Last year I hosted a few small film contests here with success, and am currently creating a Comments Contest (especially once Lost starts) for the new year. Of course there will be a prize, and details will follow soon. So why not start now? Yes, you. Ready, go!

Thanks for playing. Or responding. And reading.

Below is a very brief summary of who I would LIKE to win at the non-existent Golden Globes on Sunday. Rather than waste my time predicting who will win, I chose favorites. I haven’t even seen some of these films yet, to be honest.

BEST PICTURE, DRAMA: No Country for Old Men
BEST ACTRESS, DRAMA: Angelina Jolie – A Mighty Heart
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Tilda Swinton – Michael Clayton
BEST ACTOR, DRAMA: Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Phillip Seymour Hoffman – Charlie Wilson’s War
BEST PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL: Juno
BEST ACTRESS, COMEDY OR MUSICAL: Ellen Page – Juno
BEST ACTOR, COMEDY OR MUSICAL: Johnny Depp – Sweeney Todd
BEST ANIMATED FILM: The Simpsons Movie
BEST DIRECTOR: Ethan & Joel Coen – No Country for Old Men
BEST SCREENPLAY: Diablo Cody – Juno

BEST TV DRAMA: Damages
BEST ACTRESS, TV DRAMA: Glenn Close – Damages
BEST ACTOR, TV DRAMA: Michael C. Hall – Dexter
BEST TV COMEDY: 30 Rock
BEST ACTRESS, TV COMEDY: Mary Louise Parker – Weeds
BEST ACTOR, TV COMEDY: Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, TV SERIES: Rachel Griffiths – Brothers and Sisters
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, TV SERIES: Ted Danson – Damages

On the other hand, the Critics Choice Awards, broadcast earlier this week on VH1, were the first major awards given to serious Oscar contenders. Some of these categories vary from the Academy Awards, but here are the victorious:

BEST PICTURE: No Country For Old Men
BEST ACTOR: Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
BEST ACTRESS: Julie Christie (Away From Her)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone)
BEST DIRECTOR: Ethan & Joel Coen (No Country For Old Men)
BEST WRITER: Diablo Cody (Juno)
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Ratatouille
BEST COMEDY: Juno
BEST DOCUMENTARY: Sicko
BEST FOREIGN FILM: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
BEST SONG: Falling Slowly (Once)

I am VERY excited for Glen Hansard and Marketa Iglova, who are being recognized for their work on the beautiful Once soundtrack, and I really hope that they are nominated for an Oscar as well. They will probably face tough competition in Eddie Vedder (for In the Wild). And, of course, I was thrilled for both of Juno‘s wins.

As for the onslaught of other award shows coming our way over the next two months…

Jan. 13: Golden Globes (press conference only)
Jan. 22: Academy Award nominations unveiled
Jan. 26: Directors Guild Awards
Jan. 27: Screen Actors Guild awards
Feb. 10: Grammy awards (for music, but worth a mention)
Feb. 23: Independent Spirit Awards
Feb. 24: Oscars

Did that sound defensive? I am fighting off a cold with every ounce of energy I have, so please excuse the snarky and/or boring nature of this entry. If there is a God, she’d know that I am already in the negative column for vacation days at work, so I would appreciate it is she could just postpone this little cold until the spring. Yes, I accrue a new set of sick days at the beginning of each year, but we those are precious commodities to a high maintenance girl like me. Anyway…

Most of you have probably heard by now that the Golden Globes have been canceled. They were to air on Sunday, but now the winners will be announced via press conference instead. Even though I’ve always enjoyed watching our favorite television and movie stars get sloshed on national television while pretending to be happy for their fellow nominees when they lose, I totally support the writers and respect the actors who refuse to cross picket lines.

Both David Letterman’s Worldwide Pants production company and Tom Cruise’s United Artists movie studio have made independent deals with the Writer’s Guild of America, allowing them to employ writers during the strike. Jay Leno, on the other hand, is receiving serious flack for writing monologues and airing new shows without the permission of the Guild, of which he is a member.

