OSCAR REACTION PART DEUX - Sam makes a great point in the Feedback Forum regarding 'Punch-Drunk Love': "If they had released it in late-December or January with the other prestige pictures, I guarantee that Anderson would be getting Nia Vardalos's original screenplay nomination and Emily Watson would have Queen Latifah's supporting actress nom." It is amazing how much of a factor release date is when it comes to the Oscars. All five nominees for best picture came out near the end of the year, as did most of the acting category nominees save for Diane Lane in 'Unfaithful' and Paul Newman in 'Road to Perdition.' That being said, 'Punch-Drunk' was probably hindered by its language and subject matter that was described in one letter to the Chicago Tribune entertainment section as being "obscene." (I'll have to dig this letter out and post it here sometime because it is one of the best examples of the disconnect that exists between film critics and moviegoers. This particular woman felt that critic Michael Wilmington tricked her by using the words "romantic comedy" to describe something so vulgar. Hilarious stuff.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR -- Chris Cooper (Adaptation), Ed Harris (The Hours); Paul Newman (Road to Perdition), John C. Reilly (Chicago), and Christopher Walken (Catch Me If You Can)
How great is it to see usually unsung actors like Chris Cooper and John C. Reilly garnering some attention? Unfortunately, even though I liked Reilly as "Mr. Cellophane" in 'Chicago,' he was basically playing the same boring, cuckolded husband role he seems to have perfected. As I said when I wrote about 'Chicago' on Jan. 6 (A.O. Scott Stole My Thunder) the best performance in the whole film was turned in by Richard Gere, but somehow his Golden Globe win didn't translate into an Oscar nom. Newman and Walken are both fantastic in their respective films. The dignity and humanity Newman brings to his mobster character in 'Perdition' is the best reason to see that movie. The only choice that bothers me here is Ed Harris for 'The Hours.' I've always been a huge Harris fan, but his performance as a poet dying from AIDS is far too showy. It just screams Oscar, and apparently it got the Academy's attention.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Kathy Bates (About Schmidt), Julianne Moore (The Hours), Queen Latifah (Chicago), Meryl Streep (Adaptation), and Catherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago)
I can't comment on Kathy Bates' performance, but I have pretty much the same reaction to it as her co-star Nicholson getting another nomination. She already has one Oscar and excels at playing over-the-top characters. Do we really need to reward her again? Like Reilly, Queen Latifah is barely in 'Chicago' enough to warrant a nomination. That Miramax marketing team is good, isn't it? Streep is another actress who is hard to root for because she already has, what, three Oscars at home? But I'm glad to see she got a nod for her surprising turn in 'Adaptation,' playing a neurotic, lonely writer who gets caught up in drugs and sex, instead of her break-down-on-cue-give-me-the-Oscar-now performance in 'The Hours.'

BEST DIRECTOR - Rob Marshall (Chicago), Martin Scorsese (Gangs of New York), Stephen Daldry (The Hours), Roman Polanski (The Hours), Pedro Almodovar (Talk To Her)
I still need to see 'Talk To Her,' though if 'The Two Towers' was deemed worthy of a best picture nomination, then Peter Jackson probably should have gotten a directing nod. I've always been a traditionalist when it comes to the notion that the best picture is made by the best director. Scorsese will probably win, regardless of whether 'Chicago' beats 'Gangs' for best picture, because the latter is a more ambitious, epic-sized achievement. In a way, it will be a little sad though because Scorsese will finally get rewarded for a film that isn't as deserving as 'Taxi Driver,' 'Raging Bull,' or 'GoodFellas.' The Academy will probably try to make up for its past transgressions this year. My vote would be with Polanski since 'The Pianist' is the best film of the bunch.

