81st Academy Awards

Well, It's Oscar time again and I, once again, offer you my guesses as to who the winners will be. My guesses are in BLUE, actual winners will be noted afterwards in RED italics.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
- NOMINATIONS BY CATEGORY - 81ST AWARDS -

BEST PICTURE: [presenter: Steven Spielberg]
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Frost/Nixon"
"Milk"
"The Reader"
"Slumdog Millionaire" **WINNER**

BEST DIRECTOR: [presenter: Reese Witherspoon]
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Frost/Nixon"
"Milk"
"The Reader"
"Slumdog Millionaire" **WINNER**

BEST ACTOR: [presenters: Brody, DeNiro, Douglas, Kingsley, Hopkins]
Richard Jenkins in "The Visitor"
Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon"
Sean Penn in "Milk" **WINNER**
Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler"

BEST ACTRESS: [presenters: Cotillard, Berry, MacLaine, Kidman, Loren]
Anne Hathaway in "Rachel Getting Married"
Angelina Jolie in "Changeling"
Melissa Leo in "Frozen River"
Meryl Streep in "Doubt"
Kate Winslet in "The Reader" **WINNER**

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: [presenters: Walken, Grey, Arkin, Kline, Gooding Jr.]
Josh Brolin in "Milk"
Robert Downey Jr. in "Tropic Thunder"
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Doubt"
Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight" **WINNER**
Michael Shannon in "Revolutionary Road"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: [presenters: Swinton, Saint, Hawn, Goldberg, Huston]
Amy Adams in "Doubt"
Penélope Cruz in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" **WINNER**
Viola Davis in "Doubt"
Taraji P. Henson in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Marisa Tomei in "The Wrestler"

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: [presenters: Steve Martin & Tina Fey]
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Doubt"
"Frost/Nixon"
"The Reader"
"Slumdog Millionaire" **WINNER**

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: [presenters: Steve Martin & Tina Fey]
"Frozen River"
"Happy-Go-Lucky"
"In Bruges"
"Milk" **WINNER**
"WALL-E"

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: [presenters: Jennifer Aniston & Jack Black]
"Bolt"
"Kung Fu Panda"
"WALL-E" **WINNER**

ANIMATED SHORT FILM: [presenters: Jennifer Aniston & Jack Black]
"Lavatory - Lovestory"
"Oktapodi"
"Presto"
"This Way Up"
"La Maison en Petits Cubes" **WINNER**

ART DIRECTION: [presenters: Daniel Craig & Sarah Jessica Parker]
"Changeling"
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" **WINNER**
"The Dark Knight"
"The Duchess"
"Revolutionary Road"

COSTUME DESIGN: [presenters: Daniel Craig & Sarah Jessica Parker]
"Australia"
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"The Duchess" **WINNER**
"Milk"
"Revolutionary Road"

MAKE UP: [presenters: Daniel Craig & Sarah Jessica Parker]
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" **WINNER**
"The Dark Knight"
"Hellboy II: The Golden Army"

CINEMATOGRAPHY: [presenters: Natalie Portman & Ben Stiller]
"Changeling"
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"The Dark Knight"
"The Reader"
"Slumdog Millionaire" **WINNER**

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: [presenter: Bill Mohr]
"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)"
"Encounters at the End of the World"
"The Garden"
"Man on Wire" **WINNER**
"Trouble the Water"

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT: [presenter: Bill Mohr]
"The Conscience of Nhem En"
"The Final Inch"
"Smile Pinki" **WINNER**
"The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306"

FILM EDITING: [presenter: Will Smith]
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"The Dark Knight"
"Frost/Nixon"
"Milk"
"Slumdog Millionaire" **WINNER**

VISUAL EFFECTS: [presenter: Will Smith]
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" **WINNER**
"The Dark Knight"
"Iron Man"

SOUND EDITING: [presenter: Will Smith]
"The Dark Knight" **WINNER**
"Iron Man"
"Slumdog Millionaire"
"WALL-E"
"Wanted"

