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Ratings for this Sunday’s Oscars experienced a resurgence from last year’s all-time low, drawing an estimated 36.3 million viewers in the U.S.

That’s an increase of more than four million viewers from the 2008 ceremony, when “No Country for Old Men” won for best picture.

Canadian viewership was also up, with 4.5 million people watching on CTV for a one per cent increase from last year, according to preliminary BBM Nielsen Media Research numbers.

Despite the larger audience, the show was still the third-lowest-rated Oscars. The 2003 ceremony, which saw “Chicago” receive the best picture award, was second-lowest.

In contrast, the 1998 ceremony scored the largest Oscar audience on record with 55.2 million viewers. The blockbuster “Titanic” took top honours that year.

This year’s Academy Awards featured actor Hugh Jackman as host and a revamped format, which included having a different past winner present each nominee in the acting categories.

“Slumdog Millionaire” was the night’s big winner with eight awards, including best picture.

Hollywood’s biggest award show is over for another year. Done. Kaput. No more bets on who will win and who will lose (although if I actually gambled on who would take home an Oscar, I would be a bit richer today). And while last night’s winners polish their statues and the losers polish off another bottle of Skinny Wine, I am giving kudos to one of the best Academy Awards show in years.

Here’s why last night Oscars rocked:

The host:

Hugh Jackman. He’s sexy, charming and helped made the usual dull Oscars entertaining. His musical montage of the year’s celebrated films –along this poorly made props (thank you recession)– and duet with Anne Hathaway rocked. He made the celebrities laugh—which makes him an automatic hit. He better be back next year.

The guests:

Brangelina–While most people were waiting for Angie and Brad to make their way down the red carpet—I couldn’t care less. Although both extremely talented and stunning—they are overrated. Besides, is it me or does Angelina have a permanent cold look to her? Girl needs to smile more often. Take some cues from Aniston. Yeah, I said it. READ MORE »

Best Motion Picture

WINNER: “Slumdog Millionaire”

Performance By An Actor In A Leading Role
WINNER: Sean Penn in “Milk”

Performance By An Actress In A Leading Role

WINNER: Kate Winslet in “The Reader”

Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role

WINNER: Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight”


Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role

WINNER: Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”


Achievement In Directing
WINNER: Danny Boyle for “Slumdog Millionaire”

Adapted Screenplay

WINNER: “Slumdog Millionaire,” by Simon Beaufoy
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Original Screenplay

WINNER: “Milk,” by Dustin Lance Black


Achievement In Music Written For Motion Pictures (Original Song)

WINNER: “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar

Achievement In Music Written For Motion Pictures (Original Score)

WINNER: “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman

Achievement In Cinematography

WINNER: “Slumdog Millionaire”


Achievement In Film Editing

WINNER: “Slumdog Millionaire,” Chris Dickens


Achievement In Costume Design

WINNER: “The Duchess”

Achievement In Art Direction

WINNER: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”


Best Animated Feature Film

WINNER: “WALL-E”

Best Animated Short Film

WINNER: “La Maison en Petits Cubes”

Best Live Action Short Film

WINNER: “Spielzeugland (Toyland)”

Best Documentary Feature

WINNER: “Man on Wire”


Best Documentary Short Subject

WINNER: “Smile Pinki”

Best Foreign Language Film

WINNER: “Departures” – Japan


Achievement In Visual Effects

WINNER: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

Achievement In Makeup

WINNER: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Greg Cannom


Achievement In Sound Editing

WINNER: “The Dark Knight”

Achievement In Sound Mixing

WINNER: “Slumdog Millionaire”


Britney’s epic comeback. Speidi’s nuptials. Jen Aniston talking shit. Brad’s promotional blitz. Exams took over my life and I missed out on so much damn good gossip. But, don’t worry kids. I’m back. And at the very best time of year.

Tis’ the season to be jolly.

The buzz, the anticipation, the shameless self-promotion.

Of course, I’m talking about award season and yes, my friends, it is upon us. Am I the only one who gets giddy for the Golden Globes and the Grammys anymore? Am I alone in my obsession with Oscar predictions? I hope not because if award shows die with the rest of the things that are dying with the economy, I may not recover.

