Hi. I'm back. In more ways than one. And with the new gig I'm a-workin', you might just see a little more here on this particular site.
Not surprisingly, Jackie MacMullan has entered my brain and sucked out all the good stuff, writing exactly how I feel about VideoGate in today's Globe. I'd been thinking about getting a Vince Young jersey lately. Now I'm sure I will. I'm not quite at the point of doing this, but when does it become OK to start cheating on your team? First, there was Rodney. OK, one player screwed up, and has been punished. Then, there were the initial video allegations. Then more stuff about the Pats wandering onto the Jets' coaching radio signal. And then, in what I personally feel is the most egregious violation (if true), Jack Del Rio says the Pats might have actually SCRAMBLED the Jaguars' radio transmissions during a playoff game two years ago. Now, there's no proof of that one (at least not yet), and for all we know it's just a losing coach mentioning something peculiar that happened in a loss. But seriously, if more digging uncovers the fact that the team has done these things, doesn't it get to the point where you can get a little extra on the side as a fan, without any repercussions if you decide to one day return to your old team once it cleans up its act? I think so. We'll see.
No matter what, there are no heroes here, and for the element of sports fans who think that the Jets should receive compensation for what happened on Sunday, I'm merely going to lay out the following: Eric Mangini was a trusted member of the Patriots' inner circle for several years. Eric Mangini then went to a division rival. The Patriots were caught doing something that only a coach on the sideline could notice, and something that would have to be backed up by some pretty legitimate claims. The Patriots were caught doing this in a game against the team Eric Mangini is now coaching. If you can't see the problem with making the Jets the victim here, then just return to watching football on Sundays and assuming the players who haven't been caught aren't using HGH.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
Good ol' fashioned atrocity
I'm not under any false presumptions about the readership of this blog being at all representative of America. But, if by any chance you're on the fence on this whole Michael Vick thing, if by any chance you're still sort of rooting for him to escape this little legal blitz like it's coming from the Houston Texans instead of the Federal Government, let's see if this changes your mind.
The Through the Atlanta Journal Constitution's Drew Jubera, an undercover investigator from the American Humane Society (yes, apparently there are such things) gives an eyewitness account of your ostensibly typical dogfight.
It's sickening, though not as graphic as you might expect (not even as bad as the indictment handed down on Vick), and as far as I'm concerned, it puts dogfighters about a half-step above child molesters on the food chain of disgusting and immoral criminals. As I said to my buddy, "Mr. Vick, I am officially done with you."
--------------------------------------------------------------
As an aside, I was at CVS last night. Pulled up to the counter. Looked, as ya do, at the various tabloidy-type magazines there (which now includes US Weekly. Too bad, I remember when US Weekly was basically like Entertainment Weekly). Now, you've seen this kind of cover before. It's the one where some now-gorgeous actress is in a skimpy bathing suit, showing off her gleaming abs and fantastic figure. And in big bold type, there's a headline like, "HOW SHE DID IT!!!" or, "SUZY ACTRESS'S GREAT NEW DIET PLAN!!!" And usually, there's an accompanying "Before" photo, with the actress lookin' all tubby and gross and ugly. So, on one of these magazines, they've got that cover goin'. Y'know, summer time and all, time for all the women of the world to cut down to 500 calories a week so they can "look good" at the beach. And who's the actress? Oh, you know, that one who got REALLY huge a while back...
That's right, Hilary Duff.
If it weren't as late in the evening as it was, I'd have called my girlfriend right then and there just to tell her how much I appreciate her. Seriously, this is what women have to deal with. Hilary Duff is getting too fat. Good Lord.
The Through the Atlanta Journal Constitution's Drew Jubera, an undercover investigator from the American Humane Society (yes, apparently there are such things) gives an eyewitness account of your ostensibly typical dogfight.
It's sickening, though not as graphic as you might expect (not even as bad as the indictment handed down on Vick), and as far as I'm concerned, it puts dogfighters about a half-step above child molesters on the food chain of disgusting and immoral criminals. As I said to my buddy, "Mr. Vick, I am officially done with you."
