It’s crunch time. In less than 24 hours we’ll know all the winners from last years’ crop of movies, performers, and technicians. Here are my picks, who will win and who should win -- if I feel strongly towards a nominee.
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Will and should win: The Artist (2011): Thomas Langmann
I haven’t seen Hugo, War Horse, and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. The Descendants and Midnight in Paris are both excellent movies, but the one that truly stands out for countless reasons is The Artist and it will justly be rewarded.Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Will and should win: Jean Dujardin for The Artist (2011)
Dujardin really does deserve the gold here for the wondrous performance he turned in and because he’s not American and the Academy rarely awards foreign stars, so it would be nice overall. Clooney did turn in a great performance, but if Dujardin weren’t going to win, I’d rather see Pitt be called onstage, since he’s a really good actor, did a great job not only in Moneyball but also in The Tree of Life, and he’s rarely offered the type of material that Hollywood rewards with Oscar gold.Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Will win: Viola Davis for The Help (2011)
Should win: Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady (2011)
Unfortunately, Davis seems poised to take home her first Oscar, and I say that even though I think her win is totally deserved. I’ll be very happy for her and very sad for Streep, who once again won’t win, even though she deserves it, simply because the movie she was cast in wasn’t as strong as her performance. When will this lady, the best living performer of either gender, join the rarified club of triple acting Oscar winners?Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Will and should win: Christopher Plummer for Beginners (2010)
Plummer deserves this because he’s a great actor, because he never won an Oscar, and because he was great in Beginners.Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Will win: Octavia Spencer for The Help (2011)
Should win: Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids (2011)
Spencer was great in The Help and will certainly win this since she’s been dominating the entire awards circuit but McCarthy was phenomenal in Bridesmaids and I would love to see her win. Also, Jessica Chastain, who doesn’t stand a chance, gave us several memorable performances last year (The Help, The Tree of Life, The Debt among them) and would totally deserve some gold to take home. But Spencer is very deserving as well.Best Achievement in Directing
Will and should win: Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist (2011)
Totally deserved. The chances he took directing and writing The Artist were huge and he should be rewarded.Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Will and should win: Midnight in Paris (2011): Woody Allen
Totally deserved.Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Will and should win: The Descendants (2011): Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Totally deserved.Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Will win: Rango (2011)
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Will win: A Separation (2011): Asghar Farhadi (Iran)
Best Achievement in Cinematography
Will and should win: The Tree of Life (2011): Emmanuel Lubezki
I haven’t seen Hugo and War Horse but the only spoiler could be The Artist, which would deserve it for its beautiful black and white photography, but The Tree of Life’s photography and camera work are the movie’s real strengths.Best Achievement in Editing
Will win: The Artist (2011): Anne-Sophie Bion, Michel Hazanavicius
I’m going with The Artist because this prize usually matches up with Best Picture, but I don’t feel strongly for any candidate.Best Achievement in Art Direction
Will and should win: Hugo (2011/II): Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo
I’m rooting for Hugo here even if I haven’t seen it just because it looked stunning in the few clips I caught here and there.Best Achievement in Costume Design
Will win: The Artist (2011): Mark Bridges
Best Achievement in Makeup
Will and should win: The Iron Lady (2011)
I haven’t seen any of the nominees yet but I’ve heard repeatedly that The Iron Lady’s makeup is wondrous.Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Will and should win: The Artist (2011): Ludovic Bource
Given that Bource’s score was the only aural cue for the entire runtime, I’d say this award is a must for The Artist.Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Will win: The Muppets (2011): Bret McKenzie("Man or Muppet")
Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
Will win: Hugo (2011/II)
Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Will win: Hugo (2011/II)
Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Will and should win: Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
Apes and Real Steel are the only two I’ve see but Apes, with its impressive motion capture, smokes the competitors in my opinion.Best Documentary, Features
Will win: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (2011)
Best Documentary, Short Subjects
Will win: Saving Face (2011/II)
Best Short Film, Animated
Will win: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2011): William Joyce, Brandon Oldenburg
Best Short Film, Live Action
Will win: The Shore: Terry George
The winners will be announced tomorrow night.
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