Day: January 25, 2005

Best line of the day, so far

From a 1977 Johnny Carson monologue —

August 4th: President Carter has recommended that it should not be a criminal offense to be found in possession of an ounce or less of marijuana.

CARSON: The trouble is that nobody in our band knows what an ounce or less means.

DOC SEVERINSEN: It means you’re about out.

A very funny gentleman

Functional Ambivalent has a good take on Johnny Carson —

The thing that made Carson Carson was that he never went too far.

Whatever it is in a comic’s brain that conjurs jokes instantly…the dare-devil part that starts speaking the front of the joke before the back of the joke has even been formulated…the part that synthesises personality and context and culture into a singular, funny whole…that thing, in Carson, never, ever went over the line. In 30 years on the air — much of it live — Carson jabbed hilariously at his guests without drawing blood. There were no backstage tears at The Tonight Show.

A gentleman, Oscar Wilde once said, is someone who never insults anyone unintentionally. Johnny Carson was a very, very funny gentleman.

Tough fans

Brotherly love — I don’t think so. From The Seattle Times: Sideline Chatter:

Three takes on Philadelphia’s hard-boiled fans:

• Red Sox manager Terry Francona, as quoted by the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News: “Hey, I spent four years managing in Philadelphia. On Fan Appreciation Day, someone slashed my tires in the parking lot.”

• Slogan on the official Eagles Fan Club Web site, www.eaglesfanclub.com: “Where the fans are tougher than the players!”

• Ian O’Connor of the Journal News of Westchester, N.Y., on ESPN’s “The Sports Reporters”: “The Eagles are the only team in the sport who actually want to score early to take their own fans out of the game.”

Oscar nominations

Links are to reviews in The New York Times.

BEST PICTURE
“The Aviator”
“Finding Neverland”
“Million Dollar Baby”
“Ray”
“Sideways”

DIRECTOR
Martin Scorsese, “The Aviator”
Clint Eastwood, “Million Dollar Baby”
Taylor Hackford, “Ray”
Alexander Payne, “Sideways”
Mike Leigh, “Vera Drake”

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Don Cheadle, “Hotel Rwanda”
Johnny Depp, “Finding Neverland”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Aviator”
Clint Eastwood, “Million Dollar Baby”
Jaime Foxx, “Ray”

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Annette Bening, “Being Julia”
Catalina Sandino Moreno, “Maria Full of Grace”
Imelda Staunton, “Vera Drake”
Hilary Swank, “Million Dollar Baby”
Kate Winslet, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Alan Alda, “The Aviator”
Thomas Haden Church, “Sideways”
Jaime Foxx, “Collateral”
Morgan Freeman, “Million Dollar Baby”
Clive Owen, “Closer”

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Cate Blanchett, “The Aviator”
Laura Linney, “Kinsey”
Virginia Madsen, “Sideways”
Sophie Okendo, “Hotel Rwanda”
Natalie Portman, “Closer”

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
John Logan, “The Aviator”
Charlie Kaufman, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”
Keir Pearson and Terry George, “Hotel Rwanda”
Brad Bird, “The Incredibles”
Mike Leigh, “Vera Drake”

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Kim Krizan , “Before Sunset”
David Magee, “Finding Neverland”
Paul Haggis, “Million Dollar Baby”
José Rivera, “The Motorcycle Diaries”
Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, “Sideways”

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“As It Is in Heaven” (Sweden)
“The Chorus” (France)
“Downfall” (Germany)
“The Sea Inside” (Spain)
“Yesterday” (South Africa)

ANIMATED FEATURE
“The Incredibles”
“Shark Tale”
“Shrek 2”

ORIGINAL SCORE
“Finding Neverland”
“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”
“Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events”
“The Passion of the Christ”
“The Village”

ORIGINAL SONG
“Accidentally in Love” from “Shrek 2”
“Al Otro Lado Del Rio” from “The Motorcycle Diaries”
“Believe” from “The Polar Express”
“Learn to Be Lonely” from “The Phantom of the Opera”
“Look to Your Path (Vois Sur Ton Chemin)” from “The Chorus”