Oscar predictions

Best Picture:
Unless there's a gigantic shock coming down the road, then Slumdog Millionaire will carry the day. Simply no other film has had any momentum or buzz all season.

Best Director:
Danny Boyle will take home the gold for Slumdog.

Best Actor:
It's an impossibly close race between Golden Globe and BAFTA winner Mickey Rourke and Screen Actors Guild recipient Sean Penn. I'm sticking my neck out and rooting for Rourke, who I think will gain the sentimental vote.

Best Actress:
If Kate Winslet doesn't win this year, she never will. Meryl Streep is the closest competition, having won the SAG, but it looks like it's the Reading girl's year.

Best Supporting Actress:
The one category that is genuinely unpredictable and open. Penelope Cruz is the favourite going in, having won the BAFTA two weeks ago. But I'm putting my money on Viola Davis to win for a brief but memorable turn acting Meryl Streep off the screen in Doubt.

Best Supporting Actor:
Is there anything to stop Heath Ledger from winning the first posthumous Oscar since Peter Finch in 1976? It doesn't seem likely (bookies have paid out on his win already), but if someone else is to emerge victorious, it will be Josh Brolin for Milk.

Best Original Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black will win for Milk, though Martin McDonagh is coming in a close second for In Bruges.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beoufoy has it in the bag for Slumdog Millionaire.

Best Foreign Language Film: Waltz With Bashir

Best Animated Film: Wall-E

Classic Oscar Moments Day 20

Jack Palance: what a legend. Skip to 1:25...

Classic Oscar Moments Day 19

I just arrived in LA for Watchmen-fest so apologies for the tardy posting! Anyhoo, today's classic Oscar moment(s) are courtesy of Robin Williams. click here for his rip-roaring rendition of 'Blame Canada' (from the South Park movie) at the 2000 awards.

Baldwin has a great Wii-ank

Alec Baldwin on last weekend's Saturday Night Live. Frickin' hilarious - how many masturbation jokes can you cram into one clip?

LA-LA Land

I'm off to LA tomorrow for a few days all in celebration of this movie, which I cannot wait to see. I'll keep you posted on developments from the Beverley Hilton. It's a tough job sometimes.

Declan does Teens in the Wild...

...well, kinda. Click here.

Dead funny

On Saturday night, I was lucky to catch a screening of Dublin-born director Glenn McQuaid's new horror-comedy I Sell The Dead, starring Dominic Monaghan and Larry Fassenden (who also served as producer). It's a B-movie pastiche about two 18th century grave-robbers who end up stumbling across some supernatural corpses, incurring the wrath of a rival gang of body-snatchers known as the House of Murphy.

McQuaid obviously has a deep knowledge of and affection for the genre, and he directs with an assured hand, perfectly balancing the laughs, the shlock and the frights, aided in no small part by two game, exuberant performances from his leading men.

ISTD is establishing itself as a firm festival favourite (it was one of the first flicks to sell out in the JDIFF), so here's hoping it gets a wider release later this year. It has the makings of a true cult classic.

Classic Oscar Moments Day 18

Hilary Swank may be staggeringly inconsistent as an actress, but she's still joined a very select group of ladies to win two Best Actress Oscars for two devastating performances in Boys Don't Cry in 1999, and Million Dollar Baby in 2004.

Speaking of Swank, here's another take on her, er, talents, courtesy of the peerless ensemble from The Office which, FYI, is on fire this season.

Classic Oscar Moments Day 17

Steven Spielberg's two trips to the podium as Best Director - for Schindler's List in 1993, and Saving Private Ryan in 1998.

And the Oscar for dirty tricks goes to...

From Saturday's Independent...

Smear tactics, negative adverts, character assassinations -- these are terms normally associated with presidential campaigns, not Hollywood's most prestigious awards bash.

But when it comes to the Academy Awards, which takes place next Sunday, Tinseltown's major movie studios will often resort to any means necessary to bag an Oscar for one of their films or stars, even if it means resorting to underhanded methods to trash their rivals.

Continue here.

66 99

I "love" this site!

Streamlined tax system

Classic Oscar Moments Day 16

Quality aint great but check out Meryl's reaction when the winner is announced.

Oh and just cos it's Friday, here's an extra classic Oscar performance. Check out the look Mariah throws Whitney at 3:15. Cooooooooooold.

Classic Oscar Moments Day 15

The most exuberant reaction to an Oscar win ever. Check out Spielberg in front of him.

Plus, on the same night, he became the least deserving Best Actor Oscar winner in the history of the awards. Remember he beat Edward Norton for American History X. The other four nominees in his category seem as dumbfounded as the rest of us

Hugh are looking good

Promo pics for next week's Oscars. Mmm hmmm

Classic Oscar Moments Day 14

The moment that "Who's the other one?" herself won her Oscar.

"The Reader is the worst Holocaust movie ever made"

It's great to find someone else who hates this vile, offensive, plodding, silly movie as much as me!

My bedside reading

The books I have on the go at the moment. I particularly recommend the Sittenfeld book American Wife - which is a fictional account of the life of an American First Lady not unlike Laura Bush.

Classic Oscar Moments Day 13

Oh Sally. The famous - and endlessly misquoted - acceptance speech for Places in the Heart in 1984

Classic Oscar Moments Day 12

A big shocker on the night, and still one of the most contentious wins in recent Oscarhistory, but a triumph for Harvey Weinstein's relentless campaigning.

Mr Gay Ireland wins Mr Gay World

Congrats Max Krzyzanowski

Classic Oscar Moments Day 11

Take it away Dolly!

Lost in time

The fantastic Doc Jensen from EW.com writes about the new season 5 of Lost, which, four episodes in, has proven to be the most daring and baffling, gripping and tightly structured season of the show yet.

Classic Oscar Moments Day 10

Diablo, I love you, but what was the story with the Bam-Bam from The Flintstones dress?

State of the nation

A Chara,

Due to recent economic conditions, and the rising cost of Electricity, Gas and Oil, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off.

Sorry for any inconvenience.


Regards,

Eamon Ryan
Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

Classic Oscar Moments Day 9

The notorious opening number to the 1989 awards starring Rob Lowe and, er, Snow White...Horrific

Ireland is gay

Why we're the gayest country in the world. Take it away Shirley!

Classic Oscar Moments Day 8

They were only aged 27 and 26 at the time. I hate them. Plus they look goooooood. As Billy Crystal sang to them that night: "Matt and Ben, you are the ones; your script was tight and, damn it, so are your buns".

Classic Oscar Moments Day 7

Jack's first time to the podium. Is it just me or was he kinda hot when he was younger?!

Snow day!

I remember heavy snow in Ireland when I was a wee bairn - it must be 20 years ago though. I love this weather I must say - then again I don't have to drive or fly over the next few days.

Alternative arrangements

Tickets for this year's Alternative Miss Ireland - aka Gay Christmas - are on sale now through Ticketmaster and at the Olympia Theatre box office. Tickets cost E34.50/E41.50, and all proceeds go to HIV and gay charities. The date this year is March 15. Always a fantastic night - book the Monday off!

Classic Oscar Moments Day 6

Such a popular winner at the time. What has he done since?

Flick 'n' mix

More can be seen here on Empire's site...

Classic Oscar Moments Day 5

The (in)famous speech that outed a teacher and inspired the movie In and Out...