The 78th Annual Academy Awards: Winners List on Page 7

[polkablues]

Hooray for Altman's Honorary Oscar.

He's going to lose it to Milos Forman in a stunning upset.

[MacGuffin]

Cleaned-up rap song about pimp among Oscar nominees

In a departure from past Oscar shows featuring syrupy Disney tunes and soundtrack ballads, this year's telecast will give audiences country music, alternative rock and a super-sanitized version of a racy rap song.

The song, called "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp," is from the movie "Hustle & Flow," the story of a pimp who aspires to a singing career. In the Oscars' first performance by a rap group, the group Three 6 Mafia will perform the song, one of three nominated in the best original song category, at the March 5 Academy Awards ceremony.

The pimp movie won't be the only aspect of the Oscars show that could make social conservatives cringe. The gay-themed cowboy movie "Brokeback Mountain" leads the nominee pack and the show is being hosted by Jon Stewart, who fills his news satire "Daily Show" on the Comedy Central cable channel with George W. Bush jokes.

"The Academy (of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences) is really to be commended," said Aaron Rosenberg, lawyer for Three 6 Mafia. "It's admirable that voters are recognizing the hip-hop generation and its influence on American culture."

While rapper Eminem won the best song Oscar in 2003 for "Lose Yourself" from the film "8 Mile," he skipped the ceremony and the song was not performed.

With decency concerns in high gear in the aftermath of the notorious baring of Janet Jackson's breast during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, Three 6 Mafia worked to make their lyrics meet ABC's broadcast standards.

"We took out all the cuss words and made it squeaky clean," rapper Paul "DJ Paul" Beauregard, who co-wrote the song with Jordan "Juicy J" Houston and Cedric "Frayser Boy" Coleman, said in a telephone interview.

The writers substituted new lyrics where necessary in the song, which portrays the life of a hustler in the inner city of their hometown, Memphis, Tennessee.

'FCC friendly'

For instance, Beauregard said they substituted "It's messed up where I live but that's just how it is," for the lyrics: "It's f---ed up where I live but that's just how it is."

"The song will be FCC friendly," Rosenberg said.

Just in case, ABC is also expected to use a five-second delay to aid network censors.

While Beauregard is thrilled with the chance to perform during the Oscars, he sees a double standard in the media.

"Some stuff should definitely not be heard by younger kids but what they're able to watch on television, like people stealing cars, is sometimes a lot worse than what we're singing about," he said.

Also competing for the original song Oscar will be Dolly Parton's country song, "Travelin' Thru," from "Transamerica," a road-trip film about a man undergoing a sex change.

Parton did not perform live when she was nominated in 1981 for her title song "Nine to Five." Instead, producers played a snippet of the tune.

The third contender is alternative rock trance song "In the Deep" from the film, "Crash," an explosive drama about racial tensions. It will be performed by Kathleen "Bird" York, who co-wrote it with Michael Becker.

Having the songwriters perform their own songs marks a change from last year, when the Academy tapped singers other than the songwriters, like Beyonce and Antonio Banderas, to perform the nominated songs.

"The great victory is that I'm going to be able to reach a lot of people with music that's very close to the bone," said York, who also is an actress with a recurring role on television's "West Wing." "I did not write an obvious crowd pleaser or a radio hit."

[matt35mm]

At first I figured Jon Stewart was a cool choice, because he's Jon Stewart.  But now that I see him in these print ads for the Oscars... he seems so out of place.  I think it was the picture of him holding an Oscar that did it.  It looked as if he, too, wondered why he was holding an Oscar.

I had forgotten when the Oscars was on, and then after midnight today, thought that it may have been last night.  I have no sense of the days anymore.  Each day is literally a surprise (i.e. "It's Monday!?!?")

Finally, Roger Ebert has a particularly poor sense of Oscar buzz.  He accompanies his odd predictions with ridiculous reasoning.  He's not crazy for predicting Crash as the BP winner, but some of his other predictions are pretty out there.

Anyway, this was a completely meaningless post.

