I am passionate about movies. I love watching them and I love telling others interesting things about the movie itself and the actors in it. So when the local theatre announced that they would hold an Oscar voting contest last year, I was more than thrilled! Finally, something that I can channel my totally useless knowledge into and maybe win! The prize was a Big Bucket o' Candy and two, 5-punch passes to the theater. That's 10 trips to the movies folks! It took me a few days to think about it, but then I submitted my ballot and waited for Sunday to roll around. I have never enjoyed watching an Oscar telecast as much as I did last year. One- because the ceremony itself was great. Hugh Jackman was a fabulous host. Two- because every time I got a pick correct, I got so excited! Especially on the ones I wasn't so sure about. I ended up winning with 16 out 17 correct, missing only Best Original Song. Last year was relatively easy however. Slumdog Millionaire won everything. All year. This year is a totally different story. Once again the theatre is holding their Oscar contest. But instead of picking in just 17 categories, they are having you vote for all 24. That means all the documentaries, animated shorts, live action shorts, etc. We don't really get any of those types of movies to Pagosa, so I have been doing a lot of reading on all the nominated films in their respective categories. This year there is also quite the fight for well, everything. There are a few shoe-in's such as Christoph Waltz, who has won every Best Supporting Actor award presented this entire year. His performance in Inglourious Basterds was PHENOMENAL! He spoke German, French, Italian and English in the movie and his acting is some of the best I've ever seen. He deserves to win. The Best Supporting Actress winner is also a for sure, as Mo'nique has won almost as many awards as Christoph Waltz in their supporting categories. But other than that, it's a real toss up. But the Best Picture winner is the REAL who knows. Especially since there are 10 Best Picture nominees this year (compared to the usual 5) and the Best Picture vote is done by preferential ballot. So it's really anyone's Oscar to win since you just don't vote for who you think should be the clear winner, but you rank your choices. Meaning the movie with the most top votes comes out the winner- even if that movie is in the 2nd or 3rd most spot through out the voting. It's confusing. And it means that movies that have won most of the prestigious awards all season, like The Hurt Locker, might not come away with the top prize. Instead "loosing" out to a film like Inglourious Basterds (which is actually a very good film all the way around and you should look for it to also win Best Original Screen Play (Tarantino has won a Best Original Screen Play Oscar before) and possibly Best Cinematography- though I think that will go to The Hurt Locker.) I am looking forward to this Sunday as much as I did last year. Not really for the show itself as there are a lot of changes to the ceremony that aren't thrilling (we won't go there) but because I have REALLY put a lot of thought to my votes this year. And I hope to come up victorious. As my husband says, I don't just like to win. I like to win big. So here are my choices in all categories. I will post again after Sunday night's show with my thoughts on the winners!
