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Ishtar
(May, 1987)
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (OOP)
(Ross, 1976)
The Devils
(Russell, 1974)
The Pirates of Penzance
(Papp/Leach, 1983)
The Fortune
(Nichols, 1975)
-30-
(Webb, 1959)
Betrayal
(Jones, 1983)
Play It As It Lays
(Perry, 1972)
The Outfit
(Flynn, 1973)
Alex in Wonderland
(Mazursky, 1969)
The Legend of Lylah Clare
(Aldrich, 1968)
In The Cool of the Day
(Stevens, 1963)
That Cold Day in the Park
(Altman, 1969)
Thumb Trippin'
(Masters, 1972)
Midas Run
(Kjellin, 1969)
At Long Last Love
(Bogdanovich, 1973)
Brewster McCloud
(Altman, 1972)
Outcast of the Islands
(Reed, 1951)

Reader Submissions
1930's-1950's
The Moon's Our Home
(Seiter, 1936)
Sh! The Octopus
(McGann, 1937)
The Mating Season
(Leisen, 1951)
Bad for Each Other
(Rapper, 1953)
The Phenix City Story
(Karlson, 1955)
Run of the Arrow
(Fuller, 1956)
House of Secrets
(Green, 1956)
Saint Joan
(Preminger, 1957)
Macabre
(Castle, 1958)
The Fiend Who Walked the West
(G. Douglas, 1958
Five Gates to Hell
(Clavell, 1959)
1960's
Key Witness
(Karlson, 1960)
Summer and Smoke
(Glenville, 1961)
The Chapman Report
(Cukor,1962)
Bachelor Flat
(Tashlin, 1962) [on Hulu]
The L Shaped Room
(Forbes, 1963)
The Chalk Garden
(Neame, 1964)
A Thousand Clowns
(Coe, 1965)
You're a Big Boy Now
(Coppola, 1966)
The Whisperers
(Forbes, 1967)
Dark of the Sun
(Cardiff, 1968)
Skidoo
(Preminger, 1968)
Last Summer
(Perry, 1969)
The Comic
(C. Reiner, 1969)
1970-1974
The Revolutionary
(Williams, 1970)
The Landlord
(Ashby, 1970)
Diary of a Mad Housewife
(Perry, 1970)
Tropic of Cancer
(Strick, 1970)
I Never Sang for My Father
(Cates, 1970)
Sometimes a Great Notion
(Newman, 1971)
Marriage of a Young Stockbroker
(Turman, 1971)
The Music Lovers
(Russell, 1971)
Drive, He Said
(Nicholson, 1971)
The Steagle
(Sylbert, 1971)
The Last Movie
(Hopper, 1971)
Made For Each Other
(Bean, 1971)
The Day the Clown Cried
(Lewis, 1972)
Hickey & Boggs (OOP)
(Culp, 1972)
The Carey Treatment
(Edwards, 1972)
Pete 'n' Tillie
(Ritt, 1972)
Slither
(Zieff, 1973)
Man on a Swing
(Perry, 1974)
Open Season
(Collinson, 1974)
The Tamarind Seed
(Edwards, 1974)
Law and Disorder
(Passer, 1974)
Homebodies
(Yust, 1974)
Stardust
(Apted, 1974)
Celine and Julie Go Boating
(Rivette, 1974)
1975-1979
Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins
(Richards, 1975
At Long Last Love
(Bogdanovich, 1975)
Hearts of the West
(Zieff, 1975)
Welcome to L.A.
(Rudolph, 1976)
W.C. Fields and Me
(Hiller, 1976)
Citizens Band
(Demme, 1977)
Twilight's Last Gleaming
(Aldrich, 1977)
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
(Brooks, 1977)
Girlfriends
(Weill, 1978)
Movie Movie
(Donen, 1978)
The Medusa Touch
(Gold, 1978)
American Hot Wax
(Mutrux, 1978)
Hot Stuff
(DeLuise, 1979)
Scavenger Hunt
(Schultz , 1979)
Players
(Harvey, 1979)
Rich Kids
(Young, 1979)
Nightwing
(Hiller, 1979)
Screams of a Winter's Night
(Wilson, 1979
When You Comin' Back Red Ryder?
(Katselas, 1979
1980's
Resurrection
(Petrie, 1980)
The Awakening
(Newell, 1980)
Simon
(Brickman, 1980)
God's Angry Man
(Herzog, 1980)
Fast-Walking
(Harris, 1982)
Twice Upon a Time
(Korty & Swenson, 1983)
Trouble in Mind
(Rudolph, 1985)
When the Wind Blows
(Murikami, 1986)
Housekeeping
(Forsyth, 1987)
The Glass Menagerie
(Newman, 1987)
Patty Hearst
(Schrader, 1988)
Drowning by Numbers
(Greenaway, 1988)
Haunted Summer
(Passer, 1988)
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
(Spheeris, 1988)
1990's
Old Times
(Curtis, 1991)
Prospero's Books
(Greenaway, 1991)
City of Hope
(Sayles, 1991)
The Baby of Macon
(Greenaway, 1993)
King of the Hill
(Soderbergh, 1993)
Dadetown
(Hexter, 1995)
SubUrbia
(Linklater, 1997)

