A Statement About the Oscar Nominees

OK, you've already seen them by now, blah blah blah, I'm not going to take up space by re-listing them.  Go here to see them if you haven't already.  

I just have a couple of thoughts:

First of all, I am extremely nervous about Kate Winslet's chances here.  Yes, she has been winning everything under the sun, especially for her role in The Reader, but the problem is that everything she has won for The Reader has been in the supporting category.  The fact that she did not receive a Best Supporting Actress nom for The Reader, but rather a Best Actress, might be extremely detrimental to her cause.  The Academy can be very picky about things like this.  If it's a supporting role, it's a supporting role, no ifs, ands or buts.  I'm not sure a dual nomination would have helped her any (lots and lots of vote splitting), but the fact is, she got the wrong nomination for the right film.

If anyone is going to upset her, let there be no mistake, it will NOT be Meryl Streep, but Anne Hathaway.

Second of all, it is an absolute and utter travesty that The Dark Knight did not get nominated.  I'm not saying that because it's, you know, my new favorite movie, but rather because it was one of the best films of the year.  It seems that all of the tremendous strides that were made with the recognition of LOTR have been obliterated by the lack of recognition for The Dark Knight.  What was it the man said?  "The Dark Knight was to super-hero films what The Godfather was to gangster films."  Or something like that.

As to the "overrated" Heath Ledger performance, the Academy can be sentimental, but logical about these kinds of things.  This was a talented actor who probably should have won a time or two before, but now will never have the opportunity to even be nominated again.  The other actors in his category were great, but they will all go on to give great performances in the future.  If there is one lock in the competition, it is Heath Ledger.

Anyone who picks anything but Wall-E for Best Animated Feature needs to have their head examined, but more on that later.

I suppose that's all for now.  Full picks to follow in a few weeks.  And anyone in possession of a DVR on Oscar night will be my hero forever... I'm still going to be à Londres for The Big Show.

(PS- Anyone who needs the Short Film pics for an Oscar pool, ask me in another week)