Wow, this marathon of podcasts is getting out of hand!  Another tight race is answered as Robert Elswit takes the Best Cinematography statuette for "There Will Be Blood" and the annual In Memoriam sequence lands.  I thought Heath Ledger's passing demanded something separate, but the boys had some good points to make to the contrary.  Here's what we had to say.

In case you missed it, we closed out that two day look at the year's single greatest images yesterday.  Be sure to give it a look and offer up your own thoughts.  Whatever your stance on the shots selected, it's difficult to disagree with the idea that 2007 had some daring, vibrant and exciting work behind the camera.

As "Atonement" lenser Seamus Mcgarvey told me, "bravery and spirited independence is coming back into cinematography."  I agree wholeheartedly.

Check out part one here.  And part two here.  And the also rans.

Yours truly put this together over the past week, part one of a two day story on the greatest images in a year packed with frankly amazing cinematography.

Give it a look, offer your thoughts.  Which shots stopped your heart this season?

•  "Into the Wild" camera operator Jacques Jouffret wins big at the SOC (Society of Capera Operators) Awards. [Variety]

•  Andrew O'Hehir wades into the Oscar season with a dense consideration of the rift between the Academy and movie-going audiences, perceived or otherwise. [Salon]

•  Sasha Stone checks in with the bookies. [Awards Daily]

•  "For this...," "For that..."  Anyway, Scott Rudin chats it up with Patrick Goldtein. [The Envelope]

•  Tom O'Neil wonders how Jon Stewart will fare in his sophomore attempt at hosting the Oscar bash. [Gold Derby]

•  The Oscars as mobile art?  Are we losing our minds? [The Carpetbagger]

•  Anthony Breznican sits down with composer and Oscar first-timer Michel Giacchino. [USA Today]

•  If you're itchin' to be the best, enter MCN's Oscar prediction contest for a shot at the entire Stanley Kubrick collection on DVD. [Movie City News]

•  T.L. Stanley ventures some predictions of her own. [Gold Rush]

•  Meanwhile, here's a cute set of predictions from "Jose the cab driver." [Cinematical]

"Atonement" casting director Jina Jay offered extended, behind-the-veil thoughts on what went into populating Joe Wright's film at The Times this week.  Jay is an old pro in the industry, with an impressive list of credits you can read through at the beginning of her piece.

There's plenty of discussion about Jay's career, but the meat of the story has to be her comments on finding the right actresses to portray the 13 year old incarnation of Briony Tallis:

Casting three actresses to play one role in Atonement was very challenging. We focused on the essence, spirit and intellect of Briony’s mind and soul, and applied this to all three Brionys. That they ended up looking similar is a coincidence – or perhaps subconsciously there was design.

Finding the 13-year-old Briony was a huge challenge. Very often one is trying to find a child who, at that point in his/her life, captures the essence of the character. The stunning thing about Saoirse Ronan is that she is not at all like Briony but she understands how to inhabit the soul of Briony. Saoirse had not even read the book and barely had time to read the screenplay in depth when we offered her role.

Check out the rest.


Meanwhile, our own David Cohen had a chance to spotlight one of the unsung heroes of the film, camera operator Peter Robinson, who wasn't too happy when he first heard that director Wright wanted to capture Dunkirk in a sweeping steady-cam shot:

The shot would cover a longer distance than any Steadicam shot Robertson had ever attempted, and would ask him to walk endlessly on soft sand while carrying the heavy camera and rig.

"There are so many things that can go wrong in a shot like that," Robertson observes.

But he dived into planning how he could do it, arranging various aids to get him around what amounted to an obstacle course.

"As a camera operator," Robertson says, "I have to be inspired by the shot, because I'm the first person, before even the audience, who has to see and make the shot work. It was an idea that challenged the gods, but once we got used to the idea, I said, 'We're going for this, and it's going to look great.'"

Read the full story.

Actor in a Leading Role Daniel Day-Lewis
Art Direction Jack Fisk (Art Direction); Jim Erickson (Set Decoration)
Cinematography Robert Elswit
Directing Paul Thomas Anderson
Film Editing Dylan Tichenor
Best Picture JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, Producers
Sound Editing Christopher Scarabosio and Matthew Wood
Writing (Adapted Screenplay) Written by Paul Thomas Anderson

(This wraps up our nominees series.  Hopefully it brought back some good memories for viewers and voters alike.  Four more days until polls close!)

