2008 Oscar Contenders: Best Picture (2009 ceremony)

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These are my Top 20 contenders for the 2008 AcademyAwards.

The ceremony will be held on 22nd February, 2009.

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BEST PICTURE

These are my very early predictions for the twenty movies that may be in line for an Oscar nomination in the "Best Picture" category. Many of these films have directors and stars who have been to the ceremony before, so perhaps they will gain favour with voters. Others are not very well known, and are caught up in awards fever due to the “buzz” surrounding their movie. Movies in the "Best Picture" category manage to combine powerful stories, often epic backdrops, quality acting and star names, excellent writing, editing, music, and production values, with a general appeal to the viewing public. Will we see a mix of newcomers with old favourites welcomed back into the fold?

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WINNER:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (producers: Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy, & Cean Chaffin)

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NOMINEES:

Australia (producers: Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Knapman, & G. Mac Brown)

The Dark Knight (producers: Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas, & Charles Roven)

Doubt (producers: Scott Rudin)

Revolutionary Road (producers: Scott Rudin, John Hart, Sam mendes, Bobby Cohen, & Karen Gehres)

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OTHER CANDIDATES:

Burn After Reading (producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Joel Coen, & Ethan Coen)

Changeling (producers: Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Clint Eastwood, & Robert Lorenz)

Defiance (producers: Edward Zwick & Pieter Jan Brugge)

The Duchess (producers: Michael Kuhn & Gabrielle Tana)

Frost / Nixon (producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Brian Grazer, & Ron Howard)

Happy-Go-Lucky (producers: Simon Channing-Williams)

Milk (producers: Michael London, Dan Jinks, & Bruce Cohen)

The Road (producers: Steve Schwartz, Nick Wechsler, & Paula Mae Schwartz)

Slumdog Millionaire (producers: Christian Colson)

Valkyrie (producers: Bryan Singer, Christopher McQuarrie, & Gilbert Adler)

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum, & Gareth Wiley)

The Visitor (producers: Michael London, Mary Jane Skalski, & Jeff Skoll)

W. (producers: Bill Block, Moritz Borman, Paul Hanson, & Eric Kopeloff)

Wall-E. (producers: Jim Morris)

The Wrestler (producers: Darren Aronofsky & Scott Franklin)

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2008 Oscar Contenders: Best Director (2009 ceremony)

These are my Top 20 contenders for the 2008 Academy Awards.

The ceremony will be held on 22nd February, 2009.

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BEST DIRECTOR

These are my very early predictions for the twenty directors who may be in line for an Oscar nomination in the "Best Director" category. Many of these figures have been to the ceremony before, so perhaps they will gain favour with voters. Others are not very well known, and are caught up in awards fever due to the “buzz” surrounding their movie. Will we see a mix of newcomers with old favourites welcomed back into the fold?

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WINNER:

Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight) - he was previously nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category for "Memento".

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NOMINEES:

Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Baz Luhrmann (Australia) - he was previously nominated in the Best Picture category (with Fred Baron and Martin Brown) for "Moulin Rouge!".

Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road) - he won the Best Director Oscar for "American Beauty".

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OTHER CANDIDATES:

Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) - he won the Oscars for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay (with Marshall Brickman), and was nominated as Best Actor, all for the movie "Annie Hall". He won a further Best Original Screenplay Oscar, and Best Director nomination, for "Hannah and Her Sisters" and was also nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category for "Manhattan" (with Marshall Brickman), "The Purple Rose of Cairo", "Radio Days", "Alice", "Husbands and Wives", "Mighty Aphrodite", "Deconstructing Harry", and "Match Point". He received both Best Director and Best Original Screenplay nominations for the films "Interiors", "Broadway Danny Rose", "Crimes and Misdemeanors", and "Bullets Over Broadway".

Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Stephen Daldry (The Reader) - he was previously nominated in the Best Director category for both "Billy Elliot" and "The Hours".

Clint Eastwood (Changeling) - he was previously nominated as Best Actor for "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby". He won the Best Picture and Director Oscars for both "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby", and was also nominated for the top two awards for "Mystic River" and "Letters From Iwo Jima".

John Hillcoat (The Road) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Ron Howard (Frost / Nixon) - he won the Best Picture (with Brian Grazer) and Best Director Oscars for "A Beautiful Mind".

Spike Lee (Miracle At St. Anna) - he was previously nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category for "Do The Right Thing", and in the Best Documentary Feature category for "4 Little Girls".

Mike Leigh (Happy-Go-Lucky) - he was previously nominated in the Best Director and Best Original Screenplay categories for both "Secrets & Lies" and "Vera Drake", with a further Best Original Screenplay nomination for "Topsy-Turvy".

Ridley Scott (Body of Lies) - he was previously nominated in the Best Director category for "Thelma & Louise", "Gladiator", and "Black Hawk Down".

John Patrick Shanley (Doubt) - he won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for "Moonstruck". "Doubt" is based on his own stage play of the same name.

Bryan Singer (Valkyrie) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Steven Soderbergh (Che) - he won a Best Director Oscar for "Traffic" and was also nominated in the same category (in the same year!) for "Erin Brockovich". He also received an earlier nomination in the Best Original Screenplay category for "sex, lies, and videotape".

Oliver Stone (W.) - he won Best Director Oscars for both "Platoon" and "Born On The Fourth of July", and an Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for "Midnight Express". He also previously received Best Original Screenplay nominations for "Platoon", "Salvador", and "Nixon", Best Adapted Screenplay nominations for "Born On The Fourth of July" and "JFK", a Best Director nomination for "JFK", and Best Picture nominations for "Born On The Fourth of July" and "JFK" (both with A. Kitman Ho).

Gus Van Sant (Milk) - he was previously nominated in the Best Director category for "Good Will Hunting".

Edward Zwick (Defiance) - he won Best Picture (as co-producer) for "Shakespeare In Love" and was also nominated for "Traffic".

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2008 Oscar Contenders: Best Original Screenplay (2009 ceremony)

These are my Top 20 contenders for the 2008 Academy Awards.

The ceremony will be held on 22nd February, 2009.

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BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

These are my very early predictions for the twenty screenwriters who may be in line for an Oscar nomination in the "Best Original Screenplay" category. Their work is original and is not based on a short story, play, novel, comic book, or newspaper article previously in existence. Many of these figures have been to the ceremony before, so perhaps they will gain favour with voters. Others are not very well known, and are caught up in awards fever due to the “buzz” surrounding their movie. Will we see a mix of newcomers with old favourites welcomed back into the fold?

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WINNER:

Wall-E. (Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon) - Stanton was previously nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category for "Finding Nemo" (with Bob Peterson & David Reynolds), and he won the Best Animated Feature Oscar for the same film. He was also previously nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category (in a large group of writers) for "Toy Story". Reardon has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

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NOMINEES:

Burn After Reading (Joel & Ethan Coen) - The Coen Brothers won Best Director, Best Picture (with Scott Rudin), and Best Adapted Screenplay for "No Country For Old Men", as well as a further nomination in the Editing category (under their pseudonym, Roderick Jaynes). Previously they won an Oscar in the Best Original Screenplay category for "Fargo", as well as nominations for Editing and Best Director (only Joel) of the same movie. Their other nomination was in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for "O Brother, Where Art Thou?".

Happy-Go-Lucky (Mike Leigh) - he was previously nominated in the Best Director and Best Original Screenplay categories for both "Secrets & Lies" and "Vera Drake", with a further Best Original Screenplay nomination for "Topsy-Turvy".

Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman) - he won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" as well as a nomination in the same category for "Being John Malkovich". He also received a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination for "Adaptation".

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Woody Allen) - he won the Oscars for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay (with Marshall Brickman), and was nominated as Best Actor, all for the movie "Annie Hall". He won a further Best Original Screenplay Oscar, and Best Director nomination, for "Hannah and Her Sisters" and was also nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category for "Manhattan" (with Marshall Brickman), "The Purple Rose of Cairo", "Radio Days", "Alice", "Husbands and Wives", "Mighty Aphrodite", "Deconstructing Harry", and "Match Point". He received both Best Director and Best Original Screenplay nominations for the films "Interiors", "Broadway Danny Rose", "Crimes and Misdemeanors", and "Bullets Over Broadway".

