Some Academy Awards Thoughts and Predictions...(in case you were wondering)

Ah the Academy Awards. Everyone has a prediction, and while I don't claim to be an expert, here are some predictions for the big night.

Best Picture



Nominees: "The King's Speech," "True Grit," "Inception," "The Social Network," "Black Swan," "The Fighter," "The Kids Are All Right," "Toy Story 3," "127 Hours," "Winter's Bone"

Breakdown: It's really hard to argue against any of these nominees, but it's clearly a two-horse race right now between "The King's Speech" and "The Social Network," although it wouldn't be a major surprise at all to see box-office favorite "True Grit" pick up the award.

Who Should Win: "The Social Network" There's just something about this movie that I can't shake. David Fincher's directing, Aaron Sorkin's writing, Trent Reznor's score, the acting of Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake all combine together to create what in my opinion is the best all around movie of the year. While some people have called the film "The Facebook Movie," it's really about much more than just the website, and it says a lot about culture and the generation we live in now.

Who Will Win: "The King's Speech" At the beginning of awards season it looked as if "The Social Network" could not be stopped. It seemingly was winning every critics award imaginable and was starting to have the feel of an Oscar lock. But the race got interesting late in the game as "The King's Speech" started to rack up awards and after winning the award for director Tom Hooper from the DGA, the historical drama looks to be the front runner.

Snubs: "The Town," While I think "Winter's Bone" is completely deserving a nomination in this category, Ben Affleck's Boston crime drama easily could have slid in to (what was most likely) the tenth slot.

Best Director



David Fincher ("The Social Network"), Tom Hooper ("The King's Speech"), Darren Aronofsky, ("Black Swan"), David O. Russell ("The Fighter"), Joel and Ethan Coen ("True Grit")

Breakdown: It's truly hard to argue with any of the five nominations in this category, but it's a two horse race again with Fincher and Hooper. Both films, "The Social Network" and "The King's Speech," have gotten high praise everywhere, and if one of these two didn't win the award I would be surprised. While the Coen's have past pedigree in the category, I think it's between Hooper and Fincher.

Who Should Win: David Fincher has directed some truly great films in the past, including "Seven," "Fight Club," and "Zodiac," and I think he made the best picture of the year in "The Social Network." It should be his award.

Who Will Win: Fincher has it. His film and his work on it have earned widespread praise and although Hooper won the DGA Award (making him sort of a frontrunner) I still think Fincher will pull away with it.

Snubs: Christopher Nolan! "Inception," In one of the most glaring snubs in recent memory, Nolan was shut out of this category again (after another snub for "The Dark Knight). Conspiracy theories are abound, but I think the reason is because some voters maybe just didn't understand "Inception" (which means they are dumb), but whatever the reason he deserves to be miffed. Hopefully with "The Dark Knight Rises" Nolan will get his due.

Best Actor



Colin Firth ("The King's Speech"), Jeff Bridges ("True Grit"), Jesse Eisenberg ("The Social Network"), James Franco ("127 Hours"), Javier Bardem ("Biutiful")

Breakdown: While all five actors gave amazing performances, this feels like it's Firth's award to lose. He won the Golden Globe award and his performance has been unanimously praised for it's realistic portrayal of a character suffering from a stammer. Both Franco and Eisenberg were fantastic, and if not for Firth, either of these two would be deserving.

Who Should Win: Whenever an actor is nominated two years in a row for Best Actor, I think that is truly an amazing accomplishment. Both Firth and Bridges pulled it off this year (Bridges won for "Crazy Heart" last year, while Firth was in "A Single Man") and while I think Bridges was great as Rooster Cogburn, it's Firth's year.

Who Will Win: Firth is the frontrunner, and he will take it home.

Snubs: Robert Duvall of "Get Low" and Ryan Gosling from "Blue Valentine" to Mark Wahlberg of "The Fighter." All three have legitimate beef with the Academy, but I can't argue with any of the five nominated. Gosling was truly exceptional though.