Actor in a Supporting Role Casey Affleck
Cinematography Roger Deakins

Finally I came across the panels for the crafts behind "No Country for Old Men."  Miramax has put each of them up as a handomse effort to generate buzz and support for the cinematography, sound and art direction of the piece.  Check it out.

The Hollywood publicity machine is well-oiled at the start of this week, to be sure.  I count at least four studios with events lined up this evening, and who knows what shin-digs I haven't been invited to today.  We all make our blacklists.

First, there's Picturehouse's celebration of Marion Cotillard, Oscar nominated for "La Vie en Rose," if you're into a poolside gathering at the Chateau Marmont.

If a nuts and bolts dialogue is more your speed, Paramount Vantage has set up the "There Will Be Blood" crew for a screening and Q&A over at the Harmony gold Theater on Sunset.  Film editor Dylan Tichenor, cinematographer Robert Elswit, sound designer Chris Scarabosio, supervising sound editor Matthew Wood, and set decorator Jim Erickson -- nominees all of them -- are expected to attend.

Down the street at Book Soup, screenwriter Christopher Hampton is participating in a book signing of his Oscar-nominated adaptation, "Atonement," while Ariana Huffington will be hosting a screening of Charles Ferguson's "No End In Sight" at the Paley Center for Media out in Beverly Hills, for those really jonsing for a political experience, what with Super Tuesday right around the corner.  Huffington just hosted a similar "No End" event over the weekend at the Hotel Plaza Athenee in New York.

Oh, and Tamara Jenkins was just at Book Soup yesterday reading from her "Savages" screenplay.

All of these events come on the heels of last weekend's spotlight of the below the line nominees from "No Country for Old Men" -- coverage of which I've yet to stumble across, by the way.  Come on.  Somebody was there, right?

Anyway, lots of media exposure for lots of deserving contenders this season.  Some might think no more than usual, but the agression on the part of campaigners and strategists seems to have slid up a notch to me this year.  Lucky us, eh?

Actress in a Supporting Role  Saoirse Ronan
Art Direction  Sarah Greenwood (Art Direction); Katie Spencer (Set Decoration)
Cinematography  Seamus McGarvey
Costume Design  Jacqueline Durran
Music (Score)  Dario Marianelli
Best Picture  Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster, Producers
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)  Written by Christopher Hampton

(To put a face to the season beyond the coverage, I thought I'd introduce this little series.  Nothing special, just the trailers from each of the nominated films.  A couple a day.  We'll start things out with the "frontrunner.")



Directing  Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Actor in a Supporting Role  Javier Bardem
Cinematography  Roger Deakins
Film Editing  Roderick Jaynes
Best Picture  Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
Sound Editing  Skip Lievsay
Sound Mixing  Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)  Written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

If you haven't heard by now, the Coen brothers and Robert Elswit were recipients of the DGA and ASC awards this evening.  The Coens' win was quite expected, but Elswit taking top honors away from Roger Deakins is quite unexpected -- personally, I thought Deakins would take the cake here.   "There Will Be Blood" has more support than I anticipated.

It really does seem like a toss up between "No Country" and "Blood."  We'll see.

When the Oscar nominations were unveiled two days ago, one name I felt certain would pop up was cinematographer Harris Savides, who was responsible for the lensing of two well-respected genre pictures in 2007: David Fincher's "Zodiac" and Ridley Scott's "American Gangster."  Alas, it wasn't to be, as the nominees included Seamus McGarvey, Robert Elswitt, Janusz Kaminski and Roger Deakins (squared).

It may not have been surprising to other Oscar forecasters out there, seeing as Savides hadn't necessarily popped up during the precursor season and has found himself coming up short in the awards arena for some time.  But there is certainly no shortage of respect for the lenser, considered by many to be the most talented photographer in the business.  It didn't take Tony Gilroy, for instance, more than a moment's thought to call Savides "probably the greatest working cinematographer there is" when I interviewed him back in October, and any given colleague I spoke to over the course of the season (Kaminski, Deakins and Elswitt among them) was quick to call him a personal favorite.

Why, then, has Oscar glory eluded Savides so far?

Granted, the lion's share of his work to date has been in the independent arena.  Savides has found himself the lenser of choice for helmer Gus Van Sant ("Elephant," "Gerry," "Last Days"), having brushes with mainstrem Hollywood entertainment here and there ("Heaven's Prisoners," "The Game," "Finding Forrester").  Perhaps his greatest work behind the camera so far came for a tiny, yet brilliant film that no one might have seen had Nicole Kidman not been in the lead (Jonathan Glazer's "Birth").  But 2007 was a real opportunity for Savides' fellow craftsmen to honor his work, as he had a chance to chew on some of his most commercially accesible material to date.

