GeekRoundTable.com

THE DARKNESS #75 KICKS OFF 'LET US WIN YOU OVER' INITIATIVE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

TOP COW BEGINS GIVING AWAY COMICS WITH

THE DARKNESS #75 KICKS OFF 'LET US WIN YOU OVER' INITIATIVE

             

Publisher unveils first 25 participating retailers and first free comic

LOS ANGELES, Calif., January 29, 2008 – Top Cow Productions, Inc. announced today that their "Let Us Win YOU Over" initiative would begin in February and the inaugural title in the program would be highly anticipated anniversary issue – The Darkness #75.
The "Let Us Win YOU Over" initiative is a yearlong campaign by Top Cow Productions to give out free copies of its regular comics to potential fans in the U.S. and Canada through participating comic book stores. Each month, a different set of stores, each month a different free comic. The stores vary by geography and demographics. Top Cow has partnered with ComicsPRO to bring this promotion to fans and all of February's retailers are members of ComicsPRO.
The publisher decided to launch the program with a special celebratory anniversary issue of one of their flagship titles, The Darkness #75. The issue, which is an over-sized 48-page comic, commemorates the 75th overall issue of the series regardless of volume. The list of artists includes: Michael Broussard (current series artist), Jorge Lucas (Pilot Season: Ripclaw), Dale Keown (Pitt), Joe Benitez (Justice League of America), Ryan Sook (Superman/Batman), Steve Firchow (Ultimatum), Frazer Irving (Silent War), Lee Carter (2000 AD), Stjepan Sejic (Witchblade) and Matt Timson (Impaler). The story, which will examine what a possible future would be like for current Darkness bearer Jackie Estacado, will be penned by current series writer Phil Hester. The issue will be in comic shops on Wednesday, February 11th, 2008 and normally retails for $4.99.
"This initiative our most ambitious attempt yet to recruit new readers," explained Filip Sablik, Publisher of Top Cow. "We wanted to kick it off in a big way and what better way than one of our biggest books of the year, both literally and figuratively. This is a great jumping on point for new fans as it is a standalone story, featuring the best art we have to offer, and an awesome value."

"I'm looking forward to getting the Top Cow 'Let us Win You Over' promotion started. This is one of the more innovative ways a publisher has chosen to work with our membership," said Joe Fields, President of ComicsPRO and owner of Flying Colors Comics & Other Cool Stuff in Concord, CA, "Our goal is nothing short of more readers for Top Cow's cool comics and more customers for ComicsPRO member stores." 

"We are so excited about this opportunity to bring Top Cow comics to more readers!  Top Cow is at the top of their game and we cannot think of a better time to bring new people to their titles!  We are ready to win over some more readers," added Norah Curry, Promotions Director, Laughing Ogre Comics in Columbus Ohio.

A list of the participating retailers during the month of February (listed alphabetically by state) is included below. Additional information can be found at the official online home of the "Let Us Win YOU Over" initiative – www.topcow.com/freecomics. Customers who currently purchase The Darkness at the stores below will be able to purchase an extremely limited "All Beef" Edition (limited to just the stores listed below) at the regular cover price. Fans are encouraged to contact the specific retailer they wish to visit for specific details:

The Comic Book Store
9307 Treasure Hill
Little Rock, AR 72227
501-227-9777
www.thewildstars.com

Atomic Comics
1120 S. Country Club Dr #105
Mesa, AZ 85210
480-649-0807
www.atomiccomics.com

4 Color Fantasies
7172 Archibald Ave
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91701
909-563-8751
www.4colorfantasies.com

Earth-2 Comics
15017 Ventura Blvd
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
818-386-9590
www.earth2comics.com

Flying Colors Comics & Other Cool Stuff
2980 Treat Blvd
Concord, CA 94518
925-825-5410
www.flyingcolorscomics.com

Happy Harbor Comics
10112-124 St
Edmonton, AB Canada T5N 1P6
780-452-8211
www.happyharborcomics.com

Time Warp
3105 28th St
Boulder, CO 80301
303-443-4500
www.time-warp.com

Tate's Comics
4566 North University Dr
Lauderhill, FL 33351
954-748-0181
www.tatescomics.com

Dr. No's Comics & Games
3428 Canton Rd
Marietta, GA 30066
770-422-4642
www.drnos.com

Clem's Collectibles
4201 Coldwater Rd
Ft. Wayne, IN 46805
260-480-7087
www.clemscollectibles.com

Comicopia
464 Commonwealth Ave #13
Boston, MA 02215
617-266-4266
www.comicopia.com

Alternate Worlds
72 Cranbrook Road
Cockeysville, MD 21784
410...

