Pat's Halfway Through The Year Awards

Top Ten Baits (with 5 Honorable Mentions)
1. River City Blue
2. Recoil
3. The Counterfeit King
4. Green River
5. Negatives
6. Lucky Clover
7. Abroad
8. Postality
9. Imagine
10. Rivalry At 6 PM

Honorable Mentions: Sandstorm, Bootleg, Standardized Test, Jackrabbit, The Jungle

Best Plot/Synopsis
Abroad
Green River
Postality
Recoil
**River City Blue**

Best Awards Campaign
**Bloodshed**
Fatally Yours
Jackrabbit
Louisa
Recoil

Best Online Awards Campaign
**Bootleg**
A Child Of Shame
Dinah Was...
Jackrabbit
Running Miles

Best Title
Australia
A Child Of Shame
His Or Hers?
**River City Blue**
Sandstorm

Most Likely To Become A Box Office Hit
25 Billion
**Imagine**
Mom Is 80
Negatives
Sandstorm

Most Likely To Become A Cult Film
The 27th Victim
The Awards Ceremony
**Dark Night Of The Soul**
Sixty Days
Sweet Black And Blue

Most Original Bait
25 Billion
**The 27th Victim**
The Island Of The Day Before
Postality
Recoil

Most Original Character
Edward Cutrone (Clive Owen) in Midnight
Paul Finkel (Woody Allen) in Postality
Ace Headlee (Denis Leary) in Around The Horn
**Grant Rosella (Jake Gyllenhaal) in Louisa**
Julianne Wolf-Stevens (Glenn Close) in The Last Page

Best Cast
Abroad
**Captain Scott**
Recoil
River City Blue
Standardized Test

Best Casting Choice
Alec Baldwin as George in Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?
Annette Bening as Jeanette Rankin in Defiant Soul
**Vera Farmiga as Sheryl Crowe in Livestrong**
Anika Noni Rose as Dinah Washington in Dinah Was...
Billy Bob Thornton as Buck Redding

Best Crew
Jackrabbit
Imagine
**La Ventana**
Oil
River City Blue

Best Tagline
Around The Horn
Glass
Green River
**Imagine**
Postality

Funniest Bait
Around The Horn
Negatives
**Postality**
Standardized Test
Sweden Day

Best Poster Design
Abroad
Big Brown Bag
Diary Of A Sociopath
Lucky Clover
**Short To Long**

Best Author
D.W. Dillon
Harry
Maia
Ross
**Zgamer**

Best Picture
The Counterfeit King
Green River
Negatives
Recoil
**River City Blue**

Best Director
Stephen Gaghan-River City Blue
Robert Towne-Fatally Yours
**Jim Sheridan-Lucky Clover**
Walter Salles-Altamont
Peter Weir-Jackrabbit

Best Actor
George Clooney-River City Blue
Paul Giamatti-Diary Of A Sociopath
**Clive Owen-Midnight**
Billy Bob Thornton-Recoil
Vince Vaughn-Negatives

Best Actress
Patricia Arquette-How It Ends
Cate Blanchett-The Counterfeit King
Alexis Bleidel-Sixty Days
**Glenn Close-The Last Page**
Diane Lane-Portait Of A Woman

Best Supporting Actor
Larry David-Postality
Shia LaBeouf-Abroad
**Denis Leary-Around The Horn**
Paul Newman-Recoil
Forest Whitaker-River City Blue

Best Supporting Actress
**Drea De Matteo-Bootleg**
Sophia Loren-Recoil
Jane Lynch-Standardized Test
Helen Mirren-Love Now, Laugh Later
Rachel Weisz-Faded Red

Best Adapted Screenplay
As I Lay Dying
The Counterfeit King
The End Of The Alphabet
The Island Of The Day Before
**The Jungle**

Best Original Screenplay
Abroad
**Postality**
Recoil
River City Blue
Sandstorm

"Tavistock Place" One of the Top 20 Baits Since January

I just wanted to thank everyone who voted for "Tavistock Place" in the recent Halfway Awards. I was extremely surprised and grateful to see my bait on the list. If I was going to any place on the list, I thought it would be either "Scarttenow Junction" or "The Moon and the Rain", both of which got BP noms while "Tavistock" was only an honorable mention. When the nominations came out in January I was very disappointed because I wanted this bait to do well but it only managed to garner a few nominations and a win for best crew, despite having a strong showing at the festival. I guess people just forgot about it. I remember in December when I was promoting it I said it was my best written bait ever and I'm glad it finally got some recognition. Thank you all very much and good luck!

