Oscar Predictions
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As a movie buff, I look forward to the Academy Awards every year with great anticipation. However, the 80th Academy Awards being hosted at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles tomorrow, doesn’t excite me as much as some of the previous years. There seems to be a shortage of superstar celebrities in the running save a Depp or a Blanchett. And even the movies for which these two are nominated didn’t ignite the box office like a “Gladiator” or a “Blood Diamond” from recent years. Even a potential hit like “Charile Wilson’s War” with uber stars Tom Hanks and Julie Roberts (both not nominated) was a dud at the box office.
But still, I have seen a few of the movies for which lesser (from a box office perspective) stars have been nominated and have to say all of them are fabulous movies in their own right and some of the performances will go down in history as among the greatest ever. Cue in my predictions for a few categories.
I have mentioned all nominees in the lists below with my choices in bold yellow color.
Best Actor
- Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will be Blood
- Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd
- Tommy Lee Jones - In the Valley of Elah
- Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises
- George Clooney - Michael Clayton
This is not exactly a tight race if the critics and oddsmakers are to be believed. I haven’t yet seen “There will be Blood” but I am really looking forward to. I do think Day-Lewis is one of the greatest actors of our generation and that he should have won over Adrien Brody in 2003 for “Gangs of New York.” So that’s why I am casting my vote for him despite not seeing the movie. Depp will be my emotional favorite as he has never won. Mortensen was phenomenal in “Eastern Promises” but I am not sure he deserves an Oscar for this role. Tommy Lee Jones should be given another Oscar just once and they should not do it for a specific movie as he plays the same character every time (and he’s real good at it). I didn’t see “Michael Clayton” and can’t comment on Clooney’s role though I was so bored by “Ocean’s Thirteen” that I don’t want him to win this year.
Best Actress
- Marion Cotillard - La Vie en Rose
- Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
- Laura Linney - The Savages
- Ellen Page - Juno
- Julie Christie - Away from Her
I have seen most of these movies and I had earlier blogged about “La Vie en Rose” and at that time said that if the Academy did not nominate Marion Cotillard, it’d be time to throw the members to the dogs. Yes, Cotillard’s performance was that good. So, I think she should win this. While most people are rooting for Julie Christie, I think she was only good in “Away from Her,” not great. Although I think the Academy missed out on nominating the director of “Away from Her,” Canadian actress Sarah Polley. Blanchett, to me is a worthy successor to Meryl Streep for the title of the world’s greatest living actress and I am certain that she’ll be nominated many more times and I am really hoping she will win this year’s supporting actress award for also which she’s nominated. There has been only great performances in Linney’s career but I don’t think this is her year. Ellen Page, while fabulous in “Juno,” is too fresh to win it this year.
Other Awards
For best supporting actor, I think Javier Bardem is a shoo-in for “No Country for Old Men.” In it, he utters to a hapless store clerk: “Call it, friendo.” This spine chilling phrase is still stuck in my head. See the movie if you haven’t: you’ll be stunned. If Bardem doesn’t take the prize, I’d want this to go to Hal Holbrook in “Into the Wild,” a very brief but moving performance.
For best supporting actress, I am rooting for Cate Blanchett even though Amy Ryan is supposed to be very good in “Gone Baby Gone” from Ben Affleck.
For best animated feature, my pick is “Ratatouille” from the incomparable Brad Bird. Even though Bird did not convince me to start liking rats, he came very close.
I did see “Michael Clayton” and personally think it is George Clooney’s best piece of work (at least of all his movies that I have seen). Don’t judge his nomination based on his commercial “Ocean’s Thirteen” performance. I have not seen any of the other Best Actor movies but am definitely planning on seeing the Day-Lewis movie because he got a lot of critical acclaim for that one and should win the award by all accounts.
I was just commenting to my wife about how this was the first time in a long while that I had absolutely no clue what movies/actors/actresses were being nominated. I believe I only saw one movie from last years releases and that was Transformers. Oscar worthy movie, that one.
Anyway I bow to your near prophetic powers of prognostication - well done.
