Oscars 2020 – Week 3.1
We have finally arrived at Oscar Sunday after what has been one fast and furious push. So fast that I realized I probably should have started this preview a week sooner, as I literary have run out of time to talk about everything I love and hate about this famed ceremony. Nevertheless, I will stumble my way through and hopefully give a few last minute anecdotes to help fill out those ballots as we move closer to the biggest night in Hollywood. And over the past six months, we have seen a wide range of films come and go without a whole lot of attention. Figure, usually by now there might be a front-runner or film that people can’t stop talking about. Instead, the focus has been on who hasn’t been nominated, which although unsurprising, can distract you from what’s been going on in this Best Picture race. A race that so far has given us a fairly wide range of winners and losers with really no consistent pattern. That is unless you look closer at what has won within the guilds leading up to this weekend. Starting with the writers and the WGA’s for screenplay, we saw Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won take the Original Screenplay WGA for “Parasite” while Taika Waititi won the Adapted Screenplay WGA for “JoJo Rabbit.” Both very deserving, but in the case of Waititi and “JoJo Rabbit,” a shocking development given what we have been expecting to see come Oscar night with Greta Gerwig and “Little Women.” Since the day the nominees were announced, I had Gerwig pegged as the winner and after seeing it, I was convinced even further. So, it will be interesting to see what happens tonight when that envelope is opened.
A similar light might be cast on the race or lack thereof for Best Director. As one of the five major awards of the evening, its one that typically is hard to predict from year to year. But, as I sit here on Oscar Sunday, I just don’t see anyone else but Sam Mendes winning for achievement in directing. The shots he used from all sorts of angles in and out of the trenches, or in water were like nothing I have seen before. So fluent and flawless in delivery, no one will be upset if he walks away the winner. Plus, he hasn’t lost in any noteworthy race, racking up wins at the Critics’ Choice Awards, Golden Globes, BAFTA’s and DGA’s, a key indicator to The Academy Awards. And in the history of this ceremony, we have watched 64 out of 91 directors win for their achievement behind the camera and then watch their film win Best Picture. That’s right at 70 percent, which is actually more than I thought it would be given our recent history of the two categories splitting wins five times in the past eight years. And since the Best Picture category was expanded back in 2009, we have only seen Best Director and Best Picture match wins five times furthering my argument in expanding the other major categories. So, while Mendes is nearly a shoe-in to win his second Oscar for directing (“American Beauty” 2000), “1917” might not pick up the biggest win of the night. But, it does have all the momentum after winning at the Producer’s Guild Awards a few weeks ago. That’s the 21st time the PGA’s have picked the Best Picture Oscar in 30 years, so the writing is certainly on the wall. We will just have to see if somehow it gets erased in favor of a sleeper like “Parasite” that has enjoyed a pretty good awards season including a big win at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
It’s almost upsetting that we’ve come all this way though to the last and most prestigious award, which of course is Best Picture. And if this year is anything like the past couple, we’re in for yet another surprise as this race is really about as wide open as it can get. Virtually all the nominees with the exception of maybe “Marriage Story” and “Ford v Ferrari” have made enough noise this season to make a case for Best Picture. And I still don’t understand why “Marriage Story” is even in this race, as it was just a standard drama on Netflix. Sure, director Noah Baumbach is talented, but that doesn’t mean we need to reward him for something plenty of filmmakers before him have done. That said, I do feel bad for James Mangold and his amazing film “Ford v Ferrari,” which I loved. This film was truly one of the best of 2019 and Christian Bale was incredible, yet he and his director James Mangold were snubbed. Same might be said for Taika Waititi, the writer and director of “Jojo Rabbit,” the film no one has really given enough praise for thus far. It was fun and hopefully Waititi is able to steal the Oscar for Adapted Screenplay since he wasn’t nominated for directing.
“Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood” won’t win either, even though it was the leader in the clubhouse way back in the summer. I know, tough luck for Quentin Tarantino, who still has yet to see one of his films win Best Picture. It just peaked too early and just isn’t being talked about like some of the other nominees. “Joker” is among that group, only its chatter hasn’t all been good, making me wonder if the only win we see for it will be with Joaquin Phoenix for Best Actor. Too bad too, because it was truly one of the more unexpected hits of the year and a film that while tough to watch, was great from start to finish. As for “Little Women” and “The Irishman,” the two films with the best acting overall, I just don’t see a big win in its future. “The Irishman” is way too long and “Little Women,” despite its reinvented script, is something the Academy has rewarded before. That leaves of course “Parasite” and “1917,” the two films everyone has been talking about the most. The favorite is “1917,” but I could see “Parasite” somehow pulling of the upset just like “Green Book,” “The Shape of Water,” or even “Moonlight” did the past three years. I didn’t pick any of those three to win, so maybe I should pick “Parasite” instead of going with the safe pick in “1917.” I just can’t though, as despite my love for what Bong Joon-ho’s was able to create, it’s an international film that the Academy has never rewarded with the nights top prize. Not once, so if it wins, we all will see history on a night that was fairly predictable when it started.
Oscars 2020 – Week 3
Over the past week I have been thinking about the acting races and wondering if there is a race at all. Usually by now it’s heating up with a host of questions on who might pull off an upset over the expected winner. But, quite honestly, I just don’t see any surprises this year outside of maybe Brad Pitt losing. So that got me wondering just how many times ‘chalk’ prevailed within the acting categories in a given award season; which for those not into sports means, the favorite went on to win. And to keep it simple, I won’t go back any further than 1995, as that was the first year the Screen Actors Guild Awards were held. The same year that saw one Tom Hanks win “The Actor” for his performance in “Forrest Gump.” So right off the bat, we had the trifecta, as Hanks of course went on to win the Golden Globe and Oscar. The very next year, Nicolas Cage won all three prestigious awards for his amazing turn as Ben Sanderson in “Leaving Las Vegas,” a performance so terrifyingly good, that I only saw it once. This was one of only two times in the past 25 years we have seen Cage nominated, as the other came in 2002 in “Adaptation,” where he starred opposite Meryl Streep. Ironically, Streep, who has been nominated a ridiculous 21 times for an Academy Award has never won all three awards in the same year. To be fair though, had the SAG’s been around in 1983, she probably would have won for her portrayal in “Sophie’s Choice,” for which she did win the Oscar and Golden Globe for.
Remaining in the 90’s for a moment, I can’t help but bring up the legend himself, Jack Nicholson. For his role opposite the amazing Helen Hunt in 1998’s “As Good as It Gets,” he won the SAG, Golden Globe and Oscar. But, he also holds the distinction as the most nominated man in Oscar history with 12 total nominations. He is tied for second with 3 total “acting” wins with legends like Ingrid Bergman, Walter Brennan, Meryl Streep and Daniel Day-Lewis. Granted if it were up to me, Lewis would have at least four wins, after getting robbed in 2002 for “Gangs of New York.” So I guess I will take solace in knowing he is the only actor to win the trifecta of acting twice. He did so for 2008’s “There Will Be Blood” and 2013’s “Lincoln.” Pretty impressive feat and one I hope stays true despite some serious heat from Renee Zellweger this year for her work in “Judy.” If Renee goes on to win, she will join Lewis in pulling off that trifecta twice, as she also did it back in 2004 for “Cold Mountain.” Crazy to think Streep has never won the trifecta in the same year and Renee might do it a second time this year. Playing an icon like Judy Garland certainly helps her chances given the average age of the Oscar voters, but after watching Saoirse Ronan in “Little Women,” I could see an upset happening. Ronan stood out from a tremendous cast over and over again in that film, which was no small feat. And let’s face it, if there were a category to choose a sleeper from, it would be this one based on the history. A good example was back in 1999 when Gwyenth Paltrow won for “Shakespeare in Love.” Even after winning the Golden Globe and SAG that year, I never expected Paltrow to pull off the Oscar given what Cate Blanchett did in “Elizabeth.” Still the best performance that year in my mind, but as great as Cate was, she didn’t dress up and act like a man. Paltrow did and reaped the benefits of it in a year she will never forget.
