2008 Golden Dolphin Awards

Best Picture:
Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin – The Wrestler
Céan Chaffin, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks – Milk
Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass – Baghead
Mark Roybal, Scott Rudin – Doubt

Best Director:
Darren Aronofsky – The Wrestler
David Fincher – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Tarsem Singh – The Fall
Ben Stiller – Tropic Thunder
Gus Van Sant – Milk

Best Actor:
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Sam Rockwell – Snow Angels
Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler
Steve Zissis – Baghead

Best Actress:
Cate Blanchett – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky
Melissa Leo – Frozen River
Meryl Streep – Doubt
Kate Winslet – The Reader

Best Supporting Actor:
Tom Cruise – Tropic Thunder
Robert Downey Jr. – Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt
Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight
Brad Pitt – Burn After Reader

Best Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams – Doubt
Viola Davis – Doubt
Taraji P. Henson – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frances McDormand – Burn After Reading
Samantha Morton – Synedoche, New York

Best Ensemble Performance:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Milk
Synecdoche, NY
Tropic Thunder

Best Original Screenplay:
Dustin Lance Black – Milk
Etan Cohen, Ben Stiller, Justin Theroux - Tropic Thunder
Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass – Baghead
Charlie Kaufman - Synecdoche, NY
Robert D. Siegel – The Wrestler

Best Adapted Screenplay:
David S. Goyer, Christopher Nolan, Jonathon Nolan – The Dark Knight
David Gordon Green - Snow Angels
David Hare - The Reader
Eric Roth, Robin Swicord – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley - Doubt

Best Cinematography:
Maryse Alberti – The Wrestler
Roger Deakins – Doubt
Claudio Miranda – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Wally Pfister – The Dark Knight
Colin Watkinson – The Fall

Best Editing:
Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Greg Hayden – Tropic Thunder
Lee Smith – The Dark Knight
Dylan Tichenor – Doubt
Andrew Weisblum – The Wrestler

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration:
Donald Graham Burt – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ged Clarke – The Fall
Mark Digby – Slumdog Millionaire
Mark Friedberg – Synecdoche, NY
Jeff Mann – Tropic Thunder

Best Costume Design:
Lindy Hemming - The Dark Knight
Deborah Hopper - Changeling
Eiko Ishioka - The Fall
Ann Roth – Doubt
Jaqueline West – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Makeup:
John Caglione Jr., Conor O’Sullivan - The Dark Knight
Greg Cannom – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Carlton Coleman, Heather Plott, Kazushiro Tsuji – Tropic Thunder

Best Sound:
Steve Cantamess, Jason Oliver – Tropic Thunder
Ronan Hill – Hunger
Lora Hirschberg, Ed Novick, Gary Rizzo – The Dark Knight
Ken Ishii – The Wrestler
Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Mark Weingarten – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Score:
Carter Burwell – Burn After Reading
Alexandre Desplat – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Philip Glass – Cassandra’s Dream
James Newton Howard, Hans Zimmer - The Dark Knight
John Williams – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Best Original Song:
“Back and Forth” written by Jon Brion from Step Brothers
“Little Person” written by Charlie Kaufman, Jon Brion from Synecdoche, NY
“The Wrestler” written by Bruce Springsteen from The Wrestler

Best Documentary:
Alex Gibney – Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
Tony Kaye – Lake of Fire
James Marsh – Man on Wire
Stephen Walker – Young@Heart
Marina Zenovich – Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

Win/Nomination Tally:
4/14 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
4/10 Doubt
0/9 Tropic Thunder
3/8 The Dark Knight
3/8 The Wrestler
1/5 Milk
0/5 Synecdoche, NY
2/4 The Fall
0/3 Baghead
0/3 Burn After Reading
0/2 Snow Angels
0/2 The Reader
0/1 Cassandra’s Dream
0/1 Changeling
0/1 Frozen River
1/1 Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
0/1 Happy-Go-Lucky
0/1 Hunger
0/1 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
0/1 Lake of Fire
0/1 Man on Wire
0/1 Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
0/1 Slumdog Millionaire
0/1 Step Brothers
0/1 Young@Heart

Fun Factoids:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button received a record 14 Dolphin nominations this year, beating the previous record of 12 held by There Will Be Blood. Doubt, with 10 nominations, is also the third most nominated film in Dolphin history. Tropic Thunder is the film that has received the most nominations (9) without receiving a Best Picture nomination. Doubt received the most nominations without a Best Director nomination.