Thanks. I have to admit that I never even considered Tilda Swinton for the supporting actress Oscar; it took me by surprise. I am going to move Michael Clayton up in my queue now. Kudos to all the rest of them.
Anyone notice that all the acting awards this year went to Europeans?
This is the first time I had not watched most of the movies except Michael Clayton and Once. I thought Tilda Swinton did a fabulous job. Enjoyed the movie Once for all the songs and the simplicity of the movie.
Well done on the analysis, anupcs. Are you sure you do not have links to Price Waterhouse? ha ha just kidding.
I admit, while watching all the non-Americans waltzing off with the golden man after speeches in their native tongue, I was kind of hoping that there would be an Indian around to add to the fun!
Personally, I thought that Jon Stewart’s comments on Barack Obama’s full name was done in poor taste!
Yes, I had noticed that all the acting awards went to non-Americans and mentioned it to the wife. We were then wondering whether there has been a precedent for this but did not bother to look it up. Regarding “Michael Clayton”, it is rather well-acted movie with a good cast … so you will like it.
Will need to check out Michael Clayton. As tafkap says, I too have been out of touch with the latest releases …but I definitely know which are up on the kiddies’ scene…let me tell you, I was all for Ratatouille and Transformers in their various categories…the only 2 which I recognised and have actually seen. Ratatouille is a definite must see, in my opinion….
Yeah, I am looking forward to seeing “Michael Clayton.” I have also heard that Tom Wilkinson is awesome in it (I guess he’s been pretty good in whatever he has done).
Zen, yes, I loved Ratatouille too as well as The Transformers (the latter, to my own surprise). I was glad to see another one of my favorite movies of last year, The Bourne Ultimatum win all three awards for which it was nominated. No sight of our man Matt Damon though.
Among the acceptance speeches, I loved the genuineness and sheer joy of Marion Cotillard’s. She was a glitter of freshness in a sea of Hollywood uppityness:
And I also enjoyed Marketa Irglova’s speech after Jon Stewart brought her back on stage. She won for another feel-good movie from last year: Once:
Sorry - I just need to comment on the clothes!!
Purely focusing on the Oscar winners and ignoring the red carpet, I think the Golden Raspberry should be given to (ironically) the winner of Best Costume Design: Alexandra Byrne and runner up of the Golden Raspberry in clothes to Tilda Swinton!
Marion Cotillard deserves another Oscar for just looking fabulous - and also for picking a colour apart from the reds and blacks the others wore!
I wonder what criteria were used to determine that Bardem is the “supporting actor” in this movie. The movie is all about his character, and he probably has the most screen time. Does the fact that he plays the bad guy rule him out of contention for the best actor awards? If Anthony Hopkins could win best actor as Hannibal Lecter, then why not Bardem’s Chigurh? This whole supporting actor classification is a sham.
That phrase is never uttered. Check out the scene again (youtube is your friend.)
I am going to forever remember this movie for the phrase “Call it, friendo.” Whether or not he actually uttered those words in one continuous breath is irrelevant to me. He does say all these words in the same conversation and that’s enough for me.
And so ladies and gentlemen, we revisit movie history myth a la “Play it again, Sam”.
Actually, it’s more like the “Greed is Good” misquote from “Wall Street.” What Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko actually says is longer and the former is a truncation. I took a similar approach (call it artistic liberty, if you will) but the truth of the matter is I remembered the lines as such. Selective memory of a very complex movie, I guess.
As for the supporting actor rant by papi, I don’t think Bardem has the most screen time in this movie: I think Josh Brolin does. I admit that it may be very close. The presence of Tommy Lee Jones’s character also means that this movie does not have a clear lead actor. Whether or not Bardem’s character is the most pertinent to the movie has no bearing on which category he should have been nominated. These nominations are for the actors, not the roles they play.
Hannibal Lecter was different as Hopkins was the only actor of note in the movie. If you look at all the nominees in the lead actor category this year, you’ll notice that all of them occupy most of the screen time with their presence in the respective movies.
Saoirse Ronan is good in Atonement but I don’t think she deserved an Oscar nomination. Definitely, she doesn’t hold a candle to the great child actor performances in cinema.