Muse Comics
2100 Stephens #107
Missoula, MT 59801
406-543-9944
www.musecomics.com

The Hobby Shop
1501 Ward Blvd Ste #245
Wilson, NC 27893
252-291-3384
www.thehobbyshopofwilson.com

Krypton Comics
2819 S. 125th Ave Ste #261
Omaha, NE 68144
402-391-4131
www.kryptoncomicsomaha.com

Jetpack Comics
112 Portland St
Rochester, NH 03867
603-330-9636
www.jetpackcomics.com

Comic Oasis
3121 N. Rainbow Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89108
702-212-8885
www.comicoasis.com

Jim Hanley's Universe
4 West 33rd St
New York, NY 10001
212-268-7088
www.jhuniverse.com

Laughing Ogre Comics
4258 N. High St
Columbus, OH 43214
703-435-6682
www.laughingogrecomics.com

Brave New Worlds
45 N. 2nd St
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-925-6525
www.bravenewworldscomics.com

Comics & Paperbacks Plus
201 E. Main St
Palmyra, PA 17078
717-838-4854
www.comicsandpaperbacksplus.com

New Dimension Comics
3075 Clairton Rd #940
West Mifflin, PA 15213
412-655-8661
www.ndcomics.com

Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy
6111 Burnet Rd
Austin, TX 78757
512-454-2399
www.dlair.net

Titan Comics
3701 W. Northwest Hwy #125
Dallas, TX 75220
214-350-4420
www.titancomics.com

Zanadu Comics
1923 3rd Ave
Seattle, WA 98101
206-443-1316
www.zanaducomics.com

About Top Cow Productions Inc.
Top Cow Productions, Inc. (www.topcow.com), a Los Angeles-based entertainment company, was founded in December of 1992 by artist Marc Silvestri, who also co-founded Image Comics earlier that same year. Top Cow currently publishes its line of comic books in 21 languages in over 55 different countries. The company has launched 20 franchises (18 original and two licensed) in the industry's Top 10, seven at #1, a feat accomplished by no other publisher in the last two decades. Its flagship franchise, WITCHBLADE, was TNT's #1 original film of 2000 and the subsequent TV series was released on DVD on July 29, 2008. A feature film, co-produced by Platinum Studios, Inc. and Arclight Films, is slated to begin production in Australia with director Michael Rymer. WITCHBLADE is also the first American property to be fully adapted in Japan as an original anime and manga by Studio GONZO in 2006. Top Cow's other flagship property, THE DARKNESS, was developed into a major next-generation video game release by Starbreeze and 2K Games and achieved platinum sales status. WANTED, an Eisner-nominated miniseries published by Top Cow from 2003-2005, is now a major motion picture from Universal Pictures starring Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy and Morgan Freeman. Virtually all of Top Cow's other properties are in development as feature films, live-action television, animation or video games. Top Cow has also successfully licensed and merchandised its franchises into toys, statues, clothing, lithographs, puppets, posters, magnets, shot glasses, lighters, lunch pails, wall scrolls, mouse pads, die-cast cars, calendars, Christmas ornaments, Halloween masks, trading cards, standees, video games and roleplaying games.

About ComicsPRO
ComicsPRO (www.comicspro.org) is the only trade organization for direct-market comic book retailers. ComicsPRO's goals are not that different from trade organizations in other industries: to promote advocacy, education, and opportunity for their members. As a small business, you face many challenges without a lot of support. Joining ComicsPRO makes you part of a group facing – and overcoming – many of the same challenges. ComicsPRO allows you, as a small business, to receive benefits that are often only available to much larger groups, including discounted credit card rates and deals on health insurance. But the most important goal of ComicsPRO is to provide a voice for the often-overlooked concerns of direct-market retailers.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAKING COMIC BOOK HISTORY
WITCHBLADE ANNUAL 2009
Top Cow's biggest series presents its first-ever annual issue

