"Although I never use the Japanese keys (unless I'm asking Shizu to write something for a Google search), I consider them a badge of honour, a status symbol."


"Good morning everybody,
Well, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will unveil nominees for its annual Oscar awards in exactly one week, and last night's Golden Globes, presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, is a likely indicator of things to come. So, let's start with a look at how the races are shaping up in the major races.

First, of course, the Globes divide some categories by genre: either comedy (or musical comedy) and drama, thus spreading the wealth and generating momentum for comic performances which, historically, have met with only middling Academy approval (though, like anything else, there have been notable exceptions). Okay, let's start with Best Actress in a Drama. By now the whole world, or at least hardcore film aficionados (not aficionados of hardcore films) must know that Helen Mirren is the frontrunner for the Best Actress Oscar, thanks to her role as Queen Elizabeth II in "The Queen." Last night's Golden Globe win just further cements an already commading lead. Mirren's pre-Oscar kitty at this stage of the game tallies something like two dozen awards, dating back to last year's Venice Film Festival. The winner of the Best Actress in a Comedy award went to Meryl Streep for her sublime turn as the impeccably clad boss from hell in "The Devil Wears Prada." Streep is now most assuredly on target for her 14th Oscar nomination, though it's still Mirren's statuette to lose. Also, here's a clue: while the media has been busy reporting that Meryl Streep is the most nominated actress in Academy history, they've also been selling her a bit short. The truth is, Meryl Streep is not only the most nominated actress in Academy history, she is also--and more importantly--the most nominated performer of either sex in Academy history; the most nominated male is Jack Nicholson, with 12 bids.
Also, Streep was right on when she recalled the relatively large number of good film roles there were for women in 2006, especially as reported in the current "Entertainment Weekly" cover story. Not only is no one complaining about a dearth of Best Actress possibilities, there's reason to rejoice in that three of the strongest contenders, Mirren, Streep and Judi Dench ("Notes on a Scandal"), are thriving at 50+, thus bucking the Academy's recent trend of honoring women in their mid 30's or younger. The last three Academy Best Actress winners, Reese Witherspoon ("Walk the Line"), Hilary Swank ("Million Dollar Baby"), and Charlize Theron ("Monster") were 29, 30, and 28, respectively, when they took home their awards. [Further, Swank was a mere 24 when she won her first Oscar for "Boys Don't Cry."] Of course, they were all brilliant, but it's good to see that someone out there has suddenly taken such a keen interest in writing stories about more mature women. Dench is 72, Mirren is 61, and Streep is a relative babe at 57. Yet for all that, Annette Bening, still fabulous at 48, seems to be losing steam in her quest to earn a fourth Oscar nom for "Running With Scissors." Too bad. Her performance, for my money, was easily the year's most dazzling--and, hey, I really am a fan of both Mirren and Streep.

Moving on to Best Actor. Again, just as there was no surprise in the Best Actress in a Drama category, there was not even a hiccup in Forest Whitaker's bid for Oscar glory as he nailed yet another win for playing [now deceased] Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland." Whitaker has clearly been this season's Best Actor favorite, though the Longview Tx born actor has not obliterated the competition as effectively as Mirren, but that's really beside the point. Whitaker is definitely the actor with the greatest claim on the Oscar at this moment. Will Smith's "The Pursuit of Happyness" is a bigger moneymaker, Leonardo DiCaprio has two chances with "The Departed" & "Blood Diamond, " Ryan Gosling is all brilliant potential in "Half Nelson" (though conspicuously absent as a Globe contender) and seven time nominee Peter O'Toole looms as a strong sentimental favorite for "Venus" (which has yet to go into wide release), but, so far, no one has significantly slowed Whitaker's momentum. That said, the big question mark in this year's Best Actor race is Sacha Baron Cohen, who won the Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy for his documentary length, improvisational stunt, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." Full disclosure: I have not seen "Borat," and I don't know if, even in the name of research, I ever will. I know lots of people who have seen the movie and loved it--and assure me it's righteously funny and that I would get a kick out of it, and I really REALLY want to believe them, but every time I see a clip of the movie, I have to wonder what the big deal is. In my admittedly limited exposure, I've only seen a movie that's mean spirited and, to put it mildly, crude. I don't see anything genuinely witty or satirical about it--and Sacha Baron Cohen's vulgar acceptance speech last night did nothing to change my mind. Sorry. (Didn't I read somewhere that 35 year old Brit Cohen was educated at Cambridge? You'd never know it from his vile speech last night--and to think the show's producers let him run on like he did, then immediately turned around and cut-off the producer of "Dreamgirls." Talk about "Foul!")

Btw, writer Peter Morgan who won the Best Screenplay Globe for "The Queen" has much to celebrate. Besides penning "The Queen," he also co-wrote "The Last King of Scotland," which means come February he could find himself in the rare position of having written the year's two most acclaimed leading roles--and in separate films, no less. The last time a writer could make a similar claim was in 1991 when Ted Tally won an Oscar for adapting Jonathan Harris's "The Silence of the Lambs," which, of course, starred Academy victors Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins.

