Reitman opens up

No neophyte director should be as good as Jason Reitman has proven to be with just two films to his credit.
He turned Christopher Buckley's "Thank You for Smoking" into a terrific comedy, one which danced on the edge of satire without so much as a toe stepping out of line.
And, more famously, he steered "Juno" into the Best Picture nomination circle.
He makes directing tough material look easy.
The Fox Movie Channel catches up with Reitman this weekend as part of its "Life After Film School" series. The installment airs at 7:30 p.m. EST Sunday.
Reitman's pappy, Ivan Reitman of "Ghostbusters" fame, must be awful proud.

The straight scoop

In case you missed this morning's Oscar announcement, here's Variety's wrap up.
This year's selections didn't rankle me as they have in the past. I still feel a twinge in my side whenever I remember "Million Dollar Baby" won Best Picture in 2004.

That said, the Oscars remain a far better barometer of excellence than their trophy cousins, the Emmys and the Grammys.
My anti-Grammy argument begins and ends here: total number of Grammys for The Who - Zero. Grammys for The Rolling Stones pre-1994 - Zero.
(Photo: Ellen Page, center, gets a tummy rub in the Oscar-nominated "Juno")