With this said, it’s with some wariness that the Daily Helping clues you in on three upcoming movies that at first blush seem like terrible ideas. It’s the details surrounding these features that are actually quite intriguing.

According to Variety, Universal studios and toy giant, Mattel have moved forward with plans to create a feature film around “Barbie”.  In what clearly is a situation where the merchandise precludes the feature, the movie will capitalize on it’s worldwide brand appeal with young girls and women who had a few Malibu Barbies and Kens of their own. Apparently there’s already been live stage shows, live symphonies and other non-traditional forms of entertainment involving everyone’s favorite doll.

According to Mattel, the 50-year old (Cougar?) Barbie has 99% worldwide brand awareness, is the number one girls property in the toy industry, the top doll property in the U.S. and the number one worldwide property in the traditional toy industry.

It’s also worth mentioning that Ridley Scott seems intent on filming a live action version of the board game, “Monopoly”.  Peter Berg (The Kingdom, Hancock) is on board with “Battleship”.

One can only assume that someone is in touch with Anna Faris by now.  Laurence Mark (Julie & Julia) has been picked to produce the “Barbie” feature.  Mark said he felt “fortunate to get the job and said there is no shortage of plot possibilities, since Barbie has held more than 120 jobs over the years”.

Another film that seems ill-conceived but embraced by A-list talent is the film dramatization of the creation of Web Social monster, Facebook.  Attached to this project is no less than Daily Helping favorites, David Fincher (Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), and Aaron Sorkin(West Wing, A Few Good Men) who has been talking about his script for the past year. Now the cast is coming together.

Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland, Squid and The Whale) will play Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerber; song and dance man Justin Timberlake will play Facebook’s founding president (and Napster co-founder) Sean Parker.

One thing is certain, this is a movie that has a built-in “friend” base.

The third movie is perhaps the most confusing of the three.  Too often a classic movie will be re-worked and released with the anticipation that there is a hunger for a re-make or the industry is bereft of original ideas.  It’s still unclear as to the motivation behind the upcoming remake of David Cronenberg’s brilliantly creepy,” The Fly” , starring Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis. Who can forget the metamorphosis of Brudlefly?

Whose the culprit on this pillaging of a contemporary horror classic? David Cronenberg himself. Apparently he’s going to not only write the movie but direct and produce the film as well.

Does this mean there were elements to the story that he wishes he thought of sooner? Do we see Viggo Mortensen climbing the walls spitting acid? It’s hard to say… and also hard to take issue when Cronenberg is involved.

Here’s hoping that we’re all pleasantly surprised by Barbie, Facebook and the Fly.

Oscar hits the red carpet with unidentified "close" friend.

1. Best Picture: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “The Reader,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Will win: Slumdog Millionaire   Should win: Slumdog Millionaire.

3. Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”; Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”; Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”; Meryl Streep, “Doubt”; Kate Winslet, “The Reader.”

Will win: Kate Winslet    Should win: Anne Hathaway

4. Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, “Milk”; Robert Downey Jr., “Tropic Thunder”; Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”; Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”; Michael Shannon, “Revolutionary Road.”

Will win: Heath Ledger    Should win: Heath Ledger

5. Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, “Doubt”; Penélope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”; Viola Davis, “Doubt”; Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler.”

Will win: Penelope Cruz    Should win: Marisa Tomei or Viola Davis

6. Director: David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”; Gus Van Sant, “Milk”; Stephen Daldry, “The Reader”; Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Will win: Danny Boyle       Should win: Danny Boyle

7. Foreign Film: “The Baader Meinhof Complex,” Germany; “The Class,” France; “Departures,” Japan; “Revanche,” Austria; “Waltz With Bashir,” Israel.

Will win: Waltz With Bashir     Should win: Waltz With Bashir

8. Adapted Screenplay: Eric Roth and Robin Swicord, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; John Patrick Shanley, “Doubt”; Peter Morgan, “Frost/Nixon”; David Hare, “The Reader”; Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Will win: Peter Morgan    Should win: John Patrick Shanley

9. Original Screenplay: Courtney Hunt, “Frozen River”; Mike Leigh, “Happy-Go-Lucky”; Martin McDonagh, “In Bruges”; Dustin Lance Black, “Milk”; Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon and Pete Docter, “WALL-E.”

Will win: Dustin Lance Black for Milk        Should win: Martin McDonagh for In Bruges

10. Animated Feature Film: “Bolt”; “Kung Fu Panda”; “WALL-E.”

Will and Should Win: Wall-E    And by the way, the people who feel Wall-E should have been up for Best Picture are annoying.

11. Art Direction: “Changeling,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Duchess,” “Revolutionary Road.”

Will and Should Win is The Dark Knight.

12. Cinematography: “Changeling,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Reader,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Will win and Should win is Slumdog Millionaire.  The cinematography was in many ways the star of this movie.

13. Original Song: “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E,” Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman; “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman and Gulzar; “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam.

Don’t know…don’t care.    Should win (but wasn’t even nominated) was The Wrestler, by Bruce Springsteen. It was a song written for his friend, Mickey Rourke. Music played a big part in this powerful film and it’s hard to understand how this song was overlooked.

Let’s see how we do, come Sunday night.

If you’re not familiar with the name, you’re still likely a fan of his work.

