Oscar Time

It's now the end of November and the perfect time to start up the Oscar blog. There are still 102 days until the actual ceremony, but who cares, we are all already excited. Here are some important dates about the Oscars and other various award shows.

The Academy Award Nominations are announced on February 2nd.
The Winners are announced on March 7th.

The Golden Globe Nominees are announced on December 15th, 2009.
The winners are announced on January 17th.

The SAG Award nominees will be announced on December 17th.
The SAG Award winners are announced on January 23rd.

The Broadcast Critic Award nominees will be announced on December 14th.
The Broadcast Critic Award winners will be announced on January 15th.

The National Board of Review winners will be announced on December 3rd.

My thoughts on the best actor in a comedy series nominees

Best Actor in a Comedy Series

Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock

Steve Carell for The Office

Jemaine Clement for Flight of the Conchords

Jim Parsons for The Big Bang Theory

Tony Shaloub for Monk

Charlie Sheen for Two and a Half Men

All of last years nominees (except for Lee Pace) have returned. There are also two new faces to the group of otherwise predictable faces, Jemaine Clement and Jim Parsons. Critics love these two actors and have always wanted them to be nominated and for once the television academy has granted them their wish. I am so glad The Big Bang Theory is finally being recognized, and this is the perfect way for them to recognize the show. I am also ecstatic for the nomination of Jemaine Clement. Flight of the Conchords is such a creatively different show, and for once they are honoring a new kind of comedy.

Overall I think this is a perfect bunch of nominees, except for Tony Shaloub for his role in Monk. This is his seventh nomination for his performance, and he has won three times. I think the show is one of the most overrated on television, along with his performance. Sadly, there aren't that many emmy worthy performances in the best actor of a comedy section of the Emmys. The only other worthy replacements I could think of would be Zachary Levi for Chuck or Lee Pace for Pushing Daisies. I just hope some more great actors sprout up next year, and turn this category around!

My thoughts on the best actress in a drama series

Best Actress in a Drama Series

Glenn Close for Damages

Sally Field for Brothers and Sisters

Mariska Hargitay for Law & Order: SVU

Holly Hunter for Saving Grace

Elisabeth Moss for Mad Men

Kyra Sedgwick for The Closer

There aren't any surprises in this category, mainly because nothing has changed at all from last year except for the addition of Elisabeth Moss. They continue to honor the FX/TNT superwomen club (Close, Hunter, and Sedgwick). I might even include Hargitay in that category since her show is replayed on TNT all the time. Then there is the magnificent Sally Field, who will probably be nominated until the series is over.

I don't understand why the television academy continues to honor Mariska Hargitay year after year. I am really over that show and her performance. It beats me why they continue to honor a performance of what everyone wishes a cop was, while completely ignoring a performance that is all too real (Michael Chiklis).

It is time that the emmys put down their noses and honored shows with fantasy/sci-fi premises. They used to do it all the time. Does anyone remember Gillian Anderson winning for The X Files? What about Mariette Hartley for The Incredible Hulk, or Lindsay Wagner for The Bionic Woman? If the television academy could honor shows like these back then, then I am sure they can do it now. They ignored two actresses this year. The first being Mary McDonnell for Battlestar Galactica and the second being Anna Paquin for True Blood. They have never honored Battlestar Galactica and this was their last chance now that the series has ended. Where the hell is Anna Paquin's nomination? She stars in the best new show of the year. She holds her own playing a human surrounded by vampires and other crazy things, all while being telepathic. Paquin is also an oscar winner, which usually helps get you nominated here (see Field, Close, Hunter, and Wiest). Although the academy can never fix the McDonnell fiasco, they can honor Paquin next year, but I highly doubt they will.

My thoughts on the best actor in a drama series nominees

Best Actor in a Drama Series

Simon Baker for The Mentalist

Gabriel Byrne for In Treatment

Bryan Cranston for Breaking Bad

Michael C. Hall for Dexter

Jon Hamm for Mad Men

Hugh Laurie for House

There aren't that many big surprises here. They are the exact same nominees as last year, except for one swap out. Instead of nominating James Spader for his final season of Boston Legal (3 wins/4 nominations), they nominated Simon Baker for his new show The Mentalist. This surprise nomination has reminded a lot of people of Patricia Arquette getting nominated (and winning) for her show Medium. I think the most surprising part about this category is the lack of Spader. He has been an emmy favorite for years, almost always winning. Why did they leave him out in his final season? This one doesn't bother me that much though, I have always found this show to be overrated.

