If I Were An Academy Voter - 2010 Part II

Best Art Direction
Academy Winner - Alice In Wonderland
My Pick - The King's Speech

Commentary - I did love the sets of Alice, but I guess I am old fashioned and prefer the more traditional sets, than the more CGI heavy ones. So I am going with Best Picture winner The King's Speech over Academy Winner Alice. I am going for subtle over flashy.

Best Costume Design
Academy Winner/My Pick - Alice In Wonderland
Commentary - While I am still weary of honor more CGI heavy Art Direction, the Costumes in Alice in Wonderland were definitely the best of the year, and I would have voted for Atwood, even if I'm weary of the double win.

Best Cinematography
Academy Winner - Wally Pfister "Inception"
My Pick - Roger Deakins "True Grit"
Commentary - So, while I feel that Inception had the better cinematography, Roger Deakins deserves an Oscar plain and simple, so I would have voted to give it to him.

Best Film Editing
Academy Winner/My Pick - The Social Network
Commentary - This film zipped by so fast, you wish there was more. It was fast-paced, energetic, and entertaining, and that is due in part to the incredible Editing job. Definitely a worthy winner.

Best Makeup
Academy Winner - The Wolfman
My Pick - Barney's Version
Commentary - Once again, I am choosing subtle over flashy. I thought that while the makeup in Barney's Version was subtle, it was uber important to the story, and did a great job of aging its characters. Plus it is the better movie. To be honest something seems weird about Academy Award winning film The Wolfman.

Best Original Score

Academy Winner - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross "The Social Network"

My Pick - Hans Zimmer "Inception"

Commentary - I was happy with the win for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, but in my humble opinion, Hans Zimmer's score made Inception. It hit every perfect note, and perfectly captured the intensity of every scene, so he would have gotten my vote.

Best Original Song

Academy Winner/My Pick - Randy Newman "We Belong Together" from "Toy Story 3"

Commentary - I didn't really care for the other songs that much, and I love Randy Newman and think that he has been screwed by the Academy for years, so he would have gotten my vote.

Best Sound Mixing

Academy Winner/My Pick - Inception

Commentary - The Academy got this one right, period.

Best Sound Editing

Academy Winner/My Pick - Inception

Commentary - See Above

Best Visual Effects

Academy Winner/My Pick - Inception

Commentary - See Above

NAACP Image Award Winners

The NAACP Image Awards remain an important platform for black entertainers, and the winners are always gracious, and the show this year was a lot of fun to watch. Here are most of the winners. To check out the winners in all categories go to naacpimageawards.net. On a personal note, I was thrilled at the wins for Samuel L. Jackson in Mother and Child (My Halfway Award Winner), and the wonderful Kimberly Elise for For Colored Girls.

MOVIE AWARDS

•Outstanding Motion Picture: "For Colored Girls"
•Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture: Denzel Washington - "The Book of Eli"
•Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture: Halle Berry - "Frankie and Alice"
•Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture: Samuel L. Jackson - "Mother and Child"
•Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: Kimberly Elise - "For Colored Girls"
•Outstanding Independent Motion Picture: "Frankie and Alice"
•Outstanding Foreign Motion Picture: "Biutiful"
•Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture (Theatrical or Television): Mary King, Anna Waterhouse, Joe Shrapnel, Marko King, Jonathan Watters, Cheryl Edwards - "Frankie and Alice" and Michael Elliot - "Just Wright"
•Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Theatrical or Television): Tyler Perry - "For Colored Girls"