There are a handful of people who were nominated at the Dolphins last year and this year. They are:

Roger Deakins is nominated this year for his work on Doubt, his third nomination for Best Cinematography. He was nominated for Best Cinematography last year for both The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and No Country for Old Men.

Kathleen Kennedy is nominated this year for Best Picture for producing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, her second nomination. She was previously nominated last year for Best Picture for producing The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

Philip Seymour Hoffman is nominated this year for Best Supporting Actor, his second nomination. He was nominated last year for Best Actor for his performance in Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.

Samantha Morton is nominated this year for her work in Synecdoche, NY, her second Best Supporting Actress nomination. She was previously nominated for Best Supporting Actress in Control.

Brad Pitt was nominated last year for Best Picture as one of the producers on The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, this year he adds two more nominations totaling three Dolphin nominations. He is the second person to secure nominations in both the Lead and Supporting categories. His co-star in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Casey Affleck, was the first. Affleck went on to win the Best Supporting Actor Dolphin. Furthermore, Brad Pitt is the first and only person to be nominated in the acting and Best Picture categories at the Dolphins.

Scott Rudin was nominated this year for Best Picture for producing Doubt, his second nomination in that category. He was nominated last year for No Country for Old Men.

Dylan Tichenor was nominated this year for his work on Doubt, his third nomination for Best Editing. Last year, he won his first Dolphin for editing There Will Be Blood and was concurrently nominated for co-editing Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

2008 Drew Awards

Best Picture:
Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin - The Wrestler
Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Sidney Kimmel - Synecdoche, NY
Céan Chaffin, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Stuart Cornfeld, Eric McLeod, Ben Stiller - Tropic Thunder
Mark Roybal, Scott Rudin - Doubt

Best Director:
Darren Aronofsky - The Wrestler
David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Christopher Nolan - The Dark Knight
Tarsem Singh - The Fall
Ben Stiller - Tropic Thunder

Best Actor in a Leading Role:
Benicio Del Toro - Che
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Sam Rockwell - Snow Angels
Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler

Best Actress in a Leading Role:
Cate Blanchett - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Sally Hawkins - Happy-Go-Lucky
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt

Best Actor in a Supporting Role:
Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Brad Pitt - Burn After Reading

Best Actress in a Supporting Role:
Amy Adams – Doubt
Hope Davis - Synecdoche, NY
Viola Davis – Doubt
Frances McDormand - Burn After Reading
Kate Winslet – The Reader

Best Acting Ensemble:
Burn After Reading
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Synecdoche, NY
Tropic Thunder

Best Writing, Original Screenplay:
Dustin Lance Black - Milk
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen - Burn After Reading
Etan Cohen, Ben Stiller, Justin Theroux - Tropic Thunder
Charlie Kaufman - Synecdoche, NY
Robert D. Siegel - The Wrestler

Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay:
David Gordon Green - Snow Angels
Dan Gilroy, Tarsem Singh, Nico Soultanakis – The Fall
David Hare - The Reader
Eric Roth, Robin Swicord - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley - Doubt

Best Cinematography:
Luca Bigazzi - Il Divo
Roger Deakins – Doubt
David Higgs - RocknRolla
Claudio Miranda - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Colin Watkinson - The Fall

Best Editing:
Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Elliot Graham - Milk
Dylan Tichenor – Doubt
Cristiano Travaglioli – Il Divo
Andrew Weisblum – The Wrestler

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration:
Donald Graham Burt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ged Clarke - The Fall
Mark Friedberg - Synecdoche, NY
Jeff Mann - Tropic Thunder
James Murakami - Changeling

Best Costume Design:
Deborah Hopper - Changeling
Eiko Ishioka - The Fall
Michael O’Connor - Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Ann Roth - Doubt
Jacqueline West - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Sound:
Steve Cantamessa, Jason Oliver - Tropic Thunder
Ken Ishii - The Wrestler
Ed Novick, Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo - The Dark Knight
Ronan Hill - Hunger
David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce, Mark Weingarten - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Sound Editing:
Paul Davies - Hunger
Brian Emrich - The Wrestler
Gabriel Gutiérrez - Che
Richard King - The Dark Knight
Ren Klyce - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Makeup:
John Caglione Jr., Conor O’Sullivan - The Dark Knight
Greg Cannom - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Carlton Coleman, Heather Plott, Kazuhiro Tsuji - Tropic Thunder

Best Music, Original Score:
Carter Burwell - Burn After Reading
Alexandre Desplat - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Philip Glass - Cassandra’s Dream
James Newton Howard, Hans Zimmer - The Dark Knight
Cezary Skubiszewski - Death Defying Acts

