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Golden Globes Preview and Predictions

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Remember last year's Golden Globe ceremony?  Don't strain too hard - it didn't exist.  The Writers Guild strike, and the Actors Guild's reluctance to cross the picket line, forced the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to reduce their usual glamor-fest to a press conference announcing the winners.   Not a backless gown or drunken George Clooney in sight.

 

As a film awards season junkie, I heart the Golden Globes for one simple reason:  booze.  That isn't sparkling cider in those flutes.  Encouraging natural born narcissists to souse up before stumbling onto a stage to slur into a microphone while holding an awkward, top-heavy trophy is entertainment at its finest.   No wonder they forget who to thank - some of them forget where they are.  In 1998, Christine Lahti was in the bathroom when she was announced the winner for Chicago Hope.  OK, so it's not Hedonism III, but it's bacchanal compared to the super-serious Academy Awards.

 

Some Oscar aficionados see the Globes as an Oscar indicator of sorts.  Truth be told, the HFPA fancies themselves free-thinkers, so a Globe win isn't a straight shot to Oscar glory.  Their Best Picture winners haven't matched the Oscar winner since 2003.  Every year there seems to be at least one or two oddball nominees; last year's Best Picture nod for the tepid Denzel Washington vehicle The Great Debaters springs to mind.  There doesn't seem to be a lot of method to their madness.  Still, a win can't hurt your Oscar chances.  And they do pour a mean Manhattan.

 

Who's going to win on Sunday?  My best guesses...

Supporting Actor:  Robert Downey Jr. for Tropic Thunder

 

This is a tough one - Downey's competition includes co-star Tom Cruise, whose fat-suit booty shaking won him some long-lost respect, and the late Heath Ledger's legitimately scary Joker in The Dark Knight.  Don't count out a Ledger tribute, but I'm betting on Downey if for no other reason than his acceptance speech would rock.  (Maybe he'll do it in character like on the Tropic Thunder DVD commentary - one can only hope.)


Supporting Actress:  Penelope Cruz for Vicky Christina Barcelona

 

The foreign press still loves Woody Allen, and Cruz has dominated the critics' awards so far.  Kate Winslet's a possible upset (she just won the Critics Choice award for The Reader) but I'm banking on Cruz here.


Actor (Musical/Comedy):  Colin Farrell for In Bruges

 

This one is almost by default, as Farrell's competition includes co-star Brendan Gleason (great, but upstaged by Farrell),  Barcelona's Javier Bardem (great, but won last year for No Country for Old Men), James Franco for Pineapple Express (great, but American stoners are probably not the HFPA's cup of tea) and Dustin Hoffman for Last Chance Harvey (great, in Tootsie.)


Actress (Musical/Comedy):  Meryl Streep for Mamma Mia!

 

Strong category with Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky), Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading) and Rebecca Hall (Barcelona).  So let's do this scientifically:  Foreigners love ABBA.  Period.  Streep for the win.


Actor (Drama):  Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

 

Another tough one - Rourke's up against Hollywood royalty (DiCaprio, Penn, Pitt) and Richard Nixon.  Rourke's riches-to-rags-to-riches story should appeal to the Globes.


Actress (Drama):  Kate Winslet for Revolutionary Road

 

Something's got to give here.  Winslet's been nominated seven times and has come up empty - she's becoming the Susan Lucci of the Globes.   The HPFA loved Road (four total nominations) so this should be Kate's year.  If she snags the Supporting Actress award, look for Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married) to grab this one.

 

Motion Picture (Musical/Comedy):  Vicky Christina Barcelona

 

ABBA vs. Woody:  When Titans Clash.  Mamma Mia! is probably the safest bet, but Barcelona received the most nominations of any of the movies in this category.

 

Motion Picture (Drama):   The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

 

Some major Oscar hopefuls - Milk, The Dark Knight, The Wrestler, Gran Torino - didn't make the Globe short list; the HFPA went for Button, Slumdog Millionaire, Revolutionary Road, The Reader and Frost/Nixon.  Slumdog, winner of five Critics Choice awards including Best Picture, would be the obvious choice if the movie had one bona fide Hollywood star for the foreign press to fawn over.  Since it doesn't, I'm going with Button's toothsome twosome, Pitt and Blanchett, to carry the movie to victory.

