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By SHARON FINK
Published February 18, 2005

COUNTDOWN TO THE OSCARS

NINE DAYS, A BUNCH OF HOURS, A COUPLE OF SECONDS AND LOTS MORE HYPE TO GO.

THE GOOD HUMOR MAN : Thankfully short was the life of the manufactured controversy over whether Chris Rock really has the right attitude to host the Academy Awards in light of comments he made in the latest Entertainment Weekly .

In the magazine, Rock calls the Oscars "a fashion show," slams giving prizes for technical categories and says, "What straight black man sits there and watches the Oscars?"

His comments were put out to a wider audience Sunday when the Drudge Report reprinted them online in a story headlined "Host Chris Rock Shock: Only Gays Watch Oscars." It also said that some academy members want Rock sacked from the Feb. 27 event for those and other comments, buzz that also has hit the trade papers.

Gil Cates , in his 12th year of producing the Oscar broadcast, said in a statement that the academy hadn't heard any member grumblings, and he later told the E! network that people really just need to lighten up.

IN AN UNRELATED MATTER (MOST LIKELY) : Among those already not excited about those exciting changes Gil Cates has made in some Oscar presentations are people in the technical categories.

(We can hear you now: Chris Rock's right; who cares?)

We care, so we'll try to explain the techies' gripe:

They object to changes that have some nominees grouped together in the audience for their award and others onstage, with the winner stepping forward. The techies - film editors, costume designers, etc. - say that being part of these untraditional presentations would demean them.

Now, Cates, who says he's tinkering with the show to liven it up, hasn't said which categories are involved. But the techies are sure theirs are, the Hollywood Reporter says, adding that many don't want to complain on the record at least until Oscar voting is completed next week.

GOLDENGUY: The next James Bond movie now has a title - Casino Royale (not related to the Woody Allen-Peter Sellers spoof) - and a director - Martin Campbell , who directed GoldenEye - but still no James Bond. That means the buzz around often-mentioned candidate Clive Owen gets stirred up more every day as the ceremony approaches.

One faction believes that if Owen wins best supporting actor for Closer on top of his Golden Globe and his British version of the Oscar, he will be the undisputed leader of a crowded pack.

The Bond producers and studio continue to say that no casting decision has been made. Filming is not scheduled to begin until next year.

IT HAS BITE, AND THAT SILENT "T' LEAVES A MYSTERIOUS AFTERTASTE : Sideways, the best picture nominee responsible for getting more people interested in wine, is by extension responsible for producing the movie word that most profoundly influenced the English language last year:

Pinot. As in pinot noir, the wine of choice in Sideways. (It's actually the grape the wine comes from, but we can see your eyes starting to glaze over, so we'll move on.)

The Global Language Monitor, a group that analyzes word trends and their cultural impact, says that "pinot" edged out "genius" (Ray) in its annual ranking. Next were "hand-washing" (The Aviator ) and "mo chuisle," pronounced muh kwish-la, Irish Gaelic for "my pulse" (Million Dollar Baby ).

AND CHRIS ROCK THINKS HE HAS ACADEMY PROBLEMS : The twisted mind and sharp wit behind This is Spinal Tap , the folk music satire A Mighty Wind and the dog show spoof Best in Show , Christopher Guest , wants to make his next such project about the annual campaigning for Oscar nominations, New York magazine says.

[Last modified February 18, 2005, 00:14:17]