If I Were An Academy Voter - 2004 Part 1

Best Picture

Academy Winner - Million Dollar Baby
My Pick - Sideways
Commentary - I know this race was between Million Dollar Baby and The Aviator, but if I had been voting, I would have gone with the absolutely hilarious and brilliant Sideways, which unfortunately took home just one measly award.

Best Director
Academy Winner - Clint Eastwood "Million Dollar Baby"
My Pick -Alexander Payne "Sideways"
Commentary - Clint won, and should have won in 1992, for his brutal and unforgettable Unforgiven, so in order to spread the love around, I would have stuck with the Director of my favorite movie from 2004, Alexander Payne.

Best Actor
Academy Winner/My Pick - Jamie Foxx "Ray"
Commentary - I know many thought that Dicaprio should have won, and maybe that's true, but I think the Academy recognized the brilliance of Jamie Foxx's role, as he became Ray Charles, and made that movie what it was.

Best Actress
Academy Winner/My Pick - Hilary Swank "Million Dollar Baby"
Commentary - Bening should have won in 1999, that way Swank could have won only once in 2004 for her brilliant role as a female boxer, she was tough yet vulnerable, and reminded us why we appreciate her talent so much.

Best Supporting Actor
Academy Winner/My Pick - Morgan Freeman "Million Dollar Baby"
Commentary - Everytime Morgan got nominated before, he faced incredibly stiff competition, and that is why he lost. But in 2004, with the exception of Thomas Haden Church, there was very little competition, so it was a nice way to finally honor one of the best.

Best Supporting Actress
Academy Winner - Cate Blanchett "The Aviator"
My Pick - Virginia Madsen "Sideways"
Commentary - Blanchett should have reigned supreme in 1998 for Elizabeth over Paltrow, so instead, I would have voted for one of my favorite performances of the year (behind Foxx and Giamatti). Virginia Madsen was ethereal, vulnerable, and incredible in Sideways, and should have taken home the gold.

Best Animated Feature
Academy Winner/My Pick - The Incredibles
Commentary - The Incredibles was well....incredible.

Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Winner/My Pick - Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor "Sideways"
Commentary - Witty, sharp, intelligent, everything you would want from an incredibly well adapted screenplay.

Best Original Screenplay

Academy Winner/My Pick - Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry, and Pierre Bismuth "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"

Commentary - I was thrilled when this quirky film got some recognition. It was strange to say the least, but original and funny, and somehow managed to work incredibly well.

Best Foreign Language Film

Academy Winner -  The Sea Inside

My Pick - The Chorus

Commentary - I think I would have gone with The Chorus over The Sea Inside, although both were incredible films, so it is hard to pick

Best Documentary Feature
Academy Winner - Born Into Brothels
My Pick - Super Size Me
Commentary - Born into Brothels was a typical Academy doc, but I would have loved to have seen the hilarious and scarily real Morgan Spurlock McDonald's doc, Super Size Me.