Midnight Movie House

Go Dexter, Go!

Well, the Golden Globe Awards are tonight. As I've mentioned before, the awards show I put the most stock in is the SAG awards, but I watch all of them. Tonight my only concern is that Michael C. Hall wins for his performance on Dexter. I was a big Six Feet Under fan and I was amazed to find myself so quickly seeing him as Dexter, not David, about 5 minutes into the first episode. Beyond that, he's absolutely wowed me. On Dexter, he's a serial killer . . . that you can't help but love, that you wish was your boyfriend after seeing him with Rita, and that you felt genuinely bad for when he had to off a long-lost relative. I'm purposefully being vague with that last bit so as not to spoil things for people who foolishly haven't jumped on the Dexter bandwagon. Anyway, go Michael C. Hall! He damn well better win!

Oh, and for those awaiting the rest of the answers to my horror movie survey, check back tomorrow. I had to take a few days off from posting them.

My Take On The Emmy's

Oh my god, I LOVED the opening, especially the Dateline: To Catch A Predator bit. I was crying laughing.

Mariska Hargitay. My god, if having a—what was it? 25-pound baby—makes you look that good, I might have to reconsider my no-way-in-hell stance towards having kids. LOL.

Ellen Pompeo is wearing my favorite dress of the night. Wow is that thing gorgeous!

The threat of “Bob Newhart dies!” if the show runs over 3 hours was hysterical.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Blythe Danner????!!!!! Nothing against her, but "The Nazi" was robbed! ROBBED! For those who aren’t regular viewers, I’m referring to Chandra Wilson's character on Grey's Anatomy. She is simply brilliant and makes tuning into that show fun. I could have lived with this if she had lost to the equally great Sandra Oh, but this was just wrong. Let’s hope she gets the recognition she deserves next year.

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series: Jeremy Piven! Okay, that slightly makes up for the robbery of Chandra two seconds ago. Piven is great, no matter what he does. The right person definitely won this category.

President Palmer and Will Graham from Manhunter—that’s right, Manhunter. (Screw Red Dragon, Brian Cox will always be the REAL Dr. Hannibal Lecter)—presenting together. Go guys go! Kelly Macdonald wins. What? No, Frau Blücher? *insert sound of horses neighing*

Commercial for The Guardian. For the love of god, Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher starring—and, I use that term loosely—in a movie together? I have a feeling I’ll be *prepare for a Patrick Dempsey worthy excuse here—bonus points for those who know the movie it’s from* "washing my hair . . . out of the country."

OUTSTANDING VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES: The Daily Show! Yeah! The only other acceptable win would have been the brilliant Bill O'Reilly spoof, The Colbert Report.

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES: Alright, Frau Blücher did win. *Again, insert sound of horses neighing* On the other hand, Laurie Metcalf was robbed. She was great in her episode of Monk.

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES: Gregory Thomas Garcia for My Name Is Earl. I don’t watch this show but I think it’s incredibly cool to see this particular win because it was for the writing of the pilot episode. The show is only on the air and nominated for numerous awards today because of the pilot episode winning over enough people to keep the future episodes coming. That alone, warrants the writers an award so seeing Garcia win an Emmy, on top of that, is well deserved. Aside from that, his speech was so damn hysterical we would have been ripped off if he hadn’t won.

Dick Clark Tribute. His words were enough, especially in light of the bravery needed to make an appearance in his current condition. They should have cut from him to a commercial. I personally felt that the Barry Manilow appearance was just unnecessary and detracted from the whole thing.

OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE IN A VARIETY OR MUSIC PROGRAM: What kind of sick world do we live in when Barry Manilow beats out Stephen Colbert??? For that matter, Letterman??? No, no, no. This is all wrong.

Love the newest addition to the Emmy accounting team. It’s just a shame that Kareem Abdul Jabar didn’t recite any lines from Airplane!.

