ABC3D

So now even books have advance trailers? Well, it's working. This is one of the coolest pop-up books I've seen, but I think it will be some time before I'd let Tristan get his hands on it — it would be demolished in moments. Think of it as a kids book for adults. From graphic and book designer Marion Bataille, it is another example of typography brought to life.

Great moments in farting: The whoopee cushion

Are farts funny? Canadians once seemed to think so and the country's finest contribution to flatulence is the invention of the whoopee cushion.

We're an odd country sometimes, always taking pride in the oddest of things: annoying singers (Céline Dion, Bryan Adams, etc.), over-the-top comedians (Jim Carrey, even though I think he is getting U.S. citizenship) and fake breasts (hello Pamela Anderson!). But now it has been discovered we are the inventors of fake farts too.

I feel strangely proud of that. And here I thought our biggest fart joke was Terrence and Philip.

Music From Outer Space

Who would have thought the original cast of Star Trek would turn out to be such a musical bunch? Likely no one, after the spoken-word stylings of William Shatner and the unintentionally hilarious Leonard Nimoy.

Still, that hasn't stopped George Takei from joining their ranks, not with an album but as a country singer on the upcoming Secret Talents of the Stars on April 8. Yep, CBS is essentially reviving Circus of the Stars and everything old is new again.

Seeing as we will soon be hearing Mr. Sulu's dulcet tones, why not a review of what has come before? Most people, when they think of Shatner and music probably think of his over-the-top rendition of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. While it is a camp classic, I've always been more partial to his interpretation of Elton John's Rocket Man at the 1978 Science Fiction Film Awards.


I actually listen to that one voluntarily — it has a way of growing on you. But Nimoy? Not so much. Highly Illogical is painful.



For even more on the song stylings of the Trek casts from Next Generation to Voyager, read The Collective's Star Tracks - Trek Stars Sing.

World's Toughest T-Shirt

The Righting Wrongs Dream Team: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Steven Seagal, Charles Bronson, Chuck Norris and Clint Eastwood.

Looking at it will likely result in some sort of roundhouse kick. From Upper Playground via Film School Rejects.

March of the Bunnies

In the harshest place on Earth, the 30-Second Bunnies find a way. It's been awhile since I've linked to my furry little friends, but their mini-version of the March of the Penguins did the trick. Somehow the travails of the little suckers seemed a lot less grim and austere when whole cycle whips by in a blink of an eye. Be sure to indulge in the whole archive over at Angry Alien. Coming up later this year: Goodfellas. I can hardly wait — it should get a full minute.

A Way With Words

If a picture is worth a thousand words does it follow that it takes a thousand words to make a picture? Not if the words are used in kinetic typography, the art of combining typography with motion. It's one of those things that is easier to see than have explained, so here is a scene from Fight Club done only with type and audio.



If your tastes run more to comedy, Abbott and Costello's famous Who's On First routine is another great example.



I'm enough of a typography geek that I have a favourite font (Palintino) so I think these videos are amazing. Always Watching has a great collection of some of the best of kinetic typography, which I found through a Neatorama link. (Small aside, Neatorama's link to my Last Supper collection caused an avalanche of visitors and links.) You can check YouTube for more.

Go, Cobra!

From Cracked's 20 Insane Supervillain Schemes In Flowchart Form. Very funny stuff. If you haven't thought about Cracked since you were a teenager, check them out. They have changed.

Eye TV vs. Ear TV

All television is either Eye TV or Ear TV, argues Entertainment Weekly columnist Mark Harris. "Eye TV is intense: You care about it so much that not only do you know when it is on, you actually watch it when it is on. And you really watch it -- forks down, phones away, laptops idle.

"Most television os Ear TV. It's what you have on in the background while you are surfing the Internet or answering email or cleaning up... it never matters if it is a repeat or not."

That's as accurate a description of how I watch TV that I've ever heard. I'd say 90% of the shows I watch are done with a computer on my lap. Most of them either aren't compelling enough to give my full attention to or just don't require that much concentration.

There are, of course, exceptions. Lost requires that I close the laptop and watch closely. There is so much packed into each episode that if I look down I inevitably need to rewind to find out what was said, and I have to do that enough on the show to piece together all the connections.

I also give both by eyes and ears to 30 Rock and My Name is Earl, two shows that pile on laughs and clever lines so thick that it is impossible to do anything else but watch.

