Great dream Productions Oscar Picks 2008

Oscar Nominees & Nancy's Picks in Bold

Best Picture
I only had a chance to see three out of five from this list, Atonement, Juno, and No Country For Old Men. Adored Juno but the Coen Brothers delivered a staggering film with No Country For Old Men--it gets my pick.




"Atonement"
"Juno"
"Michael Clayton"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Actor
Tough one, only saw Sweeney Todd. My guess is that it will go to Daniel Day-Lewis.

George Clooney, "Michael Clayton"
Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"
Johnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
Tommy Lee Jones, "In the Valley of Elah"
Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises"

Best Actress
Saw Away From Her, La Vie en Rose, Juno --- I want to give the Oscar to Julie Christie and Marion Cotillard. Both actors deserve this recognition. If I can pick only one, it will go to Julie Christie.

Cate Blanchett, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
Julie Christie, "Away From Her"
Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"
Laura Linney, "The Savages"
Ellen Page, "Juno"



Best Supporting Actor
This is really not fair because I only got to one of these films, No Country For Old Men. Bardem, Holbrook, Hoffman, and Wilkinson are great actors. Affleck probably has more time to deliver great performances. I'll have to go with Javier Bardem.

Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"
Hal Holbrook, "Into the Wild"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Charlie Wilson's War"
Tom Wilkinson, "Michael Clayton"




Best Supporting Actress
Atonement and I'm Not There were the films I had a chance to see. Cate Blanchett gets my pick for her Bob Dylan turn.
Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There"
Ruby Dee, "American Gangster"
Saoirse Ronan, "Atonement"
Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"
Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton"






Best Director
Going with the Coen Brothers.

Julian Schnabel, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Jason Reitman, "Juno"
Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"

Best Adapted Screenplay
Of the two films seen, I'm going with Sarah Polley. A great first-time turn as director and a beautiful film.

Christopher Hampton, "Atonement"
Sarah Polley, "Away from Her"
Ronald Harwood, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"






Best Original Screenplay
Going with Diablo Cody for Juno, great characters, great first script.

Diablo Cody, "Juno"
Nancy Oliver, "Lars and the Real Girl"
Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco, "Ratatouille"
Tamara Jenkins, "The Savages"

Global "Freeze" Sparks Social Media Frenzy

Talk about creative sparks bringing people together, New York City based "Improv Everywhere" staged this "freeze" event in Grand Central Station in January. The group has quickly gone global with similar social media events in other major cities around the world.

Inspired by the Grand Central event, so far freezing time events have taken place in London's Trafalgar Square and Toronto.

Here's Grand Central Station on a cold Saturday in January. The London event clip follows with a 1,000 people participating.

Very cool!



London's Trafalgar Square Freeze, February 2008

Beagle Takes Best In Show

One feisty proud Beagle named UNO took Best In Show last week at the Westminster Dog Show. UNO is the first Beagle to ever win a Best in Show and the first Beagle in the Hound classification to win in about 100 years. Beagles are great little dogs and wonderful for children. I've always loved Beagles, my first puppy was a Beagle named Gertrude. I remember going to the pet store and picking her out, she was about 8 weeks old and cost $25.

Photo Credits: Associated Press

Barking Up The Right Tree

Sally Dyal's first book debuted in December, her adoring friends and family were thrilled to receive a copy.