The big snub that I was not happy with though, was Michael Chiklis for the final season of The Shield. The final scene of the very last episode was so brilliant. I don't know how this happened but it is ridiculous. Way back in 2002 Chiklis won for his portrayal of Vic Mackey, and was nominated one more time the year after it, however the academy abandoned him after 2003.

My thoughts on the best drama nominees (emmy)

This category is usually one of the most predictable categories. We know (whether I like it or not) that House (and Hugh Laurie for that matter) will be nominated until the series ends. We know the academy will favor shows on networks on channels like HBO and AMC over networks like CBS and FOX. That being said the nominees are:

Best Drama Series

Big Love

Breaking Bad

Damages

Dexter

House

Lost

Mad Men

And for the most part a lot of the nominations were predictable. Five out of six of last year's nominees have returned, only surprisingly leaving out Boston Legal. There was a tie for the sixth spot, which ended up giving us seven nominees; Big Love and Breaking Bad. Everyone is excited for the nomination for Big Love, now we all just wish the television academy would get around to honoring it's stars. Breaking Bad isn't that much of a surprise if you think about either. It is the second series on AMC, which the academy fell in love with for giving them Mad Men. After Bryan Cranston won last year for playing the lead role, the series' viewership started to rise.

I am a little surprised with all of the love for Damages still. It returned to the best drama series once again and it received three acting nominations. I have no idea if it will return for a third season, it's ratings keep on dropping, and if it does return will the academy continue to honor this show?

The thing I am a little surprised at (yet filled with joy over) is the absence of Boston Legal. This year was it's final season. It might have hurt the show that they aired the final episode way back in december, but who knows. Candice Bergen and Emmy favorite James Spader also failed to be recognized this year. The only major nominations the show received for it's final season were for William Shatner and Christian Clemenson.

Boston Legal is not the only series that was left out of the emmy races in it's final season, The Shield was criminally overlooked for any nominations this year. The Shield was probably the best show on television this year, it was brilliant. The final episode wrapped up the series perfectly, and how does the academy honor it? By not nominating it at all! This is one of the most ridiculous snubs of the year but somehow a lot of people are not surprised. The television academy has never really wanted to honor The Shield; never nominating the show, and only twice nominating Michael Chiklis (with one win) and only once nominating CCH Pounder (with zero wins). The academy has never really wanted to give credit to FX shows that take honorable jobs like a cop or a firefighter (Rescue Me) and show them in their lives in a less than god-like way. They honor Mariska Hargitay every single year for playing a cop that has never once done the wrong thing and everyone loves her. They don't love it when the main character is someone who they think is a hero but they are portrayed as an anti-hero or anti-heroine.

The other big shocker of the year is the lack of nominations for True Blood. The surprise hit on TV has two things on it's side. One being it stars an Oscar winner, three of this year's Best Drama Actress nominees are all winners (Glenn Close, Sally Field, Holly Hunter) as well as Dianne Wiest in the supporting actress category. The other thing that True Blood has that emmy voters love is that it is on HBO. You would think the television academy would just eat this show up because of these reasons and because it is freaking brilliant. Honestly, it is the best new show of the year. It made me so mad that I could not decide which snub made me more angry, The Shield or True Blood.