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OTHER CANDIDATES:

Australia (Baz Luhrmann & Stuart Beattie) - Luhrmann was previously nominated in the Best Picture category (with Fred Baron and Martin Brown) for "Moulin Rouge!" while Beattie has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

The Brothers Bloom (Rian Johnson) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Changeling (J. Michael Straczynski) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Frozen River (Courtney Hunt) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Milk (Dustin Lance Black) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Nothing But The Truth (Rod Lurie) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Pineapple Express (Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg) - neither of them have previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Rachel Getting Married (Jenny Lumet) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Seven Pounds (Grant Nieporte) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Slumdog Millionaire (Simon Beaufoy) - he was previously nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category for "The Full Monty".

Stop-Loss (Kimberley Peirce & Mark Richard) - neither of them have previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Valkyrie (Christopher McQuarrie & Nathan Alexander) - McQuarrie won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for "The Usual Suspects" but Alexander has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

The Visitor (Thomas McCarthy) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

W. (Stanley Weiser) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

The Wrestler (Robert D. Siegel) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

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2008 Oscar Contenders: Best Adapted Screenplay (2009 ceremony)

These are my Top 20 contenders for the 2008 Academy Awards.

The ceremony will be held on 22nd February, 2009.

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BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

These are my very early predictions for the twenty screenwriters who may be in line for an Oscar nomination in the "Best Adapted Screenplay" category. Their work is not original but is based on a short story, play, novel, comic book, or newspaper article previously in existence. Many of these figures have been to the ceremony before, so perhaps they will gain favour with voters. Others are not very well known, and are caught up in awards fever due to the “buzz” surrounding their movie. Will we see a mix of newcomers with old favourites welcomed back into the fold?

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WINNER:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Eric Roth) - he won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for "Forrest Gump", and was also nominated for "The Insider" (with Michael Mann) and "Munich" (with Tony Kushner). "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is based on the 1922 short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

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NOMINEES:

Doubt (John Patrick Shanley) - he won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for "Moonstruck". "Doubt" is based on his own stage play of the same name.

Frost / Nixon (Peter Morgan) - he was previously nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category for "The Queen". "Frost / Nixon" is based on his own stage play of the same name.

Revolutionary Road (Justin Haythe) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar. "Revolutionary Road" is based on the novel of the same name by Richard Yates.

The Road (Joe Penhall) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar. "The Road" is based on the novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy.

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OTHER CANDIDATES:

Body of Lies (William Monahan) - he won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for "The Departed". "Body of Lies" is based on the novel of the same name by David Ignatius.

Brothers (David Benioff) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar. "Brothers" is based on the Danish film of the same name ("Brødre"), directed by Susanne Bier.

Che (Peter Buchman & Benjamin van der Veen) - neither of them have previously been nominated for an Oscar. "Che" (or the two parts, "The Argentine" and "Guerrilla") is based on the writings of Ernesto 'Che' Guevara.

The City of Your Final Destination (Ruth Prawer Jhabvala) - she won two Best Adapted Screenplay Oscars for "A Room With A View" and "Howards End", and was also nominated in the same category for "The Remains of the Day". "The City of Your Final Destination" is based on the novel of the same name by Peter Cameron.

The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan & Jonathan Nolan) - they were both previously nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category for "Memento". "The Dark Knight" is based on the original "Batman" comic book characters.

Defiance (Clayton Frohman & Edward Zwick) - Frohman has not previously been nominated for an Oscar but Zwick won Best Picture (as co-producer) for "Shakespeare In Love" and was also nominated for "Traffic". He has not previously been nominated for his writing.

The Duchess (Jeffrey Hatcher, Anders Thomas Jensen, & Saul Dibb) - none of them have previously been nominated for an Oscar in the Screenplay categories. Jensen won an Oscar and was nominated a further two times in the Short Film category. "The Duchess" is based on Amanda Foreman's non-fiction book "Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire".

Elegy (Nicholas Meyer) - he was previously nominated in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for "The Seven-Per-Cent Solution". "Elegy" is based on the novel "The Dying Animal" by Philip Roth.

Miracle At St. Anna (James McBride) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar. "Miracle at St. Anna" is based on his own novel of the same name.

Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day (David Magee & Simon Beaufoy) - Magee was previously nominated in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for "Finding Neverland" while Beaufoy was previously nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category for "The Full Monty".

The Other Boleyn Girl (Peter Morgan) - see notes above for "Frost / Nixon".

The Reader (David Hare) - he was previously nominated in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for "The Hours". "The Reader" is based on the novel of the same name by Bernhard Schlink.

The Soloist (Susannah Grant) - she was previously nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category for "Erin Brockovich". "The Soloist" is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Steve Lopez.

The Time Traveler’s Wife (Bruce Joel Rubin) - he won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for "Ghost". "The Time Traveler's Wife" is based on the novel of the same name by Audrey Niffenegger.

Towelhead (Alan Ball) - he won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for "American Beauty". "Towelhead" is based on the novel of the same name by Alicia Erian.

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2008 Oscar Contenders: Best Actor (2009 ceremony)

These are my Top 20 contenders for the 2008 Academy Awards.

The ceremony will be held on 22nd February, 2009.

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BEST ACTOR

These are my very early predictions for the twenty actors who may be in line for an Oscar nomination in the "Best Actor" category. Many have been to the ceremony before, so perhaps they will gain favour with voters. Others are not very well known, and are caught up in awards fever due to the “buzz” surrounding their movie. Will we see a mix of newcomers with old favourites welcomed back into the fold?

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WINNER:

Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) - he was previously nominated as Best Supporting Actor for "Twelve Monkeys".

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NOMINEES:

Benicio Del Toro (Che) - he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for "Traffic" and was also previously nominated for "21 Grams".

Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road) - he was previously nominated as Best Actor for "The Aviator" and "Blood Diamond", and as Best Supporting Actor for "What's Eating Gilbert Grape".

Frank Langella (Frost / Nixon) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Sean Penn (Milk) - he won the Best Actor Oscar for "Mystic River" and was also nominated for "Dead Man Walking", "Sweet and Lowdown", and "I Am Sam".

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OTHER CANDIDATES:

Josh Brolin (W.) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Daniel Craig (Defiance) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Tom Cruise (Valkyrie) - he was previously nominated as Best Actor for "Born On The Fourth of July" and "Jerry Maguire", and was nominated as Best Supporting Actor for "Magnolia".

Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino) - he was previously nominated as Best Actor for "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby". He won the Best Picture and Director Oscars for both "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby", and was also nominated for the top two awards for "Mystic River" and "Letters From Iwo Jima".

Ralph Fiennes (The Duchess) - he was previously nominated as Best Actor for "The English Patient", as was nominated as Best Supporting Actor for "Schindler's List".

Harrison Ford (Crossing Over) - he was previously nominated as Best Actor for "Witness".

Jamie Foxx (The Soloist) - he won a Best Actor Oscar for "Ray" and was nominated as Best Supporting Actor for "Collateral".

Ed Harris (Appaloosa) - he was previously nominated as Best Actor for "Pollock", and was nominated as Best Supporting Actor for "Apollo 13", "The Truman Show", and "The Hours".

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Synechdoche, New York) - he won the Best Actor Oscar for "Capote", and was also previously nominated as Best Supporting Actor for "Charlie Wilson's War".

Hugh Jackman (Australia) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Ben Kingsley (Elegy) - he won a Best Actor Oscar for "Gandhi", and was nominated "House of Sand and Fog". In addition he was nominated as Best Supporting Actor for "Bugsy" and "Sexy Beast".

Greg Kinnear (Flash of Genius) - he was previously nominated as Best Supporting Actor for "As Good As It Gets".

Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Will Smith (Seven Pounds) - he was previously nominated as Best Actor for "Ali" and "The Pursuit of Happyness".

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2008 Oscar Contenders: Best Actress (2009 ceremony)

These are my Top 20 contenders for the 2008 Academy Awards.

The ceremony will be held on 22nd February, 2009.

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BEST ACTRESS

These are my very early predictions for the twenty actresses who may be in line for an Oscar nomination in the "Best Actress" category. Many have been to the ceremony before, so perhaps they will gain favour with voters. Others are not very well known, and are caught up in awards fever due to the “buzz” surrounding their movie. Will we see a mix of newcomers with old favourites welcomed back into the fold?

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WINNER:

Meryl Streep (Doubt) - she won the Best Actress Oscar for "Sophie's Choice" and the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for "Kramer vs. Kramer", and was also previously nominated as Best Actress for "The French Lieutenant's Woman", "Silkwood", "Out of Africa", "Ironweed", "A Cry In The Dark", "Postcards From The Edge", "The Bridges of Madison County", "One True Thing", "Music of the Heart", and "The Devil Wears Prada". She also received Best Supporting Actress nominations for "The Deer Hunter" and "Adaptation".

