oscar follow up

Ok, I said that I'd update a few days after the Oscar ceremony to tell everyone how I did and if I won. Well, I lost. By 1. No, by 2. I got 15 out of 24 correct and the winner I was told got 16 out of 24. It's taken me weeks to blog as I have been processing and working through my loss and feelings of grief. No, not really- I'm kidding. Though honestly, I was pretty disappointed I didn't win- again. I changed a lot of my choices the day before I submitted my ballot and if I had just stuck with what I had picked, rather than panic and change tons of things, I would have won with ohhhh, something like 23 out of 24. I was kicking myself through the entire telecast. I felt somewhat better that a few of my choices (that ended up not winning) were the same as the guys who write for Entertainment Weekly and the LA Times, etc. They get paid for picking the winners. They have to feel even stupider than I. So this year, I will now have to pay to attend the movies. Just like everyone else.

I also said that I'd blog about the winners, so here's my break down of who I chose and who ended up winning and what I think about that.

Best picture
My pick- Inglourious Basterds

Who won- The Hurt Locker

Ok this was an epic fail. I "thought" too hard about how the new voting system would work and I bombed. This was one of my last minute changed answers.

Best actor
My pick- Jeff Bridges

Who won- Jeff Bridges

Yea.

Best actress

My pick- Sandra Bullock

Who won- Sandra Bullock

Yea again.

Best supporting actor

My pick- Christoph Waltz

Who won- Christoph Waltz

Well, at least I'm getting the actors right.

Best supporting actress

My pick- Mo'Nique

Who won- Mo'Nique

4 out of 4 is good.

Best director
My pick- Kathryn Bigelow

Who won- Kathryn Bigelow

That was amazing. First woman ever to win the best director Oscar. She looked really nervous.

Best animated feature
My pick- Up

Who won- Up

That one was the easiest choice.

Best foreign language film

My pick- The White Ribbon

Who won- The Secret in Their Eyes

This is a case of one film winning a bunch of awards all year and then not winning the Oscar. I never saw either film. Probably never will.

Best screenplay (original)

My pick- Inglourious Basterds

Who won- The Hurt Locker

IB should have won. Period.

Best screenplay (adapted)

My pick- Up in the Air

Who won- Precious

What the heck? Where did that come from?

Best music (original score)

My pick- Up

Who won- Up

Ok.

Best music (original song)

My pick- The Weary Kind

Who won- The Weary Kind

I listened to 30 seconds of the songs I could on iTunes. Glad I did.

Best art direction

My pick- Avatar

Who won- Avatar

YES! (sigh...)

Best cinematography

My pick- The Hurt Locker

Who won- Avatar

This was on of those winners that those paid people were probably upset about too.

Best costume design

Brynn's pick- The Young Victoria

Who won- The Young Victoria

So glad.

Best documentary (feature)

My pick- The Cove

Who won- The Cove

Well at least I got one "artsy" film right...

Best documentary (short subject)

My pick- China's Unnatural Disaster

Who won- Music by Prudence

Bummer. But I enjoyed watching the 2 producers fight it out to who gets to speak. The Academy only lets one producer from each movie actually talk.

Best film editing

Brynn's pick- The Hurt Locker

Who won- The Hurt Locker

You're probably sitting there thinking- why didn't she stay with her original pick for Best Pic for The Hurt Locker? Well, right about now during the ceremony I was thinking that too.

Best makeup

My pick- Star Trek

Who won- Star Trek

Can a person get all the "little" awards correct and still win?

Best short film (animated)

My pick- A Matter of Loaf and Death

Who Won- Logorama

Turns out it took ten years to make. They probably won on that fact alone.

Best short film (live action)

My pick- The Door

Who won- The New Tenants

Again, the movie that wins most other awards doesn't necessarily win the Oscar.

Best sound editing

My pick- Avatar

Who won- The Hurt Locker

This really surprised me.

Best sound mixing

My pick- Avatar

Who won- The Hurt Locker

And it was with this one being announced, I knew my ship had sunk.

Best visual effects

My pick- Avatar

Who won- Avatar

DUH.

oscar

2009 Liberty Theatre Oscar Contest

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!

Nominees for the 82nd annual Academy Awards

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"

Brynn's pick- Inglourious Basterds

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

Brynn's pick- Jeff Bridges

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"

Brynn's pick- Sandra Bullock

Best supporting actor

Matt Damon, "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"
Stanley Tucci, "The Lovely Bones"
Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"

Brynn's pick- Christoph Waltz

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"

Brynn's pick- Mo'Nique

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"

Brynn's pick- Kathryn Bigelow

Best animated feature

"Coraline"
"Fantastic Mr Fox"
"The Princess and the Frog"
"The Secret of Kells"
"Up"

Brynn's pick- 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

Brynn's pick- Avatar