Celebrity Photography

During the past week, both Vanity Fair and the New York Times unveiled their celebrity portfolios for the Oscar season and, for some reason, they have inspired polar opposite feelings in me. The Vanity Fair portfolio, released first, used the films of Hitchcock as an inspiration and couldn't be more beautiful. The New York Times portfolio, on the other hand, are pretty in an avant garde sort of way, but as celebrity photographs, they are horrible.

This revelation got me thinking about what the difference between "good" and "bad" celebrity photography is. I don't consider myself an expert or anything in the field, but I believe that photographing celebrity, at the very least, involves using everything you can to make the celebrity as good looking possible. The picture should revolve around them and their persona. For example, you wouldn't see Greta Garbo or Bette Davis back in the day fighting with any object or the background to be the focus of the picture; on the contrary, the photographer often concentrated just on close ups of their face or profile.

To show what I mean, here are my thoughts on various pictures from both portfolios.

Beautiful. Yummy. Tantalizing. As soon as I saw both James McAvoy and Emile Hirsch clean shaven and all gussied up in 50's fashion, I totally wished that this remake of Strangers on a Train would actually happen. I also love McAvoy's leer...so sexy.

And this is the epitome of bad celebrity photographing. What the hell was the photographer thinking with this shot. Paul Dano looks like one of those damn aliens from Signs, he is so fucking creepy. I just wish my eyes had never seen this horrific photo and that it can be erased from my mind Eternal Sunshine style.

This photo could have been all sorts of amazing, but instead of highlighting McAvoy's lovely face the bonehead photographer covers it with a shadow.

Jennifer Jason Leigh looks like such a monster here it's frightening and Keira Knightley is justifiably scared. Great homage to Rebecca.

And this is supposed to be a photograph of whom? You're guess is as good as mine. (Okay, apparently it's Jennifer Jason Leigh but there's no way you can tell through that thicket of woods).

Damn, Marion Cotillard is fine. And she is the perfect Marion Crane in Psycho. That last shot of her dead is absolutely chilling- her eyes are absolutely vacant.

In this one, Marion looks either A) constipated and trying to go or B) like she's just lost her breath from the harsh wind and she has to do an embarrassingly loud gasp to catch her breath.

Who is this distinguished older lady? I would seriously have no idea with all that hair covering her face if they hadn't put a caption underneath reading "Julie Christie."

Oh, excuse me, I didn't realize Seth Rogen had a small role in Rambo.

What a beautiful ensemble photo. Josh Brolin, Casey Affleck and Ben Foster are looking good, Tang Wei is to die for and the ever classy Julie Christie and Eva Marie Saint are as glamorous as always.

This is probably the best of the New York Times photos, but that's really not saying much. Look what they have to work with.

Wow, they somehow managed to make the 80-something year old Hal Holbrook look 20 years older with this photograph. How on earth do you do that?

Again, who the fuck is this? (Sienna Miller, apparently, but I probably wouldn't have been able to tell anyways).

Jodie Foster is one classy broad and I love this take on The Birds. Who knew behind that rough exterior she looked so damn hot (even while being terrorized by random birds).

In Defense of Cotillard

Every year at this time, the film bloggers get out their pitchforks and begin to vilify one of the most beloved performances of the year. Last year, they went after my girl J. Hud in Dreamgirls, claiming she couldn't act and claiming all the hoopla was overblown. She got the last laugh by winning the Oscar, but that still didn't stop the nay-sayers. This year, they seem to be gunning after Marion Cotillard's immaculate work in La Vie en Rose, where she IS Edith Piaf.

So what are people saying about Cotillard, you ask? Here are some of the choice words from a few of my "contemporaries" (I use that word loosely because they are generally better than me):

Nathaniel R. at The Film Experience claims that "'Edith Piaf' has no through line, no modulated character development: she's all big moments without connective performance tissue."

