2008 Academy Award winners

Well, I only got a few wrong, namely the awards for Best and Supporting Actress. Ah well, I guess it would've been awkward to give the award to Julie Christie since she scarely even makes films these days. Looking at that photograph above of the acting winners, I've just realised that they're all European, two Brits, a Spaniard and a French woman. That's sure not going to down well around Hollywood once that realisation sinks in. Anyway, here's the full list:

Best Motion Picture
WINNER: "No Country for Old Men"
· "Atonement"
· "Juno"
· "Michael Clayton"
· "There Will Be Blood"

Performance By An Actor In A Leading Role
WINNER: Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood"
· George Clooney in "Michael Clayton"
· Johnny Depp in "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
· Tommy Lee Jones in "In the Valley of Elah"
· Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises"

Performance By An Actress In A Leading Role
WINNER: Marion Cotillard in "La Vie en Rose"
· Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
· Julie Christie in "Away From Her"
· Laura Linney in "The Savages"
· Ellen Page in "Juno"

Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role
WINNER: Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men"
· Casey Affleck in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
· Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Charlie Wilson's War"
· Hal Holbrook in "Into the Wild"
· Tom Wilkinson in "Michael Clayton"

Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role
WINNER: Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton"
· Cate Blanchett in "I'm Not There"
· Ruby Dee in "American Gangster"
· Saoirse Ronan in "Atonement"
· Amy Ryan in "Gone Baby Gone"

Achievement In Directing
WINNER: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for "No Country for Old Men"
· Julian Schnabel for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
· Jason Reitman for "Juno"
· Tony Gilroy for "Michael Clayton"
· Paul Thomas Anderson for "There Will Be Blood"

Adapted Screenplay
WINNER: "No Country for Old Men" by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
· "Atonement" by Christopher Hampton
· "Away From Her" by Sarah Polley
· "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" by Ronald Harwood
· "There Will Be Blood" by Paul Thomas Anderson

Original Screenplay
WINNER: "Juno" by Diablo Cody
· "Lars and the Real Girl" by Nancy Oliver
· "Michael Clayton" by Tony Gilroy
· "Ratatouille" by Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco
· "The Savages" by Tamara Jenkins

Achievement In Music Written For Motion Pictures (Original Song)
WINNER: Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova for "Falling Slowly" from "Once"
· Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz for "Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted"
· Jamal Joseph, Charles Mack and Tevin Thomas for "Raise It Up" from "August Rush"
· Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz for "So Close" from "Enchanted"
· Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz for "That's How You Know" from "Enchanted"

Achievement In Music Written For Motion Pictures (Original Score)
WINNER: Dario Marianelli for "Atonement"
· Alberto Iglesias for "The Kite Runner"
· James Newton Howard for "Michael Clayton"
· Michael Giacchino for "Ratatouille"
· Marco Beltrami for "3:10 to Yuma"

Achievement In Cinematography
WINNER: Robert Elswit for "There Will Be Blood"
· Roger Deakins for "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
· Seamus McGarvey for "Atonement"
· Janusz Kaminski for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
· Roger Deakins for "No Country for Old Men"

Achievement In Film Editing
WINNER: Christopher Rouse for "The Bourne Ultimatum"
· Juliette Welfling for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
· Jay Cassidy for "Into the Wild"
· Roderick Jaynes for "No Country for Old Men"
· Dylan Tichenor for "There Will Be Blood"

Achievement In Costume Design
WINNER: Alexandra Byrne for "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
· Albert Wolsky for "Across the Universe"
· Jacqueline Durran for "Atonement"
· Marit Allen for "La Vie en Rose"
· Colleen Atwood for "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"

Achievement In Art Direction
WINNER: Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo for "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
· Arthur Max and Beth A. Rubino for "American Gangster"
· Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer for "Atonement"
· Dennis Gassner and Anna Pinnock for "The Golden Compass"
· Jack Fisk and Jim Erickson for "There Will Be Blood"

Best Animated Feature Film
WINNER: "Ratatouille"
· "Persepolis"
· "Surf's Up"

Best Animated Short Film
WINNER: "Peter & the Wolf"
· "I Met the Walrus"
· "Madame Tutli-Putli"
· "Même les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)"
· "My Love (Moya Lyubov)"

Best Live Action Short Film
WINNER: "Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)"
· "At Night"
· "Il Supplente (The Substitute)"
· "Tanghi Argentini"
· "The Tonto Woman"

Best Documentary Feature
WINNER: "Taxi to the Dark Side"
· "No End in Sight"
· "Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience"
· "Sicko"
· "War/Dance"