My thoughts on the best comedy emmy nominees

The emmy nominations came out about a week or two ago with a couple of big surprises. A while ago they announced they would expand all of the television series acting categories and best series categories to six nominees, however on the actual day of nominations the Best Drama Series and Best Comedy Series categories had seven nominees due to ties. Personally I think this is great and it makes me wonder which of the nominees ended up in a tie. The nominees for Best Comedy Series are:

Best Comedy Series

Entourage

Family Guy

Flight of the Conchords

How I Met Your Mother

The Office

30 Rock

Weeds

This category was a little shocking to be honest with you. Two of last years nominees (Two and a Half Men & Curb Your Enthusiasm) did not get nominated this year for some strange reason. Curb Your Enthusiasm was not eligible, seeing as they have not had a new season since 2007. Two and a Half Men is very shocking though. It is the most watched comedy on television, but it seems to be loosing it's emmy steam (Holland Taylor also did not receive a nomination this year). I am curious to see if Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer will continue to pick up a nomination next year or if the show will completely loose it's Emmy Fan Base.

With the absence of two usual nominees, there are four new shows being honored; Family Guy, Flight of the Conchords, How I Met Your Mother, and Weeds. I am really glad the television academy has decided to honor HMYM and Weeds as the great shows that they are and not just the acting triumphs. I am so excited for the recognition of Flight of the Conchords. I wonder if this will save the show from cancellation. It also seems like premium channel shows are now starting to take over the comedy section of the emmys. Now three of the nominees air on premium channels; Entourage (HBO), Flight of the Conchords (HBO), and Weeds (Showtime). The number will most likely increase when Curb Your Enthusiasm becomes eligible next year.

The one nominee I have mixed feelings about is Family Guy. I have never been a fan of the show and I have always thought it is a tad overrated. There are so many other great animated shows out there. The Simpsons and South Park came before Family Guy, and to be honest they are a hell of a lot funnier. Honestly, Spongebob is funnier and smarter then Family Guy. How great would it have been if Spongebob Squarepants was nominated. So I am not a fan of Family Guy but I do give kudos to the television academy for nominating something a lot of people would look down upon.

Now lets move on to the shows that were snubbed. There aren't that many as other categories and it is kind of concerning. What is happening to comedy shows, the sitcom is already dead. ABC is trying to bring in a new era of comedy. They were successful with Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty has started to loose it's viewership, and Pushing Daisies (as creative and delightful as it was) never got it's chance. These are brilliant shows and I don't understand why they are being ignored. Desperate Housewives has gone back to the magic they had the first season with the five year leap and I think Ugly Betty was great this season, but it is incredibly rare for a show to return to being nominated after being forgotten for a couple of years.

My predictions for Emmy Award Nominees

I know this is a day late but oh well. I'm trying really hard to fit in my blog to my schedule. I promise it will start off soon! Anyways instead of having multiple posts explaining everything, this year I will just give a list of my predictions for the ten major categories.

Best Comedy Series

30 Rock

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Entourage

Flight of the Conchords

The Office

Two and a Half Men

Best Drama Series

Dexter

House

Lost

Mad Men

The Shield

True Blood

Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Bryan Cranston for Breaking Bad

Gabrielle Byrne for In Treatment

Hugh Laurie for House M.D.

James Spader for Boston Legal

Jon Hamm for Mad Men

Michael Chiklis for The Shield

Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Anna Paquin for True Blood

Glenn Close for Damages

January Jones for Mad Men

Kyra Sedgwick for The Closer

Mary McDonnell for Battlestar Galactica

Sally Field for Brothers and Sisters

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock

Charlie Sheen for Two and a Half Men

David Duchovny for Californication

Steve Carell for The Office

Tony Shaloub for Monk

Zachary Levi for Chuck

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

America Ferrera for Ugly Betty

Amy Poehler for Parks and Recreation

Eva Longoria for Desperate Housewives

Mary Louise-Parker for Weeds

Tina Fey for 30 Rock

Toni Collette for United States of Tara

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Josh Holloway for Lost

John Mahoney for In Treatment

John Slattery for Mad Men

Michael Emerson for Lost

Nelsan Ellis for True Blood

Walter Goggins for The Shield

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Candice Bergen for Boston Legal

CCH Pounder for The Shield

Dianne Weist for In Treatment

Elizabeth Mitchell for Lost

Marcia Gay Harden for Damages

Sandra Oh for Grey's Anatomy

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Jeremy Piven for Entourage

Jon Cryer for Two and a Half Men

Jon Krasinski for The Office

Michael Urie for Ugly Betty

Neil Patrick Harris for How I Met Your Mother

Tracy Morgan for 30 Rock

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Becki Newton for Ugly Betty

Holland Taylor for Two and a Half Men

Jane Krakowski for 30 Rock

Jenna Fischer for The Office

Nicollette Sheridan for Desperate Housewives

Vanessa Williams for Ugly Betty

The Academy to honor more

It's been a hell of a long time since my last post, so long I have no idea where to begin. I'll probably start with the big news from two of the biggest award ceremonies. The Emmy's announced all of their 10 major awards will now have six nominees instead of five. The Academy also announced that the number of nominees for Best Picture will grow from five to ten.

