QSCAR
KICK-OFF
Angela Lynch
Staff Writer
There are those who
believe that the harbin
ger of Springtime is the
blossoming of trees and
the song of birds in the
air - but little do they
know. To the enlight
ened of the world,
springtime arrives with
the image of a golden
statue and the phrase
"And the Oscar goes
to "
Although the first
awards handed out by
the Academy of Motion
Pictures Arts and Sci
ences back in 1927 didn't
make much of an im
pact, today the Holly
wood industry regards
the ceremony as its high
est accolade. And come
Monday, March 30 ev
erything in the film in
dustry will grind to a
screeching halt as we
find out who gets to take
home the little bald-
headed, naked man we
have come to know and
love as "Oscar."
And now, like eveiy
other film critic in the
world, the Screen De
mon must publicly voice
selections and opinions
about the Oscar nomi
nees - and probably be
completely wrong on ev
ery one.
In the Best Actor cat
egory, the Academy has
selected five incredible
performances by men
who are probably the
best actors of our gen
eration. Nominees in
clude Warren Beatty for
Bugsy, Robert De Niro
in Cape Fear, Anthony
Hopkins for The Silence
of the Lambs, Nick
Nolte for The Prince of
Tides, and Robin Will
iams for The Fisher
King. (If your character
didn't have a slight men
tal imbalance, you
wouldn't stand a chance
in this year’s selection.)
Ail of the nominees gave
what could be consid
ered the perfor
mances of their careers
and it’s almost tragic that
only one will walk away
with the Oscar. But the
Screen Demon nod goes
to Anthony Hopkins for
his unforgettable role as
Hannibal Lechter in The
Silence of the Lambs.
Perhaps you might not
remember this, but Si
lence was released al
most an entire year ago -
- and for a performance
to be remembered and
nominated for an Acad
emy Award after this
great length of time is a
grand accomplishment.
Warren has too many
Oscars anyway. De Niro
gets nominated for ev
erything and Wilhams
has only touched the sur
face of his talents, so
rest assured that he will
be Oscar-material for
years to come. Nick
Nolte may be Hopkins
top contender for the
Oscar--butI
think "Hannibal
the Cannibal" will
prove gold for Hopkins
first nomination.
As we move to the
Best Supporting Actor
category, nominations
went to Tommy Lee
Jones in JFK, Harvey
Keitel and Ben
Kingsley for Bugsy,
Michael Lerner for
Barton Fink, and Jack
Palance for City Slick
ers. Hands down ~ the
Screen Demon pick
goes to Tommy Lee
Jones as Clay/Bertrand
Shaw in JFK. Jack
Palance may pull in
some sympathy votes
because of his age, but
Jones is the best pick -
- by far. Makes me
wonder why more per-
MADAME ZELDA
lookmAe
(
ARIES-Slow down.
Ram! Your energy and
drive to discover new
experiences makes the
average person dizzy. If
you're looking for acom-
patible pal or lover to
traipse behind you on
all your mad dashes from
here to everywhere, look
for a Libra. Being at the
beginning of the zodiac,
symbolizing new begin
ning, you tend to be self-
centered, but this blends
nicely with the Libran
philosophy of surrender
ing to others. Look for
ward to Tuesday: it is
Aries' lucky day, and if
by chance you find your
self near Florence or
Naples, be sure to stop
for a visit - those cities
are cosmically right for
you.
TAURUS--Ever
thought about humoring
your mother and giving
voice lessons a shot?
You should. A Taurus
throat may prove to be
very valuable-but be
careful. Along with this
gift comes a drawback:
you are extremely vul
nerable to colds and lar
yngitis. You share a sign
with musical genius,
Barbara Streisand and
musical cutie, Shirley
Temple. Try decorating
your room in light blue
or mauve to feel more
comfortable in your sur
roundings.
GEMINI-It is a very
dull-minded individual
that can not understand
you, Gemini. Your gift
of excellent self-expres-
sion manifests itself in
everyday conversations,
formal speeches and
writing. This is accented
by versatility, so you can
probably charm the
socks off of most any
one (professors in
cluded). Do you feel in
spired to write poetry?
Don’t hesitate. Poet ge
niuses like Allen
Ginsburg, Walt
Whitman and William
Butler Yeats all wrote
under the sign of The
Twins. For inspiration,
try San Francisco.
CANCER-If you’ve
been feeling kind of blue
lately, never fear. Your
emotions will shift with
the new moon on April
third. Your keen
Cancerian instincts will
be at their peak at this
time, so be sure not to
discard any inspirations
or revelations. Work on
getting to the point
sometimes instead of
side-stepping issues.
Crab. Your lucky day is
Monday.
LEO--You are ex
tremely self-assured and
enthusiastic in your am
bitions. You look out for
yourself and may tend
to dominate others. You
control a room and
gladly soak up the atten
tion. This love of the
limelight might possibly
lead you to the stage like
some of your brothers
and sisters of the zodiac:
Robert De Niro, Dustin
Hoffman and Mae West.
If you find yourself in
Hollywood, don’t be sur
prised — the city is cos
mically right for you. To
protect yourself from
any physical injury,
wear a ruby.
VIRGO--People find
you to be very reserved
and often hard to get to
know. Don’t let your
Virgo nature cause you
to lose friends. I know,!
know, you think love is
nice but finding facts and
remaining in control is
more important, right?
Well, maybe Virgo.
Your ability to balance
the checkbook and ob
jectively analyze EV
ERYTHING is quite
impressive, just try not
to let it be obsessive. To
achieve balance, find a
Pisces; your signs are
opposite. Between your
acute case of practical
ity and the Fishes ’dis
ease of disillusion, real
ity just might be in there
somewhere.
LIBRA-Well, you are
the social butterfly. Your
overwhelming charm
aids in your ability to
win people over. You
are a romantic commit-
formances for JFK
weren't nominated —
Joe Pesci and Kevin
Bacon rocked and de
serve more recognition.
Best Actress is re
ally hard to decide. The
nominations went to
both Geena Davis and
Susan Sarandon for
Thelma & Louise,
Laura Dem in Ram
bling Rose, Jodie Fos
ter in The Silence of
the Lambs, and Bette
Midler in For the Boys.
First instincts say
"Jodie Foster" and the
Screen Demon nod
swings heavily in her di
rection " but keep a
thought open for Susan
Sarandon; she may be the
surprise contender.
The Best Supporting
Actress nominees - for
the most part - gave the
wannest performances of
all. Diane Ladd in Ram
bling Rose, Mercedes
Ruehl in The Fisher
King, and Jessica Tandy
in Fried Green Toma
toes all gave perfor-
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