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NOMINEES:

Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Angelina Jolie (Changeling) - she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for "Girl, Interrupted".

Melissa Leo (Frozen River) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road) - she was previously nominated as Best Actress for "Titanic", "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", and "Little Children", as well as Best Supporting Actress nominations for "Sense and Sensibility" and "Iris".

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OTHER CANDIDATES:

Kate Beckinsale (Nothing But The Truth) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Cate Blanchett (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) - she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for "The Aviator", and was also nominated for "Notes on a Scandal" and "I'm Not There". In addition she received Best Actress nominations for "Elizabeth" and "Elizabeth: The Golden Age".

Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Scarlett Johansson (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Nicole Kidman (Australia) - she won the Best Actress Oscar for "The Hours" and was also nominated for "Moulin Rouge!".

Keira Knightley (The Duchess) - she was previously nominated as Best Actress for "Pride & Prejudice".

Keira Knightley (The Edge of Love) - see notes above.

Laura Linney (The Other Man) - she was previously nominated as Best Actress for "You Can Count On Me" and "The Savages", and as Best Supporting Actress for "Kinsey".

Rachel McAdams (The Time Traveler’s Wife) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Frances McDormand (Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day) - she won the Best Actress Oscar for "Fargo" and was also previously nominated as Best Supporting Actress for "Mississippi Burning", "Almost Famous", and "North Country".

Julianne Moore (Blindness) - she was previously nominated as Best Actress for "The End of the Affair" and "Far From Heaven", and as Best Supporting Actress for "Boogie Nights" and "The Hours".

Natalie Portman (Brothers) - she was previously nominated as Best Supporting Actress for "Closer".

Julia Roberts (Fireflies In The Garden) - she won a Best Actress Oscar for "Erin Brockovich" and was nominated for "Pretty Woman", and was nominated as Best Supporting Actress for "Steel Magnolias".

Meg Ryan (The Women) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Emma Thompson (Brideshead Revisited) - she won a Best Actress Oscar for "Howards End" and was nominated for "The Remains of the Day" and "Sense and Sensibility" (for which she won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar). In addition she was nominated as Best Supporting Actress for "In The Name of the Father".

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2008 Oscar Contenders: Best Supporting Actor (2009 ceremony)

These are my Top 20 contenders for the 2008 Academy Awards.

The ceremony will be held on 22nd February, 2009.

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BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

These are my very early predictions for the twenty actors who may be in line for an Oscar nomination in the "Best Supporting Actor" category. Many have been to the ceremony before, so perhaps they will gain favour with voters. Others are not very well known, and are caught up in awards fever due to the “buzz” surrounding their movie. Will we see a mix of newcomers with old favourites welcomed back into the fold?

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WINNER:

Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight) - died tragically on 22nd January, 2008. He was previously nominated as Best Actor for "Brokeback Mountain".

As a tribute to a brief but talented career, the Academy will reward the many excellent reviews of Ledger's performance in "The Dark Knight" with a posthumous Oscar in this Best Supporting Actor category. Along with "Brokeback Mountain", Heath Ledger's roles in "10 Things I Hate About You", "The Patriot", "A Knight's Tale", "Monster's Ball", "Casanova", "Candy", and "I'm Not There" will be on the minds of voters as they will no longer have the chance to nominate him in future decades.

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NOMINEES:

(I believe all other nominees in this category will realise that the award will go to the late Heath Ledger.)

Josh Brolin (Milk) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Robert Downey Jr. (The Soloist) - he was previously nominated as Best Actor for "Chaplin".

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt) - he won the Best Actor Oscar for "Capote", and was also previously nominated as Best Supporting Actor for "Charlie Wilson's War".

Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

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OTHER CANDIDATES:

Viggo Mortensen (Appaloosa) - he was previously nominated as Best Actor for "Eastern Promises".

Bryan Brown (Australia) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Rade Serbedzija (Battle In Seattle) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Russell Crowe (Body of Lies) - he won a Best Actor Oscar for "Gladiator" and was nominated for "The Insider" and "A Beautiful Mind".

John Malkovich (Burn After Reading) - he was previously nominated as Best Supporting Actor for "Places In The Heart" and "In The Line of Fire".

Jason Butler Hamer (Changeling) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Damian Bechir (Che) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Liev Schreiber (Defiance) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Matthew Rhys (The Edge of Love) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Michael Sheen (Frost / Nixon) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Miracle at St. Anna) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Ciaran Hinds (Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder) - see notes above.

Tom Wilkinson (Valkyrie) - he was previously nominated as Best Actor for "In The Bedroom", and nominated as Best Supporting Actor for "Michael Clayton".

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2008 Oscar Contenders: Best Supporting Actress (2009 ceremony)

These are my Top 20 contenders for the 2008 Academy Awards.

The ceremony will be held on 22nd February, 2009.

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BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

These are my very early predictions for the twenty actresses who may be in line for an Oscar nomination in the "Best Supporting Actress" category. Many have been to the ceremony before, so perhaps they will gain favour with voters. Others are not very well known, and are caught up in awards fever due to the “buzz” surrounding their movie. Will we see a mix of newcomers with old favourites welcomed back into the fold?

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WINNER:

Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) - she was previously nominated as Best Actress for "Volver".

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NOMINEES:

Amy Adams (Doubt) - she was previously nominated as Best Supporting Actress for "Junebug".

Kathy Bates (Revolutionary Road) - she won the Best Actress Oscar for "Misery" and was also previously nominated as Best Supporting Actress for "Primary Colors" and "About Schmidt".

Vera Farmiga (Nothing But The Truth) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

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OTHER CANDIDATES:

Amy Adams (Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day) - see notes above.

Patricia Clarkson (Elegy) - she was previously nominated as Best Supporting Actress for "Pieces of April".

Viola Davis (Doubt) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Romola Garai (The Other Man) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Patty McCormack (Frost / Nixon) - she was previously nominated as Best Supporting Actress for "The Bad Seed".

Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading) - she won the Best Actress Oscar for "Fargo" and was also previously nominated as Best Supporting Actress for "Mississippi Burning", "Almost Famous", and "North Country".

Sienna Miller (The Edge of Love) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Amy Ryan (Changeling) - she was previously nominated as Best Supporting Actress for "Gone Baby Gone".

Meryl Streep (Mamma Mia!) - she won the Best Actress Oscar for "Sophie's Choice" and the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for "Kramer vs. Kramer", and was also previously nominated as Best Actress for "The French Lieutenant's Woman", "Silkwood", "Out of Africa", "Ironweed", "A Cry In The Dark", "Postcards From The Edge", "The Bridges of Madison County", "One True Thing", "Music of the Heart", and "The Devil Wears Prada". She also received Best Supporting Actress nominations for "The Deer Hunter" and "Adaptation".

Charlize Theron (The Road) - she won the Best Actress Oscar for "Monster" and was also nominated for "North Country".

Misty Upham (Frozen River) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Rachel Weisz (The Brothers Bloom) - she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for "The Constant Gardener".

Debra Winger (Rachel Got Married) - she was previously nominated as Best Actress for "An Officer and a Gentleman", "Terms of Endearment", and "Shadowlands".

Kate Winslet (The Reader) - she was previously nominated as Best Actress for "Titanic", "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", and "Little Children", as well as Best Supporting Actress nominations for "Sense and Sensibility" and "Iris".

Renee Zellweger (Appaloosa) - she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for "Cold Mountain" and was nominated for Best Actress in "Bridget Jones' Diary" and "Chicago".

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2008 Oscar Contenders: Best Cinematography (2009 ceremony)

These are my Top 20 contenders for the 2008 Academy Awards.

The ceremony will be held on 22nd February, 2009.

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BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

These are my very early predictions for the twenty cinematographers who may be in line for an Oscar nomination in the "Best Cinematography" category. Many have been to the ceremony before, so perhaps they will gain favour with voters. The high-profile cinematographers are also the ones selected to sit behind the camera alongside celebrated directors for the "serious" Oscar-friendly films, so it is no coincidence that winners in this category are often nominated for Best Picture.

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WINNER:

Revolutionary Road (Roger Deakins) - he has been previously nominated for "Fargo", "Kundun", "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", "The Man Who Wasn't There", "The Assassination of Jesse James", and "No Country for Old Men".

