Saturday, March 31, 2012

Retro Review: The Departed

Last night, my friends and I popped in Martin Scorsese's Academy Award winning film The Departed, for what is approximately our twentieth viewing. It occured to me that as many times we go back and watch old movies, that it would be nice for me to share my thoughts via a retroactive review. So in honor of last night's movie, here is my first stab at looking at the past.

The Departed is the story of two men, whose lives are so interconnected, yet they never meet (until the end that is). Billy Costegan (Leonardo Dicaprio) is a police academy drop out, who, due to his extensive family connections to the Irish Boston mob, is handpicked by the state police's undercover unit to infiltrate the inner circle in order to bust up organized crime. Led by a fatherly Captain Queenan (played excellently by the great Martin Sheen), and the always-angry Dignam (played a little too bit over the top by Mark Whalberg), Billy follows the path of crime, to jail, to court-appointed shrink, in order to prove his wroth, and begins to sink even deeper into the layers of the mob. On the opposite side is top of his class Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), pratically raised in the streets by the mob's leader Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson).  He quickly makes his way to the top, all the while acting as a mole for Costello in the state police. He begins to see a therapist (the always-great Vera Farmiga), who in an ironic twist of fate is also the shrink for Billy. As Costello's operation becomes more and more attack by the police, the mole and the rat find it harder to maintain their cool, and they finally meet in an epically shocking and violent conclusion.

The Departed may not stack up against some of Martin Scorsese's earlier dark classics like Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, and Goodfellas, but it is still one of the best films of the last decade. It's whipping fast pace, thanks to the fantastic editing skills of the legendary Thelma Schoonmaker, keeps it constantly entertaining with an almost lyrical movement, and its incredible cast doesn't, for the most part, disappoint. Furthermore, it is an unapologetically violent, brash, and crude. While this may make some viewers shy away, it is what keeps Martin Scorsese great. He goes to places that many directors are afraid to tread. Some critics have complained that some of the characters, and the constant use of the f-word, are a little bit over the top. On a personal note, sometimes Jack Nicholson and Mark Whalberg can seem like they are trying a little too hard. While they make a substantial point, I think that Monahan and Scorsese meant that to be the case, to emphasize the larger-than-life personalities, and the Boston Irish background of most of its characters.

What makes The Departed such an entertaining movie experience is the depth and exciting nature of its storyline and characters. This is truly a film that you can watch 5 or 6 times before you really catch every little detail that is etched into its frames. You can watch it 5 or 6 times before you fully understand the complexity and intertwining fate of our characters.

I still think that Martin Scorsese, and the film deserved the Oscars that they received, although for my money it should have been his third, not first. The Departed deserves to be placed in line with other great gangster classics, by being incredibly entertaining, and unafraid to be brutally honest and violent. It is a brash and almost musical work that excites all the senses and that truly keeps you guessing and glued to the screen until its last brilliant frame.

Grade: A

2012 Golden Raspberry (Razzies) Predictions

The Razzies are always fun, maybe a little cruel, but always interesting to follow. So in anticipation of this year's ceremony (held tomorrow, or maybe it won't, that is the brilliance of April Fool's Day!), here are my winner predictions

Worst Movie
Will Win - Jack and Jill
Should Win - Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
Commentary - Well, these are all horrible, but at some point one of these dreadful Twilight movies has got to win one of these things, and prove to all the screaming fans that what they are really watching is incredibly bad trash.

Worst Director
Will Win - Dennis Dugan "Jack and Jill"
Should Win - Michael Bay "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
Commentary - My ears are still throbbing from the loud mess that was the last two Transformers movies.

Worst Actor/Actress
Will Win (Both) - Adam Sandler "Jack and Jill"
Should Win - Taylor Lautner "Abduction and Breaking Dawn", and Sarah Palin "The Undefeated"
Commentary - It will be an hilarious moment when Adam Sandler completes a feat of winning both the worst actor and actress awards. Although for my money, I would die to see Sarah Palin "win", and Taylor Lautner needs to be a model or something and stay off the screen until he gets some acting ability or at least some personality.

Worst Remake/Rip-Off/Sequel
Will Win/Should Win - Twilight Breaking Dawn Part I
Could Win - Any of the other four.
Commentary - Seriously, it can't go home emptyhanded.

Worst Supporting Actor
Will Win - Al Pacino "Jack and Jill"
Should Win - James Franco "Your Highness"
Commentary - First he started off 2011 by ruining the Oscars, then came up again with this terribly unfunny performance, so yeah Franco you deserve to win. But my bet is that they will reward one of the greatest actors of all time in a ironic twist of fate.

Worst Supporting Actress
Will Win - Katie Holmes "Jack and Jill"
Should Win - Rosie Huntington-Whiteley "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
Commentary - Katie was dreadful, but I never thought it could get worse than Megan Fox. And it did.

Worst Ensemble
Will Win/Should Win - New Year's Eve
Commentary - While Jack and Jill has tons of individual nominations, I think this would once again be ironic considering all the talent that was involved with New Year's Eve, and how dreadful it was.

Worst Couple
Will Win - Adam Sandler and Katie Holmes "Jack and Jill"
Should Win - Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart "Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part I"
Commentary - Because.

Worst Screenplay
Will Win/Should Win - Jack and Jill
Commentary - Seriously, who thought this was a good idea from reading the script?

Best of the Academy Awards Nominees: Best Sound Mixing

Lawrence of Arabia
How the West Was Won
The Exorcist
Jaws
Star Wars
Apocalypse Now
The Empire Strikes Back
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Saving Private Ryan

Friday, March 30, 2012

Best of the Academy Awards Nominees: Best Sound Editing

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Star Wars
Raiders of the Lost Ark
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
Back to the Future
Aliens
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Saving Private Ryan
The Dark Knight

State of the Race - First Oscar Predictions: First Winner Predictions

Best Picture - Lincoln
Best Director - Steven Spielberg "Lincoln"
Best Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis "Lincoln"
Best Actress - Viola Davis "Never Back Down"
Best Supporting Actor - Leonardo Dicaprio "Django Unchained"
Best Supporting Actress - Amy Adams "The Master"
Best Adapted Screenplay - Tony Kushner, John Logan, and Paul Webb "Lincoln"
Best Original Screenplay - Paul Thomas Anderson "The Master"
Best Animated Feature - Brave
Best Art Direction - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Best Cinematography - Lincoln
Best Costume Design - Les Miserables
Best Film Editing - Lincoln
Best Makeup - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Best Original Score- John Williams "Lincoln"
Best Sound Mixing - The Dark Knight Rises
Best Sound Editing - The Dark Knight Rises
Best Visual Effects - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Thursday, March 29, 2012

"Luck" Will Not Contend as Miniseries

Well, when American Horror Story announced that it was eligible and was submitting itself in those categories, the speculation began, what about Luck? Cancelled after one season due to horse injuries (A real shame as it was actually a pretty good show, but I also support those who were concerned about the health of the horses), Luck could potentially contend as a Miniseries, even though it had a second season planned. Well the producers have stuck with their guns and will continue as planned by submitting it as a Drama Series. While its cancellatin and controversy may keep it from awards, the stellar cast will probably still be in the running for nominations considering their pedigree, particularly Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte.

Best of the Academy Awards Nominees: Best Visual Effects

Finally, we have whittled down the lists, and we will now start slowly releasing the final nominees for the Best of the Academy Awards. For the record there will be ten to twelve nominees per category. We will also announce the winners piecemeal as well, just to keep you guessing. By the way, I don't know why I am saying we, it's just me, Andrew, here at The Awards Psychic, maybe I have another personality? Just kidding. Here are the nominees for Best Visual Effects:

2001: A Space Odyssey
Aliens
Avatar
The Empire Strikes Back
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Inception
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Star Wars
Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Best of the Academy Awards Finalists: Best Picture


It Happened One Night
Gone With the Wind
Rebecca
Casablanca
All the King's Men
All About Eve
On the Waterfront
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Apartment
West Side Story
Lawrence of Arabia
The Godfather
The Godfather Part II
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Annie Hall
The Deer Hunter
Platoon
The Silence of the Lambs
Unforgiven
Schindler's List
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Departed
No Country for Old Men

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Tony Award Contenders: Best Musical

Leap of Faith
Newsies
Once
Nice Work if You Can Get It
Bonnie and Clyde
Ghost the Musical
Lysistrata Jones
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark

Commentary - I am not sure how many nominees there will be as I am not yet fluent in Tony elibility. But many of the pundits have predicted four nominees. Leap of Faith, Once, and Nice Work if You Can Get It seem to be the perceived frontrunners. However the last spot (or two) seems to be split between those that think Newsies, and lesser amounts of coverage for Ghost the Musical and Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. If I had to bet money, it would be on Newsies, and maybe Ghost, but Spider-Man seems to be too controversial, and has not received the best reviews, making me think it will not get any or little Tony Attention.

Best of the Academy Awards Finalists: Best Director

Lewis Milestone "All Quiet on the Western Front"
Frank Capra "It Happened One Night"
Victor Fleming "Gone With the Wind"
John Ford "The Grapes of Wrath"
William Wyler "Mrs. Miniver"
Michael Curtiz "Casablanca"
John Huston "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre"
Joseph L. Makiewicz "All About Eve"
Elia Kazan "On the Waterfront"
Billy Wilder "The Apartment"
David Lean "Lawrence of Arabia"
Mike Nichols "The Graduate"
Francis Ford Coppola "The Godfather Part II"
Milos Forman "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
Woody Allen "Annie Hall"
Michael Cimino "The Deer Hunter"
Oliver Stone "Platoon"
Jonathan Demme "The Silence of the Lambs"
Clint Eastwood "Unforgiven"
Steven Spielberg "Schindler's List"
James Cameron "Titanic"
Roman Polanski "The Pianist"
Peter Jackson "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"
Martin Scorsese "The Departed"
Joel and Ethan Coen "No Country For Old Men"
Kathryn Bigelow "The Hurt Locker"

Monday, March 26, 2012

Jimmy Kimmel to Host 2012 Emmy Awards

We learned today that this year's Emmys will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. I actually like Jimmy, and think he is a great fit, although I'm sure there are some detractors. It is also important to note, that with so many awards, the host of the Emmys has a lot less to do than say the Oscars or the Tonys, so if we aren't liking a host, we don't have to have too much exposure to him/her. Anyway, I think this is a fine choice, albeit a little safe, but I'm sure it will be an entertaining show.