Josh R. at Edward Copeland on Film is the harshest of them all, offering many choice barbs: "really more of an extended drag act with subtitles...the voice is pitched somewhere between The Lord of the Rings' Gollum and the cartoon hag in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs...Cotillard's approach does not suggest anything even remotely resembling that which might be drawn from the recognizable realm of human behavior."

Glenn at Stale Popcorn claims: "Edith Piaf, as played by Marion Cotillard with an assortment of wigs and Amelie impersonations" and he hopes that "the 'omgsheISedithpiaf' campaign will run off the rails."

DL at The Cellar Door simply states: "I unfortunately can't even say the movie's only watchable for Marion Cotillard, because her irksome, overblown performance is half the reason the movie sucks."

While I respect everyone's opinion, all I really have to say "WTF?" to them. Did we really watch the same performance? I understand that the film itself was pretty much a pile of steaming crap, but Cotillard excelled in ways that the film couldn't. The film cuts across between different time periods so often and so confusingly that I really didn't understand Piaf's timeline any better than before the film. But, with Cotillard, I felt like I understood Piaf the woman. I don't know about anyone else, but I was genuinely moved at certain parts of the film and felt for Cotillard/Piaf extraordinarily. I was angry at her selfish mother in the scene in the bar before she's discovered; I was delighted for Piaf at the New Year's party when she was so excited to be around new friends and the promise of the new year; I was distraught during the scene where she runs maniacally through her house screaming for her lover Marcel; and I was about ready to cry tears of joy when the withered, shadow of her former self Piaf finds her last great hit "Non, je ne regrette rien" and is excited for the chance to perform it for everyone. She literally takes us on a rollercoaster throughout the film (one thing everyone can agree on about this performance is that it's never boring), culminating in that spectacular finale where her performance of "Non, je ne regrette rien" collides with her past, present and future. Her lip syncing is so convincing, so in the moment, that it's hard to wrap my head around the fact that Cotillard isn't actually singing.

A lot of people seem to be convinced that Cotillard overacts in the film (and to some, "overacts" is the understatement of the century). While I do see that she's loud, emotional and messy, I find that it's often for very good reasons. The life of Edith Piaf was not quiet, with just a couple of speed bumps along the way; it was extraordinarily painful with many difficult and awful memories to deal with. This woman is alive and Cotillard is simply reacting to what was happening to Piaf. Her performance is straight out of 1940's Hollywood melodrama and I don't believe it's a stretch to say that Goddesses like Bette Davis and Joan Crawford would have opted to play Piaf like Cotillard.

Let it be heard that I am generally not a huge biopic performance fan. I don't automatically go crazy when some actor or actress de-glams to play a "real" person and proclaim them the Second Coming of Christ for adopting an accent or developing facial tics. Sure, Hoffman in Capote, Witherspoon in Walk the Line and Dame Helen Mirren in The Queen all earned Diva Cup nominations from myself and were generally great performances, but did they deserve to win the Oscar? To quote Whitney Houston, "Hell to tha no!" Even among the nominees, there were generally one or two I liked better. Sonce of the year, you have to realize what a big deal it is when I find a biopic performance that I think should not only win the Oscar, but is also the best performance of the year.

Five Song Friday

It's simple. Every Friday, I pick five songs that I've been loving for the past week. They don't have to be new songs or even singles from the album...the only requirement is that they're amazing.

1. Kylie Minogue "In My Arms"
I got Kylie's latest album X a couple of months ago, but it wasn't until this past week that I really listened to it and fell in love. I don't understand why America's infatuation with Kylie has completely dissipated after "Can't Get You Out of My Head," because she is just as amazing as she was then. "In My Arms" is the best song from X, her catchiest song since the ever-fantastic "Love at First Sight".



2. Britney Spears "Why Should I Be Sad?"
I'm not ready to proclaim "Why Should I Be Sad?" the best song from Blackout, but it's certainly in the Top 3. Britney gets, surprisingly, very personal about her relationship with K. Fed and it's paints a completely different picture than the one given in the press everyday.



