Oscar Thoughts

I have to see at least a few of the 20 movies that I have not seen in the third quarter of the year; so maybe sometime next week will that come out.

But; since I have no intentions of doing anything like work at work I will look at the Oscar nominations for the year 2012; compare them with the Golden Globe nominations and the BAFTA ones and make a few predictions where I can.

 

First; how lovely Miss Emma Stone looked at the Oscar nomination ceremony!

Best Picture

Academy Awards	Golden Globes	BAFTAS
Amour	Argo	Argo
Argo	Django Unchained	Les Misérables
Beasts of the Southern Wild	Life of Pi	Life of Pi
Django Unchained	Lincoln	Lincoln
Life of Pi	Zero Dark Thirty	Zero Dark Thirty
Lincoln	The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel	Anna Karenina
Les Misérables	Les Misérables	The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Silver Linings Playbook	Moonrise Kingdom	Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty	Salmon Fishing in the Yemen	Seven Psychopaths
	Silver Linings Playbook

So.

I have only seen 3 of the films nominated at the Oscars; 5 from the Globes and 3 from the BAFTAS. The BAFTA best picture nominees are the first 5 and the latter 4 are Best British film (Skyfall?) and since Les Miserables was in both there are 9 nominations.

Amour has won the Palme D’or at Cannes; so it should not be taken lightly. Django was not Tarantino’s best so it wont win anything. Argo didn’t get a directorial nomination for Ben Affleck. I think this will be either Lincoln or Life of Pi; despite my backing to Zero Dark Thirty. Since the BAFTAS are British and they tend to show bias; Les Miserables might win there; and it will definitely win best British film. It will win best Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes and Best Drama? Think Spielberg’s push might get him that. Moonrise Kingdom getting a nomination is a great thing at the Globes.

Best Director

Michael Haneke – Amour	Ben Affleck – Argo	Ben Affleck – Argo
Ang Lee – Life of Pi	Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty	Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook	Ang Lee – Life of Pi	Michael Haneke – Amour
Steven Spielberg – Lincoln	Steven Spielberg – Lincoln	Ang Lee – Life of Pi
Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild	Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained	Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained

I was shocked at the Oscar Nominations here. I have only seen Lincoln but by god Zero Dark Thirty was at least directed fantastically well. Spielberg has pulled some strings here and if not Best Picture he will win Director. It’s one or (maybe and) the other. He has not even been nominated at the BAFTAS. I mentioned Beasts of the Southern Wild in my mail yesterday and the tendency of the Oscars to go against the tide got it a nomination. I saw the trailer and it is a fantasy film and I was not impressed. I have the film now. I would like someone to tell me how good Life of Pi is. I don’t know how a film which is almost all 3D can be nominated for Direction and that was my gripe against Avatar (which was a shit film anyway).  Ang Lee vs Spielberg for me.

Best Actor

Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook	Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln as Abraham Lincoln	Ben Affleck – Argo
Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln	Richard Gere – Arbitrage as Robert Miller	Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
Hugh Jackman – Les Misérables	John Hawkes – The Sessions as Mark O'Brien	Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
Joaquin Phoenix – The Master	Joaquin Phoenix – The Master as Freddie Quell	Hugh Jackman – Les Misérables
Denzel Washington – Flight	Denzel Washington – Flight as William "Whip" Whitaker	Joaquin Phoenix – The Master
	Jack Black – Bernie as Bernie Tiede
	Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook as Pat Solitano
	Hugh Jackman – Les Misérables as Jean Valjean
	Ewan McGregor – Salmon Fishing in the Yemen as Alfred "Fred" Jones
	Bill Murray – Hyde Park on Hudson as Franklin D. Roosevelt

10 in the Golden Globes because of the segregation into Musical & Comedy AND Drama.

Daniel Day-Lewis will win the Golden Globe. That’s a dead cert. Bradley Cooper is the other frontrunner (From the films I have seen of his I really wonder how. No judgement without watching the film. He has not done many challenging roles now has he?) and Silver Linings Playbook is a Comedy so his path is clear (I don’t think there should be any obstacles anyway since his IS the standout acting performance of the year). I felt John Hawkes might be a challenger for his role of a quadriplegic in The Sessions (more on that later) but he hasn’t got an Oscar nomination while Denzel Washington has. Joaquin Phoenix? Underdog? What could prevent Day-Lewis from winning a third Oscar is the fact that he is not an American and he will have 3 Oscars. Hugh Jackman could have a shot as Best Actor Musical & Comedy at the Globes.

