oscar nominations

i'm happy that the oscar nominations were announced today. so much anticipation always leads up to this day. i am sad to say - 'dreamgirls' did not make the final cut. talk about a major snubbing by the academy - however - they have been nominated for more categories than any movie despite the snub for best picture - including jennifer hudson and eddie murphy in their supporting actor roles.

poor beyonce - she's not nominated but i guess she has no choice but to be there to sing her songs - do i hear another beyonce medley on oscar night coming? i wonder if she called jennifer huson this morning to say congratulations - i doubt it - if you recall - jennifer hudson didn't thank a single other cast member when she accepted her award at the golden globes. interesting morning indeed.

i think helen merrin is a shoe-in for best actress but my personal favorite was meryl streep - in a vote - it'd go to helen.

as much as i hate leo dicraprio - he just may take it away from forest whitaker but since forest was triumphant at the golden globes - i'm hoping he'll take home the oscar too.

scorsese? yes? maybe? this year? god can only hope - he's like the susan lucci of the oscars.

i think we'll see a lot of awards going to 'pan's labyrinth' - especially in the visual effects and technical areas of the awards. the other fun one will be documentary - to think that former vice president (and should be president of the u.s.) al gore is nominated for an oscar - i bet 'an inconvenient truth' will be the vehicle to get him the statue. hell - if bill clinton can win a grammy - why can't al win an oscar?

i'm not sure i agree with the best pic nomination to 'little miss sunshine.' i finally got to see the movie this week and whereas i did enjoy it - there are much stronger movies nominated in this category and others that weren't even nominated (eh-hem 'dreamgirls' - 'shortbus' - i know i know - it would have been a long shot for 'shortbus' but it was one of my favorites for the year.)

i guess the world will know when they announce the winners live on abc at 8:00 est on february 25th.

see the full list of nominations below:

:: nominations by category - 79th awards ::

my picks are denoted with *
favorable others in the category **

:: performance by an actor in a leading role ::
** leonardo dicaprio - blood diamond
ryan gosling - half nelson
peter o'toole - venus
will smith - the persuit of happyness
* forest whitaker - the last king of scottland

:: performance by an actor in a supporting role ::
alan arkin - little miss sunshine
jackie earle haley - little children
djimon hounsou - blood diamond
* eddie murphy - dreamgirls
mark wahlberg - the departed

:: performance by an actress in a leading role ::
penélope cruz - volver
dame judi dench - notes on a scandal
* helen mirren - the queen
** meryl streep - the devil wears prada
kate winslet - little children

:: performance by an actress in a supporting role ::
adriana barraza - babel
cate blanchett - notes on a scandal
abigail breslin - little miss sunshine
* jennifer hudson - dreamgirls
rinko kikuchi - babel

:: best animated feature film of the year ::
* cars
happy feet
monster house

:: achievement in art direction ::
* dreamgirls
the good shephard
** pan's labyrinth
pirates of the caribbean: dead man's chest
the prestige

:: achievement in cinematography ::
the black dahlia
children of men
the illusionist
* pan's labyrinth
the prestige

:: achievement in costume design ::
curse of the golden flower
the devil wears prada
* dreamgirls
marie antoinette
the queen

:: achievement in directing ::
babel
* the departed
letters from iwo jima
the queen
united 93

:: best documentary feature ::
deliver us from evil
* an inconvienient truth
iraq in fragments
jesus camp
my country, my country

:: best documentary short subject ::
the blood of yingzhou district
recycled life
rehearsing a dream
two hands

:: achievement in film editing ::
** babel
blood diamond
children of men
* the departed
united 93

:: best foreign language film of the year ::
after the wedding
days of glory (indigenes)
the lives of others
* pan's labyrinth
water

:: achievement in makeup ::
apocalypto
click
* pan's labyrinth

:: achievement in music written for motion pictures (original score) ::
babel
the good german
notes on a scandal
* pan's labyrinth
the queen

:: achievement in music written for motion pictures (original song) ::
'i need to wake up" - an inconvienient truth
* 'listen' - dreamgirls
'love you i do' - dreamgirls
'our town' - cars
'patience' - dreamgirls

:: best motion picture of the year ::
** babel
* the departed
letters from iwo jima
little miss sunshine
the queen

:: best animated short film ::
the danish poet
lifted
the little matchgirl
maestro
no time for nuts

:: best live action short film ::
binta and the great idea (binta y la gran idea)
eramos pacos (one too many)
helmer & son
the saviour
west bank story

