Monday, January 29, 2007

SAG Winners!

Sigh. Boring...

BEST ENSEMBLE: Little Miss Sunshine
-Well, I can't say I'm surprised because this is a very typical choice of SAG (a critically acclaimed, well acted independent comedy almost always wins here). Does this boost its Best Picture chances? A litte. We'll see where the buzz goes.

BEST ACTOR: Forest Whitaker
-I guess he's entering lock territory now. He was great in "Scotland," but I just really think that O'Toole should win a competetive Oscar at some point in his life. Oh well. He'll always have his honorary award.

BEST ACTRESS: Helen Mirren
-If anyone ever questioned her ability to win, which they didn't, it's now official. All they have to do now is adjust to best suit her.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Eddie Murphy
-Will he do it? I guess so. I was really hoping for Arkin here, and I really don't think that Murphy WANTS the Oscar. If he did he wouldn't do movies like Norbit.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Jennifer Hudson
-I'm almost ready to use the word "lock."

Well, that's that. What are everyone's thoughts? AND, didn't you looove the Julie Andrews tribute?

Sunday, January 28, 2007

My Final SAG Predictions

We'll see tonight (watch the Screen Actor's Guild Awards tonight at 8:00 California time on TNT.)

Best Ensemble: Little Miss Sunshine
Possible Upset: Babel

Best Actor: Peter O' Toole - Venus
Possible Upset: Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland

Best Actress: Helen Mirren - The Queen (duh)
Possible Upset: Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal

Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin-Little Miss Sunshine
Possible Upset: Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed OR Eddie Murphy-Dreamgirls

Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
Possible Upset: Adrianna Barraza-Babel

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Final SAG Predictions

This year's Screen Actors Guild Awards have been especially tough for me to predict. But anyway, here are my final SAG predictions-

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Winner- Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls

Hudson has won the Golden Globe and several other critics awards. She seems like the clear favorite, although she is not my favorite of the nominees. I personally think Adriana Barraza did the best supporting role this year by an actress. But, my upset here would be Abigail Breslin for "Little Miss Sunshine".

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Winner- Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine

Arkin is a veteran actor and the SAG like to award that. His performance was one that even though he had little screen time, he made it excellent. Eddie Murphy won the Golden Globe, but I think Arkin will win this and eventually win the Oscar. Murphy would be the possible upset.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Winner- Helen Mirren, The Queen

Nothing to say.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Winner- Peter O'Toole, Venus

For the same reason that I am predicting Alan Arkin, I am predicting O'Toole. I have thought for a while that Forest Whitaker would take either the Golden Globe or the SAG and O'Toole would take the other. If Whitaker wins though, he is my potential upset, then he has the Oscar.

Best Performance by an Ensemble

Winner- Little Miss Sunshine

After winning the PGA, this would be next. "Babel" is the upset. What would be funny is if "Bobby" wins this, seeing as it has no Oscar nominations.

Can't wait for the winners tomorrow.

Friday, January 26, 2007

Best Picture breakdown

Well, now that the Academy Award nominations are in, we can look at the big surprises. First of all, Dreamgirls, the clear favorite in everybody's mind to take home the trophy, wasn't even nominated for Best Picture, Director or Adapted Screenplay, even though it received the most nominations with 8 (even though 3 of them were for Best Original Song), which proves how great a year this has been for movies. Instead, we have one of the most interesting Best Picture races in recent memory. Leading the pack is Babel with 7 nominations which took the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Drama, with one of the best writing-directing pair of the 21st century in Guillermo Arriaga and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, both picking up nominations in their respective categories. Following closely with 6 nominations, The Queen has proven to be one of the strongest competitors this season, with a strong script by Peter Morgan, an excellent direction from Stephen Frears and a stellar performance from Helen Mirren who will win the Best Actress in a leading role Oscar with her eyes shut. My favorite to win Best Picture is The Departed, picking up only 5 nominations which is a little disappointing, especially since Leonardo DiCaprio and Jack Nicholson failed to pick up nominations for this film, but it should not be surprising if they pick up 4 of them, especially since this has been most definitely Martin Scorsese's year, and William Monahan's screenplay should win and I expect this film to win the award for Best Film Editing. It will be a tight race between Babel and The Departed, but Scorsese's picture will not be ignored this year. Mark Wahlberg picked up the only acting nod for this film, and he should be the closest competitor for Eddie Murphy in the Supporting category, but I don't think it'll be enough to knock him off. Next, we have the Cinderella story of the year, Little Miss Sunshine, which came all the way from the Sundance Film Festival to the Top 5, picking up only 4 nominations, but all of them are in the Big 8, as Alan Arkin and Abigail Breslin were nominated in the Supporting categories, and Michael Arndt for his original screenplay. Although it's the best comedy of the year, the nomination is the film's win since it failed to pick up a directing nomination and it faces some very tough competitors, but make no mistake, it deserves it's place. Finally, we have Letters From Iwo Jima, the latest picture by Clint Eastwood which was supposed to be released this year but they advanced the screenings just in time for Oscar season, and we have one of the most touching war films ever made, in the lining of Doctor Zhivago and Saving Private Ryan. With 4 nominations, this film could be an upset winner come Oscar night, and has everyone talking about a second round between Eastwood and Scorsese, but I believe Scorsese will not be snubbed this time. As for Paul Haggis, a threepeat for him seems unlikely as his script is in a category with Little Miss Sunshine, Babel, The Queen and Pan's Labyrinth. I expect either Babel or the Queen to win that category, but we can't count out Little Miss Sunshine either.
Maybe this is a new tendancy for the Oscars, but in the past few years, with the exception of the sweep by the Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King, no film has received more than 6 Oscars in the last 8 years, and it seems more difficult to pick a clear winner for the Best Picture Oscar which impresses me since it keeps a very good level of suspense throughout the evening, and it drives the Academy to produce better shows every year to impress its public, to give them a worthy Award ceremony. Indeed, it's been two years in a row since everybody picked a clear winner but the Academy chose otherwise for Best Picture (Million Dollar Baby over The Aviator and Crash over Brokeback Mountain), even though the favorites received the most nominations among Best Picture nominees, so those of you who pick Babel to win simply because of its 7 nods, be careful since the Academy won't only look at the technical aspect of the film but the storytelling is the most important criteria, so choose your predictions wisely, and good luck to everybody.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Early edition out there picks for Oscar Winners

