MOB RULES AT THE OSCARS!

Hello, everybody. At 3 hours, 47 minutes, the 79th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday were, to quote Jerry Garcia, "A long, strange trip it has been." But despite the length, it was worth it thanks to host Ellen DeGeneres and voiceover legend Don LaFontaine as one of the announcers.

For the night's big winners, the trip to Oscar gold was also a memorable one as Forest Whitaker and Helen Mirren were honored Best Actor and Actress for their "royal" roles as King and Queen respectively, while Alan Arkin beat Eddie Murphy for Supporting Actor (thanks, "Norbit"!) with Jennifer Hudson easily claiming Supporting Actress.

Meanwhile, Al Gore finally won something as "An Inconvient Truth" picked up Documentary Feature and Best Song for Melissa Etheridge; the latter a first for a documentary. "Happy Feet" clogged the "Cars" for Animated Feature; "The Lives Of Others" trumped the heavily favored "Pan's Labyrinth" for Foreign Language Film (at least "Labyrinth" did pick up three Oscars); and in his 19th stab at that gold, Kevin O'Connell who helped with the sound for "Apocalypto"....lost again, this time to "Dreamgirls."

After everything was said and done, "The Departed" took the most bounty with five awards including Adapted Screenplay, Best Picture of 2006, and after five attempts, Martin Scorsese as Best Director; I'll get to him in a bit.

Now while the temperatures here in Fairbanks have been in the below zeros for at least a week, it was the red carpet that generated tons of heat. Mirren looked like a queen herself in her Christian Lacroix, while Jessica Biel looked more like hot in Oscar de la Renta pink than pretty. Other standouts included those from Jodie Foster (Vera Wang), Beyonce Knowles (Armani), last year's Best Actress and the still single Reese Witherspoon (Nina Ricci), and Jennifer Lopez (Marchesa).

So whose stood out the most? It has to be Penelope Cruz and Cate Blanchett. If this was a report card, I would've graded them both A's. But I'm going to have to give Anne Hathaway, Cameron Diaz, and Jennifer Hudson all F's, as they flunked in what they had on..

And now, to the stories behind the wins: Dame Helen Mirren came a long way from the "Prime Suspect" series while Forest Whitaker's road to gold started with "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (alongside future Oscar winner Nicolas Cage, whose "Ghost Rider" is still tops at the box office) and went all the way to...the recent revival of "The Twilight Zone"? Next up for him will be "The Air I Breathe" with three-time Sexiest Woman winner Sarah Michelle Gellar, who hit the Oscar party circuit on Sunday and still looks fabulous as she's hitting 30 this spring.

But in the end, it was all about the man behind "The Departed." After five losses in over two decades to Robert Redford, Barry Levinson, Kevin Costner, Roman Polanski, and Clint Eastwood while working alongside Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Cruise, Paul Newman, Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone, and Daniel Day-Lewis in his films, Martin Luciano Scorsese is finally sitting on top of the cinematic globe. A well-deserved victory for a well-honored director.

It may have long and dragged out as usual (in Alaska, the show aired on a (usual) delay till 11:20 pm), but for the night's big winners including Scorsese as the biggest of them all, the 79th Annual Academy Awards was a one-night only affair. And with my usual take on entertainment's biggest night...good night!

(Oh, by the way...as for my picks, it was back to the old standard (after last year's clean sweep) as I got four out of six.)

Oscar Preview Week: Best Picture and My Predictions

Here we go as Oscar Preview Week concludes with the five films up for Best Picture of 2006 and my picks. In Best Picture, you've got a Golden Globe winner for Foreign Language film going up against a Golden Globe winner for Motion Picture-Drama. Though one of them is favored to win, don't rule out the other three nominees. And they are...

BEST PICTURE (producers' names are in parentheses):
"Babel" (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Jon Kilik, and Steve Golin): Several interwoven storylines unfold across four countries as difficulties in communication and understanding complicate life in the shrinking global village. A Moroccan shepherd, a pair of American tourists, a deaf Japanese teenager, and a Mexican nanny and her two young American charges are among the characters whose lives connect in unexpected ways.
"The Departed" (Graham King): Unbeknownst to the Massachusetts state police department, crime boss Frank Costello has placed a mole in its ranks: cadet Colin Sullivan. The police succeed in infiltrating Costello's organization as well, however, providing a credible criminal background for undercover cadet Billy Costigan, who manages to gain Costello's trust.

