Right, tomorrow night is the BIG ONE, the Oscars. The royalty of awards shows.
For the second year in a row, Adam Driver has got a nomination. Last year it was for Best Supporting Actor in BlacKkKlansman and this year it is for Best Lead Actor in Marriage Story.
He’s up against Antonio Banderas, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joaquin Phoenix and Jonathan Pryce.
Predominantly, the actors who win both the Golden Globe and the BAFTA, usually go on to win the Oscar. This year, they have gone to Joaquin Phoenix. However, there are rare instances when the Academy surprise us with bucking the trend and going for the underdog. So, I suppose I am still holding out a little bit of hope for Adam.
If you read my blog regularly, you will know that Adam’s competition throughout this awards season has been Joaquin Phoenix for his performance as The Joker. I have done some number crunching today and as of today, the 8th Feb, the statistics for this years awards season look like this.
Adam has 59 nominations. Joaquin has 49 nominations.
Adam has 38 wins. Joaquin has 17 wins.
So, not only does Adam have 10 more nominations than Joaquin, he also has a 64% win ratio as opposed to Joaquin’s 34% win ratio.
In my eyes, this is quite telling. The industry quite obviously rates Adam’s performance above that of Joaquin’s, but sadly, when it comes to the Academy voters, they will quite often take into consideration, past history of nominations and back catalogue of work. They quite often think… ‘it’s about time this guy won’ and will brush aside new talent that probably deserved that win more, simply because they haven’t ‘done their time’ in the industry yet.
They might surprise us this year, but I’m really not holding my breath.
So I am going to concentrate by efforts on the red carpet instead. Everyone concentrates on what the ladies are wearing, and to be completely honest, the fashion choices this year have been very dubious, particularly at the Golden Globes.
Lucy Boynton looked like a badly wrapped Xmas turkey and what the hell was Gwyneth Paltrow thinking?!! She seemed to have forgotten her dress altogether and turned up in her petticoat, a poo coloured petticoat!
Anyway, bitching aside, the men have started coming out of their shells a little bit and we are occasionally getting and little more colour and a little more daring showing up on the red carpet.
Now Adam ALWAYS looks good in a suit, but he has played things very safe lately with the simple black tuxedo’s and last week’s BAFTAs was no exception. It may have been Louis Vuitton with Louboutin shoes, but it was still just black.
Such a shame, because when he wears a little colour, it really makes him shine!
There is of course, only one KING of the red carpet at the moment, and that is of course, Billy Porter!
He broke the mould at the Oscars last year by just being himself, and it was the most glorious suit/gown on the carpet by far. (and a finger to the haters)
He has proved, time and time again, that the ladies have some fierce competition.
My prediction for tomorrow evening is that the ladies will continue to disappoint with their ugly choices, Billy will steal the show with something fabulous and Adam will again be in black!
Watch this space (I will try not to be too disappointed)
Christmas is long gone. New year came and went in a 10 second countdown. Everything is new and fresh for another year.
The first week of the new year is always a bit of a deep breath before I think about starting everything I’ve planned for the new year, and for me, this year is all about losing the weight I’ve been promising myself I’d do after piling it all back on after Italy 2 years ago. It’s also a year where finances will (hopefully) be taking a turn for the better around April time. Things will be a little easier and we may actually be able to think about the occasional holiday!……. if all goes to plan. All 3 kids are working. Murron is talking about future plans and the possibility of moving out!! Hopefully a nice relaxed year for a change.
Anyway, the first few months of the year have always been quite exciting for me as a film fan. We are into the culmination of the awards season that started before Xmas, with the first of the BIG ones tonight with the Golden Globes. February sees the BAFTAs and ends with the mother of all awards, The Academy Awards (or Oscars).
This season has been made even more exciting because my favourite actor, Adam Driver, is becoming quite highly acclaimed. The last few seasons have seen him getting noticed and getting nominations (including an Oscar nomination) and a few wins for ‘Supporting Role’, but this year has seen him progress to ‘Leading Actor’ nominations.
The film that has garnered all the attention is ‘Marriage Story’. Oh boy, does Adam deliver an Oscar worthy performance as Charlie, opposite Scarlett Johansson’s performance as Nicole.
The film is incredibly moving and frustrating, and at times you just want to take them both and shake them both and shout at them because they so obviously still love each other, but ultimately, the breakup has gone too far and the film is a ‘realisation’ of this fact, after a difficult year and bickering.