I'm kind of playing it safe with my picks on my website, so I decided I'll go with the more out there picks here, just to spice things up a little. Here are my early edition picks for the Oscars (some aren't really that out there).

Best Picture:
Little Miss Sunshine - It could be this year's Crash. It's continually gaining support.

Best Director:
Martin Scorcese - I would feel guilty picking any one else.

Best Actor:
Peter O'Toole - People are starting to remember him. He's been a little more public lately.

Best Actress:
Helen Mirren - I mean, come on.

Best Supporting Actor:
Mark Wahlberg - With Leo out, the acting push for the movie will be here.

Best Supporting Actress:
Abigail Breslin - The movie is getting stronger.

Best Original Screenplay:
Pan's Labyrinth - If enough people see it.

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Borat - How badly do people want to see Sacha Baron Cohen's acceptance speech?

I would make predictions in other categories, too, but the small categories don't particularly have "favorites" at this point.

Can Clint Do it Again?

I've seen some sites predicting "Letters From Iwo Jima" to get Best Picture and Best Director. Having not seen it, I cannot comment on if that is deserving, but I think we can all agree that, even if Clint Eastwood is a phenomenal director, his 2 Oscars are enough and it's time that Martin Scorsese finnaly gets the Oscar he deserves so much. So I'm just going to stay positivie and predict The Departed to take Best Picture AND Best Director. How about everyone else?

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

The Official Nominations for the 79th Annual Academy Awards

1. Best Picture:
"Babel,"
"The Departed,"
"Letters From Iwo Jima,"
"Little Miss Sunshine,"
"The Queen."

2. Actor:
Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond";
Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson";
Peter O'Toole, "Venus";
Will Smith, "The Pursuit of Happyness";
Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland."

3. Actress:
Penelope Cruz, "Volver";
Judi Dench, "Notes on a Scandal";
Helen Mirren, "The Queen";
Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada";
Kate Winslet, "Little Children."

4. Supporting Actor:
Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine";
Jackie Earle Haley, "Little Children";
Djimon Hounsou, "Blood Diamond";
Eddie Murphy, "Dreamgirls";
Mark Wahlberg, "The Departed." (I WAS RIGHT!!)

5. Supporting Actress:
Adriana Barraza, "Babel";
Cate Blanchett, "Notes on a Scandal";
Abigail Breslin, "Little Miss Sunshine";
Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls";
Rinko Kikuchi, "Babel."

6. Directing:
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, "Babel";
Martin Scorsese, "The Departed";
Clint Eastwood, "Letters From Iwo Jima";
Stephen Frears, "The Queen";
Paul Greengrass, "United 93."

7. Foreign Language Film:
"After the Wedding," Denmark;
"Days of Glory (Indigenes)," Algeria;
"The Lives of Others," Germany;
"Pan's Labyrinth," Mexico;
"Water," Canada.

8. Adapted Screenplay:
Sacha Baron Cohen and Anthony Hines and Peter Baynham and Dan Mazer and Todd Phillips,
"Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan";
Alfonso Cuaron and Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, "Children of Men";
William Monahan, "The Departed";
Todd Field and Tom Perrotta, "Little Children";
Patrick Marber, "Notes on a Scandal."

9. Original Screenplay:
Guillermo Arriaga, "Babel";
Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis, "Letters From Iwo Jima";
Michael Arndt, "Little Miss Sunshine";
Guillermo del Toro, "Pan's Labyrinth";
Peter Morgan, "The Queen."

10. Animated Feature Film:
"Cars,"
"Happy Feet,"
"Monster House."

11. Art Direction:
"Dreamgirls,"
"The Good Shepherd,"
"Pan's Labyrinth,"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest,"
"The Prestige."

12. Cinematography:
"The Black Dahlia,"
"Children of Men,"
"The Illusionist,"
"Pan's Labyrinth,"
"The Prestige."

13. Sound Mixing:
"Apocalypto,"
"Blood Diamond,"
"Dreamgirls,"
"Flags of Our Fathers,"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."

14. Sound Editing:
"Apocalypto,"
"Blood Diamond,"
"Flags of Our Fathers,"
"Letters From Iwo Jima,"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."

15. Original Score:
"Babel," Gustavo Santaolalla;
"The Good German," Thomas Newman;
"Notes on a Scandal," Philip Glass;
"Pan's Labyrinth," Javier Navarrete;
"The Queen," Alexandre Desplat.