3. Lily Allen "Alfie"
Lily Allen is absolutely amazing. Only she could make a song about a brother who spends all day smoking pot and make it as fabulous as she does here.



4. Dschinghis Khan "Mexico"
Everyone's favorite German Disco band and their ode to the land south of the border. I have no idea what they're singing about, but everytime they launch into that stirring "Mexiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiico" chorus I fall in love with the song more and more.



5. Oasis "Wonderwall"
I'm still in my 90's music craze and this song is simply beautiful.

Random Scribblings on High School Musical

I'm not going to say that I love High School Musical, because I don't...they really are piles of crap. But, I'm not going to deny that I spend way too much time thinking about them. For example, look at a couple of hours ago when one of my friends said, "You're crazy!" and I actually thought about the scene in HSM2 where Gabriella and Troy are at the pool and he jumps in, to which she replies, "You're crazy, Wildcat!"

I need help. Britney style.

The only reason I bring this up is because A) I'm super pumped for the upcoming HSM3, which is going to be released in theaters! My friend Jill and I (who also got sucked into the juggernaut) have already made plans to go see it together so we can relish the divaliciousness of La Tisdale's Sharpay, make fun of Vanessa Hudgens and the (most likely) horrible songs and dancing, hope that Ryan comes out of the closet and admire Zac Efron. B) I was looking through my notebook and I found some random notes I took during my initial viewing of the first HSM this summer. Like I said, they're really random and I'm not even sure what some of them are alluding to at certain points, but they're pretty fun and I hope you enjoy:

~Gabriella is a nerd. Troy is a jock. Crystal clear.
~V.A. Hudgens voice is so nasally.



~Now Zac Efron is going to jerk off to her picture on his phone.
~Omg, they go to the same school!
~Why does the black kid have a basketball in class?
~God that teacher [Mrs. Darbus] is a monster bitch.

~Don't want his friends to think he's gay [For trying out for the school musical. Because that's for pussies.]
~I'm guessing Sharpay is East High's Regina George.
~I seriously doubt Zac Efron is in the same league as Shaq.
~Troy: "Sharpay is cute." Black Kid [don't remember his name and not really integral to the plot]: "So is a mountain lion, but you don't pet it."- What?!
~Wow, "Get'cha Head in the Game" is very post-modern. [This was right after my History of Broadway class, so I was still thinking in terms like that. FYI, post-modern refers to musicals that have songs that are directly tied to the plot and are usually centered on characters thoughts. Sondheim is an example.]
~Troy is very confused. You can tell by his subtle look. [sarcasm]
~Troy had basketball practice in the middle of school?

~"The list is life": Sharpay and Ryan are way too obsessive about people looking at that damn list.
~Recurring motif: One-ness between two opposite groups (Drama/basketball, Gabriella/Troy) [This is just me being an asshole. Sorry.]
~What high school has an auto shop anymore? This isn't Grease.
~Darbus is harsh? Jesus, she's practically Paula.
~Wow, Sharpay is a scenery shredder [And how]
~Omg, secret love note locker [I really took on the personality of a 13 year old girl here. I've used "Omg" and "Wow" to start off sentences waaaaay too often]
~V.A. Hudgens can not act. At all.
~Who knew one high school musical could open such a shit storm of untapped emotions.
~Omg, secret plan! [There I go again]


~This is a lame secret plan.
~Wait, now it gets better.
~I guess.
~A pep rally with a musical number? That's amazing.
~Oh God, V.A. Hudgens has a solo [Why, God, why?]
~Sure they can sing (sort of) but can Gabriella and Troy act? That's also important in a musical.
~Shapray and Ryan would be much more believable (and less creepy) if they were gay guy/fag hag and not brother and sister.
~Why are Sharpay and Ryan speaking Spanish during "Bop to the Top"? It's not a Spanish song.
~Notice that Sharpay is in the front during the last song ("We're All in This Together") [God I love that woman]