[Alexandro]

"I would love to see Robert Altman take the stage at the Oscars next Sunday and give this speech: 'I thank Hollywood and The Academy for absolutely nothing, and I dedicate this award to Ingmar Bergman, Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, Akira Kurosawa, Orson Welles and Frederico Fellini -- all of whom, like myself, succeeded primarily outside the Hollywood circle, and have never been recognized by the Academy for any achievement whatsoever.' Then he would leave the Oscar on the podium as he walks off the stage." -- a reader identified as "III Rathbun." (In fact, Welles shared the Best Original Screenplay Oscar with Herman J. Mankiewicz for Citizen Kane, and Kubrick won a Best Visual Effects Oscar in '69 for 2001: A Space Odyssey. And Fellini and Kurosawa did won a few of those on the foreign language category.)

www.hollywood-elsewhere.com

[matt35mm]

"Then he would leave the Oscar on the podium as he walks wheels off the stage."

[MacGuffin]

"Then he would leave the Oscar on the podium as he PTA walks wheels him off the stage."

[hedwig]

"Then he would leave the Oscar on the podium as he PTA walks wheels  props him up 'Weekend at Bernie's-style and then carefully drags him off the stage."

[MacGuffin]

Oscars viewers to hear word "bitches" in song

There will be no F-word but the word "bitches" will be heard during the first-ever rap performance at the Academy Awards on Sunday.

At the request of the Academy and ABC, which is broadcasting the Oscars show, the authors of best song nominee "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from the film "Hustle & Flow" have substituted less offensive words for the song's profanity-laced lyrics.

"As long as the Academy approves it, it's cool," said rapper Jordan "Juicy J" Houston, a member of Three 6 Mafia, which wrote the song for the film and will be performing it.

But he said he was told by actress Taraji P. Henson, who performed the song in the film, and will sing onstage with Three 6 Mafia, that the show's producers were letting her keep the word "bitches," in the chorus. "Taraji said the Academy told her she can say 'bitches,"' said Houston.

A spokesman for Gil Cates, the producer of the Oscars telecast, confirmed that the word "bitches" was not one of the words changed by the nominated artists.

In another flap over lyrics a few years ago, actor-comedian Robin Williams performed a cleaned-up version of "Blame Canada" the off-color, Oscar-nominated song from the animated "South Park" movie during the Oscars telecast, replacing the f-word with a lesser f-word that means an expulsion of intestinal gas.

After being asked to perform the pimp song at the 78th Academy Awards, Houston, along with fellow songwriters, Paul "DJ Paul" Beauregard and Cedric "Frayser Boy" Coleman, combed through the tune, line by line, substituting various words to make the lyrics meet ABC's broadcast standards.

The song portrays the life of a hustler in the inner city of Three 6 Mafia's home town, Memphis, Tennessee,

"We know there will be children watching and we want it to be family-friendly," Houston told Reuters.

While rapper Eminem won the best song Oscar in 2003 for "Lose Yourself" from the film "8 Mile," he skipped the ceremony and the song was not performed.

Some industry analysts have suggested the Academy is hoping to reach a younger demographic by putting rap on the show.

Aaron Rosenberg, lawyer for Three 6 Mafia, said it was a milestone for the Academy to recognize hip-hop's influence on American culture and the group is extremely sensitive to decency concerns after the baring of Janet Jackson's breast during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show.

"They worked hard to clean it up as much as possible without compromising their artistic integrity," he said.

Just in case, ABC is also expected to use a five-second delay to aid network censors.

[MacGuffin]

THE OSCARCAST is virtually TiVo-proof. If you don't watch it live, what's the point? It's also largely devoid of product placement, thanks to a series of restrictions the Academy imposes on ABC.

There are no advertising logos permitted around the entrance to the Kodak Theater or onstage. It's what advertisers call a "clean venue."

And there are no ads featuring either nominated or presenting talent. In other words, there will be no Nicole Kidman spots for Chanel No. 5. (There will, however, be an unusual two-minute American Express ad directed by and starring M. Night Shyamalan.)

Movie ads are off-limits, too. In contrast to the Super Bowl, which has become a virtual trailer reel of coming attractions, ABC isn't permitted to air any movie plugs during the telecast.

The rationale for this, according to the Acad's exec administrator, Ric Robertson, is to prevent the appearance of a conflict of interest that might arise if, say, Universal swept the Oscars and also advertised several of its films on the telecast.

"That the integrity of the vote is removed from any commercial interests of the Academy is a very important concept," he said.