But a nomination just wasn't in the cards.  Maybe someday soon Savides will get that tip of the hat that his colleagues clearly feel he deserves.  He's hard at work preparing Van Sant's "Milk" at the moment, which may or may not provide that opportunity.

I had the pleasure of speaking to Savides back in December.  Ironically enough, he first called when I was vacationing in San Francisco, the setting of Fincher's grisly account of the Zodiac murders which has become one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year.

On the project, Savides treaded out into the unfamiliar territory of mixing his work with CGI material.  A number of sequences in the flm were manufactured through visual effects technology, something of a necessity, given the urban development of the Bay Area since the days of the Zodiac killer.

Savides and Fincher took a good look at Alan Pakula's "All the President's Men" while prepping, mainly for the simplicity of structure and, of course, the grit of the newsroom.  The filmmaker had already amassed a considerable amount of research before Savides came on board, but the real starting point for the lenser was studying still photography for the film's ultimate look.

"Steven Shore had these banal kind of images of America in the 70s, which were a great reference for colors and for props, and for the world that we were to inhabit and make the audience feel they were watching," he said.  "Something that did concern me, however, was that it was very dialogue-driven, and I wanted to do things that were more cinematic.  But all of David's references were these wonderful movies that had this structure that I became interested in.  The approach that he wanted to take was exciting for me."

Fincher proposed Eric Rohmer's "La Collectionnuese" and Ingmar Bergman's "The Passion of Anna" as source viewing on the project.  Savides says he is quite the fan of Bergman, and that Fincher's preparation techniques have made him an even bigger fan of Rohmer than he already was.

"I didn't come to appreciate Rohmer's movies until I studied this film," he said.

When it came to preparing the Frank Lucas biopic "American Gangster" with Ridley Scott, Savides found himself again digging into still photography as source material, perhaps even more so than on "Zodiac."

"There's a book by Bruce Davidson called East 100th Street, one of those classic black and white monograph collections of Harlem," he said.  "It was the first night Ridley and I met in person, and everything he showed me was black and white, a style which I think was en vogue if you look at the time of Nicky Barnes and Frank Lucas."

Savides also referenced photographer Helen Levitt, looking at her work for color detail.  Scott's mandate, Savides said, was to make a color movie that felt black and white.  Savides took this as a broad gesture and set out to refrain from producing an over abundance of color in the lensing of the pic.

As for compositional techniques, Savides and Scott set out to film the Lucas sequences in a more formal fashion, while looseness was the key to the Richie Roberts portions.

"That's one of the rules I remember us laying down," he said.  "But in retrospect, I don't know if we actually did it!"

If nothing else, Savides comes across as truly passionate about the medium that employs him.  He sounds like the wide-eyed kid who grew up and pinches himself every day because he gets to soak in the fruits of photography and the moving image.  A somewhat raspy but soothing voice, peppered with just the right amount of Big Apple inflection, reveals the thoughts of a man happy to find himself transfixed by what he might find on screen.

"Only movies can to that, to your heart and and your mind," he said, "making this event happen to you.  And even though I'm saying that now, I don't think a movie can sustain that for the whole time.  But if it can do it two or three times while you're watching, that's a great thing."

Here's hoping Oscar catches up to him one of these days.

The American Society of Cinematographers has announced its list of nominees.  Here they are, with nary a surprise in sight:

"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (Roger Deakins)
"Atonement" (Seamus McGarvey)
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Janusz Kaminski)
"No Country for Old Men" (Roger Deakins)
"There Will be Blood" (Robert Elswit)

I really thought the guild would go for Harris Savides' work in either "American Gangster" or "Zodiac," since, in talking to the majority of the big names in this field over the last few weeks for a separate piece, his is the most lauded lenser of the bunch from within their ranks.  Eric Gautier seemed a decent bet for capturing the American West so gorgeously in "Into the Wild," not to mention the paitnerly qualities of Dariusz Wolski's work in "Sweeney Todd."  But I can certainly live with this line-up.

According to the ASC's press release (published below), Roger Deakins is the first lenser to grab two nominations in one year from the guild.  Each of his nods are well deserved to say the least, and it really does seem foregone that he's well on his way to his first Oscar next month.

