Cinematical

The last movie José saw was The Simpsons Movie. And he didn't seem to know much about this year's Oscar race. And he was much more interested in telling me about the fare before me, a beautiful woman who apparently flashed him. But I decided to ask him for at least some random predictions anyway. See, it was late Friday night (actually technically early Saturday morning), I'd had a few too many to drink and I really, really wanted someone to just make sense of the 2008 Academy Award nominees. Aside from the Best Actor race, none of the categories seem to have a sure thing. It's really anybody's guess who will pick up Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress. So why not ask José, a NYC cab driver originally from El Salvador, for his less-than-expert opinion? He's got a good chance of bettering the predictions of the pundits anyway.

Before I get to José's picks, though, I must acknowledge that I borrowed the ask-a-cabbie idea from the NYC publication The L Magazine, which includes in each issue a regular feature called Fare is Fair, in which random cab drivers around the city are asked their opinions on a topical issue. I've never before seen The L do this with the Oscars, so I've done it myself, and I hope they don't mind. Consider it a form of flattery, because really it's my favorite piece to read on the subway every other week when the latest issue arrives in the street corner bins.

And now a transcript of my and José's conversation:

Cine: Can I ask you some questions about the Oscars? Do you know about the Academy Awards?
José: No, I haven't followed it.
Cine: Do you want to make some guesses?
José: No
Cine: Come on. Do you watch movies at all?
José: Sometimes.
Cine: What was the last movie you saw?
José: The last movie I saw?
Cine: Yeah. Do you want to pick randomly?
José: Oh, right now I'm tired, man. What was the last movie you saw?
Cine: The last movie I saw was called Jumper.
José: Jumper?
Cine: Yeah, it came out yesterday.
José: Oh, so recently. The last movie I saw ... Ah, I remember now. It was ... what do you call it ... The TV program ... The TV show ... they made a film ... The Simpsons.
Cine: Oh, The Simpsons Movie. Did you like it?
José: Yeah, it was funny.
Cine: Alright, I'm going to name the nominees and you get to pick which one is going to win. Alright?
José: Mmhmm.
Cine: For Best Picture Academy Award you have No Country for Old Men, Juno, There Will Be Blood, Atonement, Michael Clayton. Which one do you pick?
José: I just pick, ok? I don't know. I just guess.
Cine: Yeah, just guess.
José: No Country for ...
Cine: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. Good choice. Ok, for Best Actor, you have Daniel Day Lewis, George Clooney, Johnny Depp, Tommy Lee Jones and Viggo Mortensen.
José: Best Actor?
Cine: Yeah.
José: The last one.
Cine: Viggo Mortensen?
José: Yeah.
Cine: Best Actress, you have Julie Christie, Ellen Page, Cate Blanchett, Laura Linney or Marion Cotillard.
José: I like the first name.
Cine: The first one? Ellen Page. [oops!]
José: Yeah.
Cine: Best Supporting Actor, there's Casey Affleck, Javier Bardem, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Hal Holbrook or Tom Wilkinson.
José: Javier! Javier [Bardem]!
Cine: Good choice. Alright, Supporting Actress, you have Cate Blanchett, Ruby Dee, Amy Ryan, Tilda Swinton and Saoirse Ryan.
José: I guess Amy Ryan.
Cine: Alright, Best Director, you've got the Coen Brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, Tony Gilroy, Jason Reitman or Julian Schnabel.
José: Jason.
Cine: Jason Reitman?
José: Yeah.

Unfortunately, we then reached my destination, and I hadn't yet asked him for his picks for the screenplay categories or best documentary (surely, he'd have to pick Taxi to the Dark Side, right?) Alas, I didn't want to keep José from his next fare, so I decided to tip the man generously and let him be.

For much more on the Oscars, head over to Moviefone's official Oscar page for the skinny on this Sunday's ceremony.