Best Music, Original Song:
“Back and Forth” Written by Jon Brion - Step Brothers
“Little Person” Written by Jon Brion, Charlie Kaufman - Synecdoche, NY
“The Wrestler” Written by Bruce Springsteen – The Wrestler

Best Foreign Language Film:
Mabrouk El Mechri - JCVD
Matteo Garrone - Gomorrah
Celine Scamma - Waterlilies
Steven Soderbergh - Che
Paolo Sorrentino - Il Divo

Best Documentary:
Alex Gibney - Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
Tony Kaye – Lake of Fire
James Marsh - Man on Wire
Stephen Walker - Young@Heart
Marina Zenovich – Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

Lifetime Achievement Award:
Sergio Sollima
For his contribution to the Western, with his films: The Big Gundown (1966), Face to Face (1967) and Run, Man, Run (1968)











Nomination Tally: (Best Picture Nominees in bold)
14 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
10 Doubt
8 Tropic Thunder
8 The Wrestler
6 The Dark Knight
6 Synecdoche, NY
5 Burn After Reading
5 The Fall
4 Milk
3 Changeling
3 Che
3 Il Divo
2 Hunger
2 The Reader
2 Snow Angels
1 Cassandra’s Dream
1 Death Defying Acts
1 Frozen River
1 Gomorrah
1 Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
1 Happy-Go-Lucky
1 JCVD
1 Lake of Fire
1 Man on Wire
1 Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
1 RocknRolla
1 Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
1 Step Brothers
1 Waterlilies
1 Young@Heart

Joe Kenny's Thoughts: Well it was a wonderful live ceramony this year at the 2nd annual announcmnet of the Drew Nominees. Always a highly anticipated event, there were many shocking and suprising decisisons from the person behind the drew awards. A major suprise amongst other things was a best picture nomination for synecdoche New York, which drew was not totally blown away by after his viewing and q and a with the writer and director of the film. Ben Button leads the way in nomination but suprisingly doubt finish with the second most nominations, racking up the nominations in almost all categories. It looks like there could be some conflictions as to what five movies get nominated for the best picture at the dolphins this year, as Myself and Drew agreed on only two movies in the best pic category, but we'll have to wait and see what everyone else does.
Things I was Happy to See: The Curious Case and The Wrestler getting its due attention. Carter Burwell and Zimmer and Howard continue to make a good showing. Make-up category was a tough one this year and your noms are all comendable. Loving the synecdoche nom in art direction as the art direction was quite amazing in that film. Like snow angels getting some love in the adapted screenplay cat which is deserves. The orginal screenplay is almost but there is a huge hole, as a a movie im thinking of got unfairly left out. Loving Ledger in supporting actor cat. Del Toro getting the suprised but well deserved nomination, i know drews a big fan and its good to see he got a chance to nominate him. Happy to see Tropic Thunder getting much respect, and glad that synecdoche is getting some love in best pic, it didnt quite the Joe noms for best pic but im very glad the movie isnt being forgot about, i knew i could count on the drews. Oh yeah, Bruce, what a song, glad to see it nominated
Things Im Not Happy About: Robert Downey Jr. in the wrong category, Doubt getting costume nom, good work getting back to the period, but as far as great research and original ideas, it wasnt neccesary becasue the costumes were infront of them if you know what i mean. Roger Deaks not getting a double nomination for his work in Revolutionary Road. No Dark Knight adapted screenplay nomination, how could that be left out, when the reader and the fall get nomintaed? Best Acting Enseble category, get that cop-out thing out of here, if you loved them, give them a big award. Baghead getting completly shafted, thats just not right. One of the best if not the best movie of the year gets left out, how did that happen?
Things I was confused about: RocknRolla cinematography nomination, i dont know about that. No John Williams for Indiana Jones ( just kidding). The Fall gettting a best writing nomination. The Dark Knight getting a director nom for Nolan but not screenplay.
All in all an exciting ceremony and i wait with great anticipation to see the winners. Tough call between Doubt and The Wrestler for best picture i think, but im not ready to make a final decision yet, as its never easy to know what drew dahle is going to do.
Colleen Kenny's Thoughts:
Happy to see: Doubt nominated for best picture and Deakins for Doubt in cinematography. Happy also to see Doubt represented in all the acting categories. Extremely happy to see Hunger get sound nominations. I think this movie was sadly forgotten with the other Dolphin members and the sound is truly effective and amazing. Also, very happy to see RocknRolla get a cinematog nom as I thoroughly enjoyed that film.
Not So Happy to See: Milk not getting nominated for best picture, when it is clearly one of the top five films of the year. Also, disappointed about the Hope Davis nom which should have gone to Samantha Morton. I am ok with Synecdoche getting a best pic nom but I think others deserved it more. Also, disappointed that Fassbender's capabilities did not cultivate a nom despite the FYC.
Hopes for the Drews
I am hoping that Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons does not win best picture (I think it might). I am hoping that Brad Pitt doesn't take home the Drew for best actor (even though I think he will). I am also hoping that Drew does not exaggerate McDormand's performance which was good but not as good as other nominees this year. It should be an exciting Drews.

