You know, I really like Josh Brolin.  He's uber-cool in that "I want to hang with ya" sort of way.  "Yo man, I just want to roll with you man, How can I be down? What's up?"  Yeah, last time I quote Ice-T on here, I swear.

 ANYWAY, I still couldn't help but feel rubbed slightly...wrong by Brolin's speech last night in acceptance of the Best Ensemble award for "No Country for Old Men."  This morning I see that David Carr is taking it upon himself to offer a quick shot across Brolin's bow for kinda-sorta biting the hand that feeds.  Take a look:

“I’m taking my time, man. This is my fricking moment,” he said, never mind that he was accepting an ensemble award. And never mind that two studio specialty divisions (Walt Disney’s Miramax and Paramount Vantage) backed the movie. “The studio system is backfiring awfully and it is fun for us actors to watch,” he said, oblivious about where his checks eventually come from.

In a night of incredibly mannered, carefully modulated speeches, Mr. Brolin was a reminder that actors are artists and sometimes cantankerous ones at that.

I mean, I still LIKE him and all.  Nothing terribly wrong with a little spunk.  But to be even-handed, you kind of have to go here from time to time, and so the Bagger has.

Of course, there is no shortage of people who felt stimulated by Brolin's moment in the sun and the words he didn't bother to mince.  But hey, to each his own.

From: Cesar Millan
To: The Coen brothers
CC:
Subject: Gloom
Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Dear Coen brothers:

Your dog enjoys a healthy atmosphere of vigorous physical activity, but his people skills leave much to be desired, and squeaking "WHAT a good dog" doesn't seem to be working. To show him who's boss, attach a long choke chain, and yank and heel him whenever there's a loud noise, such as the burst of an air gun. Keep him swimming, and tell Mr. Brolin not to look at him directly. Soon he'll be so docile he'll lead you to where the money's hidden, but if you're not firm, your domestic performance could be impaired. Americans don't like to see their heroes chewed up. This is no country for mauled men.

Be strong!
Cesar Millan a/k/a the Dog Whisperer


More secret documents from the major players here.

Variety had a story cooking on the Satellite nominations yesterday, but it came down pretty quick.  Anyway, it's back, and the International Press Academy prove themselves willing to hand out nominations to pretty much anything yet again.

It's nice to see "The Lookout" pop up somewhere, an interesting earl-year release with a stellar lead performance from Joseph Gordon-Levitt (one that went unnominated, though co-star Jeff Daniels made it in).

Josh Brolin's Best Actor nod, meanwhile, might signify a direction the Academy could end up taking.  That performance is gaining traction as Brolin continues to work it as a great spokesman for the film.

And, of course, "3:10 to Yuma" sparks some Best Picture fire with a nod in the drama ranks.

Check out the full list at Award Central.

This is a great feature.  As part of today's SAG Awards Preview, Variety has a long list of "Actors on Actors," with many of the hottest names in the industry speaking up on some their colleagues.

In one of my favorites, Javier Bardem on Hal Holbrook, the "No Country for Old Men" star says Holbrook's moment in the truck with Emile Hirsch's Chris McCandless character is "one of the best performances [he's] seen."

Forest Whitaker talks up his co-star from "The Last King of Scotland," James McAvoy, calling the actor's "Atonement" performance "authentic," saying that when he tries to describe the portrayal to people, it "gets [him[ in [his] throat."  Josh Brolin, meanwhile, offers a humorous anecdote about the first time he met Ben Foster, and Foster pays it forward by calling Ellen Page's "Juno" portrayal a "flagship character for our generation."

There's plenty more, of course.  You can find the whole lot at Award Central.  Give it a look.

•  Anne Thompson on the recent Variety screening of "The Savages" with Laura Linney and Tamara Jenkins Q&A. [Thompson on Hollywood]

•  Brian Kinsley points us to a couple of below-the-radar contenders.  I like the "Persepolis" mention for Best Adapted Screenplay. [In Contention]

•  Todd Martens gets into the tracks of "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story." [Extended Play]

•  The Envelope has officially gone off the deep end with its awards season content: I give you, a gallery of the top 9 dinner scenes of the year? [The Envelope]

•  Tom O'Neil talks to "Into the Wild" star Emile Hirsch. [Gold Derby]

•  Jeffrey Wells responds to an item from yours truly, stirs the waters of his comments section in the process. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  While at Jeffrey's site, I came across this interesting piece regarding potential inspirations for Cormac McCarthy's "No Country for Old Men." [Anti-Dis-Arts-And-Entertainmentalism]

•  David Poland has taken to iPosting, and his wheels are spinning about the box office of "Beowulf." [The Hot Blog]

•  Nathaniel Rogers, in the fifth of a superlative on-going Oscar column, sizes up musicals at the Oscars. [The Film Experience]

•  Checking names off his interview wish lists, Scott Feinberg gets ahold of veteran Max von Sydow to discuss "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly." [And the Winner Is...]

•  Lou Lumenick gets around to "There Will Be Blood," is dazzled by Daniel Day-Lewis' performance. [New York Post]

•  Susan Wloszczyna talks to Josh Brolin about that silly "overnight success" story business.  Anyone seen "The Goonies???" [USA Today]