02.29.08
Sailing to Byzantium by By William Butler Yeats
Sailing to Byzantium
That is no country for old men. The young
In one another’s arms, birds in the trees
- Those dying generations – at their song,
The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.
Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unageing intellect.
An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress,
Nor is there singing school but studying
Monuments of its own magnificence;
And therefore I have sailed the seas and come
To the holy city of Byzantium.
O sages standing in God’s holy fire
As in the gold mosaic of a wall,
Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre,
And be the singing-masters of my soul.
Consume my heart away; sick with desire
And fastened to a dying animal
It knows not what it is; and gather me
Into the artifice of eternity.
Once out of nature I shall never take
My bodily form from any natural thing,
But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make
Of hammered gold and gold enamelling
To keep a drowsy Emperor awake;
Or set upon a golden bough to sing
To lords and ladies of Byzantium
Of what is past, or passing, or to come.
I am seeing No Country for Old Men today!!!
02.27.08
Weekend Attractions (29 Feb – 2 March ‘08)

Films opening in South Africa this weekend:
No Country For Old Men
Fargo (one of my favourite films Ever), Big Lebowski and O Brother Where Art Thou writer, producer and director team Ethan & Joel Coen return to the screens with their first full length feature since 2004 with this thriller which is a gripping adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the same name. I read the book, and the film’s screenplay, which is a faithful adaptation that retains that Coen-esc originality we all love so much. It stars Javier Bardem in his Oscar winning role, Josh Brolin, Kelly McDonald, Tommy Lee Jones and Woody Harrelson.
Llewelyn Moss (Brolin) is a Vietnam veteran living in a small town in Texas who stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong when he finds a bullet-strewn pickup truck surrounded by the corpses of dead men. He also finds two million dollars in cash and a substantial load of heroin stashed in the back of the vehicle. Moss’s decision to abscond with the cash sets off a violent chain reaction as an enigmatic killer who determines the fate of his victims with the flip of a coin sets out in pursuit of him. Meanwhile, the disillusioned Sheriff Bell (Jones) struggles to contain the rapidly escalating violence that seems to be consuming his once-peaceful Lone Star State town.
The film has won four Oscars, including Best Picture, from eight nominations this year, and it is the top film of the year according to more than a few film lovers too, including Craig Kennedy over at Living in Cinema. I have not seen it yet, so embarrassing, but I will be first in line to book my ticket(s). GO SEE IT.
02.26.08
Diablo Cody – Morning After – Priceless!

Diablo Cody on the morning after her Oscar win, in bed with her, um, little Bald Golden Man, isn’t this priceless?
Here’s what she has to say about her recent success:
“As I’ve said in the past, they can dress me up, they can give me awards, they can coach me on the right responses, and they can sand the callouses off my giant fucking feet, but I will always be me. And I will never be ashamed.”
I cannot say “Congrats!” enough…she so deserved this win! But I think I should keep the noise down so as to not disturb her, she deserves all the rest she can get, after her, I am sure, hectic night of partying, now followed by more than a few ZzZzZzzZz’s in her hotel room. Some people just know how to get all the attention…granted I am one of those attention givers! Love this girl.
02.25.08
Oscar Corridor: “There Will Be Magic?” You Bet.

