The 83rd Academy Awards: Winners, Losers, Numbers and Quirks

Colin Firth in The King's Speech

The King’s Speech (TKS) received 12 nominations and won four. Of course, they were four very important ones: Best Original Screenplay (David Seidler), Best Director (Tom Hooper), Best Actor (Colin Firth) and Best Feature Motion Picture of 2010, the really big one! For some reason, TKS did not win the cinematography award. That went to Inception.

The Social Network (TSN), which came out of the gate the strong favorite, began to recede after TKS was released. It received eight nominations and won three, Best Adapted Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin), Film Editing, and Original Score (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross).

In the final analysis, TKS bested TSN in all three of the major categories where they competed -- Best Actor, Best Director, and, of course, Best Picture. Also, David Seidler, writer of the best original screenplay for TKS, made the best acceptance speech of the night, followed by Colin Firth. The Brits definitely won the night.

It was no surprise that Natalie Portman won Best Actress for her performance as the anorexic, neurotic Lesbian ballerina in Black Swan. Out of five nominations, that was the only win for the movie, and score one more point for the Brits.

The Oscars for Best Actress and Actor in a Supporting Role both went to The Fighter's, Melissa Leo and Christian Bale, and those were it for The Fighter. It was nominated for seven.

Inception received eight nominations and walked away with four technical awards: Cinematography, Visual Effects, Sound Mixing, and Sound Editing. The director of Inception, Christopher Nolan, did not receive a best directing nomination. Nominating 10 films for best picture and only five in all of the other categories skews the overall results.

For instance, nominating five movies for best picture, means all five directors of those films stand a good chance of getting a nomination, but only five out of 10 can get nominated with 10 films in the running, and all the other categories are affected as well. So, one or two deserving nominations tied to a best picture win, such as best director, cinematography or screenplay, will not happen. Do the math, people.

Toy Story 3 received five nominations and received two statuettes, one for Best Animated Film and the other for Best Song, “We Belong Together,” music and lyrics by Randy Newman who performed it on the broadcast. It was a foregone conclusion that TOY STORY 3 would not win best picture, although it was nominated. I think that nomination was a salute to the franchise, which it deserved. There will be no more Toy Story movies, at least for now, but the trilogy will endure.

True Grit received 10 nominations but did not win a single award, so it will have 10 loses for its lifetime reputation. I think that might be a record, and I cannot even begin to speculate about the cause. The film's Box Office results indicated it was better than that, I think it deserved more, and so did Roger Ebert.

Likewise, 127 Hours scored zero wins out of four nominations, as did Winter’s Bone and The Kids Are All Right. The Best Documentary Feature, Inside Job, was directed by Charles Ferguson and Audrey Mars. I do not track the short films.
 
Alice in Wonderland did not receive a best picture nod, but did receive three nominations and two wins, Art Direction and Costume Design. It lost Visual Effects to Inception.

No question about the fact that the big studio productions won the night. Also, did anyone notice there was not one nomination for a black anywhere? I believe that is the first time in years.

To see the list of all the nominees and the winners, click the title of this post. The next post "Chewing the Oscar Broadcast,  Best of 2011."

Roger Ebert and I Pick Some Oscar® Winners

Firth and Carter

Mr. Roger Ebert made his Oscar® predictions for the 83rd Academy Awards® on his blog a couple of days ago. I made some of mine (best picture and acting awards) a couple of weeks ago, and posted them here on the second post down. I repeat those here with more explanation, and add some more because every year I do this competition with Ebert, but he doesn't know I do it. I can never enter an Oscar picking contest, because I can never pick the lesser categories, but I fare pretty well in the major ones.

Okay, I'm rolling up my sleeves, confirming my previous picks, and announcing some additional ones. Ebert writes his preference for Best Feature Motion Picture of 2010 would be THE SOCIAL NETWORK, if he were a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. However, he believes THE KING'S SPEECH will win because, “A British historical drama about a brave man struggling to overcome a disability, and then leading his people into World War II, looks better to the Academy than a cutting-edge portrait of hyperactive nerds.”

