Here's looking at your weekend, kids

Even the Oscars need a back up

Apparently the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is preparing a contingency show for the 80th annual Oscars if the writers strike isn't resolved by Feb. 24. A dancing monkey pulling names out of a giant top hat will probably be an improvement on the Golden Globes "press conference" with the mystic tan twins (Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell) stumbling and mumbling their way through the winners for an hour.

According to the academy president, the contingency show will feature "history and packages of film and concepts that are not normally ones that we would have for the show if we were moving straight ahead." So, no teary-eyed rambling speeches, then? Darn.

If you're looking for an Oscar-fix, though, check out Turner Classic Movies. Starting today, the channel airs its 31 Days of Oscars, a great way to catch up on all those classics you know you should watch but are too lazy to rent. But don't let the term "classics" fool you - these are 353 Oscar-winning movies from every era including the 1990s and 2000s. Each day has a theme during the day ("Communists" on Feb. 20, "Alfred Hitchcock" on Feb. 23 and "John Wayne" on Feb. 17), then a primetime schedule to make classic movie buffs drool into their "Casablanca"-inspired gin and tonics.

Here's the complete schedule. Overwhelmed by the choices? Here are a few suggestion for the next few days:

Tonight: "Jaws" (1977) at 11:15 p.m.
Saturday Feb. 2: "War of the Worlds" (1953) at 5:30 p.m., "Gandhi" (1982) at 7 p.m.

Sunday Feb. 3: "An American in Paris" (1951) at 5 p.m., "Sense and Sensiblity" (1995) at 7 p.m.

Tuesday Feb. 5: "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946) at 7 p.m., "Casablanca" (1942) at midnight

--Malavika Jagannathan, mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com