I have no great talent, I preach no great art;

I have no tricks to coax you to give up your heart.

My problems are many, my virtues are few,

I can’t break your silence, or even speak true.

I have only my visions, my incense, and dreams:

They smoke up the mirrors, they tear at the seams.

I’ve nothing to give, and I need so much to take,

The shards of our friendship are strewn in my wake.

Words fail me when I look into your eyes.

So, with nothing to offer, I can only give lies.

I don’t deserve pity or friendship or love

Nor the Peony petals that rain from above.

I failed you, darling, with the things that I say.

You’re best off without me. Happy Valentine’s Day.

-Pseudonym

The Academy Awards nominees were announced earlier this week, and with it came a whole new batch of snubs and surprises.

As many already know, the snub I was mainly referring to was the absence of The Dark Knight in the Best Picture category and more deservedly a Best Director nod to Christopher Nolan. Sure, The Dark Knight is a comic book movie, but with it come questions about morality, innocence and anarchy. Though being left out of almost all the major categories, The Dark Knight was nominated for a bunch of technical awards and got Heath Ledger his second Oscar nomination.

Doubt, my favourite film of 2008 was also snubbed from the Best Picture category; but I won’t go on about that, as it has already gotten it’s own article.

As surprises go, there were two this year. Richard Jenkins being nominated as Best Leading Actor for his work in a movie that came out earlier in 2008 called The Visitor. Jenkins plays an American Professor housing a pair of illegal aliens who were the victims of a real-estate scam. Though I have not seen this particular movie, I do really like Richard Jenkins, who usually plays small parts in big budget films.

The other big surprise was Melissa Leo’s Best Leading Actress nomination for her work in the small, indie film Frozen River.

Frozen River takes place in a small town near a little-known border crossing on the Mohawk reservation between New York State and Quebec. Here, two single mothers support their family by trafficking immigrants from Canada into the United States.

Though similar to The Visitor in theme, Frozen River is said to be much darker while The Visitor is more of an uplifting experience.

After the jump you will find the nominees of The 81st Academy Awards, the main categories have a paragraph on who I think should win, and who I think will win and why. The ceremony will take place on February 22, 2009.

Best motion picture of the year

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production,Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
* “Milk” (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Nominees to be determined
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production,Christian Colson, Producer

Slumdog Millionaire will probably win (as it’s won all other film awards), but could easily be beat by the underwhelming The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

I would love to see Slumdog win just because it would continue the indie legacy which Little Miss Sunshine (one of my favourite movies ever), started.

Performance by an actor in a leading role

* Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films)
* Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (Universal)
* Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features)
* Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
* Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

I’m pretty sure that Mickey Rourke will finish his comeback season with a win for The Wrestler, though I wouldn’t be surprised if The Academy decides to go political on us and gives it to Sean Penn for his portrayal as the first openly gay politician in America.

Though I’ve only seen two of the films nominated, I would love to see Richard Jenkins winning for The Visitor. Though I have not seen the film, I hope Jenkins wins so that he gets more leading man roles.

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

* Josh Brolin in “Milk” (Focus Features)
* Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
* Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)
* Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

The Academy has long stayed away from Comic Book movies, but this may be the year that the trend is broken, as Heath Ledger seems to be the front runner for his portrayal as The Joker…of course, this being Ledger’s last finished project before his untimely death doesn’t hurt his odds.

That being said, I would love for Phillip Seymour Hoffman to win in the severely under rated, Doubt. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is so brilliant in this film that him winning might give The Academy some much needed credibility. *Crash/No Country*

Performance by an actress in a leading role

* Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” (Universal)
* Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Meryl Streep in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)

This may be the tightest category, as I believe that any of these women (apart from Angelina Jolie), have a decent chance of winning. If I had to pick one that I believe will win, it would have to be Kate Winslet for her portrayal as a former Nazi in The Reader. She has been picking up a lot of buzz lately for her work in the film, while former front runner Anne Hathaway’s buzz has been declining.

As said before, I would love for Doubt to win as many awards possible so that it gains the recognition it deserves; but I would be perfectly happy if Kate Winslet, Ann Hathaway or Melissa Leo win it for their respective roles.

