LIVE OSCAR BLOGGING!
Alright, we’re 5 minutes from the start of the Academy Awards, and I’m sitting on my couch, drinking a Miller Lite. I’ve had 4 beers already, so i’ve got a strong buzz going. This is a big night for me, and the first I’ve experienced while running a blog. I’m going to blog my reactions to the show AS THEY HAPPEN, and I’ll be updating this post CONSTANTLY throughout the show.
I’ll also be drinking beer CONSTANTLY throughout the show.
So, here…we…go…
Academy Awards Predictions
As you know, tonight is The Academy Awards.
I’ve been a “Movie Guy” for about 10 years now. I read film websites every single day, some of which i’ve contributed to. I go to the movies several times a month. And, i always, always, always watch the Academy Awards. In fact, I always make predictions.
I’ve had a good run on predictions in my life. If you don’t remember, i predicted the Super Bowl score to within a few points earlier this month. When i saw the movie Collateral a few years ago, i walked out of the theater and said, “Jaime Foxx will get nominated for Best Supporting Actor for that film.” He did. And of course, who could forget when I predicted 9/11?
I’m like fucking Nostradamus.
Anyway, here are my Oscar Predictions. The winners are in red.
BEST PICTURE
Black Swan
The Social Network
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are Alright
127 Hours
Toy Story 3
The King’s Speech
Winter’s Bone
True Grit
This isn’t too hard a pick. There really were some great movies this year, and i’ve seen all of these but 2 (127 Hours and The Fighter), but The Social Network is the clear favorite. Black Swan would have won this in any other year.
BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky – Black Swan
David Fincher – The Social Network
David O. Russel – The Fighter
The King’s Speech – Tom Hooper
Joel & Ethan Coen – True Grit
The hardest category to pick for me. I love David Fincher to death, and I think he did everything he needed to do to win this award, but I think Aronofsky has the slight edge. But SUPER slight. Black Swan just did a great job with the pacing, and that sinister tone. But…The Social Network did too…oh god. I might change this…
BEST ACTOR
Javier Bardem – Biutiful
Jeff Bridges – True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network
Colin Firth – The King’s Speech
James Franco – 127 Hours
Pretty easy pick. Colin Firth slam dunked that MF’er. Two-Handed Windmill.
BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening – The Kids Are Alright
Nicole Kidman – The Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone
Michelle Williams – Blue Valentine
Natalie Portman – Black Swan
There was a lot of speculation that Annette Bening might win this…and I love her…but sorry. Portman wins. She was absolutely brilliant. When I saw the film, I walked out of the theater and said, “Just give her the Academy Award.” But hey…credit to Jennifer Lawrence for breaking my heart in Winter’s Bone.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale – The Fighter
John Hawkes – Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner – The Town
Mark Ruffalo – The Kids Are Alright
Geoffrey Rush – The King’s Speech
I would say that Geoffrey Rush should win this, but I don’t think he will. There’s a LOT of buzz around Christian Bale for his role as the crack-addled brother in The Fighter. I’m ok with it, I guess. BUT…Hawkes and Ruffalo were great in their roles too. Just sayin’. Shame we can only pick one.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams – The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter – The King’s Speech
Melissa Leo – The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit
Jacki Weaver – Animal Kingdom
Who? Hailee Fucking Steinfeld, that’s who. She stole every scene she was in, and that’s hard to do when she shared every scene with Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges. Wouldn’t be surprised if the Academy flubbed this and gave it to Amy Adams though. They love her.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Black Swan
Inception
The King’s Speech
The Social Network
True Grit
Nothing this year really said, “pick me! pick me!” which is a bummer because I LOVE good cinematography. Oddly enough, one of my favorite-photographed movies is No Country For Old Men, which was done by the same guy as True Grit. So, i give it to him. Social Network was pretty great though, and so was The King’s Speech, strangely. But, i’ll stick to True Grit.
BEST SCREENPLAY
Another Year
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are Alright
The King’s Speech
The King’s Speech by default. Everything else was good, but not great. Plus, the Academy loves that uplifting shit.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone
I sorta like Winter’s Bone here, but it’s pretty easy. Social Network was really stinkin’ good.
BEST ANIMATED PICTURE
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3
How to Train Your Dragon
Really? Do we even need to discuss?
Other Winners I’d Like to Predict:
Best Editing: The Social Network
Exquisitely great. The boat racing scene? Yeah.
Original Score: The Social Network
Hate Trent Reznor. Love his soundtrack. “Hand Covers Bruise” is magic.
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Hand Covers Bruise
There you have it. I feel pretty good about these predictions, but who knows. Also, Exit Through the Gift Shop was a great documentary, but i have a hunch that Restrepo will win.
And i’m out!
EDITOR’S NOTE:
I went 8/12, which isn’t bad…but it’s not good enough. Not surprisingly, i blame the Academy rather than myself. The King’s Speech was a great movie, but we won’t be talking about it in 5 years. Promise. The Social Network and Black Swan are the two movies that will be remembered. Mark it.
Yeah, It’s Fake, but DAMN…It’s Good.
If you didn’t already know, the next (and final?) film in Christopher Nolan’s Batman series is entitled The Dark Knight Rises, and it will be releases upon the throngs next July. It hasn’t even started shooting yet (starts up in May), but with Anne Hathaway (Selena Kyle a.k.a. Catwoman) and Tom Hardy (Bane) having recently joined the cast the buzz is already deafening.
So deafening, in fact, that fans are already making posters. This one is a jewel:
Geek Tyrant has the story here.
Which do you like more…that one, or the one below?
Next July can’t come soon enough…
The Dark Knight Rises
The Dark Knight Rises, the third installment in Christopher Nolan’s Batman series, has cast two of its main characters.
The lovely Anne Hathaway (Get Smart, The Devil Wears Prada) has been cast as Selena Kyle, a.k.a. Catwoman, and Tom Hardy (who worked with Chris Nolan in Inception) has been cast as Bane.
I’m very interested to see how Nolan and company handle these two characters. Everybody was nervous when Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker, and look how that turned out. I’m hoping that Selena Kyle is seen as a sort of sidekick/pain-in-Batman’s-ass, like she’s often portrayed in the comics. She should be a cat burglar who ends up helping Batman in the end.
Bane, on the other hand, will likely be the film’s main villain. In the comics, Bane is an ultra-intelligent, supremely strong bad guy who is seen as a dark-mirror version of Batman. He is classically-educated, and speaks several languages, but is unfortunately addicted to a steroids-like drug that causes him to basically roid-rage. At one point in the comics, he allies himself with Rahs al-Ghul, who of course was the main villain in Batman Begins. Perhaps that connection will be played up in the next film?
Filming is set to start in May, and The Dark Knight Rises will be released in theaters on July 18, 2012.
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