Best Actress



Annette Bening ("The Kids Are All Right"), Natalie Portman ("Black Swan"), Jennifer Lawrence ("Winter's Bone"), Nicole Kidman ("Rabbit Hole"), Michelle Williams ("Blue Valentine")

Breakdown: Another category which seems as if it's down to two nominees: Annette Bening and Natalie Portman are the frontrunners for this award. Portman was previously nominated as a supporting actress for 2004's "Closer" and Bening has been nominated four times without winning.

Who Should Win: I thought both Bening and Portman were fantastic, but i think it's Portman who should win this year, because "Black Swan" totally fell on her shoulders and she was just great in it. It was a physically and mentally demanding role, and she took it head on.

Who Will Win: While I think Portman could easily take this, I actually think the Academy will finally call on Bening for the first time.

Snubs: Hailee Steinfeld, "True Grit", I should call this the "Sort Of Snub". While I think it's great she was nominated for Supporting Actress (which she has an actual chance to win), her character was more of a leading role, and I think she deserved a nomination for Best Actress, although I understand the voters reasoning.

Best Supporting Actor



Christian Bale ("The Fighter"), Geoffrey Rush ("The King's Speech"), Jeremy Renner ("The Town"), Mark Ruffalo ("The Kids Are All Right"), John Hawkes ("Winter's Bone")

Breakdown: While obviously every Oscar category is "deep" in the sense that the nominees are all deserving, this category is probably the strongest of any from top to bottom this year. While Bale was a knockout in "The Fighter" and is the front runner, in any other year each four of these actors could take home the award. Ruffalo gave an amazing performance years ago in "You Can Count On Me" which was Oscar-winning-worthy, and while I don't think he'll win this year he was fantastic.

Who Should Win: I do think Bale was amazing, and he should win the award, but for the sake of it, and because I am a huge fan, I'll say John Hawkes should win. He has been spinning great performances for years (including in "Deadwood" among many others) and after seeing "Winter's Bone" I was floored by his performance.

Who Will Win: Bale is the frontrunner and after a slew of great roles in his career, deserves this award.

Snubs: Justin Timberlake and Andrew Garfield ("The Social Network"), the snubs of either of these two shows how much voters liked "Winter's Bone," which I admit I was a fan of as well. Although I loved Hawkes in the film, I think both these actors could have received a nomination. Timberlake was great and Garfield was even greater, playing the emotional and sympathetic center of the year's best film.


Best Supporting Actress



Melissa Leo ("The Fighter"), Amy Adams ("The Fighter"), Helena Bonham Carter ("The King's Speech"), Hailee Steinfeld ("True Grit") Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom")

Breakdown: When a film has two nominations in one category, it sure says a lot. While Carter gave an amazing performance, as did Weaver, it seems to be Leo's award to lose (apart from her strange Oscar campaign photos).

Who Should Win: Steinfeld was amazing in "True Grit" and based on pure performance, she should win.

Who Will Win: Leo most likely will take home the award for her loud and realistic portrayal of boxer Micky Ward's mother.

Snubs: Mila Kunis ("Black Swan"), Julianne Moore ("The Kids Are All Right"), Both were absolutely deserving but were shut out in a strong year for the category. Kunis was truly great in "Black Swan" and has a definite gripe here.

Other stray thoughts and observations:

-Snub: Lee Smith - Editing - Inception. Come on, that last act when the movie is jumping through three different levels of dreaming isn't Oscar worthy? Please.

-I hope Christopher Nolan wins for Best Original Screenplay for "Inception." The film was truly fantastic and do you get a script more original than that? Don't think so.

-Sunb: Daft Punk - Score - Tron: Legacy, I'm probably biased because I am a Daft Punk fan, but their electronic and transy soundtrack to the new "Tron" film definitely deserved a nomination. But if Trent Reznor loses the Award that is an injustice.