In any case, this wouldn't be a shocking final five at the Oscars, with outside shots still possible for Gautier and Wolski.  Sasha Stone has an ASC/Oscar comparison chart up over at Awards Daily if you want to crunch the numbers.

Here's the full press release:

LOS ANGELES, January 7, 2008 — THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN with cinematography by Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC; THERE WILL BE BLOOD by Robert Elswit, ASC; THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY by Janusz Kaminski; and ATONEMENT by Seamus McGarvey, BSC have been nominated in the Feature Film category of the 22nd Annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Outstanding Achievement Awards competition. The winner will be announced here during the awards gala on January 26, at the Hollywood and Highland Grand Ballroom.

Deakins is the first cinematographer to claim two nominations in one year in the ASC Feature Film category. He was previously nominated five times and won twice (THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE MAN WHO WASN’T THERE). This is the fourth ASC nomination for Kaminski, the second for Elswit, and the first for McGarvey.

“In the opinion of their peers, these four talented individuals have set the contemporary standard for artful cinematography in a very competitive field,” says Russ Alsobrook, ASC who chairs the organization’s Awards Committee. “They all succeeded in helping to create a sense of time and place while evoking emotional responses that were in tune with the intentions of the directors and actors.”

Deakins is from England, Kaminski is from Poland, McGarvey is from Ireland, and Elswit is a native of the United States.

“Artful cinematography is a global language, which frequently goes unnoticed by critics and the general public because it is usually designed to be unintrusive,” says ASC President Daryn Okada. “It requires innate talent, the ability to master a complex and constantly evolving craft, and a penchant for collaborating with many people for a common goal. Our purpose is to let our colleagues know we appreciate their artistry.”

Perhaps my favorite category at the Oscars for as long as I've been covering them is the award for Best Cinematography.  And this year has been particularly stellar for the work of lensers behind the camera, all, perhaps, leading up to the great Roger Deakins finally taking a trophy for his work in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" after years of coming up short.

The Features department has a new issue landing to celebrate the category, fit with 14 separate profiles of lensers in play.  You can read all of them for yourself, but here are quick links to the fellas I expect to be in the final running: Roger Deakins, Robert Elswit, Eric Gautier and Janusz Kaminski (I expect Deakins to land two nods, for "Jesse James" and "No Country for Old Men").

Also, let us not forget the lede.  John Anderson looks at various revered lensers switching up their game and stretching their creative tendencies.  Philippe Rousselot, Kaminski, Harris Savides and Tom Stern are quoted.

First and foremost, a happy and safe New Year to you all.  With 2008 coming in, oh, about fifteen and a half hours (for us west coasters, anyway), I thought it would be beneficial to offer up a list of important dates.  A lot of key events are slated for the next few weeks and the Oscar season will pretty much be full steam ahead from here on out.

The guilds are the focus of January, all of which are more likely to forecast the Oscar situation more than any critics group thus far, of that you can be sure.  Taking a measure of the guilds is key when it comes to gauging apparent disinterest ("Cold Mountain") or surprising unanimity for films that might have otherwise been considered far-fetched in the big race ("Capote," "Little Miss Sunshine").

Here's what to look for next month:

January 3: Five finalists for USC Scripter award announced.
January 7: BFCA hosts the Critics Choice Awards (Live on VH1).
January 7: VES nominees announced (Visual Effects Society).
January 7: ASC theatrical and TV nominees announced (American Society of Cinematographers)*
January 8: DGA feature film nominees announced (Directors Guild of America).
January 9: Winners of USC Scripter awards announced.
January 10: CAS nominees announced (Cinema Audio Society).
January 10: DGA documentary nominees announced.
January 10: WGA screen nominees announced (Writers Guild of America).
January 11: ACE nominees announced (American Cinema Editors).
January 11: ADG announces nominees (Art Directors Guild).
January 12: AMPAS nominations polls close, end of Oscar voting.
January 13: HFPA hosts Golden Globe Awards (Live on NBC...maybe).
January 14: PGA motion picture and long-form television nominees announced. (Producers Guild of America).
January 16: AMPAS announces seven bake-off finalists for Best Visual Effects category.
January 16: BAFTA nominations announced (British Academy).
January 18: CDG nomees announced (Costume Designers Guild).
January 22: Oscar nominees announced for the 80th Annual Academy Awards (Live on E!, et al).
January 26: DGA Awards.
January 27: SAG Awards (Live on TNT, except on west coast).

