We should link to these for closure, so “The Dark Knight,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Slumdog Millionaire” and “WALL-E” won big at the Motion Picture Sound Editors awards, while “Button” took four trophies from the Visual Effects Society. “The Dark Knight” and “WALL-E” also won a few each. Thanks to Awards Daily on both of those.
Tag: Slumdog Millionaire
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You were right, I was wrong: Guy’s final predictions
(Expanded thoughts and reasonings on yesterday’s list of predictions.)It’s years like 2008 when I throw my hands up and admit (albeit with great reluctance) that my family and friends have been right for the last two decades. Carla, Tom, Kim, Auntie Mavis: I give up. I am insane to care as much as I do about the Oscars. They are stupid. They don’t matter, and I really should find something more important and rewarding to care about, like, oh, needlepoint classes or professional darts championships.
But who am I kidding? I will always care about the Oscars, even in years like this when the race is so dry, and its significance so questionable, that I take great care in not caring. In a year when so few of my personal favourites have cracked the contenders list, it has at least been interesting to sit back and watch the furore unfold over the Academy voters’ spectacularly self-sabotaging antics this year.
I’ve been wrong about a lot of things this year (Kris scoffed at my naive suggestion back in July that “Happy-Go-Lucky” could be a Best Picture nominee, and he was right to), and right about … well … “Milk’s” nomination for Best Costume Design. (Hey, let me salvage some glory from this year’s meagre spoils.) I don’t expect to be a hell of a lot more successful with the following predictions, but you never know. It’s still been a lot of fun riding out the season with you this year – here’s to a better slate of contenders (and a lot less grousing from me) in 12 months’ time.
BEST PICTURE
Apart from the fact that it is the most imaginative and entertaining of this year’s feeble clutch of nominees, the reason “Slumdog Millionaire” has a stranglehold on this category is because it’s the only one of the five that has any discernible relationship to contemporary cinema. The other four all feel to varying degrees like the finely-tooled Best Picture winners of decades past, but the younger, more curious Academy members have been moving away from such self-consciously packaged ‘prestige product’ in the past few years – even if they need a lot of pointing towards what to reward in its stead. -
Want to win cinematography? An art direction nod helps.
I’m surprised I completely forgot about this little, some might say meaningless statistic, but with all the predictions for “Slumdog Millionaire” taking the cinematography win at tomorrow night’s Oscar ceremony, the Oscarweb seems to be in the same boat.You have to go back to 1999 and “American Beauty” to find a film that won the Oscar for Best Cinematography but was not even nominated in the art direction field. Before that, 1995 and “Braveheart,” 1992 and “A River Runs Through It” and 1991 and “JFK.”
“Mississippi Burning” (1988) and “The Killing Fields” (1984) were the only examples from the 1980s and then you see some more frequency in the new American cinema hey-day of the 1970s. But if you stretch the timeline back to 1979, you only find six films in 20 years that managed to win the lensing trophy despite coming up short of a nod with the designers.
The only films nominated in both categories this year are “Changeling,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “The Dark Knight.” Most might use that as the ultimate excuse to throw their money behind “The Dark Knight,” which was revolutionary behind the camera with it’s implementation of IMAX technology and because, dang it, it looks amazing. And God knows my fingers are crossed for Wally Pfister, but I think all of this might make a better case for Claudio Miranda and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”
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2/21 Oscarweb Round-up
• Inside the secret history of Oscar speeches. [Esquire]• Sasha Stone surveys the damage of the Oscar season. [Awards Daily]
• How “Slumdog Millionaire” fits into the recession. [Associated Press]
• Jeff Sneider, formerly of Variety, joins Jeff Wells as one of only two brave souls predicting both Mickey Rourke and Meryl Streep for come-from-behind victories. [The InSneider]
• Michael Cieply notes the USC marching band will play a part in the opening Oscar number. [The Carpetbagger]
• Jeff Wells makes his final calls. [Hollywood Elsewhere]
• Kim Voynar uses Guitar Hero to predict the Spirits and the Oscars. [Movie City News]
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Contributors’ picks
Well, this is it. The big show is Sunday night and we’re pretty much out of things to discuss at this stage, no? But I’ve gone ahead and wrangled up all of our contributors’ predictions in each category. Trust who you must, but really, pray for a surprise. Right?In the realm of “ballsy” calls, I guess you can look no further than Guy’s prediction that “The Class” will upset “Waltz with Bashir” in the foreign language film category, which I discussed at length earlier this morning. He’s also stuck his neck out for a “Slumdog Millionaire” sweep, much like Nathaniel Rogers did a week ago. I really wanted to go there. I really, really did, but the sound categories. The friggin’ sound categories.