-I don't care if they thought the film wasn't that great overall, but "Tron: Legacy" getting shut out of an Effects Oscar just doesn't make sense.

The Academy Awards air on Sunday February, 27, 2011.

"Social Network" Producers Try Lunar "Sex"

Back when Ben Mezrich sold the rights to his book on the creation of Facebook, the nicely titled "The Accidental Billionaires," there was no way anyone could have predicted how successful the film adaptation would be.

Sure, people may have thought it could have been a box office success, but a Best Picture front runner? Clearly that's what happens when you work with producer Scott Rudin and his pals, and Mezrich is hoping to make the same formula work again for his next novel.

According to Deadline "The Social Network" producers Rudin, Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti have signed on to produce a film adaptation of Mezrich's next non fiction novel, "Sex on the Moon."

The upcoming story follows a young scientist and NASA employee who decides to impress his girlfriend by stealing moon rocks. Mezrich also wrote the book "Bringing Down the House," which was adapted into the film "21."

Mezrich is a really talented and entertaining writer and it's clear his books translate very well into film. His first book that was adapted into a film, "Bringing Down the House," was a fantastic read. I must have finished it only a day or two after starting it. His upcoming book sounds just as interesting and entertaining as his past work and could turn out to be quite the movie, a la "The Social Network."

"The Social Network" has been on the quite the run lately, winning a handful of Golden Globe Awards including Best Motion Picture (Drama), Best Director for David Fincher, and Best Screenplay for Aaron Sorkin.

Look for Mezrich's book on the shelves by early next year.

Producers Guild Names Top Films

The Producers Guild Awards are usually one of the best measurements for figuring out what films will be nominated come Oscar time. Last year the Producers Guild nominations included eight of the ten films nominated for Best Picture of the Academy Awards and in the past many winners have matched up.

The Guild nominates 10 films for its outstanding producer award and the list fits in line with what has been happening through awards season so far: “Inception,” “Toy Story 3,” “The King’s Speech,” “True Grit,” “The Fighter,” “Black Swan,” “The Social Network,” “The Kids are All Right,” “The Town” and “127 Hours" will battle it out for the top prize.

I really can't disagree with any of the choices here, and I'm especially happy to see Ben Affleck's film "The Town" among the nominees. I thought the film was more than just a great action film and the performance of Jeremy Renner was absolutely great.

"The Social Network" is most likely the favorite to win this award since its been cleaning up all year so far, but "Black Swan", "The Fighter" and "True Grit" could pull it off as well.

Other film categories include for documentary and animated feature, the latter of which has three excellent films nominated. "Despicable Me", "How to Train Your Dragon", and "Toy Story 3" were tabbed for the award, and all three were more than deserving. While I expected greatness from "Toy Story 3" I was pleasantly surprised with how good both "Despicable Me" and "How to Train Your Dragon" were.

The PGA hands out its awards on January 22, while Oscar nominees will be named on January 25 and handed out February 27.

'The Social Network' Wins Three Online Film Critics Society Awards

As we move into the New Year and more and more awards are given out, the Oscar race should begin to get clearer. And while many categories are up for grabs, one film seems to have taken the lead when it comes to Best Picture, adding another win to its impressive resume.

"The Social Network" took home the Best Picture award from the 14th annual Online Film Critics Society Awards, beating out films like "Inception", "Toy Story 3", "True Grit" and "Winter's Bone". The film also won some other major awards, including best director (David Fincher) and best adapted screenplay (Aaron Sorkin).

The awards for acting went to Colin Firth in "The King’s Speech" for best actor, Natalie Portman in "Black Swan" for best actress, Christian Bale in "The Fighter" for best supporting actor and Hailee Steinfield in "True Grit" for best supporting actress. One of my favorite films of the year, "Inception", won two awards, including Christopher Nolan for best original screenplay, and one for its editing work, which was phenomenal.

While winning this particular award won't emphatically prove that "The Social Network" will win the Oscar for Best Picture, based on how many awards its been winning the past couple months, that's starting to look like a real possibility.

