JLooney.com

You all know how much I like movies, right?

I do.

A lot.

And I see lots of ‘em. Well, I enjoy a good contest, too, and since nobody else I know is having an Oscar’s contest, I figured I would.

On Sunday, March 7th, ABC will air the 82nd Academy Awards®. I’ve decided to hold a contest, and the winner get’s a $50 Visa Gift Card from me. It’s pretty easy. Pick who you think will win, and the person that get’s the most correct answer’s wins. Easy, right? Here are the categories that will be used for the contest, and the nominees in each one:

Best Picture
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
A Serious Man
Up
Up In The Air

Best Actor in a leading Role
Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
George Clooney (Up In The Air)
Colin Firth (A Single Man)
Morgan Freeman (Invictus)
Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon (Invictus)
Woody Harrelson (The Messenger)
Christopher Plummer (The Last Station)
Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)
Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Helen Mirren (The Last Station)
Carey Mulligan (An Education)
Gabourey Sidibe (Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire)
Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Penélope Cruz (Nine)
Vera Farmiga (Up In The Air)
Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart)
Anna Kendrick (Up In The Air)
Mo’Nique (Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire)

Best Director
James Cameron (Avatar)
Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)
Lee Daniels (Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire)
Jason Reitman (Up In The Air)

Best Animated Feature
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up

In the event of a tie, there will be a movie trivia quiz to decide the winner.

Email your picks to me by clicking here, or just email me at j@brandfoundry.org with “2010 Oscar Contest Entry” in the subject line.

All entries MUST be received by midnight MST on Saturday March 6th, 2010.

Oh, and as a secondary contest, the person who refers the MOST new people to my site to enter the contest wins a $25 Visa Gift Card. Sweet, huh? Just tell whoever you refer to start their email with “referred by: ” so I’ll know where they came from. If your friends don’t include that, I can’t count ‘em.

And the $50 Oscar Visa Gift Card goes to….

Just when I think I’ve got a handle on things, and I’m feeling like I’ve wrestled my life back into the general direction that I’d like to see it going, I somehow lose control just as quickly. It’s kinda like that poor schmoe on sesame street with all those pies that still can’t walk the stairs.

Remember him? No? Here he is.

Fast forward to 1:25 if you don’t want to watch the whole thing.

Remember him now?

I thought you might. You see, I kinda feel bad for him. He spends all this time making coconut custard pies, which is no easy task, I’m sure. I think it’s a pain in the ass to make ONE pie, much less NINE. Anyway, so this guy spends all day making nine coconut custard pies. They’re beautiful, delicious-looking, and he’s got them all on a beautiful silver tray. As he enters the dining room and announces himself, he realizes “Oh shit! Stairs! I haven’t been able to walk these bitches YET without falling and messing up my shit!” And even knowing that his track record with walking stairs isn’t so good, he’s got these pies that he’s worked on all day long, and the people are here to eat these pies. It’s up to him, and it comes down to these eight little steps.

And even knowing what’s always happened before and what’s at risk, he steps forward anyway.

So just a few weeks ago I was really struggling to hold things together and keep the wheels from falling off my life. Megan and I went away for the weekend, loved each other, re-connected, and I really thought I had it all handled. Sure, there was still stuff to handle and plenty to still work on, but I had my nine coconut custard pies on their pretty trays, perfectly balanced and ready to walk the stairs.

And I’m still perched there, at the top of the stairs, ready to take that first fateful step and deliver these amazing coconut custard pies to all the people waiting below, but today somebody greased the steps and threw a bunch of marbles down. Oh, and the whole room started to tilt and sway like a funhouse ride.

Good times. It’s like somebody is saying “you SAY you can walk these stairs, but let’s see how serious you REALLY are!”

And I take the first step…

A week ago yesterday I was sitting comfortable in the big chair at my house, spending the evening conversing with an old friend. We had covered the topics of career, marriage and relationships, upcoming events, etc. It was a good evening, and I had truly enjoyed his company.

Then he said something that was completely unprovoked and unnecessary – “we should sign off of Facebook for a whole week!”

