It's that time of year again for the annual Academy Awards Ceremony. For the last two years our local theater has held a contest to see who can correctly pick the most Oscar winners. I'm quite disappointed that they are not having it this year, but I was told that hopefully it would be back next year. The first year they decided to hold the contest, I won! (Oscar) Last year, ehhh I came in second. But that's ok because I really didn't choose wisely and ended up not doing so well. You can read about THAT experience here- Oscar Follow Up.
This year I decided that instead of reading every blog I could and analyzing what every critic had to say (and putting myself into a panic about it all) - I was going to pick who *I* thought should win and stick to my guns. I'd rather go with my gut and mess up, than follow everyone else's lead and be wrong because I relied too much on their opinions. So, if come Sunday night I totally bomb, at least I can feel good about myself and the fact that I made my own opinions and stuck to them. But I'm kind of hoping that doesn't happen....
Two years ago, "Slumdog Millionaire" pretty much stole the show. They won everything it seemed. Last year everyone thought that "Avatar" would sweep the field, but "The Hurt Locker" took quite a lot of the glory. I don't see any one film making a sweep this year and my opinion is pretty much the opposite of everyone else's. A lot of people think that "The King's Speech" will take top honors and thus, because of the momentum of that, will sweep up a lot of the lesser awards, such as costume design and original score. With 12 nominations it's poised to do so. Usually the film with the most nominations, takes the most awards including the top ones. But I see the love being spread around a bit more than usual!
I am pretty confident in most of my picks. However Best Supporting Actress is sort of a toss up due to some controversy. And when it comes to the Best Foreign Language films or the Best Short films, etc., I never really know who to pick as I only get to see the previews online. I usually guess there.
Feel free to leave comments and your choices for Sunday nights winners! It's always fun to see who gets the most correct!
Here are the nominees and my picks for the 83rd Academy Awards!
Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem in "Biutiful"
Jeff Bridges in "True Grit"
Jesse Eisenberg in "The Social Network"
Colin Firth in "The King's Speech"
James Franco in "127 Hours"
Who Will Win? Colin Firth. It's his time. If Jeff Bridges hadn't been nominated for "Crazy Heart" last year, Firth would have won for "A Single Man." And since Bridges did win last year, I don't see him winning again this year for True Grit.
Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale in "The Fighter"
John Hawkes in "Winter's Bone"
Jeremy Renner in "The Town"
Mark Ruffalo in The Kids Are All Right"
Geoffrey Rush in "The King's Speech"
Who Will Win? Christian Bale. There is some speculation amongst other critic's that Rush will take it in an upset if The King's Speech sweeps the Oscar's this year, but frankly I don't see that happening. Rush already has a Best Actor Oscar from "Shine" and I think Bale deserves this one.
Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening in "The Kids Are All Right"
Nicole Kidman in "Rabbit Hole"
Jennifer Lawrence in "Winter's Bone"
Natalie Portman in "Black Swan"
Michelle Williams in "Blue Valentine"
Who Will Win? Natalie Portman. Why? Because she's won everything else... all year... Annette Bening could steal it, but I highly doubt it.
Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams in "The Fighter"
Helena Bonham Carter in "The King's Speech"
Melissa Leo in "The Fighter"
Hailee Steinfeld in "True Grit"
Jacki Weaver in "Animal Kingdom"
Who Will Win? Melissa Leo. Again, there is speculation that the votes will be split between Adams and Leo and that Steinfeld (who was really the lead in True Grit) will slip in for the win. But all 3 were nominated at the Screen Actor's Guild in the same category and that didn't happen, Leo won. I am going ALL the way against the grain with my choice of Leo as the winner. Steinfeld, while she was superb, should see the nod as a great achievement and go on to make more films, that garner more nominations and an eventual win.
*I just saw a news story this Friday morning that Leo ran ad's in the paper to garner herself votes - which has angered many academy voters. (It's kind of taboo to toot your own horn.) I'm going to stick with her as my winner, BUT her "vanity" could really hurt her and Steinfeld might take this go around.*
Animated Feature
"How To Train Your Dragon"
The Illusionist"
"Toy Story 3"
Who Will Win? Toy Story 3. Duh. I can't stand the fact that it was allowed to be nominated for the Best Picture award as well - I don't think it should be in both categories. But I don't think animated films should be nominated AT ALL in the Best Picture category to begin with.