As we’ve mentioned, people tend to forget that the Academy at large doesn’t exactly know from good sound mixing and sound editing, so “WALL-E” is perhaps a bit vulnerable in those fields, while “The Dark Knight” might be too safe a choice. I’ve talked to a number of people who seem to think “Slumdog” will be checked off down the line, though, so perhaps Guy and Nat are onto something there.
Me, I don’t have too many surprise predictions, as I’m sure you’ve already read. I’m sticking with “Man on Wire” in the doc feature category, despite my spit-balling otherwise. And even though I have a strong sense that “Departures” is waiting to surprise “Waltz,” I don’t feel like sticking my neck out. (UPDATE: Spoke too soon.)
I am, however, going with my gut on Mickey Rourke in the much-anticipated lead actor race, and it looks like I’m joined by Guy, Brian and Blake on that here.
John seems to be expecting a big night for “The Dark Knight,” predicting wins in both sound categories as well as Best Film Editing, which would be the same hat trick “The Bourne Ultimatum” pulled off last year. But he’s also banking on a win in the cinematography category, which would certainly make this writer a happy camper.
Blake is banking on the Bat’s victory in the art direction and makeup fields, where the rest of us expect “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” to prevail, while Brian is predicting a clean sweep for “WALL-E,” including the original screenplay category, which looks to be another one of the night’s most exciting races. He’s joined by Guy on that, while John, Blake, Gerard and I are taking the safe route and placing our chips on Dustin Lance Black’s work on “Milk.”
Despite those minority calls, we all seem to be in agreement on Best Picture (“Slumdog”), Best Director (Danny Boyle), Best Actress (Kate Winslet), Best Supporting Actor (Heath Ledger), Best Supporting Actress (Penelope Cruz), Best Adapted Screenplay (“Slumdog”), Best Visual Effects (“Button”) and Best Animated Feature Film (“WALL-E”). Everything else represents something of a menagerie.
Take a look at our individual picks after the jump.
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OFF THE CARPET: Taking a final stab
Well, this is what it all boils down to. I almost DON’T want to go on the record, but I kind of have to, right?Anyway, this is the first year I’ve actually seen every single nominated frame of film before the big night so these will either be the most educated guesses I’ve ever given or the most unfortunately influenced, one can’t be too sure. Sometimes it’s better to predict in a void, other times not. I did pretty good last year (after a wicked slump for a few years), largely because I succumbed to inevitability more than I have in the past, but I don’t want to be all douchey and put forth my record. We all have ups and downs. I’m not personally convinced of probably half of these predictions, so you certainly shouldn’t be either.
One thing that catches my eye as I go through my “will wins,” “could wins” and “should wins” is that in many cases, I’m predicting the contender that I also feel delivers the best work in the category. But really, only in one arena could that stink of hopeful expectation (Best Actor). The rest is just reflective of how this weak, thin season trickled down. I almost always have a different preference than what actually wins, so I wouldn’t call me the wishful thinking sort when it comes to hammering these out.
Anyway, you’ll find category-by-category analysis throughout, but I have to say, those sound categories are fuckers this year. Pardon the vulgarity. It seems there are limitless possibilities. I’m of the mind that one film takes both, so take your pick: “Dark Knight,” “Slumdog” or “WALL-E.” I think the Academy at large doesn’t understand the subtlety of “WALL-E” (much like “No Country for Old Men” last year) and giving “Slumdog” a clean sweep seems to be too much. But I’ll get into those categories, and more, after the jump.