Anyway, I knew Adam was getting a few awards already for this film and has got wrapped up in the ‘Oscar’ buzz, but it wasn’t until I went and had a look through all the awards so far that I realised just how much buzz he’s been getting. With all the Film Critics, Film Associations and Journalist awards so far, Adam has racked up an astounding 47 nominations as best leading actor for Marriage Story.
BUT…..
He has won 27 of them…. so far!!… that’s insane!
Tonight sees the first of the big ones with the Golden Globes and then the BAFTA’s and the ACADEMY AWARDS are in February. The nominations for BAFTA’s are on Tuesday 7th Jan, this week and the ACADEMY AWARDS nominations are on Jan 13th. I have everything crossed for Adam. The way it stands at the moment I think he is highly likely to get nominations for both. Whether or not he wins is another matter, although having a leading actor Oscar nomination stamp on his CV is not going to do any harm to his career at all.
All of this red carpet action over the last few weeks has made me notice something. You need to understand that Adam is an intensely private man. He ‘hates’ red carpets and interviews and when he was thrust into the limelight with Star Wars, this showed… painfully… when he was seen in public. The only time he would seem to relax was when he had his wife Joanne with him, however, he still refuses to watch himself or listen to himself. He will turn up for a red carpet and then go and disappear into a green room until the film is finished.
Early photos of Adam on the red carpet see him quite tense and barely cracking a smile.
But with the photos I’ve been seeing in the last few weeks, he seems a lot more comfortable in his own skin. He’s a lot more relaxed and he’s letting his smile loose. I know his Star Wars fame has given him and his wife some tough times because of the odd ‘crazy’ fan, so the thought that that little part of his career has come to an end, may have had something to do with it, or he has simply become more accustomed to it all and has finally started to relax into it and enjoy it. Either way, it’s nice to see him smiling a little more often!
So, I have everything crossed for the Golden Globes tonight. No doubt I will post a little something in the morning with his result before I head out to work.
I didn’t stay up for the Oscars. I don’t know what Sky were playing at saying that they were showing it on Sky One. What they did was show it on Sky Cinema which is a channel I don’t subscribe to, and I’m not going to just to watch the Oscars. Now, if they had made it a pay per view event, that’s a different story.
Anyway, looking at the news this morning, let’s see how my predictions panned out.
I still think BlacKkKlansman should have won Best Film, although I’m glad Green Book got it and not Black Panther.
Alfonso Cuaron got Best Director for Roma. It should have gone to Spike Lee for BlacKkKlansman. Roma is an incredibly beautiful film and totally deserved the Best Cinematography Oscar that it won, but it is an absolute snore fest of a movie.
Best Actor went to Rami Malek. My first correct prediction. How could it not!
Best Supporting Actor went to Mahershala Ali for Green Book. As I suspected, Adam did not win. Mahershala Ali has been winning awards for this role left, right and centre. At least Adam is now an Oscar nominee and that won’t hurt his career in the slightest. He will be an Oscar winning actor at some point in the future.
Another correct prediction was Best Adapted Screenplay. BlacKkKlansman! Yay!! Totally deserving. They brought this truly unbelievable story to life with humour and humility.
Best Animated Feature is another correct prediction. Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse was brilliant and I’m so glad Isle of Dogs didn’t get a look in!
Original Score went to Black Panther, should have been BlacKkKlansman but again I’m so glad Isle of Dogs didn’t get a look in.
Not sure how First Man won Best Visual Effects over Ready Player one.
Bohemian Rhapsody won Best Editing over BlacKkKlansman.
So, there you have it. Results for the categories I was invested in. A little disappointed BlacKkKlansman didn’t win more but at least it is now officially an Oscar winning movie and another notch in Adam’s belt.
My hall way has been a bombsite for months and the reason is my eldest daughter!! She has the box bedroom and it literally is a box. Our hallway is bigger than her bedroom and she has been slowly spilling out into the hallway to the point where the hallway always looked a mess. It was always covered in clothes and bags and rubbish and there was a large plastic tub on the storage unit, slowly filling with rubbish. The hallway floor was constantly covered in shoes and clothes and bags and hairdryer and tongs with wires all over the place.
It was slowly driving me insane! So I came up with a solution. Friday was Ikea day and Saturday was flat pack day. But I’m happy with the result!
We’re just waiting for a rack for all the guitars to finish it off but I finally have my hallway back! She has absolutely no excuse that she doesn’t have enough storage now!!!
