Round 1, FIGHT!!!

So, here we are, the first grouping of round one and it would get hairy from the start. The grouping had been posted and I got to work early to get out the first day's e-mail. I quickly got my first replies and the game was on.

{Brief break while the Forum loads and I start up iTunes... first song - Aha - Take on Me (Techno Remix), then T.A.T.U.'s - Not Gonna Get Us, Fleetwood Mac - Landslide, Tonight, Tonight - Smashing Pumpkins, Du Hast (Live) - Rammstein, Brainstew (Godzilla Remix) - Green Day, We Will Rock You - Queen, Tush - ZZ Top, Big Girls Don't Cry - Fergie}

The first group was as follows:

Please rank the following actors 10-1 with 10 being the highest.

Edward Norton
Keanu Reeves
Paul Giamatti
Brad Pitt
Willem Dafoe
Kevin Kline
Bill Murray
Christopher Walken
Marlon Brando
Orson Wells

The first rankings in were from CaptainCookie:

Edward Norton 8
Keanu Reeves 1
Paul Giamatti 6
Brad Pitt 9
Willem Dafoe 10
Kevin Kline 2
Bill Murray 5
Christopher Walken 4
Marlon Brando 7
Orson Wells 3

I was surprised by the 10 for Willem Dafoe and 9 for Brad Pitt as welll as Ed Norton being so high.

Next in was VolleyBar:

Edward Norton 8
Keanu Reeves 1
Paul Giamatti 6
Brad Pitt 4
Willem Dafoe 3
Kevin Kline 5
Bill Murray 9
Christopher Walken 7
Marlon Brando 10
Orson Wells 2

I never know what to expect from him and the 10 for Brando did not disapoint. I also noticed Norton high on the list again.

I then got around to making my own picks:

Edward Norton - 7
Keanu Reeves - 1
Paul Giamatti - 10
Brad Pitt - 3
Willem Dafoe - 4
Kevin Kline - 6
Bill Murray - 2
Christopher Walken - 8
Marlon Brando - 9
Orson Wells - 5

With my picks, Brando was picking up steam, Norton was performing solidly and Keanu had the least possible votes.

Next up was PongPigeon:

Edward Norton - 8
Keanu Reeves - 7
Paul Giamatti - 4
Brad Pitt - 5
Willem Dafoe - 3
Kevin Kline - 1
Bill Murray - 9
Christopher Walken - 6
Marlon Brando - 10
Orson Wells - 2

Again Brando was getting hte love, Norton was strong, and the surprise of the round was Keanu with the 7.

After a rough day, lowercaseK submitted her rankings next:

Edward Norton -- 10
Keanu Reeves -- 1
Paul Giamatti -- 6
Brad Pitt -- 7
Willem Dafoe -- 9
Kevin Kline -- 3
Bill Murray --2
Christopher Walken-- 8
Marlon Brando --5
Orson Wells--4

At this point, Edward Norton was looking to be the most solid of the group so far.

After accidentally going 1-10 instead of 10-1, we then got the rankings from KingoftheMidgets:

Edward Norton 10
Keanu Reeves 1
Paul Giamatti 5
Brad Pitt 3
Willem Dafoe 4
Kevin Kline 6
Bill Murray 7
Christopher Walken 9
Marlon Brando 8
Orson Wells 2

With a breif overview, it looked like Norton was a lock.

At this point, the day was winding down and lowercaseK was nearly jumping out of her skin waiting for the final e-mail to come in with the final rankings. She had to know who was advancing before leaving for the weekend and then there they were.

Finally, the final rankings came in by our newbie to the group PomagraniteCougar:

Edward Norton 10
Keanu Reeves 1
Paul Giamatti 3
Brad Pitt 4
Willem Dafoe 5
Kevin Kline 8
Bill Murray 7
Christopher Walken 9
Marlon Brando 6
Orson Wells 2

So, a quick calculation led to the following results:

1. Edward Norton (61)
2. Marlon Brando (55)
3. Christopher Walken (51)
4. Bill Murray (41)
5. Paul Giamatti (40)
6. Willem Dafoe (3 7)
7. Brad Pitt (35)
8. Kevin Kline (31)
9. Orson Wells (20)
10. Keanu Reeves (13)

I had tabulated the results on a scrap peice of paper using the initials of the actors to save time so I could add them to the forum before leaving for the day. As I transfered the results to the forum, I quickly realized that Paul Giamatti did not make the cut by 1 point. I was shocked. He is one of my favorite actors currently working, as shown by the 10, and he had been put out in the semi-finals. As I came to this realization, I recieved an Instant Message from lowercaseK in shock of this turn of events. We were ashamed of this early downfall of one of our favorites, but kudos must go to Edward Norton who led the way with 61 votes, and the other 3 actors who advance to the finals: Marlon Brando, Christopher Walken, and Bill Murray.

So, day 1 is over and Monday will deliver the second showdown with 4 more slots up for grabs in the finals.

As a preview, the group for Monday are listed below.

Evan Rachel Wood
Jennifer Garner
Kate Beckinsale
Winona Rider
Laura Linney
Demi Moore
Frances McDoramand
Faye Dunaway
Diane Keaton
Audrey Hepburn