"Letters From Iwo Jima" (Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, and Robert Lorenz): The battle of Iwo Jima, one of the bloodiest campaigns of the Second World War, is examined from the point of view of the Japanese soldiers defending the island. A cache of letters found years later provides the perspectives of several soldiers as they prepare for the coming American attack, longing for home and knowing they face almost certain death. Eastwood's last Best Picture win was for "Million Dollar Baby" two years ago; Spielberg's was for "Schindler's List" in 1994.
"Little Miss Sunshine" (David T. Friendly, Peter Saraf, and Marc Turtletaub): Seven-year-old Olive dreams of winning a children's beauty pageant and convinces her family to drive her from their home in New Mexico to California for the Little Miss Sunshine competition. Along for the ride are Olive's father, a failed motivational speaker, her heroin-addicted grandfather, silent brother, suicidal uncle, and her increasingly frustrated mother.
"The Queen" (Andy Harries, Christine Langan, and Tracey Seaward): In the days immediately following the death of Princess Diana in 1997, public grief turns to outrage at the perceived lack of response to the tragedy on the part of Britain's royal family. As the recently elected Prime Minister Tony Blair urges her to be more responsive to the mood of the nation, Queen Elizabeth confronts the changes that modern life has forced on the centuries-old monarchy.

And that's the field, now comes to the all-important question: Who will take it all on Sunday night? Last year, thanks to a last-minute pick for "Crash" over "Brokeback Mountain", I finally got all six right for the first time. But will I make it two years in a row? Here's who I think will walk out of the Kodak Theatre after Sunday with the hardware:

Supporting Actor: Eddie Murphy
Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson
Best Actor: Forest Whitaker
Best Actress: Helen Mirren
Director: Martin Scorsese (will he finally win this time?)
Best Picture: Last year, "Brokeback Mountain" may have received the Golden Globe but in the end -- thanks to a Screen Actors Guild win -- lost to "Crash". This year, "Babel" picked up the Globe though it was "Little Miss Sunshine" taking the SAG for Best Motion Picture Ensemble. But I'm not going to repeat myself this time and will say that when the smoke clears, everyone will be babbling about "Babel."

So there you go. We'll see how I fare on Sunday when the 79th Annual Academy Awards air on ABC. Now it may be live at 5:00 pm on the West Coast, but not to Alaska and Hawaii; the show will air much later in the evening at 7:00 and 6:00 in their respective states. Can you imagine us being home by 4:00 pm here in Alaska or 3:00 pm in Hawaii to catch the Oscars live? Nah!!

Anyway, as always I'll have my complete thoughts on the big show on Monday; see you then!

Oscar Preview Week: Director, Foreign Language Film, and Animated Feature Film

It's a triple threat as we continue Oscar Preview Week with the Directing, Foreign Language Film, and Animated Feature Film field. For one of the director nominees, could this year finally be it after six tries?

DIRECTING (directors' names are in parentheses):
"Babel" (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)
"The Departed" (Martin Scorsese): His eighth Director nomination, and there is buzz that he may finally win on Sunday.
"Letters From Iwo Jima (Clint Eastwood): Last time around, he beat Scorsese to the Oscar stage for "Million Dollar Baby". Clint also scored a one-two punch in 1992 for "Unforgiven."
"The Queen" (Stephen Frears): Previous nomination was for "The Grifters."
"United 93" (Paul Greengrass): As the events of September 11, 2001 unfold with a documentary-like realism, the chaos and confusion surrounding the terrorist attacks are felt throughout air traffic control headquarters and the military branches responding to the attacks. On United Airlines Flight 93, terrorists seize control of the plane as the terrified passengers piece together a plan to overcome them.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
"After The Wedding" (Denmark): When Jacob, the head of an Indian orphanage, returns to Copenhagen at the request of a potential benefactor, he is persuaded by the man to attend his daughter's wedding. There, he meets the donor's wife, Helene; an encounter that reawakens difficult memories from Jacob's past. Denmark won back-to-back honors in that category in 1987 and 1988.
"Days of Glory (Indigenes)" (Algeria): For the North African troops fighting for France during the Second World War, their experience in uniform becomes a painful lesson in just how little regard their colonial rulers have for their humanity. As one company of soldiers pushes north through Europe, its members continue to find themselves denied the basic rights taken for granted by their French counterparts. Algeria's fourth nomination; its last win was in 1969 for "Z."
"The Lives Of Others" (Germany): In East Berlin in 1984, the secret police organization, Stasi, conducts extensive surveillance operations against any East German citizen suspected of opposing the Communist regime. When Captain Gerd Weisler begins monitoring the daily life of the playwright Georg Dreyman, he finds himself increasingly unwilling to betray his subject's private moments to his superiors. Germany's seventh nomination, but prior to reunification it received nine other nods; the overall total now is 15.
"Pan's Labyrinth" (Mexico): In the violent period following the Spanish Civil War, a young girl captivated by a fairy tale comes to believe she is the lost princess of the story. In the wake of her mother's remarriage to a cruel fascist officer, young Ofelia explores a vast stone labyrinth, where she encounters the faun Pan and is given a series of three tasks to perform. Mexico's seventh Foreign Language nod, and thanks to several wins from BAFTA and U.S. critics' awards (it lost the Golden Globe to "Letters From Iwo Jima"), it is a heavily favored to claim the prize.
"Water" (Canada): In India in 1938, eight-year-old Chuyia--a child bride--learns she is now a widow. Taken from her parents, Chuyia is sent to live for the remainder of her life in a widow's ashram run by the greedy, tyrannical Madhumati. There, she is befriended by the beautiful Kalyani, a young widow who is shunned by the other women and forced by Madhumati to work as a prostitute. Canada's fourth nomination with its previous win being for 2003's "The Barbarian Invasions."