16. Original Song:
"I Need to Wake Up" from "An Inconvenient Truth," Melissa Etheridge;
"Listen" from "Dreamgirls," Henry Krieger, Scott Cutler and Anne Preven;
"Love You I Do" from "Dreamgirls," Henry Krieger and Siedah Garrett;
"Our Town" from "Cars," Randy Newman;
"Patience" from "Dreamgirls," Henry Krieger and Willie Reale.

17. Costume:
"Curse of the Golden Flower,"
"The Devil Wears Prada,"
"Dreamgirls,"
"Marie Antoinette,"
"The Queen."

18. Documentary Feature:
"Deliver Us From Evil,"
"An Inconvenient Truth,"
" Iraq in Fragments,"
"Jesus Camp,"
"My Country, My Country."

19. Documentary (short subject):
"The Blood of Yingzhou District,"
"Recycled Life,"
"Rehearsing a Dream,"
"Two Hands."

20. Film Editing:
"Babel,"
"Blood Diamond,"
"Children of Men,"
"The Departed,"
"United 93."

21. Makeup:
"Apocalypto,"
"Click,"
"Pan's Labyrinth."

22. Animated Short Film:
"The Danish Poet,"
"Lifted,"
"The Little Matchgirl,"
"Maestro,"
"No Time for Nuts."

23. Live Action Short Film:
"Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea),"
"Eramos Pocos (One Too Many),"
"Helmer & Son,"
"The Saviour,"
" West Bank Story."

24. Visual Effects:
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest,"
"Poseidon,"
"Superman Returns."

Nominations Announced!

Well, let me start by saying what I know everyone is expecting me to:

WOW.

Dreamgirls gets completely shut out for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Did NOT see that one coming. The Departed is now the adjusted frontrunner for me.

And does anyone else have horrible hopes for Marty now that Clint has entered the BP category? I'm not going to predict against him, but I REALLY hope he pulls it off.

And I was also shocked that Mark Wahlberg was the only one that got a nomination from The Departed (*cough* Who predicted him? *cough*). I thought there would be AT LEAST Jack and Leo. Guess not.

Also, Volver wasn't nominated for Foreign Film. Does that hurt Cruz's chances? Well, since Mirren is in the race, it couldn't matter less. The nomination is Cruz's-and everyone else in her category's-reward.

I'll post the official nominations later today when I can grab a hold of the Technical Nods, Shorts and Documentary. Until then, what are everyone's thoughts?

Monday, January 22, 2007

Nominations Tomorrow!

Tomorrow at 5:30 Pacific Coast Time, the official nominations will be announced for The 79th Annual Academy Awards on ABC. What will everyone be doing? Any last minute predictions? We'll be covering the nominations for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor, Original Screenplay, Adapted Screenplay, Foreign Film and Animated film (they won't announce technical nods live). See you then!

Sunday, January 21, 2007

My Final Nomination Predix

Here they are. We'll test their accuracy on Tuesday...

BEST PICTURE
Babel
The Departed
Dreamgirls
The Queen
Little Miss Sunshine

BEST DIRECTOR
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu-Babel
Martin Scorsese-The Departed
Bill Condon-Dreamgirls
Clint Eastwood-Letters From Iwo Jima
Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris-Little Miss Sunshine

BEST ACTOR
Forest Whitaker-The Last King of Scotland
Leonardo DiCaprio-The Departed
Peter O'Toole-Venus
Will Smith-The Pursuit of Happyness
Ryan Gosling-Half Nelson

BEST ACTRESS
Helen Mirren-The Queen
Judi Dench-Notes on a Scandal
Penelope Cruz-Volver
Kate Winslet-Little Children
Meryl Streep-The Devil Wears Prada

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Eddie Murphy-Dreamgirls
Jackie Earle Haley-Little Children
Alan Arkin-Little Miss Sunshine
Jack Nicholson-The Departed
Mark Wahlberg-The Departed

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Hudson-Dreamgirls
Cate Blanchett-Notes on a Scandal
Adrianna Barraza-Babel
Rinko Kikuchi-Babel
Abigail Breslin-Little Miss Sunshine

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Babel
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen
United 93
Volver

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Children of Men
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Notes on a Scandal
Letters From Iwo Jima

BEST FILM EDITING
Babel
Children of Men
The Departed
The Queen
Dreamgirls

BEST ART DIRECTION
Curse of the Golden Flower
Dreamgirls
Marie Antoinette
The Good German
Pan's Labyrinth

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Marie Antoinette
Dreamgirls
Bobby
The Good German
Curse of the Golden Flower

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Babel
Dreamgirls
The Departed
Children of Men
Curse of the Golden Flower

BEST MAKEUP
Apocalypto
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans' Chest
Pan's Labyrinth

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The DaVinci Code
The Painted Veil
The Fountain
Babel
Letters From Iwo Jima

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Listen"-Dreamgirls
"Song of the Heart"-Happy Feet
"Never Gonna Break My Faith"-Bobby
"A Father's Way"-The Pursuit of Happyness
"I Need to Wake Up"-An Inconvenient Truth

BEST SOUND MIXING
Dreamgirls
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Superman Returns
A Prairie Home Companion
Flags of our Fathers

BEST SOUND EDITING
Dreamgirls
United 93
Superman Returns
The Departed
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Superman Returns
X-Men: The Last Stand

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
An Inconvenient Truth
The War Tapes
Iraq in Fragments
Jesus Camp
Deliver us From Evil

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Cars
Monster House
Happy Feet

BEST FOREIGN FILM
The Lives of Others
Pan's Labyrinth
Volver
Curse of the Golden Flower
Nomad

TOTAL NOMINATIONS FOR BEST PICTURE NOMIANTED FILMS:
Dreamgirls-12 Nominations
The Departed-9 Nominations
Babel-8 Nominations
Little Miss Sunshine-5 Nominations
The Queen-4 Nominations

Little Miss Sunshine Takes PGA????

