To the under informed, that title likely sounds like an invasive, thoroughly unpleasant surgical procedure. Either that, or the title of a gay porn film. In fact, it is neither, as those with a slightly larger than average vocabulary will know (see all the extra effort I go to for you, I don’t even make you look it up yourself).
There are really only three Unwritten Laws of blogging. You must conclude the year with some form of Top Ten list, you must give your predictions for an awards show, and you must spew obnoxious and uninformed opinions whenever possible. I took care of the first one a little over a month ago, and, of course, I expel my opinions constantly. So now I will fulfill the final law by presenting my predictions for the 2008 Oscar Awards.
I’ve listed the nominees in each category, with my prediction for the winner in red. In those categories where I think a film deserves to win, but will instead lose to another, the film that deserves to win is marked in blue.
So now, without further ado, my predictions:
- NOMINATIONS BY CATEGORY - 81ST AWARDS -
Performance by an actor in a leading role
Richard Jenkins in "The Visitor" (Overture Films)
Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon" (Universal)
Sean Penn in "Milk" (Focus Features)
Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler" (Fox Searchlight)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Josh Brolin in "Milk" (Focus Features)
Robert Downey Jr. in "Tropic Thunder" (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.)
Michael Shannon in "Revolutionary Road" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Anne Hathaway in "Rachel Getting Married" (Sony Pictures Classics)
Angelina Jolie in "Changeling" (Universal)
Melissa Leo in "Frozen River" (Sony Pictures Classics)
Meryl Streep in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Kate Winslet in "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Amy Adams in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Penélope Cruz in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (The Weinstein Company)
Viola Davis in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Taraji P. Henson in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Marisa Tomei in "The Wrestler" (Fox Searchlight)
Best animated feature film of the year
| "Bolt" (Walt Disney) | Chris Williams and Byron Howard |
| "Kung Fu Panda" (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount) | John Stevenson and Mark Osborne· |
| "WALL-E" (Walt Disney) | Andrew Stanton |
Achievement in art direction
| "Changeling" (Universal) | Art Direction: James J. Murakami |
| "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) | Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt |
| "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) | Art Direction: Nathan Crowley |
| "The Duchess" (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films) | Art Direction: Michael Carlin |
| "Revolutionary Road" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage) | Art Direction: Kristi Zea |
Achievement in cinematography
| "Changeling" (Universal) | Tom Stern |
| "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) | Claudio Miranda |
| "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) | Wally Pfister |
| "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company) | Chris Menges and Roger Deakins |
| "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) | Anthony Dod Mantle |
Achievement in costume design
| "Australia" (20th Century Fox) | Catherine Martin |
| "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) | Jacqueline West |
| "The Duchess" (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films) | Michael O'Connor |
| "Milk" (Focus Features) | Danny Glicker |
| "Revolutionary Road" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage) | Albert Wolsky |
Achievement in directing
| "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) | David Fincher |
| "Frost/Nixon" (Universal) | Ron Howard |
| "Milk" (Focus Features) | Gus Van Sant |
| "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company) | Stephen Daldry |
| "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) | Danny Boyle |
Best documentary feature
| "The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)" (Cinema Guild) | Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath |
| "Encounters at the End of the World" (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment) | Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser |
| "The Garden" | Scott Hamilton Kennedy |
| "Man on Wire" (Magnolia Pictures) | James Marsh and Simon Chinn |
| "Trouble the Water" (Zeitgeist Films) | Tia Lessin and Carl Deal |
Best documentary short subject
| "The Conscience of Nhem En" | Steven Okazaki |
| "The Final Inch" | Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant |
| "Smile Pinki" | Megan Mylan |
| "The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306" | Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde |
Achievement in film editing
| "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) | Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall |
| "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) | Lee Smith |
| "Frost/Nixon" (Universal) | Mike Hill and Dan Hanley |
| "Milk" (Focus Features) | Elliot Graham |
| "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) | Chris Dickens |
Best foreign language film of the year
"The Baader Meinhof Complex" A Constantin Film Production - Germany
"The Class" (Sony Pictures Classics) A Haut et Court Production - France
"Departures" (Regent Releasing) A Departures Film Partners Production - Japan
"Revanche" (Janus Films) A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production - Austria
"Waltz with Bashir" (Sony Pictures Classics) A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production - Israel
Achievement in makeup
| "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) | Greg Cannom |
| "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) | John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O'Sullivan |
| "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" (Universal) | Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz |
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
| "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) | Alexandre Desplat |
| "Defiance" (Paramount Vantage) | James Newton Howard |
| "Milk" (Focus Features) | Danny Elfman |
| "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) | A.R. Rahman |
| "WALL-E" (Walt Disney) | Thomas Newman |
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
| "Down to Earth" from "WALL-E" (Walt Disney) | Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman |
| "Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) | Music by A.R. Rahman |
| "O Saya" from "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) | Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam |
Best motion picture of the year
| "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) | Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers |
| "Frost/Nixon" (Universal) | Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers |
| "Milk" (Focus Features) | Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers |
| "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company) | Nominees to be determined |
| "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) | Christian Colson, Producer |
Best animated short film
| "La Maison en Petits Cubes" | Kunio Kato |
| "Lavatory - Lovestory" | Konstantin Bronzit |
| "Oktapodi" (Talantis Films) | Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand |
| "Presto" (Walt Disney) | Doug Sweetland |
| "This Way Up" | Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes |
Best live action short film
| "Auf der Strecke (On the Line)" (Hamburg Shortfilmagency) | Reto Caffi |
| "Manon on the Asphalt" (La Luna Productions) | Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont |
| "New Boy" (Network Ireland Television) | Steph Green and Tamara Anghie |
| "The Pig" | Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh |
| "Spielzeugland (Toyland)" | Jochen Alexander Freydank |
Achievement in sound editing
| "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) | Richard King |
| "Iron Man" (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment) | Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes |
| "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) | Tom Sayers |
| "WALL-E" (Walt Disney) | Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood |
| "Wanted" (Universal) | Wylie Stateman |
Achievement in sound mixing
| "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) | David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten |
| "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) | Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick |
| "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) | Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty |
| "WALL-E" (Walt Disney) | Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt |
| "Wanted" (Universal) | Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt |
Achievement in visual effects
| "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) | Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron |
| "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) | Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin |
| "Iron Man" (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment) | John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan |
Adapted screenplay
| "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) | Screenplay by Eric Roth |
| "Doubt" (Miramax) | Written by John Patrick Shanley |
| "Frost/Nixon" (Universal) | Screenplay by Peter Morgan |
| "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company) | Screenplay by David Hare |
| "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) | Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy |
Original screenplay
| "Frozen River" (Sony Pictures Classics) | Written by Courtney Hunt |
| "Happy-Go-Lucky" (Miramax) | Written by Mike Leigh |
| "In Bruges" (Focus Features) | Written by Martin McDonagh |
| "Milk" (Focus Features) | Written by Dustin Lance Black |
| "WALL-E" (Walt Disney) | Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon |
So, there you have it. The Oscars air February 22, at 8 ET/5 PT on ABC. Be sure to tune in and see how it all turns out.
Sleep Well,
DTE
____________________
Songs of the Moment:
Metric – Help, I’m Alive; The Decemberists – 16 Military Wives; Dandy Warhols – We Used To Be Friends
Music while I wrote:
Stephen Schwartz – Wicked soundtrack
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