Whew.  Hope you're ready...

*This is listed as "week of" at the ASC's official website, so expect a date to be nailed down in due time.

Erik Childress' "Oscar Eye" column has the full list of Chicago Film Critics nominations mixed in with his tally of who's won what.  You have to kind of pick things out, but the full list is there.

"No Country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood" continue to show up, but the group went out of its way to personally champion "Once" in more than a few areas, including Best Picture.

Casey Affleck popped up again for his supporting turn in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," while Viggo Mortensen found some Best Actor love for his work in David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises."  Frank Langella also made another appearance in the lead field for "Starting Out in the Evening."

Another key contender showing up in the nominations is "Zodiac," which managed citations for Best Director (david Fincher) and Best Adapted Screenplay.

"Michael Clayton" led the way with seven nominations.  "Blood" wasn't far behind with six.  Nothing for "The Kite Runner" or "Sweeney Todd."

Best Picture
"Into the Wild"
"Michael Clayton"
"No Country for Old Men"
"Once"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
David Fincher, "Zodiac"
Jason Reitman, "Juno"

Best Actor
George Clooney, "Michael Clayton"
Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"
Ryan Gosling, "Lars and the Real Girl"
Frank Langella, "Starting Out in the Evening"
Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises"

Best Actress
Julie Christie, "Away from Her"
Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"
Angelina Jolie, "A Mighty Heart"
Laura Linney, "The Savages"
Ellen Page, "Juno"

Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, "Charlie Wilson's War"
Hal Holbrook, "Into the Wild"
Tom Wilkinson, "Michael Clayton"

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchet, "I'm Not There"
Jennifer Jason Leigh, "Margot at the Wedding"
Leslie Mann, "Knocked Up"
Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"
Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton"

Best Adapted Screenplay
"Atonement"
"Into the Wild"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"
"Zodiac"

Best Original Screenplay
"Before the Devil Knows You're Dead"
"Juno"
"Michael Clayton"
"Ratatouille"
"The Savages"

Best Cinematography
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
"Atonement"
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Score
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
"Atonement"
"Lust, Caution"
"Once"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Animated Feature
"Beowulf"
"Meet the Robinsons"
"Persepolis"
"Ratatouille"
"The Simpsons Movie"

Best Foreign Film
"4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days"
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
"La Vie en Rose"
"Lust, Caution"
"The Orphanage"

Best Documentary
"Darfur Now"
"The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters"
"Lake of Fire"
"No End in Sight"
"Sicko"

Promising Director
Ben Affleck, "Gone Baby Gone"
John Carney, "Once"
Craig Gillespie, "Lars and the Real Girl"
Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
Sarah Polley, "Away from Her"

Promising Performer
Nikki Blonsky, "Hairspray"
Michael Cera, "Juno"/"Superbad"
Glen Hansard, "Once"
Carice van Houten, "Black Book"
Tang Wei, "Lust, Caution"

The New York Film Critics Circle had absolutely no surprises in store today, handing "No Country for Old Men" four awards, including one for Best Pic.

Daniel Day-Lewis and Robert Elswit represented Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood," which swept the LA critics' awards yesterday, while Julie Christie positioned herself again as the competition for Marion Cotillard in the Best Actress race (where's Ellen Page been this whole time?).  Amy Ryan also continues to scorch the earth as THE supporting actress frontrunner of the year.

"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" was surprisingly snubbed throughout.  Nothing, also, for Sidney Lumet's "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," a Gotham film if there ever was one.  The director did, however, pick up a lifetime achievement award.

This weekend's activity and today's awards have put "No Country' and "Blood" at the top of everyone's rontrunner lists for Oscar, two brutal, cold films that are not the Academy pedigree at all.  But perhaps the critics will muscle them into the dance if this continues to be the case, each of them constantly duking it out.  Tomorrow, the Broadcast Film Critics Association announces its list of nominees, always a pretty good indication of where the Academy will ultimately go.

The full list of NYFCC winners:

Best Picture: "No Country for Old Men"
Best Director: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"
Best Actress: Julie Christie, "Away from Her"
Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"
Best Screenplay: "No Country for Old Men"
Best Cinematographer: Robert Elswit, "There Will Be Blood"
Best Documentary: "No End in Sight"
Best First Film: Sarah Polley, "Away from Her"
Best Animated Film: "Persepolis"
Best Foreign Film: "The Lives of Others"
Lifetime Achievement Award: Sidney Lumet
Special Critics' Award: Charles Burnett, "Killer of Sheep"

The Envelope grabbed the scoop on the LAFCA winners.

