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Baron Davis of the Golden State Warriors (and apparently a movie buff) offers up with his, uh, ecelectic top ten.

10. Norbit
Some critics bashed this flick. But I love Eddie Murphy ... in almost anything.

Hey, Armond loved it too.

Baron Davis wrote: Alien vs. Predator: Requiem -- The guys and I hit this on the road. Just OK.

How many times has this line been uttered in a non-cinematic context in the NBA?

Maybe the guys do hit aliens and predators while on the road....

Writer's Guild Nominees:

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
JUNO, Written by Diablo Cody, Fox Searchlight
MICHAEL CLAYTON, Written by Tony Gilroy, Warner Bros. Pictures
THE SAVAGES, Written by Tamara Jenkins, Fox Searchlight
KNOCKED UP, Written by Judd Apatow, Universal Pictures
LARS AND THE REAL GIRL, Written by Nancy Oliver, MGM

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, Screenplay by Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, Based on the Novel by Cormac McCarthy, Miramax
THERE WILL BE BLOOD, Screenplay by Paul Thomas Anderson, Based on the Novel Oil by Upton Sinclair, Paramount Vantage
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, Screenplay by Ronald Harwood, Based on the Book by Jean-Dominique Bauby, Miramax
INTO THE WILD, Screenplay by Sean Penn, Based on the Book by Jon Krakauer, Paramount Vantage
ZODIAC, Screenplay by James Vanderbilt, Based on the Book by Robert Graysmith, Paramount Pictures

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
THE CAMDEN 28, Written by Anthony Giacchino, First Run Features
NANKING, Screenplay by Bill Guttentag & Dan Sturman & Elisabeth Bentley, Story by Bill Guttentag & Dan Sturman, THINKFilm
NO END IN SIGHT, Written by Charles Ferguson, Magnolia Pictures
THE RAPE OF EUROPA, Written by Richard Berge, Nicole Newnham and Bonni Cohen, Menemsha Films
SICKO, Written by Michael Moore, Lionsgate/The Weinstein Company
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE, Written by Alex Gibney, THINKFilm

goddam there are some terrible screenplays getting nominations this year

Jeff wrote:DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
THE CAMDEN 28, Written by Anthony Giacchino, First Run Features
NANKING, Screenplay by Bill Guttentag & Dan Sturman & Elisabeth Bentley, Story by Bill Guttentag & Dan Sturman, THINKFilm
NO END IN SIGHT, Written by Charles Ferguson, Magnolia Pictures
THE RAPE OF EUROPA, Written by Richard Berge, Nicole Newnham and Bonni Cohen, Menemsha Films
SICKO, Written by Michael Moore, Lionsgate/The Weinstein Company
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE, Written by Alex Gibney, THINKFilm

Is this something new? Certainly the Oscars don't go this far with screenplays, right?

It is relatively new. Probably in response to Bowling for Columbine winning the WGA award for Best Original Screenplay a few years ago.

exte wrote:Is this something new? Certainly the Oscars don't go this far with screenplays, right?

I think that the Writer's Guild has been awarding feature documentaries for the last two or three years. No, the Academy doesn't do it.

Here's ya Globes:

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Atonement

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Julie Christie - Away From Her

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Sweeney Todd

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Marion Cotillard - La Vie En Rose

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Ratatouille

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Cate Blanchett - I’m Not There

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Javier Bardem - No Country For Old Men

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
Ethan Coen & Joel Coen - No Country For Old Men

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
Dario Marianelli - Atonement

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
“Guaranteed” - Into the Wild

My FINAL predictions:

BEST PICTURE
The Diving Bell and The Butterfly (Miramax/Canal+) Kathleen Kennedy and Jon Kilik, producers.
Into the Wild (Paramount Vantage) Art Linson, Sean Penn and William Pohlad, producers.
Michael Clayton (Castle Rock Entertainment) Jennifer Fox, Sydney Pollack, Kerry Orent and Steve Samuels, producers.
No Country for Old Men (Paramount Vantage) Joel Coen, Ethan Coen and Scott Rudin, producers.
There Will Be Blood (Miramax/Paramount) Paul Thomas Anderson, JoAnne Sellar and Daniel Lupi, producers.

