The Film Thugs Movie Show

Oscar nominations were made this morning! Let the… well, let the wild speculation, grandstanding, and shameless campaigning begin.

As we’ve discussed on the show, this is little more than a big old dog and pony show, but somehow I still give a damn about it.

I realize that there is as much politics behind each nomination and winner is there is merit and I’m fine with that because this is pretty much an office awards ceremony that gets televised.

I’m also going to skip over some of the short subjects for now as I haven’t seen and don’t really care about them.

Oh, and "The Town" got absolutely HOSED!! "True Grit" got director and picture nods BECAUSE IT'S A COEN BROTHERS MOVIE! That's it. To be clear, I am saying that "The Town" should have gotten the nominations over "True Grit."

OH, AND DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON THE NOLAN SCREW JOB! I SIMPLY CANNOT.... I JUST... DAMN IT!!

So, without further ado…

Best Documentary, Features

Nominees:

Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010): Banksy

GasLand (2010): Josh Fox

Inside Job (2010): Charles Ferguson

Restrepo (2010): Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger

Waste Land (2010): Lucy Walker

Prediction- Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010): Banksy

Personal- Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010): Banksy

First off, I’m a little surprised that “Waiting for Superman” was not on this. I’m not disappointed, just surprised. I’ll go into detail on this at another point, but I’m not as blown away by this film as you would think. Of these I’ve only seen one, “Exit Through the Gift Shop” and I am really pulling for it, and I think it’s going to win. Sadly, the years true best documentary,“Exporting Raymond,” wasn’t nominated.

Best Achievement in Visual Effects Nominees:

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)

Hereafter (2010)

Inception (2010)

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Prediction- Inception (2010)

Personal- Inception (2010)

Special effects are a strange one. I hope that practical effects are rewarded this year and they don’t just hand another trophy out to a CGI nightmare. I’m pretty confident here though.

Best Achievement in Sound Editing Nominees:

Inception (2010)

Toy Story 3 (2010)

TRON: Legacy (2010)

True Grit (2010)

Unstoppable (2010)

Prediction- Inception (2010)

Personal- Inception (2010)

There are some interesting choices here. Sadly, I don’t really have enough knowledge about this yet to really know, so I’m going with my gut.

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing Nominees:

Inception (2010)

The King's Speech (2010)

Salt (2010)

The Social Network (2010)

True Grit (2010)

Prediction- Inception (2010)

Personal- Inception (2010)

Ummm… Even though I do know the difference betweent he tow I am still not 100% sure why they are different categories, so I’m just repeating my prediction.

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song

Nominees:

127 Hours (2010): A.R. Rahman, Rollo Armstrong, Dido("If I Rise")

Country Strong (2010): Bob DiPiero, Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges("Coming Home")

Tangled (2010): Alan Menken, Glenn Slater("I See the Light")

Toy Story 3 (2010): Randy Newman("We Belong Together")

Prediction- Toy Story 3 (2010): Randy Newman("We Belong Together")

Personal- Toy Story 3 (2010): Randy Newman("We Belong Together")

For some reason all of these songs annoy me. But at least Randy Newman wrote a song bagging on short people, so he has my vote.

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score Nominees:

127 Hours (2010): A.R. Rahman

How to Train Your Dragon (2010): John Powell

Inception (2010): Hans Zimmer

The King's Speech (2010): Alexandre Desplat

The Social Network (2010): Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

Prediction- The Social Network (2010): Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

Personal- Inception (2010): Hans Zimmer or The Social Network (2010): Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

This is a tough one because I absolutely love the two scores I picked and would be fine if either won, and a bit ticked if either lost. Inception was absolute perfection, but so was The Social Network. Total toss up, but I think this will be a night when The Social Network has a lot of pull.

Best Achievement in Makeup Nominees:

Barney's Version (2010)

The Way Back (2010)

The Wolfman (2010)

Prediction- The Wolfman (2010)

Personal- The Wolfman (2010)

I don’t care. At all. Not even a little. That being said, how can you vote against wolf man prosthetics?

Best Achievement in Costume Design Nominees:

Alice in Wonderland (2010): Colleen Atwood

I Am Love (2009): Antonella Cannarozzi

The King's Speech (2010): Jenny Beavan

The Tempest (2010/II): Sandy Powell

True Grit (2010): Mary Zophres

Personal- The Tempest (2010/II): Sandy Powell

Prediction- The Tempest (2010/II): Sandy Powell

I care even less than before. That being said… no, still don’t care. Tempest looks flashy so… yeah.