P.S. Later tonight or tomorrow I will be putting up my own personal awards for the first half of the year

Emmys 2007

So we have the Bait an Oscar contest and then we have the real Oscar contest and now I will add my comments on the Emmy race (Grammys to come later this year). There has been a lot of hubbub in the press about certain Emmy judges leaking nominees in a final judging session to determine the final nominees. Personally, I don't understand why the Academy is withholding the information. Who is it going to hurt? But thanks to the magic of technology, we have learned all the contenders for Best Series (Drama and Comedy), as well as numerous actors.

The way Emmy nominations are developed is through an extensive voting process. First, each series or performer must pick an episode that highlights it excellency the best. Then a popular vote determines the Top 10 contenders, which are then cut in half by a group of judges. It is episode choice that is essential to success and year after year shows and actors fail to pick their best tapes and it baffles me.

Here are my predictions for the final nominees:

Best Supporting Actress (Comedy)

Jenna Fischer-The Office
Ashley Jensen-Extras
Jaime Pressly-My Name Is Earl
Nicolette Sheridan-Desperate Housewives
Vanessa Williams-Ugly Betty

Jenna Fischer from "The Office" is a lock. She submitted in the finale where she shines and comes across as very sympathetic. With Vanessa Williams of "Ugly Betty" being the only confirmed Top 10 contender I'll have to wing this one. It would not at all surprise me if another "Office" girl got in and if one did it would be Angela Kinsey. Williams also has a lot of buzz surrounding her and as does Nicollette Sheridan from "Desperate Housewives". If she was placed in this category, "Extras" star Ashley Jensen could make it in because the show is apparently very popular within the community. Jamie Pressly was the predicted winner last year for "My Name Is Earl" and, with Megan Mulally out of the race, expect her to make it. There are also a bunch of women from the CBS comedies that are possible but I doubt it.

Best Supporting Actor (Comedy)

Neil Patrick Harris-How I Met Your Mother

John Krasinski-The Office

John C. McGinley-Scrubs

Jeremy Piven-Entourage

Rainn Wilson-The Office

This category has only one sure thing with Jeremy Piven, last year's winner, and my favorite from the show. He nailed his submission again this year with "Manic Monday", an episode all about his character's depression. Neil Patrick Harris is getting a lot of good buzz and McGinley is bound for more recognition. Rainn Wilson submitted "The Coup", which is by far his best of the season because it shows his comic and dramatic sides and he should have no problem too. John Krasinski is easily the most vulnerable of the group. He had very little screentime in the episode he submitted, which will hurt him in the judging phase. He could easily be replaced by Justin Kirk for "Weeds" or Jon Cryer from "Two and a Half Men".

Best Supporting Actress (Drama)

Rachel Griffiths-Brothers & Sisters

Elizabeth Mitchell-Lost

Sandra Oh-Grey's Anatomy

Aida Turturro-The Sopranos

Chandra Wilson-Grey's Anatomy

This will eventually become a 2-person race for Mitchell and Oh, and I predict Mitchell to win. Those two submitted their best episodes and are amazing in both. Wilson has a ton of industry support and a knockout episode ("Oh, The Guilt" the one where Cristina takes her name off the board). Griffiths is getting a lot of buzz but the failure of "B&S" to show up in the Top 10 hurt her chances. Turturro is overdue for "Sopranos" but won't win this year considering the other contenders. Yunjin Kim from "Lost" could also become a factor but I highly doubt it with her episode pick. She chose "The Glass Ballerina" over "DOC", which had a scene where her character learned that she might die but was more happy to find out her baby was her husband's. It was heartbreaking. It would be wishful thinking to see Adrianne Palicki from "Friday Night Lights" in the lineup with her submission where she nearly gets raped!