Art Direction
"Alice in Wonderland"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1"
"Inception"
"The King's Speech"
"True Grit"
Who Will Win? Alice in Wonderland. Why? Because Tim Burton is famous for the look of his films and this one is really spectacular. Inception could be the surprise winner in this category.
Cinematography
"Black Swan"
"Inception"
"The King's Speech"
"The Social Network"
"True Grit"
Who Will Win? True Grit. Cinematographer Roger Deakins has been nominated 9 times for his work. I think this year he will win.
Costume Design
"Alice in Wonderland"
"I Am Love"
"The King's Speech"
"The Tempest"
"True Grit"
Who Will Win? Alice in Wonderland. Colleen Atwood has been nominated 9 times for the Oscar in this category and won twice. I see her winning again. Look for The King's Speech to possibly be the upset here.
Directing
"Black Swan" Darren Aronofsky
"The Fighter" David O. Russell
"The King's Speech" Tom Hooper
"The Social Network" David Fincher
"True Grit" Joel and Ethan Coen
Who Will Win? Tom Hooper. In the 63 years I believe the Director's Guild has been giving out their best director award in their individual guild, the winner of the DGA has gone on to win the Best Director Oscar all but 5 or 6 times I think? IF there is an upset, it will come from David Fincher for The Social Network. Again, I go completely against the grain by picking Hooper.
Documentary (Feature)
"Exit through the Gift Shop"
"Gasland"
"Inside Job"
"Restrepo"
"Waste Land"
Who Will Win? Inside Job
Documentary (Short Subject)
"Killing in the Name"
"Poster Girl"
"Strangers No More"
"Sun Come Up"
"The Warriors of Qiugang"
Who Will Win? Killing in the Name
Film Editing
"Black Swan"
"The Fighter"
"The King's Speech"
"127 Hours"
"The Social Network"
Who Will Win? The Social Network
Foreign Language Film
"Biutiful" Mexico
"Dogtooth" Greece
"In a Better World" Denmark
"Incendies" Canada
"Outside the Law" Algeria
Who Will Win? Incendies
Makeup
"Barney's Version"
"The Way Back"
"The Wolfman"
Who Will Win? The Wolfman
Music (Original Score)
"How to Train Your Dragon" John Powell
"Inception" Hans Zimmer
"The King's Speech" Alexandre Desplat
"127 Hours" A.R. Rahman
"The Social Network" Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Who Will Win? The Social Network. And it should win. Look for The King's Speech to possibly pull an upset here if some predictions hold true and they "sweep" the field Sunday night.
Music (Original Song)
"Coming Home" from "Country Strong"
"I See the Light" from "Tangled"
"If I Rise" from "127 Hours"
"We Belong Together" from "Toy Story 3"
Who Will Win? We Belong Together
Best Picture
"Black Swan"
"The Fighter"
"Inception"
"The Kids Are All Right"
"The King's Speech"
"127 Hours"
"The Social Network"
"Toy Story 3"
"True Grit"
"Winter's Bone"
Who Will Win? The King's Speech. My husband thinks that the votes will split between The King's Speech and The Social Network allowing for True Grit to sneak in. The critic's are pretty evenly split between The King's Speech and The Social Network as well. They are also split between their respective directors. David Fincher (The Social Network) can't win best director and The King's Speech win best picture or vice versa. You don't have a best picture in my opinion, with out having the best director.
Short Film (Animated)
"Day & Night"
"The Gruffalo"
"Let's Pollute"
"The Lost Thing"
"Madagascar, A Journey Diary"
Who Will Win? Day & Night
Short Film (Live Action)
"The Confession"
"The Crush"
"God of Love"
"Na Wewe"
"Wish 143"
Who Will Win? I don't know. I can't find all the previews and the 3 articles I read, from 3 different critics, had 3 different winners....
Sound Editing
"Inception"
"Toy Story 3"
Tron: Legacy"
"True Grit"
"Unstoppable"
Who Will Win? Inception
Sound Mixing
"Inception"
"The King's Speech"
"Salt"
"The Social Network"
"True Grit"
Who Will Win? The Social Network. Sound mixing is also known as "sound design," this is the category that creates the space that our ears sense around the characters. The Social Network had to create intricate conversations in challenging locations.
