"One man come in the name of love, one man come and go. One man come, he to justify, one man to overthrow. In the name of love, what more in the name of love. In the name of love, what more in the name of love.
One man caught on a barbed wire fence, one man he resist. One man washed on an empty beach, one man betrayed with a kiss. In the name of love, what more in the name of love. In the name of love, what more in the name of love.
Early evening*, April 4. Shot rings out in the Memphis sky. Free at last, they took your life. They could not take your pride. In the name of love, what more in the name of love. In the name of love, what more in the name of love. In the name of love, what more in the name of love..." ~u2

*Interesting fact that you probably already know if you're a U2 fan and might not know if you're not a U2 fan:
This song is obviously about MLK. In the original studio version, the one line reads, "Early morning, April 4. Shot rings out in the Memphis sky." After the record was released, though, Bono found out that MLK was actually killed in the evening and not the morning. So when he sings the song live, he replaces 'morning' with 'evening.'

There is soooo much to write about tonight and not nearly enough time. I don't even know where to start.

1. I guess I'll start with U2, the greatest band ever. Tonight I went to a free advance screening of the new Imax film U2 3D. It was AWESOME. It made me tear up a few times because it reminded me of the three U2 concerts I went to on the Vertigo tour. Of course the movie wasn't as cool as being at the concert in person, but it was as close as a movie could possibly take you. It really got you up close and personal. My main complaint is that I think they could have chosen a better setlist to film; I read somewhere that it was geared more towards the general U2 fan than the diehard fan, and I agree with that assessment. As a diehard fan I would have liked some more rarities, but overall it was still spectacular. This film really is groundbreaking. It is the first digital 3D, multicamera, real-time production and you can't imagine what it's like until you see it up on the big Imax screen. So go see it when it opens near you. Even if you're not a huge fan, you'll love it. I heard that Bono was at the screening tonight, but i didn't see him. If he was there, I'm mad I missed him.



2. The Oscar nominations. Overall I'm pretty happy.
~Biggest thing that made me happy: Laura Linney's nomination (for The Savages). I'm a huge fan of hers and I absolutely loved her performance in that film. She definitely deserved the nomination (and she stole it away from Angelina Jolie, which makes me doubly happy!). I'm also relieved that Ellen Page (Juno) was nominated in that category; I was pretty sure she was a lock, but you never know.
~Another happy surprise: "Falling Slowly" (from Once) being nominated for best song. If you haven't seen Once, go watch it now. It's on DVD already (I got it for Christmas).
~Biggest disappointment: Sweeney Todd not being nominated for Best Picture. I definitely think it deserved Michael Clayton's spot. And Tim Burton not being nominated for Best Director. Seriously, what's up with that?! It won Best Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes, and Tim Burton won Best Director from the National Board of Review, yet it wasn't even nominated for an Oscar in either category?! That's messed up.

3. Heath Ledger. I don't even know what to say. I'm seriously at a loss for words. I only stopped at home to change clothes before tonight's screening so I didn't turn on my computer or anything, and I didn't know about it until Nicole met me at the screening. The very first thing she said to me as she walked up was, "Did you hear about Heath Ledger?" When she told me what happened I was completely floored. It's so incredibly sad. Especially because he has a 2-year-old daughter. What is there to say about a tragedy like that? I just don't know.