.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., January 28, 2009 – Top Cow Productions, Inc. announced today that fan favorite Witchblade will get a long deserved, first-ever, annual issue in Witchblade Annual 2009, something diehard fans have been waiting for since the series debut in 1995.
"I had a great time working with all the guys at Top Cow during Pilot Season, so when they asked me to pitch ideas for the Witchblade Annual, I jumped at the chance. I love what Ron Marz is doing with the book, so I tried to remain true to the tone he set," commented writer Jay Faerber.    
This 40-page epic will include a supernatural detective story, featuring everyone's favorite Witchblade bearer, Sara Pezzini and her partner, Patrick Gleason. The talented Jay Faerber, writer of Noble Causes and Pilot Season: Urban Myths, delivers this first tale, alongside Top Cow's very own Eric Basaluda, the innovative artist behind Magdalena and Witchblade/Devi. 
    "I think Eric's one of the best guys working in the Top Cow stable and I was thrilled when I found out he was going to be illustrating this story," explained Faerber, "I think it really plays to his strengths, and Witchblade fans are going to love what he brings to the table."
Upcoming writers Joshua Cozine and Joe Henderson bring back fan favorite character Ian Nottingham in a second tale. Accompanied by Sheldon Mitchell, the artist of Freshmen: Summer Vacation Special, who puts pencil to paper to show what happens to cellmates who have the misfortune to be incarcerated with the dangerous Nottingham.  
"Witchblade has been around for almost 15 years and we've never done an Annual," commented Filip Sablik, Publisher of Top Cow, "We had a great story from Jay Faerber and this seemed like the ideal way to present it. Add in some stunning artwork by Eric and it's sure to leave an impression with fans."

Filip Sablik
Top Cow Productions, Inc.

 

About Top Cow Productions Inc.
Top Cow Productions, Inc. (www.topcow.com), a Los Angeles-based entertainment company, was founded in December of 1992 by artist Marc Silvestri, who also co-founded Image Comics earlier that same year. Top Cow currently publishes its line of comic books in 21 languages in over 55 different countries. The company has launched 20 franchises (18 original and two licensed) in the industry's Top 10, seven at #1, a feat accomplished by no other publisher in the last two decades. Its flagship franchise, WITCHBLADE, was TNT's #1 original film of 2000 and the subsequent TV series was released on DVD on July 29, 2008. A feature film, co-produced by Platinum Studios, Inc. and Arclight Films, is slated to begin production in Australia with director Michael Rymer. WITCHBLADE is also the first American property to be fully adapted in Japan as an original anime and manga by Studio GONZO in 2006. Top Cow's other flagship property, THE DARKNESS, was developed into a major next-generation video game release by Starbreeze and 2K Games and achieved platinum sales status. WANTED, an Eisner-nominated miniseries published by Top Cow from 2003-2005, is now a major motion picture from Universal Pictures starring Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy and Morgan Freeman. Virtually all of Top Cow's other properties are in development as feature films, live-action television, animation or video games. Top Cow has also successfully licensed and merchandised its franchises into toys, statues, clothing, lithographs, puppets, posters, magnets, shot glasses, lighters, lunch pails, wall scrolls, mouse pads, die-cast cars, calendars, Christmas ornaments, Halloween masks, trading cards, standees, video games and roleplaying games.

Preview of Witchblade #124

 

Here's a free preview of Witchblade #124 out at your local comic retailer on February 4th.  Looks like of the great art and writing from writer Ron Marz and artist  Stjepan Sejic, who also did the cover.  Looks like another gtreat book from those guys at Top Cow

 
Witchblade wielders Sara Pezzini and Dani Baptiste find themselves at odds over the fate of a girl Dani has taken on as a dance student. Could this be the end of their friendship and perhaps the start of something far more deadly? This issue sets the stage for a storyline that will change Sara, Dani and the Witchblade forever!
 

 Check out this four page preview:

 

Special Thanks to Top Cow Productions.  Get out there and pick up a copy!

Pat's Weekly What's Cool - Star Trek: The Next Generation

 

A few months back I began the long and difficult endeavour of introducing my girlfriend to Star Trek.  She had never seen any of the shows or films before.......ever.  It's amazing to me that there are people out there that have never seen even a single episode of Star Trek.  Afterall, there have been five separate TV series, one cartoon series and ten full length feature films.  It's kind of hard to avoid.  You'd figure that over the course of 30 years, a person would have caught at least one or two episodes here and there. 