Visual Effects
"Alice in Wonderland"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1"
"Hereafter"
"Inception"
"Iron Man 2"
Who Will Win? Inception. As Roger Ebert said, "It rolled up an entire city."
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
"127 Hours" Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simeon Beaufoy
"The Social Network" Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
"Toy Story 3" Screenplay by Michael Arndt (and a bunch of other people I don't want to list!)
"True Grit" Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
"Winter's Bone" Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini
Who Will Win? Aaron Sorkin for The Social Network. I've posted Roger Ebert's thoughts on this as I couldn't say it any better. "Here “The Social Network” will win its one major Oscar, although deserving more. “Adaptation” often means “loosely inspired by,” and Aaron Sorkin's brilliant dialogue and construction were wholly original (as were apparently many of his facts). You have to ask yourself what, precisely, the nominated “Toy Story 3” was adapting, apart from the continuing plight of the toys."
Writing (Original Screenplay)
"Another Year" Written by Mike Leigh
"The Fighter" Screenplay by a whole bunch of people...
"Inception" Written by Christopher Nolan
"The Kids Are All Right" Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
"The King's Speech" Screenplay by David Seidler
Who Will Win? The King's Speech. Again, there is speculation that Inception will take this win. In the world of truly original screenplays, you don't get much more original than Inception. But in the year of the King, sometimes the love rains down in the lesser categories and it should come out on top.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Award Show Info
Ok, so one of the things I wanted to do with this blog was share my never ending supply of previously known and recently learned Hollywood info. Today I bring you some information on the difference in award shows.
There are two types of award shows - those put on by critics or reporters and those put on by the film industry members themselves. (Top film festival honors are a different area.)
- The Critics' Choice and Golden Globes (the GG winners are determined by the Hollywood Foreign Press) are examples of the first type.
- The Screen Actor's Guild (SAG), The Director's Guild (DGA), The Eddie Awards (film editing), etc. are industry types of awards. Actors vote for actors, director's for the "best" director, editor's for the "best" editing job on a film, etc.
At the end of "awards season" the industry members come together, all the individuals and guilds represented at once, for the Academy Awards* - also known as the Oscars. The BAFTAs, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, held before the Academy Awards, are the British equivalent of the Oscars.
*Note: Voters must be members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Initial voting is restricted to members of the Academy branch concerned. For instance, when the first wave of ballots is mailed to all members of the Academy (there are around 6,000) only directors may nominate other directors. Once the first round of voting is done and the field has been narrowed to no more than five nominees in each category, except the Best Picture category, then all members of the Academy are allowed to vote for a winner in most categories, including Best Picture.
Unless a critic or reporter is an actor/producer/director, etc. or vice versa and in the voting academy, they don't vote in the other's ceremonies.
I'm explaining all of this for a reason.
This year there are two films that have been widely acclaimed and yet are very different. They have each won in distinct areas and are the leading films for winning the Best Picture award on Sunday night. "The Social Network" has won almost every critic award this year and "The King's Speech" has won most all of the industry awards.
I believe there is a reason for this.
Both are critically acclaimed films. But I feel that The King's Speech doesn't hold the same "clout" as The Social Network does with critics. Most critics and reporters see The Social Network as a leading edge movie, right at the forefront of modern film making with an edgy cast, brilliant script and fabulous director. The King's Speech is more of your "typical" film. A period piece if you will, with the costumes and accents and witty banter that you find in a British piece. This is not to say it's not fabulous, it's just different.
The King's Speech however has won quite a few of the top guild awards, such as the DGA, SAG award for best ensemble cast and other various awards. Though The Social Network has won some of the numerous industry awards out there as well.
Now, these differences by themselves don't really matter, BUT when you are trying to determine who will win the various academy awards - it makes all the difference in the world.
Since the academy voters are made up of the different areas of the film industry, they are the ones who will be voting come Oscar night. The critics might give all the top awards to one film, while industry members vote for a completely different one. You don't usually see that, most of the time everyone seems to agree and you get one film that takes the top honors almost all season.