While not in the realm of this shows, the now-lamented jPod was quickly becoming Eye TV for me. Quirky and sly, it was a show I made a point of paying attention to. But not enough people were and it wasn't granted a second season. Now there is a growing group of people trying to save the show, of which I count myself as one. I don't know if it will work, but it is worth a shot.

Save jPod!
Save jPod petition
jPod ipetition
Facebook: jpod
Facebook: Save jPod Now!
Defendoid
Neotronic Arts
Cowboy's blog
VanCity Players
Coupland
Ebay Neighborhood
Kam Fong Blog
JPod Info

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Danny Boy

Ok, if the Swedish Chef, Animal and Beeker don't do it for you, then how about a little Pogues?



Now keep away from that green beer.

Adventures in Reporting

Global Toronto reporter Rob Leth gets nailed by a toboggan while filming a segment, but still manages to finish his report. Points off for not sticking the landing though. This hill is just a few blocks from my house, and is covered in ice.


Reporter Owned By Sled - Watch more free videos

Geek Love

A circuit diagram from a New York Times tribute to Dungeons & Dragons creator Gary Gygax. It is way above my geek level, but I can relate to it more than I'd care to admit. Click on the image for a larger version.

Save jPod

Can fans really save a TV show from cancellation? The CBC had barely pulled the plug on the adaptation of Douglas Coupland's novel about a group of pop culture-spouting, cube-dwelling, Vancouver video game designers, when campaigns to save it started sprouting up.

It has been done before. Most recently fans of the show Jericho deluged CBS with tons of nuts in their successful campaign to revive the show. We've seen Family Guy and Futurama saved by robust DVD sales and Arrested Development is at least getting a big screen treatment following its premature demise. Fans of other shows on the cusp have purchased billboards and ads in Variety. Campaigners for Everwood set up a ferris wheel outside the executive's offices while Veronica Mars fans deluged the CW network with Mars Bars (to no avail as it turned out). Even the original Star Trek got a second life from a fan letter-writing campaign.

So it's not that it can't be done, it's just that those are the exceptions, not the rule. For every reprieve there are dozens more consigned to the dustbin every year. I've seen many of my favourite shows get the axe before their time: Andy Richter Controls the Universe, the aforementioned Arrested Development, The Critic and Sports Night just to name a few. But unlike all those other times, I want to try and help this time. So I have called the CBC, emailed audience relations and signed a petition calling for jPod's return. I can see those cbc.ca domains popping up in my stats, so I know somebody is reading.

That being said I don't think we should start sending crates of Robitussin to CBC headquarters — read Denis McGrath's excellent Emily Post's Guide to Save-Our-Show Campaigns post for exactly why — but I think it is worth trying something. It may not save the show, but there is no chance at all if we do nothing.

And if I can't convince you, here's what Raugi Yu, who plays Kam Fong on jPod, has to say:

Dear Friends,

Hi all, Raugi Yu here. I play Kam Fong on jPod. Okay, so you have heard that jPod has not been picked up for a second season by CBC. I got the call a couple of days ago about it.

At first I was upset and disappointed and immediately thought of the great times and experiences I had shooting jPod and how much I would take from that… There was one problem though… I kept wondering why. Why not have a season 2? I started to hear what others were saying. I heard anger, resentment and frustration. So many of you my friends along with thousands, yes thousands, of strangers have expressed outrage over the cancellation of jPod.

I got angry too.

One may think that, “Sure, I’d be angry too if I lost a steady gig like that”. Well that’s not what I’m angry about. Gigs come and go. It is no huge hardship for me to go back to auditioning and booking and living my life as an actor. It is my passion. No. It angers me that the CBC our nation’s television station (yes I know among other things) chooses to cancel a show that is so cutting edge, fun, smart and CANADIAN. So many viewers have gleaned joy from watching jPod week after week. We look forward to it; I dare say we yearn for it.

I’d like to go down swinging. Many of you, who know me well, know that I am quite a loner and I don’t ask for help often even when I need it. I guess I‘m asking now.

I’m a pretty chilled out go with the flow kind of guy, but I recognize that there are times in my life when I’ve got to fight. In surveying the land I recognize that I need a lot of help.

