U-T San Diego Entertainment

Not invited to tomorrow’s Academy Awards Gala in Los Angeles? Didn’t even make it to the theater to see this year’s Oscar contenders? Forget it! Save yourself the price of a movie ticket (and a Versace gown). We may not roll out the red carpet, but Hollywood’s got nothing on San Diego. All the entertainment you need is right here at home.

You missed: “Walk the Line,” a musical biopic about legendary man in black Johnny Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. (Five nominations, including best actor and best actress.).

Check out: Cash’d Out, San Diego’s very own Johnny Cash Tribute Band playing Winston’s in Ocean Beach this month. Listen as Douglas Benson and Kevin Manual pound home all of Johnny’s best-loved favorites from “Ring of Fire” to “Folsom Prison Blues.” Experience Cash’s steady-as-a-train, sharp-as-a-razor music – minus the jail stints and drug withdrawal.

www.winstonsob.com

You missed: “Crash,” the film focusing on racism across various ethnicities starring an ensemble cast that includes Matt Dillon, Don Cheadle and Jennifer Esposito. (Six nominations including best picture and best supporting actor.)

Check out: Parallel 33. Named for the line of global latitude that threads through Japan, China, India, Lebanon and Morocco, this Mission Hills eatery offers mouthwatering entrees inspired from around the globe. Unlike “Crash,” different ethnicities blend together in harmony at Parallel 33.

You missed: “Brokeback Mountain,” the story of forbidden love and painful longing between two ranch-hand cowboys, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhall. (Eight nominations, including best picture, best actor and best supporting actor.)

Check out: Hillcrest, of course! San Diego’s most diverse community features antique stores, specialty shops and eclectic restaurants, and also hosts the annual Gay Pride Parade. Unlike “Brokeback Mountain,” nobody will wish they could “quit you.”

www.hillquest.com

You missed: “March of the Penguins,” the documentary that trails the arduous journey of penguins’ mating rituals, starring, er, penguins. (Nominated for best documentary.)

Check out: SeaWorld. Experience the marine mammal shows, feed the dolphins, meet Shamu and see penguins face-to-beak instead of face-to-screen. We can’t guarantee you’ll witness any of them mating, but do you really want to?

www.seaworld.com

You missed: “Capote,” the story of Truman Capote, author of nonfiction best seller “In Cold Blood” about the murders of a Kansas family, and the killers who haunted Capote for the rest of his life, starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener. (Five nominations including best picture and best actor.)

Check out: Killer Reunion at the Mystery Cafe. Murder’s never been so funny, as this dinner theater offers you a high school reunion – and a pasta primavera – to die for. You won’t be haunted for the rest of your life, but you will laugh the whole car ride home.

www.mysterycafe.net

You missed: “King Kong,” the remake about a sky-scraper-climbing, giant ape who falls in love with a beautiful blonde, starring Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody. (Four nominations, including best visual effects and best art direction.)

Check out: San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park. Enjoy where the wild things are and experience the many animal exhibits, including Lion Camp, Elephant Overlook and Lorikeet Landing, oh my! Get up close and personal on the Photo Caravan Safari. Blondes beware!

www.sandiegozoo.org/wap

You missed: “Memoirs of a Geisha,” the story of how one woman transcended her fishing-village roots to become one of Japan’s most celebrated geishas, starring Ziyi Zhang and Li Gong. (Six nominations, including best cinematography and best costume design.)

Check out: Japanese Friendship Garden Society of San Diego. This not-for-profit organization offers a picturesque, Japanese-style garden featuring a koi pond and Zen rock garden in historical Balboa Park. It also provides educational programs on Japanese culture – it’s not all geishas and sushi!

www.niwa.org

You missed: “Pride and Prejudice,” the film adaptation of Jane Austen’s romantic novel where love triumphs in Georgian England, when marrying off one’s daughters was treated as a sport, starring Keira Knightley, Matthew MacFadyen, Brenda Blethyn and Donald Sutherland. (Four nominations, including best actress and best costume design.)

Check out: Athletic Singles Association. If love is a game, then the Athletic Singles Association has the people to play it with. Active, sports-minded singles get together for sports and social activities, including volleyball, hiking, scuba diving and tennis. It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good tennis racket must be in want of a doubles partner.

www.athleticsingles.com

You missed: “Good Night and Good Luck,” the story of CBS television journalist Edward R. Murrow’s stand on McCarthyism and Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s ultimate downfall, starring David Strathairn and George Clooney. (Six nominations, including best picture and best actor.)

Check out: The City Club of San Diego, a public forum featuring nationally prominent speakers (New York Times military correspondent Michael Gordon on March 22 and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III on May 11). The City Club of San Diego gets real people thinking about real issues. How can you not attend? Have you no decency?

www.cityclubofsandiego.com

You missed: “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” the story of one very good little boy – and four naughty other kids – whose hard-won golden tickets land them the chance to visit Willy Wonka’s majestic Chocolate Factory, starring Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore, David Kelly and Deep Roy. (Nominated for best costume design.)

Check out: Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop, in the Gaslamp quarter. Indulge in decadent chocolate confections and delectable ice cream sundaes amid Ghirardelli’s old-fashioned parlor ambience. There are no on-site Oompa Loompas, so feel free to be as naughty as you’d like.

U-T San Diego Entertainment
March 4, 2006