Oscar nominations finally come out next week. Here's my predix. Sorry for the lack of commentary. Doing this in a rush.
By request, I removed the "other possibilities." What was once merely an informative posting is now a test of my psychic abilities. And if I get them all right, you must buy me a car.
By request, I removed the "other possibilities." What was once merely an informative posting is now a test of my psychic abilities. And if I get them all right, you must buy me a car.
Best Picture:
127 Hours
Black Swan
Inception
The Fighter
The Kids Are All Right
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone
Total Correct: 10/10. Not a difficult year.
Total Correct: 10/10. Not a difficult year.
Best Director:
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Danny Boyle, 127 Hours
David Fincher, The Social Network
Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
Christopher Nolan, Inception
Total Correct: 3/5. Joel and Ethan Coen ("True Grit") and David O. Russell ("The Fighter") over Christopher Nolan and Danny Boyle?! Bad call, Academy. Bad call
Best Actor:
Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours
Total Correct: 5/5. I haven't seen Biutiful yet, but I like the other choices.
Best Actress:
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Total Correct: 3/5. I think The Kids Are All Right is pretty overrated anyway, so I don't mind the Moore snub. But Hailee Steinfeld is nominated in the wrong category. Nicole Kidman ("Rabbit Hole") and Michelle Williams ("Blue Valentine") are good choices.
Best Supporting Actor:
Christian Bale, The Fighter
Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
Pete Postelthwaite, The Town
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech
Total Correct: 3/5: Missed on Garfield and Postelthwaite. Perfectly fine with the noms going to John Hawkes ("Winter's Bone") and Jeremy Renner ("The Town")
Best Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
Barbara Hershey, Black Swan
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Jackie Weaver, Animal Kingdom
Total Correct: 4/5. I missed on Barbara Hershey because the Academy apparently thinks that a child is incapable of being a lead role.
Best Original Screenplay:
Another Year
Black Swan
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
Total Correct: 4/5. "The Fighter" over "Black Swan"? Are you kidding?! Hey Academy!!! What is all that original about "The Fighter"? It's a recent and apparently well-documented true story. How much creativity even went into this script?
Best Adapted Screenplay:
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone
Total Correct: 5/5. And the right ones were chosen.
Best Film Editing:
127 Hours
Black Swan
Inception
The King's Speech
The Social Network
Total Correct: 4/5. The Academy must really love "The Fighter". If you'd asked me which of these I might be wrong on, the LAST one I would've picked is "Inception". Stunning.
Best Cinematography:
127 Hours
Black Swan
Inception
The Social Network
True Grit
Total Correct: 4/5. "The King's Speech" over "127 Hours"? I'm good with that. I hadn't seen "The King's Speech" yet when I made this list. Now that I've seen it, it's a good choice.
Best Art Direction:
Alice in Wonderland
Black Swan
Inception
The King's Speech
True Grit
Total Correct: 4/5. You know, I almost put "Harry Potter" on here instead of "True Grit". Definitely did not think "Black Swan" would be the one I got wrong.
Best Sound Mixing:
127 Hours
Inception
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Total Correct: 3/5. Hmmm. I really thought "127 Hours" would be nominated. And the Pixar films usually get a nod here. Instead, they went with "Salt" (Underrated film) and "The King's Speech", which, again, I had not seen when I made the list. It's a good call.
Best Sound Editing:
Inception
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Total Correct: 3/5. And I'm sure you can see why. I thought they only nominated 3 films here. Whoops. "Tron: Legacy" and "Unstoppable" were the other nominations.
Best Costume Design:
Alice in Wonderland
Black Swan
Made in Dagenham
The King's Speech
True Grit
Total Correct: 3/5. I didn't even know "The Tempest" had been released. Go figure. And I had no idea "I Am Love" was even contending. Still, another category where "Black Swan" got dissed.
Best Original Score:
127 Hours
How to Train Your Dragon
Inception
The King's Speech
The Social Network
Total Correct: 5/5. And I thought I might be going out on a limb with "How to Train Your Dragon".
Best Animated Feature:
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3
Total Correct: 3/3. One of the easier categories of the year.
Best Makeup:
Alice in Wonderland
The Fighter
The Wolfman
Total Correct: 1/3. I'm lucky if I even get one right in this category. Thankfully, the Academy LOVES to nominated Rick Baker, so "The Wolfman" was an obvious choice. "Barney's Version" and "The Way Back"? Whatever.
Total Correct: 1/3. I'm lucky if I even get one right in this category. Thankfully, the Academy LOVES to nominated Rick Baker, so "The Wolfman" was an obvious choice. "Barney's Version" and "The Way Back"? Whatever.