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The last few days have seen a flood of editorials bemoaning the precipitous decline in ratings for the Oscars telecast, usually blaming it on the Academy being ‘out of touch’ with the populace in its nominating of ‘obscure’ films like the $60+ million grosser that won the Best Picture trophy.

This is the same crap spewed out to fill space every year. I pose this question to the journalists ‘fighting for the people’ by criticizing the Academy for rewarding ‘little-seen’ films: what would be the ideal nominees? Transformers? Spider-Man 3? Shrek 3? Pirates of the Carribbean 3? Rush Hour 3? Everyone has made fun of the Academy for nominating Norbit in the Best Makeup category (it deserved the nod), but by this logic Norbit should be nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress (Eddie Murphy), and Best Director.

Sure, recognizing mostly off-beat, artsy-fartsy, studio specialty division films is part of the reason why Oscar ratings have suffered. Nearly 60 million people tuned in in 1998 because even my house pets saw Titanic 11 times. And while the Oscars rarely give props to the movies that cinephiles would count among the year’s best, it is still, ostensibly, a ceremony that recognizes quality cinema, not popular cinema. I think this all roots from whining about American Gangster not getting much notice - after all, it was a popular, star-studded, awards-baiting epic. But seriously folks, it didn’t make that much more dough than Juno, and it wasn’t exactly a critical success.

This argument reeks of arrogance. It operates under the assumption that because over 50 million people have seen Spider-Man 3 the public thinks Spider-Man 3 is the ‘best film of the year.’ Not true. Most people thought it sucked. Even the IMDB nerds didn’t like it - it only has a 6.6/10 vote. Spider-Man 3 was a huge event film. My Grandma probably saw it. She probably thought it sucked too.

Spider-Man 2 though? That movie rocks.

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It’s been more or less ignored by the media, but one of the night’s biggest upsets was in the documentary category. Charles Ferguson’s vomit-inducing (George W. Bush, constantly hitting your gag reflex) Iraq war doc No End In Sight was seen as a lock for the Best Documentary Feature (it isn’t Michael Moore’s year, even though Sicko was amazing) but then…what? Taxi to the Dark Side? Jigga who? Apparently it’s about torture, but I saw Jumper last weekend and am still recovering, so it’s going down pretty low on ye ole Netflix queue.

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The weirdest categories on Oscar night were the ‘technical’ ones, which saw a number of upsets as well as a bizarre sweep for that Matt Damon movie with lots of annoying quick cuts that somehow gets heralded by major critics as an ‘action masterpiece.’ What-ever. Here’s a rundown of the ‘minor’ categories, with commentary because you didn’t ask for it.

Best Visual Effects - The Golden Compass
WHAT? Whaaaahhhhhh - ahhhhtttttttt? They apparently weren’t smoking what the rest of us were when we saw Transformers. Also, aren’t special effects supposed to look real, Academy? The animal daemon thingies were a little too Roger Rabbit for my taste.

Best Sound Mixing / Sound Editing / Film Editing
The Bourne Ultimatum
Not ‘a one of these is deserved. Skip Lievsay’s sound work on No Country for Old Men was extraordinary - elegant, nimble, tight as a hangman’s noose. It’s this kind of subtle work that gets farted out by whiz-bang sound explosions like this Bourne dude. And Film Editing? Do quick cuts = genius? Did these folks even pay attention during There Will Be Blood, or were they too focused on their milkshakes? How did Atonement not even get nominated? Find me more careful, graceful editing, I dare you. 

Best Costume Design - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Not sure if this was an upset, but couldn’t they have gone just a bit more edgy? Across the Universe would be my choice here, by a mile.

Best Art Direction - Sweeney Todd
Huge upset here. Most were pegging There Will Be Blood veteran Jack Fisk for this one. Sweeney Todd had a dark beauty that was largely Dante Ferretti’s doing. Well done.

Best Cinematography - There Will Be Blood
This category was unbelievable. These are five of the best-shot films of the decade - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, There Will Be Blood, Atonement, No Country for Old Men, and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. I could care less who won here, but There Will Be Blood was my favorite (those tracking shots! swoon!), and Robert Elswit’s work for Paul Thomas Anderson has been extraordinary every time. Please though, hurry up and give Roger Deakins an Oscar.