The sheer hype leading up to the actual shows is enough to hold my attention. Right now, two movies are in the front running for that Oscar gold. “Milk” and the “Curious Case of Benjamin Button”. They’re also leading the Best Actor predictions.

Both are brimming with the stuff Oscars are made of. Sean Penn, Hollywood heavyweight and multiple Oscar winner, took on the role of Harvey Milk and the movie buffs are saying the performance is nothing short of incredible.

And Brad Pitt might FINALLY get his much needed respected from the Academy with his age-defying role in “Benjamin Button.”

They’ve got the critical acclaim. They’ve got the star power. So which one’s got the edge?

I’m going to go against the obvious choice- the controversial biopic- and bet on Bradley. Pitt is going to get his first bronze statue. Mark my words.

So this morning, the Broadcast Film Critics Association’s Critics’ Choice Awards were announced and, like every year, they set the standard for the awards that will follow in the winter. The aforementioned flicks led the nominations.

Also getting a nod was Heath Ledger for the “Dark Knight”. He’s winning it all. From the SAG award to the big one. Cue the sad music and the heartfelt “we accept this on Heath’s behalf” speech. It’ll be epic. It’ll be well-deserved. I’m getting chills just thinking about it.

Brad’s better half, Angelina Jolie, also got a nomination for “Changeling”. She’s also my pick for Best Actress but she’s up against Anne Hathaway (who’s had a breakout year with “Rachel Getting Married”), Cate Blanchett and Meryl Streep. Tough competition but I think she’s got it.

Another thing I love about award season is the inevitable snub. Oh, I effin love the snub. Especially when it happens to actors who really, really care about awards.

Nicole Kidman. She cares. And she’s not only NOT being considered for “Australia” but she got torn apart by critics for her role in the film.

Leo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet were left off the list for their highly anticipated reunion in “Revolutionary Road”. Leo definitely cares. Did you see how he cried a few years back when he got a Golden Globe for “The Aviator”? Oh, he cares. And it’s not even an award show if Kate Winslet isn’t nominated. Half of her career consists of the humble-loser-clap. Sorry Kate, probably not this year.

“Dark Knight” BETTER win Best Picture. But alas, it probably won’t. It’ll most likely go to “Slumdog Millionaire,” the underdog favourite of the year.

Lastly, on the snub front, “High School Musical 3″ was completely left out of the Best Song category. What? There were, like, 10 songs to choose from! Seriously? A travesty!

So as the actors continue to campaign, as Nicole Kidman licks her wounds and tries to unfreeze her face, let’s cross our fingers for Batman and Brangelina.

The big winner at Sunday’s Academy Awards may have been “No Country For Old Men,” but the U.S. was No Country For Oscar Viewers as the show recorded the lowest ratings in the U.S. ever.

The televised broadcast, hosted by Jon Stewart, averaged about 32 million viewers, a drop of almost 10 million from last year.

It was also about 1 million viewers less than the previous record low set in 2003.

The ratings bust is being blamed on this year’s array of nominated films, many of which did poorly at the box office despite critical raves. For example, the grim and violent “No Country For Old Men” took in a modest $64 million at the North American box office.

Indie comedy “Juno” was the only movie among the five best-picture nominees that grossed more than $100 million at the domestic box office. It won one award, for best original screenplay.

Some speculate that the poor ratings may also have been due to the dominance of non-mainstream European actors, who won all four acting awards this year for movies that weren’t exactly commercial successes.

The most-watched Oscars broadcast in history was in 1998, when 55 million Americans tuned in to watch the blockbuster “Titanic” win 11 trophies including best picture.

With the writers’ strike officially declared over on Tuesday, it’s back to business for the Academy Awards — and that includes securing a bevy of big-name presenters.

Organizers have announced some of those who will be doling out trophies at the Feb. 24 ceremony, and the list includes George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Steve Carell, Amy Adams, James McAvoy, Colin Farrell, Anne Hathaway, Katherine Heigl, Seth Rogen, Jessica Alba and Martin Scorsese.