I, too, choose THE KING'S SPEECH for Best Feature Motion Picture. I choose it because I think it is as near to a perfect a movie as one can make. Normal viewers and Academy members appreciate a film they can enjoy without constantly being distracted by flaws here and there, especially in writing, directing, cinematography, film editing, sound editing, and an overpowering music score.

THE KING'S SPEECH is based upon the life of King George VI and his wife, later known as the Queen Mum of Britain. At this time in history, they are the parents of two young Princesses Elizabeth, now Queen Elizabeth II, and her late younger sister, Margaret.

The movie's focus is on Colin Firth's character, known to his family as Bertie, who becomes King George VI of England when the older brother Edward abdicates the throne to marry a divorcee, Mrs. Simpson. Young Bertie is confronted with the prospect of World War II looming on the horizon even before he becomes king.

As King of England, Birdie will need to address the nation over the new "fangeled" radio. No longer can a king wave from a car or a balcony. He must speak. However, Birdie has a debilitating stutter. What to do?

Firth's portrayal is not only about the mechanics of stuttering, but the anguish in the eyes of the young prince because he despises his inadequacy, which he cannot help but might overcome. Plus, the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) honored Firth for best performance of a male actor. As I often point out, 80% of SAG's nominees go on to win an Oscar. I, like Ebert, think Firth will win Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. In my judgment, his performance is above fantastic.

I saw a poll where people who viewed THE KING'S SPEECH gave it a 97% enjoyment rating. TRUE GRIT was next with 88% followed by THE FIGHTER at 80. No other movie in the poll but THE KING'S SPEECH was higher than 88%.

Geoffrey Rush may well win Best Supporting Actor on his own merit portraying the king's speech therapist and eventual friend, as Ebert predicts. I feel the role limited Rush's acting, but he could win due to the "coattail" effect from the movie.

However, SAG gave their award to Christian Bale, who in THE FIGHTER depicts the ne're-do-well, drug-ravaged older half-brother boxer, Dickey Ecklund. Dickey's younger half-brother Mickey Ward, portrayed by Mark Wahlberg, also boxes but defers to his mother's support of Dickey to go for the title, rather than seeking the title himself.

This movie, as is THE KING'S SPEECH, is based on a true story. Some of the family are still living, especially the brothers. Bale in THE FIGHTER, like Firth, disappears into the character of Dickey. I choose Bale.

Ebert goes with Hailee Steinfeld, TRUE GRIT, for Best Supporting Actress. Although, he points out, she was really an actress in a leading role. I do not dispute that. However, she is just "out of the gate" as an actress, so she was nominated in the supporting category. I do not think she will win anything, not that she doesn't deserve it. Again, as with Bale, I am going with SAG who honored Melissa Leo (THE FIGHTER). See my second post down about the SAG Awards.

Natalie Portman

For Actress in a Leading Role, beautiful Natalie Portman (BLACK SWAN) was born in Israel, received an Oscar nomination for THE CLOSER (2001), seems to be the favorite, and has all the chops to win. I should choose her to win, as did Ebert. I am  not doing so. I am swallowing hard and choosing someone else.

There are extenuating situations concerning Annette Bening, also nominated in the category for THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT, which compel me to go against the popular assumption and choose her:

(1) Besides the current movie, Bening has previously been nominated three times for an Oscar for acting, two for best actress, BEING JULIA (2004) and AMERICAN BEAUTY (1999), and one for supporting actress for THE GRIFFTERS (1990). (2) THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT received three nominations for 2010, for best motion picture, screenplay, and Bening. Obviously, she has support from her peers for an acting Oscar.

(3) Also, both Bening and her husband, Warren Beatty, are well respected by Academy members, and her interpretation of the "male" in the movie's Lesbian relationship is superb. (4) Bening is now slightly over 50,  has made 28 movies as an actress, is still beautiful, and she has no Oscar for her efforts.

(5) Natalie Portman is young, turning 30 this year, and was nominated for an Oscar in 2001 for CLOSER. She still has time to hone her acting, and I do not think she has reached her acting potential yet. Remember, SAG winners receive an Oscar 80%, not 100%, of the time, and I think this may be one of the times their nominee does not win. I know it is a long shot, but I am taking it.

