The Poscar Ceremony

The “big night” has come and gone. No, not that “big night,” the other “big night.” Last Saturday I presented the Poscars at an exclusive, invite-only soiree on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

For the five of you sitting on the edge of your seats awaiting the results, I present the first ever “PoscarCast Semi-Live Blog.”

Saturday, Feb. 17, 2008, 5:45 PM: Let the cheap beer, one-pound Sumo Burgers and milkshakes flow as I wait for the nominees to stroll up the “Cold Concrete” and into Big Nick’s famed burger joint.

My carefully planned Poscar look is inspired by two finalists: a bath towel to honor clothing nominee “Viggo Mortensen’s Bath Towel” and an Anton “Chigurh-Chic” hairdo.

Read the full post here.

Kazakhstan Gets its Glory with Mongol

A year ago, British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen’s Oscar-nominated Borat made Kazakhstan the butt of a massive joke. The “glorious nation” was not amused.

In true cinematic fashion, this year’s Oscars offer a chance for redemption. For the first time ever, the country has a Best Foreign Language nominee with Mongol.

Russian director Sergei Bodrov says he personally liked Cohen’s film—which skewers pretty much everyone who gets in the way, but Kazakhs didn’t appreciate the joke.

“People in Kazakhstan were very upset, they took it really personally, they couldn’t believe how it was possible to make this kind of movie,” he says. Among the character sins committed against them, the film portrays Kazakhs as urine-drinking, incestuous racists. Borat put the country on the map, but not in a positive way.

“For them [Mongol getting the Oscar nomination] is a big deal. It’s good for the Kazakhstan film industry and for the country,” Bodrov says.

Read the rest full post here.

The Second Annual Poscars

By Susan Thea Posnock

Even as the fate of this year’s Oscar ceremony hangs in the balance between the glitzy and the clips-y, fans of the former can breathe a deep sigh of relief: The Second Annual Poscars will take place as scheduled.

For those of you who don’t know, the Poscars are the Oscars’ more prestigious and self-indulgent, “father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate.” An “expert panel of judges” gives them out. (Translation: Me and me alone, displaying my omniscient power.)

I’d also like to note that Sasha Stone graciously allows me to present my views at her site, but the rumor that she and I are the same person is completely untrue—though I’m flattered by any confusion!

I make the rules and therefore can bend them to my will. Last year I nominated three contenders in each category, but this time I’ve widened the field to include as many as five. This year I’ve also added several “Honorary Poscars” to ensure the “Poscarcast” runs the requisite three and a half hours.

Read the rest here.