First and foremost, Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood" got a giant kiss and a HUGE Oscar boost from the group, taking down four wins, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor.

There was no love for "No Country for Old Men," which stuns me, frankly.  Not even in the runner-up arenas.  I spoke to a colleague last week who predicted the critics groups might shy away from the film with the NBR tapping it as the best film of the year, but I shrugged that thought off in a hurry.

Anyway, regardless of all of that, this show of solidarity for Anderson's film is significant to say the least.  The film came pretty close to sweeping, grabbing three runner-up mentions in addition to the four wins.

Also, Amy Ryans grabbed her third supporting actress win in as many awards announcements.  Nothing so far for the perceived frontrunner coming into the season, Cate Blanchett in "I'm Not There" (aside from a runner-up mention from the LAFCA).

"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" looks to have been the group's second-place fave, coming in just behind "Blood" in the Best Picture and Best Director categories.  And as expected, the LAFCA went against the grain (typically willful) by going with Vlad Ivanov's supporting performance in "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days."  It's a good choice, because Ivanov is so unsettling in the film.

Variety has a write-up.  Here's the full list of winners:

Best Picture: "There Will Be Blood"
(runner-up: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly")

Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"
(runner-up: Julian Schnabel, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly")

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"
(runner-up: Frank Langella, "Starting Out in the Evening")

Best Actress: Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"
(runner-up: Anamaria Marinca, "4 Months, 3 Months and 2 Days")

Best Supporting Actor: Vlad Ivanov, "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days"
(runner-up: Hal Holbrook, "Into the Wild")

Best Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone" and "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead"
(runner-up: Cate Blanchet, "I'm Not There")

Best Screenplay: Tamara Jenkins, "The Savages"
(runner-up: Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood")

Best Animation: (tie -- boooo) "Persepolis"/"Ratatouille"

Best Foreign Language Film: "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days"
(runner-up: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly")

Best Documentary/Non-fiction Film: "No End in Sight"
(runner-up: "Sicko")

Best Production Design: Jack Fisk, "There Will Be Blood"
(runner-up: Dante Ferretti, "Sweeney Todd")

Best Music: Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, "Once"
(runner-up: Jonny Greenwood, "There Will Be Blood")

Best Cinematography: Janusz Kaminski, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
(runner-up: Robert Elswit, "There Will Be Blood")

Best Douglas Edwards Indie Award: "Colossal Youth" directed by Pedro Costa 

Best Career Achievement: Sidney Lumet

The Boston Society of Film Critics voted on their list of winners this afternoon.  Beginning what is likely to be a critics' group stampede, the Coen brothers' "No Country for Old Men" won Best Picture of the year.  It was one of two wins for the film.  Julian Schnabel's "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" won three, including Best Director.

Frank Langella picked up some needed steam as the group's Best Actor choice.  Every lead actor winner from the group has gone on to an Oscar nomination since 2000's choice of Colin Farrell in "Tigerland" (unless you count Brian Cox for "L.I.E." in 2001, though he tied with Denzel Washington in "Training Day."

Marion Cotillard grabbed her first significant lead actress win of the season.  The last winner in that category to miss with Oscar was Scarlett Johansson for Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation" four years ago.

Ultimately this isn't a necessarily great predictive precursor across the board unless a consensus has formed (like with last year's lead races).  They're Best Picture winners over the last couple of years have gone on to notices at the Academy, but there was also a stretch where "Trainspotting," "Out of Sight," "Almost Famous" and "Mulholland Dr." took down the big win.  None of them managed Best Picture nominations with the Academy.

Basically...perspective is key.  Nothing will truly be of consequence until the guilds start to speak up.  But this is no doubt the beginning of an impressive run of precursor awards for the Coen brothers film.

Variety has a BSFC write-up.  Stay tuned later today for the LAFCA announcement.

