Oscar Predictions

Time to show my cards. Here's what I think will win at the 83rd Academy Awards (in the categories I care about):

Best Supporting Actor
Jeremy Renner "The Town" - Mr. Renner did a great job in the movie and I think this is where the Academy decides to throw its curveball with most people assuming Christian Bale gets it for his role in "The Fighter". This may be a consolation prize for Ben Affleck's film not getting more nominations but Renner will take it!

Best Supporting Actress
Hailee Steinfeld "True Grit" - Maybe it was the great performance. Maybe some Academy members have hard-ons for John Wayne or Jerry Seinfeld (you did a double-take at her name too, don't lie). Maybe it's that lightning doesn't strike twice for Jeff Bridges (and it shouldn't), but Steinfeld gets it because she's crazy good and Helena Bonham Carter is just crazy.

Best Actor
Colin Firth "The King's Speech" - It'll be as much for a great performance as for a lifetime of great performances as much for being British (swoon). James Franco was great in "127 Hours" but it might be too much for him to host the show the same year he wins the award plus I think he might face backlash for a certain superhero trilogy of which he was a part. Jesse Eisenberg was actually my favorite this year because his "speeches" were so crisp and vitriolic in "The Social Network" and I've loved him in everything in which he's acted. Hooray for "Zombieland 2"!

Best Actress
Natalie Portman "Black Swan" - She's everyone's darling this year. She's got the baby bump and hopefully avoids the Oscar Curse. We loved her in "Garden State" and "V for Vendetta" and it's just time. Her nomination (and win) should also be shared by Mila Kunis who did a great job acting opposite of her but missed out on her own nomination probably because no one sees her as a "serious" actress (her most notable work is "That 70's Show" and "Family Guy") kind of like a Cameron Diaz type. Hopefully the Academy doesn't just throw one at Annette Bening ("The Kids Are All Right") for having been around longer AND playing a lesbian because that'd do a disservice to Ms. Portman's performance. Dark Horse = Michelle Williams who gave a powerful performance in "Blue Valentine" but whose co-star (Ryan Gosling) missed out on a nomination.

Best Director
David Fincher "The Social Network" - he took over 2 hours of people talking and had us on the edge of our seats. "Black Swan" and "The King's Speech" (the front runner for a lot of categories) make strong cases, but I feel BS was ultimately too hectic between having a girl who was obsessive or was it her mom that drove her nuts or was the competition too much and just, well, you get the picture.

Best Animated Feature Film
Toy Story 3 - because everyone loves playing with Pixar's toys.

Best Original Score
"Inception" - and this may be somewhat of a consolation prize since it'll probably miss out on as many awards as it did nominations.

Best Picture
"The Social Network" - A win here recognizes the great individual acting jobs of the entire ensemble for which only Mr. Eisenberg was nominated, the fast, edge of your seat pace at which the movie moved, and the entire world who has bought into the Facebook phenomenon since 2003. Recognizing this film recognizes the time in which we live and 500 million people are secretly thinking the shiny gold statue belongs, at least in part, to them for being part of the movement the inspired the movie.

Everybody knows the Oscars are full of surprises and sometimes the Academy has its head stuck up its rear-end. Luckily, this year offers a lot of films in the Best Picture category that have reached the $100 million mark making it feel like we, the viewers, have a vested interested in them. Enjoy the show and tomorrow's follow up about the fashion hits and misses!

Grammy Thoughts & Shots

The Fashion

Every awards show features the latest designs, flops, and sometimes breasts flopping out of the latest designs. Here are my thoughts one what would have been Steve McQueen's wet dreams and/or nightmares...

- Eminem. In his usual tough guy persona, Mr. Mathers wears black pants, a dark gray hoodie, and a leather jacket. Constantly supporting his hometown Detroit through commercials and even in his acceptance speech for best rap album, we're reminded of his roots. But come on, Em! We know you don't shop at KMart or Goodwill anymore. Those pants probably cost $500+ so if you're going to put the money into it, make it look nice.

- Lady Gaga. I've seen this woman in concert and she is fabulous in every sense. While I was underwhelmed with the release of "Born This Way" she's still a great artist and voice for the LGBT community. Her entrance to the Grammys in an egg was quite the eye-opener, but her on-stage costume fell flat on its face. Her sheer yellow dress with wide flat brimmed hat (we'll ignore the flesh colored shoulder attachments), Gaga was channeling a very Michael-Jackson-"Smooth Criminal" look to go along with her Madonna-"Express Yourself" copying ways. Where's the inspiration Gaga? No, mannequin head encrusted organs (the instrument, not body parts) don't count. Oh wait, there it is in that James Cameron "Alien" inspired, um, dress? Your booty ain't that big sweetie...

- Mick Jagger. I don't know about the rendition of "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" but I'm a big fan of matching top layers with dark slacks (though as tight as those pants were, there was nothing slack about them). Think aqua tie with aqua dress shirt pairing. Mick's emerald colored shirt and small, tight smoking-jacket was a great look.

- THE WINNER. Cee Lo Green easily had the outfit that will be the most talked about tomorrow/reworked into a Halloween costume. Sporting a sparkly head piece and metal breast plate, Cee Lo looked like the NBC peacock tried to eat him. IT WAS MAGNIFICENT! He looked like the offspring of a muppet and a Vegas show girl and set the Facebook world talking.

- Other thoughts: Katy Perry/Brand = classic, gorgeous, and a great wardrobe team during her performance. Matthew Morrison of "Glee" fame was rocking a great dark gray tux.

The Performances

- Lady Gaga. As touched on earlier, her performance was pretty good, not great, but pretty good. She tends to use the dancing from her videos on stage as well, so I'd say you're safe to rewatch the youtube clip of that performance in order to be prepared for when the video for "Born This Way" drops. She has a big thing for pianos, but the random 20 seconds of playing with her mannequin organ didn't need to be done publicly.

- Katy Perry. Great. Fantastic. Lovely. In a shout out to Valentine's Day tomorrow, she played "Teenage Dream" (a favorite of mine) and just looked and sounded great.

- THE WINNER. Eminem, Rhianna, and Dr. Dre. That collaboration was easily the best in terms of sound and finished feeling. Eminem does it for himself rather than indulging the fans and "Way You Lie" still gives me chills.

- Other Thoughts: See earlier Mick Jagger reference. That was strange. I DID like "Need You Now" by Lady A. Until it got played way too many times tonight (and even performed right before the song won its first award). Bruno Mars - fix the hair and though I liked the doo wop thing, maybe don't do it for "Grenade".

*******
SURPRISE OF THE NIGHT: BEST ALBUM - "The Suburbs" Arcade Fire. Wow. Just wow. Up against Gaga's "The Fame Monster", Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream", big winners "Need You Now" and "Rehab", these guys were the little engine that could. I think even Barbra was a little surprised after reading "The" and it not being followed by "Fame Monster".