Tag / Nebraska

by jim

The Lesser Oscar Predictions

side_oscarWith the Academy Awards scheduled for Sunday night, here’s my 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.

Best Original Screenplay

Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell, American Hustle

Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine

Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack, Dallas Buyers Club

Spike Jonze, Her

Bob Nelson, Nebraska

I haven’t seen any of these films yet.  The backlash against Woody Allen after the Golden Globes will likely hurt him.  I’m thinking Spike Jonze’s tale of falling in love with a Siri-like AI will take home the prize.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke, Before Midnight

Billy Ray, Captain Phillips

Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, Philomena

John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave

Terence Winter, The Wolf of Wall Street

Slave and The Wolf of Wall Street, with John Ridley taking home the Oscar for his adaptation of the 1853 memoir.

Best Animated Feature

Frozen

The Croods

The Wind Rises

Despicable Me 2

Ernest & Celestine

Again, I haven’t seen any of these and I’m likely not ever going to.  That said, Frozen appears to be a hit for the ages, so I’m going to go wih that.

Best Cinematography

Philippe Le Sourd, The Grandmaster

Emmanuel Lubezki, Gravity

Bruno Delbonnel, Inside Llewyn Davis

Phedon Papamichael, Nebraska

Roger A. Deakins, Prisoners

The technical wizadry that was Gravity should have no problem taking home this prize.

Best Costume Design

Michael Wilkinson, American Hustle

William Chang Suk Ping, The Grandmaster

Catherine Martin, The Great Gatsby

Michael O’Connor, The Invisible Woman

Patricia Norris, 12 Years a Slave

There’s nothing Oscar voters for this category like more than period pieces, and this year gives them many to choose from. My guess is that the Roaring 20s will rule the day and that The Great Gatsby will take home the prize.

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by admin

The Big 14

The Big 10 is expanding again, with yesterday’s announcement that Maryland will join the conference in 2014 and the expected announcement today that Rutgers will follow suit.  Unlike the previous expansion, when Nebraska joined in 2011, there is no argument that can be made that this is being done for athletic or academic reasons.  This move is being made for one reason, and one reason only: to expand the reach of the Big Ten Network.

The hope is that cable outlets in Baltimore, Washington, and New York will pick up the network, bringing in millions in additional rights fees for the conference and its member schools.  Of course, this ignores the fact that New York is apathetic about college football in general and, specifically, Rutgers football.  Baltimore may also be a tough sell.

On the football field, the two new schools are expected to join the Leaders division, pushing Illinois to the Legends division in 2014.  This means that instead of Michigan, Northwestern, or Iowa, Wisconisn or Purdue will have yearly matchups with their “traditional” rivals from the east coast.  More teams also means that the amount of time it takes to rotate through the other division will be increased, potentially harming rivalries that have been around for 100 years or more.

On the basketball court, it is rumored that this expansion will lead to divisions there as well.  Again, this would lead to fewer opportunities to play traditional rivals while having home and home dates with a traditional basketball powerhouse like Rutgers.

Is this the end?  Probably not.  There are already rumors that the conference is looking to add an additional two teams, bringing the total up to 16.  Possible candidates that are being metioned include Florida State, North Carolina, and Texas.  Traditions destroyed, all so that someone in Manhattan might be able to get BTN as part of their cable package.  I hope the extra scheckles are worth it.