Now, what went through my mind was “how effing stupid is that?! Why would I WANT to do that? Don’t you know that Facebook is how I connect with the world, and share my snarky wit and (sometimes) misguided enthusiasm for politics and religion? Who will I BE without that?!?”

What I said was “OK”

Dumb, huh?

So we each signed on one last time at 9:00PM on Wednesday evening, I to bid a fond farewell, he to harvest his crops from Farmville (which is a whole ‘nother discussion, believe you me!). Then we each deleted the Facebook app from our phones. Done and done!

As it turns out, it wasn’t as big of a deal as I had thought.

Sure, I missed the constant flow of information about what was going on in the lives of my friends and family (some more than others), and I didn’t know what to do with myself after writing a new blog post (where would I share it?), but overall, it was surprisingly easy.

I found other ways to connect – text, email, phone calls – all of these increased the minute I signed off Facebook. So the conclusion that I have come to is that I already connect and communicate, Facebook just makes it easier and extends the boundary of my social sphere.

It’s nice to be back.

It’s that time of year again! No, Not Christmas (although it’s almost as exciting for me), but Oscar season! The nominees were announced yesterday, and I’m familiar with just about all the nominees and their performances, so this should be a good season. for me for picking the winners. We’ll see.

And the nominees are…

Best Picture

Avatar
With Earth an ecological disaster, a corporation sets its sights on the distant planet Pandora, which possesses a mineral that can be used as a valuable energy source. To overcome the resistance of the planet’s indigenous population, the Na’vi, former Marine Jake Sully is sent to infiltrate the society as a part-human, part-Na’vi avatar who can operate on Pandora while Jake himself remains in a twilight sleep.
(trailer)

The Blind Side
African-American teenager Michael Oher has been in and out of the foster care system throughout his difficult childhood. When suburban mom Leigh Anne Tuohy, whose children are Michael’s schoolmates, discovers him living on the streets, he gains a home with the Tuohy family and receives the stability and encouragement he needs to develop his talents as a football player.
(Trailer)

District 9
The arrival of an enormous disabled spaceship over Johannesburg, South Africa, has led to the establishment of a refugee camp on the city’s outskirts for the ship’s starving, stranded aliens. Leading an attempt to relocate its inhabitants to a more remote location is security expert Wikus van de Merwe, whose lack of knowledge about the visitors will undergo a dramatic change when he becomes infected with an alien substance.
(Trailer)

An Education
When Jenny, a 16-year-old English schoolgirl, finds herself the object of a calculated seduction by a charming older man, she is by turns wary, flattered, and disarmed by his interest. As their relationship develops, Jenny is drawn deeper into a sophisticated world of wealth and style that may be too good to be true.
(Trailer)

The Hurt Locker
As the war in Iraq continues, Staff Sgt. William James carries out one of the most dangerous of all military assignments: bomb defusing. While James thrives on the job’s risks ans seems to live only for the adrenalin rush, the head of his support team, Sgt. JT Sanborn, becomes increasingly worried by what he feels is a growing recklessness in James’s behavior.
(Trailer)

Inglourious Basterds
Shosanna, a resourceful young movie theater owner fighting to stay one step ahead of the Nazis in occupied France, plots her revenge on the man responsible for her family’s death, the flamboyant Col. Hans Landa. Her plan brings her in contact with Lt. Aldo Raine, who leads a group of Jewish soldiers known as the Basterds in a savage campaign behind enemy lines.
(Trailer)

Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
Sixteen-year-old Precious Jones is overweight, nearly illiterate, and the victim of horrific physical and verbal abuse at the hands of her mother and father. Facing a seemingly hopeless future, Precious transfers to a new school, where a dedicated teacher and fellow classmates offer the unhappy young girl a chance for a new life.
(Trailer)

A Serious Man
In a series of escalating personal catastrophes, physics professor Larry Gopnik finds himself facing an unfaithful wife, ungrateful children, a troubled brother-in-law and poison pen letters at work. But Gopnik is a fundamentally decent man, and he tries, with increasing despair, to respond rationally and fairly to trials befitting a modern-day Job.
(Trailer)