Now, I know Trek isn't for everyone.  Many many people have seen Star Trek and didn't much care for it, and I'm not one of those die hard fans that just doesn't get why people don't like it.  I can understand how Star Trek isn't everyone's cup of tea.  First off, a lot of people just aren't fans of sci-fi.  And even those who do like sci-fi have specific tastes of what they do and don't like.  Star Trek can be a little silly sometimes.  It can also get a little preachy and every now and then it can even get downright strange.  So I'm fine with people not liking Star Trek.  To each their own tastes.

But I personally love Star Trek, and I do think that everyone should at least be introduced to it.  If you don't like it after watching it for a bit, that's cool, but at least sit down and watch it first before you make that claim.  You never know, you may even end up liking it. 

Now, as I was saying, my girlfriend had never seen Star Trek before.  She's a fan of sci-fi and is a big lover of Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica, but for one reason or another she had just never gotten around to watching Trek.  We got to talking one day and we decided that before the new JJ Abrams movie comes out this year, she should at least watch some episodes from the original series so she knows who the characters are and has a sense of background when she goes to see it.  So I took it upon myself to create a list of the 10 best episodes of the original series and we sat down and watched them over the course of a few weeks.  At first she laughed at their cheesiness and the bad acting, but she was amused enough to keep going and we eventually got through the episodes and I decided to show her the first six movies.  The ones with the original cast.  By now she wasn't laughing as much and was actually beginning to enjoy the series. 

Ok, that's not entirely true.  We both laughed rather hard at the stupidness that is Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.  The concept of the Enterprise crew going back in time to the 1980's to steal Humpback Whales is just retarded, and as such we both had a good laugh at that. 

But other than that one film, she really liked the films a lot and even cried a little at the end of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country when she realized that was it,there were no more movies with Kirk and Spock for her to watch.  Then she did something that, as a geek, made me almost explode with happiness. 

She asked if we could continue watching more Star Trek by moving on to the next series.

Being the nerd (and lover of all things Trek) that I am, there really isn't a better or more enjoyable moment than when you realize that you have turned someone new into a fan of something you love so much.  At this point realized I had managed to convert a new person into full on Trekkie status (sorry Trekker fans, I've just never liked that name).

So I started looking for the best episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) to watch.  This is a much more difficult task to perform.  The original Trek series only ran for 3 seasons, and didn't really have a lot of episodes to choose from.  TNG on the other hand had run for seven seasons and there were a ton of amazing episodes that are worth watching.  I had to change my strategy for this.  There were far too many episodes to create a Top 10 list, so I decided to go in order, season by season, and pick the 4 or 5 episodes that were the best from each season.  This would total up to about 20 to 35 episodes total, or a little over one season of regular TV that she would have to watch.

As I write this, we've only made it through season one so far.  But whereas it took us a few weeks to get through the 10 episodes of the original series I had selected, we got through the four episodes of TNG I had chosen in a single evening.  She's really hooked now and is going through the episodes at a voracious pace.  I couldn't be happier. 

And there's a bonus side effect to all of this as well.  As I'm going through the season sets and picking out the best episodes, I find myself getting all nostalgic and remembering the good old days when I got to watch a new episode of Star Trek each week.  I have a lot of fond memories of sitting in front of the TV each week and being awed and amazed by the voyages of the Starship Enterprise.  I even remember that absolutely horrible summer when they ended the season with the cliffhanger ending of having Captain Picard turned into a Borg and the show ending with Riker giving the order to fire on the ship Pircard was on.  Oh my god!!!  I was so angry that I had to wait months to find out how that would turn out.  I don't think a single day went by that summer where I didn't think about how they were going to get out of that one.

With the exception of about two years ago, when I watched all four seasons of Enterprise over the course of a few months, I haven't actually sat down to watch Star Trek in a long while.  After the shows ended I just moved on to other things.  Sure, I'd catch an episode every now and then on TV, but that was it.  Sitting down now and actually making a concerted effort to watch the shows again is an interesting experience.  Not only do I get the nostalgic feel of remembering what it was like to see them when I was a kid, but I'm also getting to see the shows anew through the eyes of an adult.  Being older now, I feel like I have a different view of the show.  I see the relationships between the characters differently and I definitely have a better and more mature view of the actual science they occasionally included within their science fiction stories.  The complexity of the show is hitting me on more levels now.  I'm now able to enjoy both the action/adventure parts of the show as well as the heady intellectual elements of the show.  As a kid, I definitely leaned more in favor of the action side of the show.