I've seen the movie twice already, and I think it's a genius piece of filmmaking. For anyone who thinks the movie is just about Facebook, that's like saying "The Sopranos" was only about the mafia. The acting is completely superb, especially Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg, and David Fincher's direction is just perfect in all the right ways.

It remains to be seen how many awards "The Social Network" will win following this batch, but it's clear that we have the Oscar front runner on our hands here.

Nominations for the Academy Awards will be given out bright and early on January 25, 2011.

Minghella, Wright Team For Clooney's "March"

The last time George Clooney stepped behind the camera was for 2008's uneven comedy film "Leatherheads", which was a completely different turn from his previous film, "Good Night, and Good Luck". Clooney's film on Edward R. Murrow was absolutely fantastic, and earned Clooney a nomination for Best Director.

Clooney's next directorial project, "The Idea of March", looks to be more along the lines of "Good Night, and Good Luck", which is a welcome move for the actor/director. With the calendars about to change to 2011, the film has added a couple solid names to its cast.

According to The Daily Mail and Deadline, Max Minghella ("The Social Network") and Jeffrey Wright ("Casino Royale") have signed onto star in the George Clooney directed political drama, which already has Ryan Gosling attached.

Based on Beau Willimon's Broadway play "Farragut North", the story follows a young, idealistic press spokesman (Gosling) who works for an inspiring, though unorthodox, presidential candidate (George Clooney).

During the campaign, his career is done in by more seasoned politicians who thrive on partisan politics, dirty tricks and back-stabbing. Willimon loosely based the story on Howard Dean's 2004 presidential election campaign.

Character details for the pair haven't been revealed. They join a fantastic cast which includes Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood. Clooney co-wrote the script with Grant Heslov and will both direct and produce the feature, which he is independently financing.

Clooney and political themes are always a good mix in my eyes. Clooney seems to do some of his best work when projects are politically charged, and this project should be no different. On top of that, the cast is just fantastic, and with the additions of Minghella and Wright only strengthen it.

Minghella did solid work on "The Social Network" earlier this year, and I'm intrigued to see what type of role he plays in this film. Wright is just great in everything he does, and he and Clooney are already familiar with each other from 2005's "Syriana" (for which Clooney won an Oscar for his role).

Shooting kicks off in January in Michigan and Ohio.

TV: 'Dead,' 'Boardwalk,' 'Justified' Land WGA Noms

The Writers Guild of America usually does a good job at predicting what TV series will garner major awards love come next years big ceremonies, and this time around is no different.

HBO's "Boardwalk Empire", FX's "Justified" and AMC's "The Walking Dead", are among the nominees for Best New Series, with TNT's "Men of a Certain Age" and another HBO series, "Treme" filling out the category.

The new series category is always a favorite of mine, and this year I think it really showcases some truly great series that hopefully will stick around for years to come. "Boardwalk" ended its first season on a high note and it already is gearing up for season two. "The Walking Dead" gained popularity like wildfire and I can only imagine what they'll do when they have 13 episodes up from just 6 in the first year.

But out of all the shows nominated I am most happy to see "Justified" score here because I feel it was one of the best and most underrated shows of the entire season. Timothy Olyphant's acting was superb, but even more so was the writing, which was sharp with humor and very intelligently crafted.

"Boardwalk" also scored a Best Drama nomination along with established shows such as "Breaking Bad", "Friday Night Lights", "Dexter", and "Mad Men". This category is extremely strong from the top down, with five shows that could easily take the award with no arguments from me. I say "Mad Men" is the front runner, although "Breaking Bad" had arguably its strongest season yet this past year.

On the comedy side, this year's Emmy newcomers, Fox's "Glee" and ABC's "Modern Family" made the list along with Showtime's "Nurse Jackie", and NBC's "30 Rock" and "The Office". While I absolutely love "Modern Family" and have great respect for all of the other shows nominated, no series does a better job when it comes to writing than "The Office", so I'm hoping they pull out with the award.