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES: Kyle Chandler should have won this. His appearance on just two episodes of Grey's Anatomy was enough to cause you see to a future storyline with Ellen Pompeo's. You saw him as that, a potentially great romantic storyline, and not just as the-bomb-guy-who-you-kinda-remembered-from-the-episode-where-everyone-almost-blew-up. That’s an accomplishment and it deserved more recognition. With that said, though, WHERE THE HELL WAS THE NOMINATION FOR JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN?!?!?!?!?!?! His appearance, and eventual death, on Grey's Anatomy had more than just Izzie shedding tears. Anyone who watched fell in love with JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN and wanted to see him become a regular. The proof in that lies in Shonda Rhimes own comments about how they hated to kill him off because of how much they all came to like him even though he was hired as a character who would eventually be killed off. Fortunately, for JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN fans, his storyline has won him another TV show and you can always hope for Sam and Dean's dad to keep showing up on Supernatural (another great new show) as their dad is played by none other than Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Robert Carlyle is my choice as I’ve not seen any of these miniseries. This would be because I’ve been a huge fan of his ever since seeing his striptease-until-burning-himself-due-to-trying-to-remove-a-tshirt-while-smoking-a-lit-cigarette performance in The Full Monty.

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY, COMEDY OR MUSIC PROGRAM: The Daily Show writers. Well, well deserved. No matter what political party they are ripping apart, they never cease to make you laugh. Also, I loved that Jon Stewart gave the shout out to The Colbert Report. You knew he would be supportive of something that spawned from a joke commercial bit on his own show, but it was nice to see him make the extra acknowledgement of this.

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES: Yes! Yes! Yes! Tony Shalhoub for Monk! Touch all the heat lamps and use all the wipes you want, Monk! You deserve it! Oh, and congrats to USA for seeing what the network couldn’t and picking up the show after ABC decided not to run it. You have my gratitude every Friday night at 8pm.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0829537/
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert presenting reality competition . . . one word: brilliant. Oh, and funny as hell. I find myself sitting here thinking that Stephen Colbert has Bill O'Reilly channeled to a tee and then I hear “I lost to Barry Manilow!” I’m crying laughing again.

OUTSTANDING REALITY COMPETITION: The Amazing Race. Yes! I low that show and have watched it from day one. Phil Keoghan is the man! This is the one reality show I’d kill to do. Of course, I’d probably get myself killed doing it, but I’d see some incredible stuff first. It’d be worth it. LOL. Also, I have to admit that I’m a late-comer to Project Runway. Those who know me know that I loathe shopping and could care less about designer labels so the idea of this show didn’t exactly have me running for the tivo when I first heard about it. With that said, I’m happy to say that my initial opinions were wrong. I’ve since caught up on the seasons (thanks to Bravo marathons) and I’m right there waiting for each episode this season. It’s really interesting to see the creative process with the challenges these people get assigned each week and it’s even more fascinating to see the participants defend some of the truly horrifying creations they’ve come up with. Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder sometimes. That’s right, you heard me, Vincent. ;)

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES: Mariska Hargitay, it is about damn time! This was such a tough call. Frances Conroy deserves it solely on the episode of Six Feet Under that showed her dealing with the death of her son, Peter Krause, and Kyra Sedgwick is always wonderful in The Closer. However, Mariska has been overlooked for way too long and it’s about time we got to see her get the recognition she deserves.

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES: Kiefer Sutherland for 24! Go Kiefer Sutherland. I have to admit that I’m a bit disappointed by this one, but it was another tough call. Christopher Meloni, like Mariska, has been overlooked for way too long. It would have been nice to see him win. In addition, I’ve been a Denis Leary fan for a long time. Long before the show he was nominated for and it would be nice to see him win for a show that has such a personal meaning to him. For those who are not aware of what I am talking about, I’d like to invite you to visit his charity: The Leary Firefighters Foundation. Ultimately, though, my heart was going for Peter Krause. While I think that Michael C. Hall should have been nominated versus Peter Krause, I wanted to see Krause win for all the years he did Six Feet Under. I say that I wanted to see Michael C. Hall nominated instead because his work this season, particularly in the episode where he dealt with Nate's death, was nothing short of amazing. Unfortunately, this also meant Peter Krause had less to do at the end of the season, but it still would have been great to see him win for all the years he made us love--and sometimes hate--Nathan Fisher.

