The Academy Awards are Sunday (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC), so let's talk about them. Also, please check and comment on my previous three blogs, all about "American Idol":
1) The new Oscar producers are out-and-out loony. (You'd tell me if these were too harsh, wouldn't you?) They won't say who the presenters will be; they don't even want the presenters to walk the red carpet. This is sort of like good show business, but the opposite.
2) Hugh Jackman was an excellent Tonys host. Now he's hosting the Oscars, which is another matter. Yes, he's smart, handsome and Australian, all of which are good things. Still, he's no Steve Martin.
3) Steve Martin should be the host. Or Jon Stewart. Or Chris Rock.
4) "Benjamin Button" is a terrific movie -- big, ambitious, precisely crafted. Still, it can't match the sheer, ragged energy of "Slumdog Millionaire," which will get the best-picture Oscar.
5) Fortunately, that leaves room in all the acting categories. I may have some thoughts on that tonight, because I'm heading out now to see Kate Winslett in "The Reader." I'll finish this later.
6) I'm back from "The Reader" and I see what the buzz was about. No, the film isn't quite up to the level of its best-picture nomination; it's extremely good, without being great. (The same is true of "Frost/Nixon.") But Winslet's performance is superb. Alongside the master of understatement (Ralph Fiennes), she has topped his art; she needs only the tiniest moves to create rich emotions. I have to agree with Ben Mankiewicz, co-host of the syndicated "At the Movies," who told me flatly that Winslet is "the best actor in the world, man or woman." I also have some rather eccentric remarks, but they might be spoilers for people who don't know about the "Reader" plot. I'll put them at the end, with a spoiler alert.
7) Mankiewicz is also delighted that Mickey Rourke is now considered a slight favorite to win as best actor. It would be a Hollywood touch -- a worn-out, self-destructed actor triumphing for playing a worn-out, self-destructed wrestler.
8) People in Michigan should pay attention to the documentary-feature category. Two of the five nominees -- "Man on Wire" and "Encounters at the Bottom of the World" -- were produced by Andrea Meditch, Michigan State University's new faculty member. She's not one of the people who would get the Oscar, but she's still one of the producers; she'll be at the ceremony Sunday, ready to celebrate.
9) Now for the extra Winslet comments. If you want to avoid hearing plot details, quit reading now.
10) Winslet should go down in history as the person who included the most nudity in an Oscar-winning role. Such contributions are too often forgotten. (Jason Segal wasn't even nominated this year, despite his full-frontal role in "Forgetting Elizabeth Marshall.") Much nudity AND much talent. Moviegoers are grateful.
11) As Ricky Gervais pointed out at the Golden Globes, he predicted this well in advance. In a hilarious scene in HBO's "Extras," he had Winslet play a parody of herself, vulgarly insisting that she was doing a Holocaust film so she could get a bleeping Oscar. Now that is about to come true.
12) OK, I'm temporarily removing my ban against any Winslet awards. (I instituted it when she managed to give TWO awful acceptance speeches at the Golden Globes.) I'll give her one more chance, but this is it. Remember, Kate: You're not up there to please a dozen or so actors and agents and such; you're talking to the world. Quit thanking people, say something cogent and leave with your Oscar. You deserve it.