Oscar Predictions
It's been a while since I've updated. Apologies to all my readers who no doubt eagerly await my every post - haha.
Moving along*ahem* to matters which deserve our fullest and immediate attention. The OSCARS!!! which is to be televised this Sunday the 5th. It promises to be an exciting event especially since it'll be hosted by Jon Stewart, one of my favorite comedians, intelligent, knowlegable and one heck of a funny guy. Anybody who has watched the Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy central can vouch for that. If you haven't, then I'd strongly urge you to mark it down on your daily schedules. It's on air 11 PM everynight on comedy central. But if you miss it, don't fret cos they keep repeating each show every so often.
It'll be interesting to see if Jon Stewart can work his subtle magic on such a wide scale audience. It's a fine art, this hosting the Oscars business, and they've been many accomplished stand-up's and celebrities who have in the past, fallen short of expectations. I wonder if Dave Letterman or Chris Rock have any words of wisdom for Jon Stewart.
And while that shall be something to look forward to, what shall undoubtedly be on everyone's mind come this Sunday evening, will be trying to guess who'll walk away with the top honors. And as I do every year, I shall stick my neck out and like countless others, try to pick the winners. Initially I'd hoped to put it off till saturday, trying to get a feel of which way the wind blows. But might as well get it over with. I've always found it harder to choose 1 out 5, rather than say, 5 out of 20. And as usual, and i'm certain many would agree, the hardest part is being able to make a choice between whom you personally wish to win and whom you obviously expect to win.
And also there is more to it than meets the eye. For instance, in the Best director category, we have Steven Spielberg (director of munich) vs. Ang Lee (BB Mountain). Spielberg has won the top directing award twice before in the past and Ang Lee has not. How will that effect the voting process.Will the members confer the award upon Spielberg again (albeit he richly deserves it)?
Oscars, in the past have been known to take such factors into account while giving out the awards. Remember in 2001? Russel Crowe won best actor for his performance in Gladiator. Great performance but Denzel Washington's performance in the Hurricane definitely deserved the award. The next year, the same two actors, would compete again for best acting honors. This time Denzel Washington won for his performance in Training day. Did he deserve it though? Maybe. But for my money, Russel Crowe's performance in A beautiful mind was far better. So now we have two fine actors, each having won the academy award, but not for their best works. Life is not without a sense of irony. But this is my opinion. They are many who feel they deserved the awards for the respective works.
A word about the best Picture nominees. It's obviously Munich Vs. Brokeback Mountain. I feel Munich is a better movie. And that's not meant to take anything away from BBack Mountain. The others, all very absorbing productions, but well, it's a case of nomination being it's own reward. As is the case in the other categories
So that being said, here are my picks -
Performance by an actress in a leading role -
Judi Dench in “Mrs. Henderson Presents”
Felicity Huffman in “Transamerica”
Keira Knightley in “Pride & Prejudice” <-----Rooting for
Charlize Theron in “North Country”
Reese Witherspoon in “Walk the Line” <----- Expect to win
Performance by an actress in a supporting role-
Amy Adams in “Junebug”
Catherine Keener in “Capote”
Frances McDormand in “North Country”
Rachel Weisz in “The Constant Gardener” <-----Rooting for
Michelle Williams in “Brokeback Mountain” <----- Expect to win
Performance by an actor in a leading role-
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Capote” <----- Expect to win
Terrence Howard in “Hustle & Flow”
Heath Ledger in “Brokeback Mountain”
Joaquin Phoenix in “Walk the Line”
David Strathairn in “Good Night, and Good Luck.”