--------------------------------------------------------------
As an aside, I was at CVS last night. Pulled up to the counter. Looked, as ya do, at the various tabloidy-type magazines there (which now includes US Weekly. Too bad, I remember when US Weekly was basically like Entertainment Weekly). Now, you've seen this kind of cover before. It's the one where some now-gorgeous actress is in a skimpy bathing suit, showing off her gleaming abs and fantastic figure. And in big bold type, there's a headline like, "HOW SHE DID IT!!!" or, "SUZY ACTRESS'S GREAT NEW DIET PLAN!!!" And usually, there's an accompanying "Before" photo, with the actress lookin' all tubby and gross and ugly. So, on one of these magazines, they've got that cover goin'. Y'know, summer time and all, time for all the women of the world to cut down to 500 calories a week so they can "look good" at the beach. And who's the actress? Oh, you know, that one who got REALLY huge a while back...
That's right, Hilary Duff.
If it weren't as late in the evening as it was, I'd have called my girlfriend right then and there just to tell her how much I appreciate her. Seriously, this is what women have to deal with. Hilary Duff is getting too fat. Good Lord.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
A blog about a blog...
Not much to give you right now, but I thought I'd direct y'all over to the Eagle's sports blog, The Sports Squawk. I weaseled my way into getting involved with it, so hopefully you'll get a combination of myself and my coworker posting on it. Enjoy, even if you don't really give a damn about Berkshire County.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Just a quick one
At some point I might try to throw together a "best sports movies"-type post, but for now I just wanted to share this link, from ESPN.com's Andy Katz, who followed Kevin Durant around for Texas' thrilling double-overtime win over Texas A&M on Wednesday. It's a nice, quick look at how a true Big Man on Campus goes through his day. Enjoy.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Um, ouch
Let's see: During the Ice Dance, let's have a 105-pound girl lift her 170-pound partner like so...
And I'm sure it'll work, right? Nothing bad could...oh...uhhhh....
And I'm sure it'll work, right? Nothing bad could...oh...uhhhh....
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Oscar Noms/Early, baseless predictions
So, the Oscar nominations came out today. Somehow I wasn't even aware this was happening. Anyway, I haven't seen anywhere near the number of films I want to in order to make good predictions/votes for the winners. So, I'll post the nominations here (in case, somehow, THIS was the first place you came to find them), and perhaps soon I'll actually have some insight.
Performance by an actor in a leading role
Leonardo DiCaprio in “Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Ryan Gosling in “Half Nelson” (THINKFilm)
Peter O’Toole in “Venus” (Miramax, Filmfour and UK Council)
Will Smith in “The Pursuit of Happyness” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Forest Whitaker in “The Last King of Scotland” (Fox Searchlight)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Alan Arkin in “Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
Jackie Earle Haley in “Little Children” (New Line)
Djimon Hounsou in “Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Eddie Murphy in “Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Mark Wahlberg in “The Departed” (Warner Bros.)
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Penélope Cruz in “Volver” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Judi Dench in “Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight)
Helen Mirren in “The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada” (20th Century Fox)
Kate Winslet in “Little Children” (New Line)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Adriana Barraza in “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Cate Blanchett in “Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight)
Abigail Breslin in “Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
Jennifer Hudson in “Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Rinko Kikuchi in “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Best animated feature film of the year
“Cars” (Buena Vista) John Lasseter
“Happy Feet” (Warner Bros.) George Miller
“Monster House” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Gil Kenan
Achievement in art direction
“Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Art Direction: John Myhre
Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
“The Good Shepherd” (Universal)
Art Direction: Jeannine Oppewall
Set Decoration: Gretchen Rau and Leslie E. Rollins
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse)
Art Direction: Eugenio Caballero
Set Decoration: Pilar Revuelta
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (Buena Vista)
Art Direction: Rick Heinrichs
Set Decoration: Cheryl A. Carasik
“The Prestige” (Buena Vista)
Art Direction: Nathan Crowley
Set Decoration: Julie Ochipinti
Achievement in cinematography
“The Black Dahlia” (Universal) Vilmos Zsigmond
“Children of Men” (Universal) Emmanuel Lubezki
“The Illusionist” (Yari Film Group) Dick Pope
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse) Guillermo Navarro
“The Prestige” (Buena Vista) Wally Pfister
Achievement in costume design
“Curse of the Golden Flower” (Sony Pictures Classics) Yee Chung Man
“The Devil Wears Prada” (20th Century Fox) Patricia Field
“Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount) Sharen Davis
