Hey Ya!

Well well it's almost the end of the 1st quarter. Random thoughts:

1. Oscars are on tomorrow night. Good to see Sean Penn and esp Naomi Watts nominated. Good to see that Nicole Kidman was not. You already know who gets my vote - but in case there was any doubt you can check out the nominees by clicking here)
   Best Film - Mystic River
   Best Director - Fernandon Meirelles (City of God)
   Best Actor - the man Seann Penn (Mystic River)
   Best Supporting Actor - Benecio Del Torro (21 Grams)
   Best Actress - the awesome Naomi Watts (21 Grams)
   Best Supporting Actress - Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Sand and Fog)
   Best Original Screenplay - Steven Knight (Dirty Pretty Things)
   Best Adapted Screenplay - Brian Helgeland (Mystic River)
   Best Foreign Language Film - Haven't seen any of these so I can't judge.
   Best Art Direction - LOTR-TROTK
   Best Cinematography - Seabiscuit
   Best Costume Design - The Last Samurai
   Best Documentary - The Fog of War
   Best Editing - def City of God
   Best Makeup - LOTR-TROTK
   Best Score - LOTR-TROTK
   Best Song - Triplets of Bellville
   Best Sound - Seabiscuit
   Best Sound Editing - LOTR-TROTK
   Best Visual Effects - LOTR-TROTK
   Remember the above are just my votes. NOT my prediction of who will win. That'd be a completely different list.
2. Also I want to revise my Top 10 Movies for 2003 as follows:
   21 Grams
   Dirty Pretty Things
   Mystic River
   City of God
   House of Sand and Fog
   In America
   Lost in Translation
   Kill Bill Vol 1
   Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King
   Monster
   I had to lose Cold Mountain - the further I got from it the less I liked it - which was a little weird.
3. As far as Indian movies go forming a Top 10 Movies of 2003 is much more difficult for two reasons. In my opinion this was not a good year for Hindi movies, but I also have not seen some of the better smaller films. If I had to pick some of the good and the bad of this year it'd go something like this:
   The Good:
   Koi Mil Gaya
   Mr and Mrs Iyer
   Teen Deewarein
   Samay
   Probably Good (but I have yet to see):
   Pinjar
   Khakee
   Munnabhai MBBS
   The Bad:
   Kal Ho Na Ho
   Bhoot
   LOC Kargil
   Qayamat
   The Hero
   Do I need to keep going?
4. Oh I have started writing again. Currently I am working on three different scripts - more on these later. If you are inclined to want to help on our next production - you know what to do. Drop us an email dude/dudetee!
   That's it for now folks. Get back to work - is this what you're getting paid for?!

End of the Year

In the year 2003 two of my movies were released on DVD - Happy Birthday and Wedded Bliss?. That's plain badass! I am proud of both of these films and you really should get your hands on them and watch it. Send me your feedback if you got any.

My top ten films for 2003:

1. 21 Grams
2. Dirty Pretty Things
3. Mystic River
4. House of Sand and Fog
5. In America
6. Lost in Translation
7. Kill Bill Vol 1
8. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
9. Monster (I am saving a slot for it even though I have yet to see it!)
10. Cold Mountain

Best Actor = Sean Penn (for 21 Grams and Mystic River). Honorable Mentions = Sir Ben Kingsley (for House of Sand and Fog), Bill Murray (for Lost in Translation) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (for Dirty Pretty Things)

Best Actress = Naomi Watts (for 21 Grams) Honorable Mentions = Audrey Tautou (for Dirty Pretty Things), Jennifer Connelly (for House of Sand and Fog) and Samantha Morton (for In America)

Best Director = Tossup between Alejandro G. Inarritu and Stephen Friars.

And of course my best picture would go to 21 Grams. Quite frankly the best picture of 2003. Honorable mention = Wedded Bliss? - got to love your own work, son!