I didn’t know if I’d be able to post this in time, since my Comcast cable modem has been offline most of the weekend. Since tonight is Oscar night, and roughly equivalent to Super Bowl Sunday in the mind of an SFG, I might as well publicly state my Oscar picks. I have not seen all the nominees, but that hasn’t stopped me from forming opinions and won’t stop me from making my picks. I really like the choices this year; not that they’re all great movies, but I like the fact there’s no clear cut winner. It should make the awards show even more fun to watch for me. Anyway, my picks…Best Picture: A Beautiful Mind, though I’m still rooting for The Fellowship of the Ring.
Best Actor: Denzel Washington
Best Actress: Sissy Spacek. I’m not so sure on this one since Halle Berry or Nicole Kidman could easily take it.
Best Supporting Actor: Ian McKellen
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Connelly
Best Director: Robert Altman. This one’s a hunch. I think he might get it as sort of an honorary Oscar. Ron Howard might probably win, but of course I’m rooting for Peter Jackson.
I insist that Lord of the Rings win for best cinematography, visual effects, art direction, costume, and makeup. I’ve heard Moulin Rouge bandied about, but I think it’s a much greater accomplishment to have completely invented and built the look of Middle Earth than to simply base designs on existing historical record. As far as Best Score, I’m torn between A.I. and FOTR. I’d love to see Howard Shore win, but honestly I prefer John Williams’s music from A.I.. I can also see Moulin Rouge getting best editing over Lord of the Rings; I’m not that crazy about the jump cuts in FOTR and find they’re more palatable in the flashier Moulin Rouge. I’m not all that crazy about the screenplay to FOTR either; a lot of the movie’s inventions do not improve upon the book. Someone needs to explain why the Nolan Brothers’s script for Memento is in the Original Screenplay category when it’s based on a short story. It should still win though, just because such audacious storytelling deserves some kind of recognition. I would love to see Monsters Inc beat Shrek in the animated film category, but that seems highly unlikely. At least Pixar should get an award in the short animated film category. And as far as Best Song goes, I do not care. I don’t find any of the nominees that likeable, and despite my love of the Oscars the one thing that has always bugged me is why they spend upwards of thirty minutes of showtime on this forgettable, disposable category.
So, there are my picks. Hopefully my infuriating Comcast cable modem will stay alive long enough for me to post them. And now it’s time to watch E! all day, heat up some popcorn, stare at the cleavage, and hope that my favorite movie of 2001 gets recognized.
