Oscar Winners 2017

The Oscars have come and gone once again.  I found this year to be harder than ever to pick some of the winners because there was so much diversity in each category and some really strong candidates.  Also, movies are so much more emotional than other things.  For example, in football, there is a lot of statistical analysis you can do before a match-up.  Who is injured? Who's got the better record?  Who's got a stronger defense?  Who plays better on the road?  And so on.  You can make a much more informed decision and be pretty accurate in your predictions if you do your research.  Nothing is ever guaranteed, but you can get a high percentage of your predictions correct if you do some digging.  That's not the case with movies.  For Best Picture, Arrival was a sci-fi alien drama.  Fences was a filmed production of August Wilson's Pullitzer Prize winning play about African American life in the 1950's.  Hacksaw Ridge was a World War II movie.  Hell or High Water was about bank robberies as revenge for the banks foreclosing on their land.  Hidden Figures was about a group of African American geniuses who helped NASA propel man into space in the 1950s.  La La Land was a modern musical with a throw-back feel.  Lion was about an orphaned Indian boy who used Google to track down his parents as an adult.  Manchester by the Sea was a drama about a troubled uncle taking guardianship of his nephew.  And Moonlight was about broken families, parental figures, drug abuse and sexual identity.  So how do you possibly say that one is better than another when they are all so completely different?  Well, I made my predictions and the Academy voted.  Below are the results.  The winners are in RED and my predictions are Bold and Underlined.

BEST PICTURE:

Arrival

Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)
Ryan Gosling (La La Land)
Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic)
Denzel Washington (Fences)

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Isabelle Hupert (Elle)
Ruth Negga (Loving)
Natalie Portman (Jackie)
Emma Stone (La La Land)
Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)
Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)
Dev Patel (Lion)
Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

Viola Davis (Fences)
Naomie Harris (Moonlight)
Nicole Kidman (Lion)
Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)
Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life as a Zucchini
The Red Turtle
Zootopoia

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Arrival
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Silence

COSTUME DESIGN:
Allied
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Florence Foster Jenkins
Jackie
La La Land

DIRECTING:
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE):
Fire at Sea
I Am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated
OJ: Made in America
13th

FILM EDITING:
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
La La Land
Moonlight

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

Land of Mine
A Man Called Ove
The Salesman
Tanna
Toni Erdmann

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE):
Jackie
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Passengers

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG):
"Audition" La La Land
"Can't Stop the Feeling" Trolls
"City of Stars" La La Land
"The Empty Chair" Jim: The James Foley Story
"How Far I'll Go" Moana

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED):
Blind Vaysha
Borrowed Time
Pear Cider & Cigarettes
Pearl
Piper

SOUND EDITING:
Arrival
Deepwater Horizon
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Sully

VISUAL EFFECTS:

Deepwater Horizon
Doctor Strange
The Jungle Book
Kubo and the Two Strings
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY):
Arrival
Fences
Hidden Figures
Lion
Moonlight

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY):
Hell or High Water
La La Land
The Lobster
Manchester by the Sea
20th Century Women

Well, there you have it.  The 2017 Oscar Winners.  And I was pretty close in my predictions.  I actually tied for first in our Oscar Competition.  So, back to the movies.  And what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

Oscars 2017 Predictions

It's the Oscars again, so it's time for me, like any movie enthusiast, to post our predictions for who will take home the coveted statues for being the best in their fields.  I found this year to be harder than ever to pick some of the winners because there is so much diversity in each category and some really strong candidates.  Also, movies are so much more emotional than other things.  For example, in football, there is a lot of statistical analysis you can do before a match-up.  Who is injured? Who's got the better record?  Who's got a stronger defense?  Who plays better on the road?  And so on.  You can make a much more informed decision and be pretty accurate in your predictions if you do your research.  Nothing is ever guaranteed, but you can get a high percentage of your predictions correct if you do some digging.  That's not the case with movies.  For Best Picture, Arrival was a sci-fi alien drama.  Fences was a filmed production of August Wilson's Pullitzer Prize winning play about African American life in the 1950's.  Hacksaw Ridge was a World War II movie.  Hell or High Water was about bank robberies as revenge for the banks foreclosing on their land.  Hidden Figures was about a group of African American geniuses who helped NASA propel man into space in the 1950s.  La La Land was a modern musical with a throw-back feel.  Lion was about an orphaned Indian boy who used Google to track down his parents as an adult.  Manchester by the Sea was a drama about a troubled uncle taking guardianship of his nephew.  And Moonlight was about broken families, parental figures, drug abuse and sexual identity.  So how do you possibly say that one is better than another when they are all so completely different?  Well, I, like so many others, to try to predict how the Academy will vote.

BEST PICTURE:

Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)
Ryan Gosling (La La Land)
Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic)
Denzel Washington (Fences)

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Isabelle Hupert (Elle)
Ruth Negga (Loving)
Natalie Portman (Jackie)
Emma Stone (La La Land)
Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)
Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)
Dev Patel (Lion)
Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

Viola Davis (Fences)
Naomie Harris (Moonlight)
Nicole Kidman (Lion)
Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)
Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life as a Zucchini
The Red Turtle
Zootopoia

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Arrival
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Silence

COSTUME DESIGN:
Allied
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Florence Foster Jenkins
Jackie
La La Land

DIRECTING:
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE):
Fire at Sea
I Am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated
OJ: Made in America
13th

FILM EDITING:
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
La La Land
Moonlight

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

Land of Mine
A Man Called Ove
The Salesman
Tanna
Toni Erdmann

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE):
Jackie
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Passengers