Superbowl Memories (That Don't Actually Involve the Superbowl)

2006: My friends and I are dying to go see Brokeback Mountain and make plans to see it that afternoon. Of course, a mega snowstorm hits and the roads are horrible. We decide to delay it until later in the afternoon and see if it clears up. One of my friends can't make it now because she has to work and she's pissed (we eventually saw it together a few weeks later, so it all turned out well). So, later in the day, my friend Ashley and I decide that it's "safe" to head out (there really was no way I wasn't seeing this movie). We make it there safely and finally see the movie. When the opening credits role and the title appears on the screen, Ashley leans over and, being the asshole she is, whispers, "I think that's supposed to say Bareback." When the movie ends and I'm still trying to process the film, she stands up and says, "Well, that was a little gay."

I also remember I was super pumped for the TCM premiere of Sunrise, which I had been dying to see for years. Don't ask me how I remember that...my memory is a little fucked up.

2007: I actually watched part of the Superbowl with some friends, but I wasn't interested in the game or the commercials. No, instead I was waiting for Fergie's halftime performance. Imagine my surprise when I sit through all that lame ass football and the halftime show (which, with Prince, wasn't too bad) and there was no Fergie. Let me just tell you I was irate. The cherry on top of this crap sundae was the fact that she had performed earlier during the pregame show on VH1 and I had completely missed it. While looking for a clip of her performance, I somehow stumbled upon this clip of two barechested French men singing "A Whole New World" en français.

Later on that night, while flipping through the channels on TV, my friends and I ran across one of the greatest TV specials ever on the Christian channel. The special was about this girl who wanted to become a Christian singer and was on her way to success. Suddenly, she gets sick with this incurable "blood disease" that they refuse to give a name to. She gives up on life (at one point, when her manager asks her how it's going, she replies, "Oh, I'm just sitting here...waiting to die") but, with the help of a young gentleman caller and God, she rediscovers herself and *SPOILER ALERT* beats the incurable "blood disease." *END SPOILER ALERT* The reason this was so funny was because it was the most atrociously acted piece of crap since Gigli and the dialogue was so bad it was amazing (My favorite line: "If they can put a man on the moon, why can't they cure this blood disease?").

In Order to Avoid Any Confusion

I would like to thank this lovely gentleman for his lovely comment yesterday, but I want to clear something up:

This is me

This is Brittany Snow, star of American Dreams, John Tucker Must Die and Hairspray

Sorry if my profile picture caused any confusion. And my sincerest apologies go out to that nice Argentinian who thought he was hitting on a hot chick and ended up hitting on me.

Three Songs From the 90's I Had Forgotten I Loved

Annie Lennox "Walking on Broken Glass"
Okay, so I was only 4 when this song was originally released, but for some reason as soon as I heard it, something inside my head immediately clicked and I was like, "Damn, I remember this song!" The only reason I can think of for remembering it is they must have played it often on my mother's favorite adult contemporary radio station that I listened to all the time when I was a kid (No kidding, I even listened to it while I was going to sleep- a habit I have to this day). I never would have recognized this song if I hadn't listened to it and I'm glad I did because I've been listening to it non-stop for the past 3 days.



Take That "Back For Good"
I pretty much remembered this song from the same radio station, but I forgot how kick ass it really is (well, for a British boy band of the mid-90's). The video is lame and a total precursor to all of those equally lame Backstreet Boys/N Sync videos in which they all stood around in a room and sang their song, but the song is still pretty hot and I love to lead's vocals (especially in the chorus).



Alanis Morissette "You Oughta Know"

Alanis hasn't done much after her breakthrough album (except for that amazing "My Humps" parody), but there's no point denying the power of this song. Yesterday, while discussing Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" I mentioned the anger she puts in her voice and how well it serves the song. Well, Alanis' "You Oughta Know" is the prototype for this type of "fuck with me and I'll fuck you up so much worse" song and will probably never be equaled.