The news for the Emmys is great. It will bring in some fresh faces to the some of the major races that seem to be the same old thing from year to year. It could spell out great things for genre shows such as True Blood, Battlestar Gallactica, and Supernatural. The only downfall would be if we had another year with winners like James Spader, Tony Shalhoub, and Jeremy Piven. Spader has been nominated four times in the past five years, winning three of them. Shalhoub has been nominated every year for the past six years, winning three of them. Let's hope this new change can bring some new homes for the statues.

The Oscars bring up more mixed feelings. They are trying to mix it up and get everyone to care again. This gives more mainstream movies a chance to be recognized. We could very well see movies like Up, Star Trek, Avatar, and Where the Wild Things Are a better chance to be nominated. It could also be a good thing for movies released earlier in the year like The Hurt Locker and Sin Nombre a chance too. It could shake up the winner as well. With so many more options to vote for, it could take away votes from a movie that would have won in a five-film race. We could see an upset this year that we havn't seen in a while, the closest being Crash over Brokeback Mountain. The problem is the list of nominees could feel a bit to much like a ten best film list of the year, like the National Board of Review or the Critics Choice. We will also know which films would have been nominated for the five-film race because The Best Director race will still only include 5 nominees. We're going to have to give this a chance, it could be disasterous or just what The Academy needs.

Best Supporting Actress Possibilities?

Like the supporting actor race this year, there isn't that much competition. I could really see any of the following possibilites being nominated and winning:

1. Viola Davis, Doubt* - Although she is only in one or two scenes she gives a pretty memorable performance. She plays the mother of the token african-american child at a catholic school during the sixties, a boy that might have been sexually abused. It is a powerful performance, you understand the character. Many have crowned her as a front-runner for the award.

2. Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona* - No one could agree on Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Some loved it and some hated it. However, they all agreed that Cruz's performance was phenomonal. Everone only had praise for her. You can see that from the trailers. This is definatley some of her best work right up there next to Volver.

3. Amy Adams, Doubt* -This wouldn't be her first nomination. She was nominated back in 2006 for Junebug. This year she gave one of the four powerhouse performances in Doubt. We all know how good she is at portraying the innocent, naive girl. We saw it in Enchanted, and now we see it in Doubt, but somehow she keeps it original. The only problem she faces is that she is in her scenes with Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, which gives a good chance she could be forgotten.

4. Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button* - This became the front-runner for Best Picture, with it's groundbreaking technology, great performances, and intriguing story. It most likely earn up to 14 nominations. Henson gave the most memorable supporting performance in TCCBB. It's pretty hard to be remmembered when you are in the majority of your scenes with Brad Pitt acting with all of the technology to help him. She needed to create a character that would be memorable just from her talent and she did, Queenie. Taraji P. Henson has already been snubbed by The Golden Globes, however she did grab a SAG nomination.

5. Kate Winslet, The Reader* - I think we can all agree; KATE WINSLET DESERVES AN OSCAR! Then why is she without one? She has already been nominated 5 times: Sense & Sensibility, Titanic, Iris, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Little Children. This year she could grab two more nominations, but will she win one or maybe both? I predict she will walk away with a statuette this year.

6. Marissa Tomei, The Wrestler - She has won before, for My Cousin Vinny. She was also nominated for In The Bedroom. When critics do mention Tomei they talk about her performance being award worthy, but a lot of the critics don't mention Tomei. She could still be nominated though since there isn't a lot of competition. She has already been nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in The Wrestler so you never know.

* Indicates my predictions for Best Supporting Actress.