With Oscar season among us, and the nominations being announced on Tuesday, I thought I would give a recap over the selections and give my $.02 on how the awards may turn out.
So let's get into it!
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
NOMINEES—
CASEY AFFLECK
Manchester by the Sea
ANDREW GARFIELD
Hacksaw Ridge
RYAN GOSLING
La La Land
VIGGO MORTENSEN
Captain Fantastic
DENZEL WASHINGTON
Fences
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
NOMINEES—
MAHERSHALA ALI
Moonlight
JEFF BRIDGES
Hell or High Water
LUCAS HEDGES
Manchester by the Sea
DEV PATEL
Lion
MICHAEL SHANNON
Nocturnal Animals
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
NOMINEES—
ISABELLE HUPPERT
Elle
RUTH NEGGA
Loving
NATALIE PORTMAN
Jackie
EMMA STONE
La La Land
MERYL STREEP
Florence Foster Jenkins
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
NOMINEES—
VIOLA DAVIS
Fences
NAOMIE HARRIS
Moonlight
NICOLE KIDMAN
Lion
OCTAVIA SPENCER
Hidden Figures
MICHELLE WILLIAMS
Manchester by the Sea
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
NOMINEES—
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS
Travis Knight and Arianne Sutner
MOANA
John Musker, Ron Clements and Osnat Shurer
MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI
Claude Barras and Max Karli
THE RED TURTLE
Michael Dudok de Wit and Toshio Suzuki
ZOOTOPIA
Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Clark Spencer
CINEMATOGRAPHY
NOMINEES—
ARRIVAL
Bradford Young
LA LA LAND
Linus Sandgren
LION
Greig Fraser
MOONLIGHT
James Laxton
SILENCE
Rodrigo Prieto
COSTUME DESIGN
NOMINEES—
ALLIED
Joanna Johnston
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM
Colleen Atwood
FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS
Consolata Boyle
JACKIE
Madeline Fontaine
LA LA LAND
Mary Zophres
DIRECTING
NOMINEES—
ARRIVAL
Denis Villeneuve
HACKSAW RIDGE
Mel Gibson
LA LA LAND
Damien Chazelle
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
Kenneth Lonergan
MOONLIGHT
Barry Jenkins
DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
NOMINEES—
FIRE AT SEA
Gianfranco Rosi and Donatella Palermo
I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO
Raoul Peck, Rémi Grellety and Hébert Peck
LIFE, ANIMATED
Roger Ross Williams and Julie Goldman
O.J.: MADE IN AMERICA
Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow
13TH
Ava DuVernay, Spencer Averick and Howard Barish
DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
NOMINEES—
EXTREMIS
Dan Krauss
4.1 MILES
Daphne Matziaraki
JOE'S VIOLIN
Kahane Cooperman and Raphaela Neihausen
WATANI: MY HOMELAND
Marcel Mettelsiefen and Stephen Ellis
THE WHITE HELMETS
Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara
FILM EDITING
NOMINEES—
ARRIVAL
Joe Walker
HACKSAW RIDGE
John Gilbert
HELL OR HIGH WATER
Jake Roberts
LA LA LAND
Tom Cross
MOONLIGHT
Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
NOMINEES—
LAND OF MINE
Denmark
A MAN CALLED OVE
Sweden
THE SALESMAN
Iran
TANNA
Australia
TONI ERDMANN
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
NOMINEES—
A MAN CALLED OVE
Eva von Bahr and Love Larson
STAR TREK BEYOND
Joel Harlow and Richard Alonzo
SUICIDE SQUAD
Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
NOMINEES—
JACKIE
Mica Levi
LA LA LAND
Justin Hurwitz
LION
Dustin O'Halloran and Hauschka
MOONLIGHT
Nicholas Britell
PASSENGERS
Thomas Newman
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
NOMINEES—
AUDITION (THE FOOLS WHO DREAM)
from La La Land; Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
CAN'T STOP THE FEELING
from Trolls; Music and Lyric by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin and Karl Johan Schuster
CITY OF STARS
from La La Land; Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
THE EMPTY CHAIR
from Jim: The James Foley Story; Music and Lyric by J. Ralph and Sting
HOW FAR I'LL GO
from Moana; Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda
BEST PICTURE
NOMINEES—
ARRIVAL
Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Aaron Ryder and David Linde, Producers
FENCES
Scott Rudin, Denzel Washington and Todd Black, Producers
HACKSAW RIDGE
Bill Mechanic and David Permut, Producers
HELL OR HIGH WATER
Carla Hacken and Julie Yorn, Producers
HIDDEN FIGURES
Donna Gigliotti, Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, Pharrell Williams and Theodore Melfi, Producers
LA LA LAND
Fred Berger, Jordan Horowitz and Marc Platt, Producers
LION
Emile Sherman, Iain Canning and Angie Fielder, Producers
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
Matt Damon, Kimberly Steward, Chris Moore, Lauren Beck and Kevin J. Walsh, Producers
MOONLIGHT
Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers
PRODUCTION DESIGN
NOMINEES—
ARRIVAL
Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Paul Hotte
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM
Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
HAIL, CAESAR!