Best Actress

Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty	Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty as Maya	Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook	Marion Cotillard – Rust and Bone as Stéphanie	Marion Cotillard – Rust and Bone
Emmanuelle Riva – Amour	Helen Mirren – Hitchcock as Alma Reville	Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
Quvenzhané Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild	Naomi Watts – The Impossible as Maria Bennett	Helen Mirren – Hitchcock
Naomi Watts – The Impossible	Rachel Weisz – The Deep Blue Sea as Hester Collyer	Emmanuelle Riva – Amour
	Emily Blunt – Salmon Fishing in the Yemen as Harriet Chetwode-Talbot
	Judi Dench – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as Evelyn Greenslade
	Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook as Tiffany Maxwell
	Maggie Smith – Quartet as Jean Horton
	Meryl Streep – Hope Springs as Kay Soames

Well. You cannot say I didn’t tell you. Quvenzhane Wallis did get that Oscar nomination now didn’t she? At 9 the youngest ever nominee. At 85; Emmanuelle Riva is the oldest. I was surprised Marion Cotillard didn’t get a nomination. The Golden Globes don’t do independent films do they? So for the Oscars you have 2 unknown quantities and 3 of my favourites. I thought Jessica Chastain was fantastic for the 3/4^th of the Zero Dark Thirty where she was involved. But that was not the kind of performance that merited an Oscar. Still; she is fantastic with a few select scenes where her talent shows. It is a mix of restraint and expression. Jennifer Lawrence (she has a baby face; a little chubby even) has drawn rave reviews for her performance and it will be between the two of them. I can almost guarantee that Jessica Chastain will win an Oscar in the future; so if Jennifer Lawrence does win I wouldn’t mind. I think the same prediction holds for the BAFTAS as well. And they will win a Golden Globe each since they’ve been kept apart. Some popular names in the Golden Globe list.

Best Supporting Actor

Alan Arkin – Argo	Alan Arkin – Argo as Lester Siegel	Alan Arkin – Argo
Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook	Leonardo DiCaprio – Django Unchained as Calvin J. Candie	Javier Bardem – Skyfall
Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master	Phillip Seymour Hoffman – The Master as Lancaster Dodd	Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master
Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln	Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln as Thaddeus Stevens	Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln
Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained	Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained as Dr. King Schultz	Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained

This is the only award where you don’t know who will get it. The favourites appears to be Phillip Seymour Hoffman (to see The Master) and Christoph Waltz. Alan Arkin is also in the mix and Tommy Lee Jones was great without being exceptional in Lincoln. Ok. Christoph Waltz is a perfect fit for Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino likes dialogue and Waltz is just brilliant at delivering them. Would love to see him pick up a second Oscar in a row. He is just a perfect fit for his role. I thought Leonardo Di Caprio was over the top in Django; but he has a nomination. Javier Bardem for Skyfall at the BAFTAS is scandalous. Nice to see Robert De Niro there too!

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams – The Master	Amy Adams – The Master as Peggy Dodd	Amy Adams – The Master
Sally Field – Lincoln	Sally Field – Lincoln as Mary Todd Lincoln	Judi Dench – Skyfall
Anne Hathaway – Les Misérables	Anne Hathaway – Les Misérables as Fantine	Sally Field – Lincoln
Helen Hunt – The Sessions	Helen Hunt – The Sessions as Cheryl Cohen Greene	Anne Hathaway – Les Misérables
Jacki Weaver – Silver Linings Playbook	Nicole Kidman – The Paperboy as Charlotte Bless	Helen Hunt – The Sessions

Amy Adams may get nominated every year. Sally Field was the same as Tommy Lee Jones; solid but not exceptional. Judi Dench for Skyfall makes more sense than Javier Bardem; but that means it makes little sense. I heard Nicole Kidman has a weird scene in The Paperboy where she pisses on someone. Jacki Weaver’s nomination means that Silver Linings Playbook becomes the first film in nearly 40 years to have a nomination in EVERY ACTING CATEGORY and actually in EVERY MAJOR CATEGORY too. That is the fact for today. First to Helen Hunt. At the ripe young age of 49; Helen Hunt decided to shed every ounce of clothing (yes) for The Sessions and for someone to do that at 49 is commendable. As actresses grow older; if they remain in shape they feel proud of their bodies more and may want to have scenes like those. She looks fit and her nomination for the film while John Hawkes couldnt get a nomination was a bit of a shock.  

But from every single quarter Anne Hathaway is the favourite here. If anyone else wins it I will cry. I have been a big big fan of Anne Hathaway for years now and I am dying to see Les Miserables just because I know that was her finest performance; and 2012 is her annus mirabilis (Year of wonder; ive got that from all the Messi articles ive read recently).  I’ve downloaded the soundtrack; found Hugh Jackman’s singing funny when I heard the only song I have (to not spoil the plot) apart from ‘I Dreamed A Dream’; which I hear multiple times a day. (not the Susan Boyle Version).

Could we see these three with Oscars in their hand the next time I get a picture with all three of them? FUCKIN SHORT HAIR RULES!!!!!!! (I’m not talking about Daniel Day-Lewis)