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

* Amy Adams in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company)
* Viola Davis in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
* Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

As tight as the previous category is, this one is just as tight…but for different reasons. While the nominees for Best Lead Actress have been endlessly talked about, the nominees for Best Supporting Actress seem to have been forgotten. That being said, this may be the category that Doubt has the biggest chance of winning. Firstly, two actresses from the film are nominated; and Viola Davis, as small as her part may be, has probably had the most buzz in this particular category.

Of course, I will be rooting for Doubt come Oscar Night, but I’d also be content if Marissa Tomei won, as I’ve been a follower of hers since My Cousin Vinny (for which she won an Oscar).

Best animated feature film of the year

* “Bolt” (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard
* “Kung Fu Panda” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount), John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton

Wall-E will win.

Wall-E should win.

Achievement in directing

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Ron Howard
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle

Slumdog Millionaire’s Danny Boyle is almost a lock to win, as apparently filming in India is more impressive than making Brad Pitt age…backwards. Kidding;  Boyle totally deserves it, he crafts a story that is incredibly well paced and is also thrilling. The Bollywood style singing in the end may have been a bit much.

I’d also be happy if Stephen Daldry won, as he brought us Kate Winslet’s breasts…in almost every scene.

Best documentary feature

* “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)” (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
* “Encounters at the End of the World” (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
* “The Garden” A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
* “Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
* “Trouble the Water” (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

I haven’t seen any of the nominees, so I don’t think it’s fair for me to judge the films…but based on critics and Internet buzz, Man on Wire is a sure thing.

Achievement in art direction

* “Changeling” (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
* “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
* “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

Achievement in cinematography

* “Changeling” (Universal), Tom Stern
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle

Achievement in costume design

* “Australia” (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Jacqueline West
* “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Glicker
* “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Albert Wolsky

Best documentary short subject

* “The Conscience of Nhem En” A Farallon Films Production, Steven Okazaki
* “The Final Inch” A Vermilion Films Production, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
* “Smile Pinki” A Principe Production, Megan Mylan
* “The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306” A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

Achievement in film editing

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Elliot Graham
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens

Best foreign language film of the year

* “The Baader Meinhof Complex” A Constantin Film Production, Germany
* “The Class” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France
* “Departures” (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan
* “Revanche” (Janus Films), A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria
* “Waltz with Bashir” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel

Achievement in makeup

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
* “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.),Alexandre Desplat
* “Defiance” (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Elfman
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

* “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
* “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
* “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman andMaya Arulpragasam

Best animated short film

* “La Maison en Petits Cubes” A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato
* “Lavatory – Lovestory” A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production, Konstantin Bronzit
* “Oktapodi” (Talantis Films) A Gobelins, L’école de l’image Production, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
* “Presto” (Walt Disney) A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland
* “This Way Up”, A Nexus Production, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

Best live action short film

* “Auf der Strecke (On the Line)” (Hamburg Shortfilmagency), An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production, Reto Caffi
* “Manon on the Asphalt” (La Luna Productions), A La Luna Production, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
* “New Boy” (Network Ireland Television), A Zanzibar Films Production, Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
* “The Pig” An M & M Production, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
* “Spielzeugland (Toyland)” A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander Freydank

Achievement in sound editing

* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Richard King
* “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Tom Sayers
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
* “Wanted” (Universal),Wylie Stateman

Achievement in sound mixing

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney),Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
* “Wanted” (Universal), Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

Achievement in visual effects

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
* “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

Adapted screenplay

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
* “Doubt” (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Screenplay by Peter Morgan
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

Original screenplay

* “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt
* “Happy-Go-Lucky” (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh
* “In Bruges” (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

Just a quick post paying our readers’ attention to the new ‘About Radioview’ page located on the right side column.

The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards will be held on January 11th 2009; and while The Golden Globes may not be the most  prestigious of all film awards, it’s a preview of the upcoming Academy Awards. Not all Golden Globe winners go on to receive an Oscar, but winning a Golden Globe seems to give nominees a slight lead come Oscar season.

