Oh, Oscar

Was it just me, or did the Oscars seem a little, well, obvious?

Well-coifed actresses in sleek, off-the-shoulder gowns. Spotlights. Strings. A tuxedo-clad host with a few sharp quips. (Some of Jon Stewart's patter felt so stiff, however, that I have to blame the Hollywood writers' strike.)

There were no wardrobe malfunctions, no flubs, no crazed actors mashing lips with Halle Berry. (That means you, Adrien Brody.)

Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony ran so smoothly, in fact, that it felt a tad rehearsed.

Here's my take on the winners and losers at Sunday's 80th Annual Academy Awards.

BEST PICTURE: "No Country For Old Men"
It's a western, a serial killer thriller and a quiet commentary on changing times in the American West. "No Country" may be a little less uplifting than your average Oscar winner, but it's a solid "best bet."

BEST DIRECTOR(s): Ethan and Joel Coen, "No Country For Old Men"
No suprises here. The Coen brothers have a large catalog of clever, quirky stuff and a very loyal following -- just like last year's winner, Martin Scorcese.

BEST ACTOR: Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"
He's handsome, brilliant and willing to risk everything -- the kind of actor who can turn even the crappiest epic ("Gangs of New York", anyone?) into cinematic gold. Give him a lead role seething with rage and ambition and watch the scenery fly.

BEST ACTRESS: Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"
Although Julie Christie could have been a shoe-in for her nuanced, touching turn as a woman with Azheimers in "Away From Her," Cotillard went farther and blossomed more as French singer Edith Piaf.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"
Spanish heartthrob Bardem may play a chilling serial killer, but he'll go down in history for having the worst haircut in movie history, thanks to this film.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton"
Indie darling Tilda Swinton is finally getting mainstream attention in the states -- and not a moment too soon. Unfortunately, her win robbed Aussie Cate Blanchett of a well-deserved statuette for the Bob Dylan biopic "I'm Not There."

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Ethan and Joel Coen, "No County For Old Men"
Handling the Coen brothers another screenwriting Oscar is like giving a 400-pound gorilla another banana. It just makes sense.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Diablo Cody, "Juno"
Quirky, funny and a little too clever for its own good, "Juno" easily swept the title of "indie darling" this year.
Too bad screenwriter Diablo Cody couldn't pull off the same feat on the red carpet. With her leopard print-and-rhinestone mumu, the former exotic dancer seemed to be channeling Peggy Bundy from "Married With Children."

-- Sarah L.

ABOVE: What are the Oscars without a lovingly doctored photo from Tribune photographer Joe Johnston? Yes, I know I look like Bat Boy.

Peter Fonda, wild and on wheels

Talk about a spooky coincidence.

Just hours before local movie maven Wendy Eidson announced that Oscar nominee Peter Fonda will be coming to San Luis Obispo next month, Ticket editor Justin Hoeger and I were talking about the lanky blonde actor's cameo in "Ghost Rider."

Fonda, you see, was the only bright spot in the otherwise dismal "Ghost Rider," starring Nicolas Cage as a demon-possessed vigilante on wheels. Fonda played Mephistopheles -- a role that seemed to fit his mystique as a rough-riding rebel.

Somehow, it's hard to imagine Peter Fonda without a motorcycle.

He played a Hell's Angel named Heavenly Blues in 1966's "The Wild Angels," and the "chief biker" in "The Cannonball Run."

As Captain America, the iconic anti-hero of "Easy Rider," he went on the ultimate roadtrip -- smuggling cocaine with Dennis Hopper, introducing Jack Nicholson to weed, and tripping on LSD with two hookers in a New Orleans graveyard.

Fonda even made an appearance in "Wild Hogs," last year's paen to middle-aged men and their love for burning rubber.

In 2000, the American Motorcyclist Association inducted Fonda into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, praising him as a "motorcycling ambassador providing positive exposure for the sport."

When Fonda rolls into town on Saturday, March 15, I hope he's riding a stars-and-stripes-spangled hog.

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Peter Fonda will appear at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival, which runs March 7 through March 16.
He's the recipient of this year’s King Vidor Career Achievement Award, which recognizes career achievement in filmmaking.
For more information about the SLO film festival, visit www.slofilmfest.org.

-- Sarah L.

Movies on a smaller scale

February is a busy month for movie lovers.

We cram into theater after packed theater, eagerly absorbing the year’s best films in anticipation of that giant circus-cum-popularity contest known as the Oscars. By the actual awards ceremony rolls around, we can barely keep our glazed eyes open.

If you’re weary of big-budget bonanzas like “Atonement” and “There Will Be Blood,” try a few of SLO County’s less frenzied screenings.

No Joan Rivers. No Gucci. We promise.

On Wednesday, take a peak into the life of William Randolph Hearst.

The Cambria Film Society will screen "The Cat's Meow," about the newspaper magnate and silent film star Charlie Chaplin, vying for the affection of the same woman.

That screening is 7 p.m. at the Theatre at the Old Grammer School, 1350 Main St. in Cambria. Tickets are $3. Call 927-8190 to learn more.

Also on Wednesday, head to Templeton for a potluck dinner and HopeDance magazine’s screening of “Two Angry Moms.” The documentary chronicles Amy Kalafa and Susan Rubin’s mission to get school districts to serve fresh, healthy foods.

Dinner starts at 6 p.m. at Dancing Deer Ranch, 2975 Vineyard Drive in Templeton, followed by the movie at 7 p.m. A donation of $5 to $10 is suggested.

Sandra Dimond of North County Farmers Markets will hold a Q&A session following the screening.

Miss “Moms”? You can catch two more screenings on Friday, Feb. 25, at the San Luis Obispo Library, 995 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo.

Kim Pasciuto will speak at the 10 a.m. screening.