As we turn to the page to a new century, we saw some truly remarkable performances turned in by women. Whether that was Angelina Jolie in “Girl, Interrupted (2000)” Charlize Theron in “Monster (2004)” or Hilary Swank in “Million Dollar Baby (2004),” they all showed their toughness in ways that I could never imagine. But, as good as they were, there was only actress that stole our hearts those first five years and that was none other than Julia Roberts with “Erin Brockovich (2000).” It’s one thing to be good in a role, but Roberts was more than that. And to top it all off, her acceptance speech after winning the Oscar might be the best in the history of this ceremony. That’s how special her win was and why I set it apart from any others during that period. Including Reese Witherspoon, whose turn as June Carter in “Walk the Line” was best in 2006 no matter which award sow you happened to turn on. That same year we saw Philip Seymour Hoffman do the same for his part in “Capote,” a role that to this day gives me chills. What an actor and one gone far too soon, as the New York Times noted in his obituary following his 2014 death, “perhaps the most ambitious and widely admired American actor of his generation.” Oddly, Hoffman wasn’t the only actor to achieve the trifecta during that period and die unexpectedly, as Heath Ledger did the same for his iconic role as Joker in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight.” Only in Ledger’s case, he won posthumously as he died a mere months before the film was released. What a shame and a death I’m still shook from given Ledger’s ascension to the top of his craft in such a short amount of time.
While I wish I could grade and go through all 48 names in this distinguished list to win the Golden Globe, SAG and Oscar, there simply isn’t enough time. Instead I will go through a few more oddities and then predict who will walk away this year with an Oscar for acting. Did you know that when Benicio Del Toro won all three awards in 2001 for his role in “Traffic,” he did so from two different categories? It’s true, after winning the Golden Globe and SAG for Best Actor, he went on to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Weird and yet, he wasn’t alone as seven years later we saw Kate Winslet do the same thing, only in her case, she added one more award for an entirely different film. While she won the Best Actress Oscar for her part in “The Reader,” the same role that saw her win a supporting Globe and SAG award for; she also won a Best Actress Globe for “Revolutionary Road,” starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. Yes, the same Leonardo DiCaprio she bursted onto the scene with a decade earlier in “Titantic.” Amazing to think we only have had two films with these two together, whose chemistry on screen is among the best I have ever seen in the past 25 years. Speaking of chemistry, some might say Scarlet Johansson and Adam Driver’s was even better in this past year’s “Marriage Story.” I disagree though, as to me it was all Driver in many of those critical scenes within the gripping drama about marriage. And while I would love for him to win, I do think its Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscar to lose after what he did in “Joker.” It’s not every day we get that disturbing of an individual on the big screen, so I give Phoenix a big hand for completely making me forget who I was watching. But, let’s face it, the surprise probably won’t come for Best Actor or Actress. It will come from the supporting categories, which tend to always mess up your Oscar ballot. Sure, Pitt has won everything thus far, but as I said last week, it’s still Brad Pitt and I can easily see him losing to someone like Anthony Hopkins, who played Pope Benedict XVI in a film no one watched. Same might be said for Laura Dern, a scene chewer, but one that was almost better in “Little Women,” versus what she was nominated for in “Marriage Story.” A fact that actually could lead someone like Florence Pugh, her “Little Women” costar, to steal the Oscar from her grasp and continuing the trend of unexpected wins from this category.
Oscars 2020 – Week 2
For all that’s said about The Academy Awards, it’s still the one award show all others were modeled after. Yes, the ratings have not been good recently and now we are about to go a second year in a row without a host. But, with so many awards to give out and so many movies to honor, that’s fine by me. This award show is bigger than the host, so unless Ellen is hosting, I would rather not waste the time. Focus on the movies and all the people that work so hard to entertain us. Figure, we get one time of year to sit here and divulge into movies like this, so why not spend every possible second you can on them? That’s why I get into the history so much and want to bring out these little known facts that aren’t as well known. And this year, since three of our Best Picture nominees had 10 total nominations, I figured I would look back to see in the great history of this ceremony, how important is that number. Well, since the very first ceremony way back in 1929, a total of 42 films have been nominated 10 times including this year’s nominees, “The Irishman,” “1917” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” That’s more than I would have thought actually, but get this, the very first film to get 10 nominations was “The Life of Emile Sola” back in 1937. Meaning, a good seven years went by before we had a film rewarded that much. It took home three Oscars that year, including Best Picture, so at least it won the most important award that night. But, since the inception of this ceremony, no year has featured four films nominated for 10 or more awards. Not once. Hard to believe, but I looked and the only years close were 1964 and 1977 when three films were nominated for 10 or more awards. That’s pretty crazy considering we are entering the 92 year if this famed ceremony.