State of the Race - First Predictions: Best Picture

Anna Karenina
Brave
The Dark Knight Rises
Django Unchained
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Hyde Park on the Hudson
Lincoln
The Master
The Surrogate
Zero Dark Thirty

Other Possibilities - The Great Gatsby, Les Miserables, Gravity, Life of Pi, Untitled Terrence Malick Project, From Rome With Love, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Moonrise Kingdom, Great Expectations
Cloud Atlas, Gambit, Prometheus, Inside Llewelyn Davis, Argo, The Silver Linings Playbook, Twelve Years a Slave, Trouble With the Curve, The Wettest Country, Only God Forgives, On the Road, The Hunger Games, The Deep Blue Sea, The Paperboy, Gangster Squad, World War Z, The Bell Jar, Hemingway and Fuentes, Won't Back Down, The Magic of Belle Isle, Dark Shadows, Lay the Favorite,

Commentary - In 2008, the exclusion of The Dark Knight was one of the biggest factors pushing the Academy to add more than 5 nominees the last three years. If The Dark Knight Rises is excellent and makes tons of money, and has critics swooning, can it break the comic book curse, and fulfill the Oscar destiny of its predecessor? God I hope so. I am also banking on more populist favorites, The Hobbit and Brave, both of which have incredible potential. But the real ones to look at are those smaller, darker, more Academy-friendly films. Lincoln is the presumed frontrunner, and unless someone tells me differently, I am sticking with it. The Master will definitely be intriguing, and may be able to accomplish what There Will be Blood couldn't in 2007. Django Unchained could have an Inglorious Basterds-type year at the Oscars, or a Kill Bill one. The last time Joe Wright directed a successful book, it was nominated for Best Picture, and Anna Karenina is surely a feat to try to tackle. Kathryn Bigelow could return again with her highly anticipated look at the death of Bin Laden. The Surrogate could be the indie film of the year, and with its two lead performances could have enough push to get it into the big race. Finally, I am going with the historical drama Hyde Park on the Hudson, whose caset looks incredible, and if the rest of the film backs it up, could be a huge contender. As you can tell, I have once again left The Great Gatsby and Les Miserables on the outside looking in, waiting to see if they will be hits or huge flops.

Best of the Academy Awards Finalists: Best Actor

Clark Gable "It Happened One Night"
Spencer Tracy "Boy's Town"
James Stewart "The Philadelphia Story"
James Cagney "Yankee Doodle Dandy"
Laurence Olivier "Hamlet"
Broderick Crawford "All the King's Men"
Humphrey Bogart "The African Queen"
Gary Cooper "High Noon"
Marlon Brando "On the Waterfront"
Alec Guinness "The Bridge on the River Kwai"
Maximillian Schell "Judgment at Nuremberg"
Gregory Peck "To Kill a Mockingbird"
Sidney Poitier "Lilies of the Field"
Marlon Brando "The Godfather"
Jack Nicholson "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest"
Peter Finch "Network"
Jon Voight "Coming Home"
Dustin Hoffman "Kramer vs. Kramer"
Robert De Niro "Raging Bull"
Henry Fonda "On Golden Pond"
William Hurt "Kiss of the Spider Woman"
Anthony Hopkins "The Silence of the Lambs"
Tom Hanks "Philadelphia"
Philip Seymour Hoffman "Capote"
Daniel Day-Lewis "There Will Be Blood"

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Best of the Academy Awards Finalists: Best Actress

Katharine Hepburn "The Lion in Winter”
Claudette Colbert "It Happened One Night"
Bette Davis "Jezebel"
Greer Garson "Mrs. Miniver"
Ingrid Bergman "Gaslight"
Olivia de Havilland "To Each His Own"
Vivien Leigh "A Streetcar Named Desire"/”Gone With the Wind”
Joan Crawford “Mildred Pierce”
Anne Bancroft "The Miracle Worker"
Elizabeth Taylor "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
Glenda Jackson "A Touch of Class"
Louise Fletcher "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
Faye Dunaway "Network"
Diane Keaton "Annie Hall"
Jane Fonda "Klute”
Meryl Streep "Sophie's Choice"
Shirley MacLaine "Terms of Endearment"
Geraldine Page "A Trip to Bountiful"
Kathy Bates "Misery"
Jodie Foster “The Silence of the Lambs”
Frances McDormand "Fargo"
Hilary Swank “Boy’s Don’t Cry”
Charlize Theron "Monster"

Saturday, March 24, 2012

GLAAD Media Award Winners

Vito Russo Award: Craig Zadan & Neil Meron, executive producers of Smash

• Special Recognition Award: Katy Butler, openly gay 17-year-old anti-bullying advocate
• Outstanding Film – Limited Release: Pariah
• Outstanding TV Movie Or Mini Series: Cinema Verite
• Outstanding Talk Show Episode: “Coming Out on the Oprah Show: 25 Years of Unforgettable Guests,” The Oprah Winfrey Show
• Outstanding TV Journalism – Newsmagazine: “The ‘Sissy Boy’ Experiments,” Anderson Cooper 360
• Outstanding Reality Program: Dancing With the Stars
• Outstanding TV Journalism Segment: “Battle Against Bullying,” ABC World News with Diane Sawyer
• Outstanding Music Artist: Lady Gaga, Born This Way
• Outstanding Comic Book: Batwoman by J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman
• Outstanding Los Angeles Theatre: No Word in Guyanese for Me by Wendy Graf
• Outstanding New York Theatre: Broadway & Off Broadway: The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures by Tony Kushner
• Outstanding New York Theatre: Off-Off Broadway: Southern Comfort, book and lyrics by Dan Collins, music by Julianne Wick Davis
• Outstanding Magazine Article: TIE: “15th Anniversary of the Passage of the Defense of Marriage Act” by Chris Geidner (Metro Weekly) and “Black & Gay in Corporate America” by Carolyn M. Brown (Black Enterprise)
• Outstanding Newspaper Article: “Led by the Child Who Simply Knew” by Bella English (The Boston Globe)
• Outstanding Newspaper Columnist: Frank Bruni (The New York Times)
• Outstanding Newspaper Overall Coverage: The New York Times
• Outstanding Magazine Overall Coverage: The Advocate/Out
• Outstanding Digital Journalism-Multimedia: “Injustice at Every Turn” (ITLMedia.org)
• Outstanding Blog: TIE: Mombian  and Towleroad

SPANISH-LANGUAGE

• Outstanding Music Artist: Ricky Martin, Música + Alma + Sexo
• Special Recognition: El Diario la Prensa
• Outstanding Daytime Talk Show Episode: “Lesbianas celebran 10 años,” Caso Cerrado
• Outstanding Talk Show Interview: “Entrevista con Raquel Gómez y Mony Ruiz Velasco,” Al Punto
• Outstanding TV Journalism – Newsmagazine: “Asesino,” Primer Impacto
• Outstanding TV Journalism Segment: “Ángeles del cambio,” Noticiero 34 (KMEX TV-34 [Los Angeles, Calif.])
• Outstanding Newspaper Article: TIE: “Casamiento e hijos biológicos para pareja gay hispana de EEUU” by Claudia Torrens (Associated Press) and “Madre hay una sola, no necesariamente” by Virginia Gaglianone (La Opinión)
• Outstanding Magazine Article: “Nueva York ♥ la igualdad” by Michelle Oyola (People en Español)
• Outstanding Digital Journalism Article: “Las 7 señales de un niño transgénero” by Paula Andalo (Univision.com)

Additional awards — including Outstanding Comedy Series, Drama Series, Film – Wide Release, Documentary, Daily Drama, Telenovela, and Digital Journalism Article – will be announced in Los Angeles on April 21 and in San Francisco on June 2. Facebook will be honored in June in San Francisco with a Special Recognition Award. Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy) will receive the Golden Gate Award and Wells Fargo will receive the Corporate Leader Award.

Emmy News - American Horror Story Competes as TV Movie/Mini

Because American Horror Story is written as an anthology, with each successive season being different casts (although apparently Jessica Lange is returning, so that is tricky), it is in contention for not the Drama Series category, but instead the TV Movie/Miniseries category. This is an interesting twist of fate, but Jessica Lange (at least in my book), still remains at the top of the pack for Supporting Actress, no matter which category she is competing in. Like Downton Abbey before it, it could switch to Drama Series next season, but at this point Ryan Murphy, and his team have decided this is the best place to submit them. I still think it will have a hard time competing because of its genre label. But I will say it has a better shot in this race than it does in the incredibly packed Drama race, so its producers may have made a really smart decision.

