Thursday, February 21, 2008

and the oscar goes to...


The 80th Annual Academy Awards are this Sunday and I could not be more excited. It's three hours of glamour, the recognition of the best of film (although that is never accurate), and lots of self-gratulation. I love it. Here are my picks for who will win, who should win, and who should have been nominated:

BEST PICTURE
Will Win: "No Country for Old Men"
Should Win: "There Will Be Blood"
Should Have Been Nominated: "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead"

BEST DIRECTOR
Will Win: Joel and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Should Win: Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"
Should Have Been Nominated: David Fincher, "Zodiac"

BEST ACTRESS
Will Win: Julie Christie, "Away From Her"
Should Win: I'm pretty ambivalent about this category. The actresses nominated gave good, if not great performances, but this was a relatively weak year in film for memorable lead female roles. Ellen Page would be an exciting upset. I hope she wouldn't say "sweet" or thank her cheeseburger phone.
Should Have Been Nominated: Tang Wei, "Lust, Caution"

BEST ACTOR
Will and Should Win: Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"
Should Have Been Nominated: Brad Pitt, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Will Win: Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"
Should Win: It's a close race, but I'm curious what kind of acceptance speech Tilda Swinton would make. Does Hollywood even know who she is?
Should Have Been Nominated: Emmanuelle Seigner, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Will Win: Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"
Should Win: Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Should Have Been Nominated: Irfan Khan, "The Namesake"

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Will Win: Diablo Cody, "Juno"
Should Win: Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
Should Have Been Nominated: Kelly Masterson, "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead"

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Will Win: Joel and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Should Win: Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"
Should Have Been Nominated: Aaron Sorkin, "Charlie Wilson's War"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Will Win: Roger Deakins, "No Country for Old Men"
Should Win: Roger Deakins, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Should Have Been Nominated: Edward Lachman, "I'm Not There"

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Will Win: "Elizabeth: Golden Age"
Should Win: "Atonement"
Should Have Been Nominated: "American Gangster"

BEST ART DIRECTION
Will Win and Should Win: "There Will Be Blood"
Should Have Been Nominated: "Eastern Promises"

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Will Win: "Sicko"
Should Win: "No End In Sight"
Should Have Been Nominated: "Crazy Love"

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Will and Should Win: "Atonement"
Should Have Been Nominated: "There Will Be Blood"

EDIT: Something is brewing for Oscar coverage. Hold your breath. Make a wish. Count to three...

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a great fucking list.
And though I disagree with your There Will Be Blood bias, I also share it.

I'm just not confident that my tastes denote "Should." I might easier swallow that pill if the words "Want to" or "Hope" had been used in its stead.

Either way this list kicks ass and generally I agree with it. Though I'd probably give the screenplay to Diablo Cody. I actually believe this feel good story may have actually deserved what it got. I'm sad to see Michael Clayton not get anything, but when push comes to shove, I think it's the inferior film. I don't even think it could take best closing shot as both Blood and No Country gave it a run for its money, but then again, it was a damn good closing shot.

And Crazy Love? Really? I was under the impression you weren't to impressed. I think King of Kong should have taken the place of one of the anti-war docs. Personally. Just for diversity purposes. I also think costume design will go to Atonement. It's not going to (and shouldn't) win in any other category so it might have that category licked.

I also think you may be a little presumptuous on the Amy Ryan bid, but I saw very few of the performances this year.

Wow. I should do one of these lists, instead of just responding to yours. Oh well, the clock's ticking and lists like these make me even more excited for Sunday.

diamond said...

i feel the prizes always go to the most obvious periody dramas for costume design. anything more recent (and subtle) gets ignored, although i suppose atonement is only relatively more modern.

Leigh said...

i'm intrigued that you think no country is going to pwn there will be blood in so many categories. it's impossible for me to choose between the two because they are both so mind-blowingly awesome. they both deserve every award they're nominated for, but i'd love to see p.t. take home best director. we shall see...

w. said...

"no country" has won every guild award, except the editor's guild, and the golden globe for best picture. it's the one to beat. it's difficult to choose between the two, but "there will be blood" is such an audacious, gut wrenching movie that it amazes me it came from once source (pta). he's really grown as a filmmaker and storyteller, so it would be nice if he were awarded in some fashion. i think "there will be blood" is a little harder to swallow than "no country", so it would be awesome if such a dark, explosive movie won major awards aside from the lock in the best actor category.

i wonder if andre is co-hosting the pre-show thing again. hopefully this year he will not outfit the it ingenue in space age de la renta.