Up
Carl Fredricksen, a gruff, lonely old man, thwarts an attempt to force him out of his home by launching it into the air with hundreds of helium balloons. As he sets his sights on South America, however, Carl discovers he has an inadvertent stowaway: a Boy Scout named Russell who was trapped on his front porch.
(Trailer)

Up In The Air
Ryan Bingham is a corporate downsizer who spends his days in hotels, airports, and airplanes as he travels around the country laying off other companies’ workers with polished finesse. His pursuit of a life without emotional connections is called into question, however, by his interactions with two women, one a sophisticated fellow traveler and the other an inexperienced young colleague.
(Trailer)

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Jeff Bridges
Crazy Heart

Jeff Bridges portrays Bad Blake, a washed-up country-western singer whose meeting with a young journalist may help him to turn his life around.

George Clooney
Up In The Air

As Ryan Bingham, George Clooney plays a man who makes his living firing people and who prides himself on the absence of emotional connections in his life.

Colin Firth
A Single Man

Colin Firth plays George, a gay man in the early 1960s who must hide his grief over the death of his lover.

Morgan Freeman
Invictus

Morgan Freeman portrays Nelson Mandela, the South African president who seizes on the chances of the national rugby team in the World Cup as a means of uniting his troubled country.

Jeremy Renner
The Hurt Locker

Jeremy Renner portrays Staff Sergeant William James, a bomb defuser in Iraq who thrives on the risk and danger of his job.

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Sandra Bullock
The Blind Side

Sandra Bullock plays Leigh Anne Tuohy, a suburban mom who takes in a homeless African-American teenager and encourages his talents as a football player.

Helen Mirren
The Last Station

As Sofya, Helen Mirren portrays the wife of author Leo Tolstoy, a woman locked in a battle with her husband’s admirers over the disposition of his royalties.

Carey Mulligan
An Education

Carey Mulligan plays Jenny, an English schoolgirl who is seduced by the charms of an older man.

.

Gabourey Sidibe
Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

As Precious, Gabourey Sidibe plays a pregnant teenager who struggles to overcome years of abuse at the hands of her parents.

.

Meryl Streep
Julie & Julia

Meryl Streep portrays cookbook author Julia Child, whose years in France with her husband inspire her to study the art of French cooking.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Matt Damon
Invictus

Matt Damon plays Francois Pienaar, the captain of the South African rugby team that becomes a surprising unifying force for a divided nation.

Woody Harrelson
The Messenger

As Captain Tony Stone, Woody Harrelson plays a military officer struggling to maintain his sobriety as he delivers news of soldiers’ deaths to their families.

Christopher Plummer
The Last Station

Christopher Plummer portrays Tolstoy, the great Russian writer who finds himself torn in his final years between his wife and his devoted admirers.

StanleyTucci
The Lovely Bones

As George Harvey, Stanley Tucci plays a serial killer who murders his neighbors’ 14-year-old daughter.

.

Christoph Waltz
Inglourious Basterds

Christoph Waltz plays Col. Hans Landa, a sinister Nazi officer with a talent for seeking out people in hiding.

Best Actress In A Supporting Role

Penelope Cruz
Nine

Penélope Cruz portrays Carla, the passionate mistress of a married film director.

.

Vera Farmiga
Up In The Air

As Alex Goran, Vera Farmiga plays a business traveler who begins a no-strings-attached affair with a man she meets in a hotel bar.

.

Maggie Gyllenhaal
Crazy Heart

Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Jean Craddock, a journalist whose love and admiration for a broken-down country-western singer may change his life.

Anna Kendrick
Up In The Air

As Natalie Keener, Anna Kendrick plays an ambitious but inexperienced young woman who is sent on an eye-opening series of trips with a veteran colleague.

Mo’Nique
Precious: Based O)n The Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

Mo’Nique portrays Mary, an abusive mother whose cruel behavior has had a devastating effect on her pregnant teenage daughter.

Best Director

James Cameron
Avatar

Kathryn Bigelow
The Hurt Locker

Quentin Tarantino
Inglourious Basterds

Lee Daniels
Precious: Based On The Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

Jason Reitman
Up In The Air

We recorded on Tuesday this week, so you get your MJM love a little early this week. I recommend listening only under approved conditions and when wearing proper protective gear.

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