My Shot At Getting Into The Academy: Oscars 2013

I blog once or twice a year. Not the most dependable of internet writers, I know. And it's ok, I can take it. Though my track record is a bit sketchy in this department, there is one thing you can always count on from me (whether you like it or not) - a good piece of Oscar.

The big night is upon us (well, almost) and the time has come again for me to bestow my movie brilliance. Let's get real people, it's about time the Academy just let me in already. 

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis 

DDL has this in the bag. No questions asked. Actually, I do have a question concerning Denzel Washington's nomination in this category. The dude admitted to preparing for the role by watching drunk people YouTube videos. Wow, captivating. These sort of antics did make their way into the film, but then again most of us can act like raving, inebriated lunatics as well. I'll post of a video right now if you'd like Academy. Just overnight my Oscar next week, thanks.

Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence 

I saw "Silver Linings Playbook," I LOVED it. I loved Bradley, I loved Deniro, I loved the subservient/feisty mom (interesting dichotomy to pull off, Jakie Weaver), the tense/angry friend and his controlling wife (Julia Stiles) and most of all, I loved J. Law. Then I saw "Zero Dark Thirty". I really liked Jessica Chastain. The depth and dedication (pointedly the sequence of writing the number of days passing by after the Bin Laden compound had been discovered and nothing had been done about it) of her performance is moving. And just like she brought the big guy down, I thought the beloved golden statutte might find a similar fate. I've since seen the light and placed my bet with Miss Lawrence. Chastain is multi-talented (nominated just last year for "The Help" in a strikingly different role) and will be invited back to the Oscar stage again. My guess is that youth will win out in this case (not the ultimate youth, being the 9 year old, Wallis), that is if we can keep the foreign force at bay - Amour is still a legitimate threat.

Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones 

Tommy Lee Jones took the seriousness of his "Lincoln" character to an entirely new depth at the Golden Globes. I think he deserves an Oscar for that performance alone. Yet, Christophe Waltz is a bit of a darling in the Academy's eyes and may take home his second statue (previously winning this exact award for his work with Tarantino in "Inglorious Basterds") on Sunday. I have to admit, I wouldn't be opposed to an out of left field Deniro win either, just sayin'.

Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway 

This one has Anne Hathaway's name all over it (preferably spelled correctly, thanks Critics' Choice!). Though Les Mis left me wanting more and aside from the fact that I would love to see Sally Field take the stage again (this time for her brave and insightful portrayal of Mary Todd Lincoln), I think it's time for the Princess of Genovia to take her coveted and well sought after ("Rachel Getting Married" and "Love and Other Drugs" anyone?) crown.

So, that's that. As before mentioned on this blog, I'm not obsessed, I'm just an opinionated movie nerd (who likes to believe she knows a thing or two about modern day cinema). Tune in tonight to see if I'm right! 

P.S. Seth Macfarlane, good luck topping this...

 

The Academy proves me wrong, Oprah's Book Club Fight Club is born and Taylor just keeps getting classier

Let me start by saying I was wrong. Go ahead, rub it in my face. I was wrong, I have no idea what I’m talking about, blah, blah, blah. Now let me tell you how absolutely thrilled I am to be wrong! When faced with adversity (in real life and in my less important entertainment-based investments) I try to always stay optimistic. But when the going gets tough, I’m a realist at heart (I was lightly perspiring as Colin Firth took the stage). Sure Meryl won the Golden Globe (which was a complete shock to me, even though I was rooting for her all along), but I thought Viola had this one in the bag. And so did a lot of other people. The thing is I don’t even care that I was wrong. I’m over the moon for Meryl, I just hope she doesn’t use this award as a silent, slow segue out of the business.

An Oscar Tribute to Meryl (even though Viola will win)

I've been meaning to write this post ever since the Academy Award nominations were announced. But I think I was destined to wait until now. Last weekend I had a Miss Congeniality-like moment (and those don't happen often, so this was a big deal!)while watching my recording of Oprah's Oscar Special on OWN (everyone watch, especially if you have Nielsen cable boxes!). The O was interviewing Viola Davis (who else would she be interviewing this awards season? And yes, she stayed consistent to the race card when she talked with Octavia Spencer as well) when the moment occurred. In the middle of Viola's sentence I caught myself slipping into a Cheryl from Rhode Island-like stream of consciousness when I thought to myself, "She's so kind and smart (and important), she's definitely gonna win."

This is outdated, I know - The Oscars, A future Oscar winner prediction and current happenings

Hey there, I'm back. I know, you're shocked. It only took me three weeks to write a second blog post. In my defense, I wrote the majority of this post on March 4, a mere two days after my blog debut. At that point I was only a few days late on my Oscar wrap up, now I'm beating a dead horse. I even watched "Julie & Julia" during my hiatus, hoping to inspire myself to make this a routine. Instead of spurring my blog ambitions it only added to my excitement over this...

 Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady" 

I digress, but I'm not obsessed. I'll explain this a bit more later. So what can I say, I got distracted. That, and I need to get internet at my apartment. Nevertheless, let's jump in. As I promised at the end of the last post, first I'm going to give my 411 on the Oscars.

