I have an Academy Awards fantasy. This Sunday, when the presenter opens the envelope for Best Achievement in Directing, I envision audible gasps, then stunned silence and, finally, thunderous applause when un-nominated Kasi Lemmons benefits from a secret write-in campaign and wins for Talk to Me.

And then, for the hell of it, Sarah Polley wins an Honorable Mention for Away From Her.

I suspect, however, that one of the actual nominees will win. (I'm pulling for Jason Reitman — Juno.) But this does not change the sad truth that sometimes the best movies and performers do not get nominated, and sometimes the absolutely wrong performers and movies win.

It can be pretty tough to figure out the logic. For example, my brother noted that the longest — read poorly edited — movies often win Best Editing. (As he elaborated, “All 28 hours of The English Patient beat Fargo in 1997.) And the acting nominees sometimes reflect the most offensive scenery-chewing.

Of course, my brother and I are not the only ones to spew righteous indignation about the state of Academy Awards affairs. I recently read a pretty good list of the Worst Oscars Ever, some of which I agreed with and some of which I disagreed with. And this led me to compile my own list of Academy Awards Travesties — the performers and movies that stole the awards that should have rightfully gone to more deserving others. … continue reading

It seems to be a great time for women directors. They're currently earning critical and/or commercial success (e.g., Kasi Lemmons' Talk to Me and Sarah Polley's Away From Her). Not surprisingly, this celebration is accompanied by analysis of how little has actually changed. Women still have disproportionately few directing opportunities outside the realm of independent movies. As Terry Lawler, the executive director of New York Women in Film & Television, noted:

"While it's wonderful to see all these women getting recognition, we have had these moments before where a door seems to open, and then it turns out that the door doesn't lead anywhere."

And Academy Award–nominated director Jane Campion recently voiced a similar analysis (basically, "Men control all the money").

The subject is frustrating, but it warrants regular revisiting if things are ever going to change. And I'll do the one thing I can do: recognize some of the great women directors and their stereotype-shattering, groundbreaking movies. This list is far from exhaustive and does not include lesbian directors of lesbian movies. So please don't yell at me for excluding Angela Robinson and Rose Troche.

6. Ida Lupino, Not Wanted (1949)

Best known as a B-movie actress from the 1940s, Ida Lupino was also a prolific writer and director. She had already expanded from acting into production when the director of Not Wanted (aka Shame and Streets of Sin — how good does that sound?!) suffered a heart attack on the third day of filming. She took over as director and went on to a lengthy career in movie and television direction — including two episodes of Gilligan's Island! … continue reading

It's not just 13-year-old kids who get themselves into trouble on MySpace. When director Jon Favreau thanked Caesars in Las Vegas for "for their hospitality, generosity, and Swank accomodations" after an Iron Man shoot, that capital S in "Swank" fueled speculations that Hilary Swank would appear in the film. This week, producer Avi Arad was shocked into admitting Swank will make an Iron Man "cameo" (along with Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, if you're a comic fan who cares).

The bigger news: a drop-in role in Iron Man has everybody speculating that Swank (and Jackson) may be earning superhero creds now for a bigger starring role in some future Marvel franchise. She certainly can beef up enough to be convincing: … continue reading