“Marie Antoinette” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Milena Canonero
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada) Consolata Boyle
Achievement in directing
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage) Alejandro González Iñárritu
“The Departed” (Warner Bros.) Martin Scorsese
“Letters from Iwo Jima” (Warner Bros.) Clint Eastwood
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada) Stephen Frears
“United 93” (Universal and StudioCanal) Paul Greengrass
Best documentary feature
“Deliver Us from Evil” (Lionsgate)
A Disarming Films Production
Amy Berg and Frank Donner
“An Inconvenient Truth” (Paramount Classics and Participant Productions)
A Lawrence Bender/Laurie David Production
Davis Guggenheim
“Iraq in Fragments” (Typecast Releasing)
A Typecast Pictures/Daylight Factory Production
James Longley and John Sinno
“Jesus Camp” (Magnolia Pictures)
A Loki Films Production
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
“My Country, My Country” (Zeitgeist Films)
A Praxis Films Production
Laura Poitras and Jocelyn Glatzer
Best documentary short subject
“The Blood of Yingzhou District”
A Thomas Lennon Films Production
Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon
“Recycled Life”
An Iwerks/Glad Production
Leslie Iwerks and Mike Glad
“Rehearsing a Dream”
A Simon & Goodman Picture Company Production
Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
“Two Hands”
A Crazy Boat Pictures Production
Nathaniel Kahn and Susan Rose Behr
Achievement in film editing
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Stephen Mirrione and Douglas Crise
“Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Steven Rosenblum
“Children of Men” (Universal)
Alex Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón
“The Departed” (Warner Bros.)
Thelma Schoonmaker
“United 93” (Universal and StudioCanal)
Clare Douglas, Christopher Rouse and Richard Pearson
Best foreign language film of the year
“After the Wedding” A Zentropa Entertainments 16 Production
Denmark
“Days of Glory (Indigènes)” A Tessalit Production
Algeria
“The Lives of Others” A Wiedemann & Berg Production
Germany
“Pan’s Labyrinth” A Tequila Gang/Esperanto Filmoj/Estudios Picasso Production
Mexico
“Water” A Hamilton-Mehta Production
Canada
Achievement in makeup
“Apocalypto” (Buena Vista) Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
“Click” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Kazuhiro Tsuji and Bill Corso
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse) David Marti and Montse Ribe
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage) Gustavo Santaolalla
“The Good German” (Warner Bros.) Thomas Newman
“Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight) Philip Glass
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse) Javier Navarrete
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada) Alexandre Desplat
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“I Need to Wake Up” from “An Inconvenient Truth”
(Paramount Classics and Participant Productions)
Music and Lyric by Melissa Etheridge
“Listen” from “Dreamgirls”
(DreamWorks and Paramount)
Music by Henry Krieger and Scott Cutler
Lyric by Anne Preven
“Love You I Do” from “Dreamgirls”
(DreamWorks and Paramount)
Music by Henry Krieger
Lyric by Siedah Garrett
“Our Town” from “Cars”
(Buena Vista)
Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“Patience” from “Dreamgirls”
(DreamWorks and Paramount)
Music by Henry Krieger
Lyric by Willie Reale
Best motion picture of the year
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
An Anonymous Content/Zeta Film/Central Films Production
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Jon Kilik and Steve Golin, Producers
“The Departed” (Warner Bros.)
A Warner Bros. Pictures Production
Nominees to be determined
“Letters from Iwo Jima” (Warner Bros.)
A DreamWorks Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures Production
Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg and Robert Lorenz, Producers
“Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
A Big Beach/Bona Fide Production
Nominees to be determined
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
A Granada Production
Andy Harries, Christine Langan and Tracey Seaward, Producers
Best animated short film
“The Danish Poet” (National Film Board of Canada)
A Mikrofilm and National Film Board of Canada Production
Torill Kove
“Lifted” (Buena Vista)
A Pixar Animation Studios Production
Gary Rydstrom
“The Little Matchgirl” (Buena Vista)
A Walt Disney Pictures Production
Roger Allers and Don Hahn
“Maestro” (Szimplafilm)
A Kedd Production
Geza M. Toth
“No Time for Nuts” (20th Century Fox)
A Blue Sky Studios Production
Chris Renaud and Michael Thurmeier
Best live action short film
“Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)”
A Peliculas Pendelton and Tus Ojos Production
Javier Fesser and Luis Manso
“Éramos Pocos (One Too Many)” (Kimuak)
An Altube Filmeak Production
Borja Cobeaga
“Helmer & Son”
A Nordisk Film Production
Soren Pilmark and Kim Magnusson
“The Saviour” (Australian Film Television and Radio School)
An Australian Film Television and Radio School Production
Peter Templeman and Stuart Parkyn
“West Bank Story”
An Ari Sandel, Pascal Vaguelsy, Amy Kim, Ravi Malhotra and Ashley Jordan Production
Ari Sandel
Achievement in sound editing
“Apocalypto” (Buena Vista)
Sean McCormack and Kami Asgar
“Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Lon Bender
“Flags of Our Fathers” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by Paramount)
Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
“Letters from Iwo Jima” (Warner Bros.)