Production Design: Jess Gonchor; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
LA LA LAND
Production Design: David Wasco; Set Decoration: Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
PASSENGERS
Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas; Set Decoration: Gene Serdena
SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
NOMINEES—
BLIND VAYSHA
Theodore Ushev
BORROWED TIME
Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj
PEAR CIDER AND CIGARETTES
Robert Valley and Cara Speller
PEARL
Patrick Osborne
PIPER
Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer
SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
NOMINEES—
ENNEMIS INTÉRIEURS
Sélim Azzazi
LA FEMME ET LE TGV
Timo von Gunten and Giacun Caduff
SILENT NIGHTS
Aske Bang and Kim Magnusson
SING
Kristof Deák and Anna Udvardy
TIMECODE
Juanjo Giménez
SOUND EDITING
NOMINEES—
ARRIVAL
Sylvain Bellemare
DEEPWATER HORIZON
Wylie Stateman and Renée Tondelli
HACKSAW RIDGE
Robert Mackenzie and Andy Wright
LA LA LAND
Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan
SULLY
Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
SOUND MIXING
NOMINEES—
ARRIVAL
Bernard Gariépy Strobl and Claude La Haye
HACKSAW RIDGE
Kevin O’Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie and Peter Grace
LA LA LAND
Andy Nelson, Ai-Ling Lee and Steve A. Morrow
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY
David Parker, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson
13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI
Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Mac Ruth
VISUAL EFFECTS
NOMINEES—
DEEPWATER HORIZON
Craig Hammack, Jason Snell, Jason Billington and Burt Dalton
DOCTOR STRANGE
Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli and Paul Corbould
THE JUNGLE BOOK
Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Dan Lemmon
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS
Steve Emerson, Oliver Jones, Brian McLean and Brad Schiff
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY
John Knoll, Mohen Leo, Hal Hickel and Neil Corbould
WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
NOMINEES—
ARRIVAL
Screenplay by Eric Heisserer
FENCES
Screenplay by August Wilson
HIDDEN FIGURES
Screenplay by Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi
LION
Screenplay by Luke Davies
MOONLIGHT
Screenplay by Barry Jenkins; Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
NOMINEES—
HELL OR HIGH WATER
Written by Taylor Sheridan
LA LA LAND
Written by Damien Chazelle
THE LOBSTER
Written by Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
Written by Kenneth Lonergan
20TH CENTURY WOMEN
Written by Mike Mills
SNUBS:
BEST ACTRESS—AMY ADAMS, ARRIVAL
As a HUGE fan of ARRIVAL, I don't know where to start for this one. Her emotion, curiosity, and humanity on-display in the film were simply incredible. The movie rested on her shoulders and she carried it to 8 Oscar nominations, including the coveted Best Picture. Many, including myself and ABCnews think her spot was taken by Ruth Negga's performance, which is dissappointing.
BEST ACTOR—TOM HANKS, SULLY
Like Adams, Tom Hanks had a big burden as Captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger in the new Clint Eastwood bio-pic. As usual, Hanks exceeded expectations with grace, showing the strength yet great speculation that Sully went through following the unprecedented events after the Hudson crash-landing.