Performance by an actor in a supporting role-
George Clooney in “Syriana” <----- Rooting for
Matt Dillon in “Crash” <---- Expect to win
Paul Giamatti in “Cinderella Man”
Jake Gyllenhaal in “Brokeback Mountain”
William Hurt in “A History of Violence”
Achievement in directing-
“Brokeback Mountain” (Focus Features)Ang Lee <---- Expect to win
“Capote” (UA/Sony Pictures Classics)Bennett Miller
“Crash” (Lions Gate) Paul Haggis
“Good Night, and Good Luck.” (Warner Independent Pictures) George Clooney
“Munich” (Universal and DreamWorks)Steven Spielberg <---- Rooting for
Best motion picture of the year-
“Brokeback Mountain” (Focus Features)A River Road Entertainment Production Diana Ossana and James Schamus, Producers <--- Expect to win
“Capote” (UA/Sony Pictures Classics)An A-Line Pictures/Cooper’s Town/ Infinity Media ProductionCaroline Baron, William Vince and Michael Ohoven, Producers
“Crash” (Lions Gate)A Bob Yari/DEJ/Blackfriar’s Bridge/ Harris Company/ApolloProscreen GmbH & Co./Bull’s Eye Entertainment ProductionPaul Haggis and Cathy Schulman, Producers
“Good Night, and Good Luck.” (Warner Independent Pictures)A Good Night Good Luck LLC Production Grant Heslov, Producer
“Munich” (Universal and DreamWorks)A Universal Pictures/DreamWorks Pictures ProductionKathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg and Barry Mendel, Producers <---- Rooting for
Adapted screenplay-
“Brokeback Mountain” (Focus Features)Screenplay by Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana <--- Expect to win
“Capote” (UA/Sony Pictures Classics) Screenplay by Dan Futterman
“The Constant Gardener” (Focus Features) Screenplay by Jeffrey Caine <--- Rooting for
“A History of Violence” (New Line) Screenplay by Josh Olson
“Munich” (Universal and DreamWorks)Screenplay by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth
Original screenplay-
“Crash” (Lions Gate)Screenplay by Paul Haggis & Bobby MorescoStory by Paul Haggis <--- Expect to win
“Good Night, and Good Luck.” (Warner Independent Pictures) Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov
“Match Point” (DreamWorks) Written by Woody Allen
“The Squid and the Whale” (Samuel Goldwyn Films and Sony Pictures Releasing)Written by Noah Baumbach
“Syriana” (Warner Bros.)Written by Stephen Gaghan <----Rooting for
Achievement in film editing-
“Cinderella Man” (Universal and Miramax)Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
“The Constant Gardener” (Focus Features) Claire Simpson <---Rooting for
“Crash” (Lions Gate) Hughes Winborne
“Munich” (Universal and DreamWorks) Michael Kahn <--- Expect to win
“Walk the Line” (20th Century Fox)Michael McCusker
Achievement in cinematography-
“Batman Begins” (Warner Bros.) Wally Pfister
“Brokeback Mountain” (Focus Features)Rodrigo Prieto <--- Expect to win
“Good Night, and Good Luck.” (Warner Independent Pictures)Robert Elswit
“Memoirs of a Geisha” (Sony Pictures Releasing)Dion Beebe
“The New World” (New Line)Emmanuel Lubezki <--- Rooting for
As you may noticed in several categories (infact all xcept one) I've made two entries. Now the one's marked "Expected to win" are the nominations I pick to win. So the degree of accuracy of my picks should be measured upon these nominations and not the one's i'm rooting for. So that would lead to the next logical question which would be - Would I be happier if the nominations I rooted for actually won? (which means my pick was wrong). Well If they indeed did win I'll be pleased. On some occasions,I'd rather be pleased than be accurate.
And absolutely no Indian presence in the Oscars this year. Last year we had a documentary based on children of sex workers shot in the slums of Calcutta (which won, If I remember correctly). The year prior to that we had a nomination in the Short film category (Little Terrorist). Also last year there was an air of expectancy as Aishwarya Rai, the supposed toast of Hollywood, was slated to present an award. But was a no-show. Apparently was shooting on some foreign location and could'nt escape from her schedule. Or so her media managers would like us to believe. Haha. Will keep a close watch to check if she's kept herself free this Sunday.
