The Collective Mind of the "Birdbath" Predicts the Oscars - 2008

Each year since 2000, I've hosted what I jokingly call "Mark's Oscar Birdbath"... it's just not right to call it an Oscar Pool when there's no money involved. I invite folks from throughout my life (past & present churches, high school friends, family, gamer buddies, etc.) to participate. (Don't be miffed if you weren't asked to join - what with the compiling of the Five & Dime reports and life in general, I don't want to get too big a crowd playing.)

So far, 31 folks are participating in this go-round (with 18 hours left until the deadline)... and here's what THEY think will be the winners this year. (This is based on their entries - when the voting is tight, I'm listing multiple entries.)

• BEST PICTURE: No Country For Old Men
• BEST DIRECTOR: Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men
• BEST ACTOR: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
• BEST ACTRESS: Ellen Page, Juno
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Javier Bardern, No Country For Old Men
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There (but this one is very close)
• ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Juno
• ADAPATED SCREENPLAY: No Country For Old Men
• CINEMATOGRAPHY: No Country For Old Men
• FILM EDITING: The Bourne Ultimatum
• ART DIRECTION: Sweeney Todd
• COSTUME DESIGN: Elizabeth: The Golden Age
• ACHIEVEMENT IN ORIGINAL MUSIC: Atonement/Ratatouille
• BEST ORIGINAL SONG: “Falling Slowly", Once
• ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP: Pirates of the Carribean 3
• ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING: Transformers
• ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING: Transformers
• ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS: Transformers
• BEST ANIMNATED FEATURE: Ratatouille
• BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: The Counterfeiters (Austria)
• BEST DOCUMENTARY: Sicko
• BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT: Sari's Mother
• BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT: Le Mozart des Pickpockets
• BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM: Peter & the Wolf

Last year, we went 19 for 24 - which is pretty impressive. Come back on Monday & see how the collective mind of "my friends" did this time around... and find out who won the Birdbath!

A couple of "I'd like to thank the Academy"-ish kind of things to close this post out:

• Thanks to Steve Stigler & his buddies from high school (especially Chris Newcomb, who's actually playing in the Birdbath this year!), who first introduced me to Oscar Pools and the musical stylings of Stephen Sondheim when we were students together at Baylor University
• Thanks to Matt Baldwin, whose website, Defective Yeti, is the one who makes it so darn easy for me to maintain the Birdbath