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NOMINEES:

Australia (Mandy Walker) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Claudio Miranda) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

The Dark Knight (Wally Pfister) - he was previously nominated for "Batman Begins" and "The Prestige".

Miracle at St. Anna (Matthew Libatique) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

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OTHER CANDIDATES:

Appaloosa (Dean Semler) - he won an Oscar for "Dances With Wolves".

Blindness (Cesar Charlone) - he was previously nominated for "City of God".

Body of Lies (Alexander Witt) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Changeling (Tom Stern) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Defiance (Eduardo Serra) - he was previously nominated for "The Wings of the Dove" and "Girl With A Pearl Earring".

Doubt (Roger Deakins) - see notes for "Revolutionary Road".

Milk (Harris Savides) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

The Road (Javier Aguirresarobe) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Slumdog Millionaire (Anthony Dod Mantle) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

The Soloist (Seamus McGarvey) - he was previously nominated for "Atonement".

Stop-Loss (Chris Menges) - he won two Oscars for "The Killing Fields" and "The Mission" and he was previously nominated for "Michael Collins".

The Time Traveler’s Wife (Florian Ballhaus) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Valkyrie (Newton Thomas Sigel) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Javier Aguirresarobe) - see notes for "The Road".

The Wrestler (Maryse Alberti) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

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2008 Oscar Contenders: Best Original Score (2009 ceremony)

These are my Top 20 contenders for the 2008 Academy Awards.

The ceremony will be held on 22nd February, 2009.

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BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

These are my very early predictions for the twenty composers who may be in line for an Oscar nomination in the "Best Original Score" category. Many have been to the ceremony before, so perhaps they will gain favour with voters. The high-profile composers are also the ones selected to provide the music for the "serious" Oscar-friendly films, so it is no coincidence that winners in this category are often nominated for Best Picture.

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WINNER:

The Dark Knight (James Newton Howard) - he was previously nominated for "The Prince of Tides", "The Fugitive", "My Best Friend's Wedding", "The Village", and "Michael Clayton".

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NOMINEES:

Australia (David Hirschfelder) - he was previously nominated for "Shine" and "Elizabeth".

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Alexandre Desplat) - he was previously nominated for "The Queen".

Revolutionary Road (Thomas Newman) - he was nominated for "The Shawshank Redemption", "Little Women", "Unstrung Heroes", "American Beauty", "Road to Perdition", "Finding Nemo", "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events", and "The Good German".

The Soloist (Dario Marianelli) - he won an Oscar for "Atonement" and was previously nominated for "Pride & Prejudice".

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OTHER CANDIDATES:

Che (Alberto Iglesias) - he was previously nominated for "The Constant Gardener" and "The Kite Runner".

Defiance (James Newton Howard) - see "The Dark Knight" notes.

Doubt (Howard Shore) - he won two Oscars for "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the King" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King".

The Duchess (Rachel Portman) - she won an Oscar for "Emma" and was also previously nominated for "The Cider House Rules" and "Chocolat".

Fireflies in the Garden (Javier Navarrete) - he was previously nominated for "Pan's Labyrinth".

Frost / Nixon (Hans Zimmer) - he won an Oscar for "The Lion King" and was previously nominated for "Rain Man", "The Preacher's Wife", "As Good As It Gets", "The Prince of Egypt", "The Thin Red Line", and "Gladiator".

Milk (Danny Elfman) - he was previously nominated for "Men In Black", "Good Will Hunting", and "Big Fish".

Miracle at St. Anna (Terence Blanchard) - he has not yet been nominated for an Oscar.

The Other Man (Stephen Warbeck) - he won an Oscar for "Shakespeare in Love".

The Reader (Alberto Iglesias) - see notes on "Che".

The Road (Nick Cave & Warren Ellis) - neither have previously received Oscar nominations.

Stop-Loss (John Powell) - he has not yet been nominated for an Oscar.

Valkyrie (John Ottman) - he has not yet been nominated for an Oscar.

The Visitor (Jan A.P. Kaczmarek) - he won an Oscar for "Finding Neverland".

Wall E. (Thomas Newman) - see notes on "Revolutionary Road".

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Ryder Cup Golf: The Last 15 Events

Last Sunday the United States beat Europe to win the Ryder Cup for the first time since 1999. Golf isn’t a sport I play nor particularly enjoy watching save for the annual U.S. Masters event at Augusta, and the biannual competition between America and Europe’s twelve best.

Having seen Europe easily beat the U.S.A. in ’06, ’04, and ’02 I felt confident that the streak would continue under captain Nick Faldo in September 2008.

By the close of play on Sunday America had done more than enough to win the event and made me think about the faces, new and old, who have made up the respective teams. Here is a look at the past fifteen Ryder Cup competitions, who captained them, who played in them, and who will likely lead the two teams into future battles!

For the following Ryder Cup contests: 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004,2006, and 2008, the U.S.A. used 74 players while Europe only fielded 65.

Based on their number of appearances during this time period (1979-2008), an elite 1st and 2nd team for each region could look like this:

U.S.A.

1st Team

Captain: Jack Nicklaus (1 playing + 2 captain)

Paul Azinger (4 playing + 1 captain)
Fred Couples (5 playing)
Raymond Floyd (5 playing + 1 captain)
Jim Furyk (6 playing)
Tom Kite (7 playing + 1 captain)
Davis Love III (6 playing)
Phil Mickelson (7 playing)
Mark O’Meara (5 playing)
Curtis Strange (5 playing)
Payne Stewart (5 playing)
Lanny Wadkins (7 playing)
Tiger Woods (5 playing)

2nd Team

Captain: Tom Watson (3 playing + 1 captain)

Mark Calcavecchia (4 playing)
Chad Campbell (3 playing)
Stewart Cink (4 playing)
Ben Crenshaw (4 playing + 1 captain)
Jay Haas (3 playing)
Hale Irwin (3 playing)
Tom Lehman (3 playing + 1 captain)
Justin Leonard (3 playing)
Jeff Maggert (3 playing)
Corey Pavin (3 playing)
Hal Sutton (4 playing + 1 captain)
David Toms (3 playing)


Europe

1st Team

Captain: Tony Jacklin (1 playing + 4 captain)

Seve Ballesteros (8 playing + 1 captain)
Darren Clarke (5 playing)
Nick Faldo (10 playing + 1 captain)
Sergio Garcia (5 playing)
Padraig Harrington (5 playing)
Mark James (6 playing + 1 captain)
Bernhard Langer (10 playing + 1 captain)
Colin Montgomerie (8 playing)
Jose-Maria Olazabal (7 playing)
Sam Torrance (8 playing + 1 captain)
Lee Westwood (6 playing)
Ian Woosnam (8 playing + 1 captain)

2nd Team

Captain: Bernard Gallacher (3 playing + 3 captain)

Thomas Bjorn (2 playing)
Ken Brown (4 playing)
Jose-Maria Canizares (4 playing)
Paul Casey (3 playing)
Howard Clark (5 playing)
Miguel Angel Jimenez (3 playing)
Robert Karlsson (2 playing)
Sandy Lyle (5 playing)
Paul McGinley (3 playing)
Jesper Parnevik (3 playing)
Ian Poulter (2 playing)
Constantino Rocca (3 playing)

It would seem to be a pre-requisite of being a Ryder Cup captain that you have appeared in the team multiple times as a player. Of these elite twelves, ten Americans have served the non-playing captain role (Jack Nicklaus, Ray Floyd, Tom Watson, Lanny Wadkins, Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw, Curtis Strange, Hal Sutton, Tom Lehman, and Paul Azinger) while only eight of the Europeans have (Tony Jacklin, Bernard Gallacher, Seve Ballesteros, Mark James, Sam Torrance, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam, and Nick Faldo). This is partly due to Jacklin and Gallacher captaining Europe on a combined seven occasions. The current trend seems to be towards a new captain for each tournament, so with this in mind, the next fifteen Ryder Cup competitions (predicting thirty years ahead!) could be led by the following pairings:

U.S.A. v. Europe

2010 Hale Irwin v. Sandy Lyle

2012 Fred Couples v. Howard Clark

2014 Corey Pavin v. Jose Maria Olazabal

2016 Jay Haas v. Colin Montgomerie

2018 Mark O’Meara v. Darren Clarke

2020 Jeff Maggert v. Miguel Angel Jimenez

2022 Mark Calcavecchia v. Jesper Parnevik

2024 Davis Love III v. Paul McGinley

2026 Jim Furyk v. Padraig Harrington

2028 David Toms v. Robert Karlsson

2030 Phil Mickelson v. Lee Westwood

2032 Justin Leonard v. Sergio Garcia

2034 Tiger Woods v. Ian Poulter

2036 Chad Campbell v. Paul Casey

2038 Stewart Cink v. Justin Rose

My crystal (golf) ball isn’t perfect, but there will definitely be future captaincy stints for the likes of Jose Maria Olazabal, Colin Montgomerie, Fred Couples, and Corey Pavin. Can Tiger Woods stay fit and at the top of his game for the next two decades, breaking every record on the way, before taking over the Ryder Cup reigns for the U.S.A. in a quarter of a century from now?! And what of all the superstars who have not emerged yet? Only time will tell.

