Omar Sharif”, and insisted on calling him “Fred” instead.

So it's about real-life T.E. Lawrence, who led the Arabian army in their battles agains the Turks. The main complaints about the film portrayal seem to centre around the fact that O'Toole was about 9 inches taller than Lawrence. I think some people have missed the point of movies.

We’ll do one more before I let you go. I mentioned it last week as the better example of Pygmalion – better than Gigi, anyway. My Fair Lady, 1964, starred Julie Andrews in the stage version, but the studios (read: source of all evil on earth) decided she wasn’t pretty enough for the movies, and cast Audrey Hepburn instead. Sigh. Nevermind. Andrews went and starred in Mary Poppins instead and won herself an Oscar. So ner. Not that Ms Hepburn is bad. She’s quite good, especially as at one point she has to sport one of the most ridiculous hairstyles I’ve seen. The songs are memorable, Rex Harrison does his speaking-rather-than-singing thing, demanding that he be allowed to record his songs live, rather than dub them over later, marking the first time wireless microphones were used during filming. Woo! Interestingly the ending is completely different from the original play, but I’m not going to spoil it for you.

"Ya know, I used to live like Robinson Crusoe; I mean, shipwrecked among 8 million people. And then one day I saw a footprint in the sand, and there you were."
--- Jack Lemmon - The Apartment ---

In which they don't have enough lepers in movies anymore

Captain's Log: 28th January

Last movie watched: Burn After Reading (Why, oh why, do they not let Brad Pitt do this kind of stuff more often?)

Song currently in head: I've Just Seen A Face by the Beatles

So, here we are in the 1950s, where I have seen four of the Best Picture winners, which marks a record so far. It was a BIG decade for movies, too, or a decade for BIG movies. Case in point: 1953’s From Here to Eternity. The Pearl Harbour movie that kicks Pearl Harbour’s ass. Monty Clift, Frank Sinatra, Ernest Borgnine and Burt Lancaster, being manly and getting into fights over women in the lead up to the Japanese bombing on the Pacific. It’s not singing praise for the US army (despite apparently being rewritten so as to paint it in a less-disturbing light), but it’s most famous for one of film’s most enduring (and controversial) shots – Deborah Kerr and Lancaster’s beach kiss – and for showing that Frank Sinatra could act, baby. Sinatra picked up an Oscar for his performance, the getting of which was also, incidentally, the role which apparently inspired the “make him an offer he can’t refuse” bit in The Godfather (you know, right before the horse’s head turns up?).

What else? How about 1958’s Gigi, to which unfortunately I say “meh”. It’s about a young French girl who is tomboy-ish and being trained in the art of being a Lady (capital L), which seems to involve a lot of wine sipping and cigar smelling (seriously). It’s drawn a lot from things like My Fair Lady, but the songs and characters are (to me) not all that memorable. One character, for example, spends an awful lot of the movie complaining about how bored he is with everything and how girls are a bore, and theatre is a bore, and eating is a bore...so much that one begins to start to think the same about the film one is watching. Ha, though. Favourite piece of trivia involves the inclusion of a cat, which took exception to the leading lady. Hence kitty was heavily drugged. At least someone was having a good time. Good review excerpt: “[Gigi] leads the cast in a contest to see who can be the most French. The winner is Chevalier [who is, well, French, genius]…” But all the same, people apparently loved it, so...they’re obviously not thinking.

Next! 1957’s Bridge on the River Kwai, in which a troop (squad? gaggle?) of British soldiers are imprisoned in a Japanese POW camp, including their Colonel (Alec Guiness, being awesome), who takes his pride and patriotism a little too far. Massive sets, massive characters...it’s fairly long, but then it’s quite a feat of engineering. Time to get pissed off at a lot of characters, a lot of countries, and in the end, it’s all about the explosion. Ka-POW!!!!

