IT'S OSCAR TIME!

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For some people the big day is the Super Bowl. For others, like me, it's the Oscars. Watching the red carpet for three hours. (I know, I know, one channel actually starts with previous years, because no one has arrived yet.) It means those attending are dressed formally at 3:00 in the afteroon. It means smiling faces toward their competitors. It might mean now or never. (Remember Bill Murray in "Lost in Translation?" Remember Lauren Bacall in "The Mirror Has Two Faces?")

In the last few years the Oscars have been telecast earlier, previously having been shown in late March. The other award shows -- Golden Globes, SAG awards, People's Choice Awards, Critics' Choice Awards -- are also shown earlier, and seem to be lumped together in a few weeks. They're often the harbinger of Academy Award winners, but there are sometimes upsets. Who expected "Crash?"

Here are the lists of the big ones -- Best Picture, Director, Actor and Actress. What my friend always thought The Final Four meant. I couldn't agree more.

Best Picture
“Avatar,” “The Blind Side,” “District 9, “An Education,” “The Hurt Locker,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Precious,” “A Serious Man,” “Up,” and “Up in the Air”
Will it be "Avitar" because it earned gazillions? Will "Blind Side" fever dominate? Will "The Hurt Locker" get votes with respect to our guys in Iraq? "Inglourious Basterds" -- How much does Hollywood love Quentin Tarantino? Will they get cute and have an animated film win with "Up?" Remember the fuss made over "Up in the Air" when it came out? Whoops.

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”
James Cameron, “Avatar”
Lee Daniels, “Precious”
Jason Reitman, “Up in the Air”
Quentin Tarantino,“Inglourious Basterds”
The big deal is Kathryn Bigelow vs. James Cameron. Formerly married and good friends, it's a fun competition. But this category has been all over the place. In previous award ceremonies, Bigelow, Cameron and Tarentino have all won. Up for grabs.

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”
George Clooney, “Up in the Air”
Colin Firth, “A Single Man”
Morgan Freeman, “Invictus”
Jeremy Renner, “The Hurt Locker”
Jeff Bridges has swept previous award shows. Well deserved. The Academy loves down and out, redeemed by the love of a good woman, and a good-looking actor playing a slob. Just because I love George Clooney and Morgan Freeman, I wouldn't mind an upset. Colin Furth did a great acting job in a depressive snore of a movie. Jeremy Renner's a newbie.

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side”
Helen Mirren, “The Last Station”
Carey Mulligan,“An Education”
Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious”
Meryl Streep, “Julie and Julia”
Sandra Bullock has an armful of this year's awards. She was tough, she was blonde, and she played a real person. (Somehow the Academy loves that.) I'd love a Meryl Streep upset, though. Hey, Julia Child was a real person and Meryl didn't look gorgeous. And, sorry, I liked "The Blind Side," but I don't think Bullock's portrayal was Oscar-worthy.

Comments (1):

Marian Reilly @ 02/12/2010 ( 8:18:24 AM )
I don't understand the reason for the 10 Best Picture nominations, since everything else is still limited to 5 nominations and some of the BP nominations seem to be meaningless bones thrown to the productions. This is from someone who has seen only three of the nominated films, of course. Just saying.