State of the Race - First Predictions: Best Director

Paul Thomas Anderson "The Master"
Kathryn Bigelow "Zero Dark Thirty"
Peter Jackson "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
Steven Spielberg "Lincoln"
Quentin Tarantino "Django Unchained"

Other Contenders - Terrence Malick "Untitled Terrence Malick Project", Woody Allen "From Rome With Love", Ang Lee "Life of Pi", Christopher Nolan "The Dark Knight Rises", Tom Hooper "Les Miserables", Baz Luhrmann "The Great Gatsby", Ben Lewin "The Surrogate", Ben Affleck "Argo", Joe Wright "Anna Karenina", Alfonso Cuaron "Gravity", Lee Daniels "The Paperboy", Benh Zeitlin "Beasts of the Southern Wild", Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski and Andy Wachowski "Cloud Atlas", Joel and Ethan Coen "Inside Llewelyn Davis", Joel and Ethan Coen "Gambit", Walter Salles "On the Road", Wes Anderson "Moonrise Kingdom", David O. Russell "The Silver Linings Playbook", Mark Andrew and Brenda Chapman "Brave", Nicholas Winding Refn "Only God Forgives"

Commentary -  A lot of big names returning to the including two from last year's nominees, Terrence Malick and Woody Allen. Both of their movies are risky and could go either way, so I am holding off on repeat nominations for now. Probably the biggest contender is Steven Spielberg, while War Horse didn't get him another nod, I feel Lincoln was always a stronger project (That he has been working on for years), and has more potential to be an even bigger Oscar Contender. Two recent winners, Kathryn Bigelow and Tom Hooper return to the race. I am going to go ahead with Bigelow, because of the bait behind the project, and leave Hooper off, because, as I have said numerous times, I am nervous about Les Miserables. Former nominee Quentin Tarantino returns, and honestly, he can be hit and miss with the Academy. Sometimes they reward his films handsomely (Pulp Fiction, Inglourious Basterds), and sometimes they completely ignore them (the Kill Bills), no matter their quality. But I think Django Unchained looks awesome, along the liens of Inglourious Basterds, and could get him in the nomination circle again. I am also going with Peter Jackson. While many pundits are doubting The Hobbit (and have good reason to), I think that if it even has half of the lingering Lord of the Rings magic, then the industry will swoon over it, and reward Jackson once again. Finally, Paul Thomas Anderson was close to wins with There Will Be Blood and The Master looks fantasic, so add him to the list.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Tony Awards Contenders: Best Play

Clybourne Park
Other Desert Cities
Seminar
One Man Two Guvnors
The Mountaintop
Don't Dress for Dinner
Venus in Fur
The Lyons
Chinglish
Stick Fly
End of the Rainbow
Peter and the Starcatcher
Relatively Speaking
The Columnist
Shatner's World We Just Live In It
Magic Bird

Commentary - A lot of names to sort out here, but there are a few contenders emerging to the front of the pack. Clybourne Park seems to the frontrunner, but Seminar and Other Desert Cities are close on its heels. The Mountaintop, One Man Two Guvnors, Venus in Fur, and Don't Dress for Dinner also seem like great choices, so determining five will be difficult to do.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Best of the Academy Awards Finalists: Best Supporting Actor

Walter Brennan "Kentucky"
James Dunn "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn"
Walter Huston "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre"
George Sanders "All About Eve"
Karl Malden "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Antony Quinn "Viva Zapata!"
Frank Sinatra "From Here to Eternity"
Jack Lemmon "Mister Rogers"
Peter Ustinov "Spartacus"
Walter Matthau "The Fortune Cookie"
George Kennedy "Cool Hand Luke""
Robert DeNiro "The Godfather Part II"
Jason Robards "All the President's Men"
Christopher Walken "The Deer Hunter"
Michael Caine "Hannah and Her Sisters"
Kevin Kline "A Fish Called Wanda"
Denzel Washington "Glory"
Gene Hackman "Unforgiven"
Kevin Spacey "The Usual Suspects"
Morgan Freeman "Million Dollar Baby"
Javier Bardem "No Country For Old Men"
Heath Ledger "The Dark Knight"
Christoph Waltz "Inglourious Basterds"

Best of the Academy Awards Finalists: Best Supporting Actress

Hattie McDaniel "Gone With the Wind"
Jane Darwell "The Grapes of Wrath"
Kim Hunter "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Donna Reed "From Here to Eternity"
Eva Marie Saint "On the Waterfront"
Shelley Winters "The Diary of Anne Frank"
Rita Moreno "West Side Story"
Sandy Dennis "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
Estelle Parsons "Bonnie and Clyde"
Ruth Gordon "Rosemary's Baby"
Goldie Hawn "Cactus Flower"
Cloris Leachman "The Last Picture Show""
Ingrid Bergman "Murder on the Orient Express"
Vanessa Redgrave "Julia"
Maggie Smith "California Suite"
Maureen Stapleton "Reds"
Jessica Lange "Tootsie"
Linda Hunt "The Year of Living Dangerously"
Angelica Huston "Prizzi's Honor"
Dianne Wiest "Hannah and Her Sisters"
Olympia Dukakis "Moonstruck"
Dianne Wiest "Bullets Over Broadway"
Cate Blanchett "The Aviator"
Mo'Nique "Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire"
Octavia Spencer "The Help"

Tony Award Contenders: Best Revival of a Musical

Evita
Godspell
Follies
The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess
Jesus Christ Superstar
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever

Commentary - With so few entries this year, it looks like there will probably only be 2 to 4 nominees. I think it is pretty much set in stone that the battle for the win will come down between Follies and Evita. In third place, my money is on Porgy and Bess, although some pundits are going for either Godspell or Jesus Christ Superstar. An interesting mix to say the least, but if I had to place bets, I'd say only three nominees (I of course need to do some research on eligibility), with four plays fighting for the third spot.

State of the Race - First Predictions: Best Animated Feature

First Predictions:

Brave
Frankenweenie
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Rise of the Guardians
The Secret World Of Arrietty

Other Contenders - Pablo, The Rabbi's Cat, ParaNorman, Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, The Wild Bunch, Dorothy of Oz, Wreck-It Ralph, Hotel Transylvania, Ice Age: Continental Drift, The Suicide Shop, Madagascar 3: Europes Most Wanted, Little Voices, A Monster in Paris, The Dreaming Machine, Crulic: The Path to Beyond, Aya of Yop City, Banking on Mr. Toad, The Flying Machine, The Hunting of the Snark

Commentary - If all of these films actually become eligible, we will most likely see another year of five for the category. I think I speak for all Pixar fans when I say, God I hope Brave is good. After Cars 2 had us shaking our heads in disbelief, it is time for Pixar to once again prove why it is produces the best films year in and year out. If it is as good as it looks, then we have our first official frontrunner for the category. Tim Burton could also return with his animated version of his own work Frankenweenie. It is weird, but they went for Corpse Bride (Still his only Oscar nomination to date). The Brits throw their hat in, with the guys who brought us Chicken Run, with Pirates! It looks funny, and could be a surprise contender despite its hokey title. The Secret World of Arrietty didn't make too big a dent on the box office, but got decent reviews, and for the minute it is a place holder. Finally, I am going with a bigger studio film Rise of the Guardians, which could crack the top five. But it and the others will have to look out for the foreign/indie films as the animators always throw in one (or this past year two) in favor of bigger studio efforts. Pablo and The Rabbi's Cat look like good contenders, but I will leave them on the outside looking in until we get a better sense of the race.

Best of the Academy Awrads Finalists: Best Adapted Screenplay

Robert Riskin "It Happened One Night"
Ian Dalrymple, Cecil Lewis, W.P. Lipscomb, George Bernard Shaw "Pygmalion"
Sidney Howard "Gone With the Wind"

Philip G. Epstein, Julius J. Epstein, Howard Koch "Casablanca"
John Huston "The Treasure of Sierra Madre"
Joseph L. Mankiewicz "All About Eve"
Pierre Boulle, Carl Foreman, Michael Wilson "The Bridge on the River Kwai"
Abby Mann "Judgment at Nuremberg"
Horton Foote "To Kill a Mockingbird"
Waldo Salt "Midnight Cowboy"
Ring Lardner Jr. "M*A*S*H"
Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola "The Godfather"
William Peter Blatt "The Exorcist"
Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola "The Godfather Part II"
Bo Goldman and Laurence Hauben "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
William Goldman "All the President's Men"

James L. Brooks "Terms of Endearment"
Ted Tally "The Silence of the Lambs"
Steve Zaillian "Schindler's List"
Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson, and Phillippa Boyens "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"
Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor "Sideways"
Larry McMurty and Diana Ossana "Brokeback Mountain"
Joel and Ethan Coen "No Country For Old Men"
Aaron Sorkin "The Social Network"

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Best of the Academy Awards Finalists: Best Original Screenplay

Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles "Citizen Kane"
Lamar Trotti "Wilson"
Charles Brackett, D.M. Marshman Jr., Billy Wilder "Sunset Boulevard"
Budd Schulberg "On the Waterfront"
I.A.L. Diamond "The Apartment"
James Webb "How the West Was Won"
Mel Brooks "The Producers"
William Goldman "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"
David S. Ward "The Sting"
Robert Towne "Chinatown"
Frank Pierson "Dog Day Afternoon"
Paddy Chayefsky "Network"
Woody Allen "Annie Hall"
Woody Allen "Hannah and Her Sisters"
John Patrick Shanley "Moonstruck"
Quentin Tarantino "Pulp Fiction"
Christopher McQuarrie "The Usual Suspects"
Joel and Ethan Coen "Fargo"
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon "Good Will Hunting"
Cameron Crowe "Almost Famous"
Julian Fellowes "Gosford Park"
Pedro Almodovar "Talk to Her"
Soffia Coppola "Lost in Translation"
Peter Bismuth, Michel Gondry, Charlie Kaufman "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"

State of the Race - First Oscar Predictions: Best Adapted Screenplay

First Predictions:

Joel and Ethan Coen "Gambit"
Fran Walsh, Phillippa Boyens, Guillermo Del Toro and Peter Jackson "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
William Nicholson "Les Miserables"
David McGee "Life of Pi"
Tony Kushner, John Logan, and Paul Webb "Lincoln"

Other Contenders - Jose Rivera "On the Road", Christ Terrio "Argo", David O. Russel "The Silver Linings Playbook",  Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce "The Great Gatsby", Tom Stoppard "Anna Karenina", Nick Cave "The Wettest County", Richard Nelson "Hyde Park on the Hudson", Will Beall "The Gangster Squad", Christopher Nolan "The Dark Knight Rises", The Wachowski Brothers "Cloud Atlas", David Cronenberg "Cosmopolis", Carroll Cartwright and Nancy Doyne "What Maisie Knew", Matthew Michael Carnahan and J. Michael Straczynski "World War Z", Lee Daniels and Peter Dexter "The Paperboy",

Commentary - It is interesting that this year, at least at this early stage in the game, it looks like the Original Screenplay is stronger and harder to predict than the Adapted Screenplay, which is a rarity in the Oscar race. That being said there are definitely some strong contenders. When reading these names, I had a cool thought. If Inside Llewelyn Davis ends up getting a 2012 release date, the Coens could be nominated in both screenplay categories. Kind of cool. In terms of their film Gambit, it is a comedy, and could end up like A Serious Man, but also end up like some of their other comedies that flopped despite talent involved. The biggest contender will most likely continue to be Lincoln until we are told otherwise, and with Tony Kushner and John Logan attached, it has some big names to pull it through. Life of Pi looks interesting, although Ang Lee hasn't been a factor since his Oscar win for Brokeback Mountain. The story looks intriguing, and the right fit for Finding Neverland-scribe David McGee. I have expressed my concerns about The Great Gatsby and Les Miserables, but with a lack of big names I went ahead and included Les Miserables, which seems less likely to fail as Great Gatsby. Plus, no one can do justice to Fitzgerald. In the final slot, I am going with The Hobbit, considering the first and last installments both managed screenplay nods (and the latter actually won), with the three writers of the trilogy returning, plus help from the uberly talented Guillermo Del Toro, I don't see why they don't do it again.

