seeing movies

I haven't seen many movies lately at the theaters. Is it me or is nothing really good looking is out now? I may check out Inside Man this weekend. I've been renting more and catching up on TV. LOST, 24, ER, SURVIVOR, and AMERICAN IDOL of course. I'm rooting for Chris and Mandisa at the moment. But lots of good talent this year. Recently watched Ordinary People on DVD. Didn't realize what a good movie that was. Saw it so long ago. I recommend that you check it out again or see it for the first time if you've never taken a look at it. Right now, I have Rope, Dark Harvest 2: The Maize (thriller done in my hometown of North Tonawanda, NY) and the first season disc of Greatest American Hero out from Netflix. Maybe I'll check some out this weekend. I'm reading scripts for class mostly this weekend and hopefully working on my script some more. I'm plowing through, but i'd like to be further along. Later.

15 out of 24 for oscar predictions

not bad. 15 out of 24 categories. 6 out of 8 in the top 8 categories. CRASH as best picture I was very surprised. But who would've predicted that Hustle & Flow's "It's Hard out here for a Pimp" would be best song. Crazy. Show was OK. I wasn't feeling well, so I Tivoed it and watched it later that night and the next day. Later.

oscar time - predictions

It's time for the Academy Awards. I've seen all the Best Picture nominees this year, but I haven't seen all the other films nominated in all categories. But I'm making my picks anyway.

BEST PICUTRE - Brokeback Mountain
BEST ACTOR - Phillip Seymour Hoffman in "Capote"
BEST ACTRESS - Reese Witherspoon for "Walk the Line"
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - George Clooney for "Syriana"
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Michelle Williams in "Brokeback Mountain"
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE - Howl's Moving Castle
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - CRASH
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - Brokeback Mountain
BEST DIRECTOR - Ang Lee for "Brokeback Mountain"
ART DIRECTION - Memoirs of a Geisha
CINEMATOGRAPHY - Brokeback Mountain
COSTUME DESIGN - Memoirs of a Geisha
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - March of the Penguins
DOCUMENTARY SHORT - God Sleeps in Rwanda
EDITING - Crash
FOREIGN FILM - Tsotsi
MAKEUP - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
ORIGINAL SCORE - John Williams "Munich" or "Memoirs of a Geisha"
ORIGINAL SONG - "Travelin Thru" - Dolly Parton for "Transamerica"
ANIMATED SHORT - 9
LIVE ACTION SHORT - Six Shooter
SOUND EDITING - King Kong
SOUND MIXING - Walk the Line
VISUAL EFFECTS - King Kong

Couple of notes: I didn't care for Good night and Good luck. I appreciated it, but I didn't like it. Loved Transamerica. Couldn't believe that it was so good. If Felicity Huffman beats Reese than I won't be disappointed. Best Actor category is filled with lots of deserving guys. I think if it was a different year than any one of them could win, so don't be surprised if the Oscar goes to someone other than Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Well, I'll be watching. Let's see how I do.

Expect to see many of the same contenders win Independent Spirit Awards, with Felicity Huffman taking Best Actress at those awards. You may even see a win for The Squid and the Whale at the Spirit Awards. Check those out on Saturday with the Oscars on Sunday. I'll give myself a report card on Monday or Tuesday.

late night chatter

It's nearly 3am and I thought I would write something fast. Starting a new writing class this week where I am working on a new script. Trying to carve out some time to get projects done. Watching a lot of movies since it's award season. Just saw "Brokeback Mountain" today and it is a wonderful emotional film. I also watched "The Apartment" with Jack Lemmon on DVD tonight. An old film, but a good one. Written by Billy Wilder. Good film. I encourage anyone to see it.

More another time.

macworld

Tomorrow is the Steve Jobs keynote at MacWorld in San Francisco. The rumor mills are buzzing this year with all kinds of new products. I'm hoping for a Media Center based Mac Mini with TiVo like DVR capabilities. I think that would be cool. I'd also like to see some new laptops, a bigger screen on a new video iPod with longer battery life, feature films on the iTunes Music Store (which should be renamed Media Store). Macworld is always filled with cool stuff and announcements. Can't wait to see what Apple has up it's sleeves for tomorrow. Check out the rumor mill. Then check out the apple site tomorrow.

happy new year!

well, a new year is here. i am attempting to keep my promise by offering more in 2006 to indenation.com. Let's see how that goes. I'm working on writing some scripts as we speak and coming up with some ideas to present on the site.

I've seen a healthy dose of movies. See "King Kong". Great movie. I just saw "Munich" too the other day. Not sure if it's a great movie, but it's a very good and entertaining one.

Well, that's all for today. Just checking in.