There is a slight possibility I’ll stick my head back in here to adjust this prediction or that before Sunday. If I do, I’ll be sure to draw your attention to it in this space. Check back later today with a look at all out contributors’ predictions. For now, here are mine…
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TECH SUPPORT: Final predictions
After six months of Tech Support previews and interviews, the films have arrived, the nominations have been announced and the guilds, the critics and BAFTA have all announced their preferences. Today we take a final look at the races before the envelopes are opened on Sunday.BEST ART DIRECTION
After guild and BAFTA wins, I would say “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” has cemented its frontrunner status in this category. Spanning decades of the 20th Century, Donald Graham Burt’s production design was impossible not to notice and gave us gorgeous backdrops for its character’s predicaments.The other nominees all have the odds stacked against them, whether similar work has been seen before (Michael Carlin’s “The Duchess” and Kristi Zea’s “Revolutionary Road”), is just not showy enough (Nathan Crowley’s “The Dark Knight”) or the nominee is otherwise along for the ride (James Murakami’s “Changeling”).
Will win: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Could win: “The Duchess”
Should win: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” -
2/18 Oscarweb Round-up
• Dave Germain digs into Oscar’s history of scene-stealers, joined this year by Viola Davis and Michael Shannon. [Associated Press]• Erika Kinetz, meanwhile, keeps at the same old “Slumdog Millionaire” story that has grown stale over the last few weeks. [Associated Press]
• Ryan Adams eschews the usual “top 10 list” and instead cranks out a list of the 30 films that mattered to him the most in 2008. [Awards Daily]
• Sasha Stone, meanwhile, begins building her annual predictions chart from info scattered across the Oscarweb. [Awards Daily]
• Noah Forrest’s last minute consideration of “Slumdog Millionaire”‘s stranglehold on the season. [Movie City News]
• Nathaniel Rogers kicks off his annual Oscar Symposium, with Erik Lundegaard, Karina Longworth, Ed Gonzalez, Timothy Brayton and yours truly. [The Film Experience]
• David Carr isn’t impressed by this year’s John Singleton-directed Oscar trailer. [The Carpetbagger]
• Elizabeth Snead talks to legendary “Revolutionary Road” costumer Albert Wolsky. [The Envelope]
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Not so very shocking
Dave Karger has posted a list of ten potential “shockers” that he thinks could (however faintly) foreseeably shake things up on Oscar night.Many of them have been raised before, and are suitably fanciful. Though I’ve said before that there is a logical case to be made for Melissa Leo leapfrogging both Kate Winslet and Meryl Streep to the Best Actress award, it’s safe to say that the odds are firmly stacked against that happening. Meanwhile, while the “‘Benjamin Button’ goes 0-for-13” theory has been floated around before, it’s difficult to see how it could lose all three of the technical awards in which it is deemed a lock. So those outcomes would certainly count as shocking in some measure.
Some of Karger’s ideas would definitely be upsets, but not necessarily “shockers.” As I’ve written before, I’m joining him on the same limb in predicting a Best Foreign Language Film win for “The Class” — but that category is so prone to upsets, it’s almost more of a surprise when things go according to plan. And I know I’m not the only one seriously considering Viola Davis in the frequently topsy-turvy Best Supporting Actress category — she’s not the favourite, sure, but it wouldn’t be a jaw-dropper of Marcia Gay Harden proportions.
Some of Karger’s supposed “shockers,” however, wouldn’t even count as upsets to me. He lists both the possibility of “Slumdog Millionaire” making a clean sweep of nine awards, and “The Dark Knight” getting only one statuette — which are really co-dependent on each other, since the sound awards, as far as I can see, represent “TDK’s” only other shots at victory. (Cinematography, I think, sailed with the ASC.) And since “Slumdog” just nabbed the CAS award, would that be so very unexpected?
The one on Karger’s list that really surprised me, however, was a Best Actor win for Mickey Rourke. It’s well-known by now that this is a neck-and-neck battle to the finish between two beloved performances that have evenly split the major Oscar precursors. In the latest Gurus of Gold chart, Penn leads Rourke by a single vote. I think we can honestly say by now that either result would not be a surprise at all. Now Frank Langella … that would be a shocker.
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‘Duchess,’ ‘Slumdog,’ ‘Knight’ take CDG Awards
So, the final guild awards before the Oscars have been doled out — and “Slumdog Millionaire” maintains its unprecedented, unbroken streak, with Suttriat Larlab winning the contemporary field at the Costume Designers Guild awards.