Best of the Academy Awards Finalists - Best Original Score

Herbert Stothart "The Wizard of Oz"
Leigh Harline, Paul J. Smith, and Ned Washington "Pinocchio"
Miklos Rozsz "Spellbound"
Franz Waxman "Sunset Boulevard"
Dimitri Tiomkin "High Noon"
Adolph Deutsch and Saul Chaplin "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"
Malcolm Arnold "The Bridge on the River Kwai"
Miklos Rozsz "Ben-Hur"
Henry Mancini "Breakfast at Tiffany's"
Saul Chaplin, Johnny Green, Sid Ramin, Irwin Kostal "West Side Story"
Maurice Jarre "Lawrence of Arabia"
Richard M. Sherman, Robert B Sherman "Mary Poppins"
Andre Previn "My Fair Lady"
Irwan Kostal "The Sound of Music"
Burt Bacharach "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"
John Williams "Jaws"
Jerry Goldsmith "The Omen"
John Williams "Star Wars"
John Williams "E.T. The Extra Terrestrial"
John Barry "Out of Africa"
Alan Menken "Beauty and the Beast"
John Williams "Schindler's List"
Hans Zimmer "The Lion King"
James Horner "Titanic"
Howard Shore "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

State of the Race - First Predictions: Best Original Screenplay

First Predictions:
Brenda Chapman and Irene Mecchi "Brave"
Quentin Tarantino "Django Unchained"
Paul Thomas Anderson "The Master"
Ben Lewin "The Surrogate"
Mark Boal "Zero Dark Thirty"

Other Contenders - Terrence Malick "Untitled Terrence Malick Project", Michelle Morgan "Imogene", Richard Nelson "Hyde Park on the Hudson", Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola "Moonrise Kingdom", Joel and Ethan Coen "Inside Llewelyn Davis",  Woody Allen "From Rome With Love", Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin "Beasts Of The Southern Wild", Alfonso Cuaron, Jonas Cuaron and Rodrigo Garcia "Gravity", Randy Brown "Trouble With the Curve", Nicolas Winding Refn "Only God Forgives", Martin McDonagh "Seven Psychopaths", Paul Andrew Williams "Song For Marion", Sacha Baron Cohen, Alec Berg, David Mandel and Jeff Schaffer "The Dictator", Emma Thompson "Effie", Jeff Nichols "Mud", Rob Reiner, Guy Thomas and Andrew Scheinman "The Magic Of Belle Isle"

 Commentary -  A lot of great contenders, and most of you must think I am crazy for not including Woody, considering he just won the award. With him, I am always cautious. If the project goes well, I will bump him into the top five, and potentially Malick. But for now, there is a lot of competition from talented screenwriters, including other former winners, and five big contenders have already emerged. First there appears to be a rematch between Mark Boal and Quentin Tarantino. No offense to Boal, but Quentin should have won for Inglourious Basterds, and while I hope both films are successful, I really hope Quentin gets the upper hand this time around. After last year's bomb Cars 2, Pixar is looking for a return to form, and I honestly think Brave is the film to do it. Pixar films have done well in the screenplay categories, and if Brave is as good as its previous efforts, I don't see why it doesn't get in as well. Paul Thomas Anderson also looks to return to the race, after three previous screenplay nominations (one in Adapted, two in Original), The Master could finally be his triumph. Finally,  I am going with the film receving the most early buzz (because people have actually seen it), The Surrogate. It could be the indie film that makes it into the Oscar realm this year, and if it is as good as people are saying, then its screenplay will probably garner a lot of buzz. The other film to look out for is the Coen's latest. But we are still not sure of a release date, and it may be in the 2014 Oscars, not this year. But if it is, look for it to make a splash, particularly in screenplay.

Best of the Academy Awards Finalists: Best Original Song

Swing Time - The Way You Look Tonight
The Wizard of Oz - Over the Rainbow
Pinocchio - When You Wish Upon a Star  
Breakfast at Tiffany's - Moon River
Mary Poppins - Chim Chim Cher-ee
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head
Shaft - Theme of Shaft
The Way We Were - The Way We Were
Nashville - I'm Easy
A Star is Born - Evergreen
Fame - Fame
An Officer and a Gentleman - Up Where We Belong
Flashdance - Flashdance...What a Feeling
Dirty Dancing - (I've Had) The Time of My Life
The Little Mermaid - Under the Sea
Beauty and the Beast - Beauty and the Beast
Aladdin - A Whole New World
Philadelphia - Strees of Philadelphia
The Lion King - Can You Feel the Love Tonight
Pocahontas - Colors of the Wind
Titanic - My Heart Will Go On
8 Mile - Lose Yourself
Once - Falling Slowly
Crazy Heart - The Weary Kind

Monday, March 19, 2012

Best of the Academy Awards Finalists: Best Film Editing

Gone With the Wind
The Naked City
High Noon
On the Waterfront
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Apartment
Lawrence of Arabia
How the West Was Won
In the Heat of the Night
Z
The French Connection
Jaws
Star Wars
The Deer Hunter
Raging Bull
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Platoon
Unforgiven
Schindler's List
Apollo 13
Titanic
Saving Private Ryan
Black Hawk Down
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Social Network

Tony Award Contenders: Best Revival of a Play

A Streetcar Named Desire
Death of a Salesman
Gore Vidal's The Best Man
Wit
Master Class
Man and Boy
Private Lives
The Road to Mecca

Commentary - Probably the biggest three contenders are Death of a Salesman, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Gore Vidal's The Best Man. They all have big names, and have done relatively well Man and Boy, Master Class, and Private Lives all closed down pretty quickly, but are still possibilities. The Road to Mecca, and Wit also premeried this year, Wit being the more probable of the two, especially with Cynthia Nixon.

State of the Race - First Predictions: Best Actor

First Predictions:
Daniel Day-Lewis "Lincoln"
Richard Gere "Arbitrage"
John Hawkes "The Surrogate"
Philip Seymour Hoffman "The Master"
Bill Murray "Hyde Park on the Hudson"

Other Contenders - Leonardo Dicaprio "The Great Gatsby", Jamie Foxx "Django Unchained", Hugh Jackman "Les Miserables", Tommy Lee Jones "Great Hope Springs", Denzel Washington "Flight", Christian Bale "The Dark Knight Rises", Michael Fassbender "Prometheus", Chiwetel Ejiofor "Twelve Years A Slave", Oscar Isaac "Inside Llewelyn Davis", Brad Pitt "Cogan's Trade", Tony Leung "The Grandmasters", Clint Eastwood "Trouble With the Curve", Anthony Hopkins "Hemingway & Fuentes", Ryan Gosling "Gangster Squad", Morgan Freeman "The Magic of Belle Isle", Ryan Gosling "The Place Beyond the Pines", Sam Riley "On the Road", Ben Affleck "Argo", Colin Farrell "Seven Psychopaths", Tom Hanks "Cloud Atlas", Frank Langella "Robot and Frank", Christopher Plummer "Barrymore", Bradley Cooper "The Silver Linings Playbook", Al Pacino "King Lear",

Commentary - A lot of big time contenders here, particularly between previous nominees/winners, so newcomers to the race are going to have a lot of competition to wade through. First and foremost is Daniel Day-Lewis in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. He is Daniel Day-Lewis. He is playing Abe Lincoln. Daniel Day-Lewis + Abraham Lincoln  + Steven Spielberg = Oscar nomination. But he is not along in big projects. Philip Seymour Hoffman has the baity lead role in Paul Thomas Anderson's latest The Master. The last lead actor in one of PTA's movies one the Oscar. Ironically, that man was Daniel Day-Lewis. Despite that, Hoffman is an Academy favorite, and will probably receive his fourth Oscar nomination. I am particularly interested in Bill Murray's performance as Franklin Roosevelt, and hope that it doesn't come off as trying to hard or comical. If he pulls it off, he could be a huge threat. We already know that previous nominee for Supporting Actor, John Hawkes, is good in The Surrogate, alongside Helen Hunt, but the film will have to maintain its buzz to keep him in contention. Finally, I am going out on a limb for Sundance favorite Arbitrage. Richard Gere, like Gary Oldman last year, is the veteran for a couple of decades, who has been criminally under-rewarded. He is getting a lot of praise for his performance, and if the film releases strong, he could be getting his first Oscar nomination. There are some notables who we should keep in mind. The two projects that I am most concerned about being flops this year are The Great Gatsby and Les Miserables. They are huge titles with lots of history, and have also been criminally put on the screen before. But if they are great, then Leonardo Dicaprio and Hugh Jackman will be big time contenders. The other is previous winner Jamie Foxx. His role in Django Unchained is baity, and if the film has Inglourious Basterds-esque success he can succeed where Brad Pitt didn't and get a lead nomination.

Best of the Academy Awards Finalists: Best Cinematography

A Star is Born
Gone With the Wind
Rebecca
Mrs. Miniver
The Naked City
The Third Man
On the Waterfront
The Bridge on the River Kwai
West Side Story
Lawrence of Arabia
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Bonnie and Clyde
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Cries and Whispers
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Apocalypse Now
Fanny and Alexander
Schindler's List
Titanic
Saving Private Ryan
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Pan's Labyrinth
There Will Be Blood

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Best of the Academy Awards Finalists: Best Art Direction

Gone with the Wind
Phantom of the Opera
Gaslight
Sunset Boulevard
A Streetcar Named Desire
An American in Paris
On the Waterfront
Ben-Hur
The Apartment
Spartacus
West Side Story
Lawrence of Arabia
My Fair Lady
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
The Godfather Part II
Star Wars
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Fanny and Alexander
Batman
Schindler's List
Titanic
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Prometheus Trailer

Here is the full trailer to Ridley Scott's latest addition to the Alien franchise, called Prometheus. This looks freaking epic, and with Scott back at the helm is sure to be hit, hopefully, also a great film.

