Okay, girls, here it is.......my contest for the Academy Awards. I am keeping this to just a few categories. In each category there are five nominees, and each category is worth 100 points. You can put all your points on one nominee, or spread them out. For instance, you can make "No Country for Old Men" worth 80 and "There Will Be Blood" 20. As long as they category adds up to 100. Here are the categories:

Best Picture:
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Actor:
George Clooney - Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp - Sweeeny Todd
Tommy Lee Jones - In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises

Best Actress:
Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth
Julie Christie - Away from Her
Marion Cotillard - Le Vie en Rose
Laura Linney - The Savages
Ellen Page - Juno

Best Supporting Actor:
Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James
Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook - Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton

Best Supporting Actree:
Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There
Ruby Dee - American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan - Atonement
Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton

Best Director:
Julian Schnabel - THe Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jason Reitman - Juno
Tony Gilroy - Michael Clayton
Coen Brothers - No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood

This is about all the mathematics I can handle. I will probably ask my ten year old kid to help me with tallying the points.

Lilienne, I could use this as a chance to pull even with you regarding our bets, but I think I will just leave it alone. Have you picked out what you want yet? Just in case I don't get out to L.A. anytime soon.

E-mail me your responses by Saturday, the 22nd. Don't worry if you don't know these films. The critics think they know everything and can't guess what will happen. My e-mail addy is [email protected].

Prizes? Be real, okay? Let's have some fun!

Mere

Okay, maybe I can find a way to offer some prizes!

Come on, girls! Participate, even if you don't care about the Academy Awards! Have fun!

Lest there be any ideas of cheating, like it's possible in this case, I will be playing the contest but not an actual contestant. I will just be comparing my answers to those of the winners. We will have a grand prize, and then second and third places.

You still have a few more days!

i'm going for :

1)there will be blood
2)daniel day-lewis
3)julie christie
4)javier bardem
5)cate blanchett
6)paul thomas anderson

100 points on the nose...... bit worried about 3&4 think the others are total "shoe ins" a remark that might come back to haunt me.

vikki xx

OK, Here's my list .................. 100 points on each!

1. Daniel Day-Lewis.

2. Marion Cotillard.

3. Javier Bardem.

4. Saoirse Ronan.

5. Coen Brothers.

The only one I feel any way confident about would be Marion Cotillard, but, like everything else, if we could all pick winners all the time, we'd all be Mega-rich, and the Bookies would all be bankrupt!

OOPS !!!!

Missed out my nomination for Best Film !! .....................

Again 100 win on .............................

No Country for Old Men.

Mere, did you want them emailed or listed here, I already emailed my picks
Love,
Marsha

I prefer them to be e-mailed, but if y'all want to post them here that's fine with me, too. I am happy about the participation so far.

You still have a few days left! Get your entries in!

Best Picture: Juno
Best Actor: Johnny Depp - Sweeeny Todd
Best Actress: Ellen Page - Juno
Best Supporting Actor: Hal Holbrook - Into the Wild
Best Supporting Actree: Ruby Dee - American Gangster
Best Director: Julian Schnabel - THe Diving Bell and the Butterfly

these are all random guesses except jonny

Remember, girls, you do not have to have seen these films. Do a little reading in the media sections of your papers, websites, etc., and see what the critics are saying. Yes, they are wrong a lot, but it will give you some insight as to what is going on.

Saturday is the last day to submit your entries.

Mere

Only a few days left to enter your guesses!

Come on now, girls! Don't be afraid! Just make a guess!

Lilienne, you are curiously quiet about this! Afraid I'll win? HUH?!?!?!?!?!?

Karen Brad, where are you about this?

Josie? After all we've discussed, you still aren't guessing?

MA? Come on now!

Mere

YOU HAVE TWO MORE DAYS TO SUBMIT YOUR ENTRIES!!!!

You have one more day! Get your entries in to me by tomorrow night.

Girls, the last chance to submit an entry to me is at 90 p.m. Chicago time. By then most of you Euro girls will have already done do.

Remember, this is just for fun! I really don't care who wins these awards, it's just a little diversion here.

Mere

What do you mean just for fun. What happened to the million dollar prize?

You get a dollar a year for a million years.

Come on, sleepy heads! Just guess! I do have a nice amount of players, but why not a few more?

I will extend the deadline for your guesses to 4:30 p.m. my time. I have to work today, so I can accept more entries up to the time I get home from work.

Don't be shy! Again, I really care little about the Awards myself. It is fun to guess who will win.

Mere