With that said, I was disheartened when I learnt that Doubt, one of my favorite films of 2008, was not nominated as a Best Picture Drama. Sure, The movie has it’s faults like the excessive use of diagonal shots and the overstated symbolism. But still, I believe that even with those faults, Doubt is much better than at least 2 of the films nominated.

Doubt revolves around a very old fashioned Nun (played by Meryl Streep), who suspects that Father Flynn (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), may have molested a black student at their perish. Amy Adams plays a young and naive nun who is stuck in the middle of the conflict, and Viola Davis plays the black boy’s Mother.

The content is one that could have turned out to be preachy, but the screenplay which deals with faith, authority, race, among other issues, walks a very fine line. One which shows the events happening, rather than having a character explaining them; and while this film doesn’t hold your hand, it gives you enough information for the viewer, not the director (who, again was writer John Patrick Stanley), to come to their own conclusion on what happened.

All the performances in this movie were incredibly realized, and while I’m happy that the four central actors were nominated (Meryl Streep for Lead Actress in a Movie-Drama, Phillip Seymour Hoffman for Supporting Actor in a Movie-Drama, Amy Adams & Viola Davis for Supporting Actress in a Movie-Drama), I was still upset that Doubt was left out of Best Picture, while movies which I consider to be inferior, like Revolutionary Road and The Reader were recognized.

A month ago, Jeffery Tambor, one of the stars of the cancelled TV show “Arrested Development” announced that a film version was now underway. Many fans of the show were hesitant, as they believed that it would be difficult to gather the original cast to make the film…it turns out that the cast agreed to star; but for one exception.

In a recent interview, the mastermind behind Development, Mitch Hurwitz stated that contrary to rumors that both Will Arnett, and Michael Cera had not agreed to do the project; that Arnett has in fact agreed.

I don’t want to talk about who is holding out right now because we might still work that out and I don’t want to pressure anyone through the press. Although I will say that Will Arnett is gung-ho, so there’s a big clue!

This seems to imply that Michael Cera, who has recently found success in movies like Superbad and Nick and Norah’s Infinate Playlist, is the only cast member who has not agreed to star.

As a recent fan of Arrested Development it worries me to think that Cera’s character George Michael might not be in the movie version, as I feel that his character is one of, and sometimes the only character actually grounding the show. I feel that without him, the movie might feel like an extra long episode of Kath and Kim.

For those who don’t know, Arrested Development was basically a comedy about Michael Bluth, a widower who is forced to keep his large and dysfunctional family together after his father is arrested for shifty accounting practices.

Though I an a little worried that this might be the case, I am confident that the writers will be able to make a movie of as high quality as the TV show.  For the entire interview with Mitch Hurwitz, you can head over to Fancast.

The shooter, James Joseph Cialella

It happens every time you go to a theatre to watch a movie. A certain person and/or persons are either talking, texting or are just being unaware of the other members in the audience.  You usually have a couple of choices when this happens: You can try and ignore it; you can tell management and hope that they can deal with it; or you can say something yourself…maybe not “SHUT THE FRAK UP”, but, “Do you mind SHUTING THE FRAK UP”. Then of course there’s that odd person that decides to shoot the disruptive person in the arm…wait, what?

A man by the name of Joseph Cialella Jr actually shot a man in front of the rest of the audience, (which included the man’s family), in the arm. Luckily the man is reportedly in well condition; though I doubt that his children are the same after this experience.

The details of this charming story go like this:

29-year-old James Joseph Cialella Jr went to see the new David Fincher movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonat the UA Riverview Stadium 17 movie theater in South Philadelphia on Christmas. The family in front of Cialella began to talk during the film, so he asked them to be quiet. But that didn’t stop the younger son from making comments. Cialella even threw popcorn angrily at the talkative son, but the boy did not stop. Cialella became so angry that he took out a Kel-Tec .380-caliber handgun and shot the father in the left arm.

As others were running from the theatre, Mr. Cialella  sat back down in his seat and continued to watch the movie. The police were called and arrived shortly after, less than an hour into the film.

James Joseph Cialella Jr is being charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and weapons violations.

Ahh, Radioview; my home. The summer was long, hot, and most of all, pretty damn awesome; but I’m glad to be back here writing. Well guys, as you all know, school’s back on, which flat out sucks; but we’re all at different schools, so we’ll keep you updated on that, like Casey did.Here’s a post we’ve been meaning to get up here since the end of July.