State of the Race - First Predictions: Best Actress

First Predictions:

Sandra Bullock "Gravity"
Viola Davis "Won't Back Down"
Helen Hunt "The Surrogate"
Kiera Knightley "Anna Karenina"
Laura Linney "Hyde Park on the Hudson"

Other Contenders - Carey Mulligan "The Great Gatsby", Julianne Moore "What Maisie Knew", Kristen Wiig "Imogen", Amy Adams "Trouble With the Curve", Meryl Streep "Great Hope Springs", Nicole Kidman "My Wild Life", Helen Mirren "The Door", Virginia Madsen "The Magic of Belle Isle", Marion Cotillard "Lowlife", Rachel McAdams "Untitled Terrence Malick Project", Uma Thurman "Savages",  Quvenzhane Wallis "Beasts of the Southern Wild", Penelope Cruz "Into the World", Dakota Fanning "Effie", Abbie Cornish "The Girl", Elizabeth Olsen "Liberal Arts", Diane Keaton "Darling Companion", Gwyneth Paltrow "Thanks for Sharing", Judi Dench "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", Melanie Lynskey "Hello I Must Be Going", Judy Davis "The Eye of the Storm"

Commentary - It is interesting that in almost all of the early predictions I have glanced over, that there already seems to be a consensus growing around several names. First and foremost are the two leads of The Surrogate are garnering a lot of post-Sundance buzz, and apparently, Oscar winner Helen Hunt is surely going to be a force in this year's race. The rest of the names have not been seen, but have a lot of buzz. Viola Davis may be back if Never Back Down isn't too pedestrian, and although Meryl has another film in the race, she could pull a Colin Firth and win the next year. Sandra Bullock could be back in the race, as she is apparently in every scene, and playing aginst type in Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity. Kiera Knightly could also return to the race, pairing up again with Joe Wright for Anna Karenina. Finally, while I think Meryl, Julianne Moore, Amy Adams, Kristen Wiig and others are hot on the tails, that Laura Linney will return as well, with her role as Margaret Suckley in Hyde Park on the Hudson. She is great in everything she does, and the film looks to be a big factor in the race overall.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Best of the Academy Awards Finalists: Best Costume Design

Hamlet
All About Eve
Roman Holiday
Some Like it Hot
Spartacus
West Side Story
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
8 1/2
Cleopatra
My Fair Lady
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Camelot
Star Wars
Fanny and Alexander
Amadeus
Ran
Dangerous Liaisons
Bugsy
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Titanic
Moulin Rouge!
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Aviator

Best of the Academy Awards Finalists: Best Sound Editing

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Goldfinger
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Star Wars
Raiders of the Lost Ark
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
Back to the Future
Aliens
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
The Hunt for Red October
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Jurassic Park
Speed
Titanic
Saving Private Ryan
The Matrix
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Incredibles
The Dark Knight
Inception

Review: 21 Jump Street

The original 21 Jump Street series was a television drama, with serious overtones, and a standard, cop/mystery attitude. So when I learned they were making a movie remake, I groaned. I was expecting another run-of-the-mill remake that paled in comparison to its predecessor and managed to add nothing new to the story. Well, I am glad to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the newly updated 21 Jump Street. A self-aware switch to comedy, combined with incredible chemistry between its two stars, 21 Jump Street is hilarious, refreshing, and will most likely be one of the most entertaining experiences you will have in a theater all year.

Schmidt (Jonah Hill) was the Eminem-look alike dork, Jenko (Channing Tatum) the popular jock. While on opposite sides of the social circle in high school, they soon both find themselves in the police academy, and find they are nice complements to one another, helping each other graduate. However, after mundane duty, and an arrest gone awry, they are transferred to a program revived from the 80's in which police men go undercover at local high schools to bust for drugs, located, of course on 21 Jump Street. After infiltrating with the kids at school, Schmidt and Jenko, began to try to track down the supplier who is spreading a new drug. Prom becomes the spot for the big shakedown, leading to an epically fun, and action-packed conclusion.

Let's be honest, the setup for 21 Jump Street is weak, the action sequences at the end try just a little too hard, and it definitely fills itself with a lot of cliches. But despite that, 21 Jump Street is guilty-pleasure, raucous, laugh-out loud funny throughout, and while you may be ashamed, you will end up loving how much fun you have in the theater. There are two factors that make this a success. First, it is incredibly self-aware that it is ripping off a television show. It acknowledges many of those aforementioned cliches and stereotypes, and embraces them whole-heartedly. You have to admire a film that recognizes its own flaws, and more importantly, its history (in more ways than you think). The other factor that really clicks is the surprising chemistry between Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. Hill is no surprise for me, but Tatum showed me that he can be charismatic, funny, and actaully a pretty good actor. He needs to stick to comedy, and stay away from those cheesy Nicholas Sparks-esque dramas where he usually fails, because he found an incredible groove with Hill that is truly fun to watch.

21 Jump Street won't be winning any awards anytime soon, but it is a wonderfully funny film that will have you rolling in the aisle, and one of the most entertaining films I have seen in a long time.

Grade: A-

Friday, March 16, 2012

Tony Awards Contenders: Best Actor in a Musical

Matthew Broderick "Nice Work If You Can Get It"
Raul Esparza "Leap of Faith"
Danny Burstein "Follies"
Norm Lewis "The Gershwins Porgy and Bess"
Jeremy Jordan "Newsies"
Steve Kazee "Once"
Ron Raines "Follies"
Paul Nolan "Jesus Christ Superstar"
Richard Fleeshman "Ghost The Musical"
Harry Connick Jr. "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever"
Hunter Parrish "Godspell"
Reeve Carney "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark"
Jeremy Jordan "Bonnie and Clyde"
Josh Segarra "Lysistrata Jones"

Commentary - It  looks like Matthew Broderick could take home his third Tony this year, but he will face stiff competition from previous nominees Raul Esparza, Danny Burstein, and others such as Harry Connick Jr. There are a lot of potential first time nominees among the major contenders, and among the bunch, it looks like Norm Lewis, Steve Kazee, Jeremy Jordan, Ron Raines, and Paul Nolan are the biggest contenders for nominations.

State of the Race - First Predictions: Best Supporting Actor

First Predictions:

Russell Crowe "Les Miserables"
Leonardo Dicaprio "Django Unchained"
Sean Penn "Gangster Squad"
Joaquin Phoenix "The Master"
David Strathairn "Lincoln"

Other Contenders - Tommy Lee Jones "Lincoln", Joseph Gordon-Levitt "Lincoln", Mark Strong "Zero Dark Thirty", Chiwetel Ejiofor "Savannah', Philip Seymour Hoffman "The Master", Tom Hardy "The Dark Knight Rises", William H. Macy "The Surrogate", George Clooney "Gravity", Samuel L. Jackson "Django Unchained", Tobey Maguire "The Great Gatsby", Joel Edgerton "The Great Gatsby", John Goodman "Argo", Alan Arkin "Argo", Don Cheadle "Fight", Michael Fassbender "Twelve Years a Slave", Josh Hutcherson "The Hunger Games", Alec Baldwin "Nero Fiddled", Roberto Benigni "Nero Fiddled", Dwight Henry "Beasts of the Southern Wild", Bradley Cooper "The Place Beyond the Pines", Paul Giamatii "Cosmopolis", Domnhal Gleeson "Anna Karenina", Jude Law "Anna Karenina", Ray Liotta "Cogan's Trade", James Gandolfini "Cogan's Trade", Robert DeNiro "The Silver Lining's Playbook", Albert Brooks "This is Forty", Guy Pearce "The Wettest County", Ian McKellen "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey", Andy Garcia "Hemingway and Fuentes", Don Johnson "Django Unchained", James Spader "Lincoln", Woody Harrelson "Seven Psychopaths", Tom Cruise "Rock of Ages", Justin Timberlake "The Trouble With the Curve", Alexander Skaarsgard "What Maisie Knew", Bill Nighy "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", Ralph Fiennes "Great Expectations", Christoph Waltz "Django Unchained"

Commentary - As with Supporting Actress, there are a lot of big names with films this year, and so discerning which ones will make the cut this early on is as difficult as always. In some cases, like Lincoln, there are so many potentials in the cast list alone, it is hard to discern. I am personally going with David Strathairn early on, because the role of William Seward should be a meaty and important one, although Tommy Lee Jones (as Thaddeus Stevens), and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (as Robert Todd Lincoln), also look like baity roles in a Best Picture frontrunner. There are also a lot of names from Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, but my money is on Leonardo Dicaprio. He has yet to win an Oscar, and this might be teh Christoph Waltz-esque role that gets him his first (Ironically, Waltz is also a big contender as is Jackson for the film). Les Miserables has some big names, but Russell Crowe taking on a musical looks like something to be excited for, as does Sean Penn's take on a gangster. The final slot is going to someone, although controversial lately, is an incredible actor, Joaquin Phoenix, but he will face internal competition from Philip Seymour Hoffman. Also watch out for the Argo's crew, Macy, Hardy, Clooney, "Gatsby" crew, as well as others.

Best of the Academy Awards Finalists: Best Sound Mixing

Yankee Doodle Dandy
Wilson
All About Eve
West Side Story
Lawrence of Arabia
How the West Was Won
The Sound of Music
The Exorcist
Jaws
Star Wars
The Deer Hunter
Apocalypse Now
The Empire Strikes Back
Raiders of the Lost Ark
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
Platoon
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Titanic
Saving Private Ryan
Black Hawk Down
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Dark Shadows Trailer

Not sure what to think of this quite yet. It looks fun, yet weird and dark, and to be honest right up Tim Burton's alley. Not sure if the Academy will go for this, but it looks like it could be one of his best projects in years.

