Pawsitively Purrfect Predictions for Oscar Night

As usual, I’ve seen about ten percent of the nominated films, so I’m clueless when it comes to awards night. To my rescue, come whiskers of wisdom. If you didn’t see the adorable puppies on Jimmy Fallon this week, click here to watch it. Or, visit the Film School Rejects to get predictions by Oscar the Cat (of Meowywood?) and Oscar the Dog (of Hollywoof?).

A Cat and a Dog Predict The Oscars | Film School Rejects.

While it may sound fitting for two film critics to name their pets Oscar, neither Christopher Campbell nor Kate Erbland named theirs for the Academy Awards. It just turns out that two of the Film School Rejects associate editors have animals (he a dog; she a cat) who share a name with the biggest film honor there is. So, we’ve decided to exploit these little friends and put them to work making predictions about who will win in the major categories this Sunday night. It’s okay, they were paid for their efforts.

First up is Oscar the dog (full name: Oscar the Groucho Marx Campbell), a tubby, ginger miniature pincher who enjoys sleeping under sheets and eating anything that’s not technically food (we swear he’s part goat). To make his predictions, he had a little help in the form of kibble, a piece of which was placed on cards for each nominee in ten categories (actually nine, because he got special doggy treats for Best Picture). Whichever name or title card he ran to first was his first-choice prediction.

The poor pup did experience a few snags. He initially chose Robert De Niro for Best Supporting Actor but the camera wasn’t recording (on second try he ran for Alan Arkin just to get it over with, it seemed). And while he chose Helen Hunt for Best Supporting Actress, he went for Anne Hathaway next and seemed to realize his mistake, turning to his friends as if to ask for a do-over. Finally, a funny thing happened with his Best Picture picking. On the first, confused effort, he actually ate all but the treat on Silver Linings Playbook. When redone for the official run, he went straight for Silver Linings Playbook.

Watch the video of Oscar’s predictions below:

Oscar the Dog’s Official Oscar Picks

Best Picture: Silver Linings Playbook

Best Director: Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Animated Film: ParaNorman

Best Documentary: The Gatekeepers

Best Adapted Screenplay: Silver Linings Playbook

Best Original Screenplay: Django Unchained

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis

Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin

Best Actress: Quvenzhané Wallis

Best Supporting Actress: Helen Hunt (but look at how he knows he meant Hathaway!)

Oscar Erbland

Next up, meet Oscar Erbland (full name: Oscar Erbland), a skinny tuxedo cat who started life in an underground car garage and now lives in the absolute lap of luxury in Southern California.

Oscar the Cat Predicts 2013 Oscar Winners

Oscar the Cat Predicting

Oscar was self-assured about his early picks, including Lincoln for Best Picture and, shockingly enough, Michael Haneke for Best Director, but he began to slow down when we got to Animated Feature and Documentary. Eventually, he just tapped out and refused to budge, leaving an opening for his big brother Felix to bum-rush the picks for Best Original Screenplay. Apparently, Felix is a huge Wes Anderson fan, because that kit went straight to Moonrise Kingdom, pawed at it, meowed at it, and eventually just threw his body on it. Guaranteed winner. In any case, Felix’s ardor for Oscar prognostication lit a fire in his little brother, and Oscar tore through the acting categories with renewed vigor.Everyone got treats and scratching pads by the evening’s end.Behold, an entire gallery of photos of the world’s most charming seven-pounder feline picking Oscar winners (with bonus big brother!):

Oscar

Best Picture: Lincoln

Best Director: Michael Haneke, Amour

Best Animated Film: Wreck-It Ralph

Best Documentary: Searching for Sugar Man

Best Adapted Screenplay: Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Original Screenplay: Moonrise Kingdom

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis

Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin

Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence

Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway

Who says that cats and dogs can’t get along? Oscar the cat and Oscar the dog agreed on the following Academy Awards picks: Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Best Supporting Actor (Alan Arkin) and…yup, that’s it. Wow, you’d think we were just going totally random with our pet-picked Oscar winners. Wild stuff.

via A Cat and a Dog Predict The Oscars | Film School Rejects.

Related articles

• Oscars: Who will win vs. who should (cnn.com)
• Sunday Is Oscar Night – Can Anyone Beat the Prediction Algorithms? (spectrum.ieee.org)
• Oscar fun facts: What you don’t know about this year’s best picture nominees (cnn.com)

What Are Your Pets Wearing for the Holidays Photo Contest

From Steve Dale’s Pet World – Great Howliday Photos  By Steve Dale, 12/6/2012 at 5:18 pm

What Are Your Pets Wearing for the Holidays Photo Contest. If you are in need a smile – check out this gallery. You can see all the nominees in the photo gallery below. I’ll interview the winner on my WGN Radio petcast (a podcast for pet lovers), and will make a contribution in that pet’s name to Tree House Humane Society in Chicago (specifically earmarked for the shelter’s capital campaign for their new building).

via What Are Your Pets Wearing for the Holidays Photo Contest: See the nominees and nominate your own! | Steve Dale’s Pet World.

Paws for the Holidays

It’s official, pets rule the Howlidays! The White House has just released its Holiday Card, featuring Bo (who also stars in his own video – see following post for both).

Our furry kids participate in many activities:  unwrapping gifts (occasionally before the festivities actually begin), watching holiday videos (they’ll help me decide my favorites in an upcoming post), admiring (aka swatting and chomping) the ornaments we’ve just hung), enjoying the community’s holiday decorations (in the comfort–and security–of a heated car), and caroling (sounding ever so much better than I do). However, there are a few things in which our furry friends should not partake. The Anti-Cruelty Society (where we adopted our poochee) is a great source of information about pets, and has a special page for holiday safety.

Some of the hazards on the list that can put your pet in peril are: mistletoe, holly and pointsettias (all poisonous); tinsel, ribbon, strings, pine needles, ornament hooks and broken ornaments (all dangers for choking and/or intestinal damage); and of course, chocolate (see their “Everyday Hazards” for more foods to avoid). The site also gives advice for holiday gatherings and guests. A bonus to visiting their site – adorable  season’s greetings e-cards to spread howliday cheer.

…and because you can never see enough holiday pet photos, here is our baby T (at about 10 weeks old). He visited Santa Paws to purrrsonally deliver his wish list.