Alan Robert Murray
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (Buena Vista)
Christopher Boyes and George Watters II
Achievement in sound mixing
“Apocalypto” (Buena Vista)
Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Fernando Camara
“Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Ivan Sharrock
“Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer and Willie Burton
“Flags of Our Fathers” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by Paramount)
John Reitz, Dave Campbell, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (Buena Vista)
Paul Massey, Christopher Boyes and Lee Orloff
Achievement in visual effects
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (Buena Vista)
John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and Allen Hall
“Poseidon” (Warner Bros.)
Boyd Shermis, Kim Libreri, Chaz Jarrett and John Frazier
“Superman Returns” (Warner Bros.)
Mark Stetson, Neil Corbould, Richard R. Hoover and Jon Thum
Adapted screenplay
“Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” (20th Century Fox)
Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Peter Baynham & Dan Mazer
Story by Sacha Baron Cohen & Peter Baynham & Anthony Hines & Todd Phillips
“Children of Men” (Universal)
Screenplay by Alfonso Cuarón & Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby
“The Departed” (Warner Bros.)
Screenplay by William Monahan
“Little Children” (New Line)
Screenplay by Todd Field & Tom Perrotta
“Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight)
Screenplay by Patrick Marber
Original screenplay
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Written by Guillermo Arriaga
“Letters from Iwo Jima” (Warner Bros.)
Screenplay by Iris Yamashita
Story by Iris Yamashita & Paul Haggis
“Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
Written by Michael Arndt
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse)
Written by Guillermo del Toro
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
Written by Peter Morgan
Now, as I did last year, I'll try to get to as many of the major award candidates as possible before the awards, and I'll have some sort of prediction/opinion for these by the night of the awards. Here's the list of movies I have yet to see, grouped into categories with helpful acronyms for each category. I do this for YOU, people! For YOU!
The Only Reason I Haven't Seen It is Because I Work Five Nights a Week (TORIHSIBIWFNW)
Pursuit of Happyness
Last King of Scotland
Little Children
Happy Feet
Pan's Labyrinth
Children of Men
The Good German
I Know, I Know, I Should Have Seen It By Now, And I'll Try To See It By February (IKIKISHSIBNAITTSIBF)
Borat
Dreamgirls
An Inconvenient Truth
Letters from Iwo Jima
Flags of Our Fathers
I Haven't Seen It, And Don't Care Enough To See It Before Oscar Time (IHSIADCETSIBOT)
The Devil Wears Prada
Monster House
Curse of the Golden Flower
Apocalypto
Poseidon
It Is A Weird Or Foreign Film That The Backwoods People of Berkshire County Had No Interest In Seeing So It Was Never On My Radar (IIAWOFFTTBPBCHNIISSIWNOMR)
Venus
Volver
The Queen
Notes on a Scandal
Marie Antoinette
Deliver Us From Evil
The Only Reason I Know What This Is About Is Because I Have IMDB In My Favorites (TORIKWTIAIBIHIMDBIMF)
Iraq in Fragments
Jesus Camp
My Country, My Country
For the record, I do not consider Documentary Shorts, Makeup, or Animated or Live Action Shorts to be major enough for me to bother with. Also, as mentioned above, not a lot of foreign films make it to the bastion of culture that is this county. So, Foreign Films are out too.
Performance by an actor in a leading role
Leonardo DiCaprio in “Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Ryan Gosling in “Half Nelson” (THINKFilm)
Peter O’Toole in “Venus” (Miramax, Filmfour and UK Council)
Will Smith in “The Pursuit of Happyness” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Forest Whitaker in “The Last King of Scotland” (Fox Searchlight)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Alan Arkin in “Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
Jackie Earle Haley in “Little Children” (New Line)
Djimon Hounsou in “Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Eddie Murphy in “Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Mark Wahlberg in “The Departed” (Warner Bros.)