TELEVISION AWARDS

•Outstanding Comedy Series: "Tyler Perry's House of Payne"
•Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series: David Mann - "Meet the Browns"
•Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series: Vanessa Williams - "Desperate Housewives"
•Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Ice Cube - "Are We There Yet?"
•Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Sofia Vergara - "Modern Family"
•Outstanding Drama Series: "Grey's Anatomy"
•Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series: LL Cool J - "NCIS: Los Angeles"
•Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series: Regina King - "Southland"
•Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Terrence Howard - "Law & Order: Los Angeles"
•Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: S. Epatha Merkerson - "Law & Order"
•Outstanding TV Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special: "Sins of the Mother"
•Outstanding Actor in a TV Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special: Idris Elba - "Luther"
•Outstanding Actress in a TV Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special: Jill Scott - "Sins of the Mother"
•Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series: Rodney Saulsberry - "The Bold and the Beautiful"
•Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series: Tatyana Ali - "The Young and the Restless"
•Outstanding News/Information (Series or Special): "Unsung"
•Outstanding Talk Series: "The View"
•Outstanding Reality Series: "Sunday Best"
•Outstanding Variety (Series or Special): "UNCF An Evening of Stars Tribute to Lionel Richie"
•Outstanding Children's Program: "True Jackson, VP"
•Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Program (Series or Special): Keke Palmer - "True Jackson, VP"
•Outstanding Documentary (Theatrical or Television): "For Love of Liberty: The Story of America's Black Patriots"
•Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series: Aaron McGruder - "The Boondocks"
•Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series: Shonda Rhimes - "Private Practice" - (Did You Hear What Happened to Charlotte King?)
•Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series: Kevin Rodney Sullivan - "Modern Family" (Game Changer)
•Outstanding Directing in a Dramatic Series: Millicent Shelton - "Men of a Certain Age" (Go with the Flow)

MUSIC AWARDS

•Outstanding New Artist: Willow Smith
•Outstanding Male Artist: Usher
•Outstanding Female Artist: Mary J. Blige
•Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration: John Legend and The Roots
•Outstanding Jazz Album: "From Billie Holiday to Edith Piaf - Live in Marciac" - The Wynton Marsalis Quintet and Richard Galliano
•Outstanding Gospel Album (Traditional or Contemporary): "You Are Not Alone" - Mavis Staples
•Outstanding World Music Album: "VOCAbuLarieS" - Bobby McFerrin
•Outstanding Music Video: "Un-thinkable (I'm Ready)" - Alicia Keys
•Outstanding Song: "Bittersweet" - Fantasia Barrino
•Outstanding Album: "Wake Up!" - John Legend and The Roots

If I Were An Academy Voter - 2010 Part I

So I am starting a new series, where I look back at previous ballots for the Academy Awards and show you how I would have voted had I been an Academy member. It seems fitting to start with this year's awards. For each year I will post Parts I and II, the first part for the main awards, and the second part for the technical merits.

Best Picture

My Rankings

1. The Social Network

2. The King's Speech

3. The Kids Are All Right

4. Inception

5. Toy Story 3

6. The Fighter

7. True Grit

8. 127 Hours

9. Black Swan

10. Winter's Bone

Commentary - I have decided that The King's Speech probably won this award based more on number 2-5 votes, than on #1 votes. Cause after I put The Social Network at number 1, I automatically went for The King's Speech at number 2. It might not be as dynamic as TSN, but it was an excellent film, and in a ranking system, many people would probably feel the same way. I put The Kids Are All Right at #3 because I simply loved it and thought it was original and funny. The rest are simply in order of preference (duh?), overall though it was hard to put some movies above others in this incredible year for movies.

Best Director

Academy Winner - Tom Hooper "The King's Speech"

My Pick - David Fincher "The Social Network"

Commentary - I was not that dissappointed that Tom Hooper won, as he is a nice guy and I did enjoy The King's Speech. But if I were voting, my vote would have gone to David Fincher, who made a courtroom drama about a computer website one of the most thrilling and exciting movies that has come along in a long time.

Best Actor

Academy Winner/My Pick - Colin Firth "The King's Speech"

Commentary - Was there really any other choice? Firth was so close to winning last year until the great Jeff Bridges came blazing into the race in the last mintue. But this year, there was no one stopping King Colin. Plus, he happened to be incredible, and the best performance of the bunch.

Best Actress

Academy Winner - Natalie Portman "Black Swan"

My Pick - Annette Bening "The Kids Are All Right"

Commentary - I was thrilled for a ready-to-pop Natalie Portman, but if I had voted, my vote would have gone to the wonderful Annette Bening. Her performance was subtle compare to Portmans, but that does not mean it was of lesser quality. Bening was so real, honest, and emotional as Nic, and it made me remember why I love her as an actress so muhc.

Best Supporting Actor

Academy Winner/My Pick - Christian Bale "The Fighter"
Commentary  - It wasn't until they included the real footage of Dickey at the end of The Fighter, that I realized just how fantastic Christian Bale was. After years of being ignored by the Academy, this was his time to shine, and he would have gotten my vote.

