0- Oscar Predictions The Daily film staff picks their 2006 winners The history of hosts Jon Stewart brings youthful appeal to the Oscars. By Andrew Bielak j Daily Arts Writer oscar amanda categories'andrade jeffrey bloomer best PICTURE will win "Brokeback SHOULD WIN "Brokeback best Mountain" DIRECTOR "Brokeback Mountain" "Brokeback "" Mountain" imran syed "Brokeback Mountain" "Good Night and Good Luck" Ang Lee kristin macdonald , Mountain" "Brokeback Mountain" will win or all its advanced billing, endless fashion analysis and overly com- plex critical discus- sions, the Academy Awards ceremony itself doesn't exactly carry its weight in SHOULD WIN Ang Lee Ang Lee Ang Lee Ang Lee best ACTOR will win Philip Seymour Hoffman SHOULD WIN Philip Seymour Hoffman Heath Legder best ACTRESS will win Joaquin Phoenix Joaquin Phoenix Reese Witherspoon Reese Witherspoon Reese Withrspoon SHOULD WIN Charlize Theron Charlize Theron best SUPPORTING ACTORw will win George Clooney Paul Giamatti Paul Giamatti Philip Seymour Hoffman Philip Seymour Hoffman Reese Witherspoon Felicity Huffman Jake Gy~lenhaal Jake Gyllenhaal Rachel Weisz Amy Adams the entertainment department. Despite the best efforts of organizers in bringing it up a notch on the coolness scale, the Acad- emy Awards has consistently seemed about as hip as Jessica Tandy attempting to breakdance. Nevertheless, if there is one human being with the potential to turn a plodding, multi-hour extravaganza into a breezy, fun-filled evening, it has to be the Oscar host. Undertaking what has been called the "toughest gig in show business," the comedian who has been bestowed with this blessing and curse has the responsi- bility of creating life in the driest desert on earth. Through their extraordinary gifts, these high priests have the poten- tial to work miracles and bring joy to the millions of eager Americans hoping for something better from their film industry. Unfortunately, things haven't always gone so well. With a general tendency to fall below expectations, our Oscar hosts have rarely had the requisite skill-set to inject the ceremony with a concept largely unknown among attendees: entertainment. The quintessential Hopper is David Let- terman, whose most memorable moment in his 1995 stint consisted of the repetition of the first names of Uma Thurman and Oprah Winfrey. Apart from the age three to seven demographic, whose advanced intellects help them understand the humor value of similar-sounding words, critics and audiences alike found Letterman's performance agonizingly inept. Things haven't always been so bad. Bob Hope, the paramount Oscar host, took the stage repeatedly throughout the '50s, '60s and '70s with interrupted suc- cess, until audiences realized that he had been replaced by an animatronic body- double. Billy Crystal, the unabashed star of the '90s Oscars, won over audiences on numerous instances through a series of absurdly over-the-top routines that actu- ally made sense approximately three per- cent of the time. What made these comedians so popu- lar in this role was not simply their sense of humor but the manner in which they treated their audience. Unlike those of us who see Hollywood's biggest night as an unredeemable exercise in self-absorption worthy of our eternal scorn and ridicule, the Oscar's best hosts always maintained a sense of fondness and respect for the industry, regardless of how much they delighted in skewering it. With choices like Chris Rock and Jon Stewart as the respective hosts in 2005 and 2006, the event's producers seem to be aiming for an edgier ceremony that can bring in an increased youth demographic. Stewart, host of "The Daily Show" and pop-culture messiah for millions of col- lege students and 20-somethings, is an intriguing choice for a few reasons. Apart from the overtly political nature of his humor (and his ability to reach beyond the typical Hollywood depth of "Bush is a terrorist" in his critiques), there is the fact that many of Stewart's best jokes involve tearing down moneyed, pompous organizations like Hollywood. In contrast to previ- ous hosts, Stewart conceals no sense of affection underneath his layers of ridi- cule. So while it seems assured that his trademark panache will instill a sense of amusement into a ceremony where it is generally in short supply, it remains to be seen whether his acidic wit will jive well with the sensitive, preening group of celebrities seated in front of him. In short, success is no guarantee - even for a demigod like Stewart. So to all you hopefuls out there, wait- ing for the day when you can use your comedic skills to take Hollywood's biggest night by storm, remember this much - hostin' ain't easy. It's a com- plex, difficult world, filled with high expectations and low performance lev- els, dry mouths and sweaty palms and multiple lame references to Brangelina. But with a whole lot of dedication and a little bit of luck, perhaps one day you can become the host we've all been waiting