Award Comments by Colleen Kenny
You'll notice that everything I put that I hope would not happen at the Drew's turned out to happen. In this film critics opinion, not a great year for the Drew's.

2007 Golden Dolphin Awards

Best Picture
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Kite Runner
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood
Tim Burton – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen - No Country For Old Men
Cristian Mungiu - 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Casey Affleck – Gone Baby Gone
Christian Bale - Rescue Dawn
Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Helena Bonham-Carter - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Marion Cotillard - La Vie En Rose
Julie Christie - Away From Her
Nicole Kidman - Margot at the Wedding
Anamaria Marinca - 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem - No Country For Old Men
Paul Dano - There Will Be Blood
Stephen Graham - This is England
Ethan Hawke - Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Kelly Macdonald - No Country For Old Men
Samantha Morton - Control
Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone
Emmanuelle Seigner - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton

Best Acting Ensemble
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
No Country For Old Men
Gone Baby Gone
There Will Be Blood

Best Writing, Original Screenplay
Noah Baumbach - Margot at the Wedding
Milos Forman & Jean-Claude Carriére - Goya’s Ghosts
Werner Herzog - Rescue Dawn
Kelly Masterson - Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
Cristian Mungiu - 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
Ben Affleck & Aaron Stockard - Gone Baby Gone
Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen - No Country For Old Men
Andrew Dominik - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Ronald Harwood - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Cinematography
Roger Deakins - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Roger Deakins - No Country For Old Men
Robert Elswit - There Will Be Blood
Janusz Kaminski - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Dariusz Wolski - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best Editing
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Gone Baby Gone
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Kite Runner
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
There Will Be Blood

Best Costume Design
Blades of Glory
Goya’s Ghosts
La Vie En Rose
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
There Will Be Blood

Best Sound
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
La Vie En Rose
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Makeup
La Vie En Rose
Rescue Dawn
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best Music, Original Score
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Eastern Promises
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
La Vie En Rose
There Will Be Blood

Nominations per Film:
There Will Be Blood - 12
No Country For Old Men - 9
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - 9
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - 7
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - 7
Gone Baby Gone - 5
La Vie En Rose - 5
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days - 4
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead - 4
Rescue Dawn - 3
The Kite Runner - 2
Margot at the Wedding - 2
Goya’s Ghosts - 2
This is England - 1
Blades of Glory - 1
Away From Her - 1
Control - 1
Michael Clayton - 1
Eastern Promises – 1

2008 Phillip Awards

Best Picture
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Cean Chaffin, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall

Best Director
David Fincher – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Sean Penn – Milk

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Sally Hawkins – Happy Go Lucky

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Taraji P. Henson – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Writing, Original Screenplay
Dustin Lance Black - Milk

Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
Eric Roth and Robin Swicord – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Cinematography
Claudio Miranda – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Editing
Lee Smith – The Dark Knight

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Donald Graham Burt and Victor J. Zolfo – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Costume Design
Jacqueline West – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Sound Mixing
Ed Novick, Lora Hirschberg and Gary Rizzo – The Dark Knight

Best Sound Editing
Richard King – The Dark Knight

Best Makeup
Jean Ann Black – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Music, Original Score
John Williams – Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Best Music, Original Song
Bruce Springsteen – The Wrestler

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – 8
The Dark Knight – 4
Milk - 2
The Wrestler – 1
Happy Go Lucky – 1
Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - 1

Golden Dolphin Nomination Predictions

(Edited to include the Phil wins but predictions were not modified)
Before the official nominations for the 2nd annual PFA Golden Dolphins are announced in the coming days, I decided to try to predict them based on the precursors. Feel free to put in your own predictions/thoughts.

