I used to do monthly interviews with indie filmmakers. Dance Party, USA is the type of indie I would seek out — small, rough around the edges, poignant, and lacking pretense. That’s how I like my indies.

But this review isn’t going to focus on Dance Party, USA, which is part of a two-disc DVD set featuring work by director Aaron Katz. Dance Party, USA is a great indie, but the second feature in the set, Quiet City, is a great film, one that proves that truly revolutionary American movies can still be made outside the system, even outside of Sundance.

Where as Dance Party, USA is a coming-of-age tale about high schoolers who learn the difference between sex and relationships, Quiet City is the story we might hear eight years in the future when knowing what a relationship is doesn’t mean it’s easy to have a successful one. Jamie (Erin Fisher) is abandoned in New York City by the friend she was visiting. She comes from Atlanta and doesn’t know where she’s going or what she’s going to do.

But she meets Charlie (Cris Lankenau), one of the walking wounded, who is mopey and insecure after his girlfriend leaves him. With nothing better to do, Charlie acts as Jamie’s guide to the city. Jamie, in turn, acts as Charlie’s guide to reconnecting with his world.

Jamie’s ability to pull Charlie out of his funk isn’t a spectacular event. There are no grand gestures. There are no musical scores to dictate the emotions of the moment. Quiet City succeeds because it never demands to be heard, yet we want to hear it. Whether it’s listening to the leads’ awkward improvised chit-chat or watching their free-spirited play, we develop a connection with the characters, however fleeting and inconsequential it might be.

Quiet City doesn’t have much ambition to move us, maybe because of the slackerdom it represents. Unlike Dance Party, USA, which seemed to be “about something”, Quiet City is really never about anything, making it all the more pertinent.

Here’s where I drop a buzz word: mumblecore. Quiet City is part of the American independent film movement dubbed mumblecore. One of the trademarks is the minimalistic nature of the productions. Katz is a master of this with his deliberate lack of momentum and intimate, but perfectly framed hand-held shooting. He lets the audience settle into the scenes without forcing the potential romance blossoming between Charlie and Jamie high schoolers onto the viewer.

What separates Katz from some of the drearier mumblecore productions (yes, you, The Puffy Chair) is the feeling that in his saying nothing, Katz is saying everything that needs to be said. Even more so than Four Eyed Monsters, Katz’s film captures the spirit of a generation — one struggling to find its voice while surrounded by all the communication technology in the world.

Quiet City and Dance Party, USA, directed by Aaron Katz, is available on DVD now.

Remember that guy who went to all the high school football games? Tim Vanderberg does. His mockumentary 4th and Long is an ode to the local football faithful, the gridiron groupies. It’s also an entertaining and oddly touching comedy. Here discussing his inspiration, his cast and his local appeal is Timothy Vandenberg in a special Indie Interview.

TheFilmChair.com: What was the inspiration for the film? Did you know guys who hung out at the high school football games?

Timothy Vandenberg: It all started with a short 8-minute film we did for a “Make a movie in 24 hrs” local competition. We wanted to do the short with a real Friday night game to punctuate the reality of the time constraints of the contest. The idea to focus on the fans came out of a discussion about this local guy who seems to be at every sporting event. He walks or takes the bus everywhere in town, he doesn’t have a car but somehow manages to show up to EVERYTHING. And he is by far the most enthusiastic fan you’ll ever meet.

When we showed the short at the competition, we got a really great reaction and thought, “Hey, can we take this further.” From that point, there was a momentum that naturally led us to expand upon the idea, so we just kept going with it and things kept falling into place.

FC: How important was it to make these guys sympathetic?

TV: It was definitely important. These guys are essentially losers in their own respect, and if they didn’t have some sort of sympathetic humanity, the audience would not embrace them. You have to see something you can relate to in these characters or at least feel drawn to the fact that they love something so dearly. Or for most,it’s as simple as, “I knew that weird dude in high school. Oh my God, he is just like…,” and it makes them laugh. Especially in the case of The Chuck, a good portion of him is pretty dark, and if the humor of his situation isn’t perceived, he could be a real downer to watch.