Sticking with the number 10 or I should say 11 in the case of “Joker,” out of all the films nominated that many times, the most successful was “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” back in 2003 when it won all 11 awards it was up for. Only five films have swept like that and none since then. Could we have a sixth this year? In looking at the four choices, the only one I think that has a chance is “1917,” as nothing was better from a technical standpoint. So, if it sweeps in those categories, that leaves wild card categories like Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score and Original Screenplay up for grabs. It’s definitely possible, so we’ll see what happens. Figure, it’s been over 16 years since “LOTR: Return of the King” swept, so we are definitely due for some renewed magic like that. Or maybe it wins none. That has happened too, with “The Gangs of New York” winning none of the 10 nominations it was up for back in 2002. I still don’t understand what happened that year, as I would have at worst given Daniel Day Lewis the nod for Best Actor. I mean, he was iconic in that role as Bill the Butcher, a performance that I felt led the way for the film to be nominated. Instead, Adrien Brody won for “The Pianist (2002),” who I will admit was good, but not better than Daniel Day Lewis. Other films to be nominated at least 11 times without winning are “The Turning Point (1977),” “The Color Purple (1985),” “True Grit (2010)” and “American Hustle.” Just in looking at that list really makes you scratch your head as to how film’s that good can go home empty handed.
It’s funny, every time I start to comb thru all this Oscar history, I get excited given all the directions you can go. It’s just so vast, given we have had over 91 years to look back on. I actually had a buddy ask me recently about the Golden Globes versus Oscars in regards to Best Picture. He was wondering how many times a Golden Globe winner had gone on to win Best Picture at The Academy Awards. Before I answer that though, know that The Academy Awards have been around a good 15 years longer. So taking that into account and the fact the Globes split Dramas from Musicals/Comedies, only 46 years had a Best Picture winner at the Golden Globes gone on to win the Oscar. Breaking down that list of 46 films, 35 were Dramas and 11 were either a Musical or Comedy. That’s right at 60%, which is actually more than I thought it would be. Best Picture is so hard to predict though and carries so much history. In fact, there have only been three films to win Best Picture and nothing else. It was a long time ago, but it did happen to “Broadway Melody (1928/29),” “Grand Hotel (1931/21)” and “Mutiny On the Bounty (1935).” And out of those three, “Grand Hotel” actually didn’t have any other nominations. That’s insane to think a Best Picture winner couldn’t be nominated for anything else, yet it happened making “Ford v Ferrari” not look at all that bad with its four total nominations this year. I doubt it wins for any of the four, but it’s still fun to look at some of this unknown trivia that tends to be forgotten with each new Oscar year.
Thinking outside the box or maybe inside depending on how you look at it, I figured I would go through who has won the most this rushed award season thus far in acting and directing. Might as well get a head start on our ballots, right? And to make it simple, I will only use winners from the three most recent award ceremonies, The Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice and SAG Awards. Starting with Best Actor and Actress, the leaders in the clubhouse are Joaquin Phoenix and Renee Zellweger, who are both undefeated thus far sitting at 3-0. Both are deserving and quite frankly, had either of them lost at least once this season, it would make the prediction for Oscar a little tougher. But, they haven’t and I don’t think they will in a few weeks either. Oddly, Best Supporting Actor and Actress is looking to be the same way with who has won. Laura Dern will absolutely win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, as she has yet to lose for her performance in “Marriage Story” in the prior ceremonies. Same might be said for Brad Pitt and his work in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” as he too has picked one award after another this season. Although I once said neither Brad Pitt, nor Tom Cruise would win an Oscar for acting given how polarizing they have been in their careers. So, it will be interesting to see if Pitt finally hears his name called, as he was memorable in this role. If so and the other categories hold true to form, it might be one of the first years we will see the same four actors/actresses win in all the significant award ceremonies. Same won’t be said for Best Director though, which has become one of the hardest to predict in recent years. Not only is there a couple surprise nominees, there are also a couple missing which I will get into in the coming weeks. With the SAG Awards not rewarding Directing, we are only focusing on the Critics’ Choice and Globes. So far, Sam Mendes hasn’t lost, having grabbed the Golden Globe and half of the Critics’ Choice, which he tied with Bon Joon-ho. Idiotic to think you could tie, but that’s exactly what the Critics’ did this year for directing. That said, Mendes should win the Oscar as I can’t think of anyone else within the actual nominees that was better. But. I have seen stranger things happen, especially from this category.