Best Achievement in Art Direction Nominees:

Alice in Wonderland (2010): Robert Stromberg, Karen O'Hara

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010): Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan

Inception (2010): Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Douglas A. Mowat

The King's Speech (2010): Eve Stewart, Judy Farr

True Grit (2010): Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh

Personal- Inception (2010): Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Douglas A. Mowat

Prediction- Inception (2010): Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Douglas A. Mowat

Yet more apathy from me here. Inception has a lot going on in this area, plus it’s amazing. So, I’m going with it here.

Best Achievement in Editing Nominees:

127 Hours (2010): Jon Harris

Black Swan (2010): Andrew Weisblum

The Fighter (2010): Pamela Martin

The King's Speech (2010): Tariq Anwar

The Social Network (2010): Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall

Prediction- The Social Network (2010): Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall

Personal- The Social Network (2010): Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall

The editing is such an absolutely vital part of this. I know this is true for editing in all cases, but here it is integral to the way the narrative unfolds. It’s complex and original. I don’t see much of a contest here.

Best Achievement in Cinematography Nominees:

Black Swan (2010): Matthew Libatique

Inception (2010): Wally Pfister

The King's Speech (2010): Danny Cohen

The Social Network (2010): Jeff Cronenweth

True Grit (2010): Roger Deakins

Prediction- Black Swan (2010): Matthew Libatique

Personal- Black Swan (2010): Matthew Libatique

Although I love all the nominations, Black Swan has the most striking use of lighting. I know Inception and TSN and True Grit all look great, but Black Swan is absolutely intoxicating in its use of light. Pretty much a lock in my book.

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year Nominees:

Biutiful (2010): Alejandro González Iñárritu(Mexico)

Dogtooth (2009): Giorgos Lanthimos(Greece)

In a Better World (2010): Susanne Bier(Denmark)

Incendies (2010): Denis Villeneuve(Canada)

Outside the Law (2010): Rachid Bouchareb(Algeria)

Prediction- Incendies (2010): Denis Villeneuve(Canada)

Personal- Incendies (2010): Denis Villeneuve(Canada)

Canada does not get enough love. I haven’t seen any of these, so I’m going with America’s Hat.

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year Nominees:

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

The Illusionist (2010)

Toy Story 3 (2010)

I’m not even going to waste my time on this one. I think the odds on this would be something like 1-20. Toy Story 3 takes this shit like Secretariat.

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

Nominees:

127 Hours (2010): Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy

The Social Network (2010): Aaron Sorkin

Toy Story 3 (2010): Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich

True Grit (2010): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Winter's Bone (2010): Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini

Prediction- The Social Network (2010): Aaron Sorkin

Personal- The Social Network (2010): Aaron Sorkin

Again, no contest.

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Nominees:

Another Year (2010): Mike Leigh

The Fighter (2010): Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson

Inception (2010): Christopher Nolan

The Kids Are All Right (2010): Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg

The King's Speech (2010): David Seidler

Prediction- The King's Speech (2010): David Seidler

Personal- Inception (2010): Christopher Nolan

I would love nothing more than to see Inception win this, but I think it’s too successful, too much of a blockbuster. That seems like an odd reason to think it won’t win, but The Kings Speech has so much momentum and is such a small film that relies so much more on the writing, not that Inception doesn’t it’s just that Inception has so much more going on. It’ll be close, but I think The King’s Speech will take it.

Best Achievement in Directing Nominees:

Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan (2010)

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen for True Grit (2010)

David Fincher for The Social Network (2010)

Tom Hooper for The King's Speech (2010)

David O. Russell for The Fighter (2010)

Prediction- David Fincher for The Social Network (2010)

Personal- David Fincher for The Social Network (2010)

There are some good nominations here and I wouldn’t be upset with any of them winning. That said, I think this is Fincher’s year.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Nominees:

Amy Adams for The Fighter (2010)

Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech (2010)

Melissa Leo for The Fighter (2010)

Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit (2010)

Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom (2010)

Prediction- Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom (2010)

Personal- Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom (2010)

I haven’t seen it, but from what I hear she absolutely dominates in this, so I am pulling for her. Also, this is the kind of role that seems to be built to win an award like this. OH, and Hailee Steinfeld IS NOT A SUPPORTING GOD DAMNED CHARACTER!! She is the lead. She is in every scene, everything that happens is because of her, and it IS HER STORY! I really hate shit like this!

