Editorial: Oscar musings

Huzzah! I predicted 8 of the 10 Best Picture nominees. No Invictus and Crazy Heart, whose spots were instead taken by District 9 and The Blind Side (both of which I called in my "possible" mentions). On to some random observations...

• The 10 BPs represent quite a good spread, from tiny indie (Britflick-that-could An Education) to records-splattering monster (you know what). Funnily enough, though, expanding the field to 10 probably didn't change that very much - if there were still only 5 noms, they almost certainly would've been Hurt Locker, Avatar, Up in the Air, Precious, and Inglourious Basterds, a selection that itself is quite appealingly varied, including two $100m+ grossers (one of which is about to fly past $600m). Very much a contrast to recent sets of nominees, which have been almost exclusively small, minority appeal flicks. Not that they should be any less deserving, of course, it's just nice to have a cross-section.
• Leading the way are Locker and Avatar with 9 noms each - impressive but not massive as the records go (Slumdog got more last year, for example). Trailing close behind, pleasingly, is Basterds with 8 - and it has a right to feel aggrieved that it didn't get 9 too, as the overlooked Melanie Laurent easily deserved a nom. Nine didn't get 9 noms, incidentally. It got 4.
• Invictus always looked like it would've been a 'make up the numbers' nominee for BP. That it didn't make it reflects its indifferent reception. Matt Damon getting a nom though was a little suprising - many thought that if he did receive one it would be for The Informant!.
• Need any proof that the Academy voters are swayed by box office? The Blind Side.
• Crazy Heart is set to become the latest in a long line of films whose performances clean up in a specific acting category, but get completely overlooked elsewhere. See also: Walk the Line, Monster, The Last King of Scotland, etc. It's a shame, because many of these films deserve to be known for more than just vehicles to get their stars awards.
• Recent winners of Best Picture usually haven't got much notice in the acting categories. Slumdog Millionaire, Crash, The Departed, Return of the King. The trend will continue this year - either Hurt Locker or Avatar will win, but neither will win any acting gongs. Locker's Jeremy Renner did at least get nominated; none of Avatar's did.
• It's interesting that many of this year's BPs faced poor or indeed non-existent buzz before they were released. Some even didn't get that much buzz immediately after being released. I didn't hear much about An Education until the BAFTAs suddenly decided it was worth loads of noms. The Hurt Locker, too, though very well reviewed, didn't seem to have much awards traction until recently. Now it's the front runner.
• Yay for In the Loop getting screenplay notice! I watched it last week and it's fan-f*cking-tastic. Sorry about the swearing, but it seems appropriate for the film.
• Up becomes the second ever animated film to contest BP, after Beauty and the Beast, though its achievement is lessened by the whole '10 nominees' thing. I would've put money on nearly all Pixar's films being nominated for BP if there had always been 10 noms.
• Why only three nominees for visual effects? There are loads that deserve a look-in there. Watchmen especially.

That's all I can think of, for now. All in all, a pretty good, well-rounded set of nominations, with few disappointments. Now to name my predictions for the big categories - this year I'm making it short but sweet...

Hurt Locker, Bigelow, Bridges, Bullock, Waltz, Mo'Nique, Boal, Reitman/Turner.

And I'm out.

Editorial: The perfect 10

'Tis that time of year again - tomorrow morning the Oscar nominations will sound forth from the lovely lips of Anne Hathaway. This year the nominations are being followed with (slightly) more interest than usual for one main reason: the Academy have this year doubled the number of Best Picture nominees to 10. The decision is quite clearly commercially motivated, the logic being that 10 nominees mean it is more likely an audience favourite, rather than just niche awards bait, will be noticed, thus bringing in more viewers to the flagging telecast. So goes the reasoning anyway.

With that in mind, it leaves the field slightly more open than usual. In recent years it was often pretty easy to guess what the five would be before they were announced. This year, though, that is not so much the case. There are shoe-ins for at least half the spots, but there is also the opportunity for a slight surprise or two.

Putting my reputation on the line, I now give you what I think the 10 will look like. These are not what I think they should be, just what I think they will be. But enough stalling. Here goes:

The Hurt Locker

Avatar

Up in the Air

Inglourious Basterds

Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

Up

Invictus

An Education

Crazy Heart

A Serious Man

The top 5, I think, are certain. Less so with the rest, in increasing order of uncertainty. Other films with a shot include Star Trek, District 9 (both of which received a nom for Best Pic from the Producers' Guild of America, though I would be surprised if they receive the same attention from the Academy), Nine, A Single Man, and The Last Station. Perhaps even Julie & Julia because of the Streep factor, or The Blind Side because of its box office takings.