FC: The performers were great. I love the scene where Larry, Coach Dansby and The Chuck are being interviewed. Did you let them improvise?

TV: We did. There is a large portion of the film that is scripted, but the majority is improvised with an outline structure of the scene. We would discuss the scene and the points we wanted to hit or some specific lines and then dive in with an interview. Much of the non-interview scenes are scripted. You’ll notice that two of the main actors are also the writers. This was a tremendous collaborative effort in the purest sense of it. We really built the scenes from the character out. The chief reason the film works is because these actors are so dead on; you never question their validity. This movie is very much a character-based film, and without their tremendous acting talents, the audience would have nobody to invest in.

FC: The film has great slapstick moments, which are even funnier considering the documentary look. It’s not something you usually see in mockumentaries. What made you decide to throw slapstick comedy and the documentary style together?

TV: Many of the decisions we made started with the characters themselves. Each one of the three actors brought a distinct type of comedy, and we played to each of their strengths. That’s what I was really excited about. There wasn’t redundancy, and the audience really gets a good ol’ Denny’s sampler of comedy. Chris Blanchard, who plays Coach D has a very rare gift of being blessed with both intellectual and physical comedy chops. His intensity really jumps out at you, and he’s fun to watch. His scenes with physical comedy just naturally fleshed themselves out, and his timing is where his skills shine. I’ve known each of these guys for years, so I know what they do best and how to play to those strengths.

FC: The high school football team was a real Wilmington-area team. The newscasters were real newscasters. How much community support did you get for the project?

TV: New Hanover High School and Principal Chris Furr couldn’t have been more supportive. They were great, they let us have a lot of freedom filming and even gave us full access to their spirit club which provided tons of props like the mascot uniforms.

I can’t say enough good things about Wilmington and its film community. It’s an interesting place, you have big TV shows like “One Tree Hill” that film here and big budget movies that film at Screen Gems’s studios and then independents shooting side by side with them. And it really seems every time I do a project, people from all those different worlds are always willing to help out each other. I find it’s much more of a supportive community than a competitive film community. I used to work as a cameraman at the local NBC affiliate, so those guys were great about pitching in.

FC: What’s next? Film festivals? New projects?

TV: We are currently submitting to festivals to raise the visibility of the film. We have had distributors who love the film but we don’t have any name actors to sell around, so we have to really build some buzz to make it more marketable to these guys so they’ll pick us up. We plan to see this project through distribution and promotion over the next year and I am currently writing a script that I hope to begin shooting in 2008.

A few weeks ago, the Gene Siskel Film Center in canceled its screenings of the documentary Senator Obama Goes to Africa. The reasoning is partly justified. In a murky political climate, no nonprofit wants to be seen as backing an political candidate, especially if it turns out to be the wrong horse. As a blogger, I can back any damn horse I want.

If I had the power to show this entire documentary on this site, I would. It appears to be Barack Obama’s exploration of race and heritage, much like you may have first encountered in his memoir Dreams of My Father. It’s also another portion of the continuing narrative that is the ascension of Barack Obama. Enjoy and be inspired.

The film is available for purchase now through Amazon.com.

These totals are bound to change after this weekend’s re-release of Michael Clayton and re-expansion for No Country for Old Men, as well as an inevitable expansion for There Will Be Blood. Still, here’s the box office so far for this year’s Best Picture nominees.

2007/2008 Best Picture Box Office Picture
(with release dates)

• Atonement (Dec. 7)-$33 million
• Juno (Dec.5)-$87 million
• Michael Clayton (Oct. 5)-$39 million
• No Country for Old Men (Nov. 9)-$49 million
• There Will Be Blood (Dec. 26)-$9 million

For a perspective on the Best Picture bounce, here are last year’s nominees with pre- and post- nomination totals.