Roger Ebert has another way of looking at how votes are being tabulated this year that I find interesting and that also applies to my thoughts on the differences in voting between the critics and industry members.
"If I were still doing “If We Picked the Winners” with Gene Siskel, my preference for best film would be “The Social Network.” It was not only the best film of 2010, but also one of those films that helps define a year. It became the presumed front-runner on the day it opened, but then it seemed to fade. Oscars often go to movies that open after Thanksgiving. It's called the Persistence of Memory Effect.
There's another factor. A lot of academy voters don't choose the “best” in some categories, but “the most advantageous for the movie industry.” Hollywood churns out violent crap every weekend and then puts on a nice face by supporting a respectable picture at Oscar time. I mean that not as a criticism of “The King's Speech,” which is a terrific film, but as an observation. A British historical drama about a brave man struggling to overcome a disability and then leading his people into World War II looks better to the academy than a cutting-edge portrait of hyperactive nerds."
So if you're betting at work, or at home, to see who-gets-what on Oscar night, you might want to take into consideration that The King's Speech has been winning lately where it apparently counts. Amongst it's peers, it appears that The King's Speech is deserving of the top honors Sunday night. Feel free to choose The Social Network as best picture, but make sure you keep it in the back of your mind that The King's Speech could come away with the win.
There are two types of award shows - those put on by critics or reporters and those put on by the film industry members themselves. (Top film festival honors are a different area.)
- The Critics' Choice and Golden Globes (the GG winners are determined by the Hollywood Foreign Press) are examples of the first type.
- The Screen Actor's Guild (SAG), The Director's Guild (DGA), The Eddie Awards (film editing), etc. are industry types of awards. Actors vote for actors, director's for the "best" director, editor's for the "best" editing job on a film, etc.
At the end of "awards season" the industry members come together, all the individuals and guilds represented at once, for the Academy Awards* - also known as the Oscars. The BAFTAs, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, held before the Academy Awards, are the British equivalent of the Oscars.
*Note: Voters must be members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Initial voting is restricted to members of the Academy branch concerned. For instance, when the first wave of ballots is mailed to all members of the Academy (there are around 6,000) only directors may nominate other directors. Once the first round of voting is done and the field has been narrowed to no more than five nominees in each category, except the Best Picture category, then all members of the Academy are allowed to vote for a winner in most categories, including Best Picture.
Unless a critic or reporter is an actor/producer/director, etc. or vice versa and in the voting academy, they don't vote in the other's ceremonies.
I'm explaining all of this for a reason.
This year there are two films that have been widely acclaimed and yet are very different. They have each won in distinct areas and are the leading films for winning the Best Picture award on Sunday night. "The Social Network" has won almost every critic award this year and "The King's Speech" has won most all of the industry awards.
I believe there is a reason for this.
Both are critically acclaimed films. But I feel that The King's Speech doesn't hold the same "clout" as The Social Network does with critics. Most critics and reporters see The Social Network as a leading edge movie, right at the forefront of modern film making with an edgy cast, brilliant script and fabulous director. The King's Speech is more of your "typical" film. A period piece if you will, with the costumes and accents and witty banter that you find in a British piece. This is not to say it's not fabulous, it's just different.
The King's Speech however has won quite a few of the top guild awards, such as the DGA, SAG award for best ensemble cast and other various awards. Though The Social Network has won some of the numerous industry awards out there as well.
Now, these differences by themselves don't really matter, BUT when you are trying to determine who will win the various academy awards - it makes all the difference in the world.
Since the academy voters are made up of the different areas of the film industry, they are the ones who will be voting come Oscar night. The critics might give all the top awards to one film, while industry members vote for a completely different one. You don't usually see that, most of the time everyone seems to agree and you get one film that takes the top honors almost all season.
Roger Ebert has another way of looking at how votes are being tabulated this year that I find interesting and that also applies to my thoughts on the differences in voting between the critics and industry members.
"If I were still doing “If We Picked the Winners” with Gene Siskel, my preference for best film would be “The Social Network.” It was not only the best film of 2010, but also one of those films that helps define a year. It became the presumed front-runner on the day it opened, but then it seemed to fade. Oscars often go to movies that open after Thanksgiving. It's called the Persistence of Memory Effect.
There's another factor. A lot of academy voters don't choose the “best” in some categories, but “the most advantageous for the movie industry.” Hollywood churns out violent crap every weekend and then puts on a nice face by supporting a respectable picture at Oscar time. I mean that not as a criticism of “The King's Speech,” which is a terrific film, but as an observation. A British historical drama about a brave man struggling to overcome a disability and then leading his people into World War II looks better to the academy than a cutting-edge portrait of hyperactive nerds."
So if you're betting at work, or at home, to see who-gets-what on Oscar night, you might want to take into consideration that The King's Speech has been winning lately where it apparently counts. Amongst it's peers, it appears that The King's Speech is deserving of the top honors Sunday night. Feel free to choose The Social Network as best picture, but make sure you keep it in the back of your mind that The King's Speech could come away with the win.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
What's At Liberty?
What's At Liberty?
Week of Friday, February 25th - Thursday, March 3rd
The story of King George VI of Britain, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it.
I cannot wait to see this movie and will be seeing it sometime this weekend! You're all welcome to join me!
Brynn's Theater or Not? Rating:
See it on the big screen!
Rated R for some language
118 minutes
Showing in town:
Fri. 8pm
Sat. 8pm
Sun. 3:30 matinee only (all seats $5)
Mon. closed
Tues. 8pm, family night (all seats $4)
Wed. closed
Th. 8pm
I've not seen this yet, but from all my friends who have, I heard it's a fun and entertaining movie!
Brynn's Theater or Not? Rating:
See it on the big screen!
Rated PG-13 for sequences of violent action, language, sensuality and drug content.
119 min.
Showing in town:
Fri. 5:30pm
Sat. 5:30pm
Sun. 1pm matinee only (all seats $5)
Mon. closed
Tues. 5:30pm, family night (all seats $4)
Wed. closed
Th. 5:30pm
Fri. 8pm
Sat. 8pm
Sun. 3:30 matinee only (all seats $5)
Mon. closed
Tues. 8pm, family night (all seats $4)
Wed. closed
Th. 8pm
Following the death of his father, Britt Reid, heir to his father's large company, teams up with his late dad's assistant Kato to become a masked crime fighting team.
I've not seen this yet, but from all my friends who have, I heard it's a fun and entertaining movie!
Brynn's Theater or Not? Rating:
See it on the big screen!
Rated PG-13 for sequences of violent action, language, sensuality and drug content.
119 min.
Showing in town:
Fri. 5:30pm
Sat. 5:30pm
Sun. 1pm matinee only (all seats $5)
Mon. closed
Tues. 5:30pm, family night (all seats $4)
Wed. closed
Th. 5:30pm
Quick Update
Life has been busy lately and I've been way behind in regular things like laundry and grocery shopping. So since I have 4 other people here who are tired of in-siding out their underwear for a clean pair and don't want Ramen noodles 3 times a day anymore, the blog has fallen to the wayside as I get caught up on mom stuff. :)
BUT, the Oscars are THIS Sunday night so I'm trying to get it together to post my picks for who will win what. Keep an eye out for that later in the week.
AND I've also not kept up with "What's At Liberty" the last couple of weeks. A link to the web site will have to suffice for now. http://pagosamovies.com/ "Country Strong" starring Gwyneth Paltrow is finishing out the week and I can't even tell you if it's a theater or DVD "see" as I have been spending all my "extra" time reading critic's blogs and watching Best Foreign Language Film and Best Animated Short, etc. previews. So you'll have to decide for yourself if you want to head downtown to check it out or wait.
That's all for now! Got to head off for one of those "mom" things and pick up a kid from school!
BUT, the Oscars are THIS Sunday night so I'm trying to get it together to post my picks for who will win what. Keep an eye out for that later in the week.
AND I've also not kept up with "What's At Liberty" the last couple of weeks. A link to the web site will have to suffice for now. http://pagosamovies.com/ "Country Strong" starring Gwyneth Paltrow is finishing out the week and I can't even tell you if it's a theater or DVD "see" as I have been spending all my "extra" time reading critic's blogs and watching Best Foreign Language Film and Best Animated Short, etc. previews. So you'll have to decide for yourself if you want to head downtown to check it out or wait.
That's all for now! Got to head off for one of those "mom" things and pick up a kid from school!
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