The Acting Oscar Winners 2008 – Bravo!
As far as Oscar broadcasts go, last night’s was surprisingly great. As far as predictions go, I correctly predicted 17/24 categories, same as last year. I scored the highest number of correct picks over at Living In Cinema, where I also predicted the most correct nominees. I know what you are thinking, two flukes in a row – an you’d be right. I was totally screwed over by the Bourne Ultimatum sweep and the Transformers snub – but all is good in Fataculture land today. The busy year of the Oscar blogger has come to an end, and all has ended well. There were hiccups (i.e. the writer’s strike) but none of that matters anymore. The film world is, even if just for a few days at the very least, in peace. I am floating on a cloud, so excuse my unnatural positivity and optimism.
The Oscars have just been re-broadcast on South African TV, and I was completely happy to sit through the entire show again, which is rare. There were magical moments tonight that I will find hard to forget. Almost every film blogger out there has spoke of Marketa Irglova’s magnificent almost-didn’t-happen speech, but I am going to do it again anyway. “Hope” connects us all she said, and her film, Once, deserved to win Best Original Song. The little film that could, is the little film that did and won’t be forgotten anytime soon – bravo Glen and Marketa!
Oscar Acceptance Speeches – Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova – Best Original Song – Once
Glen Hansard:
“Tanks! This is amazing. What are we doing here? This is mad. We made this film two years ago. We shot on two Handycams. It took us three weeks to make. We made it for a hundred grand. We never thought we would come into a room like this and be in front of you people. It’s been an amazing thing. Thanks for taking this film seriously, all of you. It means a lot to us. Thanks to the Academy, thanks to all the people who’ve helped us, they know who they are, we don’t need to say them. This is amazing. Make art. Make art. Tanks.”
Marketa Irglova – Who Almost Didn’t get A Chance To Say Her Speech!
“Hi everyone. I just want to thank you so much. This is such a big deal, not only for us, but for all other independent musicians and artists that spend most of their time struggling, and this, the fact that we’re standing here tonight, the fact that we’re able to hold this, it’s just to prove no matter how far out your dreams are, it’s possible. And, you know, fair play to those who dare to dream and don’t give up. And this song was written from a perspective of hope, and hope at the end of the day connects us all, no matter how different we are. And so thank you so much, who helped us along way. Thank you.”
Oscar Acceptance Speeches – Joel and Ethan Coen & Scott Rudin

Joel and Ethan Coen – Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Picture – No Country For Old Men
On Accepting Best Adapted Screenplay:
Joel Coen:
“Thank you very much for this. Thank you, Scott Rudin for bringing us this novel and giving us the opportunity to make the movie. I think whatever success we’ve had in this area has been entirely attributable to how selective we are. We’ve only adapted Homer and Cormac McCarthy, so thank you.”
Ethan Coen:
“We, uh… Thank you very much.”
On Accepting Best Director:
Ethan Coen:
“I don’t have a lot to add to what I said earlier. Thank you. “
Joel Coen:
“Ethan and I have been making stories with movie cameras since we were kids. In the late ’60s when Ethan was 11 or 12, he got a suit and a briefcase and we went to the Minneapolis International Airport with a Super 8 camera and made a movie about shuttle diplomacy called “Henry Kissinger, Man on the Go.” And honestly, what we do now doesn’t feel that much different from what we were doing then. There are too many people to thank for this. We’re really thrilled to have received it, and we’re very thankful to all of you out there for letting us continue to play in our corner of the sandbox, so thank you very much.”
On Accepting Best Picture:
Scott Rudin:
“This is an unbelievable honor and a complete surprise. So many people have a part of this, chief among them Cormac McCarthy, who wrote a wonderful book that it was an honor to make into a movie. The three men sitting down front, Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee JOnes, Javier Bardem, without them there would be no movie. These two gentlemen [to Joel and Ethan Coen], I can’t think of anybody I would rather be standing here with than the two of you. Thank you so much for this. Everybody at Vantage and Miramax who financed the movie together. The entire team at Miramax who did a brilliant, brilliant job selling it. Thank you to all of them. I want to thank Mark Roybal, It’s a pleasure to work with Him every day. I want to thank my friend, Sydney Pollack, who taught me that with the responsibility — with the opportunity to make movies comes the responsibility of making them good. This for him. This is also for my partner John Barlow. Without you, honey, this would be hardware. Thank you so much. Thank you.”
Oscar Acceptance Speeches – Tilda Swinton