-Nav
Moving along*ahem* to matters which deserve our fullest and immediate attention. The OSCARS!!! which is to be televised this Sunday the 5th. It promises to be an exciting event especially since it'll be hosted by Jon Stewart, one of my favorite comedians, intelligent, knowlegable and one heck of a funny guy. Anybody who has watched the Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy central can vouch for that. If you haven't, then I'd strongly urge you to mark it down on your daily schedules. It's on air 11 PM everynight on comedy central. But if you miss it, don't fret cos they keep repeating each show every so often.
It'll be interesting to see if Jon Stewart can work his subtle magic on such a wide scale audience. It's a fine art, this hosting the Oscars business, and they've been many accomplished stand-up's and celebrities who have in the past, fallen short of expectations. I wonder if Dave Letterman or Chris Rock have any words of wisdom for Jon Stewart.
And while that shall be something to look forward to, what shall undoubtedly be on everyone's mind come this Sunday evening, will be trying to guess who'll walk away with the top honors. And as I do every year, I shall stick my neck out and like countless others, try to pick the winners. Initially I'd hoped to put it off till saturday, trying to get a feel of which way the wind blows. But might as well get it over with. I've always found it harder to choose 1 out 5, rather than say, 5 out of 20. And as usual, and i'm certain many would agree, the hardest part is being able to make a choice between whom you personally wish to win and whom you obviously expect to win.
And also there is more to it than meets the eye. For instance, in the Best director category, we have Steven Spielberg (director of munich) vs. Ang Lee (BB Mountain). Spielberg has won the top directing award twice before in the past and Ang Lee has not. How will that effect the voting process.Will the members confer the award upon Spielberg again (albeit he richly deserves it)?
Oscars, in the past have been known to take such factors into account while giving out the awards. Remember in 2001? Russel Crowe won best actor for his performance in Gladiator. Great performance but Denzel Washington's performance in the Hurricane definitely deserved the award. The next year, the same two actors, would compete again for best acting honors. This time Denzel Washington won for his performance in Training day. Did he deserve it though? Maybe. But for my money, Russel Crowe's performance in A beautiful mind was far better. So now we have two fine actors, each having won the academy award, but not for their best works. Life is not without a sense of irony. But this is my opinion. They are many who feel they deserved the awards for the respective works.
A word about the best Picture nominees. It's obviously Munich Vs. Brokeback Mountain. I feel Munich is a better movie. And that's not meant to take anything away from BBack Mountain. The others, all very absorbing productions, but well, it's a case of nomination being it's own reward. As is the case in the other categories
So that being said, here are my picks -
Performance by an actress in a leading role -
Judi Dench in “Mrs. Henderson Presents”
Felicity Huffman in “Transamerica”
Keira Knightley in “Pride & Prejudice” <-----Rooting for
Charlize Theron in “North Country”
Reese Witherspoon in “Walk the Line” <----- Expect to win
Performance by an actress in a supporting role-
Amy Adams in “Junebug”
Catherine Keener in “Capote”
Frances McDormand in “North Country”
Rachel Weisz in “The Constant Gardener” <-----Rooting for
Michelle Williams in “Brokeback Mountain” <----- Expect to win
Performance by an actor in a leading role-
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Capote” <----- Expect to win
Terrence Howard in “Hustle & Flow”
Heath Ledger in “Brokeback Mountain”
Joaquin Phoenix in “Walk the Line”
David Strathairn in “Good Night, and Good Luck.”