2006/2007 Best Picture Box Office Picture

• Babel-$24 million/$34.3 million
• The Departed -$121.8 million/$132.4 million
• Letters From Iwo Jima-$2 million/$13.7 million
• Little Miss Sunshine-$59.5/$59.8 million (already released on DVD)
• The Queen-$36.3 million/$56.4 million

More box office figures at BoxOfficeMojo.com.

Starz has a long way to go before it attains the quality of HBO or Showtime. The cable channel’s original shows just aren’t all that original. I guess that comment pertains more to the unfortunate airing of the home makeover parody Hollywood Residential than it does to Head Case. Both shows premiere on Wednesday, Jan. 23 on Starz, with Head Case celebrating it’s expansion from a 15-minute comedy to a full half-hour show.

I didn’t love Head Case when I first saw it, but at a quarter-hour, the show had a pace that made up for its often patronizing, Hollywood insider humor. Thankfully, the half-hour version keeps its momentum. With Alexandra Wentworth as Dr. Goode, therapist to the B-list stars, you still get the female equivalent of Steve Carell’s Michael Scott, only with patients instead of subordinates.

It’s hard to believe a Starz program would actually decline in quality from Head Case. But with Hollywood Residential, an agonizing half-hour comedy about a celebrity home renovation show, you get a cheap knock-off of a Comedy Central original.

The episode I saw featured a kitchen remodeling for Chris Kattan, who gets the show’s host Tony (Adam Paul) an audition for a part in his movie. From there we learn, that Hollywood has its phonies and egomaniacs, much like we do in Head Case. Hollywood Residential is plagued by its paring with Head Case, if only because the celeb guest concept can only go so far in one night, and Head Case does it better.

Of the two shows, I can still see myself watching Head Case, if only for the fleeting moments of humor that occur when Dr. Goode is analyzing a patient. The sessions quickly become excessive ethnic jokes or sexual situations (just because you are on premium cable doesn’t mean you should mention cum-guzzling), which are often exposed as less than stellar attempts at edgy humor. Dr. Goode’s quirky personal life outside the office, which is thankfully a major focus of the half-hour version, adds some much needed punch.

Both shows have a similar gimmick, featuring celebrity guests as themselves with moments of self-parody. Yet, no one looks like they are having much fun. Here’s a suggestion. Instead of watching either show on Starz, rent Extras: The Complete Series and watch serious celebrities (David Bowie, Kate Winslet, Robert DeNiro, etc.) enjoy making fun of themselves.

Head Case’s second season premieres Jan. 23 at 10 p.m. followed by Hollywood Residential at 10:30 p.m.

Hollywood Residential

Head Case

Like most people my age (25), I first remember Heath Ledger in the teen romantic comedy 10 Things I Hate About You. The modern day adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew featured one memorable, if cliche moment: Ledger singing You’re Just to Good to Be True to Julia Stiles with full marching band accompaniment. With that song, Ledger had arrived for American audiences. He was 20-years-old then.

Ledger followed his arrival with roles in The Patriot, fan favorite A Knight’s Tale and Monster’s Ball. He had a string of misfires as a leading man, but upon the release of Brokeback Mountain, it was apparent that Ledger was one of the finest actors of his generation.

He found himself as an actor playing Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain, a role that garnered him a Best Actor Oscar nomination. He then charmed his way through Lasse Hallstrom’s Casanova, until reaching his finest hour with a role in the little seen Australian film Candy. His last seen role to date was as one of the Bob Dylan-inspired characters in Todd Haynes’s I’m Not There. His final film will be The Dark Knight, opening this summer.

Ledger’s death today at 28-years-old ends the life of an artist who was just reaching his prime. As one of only two Millenial Generation actors able to completely transform on screen (the other being Ryan Gosling), Ledger possessed the stuff of legends. Unfortunately, his legacy as a screen actor won’t be determined in the same way it was for icons like Cary Grant or Marlon Brando. No, Ledger joins the likes of James Dean and River Phoenix as a star burned out too soon.