And now my favourite of the 1950s, but ironically. It’s the film nothing is really bigger than, or they’d change the saying. It’s 1959’s Ben Hur. Woo! Oh, Mr Heston, you raving gun nut you. But look at that jawbone! Ok, so here's the plot: a Jewish prince is betrayed by a friend and his mother and sister are captured and he is drafted into slavery and then the boat he’s rowing on is attacked and then he rescues an important guy and then there’s pretty horses and a CHARIOT RACE and then Jesus shows up and there are LEPERS! Everywhere! I mean if there was one thing missing from Lord of the Rings, I think we can agree that it was the lack of lepers. Silly Tolkien.

It won 11 Oscars, equalled only by Titanic and the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. It’s also the only religious Hollywood film, apparently, that the Vatican has liked. Which maybe says something more about how Hollywood handles religion than it does about the Vatican. There seem to be about ten thousand “making of” documentaries, and a bucketload of trivia. My favourite of which is:

[of the water in the boat sequence] it was too brown and murky...they finlly found some dye that would make the water blue. During one of the battle scenes, an extra who fell into the water and spent too much time there turned blue, and was kept on the MGM payroll until it wore off.

Reason for insurance claim: turned blue.

And let’s talk about the chariot race. WOW. That’s actually Charlton Heston on there, by the way – he learned while making the film, and while yes, the people getting run over are dummies (or so they say, in fact Wikipedia says the filmmakers stressed that “no serious injuries or deaths” occurred during the scene...just incidental deaths, then), there’s still an awful lot of people and horses running around at high speed. Sheesh! No CGI, either. Uh huh.

I also love the enduring rumours that the script was rewritten at one point to have the scenes between Judah Ben-hur and Messala a little more, well, gay (otherwise known as "probably historically accurate"). It was apparently a strong requirement that Charlton Heston never be made aware of this intention. But I mean...oiled-up men in the bathhouse...come on.

As for the Oscars, we reach the award for Best Foreign Film. I’ve seen I’ve Loved You So Long, which was unfortunately not included, and so I feel that all my hard work (and, you know, that of the filmmakers and actors) was for nothing. Pssh. Most awards seem to be going to Waltz With Bashir, by all accounts quite remarkable, but you can never tell with this category. Pan’s Labyrinth, for instance, won Oscars for make-up, art direction and cinematography, but for whatever reason did not win for Foreign Film (maybe if it had included more lepers...). Admittedly it lost to The Lives of Others, which I suppose we can’t really quibble about, so that makes this entire point kind of...pointless. Are you really surprised?

"Let's go to a phone booth or something, huh? Where I will unveil a fifth of whiskey, I have hidden here under my loose, flowing sports shirt."

(now there's a pickup line)

--- Frank Sinatra - From Here to Eternity ---

In which I'm amazingly on-track

Captain's Log: 26 January

Last movie watched: Nanny McPhee (shut up, I like kids' movies)

Song currently in head: "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey". Don't ask why.

Today, dear ones, our lecture is about the 1940s, during which a number of films won the Best Picture award, but unfortunately I've only seen one of them. I know. But it's a good one! In fact it's often cited as one of the best scripts ever written, not to mention appearing on about a million top ten lists. Yes, people, it's the movie that inspired The Usual Suspects. It's 1943's Casablanca.

Of all the gin joints in all the world... Humphrey Bogart is the owner of Rick's Cafe American in Casablanca, Morocco, and specialises in keeping out of everyone's way. Then his ex-girlfriend shows up with her husband, and they want him to conspire against the Nazis to help them escape. And she's still in love with him. And he's pissed at her. And he's in love with her. And she's in love with her husband. Corruption, Nazis, piano music, Ingrid Bergman and a love triangle. It's the sort of movie people are talking about when they say "They just don't make films like that anymore..." Not only is the story an interesting one, but the film itself is really interesting to watch. Despite having about a zillion writers and directors attached, this film manages to come away with a real art to it. The construction of the shots is all about story-telling, and the characters are well-rounded and well-expositioned. Ingrid Bergman looks magnificent, Claude Rains (one of my favourite Golden Age actors - case in point: "I learn the lines and pray to God") is fantastic, and the script is very smart. Found this piece of trivia:

Director Michael Curtiz's Hungarian accent often caused confusion on the set. He asked a prop man for a "poodle" to appear in one scene. The prop man searched high and low for a poodle while the entire crew waited. He found one and presented it to Curtiz, who screamed "A poodle! A poodle of water!"

