saturday, the twenty-fourth of march, two thousand one
the pre-oscar edition

The sidebar is out shopping for its Oscar dress.

So, officially I'm not entering my own pool. Meaning, if I actually won, the gift certificate would go to the next highest person. I can tell you right now, that isn't going to happen.

But I'll tell you my picks anyway.

Picture: I think Traffic should win, but I think Gladiator will. I enjoyed Gladiator, of course, but I'm not sure what makes it a best picture. Great acting? From Richard Harris, I suppose. Russell Crowe's expression ranged from angry determination to... determined anger. And I don't get why people think Joaquin Phoenix was exceptional in this. Great visual effects? Yes, but not as finessed as the ones in Crouching Tiger. Nonetheless, the buzz seems to be on its side, so that's what I'm going with.

Director: I'm glad the Calgary reporter didn't quote what I said about how director and picture almost always go together, because this year, I don't think it will. I'm going with Ang Lee. Crouching Tiger was both visually and emotionally stunning, and you don't get that without a great director. And the majority of the special effects had to do with erasing the wires from the shots... otherwise, it really was those actors running sideways on walls and balancing in trees. Fantastic.

Actress: Julia Roberts. The movie was great, her acting was great, and it's about time she got one.

Actor: I'm going with Tom Hanks, even though no one really seems to want him to win. I'm afraid of what Russell Crowe would say if he got up there (something along the lines of "Screw you guys, I'm going home" springs to mind) and I don't think he's made a lot of friends in Hollywood. He just seems to go around breaking up people's marriages. (Have you heard he's with Nicole Kidman now? Whatever.) I hate to admit it, but Tom got me.

Supporting Actress: I really really want Frances McDormand to win, but I'm picking Kate Hudson, because everyone else seems to be.

Supporting Actor: Benicio del Toro. No question.

Foreign: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. No question.

The rest are all guesses:

Original Screenplay: Cameron Crowe, Almost Famous
Adapted Screenplay: Stephen Gaghan, Traffic
Cinemtography: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Editing: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Song: "My Funny Friend and Me" from The Emperor's New Groove (only because it's Sting)
Art Direction: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Costume: How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Makeup: How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Sound: The Perfect Storm
Sound Effects Editing: U-571
Animated Short: The Periwig Maker
Live Action Short: By Courier
Documentary: Sound and Fury
Documentary Short Subject: Curtain Call

Some final words about the rules of this pool, which I probably should have put on the form somewhere but really just couldn't be bothered:

1. The Picture, Director, and all Acting categories are worth three points each; the others are worth one.

2. Because of the increased likelihood of a tie, I will first eliminate entries based on the tie-breaker question (The Price Is Right rules apply, i.e., closest without going over). If there are still two or more people tied, I will see who correctly chose more out of those first six categories; after that, I'm not sure what I'll do, but it will be fair. (If there are only two people tied, I may split the gift certificate. I can't see how anyone can complain since the whole thing was free anyway.)

3. The final standings list will probably not go up until Monday night, only because it's going to take me a while to score the entries (101 at last count) and code the list. The winner should also receive their gift certificate by Monday night as well.

If you haven't entered yet, you might want to hurry. I'm taking the form down at 6:00 p.m. Central Time.

A big thank you to everyone who did enter -- you have no idea how much fun I have with this. Enjoy the show, and I'll be back (no doubt with a snarky review) on Monday.