Best Documentary Short Subject
WINNER: "Freeheld"
· "La Corona (The Crown)"
· "Salim Baba"
· "Sari's Mother"

Best Foreign Language Film
WINNER: "The Counterfeiters" (Austria)
· "Beaufort" (Israel)
· "Katyn" (Poland)
· "Mongol" (Kazakhstan)
· "12" (Russia)

Achievement In Visual Effects
WINNER: Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood for "The Golden Compass"
· John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier for "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"
· Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier for "Transformers"

Achievement In Makeup
WINNER: Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald for "La Vie en Rose"
· Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji for "Norbit"
· Ve Neill and Martin Samuel for "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"

Achievement In Sound Editing
WINNER: Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg for "The Bourne Ultimatum"
· Skip Lievsay for "No Country for Old Men"
· Randy Thom and Michael Silvers for "Ratatouille"
· Christopher Scarabosio and Matthew Wood for "There Will Be Blood"
· Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins for "Transformers"

Achievement In Sound Mixing
WINNER: Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis for "The Bourne Ultimatum"
· Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland for "No Country for Old Men"
· Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kanefor "Ratatouille"
· Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe for "3:10 to Yuma"
· Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin for "Transformers"

Academy Award nominations for 2007

Here's the full list of Academy Award nominees for 2007. Take a deep breath!

Performance by an actor in a leading role
George Clooney in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
(DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Tommy Lee Jones in “In the Valley of Elah” (Warner Independent)
Viggo Mortensen in “Eastern Promises” (Focus Features)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Casey Affleck in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.)
Javier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Charlie Wilson’s War” (Universal)
Hal Holbrook in “Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment)
Tom Wilkinson in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal)
Julie Christie in “Away from Her” (Lionsgate)
Marion Cotillard in “La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse)
Laura Linney in “The Savages” (Fox Searchlight)
Ellen Page in “Juno” (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Cate Blanchett in “I’m Not There” (The Weinstein Company)
Ruby Dee in “American Gangster” (Universal)
Saoirse Ronan in “Atonement” (Focus Features)
Amy Ryan in “Gone Baby Gone” (Miramax)
Tilda Swinton in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

Best animated feature film of the year
“Persepolis” (Sony Pictures Classics) Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Brad Bird
“Surf's Up” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

Achievement in art direction
“American Gangster” (Universal)
Art Direction: Arthur Max
Set Decoration: Beth A. Rubino
“Atonement” (Focus Features)
Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood
Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
“The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners)
Art Direction: Dennis Gassner
Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Art Direction: Dante Ferretti
Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Art Direction: Jack Fisk
Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Achievement in cinematography
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.) Roger Deakins
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Seamus McGarvey
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Janusz Kaminski
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roger Deakins
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Robert Elswit

Achievement in costume design
“Across the Universe” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Albert Wolsky
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Jacqueline Durran
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal) Alexandra Byrne
“La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Marit Allen
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount) Colleen Atwood

Achievement in directing
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Julian Schnabel
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight) Jason Reitman
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) Tony Gilroy
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Paul Thomas Anderson

Best documentary feature
“No End in Sight” (Magnolia Pictures)
A Representational Pictures Production
Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
“Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience” (The Documentary Group)
A Documentary Group Production
Richard E. Robbins
“Sicko” (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company)
A Dog Eat Dog Films Production
Michael Moore and Meghan O’Hara
“Taxi to the Dark Side” (THINKFilm)
An X-Ray Production
Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
“War/Dance” (THINKFilm)
A Shine Global and Fine Films Production
Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine

Best documentary short subject
“Freeheld”
A Lieutenant Films Production
Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth
“La Corona (The Crown)”
A Runaway Films and Vega Films Production
Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega
“Salim Baba”
A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke Production
Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello
“Sari’s Mother” (Cinema Guild)
A Daylight Factory Production
James Longley

Achievement in film editing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal) Christopher Rouse
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Juliette Welfling
“Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment) Jay Cassidy
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roderick Jaynes
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Dylan Tichenor

Best foreign language film of the year
“Beaufort” A Metro Communications, Movie Plus Production
Israel
“The Counterfeiters” An Aichholzer Filmproduktion, Magnolia Filmproduktion Production
Austria
“Katyń” An Akson Studio Production
Poland
“Mongol” A Eurasia Film Production
Kazakhstan
“12” A Three T Production
Russia