So, after tidying up the loose ends this morning, it is now time to relax. I have a decision to make. Tonight is Oscar night and it won’t be airing here in the UK until midnight, which means it won’t be finishing until around 01:30 – 02:00. The problem is that I have to be up for work at 05:30!!
I’m only on a short shift and will be finishing at 15:30. So, do I have a nap this afternoon and a late evening, or do I do my best to stay awake and have an early night tomorrow?
Whatever, it will be worth it to see a glimpse of Adam, even if he doesn’t get his Oscar this time around. I just hope Joanne is with him. He’s always so much more relaxed and happy when she’s with him. The above picture was taken yesterday at the Independent Spirit Awards and I can’t remember the last time I saw him looking so chilled!
So, I have everything crossed for him this time but judging by all the recent awards ceremonies, I’m not holding out much hope. His time will come!!
So yesterday saw the official Oscar nominations announced. I am a little excited AGAIN! BlacKkKlansman has got 6 nominations!
However, it has lots of competition. Some of it good, some of it great and some of it there, simply because of the mood of the Oscars over the last few years. I won’t say anymore about that because whatever I say will be taken the wrong way and I can’t be hassled with the backlash.
Anyway, I will be doing my best to see all of the ‘Best Picture’ nominations before the ceremony on the 24th February. I haven’t been doing particularly well with that over the last few weeks as life has just been getting in the way. Today I’ve woken up with a streaming cold and hacking cough and I ache all over! which means I probably won’t be making it to the cinema on my three days off this week either!
So far I’ve seen 4 of the 8 nominated movies and as with the BAFTA nominations, I will just be listing the ones I have an interest in.
Best Picture Black Panther BlacKkKlansman Bohemian Rhapsody The Favourite Green Book Roma A Star is Born Vice
Of course, BlacKkKlansman is totally getting my support for this one. It has already lost to ‘Roma’ at the Golden Globes and that is one I still have to watch. Might even do it today. BlacKkKlansman is just inspirational, heartbreaking and infuriating and so well done that in my opinion, deserves a BIG win.
Black Panther was an inspired movie and a credit to the Marvel family and it ‘should’ have been up for a ‘Visual Effects’ award….. but a Best Picture award? Mmmm, seriously? Fabulous casting however, and can’t wait to see what they do with the next one. I found the story-line to be quite weak and in some places, the visuals a little over powering. (Please do not chew my head off! That is simply my opinion.)
Bohemian Rhapsody is a wonderful film, and I can see Rami walking away with the Oscar for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury but the film as a whole just doesn’t quite cut it for me next to BlacKkKlansman.
Green Book is a ‘surprising’ favourite. I saw this at a secret screening a while ago, a few weeks before it went on general release. With no idea what we were going to be watching, the whole audience did a collective ‘WTF’ when the title came on screen before everyone dived onto their phones to IMDB what we were about to watch. It may have taken a little time getting into it, but it was certainly worth sticking with and I will quite happily watch it again.
The rest I need to catch up on, but I am sick to death of the ‘Star Is Born’ soundtrack playing on the radio whenever I get into my car, and it is now putting me off seeing it!!
Actor in a Leading Role Christian Bale – Vice Bradley Cooper – A Star Is Born Willen Dafoe – At Eternity’s Gate Rami Malek – Bohemian Rhapsody Viggo Mortensen – Green Book
My money is on Rami Malek! But there is strong competition in Christian Bale and Viggo Mortensen.
Actor in a Supporting Role Mahershala Ali – Green Book Adam Driver – BlacKkKlansman Sam Elliot – A Star is Born Richard E. Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me? Sam Rockwell – Vice
Mahershala Ali won the Golden Globe for this one but I really want to see Adam Driver snatch the Oscar for this one this year. Unfortunately, as a first time Academy nominee, with some well loved and established actors in the lineup, I think I may be disappointed this year.
Directing BlacKkKlansman – Spike Lee Cold War – Pawel Pawlikowski The favourite – Yorgos Lanthimos Roma – Alfonso Cuaron Vice – Adam McKay
I have only seen BlacKkKlansman in this category. Alfonsi Cuaron won the Golden Globe but I really hope Spike gets this one!