How Can You Have a "100 Greatest Performances" List Without the Greatest of Them All, Premiere Magazine?

I was surfing the Internet yesterday morning and I ran across this list from Premiere Magazine a couple of years ago: The 100 Greatest Performances of All Time. I'm a sucker for lists like these, so I quickly devoured it, hoping to find all of my favorites on it. Immediately, I find some of the old stand-by's that you would expect to see on a list like this because of their sheer amazingness: Brando in On the Waterfront, Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice, Bette Davis in All About Eve. But, there was one performance in particular I was looking for that I just didn't see in the Top 10. "Hmmmm," I thought, "That's strange. They can't have put Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein above her. Those silly editors, she must be just outside the Top 10. No? Top 50, then. Still, no? Well, she has to be on here somewhere. I must have missed her; I'll do a quick search of the page. WHAT?! THESE DUMBASS EDITORS LEFT OFF THE GREATEST PERFORMANCE OF ALL TIME?!" And what performance am I referring to, you ask?

The incomparable Miss Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind, of course. How is it that Vivien Leigh, who had to carry an entire four hour epic all on her shoulders (if she didn't work, the film definitely wouldn't) and did it better than anyone in Hollywood could have done at that time, was passed over in favor of such middling performances like Tom Hanks in Big, Robert Duvall in Tender Mercies (really?) or Jamie fucking Foxx in Ray? I simply don't understand it. Who did she piss off to not even get mentioned on this list?

Top 20 Songs of 2007: #5-1

5. Nelly Furtado "Say It Right"
Okay, so it can be argued that this song is technically a "2006" single, but I'm including it on my list because I didn't actually hear it until January of the year. If you don't like it, you can suck it because it's my list. Anyways, the reason I love this song so much is because of it's mysterious nature. I have no idea what the song is about, but Furtado's haunting vocals and the out-of-this-world aura surrounding it draw me in ever single time (Listen, and watch this hypnotic video)

4. J. Lo "Do It Well"
While everyone had an opinion about another certain someone's big comeback in 2007, J. Lo released what I believe is her strongest album since J. Lo and probably the catchiest single of her career: "Do It Well". I don't think I'll ever understand why this wasn't played on the radio- this has to be better than "This Is Why I'm Hot," right?

Right? (Listen)

3. Rihanna featuring Jay-Z "Umbrella"
This is pretty much a "duh" pick for any pop music lover. If you don't like this song, then the terrorists really have won. (Listen, though you've probably heard this 10 million times)

2. Ciara "Like a Boy"
Finally! Someone with enough balls to stand up to all the gangsta, wannabe rappers who objectify women and brag about treating them like shit and asking them to think what it would be like if the roles were reversed. The song was a big hit on the radio in my area, and I'm definitely thankful for that, but I just wish it got more respect for what it is trying to accomplish. "Like a Boy" has an interesting message to get it across and it conveys it brilliantly through the lyrics (definitely more deep than "Hey hey, you you, I don't like your girlfriend") all while being compulsively listenable in the form of a perfect pop song. (Listen)

1. Carrie Underwood "Before He Cheats"
I went back and forth for awhile about whether "Like a Boy" or "Before He Cheats" should be number, but Carrie Underwood finally won out because I realized that I'm damn scared of her now after this song. I didn't think much of Underwood's career post-Idol: her country music was nothing special (definitely not on a Martina McBride or Sara Evans level) and, let's face it, "Jesus Take the Wheel" was just plain annoying. But then a funny thing happened. "Before He Cheats," the fifth single from her debut album Some Hearts, crossed over onto the pop charts. I resisted at first, but after awhile I fell in love with the pure anger and hatred Underwood puts in her voice toward this man who's done her wrong. Just listen to her sing "Well, I dug my keys into the side/Of his pretty little souped up 4-wheel drive" and tell me you don't think she has the ferociousness to actually do it. "Before He Cheats" takes the principles of Girl Power to a whole new level and empowers anyone, whether your male, female, gay or straight, to stand up and say you're not going to take it anymore. And that is why Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" is the Number 1 song of 2007. (Listen)

Rants of a Diva's One Year Anniversary!