For the record, I predict the eventual winner will be The Hurt Locker, which is hoovering up most of the big prizes as we speak. So there you have it.

Editorial: Oscar Noms '09: Thoughts & Predictions

'Tis that time of year again, the beloved (or loathed...) Awards Season! The Academy Award nominations were revealed today in their time-honoured fashion, and as always they threw up some surprises. Before listing the nominees and revealing my prediction for the winner in each category, I thought I'd offer a few random thoughts and observations. All together now... "What about The Dark Knight?!?!"

• - In all honesty, I'm not surprised that TDK wasn't nominated, and not overwhelmingly disappointed - yes, it's a good film, but hardly the best thing since sliced bread. More disappointing for me is the lack of love for The Wrestler, which only received nods for Best Actor (Rourke) and Supporting Actress (Tomei - a pleasant surprise, to be fair). It's probably just too niche a film for the Academy.
• - In terms of numbers, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is the big leader with an impressive 13 noms, which has only ever been bettered by two films: Titanic and All About Eve. I can't see it winning in any of the major categories though, but at the very least Visual Effects seems a likely win. I need to see this film.
• - The Reader got a lot of love (5 noms), which is odd considering it's hardly a great film (see my review). It's one of those Oscar Bait films that seem to get nominated just because of their subject matter than because of actual quality. The fact that the Weinsteins are behind it is not insigificant either - they powered Shakespeare In Love to an unfathomable Best Picture win a decade ago.
• - If Heath Ledger doesn't win for Supporting Actor, I'll be seriously miffed, as his performance is brilliant, regardless of his sad death. However he seems like such an overwhelming favourite that a backlash from voters may occur.
• - Staying with Supporting Actor, it's great to see a nom for Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder. Not a brilliant film but he certainly stood out.
• - Slumdog Millionaire managed a substantial 10 nominations overall, which is all the more impressive considering it's a small film and therefore can't compete in categories like Visual Effects. It's the clear front runner for the big one.
  
• - Animated Film really seems like a pointless category; not because WALL-E is undeserving of a win but because there are so few films to choose from. It also prevents any animated films from ever being nominated for Best Picture nowadays.
• - Likewise this year the Best Song selection is odd - only three noms (usually there are five) and two for the same film, Slumdog Millionaire. Every year one film gets nominated more than once in this same category.
• - Overall an interesting selection - the Best Pic category looks pretty strong even though I've only seen two of them thus far. But I can't see the ceremony's ratings slide improving; increasingly these days popular films and those deemed awards-worthy are seen as two opposing definitions. It's only when there's another popular hit that also gets lots of noms - another Lord of the Rings or Titanic - that general interest will improve.

With that out of the way, here are the noms and my predictions (in italics), which as always do not necessarily represent my personal preference.

BEST PICTURE
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
MILK
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE READER
FROST/NIXON

BEST ACTOR
Sean Penn - MILK
Mickey Rourke - THE WRESTLER
Frank Langella - FROST/NIXON
Brad Pitt - THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Richard Jenkins - THE VISITOR

BEST ACTRESS
Meryl Streep - DOUBT
Anne Hathaway - RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
Kate Winslet - THE READER
Melissa Leo - FROZEN RIVER
Angelina Jolie - CHANGELING

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Heath Ledger - THE DARK KNIGHT
Robert Downey, Jr. - TROPIC THUNDER
Philip Seymour Hoffman - DOUBT
Josh Brolin - MILK
Michael Shannon - REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Marisa Tomei - THE WRESTLER
Amy Adams - DOUBT
Penelope Cruz - VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
Taraji P. Henson - THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Viola Davis - DOUBT

BEST ANIMATED FILM
WALL-E
KUNG FU PANDA
BOLT

BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
David Fincher - THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Stephen Daldry - THE READER
Ron Howard - FROST/NIXON
Gus Van Sant - MILK

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Simon Beaufoy - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Eric Roth - THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Peter Morgan - FROST/NIXON
John Patrick Shanley - DOUBT
David Hare - THE READER

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Courtney Hunt - FROZEN RIVER
Dustin Lance Black - MILK
Martin McDonough - IN BRUGES
Mike Leigh - HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon - WALL-E

BEST ART DIRECTION
CHANGELING
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
THE DUCHESS
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
CHANGELING
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
AUSTRALIA
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DUCHESS
MILK
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
THE BETRAYAL
ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE ROAD
MAN ON WIRE
THE GARDEN
TROUBLE THE WATER

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
"The Conscience of Nhem En"
"The Final Inch"
"Smile Pinki"
"The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306"

