Performance by an actor in a leading role
- Will Win: Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
- Who I'd Like: See above.
- Overlooked: Samuel L. Jackson in Black Snake Moan.
- Notes: There is not a single person who has given a performance better than Daniel-Day Lewis. He is simply captivating as the turn of the century oil man. Now, even without winning, Jackson needs to be recognized for his raw, emotional performance as a man looking for redemption.
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
- Will Win: Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
- Who I'd Like: See above.
- Overlooked: Ben Foster in 3:10 to Yuma.
- Notes: Bardem deserves it, hands down. He gave us one of the best villains ever created. Foster does deserve notice, not just for his scene-stealing performance in Yuma, but for his creepy presence in the mediocre 30 Days of Night. This is a guy who has great things ahead of him.
Performance by an actress in a leading role
- Will Win: Julie Christie in "Away from Her" (Lionsgate)
- Who I'd Like: Ellen Page in "Juno" (A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production)
- Overlooked: Christina Ricci in Black Snake Moan.
- Notes: Ricci gave a soul baring, (and physically baring) performance that left her open and raw to the world. Very good work that should be recognized. However, I am very much rooting for Ellen Page to pull the upset. As for the winner, it could be someone I haven't mentioned, it is a very open field.
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
- Will Win: Cate Blanchett in I'm Not There (The Weinstein Company)
- Who I'd Like: Amy Ryan in Gone Baby Gone (Miramax)
- Overlooked: Imelda Staunton in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
- Notes: Generally, franchises get the shaft for acting awards, but in this case they should have made an exception. Staunton's performance was deliciously evil, I really hated her character, very effective. There are some rumblings for Ruby Dee, but I think the winner will be one of the two I have above.
Best animated feature film of the year
- Will Win: Ratatouille (Walt Disney): Brad Bird
- Who I'd Like: See above.
- Overlooked: Paprika.
- Notes: Without a doubt, the Brad Bird feature will take the top prize. Paprika is an excellent anime film from Satoshi Kon, definitely worth spending some time with. Beowulf could also be added to the overlooked.
Achievement in art direction
- Will Win: There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Art Direction: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson
- Who I'd Like: Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount): Art Direction: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
- Overlooked: Across the Universe.
- Notes: I am not sure why I am picked Blood here, but my gut tells me it will take it home, although my heart is with the fantastic Sweeney. As for Universe? There is a lot of good work in there that deserves to be recognized.
Achievement in cinematography
- Will Win: There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Robert Elswit
- Who I'd Like: No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Roger Deakins
- Overlooked: American Gangster: Harris Savides
- Notes: I was a little lukewarm to Gangster, but it was beautifully shot. While it was overlooked, it would not have stood a chance against the ones that were nominated. I would be happy with either of the two above. I think Deakins may be hurt by dual nominations (he is also nominated for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford)
Achievement in costume design
- Will Win: Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount) Colleen Atwood
- Who I'd Like: See above.
- Overlooked: 300: Michael Wilkinson
- Notes: This is easily Sweeney's best shot at becoming an Oscar winner here, and I believe it will come out on top.
Achievement in directing
- Will Win: No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
- Who I'd Like: See above, although Paul Thomas Anderson would be a very close second.
- Overlooked: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Tim Burton
- Notes: My favorite film of the year's director was sorely overlooked. His work on the big screen musical was fabulous. Still, the Coen's did spectacular work, as did Anderson.
Best documentary feature
- Will Win: No End in Sight (Magnolia Pictures) A Representational Pictures Production: Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
- Who I'd Like: Taxi to the Dark Side (THINKFilm) An X-Ray Production: Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
- Overlooked: King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.
- Notes: The only nominee I've seen is Sicko, and I do not think it will win. Yes, that makes my choices guesses. As for Kong, with all of the great word, I am very surprised it was not nominated.
Best documentary short subject
- Will Win: Freeheld A Lieutenant Films Production: Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth
- Notes: Just a guess, I haven't seen any of the nominees.