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ERIC'S OSCAR REACTION - Just a lot of good, interesting writing to which I thought I'd provide links. If you're like me, some of the most interesting selections each year are the foreign-language nominations, because they are the only category that does not receive any hype. You usually can't see them at very many theaters, and the conventional wisdom among distributors is you have to pick and choose where you show them as the film-going public generally doesn't like them. They may be right, but 'Talk to Her,' Pedro Almovodar's critically-acclaimed valentine did not get nominated for this category despite being on around 90% of critic's top 10 lists. June Thomas has an OK explainer of this on Slate, but it's more noteworthy for the links it provides. One is for an explainer from a previous year, on Adam's recent question about why some actors seem wrongly or oddly nominated for a Best Actor/Actress vs. Supporting Actor when they don't seem to fit that description. Even better is a link to a diary by a member of AMPAS foreign-film committee, Ken Rudolph, explaining his reaction to every single movie as well as his predictions for the nominations. And best is a link to an L.A. Times story about the Afghanistan film, 'FireDancer,' the first ever entry for the country in the Oscars, where the producer allegedly killed the director and kept his head in his refrigerator. Yes, you read that correctly.

As far as my feelings, I really thought Jeffrey Wells summed it up best when he started composing his Oscar Balloon 2003 before the 2002 nominations even came out. Granted, he lives in L.A. and writes about the industry for a living, but his Feb. 7 column was right on with his aloof tone. Most of the column is actually a deconstruction of why 'Antwone Fisher' hasn't done better with award nominations, but it's still pretty solid. I usually find his columns hit or miss, so I don't read him all the time, but he always writes what he experiences or feels about a movie, and I like that, unlike some of his readers that lambaste "Nuts" further down in his last column. His new one today is quite good as well, and I generally agree with his Oscar sentiments. He has a tidbit about 'City of God' not getting any love in the foreign language category, as well as more gossip about 'A Confederacy of Dunces,' which we'll officially dub as the most eagerly anticipated project of the next 5 years for Eric, or TMEAPIN5YE.

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OSCAR REACTION - If you read my regurgitation yesterday of the Chicago Tribune's Oscar predictions, then you couldn't have been too surprised when the nominees were announced this morning. Between them, Mark Caro and Michael Wilmington were pretty much dead on. Let's go through each of the main categories, shall we?

BEST PICTURE -- Chicago, Gangs of New York, The Hours, The Two Towers and The Pianist
I've seen all of these films except for 'The Two Towers' and I can't say I'm offended by any of these choices. 'Chicago' isn't worthy of 13 nominations, but it just missed my top ten films of the year list. 'Gangs' suffers from a muddled final act, but Daniel Day-Lewis' performance alone lodged it at #10 on my list. 'The Hours' is totally overrated, but not insufferable -- at least it wasn't for me, though I freely admit to being won over by the charm of the book's author, Michael Cunningham, during the post-screening Q&A I attended here in Chicago. The only film that truly deserves to be on this list, however, is Roman Polanski's 'The Pianist.' There are a handful of scenes that are so emotionally scarring that I still play them over in my head about once a day. As pointless as the Oscars are in the grand scheme of things, it's nice to know that more people will be influenced to seek out this film thanks to the nomination.

BEST ACTOR - Adrien Brody (The Pianist), Nicolas Cage (Adaptation), Michael Caine (The Quiet American), Day-Lewis (Gangs), Jack Nicholson (About Schmidt).
I haven't seen 'Schmidt' or 'The Quiet American' yet (the latter just opened in Chicago last weekend), so I can really only comment on the other three. Then again, I don't care if I ultimately think 'Schmidt' is the best film of all-time, there's no way I'd root for Jack to win another award. His win for 'As Good As It Gets' has to be one of the biggest Oscar crimes since Roberto Benigni's win for 'Life is Beautiful.' Everyone except Brody has won at least one Oscar before, either as a lead or supporting actor, so I'm tempted to root for him just on that basis alone. Of course, you can also root for him because he delivers an amazing performance -- intense and emotional, but subtle. I thought Cage was probably the best thing about 'Adaptation,' but I'm rooting for Brody or Day-Lewis. Curiously, Lewis' role as Bill the Butcher never struck me as a lead role. Granted, he towers over DiCaprio in the film and is without a doubt one of the most fascinating characters in recent memory, but he isn't the main character of the story -- DiCaprio is. I always assumed Lewis would get a supporting nod. Not that the Academy has ever really had a clear criteria for this. Donald Sutherland was nominated for Best Actor in 1980 for 'Ordinary People' despite the fact that newcomer Timothy Hutton -- who is in probably 95% of the movie -- was the clear protagonist. Hutton won for Best Supporting Actor, but Sutherland only got the Best Actor nomination because he was Donald Sutherland and nobody knew who Hutton was.