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES: 24. I agree. The show makes you tense, especially as each hour ends. Can you remember the last time you watched something that had you consistently on the edge of your seat and got you so involved that your own heart began to race when you thought about the situations the characters found themselves in? I’ve been a regular watcher of this show since it first aired. I’m glad to see it finally getting this recognition.

Now, I'd like to add in my own write-in award:
ONE OF THE MOST OUTSTANDING EPISODES OF TV EVER AND WHAT THE HELL WERE EMMY VOTERS THINKING FOR OVERLOOKING THIS: The episode of Six Feet Under entitled "Static." This is the episode I keep referring to that shows everyone dealing with Peter Krause death. Those who know me know that I do NOT cry when watching things. I had been able to say that for 34 straight years and then this episode of television came along. I think I may have been about 5 minutes into it when I felt a tear. I was a regular waterworks explosion for the entire rest of the episode. I can't remember the last time I saw something so moving and so well acted by every single individual involved. If it were up to me everyone who had anything to do with it would be walking away with an Emmy and, I mean, everyone. Producers, writers . . . hell, people who walked by the craft services table would be given Emmy's, it was that incredible. With that said, I have to say that I really, really miss this show. I hadn't realized just how much until I saw Frances Conroy and Peter Krause tonight. It's rare when something that good comes along and I thank HBO for bringing it to us all the years it did.

I Love . . .

. . . it when the announcers don't have a clue what they're talking about. I have E's coverage of the Emmy's on and despite the fact that we're only 8 minutes into said coverage they're already messing up. In one of those lovely staged "conversations" Guiliana DePandi asks Kristen Veitch about the new voting process for this year's Emmy's. Kristen attempts to give us the lowdown and mentions people and shows that were shut out. Among them, Lost (and, believe me, I've not forgotten the fact that my future husband, Mr. Josh Holloway, was overlooked this way *wink*) . . . and Mariska Hargitay. Kristen, honey, check your ballot. Mariska is up for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Where are the Teleprompters for these people when you need them?

My Take On The SAG Awards

Okay, I’ve been fighting the flu, so I accidentally missed all but the last hour, but I’ll go ahead and give my thoughts on what I saw, and what I read later. However, I do have to say that the SAG’s are the awards I truly respect out of the whole lot (Golden Globes, Oscars, etc). I’m sure some personal grudges come into play, but at least actors seem to remember that quality movies/performances don’t just happen because so-and-so got the most press for the role that week. Also, I write this without having even checked to see who was nominated for the Oscars, yet.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE WINS I SAW:

Paul Giamatti: ABOUT DAMN TIME!!!!! I don’t care if he won for combing his hair, or watching paint dry, the guy has been overlooked and unrecognized for WAY too long!

S. Epatha Merkerson: First, very sweet to see her get the award from Benjamin Bratt and to see how happy Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni were for her. I just wish Jerry Orbach were still around to join in on her winning streak. Hell, I just wish Jerry Orbach were still around, period! Anyway, good for her (!!!) and LOVED the thanking of the divorce lawyer! Too funny!

Reese Witherspoon: I’ve been a fan ever since Freeway & Election, so it’s very cool to see her get this type of recognition. In addition, it cool to see how happy Joaquin Phoenix seemed to be for her given what I’ve read about the difficulties they first had working together on this project. For that matter, it was just good to see Joaquin Phoenix given his brake failure/car flip combo only a day or two earlier!

