Around 2:00 p.m. today, I called my sister Lale Lovell who lives in Provo, Utah*(NEWSFLASH: She won her Oscar pool! She knows when not to listen to me), and here are some excerpts from that conversation:
LL: How about Best Actress?
TG: I saw "Away From Her." I must say it is quite a downer, but Julie Christie was quite good. She is brilliant. I can't honestly see anyone else winning that award. (pause) Well, since it is the Oscars, they might give it to that girl from "Juno."
LL: So, you don't think they might give it to that French actress?
TG: The one who played Edith Piaf?
LL: Yea.
TG: Oh no. No way.
LL: Huh. Ok, how about Best Supporting Actress?
TG: You know mom and I saw "I'm Not There," in Roanoke. We both thought Cate Blanchett was a better Bob Dylan than all the guys in the movie. I've heard Amy Ryan was good in "Gone Baby Gone" as well, but....
LL: So, you'd go with Cate Blanchett? But, she did just win two years ago.
TG: Yeah, but she's even better in this movie. I'd say there's a 60 percent Blanchett will win, and a 40 percent chance that it will go to Amy Adams.
LL: Amy Adams?
TG: Oh, I meant Amy Ryan.
LL: What about Tilda Swinton for "Michael Clayton"?
TG: I think that has a better chance for Best Orginal Screenplay.
LL: Over "Ratatouille" and that stripper who wrote "Juno?"
TG: Yes.
LL: Ok, what about Best Foreign Language Film?
TG: Hmm....I don't know here. For the contest at the Grandin (a theatre in Roanoke, Va.), I chose "Beaufort" from Israel. I've heard a lot about it. But, the films from Russia and Poland have great directors. There is also a film from Kazakhstan, right?
LL: Yes, "Mongol."
TG: Oh yeah, it's about Genghis Khan.
LL:There's also "The Counterfeitters" from Austria.
TG: Yeah, neither of those films are going to win. Andre Wadja directed that film from Poland. He's a legend. He's in his eighties. Maybe, you should pick that one.
LL: Ok, I'll go with you on this one. You sound pretty sure about it. What about the documentaries? I know that's one of your favorite categories.
TG: Oh, definitely, "No End in Sight." I saw it on dvd just a few weeks ago. It's brilliant. It shows what a disaster this war in Iraq is at every level.
LL: You don't think Michael Moore will win?
TG: Not this year.
LL: What about one of the other three films?
TG: It's going to "No End in Sight," sis. I feel very confident about that.
LL: Ok, now we're at Best Song. There are five songs from "Enchanted." There's one from "Once."
TG: Oh, the song from "Once" is just great. I think that will win.
(Hey, I did get a few right!)
Lale told me she was choosing the French short subject live action nominee "The Mozart of Pickpockets" because she liked the title. Indeed, it won!
She got 12 right for a $10 gift certificate to Blockbuster. Of course, since they live in Provo, Utah**, the selection might be very limited.
I have to also send kudos to my friend Moviezzz who did an absolutely brilliant job blogging about tonight's Oscars. You can get a minute-by-minute of the telecast at his blog http://www.talkingmoviezzz.blogspot.com
I also expect my friend and movie blogger Joe Scott out of Greensboro, NC, to have insightful thoughts on the Oscars at his blog http://themovieshow.blogspot.com
In fact, one or both of them may you give you a complete list of the winners, which I am not (hey, I only get eight or nine hits a day, all right!).
Congratulations are in order for the Coen Brothers. I've been a fan of their's since "Blood Simple" and "Raising Arizona" came out when I was a teenager. I think more people wrote papers on their films at grad school at Hollins University than any other filmmaker living or dead.
I just saw "There Will Be Blood" this afternoon. Daniel Day-Lewis gave a stunning performance which would have assuredly made his late father-in-law Arthur Miller proud.
The lone sad note of the night was finding out that Senegalese film director Ousman Sembene had passed away. Yes, I am a movie geek, but this man was a genius in every way. I just hope I spelled his name right.
*-The cat in the header refers to the family cat Gizmo. As a joke, I let Gizmo pick the Super Bowl. He did in fact choose the New York Giants!
**-Lale does not actually live in Provo, Utah. They actually right outside Provo in the community of Orem, Utah......ok,ok, I couldn't resist! They live in another western state_one which did not go to Mitt Romney.
And, I should add that portions of the conversation were fictionalized to make it more entertaining.
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