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Penélope Cruz in “Volver” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Judi Dench in “Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight)
Helen Mirren in “The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada” (20th Century Fox)
Kate Winslet in “Little Children” (New Line)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Adriana Barraza in “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Cate Blanchett in “Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight)
Abigail Breslin in “Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
Jennifer Hudson in “Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Rinko Kikuchi in “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Best animated feature film of the year
“Cars” (Buena Vista) John Lasseter
“Happy Feet” (Warner Bros.) George Miller
“Monster House” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Gil Kenan
Achievement in art direction
“Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Art Direction: John Myhre
Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
“The Good Shepherd” (Universal)
Art Direction: Jeannine Oppewall
Set Decoration: Gretchen Rau and Leslie E. Rollins
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse)
Art Direction: Eugenio Caballero
Set Decoration: Pilar Revuelta
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (Buena Vista)
Art Direction: Rick Heinrichs
Set Decoration: Cheryl A. Carasik
“The Prestige” (Buena Vista)
Art Direction: Nathan Crowley
Set Decoration: Julie Ochipinti
Achievement in cinematography
“The Black Dahlia” (Universal) Vilmos Zsigmond
“Children of Men” (Universal) Emmanuel Lubezki
“The Illusionist” (Yari Film Group) Dick Pope
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse) Guillermo Navarro
“The Prestige” (Buena Vista) Wally Pfister
Achievement in costume design
“Curse of the Golden Flower” (Sony Pictures Classics) Yee Chung Man
“The Devil Wears Prada” (20th Century Fox) Patricia Field
“Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount) Sharen Davis
“Marie Antoinette” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Milena Canonero
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada) Consolata Boyle
Achievement in directing
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage) Alejandro González Iñárritu
“The Departed” (Warner Bros.) Martin Scorsese
“Letters from Iwo Jima” (Warner Bros.) Clint Eastwood
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada) Stephen Frears
“United 93” (Universal and StudioCanal) Paul Greengrass
Best documentary feature
“Deliver Us from Evil” (Lionsgate)
A Disarming Films Production
Amy Berg and Frank Donner
“An Inconvenient Truth” (Paramount Classics and Participant Productions)
A Lawrence Bender/Laurie David Production
Davis Guggenheim
“Iraq in Fragments” (Typecast Releasing)
A Typecast Pictures/Daylight Factory Production
James Longley and John Sinno
“Jesus Camp” (Magnolia Pictures)
A Loki Films Production
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
“My Country, My Country” (Zeitgeist Films)
A Praxis Films Production
Laura Poitras and Jocelyn Glatzer
Best documentary short subject
“The Blood of Yingzhou District”
A Thomas Lennon Films Production
Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon
“Recycled Life”
An Iwerks/Glad Production
Leslie Iwerks and Mike Glad
“Rehearsing a Dream”
A Simon & Goodman Picture Company Production
Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
“Two Hands”
A Crazy Boat Pictures Production
Nathaniel Kahn and Susan Rose Behr
Achievement in film editing
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Stephen Mirrione and Douglas Crise
“Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Steven Rosenblum
“Children of Men” (Universal)
Alex Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón
“The Departed” (Warner Bros.)
Thelma Schoonmaker
“United 93” (Universal and StudioCanal)
Clare Douglas, Christopher Rouse and Richard Pearson
Best foreign language film of the year
“After the Wedding” A Zentropa Entertainments 16 Production
Denmark
“Days of Glory (Indigènes)” A Tessalit Production
Algeria
“The Lives of Others” A Wiedemann & Berg Production
Germany
“Pan’s Labyrinth” A Tequila Gang/Esperanto Filmoj/Estudios Picasso Production
Mexico
“Water” A Hamilton-Mehta Production
Canada
Achievement in makeup
“Apocalypto” (Buena Vista) Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
“Click” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Kazuhiro Tsuji and Bill Corso
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse) David Marti and Montse Ribe
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage) Gustavo Santaolalla
“The Good German” (Warner Bros.) Thomas Newman
“Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight) Philip Glass
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse) Javier Navarrete
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada) Alexandre Desplat
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“I Need to Wake Up” from “An Inconvenient Truth”
(Paramount Classics and Participant Productions)
Music and Lyric by Melissa Etheridge
“Listen” from “Dreamgirls”
(DreamWorks and Paramount)
Music by Henry Krieger and Scott Cutler
Lyric by Anne Preven
“Love You I Do” from “Dreamgirls”
(DreamWorks and Paramount)
Music by Henry Krieger
Lyric by Siedah Garrett
“Our Town” from “Cars”
(Buena Vista)
Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“Patience” from “Dreamgirls”
(DreamWorks and Paramount)
Music by Henry Krieger
Lyric by Willie Reale
Best motion picture of the year
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
An Anonymous Content/Zeta Film/Central Films Production
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Jon Kilik and Steve Golin, Producers
“The Departed” (Warner Bros.)