:: achievement in sound editing ::
apocalypto
blood diamond
flags of our fathers
* letters from iwo jima
pirates of the caribbean: dead man's chest

:: achievement in sound mixing ::
apocalypto
blood diamond
* dreamgirls
flags of our fathers
pirates of the caribbean: dead man's chest

:: achievement in visual effects ::
pirates of the caribbean: dead man's chest
poseidon
* superman returns

:: adapted screenplay ::
* borat cultural learnings of america for make benefit glorious nation fo kazikhstan
children of men
the departed
little children
notes on a scandal

:: original screenplay ::
* babel
letters from iwo jima
little miss sunshine
** pan's labyrinth
the queen

for full oscar coverage - visit their website - www.oscar.com

theatrical thoughts :: company

company
ethel barrymore theatre :: new york, ny
attended :: november 9, 2006 and january 16, 2007

wow! wow! wow! color me shocked beyond shocked! i have to admit that i had my doubts going into the preview performance of stephen sondheim's latest remount of 'company'. i mean - on my ipod i have the 1970's cast album - i listen to it here and there - and of all of the 'classic' musicals - it's never really hit me to the point where i was jazzed and connected. this show is known for it's music - you may not know the show - but you definitely know the music. at first i was like - 'why on earth would they do this show - again'. i mean come on - the last time they did it was in 1995 and let's say for lack of a better word - it flopped. it opened and closed with only 60 performances. this latest revision starring raul esparza is truly one not to be missed.

let's think about it for a second - raul esparza (tony nominee and drama desk winner - both for 'taboo') and barbra walsh (tony and drama desk nominee - both for 'falsettos') team up with tony award and drama desk award winning director (both for 'sweeney todd') john doyle and put on a spectacular presentation of one of sondheim's most known shows. the most remarkable part about it is the rest of the cast - virtually everyone else in the ensemble is an unknown.

like 'sweeney todd' - john doyle uses the actors as musicians for the music behind the musical. interesting transitions by the actors coming on and off of the set and perching themselves on clear acrylic cubes make for an ultra modern feel on what is a fairly minimalistic stage. the only distracting point was the fact that many of the stage directions called for the cast to jog on what seems to be a track that runs around the perimeter of the stage itself.

raul esparza's performance was nothing less than spectacular. he effortlessly sings this music ('being alive' and 'mary me a little' being 2 of the highlights) as if he were the man always meant to sing the songs. his sarcastic take on the role of bobby - the 35 year old single guy surrounded by his married friends and their lives - fits him spot on.

barbra walsh - who plays the aging (gracefully) friend - joanne - brings a different kind of 'bitterness' to the role that was made famous by the incomparable elaine stritch in the original cast. again - an effortless performance when she belts out the anthem 'the ladies who lunch' - which will forever be owned by ms. stritch - but barbra gives her a run for her money in this unforgettable remake.

other highlights include the playful saxophone trios brought to life by elizabeth stanley (april), kelly jeanne grant (kathy), and angel desai (marta) in the song 'you could drive a person crazy', to the tongue tied amy (played by jane pfitsch in previews and then returning to the role after maternity leave - heather laws) crying over marriage in unforgettable 'getting married today.' i was fortunate to see both actresses in the role and i personally liked jane's performance better but either way - such a delightful scene to watch and enjoy.

obviously i liked the show - i went to see it twice - but i highly recommend anyone to go see this show - it's a hit - you'll love it - and it remained as fantastic from the previews into the run. both times - the audience was overjoyed with applause and occasionally - a few 'bravos!' came trumpeting over the claps. it's truly not to be missed.

golden globes :: a recap

oh what a night! of course last night was the golden globes and every year i am glued to the television to watch. this year was no exception. being a big fan of many of the movies this year i couldn't help but think this year was going to be a tough one - and boy was it - but now we have our winners and we are now on the road to the oscars!

best motion picture - drama
winner :: babel
nominees :: bobby, the departed, little children, the queen

i personally have not seen babel - i do however plan on getting to the theatre before the oscars to take in this movie - it looks like it could be the movie to beat this year. when it comes down to the oscars my top three to beat will be babel, the departed, and my personal favorite - dreamgirls.

best motion picture - musical or comedy
winner :: dreamgirls
nominees :: borat: cultural learnings of america for make benefit glorious nation of kazakhstan, the devil wears prada, little miss sunshine, thank you for smoking

this was the category that i've actually seen most of the movies nominated. i was very happy that dreamgirls took the highest honor although had the devil wears prada taken it i would not have been too upset - but i did jump out of my seat for dreamgirls. i do hope it takes top honors at the oscars this year but i have my doubts it'll make it to the final round. with last year's brokeback mountain upset - i don't know what to expect from the academy this year.

