Academy Award Nominations

Yesterday the nominations for the Oscars were announced. I couldn't let this moment go by without acknowledging my devotion to Colin Firth, who was nominated in the Best Actor Category for his role in A Single Man.

Yes, yes, I know he is best known in the U.S. for his roles in...

...Bridget Jones's Diary (loved it), and ...

...Mamma Mia! (loved it), and...

...Love Actually (hated, hated, hated it, but Colin was great).

But the movie that first did for me was, of course,...

...the brilliant 1995 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice, which made Firth a sensation in Britain and in my heart as well.

And so I have made of point of seeing as many of Mr. Firth's films as I could. Thank God for Netflix. I watched him in Valmont, Circle of Friends, The English Patient, Shakespeare in Love and Girl with a Pearl Earring. He is, of course, always outstanding, but other lesser known movies that are worth watching include Fever Pitch, The Secret Laughter of Women, Conspiracy (Emmy nomination), Nanny McPhee, Relative Values, Where the Truth Lies, and I'm ashamed to say I still have yet to see his "performance" in the Jim Carrey version of A Christmas Carol. I am also eagerly awaiting the release of A Single Man on DVD. Whether Mr. Firth is playing an uptight barrister, a Nazi party lawyer, a Dutch painter, an obsessed soccer fan, a slimy Dean Martin-ish comedian, or a single man in possession of a good fortune who must be in want of wife, whether you love or hate his character in a movie, you're impressed with his performance.

David used to roll his eyes when he heard my friend Sue and I talking/squeeing on the phone, which we would do for hours at a time. He finally said one day, "You know, you're always talking about one of three things: Harry Potter, Colin Firth, or scrapbooking. What would really put you two over the edge is if Colin Firth appeared in the next Harry Potter film as the new professor of scrapbooking!"

That struck a nerve. I couldn't just let that comment go.

And so here is one of my first attempts at Photoshop - from 2006 if I'm not mistaken: Colin Firth in a Harry Potter film as the new professor of scrapbooking.

Good luck at the Oscars, my darling!