Oscar Winners

It is now time to see how well I understand Hollywood and the Academy. Who did I pick and who actually won?

Best Picture:

I chose: The Artist
The Academy chose: The Artist
+1

Actor in Leading Role:

I chose: Jean Dujardin or George Clooney
The Academy chose: Jean Dujardin
+1

Actress in Leading Role: 

I chose: Michelle Williams
The Academy chose: Meryl Streep
+0

Actor in Supporting Role:

I chose: Kenneth Branagh
The Academny chose: Christopher Plummer
+0

Actress in Supporting Role:

I chose: Octavia Spencer
The Academy chose: Octavia Spencer
+1

Animated Feature Film:

I chose: Chico&Rita
The Academy chose: Rango
+0

Cinematography: 

I chose: Hugo or War Horse
The Academy chose: Hugo
+1

Directing: 

I chose: Scorsese, Allen or Payne
The Academy chose: Michel Hazanavicius
+0

Total Score: 4/8= 50%

I think I did pretty well. I was rather surprised that Streep won, I was almost sure that Williams would win. I was also surprised that many people were so sure that Viola Davis would win, I really was not thinking that. Her character in the movie was very endearing and she played her very well but I just didn't see it happening. I was surprised that Christopher Plummer won, but very happy. I actually wanted him to win but did not think he had a chance. I wasn't surprised about the Animated feature even though my pick was Chico and Rita. I'm still convinced that it won because Johnny Depp was in it. 

Oh I guess I should also mention my little "it's safe to say Iran won't win in the Foreign Film Category" bit thing. Yeah...Iran totally won. I guess that's good. I really thought that the Academy would take a political stance on it, well maybe they still did but just in a different way. I think the speech that Asghar Farhadi gave was lovely. I also thought that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's speech was nice.  

As far as general thoughts on the Oscars, I just thought they could not manage to try to kiss their own a$$ any more than they have. It was funny at times but my goodness, so delusional about their importance and so out of touch with reality. I think arts are important. I think movies are important and can be life changing but it is not rocket science. Angelina Jolie-what was she thinking? I would've expected that kind of thing from J-Lo or someone (by the way what was that butt thing she and Cameron Diaz did? :S) but not Angelina. Jim Rash is forever my hero now. 

Oscar Picks

The time has come for my annual Oscar Picks post. By annual I obviously mean this is the first time I've ever  done one and hopefully I'll remember to do one next year. Anyway, let's get started.

Best Picture
Nominees:

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

Prediction: I think it will be The Artist. I just think it's the kind of a movie that the Academy folk likes. It's different than most of the stuff out there but it's not groundbreaking or way out there.

Actor in Leading Role
Nominees:

Demian Bichir
George Clooney
Jean Dujardin
Gary Oldman
Brad Pitt

Prediction: It's between Jean Dujardin and George Clooney  for me. Clooney is basically Mr. Hollywood. They like him as a spokesperson for the rich, famous and marginally talented so I think he would get the popular vote but  Dujardin is sort of the new charming intriguing guy at school so it could go to him.

Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees:

Glenn Close
Viola Davis
Rooney Mara
Meryl Streep
Michelle Williams

Prediction: Michelle Williams. Meryl Streep is always a good choice and she probably will get loads of votes but I think there is more buzz around Williams and I'm sure that Hollywood finds Marilyn Monroe more interesting than Margaret Thatcher.

Actor in Supporting Role
 Nominees:

Kenneth Branagh
Jonah Hill
Nick Nolte
Christopher Plummer
Max von Sydow

Prediction: Kenneth Branagh. Once again the charm of Marilyn Monroe will be the deciding factor here. Unless the academy tries prove that they're hip and go with Jonah Hill but I doubt it.

Actress in Supporting Role
Nominees:

Berenice Bejo
Jessica Chastain
Melissa McCarthy
Janet McTeer
Octavia Spencer

Prediction:  This one is tough. I think it will be between Spencer and McCarthy. Personally I didn't find either of those performances Oscar worthy but their characters are much beloved. I am leaning more towards Spencer on this one.

Animated Feature Film
Nominees:

A Cat in Paris
Chico and Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

Prediction: I have not seen any of them. This category tends to be rather stupid for me because obviously there aren't many animated movies being made and so the Academy just throws in the ones they've heard of. I'm going to go with Chico&Rita  for the simple reason that the poster looks cute... I'm going to guess that that's how the Academy will be choosing a winner in this category as well. Or maybe they'll just pick Rango because Johnny Depp was in it.

Cinematography
Nominees:

The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Prediction: I am going with Hugo or War Horse.

Directing
Nominees:

The Artist- Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants- Alexander Payne
Hugo- Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris- Woody Allen
The Tree of Life- Terrence Malick

Prediction: Well I think that it is a law that when nominated Scorsese and Allen  must win but I also think that the Academy will try to remedy the whole situation of The Artist winning Best Picture that they might award this to Alexander Payne. I know, my commitment to a decision is comparable to George Clooneys' commitment to a woman.


And that's about it. There obviously are other categories some of which are rather interesting but I'm not even going to attempt to guess the winners because I am that clueless. I do think it's safe to say that Iran will not win in the Foreign Film category.  

People suck

Yesterday I read a lot of news articles. About halfway though my day I lost the will to live in this world. Not only are there people out there doing horrible things to other people but there are also horrible people who comment on those stories. There are so many idiots in this world with completely distorted view of reality. I'm not talking about those people whose political and moral views oppose mine so much that I think they're morons, I'm talking about those people who read a story about child abuse, murder, death, illness and then comment things like "one less person in the world, no big deal". I know that some people comment those things just to upset others and they don't mean it but I think that makes them even worse than the people who actually do mean it. You know it's a horrible thing to say but you still think it would be funny to say, just to anger the people who just read a heartbreaking story. Real winner you are!