All four of last year’s winners in the acting categories will also present: Alan Arkin and Jennifer Hudson, who won supporting acting honours, and Helen Mirren and Forest Whitaker, who won best actress and actor.

Nominees at this year’s ceremony are among the presenters as well, including Cate Blanchett, who is up for both supporting and best actress trophies, and George Clooney, who is nominated for best actor.

The 80th Academy Awards will be hosted by comedian Jon Stewart and takes place at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

The results of Sunday’s BAFTA awards may have changed the Oscar race for Best Actress.

Marion Cotillard took home the prestigious award for Lead Actress. Until now, Julie Christie has been sweeping up that award for her performance in “Away From Her.”

Cotillard’s performance as Edith Piaf in “La Vie En Rose” has earned her quite a lot of admirers, if not many statuettes. Canadian Ryan Gosling gushed to Variety in December that, “Not only did she craft a flawless impersonation of a famous personality, but Marion’s humanity elevated her performance to a devastatingly honest and yet seemingly effortless personification of integrity and grace.

“To me, this is more than just a great performance; it’s a document of this actress’s overwhelming ability to love.”

The BAFTAs had some predictable results, however, with Daniel Day-Lewis and Javier Bardem now almost guaranteed some Oscar gold.

The award show also honoured Shia LeBeouf as a Rising Star.

Here’s a complete list of winners.

? Best Film ? Atonement
? Best British Film ? This Is England
? The Carl Foreman Award ? Matt Greenhalgh (Control)
? Director – Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country For Old Men)
? Best Original Screenplay ? Juno
? Best Adapted Screenplay ? The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
? Film Not in the English Language ? The Lives of Others
? Best Animated Film ? Ratatouille
? Leading Actor ? Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
? Leading Actress ? Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose)
? Supporting Actor ? Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men)
? Supporting Actress ? Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)
? Music ? La Vie En Rose
? Cinematography ? No Country For Old Men
? Orange Rising Star Award ? Shia LeBeouf

“L’Âge des ténèbres,” the latest film from Quebec director Denys Arcand, is one of nine films left in the running to win the Oscar for best foreign-language film.

The film, which translates to “Days of Darkness” in English, tells the story of a civil servant (Marc Labrèche) who copes with the dullness of everyday life by inventing vivid fantasy worlds.

The movie is part of an trilogy of films directed by Arcand — the other two being “Decline of the American Empire” (1986) and Oscar winner “The Barbarian Invasions” (2003).

Arcand has said “Days of Darkness” is the lightest and most humorous of the three.

Selected as Canada’s entry to the Academy Awards, the movie is now one step closer to nomination after the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released a list Tuesday of the remaining nine films in contention, whittled down from an initial list of 63.

The Academy will reveal its five official nominees on Jan. 22.

Besides Canada, the remaining films are from Austria, Brazil, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia and Serbia.

So it seems andPOP will have me doing an Oscar blog this Sunday… and hand in hand with Oscar blogs, of course, are the Oscar predictions.*

*Please note that the author of this piece has never predicted the Oscars before and makes no outright claims of being an expert, though this will often be implied.

You should probably know your critic. My four favourite films this year, in order, were Children of Men, Pan’s Labyrinth, Volver, and Letters From Iwo Jima. Others, in no particular order, included The Illusionist, The Departed, Flushed Away, The Devil Wears Prada, The Queen, Apocalypto, Borat, Clerks II, Flags of Our Fathers, Happy Feet, Little Miss Sunshine, A Scanner Darkly, and Snakes On A Plane. It was a weak year for movies.

The films I found most disappointing included Cars, Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Man’s Chest, X3… and Babel. Also, I missed Half Nelson, United 93, Little Children, and three of the foreign film nominations.

Let the predictions begin!

Best Picture

Usually, there’s a clear front-runner. This year, that didn’t quite happen. There isn’t one main front-runner, but two. By most accounts the main one would appear to be Babel, not because it’s a good movie, but because of the five nominees it’s most clearly About Something. It also won the Golden Globes award for best picture – but then Little Miss Sunshine showed up and won the equivalent prizes from the Screen Actors Guild and the producers.