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
"Cars": Cocky racecar Lightning McQueen is heading across the country to face his rivals in the California Piston Cup racewhen he is forced to stop in the small town of Radiator Springs. Sentenced by the town judge to repair its mainroad, loner Lightning learns a lesson in friendship from the easygoing locals. "Cars'" other nomination is for Best Song (Randy Newman). If he wins, he'll make us all forget about Three Six Mafia from last year.
"Happy Feet": Mumble is a young Emperor penguin who, unlike the rest of his colony, can't sing a note but is a dazzling dancer. Banished for this perceived flaw by the colony's rigid elders, Mumble begins an odyssey that leads him to a band of friendly Mexican penguins...and his first encounters with the two-legged creatures whose presence threatens the animals' Antarctic home.
"Monster House": When twelve-year-old DJ confronts Nebbercracker, the owner of the menacing house across the street, the sinister old man is taken away after a seemingly fatal seizure. Along with his friends, Chowder and Jenny, DJ decides to explore the house...only to discover that it has its own fatal way of dealing with invaders.

Tomorrow, the conclusion of Oscar Preview Week with Best Picture and my picks. See you then, and good night.

Oscar Preview Week: Best Actor/Actress

Hello, everybody. I'll get to the (very) latest on Britney Spears' antics in a bit, but we continue our Oscar Preview Week with a look at the Lead Acting nominees. Best Actor has two black nominees; one of them was up before for "Ali" while another is fresh off his Golden Globe win. We also have another ex-Mouseketeer, an Honorary Oscar winner, and a double nominee in the mix.

BEST ACTOR:
Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond": Leonardo DiCaprio plays Danny Archer, a South African smuggler who forms a partnership with a man who has found a valuable diamond. Film synopsis: Amid the chaos of Sierra Leone's civil war, fisherman Solomon Vandy is parted from his family and forced to work in mining camps. When he escapes after finding a valuable pink diamond, he enters into an uneasy alliance with a South African smuggler who advises him to sell the stone in order to save his family. "Blood Diamond's" other nominations include Film Editing, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing.
Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson": Ryan Gosling portrays Dan Dunne, a teacher and basketball coach struggling with a drug problem as he attempts to mentor a talented young girl. Film synopsis: High school history teacher Dan Dunne leads a troubled personal life that is mired in a downward spiral of drugs and drinking. A committed teacher and girl's basketball coach despite his problems, he becomes a mentor to 13-year-old Drey, a studious girl whose own difficult family life has left her in desperate need of a father figure. Other than the third incarnation of the "Mickey Mouse Club" (along with Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, and of course, the very troubled Britney), Gosling is also best known from "The Notebook" with girlfriend and fellow Canadian Rachel McAdams.
Peter O'Toole, "Venus": Peter O'Toole plays Maurice, an aging actor who begins an unlikely friendship--and tentative courtship--with his best friend's great-niece. Film synopsis: Maurice is an aging, albeit still working, actor whose main source of social interaction is his friendship with fellow thespian Ian. When Ian's great-niece, the working-class Jessie, moves in with him, Maurice finds himself smitten with the girl, and the two begin an unlikely friendship that Maurice hopes will lead to something more. He may have received an Honorary Oscar in 2002, but this is his eighth straight Best Actor nomination and at 74, he may be the second oldest winner behind Peter Fonda. Besides "Venus", O'Toole was also in "One Night With The King" last year.
Will Smith, "The Pursuit of Happyness": Will Smith plays Chris Gardner, a loving father who struggles to care for his young son while trying to regain his financial footing after becoming homeless. Film synopsis: When Chris Gardner loses both his money and his wife through a disastrous investment, he struggles to care for his young son while attempting to get back on his feet. Without a home or income, Chris must find a way to last through his six-month internship at a brokerage firm without losing custody of five-year-old Christopher. Like I mentioned, Smith's last nomination was for "Ali"; he lost to Denzel Washington.
Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland": Forest Whitaker plays Idi Amin, the notorious Ugandan dictator whose charismatic personality cannot mask the savage brutality of his actions. Film synopsis: An idealistic Scottish doctor working in Uganda unexpectedly finds himself selected by the nation's dictator, Idi Amin, to serve as his personal physician. As young Nicholas Garrigan succumbs to the seductive extravagances of palace life, he also becomes an eyewitness to the horrors and brutality of Amin's regime. Whitaker along the way received Golden Globe and BAFTA honors for that role, and there's a good chance he may score the trifecta on Sunday night.

