It’s just a few days to go before Oscars and I know my friend ‘a movie fan’ is watching out for my posting regarding the event. He/she must be waiting for whatever I’d be babbling about, specially if I will dare make any bets on the nominees.
At first I thought of not saying anything, just wait for the winners to be announced and jump into it with my commentaries. Coz except for Elizabeth the Golden Age which I reviewed in my previous posting, I haven’t had the chance to see any of the films headlining the nominations this year.
But Oprah just featured a few of the nominees in her episode shown by MBC4 tonight. Then I said, ah, what the heck, let me play some guessing game here and see how it turns out. If you want, you can play along with me. Let’s see who better approximates Madam Auring! Hahahaha!
At first I thought of not saying anything, just wait for the winners to be announced and jump into it with my commentaries. Coz except for Elizabeth the Golden Age which I reviewed in my previous posting, I haven’t had the chance to see any of the films headlining the nominations this year.
But Oprah just featured a few of the nominees in her episode shown by MBC4 tonight. Then I said, ah, what the heck, let me play some guessing game here and see how it turns out. If you want, you can play along with me. Let’s see who better approximates Madam Auring! Hahahaha!
Best Picture Nominees
Atonement – A period movie set in the 1930’s about two sisters and their housekeeper's son. Starring Kiera Knightly and James McAvoy. Directed by Joe Wright
Juno – The season’s surprise hit film, both in the box office and in Oscar nominations. It’s a film about teenage pregnancy starring Ellen Page. Directed by Jason Reitman.
Michael
Clayton – Starring George Clooney, directed by Tony Gilroy. A film about the drama behind law firms, lawyers and lawsuits. No Country for Old Men – Directed by the Coen brothers Ethan and Joel, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem. A story about drugs, money and dead bodies in the barren West Texas range.
There Will be Blood - A story about family, greed, religion, and oil, centered around a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Daniel Day Lewis.
My Bet: It’s a toss between No Country for Old Men and There Will be Blood. Though looking at Oscars history, only three western films have won Best Pic (Cimarron in 1930, Dances With Wolves in 1990 and Unforgiven in 1992, while drama has dominated most of the Best Pic winners. Which gives There Will Be Blood an edge.
Best Actor Nominees
George Clooney for Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will be Blood
Johnny Depp for Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Tommy Lee Jones for In The Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen for Eastern Promises
My Bet: Daniel Day-Lewis. He already won the Golden Globe and to most Oscars observers, the Globe has always been a preview to the Oscars. I would be surprised if George Clooney takes home the Oscar. Based on the clips shown for these nominees, George is the least impressive among the five. Maybe his role is not as challenging as that of the others.
Best Actress Nominees
Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth The Golden Age
Julie Christie for Away from Her
Marion Cotillard for La Vie En Rose
Laura Linney for The Savages
Ellen Page for Juno
My Bet : Marion Cotillard. I know I’ve said I’d vote for Cate if I were a voting member of the AMPAS. But for reasons I stated on the same posting, I’d guess she’ll never be given the trophy this year. Besides, Marion’s role seems to be more challenging and her performance more impressive.
Best Supporting Actor Nominees
Casey Affleck for The Assassination of Jesse James
Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman for Charlie Wilson’s War
Hal Holbrook for Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson for Michael Clayton
My Bet : Javier Bardem. His character is said to be the most frightening villain in recent years and touted to be as chilling as Sir Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lecter. He has also bagged the Globe for the same category.
Best Supporting Actress Nominees
Cate Blanchett for I’m Not There
Ruby Dee for American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan for Atonement
Amy Ryan for Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton
My Bet: Ruby Dee. Come on guys, the lady’s 83 and still packing a 2-minute exposure with emotions more forceful than a full-length role (that was the trailer shown in Oprah). I’d say give her the little guy so she can have a smile on her way out.
There you go. Just predictions. Though I’m not good in guessing. I’ll just wait till the 24th and see how I fared.
8 comments:
Enjoyed reading your thoughts!
I agree with most of them but id like Tilda to win best supporting actress!
Also it will be a travesty if Cotillard doesnt win best actress.
my bets are:
Juno vs. There will be blood for best picture
even though no golden globes in his hands, i bet it will be daniel day lewis for best actor. he was so superb in his portrayal in the film
ellen page or marion cotillard, because ellen was like a breeze of cold fresh wind in the striken-writers' guild strike in hollywood environment....although marion has an edge inrespect to acting....but you never can tell the politics in oscars' lobbying groups prior to selection night
my bet and prayers go to ruby dee for the best supporting actress category. her years of experience as an actress in hollywood has given her an institution stature in her profession. so maybe, just maybe her peers will honor her with that deserving statuette.
orgee of MOPC
betteblanche - hope to see you back after the oscars. maybe we can do some celebration or sourgraping together, whatever the case maybe! hehehe...
orgee!!! you surprised me i never knew you were a member of the Manila Overseas Press Club MOPC - is that correct? though i doubt if juno and ellen page will be given the honors. it's very seldom the academy do this for first time nominees...and daniel already won the globe, just to reiterate.
one tv has already announced the live telecast on sunday and it's 2 am KSA time. no sched yet for the replay.
jon, thanks for visiting. however, the link you posted here seem to be bringing us to some forbidden site. you see, i'm in saudi arabia and so are most of my friends who frequent this blog so we have restrictions on sites we can connect to.
if you wanted to say something related to the topic, then please say so. otherwise, i do not appreciate you leaving a link that will put my blogging friends at some embarassing situation.
i do not moderate comments here on the premise that i encourage open discussion on the various topics that i post in this blog. but i would strongly object to any obscenity/profanity anywhere within dantespeaks' perimeters. there are millions of other blogs for this.
i'd rather encourage you to post something related to the topic and add something to the discussion. hope you understand.
to my blogging friends,clicking jon's link is entirely your choice.
Dante, I know it's less than 24 hours before the Academy will hand in those Oscars and so here my predictions as well:
Picture - No Country for Old Men
Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis
Actress - Julie Christie
Supporting Actor - Javier Bardem
Supporting Actress - Cate Blanchett
And I have to add the following:
Director - Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Original Screenplay - Juno (this is my favorite category)
Adapted Screenplay - No Country for Old Men
I'll leave all the commentaries and criticisms about these movies, (winners and losers) to you.
So there, enjoy the Awards show.
Just finished watching the Oscars. I guess women actors are just difficult to predict. Tilda was a surprise although Marion was really a favorite and it was a deserving win.
i got 3 out of 5 on the major categories like you did. not bad, eh!
but thanks for coming back and i hope to hear from you oscars season or not...
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