A Night at the Oscars

Ever since I was 12 years old, I have tuned in every Sunday night in February to watch the Academy Awards, affectionately known as the Oscars.  There is so much to see: the stars, the gowns, the best movies of the year, the montages (I actually love them--the more creative the better--and hope they won't do away with them!)

As a break from book blogging, I hope you enjoy my post on this year's Oscar race and my top 10 (or so) lists of Oscar contentions.

For movie fans, there is an impeccable account of Oscar history on FilmSite.org that offers a number of perspectives on the gold statue--who won, who was nominated, who got snubbed, and all the records fit for Guinness.  Internet Movie DataBase (IMDb) also offers a complex history of the Oscars and the results of their annual Oscar poll are up.

This Year's Nominees in Major Categories:

Legend:
*= best odds to win
#= IMDb Oscar Poll winner
@= possible dark horse
^= sentimental favourite
%= has a better chance of being hit by lightning
&= who I wish would win
$= who I have my money on (so to speak)

Best Picture:
#&Inception
$^The King's Speech
*The Social Network
@Black Swan
^Toy Story 3
@True Grit
%127 Hours
@The Fighter
%Winter's Bone
%The Kids Are All Right

The only movies from this list I have seen are Inception and Toy Story 3, both incredibly good movies.   Despite The Social Network being the critical favourite to win the Oscar, I think the Academy is more inclined to go with an old-school sentimental favourite, The King's Speech.

Best Actor:
*^#&$Colin Firth- The King's Speech
%James Franco- 127 Hours
%Jesse Eisenberg- The Social Network
@Jeff Bridges- True Grit
%Javier Bardem- Biutiful

It's all about Colin Firth this year.  He was spellbinding in A Single Man last year, but Jeff Bridges was the sentimental favourite & won for Crazy Heart.  This year, the tables have turned.

Best Actress:
*$#Natalie Portman- Black Swan
^&Annette Bening- The Kids Are All Right
@Jennifer Lawrence- Winter's Bone
%Nicole Kidman- Rabbit Hole
%Michelle Williams- Blue Valentine

My reason for secretly hoping that Annette Bening will win is more for her career achievement than this particular performance.  If the award is truly about the singular film role, then Natalie Portman is sure to win.  But because Bening has never won (despite being nominated 3 times prior), I wonder if this will be a consolation prize--in my opinion, she should have won for The Grifters back in 1990 and maybe even for American Beauty in 1999.

Best Supporting Actor:
*#$Christian Bale- The Fighter
^&Geoffrey Rush- The King's Speech
%Jeremy Renner- The Town
%Mark Ruffalo- The Kids Are All Right
@John Hawkes- Winter's Bone

All odds are in Christian Bale's favour, and even though Geoffrey Rush has already won an Oscar (for Shine in 1996), it strikes me as a bit too obvious for Bale to win, and this could be the biggest surprise of the evening--there is always at least 1 diversion from the iron-clad predictions, and I wonder if this will be it.

Best Supporting Actress:
^&#Helena Bonham Carter- The King's Speech
@Hailee Steinfeld- True Grit
*$Melissa Leo- The Fighter
Amy Adams- The Fighter
%Jacki Weaver- Animal Kingdom

This could also be a surprise win for Helena Bonham Carter, whose longevity as a fabulous actor may outshine relative film newbie Melissa Leo (known in past years for TV work), who remains the odds-on favourite, yet came in 3rd in IMDb's Oscar poll behind possible dark horse, Hailee Steinfeld, a 14-year-old newcomer, and Bonham Carter.

Best Director:
*^&$#David Fincher- The Social Network
@Darren Aronofsky- Black Swan
%Tom Hooper- The King's Speech
%Joel & Ethan Coen- True Grit
%David O. Russell- The Fighter

All bets are off--David Fincher is the odds on & sentimental favourite to win as his previous work on Zodiac, Se7en, Fight Club, and even Panic Club and The Game (let's just forget he was also responsible for Alien3) has gone without awards recognition for the masterful director.  Darren Aronofsky has accomplished a lot for such a short career (Requiem For a Dream, Pi), making him a possible dark horse but is not established enough to clinch it this year.  As for the Coen brothers, they have already won (No Country For Old Men).

Best Animated Feature:
*#^$#Toy Story 3
%How to Train Your Dragon
%The Illusionist

Are there even any other nominees?  It's in the bag.

Enjoy the show!