I wish the Best Picture race was a little more confusing.

I'm thrilled that my favorite film of the year, Little Miss Sunshine, took the Producers Guild of America Award. But now, if The Queen takes the BAFTA (which it likely will), Best Picture is anyone's race. Hmm...

Saturday, January 20, 2007

David Tolentino's final predictions of the 79th annual Academy Awards nominations

Best Picture

Babel
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Letters From Iwo Jima
The Queen

Best Director

Bill Condon - Dreamgirls
Clint Eastwood - Letters From Iwo Jima
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Babel
Paul Greengrass - United 93
Martin Scorsese - The Departed

Best Actor In A Leading Role

Leonardo DiCaprio - Blood Diamond
Peter O'Toole - Venus
Will Smith - The Pursuit Of Happyness
Ken Watanabe - Letters From Iwo Jima
Forest Whitaker - The Last King Of Scotland

Best Actress In A Leading Role

Penelope Cruz - Volver
Judi Dench - Notes On A Scandal
Helen Mirren - The Queen
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet - Little Children

Best Actor In A Supporting Role

Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed
Jackie Earle Haley - Little Children
Djimon Hounsou - Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls
Jack Nicholson - The Departed

Best Actress In A Supporting Role

Adriana Barraza - Babel
Cate Blanchett - Notes On A Scandal
Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi - Babel

Best Adapted Screenplay

Children Of Men
The Departed
Little Children
Notes On A Scandal
Thank You For Smoking

Best Original Screenplay

Babel
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen
Volver

Best Film Editing

Babel
Children Of Men
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Letters From Iwo Jima

Best Art Direction

Children Of Men
Dreamgirls
Letters From Iwo Jima
Marie Antoinette
Pan's Labyrinth

Best Costume Design

Bobby
Curse Of The Golden Flower
Dreamgirls
The Good German
Marie Antoinette

Best Cinematography

Apocalypto
Children Of Men
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Letters From Iwo Jima

Best Makeup

Apocalypto
Pan's Labyrinth
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Best Original Score

Babel
The Da Vinci Code
The Fountain
Letters From Iwo Jima
The Painted Veil

Best Original Song

Bobby - ''Never Gonna Break My Faith''
Dreamgirls - ''Listen''
Happy Feet - ''Song Of The Heart''
An Inconvenient Truth - ''I Need To Wake Up''
The Pursuit Of Happyness - ''A Father's Way''

Best Sound Mixing

The Departed
Dreamgirls
Letters From Iwo Jima
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Superman Returns

Best Sound Effects Editing

Dreamgirls
Letters From Iwo Jima
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Superman Returns
United 93

Best Visual Effects

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Superman Returns
X-Men: The Last Stand

Best Animated Feature Film

Cars
Happy Feet
Monster House

Best Documentary Feature

Deliver Us From Evil
An Inconvenient Truth
Iraq In Fragments
Shut Up & Sing
The War Tapes

Best Foreign Language Film

Curse Of The Golden Flower (China)
The Lives Of Others (Germany)
Pan's Labyrinth (Mexico)
Volver (Spain)
Water (Canada)

On Tuesday, we'll have the final tally, but one thing is certain; this year was filled with films and performances that would merit Academy Award nominations, and this Oscar ceremony will be one of the best we've seen in recent years, that's my bet. We'll know for sure Tuesday morning, so don't forget to tune in.

Brian Kess's final predictions

Hi everybody, my name is Brian Kess. This is my first entry on the blog, and how appropriate that it will be my final Oscar nominee predictions. Let's get cracking, shall we?

I'm also going to include a "Surprise Nominee" in the Big 8 categories - an unlikely pick that could surprise us all with a nomination.

BEST PICTURE
Dreamgirls
Babel
The Departed
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

Surprise Nominee: Bobby

BEST DIRECTOR
Bill Condon/ DREAMGIRLS
Alejandro Gonzalez I/ BABEL
Martin Scorsese/ THE DEPARTED
Clint Eastwood/ LETTERS FRMO IWO JIMA
Paul Greengrass/ UNITED 93

Suprise Nominee: Robert Altman/ A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Peter O'Toole/ VENUS
Will Smith/ THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
Forest Whitaker/ THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
Leonardo DiCaprio/ THE DEPARTED
Ryan Gosling/ HALF NELSON

Surprise Nominee: Ken Watanabe/ LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Kate Winslet/ LITTLE CHILDREN
Helen Mirren/ THE QUEEN
Judi Dench/ NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Meryl Streep/ THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
Penelope Cruz/ VOLVER

Surprise Nominee: Sienna Miller/ FACTORY GIRL

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Jackie E. Haley/ LITTLE CHILDREN
Eddie Murphy/ DREAMGIRLS
Michael Sheen/ THE QUEEN
Jack Nicholson/ THE DEPARTED
Brad Pitt/ BABEL