Yay! Today marks the first anniversary of Rants of a Diva and I couldn't be more excited. Not only have I kept this up for a whole year, but I actually have a few readers who occasionally leave comments. If it wasn't for the ten of you, I might have abandoned this months ago (as I often do with projects of mine) so a round of thank you's are definitely in order.

And, by a completely random chance, today marks the birth of the one human being who rivals Jesus in terms of importance to the world. You all know her and better love her, otherwise she'll send her ninja assassins to rub you out:

OPRAH!

Oh my God, how lucky am I to share my anniversary with the most important woman ever?! I wish her a happy 54th birthday and I hope her more success in saving the world.

So, in honor of my anniversary, here are some of my most popular posts and the ones I love best. Enjoy!

1. What is a Dench?, Movies That Could Have "Used a Dench", Dame Judi Dench Videos
From my day-long celebration to the one and only Dame Judi Dench

2. It's Britney's Comeback, Bitch
My thoughts on Britney's VMA comeback.

3. Rants on Myra Breckinridge
One of my favorite Film Rant of the past year.

4. Rants on Zodiac
Probably my "best" Film Rant.

5. All You J. Hud Haters Need to Get a Life
My thoughts on the sudden J. Hud backlash between the release of Dreamgirls and her Best Supporting Actress Oscar win.

6. Supporting Actress Blog-a-thon: Ashley Tisdale in High School Musical 2
The movie sucked, but La Tisdale proved herself a force to be reckoned with.

7. Idol Gives Back, or: How I Wasted Two Hours of My Life For a Shitty Charity Special
Remember that American Idol charity special last season? I wish I didn't...

8. The Soundtrack of My Life
Not really that great of writing or anything, but I got 6 comments on it (my most ever!)

9. Oscar Bitch Fight: 1939
My thoughts on the Best Actress nominees for 1939. I've been meaning to do a second one for too long now. I should get on that.

10. Random Top 10: Biggest Comebacks
After Britney's failed comeback at the VMA's, I wanted to reminisce about successful comebacks of decade's past.

11. Slapstick Blog-a-thon: Jane Fonda and Wanda Sykes in Monster in Law
A pictorial look at a sequence from the criminally underrated (but I can see why it's hated) Monster in Law.

12. Rants on Heights
Another favorite Film Rant I forgot about earlier.

Zac Efron + La Tisdale: A Beautiful Thing

My friend Jill ran across this clip on YouTube of Zac Efron's appearance on Disney's The Suite Life of Zach and Cody and she immediately sent it to me. Why, you ask? Because it contains the kiss I've dreamed about ever since High School Musical 2: Efron and La Tisdale. Finally, without the pesky Vanessa Anne Hudgens in the way, they have realized how perfect they are for each other. Plus, you get to experience the comedic firestorm that is Ashley Tisdale:

Zac: "Cry me a river."
La Tisdale: "If I did, you'd pollute it!"

Top 20 Songs of 2007: #10-6

10. Timbaland featuring Keri Hilson & D.O.E. "The Way I Are"
I believe two things were discovered with the popularity of this song: 1) Bad grammar does not always equal a bad thing. 2) With Timbaland in her corner, Keri Hilson is poised to have a career as hot as Nelly Furtado's. (Listen)

9. Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse "Valerie"

Amy may be going through some tough times a la Britney, Lindsay and Kate Moss, but listening to song (off of Mark Ronson's amazing Version album) just gives me hope that maybe she can pull her shit together and gives us more songs like these. It's definitely not your average pop song, but it's so brilliantly done that I'm surprised it's not a big radio hit. (Listen)