Oscars 2020 – Week 1
As I admitted last week, I have not been as dialed into movies this past year. In fact, 2019 marked the first time I didn’t take this journey into the Academy Awards since 2003. Streaks are made to be broken, but 15 straight years is quite the feat and one that even surprised me when I started looking back. Life happens, right? Maybe 2019 was a good year to miss though as I would bet most people reading this couldn’t come up with who won Best Picture last year. It was “Green Book,” a film many still haven’t seen and one that was good, but not great. Sorry, but this film didn’t need win over something like “A Star Is Born” or even “Black Panther.” I mean, if there was ever a year to reward one of these Marvel films, it was last year given how groundbreaking “Black Panther” was to the industry. The Academy blew it though, instead rewarding a film that eerily resembles, at least in concept, the 1990 winner “Driving Miss Daisy.” Why do that again, when better films like “Dead Poets Society” and “Field of Dreams” were nominated that year? But, as I have often said over the years, there’s a lot to this ceremony that doesn’t always add up. That’s both the beauty and demise of what makes the Oscars so intriguing from year to year. Still, it would be nice to actually see the one person or movie that deserves to win, walk up to the stage to accept the Oscar. Just saying.
For those that forgot or have never taken this journey with me into everything Oscars, feel privileged. This isn’t your average preview, especially given I have far less time than I usually would after what already has been a rushed awards season. No excuses though, right, as I am ready to give my thoughts on this year’s crop of nominees and even some history to this famed ceremony. And there is a ton of that for these awards that actually have two names. That’s how big it is to Hollywood and why you can’t compare it to the others that come before it. Because as cool as it is to be called a Golden Globe winner, it doesn’t have the same ring as Oscar winner. Achieving that will follow you the rest of your life in a way like no other. Just ask Halle Berry, who is still riding high from her historic win some 19 years ago when she took the Oscar for “Monster’s Ball.” That was a long ago, you know, back when it was a little easier to predict Best Actress. Meaning, even though I am fairly certain Renee Zellweger will go home with the Oscar for her role in “Judy,” a film that was otherwise unwatchable, I could also see an upset. That’s what makes these awards so special. You can easily overanalyze because of the history and politics that surround this ceremony, especially Best Actor and Actress. These two categories alone have seen quite a bit of surprises over the years too. It’s ironic I brought up 2001 and Halle Berry’s win, as that year also had one of the biggest misfortunes in the history of this award show. To have one of the greatest wins and losses in one year is pretty unprecedented. But, that’s precisely what we had in 2001 when Denzel Washington’s name was called for his work in “Training Day.”
I apologize for anyone that has had to listen to me bitch and moan about this particular win of Washington’s, but this argument is like wine; the older it sits, the better it gets. First things first, I love Denzel Washington. The guy should have at least six or seven Oscar’s by now given the work he has put in. I mean, just from the films he has directed, he probably should have one. Add in the countless roles where the film would have never been what it was without him and he might be the most robbed individual ever at this famed award ceremony. But, 2002 should not have been his year. Sorry, that year belonged to Russell Crowe and the unbelievable work he put in for “A Beautiful Mind.” As I teased years after this same ceremony, something bigger was happening behind the scenes that I was unware of. Because no other excuse can validate why Russell Crowe walked away empty-handed that year. “A Beautiful Mind” won three out of the five major categories, but it should have been four with Crowe’s omission from Best Actor. Anyone that watched that film then or anyone that watches it now will think he won. That’s how great he was playing John Nash and why the film won Best Picture. Sure, director Ron Howard was outstanding behind the camera and Jennifer Connelly only added to the greatness of Crowe, but it was still Crowe’s relentless pursuit at perfection that made this film what it was. It’s that simple, and yet, Denzel Washington took home the Oscar for his role in “Training Day.” Who cares that he was playing a “bad cop,” a role no one expected from him. What he did during the years before and after “Training Day” were way more deserving. His role in “John Q” alone was better, not to mention what he did in “The Hurricane” or “Antwone Fisher,” both in front and behind the camera. It’s such an easy example to look back on when it comes to the politics and disarray of these awards. I realize not all five nominees can win, but if one nominee is above and beyond the best for that given year, how does he or she not win?
