Oscar Watch part two (2^nd half of 2005):

Note: please see this link for the June article with my look at the first half of 2005 Oscar hopefuls:
 

December 31^st is the last day for movie studios to get their Oscar hopefuls played in an American theater (at least in limited release), and the studios have been busy filling release dates with films they hope will take the top honors on March 5, 2006.  This week I’ve put together a list of the people and films considered in the running for an Oscar nomination for the five major categories. 

Best Picture:
Munich (Steven Spielberg, wide release 1/6/2005)
King Kong (Peter Jackson, wide release 12/16/2005)
Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, in theaters now)
Walk the Line (James Mangold, in theaters now)
Good Night, and Good Luck (George Clooney, in theaters now)
Cinderella Man (Ron Howard, on DVD now)
Match Point (Woody Allen, on DVD now)
The Constant Gardner (Fernando Meirelles, on DVD 1/17/2006)
Capote (Bennett Miller, in theaters now)
Crash (Paul Haggis, on DVD now)
Syriana (Stephen Gaghis, wide release 12/23/2005)
A History of Violence (David Cronenberg, on DVD 2/28/2006)
Memoirs of a Geisha (Rob Marshall, in theaters now)

Best Director:
Steven Spielberg: Munich (Universal/DreamworksSKG)
Peter Jackson: King Kong (Universal)
James Mangold: Walk the Line (Twentieth Century Fox)
Steven Gaghan: Syriana (Warner Brothers)
George Clooney: Good Night, and Good Luck (Warner Independent)
Ang Lee: Brokeback Mountain (Focus Factor)
Woody Allen: Match Point (Dreamworks SKG)
Rob Marshall: Memoirs of a Geisha (Columbia Pictures)
Bennett Miller: Capote (United Artists)
Fernando Meirelles: The Constant Gardner (A-Film Distribution)
Paul Haggis: Crash (Bull’s Eye Entertainment)
Ron Howard: Cinderella Man (Imagine/Universal)
David Cronenberg: A History of Violence (New Line Productions)
Nikki Caro: North Country (Warner Brothers, in theaters now)

Best Actor:
Phillip Seymour Hoffman: Capote
Joaquin Phoenix: Walk the Line
Heath Ledger: Brokeback Mountain
David Straitharn: Good Night, and Good Luck
Eric Bana: Munich
Ralph Fiennes: The Constant Gardner
Russell Crowe: Cinderella Man
Jeff Daniels: The Squid and the Whale (in theaters/limited release)
Bill Murray: Broken Flowers (on DVD now)
Viggo Mortensen: A History of Violence
Terrence Howard: Hustle and Flow (on DVD now)

Best Actress:
Reese Witherspoon: Walk the Line
Naomi Watts: King Kong
Charlize Theron: North Country
Felicity Huffman: TransAmerica (ltd release 12/23/2005)
Judy Dench: Mrs. Henderson Presents (ltd release 12/25/2005)
Gwyneth Paltrow: Proof (on DVD 2/14/2006)
Keira Knightley: Pride and Prejudice (in theaters now)
Claire Danes: Shopgirl (no DVD release date set)
Joan Allen: The Upside of Anger (on DVD now)

Best Supporting Actor:
Frank Langella: Good Night, and Good Luck
Jake Gyllenhall: Brokeback Mountain
Paul Giamatti: Cinderella Man
George Clooney: Syriana
Don Cheadle: Crash
Matt Dillon: Crash
Terrence Dashon Howard: Crash

Best Supporting Actress:
Diane Keaton: The Family Stone (wide release 12/23/2005)
Michelle Williams: Brokeback Mountain
Lynn Cohen: Munich
Ayelet July Zurer: Munich
Rachel Weisz: The Constant Gardner
Shirley MacClaine: In her Shoes (on DVD 1/31/2006)
Maria Bello: A History of Violence
Scarlett Johansen: Match Point
Frances McDormand: North Country
Catherine Keener: Capote
Amy Adams: Junebug (on DVD 1/16/2006)
Hope Davis: Proof
Sandra Bullock: Crash
Thandie Newton: Crash

Take a chance to check out some of these movies in theaters or on DVD and let me know what you think of the nominations.  A week or two before the Oscars I will put together another article on the actual nominees in each category, what I think of each film, the performances of the nominees, and my overall Oscar choice.  I hope to hear your opinions on these films and nominees in the forums section

This week at your local multiplex: (12/16/2005) 

King Kong: (Thriller)Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Andy Serkis, Colin Hanks, Thomas Krestmann, Kyle Chandler
Plot: A remake of the 1933 classic about a filmmaker that takes his crew to an uncharted island where they find the great beast Kong.  They shanghai him and take him back to New York, where he goes on a rampage.
Buzz: Peter Jackson’s first film after the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the advance buzz is that this is a pretty great movie and will threaten the box office numbers of the original Star Wars and Titanic.  

This week on DVD: (12/13/2005)

As always, if you want to drop me a line go to DPlace76@yahoo.com, or to check out some of my random thoughts on pretty much anything, you can go to www.livejournal.com/users/bigdpimpin.