The panel for the 7 p.m. screening features Kathleen deChadenedes, director of SLOW Food of San Luis Obispo, Eric Michaelsson of Clark Valley Organic Farm in Los Osos, and Nature’s Touch owner Melanie Blankenship, among others.

A donation of $5 is suggested for both screenings.

Visit www.hopedance.org or call 544-9663 for details.

-- Sarah Linn

"Blue Valentine" seeking a young star

This Sunday, as football fans fill ice chests and chip bowls in anticipation of the Super Bowl, one local youngster could be on her way to super stardom.
Casting agents are looking for a Central Coast girl to star in the feature film “Blue Valentine.”
Shooting for “Blue Valentine,” an indie drama starring Oscar nominees Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, is set to begin this spring in Morro Bay.
Before it does, however, casting agents Richard Hicks and David Rubin need to cast “Frankie,” the daughter of Gosling and Williams’ characters.
They’re looking for a girl between the ages of 4 and 7. No previous acting experience is required.
“We’re not looking for a very young actress of experience,” Rubin explained. “We’re looking for someone who has a special quality, who can behave comfortably and naturally in family situations.”
In fact, he added, the girl playing “Frankie” should be “real” rather than “cute” — an honest-to-goodness kid with her own personality and views.
Auditions will be held 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Sweeney Hall in St. Timothy’s Catholic Church, 962 Piney Way in Morro Bay.
According to the casting agent, no preparation is needed for this informal, first-stage audition. They’ll hold open call auditions for other roles as shooting approaches.

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Morro Bay Mayor Janice Peters has this request for Sunday’s audition: “We want to avoid inconveniencing the church.”
She asks that those interested in auditioning avoid using the church parting lot (the congregation of St. Timothy’s will be holding at 10:30 a.m. Mass) and to refrain from calling the church.
St. Timothy’s has no information about filming, Peters said.

-- Sarah L.

The Truth About Tall Men

On the phone, James Cromwell sounds like your favorite smart uncle.
The Oscar-nominated actor is warm and self-effacing, with just the slightest touch of gravel.
He chuckles. He raises his voice to discuss a lifetime of activism — animal rights, the anti-war movement, the Black Panthers — then moves to another room when his wife tells him he’s being too loud.
Cromwell appears Saturday at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival when he accepts this year’s King Vidor Career Achievement Award for acting.
The ceremony is at 6 p.m. at the Fremont Theatre, 1025 Monterey St. in San Luis Obispo; tickets are $25 or $20 for students and film festival members. Call 546-3456 or visit www.slofilmfest.org for more information.
Before you go, we bring you some insights that didn’t make the print edition.

As the son of a Hollywood director and two theater pros, was it always expected that you would become an actor?
I was actually going to be a mechanical engineer (at Middlebury College in Vermont). That sounds a lot fancier than it really was: I wanted to design sports cars.
My father came to the Sunday morning after a Saturday night fraternity party at my fraternity house — I think this was what prompted him. It was probably my wonderful stepmother who said, “You know, we should really take Jamie to Sweden.”
So he was making a picture in Sweden and once I saw him working, in my quasi-adult state — I was not an adult but I had pretensions to maturity — I thought, “That looks like a lot of fun. Let’s do that.”

At 6-foot-5, you tower over a lot of actors. Has your height ever been an issue professionally?
It’s been an issue for two groups … Somebody at Fox said, “Y’know, I gotta tell you, it’s going to be a problem because I can tell you more than five big stars who refuse to work with anybody over 6 feet.” So I thought, “Oh well, I guess I won't be doing films.”
And then Blake Edwards (on the set of “10”). I came in with a wonderful casting director who really liked me and Blake said to the casting director, “What am I supposed to do with that?”
And the casting director said, “Oh, I thought for the cop.” He said, “How tall is Dudley? How tall is he?” He was trying to figure how he was going to get Dudley (Moore) and me in the same shot without tilting the camera.

You’re definitely taller than most people we see in the movies.
When you’re 45 feet in the theaters, you realize that even if you’re small of stature, one way to appear big is to be the lead in a motion picture. That’s as big as you can get. So it attracts people who have issues and who have compensatory behaviors of the Napoleon variety.
The problem is — and it happens on stage as well — it tends to make the person who’s tallest the normal one and everybody else short. So when I appear on stage with a normal-sized actor, I look normal and everybody else looks like they’re Lilliputians.

Besides your Oscar-nominated role as the farmer in “Babe,” you’ve played a number of authority figures: presidents, police officers, military men.
Do you ever worry about being typecast?
When you said typecasting, it (used to mean) that you were given the kind of roles which were one-dimensional and they really only cast you because of the look. They didn’t have to go through any exposition.
I think the creativity as far as casting directors has shifted from their ability to appreciate an actor’s range to being able to very specifically match an individual actor with the qualities a director describes that he wants for a role.
We get established in the audience’s mind as having a particular quality. It is that quality that the casting director sells to the director: You will be getting this kind of performance from this actor. It’s a given.

Do you ever get tired of taking supporting roles?
When you’re a supporting actor, you know what your role is. Your role is to support them and to assist them in the scene so they can keep the level of their performance where they want it to be rather than having to compensate for your inadequacy.
I’m not a believer in, “Listen. As long as the camera’s on me, it’s my film and I’m going to do any damn thing.” … What happens is the story is not told.

You call yourself “a strong opponent of the Academy Awards system.” Why?
The fact that it is a choice between five superlative performances in which one person will win and four people will lose is obscene in my mind.
My solution is that the five nominees gather together in a room. No one is allowed to vote for themselves. And they discuss each of the films and they vote one of them as being the performance that they admired.
To compare what Kate Winslet did in “Little Children” to what Helen (Mirren) did in “The Queen” is an absurd thing to do.
-- Sarah L.