THE OSCARS

I never like to say, "I told you so," but I was rather worried about this hosting match up from the get go. I even tweeted about it, check it out if you don't believe me. Not that they aren't notable actors, I fell for James Franco in his Harry Osbourne Spider-Man days and I've admired most of Anne Hathaway's role choices - primarily in "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Rachel Getting Married", but they just aren't Oscar host material. By the way, if you are trying to jazz things up (aka: target a younger demographic) and make the show young and hip don't reference the show outright as young and hip. Just a pointer. Anyway, the duo were no Martin and Baldwin, but I don't think they deserve the bad press they are getting. Anne was fun (a bit too much at times) and James was, well, apathetic.

It was disappointing that the highlight of the night came near the beginning of the show.

 Beginning with Kirk Douglas and his entrance, cane and all. Presenting best actress in a supporting role, envelope open in hand, delaying the inevitable, Kirk was distracted by anything and everything. Finally he announced the winner, Melissa Leo. I loved "The Fighter" (though Christian Bale was the real stand out in the film) and she deserved the award. I was happy that rumors she was knocked out of the running due to personal admissions the industry didn't agree with turned out to be false. I'm glad talent won over politics. And, at the same time, she made Oscar history, henceforth known as Melissa "you know what" Leo.

Overall, the show was average. Nothing spectacular, in part due to the fact that all four front-runners took home top honors, which was deserved, just made for an anti-climatic show. And if it was up to me, I'd have James and Anne give it another try in 30 or 40 years. Try a young and hip Oscars then. Now, on to other things...

The Meryl Effect 

There was an obvious gaping hole at the show on Sunday. A seat was open that hasn't been left vacant at the Oscars in a string of years. Meryl's seat. Being nominated 16 time garners your own seat, don't you think? I bet the seat has a gold placard with her name on it. I guess this is where I should begin to explain my fascination with Meryl Streep.

In 2005, sometime around her 14th or 15th Oscar nomination, I started to take notice of this lady. "Prada" incited the full fledged exploration, but I had noticed her quiet yet powerful grace and attention demanding performances earlier, most likely in "The Hours". At the point of my recognition Meryl was about to break records in becoming the most nominated actress in the history of the Academy Awards. This struck me. Many talented people spend the better part of their lives making movies and never even get nominated once. Today, Meryl has won twice (not since 1982, I believe) and been nominated 16 times. Here's to hoping nomination number 17, already predicted to come about through "The Iron Lady" (I only have to wait till the end of the year to see it, joy!) will be the charm. It would be cool to see her win in my lifetime. Though I'm pulling for Meryl to win at least one more golden statuette, I'm fairly certain someone else in the family eventually will as well. Enter Mamie Gummer.

I know, the name in horrendous. That said, she is Meryl Streep's daughter and could possibly share the staggering acting ability. Who knew that was hereditary? Anyway, after missing Meryl's rise to fame, I've done my best to keep tabs on Miss Gummer. I'm merely interested, not obsessed, in discovering whether she will one day earn her own golden placard at the Kodak Theater. She's been in a few movies "Evening", "Stop/Loss" and "Taking Woodstock" but her stage work and now TV resume (repeat guest star on "The Good Wife" and ensemble character on "Off The Map" - which Ryan has predicted to soon be "off the air", hilarious that guy) has established her budding career.

I think she's pretty good and just might make it. Keep you eye on this one. Here's the catch, Mamie is not alone. Her little sister, Grace is also trying to get a break into the big time. She got a pretty decent chance too, the central lead on a little Teen Nick show called "Gigantic". I guess I'm behind the times because I don't remember there even being a Teen Nick channel when I watched Nickelodeon. There was Nick Jr. and regular Nick. I guess times change. Anyway, though I am not a teen, I found myself watching the show. Not due to Grace's alluring talent, for she doesn't have much, kinda missed out on that gene. I instead got pulled into the show thanks to the over the top teen romance and drama set in LA. I watch this show for one reason, to laugh. But my watching days are limited, as I've heard the show won't be coming back for an additional season. Too bad for Grace, time to get someone else who owes her mom a favor to give her a job.

Needless to say, the name will most likely prevail through one daughter, but not the other.

Well, I think that's enough ranting for now. Here are just a quick tidbits of info about current happenings:
1. As of now I am tied for 2nd place in my office NCAA Basketball Bracket Tournament
2. I bought a Vegas dress last week. It's black and FUCHSIA! I know, should be interesting. It's pretty and fun and I'm excited!
3. Lately I have not been able to say no to any entertainment related activity when has resulted in the following plans:
April - Vegas Trip - Celine and possibly Criss Angel or The Lion King
May - Wicked! The show is coming to Boise and I'm currently reading the book, weird!
June - You all know about this, Tim. :) Oh yeah, I got VIP Pit passes and am in the Pre-Party drawing! I will keep you posted on these developments.
July - Katy Perry and maybe just maybe Owl City in Utah.
September - TAYLOR in SLC, whenever tickets go on sale. SLC people hit me up if you know before me. Thanks!

That's all for now. Thanks for reading and caring about my crazed entertainment ramblings. Not sure what I will talk about next time, probably my new favorite TV show. The one I resisted and made fun of people for watching before I gave into the curious desire. Yeah, that's what we'll talk about next. Laters.