Tilda Swinton – Best Supporting Actress – Michael Clayton
“ Oh, no. Happy birthday, man. I have an American agent who is the spitting image of this. Really truly the same shape head and, it has to be said, the buttocks. And I’m giving this to him because there’s no way I would be in America at all ever on a plane, if it wasn’t for him. So, Brian Swardstrom, I’m giving this to you. And Tony Gilroy walks on water, it’s entirely official as far as I’m concerned, and Jen Fox and Steve Samuels, our incredible producers. And Sydney Pollack, and George Clooney, you know, the seriousness and the dedication to your art, seeing you climb into that rubber bat suit from “Batman & Robin,” the one with the nipples, every morning under your costume, on the set, off the set, hanging upside-down at lunch, you rock, man. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Oscar Acceptance Speeches – Javier Bardem

Javier Bardem – Best Supporting Actor – No Country For Old Men
“Wow. Alright, this is very amazing. It’s a great honor for me to have this. I want to & I have to speak fast here, man. Thank you to the Coens for being crazy enough to think that I could do that and put one of the most horrible haircuts in history over my head. Thank you for really proving my work. I want to share this with the cast, with the great Tommy Lee Jones, with the great Josh Brolin, with the great Kelly MacDonald. And I want to dedicate this to my mother, and I have to say this in Spanish, and I’m sorry… Mama esto es para ti. Esto es para tus abuelos, para tus padres, Rafael y Matilde. Esto es para los comicos de Espana que han traido la dignidad y el orgullo a nuestro oficio. Esto es para Espana. Y esto es para todos vosotros. Thank you very much!”
Oscar Acceptance Speeches – Marion Cotillard

“Oh — thank you so much. Olivier, what you did to me, Maestro Olivier Dahan, you rocked my life. You truly rocked my life. Thank you so much to Picturehouse for your passion, members of the Academy, thank you so, so much. And — wow. Well, I’m speechless now. I — I — well, I — thank you life, thank you love, and it is true, there is some angels in this city. Thank you so, so much.”
Oscar Acceptance Speeches – Daniel Day-Lewis

Daniel Day-Lewis – Best Actor Winner – There Will Be Blood
“And that’s the closest I’ll ever come to getting a knighthood, so thank you. My deepest thanks to the members of the Academy for whacking me with the handsomest bludgeon in town. I’m looking at this gorgeous thing you’ve given me and I’m thinking back to the first devilish whisper of an idea that came to him and everything since and it seems to me that this sprang like a golden sapling out of the mad, beautiful head of Paul Thomas Anderson. I wish my son and my partner HW Plainview were up here with me, the mighty Dillon Freasier. So many people to thank. One amongst them would be Mrs. Plainview down there, the enchantingly optimistic, open-minded and beautiful Rebecca Miller. I hope that all those to whom I owe and to whom I feel the deepest gratitude will forgive me if I say just simply, “Thank you, Paul.” I’ve been thinking a lot about fathers and sons in the course of this, and I’d like to accept this in the memory of my grandfather, Michael Balcon, my father, Cecil Day-Lewis, and my three fine boys, Gabriel, Ronan and Cashel. Thank you very much indeed. Thank you.”
Oscar Acceptance Speeches – Diablo Cody

“What is happening? This is for the writers, and I want to thank all the writers. I especially want to thank my fellow nominees because I worship you guys and I’m learning from you every day, so thank you very much. I want to thank the Academy, I want to thank Fox Searchlight, Mr. Mudd, Mandate, Dan Dubiecki. I want to thank our incredible cast including the superhuman Ellen Page. I want to thank Jason Reitman, who I consider a member of my family, and I’m in awe of his talent as a filmmaker. I want to thank Sarah Self. I want to thank Mason Novick who knew I could do this before I did. And most of all, I want to thank my family for loving me exactly the way I am.”
Awards: Academy Awards ‘07