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and The Butterfly
Sean Penn, Into the Wild
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Ryan Gosling, Lars and the Real Girl
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Nikki Blonsky, Hairspray
Julie Christie, Away from Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart
Ellen Page, Juno

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Tommy Lee Jones, No Country for Old Men
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Kelly MacDonald, No Country for Old Men
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

BEST SCREENPLAY WRITTEN DIRECTLY FOR THE SCREEN
American Gangster by Steven Zaillian
Juno by Diablo Cody
Lars and the Real Girl by Nancy Oliver
Michael Clayton by Tony Gilroy
Ratatouille by Brad Bird, Jim Capobianco and Jan Pinkava

BEST SCREENPLAY BASED ON MATERIAL PREVIOUSLY PRODUCED OR PUBLISHED
Atonement by Christopher Hampton
Based on the novel by Ian McEwan
The Diving Bell and The Butterfly by Ronald Harwood
Based on the book by Jean-Dominique Bauby
Into the Wild by Sean Penn
Based on the book by Jon Krakauer
No Country for Old Men by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy
There Will Be Blood by Paul Thomas Anderson
Based on the novel Oil by Upton Sinclair

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Persepolis (Sony Pictures Classics) Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Parronaud.
Ratatouille (Disney/PIXAR) Brad Bird
The Simpsons Movie (20th Century Fox) Matt Groening and David Silverman.

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
The Counterfeiters (Austria) Stefan Ruzowitzky, director.
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Romania) Cristian Mingiu, director.
I Served the King of England (Czech Republic) Jiri Menzel, director.
The Orphanage (Spain) Juan Antonio Bayona, director.
Persepolis (France) Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Parronaud, directors.

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
Roger Deakins, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Janusz Kaminski, The Diving Bell and The Butterfly
Rodrigo Prieto, Lust, Caution
Roger Deakins, No Country for Old Men
Robert Elswitt, There Will Be Blood

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
Sarah Greenwood (art direction) & Katie Spencer (set decoration), Atonement
Guy Dyas (art direction) & Richard Roberts (set decoration), Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Dennis Gassner (art direction) & Anna Pinnock (set decoration), The Golden Compass
Stuart Craig (art direction) & Stephenie McMillan (set decoration), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Dante Ferreti (art direction) & Francesca LoSchiavo (set decoration), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
Pietro Scalia, American Gangster
Christopher Rouse, The Bourne Ultimatum
John Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Roderick Jaynes, No Country for Old Men
Dylan Tichenor, There Will Be Blood

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
Jacqueline Durran, Atonement
Alexandra Byrne, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Rita Ryack, Hairspray
Marit Allen, Love in the Time of Cholera
Colleen Atwood, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer and Greg Steele, American Gangster
Randy Thom, Tom Johnson and William B. Kaplan, Beowulf
Gary Summers, Scott Millan, Bob Beemer and David Parker, The Bourne Ultimatum
Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe, 3:10 to Yuma
Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin, Transformers

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
Randy Thom and Dennis Leonard, Beowulf
Perr Hallberg and Karen M. Baker, The Bourne Ultimatum
Randy Thom and Michael Silvers, Ratatouille
Paul N.J. Ottoson, Spider-Man 3
Ethan Van Der Ryn and Mike Hopkins, Transformers

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE
Dario Marianelli, Atonement
Alan Silvestri, Beowulf
Alberto Iglesias, The Kite Runner
Alexandre Desplat, Lust, Caution
Michael Giacchino, Ratatouille

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG
"Come So Far (Got So Far To Go)" from Hairspray
Marc Shaiman (music) & Scott Whitman (lyrics)
"Do You Feel Me?" from American Gangster
Diane Warren (music & lyrics)
"Falling Slowly" from Once
Glenn Hansard and Marketa Irglova (music & lyrics)
"Guaranteed" from Into the Wild
Eddie Vedder (music & lyrics)
"That's How You Know" from Enchanted
Alan Menken (music) & Stephen Schwartz (lyrics)

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
Bryan Grill, Frank Petzold, Robert Stromberg and Trevor Wood, The Golden Compass
John Knoll, Charles Gibson, Hal Hickel and Allen Hall, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Richard Kidd, Scott Farrar, David Prescott and John Frazier, Transformers

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
Benoit Lestang and Myriam Hottois, The Diving Bell and The Butterfly
Ivana Primorac and Duncan Jarman, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Shaun Smith, 300

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Autism: The Musical (In Effect Films) Tricia Regan
Lake of Fire (Anonymous Content) Tony Kaye
No End in Sight (Red Envelope Entertainment) Charles Ferguson
Sicko (Dog Eat Dog Films) Michael Moore and Meghan O'Hara
War/Dance (Rogue Harbor Studios) Sean Fine and Andrea Nix.