On the Best Actress side, two nominees took the Oscar stage before, while two of them after a few nominations has yet to. Add in a spicy Spaniard and this is one hot battle.
BEST ACTRESS:
Penelope Cruz, "Volver": As Raimunda, Penélope Cruz portrays a Spanish woman dealing with a series of surprising events that threaten to throw her life into chaos. Film synopsis: The women in a Spanish family support one another through a series of dramatic changes in their lives. When young Paula kills her abusive father, her mother, Raimunda, hides his body in the freezer of a neighbor's vacant restaurant and then decides to run the business herself, while her sister Sole is stunned by the reappearance of their mother, who perished in a fire years ago.
Judi Dench, "Notes On A Scandal": Judi Dench plays Barbara Covett, a lonely teacher who develops a crush on a new colleague and uses herknowledge of the woman's affair with a student to manipulate her. Synopsis: Barbara Covett is a lonely teacher who develops an unrequited infatuation with her school's newest staff member, the beautiful Sheba Hart. When Barbara catches Sheba in an affair with a student, she uses her knowledge to place Sheba in her debt...a situation she hopes will give her the upper hand in their relationship. With nomination #6 now, Dench's only win was in 1998 for "Shakespeare in Love" (Supporting Actress).
Helen Mirren, "The Queen": As Queen Elizabeth, Helen Mirren portrays the British monarch facing changes in her traditional role during thedifficult period following the 1997 death of Princess Diana. With BAFTA and Golden Globe prizes for "The Queen" (to go along with the Emmy and Golden Globe she already got for "Elizabeth I"), she is the odds-on favorite to take it all the third time around.
Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada": Meryl Streep plays Miranda Priestly, the icily difficult fashion editor whose outrageous demands make the lives of her two assistants a nerve-wracking challenge. Synopsis: When idealistic journalism major Andy Sachs lands a job as an assistant to fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly, she is soon struggling to cope with both the high-pressure demands of the critical Priestly and her colleagues' open disdain for her own lack of style and fashion sense. In her 14th nomination with two wins in 1979 ("Kramer vs. Kramer") and 1982 ("Sophie's Choice"), Streep is the most nominated actress in Academy Awards history. Also, she is the only lone American up for this year's Actress prize.
Kate Winslet, "Little Children": Kate Winslet plays discontented wife and mother Sarah Pierce, whose affair with a neighbor may destroy both their marriages. Synopsis: When Sarah and Brad, two young parents dissatisfied with the boredom of their suburban lives, meet through their children at the park, they begin an affair that may destroy both their marriages. Interwoven with their story is the troubled life of sex offender Ronald McGorvey, who becomes an object of suspicion and rage following his return to the neighborhood. This is Winslet's third Best Actress nomination to go along with her two previous Supporting Actress nods, making it five overall.

Tomorrow, we continue Oscar Preview Week with Director, Foreign Language Film, and Animated Feature Film; then on Friday, Best Picture and my predictions.

Now...Oops, she's out of rehab again! Just a little after 24 hours, Britney Spears checked out of Promises Treatment Center in Malibu on Wednesday just a few days after going bald, donning a wig, and adding another tattoo.

I said last night that the self-destruction for Britney has already begun, and it wouldn't be long until she explodes. And while Aguilera has added two more Grammys this year while Ryan Gosling is hoping to upset Forest Whitaker on Sunday, Britney meanwhile continues to fall off the deep end. And if she is reading this blog, I have a very urgent and open message to her: GROW UP BEFORE YOU SCREW UP!!!!!

But the one story we serious news junkies care about is that British troops are scheduled to be pulled out of Iraq by this summer. As for the casulaties, only 130 of those were killed since 2003 while the U.S. continues to lead the tally with over 3,000 of our troops. The news on the withdrawal may be a wake-up call to President Bush to do the same here.