BEST DIRECTOR—MARTIN SCORCESE, SILENCE
While Scorcese is one of my favorite all-time directors, his work on SILENCE was simply fantastic. A passion project for decades, SILENCE showed the true grace and storytelling techniques Scorcese is known for, with some of the best acting performances of the year (Garfield, Driver, Neeson). Finally, the cinematography in this movie was breathtaking, and up at the top with ARRIVAL in my opinion for best of the year.
MY PREDICTIONS!
NOTE: My picks below do not reflect my take on who should win the award—if that were the case, La La Land would win few awards, while ARRIVAL would win many.
LEADING ACTOR
ANDREW GARFIELD
I think Garfield will take it home simply for his diversity this year—two OUTSTANDING performances in Hacksaw Ridge and SILENCE. He really deserves this one.
SUPPORTING ACTOR
MAHERSHALA ALI
While I'm not the biggest fan of MOONLIGHT, I was a fan of Ali's performance.
LEADING ACTRESS
NATALIE PORTMAN
Portman's performance in JACKIE was magnificent—haunting, and realistic to a perfection.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
VIOLA DAVIS
Somehow Davis has not won an Oscar yet, but after a emotionally-taxing performance in FENCES, I think Davis barely edges out Harris in MOONLIGHT.
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
MOANA
As a huge fan of Disney, MOANA blew me away with its spectacle and visuals. I really respected its treatment of Island people and culture, and the story is both fun and sentimental, with fantastic work done by Lin-Manuel Miranda and The Rock.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
ARRIVAL
As a standout sci-fi film, ARRIVAL was captivating not only in story and personal ramifications, but it looked spectacular visually.
COSTUME DESIGN
LA LA LAND
Why not? Not an expert here, but everyone else loves La La Land, so I'll play along like it was better than ARRIVAL. :)
DIRECTOR
BARRY JENKINS
As much as I love Villeneuve for this category, Oscar hype is real for MOONLIGHT, and I see Jenkins grabbing this one.
DOCUMENTARY (feature)
OJ: MADE IN AMERICA
Honest guess. Haven't seen any of the others.
DOCUMENTARY
4.1 Miles
Honest guess. Haven't seen any of the others.
FILM EDITING
MOONLIGHT
While I think it to be overrated, MOONLIGHT did have fantastic visuals and the cuts were quick, yet deep—and the scene where Juan teaches Little to swim was captivating.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
TONI ERDMANN
Honest guess, heard great things. Haven't seen any of the others.
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
SUICIDE SQUAD !!!
I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD SAY THIS—SUICIDE SQUAD will win an Oscar....But, with the category so slim, and the makeup in the film being done pretty well, I think it has a realistic shot.
MUSIC (SCORE)
LA LA LAND
SHOCKER!
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
Audition / LA LA LAND
While City of Stars is a big contender also, Audition was easily my favorite song and scene of LA LA LAND—expressing the grand themes of hope and the pursuit of dreams in a beautiful manner.
BEST PICTURE
ARRIVAL
I'm going with the underdog! So sick with the LA LA LAND overreaction, and disappointed with the lack of respect broadly for ARRIVAL. This movie is fantastic on so many levels, and as a sci-fi fanatic, this movie is among the upper-echelon in sci-fi history for me. MOONLIGHT could win this also.
PRODUCTION DESIGN
ARRIVAL
How did they make aliens and alien spacecrafts so real? PRODUCTION DESIGN!
ANIMATED SHORT
PIPER
A cute, family-friendly short by Disney that I still remember for its adorable protagonist.
SHORT LIVE ACTION
SILENT NIGHTS
ANYTHING but SING.
SOUND EDITING
DEEPWATER HORIZON
Peter Berg's vision for DEEPWATER was powerful and respectful at its core, and the explosions and destruction that occurred was well-represented.
SOUND MIXING
LA LA LAND
There ya go, LA LA LAND.
VISUAL EFFECTS
DOCTOR STRANGE
What MARVEL accomplished with DOCTOR STRANGE is simply amazing. An Inception-Matrix hybrid, DOCTOR STRANGE brought magic and multiverses to great realism and depth like we have NEVER seen before.
I wouldn't be surprised or upset if JUNGLE BOOK snags this one, either.
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
MOONLIGHT
Yep.
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
LA LA LAND
Yep.