Looks like Schnabel's stock is rising fast.

Weird question - is Dylan's song "I'm Not There" eligible for Best Original Song since it wasn't officially released until I'm Not There the film?

patrick wrote:Weird question - is Dylan's song "I'm Not There" eligible for Best Original Song since it wasn't officially released until I'm Not There the film?

No, the song has to be composed specifically for the film.

Here are the 9 Foreign Language finalists:

Austria, “The Counterfeiters,” Stefan Ruzowitzky, director
Brazil, “The Year My Parents Went on Vacation,” Cao Hamburger, director
Canada, “Days of Darkness,” Denys Arcand, director
Israel, “Beaufort,” Joseph Cedar, director
Italy, “The Unknown,” Giuseppe Tornatore, director
Kazakhstan, “Mongol,” Sergei Bodrov, director
Poland, “Katyn,” Andrzej Wajda, director
Russia, “12,” Nikita Mikhalkov, director
Serbia, “The Trap,” Srdan Golubovic, director

Very surprised to see Persepolis, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, and The Orphanage all missing.

souvenir wrote:Here are the 9 Foreign Language finalists:

Austria, “The Counterfeiters,” Stefan Ruzowitzky, director
Brazil, “The Year My Parents Went on Vacation,” Cao Hamburger, director
Canada, “Days of Darkness,” Denys Arcand, director
Israel, “Beaufort,” Joseph Cedar, director
Italy, “The Unknown,” Giuseppe Tornatore, director
Kazakhstan, “Mongol,” Sergei Bodrov, director
Poland, “Katyn,” Andrzej Wajda, director
Russia, “12,” Nikita Mikhalkov, director
Serbia, “The Trap,” Srdan Golubovic, director

Very surprised to see Persepolis, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, and The Orphanage all missing.

I'm not. Persepolis is animated, The Orphanage feels too similar to Pan's Labyrinth to step out of its shadow, and 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days is formally rigorous and increasingly controversial. Since when has the Academy actually been interested in difficult art works? When was the last time a Palme D'Or winner won Best Foreign Language Film? I think it was Pelle the Conqueror.

I called it in September, and I'm going to call it again - The Counterfeiters will win Best Foreign Language Film.

But those three didn't even make the final nine, that's what I was shocked by. I didn't necessarily expect any of them to win, maybe not even get nominations, but to miss out entirely like that is surprising to me, though maybe it shouldn't be as you say.

Holy shit what a worthless list without even 4 Months... included. Ridiculous.

I too am bummed by the omission of 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days and Persepolis, but I guess I was dreaming if I thought they might win.

Has anyone seen (Katyn)? Wajda's a director I like a lot, but I haven't been crazy about any of his films since Korczak. I've read a few enthusiastic Polish write-ups, but no international ones.

Amazing. With all the fucking up the Academy Awards are doing, who wants to predict how crazy tomorrow's noms could be? American Gangster with the most noms-crazy.

I can't even tell you how happy I am for Laura Linney's nom =D>
Outside of that horrible Best Actor trainwreck this is one of the best Oscar years I can think of-- very few cringe-inducing noms.

Wow, The Savages is the big surprise in the Oscar nominations. I can't believe Cate Blanchett got nominated for the absolutely wretched Elizabeth: The Golden Age - and no doubt, given the age of Academy voters, this will be the one she wins for. I am absolutely ecstatic that Casey Affleck got nominated for Jesse James. And I'm glad to see Tom Wilkinson got a nod as well.

In terms of makeup, of all the films that came out this year Norbit was one of the best three?

But the biggest WTF nomination of the year is Ruby Dee for American Gangster.

12. Cinematography: "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," "Atonement," "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood."

Pretty much the strongest batch of cinematography nominees I've ever seen. Any of these could win and I'd be okay with it.

Antoine Doinel wrote:Wow, The Savages is the big surprise in the Oscar nominations. I can't believe Cate Blanchett got nominated for the absolutely wretched Elizabeth: The Golden Age - and no doubt, given the age of Academy voters, this will be the one she wins for.

I don't think anyone believes she earned the Elizabeth nom, I think the resentment is going to cause her to go home empty twice rather than them giving her the Supporting Actress out of sympathy. Sucks that she's in instead of Amy Adams but you know what, who cares, because Laura Linney got in!