Oscar Watch

In the 22nd July issue of Entertainment Weekly, they predicted the big players in next year's Oscar race. Too early for predictions? Don't doubt these guys. Their predictions can be very eerily accurate. They dare to predict the nominees for the major awards and easily get 3 out of 5 correct.

So read on to get ahead of your usual movie crowd and impress them with your early talk of some of the most talked-about movies in town come this Oscar season in late February 2006.

Start the clock clicking ...
(excerpts and pictures taken from imdb.com)

ALL THE KING'S MEN
Who's starring: Sean Penn, James Gandolfini, Anthony Hopkins, Jude Law, Patricia Clarkson, John Lovett, Mark Ruffalo, Kate Winslet
Who writes: Steven Zaillian based on a novel by Robert Penn Warren
Who directs: Steven Zaillian
What's it about: Based on the Robert Penn Warren novel. The life of populist Southerner Willie Stark, a political creature loosely based on Governor Huey Long of Louisiana.


BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Who's starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Linda Cardellini, Anna Faris, Anne Hathaway, Randy Quaid, Michelle Williams
Who writes: Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana based on a short story by E. Annie Proulx
Who directs: Ang Lee
What's it about: A raw, powerful story of two young men, a Wyoming ranch hand and a rodeo cowboy, who meet in the summer of 1963 sheepherding in the harsh, high grasslands of contemporary Wyoming and form an unorthodox yet life-long bond--by turns ecstatic, bitter and conflicted.





BROKEN FLOWES
Who’s starring: Bill Murray, Jeffrey Wright, Sharon Stone, Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange, Tilda Swinton, Julie Delpy
Who writes: Jim Jarmusch
Who directs: Jim Jarmusch
What’s it about: As the devoutly single Don Johnston (Murray) is dumped by his latest girlfriend (Delpy), he receives a anonymous pink letter informing him that he has a son who may be looking for him. The situation causes Don to examine his relationships with women instead of moving on to the next one, and he embarks on a cross-country search for his old flames who might possess clues to the mystery at hand.


ELIZABETHTOWN
Who's starring: Kirsten Dunst, Orlando Bloom, Susan Sarandon, Judy Greer, Jessica Biel
Who writes: Cameron Crowe
Who directs: Cameron Crowe
What's it about: During an outrageous memorial for a Southern patriarch, an unexpected romance blooms between a young woman and man.




GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK
Who’s starring: David Strathairn, Robert Downey Jr., George Clooney, Frank Langella, Ray Wise, Patricia Clarkson, Jeff Daniels
Who writes: George Clooney, Grant Heslov
Who directs: George Clooney
What’s it about: It chronicles the real-life conflict between television newsman Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee. With a desire to report the facts and enlighten the public, Murrow, and his dedicated staff - headed by his producer Fred Friendly and Joe Wershba in the CBS newsroom - defy corporate and sponsorship pressures to examine the lies and scaremongering tactics perpetrated by McCarthy during his communist 'witch-hunts'. A very public feud develops when the Senator responds by accusing the anchor of being a communist. In this climate of fear and reprisal, the CBS crew carries on and their tenacity will prove historic and monumental.


A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
Who’s starring: Viggo Mortensen, Ed Harris, Maria Bello, William Hurt
Who writes: Josh Olson based on the graphic novel John Wagner and Vince Locke
Who directs: David Cronenberg
What’s it about: An average family is thrust into the spotlight after the father commits a seemingly self-defense murder at his diner.


JARHEAD
Who’s starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard, Lucas Black, Chris Cooper
Who writes: William Broyles Jr. based on a book by Anthony Swofford
Who directs: Sam Mendes
What’s it about: Based on former Marine Anthony Swofford's best-selling 2003 book about his pre-Desert Storm experiences in Saudi Arabia and about his experiences fighting in Kuwait.


MATCH POINT
Who’s starring: Woody Allen, Brian Cox, Matthew Goode, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, James Nesbitt, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers
Who writes: Woody Allen
Who directs: Woody Allen
What’s it about: At a turning point in his life, the former tennis pro Chris (Rhys-Meyers) falls for Nola (Johansson), a femme fatal type who happens to be dating TOM (Goode), Chris's nemesis and soon-to-be brother-in-law.


MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
Who’s starring: Zhang Ziyi, Ken Wantanbe, Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh, Yuki Kudo, Koji Yakusho, Karl Yune, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Who writes: Akiva Goldsman, Ron Bass, Robin Swicord based on a novel by Arthur Golden
Who directs: Rob Marshall
What’s it about: Based on the international best-seller by Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha is an epic story of Nitta Sayuri who transcended her fishing-village roots and became one of Japan's most celebrated geisha.


THE NEW WORLD
Who’s starring: Colin Farrell, Christian Bale, David Thewlis, Christopher Plummer, Noah Taylor, Q'orianka Kilcher, Michael Greyeyes, August Schellenberg, Wes Studi, Raoul Trujillo, Yorick van Wageningen, Will Wallace
Who writes: Terrence Malick
Who directs: Terrence Malick
What’s it about: A Terrence Malick-scripted drama about explorer John Smith and the clash between Native Americans and English settlers in the 17th century.







THE PRODUCERS
Who’s starring: Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Will Ferrell, Roger Bart, Gary Beach, Uma Thurman
Who writes: Mel Brooks, Thomas Meehan
Who directs: Susan Stroman
What’s it about: Bringing the Tony-Award Winning musical back to the big screen -The Producers tells the story of a down on his luck producer (Lane) and his accountant (Broderick) and their get rich quick plan.


RENT
Who’s starring: Rosario Dawson, Taye Diggs, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Jesse L. Martin, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Tracie Thoms
Who writes: Chris Columbus, Steve Chbosky based on a play by Jonathan Larson
Who directs: Chris Columbus
What’s it about: This is the film version of the Pulitzer and Tony Award winning musical about Bohemians in the East Village of New York City struggling with life, love and AIDS, and the impacts they have on America.


SYRIANA
Who’s starring: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Chris Cooper, Tim Blake Nelson, Amanda Peet, Christopher Plummer
Who writes: Stephen Gaghan
Who directs: Stephen Gaghan
What’s it about: A first-person account of the CIA's false confidence concerning the future of Middle East after the end of the Cold War.

MUNICH
Who’s starring: Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Geoffrey Rush, Mathieu Kassovitz, Hanns Zischler, Ciar án Hinds
Who writes: Tony Kushner, Eric Roth
Who directs: Steven Spielberg
What’s it about: In the tragic aftermath of the 1972 Munich Olympics, a Mossad agent (Bana) tracks Palestinian terrorists who assassinated Israeli athletes.



WALK THE LINE
Who’s starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick
Who writes: James Mangold, Gill Dennis
Who directs: James Mangold
What’s it about: A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.

THE CONSTANT GARDENER
Who’s starring: Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Pernilla August, Danny Huston, Hubert Kounde
Who writes: Jeffrey Caine based on a novel by John Le Carré
Who directs: Fernando Meirelles
What’s it about: When Justin Quayle's (Fiennes) wife is brutally murdered, everyone assumes the mild-mannered, retiring man will go on with his unassuming life. Instead Quayle surprises them all. Determined to uncover the truth, Quayle launches himself into a world of intrigue and conspiracy. Haunted by remorse and jarred by rumors of his wife's infidelity Quayle is determined to "finish what she started," placing himself at the center of a dangerous odyssey.

CINDERELLA MAN
Who’s starring: Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, Craig Bierko, Bruce McGill, Paddy Considine
Who writes: Cliff Hollingsworth, C. Gaby Mitchell, Akiva Goldsman
Who directs: Ron Howard
What’s it about: The story of Depression-era fighter and folk hero Jim Braddock, who defeated heavyweight champ Max Baer in a 15-round slugfest in 1935.

CRASH
Who’s starring: Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner, Brendan Fraser, Ludacris, Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe, Larenz Tate, Nona Gaye
Who writes: Paul Haggis, Bobby Moresco
Who directs: Paul Haggis
What’s it about: A car accident brings together a group of strangers in Los Angeles.


PROOF
Who’s starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins, Hope Davis, Jake Gyllenhaal
Who writes:David Auburn, Rebecca Miller based on a play by David Auburn
Who directs: John Madden
What's it about: The daughter of a brilliant but mentally disturbed mathematician, recently deceased, tries to come to grips with her possible inheritance: his insanity. Complicating matters are one of her father's ex-students who wants to search through his papers and her estranged sister who shows up to help settle his affairs.