3 posts tagged “oscars”

Oscarsleeping

CNN.com sent to me, via my Academy Awards alerts,  an AP story about the backlash against Diablo Cody. Since it is 3 AM and I can't get to sleep, I decided to blog at random about the backlash and Ms. Cody.

(Image courtesy of her MySpace blog. More on pictures taken from her blog)

• How is any of this news? Especially AP and CNN worthy news? The media is fascinated with this woman, mainly because she was once a stripper and now is a writer. But their has been backlash against Kevin Smith, Quentin Tarantino, Akiva Goldsman and just about any other writer you'd care to mention. None of that backlash is major media newsworthy.
• As for the backlash itself, well, welcome to Hollywood. While I haven't been to Hollywood other than as a tourist, it is renown for building people up so it can tear them down.
• Is the backlash motivated by jealousy? Yeah, at least in part.  
• As an aspiring writer, am I jealous of Cody's success? Hell yeah. But not in the way I want to tear her down. I want to use her for an example and/or inspiration. If she can do it, perhaps maybe I can too.
• The article is titled "Latest "It" talent feeling backlash". If that wasn't the most awkward title ever, I don't know what is. And it's not really verified either. The article is mostly "This newspaper said this about Cody. This website said this about Cody" Comments from her are conspicuous in their abscence. Is she really feeling the backlash? How can we tell?
• The article should be disqualified for quoting TMZ at all. TMZ is the catfish of the tabloid world, the bottom feeder of the bottom feeders.
• The article, while wrapping itself in the journalistic pretense of doing a serious examination of the backlash, is, in essence, a backhanded form of backlash itself.
• What constitutes the backlash? A brouhaha about her Oscar shoes, people imitating her writing style, a comedian imitating her, and "embarrassing nude pictures" of her posted on Egotastic (The link will take you to the pictures, So beware.). The last one appears to be the worst. The rest are fairly tame.
• The kicker? The pictures on Egotastic were taken from various and sundry blogs she herself has had over the past few years. (Seriously, this girl has a progression of blogs to rival mine. Hey, Diablo! Come to Vox! It's user friendly!) 
• As for there BEING nude pictures, I only say this: Nude pictures of an ex-stripper on the internet is the equivalent of finding a drunk person of Irish descent in a bar. (And before you yell at me, I am half Irish). In other words, fairly common.
• For a "serious" article, it portrays a lot of quotes out of context. One quote is in favor of Cody but at first read seems the quotee is dissing her.
• I'm begining to feel I should put on black eyeliner and film myself screaming into the camera "LEAVE DIABLO ALONE!"
• The article says Cody is now under pressure to match the success of Juno. Hmm. Lets see. She has another movie in pre-production, a Steven Spielberg produced TV series in pre-production and a regular back page column in Entertainment Weekly (of which I am probably most jealous of her for. I had my eye on that job. Someday. When I became a famous author. Okay, I know it's not likely. But a boy can dream, can't he?), so she is doing pretty alright just the way it is.

I am going to boldly predict how the Oscar's will turn out. This usually means I will fail miserably and this will be on the Internet forever to my eternal shame and embarassment.

BEST PICTURE

Who will win: No Country for Old Men

Who should win: Juno

Dark Horse: Michael Clayton.

I personally think that No Country was a good movie but the secretive way the Coen's portrayed the last half hour kept it from being great. I think Juno is much more consistent, and therefore, better. But Hollywood loves No Country, and most likely will get the nod. However, Michael Clayton may surprise.

BEST ACTOR:

Who will win: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood

Who should win: Anyone but him.

Dark Horse: George Clooney, Michael Clayton

Day-Lewis is racking up statuette after statuette for his performance. I haven't seen Blood, mainly because his acting in the trailer shied me away. Sure, he might be playing a larger than life character, but it comes off as scenery chewing at its worst. He will probably win, but I don't know if he really deserves it.