Think of it as the Hollywood equivalent of the federal election law that prevents you from posting campaign signs within 200 feet of a polling place -- a reasonable enough policy when you compare the Oscarcast with the Super Bowl, in which even the coincoin toss is brought to you by Cingular or Pepsi.

[Bethie]

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[Thrindle]

Tonight's the night... Oscar party at my place...  (so excited I can hardly wait!) 

Brokeback Mountain is going to win Best Picture...   

[Derek237]

I've had a couple of weeks to think everything over, and I have some last minute predictions and preferences I'd like to share.

Some years, a film may be nominated and I'd be like, "eh, it was good, don't really see why it was put above certain others," etc., but this year I have no complaints. I would love to even have a 5-way tie for the first time in Oscar history. But maybe that's asking too much. I've seen all of the nominated best pictures, I've seen many other nominees (I sucked in the Best Actress category though), so I think I can make some educated guesses here. So, here are my "official" predictions, as well my own preferences:


Best Picture

This is a difficult category, since, as I mentioned, every film was absolutely exceptional. The two front contenders are, seemingly, Brokeback Mountain and Crash. BBM has generated an enormous amount of buzz over the past few months, mostly gay cowboy jokes, and has gone on to win the Golden Globe and BAFTA awards for best picture. Crash's buzz, however, has been more subtle, and consistent since its summer release. It's the film everyone's talking about, as apposed to Brokeback, which is the film everyone's yelling about. All logistics tell me that Brokeback will win. It only seems...well, logical, right?

However, there's also my gut feeling, which tells me something differently. I call into play "The Silence of the Lambs Factor." It is extremely rare for a movie to be on video and win a best picture Oscar. It was very popular on video and came as quite the unexpected winner, when the odds seemed to be on Bugsy (it won the Golden Globe). But now we have the age of DVD. Could a big DVD hit win? They tested this out with SeaBisquit in 2003, which, despite mediocre box-office performance, became a DVD hit and garnered several Academy Award noms, including Best Picture. Now could very well be the time that a DVD success actually wins.

Many people say that Brokeback Mountain is a lock and that you'd have to be an idiot not to see that, but I say no, hold on a second, it could be closer than you think. In my mind, it's a neck and neck race. I loved the other 3 pictures, but Good Night and Good Luck and Capote's victories are already in the nominations, and the Academy wanted to recognize Munich since, out of the 5, it will probably be the only film to be remembered in 20 years to be a truly signifcant film (IMO).

Basically, this is a battle between logistics and gut feelings for me, but I think I'd put my money on the wild card, and go with my gut feeling. I know it sounds ridiculous, and I'd prefer- basically- every other movie to win, and I know Crash isn't exactly loved on this board, but like Laurence Tierney in Reservoir Dogs, how can you argue with a gut feeling?

PREDITCION: Crash (though obviously it would be an insanely close call)

PREFERENCE:  Good Night, and Good Luck; I'd also be happy with Capote though.


Best Actor in a Leading Role

Okay, this one is safe to call a lock. The Academy likes to pull surpises off every now and then, like when Adrien Brody won over the favourites Jack Nicholson and Daniel Day-Lewis in 2002. This is not one of those years. If Phillip Seymour Hoffman does not win for his portrayal of Truman Capote it will be just an awful, obvious mistake. Like if Marlon Brando didn't win for The Godfather, or even Charlize Theron for Monster. This is PSH's best work in a vastly underappreciated career (full of mostly supporting roles), and this will be his year.

PREDICTION: Phillip Seymour Hoffman

PREFERENCE: Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Best Actress in a Leading Role

This is the hard one for me. I've only seen one of the 5 performances: Reese Witherspoon in Walk The Line. And, while it was good, it didn't blow me away. I have to guess from buzz on this one. Basically, it's a race between Reese for WTL and Felicity Huffman for Transamerica. Reese's movie is a theatrical and DVD smash hit. Transamerica will be lucky to play in art houses. While the academy has a history of honoring performances by actresses who downplay their beauty (Charlize Theron in Monster, Hilary Swank in Boys Don't Cry, etc.), but I think this year they'll give it to Reese. Not only cause they want to honor a "glamourous, beautiful actress" performance, and not only because Reese is the new America's sweet heart Julia Roberts type, but because Walk The line should be honored with something, and although Jaquin's performance is superior to Reese's, he has a very very slim chance of winning.

