Michael Freund, an employee at the Darien Playhouse, said he has not been paying much attention to which films have been nominated for Oscars, but he has seen some of the nominees. "I saw 'True Grit' and 'Inception.' 'True Grit' was all right. The acting was really good, but the story wasn't anything special. 'Inception' was really good," Freund said as he sold tickets at the theater's box office.
With the Academy Awards on Sunday, many of the playhouse's employees were making their predictions. Minelli Vasquez, a manager at the theater, has seen more of the nominees, including "Black Swan," "The King's Speech" and "The Social Network," all of which are up for Best Picture.
"'Black Swan's' definitely going to be a classic. When I first saw the trailer I thought it was going to be a typical sexual thriller, but I was pleasantly surprised," Vasquez said. She added that older patrons tend to go for "The King's Speech," which she admitted did not keep her as engaged.
Courtney Bell said that, of all the Best Picture nominees, "Inception" was the one that most impressed her. "It's a little confusing, but it gets you hooked, there's so much going on. The cast is really great."
Vasquez predicted that Colin Firth would take home the award for Best Actor, and Natalie Portman would win best actress, but she believes that some members of the cast of "The Social Network" also deserve recognition.
"That was the first Jesse Eisenberg role that really surprised me. He blew me away. It was different from his normal routine, he really put work into it," she said of the star who is also up for Best Actor. "That movie really made a name for him and Andrew Garfield. And Justin Timberlake, who has sort of been a joke in the acting community."
Her one complaint about the awards was that Christopher Nolan, director of "Inception," did not receive a nomination. "He was snubbed. He should have gotten it, most definitely."
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