The 20 Major Film Festivals and Award Ceremonies

If you're a fan of good cinema and want to note the significant films of a given year, check out the movies recognised by these 20 major Film Festivals and Awards ceremonies. The Oscars may get the most attention each year, but you need to be aware of what is going on further afield to fully appreciate some excellent cinema.

The Top 20 List

In the USA:
Academy Awards
American Film Institute (AFI) Top 10 Lists
DGA (Directors Guild of America)
Golden Globes
Independent Spirit Awards
MTV Movie Awards
National Board of Review, USA
PGA (Producers Guild of America)
SAG (Screen Actors Guild) Awards
Sundance Film Festival
WGA (Writers Guild of America)

In Britain:
BAFTA Awards

In Canada:
Toronto Film Festival

In Australia:
Australian Film Institute Awards

In Europe:
Berlin Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
Cesar Awards, France
European Film Awards
Goya Awards, Spain
Venice Film Festival

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20 Years of the Cannes Film Festival: 1989 - 2008

Over the past two decades, the Cannes Film Festival in the South of France has grown enormously and is now one of the major launching pads for films around the world to gain a mainstream audience. In many cases movies are then catapulted into the spotlight for the prestigious Hollywood award shows such as the Golden Globes and the Oscars.

Here are the award winners and rest of the films nominated for the Palme D'Or (Golden Palm) over the past twenty installments of the Cannes Film Festival. The titles are followed by the year they were entered for Cannes, with award winners at the top of the list.

Class, The (2008) - Laurent Cantet (Golden Palm)

Gomorrah (2008) - Matteo Garrone (Grand Prize)

Divo, Il (2008) - Paolo Sorrentino (Jury Prize)

Three Monkeys (2008) - Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Best Director - Nuri Bilge Ceylan)

Argentine, The & Guerrilla (2008) - Steven Soderbergh (Best Actor - Benicio Del Toro)

Line of Passage (2008) - Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas (Best Actress - Sandra Corveloni)


4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (2007) - Cristian Mungiu (Golden Palm)

Forest of Mogari, The (2007) - Naomi Kawase (Grand Prize)

Persepolis (2007) - Marjane Satrapi; Vincent Paronnaud (Jury Prize - joint winner)

Silent Light (2007) - Carlos Reygadas (Jury Prize - joint winner)

Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) - Julian Schnabel (Best Director - Julian Schnabel)

Edge of Heaven, The (2007) - Fatih Akin (Best Screenplay)

Banishment, The (2007) - Andrei Zvyagintsev (Best Actor - Konstantin Lavronenko)

Secret Sunshine (2007) - Chang-dong Lee (Best Actress - Do-yeon Jeon)

Paranoid Park (2007) - Gus Van Sant (60th Anniversary Prize)


Wind That Shakes The Barley, The (2006) - Ken Loach (Golden Palm)

Babel (2006) - Alejandro González Iñárritu (Best Director - Alejandro G. Iñárritu)

Volver (2006) - Pedro Almodóvar (Best Screenplay & Best Actress - all of the female cast)

Days of Glory (2006) - Rachid Bouchareb (Best Actor - all of the male cast)

Flanders (2006) - Bruno Dumont (Grand Prize)

Red Road (2006) - Andrea Arnold (Jury Prize)


Child, The (2005) - Jean-Pierre Dardenne; Luc Dardenne (Golden Palm)

Broken Flowers (2005) - Jim Jarmusch (Grand Prize)

Shanghai Dreams (2005) - Xiaoshuai Wang (Jury Prize)

Hidden (2005) - Michael Haneke (Best Director - Michael Haneke)

Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, The (2005) - Tommy Lee Jones (Best Screenplay & Best Actor - Tommy Lee Jones)

Free Zone (2005) - Amos Gitai (Best Actress - Hana Laszlo)


Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) - Michael Moore (Golden Palm)

Oldboy (2004) - Chan-wook Park (Grand Prize)

Ladykillers, The (2004) - Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (Jury Prize - joint winner - for Irma P. Hall)

Tropical Malady (2004) - Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Jury Prize - joint winner)

Exiles (2004) - Tony Gatlif (Best Director - Tony Gatlif)

Look At Me (2004) - Agnès Jaoui (Best Screenplay)

Nobody Knows (2004) - Hirokazu Koreeda (Best Actor - Yuya Yagira)

Clean (2004) - Olivier Assayas (Best Actress - Maggie Cheung)


Elephant (2003) - Gus Van Sant (Golden Palm & Best Director - Gus Van Sant)

Uzak (2003) - Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Grand Prize & Best Actor - Muzaffer Ozdemir & Emin Toprak)

At Five In The Afternoon (2003) - Samira Makhmalbaf (Jury Prize)

Barbarian Invasions, The (2003) - Denys Arcand (Best Screenplay & Best Actress - Marie-Josee Croze)


Pianist, The (2002) - Roman Polanski (Golden Palm)

Man Without a Past, The (2002) - Aki Kaurismäki (Grand Prize & Best Actress - Kati Outinen)

Divine Intervention (2002) - Elia Suleiman (Jury Prize)

Punch-Drunk Love (2002) - Paul Thomas Anderson (Best Director - Paul Thomas Anderson - joint winner)

Drunk On Women and Poetry (2002) - Kwon-taek Im (Best Director - Kwon-taek Im - joint winner)

Sweet Sixteen (2002) - Ken Loach (Best Screenplay)

Son, The (2002) - Luc Dardenne and Jean-Pierre Dardenne (Best Actor - Olivier Gourmet)

Bowling for Columbine (2002) - Michael Moore (55th Anniversary Prize)


Son's Room, The (2001) - Nanni Moretti (Golden Palm)

Piano Teacher, The (2001) - Michael Haneke (Grand Prize, Actor - Benoit Magimel, Actress - Isabelle Huppert)

Man Who Wasn't There, The (2001) - Joel Coen (Best Director - Joel Coen - joint winner)

Mulholland Dr. (2001) - David Lynch (Best Director - David Lynch - joint winner)

No Man's Land (2001) - Danis Tanovic (Best Screenplay)


Dancer In The Dark (2000) - Lars von Trier (Golden Palm & Best Actress - Bjork)

Devils On The Doorstep (2000) - Wen Jiang (Grand Prize)

Blackboards (2000) - Samira Makhmalbaf (Jury Prize - joint winner)

Songs From The Second Floor (2000) - Roy Andersson (Jury Prize - joint winner)

Yi Yi: A One and a Two (2000) - Edward Yang (Best Director - Edward Yang)

Nurse Betty (2000) - Neil LaBute (Best Screenplay)

In The Mood for Love (2000) - Wong Kar Wai (Best Actor - Tony Leung)


Rosetta (1999) - Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne Golden Palm & Best Actress - Emilie Dequenne - joint winner)

L'Humanite (1999) - Bruno Dumont (Grand Prize, Actor - Emmanuel Schotte, Actress - Severine Caneele)

Letter, The (1999) - Manoel de Oliveira (Jury Prize)

All About My Mother (1999) - Pedro Almodóvar (Best Director - Pedro Almodovar)

Moloch (1999) - Aleksandr Sokurov (Best Screenplay)


Eternity and A Day (1998) - Theodoros Angelopoulos (Golden Palm)

Life Is Beautiful (1998) - Roberto Benigni (Grand Prize)

Festen (Celebration) (1998) - Thomas Vinterberg (Jury Prize - joint winner)

Class Trip (1998) - Claude Miller (Jury Prize - joint winner)

General, The (1998) - John Boorman (Best Director - John Boorman)

Henry Fool (1998) - Hal Hartley (Best Screenplay)

My Name Is Joe (1998) - Ken Loach (Best Actor - Peter Mullan)

Dream Life of Angels, The (1998) - Erick Zonca (Best Actress - Elodie Bouchez & Natacha Regnier - joint winners)