Best Supporting Actress
Academy Winner - Melissa Leo "The Fighter"
My Pick - Amy Adams "The Fighter"

Commentary - While I still love me some Melissa Leo (despite her bizarre acceptance speech), my vote would have gone to the sensual Amy Adams. She has been an excellent in so many films, but the range that she showed this year in The Fighter proved she is capable of anything. She would have won my vote.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Academy Winner/My Pick - Aaron Sorkin "The Social Network"

Commentary - Finally, this man gets the Oscar nod he deserves. He could rewrite Sesame Street and I think I would vote for one of his scripts. On a more serious note, he truly wrote the best script of the bunch, and created a modern masterpiece.

Best Original Screenplay

Academy Winner - David Seidler "The King's Speech"

My Pick - Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg "The Kids Are All Right"

Commentary - I was thrilled when David Seidler won, simply because of his awesome acceptance speech. But if I were a voter, I would have gone with the honest family dramedy The Kids Are All Right for sentimental reasons.

Best Animated Feature

Academy Winner/My Pick - Toy Story 3

Commentary - One day Pixar will win the Best Picture Oscar, until then it will be relegated to this category. In my mind there was no other competition this year.

Best Documentary Feature

Academy Winner - Inside Job

My Pick - Exit Through the Gift Shop

Commentary - Inside Job was nice, but for my money, I would have loved to have seen Bansky accept the Academy Award. Plus it was simply the superior film of the bunch. For the record, the Joan Rivers doc should have been nominated, and the rest would have been moot.  

Best Foreign Language Film

Academy Winner - In a Better World

My Pick - Dogtooth

Commentary - I liked In a Better World, but my vote would have gone to Dogtooth, which I was thrilled got a a nomination in the first place.

What's Next....

One my favorite lines that ran through all of the West Wing seasons, was the phrase "what's next?", the idea was that we got the picture and are ready to move on. So here is a look at some of the potential projects and things to look forward to:

1) "If I were an Academy Member..." Series, where I look at past Oscar ballots and talk about what would have been my choices had I been a voter in the Academy.
2) Over this summer, I hope to revamp last summer's project and do the Top 100 Films of the Last 50 Years
3) Emmy and Tony Coverage, as well as other summer awards.
4) Trying to do better this year regarding film festivals and buzz coming out of them.
5) More Reviews, tidbits, memorials, trailers, and other such ins & outs.

Just cause the Oscar season is over, doesn't mean there aren't plenty of things to do!

The State of the Race: The End

So I had an exam today and Monday, so have not had time to post my thoughts about the winners, the ceremony, and the Oscar season as a whole. Here are my thoughts.

The Winners
Well, in the end, all of the potential upsets, in the big categories at least, the Bening v. Portman talk, the Best Supporting Actress mix ups, and the Fincher/ TKS split all ended up being just speculation. The four frontrunners for acting won, the two screenplay frontrunners won, and Hooper, along with the film took home the top two prizes. However, in some of the technical categories, there were some nice surprises to say the least. Say what you will about Alice In Wonderland, but it was a technical feat to say the least, and got some well deserved wins in Art Direction and Costume Design, that I was certain were going to The King's Speech. Then came Best Original Score, where the more modern and subtle score of The Social Network beat out the more obvious choices of The King's Speech and Inception, and move I welcomed with open arms. Finally, while I am so dissappointed that the great Roger Deakins has still yet to win an Academy Award, I was thrilled for Inception and Wally Pfister, as to be frank, he really did deserve the prize. Finally, I would like to say that although I was rooting for Fincher, I was extremely happy for Tom Hooper, and feel bad that he is getting so much heat from vitriolic people. Let the man enjoy his win in peace (kind of along the same lines as the Bieber fans trying to tear down poor Esperanza Spalding). In my personal predictions I got 16/25 categories correct, which is not terrible, but much worse than last year. I think this is because I was trying to pick against perceived frontrunners and be wild in some choices, and too safe in others. Overall though, I welcomed the times when I was wrong, and if you take out those damn shorts, I was 16/22, which is a much better percentage.