I believe the Best Director will be Tom Hooper, THE KING'S SPEECH. H received the Directors Guild of America award. Again, unlike with THE SOCIAL NETWORK, I became so engrossed in the movie, I never noticed the camera. That is the way it should be. If anyone has ever directed on stage or screen they watch the blocking in a production. I have, and the blocking was excellent. For those that do not know what blocking is, it is the placement of the actors in a scene.

I agree with Ebert that Aaron Sorkin's adapted screenplay for THE SOCIAL NETWORK will be the topper. The movie is based on the novel, The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich.

Ebert believes Mike Leigh's original screenplay for ANOTHER YEAR is the best original screenplay of the year, but he thinks David Seidler will win for THE KING'S SPEECH. So do I. It won the Writers Guild Award for best original screenplay.

I agree with Ebert that TOY STORY3 will win the Best Animated Feature Film Oscar hands down. It is the most popular animated movie of the year, grossed over $400 million, and is also nominated for Best Feature Motion Picture. I would say it has a big edge over the other two nominated movies in the animated feature film category.

I also agree with Ebert about BIUTIFUL (Mexico), directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, who also co-wrote the screenplay.  I hope it will win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film because it deserves to win. Iñárritu received a directing Oscar nomination for BABEL in 2006.

BIUTIFUL'S star is the Spanish Oscar winner (NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN), Javier Bardem. He and his Spanish wife Penelope Cruz have a new son, and many Academy members like that because they also like both Bardem and Cruz. He is nominated for Best Actor for his performance in this movie as the dying father, a performance that is, "magnifico!" 

Hans Zimmer won the Hollywood Music in Media Award in November for his original score for INCEPTION, and Ebert liked the score for THE SOCIAL NETWORK, but he believes, as do I, that the Oscar will go to Alexandre Desplat for THE KING'S SPEECH. For me, the score was like the camera, I hardly noticed it was there, but when I listened during transitions, I liked what I heard. As Ebert says, THE KING'S SPEECH will sweep some of the awards with it, i.e., that "coattail effect" again, and the score may be one.

For Achievement in Music, Original Song, I must go with A.R. Rahman's "If I Rise" from 127 HOURS. Actually, Rahman's score for 127 HOURS may fool us all and win the Oscar for the score as well.

Two more to go. One for Outstanding Cinematography, and the other for Outstanding Film Editing. I agree with Ebert that the cinematography of  Roger Deakins, nominated for TRUE GRIT is outstanding. According to Ebert, Deakins has been nominated nine times and has not won one. Ebert thinks this might be his year, however, he goes with THE KING'S SPEECH and Denny Cohen. True, Cohen could benefit from the "coattail effect" but I am going with Deakins and TRUE GRIT, because I think he deserves it.

For Outstanding Film Editing, I go with THE SOCIAL NETWORK (TSN) since INCEPTION did not get a nomination in this category. The editing by Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter for TSN obviously was a complex challenge, and I think they met it. I do not fault the editing for THE KING'S SPEECH, but I think its complexity does not match that of TSN.

And that is as far as I go with my predictions now. Ebert has more choices on his blog, and you can read those by clicking the title of this post. Do you think you can outguess Ebert's picks? Click the title of this post and scroll down to find the $100,000 contest information. Can you outguess me? Sorry, if so, no money.

Here's a big tip in picking Best Motion Picture. Early on in the ceremony watch and note which film wins for: directing, cinematography, film editing, sound editing, writing, and it helps if it scores a win for best actor or actress. The film that wins at least the first five of these will, almost without exception, be the winner in the category. You can make book on it.

Oscar® Acting Nominations Compared to Screen Actors Guild Awards

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was chartered 62 years ago. Since 1962, the Guild bestowed a number of luminaries with Life Achievement Awards, in both movies and television, but had never produced a televised awards ceremony with various "outstanding performance" categories until 1995.

In his book All About Oscar, Emanuel Levy notes the influence SAG award winners have at the Academy Awards. SAG's 61-year-history has shown that with 4,200 member actors representing 24 percent of voting Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members -- the largest voting block in the Academy -- 80 percent of SAG winners go on to win an Oscar. See More.

Remember when Sandra Bullock won Best Actress in a Lead Role for The Blind Side? Many scoffed. They thought SAG was off its rocker. It wasn't.