Philip Seymour Hoffman: As Lester Bangs in Almost Famous, “I'm always home. I'm uncool.” Sorry, Philip Seymour Hoffman, you’ve never been uncool and you never will be! Here’s another actor I’ve followed for a long time. Hell, I even forgive him for that dreck that was Red Dragon. Manhunter, people, see Manhunter! Brian Cox will always be the one and only Hannibal to me. Anyway, I haven’t had the chance to see Capote, yet, but now I really have to. Oh, and if I didn’t already love you, you won me over with your shout-out to >! David Strathairn. Seriously. Awesome thing to do and every word you said was true. He’s one hell of an actor!

Ensemble cast of Crash: Very, very cool! It’s definitely a great movie and seeing a lot of the people in it play SO against type just made it more so. Sandra Bullock finally breaking away from cutesy, romantic roles in bad comedies to play a blatantly racist, rich wife of a DA was a nice change. And, that is definitely one statement I never thought I’d be making about anybody. LOL. Also, any movie with Don Cheadle already has my vote. He’s yet, another on my long list of actors that I’ve been following for quite some time, now. Oh, and note to iMDB.com, let’s try listing the ENTIRE cast when mentioning its ensemble winning on our website. WILLIAM FICHTNER WAS IN IT, TOO! He’s another on my list of actors I’ve --- oh hell, let’s just break it down, shall we?

KATHY’S LIST OF ACTORS SHE’S FOLLOWED AND RESPECTED FOR A LONG TIME + MOVIES TO WATCH TO SEE WHY:

David Strathairn (Blue Car, Dolores Claiborne, Sneakers & Good Night, and Good Luck. will give you an idea of his range)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Boogie Nights, Happiness, 25th Hour)
Don Cheadle (Boogie Nights, Traffic, Ocean’s 11, and one hell of a guest stint on the tv show, ER) ***editor’s note: I haven’t had the chance to rent Hotel Rwanda, yet, or I’m sure it’d be on there.
William Fichtner (Albino Alligator, Go)
Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko, The Good Girl)
Chris Cooper (Lone Star, American Beauty)
Johnny Depp (Everything post pretty-boy 21 Jump Street days, when I was FAR from a fan. It’s when he got quirky that I got interested, especially after seeing: What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Blow, & Once Upon A Time In Mexico)
Mark Ruffalo (XX/XY & You Can Count On Me)
& others I’m sure I’ll remember the second I post this.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE LOSSES I SAW:

Ted Danson for Knights Of The South Bronx: I have to admit to not seeing some of his competition, but he was great in this! Then again, coming from a family of educators, I’m automatically biased in favor of those playing the roles of teachers. In this, I was even more so given that he was radically changing the lives of some kids that were set up to fail from the get-go (due to where they lived, etc). To see a really interesting documentary about these types of kids, I have to give a shout out to Accelerating America. I did some transcription work on this and I can’t wait to see the whole thing. The trailer, alone, is enough to set your pulse racing.

MY RANDOM THOUGHT ON ANOTHER THING I SAW:

Jake Gyllenhaal cracks me up! He has ever since his role as Holden “Catcher in the Rye... I'm named after it.” Worther in The Good Girl and his drunken, “You’re a hooker, you hooker” rant against Jennifer Aniston in said movie. And, for any who can doubt Aniston can act—and given recent movie roles I don’t blame you—check her out in this. Once she stops trying to go the . . . well, the cutesy, bad romantic comedy route that Sandra Bullock falls victim to way too often, she’s actually really good.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE WINS I DIDN’T SEE:
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series - "Desperate Housewives": I definitely agree with this win. Mainly, though, I’m just mentioning it because I want to give a shout out to Danny Trejo who was in the rerun the show aired tonight. (The convict who made Gabrielle finally deal with losing her baby). Those who know me, understand why. Basically, the guy has really interested me ever since I read a great article about him in Entertainment Weekly.

