Grouchy 'Bout the Oscars and ... New Apartment!

What is up?

Well, it's been a long freaking week. And I'm not sure quite how this happened. All I know is that this morning I found myself sitting with my parents at the leasing office of an apartment complex in Burbank signing a one year lease on a studio apartment. Suddenly, after a week of worrying about where I was going to live, I suddenly had a whole new group of stuff to worry about -- basically, how was I going to furnish this empty apartment? Hours later I found myself in the Swedish Disneyland for your home, aka Ikea, basically walking in circles and wondering why they didn't have any normally shaped chairs. The next hours saw my parents, who were eager to see me furnished and ready to move into my new apartment, lead me on a mad dash across Burbank before their scheduled late-evening flight back to CT from LAX airport. I ended up with a mattress and bedframe, sheets, and not much else. So basically I have a lot to do. But the good thing is that my current housing lasts for two more weeks, and I can move into the new place as early as Monday - so I can take my time moving all my stuff and working on furnishings. The main things to be taken care of are: couch, refridgerator, TV, TV stand, coffee table, lamps, and assorted other random stuff. I'm going to have to work up some real courage to step foot back inside Ikea, as it left a bad taste in my mouth today. In the meantime I'll check out some other places around here.

The apartment complex is pretty sweet. Pool, fitness room, parking spot, etc. It's pricier than I wanted but I guess if I can stick to my plan and get hired to write Fantastic Max: The Movie, then hey, I'll be in the clear. Man, the rent, utilities, cable and internet is really going to add up though. Too bad the page program, while prestigious, pays you jack $#&% . I had been trying to find some roommates, but it is just too hard if you don't know the people beforehand. Okay, if I could have found some cool, laidback peeps of similar age then that'd be one thing, but sadly that was not really the case. So the early verdict is the place is great, the location is ideal (right near NBC) and it should work out well ... but, it ain't gonna be cheap, that's fer darn skippy sure (yeah you heard me).

Friday's Tonight Show was CRAZY. Oprah fans, Good Charlotte fans, Jamie Oliver fans. So the studio holds about 380 people. Almost 200 were in line, and 225 people were on the reserved guest list. So that's a lot of people who weren't getting in. And of the people who did, you've got about 3/4 women who think Oprah is some kind of divine manifestation, about 1/4 teenage girls who think the dudes from Good Charlotte are just, like, SO totally cool, a few women who really like the man known as the Naked Chef, and then the men who were dragged to the show by their signifigant others. And madness ensues. Oprah really is something though. She somehow looks more youthful now at age 51 then she did twenty years ago.

Oh, by the way -- before Thursday's Tonight Show some famous Nascar driver, Dale Probert or something like that, borrowed my cell phone to call his daughter. I don't know a durn thing about Nascar but if anyone reading this does, let me know who this guy might be and what his deal with. Kinda cool though right?

Quick funny story: On the NBC tour there's a section with funny props from the Tonight Show -- one is called the French Girl Shoe Polisher - press the button and her armpit hair spins and cleans your footwear. So I actually had a french girl on my tour, and as I was demonstrating this prop, I just froze as I realized how I must have been offending her. Oh well, stuff happens.

OSCAR THOUGHTS / PREDICTIONS:

By far the most exciting thing about the Oscars this year is, sadly, the fact that Chris Rock is hosting them. So the broadcast should be pretty entertaining even if the nominees aren't all that impressive. I haven't seen most of the best picture nominees, so it's hard for me to really judge them all. But most don't even seem all that interesting. I mean, I'd like to see Sideways and the Aviator if I get a chance, but I also don't consider them must-sees. As I said in my review, Million Dollar Baby, I thought, was a very well acted and directed movie, but plot-wise I just didn't see the point of the excessively dark turns the story took. The real crime is that Eternal Sunshine wasn't nominated for best picture. I mean, come on, that was a GREAT movie and its about time that Charlie Kaufman get some recognition, for what may be his best and most clever movie yet. People talk about Scorcese getting his due, but why not reward people who are in their primes? Looking back, it is ridiculous that movies like Taxi Driver and Raging Bull didn't win anything for Scorcese. Even Gangs of New York in my opinion was severely underrated. I'll have to see it to judge on my own, but it doesn't sound like The Aviator is up there with those other classics. But Eternal Sunshine is the true best picture this year in terms of what I have seen. In addition, Jim Carrey got royally screwed - he should have been nominated for what is one of his best and most against-type performances in Eternal Sunshine. In addition, I realize it's not the usual Oscar fare, but Kill Bill 2 was another film that was grossly overlooked. The Kill Bill saga is arguably Quentin Tarantino's greatest achievement, and also probably Uma Thurman's best and most memorable performance of her career. QT should have gotten a best director nomination, and Uma should have been nominated for best actress. Also, in a year short on Oscar shoe-ins, why not make The Incredibles a nominee for best picture? In terms of directing I also think Sam Raimi should be recognized for his huge accomplishments with Spiderman 2.

Of the current nominees, the main categories I have a strong opinion on are: Kate Winslett for best lead actress, Eternal Sunshine for best original screenplay, Incredibles for best animated movie, and Morgan Freeman for best supporting actor (I really liked his character and performance in Million Dollar Baby, even if it was nothing new for Freeman). Jaime Foxx is probably a lock to win Best Actor, and though I haven't yet seen Ray, from what I've heard he is definitely deserving. I predict Clint Eastwood will pull a slight upset and win best director, Hillary Swank will beat out Winslet for best lead actress, and also Million Dollar Baby will win best picture to complete the trifecta. Maybe next time, Marty. For supporting actress, I predict an upset from the actress from Hotel Rwanda (sorry don't remember her name offhand), though Cate Blanchette seems to be the favorite for The Aviator. And, Morgan Freeman, my choice, will probably win as well adding to the big night that Million Dollar Baby will have. I think Sideways will take home an adapted screenplay award as a kind of consolation prize, and while Sunshine should win for original screenplay, Million Dollar Baby may take that one as well. Incredibles has gotta win best animated -- no big upsets expected for Shark Tale. Oh, one other movie that was completely underrated and overlooked - and that was Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic. Bill Murray was as good in this as he was in Lost in Translation, and the writing and directing deserved recognition as well. One other unconventional pick I might have gone for was Tom Cruise as best lead actor for Collateral. Jaime Foxx got a supporting actor nod for this film, but come on, Tom Cruise stole the show in this movie as a silver-haird, cold-blooded assasin. Michael Mann should have also been recognized for his slick directing in this very atmospheric movie. Come on Oscar, get with the program!

I say bring on the next wave of potentially awesome movies that will be hitting us soon: Batman Begins, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Sin City, Kingdom of Heaven, War of the Worlds, King Kong, Star Wars Ep. 3, Chronicles of Narnia, and lots more goodness coming soon.

I'll be back soon with some updated apartment info. The parents are back to CT, so I'm off like Whitesnake, 'cause here I go again on my own.