It’s unlikely The Queen is going to win. It won at the BAFTAs, but it was supposed to – both the awards and film were British. It’s also the most critically lauded film of the year, and the Academy rarely agrees with critics (see Fargo, L.A. Confidential, Brokeback Mountain, etc.). It isn’t really about anything except Britain’s royals, and the fact that a best picture nominee was made from such an idea already speaks volumes. Letters From Iwo Jima is also unlikely to win; it was directed by Clint Eastwood, who’s gone up to the podium twice already, and produced by Steven Spielberg, who lost the big prize to Shakespeare In Love with his last modern World War II classic, Saving Private Ryan.

The Departed would deserve the win, but I think Martin Scorcese and co. are going to have to content themselves with best director and screenplay wins (see my later predictions). And of the two remaining, I personally think Babel is going to win. The Academy doesn’t flat-out love ensemble dramas (Crash might have won last year, but remember that Gladiator won the award over the superior Traffic), but it loves films that are About Something, almost as much as it loves period epics and films about WWII. Little Miss Sunshine is neither About Something, a period epic, nor does it take place in WWII. And I don’t think any film has ever won best picture without its director being nominated, and Sunshine’s Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris weren’t.

Of course, I think Pan’s Labyrinth and Children of Men should have been nominated over the apparent front-runners. I also think The Queen and Letters From Iwo Jima are the only two movies among the nominees which deserved to be nominated in the first place. Letters From Iwo Jima was a wonderful piece of filmmaking, and even if Clint’s won twice for Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby, it would be equally wonderful to see him bring another trophy home.

Will win: Babel
Should win: Letters From Iwo Jima

Best Director:

If your film doesn’t deserve to win best picture, you don’t deserve to be nominated for best director. Babel was well-directed, but the screenplay’s message was incoherent. The big prize shouldn’t go to its director, Alejandro González Iñárritu, but if Martin Scorcese doesn’t win (and he’s the front-runner after bringing home the director’s guild prize, which tends to be an accurate barometer and which, like best picture, Marty’s often been nominated for and never won), Iñárritu probably will.

The other directors – Paul Greengrass, Stephen Frears, and Clint Eastwood – are probably just thrilled to be nominated. Greengrass won’t win – his movie wasn’t nominated for best picture (though from what I’ve heard it deserved to be). Eastwood’s won twice and doesn’t need another directing trophy on his shelf. And since Frears’ greatest skill is that he’s a chameleon (you’d never guess the same guy directed The Queen, Dustin Hoffman’s 1992 vehicle Hero, and High Fidelity) it stands to reason The Queen lacks that directorial panache necessary to win an award.

Obviously I think Alfonso Cuaron and Guillermo Del Toro should have been nominated in this category. Then again, Martin Scorcese should have won 30 years ago when he directed Taxi Driver, 25 years ago when he directed Raging Bull, 15 years ago when he directed GoodFellas, 10 years ago when he directed Casino… you get the picture. The Departed is a solid movie that’s among the better stuff American cinema’s acknowledged master has done, and if Scorcese wins, the Academy’s version of self-righteous justice will be served.

Will win: Martin Scorcese
Should win: Martin Scorcese

Best Lead Actor

How about that, I miss perhaps five major releases and more than half are represented by this category. I haven’t seen Half Nelson, The Pursuit of Happyness, or The Last King of Scotland, so I’ll go with the overwhelming consensus and say Forrest Whitaker will win.

I did see Leonardo DiCaprio in Blood Diamond, and he definitely deserved the nomination. Would have deserved it for The Departed too. They weren’t his first great performances however, and they won’t be his last.

I’ll go out on a limb and say Peter O’Toole should win. He’s been a screen legend now for almost 50 years, has movies like Goodbye Mr. Chips and Lawrence of Arabia under his belt, and has been nominated seven times but never won. Sometimes there’s an outcry or head-scratching when the honourary Oscars are announced, but the consensus with O’Toole’s was “it’s about bloody time!” with the man himself protesting he still had some good performances left in him yet. So why not give him an Oscar?

