AUDITIONS: ROUND ONE

Today marks Day One of auditions for IceBreaker. There are 12 auditions scheduled for today, 24 scheduled for tomorrow, and who knows how many for next weekend. We've received many submissions thus far with more coming in every day.

This project has been in existence for nearly two years now, the screenplay has been finished for over a year, and since then, I can't count how many times Nick and I have gone through the script. Reading it, timing it, tweaking it, loving it, hating it. We've had these characters in our brains for a long time, but now actors will be performing scenes that were previously just words on a page. Talk about a big step in the right direction...

Judging by the amount of submissions we've received thus far, and considering the amount of talent that is being drawn to this project, it's safe to assume that Nick and I will have some very difficult decisions to make down the road. But at least we're in a position to be making these decisions. One year ago we were in no position to even consider casting - there was simply too much work left to do - but now we're moving forward, and holy shit.

It is SO on.

Nick's 63rd Annual Golden Globe Predictions

Here are my predictions, I'm pretty hit and miss with these so I'll predict who I think the award will go to and who I think deserves it. Be advised that I haven't seen all the nominated films.

Best Motion Picture - Drama

Who I think will win- Brokeback Mountain (haven't seen it)

Who I want to win- Good Night, And Good Luck

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Who I think will win- Felicity Huffman (Transamerica, haven't seen it)

Who I want to win- Felicity Huffman (The trailer looks good I guess)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Who I think will win- Phillp Seymour Hoffman (Capote, haven't seen it)

Who I want to win- David Strathairn (Good Night, And Good Luck)

Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy

Who I think will win- The Squid and the Whale (haven't seen it)

Who I want to win- The Squid and the Whale (looks great)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Who I think will win- Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line, haven't seen it)

Who I want to win- Laura Linney (The Squid and the Whale, haven't seen it but I like her work)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy

WhoI think will win- Jeff Daniels (The Squid and the Whale, haven't seen it)

Who I want to win- Jeff Daniels (The Squid and the Whale)

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Who I think will win- Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain, haven't seen it)

Who I want to win- Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener)

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Who I think will win- Matt Dillon (Crash)

Who I want to win- Matt Dillon (Crash)

Best Foreign Language Film

Who I think will win- Tsotsi (haven't seen it)

Who I want to win- Kung Fu Hustle (come on now!)

Best Director - Motion Picture

Who I think will win- Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain, haven't seen it)

Who I want to win- Steven Spielberg (Munich)

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

Who I think will win- Brokeback Mountain, Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana

Who I want to win- Crash, Paul Haggis, Bobby Moresco

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

Who I think will win- Brokeback Mountain, Gustavo Santaolalla

Who I want to win- Memoirs of a Geisha, John Williams

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

Who I think will win- "There's Nothing Like a Show on Broadway", The Producers (didn't see it)

Who I want to win- "There's Nothing Like a Show on Broadway", The Producers (didn't see it)

That's it for the motion picture side of things and, well, I don't doTV...

The 63rd Annual Golden Globes air live on NBC, January 16 (Monday), 2006

It was announced yesterday that Jon Stewart will be hosting the 2006 AcademyAwards. In my personal opinion, I wish they'd go back to Billy Crystal instead of trying to lure younger audiences all the time with these new "hip" hosts - you simply cannot beat Crystal's opening musical numbers. Or at the very least, Steve Martin would've been nice. But the Academy made it pretty clear early on that neither of them would be hosting this year, so taking that into consideration, I'm glad that they chose Stewart. I wasn't a fan of Chris Rock last year, I'm not a fan of Jay Leno period...and damn - I think Whoopi has been a disaster (not to mention her wardrobes) - so I guess Jon Stewart will do. Conan O'Brien would've been a good choice as well. I don't know why they refuse to consult with me when they make these big decisions.

Now if they'd just let me present a damn award. Or accept one.

A quick update- we have a good lead on a casting director that we are meeting with tonight, hopefully we will get the ball rolling on that very soon.

We are shooting for an end of the month crew meeting, depending on people's schedules.

I said we would have our "Best of '05" film lists up soon, and we will- check on Monday or Tuesday for those.

Chad came across some production stills from our "Beer Guy" commercial the other day, we'll try and get those loaded ASAP. There is a cool one of a camera rig we designed on the spot that actually ended up working out great.

Oh yeah, Happy New Year!