|
|
The 81st Annual Academy Awards: Predicting All the Winners (Part 1)
02/17/2009 After an impressive year for the movies, it’s time to hand out the hardware to the ones that really left an impact. While some categories have been sewn up for a while now, there are still a few surprises that could pop up here and there on Oscar night. I’ll attempt to correctly guess the winners in all 24 categories, even the ones I have absolutely no clue on. So, let’s not waste any more time and get right down to it. 1. BEST PICTURE “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” “Frost/Nixon” “Milk” “The Reader” “Slumdog Millionaire” < ***projected winner*** This doesn’t even seem to be a contest. After sweeping nearly every major precursor award (the DGA, the PGA, the WGA, the SAG, the Critics Choice Award and the Golden Globe), “Slumdog Millionaire” is comfortably stationed in the driver’s seat. “Benjamin Button” may have the most nominations, but the lack of awards suggests it won’t garner enough votes to win the top prize. Not to mention, many people felt this movie already won Best Picture 14 years ago... back when it was called “Forrest Gump.” “Frost/Nixon” will probably be that Best Picture nominee that goes home with nothing, and “The Reader” owes its nomination to “The Dark Knight.” While it is an excellent and timely film, “Milk” just doesn’t have anywhere near the same amount of momentum as “Slumdog.” 2. DIRECTION “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (David Fincher) “Frost/Nixon” (Ron Howard) “Milk” (Gus Van Sant) “The Reader” (Stephen Daldry) “Slumdog Millionaire” (Danny Boyle) < ***projected winner*** I would be happy with either Van Sant or Boyle winning, but nothing seems capable of slowing down the “Slumdog” train. 3. ACTOR Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor” Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon” Sean Penn, “Milk” < ***projected winner*** Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler” This is by far the most interesting and competitive race, and it’s a 3-way run between Langella, Penn and Rourke. I am happy for “Six Feet Under” alumni Richard Jenkins, and while I like him and thought he was fine, I didn’t think Pitt did anything too memorable in his film. But neither of these guys will win anyway, so it doesn’t really matter. I’d give the slight edge to Penn because he’s won the SAG and because he’s worshipped in Hollywood. Honestly, though, if Penn, Langella or Rourke won, it would be fine by me. I wouldn’t even object to a tie. 4. ACTRESS Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married” Angelina Jolie, “Changeling” Melissa Leo, “Frozen River” Meryl Streep, “Doubt” Kate Winslet, “The Reader” < ***projected winner*** I hope the Academy members don’t blow this and finally give this thing to Winslet. She’s never won after 6 nominations, and she’s made it quite obvious that she really wants to. I am happy for Hathaway and Leo, and Streep’s 15th career nomination is reward enough. But come on, let’s not delay this any further. 5. SUPPORTING ACTOR Josh Brolin, “Milk” Robert Downey, Jr., “Tropic Thunder” Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt” Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight” < ***projected winner*** Michael Shannon, “Revolutionary Road” I’m thrilled for Josh Brolin, who got no mentions from anybody last year after appearing in a variety of good films and turning in great performances. “Milk” marks his best work to date, though his interpretation of Bush in “W.” was pretty terrific, too. But he knows, as we all do, that Heath Ledger just cannot be beat, nor should he be. The late actor simply could not have been any better as The Joker, and he deserves every single award he gets, this one most of all. 6. SUPPORTING ACTRESS Amy Adams, “Doubt” Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” < ***projected winner*** Viola Davis, “Doubt” Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler” Congratulations to the Academy members for getting this category completely right, even if this race seems pretty much locked and loaded. Except for maybe Viola Davis, who managed to steal the show from Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt,” there doesn’t seem to be too much stopping Penelope Cruz from winning her first award, one year after her boyfriend, Javier Bardem, won for “No Country for Old Men.” 7. ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY “Frozen River” (Courtney Hunt) “Happy-Go-Lucky” (Mike Leigh” “In Bruges” (Martin McDonagh) “Milk” (Dustin Lance Black) < ***projected winner*** “Wall-E” (Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Jim Reardon) Dustin Lance Black’s script for “Milk” is just too good not to reward, and the film has to win somewhere in case Rourke or Langella take Best Actor. 8. ADAPTED SCREENPLAY “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Eric Roth, Robin Swicord) “Doubt” (John Patrick Shanley) “Frost/Nixon” (Peter Morgan) “The Reader” (David Hare) “Slumdog Millionaire” (Simon Beaufoy) < ***projected winner*** Simon Beaufoy’s script for “Slumdog Millionaire” should win handily. 9. ANIMATED FEATURE FILM “Bolt” “Kung Fu Panda” “Wall-E” < ***projected winner*** Combine “Bolt,” “Kung Fu Panda” and every other animated movie from this past year, and they won’t be 1/5 as good as “Wall-E.” 10. FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM “The Baader Meinhof Complex” (GERMANY) “The Class” (FRANCE) “Departures” (JAPAN) “Revanche” (AUSTRIA) “Waltz with Bashir” (ISRAEL) < ***projected winner*** Waltz with Bashir has won everything, including the WGA for documentary, so it’s probably in. Still, this race doesn’t feel like it’s open and shut to me. Many other pundits think “The Class” could upset, but “The Baader Meinhof Complex” looks like the most interesting of the five, and I wouldn’t be too surprised if it pulled off an unexpected victory. Tune in for Part 2 tomorrow. Comments [post a comment]Comments are closed |
|
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Weather: , °
Weather: , °
Post a Comment
E-mail To A Friend
Join The List
Technorati Tags
Oscars Academy Award Best Picture Nominations Film Movie Awards