BEST EDITING
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
FROST/NIXON
MILK
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX
THE CLASS
DEPARTURES
AUSTRIA
WALTZ WITH BASHIR

BEST MAKEUP
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
DEFIANCE
MILK
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
WALL-E

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Down to Earth" - WALL-E
"Jai Ho" - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
"O Saya" - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
"La Maison de Petits Cubes"
"Lavatory - Lovestory"
"Oktapodi"
"Presto"
"This Way Up"

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT
"Auf der Strecke (On the Line)"
"Manon on the Asphalt"
"New Boy"
"The Pig"
"Spielzeugland (Toyland)"

BEST SOUND EDITING
THE DARK KNIGHT
IRON MAN
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
WALL-E
WANTED

BEST SOUND MIXING
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
WALL-E
WANTED

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
IRON MAN
THE DARK KNIGHT

The ceremony is on Feb 22nd. Is it really that time already?

Undeserving Oscar Winners #2

With the latest Academy Awards ceremony on the horizon, here we look back at previous years. The Oscars have a history of, er, questionable decisions when it comes to their Best Picture winners, and this series of blog entries will look at some of the more glaring ones and argue which film should have taken home the statuette. Of course, there's no pleasing everyone, and this is mainly based on personal taste, but also takes into account how well certain films have endured compared to others.

Year
2002

Best Picture Winner
A Beautiful Mind

Why it won:
Ron Howard, despite his completely anonymous direction, has proven himself an Oscar favourite over the years. The film practically had "Look at me, Oscars!" stamped all over it.

Why it didn't deserve to win:
Who remembers it? I guess the people involved deserve some credit for making at least a watchable film based on a socially inept mathematician, but watchable is about the best that can be said.

What should have won
The Lord of the Rings:
The Fellowship of the Ring

Why it didn't win:
Mainly, it seems, because the Academy knew there were two more instalments, and saved most of the gongs (11 of them!) for the concluding chapter, The Return of the King, which in hindsight looks like the weakest. But still great.

Why it deserved to win:

It put a forgotten and derided genre back on the map in emphatic style, and began what is now routinely ranked as one of the best film trilogies of all time. Peter Jackson and his collaborators adapted what many called an unfilmable book with supreme skill and sensitivity, and made a brilliant epic action adventure with heart. In the words of one critic (echoing the sentiments of many), it raised the bar for film entertainment.

Other nominees:
Gosford Park
In the Bedroom
Moulin Rouge!

Undeserving Oscar Winners #1

With the latest Academy Awards ceremony on the horizon, here we look back at previous years. The Oscars have a history of, er, questionable decisions when it comes to their Best Picture winners, and this series of blog entries will look at some of the more glaring ones and argue which film should have taken home the statuette. Of course, there's no pleasing everyone, and this is mainly based on personal taste, but also takes into account how well certain films have endured compared to others.

Year
1999

Best Picture Winner
Shakespeare in Love

Why it won:
It had all of the Miramax marketing muscle behind it. Back in the late 90s, it seemed that the Weinstein brothers could just buy Oscar success; the trend thankfully hasn't continued.

Why it didn't deserve to win:
Shakespeare In Love isn't a bad film. It's a likeable, pretty well written but very lightweight romcom set in Elizabethan England. It's successful on its own terms, but Oscar winning material? I don't think so. Especially considering the competition it had.

What should have won
Saving Private Ryan

Why it didn't win:
Possibly because it's a bit dark and gritty for Oscar voters, but that explanation is countered by the fact that Schindler's List won in 1994. Maybe the very fact that Spielberg won it only a few years earlier put voters off, especially considering they're both World War 2 films. Spielberg deservedly look home Best Director for Ryan, but not Best Film.

Why it deserved to win:

What other war film has had more influence, ever? The impact of the opening D-Day landing scene alone is immense and rightly renowned, exhibiting a filmmaker at the very top of his form. The rest of the film is hardly a letdown, though. In terms of depicting war on screen, it remains unequalled. The less conventional The Thin Red Line, also nominated in the same year, was perhaps more daring and also a superb film, but the visceral force of Ryan is extraordinary. Filmmaking genius.

Other nominees:
The Thin Red Line
Elizabeth
Life Is Beautiful

Oscar, schmoscar

The 2008 Oscar nominations are in, and as per usual, there are a few surprises and disappointing oversights. The following are the nominations for all the categories bar the short film ones.

The film names in Bold are my predictions (not necessarily my personal favourites, though).

Film Of The Year
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

No real surprises here, although many were predicting that Atonement would be snubbed, despite its huge haul of BAFTA nominations. Its acclaim isn't really deserved if you ask me. Meanwhile, people continue to be blind to the awfulness of Michael Clayton - my worst film of the year is nominated for Best Picture! No Country is probably the frontrunner, but I'm desperate to see There Will Be Blood, which isn't out yet in the UK.