Well I took a chance on not predicting Atonement and There Will Be Blood. It didn’t pay off. Neither did the notion that the Academy was going to anoint new faves. Tommy Lee Jones and Cate Blanchett both got in for lead acting, with Ryan Gosling and Amy Adams snubbed. Points for a good showing by Ratatouille with 5 nominations.

Here are the nominations for the 80th Academy Awards:

Performance by an actor in a leading role
George Clooney in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
(DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Tommy Lee Jones in “In the Valley of Elah” (Warner Independent)
Viggo Mortensen in “Eastern Promises” (Focus Features)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Casey Affleck in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.)
Javier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Charlie Wilson’s War” (Universal)
Hal Holbrook in “Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment)
Tom Wilkinson in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal)
Julie Christie in “Away from Her” (Lionsgate)
Marion Cotillard in “La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse)
Laura Linney in “The Savages” (Fox Searchlight)
Ellen Page in “Juno” (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Cate Blanchett in “I’m Not There” (The Weinstein Company)
Ruby Dee in “American Gangster” (Universal)
Saoirse Ronan in “Atonement” (Focus Features)
Amy Ryan in “Gone Baby Gone” (Miramax)
Tilda Swinton in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

Best animated feature film of the year
“Persepolis” (Sony Pictures Classics) Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Brad Bird
“Surf’s Up” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

Achievement in art direction
“American Gangster” (Universal)
Art Direction: Arthur Max
Set Decoration: Beth A. Rubino
“Atonement” (Focus Features)
Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood
Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
“The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners)
Art Direction: Dennis Gassner
Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Art Direction: Dante Ferretti
Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Art Direction: Jack Fisk
Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Achievement in cinematography
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.) Roger Deakins
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Seamus McGarvey
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Janusz Kaminski
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roger Deakins
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Robert Elswit

Achievement in costume design
“Across the Universe” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Albert Wolsky
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Jacqueline Durran
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal) Alexandra Byrne
“La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Marit Allen
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount) Colleen Atwood

Achievement in directing
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Julian Schnabel
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight) Jason Reitman
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) Tony Gilroy
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Paul Thomas Anderson

Best documentary feature
“No End in Sight” (Magnolia Pictures)
A Representational Pictures Production
Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
“Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience” (The Documentary Group)
A Documentary Group Production
Richard E. Robbins
“Sicko” (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company)
A Dog Eat Dog Films Production
Michael Moore and Meghan O’Hara
“Taxi to the Dark Side” (THINKFilm)
An X-Ray Production
Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
“War/Dance” (THINKFilm)
A Shine Global and Fine Films Production
Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine

Best documentary short subject
“Freeheld”
A Lieutenant Films Production
Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth
“La Corona (The Crown)”
A Runaway Films and Vega Films Production
Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega
“Salim Baba”
A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke Production
Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello
“Sari’s Mother” (Cinema Guild)
A Daylight Factory Production
James Longley

Achievement in film editing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal) Christopher Rouse
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Juliette Welfling
“Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment) Jay Cassidy
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roderick Jaynes
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Dylan Tichenor

Best foreign language film of the year
“Beaufort” A Metro Communications, Movie Plus Production
Israel
“The Counterfeiters” An Aichholzer Filmproduktion, Magnolia Filmproduktion Production
Austria
“Katyń” An Akson Studio Production
Poland
“Mongol” A Eurasia Film Production
Kazakhstan
“12” A Three T Production
Russia

Achievement in makeup
“La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
“Norbit” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount) Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (Walt Disney) Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli
“The Kite Runner” (DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Participant Productions, Distributed by Paramount Classics) Alberto Iglesias
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) James Newton Howard
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino
“3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Falling Slowly” from “Once”
(Fox Searchlight)
Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
“Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney)
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“Raise It Up” from “August Rush”
(Warner Bros.)
Nominees to be determined
“So Close” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney)
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney)
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