best performance by an actor - motion picture - drama
winner :: forrest whitaker - the last king of scotland
nominees :: leonardo dicaprio (for both blood diamond and the departed), peter o'toole, will smith

i've seen none of these films - so i cannot comment on the win. my only comment - however - is that i'm so glad that forrest beat the snot out of leotardo dicraprio - can't stand that guy - he's like up there with russell crow and nick cage as actors i'd sooner watch burn then piss on if they were on fire!

best performance by an actress - motion picture - drama
winner :: helen mirren - the queen
nominees :: penelope cruz, judi dench, maggie gyllenhaal, kate winselt

this one was hard for me. each one of these women gave fantastic performances (either that i've seen or from what i've heard). helen mirren winning didn't shock me (she was nominated for 3 and took home 2 globes for the night - the other for her performance in elizabeth i and she was competing against herself in the same category for her performance in prime suspect). i believe she ultimately will take the oscar for best actress this year for the queen. the tough one was judi dench - wow - her performance in notes on a scandal was supurb. they were my 2 top picks going into the awards.

best performance by and actor - motion picture - musical or comedy
winner :: sacha baron cohen - borat: cultural learnings of america for make benefit glorious nation of kazakhstan
nominees :: johnny depp, aaron eckhart, chiwetel eliofor, will ferrell

um yeah - why was this idiot even up there? i mean i guess potty humor is all the rage but come on! i hope to god this does not get him a nomination for the oscars. my personal favorite in this category was chiwetel eliofor - but i knew that was a long shot in hell - he must have thought so too - he didn't even show up!

best performance by an actress - motion picture - musical or comedy
winner :: meryl streep - the devil wears prada
nominees :: annette benning, toni collette, beyonce knowles, renee zillweger

ok so not a shocker here. i'm secretly thirlled it wasn't beyonce but it would have been nice to see dreamgirls take everything they were nominated for (they lost best song to prince and happy feet - oh well - poor beyonce - i'm sure you'll get to sing it for the oscars). i've always loved toni collette - one of these days she'll get her honors i just know it. as much as i hate to admit it - renee wasn't half bad in miss potter - not sure if it was strong enough to be nominated but i didn't cry when she lost - poor squish face.

best performance by an actor in a supporting role - motion picture
winner :: eddie murphy - dreamgirls
nominees :: ben affleck, jack nicholson, brad pitt, mark wahlberg

very happy on this one - i didn't think he was going to pull it away from either jack or mark but way to go eddie - see you at the oscars - this'll sure be his year for a nomination an - maybe - maybe - a win? shut up - to think of all those 80s standup films - hehe.

best perfornance by an actress in a supporting role - motion picture
winner :: jennifer hudson - dreamgirls
nominees :: adriana barraza, cate blanchett, emily blunt, rinko kikuchi

of course of course - she pulled it off - her breakout role - and against some very strong nominees - but i do think that jennifer hudson is this year's cinderella story and flash in the pan performance. way to blow your entire wad in one year - but i love you for it and i hope you have another gold statue in your hands after oscar night is over - then what - tony award? humm - go girl - stunningly beautiful last night - so happy for her.

best director - motion picture
winner :: martin scorsesse - the departed
nominees :: clint eastwood (for both flags or our fathers and letters from iwo jima), stephen frears, alejandro gonzalez inarritu

not a shock. what is a shock is that clint eastwood is still alive - he looked like a walking corpse - he must sleep in an oxygen tent to stay alive or something. good luck marty - maybe this year will be your oscar year!

on to the television.

being that i now work for a major television network - i felt that i had to root for the home team. i think of all of the nominations - we collected one. yee fuckin' haw. all the television awards did for me is remind me why i don't watch tv and remind me of the things that i've been meaning to watch but don't care to get tied down to a weekly something. god bless dvds and netflix - i like to take in my television viewing in one lump sums a season late - lol. ain't nothing better than sitting home on a rainy saturday and watching a marathon of some great television show.

one of the best speeches of the night was from ugly betty star america ferrera. i've never seen the show but she was so sweet and sincere. it was one of those 'awww' award moments.

in all - it was great - but even better - american idol starts again tonight - woo hoo - will paula abdul be drunk the entire season - watch and find out!