Well, with all that said...have a good night.

Hello, everybody. Before I go any further, let me be honest with you on this:

The reason why I didn't offer my usual thoughts on what's been going on in recent weeks (Indianapolis Colts winning Super Bowl XLI, the Grammy Awards, Anna Nicole Smith's death) was because my computer was experiencing "technical difficulties." The hard drive which had all my data from all those years was bad (something about lots of bad sectors) and a fresh one was installed, though I'm keeping the old drive in hopes of getting my stuff recovered so I would transfer them to the new drive. Thankfully, I have backed up all my old "NewsBeats", "Plain Truths", and other HTML files from the old Allen Report site -- except for the graphics I've created which are in the bad old drive -- to the external hard drive. It's going to be quite a while, and I'm hoping and praying that everything will be back to full strength.

With that out of the way...I'm sure you've already heard and seen by now that Britney Spears has literally lost it. Over the weekend, she went bald by shaving her head and the pictures of it would be seen around the world; now, she's in rehab.

I've said time and time again starting with my "Daily News-Miner" Letter to the Editor in 2000 defending her after her MTV Video Music Awards performance, "Let Britney Spears be Britney Spears". Now, in the wake of the aftermath of Anna Nicole's death, the self-destruction of Britney has already begun. It's only time now when she will explode.

Anyway...next Sunday is the 79th Annual Academy Awards, and all this week like I've been doing on the old site we'll be taking a look at who's up for the coveted prize, starting with the Supporting Acting nominees.

Oscar Preview Week: Supporting Actor and Actress
(As always, thanks to Oscar.com for nomination info and film synopses)

SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine: Alan Arkin portrays the salty, heroin-addicted Grandpa, who joins his family on a road trip to California, where his granddaughter has entered a children's beauty pageant. A two-time Best Actor nominee in the 1960's, this is his third nomination.

Jackie Earle Haley, "Little Children": Jackie Earle Haley portrays Ronnie J. McGorvey, a sex offender whose return home from prison gives rise to panic and hatred among his neighbors. Many remember Haley from the "Bad News Bears" movies; the first one starred 1973 Supporting Actress winner Tatum O'Neal.

Djimon Honshu, "Blood Diamond": As Solomon Vandy, Djimon Hounsou plays an African husband and father who hopes to save his family through the sale of an enormous diamond. Honshu was nominated in that very same category before, for "In America" in 2003.

Eddie Murphy, "Dreamgirls": Eddie Murphy plays James "Thunder" Early, an African-American singer in the early 1960s who is unable to make the crossover leap to a wider white audience.

Mark Wahlberg, "The Departed": As Dignam, Mark Wahlberg plays a Boston police sergeant who places an undercover cadet in a crime syndicate, unaware that one of his own men is working for its boss.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Adriana Barraza, "Babel": Adriana Barraza plays Amelia, a nanny whose longing to attend her son's wedding leads her to take her two young charges with her to Mexico.

Cate Blanchett, "Notes on a Scandal": As Sheba Hart, Cate Blanchett portrays an art teacher who becomes involved with one of her students and finds herself at the mercy of an older colleague. The last time she was up for that same category in "The Aviator", she won. Blanchett was also previously nominated for Best Actress in "Elizabeth", but it went to her "Talented Mr. Ripley" co-star Gwyneth Paltrow.

Abigail Breslin, "Little Miss Sunshine": Abigail Breslin plays Olive, a brightly optimistic seven-year-old who dreams of traveling to California and competing in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. At 10 years old, 11 months, she would become the second youngest Supporting Actress winner behind O'Neal, who picked up her Oscar at 10 years old, five months.

Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls": Jennifer Hudson plays Effie White, a talented singer whose weight leads her manager and lover to relegate her to a back-up role in her singing group. Film synopsis, since it was shut out for Best Picture: The Dreamettes, an African-American Motown trio, are spotted at a 1962 talent contest by the ambitious CurtisTaylor Jr. Sensing the women's potential as pop music crossover stars, Taylor renames them the Dreams...and relegates plump lead singer Effie to a backup role behind the more glamorous Deena. Hot off the heels of Carrie Underwood's recent Grammy wins (including Best New Artist), Hudson has all of "American Idol" rooting for her.

Rinko Kukuchi, "Babel": Rinko Kikuchi plays Chieko, a troubled deaf teenager living in Tokyo with her father and haunted by the tragic death of her mother.

Tomorrow, Oscar Preview Week continues with Best Actor and Actress; followed by Director, Foreign Language Film, and Animated Feature Film on Thursday, and wrapping up on Friday with Best Picture and my predictions. So long!