| ARCHIVED | Oscar Picks '09

(originally published 20 February 2009 as SS01)

With the presentation of the motion picture industry’s supreme awards on Sunday evening, I have conveniently elected to forego any possibility of listing 25 random facts about myself. Instead, I will continue a tradition of mine into Facebook, listing my selected Oscar picks for the 2009 awards.

Last year, I went for a conservative 10 categories, nailing 8. Of course, that I went with ‘No Country for Old Men’ for achievement in Cinematography over ‘There Will Be Blood’ was a fool’s errand in the eleventh hour, and a prime example of why second-guessing yourself in such elementary matters is often a mistake. However, that Tilda Swinton (‘Michael Clayton’…soooooo overrated) won Best Actress in a Supporting Role over Amy Ryan and her debut in ‘Gone Baby Gone’ (best movie from 2007 that you’ve never seen) is a high crime that no one could have foreseen.

Overall, 2008 had one of the weaker theatrical offerings in cinema’s history. But with past gripes aside, what follows is the list of 20 of my 2009 Oscar picks. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and their ways of selection often prove tricky to decipher, usually quite befuddling, and many times political instead of critical. Regardless, free soda to anyone who beats me...




Best Picture - ‘Slumdog Millionaire’
Was this the best film of the year? No, it was not. Of the nominees? Eh, possibly. At the end of the night, however, ‘Slumdog’ will be recognized as the next film to fit the trend of small, often foreign, “indies” that are pretty darn good and get the nod for being a little different than the rest. And holy smokes, talk about momentum!

Male Performance in a Leading Role - Mickey Rourke, ‘The Wrestler’
Despite some recently-expressed political sentiments that would seem quite contrary to those of the typical Academy member…Rourke returns. By the way, if Sean Penn wins, I will throw a large, heavy object at my TV…probably a steaming iron.

Male Performance in a Supporting Role - Heath Ledger, ‘The Dark Knight’
Christopher Nolan didn’t just restore the Batman franchise--he took ‘The Dark Knight’ to the level of respectable crime drama, and Ledger’s performance as The Joker was the crowning achievement in the film.

Female Performance in a Leading Role - Kate Winslet, ‘The Reader’
She’s 0 for 6 and got the nomination for the wrong role; regardless, Winslet’s a woman among girls in Hollywood and deserves to be recognized as such. Besides, she’s already won humbly at the Globes.

Female Performance in a Supporting Role – Penelope Cruz, ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’
She beats Viola Davis (‘Doubt’) and Taraji Henson (‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’) in a tight race, but director Woody Allen is seldom overlooked, and Cruz’s 2006 role in ‘Volver’ should add some weight.

Director - Danny Boyle, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’
Boyle’s had his successes as a director, but his triumph is ‘Slumdog’, a film that was almost straight-to-DVD.

Cinematography – Anthony Dod Mantle, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’
So bright. So colorful. So exotic. And there’s an awesome dance sequence.

Best Animated Feature - ‘Wall-E’
It isn’t often that the year’s best film is animated, so when it’s repressively robbed of its right to even being nominated for Best Picture, this one’s a lock.

Documentary Feature – ‘Man on Wire’
About as certain as one can be when picking winners, ‘Man on Wire’ is actually the highest-rated feature in the history of RottenTomatoes.com. It has to be a damn good film if it can take tight-rope walking and create such a successful movie.

Foreign Language Film – ‘Waltz with Bashir’
Just an honest hunch about this deep, Israeli film.

Original Screenplay – Dustin Lance Black, ‘Milk’
This film won’t be taking much home on Sunday night, but if it wins just a single award, it will be for Black’s writing.

Adapted Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’
Again, it’s just one of those years. Helps that it actually is a great, charming tale.s

Makeup – ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’
I gaped at how captivating the work done on Brad Pitt’s and Cate Blanchett’s faces was…but it was technically CGI. Buuuuuuut, ‘The Dark Knight’, what I can tell as the stiffest competition, simply consisted of a can of white paint on Ledger’s face.

Best Costume Design – ‘The Duchess’
This is the only actual “costume drama”. Costume dramas win this category by default, and especially those flicks that are underrepresented in other awards.

Art Direction – Victor Zolfo, Danny Burft, ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’
Brad Pitt played Benjamin Button quite convincingly over a period of nearly 70 years. From the the “old” to the “young”, Zolfo and Burft kept their audience convinced.

Sound Editing – ‘The Dark Knight’
The blockbusters monopolize his category, no matter how much ‘Wall-E’ deserves it. And if any blockbuster will take it, it will be THE blockbuster of the decade.

Sound Mixing – Benjamin Burtt, ‘Wall-E’
Yes, they’re different awards. Ben Burtt orchestrated a audio masterpiece, and will rightfully bring home this Oscar for the effort. Wall-E’s actual voice was created with a distortion of Burtt’s.

Visual Effects – ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’
Choosing ‘Button’ over ‘The Dark Knight’ proved to be an arduous debate I may well regret, but the aging, oh my…

Original Score – ‘Slumdog Millionaire’
‘Slumdog’ was scored entirely with contemporary compositions, and will win because of this. The new trend in Oscar balloting excludes the conventional epic scores for which Hans Zimmer or John Williams were famous.

Best Song – ‘Jai Ho’, ‘Slumdog Milionaire’
It’s either this selection or another from ‘Slumdog’, ‘O Saya’, but the former should take it.

*Best Animated Short* - ‘Presto’
Yes, my 21st selection is more a bonus than anything else, but I wasn’t the only one howling with a suffocating laughter at this effort. ‘Presto’ was the preceding accompaniment to ‘Wall-E’ and, while ‘This Way Up’ is reportedly a humorous and brooding short, Pixar is once again that unconquerable mountain of animation.

---

And so, to recap:

Best Picture - ‘Slumdog Millionaire’
Male Performance in a Leading Role - Mickey Rourke, ‘The Wrestler’
Male Performance in a Supporting Role - Heath Ledger, ‘The Dark Knight’
Female Performance in a Leading Role - Kate Winslet, ‘The Reader’
Female Performance in a Supporting Role – Penelope Cruz, ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’
Director - Danny Boyle, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’
Cinematography – Anthony Dod Mantle, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’
Best Animated Feature - ‘Wall-E’
Documentary Feature – ‘Man on Wire’
Foreign Language Film – ‘Waltz with Bashir’
Original Screenplay – Justin Lance Black, ‘Milk’
Adapted Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’
Makeup – ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’
Best Costume Design – ‘The Duchess’
Art Direction – Victor Zolfo, Danny Burft, ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’
Sound Editing – ‘The Dark Knight’
Sound Mixing – Benjamin Burtt, ‘Wall-E’
Visual Effects – ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’
Original Score – ‘Slumdog Millionaire’
Best Song – ‘Jai Ho’, ‘Slumdog Milionaire’
*Best Animated Short* - ‘Presto’