Ignore the 30 foot ape, why don't you?

Well, whattaya know? I turned out to be right when I said that King Kong would only be getting recognition for the technical aspects of the film, as opposed to the laudable acting performances from especially (well, okay, exclusively) Naomi Watts.

I am, of course, not claiming that King Kong (four (technical) nods) should be nominated in all the important categories of the upcoming Academy Awards, but it's a shame that the Academy has yet again blatantly ignored a film purely because it is a big budget crowd pleaser, as opposed to a smaller, more intimate tale such as, say, Brokeback Mountain (eight nods).

I really do believe that the Academy is perhaps underestimating the acting skills it requires from (for instance) Naomi Watts, to deliver a character as believable as her Ann Darrow with nothing to play off but a green screen. Which is a real pity.

Ah well, shows what I know.

George Clooney, on the other hand ...

His second directorial effort, Good Night, And Good Luck, received a whopping seven nominations, among which Best Film and Best Actor. On top of that, Clooney himself bagged a nod for Best Supporting Actor for Syriana.

Way to go, George. I'm kinda rooting for him to win (but then, I've always rooted for Martin Scorsese and Naomi Watts, too, and look where that got them?).

Anyway, march 5th, Jon Stewart hosting, a couple of interesting categories - if I can get off work, I'll definitely be watching.

For a full overview of all the nominations, look here.

Cheers