The subject is the Oscar ceremony on March 25, when Mr. Asman and his partner Alan Robert Murray will be seated in the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles waiting to hear whether they have won an Academy Award for sound effects editing on Space Cowboys.

        Just one other film — the WWII submarine adventure U-571 — scored a nomination in that category, so the odds are exactly 50-50. Mr. Asman and Mr. Murray were nominated once before, for the 1996 movie Eraser.

        The unique nominating process in the category resulted in this year's short list.

        Members of the Academy's sound-effects branch first vote on all eligible entries, yielding seven semi-finalists. Those seven are then invited to submit a 10-minute reel of their best samples from the nominated movie. Voters attend a one-night showing of those reels — an event the branch members call the “bake-off” — and rate each on a scale of 6 to 10.

        Nominations go to entries that score 8.5 or better. Since the category debuted in 1963, there have been three nominees yearly, until now.

        One possible reason, said Mr. Asman: “Just this year they upped the threshold from an average score of 8 to 8.5.”

        Still, he said, “We were shocked at the movies that didn't make it.” The five semi-finalist movies without nominations are Cast Away, Gladiator, Mission: Impossible 2, The Perfect Storm and Unbreakable.

        The veteran soundman offered one theory on why voters rated the Space Cowboys reel highly. “They say the bake-off people are going against loud. And we deliberately selected some quiet, more detailed pieces. It's not just rockets and explosions.”

        Winning a second nomination, Mr. Asman said, “proves the first one wasn't a fluke. At least, it makes you feel that way.”

        Even so, he said, “We'd like to win. This is Alan's fourth nomination.” Mr. Murray shared nominations for Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) and Ladyhawke (1984).

        Mr. Asman said he's taking nothing for granted, given the uncertainty of the Academy Awards.

        “The guy we lost to last time (Bruce Stambler) — ironically, we work for him now — he won for The Ghost and The Darkness; that was his fifth nomination.”

        Mr. Asman's wife, Jackie, plans to accompany him to both the nominees' luncheon in mid-March and to the big event on March 25. “I was in a fog the first time,” Mr. Asman said. “I'm hoping that my mind will be more clear.”

        He admits some trepidation about how the category award will be presented. Last time, the presenters were cartoon characters Beavis and Butthead.

        Ultimately, he said, “I don't care who's giving it; I'll take it. Being nominated is great and I'm thrilled ... especially with the odds this good. It's like a coin toss.”

        The Return of Avant-Garde: Cincinnati Film Society is following up last year's successful tribute to legendary experimentalist Stan Brakhage with another salute to the avant-garde next Sunday.

        This time, Jud Yalkut, who makes his home in Dayton, Ohio, will be saluted by CFS and the University of Cincinnati art department with a program called “Return of Cool: Jud Yalkut.”

        Mr. Yalkut will be on hand to screen six films he made in 1966-67 during an era of explosive creativity in the use of moving pictures, including traditional film, video, music and documentary forms. The works he will show are Diffraction; Turn, Turn, Turn; Us Down By the Riverside; Beatles Electroniques; Videotape Study No. 3 and Electronic Moon.

        Mr. Yalkut, whose works have been exhibited at major museums and festivals around the world, has taught film and video at Wright State University, Sinclair Community College and Xavier University.

        The program begins at 4 p.m. in Room 5401 of the DAAP Building at the corner of Martin Luther King Drive and Clifton Avenue on the UC campus. Tickets are $2, free for UC students with valid ID.

        Information: 241-6060.

        Media Salon: Media Bridges presents the latest Media Salon at 7 p.m. Thursday at Old St. George Church, 42 Calhoun St. in Corryville. Artists working in film, video and multimedia are invited to show works in progress and receive a group critique.

        The quarterly Salons are co-sponsored by Media Bridges, the Cincinnati Film Society and the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers.

        Information: 651-4171; online at www.mediabridges.org.
       Contact Margaret A. McGurk at 768-8517; fax: 768-8330; e-mail mmcgurk@enquirer.com. Cincinnati.Com keyword: McGurk

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