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Winner - "Lost":
Okay, first allow me a moment to lust after my future husband, Mr. Josh Holloway . . .

. . . okay, with that done, I have to rant. It seems that everyone who voted in this category was smoking crack at the time. DID YOU EVEN SEE THIS PAST SEASON OF SIX FEET UNDER?!?! Jesus Christ, if there was EVER evidence of phenomenal television that was it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The episode with Nate’s funeral, I was waterworks the whole time and that would be the first time I’ve EVER cried watching anything (other than slightly tearing up twice during The Shawshank Redemption). For that matter, it wasn’t even the funeral, itself, that really had me crying. It was the unbelievable job EVERYONE in that cast did the entire rest of the episode. While I think Lost is an amazing show, this was just the wrong decision. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need another Josh Holloway moment to calm myself. ;) Oh, and The Closer is a great show, too. I highly recommend checking it out, especially because it has JK Simmons and I’ve loved that guy ever since he began playing Dr. Skoda, the forensic psychiatrist on Law & Order.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series Winner - Kiefer Sutherland for "24": Jack is the man, people. Seriously though, I think Kiefer has been overlooked for a while, too, so this was good to see. Also, he’s another reason to check out the movie Freeway.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Winner - Sandra Oh for Grey's Anatomy: Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Sandra Oh, but Grey's Anatomy is going to be on for a while and Mariska Hargitay is LOOONNNGGGG overdue for a win for Law & Order: SVU. Oh, and Kyra Sedgwick is great on The Closer, so this was a tough category. Mariska still should have taken it, though.

Oh, and in another shameless self-promotion plug, I've added more to the online store you all initially got notifications from me about. I've still got things to put up there, but you should see a lot more since the first time you might have looked. :)

Independent Spirit Awards

I've spent the past week in the fog of a nasty virus. That means I've been saving up all this stuff to post. I'm finally feeling better so that is why you're getting some very late news from me tonight. Anyway, I thought I'd post the main winners of the Independent Spirit Awards for you all. I've got to rent Lost In Translation as soon as I can!

YOU GOT SPIRIT?: Lost in Translation was the big winner at Saturday's Independent Spirit Awards, nabbing honors for best film, best director and screenplay for Sofia Coppola and best actor for Bill Murray. Oscar's indie equivalent also singled out Charlize Theron for Monster, Djimon Hounsou for In America and Shohreh Aghdashloo for House of Sand and Fog.

Oscar Secrets Revealed

Every year at the Oscars things happen or people are thanked that leave the rest of us saying "huh?!" TV Guide's website took the time out to explain some of these moments from this year's broadcast. Enjoy!

Oscar Mysteries Solved!
by Michael Ausiello

The 76th annual Academy Awards may be history, but questions linger like sweat stains on Peter Jackson's tux. For instance, was Sandra Bullock really late to rehearsals? Who's Renee Zellweger's mysterious "beloved" and what is the Oscar winner's connection to Vincent D'Onofrio? Did ABC's censors have to utilize that five-second delay? And is Charlize Theron dating her lawyer? We'd also like to know what Marcia Gay Harden was hiding in that beehive 'do not of hers, but some things are best left up to the imagination. Everything else warrants an explanation.

Who is Renee Zellweger's "beloved" John Carrabino, and why does she keep bringing him along to these awards shows?
Often mistaken for Bob or Harvey Weinstein — and let's face it, the dude looks like he crawled out of their gene pool — Carrabino is, in fact, Zellweger's longtime manager. That said, these two need to get a room — or at least make out. All the sexual tension is driving us nuts.

Zells also singled out Law & Order: Criminal Intent's Vincent D'Onofrio "for teaching me how to work." When was that exactly?
As movie buffs no doubt recall, the pair played distant lovers in the 1996 drama The Whole Wide World. "The film didn't have a very high profile," points out TV Guide Online's own Maitland McDonagh, "but it got very solid reviews."

