The candidates for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (aka Best Actor) for the 80th Annual Academy Awards are:
- George Clooney for Michael Clayton.
- Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood.
- Johnny Depp for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
- Tommy Lee Jones for In the Valley of Elah.
- Viggo Mortensen for Eastern Promises.
In reflection, I’m surprised to realize that I’ve only seen Daniel Day-Lewis from the above list. He was incredible as a ruthless “oil man”. I’ve seen Day-Lewis in other films including My Left Foot, and he is a consummate actor. He deserves to be on this list.
The candidates for Best Movie for the 80th Annual Oscars are:
- Atonement with Keira Knightley and James McAvoy.
- No Country for Old Men with Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson.
- There Will Be Blood with Daniel Day-Lewis.
- Michael Clayton with George Clooney.
- Juno with Ellen Page.
I’ve seen #1 and 3. Daniel Day-Lewis was magnificent. Atonement had terrible editing and was a really patchy story with a confusing timeline. But aside from these serious shortcomings, it was an excellent period piece. I have plans to see #2 an 5, but for the life of me, no matter how many times I see a trailer for Michael Clayton, it doesn’t interest me in the slightest. And I’m a huge George Clooney fan. Oh well.
Angelina Jolie, who’s keeping us all guessing as to whether or not she’s pregnant, was given the award for Performance of the Year at the SBIFF (Santa Barbara International Film Festival). This was for her performance in A Mighty Heart, as Mariane Pearl, wife of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was murdered in Pakistan. The award was presented to Jolie by Clint Eastwood.
Jolie is appearing in Kung-Fu Panda, Wanted, Atlas Shrugged and The Changeling this year. Clint Eastwood is directing The Changeling, written by J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5).
Given the current WGA writers’ strike, the 2008 SAG Awards must have managed a private deal. (Else they would have been canceled like the Golden Globes were.) Here’s a summary of the awards, which includes both movies and TV series. (The video clip at the bottom of the list is a memoriam for the actors and actresses that have passed away.)
Best Picture. Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
- Winner: No Country for Old Men.
- Runners up:
- 3:10 to Yuma.
- American Gangster.
- Hairspray.
- Into the Wild.
Best Actor. Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role.
- Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood.
- Runners up:
- George Clooney, Michael Clayton.
- Ryan Gosling, Lars and the Real Girl.
- Emile Hirsch, Into the Wild.
- Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises.
Best Actress. Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role.
- Winner: Julie Christie, Away from Her (2006).
- Runners up:
- Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age.
- Marion Cotillard, Môme, La.
- Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart.
- Ellen Page, Juno.
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Largehearted Boy has a big list of DVD releases for this week, including many for TV series. [Largehearted Boy]
Microsoft is getting deeper into the entertainment business. They’ve award a new HDi grant to Jason Kohn, director of a prize-winning Sundance documentary. The grant is awarded in joint with the Sundance Institute and is worth about $100,000. [C|net]
Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen will be fighting out yet more custody-related battles in court. [Celebrity Cowboy]
Sacha Baron Cohen has won a lawsuit relating to his Borat movie. The lawsuit – one of several – claims that an etiquette teacher, Kathie Martin, was tricked into appearing in the movie. [UK Press Association]
Chris Noth, aka Mr. Big from Sex and the City, and his girlfriend Tara Wilson now have a baby boy, Orion Christopher Noth. [US, People]
January 22nd, 2008 by Jon Roth
Tagged as: Academy Awards, Actors, Actresses, Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, Movie Awards, Movie Posters, No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood
The following movies have been nominated for Best Motion Picture of the Year. You might notice that three of five of the nominated movies are based on novels. Some or all of the movies were selected by the American Film Institute and won or were nominated for Golden Globes.
IMDB has the rest of the Academy Award nominations. The Academy Awards are not exempt from the WGA writers strike, so hopefully some independent deal will be resolved if the strike itself is not.
What’s your pick for best movie? Any other movies that should have been on the nominations list?
Atonement
Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Saoirse Ronan.
Written by Christopher Hampton, based on a novel by Ian McEwan.
Directed by Joe Wright.
Juno
Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman.
Written by Diablo Cody.
Directed by Jason Reitman.
Michael Clayton
George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack, Michael O’Keefe, Tom Wilkinson.
Written and directed by Tony Gilroy.
No Country for Old Men
Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, Stephen Root.
Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy.
There Will Be Blood
Daniel Day-Lewis
Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, based on a novel by Upton Sinclair.
The Golden Globe award names are ridiculous long, but if you care, here are the winners, which include both TV and movies:
- Best Motion Picture, Drama: Atonement.
- Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama – Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood.
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama – Julie Christie, Away from Her (2006)
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy – Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy – Marion Cotillard, Môme, La.
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture – Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men.
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture – Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There.
- Best Director, Motion Picture – No Country for Old Men.
- Best Original Song, Motion Picture – Into the Wild.
- Best Original Score, Motion Picture – Atonement.
- Best Animated Film – Ratatouille.
- Best Foreign Language Film – Scaphandre et le papillon, Le.
- Best Television Series, Drama – Mad Men.
- Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy – Extras.
- Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television – Longford.
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television – Jim Broadbent, Longford.
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television – Queen Latifah, Life Support.
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy – David Duchovny, Californication.
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy – Tina Fey, 30 Rock.
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama – Jon Hamm, Mad Men.
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama – Glenn Close, Damages.
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television – Jeremy Piven, Entourage.
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television – Samantha Morton, Longford.
This is a quick roundup of recent entertainment news.
Celebs Boycotting Golden Globes; Golden Globes Cancelled?
Word is that since stars have said they’d boycott the Golden Globe Awards this weekend – due to the still unresolved WGA writers’ strike – the entire ceremony has been cancelled for this year.
Mischa Barton Wants to be Saved?
Mischa Barton was recently charged with DUI for drugs and drinking, but seems to be making an effort to change. She’s been seen at church in Beverly Hills.
Sean Penn Will Be Judging at Cannes Film Festival
Sean Penn will be a judge at this summer’s Cannes Film Festival in France. Lots of pretty girls for him to chase his sorrows away, now that he and Robin Wright Penn are divorcing after 11 years of marriage. Even if he might have been the one that triggered the divorce.
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The American Film Institute (AFI) announced their picks for the ten best films for 2007. The list is as follows, but is not actually a ranking:
- Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.
- Into the Wild.
- Juno.
- Knocked Up.
- Michael Clayton.
- No Country for Old Men.
- Ratatouille.
- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
- The Savages.
- There Will Be Blood.
This is the AFI’s 40th anniversary.
Atonement, a ‘love and war’ drama starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, scored seven Golden Globe nominations late last week, but has stiff competition for best dramatic picture. Nomination categories include best actor (male and female), best supporting actress, and best director. The movie was directed by Joe Wright. Knightley did not win a nomination for the “actress most likely to take her top off for a photo shoot if you ask her” category.