Surprise Nominee: Adam Beach/ FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Cate Blanchet/ NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Rinko Kikuchi/ BABEL
Adrianna Barraza/ BABEL
Jennifer Hudson/ DREAMGIRLS
Abigail Breslin/ LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

Surprise Nominee: Sharon Stone/ BOBBY and Anika Noni Rose/ DREAMGIRLS

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Babel
The Queen
Little Miss Sunshine
Stranger than Fiction
United 93

Surprise Nominee: Pan's Labyrinth

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Little Children
The Devil Wears Prada
Thank You For Smoking

Surprise Nominee: A Prairie Home Companion

BEST EDITING
United 93
Dreamgirls
The Departed
The Queen
Letters from Iwo Jima

BEST ART DIRECTION
Dreamgirls
The Good German
Marie Antoinette
Pan's Labyrinth
Letters from Iwo Jima

BEST COSTUMES
Bobby
Marie Antoinette
Dreamgirls
The Curse of the Golden Flower
The Good German

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Apocalypto
Dreamgirls
Chilren of Men
The Departed
Curse of the Golden Flower

BEST MAKEUP
Pan's Labyrinth
Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest
Apocalypto

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Painted Veil
The Fountain
Babel
The Departed
The Da Vinci Code

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Listen" - Dreamgirls
"A Father's Way" - The Pursuit of Happyness
"The Song of the Heart" - Happy Feet
"Never Gonna Break My Faith" - Bobby
"You Know My Name" - Casino Royale

BEST SOUND MIXING
Dreamgirls
Superman Returns
Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest
Letters from Iwo Jima
A Prairie Home Companion

BEST SOUND EDITING
Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest
Dreamgirls
United 93
Superman Returns
The Departed

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS
Superman Returns
X-Men: The Last Stand
Charlotte's Web

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Iraq in Fragments
An Inconvenient Truth
Jesus Camp
Shut Up & Sing
The War Tapes

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Cars
Happy Feet
Monster House

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Volver, Spain
Pan's Labyrinth, Mexico
Black Book, Netherlands
The Curse of the Golden Flower, China
The Lives of Others, Germany


There you have them... Could be spot on, could be way off. It's an interesting year, where some categories are completely sure (Best Actress) and some categories are entirely up in the air (Supporting Actor). Well - I guess all will be settled in a few days.

Until next time...

Daniel's Final Predictions for the 79th Annual Academy Awards (nominations)

Best Picture
Babel
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

Best Directing
Babel, Alejandro Gonzáles Iñaritu
The Departed, Martin Scorsese
Children of Men,
Alfonso Cuaron
Letters from Iwo Jima, Clint Eastwood
The Queen, Stephen Frears

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Departed
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
Peter O’Toole, Venus
Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Penelope Cruz, Volver
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet, Little Children

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Hailey, Little Children
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Jack Nicholson, The Departed
Brad Pitt, Babel

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Adriana Barraza, Babel
Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi, Babel

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
The Departed
Children of Men
Little Children
Notes on a Scandal
Thank You for Smoking

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)
Babel
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen
Stranger than Fiction
Pan's Labyrinth

Best Music (Original Score)
Babel
The Fountain
Letters from Iwo Jima
The Da Vinci Code
The Painted Veil

Best Music (Original Song)
An Inconvenient Truth
Dreamgirls
Happy Feet
Bobby
The Pursuit of Happyness

Best Art Direction/Set Decoration
Curse of the Golden Flower
Children of Men
Dreamgirls
Pan's Labyrinth
Marie Antoinette

Best Cinematography
Curse of the Golden Flower
Children of Men
The Departed
Marie Antoinette
Letters from Iwo Jima

Best Costume Design
The Devil Wears Prada
Dreamgirls
Bobby
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Marie Antoinette

Best Film Editing
Babel
Children of Men
The Departed
Little Miss Sunshine
United 93

Best Makeup
Apocalypto
Pan’s Labyrinth
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

Best Sound Mixing
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Letters from Iwo Jima
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Superman Returns

Best Sound Editing
United 93
Dreamgirls
The Departed
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Letters from Iwo Jima

Best Visual Effects
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Superman Returns
X-Men: The Last Stand

Best Animated Feature Film
Cars
Happy Feet
Monster House

Best Documentary Feature
An Inconvenient Truth
Deliver Us from Evil
Iraq in Fragments
Jesus Camp
Shut Up and Sing

Best Foreign Language Film
Volver (Spain)
Nomad (Kazakhstan)
Pan’s Labyrinth (Mexico)
The Lives of Others (Germany)
Water (Canada)


We'll see for sure on Tuesday.

When Can We Make Final Predictions?

The official nominations for the 79th Annual Academy Awards are going to be announced on Tuesday, January 23. The question is: when can we make our final predictions for the nominees? Right now, I'm predicting The Departed, Dreamgirls, The Queen, Babel and Little Miss Sunshine to get the Best Picture nods. But, in a year as varied as 2006 was, doesn't there have to be some sort of surprise in the Best Picture lineup? And will Best Director truly honor the best direction in a film (which is where United 93 would dominate), or just reward some of the films that didn't get a Best Picture nomination (Children of Men, Letters From Iwo Jima, Flags of our Fathers, Pan's Labyrinth)? Best Director is the biggest mystery for me right now. And, if Leo goes supporting for The Departed, would he win? Probably. And, if he goes supporting, will he get a Best Actor nod for Blood Diamond? All these questions will be answered on Tuesday. Until then, myself and the other writers will post their final predix by Monday.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Why We Learned Nothing from the Golden Globes...

Here's why we have officially learning NOTHING from the Golden Globes. First of all, it was nice to have a surprise winner. Bad category for a surprise though. But this is the HFPA...they have awarded some not so good movies in the past. While I have not yet seen Babel (seeing it on Friday), I still know for a fact it will not win Best Picture. Million Dollar Baby didn't win the Golden Globe, but it still won the Oscar. In my opinion, The Departed's buzz has dropped less that 1%. And what's with all the new Dreamgirls hype? We already know it is going to win Best Supporting Actress and it was predicted to win the Golden Globe, which it did. So, we haven't gained any new knowledge about Dreamgirls in the race. Another thing, why is everyone so anti-Little Miss Sunshine buzz? As much as we wanted it to, Little Miss Sunshine was not going to win that Golden Globe. The Queen took Best Screenplay. The Queen has been taking critics awards for screenplays left and right, I'm not sure why some people are surprised. I personally thought Babel would be rewarded there, but I was more than pleased when The Queen won. Clint Eastwood's win for Best Foreign Language film does not matter. It isn't eligible for Foreign Film at the Oscars, so there is no new buzz there. This doesn't put it back in the race, it is in the same position. Happy Feet's Original Song win is the only greater knowledge of the race we have, or at least I think so.

Golden Globe Awards

Well, these Golden Globes proved not to be too surprising. After all, the acting awards went to all those who were favored to win, Dreamgirls picked up the most awards with 3. The biggest surprise of the evening would be Babel winning Best Motion Picture - Drama, although it is not very shocking, since it has the most nominations and this award was handed by the Hollywood Foreign Press. This win doesn't really change the Best Picture race for the Oscars only to confirm it's contendership among the top 5 films that will be announced next Tuesday. As for the acting categories, the frontrunners are pretty much confirmed up to this point : Forest Whitaker will win the Best Actor award, Helen Mirren will continue her sweep, Jennifer Hudson will win an Oscar for her feature film debut and Eddie Murphy will win a close one from Jack to pick up his first Oscar. Martin Scorsese won the award for Best Director, but will the Oscars shock us again with a snub when he takes on Clint Eastwood for the second time in three years, or will the voters finally give him the award that has slipped through his hands for over 30 years? When we take a look at the other categories, the winners deserved their respective awards, but the Golden Globes have a habit of choosing different winners than those announced on Oscar night, so be careful with your predictions. So until the Academy Award nomination announcements, congratulations to all the winners!

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

The Golden Globes-Did They Do Anything?

Babel takes Best Picture-Drama...The Queen takes Best Screenplay...Happy Feet takes Best Song...Cars takes Best Animated Film...The Painted Veil takes Best Score...isn't the idea of the Golden Globes to make predicting the Oscars easier?

I don't know what to think about all this. Now Best Picture is The Departed vs. Babel vs. Dreamgirls, so I guess it all comes down to the PGA (where, just to make these predix more brutal, they could just give it to The Queen or Little Miss Sunshine). What are we supposed to think of this? I mean, when you get right down to it, the HFPA and AMPAS are entirely different voters. Million Dollar Baby was able to win without a GG victory. Heck, Crash won without even being nominated for Best Picture at the GG. The question is: how big a precursor are the Golden Globes? They're the only movie awards show besides the Oscars that's broadcasted on non-cable TV and in multiple countries. I mean, the more I think about it, the more obvious it became that Babel would take BP. They are the Hollywood FOREIGN Press, and they've proven to be quite fond of multicultural films. Does this mean Babel will take the Oscar? No. Does this mean it has a fighting chance? Yes.

Well, off of that topic, let's get to the fashion wrap-up
THE GOOD:
Sienna Miller
Eva Longoria
Helen Mirren
Eric Mabius

THE BAD:
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Cameron Diaz
Reese Witherspoon
Prince (for the greater good, no photo available)

So, what are your thoughts? What does this mean for this year's Oscar race? Who are you rooting for? And, if nothing else, who looked the best last night?

Hello, I'm the new guy.

Hello Oscar Obsessors. I'm Alex from Oscar Addict. Brian has asked me to add some posts to this new blog and I would be happy to. As it seems everybody else is posting their top 10 lists these days, I would like to post mine as well. Enjoy/Discuss/Hate/Whatever. For more detailed info. on my selections go here.
  • 10. Brick
  • 9. Wordplay
  • 8. The Queen
  • 7. Notes on a Scandal
  • 6. Pan's Labyrinth
  • 5. United 93
  • 4. Borat
  • 3. Children of Men
  • 2. Little Miss Sunshine
  • 1. The Departed

Well, hopefully you'll be hearing more from me soon.

Monday, January 15, 2007

Introduction/Final Golden Globe Predictions

Hey, I'm Daniel Crooke. I hope to help provide you all with accurate predictions and excellent coverage. I'm not going to post a Top Ten because I have not seen a lot of the films that I know will end up topping my list. But for right now, Little Miss Sunshine is at #1.

