Sunday, February 19, 2006
my irrelevant oscar predictions
With the Oscars one week away, I think I'm pretty much come to terms with the fact that I've seen about as many of the nominated films that I'm going to see, although it seems that I have seen most of the major contenders. I don't claim to know a whole bunch about acting and directing, but I can make a pretty educated guess about those areas. However, I know jack shit about editing and sound mixing and I have seen none of the foreign or short films, so I won't bother even addressing those nominees. And with that, here it is, my completely irrelevant predictions for the 2006 Academy Awards (watch out, this post's a long one):

Best Actor
Nominees: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Terrence Howard, Heath Ledger, Joaquin Phoenix, David Strathairn
My Prediction: Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)
I think I've gushed enough about this film enough already, but I loved it and thought that Hoffman was incredible. True, his voice was grating at times, but Truman Capote was a bit much and one would have to be a bit annoying to portray him accurately. It wouldn't break my heart if Heath Ledger won, however.

Best Actress
Nominees: Judi Dench, Felicity Huffman, Keira Knightley, Charlize Theron,
Reese Witherspoon
My Prediction: Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line)
Yeah...I haven't actually seen any of the films these ladies acted in so this is a total guess. I hear Witherspoon made a good June Carter though, so why not.

Best Supporting Actor
Nominees: George Clooney, Matt Dillon, Paul Giamatti, Jake Gyllenhaal, William Hurt
My Prediction: George Clooney (Syriana)

This was a very hard choice for me for some reason, but Clooney's my choice and I'm stickin' by it.

Best Supporting Actress
Nominees: Amy Adams, Catherine Keener, Frances McDormand, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams
My Prediction: Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain)
Williams spoke very few words in this film, but her face spoke volumes. Who knew the chick from Dawson's Creek had it in her?

Animated Film
Nominees: Howl's Moving Castle, Corpse Bride, Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit
My Prediction: Corpse Bride
Yeah... I haven't seen any of these either, but I liked The Nightmare Before Christmas better than Chicken Run so I guess that's what I'm basing my prediction on.

Documentary
Nominees: Darwin's Nightmare, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, March of the Penguins, Murderball, Street Fight
My Prediction: March of the Penguins
This film made more money than all of the films nominated for best picture combined. 'Nuff said.

Adapted Screenplay
Nominees: Brokeback Mountain, Capote, The Constant Gardener, A History of Violence, Munich
My Prediction: Capote
I thought these were all excellent screenplays, but I really appreciated the synthesis of Capote's biography and In Cold Blood.


Original Screenplay
Nominees: Crash, Good Night and Good Luck, Match Point, The Squid and the Whale, Syriana
My Prediction: Crash
This was another hard choice, but it boiled down to personal preference. I simply enjoyed Crash's storyline the best.

Original Song
Nominees: "In the Deep," "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp," "Travelin' Thru"
My Prediction: "Travelin' Thru" (Dolly Parton)
Although I think it would be absolutely hilarious to have the title "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" engraved on an Oscar statue, Dolly's good so let's give it to her.

Original Score
Nominees: Brokeback Mountain, The Constant Gardener, Memoirs of a Geisha, Munich, Pride and Prejudice
My Prediction: Brokeback Mountain (Gustavo Santaolalla)
The music in this film was absolutely gorgeous and served as an incredibly serene backdrop for the film. I'm not sure I even noticed the music much in the other films.

Visual Effect
Nominees: The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, King Kong, War of the Worlds
My Prediction: King Kong
In the words of a
wise man, "duh."

Cinematography
Nominees: Batman Begins, Brokeback Mountain, Good Night and Good Luck, Memoirs of a Geisha, The New World
My Prediction: Good Night and Good Luck
I can't be 100% certain what cinematograhy is, but if it's making a film look real cool, than GN and GL's cinematography is pretty great.

Best Director
Nominees: Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain), Bennett Miller (Capote), Paul Haggis (Crash), George Clooney (Good Night and Good Luck), Stephen Spielberg (Munich)
My Prediction: Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain)
Sit down Spielberg, Lee's got this one hands down. The scenes in this movie were shot impeccably and the result was absolutely breathtaking.

Best Picture
Nominees: Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Crash, Good Night and Good Luck, Munich
My Prediction: Brokeback Mountain
I'm been so back and forth on this one. Personally, I liked Capote the best and I'm still not convinced that Munich won't win, but I think that Ang Lee is such a shoe-in for best director and the film that wins the best directing Oscar typically is the one that wins best picture, hence, I predict Brokeback will win.


So there. Any questions from the academy?


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