Best of the Academy Awards Finalists: Best Makeup

7 Faces of Dr. Lao
An American Werewolf in Paris
Beetlejuice
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Braveheart
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Dick Tracy
Ed Wood
The Fly
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Mask
Men In Black
Mrs. Doubtfire
Pan’s Labyrinth
Planet of the Apes
Star Trek
Topsy-Turvy

State of the Race - First Oscar Predictions: Best Supporting Actress

Well, it is that time again. While the 84th Oscar ceremony is just behind us, it is time to start looking ahead to next year's ceremony, and with some of the titles that are popping up, it looks to be an exciting and fierce Oscar year. Let's start looking at some of the early contenders in the major categories. First Best Supporting Actress

First Predictions:

Amy Adams "The Master"
Sally Field "Lincoln"
Anne Hathaway "Les Miserables"
Vanessa Redgrave "Song for Marion"
Kerry Washington "Django Unchained"
Other Possibilities - Kelly MacDonald "Anna Karenina" Samantha Bark "Les Miserables", Olivia Williams "Hyde Park on the Hudson", Annette Bening "Imogene", Olivia Colman "Hyde Park on the Hudson", Nicole Kidman "The Paperboy", Kirsten Dunst "Red Light Winter", Kirsten Dunst "On the Road", Isla Fisher "The Great Gatsby", Quvenzhane Wallis "Beasts Of The Southern Wild", Halle Berry "Cloud Atlas", Carey Mulligan "Inside Llewyn Davis", Jessica Chastain "Untitled Terrence Malick Project", Olga Kurylenko "Untitled Terrence Malick Project", Elisabeth Moss "On the Road",  Penelope Cruz "Nero Fiddled", Frances McDormand "Moonrise Kingdom", Tilda Swinton "Moonrise Kingdom", Maggie Smith "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", Jessica Chastain "Zero Hour Thirty", Jessica Chastain "The Wettest County", Kate Hudson "The Reluctant Fundamentalist", Helena Bonham Carter "Great Expectations", Helena Bonham Carter "Les Miserables", Whitney Houston "Sparkle", Emma Thompson "Effie", Susan Sarandon "The Company You Keep", Julie Christie "The Company You Keep", Maggie Gyllenhaal "Won't Back Down", Rose Byrne "A Place Beyond the Pines", Eva Mendes "A Place Beyond the Pines"

Commentary - As you can tell, there are simply too many names to talk about all of them. So I will try to stick to the basics. As always, predicting this early is tricky, and based on a game of logic and Oscar bait-looking projects. Probably the baitiest project of them all this year is Spielberg's highly-awaited adaptation of Doris Kearns Goodwin's incredible historical work Team of Rivals. Renamed Lincoln (not as good of a title if you ask me), has tons of incredible talent, but as Lincoln's wife Mary Todd, Sally Field looks to be the biggest of the parts, and could easily return to the Oscar race (maybe in lead depending on the size of the role). Another movie getting a ton of Oscar buzz is Paul Thomas Anderson's 1950's set film The Master. Once again, it could go either lead or supporting, but my guess is that Amy Adams is the frontrunner as of this moment. She seems to excel in everything she does, and has already received three Oscar nominations. Vanessa Redgrave seemed like a lock last years until the buzz for Coriolanus completely died. This year she is back with another baity project, once again being pushed Weinstein entitled Song for Marion. I know the phrase "Once bitten, twice shy", could apply here, but maybe this time around she will have better luck. In Tom Hooper's Les Miserables, there are two or three really baity supporting female roles, including Helena Bonham Carter, newcomer Samantha Bates, and Anne Hathaway. Playing it safe, I am only picking one, Hathaway, who will also have The Dark Knight Rises this year, and is a young, exciting talent that seems destined for more and more Oscar recognition. The final slot is going to a personal pick of mine. If Django Unchained is as good as most Tarantino projects, then it is going to be an awesome movie. Kerry Washington is one of the best actresses working today, and should have received a nod with Regina King back in 2004 for Ray. If the role is big and flashy enough, I say she earns her first Academy Award nomination. Also watch out for Annette Bening, Olivia Colman/Williams, Samantha Bark, Carey Mulligan, Kelly Macdonald, Nicole Kidman, Quvenzhane Wallis, Jessica Chastain, France McDormand, and Tilda Swinton, as early spoilers.

Best of the Academy Awards Finalists: Best Visual Effects

Now we move onto Phase 2 of 4 in the Best of the Academy Awards Series. This stage is for finalists in each category, approx. 20-25 movies/performances per category. Then we move on to 10 per category for our nominees. So here is the first set of finalists for Best Visual Effects.

2001: A Space Odyssey
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Aliens
Avatar
Ben-Hur
The Empire Strikes Back
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
The Fantastic Voyage
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Inception
Jurassic Park
The Matrix
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Return of the Jedi
Star Wars
Superman
The Ten Commandments
Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Best of the Academy Awards Contenders: Best Picture

Wings
The Broadway Melody
All Quiet on the Western Front
Cimarron
Grand Hotel
Cavalcade
It Happened One Night
Mutiny on the Bounty
The Great Ziegfeld
The Life of Emile Zola
You Can't Take It With You
Gone With the Wind
Rebecca
How Green Was My Valley
Mrs. Miniver
Casablanca
Going My Way
The Lost Weekend
The Best Years of Our Lives
Gentleman's Agreement
Hamlet
All the King's Men
All About Eve
An American in Paris
The Greatest Show on Earth
From Here to Eternity
On the Waterfront
Marty
Around the World in 80 Days
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Gigi
Ben-Hur
The Apartment
West Side Story
Lawrence of Arabia
Tom Jones
My Fair Lady
The Sound of Music
A Man for All Seasons
In the Heat of the Night
Oliver!
Midnight Cowboy
Patton
The French Connection
The Godfather
The Sting
The Godfather Part II
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Rocky
Annie Hall
The Deer Hunter
Kramer vs. Kramer
Ordinary People
Chariots of Fire
Gandhi
Terms of Endearment
Amadeus
Out of Africa
Platoon
The Last Emperor
Rain Man
Driving Miss Daisy
Dances With Wolves
The Silence of the Lambs
Unforgiven
Schindler's List
Forrest Gump
Braveheart
The English Patient
Titanic
Shakespeare in Love
American Beauty
Gladiator
A Beautiful Mind
Chicago
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Million Dollar Baby
Crash
The Departed
No Country for Old Men
Slumdog Millionaire
The Hurt Locker
The King's Speech
The Artist

The 85th Academy Awards Dates

Nominations for the 85th Academy Awards will be announced on January 15, 2013, and the ceremony will be on Sun. February 24. This means there is another week between nominations and the ceremony, giving more time for voting. This is a smart move, as ever since they moved the ceremony up a month, it has become more and more predictable. Although it is 8 days, it could have an effect on the eventual winners.

Tony Awards Contenders: Best Actress in a Musical

Here are the contenders:

Audra McDonald "The Gershwins Porgy and Bess"
Bernadette Peters "Follies"
Elena Roger "Evita"
Jan Maxwell "Follies"
Kelli O'Hara "Nice Work If You Can Get It"
Cristin Milioti "Once"
Caissie Levy "Ghost the Musical"
Jessica Philips "Leap of Faith"
Laura Osnes "Bonnie and Clyde"
Patti Murin "Lysistrata Jones"
Jennifer Damiano "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark"

Commentary - It looks like this year's winner could come down between two previous winners: Audra McDonald and Bernadette Peters. Of course, several past nominees are looking for their first win include Jennifer Damiano, Jan Maxwell, and Kelli O'Hara. In terms of nominations however, Elena Roger, Cristin Milioti, Patti Murin, and Caissie Levy are looking for their first nomination, and all of them have a good shot at getting into the race, to try to upset the leading veterans.

Best of the Academy Awards Contenders: Best Director

Here are the contenders for Best Director:

Frank Borzage "Seventh Heaven"
Lewis Milestone "Two Arabian Knights"
Frank Lloyd "The Divine Lady"
Lewis Milestone "All Quiet on the Western Front"
Norman Taurog "Skippy"
Frank Borzage "Bad Girl"
Frank Lloyd "Cavalcade"
Frank Capra "It Happened One Night"
John Ford "The Informer"
Frank Capra "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town"
Leo McCarey "The Awful Truth"
Frank Capra "You Can't Take It With You"
Victor Fleming "Gone With the Wind"
John Ford "The Grapes of Wrath"
John Ford "How Green Was My Valley"
William Wyler "Mrs. Miniver"
Michael Curtiz "Casablanca"
Leo McCarey "Going My Way"
Billy Wilder "The Lost Weekend"
William Wyler "The Best Years of Our Lives"
Elia Kazan "Gentleman's Agreement"
John Huston "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre"
Joseph L. Mankiewicz "A Letter to Three Wives"
Joseph L. Makiewicz "All About Eve"
George Stevens "A Place in the Sun"
John Ford "The Quiet Man"
Fred Zinnemann "From Here to Eternity"
Elia Kazan "On the Waterfront"
Delbert Mann "Marty"
George Stevens "Giant"
David Lean "The Bridge on the River Kwai"
Vincente Minnelli "Gigi"
William Wyler "Ben-Hur"
Billy Wilder "The Apartment"
Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins "West Side Story"
David Lean "Lawrence of Arabia"
Tony Richardson "Tom Jones"
George Cuckor "My Fair Lady"
Robert Wise "The Sound of Music"
Fred Zinnemann "A Man for All Seasons"
Mike Nichols "The Graduate"
Carol Reed "Oliver"
John Schlesinger "Midnight Cowboy"
Franklin J. Schaffner "Patton"
Willim Friedkin "The French Connection"
Bob Fosse "Cabaret"
George Roy Hill "The Sting"
Francis Ford Coppola "The Godfather Part II"
Milos Forman "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
John G. Avildsen "Rocky"
Woody Allen "Annie Hall"
Michael Cimino "The Deer Hunter"
Robert Benton "Kramer vs. Kramer"
Robert Redford "Ordinary People"
Warren Beatty "Reds"
Richard Attenborough "Gandhi"
James L. Brooks "Terms of Endearment"
Milos Forman "Amadeus"
Sydney Pollack "Out of Africa"
Oliver Stone "Platoon"
Bernardo Bertolucci "The Last Emperor"
Barry Levinson "Rain Man"
Oliver Stone "Born on the Fourth of July"
Kevin Costner "Dances With Wolves"
Jonathan Demme "The Silence of the Lambs"
Clint Eastwood "Unforgiven"
Steven Spielberg "Schindler's List"
Robert Zemeckis "Forrest Gump"
Mel Gibson "Braveheart"
Anthony Minghella "The English Patient"
James Cameron "Titanic"
Steven Spielberg "Saving Private Ryan"
Sam Mendes "American Beauty"
Steven Soderbergh "Traffic"
Ron Howard "A Beautiful Mind"
Roman Polanski "The Pianist"
Peter Jackson "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"
Clint Eastwood "Million Dollar Baby"
Ang Lee "Brokeback Mountain"
Martin Scorsese "The Departed"
Joel and Ethan Coen "No Country For Old Men"
Danny Boyle "Slumdog Millionaire"
Kathryn Bigelow "The Hurt Locker"
Tom Hooper "The King's Speech"
Michel Hazanavicius "The Artist"

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

On the Road Trailer

This one is intriguing to me. It has some great talent, particularly in its supporting cast (Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunset, Terrence Howard, Elisabeth Moss, Amy Adams, Steve Buscemi), but I have yet to like much of anything Kristen Stewart has done, she always seems to be moping to me, although that may mean that this character is right up her alley. Anyway, check out the trailer below.