Best motion picture of the year
“Atonement” (Focus Features)
A Working Title Production
Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster, Producers
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight)
A Dancing Elk Pictures, LLC Production
Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith, Producers
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
A Clayton Productions, LLC Production
Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent, Producers
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production
Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
A JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production
JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, Producers

Best animated short film
“I Met the Walrus”
A Kids & Explosions Production
Josh Raskin
“Madame Tutli-Putli” (National Film Board of Canada)
A National Film Board of Canada Production
Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
“Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)” (Premium Films)
A BUF Compagnie Production
Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse
“My Love (Moya Lyubov)” (Channel One Russia)
A Dago-Film Studio, Channel One Russia and Dentsu Tec Production
Alexander Petrov
“Peter & the Wolf” (BreakThru Films)
A BreakThru Films/Se-ma-for Studios Production
Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman

Best live action short film
“At Night”
A Zentropa Entertainments 10 Production
Christian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth
“Il Supplente (The Substitute)” (Sky Cinema Italia)
A Frame by Frame Italia Production
Andrea Jublin
“Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)” (Premium Films)
A Karé Production
Philippe Pollet-Villard
“Tanghi Argentini” (Premium Films)
An Another Dimension of an Idea Production
Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans
“The Tonto Woman”
A Knucklehead, Little Mo and Rose Hackney Barber Production
Daniel Barber and Matthew Brown

Achievement in sound editing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal)
Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Skip Lievsay
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney)
Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Matthew Wood
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)
Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins

Achievement in sound mixing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal)
Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney)
Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane
“3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate)
Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)
Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin

Achievement in visual effects
“The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners)
Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (Walt Disney)
John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier

Adapted screenplay
“Atonement” (Focus Features)
Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
“Away from Her” (Lionsgate)
Written by Sarah Polley
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn)
Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

Original screenplay
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight)
Written by Diablo Cody
“Lars and the Real Girl” (MGM)
Written by Nancy Oliver
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
Written by Tony Gilroy
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney)
Screenplay by Brad Bird
Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
“The Savages” (Fox Searchlight)
Written by Tamara Jenkins

I’m taking a few risks with these predictions, namely being a complete Atonement shut out. Ten years ago, I don’t think I would have said the same thing, but the Academy landscape has changed since then.

Best Picture

• Michael Clayton
• Juno
• Into the Wild
  
• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
  
• No Country For Old Men
• Alt: There Will Be Blood

Conventional wisdom would have There Will Be Blood in the final 5, but with so many Paramount Vantage films in the running, it seems like there is bound to be one that doesn’t make the cut. With comparisons to Citizen Kane and other grandiose reviews, is it the final that the Academy doesn’t like because they have to like it? Juno still seems like the most vulnerable, but damn it, money talks and it’s made more than any other potential nominee.

Best Director

• Ethan & Joel Coen, No Country For Old Men
• Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
• Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
• Sean Penn, Into the Wild
• Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
• Alt: Ridley Scott, American Gangster
  

I don’t see Jason Reitman making the cut, which is why I picked Scott as the alt prediction. This lineup for the director nomination doesn’t look to have much wiggle room.

Best Actor

• Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood
• Emile Hirsch, Into the Wild
• Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises
  
• Ryan Gosling, Lars and the Real Girl
• George Clooney, Michael Clayton
• Alt: Denzel Washington, American Gangster

Gosling over Denzel, Johnny, and Hanks? The BFCA and SAG seem to think so. If I keep up with the younger hipper Academy motif with my predictions, I can’t put the ‘old guard’ in where the new talented faces can be placed.

Best Actress

• Ellen Page, Juno
• Amy Adams, Enchanted
• Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose
• Julie Christie, Away From Her
• Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart
• Alt: Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
  

For me, this will be the race to watch, like the Sissie Spacek run for In the Bedroom. Christie’s got a nomination in the bag, as do Page and Cotillard. It may still be a three horse race for the prize. SAG will clear things up. I’m going for Amy Adams over Cate Blanchett because Blanchett has I’m Not There. And Adams, like Gosling, may be on the road to Oscar fave territory.