Lastly, I am also able to look back on the show with the knowledge that hindsight brings.  Rewatching the shows now, I am finding it incredibly interesting watching TNG's early episodes knowing how the characters are going to grow and change.  I also find it fascinating watching how the show developed on a technical level, and how this particular show has been a forerunner for a lot of the shows we are enjoying today.  Shows like Firefly and Battlestar Galactica owe a lot to TNG.  It really set the standard for what a modern weekly sci-fi show should be like.  I know that sounds odd considering that TNG premiered over 20 years ago, but its true.  Shows like Stargate simply wouldn't be if it wasn't for TNG.  Hell, the Sci-Fi Channel may not even exist if not for TNG or Star Trek in general.  It's no coincidence that on pretty much every major holiday, the Sci-Fi channel runs a TNG marathon.

In conclusion, I'd simply like to say that if you are a Star Trek fan and you haven't sat down to watch TNG in a goodly number of years, then I highly suggest you bust out the DVD's and start watching.  And if you've never seen the show before, there's no time better than the present to start watching.

As Jean Luc Picard would say, "Make it so!"

Facebook here I am.....

I am officially on Facebook kids.  It weird that in the two days since I have joined, I have accumulated almost 40 friends, where on Myspace it took weeks to get that many friends.  Check me out, and take a look me and my friends take on the world of geek.....

Geek Out!

Ned Cato Jr,

On Avatar and Racism Part 4

This Avatar well of idiocy seems to be getting deeper and deeper, with idiotic things coming out of the mouths of the actors themselves.  First up in this confederacy of dunces is Jackson Rathbone of "Twilight" fame who will be playing "Sokka". In an MTV interview, when asked about the controversy, replied,

 “I think it’s one of those things where I pull my hair up, shave the sides, and I definitely need a tan,”   . “It’s one of those things where, hopefully, the audience will suspend disbelief a little bit.”

complete interview here

Next up, is  singer Jesse McCartney, who is in negotiations to play the villain Prince Zuko, in a radio interview, showed the world his research skills in learning the background of where the Avatar series came from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcM4Xt0Ledw&feature=Responses&parent_video=EJKRF2uB8xU&index=0&playnext=1&playnext_from=RL

This movie is going to happen people, but it is our duty as geeks to not make this easy for them.  Write letters, sign petitions, tell other people about this travesty, let the world know how unhappy we are about this racist(lets call it what it is) "colorblind" casting of such an incredible television show.  I plan on some sort of boycott of this movie and will urge my friends to avoid this movie too!  This is not my final discussion on this GRT will be discussing this up untill the movie's release.  More to come.....

Geek Out!

Ned Cato Jr,

Dollhouses, Mutants ,and Telepaths

Three things this geek is looking forward to...

Dollhouse....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WwPpfyPUC8

Mutant Chronicles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VddG3EzG9ks&eurl=http://geek-tastic.com/&feature=player_embedded

Push

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuVMdGA5Y3E

These are three movies I cannot wait to get in the theaters.  Looks like geek season starts on February 6 with Push starring Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, and Dijimon Hounsou.  Next up is the long-awaited Dollhouse from creator/writer Joss Whedon, starring Eliza Dushku, premiring on February 13.  Then on April 29 prepare to get your geek toes curled withe the film Mutant Chronicles ,starring John Malkovich and Ron Perlman.  Get out there and support these franchises so we can keep the geek alive.

GeekRoundTable at WonderCon

It has been confirmed folks, those wonderfully funny folks of GeekRoundTable.com will be attending WonderCon in San Francisco at Moscone Center from February 27-March 1 2009.  If you liked the Comic-Con Panel, you will love us at WonderCon!  All the usual suspects will be there, and we will have a few surprise guests too.  Expect engrossing conversations covering the world of geek, and the usual hilarity.Date and time are forthcoming.   So if you are at WonderCon that weekend, stop by, you won't be sorry...(We will also be at a booth, details to come).  Come geek out with us...

