So far the following films have reaped extraordinarily enthusiastic reax at private screenings held just for members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences: Being Julia, Fahrenheit 9/11, Finding Neverland, The Incredibles, Kinsey and Sideways. Vera Drake's audience was appreciative, but small and most post-screening chatter was about Imelda Staunton's probability of being nommed for Best Actress -- nothing was overheard about its chances for Best Picture. Ray and Collateral received big audience turnouts, "but most of the talk afterward was about the performances, not their shots at Best Picture," says one spy. Earlier this year when Passion of the Christ was shown, it received "the angriest audience response I've ever seen," adds our insider. No doubt the heavily Jewish crowd resented the film's portrayal of Jews being blamed for Christ's death. Ironically, the religious film sparked "the most filthy cussing and swearing that's ever been heard at an academy screening," says the source. "I Heart Huckabee's is the first film I have ever seen that received absolutely no applause at the end credits. Academy members all just got up and left, and didn't even hang around the lobby to talk about the movie."

http://www.goldderby.com/insidetrack/insidetrack1.asp

Million Dollar Baby:
possibly earning the Oscar-winning director a chunk of Best Actor gold at last, in addition to new bids for Best Director/Picture. Baby was due to be released in 2005, but Clint's so proud of his latest celluloid baby that he ordered Warner Bros. to jam it into this Oscar derby at the last minute. Our spy has seen the tale of a veteran coach and his sidekick (Morgan Freeman) grooming a wannabe boxer (Hilary Swank) and reports, "It's beautifully crafted and quite a compelling, haunting and unexpected story, not just of boxing, of women boxing, but of family, pluck and heart. It's deliberately paced (about 130 minutes) with a wonderful script, Clint's best performance EVER, a great supporting turn from the always-reliable Morgan Freeman (he and Clint are just fun to watch together) and, yes, a sure-fire terrific performance from Hilary Swank that puts her right up there again for another showdown with Annette Bening in this year's suddenly interesting Best Actress race. I thought she transcends her work in Boys Don't Cry. If Warner Brothers can get this thing out there with some traction, the results should be heartening. It's one of the year's best pictures and one no one seems to know about it -- yet." Release date is Dec. 17.

Phantom of the Opera:
Viewers of Phantom of the Opera can't make up their minds if it's a classic or a dud. Typical example: reax were split evenly at its screening for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association early last week. Our spy observed that half of Globes voters loved it (mostly older members), while the other half pooh-poohed it. One insider said, "It's just like Oliver! It uses an amazing unknown cast in a spectacular setting. Don't forget that Oliver! ended up sweeping the Globes and Oscars!" But another source called it a "a real horror film -- as in horrible," adding, "They screwed up this Broadway classic by slowing down the pace of the musical score to a boring snooze. Worse, they made the phantom more of a misunderstood misfit than a terrifying monster. That takes all the fun out of it!" Despite the split decision on the film's success, all Globe voters agree that Phantom has sufficient support to get noms for Best Musical/Comedy Picture and Best Actress (Emmy Rossum). And don't forget, in that Best Picture race pitting tuners against laffers, musicals always win (Evita, Moulin Rouge!, Chicago) even when they don't deserve to (Babs' A Star Is Born). Early, scary buzz on the film predicted doom at awards, but now Phantom seems to be rising from the dead despite persistent stakes through the heart (one reigning showbiz editor recently declared it a "disaster" after viewing it). Apparently, it's touching the hearts of some Oscar voters. A few have told our snoops in Hollywood that they "really love" it. If movie-goers do, too, when it's released on Dec. 22, Phantom could hit a high note on Globes night, after all.

Very interesting and again by the very resourceful Rod....
By the way Rod, who's the guy in your avatar. After reading a gazillion of your posts this morning it's bothering me

On the subject... I'm beginning to change my oredictions by the minute :wink:
I had no idea Million Dollar Baby was gonna have Clint up-frunt as Best Actor... and it seems people will be interested in seeing it after all instead of leaving it out to avoid more confusion and complication...

I can't wait till Christmas break when I can see all these movies.
Until then, I have plenty to watch for.

Has Clint ever won Best Actor?

That'd be suprising if it was a five-way race between Foxx, Depp, Neeson, Bardem, and Eastwood. It'd make things very very interesting.

Clint's never won best actor, but he was nominated for Unforgiven. I doubt if he gets nominated because actor is a very competitive race this year. On the other hand, it sounds very good for Hilary Swank. She could be getting her second nomination.