Taste of Cherry, A (1997) - Abbas Kiarostami (Golden Palm - joint winner)

Eel, The (1997) - Shohei Imamura (Golden Palm - joint winner)

Sweet Hereafter, The (1997) - Atom Egoyan (Grand Prize)

Western (1997) - Manuel Poirier (Jury Prize)

Happy Together (1997) - Wong Kar Wai (Best Director - Wong Kar Wai)

Ice Storm, The (1997) - Ang Lee (Best Screenplay)

She's So Lovely (1997) - Nick Cassavetes (Best Actor - Sean Penn)

Nil by Mouth (1997) - Gary Oldman (Best Actress - Kathy Burke)


Secrets & Lies (1996) - Mike Leigh Golden Palm & Best Actress - Brenda Blethyn

Breaking the Waves (1996) - Lars von Trier (Grand Prize)

Crash (1996) - David Cronenberg (Jury Special Prize)

Fargo (1996) - Joel Coen (Best Director - Joel Coen)

Self-Made Hero, A (1996) - Jacques Audiard (Best Screenplay)

Eighth Day, The (1996) - Jaco van Dormael (Best Actor - Daniel Auteuil and Pascal Duquenne - joint winners)


Underground (1995) - Emir Kusturica Golden Palm

Ullyses' Gaze (1995) - Theodoros Angelopoulos (Grand Prize)

Don't Forget You're Going To Die (1995) - Xavier Beauvois (Jury Prize)

Carrington (1995) - Christopher Hampton (Jury Special Prize & Best Actor - Jonathan Pryce)

Haine, La (1995) - Mathieu Kassovitz (Best Director - Mathieu Kassovitz)

Madness of King George, The (1995) - Nicholas Hytner (Best Actress - Helen Mirren)


Pulp Fiction (1994) - Quentin Tarantino (Golden Palm)

Burnt By The Sun (1994) - Nikita Mikhalkov (Grand Prize of the Jury - joint winner)

To Live (1994) - Yimou Zhang (Grand Prize of the Jury - joint winner) and Best Actor - You Ge)

Reine Margot, La (1994) - Patrice Chéreau (Jury Prize & Best Actress - Virna Lisi)

Dear Diary (1994) - Nanni Moretti (Best Director - Nanni Moretti)

Dead Tired (1994) - Michel Blanc (Best Screenplay)


Piano, The (1993) - Jane Campion (Golden Palm - joint winner and Best Actress - Holly Hunter)

Farewell My Concubine (1993) - Chen Kaige (Golden Palm - joint winner)

Faraway, So Close! (1993) - Wim Wenders (Grand Prize)

Raining Stones (1993) - Ken Loach (Jury Prize - joint winner)

Puppetmaster, The (1993) - Hsiao-hsien Hou (Jury Prize - joint winner)

Naked (1993) - Mike Leigh (Best Actor - David Thewlis and Best Director - Mike Leigh)


Best Intentions, The (1992) - Bille August (Golden Palm & Best Actress - Pernilla August)

Stolen Children, The (1992) - Gianni Amelio Grand Prize

Dream of Light, The (Quince Tree of the Sun) (1992) - Víctor Erice (Jury Prize - joint winner)

Independent Life, An (1992) - Vitali Kanevsky (Jury Prize - joint winner)

Player, The (1992) - Robert Altman (Best Actor - Tim Robbins and Best Director - Robert Altman)

Howards End (1992) - James Ivory (45th Anniversary Prize)


Barton Fink (1991) - Joel Coen (Golden Palm and Best Actor - John Turturro and Best Director - Joel Coen)

Belle noiseuse, La (1991) - Jacques Rivette (Grand Prize)

Europa (1991) - Lars von Trier (Jury Prize - joint winner)

Out of Life (1991) - Maroun Bagdadi (Jury Prize - joint winner)

Double Life of Véronique, The (1991) - Krzysztof Kieslowski (Best Actress - Irene Jacob)

Jungle Fever (1991) - Spike Lee (Best Supporting Actor - Samuel L. Jackson)


Wild at Heart (1990) - David Lynch (Golden Palm)

Sting of Death, The (1990) - Kôhei Oguri (Grand Prize - joint winner)

Law, The (Tilai) (1990) - Idrissa Ouedraogo (Grand Prize - joint winner)

Hidden Agenda (1990) - Ken Loach (Jury Prize)

Taxi Blues (1990) - Pavel Lungin (Best Director - Pavel Lungin)

Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) - Jean-Paul Rappeneau (Best Actor - Gerard Depardieu)

Interrogation, The (1990 - 8 years after release) - Ryszard Bugajski (Best Actress - Krystyna Janda)


sex, lies, and videotape (1989) - Steven Soderbergh (Golden Palm and Best Actor - James Spader)

Cinema Paradiso (1989) - Giuseppe Tornatore (Grand Prize - joint winner)

Trop Belle Pour Toi (1989) - Bertrand Blier (Grand Prize - joint winner)

Jesus of Montréal (1989) - Denys Arcand (Jury Prize)

Time of the Gypsies (1989) - Emir Kusturica (Best Director - Emir Kusturica)

Cry In The Dark, A (Evil Angels) (1989) - Fred Schepisi (Best Actress - Meryl Streep)