Best Picture:
The Wrestler = J Dr Do P
Milk = J Do P C
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button = J Dr P C
Tropic Thunder = Dr Do C
Baghead = J P
The Dark Knight = J P
Doubt = Dr C
Slumdog Millionaire = Do
Synecdoche, NY = Dr
Changeling = Do
The Reader = C
Drew's Thoughts: Button/Milk/Wrestler are locked with 4/5 precursor noms each. Tropic Thunder is in good position with 3 noms. The fifth spot looks like it'll be Doubt vs. either Baghead or The Dark Knight not sure which. The recent Colleen win is huge for Doubt's chances though.
PREDIX
Ben Button
Wrestler
Milk
Tropic Thunder
Doubt

Best Director:
Darren Aronofsky – The Wrestler = J Dr Do P C
Ben Stiller – Tropic Thunder = J Dr Do C
David Fincher – The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button = J Dr P C
Christopher Nolan – The Dark Knight = J Dr P
Gus Van Sant – Milk = J Do P
Tarsem Singh – The Fall = Dr C
Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire = Do
Clint Eastwood – Changeling = Do
Ron Howard – Frost P
John Patrick Shanley – Doubt = C
Drew's Thoughts: Aronofsky is obviously the frontrunner with a win at the Joes and unanimous nominations. Fincher and Stiller are probably solid as well with 4/5. The last two spots will go to Nolan, Van Sant or Singh. I'm not sure if Van Sant will have enough high votes to get in though so I'm gonna predict Nolan and Singh cause of their more enthusiastic supporters.
PREDIX
Wrestler
Ben Button
Tropic
TDK
Fall

Best Actor:
Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler = J Dr Do P C
Sean Penn – Milk = J Dr Do P C
Sam Rockwell – Snow Angels= Dr Do C
Brad Pitt – Ben Button= Dr P C
Benicio Del Toro – Che= Dr P
Steve Zissis – Baghead = J P
Robert Downey Jr. – Tropic Thunder = J
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Synchedoche, New York = J
Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon= Do
Leonardo Dicaprio – Revolutionary Road = Do
Michael Fassbender – Hunger = C
Drew's Thoughts: I'm guessin Rourke, Penn, Pitt, Rockwell have enough support to get in because they are obviously the top lead male performances of the year. It looks like it's a face off between Zissis (ridiculous...) and Del Toro for the top spot. I'll be pessimistic with my predictions...
PREDIX
Milk
Wrestler
Snow Angels
Ben Button
Baghead

Best Actress:
Melissa Leo – Frozen River = J Dr Do P C
Meryl Streep – Doubt = J Dr Do P C
Sally Hawkins – Happy Go Lucky = J Dr P C
Angelina Jolie – Changeling = J Dr Do
Kate Winslet – The Reader = Do P
Kate Beckinsale – Snow Angels = J P
Cate Blanchett – Ben Button = Dr C
Catinca Untaru – The Fall = Do C
Drew's Thoughts: At this point Streep (deservedly) has the Dolphin in the bag I think. Leo is locked for a nom obviously. Hawkins as well. Angelina probably too but she may be superceded by both Blanchett and Untaru. I really liked Blanchett but I might be the only one unfortunately.
PREDIX
Doubt
Froze Riv
Happy
Changeling
Fall

Best Supporting Actor
Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight = J Dr Do P C
Brad Pitt – Burn After Reading = J Dr Do P C
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt = J Dr P C
Robert Downey Jr. – Tropic Thunder = Dr Do C
Tom Cruise – Tropic Thunder = J P
James Franco – Milk = Do
Josh Brolin – Milk = Dr
Anil Kapoor – Slumdog
Haaz Sleiman – The Visitor = Do
Nicky Katt – Snow Angels = J
Eddie Marsan – Happy Go Lucky = C
Drew's Thoughts: Ledger and Pitt are obviously locked. Phil Hoffman is in too, as is Downey. So it comes down to Cruise versus Franco (who was just thrust into the race with the Donna win). It's tough to get in with only one person behind you but maybe Franco can do it.
PREDIX
Doubt
TDK
Burn
Tropic
Tropic

Best Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams – Doubt = J Dr P C
Frances McDormand – Burn= Dr Do P C
Viola Davis – Doubt= Dr Do P C
Kate Winslet – The Reader = J Dr C
Samantha Morton – Synchdoche, New York = J Do C
Marisa Tomei – Wrestler= Do P
Taraji P. Henson - Ben Button= Do P
Hope Davis – Synecdoche, NY= Dr
Kristin Davis – Sex and The City = J
Misty Upham – Frozen River = J
Drew's Thoughts: My prediction for Supp actress hasn't changed for months. I'm pretty confident in it. Though, if Tomei picks up a win at the Phils I think Morton (or Winslet because of the vote split) may be out.
PREDIX
Doubt
Doubt
Reader
Burn
Synec