BSFC Winners:

Best Picture: "No Country for Old Men"
Best Director: Julian Schnabel, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Best Actor: Frank Langella, "Starting Out in the Evening"
Best Actress: Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"
Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"
Best Screenplay: "Ratatouille"
Best Cinematography: Janusz Kaminski, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Best Documentary: "Crazy Love"
Best Foereign-Language Film: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Best New Filmmaker: Ben Affleck, "Gone Baby Gone"
Best Ensemble Cast: "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead"

Johnny Depp moved up a few nothces this week in The Envelope's Buzzmeter standings, but I was pretty stoked to see Casey Affleck bounce back into the supporting actor field.  It seems most people are pretty confident in nominations for Javier Bardem ("No Country for Old Men"), Hal Holbrook ("Into the Wild"), Tom Wilkinson ("Michaely Clayton") and Phillip Seymour Hoffman ("Charlie Wilson's War"), with a fifth slot up for grabs.

Personally, I think the last slot will come down to Affleck, Paul Dano ("There Will Be Blood") or the real performance to watch, Philip Bosco ("The Savages").  Affleck wins the day this week.

Elsewhere, Julian Schnabel muscles his way into the Best Director consensus and "The Kite Runner" takes a step up the ladder.

Also, I neglected to mention the Gurus 2.0 assessment last week at Movie City News, which holds tight to an "Into the Wild" Best Picture prediction, as well as Tommy Lee Jones in Best Actor ("In the valley of Elah").

Oh, and the Sultans of Bling over at Awards Daily checked in with thoughts on the acting, cinematography and film editing races last week as well (where Christopher Rouse gets some play for "The Bourne Ultimatum").

•  David Poland reports Cate Blanchett's lead actress push for "I'm Not There." [The Hot Blog]

•  Jeffrey Wells thinks the idea stinks. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  Tom O'Neil reports that Miramax studio executives are trying "to get to the bottom of the rumor." [Gold Derby]

•  Nathaniel Rogers writes up the effect Golden Globe placement has on actor/actress campaigns. [The Film Experience]

•  Anne Thompson, meanwhile, offers perspective on the typical jockeying for position. [Thompson on Hollywood]

•  Back to Wells, he's got a chat with "4 months, 3 weeks & 2 Days" director Christian Mungiu... [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  ...offers some not-so-kind thoughts on Amy Adams and here Best Actress-aiming performcnace in "Enchanted"... [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  ...and ponders 2007 as 1999-ish in its broad swoop of quality cinema -- all in a slew of updates over the weekend.  Sleep, Jeffrey.  Sleep. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  Brian Kinsley caught Peter Jackson snoozing in "Beowulf." [In Contention]

•  Susan King talks to Janusz Kaminski about his innovative lensing of "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly." [The Envelope]

•  Lou Lumenick loved "Starting Out in the Evening" and commends the Best Actor push for Frank Langella. [New York Post]

•  Peter Knegt responds to Variety's story re: quality, but genre-handicapped performances. [indieWIRE]

•  Sasha Stone gets to "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," talks up Roger Deakins. [Awards Daily]

•  Yours truly takes a look at "The Great Debaters." [In Contention]

•  Anne Thompson offers some hard Oscar knocks for "Into the Wild," "Zodiac," indicates potential awards greatness for "Enchanted." [Thompson on Hollywood]

•  T.L. Stanley wonders if "August Rush" could be this year's "Mr. Holland's Opus." [Gold Rush]

•  The Envelope continues to give more and more tech category consideration due, one would assume, to Sheigh Crabtree's spirited efforts...bravo.  Today, Patrick "I hate Oscar bloggers" Goldstein talks to Harris Savides, largely about "American Gangster."  [The Envelope]

•  Meanwhile, Elizabeth Snead talks to Alexandra Byrne about the one nomination you can put money on for "Elizabeth: The Golden Age": Best Costume Design. [The Envelope]

•  Mark Olsen chats it up with Todd Haynes re: "I'm Not There." [The Envelope]

•  Choire Sicha has a profile of "Diving Bell" star Emmanuelle Seigner. [Los Angeles Times]

•  According to the AP, a judge argues against the sale of two Mark Pickford Oscars in Los Angeles county. [Variety]

•  Tom O'Neil updates us on what films guild and Academy members have recieved, though he leaves off the Focus titles (which shipped this week). [Gold Derby]

•  Jeffrey Wells thinks Time magazine has "damned" the Oscar chances of "Charlie Wilson's War" by talking about the film with a light and whimsical syntax. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  Lou Lumenick responds to the documentary feature shortlist. [New York Post]

•  Documentary director A.J. Schnack does the same...in fact, he's a little pissed, to be quite honest. [All These Wonderful Things, indieWIRE]

•  Ryan C. Adams takes us back to "Waitress." [Awards Daily]

•  Michael Fleming, Tim Gray get into the specifics of the strike's effect on Awards shows. [Variety]