2046 (2004) - Kar Wai Wong
24 City (2008) - Zhang Ke Jia
24 Hour Party People (2002) - Michael Winterbottom
8 ½ Women (1999) - Peter Greenaway
About Schmidt (2002) - Alexander Payne
Adoration (2008) - Atom Egoyan
Adversary, The (2002) - Nicole Garcia
Alexandra (2007) - Aleksandr Sokurov
All or Nothing (2002/I) - Mike Leigh
Angels and Insects (1995) - Philip Haas
Anna Karamazoff (1991) - Rustam Khamdamov
Aprile (1998) - Nanni Moretti
Assassin of the Tsar, The (1993) - Karen Shakhnazarov
Assassin(s) (1997) - Mathieu Kassovitz
Barnabo of the Mountains (1994) - Mario Brenta
Bashing (2005) - Masahiro Kobayashi
Basic Instinct (1992) - Jerry Goldsmith
Battle In Heaven (2005) - Carlos Reygadas
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (1995) - Marion Hänsel
Beyond Rangoon (1995) - John Boorman
Bix (1991) - Pupi Avati
Black Rain (1989) - Shohei Imamura
Blindness (2008) - Fernando Meirelles
Body Snatchers (1993) - Abel Ferrara
Brave, The (1997) - Johnny Depp
Bread and Roses (2000) - Ken Loach
Breath (2007) - Ki-duk Kim
Bright Future (2003) - Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Broken Highway (1993) - Laurie McInnes
Brown Bunny, The (2003) - Vincent Gallo
Browning Version, The (1994) - Mike Figgis
Caimano, Il (2006) - Nanni Moretti
Captive of the Desert (1990) - Raymond Depardon
Carandiru (2003) - Hector Babenco
Casanova's Return (1992) - Edouard Niermans
Changeling (2008) - Clint Eastwood
Chimère (1989) - Claire Devers
Christmas Tale, A (2008) - Arnaud Desplechin
Chronicle of an Escape (2006) - Adrián Caetano
Chunhyang (2000) - Kwon-taek Im
City of Lost Children, The (1995) - Jean-Pierre Jeunet; Marc Caro
Claire Dolan (1998) - Lodge Kerrigan
Climates (2006) - Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Code Unknown (2000) - Michael Haneke
Cold Moon (1991) - Patrick Bouchitey
Colossal Youth (2006) - Pedro Costa
Come See the Paradise (1990) - Alan Parker
Confucian Confusion, A (1994) - Edward Yang
Consequences of Love, The (2004) - Paolo Sorrentino
Convent, The (1995) - Manoel de Oliveira
Côtelettes, Les (2003) - Bertrand Blier
Cradle Will Rock (1999) - Tim Robbins
Crush (1992) - Alison Maclean
Dance Me to My Song (1998) - Rolf de Heer
Dark At Noon, or Eyes and Lies (1993) - Raoul Ruiz
Dead Man (1995) - Jim Jarmusch
Death Proof (2007) - Quentin Tarantino
Delta (2008) - Kornél Mundruczó
Demonlover (2002) - Olivier Assayas
Desert Moon (2001) - Shinji Aoyama
Destinées Sentimentales, Les (2000) - Olivier Assayas
Destiny (1997) - Youssef Chahine
Distance (2001) - Hirokazu Koreeda
Do the Right Thing (1989) - Spike Lee
Dogville (2003) - Lars von Trier
Don't Come Knocking (2005) - Wim Wenders
Drifting Clouds (1996) - Aki Kaurismäki
Dyuba-Dyuba (1993) - Aleksandr Khvan
Ear, The (Ucho) (1990 - 20 years after release) - Karel Kachyna
Ed Wood (1994) - Tim Burton
Edukators, The (2004) - Hans Weingartner
Election (2005) - Johnny To
Eloge De L'Amour (2001) - Jean-Luc Godard
Emperor and the Assassin, The (1998) - Chen Kaige
End of Violence, The (1997) - Wim Wenders
Esther Kahn (2000) - Arnaud Desplechin
Eureka (2000) - Shinji Aoyama
Everybody's Fine (1990) - Giuseppe Tornatore
Exotica (1994) - Atom Egoyan
Faithless (2000) - Liv Ullmann
Falling Down (1993) - Joel Schumacher
Family Friend, The (2006) - Paolo Sorrentino
Fast Food Fast Women (2000) - Amos Kollek
Fast Food Nation (2006) - Richard Linklater
Father and Son (2003) - Aleksandr Sokurov
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) - Terry Gilliam
Felicia's Journey (1999) - Atom Egoyan
Fiorile (1993) - Vittorio Taviani; Paolo Taviani
Flesh, The (1991) - Marco Ferreri
Flowers of Shanghai (1998) - Hsiao-hsien Hou
Foolish Heart (1996) - Hector Babenco
Forbidden Woman, The (1997) - Philippe Harel
Francesco (1989) - Liliana Cavani
Frauds (1993) - Stephan Elliott
Friends (1993) - Elaine Proctor
Frontier of Dawn, The (2008) - Philippe Garrel
Funny Games (1997) - Michael Haneke
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) - Jim Jarmusch
Golden Bowl, The (2000) - James Ivory
Good Men, Good Women (1995) - Hsiao-hsien Hou
Goodbye South, Goodbye (1996) - Hsiao-hsien Hou
Guilty by Suspicion (1991) - Irwin Winkler
Harry He's Here To Help (2000) - Dominik Moll
Headless Woman, The (2008) - Lucrecia Martel
Heart is Everywhere, The (2003) - Pupi Avati
History of Violence, A (2005) - David Cronenberg
Holy Girl, The (2004) - Lucrecia Martel
Homicide (1991) - David Mamet
Hudsucker Proxy, The (1994) - Joel Coen
Hyenas (1992) - Djibril Diop Mambéty
Idiots, The (1998) - Lars von Trier
Illuminata (1998) - John Turturro
I'm Going Home (2001) - Manoel de Oliveira
Import/Export (2007) - Ulrich Seidl
In The Country of Juliets (1992) - Mehdi Charef
Innocence: Ghost in the Shell (2004/I) - Mamoru Oshii
Irréversible (2002) - Gaspar Noé
Jefferson in Paris (1995) - James Ivory
Ju Dou (1990) - Yimou Zhang
Kadosh (1999) - Amos Gitai
Kandahar (2001) - Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Kansas City (1996) - Robert Altman
Kedma (2002) - Amos Gitai
Khrustalyov, My Car! (1998) - Aleksei German
Kids (1995) - Larry Clark
Kikujiro (1999) - Takeshi Kitano
Kilometre Zero (2005) - Hiner Saleem
King of the Hill (1993) - Steven Soderbergh
King's Whore, The (1990) - Axel Corti
Kini and Adams (1997) - Idrissa Ouedraogo
Kippur (2000) - Amos Gitai
Kish Tales (1999) - Abolfazl Jalili, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Naser Taghvai
Kuarup (1989) - Ruy Guerra
L.A. Confidential (1997) - Curtis Hanson
Land and Freedom (1995) - Ken Loach
Last Dance, The (1998) - Ming-liang Tsai
Last Days (2005) - Gus Van Sant
Last Mistress, The (2007) - Catherine Breillat
Lemming (2005) - Dominik Moll
Léolo (1992) - Jean-Claude Lauzon
Les Chansons D'Amour (2007) - Christophe Honoré
Libera me (1993) - Alain Cavalier
Life According to Luc (1991) - Jean-Paul Civeyrac
Life and Death of Peter Sellers, The (2004) - Stephen Hopkins
Life Is a Miracle (2004) - Emir Kusturica
Life On A String (1991) - Chen Kaige
Lights In The Dusk (2006) - Aki Kaurismäki
Limbo (1999) - John Sayles
Lion's Den (2008) - Pablo Trapero
Little Lili (2003) - Claude Miller
Long Day Closes, The (1992) - Terence Davies
Lost Angels (1989) - Hugh Hudson
Louis, The Child King (1993) - Roger Planchon
Love Will Tear Us Apart (1999) - Nelson Yu Lik-wai
Luna Park (1992) - Pavel Lungin
Magnificat (1993) - Pupi Avati
Malina (1991) - Werner Schroeter
Man By The Shore, The (1993) - Raoul Peck
Man From London, The (2007) - Béla Tarr
Manderlay (2005) - Lars von Trier
Marie Antoinette (2006) - Sofia Coppola
Marie-Jo and Her Two Lovers (2002) - Robert Guédiguian
Mazeppa (1993) - Bartabas
Millennium Mambo (2001) - Hsiao-hsien Hou
Mondovino (2004) - Jonathan Nossiter
Monsieur Hire (1989) - Patrice Leconte
Moon Child / The Son of the Moon (1989) - Agustí Villaronga
Mother (1989) - Gleb Panfilov
Motorcycle Diaries, The (2004) - Walter Salles
Moulin Rouge! (2001) - Baz Luhrmann
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994) - Alan Rudolph
Much Ado About Nothing (1993) - Kenneth Branagh
My Blueberry Nights (2007) - Kar Wai Wong
My Favourite Season (1993) - André Téchiné
My Magic (2008) - Eric Khoo
My Own (1994) - Shaji N. Karun
My Sex Life .... Or How I Got Into An Argument (1996) - Arnaud Desplechin
Mystery Train (1989) - Jim Jarmusch
Mystic River (2003) - Clint Eastwood
Nanny, The (1999) - Marco Bellocchio
Nasty Love (1995) - Mario Martone
Neon Bible, The (1995) - Terence Davies
New Wave (1990) - Jean-Luc Godard
No Country for Old Men (2007) - Joel Coen; Ethan Coen
No One Writes to the Colonel (1999) - Arturo Ripstein
Noce, La (1991) - Joëlle Bouvier; Regis Obadia
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) - Joel Coen
Of Mice and Men (1992) - Gary Sinise
Officer's Ward, The (2001) - François Dupeyron
Once You're Born You Can No Longer Hide (2005) - Marco Tullio Giordana
Our Happy Lives (1999) - Jacques Maillot
Palermo Shooting (2008) - Wim Wenders
Pan's Labyrinth (2006) - Guillermo del Toro
Patriots, The (1994) - Eric Rochant
Pau and His Brother (2001) - Marc Recha
Picture Bride (1994) - Kayo Hatta
Pledge, The (2001) - Sean Penn
Pola X (1999) - Leos Carax
Prince of Homburg, The (1997) - Marco Bellocchio
Profession of Arms, The (2001) - Ermanno Olmi
Promise Me This (2007) - Emir Kusturica
Pure Formality, A (1994) - Giuseppe Tornatore
Purple Butterfly (2003) - Ye Lou
Queen of the Night, The (1994) - Arturo Ripstein
Quiet Room, The (1996) - Rolf de Heer
Rage in Harlem, A (1991) - Bill Duke
Raison du plus faible, La (2006) - Lucas Belvaux
Religion Hour, The (2002) - Marco Bellocchio
Replay (2001) - Catherine Corsini
Reunion (1989) - Jerry Schatzberg
Rice People, The (1994) - Rithy Panh
Ridicule (1996) - Patrice Leconte
Roberto Succo (2001) - Cédric Kahn
Rodrigo D: No future (1990) - Víctor Gaviria
Rosalie Goes Shopping (1989) - Percy Adlon
Rose Seller, The (1998) - Víctor Gaviria
Russian Ark (2002) - Aleksandr Sokurov
Ryaba My Chicken (1994) - Andrei Konchalovsky
School of Flesh, The (1998) - Benoît Jacquot
Scorta, La (1993) - Ricky Tognazzi
Second Time, The (1995) - Mimmo Calopresti
Selon Charlie (2006) - Nicole Garcia
Sentinelle, La (1992) - Arnaud Desplechin
Serpent's Kiss, The (1997) - Philippe Rousselot
Service (2008) - Brillante Mendoza
Shanghai Triad (1995) - Yimou Zhang
Shara (2003) - Naomi Kawase
Sharaku (1995) - Masahiro Shinoda
Shrek (2001) - Vicky Jenson; Andrew Adamson
Shrek 2 (2004) - Andrew Adamson; Kelly Asbury; Conrad Vernon
Silence of Lorna, The (2008) - J.P. Dardenne; Luc Dardenne
Simple Men (1992) - Hal Hartley
Sin City (2005) - Frank Miller; Robert Rodriguez
Singer, The (2006) - Xavier Giannoli
Snail's Senator, The (1995) - Mircea Daneliuc
Southland Tales (2006) - Richard Kelly
Spider (2002) - David Cronenberg
Spider's Web (1989) - Bernhard Wicki
Splendor (1989) - Ettore Scola
Splitting Heirs (1993) - Robert Young
Stealing Beauty (1996) - Bernardo Bertolucci
Stories From The Kronen (1995) - Montxo Armendáriz
Straight Story, The (1999) - David Lynch
Stranger Among Us, A (1992) - Sidney Lumet
Strayed (2003) - André Téchiné
Summer Palace (2006) - Ye Lou
Sunchaser, The (1996) - Michael Cimino
Suspended Step of the Stork, The (1991) - Theodoros Angelopoulos
Sweetie (1989) - Jane Campion
Swimming Pool (2003) - François Ozon
Synecdoche, New York (2008) - Charlie Kaufman
Taboo (1999) - Nagisa Oshima
Tale of Cinema (2005) - Sang-soo Hong
Tehilim (2007) - Raphaël Nadjari
Telets (2001) - Aleksandr Sokurov
Temptress Moon (1996) - Kaige Chen
Ten (2002) - Abbas Kiarostami
That Day (2003) - Raoul Ruiz
These Foolish Things (Daddy Nostalgie) (1990) - Bertrand Tavernier
Those Who Love Me Can Take The Train (1998) - Patrice Chéreau
Three Lives and Only One Death (1996) - Raoul Ruiz
Three Times (2005) - Hsiao-hsien Hou
Through The Olive Trees (1994) - Abbas Kiarostami
Tierra (1996) - Julio Medem
Time Regained (1999) - Raoul Ruiz
Tiresia (2003) - Bertrand Bonello
To Paint or Make Love (2005) - Arnaud Larrieu; J-M Larrieu
Too Late (1996) - Lucian Pintilie
Torrents of Spring (1989) - Jerzy Skolimowski
Tree of Blood (1996) - Flora Gomes
Trois couleurs: Rouge (1994) - Krzysztof Kieslowski
Truce (1997) - Francesco Rosi
Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story, The (2003) - Peter Greenaway
Turbulence (2000) - Ruy Guerra
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) - David Lynch
Two Lovers (2008) - James Gray
Uncertainty, Principle, The (2002) - Manoel de Oliveira
Unforgettable Summer, An (1994) - Lucian Pintilie
Unknown Pleasures (2002) - Zhang Ke Jia
Va Savoir (2001) - Jacques Rivette
Van Gogh (1991) - Maurice Pialat
Van, The (1996) - Stephen Frears
Velvet Goldmine (1998) - Todd Haynes
Violin Player, The (1994) - Charles Van Damme
Voleurs, Les (1996) - André Téchiné
Voyage, The (1992) - Fernando E. Solanas
Waati (1995) - Souleymane Cissé
Waltz with Bashir (2008) - Ari Folman
Warm Water Under a Red Bridge (2001) - Shohei Imamura
We Own the Night (2007) - James Gray
Wedding, The (2000) - Pavel Lungin
Welcome to Sarajevo (1997) - Michael Winterbottom
Well, The (1997) - Samantha Lang
What Time Is It There? (2001) - Ming-liang Tsai
Where the Truth Lies (2005) - Atom Egoyan
White Hunter Black Heart (1990) - Clint Eastwood
Whores, The (1994) - Aurelio Grimaldi
Woman Is the Future of Man (2004) - Sang-soo Hong
Women On The Roof, The (1989) - Carl-Gustav Nykvist
Wonderland (1999) - Michael Winterbottom
Xime (1994) - Sana Na N'Hada
Yards, The (2000) - James Gray
Yes Man, The (1991) - Daniele Luchetti
Zodiac (2007) - David Fincher