Upcoming

January 8

Bitch Slap

Waiting for Armageddon

Wonderful World

Youth in Revolt

January 15

January 22

Drool

Extraordinary Measures

The Girl on the Train

Fart Vistas

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"Another eerie sign came this weekend when three, count 'em, three (older) academy voters whose opinions I respect all said the exact same thing to me at different times. They weren't voting for Slumdog Millionaire because 'it's just not an Oscar picture.' I thought it was very strange that I would suddenly be hearing virtually the same kind of reasoning out of the mouths of three different academy members, but there it was. All of them, by the way, had cast their Best Picture vote for Benjamin Button." -- from Pete Hammond's latest Envelope column, the headline of which says "Signs Point To Big Oscar Upsets." Bullshit.

Fonda Passion<< previous | next >>Wank

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on February 18, 2009 at 9:12 AM

comment #1

the400blows says ...

It's amazing what some people will do to get people to watch the Oscars.

Posted by the400blows at February 18, 2009 9:36 AM

comment #2

actionman says ...

I'd love to see Button take best pic but it's not gonna happen

Posted by actionman at February 18, 2009 9:43 AM

comment #3

DeafBrownTrashPunk says ...

Well, everyone was shocked by CRASH winning Best Picture. It could happen.

I'm rooting for Slumdog to sweep the Oscars.

Posted by DeafBrownTrashPunk at February 18, 2009 9:58 AM

comment #4

DavidF says ...

There's always a few shocks and people forget that every year.

I really liked Slumdog but I CANNOT imagine this thing taking 5+ Oscars, including Best Picture. It's just not that good - I agree with the "It's not an Oscar picture" comment. It's a wonderful, well-told story but there's no other level to it at all.

Right now it seems to be in line for pic, direct, screenplay, song, score, maybe cinematography...

I felt a bit the same about Shakespeare in Love which I REALLY liked but never saw in the same league as Saving Pritave Ryan.

My private hope for an upset is Button takes Best Pic while Boyle gets director and Slumdog gets screenplay. I can live with that as a reasonable compromise.

Posted by DavidF at February 18, 2009 10:08 AM

comment #5

JHR says ...

Reminds me of the JUNO "surge" predictions last year...if the unthinkable happens and Slumdog were to lose, I don't see any way in hell that it goes to Ben Buttons...of the 5 nominated films, Buttons has to be dead last...

Posted by JHR at February 18, 2009 10:08 AM

comment #6

Ryansi51 says ...

Benjamin BUTTON is singular.

13 NOMINATIONS is plural.

Posted by Ryansi51 at February 18, 2009 10:21 AM

comment #7

JHR says ...

"Benjamin BUTTON is singular...13 NOMINATIONS is plural."

What is zero for 13? The greatest skunking of all time?

Posted by JHR at February 18, 2009 10:25 AM

comment #8

Howlingman says ...

"it's just not an Oscar picture.'"

Why? Too many brown people?

Posted by Howlingman at February 18, 2009 10:31 AM

comment #9

lazarus says ...

I just still can't picture older people voting for something with "slum" in the title to represent the Oscars for eternity. It's a rather ugly name; no other BP winner that I can think of conjures up such a slangy, unpleasant image.

Posted by lazarus at February 18, 2009 10:48 AM

comment #10

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

"What is zero for 13? The greatest skunking of all time?"

It's going to be picking up a decent amount of tech. awards (at least the ones TDK doesn't garner), and it's got a legitimate shot at an upset in Best Supporting Actress.

"I don't see any way in hell that it goes to Ben Buttons...of the 5 nominated films, Buttons has to be dead last..."

The Reader.

Posted by CitizenKanedforChewingGum at February 18, 2009 11:19 AM

comment #11

lazarus says ...

Frost/Nixon was probably a film that many respected enough to nominated, but didn't love it enough to give it a win.

Benjamin Button may be more divisive, but it probably has more loyal fans.