BEST ACTRESS:

Who will win: Julie Christie, Away From Her

Who should win: Ellen Page, Juno

Dark Horse: Marion Cotillard. La Vie en Rose

Again, I haven't seen Christie in this movie, but she is supposed to be fantastic. She most likely deserves it. But Ellen Page did a fantastic job too. if only she was nominated in another year. Same for Cotillard.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Who will win: Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men

Who should win: Bardem

Dark Horse: Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild.

As conflicted as I was over No Country, I can not deny that Bardem gives one of the best perfomances I have ever seen in film. He is a force of nature in the film, horribly evil but he makes you root for him, just a little bit. Holbrook might have a chance if they go the "lifetime achievement" route. He does deserve it for his body of work, but not this year.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Who will win: Ruby Dee, American Gangster

Who should win: Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone

Dark Horse: Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There

I believe that Dee should not have gotten a nomination. She played such a minor part in the film, under 5 minutes I believe, and was so broad when she was on the screen that she actually took away from the film. She does have one big "Hey, Academy, look at me" scene, but it doesn't really fit with the rest of the film. But she has done a lot of great work in her career, work she should have been nominated and won, so that, with her age and the fact she won the SAG award, leads me to believe an Oscar is in her future. Which leaves Amy Ryan, winner of many other awards for her role in Gone Baby Gone and Cate Blanchett as wild cards.

DIRECTOR

Who will win: Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men

Who should win: Jason Reitman, Juno

Dark Horse: Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

I believe this year is the Coen Brothers' year. They deserved an Oscar way before this, but this time, it seems that Hollywod caught up with them. I, however, have issues with the film I mentioned above. Which is why I think Reitman should get the nod. Although Schnabel seems to be a popular wild card.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Who will win: Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men

Who should win: Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men

Dark Horse: Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

I have read the screenplay for No Country and I loved it. The ending in it is less vague. So they deserve to win this. However, they might win Director and usually, you don't win that and this. Anderson is a dark horse. I really can't believe any screenplay with the dialogue "I DRANK YOUR MILKSHAKE" in it would even be nominated, but Hollywood seems to like him. If the Coens don't win both director and adapted screenplay, he might take this one.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Who will win: Diablo Cody, Juno

Who should win: Cody

Dark Horse: Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton

Cody's Juno script started out choppy, with too hip by half dialogue, but found its voice soon after. Yes, she seems to be relishing in her role as Hollywood's latest "It" girl, but that doesn't take away from the quality of her debut effort. If she doesn't get this award, they might give it to Gilroy, for writing the Academy favorite Clayton.

What do you think?

The Oscar nominations were announced this morning. This is one of my favorite days of the year. Of course, this year there might not even be an Oscar telecast with the writer's strike. That's okay because it seems like the top five categories are already pretty much decided anyway.

Here are the nominations, with some pithy comments by me included.

Best Picture
"Atonement"
"Juno"
"Michael Clayton"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

(I am surprised by Michael Clayton's nomination. I know it got good reviews, but I didn't think that they were that good. Surprised it got the nod over American Gangster and Sweeney Todd. I am happy that Juno got nominated)

Actor
George Clooney, "Michael Clayton"
Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"
Johnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
Tommy Lee Jones, "In the Valley of Elah"
Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises"

(This category seems to be Day-Lewis' to lose. Surprise nod for Tommy Lee Jones, who wasn't nominated for a Golden Globe. I am happy that Viggo Mortensen got nominated. Of course, those two meant that Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks were left out. SOmetimes I really wish they had more than five nominees)

Actress
Cate Blanchett, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
Julie Christie, "Away From Her"
Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"
Laura Linney, "The Savages"
Ellen Page, "Juno"

(Laura Linney is a surprise. Thought that her spot would have gone to Amy Adams or Keira Knightly. Again, this seems to be a lock for Julie Christie)

Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"
Hal Holbrook, "Into the Wild"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Charlie Wilson's War"
Tom Wilkinson, "Michael Clayton"

(If Javier Bardem doesn't win, there is something wrong. Love that Casey was the first Affleck to get an Oscar nomination for acting.)

Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There"
Ruby Dee, "American Gangster"
Saoirse Ronan, "Atonement"
Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"
Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton"

(A rarity: Blanchett is nominated twice in Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. That doesn't happen too often. Ruby Dee seems to me to be a "lifetime achievment" nomination. Her part wasn't that big in American Gangster and her performance was a bit showy for my taste. But she has been great in other roles through he long career, and therefore may be the underdog in this race, stealing the award from Amy Ryan)

Director
Julian Schnabel, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Jason Reitman, "Juno"
Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"

(Every year, the Academy seem to make it a point to make sure the Best Director nominees don't match up with the Best Picture nominees. I'm not a fan of that. If Schnabel did such a good job, why wasn't Diving Bell nominated? And if no leads or director from Atonement were nominated, what made it such a good film? Also, I wonder if Fiona Apple will be once again be stroking Paul Thomas Anderson's arm as he fumes after losing in either of the two categories he's nominated.)

Foreign Film
"Beaufort," Israel
"The Counterfeiters," Austria
"Katyn," Poland
"Mongol," Kazakhstan
"12," Russia

Adapted Screenplay
Christopher Hampton, "Atonement"
Sarah Polley, "Away from Her"
Ronald Harwood, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"

Original Screenplay
Diablo Cody, "Juno"
Nancy Oliver, "Lars and the Real Girl"
Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco, "Ratatouille"
Tamara Jenkins, "The Savages."

Animated Feature Film
"Persepolis"
"Ratatouille"
"Surf's Up"

(I pity Surf's Up. Because the award is either going to one of the other two. I think it's a bit unfair to judge between Persepolis and Ratatouille. Yes, they are both animated, but with two entirely different tones and subject matter.)

Art Direction
"American Gangster"
"Atonement"
"The Golden Compass"
"Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
"There Will Be Blood"

Cinematography
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
"Atonement"
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

Sound Mixing
"The Bourne Ultimatum"
"No Country for Old Men"
"Ratatouille"
"3:10 to Yuma"
"Transformers"

Sound Editing
"The Bourne Ultimatum"
"No Country for Old Men"
"Ratatouille"
"There Will Be Blood"
"Transformers"

Original Score
"Atonement," Dario Marianelli
"The Kite Runner," Alberto Iglesias
"Michael Clayton," James Newton Howard
"Ratatouille," Michael Giacchino
"3:10 to Yuma," Marco Beltrami

Original Song
"Falling Slowly" from "Once," Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
"Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted," Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz
"Raise It Up" from "August Rush," Nominees to be determined
"So Close" from "Enchanted," Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz
"That's How You Know" from "Enchanted," Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz

(I am a little sad that none of the songs from Walk Hard got a nod. They were perfect parodies of that musical era, which isn't easy to do. Not that I'm against the nods for the Enchanted songs. They were charming. And what's the deal with "Nominees to be determined" for the August Rush song? How can authorship of a song be in doubt?)

Costume
"Across the Universe"
"Atonement"
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
"La Vie en Rose"
"Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street"

Documentary Feature
"No End in Sight"
"Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience"
"Sicko"
"Taxi to the Dark Side"
"War/Dance"

Documentary (short subject)
"Freeheld"
"La Corona (The Crown)"
"Salim Baba"
"Sari's Mother"

Film Editing
"The Bourne Ultimatum"
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
"Into the Wild"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

Makeup
"La Vie en Rose"
"Norbit"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"

Animated Short Film
"I Met the Walrus"
"Madame Tutli-Putli"
"Meme Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)"
"My Love (Moya Lyubov)"
"Peter & the Wolf"

Live Action Short Film
"At Night"
"Il Supplente (The Substitute)"
"Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)"
"Tanghi Argentini"
"The Tonto Woman"

Visual Effects
"The Golden Compass"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"
"Transformers"