Geek Out

Ned Cato Jr,

Pat's Weekly What's Cool - Lost

This week saw the return of Lost on ABC, and man what a doozy the season premiere was.  For those of you who don't watch the show because it's one of those big budget network TV shows and you fear it's something lame like CSI or stuff like that.....let me reassure you right here and now.  Lost is an absolutely geek centric show, and it's done someting truly amazing.  It hooked an entirely mundanes mainstream audience onto the show before it threw them a curveball and made them realize something most mundanes fear.  They had been watching a Sci-fi show for four years now.

Sci-fi shows on major network TV don't typically last long.  Currently we are experiencing a boon in Sci-fi on network TV, but it is a boon I believe will be short lived as most sci-fi shows cost a lot to produce and generally don't fare well in the ratings for a long period of time.  That's why a lot of great sci-fi shows get cancelled after a season or two.  Sure, every now and then you'll get a rare exception like the X-files that will win over a massive audience, but those shows are few and far between.

Lost has managed this feat though, and they've done it in a way that no sci-fi show has ever done before.  They lied to their audience.  For the first three seasons of the show, there was no blatant references to typically sci-fi things.  Sure, there were hints at deeper sci-fi roots throughout the series.  The smoke monster, deserted labs hidden across the island, secret organizations with hidden agendas.  But for the most part the show appeared to just be a really strange action/adventure/drama show.  And it won over the mainstream audience by the millions.

Then, in season four strange things started to happen.  The show started hinting at time discrepancies.  The island was somehow out of sync with how time works everywhere else on the planet.  There was some kind of strange magnetic barrier that surrounded the island, and it couldn't be found by regular means.  Then season four ended with one of the characters spinning a big wooden wheel that was hidden deep within the island.  He said that if he did this, he would "move" the island and it would never be seen again.  The wheel was spun and the island disappeared.

Now, almost a year later we finally have the beginning of season five of the show, and all pretense that this is anything but an amazing sci-fi show has been thrown out the window.  We have now been told that by spinning the wheel the island has been cut loose from time and those who were on the island when the wheel was spun are now travelling randomly through time.  Those characters who had left the island last season now have to go back to help those who are lost in time.

I am once again hooked on this show.  They had lost me for a bit during season three when the show seemed to have lost its way (no pun intended), but the show definitely has a sense of purpose and direction once again.  We're finally starting to get the answers that we've been waiting for for so many years now, and the revelations have been worth the wait.

I commend the creators and writers of the show for pulling one of the biggest cons in American TV history.  They got a mass mainstream audience to fall in love with a sci-fi show by not letting them know they were really watching sci-fi.  And now they're too hooked by the show to stop watching it.

One Sad Anniversary....

This Morning the Academy Award Nominations for 2009 were announced on Wednesday morning, and as expected Heath Ledger was nominated for Best Supporting Actor,for his performance in The Dark Knight, on the one year anniversary of his death.  His category though, is filled with incredible talent and every actor deserves the nomination they have received.
 

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button picked up the most honors, racking up 13 nominations, including Best Picture.  Slum dog Millionaire followed with 10 nods.  Angelina Jolie also picked up a nod for Best Actress for her performance in Changeling.

Here is a partial list of Nominees...

BEST PICTURE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ACTOR
Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kate Winslet - The Reader

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams - Doubt
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler

DIRECTOR
David Fincher
Ron Howard
Gus Van Sant
Stephen Daldry
Danny Boyle

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Courtney Hunt - Frozen River
Mike Leigh - Happy-Go-Lucky
Martin - In Bruges
Dustin Lance Black - Milk
Andrew Stanton - WALL-E

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Eric Roth and Robin Swicord - Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley - Doubt
Peter Morgan - Frost/Nixon
David Hare - The Reader
Simon Beaufoy - Slumdog Millionaire

FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
The Class
Departures
Revanche
Waltz with Bashir

ANIMATED
Bolt
Kung Fun Panda
WALL-E

I hoping, of course for a geek win with Heath Ledger for Dark Knight, making it the first Geek Oscar in the acting categories, but as they always say, "it's an honor to just be nominated".  The Oscar ceremony will be hosted by Hugh Jackman on February 22 at Los Angeles Kodak Theater.

Geek Out!

Ned Cato Jr,