Foreign Language: PAN & Scan the Oscar Nominees
In the New York Times, Caryn James looks at the global politics of the films nominated foreign language category -- which must have been a relief from musing for 1000 words about Anna Nicole Smith's fame or speculating harshly about why Angelina Jolie appeared to be "haughty" at the Golden Globes (it turned out that Jolie's mother was terminally ill; maybe she didn't feel like parroting the usual red carpet conversation.)
The Boston Herald's film critic and entertainment reporter Stephen Schaefer reminds Oscar pool voters that Academy members can vote in this category only if they sign an affadavit certifying that they've seen five nominated films. ”With a voting pool that could number in the hundreds – out of a approximately 5,800 voting members – this makes predicting the winner a wild card."