If you feel you can, please call CBC at: 1-866-306-4636, choose option 1 for English programming and choose option 1 again for the “Attendant” then ask for “Audience Services”. Audience Services will answer and at that point tell them how you feel about jPod being cancelled and how you would like to see a season 2.

OR

E-mail them at http://www.cbc.ca/contact/

I alone can reach out to all of you and if all of you can reach even 2 people and we get that people ball rolling… we could possibly be jamming up some phone lines at CBC. Am I being naïve and hopeful? I hope so; it feels better than lying down and taking it.

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate all of you for watching the show and for all the great things you’ve all been saying about it.

Longevity and persistence is the key. Phone or e-mail, if you can do it everyday.

I send my love to you all and just to be clear, that love stays whether you phone, e-mail, write or not.

Thank you all!
Raugi Yu
A.K.A Kam Fong

There are are two petitions floating around: Request that CBC continue jPod and We the undersigned ask CBC to renew jPod over at Save jPod. There are also the request Facebook groups, jPod and Save jPod Now!

It will be interesting to see what comes of it.

CBC in a Coma

jPod has been sacrificed on the alter of TV ratings, as the CBC ignores the rest of its cultural mandate to "tell compelling, original, audacious and entertaining Canadian stories in a way that Canadians want to watch."

Based on Canadian author Douglas Coupland's work of the same name, jPod took place in Vancouver and was produced by a Canadian crew. With grow-ops, video game productions, Hollywood North and gangs (both Asian and biker) it was certainly telling an original and audacious Canadian story. Whether it was entertaining is a matter of taste (I'd say it was), but the numbers weren't to the network's liking, so down came the axe.

So what should that number be? A couple of years ago CBC TV Executive Vice-President Richard Stursberg suggested the network would need to attract audiences of a million for drama or comedy programs, which is a high bar for the CBC. Only the Rick Mercer Report and Little Mosque on the Prairie crossed that barrier during the latest ratings periods.

The CBC is also trying to attract a younger audience to replace its aging demographic, which led to a slate of youth-skewing launches this January, which included The Border, jPod, MVP: The Secret Lives of Hockey Wives and Sophie. The Border has been renewed with an average audience of 700,000, as has Sophie which had 389,000 viewers in the most recent ratings (though that was reported as a lower-than-usual number).

The ratings for jPod ranged from 159,000 to 312,000 (it is hard to find average Canadian TV ratings), so it was obviously not a hit, but is that the business that the CBC should be in? Clearly they shouldn't be losing money, but if the mandate is telling Canadian stories and reeling in younger viewers, shouldn't it get more then 10 episodes before being put out to pasture?

TV writer Denis McGrath over at Dead Things on Sticks argues that the CBC needs to adjust its expectations and be happier with smaller numbers, especially if it is the right audience. TV critic Bill Brioux over at TV Feeds My Family says he liked the show but it's just business, and that's a good thing.

For my part, my wife and I never missed an episode and I heard people talking about jPod at work, one of the few times I'd ever heard people talking about CBC TV, outside of the news, hockey or Rick Mercer.

I just don't know what is going on over there — perhaps they ought to put the radio people in charge.

The Waldo Ultimatum

His identity erased. His past stolen. His whereabouts unknown. Where is Waldo?


I'm fresh out of ideas, so I'm posting another great parody I came across. This is from The Impondrables, a Toronto improv group.

Pulp Muppets

I may be the last one to have seen this, but I must share this digital mashup, Pulp Muppets. Some clever folks over at 416film.com replaced all the faces of the Pulp Fiction actors and behold, you have Kermit as Vincent Vega, Fozzie as Jules Winnfield and Miss Piggy as Mia Wallace. Great stuff.

Eggsploitation

Is it wrong that this just makes me want to go out for Eggs Benedict? Gotta love a Calvin & Hobbes-inspired yoke - thanks to Ariel Bariel Long for the eggcellent work.

Video Made the Internet Star

A few favourites I've found while surfing about — share and enjoy!

See more at CollegeHumor

Richard Scarry mixed with the Beastie Boys. So clever and fun that I keep watching it over and over again. Originally stumbled upon over at Layercake, a source of much goodness.



Find more videos like this on BAM Vid Vault

Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit, set to incredibly appropriate scenes from the original Star Trek. This makes me happier than it should. I first ran across it over at Boing Boing.



The Passion of the Christ with Benny Hill Yakety Sax chase music. It's sacrilicious. Thanks to Fandumb, via Culture Kills.

