FRIDAY SCREEN TEST: Edward Copeland

Good will can be hard to find on the Internet these days, but I can safely describe Edward Copeland as a blogger philanthropist. How else to put in words his epic Oscar surveys? For the benefit of everyone, Copeland began last year with a wide-reaching survey for the best and worst of the Best Picture winners, presented wonderfully with his own editorial combined with the surveyed's (survees?) comments. Copeland followed that up this year with a best and worst poll for Best Actress. These two projects have left readers of Edward Copeland on Film with but one question: can 2008 hurry up and get here already so we can have our best and worst Best Actors survey already?? But there is more to Copeland than the Oscars, as he writes on a wide variety of topics cinematic and entertainment -- even taking us back in time occasionally (his 1989 review of a show called Baywatch is fun, and his 1993 River Phoenix eulogy is a somber reminder).

WAKING LIFE: 'There are certain films that if they are on, and nothing else is worth watching, they can soothe me even if I doze or wake up, such as Die Hard, Groundhog Day and Jaws.'

SPELLBOUND: 'I've always had great fondness for Julien Temple's Absolute Beginners, so much so that I've been afraid to ever revisit it for fear it might break the spell. As for the opposite, I'm not dumbfounded as to why I dislike them as much as I am as to why others like them (say, Dr. Zhivago or The Thin Red Line).'

IN GOOD COMPANY: 'The insane praise that Babel has received has frustrated me, though at least I know there are plenty who agree with me about it.'

10 AND (BARELY) HOLDING: 'I can only narrow [the best] down to 10: Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Dr. Strangelove, Goodfellas, Nashville, Network, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Rear Window, The Rules of the Game and Sunset Blvd.'

FILM BLOGGERS DO IT EVERY DAY: 'About 1 a day, maybe more on weekends. Also depends on the time of year. Right now, it's the busy season.'

STILL KICKING: The Dead Girl -- the movie that most recently surprised Edward.

WHAT'S THE PROBLEM, BUUUDDDDY?: Guaranteed to scare -- 'the scene in Bio-Dome when Stephen Baldwin chews off Pauly Shore's toenails.'

ADMIT ONE: 'I would have loved to have been able to have seen Psycho in a theater before everyone knew its secrets so the shower scene would have been a surprise.'

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