Best picture
"Avatar"
"The Blind Side"
"District 9"
"An Education"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
"A Serious Man"
"Up"
"Up in the Air"
Best actor
Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"
George Clooney, "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth, "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman, "Invictus"
Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker
Best actress
Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side"
Helen Mirren, "The Last Station"
Carey Mulligan, "An Education"
Gabourey Sidibe, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
Meryl Streep, "Julie & Julia"
Best supporting actor
Matt Damon, "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"
Stanley Tucci, "The Lovely Bones"
Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"
Best supporting actress
Penelope Cruz, "Nine"
Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"
Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Crazy Heart"
Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"
Mo'Nique, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
Best director
James Cameron, "Avatar"
Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"
Lee Daniels, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"
Jason Reitman, "Up in the Air"
Best animated feature
"Coraline"
"Fantastic Mr Fox"
"The Princess and the Frog"
"The Secret of Kells"
"Up"
Best foreign language film
"Ajami" (Israel)
"El Secreto de Sus Ojos" (Argentina)
"The Milk of Sorrow" (Peru)
"The Prophet" (France)
"The White Ribbon" (Germany)
Brynn's pick- The White RIbbon
Best screenplay (original)
"The Hurt Locker," written by Mark Boal
"Inglourious Basterds," written by Quentin Tarantino
"The Messenger," written by Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman
"A Serious Man," written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
"Up," screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter; story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy
Brynn's pick- Inglourious Basterds
Best screenplay (adapted)
"District 9," written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
"An Education," screenplay by Nick Hornby
"In the Loop," screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
"Up in the Air," screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner
Brynn's pick- Up in the Air
Best music (original score)
"Avatar" James Horner
"Fantastic Mr. Fox" Alexandre Desplat
"The Hurt Locker" Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
"Sherlock Holmes" Hans Zimmer
"Up" Michael Giacchino
Brynn's pick- Up
Best music (original song)
"Almost There" from "The Princess and the Frog," music and lyrics by Randy Newman
"Down in New Orleans" from "The Princess and the Frog," music and lyrics by Randy Newman
"Loin de Paname" from "Paris 36," music by Reinhardt Wagner and lyrics by Frank Thomas
"Take It All" from "Nine," music and lyrics by Maury Yeston
"The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" from "Crazy Heart," music and lyrics by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett
Brynn's pick- The Weary Kind
Best art direction
"Avatar" art direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; set decoration: Kim Sinclair
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" art direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; set decoration: Caroline Smith
"Nine" art direction: John Myhre; set decoration: Gordon Sim
"Sherlock Holmes" art direction: Sarah Greenwood; set decoration: Katie Spencer
"The Young Victoria" art direction: Patrice Vermette; set decoration: Maggie Gray
Brynn's pick- Avatar
Best cinematography
"Avatar" Mauro Fiore
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" Bruno Delbonnel
"The Hurt Locker" Barry Ackroyd
"Inglourious Basterds" Robert Richardson
"The White Ribbon" Christian Berger
Brynn's pick- The Hurt Locker
Best costume design
"Bright Star" Janet Patterson
"Coco Before Chanel" Catherine Leterrier
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" Monique Prudhomme
"Nine" Colleen Atwood
"The Young Victoria" Sandy Powell
Brynn's pick- The Young Victoria
Best documentary (feature)
"Burma VJ" Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
"The Cove" Nominees to be determined
"Food, Inc." Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
"The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers" Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
"Which Way Home" Rebecca Cammisa
Brynn's pick- The Cove
Best documentary (short subject)
"China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province" Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill
"The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner" Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
"The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant" Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
"Music by Prudence" Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
"Rabbit à la Berlin" Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra
Brynn's pick- China's Unnatural Disaster
Best film editing
"Avatar" Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
"District 9" Julian Clarke
"The Hurt Locker" Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
"Inglourious Basterds" Sally Menke
"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" Joe Klotz
Brynn's pick- The Hurt Locker
Best makeup
"Il Divo" Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
"Star Trek" Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
"The Young Victoria" Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore
Brynn's pick- Star Trek
Best short film (animated)
"French Roast" Fabrice O. Joubert
"Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty" Nicky Phelan and Darragh O'Connell
"The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)" Javier Recio Gracia
"Logorama" Nicolas Schmerkin
"A Matter of Loaf and Death" Nick Park
Brynn's pick- A Matter of Loaf and Death
Best short film (live action)
"The Door" Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
"Instead of Abracadabra" Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
"Kavi" Gregg Helvey
"Miracle Fish" Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
"The New Tenants" Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson
Brynn's pick- The Door
Best sound editing
"Avatar" Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
"The Hurt Locker" Paul N.J. Ottosson
"Inglourious Basterds" Wylie Stateman
"Star Trek" Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
"Up" Michael Silvers and Tom Myers
Brynn's pick- Avatar
Best sound mixing
"Avatar" Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
"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
Brynn's pick- Avatar
Best visual effects
"Avatar" Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
"District 9" Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
"Star Trek" Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton