Thursday, January 22, 2009

My Knee-Jerk Oscar Thoughts

REVISED: 1/24/09
Best Picture
I'm glad that The Dark Knight was left out of the Best Picture race, but I was expecting the film to get nominated for directing. Ah well, I'm just glad that all of the fanboys have their panties in a bunch, but they shouldn't be surprised because TDK never had a shot.

My Predictions: 5/5

Best Director
Again, I was a little surprised that Nolan didn't get any love for TDK, and Stephen Daldry (The Reader) got the nod instead, but that's probably because I haven't seen The Reader yet. Maybe he did a better job.

My Predictions: 4/5

Best Leading Actor
I'm kicking myself because I took Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) out of my top 5, but I knew I was going to be wrong one way or the other when I picked Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino). I'm actually glad I was wrong because Jenkins was a part of a smaller film that was released really early in the year. I'm glad the Academy remembered him.

My Predictions: 4/5

Best Leading Actress
I was also a little surprised that Kate Winslet received only one nod for The Reader. I was expecting the double nomination, but I'll live. Usually, Best Actress is my weakest category when it comes to predictions, but I didn't do too badly this time around. I'm a little surprised that Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky) didn't make it, but that's because there was a lot of buzz around that performance versus very little for Melissa Leo and Frozen River.

My Predictions: 3.5/5

Best Supporting Actor
I wasn't really surprised that Dev Patel didn't get a nomination for Slumdog Millionaire, and I haven't seen Revolutionary Road yet, so I can't comment on Michael Shannon's nom. Again, it really doesn't matter because Heath Ledger's going to win this one.

My Predictions: 4/5

Best Supporting Actress
Damn the Academy for only giving Winslet one nomination because they messed up my Supporting Actress picks. Had I known she was going to get a Leading Actress nom for The Reader, I would have totally put Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) in my top 5.

My Predictions: 4/5

Best Original Screenplay
My best category in the past became my weakest this year. To be honest, I wasn't expecting to do that well this time around. I'm glad In Bruges got some love.

My Predictions: 2/5

Best Adapted Screenplay
I did surprisingly well with my picks for Adapted Screenplay, but I was expecting more love for The Dark Knight. Again, I haven't seen The Reader, so I cannot comment on it's nod.

My Predictions: 4/5

Best Animated Feature
I'm kicking myself again because I had Bolt on my preliminary list, but was sure Waltz with Bashir was going to pull a Persepolis. In the end, I'm sure Bashir is happier with its Best Foreign Language nom over the less prestigious Animated one.

My Predictions: 2/3

Overall, I didn't do to badly with my predictions this year, and I'm fairly happy with what the Academy nominated this time around. Sure, people are going to be all pissy because of The Dark Knight's "snubs", but I'm sure the geeks and nerds will live. For the record, I really liked TDK, but I never thought it was an Oscar contender.

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that this is going to be Slumdog Millionaire's year, and while it may not sweep like it did at the Globes, it will probably be going home with Best Picture, and I'm OK with that.

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