Best Supporting Actor (Drama)

Dominic Chianese-The Sopranos

Michael Imperioli-The Sopranos

T.R. Knight-Grey's Anatomy

Terry O'Quinn-Lost

William Shatner-Boston Legal

The Shat will probably get in because he always does even if it is the wrong category for him but I think he is vulnerable, along with Chianese. Dominic only had one standout episode the whole season and it may not be enough. Imperioli is in and will probably win with "Walk Like A Man", the episode before Christopher died and when he shot Tim Daly in the face (yes!!!). O'Quinn submitted "The Man From Tallahassee", the episode where we learned how Locke became paralyzed. He'll get in on the popular vote and for the expression on his face at the closing of the episode. Knight has had a rough year and will probably get a nom for the two-part episode where his father dies. It was a very good performance and some consider him overdue. Don't be surprised if Jack Coleman or Masi Oka from "Heroes" sneak in. A number of "Lost" guys had great years too. Michael Emerson or Henry Ian Cusick could get recognized but watch out for Josh Holloway, who picked his best episode ever: "Every Man For Himself".

Best Actress (Comedy)

America Ferrara-Ugly Betty

Teri Hatcher-Desperate Housewives

Felicity Huffman-Desperate Housewives

Julia Louis-Dreyfus-The New Adventures Of Old Christine

Mary-Louise Parker-Weeds

They should just give the statue to Ferrara now, we know she's gonna win. Huffman is probably her only competition and in a weak category there really is nobody else for nominations, except for maybe Marcia Cross of "DH" or Tina Fey from "30 Rock", although she screwed up her submission

Best Actor (Comedy)

Alec Baldwin-30 Rock

Steve Carell-The Office

Ricky Gervais-Extras

Jason Lee-My Name Is Earl

Charlie Sheen-Two and a Half Men

Baldwin, Carell, and Sheen are absolute locks and the other two are extremely vulnerable to Tony Shalhoub for his 3-time winner "Monk", which would be very despressing because he is very undeserving when put next to Baldwin and Carell. Gervais could get in on "The Office" love and Lee should've been nominated last year. Surprise could come from Kevin Connolly of "Entourage".

Best Actress (Drama)

Patricia Arquette-Medium

Connie Britton-Friday Night Lights

Sally Field-Brothers & Sisters

Ellen Pompeo-Grey's Anatomy
Kyra Sedgwick-The Closer

Field and Sedgwick are the closest to being considered locks but are still suspect to failure. Pompeo could get in on popular support from her episode where she confronts her mother, who has come out of an Alzheimer's bout. Arquette is getting a lot of buzz, but so are Calista Flockhart and Mariska Hargitay and a bevel of others. This is a very competitive category this year and it may surprise many to believe that Falco is the most vulnerable. I believe she submitted "The Second Coming" and I honestly can't remember her in this one. It was all Gandolfini. Expect Connie Britton to take her place for her astounding performance in "Friday Night Lights".

Best Actor (Drama)

Michael C. Hall-Dexter

James Gandolfini-The Sopranos

Hugh Laurie-House

Ian McShane-Deadwood

Kiefer Sutherland-24

Gandolfini wins 4th Emmy, open and shut case. Hall is a lock along with Laurie. Sutherland is somewhat vulnerable to James Spader and Denis Leary. Ian McShane could receive some of the love for his departed series but could easily be knocked out by the previous two mentioned or Kyle Chandler from "Friday Night Lights", but he screwed up his submission. He should've have chosen "Wind Sprints" instead of "Eyes Wide Open". Matthew Fox from "Lost" could also make it in if voters remembered his perf in the finale, which he sadly did not submit.

