A word of thanks to my friend Bold Little Swallow for pointing me in the direction of Change.gov, President-Elect Obama’s new web site. This is incredibly interesting for three reasons: the project launched immediately after the election (which means the Obama team has been hard at work for months), it’s the most creative and memorable government domain name ever, and it’s original in execution. Change.gov documents the Obama-Biden Administration’s transition to power and facilitates ideas from the American public.

The idea that the government can get ideas from–gasp–its people is illuminating and makes me feel proud to have a say in a country I’m beginning to love and get to know again. But what’s sad is that this has taken us so long to go in this direction. All it took was a little change we can believe in.

Based on a novel by José Saramago, Blindness is a dramatic thriller about a modern city that suffers from a blindness epidemic. A cut of the film premiered at Cannes to mostly unfavorable reviews and the studio took their feedback to make an edited cut for release. Most anticipated parts: Julianne Moore’s performance, cinematography, and editing. October 3, 2008.

W. is a biopic about the life and presidency of George W. Bush and is being helmed by Oliver Stone who directed Nixon (1995). How Stone styles the film will be interesting because it runs the risk of being a parody. Most anticipated parts: ensemble cast, direction, and subject matter. October 29, 2008.

Gus Van Sant directs Milk, a biopic about the life and assassination of Harvey Milk, a San Francisco city supervisor and gay rights activist. Interestingly, another adaptation was planned by Bryan Singer but it was delayed due to the 2007-2008 Writers Guild strike. Most anticipated parts: Sean Penn’s performance, screenplay, and direction. December 5, 2008.

Doubt is an adaptation of John Patrick Shanley’s play which won a slew of Tony Awards in 2005. Set in 1964, Doubt is about a nun who suspects a priest of having an inappropriate relationship with a black student in her school. Armed with her certainty (and no evidence), Sister Aloysius confronts the priest about abusing the boy. The priest denies any wrongdoing and a verbal confrontation ensues. Most anticipated parts: Streep’s performance, screenplay, and score. December 12, 2008.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is loosely based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The film is about a man named Benjamin Button who ages backwards and falls in love with a 30-year-old woman. Most anticipated parts: special effects, performances by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, direction, and cinematography. December 25, 2008.

Miramax has been mum on a lot of details on Doubt. Maybe it is a part of their marketing strategy because the studio has a reputation for rigorously campaigning for their films come award season. Miramax recently released the new publicity poster for Doubt that shows a simple black cross on a white background with the actors’ names. Unfortunately, a trailer does not yet exist.

Doubt, a film based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, is about Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep), a nun who confronts a priest with her suspicions that he abused a black student. Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) denies any wrong-doing and a verbal battle takes place. In the end, Sister Aloysius has grave doubts about the events. Aloysius is a powerful role, one that gave Cherry Jones a Tony when the film premiered on Broadway, and a role that many think will land Streep her third Academy Award next year.

Legend has it that shamans of the Klamath Native Americans here literally sacrificed themselves to the god Llao and jumped to their deaths in the erupting chaos, an eruption 42 times greater than Mount St. Helens.