While the winners of the awards aren't always a perfect prediction on who will be victorious at next year's Emmy's, the WGA always seems to get their nominations right. I was hard pressed to find series that were undeserving of their nominations.

The awards will be handed out Feb. 5 at the 2011 Writers Guild Awards. The full awards list can be found at the link.

Jesse Eisenberg Takes Some "Free Samples"

Jesse Eisenberg gave one of my favorite performances of the year in "The Social Network". Funny, dramatic, abrasive, he did it all.

Eisenberg has been one of my favorite actors since his "Squid and the Whale" days, and his turn as Mark Zuckerberg just might garner him an Oscar nomination in the coming months.

The success of the film leaves Eisenberg in a great place when it comes to picking his next role, basically he can to whatever he'd like. To follow up on his critically acclaimed performance Eisenberg has signed up for the dramedy "Free Samples" according to The Wrap.

The story follows a law-school dropout (Jess Weixler) who fills in as a server as a friend's food truck, where she doles out free samples of ice cream. The job tests her patience, and while she figures out what to do with her life, she finds herself being courted by a young man (Eisenberg) whom she barely remembers from the night before.

Eisenberg's love interest character is described as a supporting role.

The (most likely) future Oscar nominee will join Jason Ritter (who previously shared the screen with him in "The Education of Charlie Banks,") and will co-star along with Tippi Hedren, Hallie Pfeiffer, Keir O'Donnell, Jocelyn Donahue and Matt Walsh.

Eisenberg is clearly one of Hollywood's best young actors, so his appearance in this film will only be a positive. On top of that the last time Eisenberg and Ritter worked together was on the film "The Education of Charlie Banks" which was one of the most underrated movies I have seen in quite a long time. Eisenberg and Ritter were both fantastic in the film and I could see a repeat of that type of work from the duo in this film.

The indie type dramedy fits in perfectly with Eisenberg, who should definitely add some humor as the love interest in the film. Jay Gammill is directing "Free Samples" from a script by Jim Beggarly.

The project doesn't have a release date yet but production is currently underway in Los Angeles.

"Social Network" Dominates NBR Awards

Back when I first heard about "The Social Network" I admit I was fairly skeptical with the idea of a film about Facebook.

But then David Fincher joined on as director and Aaron Sorkin as the writer, and I began to get extremely intrigued about what it could be. After the cast came together with one of my favorite actors (Jesse Eisenberg) as the lead, I truly thought the film would be something special.

After seeing it in theaters it did not disappoint me one bit, and the National Board of Review seems to agree. Yes folks, it's true, awards season is upon us. The critics award race got started off last week as "The Social Network" pretty much dominated The Nation Board of Review awards, taking in four of the main categories.

"The Social Network" won awards for Best Film, Director (David Fincher), Actor (Jesse Eisenberg) and Adapted Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin). While there were a number of excellent nominees this year, including films like "The Town" and "Inception", I can't disagree with any of the awards the film won.

I honestly felt like it was a "Best Picture" worthy movie when I saw it, mainly due to the fantastic script and excellent direction by Fincher. On top of that the entire cast was excellent alongside Eisenberg, including Andre Garfield and Justin Timberlake.

Eisenberg plays Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg in the film, which has won critical praise and earned more than $180 million worldwide at the box office. I'm really glad he picked up the award, because although I think he is worthy for an Academy Award nomination later on, I think Colin Firth will take that home for "The Kings Speech", so its good to see the young actor take home some hardware that is truly deserving.

The National Board of Review has had a decent track record the past few years in predicting the Oscar outcome. In the past three years, the National Board of Review winner has twice gone on to win best picture at the Oscars: "No Country for Old Men" in 2007 and "Slumdog Millionaire" in 2008. Last year's winner was "Up in the Air."

The awards will keep coming as the year draws to a close, but it's clear that we'll be hearing a lot more about "The Social Network" in the coming months.