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Tilda Swinton’s ice-queen balls of steel beat out Cate Blanchett’s strung-out drag king for Best Supporting Actress, one of the biggest upsets at the 80th Annual Academy Awards. In reality though, none of the Supporting Actress nominees (except Saoirse Ronan) would have been a huge surprise, as all had significant momentum heading in. Amy Ryan had all the critics awards, Ruby Dee had the career angle and the SAG trophy, Blanchett had the buzz (and many of the awards), and Swinton had the upset vibe.

This is bittersweet. Blanchett really deserved it for that brooding physicality, but Swinton deserves an accolade like this. It’s nice to see a kooky British former Derek Jarman muse winning an Oscar. Also, her acceptance speech - fabulous. Any time Clooney is teased for Batman & Robin is a winning moment. And those eyes, those crazy EYES!

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The one and only Gay Super Bowl has come and gone, and I’m happy to report it was an excellent year at the Oscars. Jon Stewart surprised everyone by being really funny (gone were the obvious nerves from two years ago), everyone looked fabulous, Marion Cotillard wore this weird fish-scale dress, Gary Busey caused trouble, several surprises were in store, and great films and performances won the top awards. Sweet. Here are the big winners:

Best Picture - No Country for Old Men
Best Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Best Actress - Marion Cotillard, La vie en rose
Best Director - Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Best Supporting Actor - Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Best Supporting Actress - Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
Best Screenplay (Original) - Diablo Cody, Juno
Best Screenplay (Adapted) - Joel & Ethan Coen
Best Cinematography - Robert Elswit, There Will Be Blood
Best Film Editing - Christopher Rouse, The Bourne Ultimatum
Best Art Direction - Sweeney Todd
Best Costume Design - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Best Makeup - La vie en rose
Best Original Score - Dario Marianelli, Atonement
Best Original Song - “Falling Slowly” from Once
Best Sound - The Bourne Ultimatum
Best Sound Editing - The Bourne Ultimatum
Best Visual Effects - The Golden Compass
Best Animated Feature - Ratatouille
Best Foreign Film - The Counterfeiters
Best Documentary Feature - Taxi to the Dark Side

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Since all the faithful Getty Images Entertainment Blog readers have been biting their nails in feverish anticipation of Clint’s Oscar predictions (this is what I tell myself), I assuage your sweaty expectancy below. However, as David Carr points out in his Oscar picks for the New York Times, don’t bet on any ‘expert’ opinion for your office pool, especially if your ‘office pool’ involves scary Italian New Jerseyites and a lot of bloody cash. Make your own blind picks this year - it’s turning into a tough one for predictions. Perhaps it’s writers strike fatigue or just a general lack of consensus, but in any case no one is feeling too confident with their choices.

BEST PICTURE
Prediction: No Country for Old Men
Clint’s Pick: There Will Be Blood
Paul Thomas Anderson’s virtuosic, bold allegory about the sickness of capitalist greed is too obscure to win here, though I’m impressed it got nominated at all. No Country is a great film, and despite its bloody misanthropy it really has grasped Oscar’s balls. This feels like a lock.

BEST DIRECTOR
Prediction: Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Clint’s Pick: Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
The Coens deserve this, just like Scorsese did last year. This is a career Oscar. They’ve been robbed in the past. Unlike The Departed though, No Country for Old Men is a modern masterpiece, so I won’t be too upset when they take the stage. Nonetheless, the most singular vision from any director this year - save maybe Cristian Mungiu - came from PTA. 

BEST ACTRESS
Prediction: Marion Cotillard, La vie en rose
Clint’s Pick: Same
Laura Linney deserves an Oscar more than anyone else in this category (she is constantly getting robbed), but Cotillard’s performance is just plain brilliant. All those other Oscar-winning biopic performances (besides Charlize Theron in Monster) pale in comparison. Julie Christie is the frontrunner here, but I’m predicting an upset.

BEST ACTOR
Prediction: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Clint’s Pick: Same
The only way Day-Lewis won’t win this is if the Oscar voters try to be nifty, have a Crash moment (oops, just vomited), and give it to George Clooney just to be contrary. That would be kind of like the AFI bumping Citizen Kane from their Top 100 list in favor of Michael Bay’s Con Air, but whatever - nothing can hurt more than that Crash sting. 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Prediction: Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
Clint’s Pick: Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Prediction: Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Clint’s Pick: Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James…

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Prediction: Diablo Cody, Juno
Clint’s Pick: Tamara Jenkins, The Savages

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Prediction: Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Clint’s Pick: Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

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The most lavish event associated with the annual Oscar ceremony, the Graydon Carter-sponsored Vanity Fair Oscar soiree, has been cancelled. Carter issued a statement on VF’s behalf explaining that the decision came from solidarity with striking writers, and that the party will not go on even if the strike is settled before the ceremony. You can read all about it at The New York Times.