Adapted Screenplay The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – Joel and Ethan Coen BlacKkKlansman – Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott and Spike Lee Can You Ever Forgive Me? – Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty If Beale Street Could Talk – Barry Jenkins A Star Is Born – Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper and Will Fetters
It HAS to be BlacKkKlansman. The story is so outrageously unbelievable but so totally relevant to this day, which is highlighted at the end of the film. Spike and the team have done a wonderful job of portraying the subject matter with just the right amount of humour, which makes, what could be heavy going, a lot easier to stomach, right up until they punch you in the gut with the last few minutes!!
Animated Feature Incredibles 2 Isle of Dogs Mirai Ralph Breaks the Internet Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Spiderman-Man: Into the Spider-Verse all the way. I can’t see how Isle of Dogs is STILL getting any acclaim. Hopefully this will be the last we see of it.
Original Score Black Panther BlacKkKlansman If Beale Street Could Talk Isle of Dogs Mary Poppins Returns
If BlacKkKlansman loses to Isle of Dogs, I will never watch the Oscars again!! (Well I will, but my faith will be totally smashed)
Film Editing BlacKkKlansman Bohemian Rhapsody The Favourite Green Book Vice
Of course, there are no prizes for guessing my prediction. It’s BlacKkKlansman all the way or nothing.
Call me biased, because I obviously am, BUT, BlacKkKlansman is an amazing film. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s now available on DVD and streaming services. Go see it.
Now that is done, I am going to go and die on my sofa for the afternoon. Streaming eyes, hacking cough, aching all over, getting worse by the hour. Think sleep may be eluding me tonight too.
Here it is, awards season has started. There are a multitude of awards over the next few months, but the important ones for me are, The Golden Globes, The Baftas and the Academy Awards or Oscars.
The Golden Globes are actually tomorrow evening in the US but, as usual, there are no UK TV channels airing them, so I will have to make do with news reports and Youtube clips over the following days.
There are some good films in the nominations but the ones I am most interested in are as follows….
Best Motion Picture – Drama Black Panther BlacKkKlansman Bohemian Rhapsody If Beale Street Could Talk A Star Is Born
As much as I would love to see BlacKkKlansman walk away with the top award, it is up against some big movies, although it does have the ‘artsy’ edge that the voters like, so who knows?
Best Director Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born Alfonso Cuaron, Roma Peter Farrelly, Green Book Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman Adam McKay, Vice
In my eyes, the winner of this one will be Spike Lee. He’s done an amazing job telling an unbelievably true story and gives it just the right amount of humour before slapping you in the face with a gob smacking ending.
Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate Lucas Hedges, Boy Erased Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody John David Washington, BlacKkKlansman
John David Washington, son of Denzel Washington, is a chip off the old block, and I have no doubt we will be seeing a lot more of him in the future, however, I suspect Rami Malek will be walking away with this one after his stunning performance as Freddie Mercury.
Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Mahershala Ali, Green Book Timothee Chalamet, Beautiful Boy Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman Richard E Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me? Sam Rockwell, Vice
This one is tearing me part. I am split between Adam Driver in BlacKkKlansman and Timothee Chalamet in Beautiful Boy. Both gave outstanding performances in two films based on true stories. However, Mahershala Ali is also fabulous in Green Book!! Then there are two outstanding actors left in the nominations in Richard E Grant and Sam Rockwell and I haven’t seen their movies yet so I can’t comment on the performances. This one could literally go to anyone!! Although I am still rooting for Adam Driver…….. and Timothee Chalamet!
After the Globes come the BAFTAs and the Oscars. This is where things get a bit confusing. Follow carefully.
Jan 7th – The Nominations voting for the OSCARS begins Jan 9th – The BAFTA nominations are announced Jan 10th The BAFTA final voting opens Jan 14th – The OSCARS nominations voting closes Jan 22nd – The OSCARS nominations are announced Feb 8th – BAFTA voting closes Feb 10th – BAFTA awards ceremony Feb 12th – OSCARS final voting opens Feb 19th – OSCARS final voting closes Feb – 24th – OSCARS awards ceremony
So as you can see, with the BAFTA awards right before the final voting for the OSCARS, the BAFTAs can have a bit of an effect on the outcome of voting for the Oscars.
So here is my little review of the Oscars.
I know it’s a bit late in the day but I was a little pre-occupied with blogging about my London trip followed by a little meltdown about Uni!!
First of all, I can’t believe I managed to stay up until 5 in the morning watching them.
OK, I may have dozed in a couple of places but I did get to the end.
The show itself felt a little bit lacklustre compared to shows I’ve seen in the past, even with the amazing performaces from Keala Settle and Sufjan Stevens.
So, how did my predictions go?
