Here They Are At Last...

THE BOB AWARD NOMINATIONS!!! Proof that I spent an awful lot of time watching movies over the past year. I counted all year long and in all I saw exactly 100 of the films released in 2006 plus two more that have yet to be released ("Snow Cake" and "OSS 117," both of which incidentally did very well). It's incomplete sure. I missed a few that might have been here. For instance two of my favorite movies of '05 ("Everything Is Illuminated" and "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang") I wasn't able to see until long after I'd made my list for that year. So yeah, it's not perfect but I did the best I could. Actually seeing as many as I did was quite an undertaking and honestly I doubt I'll be doing it again. It's just too much, man! When I announce the winners I'll also (probably) post my top 20 for the year. Yes, in some of the categories I have six nominees instead of five. You got a problem with that? Start up your own unofficial awards that don't actually mean anything and slap your name on it. So without further Apu here they are, once again putting the Oscars to shame:

Art Direction

The Fountain

The Illusionist

Pan’s Labyrinth

The Prestige

The Science of Sleep

Cinematography

Children of Men

The Illusionist

Marie Antoinette

OSS 117

United 93

The World’s Fastest Indian

Visual Effects

The Fountain

Pan’s Labyrinth

The Science of Sleep

Costume Design

The Devil Wears Prada

The Fountain

Marie Antoinette

The Prestige

V For Vendetta

Film Editing

Children of Men

Conversations with Other Women

The Prestige

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

United 93

The World’s Fastest Indian

Sound

Children of Men

The Descent

Flags of Our Fathers

Letters From Iwo Jima

V For Vendetta

Score

Flags of Our Fathers- Clint Eastwood

The Illusionist- Philip Glass

Joyeux Noel- Philippe Rombi

Notes on a Scandal- Philip Glass

The Prestige- David Julyan

Wah-Wah- Patrick Doyle

Animated Film

Cars

Hoodwinked

A Scanner Darkly

Makeup

The Descent

Nanny McPhee

Pan’s Labyrinth

The Queen

Slither

Song

Children of Men- Jarvis Cocker: Running the World

Idlewild- Outkast: PJ and Rooster

Little Miss Sunshine- Devotchka: ‘Til the End of Time

Sup. Actor

Adam Beach- Flags of Our Fathers

Rob Brydon- Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story

Eddie Murphy- Dreamgirls

Leslie Philips- Venus

Michael Sheen- The Queen

Mark Wahlberg- The Departed

Sup. Actress

Abigail Breslin- Little Miss Sunshine

Blythe Danner- The Last Kiss

Carrie-Anne Moss- Snow Cake

Meryl Streep- The Devil Wears Prada

Emma Thompson- Stranger Than Fiction

Actor

Sacha Baron Cohen- Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Jean Dujardin- OSS 117

Anthony Hopkins- The World’s Fastest Indian

Peter O’Toole- Venus

Alan Rickman- Snow Cake

Will Smith- The Pursuit of Happyness

Actress

Judi Dench- Notes on a Scandal

Jennifer Hudson- Dreamgirls

Helen Mirren- The Queen

Ellen Page- Hard Candy

Sigourney Weaver- Snow Cake

Adapted Screenplay

Art School Confidential- Daniel Clowes

Children of Men- Alfonso Cuaron & Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby

The Departed- William Monahan

Notes on a Scandal- Patrick Marber

Thank You For Smoking- Jason Reitman

Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story- Frank Cotrell Boyce (as Martin Hardy)

Original Screenplay

For Your Consideration- Christopher Guest & Eugene Levy

Joyeux Noel- Christian Carion

Little Miss Sunshine- Michael Arndt

OSS 117- Jean-Francois Halin and Michel Hazanavicius

Snow Cake- Angela Pell

Stranger Than Fiction- Zach Helm

Director

Alfonso Cuaron- Children of Men

Michel Hazanavicius- OSS 117

Marc Evans- Snow Cake

Marc Forster- Stranger Than Fiction

Paul Greengrass- United 93

Best Picture

Children of Men

OSS 117

Snow Cake

Stranger Than Fiction

United 93