Dismal Ceremony, Stellar Results

Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell? Really? I cannot imagine that their interim commentary/banter, especially inappropriate before the winners were announced, was interesting to anyone except for awards enthusiasts like myself and maybe half of you readers. The absence of any envelope opening really takes away the suspense and excitement of it all. It is too bad even moreso because this is the first year that I truthfully accomplished the feat of seeing pretty much everything (and every winner, more importantly). If the Oscars are like this, that will really suck. The one positive thing was the presence of Entertainment Weekly's Dave Karger as a commentator. Even cooler because I actually met him at the premiere of "Sleuth".

Anyway, on to the awesomeness of the winners. I correctly predicted 9/14, getting right both Best Picture races and all the acting categories except Best Supporting Actress, which went to Cate Blanchett for "I'm Not There". I guess I should always go with my first guess. "Atonement" for Best Original Score is terrific and "Guaranteed" from "Into the Wild" is fine too (though Bush and O'Dell neglected to announce those two categories, as well as Best Foreign Film and Best Screenplay). "No Country for Old Men" over "Juno" is suprising, but that means that it and "Juno" will win the corresponding Oscars. The best, most fantastic surprise is Julian Schnabel for Best Director. He so deserved the award and this solidifies "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" as a Best Picture Oscar contender. I love good surprises. I was also happy that "Atonement" and "Sweeney Todd" came through, firstly because they are great movies, and secondly because it so shakes up the Oscar race. Both were completely snubbed by DGA, WGA, and SAG but now it gets interesting. If either shows up at the PGA tomorrow, they should be in for Oscar. I will now have to throw "Atonement" back into my predictions, happily of course. The big losers tonight are "Juno" (which is a surprise, considering it easily could have won all three of its nominated categories), "Charlie Wilson's War" (expected) and "Michael Clayton" (also obvious, and hopefully a signal of a surprise shut-out at the Oscars, if only). PGA nominee reactions tomorrow, then official Oscar predictions begin. The winners from tonight:

Best Motion Picture - Drama: ATONEMENT
Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical: SWEENEY TODD
Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama: DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama: JULIE CHRISTIE, AWAY FROM HER
Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical: JOHNNY DEPP, SWEENEY TODD
Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical: MARION COTILLARD, LA VIE EN ROSE
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: JAVIER BARDEM, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: CATE BLANCHETT, I'M NOT THERE
Best Director - JULIAN SCHNABEL, THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
Best Screenplay - NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Best Original Score - ATONEMENT
Best Original Song - "Guaranteed" from INTO THE WILD
Best Foreign Film - THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
Best Animated Film - RATATOUILLE