This year SAG members celebrated the 17th Annual Televised Screen Actors Guild Awards Gala. They now, too, award a heavy gold statuette of a male nude, or is it androgynous?

Their statuette holds a gold theatrical mask in each hand. The raised left hand holds the comedy mask, and close to his/it's shoulder, the right hand holds the drama mask. This year's Awards Gala was held Sunday, January 30, 2011, and was broadcast coast to-coast on TNT and TBS.

All these winners are also nominated for an Oscar. And, the winners are:

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture: The King's Speech;

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role: Colin Firth (King George VI) The King's Speech;

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role: Natalie Portman (Nina Sayers) Black Swan;

Outstanding Performance by a  Male Actor in a Supporting Role: Christian Bale (Dicky Eklund) The Fighter;

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Melissa Leo (Alice Ward) The Fighter.

I like their designations of female and male actor, but I am always in favor of removing gender biases. Why are we still using actor and actress in the 21st Century? They all act. Therefore, they are actors. 

So, will the above list repeat itself at the 83rd Academy Awards? The recipients were exactly the same for The Golden Globes, except there was no Best Cast Globe Award. The Globes are considered another reliable Oscar predictor.

For more on the 17th SAG Awards, and to see all the nominees and winners, click the title of this post.

Best Picture Oscar® Nominations and One Long Shot

I found no surprises in the Oscar nominations announced today by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the 83rd Academy Awards®. I haven't even seen The King's Speech, yet, but I tapped it a month ago to get an Oscar® nomination for the Best Motion Picture of 2010. It received the most nominations, twelve in all.

Actors Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush all received nominations, a stellar lineup. Firth was nominated for Best Actor in a lead role. Rush and Carter were nominated in the acting supporting categories, actor and actress respectively. Director Tom Hooper made the cut for achievement as best director.

The other nine Best Picture slots went to 127 Hours, The Kids Are All Right, Black Swan, The Social Network, Inception, The Fighter, Winter's Bone, Toy Story 3, and True Grit. The King's Speech did exceedingly well in the technical categories to gain a sure footing on the path to a Best Motion Picture Oscar.

Remember boys and girls, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has the biggest voting block in the Academy. Thus, where SAG goes, the academy usually follows. SAG will give their awards this Sunday (30th).

All the actors nominated for their roles in The Social Network are also nominated for SAG awards in the same categories. Plus, the movie is nominated for the Best Cast award. The others nominated by SAG for best cast are: Black Swan, The Fighter, The Kids Are All Right and The Social Network.

The other directors nominated are: David Fincher (The Social Network), Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan), the Brothers Cohen (True Grit) and David O. Russell (The Fighter).

The King's Speech received seven other nominations for achievement in: art direction, cinematography, film editing, original score, original screenplay, sound mixing and costume design.

Getting the most nominations is always commendable in the Oscar race, but movies have racked up the most nominations before, only to go home empty handed. I do not think The King's Speech will experience that problem.

Now, that I have acknowledged True Grit above, I must clarify the statements used in some of the reporting about the movie's lack of even a single Golden Globe nomination. The words, or phrases, used were snubbed, overlooked, passed over, ignored, etc. The truth is, True Grit was not released until December 22, and the Globes ballots were mailed to members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) on December 2nd. The final screening date was the 8th, press conferences the 9th, and ballots were due at Ernst and Young on the 10th for tabulation. Paramount set the HFPA an impossible task.

In not releasing True Grit before December first, Paramount allowed the studio to grab a good box office gross over the holidays, and take the lead in money charts, but it was too late for True Grit to get any Golden Globe nominations. I think that was a bad move by Paramount.

True Grit came in second in the Oscar race with ten nominations, including acting honors for Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld. Also, the aforementioned Cohen brothers directing nomination as well as their nomination for best adapted screenplay. In the other "achievement in" categories, True Grit was nominated for: art direction, costume, cinematography, film editing, sound editing and mixing.

Actor Jeff Bridges (Rooster) is nominated by SAG for best actor. SAG nominated actress Hailee Stienfeld (Mattie) in the best supporting actress category, too. There has been some contention about Stienfeld's supporting actress nod. Some believe that she should have been nominated as best actress.