A nice gesture, and it’s not like I was ever getting into that party anyway. Until I accept my Oscar for Best Visual Effects for my starring turn in the Keira Knightley biopic, that is.

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The Oscar nominations were announced today. If you haven’t heard about them, what made you into such a loser? Go find a dark corner and read about the economy, LOSER!

Let’s get one thing out of the way - these are the best nominations the Academy has handed out in years. Unfortunately for AMPAS, this has more to do with 2007’s rare intersection of quality and high-profile talent than with any totalizing decision to not give away Oscars to crap like Crash. As always though, a few were kicked out of the party. A rundown:

MAJOR EXCLUSIONS
Amy Adams for ’Enchanted’ - Many saw Adams as a lock for a Best Actress nomination. Enchanted was enchanting, and made a lot of money. Oh well.

Denzel Washington for anything - You’ve had your turn Denzel.

Tim Burton for ‘Sweeney Todd’ - This wouldn’t be that shocking if they hadn’t given Jason Reitman a nomination for Juno. Really? Did I miss the superb direction?

Angelina Jolie for ‘A Mighty Heart’ - This is an oversight. Cate Blanchett’s hammy turn in Elizabeth: The Golden Age beat this out?

Keira Knightley for ‘Atonement’ - Come on! She looked so insanely hot!

Paul Dano for ‘There Will Be Blood’ - A brilliant, intense performance left behind in a crowded category.

‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’ for Best Picture - Don’t get me started on the foreign-language film situation. Regardless, Diving Bell had a good shot here, but apparently Michael Clayton made a better impression, because that ending was just so real, you know? That’s exactly how corporate malfeasance cases get resolved. George Clooney comes in and shuts down the Ice Queen. So bleak. So real. Props to the Academy for Julian Schnabel’s Director nod though!
 

Gabriel Bouys / AFP / Getty Images

Though we were disappointed that the announcement of “There Will Be Blood” as a Best Picture contender wasn’t accompanied by the film’s greatest sound bite - “I drink your milkshake, I DRINK IT UP!” - it was nonetheless comforting to see Paul Thomas Anderson & co. receive so much love. For more on the milkshakes, click here.

Frankly I’m too lazy to list all the nominees on this post, particularly when you can get the far prettier run-down on IMDB’s Road to the Oscars page. 

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The best film of 2007, first-time Romanian director Cristian Mungiu’s “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days”, didn’t even make the nine-film short list for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Adding insult to injury, “Persepolis” didn’t make the list either. WHAT?!

This is ridiculous. The voting body that determines the foreign film short list is composed of about 300 retired fogies, most over 75 years old, who probably couldn’t tell the difference between a Fellini carnival and a state-fair hodown. In the Academy’s defense, the voting body that determines the nominee short list has been criticized for years within their ranks. Time for an overhaul?

The Academy’s foreign film selection is always conservative, but this is beyond mere oversight. 4 Months and Persepolis are by far the two most talked-about and praised foreign films of the year (beyond The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, which can’t compete in the category due to its American funding) - these folks have seen these films, and deliberately snubbed them.

It’s funny how the mainstream entertainment media constantly berates the Golden Globes for their shady voting procedures, their lack of authority as film critics and tastemakers, and their blatant star-whoring. The Oscars are trumped up as ‘what matters’. Yet this film got nominated for the Globe in this category. So did Persepolis. Remember when Brokeback Mountain won Best Pic at the Globes and the Academy gave it to Crash?

It’s predictable, and rather boring, for film snobs to shame the Oscars for their bad choices. It’s a tired complaint. Chris Marker won’t be winning Oscars, get over it. This snub, however, transcends the usual whining. 4 Months won the European Film Awards’ Best Picture, the Cannes Palme d’Or, and Best Foreign Film from the National Society of Film Critics, the Chicago and Toronto Film Critics Associations, and much more. 

I’m now even more invested in the WGA strike ending in time for the Oscars. I want my red carpet stars, I want my Ryan Seacrest, and I most certainly want to be on the sidelines throwing pies at the stodgy old men responsible for this travesty.