Best of the Academy Awards Contenders: Best Film Editing

I completely forgot this category when I was going through the technicals. Here are its contenders:

Eskimo
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Anthony Adverse
Lost Horizon
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Gone With the Wind
North West Mounted Police
Sergeant York
The Pride of the Yankees
Air Force
Wilson
National Velvet
The Best Years of Our Lives
Body and Soul
The Naked City
Champion
King Solomon's Mines
A Place in the Sun
High Noon
From Here to Eternity
On the Waterfront
Picnic
Around the World in 80 Days
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Gigi
Ben-Hur
The Apartment
West Side Story
Lawrence of Arabia
How the West Was Won
Mary Poppins
The Sound of Music
Grand Prix
In the Heat of the Night
Bullitt
Z
Patton
The French Connection
Cabaret
The Sting
The Towering Inferno
Jaws
Rocky
Star Wars
The Deer Hunter
All that Jazz
Raging Bull
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Gandhi
The Right Stuff
The Killing Fields
Witness
Platoon
The Last Emperor
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Born on the Fourth of July
Dances With Wolves
JFK
Unforgiven
Schindler's List
Forrest Gump
Apollo 13
The English Patient
Titanic
Saving Private Ryan
The Matrix
Traffic
Black Hawk Down
Chicago
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Aviator
Crash
The Departed
The Bourne Ultimatum
Slumdog Millionaire
The Hurt Locker
The Social Network
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Tony Award Contenders: Best Actor in a Play

Here are the contenders for Best Actor in a Play:

Philip Seymore Hoffman "Death of a Salesman"
Alan Rickman "Seminar"
Samuel L. Jackson "The Mountaintop"
Blair Underwood "A Streecar Named Desire"
Frank Langella "Man and Boy"
James Cordon "One Man, Two Guvnors"
Stacy Keach "Other Desert Cities"
Eric McCormack "Gore Vidal's The Best Man"
John Larroquette "Gore Vidal's The Best Man"
Hugh Dancy "Venus in Fur"
John Lithgow "The Columnist"
Frank Wood "Clybourne Park"
William Shatner "Shatner's World, We Just Live In It"
Jim Dale "The Road to Mecca"
Adam James "Don't Dress for Dinner"
Tug Coker "Magic Bird"
Kevin Daniels "Magic Bird"
Paul Gross "Private Lives"
Gary Wilmes "Chinglish"
Dule Hill "Stick Fly"
Christian Borle "Peter and the Starcatcher"

Commentary - Some big names populate the race, including Oscar Winner Philip Seymour Hoffman (who has two Tony nominations), Samuel L. Jackson, starring opposite Tony-frontrunner Angela Bassett, Alan Rickman (a two-time nominee as well), Blair Underwood, Frank Langella (A three-time winner), Eric McCormack, John Lithgow (another two-time Tony winner) and a winner from last year, veteran John Larroquette. Factor in showstopping peformances from James Corden, and stage veteran Stacey Keach, and this is packed race. Oh and never forget William Shatner, no matter how much you want to.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Best of the Academy Awards Contenders: Best Actor

Emil Jannings "The Last Command" and "The Way of All Flesh"
Warner Baster "The Cisco Kid"
George Arliss "Disraeli"
Lionel Barrymore "A Free Soul"
Wallace Beery "The Champ"
Frederic March "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"
Charles Laughton "The Private Life of Henry VIII"
Clark Gable "It Happened One Night"
Victor McLaglen "The Informer"
Paul Muni "The Story of Louis Pasteur"
Spencer Tracy "Captain's Corageous"
Spencer Tracy "Boy's Town"
Robert Donat "Goodbye, Mr. Chips"
James Stewart "The Philadelphia Story"
Gary Cooper "Sergeant York"
James Cagney "Yankee Doodle Dandy"
Paul Lukas "Watch on the Rhine"
Bing Crosby "Going My Way"
Ray Milland "The Lost Weekend"
Frederic March "The Best Years of Our Lives"
Ronald Colman "A Double Life"
Laurence Olivier "Hamlet"
Broderick Crawford "All the King's Men"
Jose Ferrer "Cyrano de Bergenac"
Humphrey Bogart "The African Queen"
Gary Cooper "High Noon"
William Holden "Stalag 17"
Marlon Brando "On the Waterfront"
Ernest Borgnine "Marty"
Yul Brynner "The King and I"
Alec Guinness "The Bridge on the River Kwai"
David Niven "Separate Tables"
Charlton Heston "Ben-Hur"
Burt Lancaster "Elmer Gantry"
Maximillian Schell "Judgment at Nuremberg"
Gregory Peck "To Kill a Mockingbird"
Sidney Poitier "Lilies of the Field"
Rex Harrison "My Fair Lady"
Lee Marvin "Cat Ballou"
Paul Scofield "A Man For All Seasons"
Rod Steiger "In the Heat of the Night"
Cliff Robertson "Charly"
John Wayne "True Grit"
George C. Scott "Patton"
Gene Hackman "The French Connection"
Marlon Brando "The Godfather"
Jack Lemmon "Save the Tiger"
Art Carney "Harry and Tonto"
Jack Nicholson "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest"
Peter Finch "Network"
Richard Dreyfuss "The Goodbye Girl
Jon Voight "Coming Home"
Dustin Hoffman "Kramer vs. Kramer"
Robert De Niro "Raging Bull"
Henry Fonda "On Golden Pond"
Ben Kingsley "Gandhi"
Robert Duvall "Tender Mercies"
F. Murray Abraham "Amadeus"
William Hurt "Kiss of the Spider Woman"
Paul Newman "The Color of Money"
Michael Douglas "Wall Street"
Dustin Hoffman "Rain Man"
Daniel Day-Lewis "My Left Foot"
Jeremy Irons "Reversal of Fortune"
Anthony Hopkins "The Silence of the Lambs"
Al Pacino "Scent of a Woman"
Tom Hanks "Philadelphia"
Tom Hanks "Forrest Gump"
Nicholas Cage "Leaving Las Vegas"
Geoffrey Rush "Shine"
Jack Nicholson "As Good As it Gets"
Roberto Benigni "Life is Beautiful"
Kevin Spacey "American Beauty"
Russell Crowe "Gladiator"
Denzel Washington "Training Day"
Adrien Brody "The Pianist"
Sean Penn "Mystic River"
Jamie Foxx "Ray"
Philip Seymour Hoffman "Capote"
Forest Whitaker "The Last King of Scotland"
Daniel Day-Lewis "There Will Be Blood"
Sean Penn "Milk"
Jeff Bridges "Crazy Heart"
Colin Firth "The King's Speech"
Jean Dujardin "The Artist"

Tony Award Contenders: Best Actress in a Play

On Tuesday, May 1, the Tony Awards will announce their nominees, and their ceremony will be in June. So over the next couple of weeks, I will examine the main categories and eventually go back and predict the nominees. First let's look at each category, and list the potential contenders

Angela Bassett "The Mountaintop"
Cynthia Nixon "Wit"
Stockard Channing "Other Desert Cities"
Rachel Griffiths "Other Desert Cities"
Tyne Daly "Master Class"
Linda Emond "Death of a Salesman"
Kim Cattrall "Private Lives"
Nina Arianda "Venus in Fur"
Rosemary Harris "The Road to Mecca"
Tracie Bennett "End of the Road"
Lily Rabe "Seminar"
Carla Gugino "The Road to Mecca"
Jennifer Lim "Chinglish"
Linda Lavin "The Lyons"
Nicole Ari Parker "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Annie Parisse "Clybourne Park"
Crystal A. Dickinson "Clybourne Park"
Rosie Benton "Stick Fly"
Celia Keegan-Bolger "Peter and the Star Catcher"

Commentary - There are some names that are sticking out of the pack. Cynthia Nixon won this award in 2006, and returns this year for her work in Wit. Angela Bassett has never been nominated for a Tony Award, but her role in The Mountaintop is receiving a lot of praise, and she will be a top contender for not only a nomination, but the win as well. Stockard Channing is a favorite among the Broadway community, but she will face stiff competition from her co-star Rachel Griffith, who would be a first time nominee. Tyne Daly returns to the race in Master Class, but she will have some stiff competition from previous-nominee Linda Emond from Death of a Salesman, and popular actress Kim Cattrall for her role in Private Lives. Of the rest of the names, Rosemary Harris, Nina Arianda. Lily Rabe, and Carla Gugina are ones to look out for come nomination morning.

Two Bits of Emmy News

Starting in May, Emmy Season here at The Awards Psychic officially starts. But two bits of Emmy news came across the web today that will play a factor in this year's ceremony.

  • First, Jon Cryer, who has been nominated six times and won once in Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, has officially switched back to Lead Actor. While he will face his co-star Jon Cryer, I think that a weak field, and his continuing popularity means that he has a great shot at getting a nomination.
  • Also, Lilyhammer, Netflix's first original series is eligible, since the Television Academy made broadband shows eligible (with specific guidelines) back in 2006. This also makes House of Cards eligible as well.

