Year of the Rat

Flew up to San Francisco today to attend the California Republican Party convention this weekend.

But before the convention began I had the chance to catch some interesting Bay Area theater. I went to The Garage Theater to see an interesting show called "Disney & Deutschland." It's about the real-life meeting between Walt Disney and Adolf Hitler in 1935. Of course, there's no record of their actual conversation, so this show imagines it based on Disney's known attitude against Jews and unions.

Let's just say Hitler didn't like mice -- talking or not -- and the layout for Disneyland came from an unexpected source.

I thought the cast did a good job of recreating some of history's most colorful characters. But don't think this show is a comedic romp. It's a pretty brutal look at the anti-semitism that fueled the Third Reich, an attitude that certainly wasn't limited to the borders of Germany.

But on a lighter look at Hollywood -- since I'll be running around all weekend I'm going to post my Oscar predictions tonight.

I got pretty close to my goal of seeing every film nominated for an Oscar. Here's what I DIDN'T see:

"In the Valley of Elah" which earned Tommy Lee Jones a Best Actor nomination.

"Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience" nominated for Best Documentary Feature.

All five of the nominees for Best Documentary Short Subject.

All five of the nominees for Best Foreign Language Film.

And that's it. I saw everything else.

So here are my predictions. (Note: These may be different than what I think SHOULD win. This is what I think WILL win.)

Best Picture: No Country for Old Men

Director: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis ("I drink your milkshake. I drink it up.")

Actress: Jule Christie

Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem ("Call it, friend-o.")

Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett

Original Screenplay: Juno

Adapted Screenplay: No Country for Old Men

Animated Film: Ratatouille

Art Direction: There Will Be Blood

Cinematography: There Will Be Blood

Costume Design: Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Documentary Feature: No End in Sight

Documentary Short Subject: Sari's Mother (a complete guess)

Film Editing: The Bourne Ultimatum

Foreign Language Film: The Counterfeiters

Makeup: La Vie en Rose

Original Score: Atonement

Original Song: Falling Slowly from Once

Animated Short: Peter & the Wolf

Live-Action Short: At Night

Sound Editing: The Bourne Ultimatum

Sound Mixing: The Bourne Ultimatum

Visual Effects: Transformers

So there you have it -- my 24 predictions for Oscar night.