Honoring Achievements in Motion Picture Excellence...Texas-style

Well, I’ve got chili on the stove and friends on the way. It’s Texas chili, of course, to be garnished with California avocados, served with a California cabernet, after an appetizer course involving French cheese. It’s in honor of the Texas-set No Country For Old Men, California-based There Will Be Blood, and the French Ratatouille, all of which I hope and expect to see honored with gold statues in a matter of a few hours. Dessert will be Kahlua milkshakes - we will drink each others' milkshakes.

My intent had been to publish my final two reviews of 2007 releases (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and Atonement), proceed to my Top 10/Bottom 10 List (which has been made difficult from not having seen 10 truly awful movies last year, I must be slipping), and then round it out with my annual predictions. But, as I’ve said, the chili’s simmering, my friends are near, and of all that I need to post, the predictions are rather time-sensitive, no?

So let’s proceed with those and see what else happens. In honor of my former Theatre Lit. professor, Dr. Richard Hansen, here are my predictions for every category. By his rules, 1st choices are worth 15 points, 2nd choices are worth 10 points, and the goal is to clear 240 points overall. I have a…spotty record of achieving this, but I’ll give it my best.

It should be stated for the record that anything to do with foreign films, documentaries, and short films is an utter shot in the dark for me. You’d think being a Hollywood Insider™ would grant me more knowledge about these categories, but if it does, I have failed to capitalize on it.

You might also note that some of these have shifted from my initial predictions of last month. This could either be me attempting to factor changing realities into my present calculations, or that I want the terrorists to win. You decide.

Best Picture
1. No Country For Old Men
2. Juno

Best Director
1. Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men
2. Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

Best Actor
1. Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
2. Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd

Best Actress
1. Ellen Page, Juno
2. Julie Christie, Away From Her

Best Supporting Actor
1. Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men
2. Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild

Best Supporting Actress
1. Ruby Dee, American Gangster
2. Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone

Animated Feature Film
1. Ratatouille
2. Persepolis

Writing – Adapted Screenplay
1. Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men
2. Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

Writing – Original Screenplay
1. Diablo Cody, Juno
2. Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton

Art Direction
1. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
2. Atonement

Cinematography
1. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
2. There Will Be Blood

Costume Design
1. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
2. Across the Universe

Documentary Feature
1. Taxi to the Dark Side
2. No End in Sight

Documentary Short
1. Salim Baba
2. Sari’s Mother

Film Editing
1. There Will Be Blood
2. No Country For Old Men

Foreign-Language Film
1. The Counterfeiters
2. 12

Makeup
1. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
2. La Vie en Rose

Music (Original Score)
1. Atonement
2. Michael Clayton

Music (Original Song)
1. “That’s How You Know” from Enchanted
2. “Falling Slowly” from Once

Short Film – Animated
1. Madame Tutli-Putli
2. Peter & the Wolf

Short Film – Live Action
1. Il Supplente
2. At Night

Sound Editing
1. No Country For Old Men
2. Ratatouille

Sound Mixing
1. No Country For Old Men
2. 3:10 to Yuma

Visual Effects
1. Transformers
2. The Golden Compass