L. Bangs' 2003 Oscar Predictions
Submitted by lbangs on Sat, 03/22/2003 - 09:03
Tags:
- Best Picture - Chicago (Alas)
- Lead Actor - Adrien Brody, The Pianist (No guts, no glory)
- Best Actress - Julianne Moore, Far From Heaven (Ditto)
- Best Supporting Actor - Chris Cooper, Adaptation (Very close, so I'll go with the dude who had the buzz closer to voting time.)
- Best Supporting Actress - Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago (Damn)
- Best Director - Martin Scorsese, Gangs of New York (Am I crazy? Probably...)
- Adapted Screenplay - David Hare, The Hours
- Original Screenplay - Pedro Almodovar, Talk to Her (should be Best Picture, but la vie)
- Animated Feature - Spirited Away
- Documentary - Bowling for Columbine
- Art Direction - Chicago
- Visual Effects - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
- Costumes - Chicago
- Make Up - Frida
- Editing - Chicago (God only knows why...)
- Cinematography - Far From Heaven
- Sound - Chicago
- Sound Editing - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
- Original Score - Far From Heaven
- Song - Move On, Chicago
- Foreign Language Film - Nowhere in Africa
- Documentary Short Feature - Twin Towers
- Short Animated Film - Mike's New Car
- Short Live Action Film - Inja (Dog)
I could see all of these except for Adrien Brody. I didn't see "The Pianist", but I seriously doubt that he'll beat out Nicholson, Cage, and Day-Lewis.
I certainly could be wrong. I figure Cage is out of the running, and Nicholson and Day-Lewis have both already racked up awards. The Pianist has tons of support, but no body want to credit the scandalous Polanski, and the film will probably fall to Chicago. Additionally, the story is out about how Brody lost thirty pounds for the role (actors love hearing stuff like that), so that coupled with a desire to recognize the film and some splits votes for Jack and Daniel just could all add up to Brody soaring up the center.
Or not. It is a long shot, but as I said, no guts...
I always go out on a few limbs on these. My wife and I compete, and when we have the same choices, darn it, it just isn't as much fun!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Hmm, I don't really think that Cage is a threat at all. I'm gonna write up my predictions tonight, odds and everything.
Probably not, but he's my favorite of the bunch.
Well, I'll be damned. My foot is in my mouth!
"but no body want to credit the scandalous Polanski"
Well, my foot's in my mouth as well! I really did not see his Best Director win coming at all! I had a strong feeling that hack Rob Marshall wasn't going to win, but I thought surely Scorsese would take it from him. Boy, was I wrong!
That was the funnest, most surprising Oscars in quite some time. Steve Martin was great.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Really? I didn't think Steve was that good. He was very cynical and looked like he didn't really want to be there.
Scorsese was the best director of the bunch, but I agree with you that Rob Marshall did not deserve to win. As for Polanski, I haven't seen "The Pianist", so I can't evaluate his direction, but I doubt it was as good as Scorsese's. Still, Polanski is an excellent director, and he deserves some recognition for his absolutely brilliant direction of "Chinatown", which lost because he had to compete with Coppola for "Godfather Part II." I think Scorsese has one more great film in him, and hopefully he'll win for that one.
I loved Steve, but then again, I may be the only person alive who loved Letterman when he hosted... :)
I'm not sure I picked up on him not wanting to be there, but I do think he isn't quite used to doing live comedy. I still thought he was wonderful. I'll take him any day over Whoopi.
I haven't been able to see The Pianist yet either. It looks promising, and I believe dgeiser has it ranked high on his year list. I really just didn't think the Academy would honor him because of his, er, illegal activity in the past. He is a great director. Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby both come darn near to being the best of their genres.
I surely hope Scorsese has another great one in him. I liked Gangs, but that really wasn't close to his peak at all. I'm a-waitin'!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
As for Steve: Of course, I'll take him over Whoopi. But I miss Billy Crystal. I've heard about and seen clips of what he did at the Oscars, and I wish I had watched the Oscars when he was the host, even though I wouldn't have seen any of the good movies back then. Actually, what I really wish is that I had been alive to see Bob Hope or Jack Lemmon host the Oscars. Now THAT would have been entertaining.
As for Letterman: I did not see him host either, but I doubt I would've enjoyed it, because I don't really like his show.
My Scorsese prediction:
He seems to have a lot of luck with years ending in "0." In 1980, he made "Raging Bull." In 1990, he made "Goodfellas." In 2000, he didn't make any movies, but he was probably already working on "Gangs." I predict that later in the decade, he will embark on another epic production, with a budget the size of Russia. It will be released in 2010 and will not only win him the Best Director award, not only surpass "Beverly Hills Cop" as the highest-grossing R-rated film of all-time, but it will also be deemed the best film of the year and arguably the decade. It will also star Robert De Niro, and the movie will be deemed De Niro's last great role.
A rather specific prediction, but I've got my fingers crossed.
Oh, I have another Oscar prediction, and like my first one, it's more a wish than an actual prediction:
Peter O'Toole had originally announced that he was going to turn down his Honorary Award, saying that he wanted to win an "actual" Oscar for a role he played. However, the Academy convinced him to show up, and eventually, he agreed. But I predict that O'Toole does indeed have another great role in him, one for which he will win his "actual" Oscar. It will come sometime in this decade. After he wins the Oscar for this role, he will announce his retirement.
Ooh, even better, though this is a real long shot - O'Toole is the star of the Scorsese picture, with De Niro as a very large supporting role. In fact, maybe De Niro's role will be so large that both men will be nominated for Best Actor, leaving them to compete against each other. But De Niro will be noble, realize he's already won two Oscars, and develop a very modest campaign, while O'Toole goes on to victory.