PREDICTION: Reese Witherspoon

PREFERENCE: none

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

This is the year's category that seems to be the most uncertain among people. I'd say it's a race between Clooney, Dillon, and Gyllenhaal. Many people say Paul Giamatti will win, but I think those people are delluded. If they only predict that on the logic that he has been snubbed over and over and simply deserves it on principle, they are not paying much attention. In my mind, the winner has always been clear, in deserving the award and the probability of taking it home: that person is George Clooney. I have a feeling that Good Night, and Good Luck will be totally snubbed this year, so in a way, this is Clooney's compensation. I've made my peace with the fact that he should have been nominated for a lead role, and I honestly feel his is the best performance of the 5 nominees. Jake won the BAFTA, but it's not his time, and while I feel that Matt Dillon could win over Clooney, it wouldn't be fair to the rest of the cast of Crash to single of one of many great performances. Syriana has many great performances, but Clooney deserves to be singled out, because I can honestly say he was the best in the movie. Crash, everyone was great. So Clooney for me, but don't dismiss Dillon. He might snag it.

PREDICTION: George Clooney (though Dillon would be the upset)

PREFERENCE: George Clooney

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Apparently Amy Adams is getting raves for her work in Junebug, but I can't really comment since I have not seen it. I've heard the Constant Gardener was a great movie that was snubbed, but I haven't seen that either. I do think, though, that Rachel Weisz will win in this category because, like Witherspoon, she'll represent a movie that was unfairly left out. Plus, I love Weisz anyway, so there's that. However, I have to say that I'm ultimately keener on Keener. Behind every great man is a great woman, and behind Hoffman's brilliant performance in Capote, there is Catherine Keener's performance. She plays off Hoffman very well, playing a person with far less eccentricities. It is a graceful, natural performance as a good person that is genuinely concerned for her friend. I don't think it's likely that she'll win, seeing has Adams would be the dark horse in the race, but it she is my personal prefence.

PREDICTION: Rachel Weisz 

PREFERENCE: Catherine Keener

Best Director

Even more than PHS, Ang Lee is a lock for best direcor. No questions asked. He won the Directors Guild Award, which is basically an Oscar garantee. Added to the fact that he was nominated and lost in the past for directing Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, there's virtually no chance for a loss.

PREDICTION: Ang Lee

PREFERENCE: George Clooney


Other categories, my predictions:


Original Screenplay: Crash (though I'm rooting for GNAGL)

Adapted Screenplay: Brokeback Mountain (if there is a surprise upset, by any unlikely chance, it would be A History of Violence)

Cinematography: The New World (seeing that many feel this was snubbed in every other category possible....NOTE: if BBM wins this, I will immediately dismiss my Crash theory and declare BBM to be a lock)

Editing: Crash

Art Direction: King Kong

Costume Design: Memoirs of a Giesha

Original Score: Brokeback Mountain ( I never tire of that gentle guitar riff, lol)

Orginal Song: Transamerica (Dolly's due)

Makeup: Narnia (but it might go to Star Wars for one final sympathy award)

Sound: King Kong

Sound Editing: War of the Worlds

Visual Effects: Narnia, just kidding- King Kong of course.

Animated Feature: Corpse Bride (let Tim Burton win something for once!)

and the rest I can't really comment on...


So basically I think Crash will end up winning with 3 or 4 Oscars to take home, or it will be Brokeback Mountain with 4 or 5. It's not a landslide kind of year, seeing as there were so many great films that they cancelled each other out.

[Pozer]

Brokeback Mountain is going to win Best Picture...   

But if for some God for saken reason Crash wins, we either:
A. Plot to kill ourselves together
B. Give up on the Oscars entirely
C. Plot to kill Roger Ebert
or
D. Plot to kill ban that dude Crash just for having the name Crash

[Redlum]

Crash winning best picture could ruin my Oscar party, if I'm still awake by then.

Shall be toasting if and when Clooney gets an award but most excited about Jon Stewart. I wonder if there's a chance of an over-blown opening musical number.

Enjoy the show everyone.

[Thrindle]

I'm so fucking sick of everyone I meet saying, "My god, Crash was AMAZING, it was the best movie ever, everyone should see Crash, it was so deep, everyone is racist, can you believe that?"

Crash is not an option at this point.  I tried to argue why it was a shitty movie, I almost got blacklisted from my class. 

Brokeback has to win.  Please let it be so.