Cinematography -
Anna Karenina
-
Django Unchained
-
Life of Pi
-
Lincoln
-
Skyfall
This is probably the best selection of nominees in the
categories. Anna Karenina had some unique use of camera work and colors, but a
lack of a Best Picture nomination could hurt its chances. Django Unchained also
marked another wonderful job by veteran Robert Richardson, but he’s already won
three awards, one of which was for last year’s Hugo. Lincoln’s use of source
lighting, color and shadows were fantastic, but it may be too subtle and unless
support for Lincoln picks up, it won’t win here. That brings us to the two top
contenders: Skyfall and Life of Pi.
I want Skyfall to win. I really want Skyfall to win. Not
only because it is the most gorgeously lit movie I saw all year where the color
palette just stunned me from beginning to end, but because of who the
cinematographer is. Roger Deakins is probably one of the best living DPs in his
field, if not the best, and Skyfall marks his tenth nomination with no previous
wins. What was he nominated for before? Oh, just The Shawshank Redemption,
Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou, No Country for Old Men, The Assassination of
Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and True Grit. Think back on those movies
and how the shadows, colors and lighting set the mood for them. He deserves to
win…and I’m having to come around to the
fact that it probably won’t be here.
Life of Pi has some truly amazing camera work, some stunning
color design and a fantastic use of 3D technology, which helped previous
winners Avatar and Hugo. I feel that will win out here also…but again, Skyfall.
Deakins. Come on, Academy.
Film Editing -
Argo
-
Life of Pi
-
Lincoln
-
Silver Linings Playbook
-
Zero Dark Thirty
This is kind of a weird category in that you’re never sure
if it’s going to award what’s going to win Best Picture that year (Crash or The
Departed) or if they will actually award the structure and pacing of the film
nominated (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Bourne Ultimatum). Well, all
of this year’s nominees are Best Picture nominees, so let’s look at how complex
their editing jobs were. To start with, Silver Linings Playbook did a great job
cutting between the multiple characters in the same scene and a few montages
here and there, but that may be too unnoticed and simple of an editing job to
win. In fact, that kind of editing hasn’t won since Unforgiven and that had a
Best Picture win going for it. So that’s out. Same with Lincoln, unless it gets
really strong support, it will be seen as a standard editing job. The other
three nominees are more complex editing jobs.
Life of Pi had montages, flashback storytelling and
adventure editing, but it’s too smooth and fluid to win, especially considering
the other two nominees. Zero Dark Thirty had the shaky camera action editing
look that wins quite a few times (Black Hawk Down and The Bourne Ultimatum),
but support for Argo has grown immensely, which has the shaky camera action
editing as well as an intense ending that intercuts between multiple locations.
So Argo is definitely going to win here, especially if it’s going to win Best
Picture, which seems very likely at this point.
Costume Design -
Anna Karenina
-
Les Miserables
-
Lincoln
-
Mirror Mirror
-
Snow White and the Huntsman
Off the bat, the two Snow White films will cancel each other
out. Colleen Atwood’s work on Snow White and the Huntsman is too reminiscent of
her previous work (Lemony Snicket, Sleepy Hollow, etc) and Mirror Mirror hasn’t
generated as much support. Lincoln is the first nomination for veteran costume
designer Joanna Johnston and while the period showcases some spectacular dress,
the movie didn’t have the flashy look that usually wins this category over. The
last two definitely had the flashy look, but it will come down whether Les
Miserables has enough support to win or will the design of Anna Karenina win
out? I’m gonna call Anna Karenina for now because the age of the sweeping
costume flick winning every award seems to be over.
Productions Design -
Anna Karenina
-
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
-
Les Miserables
-
Life of Pi
-
Lincoln
Wow, how to begin looking at this one? Sometimes, a Best
Picture sweep will carry over into a win, but like I said before, the age of
the sweeping costume flick winning every award seems to be coming to an end.
Life of Pi had a couple of well-designed sets, but the film largely takes place
on a lifeboat at sea, so that may not have much of a chance. Lincoln has a
couple of very good interior designs, but 1860s American sets don’t have a good
track record here, so unless Lincoln gains some huge last minute support, then
don’t expect it to win here. While the recreation of old sets and the design of
the new Middle Earth sets for The Hobbit were lushly detailed, reviews and
support for this film weren’t as passionate as they were for The Lord of the
Rings movies, so the chances for this film winning here aren’t very strong.
Again, we’ll see the design competition come down to Anna Karenina and Les
Miserables. While the sets of Les Miserables were vast and intricately
recreated, too many close up shots denied the film a chance to showcase the
scale. Not such with Anna Karenina, so look that one to win here if it can keep
Les Miserables at bay.
And because I missed posting one yesterday, here's another one.