Will win: Forrest Whitaker
Should win: Peter O’Toole

Best Lead Actress

Ah… now here’s an improvement over last year. Instead of two great performances and three middle-of-the-road paycheques in an overall weak year, we get five genuinely challenging roles performed by five genuinely talented actresses (I’m speculating with Kate Winslet in Little Children, which I haven’t seen – the movie, not her talent). If any of them won, there would not be so much as a whisper of protest from my end.

But we all know Helen Mirren’s gonna win. Not only has she picked up every major preliminary accolade, she played the Queen herself, dammit, and as everyone knows it’s a hard role to play. Mirren’s about 10 years younger than Elizabeth II, but she nailed her mannerisms perfectly, and The Queen, as a movie, deserves to win something. It’ll probably be best actress.

Of the four performances I’ve seen, my personal favourite was that by Penelope Cruz in Volver. A lot of credit for her role, of course, must go to writer/director Pedro Almodovar (Helen Mirren should thank Peter Morgan, The Queen’s screenwriter, too – the same cannot be said for Meryl Streep and Judi Dench, who both created terrific roles out of underwritten characters), but in Volver Cruz reveals herself as a formidable talent, and how wonderful it is to see her playing something beyond the pretty face – while simultaneously looking better than she has in any other role she’s ever accepted.

Will win: Helen Mirren
Should win: Penelope Cruz

Best Supporting Actor

Anyone who’s seen Dreamgirls, and hasn’t seen Beverly Hills Cop, Bowfinger, 48 HRS, or reruns of early 80s Saturday Night Live recently, and who’s been shocked to realize that yes, Eddie Murphy does still have talent (I’m not counting Mulan or the Shrek movies), knows that he deserves to win in this category. If anything maybe it’ll give him enough clout again to keep him from doing another project like Norbit. Please dear god, no more projects like Norbit.

Will win: Eddie Murphy
Should win: Eddie Murphy

Best Supporting Actress

Likewise, anyone who’s seen Dreamgirls knows that former American Idol contestant (She lost? Really?) Jennifer Hudson – WHO PLAYED THE FRICKIN’ LEAD – walks away with the movie. (Hudson’s probably grateful the producers tried to trick the Academy into thinking the lead was Beyoncé Knowles – she would have lost to Helen Mirren.)

Will win: Jennifer Hudson
Should win: Jennifer Hudson

Best Original Screenplay

The screenplay Oscars usually serve two uses: one, if the movie likely to win best picture is nominated in the given category, it wins as a validation that yes, the academy made the right choice; two, if the movie likely to win best picture isn’t nominated in the given category, another movie that deserved to win big brings home the screenplay Oscar as a consolation prize.

There are years with exceptions – Cameron Crowe won a well-deserved award for Almost Famous the year Gladiator won best picture, for instance – however, I don’t think this will be one of them. Hence, for the reasons I’ve written above, I think Babel will win for its fragmented, unfocused screenplay, even though I think Little Miss Sunshine’s paint-by-numbers quirkiness did it one better. Letters From Iwo Jima, which crafted a movie about the proverbial “other side” from scratch and ended up creating a superior experience to Flags of Our Fathers, and The Queen, which created a compelling film out of one of the most boring concepts imaginable, would be far more deserving.

And then you have Pan’s Labyrinth, which was apparently at least partly cribbed from Guillermo Del Toro’s previous work, but created what is simultaneously a classic fairy tale, a stirring war picture, and a bitter indictment of totalitarian regimes. It had room for an endearing heroine, a chilling villain, some of the most inventive setpieces I’ve seen in ages, and, as those who have seen the movie know, just the right amount of ambiguity. Surely you’re not surprised I think Pan’s Labyrinth should win.

Will win: Babel
Should win: Pan’s Labyrinth

Best Adapted Screenplay

Here’s where the likely winner isn’t competing. I think the winner of the consolation prize will be The Departed; as a remake it follows the plot established by the original (the brilliant, superior Infernal Affairs) almost to the letter (the places it doesn’t – especially the ending – are where it screws up), but it adds loads of terrific dialogue, and an authentic-feeling Boston sound.