“The Dark Knight’s” Lindy Hemming predictably took the fantasy category while, in the only victory that has any bearing on the Oscar race, Michael O’Connor took the period gong for “The Duchess.”
The latter strikes me as an interesting win. While the relatively unfamiliar O’Connor is a favourite for the Oscars, I didn’t necessarily expect him to triumph with the Guild, which often prefers more established names — and hasn’t shared the Academy’s recent affinity for European royalty-porn. (Neither “Marie-Antoinette” nor “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” won here.) The fact that they relented this year suggests O’Connor is looking primed for the bigger win on Sunday.
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THE LISTS: Top 10 pet peeves of the 2008-2009 Oscar season
The season is winding down this week. The slow President’s Day holiday yesterday seemed to be more of a harbinger than a lull in the excitement. This time next week, we’ll probably be over the fallout of the circuit and on to debating the contenders we’re likely to see a year from now.
It’s a vicious, beautiful, sad, interesting circle.
But before the 81st Annual Academy Awards telecast puts a bow on the festivities Sunday night, it seems a decent enough time to reflect. And not to be too negative, but this became one of the most irritating seasons I’ve ever covered, both in the lack of excitement to the dichotomy that circumstance presented for me (given that my favorite film of the year has lead the field throughout).
With that in mind, I fully expect this piece to grate the nerves of more than a few readers. Then again, I’m sure plenty of these views are shared by a handful as well, but whatever the case, a list of pet peeves began to stack up early on in the season. I thought it reasonable to collect them here, so feast your eyes (or roll them), this is what got under my skin this year.
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Can ‘Slumdog’ really make a clean sweep?
As we all know, this was a(nother) exceptionally good weekend for “Slumdog Millionaire,” as it nabbed a quartet of technical guild trophies, from the cinematographers, editors, art directors and even, in an especially unlikely coup, the sound mixers. With just the costume designers left to weigh in, this means that Danny Boyle’s film has not come up empty at a single guild ceremony all season — it is an unprecedented hot streak.With voters seemingly incapable, on any given ballot, of not checking the box alongside the word “Slumdog,” the film suddenly poses a very real threat of nabbing 9 awards, sweeping every category in which it is nominated at the Oscars. Nathaniel Rogers, for one, is predicting such an outcome, and thinks that the key to everything lies in the usually unheralded sound categories:
It might sound odd to say but I believe these are the key categories of the night. If they announce them early and they both go to Slumdog Millionaire we have a sweeper on our hands and you’ll watch it win all 9 of its categories. If it loses both it will likely be a more traditional night when several film get a couple of statues each. But these two categories are clearly where Slumdog is most vulnerable to defeat. Voters could also opt to improve WALL•E or The Dark Knight‘s statue total … (But) the biggest problem for both the robot and the batman is, I fear, each other. Which might have also been the case in the best picture nomination battle.
I completely agree. The two sound categories are among the races causing me the most head-scratching as I finalise my predictions. As a technical feat of sound design, “WALL-E” would appear to be the connoisseur’s choice, but the fact that it was passed over by the guild raises a questionmark. “The Dark Knight” fits the same “acclaimed action movie” profile that netted “The Bourne Ultimatum” a brace of wins here last year. But aren’t the Academy members who don’t know much about the craft, but do love “Slumdog,” simply going to check off the film’s name twice more?
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‘Slumdog,’ ‘WALL-E,’ ‘Wire’ win big at the Eddies
UPDATED: Alright, back from the show and it seems “Slumdog” also predictably won the ASC award, which brings me to a possibility that has come up in a number of conversations recently: could the film sweep all its Oscar categories in one week’s time? It is the film of the year and truthfully, there seems to be a ripple through the industry hinting at a nine Oscar outcome (since it can’t exactly win two Oscars in the Original Song category — but wouldn’t a tie just be hilarious?).Anyway, this was my second time reporting from the ACE Eddie Awards ceremony and it’s generally a good time, for those who can keep up with the inside baseball, of course. Note to self: maybe not bring the girlfriend next time.