for - because you wouldn't just be hosting for yourself - you'd be hosting for America. IF Want more practice m You'll get over 4,500 questions with complete expl Don't settle. Prep sm 1-800-KA Test Prep and Admissions kaptest.c 'tSAT is rgistered traderk e Law School Admssiooc Coon Co ns kapestrcom/Srog. The Higher Score Guarantee apples only to Kaplan c LSA r 0 Jon Stewart, anchorman of "The Daily Show," will host the 78th Academy Aw SHOULD WIN George Clooney Jake Gyllenhaal best SUPPORTING ACTR ESS will win SHOULD WIN best ADAPTED SCREENPLAY will win RaceWi sz Rachel Weisz Rachel Weisz Amy Adams I Great Oscar moments of the past 20 years By Imra. n Syed / Daily Arts Writer SHOULD WIN "Match Point" "Match Point" "Good Night, and Good Luck" "Good Night, and Good Luck" best ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY will win SHOULD WIN "Brokeback Mountain"e "The Constant Gardener" "A History oViolence" "The Constant Gardener" Brokeback Mountain" "Constant Gardener" "Brokeback Mountain" Best of the Rest Recapping the less prominent categories By Amanda Andrade and Jeffrey Bloomer Castle" are deserving nominees, but expect a victory for the universally adored "Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit." Best Cinematography Though "Good Night, and Good Luck" boasted beautifully innovative cinematography, "Brokeback Moun- tain's" achingly beautiful landscape shots deserve the trophy - not to men- tion the film's tremendous momentum will almost certainly ensure its vic- tory. Costume Design This is a race between lacklus- ter films, "Pride & Prejudice" and "Memoirs of a Geisha," both of which featured splendid costuming. If the Academy's typically political voting scheme prevails, however, "Walk the Line" may end up with the Oscar. Documentary Feature The audience favorite "March of the Penguins" is nominated after a box office streak this summer, but "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" has tremendous buzz and critical acclaim. Score Perennial Oscar favorite John Williams penned a wonderfully evocative score for "Memoirs of a Geisha," but the lack of industry acclaim for the film will hurt his chances. The Academy will try to reward "Brokeback Mountain" in every category they can, and the soundtrack is a flawless compliment to the film. Foreign Language Film Though we won't pretend to have seen any of these films, South Africa's "Tsotsi" would appear to be the favor- ite. We'll get on seeing that, and you should come. Popcorn's on us. 1993 - Steven Spielberg avoids becoming the next Mar- tin Scorsese (the greatest director to never win an Oscar). Though he was 0-4 in his first four attempts at the best director award, he finally wins for "Schindler's List." Spiel- berg would go on to win the award again in 1999 for "Sav- ing Private Ryan" and is nominated this year for "Munich." 1995 - Having won the previous year for "Philadelphia," Tom Hanks becomes the first in history to win back-to-back best actor awards for his title role in "Forrest Gump." Opt- ing to avoid the sentimental nature of his previous speech, Hanks declared, "I think if I'm nominated for anything next year, there'll be a wave of suicide jumpers from the third tier of the Chandler Pavilion." Oddly enough, his acclaimed performance in "Apollo 13" the next year did not garner a nomination 1997 - Best support- ing actor winner Cuba Gooding Jr. goes a little long in his acceptance speech, but screams over the sound of building music, determined to finish thanking everyone. . 1997 - The most expensive movie ever made and the highest-grossing film of all time, "Titanic," tied the record with 14 nominations (Jim Mullen of Entertainment Weekly joked that the film received one nomination for each life- boat). The James Cameron helmed epic went on to win a record-tying 11 awards. 1999 - An ecstatic Roberto Benigni leaps, jumps and twirls his way onto the stage in perhaps the most authentically exuberant acceptance ever. Benigni became the first actor in a non-English-language role to win the best actor award, and his "Life is Beautiful" was also named best foreign language film. 2004 - Long to be remem- bered as one of the most successful night for a sin- gle film in Oscar history, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" wins every one of the 11 awards for which it is nom- inated, including best director (Peter Jackson) and best picture. Alright, entertainment journalists haven't scrambled to deconstruct the race for best animated short and your Oscar betting party probably won't put high stakes on the best cinema- tography contest, but there's more to the Academy Awards than just the big ones. Here's a look at some of the Oscar races that too often overlooked. get Best Animated Feature The brilliantly macabre "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride" and Hayao Miyazaki's lyrical "Howl's Moving 1G~ -The MichiganDaly-- usdjFebruary 23, 206 _Th.....,...n.Dai.._ The,,Mjphigpn Daily r-