I didn’t make predictions on everything. Like I said in my previous blog, Nominations Are In, I don’t really watch animation or foreign films, so it would be wrong to make any predictions.
So here are the results of what I did predict.
First and foremost, Best Picture.
As much as I wanted ‘Call Me By Your Name’ to win, I knew it wasn’t going to happen.
I tentatively predicted that ‘The Shape of Water’ would overshadow everything and I was right.
I still don’t get it though!!
Best Actor.
I knew that Gary Oldman was going to walk away with this one.
But it has been lovely seeing Timothee Chalamet relish in the spotlight. A wonderful, bubbly young man with an amazing career ahead of him. Like I said, I have no doubt there will be an Oscar in his future.
Best Actress
I couldn’t give a definitive prediction as I hadn’t seen all the films but I though it would be between Francis McDormand and Meryl Streep and I was right.
Francis McDormand gave a wonderful speech and roused the audience to acknowledge the work of women in the industry.
Best Supporting Actor.
No question about Sam Rockwell winning this one!!
I had no hesitation in predicting this one.
Best Supporting Actress.
This is another one I couldn’t definitively predict as I had only seen two of the movies.
Naturally I got it completely wrong and now I really must see ‘I, Tonya’ to see how Allison Janney’s performance nabbed her the Oscar.
Best Director.
I’m still a little bitter about the fact that Luca Guadagnino didn’t even get a nomination but I was ultimately correct in my prediction. I thought it would be between Christopher Nolan and Guillermo del Toro.
It didn’t surprise me when Guillermo del Toro bagged it.
Best Adapted Screenplay.
‘Call Me By Your Name’ all the way!!
Yay, it did at least manage to pick up one Oscar.
Deservedly so!
I’ve read the book and the screenplay captures the essence of the book brilliantly!
I’m so glad I can actually call this film an Oscar winner.
My copy arrived on Bluray on Monday and I immediately sat and watched it with a grin on my face from ear to ear and ultimately floods of tears at the end. Beautiful film.
Best Original Screenplay.
I had wanted ‘The Big Sick’ to win.
I my heart of hearts, I knew it wouldn’t but I certainly did not expect ‘Get Out’ to win.
Three Billboards and The Big Sick were streaks ahead of Get Out in my honest opinion.
Best Cinematography.
This was a tough one and I finally plonked my prediction on ‘Dunkirk’.
It went to ‘Bladerunner 2049’.
I was surprised that the academy acknowledged a sequel to a sci-fi movie!!
2 things the Academy usually steers clear of are sequels and sci-fi!!
Best Editing.
I thought that ‘Baby Driver’ would pick this one up and in the end it went to ‘Dunkirk’.
Can’t complain.
Best Sound Editing.
Surprise, surprise, I wanted ‘Star Wars’ to pick this one up.
It went to ‘Dunkirk’.
Little bit sad about this one.
The sound mixing in ‘The Last Jedi’ was incredible. Like I said in my predictions, the Holdo sacrifice scene alone was worthy of the Oscar with the complete ‘absence’ of sound leading into the explosion having a HUGE impact on the scene.
Best Sound Mixing.
Wanted ‘Star Wars’ to win, adain it went to ‘Dunkirk’
I think the challenges for sound on a Sci-Fi movie are greater.
They are creating sounds from imagination.
With a war film, it’s all about sounds we have already heard and are familiar with.
Best Production Design.
I predicted ‘The Shape of Water’ and I was right.
Best Original Score.
Obviously I wanted John Williams to win this one for ‘Star Wars’ but it ultimately went to Alexandre Desplat for ‘The Shape of Water’
I can understand it but it still disappoints me.
John Williams has already picked up 5 Oscars. One for the original 1977 ‘Star Wars’, one for ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, one for ‘Jaws’, one for ET and one for ‘Schindler’s List!! He also has a further 32 Oscar nominations to his name. With a total of 122 awards wins and 252 nominations, he is the undoubted ‘KING’ of the film score.
Best Song.
Here is my shock for the evening.
I honestly thought that ‘This is Me’ was the ONLY winner of this category. As much as I love ‘Mystery of Love’ by Sufjan Stevens, this is me is a real feel good song.
I was gobsmacked when ‘Remember Me’ from Coco won.
All the reactions I’ve watched to this category announcement have everyone in complete disbelief!
Finally, in my own predictions is Best Visual Effects.
No surprise I wanted ‘Star Wars’ to win this one but what a list of films they had to choose from.
