Oscar predictions... thoughts.

No, I haven't seen everything. I give who I think SHOULD win and who I think WILL win. I will also live blog the Oscars for my own enjoyment come Sunday. Check it out if you want to see my thoughts on how it went down.


Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”
Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”

Who should win: Sam Rockwell in Moon... or Tom Hardy in Bronson. But from here Jeff Bridges.
Who will take the cake: Jeff Bridges with a strong performance.

Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon in “Invictus”
Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”
Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”
Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

Who should win: Christoph Waltz
Who will take the cake: Christoph Waltz, no contest

Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
Helen Mirren in “The Last Station”
Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”

Who should win: No idea... Gabourey Sidibe? Anyone but Streep.
Who will take the cake: Sandra Bullock

Actress in a Supporting Role
Penélope Cruz in “Nine”
Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”
Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”
Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”
Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

Who should win: Mélanie Laurent in Inglourious Basterds... Oh wait... no nomination? Mo'Nique for her stance against Oscar campaigning.
Who will take the cake: Mo'Nique

Animated Feature Film
“Coraline” Henry Selick
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” Wes Anderson
“The Princess and the Frog” John Musker and Ron Clements
“The Secret of Kells” Tomm Moore
“Up” Pete Docter

Who should win: I find Fantastic Mr. Fox to be delightfully off kilter.
Who will take the cake: Up, and it's not undeserving.

Art Direction
“Avatar” Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
“Nine” Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
“Sherlock Holmes” Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
“The Young Victoria” Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

Who should win: Avatar
Who will take the cake: Avatar

Cinematography
“Avatar” Mauro Fiore
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” Bruno Delbonnel
“The Hurt Locker” Barry Ackroyd
“Inglourious Basterds” Robert Richardson
“The White Ribbon” Christian Berger

Who should win: “Inglourious Basterds” Robert Richardson
Who will take the cake: “The Hurt Locker” Barry Ackroyd

Costume Design
“Bright Star” Janet Patterson
“Coco before Chanel” Catherine Leterrier
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Monique Prudhomme
“Nine” Colleen Atwood
“The Young Victoria” Sandy Powell

Who should win: “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Monique Prudhomme
Who will take the cake: “Coco before Chanel” Catherine Leterrier

Directing
“Avatar” James Cameron
“The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow
“Inglourious Basterds” Quentin Tarantino
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels
“Up in the Air” Jason Reitman

Who should win: “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow
Who will take the cake: “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow


Film Editing
“Avatar” Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
“District 9” Julian Clarke
“The Hurt Locker” Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
“Inglourious Basterds” Sally Menke
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Joe Klotz

Who should win: “The Hurt Locker” Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
Who will take the cake: “The Hurt Locker” Bob Murawski and Chris Innis

Foreign Language Film
“Ajami” Israel
“The Milk of Sorrow (La Teta Asustada)” Peru
“A Prophet (Un Prophète)” France
“The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)” Argentina
“The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band)” Germany

Who should win: A Prophet (thank you, European DVD release). This is a seriously major work of cinema that can stand with some big films.
Who will take the cake: The White Ribbon - A very strong film that has beat A Prophet almost universally. But it is not the superior work (though both are incredibly good).

Makeup
“Il Divo” Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
“Star Trek” Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
“The Young Victoria” Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

Who should win: “Star Trek” Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
Who will take the cake: “Star Trek” Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow

Music (Original Score)
“Avatar” James Horner
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” Alexandre Desplat
“The Hurt Locker” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
“Sherlock Holmes” Hans Zimmer
“Up” Michael Giacchino

Who should win: “Up” Michael Giacchino
Who will take the cake: “Up” Michael Giacchino (why is Avatar nominated here? truly awful score)

Music (Original Song)
“Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36” Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
“Take It All” from “Nine” Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Who should win: “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett
Who will take the cake: “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Sound Editing
“Avatar” Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
“The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson
“Inglourious Basterds” Wylie Stateman
“Star Trek” Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
“Up” Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Who should win: “Star Trek” Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
Who will take the cake: “Avatar” Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle

Sound Mixing
“Avatar” Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
“The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
“Inglourious Basterds” Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
“Star Trek” Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

Who should win: “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
Who will take the cake: “Avatar” Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson

Visual Effects
“Avatar” Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
“District 9” Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
“Star Trek” Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

Who should win: District 9
Who will take the cake: Avatar, can't fault this win. But I find Christopher Johnson from D9 to be an amazing work.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
“District 9” Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
“An Education” Screenplay by Nick Hornby
“In the Loop” Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
“Up in the Air” Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Who should win: In the Loop, no question. Absolutely fantastic writing.
Who will take the cake: Up in the Air

Writing (Original Screenplay)
“The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal
“Inglourious Basterds” Written by Quentin Tarantino
“The Messenger” Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
“A Serious Man” Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“Up” Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

Who should win: Inglourious Basterds - Tarantino killing it... who TRULY comes close? No one.
Who will take the cake: The Hurt Locker... I think.

Best Picture
“Avatar” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
“The Blind Side” Gil Netter, Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson, Producers
“District 9” Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
“An Education” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
“The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro, Producers
“Inglourious Basterds” Lawrence Bender, Producer
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
“A Serious Man” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
“Up” Jonas Rivera, Producer
“Up in the Air” Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers
Short Film (Animated)
“French Roast” Fabrice O. Joubert
“Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell
“The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)” Javier Recio Gracia
“Logorama” Nicolas Schmerkin
“A Matter of Loaf and Death” Nick Park

Who should win: Inglourious Basterds - but probably isn't even in the top few of votes.
Who will take the cake: The Hurt Locker. Also, Avatar could take it. Both have run a nasty campaign. The Hurt Locker has much more merit, though.

Whichever of the two wins... it will be one of those things where in 5, maybe 10 years, everyone is like WTF... why did that win Best Picture. Slumdog was one of those last year. 1994 also strikes me as one of those years (off the top of my head)... in what world is Forrest Gump better than Pulp Fiction and the Shawshank Redemption?

In another story of the dirty campaigning this season... Weinstein's have supposedly been torpedoing Hurt Locker, but not building up or pushing their own very worthy film... Basterds. Blows my mind.

80th Post...

Is an over 100 years old Alice in Wonderland...

It is the weekend...

Nothing really coming out locally this week at the theater... I really want to see A Prophet. I hope we get it sooner than later. EDIT GEEZ. I just checked and we get it April 9th.. one thing that I miss about LA is getting movies on time.

Today marked just my 3rd day in the gym. This is the first time in ages I have done real work outs. It can certainly make wear you out. I am feeling more energetic on the whole though. I also am very pleased with my progress only a few days in... I have already gotten my stomach largely where it needs to be. I wish others had my luck when it comes to getting into shape and having your body do what you tell it to do.

Working on some rewrites today, I think I will hold off on a handful I had planned to do... will need to get more casting done first to make sure some are the right moves. The next day of auditions is set to Wednesday. So, yay to that.

I watched A Serious Man the other day. Really nice little film. It is one of those films I cannot possibly recommend to anyone. It is just paced in a way and has a story that goes in directions that most people wouldn't like. Very allegorical. Very deft. Very odd. Great work from the Coens... but you didn't hear that from me.

I also watched a documentary about an old person choir that sings rock songs, Young @ Heart. It was cute. Give it a watch if you like that sort of thing.

Check the trailer for A Prophet....

All kinds of stuff...

Some people act in a truly spectacularly ridiculous manner. But I always have fun calling them on it, which is bound to happen in this vague instance. People do something and think no one will know. Probably no one that reads this is the mark, but still. Fun. Unfortunately it is film related, but I have a sense of humor about it now.

In Pixar news... sad stuff. SUPPOSEDLY (not confirmed) they cancelled one of their original films, NEWT. This means the next 3 Pixar films would be sequels - Toy Story 3, Monsters Inc 2, and Cars 2... this coming after Up, Wall E, Ratatouille, Cars, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc.

Really, guys?

Really bad word of mouth on the Nightmare on Elm Street remake/reboot. Oh well.

I am about to buckle down for some more rewrites and modifications to the script. Not a ridiculous amount, but some very nice additions (I hope). This will be ongoing until it is "in the can."