Best Supporting Actor

• Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
• Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson’s War
• Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
• Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
• Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton
• Alt: Tommy Lee Jones, No Country for Old Men

I’m honestly a little uncomfortable predicting Hoffman, knowing that Jones had a magnificent year. But Hoffman had a great year, too. I’m banking on his three Oscar-worthy performances trumpting Jones’s two. It all comes down to No Country for Old Men love.

Best Supporting Actress

• Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There
• Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
  
• Ruby Dee, American Gangster
  
• Catherine Keener, Into the Wild
  
• Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
• Alt: Saoirse Ronan, Atonement

Continuing with my prediction of a complete snub for Atonement, I’m kicking out the film’s most Oscar-worthy performance and putting in Ruby Dee. I don’t see any other surprises, unless the inevitability of one Cate Blanchett catches up with her.

Best Original Screenplay

• Juno
• Ratatouille
• Knocked Up
• Michael Clayton
• Lars and the Real Girl
• Alt: The Savages

Best Adapted Screenplay

• No Country For Old Men
• There Will Be Blood
• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
• Into the Wild
• Charlie Wilson’s War
• Alt: Zodiac

The Oscar nominations will be announced live Feb. 22 at 8:30 a.m. EST on E!

Cloverfield (2008)–***
Quickie Review

On the eve of Rob’s departure from New York City, a giant creature attacks the city. As filmed by his best friend who was taking video testimonials at the good-bye party, Rob and other survivors trek across a devastated Manhattan to rescue Rob’s would-be girlfriend. A terrifying, if angsty monster movie, the J.J. Abrams-produced feature succeeds in giving itself over to the human element, rather than simple spectacle. (Take note Roland Emmerich.) The very personal P.O.V. shooting-style — when mixed with special effects — adds so much to the genre film that you forget how badly it could have failed. Directed by Matt Reeves and starring Michael Stahl-David, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller, Odette Yustman and Lizzy Caplan.

Will the writers strike be over soon? Well, Warner Bros. did let the options for the current cast of its tent pole blockbuster Justice League lapse today, citing the strike (and Australia’s stingy tax breaks), so who knows. Still, the tentative agreement with the Director’s Guild of America is a sign that the talks between the producers (AMPTP) and the writers (WGA) may pick up again.

People with no life, like me, can rejoice (for the moment).

From the DGA:
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) announced today that it has concluded a tentative agreement on the terms of a new 3-year collective bargaining agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

Highlights of the new agreement include:

* Increases both wages and residual bases for each year of the contract.

* Establishes DGA jurisdiction over programs produced for distribution on the Internet.

* Establishes new residuals formula for paid Internet downloads (electronic sell-through) that essentially doubles the rate currently paid by employers.

* Establishes residual rates for ad-supported streaming and use of clips on the Internet.

“Two words describe this agreement - groundbreaking and substantial,” said Gil Cates, chair of the DGA’s Negotiations Committee, in announcing the terms of the new agreement. “The gains in this contract for directors and their teams are extraordinary – and there are no rollbacks of any kind.”

Formal negotiations between the DGA’s 50-member Negotiations Committee and the AMPTP began Saturday, January 12, and were concluded today. Talks were led by Cates and DGA National Executive Director Jay D. Roth. They were preceded by months of informal discussions and nearly two years of preparation and research by Guild staff and consultants.

And now a statement from the WGA:
Now that the DGA has reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP, the terms of the deal will be carefully analyzed and evaluated by the WGA, the WGA’s Negotiating Committee, the WGAW Board of Directors, and the WGAE Council. We will work with the full membership of both Guilds to discuss our strategies for our own negotiations and contract goals and how they may be affected by such a deal.

For over a month, we have been urging the conglomerates to return to the table and bargain in good faith. They have chosen to negotiate with the DGA instead. Now that those negotiations are completed, the AMPTP must return to the process of bargaining with the WGA. We hope that the DGA’s tentative agreement will be a step forward in our effort to negotiate an agreement that is in the best interests of all writers.

And YouTube released this statement: