HOLLYWOOD ACTOR PREP by Dana Kaminski

What A Great Year For Movies, It Was…

Below, is the list of the best films of the year, according to the ‘Members of the Academy’…The “Best Picture” Oscar Nominees. One of them will win an Academy Award, on February 22, 2009.

Following, on the list, are all the other Oscar categories, and their respective nominees. (I use that word ‘respective’, respectfully! All of them are important to the industry, even though the rest of the world may not be as familiar with their category, or job…)

Yesterday, I posted the Oscar Nominees for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress Categories. (Click here for that Hollywood Actor Prep Oscar Nom Cheat Sheet…It’s printable, also…)

For the next few weeks, I’ll be posting quite a bit on the Academy Awards 2009. My focus, of course, will be the acting performances that are under Oscar consideration.  

I also have some thoughts on these “Best Picture Nominees”: what films made the list, and those that didn’t. The surprises, and the expectations.

There’s a lot of stuff to talk about…So stay tuned, and stay involved!

You can subscribe to get my posts by email. You can also get them in your “feedreader” such as Google Reader or Yahoo, etc. (Click here to hook it up! Or, on the sidebar on the right side of this page, at top.)

Update, Feb. 2009: Click to go to my HOLLYWOOD OSCAR PREP ©® SITE.  This page  won’t change when you do…

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OSCAR CONTENDERS LIST

Best Picture: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire.

Director: David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon; Gus Van Sant, Milk; Stephen Daldry, The Reader; Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire.

Foreign Film: The Baader Meinhof Complex, Germany; The Class, France; Departures, Japan; Revanche, Austria; Waltz With Bashir, Israel.

Adapted Screenplay: Eric Roth and Robin Swicord, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; John Patrick Shanley, Doubt; Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon; David Hare, The Reader; Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire.

Original Screenplay: Courtney Hunt, Frozen River; Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky; Martin McDonagh, In Bruges; Dustin Lance Black, Milk; Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon and Pete Docter, WALL-E.

Animated Feature Film: Bolt, Kung Fu Panda, WALL-E.

Art Direction: Changeling, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, The Duchess, Revolutionary Road.

Cinematography: Changeling, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire.

Sound Mixing: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Slumdog Millionaire, WALL-E, Wanted.

Sound Editing: The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Slumdog Millionaire, WALL-E, Wanted.

Original Score: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Alexandre Desplat; Defiance, James Newton Howard; Milk, Danny Elfman; Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman; WALL-E, Thomas Newman.

Original Song: “Down to Earth” from WALL-E, Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman; “Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman and Gulzar; “O Saya” from Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam.

Costume: Australia, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Duchess, Milk, Revolutionary Road.

Documentary Feature: The Betrayal (Nerakhoon), Encounters at the End of the World, The Garden, Man on Wire, Trouble the Water.

Documentary (short subject): The Conscience of Nhem En, The Final Inch, Smile Pinki, The Witness — From the Balcony of Room 306.

Film Editing: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Frost/Nixon, Milk, Slumdog Millionaire.

Makeup: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

Animated Short Film: La Maison en Petits Cubes, Lavatory — Lovestory, Oktapodi, Presto, This Way Up.

Live Action Short Film: Auf der Strecke (On the Line), Manon on the Asphalt, New Boy, The Pig, Spielzeugland (Toyland).

Visual Effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Iron Man.

—-

“A movie star, and the rest….”

Anybody ever seen the vintage TV show, “Gilligan’s Island”?? Remember the song from that show? I do!

Catchy; it described all the people who were on the show…

“A movie star, and the rest, are here on Gilligan’s Island!”

Well, the movie stars are listed on my prior post. All the rest, (all the categories that are ‘bathroom breaks’ for the rest of the country, while, in the industry, they are very important artists….are on this one. )

Except for the Best Picture Winner, of course.

NO one in the world takes a bathroom break during that Oscar envelope opening? Do they?

I don’t think anyone I know even eats during that moment. Even if famished.

