AND THE NOMINEES ARE…

The Academy Awards are scheduled for Sunday, February 24th, but at this point no one knows what it will be like because of the ongoing writers strike.  Jon Stewart is scheduled to host but has said he won't cross a picket line, a sentiment shared by many actors.  Most actors are pretentious dicks but they have been extremely cool in their unwavering support of the writers.  It just goes to show you can't judge a book by it's cover.  Or by the pages inside apparently, because actors really are insufferable.  Anyway, in the sprit of optimism, the nominees were announced very early this morning.  Some of the highlights:

Best Picture: "Atonement," "Juno," "Michael Clayton," "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood."Actor: George Clooney, "Michael Clayton"; Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"; Johnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street"; Tommy Lee Jones, "In the Valley of Elah"; Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises."Actress: Cate Blanchett, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"; Julie Christie, "Away From Her"; Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"; Laura Linney, "The Savages"; Ellen Page, "Juno."Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"; Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"; Hal Holbrook, "Into the Wild"; Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Charlie Wilson's War"; Tom Wilkinson, "Michael Clayton."Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There"; Ruby Dee, "American Gangster"; Saoirse Ronan, "Atonement"; Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"; Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton."Director: Julian Schnabel, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"; Jason Reitman, "Juno"; Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"; Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood."

It seems the big story is all the nominations for "Juno".  I never saw that one.  It sounds like a board game that involves steady hands and cunning.  The big surprise is probably Angelina Jolie not getting a nod for "A Mighty Heart", a movie seemingly made for that one reason.  Their mistake was making Angelina all ugly.  No one wants to go to a movie and look at ugly people.  It could have been the same movie but with Angelina in a half shirt and boy shorts, and with way less talking and way more car washing.  These people have a lot to learn about how to make a good movie.