I hope one day Crowe gets another chance though, because if he does, the Academy will be forced to give it to him for 2002 when they messed up for his role in “A Beautiful Mind.” And when that happens, I’m sure his win will take away from someone else more deserving. See how I did that? An endless cycle of ups and downs will always rule this ceremony, especially within the major categories. What’s funny is had Crowe not won the year before for “Gladiator,” I probably wouldn’t even have to bring up this omission. To date only five have done it with Tom Hanks being the last, winning for “Philadelphia” (1993) and “Forrest Gump” (1994). Crowe should have been the sixth and oddly enough, it could have been greater than that. He should have won for “The Insider,” the year before “Gladiator,” so had he pulled that off and won for “A Beautiful Mind,” we would be talking about the only back to back to back winner. That’s huge and why I can’t help but bring this omission back into the forefront each year. Sure, it’s just one example, but one that truly is hard to not point out when you look back in the history of these awards. Who knows, maybe they should expand the nominees for all the major categories, not just Best Picture. It might eliminate some of this nonsense with more nominees in the picture. At least then you could get behind the notion of “being nominated is a win in itself,” but is it? Only a winner can answer that question. But, I do think if you did expand the field, it could make for a better ceremony overall. Think about it. Now, we can only talk about five nominees in four of the major categories. Expand it out like Best Picture and we could really have some interesting races. Sure, there might still be some years where only five directors or actors are nominated, but I can’t imagine it would be that often given how diverse the Academy is becoming. It would certainly make it a little easier to swallow someone winning if the playing field was even.
Before we kick this thing off though and really get into some of my favorite categories, I wanted to go over the rules. Many people assume they know and I’m sure there are some that don’t care, but I’m still going to break it down regardless. Basically in order for a film to qualify, it must open in the previous calendar year from midnight of January 1st to midnight on New Year’s Eve or December 31st. So this pretty much eliminated the powerful drama “Just Mercy,” starring Jamie Foxx and Michael B. Jordan, which I would have bet garnered a few nominations had it been released sooner than it was. But, all of this is according to rules 2 and 3 of the official Academy Awards Rules created by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), which also states film’s must be a feature-length of at least 40 minutes long with a native resolution of at least 1280×720. Producers must submit their Official Screen Credits online from before the deadline or it will be deemed ineligible. That form, which includes production credits for all related categories will eventually be checked and put into a ‘Reminder List of Eligible Releases,’ thus giving the pool of movies for the 6,600-plus active and life Academy members to choose from. For most of the categories, members from each of the branches will determine the nominees, meaning only actors will vote for actors, writers for writers, directors for directors, etc. The only exception is for Best Picture, where all voting members are eligible to select nominees for that category. The winning nominees are then determined by a second round of voting in which all Academy members are allowed to vote in most categories, including Best Picture. But, this is only the beginning to the madness that will be taking over Flashback Flix. In addition to this, I have included my quick thoughts after seeing each Best Picture nominee, so be sure to check out my Podcasts page for even more fun.
Oscars 2020 Intro & Nominations
This is how out of it I have been with movies for the past year. The Oscars are less than a month away and I have barely seen a third of the Best Picture nominees. Usually by the time the nominations are released, I’m over half way thru potential picks, but not this year. No chance for that given the ceremony is a good three weeks before it usually is, airing this year on February 9th, a week after the Super Bowl and a week before the Daytona 500. Nothing like wedging yourself between two of the biggest sporting events of the year, but that’s exactly what they are doing in hopes of adding a few more viewers. They need to do something, as the average overnight rating for the famed ceremony has been steadily slipping over the past 20 years. Sure, there are reasons for that, but the fact remains that people are not tuning in like they once did. That’s too bad, for this is still my favorite Sunday of the year; even with it being a few weeks earlier than I would like it.
Speaking of which, in looking back in the history of this ceremony, you might be surprised to learn this is only the 18th time it will be held in February, 13 of which that has occurred in the past 17 years. Before 2004, this ceremony was held 47 times in March, 23 times in April, 3 times in November and once in May, which also happened to be the very first one. So it will be interesting to see if this new early February slot sticks as we move forward. With no host again and a litany of questionable decisions over the past decade, I’m not holding my breath. Either way though, I will still be right in front of my TV when Oscar Sunday moves into focus for the 92nd time. Until then, I hope you find this race to February 9th as fun as I will. Starting this week, I will be posting my quick thoughts on all the Best Picture nominees, so be sure to check out the Podcasts page.
