Completely unfounded predictions by a totally unqualified blogger

I was just reading the Golden Globe nominations and realized that I haven't seen a single movie that's up for an award. (Except Pineapple Express and Kung Fu Panda, but I don't think they count.) In fact, I hadn't even HEARD of most of the films nominated. So I went on IMDB to check out some trailers and, based only on 2-minute clips, have decided to predict who will win each Motion Picture category. As for the TV categories, I've seen most of the shows so I feel slightly more competent to predict the winners in those categories. This should be some sort of documented social experiment....

BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
The Reader (2nd pick)
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire (3rd pick)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married (3rd pick)
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kristin Scott Thomas - I've Loved You So Long (2nd pick)
Kate Winslet - Revolutionary Road

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
Leonardo DiCaprio - Revolutionary Road
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (3rd pick)
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler (2nd pick)

BEST MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Burn After Reading
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges (2nd pick)
Mamma Mia!
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (3rd pick)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Rebecca Hall - Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2nd pick)
Sally Hawkins - Happy Go Lucky
Frances McDormand - Burn After Reading
Meryl Streep - Mamma Mia!
Emma Thompson - Last Chance Harvey

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR DRAMA
Javier Bardem - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Colin Farrell - In Bruges
James Franco - Pineapple Express
Brendan Gleeson - In Bruges (2nd pick)
Dustin Hoffman - Last Chance Harvey

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda (2nd pick)
Wall-E

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Baader Meinhof Complex
Everlasting Moments (3rd pick)
Gomorrah
I've Loved You So Long (2nd pick)
Waltz With Bashir

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Amy Adams - Doubt (2nd pick)
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler
Kate Winslet - The Reader

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Tom Cruise - Tropic Thunder
Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder (3rd pick)
Ralph Fiennes - The Duchess
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt (2nd pick)
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight

BEST DIRECTOR - MOTION PICTURE
Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry - The Reader
David Fincher -The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon (2nd pick)
Sam Mendes - Revolutionary Road

BEST SCREENPLAY - MOTION PICTURE
Simon Beaufoy - Slumdog Millionaire (2nd pick)
David Hare - The Reader
Peter Morgan - Frost/Nixon
Eric Roth - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley -Doubt

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Dexter (2nd pick)
House
In Treatment
Mad Men
True Blood

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Sally Field - Brothers and Sisters
Mariska Hargitay - Law and Order: SVU
January Jones - Mad Men (2nd pick)
Anna Paquin - True Blood
Kyra Sedgwick - The Closer

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Gabriel Byrne – In Treatment
Michael C. Hall - Dexter (2nd pick)
Jon Hamm - Mad Men
Hugh Laurie - House
Jonathan Rhys Meyers - The Tudors

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
30 Rock
Californication (2nd pick)
Entourage
The Office (3rd pick)
Weeds

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Christina Applegate - Samantha Who? (2nd pick)
America Ferrere - Ugly Betty
Tina Fey - 30 Rock
Debra Messing - The Starter Wife (3rd pick)
Mary-Louise Parker - Weeds

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Alec Baldwin - 30 Rock (2nd pick)
Steve Carell - The Office
Kevin Connolly - Entourage
David Duchovny - Californication
Tony Shalhoub - Monk

BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
A Raisin in the Sun
Bernard and Doris
Cranford
John Adams
Recount

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Judi Dench - Cranford
Catherine Keener - An American Crime
Laura Linney - John Adams
Shirley Maclaine - Coco Chanel
Sunan Sarandon - Bernard and Doris

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Ralph Fiennes - Bernard and Doris (2nd pick)
Paul Giamatti - John Adams
Kevin Spacey - Recount
Kiefer Sutherland - 24: Redemption
Tom Wilkinson - Recount

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Eileen Atkins - Cranford
Laura Dern - Recount
Melissa George - In Treatment
Rachel Griffiths - Brothers and Sisters
Dianne Weist - In Treatment

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Neil Patrick Harris - How I Met Your Mother (2nd pick)
Denis Leary - Recount
Jeremy Piven - Entourage
Blair Underwood - In Treatment
Tom Wilkinson - John Adams

I left my own personal opinions and biases out of these guesses. If it were up to me, The Reader would win best motion picture, In Bruges would win best comedy, Brad Pitt would disappear to France to have more babies, and Tom Cruise would be knocked over the head with a shovel while accepting his fake award for best supporting actor in Tropic Thunder. Seriously, was that nomination some sort of joke? Was he even in the movie for more than five minutes? New rule: in order to get nominated for a role in a feature-length motion picture, you must ACT in the film for a total time of no less than ONE HOUR. Also, you can't make your wife into a Stepford robot or belong to a religion that doesn't believe in depression. Discovery of his Scientology sex dungeon in 3, 2, 1.....

An award and a meme... can your day get any better?

*That's not a picture of me

The awesome Red over at Gingers is the Watchword has chosen moi as recipient of the Brillante Weblog Award and I am truly honored. I feel like I should prepare an Oscar acceptance speech... I'd like to thank the Boston University housing department for putting Liz and I on the same all-girls floor back in 2000. Without them, I would have never met the awesome Lizard, who wouldn't have moved to San Diego and started a blog with Red, who wouldn't have been introduced to me and given me this supercool award. Thanks for the shout out, yo!!

Red has also chosen me to complete the following meme list. It's called "One Wonders," and I think I'm supposed to write the first thing that comes to my head when I see the following words. So here goes:

1. Clothes: I hate shopping but I like clothes. Expensive ones I can't afford.

2. Furniture: Love it. HGTV is always on in this house.

3. Sweet: Reaction of a frat boy who has just been told everything in his room was destroyed except for his bong.

4. City: National: San Diego; International: Berlin

5. Drink: Gin and tonic.

6. Music: Um, perhaps this.

7. TV Series: Weeds

8. Film: The Big Lebowski

9. Workout: No thanks. Unless it's swimming in the ocean.

10. Pastries: YES. Anything with cheese or cherries. Or creme filling. Or a cannoli.

11. Coffee: Can't function without it.


So I'm supposed to pass both this list and the awesome Brillante Weblog Award onto another blogger, but aside from Liz and Red, I don't really know too many. I was going to choose Steve, but he politely declined because he hasn't posted anything in a long time. But he did suggest his friend/brother from another mother, Ben. Ben is a photographer who lives in Los Angeles and works for nfl.com. (And also happens to be one of the funniest people I have ever met.) His photography is amazing, and his blog is pretty awesome, too. So without further ado, my choice for the 2008 Brillante Weblog Award (and the meme list) is Ben Liebenberg. Check him out at ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS. Congrats, Ben!