Bladerunner 2049, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Kong: Skull Island, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, War for the Planet of the Apes.
This was a really tough category this year and it ultimately went to ‘Bladerunner 2049.
So I was about 50/50 in my predictions.
Not too bad.
Roll on the next 12 months of films.
Not that I’ll get to see many with my Uni course threatening to swallow up all my free time.
It’s only March but I can’t wait to see the end of this year already.
So! The nominations are in.
The next 2 months will be filled with BAFTAs and Oscars.
The BAFTAs will be handed out on Sunday, February 18th while we will then have to wait until Sunday, March 4th for the Oscar winners.
I’ve already given my predictions, or more specifically ‘hopes’ for the BAFTAs, so here are my ‘hopes’ for the Oscars.
I have only listed nominations that really mean anything to me personally.
I’m not a huge animated fan and I don’t watch foreign language films so it would be wrong for me to predict anything, that kind of thing.
So here goes.
Best Picture Nominations.
“Call Me by Your Name”
“Darkest Hour”
“Dunkirk”
“Get Out”
“Lady Bird”
“Phantom Thread”
“The Post”
“The Shape of Water”
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
I have, so far, seen 6 of the 9 nominated movies and as it stands, I would absolutely love to see “Call Me by Your Name” win the title.
Unfortunately, I think it will be overshadowed by “The Shape of Water”
I’ve seen both films and I just don’t get the facination with “The Shape of Water”
I’m hoping that with the current wave of ‘inclusion’ with academy voting, that the LGBT themed “Call Me by Your Name” will win favour.
The fact that it is undoubtedly the better of the two films all round, will hopefully mean it brings home the prize on it’s own merits.
Lead Actor:
Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread”
Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”
Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”
Timothee is the undoubted winner of this one in my books!!
He gives the bravest performance of the year and his career is going to sky rocket because of it. Look out for this young man.
I don’t doubt that he is in for some strong competition with Gary Oldman in “Darkest Hour” but at the end of the day, we already know Gary Oldman is an incredible actor and this is his 2nd Oscar nomination, he deserves to win…….
BUT
Timothee Chalamet gives a heart wrenching and totally open and honest performance in “Call Me by Your Name” and only at the age of 21 (Whilst filming). I cannot wait to see where his career takes him. If he doesn’t win this year then there will undoubtedly be Oscars in his future.
Lead Actress:
Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water” Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”
Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird” Meryl Streep, “The Post”
WOW, what a lineup!!
I have seen “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and Frances MxDormand gives a wonderful performance but she is up against Meryl Streep in “The Post”, a film I have yet to see. Saoirse is brilliant in “Lady Bird” but I think Frances and Meryl will be battling this one out.
Supporting Actor:
Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”
Woody Harrelson, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water”
Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World” Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Sam Rockwell!! without a doubt! Brilliant performance.
Such a versatile actor. I’ve loved him in everything I’ve seen him in, especially “Galaxy Quest”! but “Moon” is something else. How he didn’t win an Oscar for that part I’ll never know.
He’s already won a Golden Globe for “Three Billboards” so this could be his year.
Supporting Actress:
Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”
Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
Lesley Manville, “Phantom Thread” Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird” Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”
I’ve only see 2 of the nominations so I can’t really give an honest opinion but if I was forced to choose, it would be between Octavia Spencer and Laurie Metcalf. Both amazing actresses.
Director:
“Dunkirk,” Christopher Nolan
“Get Out,” Jordan Peele
“Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig
“Phantom Thread,” Paul Thomas Anderson “The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro
Here is my first disappointment.
I am so disappointed that Luca Guadagnino didn’t get a nomination at least for “Call Me by Your Name”.
Out of the nominees, this one will either go to Christopher Nolan or Guillermo del Toro.
Adapted Screenplay:
“Call Me by Your Name,” James Ivory
“The Disaster Artist,” Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
“Logan,” Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green
“Molly’s Game,” Aaron Sorkin
“Mudbound,” Virgil Williams and Dee Rees
I have just read the book and the screenplay for “Call Me by Your Name” is amazing.
It captures the essence of the story perfectly.
Original Screenplay:
“The Big Sick,” Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani
“Get Out,” Jordan Peele
“Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig
“The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Martin McDonagh
“The Big Sick” is a wonderful film. I originally saw it way back in August 2017 and honestly didn’t expect it to crop up in the Oscars at all. This would be well deserved.
