My Official Predictions

March 7th, 2010

Best Actor:
Will Win: Jeff Bridges
Should Win: Colin Firth
Might Win: Jeremy Renner

Best Actress:
Will Win: Sandra Bullock
Should Win: Meryl Streep
Might Win: Carey Mulligan

Best Supporting Actor
Will and Should Win: Christoph Walz

Best Supporting Actress
Will and Should Win: Monique

Best Picture:
Will and Should Win: The Hurt Locker
Might Win: Avatar

Best Director
Will and Should Win: Kathryn Bigelow

Best Foreign Film
Will Win: The White Ribbon
Might Win: Un Prophete

Best Animated Film
Will and Should Win: Up
Might Win: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Best Art Direction
Will and Should Win: Avatar

Best Cinematography:
Will Win: The Hurt Locker
Should Win: The White Ribbon
Might Win: Avatar

Costume Design:
Will and Should Win: The Young Victoria
Might Win: Coco Avant Chanel

Best Documentary Feature:
Will and Should Win: The Cove
Might Win: Food, Inc

Best Film Editing:
Will and Should Win: The Hurt Locker
Might Win: Inglourious Basterds

Best Makeup
Will Win: The Young Victoria
Should and Might Win: Il Divo

Best Original Score
Will and Should Win: Up
Might Win: The Hurt Locker

Best Original Song
Will Win: The Weary Kind, Crazy Heart
Should Win: Almost There, The Princess and the Frog
Might Win: Down in New Orleans, The Princess and the Frog

Sound Editing
Will and Should Win: Avatar
Might Win: The Hurt Locker

Sound Mixing:
Will and Should Win: Avatar
Might Win: The Hurt Locker

Best Visual Effects:
Will and Should Win: Avatar

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Will Win: Up in the Air
Should Win: In the Loop

Best Original Screenplay:
Will Win: Inglourious Basterds
Should and Might Win: The Hurt Locker

I honestly don’t know enough about the shorts to make any kind of guess. Good luck to all and enjoy the show!

10 Nominations for Best Picture

February 2nd, 2010

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Holy Southern Belle at a football game, Batman!  The Blind Side is nominated for Best Picture of the Year!

This year, the Academy nominated 10 films for Best Picture in the hopes of getting a better representation of the motion picture industry.  With 10 films being nominated, the Academy could consider often overlooked audiences-favorites like Pixar films–WALL-E & Ratatouille deserved some recognition–and critically-acclaimed summer blockbusters like The Dark Knight.  The Academy hopes people will care about the Oscars again and more importantly tune in to the telecast.

I feel the Academy did what it set out to do with this crop of nominated films:

  • Avatar
  • The Blind Side
  • District 9
  • An Education
  • The Hurt Locker
  • Inglourious Basterds
  • Precious
  • A Serious Man
  • Up
  • Up in the Air

These films represent a range of human emotions: from the tension of watching American soldiers in Iraq (The Hurt Locker) to the whimsy of watching an old man fulfill his dream of going on a balloon adventure (Up). Historical events can be treated as comical fantasy (WWII in Inglourious Basterds) or as allegorical science-fiction (Apartheid in District 9).  There are gritty realities like poor Precious and there are fabulous fantasies like Pandora of Avatar.  There’s definitely something for everyone in this crop of films, and I can’t wait to find out what audiences think.  Much discussion is certain to be had in the coming month before the grand finale at the Kodak Theater this March.

Apparently

January 29th, 2010

I can update from my phone. Super Bowl and Lost previews to come soon. Stay tuned…

We’ve gotta go back!

January 28th, 2010

God of Carnage was hardly my favorite play on Broadway last year. Like many others, I was enticed by the big name stars (Marcia Gay Harden–who snabbed an Tony for the performance, James Gandolfini, Jeff Daniels, and Hope Davis).  It was definitely an actor’s dream.

Set against a stark red wall and with “carnal” music playing underneath, Gods could have been — and in my opinion should have been– the sort of absurdist interaction that French playwrights are known for.  Instead, absurdist elements were mixed with traditional realist pieces, certainly appealing to the commercial audiences of Broadway.  What ensued were yelling matches that could rival the previous years Tony winner for Best Play August: Osage County.  And trust me, that’s a fierce yelling match.  Ultimately, it was enjoyable, but not worth the $120 that was required to see the four movie stars.