Achievement in film editing
- Will Win: No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roderick Jaynes
- Who I'd Like: The Bourne Ultimatum (Universal): Christopher Rouse
- Notes: That's right, no overlooked choice here. This will be No Country's night, but I would prefer the frenetic work of Bourne film.
Best foreign language film of the year
- Will Win: Beaufort Israel
- Overlooked: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
- Overlooked: Four Months, Three Weeks, and Two Days
- Notes: Just a guess, I haven't seen any of the nominees. Same for the overlooked titles, I am surprised neither of these very well reviewed films did not make the cut. I am not sure they were even on the short list.
Achievement in makeup
- Will Win: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Walt Disney): Ve Neill and Martin Samuel
- Who I'd Like: See above.
- Overlooked: 300.
- Notes: Pirates had some very nice makeup work and deserves to take home the top prize. 300 had nice work as well. I am sad that this action-fest was so ignored.
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
- Will Win: Atonement (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli
- Who I'd Like: Ratatouille (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino
- Overlooked: There Will Be Blood. Jonny Greenwood
- Notes: The best score of the year was overlooked. This is a cruel miscarriage of justice. As for Atonement, I liked parts of the score and feel that it has the best chance of winning, although Giuacchino's work is most deserving of the nominees.
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
- Will Win: "Falling Slowly" from "Once" (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and: Marketa Irglova
- Who I'd Like: See above.
- Notes: I did not discover Once until DVD, and it is a beautiful film with fantastic music. I think it has a chance with Enchanted's three entries splitting their vote and costing them a win. Although, those songs were fun, too, and I would not be disappointed if one of them pulled out a win.
Best motion picture of the year
- Will Win: No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production: Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
- Who I'd Like: See above.
- Overlooked: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
- Notes: Sweeney was my favorite film of the year, so I have to believe it was overlooked. That said, I have no problem with No Country, it was my number two and very well deserving of all the acclaim its gotten. Still, I would not count out There Will Be Blood or the dark horse, Juno, with a possible upset.
Best animated short film
- Will Win: I Met the Walrus A Kids & Explosions Production: Josh Raskin
- Notes: Just a guess, I haven't seen any of the nominees.
Best live action short film
- Will Win: Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets) (Premium Films) A Karé Production: Philippe Pollet-Villard
- Notes: Just a guess, I haven't seen any of the nominees.
Achievement in sound editing
- Will Win: No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Skip Lievsay
- Who I'd Like: There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Christopher Scarabosio and Matthew Wood
- Who I'd Like: Transformers (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins
- Overlooked: The Mist.
- Notes: I know, I chose two I'd like to win plus an overlooked film, and I do like my pick to win. These films did great work with sound, this has been a good year for this category.
Achievement in sound mixing
- Will Win: No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
- Who I'd Like: Transformers (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin
- Notes: The sounds in No Country were fantastic, the lack of score with the sounds of footsteps, and that silenced gun, what can I say but: Wow! Still, the work in Transformers cannot be denied, regardless of what you think of the movie. The crunching destruction, the sound of the transformations, excellent work.
Achievement in visual effects
- Will Win: Transformers (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier
- Who I'd Like: See above.
- Overlooked: 300.
- Notes: While the third Pirates film looked great, what was achieved with the alien robots cannot be denied, you will believe that your car can turn into a big battling 'bot. 300 has made what may be the best use of the digital back lot yet, the whole movie was a special effect.
Adapted screenplay
- Will Win: No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
- Who I'd Like: See above.
- Overlooked: Zodiac, James Vanderbilt
- Notes: The Coen's wrote an excellent adaptation that deserves to win. However, the Zodiac script should have been included, it is epic in scope yet personal in nature. This is a film that was overlooked in many areas.
Original screenplay
- Will Win: Juno (A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production), Written by Diablo Cody
- Who I'd Like: See above.
- Overlooked: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Written by John Logan
- Notes: Yes, Sweeney was definitely overlooked, but the winner is and should be Diablo Cody. That screenplay really touched on something that rings true. Yes, the dialogue does not sound exactly real, but it feels very real.
That about wraps it up. Be sure to tune on Sunday 2/24 to see how poor my picks were!
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