Cinematography:
“Blade Runner 2049,” Roger Deakins
“Darkest Hour,” Bruno Delbonnel “Dunkirk,” Hoyte van Hoytema
“Mudbound,” Rachel Morrison
“The Shape of Water,” Dan Laustsen
This is a tough one.
There are some stunning visuals on offer in this category but I’m hoping “Dunkirk” will be enough of an impact to win.
Film Editing:
“Baby Driver,” Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss
“Dunkirk,” Lee Smith
“I, Tonya,” Tatiana S. Riegel
“The Shape of Water,” Sidney Wolinsky
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Jon Gregory
The editing in “Baby Driver” was exceptional. The suspence that was built up through exceptional editing is well worth this Oscar.
Sound Editing:
“Baby Driver,” Julian Slater
“Blade Runner 2049,” Mark Mangini, Theo Green
“Dunkirk,” Alex Gibson, Richard King
“The Shape of Water,” Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Ren Klyce, Matthew Wood
OK, “Star Wars”. What’s not to love, but the sound editing in this one is amazing, particularly in the scene where ‘Holdo’ sacrifices herself and takes out half the First Order fleet and there is about 10 seconds of complete silence that gives ‘major impact’ when the sound returns again.
That, and the fact I want to see “Star Wars” win as much as possible!!
P.S I love the story that some Americans actually complained that the film was ruined by a breakdown in the sound because of this scene and demanded their money back!!
They just ‘didn’t’ get it.
Almost as bad as having to call the first Harry Potter movie, “The Sorcerer’s Stone” because the film-makers didn’t think the American audience would know what a Philosopher was.
And we wonder how Trump became President!!
Anyway, I digress.
Sound Mixing:
“Baby Driver,” Mary H. Ellis, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin
“Blade Runner 2049,” Mac Ruth, Ron Bartlett, Doug Hephill
“Dunkirk,” Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo
“The Shape of Water,” Glen Gauthier, Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Stuart Wilson, Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick
“STAR WARS”!!! Obvs
Production Design:
“Beauty and the Beast,” Sarah Greenwood; Katie Spencer
“Blade Runner 2049,” Dennis Gassner, Alessandra Querzola
“Darkest Hour,” Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
“Dunkirk,” Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis “The Shape of Water,” Paul D. Austerberry, Jeffrey A. Melvin, Shane Vieau
As much as I didn’t ‘get’ “The Shape of Water”, I can see why it has got this nomination.
Original Score:
“Dunkirk,” Hans Zimmer
“Phantom Thread,” Jonny Greenwood
“The Shape of Water,” Alexandre Desplat “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” John Williams
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Carter Burwell
John Williams, the undoubted KING of movie scores just HAS to win.
Original Song:
“Mighty River” from “Mudbound,” Mary J. Blige “Mystery of Love” from “Call Me by Your Name,” Sufjan Stevens
“Remember Me” from “Coco,” Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez
“Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall,” Diane Warren, Common “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman,” Benj Pasek, Justin Paul
Here is where I am being torn in two!!
I think that there is no doubt that “This Is Me” will win this one for it’s feel good vibe alone, however, it will be overshadowing a really pretty song, “Mystery of Love”. A song that in any other year would have won, I have no doubt.
Visual Effects:
“Blade Runner 2049,” John Nelson, Paul Lambert, Richard R. Hoover, Gerd Nefzer
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner, Dan Sudick
“Kong: Skull Island,” Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza, Mike Meinardus “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Chris Corbould, Neal Scanlan
“War for the Planet of the Apes,” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, Joel Whist
“STAR WARS, STAR WARS, STAR WARS”!!! although there is some tough competition in this category.
So there you have it.
I’ve said my piece and now we have to wait.
The only good thing about the beginning of a new year is the buzz around films and awards.
I have always loved the Oscar buzz and as a little girl I used to stay up and watch the Oscars live on TV.
Unfortunately, the BBC stopped showing the Oscars years ago here in the UK and now we have to hunt around for anyone showing ‘highlights’ or streaming online.
Apparantly, this year, Sky Cinema will set up a channel (304) and show the Oscars live.
Whoopie!! (Can you feel the snark?)
I refuse to pay for a Sky package just to be able to watch the Oscars.
So it looks like I will be waiting for results in the news the next morning or watching pathetic highlights with the bulk of the ‘show’ cut out and absolutely no red carpet footage.
Anyway, now that I have that off my chest.
Academy members are currently voting on their choices. The voting closes on Jan 12th and the nominations will be announced on January 23 with the Oscars themselves on March 4th.