Beyond the quick dash of kudos-dishing there were a trio of special awards handed out tonight. For starters, the Career Achievement Eddies went to Arthur Schmidt and Sidney Katz (father of ACE member Virginia Katz). Watching Schmidt’s reel play before Robert Zemeckis handed him his honor was a treat, of course, considering the nearly three decades of movie magic the man has been partially responsible for: “Back to the Future,” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?,” “The Last of the Mohicans,” “Forrest Gump,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” “The Birdcage,” etc. He seems to have taken a break the last four years.
Mel Gibson, meanwhile, joined Stuart Baird in presenting Richard Donner with the Golden Eddie Award (which last year went to Norman Jewison). Donner’s speech was a highlight, despite the rambling (which was done with trademark Donner endearment). He put a bow on the thing with a trio of political points, the first being an anti-fur declaration (to go along with an anti-fur button pinned to his lapel). Then he encouraged us all to adopt puppies rather than buy, and whether you voted for Barack Obama or not, he said, “we’re going through a lot of shit and he needs all of your support now.” Each of them were met with big applause in a West L.A. ballroom, but of course.
But again, the highlight reel = movie magic: “Superman,” “The Omen,” “Lethal Weapon,” “The Goonies” — GREAT call by ACE this year, I have to say. But the one thing that stuck in my mind was Gibson’s weird cavalier facial hair…thing. An evil Robin Hood, that’s what he looked like up there. Or a “V for Vendetta” mask.
Anyway, the big awards went to “Slumdog” and “WALL-E,” of course (as well as “Man on Wire”), the newsy news of which you can find after the jump. I think the Pixar win is a bit of a surprise and in a way, a refreshing one. It’s nice to see this guild really break down the barrier for animated films in this way, since no other toon has taken the Eddie in the past despite numerous nominations in the comedy category. The former, however, and Chris Dickens (looking quite Moby-esque, I have to say), seems to be on an unstoppable Oscar trajectory.
Much to the chagrin of some, the enthusiasm of others. Such is the season…
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WEEKLY WRAP: BAFTAs, Berlin, pre-Oscar jitters
Aside from two major precursors, it’s been a slow week for news — which leads to a lot of prediction second-guessing.• “Slumdog” swept at the BAFTAs, which also put new wind in Mickey Rourke’s sails. We live-blogged it here.
• The “Slumdog” streak inevitably continued at the WGA Awards, where “Milk” picked up some hardware too.
• This week’s Off the Carpet column was just eager to move on already.
• Taking a closer look at the often inscrutable Best Documentary Short race.
• Speaking of documentaries, we wondered if a win for “Man on Wire” is the foregone conclusion that people think it is.
• On a similar tack, do we have a real race in the Best Foreign Language Film category?
• In a bit of a blow to next week’s Oscarcast, Peter Gabriel has nixed his participation.
• A survey of some of the industry’s top DPs suggests that “Slumdog” looks like the one to beat for Best Cinematography too.
• Should we be mindful of a third possibility in the Best Actor race?
• Perhaps another underdog, “Frozen River,” has hidden strengths in the competition.
• Away from the Oscar beat, the Berlinale continued its quiet progress, with Stephen Frears’ “Chéri” possibly one to watch.
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Is this a new strategy?
I’ve been flipping back and forth between Leno and Letterman and so far I’ve seen four Oscar TV spots: two for “The Reader,” one for “Slumdog Millionaire” and one for “The Wrestler.” Instead of the usual 30 second trailers, there is interview footage edited in. Rourke from “The Wrestler,” Boyle from “Slumdog” and besting the lot, Daldry, Winslet AND Hare (dropping the names of Pollack and Minghella) for “The Reader.”
Is this a new strategy? I can’t seem to recall late night television buys in recent Oscar past, but I certainly don’t recall commercials such as this, bringing the talent out in the open so formally. It’s kind of brilliant, really. Now instead of watching Amy Adams giggle about how unprepared she is for her wedding, you’ll be treated to other interviews during the advertising break that you weren’t expecting at all.
Adams is a good call for this moment, especially being in a race some perceive as wide open and others say is ripe for her taking. But all things considered, Rourke could have brought it all home with an appearance here instead of in late December for the film’s release.
Or does it all…really not matter?