“How can we dance when our earth is turning,How do we sleep while our beds are burning”
- Beds are Burning, Midnight Oil (this song has nothing to do with anything, it just happens to be stuck in my head today…actually, it does tie into my Australian film weekend blurb, so all is well)

Results are in: I tied for first in my office Oscar nominee contest. And I am now the proud owner of a $5 gift certificate to Second Cup. Surprisingly, I didn’t tie with my former nemesis and I beat him by a Frances McDormand. Take that York film studies program! I actually tied with a random, but alls well that ends well.

Of course I’m sad because Ralph Fiennes didn’t get a nomination for The Constant Gardener and neither did Eric Bana for Munich. But here’s hoping they’ll both be in attendance so I can look at them on Oscar night. I cleaned up in the cinematography, art direction, and best actress/supporting categories but I had a harder time choosing the men based on grudges and unattractiveness factors. But I did call you, William Hurt. Kinda disappointed that Walk the Line isn’t a Best Picture contender, because it “coulda been a contender” in another year.

I also wish that Laura Linney and Jeff Daniels were recognized for Squid and the Whale. And I must say that I’ve never heard of the song “It’s hard Out here for a Pimp” but I’m sure that just like Hustle and Flow, I’ll hate it. And I’m surprised that Munich scored a Best Picture nod, not that I’m complaining. It’s one of those movies that has really grown on me, even though it had a lot of negative buzz in the beginning, especially about the ending. But I must say, it’s quickly becoming one of my favourite Spielberg films (not that there’s that much to choose from). And while it grows on me, I find that I like Brokeback Mountain less and less. I thought about going to see Match Point tonight, but I think I'll go home and watch Crash instead. Here’s hoping they bring back the interpretive dance numbers to film scores! Okay, not really.

And because everyone loves a list, here are the nominees for the uninformed:

BEST PICTURE
Brokeback Mountain - Focus Features
Capote - Sony Pictures Classics
Crash - Lions Gate
Good Night, & Good Luck - WIP
Munich – Universal
BEST DIRECTOR
George Clooney - Good Night, And Good Luck
Paul Haggis - Crash
Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain
Bennett Miller - Capote
Steven Spielberg - Munich
BEST ACTOR
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
Terrence Howard - Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix - Walk The Line
David Strathairn - Good Night, And Good Luck
BEST ACTRESS
Judi Dench - Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman - Transamerica
Keira Knightly - Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron - North Country
Reese Witherspoon - Walk The Line
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Matt Dillon - Crash
George Clooney - Syriana
Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt - A History of Violence
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams - Junebug
Catherine Keener - Capote
Frances McDormand - North Country
Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Match Point - Woody Allen
The Squid & The Whale - Noah Baumbach
Good Night AndGood Luck - George Clooney, Grant Heslov
Syriana - Stephen Gaghan
Crash - Paul Haggis, Robert Moresco
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Constant Gardener - Jeffrey Caine
Capote - Dan Futterman
Munich - Tony Kushner, Eric Roth
Brokeback Mountain - Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana
A History Of Violence - Josh Olson
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Don't Tell - Italy
Joyeux Noel - France
Paradise Now - Palestine
Sophie Scholl - Germany
Tsotsi - South Africa
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Darwin's Nightmare
Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room
March Of The Penguins
Murderball
Street Fight
ANIMATED FILM
Howl's Moving Casle
The Corpse Bride
Wallace & Gromit
ART DIRECTION
Good Night, And Good Luck.
Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire
King Kong
Memoirs Of A Geisha
Pride & Prejudice
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Batman Begins
Brokeback Mountain
Good Night, And Good Luck.
Memoirs Of A Geisha
The New World
COSTUME DESIGN
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
Memoirs Of A Geisha
Mrs. Henderson Presents
Pride & Prejudice
Walk The Line
DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
The Death Of Kevin Carter: Casualty Of The Bang Bang Club
God Sleeps In Rwanda
The Mushroom Club
A Note Of Triumph: The Golden Age Of Norman Corwin
FILM EDITING
Cinderella Man
The Constant Gardener
Crash
Munich
Walk The Line
MAKEUP
The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe
Cinderella Man
Star Wars: Episode 3 Revenge Of The Sith
MUSIC (SCORE)
Brokeback Mountain
The Constant Gardener
Memoirs Of A Geisha
Munich
Pride & Prejudice
MUSIC (SONG)
"In The Deep" From Crash
"It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" From Hustle & Flow
"Travelin' Thru" From Transamerica
SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
Badgered
The Moon And The Son: An Imagined Conversation
The Mysterious Geographic Explorations Of Jasper Morello
9
One Man Band
SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
Ausreisser (The Runaway)
Cashback
The Last Farm
Our Time Is Up
Six Shooter
SOUND EDITING
King Kong
Memoirs Of A Geisha
War Of The Worlds
SOUND MIXING
The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe
King Kong
Memoirs Of A Geisha
Walk The Line
War Of The Worlds
VISUAL EFFECTS
The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe
King Kong
War Of The Worlds

“The western desert lives and breathes”

And in a mildly related topic, it’s the Australian Film Weekend February 10-12th in Toronto. I wouldn’t mind seeing The Proposition with Guy Pearce, Emily Watson, Noah Taylor, and written by Nick Cave. Dan, you're back at the TIFF, hook us up with some free passes? If not, an Arrested Development marathon will suffice.

Top 5 iPod Playlist of the Day of Random Songs Inspired by Films:
Stay- U2 (Faraway So Close)
Magic Dance- David Bowie (Labyrinth)
Red Right Hand- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (Scream)
Blister in the Sun- Violent femmes (Grosse Pointe Blank)
Caring is Creepy- The Shins (Garden State)

"The time has come, a fact's a fact"