[My apologies for the font irregularities.]So it’s that time of the year again when the Academy of motion picture arts & sciences will be handing out the bald, golden, naked man with a staff (that probably came out wrong *wink*) to the best of the best in the year gone by. Well, judging by the nominations they seem to have gotten most of the stuff in the right place. But then again like always there are epic UFO sized blunders too.
So, I decided to throw my 5 rupees into the ring & make predictions as to who might win, who might upset & while I’m at it also hand out a few Oscars of my own to the underdogs :) (You are free to suggest what my version of the Oscars should be called in the comments section because I’m just too lazy to think of a cool/lousy name). So here goes…
(Of course I’m wasted & jobless but even then I don’t have the time to predict the winners from ALL the Oscar categories, so I have just listed the major ones)
1. BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Who will win :- Colin Firth for ‘the King’s Speech’. This smart Britisher is the frontrunner having already bagged a BAFTA, & a Golden Globe for his performance as the stuttering King George VI in a film that’s been giving film critics around the world intense orgasms (94% on Rotten Tomatoes!). He was being touted for a Best Actor Oscar even before the film released. Looking forward to Colin’s…um…speech.
Who might upset:- Jesse Eisenberg for ‘The Social Network’. Although the chances of this happening are 1567894 : 1 you never know when the Academy springs up an unpleasant surprise. Eisenberg scores points for playing the fidgety facebook founder to perfection, making geekiness cool & making Zuckerberg who is already a pop culture icon, into an even bigger pop culture icon.
Who I give it to:- James Franco for ‘127 hours’. The movie would have fallen flat on its face if it wasn’t for Franco’s spirited performance. Despite just being a guy trapped by a boulder in a canyon Franco shows a terrific range throughout.
2. BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Who will win:- Natalie Portman for ‘The Black Swan’. The pretty young (& heavily pregnant) actress is almost certain to bag her 2nd Oscar for portraying the Ballet dancer Nina in Aronofsky’s thriller. I just hope she doesn’t deliver a baby on stage while accepting her award.
Who might upset:- Annette Benning for ‘The Kids are alright’. The Oscars love to award actors who portray homosexuals, and Benning’s performance has been much loved & lauded in this tale of 2 lesbians who are out to seek the biological father of their teenage children.
Who I give it to:- Nicole Kidman for ‘Rabbit Hole’. Throughout most of the film it’s Kidman’s eyes & body language that do the talking & deliver the pain of a young mother who has lost a child. It’s a restrained performance, one of Kidman’s best in her entire career & this underrated actress should actually get her due.
Blunder:- No Julianne Moore for ‘The Kids are alright’. *throws tomato at the frailest looking academy member*
3. BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (MALE)
Who will win:- Christian Bale for ‘The Fighter’. The actor who is looking rather Jesus Christ-y nowadays what with the long hair & the beard etc. will most probably score a win on the night for the gritty portrayal of the once promising & later drug addict boxer Dicky Ecklund.
Who might upset:- Geoffery Rush for ‘The King’s Speech’. Rush, who plays a speech therapist to the King in the film, is an acting veteran, someone who has been at it for years & the academy might just tilt this into Rush’s favour as they often give an upper hand to experienced cadres.
Who I give it to:- Jeremy Renner for ‘The Town’. Renner was a powerhouse in Affleck’s heist movie with his aggression really coming forth. It was Jem's uneasiness & rebellion that kept the tension in the film alive.
Blunder:- Andrew Garfield not nominated for his portrayal of Eduardo Saverin in ‘The Social Network’. Boo!
4. BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (FEMALE)
Who will win:- Mellisa Leo for ‘The Fighter’. 'The Fighter' basically sails through on the basis of its acting performances so it's not surprising that it gets nominations in all 4 acting categories. Mellisa Leo is the favourite to win here for playing the chain smoking, brash mother cum manager of Dicky Ecklund & Micky Ward.
Who might upset:- Helena Bonham Carter for ‘The King’s Speech’. Carter who plays queen to Firth’s King George has surprisingly not scored any major win this season despite the film being a darling at most award ceremonies & her performance being lauded. But, for some reason I get the feeling that her performance might charm the pants of the Oscar jury. Plus she’s really hot in a weird kinda way. Just saying.
Who I give it to:- Hailee Steinfeild for ‘True Grit’. Because it would be a lot fun to see a kid to shove dirt in the faces of such stalwarts & well, a Coen brothers film HAS to win something at the Oscars.
5. BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Who will win:- Aaron Sorkin for ‘The Social Network’. Aaron Sorkin deserves as much credit for the success of TSN as director David Fincher. Adapted from the book ‘The accidental billionaires’ by Ben Mezrich, Sorkin, served up a screenplay that was racy, energetic & terrific. Employing a non-linear pattern & keeping the story tight almost making it unfold like a thriller. Well, no complaints here. The man deserves it if he wins.
Who might upset:- Simon Boufay for ‘127 hours’. By no means an easy story to make into a movie, Danny Boyle’s long time collaborator Boufay once again spun his web post ‘Slumdog’ & wrote an excellent screenplay that takes us on a rollercoaster ride. Although even here the chances of an upset are very very less.
Who I give it to:- I’d also give it to Aaron Sorkin :) simply put, there was no one better than him this year.
6. BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Who will win:- ‘The King’s speech’. Yet to see the film so can’t really elaborate on how good the screenplay is, but considering the amount of praise the film has garnered it’s bound to be one of a kind. One more jewel in the King’s crown (Am I going overboard with the royal puns?)
Who might upset:- ‘Inception’. Christopher Nolan being the genius that he is served us with a legendary screenplay that turned the viewer into a participant. The meticulous mind-bender won a hell of a lot of acclaim apart from being a box office bonanza & Nolan might just clinch this one. Too bad this is the only category he has been nominated for. Fingers crossed.
Who I give it to:- ‘The Kids are alright’. It would be really nice to see a moderate budget-indie flick to walk away with such a major award, because the chances of ‘kids’ winning any award apart from the acting categories are slim.
7. BEST DIRECTOR
Remember that epic UFO sized blunder I talked about up there? Well that was actually a gross understatement, because the blunder done in this category is way beyond. If a UFO was crossed with Noah’s ark & the result was then crossed over with a Tyrannosaurus Rex, then we'd roughly have an idea of the size of the blunder.
I mean no Christopher Nolan? WHAT THE F***K?
The man who directed a film that pushed the boundaries & brought about this avalanche all through the online forums/ social networks gets snubbed? SHAME!
As a Chris Nolan loyalist I boycott this category this year. I don’t care who wins but most probably it’ll be David Fincher. Sorry Academy, but screw you. You’ve committed the biggest Oscar blunder since 1990 when you gave ‘Dances with the wolves’ best Picture instead of ‘Goodfellas’. Had Nolan been nominated it would’ve been a really close fight, but the fact that he wasn’t clearly makes him the winner.
8. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Who will win:- Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross for ‘The Social Network’. The dynamic duo literally pump life into the movie with their eclectic mix of electronica & industrial rock tunes. A very different & ‘avant garde’ soundtrack but mind blowing none the less.
Who might upset:- Alexandre Desplat for ‘The King’s Speech’. Desplat is an upcoming French composer whose works have been very impressive. Apart from ‘King’ he also displayed his ahem…wizardry for ‘Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows pt. 1’ this year & will be returning for Pt.2. And surprise surprise, the man also scored for ‘Twilight: New Moon’ becoming probably the only person on the planet equally loved by twi-hards & Pottermaniacs. He’s already won the BAFTA & if the Academy opt to give the prize for a taditional orchestral score, then Desplat has it.
Who I give it to:- Need I say it? Of course A.R.Rahman for ‘127 hours’. Well, not just because of the pariotic fervour, but because I genuinely feel that that movie was really a difficult one to score considering most of the action takes place in silence & involves very little dialogue. Though I think Rahman has a sure shot chance to win for the ‘Original Song’ category, its tough to clinch this one. Any which way it’ll be a treat to see Rahman perform at the ceremony.
…and finally
9. BEST PICTURE
Who will win:- ‘The Social Network’. Yes the facebook fable is going to go home victorious that night. At least that’s what I believe. A well made film that got everyone’s attention regardless of whether they were facebookers or not. A coming out party for talented actors we’ve not seen much on screen but will definitely see a lot in the future. And a legendary director at the forefront to pull it all through. The Social Network was the movie to beat this year & so it will be at the Oscars.
Who might upset:- ‘The King’s Speech’. If there is any film that can spoil the fun for Fincher & co. then it is only Tom Hooper’s period drama. It has the momentum going for it, & in the last few months has been winning dollops of awards one after the other. It’s a close call that’s for sure. But I still think Zuckerberg will Poke King George out ;)
Who I give it to:- ‘Inception’. For all the reasons I mentioned above & also because it’s sad that despite making such a good film, the makers will unfortunately go back empty handed save for the technical awards. :(
So that was that, let's see how many I get right. For once I'm excited about a monday morning :)
And here is my personal list of the 10 best films of 2010