SOUND MIXING: [presenter: Will Smith]
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"The Dark Knight"
"Slumdog Millionaire" **WINNER**
"WALL-E"
"Wanted"

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: [presenters: Liam Neeson and Freda Pinto]
"The Baader Meinhof Complex" - Germany
"The Class" - France
"Departures" - Japan **WINNER**
"Revanche" - Austria
"Waltz with Bashir" - Israel

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: [presenters: Alicia Keys and Zac Efron]
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Defiance"
"Milk"
"Slumdog Millionaire" **WINNER**
"WALL-E"

BEST ORIGINAL SONG: [presenters: Alicia Keys and Zac Efron]
"Down to Earth" from "WALL-E"
"Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire" **WINNER**
"O Saya" from "Slumdog Millionaire"

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM: [presenters: James Franco, Seth Rogen, Janusz Kaminski]
"Auf der Strecke (On the Line)"
"Manon on the Asphalt"
"New Boy"
"The Pig"
"Spielzeugland (Toyland)" **WINNER**

HIRSHHOLT HUMANITARIAN AWARD: [presenter: Eddie Murphy]
Jerry Lewis **WINNER**

SCIENCE & TECHNICAL AWARDS: [hostess: Jessica Biel]

IN MEMORIAM: [presenter: Queen Latifah]

Oscar turns 80!

Didn't we just do this, like a year ago?

This year's Academy Awards show is being hosted by Jon Stewart for the 2^nd time (1^st time was in 2006).

Just like last year, I'm going to give it my best shot and see how many of the 24 major awards I can guess correctly and see if I can beat last year's percentage [11-24; 46%]. Looking at the list of nominees, I can already tell I'll be shooting from the hip on most of my predictions. Presenters and actual winners noted in red and added afterwards.

BEST PICTURE: Presenter- Denzel Washington
“Atonement”
“Juno”
“Michael Clayton”
“No Country for Old Men” WINNER
“There Will Be Blood”

BEST DIRECTOR: Presenter- Martin Scorsese
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
“Juno”
“Michael Clayton”
“No Country for Old Men” WINNER
“There Will Be Blood”

BEST ACTOR: Presenter- Helen Mirren
George Clooney in “Michael Clayton”
Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood” WINNER
Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Tommy Lee Jones in “In the Valley of Elah”
Viggo Mortensen in “Eastern Promises”

BEST ACTRESS: Presenter- Forest Whitaker
Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
Julie Christie in “Away from Her”
Marion Cotillard in “La Vie en Rose” WINNER
Laura Linney in “The Savages”
Ellen Page in “Juno”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Presenter- Jennifer Hudson
Casey Affleck in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”
Javier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men” WINNER
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Charlie Wilson’s War”
Hal Holbrook in “Into the Wild”
Tom Wilkinson in “Michael Clayton”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Presenter- Alan Arkin
Cate Blanchett in “I’m Not There”
Ruby Dee in “American Gangster”
Saoirse Ronan in “Atonement”
Amy Ryan in “Gone Baby Gone”
Tilda Swinton in “Michael Clayton” WINNER

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Presenters- Josh Brolin & James McAvoy
“Atonement”
“Away from Her”
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
“No Country for Old Men” WINNER
“There Will Be Blood”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Presenter- Harrison Ford
“Juno”WINNER
“Lars and the Real Girl”
“Michael Clayton”
“Ratatouille”
“The Savages”

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: Presenter- Amy Adams
“Atonement”WINNER
“The Kite Runner”
“Michael Clayton”
“Ratatouille”
“3:10 to Yuma”

BEST ORIGINAL SONG: Presenter- John Travolta
“Falling Slowly” from “Once” WINNER
“Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted”
“Raise It Up” from “August Rush”
“So Close” from “Enchanted”
“That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted”

BEST EDITING: Presenter- Renee Zellweger
“The Bourne Ultimatum” WINNER
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
“Into the Wild”
“No Country for Old Men”
“There Will Be Blood”

