Established A.D. 2000, March 19. Now in our tenth calendar year! Number 466 (Vol. 10, No. 9). This edition is for the week of February 23--March 1, 2009.
UPDATE! This year's Academy Awards is also the subject of the latest Nolan Radio, the first new episode produced in two years! My guest, Michael Smith, and I talk about the event. Windows Media Player is required. The special Nolan Radio player appears in a pop-up window, so you may have to temporarily disable any pop-up blockers. Nolan Radio should be playable even on dial-up connections.
I said it last issue and I repeat it here: how many of you actually saw the nominated films in 2008 at the theater? How many on DVD?
That said, of course I have to comment on The Dark Knight's near shut-out, after earning a bazillion dollars but winning only two awards. Such a precedent was set with E.T vs Ghandi around 1982, I think, where the money-maker of the year was snubbed in favor of the feel-good film(s) of the year. Not that Slumdog Millionaire and Benjamin Button aren't great films (so I hear), just serves as a reminder that in Hollywood, your film is either designed to make buckets of money or earn buckets of awards (Titanic and Lord of the Rings being two notable exceptions).
The least surprising, but most heart-felt award was indeed the Best Supporting Actor nod to Heath Ledger for his devastating portrayal of The Joker in The Dark Knight, the first award of its kind given posthumously. The Dark Knight also won for Sound Editing.
The only "upset" was a mild one, that of Best Actor, which went to Sean Penn (Milk) versus Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler). The two were seemingly neck-and-neck for weeks before the Awards, with the critics inching closer to Mickey Rourke in the days just prior. In the end the speculation might be that the critics were pulling for a "comeback-kid" nod for Rourke (who was basically playing himself in the film), but that Sean Penn's portrayal of a gay politician was much more of an acting stretch.
I have to say as one who grew up with Hollywood luminaries like Bob Hope and Johnny Carson hosting the Awards Show, I found it weird to hear that X-Men's Wolverine, Hugh Jackman, was the host! However, from what little I saw of the opening (on a TV at the local bar & grill), Jackman truly astonished me with his opening song & dance routine. I wasn't all that savvy to Jackman's Broadway/musical history before this, but I am now. Well done.
Of the top 24 awards, Iron Man, the monster hit that opened last summer to rave reviews and brought Robert Downey, Jr, back into the limelight --NADA! Nominated for lots of things, but in the end, nothing to take home. Shame.
On a similar note, I guess in light of the Academy's well-known attitude toward summer fare popcorn movies, it's no surprise that The Incredible Hulk and the Indiana Jones flick were completely forgotten -- the latter, just as well.
Anyhow, that's just a few of my thoughts for the road. I'm sure Mike Smith will have more to say in this week's Rant (and hopefully, Nolan Radio). And speaking of Mike...
Long-time PCR readers will remember we do a little contest every year, where Mike Smith (The Rant) and Matt Drinnenberg (The Rail) compete with their own predictions. Usually, Mike is the runaway winner, but this year, Matt got awfully close! The final tally is shown below in detail, but just to save you the long scroll, Mike got 13 out of 24 correct, and Matt got 11 out of 24. Damn near a tie, haha! Congratulations to both of these knowledgeable gentlemen.
THE 2009 ACADEMY AWARDS
THE CATEGORIES AND WINNERS (Winners in red)
Mike & Matt's Picks
BEST PICTURE "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" "Frost/Nixon" "Milk" "The Reader" "Slumdog Millionaire"
Mike -- "Slumdog Millionaire" Matt -- "Slumdog Millionaire"
BEST DIRECTOR Danny Boyle "Slumdog Millionaire" Stephen Daldry "The Reader" David Fincher "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Ron Howard "Frost/Nixon" Gus Van Sant "Milk"
Mike -- Danny Boyle "Slumdog Millionaire" Matt -- Danny Boyle "Slumdog Millionaire"
BEST ACTOR Richard Jenkins "The Visitor" Frank Langella "Frost/Nixon" Sean Penn "Milk" Brad Pitt "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Mickey Rourke "The Wrestler"
Mike -- Mickey Rourke "The Wrestler" Matt -- Mickey Rourke "The Wrestler"
BEST ACTRESS Anne Hathaway "Rachel Getting Married" Angelina Jolie "Changeling" Melissa Leo "Frozen River" Meryl Streep "Doubt" Kate Winslet "The Reader"
Mike -- Kate Winslet "The Reader" Matt -- Meryl Streep "Doubt"
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Josh Brolin "Milk" Robert Downey Jr. "Tropic Thunder" Philip Seymour Hoffman "Doubt" Heath Ledger "The Dark Knight" Michael Shannon "Revolutionary Road"
Mike -- Heath Ledger "The Dark Knight" Matt -- Heath Ledger "The Dark Knight"