Best of the Academy Awards Contenders: Best Actress

Janet Gaynor "Seventh Heaven", "Street Angel", and "Sunrise"
Mary Pickford "Coquette"
Norma Shearer "The Divorcee"
Marie Dressler "Min and Bill"
Helen Hayes "The Sin of Madelon Claudet"
Katharine Hepburn "Morning Glory"
Claudette Colbert "It Happened One Night"
Bette Davis "Dangerous"
Luise Rainer "The Great Ziegfeld"
Luise Rainer "The Good Earth"
Bette Davis "Jezebel"
Vivien Leigh "Gone With the Wind"
Ginger Rogers "Kitty Foyle"
Joan Fontaine "Suspicion"
Greer Garson "Mrs. Miniver"
Jennifer Jones "The Song of Bernadette"
Ingrid Bergman "Gaslight"
Joan Crawford "Mildred Pierce"
Olivia de Havilland "To Each His Own"
Loretta Young "The Farmer's Daughter"
Jane Wyman "Johnny Belinda"
Olivia de Havilland "The Heiress"
Judy Holliday "Born Yesterday"
Vivien Leigh "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Shirley Booth "Come Back, Little Sheba"
Audrey Hepburn "Roman Holiday"
Grace Kelly "The Country Girl"
Anna Magnani "The Rose Tattoo"
Ingrid Bergman "Anastasia"
Joanne Woodward "The Three Faces of Eve"
Susan Hayward "I Want to Live!"
Simone Signoret "Room at the Top"
Elizabeth Taylor "Butterfield 8"
Sophia Loren "Two Women"
Anne Bancroft "The Miracle Worker"
Patricia Neal "Hud"
Julie Andrews "Mary Poppins"
Julie Chrsitie "Darling"
Elizabeth Taylor "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
Katharine Hepburn "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"
Katherine Hepburn "The Lion in Winter"
Barbra Streisand "Funny Girl"
Maggie Smith "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie"
Glenda Jackson "Woman in Love"
Jane Fonda "Klute"
Liza Minnelli "Cabaret"
Glenda Jackson "A Touch of Class"
Ellen Burstyn "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore"
Louise Fletcher "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
Faye Dunaway "Network"
Diane Keaton "Annie Hall"
Jane Fonda "Coming Home"
Sally Field "Norma Rae"
Sissy Spacek "Coal Miner's Daughter"
Katharine Hepburn "On Golden Pond"
Meryl Streep "Sophie's Choice"
Shirley MacLaine "Terms of Endearment"
Sally Field "Places in the Heart"
Geraldine Page "A Trip to Bountiful"
Marlee Matlin "Children of a Lesser God"
Cher "Moonstruck"
Jodie Foster "The Accused"
Jessica Tandy "Driving Miss Daisy"
Kathy Bates "Misery"
Jodie Foster "The Silence of the Lambs"
Emma Thompson "Howard's End"
Holly Hunter "The Piano"
Jessica Lange "Blue Sky"
Susan Sarandon "Dead Man Walking"
Frances McDormand "Fargo"
Helen Hunt "As Good As It Gets"
Gwyneth Paltrow "Shakespeare in Love"
Hilary Swank "Boys Don't Cry"
Julia Roberts "Erin Brockovich"
Halle Berry "Monster's Ball"
Nicole Kidman "The Hours"
Charlize Theron "Monsters"
Hilary Swank "Million Dollar Baby"
Reese Witherspoon "Walk the Line"
Helen Mirren "The Queen"
Marion Cotillard "La Vie En Rose"
Kate Winslet "The Reader"
Sandra Bullock "The Blind Side"
Natalie Portman "Black Swan"
Meryl Streep "The Iron Lady"

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Best of the Academy Awards Contenders: Best Supporting Actor

Walter Brennan "Come and Get It"
Joseph Schildkraut "The Life of Emile Zola"
Walter Brennan "Kentucky"
Thomas Mitchell "Stagecoach"
Walter Brennan "The Westerner"
Donald Crisp "How Green Was My Valley"
Van Heflin "Johnny Eager"
Charles Coburn "The More the Merrier"
Barry Fitzgerland "Going My Way"
James Dunn "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn"
Harold Russell "The Best Years of Our Lives"
Edmund Gwenn "Miracle on 34th Street"
Walter Huston "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre"
Dean Jagger "Twelve O'Clock High"
George Sanders "All About Eve"
Karl Malden "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Antony Quinn "Viva Zapata!"
Frank Sinatra "From Here to Eternity"
Edmond O'Brien "The Barefoot Contessa"
Jack Lemmon "Mister Rogers"
Anthony Quinn "Lust For Life"
Red Buttons "Sayonara"
Burl Ives "The Big Country"
Hugh Griffith "Ben-Hur"
Peter Ustinov "Spartacus"
George Chakiris "West Side Story"
Ed Begley "Sweet Bird of Youth"
Melyvn Douglas "Hud"
Peter Ustinov "Topkapi"
Martin Balsam "A Thousand Clowns"
Walter Matthau "The Fortune Cookie"
George Kennedy "Cool Hand Luke"
Jack Albertson "The Subject Was Roses"
Gig Young "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"
John Mills "Ryan's Daughter"
Ben Johnson "The Last Picture Show"
Joel Grey "Cabaret"
John Houseman "The Paper Chase"
Robert DeNiro "The Godfather Part II"
George Burns "The Sunshine Boys"
Jason Robards "All the President's Men"
Jason Robards "Julia"
Christopher Walken "The Deer Hunter"
Melvyn Douglas "Being There"
Timothy Hutton "Ordinary People"
John Gielgund "Arthur"
Louis Gossett Jr. "An Officer and a Gentleman"
Jack Nicholson "Terms of Endearment"
Haing S. Ngor "The Killing Fields"
Don Ameche "Cocoon"
Michael Caine "Hannah and Her Sisters"
Sean Connery "The Untouchables"
Kevin Kline "A Fish Called Wanda"
Denzel Washington "Glory"
Joe Pesci "Goodfellas"
Jack Palance "City Slickers"
Gene Hackman "Unforgiven"
Tommy Lee Jones "The Fugitive"
Martin Landau "Ed Wood"
Kevin Spacey "The Usual Suspects"
Cuba Gooding Jr. "Jerry Maguire"
Robin Williams "Good Will Hunting"
James Cobrun "Affliction"
Michael Caine "The Cider House Rules"
Benicio del Toro "Traffic"
Jim Broadbent "Iris"
Chris Cooper "Adaptation"
Tim Robbins "Mystic River"
Morgan Freeman "Million Dollar Baby"
George Clooney "Syriana"
Alan Arkin "Little Miss Sunshine"
Javier Bardem "No Country For Old Men"
Heath Ledger "The Dark Knight"
Christoph Waltz "Inglourious Basterds"
Christian Bale "The Fighter"
Christopher Plummer "Beginners"

Friday, March 9, 2012

Best of the Academy Awards Contenders: Best Supporting Actress

Gale Sondergaard "Anthony Adverse"
Alice Brady "In Old Chicago"
Fay Bainter "Jezebel"
Hattie McDaniel "Gone With the Wind"
Jane Darwell "The Grapes of Wrath"
Mary Astor "The Great Lie"
Teresa Wright "Mrs. Miniver"
Katina Paxinou "For Whom the Bell Tolls"
Ethel Barrymore "None But the Lonely Heart"
Anna Revere "National Velvet"
Anne Baxter "The Razor's Edge"
Celeste Holm "Gentleman's Agreement"
Claire Trevor "Key Largo"
Mercedes McCambridge "All the King's Men"
Josephine Hull "Harvey"
Kim Hunter "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Gloria Grahame "The Bad and the Beautiful"
Donna Reed "From Here to Eternity"
Eva Marie Saint "On the Waterfront"
Jo Van Fleet "East of Eden"
Dorothy Malone "Written on the Wind"
Miyoshi Umeki "Sayonara"
Wendy Hiller "Separate Tables"
Shelley Winters "The Diary of Anne Frank"
Shirley Jones "Elmer Gantry"
Rita Moreno "West Side Story"
Patty Duke "The Miracle Worker"
Margaret Rutherford "The V.I.P.'s"
Lila Kedrova "Zorba the Greek"
Shelley Winters "A Patch of Blue"
Sandy Dennis "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
Estelle Parsons "Bonnie and Clyde"
Ruth Gordon "Rosemary's Baby"
Goldie Hawn "Cactus Flower"
Helen Hayes "Airport"
Cloris Leachman "The Last Picture Show"
Eileen Heckart "Butterflies Are Free"
Tatum O'Neal "Paper Moon"
Ingrid Bergman "Murder on the Orient Express"
Lee Grant "Shampoo"
Beatrice Straight "Network"
Vanessa Redgrave "Julia"
Maggie Smith "California Suite"
Meryl Streep "Kramer vs. Kramer"
Mary Steenburgen "Melvin and Howard"
Maureen Stapleton "Reds"
Jessica Lange "Tootsie"
Linda Hunt "The Year of Living Dangerously"
Peggy Ashcroft "A Passage to India"
Angelica Huston "Prizzi's Honor"
Dianne Wiest "Hannah and Her Sisters"
Olympia Dukakis "Moonstruck"
Geena Davis "The Accidental Tourist"
Brenda Fricker "My Left Foot"
Whoopi Goldberg "Ghost"
Mercedes Ruehl "The Fisher King"
Marisa Tomei "My Cousin Vinny"
Anna Paquin "The Piano"
Dianne Wiest "Bullets Over Broadway"
Mira Sorvino "Mighty Aphrodite"
Juliette Binoche "The English Patient"
Judi Dench "Shakespeare in Love"
Angelina Jolie "Girl, Interrupted"
Marcia Gay Harden "Pollock"
Jennifer Connelly "A Beautiful Mind"
Catherine Zeta-Jones "Chicago"
Renee Zellweger "Cold Mountain"
Cate Blanchett "The Aviator"
Rachel Weisz "The Constant Gardener"
Jennifer Hudson "Dreamgirls"
Tilda Swinton "Michael Clayton"
Penelope Cruz "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Mo'Nique "Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire"
Melissa Leo "The Fighter"
Octavia Spencer "The Help"