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG):
"Audition" La La Land
"Can't Stop the Feeling" Trolls
"City of Stars" La La Land
"The Empty Chair" Jim: The James Foley Story
"How Far I'll Go" Moana

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED):
Blind Vaysha
Borrowed Time
Pear Cider & Cigarettes
Pearl
Piper

SOUND EDITING:
Arrival
Deepwater Horizon
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Sully

VISUAL EFFECTS:

Deepwater Horizon
Doctor Strange
The Jungle Book
Kubo and the Two Strings
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY):
Arrival
Fences
Hidden Figures
Lion
Moonlight

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY):
Hell or High Water
La La Land
The Lobster
Manchester by the Sea
20th Century Women

Well, there you have it.  My 2017 Oscar Predictions.  Am I right?  We shall see.

2016 Oscar Awards

My predictions vs. actual winners:

Best Picture - The Revenant - Wrong - Spotlight
* Best Actor - Leonardo DiCaprio  - Correct
* Best Actress - Brie Larson - Correct
* Supporting Actor - Mark Rylance - Correct
Supporting Actress - Jennifer Jason Leigh - Wrong - Alicia Vikander
Animated Feature Film - Anomalisa - Wrong - Inside Out
Cinematography - Mad Max: Fury Road - Wrong - The Revenant
Costume Design - Cinderella - Wrong - Mad Max: Fury Road
* Directing - The Revenant - Correct
* Documentary - Amy - Correct
Documentary Short - Last Day of Freedom - Wrong - A Girl in the River
Film Editing - Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Wrong - Mad Max: Fury Road
Foreign Language Film - A War - Wrong - Son of Saul
* Makeup and Hairstyling - Mad Max: Fury Road - Correct
Original Score - Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Wrong - Hateful Eight
Original Song - Simple Song #3 - Wrong - Writing's On the Wall
Production Design - The Martian - Wrong - Mad Max: Fury Road
Short Film Live - Day One - Wrong - Stutterer
Sound Editing - Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Wrong - Mad Max: Fury Road
Sound Mixing - Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Wrong - Mad Max: Fury Road
Visual Effects - Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Wrong - Ex Machina
Writing Adapted - Room - Wrong - The Big Short
* Writing Original - Spotlight - Correct 

Well, I didn't do that well in my predictions here.  I think Spotlight took many people by surprise for Best Picture of the Year.  It was already next on my must see list.  Leonardo was almost a guarantee for his 6th nomination.  I just saw Room today and called Brie as Best Actress.  Months ago, when I saw Bridge of Spies, I called Mark Rylance as Best Supporting Actor, even before the nominations were announced.  I do have to say that I was most surprised by how many awards Mad Max: Fury Road won.  I saw it and I wasn't terribly impressed.  I thought the sound mixing and editing in Star Wars was superb.  And I'm also surprised by Ex Machina beating out Star Wars for Visual Effects.  I haven't seen Ex Machina, but the effects in Star Wars made up for three completely botched visual disasters in the franchise.  

I was a bit disappointed in Chris Rock as the host of the show.  I understand there was a lot of upset and outrage over the lack of diversity represented at the Oscars.  The point was driven home relentlessly before the show and during the red carpet interviews.  We all expected it to be addressed during the ceremony as well, but I actually appreciated Vice President Joe Biden's call to stand against rape and Leonardo DiCaprio's warning about global warning as a nice break from the non-stop protest that took over the show.  I did, however, think Cheryl Boone Isaacs' (President of the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) speech was brief, effective, eloquent and to the point.  Hopefully next year, we can get back to poking fun at the actors and celebrating the accomplishments of talented artists.

Oscars Results

Well, the Oscars Awards Ceremony is over and the trophies have been given.  So how did I do in my predictions?  Below are all the nominees.  My predictions are in Bold and Underlined.  The actual winners are colored red.

BEST PICTURE:

• Amour
• Argo
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Django Unchained
• Les Miserables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Zero Dark Thirty

BEST DIRECTOR:

• Amour – Michael Haneke
• Beasts of the Southern Wild – Benh Zeitlin
• Life of Pi – Ang Lee
• Lincoln – Stephen Spielberg
• Silver Linings Playbook – David O. Russell

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:

• Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
• Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
• Hugh Jackman – Les Miserables
• Joaquin Phoenix – The Master
• Denzel Washington – Flight

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:

• Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty
• Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
• Emmanuelle Riva – Amour
• Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Naomi Watts – The Impossible

 BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

• Alan Arkin – Argo
• Robert DeNiro – Silver Linings Playbook
• Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master
• Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln
• Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

• Amy Adams – The Master
• Sally Field – Lincoln
• Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables
• Helen Hunt – The Sessions
• Jacki Weaver – Silver Linings Playbook

WRITING ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

• Amour
• Django Unchained
• Flight
• Moonrise Kingdom
• Zero Dark Thirty

WRITING ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

• Argo
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook

Not too bad, six out of eight correct.  As my friends will attest, though I believed Lincoln to deserve Best Picture and Director awards, I told them not to count Argo out of the race, especially after taking home first place at nearly every other awards ceremony that exists for motion pictures.  Many have felt that Director Ben Affleck was actually snubbed by the Academy for not being nominated for Best Director.  That could be one of the downfalls of expanding the Best Picture category to nine nominees and keeping the Director category at only five. In fact, over the last 25 years, only 5 times has the Best Picture not guaranteed the Best Director awards.  2013 marks the 6th historic time this has occurred, and it certainly won't be the last.