Se7en, Fight Club, The Panic Room, Zodiac, The Game and Alien 3 to name a few.  He’s currently enjoying the sucess that is…Benjamin Button, which I’ve found disappointing.  (I will still  see anything he makes at this point).

There are two projects that his name has become attached to. They’re both very popular in underground circles. He’s optioned an underground comic book named, The Goon, with the possibility of bringing it to the screen in an animated form. It’s about an ultra- violent, big burly enforcer who deals with dark forces on a daily basis. Armies of zombies, that sort of thing.  The other is a graphic novel called, Black Hole which takes place in the suburbs of Seattle in the mid 70s.  We follow a group of teens who contract an STD that turns them into subtle mutants and hideous monsters. There’s already a script, apparently written by Neil Gaiman.  The fans of this comic book and graphic novel are understandably thrilled to learn that Fincher’s production company is interested.

If you’re a fan of film and the business of getting films made, then take a look at this interview with Fincher in the British online journal, .  Fincher is particularly candid and speaks not only about Button, but also about some of his work that he’s proud of and some that he truly hates.  I think you’ll find this interesting.

The Academy Award Nominations were announced early this morning.  There were some minor surprises among those nominated and those that weren’t, but all in all it should be a pretty interesting award show.

Here are some of the major categories and a few of my thoughts on who might win.

BEST PICTURE
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
FROST/NIXON
MILK
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

I really believe that Slumdog Millionaire will win the big prize.  Golden Globe momentum and some terrific word of mouth make this a big favorite.  The Reader and Frost/Nixon don’t have a chance.  Benjamin Button surprises me that it’s here. The screenwriter for Button was the same one who wrote Forrest Gump.  That explains why I found them so similar.  I think The Dark Knight should have been there instead. Milk is a wild card, but doesn’t have Slumdog’s vibrant appeal.

BEST DIRECTOR
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – David Fincher
FROST/NIXON – Ron Howard
MILK – Gus Van Sant
THE READER – Stephen Daldry
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Danny Boyle

I really think Danny Boyle will win Best Director.  The lack of leads in any of Slumdog’s acting categories lets you know who the academy considers the star. It’s Mumbai and the man who put this carnival together.  I wish Gus Van Sant could win because it would inspire him to make more movies like this…and Good Will Hunting, and less like My Own Private Idaho and remakes like Psycho.  Ron Howard did an excellent job converting a stage play to a movie. That he made this interesting is also an achievement. Personally I think Darren Aronofsky should be recognized for his move The Wrestler.  Lets see what kind of performance Mickey gives his next director.

BEST ACTOR
Richard Jenkins for THE VISITOR
Frank Langella for FROST/NIXON
Sean Penn for MILK
Brad Pitt for THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Mickey Rourke for THE WRESTLER

Mickey Rourke was the only person with a Screen Actors Guild membership card who could have played Randy “The Ram” Robinson.  He’s done some trash talking about his only competitor in this category, Sean Penn as Harvey Milk.  Richard Jenkins is a character actor you’ve seen tons of times but didn’t know his name. (dead dad on Six Feet Under, for example). I know nothing about his movie but I do know that if he weren’t here…Clint Eastwood would be.

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway for RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
Angelina Jolie for CHANGELING
Melissa Leo for FROZEN RIVER
Meryl Streep for DOUBT
Kate Winslet for THE READER

Anne Hathaway should have won the Golden Globe  but Kate Winslet has been enjoying some love since the Golden Globes (despite her rambling and hysterical acceptance speech).  I think she’s been nominated quite a number of times and so this is going to put that streak to bed.   Melissa Leo is from a movie very few people have seen. (I haven’t seen her since she played a detective on Homicide back in the mid 90’s).  It sometimes feels like these obscure little movies are afforded a prerequisite spot amongthe more familiar nominees. That Happy Go Lucky actress will have to settle for her Golden Globe.

Meryl Streep, I think between Doubt and Mama Mia’, it’s hard to imagine a more ham-handed pair of performances in one year.  (Cuba Gooding comes close).

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin for MILK
Robert Downey Jr. for TROPIC THUNDER
Philip Seymour Hoffman for DOUBT
Heath Ledger for THE DARK KNIGHT
Michael Shannon for REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

It was a year ago yesterday that we learned Heath Ledger had died. The movie had not yet been released and there was talk of him winning this award posthumously.  Josh Brolin had a great year and had two great performances (he as W. in W.) It’s a shame he doesn’t win something. Downey Jr.’s nomination makes no sense.  This is more an MTV award nomination.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman could do a live action Mister Magoo and score a nomination.  Synecdoche, New York  was as hard to understand as it is to pronounce.  He’s still not going to win here.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams for DOUBT
Penelope Cruz for VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
Viola Davis for DOUBT
Tarija P. Henson for THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Marisa Tomei for THE WRESTLER

I think it’s between these two.  Viola Davis and Marisa Tomei. Amy Adams and Penelope Cruz were legitimate nominees, but I think Viola and Marisa are in a different league.

One thing that I really don’t understand is how Springsteen’s ode to The Wrestler, written as a favor for his friend Mickey, failed to get a best song nomination.  Revolutionary Road had only one acting nomination and it’s for a supporting actor no one has heard of.  Not a good year for Leo DiCaprio or Sam Mendes.   A few people are surprised that the Dark Knight and Wall-E failed to get more love.  Sometimes we just have to settle for huge box-office.