Ahahaha.

Moving on up the Oscar list, today's topic is the Animated Feature. I'm so glad this is a regular fixture now, and I'm hanging out for WALL*E to pick up the award this year. It's such a gorgeous little film, with scant dialogue, beautiful animation and one of the cutest little robots since Johnny Five. It's also incredibly clever. Very little is ever said, and so it's quite a feat to get the nuances of emotion and subtleties and humour of the story across with visuals alone. The filmmakers not only researched Chaplin and Keaton, but they consulted with Roger Deakins (cinematographer for such films as The Man Who Wasn't There and Doubt, The Reader and Revolutionary Road) to see how he would light the scenes if it were live-action. Not to mention the sound effects.

You know what else I love about it? The closing credits, which are constructed out of an evolving series of different art periods and artist genres. And the highlighting of the best and simplest things about life on Earth. It's just altogether enchanting.

Oh films.

Captain Renault: Rick, there are many exit visas sold in this café, but we know that you've never sold one. That is the reason we permit you to remain open.

Rick: Oh? I thought it was because I let you win at roulette.

Captain Renault: That is another reason.

--- Claude Rains, Humphrey Bogart - Casablanca ---

In which it turns out Joseph Stalin had decent taste in movies!

Captain's log: January 25
Last movie watched: Across the Universe (verdict: rather awesome)
Song currently in head: Run Around by Blues Traveller. Specifically the "Once upon a midnight dreary" part.

So lately I’ve been attempting to watch as many of the Best Picture Oscar winners as I can. I’ve got, let’s see...44 of 80 (yay, halfway!) which is nothing to be sneezed at (bless you!). And so I shall be educating you all on my favourite offerings from the various decades. And no, I haven’t seen any from the 1920s. And yes, the later decades are much more respectable, hit-wise, but I’m not made of money, and there’s no way I’m sitting through Olivier’s Hamlet. I’ve seen fifteen slooooow minutes of it, and I think that’s satisfactory (don’t worry, I’m not counting it as one of the 44).
Anyway. We begin with the 1930s. When films were finding their stride, colour was infiltrating the talkies (hell, they’d only just started talking) and apparently a lot of new boundaries were being broken. Of these I have seen two Best Picture winners, although one of those was Gone With The Wind, and so I think that’s worth 2 of itself. Longest film I’ve ever seen, or at the very least it felt as much, and though I was only eight when I saw it I’m fairly certain I got the gist, so no need to sit through that 222 minutes again.
Here goes:

A very disagreeable southern woman makes life difficult for a lot of people. At the end Clark Gable swears (GASP!).

Ok, yes, it’s probably more involved, and yes, I should probably treat it with more respect, considering how immensely popular it seems to be. And give it its due. It gave Hattie McDaniel an Oscar, for crying out loud (although her character, “Mammy”, has garnered some criticism for implying that all slaves were basically happy. Whee! Racism!). It also has a legacy of being very difficult to get off the ground – it went through several directors and scriptwriters, not to mention numerous casting possibilities. Its most famous line has its own Wikipedia page. (No kidding! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankly,_my_dear,_I_don%27t_give_a_damn) Apparently a lot of decision making went into the use of the word “damn”, and whether it was appropriate. It was finally decided that since it was quoting the novel, it was ok. We’ve certainly come a long way.

Speaking personally my favourite summation comes from the Umbilical Brothers (in under 2 minutes, including intermission), and if anyone knows where I can download this skit, please notify me at once.

