Taken from http://erincandy.wordpress.com/2013/02/24/2013-academy-awards-predictons/
Erin will be live tweeting the Academy Awards @erincandy and @erincandyJAIL if her main account goes over tweeting limit.
It’s that time of year again, the Super Bowl for film lovers – The Academy Awards. 2012 was an incredible year for film, and even though some of the BEST films of the year weren’t even nominated for anything (The Grey, Perks of Being a Wallflower for example) but it doesn’t matter, the Oscars are still an iconic celebration of film. I’ve seen all the films this year except for Amour and these are my thoughts and predictions on the nominated films.
My favorite film of the year was Django Unchained and I’m happy to see it have some nominations but I think Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson should be in the race. I’m hoping to see Tarantino take best original screenplay and Waltz take supporting actor.My next favorite nominated film would be Life of Pi which was emotionally and visually beautiful. I’m a huge fan of the book as well and Ang Lee did an incredible job bringing it to the big screen. Ben Affleck’s Argo would be my next favorite film, it was intelligent and intense and Affleck is really making a name for himself as a great director. I really loved Silver Linings Playbook was a great film, I think it was enjoyable but it doesn’t seem Oscar worthy to me aside from Jennifer Lawrence’s performance. If it wasn’t for being a Weinstein production I doubt it would have as many nominations as it does. Did Jacki Weaver really deserve a nomination? i don’t even remember one thing from her performance. Ann Dowd for Compliance would have been a much better option, she blew me away. I rather enjoyed Lincoln but it was a little slow and it’s not the type of film I could re-watch over and over. Daniel Day-Lewis was brilliant obviously, but he could make a biography playing Winnie the Pooh and win an Oscar. I’m a little indifferent on Les Miserables, I enjoyed it but I didn’t love it, Russel Crowe’s awkward singing made me laugh and I was starting to get a little bored by the end of it in theaters. Anne Hathaway obviously stole the film. As for Beasts of the Southern Wild I pretty much despised it. I don’t get the praise for it at all, while watching all I could think was “what the hell am I watching?” it felt poorly made to me. Like someone was given $100, a hit of acid and a movie camera. It just seemed pointless, and ridiculous. As for Zero Dark Thirty I really loved it and thought it was well done and Jessica Chastain carried the movie. It’s unfortunate that the controversy surrounding it has clouded its chances at winning anything.
The race leading up to the Oscars this year have been a little all over the place, lots of snubs as usual this year, but the best director category is particularly mind-boggling. Tarantino, Bigelow and Affleck should have been nominated. The race seems even more strange with Argo and Affleck cleaning up at every awards ceremony leading up, yet Affleck with no directing Oscar nomination. This year we could see the best picture and best directing Oscar go to two different films. The controversy over the torture scenes in Zero Dark Thirty has also stirred up a lot of mixed emotions, and the backlash over the ‘racism’ in Django Unchained has drawn a lot of attention. Silver Linings Playbook has also been sweeping a lot of the awards in the Oscar race, mostly thanks to the infamous Weinstein Co Oscar push. Les Mis seemed like an early Oscar favorite but it came out to mixed reviews and people either love it or loathe it, aside from Anne Hathaway’s powerhouse performance. The leader going into tonight is obviously Argo based on what it has won up until now, but people can’t seem to decide if they love it or hate it now that it’s cleaning up on awards. Then we have Spielberg’s Lincoln, typical Oscar biography fare which is the obvious safe bet for best picture and Daniel Day-Lewis is a lock for best actor.
Here are my predictions of who I want to win, think might win, and who I will most likely win:
Actor in a Supporting Role
This one really seems like a race between Waltz who won the globe and BAFTA and Jones who won the sag, so it should be interesting to see who gets the golden man. Waltz is the only one who really blew me away with his role so I think he deserves it.
Should win: Christoph Waltz
Could win: Tommy-Lee Jones
Will win: Christoph Waltz
Actress in a Supporting Role
If you think anyone but Anne Hathaway is winning then you’re kidding yourself why even pretend anyone but her is winning.
Actor Leading Role
This one could really go either way…hahahaha just kidding. Daniel Day-Lewisis winning, end of story
Actress Leading Role
This award has mostly been a race between Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence, With Lawrence pulling ahead as the front runner. It’s a historic category this year with Emmanuel Riva becoming the oldest ever Oscar nominee (turning 86 Oscar night!) and Quvenzhane Wallis being the youngest ever nominee. I’d be happy with either Jennifer or Jessica Winning. I wouldn’t be surprised if Riva ended up winning though.
Should win: Jennifer Lawrence
Could win: Jessica Chastain
Will win: Jennifer Lawrence
Directing
The race for best director is tricky because Ben Affleck has been cleaning up but he isn’t even nominated for the oscar. My opinion is that it comes down to Spielberg or Ang Lee. Spieberg is the safe bet but Ang Lee deserves it for the stunning Life of Pi. I could also see Haneke sneaking in there and winning for the much adored Amour (which will win Best Foreign Language Film). And don’t count David O, out with Weinstein behind him.
Should win: Ang Lee
Could win: Haneke
Will win: Spielberg
Best Picture
It seems obvious that Argo will win, but the Academy probably feels pretty dumb not giving Affleck a director nomination once Argo started sweeping all the awards. Best Picture and Best Director 99% of the time, but this year we could see Argo take it without a directing win. If the voters play it safe, Lincoln will take it. It’s mainly come down to a race between those two.
Should win: Django Unchained
Could win: Lincoln
Will win: Argo
Original Screenplay
Should win: Django Unchained – Tarantino
Could win: Zero Dark Thirty -Mark Boal
Will win: Django Unchained – Tarantino
Adapted Screenplay
Should win: Life of Pi – David Magee
Could win: Silver Linings Playbook – David O. Russel
Will win: Argo – Chris Terrio
Those are my picks for the ‘major’ awards. And now the rest of my predictions:
Animated Feature Film
Wreck-it Ralph
Foreign Language Film
Amour
Cinematography
Skyfall
Editing
Life of Pi
Production Design
Les Misterables
Costume Design
Les Miserables
Makeup and Hairstyling
The Hobbit
Original Score
Life of Pi
Original Song
Skyfall – Adele
Sound Mixing
Argo
Sound Editing
Argo
Visual Effects
Life of Pi
Documentary Feature
The Invisible War
Documentary Short Subject
Redemption ( I haven’t seen any of these just picking the title I like best)
Short Film, Animated
The Simpsons: The Longest Daycare
Short Film, Live Action
Curfew (just randomly picking one of these)
And there you have it folks, my predictions for the 2013 Academy Awards. Thanks for reading!