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Nominees:

Christian Bale for The Fighter (2010)

John Hawkes for Winter's Bone (2010)

Jeremy Renner for The Town (2010)

Mark Ruffalo for The Kids Are All Right (2010)

Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech (2010)

Prediction- Christian Bale for The Fighter (2010)

Personal- John Hawkes for Winter's Bone (2010)

I have always been a big fan of John Hawkes and I think Teardrop is his best performance. Hawkes has been a quiet and understated powerhouse since “From Dusk ‘Till Dawn” and I would love to see him get this. However, this is Bale’s year.  Also, I LOVED Renner in "The Town," but this is his second nomination in two years. He will win at least one in the future and may win this year, but I think that Bale has a lock.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Nominees:

Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right (2010)

Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole (2010)

Jennifer Lawrence for Winter's Bone (2010)

Natalie Portman for Black Swan (2010)

Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine (2010)

Prediction- Natalie Portman for Black Swan (2010)

Personal- Jennifer Lawrence for Winter's Bone (2010)

This fits my best vs. most argument. Portman has a flashy role that she delivers very well and will win a disserved Oscar for it. However, Lawrence is so compelling in her performance, which is simple, subdued, and real. I would be fine with Portman, but Lawrence would really make me happy.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Nominees:

Javier Bardem for Biutiful (2010)

Jeff Bridges for True Grit (2010)

Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network (2010)

Colin Firth for The King's Speech (2010)

James Franco for 127 Hours (2010)

Personal- Colin Firth for The King's Speech (2010)

Prediction- Colin Firth for The King's Speech (2010)

I don’t see much of a contest here. He should have won it last year, and will win again at some point. This year it’s all about handsomeness and talent. Well played Mr. Firth.

Best Motion Picture of the Year Nominees:

127 Hours (2010)

Black Swan (2010)

The Fighter (2010)

Inception (2010)

The Kids Are All Right (2010)

The King's Speech (2010)

The Social Network (2010)

Toy Story 3 (2010)

True Grit (2010)

Winter's Bone (2010)

Prediction- The Social Network (2010)

Personal- Inception (2010)

I really want Inception to win. I do. But it won’t. There is a chance for The King’s Speech. Between the 12 nominations and the Producers Guild award it’s got a shot, but I think that The Social Network will take it, and I’m good with that.

So, no big surprises here as usual. Should be an interesting year.

So, Yahoo! associated content published this. Go here and read it. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/6134042/exporting_raymond_the_best_and_most.html?cat=40

Now, I haven't seen everything I want to. True Grit and The Kings Speech, among some others, would probably have made this list, but I gotta go with what I got. So, here it is. My first ever 10 best list.

10) Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage- Even if you don't like Rush you will still be entertained by this.

9) Blue Valentine- Heartbreaking, gritty, and moving.

8) Ip Man- The best martial arts movie I've seen in years. It's more than great fighting, it's a great story with great fighting in it.

7) Toy Story 3- Surprise, surprise. Pixar made another good movie.

6) 127 Hours- How can something with basically one location be so damned enthralling.

5) The Town- Solid action, solid writing, solid acting. When did Ben Affleck become such a great director?

4) Black Swan- Intense, haunting, and some of the most captivating effects I've ever seen.

3) Inception- Finally, a heist movie for "smart" people.

2) The Social Network- The writing, the directing, and the performances are amazing.

1) Exporting Raymond- An amazing documentary I cannot stop talking about. One of the funniest movies I've ever seen.

Honorable mentions:

Un Prophet (A Prophet)

Five Minutes of Heaven

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Who is Harry Nillson? (and why is everyone talking about him?)

Jim here.

The Golden Globe (Oscar’s younger, less successful brother who still tends to get a fair amount of attention) nominations were announced today. I guess they’re important, but let’s be honest. When your award is held up as a predictor of another award… well maybe you’re not that important.

Don’t get me wrong, they’re still a big deal, but it’s not, by any stretch, the big boy of the bunch.

So, I’ve just looked at the nominations and here are my predictions based off no research.

1. BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA a. BLACK SWAN Protozoa Pictures & Cross Creek Pictures & Phoenix; Fox Searchlight Pictures b. THE FIGHTER Paramount Pictures and Relativity Media; Paramount Pictures and Relativity Media c. INCEPTION Warner Bros. Pictures UK LTD.; Warner Bros. Pictures d. THE KING’S SPEECH See-Saw Films and Bedlam Productions; The Weinstein Company e. THE SOCIAL NETWORK Columbia Pictures; Sony Pictures Releasing

I still haven’t seen “The Fighter,” or “The King’s Speech,” but of the three I have seen I am completely torn. “Black Swan” is hypnotic and beautiful, “Inception” is incredible, and “The Social Network” is… well, “The Social Network.” It’s kind of ubiquitous.

This one is a tough call, but I have to go with “The Social Network.” Agree or not, it’s going to win. I personally think it should.

2. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA a. HALLE BERRY, FRANKIE AND ALICE b. NICOLE KIDMAN, RABBIT HOLE c. JENNIFER LAWRENCE, WINTER’S BONE d. NATALIE PORTMAN, BLACK SWAN e. MICHELLE WILLIAMS, BLUE VALENTINE

I’ve only seen “Blue Valentine” and “Black Swan” and no matter how good the other performances are I don’t see any of them being better. I want to see Michelle Williams win, but I think Natalie Portman will win and I am completely fine with that.

3. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA a. JESSE EISENBERG, THE SOCIAL NETWORK b. COLIN FIRTH, THE KING’S SPEECH c. JAMES FRANCO, 127 HOURS d. RYAN GOSLING, BLUE VALENTINE e. MARK WAHLBERG, THE FIGHTER

I haven’t seen it yet, but this is Colin Firth’s. I love Goslin, Franco, and Eisenberg’s performances, and I hear Wahlberg is great, but let’s be honest. This will be the first of many for Firth, who will also win his first Oscar for this.

4. BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL a. ALICE IN WONDERLAND Walt Disney Pictures; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures b. BURLESQUE Screen Gems; Sony Pictures Releasing c. THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT Antidote Films, Mandalay Vision, Gilbert Films; Focus Features d. RED di Bonaventura Pictures; Summit Entertainment e. THE TOURIST GK Films; Sony Pictures Releasing

I have no idea. “Alice in Wonderland” looks about the most foolish piece of garbage one could imagine, I am more interested in elective tooth surgery than “Burlesque,” “The Tourist” seems like a waste, and “Red” is a good old action film. Were I a betting man, I would put it on “The Kids are All Right.” I don’t know why, but I know the least about it so I have the least against it.

5. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL a. ANNETTE BENING, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT b. ANNE HATHAWAY, LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS c. ANGELINA JOLIE, THE TOURIST d. JULIANNE MOORE, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT e. EMMA STONE, EASY A

Ummm.. Julianne Moore? I have no idea, only that Emma Stone? Really? This could go any way, so I am putting my money on Moore.

6. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL a. JOHNNY DEPP, ALICE IN WONDERLAND b. JOHNNY DEPP, THE TOURIST c. PAUL GIAMATTI, BARNEY’S VERSION d. JAKE GYLLENHAAL, LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS e. KEVIN SPACEY, CASINO JACK

I think Johnny Depp is being greedy. Gyllenhaal? Don’t care. Giamatti would be great, so would Spacey. I’ll go with Giamatti because I like him more and his dad is the guy who banned Pete Rose from baseball. So that’s pretty sweet.

7. BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM a. DESPICABLE ME Universal Pictures, Illumination Entertainment; Universal Pictures b. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON DreamWorks Animation; Paramount Pictures c. THE ILLUSIONIST Django Films, Ciné B and France 3 Cinéma; Sony Pictures Classics d. TANGLED Walt Disney Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures e. TOY STORY 3 Disney * Pixar; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Is this even a contest? This should be called the Best Animated Feature That We Were Forced By Our Rules To Nominate More than “Toy Story 3” for.

8. BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM a. BIUTIFUL (MEXICO/SPAIN) Menageatroz, Focus Features International; Roadside Attractions b. THE CONCERT (FRANCE) An Oï Oï Oï Productions, Les Productions Du Tresor, France 3 Cinema, Europacorp, Castel Films, Panache Productions, RTBF (Belgian Television), BIM Distrubuzione Co., Canal +, Cinecinema and France 3; The Weinstein Company c. THE EDGE (RUSSIA) (Kpaй) Teleshow/Rock Films; Central Partnership (Russia) d. I AM LOVE (ITALY) (LO SONO L’AMORE) First Sun; Magnolia Pictures e. IN A BETTER WORLD (DENMARK) (Hævnen) Zentropa Entertainment; Sony Pictures Classics

No clue. But I do like Russian films, so I will go with “The Edge.”

9. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE a. AMY ADAMS, THE FIGHTER b. HELENA BONHAM CARTER, THE KING’S SPEECH c. MILA KUNIS, BLACK SWAN d. MELISSA LEO, THE FIGHTER e. JACKI WEAVER, ANIMAL KINGDOM

I think Helena Bohnam Carter will win, bit I really want Mila Kunis to win. I also cannot believe I’m writing that. She was incredible and really surprised me with her performance. At no point would I have even guessed she had that in her.

10. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE a. CHRISTIAN BALE, THE FIGHTER b. MICHAEL DOUGLAS, WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS c. ANDREW GARFIELD, THE SOCIAL NETWORK d. JEREMY RENNER, THE TOWN e. GEOFFREY RUSH, THE KING’S SPEECH

This will go to Bale. Douglas is a sentimental favorite, Garfield is popular, and Renner made “The Town,” but I hear that Bale absolutely walks away with “The Fighter.” This will be the first of many major wins for him.

11. BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE a. DARREN ARONOFSKY, BLACK SWAN b. DAVID FINCHER, THE SOCIAL NETWORK c. TOM HOOPER, THE KING’S SPEECH d. CHRISTOPHER NOLAN, INCEPTION e. DAVID O. RUSSELL, THE FIGHTER

I would be fine with any of these winning, but I think Fincher walks with this. I would love Aronofsky or Nolan to win, but I think between the hype and his reputation I think Fincher walks with this.

12. BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE a. DANNY BOYLE, 127 HOURS SIMON BEAUFOY b. LISA CHOLODENKO, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT STUART BLUMBERG c. CHRISTOPHER NOLAN, INCEPTION d. DAVID SEIDLER, THE KING’S SPEECH e. AARON SORKIN, THE SOCIAL NETWORK

I’m cool with most of these, but this is like “Toy Story 3.” Sorkin wins this. Hands down.

13. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE a. ALEXANDRE DESPLAT, THE KING’S SPEECH b. DANNY ELFMAN, ALICE IN WONDERLAND c. A.R. RAHMAN, 127 HOURS d. TRENT REZNOR, THE SOCIAL NETWORK ATTICUS ROSS e. HANS ZIMMER, INCEPTION

Zimmer will take this. The music for “Inception” was unreal. I would not mind Trent Reznor winning, “The Social Network” music was brilliant, but I think Zimmer takes it.

14. BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE a. “BOUND TO YOU” — BURLESQUE Music by: Samuel Dixon Lyrics by: Christina Aguilera, Sia Furler b. “COMING HOME” — COUNTRY STRONG Music & Lyrics by: Bob DiPiero, Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges c. “I SEE THE LIGHT” — TANGLED Music by: Alan Menken Lyrics by: Glenn Slater d. “THERE’S A PLACE FOR US” — CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER Music & Lyrics by: Carrie Underwood, David Hodges, Hillary Lindsey e. “YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE LAST OF ME” — BURLESQUE Music & Lyrics by: Diane Warren

I don’t care.

15. BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA a. BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO) Leverage, Closest to the Hole Productions, Sikelia Productions and Cold Front Productions, HBO Entertainment b. DEXTER (SHOWTIME) Showtime, John Goldwyn Productions, The Colleton Company c. THE GOOD WIFE (CBS) CBS Television Studios d. MAD MEN (AMC) Lionsgate Television e. THE WALKING DEAD (AMC) AMC

Much as I love “Dexter” and “Mad Men” I truly believe that “Boardwalk Empire” will win and justifiably so. Amazing, groundbreaking show.

16. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA a. JULIANNA MARGULIES, THE GOOD WIFE b. ELISABETH MOSS, MAD MEN c. PIPER PERABO, COVERT AFFAIRS d. KATEY SAGAL, SONS OF ANARCHY e. KYRA SEDGWICK, THE CLOSER

I really want Katey Segal to win.

17. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA a. STEVE BUSCEMI, BOARDWALK EMPIRE b. BRYAN CRANSTON, BREAKING BAD c. MICHAEL C. HALL, DEXTER d. JON HAMM, MAD MEN e. HUGH LAURIE, HOUSE

It’s a toss up here, but I think Buscemi will win. I want another for Cranston, but I think Steve takes it.

18. BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL a. 30 ROCK (NBC) Universal Media Studios in association with Broadway Video and Little Stranger Inc. b. THE BIG BANG THEORY (CBS) Warner Bros. Television c. THE BIG C (SHOWTIME) Showtime, Sony Pictures Television, Perkins Street Productions, Farm Kid, Original Film d. GLEE (FOX) Ryan Murphy Television, Twentieth Century Fox Television e. MODERN FAMILY (ABC) Twentieth Century Fox Television f. NURSE JACKIE (SHOWTIME) Showtime, Lionsgate Television, Jackson Group Entertainment, Madison Grain Elevator, Inc. & Delong Lumber, Caryn Mandabach Productions

Modern Family is where it’s at.

19. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –COMEDY OR MUSICAL a. TONI COLLETTE, UNITED STATES OF TARA b. EDIE FALCO, NURSE JACKIE c. TINA FEY, 30 ROCK d. LAURA LINNEY, THE BIG C e. LEA MICHELE, GLEE

Don’t really care. Probably Lea Michelle.

20. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL a. ALEC BALDWIN, 30 ROCK b. STEVE CARELL, THE OFFICE c. THOMAS JANE, HUNG d. MATTHEW MORRISON, GLEE e. JIM PARSONS, THE BIG BANG THEORY

Jim Parsons takes this which is good. I don’t watch the show, but I understand that he is the only reason that show is still around and I always support a fellow Jim.

21. BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION a. CARLOS (SUNDANCE CHANNEL) Sundance Channel b. THE PACIFIC (HBO) Playtone and DreamWorks in association with HBO Films c. PILLARS OF THE EARTH (STARZ) Starz, Tandem Communications, Muse Entertainment Scott Free Films d. TEMPLE GRANDIN (HBO) A Ruby Films, Gerson Saines Production, HBO Films e. YOU DON’T KNOW JACK (HBO) Bee Holder, Cine Mosaic and Levinson/Fontana Productions, HBO Films

Either “Temple Grandin” or “The Pacific.” Grandin is the sentimental, but you can’t go wrong with a WW2 miniseries.

22. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION a. HAYLEY ATWELL, PILLARS OF THE EARTH b. CLAIRE DANES, TEMPLE GRANDIN c. JUDI DENCH, RETURN TO CRANFORD d. ROMOLA GARAI, EMMA e. JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT, THE CLIENT LIST

Danes already has the Emmy, so she takes this as well.

23. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION a. IDRIS ELBA, LUTHER b. IAN MCSHANE, PILLARS OF THE EARTH c. AL PACINO, YOU DON’T KNOW JACK d. DENNIS QUAID, THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP e. EDGAR RAMIREZ, CARLOS

Haven’t seen any of it, but I will support Ian McShane for any award at any time in any place.

24. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION a. HOPE DAVIS, THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP b. JANE LYNCH, GLEE c. KELLY MACDONALD, BOARDWALK EMPIRE d. JULIA STILES, DEXTER e. SOFIA VERGARA, MODERN FAMILY

I will be happy with either Lynch or McDonald, but could see any of the nominees winning. Were I to bet I’d say McDonald will get it because she is amazing and will be helped by the momentum of 25.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION a. SCOTT CAAN, HAWAII FIVE-O b. CHRIS COLFER, GLEE c. CHRIS NOTH, THE GOOD WIFE d. ERIC STONESTREET, MODERN FAMILY e. DAVID STRATHAIRN, TEMPLE GRANDIN “Boardwalk Empire.”

Scott Caan? This is between Strathairn and Stonestreet. I want Stonestreet (he is amazing) but I think Strathairn will win.

So, there you go. Totally un-researched, knee jerk predictions. Let’s see how they turn out.

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