Garfield Out to Lunch

"Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life?"

garfield minus garfield is my new favourite site. I have no idea who created it but the results are erie and a little bit sad. I read the strip for years when it first came out but eventually moved on (and passed my collections on to my youngest sister). I'd never realized how disturbing Jon Arbuckle was until now, but I suppose I should have seen it. After all, he does think his cat can talk.

Lights, Cameras, Oscar Live Blog

So even the writer's strike couldn't stop the show from going on, and while I think it would have been amusing to see this bloated love-in taken down, now that it is here I might as well as snipe from the sidelines. I couldn't bring myself to watch the red carpet though, but for a full rundown of all the fakery, check out The Ampersand and Inside the Box. On with the show...

8:30 - Just a big ol' montage — every film needs a montage.

8:33 - Jon Stewart acknowledges the writer's strike right off the top — nice to see, I suppose you can't ignore the elephant in the room. He's looking way more comfortable than last time.

8:35 - "Thank goodnees for teen sex!" Truer words were never spoken.

8:36 - The first Jack Nicholson reaction shot. They will return to it again and again and...

8:38 - Going after Dennis Hopper? Seems a little odd and easy, but ok. Oh, but he did teach everyone how to find their own porn name, thanks to Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody, which is also a fine porn name. Mine is Sasha St. George.

8:39 - Iraq humour is not going down so well, but jokes at Republicans? Bullseye.

8:40 - The camera guys keep panning to black members of the audience each time Stewart mentions Barack Obama. It's already predictable.

8:42 - Aren't they supposed to start with a big award? Costume design is the first up, which leads me to believe we are in for a long night. First Oscar goes to Elizabeth: The Golden Age and I am batting zero on the Oscar pool. Nice short speech though. Did they have the Babs clip ready if somebody went short?

8:47 - George Clooney comes up to joke about how long the show is and then presents a clip that will help it drag on. It's 80 years of Oscars as the show tries to get a piece of what every online site, paper and magazine has been running for the past few weeks. Can't blame 'em for trying to get a piece of the action I suppose. On the up side there was a great shot of Jack with what looked like hair plugs. God Hollywood loves themselves.

8:51 - Steve Carrell gets a Get Smart intro. They are really going to push that film. Hmm, they really needed the writers to put together that "spontaneous" dialogue?

8:54 - Ratatouille wins for Animated Film and I'm on the board. Where is the Simpson Movie in this category? Nowhere, that's where. Let that be a lesson for anyone who waits a full decade after they were at the top of their game. And the winner is the first to be played off the stage.

8:57 - La Vie en Rose wins for Best Makeup. Another win for me, another play off the stage.

8:59 - While I don't find people reading lists of names all that enticing, I'd pick that over performances of the Best Original Song. Play long clips of the Best Picture nominees, linger on Jack smirking at the camera — anything but these songs which have so little to do with the films.

9:07 - Visual Effects? Really saving up the for the biggies aren't they? And the Rock as a presenter? Is that some sort of comment about wrestling?

9:08 - The Golden Compass wins and my Oscar picks drop to 50/50. So in a battle between polar bears and giant transforming robots, the bears win. Who knew?

9:10 - We are whipping through the tech categories — take that newspapers with early deadlines. Sweeny Todd wins for Art Direction and I'm back on the plus side, for anyone who is keeping track. Much love for Johnny Depp — and who can blame them? He is the coolest man on earth.

9:13 - Jon says Cate Blanchett is unstoppable. She's a double nominee for Elizabeth and I'm Not There, but that's the sort of thing that tends to split your vote. We'll see soon enough.

9:15 - Cuba Gooding's repeat speech is longer than the first winner of the night. Whatever happened to that guy?

9:18 - Woo hoo, Javier Bardem wins for No Country for Old Men! The first for a No Country sweep? Bardem was so incredibly creepy, it's well deserved. Other than "thanking" the Coen's for his bob haircut, he spends the rest of his time thanking his mom in Spanish — what a sweet guy. C'mon Academy, give these folks some more time.

9:23 - Stewart continues his riff on the writer's strike with "faux" Oscar montages — tributes to periscopes and binoculars and bad dreams. Beats out these Best Song sections.

9:26 - You know what I miss? Interpretive dancing. That was at least terrible enough to be enjoyable. These are just good bathroom breaks. Ha, Stewart just rolled his eyes!