Best Original Screenplay:
Milk = J Dr Do P C
Tropic Thunder = J Dr P C
The Wrestler = J Dr Do P
Baghead = J Do P
Synechodoche, New York = J Dr C
Happy Go Lucky= P C
Burn= Dr
Changeling= Do
Visitor= Do
RocknRolla = C
Drew's Thoughts: I think my predictions are solid on this one. I don't see Happy-Go-Lucky getting in unless a win at the Phils happens.
PREDIX
Tropic Thunder
Synecdoche
Wrestler
Milk
Baghead

Best Adapted Screenplay:
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button = J Dr Do P C
Doubt = J Dr P C
Frost/Nixon = J Do P
Snow Angels = J Dr C
The Fall= Dr Do C
The Reader= Dr Do C
The Dark Knight = J P
Slumdog= Do
Che= P
Drew's Thoughts: This is a tricky one to predict. Doubt and Button are the only locks here. Dark Knight despite only two previous noms is dangerous with the Joes win. I think it is possible it can overcome some of the thrice nominated films. Reader got a pic nom. Fall got a couple director noms. Which may indicate support. Maybe just cause I like Snow Angels I think its getting in and maybe cause I don't like Frost much I don't think its getting in. There's only room for one alpine themed title. I have a feeling this could come to a tie breaker.
PREDIX
Doubt
Button
Snow Angels
TDK
The Reader

Best Cinematography:
The Fall = J Dr Do P C
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button = J Dr P
Doubt= Dr P C
The Wrestler = J P
The Dark Knight = J P
The Reader= Do C
RocknRolla= Dr C
Slumdog= Do C
Revolutionary Road = J
Il Divo= Dr
Milk= Do
Tropic Thunder= Do
Drew's Thoughts: Probably the most hotly contested category of the year. I think Fall is the frontrunner and Button and Doubt are locked for nominations. I think the year is so de-centralized Rev Road with its sole win stands a chance. Dark Knight has a valid chance but I'm gonna predict three Deakins noms for the hell of it.
PREDIX
The Fall
Button
Doubt
Revolutionary Road
The Reader

Best Editing:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button = J Dr Do P C
The Wrestler = J Dr Do P
Tropic Thunder = J Do P C
The Dark Knight = J P
Milk = Dr P
Doubt = Dr C
Revolutionary Road = J
Il Divo = Dr
The Fall = Do
Slumdog = Do
RocknRolla = C
Hunger = C
Drew's thoughts: I'm pretty confident about this lineup. Milk doesn't have enough support in this category.
PREDIX
Button
Wrestler
Tropic Thunder
Dark Knight
Doubt

Best Art Direction:
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button = J Dr P C
Tropic Thunder= Dr Do P C
The Fall = J Dr C
Synechdoche, New York = J Dr C
Changeling = J Dr Do
The Wrestler = J Do
Slumdog= Do P
Milk= Do
Dark Knight= P
Hunger = C
Drew's thoughts: The Slumdog win might jump it ahead of Changeling but I'm not sure if that will happen. I need a no guts no glory pick in here somewhere, so I'm predicting Slumdog will show up at the Dolphins and it'll be here.
PREDIX
The Fall
Synecdoche
Button
Tropic
Slumdog

Best Costume:
Debi Hopper – Changeling = J Dr Do
Amy Westcott – The Wrestler = J Do C
The Fall= Dr Do C
Benjamin Button= Dr P C
Lindy Hemming – The Dark Knight = J P
Marlene Stewart – Tropic Thunder = J P
Doubt= Dr C
Melissa Toth – Synecdoche New York = J
Miss Pettigrew= Dr
Slumdog= Do
Milk= Do
Rev Road= P
Happy Go Lucky= P
Sex in the City = C
Drew's Thoughts: This is a difficult one. I'm going with Wrestler and Doubt after consulting my gut.
PREDIX
Changeling
Ben Button
Fall
Wrestler
Doubt

Best Makeup:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button = J Dr Do P C
Tropic Thunder = Dr Do P C
The Dark Knight = J Dr P C
Synechdoce, New York = J
Wrestler= Do
Drew's Thoughts: No surprises here.
PREDIX
Button
Tropic Thunder
Dark Knight