Achievement in makeup
“La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
“Norbit” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount) Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (Walt Disney) Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli
“The Kite Runner” (DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Participant Productions, Distributed by Paramount Classics) Alberto Iglesias
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) James Newton Howard
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino
“3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Falling Slowly” from “Once”
(Fox Searchlight)
Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
“Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney)
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“Raise It Up” from “August Rush”
(Warner Bros.)
Nominees to be determined
“So Close” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney)
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney)
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

Best motion picture of the year
“Atonement” (Focus Features)
A Working Title Production
Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster, Producers
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight)
A Dancing Elk Pictures, LLC Production
Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith, Producers
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
A Clayton Productions, LLC Production
Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent, Producers
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production
Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
A JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production
JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, Producers

Best animated short film
“I Met the Walrus”
A Kids & Explosions Production
Josh Raskin
“Madame Tutli-Putli” (National Film Board of Canada)
A National Film Board of Canada Production
Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
“Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)” (Premium Films)
A BUF Compagnie Production
Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse
“My Love (Moya Lyubov)” (Channel One Russia)
A Dago-Film Studio, Channel One Russia and Dentsu Tec Production
Alexander Petrov
“Peter & the Wolf” (BreakThru Films)
A BreakThru Films/Se-ma-for Studios Production
Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman

Best live action short film
“At Night”
A Zentropa Entertainments 10 Production
Christian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth
“Il Supplente (The Substitute)” (Sky Cinema Italia)
A Frame by Frame Italia Production
Andrea Jublin
“Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)” (Premium Films)
A Karé Production
Philippe Pollet-Villard
“Tanghi Argentini” (Premium Films)
An Another Dimension of an Idea Production
Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans
“The Tonto Woman”
A Knucklehead, Little Mo and Rose Hackney Barber Production
Daniel Barber and Matthew Brown

Achievement in sound editing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal)
Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Skip Lievsay
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney)
Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Matthew Wood
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)
Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins

Achievement in sound mixing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal)
Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney)
Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane
“3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate)
Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)
Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin

Achievement in visual effects
“The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners)
Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (Walt Disney)
John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier

Adapted screenplay
“Atonement” (Focus Features)
Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
“Away from Her” (Lionsgate)
Written by Sarah Polley
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn)
Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

Original screenplay
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight)
Written by Diablo Cody
“Lars and the Real Girl” (MGM)
Written by Nancy Oliver
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
Written by Tony Gilroy
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney)
Screenplay by Brad Bird
Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
“The Savages” (Fox Searchlight)
Written by Tamara Jenkins

So, who's gonna win? I'd guess Daniel Day Lewis as best actor. He's the only foreigner in his category and, on past record, they tend to give it to the odd man out so against those four Americans the foreigner is gonna win. Plus, it's his fourth nomination and the Academy is easily impressed by his style of committed acting.

Best actress has to be the wonderful Julie Christie. It's her fourth nomination (she last won in 1965 for Darling!) and you're not gonna hear anyone say a bad word about her. She's not a Hollywood type but she's still super popular and admired. You always hear how no one writes good leading roles for women over a certain age. Well, Sarah Polley did so the Academy is not going to be able to resist this rarely seen sixty-six year old at her best.

As for supporting actors, Javier Bardem or Tom Wilkinson are the two foreigners so I reckon it'll be one of them, probably Bardem. For supporting actress I reckon that Cate Blanchett's got the best chance. She hits several different buttons: she's foreign; she's also nominated for best actress so a supporting actress win would be consolation if she doesn't get that; she's a previous winner; she plays a man, none other than Bob Dylan! She's a terrific actress whatever she's in.

I reckon that best director ought to go to Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. Hell, it's about time these two won it. Oh, and best picture should also be No Country for Old Men. Check back next week and see how wrong I am!

Nicholas Cage and Justin Bartha in National Treasure

My sister had dropped off a DVD for me to watch a few weeks ago and I never got around to watching it, so after regular pestering and with plenty of time to kill over Easter, I decided to finally watch National Treasure. Have you seen it? If you haven't, imagine something like the Da Vinci Code, only much much worse. Seriously, how many bad films is Nic Cage going to make? It's about time the The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences demanded their Oscar back. I think Nic and Halle Berry must be in competition.

The only redeeming feature of the film is the appearance of the swoony Justin Bartha. This guy is so cute and I love his nerdy, geeky quality in the film. Shame that so much time is taken up with close ups of wooden Nic Cage. Mr Cage, the Academy would like a word with you..

Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven and the Magic Hour

Terrence Malick's 1978 film Days of Heaven was on television this evening so I watched it again. I first saw this excellent film about 15 years ago at the Everyman Cinema in London on a double bill with his other famous film Badlands. Days of Heaven is a romantic melodrama starring a young Sam Shepherd, Richard Gere and Brooke Adams but it's not the story that makes this film remarkable, it's the extraordinary look of the film. The Academy Award winning Director of Photography was Nestor Almendros who shot the film almost entirely at magic hour, at sunrise and just before sunset, when the light is suffused with pink and gold. The result is one of the most ravishing looking and unique films ever, with a superb soundtrack by Ennio Morricone.



Nestor Almendros wrote a book called Man With a Camera in 1984 and in this book he goes into detail how he shot the film, it's a fascinating read and well worth tracking down even if you only have a passing interest in photography. Instead of giving the actors the standard movie-star illumination, Malick and Almendros chose a slightly underexposed, painterly look. Even when forced to film at midday, they devised a method of compensating for bright midday light. "Traditionally, cinematographers solve this problem by filling up the shaded area with arc lights,'' Almendros wrote in his book "(We) thought it would be better to expose for the shade, which would make the sky come out overexposed . . . and not at all blue.'' Malick didn't like a blue sky, Almendros wrote, "which is understandable when it makes landscapes look like . . . vulgar travel brochures.''



If you've never seen this film, hopefully the images here will give you some idea of the pictorial beauty of this film and encourage you to seek it out.

2007 Academy Awards nominations

Best motion picture of the year
BABEL
THE DEPARTED
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
THE QUEEN

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Leonardo DiCaprio - BLOOD DIAMOND
Ryan Gosling - HALF NELSON
Peter O'Toole - VENUS
Will Smith - THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
Forest Whitaker - THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Alan Arkin - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Jackie Earle Haley - LITTLE CHILDREN
Djimon Hounsou - BLOOD DIAMOND
Eddie Murphy - DREAMGIRLS
Mark Wahlberg - THE DEPARTED

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Penélope Cruz - VOLVER
Judi Dench - NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Helen Mirren - THE QUEEN
Meryl Streep - THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
Kate Winslet - LITTLE CHILDREN

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Adriana Barraza - BABEL
Cate Blanchett - NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Abigail Breslin - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Jennifer Hudson - DREAMGIRLS
Rinko Kikuchi - BABEL

Best foreign language film of the year
AFTER THE WEDDING
DAYS OF GLORY (INDIGÈNES)
THE LIVES OF OTHERS
PAN'S LABYRINTH
WATER

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
BABEL
THE GOOD GERMAN
NOTES ON A SCANDAL
PAN'S LABYRINTH
THE QUEEN

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
"I Need to Wake Up" - AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
"Listen" - DREAMGIRLS
"Love You I Do" - DREAMGIRLS
"Our Town" - CARS
"Patience" - DREAMGIRLS

Adapted screenplay
BORAT CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN
CHILDREN OF MEN
THE DEPARTED
LITTLE CHILDREN
NOTES ON A SCANDAL

Original screenplay
BABEL
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
PAN'S LABYRINTH
THE QUEEN

Achievement in directing
BABEL
THE DEPARTED
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
THE QUEEN
UNITED 93

Dame Helen Mirren

Helen Mirren won the Academy Award for Best Actress! She said in her brief speech: "All kids love to get gold stars and this is the best gold star I’ve had in my whole life. I want to share my gold star with all my fellow nominees." Yeah right, sure she wants to share.. She wants to share the news that she's better than the rest of 'em!

I love her, a great actess who isn't afraid of ageing and it was cool to see her allegedy unworked face, wrinkles and all, in contrast with all those US actresses with their frozen, sweaty, expressionless faces. I dunno though, her eyes do suddenly look a little different, a bit "pulled", but her faces sure does have plenty of "character lines". Maybe she'll inspire some other good actresses to lay off the botox and brow lifts.. I'm looking at you Nicole Kidman!

Vanessa again

A reader emailed me with another photo of beautiful actress, Vanessa Redgrave. This one was taken in 1967 when she was filming "Camelot" and was later used to advertise "Isadora".

Dame Helen Mirren

Ever seen this film? This picture has been doing the rounds lately and it's from Michael Powell's last film, "Age of Consent", filmed in Australia in 1969 starring James Mason and Helen Mirren in her first film role.

We all know she's probably gonna win the Oscar for Best Actress on Sunday. Word is that she's wearing LaCroix, let's hope she gets the approval of Joan Rivers! At least Joan won't be asking Dame Helen, "Who are you?"