Final Golden Globe Predictions

*will win
**runner up
***should win


Best Motion Picture - Drama
Babel**
Bobby
The Departed*/***
Little Children
The Queen

Best Actor In A Leading Role - Drama
Leonardo DiCaprio - Blood Diamond
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed
Peter O'Toole - Venus**
Will Smith - The Pursuit Of Happyness
Forest Whitaker - The Last King Of Scotland*/***

Best Actress In A Leading Role - Drama
Penelope Cruz - Volver
Judi Dench - Notes On A Scandal
Maggie Gyllenhaal - SherryBaby
Helen Mirren - The Queen*/***
Kate Winslet - Little Children**

Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
The Devil Wears Prada
Dreamgirls*
Little Miss Sunshine**/***
Thank You For Smoking

Best Actor In A Leading Role - Musical/Comedy
Sacha Baron Cohen - Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan*/***
Johnny Depp - Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Aaron Eckhart - Thank You For Smoking**
Chiwetel Ejiofor - Kinky Boots
Will Ferrell - Stranger Than Fiction

Best Actress In A Leading Role - Musical/Comedy
Annette Bening - Running With Scissors
Toni Collette - Little Miss Sunshine***
Beyoncé Knowles - Dreamgirls**
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada*
Renée Zellweger - Miss Potter

Best Supporting Actor
Ben Affleck - Hollywoodland***
Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls*
Jack Nicholson - The Departed**
Brad Pitt - Babel
Mark Wahlberg - The Departed

Best Supporting Actress
Adriana Barraza - Babel
Cate Blanchett - Notes On A Scandal**/***
Emily Blunt - The Devil Wears Prada
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls*
Rinko Kikuchi - Babel

Best Director - Motion Picture
Clint Eastwood - Flags Of Our Fathers
Clint Eastwood - Letters From Iwo Jima**
Stephen Frears - The Queen
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Babel
Martin Scorsese - The Departed*/***

Best Screenplay
Guillermo Arriaga - Babel*
Peter Morgan - The Queen***
William Monahan - The Departed**
Patrick Marber - Notes On A Scandal
Todd Field & Tom Perrotta - Little Children

Best Animated Film
Cars**
Happy Feet*
Monster House***

Best Foreign Language Film
Apocalypto (USA)
Letters From Iwo Jima (USA/Japan)*
The Lives Of Others (Germany)**
Pan's Labyrinth (Mexico)***
Volver (Spain)

Best Original Score
Gustavo Santaolalla - Babel*
Hans Zimmer - The Da Vinci Code**/***
Clint Mansell - The Fountain
Carlo Siliotto - Nomad
Alexandre Desplat - The Painted Veil

Best Original Song
Bobby - Never Gonna Break My Faith**
Dreamgirls - Listen*/***
Happy Feet - The Song Of The Heart
Home Of The Brave - Try Not To Remember
The Pursuit of Happyness - A Father's Way

Final Golden Globes Predictions

KEY:
*Will Win
**Runner-Up
***Should Win

Best Motion Picture - Drama

Babel**
Bobby
The Departed*/***
Little Children
The Queen

Best Actor In A Leading Role - Drama

Leonardo DiCaprio - Blood Diamond
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed***
Peter O'Toole - Venus**
Will Smith - The Pursuit Of Happyness
Forest Whitaker - The Last King Of Scotland*

Best Actress In A Leading Role - Drama

Penelope Cruz - Volver
Judi Dench - Notes On A Scandal**
Maggie Gyllenhaal - SherryBaby
Helen Mirren - The Queen*/***
Kate Winslet - Little Children

Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
The Devil Wears Prada
Dreamgirls*
Little Miss Sunshine**/***
Thank You For Smoking

Best Actor In A Leading Role - Musical/Comedy

Sacha Baron Cohen - Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan*/***
Johnny Depp - Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Aaron Eckhart - Thank You For Smoking**
Chiwetel Ejiofor - Kinky Boots

Best Actress In A Leading Role - Musical/Comedy

Annette Bening - Running With Scissors
Toni Collette - Little Miss Sunshine
Beyoncé Knowles - Dreamgirls**
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada*/***
Renée Zellweger - Miss Potter
Will Ferrell - Stranger Than Fiction

Best Supporting Actor

Ben Affleck - Hollywoodland
Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls*
Jack Nicholson - The Departed**/***
Brad Pitt - Babel
Mark Wahlberg - The Departed

Best Supporting Actress

Adriana Barraza - Babel
Cate Blanchett - Notes On A Scandal**
Emily Blunt - The Devil Wears Prada
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls*
Rinko Kikuchi - Babel***

Best Director - Motion Picture

Clint Eastwood - Flags Of Our Fathers
Clint Eastwood - Letters From Iwo Jima**
Stephen Frears - The Queen
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Babel
Martin Scorsese - The Departed*/***

Best Screenplay

Guillermo Arriaga - Babel*/***
Peter Morgan - The Queen
William Monahan - The Departed**
Patrick Marber - Notes On A Scandal
Todd Field & Tom Perrotta - Little Children

Best Animated Film

Cars**/***
Happy Feet*
Monster House

Best Foreign Language Film

Apocalypto (USA)
Letters From Iwo Jima (USA/Japan)*/***
The Lives Of Others (Germany)**
Pan's Labyrinth (Mexico)
Volver (Spain)

Best Original Score

Gustavo Santaolalla - Babel*/***
Hans Zimmer - The Da Vinci Code**
Clint Mansell - The Fountain
Carlo Siliotto - Nomad
Alexandre Desplat - The Painted Veil