Below are this year’s nominees, courtesy of Variety.com.
Best Picture:
“Ford
v Ferrari”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Little Women”
“Marriage Story”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Parasite”
Lead Actor:
Antonio
Banderas, “Pain and Glory”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”
Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”
Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”
Lead Actress:
Cynthia
Erivo, “Harriet”
Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”
Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”
Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”
Renee Zellweger, “Judy”
Supporting Actor:
Tom
Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”
Al Pacino, “The Irishman”
Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”
Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Supporting Actress:
Kathy
Bates, “Richard Jewell”
Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”
Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”
Florence Pugh, “Little Women”
Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”
Director:
Martin
Scorsese, “The Irishman”
Todd Phillips, “Joker”
Sam Mendes, “1917”
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite”
Animated Feature:
“How
to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” Dean DeBlois
“I Lost My Body,” Jeremy Clapin
“Klaus,” Sergio Pablos
“Missing Link,” Chris Butler
“Toy Story 4,” Josh Cooley
Animated Short:
“Dcera,”
Daria Kashcheeva
“Hair Love,” Matthew A. Cherry
“Kitbull,” Rosana Sullivan
“Memorable,” Bruno Collet
“Sister,” Siqi Song
Adapted Screenplay:
“The
Irishman,” Steven Zaillian
“Jojo Rabbit,” Taika Waititi
“Joker,” Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
“Little Women,” Greta Gerwig
“The Two Popes,” Anthony McCarten
Original Screenplay:
“Knives
Out,” Rian Johnson
“Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach
“1917,” Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino
“Parasite,” Bong Joon-ho, Jin Won Han
Cinematography:
“The
Irishman,” Rodrigo Prieto
“Joker,” Lawrence Sher
“The Lighthouse,” Jarin Blaschke
“1917,” Roger Deakins
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Robert Richardson
Best Documentary Feature:
“American
Factory,” Julia Rieichert, Steven Bognar
“The Cave,” Feras Fayyad
“The Edge of Democracy,” Petra Costa
“For Sama,” Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
“Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov
Best Documentary Short Subject:
“In
the Absence,” Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam
“Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone,” Carol Dysinger
“Life Overtakes Me,” Kristine Samuelson and John Haptas
“St. Louis Superman,” Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan
“Walk Run Cha-Cha,” Laura Nix
Best Live Action Short Film:
“Brotherhood,”
Meryam Joobeur
“Nefta Football Club,” Yves Piat
“The Neighbors’ Window,” Marshall Curry
“Saria,” Bryan Buckley
“A Sister,” Delphine Girard
Best International Feature Film:
“Corpus
Christi,” Jan Komasa
“Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov
“Les Miserables,” Ladj Ly
“Pain and Glory,” Pedro Almodovar
“Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho
Film Editing:
“Ford
v Ferrari,” Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland
“The Irishman,” Thelma Schoonmaker
“Jojo Rabbit,” Tom Eagles
“Joker,” Jeff Groth
“Parasite,” Jinmo Yang
Sound Editing:
“Ford
v Ferrari,” Don Sylvester
“Joker,” Alan Robert Murray
“1917,” Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Wylie Stateman
“Star Wars: The Rise of SkyWalker,” Matthew Wood, David Acord
Sound Mixing:
“Ad
Astra”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“Joker”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Production Design:
“The
Irishman,” Bob Shaw and Regina Graves
“Jojo Rabbit,” Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova
“1917,” Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh
“Parasite,” Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram, and Cho Hee
Original Score:
“Joker,”
Hildur Guðnadóttir
“Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat
“Marriage Story,” Randy Newman
“1917,” Thomas Newman
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams
Original Song:
“I
Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4”
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” “Rocketman”
“I’m Standing With You,” “Breakthrough”
“Into the Unknown,” “Frozen 2”
“Stand Up,” “Harriet”
Makeup and Hair:
“Bombshell”
“Joker”
“Judy”
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”
“1917”
Costume Design:
”The
Irishman,” Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson
“Jojo Rabbit,” Mayes C. Rubeo
“Joker,” Mark Bridges
“Little Women,” Jacqueline Durran
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Arianne Phillips
Visual Effects:
“Avengers
Endgame”
“The Irishman”
“1917”
“The Lion King”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”