Two Weeks until Oscar 2009

This is the place where you will find my annual Oscar predictions, movie reviews, fun bits of Hollywood trivia and hopefully an entertaining look at the world of movies according to Tom.

Due to the tough economic conditions, it appears that my local paper, The Olympian, is not running its annual Pick the Winners competition, with the grand prize of 104 Regal movie tickets ( 2 tickets a week for a year.) But over the next two weeks I will be entering several online contests, including my own group OscarKing at Oscar.com, where even loyal readers who have an ABC, ESPN or Disney username and password can join and challenge the King! My final picks will be posted shortly before showtime.

If you follow the Oscars closely, then you are aware of the marketing genius of this group of Hollywood insiders. Rather than caving in to the masses and rewarding films that people have already watched and enjoyed, they choose to nominate and reward films that nobody except French film festival attendees have watched, in the hopes of tricking people into thinking that these movies are good. Then you line up in January to watch as many Holocaust Era / European Costume Drama movies starring Kate Winslet and /or Meryl Streep as you can stomach, before the big show.

In 1998, 57.2 million viewers watched Oscar crown Titanic, a popular movie that did very very well at the box office despite the fact that everyone already knew how it was going to end. Last year was the lowest rated ceremony ever with 31.7 million viewers, most of whom were watching because the is a very good chance of seeing reruns of Superbowl commercials. No Country for Old Men won for best picture, despite only being seen by Robert Redford and 3 Frenchmen. It went on to post about 75 million in U.S. box office sales.

Here is my first series of predictions, and they involve the actual Oscar telecast. Approximately 36 million people will watch as semi-successful movies like Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire compete against movies we've never seen. Next year, in 2010, we will see popular stars such as Tom Hanks, Johnny Depp, and Julia Roberts nominated along with many blockbuster films, because in economic times such as these, even the Hollywood elite are hurting.

The people at Oscar want you back, and they have a surprise this year just for you. They are not going to tell you who the presenters are in the hopes that people will place huge Vegas wagers on who will show up to hand out the little golden guy. Place your money on Hanks, Depp and Roberts and double down on the duo of Clooney and Pitt coming out together.

Hugh Jackman is hosting the show, which is great if you like X-men or if you like the watching current reigning People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive." Last year, of the 31.7 million viewers, 31.699999 million were women, so this may be good for the ratings. (I like X-men.)

The next few posts will discuss some of the different catagories, with special emphasis on the major awards, such as Best Animated Feature and Best Foriegn Language Film. I like Wall-E and Waltz with Bashir, and when I say I like them, what I mean is I think they will win. I actually fell asleep during Wall-E, briefly waking up during the 5 minute action scene near the end. Kung-Fu Panda and Bolt were highly entertaining, so needless to say, they will lose.

If you read my other blog, my Wheel of Fortune Blog, you will understand my passion for game shows, which makes Slumdog Millionaire my sentimental favorite for Best Picture, WAIT! that is not my final answer. I will use my lifelines, such as Roger Ebert, (if he is still alive), Tom O'Neil, and those two guys named Ben on ABC's movie review show "At The Movies" to help me with my choices, coming soon to a blog near you.

So mark Sunday, February 22 on the calender for the 81st Academy Awards, Hollywoods biggest carbon neutral night, at the Kodak Theatre, because even in these uncertain economic times, we slumdogs love to watch the millionaires.