comment #1

Devin Faraci says ...

If LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA is setting up a sweep, I'm going to hug a hand grenade.

comment #2

austin111 says ...

Get ready to pull that pin, Devin....

Ugh!! I think I'm staying away from any more awards nonsense. The Oscars, etc., are getting to be like the emmys. No surprises, just the same old/same old -- year in/year out. Why don't they just give Clint the award for best director/filmmaker of all time and leave it at that? Then the other guys can get more playtime.

comment #3

dre says ...

this is getting interesting. yes, marty doesnt need an oscar to prove anything...but can eastwood screw him again?

comment #4

austin111 says ...

YES, he can screw him again....and again....and again....but he can't live forever....well, maybe not past 100 or so anyway.

comment #5

VedaPierce says ...

The critics groups have rarely honored musicals or the peformers in them. Streisand in "Funny Girl"? Minnelli in "Cabaret"? Please. Hudson is still a lock for the Oscar.

comment #6

EDouglas says ...

"this is getting interesting. yes, marty doesnt need an oscar to prove anything...but can eastwood screw him again?"

This is what I'm worried about. Sure, both Departed and Letters is Warner Bros, but they've already made their money on the former and maybe they think they'll only make money on the latter if they start getting nominations or Oscar wins. They're certainly rolling it out in a way that expects a lot of nominations. Also, we have to remember that WB has a very long relationship with Clint while for Scorsese, this is a one-shot (he already signed a deal with Paramount to do more movies, didn't he?)

Still, I think it'll be a real shame if Scorsese loses out to Clint again. He should have won for The Aviator, his most ambitious film to date.

comment #7

Devin Faraci says ...

I wish there was a "Bold Choice" Oscar so they could fob that at Eastwood for the better-than-FLAGS-but-still-not-amazing LETTERS and Marty could get his Oscar.

comment #8

dre says ...

Then again...there is a lot of nice end-of-the-year buzz developing for United 93 and Paul Greengrass could end up sniping both Marty and Clint from behind (in a non-sexual way). As much as I would like to see Marty win, I would not mind at all if Greengrass got a surprise nom and win.

And Devin...wouldn't "Bold Choice" be more fitting for Darren Aronofsky? So much for those dark horse Fountain hopes...and again, an Oscar isn't needed to justify Aronofsky's work (or this year's best film) but wouldn't it be fucking killer to have an academy to recognize a flick like that

comment #9

EDouglas says ...

I'd like to see Paul Greengrass get an Oscar nomination for his direction of United 93... I can see him getting in at this point for sure. Can you imagine a Best Picture race between Scorsese, Eastwood, Condon, Greengrass and Gibson? I can.

comment #10

Devin Faraci says ...

Nobody is a bigger booster of THE FOUNTAIN than I am, but I can't imagine that the film is even playing in the greater LA area on Oscar night, let alone that it's up for any awards.

comment #11

dixiedugan says ...

I have to admit I have not seen The Departed nor Letters yet and probably won't be able to for a bit yet, so I'll reserve final judgement until then.

I will say though that in speaking of the Academy terms, they've twice had the chance to give Scorcese a rightful best director statue, but screwed up. We'll see.

comment #12

Noel Murray says ...

Great to see the love for LAZARESCU, one of my favorite movies of the year.

comment #13

austin111 says ...

Scorsese looks to be left out this year, too. It's hardly the end of the world, though. He's not campaigning for it and so Clint will inevitably fill the void for better or worse. Best thing now would be if they split the vote and it went to someone else deserving. Clint has enough of those little gold men sitting on his many mantels. Scorsese is not that beloved in Hollywood, btw. Something we already know. So time to let it go, eh?

BTW, Kris Tapley pointed out on his site that he overheard one of the critics voting last year say something to the effect that they helped Vera Famiga get two roles this year by giving her Best Actress last year. The agenda is clear, I believe, for most of these so called critic organizations. They just push this or that actor, picture or director, etc., because they hope to influence Hollywood to give them more work -- whether they're the best out there (Famiga was actually exceptional) may be another matter entirely. Or perhaps they simply want to meet someone they like -- Thelma Adams pretty much admitted as much to Tom O'Neill earlier this year....going on and on about what a darling Almodovar is. Most of these awards are driven by much more than rewarding excellence. Arrogance perhaps, bias certainly, a need to feel influential in some way. How tedious the process has become.

comment #14

jeffmcm says ...

Gibson will not get any nominations, his film just isn't Oscar-caliber enough; it's a violent action movie, with no easily digestible message and the Oscar voters already have The Departed to fill that slot.

Vera Farmiga had already been cast in, and probably wrapped filming of, all three of her 2006 movies (Running Scared, The Departed, Breaking and Entering) before she won her awards last year for Down to the Bone.