Best Picture:
No Country For Old Men
Best Director:
Joel and Ethan Coen – No Country For Old Men
Best Actor:
Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood
Best Actress:
Marion Cotillard – La Vie En Rose
Best Supporting Actor:
Javier Bardem – No Country For Old Men
Best Supporting Actress:
Tilda Swinton – Michael Clayton
Best Original Screenplay:
Juno
Best Adapted Screenplay:
No Country For Old Men – Joel & Ethan Coen
Best Animated Film:
Ratatouille
Best Foreign Language Film:
The Counterfeiters
Best Documentary Feature:
Taxi to the Dark Side
Best Short Documentary:
Freeheld
Best Short Film (Live Action):
Le Mozart des Pickpockets
Best Short Film (Animated):
Peter and The Wolf
Best Cinematography:
There Will Be Blood
Best Art Direction: Sweeney Todd:
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Best Costume Design:
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Best Film Editing:
The Bourne Ultimatum
Best Makeup:
La Vie En Rose
Best Original Score:
Atonement
Best Original Song:
Falling Slowly – Once
Best Sound Editing:
The Bourne Ultimatum
Best Sound Mixing:
The Bourne Ultimatum
Best Visual Effects:
The Golden Compass
Honourary Award Presented to Robert Boyle
My Score: 17/24
To check how my predictions match with other critics, click here, Oscar Central.
02.24.08
You, Me and Everyone Else I Know – The Oscars are Tonight!

My final predictions are up, here. Feel free to share yours too. It really is fun :)
This years biggest and baddest Awards show of all is finally here, can you believe it? I remember making those outlandish predictions last May, and to think that the race turned out to be so different is hilarious. I mean I predicted Reservation Road, The Golden Age, My Blueberry Nights, Charlie Wilson’s War and The Kite runner, amongst others, to sweep the 80th Academy Awards – believe it! In fact the only major prediction that actually stuck was the nominations of There Will Be Blood and Atonement. No Country for Old Men, Juno and Michael Clayton were not even on my radar. We all have our favourites, we have all bet in those Oscar pools, be it online or at work or school, now all we can do is watch and wait and cross our fingers until that surreal moment of “And the winner is” finally happens. I am getting shivers down my spine just thinking about it, the good kind. In 15 hours the live telecast will begin, and that means at 3AM South Africa time I will be sitting in front of the Telly, Oscar Ballot in hand, my screaming voice in tune with cup after cup of coffee, rather make that champagne, flowing. Here is something I won’t be doing – live blogging the Oscars. I would rather watch it in it’s entirety and then we could all discuss it afterwards. Is that okay? I hope so. In the event that I am unable to watch them for whatever reason, I will be live blogging, and over at all the awards sites chatting up a storm. Also, I will be going to another pre-release screening of Juno tonight, so seeing my favourite contender on Oscar night is something that I could only dream of. Let the Awards punches roll, Happy Oscar Day!!!
Oscar Corridor: Full Oscars Telecast
Cinemascopian managed to get his hands on the offcial and exclusive Oscars line-up, and here is its….
Tonight’s Oscar telecast will be 3 hours and 29 minutes – I cannot wait, here is how things should pan out:
AWARD#1
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
(Jennifer Garner): 5:54 PM (PT)
AWARD #2
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
(Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway): 5:54 PM (PT)
AWARD #3
MAKEUP
(Katherine Heigl): 5:57
PERFORMANCE – SONG #1 (26) 6:03:09
“Happy Working Song”(2:07)
(Amy Adams-vocals, orchestra)
AWARD #4
VISUAL EFFECTS
(Dwayne Johnson): 6:09
AWARD #5
ART DIRECTION
(Cate Blanchett): 6:13
Here Jon Stewart will joke about Blanchett’s double nomination as Queen Elizabeth and as Bob Dylan.
More, way more, after the cut
Read the rest of this entry »
Barry Ronge vs. Roger Ebert vs. Me: Oscar Predictions

One thing we all have in common is that our hearts belong to Juno but our heads scream No Country For Old Men.
Barry Ronge is South Africa’s version of Roger Ebert, by the way. If you are not bored by all my Oscar and Prediction talk yet, please read on…