Best Sound:
Best Sound Mixing:
The Dark Knight = J Dr Do P C
Tropic Thunder = J Dr Do P C
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button = J Dr Do P
The Wrestler = J Dr Do
Che = J P
Hunger = Dr C
Slumdog = Do
Defiance = P
Doubt = C
RocknRolla = C
Best Sound Editing:
Che = J Dr P
The Dark Knight = J Dr P
Tropic Thunder = J P
Ben Button = Dr P
Hunger = Dr
Wrestler = Dr
Defiance = P
Drew's Thoughts: This is interesting cause the last slot is a duel to the death between arthouse biopics of "revolutionaries." I'm picking Hunger over Che cause I'd rather go to Ireland than Cuba. Though its possible they could both overcome the other arthouse contender, The Wrestler.
PREDIX
Tropic
Wrestler
Dark Knight
Ben Button
Hunger

Best Score:
The Dark Knight = J Dr P
Burn After Reading = J Dr C
Ben Button = Dr P C
Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull = J P
Cassandra's Dream = Dr C
Milk= Do P
Synechdoche, New York = J C
Clint Mansell – The Wrestler = J
Death Defying Acts = Dr
Visitor = Do
Tropic Thunder= Do
Doubt= Do
Changeling= Do
Defiance = P
Drew's Thoughts: Cutthroat category. I'm coming to terms that Indiana Jones 4 will be nominated for a Dolphin, I pray it doesn't win though. A surprise is certainly possible here, The Visitor is probably the best chance of that.
PREDIX
TDK
Burn
Cassandra's Dream
ID4
Button

The 2nd Annual 2008 Colleen Awards

Best Picture
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button-Cean Chaffin, Kathleen Kennedy & Frank Marshall
MILK-Bruce Cohin, Daniel Links & Michael London
Tropic Thunder-Stuart Cornfield, Eric McCleod & Ben Stiller
The Reader-Donna Gigliotti, Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack & Redmond Morris
Doubt-Mark Roybal& Scott Rudin

Best Director
Daren Aronofsky—The Wrestler
David Fincher—The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley—Doubt
Tarsem Singh—The Fall
Ben Stiller—Tropic Thunder

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett—The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Sally Hawkins—Happy Go Lucky
Melissa Leo—Frozen River
Meryl Streep—Doubt
Catinca Untaru –The Fall

Actor in a Leading Role
Michael Fassbender-Hunger
Sean Penn-MILK
Brad Pitt-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke-The Wrestler
Sam Rockwell-Snow Angels

Best Actor in a Supporting Roll
Robert Downey Jr.—Tropic Thunder
Brad Pitt—Burn After Reading
Heath Ledger—The Dark Knight
Eddie Marsan—Happy Go Lucky
Phillip Seymour Hoffman—Doubt

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams—Doubt
Viola Davis—Doubt
Frances McDormand—Burn After Reading
Samantha Morton—Synecdoche New York
Kate Winslet—The Reader

Best Ensemble Cast
Doubt
Tropic Thunder
MILK
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Synecdoche NY

Best Original Screenplay
Dustin Lance Black—Milk
Mike Leigh—Happy Go Lucky
Charlie Kaufman—Synecdoche NY
Guy Ritchie—RocknRolla
Ben Stiller—Tropic Thunder

Best Adapted Screenplay
David Gordon Green—Snow Angels
David Hare—The Reader
Eric Roth—The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons
John Patrick Shanley—Doubt
Tarsem Singh—The Fall

Best Cinematography
Roger Deakins—Doubt
Colin Watkinson—The Fall
Roger Deakins & Chris Menges—The Reader
Anthony Dod Mantle—Slumdog Millionare
David Higgs-RocknRolla

Best Editing
Kirk Baxter & Angus Wall—The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Greg Hayden—Tropic Thunder
James Herbert—RocknRolla
Dylan Tichenor—Doubt
Joe Walker—Hunger

Best Art Direction
Ged Clarke—The Fall
Mark Friedberg—Synecdoche NY
Donald Graham Burt—The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ralph Grot—Tropic Thunder
Brendan Rankin—Hunger

Best Costume:
Sex and the City the Movie—Patricia Field
The Fall—Eiko Ishioka
Doubt—Ann Roth
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button—Jaqueline West
The Wrestler-Amy Westcott

