My Journey Thus Far

So far so good... My adventure through the many films nominated for Academy Awards is really paying off. I am completely amazed at how great films that sound so bad in title and on paper can turn out to be. I keep getting the same response from people: they are Oscar movies, they are supposed to be good. But most Oscar movies have a tendency of being bland and overrated. This year, I have enjoyed the small titles just as much as the big ones.

Here is an outline of what I have seen and where it fits in the nominations, and if I can, my predictions with what I have seen thus far (or speculation, as far as Avatar nods go):

Actor in a Leading Role

* Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
* George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
* Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”

Prediction: Jeff Bridges (should be close between Bridges & Clooney)


Actor in a Supporting Role

* Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

Prediction: Christoph Waltz (Only one I've seen so far but ultimately want him either way)


Actress in a Leading Role

* Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”

Predictions: Not Meryl Streep (Not Oscar-worthy performance)


Actress in a Supporting Role

* Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”
* Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”
* Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”

Predictions: Anna Kendrick (honestly do not think anyone could top this performance)


Animated Feature Film

* “Coraline” Henry Selick
* “Up” Pete Docter

Prediction: Up (out of these two, obviously Up... afraid either way, my bias against stop motion filmmaking will cause me this category)


Art Direction

* “Sherlock Holmes” Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer

Prediction: No Sherlock Holmes (do not see any Oscar nods in Holmes' future)


Cinematography

* “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” Bruno Delbonnel
* “The Hurt Locker” Barry Ackroyd
* “Inglourious Basterds” Robert Richardson

Prediction: The Hurt Locker (see this film taking best director, screenplay, & picture)


Costume Design

* “Coco before Chanel” Catherine Leterrier

Predictions: ??? (possibly Coco, but very tough to tell without other viewings - gut feeling tells me Nine will take it)


Directing

* “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow
* “Inglourious Basterds” Quentin Tarantino
* “Up in the Air” Jason Reitman

Prediction: The Hurt Locker (see Cinematography Prediction)


Documentary (Feature)

* “The Cove” Nominees to be determined

Prediction: ??? (Gut feeling tells me Food Inc. -- watching that one tonight.)


Film Editing

* “District 9” Julian Clarke
* “The Hurt Locker” Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
* “Inglourious Basterds” Sally Menke

Prediction: ??? (Gut feeling tells me Avatar for anything technical)


Makeup

* “Star Trek” Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow

Prediction: ??? (Gut reaction says Young Victoria)


Music (Original Score)

* “The Hurt Locker” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
* “Sherlock Holmes” Hans Zimmer
* “Up” Michael Giacchino

Prediction: Up (Hands down thus far, deserves it ---whether it will get it is another story)


Music (Original Song)

* “Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36” Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
* “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Prediction: Crazy Heart (just because I believe since it didn't get Best Picture nom it deserves to win everything else it is up for... haha... skewed perception of justice I know)


Best Picture

* “District 9” Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
* “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro
* “Inglourious Basterds” Lawrence Bender, Producer
* “A Serious Man” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
* “Up” Jonas Rivera, Producer
* “Up in the Air” Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

Prediction: The Hurt Locker (gotta go with Hurt Locker just because it has been bringing home awards where ever it goes, there's no way Avatar can take it without having anything in either acting or screenplay... know it makes it so Up In The Air wins nothing throughout the night, but I will be damned if anything besides those two win)


Short Film (Animated)
None yet


Sound Editing

* “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson
* “Inglourious Basterds” Wylie Stateman
* “Star Trek” Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
* “Up” Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Prediction: ??? (Avatar most likely...)


Sound Mixing

* “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
* “Inglourious Basterds” Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
* “Star Trek” Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
* “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

Prediction: ??? (Avatar most likely again...)


Visual Effects

* “District 9” Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
* “Star Trek” Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

Prediction: ??? (Okay, if it took him 20 years to make, obviously it will probably win this one... Avatar...)


Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

* “District 9” Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
* “In the Loop” Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
* “Up in the Air” Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Prediction: Up In The Air (possibly the only award it will bring home that night... sad)


Writing (Original Screenplay)

* “The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal
* “Inglourious Basterds” Written by Quentin Tarantino
* “A Serious Man” Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
* “Up” Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

Prediction: The Hurt Locker (I think to solidify its spot as Best Picture is has to win this one)