So for the first time I went ahead and predicted the winners for the Oscars. Here’s how I stacked up. I did not predict categories I was not familiar with, such as short animated/live film or foreign film. Categories in BOLD I guessed correctly.
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Prediction: Precious
Winner: The Hurt Locker
Best Achievement in Directing
Prediction: Lee Daniels for Precious
Winner: Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Prediction: Gabourey Sidibe for Precious
Winner: Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Prediction: Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker
Winner: Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart
Best Achievement in Editing
Prediction: The Hurt Locker
Winner: The Hurt Locker
Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Prediction: Avatar
Winner: Avatar
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Prediction: Up
Winner: Up
Best Achievement in Cinematography
Prediction: Inglorious Basterds
Winner: Avatar
Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
Prediction: Avatar
Winner: The Hurt Locker
Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Prediction: The Hurt Locker
Winner: The Hurt Locker
Best Achievement in Costume Design
Prediction: Coco avant Chanel
Winner: The Young Victoria
Best Achievement in Art Direction
Prediction: Avatar
Winner: Avatar
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Prediction: Mo’Nique for Precious
Winner: Mo’Nique for Precious
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Prediction: Up in the Air
Winner: Precious
Best Achievement in Makeup
Prediction: Star Trek
Winner: Star Trek
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Prediction: Inglorious Basterds
Winner: The Hurt Locker
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Prediction: Crazy Heart – “The Weary Kind”
Winner: Crazy Heart – “The Weary Kind”
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Prediction: Up
Winner: Up
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Prediction: Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds
Winner: Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds
10 out of 19 I chose from. Meh. At least I predicted the musical ones right! I enjoyed the fact that they performed excerpts from all of the original scores rather than simply performing all the original songs. It was a nice change of pace, and something I hope they decide to continue doing at times in the future.
I suppose the only real shock I experienced was Sandra Bullock winning best actress in a leading role. I was sure that the award would go to either Gabourey Sidibe or Meryl Streep.
I am not disappointed with how well The Hurt Locker had done, however I was really rooting for precious. Maybe it’s just because I saw the DVD last night and it’s still fresh in my memory. However, the story and the performances were incredibly powerful – just as, if not more so, than The Hurt Locker. I felt that Lee Daniels did an incredible job eliciting the emotional performances, especially from Mo’Nique (whose Oscar was incredibly well deserved).
While I was not disappointed, I was confused as to how ‘Avatar’ was eligible for best cinematography. For a film that was essentially created entirely on green screen, it seemed very strange to me that the Academy even nominated the movie in that category. Maybe I am just ignorant, but I feel cinematographers have greater challenges in non-green screen situations. In this regard, I felt Inglorious Basterds should have earned that award.