Best Original Song

Bobby - Never Gonna Break My Faith
Dreamgirls - Listen*/***
Happy Feet - The Song Of The Heart**
Home Of The Brave - Try Not To Remember
A Father's Way - The Pursuit Of Happyness

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Introduction

My name is David Tolentino, and I enjoy watching movies all the time and discussing movies I've seen with my entourage. I also enjoy playing sports and meeting new people. I'm a full time student and I work part time in a video store, which proves how much I enjoy cinema. I'm looking forward on working on this site, and here is my top 10 films of 2006:

10. Flags Of Our Fathers
9. V For Vendetta
8. Dreamgirls
7. Children Of Men
6. United 93
5. Little Miss Sunshine
4. Letters From Iwo Jima
3. Blood Diamond
2. Babel
1. The Departed

Honorable Mentions: Notes On A Scandal, The Queen, An Inconvenient Truth, Pan's Labyrinth, Thank You For Smoking, Casino Royale

Final Golden Globe Predictions

Here are my final predix for the Golden Globes tomorrow.

KEY:
*Will Win
**Runner-Up
***-Should Win

Best Actor in a Leading Role - Drama

___ Peter O'Toole, Venus**
___ Leonardo DiCaprio, The Departed
___ Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
___ Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
___ Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland*/***

Best Actress in a Leading Role - Drama

___ Penelope Cruz, Volver
___ Helen Mirren, The Queen*/***
___ Kate Winslet, Little Children
___ Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal**
___ Maggie Gyllenhaal, SherryBaby

Best Actor in a Leading Role - Comedy/Musical

___ Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kinky Boots
___ Will Ferrell, Stranger than Fiction
___ Aaron Eckhart, Thank You for Smoking**/***
___ Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
___ Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan*

Best Actress in a Leading Role - Comedy/Musical

___ Beyonce Knowles, Dreamgirls**
___ Renee Zellwegger, Miss Potter
___ Toni Collette, Little Miss Sunshine
___ Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada*/***
___ Annette Bening, Running with Scissors

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

___ Brad Pitt, Babel
___ Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls*
___ Ben Affleck, Hollywoodland
___ Jack Nicholson, The Departed**
___ Mark Wahlberg, The Departed***

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

___ Rinko Kikuchi, Babel
___ Adriana Barraza, Babel
___ Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls*/***
___ Emily Blunt, The Devil Wears Prada
___ Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal**

Best Director of a Motion Picture

___ Stephen Frears, The Queen
___ Martin Scorsese, The Departed*/***
___ Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Babel
___ Clint Eastwood, Flags of our Fathers
___ Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima**

Best Screenplay for a Motion Picture

___ Guillermo Arriaga, Babel*/***
___ Peter Morgan, The Queen
___ William Monahan, The Departed**
___ Patrick Marber, Notes on a Scandal
___ Tom Perrotta & Todd Field, Little Children

Best Motion Picture - Drama

___ Babel**
___ Bobby
___ The Queen
___ The Departed*/***
___ Little Children

Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical

___ Dreamgirls*
___ Little Miss Sunshine**/***
___ The Devil Wears Prada
___ Thank You for Smoking
___ Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Best Animated Feature Film

___ Cars**/***
___ Happy Feet*
___ Monster House

Best Foreign Language Film (haven't seen any of them, so I can't do a Should Win)

___ Volver
___ Apocalypto
___ Pan's Labyrinth**
___ The Lives of Others
___ Letters from Iwo Jima*

Best Original Score

___ Carlo Siliotto, Nomad
___ Gustavo Santaolalla, Babel*/***
___ Clint Mansell, The Fountain**
___ Hans Zimmer, The DaVinci Code
___ Alexandre Desplat, The Painted Veil

Best Original Song

___ Dreamgirls, "Listen"*/***
___ Bobby, "Never Gonna Stop My Faith"**
___ Happy Feet, "The Song of the Heart"
___ Home of the Brave, "Try Not to Remember"
___ The Pursuit of Happyness, "A Father's Way"

Top 10 of 2006

I just saw "Babel" today, and so now I've only missed about 8 of the serious Oscar contenders this year (still haven't seen Venus, Letters From Iwo Jima, Volver, Flags of Our Fathers, Little Children, Children of Men and Pan's Labyrinth). I've also seen some fun popcorn movies. Anyways, here's my Top 10 Movies of 2006. Our other writers will post theirs shortly.

Honorable Mentions: A Prairie Home Companion, The Devil Wears Prada, Notes on a Scandal, Stranger Than Fiction, Cars, An Inconvenient Truth

10. The Pursuit of Happyness
9. For Your Consideration
8. V for Vendetta
7. The Last King of Scotland
6. The Queen
5. Babel
4. Dreamgirls
3. United 93
2. The Departed
1. Little Miss Sunshine

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Additional Authors

With the help of a nifty website, I've found two people who may be joining the blog soon. I'm accepting applications until tomorrow afternoon, so please feel free to send one. All you have to do is describe in 1-2 paragraphs why you would be the right person to pick to be an Oscar Obsession writer. I will be taking in 3-4 applicants. Please enter!

Welcome!

My name is Brian Erickson, and I am obsessed with the Oscars. But you are too. Right? Right. This blog is devoted to year-round Oscar predix, movie discussion and everything about the Academy Awards. Thanks for visiting!