A Warner Bros. Pictures Production
Nominees to be determined
“Letters from Iwo Jima” (Warner Bros.)
A DreamWorks Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures Production
Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg and Robert Lorenz, Producers
“Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
A Big Beach/Bona Fide Production
Nominees to be determined
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
A Granada Production
Andy Harries, Christine Langan and Tracey Seaward, Producers
Best animated short film
“The Danish Poet” (National Film Board of Canada)
A Mikrofilm and National Film Board of Canada Production
Torill Kove
“Lifted” (Buena Vista)
A Pixar Animation Studios Production
Gary Rydstrom
“The Little Matchgirl” (Buena Vista)
A Walt Disney Pictures Production
Roger Allers and Don Hahn
“Maestro” (Szimplafilm)
A Kedd Production
Geza M. Toth
“No Time for Nuts” (20th Century Fox)
A Blue Sky Studios Production
Chris Renaud and Michael Thurmeier
Best live action short film
“Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)”
A Peliculas Pendelton and Tus Ojos Production
Javier Fesser and Luis Manso
“Éramos Pocos (One Too Many)” (Kimuak)
An Altube Filmeak Production
Borja Cobeaga
“Helmer & Son”
A Nordisk Film Production
Soren Pilmark and Kim Magnusson
“The Saviour” (Australian Film Television and Radio School)
An Australian Film Television and Radio School Production
Peter Templeman and Stuart Parkyn
“West Bank Story”
An Ari Sandel, Pascal Vaguelsy, Amy Kim, Ravi Malhotra and Ashley Jordan Production
Ari Sandel
Achievement in sound editing
“Apocalypto” (Buena Vista)
Sean McCormack and Kami Asgar
“Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Lon Bender
“Flags of Our Fathers” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by Paramount)
Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
“Letters from Iwo Jima” (Warner Bros.)
Alan Robert Murray
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (Buena Vista)
Christopher Boyes and George Watters II
Achievement in sound mixing
“Apocalypto” (Buena Vista)
Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Fernando Camara
“Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Ivan Sharrock
“Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer and Willie Burton
“Flags of Our Fathers” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by Paramount)
John Reitz, Dave Campbell, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (Buena Vista)
Paul Massey, Christopher Boyes and Lee Orloff
Achievement in visual effects
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (Buena Vista)
John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and Allen Hall
“Poseidon” (Warner Bros.)
Boyd Shermis, Kim Libreri, Chaz Jarrett and John Frazier
“Superman Returns” (Warner Bros.)
Mark Stetson, Neil Corbould, Richard R. Hoover and Jon Thum
Adapted screenplay
“Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” (20th Century Fox)
Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Peter Baynham & Dan Mazer
Story by Sacha Baron Cohen & Peter Baynham & Anthony Hines & Todd Phillips
“Children of Men” (Universal)
Screenplay by Alfonso Cuarón & Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby
“The Departed” (Warner Bros.)
Screenplay by William Monahan
“Little Children” (New Line)
Screenplay by Todd Field & Tom Perrotta
“Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight)
Screenplay by Patrick Marber
Original screenplay
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Written by Guillermo Arriaga
“Letters from Iwo Jima” (Warner Bros.)
Screenplay by Iris Yamashita
Story by Iris Yamashita & Paul Haggis
“Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
Written by Michael Arndt
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse)
Written by Guillermo del Toro
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
Written by Peter Morgan
Now, as I did last year, I'll try to get to as many of the major award candidates as possible before the awards, and I'll have some sort of prediction/opinion for these by the night of the awards. Here's the list of movies I have yet to see, grouped into categories with helpful acronyms for each category. I do this for YOU, people! For YOU!
