Taking A Stab at Oscar

For whatever reason, I spend way too much time thinking about the Oscars.  I started paying attention to the Oscars for the first time in 1992, after Silence of the Lambs had swept the major awards and I was able to watch in on HBO.  I think it was the first time that a movie I liked (and by liked I mean gave me nightmares) was respected by the Academy and rewarded with multiple Oscars.  My family was not into the entertainment industry – my parents never watched the Oscars or really cared about them…I can probably count on two hands the amount of times I remember my parents going to a movie theatre when I was a kid.  So, it was kind of random that I succumb so easily to Oscar fever.

There are countless Oscar blogs out there now that follow every morsel of Oscar-related media – I spend way too much of my time reading through them – but I still formulate my own predictions based on a secret equation.  I’ll never tell.

And so, here are my entirely-too-early-to-ever-be-accurate predictions for Oscar nods.*

Best Picture

1. The Dark Knight
2. Milk
3. Slumdog Millionaire
4. Australia
5. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Director

1. David Fincher – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2. Baz Lurhman – Australia
3. Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire
4. Christopher Nolan – The Dark Knight
5. Jonathan Demme – Rachel Getting Married

Best Actor

1. Sean Penn – Milk
2. Leonardo DiCaprio – Revolutionary Road
3. Brad Pitt – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
4. Frank Langhella – Frost/Nixon
5. Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler

Best Actress

1. Merly Streep – Doubt
2. Kate Winslet – Revolutionary Road
3. Kristen Scott Thomas – I’ve Loved You So Long
4. Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married
5. Angelina Jolie – The Changeling

Best Supporting Actor

1. Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight
2. Philip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt
3. Michael Sheen – Frost/Nixon
4. Josh Brolin – Milk
5. Robert Downey Jr. – Tropic Thunder

Best Supporting Actress

1. Kate Winslet – The Reader
2. Viola Davis – Doubt
3. Amy Adams – Doubt
4. Marisa Tomei – The Wrestler
5. Penelope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona

*I have seen exactly four movies on this list, at this time.

Cinemania

Every year I look forward to autumn like the anxious, nerdy child I once was; except now instead of being excited for school to start, I’m relieved and thrilled that the “serious” film season is here; the “prestige” films all vying for Oscar glory are more often than not released between Labor Day weekend and the end of the year. Additionally, the changing of the season makes me crave the indoors as a shelter from the cool breeze and rustling, colored leaves. It’s a little different here in SF now, as the leaves aren’t really changing much (palm trees); but I am slowly discovering that SF is a movie town that rivals NYC, and my desire to watch movies in a theatre or on my laptop is increasing as the days get shorter.

For instance, over the two months I’ve seen The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Michael Clayton, The Jane Austen Book Club, 3:10 to Yuma, The Darjeeling Limited, Lust, Caution, The Brave One, Becoming Jane, Death at a Funeral, and 2 Days in Paris, all in chain theatres. I’ve seen Love and Death and Interiors at the famed Castro Theatre in a double feature, and have rented almost too many DVDs to keep track of.

I’m looking forward to so many more, that I wonder when I’ll have time to see them all, what with work, my reading list, and a social life to participate in. I will say that seeing all of these films does two things: 1. it makes me pretty good at choosing Oscar winners for Oscar pools; and 2. it cuts down on the number of “new releases” DVDs I will rent in the spring. So far, I’m enjoying that SF is so supportive of my cinemania – I’m just hoping to not have to see too many bombs along the way.

What the…

OK, so last night I’m walking to pick up som food from here, and on my way I see a couple of women about a 1/2 block ahead of me. They were a bit Marina-ish for being on a random street in the Mission (shiny blouses, clicky heels, big purses) and were hard not to notice. Anyway, they proceed to flag down a Toyota Matrix, and ask the driver (whom they clearly do not know) if she would like to make $20 by driving them “about 3 blocks away.” I kind of stop because I can’t really believe my ears. The driver considers it for a moment, and then motions for them to get in. Now, unless this is some type of covert drug deal script I am not privy to, I have never seen this before in any setting, urban or rural. The women did mention that they walked in the wrong direction to the restaurant they were headed to, but I still can’t imagine any scenario (even one with uncomfortable shoes) where I flag down a random motorist and pay them for a ride. I remember those scare-tactic videos from elementary school, and they did their job.