As for the others, I haven’t seen Little Children, so I can’t comment. Notes On A Scandal was a conventional screenplay with one great plot device – Barbara Covett (Judi Dench)’s written indictments of her students and co-workers – and one I don’t really accept, carried by Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench’s terrific performances. Borat, which was primarily improvised, doesn’t deserve to be nominated in this category and I hope will be treated as such. (As one of the year’s most admired films, however, I could see it being a dark-horse win.)

Children of Men, however, in addition to the great acting, directing, set design, cinematography, and whatever else made it on screen, owes more than a token of thanks to its focused screenplay, which never loses sight of its characters even as the future of England crumbles around them. It says something that I can still remember Theo Faron (Clive Owen), Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey), Jasper (Michael Caine), Julian (Julianne Moore), Miriam (Pam Ferris), and Syd (Peter Mullan) almost as well as the unforgettable world they inhabit (except for Mullan, I didn’t have to look up any of those names). Of course, I think Children of Men should have been nominated for best picture, best director, and best actor for Clive Owen. It was already robbed. How wonderful if it at least won for best screenplay.

Will win: The Departed
Should win: Children of Men

Best Foreign Film

I’ve only seen two – Pan’s Labyrinth and Water. Water is a compelling story sunk by its heavy-handed message, and doesn’t deserve the nomination, let alone a win. After The Wedding doesn’t have enough buzz. Days of Glory has a chance, because it takes place during WWII, but technically so does Pan’s Labyrinth.

I could see The Lives of Others winning, if it continues to build on its current-release hype; however, I don’t think anyone can – or should – bury the juggernaut that is Pan’s Labyrinth. It could have been nominated for best picture, and everyone knows it, but will have to settle for the best foreign Oscar.

The real film that should be winning this award is Volver, but it wasn’t nominated in the first place.

Will win: Pan’s Labyrinth
Should win: Pan’s Labyrinth

Best Animated Film

This was a weak year for animation. Cars represents the most passion, the most effort, the most expertise. And it still fell short. C’est la vie.

Personally I think the best animated feature of the year was DreamWorks and Aardman Animation’s Flushed Away. By not being nominated, it sets an unfortunate precedent for Aardman: the first major effort not to be nominated for (or win) an animated film/short Oscar (Chicken Run, which was created before the animated feature award, doesn’t count).

Of the films nominated, only Happy Feet is worth seeing.

Will win: Cars
Should win: Happy Feet

Scorsese And Eastwood Fight For Top Oscars Again
MARTIN SCORSESE and CLINT EASTWOOD are squaring off once again at the 79th Academy Awards – both legends have picked up Best Director nominations while their movies THE DEPARTED and LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA are in competition for Best Picture.

The Departed and Letters From Iwo Jima are up against BABEL, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE and THE QUEEN in the Best Picture category.

The nominees for Best Director are Scorsese for The Departed, Eastwood for Letters From Iwo Jima, ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ INARRITU for Babel, STEPHEN FREARS for The Queen and PAUL GREENGRASS for UNITED 93.

At the 2005 Oscars, Scorsese’s THE AVIATOR lost out in the Best Director and Best Picture categories to Eastwood’s MILLION DOLLAR BABY.

DREAMGIRLS has the most nominations with eight nods including Best Supporting Actor for EDDIE MURPHY and Best Supporting Actress for JENNIFER HUDSON.

The nominations for Best Actor are LEONARDO DiCAPRIO for BLOOD DIAMOND, RYAN GOSLING for HALF NELSON, PETER O’TOOLE for VENUS, WILL SMITH for THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS and FOREST WHITAKER for THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND.

O’Toole’s nomination is his eighth, although he has never won. He was named the recipient of a Special Oscar For Lifetime Achievement in 2003.

The Best Actress nominees are PENELOPE CRUZ for VOLVER, DAME JUDI DENCH for NOTES ON A SCANDAL, DAME HELEN MIRREN for THE QUEEN, MERYL STREEP for THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA and KATE WINSLET for LITTLE CHILDREN.

The ceremony will be held at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles on February 25.

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