Best Sound
Ron Bochar & Danny Michael—Doubt
Steve Cantamessa—Tropic Thunder
Ronan Hill—Hunger
Ed Novick—The Dark Knight
Tom Ozanich—RocknRolla

Best Make Up
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button-Greg Cannom
Tropic Thunder-Carlton Coleman & Heather plot
The Dark Knight-John Caglione Jr. & Conor O'Sullivan

Best Score:
Phillip Glass—Cassandra’s Dream
Carter Burwell—Burn After Reading
Jon Brion—Synecdoche New York
Alexandre Desplat—The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Tropic Thunder—Theodore Shapiro

Best Song
“The Wrestler” Written by Bruce Springsteen for The Wrestler
“Little Person” written by Jon Brion and Charlie Kaufman for Synecdoche NY
“Love Me Sexy” Written by Theodore Shapiro & Will Ferrell for Semi-Pro

Best Documentary:
Alex Gibney - Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
Tony Kaye – Lake of Fire
James Marsh - Man on Wire
Stephen Walker - Young@Heart
Marina Zenovich – Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

Nomination Tally: (Best Picture Nominees in Bold)
12 Doubt
11 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
10 Tropic Thunder
6 The Fall
6 Synecdoche NY
4 Hunger
4 Milk
4 The Reader
4 RocknRolla
4 The Wrestler
3 Burn After Reading
3 The Dark Knight
3 Happy Go Lucky
2 Snow Angels
1 Cassandra’s Dream
1 Frozen River
1 Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
1 Lake of Fire
1 Man on Wire
1 Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
1 Semi-Pro
1 Sex and the City the Movie
1 Slumdog Millionare
1 Young@Heart

Drew's Thoughts:
I like the Colleens overall this year. I'm happy she used her better judgment and didn't nominate Slumdog for a lot. The Best Score category looks pretty solid though I think she was prejudiced towards the Dark Knight. Hunger, RocknRolla, and The Reader made pretty strong showings, keeping things interesting. The acting noms are solid even though they aren't exactly what I would have chosen. I was wondering if we'd have a (somewhat) dissenting voice on The Wrestler this year and here it is, It should have been recognized for Picture, in my opinion, but I'm glad Doubt, Benjamin Button and Tropic Thunder all showed up in that category. Doubt dominated the Colleens and I'm pretty confident it'll take home the big prize at the Colleens. Screenplay categories look fairly solid though I can't support a screenplay nom for Happy Go Lucky. I wonder if the surprise appearance of Eddie Marsan is too little too late for his hopes of a Dolphin nom. I am surprised with Colleens love of Hunger it didn't take home a nomination for costumes, I'd been predicting it. A nice set of nominations overall, looking forward to the winners cause I think there could be a few surprises.
Joe's thoughts:
A fun year viewing the colleen's this year, always have i greatly respected the judgement of my older sister. Her judgement this year was once again solid, but here are my comments. I'm looking forward to discussing these in person in the future because colleen defends her ideas with great conviction, so everyone should know these noms were well thought out.
happy to see: carter and jon getting love for their amazing scores, The Dark Knight getting a make-up nom in this very competative year of make-up work, the make-up in the dark knight is iconic. Sex and the city getting a costume nom, glad you and me found ways to great sex in their. Also glad wrestler got a costume nom as well, the ripped up parka was genious. Happy synecdoche got a art direct nom, great stuff in that movie. Glad someone gave love to deaks work in the reader, because there were a few memerable shots in that film. Glad someone else beside me gave samatha morton a nom because she got screwed at the other members awards. Really happy to see Eddie Marsen from happy go lucky get some love, i thought he was great and almost gave him a nom, glad to see his performence wasnt forgotten. Glad milk got lots of love as it was one of the better movies of this year, glad to see darren got a director nom, even though the wrestler got left out.
not happy to see: the best movie of the year, the wrestler, get totally shafted, what was up with that? How did the reader get a best pic nomination, not a very good movie at all, shocking to see it nominated. As your awards were very similar to drews i said this before but i have to say it again, how could a screenplay like the dark knight lose out to the reader and the fall, two childish scripts, i dont know how this happened. RocknRolla getting a lot of love. what was the deal, how can you think the rocknrolla script was better then bagheads? oh yeah, get rid of the ensemble category, im sorry but its a cop-out. if you loved them give them an award
things i was confused about: hunger, getting left out of the best pic category, especially when the reader made it. the nom for the actor in hunger, who, only had one scene of dialouge, losing the weight isnt enough. No dark knight for best score, how did that happen
my prediction: doubt takes home the best pic, beating milk in a close race