Best Series (Comedy)

30 Rock

Entourage

The Office

Two and a Half Men

Ugly Betty

"Office", "30 Rock", and "2 1/2 Men" are locks and one will probably win. "Ugly Betty" is most likely in. That leaves "Entourage", which is overdue but vulnerable to its HBO counterpart "Extras". "Desperate Housewives" could make it in, but it has a distant chance.

Best Series (Drama)

Friday Night Lights

Grey's Anatomy

House

Lost

The Sopranos

"House" and "The Sopranos" are in. "Lost" had an awesome year and submitted the finale, its best episode in a long, long time. It has a strong chance at winning too. "Grey's" will get in on the popular vote but could fall to the wrath of "Heroes". I have a lot of confidence in "Friday Night Lights", the little show that could. They submitted the pilot, which wasn't the best episode but satisfies. Hopefully it ranked high in the popular vote considering I find that mostly artistically inclined people seem to watch it.

The Case Against "The Valley Of Ashes"? Can It Be True?

It is true, I am about to bash recent Golden Igloo winner "The Valley Of Ashes" and I'll probably make enemies with Zgamer after this but I don't care I want to say this. Z, feel free to do the same with mine, I won't get angry but I may defend them fiercely if I feel your accusations are unwarranted. Some of you might think this is just me being a sore loser and maybe I am (even though I thought "A New Agenda" should've won). So here it goes.

DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO SPOIL ANY POSSIBLE ENJOYMENT OF THE BAIT!!!!

Problem #1: The Plot When one first reads "The Valley Of Ashes", one is taken aback by the amazing prose and horrific imagery in the bait's synopsis section. But, if you've read it already, take a look back and read the plot again, without paying attention to the adjectives and rest of the words, but rather examine the plot itself. If you do this, you will find that there is no plot, just a beginning that suggests something and forces the reader to assume the author has a plan after the synopsis has ended. Unless it has changed since I've read it, the bait just stops after the main character starts walking without giving insight into the rest of the story. Yeah we know that he walks around Vietnam but what happens to him? Specifics are needed!

Problem #2: The Cast Well, there is none, except for Barry Pepper (pictured left). The fact that there is only one person in the cast list suggests that he is the only person we see throughout the whole film. I'm assuming that he meets other people along his trek, which should have been explained in the synopsis as well.

Problem #3: The Crew This is the worst part of the bait in my opinion, just because I'm a schtickler for originality. Roman Polanski and Ronald Harwood are a good team and even won real Oscars together because "The Pianist" was so innovative and fresh. This bait uses the memory of that great movie and twists it for its own benefit. It basically has the same story. Pepper's character treks alone across Vietnam and in "The Pianist" Brody's walks around Poland while evading the Nazis. This should be renamed "The Pianist II: Vladislaw in Saigon"

So, again, I am profusely sorry to Zgamer and anybody else who may be offended by this article. This is a contest, and like the real Oscar race, it can get dirty if the stakes are high enough. This is me trying to do what it takes to win and if anybody thinks I'm out of line for doing this let me just ask you one question: Would have the balls to do it?

Festival Winners Are Up!

Here are the winners and my thoughts:

Golden Igloo-"The Valley Of Ashes"
Not too surprising. I thought it was a 3-way race between this, "A New Agenda", and my bait "Border Man" but I thought Daniel's would win. "Batman" may be a good bait but I don't think it will gain enough support.

Forum Favorite-"Batman: Scars of Tomorrow"
Again, not surprising, but forum favorites never tend to gain the top spot.

Best Director-Roman Polanski-"The Valley Of Ashes"
I'm not gonna lie on any of these notes, I thought Inarritu would win with Polanski being a very close second. I guess I'm just biased.

Best Actor-Barry Pepper-"The Valley Of Ashes"
The love for this bait is all around, but is it shortl-lived? More on that later...

Best Actress-Megan Mullaly-"Good Morning, Ladies"
Good choice. Best of the four and I'm surprised Danner got nommed.

Best Supporting Actor-Al Pacino-"A New Agenda"
Could he sweep the rest of the awards? I doubt it, but we'll see.

Best Supporting Actress-Kristin Chenoweth-"Good Morning, Ladies"
I was right!!! Let's keep the awards juggernaut going for her. She deserves it.