The Ceremony
Well, I've had a lot of time to think about the many things that have been said about this year's ceremony, so here it goes. James Franco was a complete disaster. He's a great actor, but he seriously acted like an apathetic druggy. smug, cocky, and seemingly didn't want to be there. That being said, while Hathaway was a little bit over the top, a little calming down and some better material, she would been even better than she was. At least she was enthusiastic and seemed to be genuinely happy to be there. The only thing I wish is that they would have been a little more playful with the nominees, as they were almost a little to congratualtory, and not enough subtle humorous heat, like Billy Crystal is so good at. The actual ceremony itself (with the exception of Melissa Leo's f-bomb) was rather uncontroversial, and a little boring. It was not god-awful as some bloggers, commentators, and commentors have suggested, but a little lackluster. I was happy to see the original song nominees perform this year, and I liked the new Best Actor/Best Actress set up, although I still thought that the previous winner format was best. Sandra Bullock was by far the best presenter, and it made me like her even more (if that's possible). Colin Firth, Christian Bale, David Seidler, and the great Aaron Sorkin all gave heartfelt speeches, as did Best Director winner Tom Hooper, showing how they are all genuinely nice guys. It was definitely not the best ceremony in years, but it had its nice moments, and I enjoyed the winners.

The Season
Well, I have talked all season about the many battles, Portman vs. Bening, the big switches, TSN then TKS. But right now all I want to say is that someday we will look back on this race like we have all the others, and use it to our advantage to make better predictions in the future. But after all of the twists and turns, and the ups and downs, and for those who have stuck by through it all, I think that it is quite appropriate to simply quote Bertie, "However this turns out, I don't know how to thank you."

Academy Award Winners

Well, here it is folks, the final list. A nice evening, some deserving winners, and a wonderful year in movies. On Tuesday afternoon, I will post my post-Oscar reactions, and announce the upcoming projects for the Spring and Summer. Thank you for tuning in.

Best Picture - The King's Speech
Best Director - Tom Hooper "The King's Speech"
Best Actor - Colin Firth "The King's Speech"
Best Actress - Natalie Portman "Black Swan"
Best Supporting Actor - Christian Bale "The Fighter"
Best Supporting Actress - Melissa Leo "The Fighter"
Best Adapted Screenplay - Aaron Sorkin "The Social Network"
Best Original Screenplay - David Seidler "The King's Speech"
Best Animated Feature Film - Toy Story 3
Best Documentary Feature Film - Inside Job
Best Foreign Language Film - In A Better World
Best Film Editing - The Social Network
Best Art Direction - Alice in Wonderland
Best Cinematography - Wally Pfister "Inception"
Best Costume Design - Colleen Atwood "Alice in Wonderland"
Best Makeup - The Wolfman
Best Original Score - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross "The Social Network"
Best Original Song - Randy Newman "We Belong Together" from "Toy Story 3"
Best Sound Mixing - Inception
Best Sound Editing - Inception
Best Visual Effects - Inception
Best Animated Short - The Lost Thing
Best Documentary Short - Strangers No More
Best Live Action Short - God of Love

The Quiet Before the Storm....

Well, here it is Sunday afternoon before the Oscars, the quiet before the storm. Tonight could be the most predictable, or most unpredictable, there will be worthy winners, potential upsets, and hopefully some fun along the way. As of now, the only thing I can say to you is: thank you. This has been an crazy Oscar season, and a hell of a lot of fun. For those that stuck by and followed it along with me, I thank you, and hope you will continue to tune in to The Awards Psychic.

Once again here are my final predictions, and I will be posting the winners live:

Best Picture - The King's Speech
Best Director - David Fincher "The Social Network"
Best Actor - Colin Firth "The King's Speech"
Best Actress - Natalie Portman "Black Swan"
Best Supporting Actor - Christian Bale "The Fighter"
Best Supporting Actress - Helena Bonham Carter "The King's Speech
Best Animated Feature - Toy Story 3
Best Original Screenplay - David Seidler "The King's Speech"
Best Adapted Screenplay - Aaron Sorkin "The Social Network"
Best Documentary Feature - Inside Job
Best Art Direction - The King's Speech
Best Cinematography - True Grit
Best Costume Design - The King's Speech
Best Film Editing - The Social Network
Best Foreign Language Film - In A Better World (Denmark)
Best Makeup - The Wolfman
Best Original Score - Alexandre Desplat "The King's Speech"
Best Original Song - "We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3
Best Sound Editing - Inception
Best Sound Mixing - Inception
Best Visual Effects - Inception