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Amy Adams "Doubt" Penelope Cruz "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" Viola Davis "Doubt" Taraji P. Henson "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'" Marisa Tomei "The Wrestler"
Mike -- Penelope Cruz "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" Matt -- Marisa Tomei "The Wrestler"
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM "Bolt" "Kung Fu Panda" "WALL-E"
Mike -- "Kung Fu Panda" Matt -- "WALL-E"
BEST FOREIGN FILM "The Baader Meinhof Complex" Germany "The Class" France "Departures" Japan "Revanche" Austria "Waltz With Bashir" Israel
Mike -- "Waltz With Bashir" Matt -- "Departures"
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY "Milk" Dustin Lance Black "Frozen River" Courtney Hunt "Happy Go Lucky" Mike Leigh "In Bruges" Martin McDonagh "Wall-E" Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Pete Docter
Mike -- "Milk" Matt -- "Milk"
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Eric Roth, Robin Swicord "Doubt" John Patrick Shanley "Frost/ Nixon" Peter Morgan "The Reader" David Hare "Slumdog Millionaire" Simon Beaufoy
Mike -- "Slumdog Millionaire" Matt -- "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE "The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)" "Encounters at the End of the World" "The Garden" "Man on Wire" "Trouble the Water"
Mike -- "Man on Wire" Matt -- "Trouble the Water"
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" "Defiance" "Milk" "Slumdog Millionaire" "WALL-E"
Mike -- "Slumdog Millionaire" Matt -- "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
BEST ORIGINAL SONG "Down to Earth," WALL-E "Jai Ho," Slumdog Millionaire "O Saya," Slumdog Millionaire
Mike -- "Jai Ho," Slumdog Millionaire Matt -- "Jai Ho," Slumdog Millionaire
BEST FILM EDITING "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall "The Dark Knight" Lee Smith "Frost/Nixon" Mike Hill, Dan Hanley "Milk" Elliot Graham "Slumdog Millionaire" Chris Dickens
Mike -- "The Dark Knight" Matt -- "The Dark Knight"
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT "The Conscience of Nhem En" "The Final Inch" "Smile Pinki" "The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306"
Mike -- "The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306" Matt -- "Smile Pinki"
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY "Changeling" Tom Stern "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Claudio Miranda "The Dark Knight" Wally Pfister "The Reader" Chris Menges, Roger Deakins "Slumdog Millionaire" Anthony Dod Mantle
Mike -- "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Matt -- "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
BEST COSTUME DESIGN "Australia" Catherine Martin "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Jacqueline West "The Duchess" Michael O'Connor "Milk" Danny Glicker "Revolutionary Road" Albert Wolsky
Mike -- "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Matt -- "The Duchess"
BEST SOUND MIXING "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce, Mark Weingarten "The Dark Knight" Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo, Ed Novick "Slumdog Millionaire" Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Resul Pookutty "WALL-E" Tom Myers, Michael Semanick, Ben Burtt "Wanted" Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño, Petr Forejt
Mike -- "WALL-E" Matt -- "WALL-E"
BEST SOUND EDITING "The Dark Knight" Richard King "Iron Man" Frank Eulner, Christopher Boyes "Slumdog Millionaire" Tom Sayers "WALL-E" Ben Burtt, Matthew Wood "Wanted" Wylie Stateman
Mike -- "WALL-E" Matt -- "Iron Man"
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM "Auf der Strecke (On the Line)" "Manon on the Asphalt" "New Boy" "The Pig" "Spielzeugland (Toyland)"
Mike -- "Spielzeugland (Toyland)" Matt -- "Spielzeugland (Toyland)"
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM "La Maison de Petits Cubes" "Lavatory - Lovestory" "Oktapodi" "Presto" "This Way Up"
Mike -- "Presto" Matt -- "Presto"
BEST MAKEUP "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Greg Cannom "The Dark Knight" John Caglione, Jr., Conor O'Sullivan "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" Mike Elizalde, Thom Flout
Mike -- "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Matt -- "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
BEST ART DIRECTION "Changeling" James J. Murakami, Gary Fettis "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo "The Dark Knight" Nathan Crowley, Peter Lando "The Duchess" Michael Carlin, Rebecca Alleway "Revolutionary Road" Kristi Zea, Debra Schutt
Mike -- "The Dark Knight" Matt -- "The Dark Knight"
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, Craig Barron "The Dark Knight" Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber, Paul Franklin "Iron Man" John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick, Shane Mahan
Mike -- "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Matt -- "Iron Man"
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