If I Were An Academy Voter: 1997 Part 2

Best Art Direction

Academy Winner/My Pick - Titanic
Commentary - This one was tough, but some of the sets (and those that were destroyed), were magnificent, and captured the grandeur of the ill-fated ship.

Best Cinematography
Academy Winner - Titanic
My Pick - L.A. Confidential
Commentary - Titanic was beautifully shot, but I prefer the dark, sensous hues of L.A. Confidential, as the cinematography did a tremendous amount to set the entire mood of the film.

Best Costume Design
Academy Winner/My Pick - Titanic
Commentary - From the flashy costumes of the wealthy to the rags of the poor, no costume designer had to design as many and as many different costumes as those that worked on Titanic, and some of those costumes really were stunning.

Best Film Editing
Academy Winner - Titanic
My Pick - Air Force One
Commentary - Why oh why would you give this to Titanic? Epic? Yes. But long as hell. Instead, I would have gone with the terse and tense Air Force One, which was edited perfectly to have the most suspenseful impact.

Best Makeup
Academy Winner/My Pick - Men in Black
Commentary - I have a secret love of this movie, as it was hilarious and fun. Oh the makeup design was pretty damn good as well.

Best Original Musical or Comedy Score
Academy Winner - Anne Dudley "The Full Monty"
My Pick - Hans Zimmer "As Good As It Gets"
Commentary - I found Hans Zimmer sprightly and pitch perfect in capturing the mood and the tone of the dramedy As Good As It Gets.

Best Original Dramatic Score
Academy Winner/My Pick - James Horner "Titanic"
Commentary - A wonderfully dramatic and hauntingly beautiful score.

Best Original Song
Academy Winner/My Pick - James Horner "My Heart Will Go On" from "Titanic"
Commentary - One of the greatest and most epic songs of all time.

Best Sound Mixing
Academy Winner - Titanic
My Pick - Air Force One
Commentary - I know this one should probably go to Titanic, but I felt that Air Force One was much more tightly edited in terms of its sound than Titanic, and since it wasn't nominated for Sound Editing, I would have voted for it here instead.

Best Sound Editing
Academy Winner/My Pick - Titanic
Commentary - Since it probably should have won Sound Mixing.

Best Visual Effects
Academy Winner/My Pick - Titanic
Commentary - Out of the nominees, it was the only one worth winning an Academy Award, plus those ship shots are were fantastic.