Let me know on Twitter… In the meantime, I’m going to listen to some modern music….

…Because, I can’t get the theme from Gilligan’s Island outa my head…

The Sharing Portion of the Post

You can email this Oscar Nominee list, and all Hollywood Actor Prep Cheat Sheets, below. Email ‘em to your friends, too, if you want to.

And, please, continue to share on Facebook, and MySpace…that can be done, just below, too! Thanks for all the sharing that you’ve done!
And, if you don’t already follow me on Twitter… well… where the heck have you been????! My Twitter name is __dana__.

Best,

;*Dana

This Hollywood Actor Prep Cheat Sheet lists only the 2009 Academy Award Nominees, in the Acting Categories.

Doesn’t everyone always talk about the “Best Acting” categories, primarily??

Or only??

I mean, everyone, everywhere.

Okay. Also, they talk about the “Best Picture Nominees”. Right?

Then, the other categories

…Maybe.

I’ve found…that is, to your average American ticket-buyer…the acting and best picture categories ARE their whole definition of “the movies”, when it comes to the Oscars.

Most movie-goers are in the dark …about what directors do…

And, about what producers do, fugedabowdit …total mystery. Like invisible… Right?

People watch the Oscars for the categories they are rooting for, the ones that they care about. It’s emotional…If they cared, while watching the movie; then they “care” during the Academy Awards. A–lot.

Acting + Best Picture: There are no other Oscar categories, to most.

Scientifically, I can prove it.

Monitor your own plumbing, during the Academy Awards television broadcast.

I’ll wager that almost no toilets are flushed, in any bathroom, in the entire USA…

…on February 22nd 2009..

…during the announcing of Oscar wins for any acting category, or best picture.

Okay.

The brilliant acting performances of this year….

The nominated actors are in alphabetical order, and not in order of my own favorites.

(…Come back to Hollywood Actor Prep this this weekend, for that…)

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ACADEMY AWARD ACTING NOMINEES 2009

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married”
Angelina Jolie in “Changeling”
Melissa Leo in “Frozen River”
Meryl Streep in “Doubt”
Kate Winslet in “The Reader”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Amy Adams in “Doubt”
Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Viola Davis in “Doubt”
Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor”
Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon”
Sean Penn in “Milk”
Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Josh Brolin in “Milk”
Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder”
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt”
Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight”
Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road”

Please share the Hollywood Actor Prep Blog with your friends, especially those who are actors.

Please put this blog on your Facebook and MySpace Pages. (*Thanks to those who already have!)

And wanna follow me, on Twitter? I “tweet” there, to announce new blog posts; and to communicate news that pertains to actors, in real time…On Twitter, I am __dana__.

;Best,

Dana

FILM
BEST FEATURE – DRAMA
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” – Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures; Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures
“Frost/Nixon” – Imagine Entertainment, Working Title, Studio Canal; Universal Pictures
“The Reader” – Mirage Enterprises; The Weinstein Company
“Revolutionary Road” – An Evamere Entertainment BBC Films Neal Street Production; DreamWorks Pictures in Association with BBC Films and Paramount Vantage
WINNER: “Slumdog Millionaire” – Fox Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros.; Fox Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros.

BEST FEATURE – COMEDY
“Burn After Reading” – Working Title/Releasing Company; Focus Features in association with Studio Canal
“Happy-Go-Lucky” – Summit Entertainment, Film4, Ingenious Film Partners, Miramax Films; Miramax Films
“In Bruges” – Blueprint Pictures; Focus Features
“Mamma Mia!” – Relativity Media, Playtone, Littlestar; Universal Pictures
WINNER: “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” – Mediapro; The Weinstein Company

DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
WINNER: Danny Boyle – “Slumdog Millionaire”
Stephen Daldry -”The Reader”
David Fincher -”The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button”
Ron Howard – “Frost/Nixon”
Sam Mendes -”Revolutionary Road”