Performance by an actor in a supporting role-
George Clooney in “Syriana” <----- Rooting for
Matt Dillon in “Crash” <---- Expect to win
Paul Giamatti in “Cinderella Man”
Jake Gyllenhaal in “Brokeback Mountain”
William Hurt in “A History of Violence”
Achievement in directing-
“Brokeback Mountain” (Focus Features)Ang Lee <---- Expect to win
“Capote” (UA/Sony Pictures Classics)Bennett Miller
“Crash” (Lions Gate) Paul Haggis
“Good Night, and Good Luck.” (Warner Independent Pictures) George Clooney
“Munich” (Universal and DreamWorks)Steven Spielberg <---- Rooting for
Best motion picture of the year-
“Brokeback Mountain” (Focus Features)A River Road Entertainment Production Diana Ossana and James Schamus, Producers <--- Expect to win
“Capote” (UA/Sony Pictures Classics)An A-Line Pictures/Cooper’s Town/ Infinity Media ProductionCaroline Baron, William Vince and Michael Ohoven, Producers
“Crash” (Lions Gate)A Bob Yari/DEJ/Blackfriar’s Bridge/ Harris Company/ApolloProscreen GmbH & Co./Bull’s Eye Entertainment ProductionPaul Haggis and Cathy Schulman, Producers
“Good Night, and Good Luck.” (Warner Independent Pictures)A Good Night Good Luck LLC Production Grant Heslov, Producer
“Munich” (Universal and DreamWorks)A Universal Pictures/DreamWorks Pictures ProductionKathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg and Barry Mendel, Producers <---- Rooting for
Adapted screenplay-
“Brokeback Mountain” (Focus Features)Screenplay by Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana <--- Expect to win
“Capote” (UA/Sony Pictures Classics) Screenplay by Dan Futterman
“The Constant Gardener” (Focus Features) Screenplay by Jeffrey Caine <--- Rooting for
“A History of Violence” (New Line) Screenplay by Josh Olson
“Munich” (Universal and DreamWorks)Screenplay by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth
Original screenplay-
“Crash” (Lions Gate)Screenplay by Paul Haggis & Bobby MorescoStory by Paul Haggis <--- Expect to win
“Good Night, and Good Luck.” (Warner Independent Pictures) Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov
“Match Point” (DreamWorks) Written by Woody Allen
“The Squid and the Whale” (Samuel Goldwyn Films and Sony Pictures Releasing)Written by Noah Baumbach
“Syriana” (Warner Bros.)Written by Stephen Gaghan <----Rooting for
Achievement in film editing-
“Cinderella Man” (Universal and Miramax)Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
“The Constant Gardener” (Focus Features) Claire Simpson <---Rooting for
“Crash” (Lions Gate) Hughes Winborne
“Munich” (Universal and DreamWorks) Michael Kahn <--- Expect to win
“Walk the Line” (20th Century Fox)Michael McCusker
Achievement in cinematography-
“Batman Begins” (Warner Bros.) Wally Pfister
“Brokeback Mountain” (Focus Features)Rodrigo Prieto <--- Expect to win
“Good Night, and Good Luck.” (Warner Independent Pictures)Robert Elswit
“Memoirs of a Geisha” (Sony Pictures Releasing)Dion Beebe
“The New World” (New Line)Emmanuel Lubezki <--- Rooting for
As you may noticed in several categories (infact all xcept one) I've made two entries. Now the one's marked "Expected to win" are the nominations I pick to win. So the degree of accuracy of my picks should be measured upon these nominations and not the one's i'm rooting for. So that would lead to the next logical question which would be - Would I be happier if the nominations I rooted for actually won? (which means my pick was wrong). Well If they indeed did win I'll be pleased. On some occasions,I'd rather be pleased than be accurate.
And absolutely no Indian presence in the Oscars this year. Last year we had a documentary based on children of sex workers shot in the slums of Calcutta (which won, If I remember correctly). The year prior to that we had a nomination in the Short film category (Little Terrorist). Also last year there was an air of expectancy as Aishwarya Rai, the supposed toast of Hollywood, was slated to present an award. But was a no-show. Apparently was shooting on some foreign location and could'nt escape from her schedule. Or so her media managers would like us to believe. Haha. Will keep a close watch to check if she's kept herself free this Sunday.
-Nav
posted by Nav at 5:21 PM
3 Comments:
Interesting post. Let's see how much you score on Sunday.
The documentary you were referring to is "Born Into Brothels".
Cheers,
randramble
I am pretty much rooting for the same people you are.
Lets see what happens!
Cheers!
Megha
Crash seems to have upset your predictions quite a bit. What are your thoughts on the movie?
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