Okay, now Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor. To the surprise of almost no one, Jennifer Hudson nabbed the award in her category for her full throttle performance as Effie, the showiest character in "Dreamgirls." Barring an unforeseen surge in popularity for Abigail Breslin ("Little Miss Sunshine") or darkhorse bids for Emily Blunt ("The Devil Wears Prada") or Catherine O'Hara ("For Your Consideration"), Hudson could very well find herself with an Oscar next month. Hudson practically sealed the deal when she dedicated her award to the late Florence Ballard, the ousted Supremes' singer whom Dreamgirls' Effie most obviously resembles. For Eddie Murphy, also in "Dreamgirls," the race is just starting. Over the weekend, he won honors from the Broadcast Film Critics Association--and now the Globe. Still, Murphy is a volatile personality and has made a few enemies during the course of his career, so the Academy might not be ready to make nice just yet. So far, the most frequent presence in the Best Supporting Actor race has been Jackie Earle Haley for "Little Children." Haley curiously was not nominated for a Globe, but in less than two weeks, he and Murphy will duke it out for the Screen Actors Guild Award--along with Djimon Hounsou ("Blood Diamond") and Alan Arkin ("Little Miss Sunshine"), neither of whom should be ruled out just yet. Arkin, after all, is a previous two time Oscar nominee for Best Actor ("The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming" [1966] and "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" [1968]), and the Academy loves honoring previously unheralded vets in this category. (Btw, even if Jack Nicholson secures his 13th nomination for "The Departed," I don't see him as heavyweight in this race.) Meanwhile, hopes of Oscar nods are fading for Ben Affleck ("Hollywoodland") and Stanley Tucci ("The Devil Wears Prada").

Now for Best Picture and Best Director. Unfortunately, the Globes did nothing to advance a possible consensus. "Dreamgirls" took the award for Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, possibly damaging Little Miss Sunshine's chances at a Best Picture nod in the process. [For the record, "Dreamgirls" three awards made it the most honored movie of the evening.] The Hollywood Foreign Press then split Best Motion Picture Drama and Best Director between "Babel" and Martin Scorsese for "The Departed," respectively. I'm inclined to think, absent an overwhelming last minute favorite--like Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" (or, possibly, Bill Condon's "Dreamgirls")--Scorsese is on target to finally claim a competitive Oscar, but his campaigns have been known to famously backfire at the finish line. So far, this season his biggest competition has come from Paul Greengrass of "United 93," a movie which was under represented at last night's ceremony. I think the heat has cooled for both of Eastwood's WWII movies, "Letters from Iwo Jima" and "Flags of Our Fathers," but I still don't see "Babel" as a strong contender for Best Picture. Not just yet, at any rate. Oh, and don't be fooled by Eastwood's "Iwo Jima' winning the Best Foreign Language Film award at the Globes. Yes, the movie is in Japanese, but it still has an American director and was produced with American money. This award smacks of a savvy studio's "handling" of the Hollywood Foreign Press. The Academy will be less easily swayed. Contenders for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar must be in the language of the director's homeland and financed accordingly.

Okay, a shout-out to some of the winners in the TV categories and then a quick rundown of the best and worst fashions. I salute Kyra Sedgwick ("The Closer") for winning Best Actress in a TV Drama. Sedgwick's Detective Brenda Lee Johnson is currently my favorite TV character, and I'm glad that after being an also-ran during last year's awards season she's finally front and center. Thank you, Hollywood Foreign Press, thank you so much. Also, congrats to Hugh Laurie ("House"), Alec Baldwin ("30 Rock"), America Ferrera and the cast of "Ugly Betty."

My favorite dress of the evening was the emerald number worn by Renee Zellweger, then Rachel Weisz in a stunning red strapless, Sarah Jessica Parker in form fitting "blush" colored brocade, Drew Barrymore, looking surprisingly glam in soft pink, Sharon Stone, always a knockout in basic black, Helen Mirren in teal, and Meryl Streep in gauzy beige. Hilary Swank was tres elegante in a black gown and a sleek 1940's hairdo, held in place with a big jeweled ornament. The first time I saw Swank in profile on the tube, I mistook her for Jennifer Garner--this is a good thing. I loved, loved Reese Witherspoon's lemony cocktail dress, but she loses points for tired, unimaginative, flat-ironed hair. Vanessa Williams took the award for Witherspoon's polar opposite, the evening's biggest hair, a throwback to the '70's. Worst dressed? Cameron Diaz with her dud dark hair and a ruffled, one shouldered ballgown that looked as if it had been attacked by moths. Not a good look. The evening's most impressive male was Terrence Howard, followed by Justin Timberlake (of whom I can honestly say I'm not a fan) and, what the heck, even Warren Beatty who at almost 70 is still a handsome guy--and much better looking than, say, his buddy Jack Nicholson, who's right up there with him in the age department. For that matter, Beatty at 69 is more handsome than Tom Hanks at 50 (and, golly, who was dreamier/hunkier than Beatty back in the 70's when he was making hit films like "Shampoo" and "Heaven Can Wait"?); the worst was, no surprise, always slovenly Philip Seymour Hoffman.

My favorite moment of the evening was seeing Charlie Sheen introduce the clio for "Bobby," the sprawling ensemble pic written and directed by his brother Emilio Estevez. "Bobby" has been a fringe player throughout the awards season, and I'd like to see it snag at least an Oscar nom or two. My least favorite moments were Sacha Baron Cohen's speech and Tom Hanks's clumsy intro of lifetime honoree Beatty.

Well, that's my two cents. I apologize for any bloopers, typos or factual glitches. It's early yet. I also appreciate any questions, suggestions or good natured differences of opinion; however, please be mindful of others' privacy and, if you have any comments, please respond to me specifically and skip the "Reply All" button.

Thanks for your consideration,
Mp"