BEST ART DIRECTION: Presenter- Cate Blanchett
“American Gangster”
“Atonement”
“The Golden Compass”
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”WINNER
“There Will Be Blood”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Presenter- Cameron Diaz
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”
“Atonement”
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
“No Country for Old Men”
“There Will Be Blood” WINNER

BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Presenter-
“Across the Universe”
“Atonement”
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”WINNER
“La Vie en Rose”
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”

BEST MAKEUP: Presenter- Kathryn Heigl
“La Vie en Rose” WINNER
“Norbit”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Presenter-
“Persepolis”
“Ratatouille” WINNER
“Surf's Up”

BEST ANIMATED SHORT: Presenter- Jerry Seinfeld
“I Met the Walrus”
“Madame Tutli-Putli”
“Même les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)”
“My Love (Moya Lyubov)”
“Peter and the Wolf” WINNER

BEST DOCUMENTARY: Presenter- Tom Hanks
“No End in Sight”
“Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience”
“Sicko”
“Taxi to the Dark Side”WINNER
“War/Dance”

BEST DOCUMENTARY- SHORT SUBJECT: Presenter- Tom Hanks
“Freeheld” WINNER
“La Corona (The Crown)”
“Salim Baba”
“Sari’s Mother”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Presenter- Penelope Cruz
“Beaufort” - Israel
“The Counterfeiters” - Austria WINNER
“Katyń” - Poland
“Mongol” - Kazakhstan
“12” - Russia

BEST SHORT FILM - LIVE ACTION: Presenter- Owen Wilson
“At Night”
“Il Supplente (The Substitute)”
“Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)” WINNER
“Tanghi Argentini”
“The Tonto Woman”

BEST SOUND EDITING: Presenter-
“The Bourne Ultimatum” WINNER
“No Country for Old Men”
“Ratatouille”
“There Will Be Blood”
“Transformers”

BEST SOUND MIXING: Presenter-
“The Bourne Ultimatum” WINNER
“No Country for Old Men”
“Ratatouille”
“3:10 to Yuma”
“Transformers”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Presenter- Duane "The Rock" Johnson
“The Golden Compass” WINNER
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
“Transformers”

IN MEMORIAM: Presenter- Hilary Swank

IRVING G. THALBERG MEMORIAL AWARD: winner-
Presenter-

JEAN HERSHOLT HUMANITARIAN AWARD: winner-
Presenter-

THE HONORARY AWARD: WINNER - Robert Boyle
Presenter- Nicole Kidman

SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AWARDS: (presented by Jessica Alba on 2/9)

WRAP-UP: I did much worse this year than I did last year making my predictions. I only got 6 out of 24 correct, which makes for an anemic 25%. I really need to see more movies in the theater to make more educated guesses. Or I should read more buzz from H-wood about who is favored and who is not. Good thing I wasn't involved in any Oscar pools - I'd have lost bigtime. I really wasn't impressed with Jon Stewart as host. His attempts to be funny were lame and most of his jokes were flat. I missed the first hour of the show (BB9, ahem, was on another network.) so if anyone has the names of presenters I missed, I'd appreciate some fill in knowledge if you have it, so I can add the names appropriately. I know who the presenters were (a list of names was provided) just not which awards they would present.

Schmooze Award - just for me!

Schmoozing as defined by Dictionary.com is the ability “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.” When it comes to blogging, schmoozing is your ticket to making new friends, getting yourself noticed and building a reputation. Some bloggers are gifted with the ability to effectively schmooze and others not so much.

I saw this graphic and definition on a random blog I came across and thought it was cool. Since schmooze is one of my favorite words, and something I'm good at, I decided to give myself this award.

Just because I can. And it feels great!

"On behalf of myself, I humbly accept this award...."

"I just wanna thank..." {pulls out 19 sheets of folded paper, written on both sides, from jacket pocket as audience begins to groan [SFX: canned groaning noises] at the prospect of a long acceptance speech.}

Feel free to award this to yourself as well, if you think you deserve it.