BEST ACTRESS - Salma Hayek (Frida), Nicole Kidman (The Hours), Diane Lane (Unfaithful), Julianne Moore (Far From Heaven) and Renee Zellweger (Chicago)
I saw all of these performances except for Hayek's and, again, I'm not offended by any of the choices -- though I guess I would be disappointed if Zellweger won simply because she's just a little to winsome as Roxie Hart. I think Kidman, Lane and Moore are all three great actresses and are deserving of the honor as a sort of lifetime achievement award, if not necessarily for the performances in question. But if I was voting I'd give it to Moore. I thought her 'Mrs. Magnatech' was as complex and real a character as you could expect to find in a post-modernist marvel like 'Far From Heaven.'

More to come...


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OSCAR TALK - I saw 'City of God' over the weekend, plus 'In The Mood For Love' on DVD... and I still haven't commented on 'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind' yet. But it's the day before Oscar nominations are announced, so that takes precedence. Mark Caro and critic Michael Wilmington each listed their predictions for nominations in yesterday's Chicago Tribune. I'll have a little bit of commentary at the end, but will save my talk on who is deserving and who is not for after the noms are announced.

BEST PICTURE
Caro and Wilmington agree on: Chicago, The Hours, The Two Towers and The Pianist
Caro thinks the surprise hit 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' will get a nom; Wilmington goes with 'Gangs of New York' for the fifth spot
Entertainment Weekly says Golden Globe Winners 'The Hours' and 'Chicago' are the favorites, while also throwing out for consideration -- About Schmidt, Adaptation, Road to Perdition, Antwone Fisher and Far From Heaven.

BEST DIRECTOR
Caro and Wilmington agree on: Peter Jackson (Two Towers), Rob Marshall (Chicago), Roman Polanski (The Pianist), and Martin Scorsese (Gangs of New York)
Caro goes with Stephen Daldry (The Hours) in the final spot; Wilmington thinks critical darling Pedro Almodovar (Talk to Her) is in
EW adds to the mix Alexander Payne (About Schmidt), Spike Jonze (Adaptation), Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven), Sam Mendes (Perdition) and Denzel Washington (Antwone Fisher).

BEST ACTOR
Caro and Wilmington agree on all five: Adrian Brody (Pianist), Nic Cage (Adaptation), Michael Caine (Quiet American), Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs) and Jack Nicholson (Schmidt)
Click here for EW's list.

BEST ACTRESS
Caro and Wilmington agree on: Nicole Kidman (The Hours), Diane Lane (Unfaithful), Julianne Moore (Far From Heaven) and Renee Zellweger (Chicago).
Caro goes with Meryl Streep for 'The Hours' while Wilmington thinks Salma Hayek will squeak in for 'Frida.'
Click here for EW's list.

BEST SUPP. ACTOR
Caro and Wilmington agree on: Chris Cooper (Adaptation), Paul Newman (Perdition), Dennis Quaid (Far From Heaven) and Christopher Walken (Catch Me If You Can).
Caro throw in Alfred Molina for 'Frida'; Wilmington likes Ed Harris for 'The Hours.'
Click here for EW's list.

BEST SUPP. ACTRESS
Caro and Wilmington agree on all five: Kathy Bates (Schmidt), Queen Latifah (Chicago), Moore (The Hours), Streep (Adaptation) and Xatherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago).
Click here for EW's list.

HOPE THEY'RE RIGHT: Dennis Quaid, Julianne Moore (Best Actress, Far From Heaven), Adrian Brody, The Pianist, Daniel Day-Lewis
HOPE THEY'RE WRONG: Only one of their Best Picture predictions ('The Pianist') made my top five for the year, so, obviously, I wouldn't mind that entire list getting blown up. Not likely to happen though. Queen Latifah is fine in 'Chicago,' but it's not a role worth even a Supporting nod. Co-star Richard Gere should get one, though apparently Miramax was pushing him for Best Actor, which is a mistake. Ed Harris and Meryl Streep both have showy performances in 'The Hours,' but who cares? I love Harris, but his dying-from-AIDS-visionary-poet bit is too obvious an Oscar choice.

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