Wednesday, February 11, 2009

For the Heck of It 2009 Oscar Contest- Winner Announced!



Well, I managed to get across the street from the Kodak, where I caught glimpses of Danny Boyle, Amy Adams, Fred Willard, Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and yes, as the crowd went wild, a nanosecond wherein I spotted a smile and wave towards us belonging to Ms. Jolie (putting us one up on Ryan Seacrest, anyway), while Brad lingered nearby, outside my range of vision.

Congratulations to J.B., who came closest to acing the contest by correctly guessing all ten categories and coming within one of predicting the tiebreaker (he went with seven Oscars for Slumdog Millionaire, which won eight Academy Awards). You're our winner! Runners up were Pamela/Dave, who guessed all ten categories and came within two on the tiebreaker, and Brooke and Geri, who missed one category but guessed the tiebreaker correctly. Thanks to all who entered and made the contest fun.

I love entering Oscar contests every year, and I have enjoyed the rare ocassions when I've come out ahead. I still have some leftover inventory from selling music CDs online several years ago, so why not host a rinky-dink OSCAR CONTEST to get rid of a few items and make someone a winner in the process? If anyone wants to enter, just post your picks for the following ten categories and your answers to the tiebreak questions under comments, along with your contact information (alternately, you can email me at slc2466@yahoo.com with your picks):

Best Picture (Nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader and Slumdog Millionaire)
Best Actor (Nominees: Richard Jenkins, Frank Langella, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt and Mickey Rourke)
Best Actress (Nominees: Anne Hathaway, Angelina Jolie, Melissa Leo, Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet)
Best Director (Nominees: Danny Boyle, Stephen Dardry, David Fincher, Ron Howard and Gus Van Sant)
Best Supporting Actor (Nominees: Josh Brolin, Robert Downey Jr., Philip Seymour Hoffman, Heath Ledger and Michael Shannon)
Best Supporting Actress (Nominees: Amy Adams, Penelope Cruz, Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson and Marisa Tomei)
Best Adapted Screenplay (Nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, The Reader and Slumdog Millionaire)
Best Original Screenplay (Nominees: Frozen River, Happy-Go-Lucky, In Brudges, Milk and WALL-E)
Best Art Direction (Nominees: Changeling, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, The Duchess and Revolutionary Road)
Best Sound Editing (Nominees: The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Slumdog Millionaire, WALL-E and Wanted)

Tiebreaker: What film will win the most awards, and how many Oscars will it win?

As for prizes, the winner will receive 3 Time-Life (brand new! unopened!) CDs featuring 62 original pop hit recordings from 1967, 1968 and the disco-mad 1970's-early 1980's era. Here's the CD rundown:

Disc 1- "1967- The Beat Goes On"

Tracks:
1) I Was Made to Love Her- Stevie Wonder
2) Gimme Little Sign- Brenton Wood
3) Let's Live For Today- The Grass Roots
4) Soul Man- Sam & Dave
5) Brown Eyed Girl- Van Morrison
6) Your Precious Love- Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
7) Carrie-Anne- The Hollies
8) Jimmy Mack- Martha and the Vandellas
9) Nashville Cats- The Lovin' Spoonful
10) Mercy, Mercy, Mercy- The Buckinghams
11) (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman- Aretha Franklin
12) Expressway to Your Heart- Soul Survivors
13) You're My Everything- The Temptations
14) Western Union- The Five Americans
15) Get On Up- The Esquires
16) (We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet- The Blues Magoos
17) Pleasant Valley Sunday- The Monkees
18) Gimme Some Lovin'- The Spencer Davis Group
19) Him or Me, What's it Gonna Be?- Paul Revere and the Raiders
20) Sock It To Me Baby- Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels
21) The Happening- The Supremes
22) A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You- The Monkees

Disc 2- "Super Hits 1968"

Tracks:
1) A Beautiful Morning- The Rascals
2) Spooky- Classics IV
3) Light My Fire- Jose Feliciano
4) The Look of Love- Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66
5) Like to Get to Know You- Spanky and Our Gang
6) Classical Gas- Mason Williams
7) Angel of the Morning- Merrilee Rush and the Turnabouts
8) I Wish it Would Rain- The Temptations
9) Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing- Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
10) Do You Know the Way to San Jose- Dionne Warwick
11) Honey- Bobby Goldsboro
12) Hooked on a Feeling- B.J. Thomas
13) Stone Soul Picnic- The 5th Dimension
14) Goin' Out of My Head/Can't Take My Eyes off You- The Lettermen
15) Grazing in the Grass- Hugh Masekela
16) Turn Around, Look at Me- The Vogues
17) Wichita Lineman- Glen Campbell
18) (Theme From) Valley of the Dolls- Dionne Warwick
19) Dream a Little Dream of Me- Mama Cass
20) Abraham, Martin and John- Dion
21) I Heard it Through the Grapevine- Marvin Gaye
22) (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay- Otis Redding

Disc 3- "Celebration"

Tracks:
1) Maniac- Michael Sembello
2) Celebration- Kool and the Gang
3) I'm So Excited- The Pointer Sisters
4) Call Me (Theme from "American Gigolo")- Blondie
5) Fame- Irene Cara
6) Upside Down- Diana Ross
7) Physical- Olivia Newton-John
8) More, More, More Pt. 1- Andrea True Connection
9) Right Back Where We Started From- Maxine Nightingale
10) Last Dance- Donna Summer
11) In the Navy- The Village People
12) Gloria- Laura Branigan
13) (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty- K.C. and the Sunshine Band
14) Get Up and Boogie- Silver Convention
15) Funkytown- Lipps, Inc.
16) Shake Your Groove Thing- Peaches and Herb
17) Take Me Home- Cher
18) Shadow Dancing- Andy Gibb

If the winner prefers Country music or Classical music, I can send him or her a couple of CDs from those genres instead. Entries are due before the start of the ceremony on February 22nd. Good luck!