 

And the rest...

 

Director:  David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Screenplay:  Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire

Animated Feature:  WALL-E

Original Score:  Clint Eastwood, The Changeling

Original Song:  "The Wrestler" from The Wrestler

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  • Tonight: Julian Casablancas, the Swell Season

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    Who: Built to Spill
    Where: Showbox in the Market
    When: Friday, November 20

    Watching Built to Spill last night, I couldn't help but think of what Bill Graham said about The Grateful Dead--they aren't the best at what they do, they're the only one who do what they do.

    For close to two decades, the great Idaho concern has made indie rock as soaring and sprawling and wonky as the Western U.S. territory they call home. They are very much a band from west of Rockies, which also means they have little of the drive to succeed so prevalent among East Coasters. In other words, Built to Spill doesn't really give a shit, which is both awesome and frustrating in the best possible ways.

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    "The past day has been a shit-storm for a shirt that wasn't even supposed to reach mainstream society. This shirt wasn't a silly publicity stunt and frankly we're supprised at the ammount of attention it's recieved. We've never wanted or expected mainstream success or attention. This shirt was meant to sell to a select few fans, not to be peddled off onto Seattle's teenagers at Hot-Topic.

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    7 p.m.: The Paramount doors open.

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    12:15--2 a.m.: The band break into Anthony's, raids the liquor, heats up a pan, and Jones cooks up some Zeppelin-style fish 'n' chips.

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    noschool.jpg
    Justin Dylan Renney
    Schoolyard Heroes at Vera Project.
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    "I'm really glad schoolyard heroes are being put to rest the way it started," vocalist Ryann Donnelly told us yesterday before today's official announcement. "And, honestly, the reason we're calling it a day on Schoolyard isn't because we don't love it."

    Donnelly says the reason it was time to move on was that she and Bergman couldn't see working as Schoolyard without Bonnell and Turner, who exited separately within the last year.

    "It was strange to play shows as Schoolyard Heroes with different people," she says.

    In the announcement on their web site, Schoolyard hinted at the future:

    "Don't freak out! If Schoolyard Heroes has taught you anything over the years, it is that death is always around you... and that from death shall emerge new channels of destruction. Loud, distorted, maybe even operatic channels."

    We'll post more info as we get it.

    Topics: News
  • David Mendoza, Former Owner of Pazzo's Pizza, Weed Smuggler, Gets 14 Years in Prison

    Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Pazzo's(1).jpg
    Definitely under new management
    David R. Mendoza's life in summation: former Garfield High School class president. Owner of the historic Liberty Theater in Bend, Oregon, and the bro-friendly Pazzo's Pizzeria in Eastlake. Apparent friend to the entire B.C. chronic smoking nation.

    As of today, however, you can add sentenced pot smuggler to that list.

    Topics: Crime & Punishment
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    campesino.jpg
    My car just automatically followed this truck after spotting it on Jackson Street, followed it to it's Thursday through Saturday parking spot. Tacos El Campesino sets up on Occidental between Yesler and Washington and opens for business at 4:00 p.m., but the honking cars behind me precluded me from getting the closing time and more info. This truck usually produces a better than decent torta (carne asada over carnitas).

    Topics: Eats report
  • Two Very Different Opinions on the Seattle Housing Market

    houseforsale.jpg
    To buy or not to buy? That is the question.
    CNNMoney.com reports today that if you're in the market for a lifetime's worth of debt, Seattle is a great place to live. The Emerald City placed second behind only San Francisco in a list of cities most likely to see their home values increase by 2011.

    According to forecasters polled by the cable-news giant, that means a 3.8% jump thanks to our "better than average" job market. A welcome softening of the 15% free fall housing values have taken since the bottom fell out. And a seriously delusional load of crap if you're to believe the lovable cranks over at real-estate blog Seattle Bubble.



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