The Only Reason I Haven't Seen It is Because I Work Five Nights a Week (TORIHSIBIWFNW)
Pursuit of Happyness
Last King of Scotland
Little Children
Happy Feet
Pan's Labyrinth
Children of Men
The Good German
I Know, I Know, I Should Have Seen It By Now, And I'll Try To See It By February (IKIKISHSIBNAITTSIBF)
Borat
Dreamgirls
An Inconvenient Truth
Letters from Iwo Jima
Flags of Our Fathers
I Haven't Seen It, And Don't Care Enough To See It Before Oscar Time (IHSIADCETSIBOT)
The Devil Wears Prada
Monster House
Curse of the Golden Flower
Apocalypto
Poseidon
It Is A Weird Or Foreign Film That The Backwoods People of Berkshire County Had No Interest In Seeing So It Was Never On My Radar (IIAWOFFTTBPBCHNIISSIWNOMR)
Venus
Volver
The Queen
Notes on a Scandal
Marie Antoinette
Deliver Us From Evil
The Only Reason I Know What This Is About Is Because I Have IMDB In My Favorites (TORIKWTIAIBIHIMDBIMF)
Iraq in Fragments
Jesus Camp
My Country, My Country
For the record, I do not consider Documentary Shorts, Makeup, or Animated or Live Action Shorts to be major enough for me to bother with. Also, as mentioned above, not a lot of foreign films make it to the bastion of culture that is this county. So, Foreign Films are out too.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Hello again
Welcome back. Or welcome for the first time. Either way, really.
So I had planned on blogging soon anyway, but Jim went and mentioned my blog (and its utter lack of activity) on his, so once again I felt compelled to get back to this thing. Hopefully it'll stick.
On to the ramblings.
The NHL All-Star game would be interesting enough on its own, especially with Crosby and Ovechkin playing on a line together for the first time. Add to that the fact that the league is unveiling its new jersey template, though the linked photo only represents the sleeker cut of the jerseys. When the teams make the switch to the new sweater to start the 2007-08 season, most will retain their current look and design. That didn't stop someone from sending in a photoshopped suggestion to the Uni Watch column on ESPN.com's Page 2. Here is the "hypothetical mockup." WARNING: NOT SUITABLE FOR READERS WITH TASTE OR ANY SENSE OF WHAT A HOCKEY JERSEY SHOULD LOOK LIKE. I emailed Paul Lukas (the author of Uni Watch), and he assured me that it was a wholly reader-created image, and not something leaked from the league. In related news, Paul Lukas more than likely has already signed the pertinent paper work to take out an electronic restraining order against me. Alas.
As an aside, I'm a big fan of the Uni Watch column. Always full of some interesting things, though sometimes some seriously odd items. I'm sure I've written about it here before, but I wanted to repeat my sentiments. Through it, I also found out that the Columbus Blue Jackets are retiring their original logo (A C and B in red, white, and blue ribbon, with...oh hell, here.) for the newer third jersey logo. A big improvement, if you ask me, though it makes my authentic Greg Mauldin practice jersey that much more obsolete.
Alright. Now, two days after the game, I don't think anyone is going to need another thousand-word screed on the Patriots' loss (although I'll say this: Bill Simmons has come up with a pair of uncharacteristically good columns in the last week, so if you're GOING to read 1,000 words about the Patriots, his might be a good set to start with.) But I've talked to a few people about the game, the calls, the finish, etc. and I've come to a few conclusions. One, the Patriots lost that game. Not the referees. Not getting a first down on that drive late in the fourth was absolutely killer, and taking a too-many-men in the huddle penalty at that point is a sign of a team that shouldn't be going to the Super Bowl (and with the number of non-starters in there for this game, that's exactly what the Pats were). However, the three pass interference calls and one roughing the passer call in the game were the most atrocious calls/non-calls I've seen in a real long time, maybe ever, considering the circumstances. For those of you who bought into the idea that Ellis Hobbs committed pass interference because of a term you may have heard, "faceguarding," well, you're wrong. Hobbs, who at absolutely no point touched the receiver, is allowed to get in the way of the ball reaching the player without ever actually looking for it. Here is the official NFL word on Pass Interference, and for the life of me I can't even try to stretch any of those definitions to fit what Hobbs did.
That's all I'm going to say about that. [/Forrest Gump]
Finally, I'll leave you (for now) with this, my quote of the day. Remember how Gilbert Arenas, the king of "I get no respect," is making it his personal mission to exact revenge on anyone who had any hand in his being snubbed for Team USA's trip to the FIBA World Championships? (If not, here's the rub.) Well, one of those people is Mike D'Antoni, the Suns coach who was an assistant on the National Team. Arenas already went buck-wild on the Suns, and now he's eyeing the Wizards' game against Portland on Feb. 11 as his next stop on the Gilbert Arenas Vengeance Tour. Portland coach Nate McMillan was another assistant on Team USA, under Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski (spelled it all by myself!) When D'Antoni heard about all this, this was his response:
So I had planned on blogging soon anyway, but Jim went and mentioned my blog (and its utter lack of activity) on his, so once again I felt compelled to get back to this thing. Hopefully it'll stick.
On to the ramblings.
The NHL All-Star game would be interesting enough on its own, especially with Crosby and Ovechkin playing on a line together for the first time. Add to that the fact that the league is unveiling its new jersey template, though the linked photo only represents the sleeker cut of the jerseys. When the teams make the switch to the new sweater to start the 2007-08 season, most will retain their current look and design. That didn't stop someone from sending in a photoshopped suggestion to the Uni Watch column on ESPN.com's Page 2. Here is the "hypothetical mockup." WARNING: NOT SUITABLE FOR READERS WITH TASTE OR ANY SENSE OF WHAT A HOCKEY JERSEY SHOULD LOOK LIKE. I emailed Paul Lukas (the author of Uni Watch), and he assured me that it was a wholly reader-created image, and not something leaked from the league. In related news, Paul Lukas more than likely has already signed the pertinent paper work to take out an electronic restraining order against me. Alas.
As an aside, I'm a big fan of the Uni Watch column. Always full of some interesting things, though sometimes some seriously odd items. I'm sure I've written about it here before, but I wanted to repeat my sentiments. Through it, I also found out that the Columbus Blue Jackets are retiring their original logo (A C and B in red, white, and blue ribbon, with...oh hell, here.) for the newer third jersey logo. A big improvement, if you ask me, though it makes my authentic Greg Mauldin practice jersey that much more obsolete.
Alright. Now, two days after the game, I don't think anyone is going to need another thousand-word screed on the Patriots' loss (although I'll say this: Bill Simmons has come up with a pair of uncharacteristically good columns in the last week, so if you're GOING to read 1,000 words about the Patriots, his might be a good set to start with.) But I've talked to a few people about the game, the calls, the finish, etc. and I've come to a few conclusions. One, the Patriots lost that game. Not the referees. Not getting a first down on that drive late in the fourth was absolutely killer, and taking a too-many-men in the huddle penalty at that point is a sign of a team that shouldn't be going to the Super Bowl (and with the number of non-starters in there for this game, that's exactly what the Pats were). However, the three pass interference calls and one roughing the passer call in the game were the most atrocious calls/non-calls I've seen in a real long time, maybe ever, considering the circumstances. For those of you who bought into the idea that Ellis Hobbs committed pass interference because of a term you may have heard, "faceguarding," well, you're wrong. Hobbs, who at absolutely no point touched the receiver, is allowed to get in the way of the ball reaching the player without ever actually looking for it. Here is the official NFL word on Pass Interference, and for the life of me I can't even try to stretch any of those definitions to fit what Hobbs did.
That's all I'm going to say about that. [/Forrest Gump]
Finally, I'll leave you (for now) with this, my quote of the day. Remember how Gilbert Arenas, the king of "I get no respect," is making it his personal mission to exact revenge on anyone who had any hand in his being snubbed for Team USA's trip to the FIBA World Championships? (If not, here's the rub.) Well, one of those people is Mike D'Antoni, the Suns coach who was an assistant on the National Team. Arenas already went buck-wild on the Suns, and now he's eyeing the Wizards' game against Portland on Feb. 11 as his next stop on the Gilbert Arenas Vengeance Tour. Portland coach Nate McMillan was another assistant on Team USA, under Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski (spelled it all by myself!) When D'Antoni heard about all this, this was his response:
"I can’t wait to see what he does against Duke," D’Antoni said. "He’s
gonna KILL Duke."
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