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Adam Duritz of Counting Crows

My girlfriend, Izabela, and I filmed Adam Duritz of Counting Crows arriving at the stage door of the "Late Show With David Letterman" in Manhattan in March 2008.

I asked him to "say hello to England!"

Manchester United Depth Chart 2008 - 2009

Players as of 3rd September, 2008

Squad numbers from 1-41 are official. Higher numbers are my creation!

The 2008-2009 season has begun with Manchester United introducing a number of young faces to its first team squad. Notable promotions from the Reserves include the Brazilian twins, Rafael and Fabio Da Silva (at right back and left back respectively), midfielders Rodrigo Possabon and Darron Gibson, and strikers Fraizer Campbell (now on-loan at Spurs as part of the Berbatov deal) and Danny Welbeck. I'm also excited at the prospect of seeing Angolan striker Manucho in action! For the early part of the season Utd fans have not seen Cristiano Ronaldo, Owen Hargreaves, Park Ji-Sung, or Ben Foster, while a further six fringe players are away on loan to other clubs.

Hopefully Dimitar Berbatov will do a great job of filling the number 9 shirt, as he replaces Louis Saha who has moved to Everton.

GOALKEEPER
1 Edwin Van Der Sar
29 Tomasz Kuszczak
12 Ben Foster
38 Ron-Robert Zieler
40 Ben Amos

43 Tom Heaton (on loan to Cardiff)
64 Conor Devlin
68 Gary Woods


RIGHT BACK
6 Wes Brown
21 Rafael Da Silva
25 Danny Simpson (on loan to Blackburn)
36 David Gray

47 Richard Eckersley


RIGHT CENTRE BACK
5 Rio Ferdinand
2 Gary Neville
37 Craig Cathcart (on loan to Plymouth)

55 Joe Dudgeon
62 Kenny Strickland


LEFT CENTRE BACK
15 Nemanja Vidic
23 Jonny Evans
39 James Chester

51 Reece Brown (younger brother of Wes Brown!)
58 Scott Wootton
63 Oliver Gill


LEFT BACK
3 Patrice Evra
22 John O’Shea
20 Fabio Da Silva

67 Scott Moffatt


RIGHT MIDFIELD
16 Michael Carrick
4 Owen Hargreaves
35 Rodrigo Possebon
28 Darron Gibson

44 Danny Drinkwater
46 Jimmy Derbyshire
53 Corry Evans
60 Matt James


LEFT MIDFIELD
18 Paul Scholes
8 Luis De Abreu Anderson
33 Sam Hewson

34 Tom Cleverley
49 Magnus Wolff Eikrem
50 Davide Petrucci
56 Oliver Norwood
59 Cameron Stewart


RIGHT WING
7 Cristiano Ronaldo
24 Darren Fletcher
13 Park Ji-Sung

57 Chris Curran


RIGHT STRIKER
10 Wayne Rooney
32 Carlos Tevez
31 Fraizer Campbell (on loan to Tottenham)
45 Febian Brandy (on loan to Swansea)

52 Evandro Brandao
-- Nick Ajose


LEFT STRIKER
9 Dimitar Berbatov
26 Goncalves Manucho
19 Danny Welbeck
41 Federico Macheda

48 Antonio Bryan
61 Joshua King


LEFT WING
17 Luis Carlos Nani
11 Ryan Giggs
30 Lee Martin (on loan to Nottingham Forest)

54 Daniel Galbraith
65 Robert Brady


Shirt numbers not being used: 14, 27

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If I was in Sir Alex's shoes, my personal selection (with conventional shirt numbering!) would be as follows:

1 Ben Foster

2 Owen Hargreaves
5 Rio Ferdinand
6 Nemanja Vidic
3 Patrice Evra

4 Michael Carrick
8 Anderson

7 Cristiano Ronaldo
11 Nani

10 Wayne Rooney
9 Dimitar Berbatov


Subs:
12 Gary Neville
13 Edwin Van Der Sar
14 Paul Scholes
15 John O'Shea
16 Ryan Giggs
17 Carlos Tevez

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