8. Gwen Stefani "The Sweet Escape"

Lord knows I've heard this more times than anyone can even imagine, but it's hook is so catchy that I always find myself singing along even when I don't want to. It's a shame that the rest of this album doesn't come close to matching the cool pop perfection of "The Sweet Escape." (Listen)

7. Britney Spears "Gimme More"

And with the now immortal words, "It's Britney, bitch," a comeback was started. Too bad that her trainwreck of a personal life has overshadowed her brilliant album and this single, her absolute finest since "Toxic." (Listen, but don't watch the video)

6. Kanye West featuring Daft Punk "Stronger"

How do you top "Gold Digger"? Set your song to an impossibly catchy Daft Punk song, shoot a video that is visually impressive and manages to incorporate the song and write lyrics like this: "Well, I'd do anything for a blonde dyke/And she'd do anything for the limelight." (Listen)

Oscar Thoughts

Okay, so my period of mourning for dear Heath Ledger has not expired, but I feel I must carry on. All I can say at this point is that I now understand what all those women were going through when Rudolph Valentino died in 1926.

Let me just get on with my thoughts on the Oscar nominations- the other big news event yesterday. Overall, I was very happy with the nominees with the very occasional "Nice surprise." There were no Dreamgirls-sized snubs yesterday (and no omissions forcing me to call them racist again) and I was very happy about that. Here are the nominees:

Best Picture
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood

How I Did: 4/5, missed Juno for Into the Wild

What I've Seen: Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, No Country For Old Men

Thoughts: This is actually a pretty nice batch of nominees. I've seen 4 of them (no There Will Be Blood in Kalamazoo yet) and they have all gotten **** and more from me. I'm not at all upset about the Into the Wild snub because Juno is actually a much stronger film. I'm just surprised that it was this loved by the Academy as well. I figured that after Little Miss Sunshine last year, Oscar would take a break from quirky indie comedies and go back to their old standbys. I figured that they would find a way for Atonement to sneak in, but I'm rather relieved that it panned out.

Best Actor
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

How I Did: 4/5, missed Jones (but, to my credit, nearly everyone on the planet did) for Gosling

Who I've Seen: Clooney, Depp, Mortensen

Thoughts: I guess the biggest talking point here is the miraculous Tommy Lee Jones mention. I had him in my predictions when he was receiving rapturous praise after In the Valley of Elah opened in September. But then his buzz died and I figured his chances were gone. Guess it goes to show that you can always count on the Academy for a surprise or two. The rest of the nominees are pretty standard. I'm just glad that Mortensen finally got his nomination!

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away From Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose
Laura Linney, The Savages
Ellen Page, Juno

How I Did: 4/5, missed Linney in favor of Jolie

Who I've Seen: Christie, Cotillard, Page

Thoughts: Yes! I am so glad Angelina Jolie didn't get this nomination for A Mighty Heart. If you don't know my thoughts about her performance go here and I'll just leave it at that. I'm sad that Amy Adams didn't make it in, but I'm genuinely happy for The Lovely Laura Linney for sneaking in with The Savages (I haven't seen the film yet, but I think she is simply amazing). Now that it's finally happened I can finally, and proudly, proclaim:

GO AND GIVE MARION COTILLARD THAT DAMN OSCAR!

I know both Christie and Page are amazing as well, but Cotillard just hits it out of the park and I hope the Academy will see past their prejudice toward foreign films and vote for her. It's the performance of a lifetime that few people would have been brave enough to tackle, let alone pull off the way Cotillard does.

Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

How I Did: 5/5 (whoa, I'm amazing)

Who I've Seen: Affleck, Bardem, Holbrook, Wilkinson

Thoughts: Nothing exciting here. Same five names we've been hearing all season and pending some major catastrophe between now and voting, Bardem already has this wrapped up.

