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The Screening Room

Musings on another Oscar Night

The Screening Room predicts that the royals will rule for the 79th Annual Academy Awards. Referring, that is, to expectations of Forest Whitaker winning a statue for his riveting portrayal as Idi Amin in “The Last King of Scotland,” and Helen Mirren heading back to the U.K. with a golden guy for her turn as Queen Elizabeth II in “The Queen.”
One of the most talked about projections is newbie Jennifer Hudson taking home an award for her frosh performance in “Dreamgirls.” However, Hudson may want to rethink a win if she wants to avoid what’s commonly known as “The Curse of the Oscar.” Some pundits believe that no good will come of receiving the prize of all acting prizes. Think Halle Berry in “Catwoman” after her “Monster’s Ball” win or Marlee Matlins’ lack of a career after her triumph in “Children of a Lesser God.” But, all in all, having the trophy’s got to be worth the risk, right?

As far as supporting actor is concerned, we’re betting that Eddie Murphy will get his due for a rousing turn in “Dreamgirls.” That being said, Oscar makes positive history with the possibility for three of the four top acting honors possibly going to African Americans (it’s about time).

In the “up for grabs” department is Best Picture. Consensus says it’s anyone’s guess as to which way the Academy swings this year. Will they honor “The Departed” for its wit, “Babel” for its sweeping international story, or throw caution into the wind and crown “Little Miss Sunshine,” this year’s runaway little engine that could.

The 79th Annual Academy Awards are being televised live by ABC at 5 p.m. on Sunday, February 25 and are being hosted by funny gal Ellen Degeneres. She has been quoted as dissing the possibility of her donning a frock for the telecast (no surprise there). Another prediction by TSR; if Ms. Degeneres can’t make the ceremony more entertaining than ones in recent memory, the Academy might as well throw in the towel. We almost fell asleep three years in a row!

Faithful readers can use the following handy-dandy guide to tick off your guesses, then compare them to the actual winners on the night.

Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio – Blood Diamond
Ryan Gosling – Half Nelson
Peter O’Toole – Venus
Will Smith – The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker – The Last King of Scotland

Best Actress
Penelope Cruz – Volver
Judi Dench – Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren – The Queen
Meryl Streep – The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet – Little Children

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin – Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley – Little Children
Djimon Hounsou – Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy – Dreamgirls
Mark Wahlberg – The Departed

Best Supporting Actress
Adriana Barraza – Babel
Kate Blanchett – Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin – Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson – Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi – Babel

Best Director
Clint Eastwood – Letters From Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears – The Queen
Paul Greengrass – United 93
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – Babel
Martin Scorsese – The Departed

Best Picture
Babel
The Departed
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

Lucky for us viewers, many of this year’s nominated films are already, or soon to be available for rent on DVD. This includes: Little Miss Sunshine, Half Nelson, The Departed, Blood Diamond, Babel, The Devil Wears Prada, Marie Antoinette, United 93, Pirate’s of the Caribean: Dead Man’s Chest, Cars, Happy Feet, The Illusionist, The Good German, Click, An Inconvenient Truth, Children of Men and last but not least (certainly not referring to box office profits), Borat.

So what are you waiting for? You’ve got a lot of watching to do before the weather breaks! Until next time…