Final Predictions - Best Picture

Nominees
“Black Swan” Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
“The Fighter” David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
“Inception” Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers

“The Kids Are All Right” Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers

“The King's Speech” Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers

“127 Hours” Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers

“The Social Network” Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers

“Toy Story 3” Darla K. Anderson, Producer

“True Grit” Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers

“Winter's Bone" Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

Will Win - The King's Speech

Should Win - Complicated

Could Win - The Social Network

 
Commentary - I think that the SAG, DGA, and PGA wins are going to be enough for The King's Speech to take home the Best Picture Oscar. It is as simple as that. Or is it? But The Social Network is a critical smash, it took home every major critics' award, on top of that it won the BFCA and the Golden Globe. I am still a huge TSN fan, but reality tells me that none of those prizes matter. The only significant prize it won that is an indicator of Best Picture was the ACE Eddie, and to be honest, I don't think that is enough. So there you go, The King's Speech will take the prize. The question that lingers in my mind is not who will win, but who should win? For me this is complicated. Yes, I put TSN as the top movie of the year in my own personal awards. But will I be dissappointed if all of the sudden The King's Speech wins the prize. No! This was an incredible year for movies. Last year, the 10 film format didn't really work, as we all knew that there were five above the rest of the pack. But this year, I feel that there is not one dud in the bunch, and all ten films, on their own merits deserve the recognition that they have received. So I honestly don't care if TKS wins, it was one of my favorite movies of the year. While I would love to see TSN surprise us all, I wouldn't mind if it lost to TKS, to Inception, to The Fighter, to Black Swan, to The Kids Are All Right, to Toy Story3, to infinity and beyond (a little joke). Here is my point. This was a great year for movies, and some deserving films are going to win some awards, and some deserving films are going to miss out. This has been a long season, and the votes are in, just....let it be.

Razzie "Winners"

The Golden Raspberries are hilarious to me, and the "winners" this year definitely deserved it, ranging from The Last Airbender, Killers, SATC 2, Valentines Day, and Twilight. Anyway, here is the list below, a little fun before tomorrow afternoon's big event:

Worst Picture - 'The Last Airbender'
Worst Actor - Ashton Kutcher, 'Killers' and 'Valentine's Day'
Worst Actress - The Four Gal Pals, 'Sex and the City 2'
Worst Supporting Actor  - Jackson Rathbone, 'The Last Airbender' and 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'
Worst Supporting Actress - Jessica Alba, 'The Killer Inside Me,' 'Little Fockers,' 'Machete' and 'Valentine's Day'
"Worst Eye-Gouging Mis-Use of 3-D" - 'The Last Airbender'
Worst Screen Couple / Ensemble - The Entire Cast, 'Sex and the City 2'
Worst Director - 'The Last Airbender,' M. Night Shyamalan
Worst Screenplay - 'The Last Airbender,' M. Night Shyamalan
Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel  - 'Sex and the City 2'

Final Predictions - Best Director

Nominees
“Black Swan” Darren Aronofsky
“The Fighter” David O. Russell

“The King's Speech” Tom Hooper

“The Social Network” David Fincher

“True Grit” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Will Win/Should Win - David Fincher "The Social Network"

Could Win - Tom Hooper "The King's Speech"

Should Have Been Nominated -Christopher Nolan "Inception"

Commentary - While the Nolan snub still stings, I know I must move on and look at the actual nominees. Aronofsky, Russell, and the Coens are all excellent directors, but really, they are going to take a backseat to the main fight: Hooper vs. Fincher. I think that Tom Hooper did an excellent job with TKS (despite some people's ramblings), and made a taut, well-executed story that was enjoyable to watch. However, for me, it was still not on the same level of David Fincher. Fincher's eye for storytelling combined with Sorkins sharp script is what made what could have been an incredibly boring movie, a spectacle to watch. So although TKS will most likely win best picture, and Hooper definitely has a shot, I am going with the BP/BD split. Plus, Hooper's story reminds me a lot of Rob Marshall's back in 2002. So maybe the same thing will happen, where you take away the TV voting branch of the DGA, and Polanski wins, aka Fincher wins. It is not set in stone by any means, and if Hooper's name is read out, I will not be shocked, but I'm going with my gut.