It's always difficult to watch the Oscars. I usually look for the face lift scars or people who are high as a kite. The Red Carpet is always a fun show to play "Spot the Pothead/Spot the OxyContin addict/Spot the Plastic Surgery Nightmare," but this year I just went to the gym before the ceremony started. You know, get a run in before I watch all the anorexics get their gold.

I'm kidding. Sort of.

Anyway, if you put money down on some folks, you came back with some cash this year after a couple of big surprises on the ladies' part. Here's how it all went down:

Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men (1/8): He was pretty much a lock for this award. The only other actor that had a chance was Tom Wilkinson for Michael Clayton, and that's a tough guy to beat in any year. For every $8 you bet on Javier, you won $1-- not a big money maker.

Best Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton (9/2): Here was the first shock of the night. It was pretty obvious that even Tilda was shocked. But she's such an underrated actress that it was cool to see her win. For every $2 you bet on Tilda, you won $9, which is a nice little profit.

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood (1/10): I mean, really. Daniel Day-Lewis could barely be anything on film and he'd win an Oscar. He's that brilliant. Which means that you didn't win much-- $10 won you $1, which isn't much at all.

Best Actress: Marion Cotillard - La vie en Rose (7/2): And your other shocker of the night was for a really great performance. Foreign actors swept all the acting awards, and that was cool to see-- a different kind of feel to the awards. For every $2 you bet on Marion, you won $7. Not bad at all.

Best Director: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen - No Country for Old Men (2/3): While Paul Thomas Anderson had the even odds for There Will Be Blood, the Brothers Coen had the slightly better chance of winning odds-wise. That doesn't mean you made any money, though. For every $3, you won $2-- just a little less than even money.

Best Picture: No Country For Old Men (1/4): Once again, There Will be Blood was right behind this at 3/2, which was close but not quite close enough. The Academy loves these guys, and I think they felt better giving them an award for a darker movie than for something like O Brother, Where Art Thou? For every $4, you won $1.

Labels: movies, Oscars, wrap-ups

posted by Kari at 12:19 PM

I know, I know. Does anyone watch the Grammys anymore? I know it was the 50th, which is a big deal. But there were only probably 2 (okay, maybe 3 if you count seeing what Amy Winehouse was going to do over the satellite feed) things that were worth watching:

1. Tina freakin' Turner.
2. Morris Day and The freakin' Time.

That is all.

But, if you did lay down some money, here's what you would've won last night:

Song Of The Year: Rehab - Amy Winehouse (9/4): If you had laid down $4, you won $9 plus your original $4, which isn't bad at all. The odds had tipped at the last minute to Carrie Underwood's Before He Cheats at 1/3, which wouldn't have been much of a winner.

Album Of The Year: River: The Joni Letters - Herbie Hancock (6/1): This was the big shocker of the night, because the Grammy voters are known for being more pop-centric than they are for being jazz fans. But for every dollar, you won $6 plus your dollar back, which if you were feeling more ballsy, could've gotten you a couple hundred bucks.

Record Of The Year: Rehab - Amy Winehouse (5/2): For every $2, you won $5 and your $2 back, which is decent considering that Rhianna was the favorite at 20/21. Really, it was just a shame that Amy wasn't actually there to accept any of the awards she won. Bad TV, people.

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance: Rehab - Amy Winehouse (5/9): This was one of those odds where she was the favorite, so the odds weren't really the kind of numbers that helped you win anything. For every $9 you bet, you won $5 and your $9 back, so it really wasn't much of a moneymaker.

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: What Goes Around...Comes Around - Justin Timberlake (1/4): Justin really was the favorite, and for every $4 you bet, you won $1, which isn't that much to win. No one else in this category came close, though with Herbie Hancock winning for Album Of The Year, it kinda left things open for Michael Bublé or John Mayer, both favorites of Grammy voters.

Best Rock Album: Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace - Foo Fighters (4/13): This one really wasn't all that difficult to predict (though Daughtry did have a little bit of a shot, just because he's a fan favorite. But for some reason, any year the Foo Fighters release a record, they win Grammys. For every $13, you won $4-- not a great investment or big win.

Best R&B Album: Funk This - Chaka Khan (17/4): This was the only other surprise winner of the night, if only because Jill Scott was the favorite at 1/3. For every $4 bet, you won $17, which is a nice chunk of change if you bet more than $4. And, yay Chaka! I love her.

Best Rap Album: Graduation - Kanye West (1/9): Yeah, I pretty much said it in the guide: his odds didn't win much for you, just because this album was just a monster. For every $9, you won $1, so it was a matter of a lot of investment for not much return. You'd get your $9 back, but to only win $1 on top of it is not so bueno.

Best Country Album: These Days - Vince Gill (1/4): Vince was the favorite in this category, and is a Grammy voter favorite. For every $4, you won $1, so again it was a small investment for an even smaller return.

Labels: breaking down props, Grammys, Morris Day and The Time, Tina Turner, wrap-ups

posted by Kari at 12:42 PM

The Sopranos cast got a standing ovation at last night's show, and let's face it, I would've been standing up too.

(But that's only because it's finally over. Oh fine, and the show was good, I guess.)

Here's a post-Emmy recap of what you would've won, with the odds each category had going into the weekend:

Outstanding Drama Series -- The Sopranos (1/6): They had the odds that were pretty much saying they were a lock for the win, so if you had put down $6, you would have only won $1, plus your original $6. And a $1 profit isn't a whole lot to win.

Outstanding Comedy Series -- 30 Rock (9/5): This was my personal pick to win, even though it had some tough competition from The Office and Ugly Betty. And it would've been a nice little bit of cash: for every $5, you won $9 plus the original $5, so that's almost a double-up.

Outstanding Reality-competition Program -- The Amazing Race (11/10): This one was pretty much a given, because it wins every year. So, of course, the odds weren't geared towards getting you any money-- just that dollar.

Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) -- South Park: Make Love, Not Warcraft (3/2): This show actually had a little competition from Emmy powerhouse The Simpsons. But the thing is, this particular episode was probably the best episode they've done since season one. Again, only $1 profit, so not a whole lot of money.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series -- Ricky Gervais - Extras (7/2): Ricky Gervais was my personal pick in this category, and that was even despite the powerhouse of Steve Carell. And a $5 profit isn't too shabby, either.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series -- America Ferrera - Ugly Betty (2/5): America was pretty much a lock for this category, especially after winning the Golden Globe. And for every $5, you would've just won $2, so the money there wasn't a huge profit margin.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series -- James Spader - Boston Legal (13/2): This was your big winner, especially if you bet as much as you could-- for every $2, you won $13. James was my personal pick (like, really personal), but I was pretty sure that James Gandolfini was going to take it. Just goes to show not all the locks are really that locked.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series -- Sally Field - Brothers & Sisters (9/5): Sally had pretty decent odds going in, but for me, she was the hedge bet for Edie Falco on The Sopranos. But, it's Sally Field. She's always good. And you got a $4 profit if you bet on her, which is nice. Not great, but nice.

Labels: 30 Rock, America Ferrera, Boston Legal, Brothers And Sisters, Emmys, Extras, James Spader, Ricky Gervais, Sally Field, South Park, The Amazing Race, The Sopranos, Ugly Betty, wrap-ups

posted by Kari at 1:17 PM