Why was presenter Jim Carrey's head shaved?
The actor-comic-contortonist went crome-domed for his role as Count Olaf in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, which is currently filming.

Did best actress champ Charlize Theron bring her attorney as her date? And if not, who was that handsome fella Oscar producers cut to when she thanked her "lawyer, Steve Warren?"
We can put an end to all the legal drama now: The weepy hunk in the white dinner jacket was actually Theron's actor-beau, Stuart Townsend — Peter Jackson's original Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings. He was replaced by Viggo Mortensen after Jackson realized he was too young for the part. Long story short, Sunday night had to suck for him.

Is Theron really bringing her Oscar home to South Africa "next week" as she said in her speech?
Yes. Monster just "opened in South Africa, so I am going to do some press over there for the film," she later said.

How did the Oscars do in the ratings?
Despite the snoozefest that was Sunday's telecast, ABC estimates that 43.5 million witnessed Rings' clean sweep — up 25 percent from last year's war-tinged ceremony. It was the most-watched Oscars in four years and the No. 1 entertainment program of the season.

How did the show's length compare to years past?
According to TV Guide statistician Nick Spagnoli, "from opening shot to final credit it was 3 hours and 45 minutes." Adds fellow researcher Ethan Alter: "That's a little longer than last year, but just about normal" for Oscar.

While presenting the Sound Mixing and Sound Effects Editing categories with Sandra Bullock, John Travolta quipped that the Speed star was late to rehearsals. True?
"Yes, she was," confirms an Academy rep, who adds that the practice schedule had to be "adjusted" to make room for Miss Belatedly.

Did ABC have to utilize its Boobygate-inspired five-second delay to block out any racy content?
"No," says a network rep. Still, rumors persist that censors considered blurring Uma Thurman's horrid Swiss Miss-meets-Geisha Girl getup.

Best supporting actor winner Tim Robbins gave a shout-out to "the Geiss family" while at the dais, adding that, "Your dad's smiling down on you." Who's this mysterious clan?
"They are friends of mine who lost their dad," Robbins explained backstage.

Speaking of Robbins, why did the political activist (and noted Dubya hater) refrain from slamming our commander-in-chief, opting instead to use his time on-stage to encourage victims of abuse to get help? Has he suddenly gone soft on us?
Not likely. "I actually didn't even know what I was going to say when I went up there," he says. "And [the abuse bit] just occurred to me at that moment." Rest assured, Mr. Susan Sarandon would not think twice about pulling a Michael Moore at a future awards show. "If you're going to live in a free society... sometimes what other people say is going to make you uncomfortable. That's part of what it is to live in a free society."

While introducing a clip for Lost in Translation, lead actor nominee Bill Murray joked that he wanted director Sofia Coppola removed from the pic four days into filming. They say all truth is said in jest...
... and they would be right. Backstage, Coppola all but confirmed that she and Murray did not hit it off at the start. "I think the first few days just, you know, he was jet-lagged, and we were trying to figure out how to work with a crew in Japan," she says. "We don't speak the language, and they work differently. There's just cultural differences, and the first couple days were kind of rough and confusing for us. But then we figured it out and had a good time." Lucy Liu couldn't have said it better herself.

Did Michael Ausiello really win TV Guide's annual Oscar pool? And if so, what was his take-home?
Yes, Ausiello was crowned Oscar-pool king by correctly calling 21 of the 24 categories. He walks away with a year's worth of bragging rights — but no cash, since gambling is illegal in New York. That said, drinks are on him tonight!

India's Zee Cine Awards

It's. . . Bollywood!

CNN.com - Bollywood fever rages in Dubai - Feb. 26, 2004

Oscars: The Show Behind The Show

Hi all,
I took notes during the Oscars to post my own review and then the cold I had developed on Saturday took a turn for the worse. I am going to post my own thoughts as soon as I feel better so here is an article from CNN to tide you over.

