I tried.

I think if the rest of the guys had seen Junebug, there's no question she would have made the cut.

I obviously wasn't disappointed (for example, 3 commercial films, 3 specialized films for BP). But considering how the first voting round went, yes, it was a huge surprise.

Here are the vote tallies following the first round of nominations (many many films received one vote or fell outside the top 5). I bolded the more Oscar friendly nominations, many of which were leading.

Outstanding Achievement In Motion Picture - Drama/Comedy

King Kong 8
Batman Begins 6
40 Year Old Virgin 5
Brokeback Mountain 4
Munich 4
Sin City 4

Outstanding Achievement In Directing

Peter Jackson, King Kong 7
Christopher Nolan, Batman Begins 6
George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck. 5
Steven Spielberg, Munich 5
David Cronenberg, A History of Violence 4
Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain, 4
Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, Sin City 4

Outstanding Achievement In Lead Acting Male

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote 6
Viggo Mortensen, A History of Violence 6
David Strathairn, Good Night, and Good Luck. 6
Christian Bale, Batman Begins 4
Eric Bana, Munich 3
Steve Carrell, The 40-Year-Old Virgin 3
Russell Crowe, Cinderella Man 3
Heather Ledger, Brokeback Mountain 3
Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line 3
Andy Sirkis, King Kong 3
Vince Vaughn, Wedding Crashers 3

Outstanding Achievement In Lead Acting Female

Naomi Watts, King Kong 11
Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line 7
Rachel McAdams, Red Eye and Wedding Crashers 4
Ziyi Zhang, Memoirs of a Geisha and 2046 4
Laura Linney, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and The Squid and the Whale 3
Sarah Jessica Parker, Family Stone 3

Outstanding Achievement In Supporting Acting Male

Matt Dillon, Crash 6
Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man 5
William Hurt, A History of Violence 5
Michael Caine, Batman Begins and The Weather Man 4
Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain 3
Craig T. Nelson, The Family Stone 3
Clive Owen, Sin City 3
Mickey Rourke, Sin City 3
Paul Rudd, The 40-Year-Old Virgin 3

Outstanding Achievement In Supporting Acting Female

Maria Bello, A History of Violence 6
Catherine Keener, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Capote 6
Gong Li, Memoirs of A Geisha 5
Isla Fisher, Wedding Crashers 4
Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain 4

Outstanding Achievement In Ensemble Acting

Crash 7
Sin City 6
Batman Begins 5
The Family Stone 5
Brokeback Mountain 4

Outstanding Achievement In Special Effects/Action Sequence

King Kong 12
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith 9
Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire 8
War of the Worlds 6
Batman Begins 5
Sin City 5

Outstanding Achievement In Overall Production

King Kong 10
Sin City 7
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith 6
Memoirs of a Geisha 4
Munich 4

Outstanding Achievement In Screenwriting - Adapted/Original

Munich 6
Good Night, and Good Luck 5
Match Point 5
Sin City 5
The 40-Year-Old Virgin 4
A History of Violence 4
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang 4

Outstanding Achievement In Motion Picture - Remake/Sequel

King Kong 10
Batman Begins 9
Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire 8
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith 8
War of the Worlds 5

Outstanding Achievement In Motion Picture - Documentary

March of the Penguins 10
Murderball 8
Grizzly Man 5
Aliens of the Deep 2
Mad Hot Ballroom 2

Outstanding Achievement In Motion Picture - Animation

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit 7
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride 5
Chicken Little 3
Madagascar 3
Robots 2

Outstanding Achievement By A Motion Picture Studio

Universal 8
Warner Brothers 8
Fox 4
Focus Features 3
Buena Vista 2
New Line 2

Looking at the above first round noms, I don't think you'll ever see a voting process more diverse. Polarized? The opposite is true.

I'll post the final vote tallies later so everyone can see the process.

We're open about things here at KJ

Actually, i can kinda see how this must have worked. with only 13 people voting, the three who nominated Carrell could have voted him to win, and the other ten people each voted their favorite actor (which, uh, all happened to be different people). Or something like that. Just cuz Bale had 4 noms doesnt mean he was number one more than once, that is. Or something like that. :O

No wait! I voted for Munich!

And these were the final votes. In several cases, I had to cast the deciding vote.

Outstanding Achievement In Motion Picture - Drama/Comedy:

Batman Begins 4
King Kong 4
Brokeback Mountain 2
Sin City
Munich 2

Outstanding Achievement In Directing:

Peter Jackson, King Kong 4
Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain 3
Christopher Nolan, Batman Begins 2
Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, Sin City 2
George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck 2

Outstanding Achievement In Lead Acting Male:

Steve Carrell, The 40-Year-Old Virgin 3
Christian Bale, Batman Begins 2
Eric Bana, Munich 2
Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line 2
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
Heather Ledger, Brokeback Mountain 2
David Stathairn, Good Night, and Good Luck

Outstanding Achievement In Lead Acting Female:

Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line 6
Naomi Watts, King Kong 4
Laura Linney, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and The Squid and the Whale
Ziyi Zhang, Memoirs of a Geisha and 2046
Rachel McAdams, Red Eye and Wedding Crashers

Outstanding Achievement In Supporting Acting Male:

Mickey Rourke, Sin City 3
Michael Caine, Batman Begins and The Weather Man 3
Paul Rudd, The 40-Year-Old Virgin 2
Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain 2
Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man 2
William Hurt

Outstanding Achievement In Supporting Acting Female:

Maria Bello, A History of Violence 5
Catherine Keener, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Capote 3
Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain 2
Gong Li, Memoirs of A Geisha 2
Isla Fisher, Wedding Crashers

Outstanding Achievement In Ensemble Acting:

Sin City 4
Brokeback Mountain 3
Batman Begins 3
The Family Stone 2
Crash

Outstanding Achievement In Special Effects/Action Sequence:

King Kong 7
Batman Begins 4
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith 2


Outstanding Achievement In Overall Production:

Sin City 4
Memoirs of a Geisha 3
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith 2
King Kong 2
Munich 2

Outstanding Achievement In Screenwriting - Adapted/Original:

The 40-Year-Old Virgin 4
Sin City 3
Munich 2
Good Night, and Good Luck. 2
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
Match Point

Outstanding Achievement In Motion Picture - Remake/Sequel:

Batman Begins 7
King Kong 4
Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Outstanding Achievement In Motion Picture - Documentary:

March of the Penguins 4
Grizzly Man 4
Murderball 3
Mad Hot Ballroom 2

Outstanding Achievement In Motion Picture - Animation:

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride 5
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit 4
Chicken Little 3
Robots

Outstanding Achievement By A Motion Picture Studio:

Universal 5
Focus Features 4
Warner Brothers 3
Fox

Steve Carrell

Dont tell me you had to cast the deciding vote for that.

Of all the actors tied, he was the one I felt most carried the film and owned the role without error.

Bale, Bana, Phoenix, Ledger, Carrell, I went with what worked for me.

I had so much respect for you, now you're nothing to me, just a piece of doo doo on the floor. You make me sick

So how about with best picture, you made a tie instead of giving a win to either BB or Kong?

I caused the tie.

Let me just point out that next year, I want an independent film to count our votes. Too much pressure for me to handle and really, I didnt enjoy having to toss my vote somewhere to avoid 5 way ties instead of voting for my personal favourite.

That said, I think the results were great.