wacky video :: brenda dickson 'welcome to my home'

as if! here's 80's soap opera star brenda dickson of 'young and the restless' in her video 'welcome to my home'. the video (i'm assuming because of file size) is in two parts and is located on youtube. part one she's giving people fashion and makeup tips from her own home - what is she - a drag queen? part two focuses on diet and exercise - it's a hoot! look for the 'butt plug' and check out the hair and the fashion - it's borderline too much to handle. it's so tragic you just have to watch it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5cS07X06VY



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbioHzo6eJg

a mayonnaise jar and two cups of coffee

when things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

a professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. when the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. he then asked the students if the jar was full. they agreed that it was.

the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. he shook the jar lightly. the pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. he then asked the students again if the jar was full. they agreed it was.

the professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. of course, the sand filled up everything else. he asked once more if the jar was full. the students responded with an unanimous 'yes.'

the professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. the students laughed. 'now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'i want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

the golf balls are the important things - god, your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions - and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

the pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car.

the sand is everything else - the small stuff.

'if you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. the same goes for life. if you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

'pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. play with your children. spend time with your parents. visit with grandparents. take time to get medical check ups. take your spouse out to dinner. play another 18. there will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. take care of the golf balls first - the things that really matter. set your priorities. the rest is just sand.'

one of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. the professor smiled. 'i'm glad you asked. it just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

wacky video :: deeranged at eoy 2006

this is one of my most favorite drag performances ever. i was fortunate enough to judge the miss entertainer of the year pageant in 2006 and this was a contestant from florida - deeranged - check out this video found on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7aFru7mXzQ

happy new year?

ok ok - so it's been like forever and a day since i've posted last - there's good reasons i assure you. just to start off - to anyone who may be reading this - happy new year and may 2007 be the best ever - i mean hell - it has to be better than 2006 - it just hast to be!

i mean i'm not knocking 2006 - personally for me i had alot of accomplishments:

:: new job
:: new apartment (in brooklyn)
:: bought a new condo with my best friend mark (in brooklyn - move date tbd - hopefully february)
:: went on 2 fabulous international trips (london in july and buenos aires in november)
:: got in shape (or in a better shape than 2005 - thanks julia)
:: performed at carnegie hall (for the 5th time - mom finally was able to come and tixgirl wrote about it in her blog)
:: met some amazing new people (marcos, bruston, ryan, andy, john - aka 'the mean girls', roy, billy, amy - oh the list could go on for days)
:: tech-nerd purchases: computer (macbook- my knight in white armor), camera (canon sd 630- how did i ever take beautiful pics witout you), phone (treo 680- unlocked and ready for the world) and ipod(god's gift to life itself)

so in all - pretty great year.

now - onto why i've been absent. as we all know - the holiday season can be very hectic - you all were there it happened - it's over - praise jesus. the family came to visit on/around the 19th of december and were here until the 31st. we had a small family trip planned for the holiday up to block island to visit my aunt and uncle - gorgeous house - absolutely nothing to do but was nice nonetheless. as we all know - when family comes to visit - especially around the holidays - time set aside for the 'usual routine' are usually cut in half or taken away all together.

new years was great. roy volunteered his apartment for a dinner party/drink fest - and it was - it was great - and it was a perfect way to ring in the new year.

so now we are in 2007. my god - how time is flying by. i'm sure there'll be many an adventure ahead for us all this year. there was a shift in the political structure after all - so this year could be the beginning of a great era for our country - or at least give us the ability to begin fixing the crap that the current government has put us in.

already work is buzzing. 2007 has started - changes are in the air and i'm ready to see what challenges are ahead. so far i've already been to dallas and philly - who knows where else i'll be going.

already had my first issue with the nypd this year - yes indeed - i got a ticket - gasp - i know right - but i got a ticket for - get this - 'occupying more than one seat' on the subway. it went down like this:

i went to see 'notes on a scandal' with roy and bruston. was returning home after the movie. i was sitting - minding my own business - playing solitaire on the treo and listening to 'la traviata' on my ipod. the train stops at atlantic/pacific avenue in brooklyn. the doors open. a cop - sees me sitting 'slightly askew' - and asks me to get off of the train. he gave me a $50 ticket for that ridiculous charge. i wasn't drunk. i wasn't disorderly. the train wasn't full. but now i owe $50 for minding my business and trying to get home safely - yay - way to go nypd.

so we aren't even out of january and i have a 'scandal' on my hands - can't wait to see what happens in the next 11 months - lol.

so that's my brief update - more to come - i promise. golden globes are this weekend - i have to talk about that - and i've seen more shows that i can fill you all in on - other than that - have a great 2007 and more to come from me.