Posted by lazarus at February 18, 2009 11:22 AM

comment #12

clancy says ...

Question for jeff:

Winslet is going to win. But if the Rosenbaum and Lurie and other hate pieces had come out three weeks ago - making the Jewish members feel like idiots for supporting it in the first place - she'd end up in last place. At least that is what members I have interviewed have told me. What is your take on this, Jeff? It seems like a pretty important topic

The older members hate "The Wrestler" and love "Milk". We'll see. That is why that category is up in the air.

Posted by clancy at February 18, 2009 11:42 AM

comment #13

Floyd Thursby says ...

What's the record for most films nominated for best picture without winning any Oscars? I can easily see any of the nominees except SLUMDOG going home with nothing.

Posted by Floyd Thursby at February 18, 2009 1:09 PM

comment #14

DavidF says ...

...that reminds me of when Twin Peaks had 14 Emmy nods in its first season and won not a single one.

The second season went off the rails but looking back it's absurd it didn't win ANYTHING - these things do happen, however.

I had to Google it: TP actually won 2 for editing and costumes. McLachlan lost to Columbo (!), Piper Laurie lost to Patricia Wettig, LA Law was the best drama and there was a TIE for Best Director and neither of the winners was David Lynch!!!
Now THAT's a frickin travesty, people.

(one of the director winners was 30something and the other was some show called Equal Justice. WTF?)

Posted by DavidF at February 18, 2009 1:33 PM

comment #15

berg says ...

The Color Purple went 0 for 11 ... (to paraphrase Irving Stone) we're donut dunkers in the coffee of another organization's ideas

Posted by berg at February 18, 2009 1:39 PM

comment #16

jse33 says ...

Slumdog Millionaire is a pretty good film, but it doesn't deserve the sweep that it's going to achieve on Sunday. It has won every single Guild award, plus several at the Globes and BAFTA. I have it winning 8. Picture, Director, Screenplay, Editing, Cinematography, Score, Song, and Sound Mixing. It won the Guild awards for Editing, Cinematography, and Sound. Voters are going blindly choose it for just about every category it's in. Benjamin Button, which I like much more, will be taking home 3 awards. Art Direction, Visual Effects, and Make-up. Milk gets 2, Actor and Screenplay. The Reader gets 1 for Actress. Frost/Nixon will be the only BP nominee going home empty-handed.

Posted by jse33 at February 18, 2009 1:42 PM

comment #17

lazarus says ...

Gangs of New York was shut out and had 11, right?

Posted by lazarus at February 18, 2009 2:07 PM

comment #18

bmcintire says ...

If SLUMDOG weren't the type pf picture the Academy votes for, it wouldn't have been nominated. JUNO was viewed the same way, but lo and behold, there it was up for Best Picture. These are the same frigging people. It's not like a busful of replacements comes in to cast the final ballots.

Posted by bmcintire at February 18, 2009 2:15 PM

comment #19

dukedog says ...

I think Daniel Day Lewis won for "Gangs". I think. I have to visit imdb to be sure. I think the record for shut-outs is "The Turning Point".

Posted by dukedog at February 18, 2009 4:02 PM

comment #20

lazarus says ...

No, he lost to Adrien Brody, unfortunately. DDL turns in one of the all-time greatest performances but they went with the cinderella story. Brody was very good, but not better than the best working actor at the top of his game.

Posted by lazarus at February 18, 2009 4:19 PM

comment #21

D.Z. says ...

http://oscars.movies.yahoo.com/news/176-and-the-oscar-goes-to-matilda-if-ledger-wins?nc

Posted by D.Z. at February 18, 2009 4:28 PM

comment #22

Jeremy Fassler says ...

I think BENJAMIN BUTTON is this year's AVIATOR--people admire it a lot, but not enough to help it go that extra distance. SLUMDOG seems like a safe bet at this point, and Danny Boyle should win the directing Oscar if only for the shot of the boys falling off the train and growing up.

Posted by Jeremy Fassler at February 18, 2009 5:33 PM

comment #23

byanyother says ...

Button will win at least visual effects, but probably also art direction and costume design.

Posted by byanyother at February 18, 2009 8:08 PM

comment #24

arturobandini2 says ...

I think this Sunday will be a good night to catch The Class.

Posted by arturobandini2 at February 18, 2009 8:11 PM

comment #25

markj says ...

I'm mystified by the reaction to Slumdog Millionaire. It's a nicely put-together, well shot film. But that's all. I feel no urge to ever watch it again.

Posted by markj at February 19, 2009 3:03 AM

comment #26