As always, the best sites for up-to-the-minute coverage of the strike are Deadline Hollywood Daily and United Hollywood.

As for the television world, we have to wait until May to see the last few episodes of Bones, and apparently it will move to Monday nights. Why (…I inquire to no one in particular)? And Jon Robin Baitz, the creator of Brothers & Sisters, has left the show due to creative differences with the network. That might prove to be very interesting once production on that series resumes.

Let’s start with director Jason Reitman. I am a huge fan of Thank You For Smoking, which he directed and adapted from Christopher Buckley’s novel. He maintains a similar pace, visual style and spirit in Juno, intermingling comedy with just a dash of surprising sentiment. Most of the Juno buzz has been for screenwriter Diablo Cody, but Reitman’s effort should not be overlooked. The Oscars may not come knocking, but at least he was nominated for a 2008 Independent Spirit Award.

And as for lead actress Ellen Page as Juno…perfection. I first took notice of her at Sundance last year, when she starred as a victim of domestic torture at the hands of Catherine Keener in An American Crime. She reminded me of Jodie Foster and Natalie Portman at the beginning of their careers; mature beyond their years and very talented. And then I rented the intense Hard Candy (see photo below). I can only describe that film and her performance as…tremendously disturbing, especially given the age of Page’s character (14).

In Juno, it was certainly nice to see Ellen Page in a lighter environment (which, under non-cinematical circumstances, teenage pregnancy isn’t). She plays quirky quite well, and it was as if Cody wrote the film with her in mind. I certainly can’t imagine any other actress in her age range that would have been half as convincing or likable. Although she has appeared in a blockbuster (X-Men: The Last Stand), I have high hopes for her future as a very successful independent film star and her chances at a Best Actress Oscar nod for Juno.

I have written about Diablo Cody before, and I would like to reiterate that she is worthy of the accolades she is receiving for this, her first screenplay. It is a bold tale, and the material, with anyone other than Reitman behind the lens and delivered by this fantastic ensemble cast, could have been disastrous. Juno is chock full of pop culture references and unconventional characters, and it is refreshing to experience a film world that looks, feels and sounds just like a 29 year old wrote and envisioned it. As for her next move, Cody is currently writing and producing The United States of Tara, a half hour comedy for Steven Spielberg that will air on Showtime. Not too shabby.

If you are familiar with Jennifer Garner from her kick-ass days on Alias or her cutesy roles in movies like 13 Going on 30, you are in for a pleasant surprise in Juno. Her performance is subtle but striking, and so essential to the story; worthy of a Best Supporting Actress nomination. Just watch her face whenever onscreen husband Jason Bateman appears. Priceless.

The dynamic duo from Arrested Development don’t share screen time together in Juno, but just watching Bateman and Michael Cera in the same film was reward enough. If you would have asked me several years ago whether or not I thought that Jason Bateman would make a comeback, I might have laughed out loud. While an unlikely candidate (Silver Spoons, Teen Wolf Too), his resurgence is well-deserved and his star is definitely on the rise again (he co-stars with Will Smith in this summer’s Hancock). And clearly this is Cera’s year to shine, although I have to say that I much preferred his performance in Juno to the over-hyped Superbad. Is there another actor more worthy of the title ‘King Awkward’ than this guy right now?

Even the smaller roles were brilliantly cast and brought to life in Juno. Though I’ll never be able to shake the image of J.K. Simmons as evil Schillinger from Oz, he has become an invaluable character actor with a great face and comedic timing. Ditto Allison Janney, who has recently proven with both Juno and Hairspray that she has effortlessly shed the conservative sheen from her years on The West Wing. But my favorite Janney appearances on the big screen have been her brief yet stunning turn as Chris Cooper’s wife in American Beauty and supportive girlfriend to Meryl Streep in The Hours.