But now Jeff Daniels is returning to the cast to play the James Gandolfini role.  Plus, Janet McTeer who was in the original West End production and dazzled in last season’s Mary Stuart will take Marcia Gay Harden’s role.  Dylan Baker, fabulous in many films including one of my favorites Happiness, will take Daniels’ original role.  And Lucy Liu will make her Broadway debut in Hope Davis’ role.  Just to see Liu’s continued vomitting on stage should make it worth another trip to the Great White Way.

Take a look at Playbill’s coverage here!

The State of the Race: Cameron vs. Bigelow

January 28th, 2010

Jeremy Renner in 'The Hurt Locker' (l.) and a scene from 'Avatar' (r.). They're the top best picture Oscar contenders, and they almost couldn't be more different.

The approach of the Director’s Guild Awards (followed soon thereafter by the announcement of the Oscar nominations) has led to numerous interesting conversation topics.  The battle for Best Picture—and, fittingly, Best Director–has come down to a pair of star-crossed ex-lovers.  Of course, I’m referring to James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow (of Avatar and The Hurt Locker, respectively) who happen to have been married.  While the press has hoped to get some juicy “I deserve it more than that bitch/asshole,” the two directors have played it cool–always diplomatic, insisting that the other deserve it more.  That’s because they understand that the road to Oscar is not always based on quality.  It’s also diplomacy.  And both have much to gain from picking up a Best Director and/or Best Picture Oscar statue come March 7.

James Cameron: Avatar

Now being the highest-grossing film EVER, one would think Cameron has everything he needs.  But that would certainly be undermining the “king of the world.”  Cameron never doubted he had commercial appeal, but critics love to deem his work low-brow.  Avatar represents Cameron’s life-work.  He spent nearly 10 years developing this technology, investing both time and money.  An Avatar/Cameron win would certainly represent the industry’s embrace of Cameron’s technology and work.

At the beginning of the Race, Avatar seemed somewhat tied for frontrunner status with Up in the Air and The Hurt Locker.  With the Golden Globe for Best Picture AND Best Director, along with the record-breaking numbers at the box office, Avatar has definitely slid into front-runner status.  Yet, the Producer’s Guild Award for Best Picture went to The Hurt Locker.  Yes, that’s right—PRODUCERS!  They’re the ones who are supposed to care most about the money, yet they chose a tiny film that has barely made any.  Which brings us to…

Kathryn Bigelow: The Hurt Locker

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In many ways, The Hurt Locker could not be further from Avatar.  The tiny film was barely released in theaters.  It’s slow. It’s gritty realism. And it’s another film about Iraq?!? But many critics say this is THE film about Iraq.  And that is not something to be taken lightly.

Furthermore. Bigelow would be the first woman in Oscar history to win either Best Director or Best Picture.  Some have claimed that if Ridley Scott directed this film, it wouldn’t be getting this attention.  But, of course, Ridley Scott never would have directed this film.  A woman did, and it’s fabulous!

Other than the box office, The Hurt Locker has nailed all the markers of “Oscar Race” necessities to move forward with a Best Picture win.  Consider the following awards for Bigelow as Best Director:

Boston Society of Film Critics
Austin Film Critics
Broadcast Film Critics
Chicago Film Critics
Hollywood Film Festival (Director of the Year)
Kansas City Film Critics
Las Vegas Film Critics
San Francisco Film Critics
Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Golden Satellites
Southeastern Film Critics
Toronto Film Critics
Washington DC Film Critics
Los Angeles Film Critics
New York Film Critics
National Society of Film Critics

But the noticeably absent award was the Golden Globe which went to ex-hubby Cameron.  A win with the Director’s Guild, composed of more than 1000 members vs. the Foreign Press’s (they choose the Golden Globes) measly 100,  just might seal the deal.

The Director’s Guild Awards are this Saturday, January 30.

The Nominations for the Oscars are announced Tuesday, February 2.

The 82nd Academy Awards presentation will be Sunday, March 2.