The BAFTAs announce their nomination on Jan 10th with the final show being aired on Feb 18th.
Tomorrow evening, we have The Golden Globes.
The BAFTAs and the Golden Globes are usually a pretty good indication as to where nominations for the Oscars will go but the Oscars regularly surprise us with the final outcome.
Anyway, I can’t wait to find out the nominations for Best Motion Picture Oscar.
I try to make it a thing that I see as many of the ‘Motion Picture’ nominees as possible before the awards themselves, so that I can see if I agree with the Academy.
Last year was the first year I’d actually managed to see ‘all’ of the nominations and I virtually didn’t agree with ANY of the winners.
Best picture ‘should’ have gone to Hacksaw Ridge or Hidden Figures.
Best Actor ‘should’ have gone to Andrew Garfield.
Best Actress I could live with. I hadn’t seen the other movies so couldn’t really comment.
Best Director ‘should’ have gone to Mel Gibson.
Best Cinamatography ‘should’ have gone to Silence.
Best Visual Effects ‘should’ have gone to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
The supporting Actor and Actresses are probably the only winners I really agreed with.
Anyway, back to 2018 and the Golden Globes.
The nominations, and I will only be listing my favourite film categories here.
I don’t watch an awful lot of TV these days, so I can’t really comment on it.
I also have a lot of catching up to do on some of the films so I can’t really comment on a few categories.
As we learn more about nominees and Globe and BAFTA winners, I will ‘hopefully’ be able to give more of an opinion when it comes to the Oscars themselves, so for now….
Best Motion Picture, Drama nominations……
Call Me By Your Name
Dunkirk
The Post
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
I have only seen 2 of these movies so far.
I’m hearing a lot of buzz around Three Billboards but as it stands, I REALLY want to see Call Me By Your Name win this one. It’s a stunning film.
Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy nominations……. Why do the Globes split the motion picture nominations??
The Disaster Artist
Get Out The Greatest Showman
I, Tonya
Lady Bird
How does ‘Get Out’ get put into the musical or comedy category?
Anyway, I would love to see The Greatest Showman win this one.
Best Performance in a Motion Picture, Drama – Actor……..
Timothee Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name
Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
Tom Hanks, The Post
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
Denzel Washington, Roman J Israel Esq.
My vote goes to Timothee Chalamet all day long!!
Look out for this young man, although he’s up against some tough competition.
Best Performance in a Motion Picture, Drama – Actress…..
Jessica Chastain, Molly’s Game
Sally Hawkins, Shape of Water
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Meryl Streep, The Post
Michelle Williams, All The Money In The World
I’ve only seen Molly’s Game, which is the biggest snore fest so far this year, so I can’t really comment.
Best Performance in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy – Actor………
Steve Carrell, Battle of the Sexes
Ansel Elgort, Baby Driver
James Franco, The Disaster Artist Hugh Jackman, The Greatest Showman
Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out
I would dearly love to see Hugh Jackman get this one.
Best Performance in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy – Actress…..
Judi Dench, Victoria and Abdul
Helen Mirren, The Leisure Seeker
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan – Lady Bird
Emma Stone – Battle of the Sexes
I haven’t seen any of the movies so I can’t comment.
Best Supporting Performance in a Motion Picture, Actor…..
Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project Armie Hammer, Call Me by Your Name
Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water
Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World
Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Armie Hammer!!! His onscreen chemistry with Timothee Chalamet in Call Me By Your Name was spinetinglingly good! I cannot tell you the ‘feels’ I had in the closing few minutes of the film with the ‘phone call’. My heart broke.
Best Supporting Performance in a Motion Picture – Actress…..
Mary J. Blige, Mudbound
Hong Chau, Downsizing
Allison Janney, I, Tonya
Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water
Haven’t seen any so can’t comment.
Best Director…..
Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water
Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards
Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk
Ridley Scott, All the Money In the World
Steven Spielberg, The Post
Only seen one so I can’t comment.
Best Original Song…..
Home – Ferdinand
Mighty River – Mud Bound
Remember Me – Coco
The Star – The Star This Is Me – The Greatest Showman
This Is Me ‘HAS’ to win this one!!!!
So there you have it!
I have a lot of catching up to do before the Oscars but the race is now on.
I can pretty much guarantee that none of the ones I want to win will actually win, but it’s fun to try and guess!
Thankfully I’m not back at Uni for a while so I can sneek in as many movies as I can before Oscar day. Starting today!!
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