Best Director
Julian Schnabel -The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jason Reitman -Juno
Tony Gilroy -Michael Clayton
Joel and Ethan Coen - No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood

For a director of a foreign language film, Schnabel did well to receive a nomination. Otherwise, the only real shocker is again the nomination of Gilroy for Michael Clayton. Some will be sad to see Sean Penn (Into the Wild) and Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James) miss out, for me those films were a slight letdown.

Best Actor
George Clooney - Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd
Tommy Lee Jones - In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises

Depp is excellent in Todd, as is Mortensen in the subpar Eastern Promises. Again, I need to see There Will Be Blood.

Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook - Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton

A very strong category overall. Affleck, Bardem, Hoffman are all worthy; my preference, and prediction, is Bardem.

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie - Away from Her
Marion Cotillard - La Vie en Rose
Laura Linney - The Savages
Ellen Page - Juno

Many derided the Elizabeth sequel, so the Blanchett nom here is slightly surprising. Keira Knightley will presumably be upset for no Atonement recognition, but I don't rate her.

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There
Ruby Dee - American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan - Atonement
Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton

Blanchett is much more likely to win here than Best Actress.

Adapted Screenplay
Atonement, Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
Away from Her, Written by Sarah Polley
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
No Country for Old Men, Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
There Will Be Blood, Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

Polley is maybe surprising, as the likes of Aaron Sorkin for Charlie Wilson's War missed out.

Original Screenplay
Juno, Written by Diablo Cody
Lars and the Real Girl, Written by Nancy Oliver
Michael Clayton, Written by Tony Gilroy
Ratatouille, Screenplay by Brad Bird; Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
The Savages, Written by Tamara Jenkin

Nice to see Ratatouille show up in a category outside Best Animation, even though I don't quite understand all of its adoration.

Best Animated Feature
Persepolis
Ratatouille
Surf's Up

Surf's Up is a pleasant surprise - it wasn't brilliant, but certainly superior to Shrek the Third or The Simpsons Movie.

Achievement in Art Direction
American Gangster
Atonement
The Golden Compass
Sweeney Todd
There Will Be Blood

All very nice looking films. Sweeney Todd stands out.

Achievement In Cinematography
The Assassination of Jesse James
Atonement
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Roger Deakins looks to be competing against himself here - he lensed both Jesse James and No Country. Either would be worthy. As would any of them, truth be told.

Achievement In Costume Design
Across the Universe
Atonement
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
La Vie en Rose
Sweeney Todd

As expected. Maybe Hairspray could've snuck in.

Best Documentary Feature
No End in Sight
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
Sicko
Taxi to the Dark Side
War/Dance

All I can say is that the ingoring of In The Shadow Of The Moon is criminal.

Achievement In Film Editing
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Into the Wild
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

At last, the deserving Bourne gets a look-in. Surprised not to see more of the blockbusters in this category, but not necessarily disappointed.

Best Foreign Language Film
Beaufort (Israel)
The Counterfeiters (Austria)
Katyn (Poland)
Mongol (Kazakhstan)
12 (Russia)

Well done to them.

Achievement In Make-Up
La Vie en Rose
Norbit
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Holy crap, Norbit is an Oscar-nominated film.

Original Score
Atonement
The Kite Runner
Michael Clayton
Ratatouille
3:10 to Yuma

I didn't even notice much of a score in Michael Clayton. Atonement will probably get it, with an outside chance for Ratatouille.

Original Song
Falling Slowly - Once
Happy Working Song - Enchanted
Raise It Up - August Rush
So Close - Enchanted
That's How You Know - Enchanted

Just like last year (when Dreamgirls did it), one film gets three Original Song nominations. If last year is anything to go by, it won't win. My money's on Once.

Achievement In Sound Editing
The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
There Will Be Blood
Transformers

Well, they did have sound, I'll admit that. Clueless otherwise.

Achievement In Sound Mixing
The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
3:10 to Yuma
Transformers

See above.


Achievement In Visual Effects
The Golden Compass
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Transformers

Compass may have missed out here, but the effects were definitely good. Transformers is the clear winner for me.



Overall, pretty predictable. The overlooking of Zodiac is tragic but entirely expected - its March release basically sealed its fate. Conversely, Michael Clayton in no way deserves the acclaim it has received. No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood lead with 8 nominations apiece. The next thing to confirm is whether the ceremony will actually take place, given the continuing writers' strike. Anyway, it's always an entertaining period in the film calendar. Bring on February 24th.