9:28 - Look Owen Wilson is at the Oscars and isn't in the dead people montage!
Too soon?

9:30 - Le Mozart Des Pickpockets wins for Live Action Short Film and I'm back to 50% in the pool. Arrgh!

9:32 - Seinfeld does the bee thing and it is good. I wonder how many times he's been asked to host? Peter and the Wolf wins and I am being killed in my picks. Good thing I'm not at any fabulous party or anything.

9:37 - An hour in and only the second major award of the night. Tilda Swinton wins and swears she is going to give her Oscar to her agent. We'll see if that happens. And she appears to dedicate it to George Clooney's Batman nipples as well.

9:44 - Jessica Alba is a hot mommy-to-be. She hosted the Scientific and Technical Awards which makes you wonder, if they have a show like that, how did TWO sound editing awards make it to the big show?

9: 46 - Only the second Jack mugging of the evening. What's going on?

9:47 - More Jack. There we go. And what a terrible intro for an award about writing - a stilted reading of famous lines. The Coen's win Best Adapted Screenplay for No Country and they have an equally awkward acceptance speech. Their talent is behind the camera, not in front of it. Sadly, it means Sarah Polley loses, but I'm sure this is a case where it was an honour just to be nominated.

9:50 - An explanation about how the voting process works. Yet another bit that has been covered in features in the weeks proceeding, ad nauseum. At least even Stewart knows how lame it is: "That's amazing."

10:02 - Knocked Up's Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen bicker over which one of them is Halle Berry (you had to be there). I can only give thanks that neither of them wore a dress.

10:04 - Yay for Bourne Ultimatum, which picks up an Oscar for Sound Editing. The Bourne series needs more recognition for its reinvention of the action film. Too bad it is not on my Oscar ballot.

10:05 - And then they go right ahead and do so, which wins for Sound Mixing. Which, I believe, means Transformers has been shut out at the Oscars. I'm unbelievably relieved.

10:13 - Marion Cotillard wins for La Vie En Rose and seems truly thankful and stunned. You will see that clip played next year. And I am officially killed on the ballot this year. My apologies to anyone who read the previous post. This is also an upset for Julie Christie, the presumed favourite and he director Sarah Polley.

10:18 - Colin Farrell almost wipes out on stage, but then he doesn't. I'm kinda bored now, but seeing as they are playing another song it's time for snacks and beverages.

10:22 - Jack gets the stage and he's got another pair of sunglasses. He's smirking, but who knows why, he's Jack. Then in yet another montage, all the previous Best Pictures are shown, with both the picture and titles cut off. Bang up job there, Academy or CTV. One of you.

10: 27 - Unforgiven becomes Forgiven and Gladiator is Ladiator. Turns out that was more amusing than I expected.

10:29 - Bourne Ultimatum wins again, this time for Film Editing. I'll have to check the stats, but I think that makes it the big winner of the night, at least so far. "Someone just took the lead in their Oscar pool based on a guess," says Stewart. So true, and it's not me.

10:31 - Even pregnancy can't make Nicole Kidman glow. Damn, she's icy.

10:36 - The Honorary Oscar winner, Robert Boyle, is old enough to refer to Alfred Hitchcock as Hitch. That's cool.

10:42 - Time for the foreign film award — turns out that wasn't La Vie en Rose. Austria wins for The Counterfeiters. Never bet against a Holocaust film.

10:44 - Another song. I wonder if I still have pizza in the fridge? I do, score!

10:49 - John Travolta, who is looking more like Steven Segal, or a vampire, repeats all the Best Song nominees. If they cut this category (or at least the songs) that would be a half hour off the runtime. "Falling Slowly" wins — at least he had a fine speech.

10:57 - Stewart hands over his time to Marketa Irglova who was unceremoniously played off the stage before she could speak about her win for "Falling Slowly." A class act by both.

10:59 - Camon Diaz babbles away before presenting the cinematography award to There Will Be Blood. Yay, I got another one right!

11:01 - Dead person montage! My bet is Heath Ledger will end it. It must be odd for the family of people who get no applause. How uncomfortable. They really need to put some film names up with the pics - I don't know who most of these people are.

11:05 - Heath wins the pool and the audience goes silent.

