2008 Woodie Awards
80 year Oscar anniversary screens on Sunday
Sara Carr
Issue date: 2/19/08 Section: Arts & Society
The 80th Annual Academy Awards ceremony is ready to roll out its carpets without any speed bumps or hitches along the way.
Up until the end of the strike, the Super Bowl of Hollywood was in doubt about it's continuance with rumors running rampant that the show might be cancelled, postponed or suffer the fate of The Golden Globes: a measly press conference. Even "Entertainment Weekly" printed a cover issue last month asking, "Will the Oscars Happen?"
But with the writers back on board, so are the actors, the fashion, and the typical glitz of years past.
The 2008 show boasts John Stewart as a second time host of the awards, reprising the task he took on two years ago with a solid performance. His sardonic humor will be accompanied with the an array of celebrities including nominees George Clooney, Johnny Depp and Cate Blanchett as well as a laundry list of top-notch talent for presenters with names like Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford, Denzel Washington, Patrick Dempsey and Steve Carrell.
The show is not only just a few actors handing out 8-and-a-half-pound statuettes; musical performances will range from Amy Adams singing "Happy Working Song" from the film "Enchanted" as well as "Once" stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova singing "Falling Slowly," (both Best Song nominees.)
This highly anticipated ceremony will bring a much needed boost to the strike-addled town as well as the filler to the blank of, "And the Oscar goes to___."
And this years nominees for the best work of 2007 range from aspiring writers and the lies they tell, to sarcastic and bittersweet teenage pregnancies, to a violent showdown over drugs and money.
The nominees for Best Picture are: "Atonement," "No Country for Old Men," "Michael Clayton," "Juno," and "There Will Be Blood."
Odds-on Favorite: "No Country for Old Men."
My Pick: "Juno." It was almost painful to reach this decision as it was a near three-way-tie between "Juno", "No Country", and "Atonement". All three are perfectly executed from the writing to the acting and the directing. But "Juno" remains an outlier in comparison to five films up for the award. It's a unique high school comedy with a biting wit and a satisfying conclusion. The fact that it is so different from the usual crop of nominees is refreshing; it's a youth-centered flick that in my opinion, ushers in the next generation of Hollywood.
Up until the end of the strike, the Super Bowl of Hollywood was in doubt about it's continuance with rumors running rampant that the show might be cancelled, postponed or suffer the fate of The Golden Globes: a measly press conference. Even "Entertainment Weekly" printed a cover issue last month asking, "Will the Oscars Happen?"
But with the writers back on board, so are the actors, the fashion, and the typical glitz of years past.
The 2008 show boasts John Stewart as a second time host of the awards, reprising the task he took on two years ago with a solid performance. His sardonic humor will be accompanied with the an array of celebrities including nominees George Clooney, Johnny Depp and Cate Blanchett as well as a laundry list of top-notch talent for presenters with names like Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford, Denzel Washington, Patrick Dempsey and Steve Carrell.
The show is not only just a few actors handing out 8-and-a-half-pound statuettes; musical performances will range from Amy Adams singing "Happy Working Song" from the film "Enchanted" as well as "Once" stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova singing "Falling Slowly," (both Best Song nominees.)
This highly anticipated ceremony will bring a much needed boost to the strike-addled town as well as the filler to the blank of, "And the Oscar goes to___."
And this years nominees for the best work of 2007 range from aspiring writers and the lies they tell, to sarcastic and bittersweet teenage pregnancies, to a violent showdown over drugs and money.
The nominees for Best Picture are: "Atonement," "No Country for Old Men," "Michael Clayton," "Juno," and "There Will Be Blood."
Odds-on Favorite: "No Country for Old Men."
My Pick: "Juno." It was almost painful to reach this decision as it was a near three-way-tie between "Juno", "No Country", and "Atonement". All three are perfectly executed from the writing to the acting and the directing. But "Juno" remains an outlier in comparison to five films up for the award. It's a unique high school comedy with a biting wit and a satisfying conclusion. The fact that it is so different from the usual crop of nominees is refreshing; it's a youth-centered flick that in my opinion, ushers in the next generation of Hollywood.
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