Flip Flopping Projects & Oscar Noms

First I want to acknowledge the passing of Johnny Carson. Here was a man who, like a select few, will live on into eternity. Like The Beatles and Elvis, he will remain a constant thru the ages. How fitting that he became a very private person after leaving The Tonight Show in '92. We will always remember his wit, his charm, and the gentle comfort he gave us late at night before we went to sleep. His life in show business will always be the forefront of how we think of him, not his private life.



I've been booked into a few days work this week at Working Pictures here in Albany...a nice bit of extra change to take with me to LA next Monday. E-mail from Gina @ Autonomy today asking if I could work the end of this week into next. Unfortunately I had to decline because it's a little too soon for me to get everything together and head west in what would be 24 hours. About an hour after my first reply she came back saying they managed to switch the project to next week starting Wednesday and ending Friday.



This is more than I could have hoped for and naturally I said yes.



Tuesday of course is my interview with KO Creative. Originally I was to be sitting on my hands for a little over a week until the Oscar project started at Autonomy on the 9th. Now I'll have work starting the very next day! Woohoo! Although as of today the Oscar project has been moved (by the client) to Feb. 14, five days after the original start date. So luckily this new project has surfaced to help bridge the gap. Gina said they have so much work coming in right now it's hard to schedule it all. I'm hoping this means they may have another project for me after next week's and before the Oscar gig. In fact I'm feeling pretty confident about it.



She also wanted to put me on a tentative hold for another project beginning in March and running for 3 to 4 weeks. That would mean swinging right over into Laura's "Woody Allen Night At The Hollywood Bowl" project immediately after. I could conceivably be booked with Autonomy from February through the middle of September, and that's not even as a staff editor which is still to be discussed.



Of course this leaves out one small detail...KO Creative.



I have to keep Autonomy a little at bay about the March project right now until I see what happens with my Tuesday interview. I really, really want to get in the door at KO. But I may still not know a whole lot by meeting's end. All in all I'm extremely happy Autonomy is offering me so much work. This is now the most number of projects any one post house has booked me on in LA to date.



The Oscar nominations were announced yesterday morning. One of the nice surprises, Best Supporting Actor nod to Alan Alda for "The Aviator". Would love to see him get it but I suspect it'll probably go to Clive Owen in "Closer". Also surprised Jamie Foxx was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in "Collateral". Very strange since he is technical one of the two leads. Plus Tom Cruise was shut out for his performance in the same movie. Speaking of shut-outs, where the hell is Paul Giamatti's nomination for "Sideways"?! I have not seen the film yet, but have always enjoyed his work. Just about everyone else was nominated for this movie except him. Ironically, hosting SNL last week Paul did a skit where he had to convince a limo driver who he was and that he wasn't annoyed (sarcastically) that Jamie Foxx won the Best Actor Globe for "Ray" over him. Foxx has Oscar's Best Actor race for "Ray" locked, hands down.



After all the buzz, "Fehranheit 9/11" was totally snubbed as almost was "The Passion Of The Christ". The latter only getting nods for music score, make up, and cinematography (the strongest of the three I feel).



And from the editor's stand point, I think "The Aviator" will take home the Best Film Editing Oscar. Every year after the nominations are announced, I make it a point to see any and all of the major films I might have missed. My pre-Oscar list this year includes: "Ray", Closer", "Sideways", "Million Dollar Baby", Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind", and "Finding Neverland".



And finally, as much as I like Clint Eastwood, I'll be pissed if Martin Scorsese is passed up yet again for Best Director! A lot of folks are saying "The Aviator" is a lock for Best Picture. That and Best Director, at least most of the time, go hand in hand. Give the man the goddamn statue!!



BTW, this will be the first year I am actually in LA during The Oscars. This is what it's all about.