There will probably be more rewrites done after casting gets firmer. I have some ideas already brewing and am starting to put some people in place (in my head, I hope they accept in reality). It has been fun becoming much more fluid with my vision and learning to work with the pieces I have available. Sometimes it results in something different and sometimes out right better... so far no compromise or change has been bad. I am glad I am the creator/writer/director... it just makes changes a lot quicker and easier.

I've met with some great people and look forward to meeting more.

Shutter Island

So, I finally saw Shutter Island today. After it being delayed for months and after missing the screening earlier in the week... the wait had been killing me. Scorsese returning to a "lower" fare of film a la Cape Fear. I love when the truly great directors go move into this territory. Before seeing the film I got a bit of a Psycho and The Shining vibe from what I was seeing (not plot wise of course) and thankfully the film gave me exactly what I was looking for in an entry of this type.

This is most definitely not the best Scorsese film... it isn't even close. I just want to make that clear before I go on. It is not even close.

However, it is one of the best examples of why Scorsese is one of the greatest directors of all time. He has so much room to play in this film and he is in total mastery over every aspect. He kills it. The film is incredibly dense and layered. Shots are composed wonderfully, the actors play amazingly, and everything is layered with an overall sense of dread most modern directors would have no clue how to build.

This film screams of classic storytelling that was perfected by the likes of Hitchcock and Wells. Large amounts of symbolism and meaning behind every choice in the film. Fantastic.

Every actor is cast perfectly, from the smallest role right up to the lead in DiCaprio, who is the backbone of the film (actor wise. and he has had an impressive decade or so... but working with Scorsese, Spielberg, Danny Boyle, Ridley Scott and more will do that). The cinematography accomplishes a very strange thing. It feels very classic... yet incredibly modern. It has a bit of a classic grainy feel... but skies and other things are CGI enhanced to make a really surreal visual. I mean that in the best possible way. Editing is in peak form. Costumes are exactly right. Great stuff at every turn.

I want to single out the films soundtrack. It is a remarkable compilation. No original score was composed, yet the selections fit it perfectly. The sounds invoke a classic Bernard Herrmann score and caused me to have a huge smile on my face the entire time. Herrmann's career of course started with Citizen Kane and came to an end with Scorsese's own Taxi Driver.

This film opened with a 40 million dollar opening weekend. Impressive. Sadly, it is Scorsese's largest opening ever. That says a lot about the movie going public. Reportedly, the film has a very mixed word of mouth. This is ridiculous. On the other hand, I can see why... mainly due to the fact this film is the work of a master who won't pander and also that modern audiences have no idea how a thriller/mystery that actually stands the test of time should be composed. In a true rarity for the genre (in the modern age anyways), this film will be BETTER on repeated viewings. Take in what was laid before you... and smile that someone has a handle on film like Scorsese...

Make no mistake. This film is the work of a master who continues to impress over 40 years into his career. This one will be around for a long time, regardless of what your average drooler thinks of it coming out of the theater. I will be going for a second theater viewing. Make sure you make it for at least one go round.

Bravo, Marty.

Ouch.

The snow let up (has been hitting just enough to keep me off the roads early) and I was able to get to the gym today. I feel a little wiped out. But, I do feel good about getting back into it. And I will need to get my legs and things with me for filming.

The second wave of auditions will be taking place this evening. Exciting. I really wonder how long this process will be... when do I say that is enough and that kind of thing. I still have at least one more wave lined up after today... beyond that I don't know.

Was supposed to go to see Shutter Island for free today. Going to have to miss that. Well worth it though.

Few films and other stuffs...

So, the first round of auditions for the lead were held this past Saturday. It was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to getting to the other's that are lined up. I won't talk about anyone or how they did, but it was a blast.

Next round in Wednesday... which is great, but means I will miss my screening of Shutter Island I was to go to... but it is not even a question of which to do. Can't wait.

I start getting back to the gym in the morning... time to get back in real shape. Should be good, just wish it wasn't so cold out.

I saw Crazy Heart today. It was a nice little film with all the actors doing great work. Very defined character arc but delivered with nuance and reality. Good stuff.

I also watch Tsotsi today on DVD. Really nice little film with a lot of good ideas. It was directed very well. I recommend both films.