Adapted Screenplay -
Argo; Chris Terrio
-
Beasts of the Southern Wild; Lisa & Benh Zeitlin
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Life of Pi; David Magee
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Lincoln; Tony Kushner
-
Silver Linings Playbook; David O. Russell
This year’s nominees are a very solid group. Beasts was a
well-loved indie film that carried over into a multiply nominated Best Picture
nominee. Adapted from a stage play, Beasts has a good amount of support behind
it, but it’s destined to be a well-respected nominated film. Life of Pi took a
book that many considered un-adaptable, including the author, and translated it
near flawlessly to the big screen. However, well adapted films need to have a
stronger writing style behind it to generate larger waves to win, so Pi’s
adapting job will be respected by being nominated. That brings us to a strong
three way race. Silver Linings Playbook had a fantastic use of dialog and had a
story that flowed very well. Lincoln had not only some of the best dialog in a
film this year, courtesy of master scribe Tony Kushner, and turn a story about
passing an amendment and a climactic voting scene into cinematic gold. However,
Argo’s seemingly unending support of previous awards (including a USC
Scripter’s award) could translate into a win here, too. I’m gonna say that
whatever wins here will probably win Best Picture, so look for Argo to win
here, unless Lincoln sneaks in.
Original Screenplay -
Amour; Michael Haneke
-
Django Unchained; Quentin Tarantino
-
Flight; John Gaetis
-
Moonrise Kingdom; Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
-
Zero Dark Thirty; Mark Boal
Each of these nominees have their own uniqueness to them
that justifies their nominees. Moonrise Kingdom told a sweet story about
childhood romance with the Wes Anderson style. Unfortunately, it was the film’s
only nomination when people were predicting it was going to sneak into Best
Picture, so support for it may not be very strong. Flight utilized a unique
story structure, starting with the big special effects sequence and using that
to open up a character story. But it didn’t make enough waves to carry into
other categories outside of a nod for Washington. That leaves us with our Best
Picture nominees, which usually win. Zero Dark Thirty was a complex character
story that was woven around real events, most of which had to go through
special clearance just to get told. It would have a stronger chance if there
wasn’t such controversy surrounding it right now. A Golden Globe win for
Tarantino showed that it has a strong chance, especially with Tarantino’s
unique narrative structure and dialog.
It’s chief competition is Amour, which could win if only to give Haneke
an award outside of Foreign Language Film to show the Academy’s support, which
is pretty strong at this point. So this one goes to Haneke.
Animated Film - Brave
-
Frankenweenie
-
ParaNorman
-
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
-
Wreck-It Ralph
Okay, the stop motion animated films are going to cancel
each other out because they don’t have any chances, especially with the other
two nominees; Pixar’s hit, Brave and Disney’s foray into computer animation,
Wreck-It Ralph. Brave would be the more likely choice as Pixar has won 6 of the
eleven awards. Believe it or not, Disney hasn’t won a single award in this
category. While it may seem like the sure bet would be Pixar, Wreck-It Ralph
has gained a large crowd that have enjoyed the blend of nostalgia and
sensibility. So I’m giving Wreck-It Ralph the narrow edge over Brave, earning
Disney their first non-Pixar award for Best Animated Film.
Song - “Before My
Time”; Chasing Ice
-
“Everybody Needs a Best Friend”; Ted
- “Pi’s
Lullaby”; Life of Pi
-
“Skyfall”; Skyfall
-
“Suddenly”; Les Miserables
Skyfall, Skyfall, Skyfall. If you think any other song has a
chance…well, surprises have happened before, but it doesn’t seem likely. Let’s look at the other
nominees to see why they don’t have a chance. Before My Time is from a
documentary that didn’t get a very large audience, even by documentary
standards, so don’t expect it to win here. Pi’s Lullaby is a soothing and
elegant number, but it’s in another language and those don’t have a very good
track record in this category. While Ted was a huge surprise hit this year, it isn’t
the type of film that the Academy recognizes, technical categories or not, so
Seth MacFarlane can at least be able to call himself a nominee. The only song
that has a chance is Suddenly but originally written songs from already
established musicals don’t typically win, especially one that was so low key amidst a two and a half hour onslaught of non-stop fortissimo songs. That leaves Skyfall: a very popular
song that helped contribute to the success of the film performed by an artist
that is at the top of her game right now. So, Skyfall seems to be poised to
win, but an upset wouldn’t be unlikely.
Score - Anna
Karenina
- Argo
- Life
of Pi
-
Lincoln
-
Skyfall
With five Oscars under his belt, John Williams will have to
compose another landmark score in order to net his sixth, so he’s the least
likely to win. Anna Karenina composer Dario Marianelli won five years ago for
his score for Atonement, so it might take another Best Picture nomination to
become a top competitor again. Skyfall marks Thomas Newman’s tenth nomination
for Best Score and it may turn out to be just that, especially since there were
no big moments that stood out as a classic score, outside of referencing the
theme song and the classic James Bond theme. Argo’s been riding a huge wave of
support recently and that could carry over to a win for five time nominee
Alexandre Desplat. The only downfall is that the score isn’t very recognizable.
That leaves long time composer and first time nominee Michael Dynna’s score for
Life of Pi, which had a perfect balance between restrained and memorable. If
Life of Pi can keep Argo at bay, it can count on another win here.
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