Tag / David Parker

by admin

And The (Socially Distanced) Nominees Are

side_oscarAfter a year like no other, the 93rd Academy Awards are going down Sunday night.  Given that movie theaters were closed for the majority of 2020 thanks to the corona virus, I don’t know that I’ve heard of many of these movies let alone seen them.  So, with less basis in fact than most years, here’s my uneducated predictions for the non-acting awards.

Best Original Screenplay

Will Berson and Shaka King, Judas and the Black Messiah
Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
Darius Marder and Abraham Marder, Sound of Metal
Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7

I’ve seen none of these films, so this is a total shot in the dark, but I’ve at least heard of The Trial of the Chicago 7.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman, Lee Kern, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller, The Father
Chloe Zhao, Nomadland
Kemp Powers, One Night In Miami…
Ramin Bahrani, The White Tiger

I don’t want to live in a world where a Borat movie wins a writing Oscar, so I’ll go with Nomadland.

Best Animated Feature

Onward
Over The Moon
A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Soul
Wolfwalkers

Soul is the only one I’ve heard of.

Best Cinematography

Sean Bobbitt, Judas and the Black Messiah
Erik Messerschmidt, Mank
Dariusz Wolski, News of the World
Joshua James Richards, Nomadland
Phedon Papamichael, The Trial of the Chicago 7

I’ve got no clue.

Best Costume Design

Alexandra Byrne, Emma
Ann Roth, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Trish Sumemrville, Mank
Bina Daigeler, Mulan
Massimo Cantini Parrini, Pinocchio

A tale of Hollywood’s past is my choice to win this particular prize.

Continue reading →

by admin

Those Non-Acting Oscars

side_oscarThe 90th Academy Awards are going down next Sunday night, so here’s my uneducated predictions for the non-acting awards. I have seen a couple of these movies, so I will still mostly be going on gut feel and word of mouth with just a little bit of personal experience.

Best Original Screenplay

Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, The Big Sick
Jordan Peele, Get Out
Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor, The Shape Of Water
Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

I’ve actually seen three of these films, and, while I would love for Emily and Kumail to win, my money is going on Jordan Peele for Get Out.

Best Adapted Screenplay

James Ivory, Call Me By Your Name
Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, The Disaster Artist
Scott Frank, James Mangold, and Michael Green, Logan
Aaron Sorkin, Molly’s Game
Virgil Williams and Dee Rees, Mudbound

I’ve only seen one of these, but my guess is that the legend behind the story of The Disaster Artist will earn it the nod.

Best Animated Feature

The Boss Baby
The Breadwinner
Coco
Ferdinand
Loving Vincent

I’ve only heard of two of these, one of which is from the good folks at Pixar, so I’ll go with that.

Best Cinematography

Roger A. Deakins, Blade Runner 2049
Bruno Delbonnel, Darkest Hour
Hoyte van Hoytema, Dunkirk
Rachel Morrison, Mudbound
Dan Laustsen, The Shape Of Water

Well, again I’ve seen none of these, so I will go with the war epic Dunkirk.

Best Costume Design

Jacqueline Durran, Beauty And The Beast
Jacqueline Durran, Darkest Hour
Mark Bridges, Phantom Thread
Luis Sequeira, The Shape Of Water
Consolata Boyle, Victoria & Abdul

Another category where I’m at a loss, so I’ll go with the live action Disney hit.

Continue reading →

by admin

Predicting Those Non-Acting Oscars

side_oscarThe 89th Academy Awards are going down next Sunday night, so here’s my uneducated predictions for the non-acting awards. I likely have seen very few of these movies, so I will mostly be going on gut feel and word of mouth rather than personal experience.

Best Original Screenplay

Taylor Sheridan, Hell or High Water
Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou, The Lobster
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By The Sea
Mike Mills, 20th Century Women

I haven’t seen any of these films yet, but I do know that there is nothing Hollywood likes more than a love letter to Hollywood, which is pretty much what I’ve been led to believe La La Land is.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Eric Heisserer, Arrival
August Wilson, Fences
Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi, Hidden Figures
Luke Davies, Lion
Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney, Moonlight

Another category where I have not seen any of the nominated work. I’m guessing, based on very little, that Moonlight will win this one.

Best Animated Feature

Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life As A Zucchini
The Red Turtle
Zootopia

I’ve only heard of two of these, neither of which I can see taking home an Oscar.  So, I’m going out on a ledge here and going with The Red Turtle.

Best Cinematography

Bradford Young, Arrival
Linus Sandgren, La La Land
Greig Fraser, Lion
James Laxton, Moonlight
Rodrigo Prieto, Silence

Well, again I’ve seen none of these, so I will once again go with La La Land, though Arrival may be a strong contender.

Best Costume Design

Joanna Johnston, Allied
Colleen Atwood, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them
Consolata Boyle, Florence Foster Jenkins
Madeline Fontaine, Jackie
Mary Zophres, La La Land

Another category where I’m at a loss, so I’ll stick with my theme so far and go with Mary Zophres for her work on La La Land.

Continue reading →

by jim

And The Oscar Goes To

Tonight is the 84th annual Academy Awards.  Here are my predictions:

Best Motion Picture of the Year

The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Of the nominated films, Moneyball is the only one I’ve seen.  I think The Artist takes home the award.  It is definitely the type of film the Academy likes to reward.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Demián Bichir for A Better Life
George Clooney for The Descendants
Jean Dujardin for The Artist
Gary Oldman for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt for Moneyball

Again, Brad Pitt’s performance in Moneyball is the only one I’ve seen.  Clooney seems to have some momentum on his side.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Continue reading →