OSCARS COUNTDOWN

Less than a week to go. I'm excited. Jon Stewart should be funny (please, please, Jon, be funny. Don't be Chris Rock. You can't sing and dance like Billy Crystal, but BE funny. I know he has the potential and the writers.)

So here are my picks for the Golden statues. I may be wrong, but here goes... "Brokeback Mountain" best picture, Ang Lee best director, Philip Seymour Hoffman best actor, Felicity Huffman best actress (Ok, she won't win... Reese Witherspoon will... but see both movies and tell me which role was more demanding and required "acting". I love Reese, but Felicity Huffman is soooo good in this daring role.) George Clooney best supporting actor ( I love him more than ever!), Rachel Weisz best supporting actress, Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana "Brokeback Mountain" best adapted screenplay, Paul Haggis "Crash" original screenplay, "Wallace & Gromit" best animated feature, Dolly Parton "Travelin' Tru" best song. Dolly lost for "9 to 5" twenty-five years ago. She's long overdue and just the coolest lady.

So those are my picks!

Paul Haggis was on "The Charlie Rose Show" (listen to Charlie on Google Video podcasts now. He's incredible, not to mention his guests) the other night and Haggis explained why he wrote the movie "Crash". He was carjacked by two teens in L.A. several years back and wondered often where they grew up, who raised them, what were they like at home, and he began to to write the script from those seeds. It's like anything in life -- good or bad -- we can learn from the experience and create something to help others. He talked about being broke and down on his luck often as a writer before hitting it very big writing "Million Dollar Baby" and (directing/writing) "Crash". I wonder if he'll thank those two thugs in his acceptance speech?

Some writing news for me. I may go to L.A. in April for a conference (my agent is springing for it, the conference, that is). I heard from the assistant to a studio executive who offered to read my scripts and help "open some doors". A news cameraman friend of mine is married to this assistant's sister... so he put us in touch... helps when a friend looks out for you.

Enjoy the Oscars!