•  Gerard Kennedy talks to the muti-nominated, yet winless, cinematographer Roger Deakins about his trio of projects this season. [In Contention]

•  Elizabeth Snead talks the fashion of Cate Blanchett. [The Envelope]

•  Speaking of fashion, the Gray Lady spotlights "Control" star Sam Riley in the Style section. [New York Times]

•  Randy Kennedy sits down with Best Director hopeful Julian Schnabel. [New York Times]

•  Dave Kehr digs into the technology behind "Beowulf." [New York Times]

•  Jeffrey Wells talks with Keri Russell about "Waitress," landing on DVD later this month and still an awards push for Fox Searchlight. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  Nathaniel Rogers expresses more interest in Russell Crowe's Richie Roberts than Denzel Washington's Frank Lucas. [The Film Experience]

•  Martin Grove makes a case for Frank Langella and "Starting Out in the Evening." [The Hollywood Reporter]

Reading through Jeffrey Wells' mini-tirade yesterday regarding Oscar analysts and prognosticators "bowing" at the feet of conventional wisdom, I figured his heart was in the right place.

I mean, let's face it, as I noted in this blog's introductory entry, the Oscars piss many people off each and every year due to this perceived injustice or that.  Most of the time, we cover it as it happens because, well -- that's what journalists do.

But it doesn't mean we don't have favorites that we want to stand up for.  Personally I think Marco Beltrami's score in "3:10 to Yuma" is worth consideration from a music branch that tends to vote the same five or six guys into the line-up more often than not.

Ditto the cinematography branch, which one would never expect to nominate a deserving newbie like Andy Reed ("Quiet City") into the fold.  Just because he and the film don't have major awards pushes behind them doesn't mean they don't deserve a long, hard look.

I think the acting branch could do well by thinking outside of the box and taking into account the work on display from Greg Kinnear ("Feast of Love"), Sam Riley ("Control"), Michael Sheen ("Music Within") and Tang Wei ("Lust, Caution") this year, but so what?

We play it as it lays.  You'll drive yourself crazy if you get on that soap box for too long.

In the last two days I've had the joy of speaking with two of the creative geniuses (yeah -- I think that's a fair term) behind "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" that AREN'T Julian Schnabel.

Ronald Harwood -- nicely juxtaposed with Diablo Cody earlier in the week by our own Anne Thompson -- is a delightful Brit with all the candor in the world.  Freshly back from The Hollywood Reporter's writer's roundtable, the talented scribe celebrated his 73rd birthday today.  Congrats, good sir.

Janusz Kaminski, meanwhile, has recently wrapped shooting "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and had nothing but enthusiasm to show for what he accomplished "Diving Bell."  He mentioned that even though his career has largely been dominated by the big budget Spielberg efforts of the last 14 years, he was quite refreshed by the ability to be so artistically expressive this time around.

Funnily enough, both gentlemen dropped the F-bomb in separately hilarious ways.  Harwood, regarding the obvious health drawbacks of a life-long smoking habit, stated calmly and smoothly, "I'm 72 and I don't give a f***."

Kaminski, on the other hand, when responding to a question regarding colleague reception of his work on "Diving Bell," said that he had prepared himself over the years due to this rejection or that.  "I don't give a f** what they think," he said, "because I made a great movie.  But I wish them well!"  Then he added a maniacal laugh that makes me chuckle just thinking about it.

Both are characters to say the least.

•  Anne Thompson has a joygasm over Jeffrey Wells' "There Will Be Blood" review (and with due cause). [Thompson on Hollywood]

•  Ryan C. Adams talks Roger Deakins and has an interesting clip of the lenser working in post-production on "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" [Awards Daily]

•  Gerard Kennedy sizes up this year's Best Makeup hopefuls. [In Contention]

•  Todd Martens lays the smack down on "Beowulf" track "A Hero Comes Home."  Good.  It stinks. [Extended Play]

•  Speaking of "Beowulf," Tom O'Neil responds to the film's Oscar eligibility. [Gold Derby]

•  And Jeffrey Wells still can't seem to understand why the film isn't animation. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  David Poland tries to simplify the Oscar year once again...this time it's "The Year of the Man." [Movie City News]

•  Nathaniel Rogers takes the right coast temperature at the New York premiere of "No Country for Old Men." [The Film Experience]

•  "Juno"-phile Scott Feinberg talks to Ellen Page. [And the Winner Is...]