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Oscar Predictions: Best Picture

Andrew Hibbard — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:00:10 +0000

Ben Button: Does it have the legs to win? Maybe not. Courtesy Boston Globe.

After weeks of build-up, our final Oscar prediction is here. Check out our previous predictions and don’t forget to come back Sunday for our Oscar LIVE BLOG. Because there is no point in addressing the nature of this award, we’ll just skip to the nominees and winner Slumdog Millionaire.

The Nominees
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
It’s been close to 15 years since Forrest Gump eased its way into the hearts of Americans and critics alike. Now, another sweeping, American epic is up for Oscar gold. But Benjamin Button, in all its cinematic and technical glory, lacks an real emotional oomph. Expect David Fincher’s 3-hour film to pick up some technical wins–maybe even Best Supporting Actress–but to falter in this circle of glory.

Frost/Nixon
Ron Howard’s adaptation of the Broadway hit is the safest Oscar bet–like every other Ron Howard picture. Frost/Nixon is a much easier picture to decipher than Benjamin Button, but it still really lacks punch. It’s a great film–not to say every Best Picture has deserved its win–but Frost/Nixon just doesn’t feel like a best picture.

Milk
Like, say, every other category (especially Best Directing), Gus Van Sant’s Harvey Milk biopic is playing second fiddle to Slumdog Millionaire. That said, it seems the best candidate to upset Slumdog and it has Prop 8 to thank for that.

The Reader
If The Reader wins, we can only hope the Oscars don’t live to see an 82nd year. Harvey Weinstein’s brilliant campaigning or not, Nazis sex loses.

Slumdog Millionaire
For the past two Academy Awards, the little film that could was a comedy. This year, it’s Danny Boyle’s gimmicky drama about a little boy from the slums overcoming the odds, striking it rich and finding love. It’s a hopeful story in the Barack Obama presidency that everyone is saying is destined for Oscar glory. Well the hype killed it for me, I can’t deny that it will win. Thus…

The Winner: Slumdog Millionaire
It’s not exciting. It’s not going to draw viewers. It would be more exciting if The Dark Knight or especially WALL-E were fighting in this category, but predictability is a fact of the Oscars.

Milk might be the Best Picture

Andrew Hibbard — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:06:19 +0000

Even though every one is saying Slumdog Millionaire is a lock for Best Picture, Variety is reporting that Slumdog and Benjamin Button could split the vote, leaving room for Milk to take the top prize. They interview Dan Jinks, producer for Milk and 1999′s out-of-nowhere Best Picture American Beauty, who addresses Milk‘s grassroots campaign. After a November release and lots of buzz, the film is finally getting a wide release. Money quote:

“It takes time,” adds Jinks, “to reach less sophisticated audiences. Eight Oscar nominations helps enormously. Milk resonates in an emotional way that tops the other films out there.”

Biased for certain, but is he insinuating that people who haven’t seen Milk are red-state-dwelling homophobic philistines? I’m just glad I saw it two months ago.

Oscar Predictions: Nominees

Andrew Hibbard — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:00:19 +0000

Oscar predictions have been coming in for months at other blogs. We at the Playground don’t need to spend months speculating. One (expansive) list (with some obscure categories) shall do. It seems these things are pretty much set at this point, so I threw in some surprises because you never know with L.A. Check back Jan. 22 for an analysis of the awards and until Feb. 22 for our take on the major categories. And without further ado, here’s the list.

Best Adapted Screeplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Screenplay
Milk
Rachel Getting Married
Synecdoche, NY
The Visitor
The Wrestler

Best Cinematography
Australia
The Dark Knight
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Foreign Film
3 Monkeys (Turkey)
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany)
The Class (France)
Everlasting Moments (Sweden)
Waltz with Bashir (Israel)

Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey, Jr., Tropic Thunder
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Viola Davis, Doubt
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

Best Documentary Feature
Encounters at the End of the World
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water

Best Editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire
Something incredibly mainstream and kind of surprising

Best Actress
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Sally Hawkins, Happy Go-Lucky
Kristin Scott Thomas, I’ve Love You So Long
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

Best Actor
Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Best Animated Feature
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E
Waltz with Bashir

Best Director
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
Gus Van Sant, Milk

Best Picture
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E

Obscure Awards

Andrew Hibbard — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:32:40 +0000

Here’s an award you probably haven’t heard about.

Cadets at the U.S. Military Academy Thursday announced the nominees for the 2nd Annual Cadet Choice Award for the movie character that best exemplifies West Point leadership.

The nominees are:

Bruce Wayne in “The Dark Knight”
Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg in “Valkyrie”
Dr. Henry Walton “Indiana” Jones, Jr. in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”
John Hancock in “Hancock”
Harvey Milk in “Milk”
James Bond in “Quantum of Solace”

I spotted this on Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish. Any guess to which nominee sparked his post?

Golden Globe Nominations

Andrew Hibbard — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:59:57 +0000

And the award for worst nominations of 2009 goes to…

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association released the nominations for the 2009 Golden Globe awards this morning. Notable snubs include Milk in the best picture-drama, best director, best screenplay and for Josh Brolin in the supporting actor categories (maybe it has something to do with the kiss). Sean Penn scored that film’s only nomination. James Franco did, however, get a best supporting actor for Pineapple Express. Alongside Franco in this category are Robert Downey, Jr. in Tropic Thunder and Tom Cruise for the same film. Tom Cruise.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was In Bruges earning nominations in the best picture (musical or comedy) and best actor category for Colin Farrell.

The TV category was unexciting, but Duke got some attention for the Doris Duke-inspired Bernard And Doris.

The Golden Globe Awards will broadcast Jan. 11 from Hollywood.