CNN.com - Oscars: The show behind the show - Mar. 1, 2004

My Oscar Predictions

No, not who will win. You've all read that in countless articles already. Besides, I tend to have a gift for routing for people who don't win so I don't want to inadvertently curse someone. By my predictions, I mean what colossal blunders Joan Rivers will hit the stars with when she corners them on the red carpet. Val Kilmer has had my respect ever since he was asked what the highlight of the Oscars was for him and he responded with "avoiding Joan Rivers." Here we go...

**Also, spoiler space about Mystic River for my Tim Robbins entry, so PLEASE don't read that if you haven't seen Mystic River and don't want to know anything about the ending. I HATE when people spoil movies for me so I don't want to do that to you. Now, for real, here we go. . .

To Johnny Depp: "So tell me, how thrilled are you to be nominated for a foreign film in the best actor category?" (Either because he lives in France or because she thinks Caribbean being in the title means Pirates of the Caribbean is a little Jamaican film. Take you pick).

To Bill Murray: "So what made you come here tonight?" (Because she always asks that of someone who is nominated and since I think Bill is highly, HIGHLY undervalued I gave him the honor this year).

To Ben Kingsley: "Now Ben, it must be phenomenal to star in a movie about being a king." (Either because she thinks his last name means he's in "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" OR because he's been knighted as Sir and she thinks that means he and Queen Victoria are REALLY close now).

To Sean Penn: "So tell me, how is Madonna these days?" (Either because she's clueless or because he's now married to Robin Wright Penn whose blonde too and she hasn't noticed that it isn't Madonna yet).

To Jude Law: "Now, now Jude, where is that lovely wife Sadie? And how is Dame Judy?" (1: Nasty divorce, don't ask ANYTHING about Jude's marriage. Dame Jude Dench. . . Jude Law. I think you get the confusion).

To Charlize Theron: "Oh Charlize, what made you star in a horror film?" (Title is Monster so I don't think I need to elaborate).

To Diane Keaton: Something inappropriate about Jack Nicholson's body. I don't even want to think about it to elaborate. She always asks some inappropriate question that makes an actor uncomfortable.

To Naomi Watts: "Oh how nice to see you Renee!" (Did I mention she is bad with people's identities)? ;)

To Samantha Morton: *dead silence* "So, who designed your dress?" (I'm getting Joan isn't big on the indie loop).

To Keisha Castle-Hughes: "So what was it like to star with Viggo Mortenson." (Keisha's from New Zealand, Lord of the Rings was filmed there, Viggo was in Lord of the Rings).

To Tim Robbins: "So what was it like playing such a bad guy." (She's gotta spoil the ending of some movie).

To Benicio Del Toro: "Now Benicio, why is it you are so attracted to drug movies?"
(He was in Traffic and lots of people think 21 Grams is a drug reference).

To Ken Watanabe: *first she's gotta butcher his name* Then, "So tell me all about Tom Cruise." (Thus, completely, cluelessly pushing Ken's accomplishment aside).

To Djimon Hounsou: *dead silence* "So, who designed your tux?" (see Samantha Morton entry)

To Alec Baldwin: "So, how was it acting opposite your brother William (Baldwin)?"
(William H. Macy is in The Cooler)

To Renee Zellweger: *she'll elaborate on mistaking Naomi for Renee causing a second uncomfortable moment about the event*

To Holly Hunter: "Well, you're stunning, but how did you pass for 13?"
(Holly's up for the movie Thirteen playing the MOM of a 13 year old).

To Marcia Gay Harden: *thinking it came out this year* "So did you expect Pollack to be such a huge hit?"
(Marcia won for Pollack in 2001).

To Shohreh Aghdashloo: God help us all if she tries this name. "It must be so nice to see your country recently liberated from Saddam."
(Shohreh is from Tehran).

To Patricia Clarkson: "Great performance! Now does this mean you'll be making an appearance on Dawson's Creek with your costar Katie Holmes?"
(Dawson's was canceled a while back).

To Peter Jackson: "So what was it like directing John Astin?"
(SEAN Astin was in Lord of the Rings while JOHN Astin was Gomez Addams of The Addams Family tv show).

To Sofia Coppola: "So when will we get to see you act again?"
(Sofia was ridiculed for her role in Godfather 3 and has made it clear she never wanted to act to begin with).

To Clint Eastwood: *just insert your own obnoxious gushing & insinuations of being close friends here*

To Fernando Meirelles: "I am just so curious to ask you this. Why do you think Mel Gibson's film is getting so much religious criticism and your film has managed to avoid it?"
(Fernando is up for City of God which is about the slums of Rio de Janeiro).

To Peter Weir: "What was it like to direct a movie based on a fellow actor's books?"
(Peter is up for Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World which was based on Patrick O'Brian. Joan could be thinking Patrick Stewart, Sean Patrick Flanery, Patrick Dempsey, lord knows).

Independent Spirit Awards

Here's an article on the Independent Spirit Awards. I'll always opt for an independent film over a big studio production so I have to congratulate all the nominees and winners here!

CNN.com - 'Lost' finds fans at indie awards - Feb. 29, 2004

Some Good Oscar Stuff

Click on this link for a lot of coverage on people nominated in this year's Oscar race. There is a lot of information here so it's definitely worth checking out!

IFILM - Because You Like to Watch

Biography Episode On The Oscars

This Sunday night A&E is airing a special episode of their series Biography and it will be about the Oscars. I read a review of the episode that said it was definitely worth checking out. Below is the episode description from A&E's website.

BIOGRAPHY®
Sunday, February 22 @ 8pm ET/PT Oscar
Produced in cooperation with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, our 2-hour star-studded salute to the Academy Awards spans the history of the most important show business award, including its birth and design of the statue, past winners and losers, the Red Carpet, and behind-the-scenes ceremony footage. Features interviews with Mel Gibson, Ron Howard, Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly, and Nicole Kidman. Find out why stars share a love/hate relationship with that "Little Gold Man" Oscar!  TV G

Changes Promise To Bring An Interesting Oscar Race

My mother asked me why the Oscars were airing in February instead of March this year and I completely blanked on why. I searched around to find out and came across this article. To quickly answer, the reason given is to cut down on campaigning. For a more elaborate answer, read the article.

HoustonChronicle.com - Changes promise to bring an interesting Oscar race

London Film Critic's Circle Awards

Here is an article on the London Film Critic's Awards.

CNN.com - 'Master' beats 'Rings' in UK awards - Feb. 12, 2004

5 Second Delay At Oscars PT 2

Here's another article on the 5 second delay that will be done during this year's Oscar telecast.

CNN.com - Planners: 5-second delay won't hurt Oscar - Feb. 11, 2004

5 Second Delay At The Oscars

Personally, I prefer the Oscars to be about celebrating movies, but it is good to know that we live in a country where people are free to express their political opinions at them. This is from today's Internet Movie Database website as well.

Oscar Bosses Promise Not To Cut Political Remarks
Oscar producer Joe Roth has promised nominees the planned five-second delay in the telecast will not be used to cull any controversial political remarks. The America's Sweethearts director has been forced to implement a delay between the live ceremony and the broadcast following Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's breast-baring Super Bowl performance on February 1. But Roth insists any repeat of Michael Moore's anti-war speech last year would not be left on the cutting room floor. He says, "At the nominees luncheon yesterday, I spoke with the nominees and just said that, when they come up, they're all under this microscope, unfortunately, because of these events a couple weeks ago. But it only applies to the use of profanity or nudity."

London Film Critics

This was taken from TV Guide's website today. . .

LORDY!: In a bit of an upset, the London Film Critics named Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World — and not the latest Lord of the Rings flick — the best picture of the year on Wednesday.