AND THE WINNER IS...

Since I am an American, and therefore not a potential future member of the Hollywood Foreign Press, let me not equivocate: the HFPA is one of the most corrupt, pathetic, kow-towing groups of awards voters imaginable, as their nominees this morning confirmed.

This group of rank-amateur nobodies first drag every potential nominee to special screenings, Q&As, and the like, largely so they can snap a photo with the talent to later show off to their friends, and then they apparently completely disregard everything they have seen and heard and instead nominate the biggest superstars in the race so they can have a few more famous faces at their party. For instance, yes to Julia Roberts in Charlie Wilson's War, but no to Laura Linney in The Savages?!? Give. Me. A. F-ing. Break. Further, they essentially have 'friends' to whom they give advantageous treatment, which is possible due to their fairly vague rules. Nothing against Harvey Weinstein's The Great Debaters, but how much do you want to bet it finished in seventh place for Best Picture (Drama), and that that is why the category was inexplicably expanded to include seven nominees?

This morning, the HFPA proved themselves to be as irrelevant as ever when it comes to being a reliable Oscar precursor. Mark my words: the Academy Award nominations are going to look very different.I could go on here, but instead I'll share a comment or two about each category, along with my predictions score—a pretty good day, aside from Into the Wild—and then I'll go back to bed. I don't need crap like this so early in the morning...

Best Picture (Drama) (5/7; missed The Great Debaters and There Will Be Blood): Mea culpa. I totally blew it on Into the Wild, which I thought would make it into their top seven, at least. Perhaps it is just too American a story? Who knows. It reminds me a bit of Crash, another story about the American experience that failed to muster even a nomination for Best Picture from the HFPA, but as we all remember was still honored by the Academy with not only a Best Picture nomination but also the big prize. Remember that unlike the HFPA, which is composed of a few dozen foreign journalists, the Academy is composed of people who actually make movies, which inherently helps contenders like Crash or Into the Wild that have large ensemble casts of well-known actors who all have friends that vote.

Best Picture Musical/Comedy) (4/5; missed Across the Universe): I have no problem with Juno, Sweeney, or Hairspray, but how do you explain the inclusion of Across the Universe, a movie that was only reviewed favorably by 52% of critics, lost at least $50 million, and most people thought died in Toronto, or Charlie Wilson's War, a movie without a third act that was rendered cute but impotent—a hollow shell of the book—by a desire to remain politically-correct and not mention Al-Qaeda or the Taliban or make any reference to the present day problems it foretold? I'm not sure what clicked with the former. I know why they bit on the latter... Mike Nichols, Aaron Sorkin, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Emily Blunt, Amy Adams. Believe it or not, great talents can make weak movies, too...

Best Director (4/5; missed Ridley Scott for American Gangster): I guess they figured Sean Penn would show up anyway. (Seriously, though: nice job including Schnabel.)

Best Actor (Drama) (4/5; missed James McAvoy for Atonement): I picked the wrong young'n, Emile Hirsch. I could see either one or both making the cut at the Oscars.

Best Actor Musical/Comedy) (4/5; missed Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Savages): Pleased to be wrong here. Like most, I felt they would include Steve Carell (Dan in Real Life) or Jack Nicholson (The Bucket List), but apparently they actually watched The Savages... but, then again, no Laura Linney? Maybe they just picked out of a hat.

Best Actress (Drama) (5/5; missed none): Can't gloat... there were not a lot of other options to pick from, unfortunately, what with Marion Cotillard and Laura Linney going Musical/Comedy... which, retrospectively, was a mistake for both—no explanation required for Linney; for Cotillard, because Julie Christie's likely win in this category will give her momentum that might have been nipped in the bud had Cotillard taken her on directly.

Best Actress (Musical/Comedy) (4/5; missed Nikki Blonsky for Hairspray): Blonsky is a feel-good story and she has her fans, but I'm not sure she was superior to Linney, Katherine Heigl (Knocked Up), or Keri Russell (Waitress)... it looks like the movie went over really well, though.

Best Supporting Actor (5/5; missed none): I think Travolta has a solid shot at the win here... much more so than at the Oscars.

Best Supporting Actress (4/5; missed Julia Roberts for Charlie Wilson's War): In this case, I'm okay with being wrong just on general principle.

Best Screenplay (4/5; missed Aaron Sorkin for Charlie Wilson's War): At this point in the HFPA proceeding, Sean Penn longed to hear from American voters for the first time in years. (And Tony Gilroy wondered what the hell just happened to his Oscar frontrunner status.)

Best Animated Feature (2/3; missed Beowulf): With Ratatouille being the only obvious choice, they had to sit down and think for 10 or 11 seconds before realizing that they could get Jerry Seinfeld and the cast of The Simpsons to the event, and only screw one innovative movie (Beowulf) in the process. I mean, why nominate Beowulf when Jolie is already coming anyway?

Best Foreign Language Film (5/5; missed none): Leave it to me to miss one in most categories but nail Foreign Language... sheesh.

Best Original Score (2/5; missed Clint Eastwood for Grace Is Gone, Alberto Iglesias for The Kite Runner, and Howard Shore for Eastern Promises): I have no excuse for missing Howard Shore, who is a nomination-magnet, or Eastwood, who is Eastwood. I am, however, surprised they took a pass on Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood (There Will Be Blood) in favor of Iglesias.

Best Original Song (2/5; missed "Despedida" from Love in the Time of Cholera, "Grace Is Gone" from Grace Is Gone, and "Walk Hard" from Walk Hard): I stopped giving a damn when I saw they snubbed both songs from Once, which will still duke it out with "Guaranteed" at the Oscars.