Oscars 2005

[Mark]

If you happen to be registered (or register today) on the CMG Boards, there's a little contest you can jump in on. I think only one person (Barendd Nobeard) had a better record than me last year and no one the year prior, IIRC. Might be an old thread here on EN World to prove me wrong. Feel free to vote in the poll, above, in a non-contest, who does EN World think will win, sort of way. (You might find it easier to use the poll if you highlight a particular category with your mouse, make your choice for that category, then highlight the next category.)

Anyway, this thread can also serve for any Oscar discussion here, as well.

I'm thinking Million Dollar Baby is going to do extremely well this year. I think the fact that there are so many bio-pics works against each of them, especially since they take varying forms and ways of treating their subjects. And a very special Good Luck to Virginia Madsen goes out from this Chicagoan on her Best Supporting Nomination for her role in Sideways. How will films like The Incredibles, Harry Potter (for score), and Spiderman 2 do?

 

[Wombat]

Due to a lot of matters, I think this year will split between The Aviator and Million Dollar Baby. I think the Academy would love to honour both Eastwood and Scorsese and will, in order not not have actually choose, do a rare divide on Best Picture (MDB) and Best Director (TA). Just a guess, but the buzz has a certain ring to it that bends me this way.

Beyond that, there are a lot of open questions. I hazard some Best Guesses anymore, but that is about all I can say, especially with the Short Features, very few of which I have actually seen.

 

[Jdvn1]

Have to vote for Eastwood and Alda. Have to avoid voting for Phantom of the Opera. I'm biased toward the play, though. It'd be nice to see the Incredibles come with something, but I don't know all of their competition too well.

 

[Mystery Man]

I only voted for the movies that I saw over the year. I just don't get it, all these great movies come out all year and these nominations come out of nowhere and win. It makes me wonder if the whole thing is fixed.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

No matter how much I think Ray should take everything, I bet Million Dollar Baby is going to take Best Picture/Director..at least.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

If you happen to be registered (or register today) on the CMG Boards, there's a little contest you can jump in on. I think only one person (Barendd Nobeard) had a better record than me last year and no one the year prior, IIRC. Might be an old thread here on EN World to prove me wrong.

I believe that's corrrect, and I believe it was a margin of only 1.

I'd better not enter this year; that way I can retire "undefeated!"

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

I only voted for the movies that I saw over the year. I just don't get it, all these great movies come out all year and these nominations come out of nowhere and win. It makes me wonder if the whole thing is fixed.

No, it's not fixed.

But there are certain things "The Academy" tends to look for. And to be eligible, the film only has to play for one week during the year in NYC and LA.

So, some very obscure movies can get nominations (aided, in large part, by studio marketing budgets). Did anyone actually see "Love Field" (Michelle Pfiefer, Best Actress nomination) or "Blue Sky" (Jessica Lange, Best Actress winner)? Yes, but very few people saw those films in theaters.

Those films were eligible, they had studio $ behind them (advertising in the industry trade magazines, etc.), and Academy members voted for them. It's one reason studios sent out "screener" tapes (now DVDs) of movies. Members can watch 'em at home, even if most of us never had the chance to see the movie. Voting members don't even have to "prove" they've seen a movie to vote for it (in the main categories; the more obscure categories sometimes require attendance at special screenings to vote on them).

So, it's not fixed. But it's certainly not a popularity contest. And when a few thousand industry insiders pick the winners, the picks of 300 million people on this continent don't matter. That's why we have the MTV awards, and the People's Choice awards, and the Blockbuster awards--honors on which the people who are not industry insiders can vote.

I never understood these obscure nominations when I was younger. But if you pay attention to the reviews (by big name critics), the "10 best" lists, and all the other awards and honors, the Oscars get much easier to predict.

And, sometimes, because an obscure (to you, anyway) film gets nominated, you end up seeing something wonderful you would have otherwise missed. For me, it as Fernanda Montenegro in "Central Station"--if I hadn't seen her on Letterman after her nomination as Best Actress, I never would have seen that movie. Losing to Gwynneth Paltrow in "Shakespeare in Love" was one of Oscar's most hideous miscarriages.

 

[Mistwell]

Aviator is going all the way...

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Aviator is going all the way...

CRASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mark]

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
**** Jamie Foxx - RAY
Don Cheadle - HOTEL RWANDA
Johnny Depp - FINDING NEVERLAND
Leonardo DiCaprio - THE AVIATOR
Clint Eastwood - MILLION DOLLAR BABY

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
**** Morgan Freeman - MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Alan Alda - THE AVIATOR
Thomas Haden Church - SIDEWAYS
Jamie Foxx - COLLATERAL
Clive Owen - CLOSER

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
**** Hilary Swank - MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Annette Bening - BEING JULIA
Catalina Sandino Moreno - MARIA FULL OF GRACE
Imelda Staunton - VERA DRAKE
Kate Winslet - ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
**** Cate Blanchett - THE AVIATOR
Laura Linney - KINSEY
Virginia Madsen - SIDEWAYS
Sophie Okonedo - HOTEL RWANDA
Natalie Portman - CLOSER

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
**** THE INCREDIBLES
SHARK TALE
SHREK 2

ART DIRECTION
**** THE AVIATOR
FINDING NEVERLAND
LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT

CINEMATOGRAPHY
**** THE AVIATOR
HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT

COSTUME DESIGN
**** THE AVIATOR
FINDING NEVERLAND
LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
RAY
TROY

DIRECTING
**** MILLION DOLLAR BABY
THE AVIATOR
RAY
SIDEWAYS
VERA DRAKE

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
**** BORN INTO BROTHELS
THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL
SUPER SIZE ME
TUPAC: RESURRECTION
TWIST OF FAITH

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
**** MIGHTY TIMES: THE CHILDREN'S MARCH
AUTISM IS A WORLD
THE CHILDREN OF LENINGRADSKY
HARDWOOD
SISTER ROSE'S PASSION

FILM EDITING
**** THE AVIATOR
COLLATERAL
FINDING NEVERLAND
MILLION DOLLAR BABY
RAY

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
**** THE SEA INSIDE
AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
THE CHORUS
DOWNFALL
YESTERDAY

MAKEUP
**** LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
THE SEA INSIDE

MUSIC (SCORE)
**** FINDING NEVERLAND
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
THE VILLAGE

MUSIC (SONG)
**** "Al Otro Lado Del Río" - THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES
"Accidentally In Love" - SHREK 2
"Believe" - THE POLAR EXPRESS
"Learn To Be Lonely" - THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
"Look To Your Path (Vois Sur Ton Chemin)" - THE CHORUS

BEST PICTURE
**** MILLION DOLLAR BABY
THE AVIATOR
FINDING NEVERLAND
RAY
SIDEWAYS

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
**** RYAN
BIRTHDAY BOY
GOPHER BROKE
GUARD DOG
LORENZO
EVERYTHING IN THIS COUNTRY MUST

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
**** WASP
LITTLE TERRORIST
7:35 IN THE MORNING
TWO CARS, ONE NIGHT

SOUND EDITING
**** THE INCREDIBLES
THE POLAR EXPRESS
SPIDER-MAN 2

SOUND MIXING
**** RAY
THE AVIATOR
THE INCREDIBLES
THE POLAR EXPRESS
SPIDER-MAN 2

VISUAL EFFECTS
**** SPIDER-MAN 2
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
I, ROBOT

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
**** SIDEWAYS
BEFORE SUNSET
FINDING NEVERLAND
MILLION DOLLAR BABY
THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
**** ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
THE AVIATOR
HOTEL RWANDA
THE INCREDIBLES
VERA DRAKE