Best Screenplay-"A New Agenda"
Not surprising and will probably win the Oscar.

Best Ensemble-"A New Agenda"
I haven't seen the ensemble of this bait yet so I can't really comment other than saying I was grateful "Border Man" was nominated with a relatively B-list cast.

Best Picture-Drama-"Border Man"
I won!!! Kinda surprising considering it didn't take Best Picture. Has this ever happened before?

Best Picture-Musical/Comedy-"A New Agenda"
With "Rehab!" out of the mix it was destined to win this.

Congratulations to Johnny for winning your first award! You so deserve it.

Kristin Chenoweth, Best Supporting Actress?

After first reading Alex and Chris Perkin's "Good Morning, Ladies" there was one character that stood out to me, and that was Kristin Chenoweth's. The bait, satirizing recent events, is about an all-women panel of a morning talk show where rivalries and debates are more common than K-Fed jokes. Chenoweth's character is inspired by Elizabeth Hasselbeck, the youngest, most beautiful, and most conservative of the TV hosts, and she is perfectly casted.

Chenoweth has recently been seen playing a hot blonde Republican named Annabeth Schott on the final two seasons of "The West Wing". She was extremely good in that role and would probably be even better in this one for one very big reason. One of the last parts of the bait is about a fight concerning the Iraq War, reminiscent of the actual argument between Hasselbeck and Rosie O'Donnell. This ten minute tirade is perfect awards fodder because it contains so much relevancy and emotion. And while most Americans would agree with O'Donnell's side of the battle, Hasselbeck defiantly stood her ground and was able to bring Rosie to tears and even caused her to leave the show.

Now to the point. The casting of Chenoweth is superb and should be considered one, if not the, frontrunner for Best Casting Choice. But she is also prevalent in the Best Supporting Actress. Her role combined with the excellent casting is more than enough to secure Chenoweth a second Oscar, if enough voters are familiar with the actual event. The past 3 Best Supporting Actress winners have swept the category, practically, across the board and Chenoweth should succeed as well.

So there you have it, I predict that Kristin Chenoweth will dominate the Best Supporting Actress category for her role in "Good Morning, Ladies."

Note: Over the next few weeks I will be adding more of these little articles for the people or films I think should win awards.

Reactions

This weekend I went on a camping trip and then saw "Live Free or Die Hard" (Yippie-ki-yay motherfucker!) so I really didn't have time to react to the June Oscar winners, but really what was there to react too? I am very grateful for the two wins I received for "Captain Fantastic" but I really wished Eddie Izzard was nominated instead of Philip Seymour Hoffman. I'm not complaining, I just feel my casting of Izzard as George Michael was much much better than my Hoffman choice. I got 11/23 on my predictions and I should've had more faith with the other voters to pick the correct choice in most of the categories, which they did.

Congradulations to Sergio and his bait "Lucky Clover"!!! I've predicting that thing since the beginning and I was beginning to think it was just wishful thinking.

I' m not going to add any predictions for the festival because the winners will be up soon and I really have no idea how to gauge this specific contest. Thanks to the panel for making "Border Man" one of the most nominated baits with 7 nods! I'm glad to see that Berenger got some attention, but especially surprised to see nods for Burton and Weaver from "Other World". The latter, I assume, was given a nomination because many feel she is overdue for some awards attention because she really doesn't have a big part in the bait. A nomination for Kate Burton is quite surprising considering I thought that most people (except for those who watch Grey's Anatomy) have no clue who she is. But thank you anyway. Good luck to all the other nominees and I'm gonna say this know but I feel this month will see the first repeat Best Picture winner. We've been dancing around each other for months, waiting for the right time, and if nobody else's bait breaks out, I think one of the four nominees and Rehab! (which was shockingly shutout) could win.

And just a side note from me, I'm really hoping to get the only Big 8 award I haven't won yet this month, which is Best Director, so I'm especially pushing for Inarritu or Shyamalan to win. Just keep that in mind, please.