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Ruby Dee, American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

How I Did: 5/5 (THIS is why I'm hot)

Who I've Seen: Dee, Ronan, Ryan, Swinton

Thoughts: Blanchett, Ronan, Ryan and Swinton were pretty much locks, so that finally spot between Dee and Catherine Keener in Into the Wild must have been a bloody one. I'm glad Dee pulled ahead, because even though I didn't think much of the performance (except for that bitch slap), I'm glad this living legend has finally gotten the respect she deserves.

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Jason Reitman, Juno
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

How I Did: 4/5, missed Reitman for Penn

Who I've Seen: Coen, Gilroy, Reitman

Thoughts: I completely missed that Reitman nomination- I just assumed that someone so young with only one big hit behind him (last year's Thank You For Smoking) and directing a quirky teenage pregnancy comedy wouldn't be taken seriously by the Academy. I guess they showed me. The rest of the nominees were pretty standard.

Best Original Screenplay
Brad Bird, Ratatouille
Diablo Cody, Juno
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Tamara Jenkins, The Savages
Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl

How I Did: 5/5

Who I've Seen: Bird, Cody, Gilroy

Thoughts: We've seen this list with only a couple of changes over the whole season so it's not a real surprise. I just wish there was room for both the Hot Fuzz and Superbad scripts.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men
Christopher Hampton, Atonement
Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Sarah Polley, Away From Her

How I Did: 4/5, missed Polley in favor of Penn

Who I've Seen: Coen, Hampton, Polley

Thoughts: Wow, the Academy really didn't go for Into the Wild. Not that I can blame them, but not even a mention for it's screenplay? Ouch. I'm glad Polley made it in though, because, Julie Christie excepted, the screenplay is the best part of Away From Her.

Go read the rest of the nominees here: I don't feel like typing them all out. What do you think? Who are you surprised to see? Who are you angry that they snubbed?

RIP Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger (1979-2008)

I just don't even know what to say. I was so excited today about Oscar nominations and was getting ready to write my thoughts about them, but then this news broke and I just have to stop and mention it. CNN is saying that he died of a drug overdose (possibly sleeping pills) and it's all so sad.

This is all I can say now, it's just so upsetting. I haven't been this distraught since Aaliyah's tragic death.

America's Next Top Model Cures Me Like Chicken Soup

So, I've been suffering from a cold all weekend and it sucks blah blah blah, but, praise Allah, MTV was showing reruns of past America's Next Top Model cycles. For some reason, whenever MTV or VH1 has a Top Model marathon, I have to sit and watch the whole damn season. I could have two papers to write, 200 pages to read and online homework to finish but instead I'm glued to the TV watching these anorexic models slinking down a runway or taking fabulous pictures in exotic costumes.

Say what you want about Tyra and the judges, but I think they have magical chemistry together and I'll be very sad next cycle when Twiggy won't be gracing us with her presence anymore. I always love watching their deliberations when they actually get "real" about the contestants, who they can't stand or who they're actually afraid of (as Twiggy was of Jade). There's also a nice sense of normalcy in those meetings: Tyra's going to relate everything to her and be outrageous with Miss J, Nigel's going to be the lone voice for the heterosexual man and Twiggy's going to offer her sage opinions about the industry. They have so much fun in that panel room that I want to be a part of it so bad. Except, of course, Janice Dickinson's going to have to be brought back so I can instigate a bitch fight between her and Tyra. Watching one of the earlier seasons with Janice this weekend, I realized how much I wanted Tyra to just stand up and shout, "Shut the fuck up, Janice!" (much in the same way that she shouted "Kiss my fat ass!" on her talk show a couple of months ago)

My big dream, however, is a special episode where Tyra, Janice, Twiggy, Miss J and Mr. J all compete in a runway showdown and/or photo shoot. There would be some ego's flying and hopefully a slap fight would ensue (please let Twiggy be involved in that). Can someone please organize this? Would it help if I said I was dying and it was my last wish?