So I went 17/24 with my predictions, which may sadly be a personal best. All I can say is: damn you, shorts!!! They messed up my mojo big time.
Seriously speaking, I’m very happy with the results. I feel like “The Hurt Locker” victories are ones I can live with, unlike something like “Slumdog Millionaire.” I was especially moved to see a lot diversity in the winners’ pool and appreciated the choice of art over financial success. The Academy will surely take a lot of crap for it, but I must applaud them.
Best Picture: “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier, Greg Shapiro
Best Director: “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
Best Actress: Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”
Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique in “Precious”
Best Original Screenplay: “The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal
Best Adapted Screenplay: “Precious” Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
Best Foreign Language: “The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)” Argentina
Best Animated Film: “Up” Pete Docter
Best Documentary: “The Cove” Louie Psihoyos and Fisher Stevens
Best Cinematography: “Avatar” Mauro Fiore
Best Art Direction: Avatar” Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair
Best Costumes: “The Young Victoria” Sandy Powell
Best Editing: “The Hurt Locker” Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
Best Score: “Up” Michael Giacchino
Best Song: “The Weary Kind”(Crazy Heart) Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett
Best Makeup: “Star Trek” Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
Best Visual Effects: “Avatar” Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andrew R. Jones
Best Sound Editing: “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson
Best Sound Mixing: “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
Best Animated Short: “Logorama” Nicolas Schmerkin
Best Live Action Short: “The New Tenants” Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson
Best Documentary Short: “Music by Prudence” Roger Ross Williams and Elinor
Lawyer by day, blogger by night.
I still stand behind my statement that Avatar’s visual strengths didn’t rely on the CG, but the way it was shot… and the way it was shot were not visual effects. LOL so D9 should have won.
Also, I’m iffy about the Cinematography category, considering there is barely any actual photography while shooting Avatar. Has any heavy CG film (or animated film) ever been nominated for Cinematography? (winning is a plus!) – I can’t recall.
I’ve got a few minor complaints in a few of the categories, but nothing major. THL wasn’t even in my top 10 of the year, but it’s a worthy winner I can live with.
I wonder what regular people…the kind who only hear about half of the films for the first time on the day they’re nominated… thought about Avatar losing. I wonder how many will seek out THL and what they’ll think.
I think if it had more marketing muscle behind it, had played in more than 500 theaters at any one time and been advertised as an action picture, it would’ve made much more than it did.
THE HURT LOCKER did not make my own Top 10 either, but I do think it’s a worthy choice. And Bigelow’s win is of course gargantuen in a number of positive ways. I think the film’s win puts to rest the post-Oscars speculation that a film that makes so little at the box office has no chance to take the big prize. Actually both the film and Ms. Bigelow were strong favorites for a number of weeks now, and an AVATAR win would have done more than just raise eyebrows.
The cinematography, adapted screenplay and foreign language film categories yielded some mind surprises, though I did in the end go with the winning Argentinian film in the latter category.
I was watching CNN tonight, and they kept referring to THL winning an “insider’s upset” – it just made me wonder who these “insiders” are since you gotta be pretty out of the loop in regards to award season to not see THL as a favorite.
I actually thought Avatar was going to be my upset for a moment there.
Adapted Screenplay and Foreign really caught me off guard there.