ACTOR – DRAMA
Leonardo DiCaprio – “Revolutionary Road”
Frank Langella – “Frost/Nixon”
Sean Penn – “Milk”
Brad Pitt – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
WINNER: Mickey Rourke – “The Wrestler”

ACTRESS – DRAMA
Anne Hathaway – “Rachel Getting Married”
Angelina Jolie – “Changeling”
Meryl Streep – “Doubt”
Kristin Scott Thomas – “I’ve Loved You So Long”
WINNER: Kate Winslet – “Revolutionary Road”

ACTOR – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Javier Bardem – “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
WINNER: Colin Farrell – “In Bruges”
James Franco – “Pineapple Express”
Brendan Gleeson – “In Bruges”
Dustin Hoffman – “Last Chance Harvey”

ACTRESS – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Rebecca Hall – “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
WINNER: Sally Hawkins – “Happy-Go-Lucky”
Frances McDormand – “Burn After Reading”
Meryl Streep – “Mamma Mia!”
Emma Thompson – “Last Chance Harvey”

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Tom Cruise – “Tropic Thunder”
Robert Downey Jr. – “Tropic Thunder”
Ralph Fiennes – “The Duchess”
Philip Seymour Hoffman – “Doubt”
WINNER: Heath Ledger – “The Dark Knight”
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams – “Doubt”
Penelope Cruz – “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Viola Davis – “Doubt”
Marisa Tomei – “The Wrestler”
WINNER: Kate Winslet – “The Reader”

SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
WINNER: Simon Beaufoy – “Slumdog Millionaire”
David Hare – “The Reader”
Peter Morgan – “Frost/Nixon”
Eric Roth – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
John Patrick Shanley – “Doubt”

BEST SCORE
Alexandre Desplat – “The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button”
Clint Eastwood – “Changeling”
James Newton Howard – “Defiance”
WINNER: A. R. Rahman – “Slumdog Millionaire”
Hans Zimmer – “Frost/Nixon”

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Down To Earth” from “Wall-E” – Music By: Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman; Lyrics By: Peter Gabriel
“Gran Torino” from “Gran Torino” – Music By: Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens; Lyrics By: Jamie Cullum
“I Thought I Lost You” from “Bolt” – Music & Lyrics By: Miley Cyrus, Jeffrey Steele
“Once In A Lifetime” from “Cadillac Records” – Music & Lyrics By: Beyoncé Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Scott Mcfarnon, Ian Dench, James Dring, Jody Street
WINNER: “The Wrestler” from “The Wrestler” – Music & Lyrics By: Bruce Springsteen

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“Bolt” – Walt Disney Pictures; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
“Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation SKG; Paramount Pictures
WINNER: “Wall-E” – Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“The Baader Meinhof Complex” (“Der Baader Meinhof Komplex”)(Germany) – Constantin Film Produktion GmbH; Summit Entertainment, LLC
“Everlasting Moments” (“Maria larssons eviga ögonblick”) (Sweden) – Final Cut Productions Aps; IFC Films
“Gomorrah” (“Gomorra”) (Italy) – Fandango; IFC Films
“I’ve Loved You So Long” (“Il y a longtemps que je t’aime”) (France) – UGC YM/UGC Images/France 3 Cinema/Integral Film; Sony Pictures Classics
WINNER: “Waltz with Bashir” (Israel) – Bridgit Folman Film Gang/Les Films D’Ici/Razor Films/Arte France/ITVS International; Sony Pictures
TV

TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
“Dexter” (Showtime) – Showtime/John Goldwyn Productions/The Colleton Company/Clyde Phillips Productions
“House” (Fox) – Universal Media Studios In Association With Heel And Toe Films, Shore Z Productions And Bad Hat Harry Productions
“In Treatment” (HBO) – Sheleg, Closest To The Hole Productions In Association With HBO Entertainment
WINNER: “Mad Men” (AMC) – Lionsgate Television
“True Blood” (HBO) – Your Face Goes Here Productions In Association With HBO Entertainment

MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
“A Raisin in the Sun” – Sony Pictures Television, Storyline Entertainment and Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment
“Bernard and Doris” – Trigger Street Independent Productions in association with Little Bird and Chicago Films and HBO Films
“Cranford” – A Co-Production of BBC and WGBH Boston.
WINNER: “John Adams” – Playtone in association with HBO Films
“Recount” – Spring Creek/Mirage Productions in association with Trigger Street Productions, Everyman Pictures and HBO Films

TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
WINNER: “30 Rock” – Universal Media Studios in association with Broadway Video and Little
Stranger Inc.
“Californication” – Showtime Presents in association with Aggressive Mediocrity, And Then…
“Entourage” – Leverage and Closest to the Hole Productions in association with HBO Entertainment
“The Office” – Deedle Dee Productions, Reveille LLC, Universal Media Studios
“Weeds” – Lionsgate Television

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
WINNER: Gabriel Byrne – “In Treatment”
Michael C. Hall – “Dexter
Jon Hamm – “Mad Men
Hugh Laurie – “House
Jonathan Rhys Meyers – “The Tudors

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Sally Field – “Brothers And Sisters”
Mariska Hargitay – “Law And Order: Special Victims Unit”
January Jones – “Mad Men”
WINNER: Anna Paquin – “True Blood”
Kyra Sedgwick – “The Closer”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Christina Applegate – “Samantha Who?”
America Ferrera – “Ugly Betty”
WINNER: Tina Fey – “30 Rock”
Debra Messing – “The Starter Wife”
Mary-Louise Parker – “Weeds”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
WINNER: Alec Baldwin – “30 Rock”
Steve Carell – “The Office”
Kevin Connelly – “Entourage”
David Duchovny – “Californication”
Tony Shalhoub – “Monk”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Judi Dench – “Cranford”
Catherine Keener – “An American Crime”
WINNER: Laura Linney – “John Adams”
Shirley Maclaine – “Coco Chanel”
Susan Sarandon – “Bernard And Doris”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Ralph Fiennes – “Bernard and Doris”
WINNER: Paul Giamatti – “John Adams”
Kevin Spacey – ” Recount”
Kiefer Sutherland – “24: Redemption”
Tom Wilkinson – “Recount”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Neil Patrick Harris – “How I Met Your Mother”
Denis Leary – “Recount”
Jeremy Piven – “Entourage”
Blair Underwood – “In Treatment”
WINNER: Tom Wilkinson – “John Adams”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Eileen Atkins – “Cranford”
WINNER: Laura Dern – “Recount”
Melissa George – “In Treatment”
Rachel Griffiths – “Brothers And Sisters”
Dianne Wiest – “In Treatment”

Thank you, Variety.

The SAG AWARD NOMINEES were announced this morning. What makes this special, is that the focus is entirely about acting. Actors honoring acting performances. For me, that’s heaven,

And, in case you didn’t know, the SAG AWARDS are regarded, in Hollywood, as a kind of “Oscar E.S.P. ” (Oscar “channeling”?? Acad-Awards telepathy? SAG-The-Soothsayers??!

… Okay, enough…I know!)

Here’s a cheat sheet of all the nominees. Nice and brief.

Just one last thing, before I hit a show and after-holiday-party:

…This “Best Ensemble” category…well, the winner is usually the same movie that wins the Oscar for “Best Picture”, at the (a month later)… Academy Awards. We’ll see about that, this year we’ll check it out together, and I am psyched…

BEST ENSEMBLE
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Doubt”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

BEST ACTOR
Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”
Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”
Sean Penn, “Milk”
Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”
Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”
Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”
Meryl Streep, “Doubt”
Kate Winslet, “Revolutionary Road”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin, “Milk”
Robert Downey Jr., “Tropic Thunder”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”
Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
Dev Patel, “Slumdog Millionaire”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, “Doubt”
Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Viola Davis, “Doubt”
Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Kate Winslet, “The Reader”