Onto the other film from the 1930s – it’s one of my very favourite films ever – 1934’s It Happened One Night, starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable (hello again!). Basically it’s about a spoiled heiress who goes on the run to escape an arranged marriage, and the newspaper reporter who tags along with her, looking for a story. Sounds almost formulaic now, but remember this was made in the 1930s. This created the formula, people! It’s witty and sweet and, according to the Library of Congress, “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”. Those sentimental bastards.

It was the first of only three films to win all the “Big Five” awards at the Oscars – these being the Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and Writing awards. The most famous bit of trivia is that during the “Walls of Jericho” scene (you don’t know it? Well watch it, people!...ok, it basically involved two single people of the opposite sex sharing a room (GASP) and constructing a partition out of a blanket. Look, I told you to watch it...) Clark Gable did not (as was the fashion) wear a vest under his shirt, since it was too complicated to do his lines while removing it. As a result, they say, undershirt sales plummeted, and manufacturers tried to sue.

Oh, and look! It’s one of Joseph Stalin’s favourite films! How could it not be awesome!?

While we're at it I should probably talk about the Oscars themselves. So we'll start with the awards that tend to get sandwiched between the more well known ones. These are the awards with the most entertaining titles.

Animated Short (pretty entertaining category, especially since Pixar shows up here quite a bit), Documentary Short (must be incredibly difficult to tell a decent story in a short time), Live Action Short and Documentary Feature (the most famous of which, really, is Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth). I'm notoriously bad at getting around to seeing these, although I have seen Animated Short nominee Presto. I give it two animated thumbs up. This year's favourite title is La Maison en Petits Cubes, for Animated Short film. I'm assuming it's French for "The House of the Little Cubes".

Brilliant.

"You show me a good piggy-backer and I'll show you a real human. Now you take Abraham Lincoln for instance. A natural born piggy-backer."
--- Clark Gable - It Happened One Night ---

In which the Oscar Nominations are out!!!

They’re off!

Welcome to Omails 2009! The S.S.Oscar has been launched by the venerable Forest Whittaker, and Hugh Jackman is at the helm. I’m anticipating dance numbers. Dance! I still have a few to see (Revolutionary Road, Doubt, Milk, The Reader), so there’s going to be a lot to do between now and February 22 (or the 23rd here). I apologise, also, in advance, for this post, which is being written with a headache and a general tiredness, and so may show signs of both. But you can find all the 2009 nominations on http://www.imdb.com/. My reactions are as follows:

In which we are pleased:
That Robert Downey Jr has a nomination for Tropic Thunder. The entertainment value alone is going to be worth it. Also that Tom Cruise is not nominated for the same. He needs no encouragement.
That Taraji P. Henson is up for Benjamin Button.
That Thomas Newman is nominated for original score and song for Wall*E. Whee! Although I think he’s done better, I love seeing him up there.
That Heath Ledger is nominated. This is really what the Oscars are going to be about this year.
That Slumdog Millionaire has so many nominations. I’d be quite satisfied with that film winning Best Pic.
That Frank Langella is nominated for Frost/Nixon. As of this moment my favourite of the Best Actor nominees. Even though I’ve only seen two of them.

In which we are less than pleased:
Philip Seymour Hoffman. As usual.
That Kristen Scott Thomas and Sally Hawkins are nowhere to be seen.
Complete absence of original songs from the Chronicles of Narnia. Stupid 3-song rule.
That there are no acting nominations for Slumdog Millionaire.

So mostly it’s pleasing, but not necessarily incredibly exciting. Fewer “Whee!”s this year. This year’s Omails have a plan (a PLAN!) and for the first time will be displayed in blog form (this may end disastrously). The website is as follows: http://www.reasons-passing-understanding.blogspot.com/

I’ll be trying to update every couple of days, planning around my moving house (again, disaster may be imminent). So I wish you a very happy new President of the United States, and a merry Oscar race 2009.

Tootles!