..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Kim Voynar
..Michael Wilmington

Week Twenty - 3 Days to Go
Auld Lang Syne

Phew…

Almost there…

What's left to say?

It does matter who wins… mostly to those who win.

The media efforts to rustle up comprehensive coverage this week are painful enough to me more sad than laughable. Someone mentioned a poll of three Academy members in one outlet. Oy.

And so, as it ends, we count our fingers and our toes. We make sure the baby isn't somehow broken. We get a few thrills, a few disappointments, and a few trips to the bathroom. We pray for Ellen to be funny and for someone to say something that's really memorable.

All last night, Fox ran promos for "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?" and for those of us who are still revving our engines on this, the answer is not a nice one. A 5th grader knows he/she wants ice cream, cake, no bath, and an open bedtime. We have such an abundance of likeable films and likeable people that we don't know what we want.

The battle for 2008 has already begun, as consultants are pushing their favorite organ monkeys out there to pimp their rides for next year, newspapers are trying to make appointments now to get into the studio offices before awards budgets are set, and the internet set is already plotting on how to get further up the food chain or to find a place to sleep far from the maddening hype.

Me? I have my tickets for Austin, New York, Bermuda, and Dallas. And that's just March. Woo wee! Different places, different people, and different movies. Thank you to Sid Ganis… for not listening to any of the maniacs who want another month of this endless campaign.

There is only one real question left… who's going win Best Picture? And Academy members far and wide will make a passionate argument for "what everyone knows." The only problem is, they all seem to disagree. However, the awards are getting younger this year. I know of at least two people who are taking children under 10 to the show.

I gotta say, I am looking forward to the Independent Spirit Awards more than the Oscars for the first time in a long while. And it's not just because Yerxa and Berger will get their awards along with the other producers at that event. (Oh… yeah… Indie Spirits are as predictable this year as the Oscars aren't.) And it's not for the awards. It's for the cocktail party of it all. It will, simply, be nice to see a lot of people who really aren't a big part of the Oscar season. They are on another track… another excellent track. And for the most part, the smiles will be sincere, the hugs warm, and the cocktails cold. Hallelujah.

And that's really all I have to say about that.

Again… really… I like a whole lot of people who I have met in the course of this season. It has been incredibly civil. And even when I take a swipe at a studio exec, I may be deeply fond of much of his staff. Even in his odd purgatory, Bill Condon has shown the kind of guy he really is (a good one). In his ascendance, Guillermo del Toro remains the guy he is (a good one). In their shyness, the screenwriters have shown the people they are (Morgan and Marber are probably the most social, the Great Monahan the most shy this year.) The Three Amigos really are amigos, even if the Dogma95 crew really wasn't. There have been a few shitty rumors, but basically, this was a clean season. For all the "season should be longer" bleating, strategy cost many movies their potential awards, more than anything else.

Hell, I even found some of the producers this year to be amongst my favorite people in a season of artists.

What I do know is that I have a bunch of really good films worth watching a few more times. And for as many weak moments as there were in 2006's films, that is a blessing indeed.

There will be some sort of response to whatever happens on Sunday night. But it's time to move along. We'll all be happier after a view months of something different.

I thank you for your attention and input. Have a lovely off season.

The Charts
Best Picture
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Screenplay
Best Director

Week Nineteen
Week Eightteen
Week Seventeen
Week Sixteen: And Now For Something You'll Really Like .. Again
Week Fifteen: Pow!!(er)
Week Fouteen: Everything Old Is Neew Again
Week Thirteen: Outside Looking In
Week Eleven The Great Settling
Week Ten: The Search For Meaning
Week Nine: Inside Out
Week Eight: The Season That Couldn't Shoot Straight
Week Six: Dreamgirls Wake
Week Five: Isn't It Romantic?
Week Four: The Rules - Episode One
Week Three: Channel #2
Week Two: Hope Floats
Week One: Ready, Steady ... Gold, Cat, Gold!
The August 11 Preview

- Email David Poland