The best picture long shot? That would be Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney), which I previously suggested would probably be nominated in the Best Motion Picture category, as well as the Best Animated Feature Film category. With it in the last category are: How to Train Your Dragon (Paramount) and The Illusionist (Sony Pictures). If I were voting, I would vote for Toy Story 3 for the Oscar in this category. It is no Fantasia. I think the Best Picture nomination is a "special salute" to Walt Disney and all those who participated in the Toy Story trilogy, and that, in itself, is a good thing.

The same was probably true about the salute to UP last year. I personally felt that the salute was not only for Walt Disney and Pixar, as well as all who participated, but it was an extra special salute to Mr. Edward Asner and Mr. Christopher Plummer.


More posts to follow about the nominations. Next post, "Discussing Three More Best Picture Nominees".

Israeli Film Wins Lion at Venice

LEBANON

The 66th Venice International Film Festival (Le Biennale di Venezia)(VIFF), which ran from 2 - 12 September, wrapped yesterday evening with a somewhat surprising list of winners, and only two for the USA. The awards ceremony in the Sala Darsena was followed by the screenings of LOVE YOU (Chengdu, wo ai ni, China) by Fruit Chan and Jian Cui, and RAMBO (Director's Cut) by Sylvester Stallone.

Director Ang Lee, two-time Golden Lion (Leone d'Oro) winner, served as head of the Jury that selected the top prizes, and he personally awarded the Golden Lion for Best Film. He first won the Golden Lion in 2005 for BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, and again for the World War II drama LUST, CAUTION in 2007. His latest movie, TAKING WOODSTOCK, screened out of competition at Venice.

The festival top prize, the Golden Lion for Best Film went to LEBANON (Levanone, Israel), a debut feature film for director Samuel Maoz. Set in June, 1982, the start of the Israel-Lebanon War, four young Israeli soldiers operate a tank that is assigned to go into a Lebanese village to clear it of PLO terrorists, the first tank to cross the border in what was supposed to be a one-day mission. It turns into much more than that.

Director Maoz was only 22 when he fought in the Israel-Lebanon War. He spent years in after-combat distress, suffering outbursts of anger and extended episodes of depression. After 25 years, he decided that creating a fictionalized version of his experiences might help him, and others.

The buzz started early at the Festival for this film as a contender for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar® for Israel, and it will now kick into high gear. That remains to be seen, as much will depend upon what it does at Toronto, and what distributor picks it up for the U.S. Market.

Shirin Neshat was awarded the Silver Lion (Leone d'Argento) for Best Director for WOMEN WITHOUT MEN (Zanan Bedone Mardan, Germany), and another coveted award, the Special Jury Prize was awarded to SOUL KITCHEN by Fatih Akin (Germany). Note to myself: Films about cooking are coming out of the woodworks this year from a variety of countries on the heels of the Julia Child take-off, JULIE AND JULIA.

The Volpi Cup (Coppa Volpi) for Best Actor / Actress went to British actor Colin Firth for his role in Tom Ford's debut film, A SINGLE MAN (USA), and Russian actress Ksenia Rappoport for her role in the film THE DOUBLE HOUR (La doppia ora, Italy) by Giuseppe Capotondi. A SINGLE MAN is based on the novel by Christopher Isherwood, and the buzz is that this could be Firth's Oscar year. This role is, after all, a strait man who portrays a gay. Again, a lot depends on what happens at Toronto and with the film's yet-to-acquire distributor.

Todd Solondz is bringing home to the USA the "Osella" for Best Screenplay for LIFE DURING WARTIME (USA). Joe Dante will do the same with a Persol 3-D Award for the Best 3-D Stereoscopic Film of the Year (Prize awarded on 11th September 2009) for THE HOLE, a film described as a, "Kiddie horror film." The prize is given to a film that best explores (the) new cinematic frontier” of 3-D. These were the only two Venice Festival awards for the USA.

The Horizon's Award (Orizzonti) went to ENGKWENTRO by Pepe Diokno (Philippines). China's Du Haibin received the Horizon Best Documentary award for 1428. THE MAN'S OTHER WOMAN AND OTHER STORIES (Aadmi ki aurat aur anya kahaniya, India) by Amit Dutta received a special mention.

For list of all awards, click title of this post.