11:09 - Amy Adams explains why film scores matter and it works! In fact it showed why the song category doesn't. Can you tell I don't like the songs. Atonement wins, and my ballot is picking up.

11:12 - Various soldiers, live from Baghdad, present the Documentary Short Film nominees. See, Hollywood supports the troops!

11:18 - Perhaps it was to balance out the win by Taxi To The Dark Side. The most political speech of the night. "Let's turn away from the dark side and into the light."

11:23 - Harrison Ford is back from the dead! Oh wait, he just looks like that. I'm so worried about the next Indiana Jones flick. If it turns out ok they should win an Oscar for best effects.

11:25 - Diablo Cody, the hottest writer in Hollywood, wins Best Original Screenplay for Juno. It's a great moment — she's an ex-stripper, this is her first screenplay (at least her first made into a movie) and it is for the feel good film of the night.

11:31 - We are now officially into overtime. Of course that was the easiest pick of the night.

11:34 - Daniel Day Lewis wins Best Actor for There Will Be Blood — one of the only sure picks of the night. He's so gracious.

11:36 - What have they done with Stewart? He hasn't had any screen time for ages and I didn't notice until now. This show really doesn't need a host and Stewart's talents are wasted here. He's watered down and benign, with out his sidekicks to bounce off. If they ask you again, say no.

11:43 - The Coen Brothers win Best Director for No Country For Old Men. These guys just love making movies. They'd best not go to far, they will have to make another of their short speeches in a few minutes.

11:46 - No Country For Old Men wins for Best Picture. We went to see it at the Toronto film festival this year and I'm glad we did as it was one of the only nominated films we got to see this year. It was a cold, cold film about the evil that men do, but virtuoso film making and well deserved.

11:49 - So I got 15/24 right, a pass, but not much of one. I nailed Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor and Actress and the writing categories but fell apart on the more technical awards. It may have helped if I'd seen more films, but a 16-month-old makes that hard. Ah well.

So a generally unexciting show made more so by showing all the exciting moments of the past 80 years.

Oscar Pool 101

Predicting the Oscars is not that hard, but winning an Oscar pool is almost as difficult as getting one of this little golden men. I may not be able to get you to the top, but follow this advice and I will at least bring you into striking distance.


1. Read those who know

I don't have any special insider knowledge or Academy clairvoyance, but I read people who seem to. First stop for anyone filling out their ballot should be Entertainment Weekly. They predict every category, down to the two sound categories, with surprising accuracy. Yup, there are two sound categories and winning them will help you rise to the top.

Next stop, Film Experience. Nathaniel has a unerring sense of what is going to win and also what is going to be nominated in the first place. His perspective is that of a true film fanatic who is able to look past who he would like to win to who actually will. While neither source is infallible, in the long run you can't beat their track records.

There are a few other sites that can help you through your choices (Awards Daily; The Envelope; Oscar Frenzy) but you can drive yourself crazy trying to keep up with it all.

2. Know what has come before

Academy voters usually belong to another Hollywood group that, more likely than not, has their own award show that precedes the Oscars. These are the folks that get ballots so knowing how they voted will give you a pretty good idea of how the night will progress.

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Julie Christie – Away From Her

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Javier Bardem – No Country For Old Men

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Ruby Dee – American Gangster

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
No Country For Old Men

Writers Guild of America

Original Screenplay
Juno, Written by Diablo Cody

Adapted Screenplay
No Country For Old Men, Screenplay by Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, Based on the Novel by Cormac McCarthy

Directors Guild of America

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen - No Country for Old Men

Producers Guild of America

Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures
No Country for Old Men

3. Know the odds

You can read the critics lists but realistically they don't really come into play on this night. The critics will pick what they believe is the best film or performance of the lot — which is at it should be — but should win doesn't matter. So go the guys who are in it to win: the Las Vegas Oscar odds.

Pretty much all the online bookmakers are putting out odds, as do the casinos. Here's the line from Bodog on best picture — you can read the rest here.

Odds On: Which film will win the 80th Annual Academy (Oscar) Award for Best Picture?

Atonement: 6/1
Juno : 13/2
Michael Clayton: 25/1
No Country for Old Men: 4/11
There Will Be Blood: 11/2

4. Ignore all the above

Every year there is an unexpected winner that nobody sees coming. So take a chance on a long shot to get an edge over the competition. But you should mostly copy EW. I'll let you know how it worked for me.