Annie Hall

Afriend called the other day. Seems the relationship she had so much hope for didn't work out. It turned out that the guy had a live-in boyfriend. The whole incident, she said, proved to her that she had a problem choosing suitable partners. She was calling to tell me she had joined a new group based on the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, called Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous.

If as widely predicted, Woody Allen wins his fourth Academy Award on Sunday, this time for original screenplay for the romantic comedy "Midnight in Paris," an even safer bet will be that Allen won't be there to accept the Oscar. The academy has a long love affair with Allen — a record 23 Oscar nominations, including wins for writing and directing the 1977 best picture winner "Annie Hall" and for his screenplay of 1986's "Hannah and Her Sisters"; 22 of the nominations were for screenplay and directing and one was for lead actor, for "Annie Hall.

'Julia" and "The Turning Point" receive 11 nominations each for the 50th Academy Awards. John Travolta and Woody Allen are nominated for best actor for their respective roles in "Saturday Night Fever" and "Annie Hall." "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" receives nods in eight categories.

If you're lazily inclined to define Diane Keaton by the crossword-puzzle-sized word "actor," you need to get out more. Add to that her work as director and producer, photographer, restorer of venerable houses, board member of the Los Angeles Conservancy and, perhaps above all, as a daughter -- as revealed by her daughter-mother memoir "Then Again. " Little Diane once sat in a neighborhood theater on North Figueroa and watched her mother being crowned Mrs. Highland Park, and wished it were her up on stage instead.

Jack Newton Hall, a leader in Southern California civil engineering who put his stamp on fast-growing Orange County and was the father of actress Diane Keaton, has died after a five-month fight with brain cancer. He was 68. Hall died Saturday morning at his Corona del Mar home with his wife at his side, friends and family members said Monday. Hall, founder of the Costa Mesa-based civil engineering firm Hall and Foreman Inc.

If you're lazily inclined to define Diane Keaton by the crossword-puzzle-sized word "actor," you need to get out more. Add to that her work as director and producer, photographer, restorer of venerable houses, board member of the Los Angeles Conservancy and, perhaps above all, as a daughter -- as revealed by her daughter-mother memoir "Then Again. " Little Diane once sat in a neighborhood theater on North Figueroa and watched her mother being crowned Mrs. Highland Park, and wished it were her up on stage instead.

If as widely predicted, Woody Allen wins his fourth Academy Award on Sunday, this time for original screenplay for the romantic comedy "Midnight in Paris," an even safer bet will be that Allen won't be there to accept the Oscar. The academy has a long love affair with Allen — a record 23 Oscar nominations, including wins for writing and directing the 1977 best picture winner "Annie Hall" and for his screenplay of 1986's "Hannah and Her Sisters"; 22 of the nominations were for screenplay and directing and one was for lead actor, for "Annie Hall.

The 50th Year When: April 3, 1978 Where: The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Host: Bob Hope Winners: Best picture: "Annie Hall"; best actress: Diane Keaton for "Annie Hall"; best actor: Richard Dreyfuss for "The Goodbye Girl"; best supporting actor: Jason Robards for "Julia"; best supporting actress: Vanessa Redgrave for "Julia"; best director: Woody Allen for "Annie Hall" Milestones: Several former Oscar winners and stars from the golden age of Hollywood were assembled as presenters for the 50th

Mathews writes of the "bias of the actors branch toward comedy performances." What about the following?: Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, "It Happened One Night"; James Stewart, "The Philadelphia Story"; Loretta Young, "The Farmer's Daughter"; William Holden, "Stalag 17"; Diane Keaton, "Annie Hall"; Glenda Jackson, "A Touch of Class"; Maggie Smith, "California Suite"; Melvyn Douglas, "Being There"; Ingrid Bergman, "Murder on the Orient Express";...

Hollywood screenwriters should know a good movie script when they see one, and "Casablanca" has been crowned the best screenplay ever. The members of the Writers Guild of America voted Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch's "Casablanca" into the top spot of the guild's 101 greatest screenplays.

MUSIC Sting The erstwhile Police frontman is no stranger to earnest solo recordings, and on this intimate Back to Bass tour he rediscovers his old stalwart instrument for a march through his long catalog of grand, reggae-inflected pop. Wiltern, 8 p.m. Today-Wed. $46.50-$151.50. wiltern.com. Allen Ruppersberg and Terry Allen In 1971, Terry Allen delivered a stunning live performance on opening night at Allen Ruppersberg's Al's Grand Hotel. Though the performance was recorded, the tapes were lost until recently.

Who doesn't want to be relevant? It's a step toward contentment, a way to stay charged and, in this season, a key to predicting the Oscars. FOR THE RECORD: Oscar voting: The Oscar Watcher's Notebook in the Nov. 11 edition of The Envelope about factors that might sway votes for best picture said the film "The Apartment" was released in 1959. It opened in 1960. ? Sometimes Oscar voters pick pure entertainments for best picture ("The Departed," "No Country for Old Men")

We're told by the "Leap Year" production notes that writers Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont are "well-known as Hollywood 'script doctors.' " Yikes. Is there a doctor for the doctors in the house? Mid-January and already there's another romantic comedy that makes you weep for the genre. Honestly. After "P.S. I Love You," "27 Dresses," "Bride Wars" and "The Ugly Truth," Beatrice and Benedick from "Much Ado About Nothing" are going to step right out of the first folio edition of Shakespeare's play and go on a revenge killing spree.

THINK "No Country for Old Men" is the clear best picture Oscar front-runner? Maybe, but remember, Oscar prognosticating is a game with endless variables -- the mood of the voters, the mood of the country, the campaign missteps, the likability factor. At least there are no exit polls. In fact, after nearly 80 years of handing out awards, a few precedents bode well for the five nominees.

It's hard to talk about "The Break-Up," which stars Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston as an uncoupling couple bound together by a condo, without getting a couple of words on Vaughn and Aniston's real-life romance, Aniston's recent real-life break-up and how "The Break-Up" compares to "Wedding Crashers" out of the way first. So here goes: Who cares?

Hollywood screenwriters should know a good movie script when they see one, and "Casablanca" has been crowned the best screenplay ever. The members of the Writers Guild of America voted Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch's "Casablanca" into the top spot of the guild's 101 greatest screenplays.

We're told by the "Leap Year" production notes that writers Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont are "well-known as Hollywood 'script doctors.' " Yikes. Is there a doctor for the doctors in the house? Mid-January and already there's another romantic comedy that makes you weep for the genre. Honestly. After "P.S. I Love You," "27 Dresses," "Bride Wars" and "The Ugly Truth," Beatrice and Benedick from "Much Ado About Nothing" are going to step right out of the first folio edition of Shakespeare's play and go on a revenge killing spree.

The 50th Year When: April 3, 1978 Where: The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Host: Bob Hope Winners: Best picture: "Annie Hall"; best actress: Diane Keaton for "Annie Hall"; best actor: Richard Dreyfuss for "The Goodbye Girl"; best supporting actor: Jason Robards for "Julia"; best supporting actress: Vanessa Redgrave for "Julia"; best director: Woody Allen for "Annie Hall" Milestones: Several former Oscar winners and stars from the golden age of Hollywood were assembled as presenters for the 50th

Random thoughts, while waiting for the Chicago Cubs to get their first hit of the season: * Forget cityhood. Make the San Fernando Valley the 51st state. * "When Harry Met Sally" was really just a great remake of "Annie Hall." * As a show of gratitude to Laker fans who can't afford Staples, next season's opening game should be played at the Coliseum, for $10 a ticket. * Against the Sacramento Kings. * With Shaq entering the Coliseum riding Traveler.