We caught up to the band Powerspace (http://www.myspace.com/powerspace … check ‘em out) while they were here in the summer on tour, and managed to get an interview asking them some questions and finding out some cool stuff. The video is about 11 minutes long, but it’s fully featured with the two band members (Alec and Tom) cracking some jokes, and appearances made by two homeless men with amazing talents. Be sure to tune in for more videos along the lines of this.

I’m Dane C. You stay classy San Diego.

Well, jeez. Summer’s over way to fast, don’tcha think? We all know what “the end of the summer” means: SCHOOL.

NOOOO! DON’T MAKE ME GO BACK.

Unfortunately, I already have. (For an hour…)

Now, let’s clear things up a bit. I’m still at KDHS. Wooo… >> Like I said before, everyone has up an’ left for various other schools around Vancouver, leaving me all alone. Literally, all alone amongst people  that I don’t like/ act like they don’t know me. It was like going to a new school on the first day, not knowing anyone. 

Plus, I keep getting all sorts of comments that I don’t really have a proper response to. Like, when you get a new haircut, an’ people are all like, “Wow! it looks so… /Different/.” Er, what are you supposed to say to that? “Thanks?” it’s not really a compliment.

“Oh, ok. Yeah. Great.”

“It IS different, isn’t it?!!”

“I’m glad you think so!”

“Thanks for noticing…?”

“Huh. What an interesting observation.”

I don’t know if people try to be polite when they say things like that, ’cause it just makes for awkward conversation. 

I am not excited for the school year to take off, an’ if things keep up the way I expect them to be, I might just become a suicide risk. Just warning you, if I ever stop posting. You’ll know what’s happened. Maybe you could like, submit my story to the paper. We could have a book written about me!

I hope Dane, Clint, an’ Pseudonym’s first day experiences were better’n mine.

The following story is not true. In fact, it is total dog sh*t.

Yesterday I was buying a large bag of Purina dog chow for my Golden Retriever at Wal-Mart and was about to check out, when a woman behind me asked if I had a dog.

What did she think I had, an elephant?

So since I’m a teenager, with little to do, on impulse, I told her that no, I didn’t have a dog, and that I was starting the Purina Diet again… although I probably shouldn’t, because I’d ended up in the hospital last time, but that I’d lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IV’s in both arms.

I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet, and that the way that it works is to load your pants pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry, and that the food is nutritionally complete so I was going to try it again.

(I have to mention here that practically everyone in the line was by now enthralled with my story.)

Horrified, she asked if I ended up in intensive care because the dog food poisoned me.

I told her, “No; I stepped off a curb to sniff an Irish Setter’s ass and a car hit us both.”

I am no longer allowed to shop at that Wal-Mart.

Just a little update on where I am right now, as the blog appears to have no activity whatsoever, what with all it’s writers away this summer.

I am currently in limbo between first an’ second session at Camp Miriam. I’ve been away from Camp for one day, an’ I’m going back in three, but I still feel like I’m dying on the inside. I wish I had stayed over for inter-session.

I decided to come home to do my laundry, pester my friends to write, shower, stock up on candy, eat sushi, an’ pack the things I forgot about three weeks ago. Sounds like an amazing four days at home, eh? Srsly. But I’d give it all up to be on Gabriola Island right now, doing nothing except chilling with the Madatz (CITs who have no choice but to stay intersession, as their program is for both sessions), an’ the lifeguard I’m obsessed with.

Originally, I was going to stay for inter-session. But then all the people who were leaving an’ coming back made going home sound like the perfect idea. So I called home an’ told my parents I was coming to see them soon. I’ll be honest here, I was ecstatic at the idea of going home for a few days, sleep, etc. But now I’m thinking I made the wrong choice.

All I want is to be back there right now.

I feel so empty.

Another thing. Dane told me I should send him a letter, so that he could mail me back. So I mailed him, five days after I got to camp? Stupid asshole doesn’t mail me. He mails some other kid an’ tells her to “say hi” to me. I hope you’re reading this, Dane. That was a bitch move D;