[IMG:L]80th Academy Awards — 8:30/7:30c on ABC
Is it just me, or is it weird how the writers strike raged on for three-plus months with no end in sight, but as soon as the Oscars were in clear danger of being cancelled there was a swift resolution?
Whatever the reason, though, it’s great that the strike has ended and that the Academy Awards are officially on (even if the celeb-beloved Vanity Fair after-party is off).
A month or so before tonight’s ceremony, which is the 80th–Oscar is an octogenarian!–a number of categories were pretty much set in stone and thus anticlimactic.
But as is invariably the case each and every year, several races have seemingly heated up in recent weeks.
The male-actor categories are done deals: Daniel Day-Lewis and Javier Bardem will win for Best Actor and Supporting Actor, respectively. (Now watch Hal Holbrook pull an upset in the latter category and make me eat my words!)
However, other categories are less certain, albeit slightly.
No Country for Old Men is definitely the odds-on fave to win Best Picture, but that pesky lil’ Juno at least has a case for a major, Crash-like upset–namely its sunny nature and massive box office; Julie Christie will face stiff competition from Marion Cotillard, who has a lot of momentum, and a dark horse, once again, in Juno’s Ellen Page in the Best Actress category; Supporting Actress, meanwhile, is truly a four-horse race between Tilda Swinton, Amy Ryan, Cate Blanchett and Ruby Dee; and even the Coen bros., once penciled in for Best Director(s), need to be wary of the threat imposed by Julian Schnabel and Paul Thomas Anderson.
There will be surprises this year, and, yes, they will sabotage your office’s Oscar pool.
If those aren’t enough reasons to tune in, second-time host Jon Stewart compels you. Look out for strike jokes aplenty.
And, oh yeah, there’s also the draw of watching the world’s biggest stars present and accept awards. Among those presenting: Denzel Washington, Nicole Kidman, (nominee) George Clooney and Tom Hanks. What, no A-listers were available?!
